Author's Note: Hey y'all! It's me, I'm back and here's my new story!

I was so happy with the results on my last fanfic that I couldn't wait to bring this one to you! So I hope to see some old readers and welcome all new readers!

Anyway, this chapter will be kind-of slow because its the start up chapter so please take that to mind...

And of course, reviews are welcomed, I love reviews, I love reading them and I'll try to answer your questions in these little notes up here so... yeah!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any Marvel characters... if I did, I'd be rich and living on an island somewhere drinking a pina colada or something.

And with all my stories...

Read, Review, and above all... Enjoy!

Her wide eyes stared in wonder at the stars forming above her in the great void. She sat on the small hill in her own backyard, to her small frame then, it was a mountain. The sky was darkening, the sun leaving less and less of a pink shade to the west as her eyes fixated to make out the shining shapes above her.

She's point to the stars, connecting dots with her fingers and making constellations. It was close to bedtime and Grace was not ready to tread the silence of sleep just yet. She had heard these stories before, and even though she was not one to ever be late to her father's stories, tonight she had more important matters to attend to.

"Why Miss Grace Harper, what are you doing out here and not in bed?" A soft, loving male voice came from behind as he walked closer to his young daughter. She giggled into the night sky as he approached her, sitting down next to her and crossing his legs loosely. "You will miss all my stories if you do not hurry to bed."

She smiled brightly, her blue eyes sparkling with awe. "Dad, I can't go sleep yet, I'm looking for Asgard!" She exclaimed, looking back to the sky. "But I can never seem to find it." She said in defeat.

Her father smiled, leaning closer to the girl and pointing up. "It's because you're not looking hard enough."

She waited a few moments, sighing as nothing came of watching. "It's not there, dad." The seven year old groaned.

He chuckled at her stubbornness. "You'll find it someday, I know you will; but, until then Gracie, it is bedtime."

"One more minute dad, please?" She pleaded, her blue eyes beckoning for the extra minute.

He sighed in defeat, a loving and happy defeat at his daughter's need for adventure and proof. "One more minute, but then you're coming inside, got it, Kiddo?"

She smiled, nodding eagerly as her father stood up from his spot and headed into the house to apologize to his wife for giving in so easily to their daughter.

Little Grace Harper sat on that small hill, her knees tucked under her as she stared up to the sky for one minute longer, awaiting for the cosmos to realign, anything. After all seemed lost and hopeless, she stood; ready to go inside in defeat. But then, in that single moment, a bright rainbow light came to the sky. It was radiant and only shone for maybe thirty seconds. That was enough to send Grace into a fit of excitement as she whispered into the night sky "Asgard…" before rushing into the house to tell her father…

But that was then and then seemed so long ago…

21 years to be exact…

Agent Phil Coulson walked as quickly as possible, six different files in his right hand as he continued towards the main conference room of SHIELD. He was tired, functioning only on a caffeine binge and chips from the vending machine. He had finally found a few different options to hopefully appease Director Fury and their superiors. He marched right into the conference room; Director Fury was looking out the window. "Director Fury?" Coulson breathed, Fury turned around to watch as Agent Coulson placed the files on the table. "I found a new lead."

Fury just nodded as he walked over to Coulson and the files. Fury took a moment to skim the files of one Grace Harper, archeologist and Norse mythology extraordinaire. "Is she what we are looking for?"

"She's the best in her field." Coulson commented, looking to Fury as he began to look more thoroughly at her files. "She has been the lead on a few dig teams through different archeological digs, is an expert on Norse mythology, and she leads the studies on the Cosmic Cube, or as we know it, Tesseract." He took a quick breath. "If you were looking for a specialist on the Tesseract, it's her."

Fury replied with a simple 'Hm' before asking. "Does she have any idea what happened in New Mexico?"

Coulson shook his head. "She is from New York; anyone outside that small town has no idea what really went down."

"Another one that doesn't play well with others, the smart types usually are." Fury raised a questioning eyebrow as he read her report a little more. "I already have one trouble maker to keep track of." Fury immediately thought of his latest headache, Tony Stark; the genius, playboy, millionaire who wasn't exactly cooperating with the latest initiative.

"She shouldn't be a problem." Coulson reassured him, knowing Fury's twitch was a reference to Stark. "From what I gather, she is dying to get her chance back into her research, any lead into that she'd probably jump at."

"What's stopping her?"

Coulson hesitated slightly. "She may or may not have been discredited for her work." Fury was about to object to Coulson's decision, yet, Coulson was faster in his reply. "By non-believers of course; after asking Selvig, however, he believes her work is unparalleled. She's smart, she just doesn't know how smart."

"We have Selvig working on the Tesseract as it is what use could she be for us?"

"Selvig believes that Ms. Harper may be the key to figuring out the Tesseract and unlocking its true potential. She is our best option."

Fury, his face unmoving, finally agreed. "Make contact, whatever she needs for her research, give it to her. Give her an assistant, supplies, and transportation. Get her started."

The sweet, spicy smell of gingerbread coffee filled the faculty break room. The Keurig percolating; the coffee sputtering out into the old brown coffee mug with a faded caricature of 'Snoopy'; it was the first day of a new semester. Grace Harper inhaled deeply, brushing a piece of her wavy red hair behind her ear as the smell intoxicated her. Here it was, 6:55 pm, her next and final class of the day at 7:15 pm.

She hated teaching. It was not her first choice for a career, in fact, it was safe to say it were her last choice. She was an archeologist, an explorer. She would take trips to Scandinavia in her college days alongside a group of other college students, and learn the mythos of the Scandinavian people.

She was brilliant. She was a very promising archeologist, first in her class, often found new discoveries of the 'Gods of Old' at different dig sights. She was in her prime then… but that was then.

At her peak, she began to present her findings on the Cosmic Cube; her beliefs on its existence made her a threat to some and caused her own demise. No one would have her on their excavations after that, calling her 'Crazy' for her discredited work. She was forced to take the only job that would accept her, teaching job at a community college teaching others of her own works, now far from the dig sights she used to love. On the brink of 28, Grace was beginning her midlife crisis.

Grace grabbed her cup of warm gingerbread coffee, poured two sugar packets in, and headed out towards her class. Her trusted notebook, where her life's work was held, placed securely under her arm as she walked with coffee in hand.

Grace was the epitome of 'workaholic'. Her research was her life and that was that. She spent her free hours reading books, maps, and her own notes to keep her busy. It was all she knew and that was another fault in her tale. Her work was the only thing she could trust, it never stabbed her in the back, lied, and cheated her. It was her safety net yet she never got back up after falling from so high.

The students were already seated; Grace cracked an amused smirk as she eyed them all. 'Eager, are we?' she thought to herself as she placed her notebook down on the desk in front of her. The student to chair ratio was a bit off, they had placed her in a classroom designed for 50 or more students…there were maybe 20 in the class. She scanned the classroom quickly, looking at her new students faces before clearing her throat. "Welcome." She smiled slightly. "This is Norse Mythology, R516, if you are in the wrong class please get up and leave now and the rest of us will try not to stare and mock you as you go." To her surprise, everyone stayed put. She raised an eyebrow is amusement before continuing. "Well, I am Professor Harper, in this class you are required to have an open mind and are expected to do the readings each night." She sighed, her shoulder slightly falling in defeat. "I know this is just an easy science credit for many of you, but I will fail you, is that clear?" She heard a few snickers come from the back, and just rolled her eyes. "The only book I expect you to have is 'The Norse Myths' by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Class dismissed."

The class shuffled out one by one as Grace eyed a few students carefully before looking down at her notebook. Her most prized possession, her greatest accomplishments and defeats belonged in this notebook. It was the only thing in her life keeping her going. "I always hated the first day of class." Grace looked up from her notes to see a man, dressed in a suit, slightly balding, and a smile on his lips as he looked at her. "It was always awkward for the professor and students to meet for the first time."

Grace smiled slightly. "And you are?"

He nodded, moving closer, his hand extended. "Apologies, Ms. Harper." His smile never fading as Grace hesitantly shook his hand. "I'm Phil Coulson."

Grace closed her notebook and adjusted her top slightly, pulling it down as she looked back at Coulson. "And how can I help you, Mr. Coulson?" She clutched her notebook under her arm securely. Coulson noted this, she was very untrusting. "I do have a busy schedule to keep."

Coulson chuckled softly. "I'm sure you do. I'm here, Ms. Harper, to offer you something more than this teaching position."

Grace raised an eyebrow at Coulson, her skepticism rising. "What exactly are you offering?"

"Your research on the Tesseract has attracted a lot of positive attention from my boss and another participating scientist." Coulson said. "We want your help with understanding the Tesseract."

Grace narrowed her eyes. "How do you know about my research?"

"We know a lot about you Grace." Coulson raised a hand, trying to calm Grace as she tensed. "Not in a negative way. I would like to explain more about my organization and what we do. However, I need to know if you're on board."

"And your organization is?"

"We are the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate." Grace just gave him a confused look. "SHIELD for short."

"That's a mouthful; never heard of you." Grace replied disinterested.

"We're a more… discrete organization." Coulson said. "We are involved with the more interesting things the public does not understand."

"Funny you say interesting because I'm not interested." Grace replied sharply as she gathered the rest of her things, preparing to leave. She was defensive, it was her fatal flaw. She wasn't always this way, she could remember a time when she wasn't. That was then.

"Yes, because being in a classroom and not in the field on a dig sight sound more fun." Coulson replied causing Grace to stop. "I am here to offer you an opportunity; a chance for you to start over and return to your research." Coulson shrugged. "But, since you are not interested and all-"

Grace made eye contact once more, a look of desperation in her eyes, Coulson knew he had her. "And if I agree to this, I would expect full control of this operation. No babysitting, my work is my work, I don't want some 'big brother' to watch over me."

"We wouldn't have it any other way." Coulson said. "The only thing we ask is that you work with us. We're here for the same cause, Ms. Harper."

"And what is your cause?" She asked skeptically.

"Education and discovery; that's all we ask." He replied with a grin. "We just want to know what we're up against."

Grace raised a suspicious eyebrow as she eyed Coulson. "You are aware my specialty is in myths, correct? The Tesseract is just a legend." Her eyes gave her away, like she knew something more to be had.

Coulson just continued to smile. "Can we count on you?"

Grace bit her lip as she thought. The idea of being back in the field was intoxicating to her. To be back to her research was gnawing at the back of her mind. She'd give anything to go back… but could she? She sighed in a somewhat defeated manor, retaliating Coulson's smile with a skeptical smirk of her own. "If I say to pull the plug, we pull it, got it?" She had to make that notion clear.

"You're the boss."

Grace nodded, somewhat happy with her decision. Her heart raced and she felt a little nauseous due to her nerves and excitement. "When do we start?" Coulson just smiled.

Coulson had sworn to Grace, before entering the jet, that she would not feel a thing. The SHIELD jet would take them from New York to Norway in less than 5 hours and no one would be the wiser. Grace hated flying; the idea of being in an enclosed space so many feet above ground level was not her cup of tea. In fact, she was so afraid to fly; she nearly backed out of the entire operation.

Coulson had managed to convince her otherwise, however. She was now walking up the stairs and into the jet itself. Her breaths short and harsh as she found a seat on the aisle, clutching her brown carryon bag; she finally felt herself becoming relaxed as Coulson sat across from her. "Excited?"

Grace forced a laugh. "Not excited to die."

"We'll be fine; I've flown in this thing many times." He tried to reassure her.

"So where are we going exactly?" Grace asked, trying to change the subject. What was she doing here? So impulsively she decided to drop everything in her life. SHIELD seemed to have an answer for everything, Coulson said they'd take care of everything for her; all she had to do was show up. Here she was, she showed. Her impulsiveness brought her here but, where exactly was she going? How could she trust this organization? Simple, she couldn't, and that excited her.

"Right, I suppose now is a good time to explain more of what we are looking to do." Coulson said, reaching for the briefcase he came with, unlocking the combination and handing a file to Grace. "The Tesseract, as you're aware, is a power source said to be from the Gods." Grace narrowed her eyes at Coulson whom cleared his throat.

"The Tesseract was the jewel of Odin's treasure room." Grace corrected as she looked into the file more. "It was said to be lost during the last age of worship by men."

"I knew I found the right person for this." Coulson joked as he continued. "In 1940's a German SS officer named Johann Schmidt used the Tesseract to create a weapon to destroy all who opposed him."

Grace swallowed hard as she stared at the images of the Tesseract. "You found it?" She asked in disbelief as she looked to Coulson. "You have the Tesseract?" He nodded in reply. "Is that where we are going, to see it?"

"We're heading to Tonsberg Norway, where the cube was originally found." Grace nearly squealed as she quickly rummaged through her duffle bag, pulling out her notebook and flipping pages furiously until she stopped on a page, showing it to Coulson.

"I had pinpointed that location when I first began my research, if the Tesseract existed, which apparently it does, then this is where I'd find it." Grace smiled brightly as Coulson looked at her notes, he was impressed at her notes; showing the exact location of the Tesseract.

"How did you determine this?" Coulson asked. "As far as I am concerned, no one really knows much about the Tesseract."

Grace closed her notebook, tucking it back into her back. "This 'Schmidt' and I grew up on the same stories. I also studied a ton of maps to see any correlation between the myths and maps that were said to be from that time, and compared it to today's maps and…" She laughed nervously as she realized she had gone off on a tangent. "I don't do anything else with my life."

Coulson nodded with a smile. "Well, this really reassures me of your skills."

"So why are we heading to where the Tesseract was found, not that I honestly mind."

"For hints or clues about the Tesseract; we want to learn as much as we can about it, maybe there is something there?" Coulson said.

"You're trying to control it?" Grace asked suspiciously.

"No, just trying to study it." Coulson said. "If something this powerful is hiding on earth, imagine what else is there that we don't know about." Grace nodded, looking away from Coulson and out the window, her eyes wide in shock as she realized they had already taken off. She looked back to Coulson who just chuckled. "I told you it was going to be an easy trip."

Swallowing hard, Grace gripped her seat tightly. "What happens when we land?" She asked breathlessly as sheer panic overtook her small frame.

"We have a team down there excavating the sight as we speak but, we need a professional down there to tell us exactly what we are looking at." Coulson said cleaning up the files on the Tesseract to hand Grace files on her team. "They're very good at what they do and will do everything you ask of them." She flipped through them lazily before stopping on one in particular. It was a man, age 29, height 6'2, slicked back jet black hair, and piercing green eyes. He managed to catch her attention as Coulson cleared his throat. "It's funny you turned to this profile in particular. This is Lucas Larson; he was hired to be your assistant."

"Don't need nor care for an assistant." Grace muttered a pit in her stomach at the thought of having an assistant. She didn't care for the idea or what it represented to her in the past.

"He's very knowledgeable on Norse mythology, his test scores on the subject were through the roof. He's cleared by our background check and very-"

"That's nice, Phil. However, you can tell Mr. Larson to go home. I work alone."

Coulson sighed slightly. "Directory Fury was right about the 'smart ones being the more difficult ones'." He said. "I must insist on having Lucas around, you don't have to trust him with any of your work, just have him help you."

Grace groaned. She had her reasons not wanting an assistant. However, she knew this was one thing that would not budge. "Fine, but, this doesn't mean we'll be buddies." She said, still staring down at Lucas's profile. There was something about him that distressed her. What that something was, well, that was something she'd come to figure out.

Coulson chuckled. "I wouldn't think so."

Final Thoughts: And that's our OC Grace... she's a little difficult but I promise you'll soon understand her character better... and this mysterious Lucas Larson hmmm... I wonder who he could be. Anyway! Leave me some nice reviews to keep the story going! I'll try to respond as best as I can!