The dark, twisting halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D carrier echoed with the patter of rapid footsteps as Loki and Bruce walked to the labs. Loki was showing Bruce to the lab, full of machinery that he would enjoy and others would think of as annoying, beeping lumps of metal. The Avengers were meeting down there to greet Mr. Banner into their team.
"So you work for S.H.I.E.L.D now, then? How did that come about?" Bruce asked hesitantly. Loki swallowed and kept his gaze forward as he replied.
"Thor had already joined the force by the time they discovered the threat. I had, by chance, transported myself right into the middle of a fight pitting the Avengers against the enemy's army. So, naturally I decided to help them out a bit," Loki replied.
Bruce looked his escort up and down. His eyes opened widely as if he were going crazy.
"With magic, Mr Banner, with magic," Loki explained with a smile. "Apparently they needed all hands on deck and found my services desirable to command in the oncoming war."
The pair walked farther quietly, Bruce noticing uncomfortably that his footsteps were quite loud compared to Loki's.
"How did we even get here? I assume magic but I couldn't tell, everything just went dark," Bruce asked confusedly. Loki grinned apologetically.
"It was magic; it's always strange the first time you transport," He replied. Bruce looked down, wondering what it was like for Loki in his first time and how frightened he would have been to randomly appear in some other place.
They reached the lab in awkward silence. Loki slapped his hand on the biometric lock and the door slid open without protest. They strutted into the labs and Bruce gasped at the machines.
"Oh my god, it's been so long since I've seen a particle accelerator! It's in beautiful condition, look at that finish!" Bruce exclaimed. He turned excitedly to Loki who looked back as if to say 'are we done here?'
"I'm glad to see you are enjoying your new toys, Mr Banner," came the deep, resounding voice of Nick Fury from deeper in the lab. The pair picked their way to the very back where the Avengers were gathered around a pulsating creature, lying on a surgical table.
The thing was pinkish and shriveled, shaking in a curled up ball with bulging veins running along its length. It made slight, whimpering sounds and appeared to be asleep if it was at all a thing capable of sleep. Its flesh was moist and its breathing snuffled wetly; it sounded as if it was having a hard time.
"This, gentlemen would be what we think is a baby monster of some variety. From some realm. We're having trouble identifying it because it's a bit...resistant to any DNA tests and scans we've done. Could either of you say you knew what this was? Loki, I know you've explored the quieter parts of the realms, any idea?" Nick explained.
Loki reached out a hand and touched the creature's hot body, rolling it gently for a better view. When the face was revealed, the soft breath of a woman's voice gasped. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, put her hand to her mouth.
The face was scrunched up and red, its eyes huge and rolling in the bugged out sockets. It's mouth was a just a mouth, its nose just a nose. For all the world, the creature could have been a mutated human baby.
Loki grimaced as he let the creature roll back in on itself.
"This is a Kree infant, I'm afraid. How did you get it? Her parents are probably searching for her and that's not a good thing for whomever is in her possession," he sighed, looking over at Nick.
"It came to us when the threat was revealed in that Russian bunker, laying in the rubble. It wasn't hurt at all, we think, but we didn't know how it was supposed to look. Let's cover the basics first, what's a Kree?" Nick replied. The baby reached out with a humanoid arm and groped in the air. Loki offered his thin hand and the Kree clamped down.
"The Kree is an alien race, Mr. Fury. The first had blue skin, but then evolution kicked in and turned a few pink, so that they better resembled humans. The pink are considered impure and the blue are revered as royalty despite the fact that they are a minority. They breath mostly nitrogen, that would be this one's problem, and their planet has higher gravity. When they come to Earth, although they can't breath without aid, they are faster and stronger." Loki glanced up to the team.
Thor nodded like he was finally recognizing the creature and the rest of the team had the appearance of either wanting to run out of the place screaming or throw up all over their shoes. An ugly, dark look clouded Hawkeye's face as he thought about what having an alien aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D craft meant.
"So now we're going to be under attack from aliens, is that what I'm hearing? We are already treading rough water, why don't we just throw in a shark, too!" he yelled furiously.
Nick tried to pacify him as the whole team began talking all at once. Just as the arguing turned to a screaming match, the baby started squalling. Nick and Clint stared each other down but remained quiet; the rest of the Avengers actually looked sorry.
Loki gently picked up the infant and cradled him against him chest.
"Don't upset her, it'll only make the situation worse! She needs her nitrogen, where is the medical wing?" Loki reprimanded over the Kree's cries.
Nick called for a lab assistant, finally breaking Hawkeye's gaze, and ordered an oxygen room to be converted into a nitrogen room. The assistant raised an eyebrow and took the Kree with him as he went about his assignment.
Bruce breathed a sigh through his nose and glanced up from the departing assistant.
"So. Lets hear about this Russian bunker."
"Nice place," Bruce commented coolly as he stared around the S.H.I.E.L.D craft's meeting room. Indeed it was nice; the steel walls were a blue-gray color, the carpets a stormy gray, and the chairs cushy, navy contraptions on wheels. The whole picture had a detached, emotionless feel to it and the air had a chill that seemed like it would remain despite heavy use.
Nick nodded acceptance at the compliment as he rapped him knuckles on the cherry wood table and rolled about in his chair. The room was new, a recent installment and there were many mixed feelings about it, although the general consensus was that it was overly fancy. The Avengers had removed themselves, much to Bruce's dismay, from the crowded and busy labs.
Nick cleared his throat as he prepared to retell the story of the Russian bunker. Steve, Bruce,and Loki sat up to the table, resting their elbows on the frigid wood, Steve's shield at his feet. Clint and Thor both leaned back into the squishy chair support and folded their arms. Tony swallowed the last of his whiskey and slammed the thick glass on the table as it burned down his throat.
"Right. The bunker. Okay. It's an odd story, I'll warn you of that now before you get confused, and we're still not sure of all the facts. But here goes.
"We started picking up electrical frequencies about three months ago, odd ones, the kinds you get from aliens. Like the Kree. They weren't immediately suspected of any activity in the following investigation, but now we think they are coming out of their dormancy. The frequencies got stronger and harsher, almost like a robotic voice screaming at us, until they suddenly stopped two months back.
"In the middle of the Everglades, soon after, came a giant hole in the center of a large area of mostly solid ground. It resembled a sinkhole, but the sounds that came from it were ancient and windy; at least that's what our spies say. Black mist seems to be floating around in there and the smell of it is hot and sulfurous.
"More holes started appearing in densely wooded areas. Only in densely wooded areas. Things, crab or spider-like things started to crawl out, and soon the larger ones, the full grown Skrulls started to emerge. The creatures are their pets or something along those lines. They are killing machines. The shell is hard and instead of claws, the beasts have knife-like appendages. They hiss like mangy cats. Bad tempers," Nick told them. He glanced at Tony as a sarcastic mutter that sounded like 'like some people,' was heard. Natasha elbowed him sharply in the ribs and nothing more was heard.
"The Skrulls started to gather in bunches around their hives. As soon as they figured to have enough recruits, they moved to attack the nearest civilizations. Luckily their holes were far out of the way and they only managed to take a few human homes. That's still too many people dead, though, and I won't stand for it.
"The Russian forests are very heavily wooded, as you well know, Miss Romanoff, and bunkers also dot the lands, frequently in those very forests. The Skrulls wormed their way into the building and blew it sky high. All that was left that we have found so far is rubble and the child. That's all we know."
The group sat in contemplative silence as they digested the situation. Finally, Steve spoke.
"What's a Skrull?" he wondered aloud.
"Better known of the alien races. Reptilian in natural appearance, but the modern generation can shape shift. The modern Skrulls have two classes; the larger group of regular Skrulls, and the anomaly of the Dire Wraiths. The Dire Wraiths are more deadly, they can shape shift and have magic, too," Loki quietly explained as he stared off at the table's surface.
"So what you're saying is they are exactly like you?" Tony said rather harshly. Loki ducked his head as a sickened look passed over his eyes. He swallowed heavily and nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Stark, exactly like me."
