2
Stop stalling, making a name for yourself,
Boy, you better put that pen to paper, charm your way out,
If you talk you better walk you better back your shit up,
with more than good hooks while you're all under the gun,
Start talking 'a sensationalist',
Oh he's slightly clever to just a certain extent...
~London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines; by Panic! at the Disco
I could hear the murmurs of the people I work with while I followed Agent Hill out of my work space. It probably seemed a little strange, being led out by mysterious people, but I had a feeling it was connected with S.H.I.E.L.D, so I knew better than to question it or argue.
Agent Hill hadn't given much information on what was happening, and by the time we reached their car—some big, black SUV—I was already feeling a little anxious.
"Is this for that Initiative thing?" I asked, once I was seated. "Did something happen?"
"At the moment, we're facing a threat that's beyond our control," Agent Hill instructed. My brows furrowed. When she handed me some files, she pointed to the one at the top. Opening it, I saw a picture of a bright blue cube. "That's the Tesseract. It's been in S.H.I.E.L.D's custody until now. Recently, the Tesseract opened a Space bridge that led Loki into our world, giving him the opportunity to steal the Tesseract and manipulate the greatest minds S.H.I.E.L.D had to offer."
I felt a rush of something come over me at the mention of Loki's name. I never met him, but there was something about him that made me feel uncomfortable.
"Loki's Thor's brother, yeah?" I kept studying the picture of the Tesseract. "What would he need the Tesseract for?" Briefly looking at the other files, I frowned. There was a file on Tony Stark, Captain America, and a few others I didn't know. "Who are some of these people?" I asked.
"They're going to help you retrieve the Tesseract," Hill deadpanned. "Read up on them."
Natasha Romanoff—S.H.I.E.L.D's best assassin.
Clint Barton—the best archer S.H.I.E.L.D had to offer, never missing a single shot.
Dr. Bruce Banner—exposed to extremely lethal amounts of gamma radiation in a freak accident, transforms into something not friendly when he's angry.
Tony Stark—billionaire inventor, the Iron Man, kidnapped by terrorists and that's how the Iron Man legacy began.
Captain Steve Rogers—a lab experiment, became Captain America in WWII, a hero and idol, crashed a WWII plane into some ice before being defrosted seventy-something years later with a legacy that only grew in his absence.
Thor—Norse God of Thunder, classified as a 'demigod' by S.H.I.E.L.D's standards, the only known wielder of Mjölnir.
That's what I got from those files Hill gave me.
"S.H.I.E.L.D expects us all to get the Tesseract back?" I asked, handing the files back.
"You're expected to get the job done," Hill said. "S.H.I.E.L.D will provide the necessary materials."
The drive lasted for at least an hour, maybe two. None of us said much. By the time the SUV came to a stop, we were long out of Philadelphia. When Hill and those men piled out of the SUV, I followed suit, slightly confused.
After about half an hour, a black jet landed in front of us.
The jet landed after what felt like a lifetime of flying. The entire time I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. Flying was something I couldn't handle, I always felt sick. But even after we landed, I still felt that gross, sick feeling. Exiting the jet, I internally groaned when we were on some big boat-like ship. There were Military jets parked on various places, soldiers marching, all kinds of noises and sights I couldn't comprehend.
What is this place? I thought anxiously.
"Ms. Benningfield." I turned and saw a woman with red hair styled in a bob approaching me. There was a calculating look in her eyes that she tried disguising under a friendly demeanor.
That's Romanoff. I tried for a smile in return. "Hi," I said, wrapping my arms around myself.
"It's a good thing you showed up when you did," Natasha said. "We were just about to take off." I must've looked surprised. Romanoff's smile became more of a knowing smirk. "You're the third one to show up already," she went on.
"Third?"
"Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers are here."
"Oh. . . ."
Romanoff led me inside the ship. I felt extremely anxious and out of place. There were more soldiers on the inside and a lot of people sitting behind computers, people shouting orders, people running with paperwork, and soldiers standing guard.
"Ms. Benningfield, meet Captain Rogers." I was slightly taken aback by how young Rogers' physical appearance was. It didn't seem real in the photos from his file, but seeing him in person was something else. The fact that someone could survive a crash in some ice for seventy years didn't seem real.
A boyish smile came across Rogers' face as he stuck his hand out. I smiled in return and shook his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," he said, sounding very formal.
"No need to call me that," I chuckled. "Zelda's fine."
"If you wouldn't mind calling me Steve."
"This must feel a little weird for you," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Steve shrugged. "It's sort of familiar."
"I suppose familiarity makes it better," I murmured.
"In your file, it says you have powers," Steve said after a moment's silence.
"You got files too?"
There was something in Steve's blue eyes that made me sigh. I had a feeling he was still adapting to the new world, and I guess answering his question would help him out some.
"I do." I sighed. "If you read my file—whatever S.H.I.E.L.D has written down on me—then you know I try to use my powers as little as possible. Unless I really have to use them."
When a look came across Steve's face, I gave another sigh and connected my mind with his. "You're scared," I said. "You're still unsure on how you feel about this new world. You feel alone and out-of-place. Old fashioned. You miss your friends and the old life you had before, but you know better than to focus on the past. You went under with the world at war, you woke up with everyone saying we won. But we still lost." I cut off the connection, I could see another look sweep across Steve's face—it wasn't quite fear, more of astonishment, discomfort maybe, that I had managed to get into his head. "That's what you said, right? What you're thinking?"
"Gentlemen, Ms. Benningfield." Fury approached where Steve and I were standing, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw another man with curly dark hair glancing around nervously, wringing his hands in front of him.
With the look on Fury's face, though, I had a feeling there was no turning back at that point.
Author's Note:
I hope you guys liked this chapter! This story is the sequel to my Thor fic 'Counting Stars', for anyone who's just reading this one. The song lyrics at the beginning of this chapter belong to Panic! at the Disco. For my future chapters, I will either have song lyrics or TV/movie quotes at the very beginning. If you have any suggestions on song lyrics or TV/movie quotes, leave a review or PM me.
Everything in the 'Avengers' world belongs to Marvel/Stan Lee. I own my fillers and characters.
Leave a helpful and kind review, please!
Thank you.
Susan Strong
