Author's Note: I worked on all of yesterday and partially today, so I hope you enjoy it. As always I don't want this to be a lengthy author's note so I'll save my speech at the end of the chapter, except for the part where I thank you all for the support you have not only shown Trading Cards but towards me as well.

I feel as if I should also add as a small warning that there will be some changes to the story plot-line of The Avengers. My intention is not to destroy the already fantastic plot-line but to create a successful story (after all, romance has to be in there somewhere). If this bothers you, please leave this Bertie Bott's Bean Flavour unharmed so some other lad or lass can enjoy it. Thank you.

Also, a huge thank you for tolerating me and my increments of five. I love you all.

Goal til Next Update: Total of 30+ Reviews (I hate that I love increments of five, but at the same time I love that I love increments of five.)

And you're trying to figure out your fate tonight

And you hear a sound coming out from the car radio

- What It Is by Kodaline

Chapter Three:

Pippa instinctively grasped the nearest stable thing beside her which turned out to be the railing on the stairs she was currently on, the tremor shaking the whole building slightly. They were getting worse and more frequent. Fear encased her body but she ignored it, focusing on the issue that they were currently experiencing. What a fool she was.

She should have called him sooner.

As soon as the thunderous vibrations stopped she continued her way towards her destination, running down the stairs. The flashing red lights were finally turned on as well as the flat piercing alarm system which alerted anyone who was not aware of the current circumstances.

"All personnel, the evacuation order has been confirmed. Proceed to your designated vehicles for off campus evacuation. This is not a drill."

Pippa gritted her teeth as she tried to go against the current of the large body of employees who were currently like sheep heading towards the exit, all of them carrying black boxes from the archives-documents that were vital and had to be saved. She quickly hurried as best as she could to the laboratory, anxiety running through her veins. Finally turning down the rather abandoned hallway, only a few guards standing uncertain here and there, she scanned herself into the dome shaped spacious laboratory.

"Dr. Selvig you assured me everything would go back to normal and you would have the Tesseract under control four hours ago. Yet the building shaking isn't what I would call exactly back to normal. What the hell is going on?" Pippa demanded as she stepped into the room. She spotted several assistants running around frantically, shouting orders at each other while Dr. Selvig, himself, looked like the definition of a mess. His eyes were wide like a deer's in the headlights, his hair was mussed probably due to him running his hand through it numerous times because of his nerves and he was frantically searching through papers, crumpling some as he went.

"I thought I would have it under control but she keeps spitting out energy surges. I suppose it's good thing you ordered the evacuation as a precautionary." He responded, as he drew a hand across his forehead. Pippa could see he was breaking out in a cold sweat before he turned his back towards her in pursuit of finding certain papers. He carried on, "She's acting terribly funny. The energy levels seem to be climbing at a dramatic rate."

"Can't you shut it completely down somehow?" Pippa asked as she glanced at the glowing azure cube that was currently sparking.

"Agent, if it was that simple I would have already done that." Erik grumbled clearly frustrated, "The Tesseract is an energy source. If we turn everything off she turns it back on with ease." He paused licking his chapped lips, "She's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." He said with pure admiration as if he was a proud parent and the bright blue object was his child.

"Coulson, Director Fury is going to be arriving any moment." A static voice spoke. Pippa glanced at her walkie-talkie that was currently clipped to her waist. She sighed glancing at the doctor. "Thank you Atticus. I'll be up in a minute," she spoke into the black battered device, "How is the evacuation going?"

"It's going to take at least another thirty to forty five minutes in order to conduct a safe and successful evacuation. Although I am glad to report that all necessary files on Level One have been collected and placed on trucks for the most part."

Damn.

"Atticus, I signaled the off campus evacuation four hours ago. What are you guys doing up there?" Pippa hissed, annoyed that nothing was getting accomplished. She couldn't be down with the Tesseract and supervising the evacuation at the same time.

"We weren't exactly prepared for this ma'am."

"Then get prepared. Check the upper levels. Make sure there aren't any stragglers left behind. I will not have any lost lives." She stated to Atticus, mustering the best authoritative voice she could at this moment.

"Roger that."

Pippa did her best to compose herself even though in all honesty she was ready to have a break down. Of all the days that it could have happened. Forcing the lump in her throat to go away she shot the doctor a look, "Buy us all the time that's available." Not waiting for his response Pippa turned on her heel, glancing up at the ceiling in mid thought. Instead of focusing on the agenda that had to be executed, she saw two stormy grey eyes with hints and traces of green threaded through staring at her. Pippa straightened up and stopped in her tracks not sure how to react. She decided to give him a curt nod, one which he did not return. Instead as if suddenly disinterested he turned away.

Pippa huffed to herself.

She didn't have time to play along with his foolish childlike behavior.

And with that thought she briskly made her way towards the facility's entrance, believing the sooner Fury and Hill arrived the better. "Fury will know what to do." Pippa mused as she climbed the numerous flights of stairs, her legs taking on two at a time. As soon as she reached the outdoors she sucked in a breath of the dry summer air, glancing towards the sky just in time to see a sleek black helicopter slowly landing on the designated pad only a few yards from where she was standing.

"How bad is it?" Fury asked as he got out, wasting no time in greetings. Pippa exchanged a look with Maria before quickly following Fury who was clearly on a mission. Fury easily weaved in and out of the stream of agents who were all frantically hurrying while Pippa and Maria constantly bumped shoulders and muttered halfhearted excuses.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know." She managed to say as she tried her best to keep up with the director. Unfortunately he took longer strides that resulted in her adopting a gait between a walk and a jog. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago." She added hastily.

She watched as Fury glanced at her only for a second before looking ahead, a frown slightly sewn upon his face. Pippa cringed at the sight but reminded herself that at least it wasn't exactly directed to her, "NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase."

Pippa cleared her dry throat before she managed to squeak out, "He wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement." The young agent glanced at Maria who seemed confused but clearly concentrating on something in her thoughts.

"It just turned itself on?" Maria asked finally, puzzlement clearly residing in her eyes. Pippa couldn't tell if Maria was either skeptical or confused. Pippa gave a silent nod in return before running her right hand down the cool cream colored railing as she smoothly ran down the stairs, this time taking one at a time.

"What are the energy levels now?"

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down we ordered the evacuation." Pippa she told Fury as he suddenly slowed down his pace, something unusual when he was in dire situations. Fury held up a hand as if to signal to her to stop in her tracks, an action she already did when he slowed to a stop in the middle of the narrow stairs.

"How long to get everyone out?" He asked, turning to look at her. Maybe it was the lighting. Or maybe it was just her imagination. Or perhaps, it really was real and there in his eyes. Regardless if it was real or just a concoction of her imagination, Pippa saw concern flashing in his eyes only for a brief moment. Concern not for himself. But for the staff that were still here. Lives that could be lost at any given moment. A rush of respect surged through her bones.

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour." Pippa said as she cleared her thoughts with a small shake of her head, an action that went unnoticed not only by the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. but also by Maria.

"Do better."

Two words were all he said before he continued his way towards the laboratory with Maria in tow. Pippa knew better than to follow. With a renewed burst of energy she pivoted on her heel and ran quickly up the stairs, ignoring her aching muscles that begged her to relax and take a break.

As she hurried to reach Level Two of the facility she caught the eye of Atticus, one of the few NASA scientists that were recruited and assigned to overlook Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.. She was amazed how calm and collected he seemed unlike her frazzled state. And to think that he was the same age as her! He flashed a halfhearted smile showing off his perfect white teeth (no braces needed) while he quickly ran a hand through his russet colored hair.

"Level Two is almost complete." He offered as he stood next to her, crossing his arms which once again confirmed how collected he seemed to be. She glanced at him trying to calculate how long it would take to clear Level Three.

"Level Three is halfway done." He told her as if he was reading her mind. Pippa gave a silent nod, not trusting herself to speak. She was afraid she would let her emotions get the best of her and she refused to show even a millisecond of weakness. Not in front of him. Not in front of anyone.

She heard him suck in a deep breath of air before speaking, "So say theoretically we survive this and we're still in one piece before all of this is over…does that mean I could ask you out for a cup a coffee?" he asked before quickly asking, "Theoretically speaking of course."

She glanced at him, trying to fight off the blush that threatened to stain her cheeks. She was surprised at the very least by his words. At S.H.I.E.L.D. she liked to consider herself the one that was the wing woman, never the woman that guys asked out. She felt her eyelashes flutter as she glanced towards the ground. It wasn't that he was unattractive. In fact a few female agents found him very good looking. Plus he was a good guy: he had a great work ethic, was passionate about what he did, was trustworthy, responsible, honest and obviously smart if he was a NASA scientist…all in all he was a great guy. Pippa could see why he had quite a few fans.

Pippa silently cringed as another wave of rumbles sounded throughout the building, thick dust falling down from the ceiling. Shouts echoed dimly throughout the building and she gave a glance at Atticus who was clearly still awaiting her answer.

"Good work clearing out Level Two." She said as she began to move on to Level three. It seemed to her as she quickly surveyed the room that he had this all under control which was deemed most excellent. She made a mental note to go out with him to get that cup of coffee once this whole chaos was over, that is if she managed to live through it and prevent her heart from bursting.

"But you-"

"Theoretically speaking that coffee is going to have to wait but I'm not opposed to it." She called out behind her, not glancing to look at him. Reaching Level Three she found out that Atticus was true to his word, half of the necessary files were already placed in cases and being carried down to the facility's parking lot where trucks would be waiting. Urging for them to quickly finish she quickly loaded cases on various carts and checked the area to make sure no one was being left behind. With a satisfied look on her face, she signaled that they were clear and ready to go. As she ushered out the remaining agents from the floor, making sure she was the last one, she drew a sigh of relief as they made their way to outside in the parking lot. Soon they would be able to load the cases in the trucks and leave. As if she jinxed the situation vibrations ran through the building and the ground-this time at a greater force.

They were in a full-fledged earthquake.

Panic rose in her throat as she gasped slightly as the cases and carts tumbled down the few steps, that they had yet to go down. Pippa stumbled trying to clutch anything stable while she tried to reassure the other agents who were yelping, trying to leap out of the way of the carts and black cases that were bouncing and flying in various directions.

"No, leave it! Leave it! Go!" she managed to shout at her coworkers as they tried to pick up the cases which were strewn all over the ground and place them on the carts. Although she acknowledged that the cases held important information-necessary information, she knew they had to get out of here as soon as they could. Finding her feet, she nudged them towards the direction of the vehicles that had yet to leave the campus.

An earth shattering rumble hit the ground Pippa could hear glass shattering and shouts. Stumbling and ultimately on the ground, her knees stinging, she tried to make her way to one of the vans. A strong hand grabbed her arm, instantly placing her back on her feet. She peeked behind her to see Atticus who had a grim look on his face. Somehow Atticus, who had previously been calm and collected, having a look of quiet horror, frightened her.

"Come on, Coulson." He muttered as he guided her to a black indistinguishable van. Relief filled her as she quickly climbed in. Atticus followed swiftly before slamming the door shut. The vehicle screeched to life as the driver floored it leaving Pippa only a second to look behind at the cases that were left lying on the concrete ground. Fumbling with her walkie-talkie she pressed the side button, "We're clear, sir. You need to go." She urged as a wave of drowsiness hit her suddenly. All the adrenaline that had been previously pumping through her bloodstream now left her in a tired state. She ignored the sickening feeling that filled her stomach when no response came from Fury. Instead of having the urge to vomit, she turned her attention to her surroundings, staring outside. She stifled a gasp of dread as she watched the ground crumble and gave in, as if the ground suddenly became too heavy and the core of the Earth couldn't support it anymore.

For a mere second she feared of being swallowed up by the core of the Earth. The ground caving in seemed to be catching up to their vehicle, which was the last one much to Pippa's relief. Her nails dug into the flesh of her own skin as she clenched her teeth in anticipation. She could barely feel Atticus' arm wrap around her shoulders but shot him an appreciative look anyway. A jolt hit the van suddenly and everyone winced. Pippa turned to see a bright blue wave escape the building which was currently tumbling in itself and run through the sky.

Suppressing a shudder she could finally feel the tension ease from the enclosed space as the van flew across the barren desert, several miles from the destroyed facility. The ground became stable and Pippa signaled for the van to halt. Drawing to a halt Pippa tried one more time, "Director? Director Fury do you copy?" she breathed.

"Coulson."

Pippa breathed a sigh of relief, not caring who heard her.

"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" Fury carried on without a pause on his end. Pippa gripped her device, eager to hear any report she could get her hands on.

"A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors." Maria rasped, coughing some. Dread filled Pippa as she closed her eyes. She tried so hard not to have any lost lives. Losing lives was the last thing she wanted. Yet it turned out that despite her efforts, funerals would be hastily arranged. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as Fury's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now we are at war." Fury directed through the walkie-talkie. Pippa straightened her spine as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She glanced at her walkie-talkie before speaking, "What do we do?"

"Activate the Avengers Initiative, Coulson."

NOTE: Cue the dramatic music. I know there wasn't too much interaction between Pippa and Clint so I'm sorry if this chapter didn't fulfill your expectations and your Pippa and Clint craving. But I did add a character, Atticus. Did you guys like Atticus or did he seem a bit stereotypical? Do you want to see more of him? I'd like to know what you think. Be sure to leave your opinion in your review! I try not to write stereotypical characters but I'm always afraid that I do anyway. And now I'm ranting. Sorry for that.

I'm also sorry for not responding to your reviews. Believe me when I say that I will be doing that as soon as this chapter is posted. Never think for a moment that I am not grateful for those who take the time to favorite, follow, add this story to their alerts, and take the time to review. You guys inspire me, this story and also make my day. You guys literally make me smile. Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, if you could be so kind as to take the time to review I would be very grateful.

Goal: Total of 30+ Reviews

Much love,

The Painted Green Door