Chapter 5

Jane stepped out of the elevator and paused to stare at what was once a cavernous room with only her lab set up on one side. Now, an opaque plastic partition separated the space with two armed soldiers standing guard near the entrance.

Fury nodded for her to follow him into a packed, high-tech lab. A collection of database machines covered one wall, and a slew of people in white lab coats moved around while others worked on rows upon rows of workstations. Her gaze drifted to an expanse of empty space surrounding a large, circular metal contraption holding something glowing an eerie blue.

She took a step in its direction as if pulled forward by it. "What is that?" she asked a moment before her feet carried her the rest of the way to the spectacular sight.

"Power, Doctor. Possibly the very power you need to open your wormhole."

"It's not of Earth," she said, somehow knowing.

"No. We call it the Tesseract." He stopped her from reaching out to touch it. "In case it's not obvious, this is top secret. No word to Thor or Loki about it."

She might have nodded, she might've verbally acknowledged him, or maybe she was standing there with her mouth ajar. She was lost in its blue depths. It seemed alive, pulsing, and transforming, not exactly a cube, something more.

"This is what Erik's been working on?" No wonder he never called.

"Yes, before we sent him on leave." He turned her away from the Tesseract, forcing it out of her view to take in the rest of the lab. "Without Dr. Selvig, you are in charge of the team. Direct them as you see fit."

There were about six, maybe eight men and women, each probably brilliant and trustworthy. With them, she just might be able to meet the two week deadline.

Fury walked back to the partition and pointed up at a man crouched in the rafters. "Agent Barton is head of security. If you have any concerns, go to him."

Translation: only contact the director for things of the utmost importance.

Then he left. No farewells, good luck, or anything.

Pushing back her sleeves, she moved to the command center and asked the technician there to bring her up to date.

He did, though, in the most boring, clinical way possible. Where was his passion? His curiosity? They were working with pure potential. The Tesseract was like clouds of space dust and gas, and they were the streaking comet, stirring it up to give birth to a new star. It was unprecedented and extraordinary.

He told her it was mostly latent, occasionally spiking, sending off excess energy, which the last team was able to harness. It also emitted low levels of gamma radiation and channeled an unimaginable amount of field quanta to protect itself when attacked.

"The first thing we need to do is crack the shell without triggering the field region," she thought aloud. "Any ideas?"

"An abundance of high-density energy," Stark said as he came through the partition. He passed them with a head-nod, leaving everyone blinking and staring after him as he continued on to the Tesseract. "Just doing a look-see. Don't mind me."

He reached out to touch it, same as she had earlier, but the group gasped, and called out a warning for him to stop. Her gaze flicked between them and Stark. The director hadn't responded like that with her at all. She thought he had stopped her because she would've disrupted an in-progress scan.

Tony's hand hovered over the cube. "What happens if I touch it?"

"It'll disintegrate you," one of them said.

He pulled back. "Hate to be the guy who figured that out."

She shook her head and refocused on the task at hand. "How soon can we get her plugged into the building's arc reactor?"

"Couple days at most."

She nodded and turned to her team. "Let's get some tests run on low level energy application. We need to come up with possible outcomes and figure out any counter measures and safety protocols before we light her up."

"No blowing up my building," Tony said as he walked out.

Tests were run, equations worked on, and Jane got to see a small field region when one of the technicians zapped it with a device. A little bubble of barely visible energy radiated out from the cube, thwarting all attempts to probe it. The Tesseract was utterly fascinating.

After everyone had left for dinner, she walked to the metal containment unit and stared into the cube. Its iridescent quality was mesmerizing. With the way its inside seemed to swirl and undulate, it felt alive. Then there was its survival instinct, how it always protected itself, almost as if it was somehow sentient.

Where did you come from? she thought to it.

It flashed and she backed up a step with her eyes widening.

She waited, barely breathing, wondering if, maybe... No, not possible.

When nothing else happened, she ran to the scanner to look at the readouts. Sure enough, a spike in energy occurred. No increase in radiation. It was probably one of those random surges her team had mentioned. She scribbled the new information in her notebook and stuffed it in her back pocket.

After giving the cube one last look, she walked to the plastic wall and glanced at the agent perched up in the rafters. His eyes were on her as he spoke into his radio. She frowned, then hurried past the partition before stumbling into the two guards standing outside.

One scooted her back, then proceeded to pat her down while the other waved a scanner over her. He took her notebook and thumbed through it.

She reached for it again but was barred by the other's arm.

"No information on the Tesseract leaves the lab." He tore out pages and they floated to the concrete floor.

She slipped under the barrier and grasped for the drifting papers, but was jerked upright.

"Don't you think I could write everything down later in my room?" she asked.

The guy with her notebook shoved it against her chest. "Orders are orders, ma'am."

They stepped back to either side of the plastic opening and clasped their rifles, no longer paying her any attention. She knew they were just doing their job, but they didn't have to be so rough.

Glancing at the scattered papers, she wondered what they would do if she made a go for them. Or if she flipped them off. She'd never done that before, never had the guts, really, and imagined it to be very liberating.

In the end, she narrowed her eyes at them before walking to the elevator. Next time she saw Fury, he'd get a piece of her mind.

She spent a total of ten minutes in her room, pacing back and forth, ranting out loud, and breaking open two of the little liquor bottles stored in the fridge. When her lonesome tirade no longer appeased her, she took the elevator up to the living room, tapping her foot the entire way. Anger consumed her. They couldn't manhandle her like that. They couldn't rip apart her notebook. It was complete idiocy. How would she leak classified information anyway? She hadn't even left Stark Tower since she'd arrived. Her foot stilled. Could she? Was she trapped here?

The elevator opened and she strode over to the bar. Tony was already behind it, pouring a drink. She took it from him and downed it. The alcohol burned its way to her stomach and she coughed in result, then slammed her glass on the counter.

Tony stared at the empty tumbler. "That was my single malt."

She tapped the counter and nodded for him to pour again. His raised eyebrows were his only response.

"Lady Jane?" Thor asked while moving to them.

She didn't look at him. She didn't need to. As soon as she had walked in, Jane knew he and Loki were in the room. They had a presence anyone could feel. With her eyes still fixed on Tony, she held up a finger for Thor to wait, and gestured to the glass again.

He shrugged and did as she bid. The second glass went down just as fast as the first. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and nodded to it again.

"Come on, you're not even tasting it. This is good scotch."

"What troubles you?" Thor asked.

She glowered at Tony. "I'm stuck here, aren't I?" She waved a hand around to encompass the room and ended up snatching the bottle from his surprised hold. She poured herself another drink and took a sip. It was horrible. All she could taste was the burn, so she gulped it down too.

Tony took the bottle back and eyed her warily. "When did you last eat?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't know. Breakfast? Who cares. I should've been told all the parameters."

He got another glass, tossed in ice, and poured the amber liquid. "If it helps you feel better, no one is allowed to leave."

"You can leave."

He took a drink and smiled. "I'm Iron Man."

"Please, you couldn't keep your own secret." She swung a surprisingly light arm in the Asgardians' direction. "They can leave."

From one of the couches, Loki said, "They are powerless to stop us."

She leaned back to look around Thor at the God of Mischief. The movement swirled her already fuzzy brain. Downing drinks on an empty stomach was not a good idea, especially since she was a lightweight. "But you're not supposed to. That's the argument I walked in on that first meeting, wasn't it?"

"Clever mortal." It was not a compliment.

She flipped him off, then turned away from him while stifling a giggle. She didn't know if he understood its meaning, but her hypothesis was correct. It was liberating.

Tony wore a bewildered expression.

"What?" she asked him.

"You don't normally drink do you?"

She shook her head as tingles skittered over her skin and pointed a finger at him. "Don't deflect. I expected this duplicity from Director Scary-Eye-Patch." She paused. Did she really just say that out loud? "But not from you. I trusted you."

Tony handed her a small bag of pretzels, but she dropped it to pull out her notebook. Tossing it on the counter, she said, "Something's missing from here."

He looked down at the notebook, its corners bent and center creased. "What are pages?"

She smirked at the Jeopardy reference and pushed away from the bar to pace to and from the elevator. "If I had known my notebook, my most prized possession, mind you, would be taken, its pages carelessly ripped out. If I'd known I'd be manhandled—"

A grinding sound came from where Thor gripped the edge of the counter. "I do not like the sound of that word, Metal Man."

She stopped and smiled at him. She couldn't help it. He was like a big blond, scruffy teddy bear. Just as quickly, she narrowed her eyes at Tony and continued. "Forced to submit to a body search like a criminal. I... I..."

Tony handed her a bottled water this time. "You'd what? Give up your chance to prove to everyone you were right? Look, I'll talk to Director Scary-Eye-Patch"—his eyes twinkled as she rolled hers—"but we all have to compromise. I don't like SHIELD in my building, trying to break into my secure files and bugging the place, I'm sure they"—he gestured to the brothers—"don't like being cooped up, but here we all are."

"Sure, I would've said yes. But I deserved the truth." She marched to the counter and swapped the bottled water for her notebook, then moved back to the elevator.

"Lady Jane," Thor said from beside her, easily keeping pace with her quick steps. "I wish to have words with you."

She stopped. "Me?"

"Last night..." He trailed off, uncertain. "What my brother said—"

"Oh, that." She ignored said brother's gaze on them. "Don't worry about it. I need to focus on my project anyway."

He looked taken aback at her nonchalant attitude, though she was anything but inside. The alcohol helped her sound more flippant than she felt.

"Still," he continued, "I feel it necessary to explain and to ask your forgiveness."

The elevator opened and she leapt inside next to Pepper.

"Care to join me for dinner in my room?" Jane asked her. She had to get away from Thor and Loki, even if that meant taking Pepper hostage.

The slender woman looked at her, then at Thor, and nodded knowingly. She didn't miss a beat. No wonder Tony depended on her so much.

Before Jane knew it, they were in her room eating and sharing stories of their lives. When Pepper asked her about Thor, she told her about the previous night and what Loki had said of Thor's intentions with her.

"Everyone calls Tony a playboy," Pepper explained. "Not so much now that we're together, but... My point is not to judge someone solely for their past. People change, they grow up, have realizations..." She looked at Jane pointedly and added, "Fall in love."

The effects of the alcohol might've lessened, but not enough for Jane to stop the laugh that burst out. "I highly doubt love has anything to do with why he's interested. Remember what Loki said."

"Loki is known as the God of Mischief. Listen, Thor admitted to his initial ulterior motive. Not many men would do that. And who knows, maybe he did start to feel something more that night." At Jane's disbelieving chuckle, she added, "Seriously, you're intelligent, cute, quirky—"

Jane fell back on her bed with a loud sigh, then lifted her head and smiled at her. "You're right. I am pretty spectacular."

Pepper rolled her eyes dramatically and went into the bathroom. A cupboard door closed with a thud and she came back in, holding out a couple aspirins. "Alright you, drink more water and sleep it off."

"Yes, ma'am." Jane popped the pills in her mouth and swallowed them with a big gulp of water.

When she was alone, she continued thinking about Thor. Maybe Pepper was right. He did seem sincere in his regret and she had brushed him aside, letting Loki's insinuations get to her. She should've heard Thor out. It's what she'd want if she were in his position.

She looked at the clock, deciding it wasn't too late, and headed to the door. Upon opening it, she found Loki standing directly in front of her with a fist raised to knock.

"Where are you going?" he asked with a carefully neutral expression.

"Quite frankly, I don't see how that's any of your business." She straightened and narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"From your previous reaction to my sudden appearance in your room, I thought I'd try the conventional method."

"Look, thanks for not popping into my room all willy-nilly, but I need to go."

He didn't budge. She considered edging around him, but there wasn't enough room.

"Where to? Maybe I can be of some assistance."

Was that the alcohol or did she really hear him be polite? "Help me? A lowly mortal? The muck on your shoe?"

He breathed out. "Really Jane, try not to be overdramatic. It does not suit you."

Now she was really suspicious. "Why are you here again?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he observed her and she knew he was working out where she was going. It played out on his face, going from realization to a fleeting look of disappointment. His eyes narrowed and it was definitely more intimidating than her glare.

"Running to offer yourself as a distraction during his brief stay in Midgard, I see."

She sputtered. That was not what she was going to do, though she could see why he'd think such a thing. Maybe going to Thor right then wasn't such a great idea.

He moved toward her and she took a step back. The door slid out of her grasp, but he blocked it from closing on him. "Because that's all you'll be. A good time. But not so much for him to remember when we're finally off this rock."

She had no idea why Thor's interest in her bothered him so much. It was clear from the beginning he wasn't exactly her fan and thought it below his brother to "court a Midgardian" but why? Was her mortality that revolting or was it just her? Gritting her teeth, she said, "You don't know that."

He stepped further into the room and she continued to back up. "I have known that oaf for more than a thousand years. It is one woman after another. They are all the same to him and you'll be no different."

She repeated herself, but this time with less certainty. When the back of her legs bumped against her bed, she swallowed.

"Allow me to humor you," Loki continued. "Let's say he falls in love. And what then? You give up everything, all your work, your dreams? He brings you back to Asgard—because that's exactly where he'll expect you—and everyone just accepts this? You two marry, and one day you become queen?"

She had never thought that far ahead. "I—"

"I hate to— well, actually I quite enjoy crushing this little fantasy of yours." He took another step closer to tower over her. "You will never be his love, for it is Asgard. You will never be accepted by its people, for you are Midgardian. And you will never be queen because the Allfather would forbid it." A cruel smile twisted his lips. "He'd say you'd belong there no more than a goat at a banquet table."

The sudden sting of her hand surprised her. She looked at it, then at his slightly turned head and widened eyes. She had just slapped the God of Mischief. This mercurial being who could squash her like a bug. Fully sober now, she held her hand to her chest and waited for him to do something other than stand there.

His fists were clenched but his face was an unreadable mask. He looked at her hard. She wouldn't apologize. Not after everything he'd just said. Not after everything he'd done. They could stand there the entire night for all she cared.

Then he was gone.

She let out a breath and collapsed back onto the bed, his words repeating themselves in her head. Woman after woman. Pepper's voice tried to battle Loki's: people change. The rest of what he'd said had no counter. She wasn't even sure if he'd been lying, but something in her believed him.

Not caring that she wasn't changed and cleaned up, she pulled the sheets over her and snuggled into her pillow. The blue flame of the Tesseract burned in her mind, ethereal and hypnotizing. As she teetered on the edge of sleep, a strange, unrecognizable non-voice hummed unintelligible words until her consciousness receded and the world disappeared.

Author's Note: I love awkward moments. It's why I make poor Jane suffer through them.

Many thanks to my beta, DreamFlight, and my sister. And many thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. To my anonymous and not-signed-in reviewers: I loved and appreciated your words. They mean a lot to me.

Up Next: Loki's POV. It's another surprise addition I'm writing in. But don't worry, it won't retell what has already happened.