Wow, I'm up to ten chapters. Go me. A big thank you to all me readers, and two for all my reviewers. I've been updating this a lot, but tomorrow is Monday, and I have school. So my updates probably won't be quite as frequent. Don't worry, I left myself a margin. I have more for you.

To ACHound-Turhu: Oh, you noticed. Excellent. ;)

Oh, and the mysterious 'it' I've been talking about? It's in this chapter. XD Bwa-ha-ha!

Disclaimer: I own Riven, and nothing else.

K.S.

Bruce Banner was eating breakfast when Tony Stark sat down across from him. Dr. Banner looked up in surprise. Stark was frowning at a hand-held computer.

"Hey, Doc, take a look at this," Stark said, sliding the computer across the table.

Banner blinked, and swallowed. "I'm eating breakfast."

Stark gave him a look that said quite plainly, Yeah, I noticed. "I know. This is important."

Banner sighed and set down his fork, pulling the computer towards him. His brown eyes widened. "What is this?"

Stark picked up a piece of toast from the doctor's plate and examined it critically. "Riven updated the logs for our 'subject.' Apparently they had a migraine last night." Deciding the toast was probably not toxic, Stark took a bite out of it.

Banner ignored the theft of his toast, and said in puzzlement, "These readings are off the charts. What happened?"

Stark shrugged, his mouth full. "No idea," he mumbled.

Dr. Banner gave him a mildly disgusted glance, and asked, "Have you seen Riven at all today?"

Stark shook his head, and Banner frowned. "I was looking for her earlier, and called her." He indicated the communicator behind his ear. "She said she was in the middle of something delicate and couldn't let anyone into her lab at the moment."

The millionaire raised an eyebrow, and swallowed. "So? She does that. Riven's the techno-genius, remember?"

Banner's dark eyes were worried. "I know. But . . . she sounded wrong."

Stark snorted. "She sounded wrong? Doc, we've known this chick for, what, three days?"

The doctor shook his head. "I know. I know! I can't explain it. I think there's something she's not telling us."

Stark's face grew serious. "I know. Look," he turned the computer back toward him, "She said she logged all the test results, but there's one missing. See, there's no record of –"

He was cut off by the sound of an alarm, blaring through the entire ship. Stark froze. "Uh-oh."

"I believe that's an understatement," Banner replied, and a second later, their communicators chimed.

"Tony Stark! Get your armored butt up here and do a fly-by for me!"

He looked at Banner. "Well, we know where Riven is."

10 minutes earlier.

Riven had been in her lab all night. She hadn't lied to Natasha, though; she did manage to sleep, for about five minutes, curled up on the floor waiting for a diagnostic to finish. Riven was absolutely bursting with energy, practically vibrating as she worked half a dozen monitors.

She scowled at a screen. "No, no! That can't be right." Riven tapped the screen and slung the data over to a different monitor, rapidly rearranging molecules. "It's supposed to look like that."

Riven paused, and stared at what she'd done. "But now I have all these leftover elements . . . what are they?"

She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, which did not help at all with Riven's general air of untidy brilliance. "Ok, ok, take it easy, Riv. We can do this. We can do anything. I just have to . . . to. . ."

Riven smacked herself in the forehead. "No! God, how did I miss that?" Just as she started opening a new window, a screen across the lab began flashing red.

"What?" Riven scrambled across the pristine lab, skidding a little. Someone had mopped the floor again. She hated that. Riven tapped the screen, pulling up diagnostics and running system checks.

Her eyes went wide and she whispered, "What? No. Who could possibly . . .?"

Riven said hastily, "Command, Fury. Director, we've got ourselves some incoming." She ran for the door, and then for the bridge.

She heard Fury's voice as she elbowed her way through unfortunate staff. "I don't read anything on the radar."

Riven made a rude gesture at a particularly stubborn group of mechanics, and scrambled around them, reaching the bridge doors as they hissed open for her. "That's because I didn't use your radar. I used mine, and it's not radar, its better. We definitely have incoming. Lots. I just can't get a solid read."

Riven waved bridge crew out of her way, and when they didn't move, she fumbled in her pocket, producing an ID. They moved, and she started typing.

"I don't think," Fury began, and then the rear portside engine exploded.

Riven threw herself into motion, whipping back and forth between stations, rerouting power, stabilizing lift, and otherwise containing multi-layered chaos as alarms rang throughout the ship.

"Command, All," she muttered. "Tony Stark, get your armored butt up here and do a fly-by for me!"

Riven checked another monitor, and moaned. "Ugh. Ok, everyone else, get up here too. We got trouble."

Fury walked up behind her. "What's happening, Miss Lange?"

She waved a hand at him. "I'm busy, Fury, talk to a flunky."

He raised an eyebrow. Riven sighed and rattled off, "We have enemy fighters out there, armed with what looks like our own tech. They just blew the rear portside engine, and I still can't track them."

"Why not?"

Riven paused to enlarge a view on a monitor. "Captain, Nat, you've got personnel trapped down the corridor to your right." She spun around and typed a command into a computer. "Fury, I don't know why we can't see them. Heck, I don't know why they can't see us."

Stark commented over the open channel, "Sounds like the same question, really. Ok, I'm out here, and yeah, that engine's toast. Whoa! Hey, Riven, something just backwashed me. I think it's one of those fighters you can't find. It was headed for the other rear engine."

"Crap!" Riven scrambled across the bridge, narrowly missing Fury. "Same question – same answer! They're using my cloaking tech!"

Banner asked, "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know! Where are – never mind, I see you. You and Thor are about to have problems."

As if on cue, the rear starboard engine blew out, immediately followed by the front starboard engine. Riven froze. "I can think of a word for this situation, but I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough to say it," she whispered, and then straightened. "OK, guys, listen up. We're pretty much done for, so I'm pushing the metaphorical big red button, immediately followed by evac. Stark, you need to cut power."

"You do realize I will fall like a rock?"

"Exactly. Trust me; you don't want to be around when I trip this failsafe. As soon as I tell you, power up again. If I'm right, this will make those fighters visible . . . and us as well." Riven looked at Fury, suddenly unsure.

The Director gave her a silent nod, and she took a deep breath. "Ok, hang on everyone. This system was never meant to be used, but here we go. Stark, drop."

"Dropping uncomfortably fast now."

Riven nodded, oblivious to her surroundings. She flipped a switch on the control board, opened a window on a monitor, scanned her fingerprints into it, and spoke.

"Engage emergency cloak-killer, passcode 99312468RK2."

The ship shuddered. Riven closed her eyes and counted to ten. Her eyes snapped open. "Stark, power up! Avengers, get the hell out of here!"

Riven slammed her hand down on the emergency evacuation signal, and bells began to ring all over the ship. She sighed a little and looked at Fury. "We're in evac, and we're visible," she said softly, her shoulders suddenly slumped. "I. . . I have to go get something from the lab. Then I can go."

Fury nodded to her. "Make sure you get out safe, Miss Lange. And – good work."

Riven offered him a sad smile, and jogged away towards her lab, melting into the crowd of evacuating employees.

Ooh, cliffhanger. I apologize for that. I should have another chapter up sometime tomorrow afternoon, or evening. We're just getting started. Do tell me what you think.

K.S.