"Because Tony is bound to go snooping for you, Agent Hill will be sitting in with you. If you need anything just ask her and she'll help."
Betty looked up at him, lifting an eyebrow questioningly. "Does she know about our agreement?" He shook his head, still looking forward. "It will stay between us Doctor. She knows that you will be working with the staff-that is all. And when the Avengers question it you will answer by saying that you've been put on the duty of figuring out what it can do. Nothing more or less."
She stared at the ground for a moment before nodding. "So if they come searching or find out I'm working with the staff I'm only going to tell them that I'm just trying to figure out what it can do?" He nodded. "What if they ask to help?"
He stopped, glaring ahead of himself. He looked down at her with a slight smirk. Proud possibly? "They have their own duties to do Dr. Smith. Agent Hill will keep them out."
Six floors down and a maze of hallways later they arrived at the door to her lab. Fury opened it for her, looking slightly pleased. "Good luck Dr. Smith." She walked into the blindingly bright room.
It was a long, white room, possibly the size of four of the science labs above. It was spotless and was neatly organized no doubt with everything she needed to use in order to perform her duties. She smiled in amazement and curiosity. Instantly she noticed the staff sitting atop a table in the center left side.
She began walking toward it, not even looking back to see if Fury had stayed.
"Hello Dr. Smith."
"Ahh!" She jumped and backpedaled quickly, bumping into a table hard. She sneered at the pain in her lower back, squinting to see Maria sitting in the corner behind the door. "Agent Hill? You scared me half to death." She smiled in embarrassment.
Betty smiled further when she noticed that Hill was not a natural glarer and actually smiled, laughing a little too. "I'm sorry Dr. Smith, I had no intention of scaring or killing you. I was making you known of my presence." She lost the smile but was not as hard faced as Fury. "I will be here during the duration of your time here."
Betty nodded, losing her smile. She obviously wasn't willing to talk, her words held a tone of finality to them. Betty continued toward the staff, rubbing her lower back. She placed the arc down on the table and eyed the staff skeptically.
It was quite a beautiful artifact aside from the power aspects. It was sleek and smooth, perfectly sharpened at the edges, the tips paper thin yet as sharp as knives. She poked her finger on the tip, easily poking into her skin.
The center spot glowed a little brighter for a second and then faded again. She squinted at the orb, wondering what it just did.
She glanced over at Agent Hill. "Don't mind me but I tend to talk to myself." Agent Hill nodded but said nothing.
She reached for the hilt with her left hand. Once her fingers touched the metal a blue spark flickered between the two metals and then suddenly Dr. Smith was hurdled to the other side of the room.
Agent Hill was at her feet in seconds, staring at her with worried eyes. "Are you alright Dr. Smith?" Dr. Smith looked at her with wide eyes for a moment as everything swam in front of her. "I-I dunno…" Agent Hill began to snap her fingers in front of her eyes, her eyes instantly trying to focus on them. "Focus Dr. Smith. You can keep from going unconscious if you focus, hear me?"
Somewhere within Asgard.
Green eyes the color and brilliance of emeralds opened, staring into the darkness that was a prison with sudden interest. A feeling, a memory began to form behind his eyes. A woman with inhuman limbs staring at him skeptically, but it wasn't him she was looking at.
A smile began to pull at his lips, as he watched her cut herself. In just a single drop of blood he suddenly knew everything about her. Who she was, where she was, and what she was doing.
"Well hello Dr. Smith." He said, venom dripping with each word.
Dr. Smith blinked multiple times, nearly going cross-eyed as she focused on Agent Hill's snapping fingers. "Can you stop snapping please?" She asked quietly. "Just…explain." Agent Hill sat her up against the wall more comfortably. "You were eyeing the staff, trying to figure something out. You felt it with your right hand, cutting yourself on the tip of your finger. You then decided to grab it, and you went to grab it with your left hand when a spark flickered and then suddenly you went flying across the room."
Betty rubbed her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "That explains this pain then. I was out for a second there." She opened her eyes and looked up at Hill and then looked down, blushing. "Please don't tell Director Fury about this incident." Hill gave her a quizzical look but nodded.
Betty stood up with the help of Maria. "Thank you. Perhaps you'd like to help me? Could you explain in better detail everything you know about the staff?"
Turns out everyone was pretty in the dark about the staff. All they knew for sure is that Loki could shoot energy blasts from it, control peoples minds, and teleport with it (but could do that without it too).
"So…" Betty trailed off, staring at the staff. "So I can't touch it with my left arm but I can't with my right… It didn't work against Tony's spark… It controlled Clint… It shut off the portal-by design… It shoots. It kills. And it controls."
"Do we know where this staff originated from?" She asked, looking up at Maria. She shook her head. Betty took a deep breath, hating this disadvantage they had. "Do we know for sure that this orb is the same thing as the cube? The color could just be coincidence…"
"Both Dr. Selvig and Dr. Banner agree that it is powered by the cube. Though neither can figure out how it is."
Betty squinted at the orb. "What if it's not powered by the cube?" She asked herself. "It isn't an actual piece of the cube, it could be something else entirely. But what?"
She picked up the staff with her right hand, keeping it distant from all metal limbs. She waved it around a little, feeling the weight of it. "If it is a part of the cube anyone should be able to use it. No one has though. Something else…no one possibly knows how to use it because they don't know what it is they are trying to use."
Agent Hill stared at Dr. Smith slightly enthralled by her.
Betty pointed the staff at the opposite wall and tried to will it to fire. Nothing. "Exactly my point." She frowned unhappily. "You'd think one would be able to wield this the same as Loki. Does his magic give him a boost, allows him to use it?"
"Thor can't use this, can he?" She asked more loudly toward Maria. "No. They tried but he did not succeed."
"Point two: Thor cannot use it. Not a godly weapon…?" Betty sighed loudly, her head hurting. "I've got nothing unless I know what the orb is. Damn…"
"What does Thor say about the staff?"
"Nothing. He does not know what it is. He does not believe it to be powered by the cube though. He said that if it were...he'd be able to use it."
Betty nodded, noting her second point again. She placed it on the small pedestals and sat on a stool and stared at it. "Now I'm going to be completely obsessed over this until I figure it out." She looked over at Agent Hill, "Is it possible you could take me to speak with Thor?"
Well this is more of a speculative chapter. She's just trying to figure out what it is, wants to know more than she needs to know. I've figured out which way I want to go with it. What it actually is, is just a riddle and speculation until we get to see further sequels. Hopefully I get it right.
If you guys want a word in about it go right ahead and tell me!
XD