So...Happy Father's Day I guess! It's kind of weird to say this to you guys as I don't know if you're fathers or not...

Pati G W Black: I'll try not to cause too much damage!

TeamAmWolves: Thank you! I love Daisy too haha.

miller330: You'll have to wait a bit then haha.

Ms. Smooth Criminal: Haha, I could see that too. Tony would be a great blogger. And yeah, I'm yelling at her too haha. Thank you!

WillowDamon17: Thanks! I love them too.

Arrows the Wolf: That's quite alright! I'll miss you haha.

AngelVamp6688: I've never been in love so I have no idea haha. But that's alright 'cause I'm only sixteen. (though I had a strange experience where someone thought I was dating them for months when I wasn't)

O. O TT. TT LOLz: Is that a heart...?

Itsgoose2u: You got it haha.

Vanillastar: Don't worry, they will!

Chapter Fourteen

It was hard to tell what time it was when Gwen woke up the next day. She turned her head on her pillow to look at the alarm clock on her nightstand. The red lights flashed five in the morning. Groaning, Gwen turned over and shut her eyes tightly together.

Suddenly, there was some sort of knock that came from the balcony. Slightly freaked out, Gwen shot up out of her bed, her heart racing. Her eyes scanned the balcony, but she saw nothing there. She wondered if it had been her imagination or maybe had just been some sort of fish.

Her heart jumped again when a loud beeping noise started blaring from the study. Gwen quickly threw the covers off to investigate. She approached the desk and saw that her card was flashing and that the noise was coming from it. She picked it up, squinting her eyes as she adjusted to the light. There was some sort of pop-up on the screen which read:

Everyone must report to the briefing room immediately.

Gwen was tempted to ignore it and just go back to sleep, but she instead got dressed and slipped her card into her pocket before leaving her room. All of the others were out in the hall, some of them looking like they hadn't even realized their hair was a mess. Gwen waited at her door until Steve came and the two held hands as they walked to their destination.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"Guess we'll find out," he answered.

When they entered the briefing room, Gwen saw that the large monitor now had a 3-D map up on the screen. However, Gwen wasn't quite sure where the map was showing. She sat down at the table with Steve and saw that all of the gods were already there and looked ready for battle. They were also looking at the table curiously. Gwen looked at it then, too, and saw that the table was basically a giant screen. She put her hand on it and was able to move pictures around. It sort of reminded her of the Hunger Games control center.

Once everyone had entered, including Loki who was being watched closely by guards despite the fact Thor was always close to him, Fury entered with Phil and they stood at the front of the room. Jane, Erik, Bruce and Stephen all went to the front with them, looking very tired.

"Alright everyone, we've found one," announced Fury.

"A gem?" asked Natasha.

Fury nodded and turned towards the others. "If you please."

They all stood up straight, obviously being the ones to find it. Bruce pressed a few things on the main monitor and then small maps appeared at each seat. Gwen looked close at it zoomed in on one location. A landmark rose out of each map and Gwen saw it was some type of mountain.

"We've traced some gamma readings and some...magic readings coming from a specific mountain," said Bruce. "Mount Everest."

A couple peope began to look excited.

"Are you sure a gem is here?" asked Steve.

"If there is not a gem, then there is something odd within Mount Everest," answered Stephen.

Gwen looked back at the hologram of the mountain. She had never climbed a mountain before. But knowing SHIELD, they were probably just going to fly to the top.

"Wait," said Tony slowly, putting his hands up, "you said 'within Mount Everest.' Are you saying-"

"The gem is inside the mountain," said Erik. He pushed a finger on the main monitor at the top of the mountain, but just below the surface. A blue dot flashed on the holograms in that spot.

"We believe it is approximately there," explained Stephen.

"So what are we waiting for?" asked Barbara. "Let's go get it."

"But we must be careful," said Thor. "I believe there will be traps in order to keep us from the gem."

"Alright," said Fury nodding, "let's suit up."

In twenty minutes, Gwen found herself waiting in the common area, dressed in her uniform with her weapons in their holsters. She also held a warm coat in her arms so that when they got to the mountain, she wouldn't freeze to death.

Fury had ordered her and everyone but Jane, Darcy, Pepper, Phil, Erik and Loki to go along. It seemed Fury didn't trust Loki enough to send him on a mission with the rest of them yet. Thor had protested, but Loki had agreed with Fury and was led back to his room. Hank had decided to stay back as he was apparently perfecting something and he didn't want to go into danger without it.

Tony and Rhodey were going to fly in their suits while the rest of them were in a quinjet. Gwen was curious to see how they could fit everyone in there.

In the common area already was Clint, Natasha and Barbara. The three of them were sort of like some type of golden trio, but Gwen couldn't help but notice Natasha's expression looked forced as though she really wasn't finding a joke Barbara was telling to be funny. Then there was Luke who was being talked to by Stephen and certainly didn't look very interested in the conversation.

Gwen jumped slightly as she felt fingers intertwine with hers and turned to see Steve dressed in his Captain America uniform, his shield on his back. His mask was off of his head and he smiled down at Gwen.

"I had always thought about climbing Mount Everest," he said. "Trust me, I would've died if I tried before the serum."

Gwen laughed at his random joke and assumed he had said it because he could sense her nerves. She was only worried because they would be traveling into something unknown. They could easily die from a trap placed to keep the gem away from civilization.

"Then this must be slightly a dream come true," said Gwen. Steve smiled bigger and he kissed her forehead gently.

"I feel as though we are traveling to Jotunheim!" exclaimed the voice of Volstagg. Gwen and Steve turned to see the Asgardians coming into the common area, followed by Daisy and Bruce who were in conversation.

"Yes, well our last trip there wasn't that fun," said Fandral who put a hand on his chest absentmindedly.

"At least you were not touched by a Frost Giant."

"At least you were not banished," added Thor.

It wasn't long before they were joined by Fury.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the helicarrier has landed back next to the city. We will be boarding two quinjets to get there."

Well that answered Gwen's question.

"The Asgardians will go on one as well as Doctor Banner and Doctor Strange along with myself. With the help of Stark and Rhodes, we will find an entrance to the mountain. The rest of you will be on the other quinjet. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," recited all of the agents while the others nodded. Fury led them up the large marble staircase and through the doors that led them to the helicarrier. On top were several quinjets like always, but two were specifically put nearby the bridge. Fury walked onto one and was followed by the others he ordered to come with him. Gwen went onto the other quinjet with the others.

She took a seat and Daisy sat down next to her. Clint, Barbara and Natasha sat on the other side while Steve and Luke remained standing.

"Have you ever been to Tibet before?" asked Daisy.

Gwen shook her head. "I haven't been outside of North America once in my life."

"Me neither."

The ride to Mount Everest was incredibly unexciting. Gwen talked with Daisy the whole time, happy to have made a new friend. She stole a few glances at Clint, though, and saw him almost admiring Barbara. Gwen smirked as she realized that the archer had a crush.

Gwen saw that Steve had talked to Luke the whole time. She could hear a few phrases and concluded they were talking about the super-soldier serum. She heard enough to make her realize that they had tried the same thing on Luke, but there was obviously a different effect.

They were alerted of their arrival in Tibet by their earpieces. Gwen could feel the quinjet ascending as if they were going up the mountain. She was very curious how they were actually going to get in.

Then there was suddenly an explosion.

Gwen and the others jumped out of their seats to look out the front. They were looking at the top of the mountain, except there was now a hole in it where Gwen assumed the other quinjet had shot a rocket at it. But once the smoke cleared away, she could see steel doors that had been hidden underneath the rock. They slid open revealing a cave.

"You're joking," said Barbara, a look of shock on her face. "That's been there all this time?"

"We've found the entrance," came Fury's voice. "You are to all go through and find the gem."

They all watched as the other quinjet turned around and the back most likely opened and the others climbed out. Once the quinjet moved, the one Gwen was in turned around and the back opened. Gwen threw on her coat and the others that brought one did the same. She followed Steve, his mask now on, who was the first out and saw that Fury was not among the others. She figured he stayed on his quinjet.

"Do you feel that?" asked Thor to his god friends.

"Yes," answered Sif. "It is here."

The others nodded and everyone that wasn't of Asgard looked around in confusion.

"We should keep moving," said Steve.

They all nodded in agreement. Gwen slid a flashlight off her belt and turned it on as there was no light in the cave except for the entrance. All of those with flashlights did the same. The cave became became narrow as they continued on, all light except the illumination of the flashlights gone. Gwen noticed the way the Asgardians walked was different than the others. They held their weapons at the ready as though something was going to jump out at them at any moment.

Gwen was near the back of the group which was led by Steve. She walked next to Daisy who seemed very comfortable being surrounded by earth. It sort of reminded Gwen of earthbenders from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The end of the cave approached as they stepped down into a circular area. The walls were still made of rock, but there were now torches that showed the air around them. And it showed three separate tunnels.

"What do we do now?" asked Clint.

"We'll have to split up," said Steve.

Steve began putting people into groups, but Gwen wasn't listening. She could hear something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was telling her to go down the middle tunnel. Her legs began taking her in that direction. She couldn't even hear Steve calling her name and for her to stop. Gwen just kept walking.

Something was down there. And Gwen was going to find out what.