Author's Note: Commence Part Four! Alright, I promised a hint about the sequel story for each new chapter I post. I just planned out all my hints, and I don't even know which one to tell you first! They're all so exciting!

Hint #1: Most of the sequel will deal with Aspen following her parents' trail/research. Steve will be with her the entire time.

Enjoy! I'm so excited about everything that I'm going to post the next chapter right after this one with another hint. Happy reading!

Part Four: The War

Prologue – May 1, 2012

"You have heart."

The moment the scepter touched his chest his world went into sharp effect. Everything was brighter, everything held more color. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope when everything was standing still. His limbs felt heavy though. His mind felt even heavier. The dark-haired man told him to do something, and he obeyed without question. Something deep inside of him screamed to do the opposite, to rebel, but that part of him couldn't seem to break out of the prison it had been locked in.

The dark-haired man was saying something about freedom. "Freedom is life's great lie," he said. "Once you accept that, in your heart...you will know peace."

He did feel peace. It was as if a burden had been lifted. He no longer had to worry about his actions, his thoughts. He would be told what to do, and he would follow. It was so much simpler that way.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," he told the dark-haired man. The portal in the middle of the room was flashing out blue lightning, crackling with uncontained power. "This place is about to blow, drop a hundred feet of raw material. He means to bury us."

The dark-haired man looked at him wordlessly. Clint Barton raised his gun and shot Nick Fury without blinking. The director fell to the ground, and Barton strode forward, the dark-haired man at his side. He grabbed the case that Fury had been trying to take with him, passing it over to Doctor Selvig. They made their way out of the building and toward the parking lot.

Agent Maria Hill was walking toward them as they reached the SHIELD vehicles. "Need these vehicles," he said, nodding to the dark-haired man and the other men.

"Who's that?" Hill asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"He didn't tell me." The words sounded a bit odd. Why would he be doing something for someone he didn't even know? The thought left his head a moment later as he climbed into the vehicle.

Just then the woman's radio buzzed to life. "Hill, do you copy?" Director Fury's voice came over the line. Barton froze. "Barton is..." He didn't wait to hear the rest of the words. He fired at Agent Hill, and she rolled out of the way, firing back. He climbed behind the wheel, the dark-haired man getting into the back of the truck, and flattened gas pedal after starting the engine. They tore down the tunnel that led out of the compound. Agent Hill was in pursuit. Barton concentrated on driving. They needed to get the Tesseract away from SHIELD before the energy still inside the headquarters leveled it. Something deep inside tugged at him, but the pressure on his mind fought it back. A heavy blankness took over his mind, and he gave into it, unable to resist.