Hi, guys here's the chapter as promised hope you guys enjoy. I do not own Marvel only my OC's.
From the looks of it, I'm the last one to arrive at the bridge. Both Steve and Natasha are sitting at the table towards different ends. Bruce is standing near the back of the room while Thor is standing at the very front with Maria Hill not too far behind him.
"So I'm assuming he's here to help?" I asked no one in particular. Never let it be said that I don't get down to business.
"I am, and who are you?" He says, looking down at me as if my presence shouldn't be allowed anywhere near here. I guess I shouldn't be too hard on him since I'm the only teen here.
"This is Calliope Rodriguez, and she's here to help with the mission to get the Tesseract back," Maria Hill stated. I guess they really aren't going to be bold enough to tell Bruce I'm also here to make sure he doesn't kill anyone. Smart move if you're stupid enough to lie to a powerhouse like him. One day they're going to realize keeping so many secrets will only bring more harm than good, but then again, how am I any different? I'm basically an accomplice when you think about it.
"What exactly are we doing here? If Loki is in our custody, what are we sitting around for?" I asked the group of adults. Since I'm one of the two people in the team that stayed behind while the rest of the team went to capture Loki, I'm not too sure what's going on. "Shouldn't we be doing something?"
"Yes, Loki is in custody, but he doesn't have the Tesseract, which means we still have a lot of work to do," Natasha said from her seat. "They're putting him in his cell now if you want to watch."
Romanoff gestures to the table in front of her, so I take a few steps forward to see what video she's referring to. On the surface of the table, I can see a dark-haired young man inside a cage. Seeing as the show is about to start, I waste no time finding a seat next to the Captain to get a better look at our villain. To say I expected more is an understatement. The man isn't intimidating when you take a good look at him. He certainly looks like a cocky son of a gun, but not much else. Kind of disappointing, really. I mean, wouldn't anyone be disappointed when they see a skinny, greasy, toothpick at the center of this drama.
Finally, I hear Fury speaking to the Asgardian from his place just outside the cell, "In case it's unclear. You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass." Next, I see the director move around and push some buttons, and the floor beneath the cell disappears. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" Fury pushes another button to bring back the floor. He points to Loki and says, "Ant." then points back to the button "boot."
Wow Fury, dramatic much?
Loki simply smirks at Fury, completely unfazed by the turn of the events, "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for something a lot stronger than you."
"Oh, I've heard," Loki said, turning away from Fury to look at the camera near his cell. "The mindless beast makes play he's still a man. I wonder who will be the one to put that thing in here? Will it be Thor or your shooting star? Will she even be able to handle it or will she collapse under the pressure?"
I know that the last comment he made is about me. But he brings up a good point because I'm wondering how I'll handle the situation as well. I mean I'm only a kid playing soldier at this point, with trained individuals who've been fighting for years. I can practically feel my body tense up at his words. This man may not look like the bad guy, but he certainly speaks like one. He can get inside your mind with ease, and make you feel uneasy within your own skin. It doesn't help when I can feel someone watching me, but I don't bother looking up to meet their gaze. Looking at the person may just break my resolve, and that's the last thing I need at a moment like this.
Loki continues his rant finally looking back at Fury, "How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill `cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."
"Ooh, It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."
After Loki finishes with his rant, Fury smiles at him, but it's the type of smile that screams 'You're gonna regret this.' I'm glad it's Loki in that cell and not me because Fury is going to make him pay for everything he's done.
"Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something." Fury states as the video comes to an end.
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner is the first to call out. I'm not sure how annoyed I should be, because his sarcastic comments are not needed at a time like this. It's Steve who finally gets us back on track.
"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"
"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
"Well, then that begs the question, who is the being responsible for gifting this army to Loki? From what Thor just said, it's not from any world that he knows of and I doubt it's some nobody, because even if I've never seen or heard of this army before, a man like Loki wouldn't act this confident if this army isn't powerful. Whoever is pulling the strings behind the scenes is the person we should be focusing on. We should also be worried about what will happen if said person doesn't get their way and what that could mean for all of us," I concluded as I rub my eyes in frustration. Looking up, I notice all the adults are staring at me with something akin to shock in their eyes. "What?"
"Nothing I'm still just trying to wrap my head around the fact that an army from outer space is coming," Steve told me. It's official, this poor man does not deserve this and he needs to be sent back in time to the 1940s.
"That's what he needs Erik Selvig for. To build another portal." Dr. Banner realizes, pulling my attention back to the Tesseract issue. That would make sense. I heard that Selvig is some kind of genius.
"Selvig?" Thor questioned
"He's an astrophysicist."
"He's a friend."
"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours," Natasha spoke up from the other side of the table. I forgot she was here for a second. Still, I can't help but feel glum about what Natasha said. I feel awful that Clint is still missing and serving a criminal like Loki. I just hope when he breaks free from the mind control he doesn't blame himself for everything that's happened. He doesn't deserve that type of regret over something he has no control of.
"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve points out to the rest of us. Now that he said it, I do find it peculiar that we were able to locate Loki as quickly as we did. Plus, we managed to capture him in one go. No mastermind or commanding general would allow that to happen so easily. Unless he has something to gain from being here?
"Yeah, I don't understand it either. There's nothing to gain by being here with us. He's away from those who serve him, he's trapped, and now that glow stick he's been using against us is in our possession. He can't do anything in his cage, so why allow himself to get caught when he could have gotten away?" I ask the group of men and women. There are so many things that aren't adding up, and it honestly irritating me since I can't figure any of it out.
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner interjects from the back of the room. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him. I think what Calliope said earlier, about focusing on the person who's working behind the scenes, is beneficial to us than worrying about Loki."
"Have care how you speak," Thor bellowed at the scientist. Thor obviously doesn't like how we think of his psychotic younger brother, even if what Banner said is true. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."
"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha pointed out.
"...He's adopted..."
"Wait a minute, I know you did not just yell at Banner only to back down so quickly," I yell at the big burly blond before I can stop myself. I can't believe how Thor is so quick to throw Loki, his brother, under the bus by saying that he's doing all of this because he's adopted. As if that was a proper reason to excuse this whole situation. His whole reasoning for everything is inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
"Excuse me?"
"You're excused," I bitterly replied to the imbecile. I can practically feel Thor's annoyance radiating from him due to my petty attitude. Alright, I know I'm being a bit childish, but honestly, he has it coming. "Que? Que quieres, Hamlet? You don't like it when someone points out the obvious? Well, then next time don't say anything stupid. By the way, who cares if you and Loki are from Asgard? No one gives two flying flips about that or the fact that he's adopted. Those aren't reasons to either excuse or justify what he's doing. What we care about is the fact that he came to OUR planet acting like the queen bee, and last time I checked he's not Beyoncé, Pendejo."
"Watch how you speak to me mortal."
"Or what? You gonna hit me? Mira cabrón, you best believe Imma come at you with all I got if you or your psycho brother lay a hand on me." I snapped at the alien, my accent thickening with each word I let loose. I'm done playing games with these people! I don't have the patience to deal with all of this.
"Alright, that's enough," Steve commanded, looking at both of us clearly annoyed by the way we're acting. "We're on the same side so let's stop arguing with one another and get back to what's important."
After hearing Steve raise his voice at us I remain silent. I now understand why they made him the Captain. The authority he has in his voice alone left little to no room for any argument. It's a bit intimidating.
"Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" Bruce asked trying to steer us back to the main problem.
"It's a stabilizing agent," another voice called out to reveal none other than Tony Stark. He doesn't seem to care about being late for the meeting and continues conversing with Coulson for another few seconds before giving us his full undivided attention. "Means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." Stark briefly stops his explanation to pat Thor on his arm, saying, "No hard feelings, Point Break you've got a mean swing."
Okay, something happened and I kind of want to know since Thor looks like he's two seconds from hitting Stark. I look to Steve with one of my eyebrows raised silently asking what happened. He merely shakes his head and looks down at the table with a sigh. Yeah, it's obvious Steve is fed up with this entire ordeal. The poor man looks as exhausted as I feel.
"Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants," Stark explained, looking around the room. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the topsails... That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."
What in the world? Is Stark being serious right now? I don't know whether to be impressed by the level of nonchalance he has or concerned. Afterward, the man proceeds to cover one of his eyes and looks around at the monitors that surrounded him. "How does Fury do this?"
"He turns," Hill replied frankly.
"Well, that sounds exhausting," He said, sounding exhausted himself. Still, I have to agree with him there. It would get annoying if you had to turn every second to see something on one of those monitors. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source. A high-energy-density, something to kickstart the cube."
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked the man, her eyes squinting as she looks at him.
Wait, so he wasn't an expert already?
"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers." Tony explained, walking closer to the rest of the group and away from the monitors. "Am I the only one who did the reading?"
"No, you weren't the only one," I answered. "Although I'm pretty sure you're one of the two people who can actually understand it. Look by no means am I stupid, but I'm not exactly a genius either."
"Well, at least your honest sweetheart," Stark replied condescendingly, but the part that annoyed me most is the sweetheart bit. "Calliope right? Heard a lot about you, I gotta admit your power levels for someone so young as you are is extraordinary, but your name not so much. Star Ray, what's with that? I can understand why you chose Ray, I'm assuming it's short for Radiation, but the Star part is what baffles me. Is it because stars emit radiation or do you just like how they twinkle?
As Stark continued to ramble I notice more eyes are on me than what I care for, so to end the discussion, I quickly answer his question. "One, don't call me sweetheart. Two, I didn't choose the name, Star Ray. Someone else did."
"Well, that's disappointing." He states, but I'm not sure which part he was referring to, maybe both. "Moving on!"
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve inquired, bringing us back to the topic at hand, and honestly, I'm thankful for it.
"He's got to heat the cube to a 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner explained to the whole group.
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony countered to the man as he approaches him.
"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."
"Finally, someone who speaks English."
"Is that what just happened?" Steve mutters under his breath.
"No, it's not. I can speak two different languages and I know that isn't English, it's nerd talk," I reply, staring at the two scientists in absolute amazement. I have never felt so stupid in all of my life until I met Stark and Dr. Banner. One thing I know is a bromance is blooming before my eyes between the two geniuses.
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
Well, at least Stark was being honest.
"Thanks," Banner said awkwardly as he looks down at the floor awkwardly.
"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him," Fury mentioned as he finally joins us at the bridge.
"Let's start with that stick of his," Steve said. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."
"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube," Fury told the Captain. "And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."
"Monkeys? I do not understand," Thor said, not comprehending the reference. He must have never seen the Wizard of Oz which is a tragedy. The Wizard of Oz is a must-see when you come to Earth because the movie is so iconic a bunch of pop culture references come from it.
"I do! I understood that reference." Steve pointed out. I couldn't help but bite back a laugh when he said that. It was just so funny how Steve is proud of the fact he knew a movie reference.
Clearly, Stark isn't amused by what Steve said because he immediately turns to Banner and asks "Shall we play, doctor?"
"Let's play some."
They both leave at that moment and almost everyone else leaves the group to handle something else. At that moment, Fury calls out to me, "Rodriguez."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I need you to go change."
"Change? Into what? The uniform y'all made for me?" I ask, not understanding why I have to change into it when I was perfectly fine with the uniform I'm wearing right now.
"Yes."
"No, I don't see the reason behind that when I can wear this."
"Because while you're here you aren't a prisoner. You're an ally, and I don't want anyone to get that confused," Fury explained to me as he looks down at me.
"Fine, I'll change since it bothers you so much," I told him as I leave the room to go change.
When I get back to my room, I automatically go straight to my dresser to get my new uniform. The main reason I'm being this cooperative is that I want to change out of my clothes anyway, and now I have a good excuse to do so without looking weak. I'm not ashamed about wearing my prison uniform but Fury may have a point. If I go out to fight as Steve did and the authorities see me like this they might think I'm the enemy. I might as well change into something more comfortable, or at least I hope this new outfit is.
When I opened the dresser, I see some socks, new underwear, and a bra. That's nice of them, and they did their homework since the sizes are correct. Okay, to anyone else this may seem stupid but prison clothes aren't exactly comfortable to wear especially the panties. Looking in another compartment of the dresser, I see civilian clothes, but I don't bother putting those on, and I keep looking for the new uniform. Finally, I find it in the last slot, and all I can say is that I hate it so much. It has pink on it, and I hate the color pink! I know my eyes and radiation is pink but come on! Why does it have to be on the uniform too? I take the uniform and the boots that came with it out from the drawer and set them on top of the bed to get a better look at it. It's a two-piece leather outfit with a high collared shirt, black pants, and a pink sash that goes around my waist. The majority of the outfit is black, and the shirt has a giant pink S on it that stretches from mid-chest to the hem of my shirt. It has no sleeves which don't bother me since things like temperature don't affect me. S.H.E.I.L.D. also gave me gloves that have an odd but interesting design to them. At first, they look like ordinary black gloves that reach just above my elbow until you put them on. At that moment I realize the top part of the glove acts as a wrap of some sort that reaches my shoulder. Once I finish changing my clothes, I notice I'm missing a crucial article of clothing that goes with my uniform. Shoe's, that would be nice. Looking back to where I left them on the bed, I slip both on. I have to admit, I actually like the boots they gave me to wear. The boots have pink at the rim and the heel of the shoe while the rest of it was black. They came up to mid-calf and they were wedges. So they look cute, but I also won't be twisting an ankle out in the field.
As I look at my reflection in the bathroom mirror I feel like I'm still missing something, and no I didn't mean a mask. No point in wearing one of those things since I'm going back to prison soon enough. Walking back into the bedroom, and I see something absolutely precious on top of my bed. It's a small pink butterfly brooch, very plain and simple but beautiful nonetheless. I can't believe they have it! I thought I'd lost it forever. I sit down on the edge of the bed as I hold it in my hands, admiring it. I may hate the color pink, all things girly, and insects, but I love this brooch. My sister Cristina gave it to me when I first became Star Ray as a good luck gift. She said I would be just like Sailor Moon, her favorite anime character. I almost tear up at the thought.
I bring it up to my lips and kiss it as I remember that day. It feels so long ago. I miss my baby so much, but she's gone, and all I have left of her is this brooch. I decide at that moment if Star Ray is coming back to fight one last time then Cristina's brooch is coming with me. I place the brooch on the sash on my left hip, and now I look ready to face the world with my sister by my side. Well, at least she's with me in spirit.
Deeming myself ready, I leave the room to return to the bridge when I notice him. The captain doesn't see me as he continues walking, but the anger that is exuding off of him like waves hitting rocks on the side of a cliff. Whoever got on Steve's bad side is a dead man walking, that's for sure.
Little note: I try my best not to cuss since I prefer not to, but Calliope does slip from time to time. However, it will never get to the point where every other sentence has a bad word.