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Chapter 2: Downstairs

The alarm had been blaring for over an hour, and showed no signs of stopping.

The entire time, Ciara had debated on sneaking down to see what was going on, torn between her curiosity, and the caution that if she was caught, it was very unlikely that she's be able to escape this time. She was fast, and had tricks that they didn't know about, but that didn't mean she was a miracle worker. And she really didn't want to have to reveal everything she could do, if she could avoid it.

"Well Ciara, you've come this far," she murmured to herself, finally standing up. She grinned, fixing her cloak around her shoulders. "Better to do it now, than when they sort this mess and improve their security," the silver-haired speedster considered aloud.

'All personnel, the evacuation order has been confirmed,' Ciara heard the voice over a tannoy as she slipped through the shadows, having approached the base. 'Proceed to your designated vehicles,' it continued as people rushed by, not seeing Ciara. She barely made a sound, keeping the hood of her dark cloak up to cast shadows over her face.

"Evacuating?" she repeated in a quiet voice, watching as a group of scientists rushed past.

'This is not a drill. Emergency personnel, proceed to your designated vehicles,' the voice continued, and Ciara looked up as a helicopter flew overhead. Moving against the crowd, Ciara sped after the chopper, ducking back into the shadows to watch as the chopper landed in front of an agent she knew well. He didn't even flinch as he was battered by the winds created by the propeller blades, keeping his sunglasses on despite it being well into the night.

When the door to the chopper slid open, Ciara hissed and retreated further into the shadows, recognising both the woman and man who jumped out.

"How bad is it?" Nick Fury shouted over the noise.

"That's the problem sir, we don't know," Coulson admitted, finally pulling off his sunglasses to look at the taller man, who wore an eyepatch and a trench-coat. They began walking, and Ciara didn't follow, knowing it was too risky to even consider. Instead, she moved in another direction, running away as she determined it to be too risky.

She stopped not too far away, as a thought crossed her mind. Security was flustered, running on evacuation protocols, meaning she could easily slip through. She hesitated, looking back in the direction that Fury, Coulson and Hill had gone, and then ahead to the exit.

Ciara sighed, chuckling to herself as she fixed her hood. She turned back, keeping to the shadows.

"Who am I kidding? I can't resist knowing what's going on," she said aloud, starting to run. She slipped through the doors before they closed, and slowed, darting back to the shadows when people walked by, grumbling about having to abandon their research.

"This is ridiculous. I was on the verge of a breakthrough," one complained as he walked past Ciara, not noticing her.

"It's that Selvig one," Ciara's eyes widened as she recognised the name. "That super secret amazing project he was assigned to, it's gone rogue from what I've heard," the other scientist said, before they were shooed on by a guard.

"Selvig...well well, looks like you've gotten yourself involved in something real shady," Ciara laughed to herself, remembering the astrophysicist who had been helping Jane when they had met Thor almost a year ago. "Now I gotta know what that is," she continued moving, this time at a normal pace.

The base was like a maze; massive and confusing, and it was very likely she was going to get lost. But Ciara didn't stop, walking at a confident pace as her boots barely made a noise on the stone floors. A cold wind blew by, almost knocking her hood down, and it made her shiver, before she turned and walked another way, finding a flight of stairs to walk down.

Ciara breathed out gently, noting the place was far bigger than it looked from the outside. "No wonder it's off the grid," she murmured to herself, still thinking about Gadget's words. Something was there that generating a lot of energy, and she wanted to know just what it was.

"I need you to make sure the Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out," Ciara cursed and darted back into the shadows as Fury and Hill walked by her.

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" Maria Hill argued, sounding annoyed.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on," Fury stopped on the stairs and turned to her. She scowled, but didn't argue. "Clear out the tech below. I want every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone," he ordered her. Ciara shifted slightly closer, remembering reading about the mysterious "Phase 2" when she'd broken into a lab five months ago.

"Yes sir," Maria muttered, walking past him. She ordered two guards to follow her, and as Fury walked in another direction, Ciara started to follow Hill, but stopped. She frowned, glancing after Fury as something in her gut told her to follow him instead. Sighing, she tugged at her hood and did so, darting into the shadows when he glanced over his shoulder.

"Damn...he's too suspicious," Ciara complained as he started walking again, and she followed at a safe distance. She followed him further below the base, and her curiosity grew. This was no ordinary building. The massive lab had been built for a specific purpose, and Ciara wasn't quite sure that it was for a good reason. Fury strode with purpose as he stepped inside, and Ciara immediately sped to the side, melting into the shadows again as Fury looked around again, his already deep scowl growing.

"Talk to me Doctor," he didn't question it, instead turning and continuing to walk.

"Director," Selvig greeted as he moved from where he'd been standing, having been staring worriedly in front of a massive machine. Ciara peered out from behind the servers she'd hidden behind, and saw a few scientists rushing around working, as guards patrolled the room. Her brow furrowed slightly as she saw how many people were still there, and it didn't look as if any of them were planning on leaving any time soon.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked as he looked around.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Ciara frowned, and looked to the machine he'd been standing beside. Her eyes locked onto a cube that was centered on it, glowing an eerie blue. Her entire body seemed to tense, as something about the cube called to her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a scientist tried to examine it, only for the metal prong to be zapped out of his hand, making him grunt as it stung through his gloves.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury didn't sound amused at Erik's declaration.

"No, it's not funny at all," Erik shook his head. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's..." he hesitated as they started walking across the lab. "Behaving," he finished. Ciara tilted her head, wondering just what it was. She could feel the power radiating from it, and it made her very nervous. Yet, she found, at the same time, it was trying to draw her in.

"I assume you pulled the plug?" Fury asked, as if hoping the most obvious solution would solve the problem.

"She's an energy source," Erik reminded him. "We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level-"

"We've prepared for this, Doctor," Fury cut off Erik's warning. "Harnessing energy from space," he reminded the man, who frowned as he returned to his computer.

"Space?" Ciara repeated quietly, still unable to take her eyes off the Tesseract. She could feel the power growing by the second, and it made her very uncomfortable.

"We don't have the harness," Erik continued on as he looked over the readings. "My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation," he said dismissively when Fury turned to look at the Tesseract. He frowned, and turned back to Erik.

"That can be harmful," he reminded, and the scientist sighed. "Where's Agent Barton?" Ciara hissed and darted back behind the servers. Erik gave a droll laugh.

"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual," Erik rolled his eyes. Ciara slid to the ground, cursing her idiocy. If there was one person who'd be able to spot her in the chaos, it was Clint Barton. She didn't dare move out from her hiding place as she heard Clint approach Fury, talking to him.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury scolded, his tone light, but the weight of the situation was obvious.

"Well I see better from a distance," Clint replied, his eyes sweeping the room.

"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked.

"Doctor, it's spiking again," a scientist warned, and Ciara shivered as she felt the strange energy in the room start to rise faster.

"No-one's come or gone, and Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IMs," Clint continued, looking around as Selvig rushed over to take a look at the other computer. Ciara bit her lip as a strange pressure grew in her head, and she put her hands to her temples. She curled up into herself as the energy seemed to weigh heavily on her, making it harder to breathe, and she barely heard what Clint said. "If there was any tampering sir, it wasn't at this end," Fury paused, and looked at him curiously.

"At this end?" he repeated, confused. Clint looked up, innocent.

"Yeah, the Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" he explained, looking at the Tesseract. It flickered as if it was reacting to his gaze. "Doors open from both sides," Clint pointed out, and the ground began to shake as Ciara pressed harder to the sides of her head to try and relieve the growing pressure. Clint and Fury looked at the Tesseract as it sparked and crackled, with blue light flowing off it. The light burst out, flying in a beam across the lab, to a platform several feet away. The light opened out, growing in a circle, and exploded, creating a shock wave of light that flew across the room. As it hit Ciara, the pressure faded, and she fell forwards, gasping for breath.

After a few moments, she became aware of the heavy silence that had fallen over the room, interrupted only by the heavy breathing of everyone around.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" hearing Fury's cautious order, Ciara frowned, and peeked out, just in time to see a flash of light. Clint tackled Fury to the ground, and a machine exploded as the light hit it. The soldiers around the room opened fire on the figure who had attacked, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly as he leapt through the air, tackling one to the ground. The man let out a choked scream as the spear pierced his chest, before the attacker threw an arm out. Ciara saw the daggers as they flew through the air, hitting the other two soldiers. Another blast of light flew across the room, and Ciara darted out of her hiding place, pulling Selvig to safety. The two rolled along the ground, and he looked up, hissing in a breath.

"You?" he demanded, and Ciara winked before darting back out of view, moving too fast to be seen as the newcomer continued to attack. Soon enough, the only ones capable of fighting back were on the ground, most badly injured or dead, and Ciara didn't move from her hiding place as her heart hammered against her chest.

"I should have just left..." she whispered to herself, trying to ignore the part of her that was still pulling in the room. She heard a grunt nearby, and peeked out to see Clint struggling in the man's grasp.

"You have heart," he spoke, and something familiar about it poked at the back of Ciara's head, as she saw Fury crawling towards the Tesseract with a briefcase. The man pressed the spear to Clint's chest, and the light seemed to flow from it, into him. The agent groaned as he sagged, and the light filled his eyes, turning them blue. He holstered his gun, and Ciara's eyes widened.

"What did he do to you..." she whispered, staring at the man who never would have given up like that. Clint didn't move as the man walked away, doing the same to another agent.

"Please don't," his soft, unusual voice echoed through the destroyed lab, as Fury took the Tesseract and went to leave. "I still need that," the new arrival spoke as Fury stopped and turned around slowly.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," the Director warned carefully.

"Of course it does," the man laughed slightly. "I've come too far for anything else," he declared as the agent behind him stood motionless. "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," Ciara clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Thor..." Sif frowned, confused. "Your father still lives," Thor's eyes widened at her words, and he stepped back.

"No...Loki told me-"

"Loki has become King," Thor stopped at Fandral's soft words. "Your father fell into the Odinsleep not long after you were sent here," the blonde man explained.

Ciara couldn't move. The man was an Asgardian, and not just any – he was Thor's brother, the King who had sent the Destroyer to New Mexico and destroyed a town to kill him and the four other Asgardians who had come to bring Thor home.

"Loki..." Erik stood up, having been trying to help a scientist who had been badly injured by an explosion. "Brother of Thor," he realised, missing the look the man gained at the mention of his brother.

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury told him, pulling his attention away from the scientist.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki replied smoothly, amused by the man's words.

"Are you planning to step on us?" the Director asked in confusion. He stared at Loki, his hand gripped tightly around the handle of the briefcase. Ciara watched carefully from where she hidden, not sure what to do. She could run, while they were distracted, but while her mind was screaming at her to do so, she couldn't move.

"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free," Loki declared as he paced, standing in front of Erik and barely even giving the man a look.

"Free from what?" Fury asked, not sounding very hopeful about what the answer would be.

"Freedom," Loki answered, his tone changing slightly. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..." there was a slight bitterness that caught Ciara's attention. He then turned suddenly, and pressed the spear to Erik's chest, and the man could only flinch. The light poured from the sceptre, into Erik, and filled his eyes, turning them an eerie blue. "You will know peace," he finished with a smile.

"You say peace..." Fury spoke up again, not reacting to what was happening. "I kinda think you mean the other thing," he accused. Loki chuckled.

"A little hypocritical of you, is it not?" he asked. Fury didn't reply, not breaking eye contact. "Now, I wonder about our little spy," confusion clouded Fury's scowl, and Ciara went cold, before hearing movement behind her. She turned, but it was too late, and a hand tangled in her hair, yanking her to her feet. Ciara couldn't stop her cry of pain as she was pulled out of her hiding place. Looking up, she saw Clint pulling her along.

"Barton? Let me go!" she yelped, struggling, but he had a tight grip on her hair. Fury gave a soft sigh.

"Trying to help, were we? Waiting until the right time as to-" Loki stopped, his arrogance fading as he took in the girl struggling in Clint's grasp. When he stopped, she looked up, and her blue eyes widened in alarm. "The girl from before," Loki murmured.

As he tugged at Mjolnir, trying to lift the powerful weapon, he heard a laugh, and a shadow fell over him. Still, Loki didn't react, not believing it was aimed at him, and pulled again at the handle still in his grasp. It still didn't budge, and his irritation grew.

"Having a little trouble?" he froze, realising at last that she was talking to him. Looking up, he met the gaze of a young mortal woman, whose appearance didn't quite match what he knew of those on Midgard. Her silver hair was a mess, and she was covered in dried mud, making her even less attractive than most. She grinned at him, crooked and devious, as she crouched at the edge of the dip in the crater.

She was cleaner than that day, and two scars marked her face, only months old, but it was most definitely the same girl who had seen through his magic that day he had lied to Thor and tried to take Mjolnir for himself.


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