No Warnings

Chapter 7

Less than five minutes passed before Steve entered the Conference Room with Thor. The two seemed to have been in a hushed conversation that ended the moment they both saw Eli. Eli forced herself not to scowl; she had enough wrinkles already. Moments later, a man about the same height as Tony walked in. His shirt was purple, Eli noticed. The man seemed to be in a state of nervousness; perhaps he was just skittish.

"Dr. Banner," Steve greeted and then motioned to Thor, "This is Thor."

Eli perked up at the name. There was only one Banner that could be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D.: Bruce Banner. Eli examined Banner closely, what Eli thought was just nerves was actually more of a distinct fear that underlined every movement he made. From what Eli knew, that fear was of himself and the power he had, not unlike that of mutants.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Banner asked, after greeting Thor.

"Director Fury has is going to interrogate the prisoner," Maria said as she walked up to the Conference Table. Maria was just as tall as Eli remembered. The to-the-book woman had also given Eli the look of doom. Eli huffed her hair out of her face.

"We'll be listening in on the interrogation through the monitors," Maria pressed a button and several screens appeared on the conference table. "Director Fury will be there any moment."

"Where's Tony?" Eli asked while focusing on trying to get the dried blood off of her nails.

"He's with Agent Coulson at the moment," Maria said, being careful not to give away any locations on the Helicarrier. Eli glanced up at the monitors, and looked back down at her nails. She really could've used a shower, but the screens suddenly lit up.

Loki was just entering a cell that was a cylindrical shape, made of steel and glass. Eli guessed that the cell was located in an area that could easily purge cargo. Eli also guessed that it was located toward the back end of the Helicarrier, by how long it took Fury to reach it. Eli smirked. So much for Maria's attempts at digression. Fury's voice sounded.

"In case it's unclear," Fury began. "You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass…" Fury pressed a button on a control panel that opened a hatch underneath the cell. "Thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant" Fury motioned to Loki, "Boot," Fury motioned to the control system. Eli closed her eyes shut tightly. Fury just gave Loki some leverage to use if he did manage to escape. The brunette opened her eyes again when Loki laughed.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think for me," Loki said, Eli knew that the comment was a clear message toward Dr. Banner.

"It's built for something a lot stronger than you," Fury confirmed.

"Oh, I've heard," Loki turned to where the camera was. Eli could see that Natasha and Dr. Banner had exchanged looks. Eli could almost see tension spark between the two. "How desperate are you? To call on 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 because it's fun. You've made me very desperate." Fury walked toward the cell. His voice was calm, but Eli knew Fury well enough to know that the man was probably furious. His control was something that Eli admired. "You might not be glad that you did."

"Ooh, it burns you," Loki mocked, "to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power; and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share?" Loki once again looked to the camera. Eli looked up at that comment. The one it was meant for wasn't in the room, but Eli knew that Fury would back down. The director of S.H.I.E.L.D knew better than to have his enemy get anymore sugared words out. "And then to be reminded of what real power is."

Loki turned to face Fury again. Eli could tell by the god's voice that he was promising a dismal future for mankind.

"Well, let me know if real power wants a magazine or something," Fury said as he walked away, decisively ending the conversation between Loki and Fury, but Eli knew that the director would send someone a little more…unbendable than even he was. The monitors cut out when the director was out of view.

There was no chance of awkward silence, because Dr. Banner immediately said the one thing that was both amusing and annoying to Eli.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he." Natasha's and Maria's eyes glanced at the smallest person in the room. Thor and Steve were not so tactful. Eli ignored them.

"Loki's going to drag this out," Steve continued the conversation after quickly looking down and away from Eli. "So, Thor what's his play?"

"He has an army, called the Chitauri," Thor's voice was somber. "They are not of Asgard or of any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Eli watched Thor move without the same vigor as he had when he forced Loki from the Quinjet. Eli almost pitied Thor, but she knew better than to jump to conclusions. There was something else going on, but she wasn't sure what that was yet.

"An army, from outer space?" Steve sounded shell shocked by this news.

"So he's building another portal that's what he needed Erick Selvig for." Dr. Banner inputted.

"Selvig?" Thor questioned.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha paused before continuing. "Along with one of ours."

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve said. "He's not leading an army from here."

"Thor," Eli finally spoke up, "I can't help but wonder, if the Earth is really his prize. There's something I'm missing from this picture…"

Thor hesitated, and Dr. Banner must have seen because he interrupted whatever Thor was going to say.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is like a bag full of cats." Dr. Banner said. Eli almost sniggered at how wrong Dr. Banner was. Empty space with a giant wall was more like it…not much of a difference though. "You can smell crazy on him."

"Have care how you speak," Thor said, sounding surprisingly offended. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and my brother." The picture suddenly became clear to Eli. Sibling rivalries where never black and white…with any family.

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha said coldly. Thor paused.

"He's adopted…" Thor said finally. That time Eli really did snort, but only once. The looks that she was being given didn't bode well to what would happen if she did laugh.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Dr. Banner said, once again taking the attention off of Eli. She was starting to like the man. "Iridium, what do they need the iridium for?"

Eli was about to answer, but Tony walked in Phil, "It's a stabilizing agent." Eli scowled at the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach reared it's ugly head again. "So, I'm just saying, take a week, I'll fly you to Portland." Tony said to Phil, and Eli let the guilt wash away. Tony just wanted to steal her thunder, and not only that he was hogging Phil. Eli jumped up from her seat and walked toward Phil.

"Phil!" she hugged the man like the old friend that he was, and for the millionth time ignored all the angry glares for her misbehaving. "Are you still planning on going to my recital? If you are you can fly to Portland with me." Tony frowned at Eli's smile.

"Again why is he Phil. It's Agent." Tony mumbled and continued with an annoyed tone. "And is everyone invited to your recital in Portland?"

"Everyone but you, Tony," Eli beamed. "But you could go if you just apologized, and admitted that Jarvette is better than Jarvis when it comes to my work."

"We've been through this," Tony scoffed. "Your cheap knock off is not better than Jarvis."

"Jarvette is not a cheap knock off!" Eli raised her voice. "All you have to do is admit that Jarvis would be terrible at decoding genetic material. Which is true, because it would take him three times longer than it would take Jarvette, and-"

Natasha got annoyed with the two, and was pulling Eli away from the conversation and pushing her into the seat furthest from Tony. Eli was fully prepared to keep the argument going, but she was silenced by the look that Natasha gave her.

"Continue," the Russian commanded of Tony, who made a face at Eli. Eli then stuck her tongue out at him. Phil shook his head and went to his station.

"As I was saying," Tony began. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D. No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." Natasha shook her head at Tony when he paused to address Thor. "Also, it means that the portal can open as wide and as long as Loki wants.

"Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails." Tony said, and Eli scoffed. Although, with everyone focused on Eli, the brunette could easily slip away to take a shower, and maybe figure out what Loki's plan is. As Eli tried to inch away, Natasha put a hand on her shoulder. "That man is playing Galaga. He thought that we wouldn't notice, but we did.

"How does Fury even see these?" Tony asked as he looked from one screen to the next with a hand over one eye, mocking Fury.

"He turns," Maria said.

"Sounds exhausting." Tony said before getting back onto the subject. "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 of high-energy density." Eli noticed that Tony had placed something along one of the computers as he walked around them. "Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asked. Eli wanted to applaud Tony on his ability to distract people from the task at hand, even though she was no better.

"Last night," Maria looked confused for a moment, then the man of iron continued. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory paper. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony said exaggeratedly. He almost sounded like a college kid.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked. He sounded annoyed.

"He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Dr. Banner said. Eli perked up and was impressed with the doctor, apparently Tony was too, because he looked at Eli with his eyebrows raised, and continued where Dr. Banner left off.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony, who was clearly impressed (to anyone that actually knew Tony well), started to walk toward Dr. Banner.

"Well, if he could do that," Dr. Banner said, "he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." That time Eli did clap.

"Finally, someone who speaks English," Tony said sincerely. Eli whole heartedly agreed with him. She heard Steve say,

"Is that what just happened?" and she patted the super soldier on the back. Tony of course ruined the moment when Tony brought up the fact that Dr. Banner becomes a giant green rage monster and was a huge fan of it. Eli wasn't afraid to admit that she was a fan of that too, but she had kept her mouth shut. Eli also wasn't afraid to admit that she admired Dr. Banner's ability to avoid awkward silences and take Tony's antics in stride.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury said as he walked through the Conference Room doors. "I was hoping that the two of you would join him." Dr. Banner's eyes grew wide for a moment as Tony and Eli death glared each other.

"If you want us to find the Tesseract in any time in the relative soon category, then you don't want her helping," Tony said. "She hinders my work." Eli was going to make a retort, but Natasha squeezed on Eli's shoulder painfully.

"Maybe it's best if it's just the two of us," Dr. Banner said tactfully. "Too many hands in the kitchen isn't always a good thing…"

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve said catching on to what Dr. Banner was trying to do.

"I don't know about that," Fury said as though he was trying to steer the conversation away from the weapon direction, and Tony and Eli shared a look, "but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys? I don not understand." Thor was thoroughly confused.

"I do!" Steve said with excitement, then with embarrassment. "I understood that reference." Tony rolled his eyes and left the room with Dr. Banner.

"If you aren't going to help them, then you are to stay here," Fury said to Eli, and the girl scowled.

"I still do not understand," Thor said.