Several hours after the devastating loss of the Dark Energy Facility, Phil Coulson found himself within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Aeronautical Mobile Platform, standing in front of the large cylinder of plas-steel and carbon nano-weave reinforced glass, unable to tear himself away from the curiosity within.

The young woman, the one Nick Fury had handed off to him just before their evacuation nearly twenty-four hours ago, was housed within. Her once naked form now covered in a pale green hospital gown, her wrists and ankles secured by handcuffs to the rungs of the hospital bed she lied on (merely as a precaution, in case she proved hostile once she awoke from her coma), surrounded by medical equipment monitoring her condition.

The low tones of the heart monitor carried through the speakers served as a background for his thoughts.

Who was she? How was she tied to Loki? And why did she seem so damn familiar?

It was as these questions and more were circling through his mind that Coulson heard the metallic echo of footsteps on the catwalk.

Turning to the source, Coulson gave a brief nod of acknowledgement, watching as Nick Fury waved off the pair of guards, before turning back to the glass.

"Director."

"Phil."

For a moment the two of them stood in silence, watching the gentle rise and fall of the girl's chest.

"Report."

"Sir. I have prepared the A.M.P. Ørsted for active service, have recalled all agents performing non-critical objectives, and have delayed the conference with the World Security Council until your arrival."

Fury gave a small, humorless chuckle. "Am I correct to assume that they've been chomping at the bit ever since the P.E.G.A.S.A.S project site went dark?"

A smirk was all the answer Fury needed.

Looking back towards the subject of interest within the Meta-human Containment Cell, Fury's eye flickered across the various screens monitoring her condition, making note of how the screens seemed to glitch between anomalous and what could be considered borderline harmful, his gaze settling once more on the rise and fall of her chest before he spoke.

"Has their been any change in our guest's condition?"

"Not really Sir. As far as the medical staff could tell, our Jane Doe's heartbeat has strengthened somewhat, though still dangerously low if she were human, paired with a high blood pressure, and the EEG showed an elevated, yet healthy baseline level of brain activity at rest before…"

"Before what, Coulson?" Fury asked his tone expressing interest even as his gaze never wavered from the girl.

"Due to our Jane Doe's comatose state, the medical director pushed for permission to use the MRI, in the hope of discovering the cause. That was a mistake."

Coulson glanced towards his Director, noting he had his attention, Fury's eye in Coulson's direction, his brow raised in an obvious sign to resume.

"During the procedure, the moment they turned on the machine, our Jane Doe began screaming and convulsing, her screams apparently metaphysical as any personel within a hundred foot radius heard her clearly regardless of their location, her screams caused the ears of the staff within the same room to rupture, and a psychic pain accompanied the scream until it ended moments later."

"And what caused her to stop screaming?"

"the MRI caught fire, destroying it. Later investigation revealed that the image processing components of the device melted, causing a chain reaction that destroyed the machine as well as overloading the connected computers, causing severe damage to them as well.

Fury ran a hand down his face, Coulson just catching faint mutterings, something about learning to not tempt fate before Fury motioned him on.

"The single image that was successfully generated before the MRI's destruction was scrubbed from the surviving hardware, which was also destroyed as a precaution. A single physical copy was made, the printer having also burst into flames shortly there-after, and the physical copy is currently stored in a lead lined case within maximum security lockup."

Disbelief flashed across the Director's expression before it became impassive once more. "That's all disturbing in itself, but I'm guessing, with hoe this day's been going so far, that more occurred due to this, as you put it, ' mistake.'"

With a brief nod, Coulson continued with his report.

"The image, both digital and physical, have proven to be a memetic cognitohazard. The staff attending the procedure that caught even a glimpse were driven insane, bleeding from the eyes, ears, and mouth, attacking each other, clawing out their eyes, with four of the seven dying shortly thereafter from what the autopsy division claimed was 'rapid brain putrefication,.' In layman's terms, their brain literally turned to soup.."

Fury looked almost nauseous at the description (Coulson could sympathize from when he'd first been informed), before he nodded for Phil to proceed.

"The three that survived are currently locked within their separate quarters, all items of a potentially harmful nature removed, and round-the-clock observation ordered, with guards posted outside their doors."

"Have you had any success questioning the surviving doctors?"

Coulson merely shook his head. " No. Any inquiries we've attempted with them simply leads to agitation and incoherent babbling, with the odd ' Child of Cosmos,' or ' Eyes of Insight' thrown in, before they attempt to attack. When left alone they fall into a repeating set of behaviors, walking in circles, then drawing odd symbols on their walls using whatever they can find, then finally going into the fetal position, rocking and babbling before the pattern repeats."

The screens within their guests room flickered briefly before settling once more, the two heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. observing her for a moment before Coulson continued his report.

"Our psychologists likened their condition to behavioral regression, mixed with an extreme heightening of aggression and loss of memory usually seen in various dementias. Due to the incident, I banned any and all further testing, with an emphasis on anything invasive."

For a moment, everything was silent as the two stared at the anomaly of a girl housed within the meta-chamber before them, the gentle undulations of her chest peaceful in stark contrast to all the madness and destruction she unknowingly caused.

After a few moments more, Coulson concluded his report on their guest.

"The remaining medical staff determined that by all rights she could awaken at any moment, though are sceptic of that diagnosis considering she remained unconscious throughout the entire episode with the MRI. They theorize she is comatose as a way to heal from whatever she encountered within the energy rift you described, not to mention the forty feet or so that she fell upon exiting said rift."

"She was a giant wolf, at least the size of a suburban when she fell..."

At that tidbit of information, Coulson found himself at a loss for words. Fury's continued dialogue cutting off the obvious question in Coulson's mind.

"And no, I don't believe she has any connection to Loki or his scheme, if that was the case, she would have been better prepared, come through with Loki rather than after."

Looking at the sleeping form of their guest, the Director sighed. "I suppose I've kept the World Security Council waiting long enough, here."

Fury held a black info-case out to Coulson.

"While I go and make my report, I need you run this to Stark. It covers everything we know of the Tesseract, as well as the Initiative."

"But Sir, wasn't Phase Two in development as a replacement for the Initiative? I understand why we'd call him in as a consult on the tesseract, but why would Stark need to know this?"

"Phase Two is not far enough along in its development for me to entrust it in the hands of our soldiers, especially when the tech hasn't even been properly field tested since the 40's. Unless you know of a way to speed up its development, we are forced to fall back on the Initiative, if for nothing else than to buy us time."

"Sir!" With a salute, Phil headed for the door.

"Coulson, I have two other tasks for you."

Phil stopped, his hand resting on the digital lock to the exit. He looked towards to Fury, his trademark flat expression ruined by the slight hint of curiosity present in his eyes.

"First, I need you to contact Romanoff, inform her that she has a new mission, to locate and escort Doctor Bruce Banner here from Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal, he's the foremost expert on gamma radiation, be sure she is aware we only want him for consult on the matter, I do not want another Hulk incident, understand?"

Coulson gave a brief nod, Fury resuming at the confirmation.

"And second, tomorrow I need you to take a Quinjet and shuttle someone from the Kennedy Airport, I'll send you the details."

"Who would I be picking up?"

Fury turned back to observing their Jane Doe, a small smirk of mischief dancing across his lips as he imagined Coulson's reaction. "When you see him, you'll know."

Later that night, a lone figure in a black combat suit stole through the prison ward of the Helicarrier.

Reaching their objective, they held a device next to the keypad lock, a moment passed before the light changed to green, the door sliding open with a slight hiss.

Glancing towards the walls as they strode into the chamber beyond, a slight smirk tugged at the man's lips as he noticed that the cameras were inactive. All according to plan.

Stepping up to the squad of guards, the two sides eyed each other for a moment before the squad, in sync, silently performed a Sieg Heil salute, immediately stepping aside, permitting access.

With a nod, the man approached the kiosk controls for the cell which served as a centerpiece within the room, and using the same device as before, overrode the lock, the large door opening near silently

Stepping into the chamber, two of the guards followed, their assault rifles aimed at the comatose prisoner held within.

Reaching into one of the many pouches on his vest, the man retrieved a baggie, three blood vials, a needle, cotton padding, a small roll of cohesive bandage, and some antiseptic wipes visible within.

Twisting the girl's right wrist, the man applied some pressure to her forearm with his left hand whilst feeling for her vein in the underside of her elbow with the fingers on his right.

Finding his mark, he used his fingernail to make a small pressure mark before quickly wiping the area with one of the wipes.

Removing the hypodermic needle from its casing, the man lined it up with his mark, adjusting slightly a couple of times before with a slight thrust, he plunged the needle into the girl's vein.

Grabbing the vials, the man inserted the first, watching as it slowly filled, the blood moving like syrup, the color reminding him of Malbec wine.

A couple minutes later and all three vials were filled. Holding the cotton padding to the needle's entry point, he removed it with a sharp tug.

He was about to wrap the padding in place when he realized no blood was being absorbed, and with some suspicion removed the padding entirely.

Unmarked skin greeted his gaze, and a grin stretched from ear to ear as he realized just how valuable the blood he carried had become with this new information.

Packing up his supplies, the man turned to leave, the guards moving back into position as if nothing happened, the cameras returning to function as the man vanished back into the depths of the Helicarrier, one thought on his mind.

Hail Hydra.

I apologize for the shorter chapter length, but next chapter will be out soon.

I appreciate the support this story has gathered thus far, and promise that all things will have an explanation in time.

"Fear the Old Blood."