Mini-Crossover with Agents Of SHIELD... Not really a tumblr prompt, but I just couldn't help myself once I saw the photo Clark Gregg posted on Facebook with him and Nathan. And as you can see, I got carried away a wee bit *cough* No direct spoilers (it's completely off-canon-continuity for "Agents Of SHIELD") and knowledge of the characters is not necessarily necessary, but having watched the Avengers couldn't hurt. And even that is completely optional, although the characters might seem a little pale. Heck, even googling the actors (or, even easier, consulting the AoS wiki) is more than enough. In any case, I present my final chapter before going into troglodyte mode for CastleFicathon :) Have fun!

Prompt 4: Agents Of Castle

Kate Beckett stepped closer to the leader of her S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team. "Agent Coulson, do you have a minute?"

The older agent shot her a sideways glance over the requisition orders May had him sign before smiling slightly. "Of course. Walk and talk? FitzSimmons need me in their lab."

He gave May the tablet back and started walking towards the staircase to the plane's lab, not waiting for the specialist on his team to catch up with him. Beckett fell into step behind her boss and handed him a manila folder.

"The old files you had me look into? Turns out, the whole thing is a gigantic map. HYDRA was looking for it back in the days of Red Skull, but they never found it. With Skye's help I could pinpoint the exact location, it's half an hour flight away."

Coulson stopped in his tracks, and Beckett recognized the gleam in his eyes when he turned around.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go tell May to head there!" he told her with a grin.

"Already took the liberty to do so, that's why we're only half an hour out," she quipped with a smirk.

Coulson shot her a mock glare. "Careful, Agent Beckett. The 'Bus' is still my baby. Don't overstep your boundaries with ordering it to turn around."

The younger agent raised her eyebrows. "First of all, don't you think 'Lola' will get jealous? And secondly, I didn't order anything. I just gave May the coordinates. What do you think that 'requisition order' you just signed was for?"

Now the glare was a little less amused. Coulson brought his hand to his ear and activated the comms. "Mel, did you have me sign a false requisition order?"

You could hear the asian pilot smirking. "Did I use the wrong header again? Oops. My bad," May deadpanned without the slightest tinge of regret in her voice.

Coulson seemed to think about what he heard for a moment before heading for the labs again. "Huh. I really should start reading these damn things," Beckett could hear him mutter on his way downstairs.

About half an hour later…

The team was assembled in the lab on the 'Bus', all gathered around the big table in the middle.

"Okay, Beckett. Walk us through it again," Coulson told his specialist.

"I'm not exactly comfortable with only doing this with this strike team, but as Hydra is still hot on our heels, we can't afford to tip them off by bringing more agents here. At least the ICER guns should stop anything short of an Asgardian."

Coulson smirked slightly. "Noted, Beckett. Now walk us through it, please?"

"We need Skye to access the portal. Her blood should unlock the seal. According to the old files Hydra had on this, the portal is supposed to transport powerful beings to the place."

May raised her voice as she picked up an ICER and left the lab. "You heard her. Take an ICER with you and go to your positions."

Not long after that, everyone was watching Skye and Kate climbing the few stairs to the pedestal that throned over the massive construction.

The specialist laid her hand on Skye's shoulders. "You ready?"

The young tech savant let out a deep breath. "As ready as I ever will be."

She hissed as she pulled her knife across her left thumb and pressed the wounded digit into the indentation on the pedestal. A dark humming sound resounded in the underground construction and the pedestal in front of them started glowing brightly.

Beckett led a perplexed Skye away from it and pulled her gun, just in case whatever came through that portal wasn't as friendly as she'd hoped. They'd need every advantage they could get in the fight to come, but she wasn't going to let that endanger her team. If it was hostile, it'd be her job to put down the threat.

The bright glow exploded in a ball of light, like a miniature sun. Both Beckett and Skye threw themselves on the ground and had to cover their eyes, but even so, the pain was almost unbearable.

Then, in an instant, the ball of light collapsed and vanished with a boom that echoed throughout the whole complex. The younger woman got up first, and walked straight up the stairs on wobbly feet, causing Beckett to run after her with a few curses on her lips, her own walk not really stable.

To the surprise of everyone, there was just a single man lying on the floor where the pedestal had been. Skye kneeled beside him and tried to wake him up.

"Don't. We don't know if he will be hostile when he wakes up. Coulson will have my head if something happens to you," Beckett told her with a weak smile and tried to pull her away.

Skye however was having none of that. She shook the specialist off her without even wasting a single glance on her. Instead she started giving him CPR, which in turn made the two scientists, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, come out of their hideout and cautiously make their way to the two women on the platform.

"He won't be hostile," Skye ground out while compressing the stranger's chest repeatedly. "I can feel it."

They all knew Skye was special but… "We can't just blow caution in the wind just because of your gut feeling, Skye. That's why we have procedures for situations like these."

Now she turned around her head and gave Kate a scathing glare without stopping to tend to the man. "It is not a gut feeling, Kate! I mean, I can actively feel him… that came out wrong, didn't it?"

That broke the tense mood and made Kate snicker a little. "Yeah, kind of."

Only now did she take the time to look at what the portal spat out. The man was easy on the eyes, in a ruggedly handsome way… and why did she just describe him as ruggedly handsome?

Before she could answer herself, his eyelashes started fluttering. With a groan, he sat up and started coughing, startling Skye who had still been focussed on giving him CPR, and made her let out a yelp.

"I don't think I'm in paradise yet… not enough women," he muttered with a wry smile.

Then he took in the sight of the two beauties in front of him and let his eyes rest on Kate. "But the quality more than makes up for it."

She shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, but hid it under an annoyed mask. "Yeah, well, not gonna happen, hotshot. You're on Earth, Milky Way galaxy, Andromeda Nebula, also known as Midgard. We're on the brink of a planet-wide war and we need all the help we can get. We activated the pedestal in this structure in hope of gaining the aid of someone who can turn the tide in the coming war. Can you help us?"

Everyone was assembled around him and awaited his answer anxiously. Then he shrugged. "Very well. But first things first: Hi. I'm Crichard Ratchel… oh damn it, let's start again: Hi. I'm Richard Castle. Good to know that this universe's earth still exists, too. And I will do everything in my power to help you, guys, I…"

He stopped short for a second. "Wait a minute, before I pledge myself to your cause, you are the good guys, right? I would hate to realize too late I'm working for the nazis or something. That would totally suck."

Coulson and Beckett shared an incredulous look before Coulson spoke up. "Yes, we're the good guys. It's the year 2014, Nazi Germany has been defeated for almost seventy years now. We're agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization sworn to protect the people from all evil, especially extraterrestrial and extradimensional threats. We're the first and the last shield of humanity."

Castle snickered. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is the last shield? That's precious. But... are you the S.H.I.E.L.D.? Working with Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor and the other Avengers?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow. "Yes… how do you know that?"

Castle closed his eyes and bit down a little on his fist, effectively muffling his squeal of joy. "This. Is. Awesome!"

Then he pointed at their team leader. "That makes you Coulson, right? And you are May, there's FitzSimmons… where's Ward? The specialist?"

Beckett crossed her arms. "That'd be me. I'm the specialist on this team. Are you a clairvoyant?"

He waved her away. "Meh, you instead of Ward… that's six of one and half a dozen of another. Anyway, it seems as if Coulson is still prone to collect eye candy," he told her with a wink, to which she only rolled her eyes and gave him a dark look. "By which I don't mean to insinuate you can't take care of yourself… and I stop talking now," he quickly added when he saw her glare.

Coulson stepped forward to defuse the awkward situation. "The map that led us to this place spoke of unbelievable power to be unlocked. Do you have any idea how that might apply to you?"

In return, he only got a sheepish smile. "While I'm all for doing good and being heroic and all, I'm afraid I'm only a mystery writer." Upon seeing the fallen faces around him, he continued to babble. "But I'm very creative and crazy good with riddles. And given what stuff you guys work with, I'd say my crazy ideas might even come in handy. Or maybe…" his eyes lit up with glee at that, "maybe I received superpowers upon landing here!"

He looked Kate over head to toe before returning his gaze to her face with a bright smile. "Yep. I can see you naked."

Beckett raised her eyebrow a little. "Really? How do you like my navel ring?" she deadpanned.

Hearing his jaw clatter on the ground (or might as well have) and his eyes taking a glassy shine, she rolled her eyes and hauled him after her at his elbow, on her way to the brig after a silent conversation with Coulson.

Castle however smirked at her. "Ouh, kinky. My safeword is 'apples'... Ow, APPLES!" he yelped as her hand had wandered from his elbow to his ear.

Phil Coulson and Melinda May stood side by side with their arms crossed, following the two with their eyes, both sporting impassive expressions.

"How long do you give them?" Coulson asked.

"A week, tops," his pilot answered immediately.

Phil turned his head. "You think? So fast?" he asked incredulously.

A rare smile flitted over May's face and she nodded once. "Seven days before they jump each other's bones. I know true love when I see it."