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Vanessa zipped up her jacket and tied her hair back, thankful that they had set aside a locker in the Helicarrier for her, stocked with gear. As she turned to head out, her SHIELD-issued cell phone vibrated loudly against the metal shelf it rested on.
She picked it up, expecting some sort of mission update. Instead, her screen flashed brightly with:
Incoming Call ー William Choi
She stared at glowing words for several moments as the phone continued to buzz in her grasp. In the rush of the mission, she'd almost forgotten that, outside of the impending cataclysm, her normal life and friends still existed.
She knew that it was wrong to pick up personal calls during work time, but a small voice urged her to break the rule.
What if you don't make it out alive? it whispered.
On the final ring, she swiped to the right.
"Nessa?" came William's painfully familiar voice. "I thought you weren't going to pick up."
"What is it?" she asked. Vanessa felt bad about acting so callous to her closest friend, especially when this call could have very well been the last time they ever heard the other's voice. But the mission couldn't wait much longer. "I'm at work, Will. And it's really busy."
She wanted so badly to tell him what was going on, and to have him respond with his characteristic optimism, to reassure her with his bright playfulness. But all she got was a disappointed reply that resonated with the feeling in her own chest.
"Oh," he said lamely. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with me, Ryan, and Cor. Tonight at seven. Could you get off work by then?"
Vanessa felt another pang of inefficacy. Ever since she'd started working for SHIELD, she saw less and less of her friends. She missed Cordelia's quirky enthusiasm, Ryan's clever humour, and most of all, the lively confidence of the boy who was not but may as well have been her family.
"Sorry, I can't," she said. "Something really big came up. It's classified, of course. Even if it were over by seven tonight, I'd still be in the middle of the Atlantic."
"What?" William practically yelled into the phone. "You're where? How do you even have service?"
In spite of herself, Vanessa smiled a little at his incredulity. "Work benefits, I guess. I get cell service basically everywhere."
"Lucky," he moaned, diffusing the regretful tension on the line. "Well, tell us when you have time, okay? You do know that you're missed when you're not here."
"I will," she promised.
Vanessa moved to end the call with a swipe of her finger when William whispered, "Be careful."
"I will," she said again, and the line cut off.
She double checked her gear and ammunition a final time and left her cell phone in the locker, trying to fool herself into thinking that nothing had happened.
You can't afford sentiment, Vanessa, she chided herself. Focus on the mission.
The Quinjet was silent save for sound of the aircraft's engine and the wind whipping past them at high speeds. Agent Romanoff piloted the plane. Steve sat quietly in his full Captain America attire, shield and all. Vanessa was in the co-pilot's seat, inspecting all of the buttons on the dash.
Romanoff broke the silence. "So, how long have you been with SHIELD?"
"Not long," Vanessa replied, noticing a clear tremor in her voice. Sweat had also gathered on her palms, and she wiped them off futilely on her pants. Even though she had tried to convince herself that there wasn't nearly as much risk as she thought there was, it didn't stop her from being nervous. She had never been assigned a mission as crucial as this one before "Seven months or so. I'm still pretty clueless."
If the older woman heard her quiver, she didn't mention it. "Clueless? You wouldn't be involved in this if you were the typical, clueless new recruit. There must be something special about you."
Vanessa stared out of the window intently, unsure how much she wanted to share with the other agent. "I guess you could say that."
"I've been informed about it," Romanoff said quietly. "So you don't need to be so careful. Although caution is always a good thing, you can trust that I won't do anything to you."
"I hope my skills can be of service," Vanessa murmured in reply.
The Quinjet broke through the cloud cover. Steve walked over to the windshield of the craft and looked down at the glowing expanse of lights that was Stuttgart, Germany.
"He's over there," said Romanoff, taking a hand off the controls to point to an open space in front of a large building, probably a museum. "I'll drop you off right over it, get him by surprise."
Vanessa frowned when she saw all the biological signatures the dashboard monitor was displaying. "A lot of civilians," she pointed out. "We'll have to be pretty careful."
"Got it," said Steve, turning on his helmet radio. Vanessa hit a button and the larger doors at the back of the Quinjet unlocked with a faint beep. Another button and they slid open just as the aircraft soared over the square, Captain America jumping out of the moving plane without so much as a second of hesitation.
The metallic sound of a projectile deflecting off of a shield crackled through the Quinjet's speakers.
"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else," came Cap's voice. "We ended up disagreeing."
There was a brief pause before Loki's smooth tones sounded in response. "The soldier. A man out of time."
Steve scoffed. "I'm not the one who's out of time."
Romanoff steered the Quinjet around the square, which was filled with panicked civilians, and positioned the aircraft to hover right behind Steve. For the first time, Vanessa saw their enemy with her own eyes.
Loki was tall and pale, clad in leather and metal armour. He wore a horned headdress of sort and carried the same scepter that he did when he first stepped out of the portal in the PEGASUS footage.
It was intimidating, yes, but what really unsettled Vanessa was the way that her senses were going haywire with the amount of power she felt, at so close a proximity.
The impression Vanessa got from him was more potent and dangerous than anything she had ever experienced. Energy so cold that it was almost scalding, so wildly out of control that it felt overwhelming. It made her hair stand on end.
The scepter he held exuded a different type of power ー ancient and mysterious and seemingly infinite. Even from far away, it seemed to reach out to her, seemed to graze over her skin like a gentle, almost inviting breeze. Whether or not the god noticed it, the scepter's ambience seemed to leach into his.
"Loki." Romanoff commanded through the mic, "Drop the weapon and stand down."
The only response they received was blast of blue energy from the gem set into the scepter.
"How rude." Romanoff pulled on the joystick hard, steering the Quinjet out of the way just in time as Steve flung his shield at the god.
"There are more than one of him," Vanessa observed with a frown as Romanoff straightened the Quinjet again. They all gave off the same frosty aura as Loki, but fainter and less cogent. "I think they're illusions."
"We can shoot one of them and try," Romanoff offered. "But we should wait until all the civilians have cleared out."
Vanessa knew that there was an easier way to find out and was about to try it when AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" suddenly exploded from the speakers. Over the loud music, a deep male voice laughed.
"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?"
Another presence came onto Vanessa's radar ー metallic and powerful and thrumming to the beat of the music.
Iron Man, in his famous red and gold suit, touched down on the square below them.
"Make your move, Reindeer Games," he said, pointing what seemed like every piece of weaponry the suit had at Loki. The god's armour melted away and he put up his hands in what was obviously surrender. "Good move."
Romanoff barked a laugh. "Stark," she said, almost fondly. "What a drama queen."
"Said anything?" Fury's voice rang out through Romanoff's headset amidst a low clap of thunder.
"Not a word," she responded, frowning. And for good reason ー the skies were clear. The thunder was coming out of nowhere.
A louder rumble drowned out the director's response.
As they headed back to the Helicarrier with their black-haired prisoner in tow, Vanessa couldn't help but feel apprehensive. With that scepter, he easily took out a dozen armed SHIELD operatives alone. He was holding out fine against just Steve, who seemed to share Vanessa's sentiment.
"I don't like it," he muttered behind her, barely audible above the humming of the engines.
"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" asked Tony Stark, who leaned casually against the wall of the jet, suited but unhelmeted. He had managed to give Loki a second nickname only minutes after the first; it was a somewhat impressive feat.
"I don't remember it being ever that easy," said Steve, shaking his head. "This guy packs a wallop."
"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow," Stark commented, provocation plain in his words. "What's your thing? Pilates?"
"What?"
"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."
"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Steve's subtle emphasis wasn't the only indicator of aggression; Vanessa could feel the tensions between them rise, their respective ambiences grating against each other. And a little distance away from that, Loki's sharp, cold energy signature cut through the air like a knife.
Stark shrugged. "Yeah, there are a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."
Abruptly, a blinding bolt of lightning flashed in front of the jet, followed by the loudest clap of thunder yet. The craft shook violently in the turbulence.
"Where is this coming from?" Romanoff asked, exasperation clear in her voice. The hairs on Vanessa's forearms stood on end as she realized what she was sensing ー there was an energy signature in the sky, flying after them. It was an acrid, scorching feeling, almost the exact opposite to Loki's in nature but the same in potency.
Something was on its way.
She hit the button on the dashboard to activate the Quinjet's radar. As it scanned, she heard Steve taunt Loki, "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"
"I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Loki spoke normally for the first time, and Vanessa was surprised how tame it sounded. Mild, reserved ー nothing like the madman down in the square.
She swivelled around in her chair, facing the three men. "That's more than just lightning. Someone's coming. Or something."
For a moment, Loki's eyes flitted to her in curiosity, confirming her suspicions. He knew what it was and the question for the rest of them was: Is the newcomer an ally or a foe?
Vanessa slipped her Glock out of its holster just as the whole jet rocked, hit by a blinding flash of light. She sprang from her seat, weapon loaded, while Romanoff straightened the Quinjet.
Stark hit a button on one wall of the aircraft and opened the back doors of the Quinjet. Just as the ramp extended out into the storm, a figure landed on the metal with a gust of wind, huge and muscular and imposing. Vanessa didn't even have time to fire off a warning shot before the newcomer grabbed Loki by the throat and left.
She blinked.
What the hell?
"Now there's that guy," Stark groaned.
"Another Asgardian?" asked Romanoff, glancing back from the pilot's seat.
Steve looked just as mystified. "Think the guy's a friendly?"
"Doesn't matter," said Stark. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."
He strode to the ramp and prepared to jump off in pursuit.
"Wait, Stark, we need a plan of attack!" called Steve, putting on his own helmet.
Stark snorted, a strangely metallic sound through the barrier of his armor. "I have a plan. Attack."
He jumped out of the jet.
"I'd sit this one out, Cap," said Romanoff as she noticed Steve grab a parachute.
He was busy fastening the strap to his suit. "I don't see how I can."
"These guys come from legends," she argued. "They're basically gods."
Steve's next statement almost made Vanessa snicker, despite the dire situation. "There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."
He jumped out of the jet.
Romanoff shook her head with a huff of amusement. "I'm resisting the urge to roll my eyes and say 'boys.'"
"Well, it would be fitting." Vanessa gave a low snort of laughter before turning to the dash to close the rear doors. "There's a clearing about two hundred metres west. Let's land there."
Vanessa was unfortunately underdressed for Europe in early spring, wearing only a thin jacket. The cool night air of the mountains hit her like a whip as she stepped off of the Quinjet ramp. Usually, the chill would feel normal to her, but in those circumstances she felt as if she was surrounded by Loki's taunting presence. She shivered slightly, before all thoughts of the cold were pushed away from her mind by the huge surge of energy coming from twelve o'clock.
"Are they fighting?" she asked herself incredulously. Romanoff appeared at her left shoulder just as a loud, metallic clang echoed through the woods.
"Then we'll have to break it up," she said casually, flicking on a bright flashlight and seeming altogether unfazed by the situation. Vanessa admired her level-headedness, which was no doubt a product of her experience. "You coming?"
"Yeah -" Vanessa frowned, suddenly aware of the cutting cold of Loki's aura like a beacon on the mountainside. "They've left the prisoner unattended."
"What?" Romanoff asked sharply. "Where? How do you know?"
"Not too far from here," said Vanessa, darting back into the Quinjet to grab a pair of handcuffs. "I don't have time to explain, but I can sense things. Anyway, I'll take care of it. Break up the fight."
Romanoff hesitated. "He's a god. Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"
"He's not going anywhere right now, even though he could easily just fly away or something, which leads me to believe that he doesn't want to," said Vanessa, desperately hoping that she was making a correct assumption. If not, she would probably die. From what she saw of his skills, he didn't need a scepter to take her out.
"I think it'll be fine." She swallowed, the words more to convince herself than anyone else.
The older agent pondered it for a moment longer before nodding and sprinting off in the direction of the dispute. As soon as she was out of sight, Vanessa inhaled deeply and closed her eyes.
When they opened again, she knew they glowed with silver light. Her vision was blurry for a moment as she tried to calm the nerves that were interfering with her performance. Remember your training, Vanessa. You can do it.
After another second, her sight cleared.
The world around her fractured and unfocused, before acuminating into bright lucidity. Every movement, the smallest detail ー all clearer to her than the night sky. She felt the familiar rush of exhilaration that accompanied her active ability replace her anxiety and almost grinned to herself, the situation notwithstanding.
Ready.
With the aid of her enhanced optics, Vanessa navigated soundlessly through the woods, arriving at the foot of the small cliff where Loki's energy lay at rest. She drew her weapon, despite knowing that it wouldn't be much use. She'd seen the footage ー the guy had taken a bullet to the face and emerged unscathed. The very thought made her want to turn back, sprint for the relative safety of the Quinjet, but it was her mission.
It was her mission, even if her job description clearly stated 'counter-terrorism' and never included 'apprehending otherworldly deities.'
She slowly climbed over the rocks, coming up behind the god cautiously.
She was about to tell him to put his hands up when he laughed.
Her fingers tightened around her gun, her heart rate rising rapidly.
"Trying to sneak up on me?" he said, turning to face her. For a second, his gaze met hers and an unmistakable shadow of surprise flickered across his features. Vanessa knew what he must have been thinking, and he voiced those thoughts to confirm her theory. "Those are interesting eyes, for a Midgardian."
She ignored his comment and tried her best to keep her voice level in the presence of a god when she replied, "Sir, I'll need you to put your hands up."
Loki just laughed again, before raising his hands over his head in compliance. As Vanessa carefully moved closer to him, reaching for the metal handcuffs she had clipped to her belt, she couldn't help but think that everything was going accordingly to plan ー his plan.
Then they both jumped. A sudden shockwave coming from below them toppled trees and cracked stone. Heat lapped at Vanessa's face. Her earpiece crackled with Romanoff's voice.
"I think they're done now," she said dryly. "Got the prisoner?"
Vanessa unclipped the handcuffs and glanced at Loki, who raised his eyebrows in anticipation. "Yes," she said into her tiny radio. "Got him."