Excuse me while I throw myself on the ground and scream with excitement. Seriously guys. I'm amazed at how many people have alerted this story. It is exciting and also scary. I hope you guys aren't disappointed!

Sabi2: Thank you! And yes, he is meant to be hated :)

HeraOfTheStars: Thanks! I'm glad that you aren't annoyed by it.

amrswo: Thank you so much!

Chapter Four

It was quiet in the labs as Bruce Banner stood behind a white counter. He was looking through a magnifying glass when he was forced to push up his falling glasses. Under the magnifying glass was a device which Tony had been working on, but seeing as he was not in the labs with Bruce, the doctor decided to go ahead and work on it.

He was just about to insert a microchip to the device when the door flew open and Gwen came bursting in. She looked absolutely terrible.

"Gwendolyn?" he asked. "What happened?"

"The medication," she said. "I need it now."

"Gwendolyn…"

"Now, Doctor!"

"Alright."

Bruce grabbed a pill container and handed it to Gwen. The only reason the medication was in pill form was because she refused to let it be injected into her system, even though it would work so much better that way.

Gwen snatched the container from Bruce and opened it. He handed her a bottle of water which she used to swallow the pill.

After finishing, Gwen wiped her mouth with her sleeve and took a deep breath.

"You almost lost it, didn't you?" asked Bruce quietly.

Gwen nodded. "It was just like last time. I was getting so angry."

"But you walked away, didn't you?"

She nodded again, but didn't say anything.

Bruce was the only person who could understand her pain. He could easily lose control too. However, Gwen was better at keeping herself under control and off the radar from SHIELD.

"I should just go back to Chicago," said Gwen at last.

"No, Gwendoyln." Bruce took his glasses off and placed them on the counter. He walked over to Gwen and put a hand on her shoulder.

"But I-"

"Gwendolyn, you stopped yourself from losing control," stated Bruce. "You can manage this."

"But last time I lost it, I hurt people."

"I know. But that's over now. You need to focus on the present."

Gwen looked up at the Doctor and smiled.

To most people, they wouldn't have known why in the world Steve hurried out of the command center when Gwen left, but Tony Stark did. It was so obvious to him.

Steve was not good with women and even worse with women he was interested in. And from what Tony saw, Steve looked the most awkward he had ever been when he was standing next to Gwen. So, naturally, Tony was already coming up with new nicknames for him and preparing to tease Gwen.

But what worried Tony was the way Gwen looked before she left. Fury had obviously seen the difference in her face. Actually, if someone didn't see the way she looked, they would have to be blind.

Once Gwen had stormed out of the command center, it seemed everyone could feel the energy she left behind. And that's when Tony realized that the accident almost repeated itself. And that worried him.

"You know, Fury," said Tony, striding up to the man, "there is such a thing called privacy."

"Are you hiding something from me, too, Mr. Stark?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "If I was, I wouldn't tell you. Duh."

Fury looked irritated and seemed it was best to just walk away. After one last look at the man, Tony left the command center and nearly ran straight into Steve.

"Watch it there, Cap," said Tony. "Don't want to mess that pretty face up for Gwen, do you?"

Steve's blank expression made Tony sigh.

"Never mind," said the genius. "Where did she go?"

"Down the hall," answered Steve, pointing in the direction in which Gwen left.

"Thanks, old man."

Tony walked past the solider and followed the hall. He was confident he knew where Gwen had gone. So, of course, when he approached the labs, he was not surprised to find the door open.

"Hey there, Buttercup," said Tony as he entered to find Bruce with his hand on Gwen's shoulder. The blonde turned around to look at Tony. He tried not to show any sign of fear at the sight of her face.

"I think I'll let you calling me that slide this time," she said.

"That's the spirit. Did you take the medication?"

She nodded.

"Good girl," said Tony.

"Might I suggest you stay here for the night, Gwen?" asked Bruce.

Gwen didn't look happy with it, which scared Tony, but she eventually nodded after a bit of thought.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

Bruce nodded and went back to his counter.

"Y'know Gwenie," said Tony, leaning casually against a wall, "no one can stop themselves from feeling angry."

"I know, it's just that I get so fustrated. I can't do anything about it."

She looked up at Tony.

"You seemed worried about me in the car yesterday," stated Gwen. "Did I look bad then?"

In truth, Tony had been worried. She hadn't looked as bad as she did in the labs currently, but she had looked like it was starting to go there.

"A little," he answered, not wanting her to worry too much. "But I suppose you could've just been tired."

"I blame Agent Maxwell," Gwen groaned. "I think he contributes to it."

"What's he even doing here anyway?" asked Bruce. "I thought he was going back to Chicago."

"I have no idea," answered Gwen. "I just want him gone."

There was silence as the three of them were lost in thought. They all jumped when there was a knock on the door. They turned to see Clint Barton who was dressed in his sleeveless uniform.

"Agent Powers?" he asked looking straight at Gwen. "Can you come with me for a moment?"

"Sure, Clint," she answered.

Tony watched as Gwen moved towards the archer and began to make a connection with Agent Maxwell.

"What's up, Clint?" asked Gwen as she followed the assassin out the lab door.

"I wanted to show you something," he answered.

Gwen did not ask anything else and simply followed Clint through the halls. She kept her head down slightly in hopes that no one would see her face. She wondered for a moment why Clint didn't say anything about it. But he was never one to ask her questions. He normally just went with whatever she said.

At last they approached a door and Clint typed in a password on a screen nearby. He must've punched it in correctly for Gwen heard it unlock and Clint pulled the door open.

"Hurry," he said, ushering her in.

Gwen obeyed and stepped over the threshold, Clint right behind her. He sealed the door and typed in another password which seemed to lock the door.

The room was dark and in front of them was some metal stairs that had four steps. Clint went up them and Gwen followed. They walked along a metal walkway which was closed in by railings. On either side were large containers.

At last they reached the end of the walkway and they climbed down another four steps. Clint continued forward and suddenly took a left. Gwen quickly followed and nearly ran into Clint who had stopped. They were standing in front of a small group of three gray and rusty lockers.

"What are these doing here?" asked Gwen curiously. This wasn't the locker room, that was for sure.

Clint didn't answer and instead opened the middle locker. There was nothing inside but a cardboard box. Gwen could've sworn she could feel something inside it, but she wasn't sure what. Clint lifted it up and opened it to reveal a glowing blue cube.

"What is that?" asked Gwen.

"It's part of the tesseract," answered Clint, not taking his eyes off the cube. "And SHIELD's hiding it."

Those hypocrites, thought Gwen.

"But why are they hiding it?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Clint. "I saw someone go in here, but I didn't see who it was. I was able to get the password and eventually found this."

"But why are you showing me?"

"Because I knew that if I showed anyone else, they'd throw a huge fit."

That was very true, even Gwen knew it.

"But how did SHIELD keep a part of it?" she inquired.

"I don't know that either," said Clint. "But I suppose they want to use it to make some sort of weapon. Which leads me to the next reason why I showed you this." Clint closed the box and put it back in the locker. "I was hoping you could hack into SHIELD's database and see if you could find any weapon plans."

"Why don't we just take the cube?" suggested Gwen.

Clint shook his head. "If we do that, they'll know that someone found it. We need to be secret about this. So, can you do it?"

Gwen nodded. "Yes."

"And you can't tell Stark or Banner," added Clint as he closed the locker. "Don't tell anyone."

"Got it."

"Thanks. By the way, you look like you could use some sleep."

That evening Gwen found herself in a living quarters aboard the hellicarrier. Tony had Natasha find one for her so that Gwen did not have to come in contact with Fury. The room was small and completely white, but Gwen didn't mind. Though the color was a bit too bright. There was also a bed and an ajoining bathroom.

The medication was already working by the night and when Gwen looked in the mirror in the bathroom, she noticed that the skin around her eyes was already back to normal. She wondered if this new and improved version of the medication would work fast and last long. But she could only hope.

Tony had gone back to Stark Tower, as he wanted to take the opportunity to show off the new Mark VIII. He then returned with some of Gwen's things so that she didn't have to sleep in her day clothes. He then left once more and told her he'd return in the morning.

While Gwen was lying in her bed, she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the cube. What did SHIELD want with it? She could recall Tony telling her that they had been making weapons because of the whole "gods from another realm coming to the planet" thing. But that had been taken care of. What did they want with it now? And to just leave it in an old locker like that. Why wouldn't they have put it in a place with high security?

But unfortunately, Gwen did not have any answers.

"Father, I come to report on Loki."

A muscular man with blonde hair down to his shoulders approached an old man wearing armor.

"How is he doing, my son," said the old man.

"He still refuses to speak," said the other. There was a pause. "Father, are we going to keep Loki locked up for all eternity?"

"Thor, you must realize what your brother has done."

Thor shook his head. "He may have made mistakes, but he is still my brother. He is still your son."

Odin looked at his son. Thor was always going to defend Loki. There was no stopping it.

"Once he speaks and can explain to us why he caused the harm he did in Midgard, I may consider his release," replied Odin.

"Thank you, Father," answered Thor, though he did not smile. "I do have one more question, if I may ask it."

"Yes, my son."

"What about the cube? What are we to do with it?"

"It is under protection at the moment," said Odin. "I do not worry about it. It will not fall into Loki's hands again."

"It is not Loki that I worry about."

There was another silence.

"My son, are you saying that you believe a member of Asgard would steal the cube?"

"Yes, Father."

Odin was not happy with this. Though he could not argue. Who would not want to possess the power of the cube?

"I suppose it is possible-"

Odin was cut off when the doors in which Thor came in were slammed open. A scrawny young man came sprinting in, holding onto his helmet with his left hand for it was two sizes too big.

"All-Father Odin," he said, trying to catch his breath. "Sif has sent me to you."

"And what is it she wishes?"

"She wishes for me to tell you something."

There was a pause in which the man was breathing heavily.

"Well then?" asked Odin impatiently. "What is it?"

"It is the cube, All-Father. It is missing."