S H I E L D Agent Rhapsodos: Taking the Backseat

by Wayang.Silver

It was supposed to be his reward from the Goddess after his service as a WEAPON to the Planet. Except, his life now consists of being a SOLDIER, Turk, Superhero Sitter, & this time as the unwilling hero in one. With so many heroes around, Genesis decides to take the backseat. At least Coulson concurs that the backstage crew can make differences; Fury doesn't seem to agree.

10. In Monsters We Trust

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsodos: Taking the Backseat

Beta-ed by: CommentatorinthePeanutGallery and Sypherianlp. (June 1st, 2013) [Last Edit January 1st, 2016]

Disclaimer: Refer to the Prologue Chapter. I do not own any movie dialogue in this chapter. The title of the fic has been updated for better wording.

AU Notes: Yes, I've been absent for a while. Although I will say I wasn't slacking at all… just too many plots in my mind I had to get them out and got snagged in a minor writer's block. I swear to you that this chapter was finished in March, but there were a couple of revisions that went through my betas, RL got in the way (exams and such), and my sister recently got married.

Also, for waiting for a long time… and gift and celebration of passing 19,000 hits, 160 reviews, 180 favorites, 200 followers, and 12 C2s for this fic, if you haven't noticed already on the fics list…I'm shamelessly promoting two companion fics you can read:

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains: Prequel to Taking the Backseat. Before he got into SHIELD, his second life started as a teenager. Genesis somewhat questions the Goddess why of all things his second life started off like this, until he meets an old man in hospice by sheer luck. Minerva's last lesson: A Part That Remains.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsosdos Introductions: Agent Jasper Sitwell: When Sitwell sabotages a mission the US army is undertaking by General Ross' orders; he's shocked his target is a teenager. No one apparently passed a memo the army were chasing a kid: Genesis Rhapsodos. Moreover, what does Ross want from him? When Ross' records show human genetic enhancements for military exploitation, it's nothing good. 1st of the Introduction series, the events where Genesis is first found by SHIELD.

Yes, the above are short fics (I've limited the chapters) on Genesis' past before the Avengers. I have a thing for unappreciated/minor characters, so Agent Sitwell was the first in my mind to meet the red mage and I took the challenge to explore his character. You can read them whenever you can (although best after this chapter).

About this chapter: CHAPTER LENGTH WARNING [yet again]: Consists of about 18,000 words [refer to Chapter 7 for further warnings]. I got this theme when I thought about G's interaction with Bruce. However, I'm pleased to say that someone noticed that 'Monsters' doesn't only refer back to Genesis and the Hulk. Anyways, I had some real fun doing the research behind the Hulk (which included digging up comic materials, watching/skimming the 2008 movie again, and linking it back to my Intro series). Well – I hope I did some justice for Bruce Banner/Hulk fans for this time (please let me know).

Enough of me, I hope this huge installment will make your weekend better!

Enjoy!

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~ Chapter 9: In Monsters We Trust. ~

"We never see other people anyway, only the monsters we make of them." ~ Colson Whitehead, Zone One

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Wishbone Lab, Main SHIELD Headquarters, Helicarrier

Even though he was in his element–not to mention with the best equipment all scientists would ever dream of having in one place–Doctor Bruce Banner didn't feel all too calm and at home in the lab. It was odd to say the least. After years being out in the world, when he comes back into the lab, he just wasn't so comfortable anymore.

He solely blamed it on the Helicarrier full of mostly people with black suits that would pass by the window at times and eye him with a look; like he was a very dangerous caged animal or more in detail: a monster. It's odd to notice for the last past hour he hasn't even spotted anyone passing by. While Bruce had gotten used to those kinds of faces, treatments, and ignored them easily, it still didn't settle well with him that they were looking down on him. Shaking his head, the doctor wondered why he's thinking about what other people thought of him–but his genius mind gives out the possibility of facts that he hasn't been to a place where people are aware what he was hiding. Here the people knew who he was… and what he had. It's been a year since he stepped into a lab again, but then again for once he actually felt confined to a barred enclosure.

Or maybe more specific, the Other Guy wasn't so comfortable at SHIELD HQ–to 'him' the atmosphere around his lab feels hollow, foreboding, and restrictive with all the metal surrounding him.

Banner kept a lid on the big guy as his head started to throb lightly, as it was a minor reach for control as his nervousness had alerted the Hulk that he might be in trouble. Focusing a few breaths of trained meditation, the clawing of his mind subsided slightly and the doctor breathed in relief he could get back to work. The Other Guy was still there, as if anticipating there were enemies who would try to attack Bruce. It was like having another person who hovered around and latched on to you permanently. While useful in some cases, it was dangerous in others… especially when the Other Guy got angry.

Walking around the lab with screens flickering live feed from spectrometers across the globe, Bruce wasn't quite sure how he'll complete the search in time as Director Fury requested him to. Even though he was a very versatile genius, Banner had to admit he was slightly behind in how technology worked now. Well, running around the world with the military after you makes you learn, technology is more of an enemy. He'd know how to get in certain commands to work on the computers, but he just didn't have the right knowledge to simplify it and make it work the way he wanted it.

Bruce gave up and sighed. His formula that was running through the spectrometers to detect clusters of gamma radiation signatures had worked… Yet he couldn't help but cringe when he looked at the timer.

~ REMAINING TIME TO COMPLETION: 730 HOURS [Approx. 1 Month] ~

The doctor wondered if Loki would have taken over the world by then.

With nothing to do for that moment, Bruce decided he'd drag a chair, sit down, and relax. He had stood all the time working on the detection equipment and programs he forgot when he actually had rested. His stomach at that point growled and Bruce groaned inwardly. Apparently he seemed to have missed a few meals as well. Feeling wary and nervous of his surroundings, the scientist didn't feel like it was a good idea to wander around the area unsupervised–hungry or not. Being in the lab still made the Hulk twitchy, and he wasn't going to antagonize the Hulk over a meal.

To get his mind off his hunger, the doctor shifted in his seat and wondered what might become of him later on. All he knew was that he was called in to find the Tesseract and SHIELD would happily let him go. So far despite all the claims of using the cosmic cube as a power source, Bruce did have his reservations that he wasn't told the entire truth about it. He heard in a couple of newspapers while he was on the run, the industrialist Tony Stark had made the arc reactor as the world's first clean energy source and that knowledge was public. It didn't make any sense at all to have another energy source that was hidden, and had the same title 'A Candle for all Mankind' in comparison.

Then there was the Avengers Initiative. Bruce in all his life under no circumstances thought he would be considered in the team. It was a crazy idea like building a time bomb about to explode. He honestly hadn't checked all the member profiles that consisted of the team yet (all too busy deciphering Erik Selvig's notes), but he was aware Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff were on the list.

He just couldn't help but feel being the odd one out. One guy was the real super soldier, the successful one. The other was probably one of the best spy and assassin SHIELD has to offer–and Bruce? He didn't consider himself to fit along with them. He was an academic or scientist for Pete's sake!–and Bruce was sure SHIELD had plenty of them. The only one who fought was the Other Guy, and he wasn't sure he'd trust the Hulk not to go rampaging around without getting innocent people hurt in the process. What was the Director of SHIELD thinking putting the Hulk on the Initiative? That, Bruce, had no idea of. The only thing that kept him working for Fury right now was because he wasn't General Ross and wasn't interested in the Hulk. The ship commander Agent Hill seemed like one of the stricter agents who stuck to protocol no matter what the situation. She and like most agents on board had given him the eye. He was a walking hazard on the ship; a reason Banner wasn't going to stick around the bridge unless he was needed.

A knock on the lab door immediately alerted him. Banner was very sure he hadn't called anyone, but perhaps there was someone else other than Agent Romanoff that was supposed to check on him. He only heard that she went off on a mission about the wayward Asgardian making an appearance somewhere in Europe.

"Come in," said Bruce wondering who it was. Yet at the same time, he felt the Hulk started to subdue and his head was lighter than before.What was that? Oddly enough it was the same feeling he had on the landing deck on top of the carrier.

When the person entered, it was the auburn haired agent he had met on the said deck. "Bruce. Are you alright? If you're hungry I have some food." the young agent said as he stepped into the lab with two trays.

When Bruce tried to say something, his stomach spoke for him–a lot louder than he'd wanted it to. He laughed weakly as his face heated up, visibly embarrassed. "Sorry about that Genesis."

Genesis scowled and rolled his eyes in another direction, his irritation directed somewhere else. "Don't apologize, Doctor. Honestly, the other agents could have just sent food inside and left it here at the table."

"It's okay really, they probably were just wary of the Other Guy." the doctor said like it wasn't a big deal as he tried to persuade the agent to calm down.

The younger man shook his head and snorted, disagreeing with the scientist."Bruce, it's not okay. We're the ones who requested your help, the least they could do was help you a bit." Genesis then muttered, "Just because Natasha's off on a mission, doesn't mean they can slack off when she's not around. That means they'll need reprimanding later." There was a small silence before he shrugged, "Ah, but let's forget that now. I think we could settle for a late dinner, mind if I join you?"

At the offer, Bruce just couldn't help but feel startled. He did, however, feel touched a little that Genesis cared. "Um… Not at all–the more, the merrier." He never thought of someone who knew he and the Hulk was one person would want his company (and that was outside of work). Even on the way here, Agent Romanoff wasn't as relaxed or eager to have him as company like the young spy.

"There's not much. Whole grain toast, peanut butter or any other fillings that's available for you to choose," Rhapsodos said as he put Bruce's tray on the table that consisted of tiny jars with toasted bread and buns. "But it defeats the horrid food in the Helicarrier cafeteria and is a lot healthier than what they serve around here."

Bruce's attention, however, was focused on the served hot drink on the tray. His nose knew that characteristic smell anywhere, thanks to his prolonged stay in India. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Masala chai, commonly known as Indian mixed-spice tea." the young agent mused fondly. Genesis shrugged, "Unfortunately without fresh herbs and spices, but it's a personal dried stash I usually bring to the Helicarrier. I usually avoid staying too long in headquarters if I have to, but anything good and healthy to drink while doing paperwork makes the stay more bearable."

The doctor took a small careful sip and while he knew it wasn't the best he'd tasted before, he was thankful for the kind gesture. "Thanks, it's nice and warm. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Genesis lightly replied.

The two ate and drank silently until the doctor's curiosity got the better of him. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Not at all, I'm here to answer questions. Even if those questions relate to the fact of, why I'm here with you… may have certain motives." The red-head agent responded with a leveled tone.

Genesis' rather blunt yet cryptic answer slightly took Bruce off guard, and in a moment too soon he started to guard himself guessing what the agent's real intentions were. He frowned, "So how are you tied into this whole mess anyway?"

Genesis inwardly wanted to hunt down the useless agents who could have forewarned the scientist sooner. Perhaps Bruce's alter ego was the cause they left the man alone to starve. With Phil sent to get ready for Tony Stark's arrival and Natasha was with the extraction team, it was clear SHIELD lacked a person who was willing to get close and personal to the good doctor. Right now, Genesis also took notice that even the Black Widow hadn't mentioned what his job was to Bruce. A minor quibble, probably thanks to Clint's MIA status. Thus, it was inevitable he had to reintroduce himself.

"Agent Rhapsodos at your service, I'm the second consultant to the Avengers Initiative." the former commander said formally. "In short, I'm the representative from SHIELD's side of things."

Bruce stiffened in the middle of taking a bite of toast with jelly spread. He stared and gave Genesis a muddled look, "Aren't you a bit too young?"

The auburn haired agent chose to take no notice of Bruce's surprise of his age. It wasn't going to be the last time he was going to hear it – at least until he looked older. "I get that a lot, but I'm already 23 this year. How I am here isn't on the most pleasant circumstances, but I'm good at what I do."

The scientist's mind quickly deduced what Genesis meant. He was either a genius or prodigy of some kind. Not anyone could just hang around near Director Fury or get the job of a consultant to an initiative Bruce was sure had high clearance levels. Well, at least not as young as the Rhapsodos kid anyway. For someone as young as him, the doctor noticed he didn't entirely look naïve as if this job was somewhat a norm. He eventually took a bite of his toast and digested the information. Bruce decided he'd get some help on his current task, but all the same, he could try picking up some extra information on what was going on at SHIELD.

"Alright, after we finish dinner, there are a few things I need help with," Bruce said.

Once the two finished eating their meal, they both had gotten straight back to work. Genesis had then found out that the doctor was having problems with SHIELD tech. It was not surprising when he had run for his life, that Bruce had less access to recent technology. He quickly routed the local area mainframe and linked the spectrometers to shorten the estimated time rate detection to 1 week remaining. His decision was to leave the rest of the tech routing to Tony Stark later, knowing that the genius inventor could easily bypass SHIELD's center mainframe if he wished to. Plus, that would give time for the geniuses to bond with one another. His real purpose here, however, was to use his Synaptic Net Dive abilities discreetly to cover his actions so he can speak to Bruce on private matters. He had a promise to fulfill.

Bruce Banner on the other hand astutely observed the young agent like he was a very complex puzzle. After dealing with people like General Ross, the scientist always had second thoughts in trusting people. Genesis wasn't an exception to that, but what bothered him the most was how the young man's presence was capable of toning down the Other Guy. No headaches, no prickles clawing in his mind, and not a shred of the hostility of emotions. Yet if Bruce wanted answers to why the Hulk was acting that way, he needed to know about the young man first.

So, with the intellect he had, the doctor made good use of asking some questions that agents would suspect were pleasantries. Genesis simply answered in kind, but his way of 'answering' was rather unique–he was a literature eccentric and would reply with Shakespeare or random quotes–which at times even Bruce had to stop, think, and take in the quote to make out what he meant. Bruce wasn't a professor in languages, but Genesis was odd that way; he couldn't really imagine how Genesis' co-workers handled him.

Bruce then soon also learned of how Loki was caught by Steve Rogers and Agent Romanoff. The Asgardian was now on his way to the monstrous-sized hovering base. Still, during the time he heard the agent's report, he also noted how Genesis was very adept in technology. The kid quickly cut down the detection rate time, but Bruce also caught some of his tech commands on the local software weren't linked to the spectrometer signals. It sort of unnerved Bruce inwardly the Hulk wasn't feeling threatened by the odd suspicious activities the young agent was doing.

In the end, Bruce couldn't take the silence anymore. "What's your real reason here Genesis? Because if I'm correct, those last ten commands you slotted in had nothing to do with what we're working on." the doctor noted with a cautious tone.

The spy shifted to one side as he stood and crossed his arms, in a rather calm way as if he was expecting Bruce to ask. "It's just a variety of commands so we can speak in private, Doctor. I assure you I have my reasons that I don't want my superiors hearing on this." Genesis said coolly. Once he knew all the spying devices in the room were off, the former first Class calmly took out a letter that was in his suit pocket and handed it over to the scientist. "I have a letter for you. It's from Dr. Elizabeth Ross."

Hearing her name spoken out, Bruce nearly choked on his tea while he was sipping it. His eyes stared at the letter dumbly. "How…?"

Seeing the poor shocked man, Genesis chose to lay it on top of the observation table beside Bruce gently. When it came to handling anyone's love interest, the former first Class knew he had to tread on the topic carefully. "I was sent in to keep an eye on her by SHIELD, but mostly her father as well. After your run in at Harlem, there were some parties that held interest on what she knew about you. I served as an undercover agent and her bodyguard for some time."

Bruce carefully scanned the letter and checked for inconsistencies whether it was real or not.

"I haven't tampered or made it if that's what you're searching for." the ex-SOLDIER said taking a sip from his tea. Genesis mused, "She's a very intelligent woman to spot out I wasn't what I seemed to be. Miss Ross had mentioned how she's thankful you went to all the trouble in getting her mother's necklace back for her. Especially after she thought she lost it when she sold it while you and she were on the run." (1)

The scientist gulped if this was the real thing he really wanted to know how Betty was doing. While the Hulk was agitated with Bruce's fresh emotional turmoil, there was no sudden lurch of suspicion on the young agent. When he met the Widow in India and she had said it was just between her and him, Bruce had felt a trickle of distrust. The result proved right as she had a team of soldiers outside their meeting place. Here, there was no such reaction. The fact that Genesis knew what happened between him and Betty was another clue that he wasn't lying. Betty was very private thanks to the nature of her father's job as a general, and her sharing such information to Genesis meant she trusted the agent.

"Is this lab secure from anyone seeing us?" Bruce warily asked.

Genesis pushed a button on the wall and the window dimmed in a way so that anyone from the corridor couldn't see what they were doing inside. "It's now fully secured, although I've noted there hasn't been an agent near this section of the Helicarrier since you came in. I suggest you read it now, this is probably the best time I can cover you. I won't bother you, as I have a rather large amount of paperwork to deal with."

The doctor stared with disbelief. "How are the people outside the lab going to take it?"

The younger man, in turn, gave Bruce a toothy grin, "I'll tell them I had some high-level clearance issues to discuss with you. Anyone lower than my clearance level can't ask."

"How are those above you going to take it?" Bruce continued questioning. He held responsible General Ross for the paranoia he exhibited these days.

"I've planned ahead with that." Genesis calmly stated. "SHIELD isn't interested in your private life. They're more concerned with Ross than you as long as the Hulk doesn't make appearances too much. Director Fury's just not fond of sweeping up the Hulk's mess–but you're doing a better job than Ross of keeping secrets as secrets."

Bruce considered it, "Alright." He bit his lip in thought before proposed to the agent, "That means I should get rid of it once I read it."

Genesis nodded. He simply gave the solution to that for Bruce. "Fire is out of the question as you'll be raising alarms. If you go to the washroom, make sure it's empty before you run it through water, and then make sure the ink fades from the paper. After, rip it into tiny pieces, and flush it down the toilet for safety's sake."

"You've really thought this entire thing out, haven't you?" the doctor asked with incredulity. The red-head was very sure that the ink wasn't water-resistant, something he may have asked Betty to use before she even wrote the letter.

"Take your time Doctor." the young agent ushered with a small smirk not concerned at all with Bruce's utter disbelief. Genesis simply inclined and left Bruce to privately read the letter.

The former first Class then opened a slightly larger SHIELD tablet PC he borrowed, clamped it up into its place with the keyboard, and worked on what was basically the bane of his existence–in his last life and this one–which was paperwork. Genesis was actually glad he managed to reduce any damage and casualties in his most recent mission, but even then there were still other things he needed to check up on. Especially when the aftermath had dealings with other worldwide intel agencies asking for more information on Loki. If paperwork in one language was tedious, having them in multiple languages was even worse. Thankfully in his position, he only had to skim other agents' reports to see if there were inconsistencies or mistakes. Still, that didn't decrease the total amount of work he had to go through.

As he worked, Genesis was able to keep tabs on Bruce thanks to the Lifestream. Even with him facing the other way, the agent was sure he earned Bruce's trust to some degree now that he had delivered Betty Ross' letter. The doctor's nervous energy had subsided and Genesis could only sense that he was calm and at peace. Telling the truth apparently had managed to subdue the Hulk for now. Bruce Banner along with his alter ego may not need as much persuasion like Tony Stark did, but the former commander had no intentions of pissing them off very soon. The Hulk's anger was proportionate to his strength, and Genesis did not want any devastation to happen while they were hovering in the air at HQ.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Bruce had mixed feelings as he read the letter, for what he figured was the third or fifth time. It seemed longer than that, but it was the first real connection he had with Betty after the Hulk broke Harlem in the battle against Blonsky. Betty's letter had given him news of what happened in the aftermath of the fiasco.

The now dubbed 'Abomination' was still locked under away from prying eyes; apparently General Ross had lost a couple of military investors thanks to Blonsky's destructive deeds on the road. The media got word he had started all of it, and automatically it started tarnishing the general's reputation for good. The incident had led the general get a temporary probationary status to not leave the US, despite the fact some people blamed the Abomination's mess was Bruce's fault.

'Good thing I was out of the country,' thought Bruce. Thaddeus Ross may have been able to pull a few strings to keep 'Hulk-hunting' if he was on American soil, but with the general's current probation status, it had stopped him from getting overseas.

What was written next slightly angered Bruce. The disgraced brass eagle sadly was in fact, still ignoring his daughter like he had done so before, and having his sights on capturing the Hulk. Betty hadn't seemed to mind and stated that she was alright with it–more concerned over Bruce–as she was used to her father ignoring her. It seemed that their relationship between father and daughter had gotten worse after Harlem, something Bruce really didn't approve of. However, Betty's comment of having her mother's necklace back warmed his heart. Knowing she was happy despite the situation was what the best thing the doctor could ever hope for.

The last paragraph, though, was somewhat alarming and interestingly amusing at the same time. Firstly, alarming as some people from inside the military were after her for information about her time with the Hulk and Bruce. Secondly amusing that her father had hired a few bodyguards to guard her, but one of them was in fact, a SHIELD agent in disguise. Unlike the other bodyguards, Genesis had proven himself to be trustworthy and respectful to her. In return to keep his disguise a secret, Genesis had offered her the chance to send a letter to Bruce if they ever crossed paths.

As for her last words, sent Bruce's stomach feeling knots and butterflies. Betty said that she still loved him, regardless if he had the Hulk or not, and would accept both sides of him. The feeling of love was mutual, but he wasn't so sure of himself or his alter-ego to be near to other people. That danger factor scared him more than of what he could do to other people out of rage. The loss of control heavily weighed his actions to keep living in solitude, and he didn't want to risk anyone.

After a long silence of pondering over his situation and Betty's letter, Bruce finally took the courage to turn his attention back to the young agent, "Genesis?" The young man immediately stopped typing on his paperwork, turned his seat around, and gave his full undivided attention at him. He then asked, "How long ago was this written?"

Genesis gave a moment's thought before he answered, "I can't say in detail when, as the information for the mission is classified. However, I can give you an idea it was a few months ago give or take–last year." The former SOLDIER was going to keep himself on the truth as long as he could, even if he couldn't tell the doctor everything.

"You've kept the letter for that long?" the scientist blinked clearly amazed.

There was a genuine nod. "I've kept it away from even the director and my handler. Just say, I'd like to honor the promise I made to Miss Ross."

Banner had other suspicions why Genesis had wanted to help both him and Betty. From the way the agent said his words, there was a stronger reason than that. "Well– I– For some reason, my gut's saying you have another personal reason why you're helping me. Am I right or wrong?"

"You're correct in that account."

"Okay," the doctor nervously swallowed and then asked, "Is there a chance I may know why?"

"My soul, corrupted by vengeance… Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey," was the agent's light response like it was a real answer.

The doctor not wanting to be left out of the meaning, tried to decipher it on his own. "Does this have something to do with revenge? Like you went through something bad with General Ross?" Bruce wasn't sure he pegged it right, but he wanted to know the answer.

Genesis chuckled Bruce's decipher attempt. "Quite right–you're the first person in a while who actually wants to interpret my favorite poem." He meant it too; even his own 'spy family' had ignored his musings of his beloved poem these days.

"I can't really help it," Bruce admitted, rather embarrassed with the sudden urge to know what the auburn haired agent meant. "It's just how my scientist mind works."

The younger agent understood. "You can't finish a formula if you don't know what the variables stand for."

"In a nutshell, you're right."

"Then how about a trade of equal exchange?" Genesis offered to Bruce.

He arched a brow over his glasses. "A trade? I really don't have anything to trade for, how is that going to be equal?" the doctor questioned.

"I merely want your silence concerning what you know of with the existence of Betty's letter–you haven't seen or heard it," The younger agent stated his term to the deal. He paused and then continued, "In return, I'll give you my true reason why I'm helping you."

Bruce agreed with that, "A secret for a secret. I really don't have problems with that. I do appreciate what you've done for Betty."

"You're welcome Bruce, but there are some secrets I keep that even the Black Widow does not know of, and I'd like to keep it that way." Genesis warned the scientist he was serious, he hadn't even told Clint the truth about how he got into SHIELD.

Knowing this was something very guarded, the scientist gave a serious nod back, "You have my word on it." And perhaps the Other Guy's as well, Bruce thought as there was an odd sensation of curiosity from the back of his head.

The young agent breathed out before he asked, "How much do remember of General Ross' original project outline before your first transformation?"

"You mean the very one I signed up for?"

The former commander nodded. "The very same contract you signed that was for the eyes of the public."

It took quite some time before the doctor responded to Genesis as it was years ago, yet he did remember the major outlines. "Originally the contract never said it had anything to do with weapons, but research on improving humans resisting and adapting to dangerous or hazardous places and situations. It's the reason why I was called in. I was researching gamma radiation resistance."

"True," Genesis approved of the description, "You never knew he had his own agenda. It was part of the Infantry Weapons Development Program–sub-program actually–more specifically the Biotech Force Enhancement project or commonly known as the super soldier serum."(2)

Bruce chuckled with sarcasm, "I was an idiot to even think the military wanted it for the greater good."

"No, Bruce. You were cheated along with the others who got involved." the agent disagreed. He added, "Your project was in its early phase, it never got to the weapons applications process, and that was the reason you never knew it was for the super soldier serum. They approved on testing, not because they weren't certain it would work, it was a ploy to see results–no matter if you died or succeeded."

"You seem very definite on what you're saying," noted Bruce at Genesis' tone of his argument. "But you know what? I actually immersed myself in the project… I even enjoyed doing it."

Seeing Bruce acting like this reminded Genesis of what happened to Professor Gast. He wasn't a bad person–only a scientist who wanted to know the truth in the name of science–but the results of his research affected a lot of people in bad ways. Their fates seem to end up rather tragic. The only difference was that Professor Gast had a good will and resolve he realized he made a mistake, and he quitted ShinRa as soon as possible. Bruce on the other hand just didn't trust himself. He didn't believe that he could make things right with the regrets he had now.

The young agent countered the doctor's insistence, "You enjoyed it because that is what a scientist is supposed to do in the name of science. You could have tested on someone else, but you didn't–you tested on yourself."

"And look what happened, people got killed," Bruce said not buying the agent's point of view.

"Yes, chaos followed, yet you had no control over the Hulk back then. However, have you ever thought General Ross could find another scientist and replace you just as easily if you died?" Genesis frowned with concern at the scientist. "He never told you what the project actually was for, Bruce. Either way, you were a lab test subject to the military."

The doctor's mind worked on full gear. How did this agent know so much? The information the red-head knew about the project kept amazing him, especially with all the details involved. "Genesis, where are you going with this?"

This time the former SOLDIER cut to the chase. "During the time you were involved with the initial project, have you ever stumbled on something called EYECOM?"

"I've heard of it," said Bruce as he tried to remember. It was familiar to his ears during the time. "Betty mentioned a few times the team working on the hallucinogens project were researching the human state of mind; something to do with enhancing the mind so people can think quickly and efficiently in a hostile situation. If I'm not wrong, it involved using an A.I. called EYECOM, which was a military strategic and tactic analyzer program."

"Again, emphasis on human enhancements," Genesis pointed out to the doctor. He then led Bruce to the final clue. "Did you hear what became of it?"

Bruce frowned as he recalled what he heard from his girlfriend at the time. "A year before I… err… 'changed'… I think the projects based on it were stopped. Something to do with a military leak, volunteers disappearing, and they were chasing down a person who they believed was the culprit–" The scientist froze when Genesis silently nodded that Bruce was referring to him. "Wait– Don't tell me they were hunting you down?!"

The former commander didn't bother masking his dislike for the general and ruefully smiled. "Welcome to the club Bruce, you weren't exactly the first that got tangled with Ross' dicey projects and got hunted down by the military." When the doctor said nothing still staring in shock, Genesis explained, "The memo of 'volunteers' is just a mask the military put up to make it look like it was legal. They set up a test that was disguised in a public event, thinking they could swipe a few potentials from a crowd. But–you can imagine what happened when their real intent was found out by a hacker or the 'leak' along with the 'volunteers'."

"Were you the hacker?" Bruce asked in a small voice.

Genesis shook his head. "No. I was their unwilling 'volunteer' that was designated to be their lab rat. All those people who disappeared were actually civilians who had nothing to do with the project. Obviously, in the end, they labeled me the culprit for being the sole survivor, so it looked good on their mission reports."

"But– But if that happened in 2005… you were what? Sixteen years old back then?" the doctor gasped with wide eyes. He couldn't believe he was hearing this. "Why would they hunt down a teenager?"

"For the simple fact I scored highest on the program they were testing under the public's nose, and I knew the truth behind it." (3)

Hearing the younger man's story had made Bruce feel like he was plunged with cold arctic water. People under Ross' orders weren't even above of killing people to keep their mouths shut, even civilians. It made perfect sense why Genesis had an unmistakable dislike for Thaddeus Ross and made it clear he'd make the General believe the Hulk was somewhere else. He was a victim in the whole mess he was never a part of. In other ways, Bruce wanted to mentally kick himself why he wasn't suspicious about what happened to that part of the project that abruptly closed down. He could have avoided initiating his transformation into the Hulk back then if he knew.

"Did they… test on you?"

The now SHIELD agent shook his head. "Fortunately, I was never caught." Genesis then sighed, "I was able to keep tabs on the military as they chased me in the first two months through their radio communications. I learned how to thanks to the hacker I was on the run with. Be that as it may, it didn't stop them from calling us 'monsters'."

That didn't make any sense to Bruce either. "But you weren't tested on."

The young agent snorted, "It doesn't matter to them. I was far too smart for my own good, so were the others. It was easier for them to make us monsters so they didn't feel guilty hunting us down. I was shot at a couple of times while I was running away from them–at least until I was found by SHIELD."

"Is that why you're not afraid of me?" Bruce asked Genesis, as he put all the pieces of information together; from the first time they met on the deck of the carrier until now. "You knew what was happening behind the general's projects and back then you were on the run as well."

"Perhaps," Genesis shrugged. "I honestly don't know how I should feel. Yes, the Hulk may look monstrous and his anger is to be contended with, but I've read nearly all the files and reports on how he learned to not hurt innocents." When Bruce looked curious at this new information he never heard about his alter-ego, the spy supplied, "When you crossed the border into India there was an incident where some mercenary bandits were raiding a village. Naturally when they saw the Hulk they only made him angry and they were wiped out. Nonetheless, your alter-ego did go lengths to keep the children that were caught in the crossfire out of harm's way."(4)

"I don't even remember how I got into India," the doctor said rubbing his head as if it would help him recall the event. Yet, hearing that the Other Guy was starting to learn to not harm innocents did ease Bruce's mind a little. Looking over the young agent who was calmly sitting in front of him, Bruce then concluded, "You really want to trust me."

"I already have chosen to," Agent Rhapsodos said in a way that the doctor couldn't change his mind about it. "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow… No matter where the winds may blow– Loveless Act III."

Bruce couldn't help but gawk, but he quickly shut his mouth, and inquired, "You're willing to trust a monster?"

It wasn't like Bruce knew Genesis was a monster himself in a way. Compared to the Hulk that was all about raw power and less control, the former commander was sure he was more dangerous if he used his abilities to their full extent. Nowadays, Genesis held himself back from using his magic too much so he didn't catch the attention of the wrong people.

"I think you and I know very well monsters come in different forms and sizes Bruce." the spy said rolling his eyes, but there was an evident small smile on his face. "Yours just happens to be green, gigantic, and likes to smash things into smithereens."

The way Genesis was mixing his sentences with whatever literature he quoted from didn't exactly convince Bruce that the spy meant it. "You're crazy," the doctor blurted out, as he didn't know what else to say.

"I'm quite sure many have thought and said so," Genesis said in acknowledgment, as if they were commenting on the weather.

This time, Bruce didn't know what came over him, but he laughed with sarcasm on how the kid wasn't scared or fazed by him. "You know I could hurt you by mistake, right?"

"Don't we all?" the younger agent countered easily. "It doesn't make you different from the rest of us Bruce. We're all monsters in our own way, but you decide what monster you want to be."

"…" Bruce sighed heavily. "I have no idea where I'm going with that."

"Good," Genesis complimented as if it were the right answer. He patted the man on the shoulder, "You're an idealist then, keep going."

"Huh? What? Excuse me?" Poor Bruce was left in the dark and clueless.

The agent happily quoted, "I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on the way." He took out the tablet out of the keyboard. While doing so, he said to Bruce, "As long as you're in the right mind, everything else should follow. You might be surprised what you might find if you're willing to take chances."

The scientist blinked in confusion, "So you're saying that you're okay with the Other Guy?"

"Indeed." Genesis then swiped through the numerous files on his tablet. "I'm not sure what the 'Other Guy' you speak of is, but then again, you should note you're the only one who has that 'other' side. Blonsky may have gone through the same process, but he doesn't have another alter-ego that watches over him or protects him when his life is on the line–or he's very much himself when he's the Abomination."

Banner knew it as well, but he didn't exactly know where the Hulk came from. "You know, that's not a bad notion–the Other Guy saving my life–but I'm afraid you're missing out the part where he gets angry."

"Well, perhaps there are other answers in places we haven't searched for. Anger can't be the only thing that the Hulk is related to, right?" the young man suggested.

"You're a very persistent optimistic person Genesis," Bruce observed.

"I learned to be one," he shrugged. Genesis already went through enough in his past life; he might as well make this life worth it. He stuck his hand out for Bruce to shake. "I'm looking forward to working with both sides of you Bruce."

Working with both sides of me, huh? Bruce thought as he looked at the agent's outstretched hand. He didn't want to admit it, but it was a nice feeling being accepted for who he was. They both had been wronged by the same general, and with similar experiences, the doctor knew he could make Genesis an ally if he was on the run again. Plus, there still was a mystery to be solved on the Hulk's reaction to Genesis' presence in the room.

He took Genesis' hand and shook it firmly, "I'm looking forward to working with you too. Although, I'm not sure how many sides you have."

"I have many masks, Bruce." Genesis jested. "You just happened to stumble on the 'truthful' one. No legacy is so rich as honesty."

"So," Bruce started hesitantly, "What are you looking for in that tablet?"

Genesis tapped a few files. Pictures, diagrams, formulas, were scattered around a blue looking cube. He showed off his findings to Bruce. "I want to ask about the effects of the Tesseract. As you might have read from Dr. Selvig's notes the cube emits small traces of gamma radiation. Do you have any idea why the portal collapsed before?"

"The most likely cause I think is that the energy output from the other side of the portal wasn't controlled," Bruce said as he looked over Genesis' notes. "It has to do with the conditions the particles were in, how much energy that was pumped in and how much went through the portal. All of that, at a certain exposure to gamma radiation."

Genesis wondered about it for a moment before he inquired, "So basically what caused it to collapse was the energy that was built up upon the portal which didn't make it through?"

"That's the gist of it," Bruce concurred with the agent's assessment. "Now, there should be an explanation to that phenomenon…"

"The quantum tunneling effect?" the former commander recommended.

Bruce was considerably surprised at the agent's right guess of the term, "You're familiar with quantum mechanics?"

"I've gone over your journals and Dr. Selvig's notes since the collapse happened at the SHIELD facility," Genesis explained. He admitted, "I'm quite a bookworm myself, but being a tactician that knows a bit of everything helps with life or death situations."

"So what did you find in Dr. Selvig's notes overall? I've tried to read most of his work, but some parts are illegible to me. I'm curious what your thoughts are." If the young agent was sought after by the general and did have a score that the military wanted him dead for, Bruce was expecting Genesis to catch up easily in reading content.

The former first class rubbed his chin, "It's rather incomplete. There were notes on the Schrödinger equation and WKB approximation, but I think he was trying to calculate the transmission coefficient–"

"Which will describe the amplitude, intensity or power of a transmitted wave relative to an incident wave," Bruce clicked his fingers with a smile. The scientist added, "He was measuring the right wavelength of the electromagnetic wave that should go through the Cube."

"My thoughts exactly," Genesis agreed with Bruce.

"You sure you didn't take a scientific university degree, Genesis?" the doctor asked Genesis jokingly.

The agent shook his head with a chuckle, "My mentor complains I like to read too much at times it scares him I might turn into a walking Wikipedia."

Between discussions and laughter, time passed by very fast for Bruce now as Genesis was in the room to accompany him. What eventually the doctor did find out was that Genesis had a steep learning curve like most geniuses. Only, his way of learning came from books or any sort of reading material which he alarmingly memorized quickly with near photographic memory. When later Bruce asked how he felt oddly serene around with Genesis in the room, the agent seemed reluctant to share but he said he had a 'calming effect' on other people. The young man's explanation to his 'ability' was so cryptic that when Bruce had decided to ask more on it, they got a call from the bridge.

Genesis' expression slightly hardened at the news he heard from his superior. He nodded an affirmative reply before he turned to Bruce. "It looks like our private time is up, Loki's here." The former SOLDIER switched security feeds back on again and the window was clear that anyone had a view on what was happening in the lab.

Bruce had to thank Genesis for reminding him in the middle of their discussion that he had to get rid of Betty's letter. At least that information was just between the two of them. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Stay put until Loki is in his designated prison cell," Genesis replied. "Then you're to head up to the bridge to brief with everyone else."

"And how about you?"

"I've got a few errands to do before I join the briefing myself, I'll meet you there."

The doctor's eyes shifted back to his prior work, "The detection system is too slow, I'm not sure Director Fury will be happy to know that."

"We might not have to worry about that," the agent said as he stacked, and cleaned up their trays. "Our main consultant is also now on board. If there's anyone better in speeding up the tech process, it's him."

Bruce raised a curious brow, "Who's he?"

The agent, on the other hand, gave the doctor a mischievous grin, "Now where's the fun in that? But from what I've heard, you've got yourself a fan of you and the big guy."

"You're kidding."

"No, Bruce. I met him the other day and he meant what he said." Genesis laughed softly. Bruce's dumbfounded face knowing he and the Hulk had a fan was priceless.

"Genesis, just who is he?" the doctor asked again with a dreaded look. Bruce wasn't one for surprises.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess." The young agent answered just as mysteriously.

Bruce rolled his eyes, "You're insufferable when it comes to direct answers Genesis."

"It's a part of who I am Bruce." was the agent's playful response.

The occupants in the lab stiffened as they heard the sound of marching boots that came through the corridor. Naturally curious, Bruce had set his eyes on the window of the lab to see who Loki was. Genesis oppositely moved in a position where he could see the Asgardian but the latter would not see him directly. He leaned on the wall crossed his arms and reigned in his Lifestream power and kept it near him, not wanting to give Loki any clues to his real abilities. Not soon after, a troop of armed guards came to view and with them the prisoner.

Bruce felt a foreboding force when his eyes met up with Loki's. The Hulk, in fact, had deemed the Asgardian a threat and throbbed in his head in warning. Putting off his glasses, he rubbed his temples in hopes he could calm down the other guy.

Leaning on the wall on the other side of the lab, Genesis observed the eye contact warily. It was a good thing there wasn't any magic involved, but he didn't like how Loki was able to rally the Hulk's cautious instincts. The former SOLDIER had managed to get a glimpse of what Loki's magic emitted. Genesis would describe that he was very sure of himself–arrogant more like it–to the point where his whole magical residue wasn't hidden at all. There was no doubt a distinctive feeling of Asgardian magic, which was also felt coming from the bridge (the Lifestream inside him could tell). Still, there was also a cold and icy signature that was just poking itself underneath the surface of that magic. The red mage wondered what it could mean. Did Asgardians have a specific elemental core? That was likely, but Genesis was uncertain if it was true for most of their kind.

When the prisoner was out of sight, Genesis stood away from the wall and his attention was immediately on the doctor. "Bruce? Are you alright?"

"I'm…okay. Just a little dizzy," said the scientist who still rubbed his temples with one hand. "Loki's quite something, huh?"

"Something dangerous than the Other Guy more so," Genesis muttered with a frown at the window. Inwardly, the agent thought the god was more dangerous to trust than the doctor. Bruce may be regarded as the rage monster, but for now, Loki was the real threat. He could only hope Fury and the others won't take on Loki's words, he was a trickster for a reason.

Looking at the agent in deep thought, the doctor warily raised a brow, "Seriously?"

"Yes. He did kill about 80 people back at the SHIELD facility." the agent explained, his focus was back on the doctor. "Even SHIELD has no idea what he's planning. Watch yourself Bruce; you might want to be careful in believing what he says."

"Noted," Banner said heeding the warning. If the Hulk had sensed Loki was trouble, then the god of mischief wasn't someone to be trifled with.

.

.

---

Cylindrical Hulk Chamber, Main SHIELD Headquarters

Minutes Later…

Watching the One Eyed Eagle out the door and leaving himself within the beast's cage, Loki grinned with satisfied pleasure.

The trickster was unquestionably confident the other members of the Avengers initiative had heard every word he said. All now he had to do was to wait for the rescue party that would later come in, but from now he was waiting for the event that would cause the Avengers Initiative to break. It was a simple plan really. He already pushed the pebble to the large avalanche, and it was a matter of time when all the suspicions between the members would tear them asunder from the inside.

Putting the last thoughts aside, Loki was also weighing the odds of what he felt when he passed by the lab. While he had eye contact with the green beast's other half, Loki was certain that Agent Rhapsodos was inside the lab as well. Barton had mentioned that the young agent held a position as the Initiative's second consultant and would most likely be briefing with its members. The hawk he had under his control only told him little of what he knew about their youngest agent's abilities, but then when Loki passed by the lab, there was an unmistakable small signature of magic. The god of Mischief didn't recognize the type of magic the agent released, but now Rhapsodos had his attention. There hadn't been a sorcerer or a practitioner of magic in the mortal world for many centuries, at least to the types of magic he was aware of.

The magic that Loki felt the agent had was unknown to him.

Interesting…and dangerous, Loki noted in his thoughts. The reason why he had been successful for this long was because at the present he was the only sorcerer around. He took great pride in that he had a tremendous advantage over the pesky humans and Thor. He had thought no one could stop him, but now… there was another. It was precarious enough that another person knew how to use magic; if the said person was capable of dismissing his spells then they could threaten everything he had planned for.

Keeping up his mask, Loki confided in himself that this was only a minor matter. He could deal with it and keep going as he planned. All he had to do was take care of it while everything on the carrier was in chaos. Figuring out the last steps to his plans, Loki decided he could make a few changes. If he could cause more damage to the pathetic team of misfits and drown them with despair, he might as well make a few detours before he left the flying contraption.

After all, he was curious what sorcery Rhapsodos was capable of.

.

.

---

The Bridge, Main SHIELD Headquarters

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner commented as Steve Rogers' screen on the table switched off. To him, Genesis' warning beforehand about Loki held some importance to be cautious about.

"Loki's gonna drag this out." The Captain concluded. Steve's eyes were now on the Asgardian's brother. "So, Thor, what's his play?

Facing the other way, Thor Odinson said his thoughts softly, "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard nor any world know." Slowly he faced the group before him. "He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army, from outer space?" Steve asked slowly.

"So, he's building another portal." The doctor said pulling his glasses off. Fidgeting it in his hands, he then noted, "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" asked Thor, familiar with the name.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend." the demigod insisted.

"Loki has them under some kind of spell–along with one of ours." Natasha said filling him in on what has happened so far.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." The super soldier stated still with his eyes on the demigod. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce suggested. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you can smell crazy on him."

Thor was offended. "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days." the Black Widow deadpanned.

"…He's adopted." Thor defended lamely.

"I think it's about the mechanics," Bruce said trying to get the conversation back to its focus. They needed to know how Loki was using the Tesseract. "Iridium… What do they need the Iridium for?"

From the double doors two figures walk in.

"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony Stark announced loudly. Then quietly, he faced back to Agent Coulson who was escorting him. "I'm saying, take a weekend; I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." the billionaire proposed the agent about the cellist Pepper had mentioned. Coulson only inclined with a forced smile and pointed out silently they had work to do. He immediately peeled off from Tony, who headed towards Thor.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." As he walked over to Thor he cheerily said, "No hard feelings Point Break, you got a mean swing." and gave the demigod a light pat on the arm.

Thor gave the metal man a questioning look, but Tony kept walking to the control panels. The Asgardian figured the metal man was referring to their earlier fight before.

"Also," Tony added, "it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." When he got to the bridge he glanced around. "Ah, raise the mizzen mast. Jib the topsails."

The agents and bridge technicians, who were working at their stations on the lower deck, just stared blankly at the genius billionaire as if he grew a second head.

Tony then jabbed his finger in a direction at someone, "That man is playing Galaga!" This caused the group at the table to look to see who it was. "Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

Looking back and forth the monitors of the main command area, he covered one eye. He then turned back to the group, "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." was a stern reply from Agent Hill.

"Sounds exhausting," Tony muttered in response. He then started to mess with the monitor before him looking at the live data feed. "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. Something to–kick start the Cube." Stark explained as he carefully installed a bug on SHIELD's computers without anyone noticing.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill asked, her arms still crossed since the last time she answered him.

"Last night," Stark replied easily, earning him a doubtful look from the bridge commander. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers–Am I the only one who did the reading?" he asked everyone else in a somewhat dramatic fashion. While he knew the director was missing, there was a certain someone he knew who had also read the theory papers from SHIELD.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve questioned, looking quite irritated.

"He would have to heat the Cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce supplied, fiddling with his glasses.

Tony gestured at the doctor with open arms. "Unless… Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the Quantum Tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." the doctor summarized.

The genius billionaire made an obvious expression of relief as he pointed to Bruce, "Finally, someone who speaks English."

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked the others.

Stark and Banner shook hands, but it was Stark who said, "It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electronic collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you–lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"...Thanks." Bruce forced a hesitant smile. Inwardly he thought that the young agent had been joking, but he wasn't expecting the other 'consultant' to be Tony Stark.

Fury walked in and said, "Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him."

"I'd start with that stick of his," the Captain put forward, "It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury commented.

Thor frowned. "Monkeys? I do not understand–"

"I do!" Steve straightened in his chair. Tony crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as the room went peculiarly silent staring at Steve. "I… I understood that reference."

Tony turned to Bruce, "Shall we play, Doctor?"

"This way, sir." Bruce motioned towards the lab. However, before he could take a step towards the door, Stark halted.

"Hold it–Someone's missing." Tony raised a finger, which earned him a look from everyone else in the room. He walked over to the bridge and scanned around the stations.

Agent Hill raised a vexed brow. "Just who are you looking for Mr. Stark?"

Still looking to spot a particular colored mop of hair excluding Agent Romanoff's, Tony asked the others, "Has anyone seen V?" When he was met with silence from both the members of the initiative and SHIELD commanders looking at him weirdly, he described, "Likes to pop into existence, nose stuck to a book or tablet, speaks Shakespearean?"

No sooner the genius billionaire finished his sentence, the said agent made his appearance from the double doors behind where the Captain sat. Calmly, Genesis walked into the briefing and handed the director of what seemed files and reports. "That's roughly about 78% reports of casualties and related incidents what happened in Germany, the rest are currently worked on Sir." The director nodded in thanks and accepted the folder with no fuss.

"There you are!" Tony said walking over to the young spy, while easily ignoring Fury. "I was just looking for you V. Did you get my notes that JARVIS sent?"

"Yes, but I haven't read all of them yet," Genesis replied. When he noticed everyone else was staring at him, the former SOLDIER raised a question, "Is there a problem?" From the edge of his eyesight, Genesis caught Natasha's gleeful eyes–at least what only a super spy could spot out–through her poker face. Great, she's not going to stop teasing me later about Stark's nickname, the auburn haired agent sighed inwardly. The rest of the group's interest was on genius billionaire's fascination with him.

When no one replied to Genesis' question, Tony shrugged. "I'm not sure what their problems are– On the other hand– Do you remember when I asked you what the verdict was behind Loki's goal and such?" The genius received a silent nod from the younger man. "You nailed it on target. He's been trying to stabilize the portal and is going to send over his evil army so to speak."

From across the room, Agent Hill frowned at her associate. "Rhapsodos, why weren't the director and I notified of this tactical forecast of yours?"

Genesis wasn't enjoying being at the center of attention at the moment. Did the SHIELD's bridge commander have to chew him out in front of everyone else? "That result was an assumption I gathered then. I didn't necessarily have the right facts to put it forward as a reliable result scenario according to SHIELD's protocol standards." He took a breath, "It's the reason why I've consulted it over with Mr. Stark and Doctor Banner, Ma'am."

Maria Hill looked at her boss for confirmation. Fury inclined lightly to her and his attention went back their young associate. "Then you must have discussed it with Doctor Banner recently?" the director inquired.

"Yes." The young consultant answered indifferent.

Before the director of SHIELD could question further, Bruce supplied, "We went over Dr. Selvig's notes and Genesis pointed out he was trying to find a formula of sorts that was incomplete. Genesis then asked me what caused the portal to collapse and that led us to the quantum tunneling effect. That's when we got clues that Dr. Selvig, at the time, was calculating the transmission coefficient–"When all the non-scientists' faces blanked out, the doctor added hurriedly, "-which are a range of numbers of the right amount of energy that can go through the cube without collapsing the portal." He had to mentally slap himself so he stopped talking in technical terms; he was talking to people who weren't scientists.

"So V, where did you find out that our astrophysicist was calculating the transmission coefficient?" Tony asked his own question out of inquisitiveness. He knew the notes by heart, but he was more interested how the others would take the kid's somewhat hidden intellect.

"The formulas, he was referring to to the Schrödinger equation. However, most of the formula rearranging was done on the WKB approximation." was an automatic reply.

Genesis' answer had gotten a few responses. Firstly there were blank faces from Thor and Steve who had no idea what the three geniuses were talking about. Then slightly awed faces came from Romanoff, Hill and Nick Fury. The last group was the ones that had expected and approved such a reply, namely consisting of Stark, Banner, and Agent Coulson.

The industrialist grinned, "Well, glad to have someone reading the notes–unlike some people who don't believe me..." It was a jab at Agent Hill who was now glaring daggers at Stark. Tony, unfortunately, wasn't intimidated in the slightest. His set his eyes on Fury instead, "If it's alright with you director, I'd like to borrow your young agent for a while. I'm sure Doctor Banner and I can speed things up in finding our missing cube."

Before even Genesis got a chance to protest, Fury nodded. "Go with them Rhapsodos, I'll have someone else finish off the remaining paperwork of your recent mission."

"Yes sir." the former SOLDIER responded quickly while he had a startled expression on his face. Genesis was still trying to digest he was cut out from doing paperwork that Fury insisted he do beforehand.

The genius billionaire gestured the young agent towards the door where Bruce was waiting. Eventually, he was walking slowly beside Genesis as they headed out of the room with Bruce leading the way to the lab. "You got any more of that kicker coffee on board?"

Genesis shook his head, "Unfortunately I've run out of them Mr. St–"When the industrialist frowned at him, he swiftly correct himself. "–Tony. But if either of you wish to grab a snack or a drink we can drop by the kitchen quickly on our way."

As the three walked out of the room and out of hearing range, the group that was left over went silent, and the SHIELD worker who got spotted out by Stark before, resumed playing Galaga.

The silence of the room could have continued until the Director walked over to Agent Coulson and handed him a fifty dollar bill which his subordinate accepted with gratitude. Agent Hill gave her boss a disapproving look. Fury only commented, "Just remind me to never bet against Rhapsodos ever again Hill."

Agent Hill didn't reply to her superior, but had her sights on her co-worker instead. "Please don't encourage side bets during work Agent Coulson."

"Last time, I promise." the said agent winked back.

Meanwhile, at the table the last remaining Avengers initiative members observed the interaction with piqued interest.

"Just what did Director Fury bet against?" Steve questioned the Black Widow for answers. Thor didn't ask anything, but by his eye on Natasha, he seemed to want to know as well.

Natasha's arms were crossed as she sat. "Whether Genesis was able to work with Tony Stark smoothly. Since Genesis is on a first name basis with Stark, it doubled the director's payment." Honestly, the Widow was reasonably curious just as to how the younger companion won Stark's trust from him. She had plans to coax the answers out of him late–especially about the nickname Genesis earned–there seemed to be blackmail material there she could exploit in the future.

The Captain chuckled, "Seems like the director was proven dead wrong." Steve had to confess he was very startled himself how easily Genesis talked over with the scientists in their lingo, but silently congratulated Coulson for beating the director in a side bet.

"I don't wish to sound impolite, but who is that young man?" the Prince of Asgard asked with wonder.

Romanoff answered for him, "He's Agent Rhapsodos. His first name is Genesis. He's, in your words, our 'tactical advisor', but he's more recognized to be Coulson's protégé."

Thor's head leaned to the side unfamiliar with the term, "Protégé?"

"Apprentice," Rogers added quickly so their Asgardian ally knew what the Widow meant.

Thor nodded in understanding and had an admiring look of respect towards Coulson.

.

.

---

Xavier Institute for Higher Learning…

That Night…

"Can't sleep?" Peter asked the younger teen. Zack sat at the roof's edge hand's around his knees in a fetal position.

When his young friend didn't answer him, he wondered what was wrong. He had woken up that night in his room to find it somewhat silent than usual. Normally he'd hear some sort of snoring from Fair's bed, only to find it empty. There was little that usually bothered Zack when he was sleeping. With him missing, Peter had searched the campus and found the teen here. Silently he made his way and sat on the edge as well, wondering what Zack was thinking. To Peter's shock, the usual chipper teen had a haunted to look in his eyes. The raven spiky haired teen looked a lot older as if he had lost something and kept staring on ahead. The mutant with metallic changing powers did have a right to worry over his younger friend; he was the one that dragged Zack into the whole mutant mess. With now Zack developing his own abilities, Peter wasn't sure what he could say about it.

"…Nightmares." Zack eventually replied, but his voice sound cracked and broken.

That was a first. All this time, Zack only had mentioned they were memories and visions–weird in many ways–but never a nightmare. "What was it about?"

It took another five minutes or so before Peter got an answer.

"Monsters."

Okay, that… wasn't normal, Peter decided right away. "Are they new or do they have something to do with the memories before?"

Zack frantically shook his head. "The people I told you about – they– I –" he gulped and reluctantly shivered. He now had a pleading and desperate gaze on the older teen, "Peter, am I a good friend to you?"

"Whoa, hold on Zack– I don't know what the hell you're talking about." The older teen said quickly trying to calm down Zack. He closed the distance between them and snaked an arm around his friend so the younger teen could lean on him. "Why do you doubt yourself all of a sudden? Come on, Zack. You literally stuck with us through thick and thin. I mean what normal person would stick around with mutant friends? You're more than a friend; you're a brother to me." Truthfully he owed a lot to Zack when Peter was at his rock bottom the teen had cheered him up. There had to be some people who cared about mutants. That had led their aimless journey here, to Professor Xavier's school.

"If I killed you, would you forgive me?" Zack asked with fear.

Peter couldn't help but now worry, "Zack, what are these dreams you had about? You're going to have to explain it to me if you want me to help you."

The boy next to him shivered. "Peter– I think– I-I killed my mentor." Zack shook his head as if he wanted to get images out of his head. "Then the silver-haired guy– I– I tried to help him– he went insane– he killed people– burnt a village down. But– then another guy–"

"Zack, I want you to stop, now." Peter took hold of him and stared at his friend in the eye sternly. At first, the raven haired teen didn't meet his eyes, but eventually he did. The older teen felt like he'd been punched in the gut mentally when he spotted a lot of regret in them. "Whatever you dreamed about, it didn't happen. We've been friends since we were kids."

"But what about what Kitty said? What if they were about some life I had before?" the younger teen complained. "These powers I'm having now, they're the same, Peter. The very same what these visions are showing me… I don't how I would react if I was forced to cut down a friend right now." Zack chuckled weakly, "I think I cut a few down if my dreams are right."

Peter sighed as he scratched his head. "Did you have a reason why you did so?"

"I don't know."

"Then how come you're saying it's about monsters?"

The raven haired teen wasn't sure what to say, but he told Peter everything that had happened in his dreams. How he had kept on telling three individuals that they weren't monsters, how he had failed them to make them see they were human, and worse they all ended up battling each other. The fonder memories about his mentor and the silver-haired man completely shattered to pieces. Zack described how he was at some ruins with his mentor dying and giving his sword to him after they fought. He also described how the once silver man he trusted had changed and killed an entire village and burned it to ashes. Later, the said man had attacked him and Zack was forced to fight but beaten to a bloody pulp. The last man, he wasn't so sure about. Over and over they clashed, but the red-clad soldier had thought of himself as a monster since the beginning. All Zack could remember was cutting a red-clad soldier down after a long fight.

Zack looked like he was about to break. "Does that make me a monster Peter?"

The older teen had to mentally take a step back before he judged his friend. He couldn't really imagine Zack cutting people down without a right reason to. Maybe they were just pieces to a puzzle, he confided himself. He finally shook his head, "No. At least from what we know of. Your visions aren't complete, which means we don't know why you did what you did."

"But–"

"Zack– Will you stop making a monster out of yourself!" Peter barked, causing the younger teen to cringe in fear. He cursed inwardly and quickly apologized. "Sorry– I didn't mean to snap at you, but do you remember what the Professor said when we had that introduction class as mutants?"

"Not really…" Zack hesitantly replied.

"Well, he said that we should always question ourselves," Peter pointed out, "When an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything. Will it be used for the greater good or will it be used for personal or destructive ends?"(5) He let the question sink into Zack's mind for a moment before he continued, "Your dream doesn't have the exact answer to that question yet. We don't know what caused you to fight the mentor in your dreams or why you cut those people down. You can't make conclusions on them and say you're a monster."

"…"

Thinking that his example was a bad one, Peter racked his brain for a more approachable model. "Alright, another example then…do you think Dr. McCoy is a monster?"

Zack blinked. "No."

"But to normal people he looks like one, doesn't he?"

"That's because he's blue and furry and that doesn't mean he attacks people–umm, maybe bad guys–but he'd never hurt the students or anyone who is innocent."

"What about Logan?" Peter suggested another example.

Zack shook his head. "He just scares people so they leave him alone, he's just a very private person. But he cares for the kids on campus and the other X-Men."

"And that makes the conclusion that people see monsters in themselves or other people because they think they're monsters." The older teen pointed out. Peter then smiled, "A few years ago I thought I was a freak until you told me I actually looked cool turning into metal."

"You did?"

A nod. "I think all mutants at some point in their life feel like one, but when you accepted me I didn't feel like it anymore. You even said I could help people with it, be a hero."

That praise caused Zack to blush bright tomato red, "You know I was like seven back then, right?"

"Yeah," Peter agreed, but he argued, "Still, like the professor mentioned, I think we should keep questioning what you used your power for back in your dreams. More importantly, how you felt when you were using them."

This time, the spiky headed teen gave some thought on it. "It was painful… I didn't want to hurt them, but I had to."

"Then you probably have the right reasons to use your powers."

Zack wasn't convinced. "I still killed my mentor."

"He might have forced your hand into something you didn't want to do." Peter countered.

The other teen sighed, "We're getting nowhere." They were basically running in circles with the debate.

"No kidding," The elder teen snorted. After a long silence, he asked his friend, "Feeling better Zack?"

"Lighter," Zack answered this time with a small smile. "…Thanks. I guess I just needed to let it out."

Peter nodded in understanding. Yet he had other thoughts plaguing his mind while he was on campus. "You ever thought about how your family is doing?"

"That's…kinda complicated with how I am right now." He winced in thought he now had abilities like a mutant, even if genetically he wasn't proven as one. Zack didn't particularly have control over his powers completely and he didn't want to cause his family trouble. Nonetheless, he really didn't want to worry his parents or his older siblings with him missing.

"You're not helping to worry them less by not dropping a note or email at least."

"I know! It's just– I want to find my own answers before I tell them." Zack exclaimed. He looked to Peter seriously. "Peter, if my powers keep on growing… I think I might be able to find people who are like me."

Peter knew that determined look. "Does the Professor know you might want to leave?"

"He has an idea that I might go and so does Logan."

"I'll tag along if you need me. And Kitty should know unless you want to find yourself stuck in between walls one morning." The older mutant chuckled.

Zack had a confused look on his face. "Why?"

Peter lightly nudged the younger teen on the head, which made him yelp a whiny 'ouch'. "For being so smart at some things, you're sometimes rather dense. You helped us find a home, Zack. The least we could do to pay you back is to find people who might have the same powers like you."

"I'm really an idiot for doubting you." The younger teen said sheepishly, he should have known his childhood friend would help him anyway.

"Damn straight." Peter nodded and stood up. Swiftly he locked an arm around Zack's neck and dragged the boy inside.

"O- Oi! I can walk Peter!" Zack struggled to get out of the arm lock, but he was losing a hopeless battle. "Let me go!"

The other boy only smiled, "I know you can, but I'm going to make sure you're going to sleep. The last thing I want is to have Logan breathing down my neck because I'm not watching and taking care of you."

"What happens if I can't sleep?"

Peter shrugged. "I can knock you out; it's the perk of having metal fists."

"Are you serious?"

"Maybe."

Zack wasn't sure he wanted to know the real answer and decided he'd try to sleep for the remainder of the night.

.

.

---

Wishbone Lab, Main SHIELD Headquarters, Helicarrier

Past midnight…

Genesis wasn't a type of person who'd sign up to hang around with scientists. With his sort of track record and meetings with many crazy and psychotic ones in the past, the former SOLDIER would have probably been more inclined to avoid them altogether. Be that as it may if it meant that it involved avoiding paperwork and that the scientists weren't Hojo and Hollander… well, Genesis didn't really mind at all. After a short trip to the kitchen and cafeteria–with Banner picking up a cup of tea and Stark a pack of blueberries–they eventually went straight back to work on finding the missing wonder cube. When they got back to the lab, though, there was a package for them to analyze, or more specifically Loki's scepter.

While both Bruce and Tony were fascinated with it, the former commander didn't share their sentiments. The more he got closer to it; the Lifestream had warned him to stay back. Genesis wasn't sure what was the reason (other than it was dangerous), but he didn't want to find out. In front of the two of the Avengers initiative members, he was supposed to be a normal agent. However, if what the Lifestream said was true…the red mage had a feeling Loki wasn't a normal magical adversary to underestimate. In the end, Genesis positioned himself on the main computer panels in the room as he observed Banner and Stark working.

The doctor was scanning Loki's scepter with a detecting device. "The Gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process."

Stark was on the other side of the room, switching commands on a screen to speed things up. "If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops." He turned to their youngest member in the room, "How are things looking there V?"

"We've decreased the detection time down to a few days, it's an improvement nonetheless." Genesis supplied.

Bruce sighed, "All I packed was a toothbrush."

Not wanting to have a gloomy atmosphere in the room, Tony tried to speak of other things. "You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors all R and D. You'd love it, it's a candy land." He grinned at the doctor. Since Bruce was busy thinking over it, the industrialist genius nabbed a pointy zapper and gave a mischievous glance to Genesis.

Genesis crossed his arms and shrugged. He didn't look concerned about Tony trying to irritate the Hulk; not that it would easily come out. Yet, since the Lifestream gave no qualms or indications that Bruce was a threat, it meant that Stark wasn't going to get a reaction out of it. From the way the genius billionaire was acting, to him it was as if Bruce was an interesting object to poke and prod.

The doctor was still working on the equipment as he replied, "Thanks…but last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem."

Seeing as the younger agent wasn't stopping him from what he wanted to do, Tony took it upon himself to try the prank out. "Well, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises." Immediately after he said that, he zapped Banner in the side.

"Ow!"

Amusingly Genesis noticed that Bruce was actually quietly laughing after Tony's zapping poking attempt.

"Nothing?" Tony said looking at Bruce's eyes, disappointed he didn't get a reaction out of the Other Guy. The former commander snickered when Stark's face looked like a kid realizing the fireworks on the 4th of July were canceled.

"Hey!" a new voice came into the lab. It was the Captain. "Are you nuts?!"

"Jury's out!" Stark said. He then deliberately ignored Rogers coming into the room and asked the doctor, "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, a huge bag of weed?" Noticing Genesis was grinning as well; Tony rolled his eyes, "Great, you knew I wasn't going to get a reaction out of it. Right, V?"

"From the beginning," the spy shrugged and fake coughed to hide his laughter. "Bruce is quite resilient; I doubt a small spark would light up the Other Guy."

The super soldier decided he'd ignore Genesis and set his goal on the real problem, namely Stark. "Is everything a joke to you?"

"Funny things are." The genius stated in reply as he pointed the pointy tool he used before to Steve.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve reminded the billionaire. He quickly added to Bruce, "No offense, Doc."

Banner wasn't offended. "No, it's alright. But Genesis is right; I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

Walking away from Bruce, Tony still pointed the tool he held to his fellow scientist, "You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark." Steve pressed.

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn't he telling us?" Tony asked the Captain as he opened a bag of blueberries he got from the table he left it on. "I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy," Tony stated. "Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." He emphasized, ate some blueberries, and then gestured to the doctor. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?"

Bruce looked rather in a tight spot and raised his hands awkwardly, "Uh, Um, I just wanna finish my work here and–"He then paused and asked the other two, "Are you sure we're supposed to have this conversation in front of Genesis?" Consultant or not, Rhapsodos was still a SHIELD agent.

When the three people in the room were looking uncomfortably at him, Genesis replied easily, "I'm aware of the Tesseract in SHIELD's custody, but I don't know what they're using it for other than studying it. I don't have that sort of clearance to know."

"The kid's in." Tony shrugged; overlooking the red head's scowl being sent his way. Yes, being dubbed 'the kid' still rubbed Genesis the wrong way, the genius inwardly noted with glee.

Seeing that even the young agent wasn't sure what was happening behind all of this, Steve turned to Bruce for confirmation. "Doctor?"

The doctor sighed as he took off his glasses, "'A warm light for all mankind', Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it," Steve said.

"Well, I think that was meant for you." He then gestured to Stark, who in turn offered him the pack of blueberries. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower?" Steve asked. "That big ugly building in New York?"

Genesis stayed silent, but he pinched the bridge of his nose as Tony Stark's glaring expression showed he was offended by that remark. Steve and subtlety didn't exactly go together. From the first time, he observed the two titans from the video feed in Germany interacting with one another; it was going to take some real work to get them to cooperate with each other. Just what did he and Phil get themselves into?

Bruce being the pacifist of the three answered, "It's powered by an Arc Reactor, a self-sustaining energy source." He then directed a question to the creator, "That building will run itself for, what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype," Tony said. Yet, he then explained to Rogers, "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce suggested and questioned at the same time.

Steve turned to the younger agent for support, "Genesis?"

The red mage said his thoughts out loud. "They do have a point, Steve. Howard Stark was the one who fished it out of the ocean. Logically, if they heard Tony was doing research on a self-sustaining source they would have called him in earlier." Inwardly Genesis had a bad feeling this was leading to something blowing up, like the Nibelheim incident. He now wondered what his superiors were really up to all this time.

"I should probably look into that as soon as my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files," Tony said as he took out his cell phone to see his AI's progress.

Steve was stunned. "I'm sorry did you say–"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." Stark cut in, he then offered the captain the pack in his hand, "Blueberry?"

When Genesis didn't seem to be making a move to stop the man from hacking in the database, Steve said, "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

Tony mentally rolled his eyes as he'd rather be enjoying his time with Pepper and not here. Out loud he replied, "An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome." He jabbed at the young agent in their midst, "No offense V."

"None taken." was an instant reply from the spy.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused he'll succeed." The captain said trying to make the other man realize the seriousness of the situation. "We have orders, we should follow them."

"Following's not really my style," Tony said.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked, his patience wearing thin.

"Tony– Steve–" Genesis warned as the two were on edge. He had a bad déjà vu feeling as if he were in Angeal's shoes, and that both Tony and Steve were him and Sephiroth respectively.

But Tony paid no heed to the agent. "Out of the people in this room, which one is "A" wearing a spangly outfit and "B" not of use?"

Wanting to help Genesis to cool the situation down a little, Bruce asked quickly, "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"

The captain gave a stern look at Genesis. "Let me know if anything comes up." He then said to the two geniuses before he made his exit, "Just find the Cube."

Once the door shut behind the super soldier, Tony asked to no one in particular, "That's the guy my dad never shut up about? I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice."

"The guy's not wrong about Loki," Bruce said as he configured the data on the screen he was facing. "He does have the jump on us."

When Tony was looking for a backup from Genesis, the tactical forecaster shook his head. "Bruce's point has merits. You do remember how hard Thor hit you in your armor, Tony? Even if Loki isn't on the same level of power like his brother, he still could have made a workout with you and the Captain back in Germany."

"Whatever," Tony shrugged, but the kid's advice did freak him out a little. He just hoped it wouldn't bite him in the ass later. He turned back their attention on captain spangles, "What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does."

"I'll read all about it," Bruce said.

When the two scientists turned to their consultant, Genesis had his fingers on his earpiece.

"Something wrong Genesis?" Bruce asked.

"I've been called to the bridge." The redhead responded. "Agent Coulson wishes me to get acquainted with Thor Odinson as SHIELD's consultant."

Without the young agent asking, Stark made a shooing gesture to the door and said, "Get going V. The doctor and I will be fine." Before the agent exited, Tony stopped him, "Hey V."

Genesis raised a questioning brow.

"I know you're young and all, but don't let Director 'Furry' overwork you like a slave driver." Stark jested. The industrialist sympathized with the kid when he heard about the amount of paper work he was getting. Especially when the first time Tony meets the kid on the carrier, he's handing 'Furry' more paperwork.

The younger man laughed at his superior's new nickname, "Ah, thanks for the save earlier. I'll take note of the advice. Later then, Tony, Bruce. Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."

Bruce chuckled himself as their youngest whiz kid left the room, "He's a puzzle alright, but at least, he's got a healthy dose of suspicion."

"And military mind genius," Tony added absently configuring more parameters on his screen. "I heard a little rumor he got rejected into the initiative for being too young."

"Really?" Bruce inquired with surprise. "I suppose the sidelines aren't so bad–at least from where I'm standing at."

"Uh huh… Or, you'll be suiting up with the rest of us." Tony suggested.

"You see, I don't get a suit of armor." Bruce disagreed. "I'm exposed, like a nerve… It's a nightmare."

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it," Stark tapped the Arc Reactor on his chest, "this little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege." Tony explained.

"But you can control it," countered Bruce.

"Because I learned how."

Bruce shook his head and went back typing on the screen. "It's different," he said evasively.

Tony was having none of that, and wiped the screen clean, minimizing all the windows between them that Banner was working on. "Hey, I read all about your accident. That much Gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So you're saying that the Hulk–the Other Guy–saved my life? That's nice. That's nice sentiment. Saved it, for what?" Bruce said with sarcasm. He blinked. "Funny, Genesis mentioned it as well."

Tony gave the doctor a knowing look without fear or bias; he was here out of genuine scientific curiosity. "See? The kid probably has read what happened to you too, which means–I guess we'll find out."

"You may not enjoy that." Said Bruce as the industrialist walked over to another work bench.

"And you just might," Tony said with a small smile before working on his screen.

Bruce wasn't sure if it was sheer luck two people in one night had accepted him the way he was, but he appreciated that reality was kind, for now.

.

.

---

Corridor towards the Bridge, SHIELD Headquarters

How does a person handle a God?

That question had buzzed in Genesis' mind as he made his way towards the bridge. It didn't exactly help that he bumped into the other two Avengers initiative members while he was on his way.

He briefly met Natasha wandering around with papers in her hand, all information on Loki. It was at that point the former commander found out she was going to interrogate Loki in the early morning later. While Genesis did believe in the Widow's ability to interrogate someone like Loki and get results, he couldn't help but feel worried what Loki was capable of. If the wayward Asgardian was able to completely control Clint right down to the core, Genesis didn't doubt some personal issues would be put up for display. The youngest of Coulson's charges was very lucky he never shared a lot of his own back story and none of what happened in his previous life. With Natasha, it wasn't going to be the same. Barton knew her on an intimate level than Genesis did, even if he had known Hawkeye longer. Genesis could only wish her good luck and be on her guard.

Afterward, he had met Steve Rogers who claimed he was wandering around the carrier, trying to get his mind off things. Genesis didn't particularly believe that, and later dragged Steve into a room which he switched the security feeds off. Rogers reluctantly then said he was bothered by Stark's words, nothing surprising that he came from an era where people weren't aware what spies were really capable of doing in the war. The spy poet had apologized to the captain for his lack of discipline, but he also reasoned that the geniuses needed a reason why they weren't told the truth from the director.

In time, Steve had managed to calm down, but he didn't really believe in Loki's words. Genesis could only recommend the super soldier that if things heat up, he should try and take a step back before he made a decision. There was also a danger knowing too much–more so if that information proved to be false. Rogers had thanked him and left to goddess knows where. Out of the others, Genesis couldn't help but worry on Steve the most. He was easily provoked by Stark and he let his emotions dictate his actions. It was good in some cases, but against an enemy like Loki? That kept the former SOLDIER on alert.

Deciding to focus on his latest assignment on hand, Genesis pushed recent meetings to the back of his mind.

Okay, so he already handled two assassins who were his co-workers, a super soldier from back in time, a genius billionaire with an ego as high as a skyscraper, and a timid scientist that possessed an alter-ego the likes of a raging Bahamut. A thunder-god shouldn't be too hard now, shouldn't it? Genesis asked himself. He looked at his auburn hair while looking at his reflection in the windows and wondered if suddenly a lock of hair would turn gray. Just how did Phil handle all these people and not get gray hairs? Well, signs of balding were probably an alternative Genesis had noticed recently, but he'd never say it out loud. Not if he wanted a death wish from his mentor.

As his destination neared, Genesis took a deep breath, straightened his tie, reined in his Lifestream powers and hoped for the best.

He should remind Phil to write a manual of 'Taking Care of Superheroes for Dummies' later because Genesis was quite sure SHIELD would need it if the initiative worked out.

.

.

---

The Bridge, SHIELD Headquarters

With no one else of the Avengers initiative to talk with, Thor had been pleasantly reunited with the man that he met during the time the Destroyer destroyed a town on Earth. It eased his heart knowing the agent was here, as many of the faces were unfamiliar and many of them were new, which included the commander of the legion they had on the flying fortress. While Loki was prisoner, he couldn't help but worry for Selvig. The good man was under Loki's control, but his brother had given no action or clue to as where Selvig was located.

As an Asgardian, Thor's sense was sharper than most mortals. He had seen his companions who would fight along with him, many who were normal mortals, but others not so normal in their own way. Obviously, there was the metal man, Tony Stark, who was an intellect although he wasn't above to be arrogant if need be. The Captain or Steve Rogers seemed to hold some military authority on base. Another intellect Bruce Banner, but Thor had reservations for that man. He had some foul and angry presence inside of him, which Thor wasn't so sure he could trust with. However, when that young agent stepped into the room Thor was aware that the malice feeling from Banner subsided. There were very few people who had capabilities of affecting others and Thor himself was questioning who the young man was. From what he heard from the others, he was the apprentice of the agent he knew quite well.

"I wasn't aware you had an apprentice a year ago, Son of Coul." he said as the two walked around the lower deck of the bridge.

"It's Coulson," Phil reminded lightly. Then he replied, "During the time you came to Earth, Agent Rhapsodos was here on the bridge helping out with the chain of command."

"He's a strategist?" Thor asked.

Coulson nodded. "Similar, but he's one of the best tactical forecasters we have. Has an astounding record in our line of work with little loss and efficient actions."

That was probably the reason why many of the others were shocked when the young man guessed Loki's plans before he even made it on Earth. "You must be proud." the Prince smiled.

The agent humbly inclined. "Yes, he's like a son to me." Phil still noted the cons of having Genesis around, "Although I wish he'd be less of an example to my other charges when it comes to doing something mischievous."

"He's one for mischief?" questioned the Asgardian. That somewhat sounded like Loki when he was younger.

Phil chuckled, "He's playful when he gets bored. Since he's too good at planning, most of the time I feel sorry for whoever is at the receiving end."

"Remind me not to provoke him," Thor jested.

"I'll try." the agent noted.

From behind them, the auburn haired agent made his appearance. Thor noted he didn't have a particular large build like a warrior, but he seemed to be trained like the other spies around the fortress as his feet were light steps. He looked young, small (to Thor's eyes), but held a confidence he was ready to take anything on. He frowned, when he felt the residue Rhapsodos emitted back when they first met was a lot weaker and hidden, which made Thor wonder why the young man concealed it.

"Genesis," Coulson greeted the younger agent. He then introduced them both, "This is Thor, Thor this is Agent Genesis Rhapsodos, my student."

"Pleasure to meet you, Son of Coul's apprentice." Thor said, extending his hand to shake.

Genesis took Thor's hand and shook it firmly. "Likewise, Thor Odinson." he nodded with respect. The red mage couldn't help but feel the Lifestream flicked with delight and happiness in him. It recognized Thor's power something similar to the Goddess. Genesis had to inwardly cringe; he didn't want to blow his cover far too early at this point–especially in front of his fellow agents–and decided to keep a straight face.

Oppositely Thor blinked confusedly when he sensed another power through the young agent. It wasn't entirely foreign, somewhat like his father's power but he could not place where it came from. Nevertheless, when the thunder-god noticed a glint of worry passed through the young agent's eyes, Thor decided he wouldn't speak of the issue. Rhapsodos seemed to want to avoid speaking it in public. Perhaps when they had privacy the prince of Asgard would confront him later.

When they both let their handshake go, Coulson immediately went back to their main mission. "How is the Tesseract search going?"

Genesis crossed his arms and sighed, "Better than before, we've managed to clock down the time from a week to a few days. Yet I'm not quite sure it'll be enough to stop whatever Loki is planning."

"Your talent seems to lie in predicting others' movements." Thor said, referring to what he heard not too long ago. "How were you able to predict Loki's aim with the Tesseract before I arrived back on Earth?"

"From the security recordings back at the facility he leveled." the younger agent said. Genesis explained, "He was very certain of his claim to conquer this world. It wouldn't make sense if he took the Tesseract and not know what to do with it. Loki originally traveled his way here through it. Logically if he wishes to invade the Earth, he would need an army. Conversely, since the portal collapsed he needed to find a way to open it without any consequences."

Thor smiled, "A very accurate prediction." The god praised Coulson. "You taught him well."

Phil thanked Thor, and asked Genesis again, "Any ideas where Dr. Selvig might be right now?"

His apprentice shook his head. "None. Like Doctor Banner said, Dr. Selvig right now could use any reactor on the planet to do an ion fusion and make the portal. The US alone has 65 nuclear power plants with 104 commercial reactors in 31 states to date. Even if we cut the numbers down to populated areas, it's still a needle in a haystack."

"We'll just have to wait until we get results from Stark and Banner then." Agent Coulson nodded in understanding.

Thor thought over what happened to Selvig. He wondered if Loki had done anything to the team Selvig was with. What about Jane and Darcy? "Coulson," it felt rather odd as he said how the humans' would but he questioned, "I'm not sure if she's involved, but do you know how Lady Jane and her friend Darcy are faring?"

"Do we have an open station?" Coulson asked Genesis.

The former SOLDIER quickly spotted one empty computer station, and gestured them both to follow, "This way."

Genesis easily put in his agent credentials and made a data search on the astrophysics scientist. Not soon after Jane Foster's current status was visible.

"As soon as Loki took the doctor, we moved Jane Foster." Phil gestured towards the computer screen. "We've got an excellent observatory in Tromoso. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe."

Thor heaved a breath in relief. "Thank you. It's no accident Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. Erik is a good man."

Coulson and Thor walked through the bridge with Genesis behind observing the both of them.

"He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything around here." Phil said what he knew of the astrophysicist.

The demigod shook his head, "They were better as they were. We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we- we come here battling like Bildshnipe."

"Like what?" Coulson inquired obviously confused. He looked to Genesis but the younger agent shrugged his shoulders, having no idea what they were.

"Bildshnipe. You know, huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" Thor described as he made gestures to how the antlers would look.

Phil smiled and shook his head, "No."

"Well they are repulsive, and they trample everything in their path." Thor said as he moved over to a large window. He paused before he spoke, "When I first came to earth, Loki's rage followed me here and your people paid the price. And now again." He sighed, "In my youth I courted war."

"War hasn't started yet." A voice alerted them. From top of the stairs Director Nick Fury stood. "You think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?"

Thor uncharacteristically was silent, yet he replied, "I do not know. Loki's mind is far afield, it's not just power he craves, it's vengeance upon me. There's no pain would prize his need from him."

Fury wasn't certain of it. "A lot of guys think that, until the pain starts."

"What are you asking me to do?" Thor asked the leader of SHIELD.

Fury decided to question bluntly,"What I'm asking is: what are you prepared to do?"

"Loki is a prisoner." the thunder-god insisted.

The director of SHIELD had no belief in that. "Then why do I feel like he's the only person on this boat that wants to be here?"

As both Thor and Fury pondered silently, in the background Genesis and Phil were talking in hush tones.

"Is it true what the director said?" Coulson asked his protégé.

Genesis frowned and nodded reluctantly. "Loki never went all out back in Germany. He was holding back."

"Got any clues from Thor what Loki may plan in the future?"

"…Yes. You're not going to like it."

"How bad is it?" the elder agent inquired and thought about extra contingency plans.

His apprentice grimaced. "Very. Loki's acting out of spite of Thor. It means he's far too unpredictable what he's going to do right now, even if his main goal is to call an army of aliens for invasion." Genesis groaned, "We never should have brought him here."

Phil wasn't fazed, "We'll deal with it when the time comes."

Genesis could only nod in acceptance, even if he didn't share the same opinion as his mentor. Phil wasn't aware what someone like Loki could do. The Asgardian Aesir was desperate, but he knew how to channel that into his plans. Cursing inwardly, the former commander mentally wanted to kick himself for not defying Fury to get Loki to another location than the carrier. This was a severe tactical mistake…

If they weren't careful, they would probably unleash a monster that could destroy SHIELD and the Avengers Initiative in one swoop.

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"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he/she does not become a monster.

And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

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TBC...

Next time... Chapter 10: "Showdown of Mages, Shattered Initiative."

Notes/Trivia:

(1) Elizabeth Ross' necklace was presumed to be sold during the events of the Incredible Hulk. However at the end of the movie, it is shown Bruce Banner has managed to get hold of the necklace and sent it through a letter back to its rightful owner, Betty Ross. – The Incredible Hulk (2008)

(2) In the Incredible Hulk, Bruce's experiment on Gamma radiation resistance was never publicly stated it was part of this Military project or the Super Soldier Serum by General Ross. – The Incredible Hulk (2008)

(3) Genesis' reason and back-story as how he was involved with the US military led him to dislike General Ross and eventually join SHIELD. This happens in Agent SHIELD Rhapsodos Introductions: Agent Jasper Sitwell.

(4) In the Avengers Initiative comic, it is mentioned how the Hulk is responsible for crossing into India from Pakistan. The SHIELD reports state that the Hulk made work of some mercenary bandits that were wrecking a village, but made sure any innocents (children) were out of the crossfire.

(5) Quoted by Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men: The Last Stand as a lesson to his students on what it means to be a mutant.

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End AU Notes: I know I haven't gotten to Thor's real interaction with Genesis (due the timeline of the film just doesn't really fit in), but I plan to save that for the aftermath of the 'mini-war' of NYC as there will be more time. I've also read Thor: the Dark World comic prelude (came out June 5th, 2013), so I'd like to expand on that later in the fic. And don't forget to check out the prequel and introduction series I've posted through my profile/FFVII & Avengers category if you're interested!

Furthermore… YES! I have watched the Iron Man 3 movie and had a great time watching it (well - I did lower my expectations to enjoy it, but it was cool nonetheless). Will there be some sort of sequel as to this fic into the said movie? I'm weighing the odds at that one. Although, let me know if anyone's interested of seeing G in the Iron Man 3 movie. That may be a plot for the future.

Comments, opinions, your thoughts, are always welcomed.