"I'm going to assume you've done the required research on the Tesseract," Agent Coulson said, admiring his blue and grey striped tie. "If you haven't, you'll be very behind, and Director Fury won't like that." He turned to face the road, silent. I awkwardly glanced at him again, and then leaned around the driver's seat to look at the stretch of highway we'd been driving for miles. The sun was just now beginning to come up, lighting up the sky in a range of pinks, yellows, and purples. I leaned back tiredly in the back seat, closing my eyes for a moment.
A glowing blue box with the potential to power the Earth for millions of years.
Director Fury was pulling S.H.I.E.L.D. members to research a cube?
I didn't know much about Directory Fury other than the fact that his first name was Nick. His name was whispered around headquarters, and it was enough to make your heart race. I first met him upon my arrival at S.H.I.E.L.D. after I was recruited. And he scared the hell out of me.
It's very nerve-wracking to stare into one, solitary dark eye, staring right through you. You wanted to ask so many questions when you saw the black eye-patch he wore, and wonder what scars were radiating from beneath it and why. It was hard to miss him. He always wore a black trench-coat over a black zip-up jacket, black pants, and black combat boots. Fury radiated power. If he told you to throw yourself off a cliff, you'd better do it before he shoots you first.
There was one instance early on, during my first year at S.H.I.E.L.D., when he walked past my row of computer stations and I broke into a cold-sweat, my pulse took off, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up as his one lone eye swept the room to make sure no one was distracted from the task at hand.
"Pedagia," Coulson's voice said next to me. I opened my eyes sleepily and realized that I'd actually dozed off. My face began to warm at the possibility that I snored.
The smirk that tugged at Coulson's face was enough of an indication. "You won't have any time to sleep on the helicopter. I'm glad you got a nice doze."
Still smirking, he opened the car door and exited the vehicle, slipping some black sunglasses on. I looked out of the tinted windows of the car to see that we had stopped near the Hudson River, where a black helicopter with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo was waiting for us, its spinning blades an indication that it was ready for takeoff.
Everything that had happened in the past 24 hours happened so damn quickly I didn't know what to make of it.
After a 3 hour helicopter ride, I found myself staring a large building complex spanning a least half a mile long. The helicopter landed on the landing pad and I listened as the whir of the blades began to slow. Coulson climbed out easily while I struggled to remove my seatbelt.
"Sir!" I heard Coulson call. "We have another."
"Good," a deep voice responded, sounding anything but pleased. I sighed with relief when I removed the safety device and stood up, my legs feeling stiff. I crawled out of the helicopter and looked around me; the skies were dark, which surprised me because it was only 9 in the morning.
Waiting outside of the helicopter was Agent Coulson, a woman with dark hair whom I'd seen once or twice, and Director Nick Fury.
I'm not very good at hiding emotions. I never have been. That's why I would never be able to be a field agent. As I crossed the land platform to greet him, I felt my heartbeat pick up, and my eyes widened as his towering figure came closer. As if the moment wasn't intimidating enough, a rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.
"Pedagia," Fury greeted me coldly, his large dark hands clasped in front of him. "Welcome to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. You did the research?"
"Yes, sir," I managed, glancing at the woman, who was clearly sizing me up.
"Agent Maria Hill will show you to the computer stations we have set up for you, and she'll instruct you on your orders. Coulson, with me," Fury said, turning to the shorter man. He stalked off in the other direction and Coulson easily kept up with his long strides.
Maria walked towards me and stuck out her hand. "As he said, Maria Hill. Welcome to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S." She had dark brown hair, tied into a bun, side-swept bangs, and green eyes that held determination and something that looked like pity.
"Elle Pedagia," I murmured, shaking it and wincing at her firm grip.
"Pedagia, your job at P.E.G.A.S.U.S. will be to monitor energy levels of the Tesseract," she began, walking towards a set of doors that lead into the complex. "You will also maintain communication with Dr. Eric Selvig. He was recently recruited to experiment on the Tesseract. In addition, you will monitor security. If an unauthorized person, or vehicle enters the building, it will be your responsibility to report."
"So...I'm not doing anything...really, with computers," I clarified, following her down a gray tunnel, lovely adorned by guards with large guns. "My expertise mostly comes from monitoring information systems, virus control, satellite navigation systems...data management, things like that." I glanced warily at one of the guards who stood next to a glowing monitor screen.
Maria regarded me with a look that made it clear I didn't have a say in my responsibilities. "Your responsibilities also include data management. We are under constant pressure to release updated information on the Tesseract experiment to our superiors. With each new development, we progress further. You're aware that we had to do a lot of work to find it."
"Of course," I said with a hasty nod, backtracking. "Is Dr. Selvig here?"
"He's been here for hours," Maria replied with a roll of her eyes. "Man never stops working." We stopped in front of two glass doors. She pulled a card from her pocket and swiped it through a card reader, and then the doors opened. "You'll also be receiving a new I.D. Card. Your classification level has increased as well."
"Is that anything important?" I asked curiously, wondering what the highest level could be.
"It means you get to open a new folder on a computer, really," Maria responded, a smug look on her face.
"What's your level?"
"Higher than yours," she responded with a tight smile, pivoting to face me. We had walked into an enormous room. We must have been in the basement, because on either side of us were two sets of stairs ascending upwards. My eyes followed as the staircase continued higher and higher. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to be in shape during my time here. "Behind me is Dr. Selvig's temporary lab. Unless you have good reason, you have no reason to be in there. Upstairs is where the command center is, where you'll be working during the duration of your stay." The lab was a small, gray box situated directly beneath the command center. Behind Maria, two technicians carrying touchscreen computers hastily walked through an open door. I shifted to look past her and I could faintly see blue light reflecting on the walls.
"How long is my stay?" Not one soul had informed me of how long I was going to be assigned to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Temporarily? Permanently? Is there a place to sleep, to eat?
Maria fixed with me with a determined smile. "As long as it takes to find a suitable use for the Tesseract's energy. Consider it an extended vacation? This location does stretch for nearly a mile, and it contains units for S.H.I.E.L.D. members to live in. Standard bed, desk, restroom, food is provided. We already have field agents on location at your residence bringing your clothes, laptop, and that adorable jeweled treasure chest of yours."
That was quick, I thought with irritation, imagining people walking through my house, touching my things.
"Once the project is completed, you can return home and back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters," Maria added, her eyes drifting upwards. "I'll take you to your computer station." She began to ascend the winding staircase. I took my careful time, leaning backwards to catch a glimpse of the marvelous blue box that has S.H.I.E.L.D. so captivated.