Outside of the room, the majority of white coats had disappeared, taking with them their equipment. Following Sullivan's orders, I walked over to the lab's entrance.
"Sullivan?" I called, walking into the lab. Sullivan was standing with Dr. Selvig and the woman with the blond hair. In front of the Tesseract was Nick Fury and a man with a set of bow and arrows. He turned, temporarily, to look at Nick Fury, and a jolt went from my head to my toes when I recognized his profile.
His face was in that file. The Avengers Initiative, I thought. Does he know?
"Sullivan!" I called, walking towards him. Sullivan raised his head in acknowledgement, looking relieved. "I've found something that could..." I trailed off when I noticed that the Tesseract was glowing even brighter than before. To boot, the power suddenly surged, and the room shook. Fury and the man with him wobbled unsteadily, looking at the Tesseract. I regained my balance and took a step back.
My confusion grew when swirls of blue energy began to gather around the cube, and the room began to shake again. I grabbed onto a rusty pipe attached to the wall. This can't be good. It shouldn't be doing that.
"Kat," I whispered, gripping onto the pipe. "Kat, do you read me?"
"Miss Elle, you have to get out of there, the building's about to collapse!" she panted, making it sound as if she was running. "You have to go, you have to go!"
While Kat was talking, the Tesseract suddenly emitted a beam of blue light that stopped at the small platform and began to expand in a circular motion, stretching upward and out. After a few seconds, the blue energy suddenly exploded and spread throughout the room. I quickly ducked into the room, avoiding the blast.
The rest of the blue energy ascended to the hole in the roof and began to gather there.
That's amazing, I thought, taking a step closer. All that energy?
I, like other people, crept closer towards the Tesseract only to see a dark figure kneeling on top of the platform. I settled myself near the closest exit, an open door. Guard with guns crept towards the figure slowly, ready to fire.
Obviously, I realized, watching as the figure raised its head. It was in the notes. That thing is a portal. Why didn't anyone think that someone might activate it? I gripped the edge of the doorway as the figure stood up.
It was a man. At least, it looked like a man. From where I stood, his skin was blue, small droplets of sweat adoring his face from the steam and smoke he radiated from his journey. His hair was raven-colored, completely dark at night and slicked back until it reached his shoulders. He wore some kind of leather trench-coat with green lapels and lined with gold. On his forearmswere some kind of armor decorated in green and gold. A black tunic with a strip of gold around the neckline completed the outfit. In his hand was a golden spear, with a curved metal tip, surrounding a small glowing blue ball that reminded me of the Tesseract.
Must be an alien, I thought to myself, shaking my hand. Can't be human.
"Sir!" Fury barked from the other end of the room. "Please put down the spear!" Fury didn't even looked fazed by our visitor's appearance. The man looked at the spear, as if realizing that he had just seen it for the first time, and then his face contorted with anger, and he jerked the spear forward, sending a beam of blue energy towards Fury that sent everyone sprawling.
I sank further into the shadow of the room, pressing myself against the inside wall as gunshots were fired. In all of 60 seconds, I'd heard at least 20 rounds of bullets, 10 grunts, and the sounds of explosions. He had basically shut down the entire defense force in a minute.
I leaned around the door and stared at the energy still growing at the roof. The man had someone's hand in a grip.
"You have heart," I heard him murmur, his voice smooth like velvet, murmured so low I barely heard. Gently, he placed the spear against the man's chest, and the man went rigid. I could see, from my hiding place, his eyes darken and then turn to a brilliant blue.
Two seconds later he holstered his gun. A terrifying smile graced the man's face as he went around from person to person, touching them with the tip of his spear, and their entire body went rigid, and then relaxed.They holstered their guns and then smiled at the man.
Mind control. Where are you from?
"Please don't," the man said gently, his back to me. "I still need that."
"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury's voice said quietly. He stood in front of the Tesseract contraption, carrying a silver case. The Tesseract was gone.
"Of course it does," the man spat. "I've come too far for anything else." As he stepped forward into light, I realized that his skin was pale and sickly. "I am Loki. Of Asgard," he added, his voice rising. He drew himself to his full height, which could have been between 6 or 7 feet. "And I am burdened with glorious purpose," he finished with a dangerous whisper. His long fingers curled around his spear, tightening as if he was prepared to strike.
Asgard. Home of the Tesseract. Guarded by Odin until it was lost...
This Asgardian...Loki, was putting the pieces together for me. An Asgardian come to take home what belongs to them. After centuries of watching their precious cube subjected to experimentation, they sent their scariest soldier to bring it back.
"Loki? Brother of Thor?" Selvig's voice rang out from nearby.
"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury said calmly, raising a hand.
I have to object, Director, I thought, watching as a scowl overtook Loki's face. You stole what's theirs.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki said simply.
I raised my eyes to look at the gathering energy, which had expanded since I last looked at it. Half of me wanted to see what Fury would do. I knew now one of his greatest secrets, and with that power, I wanted to see how he would take care of Loki. But the other half of me, the rational side, told me to heed Kat's words and escape.
"Miss Elle!" Kat's voice exclaimed shrilly as I finally made my way out of that maze of a complex. Dozens of choppers were lined up on the landing platform. Kat had been waiting for me?
Her blue eyes were filled with frightened tears as she carried a black crate onto a chopper, and then rushed over to me. "Are you okay? Did you escape alright?"
"I'm fine," I panted, my chest on fire. After escaping from the lab, I made the dangerous decision to go to my room and pack as much as I could: the important things. My comforter. My electronics. My clothes, my picture of Megan. "What's this?" I yelled over the spinning blades.
"We're packing up as much as we can but that chopper's set to take us straight to headquarters," she panted, shouldering a black backpack. "We can leave, now, the next one is leaving in 2 minutes!"
I looked over my shoulder at the entrance to the complex. Dr. Selvig was left alone with an Asgardian who wielded magic to control minds. What if something happened to him?
I'd barely known Dr. Selvig for more than 2 hours and I already felt like I had a duty to help him. But Kat tugged on my arm frantically, saying something.
"We have to go!" Kat's eyes were pleading for me to just come on.
I had never trusted Nick Fury before but as Kat pulled me onto the last civilian helicopter to leave Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., I hoped more than ever that he would save one of the world's most brilliant scientists before it was too late.