The cloaked figure standing alone inside the cave sensed Loki's presence before he even stepped inside. Turning to face the newly arrived visitor The Chronicler dropped the hood of the purple cloak to reveal their face. To Loki's utmost surprise he did not see the face of an elderly wise man as he had anticipated, instead he gazed into the face of lovely young woman. Her long blonde hair flowing freely behind her and her warm brown eyes locking onto his curious green eyes. The glow of the fire that roared behind her gave her an ethereal aura of intangible mysticism that filled Loki with admiration.
"Welcome my friend." Her voice was soft and sweet as she greeted her wayward guest.
"Forgive me." Loki quickly bowed his head in respect and embarrassment. "I had not anticipated someone of your age as The Chronicler."
She smiled sincerely and expectedly at his comment. "I have many names and just as many faces." With her delicate hand she motioned for Loki to walk further into the cave and stand before the warmth of the fire. "As time passed on my skills and knowledge of sorcery has grown immensely. The face you see before you is not of my own but that of someone you would find comforting in this time of great distress."
Loki did in fact feel oddly at ease as he watched The Chronicler walk over to one of the large bookcases in the cave. He finally found his voice again to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind the moment since Sif arrived at the Tower. "May I ask why I have been summoned?"
The Chronicler's smile faded as she looked back at Loki; a large, worn red leather book in her hands. "You alone are a man of great will and spirit. Only a man such as yourself can survive the peril that awaits."
Loki eyed the book in her hands with great interest and impending sense of doom. "What is it that am I intended to accomplish?"
"J.A.R.V.I.S. mark all points of interest on the map and highlight those that are most active in energy spikes." Tony was studying the map intensely as small points of red light became abundant.
'Processing now, Sir.'
Within moments of the satellite's launch bizarre readings had been detected and were not, as one might expect, a programming bug. The readings were growing in frequency and in power throughout the entire world. The large display map was dotted with red lights of varying shades of intensity over all seven continents. The more powerful readings were focusing on densely populated areas, which included all of New York City...
'The energy surges appear to be linked together as a chain of undocumented communication channels.'
"What are the most likely sources of the communications?" He wiped his tired face with his hands and ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. "I need a list to begin an accurate process of elimination."
From the doorway of his workshop Bruce had been listening and made an inquiry of his own. "Could it be the work of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" His voice had a minor degree of optimism as he spoke.
"Banner! What're you doing up? Or technically speaking, down? Here? In the basement?" He looked back at the watch on his desk. "At four a.m.?"
"Couldn't sleep." He glanced at the display map on the screen. "What's going on?"
Tony could tell Bruce was very tired but chose to ignore it for now. He released a frustrated sigh and answered Bruce's question. "No clue. The satellite has been detecting unusual points of interesting since its launch two hours ago." More red lights flashed on the map as he spoke. "J.A.R.V.I.S. is running an analysis on the bizarre anomaly as we speak."
"Do you know anything yet?" Bruce sat of the edge of Tony's desk, thoroughly interested by the mysterious readings.
"Each dot on the map represents a point of underground communication. Why the satellite is detecting these lines of communication has yet to be discovered."
'Sir, the satellite has isolated a low-level frequency that has been in use since 1945.'
Bruce's eyes widened as he repeated the year. "1945? Who's been reporting underground for forty-nine years?"
Sitting back in his chair with his feet proper up on the desk, Tony stared at the glowing map with a blank expression on his face. "There are only two possibilities: S.H.I.E.L.D. or... H.Y.D.R.A."
Loki eyed the ancient text in the red, leather book with astonished intrigue. "This should not be possible."
The Chronicler smiled at Loki's surprising skepticism. "Nor should I, and yet here I stand before you." She reminded Loki of her own 'impossible' existence matter-of-factly.
He closed the book and bowed his head in emotional torment, accepting the text as truth. "Tell me what I must do."
"Come." She returned to the bookcase and put her hand over a small engraved stone that jutted out slightly from the cave wall.
As she pushed the stone into the wall the bookcase shuddered and retracted itself to the right into the cave wall and disappeared. Beyond the bookcase was a dark, winding pathway that was marred with cobwebs, dust and dormant torches. Pressing her finger to the nearest torch caused it to ignite into a burst of orange flame. Using the freshly lit torch to ignite the remaining cold torches along the walls, The Chronicler walked down the dark tunnel.
Loki, his thoughts preoccupied by his recently acquired knowledge, slowly followed The Chronicler down the glowing tunnel. At the end of the pathway he found himself standing at The Chronicler's side in a large room with pillars of stone covered in gilded engravings. Precious gems of varying size and element enhanced the long buried beauty that was the altar beneath the cave. Torches of white flame encircled the room bathing it in light that envied the glow of the sun.
A long stone table sat idle in the center of the room. A sheet woven of the finest purple silk was draped over an object that was in the ominous shape of a body.
As Loki's eyes set on the table he felt his heart sink and fear well up in his throat. "No, it cannot be true." He looked at The Chronicler seeking an answer wanting to know the truth.
She nodded at Loki before setting her own gaze on the table.
Walking slowly, reluctantly, Loki approached the table. Beads of sweat began rolling down his face, his own fear seeping through his skin. His shaking hand reached out toward the silken cover. He gripped the delicate fabric in a tight grip as he pulled the purple fabric away from the face of the body that lay beneath. Loki's heart skipped a beat as he instantly recognized the man.
Tears rolled down his face as he let out a lone, pitiful sob. "Thor?"
...to be continued...