As my hand reached for the door, I heard the voices of the two figures. I gasped and realized one of the voices was Director Fury. If he was in on this, it had to be important.

But who was this other guy? It was definitely a guy; his voice was serious and sure, and obvious leader.

I waited until Fury's voice could no longer be heard. I turned the doorknob and peeked my head out, only to see and empty hallway. I craned my neck even farther to see if I could see the figure through the glass. My lungs inhaled quickly and I pulled back into my office. The door was open!

My mind raced as I tried to think of a way to sneak a look in the office. I sat back at my desk, the gears of my mind turning.

Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I looked up to see a blonde man standing in my door frame.

"'scuse me miss," he said, and my eyes widened. "I'm new and I'm trying to find the Blue Meeting room. Do you think you could point me in that direction?"

This was the owner of the voice. I could see why Fury wanted him as an agent. Standing at least six and a half feet tall, the door frame looked confining. His sandy hair was parted professionally to the side, and his clothes were about as outdated as his hair style. But the rest of him was small potatoes compared to his bulging muscles.

When I realized I was staring, I regained my composure and answered, "it's on the other side of the facility. Might be a little confusing for a newbie." I smiled politely and walked over to him. "I can show you if you'd like."

"Sounds great," he smiled, showing off rows of perfect teeth. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Steve Rogers, by the way."

That name set off an alarm in my head, like I should have remembered it or something. I ignored that feeling and returned the handshake. "I'm Halle Rhodes. But everyone calls me Rhodie."

"Everyone?" he inquired as we began our journey to the Blue Meeting Room.

"Well, not everyone," I admitted, images of Loki flashed in my head and I did my best to hide my facial expression from Steve. His looks of confusion showed that my efforts had failed. "My ex-fiance used to call me Halle," I said, after quickly thinking up an explanation.

"Oh."

There was a silence that was only interrupted by the click of my boots.

"What brings you to Area 51?" I asked.

"Let's just say S.H.E.I.L.D. saved my life," he answered, not understanding my reference. "Nick thought it would be best for me to stay here."

"I understand," I sighed. "I'm under house-arrest because I'm basically bait." Steve threw me another confused expression. "I got in trouble for flirting with danger," I elaborated.

"So you live here?" asked Steve, gesturing to headquarters.

"Well not here here, like not in my office," I said, forcing a laugh. Why did I sound so nervous? "But Coulson requires me to live onsite."

"I guess that makes two of us."

We approached the Blue Meeting Room and I awkwardly said good-bye. I kicked myself for acting like such a school-girl, I was more composed than this. I walked back to my office, muttering about how stupid I was. Thinking about his massive biceps distracted me so much that I didn't notice Coulson standing outside of my office.

"Rhodie, we need to talk."

I exhaled. "Yes, I've been meaning to mention how useless I've been feeling."

"We've found something," said Coulson, ignoring my comment. "We think it might be Asgardian."

I gestured for him to lead the way. We walked to the same elevator Steve and I had just rode and Coulson pressed a button. We dove deeper than I had ever been before in the facility. When we finally disembarked, I was lead into a huge room filled with scientists. The center of attention was a glowing, blue cube sparking with electrical current.

"Rhodie!" greeted Dr. Selvig from behind a computer.

"Erik, hello," I smiled. "Jane told me to say hello."

He turned back to his work and Coulson lead me to the radiant cube. I was instantly mesmerized by flashing sparks in every shade of blue that seemed to be inside of it. I could tell it was electrical instantly, and I was no scientist.

"It's called the Tesserac," Coulson explained. "It's a self-sustaining energy source that S.H.E.I.L.D. found in the ocean." I circled around it, intrigued and frightened every time a spark would fly.

"I've never seen it before," I admitted. "Loki didn't let me wander around the castle when I was there."

Coulson sighed as if I'd disappointed him. "Well I guess that's it. You can return to your office."

I walked out of the room feeling more useless than ever. This was not the first time this had ever happened. Coulson made me out to be this "Asgardian expert" even though I'd made it perfectly clear that Loki forbade me to explore anything about Asgard without him by my side. Unfortunately, S.H.E.I.L.D. didn't need an expert on the sea life or the price of tea in Asgard.

As I made the walk of shame back to my office, I spotted Steve and waved.

"Hey Rhodie!" he greeted. "I'm starving. Is there anywhere to grab a bite around here?"

"There's a small food court upstairs," I offered.

"Sounds great."