Chapter 2 – The Trigger

At the northeast coast of Greenland, a large excavation crew was at work. A high-powered drill bore into the ice, moving downwards until a clank was heard. The drill stopped, and the shovel-like arm of an excavator started scooping out large piles of snow in that area. A few minutes later, an object was unearthed. It appeared to be a jet, or rather what was left of it, and was outdated by today's standards. It showed signs of battle, with numerous gunfire wounds.

A figure stepped forward and knelt down in front of the dug hole. It was a man, and he was covered in a parka and a protective mask to shield him from the cold. With an outstretched hand, he reached into the exposed cockpit, and inspected the pilot. Another man approached from behind, holding a glowing nightstick.

"Is it him?" The man, Agent Phil Coulson, asked.

The man inspecting the jet stood up, and slowly removed the mask. With is one good eye, Director Nick Fury turned his attention toward Coulson.

"No… But we're getting closer."

The two turned toward the nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. base camp, deciding to call it a day for now. After finally getting out of the blizzard, Fury and Coulson removed their parkas and quickly adjusted to the change in temperatures.

"I'm just saying we need to move now." Coulson said, placing his parka on a nearby table at which a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist was filing research. Fury gave Coulson a grin.

"What I need is for you to be a little less overexcited." The director remarked.

"I'm not overexcited, I'm at the appropriate level of excitement. But a glacial shift in the coming months is an absolute certainty, which means that at any moment…"

Fury chose at that moment to cut Coulson off. "Relax, Coulson. We'll find your favorite action figure."

Before Coulson could say anything else, another agent walked up. The man was short, and had a curled mustache. He looked nervous, and spoke up.

"Director Fury, there was a call from the World Security Council."

Fury groaned in exasperation. Great. That's just what he needed right now. "Schedule a return call for tomorrow night."

"Er… they've actually already scheduled the call. It's, eh… gonna take place in twelve hours… and they'll be calling you at HQ in New York."

"That won't work." Fury snapped, glaring at the agent. "We're looking at another two to four weeks for this expedition."

The agent rubbed his neck. "I know, sir. But… the council gave an executive order to shut down, pack up camp, and head home. They said they'd explain everything to you on the call."

Coulson's face fell at that, and Fury had a look of pure frustration on his face. Without a word, he stalked off. Entering his quarters, Fury sat down at his desk, grumbling in exasperation.

"Fools. Damn bureaucratic fools." Fury cursed.

"I couldn't agree more."

Fury's head shot up, and he looked to the source of the unfamiliar voice. Standing in the shadows was a woman, who appeared no older than twenty-five. She had wavy blonde hair, black lips, and yellow eyes, and she was wearing some sort of dark, long sleeved leotard with a white spider insignia on the front, and a pair of similarly colored thigh length boots. A pair of splint-like gauntlets covered up her wrists, and had a ridged, spider web-like pattern; her leotard had a pair of shoulder pads that bared identical design. An eerily floating black cape hung behind her, and she wore boots that matched the color of her leotard. Her skin was so pale that she was almost ghostly.

"Good to finally meet you, Director Fury. Claire Voyant." She introduced, nodding to him.

"What the hell do you want?" Fury said fiercely, slowly reaching for his gun.

"Don't bother. I won't be long. I just wanted to discuss a few things with you." Claire said, putting a hand on her hip.

Fury's eyes narrowed at her. "I have nothing to discuss with you."

"See, that's where you're wrong." Claire said, her smirk turning into a grin. "Because I, unlike many others, know the truth behind what you've been up to as of recently. Such as your work with the Tesseract."

Fury's eye widened in surprise. "How do you…"

"How do I know S.H.I.E.L.D. has hidden facility in the Mojave Desert, where you have the world's greatest technological minds trying to decipher the potential of perhaps one of the most powerful energy sources in the world? How you've continued to coddle Tony Stark despite your priorities of acquiring his weapons technologies? How you've been monitoring Bruce Banner since the two of you met in Willowdale? How you have Carrie White strapped to a table while your men try to discover the source of her unusual talents? Or how about the Avengers Initiative"

Fury was left speechless, for the first time he was unable to make any kind of response. The Avengers Initiative was a top secret response program. Only a few people knew about it.

"I see everything, Director Fury, and I'm here to tell you that I support your actions." Claire said honestly. Fury's eyebrow rose at that. When we didn't say anything, Claire continued.

"The World Security Council is blind. They think they can control everything no problem, but they can't. They fail to see what is really transpiring around them, unlike you." She explained. "While it may not seem so yet, you're actions have triggered a major string of events. You've attracted the attention of forces that will become more and more insurmountable with each passing. Now my client is not one to uphold peace, but even he thinks that the world should settle down for a bit. Catch it's breath."

"Who is this client of yours?" Fury asked.

Claire's lips grew tight, and she looked away from Fury for a moment. "He doesn't have many fans, and it's best we don't dwell into that particular subject. The point is, no matter what the council says, you need to continue your work. You especially need to continue your search for Rogers. I have a feeling you may discover something… more in your search."

"More?" Fury said, confused.

"You'll see, Mr. Director. Keep what I've said in mind. You'll be seeing more of me in the future." With a wink, Claire Voyant sunk into the darkness, and her shadow seemed to move on its own and out of sight. Fury was left standing dumbly, unsure if what had just happened were real or not. As if on cue, the door opened, and Coulson stepped in. He had a strange expression on his face.

"Sir, we uncovered something at the dig sight."

"What was it?" Fury asked.

"We're not sure…"

ooooo

In the deepest bowls of eternity, Claire Voyant materialized in a torrent of fire. She was now standing on a rocky platform in a realm filled with fire and brimstone. Beneath her, demonic creatures prowled about, growling, snarling and cackling. Before her was an enormous throne, where a more imposing figure sat. It looked like a man, except his skin was red and his face was long like a horse's. His hair was black and greasy and spiked, and his eyes were an inhuman orange. He had jagged teeth, and claws where his fingernails should have been. His body concealed in a black robe, he looked at Claire expectantly.

Claire got down on one knee, bowing her head before the demon. "I did what you asked of me."

The creature gave a sick grin, showing his horrible teeth. He spoke to Claire with a low, inhuman voice.

"Yes. Step one is completed. Now, let us see if it does us any good."

Well there you go. For those of you who don't know who Claire Voyant is, she was the first costumed, superpowered female comic book character, and even though she was called the Black Widow in the comics, she is just going to be called Claire Voyant in this story so not to get confused with Natasha Romanoff. Review pleaz.