Chapter One

Amelia glared at the malfunctioning computer in front of her, trying to control her frustration. It was the fifth time the device had shocked her, and she struggled to resist the urge to chuck it across the office. In all her years of working in the IT Department, the brunette had never seen an agent abuse their equipment in this manner. Amelia did little to hide her annoyance when she realized she had run out of parts. The computer sitting before her, with three bullet holes, would have to be scrapped for parts, or at least she hoped so. Amelia held the laptop up to inspect the entry points, only to find that one of the bullets had rendered the hard drive useless.

"Fudge nuggets!"She cursed as she raked her hands through her hair.

Her team's technology wasn't bulletproof, and she cursed internally at the agents who did not understand this. Instead, the personnel would run around as if it was indestructible, and in the process, their tech would get caught in the crossfire. She let out an irritated sigh as another shot of electricity emanated from the laptop. Amelia would have to salvage what she could from the piece, hoping to find spare parts for other broken gadgets. Someone knocked on her office door as she was about to throw her computer into the recycle bin.

"You okay, Nilson?"

Amelia turned to look at who had disturbed her little tantrum to see her boss, Director Nicholas J. Fury. The individual in question has a reputation for being rather imposing, particularly with those working under him. This notoriety is due primarily to his somber disposition and keen ability to assess individuals with a penetrating glance. He wore his classic black attire, mainly leather, and his signature black eye patch. He seemed in an even bigger mood than she was as he held onto a silver briefcase and moved to sit in one of her office chairs opposite her desk.

Although he was her employer, Fury acted more like a father figure when they were in private. He had taken a particular interest in her when she came to America to attend MIT. Her skills were unparalleled in the world of technology, and he had sent his best agent, Phil Coulson, to recruit her to S.H.I.E.L.D. Now she had come to rely on her director and Agent Coulson for a source of comfort away from home. They were her only family besides her grandfather, who lived in Germany. She's known them both for about six years now, and their loyalty to one another has only deepened.

"I'm just great, Nick," Amelia replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Can you tell Agent Johnston that his computer is not Captain America's shield?"

"I'll be sure to give him your warning," Fury answered, knowing it was more of a threat. "but that is not why I'm here."

Amelia took a moment to assess the briefcase he was carrying in his right hand. It was made of dark black leather with state-of-the-art security that she had helped to develop. Fury only used such a briefcase when he had something to confess. While he did trust her to an extent with the agency's inner workings, it was still the director's nature to be cautious. She knew that whatever was in the briefcase or what they would put into it would put people in danger if he hadn't told her.

Amelia leaned back in her chair, gesturing for him to speak, "What are you hiding?"

Fury responded gruffly, "I will tell you on the way."

Amelia sent him one last look of curiosity before nodding, knowing better than to try to pry classified information out of Nick Fury. She packed her purse and locked her office, not sparing a glance at the mountain of broken devices that required her attention. As they walked down the long halls toward the elevator, she noticed how on edge Fury looked. His eye was darting around as he assessed the agents still at work like he expected to be jumped at every corner. Once they entered the elevator, he punched the button leading them to the roof and placed his left hand over his right.

Amelia didn't miss the gesture and kept quiet as the two ascended to their destination. They had developed a type of code once Amelia had been promoted to Head of IT, a rank that has earned her the right to more classified intel. Should they be overheard or monitored, one would place the left hand over the right. When the doors opened, the loud sound of a chopper greeted them as Fury took her hand. He helped her into the machine before giving the signal to get going. Soon headquarters was behind them, and the unknown destination was in front of them.

"I know you have many questions about where we're going-" Fury began, but Amelia cut him off.

"A lot doesn't even begin to cover it, Nick," She replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Explain."

Fury rolled his one good eye at her tone but said nothing about it as he chose his following words, "We found it."

The meaning of those words took a moment to sink in, but once they did, Amelia found a place to sit down. The Tesseract, a cube with extraterrestrial capabilities, has been on S.H.I.E.L.D.S radar for quite some time. They had found it after all these years of searching and researching. She felt a sense of pride, knowing she would be among the first to look at this not-so-mythological ice cube. As the realization slowly sunk in, her curiosity about how and when grew, followed harshly by annoyance.

"You have two minutes to explain yourself, young man," She ordered with an exasperated look.

Her boss rolled his eyes again at her sarcastic and humorous remarks, which he anticipated. Neither paid attention to the looks Amelia received from the pilots in the cockpit. It was no secret that she was the only agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. able to sass Director Fury into oblivion and get away with it. Some people back at the academy had even called it her superpower, at least for a time. She became more well-known for her skill as a computer technician once she flew through the ranks at her assigned headquarters. They didn't call her a genius for anything!

Throughout the remainder of the helicopter journey, Fury provided details about the cube's location and where it had been secured until now. She was impressed to say that most of the security measures were of her design; she didn't know it then. Amelia did feel slightly hurt to see that he had kept the big news a secret for so long, but she understood why. The agency's job was to maintain the highest level of secrecy and defense against outsiders, especially since the world recently discovered it was no longer alone.

Once Amelia saw the facility lights ahead, she had a mixture of emotions ranging from anxiety to excitement before settling on curiosity. She was fascinated with the technological advances that could be made with the Tesseract. However, it was also a potent weapon, especially in the wrong hands. If someone were to steal it, Amelia cut the thought off before it could manifest into something more. When the helicopter touched the ground, Amelia was surprised to see one of her favorite agents waiting for her, along with one she wasn't as fond of.

"Hello, Lilli," Coulson said as he helped her out of the helicopter.

"Hey, Dad," Amelia replied with a smile.

Amelia was excited to work alongside her other parental figure, Phil Coulson. While Fury tried his hardest to hide his affection for her, Phil was the opposite. He was proud to claim her as his adoptive daughter and would boast to anyone willing to listen about her accomplishments. She was the girl he was sent to recruit straight out of MIT, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been the same since. The brunette continued to surprise them with her wit and charm, and she could proudly claim that most of his grey hair was because of her.

Phil brought the girl into a short side-hug before returning to his stoic stance, both acutely aware that they were being watched. The brunette glanced over at her least favorite agent, Maria Hill, not amused by the judgemental look on her face. Amelia and Maria had never seen eye to eye regarding missions and how Amelia handles her department. Maria was a woman built for action and was well-known as a trusted field agent, while Amelia had purposefully reduced her role to desktop action.

"Agent Hill," Amelia greeted, a smirk forming. "Your computer still in one piece?"

Maria rolled her eyes at the jest before turning to Fury, "Why did you bring the nerd along, Director?"

Amelia immediately placed her hand over her heart in a mocking way as she defended, "Why must you say, nerd, like it's a bad thing?"

Fury ignored his agent's less-than-adequate greeting as he turned to Coulson, "How bad is it?"

"That's the problem, sir," Coulson motioned toward the secure facility. "We don't know."

The glaring contest with Agent Hill subsided as Amelia took notice of the state of the compound. Agents, scientists, and analysts were in the process of moving heavy military-grade equipment and mounds of paperwork labeled classified. It looked like evacuation measures were in progress, and she could only imagine what must have caused Fury to activate the protocol. She went through all the possible scenarios in her head, wracking her brain for a source, but only one came to mind. Amelia looked back toward Coulson, a concerned look evident on her features, to which he could only bow his head, confirming her fears.

Coulson led the group towards large steel doors at the facility's base, Amelia right behind him in anticipation and worry. They waited patiently for them to open at the sound of a buzzer before an elevator took them down to the sub-level. Amelia normally didn't do well with tight spaces, courtesy of Agent Hill, and her hands began to fiddle with the edge of her shirt. She calmed down slightly when Coulson's hand discreetly took her own. The man sent Amelia a comforting smile and playful wink, to which the brunette responded by squeezing his hand gratefully.

"Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago," Coulson explained, his explanation unusually short.

Fury's eye darkened as he placed collapsed his hands behind his back and said, "NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test the Tesseract."

"He wasn't testing it," Coulson explained further, although he clearly didn't understand it either. "He wasn't even in the room."

"Spontaneous advancement," Amelia replied, looking between the three agents as she said the obvious answer out loud.

Maria looked indifferent to the brunette's explanation, "It just turned itself on?"

Amelia gave the agent a firm nod, her distaste for Maria fading as a more prevalent threat faced her reality. If the Tesseract could turn itself on, as she suspected it could, it meant that S.H.I.E.L.D. was playing with something far more deadly than they first realized. The Tesseract was a form of pure energy from space, and no one had any clue how it could be harnessed, let alone if it decided to overload their systems. Amelia was good at her job, but none of her classes at the Academy or MIT had yet to prepare her to face a possible sentient ice cube from space. The analyst sent a worried look to Fury, subtly look telling him evacuations needed to speed up.

"What are the reading levels now?" Fury asked.

"Climbing," Coulson responded, letting go of Amelia's hand. "When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evacuation."

"How long to get everyone out?" Fury asked as the elevator doors opened.

Coulson checked his watch as the group stepped off the lift before explaining, "Campus should be clear in the next half hour."

Fury looked frustrated as he curtly responded, "It better be."

Amelia walked beside Coulson as he led the way to where she assumed the Tesseract was. She could hear Fury and Hill discussing something called 'phase two' and was intrigued by what it was, but she ignored their shared secrets for now. Fury would tell her it was how they functioned; he had never kept things from her for long. Coulson held the door open for Fury and Amelia to enter the last door at the end of the hall before leaving with Hill to assist in the evacuation. Amelia sent him a knowing look, concerned that evacuations won't be fast enough, to which he only responded with a simple nod.

When Agent Hill shut the door tight behind them, Amelia followed Fury into a large steel facility where scientists were glued to their designated stations. The Tesseract was at one end of the room, secured in a device that looked to be something Stark would have created. While the other side looked chaotic, Amelia could tell it was organized chaos, something Amelia could relate to. After all, Dr. Eric Selvig was at the helm, and the two appeared to run things the same. A little bit of leadership and a good portion of mayhem, but Amelia always liked to add a splash of Disney to her department.

"Talk to me, Doctor," Fury called out as they reached the center of the room.

Selvig looked stressed as he stopped at each station before approaching the newcomers, "Director."

Fury nodded in acknowledgment before asking, "Is there anything we know for certain?"

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Selvig answered, not bothering to sugarcoat the inevitable. He reached out and offered to shake hands with Fury and Amelia, noticing the brunette for the first time. "And you must be Agent Nilson."

"It appears my reputation precedes me," She replied, giving him a small smile to which he returned. "It's good to see you, Eric."

"Likewise, Amy," Selvig replied, remembering their brief encounter in New Mexico.

Although the little trip to paradise was a welcomed change to the usual doom and gloom of Headquarters, Asgard had not on the tour guide list. The agent was first introduced to Eric Selvig when her team was tasked with "borrowing" Jane Foster's work. At the time, she had been the on-call computer technician and could only see the man from afar as they packed up their things. Once Amelia had determined their research was invaluable, she proposed that Jane continue her work, which Fury agreed to. On their way home, Amelia vowed never to let Coulson forget the day he turned into a fangirl over Captain America and Thor.

Fury didn't enjoy the small talk and interjected, "Is this supposed to be funny?"

"No, it's not funny at all," Selvig explains while gesturing to the equipment in the middle of the room. "The Tesseract is not only active, but she's also misbehaving."

"You make it sound as if it's sentient," Amelia replied, tapping her chin in thought. "Granted, if I was it, I wouldn't want to be poked and prodded either."

Agent Nilson knew her quip was not welcomed by the irritated glare she received from her boss. She only dismissed him with a wave before ushering both men forward, not wanting to dawdle. If the Tesseract did have its way, she needed access to one of the computers to catch up on the cube's latest mood swings. The cube seemed to glow with wonder as different shades of blue and turquoise swirled within the small object. She noted how the equipment shifted slightly every time the Tesseract pulsated with energy. She glanced back down to see the readings were worse than she had predicted and moved back to Fury's side.

"How soon until you pull the plug?" Fury asked, catching Amelia's worried expression.

"She's an energy source," Selvig explained, looking at a nearby computer. "If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level-"

Amelia opened her mouth to ask what the highest level recorded was, but Fury cut her off, "We're prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space."

The brunette raised an eyebrow at her boss, "No one can ever be prepared to harness unknown energy from space. Have you seen a movie recently?"

"She's right," Selvig replied, standing beside her. "We don't have the power to harness it. My calculations are far from complete, and she's throwing off interference. Nothing harmful, of course. Just low levels of gamma radiation."

Amelia turned toward the doctor incredulously as both Fury, and she stated, "That can be harmful."

Selvig ignored them and continued typing information into the computer. Amelia took a moment to let the reality sink in that the human race was trying to harness the power of an unknown substance. A substance that could potentially kill them and most likely wanted to. The thought didn't sit well with her as she shifted nervously, glancing over the man's shoulder to the computer screen. The readings were once again off the chart as if the Tesseract knew it was being watched and was putting on a show. She could sense she wasn't alone in her unease as Fury began looking around the facility for something.

"Where's Agent Barton?"

Amelia's nerves seemed to calm considerably at the mention of Clint's name. He was like the sibling she never had and her self-proclaimed mentor. The two met when Clint was assigned to bring in Natasha Romanoff, a black widow from the red room. The girl had been considerably scared of failing him, especially since this was her first assignment after being made a level-seven agent. However, she proved worthy of being his girl in the chair, and now they were inseparable. The woman quickly scanned her surroundings before zeroing in on the agent.

Selvig's response mirrored her thoughts as he answered, "The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual."

Amelia pointed Clint out to Fury, who called him down on a different frequency via his earpiece. The girl reached up to tune her own earpiece in, only to find it had fallen out somewhere. She cursed out loud, knowing she had a bad habit of losing her equipment or using the tech to fix other things. The group watched as Clint quietly descended toward them. Amelia sent Clint an irritated look, telling him she was not pleased that he knew about the secret base and she didn't. He didn't acknowledge her presence, focusing solely on their mutual boss.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury explained as he motioned for the three of them to walk down the center of the room.

"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint replied before turning and engulfing Amelia in a hug, throwing professionalism to the wind. "It has been too long, little sister."

"Who are you calling little?" She asked with a serious expression.

"In my defense, you are short," Clint replied with a chuckle.

Amelia smacked his shoulder, not appreciative of being told what she already knew. She already had enough problems proving her worth as a woman behind the computer and a gun. Clint was one of the first agents to take notice of Amelia's talents and put them to use both at headquarters and on the field. Once they were fully assigned to the same task force, they were rarely seen apart in the training room. They were soon known as Ruff and Tuff, with how much they pushed one another. The nickname later changed to the good, the bad, and the ugly with the addition of Natasha.

Their little reunion was cut short by Fury as he asked, "Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?"

Before Clint could reply, the facility began to shake, causing pieces of the ceiling to crack and fall. Amelia pushed Fury and Clint out of the way as a massive chunk of the roof with all her force before turning to Doctor Selvig, "Doctor, is it doing what I think it's doing?"

One of the NASA Scientists nearby answered her question, "Doctor, it's spiking again."

Doctor Selvig ran towards a computer and began imputing different commands into the computer. Amelia made her way over to help, grabbing a station of her own and reading the spike in energy. The readings were off the charts as she sifted through the data, trying to find what kind of energy it was admitting, and when she did, she became scared. It was the largest the facility had recorded and was pure gamma radiation. The building began to shake violently. She grabbed onto her station, her eyes moving toward Fury and Clint. Her boss didn't hesitate to grab her arm and pull her away from falling debris, holding her close.

"Clint explained."

"No one's come or gone. Its oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end." Clint explained with a cold look in his eyes as he glanced at the pulsing cube.

Fury's eyebrows rose, "At this end?"

Clint nodded, "Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides."

Amelia's eyes widened at this information. They now had a gateway into the unknown, and the unknown was something humanity never handled well. The Tesseract let off another large pulse that shook the building again. The pulse scale rattled every bone in Amelia's body as everybody fumbled for something to hold on to. She prayed for the other agents working in the facility and hoped they were okay, especially Coulson. She looked at the Tesseract only to see it giving off flaring rings as the cube burned brighter, raising the level of radiation in the room.

A surge of energy surged and coalesced into a powerful beam, which erupted and collided with the platform's edge. The burst of energy triggered the formation of a swirling vortex, opening up a mysterious portal. Amelia had to avert her eyes at the blinding light when a gust of blue energy filled the room. While her eyes were beginning to adjust after the exposure to the intense wave of light, her only choice was to rely on her hearing to get a sense of the situation. It was abnormally quiet in the building until she heard heavy breathing coming from the platform.

Once her eyes were fully functional again, she saw S.H.I.E.L.D. guards slowly approaching the platform with their weapons drawn. A beautiful yet mysterious darkness appeared from the portal, and Amelia watched as a shape formed, bringing a sense of unease. An unknown figure with long black hair was kneeling on the platform with a large gold staff with a glowing blue crystal in his hand. He was dressed in green and black robes accented with gold and a gold helmet with antlers.

His smile unnerved her as he mischievously raised his head, cocking it slightly as he surveyed the room. The smile that seemed to be plastered on his face reminded her of the Joker from Batman, a sight that was better saved for the cinema. Amelia shivered when his eyes landed on her briefly, his smile widening more if it was possible. She squirmed on the inside but made no move to show just how much it had affected her. She was too well-trained to let emotions get the better of her, especially as they weren't sure of his intentions and whether they were hostile.

She watched as Fury stepped before her, his hands on his gun as he said, "Sir, please put down the spear!"

The Joker look-alike looked down at the spear as if realizing he wasn't unarmed for the first time. Amelia almost had hoped that perhaps he hadn't been taught how to smile correctly until he pointed the scepter at the trio. A loud whir came from the staff before a blue light shot out at them, mimicking the Tesseract almost perfectly. The world seemed to go in slow motion as Amelia moved to dodge the light with Clint and Fury covering her. As soon as that first shot was fired, all hell broke loose.

Amid the chaos, Clint and Fury sprang into action, aiming at the unwelcome intruder and exchanging gunfire. Meanwhile, Amelia was left disoriented and in pain after her unexpected fall. She instinctively reached up to touch her head, only to feel a warm, sticky substance on her hand. Pulling her hand back, the brunette winced at the sight of the crimson liquid and quickly wiped it onto her jeans. Despite her injuries, she struggled to get back on her feet, determined to help in any way possible. Her team needed her, and Amelia needed them, so she pushed the ringing in her head to the side and focused on the maniac with the spear of doom.

In the blink of an eye, the man had taken down several guards with his hidden knives and energy blasts from the scepter. Amelia's focus was drawn towards observing the staff's workflow, trying to gauge the level of threat it was and any weak points. She had previously noticed that the shots bore a resemblance to the Tesseract. However, she made a conscious decision to delve further into this theory at a later time. Amelia observed her surroundings and noticed that Clint had approached Antlers while Fury stood on the opposite side of the platform, holding his side.

Quickly, she ran to Fury and removed her jacket to apply pressure to his side to stop the bleeding, "You lost too much blood."

Fury rolled his eyes and grunted, "We need to get the Tesseract."

With a firm expression that conveyed a "no nonsense" attitude, she assisted him in standing up. However, before they could even take a single step, her attention was drawn to seeing Antlers approaching Clint, causing her to feel a sense of dread. As Clint attempted to rise and take aim with his firearm, it seemed the maniac had already anticipated his move and thwarted him. He disarmed the agent in one fell swoop, showing that he didn't need the staff to do damage. It appeared he was a capable warrior, which meant he would still be a viable threat even if they disarmed him.

He raised his staff, and with a smirk, he placed it against the man's chest before declaring, "You have a heart."

Amelia uttered a strangled cry of terror as a light admitted for the spear's head and flowed from the crystal to Clint's heart. His body shook as the blue flickers engulfed him, and the power entered his human body. Despite her strong desire to aid him, she was left with no means of defense, merely standing there as Clint's eyes transformed into an ominous shade of black. With a precise and disciplined movement, he assumed a posture of complete readiness and returned his firearm to its designated place in his holster.

"What have you done?" Amelia shouted as she watched Clint's face go from determined to robotic.

The man turned toward Amelia and smiled, "I freed his mind."

Amelia sent him a glare of pure rage as she replied, "You turned him into your own personal servant."

"A king can not rule without servants." He said, seeming to enjoy her pain and terror before stepping toward her, "Or a queen."

While contemplating the gross prospect of playing the role of future Harley Quinn, the maniac made more servants of the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. She watched as they lined up, watching Antlers as if he were some superior being. Perhaps, he was, but Amelia would never give the satisfaction nor the ego boost. She backed away from the group slowly, reaching for Fury only to find he was no longer by her side. The brunette turned to see her boss securing the Tesseract in a silver case.

Amelia backed up even more as Fury quietly signaled her to join him, and she complied. She watched for any sudden movements from the other agents, knowing that even the slightest wrong movement could catch their attention. When she felt Fury clasp her hand, she relaxed slightly, almost slumping against him as the adrenaline began to wear off. He pulled her up, tightly holding her and the briefcase as they attempted to leave. However, they were halted by the maniac, who pointed his spear at them, forcing them to face him head-on.

"Please don't." He called with a smirk as he pointed to the silver case. "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury called as they turned to face him.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else." He replied before bowing dramatically. "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"You're burdened with something," Amelia called out. "But it's not with glorious purpose."

Selvig appeared to know the name as he came out around screens. His eyes were full of recognition and confusion as he inquired, "Loki? Brother of Thor?"

Amelia observed that Loki exhibited a physical discomfort reaction upon hearing Selvig say 'brother' and 'Thor' together in a sentence. Their relationship was strained, and they were no longer on good terms. This may have explained why Thor was sent to New Mexico and left a bigger mess for S.H.I.E.L.D. to clean up. If anything, the whole thing screams conflict within the family, with Loki left behind to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Fury stepped forward, not letting go of Amelia's hand, "We have no quarrel with your people."

Loki only smirked as if he knew something they didn't, "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

Fury raised an eyebrow, "You planning to step on us?"

Loki ignored Fury's question and spread his arms as if in celebration. He began to circle the room, preaching to his new followers and the two trying to escape, "I come with glad tidings of a world made free."

"Free from what?" Fury asked, tightening his hold on his adoptive daughter's hand.

"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart," Loki began as he moved like a gunslinger toward Selvig, who was stupidly standing behind him and placed his spear against Selvig's heart. Amelia watched in despair as, once again, another one of her friends fell to Loki's tricks. "You will know peace."

Amelia felt a tear slip down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away as she whispered, "Peace comes from freedom, and freedom comes from peace. You can't have one without the other. Chaos is what disrupts that balance."

Loki cocked his head at her words as if he'd heard them before, "Where did you hear those words?"

Amelia never got the chance to reply as Fury stepped in and sarcastically replied, "Yeah, you say peace. I kind of think you mean the other thing."

Suddenly, a powerful energy pulse emanated from the Tesseract, causing the entire building to shake before anyone could react. Amelia bent her knees and spread her legs apart to keep her balance as she looked to Fury for orders. Fury only gave her one sign. A sign she knew all too well and was not looking forward to executing. The brunette nodded in acknowledgment, wincing slightly as more of her adrenaline wore off before a significant surge engulfed her. She turned toward Loki, whose eyes seemed to be studying her intently, and she braced herself to reach for Fury's second gun on his hip.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow." Clint announces. "Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

Fury doesn't deny Clint's words but entices Loki by mocking, "Like The Pharaohs of Odin."

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig confirmed as he typed something into the computer.

"Well, then," Loki said, sending Clint a silent order.

Amelia saw the slightest confirmation, and before they knew it, shots were being fired from every direction. Fury angled his body to land on her when he and Amelia fell to the ground to avoid the bullets. Amelia grunted as her boss did his best to break his fall. He then whispered for her to play dead, and she complied immediately, but not before reaching up and grabbing his gun. She laid still for a moment waiting for someone to check on her. It wasn't until she felt something cold drop into her palm that she opened her eyes slightly.

The brunette was stunned to find Clint hovering just above her, his dark eyes now blue. While it appeared his original intent was to grab the case containing the Tesseract, he didn't report that she was still alive. Instead, Clint seemed himself for a moment, and her hand clasped over the object in her hand. It was cold to the touch, and the shape was familiar. It was his arrow pendant that he always wore. She sighed silently in relief, knowing the Clint she knew was still alive if trapped within his mind. He exited with Loki, Selvig, and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel that Loki had under his control.

Once Amelia was sure they were gone, she stood up and moved to help Fury, tucking his extra gun in her jeans. His hand cradled his side as the other circled her shoulders as they left the lab. Together the two agents make their way through the facility as quickly as possible while Fury radios to Hill and Coulson that Clint's been compromised. No sooner had the information been said that the base began to erupt in chaos, with agents turning on agents. They heard gunshots and yelling through the radio as one of them tried to respond.

Amelia and Fury went up to the top level, exhausted after a mountain of stairs, as they avoided the chaos. They both panted as they made their way to a nearby empty field before turning and watching the building collapse from a safe distance. The brunette could never forget the haunting sound of metal crumpling and twisting as a colossal sinkhole, spanning the size of a football field, consumed everything in its path. The memory would forever be ingrained in her mind. Amelia silently prayed as she grabbed the walkie from her boss's hand and ordered a status report, fearing no one would answer.

Only a second after Amelia ordered an update did they receive responses from Coulson and Hill. According to Hill, the Tesseract was still in the hands of the enemies Loki, who had escaped through an underground tunnel. Coulson added that many people were buried in the rubble of the fallen facility but made sure to add that both of them were okay. Fury hugged Amelia tightly and took the walkie-talkie from her hand to the radio, "Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase."

Hill was the first to respond, "Roger that."

"Coulson, get back to base," Fury added. "This is a level seven. As of right now, we are at war."

The radio's static was deafening as they waited for Coulson to respond, "What do we do?"

Fury looked down at Amelia, and she gave him a slight nod. She took the walkie from his hand, pushed the radio button, and watched the light turn red, "Time to call in our own power."