James nodded. "If an invisible target shows possessiveness, what does it do to someone who gets close to the one they claim? I wanted it to strike at me."
Coulson's mouth twitched—half in amusement and half respect. "Thats quite a good plan. I learned something today. You might be right that I'm too soft sometimes."
The mission was done.
The BUS diverted to a maintenance base for downtime. Two missions back-to-back had burned them out.
Now would be a good time to take a few days of vacation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A vacation after a mission was always the best. James understood it was partly psychological with his new enhanced body, but he still enjoyed it.
Melinda oversaw the maintenance of the BUS. While James ensured the training of Skye, Fitz, and Simmons to be going well.
Coulson, meanwhile, spent too much time closed off in his office, working on something he wasn't sharing. James didn't like it. He'd wanted for a while to tell Coulson the truth about his death and resurrection, before the man cornered himself into a breakdown.
Far away, in the desolation of Death Valley, a beautiful woman appeared as if dropped into the world. Her clothes didn't belong on earth. The landscape was empty, heatwaves shimmered off the ground as the woman walked like it was nothing.
James and the team were currently at a military base on the edge of California. It belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D., which was exactly why the military hated it. This land could've been theirs.
After supervising another round of drills, James realized that he could teach Skye how to shoot and move, but teaching her to fight? That was a different ballgame. His way of fighting wasn't something a normal person could do. Even if he learned moves from the data stored on Cortana, he would still need experience to properly train someone with it.
He would need May to teach her.
"Alright, you can all take a rest," James said. "I'm going to find May and see if she'll teach you how to fight."
Skye caught his hand. "Why don't you teach us? You're good. We've seen it."
James shook his head. "I might be good, but my style is not something a normal person can do. I have no experience on a proper normal fight between normal people.
Fitz frowned. "Then why does it always look so easy?"
"Because I'm already a pro at what I do, what's more I got superhuman skills that's like a cheat to make me the best," James said.
He leaned back, then gave them the blunt truth of how he first trained.
"When I learned how to fight, I was tied to a chair. A guy called the 'Repairman' punched me until I learned how to endure. Took me five weeks before I could finally drop him. That's how I learned."
He looked between them. "You want that program?"
Simmons immediately shook her head. "Nope. May sounds perfect."
Fitz nodded. Skye reluctantly nodded too.
James smirked and headed for the cockpit.
May was inside, checking the maintenance progress. James stepped in and shut the door behind him.
"Did you get the information I asked for?"
May handed him a flash drive. "Here. It was buried with Coulson's resurrection, but since you needed it, they dug it back up."
James took it, fidgeting it in his hands. "Secrets can't stay buried. I'll tell Phil—after I figure out the safest way to tell him."
Then he nodded toward the hallway. "Also, I need you to teach the three techs on hand-to-hand combat. I'm not fit to be their instructor."
May's answer was simple. "You trained them well. So I'll make time."
A sudden alarm blared out all over the BUS.
James exhaled. "We're doing maintenance. Why the hell is there a mission?"
May was already moving. "Because it's close. No need to go airborne. Let's see what it is."
They left the cockpit and headed for the conference room.
Coulson was already there when they arrived, with a serious look. James took that as a temporary relief that he is still stable. At least he wasn't falling apart in public.
Fitz brought the feed up first. "At the California–Nevada border, there's an abnormal energy signature in the sky. Same profile as Asgard's Bifrost descent."
"Thor?" Skye asked.
"I don't know," Fitz said. "Is it? James?."
James shook his head.
Coulson didn't hesitate. "Let's go, take command details. Skye and Simmons stay and get the base ready for confrontation. Fitz, bring detection equipment—I want an exact location."
Ten minutes later, five S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs rolled out, dust kicking up behind them. A fully armed commando team with them.
The roads were empty, the sun baking the land. As they approached the coordinates.
Another beam of light dropped from the sky.
Even from a distance they could see it, and the convoy drove faster.
A female warrior landed in full armor—shield in her left hand, sword in her right—standing alone in the dirt, watching the vehicles rush toward her.
James was in the lead SUV, looking through binoculars.
He keyed the radio. "Stand down. It's Lady Sif of Asgard."
The convoy slowed to a stop in front of her.
James stepped out and came to greet her. "Sif. What are you doing here?"
"Sir James Gibson," Sif said, lowering her weapons. "I'm here to warn you. Your world is facing a major crisis."
"Get in," James said immediately. "We'll talk at the base."
Sif's eyes flicked to the vehicle, spotting Coulson.
"Phil Coulson," she said. "Thor had told me stories. He was… pleased you returned from the dead."
Coulson smiled like it was casual talk. "Tell him I said thanks for worrying about me. It was unfortunate I wasn't able to give my greetings when All-father Odin came to visit along with Thor to reassure him of my well being."
In the rearview mirror, James caught that smile.
It didn't sit right.
He will have to pay closer attention to him and ask questions when they have time.
Back at the HUB base, they boarded the BUS and regrouped in the conference room. Sif didn't waste time.
"When the Dark Elves attacked Asgard, there was a prison riot. It was suppressed—but someone escaped and reached Earth through a hidden passage."
Skye leaned forward. "Who?"
Sif went serious, almost grim.
"Lorelei, The Seductress."
James knew the name. But too much has changed lately. He couldn't rely on old knowledge anymore.
Sif continued. "Lorelei once caused chaos across the Nine Realms. She could gather armies, topple kingdoms, and even move men to execute their king. But she was defeated and imprisoned for centuries."
Simmons looked shaken. "How can one person do that?"
Sif's answer was blunt. "She can control men, through sound and touch like a seduction. Men are—defenceless against her."
May's eyes narrowed. "She can't control women?"
"No," Sif confirmed. "Women are unaffected."
She reached into her pack and set a metal collar on the table with a hard clink.
"I'm here to hunt her. When we catch her, you put this on her immediately."
James wasn't worried about the Seductress's temptation.
With Cortana in his head, if Lorelei even dared to show herself, she would be helpless to stop him
"That's at least good news," Coulson said. "Then if you could please tell us more, Lady Sif—what is Lorelei's usual known plan of action?"
"She recruits men," Sif replied. "Then gather gold and weapons to build an army."
James smiled faintly. "On Earth? That's not as dangerous as she thinks. An 'army' here tops out as a mob. Against a real military, they would be nothing." His eyes narrowed. "But the casualties on the way there will be devastating. So we need to move fast."
Coulson nodded. "Skye—start scraping everything. Lady Sif, if you could verify her findings. Let's get ready to move once we know her location." He looked back at Sif. "Is the landing site close? Where she came in?"
"Yes," Sif said. "Heimdall observed her nearby. She came through a hidden passageway between Asgard and Earth."
"One-way?" James asked.
"One-way," Sif confirmed. "There are secret paths between the Nine Realms and Asgard, but they're one-way. We don't know where they all are and have never used it, only Loki knows more."
They went to gear up. They needed stun guns this time, since most of the targets were controlled civilians.
In the lab, Fitz laid out his latest work.
"These are upgraded stun guns," he said, proud. "I assumed we'd need more firepower than pistols."
James took in the spread and raised an eyebrow. "You got a lot. I thought you were making only a few sidearms."
Fitz looked almost offended. "In the month you were gone? Of course not. I wanted it to be a surprise. And I renamed them—cryogenic guns. The hit response mimics a flash-freeze."
James nodded, checked each piece, then selected a pistol and a compact submachine gun variant. If Lorelei had been recruiting, there would be a mob, they would need the firepower.
They loaded the gear into the vehicles.
Now it was on Skye and Sif to find Lorelei's trail.
Sif moved through the interface like she'd seen it before. Earth's systems were crude by Asgard's standards—but better utilized. Asgard's tech was advanced but their doctrine was not. The alliance would force the redesign later.
And when it did, James intended to bring people to Asgard. That would be the real exchange.
"I've found a lead," Sif said, coming down to the lab with Skye. "Reports of robberies on Gun shops and banks. She's gathering assets and ammunition."
Coulson didn't hesitate and commanded the team to head to where the report happened.
—
Lorelei had settled into a bar with a biker crew after the robberies. Patrol officers arrived in waves—and one by one, they were turned.
A senior officer took command and established a perimeter with squad cars, forming a defensive line.
The stolen weapons weren't heavy, the storefront inventory was restricted.
Lorelei sat like she owned the place, examining the haul with some disappointment.
"You're telling me this is the best you could find?" she asked.
"Yes, my queen," the senior officer said, eager to please. "Gun shops are limited in what they carry. No heavy weapons are allowed. These can't truly arm a proper army. The military's equipment is… far stronger."
Lorelei's interest sparked. "The military…"
She leaned forward closer to the officer. "Then I need a general."
Tires screech came from outside.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy arrived outside the perimeter.
Coulson stepped out—and immediately took fire.
Seems like they weren't welcomed here, and so rounds were exchanged across the line, suppressing Coulson hard.
"Phil!" James shouted out. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Coulson called back, returning fire. "They're not in a negotiating mood."
The assault team deployed and engaged. Sif had no ranged weapon—so she brought her shield up and moved through the gaps.
May stayed in the vehicle.
Then she gunned it.
Her SUV slammed a police car aside—*bang*—blowing open a lane.
But it pinned her in place. Incoming fire pelted the car. The bulletproof glass held, but she couldn't safely exit.
James sprinted after her vehicle, submachine gun already up.
Cryo rounds struck the controlled officers—blue frost-webbing spread across their skin, their bodies locking up frozen as they dropped.
As the officers diverted attention from her, May kicked the door open and slid out, joining the fight.
The defence line crumbled.
These weren't trained men—just controlled bodies with guns. If the assault team could've used full lethal force, the line would've been destroyed instantly. But with the cryo guns' limited capability, they were forced to take shelter and avoid getting outgunned.
Coulson and Sif pushed forward as soon as most of the enemy's attention was diverted.
Sif charged straight into the bar.
A man flew out a second later, ragdolling across the dirt.
James didn't waste time. He moved for the back door.
*Bang*
Anyone he saw got shot down frozen.
Inside, the bar was chaos—shouts, bodies, and broken glass. Sif moved through the mob, taking them down one by one. For an Asgardian warrior, mortal men have no chance nor strength to overwhelm her.
James held the back exit.
He was there waiting for one person.
Lorelei.
"I see an excellent warrior," Lorelei's voice purred softly.
She stepped out toward the back door and met his muzzle without fear.
She walked toward him with grace and seduction, like she was approaching a throne, not a gun.
James finally saw her clearly.
She wasn't just "pretty." She was dangerously hot.
The kind of beauty that made weak men fight like a god of sparta. A beauty that could rival the spark of the Trojan War.
Lorelei leaned in close—too close—and gently ran her fingertips along his gun. Teasing it, as she looked at his eyes and gave him a flirtatious look.
"You're different," she murmured. "I can feel your strength. You will protect me from now on… won't you?"