Chapter 46: Visitor From Another PlanetNotes:And we are officially into Avengersterritory!
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
We had been in the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility for a good solid three days, observing Dr. Selvig, the other personnel and the Tesseract. After Fury gave us the mission, the others had left his office for the two of us, Clint and me, to be briefed. The pirate wanted to harness this new power source and use it for weapons of mass distraction, in case any other aliens were to come to Earth like Thor had the last year. My new Level 7 Clearance gave me access to "Phase 2".
It was only normal for the director to want to keep a close eye on what was happening inside the Joint Facility that we shared with NASA. This is how Clint and I were sent in. Fury mainly wanted Clint to be observing and report what was happening, but given that he was still my S.O., that I really needed some proper field experience and that I had passed all my tests with flying colours, it was decided that I would be sent as well.
Clint, or Agent Barton as I had to call him when we were on a mission, was hiding in an upper corner of the room since he was better at observing what was happening from a distance. Hidden in his 'nest' as he was, I was left to be on the ground and walk around, closer to the alien Cube than my partner was. Generally, I was trying to keep my distance from the Tesseract, given that it was from space and we didn't really know how it worked and all.
And the safe distance that I had set for myself was kept until the third day when I started feeling it vibrate, more than normal that was. My head snapped in its direction and I closely observed it. Even closer than I had in the past.
"Agent Skye? Talk to me, what's happening?" I heard Clint in my ear.
"I am not sure" I replied as I took careful steps closer to it. "Its vibrations increased drastically" I continued as I closed in the object.
An alarm was set off as the Tesseract started glowing even bluer than its usual colour. I looked around as scientists were running all over the place, trying to shut everything off only for the Cube, as it was a power source, to turn everything back on. That was when I first heard this voice. It was a whisper really, and I wasn't able to hear it clearly but it was obviously trying to say something. "Do you hear that?" I asked my brother who, despite the whole fuss around the Tesseract had yet to come down.
"Hear what?" He asked and the question was genuine.
I shook my head trying to get rid of the whispers, only for them to slowly peak up in volume. It was still low enough for me not to understand a thing, but it was really hard to ignore. "I thought I heard something, my bad" I lied and it didn't even sound convincing to my ears. I was relieved when Clint didn't pressure on the matter, though I knew he was going to ask again in the future. "I think we should call the director" I turned and look at where Clint was hidden.
His eyes and all his focus was on the Tesseract misbehaving and he seemed to think my suggestion over. "I think you're right"
For someone who was managing a huge organisation such as S.H.I.E.L.D., the pirate came in a whole hour later. In this hour the Tesseract had started spiking more frequently, not in a specific pattern but it was clear that something was affecting it. I was going through different scenarios and possibilities as to what might have caused this to the Tesseract. I briefly thought of Jemma and if this was what was going on in her head all the time.
As if in an epiphany, my eyes lit up because of a probability that I came up with that its possible to be true was quite high, in my opinion.
"Talk to me, Doctor" Fury came in the room and asked Selvig who was, at the moment, observing the Cube really closely.
I had gone to the side, carefully looking at the conversation happening until Selvig said that "She's throwing off interference… radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation"
My mind instantly went to one person, who was in the Avengers Initiative as well. Bruce… Well, no. I would have to disagree with the doctor here, because gamma was not something to mess with, even at low levels. So, no, not harmful was wrong speculation to make no matter how good of a scientist he was. And Fury seemed to share my opinion since he voiced the same thought. "Where are my agents?", he asked and I took this as my cue to come from the sidelines.
"Director" I greeted with an incline of my head.
"Agent Skye," he said back. "Where is agent Barton?" He questioned, looking around and waiting for my partner to appear.
"You know his code mane, sir. He's up in the corner, keeping an eye on everything that's happening from a distance. It's easier for him to understand the overall situation that way"
We started walking towards the Tesseract, which had yet to stop misbehaving or vibrating. "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things" he countered.
"That's why I'm on the ground. With Hawkeye on an upper level and me down here we get a better overview of what's happening around. I strongly believe that the chances of something getting past us are extremely low" I voiced with confidence, though with seriousness as well because of the situation we were in.
Without stopping our advance towards the alien object, another question was formed. One that was completely expected on my part but still tricky nonetheless. "Have you seen anything that might have set it off?"
I felt the Cube sent off another, the strongest one yet, wave of vibrations just as a doctor from the room called Selvig over and reported it spiking. "No one's come or gone since we arrived and Selvig's clean. No contacts or IM's, and given the hacking abilities I doubt I missed something" We reached the Tesseract. We were close enough that we could touch it, but not stupid enough to do so. "If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end" I concluded.
"At this end?" The pirate questioned.
I turned to look at him and then pointed at the glowing item. "The Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Just before the whole misbehaving thing started it started slowly vibrating". I could see Fury tilting his head on the side with a 'seriously?' expression on his face. "I did not use my powers, sir" I whispered closer so that he was the only one other than Clint, who was in my ear, to hear. "It being as sensitive as it is we had agreed for me not to quake it and risk setting it off. But I could feel the vibrations coming off it in waves. So, since this thing is a portal of sorts, I am guessing that someone wants to come through. Doors open from both sides after all"
Just as I finished the Tesseract vibrated so hard that the whole building shook and the glowing blue patterns coming off it grew in scale. Fury and I backed off, creating some distance between the two of us and the foreign object as the energy it produced suddenly amplified. This energy sent off a beam towards the opposite wall. The whispers that I had initially heard peaked up in volume and I had to actually close my eyes as the sound pierced my skull. It turned out that it was a smart choice, given that a moment later there was a blue light that filled the room and I would have had to shield my eyes either way.
Just as I opened them again my gaze quickly shifted to where the Tesseract's energy had just gathered. And to my surprise, a man was kneeling there.
Silence filled the room as no one, apart from some heavily armed agents, dared to move or close in on the stranger. He slowly got up and only then did I get to see a spear on his hand, glowing blue at its end. From what I could gather at the moment it looked a lot similar to the Cube.
"Sir, please put down the spear" Fury eventually spoke, breaking the silence.
The stranger seemed to just notice the director's presence. He looked at him and then at the spear on his hand. A mischievous smile appeared on his smile and only one word formed in my head. Fuck. I jumped at Fury, pushing him out of the way just as a blue beam was shot at him.
I watched in horror as he pierced agents, threw knives and killed people as if this was just his morning routine… a second nature to him. "Take cover" I yelled at Fury, not caring about formalities at the moment, other than making sure the man was safe. I saw an arrow fly and get completely dissolved midair, as a beam was shot to where Clint was hiding. With no time to think about the safety of my brother I kneeled, hosteling my gun since using my powers was out of the picture, given how unstable the Tesseract was at the moment. With my fingers tightly wrapped around the Heckler & Koch 30, I pulled the trigger aiming at the intruder.
It was clear as day that my bullets hit their target, but they seem to only anger him. So the next beam that was sent off his weapon was directed at my location.
I tried to roll away, but the energy of the spear made me lose balance and awkwardly land a lot further than I had originally planned. I tried to get up and from the corner of my eye, I could see the man closing in quickly. I twisted my right hand, in which I was holding my gun, in a futile attempt to shot him again. Only, he was too close and with his hand, he grabbed my wrist. I tried to take it away, only for his grip to tighten and for me to stand helpless in front of him.
His head tilted to the side, his eyes boring into mine and the smile never leaving his face. "A Kree experiment, how fascinating" he whispered to himself but I heard it as well. Then something changed in his expression and he said, "You have heart" just as he placed the tip of his spear at my chest, pricking the skin underneath a little.
The blue energy danced, crawled its way to my torso and let this cold feeling take over.
Chapter 47: Bringing In The AssetsNotes:All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Clint's POV
I watched from high above when this alien appeared through the portal that the Tesseract had created. He appeared to be like a human, a man, and the encounter that I had with Thor popped up in my mind. I knew that even if I hit him, the chances of my arrow harming him were really low, so when I released it, I immediately ducked on the side, expecting the shot that came my way.
And so I remained hidden, not speaking into my comm since I didn't want to distract Skye from dealing with the intruder or protecting the director. But when the man grabbed Skye, pressed his spear to where her heart was and she willingly put her gun back to its holster I knew something was wrong as a cold chill runs through my spine. She took a step back and did nothing when the man moved on to, what was safe to guess, control other agents. Many people, had they seen how this played out, would have deemed it to be a rookie mistake, saying that she could have acted differently and prevented it. But I was her S.O. and I knew very well how high her combat abilities were. So, if this guy managed to overpower her with only one arm, I knew the situation was not in our favour.
I didn't speak in my comm, knowing that even if I spoke to Skye, the chances of her snapping out of the alien's control were low. It was better for me to remain in hiding and see how the scene played out, closing in slowly so that if anything happened I would be near Fury.
"Please don't" the man broke the silence, making Fury stop in his tracks from taking the Tesseract and leaving the facility. "I still need that"
The director turned to the man so that he was facing him. From the corner of his eye, he registered my movement but didn't act on it, not wanting to betray my location. "This doesn't have to get any messier" he stalled.
"Of course it does" the man reasoned. "I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose" he spoke as if he held all the power in the world.
Well, it seemed that I was not mistaken when I thought that the guy could be of the same place as Thor was. The God of Thunder, if my memory didn't betray me, was of Asgard as well. And when Dr. Selvig said that he was the brother of Thor, it all clicked. The guy who had brought a monster on New Mexico, trying to kill his own brother, was now on Earth and was after one very powerful Cube. What could go wrong?
The director kept talking with him, buying me some time to get closer and Loki, as he had introduced himself, took Selvig under his control as well. I was almost in the place I wanted to be when Skye spoke again.
"Sir, the pirate is stalling," she said as she walked closer to the Asgardian. "This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us" even her speaking seemed to be a little bit robotic and lacked its usual bite.
"Like the pharaohs of old" Fury said.
Selvig, reading something at his computer confirmed everyone's saying. "She's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical" he reported to Loki.
He on the other hand spoke to Skye who, without hesitation, fired at Fury before I even had a chance to release an arrow. The director fell back and Skye, along with Loki, Selvig and the other agents, took the suitcase which contained the Tesseract and marched out of the room.
Immediately I landed on the floor and rushed to Fury's side. Before I even had a chance to kneel beside him, he had sat up and was trying to take the bullet off his vest. "Call Hill, now, and run upstairs!" He ordered as he handed me his walkie talkie.
"With all due respect, sir, I am not leaving your side," I said as I grabbed the talking device and pressed the button at its side. "Hill! Hill, do you copy?" I asked in the device. Not waiting for a reply I continued, "Skye has turned". I helped the director up and placed him in front of me as I followed behind. The energy from the portal was destroying the building and the seconds we had to get out of there were counting down. "They have the Tesseract. Shut them down!", was the last thing I said before holstering it on my belt and running out towards the helicopter that the director had come in with.
Natasha's POV
I was on a mission to Georgi Luchkov, who was a Russian general selling weapon to the highest bidder. I had already been in the mission for a solid week, as I was sent in to spy on the general's activities. I knew my mission was coming to an end, so I let one of his henchmen find me sneaking around and knock me out in order to be able to get more information out of Georgi.
When I awoke, tied up in a chair, and the general in from of me with a sick smirking smile on his face, I knew that I had him where I wanted him to be. Not that he was aware of that, of course. He thought that he had the upper hand.
So I played my part giving him information about who had sent me, which were all part of my cover. And he in return, believing my words, was spilling out all of his secrets. That was until one of his henchmen grabbed me and forced my mouth open, as the general took hold of a slip joint plier and came closer, threatening to torture me by ripping my tongue out. I was about to make my move when a phone ringtone was heard through the room and the second henchman, who was standing a bit further away, took his phone out and answered the call.
"It's for her" he spoke in Russian as he gave the phone to the general.
Georgi took the phone threatening whoever he was speaking with, only for his face to slowly start paling by what he was hearing, as he looked around. I was not being held by anyone anymore and the general placed the phone to my ear.
"We need you to come in" I heard Clint from the other side of the line. His voice more robotic than it usually was but I didn't pay any attention to it.
"Are you kidding? I'm working" I countered.
I heard him sigh. "This takes precedence" he spoke again.
I couldn't believe my ears, that Clint had interrupted one of my operations, just claiming that what they wanted was more important. "I'm in the middle of an interrogation, this moron is giving me everything" I claimed.
"I don't give everything" Georgi spoke looking from one henchman to the other.
Seriously? I questioned with a look and I turned my attention back at the phone. "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now. Give me a couple of–"
"Natasha" Clint interrupted and this was when I noticed the slight tremor in his voice. "Skye's been compromised" he barely got the words out.
I felt as if time stopped for a second after I heard these words coming off his mouth. No! No, it can't be, I thought. I took a deep breath and looked around once more. I needed to get out of there and fast. "Let me put you on hold," I said and looked at the general to signal him to take the phone. He reached out and the moment his hand grabbed the device I made my move.
Kicking him hard on the leg, I forced him to fall on one knee and I hit my forehead with his, making him collapse to the side.
His two henchmen came towards me at the same time… So this is how you want to play it, huh boys? I thought. It was going to be fun, not a challenge, but fun nonetheless.
I kicked one at the stomach, making him stumble back, and the second one at the nuts making him fall hard. I was still tied to the chair, which I could use in my advantage. So before the first guy had the chance to get his bearings back together, I rolled closer to him and with one of the chair legs I hit him again at the same spot as I had kicked before and then sat on his leg, making him hunch forwards. This was a mistake he would only make once. With the back of my head I hit his nose, breaking it for sure, and then twisted and using the momentum I tripped him and he was knocked out when his head met the concrete floor.
That was when the second guy decided to join in again, after managing to get up. Couldn't a general get a better set of bodyguards? These guys' technique was awful. So, as he closed in completely open, I kicked him in the same spot I had before. He tried to punch me, I had to give him that, but he was nowhere near a level where he would be able to land a punch or kick at me. So, pretty quickly I had him where I needed him to be. By using a box on the side as a step, I jumped backwards and brought the chair on the guys back, breaking the wooden furniture and definitely bruising some of his ribs.
The general was looking at me in horror, finally realising what a mistake he made when he underestimated me. He didn't even put up a fight and I quickly left him hanging in the air, by a metal chain.
"Where is Skye now?" I asked as I picked up the phone that had been dropped on the ground.
"We don't know," he said.
Seriously Clint? You have to give me more than that,I questioned in my mind. "But she's alive?", was what I eventually phrased.
"We think so. Coulson will brief you on everything when you get back. But first, they need you to talk to the big guy"
"Clint, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me," I said, trying to reason with him. I was not the person that Tony would listen to in order to come in. Everyone in our circle already knew as much.
"Oh, no" Clint exclaimed. "Coulson's got Stark. You get the big guy" he emphasised and that's when I realised exactly who he was speaking about. Awesome. I really needed to handle this with a lot of carefulness if I didn't want to end up smashed… But I did have a hidden trick up in my sleeve, which only Skye knew of.
Before I knew it, I was in Kolkata. This Indian city was the latest of Bruce Banner's hideouts and he had been in this specific location for a good few years so that a lot of people knew of him. Also, him being a doctor and caring for the sick did put him high in everyone's opinion in this place. So, it wasn't really hard to get a child to do the bidding and act as if her father was sick in order to lure Dr. Banner into an isolated and remote cabin to talk to him.
I heard the girl run around in the house, and someone follow her in but I remained hidden. That was until I heard Dr. Banner talk to himself. I took it as my cue to come out front and make my presence known. "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress you picked a hell of a place to settle," I told him, smiling gently just as the situation required for him to trust me more easily.
He turned to me, clearly irritated by the outcome of his evening. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret," he said as he left his bag on the floor. Good, at least his intelligence let him know that he was not going to go anywhere anytime soon.
"And what is it?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow and a teasing tone. "Yoga?"
To my surprise, he laughed at my suggestion, looked around and then his attention was settled back on me. "You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart" he spoke and the smile never left his face. It was clear just from that that it was a forced one since he was not feeling comfortable in the least with the whole situation. "I assume the whole place is surrounded?" He went closer to the window trying to peek outside.
"Just you and me" I swiftly lied. Of course, there was not a chance that I had gone to that remote place, with a guy who could turn into a monster in the blink of an eye without backup.
He didn't show whether he believed me or not, changing the subject of the conversation quickly. "And your actress buddy? Is she a spy, too? They start that young?" He started walking around the room, my attention never leaving his form.
"I did" I answered honestly. And when he asked me who I was, my answer was just as honest, giving him my real name.
He was contemplating what was happening and what was to happen. When he couldn't decide the reason why I was there he spoke again. "Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone". With his track who could blame him for guessing that I was there with such an aim.
"No, no. Of course not. I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D." the name of the organisation seemed to have not escaped Banner's mind. "We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance and observed. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent".
His uneasiness level had spiked since the new information came to light. "Why?"
"Nick Fury seems to trusts you. But now we need you to come in" my voice still had that happy, playful tone but deep down it was serious as hell. Especially since this guy was the highest chance we had of locating the Tesseract and, as a result, my sister.
"What if I say no?" He questioned. "What if the otherguy says no?"
"Well, first of you've been more than a year without an incident" I stated. "I highly doubt you want to break that streak" I moved closer to the table, singling him to follow me. "Second, we are facing a potential global catastrophe".
He laughed at that. "Well, those I actively try to avoid"
"This" I spoke not even waiting to see if he was finished. "This is the Tesseract" I showed him a picture of the Cube on the screen of my phone. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet"
Banner came closer and looked closely at the screen. "What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"
If only it was that easy, I thought. "He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation as you do. If there was, that's where I would be". I could tell that he still had his doubts. It was time for the hidden card to be played.
"Now, Fury may not be after the other guy but there is a catch. A catch especially from my part" I started honestly, which I could tell took him by surprise. "One of our agents was compromised and this stone is at the epicentre. If we learn where the stone is, the chances of getting to her are higher". He seemed passive at the new information he was receiving until his curiosity spiked from what came next. "You may remember her, actually. She sure remembers you," I said and the smile never left my face.
"And who may that be?" He questioned though he clearly thought that I was mistaken or that my intel was wrong.
"Skye," I said the name and his face cleared with recognition.
"Skye?" He questioned. "She's with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked, taking a defensive posture.
"Not when you met her, no. At the time she was running away from us, trying to get a hold of her powers. A very similar story to yours from what I have come to understand" I got up and closed in on him, taking the phone back. "She's with us now, we helped her with her abilities, though I guess I should thank you for helping her when she was away"
The Doctor didn't speak for a while. "Who else knows?" He looked at me dead in the eyes.
"Only she and I do". I could see the doubt in his eyes. "I haven't lied for anything so far, why would I start now?", I tried to reason. "So, if you're not doing this for us or even for the world, do it for her. From what I've heard she helped you a great deal as well, didn't she? It's only proper to return the favour" and with that, I knew that he would come without causing any problems.
Chapter 48: Feeling Angry, Feeling GuiltyNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Natasha's POV
After persuading Dr. Banner to come in, a trained team and I escorted him back at the Helicarrier, where the base of our operation was. Clint, though he had already arrived, was still being debriefed about exactly what went down at the mission with Skye, so I had yet to see him and ask for myself. I got word from Maria to find Coulson, who brought in Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, and bring him inside so I had just left to go outside and greet him. The war hero and the agent exited the plane they came with and that was when Coulson saw me.
"Agent Romanoff," he said looking at me and then he turned to his idol, "Captain Rogers"
I could tell from that stupid smile on his face that he had the time of his life, being so close to someone he has looked up to all his life and that he was struggling to keep his serious, second-in-command persona with him around.
"Ma'am" the Captain greeted with his old fashioned habits still in place.
"Hi" I briefly said before turning to Coulson. "They need you on the bridge, they are starting face-trace," I said going straight into the point and his smile disappeared as he focused back on work and walked into the computer room.
That's how I was left with Rogers who looked exactly like a fish out of water. So, to make him feel a bit more comfortable I started talking. "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice" I looked at him and his face said it all. How much he would like to forget, how unhappy he was with how everything turned out. "I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" I went for a lighter topic and I instantly saw him relax.
"Trading cards?"
"They're vintage. He's very proud" I still remembered the day when he collected the final card and how proud he was of such a "feat", as he had then called it.
As we were walking towards the edge of the outside platform, we bumped into Banner who was looking around. Before I had a chance to call him, the Captain did so first and they started talking. I stayed back and was looking at them when I heard Clint through my earpiece.
"Natasha, we are ready for take-off. Take our guests and come in" he said.
"Roger that," I said back and moved towards the two men who had already started a proper conversation.
When we went inside, I let the boys talk with Fury and look around as I went to one of the screens that were doing facial recognition for Skye.
"Agent Romanoff" I heard someone say from behind me and I would recognise his voice anywhere.
"Agent Barton" I replied and turned around to see him coming closer. Referring to each other with our surnames was a silent agreement when we were surrounded by other agents. The moment we were alone though this changed. "We have a few things we need to discuss," I said, with no trace of warmth in my voice.
"Yes we do" I could hear the strain in his voice but didn't react to it. I just kept a straight face and looked back at the monitor with Skye's face on it.
"Agent Romanoff" I heard Fury said and immediately stood up from where I was crouching. "Agent Barton…" he said the second name a bit slower as if just deciding whether he actually wanted him to do something or not. "Could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"
With a curt nob, I walked past Fury with Clint. "You're gonna love it Doc. We got all the toys" I said as I took him towards his lab.
"Really?", he questioned. "Do you have…" after that he said something. I really didn't catch that and I had low hopes that even if I understood the words, I would know what they were.
"I'm not sure…" I started but Banner stopped me.
"Oh… you're very young," he said in a matter-of-fact way. I was the one that had been through enough in my life and here was Banner telling me otherwise. We talked a bit on the way to the lab, trying to take his mind off the agents that were lurking in every corner and by the time we reached our destination, I could see how more relaxed he was when he went into a familiar, for him, environment. He started moving machines all over the lab and he began his work by trying to trace the gamma radiation from the Tesseract.
With that taken care of, I walked off the room with Clint right beside me, who had not spoken at all during my interaction with the other man. Once the door was closed and I checked that there were no agents around I span around and my fist found Clint's jaw straight on.
Clearly not expecting that, Clint fell on his back before quickly getting up. One hand was on his bruising jaw and the other on his hip. "Okay… I guess I deserved that" he dared to say.
"You guess you deserve that?" I questioned and closed in on him.
He actually took a couple of steps back when he saw the look in my eyes. "Natasha…" he warned quietly.
"Oh don't 'Natasha' me" I threw back. I had stopped my advances but was still only a few inches away from him, inclining my head back to look at him straight in the eye. I had kept my cool long enough while Banner was around but it was time that Clinton here got the scolding I had saved for him since we hang up after my mission with Georgi. "You. Idiot!" I said and with every word I poked his chest. "How could you lose her? When did she even become a freaking agent?!" I screamed at his face.
"We both know that she could have become an agent a long time ago. She was ready" he answered avoiding my first question completely.
I scoffed at his answer. "Apparently not ready enough" I threw back. "If it was up to me she wouldn't be out in the field so soon"
"No, if it was up to you she would never see the field," he said and we both knew that it was true. "If you could you would have her locked away to keep her safe, but thank God it was not up to you. Because it was up to Skye. She knew what she was getting into even when she joined the Academy all those years ago. And, yeah. She was ready. She isready" he spoke, his voice never rising too much but I could feel all his frustration underneath it nonetheless. "Do you want to know how I know she is ready?", he questioned when I clicked my tongue. "Because she didn't kill Fury. She. Did. Not. She could have shot him in the head and I am sure that the control that Loki had over her told her to kill the director. But she didn't. She shot at his vest, which she knew he was wearing because this is protocol. Because I trained her. I was there when it happened and I feel bad even without you pointing it out, so please. Spare me with your judgement and focus on finding our girl and bringing her home!"
The seconds seemed to stretch as neither of us spoke and the corridor was filled with the uneven breaths that Clint was taking. The staring contest and silent conversation that we had seemed to die down and eventually the guy let out a deep sigh and hung his head.
"It's on me, alright?" He said and pointed at himself. "It's me who lost her, it was me who decided not to try and get her back and who made sure Fury was safe". He raised his head and looked at me in the eyes, and all that guilt that dripped in his voice was clear as day in his gaze as well. "You want to get a room and take all your frustration on me, do so, because all of this is my fault. And, honestly, if I were in her shoes I am not sure whether I would have been able to escape Loki or not"
"Don't say that" I spoke after his final confession.
"I believe that though. I trained her Natasha. Hell, even before that she got training from Melinda, Maria and you. If she was taken so easily I am not sure I would share a different fate"
It had taken a toll on him. This situation was straining him and he was trying to keep it together, but that strong facade that he must have worn since he got back was starting to break down. I was still angry, don't think otherwise. But I could sympathise with this helpless feeling that was sinking in Clint, I had felt it numerous times in the past both while looking for Skye and after I found her.
I chose my next words really carefully. Screaming or yelling at him would do us no good right now and we both had to keep it together. The more we focused the sooner we would find my сестра, I thought and my thoughts were cut short as I silently cursed. I hadn't spoken, let alone think in Russian and I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down. "I trust you, Clint," I said and he lifted his face to look at me. He knew how hard it was for me to say those words and how few people had heard me pronounce those words. "If you say so then it's true. But that means that we are facing an even bigger threat than we expected and we have a really hard road ahead of us. So you better pull yourself together because if you don't and Skye slips through our fingers because of you…" I didn't finish that sentence. Not that I needed to either way. The message was sent and with a curt nod I took off to the bridge and where the facial recognition system was still trying to locate Loki.
Chapter 49: In Loki's HideoutNotes:A filler chapter that I needed to get out of the way before we move on to more important things :) Hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Thank you for the support!
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
After escaping from the pirate, I took Loki to a safe house which I knew was safe from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. From the moment that the Spectre touched me, I knew what I had to do. The whispers that I was hearing were indeed coming from the Tesseract but now I could hear them clearly, speaking to me and letting me know what my next move must be.
Loki made me his commander. After all, I held the most information about the organisation that was trying to prevent us from utilising the Tesseract to its full potential. Being the commander of the ship, I was in charge of gathering other mercenaries and workers which I knew were against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret policy. And even if they had their reservations the moment that the Spectre touched their hearts just as it already had mine, they willingly joined our cause.
"Where did you find all these people?" Dr. Selvig asked me while working on some sort of device. I didn't know what the device was for or where we would use it but it didn't matter. Should I need to know anything, then the Tesseract would tell me what that was and that was all I needed to know.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has no shortage of enemies, Doctor" I replied while working on my computer. The voices had let me know that we needed Iridium. I had no idea what exactly it was, but my hacking abilities came in handy and soon I had a picture of it on the screen, showing it to the Doc. "Is this the stuff you need?" I questioned just to make sure.
"Yeah, iridium. It's found in meteorites. It forms anti-protons and it's very hard to get a hold of" he said as if that explained everything.
So this comes from space as well, perfect. I wished Jemma was there with me, Loki would show her the truth and we would be together, working towards a common goal. Focus, I heard the voice in my head when my thoughts drifted someplace else other than the mission. I complied without a second thought. "Especially if S.H.I.E.L.D. knows you need it" I replied back to Selvig who smiled at me before looking at someone over my shoulder and a smile crossed his face.
"The Tesseract has shown me so much" he spoke while I was still working on my computer, gathering the information I needed for my mission. "It's– It's more than knowledge. It's the truth"
"I know" I heard Loki say from behind me. "It… it touches everyone differently. What did it show you, agent Skye?"
The question was my queue to turn and address the alien. "My next target, among other things" I replied honestly since there was no need for lies among us. The other things being some very small glimpses of a blue alien species.
Selvig laughed at my reply. "She's got no soul," he said. "No wonder you chose this– this tomb to work in" the smile never leaving his face.
Oh how I wanted to make his stupid smirk disappear, and I could, only the Tesseract was not allowing me to do so. "Well, you find me another place that has three levels of the redline flooring between S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Cube. You are the one working on the thing, you should know how important the location you're working in is and how greatly it could affect the result of what we are trying to do". I was glad to see him nod and step away, going to work on the device once more.
"I see why Fury chose you to guard it" Loki spoke after I finished talking with the doctor.
I turned around at the mention of the director. "You're gonna have to contain him, sir" we started walking around the facility. "As long as he is in the air I can't pin him down, not with our current equipment. Normally I would be able to hack from distance, but their security walls have never been greater. If I get access from the inside, we will be good to go but until then he remains at large. And he is putting together a team"
"Are they a threat?"
"To each other more than likely" I replied. All the information that I had for the team was coming to the surface. Their evaluations, their abilities, their weaknesses and anything else I could think of. "But if the pirate gets them on track, and he might, they can throw some noise our way". It was possible to happen, I highly doubted, but with Fury on the play, nothing was for sure.
The Asgardian turned to me. "You admire Fury," he said.
I never said that I didn't, I just never phrased my true opinion on him. But since we had no secrets with Loki there was no reason to hold back any information, no matter how personal or small. "He's got a clear line of sight, knows what he wants and does anything to get it" I did admire that in him. Though his… extreme, sometimes methods found me opposite to his actions, I had to give him that.
"Is that why you failed to kill him?" Loki questioned, an edge to his voice that made me stop dead in my tracks.
"It might be" Loki continued walking a bit before stopping and turning to look at me. "I was disoriented and it would have been so much easier had I used my powers. I couldn't though, not without making the whole place go 'boom' before we managed to get out"
With a finger pointing at me he spoke, "I want you to tell me anything you can about this team of his". His eyes grew unfocused as if he was lost in thought. "I would test their metal" I nodded as he started pacing back and front the same place. "I have been hiding in the shadows but I am meant to rule this world, not hide underneath it"
"It's a risk, going to the surface," I said after realising what he wanted to do.
"Oh, yes," he said with a smile.
He wanted to make an appearance, huh? "You're set to making yourself known" I phrased his thoughts and goals. "We could use that, lure them out and break them from the inside"
"Tell me what you need" the alien spoke with no hesitation, willing to provide anything.
What could possibly lure the pirate out of the shadows? Well, there was one thing. "I need a distraction. And an eyeball" I said as I went towards a van full of equipment. I found my gauntlets and wore them, getting ready for what there was to come. "Before that, there are some things that you need to know about the team that Fury is trying to make"
I received a nod from the Asgardian and so I started talking. Everything that I knew about Natasha and Clint, their missions and their past. Things that I said could be used against them, that was true, and I really didn't want to have to hurt my brother and sister. But hopefully, Loki would make them see the truth as well and they would join us. If not, then I would have no choice but to fight them and we needed to be as prepared as possible. Then I said what I knew of Tony and Captain Rogers. Though the information I had on the latter was not sufficient, it was everything that I had read on the 'Avengers Initiative' report.
And then I told him about Bruce. How he struggled with his control and how we could use that to tear the team apart before they even had a chance to form. I did not doubt that the pirate would have Bruce with him by now, given his expertise in gamma radiation and his… ability… to turn into a green monster if he lost his temper. He didn't have great control when I met him all those years ago, and we had helped each other, but not nearly to a degree where he could properly control, or prevent, his transformation from happening.
Notes:Almost done with Book 1 and I have yet to think of a summary for Book 2 ^^' If I am late a few days to post the first chapter of Book 2 this will be the only reason why haha. As you possibly could tell from this story, summaries aren't my strong suit
Chapter 50: The InterrogationNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Clint's POV
Loki was eventually located in Stuttgart, Germany, as he made his appearance in a gala hosted in the area. A team of ours was sent to retrieve him, which consisted of Nat and myself in a Quinjet and Captain Rogers on the ground. And boy was he taking a good hit from the alien. This guy was all over the place, not being able to land a solid punch and was taking hit after hit without evading anything.
Natasha and I were unable to help from the Quinjet and as I was about to take my bow and arrows and head to the ground to try and provide some sort of assistance to the Captain, our control system was overridden and Tony Stark's voice came through our comm system.
"Agent Romanoff. Did you miss me?", he asked as he came into the plaza where the fighting was taking place and shot a beam at the alien.
"Seems like I won't be needing those," I said, placing my equipment back where I found them and sat on the co-pilot's seat.
"I guess not" I heard Nat say under her breath with clenched teeth as she focused on what was going on in front of us.
Only moments after the Iron Man came into the picture, Loki surrendered and was willingly taken in the jet as we headed back to the Helicarrier. I had not forgotten what Natasha had told me the same morning, about getting a grip and completely focusing on finding Skye. So, though I was annoyed as hell that Skye had escaped us and her location remained unknown, I had all my focus on the prisoner that we had and safely transporting him back to base to get the information we needed out of him.
A task that I had initially thought to be pretty simple but turned out to be way more complicated. True, we had Rogers and Stark arguing in the back, but this was not what worried me. When the cloudy sky suddenly was filled with lighting, I knew that something was up.
"Where is this coming from?" I faintly heard Natasha ask, looking up in the dark clouds that were buzzing with energy.
My head snapped back, in Loki's direction, when Rogers asked him if he's afraid of a little lighting. So when he replied, "I'm not overly fond of what follows" and soon after something landed on top of the Quinjet I knew that we were about to be met with someone who I was, honestly, in no mood to meet again.
"Stark, don't!" I said to the playboy who, of course, did not listen to me and opened the back of the plane while in his suit. No sooner had the door fully opened, than Thor marched in, hammered Stark and flew away with his brother.
"Now there is that guy," Stark said as he started walking towards the back of the jet.
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked about the same time when Captain's voice echoed, "Think guy's a friendly?"
Before I even had the time to open my mouth and reply Stark claimed that it didn't matter and that we had to get Loki back. I could see his point of view, I really did, but after my experience in New Mexico, I knew that Thor was not an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he could be reasoned with. But before I knew it both the billionaire and the World War II hero had jumped off the plane as to follow the prince of Asgard.
"Fuck" I exclaimed. "Turn back around. I need to go there before they do something stupid" I said to Natasha who piloted the jet as I got up to get my bow, which I hoped I wouldn't have to use.
"I would sit this one out Hawk," she said though she did start turning around. "These guys come from legend. They are basically Gods"
"Come on Black. I know this guy and I know if I talk to him he will stand down. It's our safest bet to get Loki back with the minimum casualties possible. That is if I manage to get there before smart-boy and living-museum-exhibition do anything that will piss the freaking God of Thunder". I could sense the questions coming from Natasha's side, since she didn't know any of the details of my mission with Phil, but she refrained from asking them. Instead, she focused on the task at hand so that we would get to the place where the four men disappeared as soon as possible.
We were almost there when a blue beam generated from the area, making the trees all around fall over and the Quinjet fall in turbulence. "Be right back" I yelled over the sound of the wind as I jumped off the jet and started falling.
I landed a bit off target and run to where the three men who were previously fighting had stopped dead at their tracks looking at all the destruction they created.
"Are you done?" I yelled at them, not daring to lift my bow in case they perceived it as a threat.
"I know you" Thor spoke, looking in my direction, his voice holding a question as he had never truly met me during the New Mexico events.
I jumped off the rock that I was currently on top of and made my way to the crate that was created from the blast that occurred only moments ago. "You do, though I never got to introduce myself. I am agent Clint Barton, with S.H.I.E.L.D. We come in peace and will gladly hand Loki to you, but he has a very dangerous weapon in his possession. Also, he has a few agents of ours and Dr. Selvig under his control. Once we get our hands back on the Tesseract and our people you are free to take him wherever you wish"
"How do I know that you will keep your word?", the Asgardian asked.
I thought about it for a few seconds before I replied. "Even if you may not trust me, there is someone you do. Phil Coulson"
His eyes light up at the name. "Son of Coul is here?"
"He is at our base, where we were taking your brother. Let us take you to him and he can verify everything that I told you" I knew right after I said Coulson's name that he would come willingly.
Natasha's POV
After Clint brought everyone back on board the Quinjet, I set the course to the Helicarrier and we all rode in silence until we reached our destination. We watched as Fury took Loki to his cell and the two of them spoke. The Asgardian was clearly making puns for Bruce, or rather the Hulk, and I could see the uneasiness coming off from the Doc in waves.
As we sat at a round table, discussing Loki's goals and what our next move would be, nothing stood out that was too important for me to pay serious attention to. As soon as we finished talking, everyone left to do their thing. Bruce and Tony walked off to the lab to continue their search for the Tesseract, Thor went to the side with Phil probably to ask about Dr. Selvig and Jane Foster, while the Captain disappeared somewhere only he knew where. Clint had yet to leave the table as he was watching me with his careful eyes and was, most likely, waiting for me to make a move and tag along.
"Agent Romanoff" I heard the director call me from his control panel. I didn't need to be told twice to walk to where he was standing.
"Yes, sir"
"You're up, as soon as the sun rises. Let him brawl a little bit before making your move" he said with a pointed look. I nodded and headed towards the corridor which led to the Asgardian's cell. "Agent Barton" Fury spoke again before I had exited the room and I briefly turned around to look at the exchange. Clint was looking in my direction and I could see his desire to follow me when he replied to the director in the same way that I had before. "You're with me…" he said slowly and carefully, not leaving any room for disagreement from my partner's side.
I walked off and headed to my room to prepare for what I would have to do in a couple of hours.
I get into the containment space with all the grace that I could master. I was met with Loki pacing back and front in his cell. However, he soon realised my presence in the room and stilled as a smirk appeared on his face. "There are not many people who can sneak up on me," he said whilst turning to face me.
"But you figured I'd come," I said, my voice void of any emotion.
"After" he confessed. "After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate" he spoke with confidence and, dare I say, happiness? The smile never left his face.
"I want to know what you've done to agent Skye" I went straight into the point. I would not get distracted by him and would get the information that I needed.
"I would say I've expanded her mind"
Seriously? I mentally thought and tilted my head to the side, while holding myself back from rolling my eyes. If this was how he wanted to play it, then I would play along. "And once you've won…" I started as I began walking closer to where he stood "…once you're king of the mountain, what happens to her mind?" I crossed my hands over my chest and I did let the slightest emotion slip into my voice, to give him the impression that my facade was breaking up from the questioning and my emotional state.
"Oh," he picked up on my 'mistake' right away. "Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"
Why of course, was what I would never tell him. Him and most people as there was only a handful who really knew my relationship with my sister. "Love is for children. I owe her a debt"
He did not see that specific answer coming. "Tell me," he asked and I would give him what he wanted.
I took a deep breath and traced back what I had prepared to say. "Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., I… eh. Well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on". Both Loki and I were sitting and staring at each other. His full attention was on me. "I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar, in a bad way. An agent was sent to kill me but he chose to bring me in. It was hard for me, working in such a different way than I was used to and though I improved my old habits were hard to get rid of. Then agent Skye came in the picture and you could say that she… saved me of shorts. Helped me without meaning to, so it's only proper for me to return the favour"
Loki seemed to contemplate my answer. "And what will you do if I vow to spare her?", he asked with a taunting tone.
I smirked at that. "Not let you out"
"No, no, but I like this" the happiness was evident both in his face and whole posture. "Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one woman– girl, even"
"Regimes fall every day," I said matter-of-factly. "I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian. Or I was"
"And what are you now?"
"It's really not that complicated" I stood up as I deemed that it was about time for our talk to go the direction I needed it to. "I got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out"
"Can you?" Loki asked. "Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter, São Paulo the hospital fire?" He started recounting a list of my not proudest moments. All of whom Skye knew of and in that moment I understood how deep his control on her was. For Skye to say such information to anyone, was worrisome to say the least, since I knew that even Melinda or Clint knew that I had informed her of all those missions. "Skye told me everything" came Loki's confirmation of my thoughts. "Your ledger is dripping" he stood as I had seconds ago and started walking towards me as I let a look of horror take over my features.
"It's gushing red and you think saving a girl no more virtuous than yourself will change everything? Because let me tell you something, Natasha, she has her own demons that no one but herself knows about. This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic!", his tone was spiking as he spoke, leading up to him yelling at my face as I let tears falsely gather in my eyes. "You lie and kill, in the service of liars and killers", I could not deny either for Fury, to be honest. "You pretend to be separate, to have your own code. Something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you. And they will never go away" there was a brief moment of silence before she slammed his hand on the glass separating us and I backed up a little bit at the force he put at his hit, despite the warning that he got the previous day from Fury about 'as much as scratching that glass'. "I won't touch Skye, not until I make her kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way she know-how and to make it as painful as possible. And then she'll wake just long enough to see her good work and when she screams, I'll split her skull"
I turned away.
"You're a monster," I said and sounded breathless. Though he was a monster and his whole speech was just supporting this theory, I would never really show so much emotion in front of anyone.
And once again, he laughed. "Oh, no. You brought the monster" he said with confidence and that was all I needed to hear.
I straightened my back and after a deep breath, I recomposed myself and turned around to face him, without as much as any kind of emotion on my face. "So, Banner. That's your play" I replied and the reaction that I got from Loki was all I needed to know that I had reached the perfect conclusion. I immediately turned away and spoke in my comm as I headed towards the room where Bruce was.