The portal vanished. Only Hermione, Tony, and Coulson remained in the room.
"Where's Natasha?" Hermione asked Coulson.
"She went to get Dr. Banner," Coulson replied. "She was on an outside mission, but the moment she heard Barton had been compromised, she turned back."
"Barton was compromised?" Hermione blinked. "Who did it? Loki?"
"Yes."
"That doesn't make sense." Hermione's brow furrowed. She muttered to herself, "Loki doesn't have the ability to mentally control people."
"He used a scepter," Coulson added. "He controlled people with it."
"A scepter?!" Hermione's head snapped up. Something shifted in her expression. "What did it look like?"
Coulson caught her reaction. The unease that had been sitting in his chest doubled.
Big trouble.
He steadied himself and began describing it. "The scepter is gold overall. Blue gemstone at the top, surrounded by intricate patterns..."
He recalled as carefully as he could, describing every detail.
Hermione listened. Then she took a slow breath. "I've changed my mind. I'll help you find the Tesseract."
Coulson's relief lasted exactly two seconds.
"But this time, S.H.I.E.L.D. gives me triple the materials."
She held up three fingers. Her tone left no room for negotiation.
"And the scepter. I want it."
Coulson didn't waste a moment. He called Fury on the spot.
Fury agreed without hesitation.
He was rattled. The young witch usually acted like the sky could fall and she wouldn't bother looking up. This reaction was something else entirely.
This was serious.
That scepter was not an ordinary object.
"Miss Witch, could you tell us what's going on?"
"When everyone's here," Hermione said.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
Crunch. Crunch.
In the control hub, Hermione sat in a swivel chair with her legs crossed, working through an apple at a leisurely pace.
Bald Egg was on his feet, moving back and forth, directing his people.
Maria Hill stood nearby, watching Hermione without blinking.
She'd been curious about this little witch for a long time. She had the clearance to read Hermione's file, but she'd never actually met her.
Today, she finally got to see the real thing.
Hermione noticed Hill looking. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a bag of garishly packaged snacks, and held it out.
"Here. Have some."
Hill hadn't expected Hermione to speak to her. She blinked, then accepted the bag. "Thank you."
Before she could get a good look at it, Hermione added, "Be careful. Don't let it get away."
"...Huh?"
Hill stared at the bag. Could chocolate grow legs?
She tore it open anyway.
WHOOSH!
A brown Chocolate Frog launched itself out and landed squarely on the nearest control console.
The staff member sitting there had been slacking off playing Galaga. The frog hit the console right next to him and he let out a yelp, nearly flipping his chair, scrambling backward on hands and feet.
The Chocolate Frog didn't care. It bounced happily across the console, leaping up and down, sending the entire section into chaos.
Hill stood with her mouth open.
She had never seen a snack this... lively.
The frog bounded back in her direction. Hill moved fast, snatching it out of the air with both hands and squeezing tight.
Hermione spread her hands in a shrug. The look on her face said it all: Told you to be careful. Believe me now?
Hill didn't know whether to laugh or groan. She stared at the Chocolate Frog still squirming between her palms, her eyes wide with something caught between horror and fascination.
Was this actually edible?
"Go ahead, eat it," Hermione said, grinning. "It's good."
Hill didn't move immediately.
She was still holding the frog, still feeling it wriggle, and her eyes drifted sideways to Fury.
Hermione read the hesitation instantly. "Relax. It's just a snack with a spell on it. Nothing worth running tests on."
"I've got loads of these. All from shops in Diagon Alley. You can buy a whole pile for one silver Sickle."
That settled it. Hill released a breath.
She thought about the magical world for a moment, then tossed the Chocolate Frog into her mouth.
The effect was immediate. An indescribable warmth spread through her chest, and for a second she felt almost weightless. The tension that had been coiling tighter every day since the Tesseract went missing loosened, just a little.
Hill knew. That was not what ordinary sugar felt like.
She said as much.
"That's what it's designed for," Hermione explained. "Originally made to help people recover after a Dementor attack, after having their happiness drained. Of course it works."
Then, as if conjuring from thin air, Hermione produced an entire pile of strange and colorful magical snacks and pushed them all into Hill's arms.
Fury stood off to the side, watching the exchange, his eye twitching steadily.
The bureau's psychological profile of Hermione had been right on the money. The young witch had a weakness for pretty older women.
Look at how she was with Natasha. Look at how she was with Hill.
Then look at how she treated him.
Fury felt the bitterness settle somewhere deep.
Just then.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps, approaching from down the corridor.
Natasha came through the door with three people behind her. One was a tall young man with a face that radiated straightforward decency. The other two were Tony and Dr. Banner.
Steve Rogers. Captain America.
Steve stepped into the control hub, took in the sight of the helicarrier gradually cloaking around them, and walked quietly over to Fury.
He pulled ten dollars from his pocket and handed it over.
He'd lived a long time. This was the first time he'd ever felt like a man from the middle of nowhere who'd never seen anything.
Fury pocketed the money. "Want to go again? Another ten?"
"Bet on what?" Steve's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That what you're about to see will make the helicarrier look ordinary." Fury said it with complete calm.
Steve had already seen the helicarrier. He'd read through the files on the enhanced individuals, all of them except that one mysterious file he didn't have clearance to open. He'd thought he had a reasonable picture of what this world contained.
He considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. You're on. What is it?"
Fury glanced across the room. "Whether you get to see it depends on her mood."
Steve followed his gaze.
There was a girl in the control hub.
Her clothes didn't belong here. Not even close.
She was sitting in a swivel chair with her legs crossed like she owned the place, crunching through an apple without a care in the world, looking for all the world like she'd wandered in off a tourist bus.
And the strangest part: everyone around her was acting completely normal. Like this was just how things were.
Across the room, Dr. Banner had spotted her too. His eyes went wide. Something moved across his face, like a memory he'd rather not have.
His complexion went slightly green. He took two involuntary steps back.
Steve watched him do it.
He had no idea what to say.
Why was everyone acting so strange?
➤ Next: Chitauri Intelligence — Words Unspoken
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