Avengers 1. Chapter 1 - Bravery

Shards of glass rained over her head and more than a few slicing her pale flesh, but she barely felt any of it; on her feet in seconds and dodging the shrapnel that came flying from all directions. She skidded to a halt as a man clad all in black, his face covered by a mask jumped before her, brandishing a silver spear. Avoiding the jab, Adriane gripped the base of the spearhead and pulled it forward, simultaneously jamming her foot into the attackers stomach. The man fell onto his back and Adriane skewered him through the heart with his own weapon before dropping to the ground as another chunk of building barely missed shattering her skull. Someone was barking orders in her ear, but the communication line was crackly at best and it all sounded like gibberish so she took a shot and dove behind a nearby stack of shipping crates. Ducking what looked like another metallic spear as it whizzed past her ear, Adriane curled to one side only to have her throat caught in the tight grip of a leather glove. She came eye to eye with a balaclava and two gleaming golden eyes which began to twitch frantically as his head emitted a whining sound and his grip loosened to slack. Adriane crawled backwards and away from the masculine figure as it began to spasm and fell to the ground with an almost comical clank.

'I hate it when they do that.'

A whirring over head and a thick clicking sound and the battlefield disappeared, leaving several scattered automatons and one irate looking Director Nick Fury. 'If you took directions once in a while, Agent Mason, then you wouldn't be here for the shut-down process.'

Adriane got to her feet, standing ramrod straight in Fury's presence. 'I'm sorry Director, the comm line was malfunctioning.'

'This is a simulation tank, Agent Mason, how could a comm line malfunction?'

'Damn good question.'

'Excuse me?'

'I'm not sure sir, but it did.'

Fury shook his head, motioning for the young agent to follow him. 'Let's go Mason, we have bigger issues right now.'

'Coming, sir.'

The Director's thick leather duster swished past his ankles as they strode down one of the many hallways in silence, the only sound the bustling of agents and the bleeping of the many, slightly intimidating, computer systems that kept them in business. Adriane was no technology whiz, she could handle a normal laptop and her phone just fine, but it was not why Fury put up with her. With a wry smirk, she found herself wondering if maybe she should learn some of the on boards systems and keep herself valuable in case her other talents failed her someday. The thought was cut short as the door to the video conference room opened and Fury stepped inside, Adriane hesitated; she had never even seen inside let alone gone in before.

Director Fury felt her pause and called over his shoulder. 'Today, Mason.'

Needing no more encouragement, Adriane fell back on her training and did as she was ordered, falling into step beside Fury as the wall-sized screens flickered into life and Adriane found herself looking up at the most senior military, legal and government people in the world. 'Wow.'

She was shot a look and held her tongue as Fury nodded to the screens. 'Directors,' he acknowledged. 'I understand there is a situation in Nevada.'

'Yes, Director Fury we need you and your people mobile and in Nevada within the hour.'

'That's a pretty big ask, Director, I don't suppose you're going to tell me why?'

'You will be fully informed upon your arrival, Fury. Time is a factor here, so I suggest you get moving.'

The screens went dead and the room was almost pitch black, just the sound of Fury clenching his fists to be heard. There was an uncomfortable pause that Adriane new better than to break and instead followed in Fury's thumping footsteps as he barked orders for their choppers and ground team to get moving.

'Mason, go suit up, now. You're coming with us.'

'Yes, sir.' Adriane jogged off to her quarters, fishing a skin tight, ash grey, suit from within her wardrobe; it was standard wear for SHIELD agents, but for the most part she wore training gear and occasionally a dress uniform when the higher-ups came for a visit. Stripping off her training clothes and squeezing into the slightly uncomfortable grip of the suit, Adriane hitched it over her shoulders and pulled the zip over her simple red bra. She let out a puff of air and fixed her long, dark, almost black, chocolate locks into a tight bun. After stepping into the light-weight, black combat boots that came with her suit, Adriane looked every inch the highly trained SHIELD operative she was supposed to be.

The intercom outside the hall warbled through her room with a familiar groundling's voice. 'All agents to the deployment deck, I repeat all agents to the deployment deck.'

'And we're off.' Adriane checked her zip was safely fastened before weaving through the schools of soldiers making their way to the larger cargo planes. No doubt bound for Nevada too. She almost ran straight into one of them as he chatted excitedly to his neighbour about what kind of enemy would have them called out at such short notice and what kind of weaponry would be waiting for them at the drop site.

'Sorry ma'am!' he called as they ducked past each other.

'New recruits.'

'You were new once, Mason.' Fury's tone made Adriane start as he appeared behind her and ushered them both through a heavy steel door and into the whipping wind of one of the deployment decks. Sitting a top a protruding metal platform was a small, almost bullet-like helicopter. The main door was already open and Fury and Adriane scrambled inside, barely having time to slam it shut before the machine took off with speed no ordinary helicopter could match.

'This is a nice new toy.' Adriane mused over the sound of the blades whirring overhead.

'Ultra-light, ultra-quiet and ultra-fast.'

'Ultra-expensive too I'm guessing.'

'I don't remember making you my accountant, Mason.'

'No, sir, but whoever they are, they're obviously doing wonders with your tax return.'

Fury smirked at his agent before pressing his communications button with the pilot in front of them. 'How long until we touch down in Nevada?'

'Less than forty minutes, sir.'

'How is that even possible?' Adriane laughed. 'Even with a jet it would take us a little over an hour.'

'A good accountant works wonders, Mason.'

'I see.' Adriane looked out at the barely visible ground beneath them; the cloud obscuring most of their view. 'Do we know anything about why we're going to Nevada, sir. I doubt it's for a night in Vegas.'

'You know as much as I do, Mason, but if the board is being this shady with details then it's something big. Something they don't want to risk leaking out.'

'Is that why they didn't tell you in the conference room; in case someone was listening in?'

'You catch on quick, Mason. That's where the smart money goes.'

Adriane nodded, knowing better than to keep pushing since Fury wasn't exactly known for being open with info as it was. Instead she focussed on the Earth flashing past beneath them and wondering just which state they were zooming over from minute to minute. She had never been particularly fond of flying, but after 5 years in the service of SHIELD, she was getting numb to the experience. That's not to say she didn't dig her nails into her palms when the chopper shook in the stiff winds above the clouds. Flying was one of the things she still feared after her time with Nick Fury; sure she had started with a few more, but they had been 'beaten' out of her over years of training. It did bring a bitter smile to her lips when she thought of herself homeless and wandering the streets of London at 15 years old and now she was crossing the country in record time in a highly classified government helicopter with the title 'Agent'.

'Something funny, Mason?' Nick questioned dully, his good eye barely visible past the patch closest to her.

'More like unexpected, sir.'

'No surprises.'

'No, sir. I just didn't expect to see myself here five years ago; there's something funny about that.'

Nick too cracked a dry grin. 'What, you didn't have high hopes as a street urchin running around the streets of Yorkshire?'

'It was London, sir, and no, I didn't.'

'I suppose I'm to blame for that.'

'Blame isn't the word I'd use. Although you did blend in with the rest of street-rats with your eye-patch, sir.' Adriane grinned.

'You get one of those, Mason.' Nick smirked.

'Understood, sir.'

'Director Fury, we're getting communications from an outside source, asking for you personally. Do you want me to patch them through?' The pilot interrupted leaving Fury and Adriane to exchange curious looks.

'Outside communication?' Adriane raised an eyebrow.

'Patch them though.'

There was a high-pitched whine and crackle in both their ears when a man's voice came in clear and oddly familiar to Adriane, but she couldn't quite place it. 'Come in Fury, Earth to Nick Fury.'

'...Stark, Stark is that you?' Adriane grinned; Tony Stark, of course that's why she knew the voice. The man was on the news at least twice a week for either solving the world's problems as Tony Stark or saving it as Iron Man.

'The one and only, I like your new toy by the way. Very sleek, very sexy, very...Not you.'

'What are you doing tailing a government helicopter? Don't you know I could lock your metal ass up for that right now?'

'Yeah, but I'd just go all A-team and break out again. Where are you off to in your flying bling anyway?'

Fury's barking laugh echoed through both comm lines and Adriane flinched. 'What makes you think I'm going to tell you that?'

'If I guess it will you promise to give me a go with your new toy?'

'What are you playing at Stark?'

'Just gearing up to try my luck at the roulette table when we reach Vegas...,'

Adriane caught Fury's gaze as he stared right through her. 'You're going to Nevada?'

'Aren't you?'

'...What do you know Stark?'

'You show me yours and I'll show you mine, Fury. I just got a call from your Agent Coulson, telling me to suit up and make my way to the middle of the Nevada desert.' There was a loud whoosh through all lines and Fury swore, pulling the headset from his ear. 'I wasn't the only one.'

'Director Fury, we're almost at the touch down site.'

'Meet us on the ground Stark, we have some talking to do.'

'See you there, Captain.'

The line hissed quiet, but neither Adriane nor Nick believed Tony was actually off the comm line and they removed their headsets before buckling in for the landing. 'What is going on here, Director? This can't be normal.' There was a hesitation in Nick's glance that sat in the pit of Adriane's stomach and she knew what it was; he had been lying.

The whole chopper shook as they landed and Adriane wasted no time in unbuckling herself and climbing out before Fury, knowing better than to voice her suspicions in front of the pilot and, soon enough, Tony Stark. The look of anger in her deep, bottle green eyes was enough to let the Director know though and he stood in front of her, unmoved as there was a swirl of desert dirt and the all too public, gold and maroon figure of Iron Man landed just a few feet away.

'Not now.' Was all Fury said as he walked up to the meet the infamous billionaire.

'Not ever.' Adriane hissed as a group of four soldiers jogged to meet her, saluting as she laid eyes on them.

'Agent Mason?'

'Yes.'

'If you could come with us ma'am, we have orders to take you to the communications room.' The tallest of the four stood aside, making way for Adriane as she cast one last look over her shoulder to Fury and Stark having a very animated conversation.

'Lead the way.'

There was very little left of Adriane that betrayed her less than perfect past; her hair was no longer matted and short, but past her shoulders and fell in silken waves on the rare occasion she didn't have it tied up. She was no longer rail thin and fragile, but a well trained combat agent with subtle, but healthy curves to her shape and, while her skin was still porcelain pale, it was flawless and most of her scars had faded. Except one; the one last hint of her former self would never fade and it seemed to mock her every time she stepped from the shower to face herself in the mirror. Most women would be happy to look as Adriane did, she was quite tall for a woman, had almost doll-like facial features thanks to her Russian mother and British father and was in good shape. But all Adriane saw was the angry pink scar that travelled the width of her waist and around. It was no more than half a centimetre wide, but it stood out clearly against the ashen perfection of her skin.

Sighing, she pulled on her SHIELD uniform and quickly covered her shame with the tight grey material before snatching up her dancing phone. 'Mason.'

'Mason, it's Fury. Come to the conference room.'

'Yes, sir.' Adriane had not seen nor heard from Director Fury in the three days since they had landed in the desert and she had began to wonder whether this was some odd training exercise, but after a few glimpses of the level of weaponry, tech and guards they had situated around the camp she had changed her mind. Something big was going on and for some reason she had been brought into the thick of it without warning or information.

'Just another day in paradise.' She waited for the palm scanner for beep and let her onto the main bridge where there was a raised, window encased conference room standing above the control deck, lined with rows of control systems and hustling guards, all leaning over one another's shoulders and pointing at schematics that were completely foreign to Adriane. She didn't waste time jogging up the stairs and finding Director Fury in the clear conference room, standing in front of a table with two familiar faces and two unknown. Agent Romanoff she knew well and the smirking face of Tony Stark wasn't hard to recognise.

'Agent Mason reporting, Director.' She nodded to Fury as she came to stand by his side.

'Good timing Mason, let me introduce you to some new...Operatives.' Nick waved past the SHIELD agent who had already smiled her welcome. 'This in Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, this is Steve Rogers, aka Captain America and this is Doctor Bruce Banner. Gentlemen, this is agent Adriane Mason; she will be working closely with us on this operation.'

Adriane nodded at each in turn, but paused at Dr. Banner's introduction; he was a little above average height with a mop of slightly messy brown hair and unexpectedly kind eyes. 'Doctor Banner, I've recently read your paper on the quantum possibilities of radiation; it was phenomenal.'

There was a moment of shocked silence from the doctor before he offered a shaky smile and held out his hand to Adriane. 'Y-You're very kind to say so, it's a pleasure to meet you.'

'Now then, we have inside information that tells us Loki will be in Germany tonight; Stuttgart to be exact. We need to get eyes and ears all over the city and stop him before he makes a move. Romanoff that means you and Rogers piloting the stealth jet, Stark I want you shadowing them and Mason, I want you on the ground floor, keeping tabs.'

'Yes, sir, just one question.'

'What is it Mason?'

'Who the hell is Loki?'

There was a moment of silence, broken when Stark let out a short laugh and looked to Fury. 'You haven't told her what we're all doing here, Fury?'

If Fury could look uncomfortable, Adriane was pretty sure it was this exact moment. She watched his Adam's apple bob and he stared at her for far longer than was necessary to process her simple question. 'Loki is the reason we were sent here, Agent Mason. He is a Demi-God from another world; he's been here once before and he's harbouring a bit of a grudge. Now he's stolen something that could give him just the power he needs to bear out that grudge.'

'What did he take?'

'That's classified.'

'The hell it is.'

Stark snorted, Banner's eyes darted between the Director and his subordinate while Rogers and Romanoff just didn't move. 'Excuse me, _Agent_?'

'Will all due respect, sir, if you're asking me to go on ground duty and track a...Demi-God, because he has stolen something with apparently unthinkable power then I don't think asking what that object is is 'classified' anymore,' Mason stood her ground as Fury turned to face his entire attention on her. 'I'm not playing against anyone when I don't know what kind of ace they have up their sleeve.'

Stark let out a low, impressed whistle. 'She's good.'

'Shut it, Stark,' Nick barked never taking his eye off Adriane. 'You had better watch your tone Agent Mason, it could get you into some real trouble...Luckily for you this time you have a point.'

Adriane breathed a barely audible sigh of relief as the Director backed off and fiddled with the controls on the edge of the round table the others were sitting at and a hologram tube rose up. Steeling her nerve as best she could, Adriane stepped forward and watched fascinated as a 3D object sprang up in the tube; looking not unlike a fancy sort of cube and she couldn't help but frown. 'This is what he took?'

'_This_ is the Tesseract. It is alien technology that came to us a few years ago, since then we have had our best scientists working to understand its potential. Eighty-two hours ago it was taken from a secure underground facility in the Mojave Desert and the facility destroyed in the process.'

Adriane swallowed a cry of surprise; she knew some of the men who worked in that facility. 'Why would he take it to Stuttgart?'

'We believe there is something in Stuttgart that Loki needs in order to unlock the Tesseract's true potential. We know he isn't travelling alone so rather than sending in a troupe, we think we can sneak one agent past his men more easily.'

'Where did he find helpers so fast?'

Uncomfortable looks were exchanged, especially Natasha who stared straight at her feet when finally Fury hit the button to drop the hologram and cleared his throat. 'Loki has a sceptre that he can seemingly use to control people's minds; he used it on several of our men and the scientists working on the Tesseract...One of them was Agent Barton.'

Adriane's eyes widened and she looked to Natasha's downcast eyes for confirmation. 'Clint? Clint is working for Loki?'

'It wasn't his choice.' Natasha whispered and Adriane quickly shut her mouth.

'When do I leave, sir?'

'There has got to be a better way to do this.' Adriane's fingers ached as she gripped the stone pillar and leant over the edge of the twelve story high building.

'Well I haven't mass marketed these suits yet, but if you'd be open to a private fitting...,'

'Shut it, Stark. What can you see Mason?'

'Foot soldiers, sir, fourteen on the ground and rooftops as far as I can see. I haven't spotted Barton yet.' Adriane pulled back and fixed her ponytail tighter as she looped a length of black, super strong rope around the pillar, clipped herself onto a tether and jumped from the rooftop. Had she been patched into the group communications line at the point she would have heard the sharp breath Stark and Rogers simultaneously pulled between their teeth. Her feet landed against the side of the building and she smoothly lowered herself the several hundred feet to the ground. Whipping the rope upwards, it came loose and fell into a messy coil at her feet, which Adriane scooped up and kicked into the nearest storm drain, knowing better than to leave any trace that Barton could pick up on.

'Okay Mason, Loki has been spotted entering the museum, I need you to be our eyes.'

'Understood, sir. I'm on my way.' Adriane took off running towards the museum, she made sure her whip, and weapon of choice, was clipped to her belt before taking off straight towards the nearest bus stop. Gripping the pole and pulling herself atop it, Adriane leapt onto a fire-escape, scrambled up high enough to swing onto the marque protruding from the steeple of what she guessed was an information centre. Her feet had barely touched the taught tarp before she leapt off, rolling shoulder first onto the next rooftop and making as the crow flies towards the museum.

Above the ground, Tony was waiting for his moment atop an office building, watching the lithe young girl make her way to the action. He tapped into the communications line as he stared, never taking his eyes off Adriane. 'Where the hell did you find this girl, Fury. Gotham?'

'London actually.'

'I've got to go to Europe more often.'

'Mind on the operation, Stark,' Fury was almost clicking his fingers into the microphone. 'You're Mason's back-up if anything goes wrong.'

'I know, I know, don't melt your patch; I'm watching her.'

'I have visual of the museum, Director.' Natasha's voice broke in next with the low rumble of an engine in the background.

'Good, is Rogers with you?'

'Affirmative, Director.'

'All right now everyone hold tight; we're waiting on Mason's word am I understood? No one is to make a move without the word that Loki is open.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Understood, Director.'

'Aye, aye, Captain.'

The concrete was hard and jumps were high, but Adriane kept moving and eventually she reached the museum unseen and unheard, looking down at it from one of the massive banners that swept from the sides illustrating their newest exhibit. Throngs of people were washing into the majestic, sand-stone coloured building and all dressed in unmistakable European finery. There were gowns, tuxedos, canes and more precious stones than your average diamond quarry as far as she could see. Deciding the so called Demi-God obviously wasn't one for subtlety, Adriane began to wonder what her chances were of stopping his next move if he was okay with being so bold. There was a flicker of a shadow that had thus far been stationary that caught her eye and her worries were swallowed by adrenaline. Near the main entrance steeple there was a crouching shadow, barely visible in the darkness and cleverly using the cover of the swooping edges.

Edging along the pole supporting the banner, Adriane grabbed a handful of the woven material and wrapped one leg around it, pushing off to glide rapidly down to the bottom support rung earning an unheard laugh of appreciation from Stark. First checking that the shadow hadn't moved, Adriane very slowly made her way to the ground using a series of protruding bricks and piping and landed on the pavement with barely a sound. Her goal, however, was not the shadow on the ground, but rather the overlooker he was passing information on attendees to. Unseen thus far, but no doubt near, Adriane knew the shadows particular hiding place was of no use aside from watching the people going in; he was not a threat.

'There is someone here Loki is looking for,' Adriane whispered as she carefully made her way past the main steeple and over the fence into a courtyard cafe. 'He has someone watching who is going in and out.'

'So it's someone in the museum he needs, not something. That's a nice twist.' Stark mused in Adriane's ear.

'It could be both,' she retorted as she slowly made her way over the garden grate of a window and back towards the roof. 'Access panels in European museums can be voice or retinal sensitive. I'm willing to bet this one is.'

'...By George I think she's got it,' Stark's worst British accent smirked. 'So who is he waiting for?'

'I'll get back to you on that. Natasha, I'm on the roof of the museum now I need to get inside to the main room. Can you do a scan and tell me which of these vents leads inwards?'

'Coming overhead now.' There was a deep and yet quiet rumbling above Adriane and she knew, although she couldn't see it, Natasha and Steve Rogers were in the stealth flier. Probably just a hundred feet or less from where she stood and soon enough, the faint Russian accent crackled back in her ear. 'Two vents to your right, it should drop you in a bathroom behind the main room.'

'You're a miracle worker.' Pulling a Swiss Army knife from her pocket, Adriane undid the screws holding the vent down and carefully lifted the grate to the ground, pausing every moment or two to see if any footsteps were taking advantage of what little sound there was. Once satisfied it was just her on the roof for now, Adriane swung her legs into the open tunnel and lowered herself in gently, careful not to rattle the metal around her as she crawled in an elbow-bend until she found an open grating. Below she could just make out beige tiles and the edges of a row of sinks and felt around for any screws in the corners. Finding none she realised it must just be a pop-vent and she was going to have to push it out.

'Damn it.' Cursing under her breath, Adriane pulled her whip from her belt and tied the tip around the centre rod, fastening it tightly before tucking the handle back into its clip.

'What is it Mason?'

'Nothing, sir,' Adriane pressed her palms on the outer edged of the vent and began to gradually press harder. 'Just doing a little improvising.'

'You know how I feel about surprises.'

'Yes I do, sir. Let's just hope Loki doesn't feel the same way.' Gradually the grate began to give out, creaking under the increased weight when finally, after bowing as far as it would grip, it popped out, heading for the tiles as Adriane grabbed the hilt of her whip and pulled, keeping the grate from clanging to the ground. Holding her breath and waiting for any warning someone had been alerted, she breathed easy and let the vent slowly come to a silent rest on the ground. Grasping what little ledge there was in the tunnel, Adriane swung herself out of the vent and gave herself enough of a swing to land away from her whip and its metal payload.

'I'm inside, sir.'

'Excellent Mason, now track Loki's movements, but stay out of sight, you hear me? He's not to know you're there.'

'Understood, sir.' Adriane silenced her microphone just in case Demi-Gods possessed some seriously supernatural hearing and carefully edged her way closer to the main room from the bathroom. The lighting was soft and elegant, casting many helpful shadows and the agent was able to make her into a fairly inconspicuous spot above the main festivities without being spotted. The balcony was probably commonly used on the tours, but for now it had been roped off and the lights weren't even on and Adriane had peace to scan the crowd for a man matching the photo she had been shown in the base.

There was no shortage of combed back black hair nor tall, pale men with a regal bearing and she couldn't help wondering if Loki had chosen a museum in Germany for reasons other than resources; it seemed to be the perfect camouflage for him. In fact she began to worry that the intel saying Loki had gone inside was bad or perhaps he had already got what he came for and left, but she soon threw those worries aside. A ring of screams sounded out as an older man in a fine suit was being dragged towards a smoky marble podium, hauled atop it and left struggling under the single handed grip of his attacker. Cold green eyes stared down as a whirling, pen-like object appeared in his free hand with spider leg blades spun ferociously.

'Oh God, no..,' Adriane barely let the words tumble from her mouth before vaulting over the balcony and into the frantic crowd. She pushed her way through with little effort and only just managed to grab the screaming man by his lapel and sliding him from to podium to her feet in a shaking heap.

'Thank you, oh God, thank you.' He stuttered, gripping her feet as though she was some kind of saint.

'Run, now!' Adriane barked as she looked up in time to see a hand coming straight for her throat. 'Damn!' Just ducking in time, she stumbled back and managed to steady herself on the podium.

'It was a brave move, mortal, but it may be your last.' Loki's voice was soft and yet there was something demanding about it, something that told Adriane he had probably never been ignored in a crowded room.

'I'm kind of hoping so,' Adriane breathed, her hand coming to rest on her hip. 'What are you here for Loki?'

One of Loki's dark eyebrows rose and he carefully tucked away the bladed weapon into his jacket. 'You dare to address me as an equal?'

'I'm addressing you as a criminal; you're not leaving Stuttgart of your own volition, Loki.'

White teeth were bared in a terrifying smirk as Loki wandered around the podium and closer to Adriane, who fought every survival instinct she had to stay put. 'And who is going to contain me, you?'

'For now.'

Loki let out a soft, rumbling laugh, running his eyes over the defiant figure before him. 'Every once in a while there is a mortal who I find genuinely amusing and you, my dear, are among them.'

'While I'm glad I can entertain, I see myself as more of a jailer than jester.' Adriane's hand was firmly gripped around the shaft of her whip, just waiting for Loki to make a sharp move or bring that creepy pen tool out of his jacket.

'Trust me, child, it is far better to have me amused by you than annoyed.'

'I'm not the one making enemies,' she retorted, throwing a glance to the escaping captive and cursing as two burly men snatched up his arms and brought him back. 'Get off him!' There was no time for her to even take a step before two other men had grasped Adriane's upper arms in strong grips and pulled them behind her back at a painful angle.

'No! No! Please don't do this! I'll give you anything! Anything!' The man's futile begging fell on deaf ears and it quickly turned into a horrific, blood-curdling shriek as his eye was gouged out by the terrifying pen tool Loki wielded. His pain was short lived and soon his motionless corpse was pushed from the podium into a dull heap on the floor as Adriane watched with horror. By now the room was practically emptied of anyone who wasn't brainwashed and Loki looked into the crowded street as a wolf would into a well stocked sheep pen. Adriane struggled against the grips keeping her stationary as Loki wandered towards the doors; his previous attire of a well-tailored black suit and emerald green scarf flickered into a more extravagant armour and a golden helmet with protruding horns curving to the sky.

'Oh this is not happening.' Jamming her foot into the toes of one of her captors and slamming her head back into the nose of another, Adriane staggered free, turning to bang the goons heads together hard enough that she watched them crumple before her. There was no time to admire her handiwork though as he tapped into the communication line, running after Loki who was now in the streets.

'Loki is out, he dug out someone's eye and he's in the street now.'

'He what?' Stark cried.

'Don't let him go anywhere Mason, keep on him!'

'Yes, sir.' She skidded to a halt on the steeple gaping at the crowd of museum guests now kneeling before several copies of Loki. 'Okay then...' She quickly made her way over the arm of the steeple and into the thick of the crowd, keeping her movements small and low.

One man in the crowd was on his feet, elderly and hunched over with time he stared defiantly up at what they all assumed was the real version of their captor. 'There are _always_ men like you.' Adriane was almost beside the old man as he spoke, keeping her eyes fixed on the real Loki who had broken into a satisfied grin.

'Look to your elder, people, let him be an example.' Loki lowered his sceptre, pointing it directly at the old man and it began to glow a vicious blue. Cringing as some glowing projectile whizzed overhead, Adriane held the gentleman down beside her, having snatching him from Loki's path.

She looked up, patting the man's back to encourage him to stay down, and stood before the crowd. Loki's eyes narrowed in recognition as she did and that grin returned, merciless and darkly amused. 'Evidently not your last show of bravery.'

'Well that's really up to you.' Adriane held herself strong and tried not to show her relief when the boots of Captain America thumped beside her and his star-spangled outfit gleamed in the corner of her eye. 'But just in case, there is a contingency plan.'

'You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.' Rogers approached casually, deflecting a shot from Loki with his shield and into the chest of the Demi-God.

Loki propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the two. 'A female assassin and a soldier. A man out of time.'

'I'm not the one who's out of time.'

As Loki lunged upwards, ready to start the fight anew, a flash of gold and maroon landed in view, whirling blasters pointed directly at the Demi-Gods head. 'Make a move, Reindeer Games.' Stark's snarky voice was audible to Adriane even without the communication line and she smirked as Loki slowly raised his hands and his armour faded into simpler robes and a suit.

'Good move.'

'Mr. Stark.' Rogers nodded as he stood beside his comrade.

'Captain.'


	2. Chapter 2 - Fear

**CHAPTER 2:**** Fear**

Afraid that her palms might bleed at any moment, Adriane gripped the tether hanging above her head as the plane lilted in the growing storm and she was sure she would go tumbling into the lap of their captive. Loki had come on board with minimal fuss; almost suspiciously so, and was currently sitting quietly in shackles at the back of the plane. Steve Rogers and Tony Stark were beside her, near the cockpit and Rogers had not taken his eyes off the Demi-God since he boarded.

'I don't like it,' he finally spoke.

'What?' Stark followed the soldier's gaze. 'Rock of Ages giving up so quickly?'

'I don't remember it being ever that easy; this guy packs a wallop.'

'Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?' Adriane rolled her eyes as Stark tapped Roger's firm stomach.

'What?'

'It's like callisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle.'

Adriane cleared her throat as Rogers went to retort and both men looked at her. 'Is this really the time for that?'

'Just paying the fellow a compliment, but apparently he's got some self-image issues.' Stark shrugged, earning a stiff look from the Captain.

'Well I tend to agree with Captain Rogers on this,' Adriane sighed, eyeing Loki past their shoulders. 'Something feels wrong.'

'Where is this coming from?' Natasha groaned from behind the controls.

The plane tilted sharply as a huge crack of thunder sounded overhead and the three operatives scrambled to stay upright. The plane practically lit up as a mammoth bolt of lightning blew around them and Loki looked up with an unmistakably concerned grimace.

'What's the matter?' Rogers scoffed. 'Scared of a little lightning?'

'I'm not overly fond of what follows.'

The plane shook, this time with weight landing atop it rather than the storm and all eyes were up even when the deployment door opened revealing a stranger wielding the biggest hammer Adriane had ever seen. He was tall, broad with long blonde hair and strange silver armour that looked hauntingly reminiscent of Loki's. He grabbed the prisoner by the front of his robes and leapt from the plane without a word.

'Now there's that guy!' Stark cried, fixing his faceplate.

'Another Asgardian?' Natasha called from over the din.

"I'd say yes.' Adriane pulled her fitted leather gloves on and fastened the buckle on her boots.

'Think he's a friendly?' Rogers looked around at the others suiting up.

'Doesn't matter; if he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost.' Stark tested his blasters and made his way to the edge of the slide when Adriane grabbed his shoulder plate, pausing him.

'Until you make me that suit, I'm going to need a lift.'

'My very genuine pleasure.' Stark scooped Adriane up in a bridal carry and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and shoulders.

'Wait!' Rogers called from behind. 'We need a plan of attack.'

'I have a plan,' Stark's face was quickly covered by the trademark gold casing. 'Attack.'

The air whipped cruelly across Adriane's face and she was glad she had not taken her hair down in the jet as she clung to Stark for dear life. His grip was firm and she knew he wouldn't let her fall and yet somehow, with the ground hurtling towards their faces, it was difficult to keep in mind. 'Last stop middle of nowhere, everybody please exit.' Stark's chirpy voice calmed Adriane's nerves as her feet touched mercifully solid ground.

She kept her balance as Stark dropped beside her and they scanned the strange, rocky woods; a huge cliff face caught both their eyes and Adriane spotted two figures atop it. 'Well that's pretty easy,' she tapped Tony's suit and pointed up. 'I'm going to assume there aren't too many caped men running around these woods.'

'None with any self-respect anyway.'

'Says the golden tin man.' Adriane smirked.

'Hey, hey,' Tony turned, his armoured finger pointed at the grinning agent. 'Gold is plain and overused...This is metallic ochre.'

'Well either way I don't think it is going to sneak past those two Demi-Gods,' she motioned to the animated figures above. 'If you can get me close enough; I can listen in.'

'Does this look like a man-taxi suit to you? There's no credit card scanner.'

'...There isn't?'

'...Just hold on.' Tony grabbed the smirking Adriane in his arms and slowly rose towards the cliff, careful to keep as close to the tree line as possible. There was a steep path that seemed to wind up towards the Demi-Gods and Tony was careful to place Adriane silently down.

She fixed the mic to her ear and motioned for Stark to turn the line on. 'Can you hear me?'

'Of course I can; you're three feet away.'

'On the mic, you idiot.'

'Yes, but now I wish I couldn't if you're going to have an attitude.'

Adriane groaned. 'Just flank me, okay? If they spot me I need you to jump in.'

'Point and shoot, got it.'

Ignoring the obnoxious billionaire behind her, Adriane gripped the rocks either side of her and pulled herself gradually closer to the masculine voices sounding around the cliff.

'I thought you dead...,' The words were finally audible, but it was not Loki's voice she could hear.

'Did you mourn?' Loki scoffed.

'We all did. Our father...,'

'_Your_ father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?'

Dirt scuffed under heavy boots, rolling down and Adriane turned her head to shield her eyes. 'We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?'

'I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I,who was, and should be, King!' Loki's voice rang out and Adriane was sure even Stark would have heard every word loud and clear. Deciding things would only get worse from here, Adriane climbed higher until she was on flat ground and crouched behind a chipped boulder.

'So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?' The stranger's voice scoffed bitterly. 'No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki.'

'It is?' Adriane frowned, mentally slapping herself for talking.

'And you're doing a marvellous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you idly threat. I mean to rule them. That's why should I not...,'

'You think yourself above them!'

'...Well, yes.'

'Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill.'

'I've seen worlds you've never known about. I have grown, Odin's son, in my exile. I have seen the true power of the Tesseract and when I wield it...,'

Adriane stomach clenched at the venom in Loki's voice and she found herself reaching for her whip. 'Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be King?'

There was a rustle of clothing and a scoff. 'I _am_ a King!'

'Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream...You come home.' The stranger's voice was full of pain and, fearing he would disappear with Loki and lose the Tesseract forever, Adriane stood.

'I don't have it.' Loki batted the blonde man's hand from his clothes. 'You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off. I know not where.'

Loki's new captor raised the terrifying war-hammer. 'You listen well, brother...' His eyes finally landed on Adriane as he did and the blue of his irises became obvious in his shock.

There was a streak of gold and red and, when Adriane dared straighten up, Loki's brother and his hammer where nowhere to be seen. There was, however, the tell-tale snapping of trees and a cloud of disturbed dirt was visible even over the cliff and Loki still waiting before her. Although she couldn't see his face, Adriane knew the Demi-God was grinning. 'I'm listening...,'

'Oh good, then this should be quick.' It was difficult to suppress her own smile as Loki turned to face Adriane, a raised eyebrow the only evidence she had surprised him. 'As fun as that was; you need to come with me now.'

Loki chuckled, eyeing the lithe agent up and down. 'I think I should rather decide what it is I shall do with you.'

'Role reversal isn't really my thing.'

'You have spirit,' Loki sidled closer, his deep emerald coat swishing lightly behind him. 'I have yet to decide if I would like to harness it...Or destroy it.'

Adriane's whip unravelled at her feet as she pulled it from the harness and rose her chin, her eyes steeled and her entire demeanour changed. 'You might be a God in your world, Loki, but here you're just another criminal.'

'I am a King, my dear. A King preparing to wage a war and you may want to choose your allegiances carefully.'

'I'm fighting for my world; whoever stands beside me is an ally.'

Loki chuckled, the sound reverberating oddly through the woods. 'I will not destroy this world; I am going to rule it as your King. I'm here to release you from the burden of freedom; if you truly wish to stand for this world then come stand with me.'

Adriane tensed as Loki stepped closer still and she tightened her grip on the whip. 'You need to stand down Loki, there is not going to be a war and you're not going to be King. This is our world; we've fought for it before and, if you push us, we'll fight again.'

The cliff rang with the sound of Loki's deep laughter and Adriane finally gave up her stance and cracked her whip around Loki's arm as he made to reach for her throat. Pausing at the sound more than anything, Loki's green eyes ran the length of the weapon with an amused quirk of his lips as he suddenly gripped the tail and ripped it forward. Adriane stumbled forward into Loki's grasp, he held her wrist harshly and smirked devilishly as she struggled.

'You would stand alone against your future King?' He mused darkly. 'What is your name, child?'

'Her name is Agent Mason and she is far from alone.' Steve Roger's voice was a soothing balm against Adriane's nerves Loki's eyes moved past her.

'Ah, the soldier again; it seems your knight takes his job to heart.'

'Get your hands off her, Loki; you're coming back with us so don't make it worse.'

'Reason probably isn't your best move Captain,' Adriane twisted her wrist in Loki's grip.

'Oh, then what is?'

'...Can you catch?'

'Agent Mason...,'

Without another word, Adriane leant back, using Loki's weight and grip as a balance, and jammed her foot into the thin strip, not covered by armour, on his stomach. It barely made the Demi-God bend, but the surprise was enough for her to wrench herself free and take a running start into a swan dive off the cliff. Her feet barely cleared the edge as Loki reached for his sceptre only to have it knocked from his hand with a swipe of Rogers' shield before the soldier followed Adriane off the edge.

She had managed to slow herself by grabbing a tree root protruding from the compacted dirt, but her weight was fast pulling it loose. 'Time is a factor, Captain!' she called before losing her grip and falling towards the rocky ground.

'Curl up, Agent Mason!' Just managing to fold her body in against the forces of gravity, Adriane mentally thanked Rogers for his warning as his muscular body slammed into hers; his arms wrapping around her as they came to a rolling stop in the dirt, the Captain taking most of the impact. Stones and fallen branches tore at their clothing as Captain America and Adriane crashed to earth and finally came to a rocking stop just short of a thick, terrifyingly close tree trunk. Neither moved for a breath or two, chests heaving and Adriane still encased tightly in the arms of the original super soldier before he gradually freed her.

'I'll say this for you Captain, your timing is impeccable.' She coughed as she sat up, brushing the debris from her suit.

'Thank you ma'am, you certainly stick to a plan.' Rogers stood, holding his hand out to the soon to be bruised brunette.

She laughed, fixing her ruffled hair into a neat ponytail as the woods in front of them lit up with an unnatural bolt of light. 'Oh damn it, that's right! Come on!' She grabbed Rogers' arm and took off towards the source, hearing Tony's unmistakable tone only slightly muffled by his face plate.

'Then don't take my stuff.'

'You have no idea what you're dealing with.'

'Uh...Shakespeare in the park?' Steve and Adriane finally came to the smoking remnants of what was now a clearing and saw Tony's back to them, facing the blonde Demi-God who had taken Loki. 'Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?

'This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice.'

Tony straightened up. 'He gives up the cube and he's all yours. Until then, stay out of the way. Tourist!'

Rogers grabbed Adriane around the waist, leaping to the side as Iron Man came flying backwards towards them, taking out what few trees still stood. The sound of the hammer on the metal suit rang through the woods even as Tony struggled to sit up. 'Damn it, Stark!' Adriane ran to his side as the Demi-God approached, hammer raised to deliver another blow when Rogers jumped in his path.

'That's enough!' He raised a pausing hand, throwing a glance over his shoulder to see Adriane helping Tony to sit up. 'Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here...'

'I am here to put an end to Loki's schemes.'

'Then prove it, put the hammer down.'

Tony was suddenly bolt upright, waving a warning hand. 'Uh...yep! No! Bad call! He loves his hammer!'

'You want me to put the hammer down?' The blonde man sneered humourlessly, raising the hammer once more and bringing it down in time to make contact with the Captain's infamous shield. The sound was unlike anything Adriane had ever heard; it blew through the forest and her body, knocking all four of them to their backs and into the dirt. The forest had been brutally cleared when they finally all struggled to their feet, Tony pulling Adriane up with him and noting a small, bleeding scratch across her cheek.

Rogers looked around, fixing his shield in front of him before glancing at the blonde Demi-God. 'Are we done here?'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - – - - - - - -

'I wish you'd hold still Agent Mason.' Doctor Banner smiled nervously as Adriane shuffled in her torn suit while he tried to examine the cut on her cheek.

'Sorry Doctor, there's a few awkwardly placed sticks in my suit right now.'

'In the name of camaraderie, I'd be happy to fish them out for you.' Tony raised his hand lightly from his place at the table and Rogers rolled his eyes.

'Holster it, Stark.'

'Not a good team attitude, Cap.'

'Please Agent Mason, I just want to clean the cut so it doesn't get infected.' Banner spoke over the quarrelling pair and Adriane held still, wincing at the cold swab the doctor ran over her skin. 'Are you in pain?'

'No, it's just cold. Please don't tell Fury I flinched.'

'Doctor/patient confidentiality; I won't say I word.'

'Where is Fury anyway?'

As though waiting for the cue, Stark flicked on the large screen on the back wall to show a team of armed SHIELD officers leading Loki into a huge, glass cage balanced over an even bigger hatch. It would have been an impressive prison even without the addition of being located hundreds of thousands of feet above the ground in SHIELDs pride and joy; a flying lab and armoury the size of an naval aircraft carrier. Fury was standing opposite Loki, who was now locked inside the intimidating cylinder, and rested his hand on a raised control panel.

'In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass...Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?' The hatch beneath the cage opened up and the sound was almost deafening even over the speakers in the TV. Fury motioned between Loki and the lethal drop below. 'Ant. Boot.'

'It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me.' Loki's voice was low and Adriane did not like how amused he sounded.

'Built for something a lot stronger than you.' Fury countered.

'Oh, I've heard,' Loki suddenly looked directly into the camera and seemingly into the conference room where the team stood and Banner had frozen in his tending of Adriane. 'The mindless beast, makes play to be the man.'

Instinctively, Adriane reached out and put her hand gently atop Banner's until his soft puppy eyes reached hers. 'Don't.' She whispered and, with a small but very real smile, the doctor nodded and continued cleaning the wound.

'How desperate are you?' The spiteful God's voice sounded again. 'You call on these lost creatures to defend you.'

'How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill because it's fun. You have made me _very_ desperate. You might not be glad that you did.'

He scoffed quietly. 'It burns you to come so close; to have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share and then to be reminded what real power is.'

'Yeah, well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something.' The team watched Fury turn his back on Loki and no doubt heading their way.

'Really grows on you, doesn't he?' Banner sneered softly, fixing two small plaster strips to Adriane's face and straightening up. 'That should do it.'

'Loki's going to drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?' Steve Rogers had been pacing the entire time, since the awkward introductions of the team to Thor, the God of thunder and their prisoner's brother.

'He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.' Thor's voice was heavy and as Adriane watched his eyes from her perch on the counter, she couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him.

Rogers' eyebrow practically flew into his hairline. 'An army, from outer space?...'

'So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for.' Banner spoke mostly to himself, but he caught the blonde God's attention.

'Selvig?'

'He's an astrophysicist.'

'He's a friend.'

Natasha sighed. 'Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours.'

'I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here.' Rogers waved away the slightly melancholy discussion, tapping his finger on the screen.

Banner leant beside Adriane, shaking his head. 'I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.'

'I care how you speak,' Thor growled. 'Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother.'

'He killed eighty people in two days...,' Natasha said blankly.

'...He's adopted.'

'As much fun as dissecting Loki's particular brand of crazy is,' Adriane jumped down the from the counter as Fury walked in. 'I think we need to find out why he was in Stuttgart to begin with, let alone why he needed an eye.'

'Our intel is the museum contained a source of Iridium; the eye was used in a scanner not even an hour after Thor took Loki from the plane.' Natasha read from her phone. 'He must have dropped it before we took him.'

'Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?' Banner frowned.

'It's a stabilising agent,' Stark almost sounded bored, finally getting to his feet just to put his face uncomfortably close to Adriane's, inspecting her cut. 'Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD.'

'Will it allow Loki to control it?' Adriane asked, shoving Stark back with one hand. 'To keep it open?'

'He can make it as wide and hold it open as long as he wants with the right stabiliser.' Stark covered one eye and began to turn from side to side as he eyed the control systems below. 'How does Fury even see these?'

'He turns.'

'Sounds exhausting.' He dropped his hand and leant the other side of Adriane. 'The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube.'

Rogers rubbed his forehead, finally switching the TV off. 'Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?'

'He got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.' Banner muttered, looking a little surprised when all eyes turned to him, including Tony.

'Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect.'

'Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet.'

Tony laughed, reaching his hand over to Doctor Banner. 'Finally, someone who speaks English!'

The Captain looked from Fury to Adriane. 'Is that what just happened?'

The two geniuses in the room shook hands and seemed to forget anyone else was nearby. 'It's good to officially meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.'

Adriane dropped her head into her hand with an audible smack. 'Thanks...,'

'Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.' Fury interjected.

'Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon.'

Nick nodded slightly to Rogers. 'I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube and I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.'

Thor frowned. 'Monkeys? I don't understand.'

'I do,' Steve smiled happily. 'I understood that reference.'

'Wonderful then, Agent Mason could you escort Mr. Stark and Doctor Banner to the main lab so they can get to work?' Fury motioned for Adriane to get moving and she nodded, earning a small, but sharp pain in her cheek.

'Yes, Director. This way gentlemen.' Adriane knew there would be some heated discussions beginning as she, Stark and Banner wandered through the narrow halls and she was happy to leave them behind. This whole situation was playing with her mind from a million angles, not least of all a growing fear of Loki and just what he could be capable of should his plan come through. As pompous as he could be, Adriane also found herself siding with Captain America; Loki had come all too quietly and was entirely too amused with his surroundings. Something was very wrong. The sterile glass and polished titanium alloy of the main lab door glinted at the end of the hall and Adriane remembered her duty, holding the door open for both men as she flicked on the lights.

'This is the lab, we have all the best toys, but if you need anything feel free to let me know.' She said, almost off a script.

Tony smirked at the flat tone. 'Leaving so soon, Agent Mason?'

She laughed. 'This isn't really my area, Mister Stark. I'm much more of a field agent than a scientist.'

'Yes I saw that,' Stark picked up a long, thin, cattle prod looking object from the bench and began twirling it as Banner shuffled between computers and booted them up. 'I'd be very interested to know where you learnt the ninja roof jumping...Was it ninjas?'

'More like thugs,' Adriane smirked before turning to see Steve Rogers following them in and Stark inexplicably clammed up and faced Banner who was frowning over a folder of papers.

'The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's going to take weeks to process.'

Tony pulled a bright silver contraption from his pocket, plugging it into the nearest laptop. 'If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops.'

'...All I brought was a toothbrush.'

'Do you understand any of this, ma'am?' Rogers whispered to Adriane's amusement.

'Not a word, Captain. I just bring in the bad guys.'

'You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime.' Tony winked at Banner. 'Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, it's Candyland. '

The doctor removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes with a sad little scoff. 'Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem.'

'Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises.' Stark suddenly jutted out the thin metal device he had been swinging and zapped Banner.

'Ow!'

'Nothing?'

Rogers stepped forward heatedly. 'Are you nuts!?'

Stark twisted his head around Banner as though looking for any green patches and Adriane watched with wide eyes. 'You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?'

'Mason!' Adriane jumped as Fury's voice suddenly called for her from the doorway.

'Yes, sir?'

'I need you to come with me to Loki's cell.'

All eyes shot to the doorway and Adriane felt herself wanting to back away. 'Uh, why, sir?'

Fury's visible eyebrow rose and he stepped into the lab. 'Are you disobeying a direct order, Mason?'

'No sir, I'm questioning why you want me to go look at the shark in the tank. Seems like a bad idea to tap the glass.'

'She's not wrong, Fury.' Tony continued swinging the cattle prod and Banner visibly shifted away.

'She is, however, my Agent, Stark so your opinion is not needed.'

'I don't think he waits for you to ask.' Rogers sneered.

'Okay, okay, I'm coming sir,' Adriane held up her hands in surrender. 'It can't be worse than this.'


	3. Chapter 3 - Threats

**CHAPTER 3:**** Threats**

Although she had been assured steps had been taken to contain Doctor Banner if he were to have an 'incident', Adriane had never actually seen the chamber they were referring to. Even standing outside, looking through the window in the door, she found herself a little more anxious about having the good doctor on board if Fury truly thought this is what it would take to restrain him.

'Are you still with me, Mason?'

'Yes, sir, sorry,' Adriane shook her head and turned to Fury. 'What is it you think I can accomplish by talking to that whack-job?'

'He didn't throw you off that cliff, Mason. A man that blew up an entire facility of SHIELD operatives, cut out a man's eye while he was still alive and enslaved anyone of use to him...But he chit-chatted to you.'

Adriane's hip cocked out of habit and she glared at the Cyclops director. 'Just what are you implying, sir?'

'I'm not implying anything, I am stating that something about you has caught Loki's attention and I want you to use that and get us some damn information on his next move.'

'Oh that seems like a good idea, no way that can backfire.'

'Watch your tone, Mason. I'm getting sick of warning you.'

She scoffed, glancing into the cage to see the raven haired Demi-God just sitting placidly. 'You want me to play bait for that...thing in there then I'll take whatever tone I damn well please, sir.'

'Seems like a fair trade to me.'

Even Fury seemed to twitch and Adriane spun, hand clenched to see Banner smiling awkwardly behind them. 'Doctor Banner you are...Unexpectedly light on your feet.'

The doctor grinned at Adriane. 'I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle any one. Director Fury, I think you should come to the lab.'

'I'm busy here, Doc.'

'I see that, but tensions are getting pretty high and I think some answers may diffuse things.'

Fury groaned, dropping his head back slightly before nodding to Banner. 'Alright, Doc, I'll be there in a minute.'

'I, uh, I might wait for you.'

'Don't worry, sir, I'm not going to bail,' Adriane smirked, sensing the Director's reluctance and plucking the material of her torn suit. 'Just let me go change into something less shredded and I'll see what I can get out of Loki.'

'Be careful with him, Mason, he'll get inside your head given the chance.'

'Thanks for the pep talk, sir, but I have this under control. Sounds like you need to go do the same in the lab.'

Banner nodded faintly, his eyes darting between the two spies and showing obvious relief when, after one last warning look, Fury fell into step with the twitchy doctor and they disappeared back into the main hold of the ship. Not tempting her nerves with another look into the chamber, Adriane made her way to her room, stripping off the suit and deciding there was no way she was leaving without a shower; leaves, dirt and thin chips of wood clung to her skin and she felt awful. Adriane let loose her long, silky locks and cringed as the water swirling around her feet carried a faint brown wash with it. Even since Fury took her off the streets, she hated the sight of herself dirty; she was better than that now, she was better than the filth covered lost child she had been. The gritty smell of damp dirt finally succumbed to the delicate ebb of her cherry blossom scented body wash and the fruity tingle of her strawberry shampoo.

'Girl has to look her best for an interrogation.' Adriane sneered to herself as she reached through the steam for a towel and dabbed the beads of water from her clean, ivory skin. Wrapping the towel around her sopping wet hair, she ran a quick layer of moisturiser over herself before pulling on a standard issue pair of black pants and a dark red training tank top. She didn't want Loki to think he was a special assignment; she was dropping by on her way to something more important. Adriane scoffed and she pulled on a thin black workout jacket. 'Because we have Demi-Gods pass through here every other day.'

* * *

Pulling her hair into a tight bun as she walked, the young agent made her way back to the containment chamber with a noticeable lag in her step. It was her assignment and her job, but it in no way guaranteed she wanted to do it; made obvious as she stood at the only door standing between her and Loki knowing her presence, just staring at it. Convinced it was not going to burst into flames and weld itself shut, she took a deep breath, slipped on her best poker face and stepped calmly inside, striding up to the walkway near the cage. Loki casually looked up, his ink green eyes landing on Adriane and a cruel grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

'I had wondered when Fury would dangle you in front of me.' He mused.

'So you figured I would come?'

Loki straightened on the bench. 'After my oh-so humiliating capture and containment you would appear as a balm, a friend and I would cooperate.'

'I just want to know what you've done to Agent Barton and Doctor Selvig,' Adriane shrugged nonchalantly. 'I want to know what your plans for them are.'

'I would say I have expanded their minds.'

'And your plans for those minds?'

'Where does this compassion stem from, Agent Mason?' Loki got to his feet slowly, the smirk still playing on his lips. 'Your world in the balance and your concern lies with two men?'

'There are millions of soldiers and countless weapons designated to protect our world from creatures like you; two men are easily lost in the panic.'

Loki chuckled at her answer and caught her eyes firmly in his, an odd chill falling down Adriane's spine, but she held still as the Demi-God inched towards the glass. 'And you were lost too, weren't you Agent Mason?'

'Like any other human, yes.'

'Not any more though, not since Fury took pity on you and gave you a purpose and now you stand here, believing you have the right to ask information from me. And why? Because you no longer huddle in street corners, but lie and kill in the service of liars and killers; have you truly come so far Agent Mason?'

'Fury gave me a job, not redemption, I'll find that in my own time.'

Loki scoffed his hand coming to rest on the glass above his head. 'You hope. You can _only _hope now, can't you? Because if you fail in your search...Then what Agent Mason? You go back to the streets knowing what you could have been? You die alone, unloved, and unmourned in a foreign land and for what? To make something of your pathetic mortal existence,' his venomous voice nipped its way through Adriane's veins as his lips curled. 'Why not serve me, make your life truly matter?'

'...You're a monster.'

'Oh no, you brought the monster.'

Adriane's eyes widened slightly and she dropped the horror-stricken mask she had been holding. 'Banner...That's your play.'

'What?'

Adriane whipped her phone from her pocket and quickly dialled Fury's comm line. 'Loki intends to unleash the Hulk, keep Doctor Banner in the lab; I'm on my way.'

'What do you think you're doing?'

She nodded to the slightly irked Demi-God with a gracious smile and a nod. 'Thank you for your cooperation.' She turned on her heel and left for the lab, only running once she was sure there was no chance Loki could hear her. She came to a sharp halt at the lab entrance to see the rest of the team already there and looking less than content. Fury was standing on his own, arms folded and back stiff, facing off against Stark and Banner behind the lab equipment.

'What are you doing, Mister Stark?'

'Uh..kinda been wondering the same thing about you.'

'You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract.'

Banner's hand landed atop a nearby monitor. 'We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile.'

'And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is Phase 2?' Tony shrugged, his tone holding a noticeable bite to it.

Before Fury could answer, Steve Rogers and Thor burst into the lab, a massive steely weapon in hand which Rogers dumped on the table. 'Phase 2 is SHIELD used the cube to make weapons.' He turned with a smirk to Stark. 'Sorry the computer was a little slow for me.'

Trying to wrap her head around what was going on, Adriane stared blankly at Fury, keeping her features carefully neutral while the rest of the room waited for an answer. Fury shifted ever so slightly, his tone perfectly controlled. 'Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're-,'

'I'm sorry Nick,' Stark butt in, spinning a computer monitor outwards and revealing blatant schematics for weaponry; powered by the Tesseract. 'What were you lying?'

'I was wrong, Director.' Rogers practically spat the words out. 'The world hasn't changed a bit.'

'Now just wait a minute, Captain, this is standard research.'

'Did you know about this?' Banner snapped, pointing to the screen.

'Do you maybe want to remove yourself from this environment, Doctor?' Fury asked softly.

'I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.'

'Loki is going to try to manipulate you.'

'And you've been doing what exactly?

Fury scoffed roughly. 'You didn't come here because I ordered you too.'

'No, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy.' The Doctor bit back, gesturing to the screen once more. 'I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.'

There was a sharp sigh and suddenly Fury's scarred hand was pointing at Thor. 'Because of him.'

'Me?'

'Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out gunned.'

**The blonde Demi-God looked more than a little shocked.** 'My people want nothing but peace with your planet.'

'But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled.'

No doubt catching the cheap shot Fury just took, Rogers' shoulders squared off. **'**Like you controlled the cube?

'Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war.' Thor piped up.

'You forced our hand. We had to come up with something.' Fury was panicking now, although his voice and features remained calm, Adriane could just tell he had been backed into a corner.

'A nuclear deterrent, cause that always calms everything right down.' It was Tony's turn to take a shot.

Fury raised his one visible eyebrow. 'Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?

'I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-,'

'Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?'

'I'm sorry, isn't everything?'

'I thought humans were more evolved than this.' Thor snorted at Rogers and Stark squabbling, leaning against the lab wall.

Fury rounded on him. 'Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?'

'You speak of control, yet you court chaos.' The Demi-God growled.

The tension grew as all of the operatives turned on one another and Adriane could feel her stomach tightening in panic; this is exactly what Loki wanted. He wanted them frazzled and split amongst themselves, it was the best way to weaken them. Adraine's eyes remained fixed on Doctor Banner as she watched him grow more and more agitated and his fingers clenched themselves into a tight fist.

'Agent Mason, would you please escort Doctor Banner back to his-,'

'Where?' Banner cut Fury off. 'You rented out my room.'

'The cell was just-,'

'In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know, I tried,' There was a horrible, thick silence that finally fell over the quarrel as everyone turned to the suddenly tired looking man. 'I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret? Do you want to know how I stay calm?'

There was a faint clipping sound beside Adriane and she glanced to see Fury had palmed his weapon. 'Doctor Banner...Put down the sceptre.'

The look on his face told Adriane that Bruce had no recollection of even touching the strange weapon they had confiscated from Loki and yet there it was, tightly clenched in his grasp. After a breath there was a beeping from the monitor Stark had swung to face them and a picture of the Tesseract was up, some inexplicable writing flashing around it. Adriane once again reminded herself to brush up on her tech knowledge as everyone else in the room gaped at the squiggles.

'Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick.' Banner put the sceptre back on its rack and bent over the screen, his brow creasing the longer he stared.

'What is it Banner?'

'This can't be good...,'

The ground shook, Adriane flew back and desperately grasped a table to keep her feet from flying out beneath her as Fury fell, followed by Rogers. Stark held out a hand to Adriane and pulled her straight as another rumble wracked the lab and the team exchanged panicked looks.

'I think you had better suit up.' Adriane said as Stark nodded. The billionaire only just managed to step clear as an explosion crackled beneath them and Adriane, along with Banner were dropped down a massive hole that had broken in the lab. Shouts followed them down, none distinguishable from from the other as Adriane's ears rang and an odd warm trickling sensation slipped down her temple. She knew she it was blood and she knew she was not getting medical attention any time soon as she tried to wriggle from beneath the metal beam laying across her legs.

'Mason! Mason! You answer me right now!' Fury's voice was unmistakeably panicked and Adriane forced her tongue into motion.

'...I-I'm okay Director, might need some help getting up though.' she groaned as Banner shifted beside her, his brow crinkling in a subconscious frown. 'The sooner the better.'

'Rogers, get down there now.' Fury's order had barely passed his lips before the impeccably shined boots of Steve Rogers landed just a foot away from Adriane and he crouched beside her.

'Can you see me okay, Miss?'

'Just fine, keep an eye on Banner; I don't know what he's going through.' The Doctor had started to moan and twitch beneath the beam and Adriane's nerves were starting to spark. 'Please hurry...,'

'Whenever you've finished your tea party, Rogers!'

'Agent Mason is injured, sir. We need a med team on deck.'

'They're a little preoccupied, Cap,' Stark's voice filtered down and Adriane could almost hear the Captain growl. 'What with the impromptu fireworks Loki's boys just let off.'

'Just get them up here, Rogers!'

Offering Adriane a reassuring smile, Rogers shuffled down to the middle of the fallen beam and braced his arms beneath it. With one deep, steadying breath his thighs clenched, his biceps bulged and Adriane offered what little help she could by pushing from beneath as the thick metal rod wobbled and teetered on her trapped body. Finally it cleared it's crushing weight and Adriane wasted no time in sliding backwards, dragging her bruised and aching legs free as Rogers slid the rest of the beam off Banner too.

It dropped with a deafening clang and the American hero was by Adriane's side in a flash. 'Is anything broken?'

'No, no I don't think so. Maybe a cracked rib,' she hissed as she tried to stand on her own and Rogers dove to help. 'Is Banner okay, have you checked?'

As though waiting for his cue, there was a deep, inhuman growl from behind them and Adriane's heart leapt into her throat. 'I say we don't have you around to find out, Miss.' Rogers said, reaching the same conclusion as he threw his head up to the hole above them. 'We need a rope. Now.'

The thick white rope coiled at Adriane's feet and Rogers knelt beside her, his muscular arm wrapping under around her ribs and preparing to hoist her up when Adriane pushed back and stumbled from her grip. 'What are you doing? We can't just leave Doctor Banner down here; he needs help too.'

'No disrespect Agent Mason, but he's not himself right now and we need to get you out of harms way.'

'He's unconscious!'

A loud growl rumbled through the hanger and all eyes were on the oddly twitching form of Banner as his arms contorted and legs stiffened and relaxed in a terrifying asymmetry. His slightly tanned skin looked to be rolling of its own accord and Adriane met the panic in Steve Rogers eyes as he slowly edged back over to her.

'Agent Mason we need to leave, now.'

'W-Will he be okay?'

'He's about to be invincible and surly, he'll be fine!' Stark's voice made Adriane start and she wrapped her arms around Rogers as he held her and the others pulled them up closer to the gaping hole.

'Watch the sides, they'll slice themselves open.' Fury warned as Stark carefully hauled Adriane up ahead of Rogers who nimbly swung himself to safety.

An almighty roar shook the already iffy ground beneath them as a flash of emerald green whizzed past the hole, followed by a melon of bible black hair. There was barely time for their combined fear to soak in before a massive fist punched through the thick steel flooring and huge, dog-sized fingers wrapped around Adriane's leg as a scream ripped from her. The fastest man alive could barely have grasped the Agent's fingertips before she was dragged back down to the hanger and thrown harshly against the cement wall.

'Mason!'

'Stark! Suit up now!'

'Banner, stop! You know her!'

The pleas muddled together in the swirl of Adriane's pounding brain and all faculties combined the last of their strength to lurch her muscles into a dodging a lethal swing of the monster's fist. With strength she simply didn't have, Adriane got to her feet and took off running down the narrower facets of the hanger and towards the jet deck in the hopes it may slow the beast. She came to skidding halt, leaping over several crates as the ground trembled beneath her feet and she could only hope of the others were close behind with a plan or a really big rock.

A roar shook Adriane to her very soul and she found the energy to go faster still, flying down maintenance corridors and at last stumbling across a heavy steel door, one she had to heave and wrench to open, slamming it shut with the strength to crush an elephants foot and hopefully keep at bay something much worse. Her breath heaved out in one long sigh of disbelief that she almost choked on as voices came from across the room. She couldn't see the source of them though, not with the huge, titanium re-enforced cage that was blocking her view.

'From one monster to another.' She groaned, now recognising the voices as those of Thor and Loki. She could not make out exactly what they were saying, but seeing Thor suddenly charge into the cage just as Loki disappeared was enough to convince her she was in another bad situation.

The other side door opened enough for Adriane to see Agent Coulson pointing a rather large, rather alien looking weapon at where she could only assume Loki was standing. There was an exchange of words and yet all Adriane could focus on was the man creeping up behind Coulson with scepter in hand.

'Coulson!' It was too late and Adriane could only watch in horror as the agent's body stiffened before his chest contracted in that tell-tale last cough and he crumpled at the feet of the madman at his back. Thor's fists were hammering on the sides of the cage as the weight of Loki's gaze collapsed on Adriane's nerves.

A cruel smirk twisted his lips as the Demi-God approached the cage control panel, pushing the big red button deftly and sending his brother to his death. 'Ah, how considerate of you,' Loki's voice somehow carried to Adriane across the room and she backed towards the door she had so desperately closed just a few moments before. 'To save me the trouble of hunting you down.'


End file.

Avengers, Drama, Romance