Agent of Chaos: A Captain America Fanfiction

Chapter 14: An Unpleasant Reminder

          "Not to be rude, but why are you here exactly?" I glanced at the Captain who was leaning up against a shiny silver lab table in the corner. I very much didn't want my hero to witness my soon to be humiliation. Fidgeting in my metal lab chair, Dr. Banner fitted me with an EEG cap that had little white sensors an inch away from each other running from front to back. Itchy and tight it was on my head. Nolan sat about 5 feet away from me in the same cap and chair looking far too calm for the situation we were about to get ourselves in to.

          "Simple," Coulson intercepted, "he did a spectacular job talking you down during your last episode, so we're borrowing his skill again. Any more questions?"

          "Lots actually."

          "Great, let's start the test." All words dried up on my lips.

          "Bruce," Nolan spoke before Coulson could do whatever he was planning. "I considered what you said, and I propose we should pay particular attention to the posterior superior temporal sulcus since the frontal readings didn't get us what we wanted last time." His words might as well have been Chinese for the good they did me. Dr. Banner, however, drew his eyebrows together in thought and then nodded.

          "I'll adjust the electrodes for those readings." Coulson huffed off to the side. "It'll take just a second, Phil." The calm attitudes the men exuded were beginning to wear on me. I was nothing but a bucket of nerves- I felt like the only ant who had noticed a shoe was about to drop while all the other ants around me chatted about the weather. Judging by the sweat on Nolan's brow, he could sense my worry. Good, I hoped my fear was causing him pain. The little rat deserved it. What I really needed in this moment of fear was an ally, and who better to be that than the Captain himself?

          I let my eyes travel to where they naturally wanted to be and found the Captain still leaned against the table. His body was tense, and his azure gaze downcast. He was all hard angles and rigidity. If I didn't know any better, I might take a guess that he was nervous. Which so did not bode well for me. I needed a friendly face right now, so I hardened my gaze on him, pleading for him to look at me. Just one look. Please! But the world wasn't nice and didn't listen to the pleas of one lonely girl. If it did, I would be over at Jamie's house playing Cards Against Humanity and kicking his ass instead of playing guinea pig to a scientist.

          "Are we finally ready?" Coulson asked impatiently. Dr. Banner gave one stern nod of his head. "Excellent. Ok, Candidate, are you ready?" Coulson watched me with excitement.

         "No, but I suppose that doesn't really matter." He nodded his head in agreement. "Let's just get this over with. How are you geniuses planning on getting things started? Should I start talking about my feelings?"

          Coulson chuckled and shook his head. "Here at S.H.I.E.L.D. we prefer a much more direct approach." That didn't sound good. He walked between Nolan and myself and plopped a metal stool down in the center. He then gingerly placed a slim piece of metal atop it. A blue light blinked, and suddenly a hologram reaching all the way to the ten-foot ceiling appeared. He wasn't actually planning on showing me pictures of the attack, was he? He didn't seem that cruel. I had lived through it once, and that was enough for any sane human.

          I looked back at the Captain, pleading with my eyes for him to look at me and stop this madness. He continued pointedly looking at the ground.

          "Candidate, I need you to look at the hologram," Coulson gently prodded. When I finally did, my eyes were accosted with videos of hell.

          Chitauri were swarming buildings, everything was crumbling. The hologram had no sound, but I could hear it all. Debris lay in the streets coated with liquid rust that was sure to be blood. A deluge of grey dust rained down on the person taking the video like a grey monsoon. Quickly, another video started from inside what appeared to be a bank. Dozens of people were cowering behind the tellers' desks as Chitauri streaked by outside the window. One stopped and seemed to be looking inside. With a sure movement, he trained his gun on me and shot. Blue light came and with it the feeling of heat licking at my skin. It filled up the entire frame and then cut to black.