Not An Avenger

Forced Alliance

After a 2-hour flight with three testosterone fueled alpha males and a female with more than requires estrogen (God, she was beautiful.), we reached the hellicarrier.

The atmosphere had been more tense than an US-Russia conference during the cold war. I flinched even at the slightest movements. I knew if they would start fighting there, the jet was going down.

With much difficulty, I had convinced Tony that Thor had come here to 'put an end to Loki's schemes' (in his own words) and was essentially on our side. Still, he was angry about the thrust he had given him.

I lied down on the couch in the lounge when I heard a knock. It was Captain Rogers.

"They are meeting for a conference in fifteen minutes." He informed me.

"I'm not an agent, Captain."

He smiled. He had a beautiful smile. "Call me Steve. And it doesn't matter if you're an agent or not, you're as involved in all this as any of us." He said.

He had me at the smile. "All right. But we have fifteen minutes, right?" I wanted to talk to you about something. Would you sit down?"

He came and sat down on the chair opposite to me. This time I didn't tell myself that he was a hundred years old. He clearly wasn't. He was just a young man who had wound up in a time and place he didn't understand.

And the outfit? It kind of looked nice on him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he said, bringing me out of my trance. I realized I had been staring. Again.

"I, umm…. There was something I found out when I was looking for the Tesserect. I think the secret ingredient in your super serum was Tesserect energy."

He looked at me for one long moment. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Your scans match my research almost completely. Though I don't have any solid proof, if that's what you are asking."

"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Except about one thing. The amount of Tesserect exposure you've had is enough to fry 10 people. I wish to find out the reason. After all this is over, would you mind coming in the hospital for the few tests?"

He didn't answer my question. "Do you want to recreate the serum for SHIELD?"

I hadn't really thought about it. "No." I said. "That isn't my field. I'm more interested in the biological component. Someone else at SHIELD would recreate the serum if I found out the stabilizing component."

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Was he changing the subject?

"Twenty-four. Why?"

"You look quite young to be a doctor. Anyway, let's go or we'll be late."

Everyone was already in the conference room when we reached.

"Any chance of finding Barton with that bio-tracer thing of yours, doctor?" Fury asked me as we entered.

"No, sir. Whoever Loki's allies are, they haven't been exposed to the Tesserect. At least, not yet. I'll keep looking though." I answered.

"Dr. Banner?" Fury looked a little tense than his usual self.

Dr. Banner looked at his feet before answering. "The gamma radiation is inconsistent. I'm still trying to get a hit."

"We can start with the basics." Said Steve, getting everyone's attention. "He was in Stutgaurd to steal Iridium, which unfortunately, Agent Barton got away with. What does he need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent. He is probably building another portal. The one that won't collapse on itself like it did at the research facility." Tony explained.

I saw Thor sitting at a corner, trying to understand what was going on. "What is Loki's plan, Thor? What does he want to do with the Tesserect?" I asked him.

Thor looked at me, glad at finally being addressed to. "He has an army. Not of Asgard or any world known. He wishes to conquer the Earth with its help and rule over it."

"So, that's what he needs the portal for. What else does he need to make the portal, Tony?" I was trying my best not to freak out. A space army?!

"A quantum physicist, a magnetic field generator and a high energy source which we could get at any reactor on the planet." Tony listed.

Fury was already ordering to track down these items.

"Well, I should get back to the lab." Said Dr. Banner.

"Need some help?" offered Tony, walking along with him. In my peripheral vision I saw Tony put something on the computer beside the door, as we walked past.

I looked around to see all the miserable faces around me and Loki's smiling face through the security feed in his glass prison. It looked like he was the only person on this hellicarrier who wanted to be here.