Collision Course {Marvel} ||1||

3. The Recruits

Coulson couldn't have just said that Loki was responsible for the Tesseract's disappearance. That was impossible. To my knowledge, Loki was dead. Thor had told me Loki had fallen into endless space when at Asgard; I had been in Midgard by that time.

"I-I think you have the wrong name, Coulson," I stammered. "Loki is dead."

"You look at the picture and tell me that isn't him. Director Fury knows who he saw, and that picture in the file is who is responsible for agents' deaths and the destruction of our facility. He's the reason I came for you."

Dreading the moment, I flipped through the pages until I found the face I'd nearly forgotten. The raven hair, those intelligent green eyes. I could practically hear his low, alluring voice now in my head. I wondered how much he had changed since I had last seen him. There was no point in denying that he was alive any longer. If this Director Fury saw Loki, then he most likely did.

I closed my eyes. It's him all right. My head began pulsing ferociously. "T-that's him," I confirmed quietly.

"You know this guy?" Todd butted in.

"Isn't it obvious?" I let out a breath.

I wasn't sure how to really take this news. I was relieved that he was alive, because I'd mourned. I was angry because of what he had done before he'd supposedly died. If I ever came into contact with him—

No. You moved to Midgard for one reason, and he was that reason. You shouldn't get involved in whatever Coulson is trying to pull you into. You've had enough involvement with Asgard; you need to stay away from everything about your old home.

"Coulson, I—I don't think I can help you." I opened my eyes to look at him somberly. "I'm really sorry, but I don't think I should get involved. Can't you get someone else?"

"We've been recruiting a few others. You weren't on the initial list. When I learned who was behind this, I immediately thought of you. If we were dealing with anyone else but him, you would have been kept out of it, I swear."

I was about to ask why Coulson didn't think about asking for Thor's help, but I kept my mouth shut. I remembered the Bifrost was destroyed, so there was no way Thor could really come down to Midgard. If there was any way, it wouldn't be easy for him.

"I should be flattered, but not in this case." I shut the folder, handing it back to Coulson. "You'll have to go through with finding Loki with whoever else you've rounded up. I don't want any part of this."

"Why not?" It wasn't Coulson who spoke up, it was Todd.

I threw my best friend an odd look. "What do you mean 'why not'?" I retorted.

"Why are you passing this up?"

"I came here to Mid—Earth so that I could start my new life. Going with Coulson to track down Loki and the Tesseract doesn't help."

"Kiara, I think you need to take this."

"We already made plans, remember? I go with you to work, you buy me food—anything that I wanted."

"I don't know, this sounds way more important. Besides, you can go with me any day. This...this doesn't seem like something that's going to come around again."

"I'm not going to force you to come with me, Kiara," Coulson explained softly. "I know force will make you upset, but it would help us a lot if you said yes."

My head still spun. What could Loki possibly want with the Tesseract? How on earth was he able to take control over someone's mind? All of this shouldn't have overwhelmed me, but it did.