Shadow of Hope(Book 2)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Once we had landed, I was the first one off the plane, not only to avoid the questioning looks from the others, but also to search for a quiet place with a mirror. The best place I could find, was one of the interrogations rooms, it was the biggest mirror I could find. I made sure the room on the other side was empty, and the cameras were off, before removing my jacket, and pulling down the front of my shirt to find my newest tattoo.

It was a circle with several thick lines pointing inward to another smaller full circle located in the direct center of my chest. I stared at it in confusion, before pulling my shirt back up, and sinking to the floor, my head in my hands. I thought that after getting back from Middle Earth, my adventure was over, I had done my part for the universe.

I was obviously very wrong.

" I'm sorry, Alice." A voice said, and I looked up to find Aria kneeling beside me, a sad look on her face. " What more is there for me to do, Aria?" I questioned, and she looked away. " I-"

" You can't tell me." I finished for her, and she nodded. " I also cant help you on this journey, not like I did last time."

" Why?"

" Its...personal." She said, and I frowned. " Another is being sent to help you. Don't lose hope, Alice." She told me, before vanishing. I looked around the room, before pulling my knees up to my forehead, my hands in my hair.

Dont lose hope? I wanted my life back. I wanted to go home, where I could sit and binge movies all day, and eat pizza. I didn't want to be a hero.

Alicia Stevens, to the bridge. Alicia Stevens, to the bridge.

I let out a sigh, before getting up, slipping my jacket back on, and teleporting to the bridge where I found the others sitting/standing around the table. Steve looked over at me as I sat beside him, and laid my head on the table, the cold metal feeling nice against my forehead. " Incase it's unclear, " Fury's voice called out, and I lifted my head to look at the screen with a frown. " if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass. 30,000 feet, straight down, in a  steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot."

" Its an impressive cage." Loki laughed." Not built, I think, for me. "

" Built for something a lot stronger then you." 

" Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such 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 its fun. You have made me very desperate. You might be glad that you did."

" Ooh. It burns you to have 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."

" Well, let me know if "real power" wants a magazine or something." Fury said, before the video turned off.

" He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce Banner, a guy in a purple shirt and glasses, said and I turned my head to look at him, before looking back at Steve. " Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"

" He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

" An army from outer space."

" Armies. Other worlds. I can deal with those. But aliens.." I trailed leaning back in my chair.

" So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

" Selviig?" Thor questioned.

" He's an astrophysicist." Bruce explained.

" He's a friend."

" 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."

" I dont think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."

" Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."

" He killed 80 people in two days." Natasha said, and after a pause Thor added." He's adopted."

I gave him a look, before dropping my head back down on the table with a thump.

" I think its about the mechanics." Bruce said." Iridium. What do they need iridium for?"

" Its a stabilizing agent." Stark said appearing from the doorway, talking with an agent about flying him to Portland for a weekend. " It means the portal wont collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD. No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." Tony told Thor, who gave him a look." Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants." Tony started messing around, and giving out orders, but no one was listening. " How does Fury even see these?" He asked.

" He turns." An agent with dark hair responded.

" Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is power source of high- energy density. Something to kick start the Cube."

" When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" The dark haired agent questioned.

" Last night." He responded. " The packet, Selvig's notes the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

" I dozed five minutes in." I called out lifting my head. " Then again, I hate physics of any kind."  

" Funny. Nearly the top of your class." He said, and I rolled my eyes before laying my head back down, my hood pulled over my head as I closed my eyes. Maybe no one will notice if I just nap for a moment

" Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

" He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner said.

" Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." 

" Well, if he could do that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

" Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said.

" Is that what just happened?" Steve asked, and I reached over to pat his arm. " English to them, buddy." I said without raising my head.

" its good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster." Tony told him, and I gave him a look. 

" Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him."

" I would start with that stick of his. It might be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." Steve suggested.

" I wouldn't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

" Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor said confused.

" I do." Steve said suddenly excited, and I smiled as he looked around. " I understood that reference."

" Shall we play, Dr.?" Tony asked.

" This way, sir." Banner said, before they walked away.

" Boys." I muttered closing my eyes. 

Anyone else see the first episode of Loki, yet?