(Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility - Mojave Desert – Nevada - May 1, 2012 )
The whirling of the helicopter blades were not helping the massive headache that was slowly developing for the director as he looked down at the facility that was lit up like the fourth of July. Although the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility was by no means small it also didn't stand out in the middle of the desert, usually, because the people running it never turned on all the lights or set off all the alarms.
Which was what was currently happening.
Fury cast his glance to the only other occupant of the Helicopters passenger cabin, his right hand Maria Hill who was currently on a satellite phone talking to a US General who was preparing to storm the facility.
"No General I can assure you, Shield, has the situation well in hand" Hill's voice sounded incredibly polite and strained as he saw the unpleasant grimace on her face as she listened to the response from the other end. "…. I understand Sir but Councilman Malick isn't fully aware of the situation nor can he authorise such a move."
Fury suppressed a sigh as he could guess what the situation was the Hill was trying to prevent. A little over a year and a half ago it won't have been an issue, Shield was an untouchable agency with vast resources and numerous allies. However, since the debacle in controlling Stark and then not being able to bring Kal in to talk let alone under control had cost them greatly, with more critics coming out of the shadows now they thought the agency weak. Whilst Shield was still powerful and by no means, in danger of being pushed aside it did mean they had to contend with more nonsense than usual, like US generals sticking their nose in places they had no right going.
"…. Thank you general I am glad that you see it that way." Maria then quickly hung up the phone whilst Fury still hear someone talking on the other end. He raised a single eyebrow to her but she just gave a reassuring nod of her head signalling that she had contained that situation.
However, they still had to deal with the one they were approaching, as the Helicopter touched down and the doors opened Fury was greeted by Agent Phil Coulson who was standing at the egede of the Helipad. Fury quickly surveyed the scene and could see the non-essential people and staff were evacuating whilst the security forces were moving into positions to secure the primer. Both of which combined with the fact that all the facility's lights were on making the place glow like a Christmas tree told him two things.
One, the situation was incredibly serious or still developing.
And two, Coulson likely had no idea what was happening and was just preparing for the worst.
"How bad is it?" Fury asked his most trusted agent directly, knowing Coulson was not one to mess around in a dangerous situation.
"That's the problem sir we have no idea." Coulson stated honestly a frustrated sigh escaping his lips, gesturing for Fury to follow him so that he could explain as they went. "All I know is that Dr Selvig read an energy surge from the tesseract four hours ago, after which every light in the place switched on and since then we can't turn them off."
"NASA, nor Shield, authorized Selvig to go to the next test phase." Fury's voice was calm as they strode through the facility and descended down an elevator towards the inner areas of the facility. However, his face was clearly annoyed that Selvig had broken protocol and started his experiments before they were ready.
"That's the thing, sir, Selvig wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the building when the thing went off. A spontaneous event" Coulson moved forward and opened up the door in front of them, as he looked back over his shoulder to his boss.
"It just turned itself on?" Maria Hill asked as she walked behind Fury and Coulson causing the shield agent to look at Fury's right-hand woman.
"Honestly ma'am I couldn't say, all this science stuff is beyond me, but once Selvig got in the room he said it's just cycling up than turning on, whatever the hell that means." Coulson released a deep sigh as he gave Hill a look that told her he truly had no idea what was going on, which was troubling.
"Where are the energy levels now?" Fury asked Coulson his eyes still facing forward as powered through the facility.
"Climbing steadily sir. When Selvig couldn't shut it down I ordered the evac, but….." Coulson's relaying of the events tapered off as the Senior Shield agent suddenly looked hesitant.
"But?" Hill asked behind him, knowing Fury wanted to know as much as her what Coulson was about to say.
"But if we don't get the Tesseract under control, evac wouldn't matter. Selvig predicts that if the build-up of energy continues at its current rate, it'll take out most of Nevada." Coulson informed them gravelly a grimace on his face at that worrying prospect.
The information caused Fury to slow to almost a halt his one good remaining eye suddenly becoming wide as his mind raced through all his current options. However, his momentary pause lasted only for a second as he suddenly was striding forward again, exuding an air of confidence that was putting the worried Shield personnel they passed at ease.
"How long until the evac is complete?" Fury asked his good eye narrowing as they approached the final turn to the stairs that led to the testing chamber.
"The campus should be clear in the next half hour," Coulson informed Fury whilst giving a quick glance at his watch to check the time, a small grimace appeared on Fury's face at the news half an hour was too long.
"Do better." Fury turned slightly as they walked to look Coulson dead in the eye, conveying the seriousness of the order.
Coulson did not seem offended at Fury's blunt order instead he gave a sharp professional nod and turned on his heels and strode back the way they had come. Maria watched Coulson go over her shoulder before picking up her pace so that she was next to Fury.
"Sir evacuation may be futile." Hill voiced her concern although she knew they had to try, she also knew it was her job to voice the issue that if this went wrong they might be wasting time trying to save lives they couldn't.
"I understand, and the point is noted." Fury gave a deep sigh it was this part of the job he hated before he paused briefly on the stairs turning to face Hill. "Is there any sign that he is coming?"
Hill gave a quick shake of her head. "No, sir reports indicate that chambers walls are still containing the energy signal and the last report from 20 minutes ago states that Kal is in Southeast Asia dealing with the aftermath of the tidal wave that hit a few hours ago."
Fury gave a few quick nods as he processed the information as his mind raced through the scenarios that might play out. Ever since the whole debacle sending Stark to talk to him, Fury had maintained a distance from Kal as best he could, keeping tabs on the man without directly engaging with him. Although it was costing him greatly in terms of political capital and favours, Fury still thought it was the best move, as sending Stark had only caused someone to hack stark and try to make the two fight. Which was another headache and situation Fury was both trying to figure out and keep under wraps, so for the moment instead of poking the dragon which was Kal, Fury was doing his best to try and balance all his spinning plates as he figured out what to do.
"Okay, that works for now. However, be ready to send out the ultrasonic pulse the R&D techs have been developing." Fury stated as he started moving down the stairs again more swiftly than before.
"Sir are we sure that is a good idea?" Hill asked with raised eyebrows, shocked that Fury was thinking of bringing the Alien to Shield's most covert site. "We are already on thin ice with how we are dealing with Kal if we directly bring him here, I don't think we can survive the fallout."
"That might be true, but I can guarantee you we definitely wouldn't survive the actual fallout if we don't call him in if this all goes wrong." Fury pointed out the actual potential for real catastrophe that they were facing.
The Deputy Director of Shield went quiet at Fury's point and just gave a respectful nod, accepting her boss's assessment of the situation. Maria knew when not to push the issue and in truth, she didn't want to push the issue anyway, her job was just to raise the competing point not to champion it. She had known Fury for a very long time and knew to trust his judgment especially when it came to the weirder things Shield dealt with.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs and approached the final corridor that lead directly into the testing chamber for the tesseract, Fury's face became a grimace. "I need you to get the Phase 2 prototypes shipped out, I want them secured and away on the first evac shuttle."
Hill blinked slightly at Fury's request, although she wouldn't argue that the Phase 2 prototypes weren't important, they were, she was just surprised she was hearing Fury making them a priority. Ever since the Phase 2 program had been created, she knew Fury was a passive supporter at best of the program, although he never argued against the program, he had always been reluctant to provide it with resources.
"Sir? Is that really a priority right now?" Hill asked hesitantly as they approached the heavy double doors that a bright bluish light was seeping through its cracks.
"Until such a time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on." Fury halted them in their tracks and then fixed Hill with a serious look. "We will need that equipment in case the worse is to happen. So, I need you to clear out the tech below, every piece of Phase on a truck and gone, is that understood?"
"Yes sir." Hill gave a little sigh and looked like she wanted to continue the argument but she swallowed her words, giving Fury a nod of acceptance.
Fury looked at Hill as she then turned her back to him then headed back the way they came to descend further into the bowels of the facility. He released a deep sigh once she was out of sight, Fury hated that he had to prioritise the equipment over people, but given how things had gone with Kal and the fire he was taking from the council, he truly believed he would need that equipment. Fury then straightened himself up and walked over to the heavy double doors, pushing them open firmly, providing a confident scene as he strode into the testing chamber.
"With me men, standard holding pattern." As he entered he was greeted by a small security team that was evidently waiting for him, the half dozen heavily armed men gave him curt respectful nods.
With his words, the men filled in behind him as he strode past, each one of them in lockstep as if they were mechanical men. It filled Fury with no amount of small pride at the professionalism his agents had, even with the facility threatening to blow up any second, they all fell in perfectly behind him. As Fury pushed deeper into the testing room he was greeted by several more security agents and more than a dozen scientists with various pieces of equipment testing the Tesseract.
"Talk to me doctor" Fury's loud commanding voice cut through the small whispers the scientists were passing between each other as they compared notes.
"Director." Selvig's voice sounded out from behind the tesseract, he quickly moved to one side to see Fury, lowering a pair of heavily tinted goggles as he did. The first thing Fury noted was the look of exhaustion on Selvig's face that bright blueish light of the Tesseract was illuminating.
"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury cut straight to the case, feeling that time was not on their side as he looked at the Tesseract that was pulsating with an almost life-like quality.
"The Tesseract is misbehaving," Selvig stated in a completely honest voice as he too cast a quick glance at the glowing pulsating cube.
"Is that supposed to be funny? Because doctor my agent tells me this thing could wipe out Nevada." Fury stated bluntly in no mood for levity of any kind.
"Not funny at all. The Tesseract's not active she's…...well the only word I have for it is behaving." Selvig's voice was completely honest and also filled with a deep hint of tiredness and frustration"And your agent is wrong, about the Tesseract wiping out Nevada."
"So, we are in no danger?" Fury asked raising his eyebrows slightly as he looked at the cube not feeling at all safe.
"Oh no, we 100% are in danger. It's just with the Tesseract's current power build-up if it goes off there won't be a minimum safe distance the explosion. The explosion will crack the earth's mantle, killing well everything." Selvig answered looking rightly worried at the results he and his team had come up with.
"Fantastic, I assume you pulled the plug?" Fury asked in all seriousness, the little science he recalled and understood on the Tesseract, stated that they needed a slight power input into the tesseract, to begin with, to then draw power out.
"There is no plug sir, not anymore. The Tesseract is its own energy source, the previous methods aren't working anymore. We turn the power off, she turns it back on." Selvig answered his voice full of frustration as he lead Fury over to a series of consoles that displayed the Tesseract on it.
"We have prepared for this Doctor, harnessing energy from Space is the whole point of this project." Fury pointed out, that although he was worried that the Tesseract had just started pumping out power it was the actual of the project.
"Yes, except we don't have the harness yet." Selvig let out a deep frustrated sigh as he reached one of the consoles gesturing to it. "My calculations are nowhere near complete, and even if they were there is no way we could harness even a tenth of the power the Tesseract is now pumping out. And she is throwing out interference low-level amounts of Gama Radiation, don't worry it's harmless"
"That can be harmful." Fury stated bluntly at Selvig's casual dismissal of the Gama Radiation emissions, a very clear image of Doctor Banner in his head. Fury let out his own frustrated sigh finding this whole situation was getting on his last nerve. "Where is agent Barton?"
Selvig let out a small little scoff and pointed over his shoulder to the back of the testing room. "The Hawk? Up in his nest as usual."
"Agent Barton report now." Fury merely tapped the comm device in his ear to connect to one of his most talented agents to report to him.
As soon as the words left his mouth Fury saw Barton move, he was as swift and graceful as ever. Leaping off the beam he had been squatting on before effortless parkouring down a series of pipes to land on the floor. Fury felt slightly bad about Barton's situation, Clint had meant to be on an assignment with Romanoff in Eastern Europe but he had delegated Barton to a babysitting assignment following the whole Kal situation a year ago. It was partially a punishment, but it was also to keep Barton out of the field for a while so that he didn't encounter Kal and possibly expose the whole fake cover story Fury had made along with the fact that they had harboured the alien for almost a year.
"Agent Barton, when I assigned you to this position it was so that you could keep a close eye on things." Fury reprimanded Barton slightly as the man came in front of him and stood at attention before his superior.
"Well, sir. I see better from a distance." Barton replied his voice slightly more informal than it should have been with his superior.
Fury's eyes narrowed slightly as he appraised Barton for a second before a smirk appeared on the spymasters face. "Well then, have you seen anything that might have set this thing off?"
"Doctor Selvig its spiking again." A female scientist's voice called out catching everyone's attention for a moment, before Clint offered his response.
"No one has come or gone. Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IMs. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't on this end." Clint offered his view on the matter at hand as he and Fury moved over to stand in front of the Tesseract.
"At this end?" Fury asked curious at Barton's choice of words looking at his senior agent wanting an explanation as to what he meant.
"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space or something like that, right?" Barton asked his arms crossed over his chest whilst looking at the cube. Fury responded with a small nod as what Barton had said was the case as he understood it. "Well, doors in my experience open from both sides."
Fury opened his mouth to reply when suddenly the whole building started to shake and the Tesseract stopped pulsating and started to spark off energy. Fury and Barton quickly moved out of the way, years of training kicking in as huge sparks of crackling blue energy started to crack all over the room. There was a brief moment of absolute calm and silence as the Tesseract became dull for a second, allowing Selvig to give a sigh of relief before the room exploded into light.
A large cracking sound emitted throughout the room as a pulse and a beam of pure blue energy fired from the Tesseract hitting the far wall away from everyone else. As the beam struck it turned in on itself and became a swirling vortex that started to drag things in towards it. Several loose folders and chairs flew into the air, struck the vortex as if it a magnet pulling them in as they touched the bluish vortex they were crushed.
The cracking sound in the room started to amplify becoming higher and higher in pitch as the vortex grew large and Fury started to see stars and nebulas appearing in the bluish light. Suddenly the beam stopped and the Vortex exploded unleashing a tidal wave of blue light, that washed over everything. As the light dissipated Fury quickly looked around and saw that the light had seemingly not done any harm, it hadn't even pushed anything back. However, Fury's vision soon fixated on where the beam had struck as there were now two figures kneeling on the platform in front of the wall the beam had struck.
Smouldering bluish fire burning off of them, their presence immediately caused the security personnel in the room to room forward and take up a holding pattern waiting for Fury's signal to engage. As Fury looked at the figures they stood up, the first one was a slender man with long black unkempt locks, wearing a green golden robe-like armour and carrying a sceptre with a noticeable blade at its tip.
However, it was the other man that drew Fury's attention the man was wearing a strange obsidian black crystalline armour that looked tailor-made to fit him, with a long black billowing cape behind him. His face, however, was not visible as it was covered by a helmet that had a skull-like appearance, which combined with the armour's jagged edges made for an ominous sight. It was not however the helmet nor the amour that drew Fury's eye it was the strange glyph in a diamond crest on the man's chest that was eerily familiar to another strange visitor Fury knew which was drawing his attention.
Also, the fact that the second man was no longer just standing he was hovering off the ground slightly, in another manner Fury had seen before. A manner that was currently filling Fury with an ominous sense of dread.
Fury's observation of the men was cut short as he noticed the security personnel in the room start moving forward raising their weapons at the intruders. However, instead of showing any signs of hesitation or alarm at having weapons pointed at them, the two individuals had very different reactions. The floating one merely cocked his head slightly to one side as if the approaching men were a mere curiosity instead of a danger. Whilst the slender standing individual holding the sceptre merely gave a gleeful smirk, as a dark ominous glint appeared in his eye that Fury found troubling.
"Sir please put down the spear." Fury moved forward his voice sounding both commanding but also calm as well not wanting to sound overly threatening to the individuals that had just arrived.
The slender figure merely just looked at the item in his hand then at the men around him, his eyes at first glance seemed deranged but Fury saw something deeper at work, an intelligence. The man was assessing the room and before Fury could say another word the man lifted the spectre in his hand up and a beam of energy erupted forth. The blast would have struck Fury if not for Clint's faster reaction diving into his boss and pushing the man out of the way, as the beam struck the console behind them causing it to disintegrate into bluish ash.
As Fury raised his head, he watched the slender spear-wielding figure lead into the air as his men opened fire on him. It quickly became apparent that their weapons were useless as their bullets simply bounced off of him leading to a very quick and brutally one-sided fight. The sickening sound of bones snapping like twigs and organs being ruptured reach Fury's ears as the spear-wielding figure literally tore his men apart.
"Kigh, Kat ulo pesh tan-kro i-ea qum-yuus ge-wh laro" The strange alien sounds came from the floating individual who had yet to move from his position. Although Fury couldn't understand the man's words it was clear by his tone that the man was bored or at least unimpressed
"I know, my friend, but they merely requi-" The spear-wielding figure's response was cut short when Barton who had moved off of Fury, and joined the fight, had managed to slip next to the man and unleash a full clip into the side of the man's head.
Barton's eyes didn't widen when the bullets didn't work instead his hand immediately to his side and snapped out one of his batons. Clint moved with lightning speed and then started to strike the man with a quick succession of blows that did even less than his bullets had. Clint's brief fight came to an end when the man before merely snapped out his hand and lifted Barton up by his neck.
"You have heart, mortal. Good, it will be useful in your service to me." The man merely moved his sceptre up and touched Barton lightly on the chest.
A bluish yellowish energy came forth from the sceptre and before Barton knew what was happening his mind was suddenly becoming crystal clear. His eyes went inky black for a moment before they cleared just like his mind, he then stood at ease before his new master understanding the purpose of his existence.
Whilst this was happening Fury had subtly moved over towards the Tesseract, retrieving a portable transport case for it as he edged his way over. Barton's attack on the man slaughtering their men hadn't been one of vain glory but instead had been a distraction to allow Fury to take the Tesseract and go. However, as Fury was about to leave using the cover of the man using his strange spectre on more men he was stopped by the man's voice.
"Please don't." The man's voice was quiet and calm despite the fact he had just killed more than a dozen men and his hands were covered in blood. "I still need that."
"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury stated forcibly half turning his body so that he was looking at the man but had the tesseract on the other side of his body.
"Eh se-Alko Yi-nG I-oC" Fury's head snapped to the floating figure who had moved from his initial position and was now hovering on the other side of Fury. As before Fury did not understand the words being spoken, but the man's voice was now a tone of humour and lightness that Fury found disconcerting given the circumstances.
"What did he say?" Fury asked turning his eyes back to the other man, wanting to know what was being said.
However, just after Fury spoke his eyes darted back to the man as a flash of red occurred and Fury suddenly felt a strange sensation on his left hand that was holding the case containing the Tesseract. Looking down Fury saw that the case was now on the floor and that he also no longer possessed his upper left forearm, instead, a smouldering stump was all that remained.
"He said 'of course, it does'" The spear-wielding figure moved forward faster than Fury could blink, and then kicked Fury square in the chest sending the man flying back and crashing into a wall. The man then strode forward to stand over Fury who was slumped against the wall he struck, as Clint moved in behind him and picked up the case. "We've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
"Loki, brother of Thor and Kal?" Erik Selvig's voice sounded out as he appeared from behind a destroyed console looking at the speaking interloper.
"Wh-why are you doing this we have no quarrel with your people." Fury managed to speak despite the immense pain he was feeling all over his body, especially since the adrenaline in his system was starting to wear off.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot, but fear not for I come with glad tidings of a world made free." Loki stepped forward and started to move as if he was on a grand stage giving a rehearsed speech.
"Fr-free fr-from what?" Fury asked as he coughed up some blood as he stared daggers at Loki, not likely what the man was saying in the least.
Loki scoffed at Fury's feeble words and the poor state he was in as if the answer was obvious. "Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart" As Loki spoke, he turned abruptly around and touched Selvig's chest just as he had done with Clint causing the Doctor's eyes to become inky black. "You will know peace."
"You say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing." Fury's voice became more determined and controlled as he pushed through the pain, standing up on wobbly legs.
"For many death is peace." Fury's head turned to the floating man who had removed his hand, who was now speaking English as he landed next to Loki. "We must go, kill him and let us get underway."
"You are right, General, Barton, is it?" Loki turned his head to Barton who turned to his master and gave a nod. "Good, kill him and then show us the way out."
Without even hesitating Barton lifted his backup gun from its holster and shot Fury squarely in the chest causing the man to collapse backwards again. "Sirs, if you will follow him there are vehicles this way."
Fury laid still for a few moments as he heard the retreating footsteps of Loki, the black armoured general and his enthralled people before he let out a gasping breath and sat up. He cursed slightly as fresh pain erupted in his chest as he dug out the flattened bullet from his bulletproof vest. His hand immediately moved to his comm device and tapped it twice trying to get a signal.
"Hill, Coulson, anyone, if you can read me Barton is compromised. I repeat Barton is compromised." Fury started moving at speed as he stood up chasing after them towards the vehicle pool. "They have the Tesseract, shut them down now!"
Fury wasn't sure anyone was listening to him or could even hear him as he felt his body start to protest as he reached the top of the stairs and managed to reach the helicopter he had arrived in. With the last piece of strength he had, he ran into the passenger hold of the Helicopter and signalled the pilot to get moving."
"KRRRRSTZZZ- Sir, do you copy we have managed to evacuate. DO you copy Sir?" Coulson's concerned voice came over the radio causing Fury to give a small sigh of relief and grab a headset next to him as the helicopter took off.
"Coulson do you have eyes on Barton or Hill?" Fury spoke over the radio trying to stifle the painful groan that was building in his lungs.
"Sir, the last visual I had was Hill pursuing Barton west out of the compound," Coulson reported in, causing Fury to slam his one good remaining arm on the Helicopters wall to get the pilot's attention to then point them west.
The pilot acquiesced to Fury's orders turning the Helicopter west just as the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility exploded, a result of the built-up Tesseract energy and Loki's strange portal. Causing the Helicopter to shake slightly and Fury to stare down in failure at what had once been his prized project. Fury's hand immediately went into his coat pocket, a greater hassle now that he was one-handed and retrieved a pager-like device from his pocket, he clumsy pressed a series of buttons before he saw his message sent.
"Sir, four o'clock." The pilot's voice sounded over the headset causing Fury to look at the direction the pilot had pointed out.
Fury saw a vehicle with two men standing in the back both matches for Loki and the black-clad general that had just murdered his men and took his hand. Fury gave the signal for the pilot to get in front of them and once in position, he pushed open the side door and levelled his pistol at the car. He was cursing at the loss of his hand as he was not able to steady himself as he used to but still managed to squeeze off a shot that hit the car's front windshield.
However, his moment of triumph was short-lived as a pair of red beams erupted from the black armoured man's head and cut the tail off of his helicopter. Fury hung on for dear life as the helicopter entered an uncontrollable spin as it first hurtled and then crashed into the earth. Fury's world went black for a few moments before his eyes suddenly opened and he found himself upside down in the crashed helicopter.
Fury undid his belt and grunted slightly as he landed on the ground but working off of pure adrenaline he pushed himself up and forced his way out of the wreckage. He cast his gaze around it was still night so not too much time had passed but he couldn't see any trace of Loki or the vehicle he had been riding in. The sound of trucks and vehicles caused Fury to turn round and reach for his weapon but found that it was no longer there.
"Director Fury?! Are you okay sir?" Coulson's sounded from one of the lead vehicles and Fury saw the man scrambled out of the passenger seat of the truck rush up to him. "Thank god, sir, when we lost contact we thought that - …. MEDIC!"
Coulson's shout caused Fury to look at the man briefly in confusion before he looked down at his missing hand and the fact that he was covered in cuts and bruises. Fury suddenly felt the energy leave his body as he slumped forward, Coulson's rush forward and grabbing of him the only thing preventing Fury from hitting the ground.
"Coulson?" Fury asked his voice quiet as he barely had any energy left in his body. "Did we lose the Tesseract?"
"…Yes, sir, we did. Do you want me to call in Kal, Stark and the others?" Coulson asked as he moved Fury back towards the waiting vehicles as a team of Medics moved to meet them.
"Call them in, Stark, Banner, Romanoff and the Captain." Fury's laboured breaths grew more rapid as pain started to overtake him. But before he went over to the medics, he gripped Coulson's shirt and brought the man in close. "But DON'T call in Kal for the moment, no matter what happens."
Coulson gently handed Fury over to a pair of medics who were already starting to check his wounds and bandage the charred stump which was his left hand. "Understood sir, but surely, we should bring in Kal? In light of what just happened, you were the one that wanted to make sure we could call him in, in case of emergency."
Fury briefly pushed the medics off of him and lowered the oxygen mask they had placed on his face, looking Coulson directly in the eyes. "That was before Kal's big brother just kicked in our front door, with a friend with exactly the same powers as him and took our stuff. I want to be dead certain he isn't in on this before I bring in another alien, is that understood?"
Coulson's eyes went wide at Fury's statement, but he quickly readjusted himself and gave his superiors a nod of his head. "Yes sir, I'll get everyone brought in and get eyes on Kal as soon as I can."
As Coulson turned and left, Fury's hand went back into his inner jacket pocket as the Medic's started working on him. He looked down at the pager-like device that was thankfully still intact and still transmitting, his mind racing with the worst-case scenario."
"Emergencies only," Fury whispered as he looked down at the Pager remembering Carrol's words as he then looked up and saw the smouldering ruins of his facility, which was caused by Kal's brother. "Well, captain, this is certainly one of those."
(Southeast Asia – The Republic of Rheelasia – May 1, 2012)
Kal was moving a large shipping container that was filled with medical supplies from one of the medical ships off the coast to the emergency shelter the government had set up in the wake of the Tsunami. Despite what the people of Midgard said about him Kal was not largely able to prevent natural disasters, what he mostly did was either respond when they occurred or help in the aftermath.
As Kal landed placing the shipping container gently on the ground a small group of people mostly foreign volunteers came forward to take the supplies. However, as Kal looked around, he saw a number of people wearing blue armbands with his crest in red on their arms. They were members of a growing group of Midgardians who had dedicated themselves to following his example of helping others, they called themselves the Servants of Light or more worryingly the Children of Kal. Whilst Kal did not mind that he was inspiring people to help, he was starting to become worried by the growing fanaticism he was seeing in his so-called followers.
"Thank you, son, your help has made all this possible. God Bless you." The speaker was Father John Francis Moore, a man in his late forties with greying hair, who had a heavy Irish accent and made the sign of the cross politely at Kal.
Kal had come to know the man well during his time in the region, Father Moore was a religious leader in the area and had been instrumental in getting together food drives, foreign aid and organising local help in the wake of the disaster. He was a little preachy at times, talking about a strange god, and Kal found some of Moore's beliefs slightly strange, but overall, he liked the man and found a good friend in him. However, as Kal moved to respond to the Priest who had helped nearly organise everything present, he was cut off by a young woman wearing one of the blue arms bands.
"He needs no blessings old man, from a false deity" The woman's voice was harsh as she stared daggers at the Priest, however as she turned to look at Kal her eyes became wide and full of devotion. "For he is a true god, come from the Realm Eternal to show us the true path of glory."
Kal again opened his mouth this time to chastise the young woman who was staring at him with a troubling amount of devotion but was again cut off but this time by Father Moore. The elder Priest moved in front of Kal and gave the young woman a kind and understanding look, which caused her gaze of admiration to turn to a deeper scowl than before as the priest blocked her view of Kal.
"Well, my child, thank you for letting me know. Bless you, for your aid here today." Father Moore's voice was entirely sincere and gave her another sign of the cross. The young woman moved to reply likely with a scathing comment but was prevented from doing so by Moore turning around suddenly and addressing Kal. "Now, Kal my friend, can I speak to you quickly."
Kal quickly nodded and moved off with Father Moore away from the shipping container and the members of the relief effort that were coming to get the supplies. They walked a little way in silent before Kal turned and looked at his new friend, releasing a deep sigh and apologetic look on his face.
"My apologies, my friend, she had no right to -" Kal began his voice pensive and apologetic as looked over his shoulder at the large group of people wearing the blue arms gathering around the medical supplies he brought.
"To defend her beliefs, it is quite alright." Father Moore cut of Kal with a simple smile and a wave of his hand. "I mean I'm a Catholic Missionary Priest in Southeast Asia I am hardly one to judge having strong opinions on faith."
Father Moore turned to look at Kal and saw that his words had not removed the look of uneasiness on Kal's face. He was still pensive, silent and despite Moore's words had an apologetic look on his face. Moore had been a priest long enough and travelled the world enough to be able to gage even what was on a so-called 'gods' mind.
"AH," Moore said largely with the dramatic effect only a priest could do, causing Kal to look at him with curiosity. "It's less so what the woman said than what she represents then? Uncomfortable with the worship being sent your way."
Kal opened his mouth to argue against the Priests statement but stopped himself realising that the mortal's statement had hit the nail on the head. Releasing a deep sigh Kal nodded, "I am not unused to worship, just last time I was not constantly around so it wasn't too difficult to ignore. It is also that I find them a little to….."
"Zealous?" Father Moore guessed finishing off Kal's trailing sentence as the God struggled to think of the right word.
"Indeed," Kal confirmed with a nod, as he then turned his head slightly to overlook the relief camp they had set up.
The two were now standing on a hill a little way away from the main campsite, so they were able to see the full scope of both their efforts. There were miles of orderly tents, stretching off into the distance, providing, food, shelter, medicine and anything else people needed in their time of distress. Kal could also see the order and cohesion of the camp, everyone was working and knew what needed to be done, it almost reminded him of an Asgardian Military Camp with how orderly it was.
However, Kal's mind did not linger long as he turned back to his friend. "Apologies, you wanted to talk to me about something."
"Hmmm, oh YES." Father Moore seemed lost in his own world as well as he too looked over the relief camp. "I was going to talk to you about clearing another area just south of the ridge, more people are coming in and we need the space."
Kal turned, looking south his vision peering through the ridge and saw the area that his friend was suggesting. It was mostly flat and level, slightly elevated so there was no risk of it flooding if the water level rose, all that needed to be cleared was a few ruined houses and some fallen trees. In all it was ideal for their needs, causing Kal to really appreciate the aid others were giving him as it saved him time scouting the area and could straight to work.
"The area is suitable, I'll get clearing once I have unloaded the rest of the suppl-" Kal suddenly stopped talking his head snapping to the right his vision fixated to the Northeast.
"Kal what is it?" Father Moore asked alarmed at the sudden change in Kal's demeanour, his alien friend had gone deathly quiet and his face was a mixture of worry and disbelief.
Kal did not respond to his friend instead he suddenly rocketed into the air and headed northeast, his departure so swift and powerful that it knocked Father Moore backwards. Kal's alarm was a result that his sense just felt a massive shift in the earth's natural energy fields, a very powerful shift the like of which he had never experienced before. Which was also accompanied by his senses signalling that something was present on Midgard.
What exactly it was he did not know, but what he did know was every genetic fibre of his being was screaming at him that something had arrived.
"Kelex I've just felt a shift in the natural Energies of Midgard. Please tell me the fortress is dedicating something." Kal's voice spoke out communicating through his newly enhanced suit to the robotic caretaker he had created for the fortress.
"Yes, master Kal. The Fortress' sensors are detecting a large explosion of cosmic energy its signature matches that of the space Singularity I believe that someone has created a cosmic tear using it." Kelex's mechanical voice sounded in Kal's head a result of Kryptonian technology that Kal was still getting used to.
Kal's mind went into overdrive he had known that the Tesseract was on Midgard and had looked for it but aside from a few random energy readings Jor-El and the fortress had detected nothing. So, his search had largely been a side affair as although Humans might know how to mask its energy, Kal believed they were not advanced enough or stupid enough to try and use it. So he believed he had time to find it. However, with the fluctuations, he was feeling in Midgard's energy fields that had clearly been a mistake, one he prayed did not cost the mortals of their world.
(Several Miles outside the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility – 10 minutes after Loki's arrival)
As Kal flew in from the east, he went low and fast once he was over the desert to mask his approach wary of altering anyone to his presence before he wanted to. However, as he came closer to where his sense was screaming that both the Tesseract and something else was calling him to, he saw several explosions in the distance. Kal abandoned stealth pushing himself to move faster and the world to slow to a craw, a great cloud of dust exploding in his wake.
As Kal reached the focus of his sense he suddenly stopped his vision focusing on a Midgardian vehicle driven by two men he knew, Clint Barton and Doctor Erik Selvig. However, Kal's focus was not on these two men nor the Tesseract that he could see in a case on Selvig's lap know his eyes were drawn to the passenger reading on the back of the truck.
It was his brother Loki, his hair was longer and slightly unkempt, he was wielding a strange sceptre-like spear and had a smirking grin Kal had never seen on his brother's face before. But there was no denying, that it was Loki before him.
Kal planted himself in front of the vehicle abruptly causing Clint to hit the brakes and swerve slightly stopping just in front of Kal, the very edge of the front of the Car touching Kal's knee.
"Loki?" Kal asked in disbelief his vision solely focused on his brother whom he thought he would never see again, to the exclusion of all else.
However, before Kal could say anything else he suddenly felt something strike his chest a very familiar explosion of twin red beams struck him with enough force that it burnt the front of his amour and sent him flying backwards. As Kal struck the ground he looked up in disbelief at the black armoured figure that he had just noticed at his brother's side whose helmets slits glowed an ominous familiar red.
"Sorry dear brother a little busy, but we will be seeing each other very soon." Loki gave Kal a playful smirk and wave of his hand like they had just seen each other yesterday and were catching up.
However, it was the second figure, who when he spoke in a strange tongue that Kal somehow knew was his birth tongue, the language of the long-deceased world of Krypton, that captivated his attention and filled him with dread.
"We will speak soon son of El … It is our destiny." The armoured man's voice was strange to Kal's ears, it was authoritative and commanding, but also raspy and sounded almost sickly.
Kal moved to stand up and was about to respond when suddenly a cosmic blue light suddenly burst forth in front of him engulfing the vehicle. Suddenly Kal found himself standing alone in the middle desert the vehicle gone and no sign of his brother, his two friends or the black armoured man who spoke Kryptonian.
Kal was silent for a moment before he took to the skies and headed to his Fortress a sense of reading filling him. As he felt that a great storm had come to ravage Midgard and all that stood between the mortals and the void was him.