Fire and Ice

•3•

Kate returns to the center of the base after talking to Coulson, looking at the hammer in a whole new light. She's trying to keep an open mind for all possibilities, but her skepticism for the Thor explanation is slowly fading. That man knew too much to be delusional, right? And the hammer — as well as its symbols, foreign particles, and fulgurites — is clearly real. Not to mention the storm, and the man within it.

As Kate, Dave, and Francesca are working, there soon comes an odd energy spike, not unlike the one from the storm. But it's weaker, and fifteen miles northwest of the hammer. Kate, using her now-clean walkie talkie, contacts Coulson. "You guys saw that, right?"

"Yeah. We're going now. Hurry up; you're coming with."

"On my way," Kate replies. She turns to Dave and Francesca. "Keep researching. I'll be back soon." She rushes to the main area, getting in the passenger side of the nearest car. Coulson gets in the driver's side, and a few vans and cars follow.

After a few minutes of driving, base contacts them. "Hey, Garrett and Cale just called in some oddly dressed people walking through town."

"Oddly dressed?" Kate asks.

"The exact description was, 'Xena, Jackie Chan, and Robin Hood.'"

Kate's brows furrow, trying to picture it. She glances at Coulson, who glances back. "Citizens of Asgard?" He's half joking. Kate only shrugs.

After a few more minutes, they reach the site, finding a strange pattern in the sand — circular, intricate. It puts Kate in the mind of the Norse Mythology drawings.

"Get somebody from Linguistics out here," Coulson instructs as Kate crouches on the outside of the circle.

"I need a sample of this," she says, wanting to test the chemical composition, compare it to the sand tower the hammer created.

Coulson turns behind him to other agents. "Somebody get her the supplies from base." One of the agents nods and takes off in a car as a storm begins to brew overhead.

The dark clouds churn with lightning, stirring up wind. They quickly form into a funnel-shape, and the ground begins to shake. Like the first storm. Coulson puts a hand on Kate's shoulder, pulling her back as she stands. "Well that's not good," she comments.

She, Coulson, and the other agents take cover behind cars and vans, waiting only a few moments before the funnel hits the ground, then quickly retracts. It leaves a large monster-robot-type thing, dark and formidable in its wake. Human shape, but decidedly not human.

"Oh, my stars," Kate whispers.

"Ditto," Coulson replies.

If this thing is metal as she suspects, it's going to take a while for her to melt it down. This isn't going to be easy, unless there's a person inside that they can get out.

Kate swallows. "Is that one of Stark's?"

"I don't think so," Coulson says. "That guy never tells me anything." He steps out from behind the car, taking a megaphone from Sitwell and drawing himself up in front of the robot, which approaches with thundering footsteps. "Hello! You're using unregistered weapons technology. Identify yourself." The robot doesn't answer but stops walking, and Coulson mutters, "Here we go."

The robot's face begins to open on both sides of the metal bar down the center, and fire burns within it, showing through the metal pieces on its chest.

"Incoming!" Coulson shouts, running back to the car. Kate sighs deeply, inching closer to the front wheel, but Coulson pulls her back just as a blast of fire shoots from the robot's face and incinerates another car.