Science and Magick (LokixOC)

Chapter One

For the entirety of Zoë's eight month stay in the United States she had been able to avoid most forms of media just as she was told to. It was all American propaganda that would either simply annoy her or distract her from her goals anyway, but today was different. She had felt on edge since the moment her alarm went off this morning. Her entire body was poised, ready for something. The atmosphere charged with static.

She was stood scanning the stacks in the university's library when it began. The screaming.

"Quick! Someone turn on the news!" A desperate young woman pleaded as she ran into the once peacefully silent building.

A domino effect of worried expressions spread throughout the room as the librarian flicked on the TV at her desk. Within seconds of the screen flashing on, the room filled with sounds of chaos and war.

"This is not a drill, this is not a joke, New York City is under attack. By aliens" the presenter reported. Any other day Zoë would have laughed, amused with the dramatisation and idiocy of this country but as she stood there watching the clip of a portal being opened in the sky and alien forces pouring out she knew this wasn't falsified.

Zoë dropped the book she had been in the process of taking from the shelf and sprinted out of the library. She had to see it with her own eyes. She had to know. There was this invisible force tugging at her, pulling her towards the devastation that everyone was running away from. When she came to the final road block she recognised that this was one of those moments she had been trained for in Hydra. One of those moments where you had to override your fear and make the decision that could result in your death.

Not only was there that force pulling at her very core but she could also only imagine the praise she would receive if she were able to give a full report on the situation to her superiors, not to mention if she could see how this hole in the sky was created.

She looked around, assessing her surroundings and how she could slip through the barricades, in all honesty it was a lot easier than it should have been. The security measures of the NYPD was really quite pitiful.

She followed through a set of alleyways and finally stumbled into the opening, she knew to stay off the streets however so she stayed where she was while she processed her next moves. She was a lot closer to the action now, strange aircrafts flew only four flights above where she stood and the danger of the situation made adrenaline buzz through her veins. This was a far cry from the serenity of a lab that Zoë was used to but, while unmistakably foreign, it was positively addictive. Her thirst to get closer to the eye of the storm grew and she couldn't help the wide grin spreading across her cheeks.

Zoë peaked up at the sky and saw the portal was probably about six or seven blocks away, she was closer than she had thought. Of course it was hanging high above Stark tower. A disgusting display of wealth and ego. Surprisingly however, she didn't despise Stark as much as she did Captain America, in fact there were some things she rather admired about the man. He was after all a genius, reading about his work was actually quite enjoyable. She also enjoyed how he seemed to be loyal to himself rather than America, that was much more preferable than Steve Rogers and his disgusting devotion to falsehoods. When she had heard the news that he had been uncovered from the ice, that despite all the odds he had survived and the Red Scull had died for nothing? She knew her decision to go to the US was the right one. She would take everything from them just as they had taken everything from her family. If she could understand the exact serum her great grandfather had used, maybe she could find a way to reverse it. That would be true vengeance.

Swallowing her personal vendetta, Zoë refocused on the task at hand. As she was staring at the sky a chorus of distorted animalistic howls ricocheted throughout the garden of concrete trees. That's when the true force spilled from the portal. Zoë's breath caught in her chest at the sight of the enormous sea life looking creatures swimming through the sky. For just a moment she allowed herself a weakness, none of her training at Hydra could have prepared her to see that. She allowed the fear to course through her, using it to strengthen her motives and heighten her adrenaline.