Special Agent 2: The Dark Soldier

Chapter 53

The blinding, blurred colors of the Bifrost surrounded DiNozzo as they were carried back toward earth. It took only a minute before they were landing in an old park, most of them staggering slightly on landing. No matter how many times he did that, DiNozzo just couldn't get used to traveling via the Bifrost.

As soon as they regained their balance, Gibbs, DiNozzo, Bishop, Rogers, McGee, and Kate took off running, attempting to distance themselves from the Bifrost markings as quickly as possible. Rogers led the way toward the address he had given Heimdall, the address of a friend he trusted. DiNozzo kept his hand on his gun the entire time, ready to draw and fire if SHIELD or HYDRA or whoever they really were turned up to fight. But they saw no one, which only made DiNozzo more uneasy.

When they reached the house of Rogers' friend, Gibbs and the captain walked up to the door, the others standing on the walkway and lawn, lurking in the dark shadows. DiNozzo kept glancing behind him, expecting somebody to pop out at any moment and attack them. But nobody did, and he wasn't sure if he was reassured or unsettled by that.

Slowly, the door creaked open. "Yes?" he heard a familiar voice say. He frowned, trying to place the voice, but he was unable to.

"We need some aid," Rogers was telling him. "Someplace to lay low for a bit."

There was a moment of silence, and then, "Come in."

Gibbs glanced back at DiNozzo and nodded, and he, Bishop, McGee, and Kate walked up the porch steps to enter the house behind Rogers and Gibbs. As they walked past the guy holding the door, DiNozzo glanced at him and his eyes widened.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You're the guy from the track by the Washington Monument!"

Sam Wilson started back, looking from DiNozzo to Bishop. "You're friends with the guy who runs backwards," he remembered. "Loki. Where is he?"

"Long story," Bishop said lamely, as Wilson shut the door behind them, locking it firmly.

There was a long moment of silence. "Okay, then," Wilson said, gazing around at the group of people in his foyer. "You know, you can migrate to the living room if you wish. The furniture doesn't bite."

"The last guy who told me that was lying," McGee told Wilson pointblank, and DiNozzo bit back a grim laugh. He remembered that fight with Loki, shortly after he arrived, where the god had punched DiNozzo and then bit McGee's hand when the agent tried to restrain him. Even Bishop smiled slightly at the memory.

Regardless, the group moved into the living room, slumping down onto chairs and the sofa. Wilson stood in the entrance, arms folded, his expression curious but wary. "Okay, I have to ask," he began. "I know you're all wanted by SHIELD for crimes against the state of some sort – they were very vague about what you did – but what, exactly, is going on? And Steve, why did you come here?"

Slowly and very disjointedly, they all walked Wilson through the story, with the exception of Kate. DiNozzo kept glancing over at her as the others talked, marveling at how much was still the same about her. Her hair was still brown and kept at shoulder length, her eyes still the same dark hue, her features still those he had known when she was with NCIS. But the strip of metal running across her forehead and covered by the hair on her temples was so foreign, it made DiNozzo feel like he was viewing a copy of his former partner, one of Loki's illusions that would fade or morph into its true self if he got too close.

Now, once again, she was their ally, but an ally that had gone through hell to get there. Kate had been experimented on, brought back to life in order to become a super-agent for HYDRA. For years, DiNozzo had thought her dead. And then he had been forced to look on her as an enemy.

Now how did he see her?

"So what is your plan now?" Wilson was asking, drawing DiNozzo's attention back to the matter at hand.

"We head to New Jersey," Gibbs said quietly. "We got a tip, about a place called Camp Lehigh, and need to check it out."

"We'll split up," Rogers suggested. "Gibbs, McGee, and I will go to Lehigh. The rest of you can head back to Ghost Street, meet up with Torres and Jane Foster. We'll rejoin you once we investigate Heimdall's tip."

Wilson glanced around the room. "I can help," he stated seriously. "During my time in the Air Force, I worked on the project involving the EX0-7 Falcon." He sighed. "And I know where I can get the wingsuit."

****

"These readings are way too consistent to be the result of portals," Jane muttered, furrowing her brow at the dark matter scanner in her hands. Torres sat by the door, Romanoff positioned by the window. Ian was rummaging through their food supplies while Darcy napped in the corner, someone's jacket pillowed under her head.

"Then what are they?" Torres asked, frowning.

Jane glanced up at him, laying the scanner down on her lap. "I don't know. All I know is that the dark matter is being contained in some way. But I don't know for what. It could just be another anomaly of Ghost Street."

Torres felt like something just dawned on him. "Could the readings be due to a lab?" he asked slowly. "Like, dark matter being held for testing or something?"

"Definitely a possibility," Jane told him, shifting her position.

"There's a SHIELD research lab here," Torres said, shifting into a crouch. Rising, he glanced down at Jane. "And where the dark matter is, the lab is. Are you able to find it?"