Agent Maria Hill exited the chopper to find Phil Coulson waiting. Fury followed after her.
They were at a joint S.H.I.E.L.D/NASA facility designated to studying an object known as the Tesseract. An evacuation was currently in progress.
"How bad is it?" Fury asked.
"That's the problem, sir," Coulson said. "We don't know."
They moved to an elevator, which rushed down the various levels quickly.
"Doctor Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago," Coulson explained.
"NASA didn't authorize Selvig to go test it," Fury said.
"He wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous event."
"It just turned itself on?" Hill asked, surprised.
"Where are the energy levels now?" Fury asked.
"Climbing," Coulson stated. "When Selvig couldn't shut it down we ordered evac."
"How long to get everyone out?"
"Campus should be clear in the next half hour."
"Do better."
Coulson turned back and headed in the other direction, while Fury and Hill continued forward, towards Selvig's lab.
"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Hill advised.
"We should tell them to go back to sleep?"
"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy there may not be a minimum safe distance."
"I need you to make sure the phase two prototypes are shipped out."
"Sir, is that really a priority right now?"
"Until such time as the world ends we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of phase two on a truck and gone."
"Yes sir." She pointed to the guards. "With me."
Fury continued into Selvig's lab.
"Talk to me, Doctor."
"Director," Selvig regarded him.
"Is there anything we know for certain?"
"The Tesseract is misbehaving."
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's misbehaving."
"How soon can you pull the plug?"
"She's an energy source. We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level-"
"We prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from space."
"We don't have the harness. My calculations are far from complete. She's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of Gamma radiation."
"That can be harmful. Where's Agent Barton?"
"The Hawk? In his nest, as usual."
Fury looked up to see agent Clint Barton on a balcony above, then radioed for him to come down, which he did.
"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury said sternly.
"I see better from a distance," Clint said.
"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?"
Clint was interrupted as a NASA scientist called for Selvig. "Doctor! It's spiking again!"
Fury and Clint stepped up next to the machine containing the Tesseract.
"No one's come and gone," Clint said. "And Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IM. If there's any tampering, sir, it wasn't this end."
"This end?" Fury asked, a little confused.
"Yeah. The cube is a doorway to the other side of space, right? Doors open from both sides."
As he said it, the Tesseract began to spark. Then a second time. It continued sparking, faster each time, until a beam of energy shot out, opening a portal from which a single figure emerged, wielding a gold scepter that contained a blue gemstone.
He looked up, smiling wickedly.
"Sir, please put down the spear!" Fury shouted.
The man looked down at the scepter, then raised it, a blue beam of energy shooting out at Fury.
Clint pushed Fury out of the way as the man continued attacking the guards, leaping at them and dispatching them with great strength.
Clint moved to attack, but the man grabbed him first. "You have heart..."
He placed the tip of the scepter onto Clint's chest, mind-controlling him. He did so to more of the guards, and, seeing an opportunity, Fury grabbed the Tesseract and shut it in a briefcase.
"Please don't," The man said, turning to Fury. "I still need that."
"This doesn't have to get any messier."
"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."
Selvig heard this and approached. "Loki, brother of Thor?"
"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury said.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," Loki said.
"You planning to step on us?"
"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free."
"Free from what?"
"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart-" He placed the tip of the scepter to Selvig's chest. "You will know peace."
"Yeah, you say peace, but I think you mean the other thing."
Clint turned to Loki. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."
"Like the pharaoh of old," Fury said.
"Well then," Loki said.
Clint drew his gun and shot at Fury, who dropped the case. Loki, Slevig, Clint, and a few agents left the room.
Fury pulled out his radio. "Hill! Do you copy? Barton... has turned. Get the Tesseract. Shut them down."
As he rushed out of the building, the portal began to collapse, the debris missing him by a few inches. He rushed up the stairs and to the landing pad, where the last chopper was waiting for him.
Once he had boarded, the chopper lifted off, and the entire base exploded, crumbling in on itself, sinking down into the ground.
Fury saw Loki's truck and the chopper followed it, with Fury shooting at them from the sky. Loki blasted Fury's chopper, who jumped to the ground as the blast came. He continued to shoot after the truck from the ground, but unfortunately ran out of rounds.
"Director," Coulson's voice came from Fury's radio. "Director Fury, do you copy?"
"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down," Fury said. "Hill?"
Her voice came a moment later. "A lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors."
"Sound a general call," Fury ordered. "I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase.
"Roger that."
"Coulson," Fury said, "Get back to base. This is a level seven. As of right now, we are at war."
"What do we do?" Coulson asked.
YOU ARE READING
Not A Hero (MCU x Reader x Dark Knight Trilogy)
Fanfiction"Because some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." (Y/N) (L/N) watched his parents die when he was just a boy. Now, years later, he becomes...
