Otherwise Known As... | Bucky Barnes

Chapter (22) Twenty-Two ~ ...Agent Stark

Director Fury, Agent Hill, and I were currently on our way to our joint NASA base via helicopter. We got word that the Tesseract was acting up, and the whole base was now in the process of an emergency evacuation.

Fury's long coat waved dramatically in the wind as he stepped out, walking over to Agent Coulson. Maria, who had gotten out before Fury, was standing with the other Agent as I walked out behind Nick, being the last person to exit the helicopter.

"How bad is it?" The director asked, his voice raised to be heard over the propellers.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" I questioned as Coulson lead us to the proper elevator that would bring us to the correct destination, dodging running doctors and agents.

"Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago."

"NASA didn't authorize Selvig to go to test phase, did it?" Fury looked toward me as we walked.

"No sir." I shook my head.

"He wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous event."

"It just turned itself on?" Maria chimed in.

"Where are the energy levels now?" I asked.

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered evac."

"How long to get everyone out?" Fury questioned.

"Campus should be cleared in the next half hour."

"Do better." Coulson nodded at the order before turning and walking away.

"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Maria told Fury as we descended a long and winding staircase.

"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 2 prototypes are shipped out." Fury turned his head to Maria, who slowed behind us.

"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." Nick leaned on the new railing, looking down at Maria. "Clear out the tech below. Every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone."

"Yes, sir," Maria mumbled, walking up and past us on the small staircase. "With me." She told two lower agents near us.

"I told you keeping the Tesseract as a pet was a bad idea. We have no idea how to use it, let alone control it."

"Talk to me, Doctor." I rolled my eyes as Fury ignored me. He always did when it came to the shiny blue cube my brother found in the ocean.

"Director, Agent Stark." Selvig nodded, walking up to us.

"Is there anything we know for certain?"

"The Tesseract is misbehaving."

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Nick questioned as we walked to Selvig's little station.

"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...behaving."

"I assume you pulled the plug." I chimed in.

"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."

"But we don't have the harness," Selvig said once he got to his computer. "My calculations are far from complete. And she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation."

"That can be harmful," I mumbled as I looked at the Tesseract, remembering what Alex told me of her assignment with Doctor Bruce Banner before she was resigned.