Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

THE AVENGERS: CHAPTER ONE

"Talk to me, Doctor." Nick Fury's voice echoed in the lab as he stepped through the door, scanning the facility. The Tesseract pulsed ominously ahead. Dr. Erik Selvig was emerging from behind a machine, his brow furrowed in concern. Agent Rhiley was right behind him, shooting Fury a look.

"Director."

"Fury," Rhiley added tersely.

Ignoring her, Fury turned to Selvig. "Is there anything we know for certain?"

"The Tesseract is misbehaving." Selvig's words were matter-of-fact, though tinged with anxiety.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury shot back.

"That's how Rhiley explained it," Selvig replied, glancing at her. "It's not only active. It's misbehaving."

Fury didn't seem amused. "How soon until you pull the plug?"

"We can't just pull the plug," Selvig explained, anxiety creeping into his voice. "The Tesseract is an energy source. If we turn it off, it turns itself back on. If it reaches peak levels—"

Rhiley cut in. "I tried to do something about it."

"She tried to grab it." Dr. Selvig added, clearly disappointed in what she had tried to do. 

Fury raised an eyebrow. "you tried to grab it?"

"I thought I could knock it out," Rhiley admitted. "It was worth a shot." 

"We've prepared for this, Doctor," Fury said, his tone more commanding. "Harnessing energy from space."

"We don't have the harness," Selvig responded quickly. "Our calculations are far from complete, and the Tesseract is throwing off interference. Radiation levels are low, gamma radiation mostly."

Fury wasn't reassured. "That can still be harmful." He looked around. "Where's Barton?"

Without even looking, Rhiley answered. "Watching."

"Up in his nest, as usual," Selvig added with a small shake of his head.

Fury glanced upward, finding Clint Barton perched above them, watching the scene unfold. "Agent Barton, report."

Barton dropped down from his perch, landing lightly on the floor. "I see better from a distance," he said, his eyes scanning the room.

"Anything setting this off?"

Barton didn't hesitate. "No one's come or gone. No contacts, no tampering, nothing. If there was any outside interference, it wasn't from this end."

Fury nodded, but his attention was focused on the cube. "At this end?"

"Yeah," Barton said with a glance at the Tesseract. "It's a doorway to another space, right? The doors open from both ends."

Rhiley turned to Selvig, then back to the cube. "You didn't like it when I talked science," He said before she could even speak what was on her smile. 

"That's how you explain things to non-science people." She commented. 

Selvig ignored her and clanked away at the keyboard. He froze. The energy levels on the monitor spiked. His fingers hovered over the keys, eyes wide.

Before he could react, the Tesseract thudded like a heartbeat, sending a violent shockwave through the facility. Rhiley grabbed the desk to steady herself, watching in awe as the cube's energy built. It was the same as when the Bifrost Bridge had formed—a beam of energy shooting up.

Goosebumps crept along her skin.

"Doctor," she warned, pulling him back just in time as a portal ripped open in front of them. It was a black, starry void, deep and empty, the swirling energy barely contained.