ANGRBODA ※ Tony Stark [1]

23 - TIME TO SUIT UP

"BRUCE LOCATED the Tesseract!"

It was Steve who barged into her room that morning, almost smashing the door in his rush.

Angrboda barely comprehended what was happening but already, the adrenaline was coursing through her veins. The next thing she knew; she was running behind Steve in the direction of the lab.

Thor and Tony were already there when they got to their destination, a stern expression on all their faces. Their heads snapped to face Steve and Angrboda the second they both burst into the lab.

"Is it true?" she panted in Bruce's direction "Did you really find the Tesseract?"

Natasha and Clint arrived at that moment. They looked as breathless and gasping as Steve and herself; no doubt they had also darted over the second they heard the news.

Bruce eyed each of them, looking increasingly on edge. He went to the windowpane and quickly closed the blinds. Tony seemed to be the only one in on whatever Bruce was cooking up. He went to the transmission devices and with a few clicks, cut off all communication between the lab and the rest of the aircraft.

"What's going on?!" Clint voiced everyone's confusion.

"Have you found the Tesseract or not?" Thor added.

"My monitor has detected an especially high concentration of gamma radiation," Bruce explained calmly "Tony sent a drone this morning, we just got these images back..."

He walked over to one of the processors and projected a holographic image for all to see. Angrboda's eyes widened, recognizing Erik Selvig, Thor's astrophysicist friend whom Loki put under his control. He was seen working around a tall CMS device somewhere in altitude, judging by the New York skyline in the background. The Tesseract sat at the center of the device and Selvig seemed to be putting the final touches on the portal.

"Shit!" Natasha exclaimed, her jaw dropping.

Clint had his arms crossed over his chest, eyeing the image somberly "Shit indeed..."

"Do you know where the image is taken from?" Steve asked, the worry clear on his face.

"I sure do," Tony said with a deeply displeased expression "It's on the roof of my fucking tower."

Thor shook his head "Loki's not letting go of the Stark Tower... I believe it's retribution for the failed attack."

"It's not just that," Tony heaved a sigh "Selvig is using the arc reactor that fuels the whole building to light up the portal."

"So why don't you turn off the arc reactor?"

"What, do you think I'm stupid? I killed every source of energy on the Tower but the device is already self-sustaining."

The whole team considered his statement grimly. The gravity of the situation was getting clearer by the second.

Natasha was the one to break the silence, asking the only question that really mattered at this point "Guys, what's the game plan here?"

"That's what we're about to decide," Bruce mused "But first, we must agree to ditch S.H.I.E.L.D and go for it on our own."

Angrboda's brows raised in surprise. Her eyes met Tony's and he gave her a knowing look. It was clear the idea had come from him. They hadn't really talked about her wanting to leave S.H.I.E.L.D after the first time she mentioned it but there was no doubt he'd been affected by their conversation.

Unsurprisingly, the first one to object was Steve "Ditch S.H.I.E.L.D.?!" he repeated like Bruce had just lost his mind "What the..."

"Captain..." Tony trailed off firmly "Just don't."