Book 1: Mirage [Thor]

Chapter 2

A horn sounded over the speakers, awaking everyone on the ship from their slumber. Some men and women groaned in protest, dragging themselves out of bunks. Preparing for the day ahead in various ways as all pulled on their uniforms. It was the normal routine for many, making their ways to separate parts of the watercraft to receive their assignments or check the logs from those who were on the night shift. Working for a top-secret agency wasn't the easiest job in the world, but the benefit of knowing you were protecting the world from harm made it all worth it. They were the best at what they did, all having been personally selected by those running the organization based on their skills and background.

"Agent Fredrickson to the bridge," a voice came over the loudspeakers." Agent Fredrickson to the bridge."

The young woman glanced up, running a hand through her hair to push the tangled mess from her eyes. Her day had yet to even begin and wondered what could be of such importance she had to immediately report to the main control area of the vessel. Quickly braiding the strands of hair she slipped into uniform. The halls were filled with personnel moving towards their stations, Anya squeezing past men with broad shoulders headed towards the engine rooms and climbed the stairs. The glare of the sun caused the young woman to squint, eyes adjusting while moving across the open deck and to another staircase.

There was a hum in the control room, screens lit up with agents behind them looking through files and setting up for another day of missions.

"Agent Fredrickson, nice of you to join us."

Glancing up, Director Fury stood at his station overlooking the room. Agent Hill at his side scrolling through a handheld screen.

"You needed me, Director?" the young woman wondered.

"You will be piloting a mission into Brazil. Agent Romanoff will fill you in on the details in the hangar."

"Understood."

Moving through the ship the hangar was filled with workers moving equipment and checking jets. One was being particularly fussed over, the straps holding it down being unclipped and pulled away so it wasn't snagged anywhere in the machine during take off. Walking into the structure she found one of the seats occupied by a redheaded woman who turned on the main board. Swinging into her own seat, Anya strapped in, pulling on a headset.

"Agent Fredrickson," the woman greeted over the earpiece.

"Romanoff. Been a while since I've seen your face around here. You're always busy with missions."

Natasha Romanoff was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents within the organization. A deadly assassin recruited years ago by another agent when he came back from a mission with her in tow. It took a while for her to adapt to S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols, but after an adjustment period, everyone came to respect her. And trust in her skills.

"Well this one is of top priority right now. Glad to have you watching my six."

"Who are you taking out?"

"No one. We're bringing them in. His name is Bruce Banner, a doctor working in a small village in Calcutta."

"Standing by, ready for take off," Anya announced.

Her eyes glanced over to the control room in the hangar. Watching as the men checked their charts, radars, and observed the air around their watercraft.

"Clear for take off," a man stated through the set. "Have a safe flight."

"Roger."

Pushing the aircraft down the runway and gaining speed. The young woman pulled up on the control wheel, the jet lifting off the platform. Once they were clearly on the flight path, Anya asked,

"Why is he so important to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Years ago the doctor was doing an experiment on gamma radiation," Natasha said. "He was exposed to it trying to recreate the super soldier serum that was conducted back in the late 1930s, early 40s. Obviously it was a failure and he created an alter ego, the Hulk, if he's stressed or angered. The guy destroyed Harlem a few years back."

Anya blinked, digesting the information. "Well, I wasn't expecting that as an answer to our target..."

"We've kept our distance and made sure that other organizations don't discover his location. Even the army wants him as a weapon."

"That would be a massacre if they attempted such a thing."

"Tell that to them. They tried a few years ago when he was stateside. Things didn't end well. The Director needs him to locate an item that has been taken from the organization last night, called the Tesseract. It's basically a cube full of energy. Not of this world."

"And you need Banner to search for its gamma radiation signatures."

"Exactly."

It was dark out by the time Anya landed the aircraft in the jungle lining the village.

"Stay with the ship," Natasha said. "Fury's orders."

"You're doing this alone?"

"Not exactly."

More aircrafts landed around them, agents in black uniforms with weapons unloading. They flew in from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s outreach location along the coast. It was Anya's mistake thinking that the agent would do this without backup.

"Ah, I see what you mean."

The woman smirked before exiting the aircraft. Anya glanced around at the jet before logging into the main computer using the assassin's login codes she observed years ago when working together. Typing in Bruce Banner's name a file came up, labeled, 'Avengers Initiative'. Interested, the young woman clicked on it, opening six more files, one of them being Natasha. Everyone had information in their files regarding missions, incidents, and what powers or skills they possessed. Captain America. Iron Man. Thor. Hulk. Hawkeye. Black Widow. None were ordinary agents.

The information on them was impressive, but limited being off site. If someone hacked into their craft mid flight they could not risk the possibility of leaking important information. Anya typed in another search, basic information coming up on the Tesseract. That was to be expected. It had been stolen by a god from Asgard, a world light years away in another realm. He was Thor's half brother. Loki. Though what really caught her attention was the fact that Agent Barton had been compromised. Labeled to be siding with the enemy now. That was new information. Anya did wonder why she accompanied the redhead, seeing as the two were partners in the field whenever missions came up. Her involvement in these missions was always few and far between when working with those two. Best not to bring up the topic of Barton. The woman wasn't very vocal about her feelings or personal life. There was movement outside, drawing the young woman's attention. Natasha approached with the target, Bruce Banner. Closing down the files she strapped in, starting up the engines.

"We're clear," Natasha relayed. "Doctor, this is Agent Fredrickson."

"Hi," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"Ready?" Anya questioned.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he answered. Though he sounded unsure about the whole situation. His eyes observed the enclosed area rather warily.

"Taking off. Welcome aboard, Dr. Banner."