Book 1: Mirage [Thor]

Chapter 3

It was a smooth flight on the return to base. Landing on the deck with ease and powering down the engines, Bruce breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have reached headquarters," came Anya's voice over the speakers. "Feel free to move about the cabin and deboard."

The platform lowered in the back. Bruce gathered his briefcase and bag before moving outside.

"That went rather well."

"Roger," Natasha muttered into the headset, shutting down the panel and turning to Anya. "We were lucky. Don't expect things to get any easier than this from what's coming our way."

"As long as we've been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. I never have."

Smirking in agreement, the two made their way onto the mat as crew members rushed forward to strap down the aircraft and refuel.

"Agent Romanoff, Fredrickson," Coulson greeted. Attention drawing towards the middle aged man, his head nodded towards the stranger who accompanied him. "Captain Rogers."

"Ma'am," the man greeted.

"Hi," Natasha said. The redhead then turned her attention back towards Coulson. "They need you on the bridge. They're starting the face-trace."

Nodding, the agent left them with, "See you there."

"I better get going as well," Anya stated. "The Director will be needing our report on the bridge."

Nodding, neither stopped her from slipping into the staircase and moving below. There was more activity going on inside than the previous morning. It was clear to see they were preparing the ship for travel. Anya stepped into the control room just as, "Flight crew, secure the deck," came over the PA system.

The engines grew louder outside as the helicarrier began to transform, the body lifting into the air out of the water. Agent Hill came up from the main floor giving orders. She noticed the young woman waiting off to the side patiently and motioned her forward. Handing over the folder with the contents of the mission, they gave each a nod as Bruce, Steve, and Natasha entered the room.

"We are level, sir," Agent Hill notified.

"Good, let's vanish," Fury ordered.

As the reflection paneling fell into place the bulky gray body no longer stood out in the sky. The Director turned around to face the new recruits, walking towards them.

"Gentlemen."

Halfway to the table Steve slipped him a bill, which confused the agents. Though it seemed to amuse Fury as he turned his attention to Bruce. The man continued to nervously glance around.

"Doctor, thank you for coming."

Staring at the outstretched hand, the man returned the greeting, saying, "Thanks for asking nicely. So, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract you're in the wind."

The answer seemed to please the doctor when he gave a curt nod. "Where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet," Coulson answered from the lower level. "If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha stated.

Anya noticed her by a screen with Clint's profile. An agent was combing through databases for any sightings of the rogue teammate.