Golden Eyes

Steve was watching until the monitor goes black where Fury was talking to Loki and how he would drop him thirty thousand feet to his death. Could we just, you know, ‘accidently’ drop him and go oops all well? I was still basically foaming at the mouth with rage at him taking over my mind. They had to scan my brain to make sure all his electroshock therapy didn’t do any damage. Steve still wasn’t talking to me on the flight home so I had to make do with Thor and Stark. Thor was telling me how Jane was since the last time I saw her. I ended up changing on the plane out of my Tigress suit and into sweats and an oversized hoodie that had Marilyn Monroe on the front of it. I looked at Thor now who didn't even look at the screen but just listened, stands there, torn apart. They all just stand there in stunned silence.

“He really grows on you, doesn't he?” I asked sarcastically which made Natasha’s mouth twitch with a grin.

“Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?” Steve asked ignoring my comment. I would get him to come around one way or another.

“He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.” Thor said coming to and standing up straighter. I felt a trickle of fear for once at the thought of alien armies coming to take over.

“An army? From outer space?” I squeaked out before clearing my throat turning red. Did no one else find the thought of other life forms taking over scary? Did no one see Independence Day with Will Smith??

“So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for.” Banner asked confused.

“Selvig?” Thor said confused as well. I guess no one broke the news to him?

“He's an astrophysicist.” Banner explained and I rolled my eyes. He knows all this.

“He's a friend.”

“Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours. Vanessa was under it as well but she somehow broke it.” Natasha said looking at me along with everyone else. Steve just stared at his feet.

“Even under a spell no one can control me.” I joked. “I’m a terrible slave.”

“I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here.” Steve proclaimed looking up and I had to agree. It still worried us why he let himself get taken so easily.

Banner nodded. “I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.”

“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother.” I’m pretty sure Banner will stick to his crazy diagnosis.

“He killed eighty people in two days.” Natasha stated raising her eyebrow in a how can you be serious look that only she could pull off flawlessly.

“He's adopted.” Thor said and I snorted.

“Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?” Banner asked and I shook my head. I was the last person to ask on things that involved science. I looked at Steve who was angled away from me before I turned to Natasha. She caught me looking and the question on her face was obvious. She looked at me and nodded her head in his direction and I shook my head once more. I signed that he was mad with me for the things I said under the spell with my hands and she nodded in understanding. She signed back we would talk later and I nodded.

“It's a stabilizing agent.” Tony walks in with Coulson. He turned to Coulson finishing what he was saying. “I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive. Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D..” He turned to Thor. “No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants.”

Tony walked up to Fury’s post in the middle of the bridge. “Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did.” Tony then covered his one eye and I slapped my hand across my mouth. I looked at Natahsa.

“No he didn’t..” I said looking back at Tony in disbelief.

“How does Fury do this?” Tony asked and I shook my head in shame. Oh Tony.

“He turns.” Agent Hill said walking past us and I chuckled. Tony looks around the monitors and placed a button sized hacking implant under Fury's desk, without anyone noticing but me. I raised my eyebrows at him remember his comment about never knowing what Fury was up to. I kept quiet. I’m sure Fury already knew it was there anyways.

“Well, that sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube.” Tony said sounding like nothing was up. Had to give it to him. He was an amazing actor.

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” I asked suddenly impressed.

“Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?” He asked raising his hands in question.

“Yes.” Was all I said.

Steve to Banner, “Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?”

“He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Banner replied. My head hurt and I was lost. I was starting to feel weak and dizzy. I put my hand on the table behind me to support myself. I guess more was taken out of me than I thought.

“Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.”

“Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Banner said in disbelief.

“Finally, someone who speaks English.” Tony said getting happy someone was understanding him.

Tony and Banner shake hands. A glimmer in their eyes shines as the mutual respect for each other shows. Steve was getting annoyed that he was lost. “Is that what just happened?”

“It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.” Way to ruin the moment Tony. My legs started to shake so I sit down before I faint. Natasha was eyeing me and I smiled weakly. Banner looked down probably feeling ashamed and muttered a thanks. Tony could be such an asshole sometimes.

“Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.” Fury replied to Tony as he walked in on the conversation. He went and stood at his podium and waited for Stark to move. Stark put his hands up and moved out of the way.

“Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon.” I said putting my head in my hand trying to rub at the pounding headache forming.

“I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn three of the sharpest men and woman I know into his personal flying monkeys.” Fury said finally turning to me. He frowned at how I was starting to slide down the chair further and further.

“Monkeys? I do not understand.” Thor said looking at all of us for an explanation.

“I do! I understood that reference.” Tony rolls his eyes, while Cap looked proud of himself.

“Shall we play, doctor?” Tony asked Banner who smiled. Scientists were weird…

“Let's play some.”

I muttered an excuse me and went to stand up only to have the room spin on me. I crashed into a computer desk trying to keep from falling. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face like I had a raging fever but I haven’t been sick since before I was experimented on by the Nazi’s. I heard my name being called out but it sounded like it was from miles away. There was a flash of blue and soon Steve was above me getting me to turn and look at him. The concern on his face scared me and I wanted to say I was going to be okay that it was just the flu or something being out in the rain but I felt wrong on the inside. Like when my body was first changing on me. Natasha was over my next feeling my forehead and shouted something to someone over Steve’s shoulder. I just kept looking at Steve and I smiled sadly. I went to go touch his face and say it was okay but my hand never made it. Steve picked me up and started carrying me and my hand feel with the effort being too much. Banner was next to me checking my vitals and shouted something about cardiac arrest. I then felt my heart constrict and I gasped, arching in Steve’s arms.

Then the world was black.