Chapter 20: TGS - #19
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Stark Tower, [May 3, 2012]
–Phil Coulson–
Well, this was not good. Not for his sanity but when has that ever stopped Director Fury from sending him on an assignment for Stark? But this time was different. The enemy was someone who they had never prepared for. They had just barely gotten to know some of their abilities and had started developing weapons for the same and yet, they were still caught with their pants down. This was code red and every single able hand was on deck to resolve the situation.
Not only did the enemy take Tesseract, arguably the single greatest artifact that had the potential to either become the engine that drove humanity into the next stage or a bomb that would destroy human civilization as they knew it but Loki also took Clint with him and you just did not do that.
Honestly, if the Tesseract was that dangerous, they should have just left it in storage. Alas, he knew the kind of bosses that his boss had to answer to and so, here they were, in a situation that could not be solved by just SHIELD. They needed people, experts on deck for this, and as much as it pained for him to admit it, Stark was an expert on so many disciplines of science and technology that it would hurt him to list them all.
So, there he was, walking into Stark Tower, knowing full well that Stark was not lifting his calls even though he was in the Tower.
"Ex-excuse me, you do not have permission to go back-ack!" Whatever the receptionist was trying to say was stuck in her throat as one of his team members showed her his ID as they bypassed her and entered the elevator. Of course, the receptionist was the first and the easiest of the obstacles. The real security for the Tower was….
"Agent Coulson, I am afraid that sir is really busy at the moment. There is an opening in his calendar about 3 months from t…o—bzzz" Jarvis' dry voice was stopped midway as he simply inserted a USB into one of the terminal that was present behind the panel that one of his teammates just removed. The tangled mess of wires was messy but it got the job done so who was he to complain? He was sure that Stark would send an inflated bill to them later on and that was going to be Director Fury's headache and he took in a small amount of satisfaction at that. Soon, the elevator dinged and his team stayed at the entrance as he alone approached the richest couple on this side of the world, the word was still on about the Middle Eastern kings but the recent advancements in clean energy that Stark was going to peddle to the world would soon correct that list anyway.
"Phil! What are you doing here?"
"Ms.Potts," he greeted and hugged her back as she beamed at him. They had a much more cordial relationship since Tony Stark was almost impossible to get ahold of and SHIELD still had multiple contracts with SI that needed a personal touch due to their nature. Unfortunately, that task had also fallen on him so he had developed somewhat of a rapport with Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries.
'What are you doing here? I thought I told Jarvis to give you an appointment. I believe I am free sometime next year. What?" Stark said as Potts deadpanned at him.
"Mr.Stark, there is an emergency and we have a need of your expertise. I have standing orders from Director Fury to escort you to–"
"Yeah, well, I don't listen to Fury, and neither do I take things from strange unknown suspicious people," Stark said and he resisted the urge to take in a deep breath in frustration. Thankfully, Potts was there so she took the tablet from his hand and showed the content to Stark. Technically, she was a civilian and did not have the necessary clearance to see that but they were on a timeline and that was the fastest way to get Stark to see the Tesseract.
His gambit proved correct when Stark took one look at the figures on the tablet and immediately began going through the specs on the tablet. The Tesseract was bad news. Bad enough that even someone as flippant as Tony who would flip death in its face was forced to take it seriously.
"Pepper, this is serious stuff,"
"Just go. I'll be right here, waiting,"
He looked away from the lovely couple and signalled his team to evacuate.
"I have already sent Jarvis the location. Try not to be too late, Mr.Stark," He said as the elevator doors closed on them.
"Hmm, Maybe some of you could have taken the stairs?" He mused out loud as they found themselves standing way too close in the cramped elevator.
Now that his job was done, he immediately went on his next assignment.
"Where to, sir?"
"Just get the car started. I am sure we will see him soon enough," He looked at the tablet which showed an elevated map of New York City. He then swiped the map to show a different map of the city. It was an energy readings map from the SHIELD satellite that was responsible for tracking the enigmatic new hero of New York known as the Green Guardian. The name was tacky but it got the point across. The person mainly used shields and he was green.
Honestly, he was the hardest of the Avengers candidates to get a hold of which was ironic because they knew where he was going to be every single day and yet, they could not pin down his location. His powers made it impossible to confront him head-on on and any attempt from their side to establish a connection led nowhere. They had some success when the NYPD Police CHief managed to get some sort of working relationship working with him but even that was strictly restricted to ways the Green Guardian could make things easier for the blue boys. Their psychological profile, incomplete as it was, indicated that the Green Guardian should be more than on board to help them with the current crisis. He was diagnosed with a bit of a hero case and was someone who would go above and beyond to help someone. Why he chose just NYC was beyond them but their analysts say there must be something that tied him to this city when he had the ability to open portals from one end of the planet to the other, making him capable of instantaneous global transportation, making him the current biggest threat to the US government in their list. They had some theories as to why he was never seen using his powers beyond that one night but now was not the time for that. He was going to roam around the city for a bit in wait for the giant green avatar to fly above them and if that didn't happen, he was going to the NYPD Police Commissioner. He would rather not because the information was above classified and the fewer people came into contact with the better, as per Director Fury's orders.
BEEP!
He blinked as the tablet began beeping furiously. He hurriedly looked at it to see a giant green spot appearing just a few miles away from their location.
"Floor it, NOW!" He ordered as he swiped the location of the Green Guardian to the car's infotainment systems. After a while, he could see the green silhouette floating in the sky, multiple small green blocks continuously floating around the giant. He could see most of the smaller blocks continuously flitting around the city as they stopped a car crash somewhere, a robber somewhere, or rescued a cat from a tree. Honestly, that single person was a reliable replacement for a major part of the Police Force, Ambulances, and even FireFighters. Some would think that it would create friction with the city's forces but the truth was that most of the police appreciated the extra safety that his mere presence guaranteed. They had to work a bit harder in the night but during the day? Criminals would just give up at the mere hint of green filling the skies above them.
"Um, how do we get his attention?" One of his teammates asked him and they all looked at him and then at Coulson as they all had the same question in their minds. He cursed internally as he had nothing as well. The answer to that question never came because, with a jerk, their car jostled around as if it was flipping over as all of them braced for impact.
"What is happening?" He heard his teammates yell but he knew what was happening as he looked at the buildings passing by as his car came closer and closer to the giant Green Avatar.
"Holy SHIT!" Most of them exclaimed as they readied their weapons. He rolled his eyes at that. As if pistols were going to stop something that hadn't even flinched at advanced military weapons hitting him. SHIELD had been stopped by Directory Fury from retrieving those experimental weapons as he wanted to see what the Green Giant would do and the answer both terrified and delighted him. The barriers didn't even flinch after taking rounds from experimental weapons that were capable of breaching bulletproof cars as if it was just a small sheet of iron instead of reinforced metal, many times over.
The car was brought over most probably by one of the barriers that usually inserts itself under the car and then just lifts it from there, to the eyes of the Avatar. Actually, he was wrong. They were not going to the eyes, they were going into the mouth of the avatar.
The yelling in the car reached a crescendo as they passed what passed for mouth for the avatar and they entered a mostly empty space. He noted the hundreds of different smaller barriers that littered the inside of the Avatar, moving in tandem with the movement of the giant.
So he had made the avatar completely solid from the inside. That meant that he had both exceptional control and the creativity to use it properly. A devastating combination in the case of this person. It was good news for them because they needed someone with devastating powers on their side who was also not a loose cannon.
Soon, they crossed a sea of green and came face to face with a person. Only the person was completely covered in green and the face…
He raised an eyebrow as he opened the door of the car and experimentally checked on the floor that had literally appeared underneath them a moment before. After finding the floor to be trustworthy, he stepped on it and turned to the person with a flaming face.
"What can I do for you, Agent Coulson of SHIELD? I heard you were looking for me," He closed his mouth shut with an audible clack as he was interrupted. That first greeting told him a number of things but now was not the time to dwell on how and why the incredibly dangerous person in front of him knows him by name.
"We have an emergency. The kind that requires all hands on deck," He says and hands over the tablet to one of the barriers that appeared in front of him when he tried to reach towards the person. The barrier took the tablet to the flaming person who manipulated it using his barriers and blazed through the information on the tablet at blinding speeds before the entire sea around them began receding, exposing them to the blue skies once again. He looked at the car to see that none of his supposedly elite team members had stepped down on the floor.
Cowards.
"This Tesseract? What were you doing with it?" He leaned away from the green giant who was only a few feet away from him. Due to the sheer size of the person, he was forced to look up at him.
"It was supposed to be a source of unlimited clean energy," He said in kind as he took a few steps back.
The figure floated above him and then snapped his fingers, creating a giant portal at the end of the flooring. He steadied himself as the temporary flooring, along with their car jerked forward to enter the portal with the Green Guardian floating a few feet away from him, facing the portal. Soon, they found themselves floating on top of a very familiar building as the Triskelion came into view.
"For the record, I have zero trust in any of you. I will, however, help you, because this Loki seeks to harm my planet," The Green Guardian said as the portal closed up and they started to slowly float down.
"I assume that I am to act as the muscle for the trip and for that to happen, you people need to track down this Loki. Is it safe to assume that Dr.Banner will be present as a member of this…team as well?"
"Yes but not for the reason you are thinking of. Dr. Banner is the world's foremost expert in Gamma Energy and the Tesseract emits a faint gamma energy signature that–"
"That you need his help to track. Got it. I assume there is a place where everybody will be gathered? Perhaps that flying boat of yours?"
He was jolted out of his thoughts at the words he had heard. How in the world did he know so much classified information? That must have reflected on his face as well because he chuckled.
"The rest of the world is not as ill-informed about your actions as you believe them to be, Agent Coulson." By this point, they had landed on the ground and were about to be surrounded by a small army of armed guards.
"I will be performing my duties in the city. Call me when you have Loki's location," He was tossed a phone as a portal opened in front of the Green Guardian.
Just as the sound of tyres screeching was heard, the Green Guardian entered the portal but not before he heard what he had said the moment before he entered the portal.
"Unlimited Clean energy, ha! Who are they trying to fool?" he scoffed, shook his head, and left.
Word Count - 2456
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