Time: 2012 May. Location: SHIELD Helicarrier.
The quinjet carrying Captain Steve Rogers and Phil Coulson descended onto the giant carrier floating in the water. SHIELD personnel concerned themselves with strapping down jets and containers for the eventual takeoff. Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD agent and the black widow, walked towards the two bodies that had just exited a plane.
"Agent Romanoff, meet Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced the two towards each other. He gave the red-haired woman a brief look, unsure of how his military position would fit into this new age he found himself in. "Ma'am," Rogers nodded.
"Hi," Romanoff replied, then turned to Phil, "They need you on the bridge. They're starting face-trace." Natasha didn't need to fraternize with Rogers or others soon to come; She made sure to do her homework before revealing herself to any of these men. Her mission was simple, observe and report. Each of them had a weakness that she could use to pry information out of them.
Coulson excused himself and left to his task. Steve saw the glimpse of Bruce Banner behind some SHIELD staff and called out, "Dr. Banner." Which caught the attention of the good doctor. Rogers offered a hand as he walked closer. He was raised to be polite and old habits die hard.
"Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming." Banner greeted, accepting the handshake from the infamous Captain America.
Banner saw Romanoff's eyes darting at the sky like she was searching for something. Finally, he asked in jest, "are we waiting for someone?" Romanoff turned towards Banner and smiled. The change in her expression did not go unnoticed by Rogers either.
A loud sound of wind cracked through the midday sky from above the helicarrier. Then as abrupt as it came, it stopped. The two men looked up then and saw a floating figure slowly drop down onto the deck of the ship in front of them.
"Gentlemen, meet Felix Wright, also known as Frei," Romanoff chimed, which gained the attention of the Viltrumite. Felix's first impression of the agent was her confidence. The two men tensed up from his abrupt arrival, but she did not seem bothered one bit.
"You weren't in the dossier," Felix said, analyzing the foreign woman.
"Think of me as just another SHIELD agent," Romanoff replied, still with her carefree demeanor.
"Your entrance seemed to cause quite a ruckus, Mr. Wright," Rogers gestured towards their surroundings and gave out his hand. The crowds of personnel had now momentarily stopped to watch at the alien. This, Felix was familiar with. Everywhere a Viltrumite went in his galaxy, they brought fear along with them.
"Humans are not accustomed to my kind yet, Captain Rogers," Felix responded and courteously exchanged the human custom. He nodded towards Bruce with a greeting, "Dr. Banner."
"Your ability to fly is astonishing. I'm curious about how it works," Bruce said nervously but with a child-like interest in his eyes. He was a man of science. To defy gravity without any necessary equipment was unbelievable to the man, almost impossible. Felix Wright was a puzzle for which he wanted answers, but he would not let his curiosity take hold of him. Bruce had the unfortunate experience of being a lab rat, and he did not wish it upon anyone else.
The dossier showed Felix the transformation Banner could take. Becoming a raging green beast, he pondered how he would fare against such a thing. Would the good doctor be his prey or his predator? His warrior blood remerged after months of docility, but he promptly ignored it.
"I am sure SHIELD thinks the same. I heard you turn green." Felix said with a bit of humor to ease the anxiety in Banner.
"Amongst other things," Bruce replied, slightly more nervous than before. It seemed like Felix's attempt at humor was subpar.
"You might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe." Romanoff interjected, amusement in her face. There was some pride in knowing what others do not. Felix was curious as to why she said so, and it appeared the other two shared the same curiosity. Sounds of mechanisms churning against one another rang out from the depth of the helicarrier.
"Is this a submarine?" Rogers asked, puzzling over the current event.
"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" Banner continued the line of questioning.
Curiosity drove the three towards the edge of the deck while Romanoff stood back and waited for their surprised faces. Eventually, the propellers emerged from under the water and lifted the entire ship off towards the boundless sky.
….
Natasha led the newcomers inside the bridge, the helicarrier's control center. With everything ready, set and go, Fury and Hill directed their gazes away from the glass consoles and onto their guests.
Seeing them shifting towards him, Felix acknowledged, "Agent Hill, Director Fury."
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"Gentlemen…" Fury was about to say something but was cut off by Steve Rogers pulling out his wallet and giving the one-eyed man a ten-dollar bill. They had met each other before, first when he had just woken up from his seventy-year slumber and the latest when he was recruited for the current mission. Rogers had made a bet of ten bucks with the director that nothing could surprise him anymore. The alien from space and the flying carrier had proved the captain wrong.
Amused and satisfied, Fury headed towards the nearest person, Felix. "I'm glad you could make it, Mr. Wright," the director smiled.
"What now, Nick Fury," Felix asked. The overall mission was simple, retrieve the Tesseract from the Asgardian called Loki, but the details were less concrete.
"We have a present for you, Mr. Wright," Fury said. Out of all the things Felix expected, this was not it.
"Coulson will lead you to it," Fury continued.
Felix was unsure what the director's game was, "Another way to get me into your debt?"
"Take it as another sign of good faith," The one-eyed man answered and walked away to Banner.
Phil Coulson came afterward with a broad smile, "Felix. It's been a while."
"Indeed, I appreciate your help with my more…intimate matters. It had been most valuable." Felix replied. Compared to when the Viltrumite first arrived on Earth, the two men could now talk more easily to each other.
"I take it's going well then?" Phil smiled slyly.
"I'm surprised you don't already know." Felix's responded with genuine disbelief.
"It has been a busy few months, and I try to avoid your romantic endeavors. That's for another department." Coulson said with compassion. 'A spy with a heart? Astounding." Felix thought and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't worry. I still keep an eye on you here and there. Now come, I think you'll like this," Coulson said with excitement dripping from his words and swiftly strode to one of the many entries.
"What is this gift Fury spoke of?" Felix asked, walking behind the agent. The two saw Agent Romanoff and Dr. Banner leaving to locate the Tesseract by tracking significant gamma radiation emissions on their way out.
"I can't tell you just yet, but I worked on it myself." Phil intended to keep it a secret for a little longer. The two entered a different room outside of the bridge. Phil's face was full of eagerness when he pointed Felix at a container on the metallic table.
Not wanting to let the man down, Felix walked to the box and opened it. What met his eyes was an armor adorning the Viltrumite's insignia with an accompanying helmet. It was not his original suit when he came to Earth since it had been torn to pieces from his battle with the Imperialists. This was newly crafted. Felix's hands brushed on the metal of the helmet with care.
"I thought you would like to keep your privacy," Coulson added. Felix did not need to hide his identity before as a soldier, but it was different now. He had a life he cherished. His time with the rebellion showed that anonymity would prove to be helpful.
"Thank you." Felix briefly said, which prompted a smile from the agent's face.
"I'll leave you to it. Come back to the bridge after you change. I have to go get my vintage cards signed Captain America." What Coulson said gave Felix a confused expression.
"What? He's a national hero." Coulson continued and left the room on hurried feet.
….
Returning to the bridge with his new suit on and the helmet in hand, Felix saw Coulson and Rogers buddying up near the conference table. The two turned their heads back, facing the alien.
Rogers inspected Felix's new outfit and asked Coulson, "Does everyone wear a different uniform?"
"Something like that, captain," Phil answered and asked Felix, "What do you think?"
"You outdid yourself. It is a good fit." Felix responded.
"Not half bad, right? I took your sizing from the tailor shop after all." Phil flung back. The two men of taste nodded to each other knowingly, leaving Rogers to guess which tailor they were referring to. Kingsman was the best, after all.
Before Rogers could inquire about the tailor, an agent at one of the panels yelled towards them, "We got a hit on Loki. Stuttgart, Germany!"
After exiting the main controls, Fury motioned at Felix and Steve, "You two are up." Fury did not know Felix's full extent. The alien could do it by himself, but he didn't want to show all his cards just yet.
"Do you want him dead?" Felix asked.
"Not before we get the Tesseract. I need you to bring him back here alive for interrogation." Fury replied.
"Understood," Felix added. His mission was simple enough.
"Avoid any civilian casualty if you can. I don't want any damn international incident on my desk." Fury's statement aimed at Felix more so than Steve Rogers. Felix nodded in reassurance.
"How are we getting there?" Steve questioned, but then he looked at Felix and continued, "How am I getting there?"
"Romanoff and a pilot will take you. Your uniform will be in the quinjet." Fury answered.
….
Time: 2012 May. Location: Stuttgart, Germany.
About an hour later, Felix arrived at the mission location from the SHIELD helicarrier. Rogers and Romanoff lacked behind by a little bit. Seeing Loki from above, Felix informed the quinjet, "I have sight on Loki."
"Do not engage. We'll be arriving soon." Romanoff spoke through the earpiece installed in the suit. Fury specified it so he could contact Felix in case of an emergency. A sly move on the director's part.
Felix thought that SHIELD truly underestimated his powers. Even with only half of his strength, he doubted that subduing the "space-god" would be a problem. Down below, the egotistical Asgardian had commanded a group of humans to kneel before him. Felix saw an older man refusing to bend before the false god.
"I'm going in." Finally, Felix had had enough of Loki's antics, which very much reminded him of the late Viltrumite's Emperor, Argall.
"Again, do not engage, Felix. We're almost there." Romanoff ordered with more aggression.
Before Loki could pulverize the old human, something smashed him onto the pavements, cracking stone and rippling the Earth beneath them. The force that made contact with the godling brought the might of Thor's hammer to his mind. Unfortunately for Loki, Felix was not his brother, and he had no sentiment for the adopted prince. So, the Viltrumite continued to mercilessly pummel Loki until he lost his consciousness.
The quinjet arrived shortly after, hovering above the crowd of people. Those inside the jet could hear Felix's voicing his victory, "He's down."
Romanoff quickly reported back to the helicarrier, "I think we need to make some updates to Felix Wright's file."
Steve Rogers dropped down next to the alien and looked at the motionless Asgardian. Then, he turned towards Felix and asked, "Is he dead?"
"No," Felix replied, examining the Stuttgart Square in amusement. He had flown to Berlin before for sightseeing, but it appeared there were still many places he should visit. A slight wheeze of air came out of the collapsed Loki's mouth.
Rock music came on loudly from the quinjet's speakers, and a man wearing a red full-body metal armor landed next to the two. Tony Stark spoke, "It seems like I missed the party."