Many stars shine throughout the vast sea that is Space. A stone throne floats above the steps, facing the endless abyss of Space. Behind the throne on the stone steps, an armored creature kneels.

The creature, known as the Other, speaks to the being sitting on the throne. Their voice is sharp and groggy, like their vocal chords are moving faster and longer than normal. "The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power..."

The Other turns its head to look at another being. This one has a golden horned helmet on over his jet black hair. He has the same gold for his armor and a flowing green cape.

The Other continues to speak to the one on the throne, while the gold armored being, Loki, is given a golden scepter that has a blue gem embedded into the front and is encircled with silver blades. "But our ally knows its working as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, are ready to follow." Many rows of neatly lined Chitauri soldiers wait for battle, looking out into Space as the Other continues. "The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do...but burn?"

***

In the New Mexico desert stands a huge research building. Inside and out, people are running around, trying to evacuate as quickly and efficiently as possible. A helicopter flies in and lands at the base. The door opens and a man walks out. He has dark skin and a black eye patch. He wears black clothes that hide many small weapons. It's Director Fury.

The director quickly walks up to the building, avoiding collision between many people, and enters. He spots one of his most trusted agents under a sign that reads 'Project Pegasus'. Another one of Fury's most trusted agents meets him under the sign.

"How bad is it?" Fury asks the male agent. The three start walking through hallways and down stairs.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know." The male agent, who is named Agent Phil Coulson, says. Agent Coulson leads Fury and the female agent, named Agent Maria Hill, to the source of the problem, which is in the radiation section of the facility. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago."

Not believing his ears, Nick says, "NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase."

"He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement." Agent Coulson defends the doctor. It simply wasn't Selvig's fault.

"It just turned itself on?" Agent Hill asks for clarification, turning to look at Coulson in disbelief as she follows him to the radiation section.

"What are the energy levels now?" Nick silently hopes the levels are at a low point, or at least aren't moving anymore.

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered the evac." Agent Coulson explains as they reach another set of stairs.

"How long to get everyone out?" Nick asks, now concerned for the many agents who currently inhabit the lab.

"We can clear in about a half hour." Coulson stops walking and Nick turns to him.

"Do better." Nick and Maria quickly walk down the stairs as Coulson leaves to help with the evacuation. Coulson knows that Nick and Maria know their way around the lab, so he decides to help with getting all the agents out.

Agent Hill's nerves kick in as she thinks of all the possible outcomes of the current situation. "Sir, evacuation may be futile."

"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" Nick quickens his steps as he faintly feels a rumble on the ground.

"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance." Maria hopes that Nick will say something to prove her wrong and calm her nerves.

Her wishes were granted as her boss orders in his usual stern voice, "I need you to make sure that all Phase II prototypes are shipped out."

Sure, Nick's order was reassuring, but Maria was a bit taken aback. "Sir, is that really a priority right now?"

Nick stands on the stairs facing up toward Maria. "Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of Phase II on a truck and gone."

"Yes, sir." Maria turns around and motions to two other agents who are standing by her. "Come with me."

Nick finally reaches the radiation section of the facility and enters the lab. He sees many scientists in lab coats running around different machines. Doctor Selvig stands by a machine that is the closest to the Tesseract. The blue cube itself is secured in a circular stand. Two scientists stand in front of it, trying to poke it with a metal rod.

"Talk to me, Doctor." Nick walks up to Dr. Selvig, trying to get a clear explanation of what's going on.

"Director." Dr. Selvig takes his attention off of the computer for only a second as he confirms his suspicion on who entered his lab.

"What do we know for certain?" The director asks another question in order to get the same result he wanted at first.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving." Dr. Selvig explains. The two scientists with the metal rod get too close to the cube, and their metal rod flies out of their hands to the back of the lab.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" The director asks in an intimidating voice, annoyed that he isn't getting a straight answer from the doctor.

"No, it's not funny at all." The doctor turns back to the director. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving."

"How long until you pull the plug?" Nick crosses his arms as he stares at the cube.

"She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level..." Selvig's voice trails off. He doesn't want to say anything too drastic, as it might make the other scientists go into a panic.

Nick gets the message and decides to change the tone in the atmosphere to a more reassuring one. "We've prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from Space."

Selvig shakes his head, racking a hand through his thinning, grey hair. "We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interface, radiation." Selvig gestures toward the cube. "Nothing harmful, lower levels of gamma radiation."

"That can be harmful." Nick says in a grave voice. He tries to think of anyone who can help in this situation of harmful gamma rays, but his best bet is in Calcutta. He needs to rely on the agents he has present. "Where's Barton?"

"The Hawk?" Selvig's eyes widen. He points with a screwdriver toward the second level of the lab. "Up in his nest, as usual."

Clint Barton, another Shield agent, watches the scene from above on the second level of the lab. His communicator turns on and he hears Nick say, "Agent Barton, report."

Agent Barton slides down a fire pole and lands on the main level of the lab. He walks up to the director and they walk around the facility.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Nick says as they continue to walk around the lab.

"Well, I see better from a distance." Clint has always been one to keep away from people. A buzzing lab isn't his forté. He usually likes to be alone when he works.

Deciding not to argue with the agent, Nick focuses his attention back on the matter at hand. "Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?"

From across the lab, a NASA scientist yells to Selvig, "Doctor, it's spiking again."

Clint and Nick continue their walk until they stand in front of the cube. The Shield agent shakes his head at Nick's previous question. "No one's come or gone. It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end."

"This end?" Nick looks at Clint to continue with his explanation.

The bow and arrow master nods toward the glowing cube. "Yeah, the cube is a doorway so the other end of Space, right? The door's open from both sides."

Dr. Selvig stops typing on his computer as he sees an unspeakable horror on his screen. Suddenly, the ground shakes violently. The quake was so big, Agents Hill and Coulson could feel it, and they are on opposite ends of the facility.

The Tesseract starts to heat up, short circuiting a bunch of computers and lights. The cube glows blue for a second, and then a ray of blue light shoots in the opposite direction Clint and Nick are standing. A giant, midnight blue portal opens and closes in the blink of an eye. All the access energy floats to the top of the ceiling and gathers, staying there.

The noises and lights settle back down, and everyone looks at the Tesseract. The cube also seems to be settling down, and everyone's eyes now turn toward where the portal was. A man stands there, and he's holding a spear-like weapon. He wears golden armor and a green cape, but his helmet is off so everyone can see his shoulder length black hair perfectly. The most unsettling thing about him though, is his devilish smile.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" Nick is the first to break the tense silence. The mystery man looks down at his spear, then quickly points the blade in front of him, shooting at a couple scientists.

Clint pushes Nick out of the way and the two try to get out of the line of fire. Nick takes out one of his guns and shoots at the intruder. The man dodges the shots, jumping forward and shooting more lasers. When he lands, he spins in a circle and small daggers find their ways into the throats of most of the NASA doctors. Selvig was able to hide behind some damaged computers and Nick fell next to the Tesseract.

Agent Barton tries to stand up, but the intruder notices. The man takes Barton's arm and forces him to stand, pinning him against the wall.

"You have heart." The intruder raises his spear and presses the blade to Barton's chest. Barton leans forward under the pressure. The agent's eyes turn pitch black for a second before crystallizing into hazy blue irises. The pupils of Barton's eyes are almost nonexistent. The intruder lets go of Barton who relaxes and puts away his gun.

Nick sees this, so while the man starts doing the same to the few surviving NASA scientists, he crawls over to the foot of the Tesseract. The director opens a silver case and reaches up toward the cube. His gloved hand grips the Tesseract and he slides it out of the stand, dropping it into the case. Nick shakes his hand, trying to relieve his fingers of the burn they received, and then closes the case.

The director stands up and tries to get away until he's stopped by the voice of the intruder. "Please don't. I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier." Nick turns around to look the intruder in the face. He glances above the man, seeing the collective energy that formed on the ceiling. If he could only stall for a little while longer.

"Of course it does." The intruder's voice is like ice. Cold and sharp. It fills the room with chills. "I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I'm burdened with a glorious purpose."

This catches the attention of the one other person who wasn't turned by Asgardian. "Loki? Brother of Thor?!" Dr. Selvig shakily stands up and Loki gives the doctor a glare.

Nick senses the tension and quickly brings Loki's attention back onto himself. "We have no quarrel with your people."

Loki faces Nick and holds back a laugh. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"Are you planning to step on us?" Nick needs to keep this guy talking. The energy buildup is going to implode, which will soon crush everyone in the lab. Hopefully he can also give Maria and Phil a little more time to escape.

"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free." Loki looks around at all the people in the room, his eyes finally settling on the doctor.

"Free from what?" Nick directs the attention back on him, his heart beating fifty miles an hour.

"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..." Loki quickly turns toward Selvig. He presses the tip of his bladed spear to Selvig's chest. "You will know peace."

Now with lowered hopes, Nick decided he needs to continue with his first plan. "Yeah, you say 'peace', I kind of think you mean the other thing."

The access energy gathered on the ceiling starts to swirl around faster. It also starts to pulse, meaning that the ceiling can't hold it much longer. Agent Barton notices this and quickly turns to Loki. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop one hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

Now with his hopes completely extinguished, Fury decides not to argue. "Like the pharaohs of Odin."

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig looks behind him from a computer that didn't short circuit.

"Well, then..." Loki looks at Agent Barton who doesn't hesitate to whip his gun out. Without blinking, Clint shoots Fury in the abdomen. Fury falls backwards, stunned, and Loki with his new minions leave the lab. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract as he steps over Fury's body.

Loki and his new team walk into the parking lot of the facility. Barton scans the area and sees the cars best suited for their situation. "Need these vehicles."

Agent Hill watches them in confusion, looking at Loki specifically. "Who's that?" Maria points toward the god of mischief.

"He didn't tell me." Barton waves off Maria's question, which just makes her even more on edge.

Maria turns around and starts slowly walking away when her walkie talkie buzzes. She unhooks it and puts it up to her ear, hearing Nick's shaky voice. "Hill, do you copy?!"

Loki and Clint both sharply look at the agent. Maria runs and ducks behind a car, shielding herself from Clint's bullets. She pulls out her own gun and fires at them, but more specifically at Loki.

"Barton is..." Nick Fury painfully sits up and rips the bullet out of his abdomen. If it wasn't for his thin bulletproof vest, he wouldn't have made it. He gets up, holding his side, and starts running out of the building. "They've got the Tesseract! Shut them down!"

But Nick didn't need to say anything more. Agent Hill gets the message and throws her small gun in the nearest Jeep, hopping in herself. She starts the car and floors it. When she catches up to Loki and Barton, she quickly accelerates, getting ahead of them. Before the boys could get a chance to go faster, Maria spins a complete 180 degrees, smashing the front of her car to the front of theirs.

Barton continues to drive, pushing Maria's car backward. Maria shoots at Loki again, but Barton is able to shake her off.

Fury dodges some fallen pipes as he makes his way out of the building. Coulson is on the other side trying to get as many people out as he can. The floor rumbles and Coulson falls down some stairs along with someone else who was carrying a briefcase. The contents of the case spills everywhere. Coulson helps the man stand up and orders him to leave everything there. The building is going to collapse at any moment as the shaking becomes even more violent.

Coulson jumps into a Shield van and says in the walkie talkie, "You're clear, sir! You need to go!"

Fury bolts out of the building and jumps into the helicopter. The vehicle starts to sink into the cracking ground, but Fury starts it up just in time.

Maria gets trapped in falling debris as she tries to drive away. Loki looks back at her from the trunk of his getaway car and sees her Jeep getting crushed under giant boulders. The female agent manages to dodge the debris that fell into the car, but is still trapped in the parking lot of the facility.

Loki's car exits the compound just before the ceiling in the lab couldn't hold the energy anymore. The lab crumbles in on itself, causing the rest of the building to follow suit.

Loki spots Fury's helicopter. Before Nick could open fire, Loki shoots a laser out from his scepter and it hits the side of the helicopter. Nick jumps out of the copter before he gets too far away from the ground, and rolls on the ground to soften his landing. He immediately gets up and shoots his small gun in Loki's direction, but with no success at all. The copter falls to the ground in front of Fury who thankfully ducked out of the way.

Nick puts away his gun and takes out his walkie talkie when he hears Agent Coulson speak over it. "Director? Director Fury, do you copy?"

"The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" Nick shakily says over the walkie talkie.

Maria manages to wiggle herself out of the Jeep and sits of a pile of debris. "A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors."

Nick internally sighs in relief when he hears Maria is still alive. "Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase."

"Roger that." Maria nods even though she knows Nick can't see her.

Knowing that Coulson is safe from the agent's previous question, Fury orders, "Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war."

Coulson looks around at the other few agents in the van. He picks up his walkie talkie one more time. "What do we do?"

The Avengers: Phase I