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VALOR
xi. THE ASSEMBLING

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   WHEN RILEY IMAGINED ASSEMBLING a team of kickass superheroes, she honestly wasn't sure what she was expecting. But had she known things would end up like this, Riley was sure she would've done a few things differently.

   It all started 48 hours after Loki of Asgard appeared on Earth. With the compromise of Clint Barton and Dr. Erik Selvig, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were certainly shaken up. Riley hadn't expected Clint's brainwashing to affect her as much as it did. She was concerned for his wellbeing and safety, but at the same time, Riley didn't have the time to worry about Clint Barton. She had to leave it to the fates.

   All agents were assigned a task as word spread regarding the upcoming war. For Riley, she and Natasha were assigned to locate and recruit someone named Dr. Bruce Banner.

   Dr. Bruce Banner, a globally acclaimed scientist, was the victim of an awry experiment he conducted in an attempt to recreate Captain America. His body was exposed to an excessive amount of Gamma Radiation, causing him to develop a violent and uncontrollable alter-ego named Hulk. Since his accident, Dr. Banner was peacefully living in Calcutta, India, which was where Natasha and Riley were right now.

   "Do I really have to do this?" whined Riley into her comms. She scanned the busy streets of Calcutta whilst adjusting her headscarf.

   "Yes," confirmed Natasha for the third time. "Just go in and say it like I taught you. Agents your age do this stuff all the time."

   Riley ignored her colleague. "This feels weird."

   "That's not my problem."

   "You're annoying."

   "I don't care."

   Riley rolled her eyes. She knew Natasha would be in charge of leading the mission of recruiting Dr. Banner, but she wasn't expecting to be downgraded to a job any other child agent could do. To say she was offended was an understatement.

   With an exaggerated sigh, Riley scurried across the dirt road and entered the building Dr. Banner was last seen in. It was reported by a few undercover agents that he was living his life treating the people of Calcutta as they combatted an illness that had spread across the nation.

   Riley hurried up a short flight of stairs, where she was greeted by a small family. Just as expected, Dr. Banner was treating a few ill children. A woman was the first to spot Riley, causing her to shout in her native tongue, "Who are you? Get out! There's sickness in here!"

   Now, Riley didn't know much Hindi, but she knew enough from what Natasha taught her on the plane to pretend she did. Riley decided to ignore the woman and instead, begged for Banner's attention.

   "There's a doctor! Please, I need help!" Riley shouted in Hindi. "My father and I were traveling through and he became sick! He's not waking up! He has a fever and he's moaning, but his eyes won't open."

   Bruce approached the two, squatting down. She didn't understand what he was saying, but she managed to assume based on his hand gestures. "Slow down." He motioned to the ill in their beds. "Is your father like them?"

   "Please," Riley begged, this time in English. She forced tears to spill from her eyes as she held up some rupees. Luckily for her, that was all it took for Bruce Banner to take the bait.

   Riley led the way to the hut her fictitious father was in, telling Bruce Banner an elaborate story about why they were vacationing in Calcutta. In reality, the only person waiting for them was Natasha. Additionally, several agents would be patrolling outside for obvious reasons.

   Upon arrival, Riley sprinted ahead of Dr. Banner and turned invisible before he could see her. When Bruce followed her into the hut, he promptly realized he'd been abandoned. "You should've gotten paid upfront Banner," Bruce muttered.

   Natasha Romanoff walked out from the shadows. "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle."

   Bruce felt his heart rate quicken just a bit. So his suspicions were true. He was getting scammed by the government. Again. "Avoiding stress isn't the secret."

   Natasha maintained a calm exterior, even going as far as changing her clothes and hiding her weapons. This was to show the man that she came in peace. "Then what is it? Yoga?"

   "You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart," Bruce noted. He looked around the hut and peered out the windows. "I, uh, assume the whole place is surrounded."

   Natasha removed the shawl around her shoulders. "Just you and me." 'Liar.'

   Bruce motioned to the open window. He had assumed that the girl who led him to the hut fled through there. "And your actress buddy? Is she a spy, too? They start that young?" he queried.

   Riley smirked at the comment. She wondered if Natasha could predict all of her future "I so deserve an Oscar after that performance!" comments.

   "I did," Natasha unveiled.

   "And who are you?"

   "Natasha Romanoff."

   Riley watched Bruce warily in case the Hulk made an appearance. "Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff?" inquired Bruce. "Because that's not going to work out for everyone."

   "No, of course not," affirmed Natasha. "I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D." When Bruce asked how they found him, she explained, "We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance. Even helped some other interested parties off your scent."

   "Why?"

   Natasha offered him a smile. "Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now, we need you to come in."

   Bruce raised his eyebrows at the idea. "What if I say no?" he challenged.

   "I'll persuade you," she vaguely replied.

   "And what if... the other guy says no?" Bruce dared.

   "You've been more than a year without an incident," Natasha reminded him. "I don't think you want to break that streak." Natasha strolled toward a table where her phone was. "Doctor, we've been struck with a global catastrophe."

   Bruce chuckled darkly. "Well, those I actively try to avoid."

   Natasha pulled up an image before sliding her phone toward him. "This is the Tesseract," she presented while sitting down. Bruce pulled out his glasses to examine the photo. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."

   Bruce took the phone, allowing a sheet of confusion to mask his face. "What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?"

   Riley refrained from snorting. That seemed like a good idea, in her opinion.

   "He wants you to find it," Natasha corrected. "It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There's no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be."

   Banner removed his glasses, visibly intrigued. "So, Fury isn't after the monster?"

   "Not that he's told me."

   "And he tells you everything?"

   Natasha paused. "Talk to Fury," she encouraged. "He needs you on this."

   "He needs me in a cage," Bruce matched.

   "No one's going to put you in a—"

   "STOP LYING TO ME!"

   Riley and Natasha seemed to react in perfect unison. The redhead grabbed the gun that had been hiding under the table, whereas Riley created a forcefield around Bruce to contain the Hulk.

   Bruce timidly smiled as Natasha pointed her gun at him. "I'm sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way where you don't use that and the other guy doesn't make a mess?"

   After another achingly long moment, Natasha lowered her gun and pressed a button on her comms. "Stand down," she ordered. "We're good here."

   Bruce looked amused. "Just you and me?" he repeated. He took a step back from the table, walking into the invisible dome Riley had raised around him. "What the...?"

   Natasha cleared her throat, composing herself again. "O'Dair, drop the forcefield," she calmly commanded.

   It was then when Riley appeared out of thin air. She stood beside Natasha Romanoff with a blank expression, eyes locked on Bruce Banner. Her forcefield glistened around him, but no one could actually see it other than her.

   Bruce glimpsed between Riley and Natasha. "So you didn't feel like mentioning that your actress friend is also a magician?"

   Riley stared at Bruce for a minute longer. The intensity of her glare was enough to burn holes through the scientist's head. Eventually, Riley waved her forcefield away when she decided Banner wasn't going to lash out.

   She offered him a polite smile. "Riley O'Dair," she greeted. "What's up, Doc?"

   Natasha Romanoff just sighed.

○ ○ ○

   Riley O'Dair couldn't lie. She had teased Fury and his outrageous idea of a Helicarrier for a long time, but now that she was actually standing inside of the Helicarrier, she had to admit it was badass.

   The Helicarrier was a large machine that acted as an aircraft combined with a cruise ship. Well, it was way more technical than that, but it was the best way Riley could describe it. What really impressed her was that when the Helicarrier took flight, it could turn invisible via several mirrors. Because of that detail, Riley felt a personal attachment to the vessel.

   She had been heading toward the Helicarrier's bridge when she spotted Natasha guiding Dr. Banner and someone she didn't quite recognize. Riley joined the trio, greeting, "Glad you guys remembered to come inside before we took off."

   Natasha merely hummed at the comment, whereas Bruce greeted, "Riley, it's good to see you again."

   The man beside them appeared visibly confused. The sight reminded Riley of a Golden Retriever. "They allow children to run around up here?" wondered the nameless man.

   Riley tensed, instantly disappointed. After telling Bruce her story, Riley was pleased when he reacted similarly to that of Natasha and Tony. He was keen on treating her like a normal person because he could relate to her story. She wasn't sure why she always hoped that the people she met would immediately look past her age. She was always let down.

   "Steve Rogers, this is Agent O'Dair," Natasha introduced. "She'll be working closely with us as we locate the Tesseract and Loki."

   Now, everything was making much more sense. Of course, Riley knew who Steve Rogers was. He was a war hero, a super-soldier who sacrificed his life by flying a plane into ice to save thousands of lives. She wasn't there when he was retrieved from the ice, but Riley knew he was a big deal. If she hadn't heard it from her colleagues, then she heard it from Tony Stark, who seriously resented Steve Rogers.

   Riley had seen pictures of Captain America before, but seeing him in person was completely different, not to mention he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Of course, Riley wouldn't admit that.

   Steve nodded toward the girl, though he still looked puzzled. "O'Dair," he repeated. "I read your file. I wasn't expecting you to be so—"

   "I know," bitterly asserted Riley. She glanced back at Natasha. "Fury's waiting for us." With that, she turned on her heel and continued on her way to the bridge.

   Steve and Bruce exchanged surprised looks by how the girl's nature suddenly switched from lighthearted to stone-cold. They turned to Natasha, who sighed. "Don't take it personally, Captain," insisted Natasha. "She hates when people remind her of her age. It makes her feel incompetent when really, she's quite capable in her line of work."

   Steve just nodded slowly. "I didn't mean any offense—"

   "I know," interrupted Natasha, her tone reminding him of Riley's. "It's just a soft spot for her." She paused. "Shall we?" Natasha Romanoff didn't wait for their response. She continued down the hallway, following in Riley O'Dair's footsteps.

   Soon enough, the group stood before Fury at his console. The productive buzz of agents busily working filled the air. Riley's eyes widened in awe at the incredible view of the skies through the large windows.

   Out of the corner of her eye, Riley watched as Steve Rogers passed Nick Fury a crisp $10 bill. She dismissed it rather quickly, knowing how Fury loved making bets with people. Riley ignored the conversations around her to take in her environment. It wasn't like she'd never seen her colleagues actively working before. She just hadn't seen it happen 30,000 feet in the sky like this.

   Ignoring the conversation taking place, Riley chimed in, "Where are we with locating Tessie?"

   No one seemed to react to the nickname Riley had given the Tesseract, excluding Steve. This was his first time hearing it. Meanwhile, Phil Coulson approached the group. "We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cellphones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

   "That's still not gonna find them in time," muttered Natasha, thinking about Barton and Selvig.

   Bruce seemed to agree. "You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

   Fury floundered. "How many are there?"

   Bruce paused, beginning to take off his coat as he responded, "Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

   Nodding, Fury beckoned, "Agent Romanoff," The redhead quickly turned her attention back to her superior, "would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory please?"

   Natasha didn't waste another second. She walked toward Banner with a hint of priority in her step. "You're gonna love it, Doc," mused Natasha. "We've got all the toys."

   Riley snorted before turning toward Fury. "Where do you want me, Fury?" she inquired.

   Fury humored a thought in his head for a moment, considering his options. Then, he declared, "Actually, you're coming with me, O'Dair. I want to show you the new training wing."

   Riley didn't hesitate to follow her superior as they exited the open area. Still, her thoughts were muddled. What was so special about this so-called training wing anyway? Nonetheless, Riley kept her questions to herself and followed Fury; however, her confusion increased as they entered the elevator and Fury pressed the button for the lowest level.

   "The training wing's at the lowest level?" she queried, hesitant.

   "It's on the fourth floor," Fury nonchalantly revealed. "I'm taking you somewhere else."

   'Yeah, no shit.' "Should I be concerned?"

   "That's for you to decide," vaguely stated Fury. The elevator doors slid open with a ding, allowing the pair to step out.

   Riley racked her brain in an attempt to uncover what was going on. Did Riley miss something in their last meeting? Why were they here? Why did Fury lie to the others regarding their whereabouts?

   The duo walked throughout the corridor as Fury ordered, "I want you watching Banner closely. Offer to assist him in his work, lurk in the shadows. I don't care. If the Hulk comes out, I need you to be able to detain him before he causes too much danger." Riley nodded. "But before that, I want you to meet someone."

   Riley glanced back at her superior. "...Who?"

   Fury pushed open the door at the end of the hall to reveal a small detainment room. There was a glass wall dividing the room into two halves. "This room was originally designated for when we retrieve the compromised agents we lost, but instead, its use has been temporarily altered," elaborated Fury.

   Riley looked around the room, her eyes landing on someone standing on the opposite side of the glass. He stared at Riley with an intense look in his eyes, to which she returned without hesitation.

   Riley studied him, somewhat alarmed by his presence. At first glance, he looked like a normal guy—presumably Korean. His hair was black as night, his doe eyes just as dark. However, when Riley looked closer, she could see that when the light struck his body, iridescent colors stained the walls like he was a personified kaleidoscope. His eyes weren't brown, but instead, they were black with colorful galaxies swirling in them. His skin shined as though his body was composed of a star. Whoever this guy was, it was clear that he wasn't from this world.

   "Fury," Riley slowly began, "who is this...?"

   Fury walked over to a nearby table, grabbing a manila folder. He passed Riley the file as he answered, "Here's his file." Riley furrowed her eyebrows together, puzzled as she opened it. There wasn't much in it, other than a few sentences:

SUBJECT NAME: UNKNOWN
RESIDENCE: UNKNOWN
GENDER: MALE
SPECIES: UNKNOWN
OTHER(S): CRASH LANDED THROUGH STARK TOWERS IN A SPACESHIP APRIL 14th 2012. OTHER DETAILS ARE UNKNOWN. POTENTIAL HOSTILE FORCE.

   Riley peered back at Fury, perplexed. "This tells me almost nothing," she told him.

   "I know," admitted Fury. "With everything that's been going on, this is the last thing I want on my mind. We don't know anything about him, but I suspect he's working with Loki."

   "What makes you think that?" Riley retorted. Fury eyed her, almost like it was obvious. "I'm serious. Thor crash-landed on Earth, too, but he's not hostile."

   Fury sighed. "Well, that's what your mission is. I need you to figure out everything there is to know about our... guest." The two peered back at the alien, who continued to glare at them. "You said you wanted to prove you're ready to be an Avenger. This is your chance. Prove to me that we can or can't trust him. I'm expecting an update by the end of the day."

   Riley scoffed. "Seriously? You want me to interrogate this guy?" she complained.

   "I've had nine different agents come in and try to get a word out of him. All he's done is be... uncooperative," reported Fury. "I need you to pull this off before Loki gets to him. Consider him your newest responsibility. Once you're done, you can report to Dr. Banner."

   Riley couldn't find it in her to argue with her superior any further. After all, this was what her job included: interrogations, spying, protection detail, damage control. All of that was combined into one little mission. Riley could pull this off. She still needed to prove to Fury that she was serious about being an Avenger either way. Riley didn't have a choice.

   So, the agent sighed and nodded. "Fine," she replied. "I'll have that report to you ASAP."

   What Fury said next was beyond Riley, for she was too busy focusing on how she was going to get this alien to talk to her. She wasn't sure what Fury meant by "uncooperative", but she figured that just meant the alien wasn't talking at all.

   She didn't know it yet, but she would have preferred the silent treatment rather than what came next.