Fixed in the Shadows
Prologue
I slowly raise the knife. I can slightly see my reflection in the blade. I do not like what I see, but that is not going to stop me. The man I'm holding by the neck squirms, trying to get free. He begs for mercy. He begs for me to release him. He tells me he will never hurt another woman again. I will show no mercy. I lower the knife to his neck and just as I start to slit his throat, everything goes black.
I sit up in bed with a jolt and my eyes fly open. I suck in breath with a "hugh!" noise. My heart is pounding. I'm soaked in sweat. Another nightmare. I suddenly hear movement over to my left. Boots against carpet. It is the faintest sound but I can still pick it up. I notice the window is open, letting the cool night air in. Someone has breached the perimeter.
I slowly slide my hand under my pillow. I grip a small throwing knife in my hand, getting ready to attack. I count to three and then lunge out of my bed and onto the man in all black over by my dresser. My body wraps him from behind. I disarm him and then flip him head-first onto his back. I twist his arm and hold the knife against his throat.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHO SENT YOU?" I scream in his face. He just makes gurgling noises.
There is a knock at the door. I kick him in the face, knocking him unconcious. I grab his pistol and stalk over to the door. I look through the peep hole. Blackness. I grip the door handle and fling it open, pointing the gun at whoever is there. In the doorway is a man in a suit and three men in all black, matching the unconcious guy on my floor.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask, pointing the pistol right at his head. I could easily shoot him right inbetween the eyes.
"I'm with SHIELD," he says plainly, flashing his identification.
"What do you want?" I ask, lowering the firearm.
"We need you to come in."
I invite the men in. I make tea for me and coffee for the gentlemen. The man in the suit sits across from me at my table, ready to explain everything to me. I'm still in my pajamas. I'm much too tired to change.
"So what should I call you?" I ask, sipping my tea and sitting back casually. The light above the table causes dark shadows to cast down the agent's face.
"Agent Lynch," he answers. "And what should I call you?"
"Skylar would be fine, please. I'm not into all that Agent Hourani crap." I smile.
"Right."
"So, who broke the world this time?" I ask nonchalantly.
"His name is Loki. He's... not from around here. He's from a world called Asgard. It's--"
I put my hand up, silencing him. "I know what Asgard is. What did this Loki do?" I wave my hand.
"He stole the tesseract." He hands me a high-tech tablet with all the information. "But I'm guessing you already know what that is."
"Yes, I do, actually. It's an energy cube that could supply Earth with unlimited sustainable energy. It was found by Howard Stark when he was looking for Captain America up in the Arctic Circle." My eyes scan the information in front of me. "Wow, SHIELD has really made a mess. The tesseract is gone along with one of your best agents, Hawkeye, and an anstrophysicist. Tisk tisk." I shake my hand and bite my lip.
"We know. That's why we need your help."
"What do you need me to do? I don't see how computer hacking can be used in this situation."
"Well, we were hoping you could possibly find Loki by finding his computer network. You're the best. If anyone can do it, you can. Also, we can see you are a very capable fighter." He gestures to the man I took down, who is now sitting on my bed with an ice pack. He gives me a pleading look.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." My shoulders hunch and then I sit up straight. "Well, that is true. I am the best." I smirk and flip my hair, jokingly. "But I don't know if I can do it." I toss the tablet on the table. "I'll only be able to do it if he's hooked up to a network. If he is and even if it's hidden with the most advanced software, I'll still be able to find it. I've created programs just for stuff like this."
"I'm going to ignore the fact you're breaking a number of laws. I think it's time for you to get packed up. Welcome to SHIELD, Ms. Hourani."
I sit up in bed with a jolt and my eyes fly open. I suck in breath with a "hugh!" noise. My heart is pounding. I'm soaked in sweat. Another nightmare. I suddenly hear movement over to my left. Boots against carpet. It is the faintest sound but I can still pick it up. I notice the window is open, letting the cool night air in. Someone has breached the perimeter.
I slowly slide my hand under my pillow. I grip a small throwing knife in my hand, getting ready to attack. I count to three and then lunge out of my bed and onto the man in all black over by my dresser. My body wraps him from behind. I disarm him and then flip him head-first onto his back. I twist his arm and hold the knife against his throat.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHO SENT YOU?" I scream in his face. He just makes gurgling noises.
There is a knock at the door. I kick him in the face, knocking him unconcious. I grab his pistol and stalk over to the door. I look through the peep hole. Blackness. I grip the door handle and fling it open, pointing the gun at whoever is there. In the doorway is a man in a suit and three men in all black, matching the unconcious guy on my floor.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask, pointing the pistol right at his head. I could easily shoot him right inbetween the eyes.
"I'm with SHIELD," he says plainly, flashing his identification.
"What do you want?" I ask, lowering the firearm.
"We need you to come in."
I invite the men in. I make tea for me and coffee for the gentlemen. The man in the suit sits across from me at my table, ready to explain everything to me. I'm still in my pajamas. I'm much too tired to change.
"So what should I call you?" I ask, sipping my tea and sitting back casually. The light above the table causes dark shadows to cast down the agent's face.
"Agent Lynch," he answers. "And what should I call you?"
"Skylar would be fine, please. I'm not into all that Agent Hourani crap." I smile.
"Right."
"So, who broke the world this time?" I ask nonchalantly.
"His name is Loki. He's... not from around here. He's from a world called Asgard. It's--"
I put my hand up, silencing him. "I know what Asgard is. What did this Loki do?" I wave my hand.
"He stole the tesseract." He hands me a high-tech tablet with all the information. "But I'm guessing you already know what that is."
"Yes, I do, actually. It's an energy cube that could supply Earth with unlimited sustainable energy. It was found by Howard Stark when he was looking for Captain America up in the Arctic Circle." My eyes scan the information in front of me. "Wow, SHIELD has really made a mess. The tesseract is gone along with one of your best agents, Hawkeye, and an anstrophysicist. Tisk tisk." I shake my hand and bite my lip.
"We know. That's why we need your help."
"What do you need me to do? I don't see how computer hacking can be used in this situation."
"Well, we were hoping you could possibly find Loki by finding his computer network. You're the best. If anyone can do it, you can. Also, we can see you are a very capable fighter." He gestures to the man I took down, who is now sitting on my bed with an ice pack. He gives me a pleading look.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." My shoulders hunch and then I sit up straight. "Well, that is true. I am the best." I smirk and flip my hair, jokingly. "But I don't know if I can do it." I toss the tablet on the table. "I'll only be able to do it if he's hooked up to a network. If he is and even if it's hidden with the most advanced software, I'll still be able to find it. I've created programs just for stuff like this."
"I'm going to ignore the fact you're breaking a number of laws. I think it's time for you to get packed up. Welcome to SHIELD, Ms. Hourani."
Notes
So I got a message from Dujo about this site so I decided to post my Avengers fic on it. Fixed in the Shadows is already complete on the regular Mibba but I though I'd do this. This baby got up to 38 subscribers on Mibba (impressive, I know :P).Skylar's Pajamas: http://www.polyvore.com/skylars_pajamas/set?id=52791706
1/15/13