73 Avengers: And So It Begins

In space, a staircase stood on top of floating rocks as a shady alien creature called The Other climbed it, greeting a disembodied figure on a throne.

"The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world, a human world. They would wield its power. But our ally knows its workings as they never will. Reborn by your blessings, and with the power of the Norn Stones, he is ready to lead. And our force..." The Other spoke to the darkened figure as Loki, the exiled Asgardian God of Mischief and Lies walked out of a dark lake, a scepter with a glowing blue gem in his hand. "...our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his... the universe, yours. And the humans? What can they do but burn?"

The Other laughed while Loki smirked, the scepter in his hand glowing as the Chitauri put on their face mask and get ready for a war.

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A helicopter sped over a mountain at high-speeds, and after navigating through the darkened clouds, it emerged as it spotted a SHIELD/NASA Facility in its vicinity.

This base was grand beyond belief, what one would expect from the funds the US Government is willing to spend monitoring its populace and developing weapons of mass destruction. But tonight was a bit different than regular as all the personnel were busy imitating ants in a flooding nest.

There was frantic evacuation in progress. Agents, Scientists, and Personnel rushing around the base frantically as a female voice over the intercom kept reprimanding them to evacuate and leave their previous dilly-dally.

"All personnel, the evacuation order has been confirmed. Proceed to your designated vehicles..." The voice warned as a man flushes people by while the SHIELD agents assisted people. Some stuffed the trunks of their cars with equipment and left the campus, while others stayed behind to help with the evacuation. "...for all campus evacuation. Security Guards direct the traffic. This is not a drill. Emergency personnel proceed to your designated vehicles for all campus evacuations. I repeat this is not a drill-"

The helicopter slowed above a landing pad and descended, landing in front of a man in a suit. The door of the chopper slid open as Maria steped out, following behind her was Nick.

"How bad is it?" Nick asked Phil Coulson grimly as they began walking toward the building.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know." Phil replied maintaining a neutral look as they steped into an elevator. Pressing a button, the elevator rushed down, going fast. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago."

"NASA didn't authorize Selvig could go to test B."

"He wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous event." Phil replied shaking his head.

"It just turned itself on?" Maria asked almost scoffing.

"Where are the energy levels now?" Fury asked.

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down we ordered evac." The man replied curtly.

"How long to get everyone out?"

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour."

"Do better." Fury said as he and Hill continued on as Coulson turned around with a nod and headed the other way, following his order.

Fury and Hill made their way down to the lower levels as Maria finally decided to speak her mind.

"Sir, evacuation may be futile."

"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" Nick retorts sarcastically.

"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy there may not be a minimum safe distance." Maria argued as Nick gave her a side look with his lone eye.

"I need you to make sure the Phase Two prototypes are shipped out."

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" Maria asked in disbelief coming to a halt while Nick walks before turning around.

"Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on." Nick replied narrowing his eyes. "I already have enough on my plate with that damned Spider running rampant and then disappearing, I do not want more headaches, do you understand? Clear out the tech below. I want every piece of Phase Two on a truck and gone."

Maria stared at the man in front of her for a moment, trying to muster the courage to speak her mind but decides to bite her tongue and simply nod.

"Yes, Sir." Maria replied walking past Fury as she gestured for the two guards to follow her. "With me."

Fury sighed as Maria walked away before he entered the Tesseract room making his way over to Erik Selvig.

"Talk to me, Doctor."

"Director." Erik turned around and greeted Fury with a stiff smile.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving."

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's misbehaving." Erik replied shaking his head as Fury looked at the Tesseract.

"How soon can you pull the plug?" Fury asked looking at a computer.

"She's an energy source. We turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level-" Erik began to explain as Fury sighed and turning towards him before cutting him off.

"We prepared for this, Doctor. Harnessing energy from space." He interrupted Selvig giving him a look.

"We don't have the harness. My calculations are far from complete." Erik replied firmly, not backing down. "She's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of Gamma radiation."

Fury's eyes widened slightly before he narrowed his eyes at Selvig.

"That can be harmful." Fury stated before looking around. "Where's agent Barton?"

"The hawk?" Selvig scoffs as he points upwards. "Up in his nest, as usual."

"Agent Barton. Report." Fury spokr into his radio as Barton quickly zip-lined down a rope.

"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury said as he and Barton walked together toward the Tesseract machine.

"I see better from a distance." Clint replied with a small smile. "I almost hit Spider-Man remember?

"Is that your biggest achievement now, Barton?" Fury rolled his eyes as Clint displayed a small grin.

"Considering most people don't even last a second against him, I think I did pretty great." Barton joked shaking his head. "So, yes."

"Have you seen anything that might set this thing off?" Nick asked changing the conversation as a NASA Scientist called for Selvig.

"Doctor! It's spiking again!" She called out as Barton and Fury step onto the platform, in front of the Tesseract machine. Selvig walked over to the computer where the NASA Scientist is beaconing and he looked at the screen with concern and worry.

"No one's come and gone. And Selvig's clean. No contacts, no IM. If there's any tampering, sir, it wasn't this end." Barton replied folding his hand.

"At this end?" Fury asked a little confused.

"Yeah. The Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?" Barton asked the obvious as he pointed towards the Tessaract. "Well, doors open from both sides."

And as if that was the cue, the Cube sparked.

"What's that?" Selvig whispers to himself as the Cube sparked again and the facility began shaking, cracks appearing along walls and ceilings growing in size as the Cube sparked some more and more, bigger each time.

Suddenly it fired a beam of energy which opened into a portal and before anyone in the room could react, there was an explosion.

A cloud from the beam floats to the top of the chamber, while everyone looked ahead gathering their wits as they see Loki, kneeling on top of the platform.

Several guards present in the room move in slowly, towards Loki as he looked up, grinning menacingly, standing up while Fury and Barton stare at him in mild shock.

Loki looked around in amusement while Fury reached for his gun ready to act.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" Fury said, his tone bare of any amusement as he took out his gun from his holster but Loki was unbothered, looking down at his scepter before he suddenly fired a blue beam from it.

Barton pushed Fury out the way as the guards opened fire at Loki. Loki jumped at them, firing more energy and used the sharp tip of the scepter to kill and maim. The bullets bounced off him harmlessly as he kept shooting scientists and agents.

Fury groaned still on the ground while Barton got up and moved towards him but Loki grabbed his arm and twisted it making Barton groan in pain. Loki raised his hand to kill Barton but suddenly decided otherwise as an idea hit him.

"You have heart." Loki whispered menacingly with a smirk as he touched the tip of the spear to Barton's chest. The spear dispensed a glowing mist that enters Barron's chest as his eyes turned ice blue.

As if in a daze he stared at Loki impassively putting his gun away. Satisfied with his handiwork Loki moved to another agent and did the same thing he did to Barton.

Fury sneakily pulled the Cube out from the machine it was in and shut it in a briefcase, before swiftly moving to leave.

"Please don't." Loki spoke out turning on his, as Fury realized that running away was not an option for him. "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury said gritting his teeth as he tried to stall Loki.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else." Loki replied swiftly as spreading his arms dramatically. "I am Loki, of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Selvig, who was checking the pulse of his co-worker perked up, hearing the name and foolishly approached the man

(A/N: Smart people sure are dumb. I mean, why not just bail out while you still can?)

"Loki, brother of Thor?" He asked as Loki's smile strained for a moment but before he could retort Fury raised his arms in an easing manner.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury said trying, to diffuse the situation.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki retorted as if this was an obvious thing to him.

"You are planning to step on us?" Fury asked more alarmed than before while Loki just smiled smugly.

"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free." He said trotting around dramatically.

"Free from what?" Fury asked dreading the answer.

"Freedom." Loki replied as Nick narrowed his eyes further. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart-"

Loki halted mid-sentence as he turned and placed the spear tip on Selvig's chest, putting him under his spell as well.

"-you will know peace." He finished as Barton looked up and saw the Tesseract portal cloud, brewing, and so he moved towards Loki to warn him.

"Yeah, you say peace. I kinda think you mean the other thing-"

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us." Barton cut Nick off as he moved beside Loki, who turned to give Nick a look.

"Like the pharaohs of old." Stated Nick honestly, his ruse exposed.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig exclaimed in alert, agreeing with Barton.

"Well then." Loki said giving Barton a nod who quickly drew his gun and shot Fury, who dropped the case and fell backward.

Barton quickly picked up the case as he, Loki, Selvig, and another agent left the room.

(A/N: Should have double-tapped Fury in the head, right there and then. He would have easily won the war then. Just saying.¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Barton and the others walked under the closing gate just as Hill came out from the back room.

"We need these vehicles." Barton said to the guards at the closing gate as Hill gave them a curious look.

"Who's that?" She asked out looking at the man wearing strange but fancy clothes.

"Didn't tell me." Barton replied shortly not turning back.

The roof starts crumbling slowly as Loki got onto a SHIELD pickup truck while Selvig entered the passenger seat, holding the case.

"Hill!" Maria heard a distorted voice through the static as she began walking back in.

"Hill, Do you copy?!" Maria was about the reply but Fury carried on. "Barton...has turned!"

As soon as he said that, Maria turned a bit as Barton pulled his gun and fired at her. She quickly rolled behind the back room wall and returned the fire as Barton entered the driver's seat of the pickup and began driving off with Loki in the back of the truck.

Hill peeked out of her cover as she watched them speed off. The facility begins to shake violently as her radio buzzes once again.

"Get the Tesseract! Shut them down!"

Hill didn't respond verbally as she threw her radio into the front seat of a SHIELD jeep. She jumped in after and sped away after turning the jeep on and stepping on the gas, trying to catch up with Barton.

Hill sighed to herself as she reflected on just how hectic her life had turned in the past few years. It started with Banner breaking Harlem in half, then it was the birth of Tony Stark's Iron Man and after the playboy literal alien Gods decided to grace with their presence, and then the first superhero was found in ice.

While Hill had always had a hectic life since she joinedSm SHIELD it has never been this bad. As a field agent, her objectives were crystal and clear. Information extraction, interrogation, target monitoring, suspect tracking, she always has clear objectivs but ever since that damned Spider-Man appeared she hasn't been to catch a break in a long while. Especially since Fury decided to make her in charge of his case.

Her issues seemed to grow even more since the trigger-happy arachnid decided to throw any tact he had out of the window and take on and out, every and any party that crossed his paths causing her list of problems have been increase and increase day by day. Now to top off her stressful month dealing with the fallout of the Kingpin/Hand incident she gets this.

Their own agents turning against them and playing fetch with a power source that could potentially level the entirety of America.

She needed a vacation.

SHIELD cars chased after Barton's pickup, as Maria tried to catch up to them. Loki fired a beam from his spear, flipping the car over on its head blocking the pursuing vehicles and fleeing cars as Maria banked hard to avoid crashing into the pile-up.

Barton sped up because as he was at an intersection and Hill used the opportunity to change lanes. She came speeding out of the right tunnel, as she spun the jeep around coming face to face with Barton, who began shooting at her through his window. Hill aimed her gun at Barton, returning the fire -- firing through her windshield as well.

Barton fired at Hill one more time which she returned before finally Barton got the upper hand on her and swung in front of Hill -- cutting her off. She turned the jeep around and continued to speed behind them as she heared the explosion take place behind her before the tunnel behind her started collapsing rapidly.

The ceiling of the tunnel began falling, trapping the back of Hill's jeep and other agents pursuing Loki underground while Loki smirked smugly as they made it out of the tunnel safely.

Only seconds after escaping the tunnel, as they were driving along, Fury's chopper chased after them quickly catching up. Barton steered the vehicle frantically as Fury began firing at them from the sky with his gun.

Growling to himself Loki blasted the helicopter with a flick of his scepter, causing the bird to spin out of control and fall. Fury jumped out of the chopper as it crashed behind him. He quickly retrieved his gun and continued to fire as the truck sped off into the distance.

He stood there gritting his teeth in anger as the truck disappeared out of his sight

"Director." Nick heard Phil over his radio as he quickly retrieved it. "Director Fury, do you copy?

"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" Fury asked for an update as he tried to assess the situation.

"A lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors." He heard Maria breathe heavily into the radio as he looked into the distance with a grim look.

"Sound a general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase." He commanded.

"Roger that." Maria replies curtly.

"Coulson, get back to base." Fury instructed. "This is a level seven. As of right now..."

"We are at war."

------

In a dark empty space, a void that held nothing to look, at a lonely figure sat in the darkness. The strands of mana floating and pulsing around him seemed to be the only source of light.

The figure's slitted red eyes snapped open as a smirk made its way to his face, the figure stood up.

"It's finally happening." Peter smirked to himself combing his now long and wild behind his ear as he began walking ahead. Swiping his hand across, a crack appeared in the space in front of him before the crack spread across the entire void as the light began seeping through the crackd. The void suddenly shattered as Peter walked through the cracked wall breaking it.

"And so it begins."

Peter smiled as he appeared in the middle of Kamar-Taj, in front of the Ancient One who smiled happily upon seeing him.

"You have grown, disciple." The Ancient One smiled. "I can't sense even the barest trace of magic from you. Good control. It seems you are ready."

"Of course, I learned from the best after all." Peter replied with a grin as Ancient One approached him. She raised her hands as she inspected his naked torso while Peter gave her a curious look.

"You have grown taller and... More muscular." She hummed as she traced his obliques that twitched with the slightest movement. "Something I didn't think was possible."

"Haha, what can I say? I'm always breaking past barriers." Peter smirked. "It's just my biology, ya know?"

"I know." She smiled before materializing new clothes that would fit him. With a flick of her fingers, she helped Peter into new clothes. "You look even better than before. I'm sure the ladies will be happy with the new development."

Peter just chuckled as she teased him.

"Well, are you happy with it?" Peter wiggled his eyebrows as she just rolled her eyes.

"Yep." She replied shortly as she began walking away. "But a haircut would do you more favours. Come, walk with me."

"Aight, lady." Peter smiled catching up to his magic teacher. "So, what's new?"

"Nothing particularly interesting. Susan dropped by to deliver the news that they sent the first expedition team to the Savage Lands and have retrieved enough vibranium and anti-metal to meet your immediate demands."

"Well, that is interesting and exhilarating." Peter smiled as he entered the Ancient One's room. He took a sit on the table while sat beside him and poured him a cup of tea.

"To you, it must be." She smiled softly taking a sip from her cup as her eyes sparkled. "Also, you may have sensed it already but in case you haven't, it went as we predicted; the Asgardian has arrived."

"I know." Peter smiled back drinking from his own cup as looked at the ceiling.

"What are you going to do now?" She asked curiously as Peter just shrugged.

"Nothing much really." Peter hummed to himself. "I guess I'll just watch what moves they make before I jump in."

"You are not going to get involved from the get-go?"

"Nah, what the fun in getting shitfaced in a party prematurely." Peter smirked. "I'll just wait until the beat drops and then..."

"I'll square dance with 'em."

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Alternative Titles:

- Hill Needs A Pay Hike

- To The Savage Lands!

- Peter 'Post-Training' Parker

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So, a new chapter, a new volume, a new Peter.

What abilites would you like him to acquire now that Peter has been training in magic. Let me know.

Also, double chapter! Rejoice!