Chapter 4: A bet

"Agent Coulson, report."

"Sir, we have not been able to procure a DNA sample much less a hair or a cell from Mr Vex." said Coulson in a calm voice even if he was on the business end of Fury's stare.

"Three months and not a single sample from our alien guest?" Fury asked incredulously.

"Yes, sir."

"We do have Hill on the field, right?"

"Yes, sir." Coulson nodded.

"And yet we haven't got a single genetic sample from our guest. Why?"

"We have accessed all his personal belongings, clothes, watch, bed sheets, carpet and even the garbage, but we have not found any traces of genetic samples. Our best possible guess is that he cleans up neatly or there is nothing to clean up." said Coulson, pursing his lips.

"Do elaborate Coulson." said Fury with some confusion.

"Several of our analysts believe that Mr Vex simply does not age like normal humans. Another group is of the opinion that he does not age at all."

"So, you are telling me that we have an immortal alien amongst us?" Fury asked in disbelief.

"Not exactly, sir. It is entirely possible that this is due to Mr Vex's physiology. He has not at all shared anything about Kryptonian genetics with us." Coulson reminded his boss.

For a time, Fury remained silent, looking thoughtfully at the table in his room while drumming his fingers against the hardwood surface.

"What do you think about him?" Fury asked finally.

"Every psych profile we have of Mr Vex puts him as friendly. Agent Hill also speaks favourably of him."

"What else she has to say about him?" asked Fury.

"He does not mix well with large crowds. She thinks he is physically restraining himself to behave in a certain way to blend in," said Coulson before he hastily added, "This was something our analysts predicted, as extraterrestrial lifeforms may have a different relationship with time than humans."

"Do you think it was a bad idea to throw him out into the open?" asked Fury as he scrolled through the images taken by the agents assigned to keep an eye on Cerion.

"Locking him up in our base would have been counterproductive. There was a significant chance that he would have turned hostile at some point. We did clock him as a friendly in our initial assessment. Having him operate in the open has done some good to him, and we did collect a ton of data without pissing off a super-powered alien." said Coulson with a shrug. "I would say the risks were there but very minimal, and the decision was a sound one. Anyway, it seems to work out in the end."

Coulson nodded at a picture of Cerion with a woman in a café.

"Who am I looking at?" asked Fury.

"That would be Jane Foster, sir. She is a research fellow in Culver."

"Their relationship?"

"They are neighbours, as Miss Foster lives opposite Mr Vex's room. As far as we know, they are friends."

"Keep an eye on them."

"Will do sir." Coulson nodded before he hesitated.

Fury didn't miss the look that passed through Coulson's face.

"Come off it, Coulson."

"Sir, shouldn't we have asked him about the Kree, Skrull or any other extraterrestrial civilizations out there?" asked Coulson.

After all, any intel on alien civilizations were a goldmine and if it could be delivered freely all the better.

"I don't want to spook him. Besides, we don't know whether Krypton has any standing alliances with the Kree. If they do, then I don't want any possible blowback affecting us in any way. We just found someone with similar powers to Carol Danvers, and I would like to build some trust with our guest." said Fury, leaning back into his seat and casting a speculative eye on the image of Cerion Vex and Jane Foster.

"Let him roam the Earth under our watch and let things progress organically. Sooner or later, he will develop attachments on our planet and that we will exploit for the safety and security of this planet."

"Sir, there is also another potential problem." said Coulson which made Fury raise an eyebrow in interest.

"We have been monitoring the status of Mr Vex's ship using our satellites orbiting the moon. There is a distinct possibility that other space agencies will pick up the ship's location, especially with all the solar panels clustering around the ship's general location." said Coulson

"That is not good," Fury said with a sigh. "We cannot exactly transport the ship into our atmosphere. We do not have a spacecraft capable of doing such a thing, and even if it was possible, there would be security risks. A space mission of that scale will not go unnoticed."

"What do we do sir? If anyone gets an idea of what's going on then the situation will spin out of our control." said Coulson

Fury stood up from his seat and stared at the bright sky outside. The sun was about to go out, but the sky remained as bright as it could be. A few minutes later, he made a decision.

"Clear my schedule on Friday. I think it's time that I pay a visit to our alien friend."

******

"How am I doing?" asked Cerion, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his apartment with his eyes closed.

"You are doing very well, Cerion. Your energy output is steady, but it could be better. Now, slowly open your eyes and see for yourself." said the Ancient One.

Cerion did exactly that and he saw that a bubble of energy was surrounding him. The bubble was silver-white on the outside but he could actually feel the energy that was now thrumming in his veins.

"You are doing good, Cerion. Now, concentrate and absorb back the energy into your body."

He did as the Ancient One suggested and folded the energy bubble into himself. When the process was complete, he was on his feet and did a fist pump. "Yes!" He was mindful of his actions as he didn't want to accidentally blow the upper levels of the building.

"There is a long way yet to go, but for the moment, this is an improvement," said the Ancient One, snapping her fingers to dismiss the Mirror Dimension.

"But I am improving, right?"

"Indeed." she nodded. "You've managed to exert some control over the energy inside your body. But our task is to control the energy intake into your body, which is easier said than done. The time dilation field has disenchanted one of the most essential links between your soul and body. I have seen this happen, and it will take time for your body to sync with the energy you now wield."

"I will get there eventually. After all, we have only practised this for a week and that too in your presence." said Cerion before sinking into a couch with a bottle of beer in his hand.

He had noticed some subtle ageing on his body and had assumed it was the result of his exposure to Yellow Sun radiation or a time dilation field. It was the Ancient One that confirmed the time dilation theory. He had no reason to disbelieve her as she would be the foremost expert on anything related to time. His eyes scanned for the Time Stone on her person, but he came up empty.

"Speaking of which, how is your Sanskrit learning?" asked the Ancient One as she sat opposite him on a couch, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"It's coming along well, though I don't have much time to spare," Cerion admitted. "But I am trying my best with the time I have. It is not exactly an easy language to learn on the fly."

"Hmm... that's good. You will have to spend some time in Kamar Taj. There is a limit to which I can teach you if you are on this side of the globe."

"I will have to cut into the time of my work on the ship. Not to mention, SHIELD will notice that I am missing from the crash site. I don't want to alarm them even more without due cause."

"Don't you worry. An opportunity will present itself soon enough. Do train with the sling ring Cerion. I've got a feeling that you'll be needing it shortly."

Having said her piece, the Ancient One stood up from the couch and created a portal in a jiffy.

"What do you mean by that?" Cerion asked with a frown as he, too, stood up.

"You'll see." Ancient One said with a smile before her eyes flickered to the door. "Answer your door."

Before he could ask what that meant, the Ancient One stepped into the portal, which closed up in a jiffy. For a short moment, he stared blankly at the space where the portal was before a knock on the door distracted him.

Making sure there was nothing out of the ordinary in his room, he opened the door, only to let out an internal sigh of relief as his late-night guest turned out to be Jane Foster. Only two weeks had passed since Jane Foster moved into the apartment across from his own. In that short time, a tentative friendship had blossomed between them.

"Do you know what time it is?" Jane asked with a cross look on her face.

Her raven hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing a white hoodie over a white round neck shirt with black jeans. It looked as if she was dressed to go out which she usually doesn't do often at night.

"Mmm…" that was all he could let out as his brain short-circuited for a moment.

"It's quarter past seven. Did you forget that today was takeout night?" asked Jane, and it was then that everything clicked into clarity for him.

"Ah, I simply forgot about that. Just let me get my jacket."

He hurried back into his bedroom and plucked a jacket out of his closet. A few minutes later, he was walking beside Jane through the street on the way to a nearby restaurant.

"How come you forgot this was the takeout night?" asked Jane.

"Contrary to your belief, I do have to work during the day. I was simply busy with some work and forgot."

"Oh. It must've been interesting stuff if you forgot the takeout?" asked Jane said innocently.

"Mmhm." Cerion hummed noncommittally.

"There are a lot of works being done on String theory."

"Is there?" he asked absently as they crossed a road.

"Maybe supersymmetry?" Jane fished unabashedly.

"I see what you are doing."

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You are trying to find out what I am working on." Cerion accused her with a flat stare.

"Hey, you can't blame a girl for being curious." defended Jane

"Have you ever heard the saying curiosity killed the cat?" asked Cerion just before they reached the restaurant and held out the door for Jane.

"Only in passing." said Jane before hopping inside.

"Figures." he mumbled before following her inside.

He took a seat across from Jane at their usual table.

"So, what are you having today?" Jane asked as she browsed the menu provided by the waitress.

"I wanted to try Thai food. Mmm…." He browsed through the dishes until, finally, his eyes struck gold. "I think I will have Panang Curry."

"Truly! Have you ever had Thai food before?" asked Jane with a look of concentration as she went through the menu.

"Once or twice. You?"

"Never tried any so far. Is it any good?" asked Jane.

"Trust me, you will love it." He said with a thumbs up.

"What the hell. I might as well try this one. Panang Curry, was it?"

Eventually, both of them ordered the dish and tucked in.

"Mmm…." Jane moaned. "It tastes good."

"Far better than the horrible thing you cooked in your kitchen, right?" Cerion asked with a grin.

"I seem to remember that you were not much better." said Jane, waving her fork threateningly, not at all happy to be reminded of her failed attempt at cooking.

"I am just out of practice. Give me one month, and I will surprise you," he challenged.

"How about a bet?" asked Jane.

"The stakes?" he leaned forward in interest.

"April 30 will be the deadline. You learn to cook within that time, and if you impress me, I will give you….." Jane thought hard but couldn't come up with anything.

"Give me a personal tour of your college, especially your lab. And I'll get access to your research notes," he said with a victorious grin.

"Hey, that's too much…." She trailed off as an idea came to her mind.

A smile blossomed on her face as she realised she could turn this around.

"Alright, I will give you a tour of the college and access to my lab. My research notes are off the table, but I can agree to unrestricted access to my research under several conditions."

"Name them." Cerion steepled his fingers and looked interested.

"You have to impress me with your cooking, which is a given." Jane ticked off one of her fingers.

"Alright." Cerion agreed.

"You have to tell me where you work right now, and when I win the bet, you have to tell me all about exactly what you are working on. Deal?" she offered her hand, which he shook after thinking things through.

"That's awfully skewed in your favour, but since I already know where you hang your coat, I'm game." Cerion said after a brief moment of thought. "You have a deal, Jane."

"So, tell me, exactly where do you work?" asked Jane. "It's been bugging me for a long time."

Cerion merely fished his ID card from the pocket of his jeans and slid it across the table. He did enjoy Jane's wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression, which, if nothing else, made his day.

Before he could tease her, his phone rang. Knowing that only very few people knew his number, he deduced this was a call that demanded immediate attention.

"Hello."

"We haven't met yet, but I would like to meet you. Just turn your head to the left." A sharp voice spoke from the phone.

Cerion turned his head to the left, and sure enough, there was a black dude in a full dark emo pirate theme standing outside in the street.

"I am Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. We need to talk."