Burning blue flame. A smoky cube shape emerges - The Tesseract. Filling the screen with blackness. In a throne room, kneeling behind a throne, a clothed, armored figure known as The Other, bows.
The Other: 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. He is ready to lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn?
The Other faces a horn shaped shadow. Loki. Loki is handed the Chitauri Sceptor, a long golden handle, fitted with a blue gem encircled with silver blades. The Other's ally is ready to lead and the Chitauri force will follow. Tens of thousands of Chitauri stand ready in a seething mass of neat rows and columns . . . . the ground simply quakes. The world will be his and the humans will burn.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S Facility at night. Out in the New Mexico desert, a remote research facility is in a state of panic. It�s an evacuation. A swooping helicopter flies in. Chaos. Men in suits run around like in the typical 'we have to leave' fashion. Soldiers on foot jump onto Humvees, accelerating the hell out of there.
Standing a few yards from the helicopter landing pad, a Fed in a suit with badass shades, peers at the helicopter as it lands. This is SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson. Walking out of the helicopter is SHIELD Agent Mary Hill, sexy, fierce, and determined. Following her, SHIELD Director Nick Fury climbs out. Hill and Fury approach Agent Coulson.
In the facility, Agent Coulson leads Hill and Fury through the radiation section of the facility. Hundreds of technicians and other staff run around, taking only the essentials. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago. Spontaneous advancement. It just turned itself on. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, he ordered the evac.
Heading down to the radiation facility, Agent Hill warns an evacuation may be futile. They can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance. Fury wants 'PHASE 2' prototypes shipped out.
Fury: Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.
Inside the NASA Space Radiation Facility - Vacuum Chamber, Fury enters where the Tesseract is being held by a compact Muon Solenoid Coil.
Dr. Erik Selvig emerges from behind the CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract is glowing unusually brighter and flare rings shoot out at random. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving. She's an energy source. If they turn off the power, she turns it back on. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation.
Fury: Where's Barton?
Selvig: The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual.
We see Clint "Hawkeye" Barton, dressed in black tactical gear, is up on the railings watching them below, Fury calls Barton on his earpiece. Barton rappels down from the catwalk and walks up to Fury. They both walk around the facility in a discreet manner.
Fury: I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things.
Barton: Well I see better from a distance.
Fury: Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?
Barton: No one's come or gone. And Selvig's clean. No contacts, IMs. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end.
Fury: At this end?
Barton: Yeah. The Cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open up both sides.
Off to the side, a NASA scientist notifies the doctor that it's spiking again. Dr. Selvig clacks away at the keyboard and sees on the monitoring his worst nightmares. Suddenly, the Tesseract thunders and shakes the entire facility. Big enough where both Agents Hill and Coulson can feel and they�re at different ends of the facility.
The flaring rings and glow of the cube spout out brighter and louder, like a boiling pot of water. The Tesseract�s energy builds up into a beam much like the Bifrost Bridge, which hits at the end of a platform that is wired to the CMS device. The great maelstrom beam fires the Tesseract energy. The beam then forms a vortex, which then opens up a portal. A black hole is created.
From the portal, the blackness of space, beautiful and mysterious, strewn with a billion stars appears and a gust of blue energy clouds fill the room, blinding everyone. The Tesseract�s energy forms into a cloud that reaches to the top the facility�s vacuum chamber ceiling.
It�s abnormally quiet. Then . . . heavy breathing is heard from the platform. SHEILD guards slowly approach, weapons in hands. A figure is kneeling on the platform, smoke coming off it. It�s Loki. Smiling in his mischievous manner, he raises his head. The smile dies down. He looks deep into the eyes of Fury, Barton and Selvig.
Fury: Sir, please put down the spear.
He stands up, holding the scepter. Loki looks at his spear then suddenly points it at where Fury and Barton are standing and shoots out a blue exploding light towards them.
Barton tackles Fury and they both barely miss Loki�s fired shot. All hell breaks. Machine gun fire is shot at Loki, but the bullets bounce off him like a boss. Loki jumps high from the platform and attacks those firing at him. In the blink of an eye, Loki takes down several guards with his knives and energy blasts from the scepter. He stops and waits to see who will attack him next.
Honestly, the whole lab has almost gone to shit. Barton tries to stand up. Loki quickly walks towards him. Barton raises his gun, but Loki grabs Barton's hand. Loki points the head of his spear at Barton's heart. Barton�s eyes suddenly turn black. The ability to control Barton's mind is now in Loki�s hand. Barton puts his piece away and stands straight.
As Loki is focused on the other S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, Fury takes the Tesseract, placing it back into its case and tries to leave the lab.
Loki: Please don't. I still need that.
Fury: This doesn't have to get any messier.
Loki: Of course it does. I've come too far anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose.
Selvig: Loki, brother of Thor.
Fury: We have no quarrel with your people.
Loki: An ant has no quarrel with a boot.
Fury: Are you planning to step on us?
Loki: I come with glad tidings of a world made free.
Fury: Free from what?
Loki: Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart...
Like a gunslinger, Loki turns to face Selvig who's standing behind him and places his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig�s eyes turn black.
Loki: ...you will know peace.
Fury: Yeah, you say "peace," I kind of think you mean the other thing.
Barton: 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.
Fury: Like the pharaohs of old.
Selvig: He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical.
Loki: Well, then...
Loki, looking at Barton, who doesn�t even hesitate, shoots Fury who falls to the ground. Barton grabs the case containing the Tesseract and leaves the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other S.H.I.E.L.D personnel Loki is controlling. From the vacuum chamber ceiling, Tesseract�s energy cloud rapidly builds into what may be an implosion. The portal is collapsing in on itself.
Inside the PEGASUS Bunker exiting the the tunnel, Loki and his captive recruits are in the parking lot of the facility, quickly gathering certain weapons. Agent Hill watches in confusion, referring to Loki. Agent Hill looks suspiciously at them as they get into the truck and turns to leave. In the lab, Fury is sitting up, pulling out the bullet from his Kevlar vest, breathing heavily.
As Maria is walking away, Fury radios her to warn her. Loki and Barton look sharply at Agent Hill. In the Bunker, suddenly Hill turns to shoot at Barton, but Barton is already pointing his gun at her and starts shooting, he moves to the driver�s seat of the truck and drives off as Hill keeps shooting. Loki�s trucks screech across the tunnel.
Back in the Lab, Fury is holding his side, running. The energy is brewing a shit storm from the vacuum chamber ceiling. In the Bunker, Agent Hill slips into a jeep and follows after Barton's truck. Several SHIELD trucks pull up to them. A drive-by shooting ensues.
Loki, who stands on top of the bed of the truck, uses his scepter and emits energy blasts, flipping over SHIELD trucks. At the facility, Fury races out of the hallway, avoiding falling pipes. The entire facility is now in a full earthquake. Elsewhere, Agent Coulson and several SHIELD agents fall down the steps, dropping silver cases of information.
They attempt to grab them, but Coulson orders them to leave it. They run out of there like a bat from hell. In the PEGASUS tunnel, Agent Hill�s jeep roars along side of Barton�s truck on the left. She goes way ahead and pulls her brake, swerving into a 360, facing Barton�s truck and driving in reverse.
Barton�s arms reach out the open window and opens fire. Agent Hill figures �fuck it� and shoots her windshield opening fire on Barton. Agent Coulson jumps into a SHIELD van. On his walkie talkie, he tells Fury they are clear and he needs to go.
At the helicopter pad, Fury bolts out of the facility and jumps into a helicopter. The surface of the pad gives way, plunging the helicopter through the surface. But Fury�s chopper barely makes it out. In the PEGASUS tunnel, still in a chase and drive-by sequence, Barton pushes the pedal harder, which causes Agent Hill�s jeep to wobble out and put her back behind.
In the Radiation Facility Vacuum Chamber, the Tesseract�s energy cloud now shrinks into a small ball of white light . . . and the a blinding explosion destroying the entire compound. Everything is being sucked into a sink hole.
In the tunnel, Agent Hill dodges falling rock until she is finally cut off. Barton's truck makes it out of the tunnel, waiting there is Fury's chopper. Barton swings the truck into the desert as Fury opens fire. Loki uses his scepter and emits an energy blast, downing the chopper.
As it tail spins downward, Fury jumps out and tumbles on the ground just before the chopper crashes. He quickly rebounds and continues firing, but Barton's truck spins off into the night. Hill and Coulson report in to Fury. They realize there are a lot of men still under the destruction, number of survivors unknown.
Fury orders all available personnel to search for that briefcase. Fury informs Coulson this is a Level Seven, as of right now, they are at war. Fury stands there. Thinking. He looks up. On his face is sign of hope . . . The Avengers.
3rd Floor Solenski Plaza, Russia: Out in the outskirts, near a railroad, a still-in-construction building is being occupied by Georgi Luchkov, a large, Russian General along with his thugs. One of them is in the middle of a brutal beating on Natasha Romanoff, a slewing, foxy, unbelievably sexy spy. The Black Widow. He backhands Natasha's face. She feels the pain, but does not breakdown.
Luchkov, smiling, walks up to her, they speak in Russian. It's an interrogation, or so it seems. A thug rocks her chair back, balancing her off the edge of an open floor. Natasha is now scared. Luchkov slowly walks over to a table filled with tools. He picks up a pair of pliers. A thug opens up her mouth wide open. Suddenly, a thug's cell rings. Confused, he answers. The call is for Natasha.
Luchkov takes the phone, pissed. It's Agent Coulson on the other end . . .
Coulson: You're at 114 Solenski Plaza, 3rd floor. We have an F-22 exactly eight miles out. Put the woman on the phone or I will blow up the block before you can make the lobby.
Luchkov, intimidated, puts the phone between Natasha's ear and shoulder.
Coulson: We need you to come in.
Romanoff: Are you kidding? I'm working.
Coulson: This takes precedence.
Romanoff: I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything.
Georgi Luchkov [to his cohorts]: I don't... give everything.
Romanoff: Look, you can't pull me out of this right now
Coulson: Natasha, Barton's been compromised.
Romanoff: Let me put you on hold.
Phil patiently holds while Natasha is about to whip butt. She nods to Luchkov. As Luchkov comes to take the phone off her, Natasha hits him with her leg and headbutts him. Like a spider, she stands up elegantly and starts attacking a thug by kickboxing him in the face. Still tied, she rolls over another thug after she trips him.
She then stomps on the other thug's foot with the leg of the chair, then knocks him out with her head. Yeah, during all this Coulson is still waiting on the line. She then flips over and falls down hard on a thug, breaking the chair. She sees the thug stand. Giving her momentum, she runs at him drop kicking him him.
She falls down and flips right back up and wraps her legs around his neck and knocks him out cold. She grabs Luchkov, wraps his leg around with a hanging chain and drops him down the open floor, dangling. She picks up the phone and her heels, like a boss.
Romanoff [on the phone]: Where is Barton now?
Coulson: We don't know.
Romanoff: But he's alive?
Coulson: We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.
Romanoff: Coulson, you know that Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me.
Coulson: Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy.
Realizing he means Bruce Banner, she stops dead in her tracks.
Romanoff : Bozhe moi. [Russian for 'My God']
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