A smoky cube shape, with what looked to be burning blue flames, emerged.
EXT. THRONE ROOM - SPACE - NIGHT
Kneeling behind a throne, a clothed, armored figure, the Other, said, "The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world. A human world. They would wield its power..." He held out the scepter.
Loki came out from the shadows and took the staff.
The Other continued. "But our ally knows its workings as they never will. He is ready to lead. And our force, the Chitauri, will follow." Thousands of Chitauri were awaiting orders. "The world will be his. The universe yours. And the humans, what can they do but burn?"
EXT. S.H.I.E.L.D. PROJECT P.E.G.A.S.U.S. FACILITY - NIGHT
Outside in the New Mexico desert, a remote research facility was in a state of panic as they evacuated. A swooping helicopter flew in, dropping Agent Maria Hill and Nick Fury. Agent Coulson and Astraea awaited them.
"How bad is it?" Fury asked.
"That's the problem sir," Coulson replied. "We don't know."
They entered the facility, passing fleeing technicians, taking only what was necessary.
Coulson continued. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago."
"NASA didn't authorize Selvig to test phase," Fury said.
"He wasn't testing it, he wasn't even in the room. Spontaneous advancement."
"It just turned itself on?" Hill questioned.
"What are the energy levels?" Fury wondered.
Coulson glanced at him. "Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down, we ordered evac."
"How long to get everyone out?"
"Campus should be clear in the next half hour."
"Do better."
They continued walking deeper into the facility.
"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Hill said.
"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" Fury shot back.
"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, there may not be a minimum safe distance."
"I need you to make sure Phase 2 prototypes are shipped out."
"Sir, is that really a priority right now?"
"Until such a time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of Phase 2 on a truck and gone."
"Yes sir." She said to agents nearby, "With me."
Fury, Astraea and Coulson entered the radiation facility housing the Tesseract. The area was cluttered with machines and people leaving.
"Talk to me doctor," Fury said.
Dr. Erik Selvig appeared from behind a CMS machine, concerned. The Tesseract was glowing unusually brighter and a flare of blue shot out from it, hitting things at random.
"Director," Selvig greeted.
"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."
"How soon until you pull the plug?"
"She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level..."
"We've prepared for this doctor. Harnessing energy from space."
"We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation."
"That can be harmful. Where's Barton?"
"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual."
Clint Barton, dressed in black tactical gear, was up on the railing watching them below.
Fury called Clint on his earpiece and said, "Agent Barton, report."
Clint rappelled down from the catwalk, and walked up to Fury. The two walked around the bottom of the facility in a discreet manner.
"I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," Fury said.
"Well, I see better from a distance," Clint replied.
"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?"
A NASA scientist said to Dr. Selvig, "Doctor, it's spiking again."
"No one's come or gone," Clint informed. "It's oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end."
"At this end?" Fury asked.
"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? The doors open from both sides."
Selvig typed on his keyboard and the monitor flashed. Suddenly, the Tesseract thundered and shook the entire facility. Coulson nearby, and Hill topside, felt the tremors. The cube glowed brighter and emitted a ring of light, and built like a beam, similar to the Bifrost bridge. The power hit the edge of the platform, and began to form a vortex, which became a portal. Space appeared through the portal, and a gust of blue energy knocked people back. The cloud shot to the ceiling, and the portal on the platform opened up as Loki stepped through. The portal vanished, and Loki grinned at everyone, holding his spear. He frowned as he saw them looking at him.
Astraea frowned. "Oh no. This isn't good."
"Sir, please put down the spear," Fury said.
Loki responded with firing a blast of blue energy from his spear, while Clint narrowly tackled Fury out of the way. Everyone shot at Loki, but the bullets deflected off of him. Loki immediately took down everyone shooting at him easily, with knives and energy blasts from his scepter. He paused, grinning, and looked to who would attack him next. Clint attempted to attack him, but Loki grabbed his wrist, disarming them.
"You have heart," Loki commented.
Loki placed the tip of the spear against Clint's chest. Clint's eyes glowed black, and he stopped resisting. Loki began controlling other agents around the room. Fury snuck up, grabbed the Tesseract, and placed it in a briefcase, trying to sneak out.
"Please don't," Loki said. "I still need that."
Fury turned to face Loki and told him, "This doesn't have to get any messier."
"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
"Loki?" Dr. Selvig repeated. "Brother of Thor?"
Fury shook his head and said, "We have no quarrel with your people."
"An ant had no quarrel with a boot," Loki shot back.
"You planning to step on us?"
"I come with glad tidings, of a world made free."
"Free from what?"
"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..." Like a gunslinger, Loki turned to face Selvig who was standing behind him and placed his spear against Selvig's heart. Selvig's eyes glowed black. "You will know peace."
"Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing."
From the vacuum chamber ceiling, the Tesseract's energy cloud rapidly built into what might be an implosion.
"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," Clint informed. "This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."
"Like the Pharaohs of Odin," Fury said.
"He's right," Selvig agreed. "The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."
"Well then."
Loki looked to Clint, who without hesitation shot Fury, who fell to the ground. Clint grabbed the case containing the Tesseract and left the lab with Loki, Selvig and the other controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.
---
The controlled S.H.E.I.L.D. personnel were gathering weapons and getting ready to leave the facility. Hill watched in confusion.
Clint, pointing to Loki and his team, said, "Need these vehicles."
"Who's that?" Hill asked.
"He didn't tell me."
Hill eyed them suspiciously as they got into a truck and began to drive away.
Fury, grabbing a walkie talkie, said, "Hill, do you copy?"
Loki and his crew looked back at Hill.
LAB
Fury was sitting up, pulling the bullets out, with some help from Astraea, and breathing hard.
"Barton is..." Fury began.
---
Hill turned around and shot Clint, who was already shooting at her, and she drove away while she took cover, still firing at him.
---
Fury and Astraea ran out of the lab, the former holding his side as he yelled, "He's got the Tesseract! Track it down!"
---
The energy discharge from the Tesseract was building up on the ceiling, rumbling and growing recklessly, destroying structures and cracking the walls.
Hill jumped into a Jeep and took chase on Loki and crew. Several other trucks began to attack Loki's truck as well, and Loki released a blast of energy, obliterating S.H.I.E.L.D, trucks and causing a blockage in the tunnel. Hill was forced to keep distance on her pursuit.
---
Down below, Fury and Astraea were racing against the clock as pipes burst around them. The walls were cracking, and the facility was suffering an internal earthquake.
---
Coulson was grabbing cases, and tripped down the stairs while the ground shuddered. Others with him dropped cases full of information and equipment.
"No!" Coulson yelled. "Leave it!"
They all left the cases behind and left the lab running.
---
Clint and Hill were caught in a truck race, where she pulled in front of him to try and block him. She responded with firing at him at close range, which caused Hill to shoot out her own windshield to try and hit him.
---
Coulson and his group took a Jeep and evacuated as well.
Coulson, on a walkie talkie, said, "You're clear, sir! You need to go!"
---
Fury and Astraea ran across the tarmac to a helicopter. The ground gave way seconds after the helicopter leaves the ground, falling into a sinkhole.
---
Still racing down the tunnel, Hill and Clint were locked in combat. A blast wave from the Tesseract caused the tunnel to collapse partially. One of Loki's trucks made it out, but Hill's truck was stuck.
---
The Tesseract's energy cloud shrunk into a small ball of white light, hovering in the air. In a flash of blue light, the facility was consumed along with its surroundings. Fury and Astraea watched from below as it rapidly built up into an implosion.
---
Several miles away, Coulson's van jolted from the blast wave on the horizon behind him.
---
The entire facility imploded with terrifying magnitude, and the implosion rocked the ground.
---
Hill was stuck, her jeep behind as the full force of the blast tears down on the tunnel, covering herself by being inside of the jeep, light from the night spilling in close by.
---
Clint's truck drove away, but Fury's helicopter hovered over it, and Fury opened fire with his pistol. Loki, in a fit of rage, fired an energy blast at the helicopter. The helicopter was skimmed by the blast, but caught fire. He jumped out of the flaming helicopter seconds before it hit the ground and shredded itself into debris. Fury stood back up, dazed, and shot at Loki, but he was too far away. Astraea grabbed a gun and attempted to shoot at the tires, but like with Fury, the car was too far away.
Coulson said over a walkie talkie, "Director? Director Fury, do you copy?"
"The Tesseract is with the hostile force," Fury informed. "I have men down. Hill?"
Hill climbed out of the wreckage of her jeep as she said, "A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors."
From the ground, Fury and Astraea surveyed the wreckage.
"Sound the general call," Fury ordered. "I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase."
Hill, using a walkie talkie, replied, "Roger that."
"Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war."
"What do we do?" Coulson asked.
Fury looked up, a thought on his mind. He glanced at Astraea who nodded almost as though she agreed with him.