The Avengers Assemble by Thomas Macri Page B

Scientific Reserve organization that had given him strength and agility that were the pinnacle of human potential.
    Steve again considered the game on the radio. The Dodgers had scored another three runs. Yes, something was very wrong.
    The steel knob of the only door in the room turned, and a pretty nurse walked into Steve’s quarters.
    â€œGood morning,” she said. “Or should I say afternoon?”
    â€œWhere am I?” Steve asked.
    â€œYou’re in a recovery room in New York City.”
    â€œWhere am I, really?” Steve asked again, more emphatic this time.
    â€œI’m afraid I don’t understand,” the nurse said, smiling.
    â€œThe game. It’s from May 1941. I know because I was there. Now I’m going to ask you again—where am I?”
    â€œCaptain Rogers…” the nurse tried to explain.
    â€œWho are you?” Steve shouted.
    Steve noticed the nurse click a device concealed in her hand. He sprang up and used all his power to smash through a far wall. The illusion of the room fell away as Steve stepped into what looked like the backstage area of the movie sets he knew from recording newsreel footage.
    â€œBackstage,” Steve realized that the images of New York skyscrapers and the late morning sky were simply extremely high-tech projections. He rushed out of the strange room and found himself outside of the building in an alien world that seemed something like the one he’d known, but unbelievably different at the same time.
    An imposing man in a long trench coat stepped forward. He wore a patch over his left eye.
    â€œAt ease, soldier,” the man called out. “Look, I’m sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly.”
    â€œBreak what ?” Steve asked.
    â€œYou’ve been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years.”
    Steve was speechless. To the passersby in Times Square this was all ordinary.
    But to Steve, this was the future.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
    DR. ERIK SELVIG found himself in a dimly lit corridor at a S.H.I.E.L.D. research compound. Not long ago he was just a scientist, and now he suddenly found himself in the middle of cross-dimensional superheroic struggles.
    â€œDr. Selvig,” came a voice at the end of the hall.
    Selvig turned to see Colonel Fury.
    â€œSo, you’re the man behind all of this?” Selvig asked. “It’s quite a labyrinth. I was thinking you were taking me down here to kill me.” He laughed uncomfortably.
    Fury did not return his laughter, paused, and then walked toward the doctor.
    â€œI’ve been hearing about the New Mexico situation. Your work has impressed a lot of people who are much smarter than I am,” Fury said.
    â€œI have a lot to work with. A gateway to another dimension—it’s unprecedented.”
    Fury looked Selvig in the eye.
    â€œIsn’t it?” Selvig asked.
    Fury continued down the hall, with Selvig in tow.
    â€œLegend tells us one thing, history another,” Fury said. “But every now and then we find something that belongs to both.”
    He opened a secure box. Inside was illuminated red circuitry, a security keypad and, in the center, an unusual glittering blue cube, smoother and shinier than anything Selvig had ever seen before. It crackled with electricity, and forks of charged current danced around it.
    â€œWhat is it?” Selvig asked.
    â€œPower, doctor,” Fury replied. “If we can figure out how to tap it, maybe unlimited power.”
    Selvig stared at the cube in awe. But unseen by Fury or Selvig, the spirit of something else looked on—something far more powerful than either of them. Something from another world—a prince of lies, a power-hungry god: Loki.
    â€œWell, I guess that’s worth a look…” Loki hissed, grinning, unheard by the mortals surrounding him.
    â€œWell, I guess that’s worth a look,” Selvig repeated, not