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Chapter 1: the Portal

It was dark. The forest cast shadows on the already black world, tall pines standing tall deep within the mountains while mist swirled along the ground like happy dogs. The only light came from the small facility located on the cliffside. It had the feel of a military base with its square, brick buildings that squatted in the hard gravel inside of the electric barbed wire fence. Guards roamed the grounds armed with machine guns while bright searchlights scanned the forest outside. Invisible to all was the duo concealed at the edge of the tree line.

Their features were obscured by the full masks they wore, firm black cloth with lenses for eyes. Black leather clothing covered their bodies, alongside boots and gloves. One of them had a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. The other had a pair of large, high-powered pistoles holstered on either thigh.

They sat there, lazily studying the grounds and memorizing the patterns of the guards and lights. "Are we just about ready?" Asked the pistol wielder quietly.

"Almost," replied a voice on the communicator that sat snuggly on both of their left ears. It sounded as though it came from an older man. "Give my another minute to kill the electricity. As soon as that's done, advance through the fence."

"Roger."

The pair sat still once more before the archer spoke. "Sooo... Got any plans for Saturday night?"

The gunman glanced at his partner. "Not really. What about you?"

"X and I are gonna hit the movies. Then... We'll just have to see."

"We wouldn't have to if I was out there," grumbled a feminine voice over the com.

"Sorry X, but this mission requires stealth. You aren't exactly very subtle," replied the archer.

"You wont want me to be very subtle Saturday night, now will you?" X purred.

"Definitely not," he agreed.

"Okay, I just learned a heck of a lot more about your life than I EVER wanted to," commented the gunman.

Before the archer could reply, the old man returned. "Systems are down. Proceed with the mission. And X, we need to have a talk."

The pair moved forward silently, the gunman reaching into a pocket to reveal a small cylinder, roughly the size of a stick of Chapstick. Pressing a button, the ended opened and a red laser about and inch long lit up. Moving quickly, the gunman severed a small hole in the fence, just large enough for a person to pass through. Deactivating the laser, the gunman slipped through the fence and moved behind a building, the archer right an his heels. The pair quickly created space between them for more ease of movement.

They waited for some sign that they had been detected, but none came. The gunman glanced at the archer and received a nod. He peered around the corner to assure himself that the small yard of gravel dividing the two buildings, the one he hid behind and the one he was moving to, was empty. Sprinting forward, he crossed the ground and vanished into cover behind some crates. He let his eyes roam before finally pulling out his weapons, each covered by a silencer.

The archer, who had stayed back to deal with any guards that happened to catch his partner in his movement, quietly waited for this signal to advance. He watched as a hand appeared from the shadows, seemingly floating in midair, and waved him forward. He ran across the open ground, painfully aware of the lack of cover. Just as he was nearing the end of his move, he heard a sound to his right. He looked over just in time to see a man step out of a door, grumbling about his lack of luck at poker. The man's eyes widened just as a faint click sounded. His body shuddered before he collapsed. The archer moved quickly, catching the man's body before it hit the ground. Slinging him over his shoulder, the archer silently closed the door and continued onwards.

"Hide the body under that truck," the gunman commanded. He could all but feel the archer's accusing glare on his back. "What? I used stun rounds. He'll just be out for a few hours."

The archer rolled his eyes as he moved the man's unconscious form into hiding. Creeping around the crates, the gunman slowly opened the door and peered inside. The door opened into a small hallway with a metal stairway leading upward directly on the other side of the hall. Signaling to the archer to follow, the gunman moved up the stairs. At the top was yet another door which the pair slipped through.

They emerged onto a catwalk hanging above an old hanger. It appeared to be an old airplane hanger, a massive space with a concrete floor. In the center was a massive cylinder on its side like some kind of tunnel. Two bars connected to the circular interior walls stretched all the way down its length, swaying slightly as they sluggishly rotated around the space on opposite sides of each other. Four pillars stood tall around it, two in front and two in back, connecting to what would be edges if it were a rectangle. Directly in front of the machine was a small pillar, about the size of a nightstand. A group of scientists moved around it, fiddling with parts as they worded on the machine. Armed guards stood at the doors and periodically along the walls, totaling fourteen. Standing tall in the center of it all was large man in a dark, scaly uniform augmented with black metal. Criss-crossing across his back was assault rifle and a large sword, the butt and hilt extended over his left and right shoulder respectively. A dark face mask covered his face, which was framed by long, dark, greasy hair.

"What are we looking at here old man?" murmured the archer into the com.

"I'm not entirely sure," replied the voice. "The report said that someone was building a doomsday device, but that's not like any device I've ever seen."

"So we have no idea what we're dealing with."

"Pretty much." The pair gave a quiet sigh before returning to their inspection.

"Doctor Gordon!" Yelled the masked man in a deep baritone with only the faintest Russian accent. One of the scientists, a short, bald man with glasses that amplified his eyes to humorous level, moved towards him. "How soon until we can begin?"

"Momentarily, sir. Just a quick last-minute look over and we can begin," replied the short man a small voice.

"Excellent. With this, the world will fall before me!"

The two above glanced at each other. Whatever was going on at this place definitely wasn't good.

"We are ready," informed the doctor. The man gave a quick nod to him. The scientist opened a case which sat nearby and lifted up a small glass container. Inside the glass object was a glowing blue cube which he placed on the small pillar. Small braces appear, locking the object in place.

"My god, that's the Tesseract!" exclaimed the voice over the com. "That's supposed to be on Asgard! Where the Hell did they get it?!"

"What's wrong old man?" Asked the archer.

"They have a very powerful artifact that's meant to be back on Asgard with Thor. This is no longer a sneak and smash mission, it's a universal crisis! I'm authorizing lethal force! Get down there now!"

The pair hesitated as blue energy began being sucked down the stand from the cube and into the four surrounding pillars. The pillars then sent the energy into the cylinder. The twin bars suddenly began to rotate, faster and faster as the blue energy flowed out and swirled in the tube, creating a massive blue space that hummed with energy.

"The space-time vortex is stabilizing!" Exclaimed Gordon as he stared at a monitor. "Sixty seconds until the passageway opens!"

He was suddenly interrupted as shouts of pain emerged from the guards. All eyes turned as three of the fifteen total armed men collapsed, one from an arrow while the others grasped at bullet wounds. The leader moved out of the way as yet another arrow appeared in the ground where he'd been standing. He swung his gaze towards the pair as they appeared atop the catwalk, discarding their masks to reveal young faces, maybe eighteen nor nineteen, one with pale white hair and black eyes, the other with deep red hair and blue eyes. The redhead, armed with twin large pistols, simply hopped off the catwalk and onto the ground. The white haired archer remain, not as willing to hand over the high ground.

"The Avengers," he growled as the redhead approached. "So this is what passes for Earth's Mightiest Heroes these days? THIS is what passes for Captain America? Pathetic."

"That's what they all say, up until they lose consciousness that is," replied James Rogers, A.K.A.: Captain America, as he fired at the man. He blinked in surprise as the man dodged every bullet with uncanny speed before swinging his fist towards the boy's face. James barely pulled back in time to avoid the blow. Swinging his leg around, he tried to kick the masked man in his side, but his blow stuck only air. James leapt back to avoid another blow before beginning to circle his foe warily.

"Who are you?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes.

James could have sworn he was grinning behind his mask. "I suppose if you're Captain America, then I would be the Red Skull, but that title is taken and I suppose I just have a little more originality than you. How about the Black Skull? Much better. What do you think?"

The only response was as James pulled the trigger and moved forward. Once again, Black Skull moved around the bullet before launching a right jab at James's ribs, only to be diverted as James moved his left hand to push it aside. Flowing through the movement flawlessly, James swung his right arm up to try and club the villain with his pistol. Skull caught James's wrist and brought his knee up to try and strike the boy's thigh, but was once again stopped by the his hand. Simultaneously, the two pushed off each other to put distance between them, both rolling on the ground before landing in a crouch.

"Ten seconds until the pathway opens!" Called Gordon who had, admirably, continued working, despite the circumstances.

"Hey Hawkeye, I could use a hand!" Called James as he prepared to charge the Skull again.

"Give me a minute, I'm a little busy!" Replied Francis Barton, A.K.A.:Hawkeye, as he swung his bow into yet another guard's face to knock him unconscious. How does it always work out this way? James gets the big guy while the rest of us handle the riffraff. He sighed as he pulled out an arrow with an egg shaped device on the end. Swinging it around, he rammed it into the side of a guard and watched as the stun arrow caused the man to convulse before falling to the ground. Whipping around, the loaded the arrow onto his bow and fired it into the chest of another guard.

"The tunnel has stabilized! The pathway is open!" Yelled Gordon as the Skull shoved both of James's arms out of the way and proceeded to Spartan kick the boy's exposed chest, rocketing him across the floor.

"Grab the cube! We're getting out of here!" He yelled as he ran towards the portal and the doctor who was placing the Tesseract back inside its container. The Skull grabbed onto the doctor and leapt into the swirling mass of blue energy, vanishing as he did so.

"Hawkeye!" Yelled James as he sprinted forward.

"Right behind you!" Came the reply.

"Wait!" They heard over the com. "It's too dangerous! Don't go in there! Don't-"

Tony Stark, A.K.A.:Iron Man, was cut off as the pair vanished through the vortex.