[Coulson falls silent.
FURY
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet Coulson:
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
ENTER MARIA HILL AND VARIOUS SOLDIERS ON BRIDGE. FURY JOINS HER. ENTER NATASHA ROMANOFF, TONY STARK, AND STEVE ROGERS.
Take heed, all: Agent Coulson is brought down.
SOLDIER 1
A team of medics should be there anon.
FURY
They have arriv’d and did pronounce him dead. 425
ROMANOFF
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste dark death but once.
ROGERS
Each one can master grief but they that have it.
STARK
Indeed, death lies on him like ill-tim’d frost
Upon the sweetest flow’r of all the field. 430
FURY
These were in Coulson’s doublet when he died—
He never did get you to sign them, Captain.
[Fury tosses the trading cards on a table.
We are a flying coffin, by my troth:
Communications have been broken off,
We have not found th’location of the Cube, 435
Thor, Banner—both are gone somewhere below.
I have no words of comfort ye to proffer.
My one good eye was lost—mayhap I had
It coming unto me. Yea, I confess:
We would construct an arsenal withal 440
The Tesseract and all its power. Yet,
Ne’er did I place my trust entire therein,
For I did bet on stakes e’en riskier.
There was a notion—of which Stark doth know—
’Twas call’d th’Initiative of the Avengers. 445
The bold idea was that a group would form,
Compos’d of people most remarkable,
That—in a group—they might be something more—
The sum of beings lesser than the whole.
We would discover whether they could work 450
As one, together, when we needed them
To fight the battles that we never could.
Phil Coulson died still faithful to this notion—
In heroes who might still protect us yet.
[Exit Tony Stark in dismay.
’Tis an old-fashion’d concept, verily, 455
Which some may not accept, regretfully.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 1
An abandoned warehouse.
ENTER BRUCE BANNER, WAKING UP. ENTER SECURITY GUARD.
GUARD
[to Banner:] You fell forth from the sky. Yea, thus you did!
BANNER
Did I hurt anyone by my great fall?
GUARD
No one is near who may thereby be hurt.
Some pigeons, though, would gladly speak with you
And share the anger of their featherbrains. 5
BANNER
’Twas vastly fortunate.
GUARD
—Mayhap good aim!
You were awake when first you fell to earth.
BANNER
Thou didst bear witness to the mighty fall?
GUARD
Each moment, yea, as you came through the ceiling—
So big and green and buck-arse naked, too— 10
And landed thereon, where you still recline,
Upon the rubble—not a gentle touchdown.
Take these few clothes, my friend, for you’ll need them:
Methought they would not fit until you shrunk
Unto a fellow of more reg’lar size— 15
A lucky fall for such an alien.
BANNER
Enormous thanks.
GUARD
—Are you an alien,
Come from another planet unbeknownst?
BANNER
Large issues are at play, yet nay—not that.
GUARD
Then, son, I’ll wager you have some condition. 20
[Exit security guard.
BANNER
O, woe is me, who makes such hefty missteps.
My life is curs’d, and wreck’d beyond repair—
I cannot make mine own end, force myself
To sleep—and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks 25
That flesh is heir to. Nay, that road is clos’d,
For when I tried the other rescued me,
Though naught of rescue did my soul desire.
Instead, I walk the earth like one with plague,
The man who doth become the gruesome beast, 30
Unfit for regular society,
I am alone, and walk the earth like Cain,
The blighted Banner, bann’d from human life,
Deserving exile, death, or something worse. 35
Unlike Odysseus, I have no home—
Instead, I am the cyclops whom he trick’d,
Or Scylla, who appear’d with dreadful heads—
Charybdis, too, who’d gladly pull him down.
I am the dragon that St. George o’ercame, 40
The kraken buried deep beneath the sea.
The minotaur am I, with anger fierce,
The manticore with appetite for blood.
I am a gremlin, banshee, spirit, demon,
Yea, ev’rything that e’er made children cry. 45
Unsuitable for human interaction,
A fiend, a brute, a giant, and a freak.
Yet if I could control the monstrous man,
Put him to work for noble purposes
And harness his great strength to fight gainst evil, 50
Then e’en the Hulk may have a shred of hope.
Bruce Banner and the Hulk: we share a mission;
Together let us work, with fix’d ambition.
[Exit.
SCENE 2
The S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.
ENTER NATASHA ROMANOFF IN THE INFIRMARY, WATCHING CLINT BARTON WAKE.
ROMANOFF
Clint, listen to me—thou shalt soon be well.
The murkiness thou feelest, this shall pass.
BARTON
Thou knowest that? Is that all that thou knowest?
I have no bird’s-eye view to flush him out!
ROMANOFF
Thy levels must come back to balance, which 5
Shall be a hard, dark time for thee, sans doubt.
BARTON
Thou dost not understand, for hast thou e’er
Had someone fiddle with thy very brain,
Pluck out thyself and place another in?
Dost thou know what it is to be unmade? 10
ROMANOFF
Well know’st thou, yea—’tis part of my bleak tale.
barton
Why—yea, and how—am I return’d once more
Unto the shelter’d nest of mine own mind?
How did ye pull the meddling Loki forth?
ROMANOFF
’Twas cognitive recalibration, Clint. 15
To put it plainly, I gave thee a wallop
Upon your dismal-dreaming head.
BARTON
—My thanks.
Natasha, please: how many agents flew
Unto their deaths by mine own—
ROMANOFF
—Nay, ask not.
Such gloomy questions shall infect thy soul, 20
An ’twere a virus in a willing host.
’Tis Loki who is guilty—monsters, magic,
And naught for which we two were ever train’d.
BARTON
Did Loki, then, take wing?
ROMANOFF
—Indeed he did.
Dost thou know where he hideth midst the shadows? 25
BARTON
Nay, ’twas not mine to know. Ne’er did I ask.
Soon, though, he’ll flutter off to make his play.
ROMANOFF
His grim plan we must stop.
BARTON
—Yet who is we?
Hast thou some flock of which I little know?
ROMANOFF
Whoever doth remain. Our hopes grow dim. 30
BARTON
I’ll from my quiver take a well-fletch’d arrow
And send it swooping into his eye socket—
Then shall I better slumber, by my troth.
ROMANOFF
Once more thy sharpen’d words sound like thyself!
BARTON
Yet thou dost not. Thou art a spy, no soldier, 35
But happily would glide into a war.
Wherefore this change? Say, what hath Loki done?
ROMANOFF
Thy sense is foggy. He hath nothing done—
BARTON
Natasha, do not egg me on, I pray.
ROMANOFF
My task is clear—I have been compromis’d. 40
More red is in my ledger, which I’d wipe
And turn once more to black ere this is through.
Come, let us further talk of these events.
[Exeunt.
ENTER TONY STARK AND STEVE ROGERS IN THE DETENTION LEVEL.
ROGERS
Was Coulson wed?
STARK
—In a relationship—
A cellist, she—yet nay, they were not wed. 45
ROGERS
Apologies. He seem’d a thoughtful man.
STARK
In sooth, it seems he was an idiot.
ROGERS
Why? In believing in a greater cause?
STARK
In challenging strong Loki by himself.
ROGERS
’Twas but his mission he did carry out. 50
STARK
Imperative it was he wait for us,
For he was sorely match’d gainst Loki’s might.
He should have—
ROGERS
—Sometimes there is no way out.
STARK
Indeed, thou dost repeat what ere thou saidst.
ROGERS
Hast thou ne’er lost a soldier?
STARK
—I am none: 55
A soldier marches to a martial fife,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
And loyal e’er to Gen’ral Fury’s orders.
I’ll not be call’d a soldier, nay, nor should
The rest of us if ’tis not what we are. 60
The beat of Fury’s drum shall not lead me.
ROGERS
Nor me, for Fury’s hands are red with blood
As Loki’s, bearing shame and guilt withal.
Yet now we must those matters lay to rest
And end this battle ere the slaughter grows. 65
We know that Loki needs a power source.
A list we’ll form—
STARK
—It was made personal—
When Loki murder’d Coulson, he did so.
ROGERS
Thou hast misunderstood my point.
STARK
—I think
To make it personal was just the point— 70
’Twas Loki’s point, to strike us where we live.
Yet wherefore?
ROGERS
—To pull us asunder, no?
STARK
In troth, divide and conquer is one move,
Yet knows he well he must destroy us if
He’d win this battle—that is his desire. 75
He would us beat, and be seen doing so.
The man yearns greatly for an audience!
ROGERS
Yea, as in Stuttgart.
STARK
—Indisputably
That was a preview to his drama true.
What cometh next is better—op’ning night— 80
And Loki is a diva in the height
Who needeth his parades and flowers, too,
A monument that shall the heavens touch
With his name plaster’d on the side as well—
What’s this? The thought hath just occur’d to me— 85
I speak of my Stark Tower. O, that whoreson.
His source of energy is mine own home!
ROGERS
Hie to thy castle built of steel and chrome!
EXIT TONY STARK TO PUT ON HIS SUIT. STEVE ROGERS RUSHES TO FIND OTHERS. ENTER NATASHA ROMANOFF.
Natasha, comes our moment—we must fly.
ROMANOFF
Where are we bound, with newfound purpose grim? 90
ROGERS
Upon our way I’ll tell thee. Canst thou fly
The planes upon the helicarrier?
ENTER CLINT BARTON.
BARTON
I can, and soar an ’twere on eagles’ wings.
[Rogers looks at Romanoff, who nods.
ROGERS
[aside:] By this, I know the man may trusted be.
[To Barton:] Find thou a suit and join us speedily. 95
[All begin putting on their suits.
[Aside:] The stirring moments ere a struggle starts—
When ev’ryone is fix’d with purpose rare,
Their hearts near bursting with a common aim,
Adrenaline quicksilver in the veins
Like juicy nectar sent from heav’n above— 100
These are the circumstances made for me.
THEY MAKE THEIR WAY TO A PLANE. ENTER PILOT 2.
PILOT 2
Excuse me, sir, ye are not authoriz’d—
ROGERS
Nay, son, just don’t. ’Tis neither time nor place.
[Exit Pilot 2.
ENTER NICK FURY AND MARIA HILL ABOVE, ON BALCONY, ON THE BRIDGE OF THE HELICARRIER. ENTER VARIOUS SOLDIERS AROUND THEM.
HILL
Sir?
FURY
—Agent Hill?
HILL
—Those cards you show’d the others,
They were in Coulson’s locker, not his doublet. 105
FURY
Like birds who’d leave the nest for the first time,
They benefited from a little push.
[Exeunt Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton in a plane.
SOLDIER 2
Unauthoriz’d departure from bay six!
FURY
They found him! Pray, restore communications
Whate’er it taketh, I would witness all. 110
HILL
It shall be done, director. I’ll not stall.
[Exeunt.
SCENE 3
A valley.
ENTER THOR.
THOR
Crash’d to the ground, yet just escap’d in time,
With Mjölnir at my side to keep me safe,
Dislodgèd was I from the falling cell.
Before my path continues, though, must I
Give thought unto the actions of my past. 5
Have I unleash’d a greater torment on
These humans innocent than I did know?
My second visit unto earth hath been
Disaster on disaster—a mistake.
They do not need my power, nay. It doth 10
Create more problems than it solves, in sooth.
’Twere better for them had I never come.
I must, then, rectify what I have done,
The suffering that in my wake arriv’d
Like sharks behind the passage of a ship. 15
My honor, then, shall be the spur to prick
The sides of mine intent and lead me on.
Go, Thor, and be a better ally now.
[Thor picks up his hammer and raises it to the sky, calling forth lightning.
I call the power of the very sky—
The fulguration of a shocking light, 20
Vast electricity sent by the gods,
The alchemy of Asgard’s majesty—
Come forth and aid me in my noble quest
To hinder Loki’s plan and bring new peace!
Earth, water, wind, and fire, I bid ye help 25
Me to undo what I have lately done—
Ye elements, surrender to Thor’s will
And take me hence, our enemies to fight.
Ye foes who would to evil ope the door,
Be wary—thither comes the mighty Thor! 30
[Exit Thor.
SCENE 1
New York City, at and around Stark Tower.
ENTER ERIK SELVIG WITH THE TESSERACT INSIDE A MACHINE.
SELVIG
O peerless and eternal source of power,
In this, our last act, do our master’s bidding.
The moment comes to show a billion people
The otherworldly army’s devastation.
ENTER TONY STARK IN HIS IRON MAN SUIT. THE VOICE OF JARVIS SPEAKS TO HIM.
JARVIS
The arc reactor, sir, hath been turn’d off. 5
Already, though, the Tesseract device
Is self-sustaining.
STARK
[to Selvig:] —It must be shut down—
Dost hear me, Selvig?
SELVIG
—Nay, you are belated.
She cannot stop—will not—’til all’s completed.
Most earnestly she wants to show us something. 10
A universe that we have ne’er imagin’d.
STARK
It seems no words of sense will speak to thee.
[Stark tries to shoot the Tesseract and is blown backward.
JARVIS
The barrier around the Tesseract
Is made of purest, strongest energy.
Unbreachable it is.
STARK
—Indeed, ’twas clear. 15
ENTER LOKI WITH HIS SCEPTER.
Plan B shall I pursue, then.
JARVIS
—Sir, Mark Seven
Is not preparèd for deployment yet.
STARK