AN: Sooo this took FOREVER to write. This part of the movie is a lot of talking and not very action-y. I have something awesome planned for next chapter and I hope to update very soon because I'm excited to see the response. Next chapter will be more Waverly, less Steve, so even though it's one of the best parts of the movie in my opinion, we won't see the argument in the lab. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

I own nothing.

Chapter Ten:

Once Loki was secured once more, Natasha and her co-pilot sped the jet back to the helicarrier. Steve, Tony, and their new ally stood in the back.

"So," Steve said, struggling to wrap his brain around everything that had happened in the past few hours. "You're his brother?"

Thor nodded. Strapped in his chair, Loki snorted with disgust.

In a lower voice, Steve continued. "What's he up to?"

Thor didn't answer right away. He looked troubled. "I will wait to discuss this matter until we arrive back at your base."

It was in the very wee hours of the morning when Steve and crew arrived back at the helicarrier. A troop of SHIELD agents, armed to the teeth, were waiting for them on the landing strip. Steve and Thor unstrapped Loki from his temporary prison while Tony bound his wrists and ankles. Then the three of them turned Loki over to the agents and followed Natasha back inside.

Waverly was waiting for them at the bridge. Steve couldn't help but notice the relief that washed over Waverly's face when she saw him enter the room.

"How was it?" She asked.

Steve shrugged as if it was nothing, but winced immediately after. He rubbed his middle again. "I'm a bit out of shape. We got him though."

Waverly nodded but said nothing else. Over her earpiece, she heard Fury instructing her to turn on the video screens at the debriefing table. "Come on. Fury wants us to hear this." She nodded to the group and led them to the table waiting for them. On the video screens set in the glass table top, security camera footage showed Fury standing before Loki's cell. Fury was speaking. In silence, the group watched.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass; thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. Ant. Boot."

On screen, Loki snickered. "It's an impressive cage. Not built I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh I've heard. The mindless beast. Makes claim he's still a man." At Loki's words, Waverly couldn't help but glance up nervously at Dr. Banner. She saw Natasha do the same. But Loki went on. Both women turned their attention back to the video screens. "How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I?" Waverly had never known her boss to be an emotional man, but in that question, she heard how desperate he really was. Loki was dangerous and even though they had him captured, the Tesseract was still out there. And so was her brother; working for the villain. Waverly lost focus. She heard Fury and Loki's exchange without really listening. That sick feeling crawled back into her stomach again as she thought about what would happen if they couldn't get Clint back on their side. Subconsciously, she slid her seat a little closer to Steve's. Being near him made her feel better. Before she could fully process that thought, she snapped her attention back to the current situation. Fury had walked off camera, no doubt on his way to their location.

Dr. Banner let out a sarcastic huff of laughter. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

"Loki's going to drag this out." Steve confirmed everyone's thoughts on the matter. Once again, the super soldier turned to Thor. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor had his back turned to the rest of the room. At the question he turned back to face them. Obviously he was pained. "He has an army called the Chituari. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth in return, I suspect for the Tesseract."

"An army? From outer space?" Steve's eyebrows vanished up his forehead. He glanced over at Waverly who winced. Part of her job was to bring Steve up to speed on the whole 'other realms' thing. She hadn't exactly gotten to that part before Fury called them in.

"Yeah, I'll explain later," she whispered.

"So," Dr. Banner took up the conversation, "He's building another portal, that's what he needs Eric Selvig for."

"Selvig?" A look of concern flashed across Thor's face.

No on in the room noticed. Waverly rolled her eyes. Leave it to a bunch of scientists and soldiers to not be able to read people's emotions. Then again, Waverly was the only one in the room who knew of Thor's tie to the astrophysicist.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha explained. In a lower voice she added, "Along with one of ours." The two women exchanged glances. Natasha concealed her emotions well, but Waverly heard the worry in the spy's voice.

Waverly knew that whatever Natasha was feeling on the inside, she was presenting it on the outside. That gnawing fear overtook her stomach again and she gripped the edge of the table so hard, her knuckles turned white.

Steve felt Waverly tense up beside him. No wonder she wasn't a true SHEILD agent. She obviously didn't handle stress well. She was barely holding herself together. Under the table, Steve slid a hand over and rested it on Waverly's knee. He felt her relax ever so slightly and lean back into her seat. Looking at the rest of the group, Steve said, "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," suggested Dr. Banner. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."

Waverly had to hold back a snort of laughter, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and he is my brother."

Natasha glanced over at Thor quizzically. "He killed eighty people in two days."

Thor blinked. "He's adopted."

Again, Waverly had to hold back a snort of laughter. "That explains so much," she muttered.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" Dr. Banner had gotten back on the subject of science. Waverly counted down the seconds until her brain lost focus again. She was most definitely not a scientist.

"Stabilizing agent." A new voice said. Waverly and Steve craned their necks around to watch Tony Stark enter the room. Agent Coulson was with him. Tony muttered something to the agent before strutting into the room. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony walked over to Thor and patted him on the arm. "No hard feelings, point break. You got a mean swing."

Thor raised an eyebrow. The look on his face suggested he had just been touched by something very foul. Both Waverly and Steve rolled their eyes. With Tony here, who had the maturity of a twelve year old, this conversation wasn't going to get very far.

Tony walked further into the room and stood at the control panel where Agent Hill was standing. "Also," he continued, "it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Turning to face the bridge, Tony began issuing commands like he was in charge. "That man is playing Galaga. Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did.

This elicited another eye roll from Waverly. She had complied Tony's file along with Natasha for Fury. Neither of the women thought Tony would be an ideal candidate for the Avengers, but alas, here he was.

Steve shot Waverly another confused glance.

"Video game," she whispered.

Steve nodded though he still looked confused.

Tony went back to explaining Loki's supposed plan to the rest of the group. It all sound technical to Waverly who had trouble paying attention. "The only major component Loki needs, is a power source."

More science talk. Waverly noticed Steve was struggling to keep on track as well. Obviously, the super soldier wasn't a scientist either. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

Dr. Banner and Tony then had an exchange. To Waverly, it sounded like they were speaking in a foreign language. Tony finished their conversation by saying, "Finally, someone who speaks English."

Steve looked over at Waverly. "Is that what just happened?"

Waverly laughed. "If that's English, I'm the queen of Russia."

Tony and Dr. Banner shared some more science talk. Then, the billionaire commented Dr. Banner on his ability to turn into an 'enormous green rage monster.' Natasha rolled her eyes and Waverly opened her mouth to politely tell Tony to shut it when Fury finally entered the room. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.

"I'd start with that stick of his," Steve offered. Waverly couldn't help but be surprised. Maybe Steve did now more about science than she thought. Then it hit Waverly. Duh. Steve had fought Red Skull whose sole source of power was the Tesseract. Steve was more valuable to this mission than Waverly realized. He wasn't just a soldier. "It might be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYRDA weapon."

"I don't know about that," Fury admitted, "but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

Waverly saw a shred of hope. Fury was obviously concerned with retrieving Clint and Selvig, not just the cube.

"Monkeys?" Now Thor sounded confused. "I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve looked overjoyed to finally understand something; he had a proud smile on his face. When the room all looked at him awkwardly, his cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. "I, uh, I understood that reference."

Waverly giggled. She was glad Steve was with them. It made the whole situation of her brother being one of the bad guys not seem so terrifying.

After that, the meeting was over. Tony and Dr. Banner went up to the lab to begin the trace on the cube. Waverly wanted to have some time to talk to Steve, but Coulson swooped in and intercepted him. Fury was consulting with Thor and Agent Hill turned her attention back to the control panel. That left Waverly with Natasha. The spy stood, locked eyes with Waverly, and nodded towards the door. Waverly followed Natasha out into the hall.

"We're looking for Clint," Natasha said, her voice devoid of emotion. "We'll find him."

Waverly nodded. "And when we do?"

Natasha took a breath before answering it. "I'll handle it." Natasha turned and left Waverly alone in the hall. Waverly didn't know whether to be reassured or even more nervous. She went to duck back into the room, passing Steve in the doorway.

Aware that Fury was in earshot, Waverly chose her words carefully. "Captain, I was wondering if you needed any, um, clarification on anything."

The soldier completely missed the hint. "I actually want to discuss some things with Stark. I'll be back later."

Steve made his way up to the lab where Tony and Dr. Banner were working. It wasn't hard to find. Before he even entered the room, he heard Tony's arrogant drawl as he poked Dr. Banner with some kind of pointed instrument. The doctor winced, exclaimed "ow," but other than that, nothing spectacular happened. Still, Steve rushed into the room and confronted Tony. "Hey! Are you nuts?"

"Jury's out."

Steve suppressed the urge to grab Stark by the neck and whip him into shape. The longer he was around the billionaire, the more he began to get irritated with his presence. Stark was arrogant, cocky, and sarcastic. With him around, Steve doubted they'd get anything done; did the guy ever take anything seriously? Plus, Steve wasn't used to someone undermining everything he had to say. He was a captain; he was used to given orders and having them followed. "Is everything a joke to you?" he snapped.

"Funny things are."

Steve struggled to remain calm. "Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, doc."

"It's all right," Banner replied. "I wouldn't've come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tip-toein' big man. You need to strut." Tony popped a blueberry in his mouth as if this was a normal conversation to be having.

No, Steve thought, we are definitely not normal. "And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark."

"You think I'm not?" Tony's tone was condescending, with only irritated Steve further. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

Steve sighed. In his head, Tony's words from earlier swirled around. There's a lot Fury doesn't tell you. "You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony turned to Dr. Banner. "It's buggin' him too, isn't it?"

Dr. Banner looked up from Loki's spear. "Uhhh, I just wanna finish my work here and –"

Obviously, Banner was thinking along the same lines as Stark but he didn't want to admit it. "Doctor?" Steve pressed.

Dr. Banner heaved a sigh but went on. "A warm light for all mankind. Loki's jab at fury about the cube."

"I heard it."

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Dr. Banner turned to face Tony. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

Steve looked from Dr. Banner to Stark. "The Stark Tower? That big ugly," Tony shot him a look, "building in New York?"

Banner nodded. "It's powered by an arc reactor. Self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's just the prototype," Tony said with all his proud arrogance. "I'm kinda the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't SHEILD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

Steve had to admit, what the two geniuses were saying made sense. Still, Steve was a military man. He followed orders, he didn't question them. He had to trust Fury's judgment; he was their leader in all of this. If Stark and Banner felt antsy, then they needed to get over it and focus on the task at hand.

Tony looked thoughtful, but he wasn't about to drop his suspicious of Fury. "I should probably look into that. Once my encryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

Steve's eyes widened. He understood enough about technology to know that Stark was, what was it called, hacking? Stark was hacking into SHIELD's computers. "I'm sorry, did you say –"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tied to hide." Tony walked around the work bench and held out his bag of fruit to the soldier. "Blueberry?"

Steve brushed Tony's hand away. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

Steve looked from Stark to Banner. Before he spoke again, he looked pointedly at the former. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Following's not really my style."

At that point, Steve had lost all patience with Tony. He took a step closer to the man so that they were just inches apart. "And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked in a low voice.

"Of the people in this room, which one is A: wearing a spangle-y outfit and B: not of use?"

Steve clenched his jaw. With every word that came out of Stark's mouth, Steve was liking him less and less. He looked the billionaire up and down. Without his suit, he was significantly smaller than Steve. Sure, he was still in good shape and could put up a fight, but Steve was a super soldier. He could easily pick Stark up and hurl him across the sip.

In a more gentle voice, Dr. Banner added, "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you."

Steve looked from one to the other. "Just find the cube." With that, he left the lab. Out in the hall, he paused before making up his mind. As irritating as Stark may be, he and Banner had a point. Something wasn't adding up. Steve was going to find out what was up. He turned away from the hall that led to his room and instead descended into the belly of the helicarrier.

It took him awhile, but he soon found SHEILD's top secret storage. It seemed odd to Steve that no one was down here guarding it, but he didn't question his luck. It was easy for Steve to wedge to door from its track and enter the dark room.

Spread out before the soldier were boxes, crates, and metal cases of all shapes and sizes. Steve took a tentative step into the room. He looked around and once he was sure he was the only on there, he walked to a stack of crates. Flipping the steel latches, Steve opened the crate. Lying in a bed of cushioning foam was a weapon unlike Steve had never seen before. Stuck to the lid of the crate was a piece of paper, sort of like a label, that said 'Phase Two.'

Anger rushed through Steve's veins. He turned to another crate an opened it. A similar weapon rested in it. Steve was in a room full of advanced weapons of mass destruction. Fury was hiding something from them. He was using the Tesseract to make weapons. He wasn't concerned with clean energy and self-sustaining power. The director was like every other person in power. He wanted the Tesseract to make weapons so he could be in control. Steve grabbed a gun, slammed the crates shut, and stormed out of the room. He had a few words for Fury.