Chapter Five
Sitting around a large table with personal holograms projecting a scene of Loki and Director Fury, was Natasha, Alice, Steve and the newly added Thor: God of Thunder. Bruce was stood a couple feet back from the table behind Alice, silently observing.
"In case it's unclear. You try to escape," Nick began pressing buttons on a computer while Loki looked on from within the glass cage he was confined in. "You so much as scratch that glass."
The computer opened a hatch beneath Loki's cell creating a loud, whirling of winds. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap." Fury raised his voice over the noise and looked Loki in the eye. "You get how this works?" He turned back to the computer and shut the hatch. Pointing to Loki he continued, "Ant. Boot." He finished gesturing to the control system.
The group at the silver table watched with grim interest as Loki gave a dry chuckle.
"It's an impressive cage." His distinct accent ringing in the silence, "Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury countered.
"Oh, I've heard." Loki turned his head to the left looking directly into the security camera, seeming to be talking to the group watching the video feed in a different room. "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man."Alice, Natasha and Bruce exchanged uneasy looks at this before turning their attention back to the video. "How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you." Loki sneered.
"How desperate am I?" Nick rhetorically said, "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun." The Director slowly made his way closer to the glass cage as his words became louder with conviction. He sternly met Loki's eyes, "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."
"Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power; unlimited power. And for what? A warm light to all mankind to share.. and then to be reminded what real power is." Loki finished staring at the Director, who responded with an unfazed look before the corner of his lips quirked up.
"Well, let me know if real power wants a magazine or something." He continued on his way out, Loki's watchful eyes following him to the exit before staring into the camera once more.
The group that had been watching sat in silence looking at the blank screens of where the video feed had previously been.
"Well, he really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce broke the silence first looking towards Alice with a smile. She silently laughed before turning to Natasha,
"I think I found the Cheshire cat, he's insane enough to be." Natasha smirked before looking at the Captain who had begun speaking.
"Loki's gonna drag this out." Steve said, all business. "So, Thor? What's his play?" The blonde soldier looked up at the God.
"He has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard nor any known world. He means to lead them against your people and they will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor solemnly looked at the faces of the group.
"An army?" Steve questioned, "From outer space." He looked over towards the rest of the group for input.
"So, he's building another portal." Deadpanned Bruce, "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." He gestured with his glasses in his hand.
"Selvig?" Thor asked concerned.
"He's an astrophysicist." Alice replied, Thor then softened his voice,
"He's a friend."
"Loki has him under some kind of spell. Along with one of ours." Natasha responded looking over at Alice, pain clear across her face.
"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." Steve quickly cut in, "He's not leading an army from here."
"Earlier, he wanted-" Alice began but was soon cut off by Bruce,
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki, that guys brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell the crazy on him." The Doctor received a pointed look from both Alice and Thor, though for different reasons.
"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and he is my brother."
"He killed eighty people in two days." Natasha commented with no room for argument.
"He is adopted." Thor weakly justified, Alice tried to interject again.
"He wants to do some-" Bruce quickly tried to change the conversation to get back on track.
"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium. What did they need the Iridium for?" Before Alice could reprimand him for interrupting her again, a new voice was heard.
"It's a stabilizing agent." Tony Stark walked into the room with Agent Phil Coulson by his side having a semi quiet conversation. Alice was confused when she automatically heard his thought process involve rekindling a love with a cellist. Tony addressed everyone in the room before continuing, "It means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." He walked over to Thor and gave him a pat on the shoulder causing Alice to raise a curious eyebrow. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing."
Everyone gave each other looks about the new comer in the room. Multiple people rolling their eyes at the billionaire's comment. Tony walked over to Fury's control panel before speaking again.
"Also! It means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Tony looked over the many agents in front of him working on computers, "Uh, raise the mizzenmast, jib the topsails." The agents gave him blank looks as the group to his back huffed in annoyance. Alice gave a quiet chuckle, completely forgetting what she had to say, but then stopped after receiving a stern look from Natasha.
He doesn't need any more encouragement, Alice. Natasha reprimanded her slightly as Alice gave a slight nod.
"That man is playing Galaga," Tony shouted suddenly, causing Steve to look around in confusion. Alice then busted into outright laughter. Tony smirked over at her, "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."
Alice had just recovered when Tony put his hand over his left eye then looked over at Agent Hill. "How does Fury even see these things?" He asked completely serious, Alice began laughing again earning quizzical looks from the five other people, excluding a smirking Tony.
"He turns." Was Hill's reply.
"Sounds exhausting." Tony commented, winking over at Alice who gave a chuckle in return. Tony began messing with the monitors one at a time looking at data while speaking, all business once again.
"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source, of high energy density." Tony rubbed his hand underneath the console but that was all Alice was able to catch of his action. She zeroed in on the millionaire's voice in her head but he was already thinking of his next line. "Something to kick start the cube."
"When did you become an expert on thermonuclear astrophysics?" Agent Hill questioned with arms crossed.
"Last night." Tony replied, causing a look from Hill and the rest of the group. "The packet? Selvig's notes? The extraction theory papers? Am I the only one that did the reading?"
Steve cut in then before Alice got to say that she had, in fact, done the reading but did not understand a word of it. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Bruce replied, looking up from his constant pacing.
"He'd have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."
"Well, if he did that he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."
"Finally, someone who speaks English." The billionaire said, gesturing to Bruce before shaking his hand.
"Is that what just happened?" Steve questioned sarcastically. Alice shrugged her shoulders in response,
"Don't let them confuse you. They made up their own language for each other, ya know, being science siblings and all." She remarked and made a face acting like Tony stroking his goatee in thought. The rest of the group laughed as Tony narrowed his eyes at her.
"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled.. and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Bruce grimaced at Tony's words and gave a hesitant 'thanks'.
"Way to make the elephant in the room feel slim." Alice chided Tony as Bruce furrowed his eyebrows.
"Did you just call me fat?" Bruce asked her, trying to hide a smile. Alice's eyes widened and she immediately turned around in her chair to face the scientist.
"No! Of course not. You're not fat! What I meant is that, just, well. We didn't mention the Other Guy and h-he just.. I called you attractive before! How could I think you're fat?" She stuttered through her words and blushed as the everyone's eyes were on her.
"Excuse me, hate to break up a lover's quarrel but who are you?" Tony inquired turning towards Alice who was sinking lower into her seat.
"A girl who just fell down a very deep rabbit hole." Alice muttered causing the others to smile at the play on her name while Tony stood there clueless.
"Is that an Alice in Wonderland joke?" Everyone smirked in response as Fury walked in.
"Agent Bianco is here for her normal mission duties. Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury said towards the billionaire, who in turn stared at the mentioned agent for a moment longer. Alice had heard the director's voice and was reminded of what she was trying to say much earlier.
"Sir, I have reason to believe that Loki may have plans with Doctor Banner," She looked from Fury to Bruce who looked confused. "Or rather, The Other Guy." She finished looking at her employer.