May 2021, Stuttgart, Germany
Loki had a captive audience by the time they arrived - quite literally. He appeared to have interrupted some kind of formal gathering, and the crowd had fled to the streets in their finery, only to be fenced in by what appeared to be holograms of the so-called demi-god, bedecked in battle armour and some kind of helmet that Peggy was certain had to be compensating for something.
"Why are they kneeling?" Natasha murmured, but her question was answered almost immediately by the man himself, his voice cutting across the silent crowd, soft and hypnotic.
"The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power … for identity … You were made to be ruled. In the end … you will always kneel."
Steve's jaw clenched and Peggy narrowed her eyes. "You want first crack at him?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Steve said, the anger in his voice belying the courtesy of the phrase.
"Get ready," Natasha said, pressing the button to open the rear hatch.
"Hang on," the pilot said, catching their attention. "What's that guy doing?"
Peggy joined Steve at the hatch to see that one elderly gentleman had risen to his feet, towering above his companions, looking Loki directly in the eye. "Not to men like you."
Loki smiled coldly. "There are no men like me."
"There are always men like you," the man said simply, and Peggy's stomach turned over at the implications.
"Look to your elder, people," Loki said loudly, pointing his sceptre in the man's direction. "Let him be an example."
As the tip of the sceptre began to glow, Steve leapt from the plane, landing in front of the man and deflecting the blast back with his shield. "You know," he said conversationally, as he straightened up, "the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above all the rest … we ended up disagreeing."
Loki struggled to his feet. "The soldier," he spat. "Man out of time."
Captain America smiled coldly, all traces of Steve vanishing beneath the cowl. "I'm not the one that's out of time."
The pilot took the opportunity to swing the quinjet round so it was facing him, and Natasha turned on the PA, releasing one of the guns. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!"
Loki seemed to consider this for a second, before sending a blast at the quinjet. The pilot skilfully avoided it, but Steve took the opportunity to hurl the shield at Loki, knocking him back.
The crowd scattered as the fight began and Peggy glanced at Natasha. "Shot?"
"They're all over the place," Natasha said. "We'll hit Captain Rogers too."
Before Peggy could jump from the plane, the PA crackled and then suddenly began to play AC/DC.
"Agent Romanov," Tony's voice said, "you miss me?"
Natasha sighed, but Peggy could see a smile lurking around the corner of her mouth as Iron Man soared around one of the buildings, blasted Loki back into the steps of the building and landed heavily in front of him.
"Make a move, reindeer games."
Peggy held her breath as Steve approached them, setting the shield back on his arm.
Slowly, Loki raised his hands, the armour vanishing.
Tony lowered his hands, various weapons retreating back into his armour. "Good move.
"Okay, take us down," Peggy said, stepping back as the quinjet landed.
The two men escorted Loki on to the quinjet and secured him, before Tony removed his helmet and turned to Peggy, leaning forward to kiss her cheek in greeting. "Lady Liberty, lovely to see you. How was your trip?"
"Eventful and successful," Peggy answered, inwardly laughing at his definition of a mission. "Do you two know each other?"
"Only by reputation," Steve answered, and there was a note of something cold in his voice, something that made Peggy ever so slightly uneasy.
"Well," she said, deciding not to mention it, "this should be interesting then. Tony, you remember Agent Romanov."
"How could I forget?" Tony asked, but his voice had lost the trace of bitterness it had held previously. "You never answered, did you miss me?"
"Like a cramp," Natasha answered, with a quirk of her lips that told Peggy that she, too, was not as disdainful as she pretended. "Pepper, on the other hand …"
"I don't blame you," Peggy said with a smile. "Everyone loves Pepper. Now let's get out of here."
Tony pouted a little, but could hardly dispute her statement, and the quinjet took off quickly, before local authorities could get involved.
Peggy didn't envy the agents who would have to smooth that over.
The trip back was largely silent.
Information trickled in over the radio from the carrier, and Peggy hovered over Natasha's shoulder to listen in.
"Barton could have pulled that off without the public display," Natasha murmured, carefully pitching her voice so it couldn't be heard in the back of the jet.
Peggy hummed in agreement. "This guy's a showboat, clearly. Could have killed the guards as well."
The guards at the facility that had protected the iridium had been found unconscious, both of them with one of Clint's special arrows attached to their necks. The arrows stuck rather than pierced and delivered a shock that knocked the victim out.
"He's fighting," Natasha said in a low voice.
Peggy squeezed her shoulder. "We'll get him back."
Loki had said nothing, not even when questioned about the location of the Tesseract, and it was clear that Tony and Steve (who had also removed his helmet and cowl) were not in the mood for conversation.
"I don't like it," Steve muttered, as Peggy returned from the cockpit.
"What?" Tony asked. "Rock of ages giving up so easily?"
"I don't remember it being that easy," Steve said with a frown. "This guy packs a wallop."
Tony snorted. "Still, you were pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing, Pilates?"
Peggy gave a little cough in warning, but said nothing.
"What?" Steve asked, looking lost.
"It's like calisthenics," Tony said. "You might have missed a couple of things while you were, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."
"Tony …" Peggy said warningly, getting to her feet. She caught his eye, but didn't smile. "Steve's right. This does feel too easy."
Steve turned to her. "Fury didn't tell us he was calling him in, right?"
"There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," Tony said with a humourless smile.
Peggy sighed, but didn't begrudge him his point after the palladium incident. "He's a spy, Tony. No, Steve, he didn't, but I knew he would. Sorry I didn't warn you; I didn't think it was necessary."
Thunder rumbled outside the quinjet, a great streak of lightning flashing across the clouds in front of them as the sky darkened.
"Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked, her voice quivering just a touch to those who knew to listen for it.
Not many people knew that Natasha actually had a fear of flying - unless Clint was in the pilot's seat.
Even fewer people knew that was why Clint had taken the pilot's training in the first place.
Loki shrank back against the walls of the aircraft, causing Steve to frown.
"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"
Loki gave him a tight smile. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."
Something heavy landed on top of them, making the whole aircraft shake. Tony pressed the button to open the rear hatch, refastening his helmet.
"What are you doing?" Steve demanded, following suit.
Before Tony could answer, a man landed on the ramp, his long blond hair blowing in the wind. He was wearing silver armour with a red came, and one hand clutched the handle of a large hammer.
Peggy lowered the weapon she had drawn. She knew who this man, and was almost certain that her bullets would do nothing to stop him.
Tony had no such restraint and raised a hand to fire, but the hammer flew into his chest, knocking him back into Steve and pinning them both to the floor.
Thor grabbed Loki, breaking the restraints easily, and the hammer returned to his hand. He swung it and leapt from the aircraft, taking his brother with him.
"And now there's that guy," Tony said, struggling to his feet.
"Thor," Peggy said. "I'm almost certain."
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked, raising her voice to be heard above the wind.
Steve's eyes widened behind the mask. "That guy's a friendly?"
"Doesn't matter," Tony said. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."
"We need a plan of attack!" Steve protested.
"I have a plan," Tony said. "Attack."
Peggy sighed as he took off after the two Asgardians. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha said.
"I don't see how I can," Steve said, fastening on a parachute.
"These guys come from legends," Natasha warned. "They're practically gods."
"There's only one God, ma'am," Steve said. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."
Peggy heaved another sigh as he jumped. "At least he took a parachute."
"You going after them?" Natasha asked.
"No," Peggy said. "Bring the jet around and get ready to pick them up. You or I could probably explain to Thor about the Tesseract and get him to help us. If the boys want a punch-up first, who am I to argue?"
"Men," Natasha muttered, shaking her head. "Why must they complicate things that are really quite simple?"
The male pilot - rather wisely - said nothing.
By the time the 'punch-up', as Peggy had called it, was over, half a forest had been destroyed, but Loki, despite being left to his own devices in the meantime, was still sitting quietly when the quinjet landed.
"You're up to something," Peggy said, when she alighted. She ignored his lack of response, letting Natasha secure him again, and jumped down to where the three men were standing in the newly-made clearing, staring at each other.
"Are we done here?" Steve asked as she approached.
"You'd better be," Peggy said crisply. "We don't have time for this." She turned to the newcomer. "Thor, correct? Loki's brother?"
"That is correct."
Peggy extended a hand. "Lady Liberty. Agent Coulson told me a lot about you."
Thor clasped her hand with a smile. "I regret that the Son of Coul did not offer me such tales, but I am flattered that he thought highly enough of me to do so."
Peggy couldn't help smiling back. "Well, things were a little frantic back then I hear. I realise that Loki is Asgardian and, as such, there is a definite jurisdiction issue, but we need to know where the Tesseract is, so I would very much appreciate it if we could work together for the time being.
Thor nodded, looking rather abashed. "Of course. I apologise for my action. The last time I saw my brother, I believed he was killed. I may have … overreacted a little."
"Completely understandable," Peggy said, before turning to the other two men. "Tact, Tony, try to remember it. And, Steve, do I have to give you the diplomacy talk again?"
Tony nodded, avoiding her gaze. Steve reddened slightly, muttered a 'no, ma'am', and strapped his shield back on.
Peggy gave them all - including Thor - one last stern look (she may have been giving him the respect she would give a visiting dignitary, but that didn't mean she was going to let him get away with it) before leading them back to the quinjet.
May 2012, SHIELD hellicarrier
"It burns you to have come so close."
Peggy shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes flickering from the video to Steve, whose eyes were fixed on Loki's face, an unreadable expression on his face.
"To have the Tesseract … to have power - unlimited power - and for what?"
Fury had contained Loki in the cell they had prepared in case the Hulk made an appearance on board, something she knew Dr Banner was all too aware of.
The man in question had abandoned is examination of Loki's sceptre to join them all on the bridge (aside from Tony, who was changing out of the armour), and they were watching Loki in his prison cell as he taunted Fury.
His gaze turned to the camera, looking directly at them with a smirk.
"A warm light for all mankind the share? And then to be reminded of what real power is."
Hill cut the footage, and Banner pulled his glasses off, cleaning them on his shirt. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"
Peggy smiled slightly, appreciating his attempt at lightening the situation.
"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve said. "So, Thor - what's his play?"
Thor sighed heavily. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In exchange, I suspect, for the Tesseract."
"An army," Steve repeated blankly. "From outer space." His gaze turned to Peggy, who was still in uniform, but, like Steve, had shed the helmet - most of the people in the room were level seven, and therefore cleared to know that Sharon was Lady Liberty (if not that she was actually her great-aunt).
Most of them weren't paying any attention anyway.
"Don't look at me," she said. "I'm still reeling from the original 'we are not alone' bombshell, and I wasn't even there for it."
"So he's building another portal," Banner said. "That's what he needs Eric Selvig for."
"Selvig?" Thor asked sharply.
"He's an astrophysicist," Banner explained.
"He's a friend," Thor said, sounding distressed, and Peggy remembered that Selvig had been present in New Mexico for the original Thor-Loki-Asgard debacle, probably where SHIELD had picked him up in the first place.
"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha said heavily. "Along with one of ours."
"I still wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve said.
Peggy nodded in agreement. "He's hardly going to lead an army from here."
"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Banner said. "That guy's brain is a bag of cats; you can smell crazy on him."
"Have care how you speak," Thor warned. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."
"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha said flatly.
"He's adopted," Thor added, although whether his addition was to explain the murders, or because he had expected a higher number, he didn't elaborate.
"What do you suggest then, Doctor?" Peggy asked, focussing on the man's initial comment.
"I think it's about the mechanics," Banner answered. "He targeted Stuttgart to steal iridium - what does he need the iridium for?"
"It's a stabilising agent," Tony answered, entering the bridge. "I'm just saying," he added to Phil, "pick a weekend; I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive. It means," he continued, now addressing the group at large, "the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did at SHIELD. No hard feelings, Point Break; you've got a mean swing." He patted Thor on the shoulder as he passed, moving to stand at Fury's command station. "Also means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants. Raise the mizenmast. Jib the topsails."
The entire room paused to look at him, and Peggy heaved a long-suffering sigh.
"That man is playing Galaga," Tony announced. "Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did."
Peggy hid a smile, seeing Steve looking completely lost. "Computer game," she murmured, just loudly enough for him to hear. "Not something he should be playing while working."
Tony frowned at the computers, covering his left eye with his hand. "How does Fury see all of these?"
"He turns," Hill answered bluntly.
"Sounds exhausting," Tony muttered, tapping various icons. "The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube."
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked.
"Last night," Tony answered, turning his back on the computers. "The packet? Selvig's notes? The extraction theory papers? Am I the only one who did the reading?"
"I read through it on the flight back from Tibet," Peggy said with a smile. "Didn't understand a word of it."
"You were reading through jet lag," Tony said, giving her a charming smile in return. "I'm sure you'd have got it under normal circumstances."
"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve interrupted.
Banner nodded. "He'd have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."
"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect," Tony said.
"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."
Tony beamed. "Finally, someone who speaks English!"
"Is that what just happened?" Steve muttered.
Tony shook Banner's hand with a smile. "It's good to meet you, Dr Banner. Your 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."
Peggy rolled her eyes. "We can't take you anywhere."
"Dr Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury said, striding into the meeting area with a whirl of trench-coat. "I was hoping you might join him."
"I'd start with that stick of his," Steve suggested. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."
Peggy shuddered. She hadn't made the connection, but of course Steve - whose last battle with HYDRA was a mere month ago as far as he was concerned - would have done.
"That's not impossible. They got their hands on the Tesseract somehow. I wonder if they didn't know something we didn't."
"Well, I don't know about that," Fury said. "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."
Thor frowned. "Monkeys? I do not …"
"I do!" Steve burst out, his face lighting up. "I understood that reference," he added, a little bashfully.
Tony rolled his eyes, but - perhaps reading the look on Peggy's face - said nothing, turning back to Banner. "Shall we play, Doctor?"