Author's note: Thanks to sofiarose613, distanceinacrowdedroom and Guests for your reviews!

Chapter 17

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark watched in shock as a man in a red cape grabbed Loki by the neck and grimly charged down the Quinjet's ramp, leaping out in midair into the thunderstorm swirling over Germany's Black Forest — taking their prisoner with him.

"Now there's that guy," Stark muttered through his helmet.

"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff called over her shoulder.

Steve had only gotten a brief glimpse of the man's face during a lightning flash, but he instantly recognized him from the briefing packet: Thor.

"That guy's a friendly!" he shouted over the noise of the wind, but a questioning tone crept into his voice without him intending it. Thor had just clocked Stark with his hammer with the casual attitude of a man swatting a pesky fly. Yet Coulson's report had been clear that Thor had protected innocents from the Destroyer, and even befriended several people during his brief stay on Earth.

Guess he was in a bad mood this time.

In the Norse myths, Thor was often portrayed as rash and impulsive. Steve wasn't sure how much of that was true, but he was powerful, and he sensed they'd have to tread carefully with the man. They'd have a job of it explaining who they were and what was going on, but maybe they could persuade Thor to be on their side. There was hope; Thor's furious expression had made it all too clear that he wasn't on Loki's side, at least. A little diplomacy might go a long way.

"Doesn't matter," Stark said dismissively. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." He moved to jump out of the jet.

"Stark! We need a plan!" Steve shouted. If Stark did something to make the situation worse...

"I have a plan," Stark said, turning back slightly. "Attack." His thrusters flared, and seconds later he disappeared into the storm.

Yeah. Something like that.

Moving decisively, Steve seized a parachute pack and began strapping it on, feeling another surge of irritation at Fury. It was bad enough that he hadn't informed Steve that Stark was coming, but he also hadn't made it clear who was in command out here in the field. Steve didn't mind if it wasn't him, as long as someone competent was making decisions, but this situation was untenable. Stark hadn't even bothered to consult with him, much less include him in the operation. He obviously didn't think he needed Steve's help.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Romanoff advised, glancing back at him.

Great. Apparently no one thought he could do this. And given the ineffectiveness of his initial attack on Loki, maybe they had a point.

But when had that ever stopped him before?

"I don't see how I can," he answered, tightening the parachute straps.

"These guys come from legends, they're basically gods," Romanoff pointed out.

Reflexively he answered in Captain America's voice, to bolster his own confidence as much as hers: "There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

He took a running leap, and for the second time that day jumped out of an airplane.

It wasn't hard to find them. Iron Man's thrusters left golden streaks in the air as he zoomed just above the treetops, and bolts of lightning were zagging down from the clouds directly onto his position. Thor, no doubt. It took Steve longer to spot Loki as he pulled the cord and the parachute slowed his fall, but eventually he caught a glimpse of a golden gleam; Loki's armor reflecting the light from the battle. Loki was just sitting at the top of a cliff, watching the fight with a smug smile plastered across his face, not even trying to escape in the confusion. What was that all about?

Steve landed deftly on the tip of a shattered tree trunk, detaching the chute cords in one smooth movement so that the fabric drifted down to the ground. Thor and Stark were standing toe to toe on the ground now, slugging it out like a couple of boxers at the Saturday night fights. Steve sighed, and pulled the shield off his arm.

"Hey!" he shouted, tossing his shield so that it bounced off Thor's head and Stark's chest and zipped back to his hand. "That's enough!"

They both turned to look at him, startled enough to pause the slugfest, and Steve leapt down to land cat-like on the forest floor. Maybe now they could lay down their weapons and have a civilized conversation. He glanced up at the cliff, making sure Loki was still in sight.

"Now I don't know what you're planning on doing here-" he began, addressing Thor.

Thor was clearly in a bad temper, thanks to his tussle with Stark. "I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" he shouted.

"Then prove it," Steve said calmly. "Put down that hammer."

"Yeah, no, bad call. He loves his ham-" Stark said, but Thor shut him up with one swing of his hammer, not even bothering to look at Stark as he went flying backwards.

"You want me to put the hammer down?" Thor demanded. Steve's eyes widened as Thor took a furious flying leap into the air toward him, raising his hammer in a way that made his intentions very, very plain.

There was no time for Steve to wonder just how powerful that hammer was; there was only time to lift his shield and crouch defensively beneath it.

Hammer struck shield.

There was a deafening GONG, as if Steve's head was right inside a clanging church bell, and from beneath his protective umbrella he saw a massive shockwave blow outward, tearing down the trees around them like so many matchsticks. A few moments later, Thor's body hit the ground with a heavy thump.

The smoke from the battle blew away, sucked outward by the retreating soundwave. A sudden silence fell.

Slowly, painfully, the three of them got to their feet again. The felled trees were fanned out around them as if a giant had smashed his fist down into a pile of toothpicks. Stark and Thor surveyed the mess for a moment, and Steve thought he detected a hint of sheepishness in their postures.

"Are we done here?" Steve asked.

There was a long pause. Finally Thor pointed at Steve's shield, looking both cautious and curious.

"What is that?" he asked.

Steve slid the shield off his arm, moving slowly so as not to startle Thor, and held it up for him to see. "Vibranium shield."

"Actually," Stark interjected unexpectedly, as the front of his helmet popped open, revealing his face, "I think from now on we should call it the Liberty Bell." He reached up to rub both ears, wincing. "I swear I can still hear it ringing. Is that normal?"

Steve permitted himself a moment of relief that no one was blowing things up or zapping anyone with lightning, at least for now. Steve met Thor's eye meaningfully and then gently dropped the shield, handle side up, on the ground in front of him. He wanted Thor to see he was willing to disarm first, but he also hedged his bet; it was a simple maneuver to stomp on the edge of the shield and flip it back up to his arm if he needed it.

Steve turned to give Stark a significant look, and after a long pause, Stark said grudgingly, "Jarvis, power down weapons systems." The whine in his suit quieted as some of the mechanisms inside shut down.

Thor looked at them both warily, and then slowly, cautiously, he bent slightly and laid the hammer on the ground, with the handle pointing straight up within his easy reach.

Well, it was a start.

"My name is Steve Rogers," Steve said. "I understand we have you to thank for helping us with the situation in New Mexico last year."

Thor looked slightly mollified at this, and Steve took a moment to be grateful Coulson had briefed him properly. Sometimes commanding officers forgot how crucial that was.

"Are you the leader of this world?" Thor asked, turning slightly toward him.

"I'm the protector of this world," Steve corrected, and instinctively he moved his shoulders back into the Captain America stance, his hands going to rest on his belt near the buckle. "Along with Mr. Stark here," he added politely, nodding toward him.

"I've been protecting this world since before you were born, mortal," Thor said, sounding singularly unimpressed.

"Dude, you have no idea how old this guy is," Stark broke in. "He's like the Crypt Keeper."

"I'd like to know what your intentions are today," Steve continued, ignoring Stark's comment, not least of all because he had no idea what it meant. He glanced up at the cliff and saw that Loki was still at his perch, although his smug smile had been replaced by a slightly concerned frown as he looked down on their parley.

"I've come to put an end to Loki's schemes," Thor repeated, but although he was still speaking louder than was really necessary, he seemed slightly less infuriated than before.

"So did we," Steve said calmly. "Loki took something valuable from us, and-"

"I know what he took," Thor interrupted. "The Tesseract. It does not belong to you, my father left it on Midgard for safekeeping centuries ago. The guardians failed in their mission. It's going home with me."

"Are Asgardians hard of hearing, or just slow in the head?" Stark demanded with more than a touch of sarcasm. "What did I just say about taking my stuff?"

"The important thing is that we get it away from Loki," Steve said loudly, cutting off the argument decisively. "I think we can all agree it isn't safe with him. Once we've done that, we can decide on the next step."

"What do you suggest?" Thor asked, turning to face him fully and folding his arms expectantly.

"We should take him to the helicarrier," Stark answered before Steve could. Thor shot him a confused look, and Stark clarified: "It's our flying base. Sort of a castle in the clouds. You know, like Asgard."

Thor laughed shortly. "It's nothing like Asgard, metal man."

"You haven't even seen it," Stark said. "They have fighter jets and scanning equipment and weapons of all shapes and sizes... even one of those vending machines with the little baggies of organic blueberries. Do you have those on Asgard?" He arched his eyebrows at Thor.

Was Stark capable of taking anything seriously? Steve was beginning to wonder. He glanced up once more to make sure Loki was still at the top of the cliff, and felt a jolt of alarm shoot through him.

"He's running!" Steve shouted, and instantly he took off on foot, heading for the foot of the cliff, eyes immediately darting up to seek out handholds up the face of the rock. Behind him, he heard the distinctive sound of Iron Man's thrusters, and a moment later Stark soared over him, boots flaring, zooming straight to the top of the cliff. Steve had to suppress a moment's aggravation at his own slower pace, a feeling he had not experienced since the day of his transformation. He had thought he was ready for this mission, but so far he had felt nothing but flat-footed. He had become used to being the fastest and the strongest, and now he was being served a big slice of humble pie. Well, it would probably do him good.

"Can you fly?" Thor shouted, unexpectedly appearing alongside Steve, matching his long strides as his red cape flared out behind him.

"No!"

Thor seized Steve by the wrist in a powerful grip. In his other hand, he began to whirl his hammer in a tight circle, making a heavy whooshing sound, and then he suddenly flung his hand upward toward the sky. Steve realized what was going to happen an instant before it did, and desperately grasped Thor's wrist in return just in the nick of time.

The momentum of the hammer flung them up off the face of the earth, pulling them unerringly toward the top of the cliff, Steve hanging on to Thor's wrist as his legs dangled toward the rapidly retreating ground below. Their speed was terrific, the wind tearing against their clothing, and in one wild, joyful moment, Steve realized he was flying.

Thor glanced down at him and, seeing Steve's reaction, a broad smile lit up his face, as bright and brief as a flash of lightning. He loves the hammer, Stark had said, and suddenly Steve understood why.

They soared up over the edge of the cliff. Stark hadn't waited for them; he was unleashing beams of light from his palms, knocking Loki roughly to the ground.

"Drop me behind Loki!" Steve shouted up to Thor. "I'll cover his retreat."

Thor took him very literally, and dropped him a good 30 feet above the ground. Steve instinctively balled up, landing shield-first and rolling smoothly to his feet.

Thor came down in a power landing at the same instant Loki, his face twisted into a snarl, unleashed a bolt of blue light from his scepter, which struck Thor in the chest and sent him flying back. Steve was startled; Thor seemed so sturdy that he had half-expected Loki's scepter to be ineffective against him. Apparently the blue stone powering the scepter really packed a wallop, even against other Asgardians.

Loki was ignoring Steve in favor of launching several blue bolts at Stark, who took off and narrowly avoided the first, while the second struck his legs and left him tumbling end-over-end until he struck a tree with a loud clank and fell to the ground in a metallic heap.

Steve had already launched his shield at Loki's head to buy Stark time to recover before Loki hit him again. It bounced off Loki's helmet just as uselessly as before, but it did draw his attention. He shot a blast at Steve, who caught his shield and raised it up just in time. The blast ricocheted and Loki jumped aside, barely avoiding it.

Steve quickly took stock of Thor and Stark. They had both just gotten back on their feet, and now the three of them were surrounding Loki, who whirled from side to side, pointing the scepter threateningly at each of them in turn.

"Together this time!" Steve shouted at the other two.

Loki turned to give him a mocking smile.

"Teamwork everyone!" he said, aping Steve's tone. "It's a wonder you don't choke on your own pomposity," he added scathingly.

But from behind Loki, Thor suddenly flashed a smile at Steve, holding up his hammer significantly. Instantly, Steve understood.

"Stark," he said very softly, holding his shield up to cover his mouth, eyes still locked on Loki's. He hoped the comm system Romanoff had bragged about was good enough to pick up a whisper. "On my signal, hit him as hard as you can. Aim at his feet."

"His feet?" Stark hissed back through the comm, pointing his arm at Loki, his armor even more dented and scratched than after his brawl with Thor. "I'm not gonna hit Mr. Artful Dodger here anywhere but his smug little face."

"His feet," Steve insisted. "On my signal. Ready?"

He charged toward Loki, purposely telegraphing his movements. Loki smiled crookedly as Steve flung his shield with all his strength toward Loki, and he raised his scepter in preparation to block it.

But the shield missed Loki's head by a foot, and Loki smiled mockingly, pointing his scepter at Steve instead and unleashing a blast of blue energy. Steve threw himself to the side, just dodging it, and yelled, "Now!"

To his relief, Stark actually listened and launched a missile at Loki's feet at the same instant Thor swung his hammer, striking the edge of Steve's shield in mid-air and sending it straight to the back of Loki's head. Shield and explosion hit Loki from opposite directions at the same instant, and he was slammed unceremoniously to the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt. His scepter flew out of his hand and skittered to a stop right at Steve's feet.

In a flash, Thor leaped forward and laid his hammer on Loki's back. The weapon must have been even heavier than it looked, because Loki squirmed uselessly beneath it, disarmed and unable to get up. Steve took a deep breath of relief and planted his boot on top of Loki's scepter, just to be safe. He didn't understand how Loki could make it disappear and reappear out of thin air, and he didn't like not knowing what he was dealing with. He put his hand up to the side of his helmet. "Agent Romanoff, do you copy?" he said.

"Loud and clear," her voice came into his helmet.

"We have Loki again and we're ready for transport," Steve said, pulling the compass out from a pouch at his belt and looking at it. "Our location is approximately one and a half miles south-southwest of-"

"I know where you are, Cap," Romanoff interrupted. "There's a GPS in your suit. We'll be right there." Steve blinked a couple of times. GPS? He felt a twinge of exasperation with himself. All the studying he'd been doing since the day he'd come out of the ice, and there was still so much he didn't know. Would he ever catch up to everyone else? Would he ever stop being the odd man out?

The Quinjet roared into view and settled down a short distance from them. Thor picked up his hammer and hauled Loki roughly to his feet, pushing him forward into the Quinjet, followed closely by Stark. Steve stooped to pick up Loki's scepter and his shield and boarded last, frowning slightly as Loki meekly let Thor push him down into a seat and have his wrists bound. He felt certain that once again, Loki had permitted himself to be taken, and he wanted to know why. It seemed clear that the man had done nothing but put on a performance since the moment he had showed up. What was he hiding?

The Quinjet took off and headed for the helicarrier at top speed. With Loki bound and Thor and Stark both keeping a close eye on him, Steve's eyes drifted down to the scepter he held in his hand. The staff was long and smooth, with no sign of a trigger or button or any indication of how Loki activated it. Frowning, Steve studied the head of the scepter more closely. The blue gem at the tip was mesmerizing; there were strange lights within, sparkling and undulating. At times he could almost swear there were flashes of yellow light deep in its heart, the color so bright and pure that it didn't even look green through the blue haze.

Staring at the moving colors, Steve felt strange; a little light-headed, maybe, like he hadn't fully caught his breath yet, although he should have recovered from the exertion of the battle by now. He had certainly fought longer and harder many times before. But now his heart was beating too fast, and his palms felt sweaty. He gripped the handle of the staff a little harder, not wanting it to slip from his grasp, and waited for the sensation to pass.

It didn't. It intensified, and what was worse, it was starting to feel all too familiar.

Oh, please, no, he thought, his heart dropping down to his toes. Not here. Not now. He'd just made it through two fights without a hint of his symptoms. If anything, he'd felt better since being deployed. More like his old self. But it was unmistakable now. The panic was starting to seize him. He was going to have an episode.

Not here, not here, not here.

He realized he was still holding the compass in his other hand, and he quickly flipped it open and fixated on Peggy's photo, trying to steady his ragged breathing. It felt like an asthma attack, only he knew there was nothing wrong with his lungs. Just breathe in and out. In and out. It always passes. Just wait for it.

Suddenly, he jumped; Stark was standing right next to him, although Steve hadn't noticed him approaching. "Didn't you hear Romanoff? Compasses are obsolete," Stark explained in his not-so-helpful way, reaching out toward Steve's compass, whether to point at it or take it out of his hand, Steve wasn't sure, but instinctively he pulled it in tight against his chest, fist closing around it and snapping the lid shut. Stark was the last person on earth he wanted looking at that photo.

"Touchy, are we?" Stark asked.

"Are all your warriors this disrespectful to you?" Thor asked Steve, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"He isn't my-" Steve began.

"Yeah, I work alone, Lion-o," Stark said loudly. "Do I really strike you as the yes-sir, no-sir type?" He saluted sarcastically, his armor making faint mechanical sounds with the movement.

Thor frowned. "Why do you call me a lion?" he asked, sounding vaguely irritated.

"Lion-o," Stark repeated. "You know, 'Thundercats, ho?'"

Thor looked at Steve questioningly, who was equally mystified but felt too unwell to even care right now.

Stark rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me both of you slept through the '80s," he said.

"I brought a gag for Loki," Thor said, glowering at Stark. "Perhaps I should have brought two."

Steve stirred slightly, knowing he had to speak up and head this off before it turned into yet another brawl between the other two, but first he had to get a grip on himself. He stared fixedly at the gem in the scepter, straining for a little self-control, and this time he was certain he saw a yellow flash deep inside. It was like-

Like a blaze of fire. In a flash, he was there again: in Schmidt's headquarters, staring down the Hydra fanatic who was shooting fire from a flame-thrower, trapping Steve in the corridor. Until Peggy had come, tommy gun blazing, blowing up the fuel tanks strapped to the soldier's back. She'd rescued him. In more ways than one. And he had gone to her, wanting to thank her — wanting to kiss her right then and there, and thinking timidly that maybe she wanted him to — but all he'd been able to get out was the lame accusation: "You're late."

"Weren't you about to-" Peggy began, looking at him a little uncertainly.

"Right," he said, remembering. He was supposed to be getting Schmidt.

And then she was shot.

A bullet hole ripped through Peggy's chest, a bloodstain instantly blossoming through her jacket. She dropped, and Steve barely caught her in time, lowering her to the ground. Around the corner grenades were exploding and men were shouting in desperation, but he didn't care. All he could see was Peggy, and the life draining out of her eyes. She stirred slightly, looking up at him, and tried to speak. He leaned closer, desperate to hear her voice just one more time.

"Hail... Hydra..." she whispered, and then slumped in his arms, her eyes sliding shut.

Steve's shaking fists clenched around the scepter, and he couldn't stop a soft, pained grunt from escaping his lips even as the awful images faded from his mind. Not here, not here, not here. He passed a hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat, and then glanced up, hoping no one was paying enough attention to him to notice what was happening.

He found that only Loki was looking at him, a tiny crooked smile tugging at one corner of his lips. Steve was really beginning to hate that smug smile. A slow red rage crept across his vision. Loki was the cause of all this. If it weren't for him, the Tesseract would still be safely in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, and Steve himself would be safely home. Not really home, of course, but at least in his own apartment, where he could fight his demons in privacy.

No, he'd be home, truly home, if not for Johann Schmidt and his obsession with the Tesseract. It was really the Tesseract that was to blame. There was something about it that turned men into monsters. Steve looked down at the strange gem glimmering in Loki's staff and suddenly wondered: is this powerful enough to destroy the cube?

"Wake up, Rogers," Romanoff said, tapping his shoulder and making him jump. "We're here."

Steve looked up, blinking. The jet had landed on the helicarrier. A security detail of helmeted S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were escorting Loki away. Thor and Stark had already disappeared. Steve shifted the scepter from one hand to the other, trying to cover his disorientation and the well of anger inside him that was still threatening to overflow. Fury was striding toward him and Romanoff, his long coat flapping with the motion.

"Good work, Captain," Fury said, glancing back at Loki's retreating back with a look of satisfaction. "Looks like your reputation as a miracle worker has just been secured."

"We didn't capture him," Steve immediately contradicted.

Fury frowned at him. "Say what?"

"He let us take him."

Fury looked skeptical. "You sure about that, Cap? Three of you against one, and he just let you take him?"

"He had his chances to get away," Steve said flatly. "He's the planning kind, and we better find out what's in his head before he manages to carry it out, whatever it is."

Fury and Romanoff exchanged glances. "I'll take him first," Fury said, "and you after." Romanoff nodded seriously.

"Anything else I need to know?" Fury asked Steve.

"Yes," Steve said, barely holding his anger in check. "Your lack of communication is causing serious problems for me out in the field."

Fury paused, looking genuinely surprised. "Lack of communication? What lack of communication?"

"You didn't tell me Stark was coming. If you had, that would have been the perfect opportunity to explain that I'd be dealing with an egomaniac right in the middle of an already volatile situation."

Fury let out a single bark of laughter. "Oh, he's good," he said to Romanoff, jerking a thumb in Steve's direction.

"Got it in one," she answered with a small smile.

Their amusement infuriated him, and he gripped the scepter in a strangle-hold, feeling a faint buzzing almost like an electrical charge flowing through the handle and into his hand.

"I didn't tell you Stark was coming because I didn't know if he would," Fury explained with a hint of condescension. "I invited him, yes, but Stark's a consultant, not a contractor. He doesn't march to my beat."

"And that's another thing," Steve said tightly. "How am I supposed to operate out in the field when the chain of command hasn't been clearly established?"

Fury gave him a scornful look. "Well, who do you think I wanted to be in charge?"

"Stark did listen to you," Romanoff put in, looking at Steve with a curious expression on her face, part puzzlement, part fascination. "He actually followed your lead. How did you do that, anyway?"

"I didn't do anything," Steve said.

"That's not true," Romanoff said. "I was listening in on the coms. You had everything under control down on the ground." She paused for a moment. "Of course, everything fell apart on the way back. Not sure what happened there."

Steve felt such a wave of shame at his own weakness, and anger that she had noticed it, that he actually had to hold his breath to stop himself from lashing out.

"Well, it's a start," Fury said, clapping a hand on Steve's shoulder, which he instantly shrugged off.

"Don't touch me!" he snapped.

Fury's brow creased as he slowly drew back from Steve, giving him a look that was a little too knowing. "You having an episode, Rogers?"

"If you were worried about that," Steve said tightly, "the time to mention it would have been back in New York." He shoved the scepter angrily into Fury's hands and strode off.

Steve hadn't even made it back to the helicarrier's lab before he felt suddenly flat and foolish. He had never popped off like that to a commanding officer. What was he thinking? What was wrong with him?

Whatever it was, he had to keep a lid on it. The last thing he wanted was people focusing on him. It was his job to make sure no one focused on anything but Loki now.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's note: I've always been sorry that we saw so little of Thor and Steve's first meeting — really, only a few seconds of it before the scene changes. Their personalities seem to mesh well throughout the MCU movies and it was fun to think through the implications of that as I wrote this "extended" scene. Also: Tony Stark is one heck of a lot of fun to write! Let me know what you thought.