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The bright city lights of Stuttgart shone below the jet. I watched the headlights of the cars below me. I could just make out the small figures of people waking on the streets. Everyone in this city was in danger until we got out hands on Loki. How many more people would he kill or control until we stopped him?
"We're getting reports that a man dressed in green wielding a staff has cornered about two hundred people in the streets," Natasha said.
"That's our guy." Steve unbuckled himself from the seat and stood up. He grasped his shield in one hand and pulled down his mask with the other. He looked ready, I just hoped he really was.
"We're going to drop you in Steve and monitor the situation from a distance. We'll be close by in case you need a hand." Natasha bought the jet down in an abandoned car lot about two blocks from Loki's current whereabouts.
"Rodger that." Steve ran down the lowered ramp at the back of the jet and disappeared into the night.
I tracked his location on a map thanks to the chip he agreed to have implanted in his suit and made sure the microphone in his mask was switched on and receiving. Natasha raised the jet and we hovered behind a skyscraper, hidden from Loki's view and just waiting until it was time to move in.
"How about a better view?" Natasha asked.
"Sure." With a smirk, I cracked my knuckles before my hands flew across the keyboard in front of me. Within moments I had the video feed and audio from the security cameras in the streets below us.
We watched as the people in the streets began kneeling. Even on the grainy security footage, the terror was clear and unmistakable on their faces. Soon everyone was on their knees and the only man left standing was Loki. That's when I saw there were 5 of him. I was momentarily confused until I saw one of the Loki's flicker and disappear briefly and I realised they were just illusions. I remember seeing it somewhere in his file that illusions and projections were one of his hypothesised powers. He was dressed in green robes adorned with gold armour plates and in his hand was his sceptre. He had a new addition to his look, which was a large golden helmet that had two large, curving horns.
"Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state?" Loki was slowly weaving through the crowd. He had the same deranged smirk on his face now that he had the night he stole the Tesseract. He was enjoying seeing all these people yielding to him, willing to get on their knees without a fight. He was feeding off their fear. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. 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."
"Not to men like you," a small, but strong voice suddenly said from the crowd. A balding elderly man stood up in the crowd to face Loki. While I admired his bravery, I was sure the man was only seconds away from dying due to his defiance. Steve better get there soon or I was sure that man would only be the first of many people to die tonight.
Surprisingly, Loki chuckled. "There are no men like me."
"There are always men like you."
"Look to your elder people," Loki said as he raised his sceptre. "Let him be an example." The blue energy radiating from the sceptre pulsed brightly. A ball of energy shot out from the tip of the sceptre, heading straight for the man. My heart skipped a beat in my chest.
At the last moment, just before the ball of energy hit him, a figure appeared to descend from the sky and deflect the blow. The energy blast bounced off Captain America's shield and was shot back directly to Loki, hitting him square in the chest. The force of the blow sent him crumbling onto the pavement.
"Well, he certainly likes to make an entrance," I mumbled to Natasha.
"You know the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing." You could see the fear on people's face change to hope and relief when they realised who was standing among them. A few began to rise from the ground, obviously no longer afraid since Captain America's arrival. Even after 70 years, people still believed in him. They knew that they were safe whenever he was around because he would do whatever it takes to protect them, and their freedom.
"Time to move in," Natasha said beside me. While she flew the jet out from behind the skyscraper, I kept my eyes firmly planted on the screen in front of me.
"The solider," Loki said with distain as he rose from the ground. "The man out of time."
"I'm not the one out of time," Captain America replied.
Natasha flew the jet into the square so we had a clear view of Loki, and his hostages.
"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," she said over the quinjets megaphone while lowering the forward turret.
Even from inside the jet I could see the glint in Loki's eyes as he glared up at the jet. With the sceptre in his hand, he threw another ball of energy, this time directed up at the jet. Luckily Natasha had quick reflexes as she dove the jet to the side to miss the blast. I braced myself using the counter in front of me as Natasha corrected the jets position and tried to get a lock on Loki to fire upon him.
While the people scrambled to their feet to flee, Captain America and Loki engaged in battle. Loki was using his sceptre as a sword, as Captain America used his shield to block his attacks.
"I can't get a lock on him," Natasha said. They were moving around far too much and she couldn't fire without risk of hitting Steve.
Within a few moments they were the only people left in the square. Even the police were keeping their distance, choosing to help evacuate people instead of trying to intervene.
Loki managed to deflect the shield thrown at him, sending it skidding away and out of Captain America's reach. That didn't deter Captain America as he engaged in hand to hand combat with Loki. While he managed to land a few punches, it was clear that Loki was gaining the upper hand. He had just tossed Captain America across the square when a noise in the jet drew our attention away from the fight.
I shared a confused look with Natasha as the sound within the jet grew louder. Then I realised what it was. Playing over the jets PA system was AC/DC's 'Shoot to Thrill', which could only mean one thing.
"Agent Romanoff, you miss me?" a familiar voice asked over the PA system.
There was a smirk on Natasha's face as she glanced over to me.
"Shit," I mouthed to her, trying to make no sound as dad would be able to hear since he'd hacked into the jet's systems.
The music continued to blare through the speakers as a streak of light appeared in the dark sky. With outstretched arms Iron Man used the hand repulsors in the suit to send a blast that hit Loki head on before he landed beside Captain America.
"It's about time," Natasha said. I wondered if she was talking to me or dad.
"Make your move, Reindeer Games," Iron Man said. He currently had every weapon in the suit armed and aimed at Loki. Loki slowly raised his hands in defeat. His golden armour appeared to melt away from his body, leaving him in his regular black and green attire. "Good move."
Captain America, who had collected his fallen shield, nodded to Iron Man. "Stark."
"Captain," was his curt reply.
"Time to face the music," Natasha said. She lowered the jet and gently landed it in the square while dad and Captain America detained Loki.
"Why do I get the feeling you're going to enjoy this?" I hurriedly whispered to her. She replied with a grin.
The loading hatch was lowered and I stood up and braced myself for the conversation which was about to happen. Loki was led inside by Captain America who swiftly strapped him down in one of the seats at the back of the jet. His cold, dark eyes swept over me. I wondered if he remembered me from the lab. The glint in his eyes suggested he did. I supressed the shiver going down my spine and looked away.
Then Iron Man walked in. Even with his faceplate down, I could register the exact moment he spotted me standing at the front of the jet. He stopped walking and stared at me for a full 20 seconds. I was waiting for the yelling, for the accusations and demands for the truth. After what felt like an eternity, he reached up to remove his helmet and I was shocked to find him smiling.
"I knew it!" he cried in triumph. He stalked over to where I stood, still in shock at his unexpected reaction. "I knew you were lying about what you did for S.H.I.E.L.D."
"So you're not angry?" I asked hopefully.
"Oh no, I'm angry," he said. I could hear the fury in his voice bubbling to the surface. Any thoughts I had about this blowing over quickly soon disappeared. "What are you wearing?" he asked as he glanced down. "And what is that on your leg?!"
"It's a gun dad. I'm surprised you don't recognise one since you use to make them." While I knew this wasn't the time for it, the words coming out of my mouth were laced with sarcasm.
"Why do you have a gun?"
"I'm a field agent. It's kind of a requirement."
"You're an agent?" he asked incredulously. "Like a going undercover, spying and shooting people agent?"
"Yes."
"No. No way, I'm not letting you become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"I'm not becoming an agent, I am an agent. I have been for 7 months. I didn't need your permission then, and I don't need it now."
Captain America, who had been silently watching our exchange from the back of the jet, stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Maybe you should discuss this back on the helicarrier."
"Stay out of this, icicle," dad shot back at him.
I gritted my teeth as I sighed in frustration. "He's right. This isn't the time for this conversation." I looked past dad's shoulder to see Loki clearly eavesdropping on our conversation. It was bad enough having Natasha and Steve witnessing it, I sure as hell didn't need a murderous alien watching it too. "We need to get Loki back to the helicarrier. Then we'll discuss this."
Dad clearly wanted to argue but I'd already turned away from him. Natasha shot me a sympathetic look as I strapped myself in the co-pilot chair beside her.
"Go do a sweep of the area to see if he bought the Tesseract," Natasha commanded. While getting the Tesseract back was vital, we all knew there was something else just as important to her that she was looking for.
Captain America exited the jet, with dad reluctantly following.
"Are you going to tell him about the other thing?" Natasha asked.
"One thing at a time." If dad disapproved of me becoming an agent, he was going to have a heart attack when he found out about my other secret. I was starting to regret not taking Natasha's advice and telling him about everything earlier. The conversation we started to have would probably have been easier if done sitting down at Stark Tower or at home, not in the field. But it's just easier to put something off when you know it's going to change your relationship with someone. I just wanted things to stay the same, for just a little bit longer.
But now that was gone, and I knew dad would probably never 100% trust me again, especially once I tell him about the other secret I've been keeping from him. Maybe it was a good thing, forcing our relationship to change? If nothing changed, he would always see me as a scared, little girl that needed to be protected from the world. I wasn't a little girl anymore, nor do I need protecting. I can protect myself just fine now. Of course every parent still saw the baby snuggled in their arms on the day they were born when they looked at their child. But dad needed to look past that and appreciate the strong, powerful woman I'm becoming, thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D. I hoped once we sat down and I explained everything to him, he would eventually see and understand my reasons for joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
"No sign of the Tesseract," Steve declared as he climbed back on board.
"Alright, let's take Loki in," Natasha said, adeptly hiding her disappointment at not finding Barton.
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