Nat and I walked into the room where Loki was kept. I stood in front of the door while Nat walked closer,
"There's not many people who can sneak up on me." Loki smirked.
"I thought you'd figure I'd come." Nat replied. "I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton."
"I would say I've expanded his mind." Loki said.
"And once you've won, once you're king of the mountain, what happens to his mind?" Nat asked.
"Oh. Is this love, Agent Romanoff?" Loki questioned.
"Love is for children. I owe him a debt." Nat said.
"Tell me."
"Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D, I, uh... Well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me. He made a different call." Nat told him.
"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki asked.
"Not let you out." Nat answered.
Loki smiled, "No, but I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man."
"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian... or was." Nat responded.
"And what are you now?" Loki questioned.
"It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out." Nat answered.
"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter, Sao Paulo, the hospital fire?" Loki asked.
I couldn't see Nat's face, but I bet it wasn't calm anymore. How did Loki know those things about Nat?
"Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code. Something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away!... I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you!" Loki hissed. "Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"
Nat turned towards me and kept her face hidden and it sounded like she was crying.
"You're a monster!" She cried.
"Oh no, you brought the monster." Loki laughed.
Nat stopped crying and turned back to Loki, "So, Banner... that's your play."
I smirked when his smile dropped "...What?"
I put my hand to the earpiece, "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." I took a few steps forward and smiled at Loki,
"Thank you... for your cooperation. Told you I was going to find out why you wanted to be here."
Nat and I high-fived before leaving.
"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said as Nat, Thor, and I walked into the lab.
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Nat asked Bruce.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." Bruce chuckled.
"Loki is manipulating you." I said.
"And you been doing what, exactly?" Bruce asked Nat.
"You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you." Nat said.
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." Bruce replied before going over to the screen, "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."
"Because of him." Dad said, pointing at Thor.
"Me?"
"Last year, Earth had a visit from another planet that had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned." I explained.
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet!" Thor exclaimed.
"But you're not the only ones out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world is filling up with people that can't be matched, that can't be controlled!" Dad said.
"Like you control the cube?" Steve asked.
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it... and his allies. It is a signal to the Realm that Earth is ready for a higher form of war!" Thor said.
"Higher form? You forced our hand! We had to come up with some way that we could..."
"A nuclear deterrent? Cause that always works well." Tony interrupted.
"Remind me how you made your fortune, Mr Stark." Dad replied.
"I'm sure if he was still making weapons, Stark would be neck deep-" Steve began.
"Woah, hold up. How is this now about me?" Tony asked.
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve replied.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor told dad.
"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Dad replied.
"Are you really that dense? S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats." Nat said.
"Captain America is on threat watch?" Bruce asked.
"We all are!" I answered.
"You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?" Tony asked Steve.
"I swear, Stark, one more wisecrack out of you..."
"Verbal threat! Threatening! I'm being threatened!" Tony said.
"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor stated.
"It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... we're a time-bomb." Bruce said.
"You need to step away." Dad told Bruce.
"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked.
"You know damn well why! Back off!" Steve yelled at him.
"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony replied, getting into Steve's face.
"Big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?" Steve asked Tony.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." He answered.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Steve replied.
"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony responded.
"Always a way out... You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
"A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!" Tony replied.
"Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."
Thor laughed, "You people are so petty... and tiny."
"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his... " Dad began.
"Back where? You rented my room." Bruce replied.
"The cell was just in case."
"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!... I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth... and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk! You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?" Bruce asked and I put my hand on my gun.
"Doctor Banner... put down the scepter." Steve ordered.
Bruce looked down at the scepter in his hands and the computer beeped. Bruce put down the scepter and went over to the computer, "Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my little party trick after all."
Thor stated that the Tesseract needed to be on Asgard and then Steve and Tony started fighting again.
"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."
"Put on the suit."
"Oh, my god." I heard Bruce whisper.
"What?" I asked.
There was an explosion and Thor wrapped his arms around me and we fell to the ground. I groaned and we both sat up.
I looked at Thor, "Loki."
I stood up and grabbed his arm and we both ran towards the room where Loki was.