AN: UPDATE! WOOO! Sorry it took so long but I was super busy with school. I'm on break now so hopefully I can update a few times. Thanks again for all the reviews and favorites. For those of you also reading Fire and Ice, I will update that story next, so stay tuned. As for this story... I'm gonna try to follow the movie as well as I can but I might not get all the quotes right (I watched the Stuttgart scene like 20 times and still didn't get it perfect, ha!) Umm... I think that's it. I hope you enjoy!
I own nothing.
Chapter Nine:
It had been a long time since Steve had been in the midst of a battle. The only thing he had fought in nearly seventy years was his punching bag… well, he did have that incident with Waverly's ex-boyfriend but that hardly constituted a battle. Steve was actually a little nervous. He barely knew who this Loki person was or what he was capable of.
Waverly had escorted Steve to his room on the Helicarrier. She had left him to get ready. Lying on Steve's bed was his new uniform. It was reminiscent of the one he wore during the war but Steve couldn't help but crinkle up his nose at the sight of it. It was much less military uniform looking and instead looked more like a spangly outfit for a comic book superhero. Sitting next to the uniform was his shield. It had been polished and repainted and all the little dings and dents repaired. At least his shield hadn't changed. That little circle of metal had saved his life countless times. Steve was glad to have it back; it provided some comfort and familiarity in this strange new world. Steve quickly suited up and strapped his shield to his arm. He met Waverly back in the hall way.
"Natasha will fly you to Stuttgart. Once you get there, she'll drop you at Loki's location."
Steve nodded. He was following Waverly as they walked briskly through the halls of the helicarrier. "What's the plan once I confront him?"
"Fury obviously wants to interrogate him. We need to find the Tesseract. Your goal is capture; don't kill."
Steve let out a laugh. "Gotcha. Didn't plan on it anyway."
"Right." Waverly stopped at a thick steel door that led to the runway. "This is your stop. Natasha is waiting in the jet."
Steve took a breath to calm himself. He shook his arms and legs, loosening his muscles. In an instant he was back in the mindset of a soldier. This was his element; this was what he was good at. "Anything else, Waverly?"
Waverly shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She looked nervous. "Just… just be careful. Okay, Steve?"
Steve gave her a smile. "Will do."
"Good luck." With that, Waverly pressed a button on the door's frame. With a warning buzz, the thick sheet of steel revolved open, giving Steve access to the runway. The wind whipped roared, carrying with it the sound of jet engines. Steve jogged towards the jet that was preparing for takeoff. Just before entering the jet, Steve turned and gave Waverly a salute as she shut the door.
Back on the bridge, Fury was tracking the jet's progress on one of the computer monitors with Agent Hill and Waverly flanking his sides. In stark contrast to the SHIELD director and trained agent, Waverly was having trouble sitting still. She drummed her fingers on the railing beside her and tapped her foot nervously.
"Is there a problem, Agent Barton?" Fury asked, not taking his eye off the screen.
"No sir. Just…" Waverly paused. "Nothing."
Fury turned to face his secretary. The super spy was trained to read human emotions like a child's story book. Clearly, Waverly was nervous; more so than she had been upon arriving at the helicarrier. "You wouldn't be worried about Captain Rogers, would you?"
Waverly had learned to control her emotions around her boss but she couldn't prevent the small shade of pink that crawled up her cheeks and Fury's accusation. "What? No. He's Captain America. He'll be fine."
Fury wasn't convinced. "Of course. Just remember; he is your assignment. I expect you to act professionally."
The jet flew through the air with remarkable speed. The helicarrier was floating somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean so making it to Germany before Loki disappeared again was crucial. Natasha piloted the jet as if flying was her sixth sense. Steve stood near the rear of the jet where he would drop from upon reaching their location. Night had fallen across Europe and the closer they got to Stuttgart, the darker the sky became.
"We're reaching the drop zone, Captain," Natasha called from the cockpit. With ease, she guided the jet down towards the ground, giving Steve a safe height to jump from. He would not be parachuting today; the slow descent could give Loki an advantage. As the jet descended, Natasha flipped on a cloaking device, similar to the one that shielded the helicarrier. She then flipped a switch and the hatch at the rear of the jet opened. Steve felt the wind hit him like a ton of bricks and he gripped his shield tighter. Looking down below him, he saw what appeared to be a museum. Hundreds of people were fleeing the building, screaming in terror. Over the rush of air in his ears, the captain heard police sirens rushing to the scene. Then, everything stopped. The people knelt down, their fear frozen in their throats. Steve followed their wide-eyed gazes and saw Loki standing before them, addressing them and brandishing his spear about. He was dressed in the most ridiculous looking armor, but Steve knew not to judge a book by his cover. This guy was dangerous.
In the middle of whatever crazed speech Loki was giving, an elderly man near the back of the crowd stood up. Steve watched Loki aim his spear right at the man's chest. Now was the time. With a running leap, Steve jumped from the jet and landed inches in front of the older gentleman. Covering them both with his shield, Steve felt the blast of Loki's spear ricochet off to bounce back and hit Loki.
Steve lowered his shield and stood up. Loki had fallen to the ground. Steve began towards him. "You know, last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."
Loki gave a chuckle and pulled himself back to his feet. "The soldier," he snarled, "the man out of time."
"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve shot back.
At that moment, Natasha swooped back in and disengaged the jet's shielding device. She armed the jet and came over the P.A. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."
Loki shot a blast of whatever energy his spear contained at the jet. While Natasha swerved to avoid the hit, Steve threw his shield at Loki. The shield bounced off Loki's chest plate and Steve caught it. Running forward, Steve aimed a punch at his opponent's face. Around them, the stunned silence had been broken. People were screaming and running in every direction. Steve focused on Loki. Loki countered with his spear, and Steve blocked with his shield, but was thrown backwards. He threw his shield but Loki knocked it away. All right, Steve thought, hand to hand then. The captain jumped back up to his feet and ran at Loki. Loki spun and hit Steve square in the back with his spear. Steve flew forward and landed with a painful thud on the ground.
Loki strode over to him and held the captain down with the butt of his spear. "Kneel."
"Not today." Steve knocked the spear away and sprang to his feet. With a spinning kick, he engaged Loki once more.
Loki retaliated by throwing Steve away once more. Upon hitting the ground, Steve heard some weird music come over Natasha's P.A. He looked up into the sky, confused. What in the hell?
Standing a few feet away from him, Loki was looking equally as confused. Then, like a missile, an armored man flew through the air at fired at Loki. Tony Stark, Steve realized. Shoulda known. Cornering Loki, Steve heard Stark order him to make a move. Steve climbed back to his feet, retrieved his shield and joined Stark. Like magic, Loki's armor faded away and he held up his hands in surrender.
"Good move," Stark responded.
Steve nodded at the armored genius. "Mr. Stark."
"Captain."
"Thanks for the help." Steve stepped forward and grabbed Loki by the forearm. Stark followed, grabbing Loki's other arm. Together, they escorted their prisoner into the jet and strapped him into a seat. He was oddly compliant and didn't say a word. It was strange and all too easy.
Natasha ascended into the air and sped quickly back toward the helicarrier. Steve took off his mask and wiped the sweat from his face. Beside him, with a mechanical whirring, Stark lowered his face plate. He took off his helmet and set it down.
Steve met his eye. "I don't like it," he said in a low voice.
"What? Rock of ages giving up so easily?" Stark asked.
"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve rubbed his stomach which was throbbing after taking so many hits to the pavement.
Stark shrugged. "Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"
Steve was thoroughly confused. "What?" He asked.
"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, ya know, doing time as a 'capsicle'."
Steve repressed an irritated sigh. He had known Tony Stark for all of a few short minutes and already he was irritated with the arrogant billionaire. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."
"There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," Tony said, cocking an eyebrow.
Suddenly, the jet flew into the midst of an intense lightning storm. The jet rocked back and forth in the turbulence. Glancing back at their prisoner, Steve saw he looked vastly uncomfortable. His eyes were wide and he was gazing up at the ceiling with a look a dread.
"What's wrong?" Steve said sarcastically. "Scared of a little lightning."
"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki replied.
Something hit the roof of the jet with a deafening thud. The jet rocked from the impact. Simultaneously, both Steve and Tony reached for their face coverings. Tony opened the hatch to confront whatever new threat had appeared.
Just then, someone came swooping in through the jet's back hatch. He was a towering man with bulging muscles. After tossing Tony to the side, he ripped Loki from his seat and jumped from the jet before anyone could make a move.
Tony got back to his feet. "Now there's that guy." Walking towards the back of the jet, Iron Man made to take off.
"Another Asgardian?" Natasha called from the cockpit.
"Doesn't matter," Tony answered. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."
"Stark," Steve called after him. "We need a plan of attack."
Tony paused and turned back towards Steve. "I have a plan. Attack." With that, he jumped off into the night sky.
Steve reached for a parachute strapped down with the jet's cargo.
"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha advised.
Steve slipped the parachute over his shoulders and tightened the straps around his waist. "I don't see how I can."
"These guys come from legends. They're basically gods."
Steve took a few steps towards the jet's hatch. "There's only one god, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Without giving it another thought, Steve fastened his shield to his arm and jumped from the jet.
Using his shield to guide his fall, Steve directed himself towards a thick, dark forest below. When he reached the appropriate altitude, he released his chute and glided to the ground. Once his feet hit, he slid the parachute off his back and took off at a run. He could see not too far off, the blasts from Iron Man's weapons and hear the thud of the Asgardian's weapon. When he reached them, they were in the middle of fighting.
"Hey! That's enough!" Steve threw his shield at the two, breaking up the fight.
The newcomer turned to glare at Steve. "I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes."
"Then prove it." Steve said, approaching him. "Put the hammer down."
"Yeah, uh, no," Tony piped up. "Bad call. He loves his hammer."
"You want me to put the hammer down?" The man's voice was deep and threatening and he had a strange accent that Steve couldn't place. He knocked Stark aside and jumped at Steve.
Steve threw up his shield. The two indestructible metals hit each other with enough force to rip up the surrounding trees. Steve was thrown backwards, as was his new opponent. They both landed with resounding thuds. As everyone was climbing back to their feet, Steve said, "Are we done here?"
Regretfully, the strange man fastened his hammer to his belt and stood calmly. "I have come to take Loki home."
"We got that," Steve said. "But he has a lot to answer for first. Who are you?"
"I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard."
The name sounded familiar. Hadn't Waverly said something about someone named Thor? He had some connection to Loki. "Right. Come with us, Thor. We're on the same side here."
Thor let out an angry sigh, but nodded. The three new allies retrieved their prisoner and boarded the jet once more.
