Chapter 2
The flight was tense and quiet, the only sound being the murmuring between the young couple who had confronted Loki prior to Natasha and Steve’s arrival. Steve’s attention was divided between the deranged alien - he refused to believe the man was a god - and the young fighters. His pensive thoughts were interrupted by the younger blond.
“Would you guys happen to have any water?” Steve was surprised by the request, surely they needed medical attention or first aid supplies.
After realizing his slow response time, Steve cleared his throat, “I don’t think so. We didn’t have time to prepare the jet before launching, but there should be a decent first aid kit stored somewhere.” Steve pointedly looked at the injury on tense form just behind the blond.
After exchanging a glance with his partner, the younger blond relented to the offer with a dip of his head towards the Captain. While Steve rummaged through the compartments in search of the kit, Tony focused his typically divided attention on the younglings.
“So… I guess we didn’t really get the opportunity to introduce ourselves yet. I am - of course - Tony Stark. Capsicle over there is Steve and the spandex cat-burglar is Natasha.”
His proclamation was met with unremarkably blank faces rather than the excitement typical of teenagers. He was further astounded when the girl stared at him, glancing briefly towards her companion, before stating in a mildly curious tone, “I think I’ve heard about a Tony Stark in weapons development, but when did you get into cosplay? And am I supposed to know the rest of you?” Her brusque question was met with a light swat against her uninjured flank, which she returned playfully.
Tony was confounded, “Have you not heard of Iron Man? Been fighting terrorists, establishing global peace, yada yada yada… I mean with the other two it makes sense. Natashalie is like a super spy and Captain America has been legally dead for the majority of the past century, but Iron Man?”
The girl just shrugged, while the guy turned to address Tony, “We don’t watch a lot of television, but I am a fan of your buildings. The Stark tower is an amazing combination of architecture and green energy initiatives. The ar-” His raven-haired partner cut what was likely to be a lengthy rambling rant by stepping forcefully on his foot. The kid blushed lightly and reached out to rub the back of her neck comfortingly, clearly having recognized her tense posture.
Shortly after Steve returned with the med kit, the kid had quickly and efficiently cleaned and bandaged his partner’s side. Tony was stumped at the proficiency of wound treatment and the couple’s seeming masochism in the form of passing on pain killers when offered.
The ride continued in silence, Steve and Tony simply contemplating the other passengers in the quinjet.
Thunder rolled through the clouds surrounding the jet, and Steve was keen to notice both Loki’s and, surprisingly, the young girl’s apprehension. He was quick to see an opportunity to rile their prisoner with a mocking remark, “What’s the matter? Scared of a little lightning?”
He was only slightly distracted by Loki’s, “I’m not overly fond of what follows,” by a low, indecipherable mumble from the darker-haired youth. He didn’t have too much time to contemplate either response by a deep thud from the roof of the quinjet. Stark was quick to don his helmet and stand ready as the rear hatch opened. He was unprepared for the blond bodybuilder that launched a war hammer into his chest plate, grab Reindeer Games, and launch out of the hatch within half a minute.
Steve’s “Think he’s a friendly?” Was undercut by a groan as Stark rose and moved towards the open hatch.
“It doesn’t matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tessaract is lost.”
“Stark we need a plan of attack.”
“I have a plan. Attack.” As Stark launched in pursuit of the Asguardians, Natasha made an attempt to curb Steve’s involvement in what was bound to be a violent fight —
“You should sit this one out Cap. These guys come from legend. They’re basically gods.”
“There’s only one God ma’am. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
Persephone and Andrew had hung back during the confrontation, choosing to observe the situation and learn a bit more about whatever Athena felt they needed to be involved in. Both quietly absorbed the reveal of Asguardians and the, apparently missing, Tessaract, though still lacking in details as to what either thing was. The two were quick to snort and raise their eyebrows at the mention of gods.
Andrew worked his way towards the cockpit until he was just behind the pilot’s seat. “We should probably turn around and try to locate Loki.” The Black Widow nodded sharply at Andrew in confirmation before changing course to locate the wayward alien god.
They found Loki standing unattended at the top of a cliff, making no attempt to escape his bindings or flee. Persephone and Andrew escorted the prisoner back onto the jet with little fanfare before directing Natasha to land close tot he nearby epicenter of destruction and lightning.
As the quinjet landed in a clearing within the heavily wooded forest, Persephone quickly pecked Andrew on the lips, “You stay here and keep an eye on tall, green, and alien, I’ll go break up the boy’s club.” Persephone grabbed a set of throwing knives she had spotted upon entering the jet, before disembarking calmly in the direction of the recent destruction.
She happened upon the quarreling trio just as the blond intruder prepared to launch his war hammer at the Captain. In short order one of her blades caught in a joint of the armor’s gauntlet, one had sliced through the arm sleeve of the Captain’s uniform, and the final had cut shallowly across the larger blond’s cheek.
All three men turned to see her casually tossing another knife in the air, “We done here?”