Agent Stark || BUCKY BARNES [1]

010 ― The Plan

2012 ― Airborne

Back aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, the team had gathered around the screen, watching surveillance footage of Loki. He was locked away now, and the tension in the room was thick, each of them watching with varying degrees of wariness and curiosity.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce Banner remarked dryly to the group, glancing toward the footage.

Fury had just finished speaking with Loki moments before, and now the rest of the team, including Thor, who had come with them, stood in uneasy silence, trying to piece together what their next move should be.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Steve said, his voice steady but edged with frustration. He looked toward Thor, who remained stoic. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor stepped forward, arms folded across his broad chest. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Steve turned his head, eyes narrowing. "An army from outer space," he repeated. His gaze shifted to Holland, who stood beside him, arms loosely crossed, processing the information. She gave a small shrug, as if to say welcome to the twenty-first century.

"So, he's building another portal," Bruce added, rubbing his chin in thought. "That's what he needs, Erik Selvig for."

"Selvig?" Thor repeated, a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

"He's an astrophysicist," Bruce clarified.

"He's a friend," Thor said solemnly, and Holland's expression softened slightly. Even gods, it seemed, had their ties to mortals.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha interjected. "Along with one of ours."

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Steve said. His voice was calm but suspicious, laced with a soldier's instinct. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Bruce said as he turned slightly toward the group, his voice laced with dry sarcasm. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats." His tone was casual, but his implication was clear. "You could smell crazy on him."

Thor's jaw tensed, his voice colder now as he turned to face Bruce directly. "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother."

Before the moment could get too serious, Holland spoke, her voice cutting through the tension with an icy dose of reality. "He killed 80 people in two days."

Thor looked at her, then exhaled.

"He's adopted," he said flatly.

Holland blinked—and then let out a laugh, shaking her head as a small, amused smile crossed her lips. For a moment, the weight in the room lifted just enough to breathe.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium... what do they need iridium for?" Bruce asked, his brow furrowed in thought as he stood near one of the digital displays.

"It's a stabilizing agent. I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive," Tony Stark's unmistakable voice rang out as he strolled into the room alongside Coulson. Holland, already seated beside Steve, rolled her eyes at her nephew's entrance and his dramatics, unsurprised that he chose sarcasm to mask his genuine concern.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself as it did at S.H.I.E.L.D. No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing," Tony added, nodding toward Thor before shifting his gaze toward Holland. His tone dipped a bit, a blend of teasing and residual tension. "And there's the Aunt I didn't know I was still alive until recently."