Beautiful Chaos

{part one | chapter four}

The flight back to the helicarrier was less than pleasant. Once they had restrained Loki and sat him in the back of the quinjet, Tony started his rant.

"You brought my daughter into the line of fire, Romanoff."

"She was perfectly safe with me, she didn't even leave the quinjet. Do you think I'd purposely put her in danger?" Nat's voice was smooth and calm where Tony's was sharp and cutting.

"No, but things don't always go according to plan, especially when there is a- a Norse god and a magical space rock involved!" Lilith watched as Loki rolled his eyes from where he was seated across from her. Tony turned to his daughter, his face almost as red as his suit, "And you. Lils, You were called in to work in the lab! Not in the field. You know that. I've explicitly told you that if you ever got called in by shield it was an office job. Behind a desk. Quiet work, safe work."

"Dad, I-"

"No," Tony interrupted her, "No, you're dressed like a vigilante and you're carrying weapons and you are my daughter and I decide when you get to be a superhero. Not Fury, not the star spangled banner over here, not Romanoff. Me."

Lilith puffed up her cheeks and blew out the air before responding.

"I'm sorry Dad. I promise I'll stay back at the lab next time. I promise. I won't do anything stupid or dangerous anymore," The white-haired girl avoided her father's eyes. She felt guilty. He never yelled at her. She forced herself to look at him, her eyes stung with tears when she saw his expression. She looked away almost immediately.

Tony saw her eyes well up. He sighed and ruffled her hair, "Okay, kiddo," He bent over and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. He whispered into her hair, "stay safe for me, please. I can't lose you Lee Lee." Lilith nodded as he straightened himself but didn't say anything more. She made brief eye contact with Loki. He hadn't spoken a word to anyone the whole time they'd been flying. His facial expression was that of pity. It looked as if he was going to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, Fury's voice rang through the quinjet.

"Agent Romanoff," he said, "Has he said anything yet?"

"Not a word."

"Just get him here, we're low on time." The conversation ended there. Tony and Steve had a quiet conversation while the rest of the passengers stayed silent. The quinjet was being shaken by the thunder and the storm that raged around them. Lightening struck, too close to the jet for anyone's comfort, and Loki jumped nearly a foot in the air, looking around nervously.

"What's the matter," Steve asked him, "scared of a little lightening?"

For the first time since his speech, the god spoke, "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Barely two seconds after the god spoke, something crashed into the roof of the quinjet. The hatch door was pried open and a tall, muscular, blonde man entered. The man carried a hammer and Lilith recognized him as Thor. He grabbed Loki by the throat and flew back out of the hatch, carrying his brother with him. The rest of the group was left confused and shocked by what had just happened.

"And now there's that guy," Tony said.

"Another Asgardian?"

"Think the guy's friendly?"

"Doesn't matter," Lilith said, "if he frees Loki or kills him, the tesseract is lost."

"Stark we need a plan of attack," Steve shouted as Tony prepared to fly after the Asgardians.

"I have a plan," Tony said, "Attack." Lilith rolled her eyes at her father's reckless behavior.

Steve grabbed the parachute off the wall, planning to follow after Tony.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Nat said from the pilot's seat.

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legends," Lilith explained, "they're basically gods."

"I only believe in one god ma'am," Steve said, "and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." With that last remark, he strapped on the parachute and jumped from the aircraft.

"Men," Natasha rolled her eyes.

🥀🥀🥀

Fury had to intervene before the three men blew up the European mountains during their brawl. They made it back to the helicarrier and locked Loki in a glass containment cell. Lilith stood behind Fury with his right hand woman Maria.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you even scratch that glass," Fury opened the hatch beneath Loki's cell, demonstrating the god's fate if he didn't comply, "thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He pointed at Loki after closing the hatch, "Ant," he pointed at the button that opened the hatch, "boot."

"It's an impressive cage. Not built for me though, I don't think."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard," Loki replied, looking directly into a security camera. He must've known somehow, that it was the camera Bruce would be watching him from with the rest of the team and Loki's brother, "The mindless beast makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

Lilith felt her cheeks heat and her pulse quicken. She didn't like when people insulted her friends.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk of peace and kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You may not be glad that you did."

"Ooh, it burns you to come so close," Loki sneered, "To have the tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

"Well," Fury said with a smug smile, "you let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury walked away and Maria shot Lilith a pitying glance before following him out of the room. The young psychologist, left alone with the caged god.