When Stars Align (Steve Rogers x Alexis Stark)

Heading for the Helicarrier

Twenty minutes later, I sat in the seat across from Loki, closest to the front. That didn't stop him from observing me. I had my arms and legs crossed. Steve and Stark stood nearby talking.

"I don't like it," Steve mumbled.

"What?" Stark asked. "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop." A what?

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow." It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." They were quiet for a moment, almost as if they were sizing each other up.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

"It's not like he tells you much either," I added.

"What?" Stark asked. I looked up at them both innocently.

"Nothing." I rubbed my arms. "Just saying it was chilly." He shook his head, walking up to Natasha. Steve smirked, nodding slightly. I gave him a mischievous look before looking up front. I could feel Loki's gaze burning into me, but I didn't even have time to address it before there was a crash of lighting.

"Where is this even coming from?" Natasha asked. It had been clear moments before. Another strike hit. Steve looked over at Loki.

"Scared of a little lightning?"

I looked over at him as well. He did look on edge. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Thunder?

The next lighting strike ended with a thud on top of the quinjet. Steve and Stark immediately grabbed their masks. My dad opened the back hatch. Moments later, someone landed on the ramp.

"What the..." I trailed off as my dad walked up and was thrown back by this guy. He grabbed Loki and pulled him out of his chair. Next thing I know, they're both jumping out of the jet despite us being thousands of feet in the air.

"Now there's that guy," Stark sighed, walking towards the exit.

"Another Asgardian?" I asked.

"You think he's on our team?" Natasha called

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." He continued towards the exit, clearly with plans to also jump.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack," Steve explained.

"I have a plan. Attack." Then he jumped. My word, and he said I'm irrational.

Steve looked around, grabbing a parachute. "I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha advised.

"I don't see how I can." He slipped on the parachute.

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

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Then he followed the rest of them.

I groaned in relief after they were both gone. "Thank God, they're gone." I walked to the front. "I could hardly breathe with all the testosterone."

She laughed as I sat behind her and buckled in. "Don't worry, it's about to get worse."

"Can't wait."

***

There's no telling what exactly went down before we found them and got both Loki and, as it turns out, his brother Thor on the quinjet. I believe there were several Shakespeare in the park references that I missed.

Once we got to the helicarrier, Loki was escorted elsewhere, and I walked on with my dad. While I would've loved a proper introduction to everyone, I wasn't given such luxuries.

"Don't say a damn word," Stark instructed as we walked past the control room where everyone else was. I slowed my pace as we passed, taking in as much as I could of the technology in that room. It was insane. "Alexis, now." I sighed, hurrying to catch up. We ended up in some lab with a big table and several lab stations that clearly had some experiments going on. "Okay, Alex, please enlighten me on how everything happened."

"I was at a party, and Loki showed up just like I predicted."

"You didn't predict it. You presented it as an absurd possibility."

"Well, maybe I should play the lottery because I was completely right."

"What I want to know is how you ended up in a hall alone with Barton and then why the Star Spangled Banner had to save you."

"Once again because Loki showed up exactly like I-"

"Did the crowd of people run away?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then why the hell is it so hard for you to?"

"How can I just leave them to wreak havoc on the city when I can do something?"

"With people like him, all you're going to do is get yourself killed," he argued.

"Well, if you'd trust me with one of the hundreds of suits you've made, I could save people just like you," I pointed out. "If Natasha hadn't taught me what she did, I would be dead right now, and Clint would've had my blood on his hands."

"If you'd run away, you would've been long gone."

"We were running. We were going to run into him either way, but at least the fact that I can fight saved our lives and gave me time to notice the bottle he'd stolen."

"Bottle? You didn't mention a bottle."

"Well, maybe because you immediately started yelling."

"What was in the bottle?"

"How the hell would I know? It was glowing blue."

"It was the tesseract."

"No, it wasn't a box. It was a bottle about this big." I held up my fingers to show the size. "There's no way it was the tesseract."

He thought for a second. "Stay here. Don't move. Don't leave. Don't even breathe weird. I'm going to talk to Banner."

"I can help."

"No, stay." Once he left, I groaned, falling into one of the conference chairs. I was alone for a while and honestly thought everyone might've forgotten about me. After what felt like forever, the door opened.