Choices || CAPTAIN AMERICA (Book 1)

Chapter 4

The atmosphere in the room was heavy as we all watched Loki's smirking face on the monitor. His arrogant expression and piercing gaze made me want to break through the glass cell and knock that smug look off his face. But I knew better than to act on impulse—especially now, when every move mattered.

Nick Fury stood directly in front of Loki, his face a mask of cool control. I always admired how Fury managed to keep his composure, even when faced with a god who had already caused so much destruction. Loki's taunts were sharp, cutting through the tension in the room like a knife.

"The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki's voice dripped with disdain.

I rolled my eyes, unable to keep my thoughts to myself. "Lost creatures? He's seriously underestimating us." Steve was sitting beside me, his presence, suprisingly, comforting.

Fury responded to Loki without missing a beat. "How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

Loki leaned forward in his glass cage, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement. "Ooh. It burns you to come so close. 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."

I clenched my fists, heat rising in my chest as I struggled to keep my temper in check. Fury, however, didn't so much as blink. With a smirk, he turned his back on Loki. "Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something."

As Fury walked off, leaving Loki alone in his glass prison, the rest of us exchanged uneasy glances. Steve's jaw was set, his eyes never leaving the now-black monitor. Thor, who hadn't even looked at the screen, stood nearby with his arms crossed, a storm brewing in his expression. I could tell this was hitting him harder than he wanted to admit.

Bruce Banner broke the silence, his voice laced with sarcasm. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

Steve didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor finally turned to face us, his voice heavy with resignation. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army from outer space?" Steve echoed, his voice tinged with disbelief. It was hard to wrap our heads around.

Bruce nodded, his face grim. "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor looked genuinely surprised. "Selvig?"

Bruce explained, "He's an astrophysicist."

"And a good man," I added, remembering the times Selvig had worked with SHIELD. The thought of him being under Loki's control made my blood boil.

Thor's expression softened. "He's a friend."

Natasha's voice cut through the tension, cool and precise. "Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Her mention of Clint Barton hung heavy in the air. We all knew how close she and Clint were, and the fact that he was now Loki's puppet wasn't sitting well with any of us.

Steve started pacing, his mind clearly racing through the possibilities. "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

Bruce leaned back, his brow furrowed. "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him."