He shoots off into the dark and stormy sky and I can just feel Steve's frustration. He runs over to our stock of parachutes and begins strapping one on.
"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha advises, but I can tell he wouldn't stand by and watch for anything. He leaps out into the storm and I lean over the edge of the plane to watch his parachute deploy. For a few heart-stopping seconds I can't see anything, but then I see him gently floating the wrong direction. I groan inwardly. Guess he needs my help.
"Permission to assist Captain Rogers?" I ask Natasha.
She hesitates and then relents. "That's all you do," she orders. "Don't get involved, the Asgardians don't know you like we do and I'd like to keep it that way."
I nod and leap out of the plane towards the captain's rapidly fading chute. I fly towards him and he sees me coming.
"Nice of you to join us, Piper!" he shouts to me over the storm.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" I yell back. "Need some help?"
"I've got it completely under control!" He replies.
"So you're trying to avoid encountering the men we're supposed to find?" I ask with a grin.
He smiles a little ruefully and I laugh and grab his harness. I look around for the right direction and my attention is caught my a huge explosion to our right. That boom has Tony Stark written all over it. I fly in that direction, pulling Steve behind me. I notice Loki alone on an outcropping, calmly watching the fight below. And what a fight it is. Thor and Stark are really going at it, blasting and throwing each other all over the place. Many trees have already been knocked down and they aren't just any trees. These are huge 100 foot pines. I wonder how much of this destruction was actually Stark's fault as I watch Thor swing his hammer through another tree.
The captain's voice breaks into my thoughts. "Go ahead and drop me off here," he says. "You might wanna go make sure Loki doesn't get away."
That seems to be a good plan to me, so I set the captain down and help him unhook his harness. He runs off to get in the middle of the fight and I climb up the rocks to Loki.
"Why did you climb?"
His quiet words freeze me.
"E-excuse me?" I stammer.
"I said: Why did you climb?" He's very calm and it unnerves me. "You have magic. Why would you bother scaling the rocks?"
Well, crap. This Asgardian is more observant than I thought.
"Uh, yeah, well, I didn't know you knew, um, about it," I stutter out. Really great, Piper. Now you sound intelligent. Perfect.
He chuckles. I didn't expect that. "One creature of magic should recognize another," he says.
What? "I'm not sure I catch your meaning," I reply slowly.
He smiles that dark smile and then gleams with a green light. Suddenly I am surrounded by smiling Lokis. He's copied himself all around me! I spin in a circle trying to pick out the original but I've lost track.
"Very impressive," I say. "But I know which one you are."
All the Lokis' grins darken. His voice comes from every direction. "Do you? Mortals are always so slow. Show me your magic isn't wasted on you."
I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I alter my vision slightly to show me magic. The world glows green, shit that's not right. Okay, now I guess I'll look for living people. That should knock out the copies. And it does. The only shapes I see are my own, and Loki. He's actually slightly behind me and to my left. I spin in a complete circle before stopping to face him and restoring my normal vision. He smiles.
"Impressive," he repeats my compliment. "I've never met another who could do the things you can."
Suddenly there's a huge boom. I automatically throw up a protective force field around the two of us and turn to look. I can see the giant shockwave from the explosion crashing through trees around us, but inside my force field, we are safe. I finally locate the site of the explosion and grin. Steve joined the party. He's kneeling on the ground, shielding himself with his 'unbreakable' shield. And Thor is flat on his back directly in front of him.
Really mature, you guys.
They pick themselves up, as Loki and I watch, and head toward us. Thor sees me, and asks the captain a question. He answers and Thor just looks more confused. I decide Loki must be the only smart Asgardian here. The guys climb the rocks and handcuff Loki. I signal Natasha to our location and we pack him into the jet. Again.
