Swan Song ✧ STEVE ROGERS [✓]

19 - Flying Monkeys

"THE MINDLESS BEAST, MAKES PLAY HE'S STILL A MAN," LOKI SAID TO FURY. "How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

They were back at the Helicarrier. Raevanna and Steve now stood with Natasha, Tony, Thor, and Dr. Banner in a briefing room, watching the security feed from the room where Loki was being held. The entire room was silent as they watched the footage, hoping to gain some answers to what Loki's plan was.

Raevanna didn't trust Loki as far as she could throw him. He was smug about his presence on the Helicarrier despite the fact that he was a prisoner, and seemed to have a special fascination with Dr. Banner. Loki was plotting something and Raevanna knew it. But exactly what he was planning, she had no idea.

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

Loki just gave him a smug smile. "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."

Fury met his eyes for a moment before he smiled and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "Well, you let me know if 'Real Power' wants a magazine or something."

As Loki looked back at the camera and smirked, the heroes (with the exception of Thor) watched until the monitor went black. Then they all just stood there in stunned silence.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Dr. Banner asked sarcastically.

"Loki's gonna drag this out," Raevanna said. Turning to Thor, she asked, "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor faced her. "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," Steve said incredulously. "From outer space."

"So he's building another portal," Dr. Banner said. "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Thor perked up at the name, concern washing over his features as if he knew the man. "Selvig?"

Dr. Banner nodded. "He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend," Thor told him.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours," Natasha said from where she sat at the table.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him," Steve said. "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," Raevanna said to the group.

Dr. Banner nodded in agreement. "She's right. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

Thor gave Dr. Banner a stern look, pointing at him. "Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he is my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Raevanna told him.

Thor winced. "He's adopted."