A Spider's Web ll Natasha Romanoff

A Friend

After picking up the boys and our guest, we were on our way back to base, which is what we were approaching now. After landing, we were met by a security team to take Loki to one of the many interrogation rooms.

I was removing the cloth from my face when Natasha walked up to me. "We need to head to debriefing with Fury." She informed. I nodded, letting her know I understood.

"You really pack a punch. I could almost feel the punch you gave Loki in the face. You and Cap make a great team." She complimented me as we were walking to debriefing. My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh, thank you." I said, hesitantly. I wasn't used to being praised for my work. It was always "You could've done better" or "that wasn't good enough". I guess Cap and I did work well together now that I was thinking about it.

We were coming up to the room we would be meeting Fury (which happened to be the same room I was taken into when I first arrived) and I took a seat at the large table with Natasha sitting next to me. We were all in the room: Natasha, Thor (I found out his name on the trip back to base), Bruce, Cap, and myself. Of course the other agents that were working were there too.

A Surveillance camera showed up in front of us of Loki in a cage and Fury speaking to him.

"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass, it's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot." Fury explained.

Loki chuckled, amused. "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki mused.

"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 because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." And I'm desperate for a coffee right now after all that fighting.

"Ooh, It burns you to have 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." Loki said.

"Well, let me know if "real power" wants a magazine or something" Fury retorted.

The monitors disappeared and Bruce spoke up. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

"Like a rash" I interjected.

"Loki's gonna drag this out." Steve said. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

"He has an army called the Chitauri." Of course the maniac has an army. "They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor explained.

"An army from outer space." Steve confirmed.

"Sounds fan-fricking-tastic." I say sarcastically.

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

"Selvig?" Thor questioned with a hint of familiarity. Do they know each other?

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend." Thor stated. Oh, so they do know each other.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha said solemnly. He's not the only one who put a spell on someone.