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Chapter 3 - A Warm Light
Walking up to the Bridge, Ophelia caught her first view of the people she had skim read about in the file. All gathered around a table that lit up with screens they seemed to be looking at a live recording of Fury talking with a man in a cage. His black greasy hair shined in the washed-out light, his skin sickly and his clothes looking to belong in a renaissance fair rather than a cage in SHIELD.
So, this was Loki.
"In case it's unclear." Fury walked up to a tablet connected to the cage. "You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass." A hatch released from the cage after Fury types in a command, letting in violent gusts of wind that whistled ominously. Loki looks down as much as possible from his place in the cage. "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" he closes the hatch, turning back to the trapped god.
"Ant." Fury gestures towards Loki, "Boot." He gestures towards the tablet.
The god of mischief doesn't seem as concerned as he should be, mockingly laughing at Fury he takes a few lazy steps back "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."
"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury retorts back.
"Oh, I've heard." Loki's eyes lit up with malicious glee, his face turning to look through the screen right at the group. Ophelia honestly felt creeped out watching him, the way he grinned at Fury reminded her vividly of the men that her father used to call his friends. All eager to prove themselves no matter what it took. No matter at whose expense.
"The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man." Everyone briefly stole a look at the scientist with the purple shirt. Dr Bruce Banner looked like the furthest thing from a mindless beast, but Ophelia read the file, and she related to the mild-mannered doctor deeply. Both terrified at the consequence of their power, both treated like landmines Ophelia felt nothing but sympathy for the scientist that just wanted to be left alone.
"How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki sneered. Ophelia was vividly reminded of a similar question she had asked Fury upon first meeting him.
"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control." Fury strode closer to Loki's cage, Loki's expression remained relaxed, "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."
"Ooh." Loki taunted from the cage, "It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what?" A malicious grin overtakes his face as he turns again to the camera, "A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."
An annoyed smile appears on Fury's face before he walks away from Loki "Well, you let me know if Real Power wants a magazine or something." Loki looks back at the camera one more time before the screens vanish, taking away their view of the god.
