To The End [Steve Rogers]

3 - In the Dark

Jessica joins the rest of the team in sitting at the conference table for a mission analysis. Live footage of Loki in his detention cell is displayed on the computer screens before them. Fury stands on the outside of the glass.

"In case it's unclear. You try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass." Fury presses a button on the control center that opens a hatch underneath the cell, "Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

He closes it while watching to see how Loki reacts. Jessica studies him as well. He is unfazed.

Fury points at Loki, then completes his final word while hovering his finger over the detrimental button, "Ant. Boot."

Despite the threats, Loki remains smirking, "It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard." Loki turns to talk to the camera, "The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you that you call upon such lost creatures to defend you?"

Fury scoffs, "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."

"Oh, 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."

"Well, you let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."

Fury walks off-screen, leaving Loki to look back at the camera. The smirk on his face sends shivers down Jessica's spine.

A sort of silence resonates over the group. It's not awkward at all, but it does hold a heavy weight of shock.

Dr. Banner is the first to break it, "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve looks up at the god.

"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?"

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

"Selvig?" Thor asks.

"He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours," Natasha says, glancing towards Jessica who gives a nod of comfort.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." Steve thinks aloud, hoping for an actual answer, "He's not leading an army from here."

"Not that he needs to, right?" Jessica adds, "There's still people working for him on the outside. SHIELD has enemies."

Dr. Banner shakes his head, pointing at the table where the video had just disappeared, "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."

"Have care how you speak," Thor warns. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha mutters.

He falters, "He's adopted."

Dr. Banner ignores them, "I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?"