— 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 —

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TIME STOOD STILL. Or at least that's certainly what it felt like as the boy both Steve and Ryn once knew as David Barnes stood before them all grown up. However, his brow remained furrowed as if he'd been presented to a pair of strangers.

He looked around the room, but his eyes only lit up when he located Natasha. He took a step forward, but paused as he noticed the guards at his sides flinch. He rolled his eyes. "I'm unarmed."

"No less dangerous," Natasha replied, returning back to the room after she'd dropped Banner off at the lab. However, she did give Fury a look which was reflected back toward the agents. They took a step back, albeit hesitantly. "Volkov. Meet Rogers and Rogers."

His lips tightened as she once again referred to him by the name he so despised. He'd dropped the given surname following Sao Paulo as an effort to turn his life around. The Red Room had a way of keeping track of their assets though, unless one was protected by a separate overbearing government which acted as a stronger threat.

She looked smug though, as if it amused her to bring him discomfort. And from the way they'd gone back and forth over the years... it was how he knew that she still cared.

"Who's Volkov?" Ryn asked, looking between the pair of assassins in confusion. "And a better question: how are you even alive, Davie."

He flinched. Somehow, he knew the question was directed toward him. And even though the nickname was posed with sincerity, it was only slightly better than Volkov. He fervently shook his head. "Not Davie. Never Davie."

"David..." Steve took a hesitant step forward.

But the assassin took a step back. Wulff's—David's—hand flew toward his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. His head began to pound as if years of forgotten history were pounding on a closet door, trying to flood their way out into the hall. He didn't know whether to open the door and embrace it, or keep it closed with fear.

Steve's puzzled expression remained as he turned toward his sister. "How are either of you... here?"

"Howard Stark." Two words spoken in unison by the majority of the room. Those words had even been uttered by Wulff himself as if slowly remembering something he shouldn't.

Ryn cleared her throat. "As the only witness, I think the story is mine to tell."

"I think I've heard the tale enough times to know it by heart," Julie scoffed under her breath. She'd grown up listening to her father's stories of Captain America, Lady Liberty, and the American Dream. Of course she'd never been introduced to any of them until she started working for S.H.I.E.L.D. herself.

Ryn elected to ignore the comment as she faced her brother with an eager smile. "Alright, you remember Project Rebirth, right? Well, Howard tried to recreate the serum on his own sometime after finding the cube in the ocean. Howard's a talkative guy, and he brags about his own accomplishments as often as he can, so this new serum didn't stay a secret for very long. Lottie and I snuck onto the S.S.R. property and injected ourselves with the serum. And from that point on, we were pretty much partners in stopping crime. That is until a couple years ago when I left S.H.I.E.L.D. to find a life of my own."

"I thought the serum required UV rays?" Steve questioned.

Ryn shrugged. "The new version didn't. It also has some kind of pause effect on aging. Well... I think that just about catches you up."

Steve blinked. "I have so many more questions."

"We'll get to them in time," Julie reassured him. "As for, Mr. Barnes, here. We've had to piece together a number of files, which became easier when he became an active threat on our watch list."

"Lil' Davie Barnes is an active threat on your watch list?" Ryn skeptically asked. It was hard to picture the assassin as anything else than the kid she grew up with.

"Born in the 1920s, a member of the Howling Commandos, a HYDRA test subject, and finally a victim of Dreykov's Red Room," Julie quoted the information as if she'd been reading the file itself, "David Barnes, renamed Wulff Volkov, is hardly the man you remember... to be frank, he hardly remembers himself."

"Between HYDRA interrogations, Russian brainwashing, and years of cryogenic stasis," Timothy Jarvis piped up, drawing attention to himself as he paced around the outskirts of the room. "It's a wonder he's even standing."

Wulff frowned. "So everyone knows my life story, but me?"

"Timothy Jarvis," he introduced himself. "Resident psychic. I have no control over what information the spirits offer me. It's a burden I bear alone."

Wulff scoffed. "Psychic?"

Timothy nodded. "Gotta say, I'm a huge fan of everyone in this room. The spirits have had lots to say. I mean, we've got a lotta big names standing here today: from Captain America to the Angel of Death."

Julie's lips tightened and she looked away as the alias was dropped. It wasn't like she was hiding from her past, she just didn't enjoy reliving it. "Can we move on and do our actual jobs? There's a security threat on the loose."

Timothy tapped the side of his head. "Communing with the spirits as we speak."

From the back of the room, Hunter Rumlow scoffed as he took his place beside Maria. It was a rare moment where both looked comfortable in the presence of another human being. Timothy had only made the mistake of noting their relationship once, but that was all it had taken.

"I see there are some skeptics in the room." Timothy specifically eyed his own father reminding the former agent the risks of being found out. He then grasped his forehead, shaking as if experiencing a seizure. "I see—I see..."

"Spit it out, Jarvis!" Hunter snapped with a frown.

"I see... nothing." Tim shook his head with a sigh, turning in the direction of Hunter. "I was so close man. Your pessimistic disbelief just had to interfere. I could see the blonde haired—"

"Black haired," Will interjected, hissing under his breath as he whispered from beside Tim.

Tim nodded his head but continued without a hitch. "—man with green eyes—"

"Blue," Will corrected again.

"—But now I've got to start over." Tim took a breath, clasping his hands before fervently rubbing them together as if a child at play. "So which station is mine?"

Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose, but motioned for the Phillips siblings to guide the so-called psychic to his designated desk—one he made sure was moved as far from him as possible.

Ryn's eyes narrowed with a sneaking suspicion as she leaned over to get confirmation from Richard. "Your kid. He's not really psychic... is he?"

Rather than giving a verbal answer, Richard mimed the action of locking his lips and throwing out the key. Ryn rolled her eyes with a smirk as she nudged the man before approaching her own family. It had only been a minute since the psychic intervened, but it was long enough for Coulson to pull Steve aside and it was long enough for David to begin a conversation in heated Russian with the Widow.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble," Coulson stammered.

"No, no. It's fine." Steve brushed aside his hesitance as if it were no inconvenience at all.

"It's a vintage set," Coulson explained. He beamed with pride, shedding his usually quiet exterior for just a moment as he spoke to his idol. "It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint, slight foxing around the edges, but..."

Tim gasped, standing from his desk as he again began to convulse. "I see it! Schnitzel! Lederhosen!"

"Jarvis, I swear!" Hunter threatened between grit teeth.

Ryn snickered as she noticed Richard's displeased look. She made her way back across the room, leaning over to whisper so that only he could hear. "Now why does this sound familiar?"

"If you're about to say—"

Ryn interrupted Richard's defense with a laugh. "They sound just like you and Fury in the golden days."

"I was never that—"

"Obnoxious, loud, irritating?" Ryn offered to finish his sentence. "Of course not... Well, I never thought so. But I'm basically your godmother so I might be a tad biased."

"Bratwurst!" Tim screamed. He then saluted, his body going rigid as he marched like a toy soldier around the room. "Hail Hitler! Hail HYDRA!"

Fury's brow furrowed as he shot Richard an incredulous look. "You better hope your kid was just possessed by a nazi ghost."

Mackenzie tilted her head as she too tried to understand the psychic's antics. "It's like a bad impression of Germany."

Agent Jasper Sitwell cleared his throat. There was a look of fear in his eyes and a dotted line of sweat beads across his forehead, but these were simply attributed to hard work rather than a reaction to the psychic. "We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross match, seventy-nine percent."

"Location?" Coulson asked, approaching the computer.

"You're not gonna believe this, sir," Sitwell insisted with a sigh as the coordinates popped up onto the screen. "Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse."

A smug look of satisfaction crossed Tim's face. It was only Fury who noticed the man stick his tongue out at Rumlow, but genuinely he didn't care about the method. He cared for results. Whether or not the kid was a bonafide psychic remained to be seen, but for the time being, his success ratio outweighed the failures.

Julie frowned as she noticed the suit and tie that the image of Loki was wearing in the captured footage. "He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain..." Fury paused as he looked around the room. "And Liberty. You're up."

Ryn grinned. A small part of her had missed the action. It was like her skin was itching to reunite with the uniform. However, a second thought did cross her mind. "Umm... we've got private transportation, right? Because I'm still blacklisted after the last time I found myself in Germany."

Fury scoffed. "Since when did breaking the rules ever stop you from punching a dictator in the face, Rogers?"

"You make a valid point, Fury," Ryn agreed with a nod of her head. "I just didn't want any trouble with border control when I attack the guy who's got my sister."

"Consider the record wiped clean," Fury replied. Julie was the first to leave the room, beckoning Steve to follow so that she might show him where to gear up, then the Red Room assassins, and finally Lady Liberty herself. However, as Ryn prepared to cross the threshold of the room, Fury called out to her. "Rogers. One last thing."

"Yeah?"

"Never call me 'Nick' again." The tone of his voice dropped as his single eye threatened her with a glare. "I let it slide this once."

A smile toyed with her lips as she saluted him. And without a word, she turned on her heels and marched until she couldn't be heard. Fury rolled his eye and scoffed under his breath, but there was a certain amount of fondness hidden behind his eye patch. The sense of nostalgia was strong, and although the threat of intergalactic war was now more imminent, he could only remember staring at the stars with Jarvis on his right and Rogers on his left while Rambeau parked their vessel aboard the shuttle that had been safe-guarding the very cosmic energy that now served as their downfall.

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ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE STUTTGART MUSEUM, LOKI EYED THE LOOMING ARCHITECTURE. His own twenty-first century attire allowed him to blend in with the crowd; however, he also drew attention with his godly physique and the woman on his arm.

Charlotte Brooks wore elegance far better than the Asgardian could imagine. In comparison to the rest of humanity, he considered her an inch above—only due to the influence of the stones, he'd say though. Her white hair was curled around her shoulders while a smokey eye which helped the vibrant blue hue of her irises to really pop. Her sleek black jumpsuit implied power, everything Loki needed his right-hand woman to exude.

Together, they strutted inside, joining the lavish gala as if they'd received an invitation—acting like they were the guests of honor. The doctor might have been the evening's speaker, but Loki was destined to take the spotlight. Grabbing the attention of everyone in the room as he knocked out the first guard with his cane while Charlotte handled the two that remained. Loki slammed the doctor into the marble table inscribed with mythological creatures then jabbed the optical device in his eyes without remorse. As the doctor twisted and convulsed in pain, the corners of Loki's mouth twitched into a sadistic grin, embracing the chaos as the crowd panicked and rushed outside.

Once there was confirmation that the iridium was in their possession, Loki allowed the illusion to fall. His regal Asgardian garb was fitted from head to toe. The staff in his hand transformed back into the scepter. And the horns of his newly crafted helmet curved back toward the sky. It took seconds for the police to arrive, and only seconds more for Loki to subdue them with a blast from his scepter. The car flipped over head, likely killing those trapped within.

"Kneel before me," Loki demanded. As the crowd ignored him, focusing on their own panic, three more illusions of himself materialized to block the crowd's escape. "I said kneel!"

As the crowd stumbled to follow his instructions, he embraced the obedience with outstretched arms and a wide smile. "Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

The words of the Asgardian slowly resonated with the kneeling crowd. However, there was at least one who did not agree with what he had to say. An elderly German gentleman rose back to his feet, refusing to kneel as he shook his head. "Not to men like you."

Loki chuckled. "There are no men like me."

The elder man clicked his tongue with disapproval. "There are always men like you."

"Look to your elder, people." Loki's grin grew dangerous as the volume of his voice quieted with his threat. "Let him be an example."

The end of his scepter lit up in a blue glow as Loki prepared to execute the elder. However, as the beam of energy was shot, it was blocked by a metallic shield painted red, white, and blue with the emblem of a star engraved in the center. Loki was knocked down by the impact of his own blast reflected back.

"You know," Steve announced his presence, standing up from behind the shield he'd dove behind to protect the civilians, "the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"The soldier." Loki huffed as he stood and regained his balance. "A man out of time."

"I wouldn't say he's the one who's out of time," Ryn contradicted the Asgardian as she stepped out of the crowd on the other side, effectively trapping him between the two of them.

As if to prove her point, the Quinjet hovered overhead. From within the aircraft, Natasha addressed him over the speaker system while aiming the turret system in his direction. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Julie and David were also present in the craft, but only as back up should the situation escalate to a higher level of danger. Loki tilted his head as he looked between the siblings.

"And the statue," Loki noted with minor intrigue. "She wasn't sure you'd come."

"She?" Ryn tried to ask him to explain, but a knee planted itself in her face and knocked her to the ground. Amidst the growing chaos, Loki took the opportunity of attack, firing a blast of blue energy at the Quinjet.

Natasha managed to evade what could have been a devastating blow, allowing Steve the time to take back the fight. He knew his sister—both of them to be specific—was just on the other side of the courtyard, but he couldn't allow himself to become distracted by their fight. He needed to focus on his own.

The blows between the two seemed even for a short while, and then the Asgardian strength came into play. Loki tossed the captain to the ground. As Steve threw his shield, Loki swatted it aside with little effort. Then he knocked the captain to the ground a second time before pressing the blunt end of his scepter against Steve's helmet.

"Kneel," Loki warned.

"Not today!" Steve knocked the scepter aside and rose back to his feet. With a quick roundabout, Steve flipped his legs into the air and swiftly kicked Loki across the face. Loki didn't allow the action to go unpunished as he grabbed the captain and flipped him over.

Across the courtyard, the sisters continued their fight. It was evident that Ryn was holding back as she had yet to take the offensive.

"Lottie," she pleaded, blocking her sister's punch. "I know you're in there somewhere. And I'm sure you've wanted to kick my ass for a while now, but can it wait? Steve's home."

Charlotte's fist stopped an inch from Ryn's face. She blinked and her brow furrowed as if she were trying to clear her mind. And finally, there was a whisper of surrender under her breath. "Steve?"

Ryn quickly nodded, pointing to where their brother was alive and kicking... and getting kicked by the Asgardian. "It's time to come home. I don't know what this Loki guy has said—"

"He's promised freedom." Charlotte's eyes hardened, glowing a brighter blue as she spoke. She beat her sister down without remorse, punching and kicking until the younger had curled up into a hall on the ground to protect her head. "He has promised salvation from the pain of this world."

Within the Quinjet, Natasha frowned as she watched how both fights were quickly going downhill. "This guy's all over the place."

"Should we head down?" Wulff asked, leaning over her shoulder to glimpse at the controls.

Julie opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by the sound of AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" over the speaker system. Her lips pursed into a frown of disapproval as she recognized the familiar entrance of her own flesh and blood.

"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" Tony asked as he whizzed by in his latest Iron Man suit.

Julie couldn't remember what he'd called this one. Mark Five? Mark Fifty? Either way he had far too much time on his hands and too many dangerous ideas leaking into his workshop. Both the super soldiers and the Asgardian lifted their heads toward the sky as Tony flew overhead. With a single blast from Tony's gauntlet, Loki was blasted into the ground before the iron suit touched the ground. As if to accentuate his point, every piece of weaponry the suit possibly included was armed at the ready.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," Tony warned.

Slowly, Loki lifted his hands into the air to surrender. A quick gesture of his head was enough for Charlotte to understand that the next step of the plan was to be enacted. She too lifted her hands, allowing Ryn to dust herself up off the ground.

From within the suit, Tony scoffed. "Good move."

Ryn huffed as she eyed the technology with suspicion. She didn't need to see a face to know who was inside. The branding screamed Stark. "You're late."

"Fashionably, Rosie," Tony curtly replied. She noticed he even shared that smug lilt in the tone of his voice that his father could never avoid using. "But you managed to keep a hold of things until the cavalry arrived."

Steve released a heavy breath as he gathered his wit and picked up his fallen shield. "Mr. Stark."

"Captain," Tony returned the greeting before turning his attention back to Ryn. "Liberty."

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NATASHA'S EYES REMAINED TRAINED ON THE SKIES AS SHE FLEW THE QUINJET BACK TOWARD THE HELICARRIER. The weather had taken an unexpected turn for the worse, making it difficult to listen to Fury over the headset.

"Said anything?" Fury asked.

"Not a word," Natasha replied.

There was a pause. "Just get him here. We're low on time."

"Does he remind you of home?" Wulff quietly asked from the co-pilot's seat. Although Natasha was in charge of the controls and flying the Quinjet, Wulff had taken the seat beside her nonetheless. They had plenty to catch up on, it had been years after all. "Is that why you stuck around?"

"The Red Room wasn't a home," Natasha contradicted. "It was a prison."

"So then what's S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Wulff questioned. "I'm on the active threat list, so I understand why my leash is so short. What I don't get is why he keeps a firm grip on yours."

"We share a common past," Natasha replied. She never once glanced in his direction, keeping her eyes solely focused on the streaks of lightning flashing through the sky. "You know what we're capable of, so does Fury."

"Do we share a common past?" Wulff asked, hinting at the reason for his designated spot at her side. "Because I'm starting to think you know more than you let on when we were reunited. How long before your story does mine actually begin?"

"Do you really want to know?" Natasha asked, turning to finally look him in the eyes. "Do you really want to know everything that you've lost?"

"It'd be better than the memories that haunt my every waking moment," Wulff muttered. "It'd give me hope that I could be something more."

"I never had any doubt about that," Natasha said. Her gaze was steely and unbreaking. She was a good liar, but he could read the truth in her eyes. "And they weren't all bad... were they?"

And now they'd become indecipherable once more. He couldn't tell whether she was playing with him in a moment of vulnerability, trying to wedge the knife an inch deeper to be done with him. Or... maybe she had been holding on to some lingering memory that concluded a lifetime ago. Their story was so messy, and the plot lines tangled and bled. How could there be any hope of trudging through the red to find what western civilization deemed a 'happily ever after'? Yet, her scent was intoxicating and her very presence made him want to stay and feel her beside him just one more time.

Ignoring the tension of the front, the four in the rear of the Quinjet eyed their prisoners with a wary glance and crossed arms. Although Loki and Charlotte had been tied and cuffed to their seats, their silence was unnerving. It was like the two spoke in imperceptible twitches of the lips and blinks of the eyes.

"I don't like it," Steve whispered.

"What?" Tony asked. "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being ever that easy," Steve replied. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow," Tony noted, looking the captain over as if trying to decide whether he lived up to the legend or not. "What's your thing? Pilates?"

Steve's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"It's like calisthenics," Tony answered as a smug smile twisted his lips. "You might have missed a couple things, you know, during your time as a Capsicle."

"Given the proper amount of time, you'll acclimate into the modern world without an issue," Julie added as if trying to comfort the soldier.

However, Tony considered her voice a breach to the current conversation. He quickly shook his head. "Traitors don't get an input."

Julie frowned. "I see you didn't take my suggestion to grow up."

"Well, when you go behind my back and work as an assassin for a top secret organization founded by our father without so much as a whisper... And how long did you hide it again?" Tony rhetorically asked. "Over a decade? I think I have a right to be upset."

"Assassin?" Ryn's brow furrowed. "I thought you were one of Fury's top field operatives."

"Spies have dirty laundry too, Mother Freedom," Tony interjected.

"That's a past I buried a long time ago," Julie contradicted. "I would have told you in my own time, but no, you decided to hack the files without authorization."

"I make my own authorization, sister dear," Tony countered. "And I'm done listening to your hypocritical lectures about weapons and technology when you've killed dozens of people with your own two hands."

Steve frowned as he listened to the argument between siblings. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in. I was prepared for one Stark, now two."

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you. From what I hear, the family reunion didn't go so hot."

Thunder cracked and lightning very nearly hit the jet, shaking it violently. Natasha jerked the controls to regain control of the ship. She glanced over at the monitors as she asked, "Where's this coming from?"

The thunder rumbled once more, only this time Steve noticed the uneasy look on Loki's face. "What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki admitted.

A blinding light struck the jet and the internal system blared with flashing red lights and warning alarms. Suddenly, the ramp was torn open as a new player entered the game. The presence of the tall blonde was unexpected, but the hammer at his side made him instantly recognizable from the select files that Fury had handed out. Thor snatched Loki by the throat, tearing away his seat restraint before exiting the Quinjet the way he entered. Those left behind were stumped in a dumbstruck stupor.

"Now there's that guy," Tony's frustration was poorly concealed as he put his helmet back on.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked.

"Uh... I'd say that's a safe assumption," Julie agreed.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" Steve asked.

"Did we just witness the same thing?" Ryn asked incredulously. "Because why would you think he was friendly, Steven? Did the ice do brain damage?"

"Doesn't matter," Tony interjected. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

Tony then turned as if ready to jump from the jet to continue the chase. Steve called out to him, "Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan," Tony countered, sliding the plate down over his face. "Attack."

Tony dove from the jet, his propulsion boots taking over as he chased after the second Asgardian. Julie pinched the bridge of her nose, but a wicked grin lit up Ryn's eyes. Steve reached over and grabbed one of the parachutes hung from the wall. His sister didn't even wait for that much. She released a whoop of glee, sprinted toward the ramp, and dove out into the open air.

"And there goes another impulsive younger sibling," Julie muttered, reaching over for a parachute with the realization that the situation would escalate out of hand without a voice of reason present.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha suggested.

Steve shook his head. "I don't see how I can."

"Jules, talk some sense into the guy," Natasha said, then eyed the second parachute, "and maybe find some for yourself while you're at it."

"These guys come from legends," Julie explained. She didn't stop tightening the straps of her harness though, if anything it pushed her to move quicker before her brother did something else stupid in the name of trying to get himself killed. "They're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am," Steve replied. He was just as determined from the moment that his own sister had taken a dive after the other Stark. "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

"Glad we're on the same page," Julie noted then followed Steve as he jumped from the open ramp.

"That's fine," Wulff called out, even though he understood neither would hear him. "We'll just stay here with the other prisoner..."

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THOR WAS HARDLY GENTLE WITH HIS BROTHER AS HE THREW THE ADOPTED ODINSON INTO THE SIDE OF THE EUROPEAN MOUNTAINS. He lifted his mighty hammer into the air as he landed with power and grace, sliding to a halt in front of the brother he once believed dead.

"So Heimdall was correct," Brigid Sifsdottir noted as she kicked off from the side of the mountain she'd been leaning against. It had taken powerful magic to send both, but Thor had insisted on her behalf ever since taking her under his wing as an apprentice. Secretly, she was thrilled for a second chance to walk the surface of Midgard despite the circumstances.

Thor nodded. His anger was seething just below the surface as he pointed his hammer toward Loki. "Where is the Tesseract?"

Loki laughed as he caught his breath. "I missed you too."

Thor growled. "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?"

"Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here?" Loki asked, then spat, "Your precious Earth."

Thor dropped Mjölnir and the mountain quaked. He lifted his brother by the rim of his armor—and for a moment, Brigid feared he may simply toss the lost Asgardian over the side. However, he pulled his brother close, now on the verge of tears.

"I thought you died," Thor said.

"Did you mourn?" Loki asked, but there was little sincerity to his tone. It was cold as if he expected an apology in spite of the damage he'd ravaged.

"We all did," Thor replied. "Our father—"

"Your father," Loki corrected. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"

Thor released Loki. The younger immediately took several steps away from the older, widening the already large chasm between them.

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Thor asked, the volume of his voice increasing with desperation as he pleaded with his brother.

There was pain in Loki's eyes as he whipped around to face his brother. "I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I was and should be king!"

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor asked. He then shook his head as he lifted a finger of warning. "No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki."

Loki laughed, extending his arms to gesture to the world around them. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you idly threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?"

"You think yourself above them."

"Well, yes."

A sad look of disappointment crossed Thor's face as he failed to conceal his pity for his brother. "Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. Throne would suit you ill."

Angrily, Loki shoved his brother to the side before marching up to the ledge of the cliff. "I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it..."

Thor frowned. "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?"

"I am a king!" Loki exclaimed in outrage.

"Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home." Thor's voice softened and so did his eyes.

Brigid had remained silent up to this point in respect, but she could see the conversation was going nowhere fast. "Where's the tesseract?"

Loki shook his head. "I don't have it. You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off. I know not where."

Mjölnir jumped back into Thor's grasp as he took a threatening step toward his Loki. "You listen well, brother. I—"

In the midst of his lecture, Thor was knocked off the side of the mountain by Iron Man who tackled him mid-flight. Brigid's brow furrowed and her eyes widened in confusion, but Loki suddenly grew smug as if the entire thing was his plan.

"I'm listening," Loki quipped.

Brigid rolled her eyes as she removed the sword from the sheath upon her back. She pointed the recently sharpened tip at Loki's throat as a threat with narrowed eyes. "Do not move."

She then slid down the side of the mountain toward where Thor and Iron Man had crashed. Although she was still a ways off, their argument was impossible to ignore.

"Do not touch me again!" Thor exclaimed.

"Then don't take my stuff."

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," Thor warned.

"Shakespeare in the park?" Tony asked sarcastically. Brigid arrived just in time to watch his minor performance. "Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?"

"This is beyond you, metal man," Thor said. He made it evidently clear that there wasn't an option being presented. "Loki will face Asgardian justice!"

"He gives up the Cube, he's all yours. Until then, stay out of my way..." Tony paused, but couldn't refrain from muttering under his breath. "Tourist."

Brigid's lips twitched. Her voice was a whisper, but that didn't mean it wasn't a threat. "You dare insult the heir of Asgard?"

As if in agreement—and to prove he was capable of defending his own honor—Mjölnir slammed Iron Man across the clearing into a tree.

Tony grunted in pain, but rose back to his feet exhibiting the same hostile posture. "Okay."

Thor glanced back toward the mountainside where Loki watched in amusement. The older brother lifted his hand, summoning the hammer back to his person. However, as he prepared for his flight, he was blasted by a ray of energy and knocked back onto the ground before Tony returned the favor of slamming him into the nearest tree.

Brigid brandished her sword with rage. But before she could jump into the fight, another Midgardian civilian interfered. Ryn finished her descent from the skies by landing on the Asgardian protégé, then she rolled to the side and lifted what appeared to be the end of a torch from her side.

Although furious, Brigid couldn't help but find herself amused by the bold yet foolish decision of this mere mortal. However, there was another moment that she found more impressive as the torch was lit, catching onto an extended blade. The metal surely should have metal moments after being engulfed in the flames, yet it remained firm.

Ryn flipped her sword before looking up from the ground with that same grin plastered to her face that had been present from the moment she leapt from the Quinjet.

"That was foolish," Brigid broke the silence between them. "Mortals were not meant to interfere in the affairs of the gods."

"The gods made it our problem when they threatened mass destruction," Ryn countered as she slammed her fiery blade against Brigid's Asgardian steel. "Keep your shit on your own damn planet and this wouldn't be a problem."

"You've got a mouth, Rogers," Tony called out as he slammed Thor into another tree. "You sure it's Lady Liberty."

Ryn glared I'm his direction, blocking the counter blow that Brigid connected. "Stark, I swear you'll be next on my list if you make another comment like that. I've got seventy years of cynicism pent up, I'll talk how I damn please."

Before Tony could reply, Thor summoned a streak of lighting from the skies. The bolt was aimed in Tony's direction without hesitation. Furthermore, the voltage increased its intensity with each passing second. Tony fell back and the suit powered down temporarily before glitching from the power overload.

"Power at four hundred percent capacity," J.A.R.V.I.S. announced.

A look of pleased surprise crossed Tony's face. "How about that?"

Tony blasted Thor with his amped power levels before transferring the energy to his propulsion boots. The two were gone a moment later, racing toward the mountain at an unmatched speed. Once the distraction was taken care of, Brigid and Ryn returned to their original fight.

Brigid couldn't help her curiosity though as she asked. "Your weapon? What metal can stand the temperature of a star?"

"Vibranium," Ryn replied, blocking another blow. "It can withstand quite a bit of force before it folds. A weapon whose personality matches its wielder."

"We shall see," Brigid agreed.

The fight continued, neither side looking more tired than the other. It was clear the Asgardian should have been stronger, but she was young and had years of experience waiting on the road forward. Meanwhile, the soldier had lived more lifetimes and fought more battles than most veterans could ever imagine. And an added factor: she was pissed but how the events of the day transpired.

It wasn't until Julie and Steve touched the ground that a truce would even be considered. Although they had landed further from the fight than they liked, they would quickly make up the ground once unstrapped from their parachutes... or maybe they would have had Julie not gotten stuck.

She struggled against the restraint that kept her tied to the tree; however, Steve rushed forward and snapped the strap with ease, freeing her without a second of hesitation. She nodded her thanks before rushing toward the patch of forest where the fights continued.

Steve interrupted the fight between Thor and Tony, intercepting the blasts meant for one another with a quick toss of his shield while Julie stepped between Brigid and Ryn. She disarmed both with a frightening sense of ease—knocking them to the ground—before aiming a handgun in each direction.

"Hey! That's enough!" Steve demanded before turning to Thor. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here."

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor replied, seething as he glared past Steve at Tony.

"Then prove it!" Steve instructed. "Put the hammer down."

Tony quickly shook his head. "Um, yeah, no! Bad call! He loves his hammer!"

Thor backhanded Tony, tossing him across the forest like he weighed nothing more than a rag doll. His patience was gone as these mortals had intervened in Asgard's affairs long enough. "You want me to put the hammer down?"

Thor leapt through the air, slamming his hammer down toward the captain, but Steve crouched down behind his shield for protection. As the hammer collided with the shield, the sound reverberated. All six were knocked into the backs from the massive shockwave that plowed a clearing in the forest around them.

Slowly, they all rose to their feet, panting from exertion. Steve glanced between Tony and Thor with a strong look of disapproval. "Are we done here?"

With no additional complaints, quips, or retorts, Julie called Natasha over the comms. With a single phrase she provided their location details so that the Widow might pick them up and they could resume the prisoner transport back to the helicarrier.

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𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 | A longer chapter, but the team is almost fully assembled, just a few more introductions, a dash of trauma, and the avengers are ready to take flight. Let me know what you think, feedback is always appreciated. As always, don't forget to vote and comment. Thanks so much for reading!