"I don't believe he could be captured so easily,"
Steve said, voicing his doubts.
"According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence, he's a god from mythology. He shouldn't be this weak."
As Steve pointed out, no matter what, Loki was still a god. It made no sense for him to surrender after taking only a few hits. He wasn't even injured—there was no sign that he'd lost the ability to fight.
Tony shrugged, still unconcerned.
As the two continued their awkward back-and-forth, lightning suddenly erupted across the sky, thunder crashing violently.
"Where did this lightning come from? The forecast said clear skies today,"
Natasha said, glancing outside.
The lightning and thunder grew more intense, sending an instinctive chill through everyone.
Loki raised an eyebrow and looked out the window. Steve noticed the movement immediately.
"What's wrong?"
Steve asked.
"Afraid of lightning?"
Steve's uneasy premonition grew stronger.
"No,"
Loki replied calmly.
"I just don't like the guy who usually comes with it."
He looked outside again. The lightning became even more violent, several bolts detonating not far from the Quinjet.
Suddenly—
Boom!
Something slammed into the top of the aircraft. The Quinjet lurched violently. Steve and Tony exchanged a glance at once—Steve grabbed his shield, and Tony snapped his helmet into place.
Outside, kneeling on the roof of the Quinjet, was Thor. He looked down as if he could see straight through the hull, his gaze fixed on Loki inside.
Tony immediately hit the hatch controls. The door opened, and just as he was about to fly out, a blond man wielding a hammer appeared in the doorway.
The God of Thunder—Thor.
The moment Loki saw his brother, he drew in a sharp breath, a flash of panic crossing his face.
Without hesitation, Tony raised his hand to fire a repulsor blast—but before it could launch, Thor smashed him aside with a single swing of Mjölnir, sending Tony crashing back toward Natasha and Skye in the cockpit.
Thor then grabbed Loki by the collar, hauled him up, and hurled him straight out of the aircraft. A heartbeat later, Thor himself followed, leaping out after him.
Tony struggled to his feet, rolling his shoulders with a grimace.
"Great. Another freak. One wasn't enough, huh?"
"That guy's from Asgard too?"
Natasha asked, glancing back.
At the same time, Skye stood up from her seat, clearly preparing to jump after them.
Tony reacted instantly, grabbing her arm.
"Hey, hey—what do you think you're doing?"
"You can't fly. Jumping out now is suicide. You really ready to leave Lucas behind?"
Skye froze. She knew she'd acted on impulse. She didn't actually think she'd die—she could use her shockwaves to slow her descent, canceling out gravity just before landing.
But Tony didn't know that. To him, it looked like she was about to leap to her death, which also startled Steve and Natasha.
"Oh, right—I forgot to mention,"
Skye said casually.
"I can use shockwaves to cancel out falling momentum. I can't fly yet, but with enough practice, I probably could."
Tony cut her off immediately.
"No. You stay on the plane. End of discussion."
"If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to explain that to Lucas?"
If Skye were seriously injured, Tony had no doubt Lucas would tear New York apart.
With that, Tony flew out of the hatch, heading after Thor. Steve moved to the edge as well, shield in hand.
Strapping on a parachute pack out of habit—whether he'd need it or not—Steve gave Skye one last warning not to act recklessly, then jumped out after them.
"They're all like this,"
Skye muttered, slumping into Loki's former seat.
"I'm really strong, you know. The two of them together might not even beat me."
Natasha smiled faintly.
"They just don't want you getting hurt. This is thousands of meters in the air."
"Besides, isn't it better staying up here with me? You'll have plenty of chances to shine later."
Unlike Skye, Natasha knew her limits. This wasn't something an ordinary human should jump into, and she had no intention of pretending otherwise.
Skye pouted but didn't argue, finally settling back into the copilot's seat.
---
Thor slammed Loki down onto a rocky mountaintop, smashing the stone beneath him into a crater.
"Where is the Tesseract?"
Thor demanded, hammer in hand, his expression grim.
"Oh~ isn't this my dear brother?"
Loki said with a smile as he lay there.
"Did you miss me?"
"I'm not joking, Loki."
Thor's voice hardened.
"Tell me where the Tesseract is—now!"
Lightning crackled around Mjölnir as Thor pressed it against Loki's throat.
Loki remained unfazed.
"You destroyed the Bifrost,"
he said lightly.
"So how much of Father's power did it take to send you to Earth this time?"
Thor hauled Loki up by the collar, sorrow filling his eyes.
"You know, I thought you were dead. Do you know how devastated Mother was when she heard?"
"She sits in your room every day now, staring at your childhood toys."
At the mention of their mother, grief flickered in Loki's eyes as well. She was the one person in all of Asgard who had always cared for him—and the one he cared about most.
Tears welled up. He regretted many things, especially that he never got to say goodbye to her.
"Father was heartbroken too,"
Thor continued.
"He sent countless people across the cosmos to search for you."
"Come home with me, brother. Think about our past—how we played together, fought side by side. Have you really forgotten all of that?"
Thor looked at him as if the Loki of old were still standing before him.
"Your father—Odin—is your father,"
Loki snapped.
"Not mine."
The moment he learned the truth of his origins, Odin had ceased to be his father. Loki's feelings toward Odin were painfully complex. As a Frost Giant, Odin was—by blood and by history—the enemy of his people.
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