Axel raised his hand, shaped his fingers like a gun, and pointed it at his own head as if he were about to pull the trigger.
Steve blinked at the gesture, a little startled, then clapped Axel on the arm with a curious smile.
"What do you mean by constantly returning from death? Are you saying you're immortal?"
"That's right, buddy. I've been wondering about that myself. How the hell can I not die? It's kind of annoying if you think about it, hahahaha!"
Axel laughed loudly, slinging an arm over Steve's shoulder as they started walking toward Stark Tower.
Steve listened to him and shook his head with a helpless expression.
"You probably shouldn't say things like that. The way you talk reminds me of Howard. It's... flashy. I don't even know how to describe it."
"You mean showing off?"
"Yeah, something like that. Wait... that's actually a good word for it."
"The world moves forward for a reason. It also creates plenty of vocabulary you need to catch up on, buddy."
Steve chuckled.
"Maybe I really am an old man now. But I'm not discouraged. What happened today proves I can still fight in this era."
A sharp determination appeared in Steve's eyes. He clenched his fist.
"No matter how bad things get, as long as there's still a chance to fight, I won't lose my purpose. One goal is enough for me. But remind me of something, Axel."
Steve's voice hardened.
"When I see Nick Fury later, I'm going to demand the real reason that nuclear missile was launched. I'm sick of soldiers fighting on the front lines while people in the rear make reckless decisions."
He exhaled heavily.
"Yeah, I know you're listening, Fury. You'd better be ready. No matter what, you owe me a proper explanation."
Behind them, Natasha walked quietly and sighed.
"Sometimes I envy you, Steve. We're both relics from the last century, but your life is a lot simpler than mine."
She paused briefly, then rolled her eyes at Axel's back.
"And you, Axel. If you knew I'm old enough to be your grandmother, I wonder what you'd think about everything you've done to me."
"Heh."
Axel suddenly turned his head, grinning as he crooked a finger at her.
"Natasha."
He spoke with a teasing tone.
"If you knew I grabbed the ass of a woman who's over eighteen hundred years old yesterday, you definitely wouldn't feel bad about your age."
"What?"
Natasha stared at him in disbelief while Axel burst out laughing and quickened his pace.
---
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One watched everything from afar.
She instinctively clenched her robe around her waist and sighed with quiet frustration.
"If Strange ever watches this through the Time Stone, how exactly am I supposed to explain that Axel didn't actually touch my butt?"
She looked up toward the sky.
Strange... you are probably watching this, aren't you?
---
Back at Stark Tower, Axel arrived with Steve and Natasha.
Nearby, Clint Barton had his bow drawn, an arrow aimed directly at Loki, who sat on the ground.
Clint glanced twice toward Axel before speaking.
"I'm glad Captain made a new friend and all, but can someone explain if I missed something?"
He nodded toward Axel.
"If I remember correctly, that guy stole your shield, Captain. He also stole Stark's armor. Oh, and the Tesseract. And didn't he kill Director Fury's double?"
Axel snorted.
"So what the hell are you trying to say, buddy?"
He released Steve and casually formed the same finger gun, pointing it at Clint.
Clint quickly lowered his bow and shrugged.
"Honestly? I've wanted to rip Stark out of that flashy suit for years."
Axel grinned.
"Now that's what I call speaking my language. I like you guys."
He walked straight toward Loki.
Without hesitation, Axel grabbed Loki by the hair and yanked his head upward.
Loki glared at him with shifting eyes.
Even without words, the meaning was obvious.
Go ahead. Kill me.
Axel punched him square in the face.
Then he stepped on Loki's back and twisted his arm.
Crack.
The bone snapped with a sharp sound.
Loki screamed immediately.
"Didn't you see the look I gave you? We should be on the same side!"
He gasped through the pain.
"Look at those so called heroes of Midgard. They'll never accept someone like you. But I don't care about your chaos. Let me go and I can help you rule this world."
Axel paused.
Then he lifted Loki closer to his face.
"You expect me to believe you said all that with just your eyes?"
"Of course I..."
Boom.
Axel slammed Loki back into the floor and punched him again.
The impact shook the building and part of the floor collapsed.
Clint and the others groaned as dust filled the air.
Axel lifted Loki again, now covered in blood.
"Less talking. You're my prisoner now, buddy."
He grinned.
"So how much Uru metal do you think Asgard will pay to get you back?"
Loki coughed violently.
"I think... cough... I'm adopted. They might not bother."
His eyes rolled back as blood foamed from his mouth.
Tony Stark frowned.
"You didn't just kill him, did you? Because that would cause a pretty big diplomatic problem."
Axel waved a hand dismissively.
"Relax. He's not dying. Asgardians are tough. He'll be fine after three to five days of paralysis."
Axel glanced around the damaged floor until he spotted a sofa.
He dragged Loki over and dropped him on the ground before sitting down, resting his feet on Loki's back.
He leaned into the couch and sighed comfortably.
Steve walked over and sat beside him.
"You remind me of some soldiers I used to know," Steve said.
"Not all of them were good people. Some were even worse than you."
He looked toward Loki.
"Against the Nazis, we had to be more ruthless than they were. And honestly, this Loki... he's even crazier."
Steve rubbed his empty right arm unconsciously.
Without his shield, something felt missing.
Tony stared at the destroyed floor and dust everywhere.
"You know, I own a lot of floors in this tower. Maybe we could move to a cleaner one?"
Steve shook his head.
"No need. This place reminds me of the war."
He looked around at the broken walls and debris.
"Modern buildings feel strange to me. But this? This feels familiar."
Tony opened his mouth to argue.
Before he could speak, the door suddenly burst open.
Several agents rushed in.
At their front stood Agent Phil Coulson, covered in dust but still composed.
He glanced cautiously at Axel before addressing the group.
"Gentlemen. Director Fury sent me to retrieve Loki and his scepter."
He hesitated.
"And the Tesseract, if possible."
Coulson started to turn toward Axel.
But Axel was suddenly standing right in front of him.
Their distance was barely ten centimeters.
Coulson flinched and stepped back quickly until he bumped into the agent behind him.
Axel smiled slowly.
"What did you just say?"
His voice was calm but dangerous.
"You want the Tesseract? Go ahead. Try saying that again."
Coulson swallowed.
"Our main objective is Loki and the scepter."
He forced a nervous smile.
"As for the cube... that can be discussed."
Axel pointed down at Loki.
"And him? You want my war trophy?"
Coulson took a deep breath and looked toward Steve and the others for help.
Steve, Tony, Clint, and Natasha all conveniently looked away.
None of them were eager to rescue Loki.
Coulson chuckled awkwardly and lowered his head.
Axel patted his face a few times.
"Run along. Don't ruin my mood."
Then he added with a grin.
"But if you insist on ruining it, send a few women over."
He glanced toward Natasha.
"As long as she's sexier than Natasha, we can negotiate anything."
===
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