Mother Nature

The Bridge

Chapter Two

About an hour after Doctor Banner and Alexandra had started focalizing their search for the cube, Fury called them up to the bridge again.

They had located Loki in Stuttgart and Captain Rogers, Natasha and Tony Stark had apprehended him, whilst also stumbling into, or being hijacked by (Alex wasn't one hundred per cent on the details), Thor, who had returned with them to the Helicarrier.

They'd gotten Loki into custody, and while Fury went and made sure he was detained in the glass cage created for 'The Hulk', Alexandra, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Agent Hill and new arrival Thor listened in on the conversation between the Director, and the God of Mischief.

"Just in case it's unclear, you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass, its 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot." Fury revealed, gesturing to Loki as the ant, and the console as the boot, making Alexandra roll her eyes. That was atypical Fury humor. Mocking his detainees with their own words to add salt to their wounds.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki replied, and Alexandra's eyes flickered to Bruce, who she had quickly become friends with. Their love of science and their mutual somewhat uncontrollable powers made them bond as Fury had hoped they would.

He glanced at her and she gave him a brief smile, in support, because that's the most she could give him. Comfort was not particularly her strong suit at this moment in time. Not when she was the one who probably needed it the most.

Barton was still unaccounted for, as was the Tesseract.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury retorted.

"Oh I've heard," Loki said, as he walked towards the camera that we were watching the exchange through. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man."

Bruce caught her eyes then, and Alex rolled her eyes again, making him smile, though it was only slightly.

"How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki continued.

"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 because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury threatened, in the subtle way that Alexandra had gotten used to over the years.

"Ooh, it burns you to have 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." Loki said, completely seriously.

"Was he talking about himself just then?" Alex muttered to herself, earning a half smile from Natasha, who was sat next to her.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury said, as he walked out, making Alexandra mentally applaud him.

Alexandra half tuned the others out then, and turned her attention onto Natasha.

"Did you see Barton?" Alexandra asked.

"No. He got the iridium and was gone by the time we got Loki. We'll find him, Alex." Natasha reassured her long-time friend.

She knew that Alex and Clint shared a connection that went beyond the physical relationship they shared. She was waiting for the day they admitted it to themselves and each other. Ideally, it should have been years ago, probably before Natasha herself had come onto the scene, but there was one particular trait that both the elemental and the archer shared; stubbornness.