Wonder Woman ᐅ Steve Rogers

xix. Of Gods and Goddesses

"Have care how you speak," He firmly said to the scientist. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"Thor, he killed eighty people in two days," Diana informed him with a grimace. Thor felt the menacing look on his face fall, "He's adopted."

"I think its about the mechanics," Bruce stated curiously. "Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?"

"It is a stabilizing agent," Diana and an incoming voice answered for the man. Diana turned her head to see Tony had finally joined them.

"Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony further explained, sending Diana a small smile before walking past Thor. "No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants. That man is playing gallaga," Tony cried out at an agent. Diana followed to where Tony pointed and saw the said agent then quickly close his tab.

"Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did," Tony said, before stalking over to Fury's central command. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns," Maria replied with a shrug. Tony sighed and imitated him, "Sounds exhausting."

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily," Tony said, adjusting something on one of the monitors. "Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria curiously asked the billionaire.

"Last night," He idly stated and glanced around at the people in the room. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

Diana was about to state that she had, when Steve spoke before she could, "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

"He would have to heat the cube to a hundred-and-twenty million Kelvin just to break through the coulomb barrier," Bruce informed the blonde. Steve titled his head, unable to comprehend the majority of what the doctor said. Diana hadn't noticed his expression and nodded with Bruce in agreement.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect on his own," Diana added, leaning forward in her seat and resting her elbows on the glass table.

"Well if he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet," Bruce said, his gaze flickering between Tony and Diana.

"Finally, someone besides Diana who speaks English," Tony said walking to shake Bruce's hand in order to introduce himself.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve wondered out loud, causing Diana to quietly laugh beside him. Steve smiled at her actions, cherishing her sweet laughter.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner," Tony said to him. "You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm also a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at his compliment and said, "Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube," Fury announced as he entered the room full of George's. "I was hoping you might join him."

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon," Steve stated before being interrupted by Fury.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys," Fury informed them.

Diana glanced at Steve. He had bowed his head to hide the smile upon understanding a reference for the first time. Diana couldn't help but smile in awe.

Thor however, did not seem to understand. "Monkeys? I do not understand."

Steve interrupted him in a haste, "I do! I understood that reference."

Diana chuckled, placing a hand over her mouth to hid her grin. Tony and Bruce, however, weren't amused at his declaration.

"Shall we play it, Doctor?" Tony asked him, glancing away from the war hero.

"This way, Sir," He said, motioning for Tony to follow him into his lab leaving the others in the room to their own matters.