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51 Stuttgart
🕑 Added 2024-12-24 18:15:02 +0000 UTCSHIELD agents were diligently combing through every conceivable data stream to locate Loki or track down the Tesseract, but for now, Harry, Steve, and Rhodey were left waiting. Steve stood near a large screen, his arms folded, observing the vast sea of data that meant little to him. Rhodey had taken a seat at one of the vacant terminals nearby and, spinning in his chair as if trying to amuse himself, while Harry sat cross-legged on the floor, extending his magic for any magical signature he could pick up.
That’s when Phil approached, his demeanor unusually hesitant, like a fan approaching his childhood hero. He took a breath before speaking. “Uh, Captain Rogers,” Phil began, clearing his throat. “I know this isn’t really the right time... but if it’s not too much trouble… could you, uh, maybe sign something for me?”
Steve turned, raising an eyebrow at the agent’s nervousness. “Sure, what do you need me to sign?”
Phil’s face lit up just slightly as he pulled a small stack of cards from the cardholder. “It’s, um, my Captain America trading card set. It’s a vintage collection,” he added, almost bashfully. “Took me a couple of years to collect them all. They’re in near mint condition—slight foxing around the edges, but otherwise, they’re perfect.”
Steve glanced at Harry and Rhodey, who were both watching the exchange with bemused smiles. “Trading cards, huh? You mentioned this when we first met,” Steve said looking at Harry.
Harry chuckled from the side. Phil smiled sheepishly. “I know it’s a little... fanboy-ish, but it’s a full set, Captain. It’s a big deal.”
Steve gave him a warm smile. “It’s no trouble at all.” And went ahead and signed it for Coulson.
As Steve carefully signed each card, Rhodey suddenly leaned forward, eyes wide with disbelief. “Hold up—no way! You’ve got a full set of mint-condition Captain America trading cards?”
Phil looked up, surprised at the excitement in Rhodey’s voice. “Yeah, I’ve spent years putting this collection together,” Phil admitted proudly.
Rhodey, now fully engaged, stood up and crossed over to Phil whose demeanor became more enthusiastic. “Man, I’ve been trying to complete my set of the Howling Commandos for years! Where the hell did you get yours?” Rhodey asked
Phil’s face lit up, pleasantly surprised by Rhodey’s interest. “You collect them too?” he asked, his voice rising a little in excitement.
“Oh yeah,” Rhodey nodded, grinning. “I’m just two cards shy of the full Howling Commandos set, Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter. Those two are impossible to find!”
Phil’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? Bucky and Peggy?” He hesitated for a moment, then broke into a smile. “I think I’ve got an extra Bucky Barnes at home. We could work out a trade.”
Rhodey’s eyes widened. “No way. What do you want for it?” he asked eagerly, already running through his mental inventory of what he could offer in return.
“I’ll have to think about that,” Phil said, rubbing his chin like a true collector deep in negotiation mode. “But... if you have any rare Captain America variants... maybe we can work something out.”
The two began to nerd out in earnest, throwing around names and card editions like they were planning the heist of the century.
“Man, I’ve got the limited-edition Commandos set, with the variant uniform patch on Gabe Jones. You ever see that one?” Rhodey said, eyes gleaming.
“No kidding?” Phil was fully invested now. “I heard about that! I’ve only ever seen pictures. The detail on those patches is incredible. That’s like gold in the trading card world.”
Steve, watching Coulson and Rhodey geek out over their trading cards like excited schoolboys, couldn’t help but chuckle. The two of them were so caught up in their conversation that they hadn’t even noticed he’d finished signing the cards. Taking the opportunity, Steve quietly excused himself, slipping away from the trading card exchange.
He wandered over to where Harry stood, arms crossed, watching the entire interaction with an amused smirk.
"Didn’t take Rhodey for the card-collecting type," Steve remarked, shaking his head with a grin.
Harry snorted softly. “You and me both. He’s usually all business, but I guess everyone’s got a weakness.” He nodded toward the pair, who were still deep in a lively debate over rare variants. “Look at them. Two grown men reduced to kids in a candy store.”
Steve chuckled, leaning against the railing next to Harry. “Reminds me of when I used to trade cards with Bucky. Never thought I’d see it happening again… especially here. And making it more awkward is that they are cards about me and my friends.”
Their conversation, however, was suddenly broken by a commotion nearby. "Sir! We got a hit!" an agent shouted from his console; his eyes wide as the display started to run the facial recognition system probability. "Sixty-seven percent match. Wait—crossmatch is coming in... seventy-nine percent!"
Everyone on the bridge snapped to attention, the air shifting into something more serious. “Location?” Harry asked, his voice steady but urgent.
The room seemed to hold its breath as the agent quickly relayed the information, “Stuttgart, Germany. He’s not exactly hiding,” he muttered, half to himself, half to the room. The words hung in the air, a mix of sarcasm and disbelief.
Fury looked straight towards Steve. “Captain, you’re up,” he ordered.
Without hesitation, Steve nodded, his posture shifting into the unwavering soldier everyone expected him to be.
Unable to shake the sense that something more might be required, Rhodey leaned in toward Harry. "So... do we suit up too, or is this strictly a 'Cap' thing?" Rhodey asked, his tone half-joking but with an undercurrent of genuine concern.
Harry, still watching the screens, folded his arms and frowned. “It feels off, doesn’t it? Loki showing up like this, in broad daylight, not even trying to stay hidden.” He shook his head, a deep suspicion lurking in his voice. “This seems too easy.”
Rhodey raised an eyebrow. “You think it's a trap?”
Harry nodded slowly. “Could be. We should stay sharp. Keep the scans going and monitor for any unusual activity around the world—there could be more at play here. Loki’s appearance feels like a distraction, and it’s best we don’t all walk into something we’re not prepared for.”
Rhodey exchanged a glance with Phil, who looked just as wary. "So, we hang back while Steve handles the upfront action?" he clarified.
"Exactly," Harry said. “Steve’s good at dealing with people like Loki—public, flashy, and overconfident. Let him draw Loki’s attention, and we’ll provide backup if things escalate.”
There was a collective nod of agreement. The team knew better than to question Harry’s instincts, especially when it came to magic or tactics involving mind games.
“Alright then, we’ll keep an eye on things from here,” Phil said.
Once Steve had suited up, the rest of the team met up with him on the deck.
When Steve reached the deck in his Captain America suit, both Harry and Rhodey froze for a moment, staring at him. Then, as if on cue, the corners of their mouths twitched in unison, struggling to contain their laughter as they looked anywhere else but at Steve to stop themselves from laughing.
Steve frowned, glancing between the two. "What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
Rhodey was the first to crack, chuckling under his breath. "No offense, Captain, but... we just weren’t expecting that."
Steve looked down at himself, brow furrowed. "What’s wrong with it?"
Harry, still biting back a grin, shrugged. “Nothing, really. It's just, uh... Phil might’ve gone a bit overboard with the costume design. You know, nostalgia and all that.”
Rhodey nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong—it’s iconic. But... you do kind of look like you just stepped out of a 1940s comic book.”
Steve rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. “You two done?”
“Totally,” Harry said, holding his hands up in surrender, though his grin remained firmly in place.
“Yeah, we’ll shut up now,” Rhodey added, still smirking.
“Good. Let’s go.” Steve said, turning sharply on his heel. As they followed him toward the Quinjet, Harry leaned toward Rhodey and whispered, “You think we should suggest a cape next time?”
Rhodey snorted, trying to keep his laughter quiet. “Only if we want him to never speak to us again.”
As they boarded the Quinjet, Natasha was already in the co-pilot seat. From her posture, anyone could feel the rigidity and professionalism in her. Her eyes focused on the controls as if there had never been a confrontation with Harry. She barely acknowledged his presence like Harry was doing to her.
Rhodey, however, was in awe. "Man, would you look at this beauty!" he exclaimed, running a hand along the sleek surface of the jet like a kid at a toy store. He turned to Harry with a hopeful gleam in his eye. “Can I drive?”
Harry smirked, amused by Rhodey’s excitement. "Knock yourself out," he said, gesturing to Rhodey to take the pilot's seat.
Rhodey practically jumped into the seat, his face lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. "Oh man, this is gonna be fun."
Natasha glanced at him. “It’s not a toy, Colonel,” she said, though her voice lacked its usual bite. She immediately launched into a rapid-fire explanation of the controls. “This is the throttle, and here’s the altitude control. Maneuvering's responsive, so be mindful of the pitch—”
Rhodey interrupted her with a confident grin. “Agent Romanoff, I’ve flown everything from fighter jets to VTOLs. I’ve got this.”
Natasha nodded curtly, clearly still on edge but trying to focus on the mission. “Just don’t crash.”
Steve and Harry strapped into their seats behind them. Harry cast a quick glance at Natasha, but she kept her eyes straight ahead. As the Quinjet lifted off, Rhodey handled the controls like a pro, guiding the jet smoothly into the air.
But smoothness didn’t last long. Rhodey pushed the throttle forward, grinning with glee as the Quinjet accelerated rapidly. “Hold on tight, boys!” he called back, laughing as the aircraft shot forward with breathtaking speed.
Harry chuckled, gripping the armrests as they raced toward Stuttgart. "You really weren’t kidding about not holding back, were you?”
Rhodey laughed, the thrill of flying something new bringing out his inner adrenaline junkie. “Oh, I’m just getting started.”
Natasha, still rigid, added, “Try not to show off too much. We’re not here to make a scene.”
But Rhodey’s grin didn’t falter. “What’s the point of having a sleek jet like this if you can’t have a little fun?” He expertly adjusted the altitude, skimming the clouds as they sped toward their target.
As the Quinjet sped through the sky toward Stuttgart, Natasha’s calm, detached voice broke the relative silence in the cockpit. “Loki’s just made his move,” she reported, eyes fixed on the intel coming through her tablet. “He attacked a man named Heinrich Schafer a nuclear scientist, and a member of the Schäfer Institute. Then he terrorized a crowd at a gala event.”
Steve frowned, leaning forward slightly. “Schafer? Any idea why Loki would target him specifically?” he asked, clearly trying to get a handle on the situation.
Natasha shook her head, her fingers tapping away on the tablet. “Not yet. As per the reports coming in, Loki extracted his eye. Might be linked to unlocking a biometric scanner or something.”
“Let’s have another response unit check the Schafer Institute to see if Loki’s men were there to get something. We are better equipped with handling Loki.” Steve instructed.
Rhodey, sitting comfortably at the controls, glanced over his shoulder, his brow furrowed. “I don’t like this,” he muttered, the easygoing enthusiasm from earlier dimming. “Feels like we’re always on the back foot, waiting for Loki to make the next move.”
Harry, seated beside Steve, nodded in agreement but kept his tone measured. “Yeah, but we can’t afford to rush in blindly, not when we don’t know the full picture.”
Rhodey grumbled, adjusting the controls. “I hate playing defense. If we could just get ahead of this guy for once—”
Harry cut in, more thoughtful now. “Banner’s our best shot at finding the cube. We need him to finish his analysis of the energy readings before we make any big plays. We don’t want to overplay our hand and let Loki lure us into a trap.”
Steve turned to look at Harry. “So, we sit tight until Banner finds something?”
Harry shrugged. “For now, yeah. Loki’s bold, but he’s also calculating. He wants to throw us off balance, keep us guessing. If we wait for Banner, we might be able to pin down exactly where he is holed up the Tessaract.”
Natasha’s voice was quieter this time, but resolute. “Loki’s not hiding. He wants to be seen. We should assume there’s more to this than we’re seeing right now.”
Rhodey let out a frustrated sigh, clearly not fond of being in a reactive position, but he nodded. “I still don’t like it, but I get it. We need all the pieces in place before we make a move.”
Steve clenched his jaw, always one to favor action over waiting, but he saw the logic in Harry’s words. “Alright,” he agreed, leaning back in his seat. “We’ll see what Banner comes up with. But once we know, we hit him hard.”
As the quinjet approached Stuttgart, Steve parachuted to the ground to confront Loki. Harry didn’t step in because he wanted to test Steve’s battle readiness for now. Harry knew that Loki was doing this for show and was most probably trying to get himself captured. Hence Loki would be pulling his punches significantly.
Loki, already amidst creating havoc, blasted a speeding Polizei car with his scepter, sending it flipping through the air and crashing into a streetlamp. Chaos erupted as Loki smirked and summoned illusory duplicates of himself, encircling the terrified crowd of gala attendees. His voice echoed menacingly through the square, dark promises of power and subjugation dripping from his mouth.
Loki raised his scepter to strike down an elderly man to make an example of him and shot a beam of energy shot from the staff. But Steve was faster. He leaped in front of the man, his Vibranium shield absorbing the blast and deflecting it straight back at Loki. The impact sent Loki staggering backward, momentarily disoriented.
Steve didn’t waste a second. Charging toward Loki, he gripped his shield tighter, his eyes locked on the god of mischief as Rhodey brought the quinjet into position, hovering low above the battlefield. Natasha quickly deployed the jet's cannons, her voice commanding and sharp as it echoed through the speakers: “Loki, drop the weapon and stand down!”
Loki sneered and raised his scepter toward the jet, firing off another blast, this time towards the jet. But this time, Harry was ready. A shimmering, translucent barrier formed in front of the quinjet just as the blast reached it, absorbing the energy and leaving the jet unharmed.
Steve seized the opening, rushing Loki. He swung his shield, aiming for Loki's side, but Loki sidestepped and blocked with his scepter. The two engaged in a furious hand-to-hand fight. Steve’s movements were strong and swift, but Loki, with his Asgardian strength, matched him blow for blow. The clang of Vibranium against the scepter echoed through the plaza, as Steve pressed the attack.
As Steve focused Loki’s attention on him, Harry cast a few spells around the plaza to ensure that the crown dispersed safely and calmly away from the fight.
Steve then tried to hit Loki by throwing his shield at Loki but, Loki knocked his shield away. The shield clattered to the ground, spinning out of reach. Before Steve could recover, Loki swung his scepter in a wide arc, knocking him off balance and driving him down to his knees. Loki stood over him, the scepter glowing ominously as he pressed it against Steve’s head, forcing him to the ground with Asgardian strength.
Loki's grin widened; his eyes gleaming with dark satisfaction. "Is this your hero?" he sneered, tightening his grip on the scepter as Steve strained beneath him.
As Steve fought Loki below, Rhodey’s hands tightened on the controls of the quinjet. His eyes flicked between the fight and the cockpit displays, growing more concerned with each passing second. Steve was on the ground, pinned by Loki’s scepter.
"Shouldn't we go down there and help him?" Rhodey asked, his voice tense with worry. "Cap's tough, but he's getting outmatched!"
Harry leaned back in his seat, unusually calm. "That's just Loki showboating," he said, his eyes flicking toward the fight below. "Loki wants to be captured, or he wouldn’t be parading around in broad daylight like this. It's too easy."
Rhodey’s brow furrowed in confusion. "If we know it’s a trap, then why are we taking the bait? Shouldn’t we take him out while we can?"
Natasha, still distant and cold, chimed in. "Because letting Loki get captured is the only way we can get close enough to him to find out what he’s really up to. We need to interrogate him and figure out where the cube is. Until Banner finds something, this is our best shot."
Rhodey glanced between them, processing the plan. "So... we're just gonna let him take a few hits down there and wait for Loki to give up?" He shook his head, uneasy. "I don’t like playing this from the back foot."
Harry gave a small, reassuring smirk. "Cap can take a few more hits. We’ll step in when it really matters."
Loki’s voice boomed through the air, dripping with arrogance. “Kneel!” he commanded, pressing his scepter harder onto Steve.
“Not today,” Captain America shot back, his voice firm. With a burst of speed, Steve launched himself into a spin-kick that landed squarely on Loki’s jaw, sending the god staggering. The two exchanged blows—Loki using his scepter’s raw power, Steve relying on his agility and combat training, the clashing of their fight echoing through the plaza.
Up in the quinjet, Rhodey was growing increasingly restless. He leaned forward, knuckles white on the controls as he watched the brawl unfold. "We should give him some backup," he urged, his voice tinged with frustration. Steve was holding his own, but for how long?
Natasha, who had been watching with narrowed eyes, finally gave in. "Alright, fine," she muttered. The jet’s guns readied with a mechanical whirr, and she took aim at Loki. Her finger hovered over the trigger; eyes locked on her target.
But Steve was too close. The two combatants were moving too fast, locked in a tight dance of punches and parries. "Damn it," Natasha growled, her tone tight with concentration. "He's all over the place. I can't get a clear shot without hitting Steve."
Rhodey, still gripping the controls, let out a frustrated sigh. "Come on, Cap... don't make this harder than it needs to be."
Below, Loki swung his scepter again, narrowly missing Steve, but the god's expression remained smug, as if this battle was merely a diversion.
The tense silence in the quinjet was suddenly broken by Tony’s voice crackling over the earpiece, filled with his usual cocky charm. “Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?”
On the console in front of Natasha, the message ‘PA SYSTEMS OVERRIDE’ flashed across the screen, and seconds later, AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill blared through the speakers. Natasha, Harry, and Rhodey all exchanged knowing smiles, the familiar rock riff causing Rhodey to chuckle with excitement.
“Looks like the cavalry’s here,” Rhodey said, a grin spreading across his face.
Below, Iron Man soared down from the sky, jets roaring as he streaked toward the fight. With pinpoint accuracy, he unleashed a repulsor blast that slammed into Loki, sending him crashing to the ground. The scepter clattered from Loki’s hand, skidding across the pavement.
Tony, now hovering just above Loki, pointed both gauntlets at the fallen god, his eyes gleaming behind his helmet’s visor. “Make a move, reindeer games,” he taunted.
For the first time, Loki's Asgardian arrogance seemed to falter. His grand armor shimmered, fading away in a flicker of magic as he raised his hands in mock surrender. “I think I’ve had enough,” Loki said, a smug smile still playing on his lips.
“Good move,” Iron Man quipped.
Captain America walked over, breathing heavily but composed after the fight, his shield in hand. As he approached, the quinjet descended smoothly behind them, its engines humming as it prepared to land.
“Mister Stark,” Steve greeted, giving Tony a brief nod.
“Captain,” Tony responded, his tone teasing but respectful as his helmet folded back to reveal a smirk.
Rhodey guided the quinjet down and began preparing to touch down. In the distance, Loki remained on his knees, a picture of calm despite his defeat.
