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[UNTIL WE REUNITE]

1.04 || the thought crossed my mind

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When they get back to the Helicarrier, Althea goes to follow the agents leading Loki onto the ship but Natasha grabs her hand, nodding towards where Steve and Tony were standing. Althea glances over at them to see the Steve watching her as he talked to Tony. "Probably should have clued everyone in to who he was before." Natasha says.

"I didn't owe any of you anything. It's my life." Althea says firmly.

"I get that, Thea. But you stood by and did nothing. That looked bad. Rogers isn't happy." Natasha says. 

"He's my husband, Nat. Fury was aware I wouldn't fight him if it came to that and frankly, you're all lucky I didn't decide to help him. Because the thought crossed my mind." Althea says.

"Probably wouldn't tell Rogers that." Natasha says.

"Sister!" Thor says happily, cutting in before Althea can respond to Natasha and instead, she just grunts when Thor pulls her in for a hug. 

"Yeah, missed you too." Althea says. "Okay, Thor. Crushing my ribs." She forces out and he lets go, patting her upper arm as he holds her at arms length. 

"I don't think any of us realised just how much you tamed Loki until you left." He says.

"Tamed him? Thor he's my husband not my pet." Althea says. 

"Yes, well, you know what I mean." Thor responds and she rolls her eyes. 

"Well, you know what? You came here two years ago and didn't come to look for me." Althea says. 

"I would have but father sent me down here powerless and once I got them back, it was urgent I returned to Asgard." Thor says.

"And then you destroyed the Bifrost." She says.

"Loki told you?" He asks.

"He filled me in a little." Althea responds. "I do still have some questions." 

"Well then come, I'll answer them." Thor says and she nods.

"Sorry, guys. But Fury's going to talk to Reindeer Games and we should probably all be there." Tony says, patting both their shoulders before pulling his hand away when they both look at him pointedly. "You guys can catch up later." He says, walking past them.

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Althea sighs as she walks onto the bridge, claiming the seat she'd been sitting in before they left for Germany, watching the screen in front of her. "In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass," Fury hits a button on the control panel off to the side that opens up the floor beneath Loki's cell. "It's thirty-thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot." Fury says and Loki chuckles as he steps back away from the glass. 

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki says and Althea idly taps her ring against the table.

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

"Oh, I've heard." Loki responds, turning to the camera. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki asks and Althea glances at Banner briefly before looking back down at the screen.

"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." Althea sighs, pushing back her chair as she stands, moving to lean on the railing. "You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

"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 says.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury responds as he walks away.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Banner asks and Althea sighs softly, looking down at her hand as she twists her ring around her finger.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asks, looking at the Asgardian. 

"He has an army called the Chitauri." Thor says and Althea turns around with a frown. 

"The Chitauri?" She asks, wondering how the hell he'd managed that.

"They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor says.

"An army from outer space." Steve supplies. 

"So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Banner fills in.

"Selvig?" Thor asks.

"He's an astrophysicist." Banner explains.

"He's a friend." Thor amends.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha says.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve says.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him." Banner says and Althea narrows her eyes at him briefly.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother." Thor says.

"And my husband. And I don't believe he is beyond reason." Althea says.

"Guys, he killed eighty people in two days." Natasha says to the two of them. 

"He's adopted." Thor responds and Althea rolls her eyes briefly.

"I think it's about the mechanics." Banner starts. "Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" He asks.

"It's a stabilising agent." Tony says as he walks in with Coulson. "I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." Tony offers quietly before Coulson walks away from him. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony explains, continuing his point before looking at Thor. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He says, patting his arm and Althea shakes her head lightly. So, that was a nickname for all the Asgardian's he'd met now. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants. Uh, raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. That man is playing Galaga!" Tony announces suddenly, pointing towards the side of the room. "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." He holds a hand up over one side of his face briefly before dropping it. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Maria responds plainly and Althea nods a little.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube." Tony elaborates.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Maria asks.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony asks.

"Pretty sure you were the only one given homework." Althea says, pointing at him briefly.

"Well, that's not fair." Tony responds and she shrugs. 

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asks.

"He'd have to heat the Cube to one hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Banner responds. 

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect." Tony says.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Banner says.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony says, walking over to the other scientist. 

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks

"It's good to meet you, Dr Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Tony says.

"Tony." Althea says pointedly.

"What? That was a compliment." Tony defends.

"Thanks." Banner says, mostly reluctantly. 

"Dr Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury says.

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." Steve says. 

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube." Fury says and Althea frowns a little.

"Are you sure?" She asks and everyone looks over at her.

"What?" Fury asks.

"If it were powered by the Tesseract then he'd have to have the Tesseract to hand. And he's already told Thor he doesn't have that on him or know where it is. So, I'm not totally sure the sceptre is powered by the Tesseract. If anything, they're just powered by similar energy." She says. "I've been in contact with both. They felt similar but not identical."

"Regardless, I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury says.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor says.

"I do. I understood that reference." Steve says and Althea glances at her brother-in-law.

"Don't worry about it. It's irrelevant here." She says quietly and he nods.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony asks. 

"This way, sir." Banner responds.

"Okay, well, if we're done here, Thor and I are going to go catch up." Althea says, gesturing at him and he nods.

"Actually, I'd like to talk about what happened in Germany first." Steve says.

"I have no intention of fighting Loki personally is what happened. I'll fight his army. Not him." Althea says. "If that's all." She adds before walking out of the room with Thor and Steve sighs, looking at Natasha who shrugs.

"We're lucky she's even here and staying on our side. Take what you can get." Natasha says.

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