Corrupted - The Tigris Series Book 1

Chapter Nine

July 21, 2012

I stood in the back corner of the jet with my arms crossed, analyzing Stark from head to toe. He stood next to Steve just a few feet away, facing Loki. The two of them glanced back and forth from each other, the room, and Loki. Steve seemed uncomfortable, but Stark was completely laid back. Natasha muttered something from the pilot's seat, most likely reporting back to Fury. I didn't bother listening, since I could give a pretty good guess as to what she was saying.

"I don't like it." Steve finally blurted out, glancing suspiciously over his shoulder at Loki.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Stark replied, his helmet now completely off of his head.

"I don't remember it being that easy," Steve rasped. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow." Stark stated, looking at Steve. "What's your thing, Pilates?"

"What?" Steve asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Stark replied, raising his brows expressively.

I slightly raised a brow, slightly amused by their conversation. Stark is definitely a very outspoken and clever kind of guy. I highly doubt anyone can ever get him to shut up.

I thought back to the file that I read about him. He is a genius billionaire; he made his fortune from building and selling weaponry. His greatest build of all being, obviously, his Iron Man suit.

Steve pursed his lips in irritation. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Stark stated, looking at me, then back at Steve. "Does she always stare like that?"

Lightning struck out of nowhere outside of the jet, interrupting the conversation while thunder crashed. We all looked around, confused about the sudden change of weather.

"Where is this coming from?" Natasha questioned, watching the violent flash of lightning.

Loki looked up wearily, seeming to be listening or watching for something.

Steve caught his change in demeanor. "What's the matter? Are you scared of a little lightning?"

Loki gave him an irritated look for just a moment, then looked back up towards what would be the now clouded sky. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

I furrowed my brows at his statement. Did he just imply that someone is following us?

Steve and Stark looked at each other, also trying to process what Loki had just said. Before any of us could question, something heavy landed on the top of the jet, momentarily jolting us around.

Stark instantly put on his helmet, and pushed the button to open the jet. I quickly moved away from the door so I wouldn't get thrown out of the jet, and stood beside Steve.

"What are you doing?" Steve questioned.

Stark ignored him and continued on his way to walk out of the jet, most likely to confront whatever it was. Before he could get very far, a large, muscular man plopped down into the jet, wearing similar armor to Loki, only instead of green fabric, it was red. He had shoulder-length blonde hair, a slight bit of facial hair, and a large metal hammer. I never read much about Norse mythology, but it was clear as to who this was.

Thor.

Loki looked at him with dread, and seemed to almost back away from him in his seat. They definitely were not working together. Thor has come to take Loki into his own hands.