Natasha was nervous.
Between the two men itching for a fight, it was clear who was the most afraid—and it wasn't them. It was her, the fighter pilot.
If they wanted to fight outside, fine. Let them destroy some empty landscape. But if they decided to brawl 'inside' a fighter jet at 30,000 feet? The ones who'd suffer wouldn't be Thor or Tony Stark. It would be her—and Steve.
These were two of the most powerful individuals on the planet. If they really let loose, the collateral damage could easily tear the aircraft apart.
Honestly, 'that' would be the best-case scenario.
Natasha had survived countless missions, lived through a century of espionage, and was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top-tier agents. A Level 7, no less. But even with all that, she didn't have a god's durability. She wasn't Tony with his armored suits, or Thor with his Asgardian physiology, or the Hulk with his regenerative rage.
If this plane went down, Steve would likely die on impact too—even with his vibranium shield. A fall from this altitude would pulverize him. Super Soldier Serum or not, gravity didn't discriminate.
Fortunately, there was Blaine.
Blaine was the only reason those two ticking time bombs were sitting still. Somehow, he managed to keep them in check long enough to talk things out.
It was only during that conversation that they realized something crucial.
They weren't exactly on opposing sides. Their goals were nearly the same—their methods, not so much. But there was definitely room to cooperate.
Thor wasn't keen on the idea of working together.
But the truth was, he 'needed' allies more than anyone here. On Earth, he only had two people he could genuinely call friends: Jane Foster and Dr. Selvig. With Loki now an enemy—untrustworthy and unpredictable—Thor was more alone than he let on.
So they kept talking.
Steve, ever the peacemaker, helped mediate the conversation. It was awkward and tense, but the two heavyweights managed to keep their tempers in check—for now.
Blaine looked over at the three of them—Thor, Tony, and Steve—now seated quietly, and gave a small, satisfied nod.
"I find it odd," Steve said, breaking the silence after the discussion seemed to settle.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "What's odd?"
Steve glanced toward Thor. "Loki's strong. I don't think he would've let himself be captured so easily."
Thor furrowed his brow. "Loki is certainly more powerful than you mortals, but with this... Bounty Hunter around," he gestured at Blaine, "it's not surprising we were able to subdue him."
Thor hadn't been present when Blaine apprehended Loki, so his confusion was understandable.
"No, that's not what I mean," Steve clarified. "Loki 'let' us catch him. He didn't try to run. He didn't fight with full strength. In Stuttgart, he practically strolled in and waited to be taken. It feels... off."
Tony shot Steve a surprised look. "For a guy who was frozen for seventy years, you've still got some solid brain cells. Care to share your skincare routine, grandpa? You're doing better than our thunder god here."
Thor glared at Tony but resisted the urge to smash his skull in with Mjolnir. He was getting used to Stark's sarcasm. Barely.
Steve and Tony exchanged a look—half exasperation, half amusement. They were used to this dynamic by now. Steve, as the ever-righteous soldier, didn't want to bicker. Not when there were bigger things at stake.
"So what now?" Thor asked, tone low but curious.
Steve opened his mouth to reply, but Tony cut in first. "What do you mean, 'what now'? We've got Loki in custody. What, you want us to let him go just because he's acting fishy? That would be peak Asgardian logic."
"Shit," Thor muttered under his breath, fists clenching as the veins on his forehead pulsed. He was clearly holding back his temper.
Blaine gave Thor a glance full of sympathy.
Maybe it 'would' be better to let them fight—just not here, and not now.
"You two can beat each other to pieces after we hand Loki over," Blaine said, walking up to them and placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my delivery."
As for whatever suspicions they had?
Blaine didn't care.
He 'knew' Loki had allowed himself to be captured. And he knew what was coming next.
He'd watched the plot unfold before—he knew Loki would be broken out soon. Which meant Nick's promised three billion dollars would end up being wasted.
But that wasn't his problem.
Nick's job for him was simple: capture Loki. That box was checked. Whatever happened next wasn't part of his contract.
Besides...
Blaine had his own plans.
Sure, he 'could' end this whole game now. He knew where Clint Barton was. He could have his magical paper cranes to track down Dr. Selvig. He could trace the Tesseract's location and grab it within minutes.
But why would he?
He wasn't stupid.
Why spend all your effort baking bread only to give it away for free? Nick's three billion might have covered Loki's capture—but would it be enough to clean up the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier incident 'and' stop a full-blown Chitauri invasion?
Not even close.
Blaine wasn't about to burn all his chips for a fraction of the payout. If he played his cards right, the Chitauri invasion alone could be worth 'tens of billions'. Why settle for less?
Let the story unfold as it was meant to.
So what if people died in the process?
That wasn't his responsibility.
Blaine never claimed to be a hero.
He wasn't trying to save the world. He was just profiting off of events that were already going to happen. If anything, his involvement might reduce the casualties. If money bought efficiency—and it often did—then wasn't that a fair trade?
Everyone had their selfish reasons.
Blaine's was simple: money.
He made that clear from the start. No moral high ground, no villainous schemes. Just business. As long as the cash didn't cross any of his personal lines, he was all in.
So he buried these thoughts deep, hiding any trace from his expression.
Let the Avengers draw their own conclusions.
If Loki escaped, so be it. The bigger the chaos, the bigger the payday. More chaos meant more opportunity. More opportunity meant more strength. More strength meant even more profit.
It was a perfect cycle.
Why ruin it?
*************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is Lord_Immortal_0170