15. Your muse is being kept hostage and mine has just rescued them.
We have something of yours, the message had said, come and get it.
Steve knows a trap well enough when he sees one, but that doesn’t stop the Avengers from gearing up and heading out. They’re met with an ambush of heavy gunfire as soon as they touch down in Norway, their attempts at stealth all but useless.
“Captain Rogers,” Jarvis declares over the coms, and Steve takes a moment to bash another unmarked soldier with his shield.
“Got something for me?” He asks, only slightly winded.
“I’m detecting a non-hostile life force close to your location. Perhaps they didn’t take something, but someone?” Steve curses under his breath. There were a number of civilians involved with the team, and there was no telling just who it was that they kidnapped. He knew he had to get to them, no matter the cost.
“Keep them busy,” he orders as he slings his shield onto his back, “I’m going to retrieve the civilian. Make sure none of them come my way.”
The bunker isn’t too hard to find with Jarvis’ general directions, and the soldiers are all but distracted by the sudden onslaught the other Avengers have directed at them. Breaking down the door takes more than a couple kicks, but there isn’t anyone waiting for him behind them. The bunker is all but abandoned, save for one cell.
He steps up without hesitation, pulling at the steel bars until they creak and groan.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here,” Steve says to the captive, but it’s only after he finally pulls the bars apart that he notices just who they have imprisoned.
“Loki,” he breathes, “It’s-- it’s you?”