Loki had learned from Hawkeye who this man in the stars-and-stripes uniform was.
A super soldier injected with serum, an antique who had slept in the ice for seventy years, an outdated figure who belonged in black-and-white photographs.
He lifted his chin and said disdainfully, "A soldier? An outdated man."
Steve's expression did not change. "The outdated one isn't me."
The moment he finished speaking, the roar of engines approached through the night sky behind him. As though to prove Steve's point, a Quinjet slowly hovered in midair behind him.
Then, a hatch opened beneath the Quinjet, and a large-caliber rotary machine gun extended from it, its dark muzzle aimed directly at Loki.
At the same time, the Quinjet's external speakers activated, and Natasha's amplified voice rang through the air. "Loki, drop your weapon and surrender!"
However, there was one thing Natasha did not know: never tell an Asgardian to put down his weapon—Thor.
Before Natasha's voice had faded, Loki instantly raised the Mind Scepter and fired a blue energy blast at the Quinjet.
Fortunately, Natasha was fully focused. Almost the instant Loki raised his hand, she yanked the control stick hard. The Quinjet shot diagonally upward in an emergency evasive maneuver, letting the blue energy blast graze past its fuselage.
Since Loki had made the first move, there was nothing else to say. Fight.
Steve immediately hurled the Vibranium Shield in his hand, smashing it hard into Loki's breastplate. Loki, who felt neither pain nor itch, was about to sneer at him, but before he could speak, a strand of white Silk shot in from behind Steve.
The wad of Silk landed precisely across Loki's face, like a white mask woven from threads had been slapped onto him, though its breathability was probably not very good.
The one who