Reflections of a stormy petrel

What did Loki want in the Heli-Carrier? Just ask yourself what is happening as he leaves. The carrier is crippled, thanks to the action of his then-loyal slave Hawkeye, and falling to the ground, taking all his enemies with him. The Hulk and Thor have been apparently disposed of, and Loki, who affects not to believe in heroism, cannot expect that Iron Man and Cap would risk their lives to reactivate that vital one dead engine. Indeed, through his subconscious manipulation he had nearly put them at each other's throats. Loki had had himself captured so that he could subvert his enemies from the inside, since his sphere of action certainly wasn't limited by the Hulk-busting cage. The only time when he actually looked worried was when he thought Thor might take him away from Cap and Iron Man's custody, because that would have left him in the hands of powers that knew all about his tricks, and leave Hawkeye's team to assault the Heli-Carrier alone and be certainly ground to bits. As it was, he came close to killing everyone on board - and also had his manipulative fun with the brains of the heroes as he waited.