Ch. 13~ The Syren
"What was that?" Thor raised his hammer.
"I don't know…but I don't think it's a good sign. Stark? You got a visual?"
"Negative at the moment, Capcicle. JARVIS says it came from the Tower."
"Could it be Lady Jasmine?"
"I don't think so. Jas wouldn't make that kinda noise…unless…"
"Unless Delilah got out," Steve finished. "Damn it. We're in trouble."
"Shit. If Loki's managed to get her under his thumb, we've got a serious problem on our hands," Clint stated from his rooftop. "We can hold off these bastards, but we wouldn't last two minutes against Triple D."
They all looked to Stark Tower as another shriek tore through the air. A dark form shattered the glass of one of the rooms, falling down the side of the building. Large wings unfolded and the figure began to ascend. Oh, yes, they were in trouble. The figure flew higher and higher, until they were right over the sun, casting a dark silhouette over them. Even with the sun behind her, they could see the power radiating from her. Then, she tucked in her wings and plummeted back to the ground. She was gaining speed with every passing second. Steve thought she would hit the ground, but she extended her wings at the last second. With another hair-raising cry, they could see the sound waves that beat down the Chitauri on the street as she passed.
"Crap! We're dead. Get out of her line of fire! If she hits you with her Hell Cry, you're no better than a grease smear on the pavement." Natasha told them.
The two men ran to an alcove right as she passed over them, sending debris and shrapnel in all directions. After she passed, they came out and were met by Clint, Hulk, and Tony gathering where she had just passed.
"Well then, that was interesting," Tony snarked.
"We can't stay out here in the open. If she sees us, we're dead. Delilah will kill anything and everything that gets in her way."
They heard the sound of wings coming back around, and braced themselves to run again. Delilah raced towards them like a bullet, but suddenly opened her wings again and quickly slowed before them. The turbulence from the stop nearly blew them off their feet. When Steve looked back up, he couldn't stop staring. Was this the Delilah he saw in the sparring room?
Her hair writhed around her head, moving like flames. Her skin had a slight red tinge to it, the markings on her body a faint gold, so that she looked like her skin was actually burning. The paint on her face was faded and smudged, so they could see more of her real beauty. When he saw her eyes, there was something different. The last time he'd seen Delilah; her eyes had been a startling yellow, almost luminescent, with slit pupils. And if she had been under Loki's control, wouldn't they have been icy blue? Now…now they were their normal color, though still slit pupiled. She watched her blood-red lips curve into a smile, exposing fangs.
"You all look like you've seen a ghost." She slowly touched down, folding her wings to her back.
Clint was the first to regain his senses. "But…You aren't being controlled?"
"No. Loki's staff doesn't work like that on me…it just causes lot and lots of pain."
"Lady Demon, why are you not attempting to end our lives this moment?" Thor asked.
"Why would I? Delilah no longer exists. Well, not in the way she did before."
Steve moved forward. "You…you're alive?"
"Hehe, yeah."
"And…Delilah's not in control? But how?"
"As it turns out, all I needed was a little push in the right direction, and a demon's point of view." Thor touched her shoulder, only to pull his hand away. "Oh, sorry. This is still sort of new to me. I'm not used to having control over the demon body."
"You feel like fire. Like a living flame. How is this possible?"
"Delilah explained a few things to me. She made me realize something."
"And what's that?"
She looked around to Steve, "That there is no Delilah. It was just a label I put on something that scared me. I separated my soul within my body to protect myself and everyone around me, or so I thought. Actually, all I was doing was creating chaos inside my body on a level that would have killed me. Yes, there will always be that little voice in the back of my head that gives me little tidbits of information, but now, she's part of me."
"So," despite the heat, Thor slung an arm around her, "You have healed the broken halves and attained your true power."
"Yes, I have. And I'm ready to take down the bastard son of an ice sculpture."
"Whoahoho." Tony laughed. "Looks like we got a feisty one here." He patted her shoulder. "Good ta have ya back, kid. Let's kick some ass."