Chapter 21: Loyalty, trust and deals
Hello readers, me again, sorry to keep you waiting, but here is chapter 21, the end seems nigh, but is it really? I hope most of you are left satisfied As usual, I own nothing except Dita, enjoy!
Dita watched on as the chitauri armies continued to flood in to New York, causing havoc as they did so. She was powerless to stop it, still chained to the roof of the Stark industries building. Loki was busy watching the tesseract unleash its power, he was no longer even interested in what Dita was doing.
She looked around for something to help free her but nothing could be done about it. Then she remembered something Natasha had taught her. With her broken arm she slowly reached up to her hair, feeling around for a pin. After a minute of searching she found one, responsible for keeping her hair off her face.
Though it was a long shot, she used it to fumble about with the locks of the handcuffs, finally using it to half free herself from one of them. The other handcuff remained, weak and easier to escape from. She exhaled deeply before pulling herself free from it. It had cut into her wrist as she pulled away, leaving a thin line of blood she wiped off quickly.
There was no easy way out of the building, Loki had no doubt locked the doors, meaning she would have to find a different way down.
She stared at her broken arm, still sore and swollen despite Loki's attempts to soothe it earlier. When Loki was turned away Dita saw her opportunity to escape and took it. She walked off the edge of the building, holding onto the wall, letting out a loud cry of pain as she did so, the pain in her arm was almost unbearable. Dita scaled the wall slowly down to the bottom, onto the streets of New York. She gripped her arm in pain as she reached the pavement and then made her way through the city to find Steve. She knew he would be where the majority of the police force were, he would have wanted to give them instruction on what to do in the crisis. A few of the chitauri got in her way, but even with their weapons it didn't prove a challenge for her to grab the upper hand and snap their necks effortlessly. She guided some citizens to safety as she made her way through the city, killing what Chitauri she could as she did so.
In the distance she saw police cars gather around and guessed that was where Steve would be. Just as she made her way over, someone grabbed her, it was Steve. He had broken away from the police clearly just to look for his fiancé.
"Oh my god, Dita, you are alive! You are ok, I was so worried about you, I've been all over the city looking for you. Hey, what happened to your arm? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, my arm broke when Loki saved me, but I'm ok. Listen Steve, Loki opened the portal to let the chitauri in but there has to be a way to stop him, I think his sceptre has some sort of power, I don't know if it will be enough to close the portal but there has to be a way" she told him.
Steve turned to the police. "Keep the situation under control for now, I need to talk to my fiancé about something important".
He took Dita's hand and led her to a building that had been evacuated during the attack on the city. He salvaged a first aid kit from one of the storage cupboards in the building and tended to Dita's arm, wrapping it up in bandages.
"I'll kill Loki for breaking your arm".
"He didn't mean to, when he grabbed me during teleporting to rescue me, the impact of it all just must have been too much for my body to handle, if you want to be angry with anyone, be angry with Stark".
Steve frowned. "Why would I be mad at Stark, I mean, more than usual?
Dita sighed heavily. "He told me that, you would continue to fight if you lost me, and he said that none of the others would care if I was killed in action, they would just grow another one of me, he said I was perfectly replaceable".
Steve stroked her face softly. "You are not replaceable to me, you understand. I wouldn't have made any old lab creation my fiancé, Stark probably just wanted to throw Loki off the scent, he wouldn't have meant it."
Dita looked down. "I don't know Steve, you know Fury hates me, Loki is right about him, he would kill me if I did anything else to disrupt his plans or put SHIELD'S image in jeopardy. He would be better off if I was gone".
Steve raised her head to look at him. "But I wouldn't. Dita, I want you, I always have and I don't care if Fury hates you, I wouldn't care if the whole world hated you, I love you, isn't that enough?"
Dita smiled and nodded. "Yeah Steve, that's enough. I just want to feel like I belong for once".
Steve held her close to him, making her rest her head against his chest. "You belong. You belong here, with me. Don't let anybody tell you any different Dita ok?"
She nodded and kissed him gently, feeling more comfort in his kiss then Loki's cold touch against her injured arm.
"Let's go and stop Loki together. I promise we won't kill him, and maybe we can get this information about this power behind him that you wanted" Steve said.
Steve knew that the fact that Loki saved Dita's life meant that he wasn't all bad and perhaps Dita was right about something more sinister behind Loki's plans for earth. The two of them made their way to Stark tower, fighting off chitauri as they did so.
Dita grabbed one of the chitauri weapons off the floor and hit back against them.
"Dita, your arm needs to heal, will you let me handle the enemy?"
She laughed. "You think you would know me enough by now to know that one injury is not going to stop me from kicking these guy's asses".
Steve shook his head before taking care of a couple more of the chitauri warriors as they both approached the tower.
"We can get inside but I think Loki still has the door locked at the top of the tower, what then?"
Steve shrugged. "We try and knock down the door together I guess?"
"Sounds like a plan, let's go".
The two of them made their way to the top of Stark tower and knocked the door down in one swift kick.
"Stronger than you look Dita, let me go first" Steve said.
He moved inside the building and let Dita walk behind slowly. Nobody seemed to be there to guard the machine, the unconscious body of Erik Selvig was by the tesseract but Loki was nowhere to be found. It seemed odd to leave his great weapon unguarded when the avengers were hot on his trail. Steve walked to the machine that harnessed the tesseract as Dita stood watch.
"I think you are right, Loki's sceptre has something to do with this, maybe it will close the portal, but where did that bastard get to?"
"Right here captain".
Steve spun around to face Dita and saw that Loki was stood behind her, one hand around her waist, holding her tightly, the other around her neck. The sceptre still in the hand he held around her waist. Steve quickly saw that Loki was holding a blade to her neck.
"This is the second time today I have had to ask you to let go of my fiancé. You don't get a second chance, move away from her now Loki, and nobody gets hurt".
Loki drove the blade against Dita's neck only slightly, drawing blood. Steve saw Loki was covered in cuts and bruises, even a God could be injured, maybe even killed.
"I will do what I have to in order to ensure my plan goes as it should. You and your team of vigilantes need to keep out of my way. Dita is no exception, as beautiful as she is to me I will kill all of you to ensure my own safety."
Dita's eyes widened, there it was, proof Loki was not alone in this. Something or rather someone, was making him fear for his own safety.
"You won't kill her Loki, if you didn't care about Dita's life you would have let her fall to her death before, after the explosion on the helicarrier. Let her go Loki" Steve said.
Dita struggled in Loki's grip, making him tighten his hold on her, she cried out as he put pressure on her broken arm.
"Let us make a deal captain. You allow me to take Dita from this realm and allow her to live the life she truly deserves, as a goddess, by my side for the rest of eternity, and I shall let you and your men live when this world is taken over by myself and the chitauri. I promise no harm will come to you if you make this deal with me. She deserves better Captain".
Loki smirked as he held Dita, watching Steve think over the deal. Dita frowned, surely he wouldn't even consider the offer?
Steve cleared his throat before speaking. "I think Dita would have something to say about that. What's the use in taking a woman for a lover for the rest of your life when all she would do is hate you, resent you, never give in to your demands and never love you. You would need her to come to you Loki and I would hazard a guess and say that she does not want to go to you seeing as she knows her place is beside me, with the man that she loves, and chose to say yes to".
Loki smiled darkly at Steve. "You really think she would refuse me forever? She would be lonely, and without the one who she thought she would spend the rest of her days with. I would be the light in the dark for her, the one kindred spirit she has, the one she really is most compatible with, and you Rogers, would just become a distant memory."
Dita rolled her eyes. "I am here and I can hear both of you, quit talking about me like I'm on the other side of the world right now, Loki give this up and we can help you, I can help you. We can stop whoever it is that is giving you these orders, that threatens your safety, we can stop it all together. Don't you want that? Someone to work with? Someone that makes you feel like you belong?"
Loki leaned in towards her, running his lips along her throat gently, causing Steve to clench his fists in anger.
"Working alongside you doesn't sound bad at all my love, but you forget, I need nobody to protect me. I am a God, the rightful king of Asgard, and soon to be leader of this realm too. Your planet will submit to me, and you my dear, you will submit to me too. I'll have you on your knees for more than one reason darling one" he purred.
Dita kicked him hard, the surprise of it made him release her and she turned to hit him in the face once more. She knocked the sceptre out of his hand and hit him again, knocking him back slightly.
"Steve, the sceptre, use it now to shut the portal. I'll take care of Loki" she called out to Steve.
The captain rushed over to take the sceptre, taking it to the tesseract, suddenly he had an incoming message from Stark. There was a missile on its way to the city and nowhere to put it. Stark had to send it through the portal in order to ensure New York wasn't blown to bits. Steve waited for Stark to plant the missile in the portal as Dita continued to fight Loki, holding him off so Steve had time to deal with the rest of the situation. Loki grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground, straddling her quickly to ensure she didn't get away.
"You clever little girl" Loki whispered into her ear. "Trying to plead to my very soul so I would stop my rule for you. You think trying to protect me will solve anything? You could have been queen, my queen for all time. Never mind, there will be other times, other realms to capture, but I will have you by my side all the same my dear".
She closed her eyes as he leaned in closer to her face.
"I will make you mine, in every way possible, you won't even remember Roger's name by the time I'm done with you. I'll give you everything you ever wanted and more, anything you could dream of will be yours. I only ask one thing from you, that you submit to my will, you be mine with no question, only then will you know true pleasure".
Dita squirmed and tried to push Loki away, no longer falling for his charms, despite the temptation they held.
"Find a girl who wants you Loki, I'm sure there are plenty out there".
Loki laughed. "My darling by the time I'm through with you, you won't even care if other lovers exist, I'll be the only thing residing in your head, in your beating heart, in your soul, everything you know now will be lost to you, as well as this useless and pathetic realm you cling fondly too".
"You better let me go before I run out of all my sympathy for you" she spat.
"Brother, it's over".
Loki stopped and saw that all the avengers were stood behind the God of mischief, tesseract in hand and all stood waiting to bring Loki to justice. Loki finally surrendered, standing up, allowing Dita to get up and stand by Steve's side. Thor bound Loki's hands and mouth and went to drag him away before Dita stopped him. Thor frowned at her.
"My lady it is over, Loki will face Asgardian justice. Your realm is safe now".
Dita stared at Loki, she could see him smirking from beneath his restrictive mask. "Wait, I need to speak with him before you decide his punishment in Asgard. Please, we have unfinished business" she said.
Steve looked at her, and reluctantly nodded. "If she needs to speak with him she should Thor, my fiancé wouldn't say it unless it was for good cause, but whatever you have to say to each other, you can say in-front of all of us".
Dita smiled at him, proud he had taken her side. As they escorted Loki back to the SHIELD headquarters Dita walked with Steve, he checked on her arm as they made their way back slowly, falling back behind the others. She looked up at her fiancé.
"Thank you".
Steve shrugged. "For what?"
"You know, for sticking up for me just then, and letting me speak with Loki, I was surprised you would do that, considering how you feel about Loki".
Steve took her hand in his own. "I love you, and when I thought I lost you, back up there during the explosion on the helicarrier, I thought about how lost I would be without you and how I should trust you more than I do. All the choices you have made, haven't led you closer to Loki, and the only reason they pushed you away from me more is because I gave you a hard time for them. I trust you Dita and I know that if you need to do whatever it is you feel you need to do for Loki, there must be a reason behind it".
Dita held Steve's hand tighter. "Thank you for trusting me Steve, you know I would leave my life in your hands. I can't wait to start my life with you as my husband, you know that. I need to put Loki behind us before we can do that and I need to help where I can in order to do that".
He nodded and kissed her head gently as they approached SHIELD'S headquarters. Inside, Loki was placed in a glass cell again, much like the one back on the helicarrier. Dita explained her theory on Loki being threatened by a higher force to the Avengers and SHIELD, including Fury, who was reluctant to believe it. They agreed to listen to Dita as she tried to reason with Loki one last time. They followed her to his cell and gathered around as she stood in-front.
He rolled his eyes before standing in-front of Dita, just out of reach from the other side of the cell.
"You brought company my love. That's no good, however will I whisper you words that will bring you pleasure with all these, cretins listening in on us" he smirked.
Steve balled his hands into fists once more. "You won't be whispering anything to her at all, you understand Loki".
Dita raised her hand as if to silence Steve, knowing Loki would do anything to get under Steve's skin, he just had to rise above it.
"I told the Avengers that perhaps there is somebody trying to control you and your plans for this realm. You have lost Loki, you are imprisoned and this time, your plans have ended, they are gone, they did not work to your advantage so listen. This is your last chance to just admit that there is something out there beyond your control so we can help you".
Loki took a sharp breath in before glaring at Dita. "There is nobody more cunning, more powerful than I, I will not be controlled by anybody, and as for you, you can stop your mind games and stop trying to get into my head and appeal to my humanity, it is gone".
The others looked at Dita, as if to say "we told you so".
Dita shot Loki a look of defeat, she knew there was something more behind this all, but if he would not admit it, she could do no more to help.
Loki stared at her. "Is that all then? Can I return to my, home if you would call it that and get this punishment over with?"
She shook her head. "So there is nothing behind all this destruction then? It's all you, you the great, merciful and noble king you so deserve to be reduced to destroying innocent lives to take over a planet far beneath you? That doesn't seem very wise to me but whatever Loki, it's your call".
Loki smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. "That's not all actually. The chitauri worked for me, they made an alliance with me. Do you think I would stop at just that to get my way? Have you considered the possibility that perhaps, I have made alliances with other races that may be planning my rescue as we speak".
Dita crossed her arms. "What's your point?"
Loki gave her another smirk. "My point is that you can put me in another cell, you can put me in a thousand cells, I will always find an escape, unless you make a deal with me".
The others went to speak but once more Dita signalled for them to stay quiet. "What kind of deal?"
"You my love, must return with myself and Thor to Asgard, to stay by my side for a year, no less. Being imprisoned is not very fun and I would so enjoy the company of one such as yourself while I metaphorically rot in another cell" Loki said.
Steve stepped in by Dita's side. "No deal".
"Deal" Dita corrected.
Steve frowned at her and pulled her aside. "No you can't do this, stay with that bastard for a whole year, away from me, away from this planet. No Dita you can't, I won't let you."
She rest her hands on his chest gently. "You have to Steve. Loki is right he won't stop, he's relentless, he will not give up unless he gets at least one thing out of this whole ordeal. Listen, I have a plan. If Loki trusts me, if I'm alone with him, he will tell me the truth about all this and when the year is up, we can be together, finally be together with no troubles or doubts or worries that Loki will show up again with another plan to enslave us all. It's the only way Steve. Our relationship, in this organisation, with me at SHIELD's mercy, it was never going to be easy, but I have to believe that if I do this, Loki will cut us a break and we can finally be left in peace".
Steve brought her hands up to his face and kissed them gently. "What if Loki, hurts you, makes you do things you don't agree to? How can I protect you? I won't even be able to know what's going on with you."
Dita kissed him gently. "I'll write to you. I'll have Thor as your correspondent, he can protect me, make sure Loki doesn't pull anything. I have to see who is behind all this chaos, who made Loki this way, Thor wouldn't love him so if Loki was all bad, maybe he believes that he can bring the old Loki back, the one that wasn't so twisted in his ways".
Their conversation was interrupted by an impatient Loki.
"I'm waiting my love, what's your answer?"
Dita walked to him with Steve standing close behind. "Yes. I accept."
Ooh so Loki has got Dita seemingly right where he wants her, and now she must return to Asgard with him. What awaits the two back on Asgard, what about poor old Steve? Will he ever get his fiancé to himself again? Will they ever get married? Well I guess you lovely readers are just going to have to wait and see until next time!