Hey people, Silver here with the next installment of Key To Redemption! Hope you all like it as much as the last one, though I could really use some more reviews.
Loki: *sneers at the author, the effect slightly ruined by how wrinkled his clothing is and the black eye he's sporting* Are you gonna make me a weakling in this chapter too?
Silver: *glares at Loki over her shoulder before she sneezes into a tissue* I'm trying to make you less crazy and more likeable. Now shut up before I make you do something truly embarrassing in this chapter simply because I am sick and feeling evil.
Loki:*glares right back* you wouldn't dare.
Silver:*smiles evilly though the effect is slightly ruined as she coughs into the tissue* Try me. Now then, I'll be doing a time warp here to get the story farther along. I hope I'm writing every character adequately enough. And here's Diana with the disclaimer!
Diana: *spotlight shines on her* 666Silvermoon is in no way, shape, or form the owner of the Marvel Universe. The only things in here she owns are me, my animals, my family, and any other future OC's she makes. She is not making any money from writing this story; it is purely for her own amusement and to entertain others. Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Third P.O.V
Over the next month, Loki and Diana created a daily routine that they stuck by as fall started creeping in. In the morning Loki would wake up, sometimes from a sleep filled with nightmares and other times nights with no dreams at all, and find Diana already eating breakfast, with a plate of still warm food waiting for him at the table across from her with a glass of juice or milk or a cup of tea. Sometimes it was pancakes, which Loki nearly drowned in syrup because of what Diana jokingly called his 'sweet tooth', and other times it was scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon or sausage. Every day Loki managed to eat a little more on his plate as he started gaining weight back.
After breakfast they would go to the stables and feed a small serving of oats or grain to the horses, just to get their digestive systems working and to wake them up. Loki would sometimes swipe sugar cubes from the covered bowl on the counter near the stove or apple slices to give to Commander, Apollo, Cinnamon and her colts, or Angus, as they had quickly become his favorites. After the horses had eaten their breakfast half of them were let out into the fields for the day, Diana would work with Goldenrod in the medium sized horse paddock near the back of the stables, slowly getting her use to more human contact and to a saddle and bridle. Diana seemed to have the most trouble with actually riding her from what Loki could see. Over the past week Diana had been thrown four times, and she had the bruises and scrapes to prove it.
"It's not the poor girl's fault." Diana told Loki one day as she was cleaning off the dirt, blood and torn skin from her scraped elbow. "I've gone through this with a lot of my other horses. They're afraid of humans when I save them because they've only ever known pain and anger from them. It takes a while, but I eventually earn the trust of each of my horses and in turn they learn to trust the people who come up." She said as she wrapped up her elbow in bandages after covering it in disinfectant. Her opposite arm was covered in bruises, as was the right side of her face. She had barely dodged a kick to the throat from Goldenrod after being thrown.
By lunch time Diana brought in the first six horses and fed her animals a lunch of hay, maize, or wheat pellets for her horses, dry dog food for Kida and Taboo, and wet and dry cat food mix for Atlas, Cleo and Kona. All her cats seemed to have warmed up to Loki exponentially, along with Kida and Taboo. Atlas would sneak into Loki's room in the middle of the night and curl up at the foot of his bed or at level with his chest; Cleo would rub herself up against legs in the morning meowing so she could get a scratch behind the ears and Kona would look up at him with his mixed eyes and silently beg Loki to play with him until Loki caved. Kida would sit at his feet whenever Loki sat in one of the arm chairs in the library while reading and Taboo would bring him toys to throw in the yard whenever Diana would take people on horseback riding through her trails, though less and people came every week, since it was becoming the off season.
Loki knew about the trail riding since he had seen some people pull up in various cars or trucks and have Diana go out to meet them, he saw them hand her checks and various bills of money while he waited up in the library. The library was conveniently placed right next to Diana's room with wall to floor shelves full of books about anything and everything and picture frames depicting what he guessed were family members and friends. He had looked in on her room once, and was amazed by what he saw.
The bed covers were a sapphire blue with cream vines curling along the edges and cream pillows with blue flowers embroidered along the cases with the actual bed being a four poster queen size made of the same wood as the rest of the furniture, the floor was lush tan colored carpeting, and the dresser and the nightstand by the bed was a dark antique looking cherry wood with a vintage oval standing mirror in the corner, but that's not what had Loki amazed. What amazed him was the hand painted murals taking up the walls. Each wall was a different nature scene that looked like they had been torn straight out of a travel book.
The wall with the dresser pressed up against it and the doors leading to the closet and the adjoining bathroom depicted a tropical beach with white sand, palm trees and a pod of dolphins leaping from the clear blue water. The wall with the bay window with a cushioned seat and mismatched pillows had a forest mural, with the trees covered in orange, red and yellow leaves and a thin carpet of them covering the forest floor, with green grass and fern plants sprouting up through them. The wall directly behind the bed had a lush green rainforest mural, with colorful tropical birds flying through the air and a golden jaguar lounging in a tree right over a small group of tapirs. The last wall, the one that had the entrance door against it and was directly across from the bed, depicted a small waterfall and a creek, with a large black horse standing on the bank with blue and white flowers growing around its hooves.
Loki was awestruck at the mastery of these paintings. He had seen paintings in Asgard before of course, but they were mostly royal portraits or scenes from the middle of famous battles. There were not many painters or musicians or poets in Asgard, since it was a war oriented realm even when at peace, so Loki was just as surprised in seeing this artwork as anyone would from Asgard. Two hours later when Diana came home from guiding the trail ride and found Loki in her room studying the tropical birds in the rainforest mural, she merely smiled and told him that she was the artist behind the murals on her walls. She said she had done them at the requests of her parents before going to college, since this had been her parent's bedroom till the house had been turned over to her when her father had died and her mother moved out.
Speaking of her mother, Loki had met the infamous Corrine Sullivan three weeks ago, and she had some very choice words for him on what would happen to him if he hurt her daughter. "If you so much as harm a single red hair on Diana's head I'll castrate you and use your scrotum as a coin purse." She told him fiercely in her thick Irish accent. Needless to say Loki was slightly intimidated, but before he could say anything Diana had come in and steered her mother away from him and into the kitchen, where they spent the next hour baking multiple confections.
Loki had never tried so many different tarts, cookies and brownies as he did that afternoon, and was on a sugar high the rest of the day and had played with Taboo and Kida outside the rest of the day until the high went away. For the next week Loki and Diana had enjoyed the leftover sweets after dinner, though now whenever Diana's mother visited he tended to stay away from her when she had anything sharp in her hands.
Currently, Loki was helping Diana bring in Aztec, Molly, Ace, Angus, Phoenix, and Ox in as the sun started going down on a mild day in mid-September. His black eye had since gone away and his leg had healed up enough for him to not need the raven topped cane anymore, and he had learned to never leave his room before ten in the morning, because that was around the time Diana would come back in from her workout in the hay loft of her stables. Loki would avoid seeing her in anything less revealing then a tank top and jeans now, so he was able to avoid making an ass of his self again and gain another black eye simply because his hormones went out of whack.
In the month that Loki and Diana had lived together, they had gone from tolerating each other to actually being friends. They learned a lot about each other about their likes and their habits: Loki learned that Diana's nose scrunched up slightly whenever she laughed, that she was allergic to grapefruit and that her favorite colors were blue and green; Diana learned Loki disliked most pork, except for bacon, and that when he was confused he would furrow his brow and narrow his eyes and that was only a few examples. Diana had already known Loki's favorite color was green, and she thought he looked the best in it as well. Diana also encouraged Loki's thirst to learn all he could about Midgard. She taught him how to work her kitchen appliances, the TV, and the bathroom facilities too, and she showed him book after book about ancient civilizations, mythology, animals and plants. Diana even watched documentary after documentary with Loki when she had the time to help answer any questions he still had on a certain subject.
They started telling each other about their pasts as well. Loki told Diana about Asgard and about the mountains and forests there. He told her about his mother and stories of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. He tried steering clear of facts about Odin and of Thor, but they always seemed to pop up. In return, she told him about her life in Ireland and how it felt moving back to the states, of her family and of the hopes she had as a child. They asked each other questions in case they were more curious about a certain subject the other had only touched up on, and one of the questions that Loki asked her near the end of the second week of September had bumped around in his head since he had seen a family portrait hanging in the library. "How come you have red hair now but you had blonde when you were a child?" That question made Diana pause while chopping the carrots for the beef stew for dinner that day.
After a few seconds hesitation though, she put down the knife and turned to him, leaning against the kitchen counter and looked at him, her head cocked to the side with a look of contemplation on her face. She studied him, and he fought the urge to squirm under her gaze. She finally said mysteriously, "One of these days I'll let you know Loki, but not today. You haven't earned enough of my trust." Her cryptic answer had only made Loki more curious, and his curiosity always had a way of getting him into trouble. He tried to hide his eagerness to know, but she managed to see past it and smiled before passing him a knife and making him chop up the potatoes she had skinner earlier. He managed to hide his grimace at doing kitchen work but held his tongue and started cutting. Last time he had complained about helping her in the kitchen she had gone out to eat by herself to teach him a lesson, and when she came home late that same night Loki had been starving. When he grumbled out an apology she had handed him a bag containing a burger from the diner in town with a side of fries. They vanished within five minutes.
Soon enough they were enjoying a meal of beef stew with carrots, potatoes, and green beans with buttered rolls while watching a documentary about African predators. Loki watched with rapt attention, for he had never seen animals such as lions or elephants on Asgard, or in any other of the realms.
"Why are the 'elephants' noses so long?" Loki asked Diana in the middle of the program, saying the name of the pachyderms with a bit of trouble.
"It's that long so they can use it to pick up food from the ground or to tear leaves from trees, and to spray dirt or water on themselves to protect themselves from bugs or to cool off in the heat. They even use them as snorkels to breathe air when they swim." Diana told him patiently.
"What's a snorkel?" Loki looked at her in confusion.
"It's a plastic tube attached to a plastic mask that covers a person's eyes and nose to help them breathe in shallow waters or pools. People use them a lot when they want to have less restriction when swimming through tropical reefs." She replied with a smile.
"Sounds like it would look silly on someone." Loki muttered as he went back to watching the TV.
Diana laughed. "Yes, but sometimes that's half the fun." She replied as she turned back to the TV as well.
Every few minutes Loki would continue asking questions, acting like a curious child in a class room, but Diana answered his questions patiently, seeming to be happy that he wanted to learn so much about Earth. Once the documentary finished Diana got up and stretched her back, sighing as it popped and barely noticing the way Loki stared at the bottom of her tattoo.
"What is that?" He asked, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed.
Diana looked at him confused before looking over and down her shoulder.
"Oh, you mean my tattoo." She states matter-of-factly, and then proceeds to roll up the bottom of her shirt slightly.
Diana's P.O.V
I watched Loki as he studied my tattoo, the slightly stylized but heavily detailed work of the trunk, branches, and roots done in greys and black with the leaves of the tree being in bright shades of greens with some blues and yellows thrown in for highlights. The leaf covered branches reached up to my shoulder blades, and the roots curled down to my lower back. I watched his eyes study my tattoo as best as I could, before he did something that surprised me.
Loki reached up, and with the tips of his fingers he gently traced the trunk of my tattoo. His fingers were cool against my warmer skin, and slight goose bumps trailed up my back. I guess he noticed, because he dropped his hand hastily and looked away. "It's certainly beautifully detailed. On Asgard we have no need of tattoos, or even war paint. It is looked upon as abnormal." He said, and I had to laugh at that.
"You lived on a flat realm where magic and large feats of strength were the norm and you guys think tattoos are weird?" I said with a laugh as I pulled down my shirt. He shared my smile, though his was smaller.
"It does seem a bit out of character doesn't it?" He said, and I laughed a little more.
"More like silly. Here on Earth we get tattoos for any number of reasons. To express ourselves, to honor our friends or family, some tribes in the rainforests of South America and Africa get them to show a boy has come of age to be a man or that a girl has become a woman." I explained to him as I sat back down on the couch.
"I'm actually thinking about getting another one, maybe on my arm or leg. Might be a bird or might be some Celtic knot work. Might even be one of the flowers I have in my greenhouse."
I had showed Loki my greenhouse a week ago, and he sometimes goes in there to get outta the house and enjoy the scents from the multiple flowers I have in there. Roses, bluebells, amaryllis, azaleas, daisies, and bells of Ireland (obviously), poppies, lilies, delphinium, and marigolds grew in pots and trays on the ground and shelves of the greenhouse, with pots of herb plants growing in between the flowers. I preferred growing most of my own herbs for my cooking.
"Well if you get a flower might I suggest a rose, simply because you have an adequate amount of thorns?" He said, smirking slightly at my shocked face before it cleared up and I smirked.
"Oh I'm not the one with the prickly personality here." I say as I poke his side, and watch with an evil grin when he yelps and jumps. "What's this? Is the great villain Loki ticklish? I think I just gained more blackmail on you."
Loki glared at me, but it lacked in ferocity as he was holding his sides to protect them. "Don't you dare." He said venomously at me. I simply grinned wider and wiggled my fingers at him.
"Don't tempt me again then." I told him smugly before standing. "I feel like watching a Disney movie. What about you?" I ask him, and he grimaces.
"Anything but Finding Nemo, please. It took me hours to get that stupid swimming song out of my head." He says, and I laugh loudly. I had gotten him to watch Finding Nemo with me the previous week, and had sang 'Just Keep Swimming' just to annoy the crap out of him. He had gotten his revenge by spiking my breakfast the next day with hot sauce.
"Don't worry, not that. I don't feel like having porridge with hot sauce for breakfast tomorrow. I was thinking more along the lines of The Lion King." I had a plan. Over the past few days I'd been trying to get Loki to talk about what had happened between him and his brother to make him try and take over Earth. He had dodged me at every turn, and I decided to try and gently extract the truth from him after the movie.
I popped in the DVD into the player and sat back down, and soon the movie started. I watched Loki's expressions change constantly throughout the movie out of the corner of my eye. During Scar's intro scene he looked amused, and then when Mufasa argued with Scar he looked a bit surprised. When Simba started singing he had a frown on his face, but he looked impressed when Simba and Nala were rescued from the hyenas by Mufasa. He was smiling when 'Be Prepared' came on, but I think I might've seen a tear in his eye and his hands shake as Mufasa died. To liven things up a bit, when Timon and Pumbaa came on and when 'Hakuna Matata' started playing, I got up and started singing along.
"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase." I sang with Timon.
"Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze." I sang with Pumbaa, and saw that Loki was watching me in amusement. "It means no worries, for the rest of your days. It's our problem free, philosophy, Hakuna Matata." I sat back down with Loki with a wide grin during the pass in the song and during Pumbaa's story, and laughed when Pumbaa and Timon broke the fourth wall before the song started back up.
"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze. It means no worries, for the rest of your days." I sang along with Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba. "It's our problem free, philosophy. Hakuna Matata." I finished with a grin as another pause in the song came on as Timon and Pumbaa introduced grub eating to Simba.
Loki looked at me in amusement. "You're a rather strange and silly human aren't you?"
I shrug good naturedly as smile. "Hey, it's getting you to smile isn't it? I think that's worth a little strange and silliness."
He simply smiles a bit more and shakes his head.
"Would you like to join me on the next part? It's really just repeating the first part over again." I ask him with a wide grin. He looks at me for a moment, before shrugging and joining in as the song starts up again.
"Hakuna, Matata, Hakuna, Matata, Hakuna, Matata, Hakuna; it means no worries, for the rest of your days! It's our problem free, philosophy!" Loki and I sang before tapering off with a bunch of Hakuna Matata's before laughing together as the song ends.
"Not a bad singing voice for a Midgardian." He tells me, but I can tell he's teasing me from the mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Well not a bad singing voice coming from an Asgardian Prince." I teased right back, but from how he sang he was more than just not bad. (1) We soon returned to the movie however, and watched as Scar tormented Zazu and his hyenas, how Nala and Simba fought and then happily reunited, and then how the lionesses and Simba fought Scar and the hyenas and then how Simba reclaimed his birthright. I do admit that during 'Can you feel the love tonight?' I blushed slightly as I saw Loki looking at me in amusement, but I didn't meet his eye. Soon enough the end credits rolled and I shut off the movie.
"So? What did you think?" I asked him with a hesitant smile on my face. He looked contemplative, before he softly spoke. "It hit a little close to home." I tilted my head to the side as I sat next to him.
"Ya know you can talk to me if you want to Loki...I won't judge you." I tell him softly and sincerely.
He scoffs and looks away, a frown on his face. "As if you would understand what I've gone through." He gets up and starts to walk away, but I grab his wrist and bring his hand to my face, making him feel the scars left by Thomas. "I understand well enough." I tell him, looking at his face determinedly. He looks at me in slight shock, before his expression softens and he sits back down, one of his hands covering his eyes as he leans back against the couch. I released his hand after a few seconds, but I seemed to do it almost reluctantly. His long fingered and slightly callused hand felt good in my own.
"I suppose it started when Thor and I were still children." Loki told me hesitantly. "Thor and his friends were always gallivanting off and fighting imaginary monsters and dueling against each other, while I preferred time spent in the library or in the gardens studying my magic. Thor's friends would always outcast me, because they saw me as weak since I was smaller than them and preferred reading to fighting, and when they did invite me to play games with them they'd always end up leaving me behind or humiliating me. Thor never noticed how upset I would get; he would merely laugh with the rest of his buffoons!" He ended rather angrily, but he didn't seem to be finished. "Oh I would try and keep up, but I soon gave up after we started getting older and they started getting more aggressive in their attempts at getting rid of me. So I kept to my books and studies of magic, until Thor decided to go to Jotunheim and wage war on the frost giants for disrupting his coronation. It was while fighting them, one of them touched me and…my skin turned as blue as theirs. I learned from Odin," Loki said his father's name like it was something poisonous as his voice rose in anger, "that he had lied to me from the start about my heritage! I was nothing more than another stolen relic to him! I was always shoved into the shadows by Thor's actions because in Odin's eyes Thor was the golden son! He was the one fated to be king, and Odin filled my head with false promises that I was also destined to be a king! My entire life Odin told Thor and I stories of how monstrous the frost giants were, and we swore that we'd grow up and slay them all!" He ended as looked at me, his eyes wide and crazed with unshed tears shining in them.
"Do you have any idea what it's like, to grow up being taught that before finally learning you're the monster parents tell their children about at night?" He asks me with an anger and brokenness that almost breaks my heart. He gets up and starts pacing before I can say anything. "And then when I try to get recognition for my actions, and when I'm hanging over the Bifrӧst, with one simple word Odin shatters that hope, basically telling me that I'll always be below Thor. I let go, and fell into the darkness." He stops, and looks at me again, his eyes holding that slightly crazed look.
"The Chitauri found me in that darkness and they starved and tortured me beyond what you could imagine. For one Midgardian year this went on, but on the Chitauri planet it was so much longer…they tortured me until I was knocked unconscious one day, and the next thing I know I'm woken up by being tossed around like a child's toy by that mindless beast the Hulk! I barely remember bits and pieces of the Chitauri invasion." He tells me angrily. I look at him in shock.
"You're serious? You have no memory of the invasion? Why didn't you tell anyone?" I ask him in confusion.
He laughs and smiles coldly. "Oh, as if anyone would believe the Liesmith of Asgard." He says humorlessly. "Well, I believe you." I tell him, and he looks at me in shock.
"You do?! Why? No one ever believes me." He tells me in slight anger. I shrug. "What would you gain from lying to me? You have nothing to lose from telling me the truth and nothing to gain from lying to me. " I stand up and stand next to him. "I do agree that you've done your fair share of bad deeds Loki, but I don't agree with Odin keeping your heritage from you, or with him raising you on stories of how Frost Giant were evil. If he had tried to show more tact and compassion, that probably would not have happened. But, you failed to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be." (2)
He looks at me with wide eyes, almost as if he's surprised I could be this compassionate to him. I gently smile before checking the time, and seeing that it was getting late.
I stretch, popping my back and sighing."I'm gonna head to bed ok? I'll see you in the morning Loki." I say as I take the dishes into the sink before heading upstairs, but I stop and turn back to him. "Oh, and if you have any more nightmares, you can wake me up if you need to." I softly smiled at his shocked expression and headed upstairs. I change into a pair or black sleeping pants with a matching tank top with a flower pattern along the hem before slipping into bed and falling asleep.
If I woke up in the middle of the night and made Loki a mug of hot cocoa because of a nightmare, neither of us mentioned it the next morning.
Third P.O.V, Stark Tower
The Next Day
Over the past month Tony Stark had tried to find out where in upstate New York Loki had landed, because he was sure that it was Loki who was here, but he couldn't find anything. Not a single shred of evidence pertaining to where or even if Loki was here. Tony wasn't a patient guy, and he was getting really frustrated about it. He had half a mind to call Nick Fury and tell him what he had found, but then he almost slapped himself. "What are you thinking Tony, Fury will try everything to take over this and black bag Loki…" Tony mutters to himself and he looks over the security footage of the closest town to the energy spike's location. The town was small compared to the big city, with only a few thousand residents, with the name of Granville. Most of the population was Irish or Irish mixed from what he could find out, considering Irish settlers had founded the town in the early 1800s.
Tony finally groaned and let his head fall onto the desk as soon as the elevator doors to his workshop opened up and out stepped Agent Phil Coulson. Phil Coulson had indeed died for a few minutes back on the Hellcarrier during the Alien Invasion, but he had been brought back by the medical staff but his recovery had been kept a secret from the Avengers until back in July. He had just walked into the tower during the small celebration they were having during Steve's birthday on the 4th, if small meant a ton of fireworks going off and enough alcohol to get Thor drunk if he had been there. Tony had choked on his drink, Pepper had gasped, Steve had looked at him in shock and Natasha and Clint had simply stared, but he had known them long enough to know that they too were shocked. Coulson had simply smiled and waved. "Hey." He said, and that seemed to break him out of their stupor. Questions were fired at him left and right before he explained that Fury had wanted to give them a push and that he had been in the hospital for weeks after the invasion doing physical therapy. He even showed them the rather large scars left from where Loki stabbed him. Granted, he nearly strangled Director Fury when he found out he had gotten his vintage Captain America cards all bloody, when they had been in his locker and not in his jacket.
"Tony, what are you doing?" Coulson asked the billionaire after Tony had smoothly tried to hide the videos he had been going through. "Agent! It's so nice to see you up and about again. How' life being Fury's right hand man again?" Tony said enthusiastically as he attempted to steer Phil back into the elevator. Attempted being the word because Coulson managed to maneuver around Tony and bring the videos back up onto his screen.
"Security tapes? Where are these from Tony?" Coulson asked as he looked the tapes over with a trained eye.
Tony nervously laughs and shrugs. "Just this little town up north I've been thinking about taking Pepper to. She'd love a nice day off upstate, and they have this shop where I hear they make some of the best pastries and-" Tony gets cut off by Coulson.
"Granville? Why Granville Tony?" Coulson asks him almost sharply, turning to him with his eyes narrowed. Tony was a bit surprised from his tone, but didn't show it as he innocently shrugged. "Random little town I found. Why the tenseness Coulson?" Tony asked him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what could've made a bee get into Coulson's bonnet.
Almost as soon as he asks Coulson relaxes and straightens up. "No reason, you just don't seem like the small town kinda guy is all. Granville isn't you're kinda scene. Trust me, I've been there before." Phil told him before heading back to the elevator.
"Oh, and Fury wants to meet you and the rest of the team in an hour."
"God damn it."
An hour and twenty minutes later Tony is walking through the doors to the meeting room of S.H.I.E.L.D's New York base. Fury was understandably angry about this, and had no qualms about letting Stark know.
"You're late Stark. Next time, don't be just because you like pissing me off." Fury said angrily as he glared at Tony with his one dark brown eye.
Tony simply gave Fury a grin and took his seat between Clint and Bruce at the table. Fury sat on Clint's other side with Steve between Natasha and Bruce and directly across from Fury.
"Now that Stark's finally here," Fury glared at Tony once again, and he's not the only one, "we can start this meeting. It came to our attention last month that there was a very brief energy spike in upstate New York. Yes Tony, we know all about that." Tony would swear he could see a smirk fighting to form at the edges of Fury's lips.
"We also know about you're curiosity in the security tapes of a small town not too far from the energy spike site called Granville. Now, I'm asking you to be very cautious in what you want to find out there Stark." Fury says with a glare towards Tony, but Bruce is the one who pipes up with a question.
"What's so special about this one little town Director?" Bruce looks at Fury with a raised eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest.
Instead of replying, Fury stands up and Coulson, who had been standing by the door, turned down the lights and a projector descended from the ceiling above the table and a hologram was brought down onto the table. It depicted a young woman who looked to be in her late twenties which slowly spun in place. She was dressed in a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, a pair of black heeled boots with buckles on the sides and a black leather jacket slung over her shoulder. Her blood red hair curled around her face down to her lower back with a few strands hanging in her heart shaped face. Her skin is a light tan with a straight nose and attractive looking lips pulled up into a slight smile. Her eyebrows are a darker red and they slightly arch over the palest blue eyes anyone on the team has seen. Fury presses a small button on a remote and they get a close up of her face, and they see two long scars marring it. One over her left eye and the other across her left cheek almost to her ear.
"Say hello to Diana Sullivan, current resident of Granville and avid animal lover-" The hologram changes to her in an animal shelter feeding a puppy with a bottle of milk.
"Equestrianist-" The hologram is now of her on top of a Friesian in dressage attire with the horse in an extended trot.
"Amateur rodeo star and artist-" The hologram splits in two; one version of her riding a bucking bull and the other version of her in paint splattered jeans and an old shirt in front of a half-finished landscape painting.
"Former amateur kickboxer-" The hologram merges into a mini video of her and another woman circling each other. Diana's dressed in a green sports bra and a pair of black shorts and gloves that show off the obvious muscle tone in her body and stomach, along with a dozen more scars with her hair pulled back into a French braid. Her eyes are narrowed as she blocks a punch thrown by her opponent and then sends a right kick straight to her opponent's head, knocking her out cold. Tony whistles in appreciation and he sees Steve's eyebrow rise in what is probably shock.
"And Omega level mutant." Fury finished, and everyone on the team stared at him in shock. Tony sees Clint's hands tighten in his lap and Natasha's hand edges towards the knife strapped to her thigh.
"Hold up, you're saying that tall, toned, and sexy here is a mutant?" Tony asks in almost disbelief and a bit sassily. "What's her power, the ability to dazzle with her smile?"
Fury glares at him and shuts down the hologram while Coulson turns the lights back on.
"Stark, if she wanted to she could kill everyone within a mile radius of herself without a second thought." Fury says angrily.
"Then what's stopping you from trying to kill her?" Bruce speaks up quietly, "If she's as dangerous as you say, then why isn't she either a part of SHIELD or dead?"
"We tried recruiting her Dr. Banner, but she refused. Her powers have gone dormant over the past few years due to her father being murdered three years ago during a mugging gone wrong, so we saw no reason to pursue recruiting her, but we have been keeping tabs on her in case she ended up going to the other side." Fury replies as Coulson passes a folder to each of the Avengers.
Tony opens his up and sees a picture of a slightly younger Diana Sullivan. Her hair is pulled up into a bun, and her face has no scars.
"Am I reading this right Director? She was raped by a boyfriend of hers three years ago?" Steve asked in horror.
Fury nods as he answers. "Yes Captain, after about four months of him abusing her. We didn't find out until after she had been admitted to the hospital for multiple stab wounds and a punctured lung. It started a few weeks after her father died, so we deduced that she was emotionally vulnerable so she was an easy target."
Steven clenches his jaw, and Tony sees Bruce's hands tighten around the folder.
Tony looks back down at the folder and reads the list of her powers.
Geokinesis: Ability to control different forms of earth, including but not limited to: stone, sand, soil, and metal. Can cause small earthquakes.
Pyrokinesis: Ability to create and control fire and to change its color and temperature, also able to bring her core body temperature up or down with no visible side effects.
Hydrokinesis: Ability to manipulate water in all forms, including ice, snow, and steam; able to manipulate liquids such as oil and blood as well. Can also heal minor cuts, bruises and lacerations while using water.
Aerokinesis: Ability to control air at all temperatures. If pushed hard enough has the capacity for creating a tornado.
Animal Empathy: Ability to understand animal emotions and is able to help make them angry or calm. Ability helps at animal shelters she volunteers at and with her horses, dogs, and cats.
Ecokinesis: Ability to control plants to an extent, including helping plants grow and stay alive during harsh conditions; cannot communicate with plants or change their genetic structure.
Mild Feral Mind: Ability to revert to a semi-feral state of mind when very angry. In this state senses of smell, sight, and hearing are heightened, pupils grow into slits and iris goes almost white, and canine teeth and nails on hands grow sharper and slightly longer. Because of this ability she has a heightened need for meat, and has a greater percent of muscle mass than most women. Her canine teeth are also naturally more sharp than most, but is not noticeable unless someone is looking closely.
Tony stared at the long list of powers and whistled under his breath. "This girl has some serious power in her body. I mean, she's like the avatar from that show with the kid with the arrow tattoos. (3) So was she born with these powers or did some freak accident happen like with Brucie?"
"She gained her powers when she reached puberty Tony. We don't know how or why she has powers, but they seem to have been passed down through her father's side of the family." Coulson answered Tony, who proceeded to continue looking through Diana's file.
"It says here that she has 12 horses, three cats, and two dogs. How does she deal with all of those animals and maintain her house by herself?" Clint asked aloud.
"She's managed it so far Agent Barton. You can also see that her hair changed from previously being blonde to turning blood red upon puberty. Even her eyes grew paler because of her powers." Fury replies.
"Does the carpet match the drapes I wonder?" Tony said out loud, and then winced as he felt someone kick his shin. He glared at Natasha as he rubbed his shin and as Steve piped up, his cheeks slightly pink.
"Must you be so crude Tony?" Steve asked him tightly as he shifted in his seat slightly. He still wasn't used to the crudeness of the world nowadays.
"What? It was a valid question." Tony said indignantly.
"It was a question that didn't need to be asked Tony." Natasha said calmly as she took out the knife on her hip holster and started cleaning under her nails with it. Tony, being the genius he is, shut his mouth.
"ANYWAY," Fury said to get meeting back on track, "The reason I'm informing you of this now is because we don't know if Tony's hypothesis on Loki escaping from Asgard is true. If it is, then there's a chance of him happening upon Diana, and with her powers it would be disastrous, especially if he has the Tesseract. This is why in a week's time three of you will be go to Granville and observe Diana's habits and her farm."
"Wait, so you want three of us to spy on her to see if she has Loki holed up at her place? Talk about stalking. Won't that be a bit dangerous with little Miss Mother Nature Fury?" Tony says, as he raises an eyebrow.
"Which is why I'm sending in Agents Barton and Romanoff with Dr. Banner Stark. They know how to be discreet and stay along the edges without bringing any attention to them."
"W-wait a minute, I can't go! I have no spy training. Shouldn't Steve be the one going with Natasha and Clint?" Bruce pipes up, wringing his hands nervously.
Fury shakes his head as Tony pats Bruce on the shoulder. "No can do Dr. Banner. Steve would be too recognizable, same with Stark. Plus, if things go bad you might be the only person able to take Diana down, since Thor isn't here at the moment." Bruce sighs in defeat and nods his head in agreement.
"Alright, fine. I'll do it. Not like I have much of a choice."
"I'm glad you've agreed to it. Now then, you and Agent Barton should consider growing out some facial hair, to better conceal your identities. Agent Romanoff, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it would probably be best to either wear a wig or to dye your hair. I suggest blonde." Fury says as he heads to the door. "If you have any more questions, ask Coulson."
"Can you believe this Brucie? You get to go on your first real spy mission." Tony says to Bruce as they make their way out of the elevator on the penthouse of the Avengers Tower. They had split as soon as the meeting had been adjourned.
Bruce sighs as he sits down on the couch and leans back against the cushions. "I guess, but I'm not very excited for it Tony. I'd rather not have another incident like Harlem."
"Oh have more faith in the big guy Bruce, and in yourself. You've both come a long way in control." Tony tells him as he fixes himself a Scotch on the rocks. "Besides, Miss Diana just might be able to give you the challenge you need, since our walking electrical socket is still on his home planet."
"Tony you heard what Fury said. We're not to get close to her, least not close enough to talk."
"Details, details." Tony replied with a dismissive wave of his hand before taking a sip of his Scotch. "What Fury doesn't know won't hurt him. And besides, did you see how much of a knockout Mother Nature is? If Loki is living with her he's a lucky bastard. I sure as hell wouldn't mind getting up close and personal with her."
"I'm pretty sure neither of us is her type Tony, unless she likes mad scientists who are shorter than her."
Tony looks at Bruce in confusion. "What do you mean Jolly Green?"
Bruce raises an eyebrow at Tony. "You didn't fully read her file did you?"
"Hey, I read the part about her powers. The rest I skimmed." Tony said with a shrug.
"No wonder." Bruce says with a shake of the head. "Miss Sullivan stands at a total of six foot even Tony, that's as tall as Steve, is."
Tony furrowed his forehead and downed the rest of his drink in one gulp in disappointment, since he was a total of three inches shorter then Steve and apparently Diana.
"Damn it."
On Asgard
Thor hurried along the Bifrӧst on his white steed, Odin riding next to him on Sleipnir, Loki's first born. Heimdall had summoned them both to talk about a dire matter concerning Loki's residence on Midgard with Diana. Thor only hoped that his brother was better and that he had not caused any mayhem while there.
They stop at Heimdall's Observatory and dismount their horses, Sleipnir standing close to Thor's steed to keep him from bolting as Thor and Odin enter the Observatory.
"Heimdall, what news do you bring? Has anything happened to Loki?" Odin asked at once, not caring for frivolities. Heimdall understood as he continued looking out into the expanse of space.
"The Avengers have their suspicions on Loki being on Midgard," Heimdall told them. "They also have their suspicions on him being with the one named Diana."
"We must find some way to warn Loki and Diana then! They cannot possibly hope to protect themselves on their own!" Thor cried out.
"Do not be so sure of that my prince." Heimdall said mysteriously as he looked at them with his golden eyes.
"What do you mean Heimdall? Loki's magic and immortality was stripped. Unless he learned how to regret his actions already, then he is still vulnerable to attack." Odin countered.
"It is not Loki I speak of my king. It is the one know as Diana that I speak of." Heimdall said calmly.
"Diana? But she is naught but a human! How could she stand against my mortal friends?" Thor asks in confusion.
"She is more than she seems Prince Thor. She is what the humans call a 'mutant' and a very powerful one at that if her 'file' with the human organization known as SHIELD is true." Heimdall replied. "Apparently she has power over the four elements, plants, and can sense the emotions of animals and has a slight 'feral' state of mind, from what I saw."
"WHAT? Does Loki know? Has she shown him her powers?" Odin asks almost frantically.
Heimdall shakes his head as he looks back in the direction of Midgard. "No my king, he is still in the dark about it. But in a week's time, the Avengers known as Hawkeye, the Black Widow, and Dr. Banner will be investigating Diana and seeing if she is harboring Loki. They are in grave danger if they find out Loki is in fact being harbored by Diana."
"Then we must warn them!" Thor says as he turns to Odin. "Father, I must go down to Midgard to help Loki and Lady Diana!"
Odin shakes his head sadly. "No Thor, you are needed here. We must not interfere in Loki's punishment unless it is needed, and now it is not needed."
Thor opened his mouth to argue, but a stern look from Odin caused it to close and for him to hang his head. "Yes father."
Odin turned to Heimdall, and the Gatekeeper looked back at the All Father calmly. Heimdall had served Odin for a long time, and his loyalty was to Asgard herself.
"Heimdall, tell me. Is my son in any immediate danger?" Odin asks him, the almost pleading in his voice noticeable but neither Heimdall nor Thor make any mention of it.
Heimdall looks back out to the expanse of space, and for a moment nothing is said, until finally he answers the All Father's question. "He is not in any danger except from himself my king."
Odin sighed and nodded, knowing that that was the best answer he'd be getting out of Heimdall. "Watch over him Heimdall, and send word if the Avengers find him and capture him."
"Yes my king." Heimdall says before Thor and Odin leave, mounting their steeds and heading back to the palace to give the news to Frigga.
1) Ok, if you've never heard Tom Hiddleston sing you need to! I'm serious, go to YouTube and look up him singing! God, he has such a great voice…
2) A virtual cookie and a special shout out from Loki will go to the first person to figure out where this sentence is from! I'll give you guys a hint; it's in a famous book series.
3) Yes, I made an Avatar: The Last Airbender reference here. Come on people, I simply had to. Plus, just imagine Tony Stark watching it on Saturday morning or at any time really.
Silver: and that's the end of chapter 8! Woo, longest chapter to date. I'm sorry it took me so long to update you guys, I had a lot of stuff to work through for college classes and had a lot of stress at home to deal with too, along with slight hints of writer's block. I hope you guys enjoyed that little twist I did, with giving Diana powers and everything. Now before you guys ask why I gave her powers, it's so she has a better chance of keeping Loki in line in the future and to better protect herself and her loved ones from what I'll be doing in the next few chapters.
Loki:*stares at Silver angrily* A special shout out?! I will do no such thing! It is unbecoming of a prince!
Silver: *actually growls and turns to Loki, eyes almost black from irritation* I'm sorry Loki, I thought you said something. What was that?
Loki:*sees that the author is reaching her breaking point and turns away* …never mind.
Silver:*smiles and relaxes, eye going back to dark brown* I thought so. Now then, I'd like to remind everyone that the only thing I own in this story is my OC Diana, her animals, her mother, and any future OC's I put in here. I am not making any profit from this story, it is purely to entertain others and for my own benefit. And come on people! I could really use some more reviews! I wanna know what you guys and girls think for Pete's sake.