Hey guys and girls! I hope my last chapter sated your appetites for some Loki/Diana action for at least a little bit, because this chapter may have some fluff in it at the beginning but then it's gonna get hectic real fast.
Loki: Are you gonna tell us what kind of bang you have planned yet?
Silver: *shakes head* Now why would I go and do a thing like that when my readers are right there? You're gonna have to wait and see like the rest of them. But I have decided to tweak things a bit, so the bang isn't gonna happen like I was planning on making it.
Loki: If it wasn't for my patience I'd actually be upset that you're keeping this from us.
Diana: Well she does have to please her readers Loki.
Silver: And in turn they give me reviews; speaking of that, thank you keacdragon and NOTagentsofnothing420 for the reviews on my last chapter. I really appreciate them. And on that note, on to the disclaimer!
Diana: 666Silvermoon is in no way, shape or form the owner of anything in the Marvel Universe or Norse Mythology. The only things in here she owns are me, my animals, my family, and any other future OC's or places she makes that are not in the Marvel universe. She is not making any money from writing this story; it is purely for her own amusement and to entertain others. Enjoy Chapter 13.
Chapter 13
Third P.O.V
As the sun broke the horizon the next morning, Diana slowly woke up, her mind fuzzy with sleep. She tried to turn onto her other side, but found something blocking her from moving.
She yawned and sleepily lifted her head, and her eyes widened as she found an arm wrapped around her waist. She stiffened in fear, and turned her head stiffly before relaxing as she saw that it was Loki who was holding her in his sleep. The memories from last night quickly came to her as her mind cleared, and her lips formed into a soft smile as she observed Loki sleeping behind her.
His face was the most relaxed she had ever seen, his skin smoothed out of the stress lines that usual marred his face, a few strands of his hair escaping his braid and gently blowing in time with his breath. Diana's smile grew warmer, and she gently kissed the tip of his nose before she tried moving out of his grasp.
Loki's mind was just coming out of the brink of a deep sleep, and when he felt something moving away from him he tightened his grip, causing Diana to yelp as she felt his arm tighten around her stomach.
"Loki, too much pressure on my bladder." Diana said softly, and her voice brought Loki from the brink of sleep to wake him up.
"Hmm?" Loki muttered sleepily as he yawned and opened his eyes, lifting his head slightly to look down at Diana. His lips pulled into a smile as he saw that her hair was still in its multiple braids, but a few had grown loose and the flowers in them had slipped from their confines, and her eyes were looking at him with an almost smug look.
"I guess this means that you're a cuddler doesn't it?" She asks him with a smirk. He hums in agreement before nuzzling against her, breathing in her scent.
"I cannot help it if I so enjoy your delicious body pressed against mine." He muttered into her hair, and Diana blushed as she felt what she figured was obviously his morning wood poking her lower back.
"Well, unless you want to continue sleeping here and have grass for breakfast we're gonna have to head back home." She tells him and tries to move out of his arms, this time being successful as she stood up and stretched.
Loki grumbled at having to get up but obeyed her anyways, yawning again as he watched Diana stretch, the bottom of her shirt lifting a bit to reveal her tattooed lower back. He softly growled in desire, causing Diana to turn and send a smile his way.
"You're gonna have to wait for that Loki." She tells him as she goes to saddle up Apollo, who had just woken up as well, and shook most of the dirt from his coat, since he and Domino had slept lying down for the most part.
"Oh, I'm gonna have to wash you up when we get back aren't I?" I told Apollo as I tacked him up.
"And I'll probably end up cleaning you up Domino, won't I?" Loki said as he tacked up Domino, who nudged her nose against his hand, causing him to pat her in affection.
Diana loaded up everything back in the saddlebag on Apollo as Loki folded up the blanket and put it over the shotgun still attached to Apollo's saddle. They mounted up onto the horses, made sure the fire was out and that the embers were cold, and put on their cowboy hats before they headed back to Diana's place.
Loki looked over at Diana after about ten minutes, smiling softly in the comfortable silence. It was so different from the silences that would plague him on Asgard. Since he was a child, the only silences he would have would be those of loneliness, since Thor and his friends were always in the training yard or going off on hunting expeditions or adventures. Frigga was his one confidant, she encouraged him in both magic and stealth, teaching him as much as she could, but even she had days where her duties as queen would take up her time. Odin spent more time being a king than a father, and when he was a father he paid more attention to Thor then he did Loki, encouraging Thor to be a strong warrior and grooming him to be the next king, though Loki took to royal lessons more than Thor did. He had excelled in diplomacy, geography, defensive war, etiquette, and even dancing, while Thor had studied more in strength training, hunting, and offensive war.
However, this silence with Diana, with the only sounds being the hoof beats of the horses and the sounds of the forest waking up, it was more like the silences he had with Frigga when they would read separate books together, with him sitting at her feet and leaning against her legs, or like when he and Sigyn would spend time together in the early years of their marriage before the boys' birth, her knitting or sewing and him reading or working on magic. It was the comfortable silence one feels with a person they care about, where no words are needed to fill it.
Diana was also enjoying the comfortable silence, it reminded her of the quieter times she spent with her mother while she helped her cook dinner or bake, or when she would go fishing or read with her father. She looked over at Loki and smiled at him, causing him to turn his head and smile back.
The comfortable silence stretched on until they were about half way back to her house, until suddenly Domino stopped in her tracks, and started moving back and sideways in agitation.
"Whoa, easy girl, what's the matter?" Loki asked her gently as he tried getting her under control, until finally Diana descended from Apollo's saddle and grabbed her bridle, softly shushing her and stoking her nose gently.
"Easy girl, calm down. Loki and I are here, nothing's going to hurt you." She said softly, continuing to stoke the scared mare's face.
"What scared her this much?" Loki asked in confusion as he gently stroked Domino's neck as she finally started calming down.
"Not many things scare her like this. She used to be afraid of dogs, but with Kida and Taboo's help I helped her get over that. The only other thing I can think of is…" Diana trails off as she turns and takes a few steps, before exclaiming in discovery and crouching down to pick something up.
As she turned back towards Loki, he saw that she was holding a long green snake. "Huh, would you look at that, a common grass snake. No wonder Domino was so afraid. She's terrified of snakes." She said as she gently held the snake as it curled up in her hands.
Loki watched as she softly crooned to the thin green snake in her hands before she gently laid it down near the edge of the forest and watched it slither away before leading both Apollo and Domino by their halters a bit farther down the trail, before mounting back up into Apollo's saddle.
"You're not afraid of snakes?" Loki asked Diana. She shakes her head as she turns to him.
"Not really. Snakes are just like any other animal on this earth. Sure, they might not have legs, and they may be cold blooded, but they're just like anything else in this natural world. They still live, they give birth, and some even protect their eggs in a nest until the babies hatch. They have feelings like any other animal, and I can sense them like any other animal. In their own way, they're beautiful." Diana explained as they continued down the trail.
"Very insightful my dear. Most people dislike serpents because they think they are ugly or evil. At least on Asgard they do." Loki told her.
"A lot of people think the same about them here. The thing is this Loki: people fear what they don't understand, or what looks scary or acts different. When that happens, they try to change it to suit them, or they try to poke and prod it to see how it ticks or they try to destroy it. Granted, not everyone is like that, but a fair amount of people are." Diana explained as they finally made it to the mouth of the trail in view of her house.
Loki looks at her in surprise for a moment, before smirking. "I never knew a human could be so insightful. In most of the other Nine Realms Midgard is looked down upon because they think that you humans are an inferior species, in both brain and brawn."
Diana looks back to him, a hint of anger in her eyes but her face was mostly emotionless. "We humans have many surprises in us Loki." She told him softly, before spurring Apollo on around the front of her house and towards the barn.
Loki followed, not understanding why Diana looked angry but hoping to find out.
Diana's P.O.V
As I entered the barn I descended from Apollo's saddle and stripped him of his saddle and saddle blanket before Loki even had a chance to get down from Domino.
"Diana, did I say something upsetting?" Loki asked me tentatively, looking at me as I put the saddle and blanket in its proper place, along with the blanket Loki and I had used. I emptied the saddlebag of the things I took for our picnic and propped my shotgun against Holly's stall door before turning to him.
"You talk about us humans as if we're nothing but specks of dust Loki. We may not be as strong as Asgardians or whatever else lives in the other nine realms, or live as long or know as much, but that does not make us inferior. We live our lives as much as we can with the cards we are dealt, and we've done a damn good job of evolving since we first walked this earth. Can Asgard say the same?" I asked him, my temper getting the best of me.
He looked at me in surprise before answering. "I don't think Asgard can, since it clings to the old ways so much." He says gently before taking my hands in his. "Diana, I am truly sorry for making it seem like I was trying to insult Midgard. I was just saying what the other Nine Realms thought of Midgard, I meant no disrespect."
I studied his face, and sighed as I relaxed when I saw he was being genuine. "You're forgiven Loki, but just remember that we humans aren't as inferior as you think." I told him.
He smiled and leaned forward, kissing my lips gently before pulling back. "I promise that I will, especially since you and I shall be spending plenty of time together."
I smiled softly back, glad my cheeks were barely blushing at the moment before stepping back from him. "Wonderful. Now, let me just go check up on my house pets and then we'll wash down Apollo and Domino."
I walked towards my back door, and sensed something was wrong as soon as I heard the barking coming from my house. With a frown on my face I almost jogged to the door before opening it, and almost immediately Kida and Taboo ran out. My frown deepened as I watched Kida run around me in a circle as she whined and as Taboo jumped the back stairs to the grass and started barking and snarling in the direction of the trees.
My eyes narrowed as I turned and entered my house, though I saw nothing immediately wrong as I entered my kitchen, but as soon as I got to the living room I saw something disturbing. Boot prints on my blue Celtic rug, too small to be mine, or Loki's.
I snarled, my feral side coming out as I thought of someone breaking into my home and I whirled around my house, looking to see if the intruder stole anything. I found nothing stolen, but saw that Loki's room had been disturbed, and so had mine. I softly continued growling, my senses going wild as I caught a whiff of the intruders. Sweat, leather, and pine: a distinctly male scent. I sneezed and shook my head in irritation as I caught the scent of newer leather, mangoes, and grapefruit; an undoubtedly female scent, and my one allergy.
I crouched down and picked up Atlas from the living room floor and sat on the couch as I held him to my chest, staring at nothing until I had calmed down enough to stop growling and to head back out to the barn, but not before I grabbed a kitchen knife and slipped it into my boot and used the bathroom. I ordered Kida to sit at the base of the back stairs before I reached the barn and got inside, leaning against Holly's stall door until both she and Apollo, who was still tethered near her, nudged me in worry.
"Diana, are you alright? You look like you've seen something disturbing." Loki asked me gently as he stopped brushing Domino and came towards me. For a moment I said nothing, until I finally turned to him.
"Someone was in my house." I whispered, and told him what I had found and what I had smelled. He looked confused at first, and then he honestly looked scared.
"They found me..." He said softly before he seemed to shut down. I was shocked to see how he was taking this before I turned him to face me.
"Loki who are you talking about?" I asked him gently.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. They tracked me here, and they now know I'm here. They must've been the ones that were watching your house. It was probably some of their agents, maybe even a few of the Avengers that Thor is so fond of." Loki said softly as he almost seemed to shrink in on himself.
My blood ran cold at the thought of the Avengers and S.H.E.I.L.D intruding upon my home and taking Loki with them, and quite possibly me for harboring him. I looked at Loki, and he must've seen the fear in my eyes for his saddened and he turned from me.
"I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess Diana. I never intended for this to happen." He said softly. His voice sounded so broken, like he had given up. I frowned before hugging him from behind, gently nuzzling my face against the back of his neck, still feeling the slight bumps of his vertebrae. He still had a slight ways to go before getting back to a healthy weight for him.
"Shush," I said. "It's not your fault Loki. We'll be ok, I promise." I feel him sigh before he leans back against me, laying his arms on mine, which were wrapped around his waist. I gently tighten them, kiss the back of his neck, and then release him before I get the hose, a bucket, some soap, and two large sponges. I fill the bucket with water and soap before I lead Apollo outside the barn near the fence of the field I let my horses out in with Loki following me. I tied Apollo's bridle to a post on the fence and started wetting down his body, Taboo coming up next to us to sit by the fence.
"This will probably be one of the last days it'll be this warm and sunny. It's gonna start getting cold in the next few weeks." I tell Loki as I wash down Apollo. "I'll need to buy you a coat and a pair of gloves and a scarf soon probably. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold when it starts getting chilly around here."
"May I have an input on what they look like?" He asks me as he soaps up Domino, gently rubbing the dirt from her coat.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." I said with a smile, though it tensed up as I heard Taboo snarling next to me. I slowly moved around to Apollo's other side, closer to Loki as he washed Domino next to me, close enough for me to brush his back with mine.
"Loki, I don't want to alarm you but there's someone in the trees watching us. Try to act natural please, and just keep washing Domino. Once we finish, we're gonna take the horses back to the barn, and you're gonna hide in Apollo's stall until I call for you, ok? Nudge me with your elbow if you understand." I tell him, a serene smile on my face as I keep my face down with pretend focus on washing Apollo. Loki nudges me softly with his elbow.
"But Diana, what are you going to do? If it's the Avengers, or agents from S.H.I.E.L.D then you'll be outmatched and most likely outnumbered." He said softly in worry, not turning from his task of washing Domino.
"I'll be able to hold my own Loki, I've been practicing my powers remember? I'm stronger with them then I was when you first came here, and my fighting skills aren't rusty anymore. Plus, you're forgetting about old Bertha in the barn. I'll be fine with her, my powers and fight skills, and my dogs." I tell him with a small smirk. We soon finished washing down the horses, and towel dried them before Loki and I headed to take them to the barn. Just as I put Apollo in his stall, Loki turned me around and almost slammed his lips against mine. I gasped softly, and he used that as an opportunity to move his tongue into my mouth. The kiss was hot and passionate as I entwined my tongue with his; sending shivers up my spine and making my mind go a bit hazy. I heard a moan, but couldn't tell if it came from him, or me. Alas, we both needed to breathe so we soon reluctantly parted.
As I caught my breath I looked up at Loki, and saw that he was a bit out of breath as well. I blushed softly but smiled up at him. "I can only hope I get more kisses like that in the future." I told him cheekily. He softly laughed with a smile as he leaned his forehead against mine.
"Come back to me in one piece and you will, darling." He seemed to purr, and I almost melted right there. Instead, I merely sighed and gave him a final chaste kiss before stepping back.
"It's a promise." I said with a smile. He gave me a smile back, and walked past me to get inside Apollo's stall. I shut its door behind him before I grabbed the knife I had put in my boot and pressed it into his hands.
"This should help if anyone gets past me, and if not you have Apollo to help protect you. If anything happens, get on him and ride like hellhounds are nipping at your heels. Take the southwest trail; it'll take you straight to town and my mother's bakery." I told Loki, before turning and leaving the barn, grabbing Bertha and closing the doors behind me. I slung her over my shoulder and calmly walked towards the tree line. Taboo and Kida followed at my heels, softly growling in agitation. I couldn't blame them, since my own anger was bubbling away under my calm exterior and it was being shown in my slit pupils and extended fangs.
I stopped about ten feet from the tree line, and quietly examined it, gently tapping my foot. It may have looked like I simply had a twitchy foot, but I was actually sending small vibrations through the ground, trying to get a feel on how far away the intruders were.(1) It may have worked better if I was barefoot and had closed my eyes, but I didn't want to take any chances.
"I don't know what you people are trying to pull, but whatever it is it was a really bad idea on your part." I called out into the trees. "Now, I'm guessing that you are roughly two yards back in the brush, and that there are three of you. I'm gonna ask you nicely to please come out where I can see you, so we can try and clear this up. You have till the count of ten, because after that I'm gonna send in my two dogs to flush you out and then I'm gonna shoot you right between the eyes for trespassing on my property."
I slowly started counting out loud. By the count of four, Kida and Taboo were coiled up for my command to charge into the woods. By the count of six, I got Bertha off my shoulder and cocked her. By eight, she was raised up and aimed at the trees. I never made it to ten though.
As soon as I hit nine, a rustle came from the brush as it parted and three people stepped out; two men and a woman. All three were dressed in jeans, hiking boots, and simple shirts and jackets. They would have looked like normal hikers if it hadn't been for the fact that the man with the goatee was pointing a recurve bow at me and the woman was pointing what looked like a pair of Glock 26s my way. The final man with a well-trimmed beard didn't have any weapons in his hands, in fact he seemed the most relaxed out of all of us, but as soon as I got a good look at their faces I understood why.
"Well, it certainly isn't every day that I meet three members of the Avengers. I'd shake your hands, but we kind of have deadly weapons pointing at each other. I'm sure you understand." I told them, for that was who was in front of me. Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Bruce Banner, otherwise known as the Black Widow, Hawkeye, and The Hulk, were all standing in front of me. Granted, Banner and Barton had facial hair and Romanoff had blonde hair instead of her signature red, but it was them all right.
"You seem to be missing a few members. I know that Thor is still on Asgard, but where are the Captain and Iron Man? Didn't want to come to the party?" I asked, Bertha still raised and pointed at them, though with Bruce Banner on their side I was starting to get worried. I knew that if he brought out the Hulk then there wasn't much my rifle could do to him, plus I doubted my powers were strong enough to stop him if he charged.
"Their invitations got lost in the mail." Natasha Romanoff said evenly, her Glocks still pointed at me.
"Well, that's something you three have in common with them then, because I don't remember inviting you onto my property for a party." I quipped back, my grip tightening on Bertha.
"And for that we are sorry Ms. Sullivan, but we didn't have much of a choice." Banner said softly, as if he was trying to calm me down. It didn't work.
"Well I'm terribly sorry if I don't believe you Dr. Banner. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, now." I say in a clipped tone, Taboo and Kida softly huffing to echo my sentiments.
"Not gonna happen, Red." Barton said gruffly, his bowstring still drawn back with an arrow pointed right at me.
"And why not Mr. Barton? I see no reason for you to be here in the first place." I tell him, my anger rising a bit.
"The psycho killer on your property would be a good place to start." Barton said as he stepped forward angrily. A snarl and slight lunge from Taboo sent him stepping back.
"Don't deny it either, we have video that proves it." He continued angrily, and my blood ran cold, before it started boiling.
"Video?" I asked softly, before my voice rose in my anger. "You've been taking video of my home?!" I could almost feel my anger coming off of me in waves, and I could feel it influencing Taboo and Kida to get even angrier.
"Look, all we want is Loki. You can either turn him over to us now, or we can wait until the SWAT team of S.H.I.E.L.D agents gets here and then we take him, and you, by force. Either way, we get our war criminal, with or without your cooperation." Natasha told me.
"I know how S.H.I.E.L.D works Ms. Romanoff. Whether I cooperate or not, I get taken in along with Loki because I harbored him and didn't contact the authorities." I tell her with a sneer.
"Why? How could you have let that psychopath live in your house with you?! Do you have any idea what he's done?" Barton asked me, his voice rising in anger and disgust.
"Yes, and I know what's been done to him Mr. Barton. He may be able to lie about some things, but the scars I've seen on his body are plain as day, and they tell me a story that you never could." I tell him just as angrily, taking a step forward. Kida and Taboo are right at my heels, coiling at the ready for whenever I want to give the signal for them to attack.
"Whatever scars he has can't change the fact that he's a wanted murderer and war criminal, and thus is going to be taken in to S.H.I.E.L.D Miss Sullivan, and is going to be taken in today." Natasha said, and the next few moments happened so fast I would've missed them if I they hadn't happened to me.
In a split second Barton had released his arrow, but instead of aiming for my face he aimed at my feet, and I learned why once the arrow hit the ground.
A noxious smelling and eye stinging cloud of gas exploded up from the arrow head, right at me and my dogs. I started coughing violently as I backed up from the cloud, dogs following at my heels until something slammed into me, knocking Bertha from my hands.
I growled, the sound reverberating in my chest as I grappled with Hawkeye, knee striking up to hit his stomach and fist punching out to hit his ribs three times before I flung him off of me and jumped to my feet. I snarled at him, my feral side escaping even more as my nails grew to claws and my teeth sharpened into fangs. He brought his bow up, but I sent my leg up and kicked it out of his hands. Turning with my momentum, I kicked him in the chest with my other leg, sending him flat on his back to the ground.
I turned as I heard a howl behind me, and ran as soon as I saw Black Widow opening the door to my barn, Taboo and Kida tied up on the ground. My feral side gave me the speed needed to cut them loose and get inside barely seconds after Natasha had slipped in. She was ready for me as I found out.
Almost as soon as I got inside she started punching and kicking at me. She was fast, and for someone her size she packed quite a punch. I grunted as her fist connected with my stomach before I sent my own into her ribs. We went back and forth a bit, before I managed to push her back towards the end of the stables.
"Not bad, you're actually making me break a sweat here." She told me with a smirk before she sent her foot to my face hard enough to drop me to the floor. I snarled at the pain that bloomed across my face and spat out the bit of blood that welled up in it.
"And you drew blood. I'm impressed." I told her gruffly as I got up to my hands and knees, before I kicked back like a mule and hit her in the chest, sending her back. If not for the fact that she did a fancy backwards roll she would've fallen flat on her back. I got to my feet just as she charged at me, but instead of tackling me she used Angus's stall door to springboard herself up into the open hay loft. I snarled and followed after her, though I used the ladder instead of using her way up.
I dodged a kick aimed for my chest before I sent my fist into her face, causing her to grunt and fall back, and I went on a major offense. I let my instincts take control, and soon my claws started coming into play as I swiped at her and blocked whatever kicks she aimed at me.
I finally backed her up against the wall of the hayloft, and lifted her off the ground and pinned her wrists above her head, digging my claws into the fabric of her sleeves and the wood of the support beam. I snarled in her face, fangs bared as my eyes glowed in feral driven hate and anger brought upon by her.
"I hope you realize how big of a mistake it was to trespass on my territory." I said, my voice rough with a growl as I tightened my hands around her wrists hard enough to bruise, eyes narrowed and teeth clenched in anger.
"And I hope you realize what a big mistake it was in keeping that psycho in your house." She said before curling up in my grasp and kicking me in the chest with both of her feet. The air was knocked out of my lungs as I fell back, claws tearing the ends of her sleeves off and scraping the support beam. I hit the floor in the middle hay loft hard, and felt it groan under me. I coughed, trying to catch my breath as it made my lungs rattle a bit, but I stiffened as I heard the floor under me groan again. That was the only warning I got for what happened next.
I gave a short scream as the hayloft floor under me collapsed in on its self, and I gave a louder scream as I slammed onto the ground floor with a few hundred pounds of wooden beams on my body. I almost whined in pain as I tried moving, but found myself pinned to the ground, especially with one of the supporting beams pinning my leg, as I saw when I lifted my head slightly to assess the damage. I tried moving it, but the pain caused another scream to well up in my throat. I could definitely tell that my leg was at least broken, if not shattered.
I bit back my scream behind a snarl, but I could feel the panic rising in me. I had never liked tight spaces, and after the amount of times Thomas would pin me to a random surface and then pinned me as he raped me on his apartment floor, it made my dislike change into a full blown fear. I started hyperventilating as I thrashed about under the wood, my mind going more animal like as it equated being pinned to being trapped, and in this world there's one thing bound to be dangerous, and that's a trapped and injured animal.
I sensed more than felt my more animal instincts becoming stronger as I thrashed under the wood, sending the lighter planks every which way as I worked at getting out. I snarled as a big black shape thundered past me, with a smaller shape on its heels. The more human side of my mind started screaming at me that that was Loki on Apollo, and that he was being chased by Black Widow, but the more animal side snarled out and started fighting even harder to get out from being pinned. I clawed at the dirt floor of the area between the stalls of the stable, my panic and the pain in my leg preventing me from consciously bending the earth under me to lift the beam. I would've continued thrashing about if I hadn't heard a gunshot outside, and a high pitched scream I recognized as Apollo's.
I stilled and heard a loud thud, and people yelling and something thrashing about. At the thought of Apollo being shot I pushed away my panic and pounded my fists on the ground as I screamed out in anger. I felt the earth shift under me and the beam on my leg being lifted enough for me to slip out from under it and stand up. Using the wall as support I almost ran to the front door, wincing every time I put weight on my right leg. I threw the door open and almost screamed at the sight I saw.
At least ten people dressed in heavy looking SWAT team clothing and helmets with stylized eagle logos on their arms and guns in their hands stood around Loki, who was kneeling beside Apollo.(2) My favorite horse was on his side, a dart sticking out of his shoulder and his chest barely moving with breath.
"No!" I screamed in pain and anger, causing the team of agents to turn to me, their guns level with my chest. I angrily lashed with my arm, causing a gust of wind strong enough to knock them away from Loki and Apollo. Ignoring the pain in my leg I hobbled towards them, collapsing to my knees next to them. I frantically tugged the dart out of Apollo, and checked his eyes and heart rate.
His eyes were too dull, and his heart rate was too slow. I frantically looked around, and saw the hose on the side of the barn still tricking water. I concentrated and moved my arms, making the water move in an arc up from the hose to accumulate into a water sphere the size of a beach ball right over Apollo.
Saying a silent prayer, I used one claw to make a six inch long cut on Apollo's shoulder where the dart struck him. I moved the water to cover it and flatten out like a blanket. I concentrated all my might into moving some of it inside Apollo's blood stream, using the water to locate the drug in his veins and moving it out into the blanket of water, turning parts of it a murky white and pink in some places of it. I felt the sweat dripping down my body as I concentrated on getting the drug out of his body. By the time I had gotten it all out, I was panting like I had just run a 500 meter dash, and I was getting dizzy. I had never stretched my limits like that before.
I tossed the murky and pink water away after I had healed the wound I made in Apollo's shoulder as best as I could, and watched the water seep into the ground before I collapsed onto my side. I groaned, my vision going hazy as I saw Apollo waking up, and Loki kneeling next to me.
"Is he…ok?" I asked weakly. I hazily made it to lean up onto my elbows as I looked at Loki.
"He's going to be fine, I promise you." Loki told me gently, causing me to sigh in relief. Though my relief was short lived as I saw the SWAT team surround us once again, their guns aimed at us. I weakly growled as I glared at them through my hazy vision, my eyes landing on Barton and Romanoff, standing just outside the circle.
"You fucking bastards." I said, struggling to get back to my feet. "You're gonna pay for this…" I told them, before I once again collapsed, Loki catching me on the way down to keep me from face planting on the ground. The last thing I saw was the agents closing in on us, Apollo getting to his feet as the darkness closed in on me and I knew no more.
Side Section:
Apollo shakily got to his hooves, trying to clear his head of the aftereffects of the tranquilizer. He stomped his hooves as he saw strange humans in heavy clothing and armed with guns surrounding his unconscious mistress and the Loki male. He charged them and neighed angrily, kicking out at them.
Get away from my Mistress and Loki! He whinnied, rearing and striking out with his front hooves. When he came down, he turned and kicked with his back hooves again, connecting with the hands of one of the covered up humans, causing a sickening crunch to happen. It gave a short cry and dropped its gun, cradling its hands in its arms.
Ha! That's what you get! Apollo whinnied in triumph before charging the other humans with his ears held back. They backed up away from Apollo, though their guns remained trained on him. He reared again, striking out at them before he started circling around his mistress and the Loki male, charging any human that got too close.
He charged another human that tried getting close, this one not as strangely dressed with a loop of rope in his hands. He dropped the rope and backed up, causing another human male to come up and pick up the rope. Apollo whinnied angrily at the human, but he simply stood still and seemed to wait. He stomped his hooves and fake charged at him, but the human simply stood still before softly talking to him.
"Shh, shh; calm down big fella, no one's gonna hurt you." He said softly, and Apollo stomped his hooves again and flared his nostrils.
Just come and try to get that rope around me! He said angrily, moving in place as he backed up. The human followed, and Apollo froze as he got a whiff of his scent. He smelled of soap and chemicals, with an underlying scent of something angry and dangerous. Apollo snorted in fear as he backed up even more, his eyes rolling as he tried to stay away from the strange human.
The human simply followed and when he got the chance he tossed the loop of rope around Apollo's neck, tugging on it gently as he lead Apollo to the stables.
Apollo followed him, and when he turned Apollo out into his stall he retreated to the very back of it to get as far away from the strange human as he could. He hung his head after the human left, feeling sad that he couldn't save his mistress and the Loki male.
-End Side Section (3)
Third P.O.V
Natasha looked at Bruce sitting in the back seat of the Jeep, Clint driving with an armored truck driving behind them containing the SWAT team agents and Loki and Diana, both of them cuffed and chained on the inside.
"I never knew you had a way with horses Doc." She said with a raised eyebrow. Bruce softly smiled and shook his head.
"I don't. The only reason he listened was because he was afraid of me. He smelled the big guy." He explained, before Clint cut in.
"How could she let that psycho stay in her house with her?" He asked angrily. "I don't care how many scars that bastard has, he deserves every one he got and more."
"What kind of scars would have anyways? He's practically indestructible, like Thor." Natasha said, but Bruce wasn't so sure. He had seen the way Loki looked before one of the agents had shot the tranquilizer dart into the horse, causing him to be tossed from it. He looked even thinner than when he tried to take over Earth, and he looked wearier as well. Bruce hadn't seen any of the same arrogance or the confidence the last time he saw him. Something in him had changed, and then when he hit the ground he let out a pained groan, like any normal human would.
"I don't know and I don't care. I just can't wait to see what happens when we bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D. If he so much as breathes wrong, then I'm putting an arrow right between his eyes." Clint said, almost relishing the idea of it.
"And what about Diana? Do you feel the same towards her Clint?" Bruce asked softly, causing Clint's knuckles to tighten around the steering wheel.
"She did attack us Bruce, that's not just gonna slide." Natasha replied, gently rubbing her scraped and bruising wrists. Diana had really done a number on them when she had pinned her to the wall.
"Only after we attacked her first. And you saw the damage that happened to her; a broken leg, a cut lip, and who knows how many bruises." Bruce reasoned. He had seen the way Diana limped, and had seen the blood leaking down her leg. He only hoped that she could hold on until they made it back to the Helicarrier.
"She probably deserved it, after harboring that lunatic in her home." Clint muttered, causing Bruce to look at him in disappointment.
"Oh sure, the woman who's been raped and takes in abused animals deserves a broken leg and an unknown amount of bruises. That just screams justice." Bruce told him bitterly.
"Well she'll be judged when we get to the Helicarrier Bruce." Natasha said, putting an end to the discussion but not to Bruce's thoughts. He knew that not all of the S.H.I.E.L.D doctors would be able to keep themselves from poking and prodding at her, taking samples of her blood and testing her limits. Bruce doubted very much that Nick Fury would even say no if the doctors asked to use Diana as a guinea pig for them. He could only hope that Fury would limit the doctors on what they could do, and if not then he would try as watch over her as much as he could to try and keep them at bay.
It took them a total of three hours to get to an airport with a waiting jet to take them to the Helicarrier, and it took another hour to get them to the Helicarrier. Bruce would look in on Loki and Diana every now and again as they were being held in the small containment cell on the jet. He would see them in the same position, Diana still unconscious with her head in Loki's lap with him gently carding his fingers through her hair and a strange expression on his face.
Once they touched down on the Helicarrier though, the expression went to anger as Loki was handcuffed and chained as he was taken off of the jet. Diana was strapped to a gurney and rolled to the infirmary. Bruce tried following, but another agent came to take him, Clint, and Natasha to the meeting area of the bridge. When they got there, they found Steve and Tony already sitting down in the chairs at the table.
"Well, if it isn't the Three Musketeers. We heard that you bagged the big bad god and little red riding hood." Tony said as they sat down, Bruce next to Tony and Natasha and Clint across the table from them.
"We also heard that you got into quite the fight with Ms. Sullivan. Any injuries?" Steve asked. Natasha held up her slightly bandaged wrists and Clint brought up his shirt to show off the partially foot shaped bruise in the middle of his chest.
Tony winced in sympathy. "Ouch. She's got quite a kick, and what did she do to your wrists Natasha?"
"She pinned me to a supporting beam in her barn's hay loft. Then when I kicked her away from me her claws scraped my wrists; granted she got the worse part of the deal when her hay loft collapsed under her." Natasha told them.
"She break anything?" Tony asked in slight concern.
Bruce answered him. "Her right leg was broken after she got out of the barn and knocked the SWAT team of agents back with a gust of wind. It was probably from a supporting beam falling on her leg. She also had a cut lip and who knows how many bruises from the smaller bits of wood that fell on her."
"And she is currently in the infirmary Dr. Banner, so her wounds will be taken care of, along with the agent that got his hand shattered from a kick by that horse of hers." Fury said as he entered the meeting area of the bridge, Coulson at his heels. "Now then, what did we learn children?"
"From the number of clothes in one of the downstairs bedrooms we can estimate that she's been harboring Loki for at least a month, maybe more if the way they were touchy feely in the barn meant anything." Clint said bitterly, bringing up the footage taken from the barn cameras a few hours ago.
Tony whistled in appreciation as he watched the kiss between Loki and Diana. "Quite a steamy encounter between Reindeer Games and miss Mother Nature huh? If I didn't have Pepper I think I might actually be jealous." He said with a grin.
"So what does this mean for Ms. Sullivan?" Steve asks, looking at Fury.
"She'll be interrogated Rogers and we'll see what she has to say for herself when she wakes up." Fury said before dispatching a few agents to the infirmary to keep an eye on Diana.
"What's gonna happen to Loki, Director?" Clint asked, looking at Fury almost eagerly. Steve frowned and looked at the Director as well, wondering that himself.
"He's in a holding cell right now, awaiting interrogation. We figured we'd let him stew for a bit before we went in there." Fury replied. He brought up an image from the inside of a cell with solid steel covering the walls, ceiling, and floor. Loki was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with his hands and feet bound with chains attached to the same wall and a metal muzzle covering his mouth. He was simply staring off into nothing, like his mind was somewhere else.
"Since he didn't escape from the jet's holding cell or teleport away when you cornered him we figured that he might've had his magic restrained or taken away or something, so we thought it fine to put him in one of our normal containment cells." Coulson piped up.
"Looks real cozy." Tony said sarcastically.
"He deserves worse." Clint said, before getting up and leaving the bridge, Natasha following after him after looking to Fury for a dismissal.
"For now we'll wait until Ms. Sullivan is awake before we proceed with any interrogations." Fury said, before dismissing the rest of the team.
Tony looked over at Bruce. "Hey Brucie, you wanna go check up on our newest little prisoner in the infirmary?"
Bruce nodded, and together with Steve, who also wanted to check and see if Diana was ok, they made their way to the infirmary. When they reached it, they watched through the glass paneled wall as a few doctors hovered around Diana. She was still unconscious, and now barefoot as well as still strapped to a gurney. The doctors had put an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, and one of the doctors was cutting away the right pant leg of her black jeans, and Steve winced as he saw the damage to it.
The area around her ankle to mid-calf was slightly swollen and heavily discolored, blotched with red, dark purple and almost black in some areas. A few puncture marks were leaking blood sluggishly, and Steve could almost swear that he could see bone through one of them.
"That is one nasty broken leg. It's gonna hurt like a bitch when she wakes up." Tony muttered as he watched a doctor prepping an IV.
Bruce nodded in agreement as the remaining doctors cleaned away whatever dried blood was on the leg and disinfecting it as the only nurse stood on standby with various medical tools. The doctor prepping the IV finished it and grabbed the needle to put into Diana's arm.
Steve noticed Diana's hand twitching. "Hey Bruce, did Ms. Sullivan get tranquilized at her place or did she just fall unconscious?" He asked slightly worried.
"The tranquilizer dart hit her horse, and apparently it had too much in it because he had almost stopped breathing before Diana did the weirdest thing. She formed a blanket of water over him and through a cut she made in his shoulder she managed to get the entire drug out of his system." Bruce replied.
"I ask because it looks like she's waking up and-" Steve didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, because at that moment he saw Diana's eyes open, and all hell broke loose in the infirmary.
He heard her snarl like an animal through the oxygen mask as she started thrashing about on the gurney. The doctors tried restraining her as the nurse got a syringe of something ready, most likely something to calm her down but they backed up as flames started to dance up from Diana's skin. She continued thrashing about until her flames had eaten away at her straps enough for her to break free and sit up, tearing the oxygen mask from her face.
She snarled, opening her mouth to display a double set of sharp fangs on both her upper and lower jaw. She tried to get off the gurney, but her leg collapsed under her as she gave a short scream, most likely from the pain. A doctor tried to get close to her with the syringe full of drugs, but she turned on him and snarled, swiping a hand full of slightly hooked and sharp claws, knocking the syringe from his hands and cutting his knuckles. He yelled as his blood flecked the floor and he backed up, cradling his hand to his chest.
Diana growled with her teeth clenched and nostrils flared as she backed up into a corner of the infirmary and crouched down, turning slightly so her injured leg was facing the wall. Either her claws or small plumes of fire would lash out at any of the doctors trying to get close to her.
Steve finally had enough and so he stepped into the infirmary, Bruce and Tony at a safe distance behind. He gently moved the doctors and nurse back before turning to Diana. He nearly stepped back at the look in her eyes though.
Her pupils were nothing but slits of black, like those of an agitated cat or venomous snakes', and her iris was such a pale blue it was almost white. They were so full of pain and anger and fear, more like an animal's than a human's. Even her hair was wild, framing her face like a mane of fire with crushed wild flowers interwoven in random braids throughout it.
He slowly approached her, stopping at a safe distance and crouching down to her level. "Hey there, my name's Steve. It's ok, no one's gonna hurt you Ms. Sullivan." He said softly, trying to calm her down and show he meant no harm.
"I know waking up in a strange place and with strange smells around you is kinda scary, but no is gonna hurt you right now. We just wanna help." He continued, causing Diana's growl to soften as her body slightly relaxed.
Steve smiled gently, and then he figured on giving something a shot. He scooted a bit closer to her, causing her eyes to narrow a bit, and he slowly stuck out his hand palm down towards her. She growled softly, tilting her head a bit as she extended her neck a bit, before she slightly sniffed at his fingers.
Tony had to slap his hand over his mouth in order to keep from laughing at the scene. Who knew Cap was a feral mutant whisperer. He thought in his head with a grin, before the grin faded as three agents armed with guns and Clint armed with his bow stormed into the infirmary and aimed their weapons at Diana, causing an instantaneous reaction.
She hissed and snarled like a wildcat and lashed out her arm, causing an arc of fire to hit Steve in the chest and send him back into the three agents, causing a heap of bodies on the floor. Clint was fast enough to dodge out of the way before sending an arrow straight for Diana; his eyes widened as she was fast enough to dodge it, causing it to dig into the wall behind her.
She growled deep in her throat, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Clint before sending a ball of fire right at the sprinkler system above their heads. The sprinklers went off, and then when Diana brought her arms up and then down harshly, the sprinkler heads burst apart, causing jets of water to cascade down. Diana continued moving her arms, making a wall of water around her before punching into it, sending a short stream of water straight at Clint.
It caught him in the chest, and she continued her assault until the water blasted him back onto the floor. She snarled, though Bruce could barely hear it from the corner of the infirmary he had taken shelter in with Tony, before she placed her hands on the wall of water, turning it into a wall of ice.
"Whoa. How does she do that I wonder?" Tony said, almost in awe as he looked at Diana's ice wall.
Bruce shrugged before he focused on what Diana was doing behind the ice. She seemed to be paying special attention to her leg, before a sort of glow encompassed it.
"I think she's healing her leg Tony." Bruce said quietly as he watched her.
"Can she do that? I mean from what you told me she was able to purify her horse's blood with water, but healing a broken leg? Wouldn't that be a bit much?" He asked Bruce as they watched Diana.
"I think it is." Bruce said as he saw Diana falter and then fall back against the corner she crouched in, the ice still acting as a wall between her and the outside. She seemed to collapse in on herself before she fell to the ground, out cold it seemed.
Bruce and Tony slowly moved from the corner of the infirmary, surveying the damage done to it as the agents, Steve, and Clint all got to their feet.
"Well," Tony said as he looked at the unconscious Diana, "that could have gone better."
On Asgard
Thor was hastily making his way back to the palace after visiting with Heimdall. He had been informed by him that Loki had been captured, and so had Lady Diana and that she had been injured during the capture.
He jumped from his white steed and almost ran up the palace steps, bypassing both servant and warrior alike. He barely even acknowledged his friends as they watched his hurry past.
"Why do you suppose our prince is hurrying so quickly? I haven't seen him move that fast since our last sparring match." Fandral joked as they watched Thor enter the throne room.
"He's probably heard more news about Loki and is eager to share it with the All Father." Hogun said solemnly.
Sif snorted and rolled her eyes. "I still do not understand why he cares for that traitor so much. He nearly killed him, and almost destroyed one of the realms."
"Well they were raised together as brothers Sif. It's understandable why Thor would still care for him." Volstagg said, trying to placate her as they themselves slowly made their way to the throne room. He saw that he didn't make any progress as she still looked angered as she took out one of her side daggers and started sharpening it.
"It does not matter, because Loki is still the same manic and evil person that tried to take over Midgard. He hasn't changed one bit, no matter what a Midgardian maid says." Sif replied angrily as she almost viciously sharpened her dagger. The Warriors Three thought it best not to comment anything else, and so they fell silent, at least until their prince exited the throne room with a serious expression on his face.
"Thor! What news do you bring from the All Father?" Volstagg asked.
"My father has decided to send me to Midgard tomorrow to make sure Loki is treated well by my mortal friends." Thor said, before smiling. "I also asked if my most trusted friends would be able to accompany me on my mission."
Sif saw her chance to hopefully get her revenge on Loki, and maybe knock some sense into the mortal Diana, and leapt at it. "I shall come with you Thor."
"As will I." Fandral said with an easygoing smile. He for one hoped to meet the mortal who had been able to capture the eye of Loki, who in the past had been so picky with his lovers.
"Not I, I'm afraid. Destin has unfortunately become sick with a rather nasty bout of flu, and my wife needs my help here in order for him to get better." Volstagg said, and none of the warriors argued with him. They all knew that family came first.
"I suppose I shall go with you as well Thor, if only to make sure Fandral does not go overboard with his 'charm' towards Lady Diana." Hogun said with a rare smile, causing Thor himself to smile widely.
"Excellent! Then midday tomorrow we shall journey to Midgard together!" Thor said joyously, never knowing the harm that Sif was planning towards Loki, and subsequently Diana.
1) Yes, I know I put another Avatar: The Last Airbender gem in here, what with Diana stealing Toph's thunder again, but it is a good idea isn't it?
2) To imagine how these guys look just go back to the scene in The Avengers where Loki is being guarded on his way to the glass cage in the Helicarrier. I based the SWAT team agents off the agents accompanying him.
3) I know this side section doesn't have as much dialogue from the rest of the animals but I put it in here anyway.
Woo! Finally done with this chapter, and I'm so glad with that. I hope it was action packed for all of you.
Diana: *eye twitches*You made my hay loft fall on me?
Silver: *laughs nervously* Hehe well I did say there was gonna be a bang, didn't I?
Diana: *eye keep twitching* Silver, I hope the next chapter is better for my health.
Silver: *is currently hiding behind a couch with Loki reading on it* It will be, please don't kill me…
Loki: Don't try to hide behind me, I won't save you.
Silver: Sheesh, no one loves me here. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 13, longest chapter yet with over 10,000 words! I own absolutely nothing but Diana, her animals, her family, and anything else that doesn't appear in the Marvel movies or in Norse Mythology. Till next time!