Welcome to Chapter 18 of Key To Redemption everyone! I hope you all enjoyed my last chapter, and that you enjoy this one. Remember when in chapter 8 I said Diana was an avid animal lover? Well in this chapter we're gonna see a bit more of that, and in one part it's gonna get a bit graphic. I'm just warning you now in case any of you have a sensitive disposition.
Silver: *turns to Loki* You and Clint seriously need to work out your problems.
Loki: Well what do you expect us to do? Sing Kumbaya and hold hands? You're the author, you write something.
Silver: *growls and throws pillow at Loki* You're no help at all!
Diana: Come on you two, let's not fight. Can we just start this chapter and move on?
Silver: *glares at Loki as he throws the pillow back at her* Fine. Would you be so kind as to give the disclaimer Diana?
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 18!
Chapter 18
Diana's P.O.V
"That's it girl, you're doing great." I said warmly to Goldenrod from atop her as she cantered around the medium sized corral. One hand was grasping the horn of the Western Saddle I was on and the other hand I used to hold the rains.
Despite the snow on the ground, the inside of the corral was clear of it, showing the flat and dirt covered ground. I had moved all the snow out of it with help from my bending, though I did get a laugh at the expense of Loki when I 'accidently' blew some snow in his face.
I slowed Goldenrod down, changing her canter to a trot as she continued moving around the corral.
"Atta girl." I said as I pat her neck with my hand not holding the reigns. I had been working with her most of the morning, and she was finally calming down and learning to trust me.
I saw Loki smile at me from outside the corral, and he sent me a wink that had me blushing. I mock scowled at him, but I know he could see the smile I was trying to hide. I was glad that I had gotten his winter clothes the week before, because it was just as cold. Plus, he looked sinfully delicious in one of the pairs of his insulated jeans, winter boots, and his black wool coat. I couldn't tell what sweater he had on under it, but I could see hints of green at his wrists and throat under his houndstooth scarf.
"She looks good darling. You've done a fine job in training her." He told me. I couldn't help feeling a small bit of pride as I walked Goldenrod over to the section of corral he was leaning against and stopped her right in front of him.
"A few more weeks of training and I'll have her used to strangers in no time." I said with pride blooming in my chest as I exited the saddle and lead Goldenrod out of the corral and towards the stables. Loki followed me, and he took the western saddle from me to put it in the tack room while I brushed down Goldenrod.
I cleaned her hooves of dirt as well, and couldn't help but notice the wear on her shoes. I sighed as I made a mental note to call Mr. Russell, since he was the local farrier. It would also give him a chance to spring the surprise on his daughter Chloe with either Lyse or Mörk, even though they wouldn't be ready to leave Cinnamon for a few more months, and then wouldn't be able to ride for a few years yet.
Personally, I think he just wants to give her more responsibilities. Granted she does help him with his own horse Tanner, and his old mare Jaybird, but the old girl is too aged for a young girl like Chloe. She's a rambunctious one, plus she's skinny as a twig and only seven so she wouldn't be as much strain on either of the foals as she trained them and once she starts riding them when they're a bit older. Start riding a horse when it's too young and it's liable to put too much strain on its joints, which will cause problems down the road.
I gently scratched Goldenrod's neck before exiting the stall and closing the door behind me. I headed to check up on the horses that were inside for the morning. Phoenix, Ox, Molly, Domino, and Ace all seemed fine, but Commander looked a bit down in the mouth to me.
"What's a matter boy? You don't look very happy." I said as I entered his stall, gently stroking his neck as he brought his head up. He brought it around and bumped it into my chest with a snort.
I laughed as I reached my hand up to scratch behind his ears. "Well, if you don't perk up soon I might need to call the vet, old boy." I said with a final pat before sneaking him a peppermint candy, unwrapped, from my pocket.
I exited his stall, and checked to see if any of the other ones needed cleaning. None of them did thankfully, least not yet, so I met up with Loki at the stable doors and we headed back to the house together. Soon as we got inside, we both shed our winter coats. The sweater Loki was wearing was a light green one I had picked out, with darker green and white stripes along the sleeve cuffs, turtleneck, and hem.
"Tony texted me saying he might be coming over today." Bruce said in a greeting as he looked up from the daily newspaper.
"Really? That's not surprising." I said sarcastically. "I wonder what he could possibly be visiting for now."
"I'm not sure, to be honest." Bruce told us, before the house phone rang. I, being the owner of the house, answered it.
"Sullivan and Co. residence, how may I help you?" I said into the phone.
"Did I call at a bad time Diana?" A gruff male voice with a thick Brooklynn accent said on the other side of the line. I felt my heart constrict.
"Forget about the timing, what do you need me for Jensen?" I said in a no nonsense voice. Arthur Jensen was a police lieutenant in his early fifties that asked for my help from time to time, since he was an old school friend of my father's.
"I could use your help in busting up a big time dog fighting ring at the edge of Manhattan. Can you do it?" He asked in the same no nonsense tone, "I need you on this one, girly. We have an estimate of 20 main dogs being kept there, with fights happening every few nights."
I fought back the growl as mental images of the last dog fighting ring I helped Jensen break up came to mind. This low on the totem pole gang member had worked his way up the ranks and started a dog fighting ring to impress some higher ups.
He had trained the dogs almost to exhaustion, baiting them with cats and smaller dog breeds to give them a taste of blood before putting them in the big leagues. Six of the dogs had to be put down because they were too aggressive, while two more were put down because no one wanted them. Another two found happy homes in other states, while one came home with me.
Taboo had been a pathetic looking thing, barely out of puppyhood and already with the scars of war in the form of two torn and bleeding legs and a torn open throat. I helped heal him up and rehabilitated him, and now he's as happy and healthy as a dog his age can be.
"Consider me there Jensen." I said with steel in my voice as I wrote down the address he rattled off to me onto the small steno pad by the phone for just this kind of occasion.
"I need you there tonight, as soon as it gets dark. The place they're being held in is an abandoned three story brownstone, alley on one side and closed convenience store on the other. The fights are happening on the second floor, the dogs are being held on the third, and the bodies are dumped in the basement until they can be disposed of." He said gruffly. I didn't have to ask to understand what kind of bodies were in the basement. "The basement also holds the exercise equipment where the dogs are trained when they're old enough. The females are bred to exhaustion, and the pups are taken from them as soon as they're weaned."
"Who's running it? And what kind of firepower do they have?" I asked, and saw Loki in my line of sight. I waved away his worried expression, mouthing 'Later.'
"An underground gang, and not much firepower but enough to make my boss skittish about not sending me and my troops in without bullet proof vests. I need you in position on the third floor and to clear it before me and my boys get there." Jensen told me. "Be prepared for a fight girly, but I want you in and out without a scratch ya hear me? Or your ma's gonna have my head."
"I can't promise anything but I'll do my best big man." I told him before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone.
"Diana, what's happening?" Loki asked me as he put a hand on my shoulder. I knew he could feel the tenseness of it by the way he frowned.
"That was an old friend of my father's. He asked for my help in breaking up a dog fighting ring." I let him know, and even Bruce turned in his seat to look at me.
"Is he a cop?" He asked me, and I confirmed it by telling him that Jensen was a lieutenant. "Is it legal asking for your help in this?"
I shrugged at that. "I'm not sure one way or another. Normally he tells me about a ring he needs helping busting up, and I volunteer my services. I'm always out of the area by the time news reporters or something hit the place and starts asking questions."
"Do you ever get shot?" Steve asks me as he and Coulson enter the kitchen.
"I've been grazed by a bullet here and there before but I've never been outright shot." I let them know. "Either way, I need to be at the address of the place by dark, so someone else is gonna have to cook tonight for dinner."
"Are you sure you're gonna be ok? You don't need one of us to come with you?" Steve asked, and I saw that he, Bruce, and Loki looked worried for me. I couldn't tell how Coulson felt, since I still had trouble reading his poker face.
I softly smiled. "Come on Steve, this isn't the first rodeo I've been to; so to speak. I'll be fine."
I saw that my words didn't make a difference to their level of worry, but they dropped the subject.
"Now then, who wants lunch?" I asked with a smile.
After a lunch of grilled chicken wraps with some fruit, I headed out to bring in the horses, with Steve and Loki's help. In no time all fourteen horses were safe and warm back in their stalls.
I looked over my horses, and not for the first time contemplated either selling a few or expanding my stables.
I stroked my hand along Angus's forehead as I brought him to his stall. "What am I gonna do, boy? I'd love to keep all of you, but I know that there are other horses out there that could use my help too. I could expand my stables, but I don't know how I'd be able to continue taking care of all of you guys on my own, with only Loki for help once everyone else leaves." I told him almost sadly as I laid my head against his chest, closing my eyes as I listened to his heartbeat.
He nickered as he moved his head around, causing me to open my eyes again. I smiled as he looked at me with his one brown eye. I sighed as I stroked his neck. "I'll guess I'll think of something, huh boy?"
I laughed as he brought his head up and down, like he was agreeing with me, with a snort. "Thanks for having such faith in me Angus." I told him before giving him one last pat before exiting his stall.
Side Section:
Angus sadly watched his mistress leave the stables before turning his head to look at Commander. I hate seeing our Mistress so upset Commander.
As do I Angus. Commander said with a slight cough as he turned towards the younger horse. In the twenty years I've been on this Earth, I've never had a caretaker like our Mistress.
Same here. Delilah whinnied from her stall down the aisle. But I don't wanna be sold! Do you really think the Mistress would?
Domino stuck her head out of her stall and looked over at the bald faced mare. Do you really think our Mistress would be so black hearted as to sell us to people who wouldn't care well for us? If she does decide to sell a few of us, we all should know that she'll make sure we get proper homes where we are fed well and taken care of properly.
I agree with Domino. Ox echoed from his stall with his deep voice after he swallowed down some oats. If our Mistress decides to sell us, then we must go to our new homes with our heads high and faith in our hearts. We may end up being worked hard in our new homes, but as long as we get plenty of rest, food and water we should not let it frighten us.
Aztec threw his head back with a neigh. They're right! Our Mistress would make sure we went to good homes, and if she decides to sell some of us then we should be happy that she brought us back from the brink of death and feel grateful towards her.
I agree. Cinnamon said as she nuzzled Lyse as Mörk fed from her. She was so happy that her darker foal was putting on weight. I will forever be grateful to her for saving my life.
The bay had belonged to a small circus until it had started losing money. Diana had rescued her just as she was about to be let loose in the lions' cage to feed them. She had then proceeded to browbeat the ring master of the circus before buying her and then calling the police on grounds of animal cruelty. Within a day the circus had been put out of business, and Cinnamon hadn't been the only animal saved.
Every other horse neighed in agreement before going back to eating; their heart's all swelling with gratitude for their mistress.
-End Side Section (1)
Loki and I headed back to the house, but we both turned as we heard a car engine behind us. We saw a black corvette, which probably cost as much as my house, pull up my driveway, and I sighed as I saw Tony exiting the driver's side, and Natasha and Clint coming out of the back seats. I saw that they were all bundled up in winter clothes, appropriate since there was nearly a foot of snow on the ground.
"Here comes trouble." I muttered under my breath as the three of them headed up the porch steps.
"Greetings Red, hey Snape. Hope we're not intruding." Tony said as a greeting as he tried to step by Loki and me to get inside. I blocked his way and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I'd actually like to talk to you and Barton, Stark." I told him.
He looked confused for a second, before giving his consent. Barton and Tony followed me as I walked to the other side of my wraparound porch.
I turned to face them, and crossed my arms again.
"I'm going to say this once, and I hope you two remember it for your sakes." I started out, glaring at the both of them, before turning to Tony.
"Stark, I didn't appreciate you bringing up my disastrous dating history last time you were here. I need no reminder that I made a huge mistake in dating Thomas Eklund since I live with the physical reminder every day, and I'd be grateful if you didn't mention him again. Don't even hint at him, otherwise I will not be very cordial when I tell you to get the fuck out of my house and to stay off of my property."
Ignoring his shocked expression, I turned to Clint with a scowl on my face. "If you EVER start another physical fight with Loki on my property again, the Hulk will seem like a fuzzy kitten compared to me, Barton. I hope for your sake that you heed my warning."
"Why can't you see that scumbag for what he is?!" Barton demanded of me.
"Because he's been through more than you will ever know!" I said with a raised voice. "If you used your eyes and actually saw him for who he was, and not how he was when he was under that stupid scepter's power like you were, then you would see that!"
"You haven't proven that yet, Sullivan!" He yelled.
I knew he had me there. How did I prove that Loki had been under the scepter's sway, just like Clint had been? My mind raced to give a solution to him as I looked into his eyes, before something Loki told me a while ago resurfaced in my mind.
"When I saw that Stark's eyes didn't turn blue, I knew he hadn't fallen under the sway of the scepter. The greatest indicator of its power is the changing of the eye color." He told me as we cuddled on the couch, watching a fire blaze in the house fireplace.
It had only been a few days ago, when I had asked him about what he could remember about the invasion. That had been one of the few things he could remember as we enjoyed the firelight.
"Do you remember what color his eyes were during the invasion Barton?" I asked him, a thought forming in my mind.
"Why would that make a difference?" He asked in angry confusion.
"Just tell me what color his eyes were, damn it!" I cursed, my patience wearing thin.
"They were blue." He told me with a glare.
I smiled in triumph. "His eyes are green Clint." The agent stared at me in confusion before shaking his head.
"His eyes were blue, just like-" I cut him off. "Just like yours were?" I told him with a smug look.
"Look back at the S.H.I.E.L.D security tapes or Stark's tower tapes from then if you don't believe it. Either way, you will see that his eyes were the same shade of blue as yours were." I could tell that I had shaken Clint's belief that Loki was the bad guy, but I didn't care. All I cared about was making sure that he never attacked Loki again.
With all of this said, I turned and headed inside my home. I could hear Tony and Clint follow behind me, but I didn't care as I sat down next to Loki on the sofa.
I saw Tony looking at me with a strange expression on his face, but I ignored him in favor of the conversation that Loki, Bruce, and Steve were having about Christmas.
"So a fat man in a red suit with a big bushy beard delivers toys to all the nice boys and girls in the world and gives coal to the bad ones in one night on a sleigh pulled by flying deer?" Loki asked, his face betraying his confusion. "You Midgardians come up with the strangest things."
Steve rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "In essence, I guess that is Santa Claus. But in this day and age he's more commercialized than he was in my day. Christmas was more traditional back then; my mom and I didn't have much when I was growing up because the country was trying to get over the Great Depression, but we always had a great time either way. Though once my mom died, and the war began, Christmas got dimmer and dimmer." He relayed to us. "Then I was frozen and I missed the last 70 Christmases or so."
Bruce nods in agreement. "It's not the same as it used to be, though I never had many good Christmases growing up, and in the past few years I've been running too much to truly celebrate a proper Christmas."
"I've never really had a chance to truly celebrate Christmas in Russia, though when I was a little girl I always hoped to." Natasha offered up.
"Didn't have time to celebrate Christmas when growing up in a circus." Clint said gruffly.
"Had a pretty normal life growing up, but work always got in the way after I joined up with S.H.I.E.L.D.," Coulson shared with the rest of us. I looked around the room, and saw everyone looking rather pensive as they seemed to be looking back at all their past Christmases.
My mind started turning, and I soon quietly smiled to myself as a plan came to mind.
"You want to what?" Coulson asked as I laced up the boots on my feet.
I straightened up as I started braiding my loose hair. "I need your help in convincing all the Avengers to come my house on Christmas. Give them a taste on what a proper holiday is all about. I only really need your help in getting Tony and maybe Miss Potts, Natasha, and Clint here. Though lord knows Stark doesn't need an excuse to party."
I didn't know why this felt important to me, but it just sort of felt right. I still thought Clint could use some work on his attitude, and the same could be said for Tony, but having Pepper there would probably help him behave. And who knows, maybe they'd end up feeling the Christmas spirit.
Coulson and I discussed it for another minute or so before I grabbed a fleece half mask, my cell phone, motorcycle goggles and keys, and leather gloves. Loki and Steve are next to me outside as I straddled my bike and pulled on my gloves. It wasn't dark yet, but it would take me at least three hours to get to the address Jensen gave me over the phone.
"You will be careful, won't you darling?" Loki asks me, and I can see the worry shining in his eyes. I smiled warmly and gently laid a hand on his cheek.
"Hey, I'll be ok." I told him confidently. "I'll be back before you know it."
"Don't hesitate to call one of us in if you need the help Diana." Steve told me seriously, and I could see that he was a bit worried as well.
"Don't worry boys, I'm a big girl." I told them, before reaching up to bring Loki down into a kiss. "I'll be okay handsome."
"You better be, beautiful." Loki murmured against my lips before giving me another kiss.
I reluctantly pulled away and pulled my goggles down over my eyes. I turned the key in my bike's ignition, smiling as it came to life and purred under me, before backing up and then turning towards the dirt road that would connect me to the main road out of town.
For the next three hours, I maneuvered my Harley along asphalt as the trees I passed turned to towns, and the towns turned to city streets.
I parked parallel to the sidewalk between two cars a few blocks away from my destination, and after zipping up my fleece hoodie I started walking. I was glad to get off of my bike and stretch my legs.
The dirty and the just fallen snow mixed under my feet as I crunched my way passed a still open bar, a few apartment buildings, and a few stores that would be closed in a few hours. I ignored the group of men that stood outside the bar and whistled at me as I passed them. I knew that they didn't have the balls to approach me, not with how I was dressed or with the way I was walking. And if they did, I'd be able to handle them on my own.
I soon reached my destination, and looked up at the singular brownstone that housed the dog fighting ring. The stone was dark and stained with age, the windows were thick and covered in grime, and a few had been boarded up. The entire thing held an air of decay that not even the most enthusiastic of spring cleaning would be able to get rid of.
I hurried into the alley along the side of the building, before looking around my surroundings. Seeing no one within sight and hearing no incoming footsteps, I brought my arms out and spun, focusing air currents to lift me up and neatly deposit me on the roof of the building.
I brushed aside some of the bits of snow that had stuck to my clothing on the way up, before I looked over the roof. Seeing nothing noteworthy, I crouched down and put my ear to the cold stone under my feet and hands after shifting aside some of the white snow on the roof. I heard an almost silent shifting through the stone and plaster, and I surmised that it was the dogs moving along the floor.
I concentrated, and using my powers I quietly shifted enough of the roof away to make a hole big enough to fit my head through it. Securing my braid down the back of my hoodie and bringing my half mask up around my mouth and nose again I slowly moved my head halfway down the hole.
While my eyes adjusted, I had to push myself to keep from gagging at the absolutely horrible stench of the room I was over. A mixture of animal feces, urine, and blood hung in the dismal air of it, and once my eyes finally adjusted I saw that about half a dozen cages were in the room, each one containing a dog.
The door to the room was tightly closed, and was probably locked from the outside as well. I bit back a growl as I expanded the hole in the roof big enough to slip my body all the way through. I landed softly to the floor, using an air pulse to cushion my landing despite my heavy boots. I bit my tongue to keep from gagging again as the scent was stronger now before one of the dogs in the cages started growling.
I focused in on the one growling and found a dark brown pit bull with a white chest and white toes on his (I checked) front paws. His face had old scars crisscrossing across it, his ears were cut close to his head and one brown eye was swollen shut, with dried blood over it. His wounds didn't seem to stop him though, since he growled a bit louder as I came closer to him and kneeled down at his cage. I saw his hackles rise, and noticed he was missing an upper canine and a lower molar. This was an old dog, which had been fighting for a while.
I softly shushed him, putting a little power behind it to help calm him down and show I wasn't a threat. It took half a minute, but he soon calmed down enough to stop growling. Instead, he looked up at me with his one good eye and whimpered.
Help me…I'm so tired of fighting. His pleading expression seemed to say, and my heart broke a little as I looked around the room and examined the other dogs.
A black pit bull bitch with a white neck, chest, and stomach was lying on her side, one ear torn off and caked in blood with a nasty wound along her ribs.
Another pit bull, this one a male like the first but white with a blue gray back and tail was bleeding from his throat, staining the white fur there crimson.
A male Rottweiler skinny enough to see his ribs was on his side, looking forlornly at the tiny window to the outside.
A large dog that looked to be a Saint Bernard mixed with a Mastiff was so filthy with his matted fur caked in blood and dirt you couldn't even tell what color he was supposed to be.
A Doberman with open wounds right above his stubby tail and sores along his hips sat in the last cage, and he couldn't be any older than two.
Each dog held a story, and the condition of each one made my anger rise. I could smell that each dog had old blood caked to their coat, and I could tell each one's paws were stained with their own feces. However, before I could do anything to free them, I heard foot steps outside of the door.
Thinking fast, I approached the door and jumped up, digging my hands and feet into the ceiling and flattening my body against it. I was thankful that there were no lights in the room and that I was wearing full black as I clung like a spider to the ceiling.
The door creaked open under me, causing the dogs to start barking as voices came through the door.
"Yo, you better hurry and feed the dogs boy; otherwise they might end up having you for dinner." A husky voice with a thick New York accent said, before a slight figure was pushed into the room, a flashlight in one hand and bag that according to my nose was full of raw meat in the other.
The door closed behind the small figure, and I narrowed my eyes as I slowly moved down from the roof to behind the boy, grabbing him from behind and covering his mouth with one of my hands with my opposite arm wrapped around his body like a steel bar.
"Hush. I'm not gonna hurt you, you foolish child." I whispered to him past my mask as he gave a frightened but muffled scream into my palm. "I'm not here for you, I'm here to help the dogs and get the monsters making them fight put in jail."
"I'm gonna let you go ok?" He nodded his head yes.
"You're not gonna scream, are you?" He shook his head no, and so I released him.
He whirled around and shinned his flashlight in my eyes. I softly snarled and closed them against the bright light.
"Damn it kid, shine that light somewhere else!" I growled, causing him to move the light away. Once the spots cleared from my sight, I looked over the kid.
He was a scrawny thing, with light mocha skin, dark eyes that were almost black, and a small gap between his front teeth. His clothes consisted of old sneakers, baggy jeans, a stained t-shirt, and a hoodie a size too big for him.
"Who are you?" He asked; fear in his eyes and in his slightly cracking voice. He seemed to be smack dab at the beginning of puberty, so he couldn't be any older than thirteen or so.
"I'm someone who hates seeing animals treated like this." I said, pointing a finger at the dogs in their cages. "And I need your help doing something about it."
"What can I do about it?" He asked me softly, and over the next few minutes he gave me the inside rundown of the place.
The basement did hold the bodies of dead dogs that died in the ring, and at the end of each night they were driven to a dump by a gang member to be disposed of.
The first floor was mostly empty, with only a few tables and a fridge full of beers for whoever came through the back door of the brownstone, though one of the rooms had been turned into a breeding room and a torturous gym for the dogs, to train them to become stronger and have more stamina.
The second story was where everything happened. The multiple walls separating the previous rooms had been knocked down, turning it into one large room. A circular closed off arena type section was in the middle; that was where the dogs were moved to in order to fight in. The few windows on that floor were blocked out, but could still be opened, and there was only one door leading to the stairs back down to the first floor.
The third floor was nothing but the dogs' living quarters, with few rooms with a few dog cages in each one, and one room devoted solely to pregnant bitches. It was the boy's job to feed each dog, though none before a fight. The hunger would make them fight harder once they tasted the other dog's blood.
With that info, I sent the boy on his way, before I took out my phone and called Jensen.
"We'll be there soon, Diana. E.T.A is half an hour." Jensen said before hanging up. I put my phone back away, before my ears caught the sounds of movement downstairs. From the sound of rapid barking, and low voiced cheers, a dog fight was getting ready to happen.
I softly growled as I felt my anger rising; my teeth sharpened behind my mask and my pupils turned to slits as I debated on if I should go down and stop the fight or wait for Jensen. The decision was made for me as I heard laughter and a high pitched howl of pain echo through the floor boards.
I slowly moved down the staircase, not being noticed as the thirty or so people surrounding the ring had their attention on the dogs. With my blood pounding in my ears, I silently moved around the crowd and welded the windows shut, and melted the door knob on the one door out, trapping them all inside.
I moved back around to the stair case, going up a few stairs so I could see over the crowd, and saw two different pit bulls going at it in the ring. The weaker of the two, a white one with light brown spots on his head and ears and a large patch on his back, had the back of his neck in the jaws of the bigger and stronger red nose brindle pit bull.
I felt my anger bubble in my chest, and so I sent a wind strong enough to get the attention of the various gang bangers, thugs, and pimps that seemed to make up this crowd of spectators.
"Well well. This is certainly a surprise." I said sardonically as I looked over the crowd. It was a variable melting pot, with Caucasians, African -Americans, Hispanics, and Asians all in one group. "You know, when I woke up this morning I didn't have the slightest idea that I'd be spending my night with some of the worst scum of this world."
I flicked my hands up with a slight shrug, showing off my claws as they caught the light. "But, here I am."
"You need to get outta here chica; this ain't no place for a girl like you." A Hispanic said, his shorn head almost hidden behind a white bandana as his mustached lips pulled into a sneer.
I brought a finger to my covered up lips, tilting my face in a fake thoughtful expression. "Hmm, no place for a girl like me? That may be true, but it's also no place for dogs like those." I said, bringing my hand down, and sending a glare his way.
"So what you gonna do 'bout it, stupid ho? You ain't got nothing, and we got the firepower." Another male said, this one a middle aged African-American wearing a dark purple suit with a black hat on his head. Obviously a pimp. He, along with a few of the other members of the crowd took out a few guns from either their pockets or the waistbands of their pants, no matter how sagging they seemed.
With an erratic wave of my arm and a bit of power, each and every gun was yanked from their respective owner's hand and tossed to the corner of the room. A useful mix of bending the metal of the guns a bit and bending the air around them made it possible, and with a flick of my hand the guns heated enough to make them unusable.
"Now that those are taken care of-" I said to the slack jawed crowd as I cracked my knuckles, a wicked smirk on my lips, "Who's ass wants to be taken down first?" A few scumbags rushed towards me after getting over their shock, and with a snarl I leaped at them, adrenaline pumping through my veins as we collided.
A little over twenty minutes later, my nose was bleeding, I had more bruises than I could count, and my clothes had more than a few blood stains, but every single member of the crowd was now on the ground, either unconscious, or too broken up and in pain to move. The adrenaline slowly pumped through my body, and I felt like I could keep fighting.
Some blood bending, a lot of powerful moves, and a few well-placed fire balls had almost decimated each and every scumbag of the joint. No matter how much they tried mobbing me, they were too chaotic to actually work together to take me down.
The sickening smell of burnt flesh, fresh and dried blood, and even a hint of urine hung in the air as I approached the two dogs in the ring. They had since stopped fighting, and whined as I let them out of the ring.
They licked my hands as I gently scratched behind their ears, being careful of their wounds before I brought my boot down on the back of the closest moving body's head, knocking him unconscious again as he tried sitting up. The crunch of his nose breaking against the floor sounded real satisfying to me.
"The next piece of shit that tries getting up gets the same treatment." I snarled out to the entire room. None of the rest moved except to get out of my way as I kicked down the door to the second floor and to curl up and cradle broken limbs. I took a bandana from the nearest waste of flesh and wrapped it around the white and brown pit's neck, hoping to stop the steady bleeding.
Flashing lights outside foretold the arrival of reinforcements, and as I sat down on the stairs leading to the third floor and listened to the sound of boots on wood as I brought my mask down to hang around my neck. I set my chin on my hand, and my elbow on my knee as a small SWAT team, along with a few police officers in bullet proof vests, swarmed in to the second floor room.
Arthur Jensen came in last, his salt and pepper hair cut regulation short, with a mustache over his unsmiling mouth. His dark eyes were flinty as he surveyed the situation, little wrinkles standing out at the corners of his eyes and mouth.
"What took you guys so long? Did you stop for fast food or something?" I said with a shit eating grin, causing Jensen to sigh as he saw the dried blood on my face.
I soon took my leave after helping the animal control people move all the dogs to their trucks, and getting their solemn vow that they would not euthanize them unless they had no choice. I didn't stick around too much longer after that, since I got a tip from one of the officers saying that a news crew was on their way.
It was a quiet ride home, though now that the adrenaline was gone my body felt sluggish and stiff. The scent of blood and filth clung to me as I drove from city streets, to a highway, to more city streets, to the dirt road leading to my home.
I drove up and didn't even bother parking in my garage. I just set up my bike on its kickstand right in front of my porch steps and got off. I groaned at the pain in my body, and the stickiness of my clothes from drying blood as I almost limped up my snow covered steps. One of the bastards had gotten a lucky kick to my left knee, causing it to heavily bruise and swell a bit. I knew I'd have to take care of it soon, or there would be permanent damage.
The house was dark as I unlocked my front door, entered, and then relocked it behind me. I limped to the kitchen, smiling softly as I saw Kida and Taboo lift their heads before putting them back down to go back to sleep in their beds, as did Cleo and Kona. Atlas was nowhere to be seen, but I wasn't worried. I figured he was wherever Loki was, since they both had that special bond going on.
I opened my freezer and wrapped some ice cubes up in a dish rag, and on a whim I got out a bottle of vodka I kept in there for late nights missions like this. Not wanting to go upstairs just yet, I sat down on my kitchen floor, leaned against my cabinets, and stretched out my legs. I winced as I set the ice in a rag on my knee, and uncapped the vodka bottle before taking a sip.
The icy cold liquid burned my throat on its way down, but it helped distract me from the rest of my body's pain. I managed to get at least buzzed as I took periodic sips over the next half hour, draining half of what was previously a mostly full bottle.
Soft footsteps made me look up, and I saw Tony standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. He was dressed in a white wife beater and black boxers, and his hair was mushed up more than usual.
"Were you sleeping on my couch?" I asked, though at that point I really didn't care. My mind was slightly fuzzy, blocking out pain thankfully and helping my body relax.
He shrugged and sat down next to me, and I idly wondered if his legs were getting cold on my stonework floor. "Hey, every other room was taken. I, being the generous person I am, offered to sleep on the couch."
"Widow and Hawkeye are in the downstairs bedroom huh?" I asked.
"Oh yeah."
I didn't know how to feel about that honestly, but it was too late now. Because seriously, who'd be comfortable having two master assassins sleeping under your roof for a night?
"Did Natasha threaten to torture you unless you did?"
"Yup." He said with a nod before swiping the vodka bottle and taking a few sips from it. "So how'd liberating the dogs feel? And why do you look like crap?"
"You sure know how to make a girl feel pretty Tony." I muttered before stealing back the bottle. I took a gulp from it before answering.
"I certainly did the best I could. I helped calm the dogs down enough to get them into the animal control vans, and I blocked in the pieces of shit that were making them fight and betting on them." I told him, taking another sip of my vodka. "I look like crap 'cause the fuckers that were there didn't take too kindly to me messing up their fun."
"How many of them were there?" Tony asked as he stole another sip from the vodka bottle.
I shrugged. "I didn't count, but I'd say about thirty guys, maybe a bit more. In the end though, their numbers didn't help them worth jack shit. What they did to me is nothing compared to what I did to them."
"Damn," he said as he handed the bottle back to me. "You are one scary chick when you want to be, Big Red. I hope you know that." I mirthlessly laughed as I took one final sip of the vodka bottle.
"In this world, at times I have to be Tony. When I was at my lowest point, I was raped and stabbed by a psycho and nearly died. I've seen what human cruelty can do, seen the effect it takes on animals. There were dogs in the building with collars imbedded under scabbed over and pus filled skin, dogs with wounds infected with maggots, bodies so covered in sores and scabs they barely had any fur, some so emaciated they were barely more than a sack of bones." I told him with a barely controlled snarl in my voice. "The only ones that even looked half way decent were the pregnant bitches, and that's only because they had pups on the way that the dealers couldn't afford to let them get hurt."
I grimaced as I felt the dried blood on my upper lip and below my nose crack and flake off. I stood up, hissing in pain as I jarred my leg, before straightening it out and then cleaning the blood from my face in the kitchen sink.
I sighed as the full brunt of my tiredness hit me, causing me to slightly sway where I stood. "I should head to bed. Any longer down here and I'll be sleeping on the kitchen island."
I set the ice in the rag in the sink, capped the vodka bottle and put it away, and said a quick goodnight to Tony before slowly limping up to Loki's and my room.
I stripped off my clothes and tossed them in my bathroom sink, then used a wet washcloth to clean up any blood that bled through to stick to my skin. I also used up some of the small amount energy I had left to heal up my knee a bit, not enough to get rid of the pain but enough to get it out of permanent injury damage territory. That done, I approached the bed and got under the covers slowly enough to try and not jar Loki enough to wake him up, or to nudge Atlas who was sleeping at the foot of the bed.
It didn't work, as I saw Loki stir and open his eyes a bit. "Diana? When did you get back?" He asked a bit groggily, causing me to softly smile before chastely kissing his lips.
"Shh…go back to bed, darling. We'll talk in the morning." I told him, causing him to go back to sleep, but not before he wrapped a gentle arm around me to draw him against me. I certainly didn't complain, and soon I was out cold.
After a complete night of dreamless sleep, it was upsetting waking up the next day and finding out I could barely move without feeling in pain. I groaned as I turned over, but I sat up like a rocket when I checked my alarm clock and saw it was past noon. That caused me to let out a loud yelp from the pain my body was in as I fell back against my pillows.
A knock at my door prompted me to bring my blanket up to cover my chest. "Come in." I called, and the door opened to reveal a sight that put a smile on my face.
Loki, being the wonderful lover that he was, walked through the door carrying a tray covered in breakfast foods, the scents of the sausage, bacon, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and more set my mouth watering and stomach rumbling. "I thought you could use some food, since I doubt you had dinner last night." He told me with a soft look on his face.
"Are you sure you're not really a saint? Because I'm feeling rather blessed right now." I said with a wide smile at him, ignoring the pain in my body as I struggled to sit up so I could enjoy both the food, and Loki's company.
Third P.O.V
After Diana had eaten her fill and after Loki had helped her into a bathtub full of warm and steamy water, she couldn't help but feel incredibly pampered.
"Mm…I am loving this." She almost purred as she leaned back against Loki's chest. Luckily, the tub was big enough for two so he had decided to join her in her relaxation.
Loki moved a curl that had escaped her messy bun away from her neck and gently kissed a small bruise on her shoulder. He felt a hot spike of anger in his chest as he looked over her submerged body, seeing the motley of dark blue, red, and purple bruises discoloring her normally even toned, tanned skin.
"Besides the bruises, did you make it out last night unharmed?" He asked her, causing her to shake her head with a no.
"One of the bastards got a pretty good kick to my left knee, causing it to bruise heavily and swell up, and another bastard gave me a nose bleed, but I took care of those as much as I could last night before joining you in bed babe." She let him know.
He looked over at her knee, and saw that it was still heavily bruised. "It still looks awful darling; maybe you should try healing it up a bit more?" He told her in concern.
Diana of course felt that Loki had a point, and so she concentrated on the water in the tub to try and heal her still aching body.
Loki watched in awe as the water started glowing, along with Diana's eyes as she poured her energy into the water around her. What surprised him is that the water seemed to be affecting to him as well, and he felt the soothing water work its wonders on his weary mortal body as he watched the bruises on Diana's body fade away to nothing.
As the glow of the water and her eyes faded, she looked down at her body in slight wonder. "My powers must be getting stronger; I've never healed up that fast or that extensively before."
"If so that is a wondrous thing my dear." Loki let her know with a smile, before pulling her face towards his to lay a chaste kiss upon her lips.
Diana stood a bit nervously on her front porch, dressed in jeans, boots, and a light blue sweater under a black coat as she watched a white 2009 Honda Accord park in her driveway, and two people got out before one headed around to the back seat of the car while the other grabbed the luggage from the trunk. It was the day before Christmas, and her brother and his family would be visiting till after New Year's.
The week before she and the rest of her housemates had fully decorated the house, with icicle lights up around the outside, a handful of LED deer in the snow covered yard, garland wrapped around the porch with bows at every support beam, and a real evergreen and holly wreath on the front door.
Her brother Lucas looked just like he did the last time she had seen him. Ocean blue eyes, chestnut brown hair in a stylish cut with a crooked smile on his lips and dressed in black dress pants, boots, a navy pea coat, with a white turtleneck poking through it as he hurried up the steps and pulled Diana into a hug after setting down the luggage.
"You grew some scruff I see." Diana said as she hugged her brother back, his body having a toned swimmer's build under his coat, though his shoulders were just as broad as Aiden's. He truly had grown a short scruffy beard and mustache, making him look older than his 29 years.
"I know, but Emily seems to like it." He told her, his Irish accent just a tad heavier than his sister's as his wife Emily came up the porch, holding their two year old daughter Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had inherited her father's chestnut locks, but her mother's honey brown eyes and freckles. Emily leaned her head away with a smile as her daughter reached up to try and tug on a few of the strawberry blonde strands escaping from her high ponytail.
"It's wonderful to see you again, Diana. I hope we aren't intruding, what with your other guests and all." She said cheerfully, her pale pink lips pulled into a smile, enhancing the freckles on her cheeks and across the bridge of her button nose that her daughter also inherited.
Diana had called them the week before to give them the heads up about the Avengers, and about Loki. They both had been worried about having Elizabeth in that sort of environment, but Diana assured them that she had talked to all the Avengers and had gotten promises from them all that they'd be on their best behavior.
"Awnty Dana!" Elizabeth giggled as she caught sight of Diana, causing her to scoop the wiggling toddler from her mother's arms and tickle her mercilessly, making her squeal in happiness.
"Hello my little rugrat, how you've grown! Have you been behaving for your mommy and daddy?" Diana crooned to her niece as the small group entered the front door, maneuvering around Taboo and Kida as the dogs danced around their legs.
They all shed their coats and Diana moved them to the hall closet and their luggage to the downstairs bedroom as they passed it on their way to the kitchen. The inside of the house had also been decorated just as much as the outside had been.
Garland scaled down the stair railing, mismatched stockings hung on the fireplace mantel, a tree covered in tinsel, glass ornaments in all shapes and sizes, twinkling lights, candy canes, and a star topper stood in the corner, little Christmas themed figures on the shelves behind the couch, a reindeer tea light holder on the coffee table, and a decent sized amount of presents under the tree wrapped in shiny red, green, silver, and blue wrapping paper with a different colored bow on each. The dining room table was just as decorated, with a white tablecloth lined in green holly leaves with red berries, with red plates set on it and a gold colored candelabrum in the shape of a tree, with small snowflakes hanging from its branches.
"Nu-uh!" She giggled, and Diana smiled at the innocent look on her face, before she looked over at Loki as he stood in the kitchen.
"You hear that Loki? We have a mischief maker on our hands here." Diana said as she smiled at him. He softly chuckled as he put down his mug of tea.
"And what a pretty little mischief maker she is." He said with a smile towards Elizabeth, who shyly moved her face into Diana's neck, looking out at him behind a curtain of Diana's loose curls.
"She gets a bit shy around strangers, but she warms up to them eventually." Emily said with a slightly nervous smile. Diana could see that she and Lucas were both nervous, though they were trying their hardest to hide it.
"Emily, Lucas, this is Loki. Loki, this is my brother Lucas and his wife Emily." Diana introduced them and watched as Loki and Lucas exchanged handshakes, before turning to the little girl in her arms.
"Lizzy, I want you to meet someone." She told the wide eyed toddler before walking towards Loki.
"This is Loki; he's a very special friend of mine. Can you say hi to him?" She said with a smile, and watched as Lizzy looked up at Loki, who looked back at her with a hesitant smile on his face.
All of a sudden, Lizzy smiled widely before reaching forward and grabbing onto Loki's nose. "Kiki!" She declared proudly, causing Diana to giggle at the dumbfounded expression on Loki's face.
"I guess she likes you after all." Diana said as she tried to keep a straight face, but small giggles kept escaping from her mouth.
Pretty soon the rest of the housemates came home, Steve from an afternoon run and Bruce and Coulson from grocery shopping in town for the food for Christmas dinner the next day. Aiden, Corrine, Thor, Frigga, Tony, Pepper, Clint and Natasha would be joining them the next day.
Diana adjusted Lizzy on her hip as she watched Lucas and Emily headed to their bedroom to take a mid-day nap after their two day drive, and she then turned to Loki.
"Would you like to help entertain this little one while her parents sleep off their trip?" She asked him with a sweet smile, and how could Loki say no to that? Especially combined with the smile Lizzy gave him as she reached out to tug on a few strands of his hair.
Diana was especially proud as she was able to snap a few pictures of Loki peek-a-boo with Lizzy. She made a mental note to move them over to her computer and then maybe print them out into a scrapbook at a later date.
The next day, Diana was one of the first people up as she started cooking up a storm. She made a quick breakfast of pancakes for everyone before she got everything ready for dinner later that day. She seasoned the goose and two hams and set them in oven so they could cook over the next few hours. She mixed up biscuit dough from scratch and set it in the fridge to rise, and started cleaning potatoes, carrots, Brussel sprouts, and peas. She wouldn't need to make the stuffing till later, and Corrine would be bringing the desserts and miniature mince pies when she came by later. (2)
The rest of the house slowly started trickling into the kitchen and enjoying the stack of prepared pancakes on the table. Diana was touched to see that Loki was helping Emily feed Lizzy some cut up pancake pieces. Granted, she shouldn't be surprised since he did have experience with raising children, but it was still adorable seeing it in action.
Once breakfast was finished and the dishes were washed, Steve and Lucas went out to feed the horses in the barn while Emily, Lizzy, Bruce, and Coulson convened in the living room to watch the Macy's Christmas Parade on TV.
Loki decided to help Diana with preparing the food. "Are you sure this will be enough darling?" Loki said as he mashed the potatoes so they'd be fine enough to mix with milk, butter, seasonings, and sour cream.
"It should be, even with your brother's appetite." She told him with a smile as she stirred the Brussel sprouts, carrots and peas in their pot before putting it to simmer. She then turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Are you excited to see your mother again? I know you miss her." She said softly, causing Loki to lean back against her a bit as he stirred in the other ingredients for the mashed potatoes.
"I am." He told her, though with a bit of hesitation. She picked up on it straight away.
"Loki, are you nervous in seeing your mother again?" She asked gently, but he shook his head.
"It's not exactly that." He started. "I am just…confused on how I could forgive her so easily. After being captured by Thor and returning to Asgard, I hated both her and Odin for keeping my lineage a secret from me, and over the year in prison my hatred just grew. However, despite all of that I forgave her at the drop of a hat on Halloween."
He looked very confused as he turned in Diana's grip to face her front on. "It makes no sense; she lied to me the same way Odin did about what I am, so why did I forgive her so readily?"
"Well," Diana started, her mind turning to try and figure out a valid theory to tell him. "Maybe it's because of how much she loves you, and how much you love her. I mean, she raised you as her own Loki, that can't have been for nothing."
"Yes, but why wouldn't she tell me what I was?" He asked, hurt and anger showing though his voice.
"Maybe she was afraid of what the people of Asgard would do if they found out that you were a Jotun." Diana said with a slight shrug before laying her head against his collarbone. "I'm not entirely sure, hun. But what I do know is that she would not have raised you for all these years, or taught you magic when you were younger, had she not loved you."
Loki sighed and tightened his hold on Diana. "I suppose you are right, beautiful. She did teach me magic, and how to fight, and she always tried making me feel special whenever Thor got extensive attention from Odin. But do not expect me to forgive him for all those years of pain and anger so easily." He told her, and she knew he was talking about the years Odin blatantly favored Thor over him, or when he took his children from him or when he told him stories about how bloodthirsty and dangerous the Jotun were.
"I wouldn't expect anything different, babe." She told him softly before pressing a loving kiss to his lips.
Hours later, Tony and Pepper, Clint and Natasha, Aiden and Corrine, and Thor and Queen Frigga had all arrived, and whatever presents they had brought were set under the tree in the ever growing pile.
Frigga was very taken with Lizzy as soon as the toddler sent the first smile toward the queen. She let her sit in her red clad lap when she wasn't moving among the guests. She was wearing a gorgeous red gown with a golden design along the neckline and the bottom of the skirt. To keep out the cold, she had worn a simple white cloak trimmed in white fur over her shoulders. She wasn't the only one to dress up either.
Thor had worn his traditional armor, along with his long red cloak over his shoulders to keep him warm. Mjolnir had been set to the side of the front door, after Diana had forbidden him from bringing it any farther than that with Lizzy being in the house.
Speaking of the toddler, she was the social butterfly of the party, flitting from one group of adults to another. Steve and Loki seemed to be her favorites, not counting her family, though Bruce's quiet manner and Natasha's soft spoken ways put them in a close second. She was currently in Loki's arms as a matter of fact, her cute red dress trimmed in white lace soft to the touch and the black Mary Jane's on her feet shined in the light.
"Where Awnty Dana?" She asked Loki, her pinned back curls moving as she turned her head to and fro.
"She's changing little one, she wanted to get nice and dressed up for dinner." Loki told the toddler, a small smile on his face as he saw the curiosity in Lizzy's eyes.
Loki too had cleaned up nice, wearing a pair of black loafers on his feet, black dress pants, and an emerald green button up shirt with a black jacket over it with a gold handkerchief in the breast pocket.
"Well, if I knew how impatient my niece would be then I wouldn't have changed at all." Diana's voice said behind the two of them, and they turned and Loki felt himself fall even deeper under Diana's sway.
She was stunning, wearing a dress just as green as his shirt. It had long off the shoulder sleeves, showing off the skin of her throat and collarbone to his eyes. The material of it slightly shined in the light, and the fabric clung to her curves before gently relaxing around her feet, which were clad in strappy black heels that brought her eye to eye with Loki. (3)
Her voluminous hair had been tamed in a simple but elegant style that pulled it back away from her face, besides two straightened locks that messily framed it, while the rest tumbled in large curls down her back. For jewelry she wore a small pair of gold hoop earrings, with a black velvet choker with three round green stones, two small ones and a larger one between them.
Her eyes were framed in black liner with a smoky eye shadow that made her pale blue eyes pop, while her lips with its prominent cupid's bow were colored with a ruby red lip stain.
Her stained lips pulled up into a shy smile as she noticed Loki was staring at her enraptured.
"Awnty Dana pretty!" Lizzy declared with a laugh and a clap of her hands, causing Loki to snap out of it and to make both him and Diana laugh a little.
"She is right, you look stunning my darling." Loki told her as he approached her.
"You don't look too bad yourself, sweetheart." Diana said with a small wink, before giving him a gentle but very warm kiss.
Soon enough though, after everyone had eaten their fill and the dishes had been washed (Thor hadn't left any leftovers around) it was time to open presents. It had been an unspoken agreement that everyone would get at least two or three gifts, since the living room was too small for everyone to get a gift from everyone else.
It was with a full heart and a full stomach that Diana went to bed that night, after everyone had gone home or settled down for the night. Emily and Lucas had settled into the guest room perfectly, with Lizzy on a little cot right next to their bed.
She looked over at Loki, who closed one of the spell books that Frigga had brought him as a gift. "Did you enjoy your first Christmas on earth Loki?"
He smiles softly as he closes the book and sets it on his nightstand before turning out the light and pulling her to him.
"It was wonderful darling, it was truly wonderful." He murmured against her lips as he chastely kissed her, before they both fell asleep under the covers, while a light snow fell from the night sky.
1) Ok, now I think I've explained all the horses back stories, and I hope you all not understand the importance and love that Diana shows them. She is very dedicated to her animals, and she lets everyone know it.
2) For this part I tried mixing up both American and Irish traditional Christmas foods for their dinner, since Diana, Aiden, Corrine, and Lucas are very proud of their heritage and enjoy sharing it with their loved ones.
3) Sometime in the future, I'll try drawing a picture of Diana in her Christmas dress for all of you struggling to picture it in their heads, I just need more free time to do it in.
I am so SO sorry for how long this one took people, I just started my first semester of college this month and haven't had the time to finish this before now. I tried making it extra-long so I hope you guys forgive me for that. I'll get started on the next chapter as soon as I have the time for it, I promise. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and until next time everyone! Remember, reviews make me happy! And give me more inspiration.
(Side note, thank you keacdragon,RaspberryRipple1,firerosedreamer67,MichAre1a, and Dark Alana for the recent reviews on my last chapter. Thanks for the encouragement! )