Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, Loki *sigh* or any Avengers/Thor related characters or content. Talin is mine.
Thor stood, completely overwhelmed by the sights, smells, and sounds that assaulted him. There were people everywhere, so closely packed together that he was constantly being bumped into, people sliding past him. The smells of cooking food and perfumed smoke attacked him, as the sound of wild music floated through the air over the low hum of thousands of conversations carrying.
Thor looked to the side, where Talin had an arm looped around his, and she was smiling. Her eyes sparked with excitement. Wherever this place was, it made Talin happy.
"What is this place?" Thor asked, glancing around.
"It's called a fair. Thousands of people come to it. There's shops and rides and fair food. Father would never come to a place like this." Talin answered, smiling wide as shrieks suddenly filled the air.
Thor looked around, alarmed, but no one else seemed to notice, or mind. No wonder Loki didn't like this place- it was pure chaos. Thor felt very paranoid suddenly, understanding. It would be hard to keep Talin safe in this kind of environment.
"Come on." Talin said impatiently, tugging on Thor's arm.
Together they navigated the crowds, and Thor was filled with amazement at all the many new things before him. Lights flashed, bells whistled, children were laughing, and again shrieks filled the air from some distant place. And again, no one seemed alarmed. Suddenly they rounded a corner and Thor stopped in his tracks.
"What is THAT?" He asked, staring at the massive metal serpent that twisted before him.
"It's called a rollercoaster. And we are going to ride it." Talin said, giving him a challenging grin.
"You can ride it? How fascinating!" Thor burst out, and they continued walking towards it.
Thor saw that people sat in cars that locked them into place, and the cars somehow flew along the metal tracks. It looked most exhilarating. They stood in a line of people waiting to ride, and as they waited, Thor began to get more and more nervous. Some people were crying as they got off the ride, others nearly too shaken to walk. Some ran for the nearest trash can to throw up. Then, they were next in line.
"I'm not so sure about this." Thor muttered as the people in the cars before him got out.
"Don't chicken out now. You go flying around with lightning and shit, this should be right up your alley." Talin teased.
As they climbed into the car, people stared at Thor with amusement. He was pretty big, after all, and as he tried to pull the odd restraint over his head, he nearly elbowed Talin in the face. Finally situated, he glanced over at Talin. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the restraint.
"Scared?" Thor questioned.
"Not exactly. More like pending adrenaline rush." She replied, and he saw a wild gleam in her eyes.
She really was a wild child. Part of Loki, part her own. Thor took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. He had done things far wilder than this. Fought more terrifying foes. So why did he suddenly feel so anxious to get off? Suddenly the cars jerked forward, and they were going up. Up and up and up and up.
"Well, this is certainly higher than I expected." Thor commented, glancing around.
"You ready to scream?" Talin asked.
"Have you been on one of these before? Are you sure it's safe?" Thor asked.
"First time I've been one any ride. And it should be safe, but who knows." Talin replied, and suddenly let out a hysterical giggle as they rounded the top of the massive hill.
Looking down, Thor felt his stomach jump into his throat. And then he understood why everyone screamed.
The day winded down into a cool night as they walked about the dimly lit walkways. The crowds were beginning to diminish. Thor liked the fair food, all fried and sweet and salty. He was fascinated by cotton candy. Talin had bought quite a few things, including shirts, a bright coral colored scarf, a multitude of jewelry, and other little trinkets. Thor held a large bag of something called kettle corn, which tasted sweet and salty at the same time. They both ate from it as they walked around.
They had been on many rides, including the rollercoaster many times more. It seemed that Thor was just as fascinated by everything as Talin was. And everything was going fine until suddenly a group of people, slightly younger looking than Talin, rushed up to them. Flashes were suddenly blinding Thor as they all blabbered excitedly, until he realized what was going on. They had recognized him, from New York. Alarm rose as they swarmed Talin and himself, all asking questions and squealing and Thor felt trapped. Defensively he pulled Talin close to himself, about to summon his hammer to get them out of there. And suddenly they were gone.
Thor gasped as they lurched forward, and he stumbled and fell onto the cold ground. Sand. Were they home? Then Thor heard something that sent chills down his spine. It was groaning and snarling all at once, and gasping, desperate gasping for air.
"Talin?" Thor questioned, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark.
He finally found her form crouched on the ground a few feet away. She was slowly rocking back and forth as the sounds came from her.
"Talin, what's wrong?" He asked, alarmed, going over to her.
And when she glanced at him, he jumped back. Her eyes were glowing a demonic orange-red glow, her face lit with lines of the same color. It pulsed. She was shaking.
"Thor..." She breathed, then groaned, clutching herself tightly.
"What's happening?" Thor asked.
"It's... it's... trying to get out." Talin gasped.
The demon, the monster, the Phoenix.
"What do I do?" Thor asked, about to take hold of her arm, to try to get her inside her house, wherever it was.
"Don't!" Talin screeched suddenly, but he had already grabbed her.
Suddenly his hand was burning, and the sensation shot up his arm before he was able to pull it away. Thor gasped, gripping his arm tightly. He could see burn marks on his hand.
"I'm sorry." Talin groaned, and suddenly she was struggling to her feet.
She looked around, wincing every few seconds, and then sighed heavily.
"We're nowhere near my house. I can't move us again, not like this. We'll have to stay here." She said.
"I could fly us?" Thor suggested.
She looked at him for a long moment.
"That would involve you touching me." She said.
Thor glanced at his burned hand. It had hurt, a lot, but they would be much safer in her home.
"It's tolerable. Just point me in the right direction." Thor said as he summoned Mjolnir.
Hammer in hand, Talin gave him the exact location, directions and mileage, from where they were. She seemed to be in an immense amount of pain. Readying, at the last second he grabbed her, cringing as his already burned hand screamed in pain. Then, they were moving.
The moment they landed Thor ripped his hand away from her, groaning at the unbelievable pain. The burns had somehow worked their way all the way to his shoulder. He was tempted to cut his arm off at this point.
"I'm sorry... I'll be able to heal that as soon as this stops." She said weakly.
She took a few steps and suddenly fell over, completely unconscious. The glowing lines stopped suddenly. Beyond worried, Thor cautiously placed his hand on her. No burning. Good. With that he picked her up and carried her in the direction she had been going, and walked into the living room. She was unbelievably light, even for a human. Gently he placed her on her bed.
He felt completely helpless, until she suddenly woke up again.
"I'm fine. It's stopped. Just let me rest a bit and I'll fix your arm and send you home. Just let me...sleep..."
Thor sighed, and went into the living room to crash on the couch. What a day...
"Sir, come look at this."
Fury glanced over at one of the intel guys, who had an alarmed expression on his face. He walked over, looking at the blurred picture that was stretched over the screen.
"What exactly am I looking at?" Fury asked.
Clearly the photo was of two people, one much taller and larger than the other. It was too blurred for him to make out any particular details. With a few rapid clicks, the picture began to clear. Fury felt chills run down his spine when he finally saw what, and who, it was.
"Thor... and who is that?" Fury muttered, looking more closely.
It was a girl, and she looked a lot like...
"Loki." Fury growled.
Then he noticed something odd.
"Is there something wrong with her face?" Fury asked.
Her eyes were glowing...
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