I really didn't want to go back down there. After some diplomatic maneuvering by my husband, Victor Von Doom finally agreed to come to Avengers Compound to explain himself and I was not looking forward to it.
I hadn't met him during the whole ordeal when he teamed up with everyone else against the Beyonder, seeing as how I'd been a little bit occupied at the time. But I had heard enough, and then there were the few times I saw him on TV. If Namor was bad, Doom seemed like he could be worse.
"Perhaps today we can get this resolved at last," Loki declared as we arrived at the Compound, running a hand through her long black hair to make sure it was straight. After I made an offhand comment about drowning in testosterone, Loki shifted into her femme form. Wasn't that sweet?
Then Loki had ruined it by joking that we could knock the three kings off their stride by making out in front of them. Just for that, three pickles were going in next time I made tuna salad for us. As it was, there were going to be no more Oreos for her, not after the way she licked the cream slowly and suggestively the other day. She had the astonishing ability to turn anything into an erotic tease, and sometimes it was fun. And sometimes it was annoying, depending on my mood.
"Don't give me hope. I can't handle it right now," I told her while doing a final check to make sure the pantsuit I wore was straight. Loki was also in a suit, hers having a skirt that fell to her knees. Our tailored blazers were nearly identical except for color…Loki was of course wearing green while I had decided on a color the tailor had called Oatmeal. It looked light cream to me, but then I never had an eye for that stuff. If it was comfortable, I would wear it. Loki had taken one look at it and bought me a necklace to wear with it, a gold chain with a single emerald teardrop pendant. She preferred I always wear something green on my person…her way of marking her territory. I didn't mind. I felt embraced by her, loved and cherished. So, I always wore a green item, whether jewelry, makeup, a scarf, a belt or buckle, or something else.
"Are you saying you have not enjoyed sitting in on these meetings, watching Namor and T'Challa struggle not to go for each other's throats?" Loki smirked at my glare. "I know, Pet. But one way or another, we should get some type of resolution today."
I wished I had her optimism. Loki picked up on my mood, because she came up to me and pulled me into an embrace. "You have been doing so well, Pet," she murmured. "You are more than capable of facing down both Namor and Doom."
"I'm just ready for this to be over." But I had a feeling it wasn't going to be. If Doom was responsible for the attack on Namor's kingdom, there was going to be war, and war was what we were trying to prevent. Then there was the matter of Namor's attack on Wakanda being for no reason, no point, and I really had to wonder if the Atlantean would be too proud to make reparations or even admit he was wrong.
Loki's lips grazed my ear as she whispered, "I know, my love. Since Rogers said nothing about us mediating a dispute between Namor and Doom, I am inclined to leave them to it since neither of us particularly cares if they rip each other's heads off. However..."
"...there's more involved than just the two of them," I sighed. I would have loved to go along with Loki's plan and just tossed those two into a gladiator style pit and let them hash it out, but both were monarchs over kingdoms full of innocent people who would be caught in the crossfire. We already had casualties from Wakanda, and we needed to prevent more pain and suffering. "Steve is going to owe me bigtime."
"He is going to owe both of us 'bigtime'." Loki's lips pressed against my forehead, and she ran her fingers through my own dark brown hair. "Perhaps we will request some time off..."
"Oh, he owes us more than that. I say we press him for an all-expenses paid vacation of our choosing."
Loki snorted in affront. "I can well afford to pay for a vacation for the two of us-"
"That's not the point. He'd be paying for it in return for the two of us dealing with this bullshit."
Loki pressed her lips together, thinking. "There is a place called Hawaii..."
"Hell no. Way too touristy and I'm not about to become another entitled white person contributing to the cultural erasure and exploitation of the native Hawaiians, not to mention the wildlife..."
Loki pulled back and looked at me with a raised brow. "You feel that strongly about it? Okay, no Hawaii. Colorado?"
I thought about it. Snow-covered peaks, hot cocoa in a ski lodge in front of a roaring fireplace, coming back to a cabin with a hot tub waiting...
I heard Loki chuckle. "Looks like it will be Colorado."
"Would you be willing to learn how to ski?"
"Depends on what the activity requires." She took my hand and squeezed it. "Alright, Pet, it is time."
I had never hated anyone at first sight before. It usually took me a while before I judged whether I disliked someone. I was an empath; it was in my nature to give people a chance and try to see the good in them.
I took one look at Doom and immediately hated him. I wasn't talking the "I don't like you, but I can work with you provided you don't speak to me when we're not on duty" type of hate that Carol and Rhodey had for me. This was the "I would feel no remorse about gutting you like a fish and leaving you for the carrion eaters" type of hate that Tony had for Elon Musk. Something about Doom made my skin crawl and my gut churn in utter disgust, and my gut was telling me that he had done something awful and unforgivable. This wasn't empath gut; this was angel gut. All my senses went on high alert, and I felt the incredibly strong urge to smite him. I had felt this way before, with a corrupt Voodoo priestess.
Pet, Loki's voice whispered into my mind. Pet, you are on fire.
I was?
I looked down at my hands. Oh, fuck I was!
Damn, damn, damn. I had been feeling that urge to smite Doom so strongly that I had accidentally summoned angelfire. The blue flames stroked along my hands and wrists like a lover's caress, ready to do my bidding. The problem was, I couldn't control them. I had yet to get the hang of calling them up when I wanted, dismissing them when I wanted, and directing them to where I wanted. Since I was not an angel in Silence—and never would be again, especially if Loki and I were together—I didn't have the ability to master them the way an older, more experienced, and Silent angel could.
I put my hands behind my back, nodding in greeting to the three monarchs gathered in the room. Maybe none of them would notice. T'Challa knew about my touch anxiety, and someone had obviously told both Namor and Doom about it because neither man thought it strange that I wouldn't approach to shake hands. I prayed that the flames wouldn't decide to leap of their own accord, because the effects were unpredictable. Somethings they healed, sometimes they punished...and given how I was feeling about Doom, I was betting on the latter happening. That would be very, very bad.
"Have a seat, gentlemen," Loki told them as she pulled out my chair for me. She pushed me in, which allowed me to place my hands firmly on my lap under the table while thinking fire extinguishing thoughts. I also noticed Loki had seated me as far from Doom as possible, which I was grateful for. It might not have stopped the flames if they decided to leap at him, but it made me feel a little better.
"I am going to skip all the niceties and get right to it," Namor told us and then pointed at Doom. "You. Why did you attack Atlantis?"
Doom didn't even flinch even though Namor could have arguably mopped the floor with him. "I was not aware we attacked anyone. My scientists were looking for the large vibranium deposit that we detected on the ocean floor. There is an arms race that I intend to win. However, since it seems my people became, shall we say, overzealous in their hunt for the element in question, it appears that I owe your kingdom reparations of some sort. Surely, we did not possess any hostile intent."
If the room was bristling with temper before, it was fully steaming now. Doom was also full of steaming shit. Loki arched a brow at me in question, and I nodded. He was lying through his teeth. Doom knew full well that there wasn't just a vibranium deposit at that spot. No doubt he decided that the pesky fish people were disposable obstacles to getting what he wanted.
Now the flames were at my elbows. I squeezed my hands between my thighs. Good flames, good fire, please stay put, or you know, you could just go out. Please don't leap towards the ass licking tin can...don't do it...
Loki put a hand on my lap to comfort me...and those damn angel flames decided to curl around her wrist like a cat seeking some cuddles and pets. She didn't react outwardly, but I could tell she was concerned... especially when the flames began to burn white. That wasn't good.
Loki?! I asked her.
I am alright, love. The flames tickle.
Of course, they did. There was no reason to mete divine punishment down on her. I tried not to watch as they curled around her arm up to her elbow. The angelfire liked her. Even so, I could feel my face burn with mortification. I hadn't felt this humiliated since I was twelve and started my first period right in front of my seventh-grade class while I was delivering an oral presentation.
"Reparations to him are fine," T'Challa spoke up. "But what about the suffering my kingdom has endured? Too many of my subjects died."
Namor stood up. "Yes...I would like to formally apologize, King T'Challa, and make an offer of reparations for your nation. If you allow us, I will send my people to aid in the rebuilding, and we will plunder the treasury to make amends to the families of your dead."
"You think gold will make the survivors feel better?" T'Challa snarled.
The angelfire jumped briefly upon T'Challa's words. Thankfully no one noticed except for my wife and me. I knew what it was reacting to. I could feel T'Challa's rage and his shock at Namor's audacity.
I didn't think the fire wanted to punish him for that. It wanted to heal his pain, or at least make it better...and it was then that I knew where I would be spending the foreseeable future. I had just finished the thought when Loki looked at me and nodded. Yes, she would join me in Wakanda to help.
"Of course not," Namor conceded. "It will be more of a symbolic gesture. In addition, I will send my finest healers to treat those who were wounded."
T'Challa didn't calm down all the way, but he sat back slightly mollified. Then I saw his eyes shift downward, a brow arch up in surprise, and then he stared at me.
Oh, don't tell me...I checked to make sure Namor and Doom weren't looking before I peeked under the table. The angelfire had dripped to the floor and a line of it was burning directly from my chair to T'Challa's foot and ankle. Now I was really embarrassed.
Namor and Doom were now having a full volume argument, and Loki had given up trying to make them stay civil. After only a few minutes, she bellowed, "Enough! I believe we are finished for now. Your Majesties, unless you prefer me to sell tickets, I suggest the two of you walk away for now and-" That got both kings rounding on Loki. She sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Here is what is going to happen: Namor will pay reparations to Wakanda. Doom, you will pay reparations to Atlantis. You will respect the boundaries of his kingdom and not invade again. In return, I promise that I shall develop a sudden case of amnesia and forget that you launched an unprovoked attack upon a sovereign nation. Your reputation on the worldwide stage will be preserved, Namor's will be bolstered when his humanitarian efforts in Wakanda are witnessed, and no one will be going to war." Loki fixed both Namor and Doom with a glare. "Are there any questions?"
It was another hour before I was finally able to flee the room, and the angelfire was still going. I was swearing up a blue streak with T'Challa watching in amusement.
"Why won't it go out? Damn it, Namor and Doom are both gone, extinguish already!" I was shaking my hand as though trying to get rid of the flames, but they kept on. I growled.
"I would like to thank you, friend. I do feel better after that fire touched me."
"It was an accident," I pointed out to T'Challa.
"Even so. I am assuming this means I will need to have the guest suite at my palace ready within the next week?"
"Do the Black Panther powers include mind reading too?" I asked him, shocked.
"No, I just know you, and I know where you go, your spouse will be at your side. The suite will be ready tomorrow. I look forward to continuing your training."
I groaned at that, and T'Challa just patted my shoulder—which he was able to get away with since he was a close friend—and walked off, probably to catch his ride back to his home.
I stood there in the hall, my hands still dripping angelfire onto the floor. Good thing it didn't burn whatever the compound was made from. Tony would have killed me. "Could this day possibly g-"
I was cut off by a pair of hands grabbing me by the shoulders, whirling me around, and then I was tasting Loki's lips as she crushed me against the wall, practically clawing at my clothes. I submitted to the kiss, allowing her to stay in control, and she kissed me until I was clawing at her clothing.
"What-" I started when the kiss finally ended so Loki could come up for air. "was that for?"
"The angelfire did not just tickle me," Loki breathed, her oceanic eyes blazing with a hungry lust I was alto familiar with. She was breathing heavily. The only time I ever saw her this close to losing control was when she was in rut.
My jaw dropped. "Are you saying this stuff acts like an aphrodisiac for you?" I hoped it was just her, because if it acted that way for anyone else I used it on, things would be getting awkward.
"Only when it comes from you," Loki murmured, her teeth catching my earlobe. I melted, and knew we had to get out of here before we embarrassed ourselves.
I also noticed my hands were no longer on fire, but now I was burning in a different way. "You think Doom and Namor will stick your 'recommendations'?"
"I do not care," she answered. Then she snapped her fingers, and we were in our apartment.
"Your car!" I exclaimed.
"I will get it later," she growled, then pounced.
Doom and Namor seemed to make good on their promises because there was no news of any conflict over the next couple of days. I wasn't in Wakanda for an hour before T'Challa dragged me into a sparring session. I didn't win, but I made him work for it. He was sweating by the time we were done. I was improving, yay!
Loki and I were going to be in Wakanda for a while. By day I went around the kingdom, lending an empathic ear to anyone who wanted to talk, and healing people with the angelfire, which shockingly cooperated. By night Loki and I would take walks in the jungle before joining the royal family for dinner. There were a lot more angelfire-fueled encounters between us. If I had known that it did that to him, I would have been campaigning a lot harder to learn how to control it. I made a mental note to talk to Derrick. They would be much less embarrassing to deal with than Gabriel or Michael.
We were lying in bed together after one such encounter, Loki catching his breath while I tried to get my brain working again. We both groaned at the knock on the door.
"You two! Take a break from your perpetual honeymoon and come look at this!" Shuri's voice chirped through the vibranium-laced wood. I heard her walk away and sighed. I had felt her excitement and sense of urgency, so this was important.
Loki had us dressed in moments and we went out to see what the deal was. I followed Shuri's scent and he trailed alongside me as we reached the home theater.
Where, larger than life, Namor was giving a speech.
"...and I would like to submit for your consideration, Atlantis's application to join your United Nations. We are ready to join the rest of the world, opening ourselves to other nations just as Wakanda did. I look for-"
"Huh. I never would have thought it," I said, watching the rest of the speech. Namor shook hands with various world leaders, including Valkryie and the POTUS, and they all chit chatted as they departed. "I thought Namor was determined to keep Atlantis isolated."
"So did I! Brother, did you have anything to do with it?"
T'Challa shook his head. "This has come up in none of the talks we have had since his people began helping with the rebuild.
I had a niggling suspicion, and I turned to my husband. "Did you?"
Loki looked at me, eyes sparkling, with just a hint of passion contained in them, promising that our earlier encounter wouldn't be the only one we'd be having tonight. His lips curled in a smirk.
"I will never tell."