Chapter 48: The Other Death Pays a Visit

Thanks for the reviews, they help my muse.

Sally is an OC from a few of my other stories. Since this is a fluff fic, I borrowed her from them.

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In the doorway sat an adorable little girl, and unlike Ivy, she had black hair. Like Ivy's, her hair fell in ringlets around her face and down her back. She was almost as cute as Ivy, though not quite. There was a godlike quality about her that Ivy lacked though. She was dressed in a baby blue doll dress with cute little black shoes, and she had dimples on her cheeks. She looked to be around six years old.

"Oh my God, you are so adorable," said Ivy, running over to her and giving her a big hug. "Have you ever seen anyone so cute?" she asked the rest of the room, who all shook their head in disbelief.

They all still thought Ivy was more attractive.

"Hello," said the little girl, hugging Ivy back and then releasing her. "My name is Sally," she said, addressing the room and curtsying. She smiled at them, but there was something lacking in that smile. It was as if it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Tony, standing and looking at the child with some trepidation. He could feel the power coming off the being standing there. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt. He looked around and saw that everyone could feel it.

They were all staring wide-eyed at the little girl.

Except Luna and Ivy, who were beaming at her.

Luna looked at her like a long-lost friend. There was a dreamlike quality to her eyes, like she was remembering something.

"I just told you, I'm Sally," the being stated, smiling a beautiful smile at him. It still didn't reach her eyes.

"Why are you in my dining room? How did you get into my house?" the owner of said house wanted to know. He had enough wards up to prevent even Asgardians from entering.

"Oh, you might know me by my other persona," said Sally and then she morphed into her death identity. In her place stood a tall figure in a deep cloak with skeletal hands and face. If they thought the power from before was strong, now it was even worse. There was the stench of death permeating everything. Even Ivy and Luna were affected.

Ivy took a step back, looked at him and scrutinized his face. "I think I like you better the other way," she said, giggling her cute little giggle. She didn't like the feeling that this presence was giving off. She was a happy girl, and he was killing her vibe.

"I do too," said the little girl as she morphed back. She took Ivy's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Why don't you come and eat with us?" asked Ivy. Not seeing anything wrong with inviting a deity in joining them for a meal. They had to eat too, didn't they?

"Okay," chirped Sally.

So, the two girls went up to the table, and Sally served herself up some of the eggs and bacon while everybody else stared at the persona of Death. They weren't quite sure what to do with this entity that was sitting at their table. They all stared at her as she happily hummed to herself and ate her eggs.

"What did you mean it's too late?" asked Tony, finally gaining control over himself. "Can't she just give these artifacts back to you?" That made perfect sense to him. She'd just give them back and be done with the whole business. Then she wouldn't be the Master of Death.

"Nope. I put them on this earth so that I would have an avatar to do my bidding when they were all joined together," said Sally, giving Ivy a fond smile. Like she had meant her to be that avatar all along.

"What do you mean do your bidding?" asked Ivy, warily. She wasn't sure she was going to like that. It sounded like it meant killing people. She wasn't sure she was up to that. Then again, she was a pragmatic person, so if they were supposed to be dead, then maybe. Though she wasn't going to go around randomly offing people, that was drawing a line she wouldn't cross. Not even for Death.

"Well, every now and then, there are people who don't want to die, and I need you to go and make sure that they do… die," Sally said with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn't understand why people wanted to live forever. She'd been around since the beginning of time, and it was downright boring. Sure, there were new discoveries and all that, but really it was dead boring most of the time. People were people and they hardly changed.

"Why can't you do it?" Steve asked, he wasn't sure this being was Death. He still was a Christian and held on to his beliefs. There was only one God and Thor and Loki were just powerful beings. Not gods. This was just another powerful being. Not a god. He would believe that to his dying day.

"I can't interfere. That is the way of things," Sally explained, eating some bacon. "That is why I have an avatar," she gestured to Ivy.

"By people who are supposed to be dead? You mean like the Flamels?" asked Remus, knowing the alchemist were long-lived. They had been alive for over six hundred years. He was sure something like Death was quite ticked at them.

"Yes, just like them. Though I'm giving them leeway for now because I know eventually, they're going to come to me. However, they were scheduled to come to me last year, but you derailed my plans, Ivy, so I'm going to have to step in sooner or later," the tiny being said, picking up her orange juice and sipping it. She smiled at the taste and put it back down. It was so rare that she got to eat human food. It was delightful.

"How did I derail your plans?" asked Ivy, very confused. She didn't do anything that she knew of.

"You did not go to Hogwarts," Sally said, not in a chastising way. "There were plans in motion for them to die, but you not going put paid to that," she explained, putting some jam on her toast and taking a bite. That was some good jam. "Dumbledore didn't know what to do with himself. Of course, it wasn't entirely your fault, Voldemort didn't show either," she said with a shrug. She didn't tell her that was Goose's doing. If he hadn't collected the Horcruxes then Voldy would have come. As it was, the Dark Lord was in her domain now. There would be no resurrection.

"Oh. I'm not sure if I should apologize for that or not," Ivy said, looking around as if to seek help in the matter.

Everyone looked just as confused as she did.

"Oh, don't apologize," Sally said with a wave of her hand. "I understand why you didn't go. I wouldn't go near that manipulative old man either." That was one man she was going to be happy to escort to the other side. There were many people who wanted to have words with him.

"Oh, okay," Ivy said, giggling her tinkling giggle. If Sally wasn't mad, then she would be okay. She might not fear Sally, but she wasn't about to piss Death off. Even she wasn't that foolish.

"At any rate, there are others like the Flamels that seem to want to escape death, and every now and then I'm going to have you step in and make sure that they pay their dues," the persona of Death said, paying due diligence to her meal. She really enjoyed eating this delicious food. House elves really were good cooks.

"Are there any other consequences for being the Master of Death?" Pepper wanted to know. She was making notes of all the deity was telling them. She wanted to look it all over later and do some research in the magical books when the little girl left. She'd get together with Sirius and Remus and they'd study all the ramifications on what this was all about.

"Besides an extremely long life? No, not really. Well, you will be a bit more powerful," Sally said, tapping her finger to her chin in a cutesy way.

"She's not going to get cuter? Is she?" asked Bruce, looking at Ivy warily. That was the last thing they wanted.

"Only time will tell," Sally said, brightly. She didn't think it would happen, but she wanted to fuck with them.

"Damn it," whispered a few of the people at the table.

"What was that?" asked Ivy, sweetly, batting her adorable eyelashes.

"Nothing, little bug," said Tony, quickly.

"I did want to warn you that you're going to need this power when Thanos comes. And you uniting the mutants is going to help you a great deal when this idiot comes along too. One of the reasons he's doing all of this is because he thinks he's in love with me. The moron," Death said, folding her arms in a cute little pout. She really hated that Titan. He had been trying to court her for some time now and she was getting tired of it. The idiot just wouldn't take no for an answer.

"He's courting Death?" asked Sirius, shock evident on his face. "What kind of person courts Death?" Not even the sadistic people in his family would do something so… suicidal.

"The kind that wants to die young," said Sally, in a low and ominous tone. Then she smiled cutely and ate some more of her toast.

"How did he even know you were an entity?" Bruce asked, looking at the cute little girl.

"He's a Titan," she said with a shrug as if that were obvious.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Not," said Tony, rubbing his forehead.

"Titans know all about the gods and entities," said Sally in a tone as if she was teaching a classroom of five-year-olds. "They are former gods, so it only makes sense that they would know about them." She then nodded her head, like she had done her job well and finished off her breakfast.

"I wish Thor and Loki would explain more of this shit to us," Pepper said, completely out of character. She knew the mythology, but she didn't know what was fact or myth.

"I'm sure they would if you ask them," said Sally, brightly.

"We do, but they kind of blow us off," said Remus, earnestly. "It's like it's a secret society for them, but then again we do the same thing," he said, slumping his shoulder. They did tend to do the same thing to the Asgardians when they asked anything about the magical society. They hedged around the subject. There were books, but they rarely clarified anything. Now that Gandr was in Hogwarts, that was going to change.

"I think we need to have better communication in this house," said Tony, still rubbing his forehead. He felt the mother of all headaches coming along.

"We're going to have to get the mutants involved," said Luna in a vague way. Like she was seeing something no one else was.

"That's true. If we're all going to do this, we're going to have to get everybody involved. But I'm not moving anybody else into this house," said Tony a bit forcefully. In his mind his house was full enough. The last thing they needed was another power source in the mix.

"I don't blame you," said Ivy, giggling her cute little giggle. They already had a Flerken, the Asgardians, two wizards, and the Avengers. And whatever Deadpool was popping up every now and then. They really didn't need a mutant too.

"Anyway," Sally said, patting her lips with a napkin, standing up and going to the door. "I just came to let you know that Ivy is now one of the Masters of Death here in this dimension. Harry is the other one. You need to communicate with him too. I'll be in touch." And with that, she disappeared in a dusting of grave dirt.

"Ivy, little bug, dearest, I love you to death, no pun intended, but you meet the strangest people," Tony said, looking at her with an adoring look. It wasn't her fault that Death came to breakfast. He might have to have a talk with Goose though, for all the good it will do him. That cat wouldn't listen to him on a good day.

"I love you too, Daddy," Ivy said, giggling behind her hands, making everyone chuckle nervously.

"Jarvis, did you get any readings off that deity?" Tony asked, looking at the ceiling. He really wanted to see if that was a god. Not that he really doubted it, but was it a god like Thor or something different?

"Yes, sir, but you're not going to like them," the AI stated, in a confused tone, which was unusual for him.

"I'll be the judge of that," the genius stated, putting his napkin down and getting up from the table and going to his lab.

"Very well, sir," Jarvis said, sighing.

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"Well, Loki, I hope you enjoyed dinner," Siri said as they walked down the boardwalk. They had just finished a meal at one of the high-class restaurants in London. It was a quiet meal where they ate scallops in garlic sauce and steak tartare with all the side dishes. They had chocolate mousse for dessert. It had been served in a five-course meal style, and it was delicious.

"It was very nice," said the God of Mischief as he took her hand in his. He had had a good time talking to her about his childhood. He had kept the bad stuff from her and only told her about the good times he had with his mother. The classes, the trips to the orchards and her homeland to visit her brother. Her lessons on magic. He left out the harsh things Odin said to him, the lessons on battle, and his and Thors fights.

"I wanted to keep it upscale for you for our first date. Don't expect it every time," Siri said, playfully. She preferred the middle-class restaurants. She liked a good steak and potatoes meal, or fish and chips combo. Something hardy. Something you can sink your teeth into. Her upbringing was posh, and she hated it.

"I think, I'll pick our next venue," he said a bit pompously. He looked down at their hands and squeezed them thoughtfully. It felt good to hold her hand like this. He looked at the night sky and noted that the stars were much different here than they were in Malibu.

"Oh," she said with a lifted eyebrow. "What makes you think I'll let you?" There was a bite in her tone. She didn't like his tone of voice either, so she didn't care what she sounded like at the moment. She tugged at her hand and forced them apart.

"I think it would be appropriate. Isn't it usually the male who picks these things?" he asked, feeling disappointment that their hands were no longer joined, but felt that this was an important conversation, and he needed to pay attention.

"You need to be brought up to today's society standards. This is an equal rights thing. Women have more power than they do where you're from," she said, guessing that he thought that females belonged in the kitchen or at least the males made all the decisions.

"There are female warriors in Asgard," protested Loki. He knew of many warriors like Sif. They still deferred to the men in their lives. It was just the way of things.

"And yet you seem to think that you have the right to dominate the relationship," Siriusly stated, waving a hand in an angry manner.

"That is the way of things," he stated, like it was fact. He was an Ice Giant, raised on Asgard. They were Vikings. It was a male dominate society. He knew no other way.

"Not here on Midgard. Here we have equal rights in everything," she said, knowing that wasn't completely true, but Merlin dammit, they tried. She was trying to remain calm. She knew he was raised differently.

"I see," said Loki, slowly. He thought about that as he looked at her. "I'm not sure I know how to play that game."

"It is not a game, Loki, it is a lifestyle," she said softly, giving him a sad smile. It was good they were having this out now.

"I see," said Loki again.

"Do you think it is one you could become accustomed to?" she asked, looking at his bemused face. "Because if it is not, then this is where we end this relationship." She stood there sad and firm. She liked him, but she wasn't going to set herself up for a term of fighting.

"As long as you don't expect me to become submissive, I think I can see my way around it," he said with a furrowed brow. He really didn't see the problem with sharing control. He never was the dominant type anyway. Not like Thor, who was having issues with Jane over this very thing. He and his brother had had many talks over it. Thor had asked his advice on what to do with Jane, and he hadn't thought it was a true issue. Now he could see that it really was.

"Equal rights, Loki, equal rights," Siri said with a beautiful smile. "I do not expect to be the dominant person in a relationship." She loved the fact that he was willing to compromise.

"Very well then, we shall give it a shot," Loki said, grabbing her hand in his as they started walking down the boardwalk again.

"Okay, then you pick our next venue," Siri said, happily. She continued to smile at him and walked with a spring in her step.

"I would be more than happy to, my lady." He squeezed her hand again, delighted with the outcome of their discussion.

"Would you like to go on the Ferris wheel?" she asked, pointing to the small Ferris wheel off in the distance. There was a carnival set up near the boardwalk and she was thinking they could go and see it, or…

"I have never been on a Ferris wheel," Loki said, looking at the ride and the other things the carnival had to offer. They looked dangerous, and shoddy. He wasn't sure if they should take part. Though the games looked fun.

"It's right over there," Siri said, pointing to the Ferris wheel, like he hadn't seen it. "We can go on it and then walk around the carnival, or do the boardwalk some more, or we can go home and try some other things," she said suggestively, rubbing her hand on his chest. There was no doubt as to what she was talking about.

"Fenrir is there," he said, arching an eyebrow. Not that he really cared, but she might. He found on his dating circuit that some women didn't like it when the children were about.

"Oh, I'm sure he has been around you when you've brought women home. Besides, I know the silencing charm," she purred. She was a witch after all.

"Are you sure this is where you want to take our relationship now?" he asked, knowing that it was a big step for human women who were looking for commitments, like he was. He was sure they were going to be seeing each other for quite some time. Even if she didn't know that. "Or would you like to wait until we know each other better?" He wanted to make sure she didn't regret it in the morning.

"I have no qualms in having an adult relationship with you, Loki. I'm a grown woman," she said, knowingly. She had not had sex since she came to this dimension. If she was going to have some, Loki was a safe enough bet.

"Very well then, let's go home," he said, tucking her hand into his elbow and steering her towards the car.

"After you, my lord," she said, letting him lead the way. She was going to have fun tonight, come hell or high water.

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While Siri and Loki were having their date, Harry, Star, Neville and Gandr were meeting in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was right before curfew, and they were doing their best to have their meeting before they had to go to their common room.

"Why are we here?" asked Gandr, wondering why they were meeting in the ghost's bathroom. There were plenty of other places to meet.

"Because we're trying to figure out what we're going to do with these Deathly Hallows," said Harry, brandishing the three items. "And Myrtle won't tell on us," he added, looking around for the ghost, who was absent.

"I already told you, you're going to be one of the most powerful magicals in this dimension," said Star, huffily. She was getting tired of explaining it.

"Yes, but what exactly do you mean by that?" asked Gandr. He was more powerful than Harry, but he wasn't a wizard.

"It means that you're going to be powerful along with Ivy. I don't know what else to tell you. You're going to be more powerful than Dumbledore or Voldemort or anybody else in the dimension, bar Ivy," said the very frustrated non-cat. She truly didn't know how else to say it.

"Will he be more powerful than Merlin?" asked Neville, looking at Harry in awe. If that happened, he hoped Harry would remain his friend.

"I don't know. I don't know how powerful Merlin was," Star said, licking a paw in disinterest. She had only heard stories about Merlin, and she was sure they were all blown out of proportion. No one could have been that formidable. Really the things the man was said to have done were out there.

"I don't know if I want to be more powerful than Merlin anyway, because then they'd put me down in the history books and talk about me forever," said Harry. He cringed at the very thought of people writing books about him. He was sure they did that in his dimension, because they did it to Ivy in this one. Here, he was anonymous. No one knew his name. Now though… if he wasn't careful, then they might just.

"Well, if you're going to be stronger than Dumbledore, they're going to do that anyway," pointed out Gandr with a chuckle. He did so love to rub things like that in Harry's face.

"They're not going to put Dumbledore in the history books because he's powerful. They're going to put Dumbledore in the history books because he's got all those damn titles," said Harry with a pout as he folded his arms mulishly.

"That's true enough," said Gandr with a knowing nod. That man just loved to make a spectacle of himself.

"Hello," said Sally as she popped into existence right in the middle of their huddle. Star hissed and the boys jumped and pulled their wands.

"Who are you?" asked Gandr, being the only one who didn't pull his wand. He knew this was one of the few beings he would not win if they fought. That was very rare.

"I'm Death," said Sally, waving at him in a cute little wave. "You can call me Sally," she added in a chirp.

"Oh, are you here to tell us about the Deathly Hallows?" asked Harry, lowering his wand. He felt better knowing she was here for a reason, and that wasn't to kill them off. He could feel how strong she was, and she felt like death.

"Why yes, yes, I am. I already told Ivy about it. Now I'm here to tell you," she said perkily. She conjured a chair and sat daintily on it, kicking her little feet like the small child she was pretending to be.

"Oh, thank God," Harry said, putting his wand away and sitting on one of the sinks. Neville did the same, while Gandr conjured a chair. Star jumped into Harry's lap and stared at the deity.

"You're welcome," she chirped, and smiled. So, Sally told Harry all the perks and consequences about being a Master of Death and then went on her way.

"She's almost as cute as Ivy," said Neville, smiling at the spot where Sally had sat. He was glad she explained it better than Star had. Now they knew what it meant, and Harry didn't have to badger the non-cat.

"That she is," said Harry as he petted Star.

"At least now you know what to expect," said Gandr standing and vanishing his and Sally's chairs. He was just glad the entity was gone. It was uncomfortable being around something that could defeat him. He wasn't used to that.

"We'd better get back to our common rooms," said Star, jumping from Harry's lap. "It's past curfew."

"Shite," said the three boys as they ran from the bathroom.