♤Magical Entertainment♤《 Loki X OC 》

Chapter 2 ~ Wanda's choice

Recap:

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK IS REINDEER GAMES DOING HERE!"

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Clint and Tony shot up from their seats, yelling in protest as Natasha made her way off the kitchen island. Bruce stood as well, on guard but less hostile than his friends. Steve slipped into Captain America mode as he rose while Bucky simply looked confused and remained seated. The others, of course, had heard about the battle of New York even if they weren't involved in the fight. Hell, Wanda and her twin had gotten their powers thanks to the god's scepter. Though one thing they all knew was that the trickster meant trouble.

"It's a pleasure seeing you too, Stark," the tall and lean, black-haired god mused as he stepped out from the elevator to stand to the left of his brother. He was wearing his usual green, black, and gold armor paired with his trademark smirk, but he was also wearing chains: a thick metal collar, chains around his hands, waist, and feet to hinder quick movements, and a leash-like chain gripped tightly by a woman in black and white armor they had never seen before. He looked around the room, taking a few seconds to register the faces glaring at him from around the room. The ones scowling the hardest, the ones he recognized, he smirked at just for the fun of seeing their expression grow even more contorted. Those who looked either confused or neutral, the ones he didn't recognize, he simply passed over, only memorizing their face for later reference. Though, the one person his eyes stayed on the longest was an auburn-haired lady he didn't recognize, but he could feel the power crackling of her like one of Thor's bolts. Devastating electricity he knew all to well. Even if the strange red man had the stone imbedded in his forehead, the woman seemed to almost glow with its light. Loki almost shuddered, but his court mask stayed in place like always, never betraying a thought.

"Brother, play nice," Thor bid him quietly. Loki just rolled his eyes as the older of the two turned to the gathered Avengers again. "To answer your question, Tony. Father has decided that Loki will spend his time here helping us instead of rotting in a cell for the rest of eternity because of his great help on our mission to Sakaar, and therefore I have brought him here with me. Rehabilitate him, as you call it," the blonde god announced jovially. His friends didn't share the sentiment.

"We're supposed to let him stay here?" Clint barked with murder in his eyes.

"Yeah, this is my roof that I pay for, and I don't care what your glorified daddy thinks. What if he tries to take over the fricking world again?" Tony argued loudly, waving his arms around to try and make a point.

"I assure you, man of iron, that my brother will not be trying anything. Plus, Loki will be wearing limiters that will strangle his magic to almost nothing, and during his invasion of Midgård, he had little control of his mind and actions. I beg you, give him a chance," Thor tried to reason with his friends.

"So, you are trying to convince me that knucklehead was a victim of the bloody glow stick like Selvig and me?" Clint demanded, disbelief clear in his tone.

"Loki proved himself useful and cooperative on their mission to Sakaar. I like him about as much as you do, but I advise you to hear him." The woman spoke up. All eyes turned to her as if seeing her for the first time: A shorter African American woman with a muscular physique, long black braids tied away from her hard face, and short-sleeved black and white armor with a blue cape hanging from her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. Who are you again?" Tony asked.

"How could I forget to introduce you? This is Lady Brunnhilde, or Hilde, Commander of the Valkyrie of Asgård. She helped us escape Sakaar and complete our mission safely, and in return, we are helping her restore the Valkyrie to their former glory," Thor introduced the woman with pride and awe in his voice. The woman nodded in greeting.

"You are the one holding the leash. Why would you want us to listen to him?"

"Because he is chained on orders of the Allfader, orders I have to obey. Plus, it's fun to get back at him," Hilde shrugged as she tugged on the chain she was holding, earning a slight hiss and a mischievous glare from the god before she turned serious again. "But I recognize assets when I see them, and he is not the mad god that invaded your Midgård six years ago. He may be irritating as hell, but he's not stupid."

"If I may? My brother informed me that you have gotten yourself a witchling among your ranks these days, am I correct?" Loki spoke up, trying to readjust the uncomfortable collar he was forced to wear. Vision automatically rose from his seat, putting himself in front of Wanda to act as a protective barrier. The rest also stood, ready to protect their youngest currently present member from the trickster god, well aware that she was more than capable of defending herself. "And it would appear I was."

"You leave Wanda out of this," Clint growled. He took a step towards the black-haired man, but Bruce stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a silent plea not to make things messy.

"I mean the lady no harm," Loki stated calmly. "I only wish to know something."

"What?" Wanda asked, her thick Sokovian accent slipping through.

"Lady Wanda, your powers came from the mind stone, correct? The one in the red man's forehead," Loki asked politely.

"And how do you know that?" Wanda asked with a raised eyebrow as she moved around Vision with crossed arms.

"Because I recognize the aura. Now, I believe you can look inside an individual's mind, display their worst nightmares, and such," Loki almost sounded tense at this point, his nonchalant court mask slipping. He hated this in every way, shape, and form, but according to Thor, it would be the only way for them to believe that his words were true. He hated people in his mind, hated being vulnerable, hated being exposed, but now he had no other choice.

"Yes, I can do all that. Where are you going with this?" Wanda asked as she uncrossed her arms and took another step forward. Vision caught her arm, silently asking her to be careful. When Wanda nodded, the synthezoid let go of her and turned back to face Loki, ready to act.

"I need you to look into my mind. See for yourself and the others that Thor's words are true," the god explained in a huff. There was something in his eyes that made her want to believe him. The rest of the room had different opinions, though: it erupted in loud protests, the most coming, as expected, from Tony and Clint.

"Enough," Wanda boomed once the noise damn near shattered her eardrums. The whole room went dead silent. It was rare for Wanda to raise her voice, and when she did, no one dared say a word. The witch turned to Loki once more.

"I am willing to try, and this is my choice to trust you not to try to warp my mind as I do so," Wanda stated, leaving no room for argument. The young witch took another couple of steps forward until she was just arm's length away from Loki.

"I will not try to enter your mind while you look through mine, witchling, I swear it. Even if I am incapable of such since my magic is bound," Loki chuckled, holding his hands up the little he could to solidify his statement.

"It's true, Lady Wanda, he has no access to any magic. He is in Aesir chains. They bind the magic of a sorcerer to make sure they don't try to escape during their trial," Hilde reassured the witch.

"Okay, I'm going to take your word for it, all of yours," she stated, pointing between the three Asgårdare before preparing herself mentally for what she was about to witness and placing her hands just centimeters from Loki's temples.

"You have our word," Thor stated importantly. Hilde nodded in agreement.

"Are you ready?" Wanda asked finally. Loki took a deep breath and rearranged his memories, making it easy for Wanda to look at the memories he wanted to show her while locking away the ones he didn't want her to see before steeling himself.

"As ready I will ever be, witchling," he sighed as he found her eyes, green meeting green before hers turned glowing red that sent an unexpected dread through him. He drowned the feeling before the woman's fingers pressed against his temples, and she dove deep into his reluctant but open mind.