Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 5 - The Avengers

"Where are we, Thor?" Dahlia asks as he tucks her arm through his and begins leading her through the forest.

"Earth." He answers, looking for a suitable spot to leave her while he retrieves Loki. He'd convinced Odin to send her with him in order to grab his brother, knowing she's the only one who can reason with him. 

"Why are we here?" She asks. He winces, not wanting to be the one to tell her that Loki is alive and has the Tesseract. 

"I may need your help with something. I'll be back." Thor tells her, getting her to sit on a log in the clearing he found and pressing her staff into her hand. 

"Wait, where are you going?" She asks, but he's already flying into the air. She huffs, leaning her staff on the log next to her and crossing her arms over her chest to wait.

After a few minutes, a loud ringing sounds through the forest and she sighs, knowing Thor has gotten into some sort of fight. A strong gust of wind blows through the clearing, and she grabs her staff, digging it into the ground to keep herself from flying off.

Another few minutes go by before she feels more wind as some sort of aircraft lands in the center of the clearing. She grabs her staff and stands, waiting to see if they are friend or foe.

"It's me." Thor calls, approaching her. She sighs and returns her staff to her back, walking in his direction. He leads her up the ramp and into the ship, giving the others a stern look as he gestures to a gagged Loki. They nod, remembering his threat if they mention Loki.

"Where are we?" She asks, freezing when she hears shuffling from the other side of the jet. Dahlia pulls her staff from her back and transforms it into a sword with her magic. She points it in the direction the sound came from. "Who's there?" 

"They're...allies." He tells her, nudging her arm down. She warily eyes the corner of the jet but transforms the sword into a dagger. She lets Thor guide her into a seat but keeps a tight grip on her blade, not trusting the others. 

***

"I can't believe you!" Dahlia shouts after Thor explains the situation with Loki. She sighs, slumping into a nearby chair. "Why did you keep this from me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you." He answers. She scoffs, glaring at him.

"Well, you did." She tells him, standing and grabbing her staff. She drags it along the floor and walks out the door, using it to guide her way back to the others. Thor follows and they join the others at the table.

"I think we should start with introductions." A voice calls. Dahlia blinks, her eyes beginning to shine yellow as she uses her magic to sense their new allies. The others jump back, shocked at the change from white to almost gold.

"Dahlia Heimdallsdottir." She says, looking at each of them.

"Steve Rogers." The man who spoke before tells her.

"Bruce Banner." The man next to him introduces himself.

"Natasha Romanoff." The woman says.

Dahlia blinks a few times, her eyes returning to their usual white color, and sighs. She sits in one of the chairs and rubs her temples.

"Is your magic still troubling you?" Thor asks, moving towards her and resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Magic?" Bruce asks. Thor nods, smiling proudly at her.

"Yes. Dahlia was born blind. My mother and Loki have taught her magic, and Mother has found a way for Lia to use her magic to sense her surroundings and see in her own way." He explains.

"Huh. Interesting." He replies, studying her.

The monitors on the table turn on, revealing Loki standing in the detention center.

"In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass, it's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot." Nick Fury says. The group around Dahlia watches the video of the detention center as she listens.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki replies. The sound of his voice makes her heart clench, missing him but also angry at the way he faked his death.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." He tells him.

"Oh, I've heard. A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" He asks.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury says.

"Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is." He replies.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." He tells him, leaving the room.

Dahlia clenches the skirt of her dress in her hands, preparing for the conversation that is sure to come.

The other Avengers chapters might end up being a little shorter than normal, because she won't really be involved much, and she doesn't have a strong grasp of her new magic quite yet.