Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 28 - Civil War

"So, he's just not even going to talk to me?" Dahlia asks, sensing Tony on the other side of the glass.

"He wants to, but he's upset and doesn't want to say anything he'll regret later." Steve explains, patting her shoulder. She sighs and stands, starting to pace around the room.

"The receipt for your gear." Sharon says, handing Sam the receipt as she enters the room. 

"'Bird costume'? Come on." He complains.

"I didn't write it." She replies. She notices Steve watching Bucky's interrogation and turns the sound on.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?" The interviewer asks. Bucky stays silent. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

"My name is Bucky." He corrects.

"Why would the Task Force release this photo to begin with?" Steve asks as the interview continues in the background, the volume silenced. Dahlia takes a seat at the table across from Sam.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharon suggests.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier." He replies.

"You're saying someone framed him to find him?" She asks.

"Steve, we looked for the guy for two years and found nothing." Sam tells him.

"We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads." He says.

"Yeah, but they wouldn't be the one to get him. It would be these idiots." Dahlia adds, waving her hand at the others outside the room. She remembers Sharon and winces. "No offense." She adds. Sharon pats her hand, silently telling her she's fine.

"Yeah." Steve agrees, turning to focus his attention on the interviewer. Dahlia sighs and drops her head onto the table as they all come to the same conclusion. 

The power goes out and Steve looks to Sharon.

"Sub-level five, East Wing." She tells him.

The three run from the room, heading towards where Bucky was being interviewed. When they arrive, the guards are on the ground, the cell is empty with its door broken off, and the interviewer lays on the ground.

"Help me." He calls.

"Get up." Steve tells him as he approaches, standing over the man. He grabs him and pins him to the wall as Dahlia moves to inspect the cell. "Who are you? What do you want?" He asks.

"To see an empire fall." He replies.

Sam starts to enter the room, ducking when the Winter Soldier punches at him, crumbling part of the doorway. Sam tries to fight back, but he throws him into the cell, knocking him out. 

Dahlia slams the Winter Soldier into the wall, trying to pin his arms down. He headbutts her and she stumbles backwards, giving him the opportunity to throw her into the wall. Her head cracks against the wall, disorienting her.

Sam wakes and nudges her, silently telling her to get up. She sits up and he takes her arm, pulling her with him as he starts to chase after the interviewer. They chase him up the stairs and outside but lose him in the crowd.

"Can you sense him?" Sam asks.

"No. The crowd is overstimulating." She replies, shaking her head.

"Damn it." He curses. He looks around for a few more moments before pulling her away from the crowd. "We've gotta find Steve." 

"Already on it." She tells him, using her magic to find Steve. She senses him around the corner, leading Sam towards him. They find him dragging Bucky towards the edge of the water and Dahlia tosses the unconscious man over her shoulder as Steve climbs out after.

He and Sam lead the way, finding an abandoned building to hide in. They trap Bucky's metal arm and Sam offers to keep watch until he wakes. Steve moves to keep an eye on the outside while Dahlia works on familiarizing herself with Bucky's presence so she can sense him more easily.

"Hey, Cap!" Sam calls as Bucky wakes. Dahlia moves away from him to stand with the others as they enter.

"Steve." Bucky says, looking up at his friend.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asks.

"Your mom's name was Sarah. You used to wear newspapers in your shoes." He answers, chuckling.

"Can't read that in a museum." He replies.

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asks. He shakes his head and turns to Dahlia. "Check him out." She rolls her eyes.

"I already did. It's Bucky, not the soldier. His mind is his own." She tells him.

"What did I do?" Bucky asks.

"Enough." Steve answers. Bucky sighs.

"Oh, God, I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words." He says.

"Who was he?" He asks.

"I don't know." He replies.

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than 'I don't know'." Steve tells him.

"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where." He says.

"Why would he need to know that?" He asks.

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier." Bucky tells them.

"Who were they?" He asks.

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum." He explains.

"Great. This is exactly what we needed." Dahlia mutters.

"They all turn out like you?" Sam asks. She elbows him, glaring in his direction.

"Worse." Bucky answers.

"The doctor, could he control them?" Steve asks.

"Enough." He replies. He shakes his head. "I was the only one they could control completely."

"The girl from the journal?" He asks. Bucky nods, looking down at the ground. "He said he wanted to see an empire fall."

"With these guys, he could do it. They speak 30 languages, can hide in plain sight...infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, you'd never see them coming." He explains.

Sam moves over to talk to Steve as Dahlia moves towards Bucky. She frees his arm, and he studies her carefully.

"You have magic?" He asks. She chuckles and nods.

"Does it scare you?" She replies, holding her hand out to help him up. He takes it and lets her pull him to his feet.

"Not as much as it probably should." He tells her. She laughs and they head towards the other room to wait with Sam while Steve gets them a car. "Would your magic help..." He trails off, tapping his temple.

"Help what?" Dahlia asks. He notices her eyes and that she isn't quite meeting his own and clears his throat, embarrassed he hadn't noticed. 

"Help with my mind." He clarifies. She sighs.

"It's complicated. Human minds are similar, but too different than an Asgardians. I think using my magic is too risky, I'm sorry." She tells him. 

"It's fine." Bucky says, sounding not fine at all. He's silent for a few moments. "Wait, you're not even human?" She laughs and pats his arm.

"I'm Asgardian." She replies, then begins explaining her past and where she's from.

Sorry it's kinda late but I had a lot to do today lol