Lady Dahlia | Loki Odinson

Chapter 6 - The Avengers

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Bruce says once the feed cuts out.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asks.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract." Thor explains. Dahlia shakes her head, hoping Loki wouldn't really go through with this plan.

"An army from outer space." He replies.

"So, he's building another portal. That's what he needs Erik Selvig for." Bruce says.

"Selvig?" Thor asks.

"He's an astrophysicist." He explains.

"He's a friend." He replies.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha tells them. Dahlia straightens in her seat, a thought coming to her. She closes her eyes and reaches out with her magic, trying to find Loki. She sighs and slumps back into her chair when he's too far for her to reach.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve says.

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guys' brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him." Bruce adds. Dahlia blinks, eyes glowing yellow as she glares at him.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother." Thor explains.

"He killed 80 people in two days." Natasha tells him.

"He's adopted." He adds. Dahlia reaches out and uses her magic to pinch his arm before she stands.

"If anyone speaks ill of Loki again, you will find out just how powerful my magic truly is." She threatens, making eye contact with each of the others. She flares her magic, just enough to prove her seriousness. Dahlia's eyes return to their normal color as she sits back down in her chair. The group glance at each other before focusing back on the conversation.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium...What do they need the iridium for?" Bruce asks.

"It's a stabilizing agent." A man calls as he enters the room with Agent Coulson. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D. No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He continues, moving towards the group. He pats Thor's arm as he passes. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants." 

He moves to stand in the center of the monitors, where Nick Fury usually stands. He gives fake orders to the agents nearby and they stare at him.

"That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." He says, pointing to one of them. He covers his left eye and looks at the monitors off to that side. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Agent Hill answers.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube." He explains.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" She asks.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Stark replies. Dahlia sighs quietly, knowing that each of the group's different personalities will likely cause them trouble in the future.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asks.

"He'd have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce answers.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Stark adds.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." He replies.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." He says.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks. Dahlia chuckles, also having had no clue what they had been talking about.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster." He continues. Dahlia raises her eyebrows, shocked at the casual mention of a monster.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury says as he enters.

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon." Steve tells them.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." He replies.

"Monkeys? We do not understand." Thor says, gesturing to himself and Dahlia.

"I do. I understood that reference." Steve says.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Stark asks.

"This way, sir." Bruce replies. He pauses before reaching the exit and turns back towards the group. "Dahlia, would you mind joining us? I had a few questions about your magic."

"Of course." She answers. She stands, magicking her staff into her hand, and makes her way towards them. "Would you mind? It's easier than using this thing." She asks, holding her arm out towards him.

"Absolutely." He tells her, looping her arm through his. Stark's eyes widen as she magics her staff away.

"Thank you." She says as they begin walking.

"I've got some questions too." Stark adds. She chuckles.

"I thought you would." She replies.