Chapter Text
Thor was having a meeting with some of his fellow Asgardians when the message came to him. To his regret, he didn’t immediately check his phone when it vibrated because he was patiently listening to the details of a feud that had sprung up. Those involved couldn’t come to a reasonable solution and it was causing issues for everyone else, so Thor had been summoned to find a satisfying conclusion.
It was a little odd, frankly. He’d always known that his mother was known for her kindness and sense of fairness, so it was not uncommon for quarrelsome situations that weren’t fit for Odin to be brought before Frigga. No matter how long it took, Frigga would listen fully to each party, carefully consider the presented issues, and then do her solemn best to find a solution that was approved by all. But this was the first time that Thor was being relied upon to do all that, and he was finding it more difficult than he’d anticipated. Being a king was hard.
“ – and then she stole my drink, which was not – shouldn’t you answer that?” Dalla demanded, interrupting herself to send a scornful look at Thor’s phone.
“What? Oh, uh, yes.” Thor plucked the phone from his trouser pocket and peered at it. His eyes widened and a silence fell across the room as the ambient temperature changed ever so slightly.
“Highness?” Amleif asked nervously. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Thor said, then paused. This was alarming news, and his people deserved to know. “Actually, something. We have intruders.”
At that last word, every Asgardian within hearing distance turned towards him. Smiles vanished as eyes hardened, and those who had them reached for their weapons. Seeing that made Thor feel grateful that the spirit of his people had not been harmed by everything they’d been through. The strong fighting spirit of Asgard lived on through its people, who were still willing to defend what they had left.
“Who?” said Dalla, her petty complaints forgotten.
“Some old friends of mine. I apologize, I must deal with this,” Thor said, rising.
“Dalla and I will go with you,” said Parek, hefting his axe. It was quite a large axe, and Parek devoted a fair amount of time to sharpening it. It was a weapon that would definitely give even Captain America pause.
“Yes,” Dalla said, rising. She was very skilled with daggers. To look at her, no one would know that her seemingly innocent long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and long vest held dozens of hidden daggers. Even her hair, plaited in a long braid down her back, usually held hidden weaponry. Much like Parek, she was a force to be reckoned with.
Thor looked at them for a moment before nodding. “Very well. I could use the back-up. I’m not sure how calmly this will be resolved.”
“Should we alert everyone else?” Amleif wanted to know.
“It couldn’t hurt, just ask everyone to be on their guard.” Thor hesitated for a few seconds, then added, “I believe they may have come with a goal of hurting Antonio.”
That really riled everyone up, just as Thor had known it would. Tony had absolutely no idea how important he had become to the Asgardians, but both Thor and Loki could see it. Tony’s innate kindness and sweetness had endeared him to even the harshest, coldest, stiffest Asgardian. He listened to and tried his hardest for everyone here, even the children, and they loved him as a result. Rogers and his crew, Thor thought with grim resolve, would have a war on their hands if they tried to touch even one hair on Tony’s head.
“Then let us go,” Parek said, his expression cold with intent now. His wife, Hulda, had been struggling with Midgard until Tony sat down with her and talked at length with her. Now Hulda had a puppy to dote on and a job helping in the gardens at the complex, and she was much happier.
Thor led the two of them up the rolling lawns of the complex, on high alert. Perhaps that was why he noticed the flickering red lights towards the back of the building. He paused, staring at the flickers. He didn’t know of anyone at the compound who had red magic, but he could think of one of Rogers’s friends who did. He silently gestured to Dalla and Parek and they both nodded. Parek hefted his axe eagerly.
It was the Scarlet Witch, Thor realized as they drew nearer. She looked different than he remembered, but it was definitely her. She had her hair tied up in a bun against the base of her neck, and she was dressed all in black – black pants, black shirt, and a long black coat over it all, with a black hat pulled down low over her red hair. Too bad she couldn’t disguise her magic as well as she could her appearance.
Thor glanced at Dalla and wordlessly made another gesture. She smirked and nodded in response. Thor and Parek slowed, watching as Dalla made her way across the grass. Despite her tall stature, she could move as silently as Barton or Romanov. The Scarlet Witch had no idea that Dalla was behind her as she held out a hand and created another orb of red magic. As the witch drew back her hand to throw the magic at the compound, Dalla's hand whipped out almost too quickly to follow. The witch let out a shriek as the dagger sliced across the top of her hand.
"What the fuck?!" She spun around, looking enraged as she clasped her bleeding hand to her chest. Thor smirked to himself as he and Parek resumed their walk, nearing both Dalla and the witch quickly. The witch probably didn't know, but Dalla had been holding back. She could have easily speared the witch's hand if she'd wanted to. That had been a warning blow, and the witch wouldn't get another.
"You are not supposed to be here," Thor said bluntly. "You are not permitted on these grounds, and you are especially not permitted back here alone."
"I used to live here!" the witch said indignantly, swelling up with anger. "I have every right to be back here. You're the ones who have no right to be here!"
"We've been invited to stay here by Tony Stark, the man who actually owns this place," Dalla said with a sneer. She had another dagger in her hands already, Thor saw. She rolled the weapon casually through her hands, unconcerned that she could potentially slice herself on the razor sharp blade at any moment.
The witch scowled at the mention of Stark's name. "Stark is a useless piece of shit. I have no interest in wasting my time with people who are on his side," she said. She raised her non-wounded hand, and more reddish magic began to form into a ball.
Dalla waited a few seconds and then threw a second dagger. The witch shrieked again and just barely got her hand out of the way. Her magic faded as she clasped both hands to her chest this time, staring at Dalla with a furious look. Thor had to swallow an amused grin as he and Parek reached Dalla's side. Parek, on the other hand, had no such concerns. He gave the witch a blood-thirsty smirk and hefted his axe off his shoulder, letting it thump to the ground hard enough to make the grass shake a little bit. The witch paled a bit, but stood her ground.
"You have no right to stop me from getting inside. Some of my possessions are in there and I want them back," she snapped.
"If you want them back, then you can have them back by asking," Thor said. He thought that was probably bullshit. There was no reason for her to be back here alone unless she was trying to sneak into the compound without anyone seeing. And once she was in there, who knew what damage she would wrought?
“You can’t tell me what to do,” the witch shot back. Again, she reached out a hand and drew upon her magic. Thor tensed. Without Loki, they had no protection against sorcery, and he could well remember just how dangerous the witch’s mind powers were.
This time, perhaps because of Thor tensing, Dalla didn’t hesitate. She smoothly threw a third dagger, but her aim wasn’t the witch’s hand this time. The hilt of the third dagger struck the witch perfectly on her temple. The witch collapsed where she stood into an ungraceful heap on the lawn, unconscious. Thor remained tense for a moment longer in case she rose unexpectedly, but slowly relaxed when she remained unconscious.
"Is she dead?" Parek inquired idly.
Thor drew closer enough to see that the witch was still breathing. "No," he said, shaking his head. It was somewhat of a pity, he thought. If the witch was dead, they could've brushed it off as Dalla feeling threatened and not knowing her own strength on Midgard. And then they wouldn't have needed to worry about whatever mischief the witch had been trying to get up to. But the dagger's hilt, though made of solid wood, hadn't struck hard enough for that. Though blood trickled from the witch's temple, she clearly was not dead.
"I could throw another one," Dalla said as she collected the three daggers she'd thrown. Thor knew she'd take them back to her tent and carefully clean them later on.
"I could trip and fall with my axe," Parek said, grinning. Dalla grinned too.
"I could - " she began, but Thor cut her off.
"We are not killing," he said, amused despite himself. "We'll take her back to the others and they can deal with her."
"Spoilsport," Parek said with a shrug.
"We're visitors here," Thor reminded them. "We don't even have a permanent home yet. It wouldn't look good for us to deliberately kill a human. It could impact what ultimately happens to the Asgardians, and I can't let that happen. I have to think about all of us."
"I didn't think about that," Parek admitted, frowning slightly.
Dalla sighed. "I guess you're right. But you, little girl, should be wary if we ever meet again in battle," she told the unconscious witch. "I was being kind with my throws this time, but I can't say I shall do so again in the future." She tucked her daggers away and knelt to throw the witch's body over her shoulder.
Thor led them around the far side of the compound. It was quite a walk given that the compound was such an enormous place. But as they grew closer to the front, Thor could hear familiar voices that a part of him had hoped he wouldn't have to hear again for some time. He frowned, worried, and quickened his pace. He could now clearly hear the voice of Steve Rogers ranting about how every decision he'd made was to protect the world, which was honestly a laughable claim in Thor's book.
"Come on, Tony! Let’s be a team again! We’ll protect the world together. What do you say?” Rogers was saying as Thor rounded the corner.
During the moment of speechless silence, Thor took the opportunity to assess the situation quickly. When he was younger, he would have rushed in without thinking. But years of hard-earned experience had taught him that being so reckless was foolhardy, especially when he was dealing with unpredictable enemies. Rogers alone was someone to be wary of. Rogers with Romanov and Barton, even though the latter two were normal humans, was a force to be reckoned with. And given that Rogers wouldn't think twice about hurting Antonio or Tony, wariness was necessary.
“I think I speak for us all when I say that the answer is no,” Thor said loudly, projecting his voice to be heard above the murmuring of the crowd. From his vantage point, he could see the shock in Rogers’s face when he saw Thor, just like he could see the relief in Stark’s face. Loki and Antonio, standing about ten feet to Stark’s right, also looked relieved – well, Antonio did. Loki just looked kind of done with the whole situation.
“Thor?” Barton said, and then started forward. “What did you do to Wanda?!”
Dalla threw the witch onto the floor between them. “You should teach your friend that it’s rude to break into someone else’s dwellings.”
Barton looked enraged. “Wanda wouldn’t do that. How dare you attack her for no reason?”
“I’ll attack you too if you take another step,” Dalla warned, another dagger sliding into her hand, and Barton stopped abruptly with a shocked look.
Thor met Rogers’s gaze with a calm he did not feel. “You have your answer. Now go.”