Caged-Chapter 1

Nightmare, Sage, glanced at Steve and he briefly nodded back. She quickly went over the plan in her head. She would attack Panther, then help the others take down Tony and the rest of the team members. Simple as that. As Sage ran to Panther for a full-fledged attack, she briefly wondered if she really could beat him. After all, he was the Black Panther. He was basically the same status as Mr. America himself. Shaking these thoughts away, she dodged a punch and threw one herself.

"Sage! Do the magic thing!" Steve yelled in her com. Sage winced at the loudness, but created a pulse wave and sent Panther flying. Literally. He was thrown thirty feet up in the air; they could hear him yelling…and swearing. Sage let out a whoop of victory, but not before she was tackled by the Widow. They fought hand-to-hand. Sage kick-flipped Natasha and Nat punched her in the gut. Sage did the old one-two and then kneed Widow, who retaliated by round housing her. Eventually, Sage tricked Natasha and then pulled her into a headlock.

"You will pay for that,"," Natasha whispered in her ear, before spraying her in the face with some sort of gas. Sage felt her consciousness fading. Desperately, she tried to maintain it. She had to fight.

"You will lose this battle, Nat. You're on the wrong side." After saying that, Sage passed out. She didn't hear Steve's yells of, "Don't you dare take her! No! Coward! I thought better of you, Stark!" She didn't hear Bucky's whisper of, "Stay strong, little soldier." All she knew was that the darkness was swallowing her. And there was nothing she could do about it.

A few hours later, which felt like seconds, Sage was awake and found herself strapped down to a chair. The straps were a sort of steel and the chair was…normal. This surprised Sage; she thought that it would be some weird invention of Stark's. After trying to break free and failing, Sage glanced around the room. It was plain white with nothing in it but a door leading to who-knows-where. She tried to use her magic and open the door, but, for some reason, it stayed shut. Hm. That was definitely Stark's idea. Glancing around the room again, Sage saw something she had missed. A mirror.

Exactly why they put a mirror in a prison type room was a mystery. Sage stared into to it anyway. What she saw was normal, well, for a superhero. Her red hair was still in its ponytail and her blue eyes were blazing, with that weird yellow spark they had since she got her powers. The only thing different was that her skin was pale. But that was understandable.

She looked at the mirror and saw the symbol which still gave her shivers. The trading symbol. Once on a mission, she had to let herself be captured by slave traders. While in their custody, they branded her on the side of her neck. It was small but noticeable. She used make-up to conceal it, but the make-up got smeared off.

The door opened and Sage swerved around furiously. Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, walked in.

"Admiring yourself?" He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you know I'm gorgeous," Sage said back sweetly, "And nice to see you too. You're looking well."

"Don't I always? Anyway, you need to answer some questions for me. If you don't, I'd hate to see what Papa Steve says when you're dead." Tony smirk was replaced with a snarl. Sage sucked in a breath. Okay, she was scared. In fact, she was terrified.

Sage had never been a brave, courageous person. She got scared of small things, like spiders. So when someone threatens to kill you if you don't answer their questions that utterly terrifies her. She tried to stay calm and appear collected, but she had worked with Stark before. He could see straight through the lie. Straight through her mask.

"You know, I can tell when you are scared. Or afraid. Don't even try to hide it. Now tell me, where is your hideout?"

"I-I won't tell you." Sage stumbled across the sentence.

"What?" Stark said menacingly. Sage tried holding her head up high, even though she was shaking.

"I won't tell you." She began to pretend it was a mission. She put a blank mask on and steadied herself.

"TELL. ME. NOW." Iron Man yelled. Sage just looked at him blankly. His hand came down in a blur; it was so fast, Sage didn't duck. Stark hit her across the face. Cheek stinging, Sage looked up at him.

"No. I can't let you hurt my family." She made sure to put emphasis on family. For a second, Tony, not Iron Man, hesitated. Then Iron Man was back.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, Nightmare. You asked for what you're going to be given." And with that, he walked out of the room. Sage didn't see the tears that stained his cheeks as he walked out. All she cared about was getting out of this room. And fast. When Stark began to close the door, Sage used her magic to keep it open. Huh. That was weird. It stayed open. Whatever.

Iron Man noticed and whirled around. He stretched out his arm (he had his armor on) and fired at her. He hit the steel bar containing her. With a jump, Sage sprung out of the chair and got ready to fight. Again, Stark fired at her, but Sage used a magic force field to deflect it. She shot her own version of a repulser at him. These 'repulsers' were made out of energy as powerful as the Sun. Stark flew upward and the energy blast hit the wall where the door was. The explosion was enormous, flinging both heroes into the opposite wall.

Jarvis stabilized Iron man's suit and Stark levitated, unharmed. Sage, on the other hand, groaned and shakily stood up.

"Time to finish you off, Sage." Iron Man said. Sage just stood there, shocked. Tony had used her real name! She raised her eyes and looked at his. They weren't his normal soft brown; they were a dark, steely color. This broke her heart. Tony was truly dead, now it was only Iron Man. There was no Tony left. This war had destroyed him.

"Do it." She spat, harshly. Iron Man did. Almost. Just in time, Sage decided to keep fighting and clenched her hands into fists and put them in a cross. This caused the repulser to rebound and it hit Iron Man in the chest. He fell backward.

"Sir that was 75% damage." Jarvis's cool voice sounded.

"I know, J!" Iron Man yelled, harshly. The AI said nothing.

Sage stepped over him quickly and exited the room, only to be stopped by Vision.

"Where are you going?" He asked calmly. The vision was always calm. Sage gave him a tired look.

"Where do ya think?" She answered back, annoyed.

"Home maybe? I cannot let you go." He stated.

"I know you cannot. That's why I'm going on my own." Sage answered and tried to get past him, only for him block the way.

"You are our prisoner. We will most likely kill you. That is if you will not answer our question. Why is it you do not answer? Do you want to die?"

"To protect my family. All those heroes that are on my side? Those are my family. I can't let them get hurt." Sage answered.

"That is reasonable. But I still can't let you go. The Widow has yet to question you." With that, he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her downstairs. Sage fought him the entire way down, never submitting. When they reached the bottom floor, Black Widow appeared. She grabbed Sage's arms and put them behind her back.

"My turn. Vision, take care of Panther. T'Challa is still hurt from her chucking him into the sky." Natasha pushed Sage into a dark room and tied her up. Her hands were tied above her head on a beam in the middle of the room. The Widow turned on a light bulb, making it slightly easier to see.

"So," Nat said, circling Sage.

"So what?" Sage answered sassily. Natasha responded by dislocated her shoulder. Sage screamed loudly at the intense pain.

"Where is your hideout? Do you have deadly weapons? What is your guys' strategy?" Black Widow drilled her with questions. Sage stared blankly at her. When she didn't respond, Natasha dislocated the other shoulder. Sage screamed again, this time, louder.

"Answer me, Sage."

"Never!" Sage yelled through tears of pain.

"Fine." The Widow said coolly back, and she repeatedly punched Sage in the gut and face.

"Stop, please! Make it stop!" Sage pleaded over and over, but Nat had a hardened look on her face.

"Tell me."

"No…" Sage said in a small voice. Black Widow sighed and pulled out a knife. Sage sucked in a breath.

"Tell me, or you endure torture." She insisted. Sage took a deep breath.

"I will never tell you. EVER." As soon as the words left her mouth, Natasha slashed her across the stomach. Sage choked back a scream and set her jaw. Nat kept slashing until Sage passed out from the pain. By then, her arms, legs, and chest were covered in blood.

When Sage woke up she couldn't move her arms or legs. Someone was carrying her. Slowly, she opened her eyes. It was Steve.

"Hey," Steve said softly through tears, "You're awake." Sage snuggled closer to his chest and bit back a wince when she did so.

"Yeah…It hurts…so bad…" She managed to say, coughing up blood. More tears spilled from Steve's bright blue eyes.

"I know, baby. I know. But Daddy's gonna fix it. Okay?" Steve said softly. That was when Sage got worried. Steve only revealed he was her Dad when he was super scared or worried.

"How…bad is…it?" Sage said softly.

"Very bad. Very, very bad. Oh, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" Steve broke down into sobs.

"No, no! This is…not your…fault…St-dad. I promise." Sage said calmly. Steve began to calm down.

"Buck! We need medical!" Steve shouted. Sage glanced up and saw Buck Barnes rush over with medical supplies.

"You're gonna be okay, Soldier. I promise." He said reassuringly. Sage smiled weakly.

"I'm so tired…" Sage muttered. "A little…Sleep wouldn't…hurt." And with that, she passed out.

When she woke up, she found herself in her old bedroom in Steve's apartment. She smiled slightly because it was exactly the same as she had left it. Clothes were strewn everywhere, her bookshelf was a mess, school supplies covered her desk; her math final lay on the top. Sage tried to sit up and succeeded. Glancing around, she saw that everything appeared normal. She slowly got up off her bed and made her way to the door. As soon as she opened it, her Dad came bounding up the stairs.

"Are you alright? Do you need anything? How about some water?" It warmed her heart to see him so concerned.

"No Dad, I'm fine. Where's the rest of the team?" Sage asked. Steve gestured down the stairs.

"They're planning our attack."

"Oh. Can I join? I have some favors to repay." She looked up at her father, biting her lip.

"Sage, you are severely wounded. In fact, it's because of the serum that you're alive and steadily. I don't think it would be a good idea to get you worked up about this. However, I guess you can seat with us. You can put in ideas, but you can't go onto the field. Am I clear?" Steve commanded.

"Yes, Captain." Said Sage, grinning. With Steve's help, she was able to go down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she was able to walk on her own.

As she approached the table, she saw that her team was planning the old fashioned way. With paper and pen. When they saw her, smiles were spread all around. Wanda (Scarlett Witch) got her a blanket, Sam (The Falcon) gave her some hot cocoa, and Bucky (Winter Soldier) pushed over a chair.

"How are you feeling, Sugar?" Wanda always called her sugar because when Sage was younger, Wanda had caught the small superhero eating sugar from the jar.

"I'm doing okay, sore, but okay."

"Well, that's understandable." Sam put in while reading a file on Stark. Sage pulled the blanket closer and snuggled into Steve's side. She loved doing this; it made her feel protected and safe. Steve wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close. Sage hummed contentedly rested her head on his shoulder. Bucky and Sam grinned at her before returning to their work.

"So what's the plan?" Sage asked, Captain-style.

"Well Captain," answered Bucky with a twinkle in his eye, "We are planning to have Wanda distract them and then have me and Sam infiltrate. We have a holographic map of their base. You will be the com director and give us directions on where everything is and what to do. Steve will steal their weapons…If they have any. Sam is actually pretty smart and made a copy of Jarvis. We call him Jonny-Boy though."

"After finding Jarvis's code, I recreated him, but with a different name…And he's on our side. He should be able to disable Jarvis; Stark will be powerless." Sam explained.

"That sounds like a pretty good plan, Sargent," Sage said to Bucky, laughing a little. Bucky smiled back and then turned to Sam.

"Show her how he works."

"Alright." Sam agreed and then said, "Power-on, Johnny-Boy."

"Good Evening, sirs and madams. I am Johnny-Boy, an artificial intelligence created to help you. Is there anything you need?"

"Can you disable Jarvis, Tony Stark's AI?" Sage asked, hopefully.

"Yes, Ma'am. It will take 2 hours and when I do it, he will be disabled for only 20 minutes. Would you like to do so now?" Johnny-Boy asked.

"Uh, no. Thanks, though."

"No problem, Master Sage."

"Oh, I like him." Sage grinned. Wanda smiled.

"I knew you would; that's why, after this war, he will be yours to use. We think it will protect you. Yes?" Wanda's Scandinavian accent slipped out. This happened frequently, but it was no matter…Unless they were going undercover on missions.

"Yeah. Thanks for that. By the way, what do we have to eat?" At this, the whole team laughed.

"Yes, actually. Pizza. It's in the fridge." Steve got up to go get the pizza; there was an awkward silence. Bucky and Sam seemed to be having a whispered conversation; they forgot about Sage's serum-enhanced hearing.

"You ask…She likes you better." Bucky hissed at Sam. Sam looked outrageous.

"She does not! You ask; I'm not. I don't want her to go through that again!" Sage listened with an eyebrow raised. She glanced at Wanda, who rolled her eyes.

"You know, I can hear all you're saying. Just ask me." The mini-super soldier said exasperatedly. Bucky and Sam stopped whispering and arguing altogether.

"Sorry. I forgot about the enhanced hearing." Sam apologized.

"It's not a big deal. What were you wanting to ask?"

"Well," Bucky began, "We were wondering what…what, uh, happened at Stark's…Hideout." The atmosphere of the room changed. Wanda became more alert, Sam looked ready to run from the room if she got mad, and Bucky…Bucky was ready to comfort Sage if she started crying. Sage took a deep breath and began.

"As you probably know, they tortured me. Black Widow did it. It was horrible; to be tortured by someone you thought loved you. I-I was so scared and terrified that she would kill me. By the way, what happened when you got there?" Sage half-changed the subject.

"Uh, confidential. Sorry." Bucky said shortly. Sage gave him a puzzled look.

"Why would it be confidential?" Bucky nodded at Wanda, who used her magic to erase the memory from Sage's mind.

"There, that should do it," Wanda said as Sage blinked her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I zoned out. What were we talking about?"

"Uh, Johnny-Boy…Remember?" Bucky asked. Steve came back in the room with the pizza in one hand and two two-liter Coke bottles in the other.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." Sage rubbed her eyes. "I completely lost it for a second. Oh, pizza's here!"