Freddy Barton-Romanoff had no idea what events would play out that day she woke up to complete and utter silence. Usually she'd be awoken by her sister's footsteps upstairs, her Uncle Thor announcing breakfast to be ready, or her Uncle Tony's music blasting through the mansion. Though, this one odd morning she had to drag herself out of bed, not noticing the stillness of the air in her home. She grabbed the remote by her bed and turned on her own music to fill in the quietness.
"Is it time to eat yet?!" she yelled coming down the stairs. "Hello?!" The silence that answered her was deafening. Freddy held her breath in for a second. The Avengers mansion was always bustling with activity, especially now that the Barton-Romanoffs have moved in, but now it was terrifyingly quiet. She knew right off something was wrong and went around the house shouting everyone's name.
"Vanessa? Dad? Pete? Loki?" She headed down to the labs to look for her two genius uncles. "Hey Uncle Bruce? Tony?" There came nothing but silence. "Jarvis where is everyone?" There was still no response. Freddy could feel her heart beating faster than it should and her breathing become uneasy. Her eyes darted around the lab in panic—she had no idea what to do! She ran up to her bedroom, grabbed her cellphone, and dialed up the number of the one person that could possibly help her right now. The call went straight to voicemail. "Uncle Phil? It's Freddy. Please, please call me back ASAP." She tapped the end button just as her phone vibrated.
"1 New Message: Unknown Number," it read. Freddy frowned with confusion. Her phone was no ordinary one. It was issued by S.H.I.E.L.D. to both her and her sister, Vanessa, to keep in contact with their parents if they were ever on a mission. Even though Jarvis wasn't responding, Tony's house-computer system was still running. She pulled up a hologram displaying the message. "Bathsheda Fountain. 6 AM. Let's have a chat." Freddy stared at the message, reading it over and over. It dawned on her that they've been taken. The Earth's Mightiest Heroes, her family, have been kidnapped.
She snapped back to her senses and kicked into action. It was half past five already, not enough time to call in S.H.I.E.L.D. She hurried down to the lab again and ran her hands down the wall, feeling for the small dimple that would open up the suit and weapons room. Freddy found it and had her thumbprint scanned. She jumped back as the wall burst outward into two doors and marveled at all the gadgetry. She hurried over to the side and grabbed one of her mother's S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms, her own still unfinished. Her hands shook as she reached for a Glock 26. She never held a loaded gun before. Unlike her sister, Freddy was never one to fight but she did what she had to do. She let out a shaky breath as she put on a long black coat to hide her uniform, gun, and the staff she acquired during a recent visit to Alfheim. Time to suit up, as her super soldier uncle would say. She locked up behind her and jogged down the long driveway. Tony's cars, Steve and Bruce's motorcycles, her parent's cars, and Thor and Loki's horses were left untouched. Freddy left her family's property and headed towards the streets looking for a taxi to hail. She easily found one and slipped inside the back.
"Central Park, please. If you can, can you drop me off by Bathsheda Fountain?" she asked the driver.
His green eyes flicked over at her and he tipped his grey barrette. "No problem, miss," he said with a strong English accent. Freddy settled back into her seat and closed her eyes. She tried to relax her panicked mind, but it was no use. Who had taken them? And why? It's been pretty peaceful, well for New York's standards at least, ever since the Chitauri attacked! Who else wants to create chaos? What the hell was going on anyways? This was weird, even for a daughter of two Avengers. Her red hair bounced as the taxi hit some bumps along the road. The driver was whistling a tune that sounded way too familiar to her. "Is that… 'Stayin' Alive'?" Freddy asked the driver with a chuckle.
"You seem too young to be a BeeGees fan," he commented as his eyes shot up to meet hers in the mirror. She just shrugged not bothering to explain and he continued with his whistling. The Park came into view as she squinted her eyes to shield them from the rising sun. Who am I even meeting here? I seriously didn't think this through! She let out a huge breath and her hands started to get clammy. The rest of the drive she waited in agony, her eyes darting from side to side to look for the person who sent her the message. The computer couldn't even trace the number! "Here you are, miss," the driver said as he pulled up to the side. Freddy rummaged through her coat pockets until she found a suitable amount of money to pay him. When she held her hand out, he waved her off saying, "No need. It's on me." He gave her a grin in the mirror and she returned it rather weakly. She muttered a thank you as she pushed open the door and the cold New York air rushed in. Freddy slid out and popped up her collar to block the harsh breeze. She headed for the sound of the fountain, walking against the direction of the wind.
Freddy saw a figure cloaked in all black standing under a tree near the rushing fountain. He stood with his back to her, his long skinny legs apart. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his coat. The man's curly black hair was askew from the cruel wind. Freddy's fingers tightened over the trigger of her mother's gun as she crept up behind him. She flinched as the leaves under her crinkled under her steps.
"Honestly it's depressing how awful you are at hiding," the man said. His voice sounded familiar to Freddy, but she couldn't quite place it until he turned around.
"Drizzt!"
Freddy stared at him in complete awe. She stood there frozen in front of a very much changed, at least in appearance, Drizzt. Drizzt is the elf prince of Alfheim who happens to be good friends with Freddy and Vanessa. They have encountered him during their many visits to his home realm and he has saved them from trouble countless times. His ginger hair had become a dark, dark black and was curlier than it had been before. His skin was sickly pale, unlike his normal radiance in Alfheim. Freddy thought it must've been that way because he was in a different realm. She had no idea that this man or rather being, to be more accurate, was not her elf friend.
He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "I thought you'd have a higher intelligence considering who your family is in this world." Freddy frowned at the comment. There was something off about him. He held himself differently. The Drizzt Freddy knows from Alfheim was easy going and rather playful for a prince. He always had a grin on his face that was infectious to everyone. His eyes were green and blue pools of happiness that just brightened up his face even more. This Drizzt, the one that stood in front of her, was completely different. His shoulders hunched no matter how he tried to stand up with confidence. He seemed to be drained of energy—he seemed tired and it was if all he wanted to do was stop and rest. But what really made Freddy wonder was how differently his eyes looked. They were still the same color, but the things they said about him were different. They looked sad, like all the happiness had been sucked out of him.
"Drizzt, do you have any idea what the hell is going on?" Freddy asked as she looked him over one last time.
"Is that what you people start your sentences with? 'Drizzt?'" he scoffed. Freddy frowned. Today, nothing was making sense!
"What? No," Freddy said shaking her head with confusion. "That's your name! Drizzt is your name!" She'd had enough. Freddy hates it when she has no idea what was going on. It made her nervous, jittery, and sometimes, just like right now, angry. She stormed up to him and put her hands on her hips. "What is going on?"
His expression stayed the same: unimpressed and bored. "You're 'family'," he said in a rather disgusted tone, "has been kidnapped by a criminal psychopath." Freddy pretty much knew that. Only someone crazy would even think about kidnapping Earth's Mightiest Heroes. She waited for him to say more, but he didn't.
"Anything else you might know?" Freddy asked with an annoyed tone. The wind had finally settled and the sun had started to rise.
"No. My—our job is to find out what happened and get them out. Congratulations, Freddy!" he piped up with mock excitement. "You're on a case with Sherlock Holmes!"
If there any questions regarding the canon of the story, then feel free to PM me. :)
