Author's Note: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy my new story, The Modern World. It features characters from both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Ranger's Apprentice. Please review, rate, and follow for more...

Araluen Fief

Country of Araluen

Two months after the Battle of Three Step Pass

Emily looked around the place ramshackle cabin the local villagers had pointed out to her, claiming a witch lived there.

For its part, the small, one bedroom cabin certainly looked as if a witch might be there. There was a cauldron resting against one of the walls closest to her, and several books were strewn about, some open and dog-eared, others closed and laying on their backs so that the front cover was visible to the viewer.

Emily stepped farther into the room, her senses heightened. If something was going to happen, she thought, it was bound to happen soon. For the room was dark, with little light streaming from behind the closed window curtains and in the smoldering fire pit.

It smelled strange in this room as well, as if something evil had happened there. It smelled of mold and dust, but, strangely at the same time, of honey and something sickly sweet-like poison.

She was tempted to raise part of her cloak to her nose to block the smell but stopped the movement when she heard the creaking of a floorboard to her right. She turned her head ever so slightly to the side, to see if she could catch the noise again, and froze where she stood. She was rewarded with another creak, this one closer to her than the other one.

A door slammed shut, and the fire suddenly blazed to life. Emily threw up her hand to shield her eyes, her free hand grabbing her saxe knife from its sheath.

"I knew they'd send someone!" A voice crackled. An elderly sounding voice, Emily noted, but it didn't make her any less suspicious. She turned around, towards where the voice was coming from and saw a bent elderly woman looking at her, a cruel smile on her lips. "I guess my client must be a mind reader!"

"Client?" Emily asked, blinking to clear her eyes. "What are you-?"

"Oh, don't worry your pretty head off, Ranger," the woman said, gathering a blue dust into her palm. The Ranger felt frozen in place, helpless as the woman stepped forward, extending her palm. "I'm sure you'll wake up just fine..." The woman blew the dust into Emily's face and the Ranger coughed as something entered her lungs and the world went blurry, then black as the witch laughed.

When Emily woke up, she was unarmed and seated on a chair. She went to rub her eyes and found she couldn't. Her hands were tied behind the back of the chair, her ankles secured to the bottom legs. She looked around the now brighter room.

She was facing the cauldron, which had been moved-or had moved, Emily couldn't remember what had happened-and there was something brewing on the inside. It smoked and twirled, and Emily could see the witch's shadow behind it.

"How...What are you doing?" Emily asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"I've been sending people to the future for years!" The Witch cackled, moving to stand by the cauldron. "But once this client came along, I knew I needed to get someone special to come along." Emily didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not. "So I set this trap, hoping that the King would send his best. And a Ranger? So much better than I would have hoped!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why am I...? Oh, dear, don't you know? Money, power, freedom, hatred...Why does anyone do anything? I'm simply doing what I was meant to do." The witch answered, looking at Emily. She moved closer to the Ranger and pushed some strands of hair out of the Ranger's face. Emily didn't know why it made her stomach tighten with fear. "You'll do just nicely, dear girl," she said, moving one hand to cup the young woman's chin.

Emily jerked her head away and the witch glared at her. "Yes, you'll do nicely. Now, behave."

Emily opened her mouth to protest, but then felt the air leave her lungs, and the protest turned into a gasp for air. "And no talking!" the witch snapped. She turned back to the cauldron and started to chant. She grabbed vials from a table next to her and threw them into the brew that started to change colors rapidly.

Emily started to feel the chair leaving, along with the bonds and the floor. Then the witch turned back to her with pitch black, soulless eyes, and pointed at the Ranger, finishing the spell.

Emily felt the last bit of the floor leave, and, with a scream, she fell through the portal that had opened in the cabin floor.

Romania

A Fruit Stand

Bucky Barnes was walking away from a fruit stand, a small bag of plums in one hand. It was a sunny day, and people were out and about.

He looked around as he walked back to his apartment, taking in the sights and smells he had experienced for a while now.

That was when he heard a scream of terror, and a body hitting something in an alley close by. He hesitantly walked towards it and noticed the woman dressed in strange clothes looking around, startled. Her gaze finally landed on him, and she tried to back away.

"Who are you?" She said. "Where am I?" She was starting to freak out, her breathing coming in short breaths. Bucky knew that she'd pass out before too long.

She stood and climbed out of the garbage can she had fallen into and groaned in pain as she landed on her feet. She was bruised and hurt from the fall, and She swayed slightly, still weary from the magic dust. "Who...Who are you?" she asked and started to fall to the ground. Bucky ran forward and caught her. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing seemed normal, so, keeping to the shadows, still holding his plums, Bucky Barnes took his unusal guest back to his apartment to see what was going on.