Furtiva

An Avengers Fanfic.

Adventure/mystery/humor/romance

Co-write with Sketchbook Pianist

Chapter two: Neptune...

The goddess of the seas glided down the steps of the temple of Jupiter, coming to rest at the foot of the mighty building. It was a beautiful place. Of course, considering that Jupiter was the queen, her temple would be the largest, the most ornate. The tall, marble stairs led to perfectly aligned, pure-white columns. An enormous, golden statue of Jupiter stood proudly in the center of the temple.

Neptune felt a twinge of jealousy course through her chest.

Sighing, she pulled the hood of her sapphire cloak over her hair, and turned away. She had fruitlessly been attempting to communicate with her sister for the last hour or so. Jupiter, as was expected, had ignored her. She always ignored her.

Neptune hurried down to the platinum gates of her home, Olympus. There were no other gods or goddesses around, and the stone walkway was deserted.

The sun was beginning to leave the sky, turning it a light, frothy pink. Apollo would return soon, and Diana would take over to pull her silvery orb through the night.

Once at the entrance (or exit, in her case), she easily slipped through the gates, carefully noting the absence of the guards. She would have to inform Jupiter of their vacancy. These were dangerous times, and having no one to protect the gates could allow anything to enter Olympus.

Neptune darted to the golden stairs that led to Earth. She had to get there, and quickly. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach.

She walked quickly down the staircase that was invisible to mortal eyes. It was a long journey ever since Jupiter had blocked off the more permissible methods of transportation, and it was one Neptune hated making.

At long last, the staircase came to a halt, somewhere in a deserted alleyway of a mortal city. Neptune couldn't care less about the mortals these days, after they had so willingly abandoned the gods of old times for new religions. Modern times had wreaked havoc on the once pristine and beautiful earth.

Scowling, she made her way out onto the crowded, loud street, not caring who saw her in her cloak or tunic. They probably thought she was part of some sort of theater performance, one that starred a Roman Goddess. Neptune smirked. How little the mortals knew.

The pavement was greasy, the streets were cacophonous, and the air smelt of things air should never smell like. She tried not to gag as people brushed up against her in their haste to do petty, mortal things. She couldn't bother with them right now. She needed to find her sister.

The figure of Stark Tower loomed before her, and judging by the lighting storm brewing directly overhead of it, that was where Jupiter would be found.

It was dark.

Pitch black, even. Neptune couldn't see anything, and the only thing that reassured her was her sister's hand, tightly wound around her own. Pluto knew where she was going.

"Quickly!" the dark-haired goddess whispered, tugging on Neptune's arm. "We must make haste, or they will get there before us."

Pluto hadn't bothered telling Neptune exactly where or what they were heading for. All the sea goddess knew was Pluto's terrified expression when she materialized in Neptune's ocean palace that morning. Neptune had just returned from searching a part of Olympus long forgotten for the relic, to no avail, and Pluto's sudden appearance had frightened her. The goddess of the Underworld had insisted Neptune accompany her on this journey.

Neptune knew better than to ask her sister what was going on. Explanations would take time away from the matter at hand. She would know what was happening soon enough.

She felt Pluto pull her around a sharp corner, nails digging into her wrist, silently urging her to move faster.

"We are very near –" her sister began to say, but stopped abruptly. The comforting, cold hand around Neptune's had disappeared.

"Pluto?" Neptune said in as loud a voice as was safe. "Sister, where are you?"

There was no response. Neptune felt around in front of her, searching for the other goddess. Her hands felt nothing.

It had gotten her. The Shade had gotten to the sister of death.

Neptune sat regally on the couch of Anthony Stark. A cup of tea was pressed into her hands, but she gave a condescending smile to the red-head that gave it to her and set it aside.

Jupiter, the tallest of the three sisters, sat beside her, worry etched into her face. Neptune had just finished explaining Pluto's disappearance to the four seated around her, though why she was telling the mortals, she did not know. She wanted them to leave, but they had insisted on staying.

"I assume you'll want to send out a search party for her," Neptune said. "But it will be pointless. If the Shade doesn't want to be found, it won't be found. Besides, we've been looking for it for ages, trying to reclaim the others it has taken, but we haven't got the faintest clue as to where it might be."

"Are you saying we should give up on our quest?" Jupiter demanded, golden eyes flashing dangerously. "This is our sister, Neptune."

"I am only saying it is fruitless. Obviously, you will continue searching anyway. We all know you are that stubborn, sister."

Jupiter opened her mouth to retaliate, but Anthony Stark cut her off.

"Whoa, hold up. Who's this shady guy you keep mentioning?" he asked, leaning forward in his seat on the couch opposite them.

"None of your concern, mortal," Neptune snapped. "Cease talking at once."

"Don't tell me what to do," the man said angrily. "I own this place."

Neptune scoffed. Jupiter would rise at that statement, but Neptune knew better than to pick fights with mortal men.

"Do not speak to my sister that way!" she roared. Outside, the clouds began to rumble. "I am Jupiter, goddess of the sky –"

"Yes, yes," Neptune said, pulling her sister back onto the couch. "We all know who you are. Anthony Stark is not worth your anger."

"Don't call me Anthony," he muttered, slouching back. Neptune stared, unimpressed, at the overgrown toddler. Jupiter stood with narrowed eyes at the mortals, before moving her hand over her forehead and through her golden hair. The mortals looked to the goddess of lightning, except the Stark mortal who glowered at the goddess of the sea.

"Sister, we don't have time to argue with petty mortals," Neptune snapped, staring at her sister. Jupiter looked her right in the eyes, hands on her hips, as if ready for a fight. "The Shade, these forces are dark. They are just as dark and black hearted as Pluto, I believe they know what they have and intend to force our hands."

Neptune's feet were planted firmly as she stood up. Jupiter was at least a head or more above her sister, but that never stopped Neptune from retaliating.

"What do you mean, 'what they have'? What's going to happen now that Hades has been kidnapped?" Bruce Banner asked. His question was not insulting; Neptune knew he meant no harm, but the two sisters felt the flare of anger. How dare he call their sister by that name, that disgusting, manly name!

"Her name is Pluto!" Jupiter hissed, the clouds roared with her. The brunette man lurched back in his seat.

"Focus, Sister!" Neptune pulled her back to conversation at hand. "Think! Why would they take her? Why not you or me? We're far more well-known and Pluto is the middle, always indifferent. If we were taken, she would not risk hide or hair to save us if it didn't disrupt her throne. So, why her, Jupiter? They took her for the very reason we made it impossible for anyone but the dead and ourselves to enter the underworld…"

Neptune knew something was wrong. Pluto would never leave her throne unless absolutely necessary. She had to have known something, there had to be something wrong.

Did she find out what the Shade was?

Was she trying to tell Neptune she was in trouble? Could she not get in contact with Jupiter?

"What's going on here? What, is Hell going to explode if the gate keeper doesn't return?" Stark scoffed, rolling his eyes. Neptune turned to scold him for his words, but Jupiter caught her sister's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. It was that dominating look that Jupiter gave her sisters when she didn't agree with what was about to come from their lips. Neptune received this look more often than Pluto. The goddess huffed internally and stepped back as Jupiter walked to stand directly in front of the man-child.

"Anthony Stark…if Pluto does not return to her kingdom, to her throne, by winter's end… the souls will have no way to cross over and will return to their place of death. But, if that alone was not enough, the gates of the underworld will be weak. Any evil being with enough will-power could break through and unleash any soul that wishes to return."

The mortals' faces drained of color.

Neptune shared a look with Jupiter. They both knew what would happen, though they were reluctant to admit it.

Saturn would be the first to return.