Chapter 3: Plan
The others returned to the base within the evening, each somewhat bruised and angry at their failure. They had managed to take one of the swordmaster's weapons with them, Widow holding onto it for safekeeping on her back. "Strange is resting. Do not disturb him." the lightning god warned as his comrades wandered into the room he'd perched himself in. Banner walked to the observation window, using a small device that rested in his hands to check the sorcerer's health. "The fatigue he's experiencing is putting a major dent in his physical health. Even we keep this up, and the infection gets worse, he might not survive." Bruce warned, his expression full of sorrow. Tony walked up to the glass of the cell, peeking inside curiously. "Um, Thor?" he asked, eyes glued to the glass. "Yes, Man of Iron?" Thor asked back, turning to look at him. Tony lifted a finger and pointed into the cell. "Do you happen to know if Strange floats when he sleeps?" he asked. Thor walked to the glass, confused, and looked inside. Strange floated vertically next to the bed, the chains from his throat hovering peacefully around him as he did so. "I have not seen that before." Thor admitted, opening the door. Tony, Bruce and himself entered the cell almost noiselessly, gazing up at the sorcerer's body as it remained static in the air. Reaching up to touch the man's foot, one of the chains lashed at Tony's hand, drawing blood. "Ow!" the man of iron cried, clutching his bleeding palm in pain. Bruce helped him leave the cell, glancing in Thor's direction as they left. "I don't think its a form of sleepwalking." he advised to the lightning god. Thor trailed his eyes over the extent of the sorcerer's body, pausing when their eyes met. Strange's sclera were entirely crimson, the red completely filling his open eyes. He looked quite awake in the moment. "Strange?" Thor tried, friendily waving his hand at the sorcerer. Strange slowly turned towards him, the chains lashing out at the lightning god's chest plate. The man flew backwards across the room, impacting the far wall. The chains followed, lashing repeatedly at anything they could reach. They cut, tore and clanged against his armor, intent on causing damage while they only appeared to grow longer with each strike. Grabbing onto the nearest one, Thor pulled it towards him and swung it around himself. With the momentum gained, Strange slammed into the wall, the tiles cracking slightly with the impact. As he fell to the floor, the glowing of his eyes ceased and the chains fell limp to the ground as they joined him. Steve came running in, his hands carrying cuffs as he hauled the sorcerer to the bed and locked him down to it. "This is getting more dangerous by the hour." Thor admitted, following Steve out to the meeting room. "This has to stop, and soon. How much time do we have?" he asked aloud. "At the most, three days. At the least, one." Tony replied. The scientists left the room, taking Kimeliton's sword with them to the lab to analyze. The others were left to create a plan of action for taking down the stone swordsman in less than a day. When Strange awoke again, he struggled in his cuffs frantically until he felt Thor's hand on his arm. "Relax. You are safe." Thor said, reassuring the man by adding a smile. It didn't have much of an effect. "What happened?" Strange asked, accepting the lightning god's help in sitting up. "You attacked us, while you were resting." Thor explained. Strange made a face. "Any major damages?" the doctor asked nervously. "No. The Man of Iron suffered a simple cut on his right palm. That was it. How was your rest?" Thor asked, offering the man a cup of tea. "Not very refreshing, as I expected it to be. Kimeliton is haunting my dreams as well, creating devastating nightmares." Strange replied, accepting the tea. Thor led him out of the cell, back to the meeting room. Fury sat at the head of the table, looking clearly pissed. "We've got three days to finish this. Stark, what have you got?" the director asked. "Kimeliton's swords are connected to him using a gravitational pull. Banner and I have deduced that if we disrupt that pull using a crossbeam of magnetized waves, he'll be defenseless. Banner and I have already started construction of pulse points we can place around." Tony replied. "As for the teleportation, he uses some kind of black hole technique that leaves behind a residue of gunpowder." Bruce added. "The Hycron spell." Strange cut in. "You know of it?" Thor asked, impressed. "Yes, quite well actually. I know how to counter it and track someone who uses it, too." Strange replied, summoning a book from his library and flipping it open. His eyes ghosted over the pages for a few seconds before he looked up. "It's not difficult to make. I can have it completed in fifteen minutes. It should last three hours." Strange explained. "And, how do we apply it?" Steve asked. "You can spread it in the borders of an area, on someone, or cast a spell with it. Which do you prefer?" the sorcerer asked back. "The area. That'll do." Tony replied. "Where will we be engaging Kimeliton?" Thor asked. "We're going to try a warehouse a little far outside the city of Detroit. It'll be safer and there shouldn't be people around to interrupt us." Nat replied, displaying the location using a hologram. "I will meet you there." Strange said, summoning two portals. He walked through the first quickly, waving his hand as it closed behind him, leaving the others staring at the spot he just vanished from. "Someone should have gone with him." Widow said, sighing. "He's an adult. More so than the rest of us." Clint chuckled. The team gathered what they required, snatched the Quinjet, and zoomed off to the location in three hours flat.