Chapter 10: Escape Plan A
When I was very small, I already knew I would be willing to do whatever it took to survive.
And I don't just mean when I was ten years old. I mean this is way back when I was six or five. I may have been young and innocent, but I was aware by then of the horrors that the world could inflict on me, and what I could do to deliver the pain right back at it.
I don't know why everyone else gets so shocked that I have no qualms about using violence to get myself out of sticky situations, and not just the usual punches and kicks of struggling.
I mean drawing blood, fighting dirty, tooth and nail. No mercy.
Wong always said it was because I usually looked so sweet and innocent that no-one ever WANTED to believe I was capable of being so vicious. Yet, despite what everyone wants to think of me, and how much I want to live up to their good expectations, I cannot deny that I did somewhat enjoy stabbing that Hydra guard in the leg…
"What the-AGHAAHHAA!"
Alphard wheeled around, eyes widening at the sight behind him.
One of the guards on Via's sides was hollering in pain as she wrenched out a small golden knife from where she'd buried it deep in his upper thigh.
"What the fu-Ugh!" her other guard spluttered as her free hand suddenly chopped sideways, slamming itself painfully into his Adams apple.
"Oh no you don't" Alphard growled quickly rummaging around in his belt for his gun only to still as he felt the liquid coated metal press against the side of his throat.
"Tell your pilot to land" Via hissed in his ear, and though her voice was shaking, her hands were quite steady.
"I have a gun" Alphard sneered, but nonetheless motioned for the pilot next to him to stop reaching for his own gun and not take his hands off the controls.
"And I have a knife against your Carret-carrot-whatever Artery-"
"Carotid. It's Carotid Artery" Alphard rolled his eyes like an exasperated teacher explaining one plus one equals two "Rule number one when threatening your victim. Know your anatomy so you know where to strike. Though I must admit I'm impressed you even know the existence of such a body part. It seems Hydra must re-evaluate your intellectual skills"
"Hydra won't be doing anything for me except for landing this helicopter" Via spat, being careful to keep her temper in check as she felt her blade prick his skin.
For all her aggressiveness and anger, she didn't want to kill him. She already had enough blood on her hands as it stood.
"This is your first time isn't it? Thought so" Alphard smirked as he carefully turned his head to looked back at her with a small playful wink. "I must say I'm honoured that you chose me for your first"
"Ugh! Gross" Via groaned.
Alphard only chuckled.
"Don't worry you're doing better than most. Most assets we train usually are too afraid to retaliate when placed in the same situation. But you…You nearly escaped us twice and now you've just stabbed a man, choked another and are holding me to ransom. That…well…that takes guts"
Via didn't know what was worse. The fact that Alphard sounded genuinely impressed, or the fact that a small part of her was preening herself off with pride on the inside.
No, don't think like that. Just keep going you've almost got back to the ground…
She gulped as she chanced a small glance out of the window. The helicopter did seem to be descending back down to the rooftop of the tower they'd just left.
"Send a message to Strucker. Tell him to give us a few more minutes, our little guest needs a little lesson in manners." Alphard snapped to the pilot who quickly began muttering into his headset just as the helicopter made to land.
It was grey as dawn began to creep up over the horizon, a mist hanging over the facility below and the dense forest around it. But that didn't hamper the pilot in the slightest…nor Alphard.
As soon as the bottom railings made touchdown Alphard suddenly reached up to Via's arm and twisted it.
Via cried out in pain as she felt the bones in her wrist snap before the rest of her was suddenly get thrown away, Asmund suddenly disappearing from her grip as he transformed back into a bracelet on her wrist.
She landed heavily on the ground, noticing vaguely that her body was hitting the concrete floor of the tower roof. She winced as she slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, the cold air gliding past her scraped cheek, making it sting.
"Did that hurt? Good" Alphard grunted as in a couple of strides he reached for the girl and grabbed her by the roots of the hair.
Via barely was able to move an inch by the time the punch hit her jaw.
"Th-thanks" she snorted as he pulled her face back up to glare down into it.
"For what?" Alphard snarled as he readied his fist again.
"For saving me the trouble of going to the dentist" Via snorted, spitting a fair bit of blood (and even one of her back teeth) onto his face and uniform.
Another hit, this time to her nose.
She felt the bone break, felt the warm blood streaming down her nose and over her lips, and the ringing in her ears from the impact, but still she kept her eyes open, never looking away from his.
She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her defeated. She'd keep fighting him, even if she couldn't raise a finger.
He raised his fist for a third time.
Via grit her teeth.
BAM!
A fist slammed into a jaw.
But it wasn't Alphard's fist that struck …and it wasn't Via's jaw that was hit.
It was the dark gloved hand of-
Via fell to the ground, only just catching herself on her hands and knees as Alphard literally flew backwards, his body hitting the side of the helicopter.
"GET HIM!" the downed agent yelled angrily, and Via became aware of the dark shadow kneeling over her.
There was the sound of something banging loudly and Via yelped quickly curling into a tight ball where she knelt, covering her head with her hands.
But the bullets did not hit her. Instead they clanged hard against something metal, before being interrupted by what sounded like crackling electricity followed by the yelps and splutters of pain.
"-ia! Via! Kid can you hear me?!" A voice was calling at her, quickly grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Steve?" Via rasped as Captain Steve Rogers himself dragged her up to stand, only to scoop her up into his arms as she almost fainted into them from dizziness.
"Whoa-whoa, come on kid stay with me! Just hold on!" Captain America almost felt his heart stop as he caught sight of her ever-paling face under all the blood.
"GET TO THE JET! I'LL COVER YOU!" A voice yelled from above and Via recognized it at once to be Sam who was flying around in the air on a pair of metal wings.
But Via did not have time to admire the spectacle before her as she was carried up what appeared to be a ramp, where Thor was gearing up to fight the many Hydra agent's now running up onto the platform.
"Lady Via, tis good to see you alive. Though I wish I could say the same for our enemies."
"Uh-Hmm" Via grunted as she was carried into what appeared to be some sort of aircraft.
She could feel the edges of her vision begin to darken slowly.
"BRUCE!" Steve called worriedly as he saw the girl in his grip begin to slip away.
"Clint take the wheel!" a frantic voice called.
"Hey" Via murmured weakly as Steve deposited her on what felt like a nearby cot and Bruce Banner bustled over.
"Shit that's a lot of blood." He winced, and Via was faintly aware of the small green tinge on his knuckles as he made to turn her head to inspect the damage.
"I'm okay." She mumbled reaching up to grab his wrist. "No need to go green with envy" she added with a tiny smirk.
Bruce sighed, but she could see the tense muscles in his face relax slightly at the joke.
"Come on let's get you cleaned up." He muttered bringing a small wet cloth to her face.
The aircraft around her jostled slightly as Clint made to shift their position away from what sounded like heavy gunfire, but otherwise everything was calm…mostly…
Via felt the waves of tension rolling off Bruce in waves as he helped her clean up the blood from her nose and mouth. He was angry, very angry, but it seemed like he was using the excuse of looking after her as a distraction for himself.
Via didn't mind. After those few terrifying hellish hours with Hydra, getting gauze shoved up her nose by a quietly seething Bruce was almost like chilling out and relaxing at the beach (not that she'd ever been to a beach in her life).
She was so zoned out with relief that she barely took note of all the commotion all around her as she shut her eyes and let her exhaustion carry her off to sleep.
"Rogers in! We've got Via. The Facility is secure, War Machine, Damage Control and the Iron Legion are surrounding the building" Steve panted as he leapt up onto the once again open ramp of the quinjet, followed quickly by Sam in his Falcon suit, a bruised but fiercely glaring Natasha in her stealth suit and a clean, undamaged smirking Thor.
"Good" The disembodied voice of Tony Stark spoke up from the speakers. "How's the kid?"
"She's a bit bruised but okay" Bruce announced to the plane at large. "Jarvis is scanning her for further injuries"
"There appears to be a hairline fracture on her jaw, a severe fracture on her right wrist, a broken nose, several minor first degree burns and a deep laceration on her left shin and what appears to be a concussion on the back of her head" Jarvis spoke candidly as if announcing the weather.
"Shit man! Open the goddamn door, I've gotta get a few more hits into those bastards" Sam swore not even bothering to hide his disgust as he turned back to the ramp.
"Wake her up" Natasha clipped, grabbing her friend before he could take two steps away.
"What for, let the poor child rest. She's been through enough Hel for one night" Thor frowned as he caught sight of the exhausted girl curled up in the cot. She'd seen so brash and brazen when training with him and Steve just the other day. Now she just looked tiny and frail, like a gust of wind could blow her away and shatter her on the ground.
But Bruce shook his head.
"No, Nat's right. With such a big concussion we need to wake her up and see if there isn't any brain damage" he reached down to gently shake the girl's shoulder.
"Via. Olivia. Wake up"
"Five more minutes Stephen" Via muttered sleepily only to grumble as she felt her body get lifted into a sitting position.
"Morning kid." Bruce sighed as she glowered sleepily up at him. "Sorry I know you're tired but we need to make sure you're okay"
"Am I alive?" Via grunted.
"Yes-" Bruce started calmly but she just steamrolled over him.
"Then I'm okay."
"Well she hasn't lost her sass" Tony's disembodied voice snorted from the speakers.
Bruce sighed as he turned back to Via and held a tiny torch up to her eyes. A few moments passed in which everyone watched anxiously as her eyes managed to track the small bead of light wherever he pointed it.
"Well your pupils seem to be working fine" he muttered as he shut the tiny light off "You seem to be able to form speech patterns properly… and from what Jarvis is showing us your heart seems to be running at normal pace given your condition…yeah, Thor's right you should be able to take a nap after I'm finished taping your wrist"
"Thank Christ" Via sighed in relief, shutting her eyes as she leaned back against the wall of the cot pinching her broken nose to stem the fresh blood flow. "God I need a shower"
"You can have one when we get back to the tower" Steve nodded as he took a seat at the cots on the opposite side of the jet. He kept his jaw set stiffly as he could as he heard the girl faintly mutter something along the lines of:
"-wanna go home-"
"And you will young one, you will. You have been most brave throughout your ordeal. You just need to be brave for a little longer" Thor patted the top of her head gently as he passed her by, but not before dropping something big and red over her lap.
It was his cloak.
Damn, did the Asgardian god always have to be so darn nice all the time?
Via scowled as she felt her cheeks burn red hot as she begrudgingly covered herself in the thick scarlet material. It smelt a little of sweat and battle, but it was warm and surprisingly soft against her skin.
But she still preferred the Cloak of Levitation.
Good Old Levy…And Stephen…and Wong…Buddy…Meeta…I'm coming home
She exhaled heavily as she shut her eyes, barely heeding Bruce as he strapped a splint to her wrist.
"Right that should hold it for now. Just lie like this and you'll be fine." He gently positioned her so that she was sitting and leaning against the wall of the cot, Thor's cloak wrapped tight over most of her.
It was oddly enough a comfortable position for her, as she'd often slept huddled like this on the streets of New York. Except whenever she'd done that she'd only been covered by a newspaper and never been tucked in.
She wondered vaguely if this was what it felt like getting tucked in. She'd never been tucked in before in her life. It felt comforting, especially now that she knew she was back in a safe zone.
It didn't take her long for her deep breaths to turn into loud pig like snores, much to the amusement of the heroes around her.
"Wow. Such sound from such a small being?" Thor chuckled along with Clint who sniggered softly from the plane's cockpit.
"Come on give her a break" Steve chided them, though he too smiled a little at the sight of the blond girl with gauze stuffed up her nose.
What no one else could see was the small scrawny half beaten boy from Brooklyn his mind's eye had superimposed over her form.
It didn't help that he could vividly remember the fierce gleam he'd briefly seen in her eyes when she'd been staring her abuser in the eye.
"Careful Cap, stare too hard and she might catch on fire" Natasha drawled as her elbow jostled him out of his reverie.
"What?" he blinked in surprise. "Oh…right. Sorry I just was thinking"
"A dangerous pastime" Natasha smirked "Okay thinking about what?"
"Nothing…just that…she well…" Steve faltered.
"She managed to make it through?" Natasha finished for him quietly.
"We don't know that yet" Steve muttered, his expression darkening "We have no clue what happened to her in there-"
"But what we do know is that she's safe and sound now." Natasha sighed heavily. "Wait for the debriefing before you start brooding."
"But its Hydra, Nat. Hydra. The same guys who did to…to Bucky…what if they tried to do that to her?" he sucked in a deep breath through gritted teeth, his fists clenching "She's just a kid"
Natasha put a hand on his shoulder.
"I know, but we can't do anything else for now until she tells us what happened, which might take a while given her injuries. All we can do for now is help her feel safe and secure until she gets home"
Steve nodded, though everyone could see his eyes were still grim and worn out as dark thoughts began circling his head once more.
The others could tell him not to worry till kingdom come, but he knew that once Hydra had something in their sights, they'd stop at nothing till they got it.
But that only raised the question.
Why did Hydra want the Sorenson family so much?
By the time I finally got back to New York in the Avenger's Quinjet, it was mid afternoon. Only four hours of rest. Steve and Thor had both offered to carry me inside if I still felt sleepy but I refused.
I may have been injured but I needed to stay awake, more for the sake of my own pride than anything else. I had never been a damsel in distress before and I wasn't going to start being one now. Also I was mighty hungry and desperately wanted a bath.
By the time I was done with cleaning and feeding myself I was so tired that I just crashed on a couch.
When I woke up next it was to find myself back home at the Sanctum.
"Hmm? Stephen?" Via mumbled as one of her eyes cracked open.
She was in her room…in her bed, propped up on many pillows and under her blue comforter. At her feet the large gigantic furry form of Buddy was lying down gently dozing.
Next to the bed on her left, Stephen sat in a chair, leaning on one of its arms as he quietly read through the large tome in his lap.
"Welcome back to the world of the living" he muttered not looking up from his book.
"Good to be back Doc" Via grunted as she tried to shimmy up to sit.
Quick as a flash she felt something gently raise her back up before settling it into a sitting position against pillows that hadn't been propped up before.
"Show off" Via rolled her eyes as Stephen smirked up at her from his book, one of his hands lowering back down.
"So how long was I out of it?" she asked quietly looking over herself.
Her arm was in a sling, but her face and head wasn't throbbing anymore. Her left leg too felt normal. And her nose…
She reached up to touch it. It felt good as new, no blood, no scars, not even mild discomfort.
"Only twelve hours." Stephen shut his book with a sigh "I brought you back here with the Sling Ring and had a healer from Kamar-Taj have a look at you. You should be fine now, you'll just need to take it easy with the arm."
"Yeah about that, how long will I need this for? Because I really want to sock those Hydra bastards in the face" Via snorted, not noticing the anger that flashed briefly over Stephen's face as he clipped.
"Three days. The bone's been reset but still quite delicate. Same goes for your nose, so try not to blow or sneeze too hard."
"Wow, for a doctor your bedside manner sucks" Via smirked and Stephen grunted.
"You sound like Christine. She always used to tell me I had to be more delicate when telling patients their condition"
"Yeah but I'm not your patient, am I?"
"No you are not" Stephen reached out to hand her a glass of water. "Drink up. Wong's preparing lunch and then you'll have to take a bath"
"Right" Via took a sip of the water which was nice and cool against her dry throat.
"So what happened to you guys while I was gone?" she gasped as she guzzled down another few gulps of water.
"The Order has been put on high alert" Stephen huffed lounging back in his chair. "Apparently these Hydra guys are not just Shield's enemies, but ours too. Hence this"
He slid the collar of his robes aside to show her his bare chest, where a small golden amber mandala was glowing faintly.
Via grinned.
"So…house arrest for you huh?"
"Yes. Apparently it was too risky sending the next sorcerer supreme to rescue his apprentice so they tethered me here to the Sanctum." Stephen rolled his eyes irritably and she giggled.
"Probably for the best. Y'know, seeing as neither of us have ever fought against guns before"
Stephen stilled mid retort.
He hadn't thought about that. Training for the mystic arts often involved defence against mystical or physical threats in the older forms of fighting.
But guns?
Neither he nor Via had been trained to move against those.
"Did they try to shoot you?" Stephen looked her in the eye, and was surprised when she shrugged.
"A couple of trigger happy guards did, but apart from that they tried to keep me in as much as one piece as possible. I only got injured because I fought back."
Stephen nodded quietly. Yes, that sounded about right.
For all her delicate looks, Via was a real scrapper in a pinch.
Oh yes sure Stephen's magic was far more powerful, and his spellcasting more superior but when it came down to fighting tooth and nail for his life he wasn't keen to dish out a deadly hit to his opponent. He was at his core, still a doctor…a healer of wounds, someone who preferred to spare and save lives rather than damage them.
Via on the other hand wasn't as merciful. Give her an opening she'd unleash hell and worm her way out. It was perhaps the one thing that made her a better fighter on the battlefield than him. That and she was younger and more energetic.
And speaking of energy-
"And what do you think you're doing?" he scowled as she tried to swing her legs out over the side of the bed away from him. At the end of the bed, Buddy quickly looked up, eyes wide with shock as he was jostled from his nap. He leapt off excitedly as Via cracked her neck side to side.
"Need to pee." She grunted as she stretched out her stiff back.
"Don't strain yourself" Stephen growled, body ready to spring from the chair as she hobbled her way stiffly over to her small bathroom.
"Okay, okay" she waved him off as she shut the door behind her.
Stephen's smirk fell as he heard her sigh on the other side of the door.
He knew he should be happy she was back, but he couldn't have been more worried. When the Avengers had brought her back, she was indeed alive, but the sight of her injuries were enough to give him chills. And that was only the result of being captured for less than twenty-four hours with Hydra.
Maybe Wong was right. Maybe it is too dangerous to let her work with the Avengers.
He scratched his chin as he heard the toilet flush start and the sound of a tap briefly gushing.
"Whoo! Much better" Via sighed as she exited the bathroom, wiping her hands on her towel as she passed it by.
She frowned as she caught sight of the doctor's pensive face.
"Stephen? You okay?"
"Hmm?" Stephen blinked up at her. "Me? Yes, I'm fine, just thinking…"
He was grateful that Wong chose at that moment to enter the room with a tray of food, because Via looked ready to start questioning him with a suspicious glance.
"Thanks Wong" Via smiled as she inhaled the hot hearty stew. That steak Alphard had given her had been-
She froze, her spoon tipping so that all its contents fell back into the bowl.
"Olivia?" Wong and Stephen glanced at one another as the girl's eyes misted over.
"Alphard…of course!"
"Olivia what-Olivia!" Wong cried out quickly using his magic to catch her flying food tray before it could spill everywhere.
But Via wasn't listening as she bounded out of bed and rushed over to her desk.
She rummaged through the top drawer, one handed, eyes flashing with victory as she finally pulled out her quarry, a purple envelope with a golden seal on the back.
She opened it quickly, eyes scanning the white paper until her eyes found what she was looking for.
"I knew it! I knew that bastard's name sounded familiar!" she breathed.
"Who's name did?" Stephen strode over to examine the paper "Your mom's letter-"
"Just read it here!" she thrust the paper under his nose, pointing to a small paragraph towards the middle.
"If you wish to find the truth, you must first labour twice as hard to find Alphard and Minchir. They will show you the way to your father. It is with him you will find the answers you seek."
Stephen looked up at Via, eyebrows raised.
"Yes?"
"Oh my god! Seriously can't you see it?!" she groaned snatching the paper back. "Alphard, is a star in the Hydra constellation. HYDRA! Mom wasn't just talking about a person. She was talking about that secret organization, and that Alphard guy who beat me up said he knew about both my parents. If I want to know what happened to my parents I'd have to find Hydra and-"
"That is out of the question!" Stephen barked so fiercely that Buddy started growling protectively at Via's side.
"Down boy" she murmured patting the great animal on top of his shaggy head, glaring at Stephen.
"What do you mean, it's out of the question?! My mom's gone and I have no idea who my dad is. Heck! Nobody even knows WHAT happened to my mom when she disappeared. So far the only leads I've gotten have been from Hydra-"
"Hence why it's out of the question!" Stephen snapped only to be mowed over by Wong who had put a hand on his shoulder.
"Olivia, we understand you're excited by this news. We at the Order would also love to know what happened to your mother. But Hydra is not an organization to be trifled with. What you saw of them whilst I'm sure it was terrifying, was but the tip of the iceberg. You think they only deal with guns and hired goons? There are far worse kinds of people that have joined their cause, some who even have knowledge over the dark arts-"
"Like Fabian Russo?" Via rolled her eyes only to gulp as Stephen's gaze narrowed dangerously on her.
"Fabian Russo was but a fly in comparison to some of the sick twisted souls that dabble in the dark arts. And if keeping you safe means you quitting your work with the Avengers and keeping you tethered here at the Sanctum-"
"So what because you guys are spooked by this secret organization I'm just going to sit here tight in my room like a good little damsel in distress?! A prisoner in my own home?" Via snarled.
"You aren't a prisoner-" Stephen began but Via huffed.
"Oh yeah sure because tethering someone inside a building isn't keeping someone captive? Just like, oh I don't know, having armed guards point loaded guns at your back while pushing you to walk is just a normal everyday stroll?!"
She didn't realize she was shouting until she started panting. Nor did she realise she had tears falling down her face until she had to snivel through her nose.
Damn it!
She cursed herself as she scrubbed her eyes with her pyjama sleeve, roughly pushing Stephen away as he tried to reach out for her.
"Don't! just don't. I-I need some-just don't." she strode back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and in the troubled face of her guardian.
Wong sighed heavily.
This was going to be a long day.
The first day I spent recuperating back home at the Sanctum was…well… a tense one.
I know Stephen and Wong want what's best for me, but understand that up till that point in my life I'd had no parent set any rules or restrictions for me. EVER!
Oh yeah sure, Milly and Bill both had their rules, but not because they cared. The rules back at the orphanage were mainly there to maintain order amongst the children, and to stop kids from "annoying them", which usually meant punishment for any toe out of line (or if Bill just felt like beating someone up that day).
However I never really considered the Orphanage's rules to be…well rules. To me they seemed more like Guidelines on how to survive in what I'd thought to be hell. Otherwise I just did whatever the hell I wanted (granted I did my best to stay within the law).
Needless to say I wasn't really keen on suddenly having my old freedoms curtailed when Stephen decided to adopt me. It wasn't that I didn't care for him, or understand his reasonings. I just felt that I'd done well enough sticking to my own guns and that I didn't need people dictating the terms of my life.
While Stephen's a little more relaxed nowadays (even though he's still a little bit of a control freak), back then his attempts to be the perfect parent were almost smothering.
It's no wonder I decided to do something as stupid as I did…
"Brother?"
"Yes Sergei?" Cornelius Craven grunted as he and his brother reclined in their car seats.
"Are you sure it was alright for us to let her go like that?" Sergei Craven scowled as he dragged on his cigarette.
"Yep" Cornelius shrugged much to his brother's frustration
"-But the Avengers-"
"Let the Avengers have their little victory brother. It will be nothing compared to the reward that's in store for us"
"But we don't have the kid-"
"You idiot!" Cornelius spat over his brother's growls "This wasn't about capturing the kid. This was just setting the bait…the lure. Do you honestly think guys like the Avengers are just going to let us waltz in there and take a friend of theirs Scott free? No. This is a plan that requires delicate handling and careful preparation. We've already planted the seed in her mind-"
"And what magical seed is this?" Sergei grumbled only to be shut up by a glare from his brother.
"She wants to know about her mother. We have the answers. So if she wants to figure everything out-"
"She'll have to come to us." Sergei nodded as understanding dawned.
"Yes. She'll come to us." Cornelius sighed as he glanced out the car window into the Manhattan street outside.
"We just have to be patient"
"So how do you think the kid's doing?" Clint sipped at his bottle of beer.
He, Steve and Thor were all sitting at the small bar on Tony's floor, getting served their drinks by said billionaire himself.
"I'm sure she's fine" Tony shrugged as he poured Thor his large tankard of beer one handed and passed it over the bar. "She's a tough kid. Remember what those guys from the helicopter said-"
"About her stabbing one of them in the leg? Yeah how could I not?" Steve muttered darkly as he sipped at his scotch.
"She was trying to defend herself friend Steve. And sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures" Thor gasped in relief as he finished his swig of beer.
"I know but…She's just a kid! Kid's shouldn't have a need to stab anyone for any reason!" Steve pinched the bridge of his nose.
"And yet they do" Clint rolled his eyes as he sipped his bottle "I gotta admit I'm surprised she even got hold of a knife to begin with. Hydra agents aren't exactly carefree when it comes to keeping prisoners."
"I'm not" Tony grunted "The girl can move pretty quietly when she wants to."
"That is true" Thor nodded "she is a good warrior in the making no doubt, but stealth is certainly her forte. No wonder Lady Natasha is fond of her-"
"Yeah and speaking of our hottest teammate where is she?" Tony turned to Clint who sighed heavily.
"Demolishing a punching bag."
"She's still riled up about the orphanage?" Steve frowned.
"Let's just say it brought back some unpleasant ghosts" Clint guzzled down the last of his drink. "Any chance of a top up?"
"Do you have to ask?" Tony smirked as he supplied another bottle quickly.
There was a beeping sound as Jarvis suddenly sprung into being.
"I'm sorry for the interruption sir but Stephen Strange is calling. He says its urgent"
"Alright put him on Jarv." Tony waved his hand dismissively as the call came through "Hi Houdini, how's it going?"
"I have no time for your stupidity Stark" Stephen Strange snapped ferociously on the other end.
"Ouch, sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the magic carpet" Clint muttered softly to Thor and Steve who both smirked, only for their expressions to fall as the next sentence all but tumbled out of the sorcerers mouth.
"It's Via, she's gone"
She couldn't believe it.
She'd managed to get his sling ring!
Granted Stephen was too pre-occupied with looking after her that he didn't even notice her fingers quietly slipping into his belt and untying the ring while she gave him an impromptu hug goodnight.
She never liked pickpocketing when she was on the streets, but she had to admit it was proving to be a very handy skill.
Quietly as she could she quietly crouched low behind a bush in the shadows of a large armoured car.
It was one of Damage Control's and it was barely empty save one man sitting and watching surveillance footage inside. All his other fellows were currently standing around the tall dark looming shadow that had once been a Hydra facility.
A cold chill ran down her spine, but she quickly shook it off. No, she needed to do this.
Quietly as a shadow she snuck out from behind the car and slunk her way to the facility's grey wall. It was very tall, but with the web of Asibikaashi's she'd be able to scale it easily. She just had to make sure she wouldn't be seen.
She had wondered whether she should use the sling ring. But if she did she ran the risk of running into Damage Control, and the last thing she needed was for them to see her magic. Also she knew for a fact that Tony had equipped all his Damage Control Employees with the prototype magic sensor by now, which meant keeping spellcasting to a minimum was a must.
I'm sorry guys. But this is my mom…I gotta know what happened…
She looked down at herself. She was wearing her mother's black ninja gear underneath her favourite blue and gold tailcoat, the hood of which she'd pulled up over her now masked face.
Well, at least she looked the part.
"Alright, let's do this"
And with that she jumped up on to the wall, landing on it in a crouch three meters higher than when she'd been standing.
So far so good
She glanced down at the ground, where nothing seemed to have changed. In fact, no one seemed to have even cared for her presence.
So much for hiring the best of the best. These guys really aren't paying much attention.
She rolled her eyes as she climbed up the wall moving quickly out of the way of a roving search light as it passed her by.
Jesus, how does anyone breathe in this building?
She wondered as she climbed higher. As far as she could see there were no windows anywhere along the wall, not even any sign of any vents as far as she could see. It was just a vast expanse of grey bricks or smooth glass panels that didn't open.
I must be crazy coming back here after all the shit that went down.
She thought to herself as she climbed higher and higher up the wall, not daring to look down for fear of pissing herself with fear.
Almost there…just a few storeys more…holy crap
She huffed, wincing as her ribs twinged painfully. Crap. She'd forgotten about the bruises.
Come on Via just push through it, you're nearly there.
She sucked in a deep breath as she forced her hand to climb upwards again.
She was nearly there now, just a couple more meters-
"Phew!" she sighed softly as she finally dragged herself up over the edge of the circular tower roof.
Well…that was a task and a half!
She looked down over the edge of the drop, smirking as she saw everything down below was still nice and quie-
"Ahem!"
She turned around. There standing behind her arms folded, was a tall dark bald man in a black trenchcoat and wearing a big black patch over one eye.
"Shit" she swore softly as Nick Fury smirked.
"It's a bit late to be out on a school night, Summers."
Hi guys, me again. PHEW! i finally managed to find some time to write (I've just been swamped with so much work come end of year). Anyways i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
So yeah, Via's safe and sound (or is she?). I know it seems kinda stupid of her to go BACK to the place that she was held captive, but then again she's not perfect and she's really desperate to find out the truth (especially with HYDRA seeming to know a lot about her parents).
But in other news, I literally just saw Thor Ragnarok barely an hour ago! AHH! *Squeels* It's like super great because i literally just finished writing the chapter just ten minutes before i had to leave for the cinema and i was super nervous because i was wondering what to do with Via and her role in all the other future MCU (after Age of Ultron) and i am so glad i did because now i KNOW for certain that whatever future plans i had for her later adventures could definitely go ahead! I know i probably could go AU but so far i like the MCU major plot lines and it's been fun finding Via's place amidst them. But OH BOY! I can't wait to get her stuck into Thor Ragnarok.
Anyways enough with my ramblings, I hope you enjoy reading and keep reviewing for more. Updates are probably going to be slow or irregular because of work and the lead up to XMas but i will do my best.
Cheerio
FuzzyBeta