Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to anything Iron Man, that right goes to Marvel Studios/Comics. I don't own any of the rights to anything dealing with the Witchblade that right goes to Top Cow Productions. The only thing I claim as mine is any original characters I created and the plot of this particular story. No copy right infringement is meant. This is for fun and not for money.
Rated T for language.
A/N: Okay, this chapter is all about the Periculum, or the ultimate Witchblade test; every wielder has to go through it some time or another. I do not profess to be an expert on the subject, never having read the comic. My writing is based solely on what I've seen in the TNT TV show. I used the TV show's portrayal as my template and changed things to fit my character and my ideas. In the show when Sara Pezzini went through the Periculum, she had to deal with past wielders: Joan of Arc, a Celtic warrior queen named Cathain, and Elizabeth Bronte, the wielder right before Sara. I chose other wielders that I liked better; hopefully readers will too. Each person I picked is technically a wielder, according to the Witchblade canon. Here again, Violet gets to look inside herself and see who she really is. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all take stock of our lives and see who we really are? I think – and this is the optimist in me – that we would all be pleasantly surprised. And, oh yeah, Tony gets the inside scoop on all of this. :)
Thanks again to AblatedCrayon for your guidance and great suggestions. Thanks also to RID3RLVR (Ari) for her time and talents as well. You guys rock!!! And thanks to all of you who reviewed. I think I even picked up a couple of new people. That was just awesome!!! Please keep the reviews coming; they are great!!! Enough of me; enjoy!!!!
- Ladyhawke Legend
Chapter 10
Trial by Fire
By the time Tony got Violet out of the car and up the back elevator to the penthouse, the Witchblade had spread its tentacled-self up Violet's left arm, down her left leg, around her waist, and up her back, so it had completely entwined around her entire body. Violet had completely gone unconscious, and Tony got no reaction out of her at all. The only thing that let him know she wasn't dead was the rise and fall of her chest. Tony was doing his best to stay calm, cool, and collected for Violet's sake, but he was ready to fall apart. He had never seen anything like this before; even the sight of a hole in his chest hooked up to a car battery in Afghanistan couldn't compare to the horror he thought he was seeing before him. He had to hold on to his logic and reasoning, for they were the only things that were going to help Violet.
Once inside the penthouse apartment that was tall enough to take up four whole floors of vertical real-estate, he rushed Violet to a plushly decorated bedroom on the second level. Eventually, he'd get her down to his workshop to hook her up to monitors, administer any drugs she needed, and get the Witchblade scanned. For the moment, however, he wanted to let her rest as comfortably as she could while he checked in with Pepper and Jarvis. Pepper and some of the apartment caretakers had prepared the place for Tony's arrival. All the beds had fresh linen on them, the furniture was fully dusted, the kitchen was wholly stocked with food, the bathrooms were filled with supplies, and Jarvis had been uploaded into the apartment's main computer. Tony took the A.I as many places as possible.
Tony turned Violet over to Pepper's care for a few minutes while he changed out of his suit into jeans and a white tank top and consulted with Jarvis; he knew he might have to get his hands dirty in attempting to remove the Witchblade from Violet, or vice versa. "Make sure to double all the security measures," he ordered Jarvis, thinking of Irons briefly. "And start a search for anything and everything to do with the Witchblade; all records you can find. I've got to know how to get it off of Violet. It's killing her; I can feel it."
"Right away, sir," Jarvis' savvy British voice replied.
Tony went back to Pepper, who was with Violet in the bedroom that was beautifully colored in mauve and burgundy. A large four poster bed took up a good portion of the room. A dressing table, couch, some cushy chairs, and dresser took up the rest. A bathroom door was at the back of the room and to the right. Pepper had removed Violet's ripped clothing, leaving her in only her undergarments. Tony found himself looking at a silky black, scantily clad Violet, wrapped up in Witchblade tentacles. If the situation weren't so dire, he would have taken time to enjoy the view, for it was an alluring and seductive sight. The pure male in him did pause to take it in for a moment. Then he willed himself back into action.
"Is everything in the shop prep'd and ready?" he asked.
"Yes, Mr. Stark," Pepper answered, trying to be professional in a situation that was anything but normal. "Except the EMP bomb you wanted; that's only in the Malibu house's inventory."
"Any change?" he asked next, indicating Violet with a point of his chin.
"Not really," she replied. "She keeps trying to fight against it, and once in a while you think she might wake up. I think she's dreaming. See the way her eyes are moving under her lids? It almost looks like REM sleep." Tony had to agree with Pepper's assessment as he studied Violet. Hooking her up to a brain wave monitor would tell him for sure.
Just then the phone set aside for the doorman started to ring. Tony looked at Pepper, who looked back at Tony perplexed. "Who the hell could that be?" Tony demanded.
"Director Nick Fury," Jarvis and Pepper announced at the same time. It had suddenly dawned on Pepper that Agent Coulson had called earlier that morning saying that Fury had wanted to speak to Tony. She had put him off as usual, and apparently he had tracked them down here in New York.
"What!?" Tony exclaimed. "Why is he here?"
Pepper quickly told him about the earlier phone call from Agent Coulson and her theory, while Jarvis proceeded to answer the phone. "Great, just great. I don't need this right now," Tony crabbed.
"Maybe they can help," Pepper offered hopefully. "You did say they had a file on Violet. Maybe they know more than we think."
"Go, let them in, and stall them for a few minutes," Tony said. "I don't want them to see Violet like this. I'm gonna try move her down to the shop, and get her situated so I can monitor was going on with her. I'll come back up and talk to Fury shortly." He really didn't want to leave Violet's side, and he was anxious to get some kind of analysis going.
Pepper ran to greet Director Fury and his agents, although the deep frown and cross look she gave Tony let him know how unhappy she was about doing it. Tony turned his attention back to Violet. She was thrashing on the bed now, pulling at the Witchblade's tentacles, having little or no effect on them. At that moment her eyes flew open and found his. "Help me, Tony! Please, get it off! It's killing me!" she sobbed.
The Witchblade seemed to grow and extend its tentacled-self to cover her mouth, cutting off her plea, and she seemed to lose consciousness again. Then the Witchblade literally attached itself to the bed, spreading its vines into to smaller branches, and stabbed roughly through the mattress and springs with sharp, pointed ends. Now Violet was pinned to the bed almost from head to foot, with no hope of Tony getting her down to his workshop. It wasn't near what his workshop in Malibu was, but it still was loaded with gadgets and technology that he could use to combat whatever the Witchblade really was.
That was it; screw being scientific and cautious about removing the Witchblade. Tony decided to resort to old-fashioned brute force. He didn't miss that fact that Violet hadn't cried out for Stark, but Tony. It pricked him to his core that in her hour of need, she called for him by his first name. She was starting to trust him; that warmed his heart and made him all the more determined to help her. The Witchblade was not going to get away with this, not as long as he was around. He didn't know what its problem was, but it was not going to hurt his Violet.
A laser cutter was the first thing that popped into his mind. The tentacles looked almost organic in nature, not metallic. The hot beam of energy should cut right through them, but then Tony had seen the Witchblade in its armor form, and it had repelled bullets and the flame from a flamethrower. Maybe it was both organic and metallic, some kind of super alloy. He had to do something, and trying to cut through the damn thing seemed like the best solution at the moment. If that failed, he'd find a bigger and better weapon; that's what he was good at doing. If he had really puzzled out the problem, he might have concluded that smaller might work better in this situation, but he wasn't about to take the time to do that.
With Jarvis' help, it took Tony only moments to locate a small, portable laser unit he used for cutting through heavy metals that need tiny, miniscule cuts. He also grabbed a portable heart monitor, so he could tell if anything he did to the Witchblade affected Violet adversely. He ran back up to the second level as fast as he could manage with the equipment he was carrying. He quickly attached the electrodes of the heart monitor to her chest and turned on the machine; there wasn't much of Violet's skin to work with, as it was mostly covered in Witchblade material. A steady, but elevated heartbeat beeped and flashed on the screen.
Then with the laser cutter in hand and satisfied by her heart's rhythm, he fired it up and programmed the temperature and the diameter of the beam. Just as he was about to slice into the ancient weapon, it decided to defend itself. The Witchblade suddenly grew another set of vine-like branches, snaking one out with lightning speed to wind itself around his wrist.
It squeezed so hard and whipped so roughly that he had to drop his weapon. The tentacle didn't stop there, either. It continued to wrap down his entire arm, and then forcefully yanked him over to the unoccupied space on the bed. He tried to sit up and fight it off, but it was no use as yet another tentacled branch fastened itself to his left side and literally attached him to the bed too. The two of them were lying supine side by side on the bed, totally enmeshed in the Witchblade's web.
"Ah, shit," Tony cursed. "This is not good." The more he fought it, the tighter the Witchblade constricted and held him more firmly to the bed. He felt like he was on fire; he was burning up suddenly. He felt the Witchblade rip through his clothing to get at his skin. He did all he could not to scream at the top of his lungs as it pierced through. He swore again as it searched out key clusters of his nervous system. Then his vision began to get hazy, and he felt himself start to drift away.
"God in Heaven!" came the startled cry of Agent Coulson as he, his team, and Director Fury burst into the room.
"Oh no, it's got Tony now too!" Pepper declared in disbelief coming in behind them.
Only the Director seemed unfazed by the scene in front of him. "It's finally happening," he said calmly in his deep voice.
"What's finally happening, sir?" Agent Coulson asked in confusion.
"The Periculum," he stated bluntly. "We've been wondering when this wielder would have to go through it. I have to say I didn't expect Stark to be in the middle of all this, but that's typical of the man, isn't it?" he added.
"Please, Director, I still don't understand any of this," Pepper said with a large amount of panic prevalent in her voice.
"Periculum is Latin for danger or risk," Fury started to explain. "It is the ultimate trial that the Witchblade puts its wielder through, allowing the two to fully bond and become one. If Miss Devonshire passes the test, the Witchblade will literally infuse itself in her DNA, making her stronger and more resilient."
"What happens if she doesn't pass, sir?" Agent Coulson then asked.
"She dies," Fury said matter-of-factly. "Although, in all I've read and studied about the Witchblade, I've never heard of it putting someone who is not a wielder through the test, let alone someone that is male. Stark's involvement here is puzzling."
That didn't make Pepper feel any better. "Yesterday, it cut Tony," she informed Fury. "It actually stuck him and made him bleed."
Fury's brows wrinkled in consternation. "That's unusual too. It doesn't like men; it has no interest in them, except as maybe as a resource for the wielder. Nothing about this latest wielder follows any of the Witchblade's normal patterns, which it has been following for millennia."
"What can we do to help them, Director?" Pepper now asked, very worried. "Will Tony die too, if she doesn't pass? Do you think it will possibly test him as well?"
"I don't know, Miss Potts; I just don't know," Fury said honestly. "And there is nothing we can do but wait it out. The Witchblade will not allow any interference."
Agent Coulson spoke up again. "How long is it supposed to take, sir?"
"It all depends on the wielder," Fury answered. "It could be only a few hours, or it could be days. In this case, we may have more than one participant. "
"Days?" Pepper said in horror.
"Days," was all Fury said in reply.
At first, Tony didn't know where he was. He was standing in the shadow of several large stone pillars. He looked himself over and saw no Witchblade tentacles restraining him, biting into his flesh. He was, however, dressed in all white; white slacks, white, long-sleeved, button-down shirt, and even white dress shoes. That was weird; he didn't normally dress this way. When had he changed his clothes? Was he dead? What was going on? Where was Violet?
As if in answer to this last question, he saw her as he looked back up. It was like she was across a football field from him, distance wise, but he could see her clearly, as if she were right in front of him. She was lying in a pool or tub that was recessed into the floor full of milky white water that came up to her neck. She appeared to be asleep. The chamber the pool was in was made of stone and hieroglyphics covered the four stone pillars that were supporting the ceiling. On the floor and walls, beautiful and detailed mosaics were painted and carved. The floor itself looked tiled.
Suddenly, a door located in the back of the room opened, admitting three women. The main one was dressed in silky, golden robes, and she had shoulder-length, black plated hair. Her eye make-up was striking, dramatic, and dark. Her skin was a very dark bronze color. The two accompanying women must have been attendants to her, Tony decided. The main woman was striking and very, very sexy. She had an aura of raw power about her that Tony couldn't help but feel and admire.
Violet stirred, and then awakened, pulling his full attention back to her. Tony wanted to go to her, be by her side, or be in the pool with her, but he couldn't move. It was as if he was glued to the ground, or rooted to the spot. What the hell? he thought in extreme frustration. Violet was right in front of him, tantalizingly so. Why couldn't he get to her? Why can't I move? he wondered.
Because you are an observer only, Tony Stark, a soft and seductive feminine voice informed him. You may watch and learn, but you cannot participate.
"Who are you? Where are you? Where am I?" Tony demanded of the strange and haunting voice.
Why I am the essence of the Witchblade, my dear Tony, the voice enlightened him.
Complete disbelief flooded throughout Tony's mind and body. "Why are you doing this? Why are you attacking Violet?" he asked very angrily.
She must be tested, Tony, it said as if it were an obvious fact. Until now it has not been necessary, but Violet's defiance lately has now made it necessary. It is something no wielder can escape. She has to prove herself worthy of being a wielder; they all have. The real intent of her heart must be revealed.
Tony then asked the question he most feared the answer to. "What happens if she fails your test?"
She will die, the Witchblade's melodic voice was blunt.
"I won't let you kill her!" Tony vowed, enraged.
The Witchblade's voice seemed to chuckle. That is very honorable and brave of you to say, Iron Prince, but it is out of your hands. I'm afraid there is nothing you can do to stop it now that it has been set into motion. Violet is already dying as we speak; if she survives, that is up to her.
"No!" Tony cried, again trying to surge forward toward Violet. When it was painfully apparent he wasn't going anywhere, he asked, "Why am I here? Why are you letting me watch?"
Because, soon it will be your turn, the Witchblade said smoothly, and I want you to be prepared. With that said, Tony literally felt the Witchblade's living essence fade away and leave him all alone.
"But wait! I'm not female, not a woman! I can't be a wielder! Why test me?!" he shouted. He received no answer; only silence greeted his outburst.
The clapping of someone's hands, very sharply and very precisely, brought his attention back to Violet and the familiar, yet strange-looking woman. She had signaled her attendants to help Violet out of the bath - Tony decided that was what it was - and they placed a silky black robe around Violet as they dried her off and as she stepped out of the tub. For a moment, Tony saw a flash of Violet's wonderfully feminine body, only to see it disappear under the robe. He felt himself lick his lips in appreciation. He then watched them pull Violet's dark and thick hair up into a loose twist and fasten it in place with some kind of clip.
Violet now stood before the spellbinding and commanding woman. "Where am I? What is happening to me?" Tony heard Violet ask her. She sounded so lost; he desperately wanted to go to her, but again he was stuck where he stood.
"Use you sense and knowledge," the woman said in an arresting voice. "You tell me who I am."
Tony watched Violet study the woman intently, and as her gaze took in the chamber and its decoration around her. He heard her gasp as she recognized the famous woman who stood before her. "But you can't be!" she whispered her exclamation. "You can't tell me that you're really Cleopatra?"
The woman, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, smile warmly at Violet. "I have been and always shall be," she told Violet. "I'm here to begin your test, Violet Devonshire. Do not take this lightly, for in your answers hangs your very life."
"Test?" Violet asked with a gulp. "What test?" Hadn't the Witchblade put her through enough already?
"It is called the Periculum, in Latin, and the Digitabulum Magae needs to know what is truly in your heart," Cleopatra said matter-of-factly. "We begin now," she added with a dramatic flare in her voice.
Violet's surroundings changed. She and Cleopatra now stood on one of the Sphinx's paws and looked out towards the Mediterranean Sea. It looked like hundreds of ships were sailing toward Egypt. "Octavian comes to wrest my kingdom from me," Cleopatra explained the scene. "Uniting Rome and Egypt was my task; helping to stabilize the great Roman Empire. The goal was achieved, just not in the way I had originally envisioned."
"Why are you showing me this?" Tony, still watching everything play out, heard Violet query.
"No more questions, Violet Devonshire," Cleopatra was brusque with her. "It is now your turn to answer my questions. How do you feel about Digitabulum Magae?"
Violet didn't know how to answer that question. She wasn't sure what she felt; it had brought her nothing but pain and loss, but it had also allowed her to do so much good, help so many people. It had helped her do so many things she could never have done on her own. It was there for her, when no one else was. "Confused," Violet finally said.
"An acceptable answer," Cleopatra replied with another warm smile. "What is your task, Violet Devonshire? What plagues your modern world? Some of the wielders had famine, freeing the oppressed, leading revolution, or fighting for their homeland, as their tasks. What is your problem to solve?"
Again Violet didn't even know where to begin. "Do I just have to pick one?" Violet stopped her speaking as Cleopatra gave her a hard glare. No questions, right, just answers, Violet remembered now. And my life depends on my answers, just great. "There are too many to name just one. There is war, famine, disease, genocide, overwhelming greed, horrible injustice, and the suffering of many innocents," Violet found herself saying.
"You are naming only effects, what is the cause?" Cleopatra demanded. "Name it!"
"I can't," Violet said, feeling small and helpless. "The whole world's a mess. Men have lost their natural affection for one another. The entire globe is a battlefield. People have gone insane." Violet had a hard time putting her thoughts and feelings into words.
"Well named, Violet, well named," Cleopatra told her. "Insane comes from the Latin root for unclean. Your task is to purify the hearts of men. This task was laid at the feet of Sara Pezzini, but she could not complete it, so now if falls to you."
Violet felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. How in the hell was she suppose to do that; supernatural weapon or no? It was too big a task for one person. "I can't possible do that alone," Violet blurted out. "If Sara couldn't, how can I fair any better? I think the Witchblade made a mistake when it chose me. I'm nobody; I'm a freakin' thief, for heaven's sake. I'm not worthy to be a wielder. I'm not a queen like you, and I don't come from a warrior race, like some of the other wielders. I don't really want the responsibility. I'm not a hero. I'm not brave or strong; I'm a coward and a weakling."
"And that is precisely why the Witchblade chose you, Violet," Cleopatra said as she reached out and wiped away the tears flowing down Violet's face. "You're meek and humble; teachable. What were your true motivations for being a thief?" she then asked.
"It was an absolute adrenaline rush," Violet said not meeting the other woman's eyes. "An expensive thrill ride to take something that didn't belong to you right out from under its owner's nose."
Cleopatra grabbed Violet's chin and made her look her in the eye, "That became a secondary motivation after you started your professional career. What did you and your brothers really do it for? Where did all the money go that you received from either your clients or reselling the items you stole?"
Tony saw Violet visibly started at Cleopatra's new question. He was so intrigued by the entire situation. He was seeing a living piece of history; one of the most famous and intelligent women in the world was right in front of him, talking to Violet. And what he was learning about his lady thief was fascinating. He was enraptured by what he was witnessing.
"We…we…we gave it to children in the impoverished neighborhoods around us to help them get a better education," Violet stammered her confession. "There were so many gifted young people we knew, but they had no way to nurture their talents. Victor worked with them as part of a government outreach program, but the program didn't really do anything to improve the children's lives. The money was squandered on other priorities or ended up in some bureaucrat's pocket. We tried to help those children go to special private schools where the tuition was far above what their blue-collar parents could afford. We stole to provide them with the necessary funds to put their children in schools that would help them reach their full potentials. I know it was the wrong way to do the right thing, but it was what we were good at. We saw it as a way to better the world." Violet couldn't believe how the words just tumbled out of her mouth. She had never told this to anyone, not even her parents or her little sister. She and her brothers had kept it in a vow of secrecy. "How did you know?" Violet then asked Cleopatra.
"Because the Witchblade knew it," the Egyptian queen replied. "That is why it chose you. It saw in you your potential to do good and your desire to do so in any way you could. You were the perfect choice for the Witchblade, Violet. You have been the only wielder to fully embrace it, and not have a hard time coming to terms with the shift in perspective it gives its wielder. You are exactly what the Witchblade has been searching for through out the millennias. You know the Witchblade comes forth in times of great need; when dark forces rise to maximum tolerance levels. What you may not know is that the converse is also true."
Violet took over for Cleopatra for a moment. "You mean that when the Witchblade comes forth dark forces tend to increase to a maximum level?" She was stunned. "Is the Witchblade good or evil?" she finally asked, for she didn't know anymore.
"Not in the sense that you perceive them," Cleopatra told her cryptically. "The Witchblade is neither; it strives for balance. How it behaves or the form it takes, depends much upon she who wields it." Then she abruptly changed topics. "You are doing well, fair Violet. I will turn you over to a sister wielder for the next part of your test." And with that the world seemed to spin, and Violet found herself on another battlefield.
Roman swords clashed against Celtic axes. Blue-faced Iceni tribesmen faced off against the helmeted Roman legions. A fierce and wild red-headed woman stepped from the fray and stalked toward Violet, still in her black robe. The other woman was dressed in a multi-colored tunic, a large golden torc necklace, and a thick cloak fastened on with a golden brooch. "Welcome to the land of Britannia, my sister. We have much to discuss." Tony was still trying to get his bearings so he could pay attention to this new setting.
Violet merely followed the woman warrior to a tent not far from the battlefield. Once inside, the red head turn to her, offering a cup of water. Violet took it gratefully, drinking deeply. "You're Boudicca, leader of the Iceni Celts aren't you?" she asked after her thirst was quenched.
"I am and always will be," Boudicca answered her very similar to how Cleopatra had. "I'll be brief, for I must get back to the battle outside."
"Don't you know that you won't win this battle," Violet couldn't help but say. "This is the Battle of Watling Street, where almost eighty thousand Britons fall, and the Romans are victorious." Violet didn't know how she knew that; she just did.
"I still have to try, do I not?" was Boudicca's response.
This took Violet aback; she was willingly fighting a losing battle? "Why?" she queried.
"Why not?" Boudicca questioned back. "Is not the idea of freedom and the love of my people reason enough?"
Violet was stunned by the woman's simple answers. "How can you go on after all that's happened to you? Your husband was killed, you were flogged, your daughters raped, and all your land and wealth was taken from you. Where did you find the strength to still fight?"
"I couldn't stand by and let those Roman dogs do the same thing to family after family of my kinsmen," Boudicca explained. "Someone had to stand up for them. Someone had to fight for them. Why not me? When Lan an Galig came along and offered to help me avenge my people and bring justice back into our world, I accepted. Through it, I found my strength, my courage, my purpose. It guided me and showed me the way. Not everything worked out like I wanted it to, but the Roman Empire never forgot the sting I gave it, and all of Britannia knew that it was only a matter of time before we would unite and throw off Roman rule once and for all. I symbolized that it could be done, even though, I myself, did not actually do it."
Tony was totally mesmerized by everything he saw and heard. Another bold and beautiful woman from the past was talking to Violet, teaching her as well as testing her. "Where do you find your strength, Violet Devonshire?" Boudicca suddenly asked.
"In revenge mostly," Violet admitted. "I've lost everything too; my brothers, my parents, my home, my peace of mind. At first I saw the Witchblade as a tool to exact my revenge, but I'm discovering that it is so much more than that. It has given me the ability to really make a difference, to really help those in need. I just wish the price wasn't so high."
"Do you trust Lan an Galig, the Witchblade?" the warrior woman's glare was hard upon Violet now.
"I thought I did," Violet said. "I want to, but I'm scared." There, she had told the truth.
"And what are you scared of, my dear sister?" Boudicca asked in a gentler tone.
"Being hurt again. Trusting someone only to be betrayed once more," Violet said as she began to weep. "I feel like I'm being tossed back and forth. I have no place to land. I fear losing those I care about, not being able to save them. It is easy to help strangers, but I fail the ones I love."
Boudicca walked to Violet and embraced her, which Tony so desperately wanted to do, but couldn't. He wanted to shout at Violet that she could trust him; that he would never betray her; that he wouldn't die on her. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to hear or see him. Tony watched as Violet sobbed in Boudicca's arms.
"You are not responsible for your brothers' or your parents' deaths," Boudicca told Violet sternly. "You were not supposed to save them. Their blood is on hands of the evil man that took their lives. He will have to pay for all his terrible crimes, and their blood will cry from the ground to condemn him. Sometimes the innocent are sacrificed so that justice can be fully brought to bear against that which is evil. Men are free to choose what they will do and what they will not do, but their actions do not go without consequence. You family is proud of you, Violet. And in time, you will see them again. They are never far from you. You must have faith, Violet. The Witchblade can pierce the veil of the senses, if you are willing to learn how and are willing to serve it."
Violet finally looked Boudicca in the eye. "But I'm not a hero," she whispered.
"But you're learning how to become one, and there will others provided along the way to help you," the red-headed woman said gently. "All you need to do is be willing, and then act."
"What happens if I get them killed too?" Violet was still struggling.
"Loss comes to us all, dear Violet," Boudicca said with a small smile. "Death finds each and everyone one of us eventually. What is important is what we do with the time we have. Do we dare to love and live life to the fullest, or do we hide away and never know the warmth of another's touch? The choice is yours, Violet. I pray you choose wisely and open your heart."
Then Boudicca was gone, and so was her tent. The world spun again, and Violet found herself in a spartan New York City apartment. A woman with long, brown hair was going through a box on her kitchen table. She looked up as she heard Violet approach her. "I remember when it was me in your position," she said with a deep, raspy voice. "I thought I was going to come apart at the seams."
"Tell me about it," Violet said as she sat opposite the woman at the kitchen table. "You're Sara Pezzini aren't you?"
"Yep," was Sara's short reply. Her attitude was much more modern than the other wielders Violet had dealt with.
"How am I doing?" Violet wanted to know, feeling like she could less formal with Sara. "Am I answering the questions correctly?"
"That depends," Sara said simply. "Are you answering them truthfully?"
Violet now realized that the Witchblade wasn't concerned with right or wrong answers, only true ones. "Yes, I am," Violet said with a little bit of confidence, knowing that she had. "I've answered them the only way I know how, from my heart."
"Then you have your answer," Sara said with a smile, making her look young and full of life. "You are the Witchblade wielder now, Violet. You can do what I couldn't. You aren't constrained by the same flaws that the original bloodline had. We all have had a hard time accepting the strangeness of the world the Witchblade showed us. You haven't had any problems with that, at all. Your confusion tolerance is the highest the Witchblade has ever encountered. It is pleased with you, Violet.
"But now you're starting to backslide; to fall into the same pattern all of us have that have wielded it; doubting, fearing. Maybe it's just human nature that leads us to that, but it must be overcome. You must overcome it and succeed where we've failed. The Witchblade has also finally realized a valuable lesson itself," Sara now confessed to Violet. "I failed because I tried to accomplish my task all alone; we all did. The Witchblade has tried to do it through one person, one battle at a time. That will not work this time. You need to join with others with unique abilities and together you will succeed, if you stay on course and don't stray from your path."
Violet was beginning to see what she had to do, if she were to have peace of mind. "I think I understand what you're saying," Violet said, taking a deep breathe. "And teaming up with Stark is supposed to be the first step on that path, right?"
"Possibly," Sara told her. "The Witchblade has looked into his heart and knows he is not perfect, but he has the desire to do the right thing. His change of heart is real and genuine. Together you could balance each other; help each other stay on track. Everything in the universe comes in opposites, pairings in its strive for balance: male and female, light and dark, pleasure and pain, sickness and health, good and evil, joy and sorrow, success and failure, and so on. You and Stark could be one of those pairs, if you chose to be; opposite sides of the same coin.
"You had to face the Witchblade's ultimate trial because it feared you would turn against it and join Irons. It now knows that you only did it because you were trying to spare others his wrath, not because he had won you over. Don't give into him, Violet. You are stronger than he is, even if you don't think so now, you are," Sara said the last bit strongly.
"I'm sorry about that," Violet said sincerely. "I only agreed to let him have me to stop him from murdering Tony. I didn't want him to kill someone else I cared about."
These last few statements from Violet rocked through Tony. Violet had been about to give herself over to Irons to try and protect him? When had that taken place? How had he missed something that earth-shattering? No wonder the Witchblade had freaked out. And Violet cared about him? That made Tony grin from ear to ear. This was all too stunning for words; Tony just couldn't believe it.
Sara took one of Violet's hands from across the table. "You know he would have killed Tony even if you had come to him. It's his nature to do so. You must fight him and defeat him. He is the greatest threat to the Witchblade and to humanity. If he truly got his hands on it again - let's just say it wouldn't be a good thing."
"Can he be defeated?" Violet then asked Sara.
"Yes, but not alone," Sara warned. "You must have help."
"All right," Violet said, finally feeling good about things, at last accepting her destiny. "What happens now?"
"I think you've earned the right to get to know Tony Stark a little more intimately," Sara said with a tease in her voice.
Violet couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Do we have to go there?"
Sara laughed, a rich and hearty sound. "That's not what I meant, but you shouldn't count that out of the cards. I think it's time that you witnessed the origin of Iron Man and the life changing event Tony Stark experienced."
"You mean his ordeal in Afghanistan?" Violet was astounded. She would get to see why he became Iron Man? That blew her mind.
"Yes, ma'am," Sara replied with a nod of her head. "You need to see for yourself why you really can trust him."
"Can I ask one question first?" Violet then inquired very tentatively.
Sara smiled warmly at her again. "I don't see why not," was her answer, "but I can't guarantee an answer."
Violet took a deep breath and blew it completely out before she asked, "What is the Witchblade?"
"That, Violet, my dear, you will have to discover for yourself," Sara said cryptically. "You will learn its true origin in due time."
Tony thought he was going to die; this was not happening. He had been thrilled to learn that Violet had passed this trial by fire; making her face herself. He had been ecstatic to hear that Violet did indeed care about him, had called him Tony again, and that the Witchblade wanted Violet to be part of the Avenger Initiative; that could be fun on so many levels. It was also nice to know that the Witchblade believed in him and what he wanted to do. Sometimes it was just comforting to know someone or something else had faith in you. But he didn't want Violet to see what had happened to him in Afghanistan. He hadn't been able to share that experience with anyone; not Rhodey and not even Pepper. It was too painful and too personal. He didn't think anybody would really understand what went through. It was his trial by fire; not Violet's.
You are as bad as she is; you know that, Stark? the Witchblade's seductive voice was back. You two are each others Yin and Yang. You shared her grief and pain. Now let her share yours. This is your test now.
TBC
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