Chapter Summary: Strucker uses Loki's scepter to control the Avengers.

The Red Skull Arena

PenPatronus

Chapter 14

Puppets and Masters

A rivulet of sweat went from Steve's hairline to his eye, mixed with the salty tears and turned into fire. It felt like a hornet stinging his retina. All of that super-soldier strength and Captain America couldn't even lift a finger to rub his own eyeball. Not without a combination of permission and instruction from the puppet master holding Loki's scepter. The harder Cap tried to overcome the spell, the more sweat got in his eyes. That was all he could accomplish. That and watching, helplessly, as Thor and Banner were shepherded into Strucker's lab and strapped down onto parallel operating tables. A herd of nurses swarmed them with needles. They called to him, reached out with weak, trembling hands. But they went quiet, and they went still when the poison kicked in. And Steve just stood in the corner, as useless as an umbrella stand, his eyes glowing a bright alien blue.

The lab's bleach-clean white walls, floor, and ceiling were a stark contrast to the cement, stone, and dirt that made up the rest of the base. Eight metallic tables as long and wide as Thor's frame were lined up against one wall. The left side of the room was all computer terminals, medical lab equipment, and locked floor-to-ceiling medicine cabinets. Steve counted several hazmat suits hanging from one shelf.

Strucker held the scepter above Thor's half-lidded eyes. For a moment Steve thought that the mind-control wouldn't work on the Asgardian. Thor's back arched as he tried to fight it but although it took longer than it had with Steve, after a minute Thor's eyes turned demon-black before they settled into the blue.

Thor sat up. He swung his legs over the table. Looking like a robot, the god slowly marched across the room to join Steve in the corner. Their eyes met briefly but neither could acknowledge the other.

Strucker turned his full attention to Banner. He held up the scepter like it was a magic wand, even flicked it at one point. Nothing happened. The doctor whispered something to one of the guards who scurried out the door to quickly return with a slim, dark-haired woman who wore black jeans and a red t-shirt. It took Steve awhile but eventually he remembered why the girl looked familiar. She'd been in the arena, sitting next to the punk who sucker punched Banner. She was in handcuffs now—her wrists settled against her stomach.

Her mouth and eyes widened when she made eye contact with Steve. He wasn't sure what the expression was that followed her surprise. It was almost…disappointment? Strucker motioned for all of the guards and nurses to vacate the lab. His voice in Steve's head ordered both him and Thor to stay. Steve heard the glass doors slide shut and lock. A green light on the ceiling suddenly switched to red.

Strucker paced around Bruce, eyeing him like he was a bank vault that refused to be broken into. "There is a monster in this man," Strucker told the woman.

She inched closer to the table. "I see it," she whispered. "It's…He's sleeping. He's…" The woman brushed her thumb across Banner's forehead. "He's in pain."

Strucker clasped his hands behind his back. "I want to control this beast. I need to be able to unleash it and cage it at my will."

"Your toy cannot control him?"

Strucker told Bruce to scratch his nose. Banner's arm, hand, and finger obeyed. "I appear to be able to influence the man," the doctor said. "But I suspect that I'll need you to rein in the monster."

"I can try."

Steve would've stood there frozen in shock whether he had a choice or not. He watched, stunned, as a red aura rose from the woman's pale hands and enveloped Bruce's body. Banner's body seized. His head bounced so hard against the table that Steve knew he'd just given himself a concussion. Eyes widened, jaw dropped, and his throat strained under a silent scream. Tears squirted from Bruce's eyes as another seizure wracked his body. Blood began to drip out of his nose.

The woman put her cuffed arms back down and backed away. "It's not working."

Strucker's neck, cheeks, and head all went red. "Try again."

"That monster, as you call him, has a brain I've never encountered before. It's so different. So…" She licked her lips, searching for the word, and finally just shook her head in surrender.

"Try again," Strucker repeated. Steve sensed that he was one of those men who did not like to repeat himself.

She did, and got the same result. "I'm killing him," she warned as blood started dripping from Bruce's ears as well as his nose.

"Try again!"

After a particularly vicious seizure, Bruce's eyes found Steve's. He blinked, squinted, and then gave the captain an apologetic look. Something shifted behind his eyes. Contentment settled in them—peace. Bruce gave his friends a brief smile a second before his eyes rolled back into his skull.

The woman gasped and held her hands up as if in surrender. "He stopped breathing!"

Wanda Maximoff stepped aside as a panicked Strucker dashed to Banner's side and pressed his ear against the Avenger's lips. He cursed in German, and then spat, "You ridiculous woman—he's breathing fine!"

Wanda grabbed a microscope and smashed it as hard as she could against the back of Strucker's skull. The baron was unconscious before he hit the ground—blood streaming down the back of his neck and disappearing into his black uniform. Wanda grabbed a keycard out of his pocket, stepped over him and cupped Bruce's cheeks between her petite, white hands.

Bruce's brown eyes opened halfway. "It's nice to meet you, too," he whispered, replying out loud to something she'd only said in his head. "Thank you."

"Do not thank me yet," Wanda replied. "We have miles to go, I'm afraid." She helped Bruce sit up, and then stand. He kept his balance as long as his arm was across her shoulders.

"My friends. Can you help them?"

A snake-like stream of red floated from her fingers to Steve and Thor's eyes. Steve gasped, bent at the waist and dug both of his fists into his eyes. Thor groaned, wobbled for half a second, and then collapsed face-down on the white floor. "How the hell did you do that?" Steve demanded. Once his eyes were sweat-free he knelt beside Thor and shook his shoulder. "And what the hell do you think you're doing now?"

"It's all right, Cap," Bruce slurred. He smacked his own cheek, trying to fight the new dose of poison in his blood. "This is Wanda. We can trust her. She just saved my life."

"That's all I need to know…for now." Steve reached up and, with one mighty pull, he yanked Wanda's handcuffs apart, freeing her arms completely. Then he rolled Thor onto his back and shook him awake. "On your feet, soldier," the captain ordered.

Thor swatted at him like he was a fly. "Son of Odin…Can't tell me what to do…" he mumbled.

Wanda urged Bruce to walk forward. She used Strucker's keycard to unlock the sliding glass doors that led out into the hall. The red light flicked back to green. "This room has a radiation seal," Bruce noted. "What the hell has Strucker been experimenting with?"

"The scepter!" Wanda looked back into the lab. "We should take it with us."

Steve finally succeeded in getting Thor to his feet. "You have to help Banner and it looks like I might have to carry Thor. We can't take it with us." Steve hesitated. He cocked his head to the side as an idea formed. "But I can do this." Cap marched over to the scepter and broke the device in half over his knee. He then slammed both halves into the floor, shattering the glowing blue crystal into hundreds of quarter-sized pieces. After returning to Thor and pulling the god's arm across his shoulders, Steve said, "Come on. We have to get to the rest of the team."

"And my brother!" Wanda said. Her tone of voice was made of metal. "I'm not leaving without him. I helped you escape—you owe me this."

"Fine," Steve said. "But we're getting my people first. Lead the way, Banner."

Bruce was breathing like he was in the middle of a triathlon. "Left," he huffed. "Take two rights and then another left. They're in a pit."

Steve started to move with Thor limping beside him. "Huh? Dozens of cages in this place and they're in a hole?"

"There must be something they don't want you friends to see," said Wanda. "Another prisoner, perhaps?"

"Let's pick up some speed, kids," Bruce urged the group. "There are a thousand Hydra agents in this building. No way will we be under the radar for long. Where's your hammer, Thor?"

Thor groaned. He rubbed his forehead like something sticky covered it. "I summoned Mjolnir. Several times. I do not know…I cannot sense it nearby…"

"We need weapons," Steve said.

Banner cocked an eyebrow at Wanda, who mirrored his expression. "Yes, you have my permission," he said. "Just…just try not to kill anybody."

The turned down the next hallway and—sure enough—three armed guards were standing in front of an office door. Banner closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. Red burst from Wanda's fingertips, and a red-eyed Hulk burst out of Banner like a jack-in-the-box. At an unspoken command from Wanda, he attacked.

To Be Continued