Chaos Chronicles: The Blackened Cross

by Angel-Heart279

When Bruce Banner is called over to Scotland along with the other members of the Avengers to have a look into strange events and readings they don't expect to be dragged into a three hundred and fourteen year old battle of light & dark. While Alba -a mysterious & reclusive woman struggling with the past that is haunting her- searches for answers she hoped to never see become truth.

25. Chapter 25

"Andrew," Alba whispered, "H-How?"

"I could ask you the same question, Alba." He said smiling as she lowered her hands -the light and sparks fading away into nothing. He cautiously took a step towards her as she looked at him feeling disbelief while Bruce could only look on in confusion but remained silent -just as Alba had told him. He wanted to ask how the two of them knew each other and who exactly Andrew was -many possibilities were whirling around Bruce's head as he looked Andrew up and down. He first thought that Andrew was a wizard who Alba had trained, like Rona, but then the mention of black armour came back to Bruce's mind causing him to picture Andrew clad in well-polished black Thor styled armour -helmet, shield and sword included in the image.

"Patience," Alba called, her voice sounding suddenly dead, "Your master requires tending." Even Andrew frowned at her as the blind angel finally made her way into the room. Bruce took note of Alba's new demeanour as it slowly took hold, he wanted to cross over to her at the lost look that was filling her face even though her eyes showed her disbelief -she was battling something internally once again and this time it didn't seem like she knew which way was up.

"Alba?" Andrew asked while gently placing his large hands upon her shoulders with a frown. Bruce had to bite back a growl from the Other Guy -who didn't seem to like just watching from the position Bruce was in. Alba seemed to snap back slightly from the shock, though she still hadn't registered the hands upon her shoulders.

"I umm... I need to leave." She said, as though she were trying to convince herself of this fact. She nodded a few times before brushing away Andrew's hands. "I'm leaving. I'm going home."

"Where is home for you?" Andrew asked as she walked past him a few steps, crossing her arms, "Where have you been hiding all this time, Alba?"

"Not the same shack you've pull yourself out of." She said while stopping and half turning to look back at him, "My own little corner of the world, to which I shall be returning to now."

"Can't you at least stay for a pint?" Andrew asked, "For auld time's sack." His accent slipped back into his speech slightly.

"Can you afford one?" She asked, "No offence, but you look like you've dragged yourself out of... I don't know… The local burn."

Andrew chuckled.

"What?"

"You've not changed." He laughed.

"Believe me, I have." She said, grimly.

"Then tell me about it!" Andrew nearly shouted to which Patience turned her head towards him, as if to scowl him, "Come have a pint and a chat in the Auld Lion, tell me how you've changed, how this world has changed and how the bloody hell you managed to live because the last time I seen you I believed it was the last." Bruce frowned at this statement while Alba stood frozen, except for her eyes which quickly darted to where she had last seen Bruce standing -on instinct- then back to Andrew who frowned at her before looking behind him -he found nothing there causing him to look back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Alba?"

"Make it four." She whispered.

"Excuse me?" He asked, shock painted over his face.

"Make it four pints." She said, "I have companions with me."

"Companions?" He asked, slightly taken aback, "Not apprentices?"

Alba shook her head.

"Right, umm... Well then, let's go, meet with them and get a drink." He smiled at her, but she never returned it -she only waved her hand in a gesture to tell him to lead the way. "Alright then." He walked towards the large set of carved stone doors while she watched him carefully as he went -only moving when he went to pat her shoulder on his way past. Bruce moved towards her at this but she held her hand up subtly to tell him to stay where he was causing him to nod, even though no-one could see him. She waited until Andrew was out of the chamber and for Patience to nod to her telling her that he wasn't hanging back behind the door before she spoke again.

"Lorg." Alba whispered it, allowing the spell's effect to show her where Bruce was, "Bruce, don't speak. As soon as you make a sound or move something -interact with anything, even- the cloaking spell will be broken. Andrew can't know your here, not until we get to the Auld Lion, where I can protect you better. Then, and only then, can you pose your questions but... I guess you know what will happen."

"You won't answer them." He thought to himself, his gut telling him what Alba couldn't bring herself to. He looked at her as she went quiet to find her looking down at her hands, a conflicted look upon her features and tears filling her eyes.

"I wish I could though." She whispered as though she had heard his though, "Then I can explain, explain everything to you." She looked up, only to find her sight had returned to normal. "You deserve that, you really do."

"Now is not the time, Madam." Patience said causing the two to turn and look at her. She sat on the wall surrounding the pit under the Oracle holding her left arm up towards the Oracle while wisps of white reached out to and curled around her hand. Her milky eyes were gazing at the doorway to the chamber emptily. "Now is the time you follow your new lead as you have all the answers that you can get from us for the time being. There's nothing for you here, with us, but your path lies with him now. Go forth, with caution. I may be blind, but not so blind to miss the signs that something is coming."

"Alba?" Andrew's voice called from the hall.

"Stay close to me, Bruce." Alba whispered before heading towards the stone doors.

"Good luck." Patience said as Bruce past her, "Monster." This caused Bruce to look back at her to find her smiling at him leaving him questioning whether or not Patience really was blind or not -or if she could see that which others could not.

"Correct."

The single word that the group had been holding their breath for was finally spoken causing the five Asgardians to relax slightly as their hands had been gripping their weapons in case the Sphinx had declared the answer to be incorrect and started to chase Tony out of the small building that they were in. Margaret's grin had slipped completely off of her face and gave a bored growl of a welcome to the Undercity, warning them that they were all being watched before they left through the cast iron doors and stepped out onto the cobblestone street.

The reactions all around the where generally the same -disbelief.

The street of bakers, inns, pharmacies, clothes stores, herb stores, book stores and more was jam packed of beings busying themselves with the usual Monday hustle and bustle. The old rustic buildings took the group by surprise but not as much as when a woman with long deep leaf green hair filled with flowers of all shapes, sizes and colour, and skin that Steve thought was a woody brown at first only to find out that her skin was actually make of wood and her hair was more like grass than actual hair. She looked up at him with large brown doe like eyes and smiled kindly at him as she continued to walk by, dragging a long thin green wrap behind her.

"Wow..." He breathed, watching her walk over to tree and touch it, causing her and the tree to gain a golden glow.

"Oh my God..." Tony said, looking at two tall women in their late twenties, early thirties dressed in long flowing dresses of bright colour and a daisy chain around each of their heads -made from the biggest and brightest daisies he had ever seen in his life. "Hottest pair of hippies I've ever seen. Hello ladies!" He gave them a wave with a charming smile as they looked over at him causing them to giggle before waving back at him with charming smiles of their own. "I'm going to go and see them."

"No, Brother Stark." Fandral said catching Tony by his shoulder and pulled him back a step, "As much as they are beautiful women they are not human."

"Could have fooled me..." Tony nearly whined as the two women started to walk into a store.

"What are they then?" Natasha asked.

"They could be anything." Sif said while looking around them, "This looks like a market, so we must be in the centre of the city."

"Well that was handy." Clint said before adding, "Anyone got an idea where to begin?"

"No." Everyone else said.

"Great..." Clint said, "Well, we better go and explore. Hey Nat, did you activate that beacon?"

"Of course I did." Said assassin replied while following Clint as he walked forward down the street. The rest of the group looked at each other before following the two down the street and into the dense crowd causing the group to attempt to fight their way through. Everyone around them was talking avidly about different things, enjoying their day just like everyone in the city of Glasgow had been which surprised Tony the most. He had pictured this 'city' to have been less populated, the people to all be different to how he looked -as a human- only to find that the vast majority of them looked just like any other person -except for the woman that Steve had seen and the walking, talking cat people that Tony past in the crowd. He also pictured the city to look less like a medieval settlement and more like what the films had shown him -homes built into the earth or great big elven designs.

This was nothing like what he had imagined.

"Point Break," He called as the group got through the dense crowd and into a less crowed section of the street causing the God of Thunder to turn his head to look at him over his shoulder, "We need a better plan. We can't just wonder aimlessly!"

"But we have no way of finding Doctor Banner through any other means." Thor replied, dropping back in order to talk to Tony, "You have no access to your devices, Lady Rona's umm... Device does not work, we have no leads as to where in this city that Doctor Banner has been taken to. This is all new to even myself."

Tony remained silent.

"We have no gold or coin in order to bargain with either." Sif said causing the two to look at her, "All we have is our abilities and our weapons. The best things to rely on in your time of need."

"Yeah..." Tony said, thinking about what Sif said before a memory resurfaced causing him to hear desperate pleas of his name while explosions went off around him in his head. He sighed heavily trying to rid himself of the memory. "But sometimes they don't always get you through. Sometimes they still fail you." Sif frowned and looked at Thor for an explanation but he shrugged with a frown of his own. He didn't know either.

"Thor," Sif said, quickly changing the subject, "Once we find the witch, how do you plan on capturing her and her companions?" Thor looked grimly at her before reaching into a bag that Tony had never noticed him carrying and pulled out a familiar metal item which he held out to Sif who took the item in hand and looked it over. "The same way you brought Loki back to Asgard after his attack on Midgard?"

Thor nodded causing Tony to remember Loki returning to Asgard -in chains with a full metal muzzle to prevent him from talking.

"How many have you got?" Tony asked.

"Only the one." Thor said.

"It would have been better if we had more." Sif said while passing the item back to Thor.

"Why have you only got one?" Tony asked.

"Because we were only expecting one witch, not two." Thor said, "But we only need to capture one of them. Once we have one then we can find the other."

"You really think that either Rona or Chaos would give up the other?" Tony asked, "I mean, Rona was trained to withstand interrogation and we can't torture her while Chaos most likely knows the same and probably knows how to withstand torture as well -she was born in the 1600s for crying out loud!"

"You don't need to torture a person to get them to speak, Stark." Sif said, "You just need time, patience and the right things to say to get them talking. Though, you are correct about witches and torture -especially evil ones."

"Can we not talk about this here?" Steve asked, "We are in the middle of a public place, surrounded by witches and wizards."

"Good point." Tony grumbled.

"How are things going at the University?" A male voice asked from within the crowd, "Are your studies going well?"

"They're going alright... I guess." A younger male voice said as Natasha looked at the pair who were both dressed in habits -a loose fitting dress robe similar to what monks use to wear- but both were different colours; the older gentleman was in a light blue one with a white sash down the front with a golden trim while the younger man's was a dark green with a matching green sash with a silver trim.

"You guess?" The elder of the two asked, "Have you been studying?"

"Yes, of course I have." The younger answered, "I have even been meditating but I don't seem to be having any visions." This caused the older to sigh.

"Go and visit the Oracle's Scribe," The elder said, "She may be able to guide you down your path. I wonder, how are things in your day-to-day life, are you stressed?"

"No, father." The younger said as the two disappeared from sight.

"Rona," Charlie's voice called from behind a large bookshelf as Rona searched through the Magical Studies section of the bookstore, "Rona?"

"Over here, Charlie!" Rona called back, without looking away from the books for sale.

"Heehee! Look at this!" Charlie giggled as she ran up to Rona. She held the book in her hands out at arm's length towards Rona who was still looking over the bookcase in front of her causing Charlie to pout and grumpily say; "Rona, you're meant to look."

"Alright," The red headed witch said with a sigh as she finished looking at the lower shelves before standing up right to look at the book in Charlie's hands. Her eyes shoot wide open and a stunned silence overcame her as her eyes landed on the book.

"Can we get it?" Charlie asked with a large grin as she brought the book back towards herself.

"No!" Rona snapped, "Of course not! That's a dirty book!"

"Looks pretty clean to me." Charlie said while looking down at the book in her hands. This caused Rona to roll her eyes with an aspirated sigh before speaking again.

"You know what I mean, Charlie!"

"Hey, I was only joking." Charlie said while placing a hand on Rona's shoulder, "And it's not all a dirty book. It teaches you about love and is, or I believe that it is, part of the Hindu Faith. There's nothing dirty about it really."

"Your parents read that." Rona said causing Charlie to drop the book with an 'eww' and it landed on the floor with a loud bang which echoed around the store causing the two to look at each other before trying to stifle their laughter, "Come on, we need to put it back and get going."

"What about what you were looking for?" Charlie asked.

"Not there." Rona said with a small smile, "Maybe it's not meant to be."

"Just re-enrol." Charlie said while picking up the book and holding it at the corner and holding it away at arm's length, "I'm sure they'll take you."

"Yeah..." Rona said, half-heartedly as she watched Charlie disappear off with the book. She let out a long disappointed sigh, closing her eyes as she tried to rid herself of the feeling allowing her mind to relax. She had been feeling tense for a while now, the news about the Devil's Servant returning and your wish to travel to the Undercity hadn't helped as she had to put it off -something you told her never to do because of the consequences of doing so.

She took in a sharp breath in surprise when an image flashed at the back of her eyelids. Her shock also caused her to jolt backwards only to crash into the bookcase behind her. The image was of a pool of slivery blue water and then the next flash showed a grey hand shooting up out of it, a set of long sharp looking dark grey nails clawed at the air as the hand rotated on the wrist joint before a new image flashed before her eyes.

"Bruce!" She called out before falling to the floor as the episode finished, leaving her panting and shaking.

"Rona!" Charlie shouted as she rounded the corner only to find Rona sitting in a mess of books around her and shelves behind her. The fairy's eyes widened at the sight before she dived down to Rona holding the younger woman's marble white hands in her own. "Rona, what happened?"

"Bruce- Bruce is going- Going to lose control!" Rona whispered.

"What?" The fairy asked.

Andrew, Alba, Bruce had eventually made it back out of the lower catacombs though Alba had hung back to ensure that Bruce made it safely across the thick sheets of ice once again. Andrew seemed to frown at her as she slowly crept across all the patches of ice, taking as much time as she could to get across them -he even asked if she needed any help but every time she declined. Alba preferred to keep her distance from Andrew for the time being, unknowing if she could really trust him -her memory reminding her to be on high alert. Though, She knew now that she was stuck between a rock and a hard place as Andrew was from the past she tried to forget and Bruce was her unknown future as well as her present -both greatly conflicting with the other.

"Alba," Andrew said as she stood looking down the stairs where Bruce had slipped the first time on his trip through. She could see his aura pulsing as he carefully made his way up the stairs, after quietly uttering the spell. "Alba?" She tore her eyes from Bruce at the sound of her name only to find Andrew looking at her puzzled.

"I'm alright." She said before turning to look at Bruce again, "Just thinking."

"About what?" Andrew asked, "Did the Oracle tell you something?"

"Yes, he did." She said, "He told me a lot of things, things I will not discuss here."

Andrew nodded grimly before voicing something on his mind.

"You've become more closed off." He said causing her to look back at him again, "You were never this bad."

"This bad?" She asked.

"You were closed off before, when you were thinking about things." Andrew said, recalling his own past, "But never this much -it's like talking to a stone wall with you now. So many secrets hidden behind that stone wall protecting you, how many lies company those secrets?"

"None." She said firmly, "Avoiding the truth spares me from telling lies. Though lately, I've spun a web of deceptions -one which..." She stopped herself from saying anymore, knowing what was going to spill from her lips. Andrew and Bruce both looked at her as she stood frozen battling to keep her secrets from Bruce. She could feel his hand tentatively reaching out for hers -the heat of his hand giving him away- and even though he was restraining himself from making contact with her, this action caused her fingers to move and reach out for him but her want to protect him stopped her from actually making any contact with him.

"Yeah, I know." Andrew said causing Alba and Bruce to look at him, both their hands dropping back to their sides, "Those were bad, very bad times but we have to learn to move on."

"Easy for you to say." Alba said, "You've been back how long? A week?"

"About two weeks." Andrew clarified, "Maybe, just less than that."

"You still know shite all?" She asked, "I thought you were a fast learner."

"Only when I was learning from you." He said grimly before disappearing off.

"Once we get to the Auld Lion, I'll have him to go in first." She said, "Then you can break that spell."

Even though she couldn't see him, Alba knew Bruce was nodding in agreement with her. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, he knew his questions could wait until later when she was more collected and comfortable, not worrying about his safety or about Andrew.

"We better go." Alba said, "I'm beginning to get the chills."

"Look, maybe we should ask someone." Volstagg said as he sat on the wall of a large marble fountain that the group had come across as they wondered on aimlessly.

"Ask what?" Hogan asked deadpanned.

"Well, for starters where the best mead and food can be found." Volstagg said only to receive stern looks, "Only to find the hall in which people gather and talk, they may have seen something."

"He has a point." Steve chipped in.

"But what do we ask?" Tony snapped, "Excuse me but you didn't happen to see a man with a witch who has blue skin and black hair?"

"Blue skin and black hair?" A new voice, female with an English accent asked causing the group to look at the owner, "My, my, that is unsettling." The owner of the voice was a tall woman with a sheet of long white hair running down the back of a scarlet red jacket with a thick black collar and cuffs accompanied by a golden trim, upon her head was a black tricorn hat and on her feet she had black leather knee high boots over the top a pair of tanned trousers. She sat not too far from the group but far enough away that they couldn't see her face which was shielded by her hair and the shadow of her hat. Tony frowned at her as he seen her hands moving and something that looked like white string was hooked around her fingers.

"Do you know something?" Tony asked.

"I know many things," She replied not taking her eyes off of her piece of string, "Things not many people know. Though, everyone knows that witch -the one with blue skin and black hair."

"Everyone?" Natasha asked, the group all stepping closer to the woman.

"Of course!" The woman said, the sound of her smile in her voice, "Everyone knows about Chaos -one of the Seven."

"The Seven?" Sif asked.

"There are more of these guys?" Clint asked Tony who nodded.

"Lots more." He replied grimly.

"Tell me," The woman said while turning to the group, still not looking up at them, "Why are you looking for Chaos? I mean, she has been dead for centuries now -along with the Seven and their master."

"She's- Ouch!" Tony started only to be elbowed hard by Natasha before being pulled back by Thor, "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Brother Stark, listen to me." Lady Sif hissed as she stood in front of him, keeping her voice low, "This woman does not seem to know that the witch Chaos is alive and telling her that she is may potentially cause her help to start a mass panic."

"But we know that it is Chaos behind this." Tony hissed back, peering at the woman as she continued to play with the string -not bothering to look up at the group, "She's just confirmed who I'm looking for without the aid of a picture!"

"Yes, but their authorities here either don't know that or are keeping it a secret." Steve whispered, "So give her another story which sounds plausible."

"Alright, alright." Tony snapped before pushing his way forward and then headed over to the woman. She never took her eyes off of the string, not even as he spoke to her. "Sorry about that. It's just that my friend has some sort of obsession on reaching this witch and we've came here to find him but we don't know anything about this place. We kind of followed the trail here."

"Ah, I see." She said, "Well then, you must tell him to be careful. Obsession in a person can become something more dangerous."

"We know," Thor spoke up, "That is why we must find him."

"Got anywhere in mind that he could be?" Tony asked.

"Most likely he'll be at the Arcane University." She said, "It would be the best place for reach, especial when it comes to our darkest days. Though I fear that Brotherhood has gotten their hands on all the information on Chaos, the Seven and their Master."

"Who are the Seven and their Master?" Sif asked causing the woman to chuckle.

"You must come from a world afar," She laughed, "As all here know that answer. Go find your friend and they should be able to tell the answers that you seek -especially if they are looking into Chaos. It is not polite to speak of it on the streets as so many believe it to be a taboo subject and would rather let the past die."

"Then why are you so keen to talk about it?" Clint asked.

"Let's just say that I have a guilty pleasure." She said before her hands stopped playing with the string causing all of them to look down at them. The string was looped around the index finger of her right hand and the thumb, index and small finger of her left hand, there was a point where the loops all twisted around each other -it looked like a broom. "I do love string games. They are the creation of images you could find in a spider's web. Do you know the story of the spider, the greatest weavers in the world." Tony's eyes darted back to the group who all looked at him with confused expressions. "I believe this will help you find your way to the University." She suddenly clapped her hands together causing a flash of light making Tony jump back from her.

"What the-?" Clint asked as a miniature broomstick floated up from the woman's hands and up to eye level with Tony and pointed towards him causing him to step back from it -it only followed him until he stepped out of its way.

"This shall show you the way." The woman said, standing up with her back to the group, "Now I must be going as I have lounged here long enough and my good deed for the day has been done." She stretched a bit before starting to walk away from the group. "Fare thee well!" The group watched her walk away down a street connecting to the square where they found the fountain, her scarlet coat swaying from side to side around her knees, before looking at the broom as it gently bobbed up and down in the air, waiting for them to follow it.

"Well, at least we have somewhere to begin!" Clint voiced causing everyone to look at him stunned, "What?"

Unknown to the group the woman that they had been speaking to turned her head back slightly to look at them before darting into a darkened alleyway with a smirk upon her dark red lips. She tilted her hat back a bit back from her face to reveal a pair of pure black eyes set into grey skin.

"Did you hear that, my friend?" She said, peering back out onto the street toward the group, "She's still alive. I guess he never did send /Her/ on a wild goose chase after all."

"It seems not." A gruff male voice growled from the shadows further down the alleyway, "He will be very pleased to know that plan has worked after all."

"And even more so when he finds out that she is here," The woman said while whirling around to look at the being within the shadows, "Just like he said she would. Hope our friend gets the answers that we need," She reached into a pocket on the right side of her cloak and pulled out a smooth Soul Gem. "And more, especially when we're not the only ones looking for her."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" The voice asked.

"Oh please!" She groaned while leaning back against the wall, "That little man lied! The Brotherhood has all the records on what happened back then, so why would anybody be looking down here. It's a past the community wants to forget but soon they'll learn that's not that easy -and so will she."

"He wants her alive." The voice growled.

"Why?" She nearly shouted, "Why keep her alive? Does he want to turn her back, after everything that's happened?"

"I don't know." The voice growled, "I think he wants to kill her himself."

But the woman only scoffed at this.

"Ta." Alba said as she passed through the door of the centre tower of the University, making sure to hold it open for a bit longer for Bruce to get through. She gave Andrew a small kind smile as she passed him.

"You're welcome." Andrew said while looking at his feet in thought. He let out an annoyed sigh before shaking his head and following Alba out as she headed to the gates. "Alba!" She stopped dead in her tracks by the little well.

"Yes?" She asked while turning around to look at him as he jogged to catch up with her.

"Where are you meant to meet your companions?" He asked as he stopped next to her.

"At the Auld Lion." She said before adding, "I said to meet outside before we went in, to save searching through the tavern for each other and not knowing if we've each arrived or not, so you can go on ahead and get a table for us -I mean, if it's not a problem!"

"I'm sure you want to talk to them before they arrive." He said, "To warn them about me."

"Yes," She said, looking down at her hands, "They are quite inquisitive minds and I've... I've not really spoken about... Well, you know."

"Yeah, I know." He said, "I can see why. Our past is... Well, not the brightest."

"I'd rather keep it to myself!" She said sternly, "Go on a head. I think I can see one of my companions now." Andrew nodded before leaving her, looking around himself in the hope of seeing who she was with but he walked through the gates without anything but guesses. She let go of the breath she was holding, waiting for him to leave, before feeling Bruce's hand in her causing her to turn and look at him.

"Alba," He said seeing the lost look in her eyes, "Are you alright?"

She nodded before shaking her head, tears filling her eyes causing him to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. She gripped onto the back of his jacket needing the comfort and security that he had back on the Isle that night while he gently ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion -saying nothing, waiting until she was ready to talk to him.

"For centuries, I've keep my secrets from others." She quietly said, after a little while, "For centuries I had perfected diverting people away from my past yet it only took you four weeks, Doctor Banner. Four weeks! In those four weeks since you've come into my life, you've brought down some of my walls, had run-ins with my past and have me doing things that I've never done with anyone before!"

He just stood there, listening to her as she spoke -allowing her to relax and just let her thoughts flow.

"What are you, Doctor Banner?" She asked, "What are you doing to me? More importantly, how are you able to do this? What made you pick up that book?"

"I don't know." He whispered truthfully, "I honestly don't know." It was true that everything was coming back around to Witches and Wizards of the World and to the story of Una but when he thought about it, he couldn't think of what made him pick up the book and buy it at the airport -he never really had that much of an interest in it. That was until he was dragged into this world of magic by Una and the Devil's Servant.

"I'm glad that I did though."

This statement stunned Alba momentarily. He was happy to be in this situation? Happy to have been in the chaos at Saint Andrew's, having been isolated on the Isle with her and all her secrets that her kept from him? She wondered how anyone could be happy with that as it had been driving you crazy trying to avoid telling him anything -even though she wanted to tell him. She tightened her hold and hugged into him tighter, taking a deep settling breath while revelling in the feeling of being in Bruce's arms. She also took notice of the faint smell of coconut that came from him causing you to smile slightly -until;

"Alba, what is it?" He asked as her hold shifted, allowing for her to stand up taller so her lips were near his ear while her grip tightened as much as her fingers and hands could on the back of his jacket in their new position.

"We're being watched, Doctor Banner." She whispered causing him to quickly look about the both of them as subtly as he could in his position while tightening his own grip and hold on her but he couldn't see anything that, to him, looked out of the ordinary. Alba, on the other hand, noticed a handful of students leaving the University, a very tall wood elf with willowy skin and sandy hair clad in blue robes entering the gates, a tall raven haired woman dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a red vest-top and leather jacket walking past her, and finally, a teen aged girl with straight shoulder length brown hair in jeans and a grey hoodie stood near the gates looking around her.

"We better get going." Bruce said while loosening his grip a bit, causing Alba to slowly do the same. She looked up at him as she took a small step back, still not leaving his arms as his hands came to rest at the small of her back. She smiled at him a little before nodding slightly.

"Yes, we should." She said, though Bruce sensed her hesitance.

"You don't trust Andrew, do you?" He asked as the two of them separated, his left hand moving lightly over her back before disappearing to capture her hand. Her eyes fell down to their intertwined hands before quickly darting up to the direction they had started walking as the girl in the hoodie cut across their path, almost colliding with Alba, while a very small smile graced her lips.

"That obvious?" She said, trying to joke about the situation.

Bruce gave her a kind smile in answer as she looked back up at him, causing her to sigh.

"My memories and past are telling me to stay as far away from him as possible." She explained.

"But?"

"But, I want to know something."

"Like why he's here?"

"Like how he lived. But, yeah, why he's here is another good question -one that I should also ask him."

"What in sídhe was that?" Charlie nearly screamed while standing outside of the cafe near the bookshop the two had been in, "What in Emain Ablach happened, Rona?"

"Charlie," Rona said while bending over slightly with one hand on her knee and the other holding a cup of water with the outside wall of the cafe behind her. She had been listening to Charlie ranting about what happened in the bookstore out of concern, not fully understanding the event.

"Are you epileptic?" Charlie asked suddenly, "Are you ill? Did you forget to tell me something about yourself?"

"Charlie!" Rona shouted while standing up and leaning back against the wall. The now silent fairy stood watching her with wide eyes, waiting for Rona to say or do something. The red haired witch took a deep breath before speaking again; "Seer blood."

"Seer?" Charlie asked, "Like the fortune tellers in the Temple District?"

"Yes, just like them." Rona said before going to take a sip of water, "Well, not exactly, I have something like episodes where I figuratively /see/ something. Sometimes I say stuff and it becomes truth, just little things -like how I predicted your great uncle's second wife taking a heart attack."

"That wasn't little, Rona." Charlie said while stepping closer.

"Okay, sometimes they're a bit bigger than /seeing/ Doctor Banner stealing bags of tea from the conference room at work." Rona said exasperatedly.

"Wait, Bruce stole tea bags?" Charlie asked, a bemused smile taking hold of her lips.

"But nothing, except predicting the lottery numbers, comes close to this." Rona said, "This was something different, like I was dreaming but awake while dreaming."

"What did you see?" Charlie asked.

"A grey hand reaching out of a pool," Rona said, remembering the images, "Clawing at the air with dark nails, twisting and flexing as if stiff at the joints."

"What about Bruce?" Charlie asked causing Rona to look up at her, "You said he was going to lose control. What do you mean by that? Does he have some issues? Anger issues?" This caused Rona to try and stifle a laugh. "What?"

"You could call it anger issues." Rona said before taking another sip of water while Charlie looked down at her confused, "The accident that he mentioned left him with a umm... A big green and angry problem."

"What?" Charlie asked dumbfounded, not understanding what Rona was on about, "I am so confused right now!" Rona shook her head with a small smile before pushing herself off of the wall.

"Come on," She said, "I'll explain it on the way to the Auld Lion."

"Yes, please do." Charlie said before the two started to walk away, back on to the street running up the riverside, "Also, at the pub, can we get some food."

"Charlie!" Rona shouted.

"Wait!" Clint said, suddenly stopping nearly causing Thor to walk into him.

"What?" Natasha asked as everyone gradually stopped -Tony having to turn back and re-join the group with the miniature broom floating back behind him.

"Do you hear it?" Clint said, looking around himself.

"Hear what?" Thor asked.

"You nearly ate the Fleming's out of house and home!" A familiar voice shouted loudly nearby.

"That's Rona!" Tony declared while looking around wildly for the red head in the crowd of people walking up and down the street and searching the travellers in the cabs. The rest of the group looked around more calmly than Tony in the hope of spotting Rona.

"Does anyone see her?" Sif asked but the only reply she got was a chorus of 'no' from the others, all except Tony who was frowning as he seen a glint of ginger hair not too far away while the sound of laughter made its way to his ears.

"Rona?" He shouted while moving towards the owner of the ginger hair as they stood on the street.

Rona's head whipped around to look at him as the laughter settled slightly before disappearing all together along with her smile at the sight of Tony. Her already pale face drained of colour as the two stared at each other -Tony having stopped dead in his tracks upon locking eyes with her. It was a tense few seconds where Rona felt like a rabbit stuck staring at the headlights that was Tony's gaze. A second face peered around at him, frowning deeply but he didn't pay it much attention as he was waiting with baited breath for Rona's next move.

"Rona?" Charlie asked while looking Tony up and down. Her answer was Rona's hand gripping her hand so tight it hurt before turning tail and running off, dragging Charlie behind her and only just managing to get the first syllable of 'run' from between her lips beforehand.

"Found her!" Tony shouted, taking off after the two almost leaving the group behind him -unable to respond to him quick enough. He could hear them shouting after him but he was too focused on catching Rona to care. He could see her darting in and out of people. He pushed his way through, not caring about anything other than his goal. Steve was quick to catch up to him along with Lady Sif, both seeing Rona and Charlie running as fast as they could through the crowd.

"Rona!" Charlie shouted while stopping before quickly pulling Rona back and away off the street, "Down here!" The two ran down the alleyway Charlie had pulled them into before stopping once again. "Go right! I've got a plan!" Rona looked back at her as the fairy pushed her onto the adjoining street before changing size and whizzed away in a golden glow. Rona's gaze then landed on Steve and Sif as they appeared at the other end of the alleyway.

"Shit!" She cursed before turning to her left and running up the street, her pursuers hot on her tail. She continued to dodge people, whipping in and out of their way as she found gaps between them. Most people moved as they seen her coming at break neck speed. Her lungs burned as she tried to stay as far out of the super soldier and the goddess' reach -not an easy thing to do. She tried not to think about Thor's ability to fly, hoping he wouldn't use it here -knowing it would drag attention to not only him but also to her.

"Got you!" Sif's voice said from behind Rona -directly behind her. Panic set in as she felt Sif's hand reach for her. Her natural flight response kicked in causing her dive to the left -out onto the road. "Rona!"

A centaur skidded to a halt as Rona cut across his path, causing him to rise up on his back legs. She gasped in fear as she looked up wide eyed at his front hooves as the shoes glinted in the sunlight at her before she dashed away, further into the oncoming traffic of the road as the hooves suddenly descended downwards towards her. She heard Steve and Sif speaking to each other, making a quick plan but she didn't take any details -focused only on running up the road as safely as possible. Thor's hair made itself visible at the corner of her eye as she ran into a crossroad, causing more skidded stops and cries of outrage from road users. She cursed further under her breath as she danced in between the users of the road to get to the other side. When she managed to get back into the safety zone of the pavement she kept running, expecting the super soldier to be close behind her.

"/Ais-bhuail/" Steve heard Rona's voice said. A flash of white light emitted from her right hand before a barrel blasted off of the ground and flew towards him. He barely managed to dodge it, hearing the angry outcry from the owner of the barrel.

"Rona!" He called out to the fleeing witch but she didn't stop, instead she dived into what looked like a furniture store -with a flash of lilac, a flicker of gold and the ringing of a doorbell. He followed her inside to find himself stood in what he guessed to be an antiques store from the sheer amount of Victorian looking chairs, tables, cupboards and more stacked in high piles that had been crammed into the room.

"This is not a playground!" The shopkeeper shouted from somewhere in the store. The thunder of footsteps sounded from elsewhere in the store as Sif finally caught up with him, bursting into the store causing the bell to ring once again.

"Impressive stamina." She said just as the shopkeeper appeared.

"What did I just say!" He nearly screamed. He was a plump little man with a very round face and body and an impressive handlebar moustache.

"Sorry." Steve said while looking at him, "Won't happen again."

"It better not," The man said before waddling off back to where he had originally came from, "I pay good money for all of this, I don't have the time or money to pay for any damages to any of it." He continued to mutter away to himself as he disappeared off, leaving Sif and Steve to look around them.

"Where did she go?" Sif asked.

"I don't know." Steve told her honestly, "I lost her when she came in here."

"Then we search this place!" Sif said, "All of it!"

"We'll need the shop owner's permission first," Steve said, "And if we get his permission we'll still need the others to help us. She could easily slip past us if it's just the two of us searching."

"Agreed." Sif said, nodding her head the once to him, "Would you like to speak to the storekeeper while I guard the door?"

Rona took a sharp breath and covered her nose and mouth as she heard footsteps coming towards her hiding place -a large oak wardrobe. The footsteps sounded heavy, too heavy for Charlie and too far apart for the plump shopkeeper. She came to the conclusion that it must have been Steve due to the lack of any clunking of armour. She had somehow, much to her surprise, managed to keep out of her pursuer's reach but now she had to try and elude them further by escaping the store without being caught -hoping Charlie had planned for this on the fly.

"/Lorg/." She whispered as the footsteps faded away. The darkness of the wardrobe became slightly brighter as her vision became grey and a red mass could be seen heading away from her causing her to breathe out in slight relief before turning to look around her for her other pursuer -which she quickly found along with a tiny red dot zipping about in the air. She guessed that Sif was stood by the door, preventing her from just dashing out of the door and hiding amoung the crowd outside once again.

"Oh god," She whispered to herself, "What am I going to do?"

Charlie, on the other hand, zipped in between the items of furniture -being careful to avoid being seen by the goddess at the front door. The tiny ball of light came to rest on a spar between two legs of a wooden chair, looking at the giant world around her. She had managed to get Rona into the store, which had been her quick plan, and then into a wardrobe but hadn't thought that the two chasing them would have been so fast -hoping that the entire group would have either been lost in the crowd or ran past the store. She had to think, fast, in order to get Rona out of the store but the worse of it was to come as the other members of the group found them.

"I'm only asking to search the store." Steve's voice said, dragging Charlie's attention to the back of the store. The ball of golden light dived back through the furniture, heading towards the sound of Steve's voice and had just landed on top of a cupboard as Steve continued; "We'll only look up and down the aisles of the store, inside cupboards and wardrobes for the person we're looking for."

"And who exactly are you looking for?" The shopkeeper asked, "And why should I allow you to search here in the first place?" Steve didn't respond at first but when he did it was a carefully put together sentence.

"I'm here with Thor, Son of Odin, in search of a suspect in a kidnapping and their accomplices." Charlie frowned at the statement while the shopkeeper looked at Steve stunned.

Rona stood, silently waiting in the hope that Charlie would come to her rescue soon -having heard the bell ringing from the front door caused her to fear leaving the wardrobe anytime soon of her own free will. She had even checked the number of people who had entered which confirmed her worst fear -the Avengers had all arrived in the store. There was a light creak of wood outside of the wardrobe causing her to hold her breath again. The handle started to slowly turn. Her eyes widened as she stared at the back of the handle's mechanism. She debated grabbing it and pulling on it to stop the door from opening but still the handle slowly turned and she hadn't done anything, out of fear.

Then, the door was pulled open.

"Rona, time to go." Charlie whispered, standing in the opening holding her hand out to her. Rona started to breath once again as she took Charlie's hand and stepped out of the wardrobe. "They're going to do a search of the store."

"Doesn't surprise me." Rona whispered as Charlie pushed the door closed once again -a thick duster cloth in hand, covering the handle of the wardrobe, "But how are we going to get out? They're covering the door!"

"Yeah, I know." Charlie said, pulling Rona further into the store, "I've been scouting the store. Quick, down here." She pushed Rona down a small gap between two stacks of chairs -which Rona managed to fit down by some miracle and Charlie quickly followed. They both sneaked down the gap and into darkness just in time for Steve and the shopkeeper to pass them by. "There's a back door in the back up that leads out into an old alleyway that should take us back onto Riverside South."

"Alright." Rona whispered back, "We best make our move now."

"I'll check to see if the coast is clear." Charlie said, holding her hand up to Rona who nodded in return before Charlie zipped off in a ball of light once again. Rona edged towards the main walk way slowly only to stop dead as Thor, Clint and Hogan walked past her. This was going to be more difficult than she and Charlie originally thought.

Alba's arms were crossed over her chest tightly as she looked about worriedly for Rona and Charlie. Both her and Bruce had been standing outside of the Auld Lion for a while now, waiting on Rona and Charlie to appear but neither of them were anywhere to be seen and the worried feeling that had set itself in the pit of Alba's stomach wasn't helping. Even Bruce was beginning to worry just by watching her -thinking that Andrew's presence and having been watched had set her on edge causing this manifestation of worry for the other two.

"Where are they?" She whispered, stepping out a bit further on the road to try and see the two.

"Alba," Bruce said calmly stepping towards her causing her to turn and look at him, "They'll be fine." He had a reassuring smile upon his features but it still didn't settle her. Yet, even she had to admit that all she wanted was to run from the city, flee it as fast as she could -she planned to send Rona and Charlie back to the Flemings to get everyone's things while she took Bruce back to the Isle.

"I shouldn't have brought you here." She said, crossing over to him, "I should have returned you to Mr Stark once you were better, once you were healthy again. I should not have done any of this, including the charity ball and giving in."

"Giving in?" He asked causing her to look up at him for a moment as she paused to think.

"/Tell him!/" Her mind told her, "/You know you'll have to in the end. He's part of your future, just tell him already!/"

"Curiosity." She said, "It'll be the death of me, just like the cat."

"We don't know if the cat's dead yet." Bruce said.

"Sorry?" She asked confused at his words.

"Schrödinger's cat." He said, yet she still looked at him confused, "Schrödinger's cat was a thought experiment in which a cat, a flask of poison and a radioactive source were figuratively placed in a sealed box. The radioactive source was made to activate randomly, meaning at any moment it would activate causing the flask of poison to break and the cat to die. Now the box is sealed and no-one knows if the cat is dead or alive until the box is opened because of the random timing of the radioactive source so the cat becomes a paradox -both alive and dead until the box is opened."

"How does that fit into this?" She asked.

"Well let's say that curiosity is the poison and death is the radioactive source -you need to open the box to find out if curiosity really did kill the cat." He explained.

"And I'm the cat." She said as it clicked in her head.

"Are you dead or alive?" He asked.

"I'm neither dead nor alive." She said, "I am a paradox, stuck in the Veil."

"The Veil?"

"You might know it as Limbo, the Void or maybe even as the Between."

"Limbo and the Void sound familiar."

"Well, the Veil is all of those things as they are one and the same. The Veil is the world between the Land of the Living -this world- and the Afterlife -this being Heaven and Hell. It is the land where the Judgement of the Dead takes place, to see if you go to Heaven or Hell or remain there in the Veil. Some people come back from the Veil but never remember exactly what occurred there."

"Someone must have to tell the story."

"I suppose so." That was when a thought hit her, causing her eyes to widen. "That's how he did it."

"Did what?" Bruce frowned, now being completely thrown off by her statement.

"Survived. That's how Andrew survived." Bruce continued to frown at her, causing her to continue, "Andrew should be dead, long dead but he's here now -just as alive and exactly the same as the day I last saw him because of a Soul Gem."

"A Soul Gem, like the ones you told me about?"

"Yes, exactly like the ones I told you about. It's the only way that he could have survived so long and still looks just like how I last saw him."

"But how?"

"Once you're imprisoned inside a Soul Gem you're frozen, unable to change, unable to do anything -even die. I told you Souls Gem were used as prisons for people's enemies to be trapped in and that the remainder of the Seven could be trapped in Soul Gems."

"I remember, you also said that it included a dark spell and a lot of energy to release them from the Soul Gems."

"Well until you are released from the Soul Gem you can't age, like in death. You become the imaginary cat in the imaginary box, only this time it's real -a paradox unable to die and unable to live stuck inside a shard of gem for all eternity, or until someone releases you."

"So, who imprisoned Andrew and who released him?"

"The Angelic Brotherhood released him, that's what Patience said back in Hall of Prophesies. It's who imprisoned Andrew that I'm worried about."

"Do you know who did?"

"I have an idea."

"Who?"

"Bruce, its times like this I have to ask you to trust me."

Rona had waited for Charlie to reappear with an exit strategy but the fairy only reappeared to give her bad news. Thor and Hogan were covering the back door, Tony and Fandral covered the front door while the others -Lady Sif, Steve, Volstagg, Clint and Natasha- searched through the store working their way from the front to the back. The store owner stood by and watched Steve as he went. Charlie had remained in her smaller form, waiting for the perfect opportunity to let her full fairy side out -she was waiting to cause mischief, lots of it- while Rona hid in the darkened narrow gap in the stack of furniture -trying to remain calm.

Charlie shifted slightly causing Rona to look up at the orb of golden light -her breathing becoming less controlled as fear seeped in. Charlie could see Lady Sif searching the makeshift corridor through the stacks of furniture that she had Rona hiding down -the goddess was just up from the wardrobe that Charlie had Rona hiding away in. With the five members of the group searching the store and two pairs made up of the others stood at each door, Charlie was having to think fast about how to get Rona out of the store and the first problem was getting Rona past the warrior goddess without being caught -which wasn't going to be easy.

Sif was looking in every nook and cranny that she could find down the makeshift corridor, being very meticulous in her searching for Rona. She had been impressed how Steve had managed to keep his pace and managed to follow Rona into the store -she hated to admit that Rona's ability to outrun her and the captain was also impressive, even though she had dived straight into oncoming traffic in order to do so. She had seen the barrel that Rona had sent flying at Steve as he chased her, along with the owner of said barrel angrily muttering to himself as he checked the barrel over, the thought of the magic Rona used to launch the barrel into the air put her on edge -just as Loki's own magic had done before. Loki may have been the master trickster but he had also been a masterful spell caster and remembering how both of these skills went hand-in-hand with each other to accomplish Loki's tasks had taught her to tread carefully when magic was in play while Loki's tricks had taught her how the magic could be used -like how Loki moved about the castle unseen, hiding in plain sight.

Sif had finally made it to the large oak wardrobe that Rona had been previously hiding in, opening the door quickly in the hope of surprising anyone inside only to find no-one there. She had a sense that someone was nearby watching her carefully causing her to ready herself for a possible attack -she kept her shield raised and tucked in close to her chest to stun her opponent with one blow and her sword within reach for her to quickly draw. She moved slow further down the corridor, looking left and right for places Rona could be hiding. A flash of light caught her eye causing her to look to her right, seeing the entrance to the narrow gap Rona was hiding down -causing said red haired witch to stop breathing and her green eye's to widen. Sif turned so her back was to the furniture on the left, putting the shield before her before moving to stand in front of the entrance. She was prepared for anything to come out at her.

Except the sudden flash of golden light zipping out from the stack of furniture on the right of the entrance that shot directly towards her face causing her to swipe at the orb of light and move back from it. Rona stood and watched as Charlie zipped around Sif's face dodging her swipes just like an annoying fly keeping the goddess' attention on her. Growing annoyed at Charlie's 'attack' Sif started to swipe at her with both hands, trying hard to rid herself of the light of the fairy -who was loving being mischievous, almost losing herself to her nature for mischief. A growl from Sif warned Charlie that the Asgardian was getting angry, causing her to dart down back into the furniture.

"Come back here!" Sif growled before moving forward and reaching into the furniture after Charlie, only except grabbing a hold of the fae something very sharp pricked the pad of her middle finger, "Do you think that will stop me?"

"Oh, it will." Charlie said, reappearing in the entrance in her human form causing Sif to look up at her, "Did you know that the pad of your middle finger is an acupressure point for your head?"

"Wh-What?" Sif asked blinking as she began to feel light headed.

"Ah! There you go, the effects are kicking in!" Charlie said, "I can see it in your eyes, your pupils are dilating. Are you lightheaded yet? You must be."

"Wh-What have y-you done to me!" Sif demanded, shaking her head as Charlie started to distort before her very eyes -her image weaving in an unnatural way- while her vision blurred in and out of focus. She started to feel seasick as the ground felt like it was moving under her feet, causing her to pull her hand out of the furniture and stagger backwards from Charlie.

"Don't worry," Charlie said, "The effects will ware off, it is only Fae Salann Mèinnireach -or Fairy Dust as humans call it- the English translation is Mineral Salt, it's not entirely poisonous but it will make you sick for a little while but you'll be delirious for a while longer so take a seat!" She had just told the goddess to sit down when the warrior had just finished slipping down the wall of furniture to the floor. "Don't take it personally; we just needed to get past you."

"W-We?" Sif asked, blinking up at Charlie before seeing a mass of ginger slowly coming out of the darkness behind the fairy with her blurring vision, "Ro-Rona?"

"Lady Sif, I'm so sorry!" Rona said kneeling down next to the warrior, "But we're not the bad guys, I promise you. You have to believe me!"

"Th-Then why d-do you have... Have B-Brother... B-Ban- Banner?" Sif stuttered, her train of thought was disjointed leading to her broken sentences while her vision continued to warp the things before her -her concept of colour was now beginning to distort as well as the concept of height and width.

"How much did you give her?" Rona asked, taking Lady Sif's face in her hands gently and directed it towards her -checking her eyes which were nearly fully dilated.

"About the size of a pin prick at this size." Charlie said sounding slightly hurt, "It's enough to incapacitate a human for several hours but with her being an Asgardian it would work its way through her system faster -maybe in half the time."

"I hope your right." Rona said before speaking to Lady Sif, "Keep calm, don't fall asleep and drink plenty of water after the effects wear off -you're going to need to flush it out your system, my Lady." Sif only blinked at her, a slight frown on her face.

"Rona, she's out of it." Charlie said, before looking towards the front door, "We've got to go."

Rona nodded before getting up and walking away from Lady Sif slowly towards the front door with Charlie leading the way in her smaller form once again -less likely to be seen by other members of the group. Rona heard Sif mumble something causing her to look back at her -she looked dazed as she sat on the floor looking around her. Rona felt sorry for her, having read about the effects of Fairy Dust in her Alchemy books during her days of study. She turned to look back at where she was headed before coming to a stop near the end of the corridor, just far enough from the end to remain out of sight while Charlie checked the front door. She frowned as she only found Fandral by the door and assumed that Tony was wondering about somewhere close by -she floated off to the next corridor to see where he was after checking on Rona.

Though, unknown to Charlie, Tony had seen what happened to Lady Sif and had hid inside a tall cupboard, peeking out through a crack between the doors. He could see Rona stood trying to peek around the corner to the front door, her back to him. He slowly pushed one of the doors open, careful not to make it creek, and then slowly crept over to Rona while pulling out a small pistol that Natasha had, unwillingly, given him. He raised it so it was pointing at Rona for when he was close enough to her to surprise her and get her talking -wanting desperately to find Chaos and rescue Bruce. One more step and a settling breath and he was ready.

Problem was, so was Rona. She spun around and grabbed the arm he held the gun with and pointed it away from her while her other hand swiftly came up to block his attack with his free hand which she managed to catch the wrist of.

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark." She said as a green light appeared between her hand and his wrist which he frowned at before looking up at her as he started to lose feeling in his left hand and arm but the feeling wasn't stopping there -it was making its way up his arm and into the rest of his body. Rona caught him as he fell forward onto her and set him down gently on the floor. "It's a Paralysation Spell, the effects won't last long and it won't kill you. I promise." She looked him in the eye as she knelt beside him and she could see the glare that he was trying to make in his eyes -the muscles of his face unable to respond to the commands of his mind. "I'm sorry, I really am! But you shouldn't be here, none of you should. Not even Bruce."

Tony's eyes softened slightly as he tried to force himself to start asking her questions about his friend, only for him to quickly give in as his first word couldn't even leave his mouth as anything more than a heavy sigh causing Rona's eyes to soften in return. He could see a hint of sadness in her face causing his eyes to fill with more questions as she looked back up at him.

"He's safe and healthy, I promise you, but I need to get to him and Alba." She said, "I'm guessing you already know that she's here as well, that she was the one who brought him here. She helped him, after the Saint Andrew's charity ball -he had hypothermia and she nursed him back to health. Do you think a woman like that would hurt him, Mr Stark? Do you truly believe that she would let anything, human or supernatural, harm him?"

An 'uh' sound forced itself from Tony's throat as his eyes hardened slightly with something that Rona couldn't read. He willed himself to move, tried to force his body to respond to him but still he had no luck -he still couldn't move, he couldn't even feel his own limbs.

"Rona!" Charlie's voice hissed causing Rona to look up at her as the fairy rounded the corner. Charlie's eyes widened upon seeing Tony sitting on the floor leaning against the wall of furniture while Rona knelt next to him. "So that's where he is."

"Fandral?" Rona asked as Tony tried to look up at Charlie as best as he could.

"Preoccupied." She replied, "Let's get going."

Rona nodded before looking at Tony.

"Bruce is safe where he is, trust me." She said before removing the gun from his hand and putting it about a foot away from him, "You might feel a spasm going through your muscles when feeling returns to your body. Again, I'm sorry but this has to be done. I need to get to them before something happens and you should get out of the Undercity, for your own safety."

With that she got up and left him, leaving him to watch her disappear from the corner of his eye before hearing the sound of the bell ringing. It didn't take long for the others in the shop to come running to the front door -to find Fandral covered in polishing clothes that he couldn't seem to remove, his sight obscured and Tony missing. He could hear his name being called but he still couldn't move, let along say anything, so he just had to wait for someone to find him and Lady Sif who was still further up the corridor -coping with the effects of the Fairy Dust that Charlie had gotten into her system.

Bruce trusted Alba, he knew that -though, he had no reason to- so when she had said that she had to ask him to trust her his first response was; "I trust you." It was becoming a pattern now -her asking him to trust him and him agreeing to, or telling her that he trusts her. His trust in her settled him, just as much as it settled her in return.

Whenever he told her that he trusted her, she felt not only relief but also a deep settling trust in him and it had managed to calm her down enough not to pace anymore. She felt even more settled as he stood next to her allowing her to grip his hand tightly as her worry about Rona and Charlie continued to slowly eat away at her. The both of them knew that she wouldn't stop worrying about the missing two until they reappeared and the fact that she kept looking at the door to the pub periodically told Bruce that she wouldn't stop worrying until she had the two of them and himself as far away from Andrew as possible. He knew that she wanted to return home, as fast as she could manage -she was already running, but from what he could only guess at.

"/Stop hiding,/" The Oracle's voice from her dream echoed in her head, "/Come out of the shadows./"

"/I'm not hiding./" She thought, "/How can I hide when I'm running, running as hard and as fast as I can?/"

"/Stop existing and live./"

"/How can I live, after everything-?/"

"Alba!" Her name being called pulled her out of her thoughts. Her eyes met Bruce's for a moment before she heard her name being called again causing her to turn and look down the street. She recognised the voice calling her name; it caused her to grip Bruce's hand even tighter as her worry curled up into a tight knot in her stomach as hope sparked within her. Bruce also looked down the street, searching for that flash of ginger hair. "Alba!"

"Rona!" Alba suddenly shouted before the red head near enough burst out of the crowd on the street before her -heading straight for her at an alarming rate. She collided with Alba as she held her arms open for her, wrapping her arms tightly around her which she did in return. "Oh God, wherever have you been!?" Alba pulled back from her and held her face in her hands, being the very mother that she had grown up with. "I had a terrible feeling that something had happened to you, to the both of you!" Alba looked over at Charlie who looked at Rona with a slightly worried look.

"Well..." She said slowly.

"What happened?" Alba snapped, worry over coming her once again.

"Can we talk about this inside?" Rona asked, hitting Alba's hands away from her.

"Charlie!" Alba growled, sounding almost primal causing Bruce to look at her in surprise.

"Friends of his." Charlie said, pointing at Bruce with her left thumb.

"What?" Bruce asked turning his attention fully on Charlie and Rona, "Friends of mine? As in the Avengers; they're here, in the city?"

"Yep!" Charlie said, making a popping sound at the end while Alba frowned, "Even the Son of Odin!"

"The Son of who!?" Alba asked shocked.

"Oh! Didn't you know?" Charlie asked, "Your doctor friend here is besties with Mr Thunder Pants!"

"Charlie!" Rona snapped.

"What?" The fairy asked, innocently.

"You're as bad as Tony." Bruce commented.

"He's here too." Rona said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"But how?" Alba asked.

"How as /how/, or how as in /why/?" Charlie asked causing Alba to glare at her while Bruce frowned this time, "What? Scottish is a complicated language! The only language in the world, that I know of, uses how for why!"

"How, as in; how the Hell did they manage to find the entrance to the Undercity?" Alba snapped, annoyed.

"That's my fault." Rona said causing all three of them to look at her. She reached into her trouser pocket before pulling out a small and slim item and holding it up to Alba. "It's called a sim card and there's one in every mobile phone, basically it's needed to make it work -it allows you to send texts and receive calls. But this," She turned the sim card around; "This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. tracker -used purely to track targets via their phones." Bruce had crossed over to Rona, pulling out his glasses to get a better look at the card.

"But most phones have GPS systems in them now, so why use a tracker to tack you?" He asked.

"The GPS system only works as long as you have it turned on." She replied, handing the card to him, "And, if you're like me, you have security protocols and protection against hackers and viruses on your phone meaning no-one can hack it. S.H.I.E.L.D. created these trackers for burner phones that don't have GPS in them and situations where they can't hack the phone, to ensure they know where the target is -and this time, I was the target and used me to find you, Doctor Banner." Bruce looked up at her once again; her eyes were still cast down to the ground. "I lead them straight to you and showed them the way here, all because I was stupid enough to not check my phone!"

"Rona, you can't blame yourself." Alba said, "What would you have done if you did find it before you came here?"

"I would have given it away." She said, "Cleaned the memory out and gave it away, probably to some homeless person, and got a cheap replacement."

"That's one way to do it." Bruce muttered, more to himself as he looked at the card.

"One way?" Charlie asked causing Bruce to look up at the three of women startled, as if he hadn't realised that he had spoken out loud.

"I-I..." He started to stutter as he tried to recover himself, "I umm... I recommend getting a second phone, Rona. Or even two sim cards."

"I might need to do that." Rona said, "But I'm more worried about the fact that I'm out of a job now, and on a list of double agents or traitors -maybe even both." Sadness crept over her face at the thought of losing her job. Where the Brotherhood had refused to take her in, S.H.I.E.L.D. did not -though admittedly they had a lot of questions about her and her childhood but her potential as an agent seemed to override them. Rachel took her under her wing almost immediately and coached her through the most important things that Rona would need, before keeping her on as her sectary when she took over the Edinburgh office.

"Come on," Charlie said, suddenly sounding chipper, causing everyone to look at her, "Let's get inside, have some food and get a drink! I'm starving and Rona most definitely needs a pint!"

"Before we do," Alba said sternly as Charlie turned to head inside, "I want a quick word about something."

"What is it?" Rona asked, looking up at you with a frown.

"I need you to trust me, trust my judgement." She said, looking directly at Rona who nodded once -watching her closely.

"Alright," Charlie said, moving closer to Alba and Rona, "What's wrong?"

"There's somebody inside the pub, waiting us." She said, "Someone I use to know from a very long time ago." Rona's eyes widened at this information.

"How long ago?" She inquired.

"That doesn't matter!" Alba said waving her question away, "What does matter is that you don't tell him anything about me, not even the fact that you were my apprentice or anything about the Brotherhood -not even your brother."

"Why?" Rona asked.

"Let's just say the past that I share with this person is not a bright one." Alba said darkly, "I need to protect you, all three of you, from it!" She looked up at Charlie who nodded before looking at Bruce who also nodded -realising she wouldn't continue until she had all of their consent. "Charlie, if you get asked something and you know the answer let Rona take charge of the conversation, Rona don't leave Charlie and listen to everything she's being asked and everything she's saying, and Bruce don't leave my side."

"You're really shook up about this person, aren't you?" Charlie asked.

"I don't trust him." Alba said, "And I have every reason not to."

"Ah!" A male voice said from the entrance to the pub said, "Bad time? Should I come back in a while?"

"No, Andrew." Alba said, stepping back from Rona and turning to look at him, "Its fine, I've finished explaining."

"Aye, I heard the last part." He said while both Rona and Charlie looked him over, "I don't blame you for not trusting me, I wouldn't." He gave the two a forced smile quickly before turning to Alba once again. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Andrew, this is Rona, Charlie and Bruce -my companions." She said, guesting to each of them, "My friends, this is Andrew -an old acquaintance."

"Is that what I've been reduced to?" He chuckled while moving out of the way of a couple who were heading inside the pub.

"It's the best you're going to get for now." She said, being completely serious with him. He held his hands up in surrender to her as she gave him an impassive look -the other three just stood watching them both interact, feeling rather out of place. While Alba had a close relationship with Rona, her past was something that only Andrew shared with her -something many people had tried to find out about- which made her talk with him both awkward and tense but also something interesting to them.

"So umm... Andrew, is it?" Charlie said, turning to look at him, "You got a table inside, because I'm starving!" This statement caused Andrew to start laughing.

"So you're a food lover?" He laughed.

"Nah, just a slight case of the munchies." Charlie said casually, "I had a run in with some Fae Salann Mèinnireach."

At this Alba turned to look at Rona with wide eyes filled with shock while Bruce frowned at Charlie. Alba wanted to question Rona on why Charlie had brought up the use of Fae Salann Mèinnireach -hoping that she hadn't used it on someone. The look she gave her in return answered her unasked question causing her give her a small warning glare; telling her that the three of them will have words later about this incident. Alba felt sorry for the poor soul that had to endure the one real defence that fairies had as the world knew it caused people to experience the strangest of things while being incapacitated for a good few hours -though Alba had never experienced for herself.

"Shall we go inside?" Bruce asked, "I'd rather not leave Charlie's hunger unattended too long or you'd have a rather hefty bill on your hands, Andrew."

"Oh?" Andrew asks with a wide smile, "Well then, best get inside. The first round is on me!" He turned around and pushed the entrance door open but Bruce, Charlie and Rona stood and looked at Alba, as if waiting for her to make the first move.

"Are you sure you can afford it?" She ask, walking towards him -the other three cautiously following behind her. Rona and Charlie gave Bruce questioning looks as they passed him by at the door.

Lady Sif flinched as the healer that the shopkeeper had gotten tilted her head back causing her to see a light above her. Though to the rest of the group was a dullish light, Sif found it to be a blaring bright white light that glared down at her. It felt as though the light was burning the back of her eyes even when she had looked away, much to the healer's frustration.

"You just have to put up with the discomfort!" He said, "You are a warrior of Asgard, aren't you?"

"Lady Sif is the finest warrior of Asgard!" Volstagg nearly shouted, "A warrior such as herself commands respect in all situations, even in ones such as these!"

"Volstagg," Thor said while placing his hand on the shorter man's shoulder, "You must calm yourself and allow this man to continue his work. I believe that the Lady Sif shall be back on her feet and wanting vengeance in no time with this man's help."

"What about Stark?" Clint asked causing Thor and Volstagg to look up at him, "Has he come around yet?"

"I'm afraid your friend has had a rather powerful Paralysation Spell put upon him." The healer replied while looking into Lady Sif's eyes, though discomfort was clear upon her face, "It shall not last much longer though, but whoever cast it is highly trained in the art of Alteration."

"Alteration?" Clint asked with a frown while Thor and Hogan quickly exchanged looks.

"Yes, the ability to manipulate the physical world around the caster -mostly for a limited time." The healer said before letting Sif tilt her head back down and away from the light, "Your companion here is in the final stages of the mineral's effect, give it about half an hour more and she'll be fine."

"How does one treat such an aliment?" Thor asked as the healer stood up.

"Well, not angering any fae folk for a start." He replied while pulling a white hood with a golden trim up over his head of black hair, "But if any of you run into such minerals again then wait it out and plenty of water when the person affected is coherent once again. Now, if you don't mind I shall be on my way."

"Explain how this paralysation thing works." Clint said, causing the healer to turn and look at him with a sigh.

"Alteration, the art of altering the physical world around you." The healer explained exasperatedly, "The caster can alter the reality around themselves, in this instance the caster has temporally altered your friend's bodily function causing the mind to lose communication with the rest of his body and therefore rendered him immobile."

"And how long will it last?" Hogan asked.

"That is up to the caster." The healer said, "Certain levels of magic only allow for a set amount of incantations that the caster can use. The more advanced the caster is, the longer the time the spell shall remain in effect -though your friend has remained under the effect of this spell for far longer than I have ever seen."

"And what does that mean?" Clint asked.

"That means that someone is rather naturally gifted in the art of Alteration." The healer snapped, "Now excuse me!" He pushed his way past Thor and Hogan and quickly made his way to the front door of the shop; passing Tony, Steve Natasha and Fandral on his way.

"Alright Tony, try flexing your fingers." Natasha said, sitting next to Tony looking down at his left hand while Steve sat on the other side of him.

"Don't push yourself too hard." He said, watching Tony's hand as well, "We don't want you over doing it."

Tony's eyes moved away from his own hand and to Steve, filling with a glare that expressed Tony's inner thoughts that his face currently couldn't express for him. Steve gave him an apologetic smile in return while Natasha shook her head at the two of them, a small smile of her own playing on her lips and twinkling in her eye.

He was frustrated. He tried with everything he had to move parts of his body, just to move even the tiniest bit and he could feel his brain trying, screaming at his body to move but nothing was. He could just feel this heavy and numb sensation throughout his body in which he was now trapped. He wanted to find Rona and get her to undo what she had done to him, even though she had told him it was temporary. He wanted her to take him to where Chaos and Bruce where and find out what they were up to.

"Oh Tony!" Natasha nearly exclaimed as she seen Tony's middle finger twitch, causing the other two to look at her, "Can you feel that?"

Tony looked down at his hand, finding his finger moving more and his ring finger being pulled up because of it. The spell was slowly waring off, at last. He started to push himself more, trying to break it faster and soon he could move both of his fingers -his little finger wasn't far behind them in being freed.

"How is it going on over here?" Clint asked, appearing in Tony's peripheral vision to his right.

"We've got him moving again." Natasha said, "But it's going to take some time."

"Any idea how long?" Clint asked, "I mean, the healer only really glanced at him."

"Hopefully not long." Steve said, "Though, what did the healer say to you about it?"

"Nothing really helpful," Clint said before adding, "But he did say that whoever put the spell on Tony is rather naturally gifted at Alteration Magic."

"Alteration Magic?" The two asked while Tony looked up at Clint as best as he could with a questioning look.

"I know, that was my question." Clint said, "But it's basically the study of altering the world around the caster, or so the healer says."

"So Rona, or her friend, can alter the world around them?" Steve asked, "But if they can do that then why did they run from us?"

"They could have been louring us into a trap." Natasha said.

"But why?" Steve asked, "This doesn't feel like a trap, not for us anyway."

"What do you mean, Cap?" Clint asked.

"We were looking for Rona and happened to run into her." Steve said, "She looked stunned to see us so if this was a trap why was she clearly shocked to see us here?"

"Because she didn't know that we were onto her." Natasha said, "She didn't know that the tracker was in her phone."

"And if this is a safe haven then why would Rona lead us to the front door if she knew about the tracker?" Steve pointed out, further adding to his point.

"So this was improvised!" Clint declared, "But why run?"

"Because we found out about her." Natasha said, suddenly realising for herself why Rona ran. Clint frowned at the statement causing Natasha to look up at him as she continued. "This city is underground, hidden away from most of the population and can only be freely accessed by supernatural beings like Chaos and Thor-"

"But even the gate keeper said the Thor is a technicality." Steve said, cutting Natasha off causing her to look at him.

"But he can still come and go as he pleases without running into that beastly woman." Natasha said, "But if we wish to come here then we have to answer a riddle correctly meaning that the supernatural beings down here are protected from us, hidden in plain sight."

"A safe heaven." Steve stated, "Rona ran because she kept who she really is a secret and we found it out."

"Right in the middle of a witch hunt." Clint said with a sigh, "Okay, so Rona is now on the run with a friend -where do they go?"

"Alba." Natasha said, "They'd go back to Al"

"AAAHHH!" Tony suddenly yelled, his entire body suddenly convulsed all at once sending his arms swinging and his legs thrashing. Every muscle in his body spasming, just like Rona had told him would happen, and it caused him to jolt forward from his slumped back position and into a bolt upright position before finally jumping to his feet. His yell caused Natasha, Steve and Clint to jump. Natasha and Steve scrambled to their feet as Tony began panting and shaking from head to toe.

"Never. Again!" Tony nearly shouted before shaking his head vigorously along with his hands arms, "It's good to feel my body again!" He stomped his legs, feeling the tingling sensation of pins and needles throughout them before turning his attention to Clint. "How's Lady Sif?"

"She'll be alright soon." Clint said before adding, "Hopefully."

"Whatever that woman gave her really did a number on her." Tony said, recalling Charlie and Sif, "It worked right from the moment Sif got given it."

"How did they get it into her system?" Steve asked.

"She reached into the pile of furniture for a ball of light," Tony said, "Then the ball of light came out of the furniture and it changed shape, becoming the mystery woman, before Sif started to be effected by whatever it was that the woman gave her."

"Fairy Dust." Clint said causing Tony to frown at him, "That's what the healer called it, Fairy Dust."

"Ironic..." Natasha grumbled.

"Are you serious?" Tony asked, "Fairy Dust?"

"Well, he did give it a long and complicated name." Clint said, "It was in another language though."

"Was it Latin?" Natasha asked but Clint shrugged.

"Well whatever it is, it had the desired effect." Tony said, "The two of them got passed her, after Rona apologised to her, and then they came up here."

"What did they do then?" Steve asked.

"Rona waited here while her friend changed her shape again and took care of Fandral." Tony continued, "I tried to sneak up on her but she seemed to know that I was there and that's when she disabled me. Though, she seemed sorry about it and she defended Alba taking Bruce."

"How?" Clint asked.

"She said that Alba nursed Bruce back to health, after the attack on the ball we were at." Tony said, "Asked if I thought that a woman like Alba would hurt him or let anything happen to him."

"And do you?" Natasha asked, suddenly sounding serious causing the other three to look at her, "Do you really think that Alba would hurt Bruce?"

Tony stood for a moment, thinking about his answer. Trying to figure out if he truly thought that someone like you could hurt Bruce. What Rona had told him made him believe that you wouldn't hurt Bruce, that you would protect him to the very end if you and him ran into trouble -but that wasn't the only information that Rona had given him.

"Yes." Tony said finally, after all eye had been fixated on him. This caused Steve to nod in response as Tony's word sunk in.

"Alright then," Steve said, "So what-"

"Yes, I believe that she would hurt him!" Tony snapped causing the three around him to focus completely upon him. His hands were clenched by his sides while his head was slightly bowed as he glared daggers at the floor.

"Why?" Clint asked.

"What if I told you," Tony said, looking around a Natasha, "Rona gave me all I needed to know." She frowned at him for a moment before Tony's words sunk in.

"Natasha?" Steve asked her as she went to move past him, heading for Thor who frowned at her as she approached him.

"My Lady?" Hogan asked.

"We need to get moving." She stated.

"But we can't leave the Lady Sif." Volstagg said, thunderstruck.

"We're going to need to." Natasha said deadpanned as Steve, Clint and Tony joined them.

"Why?" Thor asked, "Without Lady Sif we are down in our fighting power."

"Chaos is here, in this city!" Natasha declared loudly before everyone heard a smash from the other side of the wall of furniture.

"N-Now, now," The shopkeeper said frightened and as pale as a sheet, while appearing from around the corner, "Let's not say such outrageous things such as that, because there is both no need nor way that C-Chaos c-can be down there i-in the U-Under-Undercity! I-I mean, she did v-vanish over 300 years ago a-and those times are behind us -/long/ behind us!"

"It's like talking about Voldemort down here with Chaos." Clint said, causing Steve to frown and Tony to raise an eyebrow at him. "What? I read to relax."

"I didn't think you could read." Tony said, as slight grin upon his features.

"Ha-ha." Clint said.

"Maybe we should leave." Hogan suggested, Pulling Thor's attention back to the matter at hand, "The longer we stay, the further away they get."

"You're right, my friend." Thor said, almost sounding grim.

"But what about Lady Sif?" Volstagg asked.

"If I must, I will carry her." Thor said, "But first we should find out if she can walk."

"It may slow us down but we have to find Banner." Steve said before adding, "Sorry."

"I'm sure Sif would understand." Fandral said, "And I'm also sure that she wouldn't mind getting her hands on those two and get her revenge on them, just like I do -even if that woman was so beautiful."

"Really?" Natasha asked as Tony and Clint had to agree.

"I agree with you." Volstagg said, "Lady Sif would release her wrath upon us if she missed her chance at getting revenge on that witch and her companion. Let us hope that she does recover quick enough to get it."

"Alright then." Thor said, "Then we should take our leave." He then stooped down to Sif and helped her up onto her feet which, even though she was still incapacitated, she could stand and take small steps as long as she had support -which Steve quickly became in order to help Sif keep up with the group, not having to stride as long as Thor.

"Where's that Broom GPS?" Tony asked, looking around as he exited the shop and walked out onto the now less crowded street. Natasha followed him out but took no notice of his question, she only looked further up the street causing her eyes to settle on something she couldn't exactly believe.

"What is that?" She asked as the other quickly joined them on the street.

"That is the Arcane University." The shopkeeper, who had followed them out of the store, said.

"How do we get there?" Volstagg asked, staring at the egg shaped dome in amazement.

"Straight ahead." The shopkeeper said before adding, "If you check the records in there, you will see that the person you are searching for isn't who you claim they are. Now, good day!" With that the door closed rather quickly after he darted inside and locked it behind him, changing the sign from open to closed yet none of the group seemed to notice him -they just all looked at the impossible yet wonderful building that lay in the background.

The Auld Lion was a highly popular pub, judging from the cram-packed candle lit room that Bruce hadn't expected to be so big. People were happily laughing and talking away in the oddly comfortably warm and smoky room while being seated in on either rickety old mismatched chairs, in dark wooden booths with a bright red tartan or on tall bar stools with a matching tartan -though most of them were also mismatched with the decor. Andrew had bought the first round of drinks, along with some food for Charlie who had wolfed it down in under a minute before trying to help herself to the snacks for everyone else -leading only to Alba slapping her hand away.

"Where do you store it all, lass?" Andrew laughed as he took his seat between Alba and Rona at a round dark mahogany table with five completely different chairs sat around it -his being a round backed white chair that looked like it belonged in a country house, or even a farm.

"You're no better, Andrew." Alba stated, watching him eat the best part of the snacks on his own with one large handful, "Hungry, are we?"

"Oh, sorry!" He said, seemingly not realising how much he was eating before Alba pointed it out, "Please, help yourselves."

"I'm fine." Rona said kindly, while Alba waved the notion away and Bruce just looked down at his glass of water, trying not to reply to Andrew -hoping not to be quizzed by him.

"I have a high metabolism." Charlie suddenly replied, almost sullenly, after finishing her mouthful, "Comes in handy when you're required to be smaller like I do."

"Fae-kind?" Andrew asked cautiously causing Charlie to nod while slowly reaching for the snacks -Alba's eyes fixed upon the slow creeping hand as it made its way across the table top. For the first time since she had met the woman, she noticed that Charlie had a sliver bracelet around her elegant wrist, decorated with what looked like daisies made of diamonds or similar, accompanied with deep green leaves made of a similar stone.

"I wish I was like you." Andrew said to Charlie after taking a swig of his ale, "That would mean I could train at half the amount I use to."

"Train?" Rona asked, "Train for what?"

"Combat." Alba said without thinking causing everyone to look at her, Andrew grinning away to himself. She narrowed her eyes at him slightly before continuing. "Andrew use to do Backhold Wrestling when I first found him. He was rather good at it, as well as combat training at the University."

"Though, you were rather good at it yourself, Alba." Andrew said happily, "You were the best, even. Second only to one."

"Who?" Charlie asked.

"Different styles, Andrew." Alba said quickly, ignoring the curious looks, "I was rather gifted at keeping my opponent at arm's length, rather than skin to skin close."

"And you were also gifted at the Quarterstaff." Andrew mentioned, "Brilliant skills with a staff, so elegant yet deadly."

"Still kept you at arm's length, didn't I?" She said before adding, "They don't teach combat skills at the University anymore, do they Rona?"

"What?" Andrew asked, stunned at the fact causing her to smile slightly as she directed the conversation to Rona. Alba hated being sat at a table with Andrew. For everything that he said about their shared past not being bright, he seemed to want to /'reminisce'/ about their shared past -though she wouldn't really go as far as to say that she were reminiscing about it. Yet, she would smile when needed, laughed when required and gave valid responses throughout this get-together, but all the while she had shut down and pulled up the walls keeping her and her past to herself -ensuring her protective walls were as high as possible. This hadn't gone unnoticed as Andrew had already pointed out her distant manner.

Alba jumped ever so slightly as a hand came to rest on top of hers as it sat under the table, upon her lap, and gave it a gentle squeeze causing her to glance down at it -without thinking. It was Bruce's hand. He gently ran his thumb across her knuckles, reminding her of the comforting motion of his hand up and down her back. She didn't think that she was uptight about the situation -or too uptight at the very least- but Bruce's comfort caused her to relax.

"Anyway!" Andrew laughed, recounting a tale, "I was in the ring, 3 falls to this fella who musta been half giant, and I had been looking for weak spots all night when a new bet was made -and it was rather loudly made, bear in mind. This woman had walked straight into the room and declared this large bet on me, the losing side, and walked right over to the edge of our ring where I saw her -Alba- for the first time."

"What?" Charlie and Rona nearly exclaimed together. Alba's hand moved so she could grip Bruce's hand tightly as Andrew continued.

"Aye!" He said, "She was stood there, as if she did it every day -betting on a losing fighter, chin held high and a gleam in her eye. Now, Alba must have been about 18 by this point, stood in a barn packed with big sweaty men who'd been there for hours watching this big fella fighting, winning them all money. I remember the sight of her so clearly; long brown hair pulled back and pinned neatly in place, white tunic, big thick brown skirt and a faded red tartan shawl."

"I can remember you." Alba said suddenly, taking everyone by surprise, "A scrawny wee man, stood next to the biggest man I had ever seen by that point, mud plastered your arms which only just fit around that giant for the fight, face splattered with mud and shaggy brown hair. The look on your face when I placed that bet, you didn't know how to look at me -first it was confusion, then anger, then even more confusion-"

"Aye, aye, aye!" Andrew said waving his hand, "Well, that night I ended up winning that fight. What like was the room when I did?"

"Stunk to high Heaven, just like you." She said causing laughs around the table.

"Aye, that too." Andrew agreed, "But the men around her were livid! I was surprised you got your winnings and were allowed to walk out of there."

"They wouldn't of had much choose in the matter." She said, "You were following me out and we were both practiced in other ways of fighting. Though, now I mention it, you must have used those skills against that behemoth because there was no way you were going to beat him without magic."

"Keep it down." Andrew said jokingly causing Alba to shake her head at him, "God, that was how many years ago?"

"Years!?" She said sounding astounded, "More like centuries!"

Andrew only laughed before looking grimly at the bottom of his pitcher.

"Now I just feel old." He commented.

"You didn't have to actually live through that amount of time." She said quietly before suddenly sitting up straight as she heard something strange.

"Alba?" Bruce asked as she frowned.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, swearing that she heard a sort of popping sound coming from somewhere.

"Hear what?" He asked her before she suddenly swivelled around in her chair -searching for the pop as she heard it again. "Alba?" She looked like she had gone mad from the other four's point of view as she looked around for this mysterious sound that they hadn't heard.

"Shush!" She hissed before looking around the room, hearing it once again only this time it sounded slightly different, "It's getting louder."

"What is?" Andrew asked before frowning as he seen other people in the pub all acting the same as Alba -searching for something that they could hear. Bruce looked around the room, seeing the exact same as Andrew but this time he heard the sound for himself. It was still getting louder before suddenly;

/BOOM/

The group had seen it before they heard it. In fact, the entire street, heading towards it did. Tony could see the sound cutting through the air at an alarming rate as a plume of fire, followed by smoke, rose hundreds of feet high, engulfing a large part of white eggshell-shaped mesh dome facing towards the group. People began shouting and crying out in worry as the shockwave and the soundwave hit together before beginning to scream in fear as a second explosion took place, quickly followed by another.

Soon people dressed in white habits were rushing toward the University, followed by bystanders who were just starting to kick into action causing the group to realise that this was serious. Columns of smoke continued to billow out from with the walls and the dome. People were panicking on the streets as they looked at the impressive building on the horizon.

"Your pets have done their job well." A gruff male voice growled, looking up at the columns of thick black smoke. A female voice chuckled from behind him before a thin grey hand rested on the man's arm.

"Of course they did." The white haired and grey skinned woman said, "They're my babies after all, but they're not done yet. We still have one last thing to do."

"We have to find her." The male voice said before turning to the woman, showing a rather beast like creature, a bear sized wolf-humanoid with black fur, gleaming golden eyes and large sharp looking yellowing teeth. His head and shoulders were covered with thick black fur that thinned out as it went down his chest, leaving greyish brown skin in its wake -showing off his muscular abdomen. Fur covered arms, hands, legs and feet yet failed to hide the muscles that lay beneath while thick shiny black claws came from where nails should have been.

"Oh, we will." The woman said, "I promise you that."