Ruby pushed her way through a large crowd of people, unsure of her destination. Hell, she didn't know where she was or why she felt the need to move so quickly. Then it struck her. Literally. Three bullets contacted her body. One in the chest, near the heart, one in the shoulder, and one in the head. When she didn't die from her wounds, she knew that this was one of Salem's "projections". Everything was in slow motion for her, as she felt the red hot bullets tear through her body. She felt each shatter her bones and push aside the flesh within her body, tearing blood vessels and moving through her skull. It hurt. The sensation was like no pain Ruby had ever felt before. It burned, and it stung, all while torturing her mind. And she screamed, louder than she had ever screamed before. She felt her throat burning from the scream, but this didn't stop her, as it was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her skull.

Outside, in the hallways of Salem's palace, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury listened to the screaming. As much as they each disliked Ruby, even they felt disturbed by the sound. The scream didn't last very long, however, being cut off abruptly and followed by an awful, wheezing cough.

[Shift]

Now that the Avengers knew where Ruby was, they needed to figure out how to get the girl out alive. If they attempted to fight their way in, this could give Salem a chance to kill Ruby, but if they sent one person in stealthily, they ran the risk of walking into an ambush.

"May I suggest something?" Jarvis asked, so suddenly interrupting the Avengers discussion on this. There was a moment of silence between the heroes before Jarvis spoke again. "Perhaps you could send me in to retrieve Miss Rose." He said. Steve raised an eyebrow at this.

"Do you even have a body?" He asked.

"No." Jarvis told him. "However, I am able to control Miss Rose's suit without someone inside."

"He could go in and allow her to fight her way out." Bruce said, realization dawning on him.

"We could create a diversion on the outside as well," Steve added. "To spread them thin."

"This may not be a suicide mission after all." Clint sarcastically said.

[Shift]

The Avengers sat several hundred yards away from Salem's palace, all staring in awe at the large building and its surroundings. It was a large, purplish-red building that covered the horizon. It was surrounded by a crimson landscape and hundreds of Grimm. They sat, waiting for Jarvis to give them the go-ahead.

[Shift]

As Ruby sat, defeated and tied to a chair, she certainly didn't know of her friends waiting outside. Or that her armor was closing in on her location. The door suddenly flew open and in stepped the armor. It immediately burnt her restraints with a small, focused repulsor blast. Ruby smiled as she stood for the first time in a long time, and strode over to the armor. The back slid open and she stepped in, allowing it to close behind her.

She quickly began to sprint down the hallways, only to stop when she came to the cell of a large, bearded man with long, golden hair. He looked like royalty, yet he wore rags. She tore his cell door off and he leapt to his feet.

"Thank you, metal man!" He said, his voice sounding like that of an ancient warrior. She knew who he was.

"Metal woman, actually." She corrected. He nodded.

"My confines were keeping me from reuniting with Mjolnir!" He told her, holding his hand out to the side. A large, metal hammer came from nowhere and landed in his hand. Metal appeared on the man, covering all but his hands and head, complete with a cape as red as Ruby's that stretched down to the floor. Once his transformation was complete, he held out his hand to her. "I am Thor; god of thunder!" He told her. She shook his hand.

"Ruby; Rose of Iron." She retorted.

"You saved me." He told her. "And for that, I am grateful. I owe you my life."

"Tone it down a bit." She told him. He paused for a minute before rephrasing his previous statement.

"I owe you a great debt." He said. She just rolled her eyes and moved on.

"Alright, well you can repay me by helping me and my friends defeat the woman who put us here." She told him. He grinned.

"Gladly." He said.

A/N: Sorry if it's a bit short and not good. I'm just trying to write another chapter and I'm a bit out of practice.