Disclaimer: I do not own Bioware or Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"Word of the slaughter spread quickly. The Champion's name became a rallying cry, a reminder that the mighty templars could be defied. She and the Avengers had defended mages against a brutal injustice, and many lived to tell the tale. The Circles rose up and set the world on fire. More templars arrived at Kirkwall to restore order, but we were already gone. Wanda and the Avengers and that wizard, Doctor Strange returned to where they had come from. The rest of us vanished into the hills, and circumstances eventually forced us all to leave the Champion's side. You still hear the stories, of course. With each telling they grow, even if at the core remains the truth. A new legend had been born."
"So that's it. That's the whole story." Varric finished.
Cassandra looked at him as she processed his story and closed his book. "Then Meredith provoked the Circle. She was to blame."
"Or that damned idol was. Or Anders. Take your pick." Varric said.
"Even so, had the Champion and the Avengers not been there…" The Seeker closed the book, and set it aside.
"It might never have even gone that far." Varric said.
"I see." Cassandra nodded.
"So how is hearing all this going to help?" Varric narrowed his eyes at her curiously. "You've already lost all the Circles. In fact, haven't the templars rebelled as well? I thought you decided to abandon the Chantry to hunt the mages."
Cassandra sighed. "Not all of us desire war, Varric. Please, if you know where the Champion and the Avengers are, you must tell me." She spread her hands. "They are heroes, someone the mages would listen to, someone who was there at the beginning and someone, who the mages will trust, when it comes down to it. They could stop this madness before it's too late. They may be the only ones who can."
Varric blinked. "Is that what this is all about?" He shook his head and leaned back onto the chair. "In that case, I wish I could help you."
Cassandra looked down at the book. "I assume you don't know how to reach out to the Avengers."
Varric shook his head. "If they wanted to come here, they would. But first they'd have to know something is going on or have a reason to come."
Cassandra nodded in understanding. "Just tell me one thing, then: is the Champion dead?"
"Oh, I doubt that." Varric smirked.
"Then you are free to go, Varric." The Seeker then began to walk out of the room. "May the Maker watch over you during the dark times ahead of us."
Varric just watched as she exited the room. "Seem to you, Seeker. Same to you."
Cassandra exited the estate and found several armed soldiers waiting outside.
Leliana walked up to her. "So did you…?"
"Gone. Just like the Wardens." Cassandra sighed.
"That is no coincidence." Leliana folded her arms.
"So do we proceed with the original plan, or keep looking?"
"It is in the Maker's hands now. We put our faith in Him." Leliana sighed. "The Divine may have questions of her own."
Cassandra nodded. "I will bring the dwarf. It is time we go to the temple."
"I will follow up on the leads he gave us." Leliana sighed. "All we can do now is hope."
Cassandra handed her the book and she looked down at it. She wished that Theron was with her, but that was impossible as much as she wanted it to be. She felt that this was only the beginning and that change was about to come to the world, the question was whether they would live through it.
Sometime later
"We had to keep her separate from the others." The guard said as he accompanied Cassandra and Leliana.
"And are you sure she was not at the Conclave?" Cassandra asked.
"Her clothes and… weapons… I've never seen anything like this before. I'm certain we would have noticed her." The guard frowned, rubbing his chin. "But she was among those, who survived the explosion. We found her with them in the ruins. Two men, a human, a dwarf, and three women, an elf and a Qunari. The other prisoner… she had these items with her." He turned to the table on which were a pair of metallic batons and some metallic marbles and some strange items that Cassandra examined. One of the marbles discharged electricity as Cassandra dropped it.
"What kind of magic is this?" Leliana asked, perplexed.
"It's not magic." Cassandra narrowed her eyes, picking the ball as she turned to the guard. "What did she look like?"
"A red-haired woman. A human. Black suit. And…" The guard shuddered, not believing his own eyes. "It took twenty guards to subdue her. She was weakened and delirious but she put up quite a fight. I'm certain that not even an Antivan Crow or Orlesian bards can fight like that. Maker, if I didn't know better, I'd say that she's a Grey Warden or one of these Avengers I've heard about."
Cassandra and Leliana looked at each other. If the rumors they had heard, were true… there was only one person that it could be. But how?
"Take us to her." Leliana ordered.
The guard accompanied Cassandra and Leliana into the dungeon and unlocked the cell as the red-haired woman was on her knees and in shackles, glaring.
"Who are you? Where the hell am I?" The woman demanded.
Cassandra and Leliana eyed the woman. In her eyes was barely fear, it was more like full of anger, confusion and need for answers. And her suit was made of material Cassandra had never seen before and her accent and dialect were unusual, although Leliana had seen something like this before. The clothing and accent were the same as of the Avengers. They glanced at each other briefly and Leliana nodded towards Cassandra's unspoken question. It indeed seemed to be her.
"We've heard stories about a group of heroes. A soldier. A man out of time. Men with armors, that had unimaginable power. A demigod, who could rule the skies and thunder, wielding a magical hammer and an enchanted axe. And many others." Leliana mused. "And we've also heard about another woman. One, who had sacrificed herself to restore balance and return all life back in exchange for a powerful item called the Soul Stone. They said there was no way to bring her back. Master spy and assassin. A fallen Avenger."
The woman's eyes widened, shock and anger and need for answers filling her. How did they know that? "How do you know who I am? What is this place?" She demanded, while trying to free herself from the shackles.
"I suspect you have questions." Leliana said. "So do we. I think that we have a lot of catching up to do… Black Widow."
Natasha Romanoff stared in disbelief, wondering where the hell she was and how did these people know her.
Yes, Natasha is alive and now she's in Thedas (Dragon Age universe), where Dragon Age: Inquisition gets started and is now the prisoner of Cassandra's and Leliana's and before you ask, no, she does not become the Inquisitor but one of the survivors at the conclave does and that doesn't mean that Gamora, who had been sacrificed, is coming back too, since at the moment, I have no intention of involving the Guardians of the Galaxy. Cassandra, Leliana and the guard had mentioned that there were more people at the Conclave, just like how I involved the Wardens earlier.
Those familiar with Dragon Age and MCU probably saw this twist with Natasha alive coming and can take a guess how is this possible. For those, who didn't see it coming and are unfamiliar with Dragon Age, wait until the sequel where it will be explained.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed the story to its end.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter
