The Hunters and the Prey - Chapter Three
Author: Milady Dragon
"I'm just saying," Pepper said, trying for patience, "that perhaps we need to get someone in here who's an expert in the Void." Then she turned to their guest. "No offense, Dr. Banner."
Bruce Banner smiled somewhat bemusedly. "None taken."
The problem with Tony was he wasn't a Wizard. He tended to try to solve things with science, and often didn't take magic into consideration. It wasn't his fault; it was how he'd been raised, and despite being married to one of the more powerful Wizards in the Western Lands. Pepper had found that people who didn't use magic sometimes discounted it, which made some sort of sense.
It didn't help that Tony was a genius, almost arrogant in his intelligence, and hated to be told he was wrong even when it was obvious that he was.
"Pepper," Tony argued, "Bruce here is an expert – "
"In magical theory," Dr. Banner corrected, fiddling with his spectacles.
"And if anyone can figure this out, it's him."
"I love that you have such faith in my abilities," the other man said dryly.
"Of course I do!" Tony exclaimed expansively.
"But even I know when it's time to call in someone who actually knows magic and can actually perform it."
Pepper smiled at him, glad Dr. Banner wasn't taking what she'd suggested personally which showed, even though the theorist was a genius on par with Tony, that he didn't have that sort of ego that would bruise the moment someone questioned their knowledge.
It had been decided that the man who everyone believed to be Sir Steven Rogers, the Paladin of the Western Lands, would be brought to Castle Ferrous; mainly for his own protection, since he was still firmly unconscious, and no one would have thought to look for him there…if anyone knew of his existence; there was no evidence that Hydra did, but who knew?
Also, because it had been a Stark who had discovered the Paladin in the first place and there was all that family history to consider, plus Tony was as curious as a hundred cats where his family history was concerned mainly because he wanted to see what had made his father such a dick. Of course he was going to volunteer to look after their new guest.
Tony had thought they could figure out what was keeping him from waking up, now that Sir Steven was out of the Void, but nothing he or Dr. Banner had done had worked. If it was within Tony's nature to admit defeat, this would be the time to do it, but since it wasn't he was being stubborn about accepting true, magical, help.
Sir Steven had been there for four days, laid out in one of the castle's guest rooms, ever since they'd brought him back from Shield Keep. It was as if the man was some sort of statue; Pepper would have sworn he was dead except for the fact that he was breathing. Every time she looked at him, she could see the Void flickering about his body like some sort of ship's fire, only black and non-reflective instead of the brightness of the static that would often dance about a ship's masts during a storm at sea. There wasn't a thing she could do about it; it wasn't within her power to manipulate the Void. They needed a Wizard who was good at that sort of thing.
And, by Wizard, she meant Phil. Which Tony called her on at once.
"There's no one more knowledgeable about the Void," she pointed out patiently. "After all, he's been inside it several times now – "
"Which is amazing and I really want to meet this guy," Dr. Banner cut in, sounding admiring.
"And he's also the one who brought Sir Steven out through the Void Point. Not to mention, his being able to close that same Void Point all by himself."
"Tony," Dr. Banner said, "you know she's right."
"He does," Pepper confirmed, "he just hates admitting that he can't do something."
Tony threw up his hands. "Alright, fine! Call in your Wizard friend."
The Cardinal Head of Order snorted. "It's not like you haven't actually met him, and that you like him as well."
"Well, true. But I was really hoping to keep this off him, since he'd gonna be busy with becoming the new Grand Master Void whatever, as well as cleaning up his entire order and taking on a Novice, which you really want him to do."
Alright, that made Pepper feel just a little bad. Phil was going to have a lot on his plate, coming up, but he really was the best one for this job, plus they knew he could be trusted. "You're right."
Tony pointed a finger at her in triumph.
"However, Phil also happens to have an historical interest in Sir Steven Rogers. You haven't seen the framed, original print he has in his study. It's of Sir Steven during his propaganda tour. He'd do anything to help out."
"That I did not know," her husband admitted. "So, the big, bad Void Wizard is a fan?" Tony grinned widely, and Pepper was now wishing she hadn't said anything.
Instead, she made a tactical retreat from Tony's own study. As she closed the door, Dr. Banner started up a conversation having to do with the Laws of Conservation of Magic, distracting her husband from what Pepper was about to do.
She headed toward the library, where her speaking mirror was. Ferrous Castle was a large, rambling house, updated with all the modern amenities as soon as Tony had taken control of the Barony from Obadiah Stane. Before then, the castle had been a bit run down, as Stane hadn't stayed there at all, but it was now bright and open and magical items were complimented by the various scientific devices that Tony had come up with, in order to make living easier. Last year, every single glowglobe had been replaced by what Tony had decided to call lightbulbs; he'd hand-laid the wires himself, and the generator in the cellars had also come from the inventor's extremely fertile mind. Currently, he was hoping to make the generators smaller so he could offer them to every home in his Barony, as a cheaper alternative to magic. Not everyone could afford magical assistance, and Wizards weren't that plentiful in the world as yet, that they could furnish those sorts of amenities to everyone.
As a Wizard potentially being put out of work, Pepper was very pleased by her husband's inventions and was perfectly willing to help him get the word out. It would free up Wizards to other tasks.
The demand for magical devices had only grown in the hundred years since Wizards had begun reappearing. Honestly, she had no idea how those first Wizards had managed to keep up with it all.
Oh right…they hadn't, and Ianto would be the first one to admit it.
Pepper could understand why, though. Glowglobes were a lot safer than candles, and cold boxes kept perishable foods from going bad quickly. They were amenities that would make life so much easier, but at the moment such things were only available to the wealthy…and the Wizards themselves. What Tony was working on would revolutionize the world.
She passed Jarvis in the hallway. She stopped him by calling his name. "Yes, Mistress Pepper?" he inquired politely, his United Kingdom accept pleasant to her ear.
"Master Phil will be visiting. Can you please ask Ana to prepare something snack-wise for him? Oh, and he will most likely be bringing a quest." It was a little before lunch time in Triskelia, and there was no telling how tired Phil would be after performing whatever magic he'd need to, to diagnose Sir Steven's condition. It was always a good idea to have something ready when a Wizard needs to use higher level magicks.
And she doubted that Clint would want to be left behind. Hence, Phil bringing a quest.
"Oh course," he said, smiling. "Will we need to prepare rooms or anything?"
"I doubt it, but it never hurts to be ready just in case."
"Very good." He bowed a little, and then turned from his path to head toward the kitchens, where his wife, Ana, would be working to prepare their own lunch later on.
Pepper continued on, the library just down the wide corridor from Tony's study. Of all the public rooms in the castle, this one was one of Pepper's favorites. While Tony was very fond of updating everything he could get his hands on, the library was possibly one of the most old-fashioned places in Ferrous Castle, as it was still being lit by glowglobes and had other magical accoutrements. As much as Pepper loved the idea of Tony's lightbulbs, there was just something about performing small acts of magic under magical lighting that touched Pepper's romantic soul.
The library was filled with as many types of books and scrolls as possible, huge shelves from floor to ceiling along the circular chamber, sturdy rolling shelves positioned in strategic places along the circumference of the massive shelves. There was an upper level stuffed with books as well; a narrow spiral staircase led up to it, and that was where Pepper kept all of the spell books and handwritten scrolls she'd managed to collect over the years. It had become easier to find such things now that magic was back; they were popping up all over the place, since people now knew what to look for.
There were also bespelled books, that for some reason had been enchanted with various sorts of spells but were fairly innocuous. And, along one side, were the shelves where Pepper kept her favorite books, mostly romances and adventures and a few books of fairy stories that she'd had since she was a child.
Leather chairs were spaced about the library, every single one of them comfortable…after all, Pepper had had the opportunity to try them all. Two of them were positioned in front of the fireplace, which took up space in an area that wasn't covered by shelves. There were small niches circling the library, where art was framed on the wall, and in one of those niches was her speaking mirror.
It was slightly more ornate than the one in her quarters at the Wizard School, the frame gilt and molded into fanciful vines that twined around the highly polished glass. It was larger as well, big enough to show her from the waist up. Stepping up to it, Pepper rested a hand on one of the many twisted vines, calling her magic to her easily.
She'd made it so the mirror could also be used by Tony and Jarvis, but only she could change the coordinates to other mirrors. Tony had griped about it, vowing to create some other form of long-range communication that didn't rely on magic. She honestly would love to see him succeed.
It was a simple matter to calibrate it to Phil's own speaking mirror; she'd contacted him several times about Daisy and her school and spell work. The mirror that Phil had created for himself was slightly tainted by the Void and, as he was the only Void Wizard on her personal network, he was easy to locate.
The mirror's image of herself wavered, taking on that heat haze that occurred when it was searching out another one of its kind. Her reflection vanished, revealing a nicely appointed bedroom, but the position of the other mirror only gave her a view of a corner of a large bed, a rich blue duvet on it, and a large wardrobe against one of the walls. Pepper felt just a little uncomfortable by the fact that Phil kept his mirror in his bedroom, and made a mental note to ask him to possibly either move it, or enchant a second one, if he was going to be convinced to take on a Novice…that way, no one would be calling and interrupting whatever he got up to in the privacy of his own bedroom. Which was most likely Clint at this point.
She couldn't help but smile at that. Another reason she was glad of that romantic soul she owned.
Phil wasn't around, but Pepper was content to wait. Every Wizard could tell when their mirror was being called, and all she had to do was be patient, and he'd be there presently.
It was a couple of minutes before Phil showed up within the mirror, the Hawk beside him. The moment he noticed who it was, he was smiling. "Pepper, hello."
She returned the smile. "Good day, Phil…Clint."
The Elf waved back at her.
"To what do we owe the honor of this call?" Phil asked.
We. Well, that was certainly telling…and confirming what she'd known about them almost from the moment she'd seen them together.
Getting back on task after that little thought, Pepper explained about the issues with the man they believed to be Sir Steven, and how she could see the Void still around him. Phil frowned as she explained it, his blue eyes turning slightly unfocussed as he considered her description.
"I really would have thought he'd have awakened by now," the Void Wizard mused. "But, if the Void is still keeping him unconscious…"
"That's what I was thinking. We really need to get your help on this."
"Of course I'll help."
Pepper smiled a little wider. "Thank you."
He shook his head. "You know all you needed to do was ask."
"I know, but it was Tony I needed to convince."
A tiny line formed between his brows. "I can imagine." Phil shook his head. "Clint and I will be there presently. I still have that teleport ring you gave me the last time we needed to consult about Daisy's studies."
She thought that might have been the case. Still, she had to tease him a little. "And Ferrous Castle isn't unPlotable."
"This is true." Her fellow Wizard looked amused. "Although I suppose I should see about dissipating that particular spell, since everyone seems to know who I am now."
"And your Novice might need to come to the Keep at some point."
Phil laughed. "You are bound and determined I take on young Miss Maximoff."
"I think you'd be a good fit for her, yes."
"I'm still considering it, although Daisy will certainly have an opinion…and I suspect it might align with yours."
The last time Pepper had seen Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, they'd been hanging about with Daisy and her friends, so she could see his point.
"I'll meet you both in my casting room," she promised.
"Give us half the hour."
"That sounds fine. I'll see you then."
Phil nodded, and then the mirror shimmered, and her reflection returned as he cut the connection. Pepper smirked a little, glad to see him connecting with more people…
And one in particular, although she really didn't know the Hawk all that well.
She looked forward to getting better acquainted.