Once we'd gotten the kitchen floor cleaned up and the bathroom counter and floor mopped and dry, we finally got to sit down to a light breakfast of fruit and cereal. There was hardly any conversation between the three of us, save for the remarks Dan kept making about worrying over the other kids from our bus and the people that had been near the worst of the fight with the heroes and the two aliens.
"I'm just asking…don't you have a television or something here so that we can check the news? I mean, hopefully there weren't any casualties from the fight yesterday afternoon, but our bus was stopped pretty close to the block where the aliens came down…" Dan said. "I just hope those girls are okay…"
"Dan…man, you know they were only paying any attention to us because they'd been on the bus for over an hour already and were bored out of their minds." I said as lightly as I could. He gave me another of his brief, odd looks that I had finally determined had to be either his jealousy or guarded worry.
"So is that supposed to make me not care about what happened to them? They ran off the bus, same as we did!" He protested. Wong glanced between us before setting his fresh coffee cup down with a sigh.
"I can assure you that no one in the city was killed during the confrontation yesterday." Wong said softly. "But I'm sure that the property damages and injuries will definitely be a mess to clean up."
Dan was silent for a moment and when I finally looked his way again, I noticed that his gaze had rested on my chest where the Time Stone hung outside of my shirt on my chest. I coughed lightly and self-consciously fidgeted with it.
"So what's the plan for today? More training, I'm guessing?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Dan's eyes went up to my face and narrowed with what I read as light hatred…something I hadn't noticed in him before. I cleared my throat again quickly. "And maybe Dan can help us out this time."
Wong looked steadily between the both of us, clearly reading the tension in our body language and possibly something more. He nodded curtly and picked up his coffee cup again.
"Very well, if Mr. Yates wishes to join us, I'm sure we could teach him a few things. It wouldn't hurt to have a little bit of extra defense when we are attacked again." Wong said casually. Dan's expression lifted only slightly as he managed a small excited smirk at Wong.
"Sounds cool." He said, directing his attention back down to his half-eaten bowl of cereal. I sensed that he was internally dancing with excitement, but for some reason he was still angry and refused to show his glee in front of me. I offered a small supportive smile his way which he glanced at but didn't return. Wong suddenly stood up, staring past us and seemingly through the wall.
"What? What's happening?" I asked quickly, on high alert just seeing Wong's reaction. Dan watched the magician's tense expression too, even finally looking to me worriedly before he slowly stood up behind Wong.
"We have a visitor." Wong said simply, his voice low. I stood and moved to follow him, flicking my wrists and feeling the golden mandalas materialize over my fists. Wong raised a hand to stop me and then he seemed to glide out of the room. I stayed frozen by the table, listening to the echoing sounds of Wong's soft footsteps down the hall outside the kitchen.
"What should we do?" Dan spoke up, having moved to my side nervously. I looked back up to him, my heart already pumping with anticipation. I dissolved my right golden shield and quickly gestured for him to copy my movement as I willed it back to existence again.
"We need to get ready to defend ourselves if it's necessary. You need to calm your mind and…" I flicked my wrist once more flashing the glowing mandala into and out of existence. He watched me a few more times and then with one simple fist motion he conjured up a blindingly bright golden mandala shield. My eyes widened and he smirked cockily at me.
"Is that all?" He asked, copying the motion with his other hand, now possessing two shields which he brought up in front of himself in a battle ready pose. I blinked and nodded curtly, turning back to the doorway where Wong had disappeared just a few moments ago.
"Wow…we really do need to teach you some stuff. You learned that trick a whole lot faster than I did…" I grumbled, watching the doorway and listening carefully for any sounds that might signal an attack. A moment later, Wong emerged from down the hall with a short, shabbily-dressed figure trailing behind him. Grey speckled his dark hair and he looked like he hadn't shaved for a good while. Bruce Banner.
"It's alright, he's a friend." Wong said curtly, nodding for the person to enter the room behind him. Wong regarded Dan with intrigue at his quick accumulation of learning the shield conjuring process. "Bruce Banner, this is Alexander and Daniel."
"Hi," The scientist said nervously, stopping beside Wong who gestured for us both to relax and let our shields and guards down. Banner looked from both of us to Wong who nodded as the bright golden glows faded from view. "Aren't they a little young to be sorcerers-in-training?"
"Hey…" Dan said quietly, jokingly taking offense.
"Strange didn't leave us a choice." Wong grumbled lightly. Bruce looked back to us in confusion until Wong walked over to stand beside me. "He chose this boy here to possibly save the world."
"What…what do you mean?" Bruce asked, his eyebrows etched in deep thought. I looked up at Wong to make sure it was alright before I slowly reached for the chain around my neck and pulled the Time Stone up from underneath my shirt and into view. Banner's face was instantly thrown into silent panic.
"We're taking very quick precautions against The Black Order's return. Alexander has already made waves in his training, while Daniel has just proven that he may have useful learning talent as well." Wong said before Bruce could speak. The scientist put a hand to his forehead worriedly and wrapped his other arm around his middle.
"Y-you tricked them into thinking that the Time Stone was taken off-world…" He stammered.
"Doctor Strange did." I spoke up matter-of-factly. Bruce glanced down at me quickly before raising an accusatory look back to Wong.
"A kid?"
"We've been told it'll be good camouflage." Dan added smartly. Bruce raised his eyebrows in even further disbelieve.
"Does Cap know about this yet?" He asked hurriedly. Wong hesitated for a moment before shaking his head in reply.
"Cap? Captain America?" I asked in disbelief. Bruce made another worried noise and shuffled nervously on his feet, wringing his hands uncontrollably. Dan and I exchanged glances, afraid in knowing that whenever Bruce Banner's control got out of hand, the Hulk made his appearance.
"I assume he is on his way?" Wong commented lightly, seemingly not afraid of the nervous wreck of a man pacing in front of us. Bruce stopped and shoved his hand in his pocket, pulling out a small flip-phone which he clicked open and closed a few times before replacing it.
"Y-yeah. They're still a few hours out but…what am I gonna tell him?" Bruce asked and thumbed over his shoulder. "Rhodey's outside…he's already alerting the government and everything about what's going on. We're trying to pin down the location of Vision and his Stone…Cap's gonna meet us at headquarters and then we'll debate about what to do next."
"Wait there are more Stones?" Dan asked in confusion. Bruce raised his eyebrows in even further acknowledgement of disbelief and shook his head at Wong.
"Strange is really relying on these kids to keep one of the Infinity Stones safe? Do they even know anything about what's going on here?"
"I've…I've already had this argument with him…" I said, suddenly feeling completely and utterly unqualified, especially with one of the smartest scientists on Earth standing in front of us.
"Wong…come work with us. If we still have two Stones here on Earth…let us at least keep them together so we can be absolutely sure they're protected." Bruce said, his voice gentler.
I looked at Wong expectantly, hardly believing that a real-life Avenger was standing in front of us, asking us to work with them. Dan still eyed Dr. Banner warily, expecting him to turn into the big, rage-filled Hulk at any second. After a thoughtful moment, Wong finally spoke up.
"I think it would be wise to have more protection for the Time Stone, yes." Wong said slowly. He glanced down to me where I had instinctively wrapped my fingers tightly around the necklace. "But leaving the Sanctum and the hundreds of protections and spells shielding this place from hostiles would also be a poor choice."
I looked up at Wong in shock and shook my head as my face contorted with awe at his decision. Dan stepped back as I turned to hastily face the magician defiantly.
"Wong, no…you said it…we need as much protection for the Stone as we can get…why can't we work with the Avengers?" I demanded. Wong looked thoughtful for another few seconds, his eyes trained into the distance as if he were listening to something.
"Alex…maybe he's got a good reason. You know the Avengers only get involved the major battles out there." Dan offered quietly, still looking at Banner who cocked his head in confusion. "They'll direct the major attention on themselves like always, and we'll be safe here with the Time Stone."
"Yeah and then when they get beaten, we'll be left here without any muscle at all to help us protect this thing! It's better to be in the midst of it all where there's several who can help cover us." I whirled on my friend, a burst of frustrated anger evident in my voice. His easy, explanatory mood was instantly hardened into defense mode and I saw a flicker of golden sparks fizz around his clenched fist.
"Listen, why don't we all go meet Cap at headquarters with Rhodey? I'll go out and tell Rhodey right now and we can be there in twenty minutes." Bruce suggested quickly, stepping in. Wong too, moved forward as if to separate me and Dan.
"I'll tell you what, Dr. Banner…when you and the remaining Avengers finally figure out how to resolve your own issues, you know where we will be. I think you will find there's an even bigger problem on that side." Wong said curtly. Bruce stopped his nervous fidgeting for long enough to stare at Wong carefully, waiting to see if he was serious. When Wong made no move to consider the option of working with the Avengers in this scenario again, the scientist nodded, accepting the sorcerer's seemingly final decision.
"I think I'll just, uh, go then…Rhodey's waiting anyway…" The scientist said uncomfortably, turning away from me to exit the room. Wong watched him go silently, an unreadable look on his face. As soon as Bruce had made his way down to the end of the hallway, Dan looked around the room in a panic.
"Does anybody hear that?!" Dan said, his voice rising fearfully. A high pitched grating sound came from above, followed by what sounded like a jet turbine flying by. A voice – presumably Banner's – shouted something from down the hall that sounded like a warning. Wong took a millisecond's pause before he immediately leapt into action, grabbing both me and Dan by the arms and nearly dragging us through the kitchen away from the doorway where Bruce had just exited.
"Come with me!" Wong hissed, his grip strong as he steered us around the large dining table and through another doorway towards a part of the mansion I hadn't had the chance to explore yet.
"What? What is it?!" I cried, trying to look behind me for the threat that I hadn't seen yet.
"They're here for the Stone." Wong said quickly, jerking to a stop around the corner down a hallway and releasing his hold on our arms. He slipped something onto his fingers and made a swirling motion with his hand and seconds later a large spinning portal appeared. Bruce Banner ran through it a moment later, colliding with the wall of the narrow hallway.
"It's another one of them!" He exclaimed breathlessly, pointing over his shoulder where Wong had just spun the portal out of existence. "She was huge! She…she should've crashed right through the front door, but something stopped her!"
"That would be the protection spells." Wong said with a low growl to his voice. Seeing the fear and worry on Bruce Banner's face, I took a quick step back from the man. He didn't seem to notice.
"Well it didn't look like they did much but surprise her and most likely piss her off!"
"It's a her? You mean there are more than just the two alien guys we saw on the street yesterday?" Dan asked hurriedly. Bruce's wide eyes moved to glance sporadically at both me and Dan before he grabbed Wong's shoulder.
"This is what I was warning you about! We're stuck in here with no protection, no help, and no chance at all!" Bruce said. Wong's face hardened once more, and I was taken aback by the dark look his eyes held.
"That may not be the case." He muttered. Wong eyed Dr. Banner levelly and conjured up the golden machete he had used in practicing with me earlier. Both Dan and I quickly summoned our glowing mandalas, taking up a good portion of the small hallway we were standing in. Bruce looked at the three of us in surprise, backing away slowly to allow us room.
"Okay…so what do I need to…?"
The scientist's words were cut off as Wong lunged at the man, striking him violently in the shoulder with the butt of his magical weapon. Banner cried out in surprise and slid several yards down the long hallway from the force of Wong's attack. Dan and I both ducked down behind our shields, preparing for the Hulk to emerge furious and destructive. When nothing happened for the next few seconds, I chanced a peek over my mandala to see that Dr. Banner, still very much not the Hulk, was unsteadily climbing to his feet.
"Wong, why…?" I trailed off, both wondering why he had hit Dr. Banner in the first place and also why the scientist hadn't transformed into the infamous big green monster. Wong's tense expression had softened only slightly and he hastily strode down the hall to help the poor man to his feet. Bruce clutched at his shoulder in confusion, not really angry towards Wong, but seemingly frustrated at himself.
"Hulk…come on…please, man…" He murmured painfully. I watched as Wong once more swirled a golden portal into existence on the wall beside us, opening it up into what appeared to be stone steps leading down into an underground tunnel.
"Forgive me, Dr. Banner. I thought we'd give your friend at least one more chance to make his appearance." Wong said levelly as he gestured for us to go through the golden circle of light. Bruce shook his head as he followed me and Dan through the portal and slowly down the steps.
"I don't know what Hulk thinks he's doing. He won't help me right now, and it scares me…" He muttered, clearly at ends with himself.
"Can you…can you talk to him when you're like this?" I asked as I watched him carefully over my shoulder.
"Not really, it's just bits and pieces…All I've managed to get out of him since the fight yesterday was a 'No.' I can't even really feel him anymore…" Bruce tried to explain. I looked at Dan who was walking ahead of me, his golden mandalas seeming to light the way in the dark tunnel.
"Hey Wong…where are we?" Dan called back a moment later. When there was no immediate answer, I saw Dan turn around quizzically. My chest suddenly tight with fear, I spun around just in time to see the golden portal spin out in a shower of sparks and the wall at the top of the steps behind us was suddenly shrouded in darkness.
"Wong?!" I called worriedly, hesitating for a moment before backtracking towards the spot where the portal had been.
"He left us…" Dan said quietly, his voice light with confusion.
"Hey, look!" Bruce said, directing us both to look further down the stone steps where the ground seemed to level off. A line of torches in the stone tunnel wall blinked into flames, and the three of us made our way quickly but carefully closer down towards the light. Dan and I still wielded our golden shields in case something decided to surprise us, and we continued forward, all on high alert.
"Are we under the house?" Dan asked after another few seconds, peering up at the high stone ceiling above us, just barely visible in the flickering torchlight. Bruce, who was following Dan in front of me, shrugged his shoulders.
"It's not really a house..." The scientist said causally, also tilting his head back and forth as he looked around. "It's a Sanctum. And yeah, I think we are underneath it."
"So Doctor Strange has an awesome name for his house. I get that. My aunt has a house at the beach called 'Mermaid's Wish.' I always thought it was weird…" Dan said, his rambling demeanor starting up with the tense atmosphere around us.
"What was out there?" I asked Bruce worriedly, knowing that he alone had been the one to see what our attacker or attackers looked like. Bruce shrugged as if to blow off the question, choosing to remain in silence.
"Was it another one of those alien people?" Dan asked, pushing him to reveal what we were up against. Bruce stopped in the middle of the walkway, turning to look between both me and Dan in surprise.
"What do you mean by 'another one'? Did you kids see more?" He asked, suddenly even more worried. Dan and I exchanged glances before I spoke up.
"Yeah we saw the two guys from yesterday…We saw Iron Man and Doctor Strange fighting them off…"
"Personally?" Bruce asked, swaying back and forth as he took in both of our expressions. When we both nodded, confused looks on our faces, Bruce seemed to look thoughtful. "So you were there…"
"Yeah we were there! We almost got caught in the middle of the whole battle!" Dan exclaimed, his voice rising slightly with the memory of the excitement and fear of the whole encounter.
"So that's how Strange found you two? You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Bruce commented, not really as a question towards us but as a part of his piecing together process. I hesitated briefly at war with the thoughts that had run through my mind in the past fifteen or so hours since this weird plot twist had happened.
"Yeah, that's what I've been telling myself this whole time…" I muttered as we continued walking. "But I figured…it'd be pretty cool to learn a little bit of magic before we most likely die attempting to protect this thing."
As I glanced down to look at the Time Stone resting against my chest, I felt the warm, living sensation rise into a slow burn. I frowned, my eyebrows pulled low over my suddenly confused eyes.
"Um…" I stopped once more to face Bruce and Dan who had resumed following me. Bruce instantly switched his gaze to the Stone around my neck, and he took a step back worriedly.
"It's…it's glowing. I can see it through the bronze lining of the necklace…" The scientist said quietly. "It wasn't doing that before, was it?"
Dan turned around from where he had been slowly leading Bruce and me down the wide arching tunnel to see what the extra sense of worry was about. His eyes widened in surprise and awe and I realized that he hadn't been fully 'awake' when I had seen Doctor Strange use the Stone the day before.
"What does it mean?" He asked, dropping one of his golden shields and reaching for the necklace. Before his fingers could physically touch the surface of the bronze eye, he paused and quickly withdrew his hand. "It's hot!"
"Yeah I know…" I said, shifting my feet worriedly as the growing warmth continued to get rapidly hotter and hotter. Another few seconds went by and, when I suddenly couldn't take the intense burn of the Time Stone on my chest, I grabbed the chains and lifted it quickly from around my neck.
"It's burnt a hole through your shirt!" Dan exclaimed and I didn't even glance down to see if he was serious. Even the large chain in my hands was hot in my grasp and I threw it to the tunnel floor to get the burning thing away from my body.
Then everything suddenly happened at once.
A huge rumble sounded from above us followed by a shower of stones that threw us to our knees in surprise. All three of us cried out in horror as the tunnel seemed to cave in, bits of polished wood and rock crumbling by our sides.
"Get back!" Bruce cried to us both as we regained our footing and stumbled away from the now settling cave-in. Dan and I retreated a few yards from where the ceiling had fallen, Bruce hurrying to motion us further away. I spotted a figure in the dust and debris-filled air, lit by the torchlight of what remained of the tunnel. Just by seeing her silhouette I could tell she wasn't from Earth.
"Who is that?" Dan asked as we crept away as quietly as we could. Bruce glanced over his shoulder quickly and pulled us deeper into the tunnel and around a corner before explaining.
"Those aliens you guys saw us fighting yesterday? I'm pretty sure she's with them." Bruce said breathlessly. I reflexively reached for my chest, finding nothing but the hole that Dan had spoken about just moments before. My breath caught in my throat and I choked out an exclamation of horror.
"The…the Stone! I dropped it!" I hissed, turning back to run towards the place where the alien woman had crashed down into the tunnel. Bruce grabbed my arm before I could and he opened his hand which had been covered by his tattered shirt sleeve in order to protect his palm from the balled up chain and bronze Eye that lay there still sizzling. I breathed an internal sigh of relief which was short lived as the wall across from us exploded with a dull thud.
"Don't think you can keep the Time Stone from me, humans." A growling feminine voice called from around the corner. Bruce instantly pushed us behind him, handing the stone to Dan who tucked the glowing necklace into his sweatshirt sleeve. As the woman rounded to corner to retrieve the spear that jutted out from the wall opposite us, I could see her clearly for the first time.
She was at least over seven feet tall with dark cobalt hair that was held back by what looked like some type of horns growing out of her forehead. An ugly scar ran over her lips which were pulled back in what could either be a triumphant smirk or an irritated scowl. Black colored war paint seemed to be painted over her forehead as well, and her beady dark eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of me and Dan seemingly cowering behind Dr. Banner. For good measure, I summoned up what little courage I could and flicked my golden mandalas into existence, one hovering over Bruce's right arm and the other behind him, shielding Dan partway where he held the Stone in his jacket.
The blue woman seemed to scan the three of us for a moment before she noticed something that made her leap into action. She twirled her spear with the jagged spikes on the end around her right arm and swept it to the left, deflecting it off of my right shield. Bruce stepped just a foot to the side in surprise from the force of the blow to my shield which allowed the woman to kick his legs out from under him. She whipped her spear down into the stone floor beside him, and his surprisingly quick reflexes moved him out of harm's way but farther from me and Dan. The blue woman then directed her attention to Dan who now had one of his shields up and was running towards Bruce across the tunnel.
"Dan, go!" I called quickly, stepping towards the woman to call her attention to me. Her mouth pulled into a grimace of anger and she once more flipped her spear around her unnaturally limber body before landing another solid blow against my joined shields. I kept one hand holding the large, golden shield in place while my other hand quickly pointed towards my chest. I conjured up what I hoped was a convincing illusion of the necklace around my neck and seconds later as her gaze lowered to get a good look at me, I got the reaction I had been hoping for. The woman was even more desperate in her strikes against my shield and I moved quickly to sidestep each time she tried to leap around my mandala to get at me and what she thought was the Stone she wanted. Finally, with both hands firmly attached to the dangerous weapon, she jabbed at the very edge of my shield and I lost my mental grasp of the mandala, almost losing my balance as the golden light sparked out of existence. I quickly pretended to shove the necklace back down my shirtfront and the woman grabbed me by my shoulder and pushed me against the stone wall of the tunnel.
"You think you can actually stand to fight against me?" She murmured, her voice sounding like a low growl in her throat. I shook my head, pressing my other hand over my chest in an attempt to keep up the illusion that I still held the Time Stone. Dan crouched over Bruce on the ground a few yards behind the tall blue woman, thankfully being ignored for the moment.
"I…I actually don't think I could stand to fight you…" I said, wincing as she tightened her sharp grip on my shoulder. "But I'm sure Doctor Strange could take you on in a pretty fair fight."
The blue woman blinked as she tried to think about what I meant and I suddenly realized that maybe she didn't know what I was even referring to.
"D-Doctor Strange. Your friends…took him yesterday. Where is he?" I tried again. Something in the blue woman's mind clicked and she gritted her teeth, shoving me harder into the tunnel's wall. I cried out in pain as my shoulder slammed once more into the rock solid wall behind me.
"Dead or soon to be." She hissed, raising her spear and pointing it at me with her left hand, her right one easily holding me off the ground at her eye level. "This 'Strange' may have been able to easily fool Ebony Maw with his tricks but Thanos' children can sense each of the Stones' whereabouts."
"Apparently not. Why did he allow the fake one onto his ship when he took Strange yesterday?" I questioned her, knowing that if I kept talking it would make her angrier but also bide the time until hopefully Dan would realize that he and Dr. Banner needed to escape. I threw an annoyed glance over the alien woman's shoulder and noticed that Bruce was now standing up. Just as I expected, the alien's face shook with anger and she inched her spear closer towards my chest.
"Don't worry…I'll rectify his mistake now." She said hungrily, directing her attention once more to my chest.
My heart hammered painfully and I suddenly thought of everything I would be missing out in life if I died in this moment. I would never become a fully practiced sorcerer like Doctor Strange or Wong, I would never get to see my could-be girlfriend Jillian from the bus, and I would probably never see the light of day again since I would be dying in this underground tunnel. I caught myself reaching to my side, concentrating unconsciously on something across the tunnel. When I spotted an odd flickering of torchlight, I realized that I was attempting to move the torch towards myself for some reason. My hand shook and I flinched as I felt the woman's spear ease off of my chest for what I assumed was the drawback to plunge her weapon into my heart. I squeezed my eyes shut in preparation for the end.
"Hey…rectify this!" Bruce yelled. His voice echoed in the stone tunnel before a bright, wildly flaming torchlight slammed into the side of the blue alien's head. I let out a yelp of terror as her spear stabbed into the stone by my side, just grazing my armpit. Her hold on my shoulder loosened slightly from the force of the blow to her head and I scrambled to fully escape from her hold. She hardly seemed to be affected by the scientist's attack though and I chanced another glance over her shoulder to see that Bruce was holding the bottom part of the torch, the thing having snapped in half from the supposed sneak attacks and the force of his swing.
"Proxima Midnight…" A familiar voice bellowed from down the tunnel. I looked past Bruce to see Wong emerge from the shadows, looking disheveled as if he had already fought his hardest. Which, seeing as how the alien woman had been able to find us deep down in the underground of the Sanctum, I guess he had already lost part of his fight against her. "Let the boy go."
My first thought was a rendition of how glad I was to see that Wong had finally come to the rescue, and my second was something about how weird the name 'Proxima Midnight' was. My third thought was my mind suddenly going into panic mode because I noticed the woman staring searchingly then furiously down at the gaping hole in my shirt, revealing my bare chest beneath it. I had let my illusion of the Time Stone down unintentionally.
I aimed a kick at the alien woman's midsection and she took the blow with what sounded like a frustrated shriek probably caused more by the fact that I didn't really have the Stone and less so by my kick. She narrowed her beady dark eyes before she clenched her hand tighter into my shirt and lifted me off the ground against the wall.
"Wong!" I shouted as my back scraped painfully up along the jagged stonework of the wall behind me. I heard my t-shirt ripping under the strength of the woman's grip and I kicked blindly at her but she held herself steady.
That's when an explosion of golden light hit my attacker in the back. Her grip released from my shoulder and I cried out in surprise as I slid down the stones behind me, my back screaming with the agonizing pain. Suddenly the stonework digging into my back melted away and my body did a backflip in midair, the familiar golden sparks of a portal surrounding me. Then I felt strong arms haul me to my feet and I found that I was across the room from Proxima Midnight and Wong, alongside Bruce and Dan.
"Come on, Alex, we've gotta get out of here!" Dan hissed quickly. Bruce kept turning over his shoulder as we crept hurriedly along the outer wall of the tunnel and further away from the alien threat.
"Where's the Stone?" I gasped, trying my best to ignore the throbbing pain in my back. Bruce pointed to Dan who patted the front pocket of his sweatshirt. I threw another glance behind me as I heard Proxima Midnight growl with frustration at the most recent spell Wong had hit her with. I heard a clang of metal on metal and before we rounded the corner out of the woman's sight, I could see that Wong had conjured up his golden machete to fend her off. The blue woman turned her furious glare our way and rebounded Wong's machete with her own spear, throwing the sorcerer against the other side of the tunnel. Taking her moment of temporary victory, she ran toward us, her dark spear raised to throw.
"Dan, give Dr. Banner the Stone!" I hurriedly ordered as we ducked around the corner, now running as quickly as we could go in the dimly-lit tunnel. Dan, surprisingly without hesitation, grabbed the necklace from his sweatshirt pocket as we retreated, careful to avoid the bronze Eye as he thrust the Stone into the waiting scientist's hands.
"Why…?" Bruce asked as he wrapped his sleeves around the still burning necklace. Before I could answer him, I noticed a rapidly flying object slam into the wall a mere foot away from where we stood. I recognized the sharp, dark end of Proxima Midnight's spear jutting out of the wall in front of us and barely had time to register the fact to the other two beside me before the stone walls caved in on us.