"I beg your pardon?" Captain Marvel asked in a shocked tone.
"Your ears heard correctly Captain Marvel. You can choose to save either Gwen, Kamala, or both of them by handing over Vixen to me." Imperious said smoothly.
"Not saying this is my final decision, but what's stopping you from breaking your word if we give you Vixen?" Captain Marvel asked in a suspicious tone, which made Imperious chuckle lightly.
"I assure you Captain Marvel, I always keep me word. I pride myself on that." Imperious said in a smooth yet convicted tone.
"How do we know that's true!?" Dante hissed at Imperious.
"Consider this Dante: I swore to never again set foot on the Continuum home world ever again as long as they never set foot in my realm. Their world is still flourishing is it not, Vixen?" Imperious asked calmly, and all heads in the room turned to look at the yellow eyed teenager.
"He is correct Dante. He hasn't returned to the Continuum home world. My father always said Imperious had a sense of honor when it came to keeping his word." Vixen said in a defeated tone, and that earned a head nod from Imperious, even though they could only see his eyes.
"You see, my word is always kept. I will give you privacy and as long as you need to make a decision. You know how to contact me when the decision is made..." Imperious said as his eyes faded away and the mirror returned to normal, leaving Vixen, Captain Marvel and the Secret Warriors alone in Gwen's room. Tension hung in the air like a thick mist as Captain Marvel began rubbing her chin in contemplation off the three options she had been presented with.
"None of these options are good, none at all." Doreen finally broke the silence with her statement.
"Captain Marvel I agree with Doreen." Daisy said in a calm tone. "Think of it this way ma'am: Gwen would want us to save Kamala, while Kamala would want us to save Gwen, most likely neither would want the other to be held hostage–"
"I see your point Daisy." Captain Marvel said quickly. "However we do have a third option on the table–"
"You cannot be considering handing Vixen over to Imperious." Riri said quickly.
"I have to consider every option on the table, even if I don't like it." Captain Marvel said lowly.
"I can see both Riri, and Captain Marvel's argument in this case." America said after a moment of contemplation. "On the one hand we have an option to save our friends–"
"On the other hand though, we loose a friend who helped save Daisy and Doreen!" Riri said angrily. "The most sensible option is not always the best option!" Riri said in a defiant tone, and that surprised everyone, Vixen included.
"As much as I want to save Kamala..." Dante began slowly. "She would kill me if I sacrificed Gwen of Vixen in exchange for her life." Dante said in a defeated tone, and that resonated with the rest of the Secret Warriors.
"What would Gwen want?" Rayshaun asked his friends.
"She'd most likely tell us to save Vixen and Kamala." Daisy answered quickly. "I arguably know Gwen the best out of any of us, and she would not want us to sacrifice anyone on her behalf." Daisy said firmly.
"As true as that might be Agent Johnson, as horrible as it is to say, one life in exchange for two sounds the most logical–" Captain Marvel was cut off by Vixen raising a hand to silence her.
"I agree with Captain Marvel." Vixen said in a defeated tone.
"Vixen, no!" Riri hissed angrily.
"Think about it Riri. A hero is always expected to make the right decision... even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice." Vixen said lowly, and everyone knew the 'sacrifice' she was talking about. Tension once again hung in the air until Captain Marvel spoke up.
"Everyone please give me a minute to discuss something with Imperious." Captain Marvel requested as everyone but her left the room and closed the door behind them. Captain Marvel pressed her hand to the mirror, and Imperious's eyes returned.
"Have you made your decision, Captain?" Imperious asked the blonde haired woman.
"I have a question to ask you before we make our choice." Captain Marvel said, and it was clear she had the Dragon Emperor's attention. "Say we give you Vixen in return for Gwen and Kamala, what will become of Vixen?" Captain Marvel asked...
A few minutes later Captain Marvel called the Secret Warriors, minus Vixen back into the room for a private meeting. The meeting lasted almost ten minutes until Vixen was call back in. No words where said as Captain Marvel pressed her palm to the mirror and summoned the Emperor.
"Decision made?" he asked smoothly, to which Captain Marvel nodded her head. "Very good, which choice have you chosen?" Imperious asked smoothly. Captain Marvel was about to talk until Vixen spoke up.
"Imperious, I surrender to you." Vixen said in firm and convicted tone. But to her surprise Imperious laughed.
"I honestly admire your bravery Vixen, but this choice is not yours to make. I specifically gave the choice to Captain Marvel and the Secret Warriors. It is their choice to make." Imperious said wisely, and that shocked Vixen. "Captain Marvel, what is your decision?" Imperious asked.
"We have taken a vote... and we decided... you cannot have Vixen." Captain Marvel said firmly, and that earned a shocked look from Vixen.
"Then which have your friends have you chosen to liberate?" Imperious asked just as smoothly.
"We cannot decide on that either, Imperious." Captain Marvel answered honestly, which caused Imperious to sigh lightly.
"Then I will make the choice for you." Imperious said after a moment of his own silent contemplation.
"We said you cannot have Vixen!" Riri hissed angrily.
"Relax Riri William. I will spare Vixen as per your decision. But I will decide who to return: Gwen or Kamala." Imperious informed them, and that stunned everyone.
"But you said we could choose?" Dante asked in an accusing tone.
"I gave you the chance to choose whom to save, and you could not make a decision." Imperious said quickly. "So now the decision fall into my hands..." Imperious said wisely. Imperious thought for less than thirty seconds before he had reached his decision... "You will find your friend alive inside your headquarters." Imperious informed the team.
"Which of them did you choose?" Daisy asked the Emperor.
"You will discover that soon enough. I leave you with this: if you had handed me over Vixen, your friend who remains in my realm would no longer suffer. Her suffering will be caused by your hands alone..." Imperious said darkly as his eyes vanished, leaving the team alone in Gwen's bedroom.
-Later-
The team had rushed back to Wilson's Auto and had found Kamala sitting on the couch rocking back and forth, to which Dante ran up to her and wrapped her in his arms, which calmed her a little bit.
"What did you see in the nightmare you where trapped in?" Daisy asked as she put a hand on Kamala's shoulder.
"I cant bring myself to say." Kamala answered weakly. "I don't want to even remember it, it was just plain evil." Kamala informed the team, which earned head nods from everyone, except for Vixen who had gone off to be by herself.
"You should have turned me over." Vixen said lowly as Riri entered the guest room which served as her room.
"I don't sacrifice my friends." Riri said firmly.
"You choose to save me, someone you barely know over Gwen. Explain that choice." Vixen requested.
"It came down to a vote, and we couldn't decide who to save. We did know though that Gwen and Kamala would not want you to suffer on their behalf." Riri said in a comforting tone.
"Bet Captain Marvel wanted to hand me over." Vixen said bitterly.
"Actually she voted no... on handing you over that is." Riri informed the slightly older girl, which shocked Vixen. "She stuck up for you when we where debating. It ultimately came down to even though she doesn't fully trust you, you kept your promise and saved Daisy–"
"I did what any hero or heroine would do." Vixen interrupted.
"That earns trust, and you've earned mine." Riri said as she put a hand on Vixen's shoulder. "Trust me when I say that we will save Gwen, and beat Imperious's invasion force." Riri said in a proud tone.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Vixen said bitterly.
"I'm serious Vixen. With our combined strength, we will win." Riri said as she clenched a fist.
"We just barely won a battle Riri." Vixen said lowly. "If I know anything about Imperious. It's just that the war has just begun..."
To Be Continued...
