A/N - Practically An Avenger and X-Men Over Avengers - thanks so much for the kind reviews! As always, we're tickled to see a strong response and happy to see you sticking around as the story unfolds. Please enjoy as we make everything worse!

Chapter 94 - Missing In Madripoor

Nate knew something had gone wrong not because any panic buttons had gone off or check ins missed but because it was absolutely not like Kate to blow him off for this long, especially since last she had texted him, she was going to go help Billy deal with his overly interested, clingy shadow. And Kate by now should have been at least giving a dramatic play by play, if not an invitation for ice cream, which she seemed to think made any situation better.

Instead, he was getting radio silence - including when he reached out telepathically.

It was concerning enough that Nate actually asked Rachel to get on Cerebro and see what was up, while he did one more search, trying to find not just Kate but Billy. And when that yielded no results, he knew it was time to alert the adults.

Which brought him to Bed Stuy, where Kate's younger siblings were running circles around Clint demanding pizza for dinner. Nat answered the door - since Clint was obviously busy - and then immediately yanked him inside when she saw the look on his face.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"I don't know yet," Nate admitted, frustrated already. "And I should. I can't find Kate or Billy anywhere telepathically, and so far, neither can Rachel. On Cerebro." He was floating as he spoke, his eyes glowing brighter with every word. "She was supposed to be helping Billy with his Vojteck problem. And I can't find that guy either.

"Didn't Kate say you had trouble reading Daniel, too?" Clint asked from across the room.

Nate nodded. "Yeah, he has some kind of shielding."

"Natural or artificial?" Natasha asked with a growing frown.

"It's hard to tell the difference, to be honest," Nate said with a grimace. "But it feels artificial."

"Who has that kind of tech?" Clint asked.

"Right now, a dozen military organizations, Dr. Doom, and Hydra - those would be the only places with personalized tech like that," Natasha said, her eyes getting narrower by the second as she swept into motion, already sending alarms to the others on the team to gather at the tower so they could take stock of the situation and make sure no one else had gotten sucked into whatever was going on with Billy and Kate.

"What's your best guess?" Nate asked - refraining from peeking just because he was anxious about what that might mean, and half not wanting to know the answer.

"Either Doom or Hydra."

Nate nodded to himself. "So all hands, either way. Okay. Alright. Got it." The group began to move - and Nate stepped in by helping the smaller kids find their coats and pull their boots on. They'd be safest at the tower if either Doom or Hydra was making a move. And the kids had gotten used to him helping them, too.

The ride to the tower was mostly silent among those on the team, but Kate's closest siblings were suspicious and wary as they watched their parents and Nate go into mission mode.

When they got to the tower, Natasha started looking into her systems to see who was there already and who had yet to show. She could track who was coming in from the screen on her widow's bite, and to start, she wasn't overly concerned when James wasn't en route, but she sent him a ping all the same to make sure he knew to get there as soon as he could or at least answer her so she knew what to expect.

Her stride lengthened as she stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor, and for the handful of Avengers that weren't there, she had return messages stating their estimated arrival time. But still, nothing from James. She frowned to herself, thinking it had to be the fact that he was in a test - or perhaps he was prepping and in a rush to get there as Logan often did, but that only meant he was her next phone call. She called his number, and had put the phone to her ear as they stepped into the main conference area for the team. When she looked up across the room at Tony, he also had his phone to his ear.

He gestured, doing his best to try not to look worried. "I'm trying to get through to the kid," he explained.

She raised an eyebrow and held eye contact. "Me too. Any luck?"

"No," Tony said as he turned and went into motion to start his own search for James. "He had trackers in his clothes. Put them there myself …"

Natasha swore under her breath and headed after him, leaving Nate and the kids with Clint and the gathering Avengers.

Tony had started muttering out orders to his AI system on the way, then barely beat her to his lab, where the computers were already humming and working fast at his hastily shouted out commands. He was anxious even before the search could start properly, fiddling with his hands and fidgeting, impatiently waiting for his tech to tell them that they were worrying prematurely. "Who's behind it?" he asked before the first scans could finish.

"That's what I'm about to find out," Natasha told him as she'd already taken over one of his other computers. It was a mark of how worried he was when he didn't even bother trying to dissuade her. She was digging into her own protocols when she found a message in her text messages. She pulled it up quickly, expecting to get the response from James she was waiting for or better still, something from Kate only to find a warning instead.

Any attempt to intervene will only end in them dying. I will contact you for a trade. The message came with Viper's personal symbol, not the Hydra logo, telling Natasha quickly that this was simply for Viper's interests and likely had little or nothing to do with Hydra. Not that she wouldn't use Hydra to keep her prizes.

Natasha glared at the text, but responded all the same. I need proof that they're alive. All of them. Tony's computers were still searching, but Natsha knew this would be the fastest way to confirm who… she just didn't expect Viper to respond so quickly. Kate looked angry beyond words with tears streaming down her face. She likely didn't even realize she'd been crying by the look of her. Billy was in a similar state, surely for the same reasons, but she couldn't help but cover her mouth when she saw James glaring hard and wearing an eye patch that didn't hide the trickle of dried blood on his cheek. "Stop the search, Tony. You're not going to find him like that."

Tony swore as Nate and Clint caught up to Natasha, but before Natasha could answer, Nate paled, unable to keep from peeking at that. His hearing fuzzed out as instead of paying attention to the adults starting to look more grim, he reached out to Rachel to let her know what was going on … and to see if she could find the three missing X-Men.

Weeks passed and across the world in Viper's den in Madripoor, the trio had long been broken up. After something horrible that Viper had used on James met its peak efficacy on the second day, she'd had him dragged to her private lab gasping but otherwise paralyzed and looking terrified as they took him away unable to fight back.

Meanwhile, when it was clear that Billy and Kate had taken all they could, Viper had them brought to the dungeons to rest and to refuel until she decided they could tolerate more. They were still close enough that when James was being tortured by Viper, the others could hear the screams. At least, until Viper closed the door to her torture chamber behind her. That was somehow worse when they didn't know if he was even still alive. Or guessing what she was doing to him when he wasn't screaming. Nothing going on in her lair could be anything but terrifying.

But over the course of their captivity, Viper had worked hard to get information out of Kate and Billy, and though it wasn't complete, she'd still gotten good intel. It didn't seem to work to hurt Kate to get answers from her like it didn't work to hurt Billy to get answers from him … but if she used Billy against Kate and vice-versa, it did the trick quickly enough. Especially after she'd used James as an example and sometimes as the motivation for Kate or Billy to talk.

What Billy and Kate didn't know, though, was that even though so much time had passed … she hadn't asked James anything. She'd been too busy trying to test his limits, to see how efficient his healing factor was, to see where his pain tolerance levels were, how stubborn he was, and if she could break him.

That was about to change though.

"You're doing well for someone so inexperienced," Viper told James as she rested her hand on his forearm, but that only earned her a low, rumbling growl. He hadn't broken. And that put a smile on Viper's face. She truly hadn't had a challenge in years. "Yes, yes, I know, you have no interest in doing this like a reasonable person with even a shred of self preservation. But I have to give you one last chance before I start …" she ran her hand through his hair and he tried to dislodge it, though he didn't really have a chance at that working. "... digging around and rearranging the furniture."

"I'm not helping you screw over Tony Stark or anyone else."

"Who said anything about Tony Stark?" Viper asked, pausing as she smiled a little wider. "I simply want to establish a few facts, the most important of which being that you will give me everything I want."

Instead of a needle, she jammed a dart into his leg and James watched as the liquid in the dart slowly drained down.

"I'd almost destroyed these," Viper told him with a wide grin and it wasn't long at all before James was squirming. "But it seems I'm more sentimental than I thought. I have no idea if the compound that is now coursing through your veins has gotten stronger or weaker with time, but it was enough years ago to get your father to tell me anything I wanted to know." She leaned closer. "And he truly was the best I ever got to torture. You will learn to obey me and my daughter. By force or by threat - it doesn't matter. You will heel."

"What do you want from me?"

Viper smiled wider. "Everything." As James found it hard to focus his vision, Viper leaned in close enough that she was all he could focus on, which was when he leaned back trying to think, going fuzzy as the drugs really started to kick in. She watched for when his pupils finally stabilized, one hand on his bare, bruised chest as she paid strict attention to his heartbeat. "Are either of your friends important enough for you to want to save them?" James nodded long before he mumbled out a 'yes', and again Viper smiled before she started pushing for yes and no answers, knowing he wouldn't remember any of the questions she'd asked him - which left him wide open for the kind of mental manipulation that was always devastating to his father.

This one was a long game, after all. The boy's healing would make her usual methods of brainwashing and manipulation a little harder to set in … but it wasn't like she didn't have extensive experience in exactly that, either. And the boy was useful. If not for the obvious means to get into Stark Industries, there was the matter of Katarina's eventual ascension within Hydra and Madripoor.

Viper knew she only ruled Hydra by virtue of her reputation outweighing those belonging to men at nearly her level of influence. And those men, no matter how bold, knew how the Red Skull had met his end at the mercy of Viper's poisons and tortures. There was no line she wouldn't cross.

And yet, as proud as Viper was of Katarina and how beautifully the girl had fallen into her own footsteps, Katarina was cursed with her father's pride in claiming victory too soon. She'd been a tender sixteen when Viper finally allowed her to murder her half sister to secure her position at the head of Hydra. And that had been telling of the kind of bearing the girl possessed. Viper preferred to make her declaration of victory as she stood on the bodies of those she'd toppled. Katarina joyfully proclaimed her win while the fight was still underway. But … if Viper could give the girl leverage … in the form of Logan's son - his namesake X-Man and Avenger- on a leash to act as her personal attack dog, and in matters concerning Madripoor, that would cement the girl's status outright… no one would cross Katarina. But that was likely months out, if not longer.

All of that hinged on which parent the boy's mind was more similar to. Viper knew how to break Logan. She never did get the opportunity to find out how to break K. But both of them had decades of experience in counter-intelligence and torture. Their child knew nothing. Which left him vulnerable - something Viper was going to enjoy using against him. It'd been far too long since Viper had twisted a Howlett into painful knots and she looked forward to finding out everything she'd need to make him bend to her will.

While Viper was working James over, Kate and Billy were given cells in her dungeon. Unlike James, they both needed rest or they'd be useless to Viper anyway. The first time she'd let them go to their cells, both Billy and Kate had more or less collapsed into sleep nearly immediately, but as the days went on, they were starting to keep better track of each other - and trying to help each other.

Naturally, they weren't always in the cells at the same time, and even if they were, they could sometimes hear James - so they were never truly relaxed. And if Billy was honest, he was getting jumpier the longer this went on. When he couldn't see Kate, he was worried about her and James, especially after she admitted on the fourth night that she didn't actually remember some of what had happened.

He was actually, surprisingly, more worried about the others than himself, if only because his grandfather had literally told him nightmare stories once he was old enough about what would happen if someone got a hold of him, and he'd spent his preteen and teenage years more or less going overly paranoid (or not-so-paranoid) possibilities with his grandfather to keep himself safe and to keep Genoshan secrets safe - he'd had to do that before Erik would even consider agreeing to Wanda's schooling proposal.

So this felt weirdly expected - at least the part where Katarina kept trying to get him on Hydra's side, trying to make a deal so that she and Viper would have inroads into Genosha. He wasn't happy about it, and he was wildly unprepared for how hard it would be to hold his line when his boyfriend and one of his best friends were hurting that badly, but he'd kind of figured that at least once in his life someone would threaten him to get to Genosha.

The problem was that this was so personal. If he wasn't convinced Viper would try to kill anyone in her way, he might even have been tempted to deal with Katarina. He knew his mom could stand up against these Hydra goons anyway, so he wasn't worried about that. He was more worried that if he walked out of that place, he might be walking out alone.

So, yeah, he was kind of feeling protective - and he was only too aware of the fact that Katarina was using that against him, like she was using it against the others. Didn't mean he wasn't going to fall for it, though.

He was exhausted and sore and still sometimes muttering attempted spells under his breath just for something to keep himself sane as one of the guards half dragged him with a grip on one arm down the hall toward the cells he and Kate had close to each other. His head came up fast, though, when he realized he and Kate must have arrived at the cells close to the same time - or at least, her cell door was still open, but he could hear her.

And then he looked past his huge guard to see that Kate's guard was in the cell with her.

"Hands to yourself," Kate said, her voice a higher pitch than Billy was used to hearing from her. It was clear Kate was dizzy as she pushed to get the guard back and away from her a little bit, but the size difference was causing her some real issues. He had a hold of one of her wrists, and was jockeying for the other, but Kate wasn't about to make it easy on him.

She managed to keep that hand to herself, but it was clear that wasn't going to last long. Still … she had to try. He grasped for her arm again and Kate was stuck using methods for close combat … and she started with the classic angry college girl route - and kneed him in the groin. He didn't lose his grip on her wrist - if anything, he clamped down tighter. But it did make him fold partway over where she could pull back slightly. Her back had already been against the wall, but she shifted along the wall as the guard doubled over. She braced herself to keep from falling and once again pulled her knee up hard - breaking the guard's nose in the process.

But he still didn't let her go. As soon as the crunch - and his scream echoed the cell, he pulled on her arm hard, yanking her off her feet and putting herself at a distinct disadvantage from the ground. So she used what she had available … her feet. She was trying to hit vital points on the guy, and though she didn't break anything she wanted to on him, she did manage to kick him away from her enough that he was nearly all the way back in the hallway - and furious.

Billy's guard had stopped to watch the fight - and Billy could swear he heard him laughing both when the guard would get in good shots and when Kate did. But that also meant the guy wasn't paying as much attention to Billy as he could have been, and Billy wasn't about to stand aside. In one quick motion, he yanked his arm free from his guard and then pulled back and punched the guard menacing Kate as hard as he possibly could.

Kate's guard went out like a light - but Billy almost didn't register that, because his hand felt like it was on fire, and he ended up folded over it, holding it tightly to his chest. He had absolutely, definitely broken something.

"Billy, duck!" Kate called out, which was about the only thing that could have broken Billy out of his thoughts enough to move, so the first time his assigned guard tried to hit him, he missed. The second time, though, the guy grabbed a handful of Billy's hair so he couldn't dodge.

The guard hit Billy hard enough that he was seeing stars and then kicked him in the chest so that Billy felt all the breath leave him. Which was about when Kate half stumbled out of her own cell to try to return the favor and protect him.

"Get back in your cell now," the guard bellowed at Kate as he raised a weapon.

"Or what, tough guy?" Kate shot back almost automatically, her eyes flashing as she ignored the guard to instead try to get to Billy. "This place already sucks. I'm just helping a friend here."

The second she took another step forward, the guard fired his taser and held the button down until she hit the floor. Then, when he saw she wasn't getting up right away, he dragged Billy back into his cell and locked the door tight. Once Billy was secured, the guy dragged his coworker into the alleyway between the cells and gestured for Kate to move. "I'll hit you again with it if you really want me to. But I'd suggest you move yourself." He was still holding the weapon in his hand, finger on the trigger and waiting.

But when she didn't move, he narrowed his eyes - not trusting that she wouldn't try something. So he hit her with the taser again before he dragged her into her cell, too - while her muscles were still twitching and uncontrolled.

He did not, however bother trying to rouse his coworker and once the cells were locked, he simply walked away.

The guard was the first to get up - and he looked between the two young heroes before he pushed himself upright and grumbled his way out of the holding cell area, leaving them alone but for each other's company and the ever-persistent screaming from upstairs.

Kate leaned against the metal bars of her cell, not at all in the mood to try moving, let alone getting up, though she was at least glad to see that the guard who'd been in her face was gone. So when Billy started to stir, she mustered up her best smile for him. "My hero," she sang out to him.

"Oh, shut up," Billy grumbled, holding his hand closer to his chest. It was already turning all sorts of discouraging shades of purple.

"You really are though," Kate said. "I wasn't fighting very well."

"Neither was I," Billy argued."I even broke my hand…"

"Yeah, you need to practice hand-to-hand when we get home," Kate agreed. "I know Cap taught you better, Billy. You lose all form when you lose your temper too?"

"Is this a critique?" he shot back in disbelief. "I broke my hand and my face and you're critiquing me?"

"You wouldn't let me praise your heroics!"

"Because we're still stuck in here!"

"Yeah, but he didn't get what he wanted and lemme tell you something, Billy, he's not the first to try," Kate said, dropping her tease. "So yes, thank you."

"We gotta get out of here," Billy said after a long silence. "Before something horrible-er happens."

"Between your parents, my parents, James' dads, and the entire roster of active superheroes, I'm fully expecting a valiant rescue any second now," Kate said firmly. "It's not a question of 'if' we'll get rescued. It's 'when', Billy boy."

"I guess I'm just impatient," Billy said quietly. "Shut up."

"Yeah, if you think I'm chomping at the bit to go another round with any of these Hydra creeps…" Kate let out a long sigh that lapsed into silence punctuated by a snarl that startled both of them nearly out of their skins before they heard James' voice for the first time in they didn't know how long:

"That's not the deal."

For a long second, Kate and Billy stared at each other. And then, Kate swallowed hard. "Okay, so… silver lining," she said when Billy looked as white as a sheet, "at least he's still able to form arguments?"

"That … doesn't sound like solid negotiation," Billy pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm trying very hard not to think about the fact that it sounds like he's already made a deal, Billy. Trying very, very hard."

"Yeah, that's … this is bad."

For a couple days after their attempted uprising against the guards, Billy and Kate didn't see each other at all - which had both of them worried about the repercussions the others were facing. So Kate was relieved to see Billy in his cell when a guard dragged her back to hers- even if he looked much worse for the wear. Not that she could judge, seeing as she felt like moving was an imposition and couldn't for the life of her remember what had happened between morning and evening that day.

She wanted to ask him how he was holding up and to try to give him some optimism to hold onto to stay sane, but no sooner had the guard locked the door and left than someone put his foot in the door to the hallway and strolled inside.

"Kit Kat, it's been so long," Daniel said, announcing his presence in the cockiest way possible. "Looking a little rough. What's wrong? Haven't had time to hit the spa yet?"

"Du Bois, if you so much as breathe the wrong way, I'm-"

"Oh please. You couldn't beat me when you were full steam. What in the world makes you think you can do it now?"

"First of all, you cheated. You've never taken me in a fight. I was fencing. You were cheating."

"Well, I feel like celebrating. Maybe I'll cut you some slack and give you a head start."

"Go to hell, Du Bois," Kate grumbled.

"He's already there," Billy pointed out, his eyes narrowed. He hadn't really met Danny before the kidnapping, just heard Kate complaining about him and then suddenly had to deal with him in-person in a collar and he was still mad about it.

"Actually, this place is getting better by the day," Daniel said, spinning Billy's way. "I should probably thank you for that."

"Excuse me?" Billy stared at him. "What?"

"I said I should thank you," Daniel said slowly and very clearly. "Your boyfriend got me off the hook. Finally." He paused, then shrugged. "Well … not really his call, but still. The results are what I was hoping for."

"What are you talking about?" Billy asked, significantly paler than before - which was saying something with how bad of a shape he was in.

Daniel smiled widely, then turned toward Kate. "You guys really don't know yet? I don't know if I should tell you."

"He's bluffing," Kate said, holding Daniel's gaze. "As if James would ever help a pathetic loser like you."

"Like I said - it's not his choice," Daniel argued. "But it got me off the hook anyhow, so I really don't care."

Kate sighed and leaned against the bars. "You gonna tell us or are you just going to talk yourself in circles?"

"I don't know. What's it worth to you? Have to be worth my time to clue you in to Viper's fun."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't be down here if she didn't want you to be in the first place."

"Actually, she said she didn't care if you two knew anything or not. I'm just in a good mood."

"Then share with the class, Danathon."

"Oh, Kit Kat, you're so impatient," Daniel said. "I don't know if I should spill though. Might just break your little friend's heart."

Despite herself, Kate glanced toward Billy, who did, admittedly, look sick over what James could have gotten into that had Daniel so pleased. "He's a big boy. He can handle it," she decided, though Billy was quiet enough that she wasn't actually sure he could.

"Oh, what the hell," Daniel said, looking between the two of them. "You see … Viper is getting ready to retire. More or less. Katarina is set to step in, step up… not just in Hydra, but here, in Madripoor. Trouble is … well. Those places take issue with women in charge that haven't scratched and scrabbled and slept their way to the top on their own. So … Viper decided her little princess needs the right kind of credentials. Fill in the blanks, guys. Pretty sure you can figure this one out without the flow chart. Won't be too long and there'll be a lovely little wedding announcement staring the new Viper and her incredibly unwilling groom."

Billy went from pale to green, so Kate ended up speaking before her brain had fully processed it all. "Okay, so, James as decor I actually get, but who in their right futzing minds thought you were decent arm candy?"

Daniel chuckled. "It's not about arm candy, Kit Kat. Like any other affair dealing in the trade of animals, it's about pedigrees. His father held a lot of sway around here, so … that will make her taking over Madripoor easier. Hydra will follow."

"Still doesn't explain you," Kate insisted, her nose turned up.

"I qualified for ambition and viciousness. I'm sure you figured out my past by now, Katie."

"Heard you killed your mom, yeah," Kate said. "What, trying to impress Viper and get yourself married off? I thought you didn't want that."

"Didn't realize she'd take to it that well," Daniel said. "But that's nothing compared to how happy she is right now."

"Just stop," Billy said quietly.

"Billy, it's fine," Kate said quickly. "It's fine, I promise, it's fine."

But Daniel had caught it clearly and turned toward Kate with a grin. "Toldja."

"Shut up," Kate said, her gaze on Billy. "Her plans aren't going to matter once Billy gets his powers back anyway. Right, Billy? Pull a Tommy on this chick?"

"Kate, if he made a deal-" Billy started to say, but Kate cut him off.

"And we're not speculating," she said. "We're not going down that road until we have better intel than Danny here trying to lord anything over us. And even if - even if - Katarina has her claws in him, there's an easy solution to that problem. My mom's codename."

"Oh, that's cute. Do you think that'll happen before or after the ceremony?" Daniel asked. Then clicked his tongue. "Wait … that's still the guy that dies, right?"

"Context clues, you neanderthal. It's a metaphor, not a straight-shot comparison," Kate grumbled.

"Hey. You're the one that made that comparison," Daniel said. "Oh, yeah … that will probably get the attention of a few Avengers, too. Who do you think will come running first?"

"Better hope it's not either of my parents leading the charge, Du Bois. They're hoping for an excuse to accidentally on purpose murder you."

"Hey. Believe it or not, I'm only a pawn here. Just like both of you."

"Yeah? Then if you're out from under Viper, why not just leave?" Kate challenged him.

"Believe it or not … she is very generous." He spun toward Billy. "Katarina, however … she doesn't really know how to share, so you're out of luck, bud."

"Uh-huh. Generosity isn't one of the many words I've heard to describe Viper." Kate crossed her arms.

Daniel smiled wider. "Don't worry, Kit Kat. You'll see." He winked at her and turned on his heel to leave. "Nice chatting with you. As always." With that, he closed the door behind him, and Kate was left with an abnormally quiet Billy and a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Katarina had been operating on instructions to get Billy on board to stay with Hydra. And he was a lot easier to work with now that he knew James wasn't an option. Or at least that's how Katarina was taking it. She was enjoying her work more and more. Billy was restrained, stuck to a table and directly across from Kate for the first time in a long while, which could only mean bad things were about to happen. Still, it was a different set up from what they'd initially woken up to in Madripoor and it had both Kate and Billy on edge. For one thing, the room Viper had taken James into seemed to be soundproofed, and they had no idea what their missing friend had been dealing with all this time when Viper wasn't allowing them to hear the product of her tortures.

As it turned out, Katarina's style was entirely different from Viper's when they weren't in the same room together. She was more tense, unrushed about her movements as if she was truly worried about getting every little step right. A sadistic perfectionist.

Billy and Kate shared a look as Katarina hummed to herself, choosing her tools and poisons. They honestly didn't know what else she might want and both of them were feeling incredibly guilty for having spilled as much as they did. And to start with … she wasn't asking them anything. Not one question. Not one request … just pure and simple torture and terror. And she dove into her work.

"You can't kill him," Kate said once Billy had finally quit screaming from the last round of poison.

"No," Katarina agreed. "But there is plenty to do without killing him." She smiled, then turned to go back toward Billy. "It's much more challenging to keep you alive and see how far you can be pushed." She paused, her hand on Billy's arm as she watched the readouts, ignoring the glare he was levelling her way. "Vojteck, perhaps you can do something new while I work with the drugs.." She tapped her fingers rhythmically. "I need a few things to continue this session … would you monitor them both until I return? I know you wanted to get back to working on the girl. Lord knows the guards already have."

"You act as if I need your input to do my job properly," Vojteck said. "Another session - and you've again forgotten something critical. Perhaps one day you'll get it right."

Katarina paused and the two of them shared a look. "My job has been significantly harder than yours lately."

"Only because you're still afraid of what might go wrong should you fall short of your perfectionism," Vojeck said with a tight smile. "I too, am looking forward to what may happen when you slip and make an error with your dog."

Katarina narrowed her eyes at him and spun on her heel. "Try to control yourself. I'm not done playing with her."

Vojteck smirked, shaking his head to himself as his sister left the room. "Hello, Katie," he said as he pulled up a stool to sit next to her. "Do you prefer my sister's warm approach over mine?"

"Your English needs work. There is nothing about that girl that is warm," Kate said flatly.

Vojteck smiled and tutted. "It's nice to see you, too. This is easier than working with your other friend."

"So, what, you've accepted your sad, miserable lot in life, Teckie?"

"I've accepted that you're trying to rile me, but you're the one who has something to gain by doing so," Vojteck said. "Even if you still have just a little left to lose. Be cooperative and I'll be sure to make it quick."

"She's not wrong, though," Billy said, his voice soft and hoarse. His gaze was glued to Vojteck, and he looked furious in a different way than he had been with Viper and Katarina.

"And you think your position is much better than hers? Just because you've put a spell on me that won't let me touch you?" Vojteck asked with an amused expression playing at his features. "Genosha is all but open to us. Your compliance is no longer necessary. Your mother and robot are indisposed - with any luck at all, permanently. The only reason you're even alive now is because our mother thinks you'll be useful to keep the Katarina's pet in line."

Billy blinked. "...what?" He couldn't help it; he was too tired and upset to hide how much it hurt to be reduced to leverage against James.

"Well … at least until she doesn't need you to keep him in line. That's just a matter of time," he amended. "Then we can circle back around to discuss your outlook on the world."

When Kate could see that Billy was too hurt to say anything, she broke in again. "That's bull. He's lying, Billy. Maybe not entirely but that's just how Viper is, Billy. She thinks people are expendable. I mean, she can barely be bothered to hide that she's only keeping her son around for manual labor and as a spare heir."

Vojteck smiled at that, tapping his chin. "And … what do you suppose our reason to keep you breathing might be?"

Kate did her best aloof shrug considering how she was pinned down. "Oh, I dunno. Half the Avengers would go ballistic otherwise. Not like I haven't been used to coerce Steve or Tony or my parents, like, half a dozen times before I was twelve."

"The Avengers are over rated and fading away before our very eyes," Vojteck said. "Perhaps … in knowing that, it might be better to let you live, after all." He smiled wider, and it was easy to see the same glint in his eyes that Viper had when she was feeling malicious. "But then, we all have our thoughts on how this should pan out. For instance, I felt as though DuBois was underpaid for his part in this … fiasco. He has now lost the position my mother had hand selected for him. He should be given some sort of reparations for having his place taken."

"You actually paid that idiot?" Kate rolled her eyes. "To do what? Annoy me while you actually captured everyone?"

"That's really not any of your concern," Vojteck said. "Perhaps I should let him have you, now. To ease his broken heart. He was set to become the right hand of Hydra's head. He deserves compensation."

"Absolutely not," Billy said, with all the force of his grandfather, and in the same tone.

Vojteck turned toward him with a smile still in place, though he let it fall easily. "You would prefer I kill her then?"

"Well, no," Billy said, frowning and pulling against his restraints again, especially since Kate looked stunned.

"Yes, that's the answer. I'll leave her fate to you," Vojteck said. "Live or die? It should be an easy choice."

Billy let out a frustrated sound, fresh tears springing up as he did so. "You know what the worst part is?" he spit out. "I really believed your act. I bought into your neglected little brother story, the bad family dynamics, the whole nine. And you're just as sick as they are - just in a different way."

"Every lie is based in the truth, Billy. At least the believable ones are." He gestured openly. "Tell me where the lie was, though."

"Billy, he just admitted I've been right this whole time," Kate sang out, trying to get Billy to keep from breaking down.

But that prompted Vojteck to turn and smile at Kate. "You've convinced me that killing you would be too kind." He kept eye contact with Kate as he pulled out his cell phone, then took a moment to text Daniel with instructions. "I'm only going to ask that he break your hands on the way out."

"You've got a death wish," Kate snarled at him. "Not that I blame you. Probably better than whatever method your sister's got planned for you. Even if Mom is creative."

"If she gets her way," Vojteck said. "But I've seen some doubt between both of them. Katarina is nowhere near as competent as she should be handling venoms and poison considering her mutation. Pitiful, really. But then… I guess you never know."

"You're delusional," Kate said, still glaring. "Like your mother would let you run anything more than a hot dog stand."

Katarina chose that moment to join them again, laughing in spite of herself. "Is that what you call your friend there?" she said to Kate. "She did have him pull in the prince - and we used him to get you. All in all, that's a bit better than nothing." She rested a hand on Vojteck's shoulder. "If you're going to let DuBois in here, you'll need to clear him by Mother's guards. They're not letting anyone in without clearance while she's playing."

Vojteck nodded once, smiled maliciously at Kate, then turned to leave. Katarina watched him go for a long moment, then turned toward her two captives. "I'm sure he has a plan. It would be interesting to actually see what he could manage. But, I'm afraid I don't have my mother's patience."

"You don't say," Billy bit out, angry the more Kate looked pale, especially because until that point, she had honestly been doing a lot to keep him sane in all this.

Katarina smiled again. "If he was more useful, then I'd keep him, but … the only one of any use in my family is my mother." She paused and turned toward Kate, smiling wider. "And before you ask, no, that's not based on any attachments. She's doing me an incredible favor, so … I'll do her one by disposing of any distractions or irritations that might slow her pace."

"Okay, then, do me a favor and make sure you kick your idiot brother's ass while I'm still alive so he can hate every minute of me being right and gloating about it. Turnabout is fair play," Kate said, getting some of her voice back.

"He'll be dead before the week is out," Katarina said easily. "I've gotten tired of listening to him preen."

Kate shook her head as she watched Katarina. "I don't suppose you're in the mood to stop him from the whole … Daniel issue, though," she said, her eyes narrowed.

Katarina stopped, tipping her head as if she was truly considering it. "I suppose it depends on how he speaks to me when he gets here." She smiled at Kate, fluttering her eyelashes just as Kate had done moments before, and began laying out her tools again, readjusting them, double checking her charts, and looking perfectly at home preparing to torture Billy some more. "I never wanted anything to do with Daniel DuBois romantically, but I had long ago come to accept the match. I almost feel as though something is owed in this transaction."

She was just drawing up a measure of a vile looking electric violet liquid when Daniel and Vojteck returned. Daniel froze just inside the door, obviously not having expected to see Katarina there, let alone taking a measure of some nefarious fluid. She smiled wider seeing his hesitation, though he was quick to defer.

"Katarina," he said, bowing his head slightly and avoiding eye contact. "Your brother said I might be able to remove the girl for you?"

"What do you plan to do with her?" Katarina asked, hesitating before she took a more open assessment of Daniel, then drew back a few extra cc's of whatever she had in her syringe.

"I … thought I'd take Kit-kat out of your hair, and somewhere she'll never bother Hydra again." He put his hand over his heart. "As for details, I'm not sure yet. But I'm open to suggestions."

"Clever phrasing," she said, smiling to herself as she set down the syringe. "If we hear so much as a peep from her again, it will be your head on the line."

"High bar to clear, Du Bois," Kate said in a strained voice. "You gonna risk her wrath, really? You can barely take me on in fencing. You really think you can do anything without me ruining your promise to 'not make a peep' or whatever?"

Daniel glared at her for a moment, then turned to Katarina. "Once I get her somewhere secure, I assure you, she won't be trouble. But … I'd happily do what you like if you can help me get that far …"

"Are you asking me or Vojteck?" Katarina asked - and it was a fair question that neither Kate nor Billy knew meant very different stakes for payment.

Daniel hedged, then let out a breath. "It would be easier to deal with the city if you'd help, Katarina. One last favor in exchange for gracefully stepping aside."

"The alternative is that you simply die," Katarina said, then started toward Kate looking just as nasty as her mother did, before she started singing out something in a language Kate didn't recognize at first, even if she couldn't quite look away from her once she'd started in. By the time Katarina started singing in English - making her orders for Kate crystal clear - follow Daniel. Be quiet and obedient - Kate wasn't even sassing her. And by the time she cradled Kate's head in her hands to continue her song, Kate didn't flinch. Even when Katarina released the restraints on Kate without any threats of handcuffs or poison, Kate wasn't herself at all.

Daniel was smirking crookedly as Kate found herself upright and Katarina turned his way. "You have two hours."

"Stop it," Billy said, his eyes wide with horror as he watched the scene unfold. "Stop it, please."

Katarina sighed in a tone of longsuffering. "You have nothing to offer to make your demands. Or even requests. She's not in pain. She'll be perfectly unharmed."

"Liar." This time, there was something else behind Billy's words, an echoing quality that no one there had heard from him before, even Vojteck, who'd been in Westchester with him.

She furrowed her brows, though the smile never really slipped. "I know that when people see my powerset at work it's a bit unsettling. Loss of free will can be disturbing to witness. Especially to those that have spent too much time in the United States. Let me ease your mind, though. If it makes you feel better, my little Wolverine would not submit to my voice or my touch. He needed to be poisoned as well before he'd bow to my influence. He's learning quickly, though. We've truly made great progress. He doesn't even fight me when I drug him with a kiss anymore."

Billy's eyes flashed brighter - with real light - and his voice echoed again. "I Want You Dead," he said, his voice dripping with anger and fear. And he didn't even register that Katarina had stopped smiling as her heart stopped because he was glaring at Daniel too. "Drop dead, you bastard."

And to Billy's utter surprise - considering none of his spells worked in a dampener… Katarina simply dropped. And so did Daniel.

All three of the remaining teenagers in the room were temporarily frozen in shock, but Kate was faster to react that Vojteck was, grabbing the syringe Katarina had meant to use on Billy. Vojteck, to his credit, realized immediately what she planned to do and dove for her, resulting in a wrestling match in the lab while Billy was still tied down. He couldn't seem to get any more spells to work, and he didn't know how he'd managed the ones he had gotten to work, so he could only watch as Kate and Vojteck jockeyed for control of Katarina's syringe. They were surprisingly evenly matched, considering how long Viper had been working over her captives, but Kate was running on desperate adrenaline that helped her match Vojteck's physical advantage.

Plus, Kate had trained with her mom. Kate managed to work herself around to put an elbow in Vojteck's groin, he let go on instinct, and she jabbed him with the needle, panting and glaring at him as he sank to his knees. He had some immunity built up to Viper's poisons, so he wasn't in nearly as dire straits as Billy would have been, but that didn't mean he wasn't dizzy and sore and hurt all the same.

Kate kicked him in the stomach and then looked around the room for something heavier, finally deciding on the metal tray of Katarina's chemicals to hit Vojteck over the head with. And then, once he was safely unconscious, Kate rushed to get Billy off of the table. Both she and Billy weren't operating anywhere close to where they needed to be to get out, not after enduring Viper's tortures, but if Kate could pick the lock on the collar, they could at least get out and get help for James.

"What happened?" Kate asked, already setting to work while Billy stared at the bodies on the floor, his eyes wide and his breathing shallow.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I was just so mad… But I've been mad this whole time and that hasn't worked."

"Well, whatever happened, thank you," Kate said, pausing her efforts to get him free to kiss his cheek.

Billy let his shoulders drop and finally looked away from the bodies toward Kate. "Hey, you're my best friend. I wasn't gonna let them kill you or - or freaking sell you off to that tool."

"Seriously, thank you," Kate said, glancing down at Daniel and shuddering. "I didn't know she could do that. That was like … like something Nate's capable of, honestly. Only worse because it wasn't a mental takeover." She made a face, shook her head, and turned back to Billy. "So, like, do I need to make you that mad again or something because that was super helpful and I'm not above telling you how I was aware of everything happening…" She trailed off and caught his gaze when she saw he was staring at the bodies again. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah…" Billy swallowed. "Sorry. I just… I've never done that before."

"Pretty sure no one's gotten their mutant powers to work in a collar before, Billy-boy."

"No, I meant - I've never actually killed anyone. Not directly, anyway. I think maybe a few things I did for my grandfather when I was younger got people killed but…" He swallowed hard. "We need to find James."

"And get him snuggling you stat. Agreed," Kate said. "I'm working on it, I promise. Dad and 'Ro taught me everything there is to know about lockpicking." She twirled her fingers and then went back to work, muttering under her breath about how pissed her parents, his parents, and Scott were gonna be - pushing aside everything else, the way her mom had taught her, with the mental promise that she'd fall apart after she saved her friends.

Finally, she managed to get the collar open, did a little dance to congratulate herself, and then threw the collar across the room and took Billy's arm. "Okay, let's get out of here," she said.