Back again! And if anyone had any objections, I'll get this story out and start working on the next chapter.
Living Legend.
You know in the movies or books about love, romance and all that stuff, they talk about the sudden feelings they get when the main person meets the person they're supposed to end up madly in love with. The feeling of butterflies in their stomach, the light headedness, and sighing every time you find yourself thinking about how perfect the other person is.
I had none of those.
Well, yes, I did have butterflies in my stomach, but I can put that towards the ordeal I went through beforehand. And the light headedness; that too can be contributed to the ordeal. I mean, I was jogging all day, then running for my life, so yes, easily explainable. Sighing every so often? You try calming down an extremely excitable 4 foot tall dog. Honestly, Voltaire was so eager to look around, smelling everything then bounding around: I'm just grateful he didn't pee in his excitement. But after checking everything out, he calmed down, allowing me the chance to get something for the both of us to eat.
Heading into the kitchen and straight for the fridge, I spared a glance at the clock above, and cringed when the time more or less smacked me in the face. It was pretty much 2 in the morning; and I was meeting up with Quatermaine in a few hours for training! "Dear, Lord, I am a masochist." I groaned out loud. Voltaire whined inquisitively, cocking his head to the side in the most heartbreakingly adorable way.
I couldn't help but smile at him before going back to searching through the fridge for something to eat. The large steak was perfect for Voltaire and an apple & tub of yoghurt for me. "Now, no mess, ok?" I asked my large furry friend, "I'd like to leave this room the way we found it." All eyes were on the steak. Rolling my eyes, I held it in front, and was quite surprised with how gently he took the steak from my hand then walked over to the island counter, sat and started eating.
Carrying my meal to the same island and sitting on the stool, I let my mind wonder to the incident in Central Park not 4 hours ago. A dozen thoughts were racing in my mind, but none more concerning that the one about why that gang was after me. I may be known for my knack of inventing and all things computer related, but that only seemed to be interesting to super-villain groups, so why would a small time gang want me? :Unless they just wanted to rape me, and I'm over thinking things.: my subconscious offered sagely, :like your hero said 'Do not give in to this fear'.: That was another concern.
While I was very grateful for the rescue, and the company back to the mansion, the guy raised a few more questions than answers, like what was he supposed to be in that costume? Then, of course, him being in the right spot at the right time. And more importantly, what was he talking about before, the 'events are in motions' part? Was that just an empty answer to my impulsive request, or was he being serious? And if he was, that what events was he talking about?
"Maybe I'm over thinking about this guy, too." I told myself, crunching through my apple, "for all I know, he could be a new hero coming out to fight the super-villains." Sounds reasonable enough.
:Plus, it'll mean seeing him more often, and you can't deny that he has an amazing voice, and equally amazing rock hard body.: my subconscious purred, and I swear it laughed when I choked on my yoghurt in response.
When I finally stopped chocking and regained my composure, I tried not to think too much about how obvious my subconscious was being about this guy. OK, ok, fine! I will admit, from a completely innocent point of view, that he was incredible; what with his prowess at taking on 10 armed thugs and being incredibly acrobatic, then only moments later how gentle he was handling me. My face heated brilliantly when, all of a sudden, my mind started playing images f my hero in slow motion capturing every part of his black full body cat-suit perfectly moulded to his muscular, tight,...warm, and heavenly body. And his voice, so deeply timbered and richly warm, comforting as his hands massaged the back of my neck, oh, my.
"Ms. Stark?" I flew out of my chair with a yelp, and landed on my elbow with a painful jolt. Voltaire was by my side instantly, whining and nudging my body with his nose.
"I'm-I'm ok." I breathed out shakily, then remembered that JARVIS had spoken, "Something wrong, JARVIS?"
"Not at all." He replied innocently, "But I have noted that your face has turned a lovely flushed red complexion, and that your heartbeat increased, as did you-"
"Ok, ok!" I quickly shushed him, getting to my feet and placing the kitchen stool up right again, "I get the gist." As did my sore elbow. But clearly, my subconscious was trying to get me into trouble, making me think about that guy, and how...statuesque his muscles were—holy crap, again?!
"I so need a distraction." I moaned in annoyance.
"If I may suggest: the training room is currently unoccupied." JARVIS offered.
Thank god for billionaire's personal AI with a British accent and a sense of secrecy!
######
It took me the time to get from the kitchen to the sublevel entrance to realize that not only had I been running for a few hours to turn my legs into cement, but now that my senses have had a chance to calm down, I found that I stink! But JARVIS kindly pointed out that in my private lab, Tony had installed a small hidden room, which had a shower, a powder room and a small cot. Thank you, Tony! What was even better was that there was a small backpack with a change of clothes, including pyjamas. So once I had a hot shower and changed into my pj's, I crawled into that so very comfy looking bed and sighed in bliss, grunting when Voltaire jumped up and curled up by my legs. I was too tired to care, and out like a light the minute my head hit the incredibly soft pillow.
I'm not sure how long I was asleep for before Voltaire started growling softly. I lifted my head when I heard voices echoing through the hallways. "JARVIS, who's down here?" I asked quietly as I slipped from the cot and quickly changed clothes before activating my magi-staff.
"Aside from yourself and your canine companion; Mr. Stark, Thor, Ant Man and Wasp have entered the sublevels." He replied. I let out a relieved sigh before walking out of my lab, Voltaire walking beside me.
"Geez, what are they doing here so early? Wait, what time is it?" I questioned the AI as I led the way to the assembly hall, just off the hangar bay.
"It is currently 4:45 am, Mr. Stark and company have arrived due to an incident with the Hulk, and your meeting with Agent Quatermaine has been postponed due to said previous incident." Ah.
When Voltaire and I reached the assembly hall, and saw everyone else gathered around the holo-computer, deep in discussion, I stood by the doorway to keep out of the way, then noticed Voltaire walking up to the still shrunken Wasp...oh, dear. Before I could speak up though, I saw her freeze as Voltaire panted right on her back. When she slowly turned around and saw him...she screamed. Voltaire yelped before running back to me. "Whoa, whoa, hey!" I exclaimed as he nearly knocked me over in the process of trying to hide behind my legs.
"What is that?!" Wasp exclaimed from the safety of Ant Man's back in her real size.
"And where did it come from?" Tony asked, eyeballing the poor dog with open distrust.
"This is Voltaire." I introduced to everyone, kneeling down and snuggling my new puppy into a hug, "he followed me home, so I kinda adopted him." Belatedly, I gave my best puppy pout to Tony. "Can I keep him?" I asked in my most cutest voice possible. While Tony sputtered for an answer, Voltaire got the courage to wander over to the others and cautiously sniff them.
"My, he is a large beast." Thor commented, a smile on his face as Voltaire wound around his legs, and finding his large red cape fun to play with, "I did not realize wolves could be so large...or tame."
"I don't think it is a wolf." Ant Man theorized out loud as he knelt down to inspect Voltaire closely, grunting when Voltaire nearly knocked him over trying to smell him, "His facial features look closer to a German Shepherd, but the body is more English Mastiff, or something else. Be he definitely is bigger than any average breed."
Voltaire whined loudly before dropping to his belly and crawled towards Wasp, looking absolutely cute. She gave him a critical look, but that changed into one of adoring when he whined at her. "Oh, he's so cute!" She gushed, swooping down and hugging him around the neck, "and so soft!" Clearly, Voltaire had won her over, despite their rocky first encounter. I looked back at Tony and saw that he wasn't impressed. I gave him my most apologetic face before clasping my hands prayer style. He merely raised his eyebrow before giving a silent mock martyred sigh and a warm, accepting smile. YES!
"So what are you guys doing here so early?" I asked curiously, though it was mostly directed at Tony.
"Ah...we've had a bit of a problem." He answered vaguely, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"What sort of 'problem'?" Tony suddenly found something else better to do other than answer, but Wasp was more than happy to do that for him, regardless of Tony's wish for me not to know. "Oh, man, you should've seen it!" she gushed excitedly, shrinking down and flying over to me, "We got to fight against two Asgardians, one that bewitched the Hulk, but now he's gone and we have to find him." Then she went in depth about the experience, while Ant Man simply shook his head at her. I'd be happy to listen, if she wasn't so small right now and flying too fast for me to see.
Soon they had to leave in order to find the Hulk, and giving the fact that the guy can leap pretty far in a single bound, there were going to need some help. Thankfully, the Quinjets were pretty fast so they could easily catch up to the wayward green giant. Tony's stipulation? I stay at the mansion. Fair enough with me; I could finally use the training room in peace now.
######
FOUR DAYS LATER
Apparently, there is some mystical force out there in the world that is desperate to prove me wrong. I said that it was going to be easy to find the Hulk, said mystical force decides to say 'ha, ha, suckers!' and made it hard to find him. Seriously?! He's a lime green, larger than life giant with major anger issues: how hard is that to find?!
Normally I wasn't this cranky, but ever since the Hulk went MIA, Quatermaine always seems to be so busy; we haven't had a chance to meet up and talk about my training. I know he works for a global spy network, and that there were groups like HYRDRA and AIM doing bad things, but was it really that hard to visit, even call, every once in a while?
Though there was a plus side to being left alone in a multi-level mansion that belongs to a billionaire hero: I get to play with all the toys.
After the others left to find the Hulk, I made a beeline for the top side and into the theatre-lounge and played Batman Arkham Asylum. What can I say; I'm a gamer girl. When I clocked the fastest time to finish a game (or at least get a good chunk through most of the game play and plot line), I took a break for lunch, then hit the training room.
Now, that was a lot of fun: I could get JARVIS to customize the levels however I wanted, and I could play my music as loud as I wanted without people complaining. Most excellent way to train? I think so. And that's pretty much was I've been up to these last few days: playing Arkham Asylum, playing with Voltaire, and training down in the sub levels.
This particular day, I was running through another customized session; this time a combined run of parkour and target practice, the latter being included since I found out that when the magi-staff was separated into eskrima sticks, they could send out small energy balls, like a hand gun but non-lethal. WICKED! Anyway, as I ran through the course, I had a loud techno song pulsing throughout the speakers, really letting me feel the energy and enjoying the exercise a lot more than usual.
Halfway through my run, the music cut out and was replaced by a cell phone ring. Oh yeah, I forgot: I hooked my phone up to JARVIS's systems. "JARVIS, who is that?" I asked, exiting the training room and heading straight to my lab to clean up.
"Mr. Stark; he wishes to inform you that he, and the other Avengers, are returning to the mansion." He answered, "Mr. Stark has also requested that you be present in the assembly hall: there is a surprise waiting when they return."
"All right." That makes me worried for some reason. I don't know why, but it just does. But I put it out of my mind long enough to enjoy and nice hot shower. Once out, dried and dressed, I headed to the assembly hall, JARVIS kindly informing me that Tony and the others were approaching the hangar now. :The moment of truth.: I sighed to myself as the doors opened to let me in.
In movies, you know how a room you think is empty, but when you enter there's that really eerie tingle up your spine, like someone was inside already, just hiding in the shadows? I got that feeling, but I admit I felt a little silly when the doors opened, and the feeling hit, but the only other living being in the room was Voltaire. "Hey, boy." I cooed at him, smiling as he got to his paws and wagged his tail happily, "How'd you get in here?" He merely yipped happily as I ran my hands through his fur. I didn't pay much attention when the sounds of the Quinjet landing filled the room next door, but when the door opened I looked up.
"Hey, Briar!" Wasp called in absolute excitement as they all came in, "You will not believe who we found!" When Tony walked in with said mystery guest, I had the strangest feeling that I've seen him before. Then again, history was never my strongest subject.
"Briar." Tony called, resting his hand on the gentleman's shoulder, "I'd like you to met Captain America. Captain, this is my little sister Briar Rose." Captain America? Sounds familiar, but still not pinging.
"A pleasure to meet you, Captain." I smiled gently.
"Likewise, miss." He replied, matching my smile for a weaker, tired one. Somehow, he just seemed so sad. Voltaire must have picked up on that as he walked over and sat beside the poor man. A small spark made the Captain's eyes light up a little, and he gently patted his red-gloved hand over my dog's head. "And this is Voltaire." I added, "Sorry, in advance, if he gets too rambunctious for you."
"That'll be all right." Cap assured as he looked back at me, "I have a feeling that'll be something else I need to get used to now." Tilting my head to the side in confusion, I was about to ask what he meant when Tony took over and led him to the holo-computer.
"There's something I want to show you." Tony explained as he slipped the end of his ID card into a port, pulling a file out to show him, "My dad used to tell me stories about you when I was a kid. You were an inspiration to me." As he spoke, an old newspaper article appeared on the holo-screen, and I suddenly realized why he seemed so familiar.
An image of Captain America, in the heat of a battle, was the center of the page with the heading reading in bold print 'CAPTAIN AMERICA FALLEN! AND A NATION'S HEART WITH HIM!'. Of course: the man to first fight HYDRA in the second World War, and give hope to millions of people in the Allied Forces everywhere; our nation's greatest hero. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Cap cleared his throat in an uncomfortable manner.
"That's...some poor reporting." He commented, then an almost hopeful spark flickered in his blue eyes, "But if I survived, may be Bucky..." My heart bled for him as Tony told him that everybody learned in school that both Captain America and Bucky were killed saving us all from the Red Skull's final plan. He didn't seemed all that impressed when Tony commented that it was a miracle that he himself survived.
"Bucky's gone. Everyone I knew. My whole world, it's all gone, isn't it?" he thought out loud. I wasn't the only one feeling sorry for him; Wasp looked almost close to tears. I can't imagine how he must feel right now. He said nothing more as he took his iconic circular shield off his arm and placed it on the table, and began to walk away.
Poor man. What do you say to someone who's lost everything?
With a quick glance at Tony, who gave me a nod, Voltaire and I left the room to follow him. I don't know what I'd do when we did, but the bleeding heart of mine couldn't let him suffer like this. Thanks to Voltaire's nose, we tracked him to the upper levels. "Found him?" Wasp called as she flew up alongside me.
"Yeah; he's in the personal quarters." I answered her, walking behind Voltaire as he continued his search for the hero, "What are we going to do, once we find him?"
"I have no idea." She replied in a sad tone, and that's when the conversation ended. Voltaire paused at a door before sitting down. Giving each other a worried look, Wasp grew to her normal size before knocking on the door. "Cap? Steve?" She called timidly before opening the door. We found him sitting on the edge of the bed Tony provided, a picture frame of a black and white photo of himself and Bucky in his hands.
"Iron Man tried to make it feel as much as the 40's as he could." Wasp offered hopefully, gesturing to the room. :That explains a few things.: I told myself as I eyed the pin up girl on the wall, but despite that, the rest of the room had a homey feel about it. A sudden beeping noise filled the air, directing our attention to the radio of a nearby dresser. Various panels shifted and parted, revealing one of JARVIS's interface panels. "Excuse me, Miss Wasp and Miss Stark, there appears to be a guest at the main gate."
"Well...as much as the 40's except the talking computer." Wasp joked weakly, but clearly Cap was too depressed to make a response. "Are you ok?" She asked, even though she knew otherwise.
"I should never have woken up." He spoke softly, his shoulders beginning to fall in sadness, "I'm a soldier, not some future man. I can't imagine a world that's changed so much yet still needs Captain America." Voltaire gave a soft growl before walking over, standing right in front of him and giving a serious of low barks before finally whining.
"Voltaire seems to think otherwise." I told him gently, then placed my hand on Cap's shoulder, making him look at me, "And there'll always be a need for Captain America." The whole room shook violently as a loud explosion erupted from below.
"Definitely a smart dog!" Wasp cried before shrinking, "it came from the front door!" With barely a thought, the rest of us ran to catch up to her. Good thing I decided to stay at the mansion today, I think?
"JARVIS, get the mansion defences ready!" I called out to the AI, "We'll take care of the rest."
"I need my shield!" Cap pointed out. Shoot! It was still down in the assembly hall.
"Come one: we're almost there!" Wasp encouraged before zooming ahead, making Cap call for her to wait. That lady sure likes a fight! As Cap, Voltaire and I raced towards the battle, I could hear the sound of missiles firing, Wasp's stingers and...was that groaning?
My question was answered when we rounded the corner, and Cap immediately jumped on top of a giant ball of floating yellow...something, which sent him crashing into a wall and human shaped dent. The giant floating slimey thing went after Wasp again, and before I could get my magi-staff ready, it swallowed her whole.
"No!"
"Wasp!" Both Cap and I looked on in horror as the slimey thing turned around to face us. The creature started to growl when its stomach started flashing yellow, and began to grow distended and—
SPLAT!
...I was showered in slime. Opening my eyes, I saw that Cap, Voltaire, the walls...pretty much everything was covered in whatever this thing was made of.
"Ew." I finally managed to say. A piece of slime got into my mouth, making me gag and sputter. "Ugh!...it tastes like raw dough and corn." Cap gave a soft chuckle before noticing a small blob starting to move. Through the mass of slime, we made out a pair of wings and tiny body: Wasp. Covered head-to-toe in slime.
"That was disturbing." She groaned, causing the both of us to smile. The mood changed when a loud gunshot blasted through the air and an energy bullet hit her, Voltaire and myself. Thankfully, the shot hit the back of my shoulder, and didn't hurt as much, but it was still enough to knock me down.
Looking behind us where the shots came from, I felt my insides freeze as a man, clad in a purple body suit and mask, held a gun at Cap's head and a sword in his other hand.
"Captain America." The man spoke, a light German accent to his voice, "It's been a long time."
"Zemo." Cap growled softly in recognition. Zemo, as in Baron Zemo? The man who took had control over HYDRA before Red Skull? The guy who dealt with genetic freaks? That Zemo?!
"Briar, can you move?" Cap's voice almost made me jump out of my skin.
"On three?" I answered back. We didn't even need to say it before Cap charged at his old foe. Miraculously, I managed to dive into one of the rooms off the man hall, and pull Voltaire in after me. Peeking my head around the corner, I clearly saw Cap standing over Zemo, his foot firmly planted on the Baron's chest.
"Excellent: I was worried you wouldn't be as I remembered you." Zemo gloated mockingly at the nation's hero, "I wouldn't want you to be any less than perfect!" Summoning strength from who knows where, Zemo was able to kick Cap off him.
Once they were far enough from each other, Zemo leapt to his feet, kicking his sword up into his hand. "All these years, I thought the Red Skull had defeated you." He commented as he swung his sword, getting ready to fight, "Now I can finally have my revenge." With that he lunged forward at an almost blinding speed, but somehow Cap avoided a thrust before the pair of them began to circle each other. Knowing that he was going to need help, I started to rub my injured shoulder, hoping to get some feeling back into it quickly.
"How are you still alive, Zemo?" Cap demanded from him, his fists clenched and at the ready.
"Death means nothing to me." Zemo replied mockingly, "I have evolved my body over the years, while you remain as you ever were." He lunged again, several times, and managed to slice a large gash on Cap's chest. It momentarily phased him before he lunged forward with a punch, but Zemo merely stepped aside and gave another slash, this time under his arm, before knocking Cap to the ground. :Come one, arm! Come on!:
"You are alone, Captain: a relic in this world." Zemo taunted, approaching the immobile Captain with his sword poised for the final strike, "Arnim Zola's creatures will deal with your new friends." Oh, he did not threaten my brother! "But you? Let the Skull have Bucky; your life is mine to take!" He pounced with a yell, his sword pointing straight at Cap's heart.
"NO!" I heard myself scream, but the noise was silenced by a loud thwang, caused by Captain America's faithful shield being imbedded in the wall, deflecting the blow just in time.
I quickly searched for the person responsible, and my heart fluttered when I saw my hero from Central Park, perched on a ledge by the ceiling. Seeing him here, and now, it...I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a lot braver than normal. And just in time, because my arm felt much better.
With Zemo distracted, I pulled myself to my feet and leapt into the air. Landing on Cap's shield with practiced ease, I swept my foot out and caught Zemo by surprise and the jaw, sending him staggering back a few feet.
"I'm only going to say this once, you purple sock-faced freak." I spoke boldly and with much confidence as I leapt to the ground, got into a protective stance and activating my magi-staff, "get out of my house." Then it was on.
I know it'd been a while since I was in a fight, but in that moment, I felt like I never stopped training, parrying, dodging, landing a few hits of my own. At one point Zemo's sword slashed my staff in half, but his satisfaction didn't last long when I stared matching blow for blow with renewed energy, and when Cap joined the fight.
Fighting like we were in a telepathic sync, Cap and I got the best of our foe when I blocked Zemo's dagger and deflected in into the wall. Once my hand was clear, Cap kicked at Zemo's hand, snapping the blade before giving him a solid whack with his shield and the both of us kicking him away.
"Give up, Zemo." Cap demanded as he stepped closer to the fallen villain.
"Never." The purple menace panted heavily as he managed to push himself up, "This is my world, and you don't belong in it." Like hell it's his world.
"I may not know a lot about the future, but I know one thing about the past." Cap informed him in an almost patriotic tone, "You lost the war, and you'll always lose, whether I'm here or not." Zemo said nothing as he reached behind his back and produced a small gadget and tossed it. There was no mistaking those series of beeps!
"Bomb!" I yelled even as Cap rushed after it. The device landed in front of the still unconscious Wasp, but a sharp tug on my arm into one of the rooms stopped me from seeing if they were going to be ok. I felt the air rush out of my lungs and eyes shut instinctively as I was roughly tumbled over something, with an equally hard something pressed on top of me just as the device exploded, sending a rush of heat, noise, debris and fire down the hall, the aftershock rattling my body.
"Ah...ow." I heard myself groan, an uncomfortable something digging into my back.
"Are you all right, Rose?" My eyes snapped open to reveal that I was nose to nose with my hero in the black cat-suit. As much as I didn't want to admit it, but I could feel my entire face flush with heat, and I don't mean from the explosions. Pinned between the couch and his body, I could almost feel the hard planes of his chest pressing against mine, the tight ridges of his toned abdomen and thick thighs aligned perfectly with mine.
"'m good." I somehow squeaked nervously, really trying not to notice that my hands were flat against his broad chest, or that his arms were circled protectively around my head, and really trying not to notice that we were mere millimetres from kissing each other. Hoo, is it warm all of a sudden or was that just me?
Hearing Cap's and Wasp's voice gave me a temporary reprieve from the moment. "I'm ok; go help the others!" I told them. I didn't hear anything else, other than the inbuilt fire extinguishers going off, so they must have gone already. Leaving me alone with my hero. I'm actually kind of glad no one's here, because this would be a very awkward position. My hero must of had the same thought before lifting himself up, even if it was somewhat reluctant.
"Forgive me, but I did not want to see you harmed." He apologized, helping me to sit up beside him.
"Th-that's ok." I replied shyly, smiling a little bit. A silence came between us, apart from the mansion taking care of the fire in the hallway, before a gentle hand started brushing at my cheek, making me lift my gaze to my hero.
"Ash, from the explosion." He answered my questioning gaze, making me blush again.
"Thank you." I spoke softly. His mask twitched as he gave a smile underneath it, but then it was gone and he stood up rather abruptly.
"I should leave." He murmured almost apologetically.
"Ah, s-sure." I agreed awkwardly, nervously twisting my hands together as I stood up as well. He turned to leave when I impulsively grabbed his hand to stop him. "Wait, I-uh...I didn't get your name." I weakly pointed out. I knew it was a bad idea, but I really didn't want him to leave just yet. I didn't want someone who made me feel so safe disappear.
But it seemed to work for the moment, for he turned back around with a soft chuckle. "Very well." He mused out loud, his hand bringing mine against his chest, "I am the Black Panther." Wasn't exactly the name I was looking for, but at least I have something to call him by now.
"Well, thank you...Panther." I told him with shy gratitude. Another sudden impulse took over me, and I leaned up and forward on my toes to gently press my lips against his masked cheek, feeling the muscles in his chest tighten in response. Before I could debate whether it was a bad idea or not, a series of loud barks made me turn towards the hallway. I almost forgot: Voltaire. I turned back to Panther, but he was gone.
The next time we meet up, he so had to teach me to do that!
######
Ugh, my body hurts! After Panther mysteriously disappeared, I found Voltaire safely sheltered in another den, and other than a little tenderness on his side, he'd be ok. And the mansion defences put out the fire, and the self-repair technology kicked in, fixing up the rest of the damage. All that was left was to clean up the debris.
Shifting the beams and chunks of plaster was a bit difficult, even with Voltaire helping me (pretty strong dog; some of those beams weren't easy to push) but we managed to get everything into a pile, and got started on sweeping just as the others came back, all covered in exploded slime. After giving Tony a report on what happened, carefully skirting around certain parts, I decided to head home. I know I had a bed here, and a lavish apartment, but I just wanted a night in my old place.
One of Tony's personal drivers gave me a lift to my old apartment before I sent him on his way. Safely locked in my apartment, I let Voltaire sniff around the tiny place while I had a shower and changed into a large t-shirt and bike shorts.
Now that Captain America was alive and on the team, I guess he needed to catch up to the world, especially with Zemo and Zola still on the loose. Deciding to approach the subject to him tomorrow, I settled down on the couch and started making a list of important world events that happened after he was reported KIA, when someone pounded on my door. "Manager." I mumbled to myself, getting to my feet and headed to the door.
In hindsight, I should've paid more attention to Voltaire, who was growling a storm, and to the fact that the building manage wouldn't have seen me come in: Friday nights were poker nights at the bar. As it was, the second I unlocked the door, it was forced open and I hit the ground with a shriek and a sharp thud on the back of my head. I was aware of Voltaire leaping over me and lunging into the attacker, but there was a pained yelp and he hit the ground heavily, as hands reached down and grabbed me.
I did my best to fight them off, but between the exhaustion of fighting a super villain, cleaning up after an explosions and the many hands grabbing at me, I soon found my hands jerked behind my back and bound painfully tight, and my mouth gagged by tape before a hood was pulled over my head.
"Damn bitch! That beast of hers nearly bit my arm off!" I heard a voice complain as I was roughly hauled to my feet and forced to walk.
"Just shut up, will ya?!" A second voices hissed angrily, "we gotta get out of here before the cops show up! Or Iron Man, or one of the Avengers!" The rest of the conversation dropped, leaving me terrified out of my mind. I soon felt the night air brush against my legs, but the relief was fleeting when I was forced to step out barefoot, and thanks to Murphy's Law, I screeched in muffled pain as my left heel stood on something sharp, piercing the skin. The pain was enough to make me stumble to my knees, but the two thugs escorting me merely picked me up by my arms and carried me a short distance before I was unceremoniously tossed into something...that felt like a car trunk! And it wasn't all that empty either!
I couldn't say how long I was in there for, but a good half was a safe bet, what with all the sharp turns & sudden stops before the car screeched to a halt. I could hear the engine turn off before a pair of doors slammed. The air that started to get heavy disappeared as the trunk lid was opened and I was pulled out and frog marched somewhere. The cut in my heel wasn't helping, nor was their temper. A cacophony of sound briefly assaulted my ears before it quietened down a little. Eventually I was forced into a chair, a rope roughly tied around my chest and legs, and the hood pulled off my head.
When I could finally see again, I began to regret ever leaving the mansion. "Hey there, babe." The gang leader from Central Park sneered with sickening glee.
:Oh, god.: I breathed weakly. I was doomed.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Duh-duh-duuuuuh! Oh, I know you people hate cliff-hangers, but I couldn't resist! Anyway, keep an eye open for the next one soon: not right away, but soon enough. Ciao!