"Dad? Someone's coming." Morgan called nervously from the computer she was typing away at. She looked at the security camera as a black SUV parked in front of her cabin, looking up when she felt Tony come to stand behind her, "It looks like SHIELD."
Tony cursed under his breath and turned to Kayla, who chewed on her index finger anxiously, eyes narrowed on the screens, "She looks in pretty good shape, considering Red Skull's escape. He no doubt laid ruin to the base upon his departure."
"What are you saying Rogers?" Tony quipped, pulling off his glasses to rub his eyes.
Morgan stood to answer the door, moments away from being knocked on, but waited to hear Kayla's answer first. Kayla looked to Wanda with pursed lips, considering her accusation carefully before putting it into words, "I'm saying be careful, that's all. It might not be Maria Hill."
Tony turned to his daughter, but she was already moving up the stairs. James's eyes followed her as she retreated, but Sarah turned to her father, "I can accompany her. Director Hill doesn't know me. I can get a read on her-"
"Perhaps. I tried at the compound, but I couldn't get inside her head. There was so much going on, I didn't put much thought into it." Wanda's eyes glowed red as she bared her teeth, "Perhaps I should have."
James grabbed Sarah's arm as she started up the stairs, "Just... be careful. If you need anything, I'll be right there." Sarah nodded and he released her to follow Morgan, then Tony closed the stairs. James swallowed down his nerves and turned to the adults, "They'll be okay, right?"
"Depends on who's at the door." Kayla growled, looking over her shoulder to the security camera. Her eyes darted up to Tony curiously, "Your daughter has a suit, yes?"
Tony looked to Kayla and grinned slyly, not saying a word. Kayla then turned her attention to Tessa, who was sitting on the floor against the wall, scratching Zawadi behind the ears to keep him calm. The dog whimpered loudly after Sarah left, but trying to comfort Zawadi helped ease Tessa's own nerves. Kayla knelt down beside her friend, scratching her dog's snout as she cooed, "It's okay, handsome, she's going to be fine. I know. Daddy's gone. We're stuck down here, but just for a little while. Then we'll go for another car ride." Tessa offered up a hopeful smile to James as he wondered up behind his mom, but he wasn't put at ease either. Kayla didn't look up, but as she pressed a kiss to Zawadi's head she hummed, "There's a ladder down the hall past the restroom. Leads up to the wine cellar. The wine cellar will lead to the backyard."
James nodded and snuck away quietly, grasping his mother's directions to help his sister.
Morgan flung open the door and greeted Maria Hill warmly, although her surprise was palpable. She didn't usually get visitors, and didn't enjoy getting visitors when she was alone.
"May I come in, Miss Stark?" Maria asked sweetly and Morgan nodded, humming an affirmative sound as she gestured into the cabin. Maria looked around curiously, taking in all the nick knacks and photos on her shelves. "Lovely home you have Morgan. I remember being here for your father's funeral."
"That's great." Morgan deadpanned, crossing her arms and tilting her head as Sarah sidled up next to her, "This is my friend Sarah. She's staying with me for the weekend. I didn't want to be alone."
"No, I would guess not." Maria hummed as she turned back to Morgan, taking her in, "That's why I came here actually. I was wondering if you've had any other visitors?"
"Not since Mom's funeral on Thursday, no. It's been pretty quiet. I stayed with Sarah last night, then we drove up early this morning. Not a lot of room for cars in the drive." Morgan narrowed her eyes and smiled diplomatically, staring down her visitor, "Nobody else has been here."
Behind Sarah's back, she waved her hand, trying to get a read on Director Hill, but everything came up fuzzy. And a little bit green. Sarah looked to Morgan and exchanged a nervous glance, and Sarah's nerves registered with Morgan more clearly than she would have liked. "Is that all you came out for? I don't mean to be rude, we were just going to sit down and watch a movie-"
"We had a break in at Avengers Compound last night. Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes were able to abduct one of our prisoners, and free another. We have reason to believe he may try to contact you."
Morgan's brows raised and she looked down at Sarah with a shrug, "Nobody's come. Who was broken out?"
"He goes by James Carter. We have reason to believe he's Captain Rogers's son, and that he's rather fond of you." Maria took a step closer to Morgan and the brunette took a step back, leaning all her weight onto her right heel. "Have you heard from him?"
"No. That's not possible, I know James. He was just here on Thursday for Mom's funeral. I haven't heard from him since then, and I'm sure he's not a super soldier-"
"How can you be so sure?" Maria leaned toward Morgan, then cranked her head to the left to look out the window. She smiled wickedly, then grabbed Morgan and threw her against the staircase. Sarah ran to her friend's side, unsure what had gotten Hill's attention.
Morgan groaned as she sat up, massaging her tailbone as she panted, "We have to get out of here. That's not Maria Hill."
"Oh no? How do you know that?" The brunette turned around, but her face was different, sharper, her eyes a brilliant green. She smiled wickedly, dropped her hand to her side and causing her SHIELD uniform to melt away into a green dress with a slit that showed off her thigh-high boots. "Oh... you are a clever girl, aren't you? There's something- special about you." The woman took a step closer and Morgan shoved Sarah behind her, causing the woman in green to laugh boisterously, "Oh, isn't that sweet, protecting your little friend? What can a mortal do against the Enchantress?" She drew out the s sound, hissing like a snake as she stalked the girls.
Without a word, Morgan threw her arm out to the side, glaring up at the Enchantress with hate-filled eyes. The woman was clearly unimpressed by Morgan's efforts. "Oh goodie. I can't wait to see what you have in store for me."
Morgan clenched her teeth as Amora wound up her hand, already glowing with green fire, but as she prepared for impact, the gauntlet broke through the living room window and attached to Morgan's left hand. She turned it to the Enchantress and shot up at her, sending her flying into the ceiling. "Sarah, run!" Morgan screamed as she scrambled to her feet, preparing to fire again as Amora crashed back into the dining room table. Sarah ran toward the front door, unsure if the rest of her family could get out. She looked back to see Amora lunge at Morgan, and the girl shot again, but this time the Enchantress was prepared and took the repulser blasts in stride, causing Morgan to reach out her other hand in panic. Morgan's eyes met Sarah's and she yelled again, "Get out of here!"
Enchantress turned to Sarah, snarling when she realized the girl was getting away. Sarah slowly backed away as Enchantress strut toward her, focusing her power on the younger woman. Sarah raised her hands, breathing heavily as she tried to imagine herself firing at the witch, but she didn't get the chance. The rest of Morgan's purple armor crashed through the windows, sending glass shattering around Sarah as she ducked for cover. Amora cried out as the glass pierced her pale skin, turning on the iron-clad woman who now floated above her. "Leave my friend alone." Morgan growled through the suit, double blasting Amora to the ground as Sarah darted outside.
A firm hand grabbed Sarah's arm and she shrieked, snagging the Enchantress's attention, but Morgan grabbed it back by sending her metal fist into the witch's pretty face. Amora's jaw dropped in shock, reaching up to massage her cheek before she turned to the young Stark, "You're going to pay for that."
"You'll have to catch me first!" Morgan called as she blasted upward through the ceiling, and Amora clenched her fists, her magic flowing through her boots and causing her to rise after Morgan.
Outside, Sarah felt a strong hand cover her mouth as she tried to scream, but a familiar voice shushed her quickly, "Shhh, Sarah, it's me. We gotta get out of here." James hissed as he released his sister and she swung around to look at him.
"You think?!" He released a frustrated groan, then looked his sister up and down, yanking down the zipper of her sweatshirt. "Hey! What are you trying to do?" She shrieked quietly as she slapped her brother's hand away.
"Just making sure you've got on your suit. I promised Dad I'd take care of you and Mom." James looked over his shoulder to the wine cellar, "I've got to go back for them and make sure they all get out alright. Get in the car and stay low. Don't make a sound, no matter what happens alright?"
"James- what are you-" Before Sarah could ask what her brother had planned, he reached his fingers under the trunk and pulled it open to toss his sister inside. "What the-" He slammed the trunk closed, locking his sister in safely so he could double back for his mom.
Amora threw out her arms to the sides, thrusting her magic up through the roots of the trees and bringing them to life. "If Iron Man's daughter gets crushed by an army of trees in the woods, is there anybody left in her life to hear her scream?" The Enchantress taunted as she clapped her hands quickly, dropping toward the ground as several large trees ripped their roots from the ground and began to reach toward Morgan. The young girl shot upward, then dove toward the lake and cut back around, trying to blast the trees away from her home, barely dodging the branches that tried to swat her like a fly.
Amora, now on the ground with hand at her side glowing, strode toward the back of the cabin, trying to figure out where the boy had gone, "Come out, come out wherever you are... don't you wanna play?"
James gently closed the doors to the wine cellar, then jumped down the hole instead of using the ladder, landing on his feet easily. He wobbled a bit, knowing his knees should have buckled out from under him, but he felt just fine. He listened carefully, hearing the taunting woman outside the wine cellar calling him. Knowing she was getting close, James took off in a sprint toward the security room, skidding to a stop when he came face to face with everyone. He took a deep breath, allowing his chest to fill fully with air before breathing out, "She's coming."
Kayla looked to Tony sadly, but he just stared at the security cameras outside his cabin, seeing his home fall apart as the living trees tried to kill his daughter. "Tony, we have to go. That includes you."
He looked up, studying all their somber faces, then eventually fell on James, "What the hell are you doing here? Go save my daughter!" James straightened up, grinning before jumping back a few steps. "No," Tony opened up the staircase leading into the house, "Get her from behind. Use this to keep contact." Tony tossed James a small black circle, then pointed toward his ear to instruct the young man to install his earpiece. Kayla breathed out nervously through her lips as James looked to her for direction, nodding to give him the go ahead.
"You all get to the car- Sarah's already there. I'll hold her off with Morgan!" James called as he charged up the stairs. Tony flinched when he heard the sound of breaking glass, looking to a monitor to see James decided to forgo the door and smash through the window instead, drawing the Enchantress's attention away from the back of the cabin. Tony grumbled loudly and hit a button, closing the staircase again.
After a moment, Tony met Kayla's glance and smacked his lips together, "Your kid says get to the car. You guys think you can get it out of here in one piece?" Tony questioned as he tossed several comms onto the desk beside him. Kayla looked to Tessa and Wanda, earning a tentative nod from the former and a shrug from the latter.
"I'll help them hold her off. I want a rematch. She took me out of the game early last time." Wanda snarled as she grabbed a comm for her ear, then pushed her hands to the ground, causing her to hover.
Kayla turned to Stark, eyebrow raised, "And what will you do?"
"I'll hold down the fort. Get your son and get out of here, we'll take care of the rest and meet you in midtown."
Kayla took a deep breath and nodded, turning to Tessa anxiously as she handed her friend the comm dot, "You ready to run?"
"Am I ever?" Tessa retorted, following Kayla's lead as she placed the dot in her ear. Kayla did the same, then clicked her tongue to get Zawadi to follow her down the hallway toward the wine cellar.
With Tessa and Kayla heading toward the wine cellar, Tony reopened the staircase in the dining room for Wanda, "You help Morgan. Keep the Enchantress near the house. I'll wait here till the last minute. Any questions?"
"I'm not a child anymore, Stark." Wanda purred, thrusting her powers to float up into the kitchen, slowly slinking toward the front door to aid her young companions. Alone, Stark turned to his screens, then tapped on a thin microphone on his desk.
"Anybody copy?"
James was shaking in his newly broken in boots, looking up defiantly as Amora the Enchantress had him in her sights. "Yeah... she's locked on me."
"James? Hang on!" Morgan yelled, swooping down and knocking Amora off her feet before sliding through the grass on her knee, hands aimed at the woman. She turned to James quickly, "Get out of here! Go help your family!"
"What about you?" James screamed back as Amora stood, teeth bared in an animalistic glare at the girl. James took a step toward Morgan, but she threw her hand to the side, blaster aimed at her friend. "Don't do this."
Morgan sighed inside her helmet, wishing James could see how hard it was for her to push him away, but she had to save him, "Please. You have to get away."
Amora began to step toward Morgan, the ground shaking violently with every step until one of the trees swatted the distracted girl away into the lake. "Morgan!" James cried out, but Amora reached out and grabbed him with her magic, holding James above the ground as she studied him.
"Wow, you look just like Daddy, don't you? I'm so sad you broke out of SHIELD before I had a chance to really see what you're made of, but because of you, the Skull is now free, and our plan can be reborn. The world for him, the universe for me." James struggled in her grip, snarling at her as she approached, finally close enough to grab his sturdy jaw. She stuck out her lower lip and tilted her head, baby talking the man as she stared at him with green doe eyes, "And worst case... if we can't succeed. If we fail, again, I'll get to destroy your family. I'll kill you, and your sister, and your father. And then, once I've destroyed everything your mother has ever loved, I'll rip out her heart."
James kicked hard against the Enchantress, and she flinched a bit as she released his jaw. She smiled sweetly at the boy, clenching her fist and tightening her grip around him as he yelled. Suddenly though, she was knocked off her feet by a blast of magic and James fell to the ground, looking up to see Wanda floating above the ground near the entrance of the cabin, eyes ablaze and red wisps washing over her like a wave, "Leave him alone."
Amora snorted as she pushed herself to her feet, smile growing when she remembered who the woman was, "You're special... juuust like the little blonde girl- speaking of which?" Amora turned to look around, realizing she hadn't seen Sarah in a while, but when she turned, a firm fist connected to her jaw.
"Mom!" James yelped and scrambled to his feet to stand behind her, but he studied her appearance for a moment in surprise. Her suit was dark blue with red trim and her red boots stopped just below her knee, a chunky heel giving her an extra two inches to lean onto while she fought. She positioned herself in a fighting stance, one foot in front of the other with her fingers clenched into fists in front of her chest.
She didn't turn to her son, but her directions were clearly directed at him, "Get out of here. We aren't letting her get that close again. Get your sister and Tess out of here, do you understand me?"
"I'm not leaving you." James growled back as Amora struck out at Kayla, but she expertly blocked the hit, responding with a kick to the ribs while Wanda blasted her with her magic. Kayla looked up at James with a stern scowl and he deflated, "Fine, I'll go start the car."
"James! There's a plastic cover beneath the gear shift. Lift it and hit the red button once everyone's inside! We'll buy you some time!" Morgan landed on the other side of Amora, effectively blocking her escape from Kayla and Wanda. The Enchantress looked around, trying to figure out who she wanted to take out first, eyes landing on Morgan as the weakest threat. Morgan rolled her eyes, "Damn it." She took off into the sky, but Amora reached out, creating an extension of her hand to grab onto Morgan and smash her into the ground.
"No!" Tony stood from his desk, holding onto his forehead as he stared at the screen. "Get up! Morgan get up!"
James slid to a stop at Tony's cries, turning around to see Morgan lying on the ground, not moving. "No." He whispered, then darted back, causing his mother to groan loudly and dodge out of the way as Amora's magical fist smashed the ground.
Meanwhile, Sarah smacked her fist against the roof of Morgan's trunk, yelling to anyone close enough to hear. "What is happening out there? Let me out! I can't breath!" She wheezed as she smacked the trunk again, trying to take a deep breath as she began to have an asthma attack. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening. James!" She slammed her eyes closed, focusing on her breathing, and wherever her brother was.
Suddenly she opened her eyes to find herself running. "What?" Sarah looked down, feeling something very wrong. "Oh, shit!"
"Language!" Kayla snapped back, pointing at James accusingly as she pulled back on Amora's hair before being flung into the grass five yards away.
Sarah shook her head, blinking rapidly as she found herself back in the trunk. "What just happened?" She panted, running her hands over her stomach to her legs to find herself in her own body... locked away in a trunk... while her friends and family fought an evil sorceress. She blew air out through her mouth slowly as she heard a pained scream that sounded an awful lot like her mother from the outside world. She closed her eyes and focused again, imagining she was seeing what her brother was seeing.
Sarah looked down to find Morgan in her arms, then looked up to see Kayla being pulled into the Earth by several tree roots, screaming out painfully. "Mom!" Sarah- James- dropped Morgan and charged toward Kayla, knocking her over at impressive speed and the roots let go. As Kayla tried to catch her breath, Sarah began digging her feet out, easily removing her from the ground.
"Honey-" Kayla coughed, and Sarah wondered if she should explain what was happening to her and James, "Let's agree to back out of this fight gracefully, together."
Sarah's concentration broke at her mother's words, and she was back in the truck, kicking the inside of the car painfully. "Ow! That hurts!" She whined as she held onto her leg, wondering if her brother was inhabiting her body while her soul was invading his. "James! Mom! Anybody!"
Tessa looked behind her from the place she was hiding in the backseat of the convertible, holding down a very squirmy Zawadi who desperately wanted to get out and help his mom. She pulled down the cup holder flap, revealing a small door with a twist latch. Tessa quickly undid it and pulled it down, allowing Sarah to take a fresh breath of air. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't know who was in the trunk!"
"It's fine- what's happening?" Sarah asked, trying to get a better look, but the car was too low. "I have to help-"
"No, we have to leave- why are you in the trunk?" Kayla snapped as she hopped into the driver's seat, head snapping up to look where she came from, "Where's your brother now? Why can't he focus like his father?"
"Because he's too distracted by love like his mother!" Tess yelled from the backseat as Wanda blasted Amora back into the lake, buying them a little time. Tessa peeked up over the back of the car, "We have to go! Drive!"
Kayla turned the key and smashed her foot into the gas pedal as the car roared to life loudly, spinning its wheels as she drove over to the cabin. She slammed on the breaks next to her son, "James, get your ass in this car now!"
Wanda jumped into the backseat with Tess and pulled Zawadi over a little to make room for Tessa to sit. James just looked up sadly and shook his head. Kayla screamed back, "If you don't get in this car, I'll drag your sorry ass body, and if you think I won't, you're sorely mistaken."
"You're not strong enough!" James taunted, holding onto Morgan as she started to move a little. "I'm not leaving her!"
Kayla clenched her teeth and looked over her shoulder to Tessa, "Get my bag-"
"What's in the bag?" Tessa cried out, noticing the Enchantress blasting out of the water, "Kayla, we don't have time for this!"
Sarah closed her eyes, focusing on her stubborn brother with all her power, "James." She opened her eyes, looking down to find herself in James's body. "Yes!" She punched the air with her fist, then looked to the car. "Mom, get in the back!" Kayla balked at the order and Sarah rolled her eyes, hearing her own voice start to scream from the trunk, "Please, just do it, I have a plan."
Kayla let out a low scream and climbed into the backseat, plopping between Tessa and Wanda and pulling Zawadi into her lap. The dog began to bark wildly as the Enchantress got closer, only a hundred feet away now, "Whatever you're planning, you better do it quick!"
Sarah, as James, wrapped her hands under the metal suit and pushed herself to her knees, groaning loudly as she used all her brother's strength to lift the metal suit. She deposited Morgan into the passenger seat, then quickly scrambled over the suit into the driver's seat, looking around before yanking the gear shift into drive and slamming her foot on the break.
Morgan moaned a little, her helmet flipping back to reveal her face as she began to stir. She blinked, aware of the massive dog barking wildly behind her, "James- hit the button under the gear shift-"
Sarah realized Morgan was talking to her, and quickly followed direction, flipping open the case to hit the button, and the wheels instantly flipped and repulsers shot from the sides, taking them into the air at warp speed. Morgan lazily moved her hand to the console and hit a button, causing the roof to come over them as they soared higher into the sky and away from the Enchantress.
"NO!" Amora screeched when she reached the cabin, finding it empty. "NO NO NO!" Suddenly, she turned, feeling something wrong, but the cabin exploded behind her as Iron Man shot into the sky toward the flying car.