Luck of Seven: Chapter Two

"The struggle you're in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow."

-Robert Tew

~~~

The icy wind rips through the air, cutting through Charlotte's clothes easily. Her brown hair whips about her face as snow clings to it and melts running down her face. She shivers tugging her coat closer to her all while trying to maintain her balance on the horse. They've been traveling for about an hour now and in no time, according to Bruce, they should be at the cliffs where the town will be below.

Sure enough the jutting cliffs appear and the sounds of crashing waves echo through the air. Bruce climbs down from his horse and passes the reins to Charlotte to hold as he checks for the town below. Soon he's waving her forwards to look out beside him.

Charlie dismounts and leads both horses over asking through chattering teeth, "We h-h-here?"

Bruce nods motioning to a small little trail in the side of the mountain they can follow down.

"We'll have to let the horses go. They can't make it down that trail." Bruce grabs his horse and begins taking the backpack off of it strapping it on him before slapping the horses behind to get going.

Charlie does the same thing, only through chattering teeth as she slowly follows Bruce down the mountain trail. As they push on, warm beads of sweat form on Charlie's forehead as she continues to shiver and tremble, stumbling slightly down the trail. Soon when she feels she can't take anymore, the small town appears right before them.

People with lighter skin, than even Bruce, mill about draped in heavy furs and scowls gracing their faces. Bruce walks through stonily, heading towards the nearest building with lots of people spilling in and out of it. Charlie, although freezing, attempts at waving and smiling as she passes through, gaining a lesser scowl than that of Bruce.

Charlie taps Bruce on the shoulder as they near the building and asks quietly, "H-h-how you so s-sure he in d'ere?"

Bruce glances at Charlie a little concerned, tugging his scarf off and wrapping it around her as he says, "I'm not, but where there's a crowd there's a reason."

A little warmer, Charlie just nods as she follows Bruce into the crowded building, pushing themselves to the front. An old man in a chair with a dark beanie on his head, scowls at them as Bruce asks about a man coming to this town.

As Bruce argues, Charlotte's attention is stolen by a bright flash of blue eyes. Her eyes instantly draw to them with their piercing and curious gaze. A tall man with broad shoulders and long wavy brown and blonde hair, stand a little ways from the man in the chair. He's leaning against the wall and watches Charlotte curiously before stepping forwards and saying in response to Bruce, "Icebergs in the harbour. It's been four months since the last ship got through."

His voice is deep and a little rough as if he just got done drinking a bottle of whiskey. He glares down at Bruce and raises a scarred eyebrow in warning. Immediately, Charlie sees the resemblance to the picture on Bruce's wall. She turns slightly to Bruce and murmurs, "That'a him but he ain't gonna listen tah ya."

The man follows Charlie's movement like a cat, his jaw twitching before his stormy gaze lands back on Bruce.

Bruce frowns glancing away from Charlie and decides to test the waters saying, "Well this stranger doesn't come by ship." He pauses letting his words hang before continuing, "There are enemies coming from far away. I need warriors. I'm building a team right now. I'll give you $25,000 to talk to him right now."

Charlie raises an eyebrow at Bruce's tactics but doesn't say anything as Arthur smirks, amused by Bruce's offer. He starts speaking in Scandinavian, making his people laugh as Bruce and Charlie stare confused. Obviously these people adore him and aren't going to give him up.

Feeling colder, to the point of numbness, Charlie coughs lightly and leans over whispering to Bruce, "I-I-I'm gonna go fin' dah drink-k and warm up s-some." Bruce nods in understanding turning his attention back to the large angry fish man.

Charlotte goes to head back outside the way they came but as soon as she takes a step forwards, her body crumples to the ground.

Dazed and shivering Charlotte mumbles, "Oh f-f-fuck."

Her eyes roll into the back of her head as she passes out. Bruce quickly kneels beside her checking her pulse as the laughing ceases and Arthur kneels down beside her too.

"What's wrong with her?" Arthur asks as he examines her. Bruce feels how ice cold her skin is and how her normally tan skin is now pale while her face is flushed with sweat. Her lips are slowly turning blue and she is still shivering even in her unconsciousness.

Bruce swears loudly quickly ripping his coat off and wrapping it around her as he says, "I think her body is going into shock from the cold. She's not accustomed to weather like this."

Arthur frowns but gently shooes Bruce to the side and says, "Grab her things, I will get her the help she needs."

Bruce goes to protest but stops as Arthur gently scoops Charlie into his arms like she weighed nothing. He holds her tightly against his chest causing Charlie to snuggle in deeper to Arthur's arms and sigh.

Arthur quickly strides out of the building, leaving Bruce to quickly snatch Charlie's things and follow after them. The wind cuts through them causing Charlotte to shiver harder as Arthur practically jogs down the street towards the local bar.

"Hey what the hell you taking her to a bar for?!" Bruce yells over the roaring wind and crashing waves.

Arthur ignores him and quickly kicks the door open and shouts in his booming voice, "Get me Sheila now!"

People scurry out of his way and race off in different directions as he takes Charlie to a side room attatched to the bar with a wooden table and bookshelves and cabinets full of herbs. He gently lays her down on the table and removes his thick furry coat placing it on top of her chest like a blanket.

Bruce doesn't have time to question him further as a small petite woman with bright red hair marches into the room. She immediately goes to Charlie, checking over her as she asks, "How long as she been like this?"

Bruce watches the woman carefully and says, "She collapsed not too long ago but we have been riding and hiking for about two hours."

The woman, Sheila, frowns and checks Charlie's pulse before telling Arthur, "Get me the ginger and cayenne from the cupboard."

Arthur quickly does so, grabbing a mortar and pestle as well for her. She snatches them quickly and mashes them in her bowl, clinking away at the small desk.

"Arthur, we're going to have to go to your place- don't argue with me either! She'll need a fire going, get her as close as possible and bundle her up. I will run to my house and get the proper medical equipment. Her body is in shock and is losing heat fast."

Arthur growls under his breath about 'stupid people' and 'better with fish', all of which Bruce could barely catch before the small woman is grabbing his arm, tugging him along as she says, "You come with me. I need help loading all of this into the truck."

Bruce hesitates watching as Arthur feeds Charlie the paste Sheila made before hoisting her in his arms again. He only just met this woman but Bruce already feels as though he owes her something just because she already believed in him before the mission started.

Sheila rolls her eyes tugging Bruce further away and huffs, "She'll be fine Herra, stop fretting and hurry along."

Bruce nods along and leaves Charlie in Arthur's hands to follow the spirited woman.

~~~

The first thing Charlie sensed when she awoke was the overwhelming smell of wood smoke. It was comforting, reminding her of her childhood when her father would brush hog and her and her cousins would toss leaves on it, dancing around the fire like hooligans.

Charlotte stirs, as the smell gets stronger and the cold, frigid, numbness begins to leave her body slowly. Struggling to open her eyes, she squirms trying to force herself up in a sitting position. Only two muscular arms pull her back and a deep voice rumbles, "Quit moving, you're still to cold."

Instantly, Charlotte is wide awake and reacts instantly by throwing her elbow back, catching the man in the chin. He releases her with a grunt and Charlie scrambles away landing on the floor shouting, "Who da fuck ya think you is?!"

Arthur raises one eyebrow watching as Charlotte fumbles around in the floor, still in shock but less numb as she glares at him. He stands and reaches down towards her saying sarcastically, "Well you're in my house woman, so I'd say I'm your fucking gracious host."

Charlie growls, her fingertips sparking purple for a second before she regains control again. Arthur catches the small purple zip and becomes even more curious about the woman, when she says angrily, "I knows who you is Alfond Carry! I want da know why I'm in yo house, where Bruce is, and why in God's name were ya holdin' me fo'!"

Arthur shakes his head, a little amused and chuckles as she gets his name wrong but still manages to say it with a bite. He crouches down beside her, holding his hands up and says gently, "Look we got off to a bad start okay? My name is Arthur Curry by the way, and your friend Bruce had me take you back here when you collapsed so they could get help. Your body dropped to dangerous temperatures, because of its sudden exposure to the cold. You could have died."

Charlie frowns, her green eyes calculating everything as she says slowly, "Exposure tah cold?"

Arthur nods and opens his mouth to say more when his door is slung open by Sheila as Bruce follows along behind her with a bag of equipment. They stop once in the doorway, confused by the situation as Charlie is still on the floor glaring up at Arthur while he crouches in front of her with his hands up in front of him.

Charlie notices the small red-head and breaks the silence asking, "Who dis?"

The red-head quickly snaps out of it, ordering Bruce to put the bag on the coffee table before scolding Arthur, "What the hell did you do? Back up!"

Arthur scowls glaring at the woman but backs off from Charlie and stands behind her as she crouches in front of Charlotte. Sheila lifts the corner of her mouth in greeting and says, "I'm Sheila, the locals go to doctor. I need to take your vitals and I need you to please wrap up again and sit closer to the fire."

Charlie glances over to Bruce, seeing him nod and backs up closer to the fire. She pulls Arthur's and Bruce's coats tighter around her and asks, "What happen'd da me?"

Sheila continues to dig through her bag, pulling out thermometer, stethoscope, and blood pressure machine. Bruce answers for her, taking a seat on Arthur's couch and says, "You passed out. The drastic temperature change, taking you from New Orleans and straight into the ice lands was too much for your body. It tried shutting itself down because of it."

Charlie nods her head in understanding and asks Bruce uncertainly, "Would it uh 'ave anythin' tah do wit' my kinetic conversion?"

Bruce's eyes widen slightly in relization, as the thought of her creating energy and heat all the time, might be affected by cold temperatures never crossed his mind. Bruce nods barely to her, frowning as he does so and hoping no one pays attention. Only Arthur noticed it as well and narrows his eyes at the both of them, wondering what that means.

Before he can ask however, Sheila, finishes checking Charlotte and says, "Okay so your vitals are good and your body is steadily rising in temperature. In, maybe two to three hours, you should be okay to be outside again. Since your body was thrown into shock, I suggest slowly introducing yourself back to the cold so when you go out it shouldn't be as bad as before."

She turns to Arthur while packing her stuff up and says, "You owe me Curry. Make sure you continue to give her warm broths and drinks."

She stands up grabbing her medical bag Bruce carried in and other items before turning to leave. She stops just at the door however when Charlie calls out, "Merci, Madame Sheila."

Sheila turns giving a small nod and a smile before leaving the tower, slamming the door shut just to piss Arthur off a bit. He growls a little as items on his shelf rattle after her stunt, before stomping off to his kitchen with a huff.

Charlie, slightly dazed still, wraps the double coats tighter around her and wiggles closer to the fire. Bruce watches her thoughtfully, his elbows resting on his knees as he leans forward.

"Charlotte."

Lazily she turns her head to Bruce, fixing her green eyes on his dark brown ones and says quietly, "Hmm Bruce?"

He sighs running a hand through his hair as he glances down at the watch on his other hand, "I talked to Alfred earlier and he says he can't get the jet down here as it's too close to the coast and there isn't a big enough piece of flat land."

Charlie cuts him off and leans back again the wall stating, "Ya have da go, donna vous?"

Bruce sighs frustrated and says, "Yes. I'm sorry. I can push the time out at most an hour, if you think you'll be ready by th-"

"She won't be and it would be stupid of you to put her back out there so soon." Arthur states gruffly as he walks around the couch Bruce is on and crouches in front of Charlie with a steaming mug in his large hand. He gives it to her gently and mumbles, "It's green tea with some honey."

Charlie smiles gratefully and takes tiny sips from it while Bruce throws his hands up irritated and asks, "Does everyone always have to interrupt me?"

Arthur without skipping a beat, stands and adds more wood to the fire saying, "Yes."

Bruce glares at him distastefully before returning to Charlie again and asks, "Will you be okay then if I let you handle this since we never got to it really, while I handle the business with Alfred and come back in a few hours to get you again?"

Arthur frowns turning to face the smaller man and asks, "Handle this? Are you talking about when you were asking about that man?"

Bruce annoyed, stands defiantly and opens his mouth, probably to smart off again when Charlotte interrupts, "Oui mon ami, dat is what he meanin'. We knows who you is, Aquaman, Protector of da Oceans and we needs your help."

Arthur startled slightly, softly grunts twiddling with the end of his beard before nodding and taking a seat in one of the chairs, "Alright, I'm interested. Tell me what you've got."

~~~

Edited.

Thank you to all who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed on the story!! If I forgot it missed you when responding, I'm sorry about that!

KittyKat25: I'm glad you like this story! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update but I appreciate you so much! Thank you!

BlueBloodsSVUOrder: I hope this is what you were looking for :)

ZabuzasGirl: Oh most definitely! There will be plenty of drama included with a certain red-head queen and a firecracker hustler ;)