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MOUNT JUSTICE
August 19, 19:27 EDT
Talia yawned, putting her arms over her head and arching her back to stretch a bit. She twisted around to crack her back, wincing in relief as her joints popped and released. She was stiff after sitting for so long, bent over her work, but she'd wanted to work on Extremis again. Once she'd started it had been hard to stop.
Shuri had sent Talia back her notes and observations on the virus almost four days ago, but Talia had been too busy with other things to take a look at them until now. The Team had had some lowkey missions, training, and Talia had been busy at home too.
A few weeks ago, Talia had received a letter notifying her and her father that she would not be invited back to the school she'd attended last year as a freshman. The reason for her expulsion had been bullshit, but she wasn't particularly disappointed – to say she'd hated that school would be an understatement.
Tony, on the other hand, had been somewhat distressed by the news. He'd been searching desperately for the last few months to try and find a school that would accept Talia, but she'd been kicked out of almost every private school close enough to New York for her to not be a boarder. And Talia really didn't want to be a boarder somewhere, not now that she was part of the Team.
She was trying to convince her dad to let her homeschool herself. JARVIS would supervise her, and she could continue the college courses she'd been taking since she turned twelve. Talia was currently in the middle of trying to get her first PhD – at age fifteen, yes. When she applied herself, Talia was incredibly smart and hardworking.
Like right now, for example. When it came to Extremis, Talia was certainly applying herself.
Shoving her glasses up her nose – she hadn't bothered putting in her contacts that morning – Talia clicked her tongue against her teeth as she studied the once again new-and-improved Extremis. All of Shuri's notes had been good ones, which was exactly why Talia had consulted her. Shuri was smarter than Talia, and never failed to notice things that Talia didn't.
Sighing, Talia sat back in her chair. She took her glasses off, blinking as she cleaned them on the edge of her shirt before pushing them back on. She looked around the lab, considering. She had successfully engineered Extremis, all she needed to do know was make some prototype samples.
After a moment of consideration, Talia saved her work and shut it down, heading out of the lab and down the hall. She didn't have everything she needed here to make the virus, so she'd have to do that part at her lab back home. It would be tricky with JARVIS monitoring her, but as long as she didn't say much his systems couldn't know exactly what she was doing.
Probably.
When Talia reached the mission room, Aqualad and Superboy were in the middle of a sparring session. Aqualad was dressed in uniform, and Superboy was wearing his usual ensemble, minus a shirt. The rest of the Team – minus Robin, who wasn't there – were dressed in civvies, observing the fight. Talia headed across the room to join them.
"You're still here?" Wally blinked at Talia in surprise. Talia grinned impishly. The other Team members continued to be surprised at Talia's ability to work long hours without emerging from the lab, with the exception of Robin, who never seemed fazed but always slightly amused. Talia wasn't sure why Robin seemed so familiar around her sometimes. She just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Yup," she replied, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets and tilting her head to the side to crack her neck. Wally shook his head, continuing to chow down on the burrito clenched in his hands. Talia walked past the speedster and towards Artemis and M'gann. As she walked closer, she caught the tail-end of their conversation.
"…you should totally ask him out," Artemis was saying to M'gann, her voice dripping with conviction. Talia's eyes widened with amusement, and she walked closer, wondering what the two were on about. M'gann giggled.
"Ask who out?" Talia asked, joining the other two girls.
"Kaldur," M'gann responded. She shook her head. "But he's like a big brother to me." The Martian smiled at Talia, an excited look crossing her face. "You know who would make the cutest couple?" she asked the other two girls enticingly. Talia raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was going. "Artemis and Wally!" All three girls turned to look at the speedster, who was wolfing down his burrito, chewing loudly.
Talia raised her eyebrows, wondering where M'gann was coming from. Artemis and Wally hated each other - although, admittedly hatred was were sexual tension was born...
"You're so full of passion," M'gann continued. She gestured at Wally. "And he's so full of…" the Martian hesitated, trailing off as she groped for a desirable way to describe Wally. Talia pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. She now realized what the other girls were doing - both of them had a crush on Superboy and were attempting to push each onto the other members of the Team in order to free Superboy up.
"It?" Artemis offered, smirking. All three girls cracked up at the jibe. Talia crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. She couldn't help but tease the two girls by pretending to join in on their conversation.
"What about Superboy?" she asked slyly, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling when she saw both girls blanch. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Talia couldn't help but continue. She nodded towards the shirtless clone meaningfully. "I mean, anger issues galore, but he's pretty –"
"No!" Both Artemis and M'gann exclaimed at the same time. Talia paused, widening her eyes innocently as both girls scrambled to push Talia off of that train of thought.
"I mean, he's okay," Artemis said, looking away and shrugging as indifferently as possibly even as her cheeks flushed slightly. At the same time M'gann replied: "Trust me, Talia, you haven't lived with the guy, you don't want to –" Talia laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
"I guess you're right," she replied innocently, shaking her head like she'd decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Truly, Talia had no interest in Superboy as more than a friend. Yeah, he was cute - really cute, but Talia wasn't really into him. But he was a good friend. The two of them got along very well. After the Amazo mission, Superboy sometimes hung around her lab as she worked.
Both M'gann and Artemis visibly sagged in relief when Talia gave up, and Talia felt a twang of pity. She fervently hoped that one if not both of them got over their crush on Superboy soon. Someone was going to end up getting hurt if they didn't.
"Anyways, Talia," M'gann said hastily, trying to erase all thoughts of Superboy from the other girls mind. "I thought you liked Red Arrow." Talia's eyes bugged out, and she coughed, whirling around to stare at M'gann with wide, horrified eyes.
"Shit," Talia breathed out, covering her face in embarrassment. She groaned as her cheeks flushed bright red. "Ugh. Oh no. Is it really that obvious?" Talia peeked through her fingers at the other two girls, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"Not that bad," M'gann said quickly, realizing that her friend was embarrassed. "But I mean - I am a telepath." Talia sighed in relief, her shoulders relaxing. "Not that I was reading your mind!" M'gann added quickly, holding her hands up.
"It's fine," Talia reassured her friend. "Honestly, I'm not that surprised you figured it out. It is kinda obvious." Talia picked at the fraying edges of her baseball cap, tugging at the loose threads. It was one of her favorites, which meant it was also one of her most worn-out. Artemis shoved her hands in her pockets, frowning at the mention of Red Arrow.
"He's a dick, anyways," the blonde sniffed, scowling at the ground.
"Yeah, I know," she responded, shifting her feet awkwardly. She couldn't quite describe her crush on Roy - although he'd never been outright mean or angry towards Talia herself, he was always gruff, never the warmest guy in the world. But still, she liked him.
Changing the subject, Talia turned back to the spar. Both of the girls had their eyes locked on Superboy's shirtless form. "My money's on Kal," she said, jerking her chin towards the two boys. Wally overheard her, zipping over to the three girls.
"You are on, Stark," Wally said, smirking. "Twenty on Supey." Talia nodded, accepting the bet just as the clone flipped Aqualad over his shoulder. The Atlantean cried out in surprise as his back collided with the floor, the computer announcing his status as "fail."
Talia's jaw dropped open as Superboy helped Aqualad up from the ground. Wally cackled next to her, clapping his hands in excitement. Talia grumbled to herself, pulling out her wallet and tossing a bill at Wally. The speedster snatched it out of the air, pocketing the bill quickly.
"Dammit," she pouted, more upset that she'd been wrong than she was about losing money. Yeah – she knew she was spoiled and privileged but betting on stupid things was how she passed the time with other rich kids – it was also the reason she and several others had been kicked out of schools in the past. Apparently gambling had been against school values.
A hatch in the ceiling opened up and Red Tornado descended from above, where his living quarters were. Aqualad and Superboy walked over to rejoin the others as the android landed on the ground a few feet away. In a blur, Wally zipped away to intercept the android.
"Do you have a mission for us?" Wally asked the Leaguer, overly excited. The android paused, turning towards Wally slowly.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Red Tornado reminded the speedster. The other members of the Team walked over to the other two heroes to listen in on their conversation.
"Yeah," Wally agreed, undeterred. "But the Batman's with the Robin doing the Dynamic Duo thing in Gotham. But you're headed somewhere, right?" Wally pointed at Red Tornado excitedly, a broad grin on his face. "A hot date? Or a mis-sion?"
"If we can be of help," Aqualad offered from behind Wally, more respectfully. Talia expected Red Tornado to deny their offer, but to her surprise, the android turned around. He typed on the holographic computer and pulled up a profile. A picture of an elderly man wearing a suit and holding a gold-handled cane appeared on the screen.
"This is Kent Nelson," Red Tornado said, turning back to look at the Team. "A friend. He is one hundred and six years old." Talia's eyes flew wide, and she let out a low whistle. The guy looked healthy and strong for someone that old. "And he has been missing for twenty-three days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society, pre-cursor to the Justice League."
"Of course," Aqualad said, staring at the man with recognition gleaming in his eyes. "Nelson was Earth's Sorceror Supreme. He was Doctor Fate!" Talia frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure that that title belongs to Doctor Strange," she corrected. The other members of the Team looked at her, and Talia shrugged. "Friend of my dad's – or kinda. Who knows though, he could be full of shit." Wally snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding in agreement.
"Sure. Guy knows a little advanced science and dumbledores it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes." Talia laughed, shaking her head. She wasn't quite sure if she agreed with Wally – she was definitely more scientifically minded, but she didn't not believe in magic. There were some things that just couldn't be explained.
"Kent may simply be on one of his walkabouts," Red Tornado continued, ignoring the exchange among the members of the Team. "But he is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, source of the Doctor's mystic might, and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." M'gann looked at the picture of Kent Nelson with great respect.
"He is like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars," she said reverently. She placed a hand over her heart, bowing her head solemnly. If she was anyone else, Talia would have thought they were just being sarcastic, but M'gann was sincere. "I would be honored to help find him." Next to Talia, Wally's hand shot up with lightning fast speed.
"Me too!" he exclaimed. He was clearly trying to match M'gann's reverence, but simply ended up sounding sarcastic. "So honored, I can barely stand it. Magic…rocks." Wally made the rock-and-roll symbol with both hands, shaking his head like he was too amazed by this prospect for it to be true. Talia shook her head in amusement: Wally was so full of shit.
Talia glanced at Artemis, who had been standing close enough to hear Wally's previous skeptical remarks and the two girls exchanged an incredulous look. It was very clear that Wally was just trying to impress M'gann.
"Take this," Red Tornado said, holding out an old-fashioned looking key. Aqualad stepped forward to accept it. "It is the key to the Tower of Fate." Wally ignored this instruction, instead sidling up closer to M'gann and crossing his arms. He looked at her through his eyelashes, in what was probably meant to be a sultry gaze.
"What are the chances that we both so admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked, faux-amazement coloring his voice. Talia sighed inwardly, rolling her eyes.
If Wally kept this up, it was going to be a long night.
"So, Wally," Artemis piped up conversationally. Talia glanced at the blonde archer. The expression on Artemis's face clearly indicated that she was feeling mischievous. "When did you discover your honest affinity for the mystic arts?" Wally blinked rapidly, thrown off by Artemis's question. The speedster tossed a glance at M'gann at the helm of the BioShip, speaking loudly to ensure that she would overhear him.
"Oh, well, I don't want to brag," Wally replied, putting his hands behind his head and leaning backwards. "But before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
"I didn't know it worked like that," Talia said innocently, ignoring the dirty look Wally gave her. She adjusted the gauntlet watches around her wrist, making sure that it was ready to use. The Team was wearing civvies, and mostly unarmed, but Talia wanted to be able to defend herself just in case. She knew that Artemis had also brought a few easily concealable weapons along as well.
"We've reached Tornado's coordinates," M'gann announced, ignoring Wally's comment. Talia peered out the window, frowning when all she saw was an empty field and parking lot. "But –"
"Nothing's there," Superboy said, finishing M'gann's thought. Kaldur frowned as well, looking over the empty field.
"Take us down," he told M'gann. The Martian nodded, halting the BioShip in midair and lowering it to the ground. As usual, when the ship touched the ground the seatbelts automatically unfastened, allowing the Team members to stand.
The Team departed the BioShip, standing in the empty parking lot where M'gann had landed. It was on the edge of a town, but beyond the parking lot there was nothing but grass and trees. Behind the parking lot, there were broken down, abandoned looking buildings: nothing that looked remotely magical. Leaving the BioShip in camouflage mode, Kaldur led the Team over towards the empty field, gazing into the darkness.
"Wally, look around," Kaldur ordered, glancing at their resident speedster. The boy nodded, taking off in a blur. He returned within a few seconds, skidding to halt in front of Artemis and Talia.
"Nothing," the ginger said, shaking his head. "This isn't simple camouflage." Talia smirked, wondering how far Wally was willing to take his fake-belief to impress M'gann.
"Could be adaptive micro optic-electronics combined with phase shifting," Talia offered, casting her eyes over the seemingly empty plain before her. Wally nodded, a smile gracing his lips.
"Absolutely – " he began to agree, before seeing M'gann walking closer, " – not!" Wally quickly amended. "Clearly mystic powers are at work here." Talia had to struggle not to laugh, but a quick glance to her left proved that Artemis was less amused with Wally's attempts at impressing M'gann. Kaldur frowned, looking down at the key in his hand. He turned it over, thinking.
"A test of faith," Kaldur said. Talia turned to see the Atlantean studying the key that Red Tornado had given him. His pale eyes narrowed as he mulled something over, and then he stepped forward. "Stand behind me."
Kaldur walked a few paces away from the others before pausing. He carefully raised the hand holding the key, moving it forward as if to insert it into a lock. From her angle, Talia could just see the tip of it turning invisible, and her eyes went wide. Kaldur twisted it once and there was a clicking sound as a large tower shaped like a rook appeared in front of them. Talia's mouth fell open with shock and awe as she followed her friends inside.
The door slammed shut behind them, and then promptly disappeared, leaving only a solid stone wall. Talia frowned, slightly unnerved. This felt suspiciously like the beginning of a horror movie.
"Uh, where'd the door go?" Superboy asked rhetorically. A shimmer at the other end of the room appeared, transforming into a hologram of Kent Nelson.
"Greetings," the hologram said. "You have entered with a key, but the tower doesn't recognize you. Please state your purpose and intent." Wally cast a glance backwards at M'gann, and then stepped forward, spreading his arms.
"We are true believers," Wally said loudly. "Here to find Doctor Fate!" His voice echoed around the mostly empty room. The hologram frowned slightly upon hearing his words, and then disappeared. Talia tilted her head to the side, confused.
An ominous cracking sound made Talia look at the ground. As she watched, her eyes wide with horror, the ground began to crumble away beneath their feet. Within seconds, the floor beneath the Team was gone, and they were falling towards a pit of fiery lava amid a shower of tiles.
Talia grit her teeth, screwing her eyes shut. She was seriously wishing she'd brought the suit along. Someone collided with Talia with a grunt, and Talia's eyes flew open. Superboy was holding onto her with one hand, and his other hand was digging into the rock wall to slow down their descent. Talia swallowed hard, her eyes locked on the lava, which was growing closer and closer everything second.
Superboy grunted again, adjusting his grip on Talia to lift her higher as they approached the fire at the bottom of the pit. The clone cried out in pain as his feet grazed the molten rock, and Talia winced sympathetically. He pulled his feet out, the shoes he'd been wearing burning up and dissolving as he pushed himself higher up the wall. Talia hung on for dear life, feeling a lot like a koala as she clung to Superboy.
"Those were my favorite boots," Superboy grunted after he managed to pull himself and Talia up another few feet. "This Nelson guy better be worth it." Talia couldn't bring herself to respond. Superboy, being an indestructible clone, wasn't immensely affect by the heat radiating off the lava, but Talia's skin was growing uncomfortably warm, and already sweat was making her hair feel sticky against her scalp. The heat was making her dizzy, and she focused on trying not to slip out of Superboy's grip.
"Having trouble maintaining altitude." Talia looked up at M'gann, who was panting, growing visibly weaker as she and Wally descended slowly. Artemis and Kaldur were crouched on the side of the pit, hanging onto Artemis's grappling line. M'gann swiped a hand over her face, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. "I'm so hot," she gasped.
"You certainly are," Wally agreed, smiling at the Martian. Talia groaned, closing her eyes. How Wally could flirt when the only person keeping him afloat above lava was slowly losing her strength was beyond her.
"Wally!" Artemis scolded the speedster, clearly thinking the same thing Talia was. Wally turned his head, annoyance flashing over his face as he glared at the blonde archer.
"Hey! Inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!" He protested. Artemis shook her head, looking back at Kaldur in concern. Even from this distance, Talia could see that the Atlantean was growing visibly weaker as well.
"My physiology and M'gann's are susceptible to extreme heat," Kaldur said. He sounded weaker than normal, his breath coming in short gasps as he spoke. "We must climb out quickly." Superboy grunted in agreement, tightening his grip around Talia's waist and pulling the two of them up another few inches as the lava bubbled ominously below them.
Talia cast a nervous glance at M'gann and Wally, who were still descending towards the lava pit slowly but steadily. M'gann's eyes flickered shut, and then shot open as she face-palmed.
"Hello, Megan," she exclaimed. "We never truly answered the question." She turned her head upwards, raising her voice as loud as she could manage. "Red Tornado sent us to see if Mr. Nelson and the Helmet were safe!"
Responding to M'gann's words instantaneously, a barrier slid closed over the lava. Talia sighed in relief as the heat almost immediately disappeared, and she and Superboy dropped to the ground. Talia unwound herself from the clone, leaning against the stone wall. The other members of the Team landed next to them. M'gann collapsed to the ground, bending forwards to catch her breath. Talia glanced at Superboy, her eyes wide.
"Thanks," she said to her friend, shaking her head with wide eyes. "I mean - wow. Thanks." Superboy smiled at her, nodding his head to acknowledge her gratitude.
Kaldur touched down on the platform and then frowned, looking downwards. As usual, his feet were bare, so he immediately noticed the temperature of the platform. He bent down, placing his palm flat to the platform to check again.
"This platform," he said, sounding confused. "It should be red-hot, yet it is cool to the touch." Talia's eyebrows creased, and she too bent down to touch the platform with her hand. Sure enough, it was slightly cooler than room temperature. M'gann slowly stood up straight, recovering from the heat. Wally steadied her.
"Don't worry Megalicious," he said, making Talia wince at the nickname. "I got you." Artemis's head shot up and she growled, stalking over to the speedster and shoving him away from M'gann.
"Enough!" she shouted, sweeping her hand through the air as she shoved Wally up against the wall. She stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the speedster. "Your little impress-Megan-at-all-costs game nearly got us all barbequed!" Wally scowled, his shoulders tightening defensively.
"When did this become my fault?" Wally protested, pushing himself off of the wall and glaring back at the archer. Artemis rolled her eyes.
"When you lied to that – whatever it was – and called yourself a 'true believer.'" She put up air quote around the words "true believer" and Wally scowled. Behind Artemis, M'gann frowned, disappointment crossing her face.
"Wally!" she exclaimed, sounding sad. "You don't believe?" Wally glanced around at his friends, and then sighed, throwing his arms wide as he gave up his act.
"Fine!" he snapped. "I lied about believing in magic. But magic is the real lie – a major load!" Kaldur was on his knees, examining the platform beneath their feet, but he glanced up when Wally spoke.
"Wally," the Atlantean said, as cool and collected as always. "I studied for a year at the Conservatory for Sorcery in Atlantis. The mystic arts created the skin icons that power my water bearers." Wally scoffed, disgusted.
"Dude, you ever hear of bio-electricity?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips. Wally shrugged, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he spoke. "Hey, in primitive cultures fire was once considered magical, too!" Kaldur sighed, turning away from the defensive speedster and shaking his head. Talia frowned.
"Pretty sure you just compared Atlanteans to a 'primitive culture,'" Talia said. Wally's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but Talia plowed on, not letting the speedster get a word in edgewise. "And not only is that probably really offensive, it's kinda a dumb thing to say because they're literally more evolved than regular humans like you and me." Wally raised an eyebrow, briefly thrown by Talia's choice of words.
"I'm a meta-human," he replied. Talia shook her head. She was writing her dissertation on this, she knew what she was talking about.
"You're still human. Mutants - Atlanteans being a sub-species of mutants - are more evolved than any other lifeform on this Earth. Meta-humans are humans with an activated gene that – guess what – we all have. Mutants are a different species." Wally shrugged, not bothered by Talia's lecture.
"You know, you're still proving my point," Wally told her. "Mutation, evolution – that's science. Magic has nothing to do with it - because it doesn't exist." Talia groaned, rolling her eyes and turning away. She wasn't going to lie and say she was a complete and total believer of magic at all times, but she hoped to god she wasn't as stubborn as Wally was.
"You're pretty close-minded for someone who can break the sound barrier in their sneakers," Artemis said, putting her hands on her hips. Wally snorted.
"That's science," he replied coldly. "I recreated Flash's laboratory experiment and here I am!" He waved his hands dramatically, rolling his eyes as he spoke. "Everything can be explained by science." Kaldur sat back on his haunches, seeming to lose his patience with Wally's protests. He placed his hand on the metal handle of a trapdoor in the center of the platform.
"Let us test that theory." Wally's eyes widened when he realized what Kaldur was planning. He stepped forward, raising a hand hurriedly.
"Wait!" he protested. "The backdraft from the lava will roast us alive!" Ignoring Wally's objection, Kaldur pulled on the trapdoor handle firmly, yanking it open. A gust of wind blew out – cold air, mixed with flakes of snow. Talia blinked in surprise, a smile gracing her face as she shook her head in wonder and surprise. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but certainly not this.
"It's snow!" M'gann exclaimed, laughing and putting hand out to touch the flakes. Talia stepped forward as well, waving her head through the blast of wind. Any remaining sweat on Talia's face was quickly chilled by the cold air. Artemis smirked, turning to Wally smugly.
"Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" she asked him, satisfied at the dumbfounded look on his face. Wally glared at her, looking away indignantly as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Kaldur slipped through the trapdoor opening, and Talia followed, dropping through the opening after her friends.
Although Talia jumped downwards, as she fell she was automatically reoriented when she landed in the wintery land. She looked around, surprised, and realized that the trapdoor was sideways in midair on this side. She shook her head in amazement, smiling slightly.
Wally was the last to jump through the trapdoor, and the Team watched as the opening closed after them, leaving no possible exit. Artemis walked over to Wally, her feet crunched over the snow as she propped her hands on her hips expectantly.
"Well?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. She clearly expected Wally to give up his know-it-all attitude and admit he'd been wrong, but no such luck.
"Ever hear of string theory?" Wally asked, refusing to budge. "We're in a pocket dimension." Talia huffed out a laugh as Artemis groaned loudly, spinning away from the speedster.
"Normally, I'd agree," Talia said, looking around. Her breath came out in puffs as she spoke. She glanced back at the speedster, raising her eyebrows. "Wally, I like science too, but you have to admit – there are somethings that we don't have explanations for." Wally crossed his arms, looking away and shaking his head in response. Talia shrugged her shoulders, looking around at the wintery landscape.
"What's that?" M'gann asked, making Talia turn around. She followed the Martian's gaze. Hovering in midair a few yards away was a wooden cane with a brass handle. It was oddly familiar looking. It took Talia a few moments to recognize it, but she quickly realized that it was the cane that Kent Nelson had been holding in the picture Red Tornado showed them. Artemis walked over to investigate.
"Ooh, maybe it's Nelson's magic wand!" Wally said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He zipped over to it, reaching the cane at the same time Artemis did. They both grabbed onto it at the same time.
"I got it," both Artemis and Wally said, glaring at one another. The cane began to glow gold, and both of the teenagers' eyes widened in surprise. "I can't let go!" they exclaimed in unison as they tried to pull rest of the Team members watched in shock as the cane flew upwards, pulling Wally and Artemis along with it. Then, in a flash of light, the cane and the two teenagers disappeared. Talia's mouth fell open.
The remaining four members of the Team exchanged looks, unsure of what to do. They had no way of telling where their friends had disappeared to, or even where the four of them were. Talia wasn't even sure if they were still in the Tower of Fate. It was completely possible that they had been transported to the Arctic somewhere.
"Come," Kaldur said, breaking the silence. "I am sure we can find our way out and reunite with Artemis and Wally." He started walking towards away from the direction the door had left them, leading the Team through the snowy landscape.
"That makes one of us," Talia mumbled as she followed the Atlantean, shaking her head.
"I don't understand Wally," M'gann said as the four teenagers walked. Talia glanced at the other girl. Despite her purple headband, M'gann's hair was blowing around her face. Talia had tucked her own hair up into her baseball cap to keep the strands from getting in her eyes. M'gann shook her head. "It's almost like he needs to believe the impossible can't happen."
"Wally uses his understanding of science to control what he cannot comprehend," Kaldur explained to the Martian. "Acknowledging the existence of magic would be to relinquish the last vestige of that control." M'gann hummed, nodding her head slowly as she mulled this over.
A loud cracking sound that echoed through the seemingly empty landscape made the Team pause. Talia looked around, and her eyes fell on a small mountain about twenty-five feet away. At the top of the hill was a door with a small staircase leading to it. It had appeared out of nowhere. M'gann changed direction, turning to lead the others up the hill.
Talia was the first to step through the door, and yet again, it changed direction as she walked through it. Instead of stepping down onto a level platform, the other end of the door opened up in midair, and she fell several feet to the ground.
Talia hit the floor with a loud grunt, wincing as the impact rang through her body. She shoved herself, only to be shoved flat again when someone landed on her. Her glasses clattered off her face and to the ground.
"Oomph!" she grunted. She shoved Superboy off her and picked up her glasses, wincing. The clone weighed a ton. Talia sat up slowly, looking around. They were on a platform with a large golden bell. Wally and Artemis were there, along with Kent Nelson.
"Friends of yours?" the old man asked Artemis and Wally, sounding amused. The archer ran over to the other members of the Team. She offered Talia her hand, and then hauled the other girl to her feet.
"Thanks," Talia said breathlessly, pushing her glasses back onto her face. Before she could say more, a jolt of electricity hit the floor by her feet. She leapt to the side to avoid being struck, rolling onto the ground.
"Friends of yours?" she heard Wally exclaim in sarcastic response to Nelson's question.
She rolled back onto her knees, looking up just in time to see Wally and Kent Nelson step into the large bell, which was now glowing. One of the attackers, a pale boy with dark horns who was holding a large cat, flew after them and also disappeared. The other man, who Talia assumed was Abracadabra, leapt down the stairs until he was on the same platform as the others, beginning to attack the Team with his electricity.
Talia slid her fingers over the watch around her left wrist, again wishing she'd brought the arc reactor along. Sure, they hadn't been expecting trouble, but it was so portable! There was no reason she shouldn't have brought it, and yet she hadn't. The gauntlet formed over her hand like a glove, and she fired a blast at the man in front of her. He simply raised a hand, managing to absorb the energy from the repulsor blast and redirect it back at her.
Talia rolled to the side, again narrowly avoiding being hit by the man's attack. As she watched in horror, Superboy leapt at Abracadabra, who launched an electric blast at the Boy of Steel, effectively knocking him to the ground. The villain raised his hand again, trapping Superboy underneath a cage of electricity. When Kaldur attempted to attack Abracadabra he received the same treatment. Both boys were unable to move, completely immobilized by the electricity.
Artemis and Talia glanced at one another, both girls nodding at one another before launching a synchronized attack. Talia ran to the left, launching another volley of blasts at Abracadabra while Artemis attacked him with arrows from the crossbow she brought along.
Out of the corner of her eye, Talia could see M'gann floating a few feet away. Her eyes were flowing white, and Talia could guess she was attempting to contact Wally.
Abracadabra growled, briefly forced to go on the defensive as he knocked away Artemis's arrows and Talia's sonic blasts. After only a moment, he was able to return to attacking, sending out two jolts of electricity that hit both girls dead-on, pinning them to the ground underneath the electric cages.
Talia cried out, forced to flatten herself against the ground to attempt to escape being shocked. Every time she moved, a painful jolt of electricity shocked through her body.
She wasn't sure how long she lay there, grunting every time the electricity shocked her, but suddenly the cage dissolved. Talia pushed herself up, grimacing as the last few shocks of electricity dissipated. Abracadabra was standing in front of them, looking shell-shocked as he stared down at himself. He'd been stripped to his underwear.
Superboy, who was closest to Abracadabra, stepped forward. The clone smirked, pulling his fist back.
"Show's over," he mocked, punching the villain in the face. Talia got to her feet slowly, rubbing the back of her neck as she wondered what had happened. She was guessing Doctor Fate had intervened, but where was he?
As the Team members looked around, confused, a spinning orange portal opened up in front of the Team. Sparks of magic flickered off of it. Talia recognized it immediately, even before the man who conjured it stepped through.
Doctor Strange looked at the group of teenagers in front of him, frowning slightly in confusion. The red cape he always wore twitched around him; Talia remembered that it seemed to have a mind of its own.
"Strange," she greeted the man, stepping forward to acknowledge the sorcerer's presence. He glanced at her, and after a moment, recognition flickered over his face.
"Talia Stark," he said, sounding slightly surprised. He looked at the group of teenagers. "I take it you and your friends aren't the cause of the surge in mystic energy I sensed here." Talia raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously?" she asked, unable to resist. "You sensed a disturbance in the force?" Doctor Strange sighed, ignoring her comment, and looked around. Before he could question what had happened further, Wally stepped through the bell again. He was holding a golden helmet in his hands, and looked somber. He raised his head, his eyes falling on his teammates.
"Kent Nelson is dead," the speedster said quietly. Talia stiffened, her heart pounding in her chest with surprise. Doctor Strange's eyes widened at that news and he stepped forward.
"What happened?" he asked, staring at Wally intensely. Wally blinked, noticing the man's presence for the first time. He faltered, looking around at his friends for an explanation.
"Doctor Strange," Talia explained, motioning to the man. "Earth's Sorcerer Supreme." Doctor Strange dipped his head, acknowledging the introduction. He was quiet for a moment as he looked around the Tower.
"There was a Lord of Chaos here," he said, his eyes narrowed. Talia wondered how he knew. She was tempted to make another Jedi joke, but didn't. Wally nodded, confirming Doctor Strange's suspicious.
"Nelson called him – Klarion?" Wally replied, sounding a little unsure. Strange nodded, frowning at the name.
"Of course," he murmured. "The Witch Boy." He turned back to Talia. "Who sent you here?" Talia glanced briefly at Kaldur, and the Atlantean nodded, giving her permission to talk. It wasn't that Talia didn't trust Strange, but the Team was supposed to be covert.
"Red Tornado," she replied. "On behalf of the Justice League." Doctor Strange hummed. He walked over to the bell, placing his hand against the golden metal. It began to glow in response to his touch.
"Very well," he said. He turned back to the Team members, twisting his hands to open another of his portals. It flickered open, and on the other side Talia could see the parking lot where the Team had left the BioShip. "I'll take things from here. You kids can leave." Without waiting for the Team's response, Doctor Strange stepped into the bell and vanished.
Talia glanced at her friends, sighing in annoyance. Kids. All the Team members had similar looks of irritation on their faces. No matter how many of their superiors they managed to impress, there were always more to prove themselves too. Kaldur sighed.
"Come," he told the Team, beckoning them towards Strange's portal. "We must report to Red Tornado."
Talia didn't protest as the Team headed back to the BioShip. She was tired and sore from having been beat up this mission, not to mention sad that Nelson was dead. Even though she didn't know the guy, the news was disheartening.
Also, Talia couldn't deny the fact that she was a little preoccupied with her Extremis virus. Her dad was out of town for a few days for Stark Industries business, and it left her the perfect opportunity to work on creating the serum.
AVENGERS COMPOUND
August 21, 20:53 EDT
Talia returned to the Avengers compound, her head hanging low as she entered the building. She'd just returned from Kent Nelson's funeral, and her hair was soaking wet – fittingly, it had started raining. Talia shivered slightly. They'd been instructed to attend the funeral in uniform, so Talia had been wearing the new suit her father had made for her. Although it was water-resistant, Talia's skin was damp and she couldn't wait to change into warm, dry clothes.
"Good evening, miss," JARVIS said as Talia closed the door to the compound. Talia hummed in response, too exhausted to formulate words. She headed up the stairs to her quarters as JARVIS continued to speak. "If you check your recent messages, Miss Potts has sent you your father's travel schedule for the next week. He is currently en route to Tokyo."
Talia nodded her head, tugging the arc reactor off of her suit and setting it on her bedside table. She unzipped the flight suit and tossed into her laundry basket, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and white t-shirt. She wrapped a cardigan around her shoulders and shoved her feet into her slippers before snatching the arc reactor back off the bedside. Switching the light to her room back off, Talia headed down to her lab.
"Is there anyone here, J?" she asked as she headed down the stairs. She punched in the code to access the lab, and the door slid open with a hiss. She was secretly hoping that Bruce was in the compound. Earlier that day, Talia had synthesized her new-and-improved Extremis, and she was hoping for another opinion. She knew that Bruce would immediately tell her father what she'd done, but now that she'd finished her work, Talia wasn't concerned about dealing with the consequences.
"Captain Rogers and Agents Romanoff and Barton departed for a mission some time ago," JARVIS replied promptly. "Dr. Banner is at a conference, and Miss Maximoff does not return until the day after tomorrow." Talia nodded, a little disappointed. "Sergeant Barnes is in his quarters."
"Alright, thanks JARVIS," Talia said. She stood in the middle of her lab, looking around. She'd left the Extremis in the corner of her lab, strategically placed in the closest thing to a blindspot JARVIS's cameras had. She could have taken it to her room, since none of the living quarters were equipped with cameras, but that would have been a cause for suspicion. Talia picked up one of the vials, observing the serum.
She couldn't help but smile as she surveyed her work, proud that she'd actually done it. She rotated the vial in her hand, admiring the translucent amber liquid.
"Stark," a voice said. Talia raised her head to see Barnes hovering at the door to her lab, looking awkward. Talia lowered the vial from in front of her face, her cheeks flushing slightly when she realized how odd she must look. The soldier shifted slightly, looking around the lab. "Uh – your dad here?" Talia shook her head, smiling apologetically.
"He's in – uh, Japan," she replied, remembering what JARVIS had said earlier. "Stark Industries World Tour," Talia mocked, rolling her eyes slightly. "He'll be back in a few days." Barnes grimaced, and Talia frowned, noticing the discomfort in his stance. "Everything okay?"
"My arm's been acting up," he replied, trailing off hesitantly. "There's a lag." He eyed Talia, considering. "You're pretty bright – think you could take a look at it?" Talia's eyes widened with poorly concealed excitement. She set the vial of Extremis down on the table behind her, forgetting to put it back with the others in her haste.
"Seriously?" she asked – and no, her voice certainly did not squeak at the end. Barnes smiled slightly, amused at Talia's clear excitement, and she cleared her throat in an attempt to regain some form of professionalism. "Um, yeah, of course. Come in." Barnes dipped his head in acknowledgement, stepping into the lab.
Talia motioned for him to take a seat in the chair next to one of the lab tables as she crossed the room in search of tools. She eyed him as he sat down, his shoulders stiff. She reminded herself that he was still technically recovering, even though he'd been cleared for missions a while ago, and that his arm had been a weapon from HYDRA. She figured he might still be sensitive about it.
Clearing her throat, Talia headed back over to Barnes. She placed her tools down on the table right beside him, so he had a clear view of what she was going to be using. His eyes flickered to the tools. She made sure to set them down gently, although that was admittedly less because she was concerned of being perceived as a threat and more so because she was trying to seem nonchalant.
"Okay," she said, reaching for a screwdriver. She waggled it in front of him. "I'm just going to pop you open now." She hesitated, remembering that the mechanics in his arms were linked to his nerves: if she made a wrong move while poking around in his arm if could seriously hurt him. "I'm assuming you don't want to be put under…"
Barnes shook his head quickly, and Talia nodded, thinking. She was concerned of hurting him, but she knew his super-solider metabolism would just burn through any anesthesia or painkiller she tried to give him.
"Is it okay if I take you off-line?" she asked him after a moment of careful consideration. "I don't want anything to hurt." She tapped the side of his metal arm, explaining herself. "I'll all do is disconnect your natural nerves from the mechanics in this. That way, if I touch anything in there it won't cause you any pain." She looked at him. "Good?"
"Yeah," Barnes replied, taking a deep breath. He looked away, a little embarrassed to be seen so on edge in front of this fifteen year old girl. "Thanks."
She nodded in response before beginning to unscrew the platings of his metal arm. Once she popped it open and revealed the complex mechanics underneath, she placed down her screwdriver. Reaching in carefully, she quickly disconnected a few wires, and then glanced up at Barnes. "Numb?" she asked, checking in. He frowned, nodding.
"Think so," he replied. He glanced down at the metal arm, pausing. "Yeah, it's numb – I can't wiggle my fingers." Talia nodded, relieved that she hadn't screwed up.
"Okay, good," she murmured, looking at the complex machinery of the inside of his arm. She scanned the mechanics carefully, tapping her fingers against the table as she looked. Shuri had designed the arm, so Talia was doubting it was a flaw in the programming. Which meant it had to have been something that would need to be touched up, by someone who wasn't Shuri…Talia's eyes flicked to the part of the arm that was the most apt to damage, the parts that needed to be touched up the most.
"I see the problem," she said after a only few minutes. Some of the servos in his arm were rusted over, a thin film of some kind covering the metal. She could tell with a single glass that the rusted servos weren't vibranium. She glanced at Barnes, shaking her head in mock-disapproval. "Did one of SHIELD's mechanics patch you up recently?" Barnes blinked, nodding his head slowly.
"How'd you know?" he seemed surprised. Talia shook her head, tsking her tongue in disapproval.
"They did ya dirty, man," she told him, turning away to search her lab for the correct pieces. "They replaced a few of the servos in your arm with some cheap metal – some sort steel alloy, maybe." She dug through a drawer, finding the pieces she was looking for and heading back over to Barnes. She placed the replacement servos on the table beside him - these ones were made of vibranium.
"It reacted with the vibranium – " Talia hummed, cutting herself off as she thought about that again. "- Actually," she murmured, "That's kinda interesting. J, make a note." Barnes watched her in amusement as she shook her head, retaining her train of thought.
"Anyways," she continued. "It rusted over, and that rust is creating friction between the other servos and joints. And, voila, you have a lag." She gestured with her hands. Barnes couldn't help but to chuckle at her clear enthusiasm, but his laughter was cut off by the sound of crashing glass from a few floors above. Both he and Talia froze. Talia frowned, lowering her hand and placing the screwdriver down on the table. She waited for a few seconds, listening.
"JARVIS?" she asked, hoping for an explanation. To her surprise and dismay, she was met with only silence. Talia rushed across the room, checking the monitor on the wall. She pressed the screen, scanning her hand and punching in the bypass code to attempt to get JARVIS to reboot. She watched anxiously for a few minutes, but the system beeped, denying her access.
Talia stood there, her blood turning to ice as she stared at the screen unseeingly. Very few people had the ability to take JARVIS offline completely. She and her father knew how, and Pepper and Rhodey sort of knew. But hardly anyone else did. Not even most of the Avengers knew how to shot JARVIS down.
"What's going on?" Barnes asked her, sounding wary. Talia shook her head in answer, heading back over to him. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
"I think someone's breaking it," she said tersely, picking the screwdriver and beginning to fiddle with Barnes's arm again. Her hands were shaking, and she cursed under her breath, trying to steady them. "I'm putting you back online." Barnes turned his head, looking through the lab doors. His eyes widened as he saw the approaching figures.
"No time," Barnes growled. "Get down!" He twisted around in his chair, shoving Talia to the ground with his flesh arm. Talia hit the floor at the same moment that the glass door to the lab shattered, smoke and fire filling the air as glass rained down around the room. Barnes crashed down next to her, flipping the lab table on its side in a fluid motion in order to provide protection to the two of them as the sound of gunfire filled the room.
Tools and pieces of machinery crashed to the floor around them, but the metal table offered some protection from the bullets ricocheting around the room.
Gritting her teeth, Talia scooted backwards until her back was pressed against the wall. She was faintly aware of sharp shards digging into the legs and pricking the skin through her sweatpants, but she was more focused on trying to identify the assailants. The smoke that filled the room made it almost impossible to see.
"Kid!" Barnes shouted, glancing back at her from where he was crouched a few yards away.
"I'm fine!" She called back. She backed up farther, ducking underneath another lab table and pressing her back against the wall. She wasn't just cowering, though – there was a gun holster underneath the table. She slid her fingers up, unhooking the gun blindly as she kept her eyes forward the entire time.
"Barnes!" Talia shouted in warning, just before tossing the weapon across the room to the former soldier. He twisted around and snatched it out of the air, expertly using only one hand to aim and fire it. Although he normally seemed to favor his metal arm as his dominant hand, he seemed perfectly capable of aiming the handgun with his flesh arm.
Keeping her eyes cast around the room to make sure she wouldn't be caught off guard, Talia slid her fingers over the StarkWatch on her wrist, forming it into a gauntlet. Leaning out from the minimal cover of the table, Talia fired twice in the direction of the shots. The smoke made if difficult to aim, but she heard a grunt and a shout of pain, so she was guessing that at least one of her shots had hit one of the attackers.
"Find the serum!" a voice ordered through the smoke. Talia's eyes widened with horror. She could guess which serum they were referring to: they were after her Extremis. If I make it out of this alive, Talia promised to herself as she scooted across the floor, trying to get to the arc reactor. I won't even be mad when Dad says 'I told you so.'
Talia spotted the arc reactor on top of the desk. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she shoved herself up from the safety of the ground to snatch it.
Just before her fingers could close around the arc reactor, a gunshot rang out and Talia screamed in pain as the bullet hit her in the back of the shoulder.
Whimpering, Talia dropped back to the ground and rolled under the desk, pressing her hand to the wound. She pulled her hand back, staring at the blood on her fingers in shock.
"Stark!" Barnes shouted, turning his head. He could see Talia a few yards from him, bleeding. "You okay, kid?" Talia rolled over, gritting her teeth in frustration. She hadn't even been able to grab the arc reactor.
"Fine," she ground out, managing to sit up. Then her eyes widened. "Barnes, look out!" One of the invaders stepped forward, grabbing the soldier by the back of his neck in his moment of distraction. Talia watched in horror as the man cracked his gun over Barnes's head, hard enough that the super-soldier's eyes rolled back into his head.
The attacker leaned up, dropping the unconscious man to the floor and turned towards Talia. For the first time, the teenager was able to get a good look at the person leading the attack. She recognized him immediately.
It was Sportsmaster. Horror pulsed through her as she realized with certainty what they wanted with the serum. She knew she couldn't let it happen. Whatever they did with her invention would bring nothing but evil.
New determination spreading through her, Talia leaned up towards the arc reactor again. This time, she managed to snatch up the machine, and she pressed it onto her chest firmly. She knew where the Extremis was, and she knew that she couldn't let them get to it. Even if that meant destroying all her hard work.
Talia stumbled across the lab as her armor began to form around her. Bullets ricocheted off of the suit as she plodded forwards. Anger pulsed through her as she saw one of the masked assassins fiddling with the vials of amber liquid.
"No!" she shouted. She pulled her arm back, firing two shots. But she wasn't aiming at the assassin – she was aiming at the virus.
The vials of Extremis exploded, sending shards of glass and the serum spraying in every direction. The assassin cried out, stepping back and throwing an arm over their face to avoid being hit with the glass. Talia stood there, a brief moment of satisfaction filling her before something jolted her in the back. An electric current spread through the suit and Talia cried out in a mixture of pain and confusion as the suit began to dissolve around her.
Talia stared down at the arc reactor on her chest, her eyes wide with shock as the armor began to shrink back into the power source. And then – even more unbelievably – the arc reactor began to spark.
"Impossible…" Talia whispered, staring at the broken reactor in her chest. She was so distracted that she didn't noticed when someone shoved her from behind. Talia grunted, hitting the ground hard. The impact of her chest to the floor made the already broken arc reactor spark dangerously again. The glass of the machine cracked.
"She destroyed it," Sportsmaster muttered, his eyes narrowed in anger behind the hockey mask. He looked at the broken vials of Talia's Extremis in dismay, before shrugging. "I suppose that means she's of no use, now." The villain bent down over the teenage girl. He could tell with a quick assessment that she was wounded badly – but perhaps not fatally. He glanced down at the glowing blue machinery balanced on her chest, the sharp edges gleaming. An idea occurred to him.
Talia cried out in pain as Sportsmaster picked up the arc reactor, balancing it upright and then driving the broken glass and metal of the arc reactor into her chest. Her agonized scream was cut off abruptly as the air left her lungs and blood filled her mouth, causing her to gag. She moaned, rolling over onto her side and letting blood dribble from her mouth as she fought for air.
"Move out," Sportsmaster ordered, turning away callously. "The mission was a failure."
Talia closed her eyes, her cheek pressed into the cold ground as she heard footsteps crunch over the glass on the ground as the assassins moved away. Her chest rose and fell weakly, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she couldn't fight for breath anymore.
As she lay there, Talia did a mental assessment of her injuries. She had a gunshot wound in her left shoulder, multiple contusions all over her body. But the worst injuries were from the arc reactor: it had caused many deep cuts and probably internal injuries when Sportsmaster had shoved it into her chest. It was possible that even her heart had been damaged, although she had no way of knowing for sure. But it would be ironic for sure - her dad had created the arc reactor to help power his heart, and it would end up being the thing that stopped hers.
Talia coughed weakly, blood dribbling down her chin as she hacked for breath. Her head lolled backwards on the ground, her eyes filled with tears of pain.
I'm going to die here, she thought, closing her eyes briefly as tears welled up in them. She swallowed hard, her chest aching even more potently as she pictured her father's expression. She wished, more than anything, that she'd had the chance to say good-bye. She couldn't even leave a message for JARVIS to give to him. A tear trickled down her cheek slowly at the thought.
A beep made Talia open her eyes. Dum-E was hovering over her, making sad-sounding beeps and whirs. She smiled through her tears, reaching a hand up with some difficulty and resting it against the robot's claw.
"Hey, there," she murmured, touching the metal of her father's invention. When her fingers contacted the robot, Dum-E beeped again, and dropped something into Talia's palm. The girl blinked her eyes open when her fingers brushed against smoosh glass.
Her breath hitching in her throat, Talia lowered the glass vial until it was right in front of her eyes. It was an unbroken vial of Extremis – the one she'd placed on the lab table behind her when Barnes had come in. She'd forgotten about it, and Sportsmaster hadn't noticed it. Talia stared at in unseeingly, realization crashing over her.
It could possibly save Talia's life.
A rush of adrenaline spread through her veins, and the surge of energy helped Talia clamor to her feet. She lurched across the lab, losing balance and crashing into one of the still-upright lab tables. Grunting in pain, Talia braced her hand against the table top, pushing herself back up.
Her breath came in short gasps as she reached across the table, her fingers closing around a syringe. She pulled her arm backwards and grit her teeth, air leaving her lungs in a sharp whistle as she fought to steady her hands.
Taking a deep breath that made pain shoot through her bleeding chest, Talia managed to brace the needle of the syringe against the top of the vial. She filled the syringe with the Extremis serum, completely draining the virus from the vial.
Talia could practically feel her heartbeat slowing down. Her vision was going foggy, throbbing in and out as she struggled to remain in an upright position. Her legs slackened beneath her, threatening to give out.
With her last bit of functional brain power, Talia aimed the needle at the vein in her wrist. She hardly registered the point piercing her skin, or the feeling of the Extremis rushing through her veins. Her last thought, before she collapsed to the floor was:
I really hope I made this right.
AVENGERS COMPOUND
August 22, 00:04 EDT
The Quinjet broke through the cloud cover of the sky, and the Avengers compound came into view. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but then JARVIS spoke up.
"Captain," the AI said, sounding concerned. The solider raised his head, habitually glancing towards the ceiling to listen to the AI. "My cameras and sensors in the compound have been disrupted. Something blocked my other systems from noticing this until just now." JARVIS sounded concerned by this, and Captain America certainly felt concerned - that shouldn't be possible.
Captain America frowned, lifting his head from where he'd been sitting in the back of the jet. He stood up, walking forwards to look out the window of the Quinjet. Hawkeye turned towards the other man, looking just as confused as he felt.
"There," Black Widow said suddenly, pointing. The Captain followed her gaze, apprehension sparking in him as he stared at the speck in the distance. It was just recognizable as a helicopter – one that had undoubtedly just left the compound. Captain America raised his hand to the comm. in his ear, pressing down to open up the channel.
"Bucky," he said, frowning at the disappearing chopper. "Report." He waited a few moments, and then repeated his request with mounting concern. When he still received no response, he dropped his hand. "JARVIS, who else was in the compound the last you knew?"
"Miss Stark was present as well as Sergeant Barnes," JARVIS replied promptly, a note of concern in his voice. Captain America exchanged a look with Black Widow. Judging by the lack of silence he was getting from Bucky, the situation was concerning. Both Talia and Bucky were capable of defending themselves, but there was no telling how many people had invaded the compound, and the two of them weren't a match for an army.
Hawkeye narrowed his eyes, sliding the wheels of the Quinjet out to prepare for landing. He piloted the plane smoothly down into the hanger, landing the jet in its normal spot. Once the plane touched down, the three Avengers left the hanger, heading towards the compound to survey the damage.
Captain America led his team into the compound, holding his shield aloft cautiously. The door to the compound had been blown up, clearly the point of entry of the invaders. The three Avengers moved in quietly, looking around. When no one immediately came running, either friend or foe, Captain America lowered his shield apprehensively.
"Stay on guard," he ordered, looking around the compound suspiciously. Besides the front door, things seemed to be untouched so far. "They may still be here."
"Who is 'they?'" Hawkeye muttered, drawing an arrow and knocking it against his bow. The Captain shrugged, walking through the room slowly and quietly. The three Avengers fanned out, looking for any sign of people: either Talia and Bucky or the invaders. Romanoff walked through the compound, looking around carefully.
"I think they were in the lab," she said at last, looking down to the other level. The two men walked over to her, looking down at what she was seeing. From the angle they were at, they couldn't see inside the lab, but the broken glass strewn over the ground was clear. There was a gaping, jagged hole in the glass wall of the lab.
"Let's go," the Captain ordered, turning down the stairs and walking towards the lab. As he walked, concern was growing in his chest. Talia spent the majority of her time in the lab. If she'd been in there when they'd attacked...
His feet crunched over broken glass as he led the other two Avengers through the compound and towards the lab. When they reached the bottom level, it became clear that it had always been the target.
The front glass wall had been blown to pieces, which explained the magnitude of broken glass covering the floor. Looking through the gaping hole in the wall, Captain America could see flipped over lab tables and bullet holes peppering the walls. Pieces of Tony and Talia's machinery were strewn across the ground, as well as random tools. He could also see Bucky sprawled across the ground.
Captain America moved towards his best friend, sudden nerves gripping him as he looked down at Bucky's unconscious body. He was always wary of a reemergence of the Winter Soldier, and he hated that he had to worry about it.
Heart pounding, Captain America nodded at Black Widow. She nodded, understanding what he was asking. She stepped back, raising her arm and aiming carefully. She was ready to taze Bucky if he became violent – not something Captain America was happy about, but a necessary measure. Taking a deep breath, the Captain kicked his friend awake.
Bucky sat up with a gasp, jolting awake and looking around wildly. Romanoff took a step back, her eyes trained carefully on his movements as she waited for definitive proof that he was the Winter Soldier.
"Buck," Captain America said carefully, warily, raising a hand to ensure that Black Widow wouldn't shoot. Bucky nodded his head, raising his flesh hand in surrender. His metal arm stayed down by his side, but judging its half-open state, it was useless.
"It's me," he promised. Captain America sighed in relief, lowering his shield and looking around. Black Widow followed his lead. Bucky followed his gaze, and then the man's eyes widened. He shot to his feet, stumbling slightly and bracing himself against the sideways table.
"Stark's kid," he said suddenly, casting his eyes over the destroyed laboratory. His words came out slurred, his face significantly paler than normal. That, coupled with the fact that he had a dark bruise on his temple made the Captain put together an educated guess that his friend had a concussion. Captain America looked around the lab, trying to spot Talia.
"She's here," Hawkeye responded, seeing her. Captain America turned his head, freezing when he saw Talia sprawled out on the ground on the other side of the room. The archer was across the lab already, kneeling on the ground beside the girl's prone body. He'd placed his bow hastily beside him so he could have both hands free, checking Talia's pulse.
"Is she –" Captain America practically choked on the word "dead." The mere thought of having to tell Tony that his daughter was dead made his stomach turn.
"She's breathing," Hawkeye responded quickly, much to everyone's relief. Captain America sighed, holding a hand out to Bucky. His friend looked unsteady on his feet. Bucky accepted his friend's offer, leaning on the other man to remain standing.
"Good," the Captain said. He pulled his helmet off, placing it on one of the few standing tables and running a hand through his hair. He slung his shield across his back, thinking carefully. Part of him wanted to attempt to pursue the attackers, but they were short on hands, and without JARVIS it would be a lot harder to track them. He thought for a moment and then nodded towards Romanoff.
"See if you can get JARVIS back online," he ordered. She nodded, going over to the wall panel and beginning to fuss with it. "Contact Helen Cho. Barton, you and I need to get Bucky and Talia up to medical." The archer nodded, picking his bow up and slinging it across his back. He then bent down carefully, scooping Talia up as gently as possible.
When Clint turned towards Steve, the super-soldier's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't realized how badly injured Talia was until this moment. The shoulder and the front of her t-shirt was dark with blood, and Steve could see twisted metal poking out of Talia's chest. He realized with a jolt of shock that the metal sticking out of her chest was the arc reactor. "Buck, who did this?" Steve asked his friend as he began to haul him up the stairs.
"Dunno," Bucky muttered, clearly struggling to stay lucid. "Couldn't get a good look." Steve grunted, reaching the med bay and tipping his friend onto one of the beds. Bucky groaned, resting his head against the pillow and closing his eyes. Hawkeye walked in after, placing Talia down on one of the tables and hooking her up to an IV.
"Captain Rogers, Agent Barton," JARVIS's voice spoke, making Steve sigh in relief. "Dr. Helen Cho is en route, as is Miss Stark's father. I've given Sir a report on what has occurred. He is heading back to the airport to get a flight back from Tokyo now." Natasha appeared in the doorway of the medical bay as JARVIS spoke, her forehead furrowed in concern as she looked at Talia's prone body.
"Good," Steve said, acknowledging JARVIS's information with a sigh.
"How are they?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Clint as he checked Talia's IV line to make sure it was flowing. The marksman shrugged, his forehead creasing.
"Miss is out of immediate danger," JARVIS replied in answer to Natasha's question. "Her heartbeat and breathing are steady, but she requires medical attention as soon as possible. Sergeant Barnes appears to be suffering from a concussion." Steve nodded to himself, sinking into a chair with a weary sigh.
"JARVIS, do we have any idea who attacked?" he asked, rubbing his temples. There was a pause before JARVIS responded.
"No, Captain," the AI said finally. He almost sounded as though he was picking his words carefully. "But whomever it was, they had the capabilities to completely shut down my systems – and not very many people know how to do that." Steve frowned, exchanging a look with Clint and Natasha.
JARVIS was implying that someone close to the Avengers had been part of the attack.
AVENGERS COMPOUND
August 22, 17:01 EDT
Tony sat across from Dr. Cho as the woman explained to him what had happened to his daughter and how she was recovering. Thankfully, by the time Tony had arrived at the compound Talia was recovering from surgery and completely out of danger, meaning that he didn't have to sit and wonder while the doctors finished. Dr. Cho was confident about a full recovery from Talia, but she had some "notes" to go over with Tony.
Tony, admittedly, was finding it hard to focus on what the doctor was saying. Not only was he eager to see his daughter and check on her himself as soon as she woke up, but he was also exhausted from two fourteen hour flights essentially back-to-back.
"She was shot in the shoulder," Dr. Cho continued. "We removed the bullet and all the shrapnel. Her other main injury was due to the arc reactor." Dr. Cho touched the center of her own chest, frowning. "Someone seemed to have shoved it into her chest using brute force. The machine damaged her sternum and part of her heart and lungs." Tony frowned, his own heart beginning to race at that information.
"That sounds…really bad. Are you sure she's okay?" Dr. Cho nodded, but there was a crease of confusion on the woman's face.
"I am certain that she will be fine," Dr. Cho affirmed. "But by all accounts, she shouldn't be." Tony tensed up. "Something inside Talia seemed to have started to heal her even before we took her into surgery. Her injuries were extensive, but they were already on the mend by the time I got here." Tony frowned, and Dr. Cho continued.
"During the surgery, we took care of the bullet wound first," she said. "And by the time we got to working on removing the arc reactor, well, it was helping her. It had merged with her body and was strengthening her heartbeat, like a pacemaker." Dr. Cho shrugged. "We saw no reason to remove it." Tony steepled his fingers, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"What could have made that happen?" he wondered aloud, confused. Dr. Cho nodded, turning to the tablet in front of her. She drew her fingers across the screen until she found the results she wanted.
"When I ran some tests," Dr. Cho continued. "We found something odd in her bloodstream." Tony closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Oh god, please tell me Talia wasn't on drugs," he said with a groan, sinking into the chair beside the desk. Dr. Cho cracked a smile, shaking her head quickly, to Tony's relief.
"No, no," she hastily amended. "Not drugs, exactly, but…" She turned the tablet screen towards Tony. "See for yourself." Tony looked over the results of Talia's blood samples, frowning slightly. He swiped his fingers over the results, pulling up images of the compound in her blood. The minute he saw the substance in her bloodstream he sighed, recognizing it immediately.
"Extremis," he muttered, shaking his head and setting the tablet aside. He closed his eyes again, rubbing his fingers over his closed eyes as he processed this information and what it meant. Talia hadn't stopped working on the virus, and she'd seemingly managed to complete it the way she'd intended. It had healed her injuries, at least, although perhaps it was too soon to say the Extremis had done anything else to her. Sighing heavily, Tony leaned back in his seat.
Talia wouldn't have used the Extremis on herself unless she was in extreme duress, which led Tony to believe that she'd been much more gravely injured than everyone thought. But the Extremis had healed her, and hadn't displayed any volatile side effects – yet, that is. Frowning, Tony tried to decide if he should be mad that Talia had continued to work on Extremis behind his back. Part of him was convinced that he should be, but the other part of him knew that if she had listened to him, Talia could very well be dead right now.
"Extremis?" Dr. Cho repeated, looking confused. She'd heard of the virus before, but she wasn't sure why or how Talia had gotten her hands on it. Tony nodded, breaking off from his train of thought.
"Talia was re-engineering it," Tony explained, shaking his head. Dr. Cho nodded slowly, understanding. "I told her not to, but…" Tony spread his hands, sighing deeply. "She never listens." Dr. Cho made a humming sound, leaning back against her chair. She was thinking as deeply as Tony was.
"The Extremis must have been what helped her," Dr. Cho mused, remembering the properties of the serum. "It healed her before we took her into surgery." Dr. Cho frowned, wondering if it was also what had made the arc reactor merge to her. It didn't quite make sense, but it was possible. "I wonder – "
Suddenly, a shriek pierced through the air, cutting Dr. Cho off. Tony's eyes flew open wide and he exchanged a look with Dr. Cho. He shot to his feet, turning and running towards his daughter's room with the doctor hot on his heels. The two burst through the door.
Talia was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide. She was panting and holding her arm out for her dad to see. She stared at her father with huge eyes as Tony looked down at Talia's arm. It was covered in the armor.
Frowning in confusion, Tony walked over to Talia. He could see the glow of the arc reactor beneath her t-shirt, so he wasn't quite sure of the cause of her distress. Noticing the confused expression on her face, Talia took a deep breath and flexed her fingers.
Responding to her movement, the armor began to move. Tony's eyes widened as the nanites on her skin began to break down and reform before his very eyes. Talia furrowed her brow in concentration, and the nanites formed together into a small ball clenched in Talia's fist. Talia took another deep breath, opened her hand, and the nanites melted back over her skin. And then, right before their eyes, the nanites dissolved, sliding back not into the arc reactor, but disappearing down, just under Talia's skin.
Okay, Tony thought to himself, comprehending what he was seeing. Talia was manipulating the raw nanites. It wasn't the arc reactor producing them, it was Talia. But that shouldn't be possible...Talia raised her head, her eyes glassy as she stared at her father. Tony's heart was pounding in his chest, confusion gripping him. This shouldn't be happening. How was this happening?
Suddenly, something occurred to him. Tony looked carefully at his daughter, and sure enough, it was her left arm in a sling. Which meant that the bullet and all the shrapnel had been in her left shoulder. If they had removed everything from her left shoulder…cold understanding gripped Tony, and he closed his eyes.
"I just woke up," Talia said, her voice pitching high and displaying her nerves. "I just woke up and it was there." Talia shook her head slowly, confusion and fear evident on her face. "Dad, what's going on?" Tony knelt down beside his daughter, stroking her hair gently to try and calm her. Talia leaned against her father, taking a few deep breaths.
"It's okay," he reassured her, even though his own heart was racing. He sat there for a few minutes, thinking, as Dr. Cho began to check Talia's vitals. Suddenly, Tony stood up, turning towards Dr. Cho with wild eyes. The woman was looking from Talia to Tony, looking a mixture of confused and amazed.
"Helen," he whispered, grabbing her arm. She looked at him, her eyes widening in surprise and concern when she saw the look on his face. Her expression quickly morphed from amazement to worry.
"What's wrong?" the woman asked, concerned by his wild expression. Tony shook his head, quickly gathering his thoughts.
"I need – do you have Talia's x-rays?" he asked in a rush. There was only one explanation for what was happening, but he needed to be absolutely sure. Talia made a questioning sound from behind him and Tony paused, taking a moment to touch his daughter's shoulder reassuringly. "And I think she may need a sedative to calm down." Dr. Cho nodded slowly, bewildered at Tony's harried expression.
"Yes, okay," she agreed. She glanced at Talia who shrugged and nodded, not opposed to the idea. Dr. Cho turned back to Tony and pointed to the computer on the other side of the room. "Her x-rays are on there. I'll give her a sedative now." Tony nodded, already heading across the room.
"Thank you," he murmured, sitting down in front of the computer and beginning to type. He found the file he was looking for quickly, comparing the x-rays they'd taken of Talia before and after the surgery. The one before her surgery showed the bullet in her shoulder, as well as surrounding pieces of shrapnel, including a piece of technology that hadn't been shrapnel, but what they had thought was shrapnel. They'd removed it. Tony's heart sank as he looked at them, his suspicions confirmed.
Swallowing hard, Tony got to his feet again, closing the pictures. He turned back around slowly, looking back to Talia's bed. Dr. Cho was with her, unloading a syringe of medicine into Talia's IV.
Talia raised her head, glancing at her father. The bewildered expression was still evident on her face, but the medicine soon began to kick in. Talia blinked, drowsy, and slumped against the pillows as her eyes slipped shut. Tony watched as her breathing evened out, her fists unclenching against the covers. Dr. Cho turned to leave the room, her eyes falling on Tony.
"Is everything alright?" she asked cautiously, concerned about his erratic behavior. Tony nodded automatically.
"Fine," he responded, clearing his throat quickly. Dr. Cho hummed, slightly unconvinced. Nonetheless, she left him alone, leaving the room and walking down the hallway back towards her lab. Tony waited until she was gone before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number.
"Tony," the voice on the other end said. The man had a pleasant-sounding British accent, but Tony couldn't be relaxed. He swiveled around in the chair, looking at Talia. Suddenly, a lot of things were making sense: the Extremis had kept Talia alive until help arrived, but it wasn't the Extremis that had caused the arc reactor to merge with Talia's body to keep her heart beating. It was Talia's natural mutation that had worked the machinery to keep her alive. She could now manipulate the nano-technology as though it were a part of her body – because it was.
"Tony?" the man asked again, sounding more concerned. Tony closed his eyes, swallowing hard. He'd hoped Talia would never learn the truth, but as usual, he didn't get what he wanted.
"Charles," Tony greeted the other man, finally breaking his silence. He opened his eyes, keeping his gaze locked on his daughter's sleeping form. Tony cleared his throat, his voice hoarse. "I need your help."
this chapter is very long, and was very hard to write. i hope it turned out okay, and hope you guys enjoyed it!
please please please let me know what you think! i love a review, even just a few words! please!
happy new year to everyone, and thanks!