For once, Emory wasn't too upset to see herself trapped in the dreamscape. The longer she remained unconscious, the longer she could put off meeting her new friends. They might hold off on torture until she woke up. If she was lucky.
The typical green and black smoke hovered around her, parting when she stepped forward. Not that she went very far this time. There was no point in looking for a way out when she didn't want out.
Instead, she settled down on the ground to wait, brushing aside pebbles to sit cross-legged in the mists. She drew a deep breath in, found her center, and then began to meditate.
There was no telling how long she sat like that, time had no meaning on this plane. Soon, soft whispers broke through her concentration. That in itself was odd. The dreamscape was a silent place.
She cracked an eye open to look around her. Nothing seemed different, and the whispers disappeared. She closed it once more. The whispers rushed back in.
This time she opened both eyes and stood, twirling in a circle to look all around her. "Show yourself! I know you're there, you might as well stand before me." The tiny spy crossed her arms in defiance. "It's not like I can hurt you here. It's your dreamscape, after all."
She sat back down on the ground, then flopped backwards to sprawl, arms above her. "You keep bringing me here," she called out. "Yet you never say anything, and never show yourself. Until today, when all you do is whisper nonsense, and that's more annoying than useful!"
She closed her eyes again, speaking to no one in particular. "I wouldn't mind the company, you know. All I've got waiting for me out there is torture and pain."
Still silence. She sighed. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you are keeping me here night after night to drive me crazy. Is this your idea of a joke?" She propped back up on her arms, letting her hair hang down behind her. Still no reply.
"Fine, be that way. But I warn you that you woul-" She cut short as a jolting pain ripped through her. "Oh damn. I guess they got tired of waiting for me to wake up."
With that, she blinked out of existence.
There was no way out of this one. Not by herself. Pain shot through her head, spearing through her temples into the core of her brain. Almost against her will, Emory let out a groan as the headache gripped her.
"Well, it seems our guest is awake." She breathed through her nose, trying to stay awake. Little by little, her eyes opened to tight slits. Another groan escaped as bright light barraged her. This wasn't helping the headache any.
"Well," she managed to grunt out between gasps, "It does seem you helped that along."
In reply, another jolt of energy tore through her. She sucked air in through her teeth at the pain.
They gave her a moment's respite after that, and Emory used that time to gather her bearings.
A bright light beat down from above, so that she couldn't see any of her surroundings. Cold steel shackles circled her wrists, keeping her on her tiptoes as she hung from the ceiling. Her armor and protective layers stripped away, she was bare.
Other than an ache from the electricity, and the awful headache, she didn't have any injuries. Yet.
"Now." Seemed the respite was over. "We have been following your career for some time, Agent Black. You and your powers are quite...peculiar." Although she could not see the speaker, the voice came out in clipped German tones. Odd, for a compound in the heartland of Russia.
She took in a deep breath, steeling herself. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She expected the pain, but that made it no less unpleasant.
"I belive that you do, Nightshade," the voice replied, "And you are going to remain our guest until you tell us how you received your abilities. Then, and only then, will I grant you death."
She smirked. The agent doubted that. "Nope. No clue what you are going on about. You must have the wrong spy." This time the pain was worse, eliciting another grunt from her.
Her interrogator ignored the pithy reply, continuing on. "Was it some sort of serum, like Captain Rogers? Radiation, like Dr. Banner?" The voice moved around her as the owner circled like a shark that smelled blood. "It doesn't appear to be technology, but that means nothing. An Inhuman?"
"It could be magic. I am a Slytherin you know. Clint swears up and down I'm a Hufflepuff but he's crazy, what does he know?" She stopped short as more energy surged through her.
"We will break you of that smart mouth before you know it. Let's see how you feel after some time alone in the dark." A door clanked shut, and all the lights died out, leaving her in pitch black.
She spent several minutes hanging there, silent, listening. She needed to make sure she was alone. Once she was certain, she began swinging on the balls of her feet.
After some time, she used the momentum to bring her feet above her head, wrapping them around the chains like an aerial dancer.
Hands freed from the strain of gravity, she pulled a pin from her hair. They may have searched her, but there was no way anyone would get everything out of her thick mane.
Gripping the pin between her teeth, she began working the shackles around her wrists. Easier said than done in the pitch dark, hanging upside down, hair in her face.
After about fifteen minutes, she took a break, working the muscles in her shoulders as much as she could. Then she started again. Another thirty went by with no luck.
Anxiety built in her stomach as the minutes ticked by. They would be coming back before too long, she needed to be out of here by then. She let out a cry of dismay as the pin fell from her mouth to the ground.
Out of nowhere, a pair of gentle hands encircled her wrists. Magic surged through the shackles, releasing the locks and freeing her. She dropped down to the ground and stumbled as the effects of hanging upside down for an hour caught up to her.
Strong arms caught her before she hit the ground and held her up until she regained her equilibrium. "Who are you?" She mumbled, still woozy.
An ally, an ambiguous voice in her head responded. At that moment, alarms blared throughout the compound. Shouts rang out and moved away from their location. Your team is here and drew away the door guards. Take a left and follow that hallway, you should meet up with them there.
The door cracked open, letting in a sliver of light. In the shadows Emory could make out the outline of a man. "Thanks, I guess. Do I get to know anything else about you?"
The figure faded into the shadows, slipping away. Go… The voice said before disappearing completely.
The captive spy stared at the now empty shadows before coming back to herself. There was no time to lose, she needed to get out of here. As she left the dark room, the man stepped back out of the shadows to watch her leave, green eyes burning in the dark.
Shrill sirens echoed through the empty halls as she made her way left, following her mystery saviour's instructions. A single stark hallway loomed in front of her, devoid of any other life. That was a good thing, seeing as she had no weapons and didn't want to out herself as non-human. She proceeded forward, stopping at intersections to check for danger. No one challenged her.
Her luck held out until she reached the end of the corridor. Turning the corner she ran straight into a tall man, the lower half of his face covered by a mask. Dark brown hair tumbled around his shoulders and blank eyes peered down at her.
The most noticeable part of him, though, was his metal arm. Emory got first hand knowledge of that appendage rather soon enough. She struggled against the wall, cold metal hand gripping her throat.
She clawed at the unforgiving arm, prying at the fingers blocking off blood from her brain as darkness creeped in around her. She struggled to no avail. There was no give in his hand, he meant to kill her.
As she was about to lose consciousness, instinct kicked in. If she had to choose between people knowing about Nightshade, and dying, she chose life. She could deal with the fallout later. Chains burst from the wall behind the strange warrior, wrapping around his arms and jerking him back away from her bruised throat.
Emory took a deep gasp in as blood rushed back into her brain and air back into her lungs. She allowed her conjured chains to hold her opponent while she recuperated. A hand reached up to finger at the swelling marks and she winced. "That wasn't very nice of you," she said to the man, watching as he struggled against his bonds with a crazed look in his eyes.
She conjured a dagger from thin air, walking forward to end him. Something in his eyes stopped her short. She reached forward with her free hand to touch his temple and delved into his mind. The mess inside made her recoil back in shock.
"I'm going to let you live," she told the now still warrior. "I know your actions are not of your choosing." With that, she walked back down the hallway, leaving him hanging on the wall.
As she journeyed further down the corridor, the sounds of a fierce battle drifted towards her. Where there was battle, she would most likely find her allies.
Turning a final corner, she came upon Black Widow and Hawkeye back to back, surrounded by enemies. Of course, they didn't seem too worried. The Russians were dropping like flies and the ones remaining seemed to be losing heart.
Emory grabbed up a gun from a fallen soldier and started picking off the outliers, evening the odds a little bit more.
Seeing that another marksman was shooting from the shadows, the remaining enemies turned tail and ran from the room. Clint's face fell in disappointment as he lowered his bow. "Aw come on Em, what's the point in a rescue if you rescue us instead?"
The smaller agent snorted in response. "It seemed like you had it under control. I sped things along." She headed for the opposite door. "We need to leave. Now. The Winter Soldier is in the building."
Her teammates' faces grew pale. The Winter Soldier was a legend, the boogieman of the intelligence community. "Are you sure?" Nat queried.
Emory spared her a glance as they jogged down the hallway. "Tall, dark, metal arm? Yeah I'm pretty sure. I survived him once but I'm not looking forward to Round Two if it's all the same to you."
Clint stared at her in disbelief. "You...took on the Winter Soldier? Without a scratch on you?"
Whatever answer she might have given him choked in her throat as they burst into an open courtyard filled with soldiers. All with their guns pointed at the team.
A tall, pale-haired man stepped forward, clapping his hands in condescension. His German accent told Emory who he was. "Well, well Nightshade, you have exceeded expectations." Natasha started at the name.
"You escaped from your chains, took Winter Soldier out of commission, and then fought your way out. Beautiful. And look," he glanced at her teammates in obvious glee. "You even brought me gifts."
He looked towards Black Widow. "Natalia, it's been too long. Welcome home, my dear." Natasha let out a long stream of Russian, none of it complementary.
He gave her a small smile and continued. "And Clint Barton, the circus freak. I'm sure we will find a place for you as well." The archer's face darkened as he reached up to nock an arrow.
Emory let out a small chuckle, interrupting the man's self-important monologue. He glared at her, fury taking over his thin face. "And what do you find so amusing, Nightshade?"
She smirked. No secret was worth her friends' lives, especially when she put them in danger. Decision made, she raised one hand. Darkness covered the room, cutting the soldiers off from their leader. Gunshots rang out to bounce against the barrier she erected.
Alone, the man didn't seem so sure. The tiny woman allowed the smirk to grow into a full smile, showing all her teeth in a dangerous snarl. Raising the other hand, she gripped his neck with her energy and lifted him from the ground. His toes stretched to keep him connected to the floor below.
"Son of a bitch!" The exclamation came from Clint as he watched the display, jaw hanging slack at Emory's show of abilities. Natasha didn't look surprised in the least. Constant suspicion did come with its perks, after all.
Emory didn't pay them any mind. There would be hell to pay later, but for now she needed to end this before anyone else showed up. With a blink she opened a gate within the barrier holding back the soldiers, letting loose a beast. Screams rose up as a roar tore through the area.
Soon, all was quiet and she released the elemental back to its plane. Only their leader remained. His breath came in short gasps, eyes bulging out in terror as her real powers became evident.
The sorceress leveled a look of pure fury at him, and channeled that anger. This man had put her daughter in danger, had forced her to reveal secrets better left buried. He deserved to die. "There is no replicating my power, fool, for I am not of this Earth. You should not have tampered with what you do not understand."
She squeezed, watching the air leave the man's lungs, bit by bit. She would make it hurt.
"Em! Enough!" The shout broke through her rage, and she released her grip. The pitiful man dropped to the ground, shuddering and gasping for breath. She turned to Clint in silence, looking to him for clarification. He stared back in disbelief, awed by her sheer power and ruthlessness.
Natasha spoke up for him. "We can use him for information. Don't get carried away." Respect, more than anything, shone through on her face. Emory cleared her mind, stepping away from the power to come back to the present.
"Fine. We need to leave, before Winter Soldier escapes the chains I left him in." With another wave of her hand, their new captive raised from the ground, hovering. He came behind them as they ran.
All too soon, the quinjet came into sight, and they were free. After securing the prisoner, Emory curled up across two seats. She had not said a word, and soon slipped into unconsciousness. Tomorrow loomed ahead, but for now, she needed rest.
Here's a nice juicy chapter for you! And even better news, we are now back into old content, content that only needs to be edited to fit the new plot, so those should churn out with few problems. I really enjoyed writing this one, actually. The torture and escape scene were actually part of a really weird dream, but hey, I take inspiration where I can. Happy reading friends, and feel free to review. I would love to know your thoughts on Emory and my character development.