Chapter Three: The Man Comes Around
Wanda Maximoff
Bucky looks like a caged tiger.
Back and forth he strides across the narrow expanse of his cell, his hands curled into fists, his jaw set, his expression glowering. The dim red cracks from the ship's dark stone cast him in a menacing light, deepening the shadows around his eyes.
My gaze tracks him as he paces, and like a tiger, his muscles are coiled, tense, aching to strike out and unleash violence.
I don't even have to use my powers to feel what he is feeling, not when I can see it clear as day.
I cast a glance over at Steve, who sits against the back wall of his cell, his arms hanging loosely over his pulled up knees. His blue eyes follow his friend, and though his stance is far more relaxed, I can see the truth.
He is just as agitated, his shoulders heavy with the burden of guilt, with the weight of helpless inaction. The set of Steve's mouth is grim, worried, and though his eyes are watching Bucky pace, his gaze is distant, thinking.
As if he can sense my observations, Steve's eyes move away from Bucky to look at me. "Can you feel him at all? See what's happening?"
I shake my head, wishing I had a different answer for him. "My powers cannot extend past the walls of my cell."
He gives a brisk nod, as if he had expected as much.
"He'll be okay, though, won't he?" Bruce asks, his eyes flicking between all of our faces. "They wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking us just to kill him right off the bat."
"Yes, highly unlikely," Vision agrees, all of us turning to look at him. "There are hundreds of possibilities concerning their intentions, the most probable being either scientific study or interrogation under strain, though, seeing as the aliens have given no indication that they speak or understand English, I doubt the latter is occuring."
A violent shiver shudders across my skin.
"Although," Vision continues thoughtfully. "I don't see why they would seek to understand our abilities, given that their own physiques, strengths, and technology far surpass our own. They would not gain much by studying our powers or dissecting our bodies that they don't already possess in their own ma-"
"Stop. Talking," Bucky bites out in a low voice.
"Jesus," mutters Bruce as he rubs his forehead, looking nauseous.
Vision meets my gaze, his eyes softening. "I...apologize. I did not mean to speak insensitively. Only to assure the likelihood of Mr. Parker's survival-"
"Shh," I hush gently, giving him a small smile. "It's alright."
We gaze at each other for a long moment, and my hands ache with the need to touch him, to feel his emotions as I lay in his arms like we've done for the past several months as we've travelled the world together.
Vision had been by my side through it all. Through every whim that took me across Europe, through every panic attack, every nightmare…
God, so many nightmares.
I dreamed of Pietro, of his self assured smile, the ridiculous way he'd act like he was the overprotective older brother despite only being twelve minutes apart, the moment he was ripped away from me, tearing a hole in my chest that could never be filled.
I dreamed of falling through that hole, of drowning in the emptiness of my existence without him, of being crushed by the weight of my mistakes-Ultron, Sokovia, the Wakandan workers in Nigeria...
I dreamed of being trapped in a white cell, my arms bound around my chest in a straitjacket, a thick metal collar around my neck. A criminal. An animal. A monster.
Vision had held me through each nightmare, had brought me back to myself when I'd get lost in the pain of it all, my powers threatening to level everything around me. He looked at me with those strange eyes, those eyes that knew me like no one else, those eyes that saw me, that saw my darkness, and did not turn away.
I place my hand against the wall of my cell, and Vision does the same across the corridor.
"So… just how old is he?" asks Bruce, breaking the silence.
Steve heaves a breath. "Fifteen."
"I'm sorry...what?" Bruce's face has gone slack with shock. "Fifteen? What, did we start an Avengers Junior team while I was gone? Jesus, Steve!"
"It's a long story," Steve says wearily, meeting Bruce's incredulous gaze. "Tony-"
The main door at the end of the corridor slides open with a hiss of air and a loud, metal clang. Bucky lunges for the front of his cell as Steve surges to his feet, and a pair of the alien warriors stride down the metal walkway.
Between them, they drag the limp body of the boy.
They have a hold of each of his arms, Peter's head hanging low, his legs dragging against the floor as they move with determined strides to his cell.
"What did you do?" demands Bucky in a low, savage voice. When they don't answer, he slams a metal fist onto the glass. "Hey! What did you do to him?"
One of the aliens lifts a hand to open Peter's cell, and once they are inside, they drop him unceremoniously onto the ground, turn, and leave.
As they exit, the one nearest to me pauses, half turning to examine me with those narrowed black eyes, red irises gleaming. It searches my face, and I don't know what it's looking for. Fear? Weakness?
It will find none from me.
I breathe deeply, letting my power surge to the surface, my own eyes emitting an even brighter crimson glow as I glower up at its masked face. I dare it with my eyes to open my cell door, to come in and try to make me be afraid.
The alien's eyes narrow further before it turns to follow its companion out of the corridor.
"Peter?" Steve calls, pressed against the front of his cell. "Kid, talk to me."
I move to the barrier separating Peter and I, kneeling down by the edge to see Bucky doing the same on the other side.
Peter stirs, letting out a breathy groan as he slowly rolls over onto his back. His face is horribly pale, but unmarred as he stares up at the ceiling.
Steve lets out a sigh laced with relief. "How're you doing, Queens?"
Peter lifts his left arm, his gloved hand trembling slightly as he gives him a thumbs up. "Just peachy, Cap."
"What happened?" Bucky demands.
"They," the teenager swallows thickly, keeping his gaze up at the ceiling and making no attempt to move. "Unhooked me."
All of our eyes shoot straight to his right shoulder, his Spiderman suit still drenched with the dark stains of his dried blood, but the hook is indeed gone. In its place are thick, gray bandages wrapping around his entire shoulder, several bands of it crisscrossing his chest to hold them in place.
"They healed you?" my brows furrow in confusion.
Peter winces. "I wouldn't call it that. But...yeah. They took the hook out and bandaged me up."
"You ok, kid? You look a little pale," Bruce asks, peering over at him.
"M'fine," he takes several deep breaths as he reaches up to press his fingers against the skin above his heart. "Their uh-anesthesiologist must have had the day off."
I wince as Bruce lets out a hiss of sympathy. Bucky looks so enraged, I am surprised he does not burst into flame.
"But hey-" Peter continues breathily. "No hook in my shoulder. So...I guess, yay me?"
"I don't understand," my eyes lift from the injured teenager to look at Steve. "Why would they do that?"
"Whatever they want us for," he answers grimly. "They want us alive and in good health."
"Cause that isn't foreboding in the slightest," grimaces Bruce.
"We have to do something," I insist, eyeing the pained teenager on the floor of his cell. "We can't just wait for them to drag us off one by one to do...whatever it is they plan on doing."
"Action for the sake of action is not always the wisest course," disagrees Vision. "We know nothing about their intentions, nor where they are taking us. It might be better to bide our time until we learn more."
"I think they've made their intentions fairly clear," I argue, gesturing towards Peter.
"Vision's right."
My eyes cut into Steve, who stares back unflinchingly. "We don't know where we are, we don't know where this ship is going, and we don't know what we are up against. We lost that battle in New York because we didn't know our enemy. I don't think we should make the same mistake twice."
"So we do nothing," Bruce says it more like a question than a statement. "Just wait for them to show their hand?"
"I don't like it," I fold my arms over my chest.
"Neither do I," agrees Steve. "But right now, it's the best we got."
I cast my frown towards Vision, but see that his eyes are on Peter. After a moment, he asks, "Where did they take you?"
Peter releases a long sigh and gingerly pushes himself up to his left arm so he can see us. I notice a thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead, his pupils over dilated. "Um...I don't know. Another room, I guess? It was pretty dark."
Steve's expression changes, his eyes lighting with focus. "Peter, you saw more of the ship than any of us has. Try and remember anything you noticed. It could be important."
Peter swallows, looking nauseous and like the last thing he wants to do is relive the past couple hours, but he nods. "I...there was a hallway, um long, and narrow. They dragged me down it for a long time," his brows knit together as he thinks. "We turned right, then left? I don't know, I can't-"
"Where there any other doors? Other hallways?" Steve prompts, his voice firm but gentle.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, there were two, no, three intersecting hallways we passed. Lots of doors. I don't remember how many," Peter admits apologetically.
"That's ok. What about the room they took you to?"
"It was pretty big. Maybe the size of all our cells put together? There...there were more of the aliens in there, waiting."
"How many?"
"Two more. It had to have been their medbay or something. There were lots of...tools," Peter pales even further, his lips forming a thin line. "And a few really long tables with-with straps. Uh...I don't know what else. It was dark in there, and then I was...focused on something else."
"It's ok, kid," Bruce says soothingly, his forehead creased with pity. Then to Steve, he murmurs, "Christ, that's enough. Leave the kid be before he passes out."
"Too late," Bucky deadpans.
Sure enough, Peter's head begins to dip, the only color on his face being the dim red glow from the ship's walls. "Srry," he slurs a little, his eyelids drooping. "Pretty sure I've lost a lot of blood at this point...and yep, there goes the rest of my adrenaline...so if it's cool, I think I'm gnna just...sleep for a bit."
Steve's smile doesn't meet his eyes. "Get some rest, Peter."
"Thnks. Wake me up...if anything intrrsting happens," he sighs, laying back down on the ground. Within seconds, his eyes are shut and his chest rises and falls with his deepening breaths.
Grim silence follows as we all mull over our situation and the seemingly endless list of horrifying outcomes. I move to sit at the front of my cell, leaning my head against the glass. It feels less claustrophobic here by all the clear barriers.
I keep stretching out my arms, flexing my wrists, curling my fingers to remind myself that I am not constrained, that I can move, even though I am locked up. I practice drawing on my power, making the red light of it curl around my arms and shoot away from me, testing every inch of my cell for weakness.
It helps keep the panic at bay, helps me focus on something besides the four walls around me. And even though I try not to think it, my mind reverts back to so many months ago, to one of the few things that had occupied my thoughts while locked up on the Raft, counting every single day that had passed.
Imprisoned. Trapped. Caged.
Day one.
Natasha Romanov
We were wrong.
The attack on Manhattan two days ago was not the first time these aliens have visited Earth.
Fifty years ago, their camouflaged ship had descended upon Wakanda, and in an eerily identical maneuver, had attacked its capital to draw out their fiercest warriors. Once those warriors had made themselves known, the alien craft had vanished as abruptly as it had in New York, taking the Wakandan soldiers with it.
"Wakanda has been hidden from the world all these years," T-Challa says. "And yet, somehow, these beings were able to see through our cloaking, slip through our defenses. They should not have been able to, should not have known of our technological advances. But they did. And they came for us."
"How many did they take?" I ask, eyes narrowed on the holographic display on the table in front of me. Pale blue buildings depicting the Wakandan palace and capital city rise up from the table, its small streets filled with miniature Wakandan soldiers, spears raised as twelve of the same alien warriors we'd fought descend upon them.
"Fifteen."
I jerk my head towards Okoye, her expression grim and solemn. "Fifteen members of the Dora Milaje, our finest warriors, were taken that day. Taken, and never returned."
"Jesus Christ," murmurs Rhodes, one arm folded across his chest, his other hand rubbing his jaw.
"Did they leave anything behind?" Tony asks from across the table, his eyes focused on the diagram as the holographic warriors and aliens vanish like a breeze had run across the display and swept them away.
"No," T'Challa replies shortly. "Not a trace that they had ever been there. The loss was a heavy one, and our people mourned the women that were taken, but there was no way to find them, no way to go after them."
Tony's jaw tightens.
"Which is why we have been preparing for their return ever since," T'Challa's voice darkens, and I watch as Tony jerks his head towards him.
"You have something."
"We have a lot more than something," Shuri raises her chin with a small, proud smile. With a wave of her hand, the display on the table diminishes, then disappears entirely to be replaced with a floating diagram of the alien ship we'd seen.
We move in closer.
"The moment the ship entered Earth's atmosphere, our satellites picked up on it," Shuri forms a triangle with her fingers then spreads her hands apart, and the image zooms out to show the alien craft in space, triangulated by the Wakandan satellites.
"Hang on, you have satellites now?" Tony frowns.
"Shh," Shuri waves him off briskly. And then I know that later I will be combing through the security footage in this room to screenshot this moment and the look on Stark's face at being shushed by this girl. Priceless. Clint and I exchange a look, and I know that he is thinking the same thing.
"Our technology has advanced leaps and bounds even from only fifty years ago." Shuri shoots her brother a sly look. "Especially in the last ten years. We've broadened our satellite's capabilities, heightened the sensitivity of our sensors to capture what was uncapturable fifty years ago."
"You got a picture of their ship," Clint leans his hands on the table, looking at the holographic image with narrowed eyes. "But they got our people. So I hope all these fancy diagrams are about to make some kind of point."
The princess shoots him a dark look, opening her mouth, but her brother speaks first. "When their ship exited Earth's atmosphere, our satellites placed a tracker on the hull of their craft, small, unnoticeable."
Indeed, when Shuri zooms in to show the tracker, it is nearly impossible to see, a tiny speck compared to the gargantuan size of the ship. Her deft fingers tap in a command, and then we are looking at an expanse of the universe, a trajectory now lighting up between Earth and the alien craft, as well as its projected course.
"Damn," says Scott, impressed.
I'm inclined to agree.
"What are we waiting for then?" demands Sam. "Let's get our asses on a ship and go after them."
"I'm sorry, do you have a rocket stashed away in those wings of yours?" Tony shoots.
"Don't you?" Clint raises a brow. "With an oversized "STARK INDUSTRIES" painted on the side of it for the universe to see?"
As Tony's face contorts into a scowl, T'Challa says, "We will be heading into deep space and will be needing a lot more than just a rocket."
"We?" I raise my brow.
"These creatures took my people," T'Challa's spine straightens, his expression dark and vengeful, looking every inch a king. "I intend to pay them back in kind."
"I'm going too," Shuri declares.
"No, you're not," T'Challa and Okoye both say at once. Scott and I exchange looks of veiled amusement.
Shuri's face twists with outrage and open rebellion. "If you are going, I'm-"
"I am the King," T'Challa cuts in.
"So that means you can do whatever you want, but I cannot?"
"No. It means I have a duty to avenge our people, to prevent history from repeating itself once more. You, as princess, have a duty to Wakanda, to protect our country while its king is absent," T'Challa places a hand on her shoulder. "We cannot leave Wakanda defenseless."
Shuri rolls her eyes but nods, looking entirely pissed about it. "Fine. But you will bring me back plenty of their technology for me to study." She jabs him in the chest with her pointer finger to drive her words home.
"Consider it done," T'Challa agrees.
"Speaking of which," Scott interjects. "Didn't you guys get your asses handed to you by these aliens? No offense, but they took the strongest freaking members of the Avengers, and your weapons didn't do squat. What's going to stop them from slaughtering us the moment we step foot on their ship?"
"Yeah, I'm not interested in a repeat of that," Rhodes winces.
"They won't know we're coming," I answer. "We'll have the element of surprise on our side."
"We need to wrap this up," Tony interjects, waving his hand over the conference table. "Every minute we stand here talking is another minute that our team doesn't have. We still don't know what these bastards could be doing to them, what they're after. If you have a ship, highness, then let's go."
"Time is against us," T'Challa nods. "Come, we will show you your upgrades onboard."
"Upgrades?" Tony raises an eyebrow.
Okoye flashes Shuri a look as the princess scoffs. "Your designs are good, Mr. Stark. Mine are better," she smirks, eyes dancing.
"Shuri," Okoye murmurs.
Tony shoots the small, young woman a skeptical look. "Put your tech where your mouth is, kid."
Shuri laughs. "I intend to. When you come back from outer space, feel free to come intern for me in my labs at Wakanda. We could use a coffee boy."
Clint lets out a loud snort as Sam coughs violently into his fist. I smirk openly, and the look on Tony's face is a mixture of intrigued, amused, and insulted.
"When I get back from space, princess, you'll be the one eating your words and begging to intern for me."
A devilish grin unfurls on Shuri's face as her brother looks skyward like he's praying to his ancestors for strength. "Would you care to place a wager, Mr. Stark?"
a/n: I know many of you will probably be bummed Shuri isn't coming along on the rescue mission, and I am too, but I didn't feel like canonically, both T'Challa and Shuri would head into space with only their mother to lead and watch over Wakanda. Someone had to stay behind. But don't worry, that won't be the last we hear from the Wakandan princess. ;)
As always, huge thanks to PippinStrange for being the world's best beta, and whose fangirling/support keeps me writing. If you guys haven't already, you seriously need to go read her fics Down Came the Rain (the inspiration that got me writing Avengers fanfiction) and Where They Go and all her other amazing work. She does not get enough credit, but her writing, her style, her characterizations are beyond incredible and are so so so worth the read. You da best, FIFFER!
Now, on to the review replies to my incredible Review Squad! (Gosh I love you guys so much it's not even funny)
Web-HeadSuperFan: Thank YOU! SO glad you love it!
DarylDixon'sLover: Ummm...no promises ;)
Ravenclawdiadem16: LOL right? I love her
PhoenixFlair13: LOVE the big brother/uncle relationship Bucky has developed with Peter in my universe. LOTS of that to come!
StarStepper: LOL :D You should probably prepare yourself for a bajillion mini cliffhangers in this fic. Hope this one makes up for it a little! lol!
LoonyLovegood1981: Lots of good questions/wonderings! All will be answered in the coming chapters! I'm so glad you are enjoying, and that you appreciate this review replies! I SO SO SO appreciate each and every review, so it is seriously my pleasure to individually respond to all of them. :) SO cool to hear you are from Germany! I've never been but would love to go someday. THanks for reading!
spidermanpls: :D Thank you! Lots and lots of practice I guess? :D
gandalf537: Ahhhhh thank you so much! I can seriously feel your excitement through your reviews! I'm so glad you are enjoying! I am loving writing new characters and povs and playing with the MCU! It is beyond fun
readingisapriority: Thanks so much! I loved all those parts as well!
spiderboi: THanks! Will do!
Andy Frost: Thank you! And no you did not miss anything, I promise. Bruce and Thor's situation is a big part of this plot, so the answers to where they've been and how Bruce got on Earth and where is Thor now will allllll be answered throughout the fic! :)
Nathissica: Eeee thank you so much! I could honestly write Shuri for days. She will definitely have to come back in a later chapter, and I wish she could have gone with the others, but it just didn't work out in my head. So glad that you are enjoying it so far!
Lorraine44: Wow wow wow! Thank you so so much for your kind words! I am so glad you are enjoying it, and that you've loved the other two fics as well! I try very hard to make something as canon as possible and as wildly entertaining as I can make it! Thanks again!
Seawell: Ahhh thank you! I have definitely become much fonder of him through writing for sure!
Vivienne: OMG THANK YOU! I am so glad you are enjoying my verse!
MsSoraya: Eeee thank you! So cool that I kept you entertained at work, and I am so excited to hear about your excitement regarding this fic! And no such thing as a too long review. I absolutely love reviews, so thank you! And you got it right! Peter was picked because they needed to heal his shoulder. Why? Will be revealed soon... ;)
Shoyzz: Eee thanks! You got it! Boi needed to be unhooked! No comment on the Guardians...they may...they may not...time will tell. ;) LOVE SHuri. Will definitely include her in future chapters for sure! Thanks for your review! It was a delight as always!
10-lanterns-and-a-dreamcatcher: Thank you! So glad you are enjoying!
Guest: WOW thank you so much! I love hearing about new readers binging my series. (STILL can't believe I am writing a series!) THank you!
Jeyfeather1234: Interesting choice of murder weapon! And no romantic relationship between May and Tony. That comment was just May acknowledging what a large role Tony has in Peter's life, and how much she knows he cares about him, and that he is really the only father figure Peter has left. :)
cargumentluv: Eeee thank you very very much! I love it too and I love hearing about everyone's excitement!
Guest: thank you so much!
monochre: Welcome to the club! Wish we had t-shirts! lol! Ahh I'm so glad you love this series! Thank you so much for your review and I hope you enjoy this one just as much!
Evelris: You got it right about Peter's shoulder! This fic will definitely have lots of cliffies and suspense, but I hope you enjoy it!
Guys, you are beyond amazing. I love hearing all your thoughts and your love for this series. Means the absolute world to me. I know you still have lots of questions, but don't worry! All will be revealed in time!
Coming Up:
Chapter Four: Solitary Man
Steve and Bruce have a conversation, and then the tables are turned as the captured heroes find themselves in an unexpected situation...