Chapter 3: Hell hath no fury
That day I met Kirill Kravenoffoff was one of the scariest moments of my life.
To an ordinary person who doesn't know him, he'd seem like a regular (if slightly creepy) guy.
However, to twelve-year-old me, he was my worst nightmare as he stood in front of that jet black armoured car. He wanted to take me away. Promised me that I'd go to a good home where I was safe and wanted.
Had I not been so distrusting as a kid, I might've gone with him. But (thankfully), something stopped me.
I cannot explain it. There was just something about him that made my skin crawl.
Maybe it was the way he looked at me, like a lion about to pounce at any moment, but I knew that if I crossed this man, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. And I don't mean killing me by just shooting me. I mean killing me in the most sadistic, slowest way imaginable, and he'd enjoy it.
You'd think that after living under the violent rule of Billy for all my childhood that I'd be unafraid of such a man.
But nothing could be further from the truth because years later, when I met him at Tony's party, I was still just as scared of him.
And for a good reason.
"You", Via breathed, her eyes darting around. But no matter where she looked, she could see no escape.
The man just smirked as he fingered his small tumbler of scotch.
"Hello Miss Summers, or is it Strange now? Or Sorenson? So many surnames to choose from, it must be tough, huh?"
Via didn't say anything; how could she? It was just too horrible-
"Agh! That's better" the man gulped down the last of his drink, pausing as he caught sight of her suspicious glower. "Such a fire, even after all this time."
"I'll show you fire, asshole", Via snapped, gripping her glass tight. The thought of smashing it and using the broken fragments as a weapon was a very appealing option right now.
"Tut-tut. Such foul manners for such a pretty girl".
"Oh, I'll show you foul!" Via spat quietly, setting down her glass and instead fingering the twin dragon bracelet that glimmered on her right wrist.
If she could just hide the glow beneath her skirt, she might be able to transform Asmund into a tiny dagger, or at least something small and sharp before this man tried anything.
As if guessing her thoughts, the man smirked.
"Nice try, kid. But you'll have to think of a better strategy than that. Oh man, if I had a penny for every time, old Freyja pulled that trick on me-"
"What?" Via felt her veins freeze to ice as the man's eyes glinted wickedly.
"You heard me, kid, Freyja, your birth mother. Remarkable woman, if I should say so myself. Though I'm surprised, it took you this long to find out. I suppose Elias and your Aunt did their jobs well in covering her up."
"Wait-hold up- How do you know my aunt? And who's Elias? Who the hell are you?" Via spat as the man suddenly straightened up and turned his back on her, still smirking.
"Sorry kid, Q and A is over. If you want more answers, then you'll just have to come and find me. Don't worry…I'll be patient".
"Wait-hold it-!" Via reached forwards to grab at the man's sleeve, only to smack her face directly into someone who suddenly decided to stride across her path.
With a cry, she reeled backwards, her heel catching on the hem of her dress. There was a tug, her legs flew upwards, and she landed squarely on her back, her head throbbing as it hit the ground with a thud.
She could vaguely hear some gasps of surprise and some laughter all around her as she opened her eyes, her vision swimming a little as she stared up at the brightly lit ceiling.
"Ow…" she winced as someone's shadow suddenly obscured her vision.
"Woah, hey, hey. You okay, kid?" a man's voice spoke as his face swam in and out of focus. From what she could see, he had dark hair and a kindly face and careful, gentle hands that were currently lifting her head to inspect the back.
"Yeah…yeah…I'm okay," Via grunted as she gingerly got up onto her elbows, only to sway a little as her head throbbed.
"Easy there. Take it slow. You've got a lump back here" the man caught her before she could hit the ground and carefully maneuvered her up into a sitting position. "Natasha, do you think you could get some ice?"
"Don't worry, Bruce, Tony's already called for some".
Via turned and saw a gorgeous woman with short curly red hair dressed all in black turn to smirk to a very pale and very sheepish-
"Oh…hi", Via gulped as the giant blonde Goliath from two days ago knelt by her side, holding out a packet of ice.
"I'm sorry, miss, once again, I wasn't watching where I was going".
"It's okay. It's not the first time this has happened." Via took the packet from him and pressed it against the back of her head. "Ah…that's better".
"Again? You two have met before?" The brown-haired man next to her frowned.
"Yes, two days ago, we bumped into one another in the street. Nice to see you again, uh…." Via held out her free hand. The man just looked at it for a moment, confused, until the red-haired woman, Natasha, nudged him with her heeled foot.
"Oh, right, of course," He coughed, reaching out to carefully shake Via's hand. "I am Thor, Prince of Asgard and the Son of Odin. Forgive me, but I am still not used to some Midgardian customs".
"Yeah…join the club," Via smirked as she finally pulled herself up into a proper sitting position, helped, of course, by the dark-haired man by her side.
"Thanks, mister…?"
"Bruce, Bruce Banner, and this is my…uh…friend Natasha Romanoff." he gulped, his cheeks going pink as Natasha behind him gave a short nod, her eyes scanning Via's face with intense scrutiny.
"So, uh…what are you guys doing here?" Via gulped, feeling her cheeks turn pink under the scrutinising gaze.
"We kinda work here." another voice piped in, and a sandy-haired man with sharp eyes suddenly popped his head over Natasha's shoulder.
"Hey kid, the name's Clint Barton,"
"Via…Via Summers." Via said again as she shakily stood to her feet, both Thor and Bruce's hands hovering carefully around her as she did. After a slight stumble, she found her feet and straightened up.
"Summers? As in Olivia Summers?" Clint asked excitedly.
"Oh yeah?" Via blinked as Clint's face split into a wide grin.
"Ha! So you're the one who called Tony an old man?"
"She what?" Thor snorted with laughter.
"Yeah. Rhodey said she called him old right to his face when she first met him" Clint grinned wide.
"Well, that would explain why he's a bit moody tonight," Natasha smirked as Bruce tried to hide his own behind his hand.
"I didn't mean to insult him" Via felt her cheeks go red with embarrassment. "It just slipped out. A-and I didn't say he was old, just that he was old enough to be my father-"
All four of the Avengers snorted with laughter; even Bruce couldn't restrain his chuckles as he patted her shoulder gently.
"It's okay. Don't worry about it."
"Yeah, kid, you have no idea how many girls fawn over him. But this is just gold! And speaking of old men," Clint smirked as two people suddenly strode up behind him.
It was Tony Stark, practically dragging along a very rattled Steve Rogers.
"-Thanks, Tony. Hey guys." he sighed in relief as he straightened out his slightly askew bow-tie.
"Sofia Caster was piling onto him again, so I pulled off an emergency one-man rescue mission, seeing as you lot were too busy to pick up the SOS signals," Tony explained, and the avengers all nodded in understanding. All save Via, who frowned in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but who?"
"Sofia Caster, supermodel, number one fan of our good friend Captain America." Clint sniggered as Steve's ears turned pink upon catching sight of Via.
"Oh, hi, kid."
"Hey yourself, Captain. How's it going?" Via gave a playful two-fingered salute, much to Thor's surprise.
"You two know each other?"
"We met last week." Steve coughed slightly "at the park. She was-uh-you were…."
"I was being accosted by some thugs while walking, and Captain Rogers was kind enough to assist me". Via finished helpfully, her gut twinging as memories of the other dark-haired, mysterious man from that night wafted over her mind.
Just who was he? And why did he run when Captain America showed up to help?
Maybe he was homeless and didn't want to deal with getting caught by the police. I know I wouldn't want to stick around if I was seen surrounded by the bodies of men, even if they were alive.
She thought grimly, remembering her own life from barely a year ago. God, it felt like forever since she was dodging all the police and street gangs and diving into dumpsters for her next meal, like so many other kids in her position.
But the strange man that had saved her was not young enough to be a street kid. Also, he was not starved or emaciated as some of the other hobos in the area. In fact, from what she remembered, the man was daggy but relatively clean, was built like a tank and knew how to fight well.
Maybe he's one of those ex-army veterans-
She shuddered as she remembered his eyes. Blue and bright in colour, yet they had a somewhat haunted look.
No, he did not just know how to fight. He knew how to kill.
And yet he had protected her without a second thought?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Tony's incredulous snort:
"Really? Captain Rogers assisted you?"
What the hell am I getting all worked up for? I've dealt with Stephen Strange for nearly a year. I can sure as hell deal with this childish pompous ass.
Via thought to herself as she smirked.
"Yep, he sure did, Old Man."
Tony narrowed his eyes at her. Via just met his gaze as cool as a cucumber, eyebrows raised.
Then he suddenly sighed, his scowl quickly replaced by a slight chuckle.
"Okay, okay. I surrender, blondie. I know when to admit defeat."
"Does he?" Natasha muttered, still eyeing Via up and down carefully. "So, you're Stephen Strange's kid, huh?"
"Yeah…well ward. The adoption process only just started." Via shrugged, cheeks slightly pink as Bruce frowned.
"Adopted…So he's not your actual-"
"Huh? Oh no. No, we're not biologically related. At least I don't think we are." Via pressed the cool pack tighter to the back of her head.
"Sorry, it's just from the way he was talking about you…you seemed quite close-"
"Yeah, well…we kinda lived together for a bit before."
"Lived together?" Tony blinked in amazement, and Via bit her lip.
Thankfully, she and Stephen had already thought of a cover story to answer this question. She was not sure she would sell it, given what a bad liar she was. However, she decided to give it a go.
"Uh…you see…um." She coughed nervously. "Stephen…after his uh accident, he came looking for alternate methods of healing his hands, and I…um was already staying with this woman who specialised in that sort of thing. So, when he came to stay with us, we got close and well, by the time she had passed away, we were already used to one another, so…well…that was it really." She shrugged with a small, anxious smile, gulping as Natasha made to open her mouth to ask a question, only to shut it as a loud feminine voice called out:
"Oh, Stevie!"
"Damn it." Steve Rogers rolled his eyes in exasperation as a woman strutted towards their group.
She was tall and slim, with dyed pale blonde hair draped over one shoulder and stiletto heels as tall as stilts. Her satin dress was a bold, garish green and was pulled so tightly about her body it looked almost painful to breathe. The only reason she seemed able to move was because of the high slit along the left leg that went a long way up her thigh. Via found herself wincing as the light hit all the silver and jewels that adorned her neck and ears.
Worse still, in Via's opinion, was the makeup she wore. Few women could pull off the old-fashioned Hollywood glamour look, and unfortunately, this woman was not one of them. Via did not understand why she was trying so hard to pull off all that clown makeup when a more natural style would have better suited her already attractive face. But what irritated Via most of all was the contrived "sexy" smile that spread over the woman's face as she started clinging to a very awkward Steve's side like a barnacle, pressing her breasts up against the arm she held onto.
"Oh, Stevie, why'd you run off like that? We were having such a good time."
"Sorry, Sophie. You can blame me. We needed to have a-uh-a team talk." Tony cut in before Steve could utter one word.
"Ooh, team talk. Sounds fun." Sophie giggled, a sound that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard to Via. "Talk about what?"
"Oh, we wanted to introduce him to Stephen Strange's new ward. She's a big Captain America Fan, you know." Tony smirked at Via, who scowled mutinously at him.
She supposed this was his payback for being called an old man.
"I'm sorry, Stephen Strange's what?" As her eyes found Via, Sophie sneered, roving over her pink dress with abject resent.
"Ward." Via blinked nervously. "Y'know, as in he's my legal guardian. Soon to be Dad?"
There was a pause, and then.
"Ha! Hahahahaha! Oh good, oh that's a good one, Mister Stark. Ahahahahaha!" Sophie hiccupped, practically leaning on Steve as she giggled at Via, who now folded her arms, rolling her eyes. "Oh-oh, that's just too cute. Stephen Strange, adopt a kid! Ha!"
"Uh...Sophie, she isn't joking. She is his kid. He brought her here as his plus one." Steve frowned, catching Bruce's eye as he nervously shifted on his feet. Even Clint and Thor were looking uncomfortable as Sophie snorted.
"Oh come now, you can't expect me to believe that a man like Stephen Strange is adopting this…scrawny thing? Really? I mean, a stray dog I can get. Everyone loves a puppy. But, come on, this tasteless little brat is the best he could find?"
"Uh, tasteless? Excuse me, old hag, but when was the last time you looked in a mirror?"
"Well, I never-"
"Never did what? Learn any manners?" Via put her hands on her hips. "Why? Because you thought your privilege would cover up for your stupidity?"
"Woah, watch out, Hello Kitty is going for the kill," Clint smirked, only to wince as Natasha painfully pinched his arm to silence him.
But unfortunately for them, all Sophie heard the comment and blanched.
"Why, you little-"
"Little what? Brat? Bitch? Bastard? Bonehead?" Via laughed, the sound hollow and forced. "Yeah, like I haven't heard any of those before. Seriously lady, is that the best you can do? Is a little creativity in an argument just too much to ask for? I mean, really?! I know I have brains, but I can't be expected to do all the heavy lifting in this conversation, am I right?" she sighed as she flung up her hands dramatically.
Sophie's nostrils flared, her resemblance to a green dragon heightening considerably even as she clutched onto Steve's muscled arm and looked up at him imploringly.
"Are you just going to let this brat talk to me like that, Stevie? Seriously what is it with children today? Ugh, so rude."
Steve opened his mouth to intervene, only to get steamrolled over by Via as she sneered at her opponent with almost vindictive glee.
"Well, what did you expect? Us kids take our example from our elders, and unfortunately, a lot of them are dumb shits like you."
Clint did not even bother covering up his laughter as he leaned into Natasha's shoulder, but Via ignored him.
Oh, it felt so good to be dishing out insults again. Sure, she had promised Stephen she would be on her best behaviour, and she truly intended to follow through. But after being left behind by Mordo and that mysterious man, Via wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into this horrible woman. And boy, was she enjoying every second of it.
"Now, now. Let's all just cool off for a second, alright? There's no need to start World War Three." Tony tried to put a placating hand up between the two glowering females. "Now come on, Sophie, where's your manager? Maybe we should get you some water and sober you up a bit before the cake comes, huh? Hill bring up the cake-"
"Yeah, Tony, the cake's a great idea." Steve meaningfully looked at his friends for support.
"Yes, you must try the cake, young one," Thor said a bit too loudly as he gestured hurriedly for a waiter to serve them.
"Why? Will it make this rotten tart disappear?" Via spat before she could stop herself.
Natasha muffled clint's laugh as she tried dragging him away to a quiet spot to compose himself.
"I'm sorry, Mister Stark. I didn't mean to cause a scene." Via blushed with embarrassment feeling her gut sink as Stark shook his head and sighed heavily. But if one were to look closer, they would see that he too looked amused as he smirked.
"Apology accepted, Kid. Perhaps if you could keep your claws sheathed for the rest of the night, that might help. Not all my guests are cat lovers like us."
Via gave a sheepish smile and scratched the back of her neck nervously.
However, if she was expecting a resolution, she was sorely mistaken, for Sophie chose at that moment to writhe out of Steve's grip and storm back up to Via, nostrils flared. Her face was so vicious, Via half expected a forked tongue to slither out of her mouth as she hissed:
"Listen, kid, just because Stephen Strange took pity on you doesn't mean you're suddenly all that. You can dress as fancily-" and Via winced as the smell of alcohol hit her nose full force "-as you want, talk the talk as much as you want. But let's get one thing straight. You will never belong in this crowd."
"Woah-Woah Sophie, take a chill. The kid apologised already." Steve tried, but Sophie was having none of that even as Via rolled her eyes and sucked in a deep calming breath.
"Look, lady, I don't know you. The only reason I said what I said was because you started stirring up shit first, and I don't care who or what you are, but I don't take crap from anyone. So, if you don't mind, please back off. You've had a lot to drink and many issues to sort out."
"Issues? I've got issues?" now it was Sophie's turn to laugh derisively. "I'm not the dumpster trash picked up from the streets. I'm not the rude little swine born on the wrong side of the tracks who got ditched at some dump because her mama never learned to keep her legs shut. And honestly, I don't blame her for wanting to leave a little sewer rat like you-"
"Sophie!" Someone yelled.
There was a ringing silence as all the avengers stared in stunned silence at Via, who was now standing, arms folded, staring Sophie Caster down, her eyes a bright blue fire. And it was not just the Avengers who were staring. Half the people around them had stopped talking to watch with mild interest relatively early in the verbal match. Now they waited with bated breath as Via looked down to the floor, her fists clenching tight.
"You know. You really shouldn't have brought my mother into this."
Then without warning, her hand swiped out, snagging a plate of cake a waiter was about to pass out to someone and thrust it straight into Sophie Caster's face.
"AHMGAHA!" Sophie yelled as the young girl pushed her face further and further into the mixture of sponge, cream and icing before yanking it off her face and shoving the rest of it straight into the plunging neckline of her dress.
The plate fell to the floor with a clatter as, snarling, Via straightened up and shook her icing covered hands.
"Mister Stark, where's the ladies room? I would like to clean myself up." She asked through gritted teeth.
"Down the corridor to your left and the first door to the right", a computer-like voice of a man suddenly sounded from the now very stunned billionaire's pocket.
"Uh…thanks…whoever that was." Via shrugged, and before anyone could even do or say anything, she turned on her heel and stormed off out of the very silent VIP platform.
Yeah, so I gave a cake in the face to Sophie Caster. It was not one of my shining moments, but still, that woman deserved it by God.
I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with. But still-I don't know.
Something doesn't sit right with me about the whole ordeal, and quite frankly, every single other confrontation I've had with people I don't like. Either people take a liking to me quickly and overlook my flaws, or they get aggressively confrontational really fast. It's weird.
Am I such an aggressive person? Or is it something more? Is there something about me that just makes people feel threatened?
I once asked Stephen about it, but he stayed suspiciously quiet and told me not to worry about it. Why he did that, I have no idea. But I hope that he might tell me before something even worse happens in time.
It had been a long time since Stephen Strange had been to a party. Nearly two years ago, in fact. He'd almost forgotten how much he'd enjoyed this kind of thing: the lights, the music, the champagne.
Granted, he was at Tony Stark's party, but still, there were several of the worlds most renowned scientists in attendance, so at least he was assured of some good company.
And Via, he was so impressed by how well she handled herself. True, she had a couple of hiccups at the beginning with Tony Stark, but when he'd introduced her to Helen Cho, she had been a perfect lady and had listened politely until she'd gotten bored and then quietly excused herself.
Perhaps I should see how she's doing. It's been a while since I've seen her.
He quickly excused himself from the group of his current raconteurs (which included a bright and pretty Astro-physicist called Jane Foster) and began turning his head around for signs of his young ward.
When he saw her, he was surprised to find her at the opposite end of the platform and talking with a group of people he had no trouble recognising.
Thor? Black Widow? Doctor Banner and Hawkeye?
"Huh…well, what do you know" he smirked as he watched her laugh and smirk with the four Avengers, who all likewise were looking at ease with the young girl.
But then again, Stephen couldn't blame them. She may have been a rough and tough girl, but she had a good heart deep down. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could see that from a mile off.
Everyone except Sophie Caster.
That vile, poisonous snake.
He thought as he eyed her, moving through the crowd.
Back when he was the world's best doctor, she'd hung onto his arm at nearly every function they had both attended. At first, he'd been flattered by the attention, but as time passed, he found her company to be increasingly repugnant.
The Castor family was an old and powerful one. Sophie's father was on the boards of several major big companies, and her mother was a well-renowned socialite. Her brothers had dutifully in their parents' footsteps. Yet their daughter had not inherited any of her father's brains nor her mother's grace, and it was not uncommon to see her face splashed across the front cover of some magazine or other, involved some scandal.
Hence why tonight, Stephen had avoided her like the plague. He had never let her make a fool of him in the past, and he was not going to start now. Not even as he watched her flitting about asking questions about him and his new ward.
Not that she could find much to say about either of them. Most in attendance were all rather impressed with how Stephen had managed to pull himself together after his accident and were all delighted that he was trying to build himself a family, albeit in an unorthodox way.
But all that praise only made Sophie even more bitter. And for what? A girl she barely knew.
More likely, she can't stand the lack of the spotlight.
Stephen snorted to himself.
"Don't worry." A woman spoke from Stephen's side, snapping him out of his daze. "Nobody is listening to a word that idiot says."
"I should hope not." Stephen sighed as he turned to see Pepper Potts standing with two glasses full of champaign.
She offered one to Stephen, who took it graciously, though he almost spilled a little as his hand shook.
"Sorry." He apologised as he made to concentrate on his grip.
"Don't be. I completely understand." She nodded consolingly at him. "Honestly, I'm impressed how well your recovery is going. Are you taking anything for the pain?"
"No. Perhaps the occasional pill now and then on the worst days. But I'm trying to keep it completely natural." Stephen nodded, glancing at the scars on his hand. Oh, how he hated them. And yet, they had led him so far.
Seeing his discomfort, Pepper decided to change tack.
"Olivia is doing quite well. It's been a while since I've seen Tony knocked off his perch." She smiled as she glanced over to where Via was talking with the four Avengers who had now been joined by Steve and Tony, the lattermost looking defeated while the young girl smirked smugly.
"Yes, she has quite a knack for that." Stephen took a sip of his champagne.
"I take it you say that from personal experience?"
"Of course. One can't fully appreciate a dressing down from Olivia Summers unless one has enjoyed the entire experience."
Stephen and Pepper both shared a chuckle.
"Nah, she's a good kid." He smirked. "A bit rough around the edges but-"
"But her heart is in the right place." Pepper finished for him softly. "Yes. You can see that when you look at her. Have you enrolled her in school yet?"
"No. Not yet." Stephen shook his head. "We-I'm home-schooling her until the next year starts. She needs to catch up on a few subjects before getting thrown into the deep end. She didn't have much of a good early education." He murmured, avoiding Pepper's eye when she looked at him questioningly.
"Oh, I see. She came from a rough neighbourhood?"
"Yeah, one of the roughest." Stephen nodded but then quickly added. "But she's clever and hard-working. Seriously, she loves to read. Nothing with pages is safe from her clutches for long in our home, let me tell you."
"I wish my nieces and nephews would pick up a book." Pepper sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I love technology; it's what Stark Industries stands for, but I still think it's sad how books are so easily discarded nowadays."
"Hmph. Tell me about it." Stephen snorted. "I'm glad Olivia is so determined to educate herself. I think I'd shoot myself if I had to live with an idiot that could not hold a conversation properly."
Pepper rolled her eyes fondly.
Men like Tony and Stephen really could be such prideful peacocks sometimes.
Still, she supposed the latter had a point. Geniuses like Stephen and Tony were challenging to deal with. Their brains just worked too fast for ordinary people to keep up with or tolerate for long. People kept saying that geniuses like them needed an equal to understand them. Pepper thought they were wrong.
People like Stephen and Tony did not need another genius in their lives. That would just breed more chaos and destruction.
No, they just needed someone smart enough to know how to keep them in check. In Tony's case, it meant Pepper, herself, literally keeping him in line by saying "No" to his craziest of ideas and sticking to her word.
For Stephen Strange, it meant having a person who was not afraid to be honest with him when he was irritating and a show-off.
"Oh God, what is that woman up to now?"
Stephen narrowed his eyes as he saw the garishly clad form of Sophie Castor stride up to the Avengers and Via and latch herself onto the captain, regarding Via with an expression befitting the green-eyed monster.
She certainly is dressed like one.
Stephen snorted as he drained the rest of his champagne.
"Poor Steve." Pepper sighed sympathetically as she watched said man try and fail to lean away from the horrible woman. "He hates these things enough without her piling onto him."
"He's not the only one." Stephen folded his arms as he leaned back to watch the show. If there was one thing Via could do, it was put someone in their place, as she had done so many times to him. And boy, was it entertaining.
Five minutes in, and wished he had not stayed still.
True Via had managed to handle the dreadful woman with that rapier-sharp tongue of hers, but then Sophie had to go and put her foot in it.
"Issues? I've got issues? I'm not the dumpster trash picked up from the streets. I'm not the rude little swine born on the wrong side of the tracks who got ditched at some dump because her mama never learned to keep her legs shut. And honestly, I don't blame her for wanting to leave a little sewer rat like you-"
It was only a split second, but Stephen saw it at once. That horrible, shocked look of hurt and the tearing up of Via's blue eyes.
"Sophie!" He felt his gut burn hotly with fury as he shoved his way through the crowd.
But even as he reached the group, he was too late.
Via had already shoved a plate of cake into the woman's face and chest.
Had he not been so angry at Sophie's stupidity, he might have laughed at the ridiculous sight before him. But all he could focus on right now was the young girl who was storming off the platform and into a corridor, tears starting to fall down her eyes despite her trying to hold them back.
"Olivia!" he called, but she had already turned a corner and vanished out of sight.
"Strange-I uh-we-" Tony Stark gulped, his shock rendering him unusually sheepish as the doctor rounded on him, pale eyes flashing.
"What happened?" he growled, and the man of iron was reminded very forcibly of a rabid wolf ready to bite.
"Ask Castor. She's the one responsible for this mess" Natasha Romanov glared daggers at the said woman who was retching and coughing as she wiped cake from her face.
"Why that little brat-how dare she-I'll show her-"
"The only thing you're going to show my ward is an apology, Caster. And if I catch you talking to Olivia like that ever again, you will have me to deal with, and I assure you you'll get more than just a cake to the face." Stephen quietly snarled into her ear, so viciously that Clint, Steve and Thor's hands tensed by their sides, ready to act should they need to restrain him.
Behind them, Bruce Banner was quietly trying to shrink into the background, though if anyone were looking at him closely, they'd be able to see his knuckles had turned faintly green as they balled into fists by his sides.
But then the moment passed, and with a deep breath, Stephen straightened himself up, forcing a polite but cool look of indifference onto his face as he addressed Tony.
"Stark, if you wouldn't mind, I could do with some help finding my ward."
"Uh…Sure…" Tony nodded, fiddling with something in his pocket as he quickly addressed his team. "Guys, if you could um…settle everyone else. Hill, if you wouldn't mind showing Sophie Caster out after she's uh-cleaned up, that would be great."
"Of course." Maria Hill piped in as she suddenly reappeared from behind someone.
Stephen frowned. That woman was far too good at sneaking around to be completely normal.
She must be an ex-agent, like Miss Romanov.
He figured as he chanced one glance at said assassin who was standing amidst her teammates, eyeing him warily as he and Tony Stark walked off the platform and down a long corridor.
As they walked, neither noticed a woman with a sharp pair of grey eyes watching them closely from amidst the sea of people around them.
Tony sighed once they were safely out of earshot of everyone else.
"I'm sorry about all that mess with Caster." He said, and Stephen looked at him in surprise.
"Why are you apologising, Stark? It's not your fault she's a bitch." Stephen clipped tersely.
"I know. I usually don't invite her because Cap hates her clinging to him." Tony coughed awkwardly, trying hard to look at anything but the man next to him. "But she managed to sneak her way in as someones plus one. Not quite sure whose."
"Yes, she's quite good at that" Stephen shook his head.
Tony chuckled.
"Yeah, I know. But if I had known she would be here, I'd have chucked her out. Especially if I had known she was going to treat the kid like that-"
"Alright, first off, her name is Olivia." Stephen clipped irritably. "And secondly, if you honestly did care, you wouldn't have let the situation escalate that badly."
"I know, I know. I probably should have stopped it sooner, but I was just enjoying your kid's show way too much." Tony threw his hands up in the air. "Honestly, how was I supposed to know Castor would stoop that low-"
"Because it's not the first time she's stooped that low", Stephen sneered, rolling his eyes.
"…touché" Tony allowed himself a tiny smirk. "On that note, your new ward is quite the spirited one-"
"I thought you had outgrown looking at young women when you started dating Pepper," Stephen smirked wickedly, making sure to extend the drawl ever so slightly on the billionaire's partner's name.
"That's Miss Potts to you, Strange," Tony snapped irritably. "But seriously, your girl is as quick as a whip set on fire. Not many would have the guts to stand up to Castor as she did."
"Oh Stark, you have no idea," Stephen murmured, and for the first time, Tony saw the man; his face was softer, kinder, even affectionate as he nodded quietly to himself.
Tony shivered. He had thought things were weird before, but now this was just pushing it.
"I'm sorry, but who are you, and what have you done to Stephen Strange?" He asked and was secretly relieved when Stephen raised an imperious brow at him.
"Meaning?"
"Well…it's just…all this!" Tony gestured to him wildly, "You disappear for two whole years, and then you just pop up out of the blue acting all humble and polite, adopting a kid-"
"You got a problem with that Stark?" Stephen narrowed his eyes.
"No-no! There's no problem. If you want to turn your life around, that's fine. Good for you, but I'm just saying it's a surprise, that's all. I mean, no offence, but the last time I met, you-you were quite-"
"A selfish asshole?" Stephen provided, and Tony was surprised to see the man chuckle. "I guess I've heard worse".
"From whom? The kid?"
"Of course, who else?" Stephen smirked, only to grimace as realisation suddenly hit him. "And speaking of her, where is she?"
"I thought you knew. That's why I followed you." The billionaire shrugged as the doctor groaned.
"Well, I thought you knew, so I was following you. This is, after all, your building!"
"Well, I don't know; I just thought you were following her path."
"Well, that's just perfect. It's the blind leading the f-ing blind," Stephen muttered as he rubbed his temple.
"Or maybe not" Tony quickly pulled out something from his pocket. It looked to be a piece of glass, but then a quick swipe of the man of iron's fingers and suddenly blue holographic images sprang to life over the surface of it.
"Jarvis," Tony spoke aloud to the corridor at large, "if you wouldn't mind scanning all security footage from the past five minutes of Olivia Summers. She's a teenager, curly blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a pink dress."
"Scanning all security footage. Miss Summers appears to be still in the building but has ascended to the upper floors via the lift to your right. It appears to have stalled between floors ten and eleven" The computerised voice of JARVIS spoke politely from the ceiling.
"Stalled?" Stephen frowned, as did Tony, looking at the tiny screen in front of him.
"Alright…uh, Jarvis, can you pull up the security feed from just before she got in the lift."
Stephen and Tony stared at the tiny screen as an image flickered to life.
Via was standing in the corridor, in the same spot as they were, alongside someone else. Someone with a dark bald head, wearing a black trench coat and a black eyepatch over his left eye.
"Oh crap," Tony gulped.
Of all the people that had to interfere right now, it just had to be you, didn't it?
When I first met Nick Fury, I was wary of him. It's understandable. The guy is, after all, a master spy- no wait, scratch that- he was THE master spy.
Head of SHIELD, creator of the Avengers initiative.
I don't know why he wanted to talk to me that night; all I do know is that after I spoke with him, my life was never the same again.
"Stupid old bitch", Via sniffed as she tried and failed to hold back tears.
She was far down the long corridor now and had long since passed the door to the bathroom.
But she didn't care. All she wanted now was space to clear her head in peace where she wouldn't be at risk of lashing out at someone else.
She couldn't help it. Firstly, she'd made an ass of herself upon her arrival, then she'd argued with Mordo, causing him to leave, then that scary man that had stalked her two days ago had just reappeared, and now she'd just thrown cake into the face of one of Tony Stark's guests.
Stephen would be so pissed at me when he hears about what I did. He was looking forward to tonight, and I positively blew it for him. All because I let that old cow get under my skin.
She stopped as she heard a pair of footsteps behind her.
Via fingered Asmund and Brynja on her wrist. Whoever this was, if they wanted to attack her, they'd have to be prepared for a fight.
No. Do not jump to conclusions. Wait and listen; it might just be one of the other guests.
She sucked in a deep breath as she continued listening to the person's footsteps.
They were heavy (a man she was guessing), made by booted feet, and they were not walking but stalking carefully. She knew that stalk. It was the kind Mordo often used whenever he sparred. But unlike her ex-teacher, this person's footsteps were far heavier. Whoever he was, he wanted her to hear him approach.
No chance of a sneak attack then.
She thought just as a voice spoke behind her.
"Olivia Summers?"
Via turned to face him, jaw set as she prepared herself for the worst, only to find herself face to face with a dark bald man wearing all black and sporting a black eyepatch over his scarred left eye.
"Who's asking?" she clipped as she quietly assessed him.
The man was not acting aggressive, but something in his stance told her that could all change in a heartbeat if she proved too hostile.
But for now, the man contented himself with merely eyeing her up and down as he quietly answered.
"My name is Nick Fury. I was a friend of your mother's, Freyja Sorenson".
"I've met a lot of my mother's friends. They never once mentioned you." Via narrowed her eyes at him, carefully fingering her bracelet beneath the folds of her dress.
"Not many of them would." the man, Fury, agreed solemnly. "I wager most of these people would've attacked you the minute they laid eyes on you. But I'm not one of them".
"Then what are you?" Via gulped.
"Like I said. I was a friend. An ally as it were," Fury explained, his one good eye quickly flickering to her wrist. "Your mother and I worked together back when she was alive. She helped me and my organisation find a great many artefacts and defend the world from dangerous threats".
"Right…and your organisation was?"
"SHIELD."
Via stared at the man, then snorted.
"You honestly expect me to believe that?"
Fury raised his eyebrows at her.
"I already know about your birth mother. And I know about you: Olivia Freyja Summers, Born 23rd of April, 2000. You grew up in Hope Haven Orphanage in the Bronx. You suffered abuse at the hands of its caretakers Millicent and William Hope. You've had two offers of adoption in 2009 and the second in 2012, but both fell through at the last minute. You ran away a few weeks after the Battle for New York. You were homeless, mainly travelling between the Bronx and Queens but occasionally travelling to Manhattan and New Jersey when your actions became noticed by the police. Come the beginning of this year; you disappeared from our radar right after a woman named Fala Begay was murdered by an unknown assailant, only to reappear months later in the care of the recluse Doctor Stephen Strange."
"Wow…thanks. It's nice to know my whole life story can be summed up in one short blurb." Via snorted, but she did not relax one bit.
Fury noticed this, but far from being insulted, he looked pretty amused.
"You still don't trust me?"
"Mister Fury, if I trusted everyone so easily, I'd be dead by now."
"I see." Fury muttered quietly. "I should've guessed this would happen," he murmured to himself when she refused to answer. "When the Ancient One said you were quite cynical, I thought she was kidding".
Via almost felt her heart stop.
"You knew the Ancient One?"
"She was an old friend." Fury explained, carefully eyeing her face, "Her and her best sorcerers often helped my agents and me with our more unusual missions. Your mother was one of those select few. And if I'm not mistaken that dress, you wear was one of hers".
"How on earth do you know that?" Via looked down on herself.
"Because she wore it once on an undercover mission in Paris. She was helping us exorcise an interdimensional demon from one of our enemy's agents before they could use it to launch a terror attack on the city."
If Via was not a sorcerer, she might have been rolling on the floor laughing by now. But she did not. Instead, she lowered her guard just a fraction, her ears pricking as she heard the distant sounds of footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Fury heard them too and quickly pressed for the lift.
"Perhaps we could finish this discussion in a more private setting".
"I still don't trust you," Via said with narrowed eyes.
"Then don't trust me. Just listen. If you decide not to trust me after that, I'll bring you back to the party safe and sound. You have my word".
Via wanted to roll her eyes and tell him that she did not even trust his word, but there was something profound in the look he gave her with his one eye that made her pause.
Maybe, just maybe, he might be trustworthy.
"God, I hope you're not a crazy serial killer," she growled as, with a scowl, she stepped into the lift, Fury following her quietly.
He stiffened and saw her reach for the emergency stop button as they passed by floor ten.
Quickly the lift slid to a smooth stop, and she stepped back, folded her arms and leaned back against the wall glowering.
"Okay. This is as private as it's gonna get. So, if you want to talk, then talk. Or else I'm sending this lift back down, and I'm out."
Fury could not help the little smirk that played on his lips despite himself.
The kid had guts; he would give her that.
"As I said before, Summers, your mother was a good friend of mine. She aided SHIELD and acted as a liaison between the Masters of the mystic arts and us. To the world, she was merely a consultant in archaeology and antiquities, but in truth, she was a Relic Hunter".
"Relic Hunter?" Via asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "You mean she tracked down-"
"Mystical Relics, yes." Fury nodded patiently. "And sometimes the rogue sorcerers that tried to steal them."
"Like Fabian Russo?" Via cut across him.
Fury stared at her, his eye narrowing.
"You know of Russo?" he muttered, his voice dark, but Via could hear a slight bit of worry in his voice.
"Yes. I know him." She nodded, her heart hammering as she sucked in a deep breath and said, "He's dead".
"Yes, he is", Fury stated grimly. "Fabian Russo has been dead for nearly fifteen years-"
"No. He's only been dead for two weeks." Via's gaze hardened as she forced the words out of her throat.
"And you know this how?" Fury scowled.
"Because…" Via gulped, a lump forming in her throat as she turned her face towards the ground. "…I killed him."
"You what?"
"I killed him." She turned and looked him dead in the eye. "He was trying to torture me to death. So, I stabbed him. He died shortly after."
"So…it was in self-defence?"
"Self-defence or not, I still killed him."
There was a silence as Nick Fury stared down at the girl before him.
Her face did not even betray the slightest bit of emotion at the confession. It seemed to him that she barely felt a thing. But then he caught sight of her blue eyes and saw a brief spark of sadness flicker ever so slightly over them.
No…this kid was not lying. But she was not a remorseless killer either. She was just trying to pretend she was to hide the immense guilt.
That did not make him feel any better. It was SHIELD's job, HIS job, to make sure things like this never happened. He and his agents might have done questionable things, but it was always with the end goal of ensuring that the rest of humanity would not have to sink to such a level.
The fact that there were still kids like her who would have to kill to defend their lives was enough to make his blood boil. After all his hard work, one would think the world was a better place, but it was not.
"Does your new guardian know?" he asked quietly, and Via nodded.
"Yeah. He and the rest of the order know."
And Cassian.
She thought sadly. Cassian. The first boy she had ever had feelings for. She had killed his father, and now they both were gone from her life.
No. stop, don't think about that!
Via quickly wiped at the corner of her eye, sucking in a breath as she steadied herself back to stoicism.
"If you're in contact with the rest of the Order, then you'll have heard about the Ancient One?" She asked quietly.
"Yes. My condolences to you and your fellow masters." Fury coughed. "I may not have always seen eye to eye with her, but the Ancient One was a strong ally. Her death has proven a great blow. One can only hope Doctor Strange will prove himself a worthy successor. But only time will tell".
"He will do well." Via said firmly, "I'm sure of it."
"Considering you've only known him a few months, you sure have a lot of faith in his abilities" Fury raised his eyebrows.
"Someone has to. It might as well be me. And think about it this way, at least he's not Tony Stark. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure Mister Stark is a great hero, but I'm not too keen on letting someone like him close to the mystic arts".
"Neither am I., And yet it is about that very issue that I want to discuss with you".
"Alright, then discuss away." Via rolled her eyes as she slumped back into the wall as Fury asked:
"Summers, why do you think Tony Stark invited both you and your guardian here tonight?"
"Because after that night he found me in Central Park, he heard Stephen was in town from Captain Rogers, and he was curious to see what the fuss was about?"
"That is one reason." Fury nodded "the other is that at the end of tonight, he wants to offer you a job".
"A job?" Via frowned. "Doing what? Stephen already has a job defending the Sanctums".
"I wasn't talking about Doctor Strange."
Via stared at Fury in astonishment.
"Me? Tony Stark wants to hire me. Why?"
"Because he believes its fate," Fury sighed as if resigned to something completely ridiculous. "He believes that you are the missing piece to a puzzle he and his team have been trying to solve for two years. Ever since the battle of New York, the Avengers and SHIELD have done what they can to track down all alien technology the Chitauri used in their invasion. However, there is one thing they have yet to find; a sceptre that belonged to Thor's brother Loki, the Asgardian who led the invasion."
"Right, and what do I have to do with this sceptre?" Via folded her arms.
"As I said before, your mother was a Relic Hunter. As were her parents and grandparents. Even before SHIELD was formed, your family hunted relics and rogue mystical practitioners".
"And they think that just because the rest of my dead family hunted relics, that I was just gonna drop everything in my life and help them when there are probably many other master sorcerers out there that would probably be better for the job?"
"Yes…they are." Fury shrugged as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"And let me guess…you came here to stop me from taking the job." she snorted.
"Yes…and no."
"What?" Via blinked, utterly bewildered.
"While there are many sorcerers we could undoubtedly call upon, there is a certain level of trust and surety when it comes to the Sorenson name. Had I still been director of SHIELD, I might have recruited you earlier and had you properly trained, but circumstances being what they are…that is no longer an option. All past events aside, I must warn you. Should you agree to Stark's offer, there will be no going back. The minute you sign that contract is the minute you agree to spend the rest of your life hunted down and fighting to survive as you search for the truth."
"And if I don't sign the contract?"
"Honestly, I do not know." Fury admitted quietly, "You could spend most of your life in peace with the other sorcerers, but the chances are that won't last either once you start furthering your training. Being an apprentice to the new Sorcerer Supreme will most likely put another target on your back."
As if I didn't have one on it already.
Via rolled her eyes to herself in exasperation. God, why did her life have to be so complicated?
As if guessing her thoughts, Fury sighed.
"Listen, kid. I can sit here all day, gassing on about all this fate and possible future crap till the cows come home, but ultimately, it's not my decision. It's yours, and I suggest you take a good long think about what you want out of your life because chances you won't have another opportunity to have the time to stop and think like this again."
And with that, he reached out and quickly flicked the emergency elevator button. At once, the lift sprang to life, zooming back down at top speed.
Neither of them spoke as it slowed down to a stop on the first floor, where it opened to reveal the somewhat relieved face of Tony Stark and the furious one of Doctor Stephen Strange.
As soon as the doors opened, he all but grabbed her and dragged her away from Fury, positively hissing with worry.
"Are you alright? What happened? Did he do anything to you?" he whispered as he checked her over.
"I'm fine, Stephen." Via waved him off. "Nothing happened. We were just talking".
"Talking or recruiting?" Tony eyed Fury cagily as the ex-director rolled his eye.
"Just giving the kid some advice, Stark. Doctor Strange, I'm surprised to see you out and about." He glanced at Stephen, who was glaring at him angrily.
"As is half the population." he turned back to Via. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Via rolled her eyes before turning back to Fury.
"Next time you want to talk, just call. We do have a phone."
"Oh. I know. But this is more fun." Fury smirked as he quietly stepped back into the lift and pressed the button. Within seconds the door was closed, and he was gone.
"Weird guy," Via spoke into the silence.
"Kid…you have no idea", Tony sighed. Now he did feel old.
It wasn't long after that that Stephen and I left the party; once he'd heard that I'd fallen over and gotten a concussion, he declared that I should go home to the Sanctum at once and get some sleep.
Too bad I had other plans.
"So…you talked with this, Nick Fury. And he told you that Stark was planning to hire you to help the Avengers find relics?" Stephen stared at Via as she sat on the other side of his desk.
They were in his office, along with Wong, who had stayed up waiting for their return. He had been most amused by the story of how Via had insulted Tony Stark and of how she had smashed a cake into Sophie Caster's face.
Whilst the librarian wasn't too pleased that she'd lost her composure, he was willing to overlook her behaviour seeing as she was retaliating to a rather distasteful woman. However, when it came down to her talk with Nick Fury, he was not quite as understanding.
"Did you tell him that you were only an acolyte?"
"Yes. Well, I said that I was a kid and there probably was another master out there better suited for the job." Via shrugged.
"But Tony Stark didn't ask you outright?" Wong frowned.
"No. I think he wanted to, hence the invitation. But no, we left before he got the chance."
"If you're going to make a life-changing decision, I'd rather you do it when you're not distressed or have a head injury that could impair your decision-making skills." Stephen clipped as he checked the clock on his desk. It was almost midnight. He was usually used to staying up this late but after that party-
"I'm going to do it." Via cut across his thoughts, her face fierce and determined despite her tiredness.
"You what?" Wong's nostrils flared.
"I'm going to help them find the sceptre. If Stark still wants to ask me." She added, doing her best not to look down into her hands as Wong swelled like a bullfrog.
"You're only an acolyte. You do not even know the litany of spells needed for such a task. Not to mention very few of our Order ever make it to become a relic hunter-"
"Maybe it's in my blood?" Via shrugged. "I mean, my mother was one. My grandparents were too-"
"But you aren't!" Wong insisted, "And just because they're one thing, doesn't mean you have to be that thing yourself. You're your own person; you're free to make your own decisions-"
"Exactly. This is my decision, Wong." Via snapped fiercely, "I want to do this. If I can, maybe I can find out the truth about what happened with my mother-"
"You're too young-"
"She's MY mother-"
"Enough! Both of you!" Stephen barked, rubbing his forehead. If ever he needed a stiff drink, it would be now.
The cloak of Levitation bristled around his shoulders, squeezing him comfortingly as he groaned with tiredness.
"Olivia…I understand where you're coming from. I honestly do," he looked up at Via, his gaze tired but sympathetic "You're angry and confused over what happened with Russo, and you want answers. But Wong is right. This is a huge job, even for a fully trained sorcerer. Also, when I made the application to adopt you, I promised that I would keep you from harm, not just to the law, but to you as well. And I'm sorry, but I can't protect you if you suddenly decide to put yourself in danger like this."
"But Stephen," Via groaned ", I've been protecting myself for nearly all my life. And if you think that I'm suddenly going to back down just because you say so, then you've got another thing coming. She's my mom, I've got every right to search for the truth about her however I want, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for someone else to dig up the truth-or worse, have it end up as it did with Russo-"
"I know." Stephen sighed. "Which is why…which is why I will allow you to go through with this AS LONG-" he steamrolled over Wong's splutters of anger ", As long as you follow certain conditions that I set."
"Right…and your conditions are?" Via scowled, though her insides were dancing the conga line of victory.
"I don't know. I need to sleep on it." Stephen muttered. "And on that note, have a bath and get to bed. Your home-schooling starts tomorrow. And I need you up fresh and early."
"Right. Got it. Goodnight, Doc. Wong." She added, somewhat reluctantly as Wong grit out through his teeth.
"Goodnight, Olivia."
As soon as the door was shut behind her, he rounded on Stephen.
"You can't honestly be considering this?"
"The way I see it, Wong, she'll go for it whether we say yay or nay," Stephen grunted as he leaned back in his chair. "At least this way, we can keep an eye on her and help her if she has a problem."
"But these are the Avengers. I don't know whether you've noticed, but they don't exactly have a track record for being the safest people on the planet. If anything, they're some of the first people to run headlong into the action."
"Maybe, but if they follow the conditions I set, I might just be able to keep her from too much damage. And if they do not follow my rules, she won't work with them. It's a compromise we can all live with."
"I don't know…I still don't like the idea…." Wong folded his arms. "She's just…so young…."
"Olivia may be young Wong, but she's been through more horrible things than most adults thrice her age." Stephen murmured, "If she can deal with Fabian Russo, then she can deal with the Avengers. Stark and his pals may be buffoons, but they don't strike me as the type who would willingly put a child into danger".
"No, I suppose not." Wong agreed begrudgingly as he stifled a yawn.
"Alright. I'm headed off to bed. I suggest you also get your sleep".
"I will," Stephen waved him off. "But first, I'm going to sort out these new lesson plans. If Olivia is to be a proper member of society, I'm going to have to give her the best education, which means I'll have to teach her enough to get her into a good school. No ward of mine is going to go to some half-baked public school with a low Academic standing." He scoffed haughtily.
For a man who claims to hate children, you enjoy being a parent.
Wong rolled his eyes one more time as he quietly left the doctor alone in his study.
Oh, Ancient One, whatever will I do with these two?
Via stared up at the ceiling of her four-poster bed.
Her room was dark; she had long since turned off all the lights. But for some reason, she could not sleep.
Her mind was all abuzz with what had happened that night.
"I should've told him", She muttered to herself in the dark. "I should've told him about that guy."
That horrible guy with the pale blonde hair and that pointed face.
She was not sure why she did not tell Stephen about him. Heck, she did not even tell Fury about him, and he was the only one in that building who might have known something about him.
"Elias…who's Elias? And what does he have to do with my mum and my aunt?" she mumbled.
Of course, no one answered. And yet, the name felt familiar. Like a half-forgotten friend from long ago. Was he her birth father? Or was he just another enemy that wanted to kill her?
Her mother seemed to have so many enemies at every twist and turn. First Russo, then the strange pale man, and then Elias perhaps?
Maybe Wong was right.
She thought grimly.
Maybe it is too dangerous to look for my mother's secrets.
But look what had happened when she did not look for the truth, she thought bitterly, her heart clenching as she turned onto her side.
The last time she had been complacent about finding out about her parentage, the son of her mother's enemy had nearly managed to seduce her and turn her against everyone. All because she did not know what dangers lay in wait.
And because of that ignorance, she had killed a man and lost two people most precious to her.
Mordo. What on earth happened to you?
She wondered, her eyes burning with tears as she remembered the disgusted look in her old master's eyes.
She just could not believe it. The man who had been so passionate about protecting and embracing life. How could he turn so cold?
Now that Via thought about it, she had not told Stephen about seeing him either. But no, how could she? If she did, she would just cause Stephen more pain. He was just as worried about Mordo as she was, and she knew that if he knew about what had happened, he would go after him and try to persuade him to return. And given what Via had seen of Mordo tonight, such a thing would not go down well at all.
He just needs time.
She told herself as she tried to shut her eyes.
We all need a little time to settle down, and then we can all talk and sort this out. He'll come back eventually; I know it.
And with that, she shut her eyes, her last thoughts of her old master and his cold dark eyes.
Baron Karl Mordo of Sokovia stepped through the Sling Ring portal he had summoned. It was still day in his homeland, so sunlight was streaming in through an open window high above.
The room he was standing in was an old stone one, one of the oldest rooms of his home castle. It was round and circular, with several racks placed around the walls, all of them bearing some manner of an ancient weapon.
It was with a sharp halberd that his apprentice was practising within the centre of the room.
He was a handsome boy. Tall, with dark locks, a fine-featured face and warm honey-like eyes that would melt anyone who fell under their spell. His body was remarkably well built for a fifteen-year-old due to years of training and discipline, openly displayed on his bare sweaty chest.
"I see you're training hard, Cassian" Mordo smirked, amused when the young man jumped in surprise, almost dropping his weapon.
"Master!" Cassian bleated, spinning around to bow respectfully to him. "I-I didn't hear you come in!"
"The mark of a good sorcerer is not how powerful his spell is, but at how he uses them to their best advantage. Especially when it comes to maintaining the element of surprise," Mordo put a soft hand up, and his apprentice quickly rose, brow furrowed slightly.
"Is something wrong, master? Did the party go badly?"
"On the contrary, Cassian, the party was a success. I was able to find a few benefactors willing to help our cause." Mordo grunted as his tux morphing into his green fighting gear with a short, swift spell.
"But?" Cassian prompted.
Mordo sighed heavily. He was eyeing the young man. Should he tell him? Would it be too soon? The last thing he needed was his Apprentice losing focus.
But then again, it could potentially put a spanner in the works later if he did not say anything, and he supposed they needed to start talking about this sometime.
"Olivia was there, along with Strange".
"Oh?" though he tried to sound airy and casual, Cassian's lip curled dangerously. "They were? How come?"
"Tony Stark invited them apparently," Mordo watched his apprentice warily, "I spoke with Olivia…She seems to be doing alright".
"Oh, does she now?" now, Cassian didn't even bother to hide his scorn. "Funny, isn't it. That the murderer of my father is allowed to roam free while I am stuck in this castle."
"I have said before, Cassian, you are only as much a prisoner here as you want yourself to be. If you would like, you are free to walk outside whenever you want-"
"Only I can't because Percival still has his Relic Hunters patrolling every inch of the town, and you're the only one with a sling ring!" Cassian snapped.
Mordo sighed again as he strode forward and put a comforting hand on the youth's shoulder.
"I understand it's frustrating, Cassian. You've been put in a difficult position by fate, and you don't know what to do. But do not worry, soon we'll be moving on from this castle."
"We will?" Cassian spluttered, "When? Where will we go?"
"That all remains to be seen." Mordo steamrolled over him gently, "If our new friends decide to take action soon, we might be heading out within the week. But don't get your hopes up; businessmen are notorious for taking their own sweet time over their decisions".
"Whereas if we just threatened them, they might get things done faster-"
"And risk them defecting out of fear to our enemies? I think not." Mordo snapped, Cassian shutting up like a clam. "If we want to set about cleansing the world, Cassian, we need to do it carefully. No one likes to feel they're being forced to do something. Once that happens, they almost always rebel. No, if we want our plan to work, we need to build up strong alliances, contacts, people who trust us implicitly and without question. People who see us as their hope. It is only then will we have the freedom to exact whatever measures we need to take."
"I understand, sir" Cassian nodded to his toes. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I was just…thinking…my father he-"
"You mourn for him." Mordo finished gently, his hand now placed on the boy's head. "I understand".
"If you understand…then why do you still care about her?" Cassian murmured, his voice broken.
"For the same reason you do-" Mordo began, but his apprentice just shook his head.
"NO! No, I don't care for her. Not anymore. She killed my father. She could've spared him, but she didn't and then she has the gall to say it was my fault. No. I hate her. I HATE her, Master, and when we start cleansing the world of these Sorcerers, I'm going to start with HER!"
"Cassian!" Mordo barked, but Cassian shook his head and deposited his weapon back onto the wall.
"I'm sorry, master, but I need to take a shower…clear my head".
"Cassian!"
But the door had already slammed in his face.
Kirill Kravenoffoff stared at the scene before him. He had only just come back from that damned party.
It had been barely two minutes since he stepped out of his black armoured car.
He had hooked the damned girl in like planned; now, he just had to wait for her to reel herself in on his line. Things had been going so well.
And now he had to deal with all this!
Bodies were lying all around him, many of them bleeding as gunshot wounds oozed from various points in their bodies.
Some of them had twisted limbs from where they had been broken or dislocated, giving them the look of very broken ragdolls. Then there were the odd black streaks on the walls.
It was like someone had scorched them with a fiery whip
But the worst sight of all was the open door at the end of the dark derelict corridor.
It was ajar, and there was nothing but a single chair and some broken pieces of rope.
He quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and pressed the speed dial.
"Sergei!" he hissed angrily. "Brother. Contact the Baron and Alphard. Operation Fishbait is compromised. I repeat compromised. Why? Because the bastard escaped. Calling in a code red alert to all agents in New York. Yes. Yes, I know. Yes, I'll come in as soon as possible. Yes-goodbye, brother. SHIT!" he swore as he shut the phone off and glared at the empty chair.
Elias Summers, when I get my hands on you, I'm going to KILL YOU!
Elias Summers stared around at the filthy alleyway around him, running a hand over his shaggy head of salt and pepper brown hair. He could not believe he was back out here in New York City, even if it was the year 2014.
Fourteen years?! Fourteen years I've been gone. I wonder how much has changed?
He wondered as a hand dragged him over to hide behind a dustbin.
"Come on. Keep down!" the owner of the hand snapped at him.
It was a man, heavily covered up in a long-sleeved cotton shirt, a rugged jacket, jeans scarf and beanie, duplicates of which he was quickly pulling out of a black duffle bag he had stashed behind the dumpster.
"Here, put these on and give me your old clothes." He grunted as he handed them to Elias, who quickly obeyed the command.
"Fourteen years and you're still just as bossy as ever," Elis grumbled, but the almost breathless chuckle of relief ruined the effect. "I just hope they don't catch onto us soon."
"They won't. I sling-ringed us to the other side of the city. It will take a while before they pick up our trail, and when they do, we'll be long gone." His rescuer smirked as he reached further into the duffle and pulled out a bottle of water for the other man to drink.
"So, what's the situation?" Elias gasped as he wiped at his bearded mouth. "That bastard Kravenoffoff said he finally found little Livi."
"He has. But unfortunately for him and his buddies, Olivia is already under the guardianship of the new Master of the New York Sanctum Sanctorum, Doctor Stephen Strange."
"No idea who you're talking about, but I'm guessing he's one of the Ancient One's stooges?" Elias snorted as he took another swig of water. Oh God, it was good to have fresh water again.
"He was." His rescuer scowled darkly. "The Ancient One is dead."
Elias almost choked on his drink.
"Dead? What do you mean dead? When? How-"
"She was killed nearly two weeks ago." The rescuer folded his arms across his chest. "One of her old pupils went rogue on her. They almost succeeded in calling out Dormammu from his hole. From what I heard, it was thanks to this Doctor Strange fellow that he was defeated. I'm not sure about the details, but long story short, he's now on course to become the next Sorcerer Supreme, with Olivia as his new apprentice."
"Little Livi is the new Sorcerer Supreme's apprentice?"
"Yeah, but she's not so little anymore. From what I've heard, the kid's quite a ball-breaker." The rescuer smirked, and Elias's eyebrows rose.
"Fourteen years, and everything changes." He repeated to himself with a shake of the head, "Don't worry, Freyja. I'll protect her with my life, I promise." He muttered, his scruffy salt and pepper beard turned up to the skyline just as the first light of dawn began to rise.
A new day…a new beginning…
And a new danger…
HEY GUYS! Here we have the updated version of the chapter. Hopefully, the following few remastered chapters will be up soon.
I hope you guys enjoyed it and keep reviewing with feedback for what else you'd like to see later on.
Cheers and happy reading
FuzzyBeta