Chapter 6: Who let the Dogs out
The man with the dark scraggly hair and thick winter gear shifted his cap on his head as he sat at the small outdoor table on the pavement at a small café on Bleeker Street, waiting for his order to be put through.
He didn't know why he was there or what he was doing. He'd decided this would be his last day in New York before he had to leave; he could've gone anywhere he wanted. But no. For some peculiar reason, he'd decided to stalk down this street and keep watch on the tall building with the weird circular window at the top.
He looked up at it curiously, admiring the four curves that crisscrossed over the top of it.
It was an odd building, to be sure, for it was far older than most of the others on the street. According to what he could find at the internet café, this place was not only heritage-listed but also privately owned by some incredibly old wealthy family that had been around since the founding of the city itself. Then, as if the building itself were not archaic enough, the land on which it stood was regarded by some occultists to be incredibly "sacred" and "hallowed" ground.
I should get a move on.
But as he made to stand up to grab his coffee, something gold caught the corner of his eye.
Looking back up, he was astonished to see someone standing by the circular window, looking down.
He froze.
It was her. It was the girl he'd seen at Central Park. The girl he had saved from those pathetic excuses for human beings.
She was dressed differently. She had tied in her blonde locks a braid, and she was wearing a strange blue coat over black pants with a golden belt.
She looked calm and stoic as she watched the street below, her pensive expression putting the man in mind of a curious cat standing on the fence and staring at everything that passed it.
She certainly had the keen gaze of a cat, what with the way her blue eyes traced the footsteps of all who passed her domain with a cunning that beyond what an average teenager should have.
The man marvelled as he drank in as much detail of her as he could. Then her sharp blue eyes caught sight of him.
Shit!
He swore as he saw her eyes widen with recognition and her body back away from the window.
Quickly he grabbed his coffee from the register and dashed away past a couple of people with their shopping till he turned into the alleyway beside the strange building, hiding around its corner as the front door opened. He quickly slid into a lean, trying to look inconspicuous as she poked her head out the front door suspiciously and looked around.
Yes, it was the same girl from that night.
DAMN!
He gulped as he quickly ducked back around the corner to avoid getting caught.
"Olivia! Olivia, what's going on? Who's there?" a voice called from within the building loudly, and the girl turned around to face someone inside.
"No one Doc, just picking up the post," she called as she turned to face an old delivery man who had just parked his van outside the building and taking out his parcel.
"Ah, good morning, Olivia," he smiled. "And how are you this fine lovely morning?"
"Good morning, Mister Lee. I'm fine, thanks. And yourself?" the girl smiled back, a warm expression that made the old man's cheeks blush a little.
"It's Stan to you dear, and I'm doing great!" the man, Stan winked at her much to her amusement as he pulled out a small parcel from his rucksack. "Here, I've got this here for you to sign for. It's from a mister-mister, Tony Skunk?" he held up a brown paper wrapped package, which the girl signed for giggling under her breath.
"Oh man, I've got to remember that one. Thanks, Stan," she called as the old man made to walk away back to the delivery van behind him.
"Any time, sweetheart, any time. Come on; Bill hit the gas; this post won't deliver itself. Excelsior!"
The girl giggled as she waved goodbye to the delivery man and his fellow driver as they sped up and drove away.
Olivia
The man around the corner watched her as the girl, still chuckling to herself, entered back into the building, his eyes fixed on her till the door shut and obscured her entirely from view.
Her name is Olivia.
He chanced another glance at the door only to wince as he felt something sharp slice against his gloved hand.
Quickly he snapped it back, cursing at the sight that greeted him.
What had once been a whole black glove now had a slice from where a nail had snagged from the crate beside him.
"Shit", the man cursed as he slid the ruined glove off, revealing a gleaming silver hand.
And so there I was. One measly teenage sorcerer in training, working with the World's Greatest Heroes.
It wasn't too bad. I worked with Tony and Bruce in the lab most of the time. They were using the information about the Ley Lines I had given them to see if they could create a device that could detect them.
The Avengers resident science bros figured that if magical energy acted like radiation, they might be able to find a way of sensing it on some invisible sci-fi mumbo jumbo spectrum or something.
Whatever the term is too technical for me to explain. It was mainly programming Jarvis and my Aura to recognise mystic energies. If I or Thor (sensitive to magic due to his Asgardian roots) aren't around, the team can pinpoint the available energy source.
We did this by having me practice spells in the middle of the workshop while Tony and Bruce configured different sensors and machines to pick up the energy readings it was producing.
I would've felt like a guinea pig had it not been for how chilled out and relaxed the two were. As it turned out, Bruce loved putting the radio on softly in the background and hum as he worked. Tony liked to eat, and by eat, I mean that if he didn't have his hands on any mechanical instrument, he'd have them buried in a packet of some foodstuffs or something he had hidden around the workshop.
I don't know where he hides his stash because whenever I enter the room, I cannot seem to find the source of those never-ending crinkling packets. You'd think the man had them stashed in a pocket dimension or something.
During those first few days, I didn't get much of a chance to work with the rest of the team. It was a shame. Ever since I'd sparred with Natasha, I'd been itching to have another one-on-one training session with her.
I guess you could say that if I were to be a fan of any of the world's greatest heroes, it would have to be the Black Widow. Not just because she's the only girl on the team, but because, unlike the others, she is one of the few that I feel understands how morally grey the world can be.
That didn't mean I didn't like the other team members.
They were both lounging about the Avengers shared living room area, alone. Everyone else was either holed up having some alone time or out attending to personal matters.
Via was sitting on the floor. A hefty tome was set before her on the glass coffee table with a small notepad on her right and her phone on her left.
Thor, meanwhile, was quietly pouring himself a tankard from the bar in the far corner.
At the sound of the gushing liquor, Via quirked an eyebrow up at the thunder god.
"You have a beer? It's only eleven o clock."
"Midgardian ale has little effect on me, young one." Thor smiled warmly as he approached her. "What are you reading?"
"Old records." Via snorted as she looked back down to the yellowing pages of the large book "Any Relic Hunter responsible for tracking down relics in both North and South America has to write down a mission report at the New York Sanctum. Since I can't take the original Tome from the Sanctum, Wong and Stephen made me a duplicate to look at instead."
"And what do you hoping to find in these reports?" Thor sipped his tankard. "The sceptre, as far as I know, is not of Midgardian origin and has only been on Midgard for two years."
"I know." Via nodded as she flipped over a yellowed page. "But I'm not looking for where the sceptre is. I'm looking for where it won't be."
"Where it won't be?" the Asgardian frowned.
"Yeah, well, we've got the whole world as a potential hiding spot for this thing. If we can't find out where the sceptre is, we can at least eliminate places it most likely won't be because the Order will already have people keeping watch over those particular areas and would have noticed it coming in."
"Ah, you speak of the process of elimination. A smart move." Thor nodded, smiling as Via ducked her head shyly to hide her blush.
"It's nothing. It just made sense to me, is all." she swept her curls off her face. "So, what you doin'? Just chillin' here?"
"I suppose." Thor shrugged, then suddenly he asked: "You said your master is your adoptive father-"
"Legal guardian," Via corrected him quickly. "F-For the moment. The adoption process is still underway. It'll be a while until the papers are finalised."
"I do not understand Midgardian customs." Thor sighed heavily, taking another swig of beer. "All these papers and processes. It astounds me that a man like Strange must jump through hoops to legitimise you as his child when it is so obvious that he is father to you in all but blood. There are many fathers out there, and some of them are barely deserving of the roof over their heads, let alone the affection of their children."
"Yeah, well…that's just us pesky humans, I suppose. We love our paperwork, hoops and stupid rules." Via grunted, more to herself than to anyone else.
"I meant no offence-" he began quickly but was stopped by her loud snort.
"None taken, I can assure you. Trust me, big guy, if you knew what I knew about humans, you wouldn't be so quick to apologise. If anything, I wouldn't blame you if you deemed us a plague. We certainly can be as disgusting as one at the worst of times."
"You speak of the necromancer you faced before," he murmured. "He must have been quite a piece of work to have earned your scorn."
Via looked up and quickly wished she hadn't, for the thunder god was looking at her with pity and something akin to sadness with those big bright blues of his.
"A man doesn't need magic to be a monster." She mumbled, rubbing at Brynja's lightly glowing gold band on her wrist. "He can do just fine on his own."
Thor fell into silence, his eyes roving over the child's face. She appeared calm and stoic. As if she were detached from the horrors she spoke of.
But he could see the ice of her gaze, the hardening in her jaw and the tenseness in her shoulders. He had seen those traits before, but only in young warriors who were trying to rally their shaken nerves in the aftermath of their first kill.
Thor could only remember too well his first killing. It had been on a hunting trip with his father, the first of many. It was not a pleasant experience. Oh, for sure, the thrill of the hunt and the chase was glorious, but the act itself was brutal, bloody, and messy. It was only out of a willingness to please his father and show strength to his people that he managed to squash down his disgust of what he had done. Luckily his mother had been there to comfort him that evening after the celebratory feast with her words of wisdom.
But this child cannot have killed anyone, could she?
Thor sipped at his beer; Via slowly relaxed as she returned to her work. She seemed totally at ease with his presence now. Her fingers flicked lazily as she magically searched the pages of the hefty tome with one hand while the other transfigured a pencil into an eraser and back again.
Hmm, why does her magic feel so strange? Is this what Midgardian magic is supposed to feel like? Or is it just the nature of her Seidr? Perhaps I should ask her guardian if I should meet him.
Thor frowned as he watched the young girl before him suddenly cast a tiny yellow coloured spell that caused the Tome's pages to all but fly across so that she jumped forward towards a point in the middle of the book.
"God, you'd think sorcerers would be better at keeping crap organised?" Via muttered under her breath to herself. "Seriously, is it too much to ask for an appendix or something?"
Thor smirked. He had heard from Tony that she had been through a terrible childhood, though you wouldn't think it if you looked at her now. She was a pretty maid and would be lovelier still when she came of age. Yet beneath those golden curls of hers was a brain, far sharper than most would anticipate. She was also diligent, hardworking, and determined to a fault.
If anything, she reminded him vaguely of a much younger-
"Loki…"
"Huh?" Via blinked up at him owlishly, and Thor shook his head.
"Forgive me. I was thinking aloud."
"About the sceptre?"
"Yes. It's, as you said, not going to be easy to obtain. My brother might not have possession over it anymore, but it doesn't mean he might not have found a way to keep it hidden if he lost it or if someone else stole it as we believe."
"Of course, he would've." Via rolled her eyes in aggravation. "What am I doing? I'm thinking about this all wrong. Loki's a master sorcerer and the god of mischief and cunning; of course, he'd set up a failsafe to find his favourite glow stick."
"Do not despair, young one. I often underestimate my brother's intelligence. It is a crime I have paid most dearly for in the past." he added softly.
"You must miss him," Via said, eyes softening as she beheld him. In his melancholy, he looked less a god and more like a lost boy. Via had seen the expression before many times in her stay at the orphanage as a child. It was the look most children had after being dumped there by the system—a look she had worn for so many years herself.
"Indeed, I do," Thor admitted quietly, not noticing her sympathetic stare. "Loki may have done a lot of wrong in the past few years, but despite all that, he is and always shall be my brother. The one I grew up with, played with, fought alongside, jested with-"
"I'm sure he misses you too," Via tried, but Thor shook his head.
"After the conflict between him and father, I doubt he sees me as anything more than a reminder of the pain he's endured."
He paused as he frowned up at her.
"You are not angered?"
"Angered?" Via quirked a brow. "Why should I be angry?"
"Well…Loki was the one who attacked New York," Thor mumbled, not quite meeting her eye. "And your file said you fled to the streets soon after the Battle of Manhattan-"
"I didn't leave the orphanage because of the battle." Via assured him firmly, feeling her stomach churn, "I left because…because…because the matron and her man were finally sick of having me around. If I had to leave them, I figured I would do it on my terms. Also, I grew up in the Bronx, not Manhattan."
"I see…" Thor murmured as he watched her quickly look back towards the books, avoiding his gaze altogether.
"Did your leaving have to do with the man that was following you that day we met?"
Via froze.
Thor was surprisingly intelligent for a man who appeared large, cheerful and theatrically goofy. She was amazed he even remembered their first meeting. As far as she was concerned that day, she was just a random girl he had bumped into.
"It may." She answered carefully, only to quickly cough, "But don't worry. It was just a crook from my old neighbourhood. Besides, I'm with Stephen now, so it's unlikely I'll ever be seeing him again."
I hope
She added inside her head, only to hear her Asmund growling at her.
You lied to the god? You lied to him as you lied to your master? My-my aren't you just weaving trouble for yourself, little wyrm.
Shut up. It's for the best!
Via spat back mentally just as Brynja's voice purred softly.
I agree with my brother, master. The strange man is dangerous. You shouldn't keep your master in the dark about this; he may be able to help-
No! I can't afford to do that right now. The world needs a sorcerer supreme, and right now, Stephen's the only candidate left for the position, which means he needs to be kept safe. To do that, I need to keep him as far away from this guy because who knows what he might do.
Via's thoughts were quickly quashed by the dramatic entrance of Sam and Steve, the latter of whom jogged in quite happily while the former was puffing and gasping for breath behind him, drenched with sweat.
"Hi boys, how was boot camp?" Via smirked as Sam glowered at Steve.
"Ask…him!" he gasped, and Steve shrugged.
"I told you I was going to go fast-"
"I thought you meant normal people fast," Sam complained, and Via giggled.
"Oh, Sam, how my heart bleeds for you. To be beaten by your best friend is one thing, but to be beaten by a ninety-year-old golden oldie is another."
"Y'know, kid, back in my day, we showed respect to our Golden Oldies." Steve chuckled, reaching over to ruffle the girl's wild curls. He looked up at Thor, who quickly covered his thoughtful expression with a hearty grin.
"We were just talking of the Sceptre. Via was just explaining another possible alternative to narrow down its location."
"Oh yeah? What is it?" Steve blinked as he handed a glass of water to Sam, who chugged it down greedily.
"I'm tracking down all the places the Order of the Mystic Arts has previously found Relics after the Battle of New York. It might take a while because it's not digitised, but at least we can narrow down some places they keep track of and maybe find the ley lines if we can spot a pattern somewhere. I dunno, it's still early stages." Via shrugged as she stretched out her arms.
"Agh! Damn, I've been sitting still for too long" She grunted as she heard the satisfying crack of her shoulders and stiff back.
"If you wish to exercise, you may use the training room." Jarvis piped in helpfully from the ceiling.
"Oh, okay, sure that would be great Jarv, anyone else in there?"
"Not at this moment, miss Summers,"
"Okay, cool. Uh, I'll just pack this up." She quickly tucked the book into her backpack.
"I'll come with you," Steve grunted as he too stretched out. "Sam and I were gonna practice some sparring-"
"Like hell, I'm sparring. I'm taking a shower." Sam puffed, trudging back towards the door.
"If you want, I could spar with you? Unless Golden Oldie is too afraid to take on a little girl?" Via smirked, snickering as the captain rolled his eyes with amusement.
"Oh yes, I'm simply quaking in my boots."
"I wouldn't underestimate this little one, Steve," Thor chuckled, setting aside his beer and standing up to walk with the two of them. "You saw how she survived Natasha's challenge. Even Tony didn't last as long on his first session with her."
"That's because the Old Man is not one for close combat" Via shrugged. "He's got the guns, but his reflexes aren't as good as they could be, at least without the suit."
"You noticed that?" Steve quirked a brow at the young girl. As far as he knew, she'd only seen Tony wearing the suit once and that when he was finishing tuning the next model.
"Cap, the entire city could notice it if they bothered to look closely enough." Via rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he knows how to throw a decent punch and a hook here and there, but Tony likes to take a step back to use his head. He's a strategist and a tinkerer more than a-uh-"
"Warrior?" Thor suggested, and Via nodded.
"Yeah…a bit of an archaic term, but yeah."
"You like fighting, don't you?" Steve frowned.
"If you mean by fighting as in learning martial arts and different fighting styles from around the globe, then yes, but if you're talking about fighting tooth and nail to survive, then my answer would be no." she bristled uncomfortably, doing her best to the ignore the irritating concern etched into his face.
He always had that look on his face whenever she mentioned something even remotely related to her less than perfect childhood. She knew he was a man out of time, knew that his old-fashioned standards would find her situation deplorable. But indeed, there were other badly treated orphans back in the thirties and forties? Heck, wasn't he from the rougher end of Brooklyn at the time?
She was glad when she reached the training room with them. It was empty, just like Jarvis had said, but it was the first time since her orientation day that she'd been in here with someone.
She was a little nervous. After all, she would potentially train and spar with an Asgardian God and Captain America himself.
If the kids at the Orphanage could see me now, they'd be flipping their shit!
She smirked as she shed her sweater and straightened out her black leggings and a red T-shirt. After orientation, she'd started wearing far more casual clothes at the tower. Not just because Tony demanded it (as there were more than enough suits walking his building, in his opinion) but also because it made training and casting spells just that little bit more comfortable.
She and Steve warmed up and stretched out (much to Thor's great amusement) and were quick to set up a square holographic perimeter, about the size of a boxer's ring around them.
"Now try and stay within the lines", Steve called out, and Via rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, I've sparred in squares much smaller than this?" she said as she stepped into the ring, only to scowl as Steve stared at her fists.
"What?"
"You're not wearing gloves?" he asked, and then Via noticed he was halfway through putting on a pair of heavy-looking boxer's gloves.
"Don't need them", she muttered, flexing her hands. "Too heavy, they'd slow me down. Now come on. Ditch them, and let's spar."
"But if I hit you-"
"Then you hit me, and I learn not to drop my guard again. That's what training is for. Now come on!" Via cracked her knuckles as she readied herself into a fighting stance.
"Such fire. I don't think I've seen a young girl so eager to fight since my friend Sif and I were children." Thor chuckled from the outside of the ring as Steve looked down at his fists.
"Okay, if you're sure," he muttered darkly as he quickly shed the gloves and tossed them to the side.
They both stood there, hands up, readied in defence, but no one struck.
"Come on, Cap. Before we both die of old age." Via snorted.
Steve sighed heavily.
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."
And with that, he lunged forwards.
She's fast for her kind.
Thor scratched his chin as he watched the young girl quickly dodge out of the way of the super soldier's arm and make to counter. Steve caught the attack with his block but was surprised at her daring. He was quick to counter and get her into a lock. It wasn't painful. Indeed, Steve utilised the gentlest of his moves on the girl for fear of his superior strength hurting her.
Yet again, as she'd proven with Natasha, Via Summers proved to be a surprising opponent. Instead of struggling against Steve's grip, she quickly slammed her bare heel into the top of his foot. While she'd barely make a dent in the soldier, she still managed to dig in hard into his toes, forcing him to loosen his grip and allowing her to throw him off her.
"Not bad." Steve winced as he regained his footing.
"Thanks. Now stop holding back, Gramps!" Via's growled.
"Alright, fine. You asked for it." Steve muttered, his smirk softening. She was a scrappy little thing in a pinch.
He was quick to reach her, but instead of punching her, he ducked and swept his foot out towards her legs. She jumped upwards just in time with a squeak, only to stumble back a little as she landed. Steve quickly caught her by the scruff of her T-shirt, only to bring her to the ground in a firm takedown that planted her face down on the floor. It wasn't a hard shove; indeed, Steve was very gentle and careful in his approach. But it was strong enough to show the young opponent he meant business.
"Ow," She winced as she rolled over onto her back.
"You, okay?" Steve chuckled as he held out a hand to help her up.
"Oh, don't you worry about me, Gramps. I could do this all day," she smirked, rubbing her jaw as she got to her feet, unaware of the slightly stunned look on Steve's face.
What she didn't see was that through his eyes, he could see the scrawnier, skinnier, asthmatic version of his old self staring back at him from a dirty alleyway of 1930s Brooklyn.
Despite himself, he felt the corners of his mouth twitch ever so slightly upwards as he said:
"I bet you can, kid."
Yeah, there's nothing like a good old sparring session to kick start team bonding. Even if both teammates were going insanely easy on me, I suppose it makes sense. Steve's a super-soldier with super strength, and Thor's an Asgardian god (enough said).
Still, it was nice to see them both lower their guard around me. The two of them had been rather skittish about hanging out with me until that point. However, that may have been because up till then; Tony had been monopolising my time. Also, I was the new kid on the block with unknown powers.
Even now, Steve still has some reservations about sparring with me. I think he still sees me as a child and doesn't want to hurt me. Though his chivalry is annoying at times, it's also kinda sweet. Thor likewise always treated me gently, but unlike Steve, he seemed to understand that I could handle some knocks and wasn't entirely made of glass.
He often said that I reminded him of his friend Sif, who's this super kickass Asgardian warrior chick. I've never met the woman, but I can tell that I'd probably like her if I did. Or, at the very least, I'd like to spar with her.
Yeah, I know I'm super weird.
So anyway, I was training with Steve and Thor, and then Clint had to waltz in.
"Hey, hey, hey. Now, what have we got here?" Clint Barton grinned as he stared at the scene before him.
Via, Steve and Thor were all on the floor in an elbow plank. The super soldier and the Asgardian were fine, but poor Via was sweating buckets as she struggled to remain on her shaky limbs.
"Just…planking", she spat, cheeks flushing red as one of her ankles giving an almighty judder.
"I can see that. For how long?" Clint quirked a brow.
"It was supposed to be just two minutes, but we've managed to push it up to Seven." Steve shrugged as Thor grinned
"Yes. Via has already surpassed her record of three minutes by four."
"I can still keep going." she gasped as she sucked in a deep breath. Her core was positively burning now. How the other two men next to her weren't even breaking a sweat was beyond her.
"Well, as fun as it is watching you trying to outlast these two tanks, I'm afraid you're gonna have to break your record some other time. Tony wants to talk to you." Clint smirked as, at last, the girl collapsed on the training room floor.
"Careful," Steve tutted as her cheek slapped against the hard surface. "don't want to break something."
"Too late my spirit is already broken." Via moaned in relief as she felt the cold of the floor seep soothingly into her aching stomach.
The three men chuckled, Thor quickly and effortlessly sweeping her up to stand shakily on her feet.
"Uh-no, Clint. Kitchen first! I'm hungry." she grumbled as her stomach gurgled, putting a finger up to stop Clint.
"Yeah, that's where Tony wants to meet," he smirked as he watched the kid stumble out of the training room.
It didn't take her long to reach the kitchen, where she found Natasha, Bruce and Tony talking over the large metal island in the middle, each sipping at their coffee.
"Ah, and here's the girl of the hour!" Tony grinned as she shuffled into the kitchen. "By the way, nice going with the planking."
"Glad you enjoyed the show." Via deadpanned as she snagged herself a large glass of water and drained it in several large gulps. "Clint said you wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, two things I got lined up for you. First, we've made the prototype of the sensor." Tony turned to Bruce, and Via could see that the doctor had small puffy bags under his eyes.
"We were wondering if you'd be up for a little field testing."
"Right…and where would we be testing?" Via rasped as she made to pour herself more water.
"The local park." Natasha clipped as she flicked her fingers over a tablet. "This afternoon. You and Bruce will pick a quiet, isolated spot where you can practice your magic. Meanwhile, Thor, Tony, Steve, Clint, Sam and I will use the sensor to try and locate you."
"So, pretty much we're going to the park to play hide and seek?" Via snorted, and Clint grinned.
"Think of it as an exercise in stealth combined with field testing. After all, it's not every day you get to hide from two of the best spies in the business." He pointed at Natasha, who smirked lightly as she said:
"Wow, so humble,"
"Okay, cool. Should I bring my stuff, or can I pick it up hereafter?" Via pointed back to the lounging area behind them, where most of her gear was still strewn over the coffee table.
"Best pack all your stuff with you. I'll have Happy drop you home after we're done." Tony downed the last of his coffee and handed her his tablet. "Which brings me to point number two. Tomorrow at noon, I've got a meeting with Norman Osborn-"
"The head of Oscorp?" Via flicked through the tablet's screen on which the profile of Norman Osborn was displayed.
"Yep. Him. He's a bit of a tool, but I've still got to do business with him-"
"Okay…so…what does he have to do with my job?"
"I'm getting to that." Tony raised his eyebrows at her, and she quickly shut her mouth. Sometimes, it astounded her just how stern he could get despite his usually childish behaviour.
"Project Weaver." he swiped at the screen in her hands, bringing up a relatively blank file.
"Project Weaver? What's that?" Via blinked down at the screen.
"No idea. But considering the number of radioactive materials that Oscorp has been buying and importing over the past few months, I'd bet my tower it's probably something big."
"Are you sure they're not building nukes or new weapons stuff?" Via frowned. "I mean, isn't that what most of you big boys do with tech companies?"
"Not always," Bruce piped in gently, over the top of Tony's bristling "I mean, yeah, sure Stark industries USED to build WMDs, but since Tony made the Iron Man suit, the company has made a push towards green energy, Artificial Intelligence and robotics among other things."
"And what about Oscorp?"
"Yeah, they still make WMD's." Natasha muttered, "However the production lines and design work is usually conducted in remote facilities away from large human populaces. The fact that they're bringing the material here into the city is quite troubling." she trailed off, but Via got the message loud and clear.
"So what you want me to sneak around, Oscorp?" she folded her arms at Tony, who shrugged.
"No. We've already got Nat and Clint in on that. For now, I need you to do your job as an intern. Y'know, tag along, take notes, get coffee, the usual assistant gofer stuff. But if you do notice anything strange, then, of course, let us know, and we'll look into it."
Via couldn't help but deflate a little where she stood despite herself.
Keep it together, girl; you've barely been with them for a week; give them time to trust you.
She sucked in a gulp of water to steady herself before she answered.
"Right, got it. Oh, By the way, thanks for the phone case." Via held up Aura, on which was now a dark blue leather phone case with a golden web design and a slot for cards
"Thought you'd like it" Tony smirked "I thought as that pal Wong of yours called you the Spider Sorceress-"
"The Spider what?" Clint snorted into his orange juice.
"Spider Sorceress." Via explained with a shrug, "It's the title for the person who uses this." she pulled out the Web of Asibikaashi from around her neck.
"Ah, so Thor was right, that Dream Catcher does have magic." Bruce's eyes widened in surprise as he beheld the small trinket.
"It's the token of the guardian of the Dream Dimension," Via explained, "Created by the Spider Mother Asibikaashi herself. It lets me go into the Dream Dimension and purify nightmares from people's minds."
"Seriously?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "That little thing allows you to get into-" He gestured wildly at his head.
"Sometimes, but only when they're asleep." Via mumbled, feeling her cheeks go pink, "I've only had it a few months, and I still barely know how to use all its powers."
"So, how did you come to have it if it's such a powerful relic?" Natasha asked carefully.
"It was given to me by its previous owner, Fala, just before I joined the Order. A rogue sorcerer was after it, so Fala gave it to me for safekeeping. I was still a homeless street rat, so I had no clue what it did until the old Sorcerer Supreme took me in, by which time Fala had already, uh, passed away." Via gulped, taking a sip from her refilled glass of water to cover her shaking voice.
It almost felt like a lifetime since that day.
Since Fala took her in for the night.
Since the ancient one.
Naela.
Damn it, Via!
She knew the Ancient One was dead, but Via had never anticipated how much it would hurt talking about her or her memories of her. It was like a boa constrictor had wrapped itself around her entire chest and was squeezing it tight.
Tony, Clint, Bruce, and Natasha's faces all softened at the pained expression on the young girl's face, but they were quick to hide their pity as Thor and Steve came into the room.
"So what's the plan, guys? Jarvis said you were planning to field test the prototype scanner?" Steve said as he accepted a glass of water Via handed to him.
"Right, yes, the test." Tony coughed, "So yeah, Bruce and I have the prototype ready-"
"We play hide and seek Avengers-style? Gotta say, Old Man, you have some childish hobbies," Via smirked as the billionaire's face fell once more.
God, how she loved hassling him.
And so that's how I ended up playing hide and seek with the Avengers in the nearby Park. Or as Tony liked to say, testing his new prototype mystic energy scanner.
Either way, I was hiding, and the Avengers were doing all it took to find me.
I was with Bruce most of the time I was hiding, and I must admit he's cool. A bit quiet but cool. When most people meet him, they are a bit scared because they're afraid of the Other Guy. But really, they're usually nothing to worry about if they approach him on a day to day basis.
He's knowledgeable too. Once we'd found a spot to remain hidden, he even volunteered to test me on my science homework Stephen had set for me (I told you he was adamant about my education). He even managed to explain a few of the more advanced concepts that I had trouble understanding, and in general terms, I could understand.
It's a shame people fear and distrust him so much. He'd make a good teacher. That and he's easy to talk to. Very calm and patient.
Of course, at that point, I'd not yet met the Other Guy, but still, I can't exactly talk about anger issues when I've got my demons in need of fixing.
And speaking of personal issues.
"You don't mind if I?" Bruce gestured to the public toilets located just within eyesight of their hiding spot.
They were sitting under the shade of a few trees, quite secluded from everyone else. A lovely quiet spot where Via could practice a couple of short spells without anyone noticing.
"Yeah, sure", she shrugged, smirking as Bruce quickly dashed off in search of the facilities. He'd tried to always stay by her side, doing his best to keep an eye out for more strange attackers who would try to accost her. However, even he could not ignore the call of nature when it came knocking.
Via didn't mind. Besides, it gave her a little time to breathe on her own as she sat there on the grass, casting a small spell in her lap.
She shut her eyes as she began to feel around the park.
There was so much life force buzzing around her. Whenever she meditated back at the Sanctum, the feel of life outside was muted by the spells and protective enchantments surrounding the building.
Now, she could nearly feel every single breath of every being here in the park. Two, in particular, were very strong as they lay hidden in the trees behind her, watching her.
For one wild moment, she worried that they belonged to the mysterious, terrifying beady-eyed man from the party. But the more she felt their essences, the more she realised they did not belong to him. Strangely, both felt familiar. It almost felt like she could remember their faces but not their names.
Yet as she tried to push further towards their minds, something large and hairy bowled into her.
"WHOA! Hey!" she yelped as the thing licked her face with a giant tongue.
It whined as she was quick to push it off her, pausing as she got a good look at her affectionate attacker.
It was an enormous, grey and black wolf-like mutt with long shaggy hair and a pair of brilliant warm brown eyes that seemed to bore into Via's very soul.
Those eyes, she couldn't quite place where she'd seen them before, but she felt like she knew them from somewhere.
Maybe I've met this dog on the streets.
She thought wildly as she took in its slightly matted fur. It had no collar, and it looked a little thin for its size, but otherwise, it was not too badly off. It gave her big puppy eyes as it leaned forwards into her outstretched hands licked them affectionately.
"Sorry boy," she apologised, smiling sadly as she scratched his ear. "But I don't have any treats for you. Where's your collar? Your owner must be worried sick."
She quickly checked the long fur around the dog's neck but found no collar or chest harness.
"So, you're a stray, huh?" She muttered, and the dog gave a short deep "boof" of acknowledgement before nuzzling her arm and began sniffing at her hair.
Poor guy. I wonder how long he's been out here.
There was a rustle behind them, and the dog barked as a shadow appeared amidst the trees.
Via quickly hopped to her feet, only to freeze.
"You…"
The figure gulped. It was a tall, muscular man in a thick sweater and pants. He had shaggy brown hair tied messily back in a short ponytail, and he was wearing a baseball cap that couldn't entirely hide his bright blue eyes in its shadow.
She knew those eyes. She'd seen them twice before. First when she'd passed him by on that bridge all those months ago, and then barely one month ago when their owner had saved her from those thugs when she'd run away.
He looked straight at Via, his ruddy skin paling with panic under his scruffy facial hair.
"Wait!" Via called as he started to run, but the dog was faster.
With a loud bark and a giant leap, the canine pounced on the man pinning him down quickly under his long, strong limbs, snarling into the man's face.
"Gerroff me!" the man growled, reaching up to shove the animal but was saved the trouble as Via called out.
"HEEL!"
Miraculously, inexplicably, the dog paused mid snarl and looked up at Via.
It quirked an ear at her, looking just as confused as its captive beneath it as the girl stood up to her fullest height and pointed her finger down to the ground.
"I said heel!" she commanded fiercely.
There was a pause in which the dog glanced down at the man and then back at Via, almost as if contemplating whether to listen to her or not.
But even as the man was considering throwing the animal off again, it quickly retreated, backing off him and trotting up to the girl.
It whined almost apologetically as it nuzzled its snout into her hands.
"Good boy." She whispered, releasing her shaking breath as she looked back at the man on the ground.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
"It's fine." the strange man mumbled, staring at her in amazement. "H-how did you do that?"
"I-I'm not sure. Here," Via shrugged, reaching forwards with a helpful hand.
The man lifted his hand to take it but hesitated, his expression odd.
"I'm not going to break if you touch me." Via tried smiling and was pleased when the man took it, the corners of his lips quirking upwards despite himself.
"Thanks," he muttered quietly.
"No problem. Besides, you did save me from those thugs before, so, y'know." Via smiled as she looked the man over. He seemed a little more worn than when she saw him last those couple of weeks ago.
Is he on the streets?
She wondered, though what she said instead was:
"So…we meet again…uh…whoever you are."
"Yeah…yeah, I guess we do." the man gulped. "How're the shoulders?"
"Huh?" Via blinked, and the man's ears reddened.
"When we met last time, you couldn't fight back because your shoulders hurt you." he blurted out.
"OH, those!" now it was Via's turn to blush scarlet as she touched said shoulders. "Yeah…yeah, they're doing much better. I wish I could say the same for those guys. You got quite an arm on you."
"Yeah…if only you knew." the man muttered the last bit under his breath, coughing as she frowned at him. "S-so, what are you doing here again?"
"Just hanging out with some friends." Via shrugged. "And yourself?"
"Just walking." the man said stiffly.
There was a very embarrassed pause in which both man and girl stared at one another, both trying to assess one another, blue eyes meeting blue.
"I'm Via." Via finally coughed.
"Huh?" the man blinked.
"My name's Via…short for Olivia."
"Uh…I'm, um, James, not short for anything," he muttered and was relieved when she chuckled and held out her left hand for him to shake.
He stared at her hand.
"You're left-handed?" he wondered aloud.
"Yeah…sorry," Via mumbled, embarrassed as she switched hands. The man, James, took it, once again handling her with extreme delicacy, almost as if he were afraid to break her into a million pieces.
"It's nice to meet you, James."
"It's nice to meet you as well, Via. I'm glad you're doing better." his voice was soft as he tested her name on his tongue and let her hand go.
Via was unsure why, but like his now smiling eyes, his gruff voice comforted her. It was soft and had a gentle, calming quality that made her feel safe, though she did not know why for the life of her. He was a stranger, and Via was always wary of trusting people she barely knew; she would not have survived for so long on her own if she had. Yet she also could feel, deep in her gut, that this James was not a bad person.
Not at all like beady-eyed man Via had met at the party. With him, she had felt the urge to crawl into the walls and hide like a frightened mouse.
With James, she did not feel that at all. Oh, sure, he looked intimidating with his size and dangerous, battle-ready air about him, but Via could tell at once that he was no bully. No. His actions that night he had saved her were proof enough of that.
What she did not know was that while she had been staring James down, he, too, had been sizing her up in his head.
She was taller for her age than he had initially thought that night he had saved her. Taller and more toned. Her wiry frame told him enough to know that she was trained to some degree to look after herself, though it was clear she would be nowhere near strong enough to take on someone of his calibre. No, her skill lay in her speed, agility, and ability to work those big blue eyes.
Those intelligent blue eyes were now wells of gentle compassion as she wordlessly met his gaze.
Most people who saw him were usually afraid of him. Oh sure, there might be the occasional woman who may have blushed or found him attractive, but they were always quick to pass him off as being too dangerous or too unapproachable.
This girl, however, stared at him unflinchingly without fear, not because she was trying to be brave, but because she-
"Via! Olivia!"
A man's voice called loudly.
"Shoot! Uh, sorry, I gotta-" Via turned back to James, only to cry out in shock as the dog next to her suddenly bolted away at top speed.
"Well…that's one way to exit, huh Ja-" Via turned back to James only to find her hand held out in mid-air in front of her, and the man she'd just met gone.
"Wow…that was…weird," she muttered, pouting, her heart sinking a little in her chest.
I never got to thank him.
She grumbled to herself as she trudged off back towards her old spot where Bruce was standing, alongside the other Avengers.
"Ah! There you are, Via." Thor boomed with a wide smile. "Steve was just wondering whether we should start a search party."
"I wasn't that worried." Steve muttered, but Via could see his cheeks turn pink as he added, "I just thought she should be careful considering-"
"Considering that I almost got accosted in a park." Via finished smirking. "So, did the scanner work?"
"It did." Bruce smiled, but Tony just pouted.
"Mostly, there's still a lot of calibrations we need to make before it's perfect."
"Still, it's a start, and that's what counts." Bruce patted Tony's shoulder as Clint chortled.
"It led him into the women's toilet while Nat was in there."
"It what?" Via giggled.
"Yeah, it was a good thing it was empty, or else the press would have a field day. Billionaire Avenger follows GPS into the lady's room and gets hammered by one very angry Black Widow."
"Oh god, you're kidding" Via turned to Natasha, who shrugged.
"Don't worry; he won't be walking in there again."
"It's just a bathroom." Tony rolled his eyes. "Besides, you ladies have cubicles with doors, so I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is, is that it's the ladies room." Via rolled her eyes dramatically "a sacred haven a girl can seek refuge when she wants to escape the stupidity that is mankind or do a number two in peace without being judged."
"A…number two?" Thor quirked his brow as the others burst out laughing.
"Crapping," Natasha smirked, and everyone's laughter grew even more as the Thunder God's cheeks burned red.
"Oh…oh…you mean…oh." he turned to Via and frowned. "That is a very unseemly talk for a-"
"What's so unseemly. Human's crap. It's one of the few ways we excrete waste from our systems." Via quirked a brow.
"Yeah…but it's not…well…girls don't usually talk about it." Steve coughed as he and all the men flushed with embarrassment. All save Clint, who just shrugged.
"Oh, come on, Cap, it's the twenty-first century. Girls aren't as shy as they once were."
"Especially when they're on the rag. Then they get vicious." Tony muttered, only to shrink away as the only two females present narrowed their eyes dangerously at him.
"What say you Nat, should we give the old man a five-minute head start?" Via raised her eyebrows at Natasha, who smirked.
"No…give him two."
"You're both joking, right?" Tony gulped, taking a step back as both women stared him down.
"You've got 100 seconds left" Via pointed to her watch.
Tony's face paled.
"Is it too late to beg for my life?"
Yeah, I love messing with Tony's head. You'd think it'd be difficult, seeing as he's one of Earth's mightiest heroes. It's easy.
If there's one thing the Man of Iron fears more than anything, it's an angry woman after him, especially if they're redheads (like Pepper or Natasha).
But while I was busy hassling the avengers, I failed to take notice of what was going on closer to home.
When the phone rang on his desk, Stephen stared at it blankly.
It wasn't often that it rang. Indeed, it was a rare occurrence.
After all, barely anyone from the outside world knew about the sanctums, and all the other masters usually sent him a message on his tablet or just popped in through a portal.
Quietly he picked up the phone, gulping as he tried to steady his shaking fingers. Even after this time, they still trembled severely when he was tired.
"Hello, Doctor Strange speaking?" he responded mechanically, vaguely aware of the Cloak of Levitation giving his shoulders a comforting squeeze as a voice answered him on the other end.
"Hello Stephen, it's Susanna, Susanna Ericson from the adoption agency."
"Hello Susanna, how're you today?" Stephen forced a smile on his end, though inside, he could feel his stomach doing a couple of backflips. Oh no, had something go wrong with their application? He was pretty sure that he had double-checked the forms before sending them.
He was forced out of his panic by Susanna's small chuckle.
"Oh, good. Just drowning under all this paperwork. How's life in the oh-so-magical fast lane?"
"Oh, it's certainly magical, alright. How can I help you today, Susanna?" Stephen snorted sardonically, though he was impressed by how well the woman kept her knowledge of his insane lifestyle under wraps with her words. He supposed being a secret agent would've taught her how to talk in code.
"I was wondering if I could confirm our home studies meeting for tomorrow. Would three o clock be alright?"
"Y-yes, of course", Stephen spluttered quickly, gulping as Wong entered the room carrying a mug of coffee for him. "I-I'll just call Olivia and see if she can come home early from her internship."
"Alright, perfect." Susanna chirruped on the other end only to quickly add, "also, one other thing I was hoping to talk to you about, Olivia-"
"Yes?" Stephen swallowed, fingers trembling even more now over the landline.
"I was just wondering if it would be possible if I talked with her alone tomorrow."
"Alone?"
"Yes, if that's alright with you. Last time we met, I don't think we hit it off quite as well as we'd like."
"Really?" Stephen frowned, glancing at Wong, who eyed him suspiciously as he stalked out the room. "But Olivia said-she said you guys were alright."
"I guess we were," Susanna muttered carefully as if she were treading on a minefield.
"I just meant that well-I've worked with a lot of kids in the system, and I know most of them don't trust people in my position. From what I've seen of Olivia's file, I can tell she's one of those kids. It's alright, really-" she added when Stephen started to speak. "She's nervous, and this adoption is a huge thing to adjust to without having another stranger breathing down her neck. I just wanted to give her a chance to know me better. Something small to help her feel safe and secure through the process."
"I'll see what I can do. Though I'm sure, she'll appreciate the idea." Stephen sighed in relief.
The call went smoothly after that hurdle, and the more he and Susanna talked, the more relaxed Stephen became.
It was nice; he thought as after ten more minutes he finally hung up the phone. It was nice to talk freely with non-mystical about everyday things, especially with Susanna Ericsson. She was a graceful, well-read, and well-spoken woman and seemed to have a kind disposition if her approach to her job was anything to go by.
She also genuinely seemed concerned about Via, even though the latter did not seem to like her all that much.
She did not hate Susanna; no, Stephen could always tell when Via hated someone. But it was odd that Via is so wary of the woman when she had only met her once. She almost always went on the defensive when talking about her and did her best to change the subject if her name did come up in conversation.
Perhaps Susanna's right.
Stephen shut his spellbook and stood to his feet.
Perhaps Olivia doesn't trust her because of her place in the system. If I give them both time to get to know one another, maybe that might break some of the ice.
He hoped they would. Susanna seemed nice enough, and Via could benefit from having another feminine presence in her life.
Sure, she was a fan of Black Widow, but Natasha Romanoff was a deadly assassin at her core. Oh, and sure he had Christine back again in his life, showing him support.
But Christine was busy working, and though she and Via liked one another well enough, neither would have much time to see one another.
Of all the children I had to pick, it had to be a girl.
He rolled his eyes fondly as he strolled down the stairs into the main hall.
A few lights dimly lighted it, but it was more than enough for him to go by as he turned into the extensive ground floor library.
He smirked to himself as he saw the mess of books left on a nearby table amidst the forest of bookshelves.
"That kid." he shook his head fondly as with a flick of his wrists, the books began arranging themselves back on the shelves they belonged.
He had to hand it to her. For a rough and tough little scrapper, she sure loved to read.
He exited the library, heaving a heavy sigh to himself as the Cloak of Levitation played with his collar, only to pause as he heard something scratching at the front door.
Quickly shrugging the cloak off, he walked over to the door and opened it.
…
…
"Oh…hello?"
By the time I got home from the Tower, it was nearly dark, and boy, was I tired.
Training with Thor and Steve and then outing to the park was exhausting.
I could only hope I fared better the next day when I had to go to Oscorp.
Unfortunately, that evening fate had other plans.
"I'm home!" Via called, only to get greeted by absolute silence.
"Hello! Stephen? Wong?" she yelled as she turned on the lamps in the front entrance with a spell.
She was so tired she couldn't even be bothered to use the switch like an average person as she trudged up the stairs towards the second floor.
"I'm back!" she called out glumly to no one as she deposited all her gear in her room.
Doc's probably in his study again.
She groaned as she slumped on her bed and kicked off her shoes.
And Wong's probably doing a class at Kamar Taj.
She stared up at the roof of her four-poster bed, grimacing as she raised her arms and exposed her underarms.
They were lightly sweating.
"Ugh! Got to have a bath." She grumbled as she sat back up. "But I don't want to stand in the shower…."
Nope. Today had been too exhausting for her. She was going to sit in the bathtub.
God, when did I become such a pampered pooch?
She snorted to herself as she shed her clothes and covered herself in a fluffy baby blue bathrobe with white clouds before slipping on a pair of fluffy sheep shaped slippers.
"Right. Bath time," she muttered, grabbing her towel and setting free her curls from their ponytail.
She shuffled out of her room and towards the large bathroom down the other end of the hall with slow steps.
She was so tired; she did not even notice the voices on the other side of the door until she'd opened it wide.
Only to come crashing down as something large, hairy, and wet all but leapt upon her.
"OW! WHAT THE HELL!?" she shrieked as an oversized tongue suddenly swiped up her face.
"NO! Down boy! Down!" Stephen's voice yelled as the doctor himself grabbed the hairy animal and pulled it back from her.
Via sat up quickly, eyes wide and body shaking as she beheld the sight before her.
There was Stephen, in his boxers and a T-shirt, sopping wet and holding back a vast, big shaggy dog that was covered head to foot in soap suds.
A vast shaggy greyish brown wolf-like mutt, to be precise.
"Holy crap." Via breathed as she beheld the dog's brown eyes, which stared at her dolefully as he was lifted by a spell back into the half-empty bathtub.
It whimpered as it set its weight down in the tub, quickly drawing up one of its front paws, which seemed to be bent at an awkward angle.
"He was sitting at the front door," Stephen explained as he reached forwards to help her up. "His paw is broken. I'm taking him in to the vet once I get him cleaned up. It was either that or I left him barking outside."
"How did he break it?" Via asked for the animal didn't seem to have a damaged paw when she'd met it just a couple of hours earlier.
"Don't know. It must have gotten hit by something." Stephen muttered as he reached for the detachable showerhead and began hosing the animal down.
"There we go. Oh, now don't give me that look. You know it's good for you." he smirked as the animal gave him a mutinous glower. It did not like bath time.
"I never picked you to be a dog person", Via chuckled as she knelt by the tup and began scrubbing the soap out of the dog's fur.
"My parents used to have a dog back when I was a kid" Stephen's smirk softened as he sprayed the dog's underside. "Donna, Vincent and I would play with him all day. Running, swimming, you name it."
"Donna and Vincent?" Via quirked a brow.
"My sister and brother," Stephen muttered, voice barely a murmur.
"Ooh. Older or younger?" Via leaned in interestedly.
"Younger." Stephen clipped his expression, now stony. It was almost as if he was berating himself for even bringing up the topic "Why do you ask?"
Via blinked in surprise. "Well… why not ask?"
"Because there's nothing to talk about" Stephen pursed his lips, doing his best to avoid her eyes as she pouted.
"But they're your family. How can there be nothing to talk about?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped waspishly, and Via jerked backwards in alarm.
"Nothing. It's just; you never talked about your family or your life before we met. I was curious, that's all."
"What's there to be curious about. They were my family. I grew up, and I moved out when I was nineteen after-" he stopped and shook his head. "Can we please just not talk about this. Okay?"
"O-okay." Via turned back to the large dog in the bathtub, somewhat perturbed.
She'd never seen him this antsy before. Not even about his hands, which were always such a delicate topic for him.
"Listen, Olivia, It's-it's been a long day." Stephen sighed heavily, guilt welling up as he saw the slight hurt in her eyes as she looked away. "Let's get this lump of hair clean and to a vet."
"Okay," Via murmured with a nod, forcing a smile on her face as she rubbed the last of the soap from the dog's shoulder.
"There we go-oh thank you." she giggled as the dog turned around and gave her a tiny lick on the face. "So, what will happen when we take him to the vet?"
"We'll see if they'll fix up his leg" Stephen reached out with one hand to inspect the canine's injured paw. "And if he's doing alright, we'll see if he can stay with us until he finds a good home if Wong's okay with it, of course."
"Oh, yeah, Wong." Via pulled a face. "Can you imagine trying to explain this mess to him?"
"Yeah, I'm hoping to have it sorted out by the time he gets back."
"Unlikely," Via snorted. "The guy's got the timing of the devil."
"Speaking of timing," Stephen coughed stiffly, "Tomorrow afternoon, we've got our first Family Study meetings with Susanna."
"Oh yeah? What time?" Via rolled her eyes, as she always did whenever the woman's name was mentioned.
"Three in the afternoon. You should be able to ask Stark for an early mark, right?" Stephen smirked, only to frown as she looked very uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure; I'm supposed to be going with him to Oscorp Tower tomorrow."
Stephen scowled.
"Oscorp? What for?! I thought we agreed you weren't going to be sent on a mission until he checked with-"
"It's not a mission," Via quickly steamrolled over the top of him. "It's just…I'm going there as an assistant-slash-gofer. Doing stuff that-y'know-an actual intern would do? I mean, officially, that's what my job is on paper; it would look weird if I weren't doing it in public, right?"
"Oh, I see," Stephen sighed, relief overtaking him. "So, there's been no development yet?"
"Only R and D for now." Via grunted, "I'm still trying to learn the spells. I need to find the ley lines, but it's difficult, and then there are all the Orders records I need to cross-examine with the SHIELD records and la-tee-da, fiddle-dee-dee, you know all that jazz." she paused as she glanced at the dog's face. "Seriously, this animal looks just like you did when you had that beastly beard crawling over your face."
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Stephen grumbled, self-consciously rubbing his immaculate facial hair.
"You looked like you had a Muppet living on your fa-ah!" Via squeaked in surprise as Stephen turned the showerhead on her.
"Stop! Stop!" she squealed, reaching out and grabbing the showerhead from him before spraying it in his face. The dog beside them barked loudly, wagging his tail with excitement as he snapped at the spray, which spun this way and that as the man and girl playfully wrestled for control.
"Woah-whoa! Look out Olivia-you're going to-" Stephen spluttered as he and Via both choked through water and laughter as the dog decided at that moment to shake itself out all over them.
As it did, its shoulder jostled the spray from Via's hands, and the showerhead tilted towards the bathroom door, which opened-
"WHAT THE?" Wong spluttered as he received a face full of water.
"Shit!" Via gasped, grabbing the showerhead as Stephen quickly turned the tap off with his magic.
But the damage was done, and very quickly, both Via and the dog were scampering out of the doorway, the former giggling as Wong growled loudly:
"STRANGE!"
And that was the day we found Buddy. We weren't going to name him initially, but we just kept calling him Buddy, and well, the name just stuck.
After Stephen escaped Wong's wrathful clutches (haha, sorry, Stephen), we taped up Buddy's leg to a small splint and took him to the nearest twenty-four-hour animal hospital.
Thankfully, it was just a sprained paw, so the vets were able to manoeuvre it back in its proper spot before putting it in a cast to keep it in place. In addition to having his shots and being microchipped, it nearly cost us an arm and a leg. But for once, Stephen didn't complain about the cost. He even offered to adopt Buddy, of course only after we consulted Wong on the phone.
But Wong, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind the idea of keeping a dog in the Sanctum if he wasn't the one picking up doggy do from the top floor.
I've got to say; I'm glad they both agreed to keep Buddy.
The Sanctum Sanctorum is a colossal place that's way bigger on the inside than it looks. So big that sometimes it can get lonely during the day. Buddy's great company to have. I love talking to him when I'm doing my homework in the library downstairs or cuddling up to him when I sit and watch TV.
Also, having Buddy around adds an extra level of security. We may have a lot of protective spells, but Buddy's about the size of a beast, so should some stupid fool come a knocking-well enough said.
Also, fun fact, animals are more sensitive to the mystic energies than most humans, especially cats, which is why they used to be much sought after familiars back in the day. I know, weird, right?
And speaking of sensitive creatures, Buddy wasn't the only new face I'd be meeting that week.
"Peter! Peter!" A woman's voice called out throughout the apartment. "Peter, it's time to get up!"
"Hmm! Five more minutes, Aunt May." a bundle in a bed grumbled from under the dark blue comforter.
But even as its owner made to shy away from the source of the noise, which came striding into the room at the very moment. It was a woman, tall and attractive, with long brown hair and large thin-rimmed glasses.
"Come on, get up; you'll be late for your field trip." She rubbed the mass of blankets gently. But it didn't budge.
"Oh, come on, Pete. It's Oscorp! You've been talking about it all week; don't tell me you're backing out now."
"Oscorp on Thursday." the lump, Peter, mumbled.
"Peter," Aunt May smirked. "It is Thursday."
The lump suddenly sat up straight, revealing a young teenager with short brown hair and a bewildered boyish face staring wide-eyed at his alarm clock.
"Crap! I'm late."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Aunt May rolled her eyes fondly as she watched her nephew quickly dash out of the bedroom in his pyjamas and into the bathroom.
"Sorry, Uncle Ben!" he cried out as he all but shoved past a tall man with greying hair and a tired but surprisingly youthful face, trudged out of another bedroom.
"Late again?" Ben smirked at May, who shrugged as if to say:
Teenagers, what can you do with them?
If only they knew what Fate had in store for their nephew that day.