Chapter 8: A Huntin' and A Fishin'
I wasn't sure how long I was out of it.
All I knew was that one minute I was being dragged out of Tony's decimated car and the next I was in a dark concrete basement of some building.
Alone.
I will admit, I was scared shitless. If someone could take out one of the world's greatest heroes with a car crash then what chance did I have of getting out of this situation alive.
It didn't help that the basement looked like something out of a horror movie.
Via sighed as she leaned back. She was strapped to a chair (which eerily looked like an old electric chair), in the middle of the darkened room.
It looked like a workshop with various tools and mechanical instruments scattered around different work benches. The most prominent one that caught her attention was a large crosscut saw, as it stuck upwards from a nearby plank of wood.
All it needed was blood along the blade and the horrific sight would be complete.
Okay…okay don't panic. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this-yeah right. like there is a reasonable explanation for crashing a billionaire's car and kidnapping his fourteen-year-old intern instead of him.
Via sucked in deep breaths as she continued to look around the space.
There were no windows, but there were air vents in a faraway corner above a bench. They were ridiculously tiny.
Well that's just great.
Via deflated in her chair, squirming as she tried to make her backside at least a little more comfortable, but it was no use. She might as well have been trying to make herself comfortable on a bed of nails.
She winced as she wiggled her chest, feeling her sling ring dig into the bottom of her left breast from where it had been stashed in her bra.
If only her hands were free…
There was the clicking of a lock and Via quickly stilled as she saw a door suddenly open from a darkened corner of the room.
"Ah, you're awake" a distinctly British voice called as the tall pale blonde head and beady eyes became visible in the dim light.
"You" Via snarled at the man, nostrils flaring with rage as he sauntered over towards her.
"Y'know it's pretty rude calling someone just you" he sneered.
"Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you just told me your name before oh queen o' England" Via rolled her eyes.
The man blinked at her in surprise, then began to chuckle.
"Ha-ha-ha! You're cute kid. I've chased and hunted you down for years and still you've got some sass in you"
"And I'll shove it up your ass if you don't answer my question" Via snapped, irked by the man's humour "Who are you?"
"Well I suppose it's only fair you should know who I am, considering I've known who you are for a very long time" The man chortled, as he tried to rein in his sniggers, his eyes gleaming hungrily as he took in her flushed but furious face.
"It's Craven, Cornelius Craven"
"Is that supposed to impress me?" Via snorted.
"It should." Cornelius's sneer widened.
Via felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as he stalked over towards her and leaned over her.
"Fourteen years…and finally we have you" his voice was low and husky as he drank in every inch of her face.
There was no lust in his expression…but the hunger of a predator that had it's prey snared in its trap and was waiting for the right moment to drag it into its waiting jaws.
"We?" Via gulped wishing she knew an illusion spell to hide her fear, but Cornelius ignored her as he reached out to caress her chin.
"Amazing how such a small infant can transform into a young woman in merely the span of a few years. I used to think you looked exactly like your mother…but…" his fingers dragged up the side of her cheek to rest at her temple "Now I can see a little of your father in there too…especially when you glare."
"What?" Via breathed as he pulled away, smirking.
"Hmmm…but enough chit chat. I've got a message to send to your dear Avenger friends. I'm sure they're all very worried about you."
He began to stalk off, his smirk widening as she started to yell at his back.
"Wait! What did you mean my father?! HEY!"
But it was too late. The door had already shut.
"Well that's just great" Via grumbled, pouting angrily as she tried to struggle again against her bonds. But it was no use.
F***K!
She yelled in her brain, toes curling with frustration on the cold hard-
She stopped quickly as she looked down to the floor. Her legs were bound to the chair, but only at the thighs. Her feet too were bound, but only together and they were both flat on the floor.
Maybe just maybe…
With a bracing breath she heaved her body forwards, being careful not to push herself too far.
That's it-just a little bit-there we go whoa!
She teetered on her feet as she managed to lift the chair up into the air along with her slender behind.
Right, now she was up on her feet. Now what?
She felt her heart soar as she spotted the large crosscut saw again. Its serrated edge was gleaming as it stuck upright in the wood.
Sucking in a deep breath she bent her knees and heaved herself into a jump. It was short and resulted in her almost landing face first into the side of the table before her.
"Ow…" She winced as she fell to her knees. Great now her chin was grazed and stinging.
Gotta get back up to my feet…
She heaved herself up only to have to stop when she felt the legs of the chair dig into the cement floor behind her.
"Well shit" she pouted, only to groan loudly as she felt her left shin throb.
She looked down and saw a small red dot staining through a large white plaster. She shut her eyes in defeat as the door to the room creaked open yet again.
"Vhat's this?" A man's deep thick Russian accented voice boomed.
"great…" she scowled as she felt a pair of rough hands grab at her hair and practically throw her back. She winced as she felt the chair land back on it's four legs. It was then she realized that the hard thing behind her ponytail was in fact a wall.
"You know there are less violent ways to treat a girl" She hissed as she caught sight of her new companion.
He was tall, muscled, with a dark shaggy head of hair, sideburns and thick beard. He was smoking a small cigarette and wearing a dark brown rawhide jacket with a black fur-lined hood.
She gulped as he took off his round sunglasses, revealing a pair of beady black eyes that narrowed as he smirked down at her.
"I am so sorry. Where are my manners-"
"Obviously down in the sewer" Via blurted out before she could stop herself.
Along with the corpse of that fur's previous owner.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the strange man's deep chuckles.
"Heh! Cornelius said you had a mouth on you"
His hand swiped out in a hard punch.
Via grunted in surprise but otherwise her now bruised face remained scowling.
After all she'd been dealt worse hits in her life.
"So you have a fire in you do you?" the man raised his eyebrows obviously impressed by her resolve as she snarled.
"Untie me and I'll give you fire assho-"
Another punch, this time to her guts.
Crap he hits hard.
She added mentally taking note of the man's fur collar in the dim light.
No…that was real fur she was sure of it.
The sight of it put her painfully in mind of Buddy back at the Sanctum
Buddy…Stephen…Wong…Do they even know I'm missing?
"Crap now we're in for it" Clint gulped as Stephen Strange stormed into Tony Stark's luxurious hospital suite at New York General Hospital, followed by a likewise fuming Wong.
The rest of the Avengers (Save Thor who was suspiciously missing) all shrank back guiltily from the door, all save Natasha who quickly put her self in Stephen's way, blocking him from the comatose Tony in his medical bed.
"He's still out of it" she growled pushing him back with one hand.
He was about to yell at her but was stopped quickly by Wong's glower and hand on his shoulder.
"Pass me the report" he instead clipped, holding out his hand.
Steve Rogers quickly handed him the clipboard at the end of the bed. Stephen took it, fiercely glaring down the paper as if it had offered him insult with each passing line he read.
"Minor lacerations, broken wrist, elbow and shoulder on the left side" he muttered turning over the page.
"The doctor's put him and Happy on some strong pain medication" Bruce Banner piped in quietly from where he was sitting by the open window.
"Which doctor?" Wong asked sharply.
"Christine Palmer" Bruce muttered. "You know her?"
"We were colleagues when I worked here" Stephen growled as he shoved the clipboard back in its spot at the end of Tony's bed "She's a good doctor. Stark and Mister Hogan should be in good hands"
He turned his glower on Steve.
"What happened?"
"We're not sure" Steve admitted running a hand through his hair "Happy, Tony and Via were supposed to be coming back from Oscorp. But then a truck smashed Tony's car from the side. We only arrived at the scene after we received Jarvis's distress signal but it was too late."
"And Olivia?"
"Was gone before we even got there" Natasha growled fists clenching angrily "Whoever orchestrated this obviously knew what they were doing. But until either Tony or Happy wakes up we won't know for sure"
"Can't you use Stark's AI to check the traffic cameras?" Wong suggested.
Clint nodded.
"We did. But it didn't really give us much."
"Then what did it give you?" Stephen growled, barely able to hold back his anger.
"Two people at least, driving a black armoured truck straight into Tony's car." Natasha provided stiffly "But they used their truck to block off the traffic camera so we didn't get to see what they looked like."
"Did you at least catch the number plate?" Wong asked quickly taking note of Stephen's ever paling face.
"it was an unregistered vehicle" Clint snorted "and it had tinted bullet proof glass so the camera's wouldn't be able to see their faces"
"And there was no other evidence you could find at the scene?" Wong narrowed his eyes.
"None. Not even a finger print" Clint grunted, only to quickly turn around to watch as Bruce stood to his feet abruptly and strode out the room, his stormy face tinted slightly green.
"I need some air" He growled, his voice strangely deeper than normal.
"Go to the rooftop. It should be empty during the day" Stephen muttered quietly as he and Wong allowed him to pass.
Bruce nodded at him in thanks as he stormed out of the room.
Once he was gone, Stephen turned back to the rest of the Avengers eyes narrowing slightly as he said:
"Someone's missing-"
"Thor" Steve explained eyes fixed on the door Bruce had just left through "he's out on a date with his girlfriend. We sent him a message so hopefully he should get here soon"
Despite his own bubbling anger, Stephen could not help but shudder slightly under the cold, calculating stare Natasha fixed him with as she looked him up and down.
"How well do you know Olivia?"
"What do you mean?" Stephen frowned in confusion.
"What Nat means is did she have any enemies, or people who wanted to harm her?" Clint provided helpfully.
"Unfortunately yes" Wong rolled his eyes "Olivia is the daughter of Freyja Sorenson after all. I daresay there must be many people who would want her dead if they knew about her-"
"And how many of those enemies know about her?" Natasha's eyes narrowed further still.
"We…we do not know" Wong admitted quietly "Olivia only came into our care less then a year ago. Up till then no one in our order even knew that Freyja had a daughter. Not even the Ancient One or Fabian Russo knew remember?" he glanced sidelong at Stephen who nodded quietly.
But his next words were interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
"Come in!" Clint called but Wong had already opened the door.
It was Thor, standing alongside a much shorter pair of brunette women. One Stephen instantly recognized as Jane Foster the astrophysicist, from Tony's party, though he had no idea who the other one was with the glasses.
And he had no time to find out as Thor barged in.
"My friend's I'm so sorry I'm late. We drove here as quickly as we could. What happened?"
Stephen had to marvel at the sight of the thunder god. He'd never thought he'd ever see such a big fierce yet jolly looking warrior look so worried before as he beheld Tony's unconscious form in the bed.
"By Odin, Friend Tony-"
"Tony's okay. He's just got a broken arm" Clint grunted "Happy's in the other room too. His leg's busted and he's got a dislocated shoulder."
"And young Lady Via? Where is she I do not see her here? She was supposed to be assisting Tony with his meeting was she not?" Thor looked around frantically for a sign of the young girl.
"We don't know." Steve shifted uncomfortably where he sat. "She appears to have been kidnapped"
Thor looked stunned.
So did Jane Foster and her brunette friend who blurted out:
"Kidnapped?! But who would want to kidnap a kid?"
"I'm sorry but who are you?" Stephen frowned at the young woman who blushed with embarrassment under his gaze.
"Darcy Lewis. M-my intern" Jane provided as she stepped forward awkwardly to shake his hand "I'm so sorry about your kid Doctor Strange. If there's anything we can do to help-"
"Thank you Doctor Foster" Stephen nodded quietly turning back to the room at large.
"How long ago was she abducted?".
"Three hours" Natasha explained, before adding under her breath "Three hours too long"
"She's strong though" Clint nodded firmly "She's got more guts than most kids her age…heck she's got more guts then most adults"
"You have no idea" Stephen snorted under his breath glancing out the window.
Barton's right. She's strong and she's smart. She'll keep herself alive as long as it takes for us to find her…
But what if she can't this time?
The small horrible voice piped in from the back of his head.
What if she's really scared this time? Like how she was when…when…
His heart sank like a stone as he remembered the look on her face that day in the café when she saw that man. The man with the white blonde hair and black beady eyes.
"Wait…there might be one person who might've…" he trailed off rubbing his forehead as everyone turned to look at him. "A couple of weeks ago …Via and I…ran into someone at a café-"
"Who?" Natasha clipped.
"I don't know his name." Stephen admitted "But he was tall…had white blonde hair-"
"And small black eyes?" Thor finished.
"How on Earth did you know that?" Stephen blinked in surprise at the thunder god who's brow furrowed as he scowled.
"I saw him…that very day when I bumped into her on the street. She was running from him. She looked frightened."
"Right and this was…"
"A few days before Stark's party. At the Café DuPont" Stephen said only to cringe as Darcy Lewis suddenly exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey I know that place they do like, some of the best waffles-sorry" she mumbled as Jane elbowed her hard in the ribs.
"Café DuPont huh?" Clint frowned exchanging a look with Natasha who reached for Tony's phone that was set by his bedside.
"Hold that thought."
"Having fun Sergei?"
"Oh yes. Lots" Sergei Craven smirked as he pulled his fist back from his victim.
Via glared up at him through a haze of sweat and blood. He'd been hitting her hard for ten minutes. Mostly body, with a couple of hits to the face if she got too mouthy.
She supposed she should be glad he was just punching her. She was used to beatings, she knew how to survive them. As for dealing with kidnappings…well she was still learning the ropes.
Now if only I knew why they wanted me here
She narrowed her eyes as Cornelius Craven spared her an amused snort.
"Still got the fight in you I see. That's good."
Via snarled at him, but stayed silent. She wasn't going to give these men any more satisfaction from her pain. Besides she needed to start thinking of a way to get out of this room.
She tensed as Cornelius came up close to her and knelt by her legs.
"Come on. We've got to move if we're going to meet our deadline"
"Already?" Sergei scowled as he watched his brother untie the girl's legs and waist. He was quick to restrain her arms making sure to bind her hands with duck tape so that they could barely move an inch.
Via just watched him. For one thing she was too tired to attempt to fight back, and for another she was checking out his weapons on his person.
He was wearing a bullet proof vest underneath his large trench coat, along with an arsenal of firearms loaded on several holsters and belts. Then there were the knives he had stashed away on his legs…and a phone buzzing in his pocket.
"Maybe you should get that" she muttered darkly and Cornelius rolled his eyes.
"Get up!" he dragged her up to her feet. Her legs ached, and she felt her bandaged shin throb painfully as she was thrust towards Sergei.
Cornelius picked up his phone.
"Yes…Yes Baron we have her. Yes…yes…we're about to make the transfer now. We'll call you when we reach the base in a couple of hours. Right!" he turned back to Sergei and Via with a small smirk.
"Time to move it. You have the car ready?"
"All packed. With enough space in the back for this" Sergei ruffled Via's curls roughly only to quickly retract his hand as she made to snap at it with her teeth.
"Ooh! Look, it looks like the little kitten's got bite" Sergei chuckled amusedly
"I'd keep those teeth in if I were you kid" Cornelius snorted reaching out to stroke under her chin "Unless you want us to knock them out for you. I'd hate such a pretty smile to be ruined"
If looks could kill, Via's own death stare up at her kidnapper could've massacred an entire battlefield with a single glance.
But she stayed silent, her brain whirring as she desperately tried piecing together all the information she just heard.
So…these guys worked for a man called the Baron. A man who obviously had money or power or something at his disposal if he told them to meet him at a secret base.
That only made her inner panic grow. What would happen now? Would someone come and rescue her? Of course Stephen or Wong would kick up a fuss seeing as she hadn't come home yet (She hoped). And the other Avengers must've heard about the accident with Tony's car…Yet Cornelius and Sergei both seemed very relaxed about the whole situation.
No one probably knows of their existence, let alone the fact they kidnapped me.
She deflated as a large piece of cloth suddenly came over her eyes.
I guess I can only dream that someone will come and…and…
"Come on get a move on!" Sergei pushed her forwards roughly, forcing her to walk, not noticing the small darting of her eyes under their blindfold as she thought of a plan.
It was risky…but it was better than nothing.
Now will it work? That's the question…
She was quiet as she was shoved into the back of a large dark van, quickly curling herself into a ball on the floor and shutting her eyes. It was a good thing she was tired from all those punches, or else she'd have a really hard time doing this…
She shut her eyes and smirked softly to herself when she heard an old woman's voice inside her head.
"Seeking me out on your own…my-my you must be desperate."
"Fala…please now's not the time…I really need your help…"
Darkness…
That was all he could see.
Darkness, cold… his arm was hurting him.
His chest felt constricted like a snake was wrapped around and crushing him.
And yet he felt calm.
He could feel the small familiar warm disc of heat whirring in his chest with every breath as he opened his eyes.
He was floating in blackness, but he could strangely enough see his own hand in front of his face as clearly as if a lightbulb was on.
"Weird…" Tony Stark blinked as his own voice echoed around him in the strange space.
He wondered vaguely where he was.
There was a mass of what looked like rock above his head, but it couldn't be rock because it was constantly changing shape like some kind of slimy play-dough.
He looked down at his body.
He was only wearing a hospital gown and his underwear.
Well that explains why it's so breezy.
He rolled his eyes to himself as he pulled his body up to sit…or rather float…it was odd. He wondered vaguely if this was what astronauts felt like in zero gravity.
"Tony!"
His head whipped around as the voice echoed around him.
But he saw no one there.
"Who's there?!" he yelled, unnerved as his own voice answered as it bounced off the fluid shapes around him.
"Who's there…who's there…who's there…"
They faded into silence.
A shiver ran up his spine and for the first time since he opened his eyes, the man of iron felt afraid. He was floating in a strange place without his suit or any of his gadgets. There was no such thing as gravity to anchor himself to anything and he was only wearing his underwear and a flimsy piece of cloth to cover himself.
He gulped as he heard the second voice's distant yell once more.
"TONY! Tony can you hear me?!"
It was closer this time and louder…it was, he also noted, distinctly female.
"Hello?!" he called fists clenching as he spun around on the spot in mid…air? Was he floating in air at the moment? It was all too confusing.
Then came the exclamation.
"Tony! Down here-wait I mean up! Up here!"
Tony looked up.
There hovering upside down above his head was a girl with bright blonde curls wearing a bloodstained white and blue dress.
"Kid!" he called relief flooding him as she quickly flicked out her hand. From her palm, a golden web of energy shot out, quickly snagging the billionaire's hand and dragging him upwards.
"Whoa!" he cried out as suddenly the world around him tilted and he landed hard on the solid (yet fluid) rock below…or was that above.
"Ow…" he grunted as he rolled over onto his back.
"Easy there old man" Via grabbed his shoulder to steady him as he sat up. "You need to take it slow…get your bearings"
"Right…got it…" Tony coughed as he felt his vision swim a little before his eyes. "Where the hell are we? What happened? Happy and the Car-"
"We're in the Dream Dimension" Via explained patting his back as he almost choked on his coughs.
"Dream Dimension?" Tony spluttered in shock. "But how-I thought that guy took you-"
"He did" Via cut him off as she leant back to sit down.
"His name is Cornelius Craven. He and his brother Sergei Craven mowed us down from the side when Happy was driving. They kidnapped me and left you both for dead. Don't worry" She added when Tony's face paled dramatically "You're not dead. You wouldn't be here if you weren't. You're probably just unconscious in the physical world."
"Oh…right…" Tony sighed in relief only to frown. "Wait so if I'm unconscious, and you're kidnapped how were you able to find me here?"
"The Web of Asibikaashi" Via pulled out the golden and blue glowing dream catcher pendant from inside her dress. "It lets me access the Dream Dimension remember?"
"Oh…right? And your captors do they know about all-" Tony gestured wildly to her relic.
"Please, I do know how to keep a few things secret" She smirked smugly at him, but he wasn't so pleased as he looked at her dirtied dress and bruised face.
"I'm okay" she mumbled wiping a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth "I've taken worse hits before. Besides if they wanted to kill me they would've killed me at the car and made it look like part of the accident. They want me alive, that's why they're taking me to some secret base"
"Right…and where would that be exactly?" Tony frowned gravely.
"No clue" Via huffed crossing her legs "But last I saw I think I'm still in New York for the moment. But they may be taking me out of the city. They said it would only take a couple of hours driving to reach their base so it can't be that far."
"That depends on which direction they want to take you" Tony grumbled "By car it wouldn't be that far…but if they took you by plane or sea…that could-ugh! Complicate things" he gripped his aching arm.
It felt odd. It looked normal and it functioned normally, but it hurt like it was fractured.
"You've probably broken it in the physical world" Via snorted. "In the Dream Dimension you can usually take the form of whatever you want, or whatever you last remember of yourself. However the injuries you get in the physical world still find ways to manifest themselves somehow. Usually in the form of pain."
"How lovely" Tony deadpanned only to wince as he heard a voice rattle inside his head.
"Tony! Oh god Tony"
"Pepper?" he wondered aloud, looking all about himself and Via, who's eyes softened in sympathy.
"She must be trying to wake you up" she reasoned softly as she stood to her feet. "You should probably listen to her. Stay in here too long and you'll slip into a coma."
"Wait what about you?" Tony grabbed her arm. "When you wake up those guys will still have you-"
Via smirked.
"Yeah, call me egotistic but I'm pretty good at staying alive. Street rat remember?"
Despite himself, Tony found himself grinning.
"Kid you really are full of surprises"
"You have no idea Old man" Via rolled her eyes as she began to move her hands around. "Now…just sit back and relax"
"What are you gonna do?" Tony frowned as he caught sight of the golden web like structure suddenly materialize between her fingers.
"Wake you up. Now just stay very still. I need to concentrate"
"Have you ever done this before?" Tony gulped only to start sweating a little as she shook her head.
"Nope…but there's a first time for everything."
And with that she pushed her glowing hands forwards.
"WHOA!"
"Get back!" Steve Rogers quickly pulled a frantic Pepper Potts back as Tony Stark's eyes flew open with a loud gasp. In the centre of his chest, his arc reactor suddenly glowed a strange golden colour before whirring back into its usual bright white blue as its owner flopped back exhausted onto the medical bed.
"Step back, let me through" Stephen Strange strode over to the other side of the billionaire's bed just as he began opening his eyes again.
"Ow!" Tony winced as with swift medical professionalism, Stephen began checking his eyes with a tiny flashlight, before turning to inspect his vitals.
"St-Strange?" Tony coughed.
"Good Morning Stark. Had a good nap?" Stephen sneered down upon him before turning back to the room at large "He's good. Everything seems fine…for now" he added glowering down at Tony who he pushed back into the bed.
"Well aren't you a bright ray of sunshine" Tony groused as Pepper came dashing to his side, a glass of water ready in her hands. He drank it eagerly, vaguely aware of his arm in the cast and sling.
So it was broken, that explained a lot.
"Welcome back to the world of the living my friend" Thor patted his shoulder.
"It's good to be back." Tony admitted nodding to the rest of his team who now stood at the foot of his bed. But he only had eyes for the retreating backs of Wong and Stephen Strange.
"Via's okay"
The room froze, but no one looked more shocked then Stephen and Wong who both glanced at one another before glaring at him.
"What do you mean she's okay?" Stephen snarled fists clenching as the cloak of levitation tightened its grip around his shoulders "She's been kidnapped right under your nose!"
"I know. But I saw her-I spoke to her. She's okay."
"Saw her? But Tony…you've been unconscious" Bruce blinked between the billionaire and doctor, the latter of whom suddenly sucked in a deep breath as understanding dawned on him.
"You mean you saw her in your head…just now?"
Tony nodded.
"It's that web thing she wears around her neck. She said it allowed her to get into my dreams. Damn my head-"
"The Web of Asibikaashi." Wong sighed in relief running a hand over his bald head "She must still have it on her-"
"Wait are you talking about the dreamcatcher?" Steve stood up quickly.
"She must be using it to SOS" Stephen nodded his anger deflating as desperation overtook.
"So she's alive?" Clint looked at Tony who nodded.
"Yeah…she's a bit battered but she's alright. Said the guys that have her are trying to transport her out of the city somehow."
"Does she know who they are? Or what they look like?" Natasha asked swiftly and Tony nodded.
"Said their names were …Conroy Craven… or was it Conner? No it wasn't that either" Tony rubbed his temple "It was something with C-"
"Cornelius Craven" Natasha finished softly.
"You know this guy?" Steve looked at her concernedly. Whenever the black widow spoke in that voice it never boded well for anyone.
"Oh yeah…I know of him…and his brother" she muttered darkly as she exchanged a very dark look with Clint who coughed and pulled up a hologram from Tony's phone.
"The Kravenoff brothers, also known as The Hunters. Top assassins, some of the best in their field at tracking and experts at hand to hand combat and professional marksmen-"
And with that he pulled up images of their faces.
"That's him!" Thor bellowed loudly pointing at the pale beady eyed white blonde-haired face on the left "That's the man I saw in pursuit of our friend"
"Cornelius. Master Tactician. The brains of the pair. Good tech skills. He manages a lot of the behind the scenes. His younger brother Sergei, the more active of the two, prefers field work but still knowledgeable on human and animal anatomy. So he's not a fighter to be taken lightly" Natasha pointed to the dark haired brother who likewise had the black beady eyes of his brother, though his seemed more savage and wild.
"They're tricky enough to deal with on their own," Clint grunted as he pulled up files on the brothers exploits "But together they're a lethal team. You'll be hard pressed to find partners in crime as smooth and in tune as they are with one another. But that's not the worst bit."
Clint pressed the phone screen which brought up a holographic image. One that made the blood of every single person present turn to ice.
A black skull with tentacles, encircled in red.
"Hydra" Steve rubbed his face in his hands.
"You've got to be kidding me" Wong groaned.
"You know of them?" Stephen blinked perplexed.
"They're an authoritarian terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization hell bent on world domination" Tony grunted as he pressed a button to shift his bed into a sitting position.
"Capsicle here fought them off first back in World War Two, but they kept themselves operational in secret until Cap fought them off again a few months back. Though I have no idea of how you magicians know of them" he glanced at Wong who scowled.
"Because, Hydra are the last remnants of an old cult we sorcerers have tried to keep at bay for millennia. They've been responsible for the deaths of many of our masters and the disappearances of various relics over the past few centuries"
"Then why am I only hearing of them now?" Stephen snapped waspishly.
"Because they've only recently become active and public in the past few recent months" Natasha explained quietly as she began to pace slowly in front of her chair thoughtfully.
"If Via was able to reach out to us in her dream then its obvious she's at least healthy enough to use her magic. And the fact that Tony said that she was mostly alright mean that they want her in one piece-"
"But that could also mean something worse" Steve muttered, his blue eyes hardening as he glanced at Wong "You said her mother had a lot of enemies…"
"Yes. But no one knew that Via even existed until this year" Wong explained only to be stopped by Stephen shaking his head.
"No…he knew. This Cornelius knew."
"And you figure this because?" Bruce frowned.
"Because Olivia told me so herself" Stephen shut his eyes, cursing himself and his own stupidity "She told me the day after he chased her. He'd apparently found her at the orphanage two years ago, tried to take her away. But then she ran away from him before he could get his hands on her. Said she knew that if she went with him she knew that he'd do something horrible to her."
"Smart girl" Natasha murmured, and Stephen was surprised to hear admiration laced in the spy's voice "She obviously has good instincts then. Because the Kravenoff brothers are not easy people to hide from, even without the Hydra resources."
"But if she was able to stay hidden from them for two years, how on earth could they have found out about her now?" Pepper asked worriedly, exchanging a glance with Darcy and Jane who were standing towards the back of the room, observing quietly.
"They must be friendly with the caretakers at her old Orphanage" Wong murmured glancing sidelong at Stephen "You remember what Via said-"
"Yes I remember." Stephen growled darkly hands curling into painful fists "SHIT! They must've figured out where she was the minute we sent that request for the adoption papers!"
"You couldn't have known-" Bruce tried to console them but Stephen just swore again loudly, magical energy sparking off dangerously at his fingertips in his anguish.
"But I f—ing should've! Olivia always hated that place. She HATED it. And she was always so afraid of going back there after everything they did to her. And I led them right to her after promising her she'd be safe from them-"
"I doubt it." Natasha snorted "the Kravenoff's are persistent. They would've found her sooner or later. Once the Kravenoff brothers set their minds to a mission they're difficult to shake off. And since she became Tony's intern her face would've been plastered on the front of newspapers. It was only a matter of time before they found her again"
"So now what do we do?" Thor spun his hammer Mjolnir in his hands.
"It's obvious isn't it?" Tony smirked from his bed "I think it's time we make a little house call to Hope Haven Orphanage and see what they have to say about their little hunter friends"
"I'll come with you." Stephen straightened up "I think it's high time I saw these people for myself. Wong go back to the Sanctum and alert the other masters. Tell them I won't be able to make it to the meeting tonight"
"Of course. I'm sure they'll understand given the circumstances. But keep us in the loop alright. The masters won't take it lightly if something were to happen to the last remaining heir of the Sorenson line" he gave a very pointed look to all the Avengers who all bristled uncomfortably at the threat. All save Thor who bowed respectfully at the two sorcerers.
"Worry not Master Wong. You and your fellow masters can be assured my friends and I will do everything in our power to rescue Lady Via and bring her back to you safe and sound"
"We shall see…but Thank you." Wong grunted gruffly as he turned on his heel and walk straight out the door.
"Such a charming fellow isn't he?" Tony deadpanned as soon as the door was shut only to wither under the stern glower from Strange and his teammates.
"Sorry…now come on. We've got a rescue to plan"
When Via opened her eyes, it was to find the ceiling of her captor's van staring back down at her above.
We're still driving?
She winced as she gingerly sat up, nursing her now very sore bruised side.
"Well good evening Sleeping Beauty. Had a nice nap?"
"Oh crap you're both still alive" Via groaned as she looked to the front of the vehicle and saw through the dividing cage, Sergei and Cornelius Craven smirking at her in the rear view mirror.
"Still got a mouth on you" Sergei snorted derisively at his brother as she bared her teeth in a snarl at them. "There what did I tell you, wild like a yearling"
"She gets that from her father's side I suppose" Cornelius sneered "Her mother wasn't nearly so vicious when she was in our care"
"You knew my parents?" Via breathed, heart stilling as the two men chuckled darkly.
"Oh yes we knew them. Your mother was quite the beauty back in her day" Cornelius smirked.
"You say that but she could crack quite a punch. Do you remember what she did to Farrah?" Sergei guffawed "I swear the poor idiot couldn't sit for a weak he was in such agony"
"I bet he deserved it" Via snapped bitterly.
"Oh he did" Cornelius agreed keeping his eyes trained on the front window of the car on which small flecks of rain had started to fall. Outside Via could see a green countryside flying past the windows. They were on a highway outside the city…and if that GPS tracker on the dashboard was to be believed they were somewhere in Pennsylvania.
"Sorry kid but window privileges are for well-behaved little girls. Not prisoners" and with that a black sheet of glass suddenly slid up in front of the cage divider, blocking off all light from the front and plunging her into darkness.
Via slid back down the wall of the van sighing heavily as she examined her wrists. Asmund and Brynja were both glowing faintly, both purring at her soothingly.
Well…at least she wasn't alone and that was some comfort…
But not much.
She was in a car, on a freeway outside of New York, kidnapped and far from home…
Home…
She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.
It had been the first time since she'd moved in that she'd thought of the Sanctum as home. But there was just no other word that seemed to fit what it was. That precious sanctuary with Stephen, Buddy and Wong…and then there was the tower. A home away from home…
She'd only known them a few weeks but already she liked being with the Avengers. They were such interesting kind people, and that was when they weren't saving the world as superheroes.
And speaking of powerful people…
She shut her eyes as a memory of a tall bald woman in dark blue and gold smiling kindly down at her as she tried to conjure her first ever spell all those months ago.
"I wish you were here" she whispered under her breath. "You'd know what to do, wouldn't you. You always knew…"
She blinked as she felt a bead of wet salt dribble down her cheek and quickly scrubbed it off.
No.
No she wasn't going to cry.
Yes. She was scared. Yes, she was far away from home.
"I'm not going to die here" she muttered, sucking in a deep breath as her fists clenched.
"I am NOT going to die here. Not like this. I didn't die when Kaesilius and Russo attacked. I didn't die when Dormammu nearly came to the human world. And I sure as hell won't die for these mundane non-magical asses."
So what are you going to do then child?
Asmund growled fiercely in her head.
I'm going to get back home if it's the last thing I'll do. I'm Olivia Freyja Sorenson. The last heir of the Sorenson Line. I am the Spider Sorceress, Defender of the Dream Dimension, Relic Hunter of the Avengers, Apprentice to the next Sorcerer Supreme. I'm not going to let these bastards take me down without a fight!
She looked down to her bound hands, a defiant glare flashing over her blue eyes as she saw they were bound with duck tape.
Now to get out of these bonds…
She brought her hands to her face and began gnawing at the tape. It tasted foul and she spat it out.
Too thick. Maybe if I tried tearing my hands apart.
She grimaced as she spat out the last remnants of tape from her mouth. Gingerly she brought her hands above her head stretching them as high as she could.
It was, she noted interestedly, strangely similar to having someone grabbing her hands in sparring.
Now what did Mordo once say about breaking holds?
She frowned to herself as she tried to pull her hands apart, though the memory did leave a sting as she thought back to her old mentor's face. She quickly shook out her head. No, she could feel sorry for herself later. Right now she had to escape.
She reached up further still sucked in a deep breath, then swung her arms down in front of her pulling them apart as they curved on the arc down.
The tape didn't break, but it did stretch quite a bit.
"Come on…" she grunted as she pulled her arms apart.
Bit by bit the tape stretched, painfully digging into her flesh until she could hold feel its elasticity straining.
"Argh!" she growled in frustration as with one final tug, she wrenched her hands apart. There was a horrible ripping sound as the tape finally gave way and she cried out in pain as her elbows smashed hard into the wall behind her.
"Hey! Keep it down back there brat!" Sergei snarled from the other side of the glass, wrapping it sharply with his knuckles.
Via quickly curled herself up into a ball, pretending to be asleep in case the glass slid down, but nothing happened.
They must've thought she was hitting the wall and complaining like any other hostage.
Well…the jokes on them
She smirked as she carefully crouched low to the floor, doing her best to keep her balance on her injured leg as the car bumped along the road.
Easy Via nice and steady.
She looked down to the web of Asibikaashi on her chest and began to creep along the floor, carefully making her way to the walls and then up onto the ceiling.
Once she was secured she lifted up one hand concentrating with all her might on bending the faint mystical energies she felt in the air around her.
She knew the unlocking spell like the back of her hand, but had never used it on a car or vehicle before. It was usually applied to the traditional lock and key.
But she knew it would work, she just had to concentrate hard enough.
She sucked in a deep breath.
Meanwhile at the front of the car, Sergei was talking to his brother.
"I still don't see why we're bringing her in for Strucker when our new friend clearly has plans for her"
"Plans that also involve Strucker's ideas" Cornelius drawled "Unlike the Baron, our new friend has bigger dreams, and is not afraid to outsource ideas to get what they want"
"I don't know brother" Sergei puffed out smoke as he lit up another cigarette "I don't like the idea so much"
"When you meet her you'll understand" Cornelius frowned in disgust "And if you're going to smoke would you at least open a window. That stuff stinks"
"You sound just like mother" Sergei complained bitterly, but nonetheless opened the window, only to jump as something began beeping from the dashboard.
Both he and Cornelius looked quickly to a touch screen pad installed in the car system which was showing them an image of the van's layout on which the two back doors flashed red.
Warning: Unauthorized breach.
"Shit! What's going on?" Sergei cursed as Cornelius quickly slammed his foot down on the breaks.
The van screeched to a hard halt, filling the air with the sounds and smell of hot burning rubber, that steamed a little in the overcast, drizzling skies. But the brothers didn't care for either as they hopped out their doors and quickly dashed to the back of their vehicle, only to curse at the sight that met them.
The like their computer had shown, the doors to the back had been opened, revealing the inside of the van which was dark, but unmistakably empty.
"SHIT! That little-" Sergei swore loudly his Russian accent thickening as he began cursing in his mother tongue.
Cornelius likewise was furious, but held in his anger as he shrewdly examined the doors.
It was odd.
There was no sign of them being forced. No sign of any dents from something trying to break out.
So how-
There was the scuffling of something on gravel and both brothers looked around the van just in time to see something small and blond quickly roll to their feet on the road and start running.
"That little-I'll kill her!" Sergei snarled but Cornelius growled.
"Don't kill her we need her alive! You run I'll drive"
Sergei did as he was told and began dashing after the girl who was already sprinting her way off the highway and towards the fields of grass towards a large dark tree line.
Gotta run! Gotta run! Get to the trees! I can use the web to climb the trees!
Via felt her legs flying beneath her as she all but ran for her life.
She'd never run this fast before.
Never. Not even when she'd had to run from Kaesilius through the mirror dimension barely a month ago.
She could hear Sergei running behind her, slowly but surely catching up.
He was taller, his legs were longer and stronger, not to mention unblemished and whole, where as she was much smaller and her shin was almost killing her from the pain.
The rain was beating down heavily on her by the time she reached the forest edge, but she still pushed on. As carefully as she dared she launched herself for the nearest tree, crying out in terror as she heard a gunshot being fired in her direction.
Without thinking she flung her open palm out towards the higher branches of a neighbouring tree, begging for her golden webs to hit the mark.
They did and quickly she tugged on it, letting it sling shot her into the next tree, and the next, and the next.
"Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit!" she squeaked as the gun shots followed her through the foliage, one of them grazing her hip as it flew in a blast through the air, followed in rapid succession by another few rounds.
A machine gun?! These bastards have a machine gun?!
Via's heart hammered with terror as the machine gun let off another few hundred rounds somewhere close to her feet, most of them breaking apart the very structure of each of the branches she was running across so that she was practically leaping off every single one of them before they fell to the ground.
She had just about run over what felt like her hundredth tree when she saw it. A glimpse of grey through the trees.
A lake?
She thought wildly as she finally came up to the edge of the tree branch, only to find herself standing at a tall drop away from a wall of dark water. It looked like glass, hard, smooth and very cold.
There was the thudding of heavy footsteps and Via looked down to see both Sergei and Cornelius Craven both smirking up at her from the base of her tree.
"There's nowhere to hide little girl!" Sergei hissed "Give it up now before you hurt yourself more"
"I'd rather drown then go anywhere with you!" Via spat, and without further ado she leapt off the branch.
And crashed straight into the water.
She was right, it was very cold.
And very deep…
Stupid! I'm so F-ing Stupid!
She gasped as she struggled and splashed about in a futile attempt to keep herself afloat.
She'd forgotten she didn't know how to swim.
Forgotten in her stupid haste to get away, that she didn't even know how to tread water, or even float on her back or heck, even doggy paddle.
She choked as she felt water slip and splash down her throat, its icy coldness soaking her both inside and out as she slowly descended below the water's surface
She clawed at the grey light that came from above, desperately struggling to reach back up to the surface as her lungs began to burn and bubbles began to escape her mouth and nose.
Then, just as she could feel black dots begin to obscure her vision, she felt something large grab her from behind.
She struggled against the large thick muscled arms even as they made to drag her head up above the surface of the water.
"-miserable guttersnipe. Now you've ruined my jacket!" a russian accented voice growled in her ear as it popped back to life, along with the rest of her.
"LET GO OF ME!" She screeched but Sergei Kravenoff had had enough.
"That's it! You leave me no choice" he snarled and still treading water, he jabbed something sharp into her neck.
Via cried out in pain as she felt something liquid forced into her bloodstream, only for her scream to die in her throat as her mind quickly faded into black.
The last thing she saw as she was dragged from the water, was a pair of beady black eyes glaring down menacingly at her as a british voice sneered.
"You really are quite a handful kid. You better be worth what I'm getting paid."
And with that she knew nothing more.
And there we have another chapter of Dreamchaser.
Sorry for the long wait. Work and Uni just both catching up with me (end of my final semester plus starting out at two new jobs really do a number on your creativity) so anyways i was inspired after spending an awesome weekend at OZ comic-con in Sydney where I volunteered for my third year. Seriously i had a blast but it's also very exhausting you're practically on your hours from dawn till dusk (and i'm not kidding I actually mean a literal dawn till dusk). Otherwise i got to meet some amazing people and got to see some great stuff so it was well worth it. Hopefully in my future i get to go to San Diego Comic Con at some point.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and i look forward to writing more when my life calms down a bit more.
Well, you guys know the drill, keep reading and reviewing for more :D
Cheers
FuzzyBeta