Chapter 24:
[Wanda Maximoff POV]
[Wundagore Castle, Pocket Dimension]
[Prison cell.] The pain aching my body is starting to fade. Yet, the emotional pain from being shot by Clint still lingers. I had to remind myself Clint wasn't in control of his actions. DeGuzman has him under some type of mind control along with Karai, Natasha, and Steve. For the 100th time, I glance around the cell prison; still no method of escape. At least not from inside the cell. All I can do is wait for the opportunity to present itself.
The sounds of a door being opened bring me back to the present. Clint strolls into the room, accompanied by two guards. "Clint," I whisper his name in the vain hope that maybe if he heard my voice, it would break DeGuzman's hold over him. It doesn't. I hate the blank dead gaze in his eyes. It pains my heart to see him like this, a slave under DeGuzman's spell. A hood is tugged over my head, blinding me. Hands wrapped themselves around both my arms. I start to thrush, putting up a struggle to break free; my fist connects. One of the two goons shouts a curse. A strike to the face is the punishment for my resistance. My hands are cuffed. They drag me out of the prison cell.
[Chamber.] The goons propel me down an endless series of maze-like corridors, twisting and turning. Eventually, we enter a cold space. There is a scraping sound, like iron dragging over stone, and I'm thrown forward to land on my hands and knees on hard ground. The air smells of something bitter. Cinder or sulfur. I clearly am not alone. Footsteps echo around me, along with chanting. One of them makes its way in my direction. The hood is yanked off my head roughly. DeGuzman stands smirking, surrounded by the mind-controlled AVENGERS.
Unrestrained rage fills my whole being, and I launch myself at the man. The Captain intercepts my surprise attack, grabs me by the throat, and slams me to the ground. Hard. Knocks all the air out of my lungs. "I strongly suggest you be more cooperative, Witch. It'll be less unpleasant for you," DeGuzman states. I try to fight back against the Captin's grip but can't. The 40s super-soldier is far stronger than I am. And without my magic to augment my strength, it's like a small child trying to lift a mountain. "Put her in the pod," DeGuzman orders. Steve tows me by the arm toward a sarcophagus in the chamber's center. Panic starts to kick in, along with memories of another pod-like structure fill my mind. I drag my feet, doing anything to stop myself from getting closer to the monstrosity, but it's all in vain. Steve effortlessly flings me into the sarcophagus, strapping me down.
DeGuzman watches on in amusement. A hooded acolyte rushes over. He whispers something into DeGuzman's ear. A flash of anger paints DeGuzman's feature, "WHAT?! He supposed to be dead!" He smacks a hard backhand across Natasha's face. The female assassin doesn't flinch. For a moment, I wonder if she can even register pain while under mind control. A flash of light sparks in Steve's eyes. It happens so fast that I question if it ever was there. But I know it happened. "Spartan is still alive!" DeGuzman barks, glaring at Natasha. A holo image appears, displaying live surveillance footage. A portal opens up somewhere, and two people surface. Spartan and Auron. DeGuzman scowls at the surveillance footage, "Send out everyone! I want them dead!" "No! If you lay a finger on Spartan! I will make you pay for it! You hear me?!" I threaten, struggling against my restraints. DeGuzman barks a humorless laugh, "Don't waste your breath on empty threats, Witch," he turns to the AVENGERS, "Go!"
As the AVENGERS leave, DeGuzman circles the sarcophagus I'm strapped into. He orders the acolyte to take a position on specific symbols engraved on the ground. A book materializes out of thin air. My eyes gape. The Necronomicon. It's exactly how Auron described it. The man draws a blade from the sleeve of his robe and slices his palm. He reaches out a hand, balls up a fist. Blood drops onto my forehead. Panic starts to set in. My heart pounds hard. DeGuzman reads from the pages of the Necronomicon. Through a skyline window, a dark cloud forms. Thunder and lightning strike. I thrash under my restraints to the point that it reddens my skin. A dark force is coming; I can feel it ripping through the veil. I let out a scream of terror.
[Spartan POV]
[Level-1.] Weapon at the ready, I emerge on the other side of the portal, the mage behind me. I do a quick scan of the area for threats. 'Clear so far.' The place is themed like a gothic cathedral with touches of modernist decor. Taking point, we push forward. The place is strangely quiet and not quiet at the same time. Like the walls themselves are emitting silent white noise. Nothing about this place is natural. Auron sets a hand on my shoulder, "Careful. This is DeGuzman's domain. Do not treat this like a normal mission." I nod at the man in acknowledgment. 'Nothing about this is normal.' Then again, normality was abandoned a long time ago. Around the first corner, spot two sentries patrolling the sector. "Stun only. We have to assume these people are under mind control as well," Auron whispers. Once the sentries get a little closer, I leap out and take both down with two quick double-tap. We move past the two unconscious frames.
After a few steps, an alarm sounds. Multiple footsteps converge on our location. "Stay here," I order. Even though I'm sure, Auron can handle himself in a fight. I had never worked with the man before, and I wanted to avoid running the risk of compromising the mission if one of us stepped on each other toes because we were not synced. I advance forward, pistol aim. Drop the first three goons who pop into view. Another four come running, and like the first group, I drop them as well. Kick open a door on my left. Quickly spot a man raising his weapon. Doesn't even bring it halfway up before I blast two in his chest. Circle around. Out in the hallway, another squad is making their way. From the pack, I grab a canister of tear gas and toss it out into the hall. Soon enough, the halls are filled with gaging and wild coughing sounds. Popping out, I open fire on the men. Once the last guy dropped, I scanned the area for threats. "Clear," I call out.
Auron strolls over. He takes in the aftermath of the carnage. "They'll have a nasty headache when they wake up," I say. Out of nowhere, a body slams itself at me, sending us both through a nearby wall. Recovering, I spot the attacker. Karai. Slowly, the both of us stand to our full height. "Karai… Samus…," I whisper my friend's name under my breath, "If you're in there somewhere, fight it. Fight DeGuzman's control. Don't let him make you a slave." Karai makes a move. She dashes at me, full sprint. Our fists clash against each other. Thinking fast, I spin around, trying to tag her a back-elbow. Karai blocks, then spin-kicks me in the gut, sending me falling back. I jump back to my feet and slam a fist into her stomach, followed by an upper-cut, staggering her back. I bolt forward. Leap into the air. Deliver a jump kick. Karai ducks under the attack. Grabbing me by the leg, she flings me to a nearby pillar. Having my back against the pillar, Karai starts to while on me, throwing a combo of punishes.
Charing off the pillar, I take hold of Karai in a clinch, draw my pistol, then unload half a mag. Karai's combat-suit withstood the damage. She pushes my back, takes out her own pistol, and shoots me in the chest. Like my partner, the armor withstood the attack with very little trouble. We stare each other down, no doubt trying to figure out how to take the other down. The real difference is, Karai is trying to put me down permanently. Auron enters through the gaping hole. He flanks karai, amplifying his speed with magic and conjuring up a spell that makes his hand shine burning white. It catches the super-soldier by surprise. The man claps a hand over Karai's head, shouting, "Dispel!" Karai drops motionless to the ground. "What did you do?" I bark. Auron grunts while recovering back to his feet, "Breaking DeGuzman's control. A dispel."
Karai's eyes flutter open. I kneel down next to her, a hand on the woman's shoulder. Soon as her gaze focuses on me, she throws her arms around me, pulls me into a tight hug, and starts to cry, "Sorry! I'm so sorry! I tried to stop, but I couldn't control my actions… Oh god, we killed all those people!" I tighten my grip on her shoulders, "No, no. Those deaths aren't on you. DeGuzman used you as a weapon. Their blood is on his hands. Not yours." Karai nods halfheartedly. I help her to her feet. The woman's eyes fall on Auron, not far behind me. "Who are you?" she questions. "A friend of a friend," he answers. "He's Wanda's mage sensei," I tell her.
Getting back on track, I quickly scan the corridors, "This place is a damn maze. We don't have a lot of time." "I know where they're hold-up," Karai interjects, "Wasn't in control, but I was still aware of what was going on around me." I nod, "Okay, you're on point." Karai recovers her pistol and takes the lead, with Auron and I following behind her.
[Level-2.] Cautiously, we enter an open space chamber. Clint strides into the chamber on the other side, bow in hand, ready at the draw, aiming directly at Auron. "Looks like I'm today's pick. You two go on ahead. I'll catch up," Auron says, readying himself to fight, "We have very little time left." Karai and I hesitate for a moment but make a dash to the other side of the chamber. As the two of us cross to an unknown destination, Auron and Clint begin their battle.
[Level-3.] When the two of us reach the next sector, we're met by Natasha Romanov, AKA the Black Widow. Before any one of us could react, Natasha dashes forward, cutting between us. She smacks Karai's weapon out of alignment, then kicks me in the gut. I double over. Quickly recuperating from the hit, I take aim with the pistol and open fire. Natasha flips in the air to dodge the shots. Almost forgot the woman is a world-class gymnast, not only an assassin. She sprints toward me, ducks in low. Stabs an elbow into my abdomen. Karai jumps into the fray, wraps her arms around Natasha's waist, back-suplexes her to the ground. While still keeping a grip on Natasha, Karai suspends the woman into the air. I come rushing at her at full speed, bashing a knee right into her face, knocking Natasha completely out cold. Admittedly, that last attack was personal; payback for being shot. After we finish securing Natasha, we push on to the next area.
[Level-4] Cap guards the last entrance to the temple. Getting past him is going to be far harder. Talking isn't going to do shit. Cap may be aware, but DeGuzman has a tight control over the man's body. His actions aren't under his own power. Karai and I move into position. Cap's eyes shift between the two of us, analyzing our stance. Karai is first to go on the attack, going for a high roundhouse-kick. Cap ducks under the kick, grabs hold of her, spins her around, and tags her in the ribs. He then focuses on me. The two of us exchange a combo of punches.
I hit the man on the jaw with a hook-punch. He blocks the strike before it makes contact and rocks me via a fast punch to the face, followed by a push-kick, sending me slamming against a nearby wall. Karai draws her pistol, blasts three shots. Acting fast, Cap raises his shield to protect himself from the oncoming projectiles. Keeping his shield up, the 40s super-soldier advances forward, flings the shield, hitting the masked crusader in the chest, knocking her down. Getting back on my feet, I tackle the man. He drops low, catching me in a headlock. The man swiftly applies pressure to the submission hold. Start to lose consciousness. Swishing up to a dirtier tactic, I withdraw a knife and stab Cap in the knee. He's taken completely by surprise. Proceeding to take full advantage of the situation, Karai unloads multiple stun-bolts onto Cap, dropping the man. Our victory is cut short by a blood-curdling scream that erupts from within the temple.
[Chamber.] Guns aimed, Karai and I make it to the inner chamber. At an altar, Wanda is strapped down in some type of sarcophagus. DeGuzman looms above her. Advancing forward, we move fast on the warlock and his pack of crazed followers. Quickly taking notice of our presence, DeGuzman unleashes a blast of energy, sending us falling back to the ground. "I must say I'm impressed. You two are truly skilled warriors," The warlock waves a hand, summoning a demon. A freak of nature the size of the hulk steps out of a hidden room. He towers over us. Karai and I take an uneasy step back. "Everyone has a price. I'll cut the both of you a deal. Kneel. Pledge your loyalty to lord Chthon. Live like royalty," he says. "Is that how he got you to become his bitch?" I growl, "We're not as weak-willed as you. Screw your deal." DeGuzman grins wickedly, "Then die."
Just as the demon is about to rush us, an arrow comes flying. It impales itself deep into the demon's skin. The arrow flash-freezes the demon into solid ice. A circular disk obliterates the ice. We turn to see the AVENGERS stride into the chamber with Auron in toe. None of them carry that dead look in their eyes. They're free from DeGuzman's control. "It's over, warlock. You've lost," Cap says. DeGuzman glares at each of us with burning hate. He charges a blast. Karai and I swiftly drop DeGuzman and the acolytes by shooting them. Karai frees Wanda from her binds. DeGuzman, laying in a pool of his own blood, starts to laugh. He clutches at his gunshot wound. Pistol leveled, I prowl cautiously to the man. "You're too late. It's already done. The master has been freed from his prison. Not one of you will leave this place alive," he grins. Seething with rage, Karai unloads on DeGuzman, "Payback for making me stain my hand with innocent blood, fucker."
Suddenly a dimensional rift opens. All of us freeze in place, watching a being engulfed in dark fire claws its way through the veil. "The hell is that thing?" Natasha questions, her eyes fixed on the emerging creature. "The archdemon Chthon," Auron voices out to everyone. Once completely free, the demon straightens to its full height, "Freedom at long last. My rage and hate have long to purge Earth-realm, to burn it all down, and retake the fiefdom that was once prey to the Primordial." Cap flings his shield, striking Chthon on the side of its head. The demon's face flashes angrily, "You martial dare strike a god!" The shield returns to its user's hand. "We won't stand by and let you defile our world," Cap barks at the demon. Enraged, it fires a blast from its mouth. We all jump out of the way.
As we fall back to the entranceway, Clint, Natasha, Karai, and I fire on the monster. The damage inflicted barely seems to bother it. In retaliation, the archdemon strikes out at Cap by materializing an energy spear and flinging it at him. "Cap, watch out!" Karai pushes Cap out of the projectile's path only to get hit herself. One end of the spear morphs into a hook. Chthon wrests her toward its grasp, "Your soul is mine." It opens its mouth disturbingly wide; sucks in a breath. A transparent aura exits out of Karai's body and into the archdemon, then chucked aside. "NOOO!" I yell, sprinting to my fallen partner. I gently pick up her motionless form into my arms and tap the side of her face, "Karai, Karai, talk to me!" She's still breathing but not responsive. Suddenly a face morphs on Chthon's torso. Karai's. "Spartan! Help!" it pleads. "What the fuck?!" Natasha says, completely disturbed at the sight. "Fall back! Fall back now!" Cap orders. As we all bolt out of the temple chamber, Clint fires an explosive arrow at the entrance opening, collapsing it.
[Level-4] I pace Karai on the floor. Check her over. Besides a few scrapes and bruises, she's physically fine yet remains lifeless. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything we had witnessed with our own eyes. "Chthon extracted her soul," Auron answers everyone's unasked question. "What?!" I snap to the mage, still not believing it. "Karai's soul. Life essence. Consciousness. Whatever you want to call it. Everything that makes Karai, Karai is now trapped inside Chthon," Auron states. He opens a portal, "We need to exit this pocket dimension. Its dimensional structure is weakening. It won't hold Chthon at bay for long."
"No," Cap voices firmly, "We're holding the line. You said it yourself once the wall falls, Chthon will be free to cross into Earth-realm where he'll rain down death and destruction." Auron stares at each AVENGER with admiration, "Stubborn fools." "What are our options to take the monster down?" Cap presses. "The book," Wanda says out loud to everyone. The whole team turns to face her. "The Necronomicon. It was used by DeGuzman to free Chthon from its prison," she says. Out of nowhere, Chthon appears. It uses Karai's pained voice to screw with us, "Spartan! Cap! Don't leave! Join me in oblivion!" Rage explodes throughout my entire being; I charge at the archdemon, wanting to shut it up and hurt it in any way I can with my bare hands.
Cap tackles me to the floor from behind, "Don't let your emotions get the best of you, soldier." He flings his shield to the ceiling, bringing debris down onto the demon. "What good that'll do? It won't keep it down," I bark, pushing him off. "No, but it buys us some time," Cap states. He whirls to the two mages, "Go collect the book! We'll keep it busy." Auron opens a portal back to the temple chamber. As she makes her way to the portal, Wanda stops and shifts her eyes to the team. Under her breath, she mutters something. In a flash, an aura of scarlet and gold wraps around each of us. "A slight booster," Wanda says, stepping through the portal with Auron, "Try and stay alive until we get back."
Once the portal closes behind them, Chthon reappears. Everyone readies themselves for the coming fight. "Don't hold anything back, team," Cap says, holding up his shield. Drawing out the pistol, I quickly open fire. Cap charges forward, leaps into the air, striking Chthon with the shield. The archdemon smacks him away by firing a blast. Chthon doesn't give him a chance to recover. It's on him, hamming down punch after punch, trying to break through the vibranium shield. Clint shot a taser arrow at Chthon's back. It roars more out of surprise than pain, "You fucking insect!" It sends out its shadow to devour Clint. The archer narrowly evades it. Keeping it off balance, I toss a myriad of explosive charges onto its body. The charges detonate, blowing pieces of its body off, but it rapidly regenerates. Chthom growls with hate, stalking toward me. "Oh shit," I state, eyes wide. While the demon's emphasis is on me, Cap and Natasha flank it. Cap flings the shield to the back of the leg, dropping the demon to its knees. Natasha rams her taser baton to Chthon's face. Pushing through, Chthon grabs Natasha by her arm and squeezes its grip tightly, breaking the woman's bone. Natasha lets out a cry of pain. I catapult onto Chthon's back, jam the pistol to the side of its head, fire multiple shots. Chthon reaches out a hand, takes hold of me, then slams me to the ground.
Cap comes in, colliding his shield at Chthon's face. Chthon pushes him away, but Cap stays on the archdemon. He hits the demon with an upper-cut and stabs the shield's edge into its throat. With a twisted smile, Chthon punches Cap across the face, staggering the super-soldier. Dashing forward, Chthon should-slams Cap into a wall. Blood burst out of Cap's mouth. Pinning him down, Chthon opens its mouth to drain Cap's soul as it did Karai. I try to force myself back into the fight but can't. Out of nowhere, an arrow lodges itself into one of Chthon's eyes. The monster howls, clutching at its eye. It yanks the arrow out. As its eye quickly starts to heal, it scans the surroundings and spots Clint on the other side of the level, bow set at the aim. In a blink of an eye, Chthon emerges behind Clint, towering over the violet-clad archer. Everyone watches on as if time slows down to a crawl. Chthon raises its clawed hand and slashes at Clint. Blood erupts from the man's back. A laceration soo deep one can see bones and flesh. It happened so fast the man didn't have time to scream. It's at that moment we all realize Chthon is done playing around.
[Wanda Mazimoff POV]
[Chamber.] It took us a while, but Auron and I finally found the damn book. I'm just about to open it when Auron smacks it shut, "Don't. Only a powerful mage can read from its pages without being corrupted by its influence." An overwhelming sense of melancholy hits me as I'm about to fire back with a retort. Something is terribly wrong. "We need to go back," I say. Auron peers at me confusingly. "Now! We need to go back now!" I shout at the mage sharply, leaving no room for argument. Auron briskly opens a portal back to the previous location where we left the others.
[Level-4.] Emerging from the portal's opening, my eyes quickly take in the carnage. Natasha is nursing a broken arm. Spartan is trying to force himself to his feet from a small crater on the ground. The Captin slides down against the wall, blood leaking from his mouth. But my heart is in a panic because all three have their eyes wide and locked in the same direction. I follow their line of sight, and my blood turns cold. Chthon towers over Clint's unmoving form, clawed hand dripping crimson red. As I witness the sight before me, a strong overpowering force rushes throughout my entire being, roaring to be unleashed. I glare with white-hot rage at Chthon, eyes blazing scarlet.
[Spartan POV]
Wanda fires a beam of energy at Chthon. The beam rips through its flesh. It howls in legitimate agony. Striking back, it fires its own blast, engulfing Wanda in a blanket of black fire. "You are nothing compared to me, mortal. I am eternal. A god," Chthon voices. Suddenly Chthon's blast is pushed back by a ray of scarlet. Hands outstretched, Wanda emerges, protected by a barrier. Everyone notices a crown-like aura taking form above her head.
Getting to my feet, I sprint toward Chthon, firing my pistol at full power, "Give them back!" Paying on Psychological warfare, Chthon convokes a distorted image of Clint and Karai on its frame. "Stop! You're killing us! It hurts!" they echo. It works. I stop the assault. Chthon seizes the advantage and flings a needle-like spear from its shadow, stabbing me through the chest. "SPARTAN!" the team yells in a panic concern. Auron conjures up mythical chains to restrain Chthon.
Wasting no more time, Wanda summons the book. Chthon bursts into hysterical laughter, "Your kind can hardly glance at the Necronomicon without going mad. You martial cannot defeat a god!" The archdemon's laughter quickly dies when the demon sees Wanda flares an emanation of power, overwhelming the Necronomicon magic. Chthon's eyes gape in terror, "A mere mortal's magic is matching the power of a god?! This can not be possible!" Reading from the book, Wanda vocalizes the language of the Old Ones. The spell opens a dimensional rift, and it pulls in Chthon. As the portal closes, two transparent auras emerge and enter Karai and Clint's bodies.
Slowly Karai sits up. I limp over to her, grateful to see she's okay. "What did I miss?" she asks, puzzled about the situation. I ignore her question and pull her into a tight embrace. Karai yelps in surprise but takes the hug. Auron commences to heal Clint's bloody laceration via magic. After a short while, Clint is back on his feet, shocked at his speedy recovery. He peers around at everyone, "Did we win?" Natasha claps a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah, we won." She throws her arms around him, "Don't go scaring me like that again, stupid." All of the AVENGERS turn their attention to Wanda. The woman's eyes were still blazing scarlet, a ghostly crown over her head. The power she's radiating is beyond comprehension. She calls the Necronomicon to her grasp. Auron swallows nervously, "Wanda, you have to give up that book. It's not meant to be in this realm." She speaks, echoing a voice of primordial power, "Indeed. Such destructive force from something so seemingly harmless." Suddenly the book burns to a cinder. "That's one replica destroyed," she comments. Exhausted, Wanda passes out. Cap catches her fall. Quickly gathering everyone, we make our leave via a portal.
[Auron Winchester POV]
[1 week later, SHIELD Mages Division, New York City]
I enter my office. Scan the area for enemies. An old habit I developed over the years of fighting an endless war. Never could turn it off. I move past the deck and drop into a seat. My mind is still wheeling on the whole fiasco. Heart pain over the students I lost. I don't blame the AVENGERS or hold them accountable for the actions they committed. They were under DeGuzman's mind control. I let out a tired sigh. Now Wanda has been on my mind as of late. At first, I believed she was a gifted mage. A prodigy who just started to awaken her magical ability and needed a teacher. Turns out the woman is far more than that. I produce a communication device and call Wong.
A golden portal opens. An Asian man with dark buzz-cut hair steps into my office. "You could've just answered the phone," I remark. "Matters like these should be discussed in person," he states. I close the phone and place it on the desk, "I believe I found the PRIMORDIAL." Wong's eyes go completely wide, "What?! Explain!" I told him all about the encounter with the AVENGERS and the witch known as Wanda Maximoff."