Chapter 30 - Killed Him For You
Kate had known exactly what was coming, because Vojteck had told her. He'd said that he planned to break her down again, that he already knew how to do it, and so, Kate thought she'd done what she could to steel herself.
There was obviously no way that she could have fully prepared, and she knew it was going to be bad no matter what, but she'd kind of figured that knowing the end goal would give her something to fight back with. She wasn't going in as blind as she had the first time, and she knew the methods to watch out for, right?
The first two hours had been what Kate expected, what she remembered, what anyone would expect to have happen when she was wearing a high-slitted dress around sadistic guards whose boss wanted her broken down fast. Her wrists were bleeding where she had pulled against the manacles keeping her stuck in her cell. She'd had three panic attacks, and she'd stopped crying tears long ago. But she wasn't surprised by any of that.
What did surprise her was when Vojteck came down, looking refreshed and overly pleased with himself. He crouched down beside her in Doom's cell and gave her an obvious once-over even as she tried to give him her best glare.
"Just a reminder," he said, reaching out to brush the tear tracks on her cheeks, holding her chin when she tried to pull away, "of how this game was played before."
"Go to hell," she whispered.
"Relax, Kate," he said as, with his other hand, he slipped a needle into the crook of her elbow. She felt herself going limp, and he smiled and leaned forward. "You're happy to see me. I'm the only thing that matters," he said as he unlocked her manacles and she felt herself falling limply into him. He caught her and once again brushed her face with his thumbs, as if he were consoling her.
She could feel everything going fuzzy, but she was still aware. She wasn't blacking out; she'd only lost control of her limbs. She opened her mouth to try to say something, but that wasn't working either. And the worst part was that the fuzz felt nice, like a light buzz.
Chuckling to himself, Vojteck pulled her up into his arms and carried her out of the cell, pausing and looking toward one of the guards before he smirked at Kate. "What do you think?" he asked her in a whisper. "You feel safer with me, don't you? Or should I let him carry you up?"
Kate couldn't respond except to stare at him, wide-eyed. She was still terrified out of her mind, even though she felt good.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered Rachel looking for positive associations as part of the conditioning, but knowing something was happening didn't stop it from happening all the same.
The drug was starting to wear off my the time they got to where Vojteck was staying in Doom's palace, but not quickly enough that Kate had any faith in her ability to walk on her own even if she managed to get out of Vojteck's grasp. Still, she did shove against his shoulder as he walked through the door.
Despite Doom's hatred for Hydra, Vojteck had clearly won his favor by bringing him Billy, based on the size of the room. He'd pulled down any décor that could be removed that signaled the castle belonged to Doom and had replaced it all with Hydra symbols. He'd filled it with lavish furniture and had a desk set up not far from his four-poster where he could plot and plan as he temporarily led Hydra from Latveria.
"Now," Vojteck said, "let's get you cleaned up. I can't have you trailing filth in my room."
"Whose fault is that?" Kate asked, her words slurred and slow.
"Yours," he said without missing a beat. "All that work, wasted. That's very rude."
"Go to hell."
The bathroom attached to his room was as big as Kate expected it to be, with a huge copper tub and green towels stacked nearby. Vojteck carried her there and then set her down on the floor, watching her slowly get her strength back with a cruel smile.
"Ten minutes before I send someone in to get you," he said, leaving her there.
Kate could feel her chest heaving, but she didn't have it in her to run. And she knew it. Groaning, she peeled the dress off and pulled herself into the tub, the relief of the hot water cold comfort, all things considered.
She scrubbed herself clean as quickly as she dared and was just toweling off when she heard the doorknob turn. She spun around, keeping the towel around her, and glared when she saw Vojteck let himself in.
"You know, for someone who's trying to distance himself from his mother, you sure do use her drugs and poisons a lot," Kate said when she saw that he had a dart in his hands.
He looked down at the dart lazily and then back up at Kate. "The methods work. Unless you'd prefer I break you the way my father would." Something flashed behind his eyes as he took a step closer. "But you don't want that. You're happy to see me," he said.
The way he'd phrased it had her instantly trying to dodge out of the way, and the dart hit the mirror behind her.
The second dart, however, hit her thigh, and she quickly felt her defensive posture slipping. She felt good. Her brain was fuzzy, and she felt good.
Vojteck smirked and reached out to take her hand and lead her. She didn't try to pull away. "Now," he said, "I have somewhere to be shortly. I'm going to collect my fee. You and I will stay here a few days so our mutual friend the prince sees you alive and cooperates long enough to give my temporary partner what he wants."
Kate nodded. She didn't say anything; she didn't care enough to try.
"But before I go," he said, lifting her chin with one finger curled underneath her chin, "I think you should remember how happy you are to see me." With that, he stole a long, hungry kiss, yanking her into him so sharply that it startled her even through the heavy haze of drugs. He caught her lower lip in his teeth and trailed his hand down her back before he pulled back, grinning with her towel in his hand.
Vojteck was in a good mood as he joined Billy and Doom. Once more, Billy was in the rune circle that drained his powers, and Doom was sitting on a throne, watching as Billy crumpled in on himself.
"Now," Doom said, his voice echoing around the walls. "Let us conclude our business with one another. You requested one wish."
Billy's eyes went wide, and he tried to struggle to his feet. A wish in Vojteck's hands? That could be catastrophic. "No," he said, but neither Doom nor Vojteck was listening to him. Instead, Vojteck's gaze was on Doom's glowing hands.
"I want my father's powers. Strength and healing."
Doom chuckled under his breath. "Of course. You worship an ideal you never experienced. But if you want to waste your wish this way, so be it." He didn't even get to his feet, reaching for a book that glowed the same color as Billy's powers. He read a spell from the book, and Vojteck dropped to his knees, groaning.
Billy tried to pick himself up taller. He was terrified of the implications, but he also knew how difficult spells like that were. Changing someone's essence was dangerous, and yet, Doom didn't seem to give it a second thought.
He watched Doom carefully and saw him wincing into himself, but his expression was so well-hidden that Billy couldn't tell what was going on. All he knew was that Doom was playing with magic at a dangerous level.
And there was Vojteck, panting and groaning until he screamed and curled in on himself, all while Doom watched and Billy held his breath. On the one hand, he was hoping Vojteck would collapse in on himself because the magic was unstable. But on the other, he wasn't prepared to watch someone's reality torn apart. Not when he didn't know where Kate was.
After about ten minutes, Vojteck finally picked himself up and dusted himself off, then sneered at Billy. "See you around, Billy boy," he said and turned on his heel to leave.
Billy watched him go and then turned to Doom, his eyes wide. "You've just given the leader of Hydra healing? I thought you didn't like Hydra."
"That young man will not be long for power." Doom got to his feet and gestured for a Doom bot to remove Billy from the circle. "Now, as I said, as a gesture of goodwill, I will provide a way for Katherine to escape. Let's see if she is as talented as you think she is."
Billy glared as Doom swept out of the room but was too exhausted to fight the Doom bot who brought him back to his room and informed him that he was expected to show up for dinner that evening.
He wanted to collapse into the bed, but he was too worried about Kate. She was somewhere in the castle with Vojteck, who had even more power than before. He'd always had mild super strength, but now? Kate was trained to take on people more powerful than her, obviously. But Vojteck was a sore spot. And he knew how to get in her head.
Billy paced a few times and stopped at the huge window that looked out over a courtyard patrolled by Doom bots. Kate was in trouble, and his magic was the cause of it.
Yet again, someone he loved was on the line because his magic could bend reality in a way that the bad guys wanted to exploit.
Sometimes, he wondered if those powers were worth it. Were worth the guilt.
Before Vojteck had left to go collect his "fee," he had switched the drugs Kate was on. It felt like fire, like all her nerves were going off at once, but that wasn't the worst part. No, the worst part was that whatever was in the darts caused a sense of impending doom, and that completely wrecked her determination not to give in to Vojteck's manipulations. She couldn't hang onto that grit when her nervous system was itself sending signals to her brain that things had gone wrong.
She was curled in on herself under the covers of the bed. She had no idea how long she had been there. It felt like hours. It could have been far longer - or far shorter. But then, she felt someone move next to her, and the pain lifted with a needle bite and with Vojteck's chin over her shoulder.
"Aren't you happy to see me? The antidote, Kate. I told you I put work into you; I don't want you dead, just broken," he said, as calmly as if he were talking about the weather.
It took some time for Kate to stop shaking, but when she felt him put his arms around her waist in a far too intimate manner, she pushed him as hard as she could and tumbled to her feet. Still not trusting herself in a fight against him, she rushed to the nearest window and flung it open, narrowing her eyes at the high drop, but started to climb out all the same.
Vojteck got there faster than she anticipated, though, and grabbed first her hair and then her arm, yanking her back inside only to throw her against the wall. And it wasn't the usual throw, either; she went all the way across the room and hit the wall hard enough that all her breath left her.
She gathered herself up and glanced around for anything she could use as a weapon, seizing on a pen he had been using at his desk. And when he came stalking up to her, she didn't shy away from him but pushed off of the wall with her foot to give herself more momentum to plunge the pen into his chest with as much strength as she could muster.
For just a second, she found herself staring into Vojteck's eyes, and then, they both looked down at the pen together. And then, Vojteck started to laugh.
"And that's what I wanted to see," he said and yanked the pen out of his chest. It bled for a little while, but to Kate's horror, she could already see that the wound was closing up. And while she was caught up in that realization, he grabbed both of her hands in one of his and slammed her against the wall, stepping in so close to her that he was pinning her to the wall by more than her hands. "Now then, I think we've played enough games today, haven't we?" he said in her ear. "You can't kill me. Your friend's magic granted me the powers my father coveted. You can't escape, either. So it's time you took your place, Kate. And when I say 'jump', you say…"
"You first," Kate said without missing a beat.
"Close." He chuckled again and switched his grip so that he had her hands in one of his, tracing her cheek with his now-free hand. "Now, we have a schedule to keep. Your friend wants to see you alive." He released her and stepped back, watching her massage her raw wrists before he spun away to go to the wardrobe in the room and pick out her new dress. It was backless again, and the skirt was way too short for Kate to be comfortable. But it was better than a towel, anyway.
"Staking your claim, huh?" Kate asked as he brought her the dress.
"Of course," he said reasonably. He waited until she had stepped into the dress before he moved seamlessly behind her to help her with the clasp across her shoulders and neck. He took the two ends of the clasp and then paused, meeting Kate's gaze in the mirror on the far wall. "Relax, Kate," he said. "You can trust me." He finished the clasp, and Kate felt a sharp prick in the back of her neck, forcing her body to relax. She wasn't fully sedated, but she felt fluid, as if she were floating, and she couldn't quite make herself pull away as he slid his hand across her back. She was aware of everything, but she felt like she was swimming in molasses.
"Stop," she said quietly, and he grinned, stepped around her so that he was standing in front of her.
"Oh, you don't get to make demands, Kate," he said and cupped her chin. He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I can take what I like from you." He pulled her into a long, lingering kiss that kept going until he had his hand on her back and the other hand in her hair. When he did finally stop, he was smiling as he rested his hand on the clasp of her dress. "You can't stop me," he explained. "But I prefer that you trust me; it saves time that way. And I give you my word that you will find power beside me if you want it." He stepped back, leaving her reeling and feeling ill. "The next time I tell you to relax, you will stop fighting me. It will make your training go faster, and I know neither of us want to drag things out. And in two days, you and I are going to Madripoor, where you'll kill a few pests that preferred my sister to me." He smirked. "It's time for you to prove that I can rely on you." The more he talked, the better Kate felt. And then, he offered her his arm. "It's time to take your orders like a good girl, Kate. Do you understand?"
Kate felt like her knees were going to give out on her, but she was honestly afraid of what would happen if he drugged her again, and she wasn't strong enough to do more than slowly move at the moment. So, she swallowed and nodded, taking his arm to let him lead her down to dinner.
She was relieved to see Billy there, but this felt distressingly familiar. She was losing her mind, stuck with Vojteck, and she was being used against one of her best friends in the world. Judging by the look of horror he was giving her, the bad guys' plan was working only too well.
But he didn't look great either. He looked like he had the flu. He was clammy and pale, and he looked tired. And she had no idea what Doom was doing, so she had no way to offer to stop it.
Still, she tried to give him an encouraging smile, and he tried to return it. But neither of them was much for conversation at the moment.
In fact, Kate wasn't terribly hungry while she was still drugged, but for Billy's sanity, she still stared at the steak and nodded to herself. She picked up the steak knife to cut into the meat… and noticed that the butter knife wasn't actually a butter knife. It was small and compact, but she recognized its metallic sheen.
Carbonadium. A small carbonadium dagger, and just hours after Vojteck got healing powers. That was definitely no coincidence.
Kate waited until Vojteck was distracted talking to Doom before she slipped the dagger into the braid of her hair, relaxing more once she had it hidden. And once dessert was over, Vojteck got to his feet and motioned for her to follow him, only to stop in the hallway once they were well away from Doom, his hand on her back and a needle between his fingers.
"Relax, Kate," he told her as the now-familiar floating sensation took her over and he picked her up to carry her out of there.
Kate was absolutely exhausted, but she knew that if she fell asleep, she'd lose the opportunity she had in front of her.
It had been a long night. As soon as Vojteck took her back to his room, he had started in with some kind of poison, something he must have picked up from his mother. And it moved through her so quickly that all she had been able to do was curl up in a ball and try to ride it out while he lay beside her on his four-poster, leaning over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
"Listen, Kate," he'd said, and then, he'd spent fifteen minutes whispering Hydra's beliefs in her ear, whispering what he wanted her to do for him once she was loyal to Hydra. The people he wanted her to kill. The shield he wanted her to be from her friends and family's attacks. The intel he wanted her to give. The public face he wanted her to present. The symbol he wanted her to be of how helpless the heroes were to stop him.
As soon as she had a better hold of herself, enough to try to move away from him, he'd switched gears. "Relax, Kate," he'd said, and then, she did. She was nearly high – pain-free and careless. And he stayed where he was, this time talking in her ear about how much work he'd put into her, about how he owned her, about how she could trust him and he'd take care of her.
And then, he'd switch again. "Listen, Kate," and it was all pain and Hydra mantras while he held her and physically comforted her through the pain, until she was hanging onto his shirt with both hands purely because it was an anchor. "Relax, Kate," and she felt high and painless, all thought erased so that his mantras were that much easier to listen to.
She'd tried to let it all wash over her, and she was pretty sure the only reason she was still even halfway sane was that she had that dagger, the one that was now sitting on the nightstand, just out of her reach. It had come out of her hair sometime during the night – she wasn't sure if it had been when he was comforting her or when she was shaking in pain – and he'd just laughed and set it down by the bed. He wasn't worried about a dagger, and judging by his reaction, he either didn't know the dagger was carbonadium or didn't know what carbonadium did.
Around the time the sun had come up, he'd started to get tired, so he had drawn up a full injection for her and then shoved her off the bed, leaving her paralyzed and in agony from whatever was inside, so that she couldn't sleep while he did. Sleep deprivation was a torture tactic in and of itself, and Kate knew she wasn't going to last another day at that rate.
But she was starting to be able to move, and she hadn't heard him start to wake up yet. So, carefully, slowly, she dragged herself upright and grabbed the dagger, then leaned against the side of the bed to get her breath. She couldn't mess this up.
Once she had her breath again, she pulled herself upright – only to find Vojteck had rolled onto his side and was watching her with an infuriating smirk on his face.
"Oh, I'm sure you could do some actual damage even with a little knife like that," he said, sounding far too amused for her tastes. "If you get the placement right, it could take me a while to heal. You could keep me from calling out with a knife to my throat. You're a determined little thing; that's what makes you useful." He sat up and tipped his head to watch her. "Relax, Kate."
She knew what was about to happen, and she knew he hadn't actually drugged her, but she couldn't stop it. Her knees gave out on her, and she sank back down to the floor, the dagger rolling uselessly out of her hand.
Vojteck laughed and walked around the end of the bed to pick up the dagger and put it back on the nightstand. He went to his closet to pick out some clothes for himself, and she saw a few green dresses for her as well. "We've got our nights and days a little backward, Kate. It's almost dinnertime again," he explained as he started to change in front of her, swapping one green suit for another. They were all tailored well to him and subtly different, and he admired his reflection for a moment before he pulled another hanger out of the closet and walked back her way, laying the dress out for her.
It was, basically, a little black dress – no sleeves, tightly-formed, and it would probably come about halfway down her thigh. But over the top was a sheer green layer that went all the way down to the floor, with Hydra designs stitched into it in gold.
"You do actually have good taste in everything but color," Kate said, because if she didn't say something, she was worried that she'd just end up going along with him without complaint, and she couldn't give up that quickly.
"I do," he agreed with a smile. He went to the nightstand on the other side of the bed and opened the top drawer. "Now, you're going to do something for me," he said. "That dagger trick was cute, but let me show you the truth." He walked around to where she was and helped her sit on the edge of the bed, since she was still a bit shaky. "Listen, Kate," he said – and she could feel herself sitting up straighter, hanging on his every word despite her best efforts. "I'm going to call in a guard. And you're going to shoot him dead and hand the gun back to me."
Kate nodded, even though her mouth was dry.
Vojteck smirked and then did just as he'd promised he would. He called for a guard, and one came in. "Close the door behind you," he told the guard, even as he handed the gun to Kate.
For just a second, Kate's hand closed on the gun, and all she could think about was shooting Vojteck. But she took a head shot on the guard instead, and she saw herself, as if from far away, handing the gun over to a grinning Vojteck.
"That's what I like to see," he said and got to his feet again. "Now, get dressed. We've got a long night ahead of us. Just one more to make it really stick before we go to Madripoor, I think."
Kate froze as she was about to reach for the dress. Another night. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist and made up her mind then and there. She had to get him now, or she'd lose the ability to even want to kill him.
Once Kate was dressed and her hair was redone, Vojteck walked a circle around her with a critical eye and then nodded to himself. He walked over to the nightstand and slipped the dagger into her braid again. "I'm sure Dr. Doom wouldn't want to see you without his pretty present."
"You knew?" Kate asked. She'd had a feeling, but if he thought she underestimated him, if he thought she was even more trapped than she already was…
Vojteck smirked. "I already told you, Kate, that I didn't get to where I am now easily. Now, let's go down to dinner and you can say goodbye to Billy." He held up a hand. "Don't be too upset. We'll be back. This place has excellent shields against the nosiest heroes, and I'm starting to like it here."
"I don't think Doom feels the same way," Kate pointed out.
"Maybe not, but he is also bound to the deals he makes on magic," Vojteck said.
Kate let out a soft "ah" and couldn't hide her smile, though that just had Vojteck turning her way with his eyes narrowed. "It's just that it suddenly makes sense why he's going low-tech and handing me a dagger instead of killing you himself. You got him into a deal, and he's only abiding by the letter of it," she explained.
"Oh, I'm aware." Vojteck shook his head and then, when Kate was still smiling, narrowed his eyes and stepped into her space. She didn't step back from him, though she made sure she was wincing away until he grabbed her chin to look at her. "The nice part about having you as a bargaining chip, Kate, is that you have powerful mentors, allies, and friends. It won't be hard to find someone willing to end Doom if it means you're safe. I'm not terribly worried when I have the Avengers at my beck and call."
"You're all a bunch of backstabbers," Kate said – because, honestly, she couldn't resist. She probably could have been more subtle as she reached for her dagger, but it was right there.
And as she'd expected, he caught her hand as she reached back. What he didn't expect, though, was for her to reach low with her other hand to grab onto his family jewels and twist. Hard.
Healing or not, he couldn't help but yelp in pain and sink to his knees, though he took her with him to the ground, already swearing at her for the dirty trick. "Rela-"
Before he could say anything else, she jammed her palm into his throat and then reached around with her still-free hand to grab the dagger. He let out a wordless noise and twisted her wrist hard enough to snap it, and she screamed, long and high and loud. And when he grinned, obviously satisfied with himself, she closed her eyes and looked away and let him lean in to try to cough out a threat.
That just meant he was closer to her so when she swung, she couldn't miss.
Just as they'd done with the pen, both of them looked down at the knife in Vojteck's chest, and then, he laughed and pulled the hilt … only to realize that it came out too easily. The blade had broken into pieces in his chest, and his eyes went wide when he saw it.
"You little bitch," he said, too hoarse to be heard outside, and pulled her toward him, looming over her as he demanded, "What did you do?"
"It's just a knife," Kate said cheerfully. "I thought you could handle that."
With a cry of fury, he tossed her aside, and she screamed again when she hit the wall. Her ribs had broken the first time he did that, and then every muscle in her body was sore from having been writhing in pain. Hitting the wall just made everything about ten times worse.
Vojteck tried to get to his feet to follow her and keep taking out his fury on her, but he was losing steam fast. He seemed to realize he was in trouble and made a sound like he was calling out for the guards, but he didn't manage more than a strangled sound before he stumbled to his knees.
Kate forced herself to her feet and went to the nightstand to pull out the gun he'd made her use before. "I'll let myself out," she said, stepping around him as he slipped the rest of the way to the floor, bleeding out in front of her. "Don't get up on my account."
Vojteck narrowed his eyes and called her a few choice words in a bare whisper, but Kate already had her sights set on the next obstacle in her path: the Hydra guards outside. She was reasonably sure that if she could kill the guards, she could persuade Doom to make sure Vojteck's body was unrecoverable. She would even offer to build the bonfire herself if need be. But the guards… they would go to the Hand, and Kate had slipped too far to trust that she'd be able to survive another round against Vojteck with her mind intact.
So, she took a deep breath, waited for Vojteck's breathing to stop, and then opened the door, immediately shooting the guards on either side of it before they could realize that Vojteck wasn't with her. She could feel her muscles protesting, but she still remembered the way to the dining hall, and Vojteck had said they were expected for dinner.
She could figure out how to get away from Doom later. For now, putting a permanent end to Vojteck was the priority. One supervillain at a time.
She knew she was running on pure adrenaline, because she felt like her head was pounding and her legs were screaming as she ran down the hall and shot another Hydra guard on the way. She didn't dare take chances, either – all of the shots were head shots.
And then, as soon as she made it to the dining hall, she felt like her knees were going to give out on her as she leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily and trying to look at Doom and Billy even though her vision was swimming.
"He's dead," she said. "Thanks for the dagger."
"I'm pleased to see that you found the will to use it," Doom replied calmly as he picked up a goblet of wine. "You did finish the job, didn't you?" He paused, then waved one hand. "No matter."
Kate narrowed her eyes at that. "I need to borrow a bonfire or the Hand will bring him back, but I did kill the guards who would've tried on my way over here," she defended herself.
"I'll have my guards dispose of all of them," Doom said, gesturing for her to take a seat. "Don't be bothered with those that are left. Not right now."
"O…kay." Kate could feel herself crashing but somehow managed to get to her seat, possibly because Billy was staring at her in such open horror that she didn't want to scare him any more than he was already worried about her.
At her seat, she found a small vial next to her glass - and Doom answered her question before she could ask it. "The antidote for the toxins he used."
Kate raised both eyebrows and then decided she'd already trusted one supervillain and one more wasn't going to kill her any deader than she probably already was if he was lying. She whispered a tired, "Thank you" and poured the vial into her wine, ignoring Billy's open-mouthed look her way.
"I have a lot of questions," Billy said as soon as she'd gulped down her wine. "Like, a lot of them."
Kate shrugged. "I'm very tired, Billy," she said. "I haven't slept in… I think two days? Three? And if an antidote can help me stay upright enough to eat, that's great news, and then I'm going to bed, okay? And after I sleep for a week, I'll answer questions."
Billy frowned and glanced at Doom, but he wasn't doing anything except eating in silence - and so was Kate. And she really did look absolutely beat down in every sense of the word, so he decided, for the moment, to let it go and join in the weird silence of the dinner table.
"Can I walk you home, Kate?" Billy asked, glad to see her little smirk when he asked that after dessert was over.
"Little bit forward, Billy," she teased him. "But since I'm guessing you have a better room than I did…"
"I don't know where you were and I can still confirm that, yes, I did," Billy agreed.
Kate smiled softly at him. "Love you too, Billy."
"She can stay across the hall from you, William," Doom cut in.
"That's actually perfect," Billy said and got to his feet, offering Kate a hand up. He was so caught up in frowning at the state of her that he totally missed that she was doing the same thing. He didn't realize it, but he looked pale and drawn, and the light behind his eyes was gone along with his magic.
Kate leaned her head on Billy's shoulder while they walked together, which was the perfect cover for her to whisper, "You doing okay? I don't know what this magic pendant does, so let me know if it hurts you or something being this close, okay?"
Billy raised both eyebrows and then shook his head. "It's fine. But, you know, I don't have my powers right now, so I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to do."
"That's bad news for both of us."
"No kidding." Billy let out all his breath. "But, hey, um… you okay with having killed him? I know he deserved it, but when I killed Katarina and Daniel, I was still broken up about it."
Kate bit her lip as she thought over her answer, and she was quiet long enough that they got to their rooms before she knew what to say. "I think I'm okay, actually," she admitted. "Mom and Dad … growing up, they always made sure we knew what the rules were, and we knew we were supposed to be better than they were. You know, supervillains and all when they started out?" She paused again. "But they also told us exactly how to kill someone. I know a bunch of different ways. And they taught me and my siblings all of that for a reason. For when things like this happen. So I think I'm okay. Maybe I'm too tired to be upset about it, though. That's also a real possibility. I've started saying a lot of sentences at once, and that happens when I'm going into shock, according to Hank. And I really was happy to see him, so maybe I'll mourn him later," she said, not at all realizing what she'd said.
"Yeah, you're not okay," Billy agreed darkly and walked with her into her room - which, because it was close to Billy's, was ornate to match Billy's station as a prince. Where Vojteck had brought in his own trappings, this wing of the castle was impressive on its own. There was even a little fireplace and a nook in the wall to look out the window.
"Billy, can I borrow a shirt?" Kate asked as she sat down on the end of the huge bed. "This is all I've got, and I'm not sleeping in Hydra green."
"Yeah, sure," Billy said, darting across the hall to grab one and shaking his head when he saw that Kate was barely keeping her eyes open. "We gotta figure out a way out of this, Kate."
"Yeah, I know," Kate said.
Billy shook his head and headed for the door, and then paused, unable to resist teasing her. "First time a girl's crashed in my shirt."
"Shut up, Prince William," Kate said, sticking her tongue out as she threw the sheer green overdress at him.
Billy laughed and ducked out, glad to see that she was joking around at least.
But they were both definitely still stuck. So… he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about things, all in all.
Noh had been trying to be efficient by looking in all of the places that those in the mortal world were not - and trying to find places that their mortal friends simply couldn't reach.
He'd exhausted a few leads and was looking for guidance by spying on Wanda - who had been feverishly looking for Billy ever since James let her know that he was missing alongside Kate. The fact that Wanda couldn't find Billy should have narrowed down the list of places to search, but Noh didn't know enough about that world to be as efficient as he wanted to be. Despite being in the afterlife, he didn't immediately gain all knowledge; it was a gradual process of eternal learning.
Usually, he liked that about the afterlife. This time around, he was annoyed that he had to slow down and learn before he could rush toward a rescue.
Wanda had found her way to Tony and James once she'd run out of options - wanting to see what kind of progress the two of them had made - with Vision going along to try and help boost whatever they were doing, too. So by the time Noh had decided it was time to update them on what he'd found, they were all together, twisting the capabilities of the satellites they had taken control of - searching through traffic cameras, airports … everything they could tap into as they narrowed their search.
Noh was watching their search with his chin resting on one hand when he noticed movement on his side and glanced up to see Akihiro approaching. He smiled lightly and made space for him to join the watch. "I don't know enough to know which places can shield themselves from Wanda's magic; I was just going to ask for a list of such places I could run down myself," he explained.
"You've spent so much time researching that I decided you needed help," Akihiro told him. "And I'm sure that help will be here soon. Have they made any progress? Or have you just been taking in the scenery?"
"Well, the list has been narrowed down, but no." Noh tipped his head back and forth. "Wanda did put forth the idea of Victor von Doom; he has the magical prowess - but a vendetta against Hydra, and we know that Vojteck has them both."
"If you two are going to flirt, do it quietly," James said half under his breath.
"That's permission," Noh said, jostling Akihiro's shoulder.
"Not anything I required," Akihiro shot back.
"You have a type," James said - which was enough to draw Wanda's attention, anyhow.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked, though she was already casting the spell that would let her see for herself.
James glanced up at her even as she moved her hands through the air. "Ah … my brother and Noh. Noh had volunteered to look while everyone was out hunting Azazel. I guess Akihiro … did … whatever he does."
"And they're flirting?" Wanda asked, based on what she'd heard him saying.
"Sounds like it to me," James said, and gave her a little shrug.
"We should be more overt, apparently," Noh told Daken. "I thought I was being polite."
"If you said you would help, why are you here?" Wanda asked the two of them once she found where they were watching from. She also didn't miss the fact that the spell showed her that her brother was nearby watching as well.
"I was hoping you might have ideas concerning places powerful enough to shield them from your magic," Noh admitted. "I don't know enough about your world to know instantly where to look, though I have run to several seedy corners in my best efforts."
"Precious few," Wanda said, letting her shoulders slump. "And none of them make any sense."
"Then let's discard sense and explore abnormal options," Noh decided.
Pietro rolled his eyes with a sigh as Noh tried to reason - and zipped off in a blink only to return before anyone could suggest anything at all. "It's Von Doom," he said as he stopped next to Wanda. "I recognized some of the runes on the castle … they weren't there before, but I don't think you can or should try to go in there. At all."
"If Billy's in there-"
"Then we'll scout ahead and warn you what's coming," Noh said, nodding toward Pietro.
"That's okay, we can work with that," James said, turning toward Tony. "We can work with that."
Tony looked very clearly as if he'd rather do anything else. "Listen, kid - the last thing we want to do is let that megalomaniac think that I care about anything he's brewing up. He's a nutbag."
"A nutbag that has Billy and Kate," James said. "Come on - between you and me? Come on."
Noh swept up Akihiro and disappeared with him to go look into what was happening - so that he had Akihiro's keen eye as his speed to help with whatever they needed to warn the others about. But that still left Pietro standing by Wanda, tapping his foot in irritation.
"Couldn't see any sign of the Hydra brat," Pietro told her, knowing that was the main reason no one had looked at Doom, knowing his hatred of Hydra. "So this might have been a trick to redirect."
"He's been trying to build up magical power, though," Wanda pointed out. "So unless that boy has knowledge or skills we don't know about, I don't know why else he'd try to ward against magic use. It has to be to keep someone out - or in."
"Yeah, no, they're definitely there and sleeping in four posters, I just meant maybe May didn't actually see Kate get grabbed by her ex-brainwasher, ya know? Might be an illusion to get everyone freaked out and looking at Hydra, not Doom."
"I am perfectly happy to find out," James said, holding one hand halfway up. "And if I see him, I will kill him."
"Want me to find him for you?" Pietro offered. "After this, obviously."
"If he's still alive after this? You know what? Yes. Please and thank you."
"Done and done. I'll even make my father help. He needs to stretch the 'fear me' muscles every once in a while," he teased.
"Is it a downer now that he has to do it with a bedsheet instead of a cape and floating metal?" James asked flatly.
Pietro laughed. "See, this is why I like you, kid."
"Among other reasons, sure," James replied, then turned back to Tony, who was honestly just watching the whole interaction with a look of distrust. "Come on. Let's invade Latveria."