Stephen stared out the window of the Avengers compound in a daze. The drizzling rain that covered the landscape only added to his already dismal mood.

It had been almost three weeks since Hermione had been taken from her apartment, and Stephen felt like they weren't any closer to finding her than they were the day she disappeared.

"How're you holding up?"

Stephen turned slightly to see that Colonel Rhodes had entered the conference room. Turning back to the window, he considered for a moment not even answering the man.

"I've been better." Stephen answered shortly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Rhodey answered. "Do you have any idea why we're here?"

Stephen scoffed as he turned around to face Rhodey completely.

"I don't pretend to understand Tony Stark or what fuels his whims." He snapped. "I'm hoping that he has a lead on Hermione, but I'm not getting my hopes up in the event that he asked us here to go play a round of golf."

Rhodey sighed, obviously thinking before he took a breath and spoke again. "Look, I know you and Tony have never really...seen eye to eye-"

"That's an understatement." Stephen muttered with an eye roll.

"...but I think it's important for you to know...Tony has been searching for her nonstop since the day she went missing." Rhodey said seriously.

Stephen paused, looking up at the man with a questioning look.

"I'm serious." He continued. "I know you think he's an arrogant tool, and, for the most part, you would be absolutely right." He said with a shrug. "...but he cares an incredible deal for Hermione. He's been working through the night trying to find her and the others."

Stephen stood, thinking on what Rhodey had told him, almost feeling chastised by the colonel's words. Turning and looking out the window once again, Stephen answered Rhodey quietly.

"I know he cares for her a great deal."

After a few moments, Stephen cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the heaviness of the moment with a man he didn't know very well.

"So, what about you?" Stephen asked. "I heard that there had been some type of accident in Leipzig."

"Yeah." Rhodey said, nodding his head. "Yeah, there was. I ended up in a dead suit at 200 feet up in a free fall. I should be dead."

Stephen's eyebrows lifted in shock. "Jesus, Colonel. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's fine." Rhodey chuckled before turning to fix himself a glass of water at a small table to the side of the room.

"You know," He continued after a few moments. "she saved me."

"What?" Stephen said, not having heard the other man clearly.

"She saved me." He repeated, taking several steps toward Stephen. At the sorcerer's confused look, he continued. "Hermione."

"What?" Stephen asked, the shock coloring his features clearly.

"Yeah." Rhodey smiled, standing next to Stephen and looking out over the landscape. "I know Tony's told you she was there, and I know that you both didn't want her to be involved, but if she hadn't...well, I truly don't think we'd be standing here having this conversation."

He laughed slightly before continuing. "I've watched all of the security feeds a dozen times over. There I am, free falling hundreds of feet, and 'poof', there she is, shouting out some gibberish, and 'bam'! I stop in midair only three or so feet off the ground."

"I know you and Tony didn't want her there." He said, after taking a long drink from his glass. "But, I owe her my life."

Stephen stood, shocked at the information, but not surprised in the least. Before he had a moment to respond to the colonel, the door to the conference room burst open.

"I know where they are!" Tony said as he breezed into the room quickly.

Stephen felt his chest constrict painfully at the sudden announcement from Tony. Recovering from the initial shock of the news, he and Rhodey immediately began barraging him with questions.

"Where are they?"

"When are we leaving?"

"Are they alright?"

"Let's go!"

"Hold on, hold on." Tony said, his hands out to try to quiet the two men. "I mean, I guess the better way to have phrased that is 'I WILL know where they are...soon'."

Stephen's face immediately fell into a scowl as he processed what the billionaire just said.

"Wait, Tony," Rhodey said. "What do you mean, you 'will know soon'? Either you know or you don't. Which is it?"

"Well, technically, I don't right now." Tony admitted.

"Of course you don't, you self-absorbed-"

"BUT!" Tony interjected before Stephen could finish. "I received a call from none other than Secretary Ross, himself, this morning, and it seems that he has exhausted all of his resources trying to locate Rogers and Barnes. He has requested yours truly to come speak with the current Avengers prisoners to see if they will divulge information regarding his whereabouts."

"He's going to give you the coordinates." Rhodey said more as a statement than a question.

"He's going to give me the coordinates." Tony agreed.

"I'm coming with you." Stephen said immediately.

Tony shot the sorcerer a look. "Oh yeah, that won't be suspicious at all."

"He's right, Dr. Strange." Rhodey agreed. "You don't exactly blend. It's better if we play this one by the book. We also need for Tony to scout the area out so we aren't going in blind."

Stephen swallowed back the retort on the tip of his tongue, knowing deep down that they were right, but not liking it at all.

"So, what's the plan? What are we going to do?" Stephen asked with only a touch of his frustration shining through.

"I'm going to go to their location, just as Ross asked me." Tony started, his increasing hand movements giving away his excitement at their break. "Once there, I'm going to scope the place out, try to get as much information from the team, then come back here as if everything is peachy. Once I get back, we'll come up with a plan."

Stephen looked warily at Tony. "You'll give me the location the moment you return?"

"Scout's Honor." Tony said with his hand raised beside him.

Rhodey looked deep in thought.

"I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy."

"The Futurist, gentlemen! The Futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether you like it or not!"

The mocking calls from Clint were the first things that Tony heard once the security door closed firmly behind him. He was shocked, to say the least, that the Avengers team was being held in a completely submersible containment unit in the middle of the ocean. It was no wonder that hadn't hadn't been able to locate them thus far.

Keeping his face blank and passive, he responded to the archer.

"Give me a break, Barton. I had no idea they'd put you here. Come on."

"Yeah, well, you knew they'd put us somewhere, Tony." Clint responded with a sneer.

"Yeah, but not some super-max floating ocean pokey. You know, this place is for maniacs. This is a place for-"

"Criminals?" Clint interrupted. Standing up from his place on the floor, he continued as he walked closer to the bars. "Criminals, Tony. I think that's the word you're looking for. Right? That didn't used to mean me. Or Sam, or Wanda…...or Hermione." He jabbed, hoping his words would wound the man standing in front of him. "But here we are."

Looking around and not seeing the two women, Tony continued. "Where are Wanda and Hermione?"

"None of your damn business."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, come off it, Clint. You broke the law."

"Yeah."

"I didn't make you." Tony said, feeling his temper rising.

Clint merely began laughing loudly as he walked away from the bars, farther into his cell.

"You read it, you broke it."

When the only response he received was more laughing, Tony gave up.

"Alright, you're all grown up - You've got a wife and kids. I don't understand why you didn't think about them before you chose the wrong side."

"You gotta watch your back with this guy." Clint yelled to Tony's retreating back. "There's a chance he's gonna break it."

"Hank Pym always said, 'You can never trust a Stark.'." Scott called out from his cell, looking to join the confrontation.

Tony looked at him in confusion. "Who are you?"

Scott sighed heavily and visibly deflated. "Come on, man."

Tony continued walking until he stopped in front of Sam's cell.

"How's Rhodey?" He asked in a quiet voice.

"He's perfect. He was in the hospital less than a day." Tony answered truthfully before continuing rather awkwardly. "What do you need? They feed you yet?"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What? You're the good cop now?"

"I'm just the guy who needs to know where everyone is."

"Well, you better go get a bad cop, because you're gonna have to go Mark Fuhrman on my ass to get information out of me." Sam scowled.

"Uh-oh." Tony said as he looked down at his phone. "I just knocked the 'A' out of their 'AV'. We've got about a minute before they realize it's not their equipment."

"Listen, Sam. I made a mistake. I was wrong."

"That's a first." Sam scoffed.

"I don't like a lot of things Cap has done or the way he's handled things, but he's about to need all the help he can get. We don't know each other well, but I need-"

"Hey, it's alright." Sam interjected. Sighing, he continues. "Look, I'll tell you where he is, but you have to go alone and as a friend.

"Easy." Tony agreed immediately. "One more thing."

Sam looked up in confusion.

"Where are Hermione and Wanda?"

Tony felt a lump of panic settle in his belly at the grimace that covered Sam's face at the question.

"Hermione was knocked out and dragged from her cell two days ago. They took Wanda the same way about six hours after Hermione. We figure it's got to be about their powers. Whether they want to replicate or eliminate, we don't know."

Tony knew his face was a mirror of the swirl of emotions that he was currently experiencing.

"Listen, I don't know what you're planning to do, but let me be the first to insist you go ahead and do it." Sam whispered fervently through the bars. "I don't know how much time they've got left."

"Stark?" Ross asked as he followed Tony back towards the helipad. "Did he give you anything on Rogers?"

"Nope." Tony answered. "Told me to go to hell. I'm going back to the compound, but you can call me anytime. I'll put you on hold. I like to watch the line blink."

Reboarding the chopper, Tony watched as the prison, once again, disappeared underneath the choppy waves of the ocean. Taking a deep breath, he reached out, punching a button on the control panel. His Iron Man suit began assembling on his outstretched arms and continued until he was fully suited up. Ejecting himself from the chopper, he headed in the opposite direction, hoping he was making the right decision.

Rhodey paced back and forth in the foyer of the Sanctum, not really sure how he came to be there, but grateful for the company nonetheless.

"Colonel Rhodes." Wong said, interrupting the colonel's frazzled behavior. "Come, let us have some tea." He said calmly.

"Uh, no thanks." Rhodey responded. "I don't really do tea."

Continuing to pace back and forth, he began muttering - half to himself and half to Wong. "He should have been back by now."

"It's been less than 48 hours, Colonel Rhodes." Wong chided gently. "We don't even know where he was going."

"I know where he was going."

Jumping in surprise at the new voice, the two men turned to see Stephen standing at the top of the stairs, the Eye of Agamotto glowing eerily from its place on the sorcerer's neck.

"What?" Rhodey asked, confused at his sudden appearance.

"I know where they are." Stephen answered firmly before turning to Wong. "And I'm going to get her. Now."