Bucky sighed, "I know, Peggy, and it sucks, but we can't afford to make suspicions from people if they notice something's off...And then there's having to arrange safe places for the kids and such in America if England is still really bad, and-", when suddenly, the Heart of Atlantis rumbled, becoming pink and red and blue, almost like if it was deciding between warning Atlantis and telling Atlantis that it's not enemies.

They ran as the Heart was beaming everywhere into the city center, with the people tittering, trying to hide in fear, and then a sparking, gold energy appeared, with Kida ordering her guards, "Stay low, but keep your weapons up!", as the gold energy became bigger and bigger into a portal, and suddenly, two people came through, and the gold, sparking portal vanished, with Kida and many people widening their eyes in shock, as one of them was recognized to be Preston Whitmore, even if he's in different clothes like a monk or something, saying a name over and over, "Bebinn!", covered in blood and such.

"Please help! She's dying!", Preston screamed as he held into a woman, a bald woman who is convulsing in pain, dark energy hissing and roaring against the beams of the Heart, blood into the ground, as a green stone is glowing with struggling, healing energy that is not making fast enough to her wounds.

"Preston? What's going on? Who is this?", Kida asked as they approached him before she turned to someone else, "Hurry up and get Healers Nola and Joshua, now!".

Preston was in tears, frantic and worried that he can't think straightforward, "I'm sorry, your highness, but I didn't know what else to do! I had to take her here! Please, Bebinn, don't leave me!", as Abraham ran into the center, "People, back off, back off!", shooing the crowding people, relieved that he was out on one of his routes as one of the healers for the marketplace citizens.

"Abraham! Abraham, please help me!", Preston pleaded as Abraham took out medicinal potions and bandages, looking at Kida, "Apologies for ordering this, Kida, but I need your guards to get a stretcher, something long and sturdy! We need to get her to the healer center!".

"Whatever! Do whatever you need!", Preston shouted as he turned his head back to the woman. "Come on, Bebinn... just hang on, you'll make it... they'll help you!".

The bald woman, Bebinn gave a weak smile as she weakly opened her stormy blue eyes as she tried to speak, "S-So, t-this i-is A-Atlantis...I-It's e-even m-more b-beautiful t-than I-I i-imagined i-in y-your d-descriptions...N-no w-wonder w-why y-you c-compared K-Kamar T-Taj t-to t-this r-radiant k-kingdom.", before crying out in pain as dark magic fought against the beams of the Heart on her body, convulsing as her hands weakly clenched into Preston's robes, as Abraham said, "Hold her still, Preston! Or her wounds would get worse!", trying to bandage the bloodiest wounds, using his crystal, and the medicinal potions, not going to be indecent in ripping her clothes away than they already are, until she is secure in the healer center, knowing that the female healers, including Nola and Jerika will have to be in charge then, but for now, he is the first one on scene.

"Do you have any idea what happened?", Abraham asked Preston. "How exactly do you know this woman?". Bebinn groaned again as Abraham turned his attention right back to her, "No, no, no... come on, keep fighting, keep hanging on, the medics will be here in a few moments!".

Kida shouted, "Where's that stretcher?!", and the guards brought over a makeshift stretcher from two cart ladder sticks with a market stall cover, "Here, your highness!", laying it down as Nola and Joshua ran through the crowd.

"Abraham, the prognosis?!", Nola demanded, and Abraham replied, "It's a mess, Nola! There's wounds everywhere, but it's hard to say without cleaning them out with a flush of an IV and everything, and she's having dark energy somehow, but trying to fight it back!".

Nola nodded, "Right! Joshua, you take one side, and one of you guards, take the other side, we need to transfer her into the stretcher!", and Joshua nodded as the guard obeyed the head healer's orders, lifting Bebinn gently into the stretcher, and then took up the ends, with Preston not leaving Bebinn's side as he ran with them, holding her hand, while Abraham worked to explain the latest he did with Nola on the other side, keeping into sealing up the wounds the best they could on, with the beams of the Heart following them.

Without Kida having to order, the crowds split like the Red Sea, a wide way back to the healer center, as Bucky exhaled, "I...I haven't seen Preston look so desperate before...", standing in the crowds, next to Peggy.

"Me either... he really cares about that woman... but I don't recall him ever really mentioning her before.", Peggy said. "You'd probably know a bit more than me; you knew him a bit longer before I ever even met him." Bucky nodded.

"Then again, maybe he met her between the time you guys got back after the prosthetic and Helena, and now.", Peggy then commented, and Bucky blinked in surprise, "You know, I think you're right. After all, he would have mentioned her at times in his stories during the summer, but he didn't, and you or Steve would have said something to me about him in either of your stories.".

Peggy nodded, "Indeed.", with a frown. "I hope she really pulls through...She looks quite terrible...", and Bucky agreed.

It took several minutes to make it to the healer center aka the hospital, and for the first time of being so close to Bebinn, Preston was ordered out of the room, "But I have to be with her! I ca, can't lose her!", trying to get past Jerika as he faintly heard painful cries and groans.

Jerika looked at him, "We are having to take off her clothes and all as she can't do it herself, Preston, and only and all female healers are allowed from this point, with Joshua and Abraham and other male healers only allowed to bring necessary things into the room if called. Please clean up and go sit down! We will do the best as we can, Preston, okay?", ordering firmly yet gently.

Preston heavily panted, looking at Jerika, and nodded weakly as he turned around, staring at the blood on his hands and clothes, and was numb to everything, thoughts getting to him, and before he knew it, "Preston, Preston, look at me! Breathe in and out! That's it, in and out!", as he realized that he was huddling against the wall, next to a chair with a bloody handprint, his eyes clearing up from the blackness and spots in his view to see Thaddeus looking at him in concern and worry, and he realized that he had a panic attack for who knows how long.

He breathed in and out, tears soaking through his beard and everything, whispering, "Th-Thaddeus...", and Thaddeus reassured him, looking a bit relieved to hear his best friend's voice, "Yeah, it's me...That's it, slow and steady, in and out...You look terrible...Come on, let's get you into one of the bathrooms, wash all that out, and get you cleaned up with some crystal help...", slowly and carefully helping a numb and shell-shocked Preston up.

"Please... make it quick... I can't leave her for long...", Preston argued. "Don't worry; I'll be as fast as I can, Preston, I promise you.", Thaddeus assured his friend.

Indeed, it didn't take very long for Thaddeus to help Preston wash up and clean up, with the help of his crystal and soap and water, with all the blood leaving at last and the shock of cold-water awakening Preston somewhat from his numbness and shellshock.

Thaddeus led him back to the seats, seeing Abraham holding cups of steaming tea, "Here, Preston, the usual for you...", with a gentle smile as Thaddeus helped Preston sit down.

Preston sipped slowly of his tea, and cradled the cup, staring into the liquid, sighing deeply, "...Chamomile tea is her favorite...She gets amused when I have a spoonful of cream in my black tea when we have our tea time...", with a little smile before tears came, and his breath came a bit faster.

"Preston, breathe, in and out...That's it...", Thaddeus quickly advised, sharing a look with his husband as Abraham looked concerned, having never seen Preston this horrible before.

Abraham sat down, looking at Preston, "Bebinn's her name, huh? Never heard of the name, through it sounds rather unique...", and Preston chuckled wryly, "It's Celtic...And it's actually not much known those days because it's actually Old Celtic as she is sort of like us...but different...Can you believe that I'm practically the first one to actually know it for centuries since she almost never introduces herself as Bebinn?

"Centuries? Wait, is she...?", Abraham asked, and Preston shook his head, "No, she isn't a descendant of a Atlantean merchant, and she is actually more relatively younger compared to here...I...I guess I better start from the beginning, huh?".

Thaddeus rubbed his shoulder, "Hey, she is in very good hands, and you need to focus on something than worrying...So, how did you meet her?", with a curious smile.

Preston exhaled, a small, fond smile coming to his face as he spoke, "It was a week into the month of November last year, and I was in New York City, arranging some auctions of my artifact collection for a few charities that the mayor started up to give the city more money to make living situations better for people...My usual driver got sick, and wary of hiring a temporary driver, because of Sinclair, I drove on my own...Then of course, since I don't know New York as well as Washington, I got lost, and the car burned out the radiator on me...That's how I ended up on Bleeker St...", closing his eyes as he remembered.

{1944, November}

Preston coughed, waving the smoke from the radiator in the hood, grumbling, "Oh, fantastic...Just fantastic...", leaning on his cane for appearances, and seeing that the neighborhood was quiet, as it was a day where people went to work and children went to school, he sighed, "At least it isn't a bad neighborhood.", recognizing that he's in Greenwich Village, on Bleeker Street.

Hoping that some people are home at least, seeing a beautiful building with a rotunda window near him, he liked the architecture as he got closer, heading up the stairs to knock firmly yet politely on the door.

"Hope someone's home... really could use a phone for a tow...", Preston glanced around. "I knew I should've gotten that thing checked out a few weeks ago... I knew it in my gut that it was needing a look over...".

He has a feeling, a peculiar feeling that feels familiar once again, like every time he passes through New York and all, yet this time, it's getting stronger and stronger as he heard poised, firm footsteps getting closer, and heard the click of the door, to be opened up.

Preston quickly dusted himself off; trying to look a bit more presentable and not totally covered and reeking in the dust and smell of a busted engine gasket.

The door opened, revealing a gracefully aged, stoic, and bald woman with stormy blue eyes, and her eyes widened as Preston's eyes widened, the feeling rolling through him like a wave, yet steady like it's letting him discover if this woman is a new friend, a mentor, or something more at his own pace, not pushing him at all, as his crystal reacted happily to a familiar old friend, like a memory from the Heart through his crystal as on the woman's chest, in a medallion, without her magic intentionally, the medallion opened to reveal a glowing green crystal-like stone, as all of a sudden, blue energy and green energy flowed out and purred, absorbing into a hug of sorts, reuniting in the feeling of old friends.

Preston blinked, blushing in embarrassment, trying to be confident, "I'm sorry! I didn't know it would do that!", as the woman was in shock and bewilderment by the dashingly aged man, stunned for a moment like she didn't know what to do before looking around urgently, "Come in, come in!", gesturing with a hand, "I don't know if your crystal is prone to being seen or not, but I must not risk the Time Stone outside like this.", closing the door quickly as Preston tried to understand, nodding, "Of course, my crystal doesn't usually appear into public like this as it hides invisibly and only I and my family sees it and its other friends on ourselves.", still blushing a bit as he tries to compose himself, seeing that his crystal blue energy and the Time Stone? the green energy is still hugging and purring like they are talking like old friends.

"Normally, I'm much more... playing the cards closer to my chest with this...", the woman admitted; as she would never have mentioned the Time Stone to a random stranger; but with what had just happened, clearly, something was very different about this man.

"But obviously with what just happened; clearly you can't really talk your way out of things. Well, I guess it's safe to assume we both have secrets that got revealed in a hurry...", Preston chuckled.

The woman smiled a bit, "Indeed...I suppose this energy reunion is of old friends in a way while we are...relatively new wearers. Where are my manners? May I offer tea or coffee?".

Preston smiled warmly, "Tea would do brilliantly. Never much for coffee as it's...jittery on my old bones. And I don't suppose if you have a phone? My car, it broke down on me...".

"I can tell... the smell.", the woman admitted as Preston blushed, "Sorry; didn't realize it was that bad of an issue when it first broke down. Opened the hood and practically an explosion of fumes from the gasket; it really had built up for a minute there.".

The woman chuckled lightly, "That'd do it. And of course, I have a phone. I may prefer to be private, and this place is very special to me, but sometimes, the weather gets a bit rough in this city, especially with cleaning the fireplace, through I'm old-fashioned, but I have to get along with the times just the same.", walking along, and Preston followed her.

"I wouldn't blame you for the privacy necessity as I like to be private as well...The architecture, it's beautiful and rather cohesive with being old-fashioned...", Preston complimented as he looked around, and the woman smiled proudly, "Thank you. The Sanctum has been around for centuries since the start of America, and it has been standing here ever since.".

Preston whistled in awe, "No wonder...", still seeing that their energies are still purring, talking as old friends, and smiled sheepishly, "I guess we're stuck as they look like they aren't going anywhere for a while...".

The woman nodded, "Very much looks like it. Since you clearly know of magic within your crystal, you must know of other magics.", and Preston shook his head, "Afraid not, but ever since I've gained my crystal, I've become very open-minded, and I have seen more than anyone would believe in their lifetime, due to my friends knowing of history and artifacts and stories that is rather more into the truth than being myths.".

"You certainly look like a man of humble knowledge and deep wisdom...Very well, since this is a rather peculiar situation, this requires more than just a phone call...May I?", the woman asked, and Preston, feeling a bit confused yet a bit curious, nodded, "Of course.".

The woman's hands glowed of golden energy, and she moved gracefully in a series of intricate moves, as Preston watched with widening eyes of awe, feeling a gentle stream whooshing over him, seeing all the dust disappear from him, even fixing up some scuffles in his jacket and pants, and seeing two chairs float over, with a tea tray, with a whistling tea pot and teacups, and a table with a phone floating over, carefully landing with the extension lines to a nearby wall.

The woman sat down in her beloved chair, gesturing with a smile, "Please, sit...Sugar or cream?", and Preston sat down, "I'd take cream if my tea is black, please.", with an awed smile, "That was incredible...Was that your magic?", as her hands glowed for a moment with tea bags flying from the kitchen behind them, along with a creamer saucer, and the tea pot poured into the teacups, steaming water as the teabags hooked over the teacups, and then after the cups were filled, the tea pot then landed back with a flick of her hand.

"Everyone has a little bit of magic in them, but only the best has more magic, if they only know to use it. I am not just a monk, as you see, but I'm more, far more than the Wizard of Oz, and no, I'm not a storybook witch or anything of that, through people would have used that name on me if they knew back in my homeland.", the woman explained steadily and carefully, watching the thus far honest man's expressions, stunned that the man hadn't reacted like a man who thinks far above women when she mentioned that she is the owner and sole occupant of this place here, yet her disciples come through here occasionally often, nor that he wasn't scared or horrified of her when she revealed her magic.