Kidnapped|Book 4|A novel in the Blue Moon series| An Avengers fan fiction series|

56- The Circle

"How does the owl know to come here, like in this exact room?" asks Peter.

"Because he's a creepy-ass bird," replies Kyle as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh yes," says Peter, "Stupid me."

Bruce pokes his head out of the portal room, "I have some movement on the other side. Tony's about to come back, with Thor or not, so I'd say to get ready."

Jack swings his arms around like a windmill, "All right, let's get ready–calm down Kyle, I didn't mean to hit your bloody cheek."

"My 'bloody cheek' is worth ten of yours."

"Oh. Right," says Jack, "Sorry, you're right, you're about to ask Emmaline to marry you."

"Keep your voice down, she's in the building!"

"Then don't insult my cheek," says Jack, "It's beautiful too."

"Jack is a supporter of the Anti-Cheek-Bullying Foundation," says Peter.

"Indeed," says Jack, "You can buy support badges for ten dollars."

"Something is seriously wrong with both of you," says Kyle.

"And Thea," says Peter, "Don't forget her. She's part of the Anti-Cheek-Bullying Foundation too."

"Or she should be," says Jack, "We haven't exactly asked her. I'm sure she'll buy a support badge though."

"Please shut up before my brain loses about fifty more brain cells from listening to the two of you," says Kyle.

A tremendous vibrating sound comes from the adjacent room. Loud voices drift out of the portal room, and seconds later, Tony and Bruce walk through, accompanied by Thor and Sif.

"Fandral and Volstagg are frequent at any banquet," explains Thor as a form of greeting, "It would be very conspicuous if they were to abandon an opportunity to regale victorious battles."

"Doesn't matter, we're glad to have you," says Steve, shaking Thor's hand, "Neidra's distracted?"

"For the time being, she is. She is at the palace. Hopefully, the festivities will keep her occupied for at least several hours, ample time for us to infiltrate her mansion."

"Excellent," says Tony, looking around and cracking his knuckles, "Now we just have to wait for the pigeon so that we can–"

At that precise moment, a column of black mist appears in front of Tony and Thor, and out from the center flies the white shape of Wairua. Klaka barks, but when Kyle whistles sharply, the well-trained dog falls silent.

Wairua, hooting, drops a piece of paper in Tony's hand and then settles on top of a lamp post, regarding everyone in the room with his luminous amber eyes.

Tony unfolds the paper and reads out loud, "Wairua told us just now that Neidra has moved the three powers. We don't know where, but they're still in the mansion. Wairua can't take you directly inside the house, but he'll take you right outside the stables. There's a back door. It might be locked, or we might have broken into it already We're going inside first. Neidra is supposed to be gone, and so is Caomh, but we all know that she's bound to show up at some point or another. Plus, there are servants still. So basically, just be quiet and don't let one person go off alone. We'll try to find each other. Be safe. Thea."

Tony pockets the paper and then looks around, counting people and saying aloud, "So let's do this in threes, plus a group of two."

"How do we know we need to split up?" asks Max.