Recap
"So, when did you two finally get together?" Reyna asked with that signature smirk of hers, knowing and fox-like, gesturing to the older pair. She burst out laughing as their faces became beet red, their younger sisters joining the mutant in her mirth.
♤
After much spluttering, reassurance, and laughter, Shafira invited Reyna to join them in the breakroom. Abby was sent to gather another cup and some refreshments for their guest, and the catching up began. They spent most of the afternoon talking and laughing, simply catching up on life. When the Avengers had liberated the Palace, Shafira and Remi had finally been reunited with their sisters after years of separation. It took a lot of discussions and bargaining back and forth with SHIELD, but the pair had been granted custody over their sisters, and together with a financial boost, they had been able to settle down here and open the shop. The girls had enrolled in a SHIELD-run program created to prepare the people they rescued to return to the real world. Once they graduated, Abby and Alanna would go the last years of high school and then go on to college. Shafira and Remi would take some classes and get a certification for their craft, but wouldn't seek any higher education, at least for now. They were already great at it since they had acted as the Palace's on-site hairdressers, but had agreed that they needed to get proper classes. Their clientele primarily consisted of people they already knew from before, dancers, experiments, and former captives. They and their shop offered a familiar and safe space for people lost in a big and unfamiliar world. Shafira also eagerly told the story of when she and Remi went on their first proper date a few months ago, much to Remi's embarrassment and the others' delight. Reyna simply sat there with a proud smile as the tale was told. It had been common knowledge for every dancer at the Palace except for the two of them that they had feelings for each other. The mutant found herself wondering how on earth this had gone unnoticed by the Matron, but the overwhelming pride in the pair soon washed away that train of thought. Occasionally, the doorbell rang, signaling an appointment, and either Shafira or Remi had to excuse themselves and take care of the customer. And finally, when afternoon turned to evening, Reyna was invited to stay the night after the tales of her latest adventures had been told. Shafira also insisted she'd be allowed to cut and style the Latina's hair. Her hosts came up with hundreds of ideas of what to do with her hair; everything from cutting it short to dyeing it crazy colors. Reyna laughed as she shook her head at their eagerness but ultimately agreed, much to the girls' delight. After all, it had been far too long since she had her hair tended to properly.
They talked long into the night, but soon Abby and Alanna were sent to bed. They had school early in the morning. Reyna sat Remi and Shafira down at the small dining table and brought up an idea. It would be hard, impossible even, to execute this idea, and Reyna knew it was more likely that they would say no, but it would be cowardly not to try. When she brought it up, they seemed hesitant, to say the least, but Reyna powered through, describing how the idea came to be and whatever loose planning she had come up with so far. They discussed the notion long and hard, and when they all finally went to bed long into the wee hours, they had finally agreed on the matter; the idea was blooming.
♤
The doorbell clanged as Reyna exited the small shop and stepped out onto the busy streets with the well-wishes echoing behind her. Shafira had taken good care of her hair; split ends had been cut, her curls had been thoroughly taken care of, and they had dyed the newly cut tips and the longest hair at the nape of her neck a beautiful wine-red color. The color was dark enough to blend perfectly with Reyna's raven hair and created a beautiful, if a bit morbid, blood-like shimmer in the chilly but incredibly bright early December sun. She started her journey once again, but this time it wasn't to meet old friends. Instead, she would be taking a new ally up on his offer. Reyna picked up a card from her pocket; 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York City. She frowned. How the hell am I supposed to find this place? She thought. Then she felt the need to slap herself in the face.
"In the same way you found Shafira and company, you blithering idiot," Reyna berated herself. She was just about to create a puff when she stopped herself. She blinked. Could that be? She blinked again. It was! Reyna smirked internally. Deciding to mess with them in the most perfect way possible, Reyna quickened her pace. She squeezed through a tight net of pedestrians, altering her illusion without losing her pace. She created a small card and a pen and wrote down a few words, keeping watch on the duo, who unknowingly walked straight toward the woman they had been absentmindedly hunting for more than a month at this point. A mischievous plan worthy of even the trickster god himself was ready, and she almost smirked externally now. They were only five meters away now. Three. Two. One. Now! She jerked to the side and "bumped" into the taller of the two.
"Oh, sorry," she apologized quickly, slipping the paper into a pocket and continuing forward without being recognized. Mission accomplished. She grinned. Oh, they are going to hate me later, she thought, her grin growing wider. Now that today's fun had been had, she brought her focus back to the task at hand. She couldn't simply send out a smoke puff and not wreak havoc. Reyna thought for a moment. Then she lit up with an idea and set to bring it to life. The Latina looked up, and just then, two black ravens flew by, soaring high over the sea of people. She concentrated her gaze on one of the two, and after a surprising amount of effort, it finally came circling down to meet her. It's whole decent Reyna couldn't figure out how a bird could fight her control with a vigor worse than even Loki's. She shrugged it off. It must have been the distance. Something else that bugged her was the other raven followed after its friend for a moment before stopping and continuing the flight at a much higher pace as if changing its mind. She shrugged that off as well as her raven landed on her shoulder, its eyes a glowing yellow like her own. Reyna studied it for a moment and couldn't help running a finger over the bird's head and neck. She had never seen a controlled individual gaining her eye color like this. Then again, the Latina had never commanded an animal before. It was quite a mesmerizing contrast between the raven's pitch-black feathering and the bright yellow of its eyes. She would have to look into that later. She tilted her head closer to the raven and whispered to it.
"Find Dr. Strange, my sweet. Lead me to the Sorcerer Supreme and the Bleecker Street Sanctum, the Sanctum Sanctorum," was her command. The raven tensed and leaped. It spread its wings and flew away at an incredible speed. Reyna looked after it for a while before it disappeared behind a building. She continued on as if nothing had happened. 10 minutes later, Reyna saw a little black spot hurrying back toward her across the sky. The mutant stopped, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and watched its approach. It returned to her shoulder and cawed as if saying; come on!
"Alright, alright, I'm going. Lead the way," she chuckled. The raven stayed on her shoulder but seemed to hone in on the road ahead, so Reyna started walking down the street again. They gained a lot of looks as they weaved through the seemingly endless maze of New York City, the raven guiding them like a compass needle on Reyna's shoulder. The incognito plan was altogether forgotten and replaced with this new plan she had in the works. People stopped them many times, wanting to take pictures of the odd pair. It slowed their journey significantly, but Reyna wasn't in a rush, so she figured, why not? The team would find the pictures soon and deduce that it was her, but it would take some time before that happened. In the meantime, Reyna would have completed her little treasure hunt. So, she posed for a few photos and reassured those who took them that it was totally okay if they posted the pictures publicly. Soon enough, shots of a girl with a yellow-eyed raven on her shoulder would swarm the socials. Reyna smiled as she continued down an avenue. They are definitely going to hate me, she thought. Her raven turned its head to the right and cawed loudly. We're here, it seemed to say. Reyna followed its bright gaze and almost choked. It was a large red brick building with white columns, which wasn't entirely strange in and of itself. For an untrained eye, it would be the big circular window littered with intricate details high up in the middle of the slanted roof that made it stick out from its neighbors, but to Reyna, it seemed to vibrate with power and knowledge. The Latina shook off her initial shock and turned her head to the raven again, letting go of her control as she did. It shook its head back and forth a few times before looking around, confused about its surroundings. Then its dark eyes settled on Reyna's bright ones, and its head tilted. It looked at her for a moment, intrigued and curious. Reyna bowed her head the best she could.
"Thank you for leading me. What may I offer you in payment? Food, perhaps?" She asked it. It cawed in response, confused by the whole situation but eager at the offer of food. "Of course," Reyna agreed as if speaking to royalty and materialized an appropriately sized chunk of meat. She carefully held out the meat to the bird, and it picked it up just as carefully, much to Reyna's surprise. The raven jumped from her shoulder down to the pavement, and... bowed? Reyna stared at it for a moment, perplexed, but as it rose, the mutant hurried to copy its bow, just to be safe. Once she looked up again, the raven seemed pleased with her. Then it leaped into the air and flew away, and Reyna swore she could have seen another raven join the first high in the heavens. The woman turned her attention back to the building in front of her. That overwhelming feeling of power only seemed to intrigue her more. She walked up to the large wooden door and looked at the plaque beside it; 177A Bleecker St. At least she's at the right address. She raised her hand to knock, but stopped short. Her hand was trembling like a leaf in the breeze. She frowned at it. Why was she nervous? She took a deep breath and shook off the nerves before raising her hand a second time. This time, she managed to get a decent knock in. She struck once, twice, but before she could strike thrice, she was sucked into the building by an unknown force and thrown onto the floor on the other side. Reyna groaned as she propped herself up and looked around. Instead of ending up in the hallway as she had expected, she had been transported into a spacious and dark loft-like room with a too-high ceiling and hallways leading off in all directions. Bookshelves, reading nooks, artifacts, and displays stood evenly spread across the vast room. The only light came from a large circular window behind a massive flight of stairs that almost reminded her of the ones in the Palace. She realized that this was the window she had seen from the outside, so she must be on the top floor. The confused woman looked around the empty room once more. When her gaze fell on the window again, a silhouette of a tall man in a long, billowing cloak that hadn't been there a moment earlier floated in front of it. He was backlit thanks to the natural light coming from the window, so she couldn't see his face clearly. Or any other features, for that matter. It put her on edge. Reyna carefully materialized her sword, making sure it was hidden from view. The man began to float toward her. She hurried to her feet and branded her sword at her side as her face grew cold, readying for a fight. But just as the man came in reach for her sword, and she was just about to engage, his face came into view.
"Reyna Barbosa-Medina. TheRaven. I was beginning to wonder when you would come and pay us a visit."