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Chapter Twenty-Five - Rescue
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The Avengers were calmly watching a movie when JARVIS alerted them to an explosion that had occured outside the theatre Loki and Hermione were supposed to have been at. Alarmed, Clint instantly whipped out his phone and dialled Hermione's number.
"Hermione's not answering her cell." And after another minute, announced that Loki had not picked up either.
"Incoming call from: HAPPY HOGAN."
JARVIS announced, making everyone turn to the TV. "Accept call. Happy, are you alright? What happened?" Tony asked. Happy's face appeared on the screen, slightly scratched up and hints of smoke and dirt evident on his face. He had a small sling around his wrist but otherwise, he was visibliy uninjured.
"I don't know, boss. One minute, I was getting out of the car, you know how good I am with faces, right? Well, this guy was acting sketchy, yeah? Just lurking around, eyeing up the car and everything. So I got out, went over to ask what his deal was. But when I got there, he was gone. I shrugged it off, thinking he was a weirdo, New York's full of 'em, and I got a text from Mr Odinson, sayin' they were coming out and to bring the car around. So I did. But about halfway to the car, Hermione kinda freezes, looking nervous. Then BOOM. Car exploded. From there, it's a blank, the explosion sent me shooting a metre onto my arm. I've got a sprained wrist but I'm alright." Happy reported.
"Where are Hermione and Loki? Why aren't they picking up their phones?" Clint asked, worry building in his chest.
"That's the thing, boss. They're gone."
That sentence made everyone freeze.
"G-Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Tony stammered.
"They're not here. I don't see 'em anywhere."
"And you have no leads? No clue as to who took them?"
"I think it was the security guards. I didn't see anything except the emblem briefly, on one of the guys' sleeves. Red, think it was some sort of squid or somethin', I didn't get a good look."
They cursed under their breath. "HYDRA. Alright, Happy, I'll get someone to pick you up and bring you back here. You sure you're okay?" Tony reiterated, concerned about his friend, and the fate of his niece and her... Loki.
"Just fine. I'll see you soon."
"Bye."
The call ended, and a heavy silence descended.
"Sound the alert. Call SHIELD, Fury, anyone and everyone you can think of. We need access to traffic cameras, the CCTV footage where the theatre is, anything that could give us a clue as to where Hermione and Loki are. If HYDRA's got them, who knows what's being done to them." Tony barked an order at JARVIS, pulling up various screens of CCTV footage.
"Sir, It appears Miss Hermione was able to press the distress button on her bracelet. The homing beacon was activated, and I have a vague area, but it stops suddenly, which leads me to believe whoever took her and Mr Odinson discovered it. They don't appear to have left New York."
"Then I will tear this city apart to find them. They can't be too far."
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HERMIONE'S POV:
My head was pounding when I woke up, the intensity of the light shining in my face making me wince.
I squinted as my eyes adjusted, wiggling my hands and legs to find they were only able to move minimally. Once I was able to open my eyes properly, I looked around, seeing several people in white lab coats standing in various groups, huddled over clipboards and screens as they murmured conversations I couldn't hear or understand.
Over in the corner, 4 men stood in a group, one dressed in a grey business suit, quietly talking together. After a few minutes, the one wearing a suit looked over, and upon noticing I was awake, strode over to me.
"Where's Loki? What have you done to him?" I asked, glaring at him.
"You'll be glad to hear, nothing."
Yet. I mentally added. I glared at him, struggling to remain calm as I shot quickfire questions at him. "Who are you? What do you want? With me? With Loki?"
"You ask a lot of questions, don't you, Ms Granger?"
I stared at him in shock. If he knew my name, my connection to the Avengers, there was also a chance he knew of the more interesting side of me. Which meant the Statute of Secrecy was at risk.
"Oh yes, I know who you are." He chuckled at my surprised expression. "Stark's niece. Under the Avengers' protection. Rarely seen, but never without the company of one of your little guard-dogs. What we want, Ms Granger, is control. And you're going to help us get it."
I sighed, partly in relief; if they were identifying me as Stark's niece, which is what we publicly announced as an explanation when people started questioning my prescence, then they didn't know who I really was or my capabilities.
"You see, Ms Granger, not everyone is receptive to the order we plan to restore to society. Many try to rebel, oppose us. They don't see that we have humanity's best interests at heart. In order to function, people need order and stability, and people to regulate that. But there are always those who live to create chaos and rock the boat."
"How do I fit in with this? Who are you?"
Instead of answering me, he gestured to the equipment around, which I had originally missed. It was clunky and had many flashing buttons, all of which looked ominous and dangerous. He stroked the side of a dashboard lovingly, eyes wide in fascination and poorly hidden excitement.
"You know, there are so many unexplored ways that electroshock therapy can help people. Before it was regulated and then banned, it was a way to help people out of depression. It can stimulate brainwaves and heartbeats, and revive people, as well as overload the body and kill them. But it also comes in handy when people aren't being... compliant." He smirked over at me, the sight chilling me to the core.
I summoned up my Gryffindor courage, suppressing the lump in my throat as I steadied my voice and asked. "And what happens if I don't?"
He looked nonplussed at my question and reached over to a lever. "Well, then I'll do this." He pulled it, and instantly, a piercing, high-pitched whirring came into earshot. The metal restraints on my arms and legs grew tighter, and some sort of head clamp connected to my temples. As soon as they made contact, electrical currents came shooting into my brain, making me cry out in pain. My back arched off the chair as my body instinctively tried to get away from the headgear but to no avail. I clenched my eyes shut, as I concentrated on staying awake, though that was getting harder to do with every second that passed. A few moments of complete agony went by before he pressed the button again, disconnecting the instrument from my head. I panted and blinked away the black spots that teetered on the corners of my vision.
"That is what I will do. Except for longer, and with a higher voltage." He walked back over to the chair, sitting to my left. I watched him warily, my hands shaking from the aftereffects of the shocks. "Ms Granger, if you want to avoid that pain, all you have to do is comply. Compliance will be rewarded. Disobedience is not tolerated and will have serious consequences. Do you understand?"
I glared at him. If he thought I would give in that easily, he was in for a rude awakening. I wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing. "I will not comply. My uncle will find you, and you're going to regret ever taking me or Loki." I spat out.
"We'll see." Was his reply.
After a few more turns with the machine, I was teetering on the edge of unconsiousness and soon found myself being taken to a room, where I was greeted with the sight of a worried Loki, who rushed over. "Are you alright? What did they do to you? I could hear you screaming."
"Well he did his villain monologue about how humanity needs order and stability that can only be provided by them, of course, and then used electricity as a way of forcing me to comply, which did not work. But other than a sore head, and my body feeling like it's on fire, I'm fine."
We sat next to each other, my head on his shoulder; staring blankly at the walls as we lost ourselves in thought, and relished in the temporary quiet and each other's company.
In the shadows, I could see the silhouette of a person, and a glint of something metal. It looked like an appendage, an arm. I realised quickly that this must have been the Winter Soldier from stories that Aunt Nat had told me. If the Winter Soldier was here, then the people that had taken Loki and I were more dangerous that I'd intially thought.
I could only hope that my Uncle and the others managed to find us soon.
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THIRD PERSON POV - Meanwhile, at Avengers Tower...
It had been 3 days since Hermione and Loki were taken, and hardly any leads had been found. Tony, Bruce and Clint had been glued to the screen, drinking boatloads of coffee as they watched hours of CCTV footage.
Thor had returned to Asgard to consult Heimdall, while Nat went to investigate the site with Steve. Tony had called in Spiderman, telling him to keep an eye out for strange operations and 'men in black with a squid on their arm.' Peter hadn't met Hermione yet, having only become a potential candidate and had reached close aquaintances with Loki, but he was eager to help either way. His daily reports bore no fruit; well, not until the third day.
"Incoming call from SPIDERSON"
J.A.R.V.I.S announced, making Tony look up tiredly from a tablet, which was scanning the last location of Hermione's bracelet. "Accept call. Hey kid. What's up?"
"Hey Mr Stark. I think I found something. So I was doing my daily patrol - helped an old lady, stopped a mugging. This old Dominican lady bought me a churro when I helped her cross the road-"
"Peter, focus."
"Right, right. So later, I was swinging near the river, and I heard a scream. Young, female. I thought it was another mugging so I went to go investigate. Ended up at one of the abandoned warehouses, you know, near the docks. I crept in, just to scope out the area. There were about 10 guys, some with lab coats, most armed, surrounding a girl in a freaky chair. Fits the picture you showed me. I think it might be Hermione. As for Loki, I didn't see or hear him, but it's possible they might be hiding him elsewhere. I'm standing about a block away, so you can track my location."
"JARVIS?"
"Already on it, Sir."
"Thanks, J. Ok, while we're waiting, just go back a bit. What kind of chair?"
"Like a dentist's, but worse - if that's even possible. Whatever they were doing, it sound like it hurts. A lot."
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HERMIONE'S POV:
A few hours passed, and I had been for a spin in the chair twice more. Due to my weakened state and inability to walk more than a few shaky steps, the Winter Soldier had to carry me back to the cell. Loki looked up from where he was huddled in the corner as the door was unlocked, and the Winter Soldier walked in, setting me down gently on the small cot, before retreating to a dark corner on the opposite side of the room.
The magic dampeners they had placed on Loki's arms suppressed much of his magic and strength. However, he had gathered the strength enough to attempt to summon something from his interdimensional pocket. Today was the first time he had succeeded. In his hands was a modest loaf of bread, and a small bottle full of water.
"You need to rest. You need to keep your strength up." Loki quietly reminded me.
"What about you?" I asked him. I hadn't seen him sleep since we had arrived here.
"I need little sleep. I am a God, kjaereste, I don't require as much sleep as you do. And especially since they aren't constantly trying to get into my mind. Not that they could-"
"-Because you are a God ?" I finished with a teasing smile. He returned it.
"Precisely."
After I had taken half of the loaf, which Loki and I had split into small portions between us, we offered the food to the Soldier, who reluctantly took it. After much scrutiny, both of the bread and us, he took a small bite into the bread, and then another, until it had disappeared.
"Спасибо." (Thank you)
I turned to Loki, having no idea what he had said.
"He said "Thank you." He translated, earning a shocked look from me.
"You speak Russian?"
"I speak Allspeak. I can understand most of the languages in the nine realms."
"What languages can't you speak?" I asked, fascinated at the new information.
"Flora and Fauna. That was more Thor's area."
"Flora and Fauna? Like plants?"
"There are sentinent species which are able to communicate. For example, the Flora Colossi. They look like the Ents in Lord of the Rings. They are only able to speak three words; 'I', 'Am', 'Groot'. But the intonation means different words, or so I'm reliably informed by my brother."
I was intrigued and opened my mouth to open another question when the door opened suddenly, three guards marching in. One of them walked over to Loki and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him out of my grasp before pulling him out of the room. I made to follow them, but was stopped by a gentle hold on my arm. I looked over to see it was the Winter Soldier, who shook his head slightly. With a slightly muffled voice, due to the mask that he wore across his mouth and nose, he spoke. "You'll only get punished." I sat down, my worry evident on my face. We sat in silence for a few moments before he cleared his throat. "I... could teach you some Russian, if you want?"
Eager for some sort of distraction, and the opportunity to learn something new, I nodded. It was difficult to concentrate at times, especially when I could hear Loki whimpering in pain at times before a particularly long interval of quiet, which did nothing to sooth my worry. By the time Loki had returned, I was able to say the alphabet, some basic phrases and was attempting to talk in a conversation with the Soldier.
The door opened, and Loki was shoved through the threshold before it shut again. I ran to his side and, with the Soldier's help, I managed to set him onto the cot, where he moaned weakly before falling asleep. I tried my best to treat the cut on his head, which was bleeding rather heavily, but without proper bandages or antiseptic, I could only rip a piece of fabric from the hem of my shirt and dab away the blue liquid. (Loki, to my recent discovery, bled blue instead of red due to his Jotun heritage). I looked over at the Soldier, who stood nearby, a rare expression of sympathy in his eyes.
"Спасибо, Зима." (Thank you, Winter.) I said quietly, testing out the nickname. I couldn't keep calling him the Soldier, after all.
He nodded, raising a eyebrow at the nickname but showed no sign of protest. "Добро пожаловать, малыш." (You're welcome, little one.)
We sat in silence, the only noise in the room being our collective breathing. With nothing else to do, I closed my weary eyes, hoping for some relief. I managed to fall asleep for maybe an hour or two, (though it felt like mere minutes) before they burst into the room. Winter had watched with sad eyes as I was dragged out of the room.
They sat me in the chair once more, and tried to scramble my brain, not for the first time that day. Unfortunately for them, I had been practising Occlumency in my efforts to help Harry with his prophetic dreams, and so far, they hadn't been able to break the barriers. But I was weakened from the continual efforts, and didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to keep this up.
There was something different about this time though.
Maybe it was the unsettling feeling in my stomach, or the fact that the scientists seemed to be grinning a lot more wider than last time. The final clue presented itself when they reached to turn the machine on. I noticed that the intensity had been ramped up, almost triple the amount I had been hit with before. Over and over, they sent the currents through, the sheer amount of volts at such an intensity making me scream in pain. My lip was bleeding from how hard I had bitten it to muffle my cries of pain before it became too much for me to handle. Through the tears in my eyes, I saw men in lab coats, and him, watching in malicious satisfaction and morbid fascination.
Then I heard it.
For a moment, I thought it was the sheer stress on my brain that I had endured which was creating an illusion, a hallucination.
I could have sworn I heard the crack of thunder.
It seemed that I wasn't imagining it, as the noise got louder. They turned off the machine, allowing me to catch my breath as they looked around. I looked up to the small skylight in the roof and weakly smiled. I could see lightning, and heard thunder booming across the sky.
The Avengers were coming.
There was a streak of lightning, which struck the glass and caused it to crack into pieces. From the roof came Thor, Vision and Tony; from the sides, Spiderman, Wanda, and Clint. And leading the charge from the front, Steve and Nat, whose stoic demeanour only slipped for a moment as they spotted me, their faces showing the smallest expression of relief before hiding their feelings behind a mask of professional determination.
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THIRD PERSON POV - An hour earlier, at the Avengers Tower...
After Tony had ended the call with Peter, he sent the emergency alert.
~ AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! ~
In record time, the team had run into the meeting room, where Tony, Thor, and Clint were waiting. "What's up?" Steve asked, slightly panting. He had sprinted back with Nat after recieving the alert, which was no mean feat considering the theatre was a good 3 blocks away.
"We found Hermione." Clint breathed, relief in his face.
"And Loki?" Thor asked.
"Possibly with her."
"Two minutes. Suit up." Cap announced. "Bruce, make sure the Med Bay is in standby, we don't know what state they're in, and they may require medical attention."
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As the others split up, covering every inch of the warehouse, Tony approached me, after knocking out the two unfortunte (and quite frankly, stupid), guards who had stuck around. "Hey kid. What's crackalacking?" He greeted, activating sentry mode on the suit before leaving the suit and starting to free me from the chair.
"My bones, Tony. I haven't stretched in ages and I think my right leg's gone numb." I whined, appreciating the light mood. Tony got a body scan from JARVIS, reassuring him that I didn't have any life-threatening injuries. But apparently, judging by his expression, I looked as bad as I felt; terrible.
"What did they do to you?" He asked, before remarking, "You look like me after going on a week-long sleep strike. But worse."
Knowing exactly what Tony looked like after refusing to sleep, needless to say I was less than flattered. "Gee, you really know how to charm a girl. I'm fine, it was just a small case of electrocution." I said, but after his raised eyebrow when I tried (and miserably failed) to stand up without support, I sighed. "Alright, more like a moderate case. It's fine though, you guys are here now."
He picked me up in his arms, careful not to move me too roughly as we moved towards the exit.
"Is Loki with you? Thor's been pacing like a worried mother hen and I don't think I can watch as he fluffs the couch pillows for the seventh time."
Despite how weak I felt, the aching in my bones, I chuckled at the mental image. "He's in our cell. Through that door and 4th door to the left. They weren't kind to him, but they seemed to be more focused on me."
"Why?"
"He called me 'Stark's niece'. He talked about order and how they were the only ones to restore that, if people would only comply with their demands."
"Wow... sounds like a corny supervillain."
"Yeah, he did a whole speech and everything."
Tony chuckled, before sobering into a serious expression; one that wasn't often seen on him. "All jokes aside, I'm sorry you had to go through this. You shouldn't have had to deal with all this in your holidays."
I shrugged. I was best friends with one of the most famous and danger-attracting 15-year-old wizards in magical history. On top of that, I lived with the most famous superhero groups in recent history. I would have been more surprised if this holiday had gone smoothly. "Well, no-one can claim that I have a boring life."
It took a painstaking amount of time to reach the middle of the room, when I suddenly remembered someone. It had only taken me that long due to the lovely treatment I had endured. Not enough to completely melt my brain, but enough that a few things were a little fuzzy. "Wait, Tony, we need to get Winter."
"Winter?"
"He's the metal-armed soldier. He's as much a prisoner as we are. They tried to do to me what they did to him, only it didn't work as well because of my mental barriers."
"Does anyone see a metal-armed man?" Tony asked over the comms, waiting for a response from the team. There was a few seconds before Steve grunted.
"Yeah... I think I found him."
"Don't hurt him! He wants out of this place just as much as I do!" I called.
"If you could convey to him that we are in the process of trying to rescue him, that would be great." Tony spoke.
"Trying." Steve let out a grunt of pain, which was presumably the result of him getting hit. "And failing. Is there something that could prove we're here to help?"
I thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Are you able to give him a comm? Or put my voice on speaker?" There was a few moments of silence, as Steve presumably explained to Winter my idea, before a bit of movement was heard in the comms.
"маленький? (little one)" The familiar voice called.
"Winter! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, маленький (little one), it's you I should be worried about. They weren't kind today."
"They definitely have anger issues. Listen, as I'm sure you've noticed, there are new people who have stormed the building. They're my family and they've come to rescue Loki and I, but I want you to come as well. They're good people."
"No, маленький," He said, slipping into Russian. "I'm past saving. And I don't deserve to be. I'll make sure you and Odinson get out. I'll cover for you, make sure they don't try to follow."
"Winter, please. Let us help you."
"No-one can help me. Nor should they. I've done so much... I've killed so many."
"Did you want to? Did you want to kill them? Or did they make you?"
After a pause, his voice answered hesistantly. "They did."
"So the blame rests with them. You couldn't fight back or risk getting punished. It wasn't your fault."
"But I still did it. I still killed them."
"I hate to interrupt this little therapy session, but we might want to skedaddle before these guys come around. Something tells me they're grumpy when they wake up." Tony's voice broke into the conversation.
"Fine. Winter, at least come with us long enough to check you're alright. They tortured you too."
Something in my voice must have made him cave, or maybe he was concious of the limited time we had before someone stirred. Whatever it was made him sigh deeply."Very well, маленький. I will follow your companions." He said, before handing the earpiece back to Steve who gave a few orders to his teammates before turning to leave.
But Winter had other ideas.
"Wait."
Steve turned around and looked at the assassin with a raised eyebrow. Winter grabbed the button that controlled the mask from the limp hand of one of his handlers and pressed it, breathing heavily as his lungs fought to get the required air. He gulped the fresh air like it was ambrosia from the gods.
There was a click as the mask detached and then fell off his face.
Steve froze in his place, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock. Time seemed to halt in its place as Stev stared at the face of his best friend; one he had not seen for seventy years. "Bucky?" He muttered, his voice cracking slightly. His heart dropped and clenched tightly in pain as Winter's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Who the hell is Bucky?"
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A/n:
So this chapter ended in a direction I hadn't planned, but you know what, we're just going to go with it! Just to explain, while the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier did happen, Rumlow will take the place of Bucky in the combat scenes. I hope you're enjoying the story!
Sorry for the delay, I had a few ideas for some other books in the works and i've been planning this one like mad! (Currently I'm over 2000 words alone on just the plan XD)
Feel free to drop ideas, things or lines you want to see, and make sure to comment :D
Stay tuned!
-18idupee