Spell Destruction

Zaria fidgeted in her seat as she waited for Doctor Strange to return. He had summoned her out of training and told her to wait here, in this office like place. It had a bunch of books that clearly he studied from and continued to do so. Spells on dimension bending, spiritual awareness, and others that she wasn't able to read.

She wondered what sort of private lesson he was going to have her do. Everyone got one from him, something that helped improve them during training and made them think when they studied. She couldn't think of any other reason, unless she screwed up badly on the assessment.

Oh no, if she screwed up badly, would he ask her to leave? She's been here for five years since he became the Sorcerer Supreme. He didn't take many students unless he thought that they were worth his time, which was why there were only twelve in his class currently.

The door swung open and she jumped, turning around to see him stride into the office. The red Cloak of Levitation was wrapped around his shoulders firmly and he pulled his seat back with a wave of his hand, and sat down.

"Zaria. I've been watching your progress throughout your time here. You came to me timid and afraid of your powers, since you were born a Sorcerer and not taught and made. Now that you learned, I see that you're still wavering a little in self-confidence."

This was it. This was it.

"You're panicking. Calm down, I'm not kicking you out. I'm just reviewing what I know." Doctor Strange said calmly. "Even though your self-confidence is shot, I think this is a perfect time to test and see if you really could become a Master."

Zaria's eyes widened. There hadn't been a master of the New York sanctum since he took it over. He was very cautious in who he let train, and he was hard on who was going to become a Master. "What kind of test?"

"Hong Kong lost a relic." Doctor Strange sighed. "Normally, we exchange the relics and make sure our enemies don't know who has what. We try to enchant them as well, make it a little more confusing. But someone stole a very dangerous book for summoning."

Spell books were dangerous no matter which why someone cut the cake. Zaria knew that the book of summoning wasn't going to be anything but trouble. "..."

"Luckily for us, it should be easy to capture. If the relic chooses the master, it'll be read easily. If not, it should be past down to pawn shops and other minor stores. I hate to ask you of this, but will you search the New York area or even the U.S states and see if you can find this book?"

"I'll do it!" Zaria jumped out of her seat excitedly. She froze and slowly sat herself down. "Sorry Doctor Strange."

"I wasn't expecting that high of enthusiasm, but..." Doctor Strange shrugged. "If you can leave now, the better."

She had walked out of his office, throwing on her hood and went down the hallway just a bit. The wooden floors creaked underneath her boots and the only window there was needed to be dusted again. She stopped only for a moment to open a portal and walked through, closing it behind her instantly. She heard a strange wizzing sound and ducked on instinct to see a shield embed itself in the wall just next to her. It jiggled and unhinged itself, being summoned back.

She could see the Avengers fight against these alien like creatures. They looked very closely related to the Aliens on Aliens and Predators, but less creepily shaped and more human based. As well as they were more green than black and ugly.

She really should've kept her thoughts to herself. It was just her luck (and probably her talent) that got her here in the first place. All she could hope for was that she wasn't seen as an enemy. She was dressed in her dark blue uniform, with a hood that covered most of her face. Anyone who saw her, or even thought about it, could easily assume the worst about her.

Everyone surrounding her was too caught up fighting to ask who she was or where she came from. If she didn't attack them then she wasn't an enemy, as far as they were concerned. A woman with raven black hair and flames around her hands worked with a brunette that had red swirls of magic at her fingertips. Wanda's magic was lifting away rubble from a collapsed building, freeing civilians, while Calla watched her back, burning aliens as they rushed at them, aiming to kill using strange weapons.

In another area, a red and gold suit, Tony, was firing at a different flock of aliens as they tried attacking the get away vans they were filing with civilians who got out. With him as another flying red man with a yellow cape, otherwise known as Vision. A third man, Sam, appeared to have bullet proof wings as they protected a woman with purple hair whom people knew as River. They were both tending to a few wounded, stemming the flow of a couple injuries before the van drove off and they were forced to move to another vehicle.

The shield that had flew by her bounced back into the hands of a man wearing a dark blue suit with a silver star on the chest, red and white stripes going down across his stomach. Steve was defending another man in all black with a silver arm, as he physically tore through the rubble of another destroyed area. "I got ya, ma'am, I'm right here!" Bucky called, "Almost, just gotta get this boulder..." the gears and plates in his arm shifted and whirred as he pulled on the huge piece of wall, gritting his teeth and yelling. He huffed as it finally rolled away and he got back onto his knees, reaching out into the hole, "C'mon, ma'am, grab my hand!" he coaxed.

"M-My baby! Just...just take my baby!" the woman sobbed, "My leg is still pinned. I'm sorry!" she pushed a thick bundle of purple blankets that was squirming towards him instead.

"No, no, that's okay, I can get your leg free, too!" Buck tried, but his flesh arm encircled the bundle and he cradled the precious little thing close to his chest, "I can do this, just hang on," he pleaded, hopping onto the rubble to the side and tried to reach for the pieces, seeing the piece of bar that no doubt was the culprit.

"BUCKY, OUT OF THE WAY!"

The shout made him look up in time to see a silver blur barrel into him and knock him off of his rubble hill as an explosion only caused by a grenade blew everything apart. The two men rolling together, both trying not to squish and at the same time protect the baby whom had miraculously not started to cry just yet.

Bucky pushed himself off Pietro who had saved his life, "NO!" he screamed, stomach dropping and he wanted to be sick as he saw the dust and pieces of wall and rock fly back down from the air, and he tightened his grip on the baby by a fraction.

The red magic user and the flame wielder were done saving people on their end, and they quickly ran over while the man in red white and blue rushed to Bucky's side, grabbing him by the arms while Calla tried to shush him and take the baby. There was an enemy that only Wanda spotted, however, and she shouted at a girl with white hair and freckles that had appeared from the other side of the field, "ANGEL! Mind-break him like we taught you!"

Zaria watched as Angelina locked eyes on the monster who was careless enough to look at her. A few devastating seconds and the alien /shrieked/ with screams. It clawed at it's eyes, sticking it's fingers into the sockets. Whatever it saw, it wanted never to see again. Zaria stepped back when one of the aliens decided that she must be apart of the Avengers and came up to her.

Quickly she summoned and orange whip and wrapped it around the aliens' neck. Using it's balance against her own, she pulled him right into a light post that was behind her, knocking him out. The magic disappeared and she bowed her head. "Sorry." She murmured.

However she could hear a sudden round of gun fire and she turned back towards the fight. The man in black with the silver arm was carrying a sniper rifle and heading into the crowd, his eyes wild like a beast. The woman with purple hair was trying to edge her way in, but the man with the wings didn't dare. The magic user with the red hexing was watching in muted horror as well, running over towards Angelina and pulling her away, in case Bucky accidentally ricochet a shot.

There was no using the sniper rifle as it was intended this close-range. Instead he fired from the hip and put the huge rounds through two alien torsos at once. He even pulled out a pistol from it's holster. Instead of reloading it as soon as nine rounds went into nine heads or chests, he dropped it and started whipping out knives. It was a blood bath and Buck was screaming his lungs out the whole time. At one point, he lost all of his weapons and knocked heads with one monster, relieving it of it's gun and did a sweeping motion back and forth.

Calla cradled the baby's head as she moved towards the vans. Everyone had their own way of protecting against any stray blasts. Steve used his shield to cloak himself and her, Sam covered River and Angelina. Wanda had her magic to protect Pietro as well, while Tony and Vision just had the height advantage. There would be a blast or two from either of them when some idiot tried to attack Bucky from behind, but aside from that...they just...let him have it all.

When the last alien fell, and Buck let the weapon clatter to his feet, he felt his legs wobble. He didn't join the monsters on the ground, refused, so he forced his body into auto-pilot and turned back towards the vans. His immediate stop was Calla and the baby, "Alright?" was the one word he grunted.

The raven haired woman nodded, swallowing thickly. "Want to hold them?" she offered, and watched Buck war with himself before agreeing with a mute nod and she handed him the little one. Purple blankets weren't purple anymore as he handled them, but Buck moved to the last civilian van, kissing the forehead of the baby and whispering words they couldn't hear. One person was brave enough to near the Winter Soldier and take his precious cargo, promising to take good care of them. Doors shut in Bucky's face and the van drove off.

Everyone looked battle weary and tired. Zaria imagined that this was just the last of the wave, and that it was over for now. The man with the blue suit walked over towards Bucky and rested a hand on his shoulder. They exchanged a look that only they could decipher. Angelina walked over too, she was bloodied, bruised, but she was doing her best to smile. The purpled hair girl immediately went over to Bucky's side and hugged him, and he hugged her back.

Zaria stepped over the fallen alien and started walking away. Her foot caught on a piece of rubble and she tripped. She let out a loud groan of pain and she got back up. From the corner of her eyes, she could see them tense.

Battle-weary always meant on the alert and she didn't help any. They didn't know who she was, why she was here, or anything. She was thankful her hood stayed on her head. She can just keep walking, and maybe get to a spot where she could try to create a portal and get to another spot, and search that way.

But she was stopped, with a sudden arrow that was shot through the air and past her head. She froze in her spot and looked over to see that there was an archer who was standing on the building. She nodded her head at him, but stayed in her spot.

"You know I gotta say I love the cosplay, it's stylish." A man wearing nothing but a suit of armor landed before her in red and gold glory. "It also gives off this vibe that you may be a good guy or you may be a bad guy. Considering you managed to hit the aliens, I'm going to assume that you're a good guy."

Within two seconds, Pietro had flitted his way beside Tony and he eyeballed Zaria with curiosity in silver-blue eyes, "How 'bout introduction first, Mr. Stark?" he poked red metal and then beamed at the woman. She was dressed weird, sure, but he nodded his head respectfully, "I am Pietro Maximoff. Who are yu?"

"I'm Zaria." She pulled her hood down and smiled at them. Her hair was a short auburn color that barely touched her shoulders and her eyes were a warm coffee color. "I'm sorry for all the cloak and dagger. I didn't mean to walk into a middle of the fight." She looked behind her where her portal had closed behind her. "I'm a friend. Of sorts. Maybe ally is a better word...." she frowned looking away for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Comrade! That's the word!"

"What exactly makes yu a comrade, if yu really are one?" Wanda joined her brother's side, watching Zaria carefully, her brows furrowed. She wasn't entirely sure what she was seeing in Zaria's mind. A bearded man named Dr. Strange which made /no/ sense at all, Hong Kong a relic along with portals and her mentor telling her she had to bring the relic back. None of it really told her anything useful as to how she was trustworthy.

"I don't think standing and talking would be a good idea." Zaira turned away and got into a position. She kept one hand close to her face, while her other hand carefully made an orange circle that lead outside of the Avengers tower. "It beats driving sometimes." She said with a wink as she stepped through and waited for them on the other side.

Steve had seen a lot of weird things in his life. Dead coming back to life, aliens in all their glory, why was this any different. He looked at Bucky and the girls, who were watching her wearily. "Let's look at this way, if she was going to kill us, she would've done it by now."

"Vince would call you an optimist." River teased weakly.

"He'd be all over this mage like a he found a hot new book." Steve replied. "And it's a fast way home."

Pietro had already beaten them of course, joining Zaria on the other side and Calla watched him look around. Buck and River were behind them, and she looked at the others, "I think I speak for everybody when I say that the faster we get home the faster we can all have a glass of booze and some food. I'm starving." Without further ado, Calla and Steve were the next ones through the portal.

"Pizza and beer, I'm down," Clint replied now he had gotten down from the rooftop. "Riv? Buck? C'mon, lets get you home, too," he said gently and ushered them through next.

"Mr. Stark, I offer to stay long enough to make a full exam of the area and body count, alien and civilian, until the rest of the SHIELD agents and Mr. Fury arrive," Vision told Tony, his hand on Wanda's shoulder.

"I will stay with Vision, then," Wanda nodded, "If there are any issues concerning the truth of Zarina's words, her mind can be read, and you will have Angel to confirm."

"Alright. You two take care." Tony nodded, "And be safe." He flew through the portal and instead of following everyone up the elevator, he went up to the penthouse and dismantled his suit at the long balcony as he walked in. A few moments later, everyone came out of the elevator, and he was pouring shots for those who wanted them and bottle of beers were lined for those who preferred that. "I already ordered a bunch of pizzas. They should be here soon. Hey, Assassin Creed, I didn't know what you liked so I doubled the pepperoni."

"Oh. Thanks." Zaria blinked in surprise as she leaned down and took off her boots and set them aside. "You have a lovely Tower."

"Did they teach you this in school or something?" Tony asked looking at the shoes and then at Zaria for her manners.

"No those are my habits." Zaria's cheeks flamed. "Mom hated it when I tracked in mud so I was always taught to put my shoes by the door. I really am surprised at the tower. It's so huge."

"Better than your school?"

"Sadly you're out of Doctor Strange's league." Zaria beamed. "But nice try."

"Buck and River disappeared on his floor to be alone," Calla told Tony and she followed Zaria's example, "I'm gunna wash the grime from my hands and face at least before I touch anything," she said over her shoulder on her way to the bathroom on that floor.

"Good zing zere are two bathrooms," Pietro commented, zipping to the male's, spent approximately five to ten seconds inside, and then zoomed back out, even his hair a little damp from the water he'd splashed on himself and beaming, "Who is Dr. Strange?" he asked the newcomer.

Zaria wouldn't doubt that Steve was on his floor changing out of the uniform, and Angelina was waiting by the door for Calla to get out so she could go in, looking over at her with curiosity.

"He's the Sorcerer Supreme and a teacher. He doesn't like being called master or teacher and prefers Doctor since he used to be one. A neurologist. I was a student psychologist, so we both study the mind and that's all that we have in common. He's a brilliant man, a genius really. He managed to learn everything that he had learned within a year or maybe a few months. He stays in New York where he protects the Sanctum a long with other students who he took under his wing. There's few of us, since he doesn't have time to train, but understands the importance of having students too just in case he has to leave the Sanctum and we have be the ones to defend it." Zaria explained. Angelina slipped into the bathroom the moment that Calla came out.

"I'm a genius so we might have something in common." Tony grinned as he kicked back a drink.

"You're both egotistical. I think you'd get along just fine." Zaria agreed dryly.

Calla came up and grabbed her glass of brandy on the rocks, taking a long swig and hummed deeply as the warmth bloomed down her throat and in her stomach. She was going to get /so/ tipsy. You weren't supposed to drink on an empty stomach, but once she got at least once slice of pizza in her she would sober back up. "I love working for you, Tony. You have the best liquor," she praised just to stroke that very same ego and went to plop down in the couch after Tony topped her off.

Pietro contemplated the glass of vodka he saw, Clint swiping three beers and joining the raven haired woman. Angelina didn't really drink, didn't like how it made her feel, but Tony just finished placing a Strawberry Daiquiri on the counter, trying to be discrete about it but everyone knew he did care, "He is here in New York? Why have we not seen him?" he inquired Zaria next.

"You work with the physical threats. We work with the other realm." Zaria frowned. "To be honest, you weren't even supposed to meet me. I should've just kept on walking after I saw that you had everything under control, but I guess I was just too busy trying to make sure I didn't get myself killed and that no one else died."

"Could you have saved that woman?" Steve walked out of the elevator, looking exhausted as he walked over towards the couch where Calla was and sat down next to her.

"No. I don't have any abilities in time manipulation. It's one of the few relics that I know of that can affect the physical realm. We worry more of the mystic realm. Things that happen there, don't get affected too much by the physical. And visa versa." Zaria sighed.

Calla curled into Steve and gripped his arm, manhandling it in order to make him put it around her. Her own arm laid over it once she was satisfied with it's position at her waist and lacing her fingers into his. "Alternate dimensions, time warps and time paradoxes. Sounds like something right out of Star Trek. Yours is mystic? So something like what I can do and what Wanda can do is more commonplace?"

"Am I ze only one who introduced zemselves?" Pietro looked a little miffed, "None of yu have manners."

Calla would face-palm if both her hands weren't preoccupied, "Pietro is right. I'm so sorry. I'm Calla, Calla Thomas. Wanda is the woman with red magic and is Pietro's twin sister."

"I'm Steve Rogers, I'm sorry too." Steve blushed brightly, squeezing Calla's fingers with his hand and pulling her close to his side. "We're normally more courteous than this."

"Are we?" Natasha asked from her perch at the counter, on her third shot.

"Everyone besides Natasha." He used both Calla and his hand to point over at her.

"You're a horrible spy and a liar." Natasha rolled her eyes at Steve in good fun.

"I'm Angelina." Angel came from the bathroom, still dressed with blood and grime, but her face and hands looked cleaner. She smiled warmly. "I like your mind."

"A mind reader?" Zaira blinked in surprise. "I heard that there's people that could do that, I never met them...but..." She smiled warmly. "I'm glad that my mind's good. Now I know why Doctor Strange had us learn how to build mental blocks. Do you want me to put mine up? To relieve some mental chatter?"

"I'm okay. I'm used to everyone else's." Angelina shook her head from side to side as she walked over and sat down on Calla's side, throwing her legs across their laps. "My tată is Bucky and my mamă is River."

"You should know me but I like introducing myself. Even though it's redundant I'm-"

"Tony Stark." Zaira turned to look at Tony. "Billionaire, playboy, and narcissistic."

"With a good heart." Tony pointed at Zaira.

"Hummingbird, we should keep her." Angelina said looking at Pietro with a grin. "We can start our own Avengers group!"

"Hey! I created Neon Spark for you!" Tony shook his glass towards Angelina. "You're as ungrateful as your dad you know that?!"

Angelina cracked up and Zaria smiled warmly.

"Pizza has arrived on the first floor. Mrs. and Mr. Barnes have volunteered to bring it up to the common room." F.R.I.D.A.Y intoned. "Ms Wanda and Vision are approaching as well."

"They're not married yet, Tony." Steve groaned.

"It gives them ideas and used to the fact that they're going to get called that if they marry any time in their lives soon." Tony replied with a sniff. "I'm just speeding the process along a bit."

"You just want a big party." Natasha wasn't holding back. "And you just want them to give you the right to it."

"I'm gonna fight you on it Romanov!"

"You can sure as hell try." Natasha nodded after a moment. "But Bucky's going to pick me as wedding planner. I already have the flowers that River might like to see all set up when she's ready."

Steve just sighed as he leaned his head back, shaking it back and forth at his friend's antics.

"In any case, I hope they had a nice quicky so Buck feels better after what happened, if only temporary," Calla hummed taking another sip, smirking secretly as a couple people in the room sputtered and screamed 'please no not the imagery'.

Pietro flitted to the counter and gave Angel her non-alcoholic drink, "Tony made zis for yu, yu didn't see it," he smiled at her, then looked at Zaria, "Zere are plenty of seats. Why don't yu take one?"

"Sure..." Zaria felt a little intimidated all of the sudden as she sat down.

"Catch." Tony shouted and tossed a bottle of water over towards her. Zaria looked over and with a flourish of her hand slowed the water bottle's speed and coaxed it over to her without having it drop far away from her on the floor or on her head. "Damn."

Zaria smiled as she cracked it open. "Thanks."
~+~
The pizza party was less of a party and more of who could consume the most calories. Everyone spoke, talked softly, but most of them were just so tired from the battle that they deemed that any important information could wait. A debriefing already happened, everyone was dressed down, it was just the bare bones of exhaustion now.

Besides one.

Bucky was outside away from the noise. No one went over to bother him, but Steve would give the balcony door looks. Calla was firm on keeping him by her side, and River was worrying over Angelina.

Zaira knew that she probably didn't have a place. Too new and dangerous, but she went out side and stood on the balcony.

It was so gorgeous. The neon of the lights sparkled like different colored stars. The sounds of traffic could easily be the ocean and when she looked down, she could've sworn that she was on top of the world. She could see why people who loved heights, would try to climb higher and higher, trying to catch a glimpse of that paradise.

The mansion wasn't as tall as the tower, she couldn't get to the same heights. But this was enough for her. This small moment. She looked up at the sky and felt an immediate wave of vertigo. She suddenly grabbed the railing, fearing that she was going to topple over and looked down. She could feel Bucky shift, probably wondering what the fuck was wrong with her.

She really hoped that she didn't disturb him too badly with her childish experimentation.

He eyed her carefully, his eyes dark and calculating, "Are you alright?" he asked slowly, "The railing is high enough I don't have to worry about you falling over, but it would be a good idea for you to step back if you are going to wobble around. You didn't drink anything, so do you have a problem with heights?"

"I think it has something to do with my inner balance." Zaira admitted as she backed away from the railing so that Bucky wouldn't get a complex. "I can look down and when I look back, I'll feel off kilter. I do the same looking up. When I'm walking, it's never in a straight line, I weave. I run into things because the distance is misjudged. I don't know if it's my hearing or my brain since my eyesight is decent enough." She bit the corner of her lip and shifted from side to side. Should she bring it up? She was crossing dangerous territory and he didn't know her. Anything she said was under scrutiny, she knew that. Still, it felt worse not to say anything at all. "I know we just met...but I know that talking to strangers is more helpful than talking to friends. I watched the fight...a small bit of it. I'm sorry that you couldn't save the woman."

Bucky's jaw ticked as he clenched this teeth, but he took a long breath through his nose and out slowly from his mouth. It took a moment for him to unstick his throat, and he looked out at the skyline as well, "I was able to follow her last wish, at least, and saved her child. I would...like to hope she died happy knowing her baby was alright. I would be, and so would River. When you have a little one to care for, that's all that matters. Your life is forfeit and I know that. Still...the rage and tearing failure are still there. I am debating on asking Steve to be my consolation tonight instead of my fiance. She did her part, and I know she has bruises from it. I shouldn't have put her through that..."

"I don't know much about the relationship," Zaira looked back at the skyline. "But in my eyes your fiance probably didn't mind it." She paused in her words and she looked back over at Bucky. "I'm certain that she's happy that her child is safe. That her child is alive and breathing because you listened to her wish." She turned her attention back to the skyline. "Was she your first civilian that you lost?"

"Yeah..." his breath hitched just a bit, "I joined back around the first of the year, so...six months since I've been a part of the Avengers? It's been a lot of ups and downs, but I've managed. I've...always tried so hard. Two years ago I really fucked some shit up and ruined a bunch of people's lives. My Reputation as the Winter Soldier wasn't a good one, and while I've thrived and taken so many steps forward, today I felt like I took many steps backwards. I don't know. We'll see what tomorrow's news stories say. Such a dark past can't easily be wiped away. The blood will forever be on my hands, but whether I see it in my nightmares is another story."

Zaira stepped close and went towards the railing. Instead of looking down or up, she kept her gaze neutral this time. She gripped the railing tightly, just in case. She remembered hearing cases of the Winter Solider. She remembered hearing about the attacks in Sovokia, and how a male who was supposed to be dead miraculously survived. "I wouldn't worry about the news really." She told him gently. "As for your past, you do take the cake in psychological and neural trauma. I'm thanking god right now that my mentor isn't here, he'd be all over you." She paused. "It's okay to mourn that you couldn't save her. It's alright, to be sad that you left a child motherless that is /fine/." She assured him gently. "But don't let it make you think that it defines you as a person. You didn't take steps back. I know it feels like it...but you took...a thousand steps forward. You took those steps, when you listened to a mother's wish. It means little to nothing, but I don't think the Hydra's Solider would save a baby. Do you?"