Attraction ~ a STONY Story ~

Chapter 17

Blood ran down his numb cheeks and splattered on the cold concrete. Squinting his eyes, he tried to see something. The memories were blurry. How did he get here? Where exactly is he?

But all of a sudden, his whole body twitched. A once-familiar voice pressed resolutely into his ringing ears. A voice that came so heartless and cool from the lips of the man who once professed to be the hero of the nation. A once warm, genuine hero of humanity.

How ironic.

Stephen wanted to push off, wanted to reach for something, wanted to make this man disappear. But he couldn't. His hands numb, his sling ring removed.

He could just see something. He could hear something. But it wasn't enough. He couldn't move.

There was another person in the room. Someone with a harder and deeper voice than the Captain of Bloodshed. Someone more dangerous than this blond man with freezing blue eyes that shimmered red in the fires of war.

He tried to hear them, to understand what they were planning. But the beeping and pounding in his ears was louder.

How could it get so far. Now the Kamar-Taj was lost too. Erased. Lifeless.

Nothing made any sense anymore. None of this made any sense anymore. What's the point of fighting anymore.

Strange didn't have the strength. He didn't know how.

It wasn't just the lone wolf, the captain's weapon, that ambushed them with an army. There was something far more gruesome. A figure he couldn't make out. A figure with a deep, cold and iron laugh. A laugh that gripped him as Strange attempted to use his sling ring. Something was pulling it from his bony fingers. His shields shattered as darkness fell upon him.

He didn't know exactly what he saw. But it seemed hopeless.

Breathing heavily, he felt the cold air slide down his drying throat. The open wounds and scratching in his throat tugged at him. Salty water pooled bitterly in his eyes.

With his last remaining time, he vowed to block Hydra's path by any means necessary. No matter what form. He wouldn't spill anything, say anything, reveal anything.

His will would be unbroken even if his life seemed forfeited.

With another clear of his throat, his body sagged again and Strange tried to leave the here and now. No further answers for the captain. With no hope for the remaining humanity.

The stranger's heavy footsteps echoed softly and the stomping of the Hydra Captain's black boots slowly advanced towards the mage.

"It could be so easy." The captain murmured in a soft, almost nostalgic voice. "You could hand me the time stone. Or this Doom could share his knowledge with us." The captain clicked his tongue angrily. "But I'm probably blocked from both.

Strange was painfully snapped out of his trance. Something grabbed him. Pulled his hair. Oriented his body up, close to his captor. Only a breath separated the murderous leader's face from that of the mage. Rogers gritted his teeth in contempt. Strange laughed inside.

No one could break his amulet's spell. Nobody but him. Even if his life was over. As long as Strange didn't loosen it, the stone would be safe. Blocked. Sealed with a powerful spell.

The captain could see the disgrace in Strange's bloody grin and slapped him hard in the face again.

Strange felt the sudden impact like a bolt of lightning. A burn and then nothing. A numbness.

It was like he was in limbo. Separate from his body. He thought his spirit would dissipate. He saw images of his past that flashed before his eyes. Pictures of his friends, pictures of his work, pictures of his loved ones and closest friends. And pictures from the last fight in Kama-Taj.