Illusions (The Avengers)

24. Lost Child

Am I dead?

This was the first question Ivy asked herself when she found that she could think again. Was she dead? She figured heaven would be less darkness, but then again, heaven wasn't supposed to be dark.

If ever a Nature Queen fell in battle or died in some other devastating way, they were promised an eternal life in Aslan's kingdom.

This wasn't heaven. She wasn't dead. But she could feel that if something didn't happen, she soon would be.

****

Christine Strange angrily flipped off the flatscreen in the kitchen, sick of watching a glass skyscraper fall repeatedly. It hadn't even happened an hour ago and already it was all the media wanted to talk about. That and the fact that the a young Avenger was responsible for knocking the building over. The poor girl was sixteen, how did they think she felt right now?

Shaking her head, she made her way out of the kitchen, over to the large, paneled glass that overlooked the city. Tonight was her one night off, and after a giant beam of light had struck the city, she nearly went to work anyway. The hospital was most-likely overrun with people, but they hadn't called her in, which made her even more nervous.

A glass of red wine calmed her nerves,  she sighed after taking another sip. New York was always quite exiting, but the dangers... though what could she say? She'd married a man whose job was keeping that danger at bay.

The smoke that came from far off was beginning to fade in the rain; the night was eerie.

Her phone began to buzz behind her on the kitchen counter. Finally. She hated waiting.

She walked quickly back into the kitchen, but as she put the phone to her ear, a loud crack suddenly echoed around the room. She jumped, nearly dropping the phone. That had been weird. Frowning, she held the phone to her ear again, but then her eyes moved to the wooden floors outside the kitchen, finding someone laying on the ground.

She gasped, the phone slipping through her fingers as she sprinted to where the body lay. Their back was to her, she gently turned them over on their side, in case something was rupturing a lung. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized the face and memories of a little girl flashed before her eyes.

"Ivy?" Christine whispered, her dark eyes widening at the sight.

She wasn't conscious, and blood streamed down her face, originating from the eyes and nose, most likely. She lifted a shaking finger to check her pulse; there was none.

"No." she scrambled to where her phone lay on the ground, now cracked. She was a surgeon, but this precious girl was a Nature Queen. She wouldn't even know where to begin to start operating, but she knew that she couldn't let her die. She couldn't and she wouldn't. She made the call.

"Christine?"

"You have to come back now!"

****

Ambur fought the urge to scream and shout while throwing everything in sight, if she wasn't already in the process of calming herself down, that's exactly what she'd be doing.

She had never wanted this for Ivy and Jaelyne. They were growing up like she was, in a war zone. She'd wanted them to be strong, fearless, but to live their lives as children, then as young adults before devoting their lives to a cause that so many people feared. Now they were both missing; Jaelyne had been thrown into a building, and who knew if Ivy was even in one piece! They were both hurt and there was no way to find them.

"Tony?" Ambur approached him carefully, her voice gentle.

The look of defeat was displayed clearly on this face, mixed with worry and fear; an expression he rarely aloud anyone to witness.