Reign

Chapter 16: Escapee

It was quiet, save for the constant beeping noise. It was measured and it sounded every second or so. It was also dark- well, that was because she hadn't yet opened her eyes. But she didn't want to open her eyes. The last thing she could remember was hiding away in Central Park before being found by the Avengers, her friends- or what she once thought were her friends.

She attempted to pull her hands towards her but felt that her arms were strapped down. Her eyes flashed open and she was suddenly blinded by the brightness of the light above her. She tugged violently against the restraints, confused as to where she was. 

That was until she heard a voice from beside her. "Ash, calm down! You're safe!" It was Natasha. She was there to comfort her. As Natasha's hands rested on her bare arm she realized she wasn't wearing a shirt. The only thing covering the upper half of her body was here bra. Slightly lower on her stomach was some white medical bandages. Of course, they had taken her somewhere to merely help her.

Ash calmed herself as she leaned back against her pillow. She looked towards Natasha who was looking at her with worry. Ash closed her eyes and asked, "Where am I?"

Natasha shook her head. "Not now Ash... You've been out for three days. They didn't want you to freak out. Clint and I stayed here as your personal guards. Banner has been playing doctor and has been keeping an eye on your health. Thor is... most likely with Loki in his castle... They decided to let you naturally wake up today so you could be transported there in a civilized manner."

Ash let out an uneasy breath as she gave a single tug on the restraints. "Please... let me out."

The sound of the door opening interrupted them. "Hey, Natasha- Oh... Her Highness is awake. Your Highness, do you require food or liquid refreshment?"

Ash opened her eyes as she looked at the very Tony Stark wearing a fancy suit with an emerald green tie. "W- What are you doing..."

Steve suddenly came up behind him wearing a similar suit and the same color tie. He smacked Tony upside the head and muttered, "Cut that out." He entered the room and announced, "King Loki is awaiting your arrival."

Bruce suddenly walked in, brushing past them with a tablet in his hands. He was swiping the screen and typing things as he added, "She can leave immediately. I have everything checked out. She just needs food and a drink, and I don't mean alcohol." He looked carefully at Tony before continuing, "Water would be perfectly healthy for her. We also don't want to keep our King waiting." He gave a smile as he nodded to Natasha who left to get the helicopter ready for Ash's departure.

Ash sat there with the most confused look on her face. She simply sat there, almost not caring that she was only wearing a bra in front of these men. She also found that she was wearing some rather fitting black pants. They definitely came from Natasha.

Bruce suddenly walked up beside her as Steve left to get a tray of food and Tony walked in with a glass of water. Bruce first removed the restraints from her ankles as he moved to remove the restraints from her wrists. She looked at him as he did so and asked, "Bruce... what's going on here?"

He sighed as he paused with undoing the second one as though it was hard for him to talk. "Loki is our King now, Ash. Three days. That's all it took. The Tesseract is in his hands now, along with his little portal. He took that to his castle as well, though no one knows where he put it. Earth is infested with those Ice Giants. No one can do a damn thing. He nullified our powers. I can say goodbye to the Hulk. He's not coming out anytime soon. I'm reduced to being your personal doctor because he knows that I would do anything to make sure you're healthy. Clint and Natasha are your personal body guards. Tony and Steve were reduced to... your servants..."