The Valiant (The Seventh Avenger)

Chapter 62

'Why the hell did you do that?' Echoes into both of our minds, rage fills me from what he decided to do. That wasn't his call, we should have fought him. We should have killed him, he wanted us for a reason and we need to stop him before he becomes too powerful and returns.

'We needed to get out of there,' he echoes back. I slowed down our bodies' time so we can maintain enough oxygen that may last us a few more days, possibly even a week.

'So you decided to run? No, that's not how it works,' my mind snaps back, I can't believe we are running from him. We drift away from the ship were we just on; a larger one, at least ten times the size, sits attached to it but doesn't come after us. I keep my eyes on it until it is just a speck. Even after I still watch in that direction.

'We needed to get out of there, there were no other options.' I try to take a deep breath, but then realize that my body is in hibernation of time. I focused the energy only to our lungs and heart, making sure that they are slow enough for us to still function.  I retract myself from my brother's brain and begin to think. 

We would not be in the situation we are in if it weren't for the lack of communication between Steve and Tony. If Steve had only explained this whole situation to him, then we would all still remain a team. We would still be the Avengers. I could have remained neutral and done the communicating myself, I could have done something instead of being blinded by the idea of me being finally in control of my life. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but now that I'm realizing how stupid I was, it comes to me that there were better alternatives. 

I should have told them about my visions, I should have told them sooner about the feeling I have that something bad is coming, I should have done a lot of things. But now is not the time to think about that, now is the time to figure out how we are going to survive this situation. 

'Hold your breath,' I say into his mind. I move my limbs and allow the flames to retract from our body, my eyes open as they then form an orb around us. I guide the flames to take my brother and myself into the sides of the orb, gently wrapping themselves to give us support. My heart pounds against my chest and I release flames out into space. 

My body lurches back against the flames and my skin tightens around my face as we blast through space. Stars fly past us soon turning into blurs. The energy coursing through my veins and getting weaker and weaker, my head spins and the world turns all around. Or space is what I should say. My brother's body jolts against the flames and I force more to go towards him to hold on longer. 

A planet comes flying towards us and I focus the flames towards my brother, making sure that they all wrap themselves around him. My body courses its way through space towards the planet, my lungs scream for oxygen that I can't provide. I force the flaming ball to follow me down into the atmosphere of the planet and feel my lungs relax from the oxygen racing throughout my body. 

My eyes droop and my body lurches itself back awake. I'm not sure of how much longer I can hold this. Wind whips past my ear, flowing my hair all around me. I lose hold of my flames and my heart lurches but I can't wake up. Cheers fill my ears and I can tell we are getting close to the ground, heat warms my skin instead of the coldness of space. But everything was gone within a second. 

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 The feeling of my head pounding wakes me up. My gaze travels throughout the dark room, seeing nothing but specks of light in the distance. I rest in a chair with cuffs around my wrists and ankles, I jolt around but they won't budge and my abilities won't work either. They must have given me something to relax them. The chair starts forward, moving slowly through space. 

"Fear not for you are found," A womanized computer voice says around me. Planets appear in front of me and I push back in my seat from it coming so close, but I just float through it. "You are home and there is no going back. No one leaves this place, but what is this place?" 

The room goes black and the voice echoes throughout this space. 

"The answer is Sakaar," the chair rejolts forward and space returns, more planets surround me and galaxies sparkle in the distance. "Surrounded by cosmic gateways, Sakaar lives on the edge of known and unknown. It is the collection point for all unloved and lost things, like you." 

Laughs escape my lips before turning into coughing fits, my throat becomes dry and I realize my hair is long? My fingers flow through the black hair that fades into brown when it goes up to my scalp. A silhouette of a man appears on my right, "And no one loves you more than the Grandmaster. He is the original, the first lost and the first found. The creator of Sakaar and the contest of champions." Large beastly creatures fighting in a stadium replace the man. "Now you are something, you are the property of the Grandmaster." I scoff, like hell I am going to be someone's toy. "Prepare yourself." Flashes erupt in my vision as those words echo throughout the room. 

The scene changes to a large room filled with exquisite colors and aliens I have never seen before, surround me on both sides. Strange weapons held in their arms as they face forward, my head follows their gaze and find a strange man with shiny robes and makeup marking up his face. He looks the most human beside the woman standing next to him. 

A smile forms on his lips along with hers, the blue strip of makeup moving up with it. I swear I've seen that somewhere. I try the restraints again but they don't budge, my arms summon the energy but it's gone as well. I take a deep breath and stare him right in the eyes. 

"Welcome to Sakaar, Agerathea Almoradea."