𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 | 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒍

initium

"Aveline Ridley, please come to attention. You have 35 seconds until initiation."

"Aveline Ridley, please come to attention. You have 25 seconds until initiation."

I'm opening my eyes gingerly as the voice finishes alerting me of the time I have left until initiation, whatever that is. Once I fully open my eyes and look around outside the transparent cylinder I'm in, I take a breath in amazement at the sight in front of me. The landscape all around me is a vivid rainforest, the trees reaching as high as I can see and the sky a bright blue against the water behind me. I look down at my feet, the water stretching from me to about three hundred feet behind me, then lift my eyes to a large building that resembles a hut sitting about two hundred feet in front of me. Between me and the building there's a field of green grass, resembling a strictly kept meadow. I turn around me and look across the water stretching from me to about three hundred feet away. Beyond the water lies another huge, beautiful rainforest. In awe, I turn back, my eyes unable to take in the beauty I've been placed in front of.

After a moment, I begin to think of how I got here as my memories flood back. Each word of wisdom from Bradley echoes in my ears, and though I should be worried about what lies in front of me, I can't help but smile. The first step of the plan worked.

I go to look closer at the building but my eyesight gets distracted by a flash beside it: another cylinder. My heart stops as I lean forward to get a closer look. I can't tell who is in it, and as I flick my eyes to the right I see another cylinder. My eyes widen as I finally look to my right, finding more and more cylinders. As the cylinders get closer to me, I can pick out some teammates, the rest being a bit too far away for me to recognize them. My breathing quickens as I look all the way to my right and see Nat with a deadly look on her face, her hands tapping her sides. She looks bare without her weapons, and I can tell she's uncomfortable without the comfort of them. At the feel of my gaze she looks my way, and her face softens when she sees me. Her eyes scream with worry as she presses her hand onto her cylinder.

"Are you okay?" She mouths. The fingers she has pressed against the glass begin to tap once again, revealing an anxious tick I didn't realize Nat had.

"I'm okay," I mouth back. "What's going on?"

She simply shakes her head. "We were... compromised."

My spine shivers when she says this. The Avengers, the world's protectors, couldn't protect themselves. A strange feeling of guilt settles over me but I shake it off. It's not my fault we're here, but it could be my fault if we don't get out.

When I nod my head shakily, she gives me a concerned look. "We'll be okay. Don't worry," she mouths reassuringly, offering a small smile.

I smile back and nod again before averting my eyes from her gaze. I see her take her hand down from the cylinder and focus on the obstacle in front of us. I turn to my left side automatically, and I'm not sure who exactly I was looking for but it certainly wasn't who I found.

Pietro.

I stutter in a quick breath as I press myself up to the glass of my cylinder, wishing for him to turn to me. He's completely focused on the water below him, probably attempting to figure out how fast he needs to run to get across it. With no options left and little time, I resort to banging my fists on the glass. When I do, a shock runs through my hands and up my arms, making me step back. I scrunch my eyes in confusion as I hit the glass again, Pietro still not looking up. As I do I receive another shock, and I quickly realize that the glass must have a defense mechanism for if someone attempted to break out. But as a voice above me alerts me that there's only ten seconds until initiation, I forget my regard for safety and attack the cylinder.