Chapter Seventeen

Summary: Set after Avengers: Endgame.
Warning(s): Explicit. Disciplinary and erotic spanking; Heavy Domination/submission; sexual situations; dub/non-con (consent after the fact); violence and mentions of violence; AU

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The next morning, the teams who were going to the enemy base had eaten and then the portal had been opened at a safe distance away...to the clearing that they normally used.

Fury, accompanying the group, quickly headed over to the bodies to inspect them. "HYDRA," he confirmed. "Blood drained from some of them. It looks like this was the work of the vampire."

Coulson moved over to help Fury examine the bodies, looking for anything dangerous or useful that they could take. He held up the key, a slightly confused look on his face.

"It's a key to the base's back door." Spiders shifted, a bit uncomfortable with being outside and in a human body, but they'd figured he was one of the best to go out. After all, no one who had been at the base had seen him as a human. If there were any enemies hiding out who had survived, he'd be able to point them out to the others. "It's Kate's," he added. "She left it here...."

"So, the vampire is helping us... Kate...is helping us?" Frank asked quietly, quickly removing anything of use, before beginning to hide the bodies.

Spiders shrugged. "She's not evil...." He'd already said words to that effect.

Coulson handed the key to Steve. "We might as well make use of it."

Steve nodded, taking the key, and then nodded towards Spiders. "Lead the way...."

Frank had finished hiding the bodies and moved to follow everyone.

Despite having a key to the back door of the base, Steve remained on his guard. Spiders was leading, but Steve stayed close to him. Just in case there were any traps. And when they reached the base, Steve moved to use the key first. "Stay back until we can be certain it's safe," he said to Spiders.

Spiders just nodded, not arguing.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Frank asked quietly, on guard.

"We're looking for any potential intel, or traps that might have been set by Tony's counterpart or others." Steve looked towards Tony. "Where do you think the best place to start is?"

Spiders, having been informed it was safe, had immediately made his way towards the area where the slaughter had happened. He spent several moments looking at the bodies, taking in the scene, before speaking. "The sorcerer isn't here."

"I'll start with Tuesday. Get her on our side, if possible. That will give us a lot of information..." Tony said somberly, immediately looking for a terminal of some type.

Frank looked at Spiders. "Who is missing?"

"Mordo's counterpart," Spiders answered. "I suppose it's possible he was taken and killed elsewhere."

"Unlikely, given what Scott mentioned." Fury walked over to join Spiders. "The slaughter wasn't planned." He looked over at the bodies and then moved to begin shifting them.

Coulson headed over to help the other man.

"So... She literally just lost her shit when she realized they planned to kill Scott?" Frank blinked.

"She was protecting him," Spiders said.

Frank nodded. "She obviously formed a connection... an affection... for him. For you too, if her leaving you the key is an indication."

"She tried to do the right thing," Spiders said. "She should be found and brought to the base. And helped, if it is possible." He shrugged. "I don't know how to reverse vampirism, but if any dimension has a way...it's probably this one."

"I'm sure we'll do everything we can. We have to find her first, though..." Frank said quietly.

Spiders just nodded. He walked over to help Fury and Coulson with moving the bodies out of the base and checking for any potentially useful items.

"How are you doing, Tony?" Steve asked softly, worried that Ultimus might be sending more soldiers to their location...but unwilling to rush any of them. They needed as much information as they could get....

"Well... Seems my counterpart created Tuesday with just as much loyalty as he and evil Pepper had, which is to say none." Tony snorted. "She's given me all kinds of info. Of course, I'll need to verify it, but... It's a start."

Steve nodded. "Another difference between your counterpart and you," he said quietly. "Did you find anything about traps, or projects timed with the potential death of your counterpart?" Considering that Tony's counterpart had been clearly paranoid, Steve figured they couldn't rule anything out.

"A few..." Tony waved Steve closer and showed him the information. "What do you think?"

Steve moved over to take a look. "At least a couple of these won't be feasible, since they assumed that there would still be some loyal to Ultimus still alive." He gestured towards one of the headings. "This looks concerning."

"Yeah. Agreed. We'll need to prepare, just in case..." Tony agreed.

"Did you find any direct lines to Ultimus? Or any other dimensions?" Steve asked.

"No. But that's mainly because Ultimus is becoming increasingly more paranoid and apparently decided that information was strictly need-to-know..." Tony huffed.

"It was a bit much to hope for," Steve commented. "Do you need anything else before we take care of destroying this base?"

"No. I've got everything, including Tuesday's heart and soul. If I don't connect her to anything related to Friday, I can set her up and possibly convert her. If nothing else, I can see what else she knew," Tony said.

Steve nodded. "It looks like all of the HYDRA soldiers were taken out. Mordo's counterpart isn't here, which likely means he survived the destruction. I'm sure he'll have figured out a way to hide himself from Friday."

"Yeah. Any clues where Spiders' vampire went?" Tony asked.

"She's likely the one who left the HYDRA soldiers at the portal point," Steve said. "They weren't killed there, which means the placement was deliberate."

"Yeah. Figured that. Just wondering if she left a sign of where she went to." Tony sighed.

"Fury and Coulson didn't notice anything," Steve said. "We can have another look on our way back. In case we missed something. I think it's also worth talking to Mordo and see if he has an idea of where his counterpart might have gone to."

"Already talked with him about it. He said if he thinks of anything, he'll let us know.... Would probably be helpful if we'd found a few clues to narrow down possibilities, though." Tony sighed and began to trek back toward where the portal would be.

Steve just nodded and followed along with Tony, waiting long enough for the others to join them as well.

As soon as they were all clear of the base, the explosives that Fury and Coulson had set were activated. If Ultimus sent any more of his converted to investigate, they wouldn't find anything.

Once everyone had returned, they gathered in the common area to go over what they'd found and answer questions.

"I'm guessing our vampire-angel friend wasn't hiding at the base, since you blew it up and it is still daylight..." Scott said. He felt a small sense of concern for her, since she had felt bad about what she'd originally done to him and had done everything since that moment to try and protect him and make up for her initial actions.

Fury shook his head. "We searched the base thoroughly. Nobody living. Or undead," he added, since it was a vampire they were talking about.

Scott nodded. "Guess if she wants us to find her, she'll let herself be found.... Just hope she didn't die trying to help me."

"It's unlikely," Fury commented. "There were no defensive wounds on the HYDRA soldiers. I doubt they even saw her coming."

Scott frowned at that but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure how to feel about the report that she'd killed all those men and left them at the portal.

"What now?" Matt asked.

"I have a list of places where it's possible my counterpart has gone to shelter or regroup," Mordo said. "I plan to go and see if I can find any sign of him, or at least any spells he might have cast. It's likely I will also be collecting supplies if anyone wishes to accompany me."

"I need to...um...get some more supplies too." Harry turned a bit pink. He didn't say what supplies he needed to get...although he was fairly certain his bond mate had a very good idea. After all, most of what he'd picked up had been used with Wong.

Peter shifted slightly and glanced at his friend. "I'll go with you. It'd be nice to actually stretch my legs, now that some of the danger is past."

"Perhaps we could go out as well." Shuri indicated herself and Pyro. "We could also pick up supplies. And see if there are any areas where it looks like a vampire may choose to shelter during the day."

Pyro nodded. "We could definitely do that."

"So... Anyone who doesn't need to stay hidden can go out for supplies tomorrow? Or are we limiting who goes out, since we can presume Ultimus is on high alert?" Marc asked.

"We should probably only send out small groups at a time," Steve said. "Those who've said they want to go tomorrow, you can...Mordo, perhaps you could take one or two others with you, in case you run into any trouble?"

"Of course," Mordo replied with a nod.

"I'll be better able to help if I go over the information gathered today. Maybe Stephen and Wong can go with you?" Tony suggested to Mordo. "Maybe Wanda? They can help against magic users."

Mordo nodded in agreement with his mate. "I'm certain the four of us will be able to work well together."

"I am willing to go," Wanda agreed. She was curious to see more of how this dimension differed to the one she'd come from.

"Great! Glad that it is settled! The more intel we can get, the better..." Tony grinned.

"Those who aren't going out tomorrow, make a list of what you might want or need," Steve suggested. "You can give those lists to those who are going out."

"Cool... Cool... I already have a list in my head. I'll just get it written now." Peter Tom grinned.

The others were all in agreement with him.

Peter Andrew snorted softly. "I already have a list written...not that there's much on it." He glanced towards Harry. "You want to come join me in the lab? I've got a couple of tests I want to run."

Harry nodded. "Yeah...." I'll see you for lunch? he sent to his bond mate. Maybe we can have it in our room? It'd be nice to have a bit of alone time.

"Considering it is already mid-afternoon, how about we have lunch before you go to the lab," Wong suggested, where everyone could hear. He knew those who had gone to the base were likely hungry, as they had been gone a long time doing clean-up and investigating. We can have our evening meal alone, if you prefer.

Marc's eyes flashed and then Steven stated, "We actually made lunch for everyone. It's ready when you all are. It's a stew...."

That would be nice, Harry said, happy to spend some one-on-one time with his mate. Full privacy wasn't really an option, with so many people around, but it was nice to have what they could.

"Thank you." Steve smiled at Steven. "If there's nothing else, I suggest we all get cleaned up for dinner." He waited long enough to make sure there wasn't, then went to clean up himself.

Everyone made their way to the dining area where they began to dish up food and settle at the tables. The children had already been fed and were back in the makeshift school room.

There were various conversations going on around the table. Now that they had so many other people in the base, particularly civilians, Steve was even more keen for people to practice self-defense and was organizing training times with the other fighters, such as Okoye and Ikaris.

Peter Andrew was talking animatedly to Harry about the new variables he was trying in the experiments. Even though Peter Tom was less of a biological scientist, Peter was also including him in the conversation. He'd considered his counterpart family the first time he came to this dimension and continued to treat the younger Peter as such. He also included Spiders in the conversation, even though the other man was quiet, figuring that Spiders still had an interest in science, even if he hadn't had many opportunities to be involved in it.

Pietro had figured out that Makkari, through the bond with him and Druig, could use either of their sense of hearing to listen to the conversations around them and he was allowing her to use him. It was a strange sensation, but the happiness on Makkari's face at being more included made it worth it.

Druig was more than happy Makkari could use his and Pietro's hearing. "You can add that as a bond benefit," he said to those who were studying the bond. "Makkari can hear through Pietro and me."

"I... I've always had my own type of sight... Since my accident... But since bonding with Danny... If I focus on what he is looking at... I see like I used to when a kid. If we are looking at the same thing, his sight and mine kinda blend... It's odd but.... Nice," Matt offered.

"I cut myself shaving the other day. It healed a lot more quickly than those types of things did before..." Frank said hesitantly.

"Maybe it's time to draw more blood to test?" Lincoln asked.

Peter Andrew nodded quickly at Lincoln's response. "That would be helpful, since it seems a lot of these benefits are occurring gradually." He began to add to the small pad he carried around with him.

"Maybe it's worth seeing if those bonded with enhanced abilities can share their bond mate's," Harry suggested. "We could make a list of safe tests to try."

"Give me a list of what you want a record of and I can begin those tests tomorrow with anyone who isn't going out for supplies," Lincoln suggested.

"I can help!" Peter Tom added.

"We can make the list in the lab after lunch." Peter Andrew smiled at Peter Tom.

"Yeah. Okay..." Peter Tom nodded, before turning to carry on a conversation with Ikaris and Sersi.

Misty looked around. "Guess the rest of us return to just being gofers and jack-of-all-trades, then? Since we can't leave and there is only so much we can do as a job?" She tried not to sound impatient.

"It's better that not everyone goes out all at once, but there's nothing to stop different groups from going out the next day," Ajak commented. "Even with portals being opened, it will be impossible to search everywhere that's really needed in one day."

"Maybe we could make a schedule. So, it isn't always the same people that get to go out while the rest of us sit back at base twiddling our thumbs." Misty smiled faintly. "I mean... Some of us that haven't gotten to do anything are trained too. Or have abilities that might prove useful."

Sharon nodded at that. "Just because we are late arrivals doesn't make us less capable." She'd noticed that the same group always seemed to get to go out for supply runs. She suspected it was because anytime they wanted to go out, they would suggest a supply run. If it really was that the squeaky wheel got the oil, then damn it, she was going to begin squeaking too.

Kamala smiled crookedly. "Tomorrow is already planned, so I want to go day after tomorrow!"

Steve smiled a little at the comments and said, "Now that there're a lot more of us here, I think it would make sense to do a rota for people to go out on different days. It might not even be for supply runs. As long as we're not dealing with specific threats, maybe a bit of fresh air would be of some use."

"I can help to draw up rotas." Fury snorted softly. "It wouldn't be much different to what I've done before."

Pepper smiled. "I used to handle scheduling... I can work with you." She nodded at Fury.

"We can do that as soon as you're free." Fury smiled at Pepper.

"Before we go out, we might want to make a list of former SHIELD warehouses to hit," Coulson commented to Sharon. "There might still be some useful items there."

"Along that same line, I think we should look at some of the old labs," Phastos said. "Something has already been found that's helped us out. I'd like to see what else is there and has hopefully been left untouched by Ultimus' soldiers."

"We need to figure out a plan to hit one of the Sanctums, too," Mordo commented. "Especially if we want to make contact with another dimension. It will be easier to open up a line of communication if we can take one of those back."

"Great! Looks like we have enough plans for the next week. We can decide what gets hit and when... And then pick the teams who will go to the different sites." Tony clapped his hands together. "Friday, if you could assist with the planning? You can let us know what is in each area so we can prepare."

The AI quickly agreed and soon, plans were underway.

Once the plans had been made, people began to split off into the areas they were working in. Harry followed Peter Andrew to the labs, taking note of the obvious excited anticipation his friend was displaying. "You excited for learning more about the bond, or because you think you've made headway on the other problem?" he asked.

"About learning more of the bond," Peter Andrew answered. "I still think there's only one way of breaking it, at least for those who are from other dimensions." He headed over to his workstation. "But I've got a few more ideas to try, anyway."

***

Misty had gone to the gym area with anyone not actively doing research. It was imperative that everyone be capable of defending themselves.

Kamala looked around at all those gathered. Everyone had spaced themselves so as not to accidently collide, and were following Misty's example, moving fluidly. Even those Kamala knew were fully trained in martial arts were participating, such as Danny and Matt. It helped emphasize the importance of practicing and learning to defend oneself.

Even those who were enhanced, or who had other abilities, had gone to the gym, such as Wanda and her brother. After all, their abilities could be neutralized. And since hearing about the fate of her counterpart, Wanda was keen to make sure that she had as many tools at her disposal as possible to ensure she couldn't go down the same path, even if the worst did happen.

America was finding the martial arts moves easier than trying to practice her magic. Opening portals to other dimensions was easier. She still struggled with returning to the magical studies, despite there being three sorcerers who could help her.

Kate was finding it easier than most to practice, having taken years of lessons along with her archery and gymnastics lessons. She helped a few of the 'civilians' with the positions.

Yelena was also helping those who'd had less training.

They spent about an hour training, before Steve figured the civilians were beginning to flag. "We should probably take a break," he announced, voice loud enough to carry to everyone. "We can get some drinks and snacks together."

Peter Quill straightened from where he had been practicing with Thor at Steve's words. His face flickered for a second, looking like Thor for just a second.

Thor gave him a startled look. "Looookiiii! You need to see this!" he bellowed.

"There is no need to shout, brother." Loki appeared at Thor's side and looked towards his mate, his eyes widening a fraction. "Is this the first time this has happened?" he asked Quill.

Quill's face flickered again, this time looking like Loki for a second. "What do you mean? What's happening?" he asked nervously.

"You are making use of my ability to change shape." Loki smiled at his mate. "This is good. I can teach you to control it."

Peter blinked. "That... That's good?" He smiled hesitantly.

"It's very good." Loki's smile grew wider. "After we have rested, I will teach you methods of control."

"Okay... great!" Peter's grin grew.

Thor shook his head and chuckled. "As long as you do not use the ability for nefarious purposes...." he warningly teased.

On the other side of the room, Sif was standing next to Sprite. "You did well with the practice...."

Sprite snorted softly. "Ikaris and Ajak have the credit for making sure I kept up with my training. Left to my own devices, I would have stuck to my knives."

"Well, even so... You did good." Sif grinned.

"Thank you." A wave of happiness came through the bond at the compliment.

Bumping shoulders with her mate, Sif followed everyone else out of the rec area to clean up for snacks and relaxation. It was more opportunity to get to know people and she looked forward to that.

Most of those who had ended up in the gym headed to the rec area for snacks and to talk. People settled in comfortably on chairs and sofas to speak to and get to know each other, as well as to talk about who they hoped to find.

Clint was sat next to Bruce, making a list of various places his family might have gone if Ultimus didn't get hold of them. "Do you know where Betty might have ended up?" he asked.

"If she escaped Ultimus, she would have tried to join others in the same position," Bruce replied. "And would be somewhere under the radar. Nowhere Friday or a similar AI would be able to scan her."

"Yeah. Laura would make sure she and the kids couldn't be scanned. The places I mentioned, only we knew the importance to us, so no one would look specifically for them there..." Clint sighed. "Chances are they aren't at any of them. But I have to start somewhere. I have to keep my hope up. Last time I lost hope, I ended up Ronin."

Bruce reached out and gently squeezed Clint's shoulder. "We're free. There's no reason to lose hope," he said seriously.

Coulson was sitting close by enough to overhear, and he commented, "We'll take it in turns to check each of the locations. Even if no one is there the first time we look, that doesn't mean we should entirely discount the location."

Clint nodded. "If they are at any of those spots, we should be prepared for there to be more than just Laura and the kids. She would have helped anyone she possibly could."

"We have enough of a medical team that if there are any injured, we can help them," Bruce commented. "Like Coulson said. We'll keep looking."

Clint nodded. "Just saying. I know Laura and she'd help anyone she could."

"As soon as we find any trace of them, or anyone else, we'll make sure we've got enough people to move them all safely," Coulson promised. "It's worth checking underground cave systems. Many of them are like a maze. People could hide very easily in one of those."

"Given Laura is an ex-Agent, that is very high on the list of possibilities," Clint stated. "Several of the spots I listed have exactly that."

"I know Fury and Pepper were working on rotations for people to go out," Coulson said. "I'll talk to them about it." He nodded to Bruce. "Perhaps the four of us can all go out as one team."

"That would be a good idea," Bruce agreed.

Clint nodded. "We can go out the day after tomorrow, maybe. Since we already have groups going out tomorrow."

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Coulson nodded.

"So. What now?" Clint looked around.

"I think the plan is to either spend time talking to and getting to know each other, or maybe to spend private time with our bonded mates if we're so inclined." Bruce glanced around for confirmation.

Steve nodded. "We have the indoor park if anyone wants to go for a walk there. It might not be the same as actually being outside, but it's a good replacement."

"Want to go for a walk?" Clint asked Bruce.

"I would like that." Standing, Bruce held a hand out to his bond mate.

Sharon watched as Bruce led Clint out.

Coulson turned to his bond mate. "Do you have anyone to add to the list of people to try and find?" he asked gently.

"No... Anyone I would have looked for is dead or already here..." Sharon admitted.

Coulson nodded. "It's possible that even those people we know are dead in this dimension might have counterparts who have been brought here," he said, thinking of Grant Ward. "I suspect we might have to be prepared for former enemies to resurface, now that Ultimus has lost so many of his converted."

"Joy..." Sharon deadpanned, before smiling faintly.

That might not be a bad thing, Coulson commented. The Grant Ward here now isn't the same one I knew in this dimension.

True. Guess we'll see... Sharon agreed.

Is there anything you'd like to do? Coulson asked her.

Sharon smiled crookedly. Depends. You have something in mind?

I noticed there are quite a few games in the rec room, Coulson said. We could go to our room. Play a bit privately. Or perhaps invite others to join us if you'd rather.

Let's go to our room? I don't much feel like socializing. Sharon smiled crookedly.

I understand. Coulson stood, reaching out to wrap an arm around her shoulders so that they could leave the room together.

Sharon leaned into her mate and followed him to their room.

Rhodey glanced towards Scott. I spoke to Fury and Pepper already about us going out to search for Cassie. I believe we'll be searching those areas the same day as Bruce and Clint will be going out.

Scott nodded. It will be good to find all our families.

We'll find them, Rhodey promised. No matter what it takes. We'll make sure families are reunited.

Scott smiled. I know. I trust you.

Would you like to do anything? Rhodey asked.

Nah. I'm good just hanging out. Unless you had something in mind? Scott looked toward Rhodey.

Rhodey shrugged. We've spent some time training. We could spend some time doing some more relaxing things. I believe mention has been made of there being candy.

Oh. Candy sounds good. And orange slices.... Scott grinned.

There's plenty of fresh fruit, Rhodey commented. I'm sure there are oranges among them.

Yeah. Not sure how they got orange trees to grow in an underground bunker, let alone actually grow fruit, but I'm happy they figured it out... Scott snorted.

Leave it to Tony to make something like that possible, even if it wasn't him who executed it. Rhodey stood and held a hand out to Scott. If you think of anymore locations Cassie could be in, we'll add those to the areas we'll search the day after tomorrow.

Scott took Rhodey's hand. Yeah. I'll make sure to do that.

Rhodey led him out of the room, so that they could gather the orange slices and candy.

Scott shifted closer to his mate; not quite snuggling, but close enough to.

Rhodey wrapped his arm tightly around Scott as they walked to the park. He wouldn't have an issue even if Scott did want to outright snuggle.

Scott relaxed and did snuggle. If his mate didn't mind, he'd take advantage of it.

Shuri glanced towards her bond mate. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to see when we go out? Or just leave the base and see where we go? she asked.

It's probably being watched by Ultimus... but just in case. I'd be interested in checking out the mansion where the school used to be... Pyro admitted.

I am sure we can check it out, at least, Shuri said. I am interested in seeing a mansion that was turned into a school.

Pyro smiled at that. If it is still around and Ultimus didn't take it over, there may be people there too.

We can see, Shuri agreed. If there is anyone there, we may be able to bring them here.

Yeah. They'd be safer here, at any rate.... Pyro thought.

Especially now, when Ultimus will be growing more desperate, Shuri agreed.

I just hope his desperation doesn't lead to him trying to do something like Thanos did... destroy the entire world... Pyro frowned.

I suppose we have to be prepared for that to be a possibility, Shuri commented. I would hope we could launch an attack before that became a reality.

Yeah. Well. We're doing everything possible to prepare for any contingency. So hopefully one day, it will all come together, and we can get rid of him for good. Pyro sighed.

We are further along than we were before, Shuri replied. There are more people freed. And he can no longer control us.

"Yes. But there is still so far to go..." Pyro commented out loud.

"I know." Shuri smiled at him. "But we have hope. And that is important."

"Yeah. Hope is important." Pyro nodded, watching as one of their members slipped out of the park, presumably heading back to their room.

Kate had been watching everyone, heard all the plans, seen all the preparations. She'd even been part of some of it. It didn't stop her from feeling useless, but she'd pushed that feeling down, recognizing it for what it was. She was depressed. Whether because of the situation, or because of a lack of natural sunlight, or because of any number of reasons, it didn't change the problem at the heart of it all. She was depressed and a lack of being able to be proactive without getting permission first, knowing that she most likely would never get permission to do what she felt she needed to do because it was dangerous, only added to the depression. She tried not to let it out, though. She couldn't explain it to herself, so had no hope of explaining to Norman and she didn't want to add to his worries. He already had so many. Some things worked to distract her from it. It wasn't a continual, non-stopping depression. But they were like a band-aid and once over and done, the euphoria of them only lasted so long.

The problem with depression wasn't so much the hopelessness she felt; she could ignore that and lean on other people's optimism. The problem was how bone weary it made her. Which was why she was heading back to her room now. She felt the need to curl up under the covers in bed and take a nap. Considering it was much too early to retire for the night, it was probably noticeable to anyone paying attention, but she just couldn't keep her eyes open. Fighting back yawns, she finally slipped into the room, stripped naked and crawled into bed, not even having energy to put on her nightshirt.

***

Norman had noticed his bond mate's attitude. He would have noticed, even if the bond had been closed between them. He excused himself from the conversation he was having with Otto and headed out of the park, moving towards his own room.

Reaching out so that Kate would be aware that he was there, Norman opened the door and stepped into the room. He moved over to the bed and settled down next to her, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her. He didn't say anything, just held her and made sure she could feel that he was there for her.

"I'm sorry..." Kate whispered. "I'm trying to not be a problem...."

"You aren't a problem." He hugged her tighter, brushing a kiss against the back of her head.

Kate sighed and snuggled back against him. I know you don't feel that way. I just wish I knew what was wrong with me. I don't like feeling like this.... She didn't try and block her feelings this time.

You can't help how you feel, he responded. And you can't force yourself to feel a certain way. You're struggling right now and that's not unusual.

Can't afford to struggle. Too much is already going on... Kate swallowed.

You can't afford to ignore how you feel and pretend like everything is fine, he replied. You'll just make yourself worse that way.

Kate closed her eyes and swallowed again. So, what do I do? I just want to feel like me again.... To her annoyance, tears began to slide down her face.

It's not an easy fix, but there are things that can help, Norman replied. Like meditation can help. So can keeping a journal every day, just to give you space to record how you've been feeling that day.

Maybe I can try the journal... Kate sniffled. I don't know if I could focus enough to meditate.

The journal might be a good place to start, he agreed. You can always try meditation if and when you feel able to focus better.

Sniffling again, Kate squirmed around until she was facing Norman, then wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, pressing her ear to his chest. I love you....

Norman wrapped his arms tightly around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. I love you too.

Kate just snuggled close, taking slow, deep breaths, letting her mate's love and acceptance soothe her.

***

Jack watched as everyone did their own thing. For an underground base, his new home certainly had a lot to offer from above ground. Granted, the air had that 'stale, recycled' smell to it that couldn't be helped, since it went through a filter. But the fact they had a park with growing plants was impressive. Still... it was hard not to feel confined. Only the fact he knew Ultimus wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he discovered he was alive made it less confining. Right now, Ultimus believed he'd been killed, either by the resistance or Katie. He had to continue to believe that... at least for a while longer.

He was glad there were plans to rescue other people. Unfortunately, his need to 'stay dead' meant he couldn't be part of the groups that went out to do the rescuing. The wolf was feeling restless. He needed a way to use up excess energy. Walking in the park or playing games wasn't doing it. Working out wasn't helping all that much either.

Fury was able to sense his bond mate's restlessness and he reached out telepathically to Jack. We might be able to see if Wong, Stephen and Mordo can shield off an area outside, so you can be out for a bit without risk of being found.

Do you think they can do that? Jack thought hopefully. If that is an option, there are probably a few others who would benefit from fresh air and sun....

It's worth asking, Fury replied. We'll have to pick the spot carefully. And make sure we set up a warning system of some kind. But I'm sure it's doable.

I'd like that... Jack admitted. Until then, though....

There are ways of letting off steam. Even if those ways aren't as good, Fury said wryly.

All the ways I can think of are very good. What were you thinking of? Jack asked, an amused feeling carrying through the bond.

When I think of letting off steam, what immediately comes to mind is what I encourage agents to do, Fury answered. It occurs to me we might have a slightly different, more intimate way of letting off steam.

Jack waggled his eyebrows. There are advantages to having one's mate with you when you need to let off steam... he teased.

Something like this, perhaps? Fury sent a deliberately erotic image of him in a very possessive position over Jack.

Jack cleared his throat, blushing slightly and shifting in place to hide the sudden erection he was sporting. It wouldn't keep Fury from knowing that he had become immediately aroused at the image, but hopefully, no one else would notice. "Y... yeah..." he breathed out, his voice a slightly higher octave than usual.

Fury smirked, a feeling of satisfaction coming through the bond that he was able to draw that reaction from his mate. I think it's about time we retired to our room.

Yessir! Jack quickly agreed, moving to stand next to his mate, almost leaning into him.

Fury wrapped his arm possessively around Jack's waist and began to lead his mate to their room.

For as large as the base was, it was designed in such a way that it didn't take long at all to reach their room from where they had been. Something Jack was grateful for.

Once they were in their room, with the door firmly closed behind them, Fury turned to Jack. He began to slowly strip his mate.

Jack shivered and began to remove Fury's clothes as well, feeling confident that his mate wouldn't object. He was doing it submissively enough that it wouldn't appear he was trying to take over.

Fury didn't try to stop Jack from removing his clothes as well. Once they were both naked, he ran his hands over his mate's shoulders and down his arms, leaning forward to kiss Jack deeply.

Jack groaned softly, leaning into the kiss and opening his mouth for it. His attraction and need for his mate was clear.

Fury's own attraction and desire for Jack were clear. He pressed deeper into the kiss, pushing his tongue into his mate's mouth, as he edged them towards the bed, pushing Jack down onto it.

Jack sighed happily as Fury claimed his mouth, letting his own tongue twine around Fury's tongue and sucking gently. His arousal grew and precum pooled at the tip. You are so sexy... he thought.

So are you. And you're mine, Fury thought back. Pulling back from the kiss, he began to kiss and gently nip along Jack's neck and shoulders.

Completely yours... Jack agreed. Forever. He shivered as Fury's lips moved over his skin.

Taking his time, Fury continued to taste and explore Jack's skin, mapping out every inch with lips, tongue, and teeth.

Jack's breathing quickened and his body flushed from arousal. His whine of need sounded very wolfish, and he slanted his head back to expose his neck, making it clear both sides of him accepted his mate's dominance.

Responding to Jack exposing his neck, Fury kissed there and then gently closed his teeth around the bare skin. It wasn't breaking the skin, or even biting, but it was a very clear show of dominance.

Jack whimpered softly, his body loosening in acceptance. Please, he begged.

Please what? Fury liked hearing Jack beg. It was obvious.

"Please... Take me, Sir... Take what belongs to you... Need you so much..." Jack begged out loud this time, his voice shaky from arousal.

A sense of pleased satisfaction came through the bond and Fury reached for the lube next to their bed. After coating his member in it, he pushed slowly inside his mate.

Jack groaned as he felt himself stretching around his mate's shaft, opening for the other man. He liked when Fury prepared him with his fingers; he liked it just as much when his mate didn't prepare him and took right away. Nothing helped him feel more wanted and owned than when his lover pushed in immediately to claim him. The feeling of satisfied belonging carried through the bond.

Fury gently grasped Jack's hips and began to thrust into his mate, deep and hard. At the same time, he kissed Jack, pushing his tongue into his mate's mouth to claim him thoroughly in that way as well.

Jack eagerly opened both his mouth and legs for his bond mate, wanting and needing to be claimed deep and hard in every way possible. He wanted to be completely taken over by his mate, so there was no question who he belonged to, or that Fury was in control.

Responding to his bond mate, Fury continued to thrust deep and hard inside Jack. His own member was quickly growing inside his bond mate. It wouldn't take much to push him over the edge.

Jack could feel himself stretching the more Fury grew. His mate was hitting his prostate with every stroke, and he couldn't help clenching tight around the larger man in response. So good, he moaned.

You feel so good. So good for me. Fury kissed Jack harder and gripped his mate's hips tighter, enough to leave imprints of his fingers behind.

Jack's inner wolf growled softly at feeling Fury's fingers and knowing he'd be marked. Harder... Please... Mark me inside and out.... Need it....

In response, Fury gripped Jack's hips harder. He thrust even deeper, pummeling that spot inside his mate, ensuring that Jack would feel him as deeply as possible for as long as possible.

Jack moaned from pleasure, his body tightening in preparation. He was so close to falling over the edge, his breath escaping in panting gasps, but he held on. He wanted permission.

Fury could feel how close Jack was to the edge. He was that close too. Letting out a low, possessive growl, he gently closed his teeth around his mate's throat. Let go now, he ordered.

Jack's whole body shuddered in release, and he clenched around Fury's member tightly, holding him deep inside. His vision went gray for a few seconds, and he felt lightheaded as he spilled for his master.

Fury's own release followed only a moment later and he tightened his hold on Jack's hips, lightly nipping his mate's throat.

Jack slumped happily, a feeling of euphoria spreading through him and through the bond to Fury at the nip. He felt possessed. It was the most perfect feeling in the world. Love you... he thought, with a muzzy affection that was tinged with submissive dependence and devoted adoration. He didn't move from his position of being splayed wide open under his mate. He stayed as vulnerable as he could. He didn't want Fury to pull out of him until the older man was ready, in case Fury felt like plowing him for a second round. He felt sated, but he also knew he could take it and the idea of just giving, even if he wasn't desperate for it, intrigued him.

I love you too. Fury didn't pull out of Jack, though he didn't immediately 'rouse again either. He was content to lay inside his mate, feeling Jack's warmth surrounding him. He gently kissed Jack's neck and gently stroked along his hips, where the imprints of his fingers would be. A sense of satisfaction came clear through the bond.

Jack smiled up at Fury, kissing him more chastely, though it was still passionate.  I feel a lot more settled now, he teased.

Well. I'm glad to hear something else good came from us having sex. And if you need help feeling settled again.... Fury was at once joking, but also serious. He wanted to make sure Jack felt comfortable enough to ask if he needed.

I know exactly where you are and will come begging... Jack waggled his eyebrows.

I like that. Amusement slipped through the bond, as Fury kissed his mate languidly.

Jack kissed back. I like it too... he admitted. Never thought I would, but... with you, it's different.

Some good has come from Ultimus' actions, Fury said. We would never have met in other circumstances.

You're right. As much as I want to get rid of him, this part at least... I'm glad this happened... Jack smiled.

So am I. Fury kissed him tenderly.

Jack returned the kiss, staying relaxed, happy to be where he was.

Fury was more than content to be laying with his mate, holding Jack close and every so often gently kissing or stroking parts of his skin.

Without words, they decided to stay in their room the rest of the evening and night, just with the two of them.

***

Kate looked around the tiny cave she'd stayed for the day, noting as the shadows lengthened and the sun finally disappeared. As soon as it went down and she felt safe, she left her hideaway to go hunt.

***

Spiders wasn't used to having his movements curtailed. Or to sleeping 'normal' human times. He was restless and he was antsy. He couldn't sleep.

Walking quietly out of the room, at least as quietly as he now could, given that he had actual feet now, Spiders headed to the elevator. Maybe he could find Kate. She might be more likely to respond to him, even if he was human now.

"Where are you going?" Friday asked Spiders, even as she warned those in charge that he was at the elevators and acting sketchy.

Spiders paused, not used to being asked where he was actually going. He wasn't used to telling people where he was going. But he answered anyway. "I was going to see if Kate was at one of her normal hunting grounds."

"You should wait for a group and a plan..." Friday said, in dulcet tones. "Going out alone isn't acceptable."

"So right you are, Friday darling," Tony said, as he walked up. "Looking for your vampire friend should be done with at least two other people. Preferably with someone who can get you out quickly in case Ultimus has soldiers there." He looked at Spiders.

"I'm not used to going outside with anyone." Spiders sounded uncertain more than defiant. It wasn't that he wanted to argue or cause conflict...he was just used to having more freedom.

"I know it's hard to get used to being more careful, especially when you're not used to all this." Steve had arrived at the same time as Tony and his expression was sympathetic as he said, "Unfortunately, we're living in very dangerous times right now."

"I'm supposed to be dead, so I can't join you," Blade said, with a hint of frustration. He wanted to help. "But if you go with one of the sorcerers and one of the mind controllers and another fighter...."

"All from different bondings..." Tony added. "...It will allow us to communicate effectively and, while not safe, it would be safer...."

Spiders glanced, almost longingly, at the elevator and his shoulders slumped. "Yeah. Okay." He sighed, trying to hide the hint of frustration he felt. He was human now. He needed to get used to actually being around people.

I know you are used to going solo. I am too, for the most part. But you can be killed now. And if you are caught, they could get the location of the base from you, which puts everyone else in danger. Going in a group and planning is better, Blade tried to soothe.

I know you're right, Spiders replied. I'm just not used to having to explain what I'm doing and where I am going. I will have to get used to it.

We both will, Blade thought.

"Okay. Spiders is going. Do we want Stephen, Wong or Mordo to go?" Tony asked.

"If Mordo goes, we have an open line of communication to both you and Pepper," Steve commented to Tony. "It'll be more of an advantage."

"Okay. So, Spiders and Mordo. Druig should go. Which of our fighters?" Tony asked.

"Thor might be good to send," Steve said. "I think Frank would probably be good to go as well."

"Both of them? It would give one more avenue of communication," Tony said.

Steve nodded. "I think both of them," he agreed.

"I have contacted each of them mentioned and they are on their way, sirs," Friday stated

Tony clapped his hands together once. "Great. You have a team now. You can go search for your vampire friend and bring her back here "

Spiders nodded, though he was clearly still uncertain.

Mordo was the first to arrive. "When the others get here, we can leave the base and head to the nearest portal point," he said quietly.

It didn't take long. Soon, Druig, Frank and Thor all arrived together. "Let's do this..." Frank said quietly.

Mordo nodded and quickly headed to the elevator. Once everyone was inside, he set it to reach the surface and then quickly led the way to the portal point.

Spiders followed, letting Mordo know in a quiet voice where to open the portal first.

As soon as they had stepped through, Frank was looking around, assessing for threats.

Thor held his hammer ready.

Druig looked toward Spiders, to see which way they needed to go first.

As Spiders began moving, leading the way to one of Kate's usual hunting grounds, Mordo raised a shield around the group. He also had an offensive spell ready in case they ran into any other trouble.

It continued like this for two hours; Spiders leading them to a spot and searching, everyone on high alert. Thor was about to suggest that maybe she had gone to a spot Spiders didn't know about when they finally found her, having just killed more HYDRA operatives and fed.

Kate looked at Spiders with wide eyes.

"Hi, Kate." Spiders moved forward, slowly, towards her. "You know me. I'm Spiders. The resistance helped me. They gave me my body back. We've been looking for you...."

Kate blinked and looked suspiciously at the others. "Why? I only go after bad guys...."

"It's not to capture you or hurt you," Mordo said gently. "You already know we're the resistance. We want to help you. Like we've helped Spiders."

"You don't have to carry on like this," Spiders said softly.

"I don't think you can help me not be a vampire. Putting my soul in a different body wouldn't work. I don't think I have a soul...." Kate smiled crookedly.

Druig moved forward. "They'll figure something out." He exerted a little influence to make her want to join them.

Kate suddenly relaxed as Druig took control. "Okay "

As soon as Druig exerted his influence, Mordo opened the portal and quickly waved the others through. For some reason, he was feeling a bit on edge.

Kate followed docilely, calm now that Druig was taking over.

They quickly went through the portal and headed back to base...although Frank noticed Mordo's unease and became even more alert.

Mordo didn't relax even once the portal was safely closed behind them.

Once they were through the portal, Spiders paused. "Should she get changed?" He hadn't thought to bring a hospital gown and hoped one of the others had.

Kate was calm and docile, but even though Druig was controlling enough that she willingly followed, she wasn't acting mindlessly. She heard Spiders' question. "Change?"

"So that if there are trackers on you, we don't take them back to our base and lead Ultimus to us..." Frank said quietly.

Thor rubbed the back of his neck. "Did anyone bring a gown?"

Frank glanced toward Druig, who shook his head. Usually, it was one of the doctors or the person in charge of the group that brought the gowns. "Uh... We seem to have forgotten that part...."

Kate snorted and stripped, not caring in the least about being naked in front of other people. Inhibitions had been tortured out of her long ago, the numerous scars evidence of that. She pulled all her knives and weapons free of the clothing and handed them to Spiders to carry for her, before looking at the others expectantly. "Where are we going?"  she asked, in a chirpy voice.

"This way." Mordo recovered quickly from the sight of Kate's scars and led the way back to the base.

Spiders walked alongside her, carrying her weapons.

For her part, Katie was looking all around in curiosity, memorizing where she was. She was also listening, in case Ultimus' forces tried to swoop in, but she didn't appear to be paying that close of attention.

Frank had seen the scars and knew what it meant. He acted as if everything was normal. If she wasn't embarrassed or uncomfortable, he wasn't going to act in any way that would make her feel that way. He did send a mental message ahead to Steve, telling him they forgot the gown and to warn anyone who might care about it so they wouldn't react badly.

Responding to his mate's message, Steve met the group at the elevator as they entered the base. He handed a hospital gown to Kate. "I'm sure you're comfortable enough, but we have children living here," he said, wording it that way so she hopefully wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

Kate smiled brightly at Steve and put the gown on. "You will want me in a cell?" She couldn't imagine they'd trust her to move freely, given what she was.

"I don't think that's necessary," Steve replied quietly. "If you follow me, I'll take you to the infirmary. I believe Stephen and Wong are there already. Stephen is one of our doctors, as well as one of our sorcerers," he added.

"I'm a walking dead person. Can't imagine I'll need a doctor..." Katie chirped innocently. She still went where Steve led, though.

Steve didn't try to convince her otherwise, since she was following him without hesitation. He noticed that Spiders and Mordo were accompanying them, too.

Mordo was still looking a bit uneasy. He was no longer experiencing the same strange feeling he had before opening the second portal, but it still left him on edge. I think we need to be extra careful when we leave the base, he sent to his bond mates. Something didn't feel right out there tonight.

You see something that might explain the feeling? Pepper asked, worried.

Kate waved at Lincoln and Stephen when she entered the infirmary.

Lincoln waved back, bemused.

Stephen began an exam. "They usually want a blood sample... But somehow doubt it would be useful in your situation," he remarked.

"If you can get it, go ahead and try... I don't mind," Kate said.

I didn't see anything, Mordo replied. But knowing my counterpart escaped the destruction of the base makes me worried. I think we need to keep changing the locations of portals we open. I will talk to Stephen and Wong about that.

Yeah. Okay. I'll have Friday finds a few more areas that would be safe spots to open portals, so we have options, Tony responded.

Kate was curiously looking around and touching and playing with things like a curious child throughout the entire exam. When a Stephen was finally able to finish, he was obviously fighting impatience with her behavior. "Can someone direct her to whichever room she will be in?" he asked, before reminding her, "Remember. If Ultimus begins to try and take over your mind, let us know so we can protect you and ourselves. Until you are able to bond to someone, you are still at risk of him attempting that."

Kate nodded, then smiled brightly. "He tried to control me once. I don't think he liked being in my head."

Druig chuckled. "Your mind is like a tsunami of thought and feeling. Not something that can be directed or controlled in the way he wanted to do it. I am not surprised he disliked it." He turned toward Stephen. "Having said that, I would appreciate some relief for a headache." He nodded thankfully as Lincoln handed him two tablets and a cup of water.

Namor had requested that he be informed when they found Kate. Upon being told that the examination had been finished, he headed into the room and smiled at her. "There's a storage room you can collect items from. I'll show you where it is on the way to your room."

Kate brightened at seeing Namor. "The fish were okay!" she immediately informed him. "I went back to the boat and they had little baby fish. I think they missed you...." She immediately took hold of his arm as they began to walk out of the infirmary to the storage area.

Namor led her towards the storage area and her room, which he had made sure was next to his own, as he listened to her tell him about the fish.

After they had gone, Stephen looked toward Mordo. "I've been thinking about what Dane said," he commented. "About that show he saw where they put the soul back into a vampire. Wong said it was likely based on a dream that the writers had and, in another dimension, it really occurred. If we can make her body 'alive' again, without the need to feed on blood and do that spell...."

Mordo nodded. "It's a bit deeper magic than the spell we used for Spiders' body. I think we need to find the book in the Sanctum library."

"Do you think it will be possible to go there and search?" Stephen asked.

"I hope so." Mordo frowned. "We will need to be careful, though. I felt strange when we were outside the base, before opening the portal to return. I think my counterpart was close."

"Yeah," Stephen agreed. "Unfortunately, unless he starts making noticeable moves, we can't really do anything except be careful. Doing nothing isn't an option, though."

"I think we need to use different portal locations," Mordo said. "We probably should have already been doing so. Tony is going to ask Friday to find some suitable, safe locations we can use. I'm fairly sure my counterpart was not close enough to see us using the portal, but I would prefer not to take any chances."

"Yeah. We should have." Stephen grimaced. "It might be best if we figure out where your counterpart is and plan to either get him on our side or take him out."

"I've already spoken to my bond mates about making a list of potential places where he might be," Mordo replied. "That's another reason for going to the Sanctum. Even if he's not there, he'd have likely visited it. If he's anything like me apart from just appearance, he'd find the Sanctum comforting."

Stephen nodded. "Hopefully, he didn't take what we need from out of it."

"It's unlikely that he would take the spell to make a vampire human," Mordo said. "He obviously had no loyalty to those at the base, otherwise he would have been found there. So, I don't expect it would occur to him we would attempt to help our own allies and friends with magic."

Stephen nodded. "Any other books you think it would be useful to retrieve?"

"I'm certain there are others," Mordo replied. "But I don't think we can carry them all back with us. I think we need to talk to Wong about what we think might be most important."

"We can do that in the morning. While the others who already planned their trip are out." Stephen smiled.

Mordo nodded. "Better to go in with an idea of what we're looking for and what we're planning to bring back with us."

"Exactly. So, I'll talk to you tomorrow." Stephen looked toward Lincoln. "Get some sleep," he instructed. "I have a feeling things are about to get very hectic."

Mordo nodded and left the infirmary.

I'm just going to get some hot chocolate before bed, Peter sent through the bond, from where he was in the kitchen. You want anything?

No, thank you. I'm going to bed now. Don't be too late, Stephen responded.

Yeah. I'll try not to disturb you when I come in, Peter said.

I appreciate it. Stephen was shortly back in the room and asleep.

Everyone was back in their rooms sleeping. The morning quickly approached.

****

He'd felt the presence of his counterpart...and felt the portal when it was opened. By the time he'd got to the location, though, the portal was closed and there was no sign of any of the rebels.

Mordo stood at the site for a few moments, gathering his thoughts on what he needed to do next. He'd returned to the base, only to find that it had been blown up. Either a self-destruct mechanism had been triggered when the vampire had killed those at the base, or the rebels had gone there and retrieved what information they could before blowing it up themselves. Either way, there was nothing he could get from the base.

Ultimus had already sent orders to Mordo. There were others from different dimensions who were willingly working with him and some of them were being sent to this dimension. Mordo had been given the location where the portal had been opened and since there was nothing he could do here now, he made his way to the location he'd been given.

Wong joined Mordo halfway to the location. "The rebel you opened the portal. I can sense your signature, with a hint of difference," he commented.

Mordo nodded. "I felt his presence but didn't get to the location in time to see who else was with him."

Wong nodded. "We just need to move faster."

"Ultimus is sending more to aid us. We know how the rebels have broken his control. I have some ideas of how to lessen the effects of the bond." As Mordo spoke, they reached the location Ultimus had given them.

"Ultimus is sending more reinforcements. You can explain your idea when they get here," Wong said.

Mordo nodded. They'd reached the location. Now all they had to do was wait for the portal to open. He knew it wouldn't take long.

Wong settled in to wait. It was hard not to be impatient, but those working for Ultimus had learned very early on not to complain to the leader.

They didn't have long to wait before the portal was opened and those set to join them started to come through.

The first person through the portal was Natasha Romanov. She was looking around, clearly on her guard, a gun in her hand. She only relaxed a fraction when she saw Mordo and Wong, assuming they were there because Ultimus had made contact with them.

The next person through the portal was dressed in his Black Panther costume. T'Challa let his mask drop and looked around the area. "These are all we have to work with?"

"No. I'm fairly certain others are on their way..." Wong snorted.

Just then, a second portal opened. The first to step through was a stern faced Janet Van Dyne. Directly behind her, a slender form followed, closing the portal behind them and turning to face Mordo and Wong.

"Ancient..." Wong nodded at the ageless sorcerer supreme.

Mordo gave his own greeting. The Ancient One might not have been the same being from his own dimension, but was still worthy of respect. Then, he asked, "How much have you been informed about what has transpired here?"

"This dimension was under Ultimus' full control, with the exception of its version of Captain America," Natasha stated. "Then something occurred that began freeing those converted from his control."

"They discovered a bonding spell," Mordo said. "One formed through sex. They went further than any other so-called Avengers or heroes from other dimensions, as the spell would have required the bond to form through force."

"Doesn't sound very heroic..." Janet smirked.

"We will need to counter the bond. I know of one spell that will work... Unfortunately, it won't cover the entire earth. It would only break the bond in limited areas. And most likely still won't allow Ultimus to regain control. But... It is a beginning and perhaps we can expand on our efforts after we capture a few of them," the Ancient One stated.

"So, we set up traps?" T'Challa asked. "You use your spell in certain areas and then we lure them there?"

"The sanctums will be the most likely place some will go to," Mordo said. "Particularly my own counterpart. If the spell can only be used in limited areas, it should be used there."

"We set traps," Wong agreed.

The Ancient nodded. "The Sanctums will be the best spot for traps to be set."

"What about areas where they need to collect supplies from?" Natasha asked. "Is it worth setting similar traps there?"

"Probably not. Supplies can be found in too many numerous areas that we don't even know the location of," Janet said.

"Do we have a base?" T'Challa asked.

"We did have one," Mordo answered. "The rebels blew it up. I have searched for and found some buildings that will be easily defensible."

"We will go there, then," the Ancient determined.

Mordo nodded and stepped away so that he could easily open the portal to the most suitable building he'd found.

As soon as the portal was opened Janet and the Ancient were going through.

Mordo waited for the others to enter through the portal and then followed them through, closing it behind them.

Natasha immediately began to circle around the building, looking for any potential traps, as well as getting to know any potential entry points for an attack.

Wong moved to begin placing his own protections on the building, with the Ancient's help.

Janet worked with Natasha.

Rather than check the building itself, T'Challa began focusing on the surrounding area, checking what was there and setting traps for anyone who might stumble across them.

Mordo began setting up wards on the area outside the building.

It didn't take long and soon, they felt secure enough to begin making their plans for setting the traps.

"Do we know how many sanctums there are in this dimension?" Natasha asked. "If there's more than one, can we anticipate which one they will be more likely to go to?"

"There are Sanctums all over the world. But they are most likely to go to one they are familiar with. Especially if it is close to their base," Wong said

"We can track the locations of the portals our counterparts open," Mordo said. "They won't be opening them too close to their base, but the locations will give us an idea of an approximate area they could be."

Natasha nodded. "So, we hunker down and wait?"

"We'll need to gather supplies ourselves," T'Challa said. "Food and water."

"I'm used to that," Natasha said. "I can gather food. I'm sure there are some edible things left in the buildings close by. If not, I'll just have to go further afield."

"I will arrange for supplies to be sent through a dimensional portal. The supplies will be fresher if from areas where farming and production has not been disrupted due to fighting Ultimus' control," the Ancient said calmly.

"Will the rebels' sorcerers be able to sense the opening of your own interdimensional portal?" T'Challa asked curiously.

"We recognize each other's energy signatures. But we have to be close enough to feel them." Mordo shrugged. "The rebels are already aware that Ultimus has been sending other soldiers to this dimension, so they will be more cautious. At least for a time."

"I could care less if they sense me opening a dimensional portal. If they come after me because of it, it opens them up to bring recaptured..." the Ancient said, with more than a hint of confidence.

Natasha nodded. "Is there anything else we need to cover before I head out to patrol?" she asked.

"I don't believe so. We will begin to set our traps for the rebel's tomorrow," Wong said.

"Very well." Natasha slipped out of the main room. While she was outside, she would test her comms; see if the communication could carry over to the dimension she'd come from. Her own dimension's Tony Stark had tinkered with the comms, so there was a good chance it would work.

The Ancient One barely paid any attention as the others left to do their own activities.

Wong wasn't any more attentive. Janet disappeared to work on weaponizing her suit.

T'Challa didn't go to join Natasha outside. He'd been given his own communication device, but there was no point in both of them trying. If one worked, they both would. And if neither worked, they were on their own.

***

Outside the base, a safe distance from it, Natasha gently touched an earring. "Can you read me?"

"I read you." The comm unit crackled with Fury's response. "You made it to the other dimension, then? They don't suspect anything?"

"Not as far as I'm aware." Natasha began to walk a perimeter around the building. "There are four of them here, willingly working with Ultimus."

***

It was the next day and those who had planned to go out for supplies had already left. Kate was in the rec room, practicing her archery. She saw Clint enter out of the corner of her eye and lowered her bow. "Did you notice anywhere I could improve?" she asked curiously.

"Your form is really good. You've improved a lot since we last worked together," Clint acknowledged.

"I want to be ready to help. When we find your family," Kate admitted.

"You know, my kids adopted you as a big sister. They're your family too..." Clint admonished.

"Even after so long?" Kate was surprised.

"When you love someone, time means nothing..." Clint shrugged. He glanced toward the door to the gym, hearing someone coming.

Bruce might have been mainly working in the lab, but he also knew it was important to keep in shape. He reached the gym and entered it in time to hear his mate's words and snorted softly, smiling at Clint. "There's a lot of truth in that," he observed.

Kate looked at Bruce. "I know you are looking for Clint's family, but do you have anyone you are looking for personally?"

"Betty," Bruce answered, with a fond smile on his face. "If we could get her back...Laura and the children too...I wouldn't exactly say this would be perfect, but I'd have almost everyone I needed around me." A hint of sadness came through the bond, as he remembered Natasha's sacrifice.

Kate smiled at that. "I hope we find them for you soon..." she said quietly.

"We have hope," Bruce said. "We'll find them."

"How about a contest?" Clint smiled, nodding at her bow, and holding up his.

Kate grinned. "Oh, yeah!"

****

Kamala was playing cards with Yelena, Shaun and Pyro. "What is this game called again?" she asked, as she pulled all the chips in the middle toward herself.

"Poker. And for never having played before, you're beating our socks off!" Pyro snorted.

Yelena smiled faintly. "Beginners' luck...."

Shaun began to deal the next hand. "Good thing we aren't actually betting anything." He laughed.

Scott Summers was in the rec room, idly flipping through one of the books gathered from a supply run. He glanced up as Shuri came into the room at a near run, an excited look coming over her face. "I have been able to recreate the heart-shaped herb," she said. "I need to find a good place to plant it now...."

The four playing cards looked over at Shuri.

"The best place is probably in the park that Peter Andrew started. If we don't want to risk it being killed," Pyro said quietly.

Shuri nodded and then cocked her head to one side. "You are playing poker?" she asked, a trace of interest in her voice.

"Yes! Kamala said she had never played before, so we decided to teach her. Would you like to join?" Yelena asked.

"That would be nice." Shuri grinned brightly. "I can plant the heart-shaped herb later."

The four quickly shifted their chairs so she could join them at the table and Shaun included her as he dealt the cards.

Shuri sat down to join in with the game, looking relaxed and happy now that she'd solved one problem.

***

Sharon was in the dining room with Maria, Misty and Colleen, discussing fighting styles but also making plans for when they had their turn to go out looking and exploring. "Do you think there are any farms that survived? With chickens, or dairy cows? And if so, what are the chances we could bring some of them back with us and keep them alive? It would be nice to have dairy again. I miss cheese..." She sighed.

"And ice-cream," Maria agreed. 

Harley had followed his mate into the dining room and ended up joining Spiders, who was reading a history book. He still felt safer around the other man, who he looked upon as a big brother, and relaxed immediately in Spiders' presence...though he couldn't help glancing up at the mention of cheese and ice cream. "Both of those would be good to have," he agreed.

"There's an indoor park." Spiders shrugged. "But goats might be more likely to have survived than dairy cows, given the state parts of this dimension have fallen into."

Sharon's nose wrinkled. "Goats cheese has such a distinctive, strong essence, I don't know that I'd want to drink their milk or make ice-cream from it. But you are probably right about finding dairy cows. I... Do you think some animals might have gone extinct? Since humans weren't tending them?" she asked sadly.

"I guess it does." Spiders frowned. "It's been a long time since I was able to taste anything with any kind of distinctive flavour...." He looked a bit pensive for a moment before he said, "Some animals might have, but the majority won't have. Living things are pretty resilient, even if they're not human."

"Hopefully, none have, and we just need to find the survivors and care for them." Misty smiled crookedly.

"People can look when they go out for supplies?" Harley suggested. Part of him wanted to go out, if only to get some fresh air. The rest of him felt too nervous about doing so.

"Pretty sure that anyone going out for supplies is going for supplies in specific locations and not branching out to explore, since we aren't certain where Ultimus' troops are, and it is safer to plan every step we take outside of the base..." Misty said. "But if we make an actual plan to go to areas and see if there are any livestock living or such...."

Colleen sighed. "Maybe Ultimus would have decided keeping the ecosystem stable was important, even if he controlled everyone, and he has people taking care of that. It's a long shot on him caring about things, but who knows? I mean... do we even know why he wants to take over every dimension and control every person like he is?"

"I didn't see much of outside, but what I did see, it looked like most places had been neglected and allowed to fall apart," Harley said quietly. "Maybe he doesn't care so much about this world because he has so many resources from others?"

"So... farms, ranches, pet stores, zoos... any place that had animals depending on humanity to survive is probably all dead, if those in charge didn't know enough about what was happening to release them before being overtaken..." Colleen sighed.

"Unless those willingly working with him cared enough to ask him to do something about it, most likely..." Sharon was morose. "Given that it is HYDRA, I'm guessing our ecosystem is screwed. Even if we get rid of Ultimus."

"There could have been other people like Steve, who hid. Who maybe were able to do something for our world, even in hiding..." Maria pointed out, trying to be optimistic.

"Just gives me one more reason to despise Ultimus and want to see him removed from existence... in all dimensions," Misty growled.

"There were people converted to his will who need to eat." Spiders shrugged. "If some of them were those with farming experience, they might have continued doing what they were used to. What they were familiar with."

"Does anyone really know what Ultimus' end goal was? Other than universal domination? I mean... what reason does he have for wanting to take over like he does?" Colleen asked.

"Whatever his end goal is, it doesn't lie here," Spiders said. "He was content to take over this world and then abandon it, until his army started being depleted."

"It almost feels like his end goal is to destroy existence everywhere..." Sharon muttered.

"Or maybe...to destroy existence in certain worlds?" Harley suggested uncertainly. "Like how Thanos' goal was to wipe out half of all life."

"Well... whatever his goals, I want his head on a platter..." Misty frowned.

"I think you might have to get in line for that," Spiders muttered, not quite under his breath.

Misty snorted. "Yeah. I'm sure I will."

"At least we're free now," Harley said quietly. "Even if there's a way to go to make everyone else free too. I'd...kind of lost hope for a while."

Colleen smiled faintly. "Yeah. We're free."

"We'll do everything to stay that way, too," Spiders said quietly. After all, they'd done enough already.

Sharon nodded.

"We all will," Maria agreed.

Harley bit his lip. "I hope we won't see more evil counterparts of family members." It had been hard, seeing his parents' counterparts. It made it difficult to reach out to Tony and Pepper when he needed comfort.

Maria sighed. "It would be nice, but I'm not optimistic. That would be something Ultimus would do to try and break resistance."

"He might be more likely to use counterparts of people who haven't been found yet." Spiders wasn't really worried about Ultimus doing something similar to him. He hadn't actually been close to anyone after becoming Spiders-Man... not until he'd come to this dimension.

"Yeah. Well... Whoever he uses will be someone he thinks will have maximum effect. As much as I hate him, I have to admit he isn't an idiot. You don't take over complete dimensions without knowing what will or won't work and the biggest risk for our side is if we forget that he is smart..." Sharon said.

Spiders nodded. "He knows how this dimension is fighting back. Which means he'll try to find a way to neutralize the effects of the bond, even if it's not possible to destroy it entirely."

"We need to be ready for that to happen... Because he will do that," Misty asserted.

"And if he breaks the bond, he'll be able to retake control," Harley whispered.

Spiders glanced at the younger man but didn't put voice to what was on his mind. That Ultimus was ruthless...and wouldn't hesitate to execute all of those here. After all, he had too many converted to concern himself with trying to retake control over those who had already broken it.

"We won't let that happen," Colleen whispered. Everyone went quiet, thinking about it.

Harley shifted closer to Spiders, leaning his head against the older man, seeking comfort from one of those he felt 'safe' around.

The mood was morose now that they'd begun thinking of 'what ifs'. It wasn't too much after that the group broke apart, the women returning to their rooms, leaving Harley and Spiders in peace.

****

"Did you get it?" Cassie whispered in excited agitation, while glancing around nervously.

Lila nodded, adjusting her pack, and stooping closer to the ground to be certain she was hidden. "Yes! The cake mix has been obtained! And it doesn't need any eggs or milk!" she whispered back, grinning.

"Nathaniel is going to love it!" Cooper grinned. "And I found a toy store that had Legos. So, he'll have a gift too!"

"I found several boxes of macaroni and cheese, so his birthday dinner is a go too!" Cassie smiled faintly. "It will be a good birthday for him. We should head back now. Before your mom and Betty get worried and send out a search party...."

The three young adults quickly shouldered their packs and grabbed their bows, heading back to their hideout

***

Back in the hideout, Charles Xavier glanced up with a distant look on his face. "They're coming back," he reported. "There's no sign of anyone following them. Not unless someone has discovered a way to shield themselves from me."

"Or unless it's another version of you." Colossus' rumble was as quiet as he could make it. Still. His voice carried.

"That's good." Laura walked over to join them. "I was starting to get worried."

Betty nodded. "They're capable. Ultimus seems to be a lot more active the last few weeks. Wish we could figure out why...."

Elsa sighed. "I could attempt to investigate... as long as I'm careful...."

Eddie grunted. "Wade and I would help with that. I know Venom is getting bored, which is never a good thing."

"Yeah! I'd for sure help spy!" Wade interjected.

"After Nathaniel's birthday. A kid only turns 13 once, after all." Betty smiled toward the youngest member of their group.

Nathaniel's smile was genuine, if somewhat sad. He appreciated that they wanted to celebrate his birthday, and knew he would enjoy it, but his father not being there made today feel a little shadowed.

Laura wrapped an arm around her youngest's shoulders, noticing the look on his face. "If your dad could be here, he would," she promised.

"We will find him." Lyja smiled at the newly teenage boy. "We will find all of our family. Eventually."

At that moment, Lucky gave a bark and wagged his tail, letting the others know that the three 'scavengers' had arrived back home. The elderly dog sat and waited patiently for the other three to get inside. They had to go through several obstacles before reaching the safety of their hideout. The obstacles were easy for them to navigate but would slow down any hostile intruders and enable them to escape if necessary.

Once inside, Cassie grinned and held up the macaroni. "I'll begin preparing it..." She moved toward their tiny kitchen.

Lila held up the cake mix. "Me too. I even found some icing for it!" She held up a can of already prepared icing.

Cooper held the gift behind his back so Nathaniel couldn't see it. "You can have your gift after we eat and sing to you..." he promised, with a wink at his brother.

Nathaniel's grin widened and turned a bit less sad as he quickly nodded, sort of bouncing in place before apparently remembering he was a teenager now and should be more mature. Even so, he couldn't help saying, "I can't wait!"

Wade grinned. "Me either... Macaroni and cheese is the best...."

Cassie laughed as she began to prepare their meal. Meanwhile, Lila was beginning to blend the cake mix. Cooper had disappeared to 'wrap' the gift.

Elsa leaned against a nearby wall, watching them and trying to stay out of the way. "Did you run into any problems?" she asked quietly, not wanting to alarm anyone, but hoping for a bit of information. They didn't often risk leaving their hideout. Only when they needed to restock on supplies.

"I noticed movement in one of the nearby buildings when I went out last night," Lyja said softly. "We may have to be prepared. In case it brings any of Ultimus' brainwashed soldiers to us."

Charles grimaced. "I hope our traps will give us time to leave, if it becomes necessary."

Betty frowned. "You didn't say anything last night, when you got back..." she said unhappily. If Lyja had said something, she probably would have protested the other three leaving, birthday or not.

"I didn't want to ruin today," Lyja admitted. "Even while we were at war, my parents still tried to make my life, including celebrations, as happy as possible."

Betty sighed, relenting slightly. "I understand. Still. You should have warned us, even if you argued for still going. They would have known to be extra careful if they knew someone was in the area."

Cooper threw an arm around Betty's shoulder. "We were doing that anyway. Nothing happened. We're all okay and we made it back home..." he consoled.

Lyja didn't say that they'd all had to learn to be careful. She simply nodded, acknowledging Betty's words. "I'm going to look again tonight. See who's hiding out there."

"Be careful...." Laura had a worried look on her face, overhearing.

"I will," Lyja promised. "If they're soldiers of Ultimus, they won't notice another HYDRA agent running around. If they're not...perhaps we can find allies."

"Allies would be good," Eddie said. "Not sure we can fit more people in this little shelter, though."

Elsa nodded. "If we find allies, we don't necessarily have to move together... but it might not be a bad idea to move to another shelter anyway. If you saw someone nearby, the chances of them finding us here increase."

"I'll try scanning the people in the building," Charles said. "If they don't have any mental shields in place, I can see if they're allies or enemies. And if they do have shields, that'll give us some more information about what we might be dealing with."

"We'll do that tomorrow, then. It's getting dark. Not a safe time to be out and about..." Elsa said. "...I'm pretty certain Ultimus brought creatures of the night over."

"Creatures of the night?" Colossus sounded confused.

"Vampires. Werewolves. Hell... Maybe even zombies, although they technically are just creatures and not limited to nighttime." Elsa smiled crookedly. "He brought me over, after all. And they were common where I came from."

"That's why you always insist we wait for daylight to go outside?" Cooper blinked.

"Yes?" Elsa sounded almost sheepish. "Did I not say that was why?"

Lyja snorted softly. "I think we all just figured you had a good reason. There was no need to ask for more details."

"Are any of those likely to leave evidence behind?" Laura asked Elsa. "Like bodies? We can look out for those kinds of signs too."

"It depends on the creature in question really. Some are more careful than others. But in general, they do tend to leave evidence behind." Elsa nodded.

"Something to keep a look out for, then," Laura said.

Elsa nodded. She'd already been keeping an eye out, but it would be helpful if everyone did. She began to explain the more hidden signs of creatures being present, outside of the obvious dead bodies that didn't look like regular deaths.

Eddie had a half-disgusted, half-confused grimace on his face at the end of her explanations. Venom had just asked if he could eat any of the bodies they found. "Since when do you eat dead bodies?!" he croaked.

"If they aren't really old dead bodies that decomposed, it wouldn't bother me. I just never did because you object when I eat anything that used to be people..." Venom complained.

Wade laughed.

"Aaaand... on that note. Dinner is ready?" Cassie said hesitantly, bringing out the big pot of mac and cheese.

Nathaniel had a slightly green look on his face, hearing the conversation between Eddie and Venom, but quickly cheered up when he saw the food. His stomach growling gave away the fact his appetite hadn't really been affected.

Cassie smiled at Nathaniel, ruffling his hair after she put the food onto the middle of the table.

Elsa had retrieved dishes and silverware, setting the table quickly.

Lila came in. "The cake is baking. But it should be done by the time we are finished eating and I can frost it and we can have dessert!"

It didn't take long for everyone to gather round the table. Colossus remained standing since, due to his larger size, he would break most chairs.

"Are we singing first? Or doing that when the cake's ready?" Charles smiled.

"We are waiting for the cake!" Lila said firmly. "I found candles for it!"

"Very good." Charles chuckled softly.

Soon, the group was eating, happily talking, and making plans.

"I want to go out...." Nathaniel said, hesitantly, because he knew it likely wouldn't be allowed, but still wanting to be a part of the group.

Betty looked at the youngest member and looked ready to veto the idea immediately. She didn't, though. As worried as she was about their tiny group, as protective as she felt toward them, Laura was his mother and should be the one to make the decision about if he'd go or not.

Lila gave her little brother a sympathetic look. She understood his desire to do what the rest of them did. Even if she didn't like the idea of him being out where danger was.

"I know it's difficult and you don't want to have to stay behind," Laura said gently. "But being here is just as important too. We need people back at the base, to keep it protected."

Nathaniel frowned. "You're just saying that to make me feel useful," he accused, though without any real heat.

"I hope it does make you feel useful kid... cuz it is useful..." Eddie interjected. "Can you imagine the problems we'd end up with if everyone left the base and someone snuck in and were waiting for us when we got back? With you keeping watch on things... if someone shows up that shouldn't, you know the way to sneak out of the back entrance and then can warn us."

"I don't want to keep staying behind while the rest of you go looking for supplies and other people," Nathaniel said, a little sadly.

"I know." Laura wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "But it won't be like this forever."

"Maybe... This can cheer you up?" Lila said, walking in with a freshly baked cake, the icing slightly melting because she'd iced it before it was fully cool. Lit candles were on top of it. She'd snuck out a few minutes before everyone had finished eating and completed it while they were talking.

Wade immediately began to sing happy birthday, the others joining in.

Nathaniel smiled and, once they'd finished singing happy birthday and the cake had been set down, he leaned forward to blow out the candles. He was really too old for birthday wishes, but even so...he wished they could find his father. That they could find the rest of their friends and family.

****

It was later that night, and everyone had returned from the supply run safely. "Did you notice anything the rest of us need to be aware of when we go out tomorrow?" Sharon asked.

"We didn't go too far out," Harry said. "Just to the same small town with shops we've got supplies from before. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary...." He glanced towards Peter Andrew.

Peter shook his head. "No spidey sense tingling or anything like that. But might need to start going further afield for certain supplies, as we're stripping a lot of the shelves bare."

"We can go the opposite direction. There was a smaller town that Friday said hasn't been looked at because you all felt the larger town would be productive..." Maria smiled. "Our group can look there and maybe get further information."

"I think that would be a good idea," Coulson agreed. "It might also be worth looking further afield, since even though Ultimus might not be aware of what happened at the base, he'll know that he's lost more soldiers. I don't see him just giving up on our world."

"I thought that was a given," Maria said, with a hint of teasing. "I figured the only reason it hadn't been done yet was they were waiting to have enough people with the ability to portal that they could send a wizard with whichever group started the longer treks, so that they could easily return to base quickly if needed."

"You are correct, Agent Hill. Trips to areas that the sorcerers aren't familiar with aren't a good idea, since we don't know where his forces are exactly. But leaving for several days at a time to slowly get to those areas and explore would have put the base at risk if there weren't enough people to defend or help evacuate," Friday agreed.

Ikaris glanced towards Peter Tom. You talked to me and Sersi about potentially having different bases and different people based there. Since we have so many here now, would you like to make that suggestion? he asked his younger mate.

Peter's eyes widened at Ikaris' question. You want me to ask? You don't think it would sound better coming from you? You're a leader... I'm just a... well, I guess I'm not a kid anymore, but I'm not a leader either....

"I've been wanting to explore other areas where I knew people... where I had company offices... see how bad the destruction was and if any of my people can be helped..." Tony said quietly. "Now that we have enough people to protect our home base... and still have enough people to protect each other while exploring... I think we should make plans to go further from the base. We can pack provisions and walk. Explore. See what areas are more 'controlled' than others. When we reach the end of our provisions, we can open a portal back to home base.  Since the areas we explore will be known to whichever of you go with us..." He looked at Mordo, Wong, and Stephen. "...You can easily open a portal back to the place we left from when we decide to continue exploring in that direction."

"It's feasible..." Frank agreed. "If those of us who are used to living in rougher situations are the ones to explore, we can hide in places that Ultimus isn't likely to look, because they aren't comfortable or 'as safe' as he'd expect from civilians."

I can ask if you'd rather, Ikaris replied. But it was your idea. So, I don't want to take credit for something you suggested. And not being a leader doesn't mean you can't have ideas and make suggestions. After all. These people are family to all of us now.

Steve nodded in agreement with both Tony and Frank's words. "We haven't had a chance to see how much is actually under Ultimus' control. It could be there are other areas we might want to make use of. I could only explore so far on my own." Since he was limited not only in how far and fast he could move, but also in needing to hide from the people who were his friends...his family...until Ultimus had taken control.

I don't care about credit... Peter thought honestly.

"I'm certain there are other useful areas; and if he has a lax control over those areas, due to not having any resistance, it might be a good idea to move those who are more vulnerable to the areas he is less likely to pay attention to..." Ross suggested. "Those without powers and the children....  He is focusing on this area because we've been fighting him. So, if someone isn't a fighter, if we can move them to a location he is paying less attention to and get them safely in a base there.... Even if we have to evacuate this base, we will have already evacuated the most vulnerable among us."

"Peter Tom actually had an idea about that." Ikaris spoke out loud. "There are a lot of us freed now and we might end up filling up this base, if we can't defeat Ultimus before then. Since we have three sorcerers, he suggested we could make use of three different bases, connected through magical portals. It would not only give us more space to move, but even if one base is hit and cannot evacuate in time, there are still two more bases that remain free."

"If we could get information on exactly how Ultimus' portals work and if he'd be able to access our portals that might be workable. Otherwise, I don't think we'd want to leave permanent portal-ways between any bases we set up. I'd hate for an evil version of me to help him take over a base and then use the 'doorway' to get into any other bases we set up," Wong said seriously. "We already know there is a version of Mordo that is working with Ultimus. It isn't hard to imagine that he has a version of Stephen or I as well. Or perhaps some other sorcerer that knows how our door portals work...."

Mordo nodded in agreement. "We couldn't set up permanent portals, but we can still make use of different bases. Like Ross said. Put the civilians somewhere where it's safer. Make sure there are lines of communication open. Perhaps one half of a bonded pair, or part of a bonded three, could stay with them, with whoever it is being switched out periodically so they still spend some time directly fighting alongside us." He didn't add that it would also keep a bonded pair from being apart for too long, even though that thought was on his mind.

Tony nodded. "That would also make sure that all bases had at least one individual able to protect them, as well as call for backup if needed."

"Like The Walking Dead..." Kate grinned. "We can trade between bases too!"

Druig grimaced. "Hopefully not too much like The Walking Dead. I'd rather not deal with zombies..."

"The people you control notwithstanding?" Sprite grinned cheekily at her brother.

"Ha ha!" Druig rolled his eyes in exasperated amusement. "My 'zombies' are still able to think. And they don't eat other people..." he pointed out.

"Just minor differences." Sprite waved her hand airily.

Druig snorted. "I'll remind you of that if we run into any people eating zombies...."

Jack shuddered. "I'd rather not think of that possibility; considering I and Kate were brought over and we're technically 'monsters', I wouldn't be surprised if he did bring over those type of zombies if he thought they'd be useful."

"Actual zombies exist in your dimension?" Fury asked his mate.

"They do..." Jack nodded. "...Pretty much every 'monster' that is in mythology or popular literature or media exists where I came from."

Steve winced visibly at the response. "If you can tell us their weaknesses, that will be useful for if they do get brought here."

"I'll tell you what I can. Blade can probably help too. And Kate if she is in a more lucid moment." Jack smiled.

"That would help." Fury smiled at his mate and reached out to gently squeeze Jack's shoulder.

"I can begin working on it tomorrow; tell Friday everything I can think of." Jack leaned toward Fury.

Sharon nodded. "So, tomorrow a group of us head to the unexplored town in the opposite direction of our normal haunt. And we can also make plans to go further afield. We'll probably need to plan on what supplies we'd need to take with us on a longer trip, since those going on that will be gone overnight."

Fury wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulders, gathering his mate in close.

"That sounds like a good idea." Coulson agreed with his own mate. "The unexplored town will hopefully have more in the way of supplies than where we've seen already."

"Maybe...." Harley hesitantly cleared his throat. "Maybe you can look for any of the livestock you were talking about hopefully bringing here for more fresh items?" he suggested uncertainly.

Sharon bit her lip and looked at the others. "We could..." she said hesitantly. "Although I'm not entirely sure we have a place to house them and it's going to begin getting cold eventually. They'll need shelter."

"Depending on what you're able to find, I can probably make up an area for them in the indoor park," Peter Andrew said. "I shouldn't have any problems getting what's needed to fence off what we're growing and can't be eaten."

"We were originally talking about cows. But those are too big to be keeping in an indoor park. As good a job as you've done with it, it is still only a few rooms in width and height. Goats might fit better, but they are difficult to keep out of things you don't want them to eat. And this is assuming we can even find anything. But we will do what we can. Maybe one of the new locations we explore will be in an area that is more temperate and able to keep livestock outside. And won't have as much a presence from Ultimus." Maria shrugged.

"Another base may give us more options for keeping livestock," Ikaris commented. "A forested area might be a good place to keep some livestock. It would be easier to keep defended, as enemies wouldn't find navigating the trees so easy."

"Like the hut I used as a base before anyone else was freed," Steve said quietly.

"I think that would be the best option. While I'd love fresh dairy, it feels like it would be cruel to bring livestock into this base when it really isn't set up for livestock. Even if we redesigned a few areas, that would require us to give up space that would help save people. So..." Colleen shrugged.

"If you think the base you had hasn't been discovered, we can take a look at it tomorrow. See how easy it would be to keep livestock there," Kingo suggested.

"I know where the area is. I can open a portal there if a group wants to take a look," Mordo suggested.

Sharon blinked. "Uh... what base is this you are talking about?"

"It was the area where I was before we moved here," Steve answered. "It wasn't a base as such, though. An easily defensible hut in a forest that I found shortly after escaping."

"Ah. So not really that defensible if there are a lot of people there, but maybe possibly safe enough to have livestock?" Sharon frowned. "Maybe make a barn to keep them in at night or in bad weather, but let them roam free during the day? Most cows always 'head home' at night, so... maybe that would work...."

"At the very least, I think we should take a look and see if we think it might be useful," Coulson said. "Fresh dairy would be good to have access to, if at all possible."

"For the children, especially..." Pepper interjected.

Bruce nodded. "So tomorrow, one group will check the area Steve stayed in before the bonding began to occur? And another group will collect supplies from the town that's further away? Who plans to go in which group?"

"I figure us group of women can check out the town further away..." Maria smiled, waving her hand between Colleen, Sharon and a few of the older women. "Since Steve knows where he was at, he should probably go there with whatever group is going there to plan. Although it might be a good idea to take some of those who don't go out often, so they can get an idea of the area around the base. Just in case."

Steve nodded. "Whoever would be interested in going out, let me know." He looked towards Mordo. "You're willing to open the portal?"

Mordo nodded. "I suspect my counterpart was close when I opened the portal to return last night, so we've talked about varying the locations of where we open the portals. Friday was going to provide a list of safe locations, I believe."

"Well, since we have an early morning tomorrow and a bit of a walk since we are trying to limit portals, I'm going to bed." Maria smiled.

Sharon nodded. "Yeah. Probably a good idea," she agreed.

Colleen also agreed and soon, the three had left.

"Can I go with you, Captain?" Peter Tom asked.

"I am Groot..." Groot also indicated an interest in finding animals.

Steve smiled at the two. "Of course. We don't have quite as far to go, since Mordo will open the portal, so we don't need to get up as early. Though I would still advise having a good night's sleep."

"Yessir!" Peter Tom immediately hugged his mates goodnight, waved at everyone else and headed for bed.

"I am Groot!" Groot followed him out.

Tony chuckled. "On that note, I'm feeling my age and think I'll be hitting the sheets too."

It didn't take long before everyone was dispersing, heading to their own rooms.

***

The next morning, Maria's group left early. Wong and Druig had decided to accompany them just in case they ran into trouble and needed to make a quick getaway. It was an uneventful trek, however. Two hours later, they had reached the small town and could begin exploring.

"It's a shame," Colleen said, "but it doesn't look as if there is much here...." They were in a tiny corner bakery. "Not that I expected a place that sells fresh goods to actually have anything edible after a year, but sometimes teas and coffees are sold...."

Sharon smiled. "Maybe the coffee shop across the street will have something. Friday indicated there was a supermarket two blocks from here, too. It should have more packaged and canned items."

Maria nodded. "I promised the kids I would look for a toy shop to get them new activities. Hopefully, the one Friday pointed out will have something."

"We can take a look at what there is available," Ajak commented. "And next time we come out, we can head in a different direction and see if we have any more luck there."

"True enough. This town is small enough, I have a feeling we'll have looked in all available shops before we need to head back.  Still... Friday did say there was a toy shop here. So, we'll probably find something, even if it isn't a lot of something..." Colleen grinned.

Sharon nodded. "I mainly wanted to come to this town because we could easily walk here and back in a day, but its size made it less likely to have Ultimus' soldiers around."

"It might be worth seeing if the smaller areas like this one would make for a good defensible base," Ajak commented. "Not the town itself, but perhaps underneath it."

"I somehow doubt the sewers in the smaller towns are open enough for us to be able to make defensible bases, but maybe. It doesn't hurt to look into all possibilities, even if it is to rule them out," Maria said.

"Especially if we end up having to evacuate quickly." Ajak nodded.

"Hopefully, that doesn't happen..." Colleen sighed.

"Still. At least we'll be prepared for the possibility." Ajak glanced around. "Toy shop next? Or supermarket?"

"Toy shop. On the very remote chance there is still something in the refrigerated or freezer sections that is still edible, it will give us time to get it home before it defrosts." Sharon smiled.

Ajak nodded and began walking in that direction.

The toy shop was small, but it had several different card and board games that Colleen put into a pack to take back to the children (and adults). She also added a few stuffed animals, action figures and dolls just in case. Soon, they were leaving the toy shop and heading toward the market to see if there were any non-perishables that would be useful (or frozen items that were still edible).

On their way to the supermarket, Ajak kept a careful watch on their surroundings. It was unlikely any of Ultimus' soldiers would be there, but they couldn't let their guard down.

It really was a small town, so it didn't take long to reach the market. Soon, they were all gathering items that would transport easily. "We'll need to see about making a quick, portal trip back to get items that are too big to carry long distance..." Maria thought out loud.

"I assume that wouldn't be a problem, as Wong knows where this area is now." Ajak glanced at Wong, just to make sure.

"It would not..." Wong agreed. "I can open it into the back of the store too."

Ajak nodded. "And we have plenty of people who can help lift the heavier stuff, too...."

***

It hadn't taken Steve, Mordo, Peter Tom and Groot long to reach the hut Steve had originally made his base for more than a year. Steve glanced around the area with a kind of bittersweet feeling. It wouldn't have done for a large group of people, but it was hard not to feel some kind of attachment to the place that had been home until he'd managed to free people he cared about from Ultimus' control.

Mordo was looking around. "We might have to cut back some of the plants, but with some work, we might be able to make this hut into more of a farmhouse," he commented.

"Not too many plants... Any changes we make shouldn't change how it looks from the air, if we don't want Ultimus investigating," Yelena said softly, moving to stand next to Peter and Quill.

Quill looked around. "Goats would work well in more overgrown parts. We may want to wait on cows till we find an actual abandoned dairy farm or something. This area is a bit rough, and we don't want broken legs and such."

"I am Groot!"

Steve nodded. "I actually saw goats, while I was hiding from Ultimus and his converted. I guess they're better able to survive than other animals, mostly due to the fact that they can eat so much."

"I can place some wards around this area, for added protection." Mordo was still looking around, determining the best places to put the wards.

"Yeah... they can eat nearly anything... and if they are already in the area, then it wouldn't draw undue attention if they just shifted to this spot to live. If we can direct them this way..." Quill grinned.

Yelena looked at Steve. "Where did you see them? We can set this up so that it is a safe haven and attractive to them and then go lead them here...."

"It's actually not that far from this location. I spotted them on the way to the portal that brought through those from another dimension." Steve began to head in that direction.

Mordo followed. "Once we're out of the shelter of the forest, I'll raise a shield to keep us hidden from any aerial view."

"I am Groot!" Groot said, somewhat nervously.

"I'm sure we'll get warning if there is someone around..." Quill tried to reassure his friend. "Besides. Mordo is strong, so he should have no problem blocking us from view."

Peter just followed Steve, keeping his eyes open for wandering goats. "Do you think they'll scream if they see us? I've heard goats scream sometimes... Thor said they did, anyway."

"I'm not sure." Steve looked at Mordo. "If you can, maybe shield us from the view of the goats, too?" he suggested. "Just in case."

Mordo nodded. "Of course."

***

They'd settled into their base, setting up traps and snares around the building and arranging for fresh supplies to be brought through the portal.

Natasha came back from her excursion outside, and her check in with those from her own dimension and met Mordo as she was on her way back. "I'd like to go and gather intel from the Sanctum, in case the rebels have already been there," she said. "I'll be back before it gets dark."

Mordo nodded slowly. "Be careful. The rebels took out the previous base," he warned.

Natasha smiled confidently. "They won't even know I've been there."

The Ancient glanced toward the assassin. "Do you require backup?" She slanted her head. "Or a portal to get there?"

"A portal would be useful," Natasha said. "But I don't need backup. More than one person is likely to be noticed."

"I will open the portal, then..." Ancient waved her hand, almost negligently. "Are you going now, or waiting till later?"

"There's little point in waiting," Natasha answered. "I'd like to go now."

"Very well." The Ancient One quickly opened a portal straight to the Sanctum. If there was anyone there that was a threat, she had no doubt Natasha could handle them. And if she couldn't? It was one less person to have to compete with for Ultimus' favor.

Natasha wasted no time in stepping through the portal. She didn't use the earring while she was in the Sanctum, not sure how well the communication device would work with magic, even if there were no sorcerers around.

But her priority wasn't in gathering intel, after all, although she made certain to appear as if she was, moving with the shadows and on her guard for enemies.

No. Her goal was to leave a message...a clue. It wasn't the only one she'd placed. And there was no guarantee that anyone who knew what it meant would see it. But just in case, while she moved to appear as if she was only gathering information and mapping out the area, she left her own trace behind.

The Ancient One hadn't followed her through. She'd got a time frame for when she wanted to return and let the portal close as soon as Natasha had gone through. She'd open a portal in the same spot at the time Natasha had indicated, but she was no one's bodyguard and didn't feel like following the other woman around.

***

They'd succeeded in finding the goats and made plans to move the animals to the hut in the forest, with the intention of returning the next day to carry out the work.

Having returned to the base, Mordo sought out Wong. "I think we should retrieve the spell books from the Sanctum now," he said quietly. "I don't think we want to leave Kate as a vampire for much longer, considering we'll soon run out of what she can feed on."

Wong nodded. "Stephen and I were talking about that while you were out with Steve and the others. He pointed out that in the show, they re-souled Angelus. And then he pointed out that there is only one magic user among us who has experience with soul magic. Wanda received her power through the Soul Stone. Of all of us, she is most likely the one that would succeed in drawing Katie's soul back to the body. Then... we just need to cure the vampirism."

Mordo nodded. "I think we need to take at least a couple of other people with us. While we're searching for the book, there'll need to be someone on lookout. Preferably with a long-range weapon."

"I could go with you. Take my bow. It's long range, but if I must use it, it won't make any noise and draw attention..." Clint said.

Mordo nodded. "That would help," he agreed. "If you're ready, we can go now." He glanced towards Wong, in case his fellow sorcerer needed to retrieve anything, or otherwise prepare, before they left.

"Let's go .." Wong said brusquely. The sooner they went, the sooner they could return.

Mordo nodded and led the way out of the base. Going by the list of safe locations Friday had given him, he headed to a completely different area to open the portal.

Clint surveyed the surrounding area, memorizing it, the green wooded area with gentle rolling hills. "Gorgeous land. Doesn't look like anyone lives here. Probably why Stark chose it for his base..." he whispered.

Mordo nodded his agreement. "It has worked in our favor. Hopefully, other bases we expand to will be similar." Once they'd reached the area Friday had indicated, he proceeded to open the portal to the Sanctum, careful to do so in a less obvious location.

Clint immediately stepped through, eyes scanning the area for threats.

There weren't any immediate threats in the vicinity, but Mordo didn't feel able to relax his guard. He looked at Wong. "I'm going to go straight to the library."

"Sooner we find the books, the better..." Wong agreed, following him.

"Should I stay with you, or can I look around?" Clint asked.

"You don't need to stay with us," Mordo said. "Tony said that he made sure the comms couldn't be heard on any frequency other than the one we use at the base. He did explain how, but I didn't really understand it." He'd let Tony talk because it made him happy to see his mates enthusiastic or excited.

Clint grinned at that. "I'm gonna tell him you said that!" he teased, before turning to go explore.

Wong snorted, before beginning to scour the shelves for any useful books. "I know in the past, we never allowed books to leave the library... But I'd rather take what we can with us and prevent any possible enemy versions of ourselves from having access to them."

Mordo nodded, even as he began to look on the other side of the library to where Wong was. "This is an extreme situation. I think we can dispense with those kinds of rules, at least while Ultimus is still a threat."

"It is good you concur... I know Stephen would have been doing it from the beginning if we allowed it, so there will be no argument from him..." Wong said in amusement. Mordo had always been the one concerned with strictly following the rules. It was one of the reasons finding out about the Ancient One had destroyed his belief.

"Thanos snapped away half of all life for five years," Mordo commented. "I had a lot of time to reflect and think of what I could have done differently."

"Are you saying you would be more like Stephen now, even if Ultimus wasn't a factor? Do I need to be worried?" Wong raised an eyebrow. Several things had happened before Ultimus due to Stephen being lax with the rules; Peter Parker needing to be erased from everyone's memory an example.

Mordo shook his head. "Agreeing that sometimes a rule may need to be changed, or that being too rigid can cause more harm than good, doesn't mean I plan to act when it's unnecessary and there is a different way...."

***

Natasha had still been at the Sanctum when the sorcerers and Clint had arrived. She'd kept herself hidden as Mordo and Wong had gone to the library and stayed hidden for a few moments, quietly observing this dimension's version of Clint.

She didn't think he was under Ultimus' control, but considering she'd seen others working willingly with the invader, including a version of herself, she needed to be cautious in revealing herself.

Clint was cautious. Beyond that, he was paranoid. Too much had occurred in the last half of his life for him not to be uneasy when he 'felt' someone watching him. "Be ready to run, fellas. I feel eyes on me, but haven't seen anyone yet, so we may need to leave quickly," he whispered into his comms.

Natasha was close enough to see Clint whisper into the commas, even if she couldn't make out exactly what he said. But she'd been watching enough to notice...he wasn't wearing a beacon. And he didn't move like one of those converted by Ultimus.

Breathing in deeply, Natasha stepped out from hiding, hands spread to show they were empty of weapons...though anyone who knew any version of her would know she had multiple weapons hidden on her.

Clint immediately raised his bow defensively; though he knew if this Natasha was anything like his own had been, if she'd intended harm, she would have already attacked. "You're alive somewhere, at least..." he finally said, in a rough voice. "Can I assume I was the one who was sacrificed for the Soul Stone in your dimension?"

"Thanos invaded this dimension, too." It was a statement, not a question. "We made contact with another one where he hadn't." Her eyes focused on him, as if she was memorizing every detail of him. What was the same. What was different. "Ultimus has tried to take our dimension, but...forewarned is forearmed." She paused. "I hope you are part of the resistance and not working with him, willingly or as a slave." That hope had caused her to reveal herself.

"Clint? Is everything okay?" Mordo's voice came through the commas, pitched low so as not to draw undue attention. He hoped.

"Can I take your question as a confirmation you aren't on his side?" Clint asked, making sure his comm was open so Mordo could hear what was being said.

Natasha nodded. "He was sending counterparts here willingly working with him. I was able to take the place of my counterpart. And there is one other with me. But there are four who are on his side. I have contact with some of those from my dimension."

"Does he send people to this area frequently?" Clint asked, nervously looking around. "My Nat and I had a code... Where we could leave messages for each other that our enemies wouldn't understand..." He said a few words of it, to see if she understood the code; and also, if she understood he was suggesting they leave messages for each other so they could work together to help fight Ultimus.

Natasha nodded and gestured towards the areas she'd left her clues. "I figured it might be the same here. I left a few others in different areas." She replied with her own words of the code.

Clint nodded. "Are you here alone? Do we need to be worried about others coming here and seeing us?"

"There are four who are willingly working with Ultimus," Natasha reiterated. "Three of them are sorcerers. The final one, I am unsure of her abilities."

"Can you tell us who they are? Just in case we can prepare?" Clint asked.

"I know two of the sorcerers from my own dimension," Natasha answered. "Their names are Wong and Mordo. The third does not exist in my dimension, but the other two call her the Ancient. The fourth is called Janet van Dyne." She paused. "The other from my own dimension is T'Challa."

"The Ancient's counterpart is here?" Mordo's worry was immediately obvious, both in his voice and through the bond.

Clint blinked at Mordo's response. "Be careful around the Ancient. Our Mordo is worried to hear about her... So is our Wong," he added, hearing Wong mumbling under his breath about her being exceptionally strong in the mystic arts. "The name Janet sounds familiar. I'll mention it to the others."

Natasha nodded. "They know how you're fighting back. They know about the bonding," she warned. "They're already talking about counter spells. When I'm able to find out more, I'll leave a message."

"Thank you. If it becomes too dangerous, let us know. We'll get you out..." Clint promised.

"So far, they haven't suspected anything," Natasha replied. "But if that changes, I will let you know."

Clint nodded. "You guys almost finished?" he asked into the comms. He was willing to trust this Natasha, but who knew if one of the other sorcerers might decide to follow her?

"We're just about done," Mordo replied, after checking with Wong. "Is it easier for us to come out and meet you? Or would you prefer to come to meet us?"

"I'll meet you at the front entrance..." Clint said, giving Natasha a nod and beginning to head that way.

"We're going there now," Mordo replied, heading to the entrance as he spoke.

Wong took one last look around the library, to make certain any books they definitely didn't want in Ultimus' hands were safely in his pack. He then followed Mordo to the front. Clint was waiting for them. "Should we just portal directly out of here to our spot?" he asked Mordo.

Mordo nodded. "While I'm sure we can trust what Natasha told you, I don't want to risk either of our counterparts or the Ancient deciding they need to join her here."

Wong nodded and immediately opened a portal back to where they'd left from. "Let's move quick. I don't like that a dark version of the Ancient is here."

Clint immediately stepped through and once both sorcerers were behind him and the portal was closed again, began briskly making his way back to base.

As they headed back to the base, Mordo reached out to both his mates. We need to call everyone in for a meeting. We've discovered the presence of more dark counterparts.... His worry bled through the bond, despite his best efforts to suppress it.

I'll get everyone together, Pepper promised.

Thank you. Out loud, Mordo said to Clint and Wong, "Pepper is going to get everyone together so we can make a report."

"Great..." Clint said quickly, too concerned with watching for the enemy to say anything more. 

Wong was relieved when they reached the base without incident and quickly went inside.

Clint immediately sought out Bruce.

Mordo headed for the meeting room.

Bruce was just leaving his and Clint's room, having received the message from Pepper, when he noticed his bond mate. "Everything okay?" he asked worriedly.

Clint just moved into Bruce's space and held onto him. He sent Natasha here. She's faking being on his side, but... she's here.

Bruce wrapped his own arms around Clint and held on tight. She's still alive, somewhere. A wave of relief flooded through the bond. It sounds like she's not a lot different from our own version of her, if she's able to fool Ultimus into thinking she's on his side.

Yeah. I believe her when she says she isn't. She gave some information. We'll explain in the meeting, though. Clint hugged tightly for a moment, before withdrawing so they could join the others.

Even though Clint withdrew, Bruce still wrapped his arm around his bond mate's shoulders as they headed into the meeting room.

Once everyone was gathered together, Mordo proceeded to explain what had happened and what they had learned.

Steve frowned. "The name Janet van Dyne doesn't mean anything to me. Does anyone else know if she exists in our world?" He looked around at the group.

Scott Lang's eyes had widened and unhappy shock had filtered through his bond. "Janet is Hope Van Dyne's mother. Hank Pym's wife. She was the original Wasp. In this dimension, she would never join Ultimus, though...."

We know it's possible that our own dark counterparts would willingly work with Ultimus. That doesn't mean we would, or that the versions of our friends and family here in this dimension would. Rhodey sent a soothing wave of reassurance through the bond.

Tony nodded. "Given how many of our counterparts have turned out dark, I think it may be safe to assume that Ultimus hopes to defeat us by...using us."

Scott glanced toward Rhodey. I know. It's just a bit of a shock is all. And I can't help wondering where Hank, Janet and Hope are. Just like I worry about Cassie. They were family to me. And Luis and the guys were my brothers and... I haven't let myself think about them too much because it's difficult, but....

"That does give us something of an advantage," Ajak said. "Knowledge goes both ways. The problem is, there are other counterparts we might not be able to anticipate. Like the Ancient. I have heard of her, but as she was in this dimension. I don't know enough about her to anticipate what she might do." She glanced towards the sorcerers.

"Since they know how we are fighting back against Ultimus, they will attempt to, if not outright break the bond, find ways to lessen its effectiveness," Mordo said. "We have to focus on finding a counter to that."

We'll do everything possible to find them and free them from Ultimus' control too, Rhodey promised.

Stephen glanced at Ajak. "She was pragmatic and didn't hesitate to do something 'questionable' if it meant protecting our universe. Which is good if another version of her shows up that is on our side but is scary thinking about when she isn't on our side."  He sighed. He glanced toward Mordo, wondering if this scenario was why he had been so adamant rules be followed. Because someone whose intentions weren't good could cause a great deal of trouble if they weren't constrained.

Wong nodded. "We need to think of all the possible ways the bond could be broken, then come up with counters to that. The sooner the better."

Scott gave Rhodey a grateful smile.

Mordo nodded in agreement with Stephen's words but responded to Wong. "I retrieved any books that seemed to be involving bonding, whether the one we have or others, even before the other Natasha indicated that the Ancient was here." He glanced at Stephen. "You'll be pleased to know that we decided it isn't necessary to leave all of the books in the Sanctum. We've brought as many as possible back with us."

"That's great!" Stephen gave a highly interested look toward the other two. "We can research without leaving the base!"

"I brought something else, too." Mordo removed four sling rings. "Since it seems those bonded to each other are able to access their bond mates' abilities, we might want to teach our own bond mates to utilize their new skills."

Stephen nodded. "That's a good idea. Of course, there are other abilities that aren't sorcery...."

"That is true." Mordo nodded. "I believe it would be beneficial for all the bond mates to train and learn each other's abilities. Our counterparts might be aware of the bond, but unless they have personal experience with it themselves, I doubt they are aware of certain aspects of it."

"Maybe that's what we do tomorrow. All bond mates with special abilities get with their mate and begin testing to see which abilities have transferred through the bond or not," Ross suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Steve agreed. "The training area is big enough for most people to use it, but, if need be, we can take it in shifts."

"Some abilities can be tested and trained in our personal quarters, too," Druig pointed out. "So even if we used the gym in shifts, some of us don't have to wait to practice."

"I believe we can easily test and train in our own quarters." Loki smiled at his bond mate.

Quill grinned back. "Should be fun!" he agreed.

"Those of us without special abilities, whose abilities come from our equipment... Can just hang out and watch videos when the gym is being reserved..." Scott looked toward Rhodey.

"Might be good to see if certain skill sets are shared..." Dane slanted his head. "I mean... For example... Kate doesn't have an ability, but she is very skilled with a bow. Great eye and hand coordination, as well as eyesight...."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," Rhodey agreed. He looked towards Scott. "It's worth seeing if we can do more than just mental communication."

Scott nodded. "Yeah...that would be useful," he quickly agreed.

"Well, good. Since everyone's in agreement..." Tony clapped his hands. "Let's take the rest of the day off. I know some kiddos that wanted to play some of those games that were brought back."

It didn't take long for everyone to agree and soon, those in the base were playing games, or walking in the park, or preparing meals for everyone else.

***

As she clambered over the last of the obstacles to get back into their base, Lyja's features reformed from that of a HYDRA soldier into her own.

Laura came to meet her. "Did you find out anything new?" she asked.

"I saw six of them. At least." Lyja shrugged. "They're not making any attempt to hide their presence, which has me worried. Either they're overconfident, or they have good reason to expect no resistance." She kept her voice low, so that the youngest in the base wouldn't hear and worry.

Betty had come up and heard the last part of Lyja's comment and frowned. "I know it isn't likely you would recognize any of them, but do you think you could show us what they look like, in case one of us does?"

Lyja nodded and began to take on the appearance of each of those she'd seen at the base.

Laura straightened slightly. "A version of Nat is here?" The hint of grief in her voice wasn't nearly as well hidden as she would have liked.

"You recognized someone? I think I've seen versions of some of them on news. They all had powers..." Betty was worried.

"I can't think they're here for us," Laura said. "We've been living like this for more than a year and not seen anything from Ultimus."

"Do you think there's a group fighting back?" Lyja returned to her own features.

"If there is, we want to join forces with them." Charles had heard the conversation. "If they're fighting back, they might have found a way to break Ultimus' control. A way that everyone can use."

Betty nodded. "We should send out scouts... investigate. If there is another group fighting, they aren't close to us, or we would have found them by now; but that doesn't mean they don't exist. We know Ultimus' fighters can portal. If we can figure out where they portal to, we could possibly make our way in that direction and see if there is anyone there."

Cassie looked at Cooper and Lila. "We could pack enough for a few days. Head out to explore. Prof is able to link via our thoughts, so he could check in with us once an hour maybe, so we can relay back information...."

"Yeah! And if we find a safe hiding spot, we let you know... Wait... We make a new base. We've been here long enough we probably should move anyway, just to make sure they don't find us..." Lila agreed.

Venom covered Eddie's face for a second. "We could go as well. If something happens, we fight the bad guys while they escape!" the alien asserted.

Wade looked at the older women. "It's not a horrible plan. If they find a safe spot and then send word back, we can easily pack and carry what we don't want to leave behind. They can move more quickly and find a safe spot in a small group, and we can move more quickly carrying all our belongings if we have a chosen location...."

Laura looked a bit worried about the situation, but she couldn't exactly argue with the logic.

"If I went as well, then if we did run into any trouble, I could take on the form of the HYDRA soldier and make it look as if I'm transporting prisoners," Lyja suggested.

Betty nodded slowly. "They are right about moving. And splitting up temporarily so they can find a safe spot would be less dangerous than all of us moving in one large group..." She smiled sadly. "And you and Clint trained Lila and Cooper, so you know they are capable."

Cassie smiled crookedly. "My dad taught me how to hide and escape and obfuscate and my stepdad taught me how to protect myself if I was caught, so...."

Laura sighed and nodded. "Okay, but I want you to stay in constant contact with us through Charles."

"Of course!" Cooper immediately agreed.

"We can leave in the morning," Lila said. "Use tonight to pack and decide on a direction."

"If we head south, maybe we can avoid being snowed in too frequently..." Cassie suggested.

"I'm with you. The warmer the better. Us Californians need to stick together if we don't wanna freeze..." Eddie teased.

"Wherever we head, we want it to be as far from the enemy base as possible," Lyja commented. "I don't know what powers those I saw had, but given what Elsa's said about other creatures being brought over, I think we need to find somewhere a bit more isolated."

Betty pulled out a map. "Agreed. Isolated is best, even if being closer to towns gives easy access to supplies. If we find a space that is in a good location, we can grow some of our own food and hunt...."

Lyja moved so that she could easily see the map, along with the others who planned to go, and ran one finger down a particular area. "We could make our way here first," she suggested. "Forests or woods may contain buildings...or at least the remnants of ones we can make use of."

"Unless we want to live in a ranger's station, we'll want to avoid this direction. It's a national park. A ranger's station may have what we need, but it wouldn't be very large and they tend to try and make them easy to find," Cooper pointed out.

Lyja nodded. "Maybe this direction, then?" she suggested, pointing to an area that was clearly marked as being entirely forest area. "Even if it's dense, it should be fairly easy to find our way through. And the trees would provide cover from anything or anyone flying above us."

"We could probably get further. And making shelter wouldn't be impossible. Plus, there are a few small towns dotted here and there along the roadway, so I think that's a good direction," Lila contributed.

Lyja nodded. "It's settled, then?" She glanced at the others for confirmation.

Betty looked at Laura. "I think it will work."

Laura nodded. "If you're going tomorrow, we'll get packs made up tonight with what you're likely to need."

Cassie smiled. "We should make a list of what we need to take...."

****

Kate paced her room, getting progressively more anxious. She hadn't fed since eliminating the HYDRA soldiers who were planning to attack those who she was now with. She hadn't left the room, either, and while it was nicer than a cell and had anything she could possibly want, it was still a tiny room that she wasn't allowed to leave. She was beginning to feel caged. The fact she hadn't seen anyone since being shown to the room didn't help. Had she made a mistake joining them? Maybe she should have stayed outside, where she was free. At least she could eat there.

Namor knew Katie hadn't fed and, while not exactly a prisoner, it wasn't necessarily safe for her to be freely roaming around the base. He couldn't imagine she was unaffected by all of this, though. So, he'd gone to her room. Now, standing outside it, he knocked lightly on the door.

Stilling, Katie slanted her head and listened, looking every bit the predator she was. "Come in..." she finally responded.

Namor opened the door and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "Hello, Kate," he said calmly. "I wanted to check how you're doing."

Katie turned to face Namor with wide eyes. "Can I go outside?" she asked, in a subdued tone, her eyes darting around the room. "The walls want to crush me...." She bit her lip. "And I'm hungry." This time, she pouted.

Namor hesitated. "I think everyone is having to stay inside, because it's just been discovered more counterparts working with Ultimus have arrived here. But I might be able to take you out of the base for a few minutes, at least a short way." He paused. "As for being hungry...you can feed on me," he offered.

Katie wrinkled her nose, but didn't argue about leaving. She knew how precarious the situation was, even if she wasn't as focused as everyone else. She slanted her head. "You'd let me do that?" She couldn't help being surprised or uncertain. Even if he had been friendly to her, allowing her to feed from him was a lot to ask or expect.

"I know you need to feed. At least until the sorcerers have finished studying the books they retrieved," Namor answered. "I don't believe you are a truly bad person. I would let you feed willingly."

Katie gave him a sad smile. "You're so nice to me..." she whispered. She didn't move toward him, though. He'd given her permission, but it didn't feel right to just act. She'd wait for him to decide how and where.

"How do you feel most comfortable?" Namor asked her.

Katie blinked. "I don't know. I never really stopped to think about it before..." she admitted, in a sheepish tone. "It... it might be more comfortable for you if I feed from your wrist..." she suggested hesitantly.

Namor nodded. "Would you like me to sit down on the bed?" he asked.

"Oh! Yes! Of course..." Katie quickly looked toward the bed, to make sure it was clear. before hesitantly leading him there.

Namor walked over to the bed and sat down, settling himself comfortably. He then rolled up his sleeve, giving her easy access to his wrist.

Katie watched him quietly, before shifting to kneel down in front of him. He wouldn't have to hold his arm at an uncomfortable angle that way, but she'd still be able to reach. She looked up at him, giving him a minute to rethink and change his mind if he wanted, before carefully biting into his wrist and beginning to drink. She drank slowly, because it would enable her to make sure she didn't harm him, but also so it would hurt less.

Namor held still, not pulling away or attempting to stop her. If he felt himself growing too weak, he could easily put a halt to it. He was much stronger than the average human, after all. But unless she showed no signs of stopping herself, he would allow her to take what she needed.

Katie hadn't been offered to feed from a willing participant once since being turned. It was confusing that Namor had willingly chosen to help her and caused feelings she hadn't experienced in a very long time... Some of those feelings were a sense of helpless dependence or debt mixed with gratitude. She only fed until she knew she could go a few more days without losing control of herself and carefully withdrew, impulsively sealing the wound with a gentle lick and kiss.

Once he was sure she was finished, Namor gently pulled his hand away. "Feeling better?" he asked her gently. "If you'd like, I can bring one of the board or card games here and we can play for a bit. Spiders might join in if we ask him."

"Yes, thank you..." Katie smiled up at him, once she was sure there wasn't blood on her face. "You'll play a game with me? I'd like to...."

"There's not a lot you can do in here," Namor replied. "I think playing a game with you would be fun. Would you like me to ask Spiders to join us?"

"Yeah... " Katie's smile brightened. "Thank you...."

"Of course. Friday, will you ask Spiders if he's willing to come and play a game with me and Kate?" Namor asked the AI.

"Of course," Friday responded. "I have done so he will arrive shortly." 

Katie smiled again, feeling a bit more at ease now that she'd fed and wasn't alone any longer. She shifted to sit next to Namor and wait for Spider's arrival.

****

Wong and Stephen were poring over the books that had been brought back. They were looking for a way to get around any interference that their dark counterparts might do to break the bond, but they were also looking for a way to negate Katie's vampire nature. As far as Stephen was concerned, that actually was the first priority. They could remain hidden and avoid Ultimus until they found a way to protect themselves from whatever the dark sorcerers did. If Katie wasn't taken care of soon and she got too hungry and left her room, she could hurt someone, willingly or not.

"I think I found a soul binding spell... And it doesn't appear to have any 'gotcha' hidden triggers like on the show we watched..." Wong pointed out the spell.

Stephen looked. "If we return her soul to her, it may be easier for her to control her urges, at least. We'd still need to find a way for her to feed, though. Any luck on finding a 'return her to human' spell?"

"Not yet. We may need to look for non-magical means. Or a hybrid of methods." Wong sighed, before glancing toward Mordo. "You find anything useful for protecting the bond?"

"A few ideas," Mordo answered. "But most of what is written is based on theory. There are very few accounts of people involved in this type of bond. Even fewer records of any attempts to break or neutralize the bonds. No successful way has been noted." He shook his head. "The only thing that seems to be potentially possible is to surround the individual bonds with shielding. It would be time consuming, and the shields would need to be individually cast. But I think it might be the only way."

"So... They likely could only shield in spots, not the entire world, so even if they disrupt the bond, if we move out of the shielded area, the bond would return?" Wong asked curiously.

"That's the impression I've got from reading this," Mordo replied. "Of course, that's assuming the Ancient doesn't have access to other information and books we don't."

"I inherited all her books when I became Sorcerer Supreme, so unless she was holding out on me, or her dark version has books she didn't, we have the same information," Wong asserted.

"I'm wondering if another dimension has access to different information and spells we do not," Mordo replied. "We know there are differences. Some of those are bigger than others."

"If so, hopefully, she doesn't have access to them." Stephen sighed. "Should we do this ensouling spell now? Yes, she'd still need to feed, but it might make it easier if she could leave her room and mingle. If she had a conscience, that might be safer."

Mordo nodded. "It would be a good idea to get the spell cast sooner rather than later," he agreed.

"We should probably do it in her room. That way, if there are any unexpected results, she's already where she needs to be," Wong said.

"Perhaps we should ask Namor, or Spiders, or both to be there as well," Mordo suggested. "Since she seems to be more closely bonded to them."

Wong nodded. "That would probably be best. Let's go now, then."

They moved to go to Katie's room.

When they reached the room, Mordo glanced at his fellow sorcerers and then moved to knock lightly.

Katie looked up at that, glancing at Namor and Spiders before calling out, "Come in..."

Mordo stepped into the room, waiting for Wong and Stephen to join him, before proceeding to explain the re-souling spell to Katie and what it would entail...what they would need to do.

"I'd be allowed to be around everyone else after?" Katie asked uncertainly.

"Yes. We believe with a soul... A conscience... That you'd be more able to control the impulses that have directed you for so long. It would remove some of the danger so the others could feel safe around you," Stephen said confidently.

Katie smiled crookedly and shrugged. "Okay."

"We thought you might feel better with people you know and trust here with you." Mordo looked towards Namor and Spiders.

"Would you like us to stay?" Namor asked Katie.

Kate visibly relaxed and nodded. "Yes please."

"Alright," Stephen said. "This will work better if you lie down."

Katie stretched out on the bed while the five men made a circle around it. Soon, everyone in the base could feel something as the powerful magic was performed.

***

It wasn't just in the rebels' base that the powerful magic could be sensed.

Mordo glanced up and then looked towards Wong and the Ancient. "They're casting something that requires a lot of energy." He frowned. "Those at the last base I was at was killed by a vampire...perhaps they have joined forces with her and hope to curtail her feeding habits."

The Dark-Ancient glanced toward Mordo. "Yes. I feel it as well. Unfortunately, the signature is so strong, it has spread itself to far distances and it is impossible to get an exact location of its origin. It does confirm we are looking in the right direction, though " She paused before criticizing, "How do you presume to know the reasons behind the surge? The vampire has killed our master's soldiers to feed, yes. There is no indication she has joined the resistance or that they have welcomed her to their base. The power could be from any number of spells and truthfully, knowing what those spells could do to our master, you better pray your assumption is correct... As it would be the least destructive to his cause."

Mordo swallowed down his own irritation. There was no point in fighting or arguing among themselves. Working together, they stood a better chance of succeeding with carrying out their master's plans; with subjugating this world under his rule once more. "It's a theory," he allowed. "But no more have died at the hands of a vampire. Those in this dimension could have killed her, but considering they seem to be recruiting others from different dimensions to their rebellion, I think it's a theory that is worth keeping in mind."

The Ancient sniffled dismissively. "As I said. It would be for the best if that was what had caused the surge. We will of course try and determine what the actual spell was, but I am more concerned that they may have done something truly harmful to our master's cause. Losing a vampire to a resouling spell or a re-humanizing spell? Not terribly bad for our master and makes her less effective as an ally if that is indeed what they did. Why the concern about losing the vampire? Don't tell me you actually cared about it...." The sound of amused contempt was strong.

Janet snorted. "He's probably worried she found out some of his secrets and is now in position to share them with the enemy. Make him a less effective general for Ultimus and therefore less needed."

"Hardly." Mordo dismissed their comments. "I merely feel that the best way to defeat the enemy is to learn their motivations. How they think. Those our master sent before were only concerned with antagonizing the rebels. I believe that's the primary reason they failed and why they died."

"The best way to succeed in any mission. Learn how your enemy thinks." Natasha agreed with the sorcerer's words. After all, this was why she and T'Challa were here. Why they'd taken out their own dark counterparts.

T'Challa said nothing. While here, he preferred to keep his Black Panther mask in place. At least that way, there was no chance the evil counterparts could read any facial expressions he might make. He'd never really been one for subterfuge, but it had been necessary for both of them to take the place of their evil counterparts. He resisted the urge to check the comm unit hidden in his suit.

Janet grimaced. "They failed and died because they had at least four traitors in their midst but were too certain of themselves to notice. If we operate under the assumption no one is to be trusted, and watch everyone closely, that is likely not to happen again."

The Ancient nodded. It was obvious she trusted none of them; and didn't expect their trust either.

"Good call," Natasha said, a bit wryly. It would make her mission that much more difficult, but she'd been in worse positions than this one. Besides. She only trusted T'Challa here anyway. They both needed to be on their guard.

"How far along are we on setting up those magical traps to remove those pesky bonds?" Janet asked curiously.

"There's still a little way to go," Mordo answered. "It's not as easy as putting up a shield or a ward. And there are no firsthand accounts for the bonding itself, which doesn't help." He shrugged.

"Well, we'll do what we can and try to find supplemental ideas to bolster." The Ancient shrugged. "At least we know enough to try what we are trying. We are already one step ahead of our predecessors."

"How soon before something can be implemented?" Natasha asked casually. "When I went to the Sanctum, I saw signs that people had been there...but it wasn't clear how long ago that was, or if they go there regularly."

The Ancient frowned. "Did it appear as if anything was taken?"

"It's difficult to say, without knowing what was there to begin with." Natasha shrugged. "I can't imagine they went there and didn't take anything with them, though." She needed to be careful; reveal enough to make her seem like she was on her side, while protecting the resistance and her own dimension as much as possible. She could reach out to this dimension's version of Clint; take him up on the offer to get her out of there. But she'd only do that if the danger was too much and there was no chance, she and T'Challa would survive.

The Ancient snorted. "Even if we know they took something, it is impossible to know what. They may not have the same books in this library that we would have had in ours."

"Perhaps. But now that I know what is in the Sanctum, I'll be able to see when and if they return and take something new," Natasha said.

"Be sure to keep us informed," the Ancient demanded.

Janet sighed. "Well, now that we've gone over the obvious... Explain this spell you are hoping to trap them with..." She looked toward Mordo.

****

Katie would have known the spell worked, even if half the items in her room hadn't shattered or shorted out. They'd been lucky the backlash hadn't affected any other rooms. Of course, she wasn't thinking of that at the moment. She was too busy reliving every horrid thing she'd done since becoming a vampire. She hadn't felt remorse before, not truly, even if she'd felt a sense of responsibility. Now? Remorse and regret had overwhelmed her and dragged her under like a tsunami. The almost giddy, happy childishness that had formed most of her vampiric personality had been buried under painful, sad despondency. The only reason tears weren't streaming down her face was because she physically was incapable of crying. Instead, she sat on her bed, silently rocking, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

As soon as the spell was cast - and Namor could tell that it had finished, due to the swathe of destruction ending - Namor moved over to Katie's side. She might not be physically crying, but he could tell...he could feel...she was unhappy. That she was in pain. And he cared about her. So, he responded to the obvious pain she was in by wrapping his arms around her and holding on tightly. He didn't say anything. He didn't try to tell her it would be all right. He just held her.

Stephen winced at seeing the physical manifestation of guilt. "I suppose we should have expected this..." he whispered. "The sooner we can cure the vampirism, the better. If her current response is any indication, she won't feed again." He didn't say that would result in her slowly starving. They weren't fools.

"I've been thinking about that," Mordo said softly. "I think we could use the same spell we used to create a body for Spiders. That was transforming one thing into another. Curing the vampirism isn't much different."

"With a few modifications, it could work. We were making him a living body from synthetic. Hers should actually be easier, since it is making a living body from organic," Wong agreed.

"Do you want to research it a little more, or do you think it can be done now?" Stephen asked.

"I think we could do it now," Mordo said. "We know that the spell for Spiders worked, so in a way, we've already done the research that we would need to do anyway."

Stephen nodded before turning toward Namor. "Can you hold her still? In place?" he asked.

Namor nodded, adjusting his grip on Katie slightly to hold her tighter...more firmly, though his embrace was more protective than confining.

Katie was out of it, her guilt too strong to notice the sorcerers begin another spell. Until the pain of flesh regenerating became too strong not to notice. As blood began pumping through skin, bone and muscle that had not been nourished by blood in too long, feeling returned to nerves. It was beyond painful, and Katie arched, a long, agonized, sobbing scream tearing out of her throat.

It took everything in Stephen to continue, but he knew if he stopped, her pain would have been for nothing.

It seemed like hours, though it was only a very few minutes begore the spell was complete and had done what was needed. It was obvious when she'd become human again; her strength ebbed to that of a normal human and watery tears slid down her cheeks.

Namor held Katie close, making sure she couldn't harm herself. When the spell was done, he stroked her hair and whispered soft, comforting words to her. The words were in the language of his own people, but the meaning was obvious.

Katie lay limply in Namor's arms, crying quietly and snuggling as much as she was able. She obviously hurt.

"If you can bring her to the infirmary, I'd like to give her an examination to get a health baseline for her. I'll also give her pain medication. It would be a good idea for her to stay the night there, in case there are unforseen complications, if you want to stay with her," Stephen said to Namor.

Namor nodded. "I can help her there." He stood and carefully lifted Katie into his arms, holding her close.

"I could stay the night too," Spiders offered, a bit hesitantly. "Harley said he's going to be spending the evening with his parents and siblings, so he doesn't need me right now."

"I'm sure it would help her if she had friendly faces when she is more able to focus." Wong nodded.

Stephen quickly led them to the infirmary, pointing to a bed. "I'll do the exam while you gather whatever you need for the night," he said, as he gathered his equipment together.

Katie-, seemingly realizing Namor was leaving (even if only for a short time), whimpered and gripped her protector more tightly.

"Or you could have someone else gather your stuff..." Stephen blinked at the neediness demonstrated. Katie had shown herself to be impulsive, whimsical and slightly childish. This was the first time she had shown herself to be clingy or needy.

"I don't really need a whole lot. Just my night shirt, toiletries...really, that's it." Namor glanced at Spiders.

Spiders nodded. "If you let me know where they are in your room, I'll go and collect them." He waited for Namor to tell him, then headed out of the infirmary to collect both of their items. At the same time, he reached out to Blade to let his bond mate know he'd be spending the night in the infirmary with Katie.

Stephen waited until Spiders had left. "If you could help her get undressed, I'll be as quick as possible. You can put her in these pajamas..." Stephen said quietly. As soon as Namor had changed his charge, Stephen quickly drew blood and took her vitals, doing all the necessary exams.

Katie didn't care that Namor was the one to change her; she just continued to snuggle close.

Namor only moved enough to allow Stephen to do what was needed. Otherwise, he didn't let go of Katie. He didn't leave her side.

Stephen finished his examination, finally pulling away and putting his equipment up. "You can cover her up, make her comfortable. I'm going to give her a rather strong pain reliever, so she will likely be asleep soon," he said to Namor, as he walked over with a syringe. He quickly but carefully gave her the shot.

By that point, Spiders had returned, having got undressed, and handed Namor his own items, turning his back so that Namor would have some privacy to get undressed.

Once his nightshirt was in place, Namor settled on the bed with Katie, wrapping his arms around her.

Spiders took his place on another bed that was close enough for him to be seen and his presence to be felt, but not so close that he would crowd them.

Stephen smiled at the trio. "Have Friday get me if I'm needed," he said, before leaving.

Katie took a tiny, shivery breath. "Thank you..." she whispered, before snuggling under the covers and against Namor, seeking his warmth. Within minutes, she was asleep.