Avengers: The Goddess of Magic

Chapter 2: Sword in the Tree

Steve was in the kitchen when Tony called over the intercom, voice shaking slightly. "Call medical and shut down the tower, Hecate is down." He bolted up and ran to the lab, not even stopping to get his shield.

He threw open the door to the lab, probably so hard it broke the wall and ran to where Tony and Bruce stood in front of a prone Hecate. Bruce was bent over her, her eyes shut, pupils moving quickly underneath them.

Bruce said "her breathing is thready, I can't find any cause though." Steve was by her side in a heartbeat, his large hand encasing hers. Tony was pacing and said "she was acting weird, Bruce, she called herself the Queen of Olympus."

Bruce nodded and just then Hecate gasped, sitting up. She looked around and Tony said "Hecate thank god. Don't scare us like that." Hecate tried to stand up and then fell, Steve catching her.

She said "my sword." They looked at her and she said "outside of an orphanage in Greece. I saw it. A sword in a tree that belongs to me. I don't know how I know but I do. I need to go get it."

Steve said "a sword?" Hecate nodded, grabbing a piece of paper and pencil from a nearby work table. She placed the paper against the wall and drew a rough sketch of a sword and a willow tree. "In a tree. That I need."

Tony nodded and said "let's load up in the Quinjet. We can alert SHIELD on the way. Bruce, stick with Hecate in case she, you know," he gestured wildly. "Passes out or has some other kind of medical thing."

Bruce nodded and Hecate said "I'm fine. I appreciate the concern, though." She touched her stomach, where unbeknownst to anyone but three people, one of which being the deceased Phil Coulson, scars lay on her skin. Scars that she hid with spells. In truth, scars covered the goddess, reminders of the lab that held her captive and a history even before that. A history locked away in her mind.

In truth it was the scars that held her back from giving herself to Steve entirely. The fear that he would view her as damaged, unworthy of love. She knew the fears were silly and ill-placed, that Steve, who sported scars of his own, wouldn't care, however the fear remained. An ugly coil inside of her gut, whispering doubts in the back corner of her mind in a voice that would soon become recognizable.

She heard Natasha softly say "Fox?" And snapped back from her reveries. "Yeah." Natasha said "you okay?" Hecate brushed at the skin of her arms, smoothing her shirt over her stomach as well. "Yeah, just... shook up I guess. Let's go." She turned to leave, and Natasha caught her arm. "We have time before take-off. Talk to me."

Hecate drew her aside, the words tumbling out. "I'm afraid to show them to Steve, afraid of what this sword will reveal. Afraid that I'll change again. Afraid to not know who I am yet again." Natasha knew what she spoke of and said "Steve loves you. It's obvious, really, and a few marks aren't going to change that. Like I said, we have time. Take a leap of faith and let him catch you."

Hecate nodded and they returned to the group. Natasha looked at her, nodding. She sighed and said "tonight." Natasha smiled, hugging her gently. "Let's go get that sword." Hecate nodded, taking Steve's hand and squeezing it gently.

As the group boarded the Quinjet Steve leaned down and whispered in Hecate's ear. "You okay?" Hecate tightened her grip on his hand and opened a mind link between them. "Tonight, when we go to bed. I have something to show you, my love."

Steve nodded and kissed her forehead, nodding in understanding. The other Avengers exchanged looks, sensing the intimate moment shared by the two. Hecate looked at them all and said "I'll copilot. Clint?" Clint got in the pilot's chair and Hecate sat next to him, both pulling on headsets.

Her eyes lit up and she said "I'm establishing a mind link between us so that you can see where we need to go." Clint nodded, turning on the plane. "As always, Foxy, you're the only one I trust poking around my head."

Hecate smiled and touched his hand, silent but trusting. She touched Clint to finish the mind link. Clint said "wow your thoughts move fast." Hecate laughed "it's disconcerting at first to be privy to the workings in someone else's head. You'll adjust."

Clint nodded and they took off, heading to Greece. Steve said "H do you know what we're walking into?" Hecate shook her head, moving a lock of hair out of her face. "Not a clue. I was too young to remember being there."

Steve nodded and said "in that case when we get there we should stick together. No one split off." No verbal agreement needed to be made. They were a team. The rest of the flight was uneventful. Charging up weapons and prepping for the mission.

When they arrived in Greece, they all walked off the plane to see a broken down building. A strange feeling washed over Hecate and she gasped, feeling like there was something tugging inside of her.

The others looked at her and she pointed to a huge willow tree next to the building. "There." They walked to the tree together but Hecate felt strangely alone. Just her and the tugging in her chest.

She neared the tree and the long tendrils parted, allowing her to step through. She touched the trunk of the tree and the wood opened under her touch, showing her a gleaming sword. She reached in and took it, raising the blade high.

Her hand fit the grip on the hilt perfectly, the blade was obviously sharp, and was straight with a slight curving in before widening at the bottom. Hecate's eyes lit up and she gasped as memories flooded through her, the memories of an Ancient Greek goddess.

Tears fell as memories of the war and torture that followed after her brother's betrayal. She remembered the years after she was freed where she ruled as queen of the Gods, and remembered slowly falling ill. She remembered finally, casting a spell to make herself a child on earth, a last effort to avoid death.

She fell to her knees and the sword (that she now recognized as an Ancient Greek xiphos) fell from her grip. The Avengers were instantly by her side and she gasped out "I remember." The next hour was spent with Hecate showing them her memories.

Tony had been running a trace on the air and earth around them as they sat under the tree and abruptly said "we need to get out of here." He pulled Hecate to her feet and put his suit on her. "The toxins that you described are in the air. Your original body is under the tree and it still has the disease."

Hecate said "oh my god." And Tony said "we need to get her out of here and through a complete work up and detox immediately." Clint said "how is that even possible?!" Thor said "when Hecate came to earth she abandoned her godly body and took an earthly form. Her godly body still contains the illness and could infect her again." Hecate said "there's no cure."