Philophobia ➤ W.M.

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Space - The Past, Two Months Later; With Astrilde's POV

  Dull brown eyes looked around the ship, the walls distorted in their view. Her mind was hazy, yet she was more aware than she had been in the months following her kidnapping. Astrilde had started to become desperate, as she saw all the horrible things he had done to others. Yet, he had felt no need to go within two feet of her. She wasn't sure if it was because he was afraid- highly unlikely in her state- or uninterested- the obvious answer.

  All she knew was that she had to stop herself from flinching any time she saw him, even though she had never been injured. Well, physically speaking. She was sure that his manipulation of her mind, which she discovered he couldn't do if she didn't look into his eyes, was the reason for her haziness. Somehow, she always managed to find herself looking at his eyes- that was how she was taught- and then she was doing things she didn't want to.

  Normally, she wouldn't consider herself an overly sensitive person. She had to deal with her brothers for Odin's sake, and Odin, for that matter. Now, though, it would seem she was sensitive. Honestly, she felt sick of herself. Sick of how weak she had become in mere months. She had been told by her siblings- by her father- to never be weak.

  Which is why she had to escape. It was the one thing she felt compelled to do that Ari had not controlled her to do. She had already come up with a plan, now all was left was to execute it.

  "I'm um, going to get a drink," Astrilde murmured meekly, her goal to seem as innocent as she could. She knew that he wouldn't normally allow her to get herself anything out of his sight... unless he was preoccupied. Preoccupied he was, sitting in his captain's chair and reading something on a tablet. Apparently, it was for a job, on the planet Xandar, on which they currently resided. The planet was pretty well protected if you asked her. That's why she had decided to enact her plan there. They could protect her.

  "Go on, then," Ari responded in a growl, not even glancing up. She nodded, trying to hold back a victorious smile. Her plan was a go, and hopefully it would end well.

  In the months she had known the man, Astrilde realized he did have the power to implode someone. That was a gruesome sight, but Astrilde had learned that those powers only worked if he could see someone as well. So, as long as she could get the power off and get out in time, she could, maybe, survive the escape attempt. It just so happened that the makeshift kitchen was next to one of the many vital electrical panels, one of which she had attempted to study for weeks. She just hoped that she had gathered enough information for it to prove easy.

  Astrilde walked past the kitchen, forcing herself to walk lightly to not alarm Ari. This was her only chance, or she'd have to come up with a different plan. One that would be much more difficult to accomplish. Once she made it to the control panel, she cut through it with her daggers, not hesitating. Ari didn't know of her ability to summon the weapons, and though she could have used them to kill him, she had a strict "no killing" rule. The ship suddenly stuttered to a stop, as all of it's internal systems failed. Consequently, the lights went out. She knew she had less than a second to get through the ship before the emergency lights would kick in, so she didn't waste any of it.

  Sprinting down the hallway, Astrilde used her memory to guide her through the halls. She finally arrived at the door, which was wide open. Just as she was about to run through, however, the lights flickered on and she heard Ari's voice behind her.

  "Leaving so soon, love?" Astrilde cringed, turning to face the man. He twirled a knife in his hands calmly, however his eyes were filled with fiery venom.

  "I haven't done anything to you. Let me go," Astrilde responded, her voice stronger than it had seemed earlier. Ari seemed surprised. He also seemed to be hesitating- enough that his knife faltered and clattered to the ground.

  "What do I get in exchange? You're going to cost me a lot of money, dearest."

  "I...I will come back. When you need to get your pay..." Astrilde said hesitantly. She knew enough about why he had kidnapped her. Someone wanted him to deliver her to them, after a certain amount of time. Though she had no idea who wanted her, nor did Ari.

  The man in front of her smirked. "Promise?" There was a pause, before she sealed her fate.

  "I promise. Upon my life."

Avengers Tower - Present Time; With Astrilde's POV

  "Basically, I doomed myself," Astrilde murmured weakly. Wanda's arms had wrapped around the goddess while she had told her about Ari, but Astrilde could barely notice. She had gone into a state of full worry. She wasn't crying, he wasn't worth her tears, but she certainly wasn't ok. The memories had been brought back to her, too real.

  "We will stop him. I refuse to let him take you away from me," Wanda responded. Her response sent butterflies through Astrilde's stomach, temporarily making the goddess feel so much better.

  "Thank you, Scarlet," Astrilde praised the other girl quietly. Wanda's face was filled with confusion and surprise.

  "Scarlet?"

  "Hm?" Astrilde asked, as if she hadn't registered what she had said.

  "You called me Scarlet."

  "It fits," Astrilde said, unaffected by Wanda's surprise. If Astrilde had paid enough attention, she would have noticed Wanda's adoration for her.

  "I like it," Wanda admitted.

***

  The Avengers all sat in the tower's living room the next day, most of them gathered on the sofas and chairs. Everyone aside from Tony, who sat on a chair away from the rest.

  "We won't have to find him. He will find us," Astrilde's voice echoed through the room. After taking time away from everyone, except Wanda, the Asgardian was feeling significantly better. Not 100% better, but Wanda had helped her be more like her normal self.

  "Shut up," Tony groaned, his eyes closed. His hand was massaging his temple, indicating how hungover he really was. Astrilde glared at the billionaire, who wasn't even paying attention to her.

  "As I was saying, Ari's good. He's one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a weakness, though," Astrilde continued. She wasn't even thinking when she said his name, it didn't affect her like it used to. Not that anything major happened when she uttered it. There would be no anxiety attacks about that matter. Love was the perpetrator in this case.

  "And what exactly is that?" Steve asked her. He sat across from Astrilde and Wanda, along with Natasha and Sam. Wanda's hand was rested near Astrilde's own, but didn't dare touch it.

  "Sight. If he can't see us, then he can not use his abilities of implosion. And, as long as you don't look into his eyes, he will not be able to control our minds. The problem is his high skills in normal combat, which was how he so effectively took out those drunk men in the video," Astrilde responded, her voice strong.

  "That, and they were drunk," Tony muttered from his chair.

  "Now all we need is a plan," Wanda murmured.

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