Avengers: The Goddess of Magic

Chapter 6: Control

Steve finally spoke, walking to the door. "I have to go, she'll get suspicious." Tony pulled him back. "And if you can't act like it's her? She'll get suspicious then and you know what she'll do? She'll kill you. No hesitation."

Clint spoke up "she'll probably harvest your liver for a spell." Steve said "we can't just let her run rampant. Hecate killed all those witches, tried to kill Coulson, Morgan's dad and Morgan couldn't gain control back. If she couldn't fight her off then, she can't now."

Bruce said "she wasn't as strong then. Didn't have the power she has now." Steve said "who says she has that power anymore? That power was Hecate's, not Morgan's." Natasha said "we have to free her, after everything she's been through, she's owed." Tony said "and what do we do when Zeus comes a knockin' huh? You got a plan for that? A godly grudge match won't be great for the New York we just finished rebuilding."

Steve sighed, closing his eyes. "I don't know. All I know is that she's in there. She has to be." Bruce said "we just have to make a situation that Morgan can break her control for."

Steve brushed past Natasha "I have to go to her, she'll get suspicious." Natasha stopped him. "You're too emotional. She'll see right through you. Stay with Tony. I'll go." She left before any of them could argue, silent as she moved through the halls.

Natasha knocked on the door and softly said "Hecate? You in there?" Hecate called from inside "yeah, just a sec!" She opened the door then, pulling a robe closed around herself. "Sorry Nat, wasn't expecting you."

Natasha stepped inside. "I ran into Steve, Thor's dealing with family drama again. Loki. Steve's helping him deal." Frustration flickered across Hecate's face for a moment and she quickly masked it. "Well, I certainly hope that it's quickly resolved. Titan knows we've dealt with more than enough Loki drama."

Natasha closed the door behind her. "Do you remember when we met?" Hecate said "yes of course, how could I forget?" Natasha said "what was it you said to me again?" Hecate turned her back on Natasha, fists clenching. "Surely you remember."

Natasha advanced and Hecate spun around, magic slamming Natasha against the wall. "So, you've guessed that I'm not her. Clever child." Natasha struggled against the magic that held her. "You'll never get away with it. Morgan's stronger than you."

Hecate laughed, moving closer to the prone spy. "Hex, Hecate, Fox, and now Morganna. She's weak. Her identity changes too much. Witches like little Morganna draw power through their soul, their sense of self. Morganna, as powerful as she could be, cannot fight me. She doesn't even know what kind of witch she is. She's been siphoning off my power since she was a mere babe."

Natasha said "I know her, and she knows who she is. No matter what her name is or what she looks like." "Right," Hecate mocked, "who needs power when you have good old swordsmanship. Or gunmanship these days I suppose. So much has changed since my time."

Hecate sighed and said "I suppose the whole team knows that I'm not her now, hmmm? What gave me away?" Natasha remained silent but Hecate's eyes lit up and she said "speak" the words came roughly from Natasha's throat. "Morgan warned us, talking about how there was something else in her mind. Your sword, back from when you were good, must have helped."

"I was young then," Hecate said, "stupid. I believed in love and redemption. I know better now." Natasha said "Morgan told us your story, there's hope. You can't give up." Hecate glanced away and blankly said "this is coming from a woman who once said that love was a child's game? Hypocrite."

Natasha said "I was wrong. Morgan was the one who taught me that, taught me that there was strength in love." Hecate laughed, distant. "There is strength in power. That is all." She gazed far away. "I heard a tale once when I was a child, of the foolish warrior."

Natasha struggles harder. "The foolish warrior?" Hecate nodded "my mother told it to me. A warrior dropped his sword because the man he loved was in danger. He died. Because of his foolishness. He should've attacked, but instead he chose to submit in hopes that they would let him live in return for his life. They both died."

Hecate sighed and said "well, dear Spider, as much fun as this is, I'll be leaving now. I can't have you all stopping me trying to get your precious witch back."

She wiggled her fingers and began to disappear. "As they say in modern times, ta dear." She vanished completely and Natasha slid down the wall. "Clint!" He rushed in and said "where the hell is she?" Natasha shook her head "I don't know, but there's nothing of Fox left. Nothing."

She stood quickly and Clint said "that can't be true." "I looked in her eyes, Clint. There's no soul behind them." Natasha shook her head "we can't put Fox back in control without magic, magic we don't have."

"So we find a witch." They looked up to see Tony standing in the doorway, Steve behind him. "SHIELD did it, how hard could it be?" Steve stepped into the room, picking up a framed photo of him and Morgan on the roof of the tower.

Natasha had taken it when the two were relaxing. Morgan was reading a book with her legs thrown over Steve's lap, his sketchbook perched on top of her thighs. She was looking at him over the top of the book, smiling softly. He had been sketching her, the pencil strokes faint against the paper in the picture.

"We have to try." Bruce spoke up then, he and Thor having just arrived. "We also have to think about her collateral damage. She's in a completely new environment. This is a Greek goddess that was locked in a cage and then a chip for years, she doesn't know anything about the world she's in."

Natasha shook her head. "She said she didn't want us stopping her. I don't think she's here anymore. She wanted to regain her world. She's in Olympus."