randomosity | [For Eric] Mission Objective: Rescue the Damsel

If Doom reacted to her comment about breaking and entering then Eric couldn't see any sign of it as he righted himself, an angry stare on his face which turned to hope as he saw his girlfriend shoot back at the villain, momentarily elated to hear her say they were a couple before the situation resumed itself. If he knew she worried so much about him to check on signs he was ok he'd probably get her a comm to contact him, though with her emerging powers she'd likely be coming with him anyway.

The despot simply raised a gloved hand at her attack and appeared to absorb the magical power, sending it crackling in various directions as Eric quickly ducked from a bolt of powerful magic. "Stay the hell away from my girlfriend, you ass hole." Eric wished he sounded braver at saying that than it came out, but it did make Doom turn towards him and... ah. A more scientific bolt of energy hit Eric in the chest and sent him sprawling to the ground out cold.

"Your mastery of magic is promising, Ms Boleyn, but ill suited to handling the true sorcerer supreme, and lacking the finesse of your esteemed ancestor. Observe." The Latverian used another sect of magic which instead drew her into his grip as Eric attempted to right himself painfully.

"Eric!" Anne cried out for him as she turned and saw Doom's attack knock him out. But she couldn't go to him. Doom's magic summoned her, pulled her in close and made her cry out in displeasure. She resisted as much as she could, pushing away from him, beating Doom's chest with her fists.

"Get your hands off me!!" She screamed. "What've you done to him? I swear I'll-!" She didn't know how to finish that sentence. What could she do, really? He'd just rendered her magic all but useless. And she obviously lacked the physical strength it would take to push him off.

She should have pushed herself more. Her practice rituals should have been more than just lighting candles and making her clothes disappear. She was still just a damsel in distress yet again. Dammit all!

"What do you want?"

Eric's consolation as he lay sprawled by the wall was that if Doom wanted him dead he'd have done so, especially after that remark, so either he needed him too or more likely he considered O'Grady beneath his notice. Then through a painful veil of daze he could see Victor gripping Anne, ignoring her fists on his metal armour under the sweeping green cloak.

"Your partner is alive, Ms Anne, because to kill him would not suit my purposes. As for yourself, I detected your gathering magicks like a beacon. You have mastered certain practices quickly, so it is your promise I seek to investigate. You will be accompanying me to my laboratories." With one arm still around her Eric watched in groggy alarm as the other activated a spell, enveloping them in the same energy as they vanished from sight. Victor and Anne instantly remerged in the darkened hallway of his castle in Latveria as torches flickered menacingly.

Anne started to protest; started to tell Doom how there was no way in hell she was going anywhere with him. But his magic activated before she could speak. On reflex, Anne did curl into Doom's chest, shielding her face, wondering if his spell was meant to blind her. Though when the light faded she did push back from him again.

"How dare you? Who the hell do you think you are seizing me in such a manner? I've no interest in using my magic for you, and there's no way you can make me!" Anne snapped, her eyes flashed in anger as she glared up at him.

Doom's eyes seemed to glare back at her before softening under the dark iron mask. "Please Ms Boleyn, such anger from an esteemed lady as yourself is unneeded. If you do not attempt to struggle and resist my requirements, I may well allow you to return to your home without being harmed. Defy me however, and you will find your stay in Doomstadt... less agreeable." He motioned down a hallway to a wooden doorframe. He did not seek to hold her again but Anne would find that her magic would not respond to her in the same way as usual, since Victor had placed powerful spells to negate its effects.

Meanwhile Eric had recovered from the blow and was angrily seeking his Ant Man armour from his wardrobe. He hadn't a strategy in mind yet for dealing with or even reaching Doom, but he'd do his best to save Anne. If he could somehow get in touch with her and see how she was, that would help, but there was no telling what Doom might have done to her. The Avengers were an option of course, but likely to result in some major damage and causalities, including for his love, so Eric was figuring a solo attack might work better.

And so badly she wanted to use her magic against him. Anne pictured Doom's metal mask melting in a boiling metallic mess, into his eye sockets and down his neck - she imagined that emerald cloak bursting into flame - but nothing she pictured came to pass no matter how hard she focused. Clever woman that she was, Anne knew that he had likely bewitched her.

"You'd risk exposing yourself and incurring the anger of an Avenger just to kill me for being petulant? I think not," she snapped. But all the same she did glance to the wooden door frame and start towards it. "So what do you want from me?" She demanded, trying to maintain a haughty exterior even if on the inside she was terrified and praying that Eric would find her and save her.

Doom was evidently aware that she was attempting to harm him as his gloved hand tightened slightly, suggesting the twinges of some pain, but there was nothing else. He was not the sort of man to take chances, clearly.

"If you believe your Eric O'Grady concerns me more than the majority of the Avengers, you are mistaken. But I can preform worse fates than death if you test me, Ms Boleyn. What Doom dictates, Doom accomplishes." He followed her at a comfortable distance as she spoke. "Your magic comes from untapped sources, willed to you via the memory and genetic code of your ancestor, Morgan Le Fay. She and I have been... close, in the past. Regardless, that level of magic control at such an early stage requires investigation. In the meantime until I am ready for you, you shall remain Doom's... guest."

Anne, in her anger and fear, didn't see the tightening of his gloved hand. She just continued towards the door, stomping as she walked. But something he said...it stuck with her. Anne stopped and glanced over her shoulder to him.

She had thought time travel was not something most people could manage.

"You knew my ancestor?" She tilted a brow. "How?"

Anne was no fool, she picked up on his hesitation when he mentioned the nature of his knowledge of Morgan Le Fay. She turned to face him more completely, wanting an answer, curious to know more.

Doom simply stared back at her impassively under his metal mask before responding. "Richards... Mr Fantastic, as your insectoid lover will have told you... Richards is not the only one with access to time technology. Mine is vastly superior. So I have had dealings with Morgan Le Fay on several occasions. She may be one of the few beings in time and space with skills in magic nearly equal to my own." There were others of course, but Victor did not care of their opinion, evidently. "We have allied on several occasions as a result."

Unlocking the doorway he revealed a large chamber with a bed and table with some reading material, and even a plate of food to hand. The word Anne might result in was 'esteemed prisoner' - Doom wanted her to be kept well but reminded she could not escape.

Eric was dressed in his Ant Man suit back at base, holding his head and wishing he could think of some easy plan to cross the thousand of miles between him and Anne and rescue her. Perhaps if Reed Richards had a teleporter to Latveria...

Anne was a little betrayed. Of course Morgan Le Fay had kept that information from her, why should she tell all of her secrets? Anne didn't know what else to believe that her ancestor had told her. As Doom opened the door for her, Anne stepped inside carefully.

"So you're obviously after my power for something - if you're so close with my ancestor why not ask her to help you?" she glared over her shoulder to him. "Surely you've realized that he'll come for me? He'll save me and you'll regret ever thinking of this foul scheme."

Morgan Le Fay might have had her own reasons for keeping secrets from Anne, not to mention her revealing her own talents for magic. In any case Doom remained by the doorway, arms folded and appearing imposing as he eyed her carefully under the mask.

"My relations with Lady Le Fay have not always been positive... we have been both allies and rivals in the field of magic. And at present I do not have all the answers as to why she would ensure you promise for magicks were unveiled. So I must investigate further. In the meantime, my dear, you shall remain here until I am ready for you. Do not think to escape, it is quite impossible. And do not expect your beloved Ant Man to rescue you. The castle has been wired to handle forces of meta humans and mutants. A mere size changer is nothing."

Eric however was intent on rectifying that belief. In the last hour he had elected to contact the Fantastic Four and tell them he wished to rescue Anne quickly and personally, but some assistance might be good. So Reed had taken to locate some suitable upgrades to his Ant Man armour for him.

Anne glared at him as he spoke to her. "And what business is it of yours that she promised to assist me with learning the magic that flows through my blood? And how can you be so sure that She will not come to me as she has before to help me escape you? I doubt she'll take too kindly to you kidnapping her descendant."

But as he spoke of Eric, Anne couldn't help smirking and settling into a chair in front of the table. She plucked up an apple and began to eat it even as she smirked up to Doom. "He is no mere size changer, as you say. Underestimate my lover, and you will come to regret it."

"I have prepared expertly for her arrival in case Morgan elects to react to your present condition, Ms Boleyn, so do not assume she will assist you or otherwise. Until my business with yourself and your magic is concluded I will not have any unwanted interruptions." Victor's voice became softer and more respectful. "And please my dear, do not consider this your prison, merely your temporary accommodation as my guest. We may wine and dine later if it is agreeable. But for now, please remain here. Your lover can do nothing to protect you." The final sentence was more aggressive as he sealed the doorframe.

Outside the castle was a series of lights and flashes and Eric emerged in a snowy courtyard, having utilised a one way teleport from the Baxter Building. Armed with an array of shrinkable gadgets as he crouched down behind a stature of Doom and considered his options, he figured scouting the area was the best start. Maybe he could figure out where Anne was being held.

Anne said nothing to Doom even before he sealed the door. She had nothing to say to him. And she was most certainly not going to pretend to be nice and cordial. She had done enough of that in her own time with Henry. The time for pretending was done. Anne gave a growl of annoyance as she plopped into a chair in the middle of the room. She shook her head and tried to keep calm for a few minutes. Anne knew that her control of her magic came from focus, that's what Morgan had told her. If she wanted to even attempt to thwart Doom from the inside, she would need all of her wits about her.

Especially given that Doom had better mastery of magic than her. She would need to surprise him, get the edge on him an catch him off guard.

...but how??

After a couple of minutes avoiding the odd Doom Bot and Patrol Guard Eric had reasoned that Anne was likely in some sort of dungeon area, but given how many enemies Doom had that would mean searching a lot of cells. Getting into the castle first was the objective, though. Shrinking down to ant size and hovering her perched on a small opening in the castle rock and clambered inside, switching to night vision.

She tried to sit still, tried to keep calm, but she just couldn't do it. Anne stood up after a moment and took to wandering the room in which Doom had locked her. All things considered he really could have locked her up in chains in a cell somewhere deep beneath the earth. So Anne wasn't complaining as much as she could have. She took to perusing the bookshelves, seeing what sort of taste her captor had, seeing if there was anything she could use.

There was a range of reading materials in various languages, many on the properties of magic and science since Victor was so fond of combining the two practices. Perhaps there might be references to spells Anne could discover that Victor had in his haste to secure not realised could be there.

In the meantime Eric had located a suitable entry point in the rock into the castle directly, dealing with the odd spider and bug on the way through either combat or the tech which allowed limited control of them. He'd figured that checking the upper levels first would work best, either he could find Anne or Doom and go from there.

Anne was well-versed in languages, she could speak fluent French and could read Latin and Greek. So there were some texts that were beyond her knowledge to understand. But some were written in Latin and she was able to understand those at least.

Even if she was unable to use her magic to release herself from Doom's castle, she could potentially find something to use. Anne did manage to find a small spell to help her focus. She honed her magic, focusing hard and whispering the spell beneath her breath.

She was surprised how quickly the spell seemed to work. All her senses were heightened; she could hear Doom breathing a few rooms away, she could smell poultry roasting in the kitchens even further away.

But even more important - she could hear the footfalls of a very familiar man, even if he had shrunk down significantly.

How to get his attention? She didn't know exactly where he was, nor could she call out to him without giving him away. So again, Anne focused her magic; focused on blocking Doom out and sending a message through her magic to the mind of her lover.

"Eric?"

Victor had some texts which were evidently from languages no longer used or out of vogue, he seemed to collect anything he deemed useful.

Eric meanwhile had been clambering through the stonework and the sudden familiar voice had him first startled and then overjoyed that Anne had managed to get back into contact with him, magic clearly. The voice was a little faint and echoed a bit like people something sounded when he was shrunk, but it was definitely her. He tried thinking a response.

"Anne? Is that you?"

She could barely hear him - could she really hear him at all? Or was she just wishing that she did? No, that was his voice, she could feel it. Anne reached out to him again with her mind.

"Yes! It's me, I'm all right, he's locked me up in this room and I can't get out - where are you?"

When she spoke again it did seem more clear, maybe he gotten closer to her, one way or another. And it was definitely her, some sort of intimate knowledge and feeling of her told him so.

"I'm so glad you're alright, but that ass Doom is going to pay for locking you up. I think I'm still in the castle stonework, maybe a couple of floors down from you. Listen, can you recall anything about the place outside your room?"

Anne struggled for a moment, trying to remember some detail, any detail that might help give him a clue to her location.

"I remember...tapestries...a green tapestry, for one. Perhaps another that was red and blue? I'm not certain on that one. But I know he sealed the room with magic - when I look out the window, I can see a courtyard, some shrubbery, statues of some kind, but I don't know what else Eric, I'm sorry - he made certain to get me right in this room straight away."

It was better than nothing, Eric figure, and he mentally told himself to both look out for tapestries and any sort of magically locked doorway, not that he'd know if he could affect anything like that with his current tools, and there was a fair chance that Doom had secured the castle against size changers like him.

"I'll keep an ant sized eye out for those sweetie, but thanks, it's all helpful stuff. I'm just glad he hasn't tried to hurt you yet."

Anne racked her mind for some other detail, something Doom had said or that she had seen that might help him. Could she do anything? Nothing came to mind...

"I would say that I could scream to help you find which room I'm in, but that might alert my captor..." which would be counterproductive. "A warning, love: He did say that he had taken security measures against those with your abilities, though I am not certain what those entail."

"No, don't do anything which could put you at risk, I know you have magic and all but I don't want you to get hurt for my sake. But thanks for the warning. It'll probably mean something like-"

Then Eric had to stumble back from the robotic device twice his size zipping towards him angrily as it fired a laser blast.

"Ok, something like a micro sized attack bot attacking me! Hang on love, I'll be done with this tin can in a few moments!" He started to zip about the stone work as more laser fire zipped his way.

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