(K'un Lun, Portal Site)
Anxiety is one of the many emotions that can drive someone to do something incredibly stupid. Like say jumping through a portal leading into unknown and extremely dangerous territories to save comrades from persons possessed by a cosmic bird of fire that grants them power to shape reality.
Hope Summers is currently feeling Anxiety, but she does not have the impulse to do that. Not to say the thought hasn't crossed her mind, but patience is one of the lessons that was pounded into her head since coming to the city of Kung-Fu. She has to wait until the time is right.
'I just wish it came sooner,' Hope thought.
Patience was taught, not mastered.
"Troubled, young one?"
A deep voice surprises her, and she turns to see Master Yu Ti standing behind her, looking at her curiously. Or she guesses he is, she can't really tell with his whole face covered.
She looks back at the portal and says, "Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"
Yu Ti stands next to her and also looks at the portal as he answers, "What they are attempting to do is no easy task, so they need to take every precaution, including minimal communication with anyone outside of their immediate group."
"But what if-"
"Hope," he cuts her off calmly, "They will succeed, you needn't worry yo-"
"I'm not worried," she cuts in quickly.
He turns and raises an eyebrow at her.
Realising that answering immediately makes it seem she is worried, her cheeks tint with embarrassment and then says, "I just have a bad feeling."
The old Kung Fu master nods in understanding and says, "I realise in these types of situations we let our minds wander to the worst case scenarios, but you must remember to have faith in them. The Avengers have come through, even with the most trying of times."
"It's not that," Hope says as she shakes her head and gets a look on her face that tells him she's struggling with something on her mind, "It's just I- I got this feeling that something really bad is about to happen."
Yu Ti once again raises an eyebrow at her and asks, "Such as?"
The young mutant messiah shrugs her shoulders and she answers, "I don't know, It's like I got this voice in my head saying something is going to happen."
"A voice?"
"Is that weird?"
"A cosmic bird of fire is here to make you it's latest, in it's long line of hosts. You hearing voices is hardly qualified as weird."
Not knowing how to respond to that comment, Hope just looks back to the portal as does YuTi.
"Have faith young one," he tells her, "as I have just said, the Avengers have gone through scenarios such as these and have always won."
"Yeah but," The young redhead lowers her head in worry and states, "doesn't it always come at a price."
Yu Ti glances at her and ponders on her question. Recalling all events the Avengers and the like were involved in, at least the ones he's aware of.
"WE NEED A MEDIC!"
A sudden shout from the portal gets both their attention as they see Captain America carrying Hawkeye.
Yu Ti whips his head to Hope, "I'll go and inform Dr. McCoy and our healers to prepare more beds," he quickly said to her. He then rushes to the temple and follows up with, "and I'll bring more to help carrying them in."
Following the patriotic icon is a bloody and clothes torn Wolverine carrying Spider-Woman, Dr. Strange supporting semi-conscious Black Widow, Luke cage limping through, Iron Fist helping Quicksilver walk, and finally Ms. Marvel being carried in by a bruised She-Hulk, who is also dragging the Thing by the leg.
She-Hulk crumbles to one knee and says annoyingly, "Why was I stuck carrying two in?"
Hope rushes to She-Hulk and helps Ms. Marvel off the green amazon shoulders. She-Hulk looks at Hope and thanks her and the adolescent mutant nods at her.
"Pietro!"
Wanda shouts as she came floating down with her hex powers. She lands at the end of the stairs and rushes to her twin brother.
The speedy Avenger sees her coming towards him, "Wanda," he says, he then pushes off of Iron Fist and meets his sister in an embracing hug.
Wanda sheds some tears as she hugs him very tightly, "I had thought the worst when they captured you."
Hope, looking at the two siblings, can't help but smile at the scene. It seems her worries were for nothing if the rescue mission was a success and everyone made it back well enough. As the Avengers hand off the wounded to the healers in the kung fu city, she continues to look throughout the crowd gathered and begins to notice something.
Her smile fades and turns into worry, "Wait hold on," she calls out to the crowd, "Wheres Spider-Man?"
"He stayed behind!" Wolverine shouts as he hands off Spider-Woman to a temple monk, he then turns and rushes back to the portal, "We need to go back!"
Cap nods in agreement, "LETS GO AVENGERS!"
BOOOOOOOM!
An explosion from the other side of the portal blinds everyone in the vicinity and a shockwave pushes some of them down. All of the conscious Avengers shout the same thing.
"SPIDER-MAN!"
***
(Twenty Minutes Earlier)
Within in the Russian mountains, the Avengers are in a stare down with the mutant Rasputin siblings, Magik and Colossus. Tensions are high and nobody says a word.
"So does anyone have an idea on how to go about this?"
Spider-Man, because let's face it who else, decided to ask the obvious question and break the silence.
Magik places both her hands on her sword and answers him, "You could take our offer and surrender."
Spidey, in his signature crouching position, retorts with a scoff, "And be strung up in a cocoon while little devil worms feast on my flesh? I don't think so."
"They do not feast on your flesh. They feast on your soul."
"...What part of that did you think would make the whole thing better?"
Instead of answering Magik jumps at him with a swing of her sword, thus starting the inevitable battle between the two groups.
"WHOA!" Spidey barely managed to duck the swipe to his head. He throws an uppercut to her head and she flips her body backward as she brings a leg to kick him in the chin and staggers him back. She gets upright, charges at him and swings her sword at his midsection, but Spidey reacts fast enough for her only to cut him a little.
He shoots some webbing at her sword to try and take it from her, however she manages to cut through them and charges at him. She shoulder checks him and launches him to the cave wall. His back hits the wall and his body makes an impression.
"Owie, that hurt," he said as he pulls himself out and rubs his head, "I guess it's true what they say about you russian girls and being rough with a guy."
"I will enjoy splitting you in half with my blade."
"If I had a nickel for every time a girl said that to me, I'd have a quarter."
That made the blonde girl pause and look at him strangely.
Spidey looks offended and crosses his arms, "What, you think you're the only girl that's wanted to penetrate me?"
Her expression changes to annoyed.
"Wait that didn't come out right."
She charges at him again and they continue their fight.