The Avengers Tower gleamed under the fractured sunlight, its polished glass reflecting the storm clouds gathering above. Inside, the briefing room buzzed with tension — Captain America outlining strategies, Natasha sharpening her resolve, and Thor impatiently gripping Mjolnir like the war would start at any moment.
But in the corner, standing apart from the others, was Silvanna.
Her crimson eyes shimmered faintly as though liquid fire coursed within them. A faint smell of iron lingered in the air around her — the constant reminder of her gift, her curse: blood-bending.
For three months, she had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, her powers weaving through their battles like threads of scarlet lightning. Black Serpents fell by the dozens when she unleashed her control, twisting their veins into shackles or drawing strength from their lifeblood. Yet for all her power, she remained a stranger in this family of legends.
Until he noticed her.
Tony Stark.
The billionaire, the genius, the man who never stopped talking — except when he was watching her. He teased her about her "metal band aesthetic," joked about replacing her leather jacket with StarkTech armor, and once, very quietly, admitted she scared him in the best possible way.
Silvanna smirked as she remembered his words, but beneath her calm exterior, she felt the pull of something heavier: a secret she could not share.
Because Silvanna was not just another hero who had appeared to help.
She was Vanessa's aunt.
The memory of her younger sister — Vanessa's mother — burned in her chest like fresh wounds. She had sworn to find Vanessa, to protect her, but by the time she returned from the shadows of her own bloody path, the girl was gone. Missing. Lost. The world believed Vanessa abandoned. Silvanna knew better.
Now, as the Avengers prepared for the next strike against the Black Serpents, she tightened her gloves, feeling the blood around her stir, whispering like an ocean tide waiting to crash.
Natasha caught her eye.
"You're quiet today. That usually means trouble."
Silvanna gave a thin smile. "It just means I'm thinking."
"About Stark?" Natasha's smirk was sharper than her knives.
Silvanna didn't answer — but her silence was answer enough.
Before she could reply, alarms blared. The holographic map filled with red markers, showing Serpent incursions breaking across Europe and Asia. Cap slammed his fist on the table.
"They're spreading faster. If we don't cut this off, there won't be a world left to save."
Tony swept past the group, his hand brushing Silvanna's shoulder briefly — just enough for her to feel the warmth of his touch before he stepped into his Iron Man suit. His voice, though playful as ever, carried the weight of unspoken fear.
"You ready, Crimson Queen?" he teased.
Silvanna's eyes glowed, and a ripple of blood magic surged through her veins.
"Always."
And as the team assembled, one thought burned inside her — a truth she kept buried even from the man she was starting to love:
Vanessa, my niece… if you're still out there, I will find you. And I will not let the darkness claim you.