Life and death
The thunder was so loud.
Clash after clash... The pouring rain...
Your senses felt numb.
You couldn't see through your tears. You couldn't hear over the bangs. You could barely feel the rain dripping over your skin. You couldn't taste anything except for dry air. You couldn't even smell. Nothing was working as the pain got more and more unbearable.
Eventually, your legs buckled.
It felt like time ceased to exist as your knees smacked the wet ground.
The briefcase slid some distance away when you dropped it to hold your stomach. In a matter of seconds, your hands were drenched in blood.
It hurt...
With squinted eyes you could just about make out your dad. He looked absolutely horrified, pure shock rooting him in place. He was looking at you, stunned, until something else seemingly caught his eye.
A figure was approaching the scene.
It was a man.
He was cloaked in black save for a purple mask covering his features. In his hand was a long gun. A sniper rifle.
He was the shooter.
He dropped the rifle to the ground to take another weapon from behind. This new gun was reminiscent of a bazooka. He raised it up and aimed straight for you. Tony finally found himself time to react.
He dropped beside you, very gently and carefully lifting you into his arms. The second you were secure enough he turned around and headed for the tower entrance.
The HYDRA team leader shot the bazooka.
It hit the car next to Tony and exploded on impact. People started to scream and run and Tony tried his best to shield your body with his own, taking most of the blast with his suit.
Your senses had gone from being numb to suddenly on overload.
The blast felt like a hurricane, the flames looked like giants, and the yells turned into screams of raw terror. You could hear the screeching of brakes as the cars swerved to avoid the explosion. Some stopped and crashed and others sped up to get away.
In the corner of your eye you could see the briefcase.
It was lying on the other side of the street in a puddle. You wanted to say something but when you looked at your dad you noticed the chain of a necklace.
That was the gift you left the day you ran away. It had to be.
He still had it after all this time.
You wanted to speak up but there was an explosion of pain from your new gunshot wound. All you could do was whimper instead.
You could feel your eyelids getting heavy.
Your dad was yelling at people to get out of the way as he carried you inside.
Dr. Cho and her assistant were at the reception when Tony burst through the doors completely drenched in rain and with you bleeding in his arms. At first they didn't realize how bad it was, but soon the sky was alight in orange and red as flames from the bazooka targets spread. Dr. Cho tried to get a look outside as the entire room seemed to shake on impact, like an earthquake.
"Stay inside!" Tony said. "Nobody leaves!"
He was panicked and barely aware of his surroundings or what was going on. For your own safety, he handed you over to the assistant.
"Careful." He warned, a desperate look in his eyes as he turned to Cho.
"Tony, what-" She tried to speak, but he was already explaining.
"She was shot. A-A rifle. There was some - somebody in the street, I don't know. Please help her!"
Dr. Cho nodded, trying to get a good look at you. "The abdominal wound?"
Tony nodded. "Is she going to be okay?"
"I'll have to get her to my lab."
You tried to speak, reminded of what lay in the street outside.
"Dad..." You whispered, finding it painful simply to utter that word alone.
"I'm here, sweetheart." He assured you, holding your hand tightly. "It's gonna be okay."
"No. The... Outside. The-"
You started coughing violently, your nerves alight with agony as the sudden movements caused your body to lurch upwards. Blood spilled from your lips.
Tony closed his eyes for a moment, the sights and sounds of your pain overwhelming him. It was like a force crushing his heart.
"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay." He said. "You'll be okay."
You shook your head, whimpering again. "It hurts."
"I know, babygirl, I know. But we're gonna fix you up. Dr. Cho can help. I promise."
He kissed the top of your head, holding your hand a moment longer. He was scared to let go, afraid that you'd be lost all over again, that he wouldn't have the chance to make up for lost time.
In fear of these thoughts, the sadness and guilt suddenly transcended into anger. The bastard who shot you wasn't getting away with this. He wasn't losing you because of some bad guy with a big gun. One tiny piece of metal wasn't going to destroy everything.
"I'll be back." He promised you.
"Where are you going?" Dr. Cho questioned, surprised. "Tony!"
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" He retorted, already at the doors. "You make sure she lives."
Outside among the chaos of fire and screaming, the HYDRA agent was crouched beside the briefcase, his manic smile hidden behind the mask. His gloved hands grasped the case like a beggar with gold, reaching for the clips.
There was a moment of tense quiet before all of a sudden the Iron Man suit barreled into him, causing them both to skid along the wet road. The masked man rolled onto his knees with a grunt of pain, his eyes searching for his aggressor.
Tony had circled around, already ready to take him down again. Acting quickly, the masked man searched his pockets for a small electrical device. As Tony flew right at him he tossed it, causing a loud spark to engulf the suit. It seemed to shut down on impact and Tony hit the ground a few feet away.
"Back so soon, Mr. Stark?" The man teased.
"No talking." Tony growled, already running at him with a raised fist.
The hit sent the masked man to the ground again and a faint patch of blood stained the material around his lips. He merely chuckled.
"How does it feel?" His tone was cold and almost... Mocking. "How does it feel to finally see your daughter after so many years? I was hoping you would be here to welcome her home!"
Tony punched him again. "Who are you?!"
He tried grabbing the purple mask but the HYDRA man parried the move, jumping back to keep space between them.
"How is she?" The man taunted. "Dead yet?"
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"But don't you want to know my plans, Mr. Stark?"
"I don't care about your fucking plans! You're with HYDRA, and you're dead!"
"Oh, but I am not." Even behind the mask, Tony could see the man flash a smirk. "Avenging your child is what you seek. Do not think you are alone in this endeavor. There are two of us."
Tony didn't reply, relentless in his assault of the man.
"HYDRA merely hired me to fix their failures. I would say the missions were a success."
Finally, Tony hesitated. His eyes were filled with tears of anger and grief. Every one of his senses were dialed to the max, overwhelming and crushing him.
"What missions?" He spat.
"To finish what Mr. Obadiah Stane started, revenge from an old friend." The masked man laughed a cruel and heartless sound. "I never knew the man but he was quite the visionary I have heard. Believe me, this was nothing personal."
"It kind of feels personal!"
"Your daughter was merely in the way. What she protected was the true prize. I need to deliver it."
Tony couldn't organize his thoughts properly. Everything was so muddled. You had been shot, this man was hired by HYDRA to do God knows what, and now he was apparently after whatever you were protecting.
What had you gotten yourself into?
The man saw the bewilderment pass over his face and chuckled.
"The director of SHIELD hides many secrets." He explained. "I assume Miss (Y/n) did not get the chance to tell you why she chose only now to reveal herself."
"She was scared. Of HYDRA. People like you!"
"You are only half right I'm afraid. But the briefcase she carried plays a bigger role than you and I. It is a special artifact, the tool of a god. Mischief, to be precise."
Tony remembered 2012 and the chaos Loki upheaved with the scepter. After the whole ordeal he was forced to hand it over to Alexander Pierce, along with the Tesseract.
"They were supposed to look after it." He said.
Again, the man laughed.
"Oh, how naive you were. They were taking the scepter to HYDRA agents. Only... It did not reach the delivery point thanks to your daughter. She meddled in something that did not concern her. HYDRA of course had no idea that SHIELD took it back." He paused, catching his breath for a moment. "What she knows will get her killed. You have no idea what this organization is capable of. They will stop at nothing now. Her death will be a mercy."
"No!" Tony raised his hand, the repulsor powering up. "She won't die!"
As he shot the beam of energy, the masked man raised a hand in the air. From something in his hand a large shield formed. It was pulsating with crackles of energy, reflecting the beam. It took out the tree behind the pair, obliterating it on the spot.
"You are not the only one with toys." The masked one grinned.
Then, in a movement so fluid it was practically a blur, he drew an electric knife from his coat and forced it into Tony's abdomen. If it had been an ordinary knife, it would have meant nothing. But this one wasn't ordinary, and pierced right through the armor, imbedding itself in his skin.
The man tore the knife back out, letting his shield fall away as well. Then he lifted his arm, talking into a device on his wrist.
"Mission complete." He said. "I require extraction."
With that, he grabbed Tony and pushed him against a parked car, causing Tony to stumble to the ground. He clutched his new wound, wincing as the pain started to spread.
"Again, nothing personal, Mr. Stark." The man said, right as the sound of a chopper approaching filled the air. He backtracked over to the briefcase, picking it up. "Fear not, for you will survive. Unlike your daughter."
A chopper came into view, a rope ladder dropping from its great height. The masked man grabbed the end, securing himself against it.
"Until we meet again, Mr. Stark."
Tony closed his eyes tightly, blinded by pain.
"Stop." He tried to say.
But the man was long gone now.
It could have been seconds or minutes that passed but he couldn't tell. He just lay by the wrecked car, losing feeling almost everywhere.
Eventually there was a loud thud nearby and the ground shook, followed by a monstrous roar. A pair of running footsteps also showed up. They stopped right next to him.
"Stark's been hit." Clint said. "It's bad."