Masks

It was a Skype call.

Diana, Superman, and Thor hastily vacated the room. They didn't want to tip HYDRA off about Bruce and Tony's newest allies. Pepper stood just behind them, silent but supportive.

The screen lit up. An image of an old, gray-haired man in a lab coat appeared. Brock Rumlow stood next to him.

"Guten tag, Mr. Stark. And Mr. Wayne? A pleasure."

"Let us talk to Catrin," Bruce said, his voice dangerously quiet.

"But of course. She's quite unharmed so far." He gestured at something offscreen.

Catrin was dragged into view. There were a few bruises and cuts on her face, but that seemed to be the extent of it.

"Dad." Her voice was hoarse. "Pa."

"Baby--" Tony choked. "Have they--"

"I'm okay. " She smiled, showing teeth. "Been a nice little vacation. Though I don't think they're enjoying it much. They're having a bit of a rocky weekend."

The HYDRA scientist interrupted. "Enough, for now. To business. I have a fairly straightforward offer for you, sirs. Even a couple of possible choices. One is an exchange, Mr. Stark comes here himself and we'll release the young lady. "

Bruce stiffened beside him. Tony didn't look away. He'd been expecting something of the sort. "And the alternative?" he asked, keeping a blank expression, his tone as neutral as he could make it. Don't show weakness. One lesson from Howard that had actually come in useful...

"The Tesseract. It was last known to be in your team's possession, I believe." The man's tone turned inquisitive, as he watched Tony closely.

"We don't have it," Tony said flatly. "Thor took it away to Asgard when he left."

"Hmmph. Well then, we shall have to go with 'Plan A'. "

* * *

Out of sight of the camera, Catrin listened intently as her fathers and that disgusting old man hammered out details of a meeting.

She was nowhere near stupid enough to believe that they'd just let her go. Nope. So, this was stalling for time on the good guys' side.

Dad had had a brief flinch when Thor was mentioned. She didn't think anyone else had caught it, they'd been focused on Pa. But if that meant what she thought it might...

oh yeah, bring. It. On.

She let herself be led back to her cell, meekly. The guards, thinking her intimidated or that the 'mild tranquilizers' they'd given her had rendered her harmless, didn't search her before they locked her in again.

Too bad, so sad...

She sat on her bunk, tailor style.

She ran a thumb along the edge of a sharp piece of metal hidden in her sleeve, already planning how to make them regret it.

* * *

Bruce fought down growing uneasiness along with anger.

HYDRA was being...almost too cooperative. Something wasn't right here. Every feeling he had was screaming at him that this 'exchange' was beyond a bad idea.

But what choice did they really have? If they refused to play along altogether...Catrin would be the one who suffered the consequences. No. No...

Tony agreed to a meeting at an old Stark warehouse in upperstate New York. The place was deserted, hadn't been used in decades.

"Tomorrow night."

"Yes, yes. We'll be there."

The HYDRA agents ended the call.

"JARVIS?" Tony demanded as soon as the screen went dark.

"They are using an encryption protocol that is...entirely foreign to me, Sir. I am attempting to trace the call, but this is--I'd almost say it was alien."

Diana and Thor rejoined the group. They had been able to hear, even outside the room. "Maybe it is," the Amazon suggested. "They do seem to have access to some unusual technology. " She eyed the screen.

"What did she mean?" asked Thor softly. "The young Lady said...'rocky weekend'? One of your codes?"

Bruce shook his head. "I don't know--" anguished. "If it is I can't remember what she meant."

"She said that right before the Tesseract was mentioned," Pepper realized. "Maybe that has something to do with it?"

"The Infinity Stone is still safely locked up on Asgard," Thor said firmly.

"Infinity what?" asked Bruce, confused.