Chapter 53
Holdstein gripped Sydney’s hair harshly and pulled her head back cruelly.
“Listen, future bitch.” He shouted viciously to her face. “Your stubbornness will not get you anything! Tell me where did you hid that silver ball that I saw you taking back from Stark, or I will rip you apart.”
Sydney was completely exhausted and bloody from a whole night of torturing but she still managed a smirk up at Holdstein.
“Are you really this dense? You are still convinced that the silver ball is the key?” she snorted, her smirk still firmly on her face. “Weird. You are supposed to be from a further away future and should know all about our ways.”
“Don’t try to fool me, whore!” he shouted in anger. “We both know that the key could take several shapes since the ship was created. There is nothing that couldn’t make the ball the key.” Then he pulled her hair harshly again. “And if it wasn’t, then I will have to rip open your body to find the key that must be implanted inside you. And I will enjoy every moment of it.”
“She will not tell you anything so just leave her alone already.” Steve snapped anxiously.
He was chained to the wall with Tony and Dean beside him, forced to watch Sydney being tortured for the past four hours while being chained to a chair right in front of them.
“Stay out of this, handsome, or I will tie you to this chair instead. I don’t think they will appreciate what I will do to you.” Holdstein smirked then turned back to Sydney. “Right, Bitch?”
“I told you.” Sydney panted tiredly. “This ball is just a weapon made specifically for me.”
“What does it do then?” she snapped her mouth shut and didn’t answer. “I know all the weapons that was ever created. If you told me what it does I will recognize it. What is it? Tell me.”
“Just a weapon.” Sydney said firmly.
Holdstein furrowed his brows in pure anger before he slapped her with all his strength making her head snap to the side sharply. “Liar!”
Steve growled in anger while Tony shouted: “You Fucker”
“Yeah, slap a tied down woman so you can feel like a man, Bastard.” Dean growled in rage.
Holdstein ignored them and screamed at Sydney’s face: “You think you can fool me? You really think you can defeat me or stop my plan?”
“The important thing is that I stopped your insanity that led the world to its doom.” Sydney stated firmly.
“Bullshit! True, you destroyed all the machines in my hideout, but that doesn’t mean I lost everything!” then he leaned towards her and added: “I have another hideout in Berlin.”
Sydney’s eyes widened and her face paled. “Another hideout?”
“Did that surprise you?” he let out a loud laugh. “That means that your mission failed, Huntress. You failed in stopping me from sending the second message.”
“What will you get if you sent it?” Dean asked in confusion. “You will just destroy the Earth that you are trying to rule.”
“Wrong, Pea brain. That bomb will destroy the solar system because Earth wasn’t ready to face it. But now, I have all the information I need about it. I know when and where it will reach us and how strong it is. And when it came, I will be ready to face it, and I will prove to the entire universe that I am its Emperor.” He smiled viciously. “I will send it back to its planet with my compliments.”
“You are going to wipe out an entire solar system just to prove how great you are?” Tony exclaimed incredulously.
“Do you have a better way?” Holdstein just smirked mockingly.
“You crazy fucking son-“
“Don’t you dare to finish it or I will make you regret it.” Holdstein growled in warning.
Tony’s face flushed in anger as the words choked inside his throat before shouting. “Crazy son of a bitch!”
Holdstein stared at him in pure rage before he stomped towards him and grabbed his shirt harshly to rip it open, revealing the arc reactor.
“Guards!” he shouted, and immediately, two guards stormed into the small dungeon, with their machine guns held ready.
Holdstein retreated back to set on an armchair and pointed at Tony. “Remove that thing from his chest.”
“No! Don’t!” Steve screamed while Dean’s eyes widened in panic and Sydney gasped in terror.
Tony struggled with his restraints as one of the guards came closer to him with a claw like tool while the other slammed Tony against the wall firmly to keep him still.
“Leave him the hell alone or I swear I will-“ Dean shouted but Holdstein just laughed.
“Will what, Winchester? What will you do?” he mocked harshly.
“I will make you regret it. I will not rest until I make you regret the moment you thought about laying a hand on him.” Dean answered firmly with pure anger shining in his eyes that made Holdstein pause at the intensity in Dean’s voice.
“We caught it, sir.” One of the guards called out after he snapped the clawed tool to Tony’s reactor, ready to remove it, while Tony’s eyes widened in panic.
“Remove it.” He ordered sternly.
“No, no! Please, don’t!” Steve screamed and kept struggling with his restraints and felt panic and horror inside him when he failed to break free.
The guard removed the reactor in one swift, harsh move.
“No!” Sydney screamed in horror.
“No? You mean you want us to put it back?” Holdstein turned to her with a smirk.
Right in front of their horrified eyes, Tony began to breathe heavily as sweat fell down his face, his fists clinched at the chains for dear life as his eyes started to glaze over from the merciless pain he must be feeling.
“Just put it back already!” Dean shouted in terror.
“You made your point, just let them put it back now!” Steve screamed as he kept struggling.
“In exchange for what?” Holdstein smirked and looked over at Sydney.
Sydney lowered her eyes in pain. “I will lead you to the ship.” She muttered bitterly.
“Is it another trick?”
“No.”
Holdstein got up from his chair and came closer to her. “What guarantees it?”
“Kill us if it was a trick, now put the damn reactor back for God’s sake!”
Tony’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his face was white as a sheet while he struggled to take a breath in the middle of the pain raging inside his chest. He was dying. Fast.
“Put it back!” both Dean and Steve yelled in desperation as they saw Tony taking his last breaths.
“Put it back. But keep the claws attached just in case.” Holdstein ordered the guards with a carless wave of his hand.
The guard slammed the reactor back to its place. Tony let out a loud gasp and panted heavily as the reactor began its work.
Dean sagged in relief while Steve struggled to move his head enough to take a look at Tony’s face to calm his racing heart.
Holdstein turned back to Sydney. “Is it the silver ball?”
She nodded in defeat. “Yes, it is.”
“I knew it.” Holdstein’s eyes let up in victory. “Where is it?”
“With me.”
“Where? We searched you. Are you using a way to hide it?”
“No. it has the ability to take another shape or matter until my fingers touch it.”
“Yes, I know this ability. It could attach to anything and take its shape, is that right?”
“Yes. It will take a shape that you will never notice, and will return to its shape when my fingers touch it.” Then she stopped for a second before she continued. “Only my fingers.”
“That means we need to untie you.” Holdstein muttered with a furrowed brows.
“Yup.” Sydney agreed calmly.
Dean watched the scene with deep concentration, trying to figure out what Sydney was up to. Steve was staring at Tony in concern while the genius raised his head weakly, face still wet with cold sweat.
Holdstein just looked Sydney over suspiciously and thought for a few seconds.
“Fine.” He said eventually and turned to one of the guards. “Untie her right hand only.” Then he pointed at the other guard. “And you, point your gun on her. If she made anything suspicious shot her and the others.” He turned back to Sydney. “Does that suits you?”
“Not bad.” She stated calmly.
The first guard untied Sydney’s right hand then retreated with his partner to point their guns at them.
“Come on. Give me the ball.” Holdstein ordered.
Everyone stared at Sydney who at first just sat still for a few seconds, before she moved her free hand to touch her neck delicately.
The two guards’ eyes widened and took a step back in terror when they saw Sydney’s throat extend forward then curl into a ball and fell into Sydney’s hand to change color to silver.
“What kind of witchcraft is that?” one of them exclaimed.
“Silence! Just point your guns!” Holdstein snapped without taking his eyes off the ball. “Give it to me.”
Thousands of questions passed through Dean, Tony and Steve’s heads when Sydney looked at the ball and pressed it lightly. They thought she was preparing a trap for the General but she just handed it over to him with bitterness and pain itched to her face.
Holdstein snatched the ball and stared at it in victory. “Finally.”
“Now, set us free.” Sydney said nervously. “You got what you want. No need to keep us anymore.”
“You’re right.” Holdstein smirked down at her. “No need at all.” He turned to the guards. “Kill them all!”