(Tony Stark's Point of View)
"Stark, don't you ever do that again," Nat said, stumbling out of her seat.
"No promises," I said jumping up from the seat and making for the back of the jet. I was out of the jet before the rest of them had even managed to get out of the seat. I stalked through the flight deck to the elevators in the back, "Where was she last J," I demanded.
"92, in Banner's lab," he piped up from my phone. I found the closest computer and began logging in.
"If I get you back into the system, can you hack in and find the problem?" I asked.
"I should sir," JARVIS said. I pulled another sensor from my pocket and attached it to the computer.
"Get in," I said, striding back to the elevator. I slammed my fist against the button. As the button lights up, I could feel the pressure of someone behind me.
"Can I help you," I shot, as the elevator doors opened. I stepped inside followed by Steve, Clint, Thor, and Natasha. I pressed the button for 96.
"I thought we needed to go to 92," Steve said.
"We will, but the panic button is on 96 so I want to make sure that I get to her," I said, watching the numbers tick up.
"What is wrong?" Thor asked.
"Not sure yet. JARVIS is working on getting back into the system and getting it back up and running so that I can see what happened but that's the only thing that I know," I said, trying not to let my mind race through the options that could be wrong. It felt like the elevator was taking longer than ever to go up to the lab. The elevator was incredibly silent, almost like the whole Tower was holding its breath. Finally, the door opened and I practically ran down the narrow hallway to the glass doors of my lab. My stomach sank when I realized that the lab was empty.
"Tony...?" Steve started. I walked further into the lab and spun in circles to find any sign of where she might be. My eyes were drawn down to the floor. I knelt down to get a better look at it.
"Is that-"
"Blood," I cut her off by confirming. The drops of blood were almost in perfect circles but were leading around the counter.
"It's pretty dark, it's not fresh," Clint commented but I ignored him. I was too busy following the trail of blood around the counter. When I rounded the corner, shattered glass littered the ground and my heart sunk. At the corner of the cabinet, the streaking print of fingers appeared on the cabinet. I knelt down and reached out to pull the cabinet open. My fingers trembled slightly as I opened it. I already knew what was inside would be missing before I even opened the doors. Inside, the glass box where the Stone had been was gone. In its place was a small puddle of blood and streaks of fingers up on the panic button. I reached up and ran my fingers across the blood and the red button. I closed my eyes for a moment and I could almost see her here. Crouched behind the counter, reaching up to press the button that was supposed to protect her. Were the box and Stone already missing or did she take them? What had happened? Where was she? What happened to her? and was she okay? All these raced through my head but all I could see was her here in this spot, knowing in her head that if she pressed this button I would come home but never showing up.
"Stark?" Steve called.
"The Stone is gone," I said, my voice weak. I stood up slowly and looked over at the four across from me. Their faces all fell.
"It is what," Thor asked.
"It's gone. The box is shattered and the Stone is gone, what's so hard to understand about that," I snapped back.
"How?" Nat asked.
"Still working that out," I said, suddenly distracted. The blood that I had followed led out the door and down the hallway toward the stairs. Rounding the counter, I followed the trail to the door of the stairwell. The team fell behind me and followed. I pushed the door open to find small clusters of blood droplets and thin streaks of blood from a hand. It was as if her hand was covered in blood and she fell. Or was pushed.
"God," Clint breathed from behind me. I descended the stairs, following the drops of blood on the cement and the small streams of blood against the railings until we reached the 92nd floor. I followed this trail down the hallway, finger trails and handprints of blood against the wall. against the wall, there was a sudden explosion of streaked blood along with small pools. It was like someone had gotten into a fight in that one spot. I forced myself to continue on down the hallway until we got to Banner's lab.
"Oh my god!" Steve said in complete shock. Banner was tied to a chair, blood dripping from his nose into a puddle in his lap and blood running down his leg from his knee where a bullet hole was.
"Bruce!" I rushed over to him and started working on the knot on his wrists. He let out a small moan of pain. Natasha knelt down in front of him as Clint came to work on the knots on his feet.
"Bruce, wake up. Bruce!" she encouraged.
"Nata-sha?" he muttered, his voice a small croak.
"Banner, what happened to you?" Thor boomed, bringing Banner more into reality. Banner brought his head up and looked up through hazy eyes.
"To-Tony," he croaked out. I dropped the ropes and came around to kneel in front of him.
"What is it, Bruce?" I asked.
"Pe-Peter," he brought his shaky hand up to point toward the back cabinet. I looked over at where he was pointing. The lab was a disaster the further in you looked. I stood up and strode over to where Banner pointed. Hidden behind the counter Peter lay in a crumpled heap. There was a small pool of blood around his head and blood smeared across the floor around him. I scurried over to him and knelt down next to him.
"Parker! Parker, wake up," I urged, rolling him over to his back. Blood caked the side of his face and his nose had grown a slight purple. "Peter, wake up," I murmured frantically. He finally started coming to, his eyes fluttering slightly. As soon as he started coming to, he scurried back away from me. He was manic as he was trying to get away from me.
"Hey, hey! Easy kid, it's me," I assured. He finally looked up at me and relaxed.
"Mr. Stark," he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Peter, what happened here? What happened to you?" I asked. His chest was rising and falling frantic, as if in a panic.
"Dr. Scaffer and I were over here getting vials for Dr. Banner when these men came in. They were demanding for some kind of Stone. Dr. Banner wouldn't give it to them and they started hitting him and doing all kinds of awful things. I wanted to help him but the professor wouldn't let me. She told me that I was being reckless but I couldn't just do nothing. I went to try and help him cause they shot him somewhere but they got a hold of me and threw me across the room. That's all I remember," he said.
"Who were they, did you see them?" I asked.
"I don't know. They were German, I think," he responded.
"What about Lucy. What happened to her? Where did she go? What did they do to her?" I asked.
"I-I don't know. She-she was still h-here when I went out to f-fight," he stuttered.
"Stark," Steve called out. I helped Peter up and helped him limp toward where the others still stood.
"Good God! Peter!" Nat gasped. Steve pulled up a chair and Peter collapsed into it. Nat shifted over and turned his face in her hands, checking it.
"Banner, tell Stark what you told us," Steve urged. I looked over at Banner, who was cleaning his face with a rag. Clint was unbinding his leg.
"They took Lucy," he choked out. My blood ran cold. His mouth kept moving but I couldn't hear him. It felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. I hadn't let myself think about it, but my worst fear just came true. Lucy was gone. I'd failed to protect her, again.
"Who?" I croaked, drawing myself back to reality. There was a moment of silence.
"Hydra," Banner said, breaking the silence finally.
"Tell me what happened," I demanded.
"We were working when they came in. Peter and Lucy were hiding and they couldn't see them. They demanded that they be given the Stone-"
"How'd they get Lucy," I hissed.
"After they threw Peter, they threatened to shoot me. She offered to take them to the Stone to save my life," he said. I felt sick. Of course she did. Why wouldn't I think it was her saving someone. before anyone could say anything else, JARVIS piped up.
"I have gotten back into the system, sir," he said.
"JARVIS, log into the security camera database," I instructed
"Tony, I don't know that that is a good idea," Banner started but I ignored him. I stalked over to the wall and pulled the screen down from the ceiling.
"Show me what happened," I said, ignoring the protests from the others. The screen popped up with color and a small time stamp that showed that this was an hour and a half earlier. It was running a video from the camera that was in the back left corner that showed ever corner of this lab. Banner was standing by the counter and Peter was sitting on the counter next to him. Where was Happy? He was supposed to be here looking over her while I was away.
"Lucy," Banner called. She looked up, over at him, "Can you go get more vials from the cabinet over there?" Banner asked, pointing to the far cabinets which were closer to the cabinets where I'd found Peter.
"Sure thing, how many do you need?" she asked, pushing herself off the counter.
"Uh, like 30?" Banner said with a slight question on the end.
"Mr. Parker, would you care to help?" she asked. Peter nodded eagerly and hopped off the counter. Peter and Lucy made their way to the far cabinets just under the camera. They were out of sight of the doorway. They were knelt down for a moment before the door hit the wall with a vibrating slam. Lucy jumped back into the wall, Peter's head snapped over. He crouched in front of Lucy. From the door, there were three men in complete black stood. The man in the front held a gun up at Banner. Banner held up his hands and looked up at the man.
"Can I help you?" Banner asked.
"Where is the Stone?" the man said with his German accent.
"Excuse me?" Banner asked. The man reached out and punched Banner in the jaw. Banner groaned behind me. Banner groaned and collapsed to the ground. Peter shifted back. Lucy reached up to grab onto Peter's shoulder.
"Don't play with me, Dr. Banner," the German voice hissed, "where is the Stone. We know your resident pet has found it."
"I, don't know, what, you're talking, about," Banner croaked out choppily. The leader brought his boot up and kicked Banner in the stomach. He flipped over to his back and let out a pained gasp.
"I do not have time for this. If you insist on being difficult, I will just have to force it out of you," the German said.
"Sir. You might want to be cautious. This is the Beast," a second man said in low German. The leader barked a harsh laugh.
"Haven't you heard? The pet has cured the Beast. He's all better," the first man said in English. The pet? Were they talking about Lucy?
"I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what you're talking about," Banner said again. The man's foot collided with Banner's face. Peter lurched forward but Lucy pulled him back.
"Get him up!" the man demanded. It looked like Peter was talking to Lucy but it was too quiet to hear. Banner was yanked up and thrust into a chair.
"Bind his arms back and leg together," the man demanded. Banner's hands were pulled back behind him and tied and his ankles were to the chair. The leader raised his gun and cocked it. Lucy and Peter froze.
"Where is the doctor," he barked.
"Doctor?" Banner barely had the words out before the man shot him in the knee. Banner's cry of pain filled the lab.
"I will not ask you again. The next one goes in your head," the German man said, aiming the gun back at Banner's head. Peter lurched forward. He crouched as he made his way to the corner of the cabinets.
"Where is the doctor," the man demanded. Peter leveled himself on his feet. Peter launched himself at the man closest to him. The man yelled in surprises as Peter attacked them all, trying to knock the gun away from the man.
"Pull yourself together, it is just a boy!" the man yelled. The man growled in annoyance and grabbed Peter by the back of his shirt. Peter yelped.
"Boy. Don't get involved in adult matters. You'll get yourself killed," he hissed. He flung Peter across the top of the counter and into Lucy. She launched back into the cabinets with a violent smash as Peter lay unconscious in her lap. Blood rushed from his nose and down his cheek, staining her clothes and hands. Is that were the blood came from? But there was so much...
"No more games." the man said, "You have five seconds to tell me where she is or you die," the gun cocked.
"One,"
"Two,"
"Three," Lucy suddenly pulled the compass off her neck. She paused for a moment before slamming her palm into the sharp corner of the counter next to her.
"Oh god, why would she do that?" Steve asked from behind me. I bit back the pain in my throat at the thought of her pain.
"Four," she wrapped the compass in her palm covering it in her blood and dropped it to the ground.
"What did she do that for?" Clint asked. I realized what she was doing.
"If she took the Stone and left her blood on the compass, she left us a way to find her," I explained, transfixed on the screen.
"Fi-"
"Wait!" she called out, pushing herself up from the ground violently.
"Lucy, no!" Banner's mouth hung open.
"You are the doctor?" he asked. She nodded. The man laughed once before swinging his gun to her, "You will come with us," he said.
"Okay, but only if you leave them alive," she said. My jaw tightened.
"And why would I do that?" he asked.
"Because I'll tell you where the Stone is," she said. A small growl broke from Thor.
"Lucy don't!" Banner called.
"It's a deal. Komm," he barked. Lucy started toward the man. When she rounded the counter, the two men attached themselves to her arms. They started toward the door.
"No! You can't do this! You won't get out of here!" Banner yelled. The man turned back to Banner.
"No? Well, we'll see. You tell your keepers who were here. We'll be waiting, and we'll burn them," he said. He brought the butt of his gun down across Banner's temple. His eyes rolled back and he slumped forward. They pulled her out of the room. The man armed with the gun pointed it at me again.
"JARVIS, follow them!" I barked. The video switched to the camera out in the hall.
"Take us to the Stone. No funny business or I will shoot you," he said, gun pointed at Lucy's head again. The men let go of her arms; one went to the front and the other was at her side. The one with the gun was close behind her, his gun inches from her spine. He pushed her forward with the muzzle of the gun. She stumbled on slightly, reaching out to steady herself on the wall and leaving a streak of blood on the wall.
"We're going to have to take the stairs. JARVIS will stop the elevators," she said. Damn it, Lucy. The group maneuvered toward where the stairs were located. Suddenly the man brought the gun up and cracked it down on the back of her head. She stumbled forward, falling on her hands and knees. This is where that mess of blood was on the ground.
"Where are you taking us," the man demanded.
"To the Stone," she gasped, looking up at him.
"Do not toy with us girl," the man brought his gun down against her face. Blood erupted from her nose. She cried out in pain, blood dripping onto the tile. "If you're leading us to an ambush, you will be the first to die," he hissed. Every nerve in my body was on fire, watching them hit her.
"I'm not," she said, blood dripping out of her mouth.
"Get up," he demanded. It took a few moments but she managed to pull herself off the ground.
"The stairs are just through those doors," she nodded at the doors just at the end of the hallway. The men glanced back at the one behind her before making their way toward the doors. They pushed open the door and shoved Lucy into the stairwell. The video switched to the camera in the stairwell.
"What floor,"
"96, up four floors," she said. A shudder went through the group as they started up the stairs.
"This is it," the man up front said when they reached the door. He pushed his weight into the door and it swung open.
"Where's the Stone," the man shoved the gun into her back, pushing her down to the ground.
"If you'd quit pushing me down, I'd show you," She hissed, pulling herself up off the ground. "It's through here," she nodded toward the door at the end of the glass hall. She walked in front of them to the door. The door swung open slowly. The camera from my lab filled the screen.
"Get the Stone," the man demanded, pushing her forward. I hadn't told her where the Stone was so how did she find it.She rounded it and looked at the cabinet. She knelt down to retrieve the glass box. Her hand reached up quickly and pressed the button. Her fingers were shaking. She closed the cabinet with her knee.
"That's it?" the man asked. She nodded. He moved forward and flipped the box open. He reached in with a gloved hand and grabbed the Stone. She suddenly dropped the box with a shatter and gasped for breath. The man looked back at her, "Would you look at that," he muttered. He dropped the Stone into a small pack on his chest and zipped it closed.
"Alright, let's go," he demanded. He reached around and grabbed her arm. He yanked her around the counter and back toward the stairs. They ushered her up the stairs until they reached the roof. Sudden panic flooded through me. The camera from the roof filled the screen. She hesitated but they forced her forward, toward the edge of the roof. There was a moment's pause where no one moved. Then, suddenly, there was a push to her back. She screamed as she fell over the edge. A harsh gasp when through the group around me but I couldn't move.
"JARVIS!" I yelled.
"I'm trying to find her but I can't," JARVIS said. He rewound the video and found the video from the side of the building. Her scream filled the lab again as she fell over the side. My heart completely stopped as she fell off the ledge and down through the air. Without any warning, she disappeared.
"What in the hell," Clint said.
"Where did she go?" Steve asked.
"JARVIS?" I said again.
"I do not know, sir," he responded. I turned to look at them.
"Does Hydra have that kind of technology?" I asked.
"Not that I know of," Nat answered. Peter and Banner still sat in the back, looking sicker than before. I looked around from each of them.
"JARVIS, call the medics," I demanded, walking over toward where Lucy had discarded the compass.
"On their way sir," JARVIS said. I brought it back to where everyone was standing. I held it up and everyone cramped around me to get a look at it. The back was covered in her blood and the screen had prints from her fingers in blood. The needle on the inside was steady and pointing directly to the east.
"How are we supposed to find her?" Steve asked.
"I don't know, but we better get started," I said.