Chapter Text
January, 2012
Miami, Florida
Look, I can admit when I’ve messed up. God knows how many times I smashed a plate or a glass, or even when I made Dad’s suit play Gangnam Style during a press meeting. Ha, the lecture I got after that one. But the point is, I do know when I’m in the wrong.
But this time? It wasn’t on me.
The bag over my head was suffocating; I could tell it was a thicker material than a pillowcase, probably specifically made for moments like this. Two beefed up men sat either side of me in the car, squeezing me in tight. We drove fast, quickly turning corners and going in what felt like circles, probably miles away from where they took me.
“You know, it’s not very nice to snatch a girl off the street, blindfold her, and crush her between Dumb and Dumber without giving her the tiniest hint as to what the fuck is going on,” I said sarcastically as we turned a sharp corner, resulting in me getting squished even further.
“Be quiet,” A voice from the driver’s seat snapped,
“Or Victor will cut out your tongue.”
Wonderful. Just peachy. I had to bite my aforementioned tongue to stop myself from responding with a witty reply.
It was something to do with my dad, I knew that much. Honestly, I was kinda surprised that I hadn’t been kidnapped yet. With Tony Stark as your dad, you have to get used to the unexpected.
We finally came to a stop after what felt like hours of silence — come on guys, at least listen to the radio! — and I got pretty much yanked from my seat. But as soon as I exited the car, I was thrown into another chair, or stool, and the bag was ripped off my head. The lights were bright above me, but they seemed to be the only source of illumination around.
“Oh, thank the good Lord for fresh air,” I breathed out, eyes adjusting to my surroundings. It was a warehouse of sorts, with about twenty men in all black suits glaring at me. Who I assumed was the leader of their gang sat in a seat directly in front of me.
He smiled. “Gwendolyn Stark, so we finally meet.”
“It’s Gigi, Mr Mafia. And can I just say how incredibly fucking cliche this is? I mean, it’s like you watched The Godfather and decided you’d give it a go. Yet you still fell short.” It was like my mouth was moving faster than my brain, curse words I would have been grounded for flying out of my mouth.
“So go on, interrogate me, but if you use any line out of a TV show you saw, I will in fact laugh in your face.”
The hand came faster than I thought it would. I knew it would come, which is why I didn’t react. My head snapped to the side, the sound of the slap echoing loudly through the warehouse.
Lifting my head up, I moved my zip tied hands from my lap to brush a strand of blonde hair away from my face. “Cute pinky ring. Glad to know even rich men shop at Claire’s.”
That one didn’t result in a slap, instead a dark chuckle. The boss man leaned in closer, enough I could see the stubble growing on his chin.
“You’re exactly like your father. Miss Stark, do you know why you are here?”
I snorted. “If I knew, do you think I’d-”
“Yes or no.” His scathing tone told me he was done with my antics.
“No. I don’t have any idea.”
The man got up and gestured to one of his men. My eyes followed them as the employee went to a table with a large briefcase on it. From where I was, all I could see was the neon label with the words ‘CHEMICAL AGENT – DO NOT OPEN’ on it.
Great. Just great.
As they began to open the briefcase, my chin got yanked back until I was looking directly forwards again. The boss man grinned at me, his grip still tight on my jaw.
“Do you know the Greek myth of Icarus?” He asked coyly.
I raised my eyebrows. “I swear if this is-”
He cut me off again. “Icarus was a young boy who dreamed of escaping the Labyrinth with his father.
And one day, his father made wings of wax for them to escape. If they stayed above the water and not too close to the sun, they would live. But Icarus had never tasted freedom, and was foolish. He saw the sun and wanted it. So guess what he did? He flew too close, and his wings melted. He fell into the ocean, and died.”
“You have such a way with words,” I responded, trying to keep my cool as his grip tightened. I wouldn’t let him see my fear.
His eyes met mine with a wicked glint in them. “Do you want to know why I told you this myth?”
“I don’t think I could sleep at night without knowing,” I sighed mockingly, trying to keep my shaking hands as still as possible.
“Because your father has become Icarus. He has flown too close to this sun, and I have to melt his wings.”
He broke eye contact, looking at what I assumed to be the man with whatever chemical was in the suitcase. He clicked his fingers while still holding my chin so I couldn’t look. The man came into my vision, holding onto a glowing glass tube in a bright shade of purple, and a…
“Oh, you better be joking,” I growled at them, eyeing the syringe in his chubby hand. “If you even think of injecting me with that biohazard, I swear-”
“What will you do, little Stark? You have no suit, no Arc reactor, and no daddy to come save you.”
Okay, he got me there. But I was not going down without a fight. I wiggled my arms around and tried to launch myself off the chair, but two men held me down as the syringe got closer and closer.
“It will only hurt for a minute. And you can tell your father that I will destroy him just as I have destroyed his daughter,” The boss said as he released my jaw, sitting back in his seat.
I continued my fruitless attempts of trying to get them to back off, but they held me so tight I was basically still. The syringe filled with a glowing purple substance got close to my arm, and despite my bucking movements, my forearm was immobile as he injected it into me.
Pain. So much damn pain. It felt… angry. Like the chemical was furious, and its seething, raging fire burned through my veins. I was probably screaming, but the pain in my throat was non-existent compared to the fierce torment throughout my body. I tried to open my eyes, but all I saw was purple. It wasn’t slowing down, or stopping, just pure agony that wasn’t letting up. I could feel the snarling anger still, but I was overwhelmed by everything else.
I wanted the suffering to end. I wanted it all to end.
And so it did.
The last thing I saw was purple, and then, nothing.