Chapter 9
Smack
Toni's head whipped sideways. A voice came in and out of focus in the distance. It sounded like it was muffled by water, like there was a cloth covering it.
Slowly, Toni regained full capacity of her senses. It came gradually. First, was her hearing.
"-happened?"
"-don't know."
"-okay?"
"He's breathing-"
"-should be fine."
The scent of disinfectant burned Toni's nose as she took a long drag of air.
"He's coming to."
"Get some water for when he wakes up."
Feeling came back into Toni's hands and feet. They tingled at first, but after a minute, she could wiggle her fingers and toes a little.
"He's moving."
Finally, Toni was able to see.
Toni's eyes flicked open, breaking apart the crust that had formed while unconscious. Immediately, Toni slammed them shut again, groaning at the brightness.
"Tony, can you hear me?"
A dark silhouette leaned over Toni's slumped form, blocking most of the light from the hallway. Toni was too groggy to make out exactly who it was, but she hoped it was anyone except for Rogers. Best case scenario, Bruce had found her.
Unfortunately, that was unlikely. If he had been the one to find her, he would have brought her somewhere private and removed her disguise so he could help her.
As if reminding her, the rough, broken metal of the Tony-bot rubbed against Toni's skin as she shifted slightly. A strangled groan escaped her lips at the movement.
"Whoa, take it easy." Now that she was more conscious, Toni could tell that the voice was definitely female.
Gradually, the person that went along with the voice came into focus. First, was the hair. It was a fiery red bob that framed a pair of angular cheekbones. A pair of guarded blue eyes were outlined in black liner, making the blankness in them stand out. After a minute of processing what she was seeing, Toni realized it was Agent Romanov in her skintight black suit.
It took an even longer time for her to notice that Romanov was not the only one there.
Toni bolted to her feet in terror, or she attempted to. It was difficult after lying on the floor for an innumerable amount of time. Her limbs were stiff from disuse, and she was still disoriented.
Panic swept over Toni. The group had her boxed against the wall, trapped. She was trapped.
Oh, god. Not again. Not again. This couldn't happen. Not again. She wouldn't let it.
Toni stumbled to her feet. Her body automatically shaped itself in a defensive position, protecting itself. Her back was pressing against the wall. She could feel the imprint of the doorframe against her spine.
Fear caused her thoughts to go wild, racing around in her head and bouncing off the walls. Toni kept her eyes on the figures around her. She couldn't make out who they were; the panic clouded her sight. With extreme caution, Toni inched towards the keypad to her room.
At that moment, Toni's eyes met Romanov's. Living up to her reputation, her expression was smooth and blank. Toni had no idea what she was thinking.
A fight with Agent Romanov would be challenging. Toni wouldn't bet her last dollar on the outcome what with Natasha being a superspy and all.
Toni hid her shaking hand behind her body so that the group couldn't see it. The last thing she wanted was for her potential attackers to notice her terror. People like that fed off of fear.
It took Toni a minute to realize that Romanov was talking to her, asking her a question.
"Toni, did you hear me? What happened?" Natasha asked with calculating eyes.
The teenager's wide eyes darted around, taking in all of the possible escape routes. She could make a run for it, but she probably wouldn't get far. She could stand and fight, but she was still a little woozy from her spout of unconsciousness. Of course, she could always wait it out and see what they have planned. Then again, people's motives usually aren't for the better of others. Toni had found that out the hard way.
That only left one viable option. Toni would have to escape into her room. Luckily, the door was right behind her. All she had to do was distract them long enough for her to type in the key code.
Unfortunately, Romanov was still watching her, waiting for Toni's answer.
"Oh, you know. Had a couple glasses of whiskey and a few shots of vodka with a couple of the ladies on board. Must've passed out before the fun could start," Toni lied, adding a wink to the end of the explanation just to piss Natasha off.
It was a good thing Toni had been lying her entire life. The fib rolled smoothly off her tongue as she eased into her alter ego's mindset.
The spy looked disgusted with Toni. "You're such a pig."
"Aww, pet names. How cute. I didn't know you thought of me that way," The engineer drawled sarcastically.
"In your dreams," Natasha spat.
Toni leaned closer, the banter distracting her from some of her fear. "No, sweetheart, in yours. Or is that reserved for Agent Barton?"
The fake middle-aged man leaned back with a smug grin. It was so easy to rile people up. Smoke was practically rolling off of Romanov, and Toni could feel the anger permeating the air. Toni was satisfied with herself; usually, Natasha was a tough nut to crack.
It seemed like Hawkeye was the chink in her armor. It probably didn't help that the agent was currently betraying SHIELD and more importantly, Natasha. On the other hand, it wasn't his fault that he was brainwashed by an evil god.
"At least I have someone who cares," Natasha said in a dangerously even voice.
The truth of her statement struck Toni hard in the gut. She couldn't deny it. It was a total mystery why Pepper put up with the genius' damaged self. The entire world thought they were dating, and the media was constantly wondering why Pepper was with the playboy, billionaire Tony Stark.
"Might not be for much longer if SHIELD has anything to say about it," Toni said cruelly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was a low blow.
Natasha's face showed pain for a split second before it was hidden away behind her carefully blank expression.
"Well, if you're fine, I'll just check on Dr. Banner's progress," Romanov said with no emotion before turning on her heel. As she walked away, so did her posse of unnamed crew members.
The minute the group turned the corner, Toni's breathe left her in a woosh of relief. Her hand was still shaking when she typed in the key code to her room. Once she was inside, she realized that she didn't ask why Agent Romanov and the other crew members were in this side hallway. Phil had all but guaranteed that no one would bother her down here. Toni mentally shrugged away the question. She would let it worry her later.
Times like that made Toni realized how far she had deteriorated since Afghanistan. After the incident, Toni had just shoved it away.
A Stark is never weak. Emotions equal weakness. Therefore, a Stark never shows emotions.
Afghanistan is the epitome of emotion for Toni. She can barely even hear the word without having a flashback.
In hindsight, Toni should have realized that all that emotion crap would come back to haunt her. She can only push things down so far before they come popping back up.
Not that Toni's not going to try. She is going to push it down as far as she can and live in happy, blissful denial for as long as humanly possible, or she might just die before anything comes back to bite her in the butt because she is a superhero and all.
Safely back in her barren room, Toni collapsed onto the wiry bed in an exhausted heap.
God, life is just so exhausting sometimes.
