Disclaimer: I do not own any characters seen in this story accept for Ella-Marie Stark (Pond) and Darcyl Jones.
Bases: Marvel/ Doctor Who
Characters: The 11th Doctor, Tony Stark
Title: Scarred Warning
Summary: Ella loves the travelling with her new found friend but she misses her brother. So, home it is for a week but an old enemy shows up to tear apart the life she was starting build.
Non stop running, non stop terror, non stop surprises.
This was her life now, why should she give it all up? Her brother was a superhero, her best friend travelled in time and where she worked was like heaven. The Doctor had opened her eyes up to the world before her, making her see the beauty in things that she once saw as ugly.
There was a thrill in the running that the Doctor had introduced her to, a thrill in the near death experiences. Ella wanted to live like this forever, she had found her true calling. One thing was missing and that was home. She missed Tony and thus wished to return to Malibu so she could spend time with her brother. The Doctor was reluctant to let her go but it was easy for him to simply hop and skip into the future and see her again soon enough.
Ella was still unaware of the Doctor's real reason of picking her. It had come to light that in the Doctor's mind that this girl just didn't fit in the world she was in. Ella-Marie Stark was smart, fully alert... something about her screamed Time Lord but he he'd fully scanned her. Nothing even came close to suggesting she was anything but human.
The Doctor went ahead and left her be in Malibu, agreeing he should return within the week. As the blue box disappeared from sight, Ella was grabbing out her phone, finding that she was gone for a few weeks. She hurried inside only to find the date was the day after she had left. So he really could travel in time?
Keys thrown to the side, shoes kicked off and hair tugged out of its bow, Ella rang her brother. It took a while to get through but she did eventually, greeted by his regular humourous tone, "Tony Stark naked and running around like a loon, how can I help?"
Ella giggled and shook her head, "Erm, Tony you really should check your caller ID before answering in such away. I phoned to let you know I'm home. I had to stay on Asgard for the night." Ella hated lying to him but it was best kept a secret for now.
Tony straightened up at his desk for a moment, "Did you take your meds? You know you won't heal completely and properly if you don't take them." Ella sighed and replied with a rather mocking, "Yes dad."
"Good, because you already nearly gave the old man here a heart attack the first go around," He smiled to himself a little as he rocked back in his chair slightly, a finger tapping against the arc reactor in his chest. "I know, if I knew it was my lungs that were the issue, I'd have gone to the hospital sooner," It had been quite the event that night. Ella had been ill with a bad cough days before hand and when she returned home one evening in her flat in London, she had collapsed. Tony had come over to London for a business trip and decided to drop in only to have to kick the door down and find Ella on the floor.
The sight had truly made him feel sick, blood dripping from his little sister's lips, barely a response from her as he rushed to her side. Not even an hour later and Ella was in surgery to fix the problem. Tony had never been so terrified in his life to lose someone like this.
Ella head into the kitchen to make some coffee and grinned a little, "Look, I'll order pizza tonight for when you get in? I'll get your favourite as well?" Tony licked his lips at the suggestion, glancing at the time. If he could get out early enough, he'd swing buy and take her out for dinner instead of ordering in. "Sure, I'll text when on my way home and then order it as I leave?"
"Perfect!" She exclaimed, flicking the coffee machine on, "I'll see you then!"
That evening Tony was late home and pizza was ordered but he made sure to get his little sister something on the way back. A necklace. Ella told him countless times that there was no need.
That week Ella travelled to and fro from Asgard for work, her mind drifting to thoughts of the beautiful stranger who promised her a life of travel. It all seemed too perfect.
It was just a simple walk home from the Bifrost site to Stark mansion. She did it every day since she had moved to Malibu with Tony, the sun beaming down on her as she strolled past tourists and home folk. Being that she had just moved in to Malibu after the health scare that she had suffered from, Tony insisted she were to move in with him so he could keep an eye on her. Ella was ok with this, she had no qualms or worries about moving from England to America, it gave her a new lease of life to some degree.
Today she was merely walking along, purse in hand, her summer dress flicking around at her ankles as she went. A few kids ran past, giggling loudly as they played tag, "Hey Miss Stark!" One called out as they skittered past her, waving like a crazy person. "Good evening Jimmy," Ella called back as she dodged out of the way of a few more children that had joined in with the game. Ella loved seeing the kids outside playing without a care in the world. So every day at around six when she had got in from work, she would give out homemade lemonade to them.
As Ella head up to the gates of the mansion, JARVIS let her in with ease. "Good evening Miss Stark, how was work?" Ella smiled a little, amused at the A.I welcoming her home, like having her own butler in a way. "It was good thank you, a little less stressful than yesterday, thankfully," She slipped in through the side gate and began to walk up to the mansion, the trees giving a form of shade to her as she paced along the gravel. Today she had gained her new uniform, the purple slacks fitted perfectly to her shape and even had her new surname sewn into the left side of the chest area in pure gold. Simply stunning, she just couldn't wait to show Tony her new uniform.
The front door swung open as Ella stumbled on in, chucking her purse to one side and kicking off her heels. "Tony!" She called through, wondering if he was back from work as well. It seemed he wasn't when there was no response to her eager call.
The phone bleeped on the side cabinet, catching Ella's attention. She strolled on over to it, releasing her hair from her red hair bow before hitting the button to hear the messages.
"Hey Tony!"
Ella rolled her eyes then chuckled softly.
"Rhodey here, just wondering when you wanted that rematch?!" That man was always cheery and she kind of liked that, it outweighed Tony's pessimism at times. Ella hit the button to skip the message.
"Tony, it's head of Human Resources…."
Skip.
"Ella! Finally… found your number!" The cheery voice echoed out in the hallway, as Ella grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. "The Doctor here, I wondered if you wanted your beautiful stranger to pass by soon?" Ella chuckled softly, the guy was pretty sweet and simply gorgeous, plus it had nearly been a week since she had been dropped off home. She was surprised he was still interested.
"Well just give the number a ring. Ha… lucky you hey, finally got my number!" That was it Ella burst into giggles at the message, that man always put a smile on her face. Once the message was done she called the number.
In the TARDIS the console sparked a few times before smoking. "Ah no!" The Doctor whacked his hand atop of it before flailing. "No, why would you do that?!" The phone rang out, pulling his attention from the smoking console. "Hello?!" He snapped down the phone,
"Erm, Doctor, it's Miss. Stark," Ella furrowed her brow a little.
The Doctor's eyes widened a little as he tried to place a face to the name. It finally hit him "Ah! Ella, got my message then?"
Ella leaned against the wall and chuckled. "Yea, was… interesting" She scratched her head a little, curling a strand of hair round her finger as she spoke. "Interesting… good, good that's good!" He trundled round the console, trying to work it once more. The phone wire caught on a lever, pulling the Doctor back a little. "So anyway! Tell me, are you busy?!"
Ella was a little stunned by the question but took it as a regular question, "Honestly, I kind of am. I have archery practice in about half hour and I've also a few things to sort out." She slumped against the wall in a slight huff, "Maybe tomorrow?"
The Doctor nodded a little as he leaned against the console, running a hand through his hair. "Yea, yea of course."
Ella could hear he was a bit disappointed but he had a time machine, he could just hop on over to tomorrow. "Alright, well I will see you tomorrow," She chuckled softly down the phone.
"You too Ella," He put the phone down, sighing a little.
Ella on the other hand pressed the button to cancel the call before heading off into the kitchen for a glass of whiskey, a little treat to herself. "JARVIS, do you mind letting Tony know that I won't be home until late tonight?" She padded into the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of her now favourite drink. JARVIS didn't respond though, odd. "Erm, Jay? Are you there?"
The glass was right near her lips as she spoke, brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what was going on. The glass was returned to the counter top, Ella pacing away from the kitchen into the hallway.
In the center of the hallway lay a mask, one that she had not seen in a long time. All she could do was gulp as her mind raced with escape routes out the house. She glanced round, balcony was a no go no matter how well she could climb. The outside door to the swimming pool was her nearest escape other than a window. Footsteps began to echo out from the front door forcing Ella's heart to drop. This whole situation was like de ja vu. The feeling of being thirteen once more.
Ella found herself running down the stairs to the workshop, frantically hitting the buttons on the keypad to get through the locked door. "Come on!" She screamed at it, finally getting in to the room. Her eyes scanned the place, the only form of weapon to hand was her brother's suit but being that JARVIS was down and out for the count, she couldn't get to it. A screwdriver sat on the edge of a workbench, her slender fingers grabbing it instantly in order to arm herself.
More and more echoes of footsteps rang out as they came marching down the tiled staircase. Ella trapped like a caged animal with only a tool to arm herself. Where the hell was Tony?!
The leader of the group stood the other side of the reinforced glass door, removing the mask he wore.
"Darcyl," Ella breathed.
Darcyl smirked at the girl, his deep blue eyes staring right into her soul. "Hello there Reid, long time no see. How is our little friend inside?" He tapped his own temple, gesturing to the beast Ella held inside her but Ella didn't understand, she wasn't aware of what was lurking inside her.
"Why are you here Darcyl?!" Ella's thick British accent resonated out across the workshop as she huddled in the corner of the room. In his own Irish accent, Darcyl replied, "For you, boss' orders. Seems little Miss Ella is in trouble," He gestured with two fingers to his men to stand near the glass, ready to smash it all to get to her.
The men raised their guns, aiming, ready for the command.
"Now be a good girl and open the door."
Ella shook her head as Darcyl stood there, hand raised ready to give the orders.
"Don't make me break your brother's house just to get to ya," That smirk still sat upon his lips. Ella glanced round the room for more ideas of how to escape but nothing came to mind.
"G-go ahead, make my day," She stuttered, backing up slowly.
Darcyl shrugged "Ah… well, sorry to your brother in advance!" He snapped his fingers, the sound of gunfire ringing out as Ella dived behind a metal workbench for safety.
The glass dividers became nothing more than shattered gems across the metal flooring. Bullet holes riddled the wall nearby, taking most of the damage from the guns. Ella rolled onto her back, panting from the shock of it all. For a moment the room was dead silent before the crunching of boots on glass made itself clear.
Ella scrambled across the floor to the next bench, making her way towards the cars in order to drive out of here. However that plan came to an abrupt halt as fingers grasped her hair and pulled her back. Ella yelped in pain, her hair being tugged from her roots like blades of grass from the mud. She kicked and screamed until she found herself dragged back and in a circle, guarded by the men Darcyl had bought with him.
"I told you I'd get you," He smirked at her, grasping her chin as she was forced to her knees before the man. "Twenty years old and now… now you're mine!" From the belt wrapped around his leg, he pulled out a shiny dagger, the emerald jewels glistening in the bright lights of the workshop.
Ella's eyes widened at the sight of her own dagger in his hand. "Let me go!" She mumbled through the grip on her.
"Not a chance sweetheart, you see…" He licked his lips for a moment then smirked once more "I've been hunting you for far, far too long." The dagger came up to her delicate cheek, the cold tip of the blade pressing against her skin. Ella's jaw tightened as it pressed against her, threatening to cut deep.
Ella stared up at him with wet faded blue eyes, filled with complete and utter fear as she was forced to kneel before the man. "Why are you here?" She pulled her face from his grasp, instead he grabbed her by the hair, forcing the girl to look at him. "Why it's a warning from the boss himself!" Darcyl cackled as Ella sobbed softly in fear if her life. "Warning for what?" Ella forced the words out, she'd done everything to keep her and Tony safe from the clutches of Hydra, so why now?
Darcyl leaned close, lips almost touching hers. "Pretty Miss. Stark lied to the boss. Those little bombs, those clever inventions of yours never worked. You can't lie to him!" Darcyl tutted, waving the knife before Ella's eyes.
"No! No, I swear to you, I did not know they were faulty!" Ella pleaded with him, tears now slipping down her pale cheeks, leaving behind darkened trail marks.
"Too late sweetheart!" Darcyl threw his head back with laughter as Ella's sobs echoed out.
Have you ever slowly let a sharp, cold blade cut deep into your skin? Feel the rush of warm blood encase the tip, fighting for its right of freedom?
No?
Well Ella did right in that moment as the glisten of silver cut into her soft cheek like butter. She hissed in pain, the burn from it was enough to force her body into shock, to instantly shut down without even thinking twice. The knife slipped from mid cheek upwards towards her eye, missing her precious eye before cutting up above it too. The gash ached, the pain crippled her. Once Darcyl had let go of her, she fell forward, blood pooling round her face as it connected with metal flooring beneath her. Her sobs had fallen silent as did everything else in case he hurt her even more.
Darcyl stepped back from her, chucking her dagger to the floor by her head before kneeling down, "I do hope we get to talk again. You have a lot to find out about your beautiful stranger." He ruffled her hair as she lay there like a statue, eyes closed tightly until they left.
What must have been hours later, Ella was still sprawled out on the floor and completely unconscious. Tony had finally returned home only to be met with the same mask Ella had not so long ago. In seconds he was alerted by JARVIS that his systems had been shut down and that the workshop was in ruins. Tony flew down the stairs to find his precious sister laying face down, dry blood pooling around her head, how he prayed she was not dead.
Tony slipped his hand under her, pulling Ella into his arms "No… no Ella. Don't you dare leave me" As he cradled the young girl in his arms, his shirt now pressed against the wounded cheek, JARVIS called in the emergency services in hope she had not lost too much blood.
Tony knew all too well that this wound would scar, how in hell was she going to cope with that?!