Twenty-one days after Beca's capture.
She'd been working on a piece of the machine for almost two weeks time. It wasn't the greatest experience of her life. Beca had been tortured and starved. Only twice a week did she receive food and water, but it was enough to keep her alive, frankly that was all the creatures needed. With a sigh, the brunette looked at the large chunk of metal, hooking the wires carefully. If things worked the way she wanted them to, as soon as the machine was activated those wires would cause a malfunction and the machine would explode.
It was quite genius, if she did say so herself. Beca worked on that plan for days and days. Convincing Havak she knew what she was doing wasn't easy, especially with him looking over her shoulder for hours at a time as she worked. The brunette could only hook the wires properly when he wasn't around, and it didn't happen very often.
Speak of the devil, Havak walked into the room with his scaled arms crossed over his chest. He walked behind Beca, looking down at the piece of machinery and raised what was supposed to be his eyebrow. "Are you sssure you're doing thisss correctly?" His forked tongue still scared her, but the fact that he had to draw out his 's' sounds made everything hilarious.
There were times when the creature would pause in his speech to think of a word that didn't have the letter s in it. Beca would try not to laugh every time, and when the slightest chuckle escaped her the girl would get a beating. Worth it or not, the act was still funny. She winced as Havak grabbed her arm, pushing her out of the way to look at the machine she'd been working on.
"What are thessse wiresss?" he asked, staring at her with those yellow, slit eyes. "They make the machine work." Beca explained in simplest terms, hoping the creature wasn't great with technology. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Havak grabbed her by the throat, a hiss resonating from his throat. "That isss not what they are. What isss the truth?" She gasped, clawing at his scaled hand, desperately trying to get oxygen. "I told you."
Her head was slammed against the wall, and black pooled in her vision, making it very difficult to see. "You are lying!" The girl's body couldn't take much more of the constant beatings. Havak would occasionally accuse her of lying and torture her for several hours, summoning Luke once he was finished to check the machine himself, only to find out she'd been truthful. Truthfully, Beca thought he only did that to torture her, just as he was now.
"What's all this about?" she hadn't been expecting either of them so soon, and her plan could be blown, no pun intended. It was Luke who walked into the room, and as he kneeled beside her the blonde man put a rough hand to the bruise that had sprouted on her cheek several days ago. She winced, not because she wanted to, but because it'd been hit so many times the pain was unbearable. "Do we really need to go through the entire torture routine again, love?" If only he weren't evil, that accent might be attractive.
"I didn't do anything," Beca muttered, keeping her face turned away from him. "That'sss a lie! Ssshe did sssomething to the wiresss!" The creature was obviously frustrated by his lack of an ability to say the letter 's', and proceeded to take his aggression out on her. One rule Luke had about torturing, there could be no broken bones in her arms or hands, she needed those to work on the machine.
Ironically, Havak had possibly broken a toe and possibly cracked one of her ribs. The pain was excruciating for the past several days, and Beca knew if she didn't get to a hospital soon the injuries would escalate into something much worse. "All right, all right, I'll take a look at them." Luke stood away from her, but Beca kept herself against the wall. It was her support, and were it taken away from her the girl was certain she'd fall straight to the ground.
He moved over to the piece of the machine she'd been working on, and immediately started laughing. "Look at what you've done, Beca." The man moved over to her, backhanding her across the face while laughing. "You're trying to destroy our machine, and that just won't do."
All Beca did was start laughing, looking up at him with a smirk. "Took you long enough to figure it out. It's no wonder you need me to help you build this thing." It earned her a kick in the abdomen, and pain exploded through her chest. She put a hand to the sight of the pain, trying to soothe it away. "This is just turning out to be a problem. Maybe I should kill you, but then I wouldn't get to kill your little Avenger friends.
"That's right. I know they'll come for you, I just don't know when. Yet, when they do come I'm ready for them. Besides, it's not like they'll find you in this place. There's nothing you can do to help yourself, so you might as well get comfortable and start working like you're supposed to."
"Following rules hasn't been my strong suit," her breathing was erratic, and when Luke grabbed her by the hair it didn't get much better. "Havak, take her down and do what you please. I don't care, just get her to fix this blasted machine."
Luke left, and Beca was left alone with a monster. The creature only laughed as he lifted her, throwing her into a wall. "Thisss isss the highlight of my day, Ssstark."
Chloe sat on her bed, listening to the sounds of Beca's mixes pounding through the walls. It had been three weeks. Three weeks without the brunette's humor, her smile, or her laugh. Everything about Beca was gone, and the red head's only reminder was her music. "Don't worry, Miss Barton, Beca will return soon." Jarvis was constantly having to reassure her. Even for a machine, it seemed like he cared about Beca just as much as she did.
A quiet knock at her door reached her ears. With a sigh Chloe stood, walking to the door and raising an eyebrow as she found Aubrey standing in the hall. "I thought you could use the company." The red head certainly didn't expect her to be so thoughtful, but it took several moments to decide if she actually wanted the blonde there. "Come in."
Frankly, watching Aubrey's eyes scan the room was disturbing. It was bad enough Beca wasn't in the room, now the blonde decided to come. Chloe was grateful for the company, but after spending days in that room it wasn't as if she wanted anyone else there besides Beca. What would the brunette say if she found Aubrey in the room? Most likely the billionaire would try to hide all her mixing equipment and laptop, keeping that life as far away from Aubrey as possible.
"Not exactly billionaire material is it?" the blonde asked, blatantly trying to decrease the tension in the room. Chloe only shrugged, closing Beca's laptop and leaning against the desk. "I guess not." Once again the blonde seemed to be making stereotypes. Just because Beca was born to a rich family didn't make her the way they were. She was kind, loving, but all everyone saw her as was the sarcastic, arrogant daughter of Tony Stark.
They thought she was exactly like him, but Beca didn't give anyone a reason to believe otherwise. Did she like the reputation it gave her? The power? No. Beca said she hated being compared to her father. It was her defense mechanism to act that way, to be the person everyone hated. They would stay away from her, and they wouldn't care what was happening in her life because of it.
She sighed, shaking her head and wondering how such a beautiful person could've turned into such a hidden, armored person. Of course, Chloe had kept several secrets herself. The media rarely got its hands on her, because if it did that would ruin her assignments as an assassin. The red head was practically born in secrecy, but Chloe didn't mind at all. Had her life been any different she wouldn't have met the confident DJ, and that was something she cherished.
"Is there anything I can do?" Aubrey asked, pulling the assassin from her thoughts. Chloe raised her eyebrow, noticing she and Aubrey had similarly colored eyes. Both a bright blue, much different than Beca's dark, steel blue eyes. Her every thought seemed to bring her back to the brunette, and every thought was a stab to her chest. "I don't think so, Aubrey." Chloe sat on her bed, not complaining as the blonde sat beside her. "My father always said it's hard to be away from the one you love, especially in times of battle.
"He also said thinking about what could possibly be happening to them if they were captured wasn't something you should put yourself through. It only brings nightmares and more pain to what you're already feeling. If it's any consolation, I want her back too, and we're all losing sleep over what could be happening to her. Yet, Benji's in the lab and Jesse has been fighting with Fury about sending missions out to find her. We're sitting here doing nothing. What does that say for us?"
Aubrey had a point, as much as Chloe didn't want to admit it. She'd been sitting in that dorm room for the past three weeks, wondering if Beca was all right or dead. Without the actual information, the red head decided she wouldn't know unless they got Beca back. The blonde was right. What was she doing? The others had done more for the billionaire than she had, and she was Beca's girlfriend. Unacceptable.
"Come on," Chloe stood, walking out of the dorm room briskly. Aubrey was right on her heels, and she could see the smile on the blonde's face from the corner of her eye. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she called Jesse. "Hello?" she heard, but there was no time for pleasantries. "Jesse, Aubrey and I are going to the lab to meet Benji. I'm not wasting anymore time. We're finding Beca today."
"I'm already in the conference room," the soldier replied, and Chloe could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll see you there." She hung up and swiped the key card into the elevator, looking over at Aubrey. "I'm done waiting." "So am I."
Glad they were finally in agreement, Chloe rushed through SHIELD's base, ignorant to the stares she received from other agents. When the doors finally opened to Beca's lab, Benji was at Beca's desk, working diligently through the piles of paper on the white table. Jesse was already there, standing in the corner. "Wait!" Benji yelled, earning glances from the other team members.
"Everyone go out of the room, and only one of you come in when I tell you!" Seeing their incredulous stares, he only smiled at them. "Trust me." Chloe nodded, walking out of the room first, having the blonde on her heels. Jesse followed them, and soon enough the boy called them back into the room one at a time.
"Okay, Chloe you're the last one, come back into the room." With hesitation, the assassin stepped across the doorway of the lab, hearing a laugh from Benji. "What?" she asked, walking completely into the room. "What's going on? Is it something good?" He nodded, pointing over at Riley.
"He was grey several seconds ago! Then you walked into the room and he started glowing red!" Of course! How hadn't she realized it before? How had she been so stupid? "Beca calls me Red," she mumbled, clearing her throat as she received stares from the others. "Beca calls me Red!" Benji laughed, throwing a cheer into the air. "He's trying to show you something! He can tell you where Beca is!"
Without a second thought Chloe walked to the sphere, stopping slightly as it's glow became brighter. A smile adorned her features, and she couldn't help the small laugh leaving her lips. "Wait a moment," Aubrey said, walking to the assassin's side. "Do you really believe this thing will show you where Beca is?"
Chloe looked back down to the sphere, still smiling as it's glow grew ever brighter. "Only one way to find out." She took the artifact in her hands, holding it gently. After a blink, she found herself in a building, steel walls all around. A scream came from her right, and with a quick turn of her head she found Beca curled on the floor, holding her chest with one arm while the other seemed entirely black with bruises.
Turning, the red head found herself face to face with a creature she'd never seen before. It was similar to the lizards she'd seen in the cave, but it was different. This thing was a snake, definitely not something she was used to seeing. Staggering back several steps, Chloe turned her gaze away from those yellow, slit eyes. They practically saw right through her, even though the assassin knew the creature couldn't hurt her. This was only a vision, and she was only visiting this place.
Another grunt of pain left Beca's throat, and Chloe couldn't help the way her body winced, as if the brunette's pain was her own. In a way, it was, three weeks had passed and who knows how many beatings her billionaire had received. Judging by the multiple bruises on her exposed skin, Chloe could estimate she'd been tortured very often.
"You'll be dead sssoon, Ssstark," the creature laughed, kicking her in the stomach before leaving the room. She knelt down to Beca's side, wishing so much that she could reach her hand out and push the strands of hair away from her face. Her breath rattled through her lips, and for a single moment Chloe's eyes met Beca's steel blues. "Chloe," the girl whispered, letting her head finally fall onto the metal floor. "Hurry."
She looked to the sphere in her hand, still seeing the familiar red glow. With a sigh the red head took one last glance at Beca, knowing very well it might be her last. "Show me where she is, Riley. Be as specific as you can." Darkness surrounded her, and for a moment the assassin had half a mind to drop the artifact and hope she would somehow end up back in the lab. Yet, they were in a room, a map of the United States hanging proudly on a wall.
There was one red pin in the map, in the middle of Georgia where there was nothing but forest. Frankly, it even looked like the pin was on a hill of some sort, away from civilization. Underground bases seemed to be a theme with these creatures, and not a good theme at that.
Considering how well their last mission had gone against these creatures, Chloe knew they'd have to be more careful than ever when rescuing Beca. "You're a genius, Riley," she looked down at the sphere, only to see the white floor of the lab under her feet.
A hand touched her shoulder, and the assassin turned to see Aubrey, her brow still raised. "Well, did you see anything?" Chloe couldn't help the smile she sent Jesse's way, and immediately she knew their leader understood. "I know where she is." Benji cheered, and even Aubrey had a smile on her face. Jesse pulled a cell phone from his pocket, and Chloe watched intently, wondering who exactly he could be calling.
"Stacie," well, that question was answered. "Get the helicopter fired up. We need it now. We know where Beca is." He immediately hung up after that, looking out at the team and walking towards them. "We're not leaving wherever this place is until we have Beca safe. Agreed?"
The entire team nodded, and Jesse held out his arm, his hand clenched in a fist. Chloe put her hand over his, looking over at Benji whose hand had joined her own. Last, but definitely not least, Aubrey's hand was over all of theirs. Not every hand was there, but it was all right, because for the first time in almost a month, they knew the team was going to assemble again. The next time they stood together, Beca would be with them. They were all going to be home.