Chapter 11

Peter clutched the passenger handle, almost shivering with nerves as the girl next to her drove like a maniac as soon as they got onto a private road. The music was blaring loud enough to deafen someone but he doubted the girl cared much. Peter didn't mind so he didn't comment on it, letting the music flow over him as a way to calm him down from his nerves and jitteriness.

"LILITH, coming in fast," She said, not taking her eyes off the road as the centre of the wheel glowed purple.

"I've informed FRIDAY, she's opening the door," A woman's voice said in the car. "She says that the adults are in the conference room, but she won't say what they are discussing. Your dad forbade it."

"Of course he did," She muttered, sighing. "Tell 'em we're almost there. Buckle up, Spidey, we're getting there fast."

"How do you know that I'm—" Peter clutched the seat as she drove faster, closing his eyes as he didn't want to watch how fast they were going.

Strangely, his spider senses didn't go off once. They stayed calm as she drove insanely. Eventually, Peter opened his eyes, glancing over to the girl, who had introduced herself as Salem and nothing else. She was unbelievably calm, keeping her foot on the gas and hands moving quickly and steadily on the wheel.

"How—" He clutched his seat, "Are you—" there was a bump in the otherwise smooth road, "Driving this fast?!"

"When taught to drive, you should be taught to drive fast and well," Salem said, still completely relaxed as she drove. "I like the speed."

"Are you even old enough to drive?"

"Not really but I got an advanced license," She looked over to him. "You're lucky I didn't take the motorcycle."

He paled at the thought of that, shaking it off when he heard her laugh.

"I'm kidding," She grinned, looking back at the road again as they could start to see a building. "Dad doesn't let me out on it, least of all with passengers."

"Dad?"

She didn't explain and he didn't push it, seeing how the snake on her shoulders seemed to look at him funny.

Peter was almost glad when the girl finally stopped at the compound, leaving the car on the gravel outside.

She strutted into the building, sending a gesture over her shoulder that said to follow.

"I've got Spidey!" She announced as she got into the main area where a couple of adults sat. She walked over to the fridge, got herself an energy drink, before waving a hand as she left again. "He's your problem now. I'm off to the tower."

"Say hello to Pepper for me," Tony asked, getting no reply and sighing.

"She's still angry," Natasha said. "Rightfully so. Give her time and space."

"How much time does she need?"

"More."

)()()(

Pepper's insistent calling was getting on Tony's nerves. They weren't really on talking terms at the moment, both taking a break from each other because Tony refused to hang up his Ironman title and suits.

"What?" He snapped, letting FRIDAY put Pepper's picture on the monitor inside of his helmet. He was keeping an eye on the kid, making sure Spiderman was being careful even with his abilities. "What is it? I'm in the middle of a fight. I need to concentrate and I don't have time for this—"

"Salem's missing!"

"What? FRIDAY, location."

"On it." The inside map of the mask turned blue as FRIDAY tried to locate her.

"What do you mean Salem's missing?" He asked. "I'm giving her space. We both need it."

"Have you ever seen Salem and Duke not together?" Pepper snapped back.

"No, I haven't ever seen them apart, not unless she's just gonna go to the shop and back."

"Well," Pepper picked up a squirming black snake and pulled it up to the screen so he could see the displeased eyes of Duke the Snake. "Then why did this one slither into my office twenty minutes ago? She's been gone for over three hours, Tony. And she's not answering her phone."

"She hardly ever answers her phone,"

"She answers my calls, Tony!" Pepper was close to shouting. "Salem has always answered my calls, or if she can't, she texts me. She doesn't leave Duke, Duke doesn't leave her side. He is her emotional support. Something is wrong, I can feel it."

"Boss," FRIDAY interrupted. "Salem's location got lost about half an hour ago, somewhere near west Germany. She was going at high speeds over the ocean, going through France and Belgium before the signal got lost in Germany. I'm contacting LILITH but she doesn't know much. The outer servers have been disconnected from Salem's personal AI."

"I'll sort it," Tony said, powering down his suit as he landed on the ground in the airport as the people around him, teammates, were still fighting. They half paused as they realised he was talking to Pepper. "Just… Just keep Duke safe for her. He likes you."

Pepper nodded. "I'll keep SI running as usual, though fewer meetings until you find her. I'm keeping it out of the press. You have to find her, Tony."

"Of course I'll fucking find her, Pepper," Tony snapped. "I'm not letting her be a victim like I was."

"Do you think it's a Ten Rings situation like last time?"

"I don't know…"

He hated those words. They tasted wrong, were wrong on his tongue, shaped strangely on his lip and made his vocal cords vibrate unpleasantly.

"But I'll find out."

)()()(

Salem left the Starbucks, hot and sugary coffee in hand as she let someone into the shop before leaving herself. She stepped out, putting her earbuds in and scrolled through a list of songs on her watch before choosing one and walking to the beat.

She crossed the street with the precision of someone who knew these streets, watching as cars went past her without worrying about being hit. She had the Stark arrogance permeating her movements as she strutted down the blocks.

With each new block, there was a new camera angle to show her walking down as she neared a corner.

Her eyebrows flinched down and together the moment she realised something wasn't right, head flicking up and eyes searching everywhere around her. She scanned the area as the hairs on her skin stood on their ends, making her bristle in anxiety as she couldn't figure out what was happening to make her feel this way.

A man in a complete black uniform came from behind her, trying to grab her but her instincts worked faster, letting her duck before he could touch her. She twisted herself until she faced him, teeth bared in the distinct snarl of Starks.

When he went to grab her again, she let him. He held onto her wrists, barely being able to hold on as Salem tugged him closer to her before landing a solid kick onto his chest. He was sent flying into the building only a couple of feet away.

There was no sound but she spoke, muttering to herself as LILITH did as commanded and sent off her location to FRIDAY.

As soon as she turned her back to the street, a nondescript van appeared behind her, opened the side and tugged a black cloth bag over her head and wrapped something around her legs to make her lose her balance.

She struggled, sending off a wave of something powerful as the ground shook around her. The people just took a moment to centre themselves, pulling her into the van even with her struggling limbs.

They took a knife and stabbed her in the thigh, making her energy and powers focus on healing her rather than getting away. They did so a couple of times, quickly ripping the gloves off of her before closing the door. The other guy had to be helped into the van but after that, the van was gone within seconds.

)()()(

Tony swore all the words he knew in a foreign language before he punched the ground, still in his suit.

That made everyone pause.

Rhodey came closer to Tony first, knowing the way he was standing meant he was unbelievably angry and pissed off. "Tony…"

"I can't right now, Rhodes," He muttered. "I can't deal with this bullshit right now."

"What happened?" Natasha asked, the Ironman team quickly coming together besides Spiderman who was fighting the Falcon and Winter Soldier.

"What is it, Stark?" The Black Panther asked. "Why have we stopped fighting?"

"Because I have more important things than to deal with revenge at the mo, your majesty," He said. "I need to leave."

"What?" T'Challa scowled, his mask coming off. "The one who killed my father is here! You leaving will make it so he can leave!"

"Your dad is dead, end of," Tony snapped before gesturing to himself. "My daughter's been kidnapped! I need to find her before something bad happens. So excuse me if finding my daughter is more important than avenging your father."

T'Challa winced as a faint screaming could be heard on his intercom.

"My sister… seems to disagree with me on this matter," He said disgruntledly. "It seems like that she has found evidence of Zemo framing Barnes for our father's death. You couldn't have found it sooner, sister?"

"I was a bit busy trying to make improvements to your suits, brother!" Shuri's voice echoed out of his intercom. "You need to stop playing superheroes and find Snake Girl! I like her and I refuse to have to find another who can keep up with me!"

"The Accords won't let this be," Natasha said. "They're going to blame Barnes even with the proof that Zemo did it."

"Bring him here! We should be able to get rid of the programming, or find a way eventually,"

"Where's Rogers?"

Wanda nodded as she landed near Vision, semi sheepish. "He's with Barnes and Wilson."

"I'll get them," Rhodey said.

"Stark," Natasha prompted. "Do you really think Secretary Ross will allow you to find her? You signed already."

"Since when have I ever listened to the government?" He shrugged. "If they don't let me do it as Ironman, I'll do it as Tony Stark. While they can stop Ironman from searching for civilians, no chance in hell they can stop Tony Stark from searching for his kidnapped daughter. I'd rather destroy the suits sooner than let them tell me what I can and can't do with my creations."

"But they can," Steve said as he approached them. "You signed, meaning you signed the rights to be Ironman and use the technology."

"I was careful in what I signed. I had my lawyers look it over before I even thought of signing it," He said. "Mark XLVI Armour is considered an Ironman suit, but if I was to create another and use it only for personal reasons, it would not be classed as an ironman suit but rather private property."

"You really had this planned out, didn't you?"

"Of course I have. Both Salem and Pepper have their own suits, though both are put into storage since they're not used. Neither are considered Ironman suits because of the intention I had when making them."

Antman nodded. "Starks don't go halfway."

)()()(

The pain was in the back of her mind, half already forgotten, half searing hot and ice cold at the same time.

She had already used a lot of energy trying to escape her captors, but she knew she needed to reserve it as she had a bag put over her face until she couldn't see and was carted off and into a car and later a plane.

The pain echoed in her mind as the insignia of HYDRA was branded into her skin, into her upper chest where the bra didn't cover. The skin on her sternum blistered and screamed as they shoved the white-hot brander into her skin once again, and again, and again until she used up all of her energy to heal and the brand stayed.

Salem had been stripped to her bra and underwear, gloves and anklets taken, but her watch and bracelet were still on. The nanotechnology that LILITH was in charge of didn't let them take them off, also shocking the HYDRA members when they tried once too many.

She was kneeling on the ground, ankles shackled to her wrists behind her back so she couldn't move much. There were a couple of shackles on her arms, two on her forearms and another on her biceps to make her puff her chest out to let there be more space for them to brand her. Her hair was in her face from where the bag had messed it all up.

Even with the pain, she couldn't stop the snarky comments that just rolled off her tongue.

"Are you done yet?" She asked, grunting as the agent in front of her shoved the poker into her skin once more before kicking her in the stomach. She huffed, collapsing forward as much as the shackles would allow before snickering. "And now?"

"Cut until she has used up all of her energy," A voice ordered from the speakers, making the male agent in front of her nod and salute. "And put the acid on the brand to make it scar."

"How about you don't do that?" Salem looked up after relaxing back onto her hunches, glancing at the man in front of her. "I'd prefer it if you didn't. Thanks."

"Shut up."

She snorted. "As if."

The man crouched in front of her, staying out of headbutting range as she stared at him after letting her eyes flicker to the knife in his hands.

"I'm going to be your handler," The man said, calmly. His young features didn't move. He couldn't have been any older than his late twenties but Salem couldn't be sure, she was shit at telling someone's age. "You may call me Mr Niver or sir."

"How about Mr Jackass and fuck-off-over-there-sir?"

The mocking smile on her lips didn't leave as he continued to stare at her, taking the knife and slicing a huge line down her cheek. It bled and stung but quickly healed before his eyes. The fire in her eyes didn't waver.

"It seems you're going to be a handful," He tutted, tilting his head. "We'll train you out of that."

"Train me?"

"Yes, why else would we want you if you weren't going to be a useful merchandise of ours?"

)()()(

Stripped naked, shoved into a shower with three women agents and another holding a gun at her, Salem was cleaned thoroughly before being taken to a medical room with her hands shackled behind her.

In the medical room, they tried to take off the watch and bracelet but to no avail, they didn't bug. Each time they tried, LILITH shocked them severely enough that one was thrown back. When that happened, they slapped Salem for it.

She was dressed in a simple pair of grey sweatpants and a tank top with no bra and an uncomfortable pair of granny panty type underwear which she kept complaining about.

"Like seriously? Am I an old lady? These are so uncomfortable," She said. "I'd love it if you lot let me go already. As much as I am for going against the government and for a bit of anarchy, I'd like to go home."

Mr Niver stood next to a huge machine with a seat in the middle. "You'll find that this place will be your home soon enough. Strap her in."

"I'd rather you n—" Salem was lifted by her arms, put into the strange chair before strapping her in and putting a leather bite into her mouth.

"This might hurt just a little," Mr Niver grinned.

Two metal things pressed into her temples, cupping her head as her arms were strapped done and severe pain started in her head.

It took her a split second to remember exactly what this machine was, she had read about it in one of SHIELD's still classified files.

A memory suppressing machine, something that almost got rid of the memories of the person it was used on.

Salem screamed in pain as electricity was forced into her head. Her body used said energy to heal her brain instead of trying to escape. Keeping her mind was much more important than escaping at the moment.

Mr Niver had to do this several times to her, as she kept spewing out several vile remarks each time the leather bite was taken out.

"Who are you?" He tried again, taking the bite out of her mouth.

She panted, creating a plan in her head. "I-I don't know."

"Again. Who are you?"

"I don't know!" She made herself look panicked. "Where am I? Who are you?"

He smirked. "Good. You're safe. We had to take you from the Avengers. They kidnapped you. You're safe with us. They wiped your memory of us but we'll make it right."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mr Niver," He said. "And I work for HYDRA. You're safe with us."

He waved his hand and she was released from the straps and chair. He caught her before she tumbled, faking vulnerability and fear. He cuddled her closer and helped her down the hall.

"It's okay. You'll be fine. You have the powers that they wanted. They wanted to use you for their own gain. You're safe with us. We'll help you through. We'll help you become better."

Salem just let tears drip down her face, hugging the man as she looked at her watch like she had no clue what it was.

Location, unknown. Unable to connect to the outer servers. We're on our own.

LILITH wrote the message on the screen, keeping it clear enough that it couldn't be seen unless looking for it. Cameras wouldn't be able to pick it up.

She hugged the man closer, stopping her sobs to make it seem like she was calming down.

Since she was within HYDRA, she might as well try and topple it down.