Tony Stark, the man who could always pull it together in times of uncertainty, was coming undone at the seams. He had once walked his daughter, Emma, down that familiar sidewalk to school every single day of her freshman and sophomore years of high school as well as every day of elementary and middle school. Being a fresh 18 year old and only a month away from finishing your senior year, he understood that it wasn't very cool to have your dad walking you to school even if he was Tony Stark. On that day, though, he wished he did just that. He would've traded the taunts from the other kids and the judgemental or dismissive glances for her safety.
When she hadn't returned home by 5 o'clock like she normally did, he merely assumed she was out with her friends. Though she had always been considerate enough to call him beforehand to let him know where she was going and who she would be with, he chalked it up to a spur of the moment trip. When dinner rolled around, he started to get nervous because every Friday since she was a little girl had been sacred. It was Father-Daughter Friday. He would make her breakfast in the mornings, they would eat dinner together at the table, and then she got to pick out the movie they would watch afterward. She would undoubtedly fall asleep with her head on his shoulder, and no matter how many years passed, he picked her up in his arms and carried her up to her bedroom. That was his favorite time. Their little moments of silence when the world around them continued the incessant thrumming. He would pull the blanket up over her body and brush her long brown hair from her face. Then, he would sit there beside her bed, just watching her as she slept, a real life sleeping beauty.
Thoughts of those perfect moments didn't calm him, though. Her failure to make it home for the spaghetti dinner-her favorite-had him pacing around the house, calling her phone and leaving countless voicemails. Every time she missed a call, he would run his fingers through his hair, messing it up more and more every time. Thankfully, he was alone. No one else should've seen him like that. He believed in keeping it together for the rest of the team no matter what. He couldn't be the weakest link, but he was slowly slipping into sanity as the calls kept transferring over to voicemail. Ever since New York, his anxiety levels were through the roof, and they were even moreso when it came to Emma. She was his pride and joy, the one thing that reminded him that the world was worth saving even when he had seen so much that told him it wasn't. She was the representation of purity and light in his world of chaos and darkness.
He knew people who would want to extinguish that light. He knew people who wanted to plunge the world into nothing but chaos and darkness, and in order to do that, they would eliminate the ones who brought goodness into the world. He knew people who would stoop so low as to use her to hurt him, knowing that it would be the easiest way to get under his skin. He was a father before anything else. When it came to Emma, he wasn't the billionaire or the engineer or the hero. He was just Tony. The moment she was born, the moment he held her in his arms, he set aside the playboy lifestyle, and he didn't miss it one bit. She was his everything, and his enemies knew that.
Upon seeing that calling her was no use, Tony made his way along her usual path to and from school. It was the same every day of the week including each weekend as she would walk to the high school to help tutor students. She was also a part of a mentor program, guiding younger kids toward a brighter future. She always put others before herself, believing that the needs of the many would always outweigh the needs of the few or that the needs of others would always outweigh her own needs. Tony found this both ironic and comforting as he was the exact opposite growing up. It would be a lie to say he wasn't one of the more selfish individuals to grace the planet as he was growing up. He thought of himself most of the time, and his daughter was the polar opposite. She was kind and compassionate where he had been cold and calculating. If she didn't look so much like him, people would've been sure they weren't related.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Steve's landline. The supersoldier had a cell phone but never answered it when he was at his apartment. Since it was Friday, Tony knew that the rest of the Avengers would be gathered at Steve's apartment for their traditional Friday night potluck dinner. Then, they all gathered for Saturday game night at Tony's house. Emma showed off her skills when it came to video games and strategy with the board and card games they played. She was better than her father at poker even though Tony wouldn't admit such a thing. She was competitive like him, but she was never a sore winner. After a few rings, Steve answered the phone that still had a cord on it. God, he was a dinosaur.
Before Steve could even greet him, Tony began, "Steve, it's Tony. Is Emma at your apartment with you?" he asked, the fear and hope both rising in his throat. He would've been hurt but so much less stressed if she had simply blown him off for Steve. However, Tony could hear the confusion in his voice before he even answered the question.
"No," he answered almost hesitantly, "Thor and Bruce are over here right now, though, and Clint went out with Nat to get pizza. No one wanted to cook tonight, so-"
Tony cut him off, too anxious to care about being polite, "have you seen her at all today?" he asked, unconsciously picking up the pace he took while walking along the sidewalk.
"I haven't. Why? What's wrong?" Steve asked, concern in his voice over the overt difference in both Tony's behavior and voice. While they had their differences, they always had at least one thing in common: Emma. Even though she didn't know it, she had been one of the sole reasons why the team was so close. It wasn't because of everyone's love for her and desire to keep her safe, but it was because of her love of everyone else. They all wanted to see her happy, and the only way to make that happen was for disagreements to remain disagreements and not escalate into full-blown arguments that would tear the team apart. Everyone thought before they spoke and anticipated the consequences of their actions far more than they would have without her. She was the glue. She was the reason they became a family and not just a team, and each one of them loved her in their own way-with the intensity of a dying star.
"She's not home. She usually calls on her way home to tell me how her day was, but I haven't heard from her at all." he answered, running a hand through his hair one more time. He tried to pull in a long breath of air to calm himself, but all he got was a short puff of air, his lungs beginning to tighten as the sweat beaded up on his forehead and moistened his palms, "I'm just worried. What if something happened?"
"Listen, Tony, I'm sure everything is fine," Steve tried to calm one of the people he considered a close friend, almost like an annoying brother who always had to be right about everything. It was in Steve's nature to be peaceful, so whenever someone was falling into a pit, they had him to grab onto. While Captain America was a hero to the world, Steve was a hero to Tony. Tony could hear the calming smile forming on Steve's face, "she's probably just out with her friends. Not many young people today have a family night on Friday's...or any day. It's one of the more...discouraging things I've learned about this century."
Tony chewed on his bottom lip, wanting to be strong enough to pull it together. He had this gut feeling that wouldn't go away. He couldn't shake the thought that she was in serious trouble, that her life was in danger, "I know, but...what if something serious happened to her? I don't want to think that she's fine if something's wrong."
"I just don't want you working yourself up for no reason," Steve replied, truly worried that Tony would drive himself insane. He knew that the self-made hero had a tendency to choose something and obsess over it for days, weeks, months, or even years. He watched Tony deprive himself of sleep countless times because he was obsessed with improving his suits or experimenting with different technology to find a way to protect the world. He didn't want to watch his friend do the same thing with the situation involving Emma. Tony knew that his obsessions often worried Steve, so he let the supersoldier continue, "if it would make you feel any better, come on over to the apartment for pizza. You can hang out with us until she gets home. I would've invited you if I knew she wouldn't be home for dinner, but I know Friday's are off limits when it comes to you two"
"I think I'll keep walking around for a bit," Tony acknowledged the worry in Steve's voice and met it with a level of forced tranquility, "the fresh air is helping me feel better"
"Well, where are you? I'll walk around with you for a while" Steve replied, making it obvious to Tony that he really wanted to be there if anything did come of the simple walk. Steve wanted to be the one to keep Tony grounded, and he couldn't do it over the phone. He tried once before, and Tony hung up the phone, not wanting to feel so needy when the anxiety hit. Tony still remembered how long it took to pick up the pieces of shattered glass from where Steve busted into the lab. Tony thought that locking him out would be enough to keep him away, but nothing could keep Steve from the people he cared for.
"I'm just walking along the path she takes to and from school. I'm covering all my bases, here. If I find anything suspicious, I'll prepare myself for whatever comes next," he reassured Steve, not knowing that what came next would tear his whole world apart. As soon as his eyes caught sight of the shoe, the purse he had bought her after noticing her staring at it in the window of a shop, and the deep red scarf that complimented her dark brown hair so perfectly that she based entire outfits on it. Now, it was strewn across the sidewalk along with the contents of her bag. Tony's phone fell from his hand and hit the cement as he glanced over at the road to see that there were tire marks, leading him to believe that she was pulled into a vehicle, and the person or people who took her were in a hurry. Between the sidewalk and the road was a patch of grass with obvious marks from where she must've struggled and tried to claw at the Earth to pull herself away from them. The ringing in his ears died out, and he could practically hear the echo of her screams, ones that had landed on deaf ears when she was taken.
Tony Stark, the man who could always pull it together in times of uncertainty, fell to his knees.
He was quick in pulling himself together just enough to get himself back to the house with all of her belongings that had been left on the sidewalk. He was sure that if he didn't start looking for her immediately, he would never see his baby girl again. Of course, his eighteen year old daughter didn't like to be called a "baby girl" anymore, but that would always be how he saw her no matter how old she got. Tony was on autopilot as he tried to pinpoint her location with the tacking device he had implanted for circumstances like this. He never even told her about it because he was afraid that she would rebel, feeling smothered by him, but it was his way of ensuring her safety. The phone was the only thing that was missing from the bag, so he was sure she still had it on her. He worked diligently and without being distracted by anything until his eyes caught sight of a picture of Emma and himself when she was just a baby.
He smiled through the tears in his eyes. That was one of his most vivid memories. It was taken in their first home, the one he wanted to raise her in. It was nothing special, and it certainly wasn't as extravagant as the mansion they lived in now. She was just over 13 months old, and he held her in his arms. He had been swaying back and forth with her to the song she loved throughout the years, "What A Wonderful World". He remembered dancing only with the women he loved the most in this world. He danced with his mother, his first girlfriend, Emma's mother, Pepper, and Emma. He loved each of those women, and he lost each of those women. The picture of him dancing with Emma in the living room was taken by his best friend, Edwin Jarvis, who died when Emma was still young, leaving Tony to take care of his little princess all alone.
The peaceful picture came to life in front of him, his own memory playing before his eyes in the midst of all the chaos. He could still hear her laugh, the one that never died no matter what else died within her. She was tainted by the world at such a young age, the cruel hand of fate taking her mother and giving her a workaholic father who solved problems with alcohol. No matter how much anger and cruelty this world showed her, she still smiled, she still laughed, and she still loved so freely. She was everything Tony strived to be, and she was everything he ever needed in his life. Seeing the picture and hearing her laughter in the depths of his mind only pushed Tony to work harder to find her.
Of course, he wasn't too focused to not hear the door open, but he ignored it like he did the first question out of Steve's mouth. Let's be honest, though, Tony ignored a lot that came out of Steve's mouth. It wasn't surprising to him that the members of his team were at his house, but it was certainly surprising how fast they made it there. If Emma's safety was ever called into question, he had been certain that everyone would pull together, and here they were. Clint stood behind him, a strong hand gripping Tony's tense shoulder as he worked. Clint had always been there in the worst moments, offering that quiet support that Tony always seemed to need. Emma and Clint were close, but nothing could compare to the bond Emma and Steve had. It made Stars n' Stripes easier for Tony to tolerate, knowing that Emma loved him as much as she did. In moments where Steve's life was put in jeopardy, Emma would pace and do everything in her power to make sure he was brought home safely. Now that the tables were turned, Tony could see the effect her absence had on the supersoldier. He got quiet-unnaturally quiet. Those fearful blue eyes were so clear that Tony could practically witness the flashback playing in them-the time when Steve lost everything on that train.
If Tony hadn't been so immersed in his work-as he usually was-it would've been him, instead of Bruce, to offer Steve some comforting words. Of course, Tony's deliverance of the speech would've been similar but less elegant. Somehow, though, the man who was known for his anger was the one with the best ability to calm others, and that smooth voice was one of the ways he did that. Bruce pulled Steve away from the situation, murmuring quiet words to him in the corner of the workshop, words Tony couldn't make out, but he didn't mind. As he got closer to unlocking the tracking device in her phone, it would be a lie to say he cared about anything else but that.
Suddenly, the ringtone coming from his phone pulled the attention of everyone in the room. Emma had chosen her favorite song as her ringtone on her father's phone. It was the song they danced to, the song he sang to her whenever she was sad, the song he danced to with Emma's mother the night they fell in love. All of those memories flooded back in that moment as he scrambled for his phone, answering the call. He didn't even had the chance to greet the caller before a gruff male voice began speaking, "good evening, Mr. Stark"
The sorrow that Emma's absence brought diminished as the new fear surfaced. Even though he knew she had been taken, hearing the stranger's voice only cemented that theory in reality. He pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker, wanting everyone else to hear exactly what he was about to hear, "who is this?" he asked, his voice trembling just as much as the rest of his body was.
The stranger laughed before he spoke, "who I am doesn't matter, it's who we are. We are aware of what you're trying to do. Once this phone call is finished, we'll be disposing of the phone, and we will move on. You're going to want to use all the time you have wisely, so I'll keep this phone call brief. Seeing as how you're trying so diligently to track this phone, you must already know that we have your daughter. We are asking for a simple payment in return for your daughter. Your life in exchange for hers. If you turn yourself over to Hydra, we will let her go with...minimal harm done," he said, and Tony could hear the twisted smile on his face, which disgusted him even more. If it was truly Hydra that had his daughter, there was a very real chance that he would never see her again even if he did turn himself over. The kidnapper, sensing Tony's hesitance, continued, "think about this carefully, Mr. Stark. The longer you take to decide, the more pain she endures. Do not test us. We have no shortage of ideas. As well as your freedom, we ask that you forfeit to us all the money in your bank accounts. Failure to turn yourself over within 48 hours will result in packages in the mail containing pieces of your daughter. We look forward to hearing from you."
Tony gripped the phone tightly as everyone else in the room stood absolutely still. The tension and anticipation for what was to come left everyone stunned in absolute silence. Tony didn't mind being threatened, beaten, or tortured. However, a rage took over like never before when his daughter's health and well-being was threatened. He brought the phone closer to his reddening face, "listen here, you piece of shit. If you even think about touching her, you're dead. I swear to everything that has ever been and will ever be that I will end you. You have no idea what I'm capable of when it comes to protecting the people I care about. You're threatening the one thing that means more to me than anything else, so prepare for what's about to come. You won't walk away from this. You can't find a crack or crevice on this Earth that I won't be able to find you. You fucked with the wrong father," Tony growled
An audible but muffled scream was heard in the background of the call. It was Emma. Everyone knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that it was her. Tony never knew that he could experience so many feelings at once, but he knew that the sadness, fear, and rage all stemmed from his protective instinct. In that moment, he was so overstimulated that he was frozen at the sound of her agonizing scream. After it stopped, the voice of the man was heard again, this time more menacing than before, "the cold heart of Winter is coming back for your daughter, Mr. Stark. You have 48 hours"