Author's Note: Trigger warning for violence
Celia held off for as long as she could, feeling like an enormous weight was crushing her chest. She hadn't felt the last gunshot for long, but the pain of this one was unbearable as she tried to stay awake. There was no preventing it though and the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was Vince standing over her with a look of curiosity on his face.
The healing began what felt like a blink later and Celia bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed as she tried to hold in most of her shouts of pain. She turned onto her side, feeling like an animal on display as every set of eyes in the room was on her. If she thought people watching this on a screen was bad, the live act was infinitely worse. After so many years of working things behind the scenes for people, having the spotlight on her was overwhelming.
As soon as she was lying limp on the floor, a hand was grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet. Vince was looking at her like she was some long lost artifact he'd found after years of searching.
"Amazing," Vince murmured, poking at the hole in her shirt. The skin underneath was bloody, but intact.
"Don't touch me!" Celia snapped, smacking his hand away. It probably wasn't a smart move, but what was he going to do, shoot her in the chest? She knew where this was going and no amount of being docile would help her.
"She speaks! For a while I was worried that the only sounds I'd get from you were shouts of pain," Vince smirked, wiping his bloody finger off on the sleeve of one of his nearby henchmen. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be making more of those soon enough."
"Screw you!" Celia spat, glaring up at the man. He only had a few inches of height on her, but he was still very imposing.
"You should watch what you say to me. You've already seen how short my temper is," Vince warned, waving his gun at her. But instead of shooting her again, he tucked it away behind his back. "It would be so much easier on everyone if you would just answer my questions without a fight. I mean, look at the mess you've made already. My men are going to be stuck cleaning up all the blood you've left behind."
"How terrible for them. You could always let us go and save everyone the trouble," Celia suggested. She may as well fight back with what she had left, before she was reduced to a pile of limbs on the floor.
"Do you know how much work went into getting the Hulk here safely?" Vince scoffed, shaking his head in amusement. "Oh no, we've got big plans for him."
"Which are?"
"Cute. How about you answer my question first?" Vince smirked, rummaging through a drawer. He grinned as he held up a scalpel. "What's the secret to your healing ability?"
"Diet and exercise."
"Gosh, I love sarcasm," Vince chuckled, whipping his arm out in the blink of an eye. Celia didn't even feel the cut, but she felt the warm blood spray out of her neck and fill up her throat. She staggered back, wrapping a useless hand around the wound. The blood loss caught up to her quickly and she fell to the floor. Her vision was going blurry and the last thing she saw was Vince leaning over her with a smirk. "That was sarcasm."
Steve paced the hallway outside of Tony's main office in the tower as the man did whatever it was he was doing on the computer. They'd reluctantly returned home to regroup and hopefully track where Celia and Bruce had been taken. He didn't want to, feeling sick at the idea of them going in the opposite direction without realizing it, but it made sense for them to be fully prepared when the time came to go bring them back.
Clint and Natasha were on one of their floors, swapping out weapons and getting food to recharge. Steve couldn't even stomach the idea of going back to his floor, knowing that he'd be confronted by so many things that reminded him of Celia. He just wished he could go back to that moment in front of the windows. They should be sorting clothes and figuring out what they were to each other, not separated by who knows how many miles. Not wondering if she or Bruce were still alive.
"You're gonna wear a hole in the floor," Tony sighed, stepping into the hallway and blocking his path. Steve bit back a growl, needing the physical outlet, no matter how unsatisfying it was. He would love to be beating the crap out of a heavy bag, but he needed to be ready to leave at the drop of a hat.
"I don't want to talk unless it's about us finding Celia and Bruce," Steve grunted, trying to skirt around Tony. The older man slid into his way, holding his hands up to block him further.
"Well, this isn't exactly the first rescue mission we've had to go on to find Celia in recent history, so I'm wondering how you're going to handle it this time. Are you gonna be able to keep your cool?" Tony asked.
"I'm fine!" Steve snapped, grinding his teeth hard enough to crack them.
"Oh yeah, you sound fine," Tony scoffed.
"And how am I supposed to sound?" Steve demanded. Was he supposed to be relaxed about the fact that he'd been the reason Bruce and Celia were on the jet to be taken in the first place? That if Celia had stayed home and Bruce had joined them in the fight, none of this would've happened?
"They need you to hold it together until we can get them back.
"And when have I ever not held it together?" Steve bit out. He'd never broken in front of the team, ever. Celia was the only one he'd let his guard down around like that and he wasn't about to start doing it in front of the others now. Dying for them was one thing, but crying in front of them was another.
"It's okay if you don't sometimes," Tony said quietly. "I know we give each other shit, but I wouldn't about that. Not about something important." Steve felt the sudden urge to let everything fall out of his mouth, but he couldn't. If he started now, he didn't think he'd be able to stop. He needed to stay strong so he would be ready for action, whenever the time came.
"I'm fine," Steve insisted again, turning to walk in the other direction. He could pace somewhere else, but he wouldn't go far. If there were any signs of an update, he was going to be the first to hear it.
"This is getting a bit absurd, don't you think? I'm beginning to wonder if you enjoy the pain," Vince sighed, tapping the side of his hammer against his temple. Celia imagined bashing it there with a bit more force. Thinking about anything else was better than focusing on the pain in her legs.
Vince had forced her into a chair, then immediately slammed a hammer down on both of her knees. Celia wasn't proud of it, but she'd screamed. The feel of both of her kneecaps being smashed into pieces was unbearable, but that word was quickly losing meaning for her. She'd already lost track of how many times she'd healed so far, from the skull fracture, to the electrocution, to the numerous other gunshots. Vince was nothing if not creative.
"I think it's just your company," Celia muttered as tears streamed down her face. She hadn't lost her defiance yet and it had been a while since Vince had threatened to cut out her tongue, so what did she have to lose?
"Oh, don't worry. We still have a lot of fun ahead of us," Vince chuckled, looking through his box of goodies. At some point, one of his henchmen had brought in a box of torture supplies. It looked like a random assortment of things that were gathered up from around the building, but they were effective all the same.
"It'll be even more fun when you're the one in this chair."
"You know, this one is taking too long. What do you say we speed this up a bit?" Celia watched in morbid fascination as a knife slowly slid in between her ribs. There was an odd bit of relief there too, knowing that the pain in her legs would be going away soon. She should've known better though, when Vince didn't take the knife back out. There would be no relief for her at all.
"You b-bastard," Celia choked out between coughs of blood. She was never going to get the taste of iron out of her mouth.
"Let's see you heal around this."
"You need to eat something," Natasha said, tossing an energy bar at his chest. Steve caught it, setting it on the nearest table without a second thought.
"Not hungry," Steve muttered. He and Celia were supposed to have gone to dinner earlier, but now the thought of eating made him sick.
"Doesn't mean you don't need to eat."
"I can go for a lot longer than this without food and be fine."
"You're not a machine, Steve, even with the serum. You still have to take care of yourself."
"I said I'm not hungry!" Steve snapped, glaring over at her. Natasha looked completely unbothered by his outburst and that frustrated him even more. He wanted someone who would fight back, not someone who was looking at him with so much understanding in their eyes. Steve needed his anger right now.
"You want to talk about it?" Natasha asked.
"There is nothing to talk about."
"I think there is. Actually, I know there is," Natasha smirked. "We're gonna find them."
"You don't know that," Steve sighed. "People don't always get found. And even when they do, sometimes it's too late."
"You may be the poster boy for late, but I wouldn't consider you too late. Not for everything, at least," Natasha pointed out. Steve had missed so much of the life he should've lived, but there were also things about now that he never would've experienced if time had passed normally for him. It still messed with him sometimes wondering if that sacrifice was worth it. He wasn't sure it would be, depending on the outcome of all this.
"I keep thinking I'm going to turn around and see them walking through the door, saying this all was a misunderstanding," Steve admitted. "I know it's unrealistic, but it's easier than knowing that every minute they're out there it becomes more and more likely that they won't be okay when we find them."
"Maybe you should have a little faith. Bruce is smart and Celia is resourceful. They probably already have a plan on how to get back to the tower. Or to contact us. By the time we get to where they are, they probably won't even need us."
"I wish I had your optimism," Steve sighed, shaking his head. "I won't be able to relax until I can see they are both okay with my own eyes."
"But in the meantime, you should still take care of yourself," Natasha said again. "What do you think Celia's going to say when she hears that you ran yourself ragged worrying over her?" Steve rolled his eyes, snatching up the energy bar and opening it with a bit more force than necessary.
"Not running myself ragged," Steve grumbled, taking a tiny bite off the corner. "Snitch."
"That's more like it," Natasha grinned, taking a few steps forward to close the distance between them. "They're gonna be okay." Steve nodded, giving Natasha a tight grin in return. He could appreciate her trying to alleviate his fears, but it wasn't working. Nothing would until everyone was back together.
Each sob tore her open a little more inside, but Celia couldn't stop. She hadn't realized how much she counted on those moments of painlessness after the healing was finished, until they were taken away. The feeling of her lungs healing around the blade of the knife, only to be reopened further by every breath she took was torture.
Vince was watching every moment with intense interest, making sure she didn't try to remove the knife. Celia wasn't even tied down and that made it all worse. It would take less than a second to pull the knife out and end her suffering, but she would still be in this situation. There were no other choices but to sit and take it.
Celia moaned and tipped her head forward, letting the blood drip out of her mouth. She wasn't even coughing anymore, exhausted beyond the point of natural survival instincts. What if they kept her here like this for hours? Or days? She didn't even know how long it had been already. Would something like this end up driving her insane?
"I'm bored," Vince groaned, finally pulling out the knife. But not without one last twist for good measure. Celia didn't mind it though, since the pain caused her to pass out immediately. Healing from this was old hat for her by now, so she barely made a peep as her lung sealed up and her skin stitched back together.
"Fuck you," Celia panted out as soon as she got her breath back.
"Actually, that reminds me. You're right handed, correct?" Vince asked, not waiting for an answer. He grabbed her left hand, pinning it down to the table by her wrist. The sound of the knife slicing off her middle finger was not unlike the chopping of a carrot, which Celia couldn't see herself eating again for a while.
"The hell?" Celia muttered in shock, watching as Vince inspected the digit before tossing it into her lap.
"See, I'm a nice guy. If this doesn't work, you'll still have your dominant hand," Vince pointed out. He was surely going to be in the running for a humanitarian award. Celia cradled her abused hand to her chest, staring down at her lap like an idiot. "Oh my God, do I have to do everything myself?" Vince grabbed the finger back off her lap and jammed it into its normal position. Celia briefly hoped that it was turned the proper way before her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Steve was standing next to the windows, looking out over the city. The view didn't seem as beautiful without Celia enjoying it with him. He heard the sound of footsteps coming up behind him and he hung his head in resignation.
"What did they send you up for?" Steve sighed, not bothering to turn and face the other man.
"My mission was to convince you to get some sleep, so you'll be well rested when it's time to go," Clint replied, stopping a few yards behind him. "I told them they were idiots and you would never agree, then Natasha threatened me, so here I am."
"Well, you were right. So you can report back that you tried and leave me alone."
"I can't go back yet, so I might as well keep you company," Clint shrugged, stepping up to stand next to him at the window. It felt wrong doing this with someone else, so Steve quickly walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He wasn't really thirsty, but it gave him something to do.
"I don't think I'm the most pleasant person to be around at the moment," Steve warned. He was past the biting everyone's head off stage for now, but that didn't mean he was feeling chatty either.
"You know, I can't really recall a time where you and I were actually alone to talk. I don't take it personally though. I figure that's just how you are," Clint said, hopping up to sit on the counter. "And it's fine, as long as you do have someone you can talk to. I've got Natasha, Bruce and Tony have each other, although they might only talk about science. Do you have someone, Steve?"
"Clint," Steve sighed, staring purposefully away from the man.
"I hope you don't say it's Thor, since the long distance charges have got to be astronomical, even with Tony's bank account," Clint joked.
"Clint."
"Close, but not quite. Five letters and starts with a C."
"What's your point?" Steve snapped. There was the anger again.
"My point is I know you care about her, probably more than you'll ever admit to us. And having her gone is messing with you, again more than you'll admit. But I just want you to know that we're here for you. We've all been through stuff like this before and we can help you if you let us." And there went the anger.
"Clint, I…" Steve trailed off, spinning the bottle in his hands. He knew deep down that he could count on them for anything, but he didn't want to right now. That would just be admitting that something wasn't okay. It felt like giving up. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Clint waved off, hopping back onto the floor. "I know when to push and when to step back, so I'm gonna go back down and face the wrath of Natasha. Just remember what I said, okay? Offer always stands, even in less stressful situations." Steve nodded, letting the other man go off without another word.
Getting closer to everyone sounded nice in theory, but he didn't want this situation to be the catalyst. It would always hover above them like a dark cloud, just like the Battle of New York did if they stopped to think about it. Bonding over something happy seemed better. But would they get the chance?
"You're not going to get away with this," Celia stated as confidently as she could. It was a bit hard with her blood pooling on the table. Vince decided he wanted to see the healing close up, so he sliced her arm from elbow to wrist. He was holding her hand to keep her arm flat and that was the part that was bothering Celia the most. Their palms pressed together felt too intimate.
"I'm not?" Vince scoffed, rolling his eyes at her as he lounged back in his seat. He hadn't cut her too deep, so the process was taking longer than it needed to. Celia was only just starting to feel the beginning stages of blood loss, but it was making her lips a bit loose again.
"You're gonna have a lot of people looking for you. Dr. Banner is very important."
"Not you? I notice you didn't include yourself in that statement," Vince pointed out.
"As I've been trying to tell you, I'm nobody. All this time you've wasted on me is for nothing," Celia smirked, clenching her jaw as her teeth threatened to clatter from the cold she was feeling.
"It's not a waste of time if you're having fun. And I've learned a lot from these experiments, haven't you? I bet you didn't know your fingers could do that."
"And what do you expect to do with this information? So, I can heal. How does that help you? What are you planning on gaining from that?"
"I'm going to make more of you. Knowing how to recreate this ability is going to make me the richest, most powerful man on the planet," Vince bragged.
"And what makes you think I was made? I'm one of a kind."
"Everything can be recreated if you put the work in. This is just a taste of what I can do to you and soon you'll be begging me to listen to your explanations on how you came to be. Then I'll have my monster and a whole army to fight by his side."
"That's never going to happen. I'm sure you've realized that the Hulk is a little hard to keep under control."
"But I figured out how to get him here, didn't I? And got him to attack you, a person who claimed to be his friend." Vince reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a few vials and syringes. "A little bit of this makes him easy to transport and the other, well, you felt what that one can do." Vince jiggled each bottle in turn and Celia felt the first spark of hope since she was brought here. Figuring out what to do with it was going to be the hard part.
Steve had never hated a sunrise more than the one he was watching now. The sun meant a new day was starting and they still had no idea where Celia and Bruce were. This was too long without any kind of sign. A part of him was wishing for some sort of ransom call, no matter how outlandish the demands would be. That would still give him a jumping off point.
There had been no sign of the helicopter anywhere, which meant that these people had access to very sophisticated technology. And if they could outsmart Tony, he had no idea what they were capable of.
"Coffee?" Tony offered, holding out a steaming mug. Steve accepted it, letting the warmth soak into his hands. He hadn't changed out of his suit since they'd gotten back. Or sat down.
"Any updates?" Steve asked.
"Not yet, but we'll get one soon. I can feel it."
"Are you a psychic now?"
"No, but I'm still a genius."
"Right," Steve murmured. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have let my anger out on you. You didn't deserve it."
"Don't worry about it. I understand lashing out when the people who deserve it aren't around to take it. I can already hear all the bones you're going to break," Tony chuckled. Steve thought back to Agent Miller and the damage he'd done to him. It didn't feel like enough. "Come sit in the office with me. Maybe your presence will scare the computers into finding something faster."
"I may not be the best with technology, but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works," Steve said lightly, not finding the energy to fight the suggestion. He trailed after Tony, sinking into a fancy desk chair that was sat in front of giant computer monitors. There were so many things flashing across the screens and he couldn't keep up with it all. "What am I looking at?"
"Jarvis is going through every single camera in the area. We even hacked into people's cell phones."
"Isn't that illegal?"
"Very. But we do what we need to do for our own, right?"
"Right," Steve agreed. He knew all about going to extreme lengths for the people you cared about. Steve watched one of the screens which kept cycling through images of the sky from different angles. It didn't look like anything helpful, but it was lulling him into a slight doze. He was still awake and ready to go at a moment's notice, but it wouldn't be the worst idea to rest so he was fully prepared for whatever fight they were going into. Just for a few minutes.
Celia's arms flailed as her head was dunked into a tub of water. There was no suppressing her fight instinct at the moment. In fact, she was moving a bit more than strictly necessary.
It had been hours since Vince had given up information on what his plan was for Bruce. Evil villains really couldn't help themselves. And Celia had to wait for the right opportunity to do something about it. After the burns, stabbings, and more broken bones than she could count, now was finally her chance.
Celia kept moving her arms erratically, waving them back toward Vince who was holding her head in the water, and back toward her body as if she was clawing for air, with no real pattern. She hoped all of her previous experience would help her out in this area, but it was hard. Celia really was drowning at the moment, but she couldn't lose consciousness until she got what she needed. There was no telling if she'd get a better opportunity than the one she had now.
With her eyes closed, Celia pictured Vince's body. His height, his width, where exactly his torso was as he pressed her down to take the life out of her once again. She vaguely wondered if her heart ever actually stopped during one of his experiments, but that wasn't something she could figure out or deal with at the moment. There may be only seconds left and one chance to get this right.
Celia threw her arm back, slipping her hand into the pocket of the jacket. The smooth glass felt like heaven on her skin and she wrapped her fingers around her prize, pulling everything back in one swift motion. She tucked everything into her waistband just as she took her first involuntary breath in, then all her thoughts were consumed by her imminent demise.
There was more pounding on the side of the tub, along with more swipes back at Vince as her lungs filled with water. Even as she was slipping away, there was a feeling of accomplishment deep in her bones. Now she just had to figure out how to get back to Bruce.
"Cap. Cap!" Steve jolted up in his seat, looking around wildly in confusion. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but all signs pointed to it happening anyway. Tony was bent in front of him, holding his shoulders so he couldn't flop out of the seat.
"What? What happened?"
"We found them," Tony replied, letting a relieved smile flash across his face.
"Where?" Steve demanded, all of his sluggishness gone in an instant.
"Minnesota, of all places," Tony mumbled, turning to bring something up on a screen. "They were using some of the most advanced stealth technology I've ever seen, but Jarvis still got them. Once we stopped looking for something we could see, we started looking for things we couldn't but should. One unusual reflection and we got them." The schematics of a big building were on the screen now and Steve committed every detail to memory.
"Do we have any videos of this place? Or signs that they're- that Celia and Bruce are okay?" Steve asked. He wasn't going to ask if there were signs that they were alive, because they had to be.
"No, this is the best we've got. They've got the whole surrounding area locked down, but that makes me even more confident that we found the right place," Tony responded with a look of determination.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Clint and Natasha have the jet ready and waiting. What do you say we join them?" Tony suggested, holding out his arms and letting the Iron Man suit build around him. Steve stood up, grabbing his shield from where it sat propped next to the door.
"Let's go get our people back."
Celia curled up on her side as the last of the water was expelled from her lungs. Drowning definitely wasn't pleasant and even though the pain from it was gone, the awful experience was seared into her brain. Just like everything else she went through, it would live with her forever. Her life was turning into a pile of shitty memories and it just seemed to keep getting bigger. But she could deal with her upcoming breakdown later, once she got through her fake one.
Celia didn't have to dig deep to bring out the tears. Honestly, they were more real than she wanted to admit. She was so fucked up in a way that she couldn't even comprehend. But now wasn't the time to dwell on how vulnerable she really was. As long as she kept her wits about her a bit longer and Vince believed this display, this could work.
"Really? It was drowning that did it? I should've tried this sooner," Vince smirked, squatting down next to her. Celia flinched away, choking back a few sobs. She had to find the right balance without going too far over the top.
"Stop," Celia whispered, keeping her hands as far away from her pants as she could, while still looking natural. She couldn't risk drawing attention to the slight bulge there.
"Why would I stop? Why would I do anything I don't want to do? I have all the power here," Vince gloated. She shouldn't have been so worried about him believing her. He would, because he got off on power. Seeing her submit would blind him from the sudden shift. But Celia had to risk convincing him quickly, before he did something else and possibly damaged her stolen items.
"I'll- I'll tell you," Celia gasped, letting her face drop in shame. "I can't take it anymore."
"You held out for longer than I thought, I'll give you that."
"But I need- I need to see Bruce first."
"You're making demands now?" Vince snarled, rolling his eyes in annoyance. This was the tipping point. She had to sound just pitiful enough to get her way.
"I need him to understand why I did this," Celia choked out. "I need him to forgive me." Vince grumbled under his breath, snapping his fingers at a few of his men who were nearby.
"Take our friend here to see the monster. She has five minutes and not a second more," Vince directed. The men reached down and hauled her up by her arms. Her shaky legs weren't an act and they were the only things keeping her upright for a few moments. If anything, it helped her look like less of a threat.
They marched her out of the room and back toward where Bruce was being held. She hoped they'd been so distracted by her that they'd left Bruce alone, since this whole plan was riding on him. Celia just hoped this worked.
