Chapter Five:

Tony's POV

"Sir," JARVIS said, waking me up.

"What?" I yelled angerly.

"The girl is screaming."

I jolt out of bed. "Why?"

"I don't know, sir." JARVIS responded. "Her heart rate is elevated, but otherwise appears unharmed."

"Wake up Steve." I told JARVIS as I headed for the elevator.

Steve was quicker than expected. I could hear him coming down the hall, so I held the elevator for him.

We rode down together. As soon as the elevator doors opened to the lower level, we could hear the screams. We both ran down the hallway. Steve, of course, getting there before me. He had the door open, although part of me was hesitant to think that was a good idea.

I looked at the girl, at Elena. She was off the cot, screaming and thrashing about. It looks like she's still asleep though. Her eyes were closed. I knew how that felt and my heart ached. To be trapped in a nightmare was one of the worse things.

Steve shook her by the shoulders. "Elena!" He called out.

Her eyes popped open and she pushed Steve away, jumping to the far corner. She could no longer hide behind the mask of indifference, the fear was evident on her face. "Don't touch me!" She screamed. "Please! Don't!"

Steve stayed back, but still tried to soothe her as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "It's okay. No one is going to hurt you. Everything is okay."

I stayed frozen in place. It was a good call getting Steve. He seemed to know more about people especially troubled people. Maybe he was practicing for when he met back up with Bucky. I looked back at Elena. Her breathing was slowing, and she looked around as if coming out of a trance. Finally, her eyes landed on Steve and then me.

She took me in for a second. Then her eyes went back to Steve and I released a breath I was holding.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

She nodded.

"Was that a nightmare?"

She looked puzzled and then looked like she was deep in thought.

"Have you had nightmares before?" Steve tried again.

"Not since I was little," She said, this time there was a tinge of an accent. "I think- I think maybe Hydra gave me something."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"Before I go to sleep, they give me these blue pills." She answered quietly.

"Okay." Steve slowly rose from his squatted position. Elena tried to dig herself closer to the wall with little success. "I'll be back."

Steve walks to the door and I move so he could exit. Steve closes the door behind him. We walk a few steps towards the exit. "You should stay here and keep an eye on her." Steve tells me.

"What are you going to do?" I question. "I'm sure I could do that, while you stay. If you're concerned."

"First of all, I'm going to wake up Bruce and see if he has some medication in his lab. Second of all, you should spend at least a few minutes with her. Maybe you can see if she recognizes you or your name and you can tell if she knows whether or not you're her father."

Just him saying it made me nervous. He whispered and we're pretty far away, yet I still turn my head to the girl, to see if she heard. She clearly didn't. She was still in the corner with her legs pulled to her chest. Her eyes were glazed over, lost to a memory.

I turn back to Steve. "Fine, but be quick."

Steve leaves and I walk back to the glass of the cell. I don't think she notices me, until she speaks, "who are you?"

"Umm." I stumble like an idiot. "I'm Tony Stark."

There's no recognition in her face. Not as a parent. Not even as a billionaire philanthropist, regularly seen on the news. "Are you part of Steve's team…. The Avengers?"

"Yeah, I'm Iron Man."

I study her face and after a moment, something seems to click. "You were there at the base. You were the metal man."

I smile, "yep, that's me."

She nods and then we fall into silence.

I think about saying something, but I'm not sure what so I let the silence fill the room.

Finally, after what feels like forever, Steve and Bruce come in. Bruce, like the rest of us, was still in his pajamas. They must have stopped at the lab, because Bruce has two cups in his hand. One has water and the other has two greenish-blue pills.

I wonder for a moment if I could have gotten something like that if I had come to Banner when I was having trouble sleeping.

Bruce is about to go in, but Steve stops him. "Maybe I should go in. We still don't know she won't attack."

"Yeah, cause I definitely will be taken down by a scrawny teenage girl." Bruce said sarcastically, clearly not enjoying being up at this hour. He wasn't wrong though, Elena didn't look like much of a powerhouse. Then again, I'm sure some would say the same about Natasha. Sometimes muscle and skill came in the form of little women.

Still, Bruce handed the stuff over to Steve and unlocks the door for him. Steve walks in. While she didn't seem to care about what we were doing before, as soon as the door unlocks, she eyes Steve warily. The fear is gone, perhaps hiding behind the blank mask she now wears. "This will help you sleep," Steve says as he places the cups in front of her. Then he walks out, hoping she will take them when he is gone.

He closes the door and we watch her take the cups and swallow the pills.

"That's a lot of trust in us." I'm surprised and say it before my brain thinks better of it.

Steve sends me a glare and I do worry how she will react. I look at her. She gives me a sad smile, "What's the worse you can do, kill me?"

As she says that, I realize that she believes that's not the worse thing that can happen to her.

We leave shortly after that, I take one more look back and I see her grab the blanket that has fallen to the floor. She puts it over herself, but doesn't leave the corner. Then we are out of sight.

In the elevator, Steve asks, "did she recognize you or your name?"

"Not until I said I was Iron Man, then she seemed to recognize me as and I quote, 'the metal man' from the Hydra base."

"So, she probably doesn't know about your relations." Bruce interjects.

"Most likely," I say, "and I think it's best it stays that way."

"You don't want to tell her?" Steve asks.

"She's already been through a lot. The last thing we need is for her to know about me."

"It's your call." Steve says after a moment. "We should let the other know."