Chapter Sixty Three
For a while, she felt nothing. Darkness wrapped around her like a thick blanket. She couldn't make sense of her surroundings. Then she began hearing voices echoing in the background. A shiver swept through her as she slowly began to regain consciousness.
Slowly, her eyes snapped open to find herself strapped in a chair. Thick white walls surrounded her. It took a few seconds for her to register that she wasn't alone. The room itself was empty aside from her, but she spotted cameras on every corner of the ceiling watching her every move. She knew the moment she was strapped to the chair was when she was in trouble. The restraints that held her down somehow dampened her powers. Though, she suspected that was also due to whatever drugs they had used to knock her out.
What sort of place is this? she wondered warily. When Ada tried looking back at what led her to being trapped in this room in the first place. And all at once, her heart wrenched with dread. She could already tell that the necklace she normally wore had been stripped away. The only connection she had with her mother was gone, and she had no doubt that these people would stoop to lower levels.
After hearing so many horror stories about those who were taken into captivity, she could already imagine what these assholes were going to do to her. The thought left her shivering with unease. She knew in the back of her mind that these assholes weren't going to hold back now that they had their hands on her.
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to wake up." Fury swept through Ada when she recognized the voice that cut through the eerie silence. A man who she hadn't seen for nearly four years loomed over her, wearing a smirk that made her wish she could punch it off his face. "I had been hoping that I would get to see your face just as you wake up in this facility."
Her fingers gripped the arms of the chair she was strapped to. Nathaniel Carhall hadn't changed a bit since their last encounter. With graying brown hair that suggested he had aged since they last saw one another, she could tell that time hadn't been kind to him. But that didn't stop him from grinning like someone had won the ultimate prize.
Creep, was the first thought that ran through her mind.
She wasn't entirely surprised to see him standing there with a wicked grin written across his face. After all, he'd encouraged his son to date her and extract whatever information he could. Ada was suddenly thankful that she never did reveal any deep secrets. Or the fact that she worked for SHIELD. She had little doubt that they would have used that knowledge to their advantage.
"And here I was hoping that you'd dropped off the face of the Earth," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.
Nathaniel shook his head in amusement, "I see that you have not changed since our last little spat. Which by the way, left my son in the hospital for three weeks."
"Be thankful I didn't crack his damn skull!" she spat back.
Hatred for what he and Emmett had done suddenly swept through her. She hated knowing that they had dated, and that she had trusted Emmett for as long as she did. The worst part was knowing that he had never felt anything during their time together. His betrayal hit harder than she could have ever admitted out loud. She knew that she had been using her training at SHIELD as an excuse to get away from the emotional turmoil that followed. But that was a poor excuse, and in reality, she wasn't sure if she ever recovered from that incident.
The truth was, she didn't know if she would ever fully recover from what happened. She was beginning to wonder if all men were alike in that aspect. Steve hadn't shown any signs of becoming like Emmett or his father. Yet, that didn't stop the small spark of fear from building as memories of what had happened came rushing back.
"Such harsh words for someone who doesn't believe in killing others," Nathaniel clucked his tongue disapprovingly. She glared back when Nathaniel approached her with confident strides. "If I were you, I would be careful about what I say around these people… some of them are not as kind as I have been."
"Not as kind my ass," she muttered under her breath. "Why choose now of all times to take me? You could've taken any other opportunity to take me."
The older man leaned back after realizing what she was insinuating. They could have easily taken her while she was on the run during her earlier days with SHIELD. But for whatever reason, they always seemed to hold back every time. She should have known that eventually, they would find some way of catching her without alerting the entire agency.
"You were always under some kind of protection," he finally sneered. "While you were at the School for the Gifted, you had Captain America and the mutants protecting you. When you were in Monaco, you were still under SHIELD's protection."
He quirked an eyebrow as if to prove his point, and sudden realization dawned on Ada. Her heart sank as she recalled promising Jane that she would leave SHIELD out of her vacation. She'd promised that she would treat it like a real vacation, leaving behind both her work-life and family-life behind just to spend some time relaxing. These people had been watching her for some time. A shiver of unease swept through her as she realized that they had been biding their time and waiting for the perfect opportunity.
"You were just biding your time," she guessed.
Nathaniel gave a nod and finally straightened up. He wasn't above punishing her like so many of his men had done with her kind. But they did want her alive. She knew that she would have been killed long before this moment if that wasn't the case. For whatever reason, these people needed her. That thought alone left her mind churning with fury. Whatever these bastards were planning to do with her, they weren't going to win. Not when she had so much at stake.
"We were biding our time for the perfect opportunity," he replied in a humored tone. "I must admit, you are an easier target when we put the lives of those you care about at stake. With such a fiery spirit burning within you, I can only imagine how long it will take to break you."
It's going to take more than just a verbal threat for you to break me, she silently spat back. She had watched her mother and countless other victims die at their hands. If these people thought they were going to get away with those crimes, they were dead wrong. She planned on doing whatever it took to make sure the same thing didn't happen to her. Or to anyone else who met a similar fate. Whatever reasoning the Black Knights had behind hurting her people and others before them, they deserved to suffer whatever punishment they were delivered.
"Do your worst," she practically growled out the words when Nathaniel's eyes refused to waver under her piercing glare.
The older man chuckled in amusement at the threatening tone of her voice. He could see the fiery spark within her eyes that would eventually dim. It was a pity to see such a burning spirit go to waste, but he had his orders. The Black Knights had been waiting for generations to finish off the last of her kind, and here they had the perfect opportunity to do so.
"We plan to, Miss Stark."
…
It had taken a few hours for everyone to receive the word that something happened to one of their teammates. When Tony sent the message-wide alert, he half-expected everyone to take their time. But their reactions happened faster than he could have dreamed. The Tower was ready for whatever visitors would arrive through those doors. He had been pacing around the penthouse while trying to figure out how to go about finding Ada. When Happy finally returned from his trip to London to retrieve her, he sustained minor injuries to the head from when he had been knocked out.
I should have known this would happen, was the only thought running through his mind at the moment. He should have known that the Black Knights would use whatever advantage they had over the team. He didn't doubt they were the ones responsible for Ada's disappearance, and for Happy suffering from minor injuries. After hearing all of the stories that Ada had to share about them, and the stories that he was able to look up on the organization, he had been dreading the day when this would happen.
'Sir, Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff have arrived,' Jarvis suddenly warned him through the com. 'Agent Barton is on his way, along with Doctor Banner.'
Tony paused in his pacing, briefly wondering what he would tell the team once they arrived. He'd only given small details on why they needed to be there in the first place. The only message that he had sent them was an SOS revolving around Ada. Swallowing hard, he gave a reluctant nod and stopped at the kitchen counter where Pepper was sitting. She had been watching him for the last two hours now. Her face was impossible to read as realization finally dawned on her that Ada was missing. She never felt more helpless than at that moment.
"Let them up," he informed the AI.
Once he swiped a panel on the kitchen counter that revealed the security footage in the front of the Tower, Tony let out a heavy sigh. He had been hoping to have more time trying to regain his composure. He was already anxious enough knowing that something terrible had happened to Ada. Her disappearance and the lack of responses he received from her tracking device told him that something was wrong.
Sure enough, Steve was there along with Romanoff. Both looked unhappy with the recent news, though he had a feeling they were even less happy having to return to the Tower. He couldn't do this alone. Even with Rhodes' help along with the entire army and whole of SHIELD, he wouldn't be able to find her. The tracking device he planted on her had suddenly stopped working, which told him that the Black Knights had known about it.
What irritated him more than anything was the fact that they had discovered her tracking device. Even if SHIELD had tweaked with it a little, that didn't mean they wouldn't find it. Tony had no doubt in the back of his mind that this was their way of keeping her for as long as they could.
Steve was the first to reach the penthouse, with Natasha close behind.
"Clint got stuck behind some traffic while picking up Bruce," Natasha explained when Tony threw her a quizzical look. "Do you wanna explain to us what happened?"
Tony let out an intake of air as he studied nothing in particular. He caught Steve looking at him warily. He hadn't specified who was taken. The truth was, he had been waiting to see how Steve of all people would react to this latest news. He knew how close the man had been getting with Ada. And that in itself was enough to leave him wishing he'd put a leash between them.
"Ada's been taken," he finally replied.
He watched Natasha's normally neutral face morph into a look of surprise. Even Steve looked at Tony in disbelief as realization dawned on them. Ada's sudden disappearance had left his mind churning with anxiety as he tried figuring out the best way to tackle the problem at hand.
"Are you sure?" Steve asked, frowning at the possibility that she was gone.
At least he had the audacity to actually look genuinely concerned. Though he managed to maintain his composure much like Natasha. Tony wasn't sure what was more irritated. The fact that Steve had taken it so well, or the fact that he was somewhat concerned over Ada's safety.
"Happy was supposed to be at Jane Foster's apartment one day ago to pick her up," he explained through gritted teeth, hating the fact that he needed to explain everything all over again, "When he got to the airport, he was ambushed and got knocked out. By the time he finally reached Jane's apartment, she was gone."
"What about the tracking device?" Natasha quipped.
Like usual, her expression returned to its neutral position. Not that that surprised Tony. Natasha was one of those people who he never got a good read on. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering how she and Ada were capable of working together so well when they were complete opposites. Then again, he'd heard plenty of stories about how she 'got along' so well with Barton.
"The tracking device was taken off as soon as Happy called me," he replied without missing a beat.
Which irritated him more than he cared to admit out loud. It would have saved him from having to call in the entire team, along with the grueling effort of finding out where the Black Knights were currently hiding. Jarvis was able to track down several locations where they could be hiding. Narrowing down the search was going to be easier said than done.
"You don't think she's left the city," Steve suddenly spoke up.
Tony looked in Natasha's direction as she pursed her lips together in thought, "They would have had to transfer vehicles or planes in order to leave the city. I'm willing to bet that if we narrow down the search panel, there's going to be a location in or outside of London we can search."
"I've had Jarvis track down some of their locations after Eye-patch told us about them," he explained after heading for the counter once more. He typed in a few codes, relieved to find the locations hadn't changed since his last search. "We've got one facility not far from the city, and one that's within the city itself."
"I'll contact SHIELD to warn the boss," Natasha added once it became clear what their next plan of action was.
Tony's shoulders sagged in relief once they finally had a couple of locations in mind. He knew that finding her would have been like looking for a needle in the haystack. Fortunately, Natasha was right about them not getting too far.
They had the resources to find Ada's location before the assholes could get any further than outside of London. Tony was more concerned about what state she would be in when they did find her. There was no telling what the Black Knights would do to Ada once they had their hands on her.
"We'll find her, Tony," Steve reassured him.
"I know we will," Tony replied without hesitation.
He was determined to find Ada. After everything they had been through, he didn't plan on letting anything happen to her.
AN: Finally got this all typed up. I'll admit, it was difficult rewriting these next couple of chapters. Mostly because I had to start from scratch with them. I looked through my original chapters and realized just how cringe-worthy they were. And I hated every bit of them. So hopefully this version is better than the original ever was. Thanks to PixieHex1585 for reviewing!