Tony was pacing, he'd been pacing for the past three days ever since Beth was kidnapped.
They had found the wreckage, no bodies, tony had told them every car had a self-destruct in case something happened.
When they found the security footage from a nearby camera they discovered Beth was attacked but no faces were visible, no plates on the cars, they found she got away from the first attack but on another camera barely a mile from the tower she was attacked again.
She couldn't run from the harpoon in her leg or the large man standing on her back, he struck the back of her head with the gun and she fell limp from there they loaded her into a van also without plates and then disappeared off the grid.
They couldn't find her but they were tracking down every lead they could get their hands on, digitally and physically.
On the third night Steve found tony sitting in the living room an unopened bottle of alcohol next to him staring at nothing like he was so lost he didn't even know what to do, Steve was staying at the tower while they searched so if they found her they could get to her that much quicker and he was suddenly glad he was.
He approached the man that didn't look up as he approached "tony?" the man barely twitched "I wonder if this is what she felt like" Steve sat on the coffee table like he'd done to help with her injuries only a few nights ago.
"What do you mean?" tony finally look up at him "you read about what happened in Afghanistan" it wasn't a question but he nodded anyway "they held me for three months, I can't help wondering if this is when Lizzy felt like, not knowing where I was, if I was alright" the man trailed off and Steve just looked at him, not with pity but just, looked.
"We'll find her" tony looked at him "but will it be before it's too late?"
Steve didn't have an answer for that.
When Beth came back to the aware she felt heavy, her mouth was dry and she couldn't move her arms.
Glancing up she saw why, they were strapped to the wall she tried to tug but even that small movement exhausted her, looking closer she saw why, her arms were strapped down but she also had some kind of red tubes attached to her inner arms.
It took her a second to realized they were transfusion lines, whoever had kidnapped her were milking her of her blood, but the one on her left arm was clear, she blinked hard and looked at the IV bag.
At least they were taking measures to make sure she didn't die of blood loss, she didn't know how she should feel about that, it told her they wanted to keep her around for a while.
Whoever 'they' were.
It was then a door opened and a man walked in he was older, had thinning hair and a light in his eyes she didn't like.
"Ah good morning miss stark it's nice to see you back with us" through sheer power of will alone she managed to get her feet under her and stand up "the pleasures all yours I'm sure, where am I, and why are you bleeding me?"
The man smiled and she didn't like it, she saw the cruelty behind them "well you see miss stark, you are very valuable to my research, or rather what's in your blood is, we've been trying for 50 years to recreate Erskine's formula without even a blood sample, but with today's technology our dream is finally within reach"
The man's eyes became dreamy and she glared "sorry to break it to ya but I don't have the original in me, that's the other guy you know" she motioned with her hand strapped above her head "about yay tall, blond, blue eyes, can break you in half like a tooth pick"
The old man laughed at her like she was making a joke "yes we know but captain rogers would just be too much for us, you were a more viable target, and especially after your little fight with your boyfriend" his pout made her want to rip his head off.
"How do you know about that?" she demanded and he smiled "We know about everything miss stark, now here's what you're going to do, you're going to tell us what is in your blood, save us some time, and then you're going to tell us exactly what happened after"
She glared hard "what if I say I don't know" she demanded his smile turned sharp and cutting "let's just say it will be cleaner if you cooperate, you have a degree in engineering, you may not know the formula but you know something" she pressed her lips together and silence rained for a few minutes ten the older man sighed.
"Very well, but I may warn you it would be easier for your heath to do as we ask"
She leered at his back "fuck off" she growled and he smirked and left her alone in the near darkness of the room.