A/N Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and alerts! It's time to focus on the team again, Tony and Clint will return in the next chapter.
Chapter 6
Steve, Thor, Natasha, and Bruce were once again on the bridge of the helicarrier with Fury and Coulson. The four of them had scarcely left the bridge since first arriving on board, except to help the search teams which had yet to provide any useful leads as to where their teammates might be. When they weren't searching, they were on the bridge, discussing with Fury and Coulson other possible options for finding Tony and Clint, but with so little information, that had taken all of five minutes. After that, they alternated between worrying for their friends and discussing what they would do to the men who had taken them, once they were caught.
They were in the middle of the 'worrying silently' phase, when one of the techs reluctantly broke the tense silence of the bridge.
"Sir, they sent another one."
"On screen," Fury ordered as the Avengers leapt to their feet and all but ran over to the monitor.
The video showed what looked like the same room as before but this time with a metal chair sitting in the center. Moments later, Tony was dragged into the room and tied to the chair. Then the two goons walked out of the room again.
Once they were gone, the leader, who's name they now knew was Hassan, moved to stand in front of Tony but a little off to the side so that those watching the video could still see the billionaire.
Hassan reached out and touched Tony's arc reactor, causing the billionaire's eyes to widen but otherwise his face remained blank. To those who knew him, though, it was an obvious display of fear.
"No," Bruce breathed.
Hassan twisted the arc reactor and lifted it out of Tony's chest. Almost instantly, Tony's breathing became harsher and more ragged as he was forced to sit there, panting, while his heart rebelled against him.
Hassan held the arc reactor up and stared at it for a few minutes before sliding it back into Tony's chest. Tony's breathing immediately eased as the reactor resumed its work but just as he was about to catch his breath, Hassan reached out yet again and pulled the reactor back out of its rightful place and Tony's breathing grew labored again. For the next couple of minutes, Hassan stood, holding the reactor and staring at Tony as the billionaire grew weaker while his struggle grew stronger.
Once again, the arc was replaced and Tony's wheezing eased. The man stepped a little away from Tony and the team breathed a sigh of relief at the reprieve.
It didn't last nearly long enough, though, as the two goons from earlier returned with a tub of water and placed it on the floor in front of Tony. For the first time, Tony's face showed real fear. Unbridled terror flashed in Tony's eyes as he caught sight of the tub. Tony had once opened up to the team and Phil about his time in Afghanistan, so they all understood Tony's fear at what was obviously about to come and Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Thor, and Phil all shared a horrified look. Of all the things that could be done to Tony, this was probably the worst.
Bruce had managed to keep relatively calm so far, but it was all he could do to not hulk-out at the sight of the raw fear on Tony's face. As it was, the scientist closed his eyes and breathed deeply until he felt the rage ease a bit and his control return.
"Doctor, perhaps you should step outside," Fury suggested, not unkindly.
"No. I'm okay. I want- I need to see this," Bruce said. He couldn't bring himself to turn his back on Tony, even if it was a video.
The others appeared to be trying to determine if Bruce really was okay. After a moment, they seemed to reach a decision. Fury gave Bruce a nod and he and the others turned back to the screen.
With what had to be a monumental effort, Tony collected himself, smoothed out his expression, and calmed his breathing. The goons untied him and forced him to his knees beside the tub. Tony faced it stoically, even though he had to have been completely terrified. Hassan was once again standing behind Tony, and with a grunt from him, the two goons pushed Tony forward and shoved his head under the water.
Tony thrashed and struggled to get his head above water but it was useless as the men held him firmly. Tony suddenly became motionless and with another grunt from their leader, the two men pulled Tony up out of the water. Tony sucked in a deep breath of air but as soon as his lungs were filled he was shoved back under again. This time, Tony didn't struggle as much, probably trying to conserve his oxygen supply. After what seemed like an eternity, Tony was pulled up again.
For the next several minutes, the cycle repeated. They would force Tony's head in the water and hold him there until he began to go limp, at which time he would be pulled from the water and allowed to take a breath or two before going back under again.
Finally, Hassan signaled the men and they pulled Tony out of the water and held him there as the billionaire panted heavily. The watchers breathed another sigh of relief as it seemed to finally be over, but, to their horror, it was only just beginning and it was about to get a whole lot worse.
Hassan moved in front of Tony yet again. He reached out, twisted the arc reactor, and pulled it from its place once more. He moved back to his place behind Tony and on his signal, the billionaire was pushed under the water again. The whole situation had just gone from bad to worse. Not only was Tony being water-boarded, but he was being water-boarded while his heart was failing.
The next time Tony was pulled up, he began hacking and coughing, water spewing from his mouth. He got the liquid cleared from his lungs only to have his head submerged yet again. He was pulled up sooner the next time but he still spluttered and sprayed water from his mouth. Once more he was pushed under. This time, though, he went limp before they pulled him out, and when they did, he didn't react. He didn't cough, he didn't breathe, he just slumped in their grip. Everyone on the helicarrier froze at the sight of the unmoving Avenger.
One of the goons slapped Tony harshly on the back twice. On the second hit, Tony reacted. He coughed violently spewing water from his mouth. He coughed until he threw up. Finally, he settled and his harsh breathing was the only sound on the bridge. Hassan moved over and replaced the arc. Once he was finished, he motioned for the men to put Tony back in the chair. Then the men removed the tub.
Tony sat, slumped against his bonds, gasping for air that just wouldn't seem to come. Hassan watched Tony impassively, as if he was watching someone eat lunch instead of looking at a person that he had just tortured. A few minutes passed and the terrorist leader returned to his spot behind the chair as the two goons returned. They were rolling a kind of cart behind them. On it, was some sort of device that had wires attached to it.
"Oh, no," Bruce whispered.
Everyone's attention snapped to Bruce, expecting to see him livid and on the verge of hulking-out but they were alarmed at the look on the scientist's face. Bruce's face had completely drained of color and he looked both horrified and on the verge of tears. Bruce had figured it out before the others. He knew what was coming next.
"Electric shock," was all he said.
The others looked back at the screen their eyes widening, all except Steve and Thor.
"I do not understand," Thor said.
"What's electric shock?" asked Steve. He thought he knew but he really really hoped he was wrong.
"It's when electricity is sent through the body as torture," Natasha said quietly as she stared at the screen.
"You mean they're going to electrocute him?" Steve asked, his voice breaking. Natasha simply nodded.
Steve swallowed thickly and Thor clenched his fists and grit his teeth. They didn't want to watch what was coming but they wouldn't turn away.
The two goons rolled the cart next to Tony. Goon number two turned the device on while goon number one grabbed the two wires connected to the device. Tony was too out of it to know what was going on and he never saw it coming.
A scream the likes of which they had never heard before, ripped from the billionaire's throat as goon number one stuck the wires to Tony's chest. The wires were held there a moment before they were removed, leaving Tony breathless. A second later, they were pressed to his chest again.
Over and over the wires were pressed to different areas of Tonys chest, agonized screams bursting from Tony with every touch, until his voice was hoarse and raw and his chest was covered in electrical burns. At long last, the men stopped and Tony sagged in the chair. If it wasn't for the ropes tying him to the chair, Tony would have collapsed to the floor. He sat there, gasping and shaking pitifully.
After a minute, Hassan ordered the two goons to untie Tony from the chair. Once unbound, they lifted him by the arms and dragged him from the room.
As the video ended, Bruce went from pale and shaking with horror to slightly green and shaking with rage. He only distantly heard his friends trying to talk him down as the blood rushed in his ears, muffling the sounds around him. He was so close to changing and the truth was he wanted to change. He was so angry, so furious, and it would be oh so easy to just let go and let the other guy take over. The only thing that held him back was the fact that, not only was he flying in the helicarrier, but his friends were on board as well. If the Hulk started smashing he could hurt them, or cause the helicarrier to go down, which would also result in harm coming to the others. The only thing letting the Hulk out would do, is let Bruce release his anger. Otherwise it wouldn't accomplish a thing.
So with great effort, Bruce fought to keep control. The Hulk pushed at his mind, demanding to be turned loose. But all it took was for Bruce to picture what could happen to the other Avengers and the Hulk relented and ceased his fight altogether. The other guy may have been an animalistic rage beast, but for some reason he also cared about the other Avengers with a deep sense of protectiveness that often surprised Bruce. So, although the Hulk was angry, he wasn't so far gone as to risk his friends.
Bruce took a deep breath, coming back to himself, and looked around to see everyone staring at him in concern and fear. The former coming from Steve, Natasha, Thor, and Phil. The latter from everyone else (except Fury, whose expression hardly ever changed from neutral to begin with).
"I'm fine," Bruce said, fiddling with his glasses and taking note of the fact that his clothes were a bit stretched out. A testament to just how close he had come to losing it.
"Are you sure?" Natasha asked.
"Yes. The other guy and I have... reached an understanding."
"Understanding?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Bruce said, looking at the floor and rubbing the back of his neck. "He doesn't want to risk hurting you guys."
The other Avengers looked at him in slight surprise. They knew the Hulk liked them well enough to fight with them instead of against them, but to actually think ahead about their safety? That was new.
"Um, okay then. So what are we going to do?" Steve asked, turning to Fury again.
"We will continue the search on the ground and our efforts to back-trace the video but beyond that, there's not much else we can do for the time being," Fury said.
The others didn't like it. They wanted to find Tony and Clint and take out the men who hurt them right then and there, but that was something they couldn't do yet. The only thing they could do was wait, whether they liked it or not.
It's looking more and more like Tony and Clint can't afford to wait around for the others to rescue them. Unfortunately, you guys will have to wait until the next chapter to see what happens. Let me know what you think! :)