"Tony woke up in a cold room. It was dark, and he felt the dull warmth of two people on either side of him as he lay in the dust.
Sitting up and trying not to wake his evidently sleeping friends, Tony surveyed the room. It was dark, with open bars on one side, and a small window on the others.
"Did they put us in the fucking town police station?" Tony hissed quietly to himself. He had been in this building twice before, and he still didn't like it. He saw the faint silhouettes of Steve, Bruce and Pietro on the floor next to him.
Reed had put them all in the same cell because he knew Bruce could hulk out and break out of the cell, but he wouldn't do it with others in the room, especially if they were friends. Tony had to hand it to Reed there, as it was smart thinking.
He patted his pockets down; empty. Reed's group had taken everything from him, and presumably the others, too.
They could try and get Pepper or Rhodey to break them out, assuming they hadn't been killed or escaped themselves.
Tony could try and find other 'prisoners' and organise an escape plan with them.
His mind reeled at all the possibilities.
Tony tried to think his way out, when he realised something.
The knife on his ankle was still there.
On the night he'd left the school originally, Tony had strapped a small blade to his ankle in case a dog tried to attack him or something. He'd just left it on there for the last few days as he hadn't exactly had the chance to shower or change. He slipped a hand down to the ankle, praying that it was still there. He nearly cheered when his fingers closed around the small, flat blade.
Beside him, Steve stirred, waking up with a stretch and a surprisingly high-pitched yawn.
Tony chuckled, and earned a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"Your yawns are really high-pitched," Tony joked, flicking the knife in between his fingers. Steve frowned, his eyebrows knitting together again as he realised where he was.
"Did Reed put us in here?" Tony nodded confirmation. There was nobody around, so Steve and Tony silently decided to work quickly.
"I think I have an idea, but I'll need your strength." Tony gestured to the window, where Steve stepped over. "You see the bolts on that window?"
Steve didn't have to jump to view the outside; it led into the streets, and they'd have to cross the Reed Republic (god, that sounded stupid, he thought) and then sneak out of the wall. They could stop by the DIY store and grab some wire cutters to help with cutting through the wall and escaping.
"Alright, take this," Tony handed Steve the knife. "Stick it in the bolts holding the window in place and twist. They should come loose."
The bolts were screwed in tighter than Steve thought they would be, but with the force he put into twisting the knife, soon the first bolt was unscrewing. It hit the floor with a soft tap, and Steve went on to work on the second one.
"Keep an eye out, someone might come by," Steve whispered to Tony, who at this point was doing little more than watch. The shorter boy nodded and leaned against the bars, eyes wide and dark, scanning the gloomy, unlit prison cells.
"The second bolt's out," Steve whispered. "I think I can wrench it past the other two."
He braced himself and pulled, but very little movement occurred. Tony shook his head.
"It'd be best to get the other one off, then we can use the last screw to keep the window attached. Once we're out, we can swing it back into place and they won't be able to tell where we went at first sight." Steve rolled his eyes at that. It was such a 'Tony' thing to say.
"Alright, I'm working on it," Steve sensed that the others were waking up, and started working hard on the nail, bringing it out of the wall quickly. He then swung the window, which was little more than a set of bars nailed over the inside of a hole in the wall, so that it hung below, and opened up a pathway out.
"Alright, Tony, I'll give you a leg up. Tell me if you see anyone." Steve whispered, and made a foothold with his hands. As the shortest and smallest, Tony would be easiest to get out first.
The genius perched precariously, one foot held by Steve, the other dangling midair, and his midriff being supported by the lower surface of the hole in the wall.
"Coast's clear," Tony hissed, wriggling his way out and standing up. He couldn't see a wall anywhere nearby.
"Tony?" Clint appeared next to him, confused and sleepy. Tony quickly explained as Bruce and Steve climbed out. The blonde slid the bars back into place and handed Tony the knife and the fallen nails - if he left them on the floor of the cell, they'd be traced and tracked quite easily. At least they'd have the extra few minutes when Reed started searching the prison before figuring out that they'd escaped.
"That was pretty smart," Bruce shrugged, yawning quietly and cracking his knuckles. "Now we have to get out of Reed's territory.
Steve led the others into a shadow of a building, and then down an alleyway. He stopped as he found two people, shrouded in a dirty blanket, sleeping around a dying fire.
"Pepper!" Tony shout-whispered, shaking her awake. "It's me, stay quiet, we're here to come get you and Rhodes,"
"He's here," Pepper coughed, her voice hoarse. Bruce woke up Rhodey, who looked overjoyed and gave Bruce a strangely angled hug, to which he responded awkwardly.
"Now we just have to get out of here," Tony stated, making plans in his head already.
A/N: Sorry if for the next week or so the updates are inconsistent, I'll be on holiday and don't know how much time I'll have to write. Also, I'll be fangirling because Chris Pratt liked a picture I sent him on Facebook :D