Chapter 9: Desperation
Brigid bounced along in the dark. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and swear rolled down her head. She struggled to free herself from her bonds but it was for naught as she had nothing to break them. She was left to wriggle in the dark, fearing that she had failed. She did not fear for her life, but rather what plans Obediah had to use her against her father. After an age, Brigid felt the car stop. The trunk was popped open and Obediah was smirking down at her. Brigid tried to headbutt him but she was held back by his men.
"Brigid, Brigid, Brigid," Obediah sighed. "You have quite the temper. That hot-head is what got your daddy in trouble. Shall we discuss him?"
Brigid was dragged to a dark warehouse and she was forced to her knees before a large tub filled with water. Brigid tried fo take deep breaths as she knew what was to come, yet she was not afraid it meant protecting her father.
"Brigid, we're gonna play a little game. You answer my questions right, and I let you go. Answer wrong, and well, I'll have to hurt you, and then your daddy," Obediah said.
Brigid glared at Obediah as she struggled viciously against his man holding her down.
"I take it you're ready to begin," Obediah said in a snide tone. "Did Tony send you to spy on me? Nod 'yes' or 'no'."
Brigid did not move. She simply glared back at Obediah.
"No answer is a wrong answer," Obediah declared before snapping his fingers.
Brigid was dunked into the tub before she could take a breath and held down. After a moment, Obediah let her up. Brigid groaned behind her gag but she did not scream.
"Now, did Tony send you to spy on me?" Obediah asked.
Brigid, despite the pain, did not reply. Obediah snapped his fingers and Brigid was dunked under again for nearly a minute. Obediah snapped his fingers and Brigid was let up again, coughing and sputtering behind her gag.
"Who did he send? Was it you? Was it Pepper?" Obediah demanded. "Why was Pepper in his office? What was she looking for?"
Brigid smiled behind her gag before being held under again. Before she could lose consciounsess, she was let back up. Brigid felt a lightheaded and her heart raced as she struggled to breathe.
"Tell me what I want to know, you little brat, or you die!" Obediah shouted.
Brigid glared at him and tried to speak but it came out muffled behind her gag, causing Obediah to rip it off.
"You wanted to say something?" Obediah asked.
"I just wanted to say you just made a big mistake, and you can go eat my a," Brigid said with a defiant smile.
"Is that so?" Obediah asked with a smile that made Brigid know she made a mistake. "You're protecting them, aren't you? You really are daddy's little girl. This is why I never had kids."
"How fortunate for the world," Brigid groaned.
Obediah lifted Brigid by the throat, squeezing as tight as he could. Brigid kicked and fought as she hung in Obediah's grasp.
"Are we still laughing now?" Obediah asked, his fingers tightening on Brigid's throat. "You know you really should have thought of your daddy before you came snooping around. Imagine how your daddy would feel when I break that pretty neck of yours. How selfish."
Before Brigid could lose consciounsess, Obediah dropped her to the floor.
Brigid gave a weak giggle as she was confident Obediah had lost. "You are so screwed. My dad is gonna kick your hairy little ass if I don't do it first. You're not going to hurt my father or anyone else. You can rot in jail, you ugly son of a bitch."
Obediah furiously taped Brigid's mouth shut again. "Not if I kick his first. Let's go see your daddy now."
"Brigid?" Tony called. "Brigid, where are you?"
Tony searched around his penthouse and could not find any trace of Brigid at all.
"Brigid, this isn't funny," Tony said. "If this is some teen angst thing, I've seen better."
Tony sighed and plopped down on the couch. His cell phone rang with a message from Pepper. Hoping to hear news from Brigid, Tony eagerly tried to answer. Before he could, he heard a low buzzing sound and he was frozen where he was.
"Breathe," he heard a voice say. "Easy, easy."
Tony looked up and saw Obediah smirking down at him with a tiny black device in his hand. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Ah, Tony."
Tony could not speak, but he glared at Obediah.
"Oh, you're wondering where you're little brat is," Obediah said.
Obediah crept back into the room and grabbed a struggling, bruised, soaked bloodied, and bound Brigid and pointed a gun at her as he threw her on the couch next to Tony. Brigid was soaked to the skins and her face was purple from many wounds. Brigid looked on in horror as Tony began to sweat as he sat frozen. The paralyzed Tony felt his fury rising as he looked at the beaten and mangled Brigid and Obediah smirking at her.
"Right now you're probably wanting to kill me for hurting your little girl," Obediah said. "I will give her this: She's a tough little thing. No matter how many times I drowned her, she refused to speak up. Even when I almost snapped the life out of her, she didn't cry. But that's okay. I put it all together. She's here in case you do something stupid."
Obediah sat in front of Tony. "When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried that I was killing the golden goose. But know I see that was fate that you survived that."
Obediah pulled out a device like a claw and plunged it into Tony's chest, making him groan. Brigid struggled, but Obediah pointed his gun in her face.
"Ah, ah, ah, sweetie," he said unctuously. "You have to help me teach daddy a lesson. I wouldn't want to punish you for daddy's mistakes."
With Obediah distracted, he did not notice Brigid fiddling with a piece of glass and her hands busily working to free herself.
Obediah turned to Tony and pulled his glowing arc reactor from his chest. "Turns out you had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think just because you have an idea that it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?"
Obediah yanked the reactor from Tony's chest and Brigid screamed.
Obediah held the glowing reactor before Tony. "Oh, it's beautiful. This is your Ninth Symphony, Tony. Ah, what a masterpiece, look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands, the right hands."
Obediah smiled at Brigid as he put away the arc reactor in a briefcase. "You have a real smart daughter, Tony. She's strong, like you. I wish you could see my prototype. Well, it's not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve your daughter and Pepper in all of this. I wish they had lived."
"Let...her...go," Tony said weakly.
"Oh, you see, I knew you'd want that, but if I let your little brat go, she'll just get in the way. I just brought her here to make sure you cooperate. I never intended to let her live," Obediah said.
At that moment Brigid pounced on Obediah, clawing and scratching at him as she tried to wrestle away the briefcase. Obediah drew his gun, and Brigid was quick to try to wrest it away from him. She and Obediah tangled in a vicious tug of war with the gun. Alas Brigid was no match for her for as he twisted her arm toward her. BANG! Brigid's eyes widened as the bullet pierced her stomach, staining her clothes crimson. BANG! Obediah mercilessly fired again, hitting Brigid in the leg. Tony watched and it was as if the bullets struck him as Brigid cried out and collapsed in a bloody heap.
"I never liked kids anyway," Obediah said coldly.
Obediah smirked as he left the room, briefcase in hand, Brigid's blood on his suit.
Tony craweled to the bleeding Brigid and wept as he held his daughter. He could feel his heart shatter. "Brigid, Brigid, no," he whispered.
"Father, I'm sorry," Brigid whispered weakly.
"Brigid, no. Shh, Shh. You're alright, You're gonna be alright, Little Leprechaun," Tony assured her.
Brigid opened the pocket of her bloody coat so that Tony could see the preserved arc reactor inside.
"Take it," Brigid whispered.
Tony opened the arc reactor and put it in his chest. He slowly started to feel his strength return.
With this strength returning, Tony hastily placed a blanket over Brigid's gushing wounds, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.
"Hang on, Little Leprechaun. I'm gonna get you out of here," Tony whispered.
"You have to go," Brigid whispered. "You have to stop Obediah."
"You saved me. Now it's my turn," Tony said. "I'm not leaving you."
"Tony! Tony, you in here?"
Tony looked up to find Rhodes storming into the penthouse.
"Tony, you okay?" Rhodes asked.
"Obediah has the arc reactor," Tony said. "Where's Pepper?"
"She's with five agents . They're about to arrest Obediah," Rhodes said.
"That's not gonna be enough," Tony said. "He shot Brigid. We have to get her out of here."
"I'm on it, Tony," Rhodes said.
Tony turned back to the fading Brigid and held her hand. "Brigid, Rhodey is gonna get you to the hospital. He's gonna take care of you."
"Get the bastard for me," Brigid whispered.
"I will," Tony whispered, kissing Brigid's head. "I love you, Little Leprechaun."
"I love you, three...three-."
Brigid's eyes closed before she could finish and she was as still as stone.
"Brigid? Brigid?" Tony cried.
Rhodes knelt by the still Brigid and checked her pulse. "She's in shock," he said. "The ambulance is on its way. She's gonna be okay, Tony."
Tony nodded and suited up in his red and gold armor as Rhodes looked on, amazed.
"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen," Rhodes said.
"Not bad, huh?" Tony asked. "Let's do it!"
"You need me to do anything else?" Rhodes asked.
"Keep the skies clear," Tony said. "And take care of my daughter."
Tony sped off to meet Obediah, determined to pay him back for what he had done to him and Brigid.
Tony flew off, but he was draining on power.
"Jarvis, how do you think the Mark I chest piece will hold up?" he asked.
"Sir, power is at forty-eight percent power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never meant for sustained flight," Jarvis said.
"Keep me posted," Tony said.
Tony used his intercom to contact Pepper. "Pepper, Pepper, are you alright?"
"Tony, Tony! Are you alright?" Pepper cried.
"I'm fine," Tony replied.
"Obediah hes' gone insane!"
"I know."
"He's built a suit."
"Get out of there!"
Tony saw a monstrously large metal suit exploding out of the ground. The freakishly large contraption pointed its weapon at a helpless Pepper.
"Stane!" Tony shouted.
Without hesitation, he collided into Stane's hideous contraption, sending him into oncoming traffic and terrifying nearby drivers.
"I love this suit!" Obediah cried as he picked up a car.
"Put 'em down!" Tony cried.
Tony fired a blast from his arc reactor and caught the car with the terrified family inside and managed to set them down. Obediah was ruthless. He tossed and kicked Tony like a rag-doll.
"For thirty years I've been holding you up," he said as he tossed Tony in the air and kicked him into a nearby bus. "I built this company from nothing! And nothing is gonna stand in my way. Least of all, you!"
Obediah fired a missile into the bus, hoping to end Tony. Much to his delight, Tony flew out of the burning bus unharmed.
"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor!" Obediah laughed. "I've made some upgrades of my own!"
In that second, Obediah activated his own rockets and flew higher than Tony.
"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly," Jarvis said.
"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude," Tony said.
"With only fifteen percent power the odds of reaching that are-"
"I know the math! Just do it!"
Without a second thought, Jarvis complied, and Tony flew higher. Tony's power drained but without fail he pursued Stane. Alas, he was no match for Stane as the brute had his hands around Tony in seconds.
"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced!" he boasted.
"How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony asked.
"Icing problem?"
Instantly, at the high altitude, Stane's suit began to freeze.
"Might wanna look into it," Tony said.
Triumphantly, Tony gave Obediah a punch on the head, sending him into a free fall.
"Two percent! We're now running on emergency power!" Jarvis said.
Tony came crashing down, skidding down on a roof after Stane.
"Potts?" he called.
"Tony!" Pepper cried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but I'm almost out of power." Tony said.
Before Tony could leave his armor, Obediah sprung up from the roof. "Nice try!"
He furiously punched Tony and tried to crush him. To avoid being crushed in his own suit, Tony set a patch of flares, blinding Obediah. Tony hid, knowing he was outgunned.
Out of options, Tony contacted Pepper. "Pepper, this isn't working. The only thing we have left is to overload the reactor and blast the roof."
"Well, how are you gonna do that?" Pepper asked.
"You're gonna do it," Tony said. "Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're gonna hit the master bypass button."
"Okay. I'm going in now," Pepper said.
"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. It's gonna fry everything up here," Tony said.
Tony sprang from his hiding place and jumped on Obediah's back. "This looks important!" he said as he ripped out Obediah's targeting system.
Obediah shook him off and ripped off his helmet. "I never had a taste for this sort of thing! But I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit. You finally outdid yourself, Tony. You made your father proud. I think even your daughter is looking down on you by now."
Tony stared at Obediah with white hot rage flowing through him.
"It's ready, Tony. Get off the roof!" Pepper cried.
Obediah fired a volley from his wrist gun, shattering the glass on the roof under Tony, and forcing Pepper to take cover.
"How ironic, Tony!" Obediah said. "Trying to rid the world of weapons. You gave its best one ever. And now, I'm gonna kill you with it!"
Obediah fired blasts at Tony, who struggled to hold on to the remains of the roof.
"Pepper!" Tony cried. "Time to hit the button!"
"You told me not to!" Pepper said.
"You ripped out my targeting system!" Obediah said, firing shots and rockets at Tony. "Hold still, you little,"
"Just do it!" Tony cried.
"You'll die!" Pepper protested.
"Push it!"
Without a second thought, Pepper pushed the button. A wave of power hit Obediah's reactor, and he screamed in pain before falling to his death. Tony lay on the broken roof, exhausted.
"Tony!" Pepper cried.
She rushed up to the roof to find Tony unconscious. "Tony, Tony, wake up!"
Tony jumped awake. "Did it work?"
"Yeah, it worked," Pepper said.
"Alright, yay, great teamwork," Tony said. "I gotta get to the hospital."
"Yeah, a hospital would be a good idea," Pepper said.
"No, it's Brigid. She's been shot," Tony said.
"Brigid?" Pepper asked. "Let's go!"
Tony and Pepper raced down to the emergency room where Rhodes was waiting for them.
"Rhodey, what's going on? Where's my daughter? Where's Brigid?" Tony asked.
"Tony, Pepper, you should sit down," Rhodey said.
"Rhodes, what's going on?" Tony asked. "Where's my daughter?"
"Brigid was in surgery for at least an hour before they pulled the bullets, but um...I'm afraid by the time she got here," Rhodes said. "She had already lost a substantial amount of blood."
"So, what are you telling me?" Tony asked fearing the worst. "Is she okay?"
"I'm afraid it's too soon to tell, Tony," Rhodey said gloomily.
Knowing his was faced with an uncertainty, Tony sank to the chair and buried his face in his hands.
A/N: Oh no! Tony killed Obediah, but will he lose Brigid, too? I hope you're enjoying the revamp. Please read and review and enjoy! This story is for you and would be nothing without you!