"Has anyone seen my girl?" Tony asked as he walked into the common sitting area. Most of the team was there. He'd tried to call you twice only for there to be no answer. There was a general rumbling of 'no' from around the room and he sighed. "She isn't answering my calls."
"I'm not surprised," Bruce said. "She wasn't exactly pleased with you earlier."
Tony frowned at his friend knowing he was right but he was unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had taken up residence in his gut. He shifted his gaze to Steve. "You try calling her, would you?"
The blond super soldier shrugged and pulled out his phone to call you. A short time later he slid it back into his pocket. "No answer."
"I don't like this," Tony voiced his thoughts.
"It doesn't mean anything, Stark. She probably just doesn't want to be bothered. Are you picking up anything over that link the two of you have?" Natasha asked.
He shook his head and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "No, but this isn't like her."
Bucky huffed and rolled his eyes. "I got this." He put his phone to his ear. After a moment, his smile fell and his gaze narrowed. "She's not answering."
The team exchanged a look. You always took Bucky's calls. Always.
"Right. That's enough of that." Tony clapped his hands together. "Jarvis, trace her phone. Get me a location."
"At once, sir." There was a pause. "I'm afraid her phone is in her office."
Tony's head jerked up. "I thought you said she wasn't in the tower." It had been the first thing he'd tried when you wouldn't answer his calls.
"That is correct. She is not, but her phone is," came the crisp, accented response.
"Shit," Nat said after a moment's pause, echoing Tony's thoughts exactly.
***
You woke suddenly, with a gasp. After a moment's confusion, it all swarmed back to you. You lifted your head to find you were in a chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room. One bare bulb hung above you to illuminate the room. It was almost as if someone had watched a lot of bad action movies and took notes on the stereotypical room to hold a kidnapping victim.
Your hands were tied behind the chair which made your shoulders ache. Once you realized you weren't restrained in any other way, you frowned. Something seemed off about this whole thing. It screamed amateur, unprofessional, and given the plethora of enemies the Avengers had that was bizarre to say the least.
Of course, being kidnapped was odd in and of itself. At the thought you wondered how long you'd been out and if anyone was missing you yet. It shouldn't take long for Tony to track you once he realized what had happened. After all, he could just have Jarvis trace your phone...which you left on your desk in the tower before you stormed out with nothing like a complete and utter dumbass. Son of a bitch.
Would it kill the universe to make things simple for once? You huffed out a sigh. Tony would still find you. It would just take longer, that's all. Voices drifted to you from the hall, interrupting your internal pep talk. Your gaze darted to the door and your heart pounded as you waited to see who came through it.
***
Tony stood in front of the large screen in the living room. He chewed on the end of his thumb while he waited for Jarvis to finish his search. The AI was scanning through surveillance footage from a radius around the tower looking for any sign of what had happened to you.
"Anything?" Steve asked as he walked back into the room. He'd put on his suit, just in case they needed to go after you.
Tony glanced at him before shaking his head. "Not yet. You do realize she could just be sitting in a diner somewhere having coffee and pie, right?" He knew that scenario was unlikely, but he wasn't going to panic until he had to. That wouldn't do him, or you, any good.
"I have footage you need to see, sir," Jarvis's voice suddenly interrupted.
"Show me," Tony ordered at once, his attention now fully riveted to the screen in front of him. He was only vaguely aware of the rest of the team crowding around him. Jarvis had pieced together a video of you leaving the café and heading back to the tower.
Tony's eyes stayed on your form as a man passed too close heading in the opposite direction and you frowned down at your arm. They followed you as another man stepped up beside you and draped an arm over your shoulders to steer you to gray sedan parked on the side of the road. His stomach flipped as he watched them put you in the back seat and drive off with you.
"See if you can get a locate on that car, Jarvis," Steve barked.
"At once, Captain."
Tony just kept staring at the screen, his mind playing over what happened as he formulated and discarded plans. He kept shifting his weight as he thought. Annoyance crawled under his skin and it took him longer than it should have to realize he was picking that up from you. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a small grin. Leave it to you to be frustrated instead of terrified when you get kidnapped. That's his girl.
***
The person revealed when the door open was honestly one of the last people you had expected to see. He smiled at you, flashing too perfect white teeth as he pushed his glasses up with one finger. "Hello."
"You have got to be fucking kidding me."
None other than Justin Hammer stood before you, hands shoved into the pockets of his poorly fitted suit. He had spent his professional life trying to be Tony Stark and always fell short in every aspect. He was an asshole, but you hadn't thought him a complete idiot until today.
He frowned at you. "That language isn't necessary, I assure you. I merely have a few questions. Answer them and you can get back to Tony."
"Has it occurred to you that my soulmate is going to go full Iron Man on your ass once he finds out what happened?" Perhaps it was stupid to bring it up, but you were beyond annoyed to full on pissed by now. And the longer he stood there with that smug look on his face, the angrier you got. "Or that the rest of the Avengers will help him?"
He chuckled. "I assure you that I am not a complete idiot. All probabilities have been considered and accounted for. I have another little drug that will ensure you remember none of this."
You sighed. "What do you want, Hammer?"
"Stark is working on new tech. I want to know everything about it and you're going to tell me." He leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.
You blinked at him. He was quite possibly the least threatening looking interrogator ever. "No."
His lips pulled down as his frown deepened. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"What has you confusedâthe lines or the circles?" You worked your hands behind your back as you talked to him, hoping he'd be too inept to notice you trying to loosen the ropes. So far, so good.
He started to pace the small room. "What is your problem? Why won't you just cooperate? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can go home. You might even make Tony's little party."
You snorted. "Little, my ass. There is nothing little about Tony Stark."
He paused his pacing and scowled at you. "Did you just imply..." he trailed off.
Your brows shot up. "I didn't imply anything, Hammer. Though I hear your name doesn't really suit."
His face reddened as his brow furrowed. "Where...where did you hear that?"
One side of your mouth kicked up in a smirk that rivaled Tony's best any day. "That wasn't a denial."
He closed the distance between you and braced his hands on the arms of the chair to lean into you. "Damn it. Do you think this is some sort of joke? Tell me what I want to know."
You licked your lips to keep from telling him that he was a joke. "What makes you think I know anything about Tony's work? I may know his schedule backward and forward, but as for what he's actually working on in the lab, I have no idea."
He smacked his palms against the arms. "That's a lie. He tells you everything."
"Says who?" Your gaze narrowed in suspicion. He didn't just suddenly decide to kidnap you. Someone was behind this and you had a feeling that you knew precisely who.
He cleared his throat as he straightened and stepped away from you. "No one had to tell me anything. You're his soulmate. It only makes sense that you would know what he was up to."
"Hmmm." You didn't buy it, but what difference did it make really?
"Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know or not?"
"Let's go with not."
He sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that." Hammer opened the door and gestured to someone in the hallway. A man you had never seen before stepped into the room. His broad shoulders were enough to have you gulping nervously. One of Hammer's hired thugs, no doubt. He gestured in your direction. "She won't talk."
The man nodded and stepped forward. He looked you over briefly before backhanding you across the cheek. Pain flared through you, vibrant and sharp, a wave of fury traveling in its wake.