Remembrance | S. Rogers [2]

04 | AFTERSHOCK

December 2012

Aldrich Killian's Mansion, Miami, Florida

Two men were guarding Tony and Rose. It had been about an hour; just as Killian said, the time between each shock extended and each shock felt worse than the last. Not only did she have to endure the pain that came with them but the constant memory of Hydra whenever she stepped out of line; Rose had to focus on her physical pain to stop herself from having a panic attack.

She was still standing though, but that might be because she was strapped to the foundations of a bed.

During all that time Tony battled between keeping his gaze on her or look away. Seeing his aunt in that position was killing him, but he was proud of how she was taking it. How she never cried out or changed the cold gaze she directed at the men was beyond him. He remembered the time when he was tortured in Afghanistan and he had reached a point that repeating that experience was better than seeing her getting electrocuted again and again. She was slightly more resilient than the average human, but she couldn't go like this the whole day, she had passed out once already.

He also pondered on what Killian said about Hydra. His aunt had told him about her life with the organization, she had said she was punished and treated horribly, she had also mentioned once that Dr Henryk found a way to neutralize her powers but she didn't expand. To be honest, she never dived into what sort of punishments she had experienced, only mentioning them superficially.

Every minute waiting for his suit to be ready dragged on slowly, it seemed like he had been there for hours waiting. The beeping of the infant's watch was like a ray of sunshine in stormy weather. Rose sighed in relief, they were getting out of here.

One of the men walked to the watch on the table (they had taken it off Tony when they captured him). "Careful, there. It's a limited edition," he said to the man. Then he shifted his look to the guard with a ponytail. "Hey, uh, Ponytail Express. What's the mileage count between Tennessee and Miami?" he asked casually.

"832 miles," the man without missing a beat.

"Very nice," the Stark complimented dryly albeit impressed at the quick response.

"I'm good like that," he told the other guard when his partner looked at him weirdly. "Can you, uh, stop that?" he said referring to the still beeping watch.

"Break it, you bought it," Tony warned, speaking as if he wasn't strapped.

The man holding the watch threw it to the floor and stepped on it breaking it. "I think I bought it."

Another shock.

"Okay, that wasn't mine to give away. That belongs to my friend's sister. And that's why I'm gonna kill you first. Plus, you seem a little too pleased with my Auntie's suffering over there, Ponytail here at least shows a bit of pity."