Kidnapped

19

Bela? How-

I whip my head around to face the tv, only to see my face in the corner, right beside Stark. Asshole! People aren't supposed to file a missing persons report until they've been gone for more than like 72 hours! If I remember right.

But of course that rich bitch had to do it after two hours.

"Why is Tony Stark looking for you?"

Think fast! "Because he's a hero and I'm not," I cross my arms over the unfamiliar fabric. Did I just make myself a villain?

I did just go on a mass killing spree...

"Don't lie to me. What have you done?"

I read the headline. "Newest Recruit Lost; Avengers Set Out Search For Bela Stark"

"Recruit?" He really called me a recruit? Bela Stark? What the hell is this?

"Did you bring him here?!" Nori yelled, "I brought you here so you didn't get arrested and you bring Tony freakin' Stark?"

"No! I escaped! My- my names not even Bela!"

"Then what is it?" They stood up, the remote posing as a weapon.

I held my hand up. "Take another step and I'll bash your skull in."

"What is your name?"

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

I turned the tv off. I didn't want to look at it. "I mean I was trained in that damn room and they took everything! I chose Bela for myself, I don't know where the hell Stark came from, none of it!"

They looked at me like I was insane. Which, surely that's exactly how I looked. Am I supposed to care? "I'm trying to get the hell out of here! I don't want to be there, I want to be on my own, without- without rules! Yeah, that's a normal thing to want, but I'm gonna get it, whether they like it or not."

Nori crossed their arms calmly, their expression softening. "Then stay."

"What are you, crazy? I have to leave, to get out of the city! Stark will do everything to find me, and then he'll find you! And- and Jo!"

"Well, they won't find Jo because she's never here. Stops by, grabs a few things, that's maybe once or twice a month. When she's not on a mission, that is. Then she's here for about a week. Not often."

"Doesn't matter! You're still illegally owning weaponry and Stark will not like that!" I cut my hand through the air.

Nori unfolded their arms, throwing their hands out, "He created the weapons! He runs a weapons industry!"

"Yeah, and he's a narcissist, so don't even try to throw out that argument."

They dropped onto the couch, tossing the remote inside. They hung their head, black hair pointed toward the ground. I sat beside them, resting my elbows on my knees. Sit like a lady, my ass.

"Listen, Bela, Jo and I have been doing this for months. Sometimes, she comes in looking like you just had. I mean, she pulls it off better, but nonetheless, we've never been caught."

"You're also not under a Missing Persons report and currently being searched for."

Nori sighed. I didn't blame them. We're both being difficult.

Neither of us continued. We sat there in silence, not speaking a word, not giving a huff of breath, just a blanket of nothingness wrapped around us.

Then Nori spoke up with something I hadn't thought of before.

"You could always go back and kill them."

I scoffed. "Then I'd be caught for damn sure."

"I'm great with tech, I can cut the cameras, fry anything else watching-"

"And JARVIS?"

"What?"

"JARVIS, he... he runs the place. A piece of technology watching, hearing, and knowing everything. I wouldn't even make it to the front door without JARVIS alerting everyone that he can see me."

"Cut him off. Fry the generator-"

"He practically is a generator. And he's everywhere. Even in Starks damn suits. There's no way to rid of him."

They tapped their knee with a rhythm. "Then draw them out."

"How?"

"Follow me."

———

We were in a large, dark room beneath the little cabin, reinforced with steel walls and a concrete floor. They unrolled a large piece of paper. I recognized it immediately. "Why do you have the blueprints of Stark Tower?"

"Jo got them for me, that sneaky bastard. But imagine how much we could all make if we could get in! And since you know the inside of it better than either of us, we could do this!"

"How does this draw them out?"

Nori clicked a few buttons and flipped over a whiteboard. They grabbed a blue fry erase marker and began writing as they spoke.

"So I would call Jo back, she should come back any time soon but who knows? Anyway- you could do something insane, like... go outside! Let people spot you, your face is everywhere. Do something, take a hostage, anything that would get the attention of all of them, and draw them out," they wrote "Bela: draw out - action: unknown"

"Then I can cut the tech. Since they're out, they won't notice, and if it's in Starks suit, I won't shut it down, but we have to act quick, because if it's the same technology you say it is, it'll warn him that the tower is down." "Tech to Stark: careful - warn, time: two mins MAX"

"Then Jo can go in and get wealthy belongings that can go up on the market for tons. Because surely, they've got expensive shit in there, yeah?"

I nodded, leaning against the wall. This actually kind of made some sense.

"Jo steals expenses - time: 2 mins MAX"

They noticed the marker cap in their other hand and clicked it to the end of the marker. "And, if you want extra, you can kill them when they come out. Then Jo won't have to deal with as much."

"All- all of them?" I can't kill Peter. Damn it- why was I such a dick to him?

They raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"They don't all suck. I mean- P- er, Spider-Man's actually pretty cool. And he reminds me of you, like, a lot."

"How?"

"Well, when I broke into your car- kinda- you acted a lot like he does but that's him normally, and it's kind of cute. I don't like him, but he's my friend. And- he's not the gender he was assigned at birth either."

"Oh?"

"Yeah- I guess I just find that 'style' cool, y'know? And he's funny, I'd rather spare him."

"If you really got trained in that room, the Avengers made you soft. You need to get over that once more," they grabbed a knife and held it toward me by the blade. "Kill Spider-Man."