Gangster Child

Intro

You ever wake up and get that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something's horribly wrong? Well that's me every single day. Not because I forgot to do homework or I told my friend I hated her. More than likely it's because my older brother, Will, shot someone. Yes, I said shot someone. After he killed our parents who were going to call the cops when he bought some illegal drugs, my life has been comprised of moving from abandoned warehouse to abandoned warehouse, on the run from the cops and anyone else who's trying to throw my brother in jail for killing the people who piss him off. Do I support this life? Hell no. Do I have any other options? Unless I want to go to an orphanage or be killed for ratting out my brother, then no. My name is Sadie Holt, but I like to think of myself as a gangster child.

"Wake up Bitch!" I jerked awake and tumbled onto the hard concrete of the current warehouse we were living in. Looking up, I saw my brother glaring at me from the doorway.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly as I scrambled to my feet.

"I told you to be ready to go by six," Will growled "It's six thirty and your lazy ass is still in bed." My eyes flicked down to the ground and braced myself for what I knew was coming. Will's hand smacked against my face, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. "You ungrateful brat!" he snarled "If it weren't for me you'd be in an orphanage! The least you can do is wake up at a goddamn decent time, but even that's too much to ask of you!"

"I would rather be in an orphanage," I muttered as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"What did you say?" Will said in a deadly whisper. I looked up at him nervously, my eyes wide. One thing you never do is talk back to Will.

"Nothing sir," I stammered. Will just shook his head and motioned for me to turn around. I closed my eyes and turned around slowly, pulling my shirt off as I did. I heard Will unbuckle his belt and then I let out a cry of pain as he whipped it across my back.

"I have done so much for you!" he roared as he kept lashing the belt "You should want to be just like me!"

"I will never be anything like you!" I cried as I clenched my hands in defiance. Will snapped the belt across my back one more time. An explosion of pain flared across my back and I fell to the ground, blood streaming from the multiple criss-cross lashes on it. Some from just now, and some from previous incidents.

"I can't believe I thought you were worth keeping alive," Will spat as he turned and walked out the door.

"I'm never worth anything."

AN!! Some self harm, I figured I would warn y'all if you wanted to skip over it. (Every single one of you is beautiful and please do not actually do this)

Tony's POV

"And you're sure there in this warehouse?" Steve asked Fury as we all reviewed the plans for our next mission.

"Positive," Fury said coldly as he flipped through the file. "Will Holt, 26 years old and already has 14 confirmed kills under his belt. After he murdered his parents seven years ago when a drug deal went wrong, he grabbed his little sister Sadie, and has been on the run ever since."

"How old is Sadie?" I asked as I came across her picture.

"Fourteen." Fury said softly as he pulled up some security footage "And from the looks of this, those years haven't been easy on her." The team watched the footage, and I honestly thought I was going to throw up as I watched Sadie curling into a ball while her brother yelled and hit her.

"How long before we go in?" Clint asked sharply as we all stood up.

"Right now."

Sadie's POV

I want to die. I mean, what do I have to live for? My brother's an abusive asshole. No parents because my brother killed them. I don't even have friends because I live in an abandoned warehouse and don't get to go to school. Why should I have to live like this? 

Gritting my teeth, I brought out the rusty nail I had found on the floor and slowly dragged it down my wrist. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I refused to let them fall as I kept digging it in deeper and deeper. My vision was starting to dim around the edges, but I smiled softly in spite of what I knew was coming. After this, I would be free. No more Will to beat me senseless. No more pain or bruises... just freedom. I sank to the floor as I started to fade in and out of consciousness, but I jolted upright as the doors were kicked in and a group of costumed people stormed the room. My brother and his crew rushed to flee the building but were quickly overpowered.

"Where's your sister?!" A man in a red, white, and blue outfit yelled as he shook my brother. Holy cow, that was CAPTAIN AMERICA! That meant these were the Avengers!

"Over here," I called weakly. "I'm actually trying to wrap up my death, so if you could just take my brother and leave, I'll be happy."

"Oh my God," said a man who I automatically recognized as Tony Stark "Cap, get Banner on the line, she's not going to last much longer!" I smiled slightly as I watched Captain America haul my brother away as the rest of the team dragged the rest of his asshole friends behind him. "Your name's Sadie, right?" Stark asked calmly as he wrapped up my wrist tightly with a bandage. I nodded silently as I started to close my eyes. "Hey, come on stay with me kid!" he said with a voice that sounded like it was a thousand miles away. "We can help you, just please stay awake!"

"Tony?" Another voice called as a man who I could faintly make out as Bruce Banner rushed in.

"Bruce, get over here now!" Stark snapped. Bruce knelt down as he opened up a first aid kit and started cleaning my wrist. "Jesus, Kid." Stark whispered as he saw the severity of my cut "Why did you do this?"

"The real question is why I didn't do this sooner." I mumbled as I giggled through my pain.

"Stark we need to get her back to the tower," Bruce said quietly "I can help her there, but if we don't move fast, she's going to bleed out in ten minutes."

"Well let's go!" Stark yelled as he gently picked me up. I finally closed my eyes as he ran me outside. "You're going to be ok kid," he muttered as I started to drift off.

"Thank you for saving me." I whispered.

"Anytime."