FENRIR ※ Tony Stark [2]

21 - WAITING

All Tony's mind registered was how excessively distraught Angie looked and the colours draining from her face.

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"WHAT DO YOU WANT with us?" he threw again, trying to get a reaction out of the Hellhound "We know you won't kill us."

Angie's head snapped toward him and Tony knew she would've berated him to keep his mouth shut if she could talk freely.

The other man stood perfectly still, an eyebrow raised in mild incredulity "I won't?"

"That's right," Tony continued, ignoring Angie's agitated look, silently begging him to stop talking "We waited an entire night in the cell. If you wanted to kill us you would've done it already."

"You waited?" he scoffed "What do you know about waiting... Earthling?"

He spat that last word like it was an insult. Tony could recall Angie calling him Earthling as well when she first arrived on Earth. It didn't sound as offensive when she said it though.

He didn't really know what to respond to his question. Frankly, it didn't seem like the Hellhound was waiting for an answer. His hands folded against his back as he glared at the two of them. His dark brown eyes shone in the dim light, a trembling, terrifying flicker.

"I am talking about the true, uncertain, agonising wait," his voice was sultry but firm "Like waking up every morning, wondering if today would be the day you die. Now that is the real wait, Earthling. Living in constant fear, drifting for weeks and months hoping for someone to rescue you... but no one ever comes."

Tony's breath got caught in his throat. Something told him they were not talking about a hypothetical situation anymore. Angie's silence worried him more than anything. She wasn't the type to be intimidated but her face hadn't regained its colours since the Hellhound came to them.

"I know something about waiting, Earthling," he continued his monologue "I have waited years, decades even, to be exactly where I am today."

His words were like insects crawling over Tony's flesh. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what the Hellhound was talking about, but he knew it couldn't be good. It was only then that Angie's voice rose slowly, a small, cracking voice in the deathly silence.

"Wh-Who are you?"

The Hellhound turned to her, dark brown eyes meeting her striking blue ones for a long, unnerving moment. Despite the glimmer sweeping through his gaze, his voice was steady.

"Right now, I am the leader of an intergalactic army... But that's not the answer you are asking for, is it?" He took a few steps back; his expression became more distant, almost wistful "I've been many things in my life. It's almost hard to keep track... I've been merchandise, sold off to raiders and thieves across the galaxy. I've been a student, training under my warlord master. I've been a weapon, a soldier and finally a commander... But I'll tell you this, before all of that, I was a child once. I didn't have much, but I had a sister... she was everything to me. She cared for me, that I can't deny. She swore to protect me against all harm... until she didn't. In the end, she abandoned me, just like everyone eventually does."

The Hellhound stayed silent for a long moment. He turned his gaze away from Angie and back to Tony. Any trace of wistfulness was now gone, swept away by a mixture of pain and anger.

"Tell me, Earthling," the Hellhound addressed him, sending a chill down Tony's spine "What kind of sister breaks a promise to her child brother?! What kind of sister chooses to believe her brother is dead instead of going after him?! What kind of sister looks into her brother's eyes and doesn't even recognise him?!"