Battle Scars

Chapter 16

"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.