And then we were two (Tony stark's daughter fic)

The best laid plans

Steve wasn't certain what'd awakened him, not at first anyway. Of course, he didn't actually remember falling asleep either. What he was certain of was, number one, he hadn't moved from the chair he'd been sitting in earlier in the evening, and, number two, something was watching him.

It took every ounce of self control he possessed to remain still as his eyes slitted open slowly. An enormous black mass, eyeless, nearly formless, stood in the dark corner and Steve had the sudden image of one of those nature films Clint liked so much, the prey lying still while the predator moved nearer. He wasn't used to being the prey and didn't care for it. This hadn't been the plan! This had never been the plan! Where was Tony?!

The creature made a sudden movement and he was reminded of Tony's comparison to the exorcist, a comparison made all the more convincing when it made a sound. "N-no! D-don't hurt him!" A little voice managed to cry out before the beast let out a roar and the night erupted into chaos.

It was quite similar to the night it'd attacked the tower only now they were more prepared and there wasn't a little girl to worry about.

The team swarmed, lights illuminating the dark room and, surprisingly, the creature retreated. It was surrounded, lit up from all sides, and Steve frowned at the thing's reaction, that little voice crying out again in obvious pain. "Wait wait! Let it go!"

"Cap, are you losing it?!" Clint gasped in disbelief. He shot an arrow at the creature, the arrowhead bursting in a blinding flash and again there was a cry of pain as the creature shrank and convulsed.

"Everyone stand down!! Now!!" He roared in his most commanding tone as he raced forward. That was a child? How was it a child?

"N-no!" Her voice cried out as he neared. Just as suddenly, the child was gone, the creature lurched forward, clawed, shadowy hand like appendages grasping at Steve as a deep laugh rang through the night.

"Get down Cap!"

The best laid plans. Tony wasn't sure how that phrase ended but he knew it wasn't working that night. He slammed into Steve as he shouted for Jarvis to deploy his suit and fingers curled around his midsection.

"Tony?!" Steve shouted in confusion as the billionaire vanished into the shadow. "Eyes on Stark?! Don't let it touch you!!"

That laughter continued, never ending, deep and demented, once more combined with the pained screams of a little child.

"How do we fight something we can't touch?!"

"We light it up!" Thor responded as he raised his hammer, thunder rolling in above them.

"Don't! Thor don't! It swallowed Tony!!"

"One down..." the demented voice cackled as it lashed out, grasping at Thor this time. Unlike Tony, the asgardian managed to jolt backward away from the darkness.

"Everyone get back!" Steve shouted as he struck out at it with his shield. It wasn't his best move and, much like Tony, Steve vanished into the darkness, this time with the creature itself.

—
While Tony had been sent through a portal, surrounded by guards immediately, Steve had landed inside a clear glass prison. He shouted and slammed into the wall with rage. "Tony?! Hello?! Stark, respond?!" There was no sign of him, only a little girl strapped to a table across the hall. What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

—

Tony gasped as he stumbled through the darkness into a brightly lit lab that left him with only one name on his lips, Hydra.

"Good of you to join us mister Stark," a heavily accented voice greeted him as he was grabbed from behind, his knees knocked out from under him. It was too similar to Afghanistan and he felt his blood run cold, his breath catch in his throat as gently struggled to retain his composure.

"Well, you made a pretty compelling invite. How'd I get here?" He demanded.

"Silence!" Tony's head jerked to the side as he was struck, the copper taste of blood blooming in his mouth. "You want to know, about my newest instrument of war, mister Stark?"

"Well, the curiosity is weighing..." he started to smart off, naturally earning himself another strike to the face. Tony spat at his captor, blood splattering against white lab coats.

"How American of you," the man snorted. "See, the thing is, mister Stark. I have achieved something you could never hope to accomplish. I have found a way, to harness the very night, itself! The darkness, belongs to me! I can be anywhere, take anyone, and you cannot stop me! Your little friends will fall! You will all fall! Tell me, mister Stark, are you afraid of the dark?"

"Not since I was five," he quipped.

The man began to laugh cruelly, that same demented laughter from the creature, though it'd lost some of its eeriness with the more human nature it now possessed. None of this made any sense and Tony dug in his heals as he was dragged down the corridor.

"Scream little hero!" The scientist taunted. "Tell me I can't do this, I won't get away with this...threaten me!"

Tony sneered, "you know you won't. You can't win, you'll never win. Even if you take me, you will fall to my friends, you will fall, to the avengers!"

"We will see. Put him in cell three!"

"Get your hands off of me!" Tony shouted as they threw him inside.

"What is it about glass prisons?" He mumbled as he climbed to his feet and began glancing around. At least it wasn't a cave, or didn't appear to be one. His cell was bright, almost blindingly so, with little more than a cot and single slot, he assumed to pass food through to him, and Steve. "Damnit Rogers! What the hell?!"

He looked awful, was the first thought in Steve's mind as he surged to his feet, dragging Tony's head up to angle it into the light. "Are you alright? What the hell were you thinking?! You don't jump in front of me Stark, ever!"

Wasn't that always how this went? He tries to play it smart, he's not a team player, he tried to be a team player and..."what you can do what you need to for the team but I can't, Cap?" He snarled, immediately offended.

That wasn't the worst part. Straight across from him was another cell, a little girl strapped naked, though her more private parts were covered with straps, to the top of an exam table, tears rolling silently down her cheeks and into her hair and ears. There were tubes attached to her, three that he could count from there, and it didn't look like they allowed her to move at all. It would've been upsetting, even before he was a father, as it was it was downright sickening.

"Hey, hey sweetheart, you alright?" He called across the hall.

Steve stalled, his eyes following Tony's as he took in the girl across the way. "Tony, I'm not sure she's conscious..."

She hadn't been, not when Steve had arrived. Dragged through the night by their use of her abilities, it'd taken Shiloh long minutes to wake once more. The only indication she'd heard him was bright, blue green eyes flicking his way. "I-I...I'm sorry," she sniffled brokenly. "I don't know how he's doing it! I'm sorry!"

Tony had a sudden awful clarity. He'd been spot on. The shadow creature, wasn't in control of itself. The shadow creature was a little girl, strapped to a table, sobbing over the things she was forced to do. "I'm gonna stop this, baby, ok? I promise. It's gonna be alright."

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