「7」

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It was quiet. The usual lively chatter between the friends was replaced with utter and bone-crushing silence, and not even Tony dared to crack a joke. Bruce was crouched on the ground, clinging to a thin blanket and sweating uncontrollably. Nat was perched on the front of her Quinjet seat staring into the nothingness in front of her; her face still holding the visage of terror. Steve sat in one of the Quinjet seats not far away from her, unconsciously twirling a loose ribbon of the seatbelt between his fingers while Thor stood off to the side, his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.

"How's the team?" Alyssa suddenly heard. Glancing up she realized she must've spaced out and missed half of the conversation between her dad and Maria.

"Everyone's... we took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?" Tony asked.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer," Maria said quietly.

"Neither do we," Tony sighed and ended the video call. Alyssa looked up and silently wandered over to him. He flashed her a small smile before turning to Clint, who was manning the flight controls.

"Hey, you wanna switch out?" he asked.

"No, I'm good. If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out," Clint replied.

"Few hours from... where?" Alyssa asked tiredly.

Clint smiled a little before answering; "A safe house."

Alyssa hummed quietly before sitting down again. A few moments later Tony joined her.

"C'mere," he demanded gently before taking Alyssa into his arms. He softly stroked her hair, pressing a tender kiss on her head.

"How are you holding up? Are you hurt?" he asked lowly.

"No, I'm fine, dad," Alyssa murmured back.

"Are you sure? Did the witch girl do something?" he questioned worriedly.

"I'm fine, really," Alyssa laughed. "Although, I did meet her. It was... weird." Alyssa sat up, turning her body slightly to look at her father fully.

"When she tried to attack me, there was this...orange glow. I felt it, dad. It was like it was coming from me. I-I don't know... maybe she did get inside my head," Alyssa mentioned quietly, once more cuddling into her father's side.

"An orange glow, huh?" Tony repeated; the slight waver in his voice almost undetectable. But he heard it and cursed himself for it as a memory came over him.

Pepper's soft voice was heard from the bed, as she stroked her young daughter's hair. Cuddled up together on the small bed, Tony held his love and daughter as Pepper sang to the whimpering child.

Only three days ago they managed to find the HYDRA base in which Alyssa was captured. It was located in an abandoned part outside the city skirts of a small town in Latvia.

Pepper was ordered to stay on the jet while Tony went in with a handful of elite SHIELD agents.
"You found her yet, Coulson?" Tony asked through comms, his breath coming in short pants.

"Not yet," Phil replied.

"God damn it," Tony was about to round a corner when a scream stopped him in his tracks.

Alyssa?

Sprinting in the direction he came from he followed the screams. "ALYSSA!" Tony shouted back. He ran through the corridor, stopping in front of a thin metal door. Kicking it in, he found an empty room.

"Shit!" he cursed, resuming his sprint before stopping once more when he heard another scream, this time coming from his right. Running, he burst through a brittle-looking door at the far end of the hallway. There, on the cold and ugly concrete ground, laid a little girl. Her jet black hair was obscuring her face as she was trembling and crying uncontrollably, small whimpers and pleas coming from her mouth.

"Ally?" Tony sank to his knees, laying a hesitant hand on the girl's shoulder.

She shrunk in on herself, batting his hand as she scooted further away from him. "Leave me alone."

Tony gulped, his thoughts running at a thousand miles per hour. How many children did they keep locked in here?

"I-it's okay, we're gonna get you outta here," he said softly, calling over the other SHIELD agents behind him.

The girl looked at him with tired eyes as Tony got on his feet again. "Look, I know you're scared, but I could really use your help," he said. "I'm- I'm looking for someone. She should be your age, brown hair, her name's-"

"Alyssa..." the girl finished for him, recognizing his vague description. She liked Alyssa; she would always play with her after her sessions.

The flicker of hope in Tony's eyes was unmistakable as he nodded his head. "Yes, Alyssa. Do you know where she is?"

The girl thought for a moment, but came up with nothing. She didn't have the first clue about the area since she was always locked up. But she did remember that this morning, Alyssa was being taken somewhere that she hadn't been to before, saying that 'at least seeing the sun will be nice'.

"Outside," the girl finally responded, and Tony thanked her before sprinting off.

Letting the memory fade, Tony looked down at his grown daughter, and he couldn't help but see his small girl, tears flowing down her cheeks as she laid in the cold snow, begging for the pain to stop. It reminded him of the first time he felt it. Her pain.

Tears pricked his eyes. Pepper always told him that Alyssa would eventually have to find out about what happened. He just didn't think it would happen so soon.

To him, Alyssa would always be his little girl. And he would always protect her, even if that meant he had to lie to her. He made that promise to himself. To always keep her safe.

Never once stopping his hand that was running through Alyssa's hair, he allowed himself to close his eyes and let restless sleep wash over him.

ꕥ

"Hey, kiddo, wake up. The eagle has landed."

Alyssa was gently shaken awake by Clint, who stood above her, grinning lightly.

Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking around before noticing that Steve, Thor, and Tony were gone.

"Don't worry they're outside waiting for us. Your dad wanted to let you sleep a little more," Clint mentioned, spotting her confusion. He walked over to Nat whose face slowly regained its rosy color. Hoisting her up in his arms, Clint slung his arm over her shoulder, steadying her, before walking over to the Quinjet exit.

Alyssa glanced over to Bruce who was still standing in the middle of the jet, his gaze staying on Natasha until she and Clint were out of sight. He let out a sigh before following after them. Before he could reach the ramp, however, Alyssa called out to him.

"Hey, Banner? Are you okay?" she asked.

"O-oh I'm fine. don't worry about me," he answered, waving her off with a flip of his hand.

"Mhmm. You're not very subtle, you know?" Alyssa commented as the two of them made their way down the ramp.

"W-what do you mean?" he stammered back.

"Come on. The lingering gazes? The awkward flirting? You totally like her!" Alyssa exclaimed, a bright smile on her face.

"What? No, I don't like Nat," he spluttered, a blush crawling up his neck.

Such a poor liar.

"Ah ha! So you already know I'm talking about Nat. That proves it," Alyssa beamed, a grin now spreading from one ear to the other.

"What? I-I didn't- Alyssa!" Bruce screeched, a smile nevertheless adorning his face.

Glad that worked.

Content with having brought a smile to the doctor's face, Alyssa walked further down the group, taking her place beside her father.

In front of them stood a, somewhat rundown, farmhouse with white-colored walls and green roof tiles. A large veranda surrounded it, flowerpots and bushes perched on the ground. Alyssa also spotted a shed standing not far off to the right.

"What is this place?" Thor asked, walking slightly ahead of the two Starks.

"Safehouse," Tony shrugged.

"Let's hope," said Clint and opened the door.

When Alyssa entered, she came face to face with a welcoming family home. The group followed Clint to the right, to a cozy living room with an open kitchen. Toys and stuffed animals were laying around, and Alyssa saw pictures and drawings decorating the walls.

"Honey?" Clint called, "I'm home!"

Everyone looked up when they heard someone rounding the corner. A very pregnant-looking woman came to view, shock and confusion visible on her face.

"Hi, I brought company," Clint laughed, before opening his arms for a hug. "Sorry, didn't call ahead."

The woman smiled softly before giving him a kiss and hugging him back.

"This is an agent of some kind," Tony explained, turning to Thor.

"Gentlemen, this is Laura," Clint mentioned to the group.

"I know all of your names," Laura chuckled, smiling widely.

Tony waved awkwardly, while Alyssa grinned.

I knew it.

Footsteps came running down the stairs and two kids rushed toward Clint's open arms.

"Dad!" the smaller of the two, a girl with brown braids, yelled excitedly.

"Hey, sweetheart! Hey, buddy. How you guys doing?"

"These are... smaller agents," Tony said, pointing at the children.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the girl asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Nat spoke, swinging the girl into her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve apologized.

"Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony said, looking at Laura with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low," Clint explained, still holding his son and wife in his arms.

Everyone was now starting to relax a little as Alyssa took her time to look around.

Natasha and Laura were talking, Bruce standing next to them. Steve was smiling at the kids, and Thor - being the careful giant he is - stepped on some Legos, ultimately destroying the little build. Steve shot him a look and the god hastily shoved the smashed pieces under the couch.

His arms were tense and he fiddled with his fingers before he suddenly left the room, making everybody look at him. Steve shot Laura an apologizing smile before following Thor out the door.

Alyssa couldn't hear what they were saying, so she looked out the window only to see him raising Mjolnir in the air and promptly vanishing in the sky.

Alyssa frowned, worrying over her friend. She continued staring out the window, slowly zoning out.

"Sweetie? You okay?" Tony asked, placing a warm hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Yeah," she responded, turning her attention back to the room. Most of the group has split up, wandering around the green meadow or retreating into their guest rooms.

"Okay, well, Mrs. Barton said she has a room for you and me to sleep in," Tony said with a smile.

"Okay, great," she responded, a small smile forming on her face.

Tony's smile faltered at the edges, but he still kept his composure. Alyssa turned to Laura, who was now preparing some snacks in the kitchen, to ask for directions. Alyssa was extremely tired and just wanted some sleep. She didn't even know why she was so tired. It's not like she fought the whole day, and the workers on that ship were surprisingly easy to defeat. But right now, all she wanted to do was to flop down on a comfy bed and enter the voids of slumber.

"Mrs. Barton?" Alyssa asked, approaching the woman with a friendly smile.

"Just Laura is fine," she replied kindly, getting some strawberries out of the fridge. "You're Alyssa, right? Tony's daughter? Clint told me lots about you."

She smiled warmly and somehow Alyssa felt more at ease just looking at her.

"Oh, no. That can't be good," she teased in response and Laura let out a laugh.

"Don't worry, he only told me good things. Promise," she grinned.

Suddenly nervous to ask a simple question, Alyssa shifted from one foot to another. Laura looked at her for a second as she washed some salad, her voice soft when she spoke.

"The rooms are just upstairs, second door to the left."

Alyssa looked at the woman in confusion but she only smiled back with a knowing smile.

Alyssa thanked her quietly before making her way over to Tony, who was still standing at the window with his arms crossed.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and take a nap," Alyssa stated softly before ascending the stairs and disappearing around the corner.

Their guest room was a cozy little space with a big fluffy rug on the ground and a snug-looking queen bed with a lot of blankets standing in the right corner of the room.

Alyssa sighed in relief and walked to the bed, immediately jumping on it and adjusting the pillows. Just as she was about to snuggle under the covers, she heard a knock on the door before it opened.

"It's just me, sweetie," the voice of her father called out. He strolled into the room with a glass in his hand, approaching Alyssa and sitting down on a chair next to her.

"Here, drink this before going to bed. Laura said it'll give you energy," he said, offering her the glass filled to the brim with an orange liquid.

"Why is it orange?" Alyssa laughed, but still reached out and took the glass from Tony. She brought it to her lips and took a sip. It tasted like water, mixed with something that tasted like lemon. But it didn't taste bad, so she gulped down half of it before putting it on the nightstand.

"I don't know, but Laura said it'll make you feel better and I think that woman knows her way around food. I just had some of her strawberry chips, they're amazing. Anyways, make sure to finish it before going to sleep," Tony answered, patting his daughter on the head and standing.

When he was at the door he almost closed it before he turned once more, speaking to Alyssa through the cracked opening.

"Love you tons, honey," he said, smiling.

"Love you 3000, dad," Alyssa responded, already feeling her eyes drooping. Tony smiled at her one last time before closing the door.

Alyssa finally laid down, pulling the thick blanket up to her chin and closing her eyes. She began sleeping soundly, not a bad thought raking her mind.

But not even half an hour later she began to twitch, her eyes darting around rapidly under her eyelids. Images flashed her mind, pulling her out of her blissful rest.

"Get back here, girl!"

An angry yell.

No!

Someone launched at her.

"Didn't our lovely doctor tell you what would happen if you're a bad girl? You get punished! Now come back here!"

Cold grey walls. A concrete floor covered in dry specks of blood.

"We'll be there for each other, right?"

"Ha! Got you, you little brat!"

An old leather seat. Restraints. Syringes. Screams. Pain. Suddenly she was somewhere else. A more modern-looking room. No... not a room. There was the sky when you looked out the windows. A plane?

More screams.

"Pepper!"

A man. He looked familiar. He was on the ground and looked like he was in pain. He turned and looked directly at Alyssa.

Dad?

This was no dream. It was painful and the images flashing in front of her eyes felt so real that even her sweat felt cold as she shot up straight in bed.

She was sobbing heavily, only getting short breaths through her mouth since her nose was blogged. She was shaking as she grabbed her chest.

Don't panic... Don't... calm down!

Her ribs hurt and she just couldn't bring herself to relax. Her eyes darted around rapidly as the room was becoming a blur to her.

Downstairs, Clint and Laura were preparing some food for their guests. Natasha was playing with Cooper and Layla, and Steve was at the back of the kitchen washing some dishes. Bruce was sitting at the big dining table, watching them with a smile on his face and Tony just came back from a very strange encounter in the shed.

Laura picked a huge bowl of salad and steered her way over to the table.

"Cooper, would you please get some plates from the low-" she was cut off as she fell to her knees with a loud gasp. The bowl of salad slipped through her fingers and clattered to the ground, its contents sprawling across the floor.

"Clint," she rasped, holding a hand to her chest.

"Laura!" Clint shrieked, falling to his knees beside his wife. "Is it the baby?" he asked, panicked.

"Mommy!" Layla cried, joining her parents on the floor. Everybody began to crouch next to Laura, trying to calm her down.

"Let me take a look at you, if that's okay. I'm a doctor," Bruce said to her in a rushed voice. He gently laid a hand on Laura's shoulder but pulled away with a shakey breath. Bruce then also clutched his chest, grunting in pain.

"Bruce?" Natasha asked worriedly, trying to heave him to his feet. But he stayed down, still panting.

Layla then began to cry, small whines coming from her mouth. Soon everybody in the room felt a wave of pain, spreading throughout the room like fire.

"What the hell is happening?" Laura moaned, trying to swallow her pain. It felt like every single emotion she's ever had came crippling down on her, tightening in her chest.

Steve tried to stifle his pained groans, Natasha was gasping as she massaged her chest in a failed attempt to soothe the pain. Clint was trying hard to mask his hurt to calm down his kids and wife, and Tony propped himself up on the wooden table. He knew this pain. He felt it before. Immediately his gaze flew to the stairs. Grunting in effort, he made it to the staircase, pulling himself up the steps with the help of the railing.

"Alyssa!" he wailed, having almost made it to the top. He could hear her crying.

"Alyssa," he panted, "Alyssa, stop!"

When he made it to the door, it was almost impossible to stay standing. The pain was pushing him down, almost like the building came crashing down on him. But Tony managed to get to the door and ripped it open with the little force he had left.

He saw his daughter sitting in bed, crying and confused. She wasn't getting enough air, which only made her panic more. Tony instantly staggered toward her, crashing down onto the bed.

"Ally. Alyssa. It's okay. Look at me, sweetie," he breathed, putting his hands on her face. She was burning hot and he pulled his hands away with a hiss. Her eyes were unfocused and looked almost glazed over. She wasn't calming down.

"Ally. Listen to me. It's okay. I'm here now," Tony grabbed her hot hand and put it over his chest. "Breathe with me, sweetheart. I know you can feel me," he said, and started to breathe calmly through his own suffering.

Even though she couldn't see him, Alyssa could feel him. She could feel him taking in slow breaths and started to copy him on instinct. Eventually, her breathing was, albeit not back to normal, more calm and she finally managed to squeeze some words out.

"Dad? W- what happened?" she sobbed, and curled her legs up to her chest.

The pain in Tony's whole body started to subside, and he nestled himself into Alyssa's side. He hugged her still burning-hot body and gently weaved his hand through her brown hair.

He knew he had to explain this time. There was no going back, too many people were involved now.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

Alyssa slowly pried herself away from her father and looked at him with tear stains on her cheeks and red eyes. Her vision was getting better and she could see him almost clearly now. But the pain was still there as it pressed down on her, her head feeling like it could explode.

"What happened?" Alyssa whispered, her eyes wide and her whole body sore.

"I-" he started, but Alyssa cut him off. She could feel him starting to come up with something; she could see it in his eyes.

"Please, dad, just tell me what's wrong with me. Just tell me the truth," Alyssa breathed, turning her body so she sat directly face to face with her father.

Tony sighed and looked down at his hands. "I should probably start at the beginning, huh?"

Alyssa looked at her father, nodding her head lightly.

Tony took a deep breath and pulled his daughter tighter against his chest.

"Do you... remember when you were younger and Happy used to take you to the playground because Pep and I were too busy?" he said, leaning back his head and looking at the ceiling.

"Uh- maybe. Not really. What's your point?" Alyssa asked, still taking deep breaths.

Tony subconsciously began drawing little shapes on Alyssa's back, thinking back to that awful time.

"Well, one time he took you to a playground further out. It was bigger, and had those huge swings you liked so much. He- he just looked at his phone for a minute and when he looked back at you, you were gone..."

"Did I run off?" Alyssa asked timidly, but something gave her the idea that her younger self didn't just run off.

"No. Someone took you. Just like that. Happy he- he never forgave himself," Tony answered.

Alyssa didn't say anything, thinking about how awful that must have been for him. Tony sighed, dragging a hand over his face.

She stared at him, silently begging for him to continue.

"It took us two years to get you back. Two years. You were eight when we got you out of that shithole."

"B-but who took me? What did they do to me, dad?" Alyssa urged, tears brimming in her eyes.

"HYDRA took you. Brought you to Europe. T-they left no tracks of where they had gone. When we found you, you were weak. Scared..." Tony replied, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face.

Alyssa opened her mouth, furrowing her eyebrows and pulling away from his touch. "No- no, that doesn't make sense. I- I don't remember that, dad, I-"

She cut herself off as she took a big gulp, her eyes trained on her father as the look on his face gave her an incredibly unsettling feeling.

"That's... that's kind of my fault," Tony answered quietly, pulling his hand away.

Alyssa just looked at him blankly, her eyebrows furrowing even more.

"What? W- What do you mean, your fault?"

"Listen, Alyssa, what those monsters did to you was downright inhuman. They toyed with you like you were nothing!" he said loudly.

"Dad, what did you do?" Alyssa asked quietly and stood up from the bed, not believing what her father was telling her.

"Alyssa, I only did what I thought was best for you. You don't deserve to live like that," Tony pleaded.

"Like what? What couldn't I live with, dad?!" Alyssa was now full-on crying again, searching for any kind of information on her father's face that would tell her he was joking.

But there wasn't any.

"Alyssa, you didn't deserve to live with what those people had done to you in those godforsaken labs," Tony said, taking in a shaky breath.

"They had... experimented on you. Exposed you to some kind of source... I don't really know much, the files were destroyed. But I do know that they gave you powers. Powers that you couldn't control. For that, they gave you pills, and I... I continued to give them to you. But I altered them... I needed you to forget Alyssa, don't you understand, sweetheart?" he explained, slowly standing up as well.

"No, no, I don't understand! I-I don't..." Alyssa stammered, backing up to the wall.

"Sweetie, those little orange pills were the only thing keeping you safe. It was the only way," Tony said, gently grasping her arms.

Orange?

Alyssa's gaze slowly wandered over to the half-empty glass still standing on the nightstand.

"You gave them to me again. Didn't you?" Alyssa whispered, her tears drying up as fear and disappointment flooded through her.

Tony looked at her with his mouth open, his eyes flitting hastily between hers.

"Didn't you?!" she yelled, pushing him away and running a shaky hand through her hair.

"Alyssa, please-"

"No, I- I don't want to talk to you anymore. Get out."

"Alyssa, you don't understand, it was the only way from keeping you-

"I don't want to hear it! GET OUT!" Alyssa cried, her chest heaving with uncontrolled breaths.

Tony just looked at her pleadingly, before reaching for the doorknob and leaving. He leaned on the door once outside, hearing his daughter's cries, blaming himself more than ever.

He would do anything to stop her pain, and he cursed himself for causing it.

Counting from one to ten, he leveled his breaths before heading down the stairs to face the others again.