INFERNO │ Marvel

4.6 no more false faces

Amelia awoke to a dull ache in her head and the feeling of cold metal pressing on her throat. She groaned, trying to get a gauge on her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that she had thick metal cuffs around her wrists that were looped around a pipe on the wall. To her right, Tony was strapped to an old bed frame with zip ties around his wrists and ankles. There was a large doorway to his right, a quick enough escape if it was unlocked. To the left side of the room, on an elevated level, she saw Maya Hansen typing away at a computer.

"Bitch," she called out. Maya looked at her over her shoulder briefly but ignored her beyond that. Tony began to stir next to her, and she turned her attention to her brother. It was then that Maya turned around too.

"It's just like old times, huh?" she joked.

"Yeah. With zip ties. It's a ball," he responded.

"It wasn't my idea."

"Really?" Amelia growled. As her anger flared, she unconsciously began producing flames at her fingers. The collar shocked her and she shrieked in pain. Tony pulled at his restraints and grimaced. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure.

"Okay, so you took Killian's card," Tony scoffed.

"I took his money."

"And here you are, thirteen years later, in a dungeon."

"You're in a dungeon," Maya corrected. "I'm free to go."

"Bitch," Amelia repeated. She pulled at her wrist restraints. She could probably get out of them with enough force, but not without leaving her wrists bruised and bloody. The other woman sighed and descended the stairs.

"A lot has happened, Tony. But I'm close. Extremis is practically stabilised."

"And we're telling you it isn't," Amelia insisted. "Have you seen what it does, or are you blind?"

"People are going bang," Tony added. "They're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself."

"Then help me fix it," she practically pleaded with him. Then she turned to Amelia. "And you. You've done this kind of this before. You can help."

She held out a card to Tony, 'you know who I am' written on the front. When she turned it over, the two siblings observed the equation written on the back.

"Did I do that?" he asked.

Maya dropped the card, her face disappointed. "Yes."

"I remember the night, not the morning. Is this what you've been chasing around?"

"You don't remember."

"We can't help you," Tony told her. "You used to have a moral psychology. You used to have ideals. You wanted to help people. Now, look at you. I get to wake up every morning with someone who still has their soul. Get us out of here. Come on."

Maya stayed silent. Another voice spoke then.

"You know what my old man used to say to me?" Aldrich Killian began as he descended the stairs into the room. "One of his favourite of many sayings... 'The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese'."

"You're not still pissed off about the Switzerland thing, are you?" Tony asked.

"How can I be pissed at you, Tony?" he responded, placing a case down on the table. "I'm here to thank you. You gave me the greatest gift that anybody's ever given me. Desperation."

"That's why you're so insane?" Amelia inquired. He gave her a sad smile.

"It's why I'm so determined," he corrected, then turned back to Tony. "If you think back to Switzerland, you said you'd meet me on the rooftop, right? For the first 20 minutes, I actually thought you'd show up. And the next hour... I considered taking that one-step shortcut to the lobby. If you know what I mean."