Stark Found [completed!]

Chapter Thirty-One: Red Hot

It's on the short side, I know.  But it's leading up to something great!  I've also had a mental breakdown the past month, so I'm honestly impressed with myself for having written anything... Enjoy! XDee

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Steve

My phone went off; another alert that Sophie's bracelet was offline. A familiar twinge pulled at my chest. Despite these past few months, I did still care for Sophie. Sharon had also been feeling some guilt, and did her best to keep some distance between the two of us. Any information that might be even remotely helpful, she still made sure to send my way. The thing she and I agreed on more than anything else; no matter how upset Sophie was with us, we were still determined to help her.

Natasha and Clint were arguing with some members of the White House. I continued to stare at the screen in front of me as it scanned for any relevant information. The doors to the room burst open, revealing a heavily-tattooed Eden.

"Digging the tats," Natasha smiled.

"Thanks," Eden nodded. She headed my direction, choosing not to join the virtual argument with the White House. "Have we found anything?"

"There's been a mention of a time machine and a man called "Doom"," I said. The screens in front of me continued to flash information, comparing all the notes between Sophie's initial kidnapping and the missing Prime Minister.

"Man, it's embarrassing how similar these cases are. If only someone had noticed."

I shook my head, laughing. "Sam, glad you could join us. I thought you were going to try and rest for today?"

He nodded towards Bucky, who stood on his other side. "This one and Stark found my house. I barely got a shower in before they brought their family drama."

"If you really need to, you can leave," Bucky mumbled.

"Do you really think I'm going to leave you right now? Your girl is missing, and I'm not..." Sam turned around to face me. "Look, Cap, no offense to you or anything, but it was different when you and Sophie were together. I mean, with Bucky, he-"

I held up my hand. "I get it. We already talked about it."

My phone pinged again, but this time with a message from Wanda. She and Pietro were back in the states. I asked if she knew what was going on here, and if she was willing to help us out. With what Strange told us, there's magic involved. We've dealt with aliens before, but magic is a little out of the Avengers' league. Normally the X-men deal with these kinds of things.

"Stark said he was going to visit Doom at his business. With Pepper," Sam said.

I smirked. "He's going to need back up, in case Pepper destroys Doom."

"Is she really that powerful?" Sam asked, skeptical.

"In a board room? Absolutely. I'd never go near her, especially if she's mad. Knowing that he might be the one that has Sophie, basically her daughter, oof. I'd hate to be within 10 miles," I explained. Sam's eyes grew wide the more I spoke.

Wanda replied with three words: "I'll need Strange."

"Hey, wait a second. Sam, who is this?" Bucky held up a photo of a woman. Or was it a robot? It was difficult to tell.

Sam walked over to take a closer look. "She was one of the main suspects I had. I think she was the one who kidnapped Bethany initially. Why? Does she look familiar?"

"Sophie's been drawing this face everywhere. I don't think she even realizes she does it," Bucky explained.

"What's her name?" I asked.

Sam dug through his files a little more until he found the corresponding paper. "Here. It's Alicia Masters. She got awful chummy with Doom and his assistant, Morgan le Fay. And her dad has a rap sheet, too."

"Does he happen to be the weird guy with psionic abilities who uses clay to sculpt near exact replicas of people and uses the dolls to control the people they're modeled after?" Bucky pointed to a screen that froze in front of us, the man's mugshot glaring down.

"I'll go with a yes."

"Call Stark."

"Already on it!" Natasha shouted behind us. She hung up on the white house and instead dialed Tony's personal phone. Something told me Wanda was definitely going to be our biggest asset in this fight.

Tony

Pepper stomped into Doom's office like she owned the place. She was truly the most beautiful woman I'd ever met. There was a fire behind her eyes, as I followed her to the man's personal desk. He turned in his chair with a sickening grin on his face.

"Hello! And who might you be?"

I scoffed. "Don't pretend you don't know me."

"Tony!"

I stepped back to let Pepper do her thing. She ignored his offer to sit on the couch, instead choosing to lean her hands on his desk. "Listen here, Doom. My daughter's gone missing again, and all signs seem to point to you. If you don't bring her back in the next 30 minutes, you're going to have hell to pay!"

He smiled again. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Potts."

"And why not?" she seethed.

He leaned closer. "Because I don't have her."

"Now is NOT THE TIME to play games, Von Doom!" I shouted. Who was this guy, claiming he was innocent when we practically caught him red handed?

Doom's smile grew wider. "Mr. Stark, I understand that you're upset, but I'm telling you the truth. I don't have your daughter. How can I? I'm sitting here in my office. I have the security footage to prove that I've been here all day."

Something seemed off. The way he looked was different, not completely human, and almost translucent. I picked up an ornamental ball that was on his coffee table and tossed it between my hands.

"You know, Victor – can I call you Victor?" Without waiting for an answer I continued. "I've heard that you're a pretty smart guy. But there's something you need to remember: I'm smarter."

I threw the ball at his figure, and the hologram glitched. The audio was still working, as he laughed. Pepper was initially shocked, but now balled her hands into fists.

"Doom, you're down to 27 minutes. I'm keeping track of you. Tony!"

"Yes, Miss Potts, coming!" I followed my soulmate out of the office and back into my car, where Happy was waiting for us.

"I'm guessing he didn't admit to it?" Happy asked.

"Take us to the mansion. I'll be needing that suit Tony made for me," Pepper said through gritted teeth.

"How have I not married you, yet?" I asked.

Pepper's anger faded, but only for a moment. "Because I'm not crazy."

"That's fair," I nodded. "Friday, call Rogers back and see what he wanted."