𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒 [𝖙•𝖘] [𝖎𝖒 - 𝖊𝖓𝖌]

²⁴. 𝐻𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰ ───

WAKING up from a sudden punch in the face that knocked him out cold wasn't on the list of things Tony was planning on doing today. He thought he had everything under control after unwrapping the complicated veil that the Mandarin had over itself, and maybe even a step closer to reunite with (Y/N).

"Ah," he groaned, realizing that he couldn't move his hands because they were tied to the ends of an old bed frame. He sighed as he tried to tug on the restrains. "Okay."

Maya Hansen was sat in a comfortable chair a few feet away from him, her back turned against him as she typed something into the computer before turning around. "It's just like old times, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Tony's voice was laced with annoyance as he pulled on the restrains. "With zip ties. It's a ball."

"It wasn't my idea."

"Okay. So you took Killian's card."

"I took his money."

"And here you are 13 years later, in a dungeon."

"No."

"Yeah."

"No, you're in a dungeon," she corrected. "I'm free to go."

"Yeah?"

She let out an exasperated sigh before standing up from her chair, her shoes clicking on the floor of the dirty and abandoned room they were in. Tony followed her with his eyes and finally took a look to his surroundings, seeing several plants and flowers in pots, metallic tables with lab equipment, and other tanks filled with unknown substances to him.

"A lot has happened, Tony," Maya said. "But I'm close. EXTREMIS is practically stabilized."

"I'm telling you it isn't. I'm on the street. People are going bang. They're painting the walls. Maya, you're kidding yourself."

"Then help me fix it," she reasoned, holding an old and worn out card in her hand. On one side of the card, there was a sentence that said 'You know who I am' and when she flipped the other side, there was an equation in blue ink.

"Did I do that?"

"Yes," there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"I remember the night, not the morning," Tony  retorted with a shrug. "Is this what you've been chasing around?"

Maya's face was filled with visible disappointment. "You don't remember?"