24/11/2024
This was the worst snow storm New York had had in... forever. The weather was supposed to be clear, but Mother Nature had other plans. The entire city was asked not to go outside for their own safety; public shelters popped up all around New York. If you looked out the window, you could barely see 2 feet in front of you let alone the house next door. Unfortunately, you did not do well with being cooped up. You came to New York only a few weeks ago to see your brother, Tony Stark. It wasn't supposed to be a long trip, however, you'd been persuaded to stay and meet the rest of The Avengers. That had been a week ago; all flights into and out of the city had been cancelled, meaning you were stuck.
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Tony knew you were in the lab. He knew you were there, even though you hadn't technically even stepped foot in the lab. He wasn't even sure why he'd asked Jarvis to get you. You were terrible at science, and you both knew that. You were so bad, in fact, that you'd been banned from being in the lab. You don't make a sound. He knows you're there. You were just about to go have a shower and put on as many layers as possible. Only problem was, Tony wouldn't let you out of his sight if he knew you're planning to go outside.
"Y/n," he started, and you sighed. He only used your first name if he wanted to 'talk'. "I know your secret." You froze, eyes widening. Thankfully Tony hadn't seemed to notice your reaction and kept talking. "I would've preferred it if you'd told me sooner," Your heart was in your chest. "And that I didn't have to hear second-hand from Wanda... You said the pasta was a little undercooked after lunch. Considering Dum-E made it, I wouldn't be too offended. He just needs a little tinkering."
You let out the breath you hadn't known you were holding. "Sorry, I just thought... considering how proud you are of... him... it'd seem a little rude to critique it's-his cooking." You gave a weak, apologetic smile. You hadn't even remembered telling her that. Or anyone for that matter. Mentally you facepalmed. You'd forgotten Wanda could read minds. "It wasn't much, the pasta was a little chewy, that's all."
"Well, I'll get on it, how about we have pasta again tomorrow, and you tell me if it's better, alright?" You nodded, and after a few moments of watching him tinker, you'd realised that Tony thought you'd already left.
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You headed down the stairs towards the back exit of Stark Industries. You hadn't seen anyone on your way down, and it'd been a hit and miss with Jarvis the past few hours, so you didn't know where they all were. You opened the door, stepped outside, and realised just how windy, cold and snowy it was. Luckily you had lots of layers on. So much so that when you were walking down the stairs, you had been sweating.
You were only going to walk a couple blocks, just to stretch your legs, being cooped up was much more unbearable than any snowstorm. It wouldn't take more than half-an-hour. You walked down the streets. Or walking as much as you could between the heavy layers of clothing you wore and strong wind that threatened to blow you right into a building. You'd passed one of the shelters set up by Stark Industries; filled with people. Despite the weather you enjoyed the walk so far and you were just about to head back, when you heard a shrill sound behind you a few streets back.
It sounded like crying, or maybe screaming, you weren't quite sure. Whatever it was, it sounded like someone needed help, so you went to investigate. As you entered the alleyway where the sound came from, you saw a teenage girl sitting there. You ran up to her, asking if everything was okay, she lifted her head from her hands, smiling, not a single sign of the distress you had heard earlier. But before you could react, two other people came up behind you. They grabbed you and held you in place firmly while the girl took all your belongings. They turned to leave, and one of them stopped turning back to you. They held you by the arms, dragging you a few streets away before tossing you by a nearby dumpster. You would've reacted, tried to fight back even, but it seemed fighting against the storm on your walk had exhausted you more than you had anticipated.
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Back at the tower, Tony and the others had just realised you'd left. Tony was calling you every three seconds, determined to find you. Obviously, the call never went through. The power lines were down, but they knew you were in New York, they just didn't know where. The police had been contacted and a city wide search set up, but it got called off 15 minutes in because the wind, snow and falling ice made it too dangerous for them to continue searching. However, not even a call from the Police Commissioner could deter Tony from going out searching for you.
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You laid by the dumpster, not having enough energy to get up and find shelter. You stayed behind it, shivering, trying desperately to find something to keep you warm. You knew the basics of frostbite, your skin would go cold, then numb, then stiff and pale. You knew the first signs of frostbite were probably starting, you were just too cold and too tired to stop it. You didn't know you were crying until you felt the tears freeze on your teeth.
