The Avengers: the story of Rising Storm

Protecting Their Own

" So this is the place?" Tony said quietly.
He was crouched outside a huge building, Hawkeye, Natasha and Thor were beside him. The others would enter form the other side and take out the guards.
" It seems to be," Natasha agreed.
They had flown all the way to a remote place in the centre of Australia. It was desert, the reason why no one was aware of the secret base. They were all sweating in the immense heat but the guards didn't seem to be worried at all.
" Help!" One of the guards suddenly yelled loudly.
The rest was cut off as he was thrown backwards by Captain America, he hit the wall hard. He lay still, out for the count.
" Are you guys in?" Banner asked over the com set in Tony's helmet.
Tony had wired a communication between himself and Banner, Banner was in the jet waiting for them and guiding them through the building.
" Yes, we are," Tony answered quickly.
They entered the building and looked around. Corridors were interlaced everywhere, running in many directions.
" Which way do we go?" Tony asked.
" You see that corridor to your right? Go straight down it and don't turn into any others until you can hear guards talking, that'll be the prisoners block," Banner directed.
Tony and the others ran quickly but quietly down the corridors, blasting at the enemy as they went along.
Guards silently fell as they passed through the many halls. Sure enough they started to hear the murmur of voices. The Prison Block!
They ran faster and then saw with delight, the prison block. Tony signalled for them to slow down while he crept over to check out which cell she was in. He crept closer and peered around the corner. Bedraggled and sad looking prisoners lined the walls, all looked stick thin and had black eyes and broken noses. He looked around, trying to pinpoint the cell that Alex would be in. Then he spied a particular cell. It was away from the others, at the end of the corridor, the wall was made of titanium and only a small window of glass made it easy to see inside. There were guards all around that cell. That must be where Alex was kept!
He nodded to Thor,
" Do your magic," He said.
Thor cracked his knuckles and burst in to the open, bashing his hammer to the ground. Lightning forked across the ground and zapped in to the guards. Clutching their hearts they fell. Thor held a thumbs up and the rest of the avengers raced in. Tony flew ahead of them, desperate to save his friend. Blasting the door to shards with a special bomb he stumbled forward through the smoke. Another door lay ahead of him but this one was even harder to get through. Alex was only just visible as a black cloaked figure in the corner but she seemed to be waving. Not waving, pointing. He turned and saw that the door he had just blasted to shards had reappeared, Thor had made it inside but the others were stuck on the other side.
" Don't worry Alex, we're coming!" Thor yelled.
Alex was still pointing urgently behind them.
They turned to look and saw that a video screen was stationed behind them. A face was depicted in the screen, calmly watching them. He had black oily hair, completely black eyes and black clothes with red on them. His skin was very pale and his smile was purely evil looking.
" Congratulations Tony, Thor, welcome to my home," he said with a gesture to what was around him.
He was seated at a glass desk, two bodyguards behind him.
" You must be Eli Parks," Tony said in a cold voice.
" That I am, you seem to be lost, I don't recall inviting you boys in," Eli said with a raised eyebrow.
" We came for our friend," Thor said calmly.
Eli let out a short bark of laughter.
" Friend? you must know my daughter. I'm surprised that a girl like her has friends," Eli said harshly.
" what do you have against her? She's your own daughter!" Tony exclaimed angrily.
" Correction, she was. Right now she is listening to this as well. Alex Parks is no longer my daughter, I disown her completely and her last name shall no longer be Parks. The only name she is disturbing of is The Child of Darkness, that's what everyone else calls her," Eli said with a smile.
Tony and Thor stiffened. Eli had just disowned his daughter completely.
" Why are you doing this?" Tony asked incredulously.
" Because she killed my wife," He answered with a freezing glare.
" She's going to pay," He added savagely before pressing a button on a small controller he held.
A crackling sound made them turn to the cell.
Fire was slowly spreading along the limited furniture and space, slowly moving towards the black cloaked form of Alex. Alex shuffled closer to the only glass left and they saw her pale hand slap against the glass. It fell out of sight and they saw a red stained hand print on the glass. Alex was about to die if they didn't do something!
" What do we do?" Thor asked in panic.
" I don't know, we can't blast through that door and you know it," Tony answered.
" Do you think that Alex could?" Thor asked.
" Of course she can but we can't talk to her, she could be injured or worse," Tony fretted.
" You can get a camera in there can't you. I know you were trying stuff like that out earlier," Thor suggested.
Tony nodded.
" Jarvis, activate the camera, I want a visual on Alex," Tony ordered.
" Right away sir," Jarvis answered.
The camera was tiny and it snaked out of his armoured glove. The camera fitted under the door and he navigated it around the flames until it got near Alex.
" Jarvis, zoom in please," Tony said.
The image came up on his screen of Alex. Tony sucked in a pained breath. Her eyes were wide and focused on nothing, she had a black eye and a large bruise on her forehead. A scratch above her eye had left a blood stain down her cheek. Her clothes were ripped, her cloak was shadowing the rest of her battered body but she was quite pale. Tony did not like the way she was staring blankly ahead as if she had given up. Why wasn't she screaming or anything? Then he understood, she had heard her father disown her completely and call her a murderer, that must be the problem.
" hey Alex," can you look at me?" Tony asked gently.
Alex flinched at his voice but looked up at the camera, she shook herself and then refocused, looking like her usual self.
" What is your plan boys? please tell me you have a plan because I'm about to be burnt alive," Alex asked calmly.
" Kid, I need you to blast the door open before we can rescue you," Tony told her.
Alex winced.
" I'm not sure if I can do that. I could've busted myself out of here ages ago but I don't think I could blast it open considering the state I'm in," Alex said doubtfully.
Tony slowly lowered the camera and saw what she was talking about, her  hands were in chains, so were her feet. She could barley move a millimetre.
" Please, you need to try Alex, it's the only way you'll get out," Tony pleaded.
Alex nodded and closed her eyes. Her face became serene, she looked almost as though she was sleeping. Then the locks on the door started to turn with a series of clicks. The locks moved until with a strange clicking clacking sound the door opened.
" Thor, follow me," Tony said.
He raced inside. Thor followed, coughing in the smoke. Fire was everywhere, it would engulf the entire room soon if they didn't get out. He looked around and saw a huddled shape in the smoke.
" Alex! Is that you?" Thor called out.
" Yes! Get me out!" Alex cried from where she was, her voice has scratchy and crackly because of the smoke.
They came closer and Tony bent down next to her. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was hyperventilating in a panic attack. She smiled weakly at him. Thor raised his hammer to break the chains.
" Wait! You'll break my ankles if you hit me with that massive hammer. Can't you do something else?" Alex asked.
Tony grasped her hand in his and stared in to her eyes.
" Alex, we will get you out of here but it'll be hard. Thor won't hit your ankles with his hammer I promise. Can you use your powers? I could always blast them off if you can't." Tony soothed.
" Go ahead and blast them off. I don't suppose you can do much more damage then dad has already done," Alex sighed.
Tony looked down and noticed what she meant, her legs were covered in blood and her bones were actually visible.
" His favourite torture trial, the whip," She informed with a grimace.
" Banner is on the plane and he will fix you right up. Just stay still while I blast them off," Tony said soothingly.
He didn't know who he was soothing, himself or Alex.

A few minutes later the avengers had all assembled in the jet. Alex was stumbling along in between Tony and Thor, a smile on her face that was strained but was still a comfort.
" Hi guys," she greeted with a small wave of her hand.
Then she was helped on to the plane and lay comfortably on a side bench while Tony strapped her in with a long belt.
" closest thing to a seatbelt," He joked.
Alex gave a short bark of laughter but then closed her eyes and yawned. The second she lay her head down she was asleep.