marvel one-shots

24. vision ; prisoner of war

She hung from metal shackles on her ankles. Her arms were bound to her in a straight jacket. She swung slowly, side to side due to gravity, equilibrium... something like that.

She whistled Beautiful by Aerosmith, unbothered by HYDRA's odd forms of torture.

They left her there for a while, in solitary confinement hoping to break her.

She held the last note of the rock song until her voice faltered.

Two men came in.

"Good evening, sweetheart," one said, holding onto one of the straps of the jacket to keep her still.

"Evening gentlemen," she greeted with a smile on her face, "Is it dinner time yet?"

"No, and it won't ever be until you tell us what secrets lay within the Vision."

"Then I guess I'll starve," she said strongly, she released her politeness.

The other man, who'd been silent, crouched to get to her level.

He put a hand on her cheek, "You will tell us what the mindstone holds or else," his breath was putrid. And his Russian accent laced each word.

"Or else?" She cocked an eyebrow. The one that held her handed the croucher a knife.

"Or else I will cut you up into pieces and feed you to the beasts," 'Beasts,' ha, she thought.

"You think you scare me? You think this place is hell and you're the demons?" She paused as they looked at each other and back to her, "I've been to hell, I've burned, I've met the devil. And you two s.o.b.'s are nothing close." She talked tightly, her body tensed.

The man stood.

He took the knife and plunged it into her shoulder, just below her collarbone.

She groaned.

He twisted the blade and she felt the bones shift inside her.

"You will burn for your sins!" She yelled at them, spitting at their feet. He pulled the knife out, causing even more blinding pain.

They left her as she writhed and squirmed. A pool of blood formed on the smoothed cement ground.

They came back and walked behind her. She couldn't tell what fun they'd brought with them until she felt a cold barrel against the back of her head.

"Tell us about the Vision," he ordered.

"He is all you will never be," she said through strained breaths.

The safety was turned off.

"Tell us about the Vision," he repeated hoarsely.

"I did. He is hope, he is life, he is good. You'll never be him, you'll never know what he truly is and holds."

He hit her with the butt of the gun and she went unconscious. She swung back and forth.

It was then the two guards fell to the floor from hard punches from the humanoid of topic.

It took two punches to take down the two idiots. He walked with a purpose to the solitary confinement cell.

He froze in his once-sure steps. He watched her body swinging aimlessly from chains, her chest bleeding. He went to her and unlatched the jacket, her arms fell.

He felt for a pulse and exhaled, he couldn't breathe with the previous crushing thought that she could've been dead.

He went to the guards and found a ring of keys, trying each and every one until one, somewhere in the middle, fit. He twisted it and her body and a chain link fell; he caught her, of course, and held her in his strongly-built arms.

He carried her out of the base, the ocean spraying and spitting at them.

The Quinjet landed within seconds as planned. He boarded.

"How is she?" Steve asked.

"Alive."

"Always a plus," Tony mumbled, pre-occupied with the takeoff.

Vision laid her on the floor, making sure once more there was a pulse. He then opened her eyelids and shone a light for a response. She blinked, rubbing her eyes.

"What was that for Red?" She exclaimed, trying to sit up. Pain seized her shoulder and chest.

"Lay down," he commanded. She laid back.

"What happened?"

"He rescued you," Steve said, eyeing Vision.

"Oh, thanks," she said mildly.

"What'd they do to you?" Vision asked while stitching her shoulder up.

"The usual: death threats, straight jacket, suspension, confinement, and the gun scare. Terribly taboo," he chuckled lightly, a small smile tugging at his lips. This made her smile, naturally.

"Did they hurt you other than that?" He asked, though he just as well could've looked. He tied off and stood, pulling her up with him.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Not a fan of solitary confinement, but they didn't break me with it."

"What'd they want?"

"You; the mindstone's secrets, your 'plans', how you came to be..."

"They didn't get anything, right?"

"Right, I would never-"

"Thank you, Grace," he hugged her. It was horribly unnatural, forced... animatronic. His robotic side showed with it. But she hugged him back nonetheless. She felt him relax, and release before it got awkward.

"Anytime Red," she said, making him smile again.

He was trying; he was getting there.