Ágnostos

Chapter 9

Tony

The door slammed behind Althea causing me to flinch.

"Althea!" I began walking to her room but an arm held me back.

"Maybe you two should just sleep it off," Steve said.

"My daughter thinks I don't want her," I said gesturing to her door. "I can't let her sleep thinking that!"

"Tony, she doesn't believe that, just give her some time."

I sighed running a distressed hand through my hair. I set my hand on Peter's shoulder.

"You okay kid?"

He nodded. His lip and eyebrow was bleeding and his cheek had a large bruise and cut. My gut clenched with guilt.

"She'll probably talk to you..."

Peter nodded again before heading to her room.

I slouched onto the couch rubbing my face with my hands.

"She'll be okay Tony," Natasha said. "We won't let anything happen to her."

"You wouldn't? Then why was she out there? Why didn't any of you come after her?"

"Tony—"

I held up a hand to interrupt Steve. "Save it. I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"Tony! Althea.. she, isn't in her room," Peter said.

I turned to him. "What. Where is she?"

"She hasn't texted me," he said. I could tell he was beginning to worry. "Her window was open.... and... her suit was gone."

I let out a loud groan, tossing my head back in aggression. She did not run away when a freaking mutant was after her!

My phone began to ring. I quickly picked it up thinking it was Thea.

"Hello?"

"Tony?" It was Peppers voice.

I stood up onto my feet. I felt a hard pinch of pain from hearing her voice after so long.

"Pepper... hi."

"I'm calling about Althea," she said.

I felt myself relax. "She's with you?"

"No... she called me. Told me you two got into a fight and needed to stay the night but before I could ask what happened there was a loud... shot sound? And then it sounded like she cried out in pain and then a loud crash followed before the line went dead... Tony I think somethings wrong...."

I froze. Fear was the only emotion I could process in that moment. Her words flew through my mind on repeat but all I could comprehend was the fear of losing my daughter.

"Tony? You there?"

"Y-Yeah.... I-I'm going to track her an—"

"Attention world!" Hard-wires voice sounded from the tv screen. I looked to the screen where Althea sat on a chair tired in iron and a bag over her head. It looked as if we were looking from Hard-Wires perspective. "My name is Hard-Wire and I have big news."