fox (iron man's daughter)

13

fox's p.o.v

tony drops me off at daisy's, his parting words being "don't do anything stupid".

at the time, i didn't know how many times i'd repeat them in my head over the next few weeks.

daisy and i pretty much talk all evening, about boys, food, life in general. i fill her in on the current family situation, she's the only one who really knows now. it's getting pretty late when i receive a facetime call.

i frown when i see that it's tony, though im conscious of the fact that he's probably just being overprotective and worrying. this is my first night away from him, i think he has separation anxiety.

"hey kiddo" tony gives a forced smile and i widen my eyes at the background behind him.

over his shoulder i can see all of the avengers gathered in the living room, pepper sitting nervously behind tony. she has the same awkward smile, illuminated by a flashing red light which fills the whole room. everyone seems to have just gone silent, and they're all looking at me on facetime.

"uh.. what the fuck?" i feel my eyebrows rise, taking in the sight.

"language" tony raises his own eyebrows and i smirk "look um, we've got a bit of a situation over here" he looks back at the rest of the avengers who all hum and nod with varying enthusiasm.

"you don't say" i mumble, the worry starting to show a little in my facial expression and my voice.

"you don't need to worry, it's probably nothing, but the tower has been put on lockdown from an outside source meaning we can't get out. i can't override it, neither can F.R.I.D.A.Y, we don't really know what we're dealing with" my dad explains and i listen intently, trying to work out where he's going with this "i'm sending an agent to get you now, to be on the safe side, they'll take you somewhere secure until i can come and get you".

i look over at daisy, who frankly just looks overwhelmed, then back at my dad "okay" i manage to force out of my mouth.

"try not to worry, fox" pepper smiles sympathetically from the background "this kind of thing happens all the time, we'll have it sorted soon".

i'm about to reply, but i don't get a chance. there's a crash from downstairs and both daisy and i jump. we can hear heavy footsteps in the hall, somehow i know it isn't the agent my dad sent.

"fox what was that?" tony asks and i wish i had a response, i wish i could tell him that daisy has a cat and he's probably just knocked a plate off the counter. but she doesn't, and it didn't, and i'm scared.

"what the hell" daisy whispers to me "fox i'm not ready to die" she shuffles closer to me and i can feel my breathing wobble.

"dad" i gulp, my voice low "pretty sure we're in trouble".

by this time, the avengers have drawn closer, all watching as this unfolds.

"breathe fox, is there a way out that you can think of, something safe?" the panic in tony's voice isn't helping the situation at all. "F.R.I.D.A.Y i really need you to lift the lockdown now" his voice wobbles as he shouts to the robot butler.

"i'm sorry mr stark, it's out of my control" F.R.I.D.A.Y replies.

"we're on the fourth floor we can't get out" desperation floods my body and my breathing speeds up considerably. i try a breathing technique i often use for my anxiety but it's no use, this isn't an irrational panic attack i think i'm about to die.

"dad i'm scared" i admit, daisy practically on my lap at this point. i can feel her shaking, her usual bold expression reduced to pure terror.

"you'll be okay, it's okay, stay calm. i'm trying my best to get to you, i promise you'll be okay" tony rambles, his words less and less convincing by the second.

the footsteps draw closer, i can hear them on the stairs and i know that soon they'll be here. "it's only one person, there's two of us" daisy whispers and i shake my head.

"something tells me there's not going to be much we can do" i can feel myself coming back, keeping my head, staying rational. if this is how i go, then so be it.

"tony?" i turn back to facetime where everyone is frantically trying to fix the situation. my dad momentarily looks up at me.

"i love you" i say, the words kind of falling out of my mouth. i definitely didn't plan them.

his eyes widen a little at the words and he immediately goes back to whatever he's doing "no need for sentiment kid, everything's going to be alright".

tears prick my eyes, somehow my dad's nonchalant attitude towards me bothering me more than my imminent death. i wipe away a free tear travelling down my cheek, determined not to break.

"i wish i had longer with you all" i whisper.

tony looks up again, his face softer than before and he opens his mouth.

just as the door slams open, revealing a tall, broad man. if you asked me for the definition of intimidating, it would definitely be him. his matted beard tangles around his face like barbed wire, everything about the straight line his mouth is pulled into is unforgiving. his hands,  covered in bulging veins, gripping a gun. he's dressed in full black, pretty much how i would expect a murderer to look.

he strides across the room towards me, grabbing daisy by the shoulder and wrenching her away from my grip. she squeals as she falls helplessly to the floor and i gulp.

"either of you make another noise or attempt to escape and i kill both of you, simple. you're going to follow my instruction" he points a dirty finger in my face, stopping for a moment to examine me. "time to say goodbye to daddy" he growls. his face almost looks as though chiseled out of stone, unchanging as he reaches down, ending the facetime call.

"now, you're going to come with me, without a fuss because it's happening whether you squirm or not and it doesn't affect me whether you live or die" he snarls, baring blackened teeth as he clenches a hand around my arm, tearing me from daisy's bed and dragging me towards the door. daisy lets out a sob as i take one last look back at her, sensing the fear in my eyes.

we make it to the top of the stairs without another word from hagrid's evil twin, and then he opens his cave of a mouth again.

"say night night little miss stark"

i'm confused for a moment as his grip on my arm is removed, then his hands meet my back with such a force that i feel myself physically fly through the air for a second, down the stairs, and then i collide with the wall. i cling to consciousness for a moment, but my head took the main impact and i can feel a sticky substance trickling down my forehead as everything fades to black.