Shadowbreath: The New Avenger

Chapter 21

 Edit (02/02)

"Alexandria, be reasonable about this! I saved you, mi fliglia." Joey yelled, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.

She scoffed and spit at his feet, yanking on her chains once again. "Reasonable? Are you out of your damn mind? You kidnapped me, you lunatic! You didn't save me!"

He growled, "Where did you ever get such a ridiculous idea? Is this why you attacked us back there? If you would just calm down for one second, you would be able to see that this is all just a big misunderstanding."

Stark squirmed in his spot, mouthing at his gag, trying to warn her against believing Joey. But he didn't have to worry, Alex was seeing her father in the right light for the first time in her life. The heat behind his eyes she used to believe was love was nothing more than a desire for power. She was his ticket to the big leagues and he wouldn't let her go for anything. This man had used her for ten long years and she would be damned if she ever let him manipulate her again.

"It's not a fucking misunderstanding, 'Father,'" She spat. "I saw the video of that night. Yeah, I bet you didn't know there was a video." Alex huffed angrily. "I saw you drive up to my house with those two vans. I watched you speak with the man who killed my parents, and THEN I WATCHED HIM LEAVE, ALIVE!" She bellowed, unable to hold back her fury any longer.

She would have laughed at Joey's pale expression if her body wasn't shaking so badly. He blinked slowly, obviously trying to process the fact that he had truly lost his Asset. There was no doubt in her mind that Joey was nothing short of a monster. Alex was able to pinpoint the exact moment when his confusion translated to anger, because he turned to Stark in what could only be described as sheer, unadulterated hatred. She froze, silently willing her father's attention to return to her.

"You did this!" Joey accused, bringing his fist across across Stark's face. The billionaire grunted behind his gag and tried to shake away the sudden pain. "You-" another punch, "-took-" a kick to the stomach, "-her-" a hit to the shoulder, "-away!" Another fist to face.

"NO!" Alex screamed, catching his attention again and flailing against her restraints. "It's YOUR fault! Not his! I HATE you! As soon as I get out of these chains, I'm going to RIP you to shreds. Do you hear me? I'm going to make you regret the day you even thought about coming into my home!"

Joey stopped, stuttering as she ranted, and then composing himself with an air of finality. "You're going to wish you hadn't just threatened me, Alexandria." He tilted his chin up to the ceiling, "Bring the camera in."

Her father glared at Alex, a deep, seething, fury glinting in his expression. "I was going to kill Stark quickly, but now you've given me every reason to milk him for everything he's worth. He's not going to get away with turning my own daughter against me."

Joey stepped in front of the billionaire and leaned in close with a ghost of a manic smile. "Congratulations, Mr. Stark, you've just become a hostage."

XX

The video came in four hours after the Avengers arrived at the compound.

It was directly emailed to Miss Virginia Pott, CEO of Stark Industries, who sent the video to F.R.I.D.A.Y. "Agent Romanoff," the usually pleasant A.I. was now obviously distressed, causing everyone in the Common Room to tense, "Miss Potts has requested that I play a video sent to her by Boss' kidnappers."

The television roared to life and the Avengers were on their feet in an instant. Natasha held out an arm to stop Peter from stepping forward. Mr. Rogers' eyes widened at the screen, "Peter, maybe you should-"