Worth It

Thirty Two

(Y/N)'s POV

"What's that?" I ask hoarsely from the metal chair as Chase sets up a screen in my cell.

"This is a new method." He flicks on the screen and I can see it's live footage of Ophelia lying on the ground, covered in bruises in various stages of healing.

I watch in horror as men walk into her cell and grab her by the hair, pulling her off the ground. She grunts as they throw her back on the hard ground.

"Stop it. She doesn't deserve any of this. Please stop."

"It doesn't matter what she deserves." He whispers in my ears. "It matters that you care for her and watching her suffering will destroy you."

I'm forced to watch her screaming in agony as the enormous men beat her senseless. I never stopped yelling and pulling against the restrains, pleading for them to please her alone.

When Chase is satisfied, he sends another guard to stop them.

He squats next to me and whispers in my ear.

"There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop us. You know that and it's destroying you." I clench my jaw and stare straight ahead.

"I know that look." He stands up. "That's the look of someone to stupid to admit when they've been had."

"You know nothing about me."

"I know everything about you." He replied with a cocky smile.

"You're disgusting. You're finding joy in torturing children!" I yelled at him.

He didn't reply, he just flashed his signature sickening sneer and walked out.

He left the screen, still recording. She wasn't being battered anymore but it was still heartbreaking to see her in such a state. I'm sure I look much worse so I'm glad she can't see me. I'm glad no one can see me.

I wonder how everyone is doing. I mean, this isn't fair to them. Past trauma seems like a prerequisite for being an avenger so this is just icing on the cake.

Steve is probably one of the only ones functioning. He probably taking control, trying to find me. Maybe he will, maybe not.

Bucky and Nat are probably taking their emotions out on a punching bag. They're always the strong and silent type.

Clint is probably with his family. That's what I would do, surround myself with the people I love most.

Thor is... I don't know what Thor is doing.

Loki is probably shutting himself off. I'm kind of his only friend. I just hope he didn't destroy half of New York to deal with his emotions.

Bruce is probably being logical, helping Steve along with Sam.

Vision is probably doing robot shit.

Wanda is probably crying.

Peter is, oh my god Peter. He really doesn't deserve this. Everyone else sees the bright, optimistic nerd that he pretends to be. I see the boy that lost his parents and his uncle and never really recovered. I wish he knew that I was okay. I wish I could send a picture of me smiling and holding up a peace sign.

And dad. He's probably distracting himself with work. Hoping that I'll miraculously show up and point out something he's doing wrong. I hope he's not drinking. I hope he's listening to Steve. Steve is smart and usually right.

I groaned in pain as I adjusted myself in the chair. As much as I could being strapped to it.

I looked at the screen and saw Ophelia starting to sit up, clearly struggling. She propped herself against the wall and glared at the camera, flipping it off.

I chuckled lightly to myself at the sight. She's still holding it together.

I haven't even thought about Pietro. He spent years being dead and then was suddenly brought back? I can't even imagine how he's feeling. The worst part is, Wanda might never know. Maybe that's for the best, it would only hurt her to see him here. I'm sure he doesn't look much better than I do.

Suddenly, the screen flicks off and Ophelia disappears from my vision. I sigh and lean back against the cold wall.

We're getting out of here. We have to.

Tony's POV

"Hey, we got something." Natasha tells us.

"What did you find?" I rush to her side and look at the laptop she was using.

"I was looking at the news coverage of the accident that killed (Y/N)'s mom and gave her her powers, look what I found." She zoomed in on a screenshot of the footage.

"That's Brock Rumlow." Steve said. "He was HYDRA."

"Exactly." Nat continued. "So we know that the accident had something to do with why she was taken."

I felt a pang of hope in my chest.

"So I traced the origin of the truck and it's from here." She pointed to a photo of a destroyed HYDRA base.

"Didn't we take care of that base when we were looking for the scepter?" Steve questioned.

"Yeah, that's all I got." Nat sat back in her seat.

"It's better than nothing." Steve placed a hand on her shoulder.

I stood there thinking for a moment before Steve noticed and spoke to me.

"Tony, what are you thinking?"

"We need to figure out if any abandoned HYDRA bases have shown recent activity."

"Wouldn't that be obvious?" Nat questioned. "Clearly they don't want us knowing they're still active so why would they use an abandoned base as opposed to building a new one?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "But we know where the abandoned ones are, we don't know where any new ones would be."

"I'm on it." Nat turned back to her laptop and got to work.

I went back to the lab and sat at a workbench, picking at a project that didn't need it.

"We're gonna find them." Steve appeared behind me.

"I know, I just want to do it as soon as possible." I sighed. "You saw the photos. That's what they're going through. They're teenagers. They're being tortured by a nazi organization and they're teenagers."

"They're strong." Steve reassured me.

"The stronger something is, the worse it is when it breaks."