CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
❝︎Should've Been There❞︎

HE WASN'T EXPECTING TO SEE HER STANDING THERE, A GUN POINTED AT HIM AS THE MAN THAT HAD DESTROYED HER BRAIN STOOD BEHIND HER AS IF SHE WERE HIS SHIELD. He hesitated, standing there in front of his girlfriend, the woman that he wanted to marry one day, and frowning as he saw that blank look in her eyes, one he has seen before in many of the Avengers. A sign that showed him what had truly taken place within the walls of the building. Her silver hair stuck out to the most, and he couldn't help but think how good it looked on her.

      "El." Tony spoke carefully, allowing for the mask to be removed from his face in hopes of her recognizing him. God, he hoped she recognized him. He lowered his hands carefully, staying prepared in case she did in fact shoot. His dark eyes met her now light blue ones, and it physically pained him to not see that spark that always appeared in her eyes whenever she saw him. Realizing he needed to be a hero and not a love interest, he allowed the mask to fall over his face, holding out his hand. "Agent Gardner, I'm gonna need you to put the gun down."

     The man standing behind her allowed a chuckle of amusement to fall from his lips, standing up a little straighter as he allowed a smirk to linger on his face. He looked at Tony Stark, placing a hand on Eloise's shoulder. He watched as Tony's iron-covered hand moved to point at him, and it brought even more amusement. He leaned forward, placing his lips right next Eloise's ear as he whispered to her. "Kill him. Kill all of them." And as soon as he stepped back and away from her, that's when the order fell in to play.

The first gun shot went off and that's when he immediately knew what was happening. She was aiming for his head, trying anyway she could to break through and put a bullet through his brain. She kept shooting, stepping closer and closer each time until she ran out of bullets and tossed the gun to the side. She ran up to him, jumping up and slamming her feet into his chest with more strength than he had anticipated, sending him flying backwards and crashing into a wall.

"Cap, I found her. But she's not herself." Tony was quick to speak through the coms. "As in she's trying her very hardest to kill me, and help would be great!" He allowed his pulsars to glow, hesitating as he stood up before he shot and hit her in the shoulder. She stumbled for a moment, before her blue eyes turned dangerous and then they were fighting, and she was winning. Even if he was the one in the metal suit and she was fighting with her bare hands, but there was a strength in Eloise that Tony had never seen, and he knew that they had done something to her.

Eloise leapt forwards, punching and kicking before she grabbed onto the mask of his suit and ripped it of with one hand, leaving his face completely exposed. The thought of claws suddenly popping from her fingertips seemed to make him use his arms to keep his face protected as she sent even more punches. He wanted to stop her, to fight her back, but his hear ached with pain knowing that she had been placed through something that would change her life forever.

Finally, he moved his arms down, and he stared at her, catching the woman off guard with confusion, not expecting the fight to suddenly become one-sided. A deep frown covered his lips as he took a careful step forwards. He shook his head. "What did they do to you, Eloise? What happened?" Tears filled his eyes as he looked at her, at the woman he loved. He was supposed to protect her, to keep this from happening, but even he couldn't do that. And that was something that he would never be able to forgive himself for.

"I should've been there." Tony continued, taking another daring step closer to her. At this point, he didn't care if she acted on the demand she was supposed to be playing out. But knowing that she had paused in order to hear him speak, he knew that some part of her still had to be in there. "I should've protected you from this. From the people that have been hunting you down practically your whole life. And I'm so sorry, Eloise. For that, as well as for this." And then suddenly, a syringe was being plunged into her neck.

Steve was quick to catch the girl as she collapsed to the ground. He looked up towards Tony before nodding his head, silently telling Tony that he had her before picking her up bridal style and carrying her safely out of harms way. Tony clenched his jaw for a few moments, watching Steve walk away, before his head turned back towards the room in which he had been standing in before Eloise had attacked him. His iron-clad hand curled into a fist before he stormed towards the room, not at all surprised to find the man still standing there.

He held his hand out, ready to shoot this man dead with his pulsars. He wanted to know what had been done to Eloise, but most of all he wanted to shot the smirk that still seemed to linger on his face. "What did you do to her?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure that out all on your own, Mr. Stark." He answered, seemingly pleased with himself. "You might think you have won, Mr. Stark. But in truth, I have. I've taken the one you loved, twisted her brain into one that only HYDRA can control, and made a new masterpiece. I know you've taken her. And when she wakes up, the desire to kill you, maybe even rip your throats out, will be so strong, that nothing can stop her."

"We'll see about that." Tony snarled before shooting and instantly killing the man before he quickly took off and entered the quinjet before they headed back to the Avengers facility with an unconscious Eloise in their grasp.