Sofia's pov

Do you know what it's like to be sexually harassed? At first I thought, no, that doesn't happen to young girls, especially with the kind of father I have, who is so very protective and powerful at the same time. Yet, at this one instant , he wasn't there to protect me.

I mean, how could he, if he didn't even know where I was in the first place? After talking to a bunch of people while healing them, I got to know we were in Gulmira. Yes, the same place where Yinsen hails from. I tried so hard to find his family here, hoping to tell them that he's alive and possibly coming back home, but after seeing the state of the people here and noticing the wary glances of people when I ask them, I finally put two and two together that his family - or at least part of it - is dead.

Being a seventeen year old, a girl that too, inside a bunker full of gross men with pot bellies and stench like the worst sewers imaginable, isn't easy. I was kidnapped, used as leverage against my dad, and now being forced to heal these tyrants who kidnapped us in the first place. Saving the civilians , I will gladly do , but saving these monsters who are terrorising the town of Gulmira with Dad's weapons, is something I was strictly against in the first place.

A few slaps on the face, a couple of punches in the gut, and I'm ready to heal them. I'm a coward, but to survive and see my dad one more time, to tell him that it isn't his fault that we got stuck here, is the only thing keeping me going. The main man behind all of this - Raza - hasn't been seen since he left me here with two of his men to prevent me from fleeing. I had seen people try to flee before, but they were put down faster than I could say 'shawarma'.

I didn't try anything after that.

In my mission of avoiding the two men who were sent to 'gaurd' me, I have been on duty for the past forty -eight hours. My eyes were begging me to go and get some sleep, but with the vile glances of these men, I shook myself awake and forced myself to work . God knows what they would do to me when I was asleep.

Beside I can sleep when I go home. There's no need to sleep here when so many people need my help. That was the thought I had as I cleaned gore from a man whose half Armor was torn apart like paper. We didn't have any anaesthesia so I had to patch him up whilst listening to his screams which I'm sure will haunt me for the nights to come.

I was carrying a bunch of cloth which were covered in blood , when I felt someone slap my behind. Laughs occured just after that, as tears filled in my eyes. I couldn't contain my actions, as I whirled around and punched one soldier right in his nose. A satisfying crack was heard , as I rubbed my sore hand. The blood trickling from his nose was satisfying, but as they dragged me into my room, I just wondered was it worth it?

°----°

It's been nearly two weeks since I have been kidnapped and bought here. My hope was slowly dwindling , as more and more people came in injured, and Dad still hadn't saved me. I was beaten again and again since I tried punching that guy who slapped my butt. I was mere seventeen, I didn't deserve this! That feeling, that vile feeling crept up in my throat and threatened to choke me as I tried to contain my sobs once again .

This has been my schedule now. Wake up, get beaten up, if lucky get a slice of stale bread, treat soldiers, sleep. If I was lucky , I wouldn't get beaten . But it seems that luck wasn't on my side anytime soon.

I was shook from my stupor when a sharp knocking was heard from my door. Soon after, the two men grabbed my arms and started dragging me outside. My arms were tied up tightly behind my arms as I was led outside. It's been a while since I saw sunlight so I had to squint my eyes a bit as I adjusted to the light. I was roughly shoved as I stumbled forward. All the people of Gulmira were beside me , carrying their valuables with them. .

We were all forced to walk in scorching heat for a whole day, no idea where in the world we were going. Soon, nightfall came and we reached a city. The gaurds - who were in jeeps - honked at us to stop and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I was feeling lightheaded from being starved and forced to walk in the heat, as I presume is the predicament of all the others with me.

We all huddled as close as we could, try to give each other a sense of safety as we tried - and failed - to get a good night's sleep.

°~~~~~~~~°

I woke up with a jolt as I felt someone trip over my legs. I looked above and saw a small boy with an apple in his hand. My mouth watered at the sight , but I clamped it down as I looked at the boy in question. He looked guilty but with a reassuring glance from me, fled to his parents who were asleep. I tried going back to sleep again, but with the sun almost rising, and with the sight of the gaurds asleep, I just couldn't. Taking what I had with me - basically nothing but a few trinkets from the villagers - I tried to slink my way out. Seems I wasn't the only one as I saw about twenty people following my lead. I didn't have much choice so we all headed out together.

By some miracle they hadn't noticed our absense initially but around noon, we were caught. Shouts became louder as jeeps rolled in the area we were trying to hide in. One by one people were snatched away. Men dragged towards the soldiers , women and children beaten and thrown aside. Two children - a boy and a girl - had clung on to me as soon as gun shots rung the sky. I clutched them just as hard, afraid for all of us.

It's all my fault. If only I had stayed back, they wouldn't have not lived my absense or the others.

Suddenly the girl is snatched from my arms as I screamed in protest as I tried taking her back. No words came from my mouth, other than trying to keep her safe. The boy was crying as he tried reaching to his twin sister. The man slammed me with the butt of his gun and as I crumbled down, took the boy as well. I screamed again, don't take them! Take me instead!

The sun was bright as I ran out, in search of the children. I was dizzy as I looked around the chaos . I was captured as my hands were again behind me as I was forced to kneel down as they kicked my knees down. A gun was pointed at my head as the man shouted at another. It seems as though I was of no use to them now as he had readied his gun at me. I closed my eyes, accepting that this is the end.

Atleast I went down fighting.

-------

Tony's pov

After ordering his drink at the bar counter , Tony tried looking around. Surveying for the one person who he wanted to see tonight. The past two weeks have gone by in a frenzy, him trying to create a suit as fast as he could , to try and save his daughter, whilst also changing the course of the Stark Industries.

He was still looking when he saw a person he just didn't want to meet anytime soon .

" Well, Tony stark ."

"Uh Hey."

"Fancy seeing you here"

Tony was trying to remember, but sadly when it came to his one night stands he just remembers the nights and not the mornings.

"Carrie -"

"Christine." She sharply reminded him, obviously perturbed that he didn't even remember his name.

"Thats right."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You have a lot of nerves showing up here tonight. Can I atleast get a reaction from you?"

"Panic. I would say panic is my -"

"I was referring to your company's involvement in the slavers atrocities?"

He blinked a bit, "Yea they just put my name in the invitation list."

Having enough of it, Tony snapped. " I was out for a couple of months, in case you didn't notice -"

"Is this what you call accountability? It's a town called Gulmira, heard of it?" She said , handing him a bunch of pictures.

He was swiping through them aimlessly, when suddenly his heart stopped as he looked at one of those pictures. It was grainy and everyone was very dusty, but he could identify his daughter anywhere.

She was alive, and still in active war zone.

"When were these taken?"

"Yesterday ."

"I don't know, I'm not shipping them."

"Well your company did. "

"I'm not my company."

With that I stormed outside, my face set in a stone cold mask. Turning towards Obadiah, I gave him the pictures.

"Have you seen this? Huh? Whats going on?"

"Tony, Tony, you can't be so naive."

"Yeah I was being naive before. Yea there is this line, we don't cross it. We can't do business if we are dealing under the table! Are we doing business under the tables?"

A dark look crossed Obadiah's face. "Let's take a picture."

"Well, who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you, it's the only way I can protect you ." And with a smile, stane left , leaving Tony shocked to his core.

But then a thought occured to him. My daughter comes first.

As soon as he reached home, he put on his suit and jetted off straight to Gulmira, with only one thought in his head, bring back my daughter safely.

Cries were heard as he reached the war zone. Sounds of bins going off here and there, and as Tony searched for his daughter desperately, he just couldn't let these people die. He dropped down in an area where he saw men being crammed into a jeep and the women and children cornered.

Aiming his small target missiles at specific people he fired them, seeing them drop down he continued his work. Quickly disposing off the remains foot soldiers , he shot a missile at a tank, turning back and continuing his work, not even remains back to see his work of blowing up the tank.

Soon he had set fire to all the products his company had given to these terrorists, but he couldn't find neither his daughter nor Raza. He was looking for heat structures when he noticed two in the very first place he had gone to. How he missed it before , he didn't know.

Upon reaching the ground his eyes widened in horror and terror as he watched his daughter on her knees, a gun aimed at the back of her head. Cute and bruises were loaded on her body, no single patch of skin left untainted.

Quickly he aimed another bullet at the man and fired it, just before the man could pull the trigger and blow his daughter's brain off. She slumped back in surprise as she saw her father.

Tony ran up to his daughter, scooping her in his arms. She too wrapped her thin wire like arms around him, not caring that his suit was much more advanced then before, just caring that her father had come to save her. And that she was finally safe, and that she could go back home and meet pepper and Rhodey and Obadiah .

****