anothercontinuity | (no subject)

[ after turning into the two robed figures, tony jumps back into the counter and gasps, "where'd you come from?" only to flinch harshly away from the sting of pain on his cheek, twisting halfway back to delphine with his arm up and face scrunched. god, he thinks deliriously as she talks, falling into a wide-eyed panic, pushy women can be the worst.

tony breathes in and opens his mouth to yell the same moment he begins scrambling away and reaching out for a dagger. ]

[ He doesn't get much farther than that, before the blood from his cheek wicks upwards, swirling around the woman's fingertips. An incanation rolls off her tongue, and suddenly it's as if the lights around them had been suddenly doused.

Blackness. Stillness.

When Tony comes to again, it's within the confines of a cell, a ratty bed of straw and coarse, dirty linens shoved to one end. Outside of the bars, it appears the entire chamber is lined with similar cells to this one.

No other occupants to be seen, though. Just him, and the nearby torchlight guttering away. ]

[ tony gasps awake, quietly, and then freezes, his muscles locking up. slowly, without moving anything else, he tears his eyes away from the stone ceiling and casts them around the room. he's on the floor of a jail cell, on top a bed of straw.

he's been kidnapped. he doesn't remember how they knocked him out. his head doesn't even hurt from a blow.

his heart pounds impossibly loud in his ears. squeezing his eyes shut, tony forces himself to calm down. with any luck, he can at least get his shit together before his kidnappers show themselves. ]

Edited 2024-11-12 02:50 (UTC)

[ For hours, he's left there on his own, in the silence. Free to contemplate the situation, his cell in its entirety, and any plans he might have for escape.

Then from the other end of the room comes the sound of wood scraping stone as a door swings open, followed by steadily approaching footfalls. It was Delphine, alone now, a small vial clutched in her palm as she comes closer to the bars. ]

Oh, good. For a moment I wondered if you hadn't been rendered vegetative. That would have been a waste of a fine mind, indeed.

[ tony only quietly panicked at first, lying there on the floor, the bedding of straw poking at him the one shield against the stones' chill. his heart thundered. an image of the glowing blue cube rose unbidden in his head—the one he had been suddenly forced to touch by a couple of goons, the thing that stranded him on this planet—but he wrested the memory back down. different scenario.

these people might hurt him, but they want something from him. not to just get rid of him.

next, tony checked outside (alone). he checked the door, its lock and hinges, and the weld points on the bars (trapped). he spread out and sifted through the straw; shook out and flung aside the linens (no help).

the best he could do for now, he decided, was wait. he passed the hours split between thinking too much, dozing with his back to the wall (the thinking interfered with the dozing), and growing hungry and thirsty and frustrated.

finally, tony grouses when door scrapes open. when delphine appears, he's on his feet with a stony glare, or one as best as he can muster past the tightness around his eyes, the underlying current of fear. ]

Edited 2024-11-13 18:21 (UTC)

Awake, alert...good. A fine place to begin.

[ Her hands clasp delicately together as she comes to a halt in front of the cell's door. ]

And, in case it's of concern? It's not to late to change your mind, willingly. The gods will respect your will, but also your penitence.

[ only this: ]

No.

No.

[ She only smiles. ]

Well then. We have work to do. I have to admit, this is my favorite part.

[ From her belt, she draws a glass vial and allows it to hover in the air. Within it, a shimmering red liquid coils and twists like a living thing. ]

Sit.

[ And the command echoes in his very body, in his bones and blood, seizing upon him to obey. ]

[ tony frowns down at the hovering vial. before he knows it, he feels his body moving on its own, the legs folding, sitting back down onto the straw. his eyes, widening, follow the vial the whole way. ]

Good boy.

[ Her lips curve even higher, as the horror of it starts to creep into Tony's eyes. One hand gestures him up. ]

Now, stand.

[ those eyes dart down to his own limbs, which again obey, straw crunching under his hand then feet. instinctively tony tenses his muscles, tries to control them like he should. ]

Edited 2024-11-13 23:08 (UTC)

You're not familiar with our...techniques. I understand. But you really only have one choice here, sweet thing.

[ Delphine hums appraisingly, looking Tony head to heel once more. ]

Now. Be a good boy and take off your clothes. Let's have a look at you.

[ when his hands lift to the dual buckles of his waist cincher to obey, tony tries to stop them, but agony explodes throughout his body like his muscles are ripping themselves apart. he lasts only a few seconds before he breaks into pained panting and releases the effort. unhindered, his hands smoothly unbuckle the waist cincher and drop it to the floor. ]

What's happening to me? [ he whispers, eyes glassy. his hands peel the black leather shirt up and off over his head. he doesn't understand it. it doesn't make sense. it's his body. ]

Edited 2024-11-14 04:54 (UTC)

You are being granted new purpose. Rejoice.

[ Deadpan. Delphine seems to be enjoying herself, watching as the realization seems to sink in. That Tony has no say in this, that he'll do whatever she asks and any attempt to fight back will be too painful to be worth it.

As he bends to free himself of his boots, she tips her head to observe. ]

Mm. Not bad. You'd have made someone a favorite bedslave, you know. But you're too talented in other ways to waste for simple tasks of the flesh.

Edited 2024-11-14 13:35 (UTC)

[ as his body removes the boots, tony scrambles for explanations, ways this might be possible, why he's following her command like this and why resisting hurt, but this shouldn't be possible, this disconnection between his physical body and his will. not like this. this is...this is mind control, the stuff of movies and comic books. not real life, not... ]

How're you doing this? [ he rasps out, almost clumsily, like his mouth is just as disconnected. he feels himself grab and slide his trousers and underwear down his legs. ]

Oh? Could it be your first time with magic?

[ Her fingers curl, and the red liquid in the vial gleams and swirls. As it does, Tony would feel a tug to step closer to the bars, out of his clothing, bid to stand there as Delphine steps closer. ]

I would say that I'll be gentle...but we're a little past lying to one another, don't you think?

[ distantly tony remembers glancing at some book titles in the dellamorte estate's library that mentioned magic. he dismissed them then, those first couple weeks, only interested in the technology and science, what he could use to get home. magic wasn't real. it was stories about fairy godmothers and pulling rabbits out of hats. when he ran out of options, his last hope dashed, tony had already completely forgotten about it. no one ever talked about magic in treviso. elves and dwarves may exist here, but magic stayed in the realm of fiction and fantasy.

he feels the tug like a physical thing as he approaches the bars, something from within him spurring his body into motion. he attempts to raise his eyes to her, but they stumble and stop on the vial. ]

Edited 2024-11-15 18:00 (UTC)

My eyes are up here, dear.

[ She clucks her tongue reprimandingly. ]

You're lucky, you know. You are going to be made anew, a tool for the rebirth of the Imperium. An instrument of gods. How many could say the same?

[ it looks like blood. the red liquid swirling in the vial, it looks like fresh blood. he barely hears her over his own dumbfounded thoughts consumed by the vial's contents. magic. ]

[ Not content to be ignored, Delphine snaps her fingers impatiently. ]

Tell me your name. Where do you come from?

[ his still-widened eyes finally snap up to hers. his throat and mouth work on their own. ]

Tony Stark. Earth.

Earth?

[ That takes her aback somewhat before her eyes roll impatiently. ]

Oh of the earth. Aren't we all. Come now, don't be dull. What country. You're clearly not Antivan.

The United States.

[ his eyes dart around again in a panic. she can make him talk. tell the truth. no one knows about any of this besides lucanis. if she finds out what he can really make... ]

[ It's not the answer she's expecting, nothing that clears any of this up. ]

...and where are these United States? How is it you came to be here, of all places? Speak up.

[ Within the vial the blood twists violently, and it catches in Tony's own blood. Like a fever, building heat under his skin, itching. Scalding in his veins, livid against the inside of his arms. ]

[ a pained, wheezing pant, the words punching their way out of him: ] On Earth! I don't know—there was a cube! I touched it and it brought me here!