Chapter Text
The first time Tony saw her she was strapped to a table and screaming for help, he was only three years old. The second time Tony saw her she was chained to the wall and crying, he had just turned four. The third time he saw her Jarvis was carrying her out of his father’s lab, following Jarvis was his mother who was sobbing softly…he was five years old.
“Tony sweetheart can you please go and grab some more towels?” Maria asked Tony softly as she tended to the girl lying on the bed. Nodding his head Tony quickly hurried to the bathroom and grabbed the nearest towels he could reach. Rushing back into the room Tony handed Jarvis the towels and walked around to the other side of the bed, easing up to sit beside the girl, Tony looked at her carefully. She was littered with bruises of all colors, various cuts and scars dotted her skin, there were open sores and scabs covering every inch of her, there were surgical marks around her neck and other parts of her, her fingernails were missing as was her toenails.
Reaching out slowly Tony stroked her brow and hair, “who is she Mother?” Smiling sadly Maria cleaned the girls arms carefully and slowly so not to aggravate her wounds anymore.
“I don’t know baby,” Maria responded turning to Jarvis and taking the medical supplies he was holding as he began to tend to her feet and legs. As his mother and Jarvis continued to tend to the girl Tony never stopped his stroking, his mind thinking over everything he remembered about the times he saw her and until now, his mind questioning his decision for not informing his mother or Jarvis of the girl the first time he saw her.
“Young Master would you mind going and getting some more dressing?” Jarvis questioned as he finished cleaning the girls’ feet and began wrapping them.
Snapping out of his thoughts Tony withdrew his hand and eased off the bed, walking around the bed until he stood by Jarvis, he silently observed as Jarvis’s steady but gentle hands continued to delicately wrap the girls’ mangled feet, “where are they?”
“They are in the supply closet by my room Young Master,” Jarvis responded easing down the girls’ now wrapped foot and grabbing the other one. Nodding his head Tony turned and made his way out of the room, listening as his mother and Jarvis steadily worked on cleaning and treating the girls’ wounds. Reaching the supply closet Tony breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the door open entering Tony looked around until he spotted the extra dressing and gauze pads, grabbing a handful of each Tony peeked his head out and glanced in both directions of the hallway before making his way back towards the room. Hearing a crash and loud screaming coming from below Tony darted into the room and dropped the items. Slamming the door shut Tony stood up on his toes and quickly locked the door before taking a small step back, the sound of screaming and things breaking slightly muffled.
“Tony?” Hearing his mother call his name Tony turned to glance at his mother and Jarvis.
“Howard is home,” Tony whispered as he bent and picked up the dropped items, slowly walking over towards the bed he deposited them by his mother and crawled back up onto the bed. Sighing Maria shook her head and went back to cleaning and disinfecting the girls’ multiple injuries, her mind drifting to when she discovered the poor girl.
*Flashback*
Humming softly to herself Maria gently placed the new rose bush into the ground, making sure not to jostle it, packing the dirt in around it Maria sat back and glanced around the small garden, a small but pleased smile gracing her lips. Her small little garden was a thriving mass of bright colorful flowers of all types, even some new hybrids, her little garden had become her place of calm and on the days that her precious little boy joined it was also his day of calm, of being a simple little boy. Smiling sadly at the thought of her little boy Maria stood up and pulled her gloves off, placing them in the little basket with her garden tools, dusting herself off she made her way to the back entrance of the kitchen, pausing only to wash her hands and grab an apple. Exiting the kitchen Maria paused as she noticed the door to Howard’s lab was open which was odd considering he left on some errand at the factory.
Walking towards the door Maria paused, hearing a small whimper Maria steeled her nerves and jerked open the door the rest of the way, hearing the whimper again Maria rushed down the stairs, the apple in her hands dropped onto the ground and forgotten, praying that it wasn’t her precious little boy down here. Reaching the bottom Maria rounded the corner of the stairs only to gasp in horror at the sight before her, chained from the ceiling was a young woman, probably no older than 21. A small puddle of blood was forming on the ground underneath her, muffling a cry Maria slowly walked forwards, her mind racing, trying to figure out who the woman was and how long she had been here. Reaching the woman Maria placed a shaky hand on the woman’s neck, feeling a faint heart beat Maria sobbed silently before turning around and rushing back the way she came from.
“JARVIS! JARRRVVVIIISSSS!!!” Hearing heavy steps Maria stopped her yelling and panted softly, tears continuing to rush down her face. Rushing down the hallway Jarvis quickly made his way towards his Mrs.
“My Lady? What is wrong? Are you okay? What has happened to make you scream as such?” Jarvis questioned as he checked her over and looked around sobbing Maria grabbed his hand and began to drag him towards Howard’s lab.
“It’s horrible Jarvis, simply and utterly atrocious, that man, no that monster has gone too far.” Maria exclaimed as she hauled Jarvis down into the labs.
“My Lady what are you…” pausing Jarvis took in the sight before him, opening his mouth nothing but a soft exhale of air left his lips. Paling at the horrible sight Jarvis steadied himself before walking towards the young woman, checking the area around her Jarvis spotted the release for the chains and nodded, “My lady I will need your help to release her.”
“What do you need me to do?” Maria inquired as she strode towards him placing himself by the young woman Jarvis motioned her towards the release.
“All I need you to do My Lady is hit the release,” Jarvis answered, nodding her head Maria glanced at Jarvis one more time before hitting the release, hearing the chains rattle Maria turned just in time to watch as the young woman dropped to the floor. Catching her before she slammed into the cold concrete floor Jarvis eased himself into a crouch, gently cradling the young woman in his arms, stifling a sob Maria glanced around the room and spotted a worn blanket on the sofa near the other wall. Rushing over Maria scooped it up and made her way back towards Jarvis who was checking the girl over.
“How bad is she Jarvis?” Maria asked as she wrapped the blanket around the young woman.
“Honestly My Lady I am surprised she is even still alive, many of these wounds are extensive some of them haven’t even had the chance to heal before being reopened. We must get them cleaned up once we do we shall have a better understanding of how sever her wounds are and what steps we should take.” Slipping his arms underneath her legs and shoulder Jarvis stood up, making sure to not jostle the woman too much. Nodding her head in agreement Maria followed Jarvis as they exited the lab.
*End Flashback*
Shaking her head Maria finished cleaning and wrapping the young woman’s arms before moving to the other side to work on her other arm, shifting to give his mother room Tony sat by the girls head and watched as his mother and Jarvis worked diligently on tending to her, reaching over Tony began to run his hands through the girls’ hair, gently untangling any knots he ran into. Smiling sadly as she watched her baby boy Maria grabbed a small wash cloth and dunked it into the warm clean water, ringing out the excess Maria called to her precious little one.
“Tony?” Glancing up Tony saw the small hand towel being held out to him, “why don’t you clean her face up?” Gazing at the towel and down at the girl Tony bit his lip gently before nodding his head and taking the offered towel. Brushing her hair away from her face, Tony gently began to wipe her face working slowly and methodical Tony began to clean away the blood and dirt, as more and more skin was revealed Tony noticed that there were no injuries on her face. Finishing with the bigger parts of her face Tony began to clean around her nose and mouth, making sure to get everything. Moving towards her closed eyes Tony bit his lip in hesitation before continuing with his assigned task making sure to not put too much pressure on her. Finally finishing Tony eased back and smiled, her face was successfully dirt and blood free, glancing back he noticed that his mother and Jarvis were working on cleaning her torso and stomach, her legs and arms cleaned and bandaged already. Not wanting to disturb them Tony turned back around only to gasp in surprise, honey brown eyes meet ice blue eyes.