Hello everyone! This is my first Avengers fanfic, and though I am really good at reading them, I have no idea if I am good at writing them. This chapter is pretty much just an intro- bear with me because the action will start soon. For future reference, I will try to update as frequently as possible.

Ok, that's out of the way…. here we go!

I struggle to take another breath as the chains holding me down cut deeper and deeper into my skin. My captors have me in a damp stone room deep underground, and I haven't heard a word of English for the 3 weeks I've been here. A shiver racks my thinning body.

"достаточно тепло маленький?" the guard chuckles. He spits on the back of my head and slams the door as he leaves my cell.

I am on my knees, bent over with my hands behind my back in some sort of a distorted fetal position. I have been chained this way for too many days to count, and I doubt my body can take much more. My legs are mostly numb, my back is raw, both arms are scraped and bruised and a nasty gash along my hairline is still oozing lukewarm blood onto the grimy floor. Lovely.

I remind myself to keep breathing and try to focus on happier thoughts. I think back to the team in New York- my own unique version of a family. I joined the Avengers soon after the battle against the Chitauri, and we had grown close before I left on the failed mission that landed me here. I create a calming scene in my head to soothe some of my worries: I see Steve and Thor sparring in the boxing ring- the super soldier's agility and the god's strength a near equal match every time. Over at the gun range, Nat and Clint are at target practice, sharing the occasional satisfied glance as they send bullets and arrows downrange- their marksmanship a perfect mix of deadly accuracy and practiced ease. The self-dubbed "science bros" Tony and Bruce are down in the lab. They spend days at a time researching, making new weapon prototypes and solving algorithms complex enough to bring MIT professors to their knees, all the while cracking jokes and having a good time.

I also think of our newest member, Loki. Thor insisted that we give Loki a second chance, and after a thorough psychological investigation by SHIELD it was discovered that the Tesseract was influencing Loki during his entire stay on Midguard. Few of his actions were done consciously. After many long SHIELD meetings, a lot of pleading from the thunder god, and near surprise appearance from the Hulk, it was decided Loki would join the Avengers. Though everyone was wary of the decision at first, especially Clint, Loki had eventually become one of us. We've grown quite fond of both his insightful battle strategies and dry wit alike.

The irony of it all causes a weak laugh to escape from my lips. The abrupt sound pierces the wet silence of my surroundings. My ribs cry out in protest, and a moan soon follows. I cannot take much more of this. Every cell in my body feels like it is either on fire or the receiving end of a punch from the Hulk. I have never felt torture like this before. Here I've been kicked, punched, slapped, beaten, whipped, and stabbed, and that isn't even the start of it.

A small seed of anger plants itself in my throat.

"Why hasn't the team found me yet?"

"Don't they know what I'm going through?"

"Why did I take this damn mission in the first place? This should be someone else, not me."

But a tiny voice inside reminds me otherwise, and the frustration melts into sadness.

"What if I never see them again? I never really said goodbye, just 'See you all in a few days.'"

"What if they find where I am, but get here too late?"

They better get here soon.

I feel my eyelids begin to droop, and my heart rate slows from a flutter to a sluggish thud.

The air around me feels thicker, as if it's pressing me further into the ground.

"Sleeping on the job again, carrot-top?" Tony would joke.

A small smile flashes across my face.

I'll miss them.

As I perch on the brink of unconsciousness, a jarringly loud bang shakes the room. A gentle cloud of dust drifts down falls from the ceiling and settles like a blanket.

But as much as I want to, I can't bring myself to stay awake.

*достаточно тепло маленький? = Warm enough little one?

Please review, I love to hear what you think!

-m9ower