Peter thrashed around in his restraints, trying to battle the horrible images in his head. The klaxon wails brought the worst sounds, but really the worst memories. Uncle Ben. Gwen. The day his parents died. Over and over they flashed in his head. As sudden as it started, the wailing stopped. Peter exhaled. His torturer came back and this time was carrying a wicked looking knife. Peter squirmed without meaning to as the man dug the blade into his neck. As he slowly pushed the knife in, Peter's nerves erupted in pain calls. Blood dripped down his neck, streams of red making its way down in crimson horror.

The knife dug in deeper, and twisted slightly. More blood cascaded down his chest, staining his suit even darker. Peter could feel the knife thudding by his carotid artery, each millimeter increased closer to his imminent death. At the last second the man pulled his knife away. He growled and slashed the knife across Peter's face, leaving a slash of red down his cheek. The knife fell to the floor as the man punched Peter in the face. He punched him several more times before hearing the telltale snap of a broken nose. The man smiled, the work he wanted done. Tony stared at the young boy, laying there on the torture table, his body racked with bruises, blood and electrical burns. They had all heard the crack of his broken nose and noticed the river of blood flowing from it. Tony was so close to breaking when he remembered the kid's words.

"Don't tell them," he had said. So Tony wouldn't. For the kid's sake.

Clint typed furiously at the keyboard. He yelled in frustration when nothing came up. The damn tracking system on everyone's suits shorted out. Who knows why, but Clint assumed it was HYDRA.

"Bastards," Clint muttered before slamming the computer lid down. They were searching everywhere for the four gone, sure. But what did they have on their location?

Zip

Zilch

Zero.

Wanda thrashed and screamed, her body going through spasms and thumping itself on the cold metal. The agent pulled the tasing pen away from Wanda's body.

"Awwl, are we growing... weak" the agent said. "I hate to see such a pretty face in so much pain," she said in a sneering tone. The last straw for Wanda came when the woman brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. With what was left of her power she flung the woman to the side of the room. She gasped and punched Wanda straight in the face. Wanda felt her lip burst and could tell there would be a blooming bruise there tomorrow.

If she's alive tomorrow.

If.

Natasha watched as Wanda thrashed and wriggled like a beached whale, the physco woman pressing a electric torture device to her temple. The woman finally stopped. She said a few words that seemed to aggravate Wanda, and then she leaned into Wanda's face. As she brushed a few hairs out of Wanda's face, red mist threw the woman away. She came back and punched Wanda in the face. Hard. But Nat saw the smile on Wanda's face. She knew they weren't beat. She tapped Tony on the shoulder. He was shaking, clearly going through immense guilt and panic attacks.

"Tony," She said. "Their not giving up," She said.

"We won't," Tony Said. He paused for a second. "Help me Nat," He said. He looked up into her eyes. She stared back into his. They reflected a shadow of the man she had once known, all the wit and spark gone. Instead his eyes were like blank canvases, waiting to be painted. Or left behind in an abandoned art store. Nat did something she almost never did.

She hugged him. She hadn't hugged anyone in a very long time. The last time... Nat shuddered. She did not want to think about HYDRA right now. She glanced up and saw the agents arguing in a corner. She over heard a few snippets.

"... should just kill one..."

"They'll never talk... keep torturing the way... they'll break someday." Nat's face hardened in the pure terror of the situation. She wiped the tears from her eyes and shook Tony into focus.

"We have to find a way to communicate with SHIELD," she whispered. "Do you have any tech on you?" Tony pulled out a few pieces of hardware and several wires. He carefully set them out of the view of the HYDRA agents. Nat pulled out her old com and a few paper clips. She looked Tony in the eye and said,

"You can do this Stark. You can do it for Peter and Wanda," she said. Together, they would forge on. Through torture and constant terrors.

Never let go of the world they know.

Never.