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Fury leaned forward at the table. "What do you mean, Stark's missing? He was here just yesterday morning, Hill!"

Hill looked won at her feet, somewhat intimidated by Fury's temper that currently matched his name.

"He's missing, sir. Miss Potts called us early this morning and informed us that he is missing from Stark Tower. She said that he always informs her when he leaves New York, and he hasn't answered his phone since noon yesterday. She sent a friend to check out the Malibu house as well, and he isn't there. For all intents and purposes, sir, Stark is gone missing."

Fury rested his head in his hands. "Do we have any agents out looking for him?"

"Yes, sir."

Fury nodded. "Good."

Hill stepped forward.

"Sir, if you don't mind me saying, don't you think it strange that Stark went missing one day after Loki's escape?"

Fury stood and looked at her.

"Hill, you know I don't believe in coincidences. But, I will not jump to conclusions when there is no evidence that he is behind this."

Hill nodded. "Very well, sir."

Fury dismissed Hill and turned to face the window.

"We'll find you Stark. One way or another."

~~Fancy Page Break~~

Tony's head spun from the blood loss, all of his thoughts jumbling together incoherently. He forced himself to look at his leg, and he carefully wiped what blood he could away from the wound. It was not wide, but was rather deep by the look of it. The blood was not spurting out, so thankfully Loki had missed any major arteries. However, his leg was still bleeding profusely, creating a puddle on the stone floor beneath him. Tony grit his teeth and pulled his legs close to the armrests. It sent a jolt of pain through the wounded leg, and Tony cried out slightly, but continued. He grasped the pant leg of one side, and quickly forced that leg down, ripping off a piece of cloth. He tossed the cloth onto his injured leg, and readied himself as best he could for the pain about to consume his body.

His injured leg still propped against the armrest, he forced his hand forward slightly to press the cloth against the wound, and almost yelled from the racks of pain shooting through him, but steeled himself and pressed harder. After a few minutes of pressure, the wound slowly stopped bleeding. That's one problem taken care of, he thought, leaning back as he set his foot down cautiously, not wanting the wound to reopen. He knew it would probably be infected if it wasn't treated soon, but at least he knew he wouldn't die from blood loss. At least not yet.

The pain and shock of the night suddenly fell upon him in waves, and Tony felt the room spin as his head sunk to his chest. Another minute and he was unconscious, his body welcoming the temporary reprieve.

~~Fancy Page Break~~

When Tony awoke, everything hurt. His back was cramped, his head was throbbing, and his arms were aching from straining against the metal bonds last night. Thankfully, his leg had gone numb at some point during the night, and the only feeling he got of it was of pins and needles. Probably not good, but better than having to deal with that pain too.

He blearily opened his eyes, and the room looked the same as it had last night. There was no way to tell what time it was, and Tony cursed himself for not knowing the date from yesterday. Or was it the day before? Honestly, Tony had no idea how long he'd been in the helicopter unconscious when Loki kidnapped him. It could have been longer than he had first thought. Regardless of what day it was, the Avengers would no doubt have noticed his absence by now, and although Jarvis couldn't tell or show them anything, Tony was sure they could find him.

His thoughts turned to Pepper. He wondered what she was thinking of his disappearance. Suddenly, Tony remembered. He had made a program enabling Jarvis to be installed on Pepper's phone as well as the Malibu house and Stark Tower. Even if Tony erased the video at the Tower, it would still be on Pepper's phone. Tony hoped desperately that Pepper would think to check her phone after a while of him missing. At least they would know who took him, even if the video could give no hint as to where he was. He groaned. Even he didn't know where he was.

~~Fancy Page Break~~

Loki materialized in front of Tony about two hours later, ready to play with his new toy.

Tony barely glanced up, half-asleep as he was. Loki backhanded Tony across the face, which woke him up as his head spun.

"What the hell was that for, Loki!" yelled Tony, now fully awake.

Loki's jaw tightened and stared he turned to stare Tony in the eyes. "Watch that mouth, Stark, otherwise I may have to take away the privilege of speaking."

Tony just looked at him coolly.

"That was so you are fully awake when the fun begins, Mr. Stark."

"Yeah. Fun," snorted Tony. "Is that what they call it nowadays?"

Loki grinned.

"I don't know about 'them,' but I know this is going to be very fun. Not for you of course, but for me," replied Loki.

"Of course," Tony said in response. "You get all the fun. Well, once the Avengers find me, we'll be having the fun, eh?"

Loki whirled around and, with a tap, dissolved the bonds. Tony looked up in surprise, and Loki's hand wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground.

"Your precious little group of supposed heroes will not be finding you, not alive. They will find your broken, mangled body, or they themselves will be dead by the time we are done here," spat Loki.

Tony struggled to push himself upwards to avoid suffocating yet again, his toes pressing into the floor and his hands scrambling to lift from Loki's arms. Loki slammed him against one of the stone walls, and Tony stopped struggling, dazed.

"Let us begin, yes?" asked Loki.

Tony just shook his head, trying desperately to catch his breath.

"Oh, pity," sneered Loki, dropping Tony into a heap on the cold floor. He snapped, and the manacles from the ceiling came down to rest in front of him. Loki bent down and roughly grabbed Tony by the arm, hoisting him up and pressing him into the wall. He snatched Tony's wrists and quickly cuffed him to the chains. He snapped again, and the chains retracted, pulling Tony up with them. Tony's toes could just reach the floor, not enough to support any weight, but tantalizingly close.

Loki murmured, and the scepter in his hand shimmered gold, and transformed into a whip, made of beautiful braided leather and interwoven with small strands of gold. Tony stared in fear at the whip, then back to Loki.

"You'll pay for this, Loki. I hope you realize that."

"Oh, I look forward to it."

Loki rounded behind Tony, and Tony's muscles tensed. Loki ran a cool finger softly down the scabbed-over cut on his spine, sending a shiver down Tony's back. Loki chuckled, and the hand disappeared to be replaced by the harsh sting of a whiplash. Tony gasped, but refused to give Loki the satisfaction of a scream. Loki reared back and swung the whip harder, and Tony's back arched in pain. Tony let fly a string of expletives, and Loki grinned behind Tony.

"What have I said about language, Stark? I daresay one whiplash for each expletive should drive the point home."

Tony turned his head to glare behind him and felt the hot sting of the whip striking his cheek. He turned to face forwards again, and bit his lip to keep from cursing more, which would lead to even more pain in the long run.

Loki began swinging, setting up a rhythm, and each time pain racked Tony's body, but he refused to cry out. He bit his lip harder as Loki sped up, lashing him harder and harder. When Loki was finally done, he stepped back to admire his work. The whip had completely shredded the smaller man's back. Loki rounded to the front of Tony, and was surprised to find blood dripping down his chin from a bite on his lip.

Loki had to admire the man's pain threshold. Many mortals would at the very least have cried out during the harsh lashing Stark had received, but Stark did nothing.

Loki reached a hand out underneath Tony's chin and forced his head gently up. Tony glared at the god with such fury that Loki almost drew back in surprise, but caught himself. Loki reached his free hand up and softly brushed Tony's hair back.

"What secrets are you hiding from me, Stark?"

"What are you on about now, Reindeer Games?" asked Tony.

Loki stared at Tony contemplatively. "You know, most mortals would have at least cried out during that last lashing."

"Well, in case you forgot, I'm a superhero. Pain is part of the territory, genius," replied Tony spitefully.

"But there's more than that, isn't there?" asked Loki.

Tony just kept glaring at Loki, and suddenly Loki's hands reached up to his forehead. Loki closed his eyes, and Tony saw flashes of his past in his mind's eye.

His mind provided vivid memories of his time with the Ten Rings. The surgery, conducted by several men of whom only one had the faintest idea of what he was doing, and without anesthesia. The waterboarding, the sparks shooting from the car battery's place in his chest, leaving a harsh trail of burns on his torso. The Mark 1 suit, burning its way out of the cave to freedom. Yensin, his only friend in captivity, lying on the sacs in the cave, dying before of Tony's very eyes. Obadiah, leaning over him and ripping the reactor out of his chest, grinning all the while as the man who thought of him as a father lay dying. Loki pulled away slowly, and opened his eyes again.

"Well, that was interesting," said Loki slowly. Tony shot him a look that could kill.

"You asshole! You just had to go dredging up those memories, didn't you, you bastard!" Tony screamed.

Loki looked at him coolly, a ghost of a smile playing across his face. Tony abruptly realized what he had just done, and his eyes widened in fear.

"I-I'm sorry," muttered Tony, desperate to escape any more punishment. A chilling smile settled on Loki's face as he stepped forwards.

"Quite alright, my dear Anthony," murmured Loki. His hand drifted up Tony's torso to rest on the arc reactor. Tony flinched and closed his eyes.

"All I ask for is information," said Loki. "Tell me, Stark, what is this?"

Tony glanced at Loki and shook his head no.

Loki grasped the reactor and began slowly twisting. Tony's breathing hitched as Loki continued twisting. Loki heard a sharp click, and finally Tony blurted out, "Stop! Please!"

Loki stopped and looked up at Tony, whose eyes were filled with pain and fear. Tony took a breath and began talking quickly.

"It's an arc reactor. That little blue circle is what has been keeping me alive for the past few years, ever since Afghanistan. There are small pieces of shrapnel constantly trying to worm their way into my heart, but the reactor acts as an electromagnet that repels the shrapnel." Tony's eyes had dropped to the floor in shame, knowing this was not information that should be shared with the enemy, especially one who had him at his mercy.

"So what would happen if I were, to say, rip it out?" asked Loki softly.

Tony looked up at Loki in absolute terror. "I would die. I have less than five minutes to live upon its removal from my chest, in which I must find a new electromagnet, or else go into cardiac arrest when the shrapnel touches my heart."

Loki considered the small, glowing blue circle in his hand, and with a quick smile at Tony, yanked the reactor from his chest.

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