Starkid191: Yeah... Something like that ;D

Giverofgrace: Oh right, thanks a lot! :D

Apple in the ocean: Haha thanks, and I recommend you look up Hellboy :D He's just too cool not to! Yeah, people have been saying about Alex's story, but I had to get him to tell it eventually, so I thought, eh, why not now? :D Thanks for reviewing!

Guest: Thanks! Over here we just call them 'end of term tests.' Sooooo imaginative... Not. I like 'midterms' better :)

IWannaLightsaber: Yeah, sorry, I'll try and make K-Unit not too silly, but it's kinda hard because I haven't read the Alex Rider books for ages, only Fanfictions where they all act like idiots :/ But I'll try and make them more SAS-y! Thanks for reviewing!

Just a quick warning: this chapter has the un-anaesthetised surgery in it, and it drags on for aaaaaages. So yeah, sorry, but how the heck would this be done quickly? But there's an upside: I'M ADDING SOMEONE NEW! Well, two someones! If you don't like my choice, it's not my fault, I got my friend to choose! Blame her, not me!

This chapter's medical stuff is probably all wrong, but just pretend it's right, please! It is a fanfiction, so everything's fiction. So the medical stuff can be fictional, too. Oh yeah, loophole, people!

***********Snake's POV**************

He didn't know what to do. He partly wished he wasn't the medic; he would have to be the one to cause Cub so much pain.

"What now?" he asked the heroes and his unit.

Bruce looked at the scalpel, needle and thread in Pete's lap. "I think now would be the best time to do it, before he gets worse." Snake reluctantly nodded his agreement. Cub was already delusional, in pain, and he was dizzy, Snake could tell.

Snake shuffled over to where Bruce was sitting with Cap, Hellboy, Tony and Pete. "You're going to have to hold him down; he's going to wriggle. A lot." Snake didn't meet anyone's eyes.

"That's understandable." Bruce murmured. "It'll hurt a hell of a lot."

"I hate this. Why do we have to do this? He's fourteen, for Christ's sake. It's all MI6's fault. That kid has seen too much; more than any of K-Unit, I'll tell you that." Snake nodded towards his unit, who had also shuffled over to the group. "Wolf, what do you reckon?"

"About what?" Wolf was taken aback; he obviously thought he had no authority in the cell, because of all the heroes.

"Well, Cub! I'm the medic, and I need permission from you if I'm going to operate on him, before I ask these ones."

"Oh yeah, of course, Snake. Why wouldn't you?" Snake shrugged and looked at the heroes for confirmation.

"What do you all think?"

The heroes looked at each other and nodded. "Of course you'll do it, Snake, if you're up to it." Cap said. "You're the only one with the training."

"Well, actually, I've never had to operate on someone, but I think I have a general idea of what to do." Snake said sheepishly.

Bruce was about to say something when they were interrupted by a loud groan. They turned around to see Cub on all fours, clutching his gut.

Snake stumbled quickly to his feet and made over to Cub. He gently held him and pushed him so he was leaning up against the wall. Snake noticed Cub was breathing deeply with his eyes tight shut.

Cub's head slumped forward and he groaned again. "Cub, try and relax."

"It hurts," Cub moaned. Snake had a sneaky suspicion Cub wouldn't have said that if he hadn't been injected with truth serum.

"I know it does, but keep breathing. We'll get it out of you soon."

Cub reached up and grabbed Snake's shoulder, squeezing as he pulled his legs up to his chest.

Snake jumped when a hand firmly planted itself on his other shoulder. He turned around to see it was Bruce. He frowned at the billionaire and moved out of the way, Cub's hand dropping off his shoulder, along with Bruce's.

Bruce crouched in front of Cub and took his good hand in his. Cub weakly lifted his head up and squinted through bleary eyes at Bruce, gasping.

"Alex, listen to me. We will get out of here, but you have to hold on until then. We have no choice but to take out the Needle, and it will be painful, but it's necessary. Do you understand?" Bruce spoke firmly but softly.

Cub stared at Bruce for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out what he said, before he nodded and put his head on his knees, still tucked against his chest. He mumbled something that no one but Bruce heard, and the billionaire smiled.

"Alex?" He asked the teenager. "Will you look at me?" Cub hesitated before dragging his head up to rest on the wall, looking at Bruce.

"I'm looking." Cub croaked.

"Remember to breathe when we do this," Bruce looked sternly at him, gaining a tired nod. "Ok, Snake? Now would be the best time to do it, before he gets worse." Snake was mildly surprised to see worry in Bruce's eyes; he had heard about Batman's supposed emotionlessness plenty a time.

"Oh, er, yeah, hold on," Snake scrambled to his feet and took the scalpel and stitching equipment off of Peter. He attempted to clean the scalpel as best as he could, when he noticed something.

"Damn." He said.

"What?" Bruce stood up and walked over.

"The scalpel, it's so blunt," Snake showed Bruce and saw his face change into what Snake assumed was his Batman-face.

"'Course it is." Bruce cursed under his breath. "Well, we still have to do it, no matter what."

Snake jumped yet again when Cap's voice came from directly behind him. "What will we do?" he asked, gesturing to the heroes and K-Unit against the wall, who were watching the exchanges warily.

"You, Hellboy, Peter and I will hold his limbs. Tony, make sure he doesn't whack his head on the floor. K-Unit, two of you try and control the blood flow, and one more pass Snake the equipment." Bruce ordered. No one protested; it made sense for the strongest four to hold him down and the weakest to do the other jobs.

"Cap and I will hold his arms, Hellboy and Pete his legs." He continued. "K-Unit, have you sort-" he was cut off by a gasp and a muffled shout from Cub.

Cub was clutching his stomach, damaging his hand further in the process. His face was contorted in pain and his breathing was deep but raspy.

Bruce again crouched in front of him, but this time he gently pulled Cub's injured hand away from his stomach and persuaded him to loosen his fingers. Cub's blonde hair fell in front of his face as he bent his head again.

"We do it now." Bruce demanded. K-Unit had decided that Fox and Wolf would control the bleeding and Eagle would hand Snake things.

"Alex, can you lay down?" Bruce asked gently.

Cub didn't seem to have heard him at all; he just sat there, curled up, his arm in Bruce's hands.

Bruce waited a few moments before looking back at Snake, gesturing him forward. Bruce wanted Cub to lie down, so Snake held a hand gently on his bicep of his injured shoulder and the shoulder of his uninjured one. He gently pulled him towards him, wincing at Cub's groans, and laid him on the stone floor.

Bruce and Snake gave Cub a few seconds to catch his breath before lifting him further away from the wall and into the middle of the floor. Cub immediately held his hands on his abdomen, eyes squeezed tight shut.

The heroes and K-Unit slowly and warily made their ways over to Cub, Snake and Bruce, who was examining the scalpel again. He glared at it for a few moments more before turning to the needle and thread for stitching.

"Oh, my god. You have got to be kidding me." Bruce frowned, looking at the whole length of thread.

"What?" Snake asked, crouching down to look, too.

"This thread is encrusted with salt." He gave it to Snake and he grimaced. The thread was, as Bruce said, completely encrusted with salt. It would hurt a hell of a lot, but at least it would help with infection.

"None of it will come off," Bruce growled. "But we'll have to just do it; we don't have any other choice."

Again, they were interrupted by a loud groan from Cub. His breathing was laboured and he was too pale for anyone's liking.

"Get... It- Ugh! Out." Cub begged, desperately gripping his stomach. He then squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, holding his breath.

Bruce was immediately next to him, a hand on Cub's uninjured shoulder. "Alex! Breathe, now." He spoke sternly and pleadingly.

Cub paused before letting out a breath, then immediately sucking one back in. He took deep, raspy breaths that sounded sore to take.

"Snake, we'll do it now." Bruce commanded, gesturing the others over.

Hellboy and Peter both took their places at Cub's legs and Cap crouched opposite Bruce, before Bruce shook his head.

"Cap, let's swap; I want to be on his injured side." They swapped places, and Bruce gripped places of Cub's arms that were not hurt.

"You ready?" he asked everyone. They all grabbed Cub's limbs, Tony placed a shirt under Cub's head, and nodded. "What about you, Alex?"

Alex looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "How the heck would you get ready for this, Bruce?" He frowned at Bruce before nodding at him. "Yeah, okay, just get it over with." Cub's voice cracked on the last word.

"Snake, you ready?" Snake didn't reply; he was waiting for Eagle to untangle the thread that he had somehow managed to tangle in the few seconds he had it. Snake frowned pointedly at Eagle, waiting nearly a minute before Eagle realised they were all waiting for him.

"Sorry." He put on a somewhat steely face and handed the thread to Snake to untangle, which he did in a few seconds. He handed it back and poised to begin.

*********Tony Stark's POV*******

Tony couldn't help but shudder. His own un-anaesthetised surgery had been agony enough, but this kid was only 14 (or 15), and it was his friends that were performing it. Tony was kneeled behind Alex's head, ready to hold it down should he lift it.

Snake prodded Alex's abdomen, asking where the Needle was. The Needle. He couldn't begin to imagine the sadistic mind behind it, but he must admit, he was mildly impressed with the technology.

Tony jumped when Alex groaned and tensed up, lifting his head. He placed a hand on the boy's forehead and gently pushed it back.

Alex gasped, "Yeah, it's there." He closed his eyes, frowning in pain.

"Sorry." Snake looked guiltily at Alex's pained expression before looking up at Bruce, who nodded.

Snake held the scalpel, poised to cut, but then he stopped.

"Oh."

"What?" Bruce asked.

"I can't cut directly on the top of it, in case I slice it open and the toxin all comes out, so I'll have to cut near it and..."

"Dig around." Bruce finished, earning a nod from the medic. "Just do it."

Snake obeyed and placed the scalpel on Alex's skin. Tony noticed Alex tense again, but mildly this time. He also noticed Bruce, Cap, Hellboy and Pete tighten their grips on Alex's limbs.

Snake took a deep breath and began to slice. The blade wasn't nearly as sharp as it should have been, so Snake had to saw it into the boy's flesh.

Tony looked down and saw Alex had done nothing more than frown deeper.

"You okay, kid?" Tony was met with a deadly glare from Alex. "Okay, okay, stupid question, sorry." Alex closed his eyes again, sighing at Tony. Teenagers, Tony thought. Well, I suppose he is being cut open.

**********Captain America's POV***********

Steve gripped Alex's arm firmly. He couldn't help but wince every time Snake made a cut. The flesh that stuck to the dull blade and pulled away from the already bleeding wound. It was such a horrible sight, but he couldn't bring himself to look away; if he did he felt as though he were abandoning Alex to suffer alone.

He would not do that.

Snake began re-cutting to make the wound deeper- deep enough to reach the Needle- and Alex whimpered a few times, biting his lip.

Cap felt Alex's arm tense up, and he held it down to the floor a tad firmer. Alex's eyes shot open and he looked frantically at Cap.

"Ow, Cap, will you, ugh! Let up on the shoulder, ow, please?" Alex looked at Cap pleadingly before Cap quickly lifted his left hand; he had forgotten all about Alex's bullet wound and was holding it down.

"Oh, sorry, kid." Cap looked down at Alex's relieved face guiltily.

"Okay, I'm done with the cutting, I'm going to get the Needle out now. You ready?" Snake told Alex.

"Will you stop asking me that? I will always be ready." Alex said firmly but hoarsely.

"Okay, okay, sorry."

************Alex Rider's POV************

He had to admit, the cutting wasn't really that bad, compared to some of the torture he had endured. It did hurt, obviously, but it was sort of okay, because the people doing it didn't want to hurt him.

He could feel his warm blood oozing out of the cut, down to the floor and making his side sticky with it. Snake was going as fast as he could; it wasn't as if they had any blood they could transfuse, and so they had to minimise the blood loss.

Wolf and Fox were trying, and failing, to control the blood flow with their ripped-off sleeves and Alex was feeling increasingly helpless. Snake prepared himself to start "digging around", doing his best to clean his hands with a sleeve.

Alex saw Snake give one last glance towards him, before plunging his fingers into the wound.

Alex just bit back a scream, but it came out as a loud groan. He tensed, trying to pull his arms away from Cap and Bruce, anything to stop the pain.

But Cap and Bruce held firm; he could not get away, and his legs were even more impossible to free, having Hellboy and Spider-Man holding them. Alex gasped and vaguely felt a hand on his chest, keeping it down, too.

He suddenly became very dizzy and couldn't breathe. He opened his eyes wide, desperately sucking at the air but he couldn't pull any into his lungs. Alex's vision began to cloud at the edges and he heard frantic voices before passing out, welcoming the sweet, sweet darkness.

**********Bruce Wayne's POV********

No! Bruce felt for a pulse, but there was none. He felt again; still none.

"Snake! He's not breathing. Is it okay to do CPR?"

Snake looked up at Bruce, before nodding. "You have to do it, though. If I don't finish this there will be no Cub to save!"

Bruce let go of Alex's arm and placed his hands on the teen's chest. He began doing chest compressions expertly, Snake still digging around for the Needle.

"Come on, kid," Bruce urged Alex's unconscious body. He continued for about a minute, before he checked his pulse again. None. He continued for another minute and checked again. None. Wait! Yes, there it was! Slow, but there.

Bruce smiled and went back to holding Alex's arm down, just in case he woke up again. Bruce looked down to see what Snake was doing. He was groping just inside the skin, wincing and cringing as though it was hurting him. Blood poured out of the wound and soaked the floor and stained Alex's skin.

"Yes!" Snake finally said. "Got it." He winced as he pulled out the Needle, then threw it disgustedly on the floor. Alex's breathing hitched when he did so, and the kid's eyes fluttered momentarily. Don't wake up! Bruce thought; they still had to stitch it up with the salty thread.

Despite Bruce's thoughts, Alex's eyes opened.

"What the-" Alex looked around him confusedly. He looked up at Tony, who was directly above him, holding his head, then at Bruce, then Cap, then the rest. "Oh, yeah. Damn. Ow."

"What?" Tony asked, purely out of habit. "Oh, wait, sorry, that was dumb." Alex glared up at him, regardless of his apology.

He was about to say something when he gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. Bruce looked down and saw Snake had started stitching, the needle halfway in. Bruce motioned to the others to tighten their grip; Alex would fight them much more when the salt-thread got inside him.

They obeyed and held him tighter. Snake quickly glanced around before plunging the rest of the needle in him, and the beginning of the thread.

Alex gasped again, and began desperately trying to pull his arms away from Bruce and Cap, anything to stop the stitching. They all held firm, though, but somewhat reluctantly. The kid was in agony.

Alex suddenly went limp, but he was still conscious because his eyes were open and he was clawing at the floor. Bruce decided to distract him.

"Alex, tell me what your school is like."

"I... Don't go to school. Anymore."

"You don't?" Bruce was genuinely surprised*. The kid was smart.

Alex shook his head. "MI6." He said simply.

"Ok, what are your hobbies?"

"Erm... I like to – Ugh! – I like to, err... I like to fight. Kung Fu, Judo, Karate, all them."

"Oh right, do you have any belts?"

"Black. In all of them."

"That's impressive." Bruce meant it. "What about languages? Can you speak any foreign languages?"

"Japanese, Spanish, French, German, a little bit of Italian, and a couple others."

"Wow." Bruce took extra care to not talk about any people in Alex's life. "What about-"

"Done!" Snake cried triumphantly. "Don't let go yet, though." He warned the others.

Snake pulled off his shirt and used it to try and mop up the blood around Alex, leaving a square of it clean. He ripped off that square when he was done and placed it on the wound, making Alex flinch.

"Alex, when they let go of you, don't fiddle with the stitches, or anywhere around the wound. Understand?" Snake said sternly.

"Snake, yes, I'm not five." Alex growled indignantly.

"Okay, and you should stay lying down, for now."

"Am I allowed to refuse?"

Snake shrugged. "You can sit up if you want, but do not even think about standing. And sitting will hurt."

"Good, can I go now?"

"Yeah. Let him go." Bruce, Cap, Hellboy, Pete and Tony released Alex and he breathed a sigh of relief, twisting his wrists around. He attempted to sit up, -slowly; he wasn't stupid- and failed when he groaned loudly. He settled for just laying on his side, propped up on the elbow of his better-off arm.

Bruce sat close to him, as did Snake, should he need anything.

"Alex, can I just say, you are one weird kid. And I've met a few weird kids in my line of work."

"Heh. How do you mean, Batman?" Alex asked.

"Well, you just had un-anaesthetised surgery, and you're sitting up and making jokes. That, is what I call weird. And why do you know all those languages and fighting techniques?"

Alex sighed before answering. "My uncle was with MI6, as I said before, and he trained me from the day I could walk to be one, too."

Bruce felt guilty when he realised what he was doing; taking advantage of the truth serum still inside Alex. He stopped asking questions and they fell into a comfortable silence.

That was, until they heard voices down the corridor, getting gradually louder. One that sounded like a young boy's and one that sounded older. Bruce recognised them both immediately, but silently begged he was wrong.

He was right, though: Superman and Robin were joining their cell.

*Can't remember if I mentioned he doesn't go to school to Bruce and co. Yet, but just pretend I haven't, for the sake of finishing this chapter quicker!

Okay, I was NOT planning on leaving it here; I was going to have some actual view of Supes and Robin, but my friend keeps texting me and telling me to hurry up so here it is!

Don't kill me for Supes and Robin! And don't worry about Supes being too strong, yadda yadda yadda; they have kryptonite. I'm not that dumb.

There're probably loads of inconsistencies, errors and more that I don't care to talk about in this chapter, but in my defence, it's 11pm here, and I'm knackered.

Oh yeah! I feel/know Hellboy has been extremely OOC in like, this whole thing, but I'm going to try and improve him next chapter!

PLEASE REVIEW!