It seemed to take forever and yet no time at all before they reached their destination. Spencer was a bundle of nerves by the time they arrived. His stomach was twisting and his heart was pounding in his chest. More than anything he wanted to clutch tightly to himself and take a few moments in private to just breathe until it stopped feeling like something was sitting on his chest or like his skin was going to crawl off of his body. There just wasn't the time. He had to calm down – had to focus.

When they landed, he kept himself close to Clint's side while they all gathered in the back of the jet. A plan had been discussed at some point. Spencer was vaguely aware of it. Just as he was aware that it hadn't included him. He didn't care, though. Steve didn't have to plan for him. If the man thought that he was going to stay here with Bruce as 'backup' he'd find that he had another thing coming.

But now, as Steve reiterated his plan for them one last time, it was time for Spencer to speak up.

"We need to move quickly, in case they sensed something. Tony's shielding is good, but we don't know what kind of technology they have in there." Steve pointed out. "The shields they've got up suggest they're pretty advanced. There's a chance they could do more than just block Tony's trackers. It's likely going to act as some sort of force field over the area. So, we're going to need to find a way to break through it…"

"Leave the shield to me." Spencer cut him off. This was where he knew he could be helpful. This was something he knew he could do. Ever since they'd gotten close he'd been able to feel the energy in the shield around this place. There was no doubt in his mind that he could manipulate it.

Multiple sets of eyes went his direction. The only person who understood what he meant was Clint. He was giving Spencer a look that clearly asked 'Are you sure?' There was no need for Spencer to think about the answer. He was sure. He was more sure than he'd been about anything in a long time.

Holding up his hands, Spencer let the energy build around them, let the crackles of electricity dance over his palms and around his hands, traveling down over his arms and back up to spark at his fingertips. Steve and Sam both drew back in surprise, while James and Natasha eyed him in that assessing way of theirs, as if he was a puzzle that had just added another piece. Thor gave a wild grin, like someone who knew the tide had just been turned in their favor. Their reactions were varied, and Spencer didn't care.

He knew his eyes were glowing as he looked up at them. "Leave the shield to me. I'll get it down. After that, you'll need to move fast, because there's no way to hide that we're coming."

Spencer was surprised when James spoke up, cutting off whatever sharp words Steve had been about to say. "Hawkeye and I got the kid—the rest of you be ready." He slanted a look at Steve and gave a shake of his head at whatever he saw there. "We aint got time, punk. Save it for once we got Tony back."

A strange sort of calm filled Spencer as they left the jet. With each step he took, his fears were pushed down, his anxiety shoved to the back of his mind, and the calm he'd learned on the job filled him. Only, this was more than ever. This wasn't just a sense of calm—it was a sense of rightness, and a readiness to do what needed to be done.

The others vanished into the trees around him. They all knew where they were going; they all had their place to be. Spencer knew what his place was. He walked confidently out into the open, heading straight for the shield. Through the comm in his ear, Spencer heard Sam ask, "Dude, what are you doing? Aren't we being stealthy?"

"Yes, you are." Spencer held his hands out to his sides, letting the power grow, letting it build and build on his skin until he was glowing with it. It took only a little effort to keep it from frying the comm he wore. "I'm not. They don't know who I am. Let them see me coming."

"They'll be distracted by him. Enough that they will likely not see us coming," Natasha explained to the rest of them. She'd caught on quickly to Spencer's plan.

Spencer smiled. Then he reached out ahead of him to the energy of the shield. His hands lifted and were held in front of him right as he reached the edge of the shield. He felt the power of it pulsing, shifting, alive in a way that so few people realized energy could be. Pressing his palms flat against it, Spencer drew in a breath and pulled.

It was an explosion of power and agony. His electrical powers shoved out against the power of the shield he was touching and the two fought against one another as Spencer used his own to connect to this energy, drawing the two together until they were matched up, twined together like threads to a rope.

Once he had it matched, the pain faded away and the power filled him. He pulled it in and merged it with his own, feeling it filling his veins, chasing away everything but pure energy. The glow around his eyes intensified and the others nearby watched with a mixture of fear and awe as Spencer's entire being was wrapped up in arcs of energy.

Then, in a flash of light, the shield was gone, revealing the base inside.

Spencer drew his hands back. Eyes bright with power, he looked up at the building in front of him, what looked to be some sort of old army base—and why the hell was it always places like this?—just in time to see men with guns come rushing out the door.

The power inside of Spencer pulsed, aching to be free, and he let it. He threw his hands forward and sent a shockwave of power flying at the men in front of him. It hit them, sending them and their guns flying back to crash into the walls. Spencer paid them no attention as he started forward, letting the power continue to dance along his skin.

He hated fighting—hated using his powers for evil things, hated hurting people with it, hated being the weapon SHIELD was convinced he was—but they were here, Tony might be here, and there was no way that Spencer was going to hold back. He was going to get his brother home. There was no place for Spencer out here in the field. All that made him who he was had to be pushed down so that the part of himself he liked to deny could spring free.

People raced up on his left and Spencer quickly flung out a hand. A ball of energy flew through the air, knocking them all down. It took precision and control to keep the power to a minimum. He didn't want to kill them. He just wanted them out of his way. Another blast went flying, taking out another group. But more of them seemed to be coming.

Through the comms he heard a few muttered curses. Lightning struck the ground nearby, echoed by Thor's thunderous cry from up above, and there was a shadow as Sam flew through the sky. So much for the others playing stealth. Spencer wasn't a distraction anymore. This group would know that the Avengers were here. Well, that was fine. If they weren't going to be stealthy, so be it. Spencer altered his plans and, instead of attacking more of the men coming, he sent out a blast that sent some of them flying and opened up the wall in front of him. Then he flung a ball of power directly at that wall.

The crash echoed loudly around them. Spencer didn't pause, he took off running.

All of a sudden there was someone right next to him, and a big metal arm right beside Spencer's head. Just barely did he keep from reacting to it. When he looked over, he saw James there, an arm up to block what was seemingly a bullet. "Move!" the man growled, and Spencer heard a hint of the Winter Soldier that he knew existed inside. He tried not to shiver.

James stayed with him as they took off inside the building. The fight outside grew muted, yet they found their own fight waiting inside. More men with guns were in the hallway as the two darted inside. "Just how many men do they have?" Spencer grumbled.

He heard James huff out what might've been a laugh. "You get used to it."

"No thank you." He didn't have time for this many people. As the guns lifted, Spencer pushed the power down his arms again, into his hands, and as he flung the balls of energy straight down the hall, right into the group.

From behind him came a low whistle. "Strike!" Clint called cheerfully. He was climbing over the bit of rubble to drop down behind them. "Nice shot, Doc."

"Less talking, more moving," James told them firmly. He turned to look at Spencer, and there was a surprising amount of trust in that look. "Where do we go now?"

He was asking him? Him? Spencer only allowed himself a second to marvel over it. Drawing in a breath, he forced it all away, and focused again. This was going to take just a bit of trust.

"Cover me." Closing his eyes, he trusted his safety to the two men with him and he reached out to the power of the building, feeling it flowing around, the energy of their security system, the power running to the computers and cameras. After so long of being close to JARVIS, filtering through this was like child's play. It took him only moments to find what he wanted. As soon as he did, his eyes shot open in shock and joy. "I've found him!"

There was no time for Spencer to pay any attention to anyone's reaction to that. Without wasting another moment, he spun and ran in the opposite direction—towards Tony. Inside, his heart was singing. Tony was alive! He was alive!

Later, Spencer wouldn't clearly remember how he made it through the building down to the cells. He knew that he fought as he went. He also knew that Clint and James fought with him, keeping him safe as they all made their way towards the one they were here for. But the fight itself? It was a blur. Spencer only remembered it in flashes. Things didn't get clear again until they were blasting through a door and he was inside of a small, cold, old prisoner cell.

His memory was clear on that first glimpse of Tony—his big brother, so skinny, obviously bruised and hurt in more than a few places, but alive, alive!—and the stunned way he stared at them as he sat up on the tiny little excuse for a bed he had in there. The first word that Spencer heard Tony speak after so long apart was the stupid nickname that Spencer pretended to hate even if he secretly loved it.

"Pikachu?"

A wet laugh, bordering on a sob, slipped past Spencer's lips. "Yeah, Tone. It's me."

Tony looked at him with stunned disbelief. Then his whole face just lit up and Spencer found himself grinning despite everything. With James standing guard in the hall and Clint the only one in the doorway to witness this, Spencer reached out and caught hold of Tony, carefully pulling him up to his feet, and then he drew him right in for a gentle hug that made Spencer's whole body ache with the need for more, yet was gentle enough not to exacerbate the obvious injuries and whatever ones he couldn't see that littered Tony's body.

There was no hesitation on Tony's part to fold himself around Spencer. His arms closed around him and he didn't seem to give a damn for his own injuries. He pulled Spencer in hard and tight and pressed his face in against Spencer's hair, very obviously breathing him in. "You're here." There was so much wonder in those words. So much heartache. "You're fucking here."

This was everything that Spencer had been wanting lately. He didn't care about how filthy Tony was, though the weight he'd lost was far too noticeable for Spencer's comfort. However, all of that could be figured out. Everything could be fixed. For now, Spencer was happy to turn his face in and tuck it into that spot against Tony's neck where he'd been hiding ever since he was a child seeking comfort from nightmares with his big brother.

"We're all here," Spencer told him, the words muffled against his skin. "Bruce is at the jet. He didn't want to risk bringing the place down on you."

He felt Tony huff out a laugh against his hair. "Good plan."

Neither one of them wanted to move, yet they both knew they had to. Spencer was the one to force himself to draw back first. Tony didn't let him go completely. He kept an arm around Spencer's shoulders; it was just as much for comfort as it was for support. Moving finally allowed him to see the shadow in the door, though.

Clint beamed at Tony, his expression softening into something warm and easy. "You know, if you wanted some space, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to run away to Canada."

Tony lit up at the easy teasing in Clint's words. He leaned a little more against Spencer, but he was beaming at Clint. "What can I say? You guys just weren't getting the hint." He lifted his free hand, which was surprisingly clear compared to the rest of him, though it made Spencer sick to realize that he probably knew why. There was no point in kidnapping a genius inventor if they were too injured to build something.

Clint tilted his head suddenly and then smiled up at them. "SHIELD arrived. Everything's clear and under lockdown. We're good to go."

"SHIELD…" Tony licked his lips, his eyes darting around the room, and Spencer understood. He knew exactly what Tony was worrying about. Leaning in, he murmured to his brother, "Don't worry, I've wiped the computers here." No one was going to see what had been done to Tony while he was here. They'd get no information about him.

The relief Tony felt was enough to have him slumping down. As Spencer braced him up, knowing that they needed to move him, he realized something. He hadn't heard anyone reporting that SHIELD had arrived. With his free hand, he fished out the comm from his ear and looked down at it. The thing was dead. Huh. Whoops?

It took both Spencer and Clint's combined efforts to get Tony up out of the dungeon. Clint kept up a steady stream of banter that Tony seemed to draw energy from. Spencer, well, he was just drawing as much comfort as he could from the touch of his brother. Every little bit of it, he drew it in, logging it all away, and relishing in the fact that Tony was here and he was alive. God, he was alive!

When they got outside, Tony squinted a little, and he almost stumbled, but Spencer and Clint were there to catch him. In the next second it didn't matter. The rest of the Avengers were coming towards them and Spencer had to fight to make himself duck down from Tony's arm so that he was free to be pulled in by the others. Everyone took their turns hugging him. Natasha took Spencer's place under his arm, murmuring words in Russian that Spencer didn't understand.

For one too-brief moment, Spencer just stood there and stared, letting himself drink in the sight of Tony alive and well. He was dirty, his clothes were torn, bloodstained, and too big, and he had quite the beard and his hair was in need of a trim—it was honestly the most amazing sight that Spencer had ever seen. There wasn't a single person aside from his mother that mattered as much in Spencer's world as Tony did.

He'd been Spencer's, well, his everything. Brother, friend, sometimes father-figure. He took care of Spencer in ways that no one else ever had even tried to. More than that, he'd gone above and beyond, time and time again. It had been high time that Spencer returned that favor.

When he broke his gaze away from the group shuffling Tony away, Spencer was finally able to see the SHIELD agents waiting nearby. They were on alert, watching him, and Spencer had no doubt what they were here for. He swallowed down the lump in his throat. It was worth it. Over and over he reminded himself of that. It was worth it.

"Spencer?"

Spencer startled a little at the sound of Clint's soft voice. In the distance, Thor's booming laugh echoed around them, so at odds with the solemn air that was inside of Spencer. He turned himself to look at Clint and saw understanding with a shuttered expression that didn't completely hide the sadness in his eyes. Spencer's smile was equally sad. He'd started to really enjoy Clint's company. It would've been nice to get to know him without the danger hanging over their heads. "Get him to medical, would you? He needs looked at."

"Come do it yourself," Clint said, taking a small step closer. His hand twitched like he wanted to reach out, only he kept himself back, kept his hands away. His eyes, however, stayed right on Spencer, and his voice was pitched low for only Spencer to hear. "We could keep you safe. You don't have to do this."

Even as Clint said it, Spencer was shaking his head. He couldn't do that. He couldn't turn their world upside-down like that. It wasn't like Nick would back off. Spencer wasn't going to make them go to war with SHIELD over him.

He let out a shaky breath and lifted his hand, letting his fingers run down Clint's cheek in a touch he wouldn't have dared to take any other time. "You're one of the only people that I think sees past the fronts he puts up. Just… take care of him for me. Please?"

"You don't even have to ask, Doc."

The corners of Spencer's mouth curved up. "I know. That's why I'm asking you."

He gave himself one moment more to let his hand stay on the warmth of Clint's face. Then he drew it back and made himself turn around, turn away from everyone and everything. Tony was further away now, almost completely out of sight, so Spencer was out of time. He was lucky that Tony hadn't started trying to come back for him. The worry that he was too hurt to truly focus, it plagued Spencer, but he made himself let it go. The others would take care of him. If there was one thing that Spencer had learned in his time at the tower, it was that Tony had a family around him now. People who would take care of him. He'd be okay.

With his chin held high, Spencer made his way over towards the SHIELD agents, never once looking back.

Either they trusted him far more than he expected or they understood that he was trying not to make a scene here, because they didn't grab him, didn't cuff him, didn't do any of the things he expected. They just led him quietly over to their jet and up inside.

It wasn't until Spencer was out of view of everyone that the woman in front of him turned around and actually gave him an apologetic look. Then she held up something in her hands that made Spencer shiver. "We need you to put this on, Dr. Reid."

Spencer stared at the collar in her hands and wanted to throw up right then and there. He knew what it felt like to wear one of those and he hadn't ever wanted to do it again. Memories of a different time and place burned in his mind like fire. With hands that shook, he reached out and took it from her. Thankfully, no one said a word about his obvious fear. They just stood quietly as he lifted it up and pressed it around his neck.

When the lock clicked into place, everything changed. The world dimmed, getting less vibrant, quieter. The place inside Spencer where his powers sat was now… empty. Gone. It was a feeling that was shrouded in terror for him, linked to memories of times he never wanted to think about, and a feeling of helplessness that was almost more than he could stand.

Someone came up towards him with cuffs and Spencer couldn't quite stop his flinch. He was surprised when the agent who had handed him the collar now held out her hand to the other and shook her head. "We don't need those."

"Vince…"

The woman, Vince, shook her head. "No. Just get to your positions. I'll sit with him."

The jet was quiet as everyone gathered in their places. Spencer was led to a seat and Vince took up the one beside him. Neither one of them said anything as the jet was readied and then finally brought up into the air. It wasn't until they'd been flying for a bit that she finally spoke to him, though she didn't turn to look his way. "That was a brave thing you did."

Spencer said nothing. What was there to say? Tony was the most important person in his world. If it meant keeping him safe, Spencer would do this a thousand times over. Still…

He closed his eyes and tried to keep the panic at bay. The emptiness inside him felt so immense it threatened to steal his breath away. The only thing he could console himself with was the thought that it was worth it. It was worth it. For Tony, it was worth it.