It was over before Tony could even properly realize what was happening. The sound of breaking glass, shouting, screaming, Loki's desperate look right before the small army of black-clad SHIELD agents pulled him away from Tony. It was almost as if the events played before him in slow motion, and he wanted to stop them, stop them from taking Loki away, tell them they didn't know everything… he couldn't. It all happened so fast that he could barely even get up from the bed before a stinging pain went through him. A metal dart stuck from his leg. Tony knew exactly what that meant. Approximately five seconds later he had a very close encounter with the floor of his workshop. His last conscious thought was something among the lines of "fuck."

(Pagebreak)

"It is exactly…as beautiful as I remember."

Peter had laid Hela down in the grass under a couple of trees. It was cold, but she didn't mind. Letting her hands run through the grass below her, breathing the fresh air, she could feel how her magic replenished itself. And with that the sadness of Loki's disappearance returned at full strength. Silently she cried.

"Hela, are you all right?"

What did she have to answer? The mortal boy was so naïve… he had not the slightest idea of the horrors she had seen in her long life. How could she tell him about Death, about Asgard, about her father and his inner demons? She stayed silent and watched the trees with their golden leaves that filtered the light above her. All the living things around her gave her new strength, and even though it made her dulled out feelings come to life again, it also made her feel hopeful.

"You wouldn't understand."

She softly whispered, without looking at Peter.

"You wouldn't understand, and should be grateful for that. To be burdened with knowledge…"

She didn't finish her sentence. The thought of her assignment went through her head. The assignment she had lingered upon for too long, and now They had taken her father. If she wanted to have a chance of getting him back, she would have to complete it after all… It had been the purpose of her coming to New York. They had given her father the power to free her from her realm, in exchange for a great favour. Death, Thanos' Mistress, was hungry for souls… She didn't want to think of what might be happening to him now, now they had taken her and she was too weak to perform the task expected of her. Too weak…

"Try to explain me. Us mortals understand more than you might think."

At first Hela didn't realize it. Then it hit her. She turned her head and stared at Peter, in shock.

"You… You…"

"I know. It was fairly obvious actually; you guys are far from as stealthy as you think."

Hela just stared, too dumbstruck to talk. Peter softly caressed her cold hand.

"I don't care. To me you're just Hela, and I like you just the way you are. Complete with the life-sucking thing. And the creepy dad."

That made Hela throw him a deeply saddened look.

"My father… He is a kind soul, Peter. Mischievous, but kind."

"I don't call the destruction of Manhattan kind, not to mention all those other, lesser attacks he conducted on his own."

Hela softly shook her head.

"This is why you don't understand. You are blind. You are deaf. If only you could see his mind, Peter, hear the things They do to him each night… He is a kind soul, but They have broken him… They broke him, and I… I failed him."

Peter saw Hela was crying again. He didn't want her to cry…

"Because you couldn't find him? I'm sure he'll turn up eventually… Remember he came back from the dead after his fall from the rainbow thingy too?"

"It's called the Bifröst, and yes that is true. But the… the pain and torment he was put through… Peter, when he came for me I almost didn't recognize him. I fear for what They will do to him now…"

Peter didn't know all that much about Asgardian people, Loki in peculiar, but Hela was pretty convincing. For her sake he hoped the trickster god had just gone into hiding somewhere safe and far away, and that he would send Hela a postcard pretty soon… Hela silently cried, and on a whim Peter pulled her closer. She didn't resist, but the closeness of his warm, living body to her cold, static one made her cry even more. She had failed her father in far more than one way. His disappearance was her fault in the first place…

(Pagebreak)

The others were rather shocked when Director Fury brought them the news…

"Both of them are currently in SHIELD custody. The general idea is that Tony was under mind control. This we base on the things told us by Agent Barton."

They all looked at Clint, who blushed a bit. Finally, Natasha asked.

"You HUGGED with Loki?"

"I couldn't help it! I had to do everything he asked of me remember?"

"Still."

Steve was being practical.

"So, what is to happen now?"

"Until we know for sure the control is broken, Stark is to remain under sedation in custody. We expect to have definite results in two days."

"And if the control was broken?"

"Then he is free to return to you. Loki will remain here, of course."

Thor, who had been surprisingly silent, suddenly raised his voice.

"How fares my brother?"

Nick Fury looked a bit… cornered at that question.

"Well… I don't suppose he's in the best state he's ever been, but he's alive."

"Is he being tortured?"

Fury shook his head.

"No. His state is currently too unstable for interrogation."

Thor didn't know what that meant, but Clint and Natasha threw each other a knowing look. If SHIELD considered someone too unstable for interrogation you had to be seriously more dead than alive. Natasha recalled having to torture an 87-year-old Nazi war criminal once, so if they thought Loki too unstable…

"Can I visit him?"

"No. Not for the time being. As soon as we figure out what he did to Stark, visiting will most likely be allowed."

Thor nodded sadly.

"Good, Director of Fury."

The screen went black, and the Avengers were left to their own devices, looking uncertain at each other.

"I can't believe that bastard managed to sneak in!"

Clint looked pissed. Bruce didn't know what to say. Should he tell them Peter was currently sleeping over at Loki's place, taking care of Loki's sick daughter? He decided not to. Things were bad enough already, and his calm would not benefit from any more screaming… He left the room while the others continued to argue.

(Pagebreak)

Some time had passed, and Peter was cold. Hela didn't bring in any body heat at all, it was as if he was hugging a corpse. That he didn't tell her of course, after all her talk of death he supposed being compared to a corpse would make her angry. Actually he was just happy to finally hold her. But then it also started raining. Hela looked at him while they became wetter and wetter.

"I… I did not bring the rain shield."

Peter grinned at her description of his umbrella.

"I didn't bring an umbrella either… Do you mind the rain much?"

Hela sent him that smirk, and he immediately knew she did. Hela truly disliked rain.

"We should get back to my house."

Peter shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure the authorities will be waiting for us there."

"Why?"

"You may have your secrets, but I have some of my own as well…"

Hela didn't question him. She just crawled closer to him, trying to shield herself from the rain a bit. Peter grabbed his cell phone and sent a text.

'Hey, do you have a spare room? Peter'

He immediately got an answer.

'Need to bunk over? Justin'

'Yeah, Hela and me. It's complicated. Can we stay? We're outside and it's raining big time. Peter'

Now the answer wasn't directly coming in. Peter waited, and finally his phone beeped again.

'Sure, dad's on a business trip, plenty of rooms here for you and Creepy! Want the whole story though. Justin'

'Great, where do you live? Peter'

'I'll send a car. Where are you? Justin'

'Central Park West. You'll see us.'

He put away his phone and smiled at Hela.

"I have a place for us to stay."

"What have you done with that device?"

"I let a friend know we need a place. He's sending a car to come and get us."

"Can you trust him?"

Hela eyes him suspiciously. Hearing Peter had secrets that put them in danger hadn't really helped her trust his decisions… Peter nodded though.

"It's Justin. He helped me find you, remember?"

"Yes. I am most grateful for that."

"You'll have the chance to thank him in person."

Hela tried to get up, but failed miserably, swaying on trembling legs and almost dropping to the ground. Peter helped her and then simply picked her up to carry her. Hela protested a little.

"I can walk now…"

"I don't want you to fall."

With that the conversation had ended. While the rain continued to fall, Peter and Hela waited for Justin at the entrance of the park. At long last a grey BMW arrived, and the door opened, showing Justin with a wide grin on his face.

"Get in before you're soaked!"

They did, even though they were already wet to their underwear. In the car, Justin eyed them. He immediately saw that Hela didn't look her best.

"You still sick?"

"My health is of little concern to you."

Justin frowned at his friend, who just shrugged. Hela's mood was inversely proportional to the amount of water she had been subjected to… Peter's eyes opened wide though when the car brought them to a place he only knew from the picture Tony sometimes threw darts at. Hammer Mansion, the house of Stark's number one business enemy, Justin Hammer. Peter looked at his friend with raised eyebrows. Justin just shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"Justin Hammer Junior, at your service. Also known as son to the shittiest father in the whole universe."

"Have you seen the whole universe?"

It was an honest question from Hela, but one that made Peter want to face-palm.

"It's an expression. It just means his dad is really bad."

Justin nodded.

"He's an ass. If I weren't against murder I think I would kill him."

Hela looked at Justin with new curiosity.

"My father killed his father too."

Now Justin was shocked.

"Really? Man, you have a creepy family."

Peter chuckled. Things had gone so far that he couldn't get himself to care anymore.

"You don't know half of it, really…"

(Pagebreak)

Later, Peter and Hela sat on a big double bed in one of the many spare rooms of the Hammer Mansion. Justin had brought them clothes from his parents, because they were both far taller than him. Therefor, Peter found himself wearing a rather expensive pair of trousers and shirt, and Hela wore a black velvet dress that was clearly not made to be worn daily. They looked a bit uncertain at each other.

"Are you okay?"

"This garment fits me."

"You look nice."

Hela was surprised at that. She looked at him as if it was the first time someone complimented her on her looks. With a sad streak around her mouth she said.

"You don't know half of it…"

Peter didn't know what to think of it, so for the time being he ignored her. He handed Hela one of Mr Hammer's canes to support herself with and then helped her to Justin's room. The other boy's room was a computer paradise. Computers and electronics were everywhere, with flickering lights and soft beeping noises. Hela didn't feel at ease there…

"These noisy contraptions… are they harmful?"

"Nah, just some things I'm working on."

Justin appeared from underneath a computer-stuffed table, grinning widely. He pointed at his bed.

"Have a seat, and do the talk! Why did you guys seek refuge in my humble abode?"

Hela wanted to speak, but Peter interrupted her.

"It's my fault. Hela was very sick, so I called the doctor, but I didn't know her father was… well, a wanted man, so to say. We're afraid the doctor knows this now, and has alerted the authorities."

Justin looked baffled.

"Is he wanted because he killed his father?"

"Among other things, yes."

Hela said now. She understood where Peter was going with his story. His lies were becoming better and better, perhaps she had a good influence after all… They both looked expectantly at Justin. The boy stared pensively at them, peering over his horn-rimmed glasses.

"Well… with all the crimes he's committed my dad should be wanted, and he isn't… so who am I to deny you refuge? Please stay as long as you want. Now, on to more important matters. Has the Norse lady here ever eaten pizza?"

(Pagebreak)

It was horrible. Loki didn't know what had hit him, but when he felt his eyelids go heavy while he was being dragged away from Tony his heart clenched in sheer despair. As he lost consciousness, the first thing he knew was that They had found him again. Chains held him in place on a cold stone table, darkness was all around him and the dripping sound he heard… he truly hoped it was simply water.

"You have failed, Asgardian."

The booming voice was back, and with it came the hands. Long clawed fingers crawled over his skin, scratching and teasing. The nails must be poisoned, because the scratches started to burn and from what Loki could see in the dark they immediately infected gruesomely. He felt sick from the slimy, dead smell in the room. The air was so thick he could barely breathe. While his panic rose, the voice resounded through his mind again.

"You have failed and you will be punished!"

With a choked voice, Loki managed to utter."

"P-please… P-please don't hurt… m-my daughter…"

"Hela of Helheim is a handmaiden of Death, and those in Her service shall not be harmed." Loki almost sighed in temporary relief, when the voice was suddenly next to his ear. "You, however…"

The next thing he knew was an excruciating pain lashing through the whole of his body. He screamed as the nails scratched whole daubs of flesh from his bones… Yet the torture of his body was not the worst he went through. In front of his eyes people died. One by one. His daughter Hela, slowly being cut in two, separating her living half from her dead half while she desperately screamed for help. His mother, being raped by gruesomely shaped chitauri until she was ripped open completely and bled to death, only to have her corpse defiled even more by the monsters. Thor being cut to pieces by Thanos. Tony… Tony died a hundred times, in the most imaginative ways his tormentors could think of, and every time he looked at Loki and Loki could see his lips move. "This is your fault."

It didn't take too long before Loki lost the connection with reality completely, forgot that it were only images, that he was being tortured, that it wasn't real. He cried and begged until the pain became so strong that something in his mind snapped, sending the remnants of his awareness into a blissful darkness…

(Pagebreak)

Director Fury observed Loki from behind glass, accompanied by Maria Hill.

"The doctors say he is not fit for interrogation yet."

The director sighed, without turning his eyes away.

"We don't have to torture him, Hill… He's doing a pretty good job himself."

Loki was tied to a bed, but despite his restraints he had managed to make deep gashes in his arms and chest, simply by scratching in a feverish delirium. The whole day the man had been trashing, screaming in an untranslatable language and crying desperately while hurting himself. Now he was silent, too silent. His eyes were open, but they had an empty stare in them. Something wasn't right, Fury knew that much, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He had seen the footage from Stark's workshop, and the state the god had been in when he was only just there… It didn't fit with the image he had of the megalomaniac, staff-wielding Asgardian…

"How are the reports on Tony Stark?"

"He's clean, sir. No trace of magic on him, at least not anymore."

"Hill. Look at that, and tell me what you see, not counting in what you already know."

"Catatonia. Symptom of many psychopathologies among which are PTSD and Schizophrenia."

Fury looked at his assistant with raised eyebrows.

"I had an education in psychology, Sir."

"Aha."

He looked back at Loki. He felt anger towards the man that had killed one of his best agents and a personal friend, the man who had caused so much harm to his people… But somehow the man in the cell didn't seem the same anymore. Looks deceived, of course, but still…

(Author's Notes)

Okay, so here I am again! Please Review, I live on reviews, they are my sustenance! I cannot live without them! Also, may I remind you that as soon as I have over 15 reviews, you get the Avengers and Loki as babies, with Fury as babysit... So REVIEW! Even a little line like "lol, I like it" or "fuck, I hate it" makes my day! Suggestions are always welcome as well :D