Sorry for the delay, college is rough sometimes. :) Please enjoy and leave me a review if you would!

It had been two days. Two days since their failed escape attempt. This time, Hena kept everyone informed of the passing time. In total, about a week had passed from the time they'd been captured by Thanos now.

In their optimistic moments, they talked about how Anaheim and Asgard should have been alerted to their absence now. The false images of them on Earth couldn't have been maintained anymore. Heimdall would be able to see that they were no longer there.

However, even when those moments came, they were followed by the very dreary fact that Asgard couldn't get here. The Bifrost could travel to the nine realms easily, whether Heimdall could view there or not. But when they were realms rarely traveled to, or worse yet, realms Heimdall was completely blind to, it was dangerous and nearly impossible for someone to be sent there. So, Thor had little hope for Asgard coming for them.

Anaheim's intervention was slightly more believable though, because it was so near the dark realm and possible for Valder to get there. But, the cons still seemed to outweigh the pros. It would be dangerous for him to come, especially if he came alone.

Arguments had broken out about this, despite all of them wanting the exact same thing. It was really their pure frustration at being locked up.

And, even without talking about it, they could only imagine what Loki was going through while they sat in this cell. It weighed on their minds like nothing else, causing the contention. They'd avoided thinking about it too deeply at first, but the confirmation from Hena had finally made it real. They couldn't sit in denial any longer.

Hena had wept most of the first night, unable to sleep. By morning (or what they assumed was morning), she appeared to have become numb. Thor couldn't get through to her and only a few others had tried. She'd maintained that for now.

Lila had yet to fully recover from the trauma she'd experienced in Thanos' hands. She'd woken up extremely disoriented and she was constantly shaking, whether out of fear or residual effects from whatever he had done they didn't know. But it wasn't improving at all. One of her parents was constantly holding her. Black Widow and Tony had come up with a few games to keep the two boys busy and it almost seemed to help them as well.

"Alright now, up top." Tony said to Nathaniel, flexed hands hovering above the child so that the palms faced him. The boy, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him, very slowly lifted his own arms and placed his hands as perfectly as he could on the man's.

Tony leaned to inspect it, while Cooper watched in anticipation.

"Ooh, I'm going to have to give that an eighty-six point five." he said, pulling his arms back "Very nicely done. You really should consider becoming a doctor with that kind of precision."

"I don't want to be a doctor." Nathaniel said with a shake of his head.

"Well, very good, you never want to be something you don't like." Tony replied, with an approving gesture at him.

"I'm gonna be an Avenger." Nathaniel said, the last word coming out dramatically.

"Oh." Tony's eyebrows went up.

"And fight bad guys." Nathaniel added.

Hawkeye and Laura glanced at each other with the barest amount of amusement. Hena's first reaction was the same, but it quickly left as it reminded her of Loki. She looked down. He'd been the first one to make the Avengers team necessary, but he was not truly that person. She hardly noticed as Laura came up to her until the woman spoke her name. She turned, not bothering to hide the mist in her eyes.

"Hena, sorry, but, would you be able to try something with Lila?" Laura asked hesitantly "We cannot get her to calm down and we thought that...maybe if you could use your..." she paused, searching for a term other than 'magic.'

But Hena immediately nodded "Yes, absolutely." she followed Laura over and got down on her knees by the child. Lila had her head in her father's lap right now and he was brushing her hair with his hands very lightly.

"She's responsive, but only if you talk directly to her." Laura explained worriedly.

Hena gently took the little girl's hand and spoke.

"Lila, it's Hena." she said kindly "Do you remember me?"

Hawkeye looked down at his daughter. It took a moment, but she did shift her attention to the woman and nod.

"Good. I'm going to do something that should feel nice. I want you to tell me if it does, alright?"
And, to Laura's relief, some excitement came over Lila's face at the prospect.

"Yes, it should be fun as well." Hena told her with a smile.

Nathaniel peered over, eyebrows up and mouth open. Hawkeye put a finger to his lips to signal him to stay quiet.

Hena watched the little girl's face intently until Lila let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes and began to breath deeply, despite being fully awake.

Laura looked at Hena in concern.

"I'm calming her." Hena explained "Before I try a more intense emotion."

"Just do what you do." Hawkeye replied with a small shake of his head "As long as it helps."

"I'll try." Hena said "She's just young and I have to make sure I monitor how deep of an emotion is allow her to feel."

"I wish I could help you this way too." Laura said gently.

Hena glanced at her and then slowly nodded her thanks to avoid talking in the moment. She kept her concentration on the little girl.

Now that they knew the guards came and checked the cells every hour or so, they began to listen at the door for it. There would be very faint voices outside, only heard if they really tried hard. Whoever was on watch would try to hear anything that could help them, but it just seemed rather futile. And frustrating. Similar to everything else they did.

Hena usually slept fitfully when she allowed herself to sleep in the cell. But, tonight was different. Thor had sensibly advised her to try and get some rest. And she was just so mentally exhausted that her mind finally took over and pulled her into deeper sleep.

Lila had responded well to all of her emotional prompts, which gave them some hope. The girl had even enjoyed a small game with her brothers before withdrawing into her nervousness again.

Right now, all Hena could imagine was being at home on Anahiem and her dreams reflected that desire. This was probably the longest she had been away from her beloved realm. It was so peaceful there. Anaheim was filled with forest, the place Hena liked most to retreat to. All of the plants grew so well because of the carefully controlled weather. How Mazi loved to be outside when she didn't have to worry about the sun. And the animals were lovely too. She'd always had a way with them.

Their palace was so grand on the inside. Many people got lost in it their first time. But Hena could trace the way to her room in her mind easily. When she was younger, she had to count the number of windows that came before each turn she had to make. Though, even if she lost her way, there were always guards outside to help.

And their library was quite large, with a section made just for children in it. She'd gone there with her mother so many times and often picked out the same book. But Svleiva had stayed patient with her each time, reading the story and then having her pick another. Hena could recite the book word for word at one point.

The lakes were surrounded by thick greenery that kept them nicely hidden. Mazi sometimes pretended she was on another realm and the enclosed area was her room. It was easy to go there if one wanted privacy. Her little sister would drag her there over and over again and Hena used to get mildly annoyed. However, now it reminded her of being a child and pure enjoyment of life. Mazi was sure to be missing her, even if she had no idea what was going on. Valder and Svleiva were very good at acting like everything was alright in front of their children. They had to be. Otherwise Mazi and Hena would feel it necessary to search their parents minds for the problem. That was a definite downside to their powers.

A very loud and agonized cry jarred Hena from her deep rest. She jerked up to a sitting position, eyes flying open. Heart pounding, she tried to place the sound. For a moment, she wondered if it had been in her dream, but it had sounded far too real.

When she heard the others shuffling, she knew she wasn't the only one who had heard it. She let a bit more light into the room. Everyone looked confused as they tried to figure out what had just happened.

But Thor in particular had a grave look on his face. Hena allowed the sound to replay in her mind several times. She pulled her legs just slightly closer to her body, jaw trembling.

The two of them could easily recognize Loki's cry of pain.

The room remained awake for the rest of their time allotted for 'night.' No one spoke, but they could tell the others were awake. Thor was the only one to get up on his feet and he paced for a good part of that. He had no doubt that them being able to hear his brother, for however short a time, was intentional. Thanos was mocking them for their failure and the fact that Loki was in his cruel grasp. It was meant to unhinge them.

And that is exactly what it did for the next little while until the guards came around to check the cell again. This time, however, the door was opened.

Despite the cell being lit already, the lights outside were much harsher. Hena squinted for a moment, staring at the two forms coming into the room. There was a man and a woman, both who had the least-threatening look about them that anyone had seen here. But they still didn't look friendly.

"Hena Anaheim?" the woman said "We're here to tend to you."

Hena frowned at them for a moment before realizing they must mean the cut Thanos had made in her neck.

"No. I'm fine." she said coldly. No one else had been checked on when they'd first arrived and plenty of creatures had been left to die here. If Thanos was attempting to make her feel special and valued, he was about to find out how uncooperative she could be.

"We've been ordered to do so." the man said "Forcibly if we must."

"Really?" Hena asked in contempt "Then I guess you'll have to do it forcibly. Because if Thanos thinks he's going to turn me by providing a luxury no one else receives, he's a lot more idiotic than I already thought he was."

So, without another word, the two servants turned and allowed two other guards into the room.

"If you want to fight, then I dare you to approach me." Hena said "I'm sure Thanos wouldn't be pleased if I am hurt beyond what he does with his own hands."

"We don't need to hurt you." the woman replied "You have a lot of expendable friends in here."

The Chitari lifted their weapons towards the others, targeting the mortals more than the Asgardians. Hawkeye put an arm in front of Laura, warily watching them.

"This is a silly fight." the man said "Fighting because we're trying to help you. Don't be stupid. Or I'll have them start shooting at random."

Hena stared angrily, hating every last second of their exploitation. Knowing this was likely a test to see how easily she would comply, but also not willing to risk anyone's lives over this, she put up her hands to signal her resignation.

"Good. Now come forward." the woman said, without having the guards back off yet.

Thor went with her without saying anything and shockingly, there wasn't a protest to that.

Face grudging the whole time, Hena allowed them to help the wound in her neck. They didn't take long, but the blood was cleaned from her skin, leaving the thin cut behind.

"If we have to come back, let's not have this pathetic confrontation again." that was all they said before stepping out of the cell. The Chitari stayed inside, standing on either side of the open door.

Captain America looked at the Anaheimien woman "Hena, if they try to-"

"Well, well, if it isn't my lovely escapees." Red Skull sauntered in, making them all immediately bristle. Hena and Thor took a few steps back as he came closer, smiling as if he would never ever stop.

"If we try to what, Captain America?" he asked in amusement. He let his gaze linger there for a moment before turning it to Hena.

"I'm only here to ask a question. Then I can be on my way." he said.

"You might want to be on your way now." Hawkeye growled, stepping up next to the God of Thunder. He wouldn't forget that Red Skull was the one that had stopped him in the battle. He was finally beginning to understand why Loki and Captain America had such hate reserved for this man.

"Tell me, dear Hena. And be honest." the mutant carried on anyway "What will it truly take for you to offer your powers to us? I'm not saying I can grant whatever it is, but I just want to know."

"You apparently need a refresher on my personality." Hena purposely used Loki's words, however much it made her heart ache.

And it worked. Red Skull blinked, almost as if he wanted to laugh.

"You two really are just perfect for each other, aren't you?" he said under his breath.

"I'm glad." Hena nearly spat at him.

"Is that it?" Red Skull asked, one foot hovering in the air briefly as he went to take another step. He was taunting them, which only meant that the spindly creatures were waiting just outside.

Lila turned away into her mother's side, whimpering at the sight of him.

"Is it Loki? Letting him go would put you on our side?" Red Skull asked.

Hena said nothing. The desire to say yes was most certainly there, but, she couldn't reveal any vulnerability.

"Well, I mean, I might be able to do something about that. He can't be set loose. We have a lot more...conditioning...for him to finish. But, I may be able to convince Thanos to cut that down to...three-fourths...of his remaining pitiful life. Have him killed early."

Hena stayed quiet, lips pressed together. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of goading her into pleading for anything.

"Let my brother go." Thor growled, nearly unable to contain his anger.

"See, now he's your brother." Red Skull replied "No. No. Certainly not. That isn't how it works. He'll stay. He's a humorous spectacle to Thanos. The thing is, people we keep where he is almost always start off with the refusal to scream. They don't like to give us the satisfaction. But, one just has to find what causes the individual the most excruciating pain. Because it really is very unique to each person. Some can't stand the cutting. Some can't stand the burning. Some can't stand the snap of their own bones." he shrugged "But, of course, those are very simplistic measures. It doesn't take long to find what will make them beg." he grinned "Sadly, Loki is acquainted with what we do. Rather stubborn too. Comes from a long life, I suppose. It took a great deal of searching before we found a new method. And, rest assured, have we found a glorious method. I don't think that Loki was quite prepared for it, to be honest. We do switch from tactic to tactic. Just to keep them lively. He's never been one to beg though. So, in time, we'll have to find another way. I'd like to be there when he finally regrets his decision to return to his unloving family."

"Just kill him!" Hena screamed at the mutate.

Red Skull's eyebrows flew up as if struck by her conviction. She stared him wildly, breaths coming close together. He narrowed his eyes.

"No." he said coldly "Not for a long, long time. I want to see how long it takes us to break him. To shred every last bit of his identity from him. The last time he was here, right after he left Anaheim, we took him near that point, but not past it. No, not quite."

"I don't need my hammer to smash your skull." Thor told him, a warning to stop speaking now.

"And why do you say that? Because it's clear back on Earth?" Red Skull asked with a laugh. His eyes gleamed "Do you want to know what happened here before he was sent to Earth? Do you really want to?" he simply surveyed their expressions for a moment, taking the hate for a confirmation "I'll entertain you because I bet you've been wondering. He came from Anaheim, curious as a child. Albeit, he was anything but naive. He'd studied darkness. He had the upperhand on that when compared to me. And a touch of his studies had rubbed off on him. He was extremely clever and possessed some skill we hadn't seen before. And Thanos wanted him. He couldn't be trusted so quickly, despite his desire for revenge on Asgard. Everyone has to he put through a screening. So, before he even met us, we had him under our wing. His being a frost giant was so entertaining because things that don't normally hurt people, hurt him badly. Took him to the brink of death several times. Then Thanos stepped in to save the day." Red Skull spread his hands "It's best to make him seem the savior. Surprisingly, Loki's personality was still intact after everything we did. He had a certain amount of that revolting Asgardian goodness about him that we needed to bury. His angry feelings for his family just needed a bit of validation and nurturing. And while the scepter was necessary for the mission to Midgard, it certainly helped to have that to remind him of all the horrible things done to him by his precious brother and father. It conditions the mind, you see. Fear not though, he was fully in control of himself when he went to Midgard." Red Skull tilted his head at Thor when he said this.

The God of Thunder just stood with squinted eyes. Loki had been so bitter when he arrived on Earth. So devastated. So sure that his father thought nothing of him.

"If he was a monster, then why not act the part?" the mutate continued "And get revenge for all of the times he was treated as inferior scum. He truly did feel these things. We didn't need to engineer that at all. Unfortunately, however, we never could convince him of anything done by his mother. And even you, Thor, were on the precarious edge. So, we encouraged Loki to kill you the moment he saw you next. He was a fool though and allowed you to talk and get into his head each time. That weak sentiment cost him Earth. Cost him the Tesseract."

"Ruling Midgard was never what Loki wanted." Hena snarled "Revenge, yes, but if he'd wanted Midgard, he would have been able to take it."

"Perhaps, but I doubt that his conviction was what was lacking. Power is very attractive to him."

"No. Approval is." Hena retorted.

Red Skull shrugged "If you want to believe that. But this time. This time, Hena, we don't need to preserve anything about him. We just need him to realize what it means to cross us. We have many techniques that weren't used last time. Oh, Thanos will toy with him for several centuries or more before he decides to drive him to madness. And we'll extend beyond the physical side to do so. With the right method, we can make him fear just about anything. His mother for example. Manipulate his memories of her. Or you." he smiled "How does that sound? Would you like him to fear you, Hena? So your very presence makes him tremble? That would be truly beautiful."

"You're disgusting." Hena whispered.

"Well, then give me an answer to the simple question I asked. What will it take for your powers to become ours?"

Hena glared fiercely at him and suddenly Red Skull stumbled back. He looked around, eyes wide with stark terror. His breathing quickened and he fell to the ground, scrambling away from her. Hena stepped closer, fists clenching.

The Chitari growled savagely, forcing her back. Then she straightened up and Red Skull gasped out in relief. For a moment, he remained where he was, too shocked to move. Then, he got to his feet, staring at her with a paranoid expression. He backed out, nearly tripped as he did so and the door slammed.

Hena turned around, tears sliding down her enraged face. The glow that they had become so accustomed to being around her was gone.

"What happened?" Hawkeye asked warily.

Hena swallowed and inhaled sharply.

"He wanted my powers. So, I gave them to him."

That only seemed to confuse them more for a moment Thor glanced back at the door. The dose of happiness she'd given Tony back on Earth had been powerful enough. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to have pure fear being hurled all at once.

"But...your glow. The light around you. It's gone." Fandral said, staring at her.

Hena looked down, trying very hard to remain stoic, but she was obviously upset. Then, she narrowed her eyes again.

"I used my powers with malicious intent. And I don't regret it."

Fandral tilted his head, wondering what she meant by that.

"The light that you could see around me signified innocence and purity. We're born with that on Anaheim, and other realms as well, I'm sure. It offers a layer of protection against some spells, but we lose it when our powers are used for dark purposes. I've maintained mine up until now."

"And you lost it for that?" Fandral asked, tone fading into a bit of uneasiness.

"Yes. Because in that moment, the only thing I wanted was to cause someone else pain. That is malicious in and of itself, even if warranted. Mazi lost hers when she touched the scepter. She had no idea what she was doing, but touching something so tainted with darkness caused the magic to retreat. And Loki..." her voice cracked and she put a fist over her mouth, eyes closed as she regained control. She removed it with a shuddering breath "Loki felt so guilty about that. He thought that perhaps removing the memory would change it. But it doesn't work that way."

Thor pondered her words for a moment before shaking his head "You've done nothing wrong. We have to find a way to get out of here. You have magic and you can magnify our powers. There has to be some way. We have to get to Loki." he walked over to the door as if to examine it.

Hena stayed where she was though, utterly disheartened.