Warnings: PG13, for a small torture scene. Nothing super bad though.

Last Time:

Steve lays a hand on Thor. "We all make mistakes. It shouldn't take Tony too long to have Jarvis up and running. Right, Tony?"

"Of course."

And there's the arrogance Natasha was waiting for. Trust Steve to know when to call it out. Now Stark will be aiming to get them up and running in record time. Not that he'd have been slow before, but now he's got his ego to boost…and Steve to prove right.

And just to prove he's mostly back to normal, Stark pauses at the doorway. "And, just cause no one else is asking…since when does Mew-Mew glow in the dark?!"

A smirk spreads across Thor's face.

Now:

It's cold now. So very, very cold. Loptr shivers and hugs himself as he crunches through the white mounds. Something nearby screams. Loptr hugs himself tighter. His head hurts, but he keeps on walking. He has to now. Because he got away, and he's not going back. Natasha will be so happy with him. He got away.

The bad men in black came again. They hit him a lot. He begged them to stop. They laughed and laughed.

0/0/0/0/0

Loptr cries and curls into a ball. "S-stop! Lop-Loptr good!"

They don't stop. Instead, they grab his arms and make him uncurl. Others hit him more – more, more, so many more. Something snaps and fire goes through Loptr's chest. He screams and chokes.

Where is Pietro? Why doesn't he stop them?

But Pietro doesn't come to help him.

Only punches and kicks come. He wants to cover his ears. He doesn't want to not hear them laugh. Suddenly. he feels the warmth in him calling to be let go. It grows big. It doesn't want to go through the tubes again.

It wants out, out, OUT.

It wants him to let it…let it…do something. It wants to do something, but Loptr can't figure out what. It says it will help him. Make the bad men stop. So, he lets it out. He can't take this anymore.

He let's go.

Light goes out of him. Green light.

The bad men scream. Red splashes on the walls. Death smells everywhere. The bad men fall down. They go silent. The light gets brighter and the room disappears with a flash.

He's outside.

There's smoke everywhere. Loptr chokes on it, but the green light pushes it away. He likes the green light. It's nice to him.

But…

No one is with him anymore.

Where did they go? He looks around and around, but can't find anyone. Only white hills and long, black sticks that point at the sky.

So, Loptr gets up and walks away.

0/0/0/0/0

The white circle in the sky is big.

Big. Big, like…Master.

No!

No, He is not Master. No one is Master! No one…no one…everyone. They all want him to do something. Not do something. Which one is right? Does he do? Or stop? Obey or not?

Loptr doesn't know anymore. It hurts so much. Hurts like the fire in his chest. Burning, burning through his skin. Black, red, on blue. Only…his chest doesn't hurt anymore. The light made it better.

Loptr smiles.

Good light. He likes it.

But…where can Loptr go now? He doesn't know where Natasha or Bruce are. Loptr bites his lip. Does he even want to go back to them? They are with…Him. Master. But not Master. Loptr knows that now. Master is not Master. He is bad. Loptr isn't supposed to like him.

Does that make Natasha and Bruce bad too?

What about Hulk?

Hulk gives hugs. Hulk can't be bad.

Can he?

Loptr grabs his hair and yanks on it. Hard. It hurts. Loptr does it again. The pain helps him think better. Not like with Him. No, this hurt Loptr can control. He does it again.

Think. Think.

He hears something big flying close. The ground growls and shakes. Loptr stops. He wants to cry. Are the bad men back? They'll be so angry with him. He let the light out. He made it smoke.

He left them.

Loptr doesn't want them to hit him again. So he runs. The white crunches more under his feet. It hurts his toes a lot. He slips on it, falls down. The green light helps him up again. They go around a hill, but a man jumps in front of him.

He has a…a…arrow! He has an arrow. Loptr hugs himself. The bad man will shoot him. Loptr does cry now. He doesn't want to be shot. It hurts.

The green light says it won't let him get shot. It goes to hurt the bad man, but the bad man puts his arrows down. Puts his hands up, like he's afraid.

"I know Natasha!" he says fast. "We're friends!"

Loptr stops the light. Friends? Natasha likes this man? So...he's not bad?

"I got him," the maybe-bad? man says. "Stay put, Nat."

Thunder booms. Loptr shivers as he looks up at the clouds. He thinks of red. "Thor."

"You okay?" the man asks.

Loptr blinks. Okay? He frowns. "What okay?"

"Are you hurt?"

"No. Light make Loptr better." He smiles. "Light good."

"I can see that," the man says as he looks at the green light flying around. "You wanna see Natasha?"

"Natasha?" Loptr bites his lip. "Loptr good?"

"Yes. Very good. Loptr got rid of the bad men who hurt Natasha."

"Natasha hurt?" Loptr looks around and steps closer. "Was it…Him?"

"Him?"

"….Master…"

"No. These guys aren't him. They're….different." the not-bad man says. "You did a good thing, Loptr. You want some broth? Natasha has some back on the plane."

Loptr hugs himself more. He doesn't know if he wants to go to Natasha. She's with Master. She will make him put the light back inside. Loptr wants it to stay out. He likes it.

But maybe…

Maybe Natasha will let him keep it. She breaks the rules. Maybe she won't hit him for letting it out. She wanted him to disobey the Master's rules, Loptr remembers that now. She didn't like Master. She…she is good.

Loptr nods. "Loptr go."

"He's coming in, Nat." the man says as he touches his ear. "Get that broth ready."

And that's my little Christmas present to you all. Hope it's okay.

Reviews? It IS the Christmas season, after all.