A/N: Hey all! Hope you're enjoying this so far. Just a quick note to say that, in this chapter, there is a flashback, which is denoted by BOLD wording. Okay? Okay. Have fun reading!

Loki realized she was fading fast, and he wished he could do something about it. She wished for him to heal her, to end the pain. If only he could do so. Her skin was hot beneath his cool fingers, as if something evil raged through her veins and wouldn't let go. Her small squeaks he knew to be screams.

He couldn't fathom what could be behind her horrible, horrible ordeal. He hadn't listened well enough in times past. He hadn't heard the story behind the power. There had to be one.

"Paige," he tried out her name for the first time, and it felt good rolling off his tongue. "I cannot heal you without knowing the source of this. Please, tell me." Despite her earlier warnings, he slid his hand to cradle the back of her neck. What more could he possibly do?

Paige gazed into his eyes, only half seeing him. Her vision clouded with pain. She wanted to reply to him, but didn't want to risk the headache getting any worse. The only thing she could do was sign.

METAL CREATURE. IMPLANT. HURTS. HELP ME.

And then she felt it, ice cold against the back of her neck. Visions of the experiment flitted through her mind. The metallic ring. The metal bed. The drill. The creature. She could feel the cold ring pressed close against the back of her neck.

"Paige, we're ready for you."

Paige looked up from the book she was reading and locked eyes with the white-coated woman at the waiting room door. She had short brown hair, the same color as Paige's, and wore a pleasant smile.

"Come here, baby." Paige's mother wrapped her in a hug. "If you need anything, let me know, and I'll be here as quick as a flash. I'll call you once a week."

Paige nodded and returned the hug. She made the sign for I love you.

"I love you, too." Her mother planted a kiss on her forehead and handed Paige her purple suitcase. "Be safe."

Paige nodded and walked to the door where the doctor stood. With a final wave goodbye, she turned toward the bright hallway and let the door close behind her.

"Your mother seems sweet."

Paige could only nod in reply.

"How long have you been mute, Paige?"

She hated that term. Mute. As if someone had pressed a button on a remote and silenced her. She held up six fingers.

"Since you were six?"

Paige nodded.

"Wow. That's a long time. You seem like a strong woman, to deal with that for so long."

Paige gave one nod, acknowledging the compliment.

"Well, my name is Dr. Samantha Brooks. Nice to meet you."

Paige shook the doctor's hand.

"Your strength is something very important to this experiment. Do you feel up to it?"

Paige gave a confident grin. All she had to do was let a couple doctors run a few scans and tests on her brain, and she was a grand richer. Piece of cake.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Come this way."

The doctor grabbed an ID badge from where it was clipped to her belt and slid it through a card reader on the wall. Soon, a hissing sound escaped from the wall, and a hidden door opened. Paige followed the doctor into the examination room.

Against one wall, a metal examination table was set vertically, with straps hanging from the sides. Paige froze, staring at it. A single metal half-ring sat on a metal table next to it. Everything in the room was cold and metallic. Unfeeling. That should have been her first warning to run. She ignored her instincts, frozen with fear and passivity.

"Here. Go in that little room there and change into this hospital gown," Dr. Brooks said, capturing Paige's attention yet again, and handing her a sack of cloth. "There's a shelf in there for your personal belongings."

Paige walked toward a little nook in the wall, where only a curtain separated her from the flock of medical personnel. She pulled the curtain, set her suitcase on the shelf, and quickly changed clothes. The floor was so cold to her tiny bare feet.

When she was finished, she pulled the curtain back again, staring at the metallic table across the room. She was only supposed to be getting a brain scan. They told her all they were going to do was test her brain. Maybe the half-ring was just a scanner. A new type of scanner.

"It's alright, Paige." Dr. Brooks' voice was so soft and comforting. "You don't have to be afraid. It's just a quick test. You'll be asleep the whole time. And I'll be right here with you. Come on." The doctor beckoned her forward. Against every instinct to flee, Paige walked to the table. She stood against the metal, the cold piercing her back. She allowed them to strap down her arms and legs.

Wait. I need my hands to speak. Why the straps? What are you doing?

But no one heard her. Her thoughts were her own. She looked up at the kind doctor, confused.

"Now we can begin."

Paige felt as one of the technicians injected her arm with some sort of fluid. It burned at first and made her head swim.

"That was a mild sedative. It'll help with the pain," Dr. Brooks continued. "Just relax."

Paige watched as Dr. Brooks picked up the metal piece. She gently lifted Paige's head and placed it on the back of her neck. She could hear the device powering up.

Wait. I change my mind. Let me out. Paige began to pull at the straps, trying to break free.

"It's alright, Paige." The doctor laid a hand on Paige's arm. "Just a tiny pinch."

Paige's eyes widened as a pain began on the back of her neck. It felt as though someone was slicing the the back of her neck open with a searing blade. In actuality, a laser was slicing her skin. She opened her mouth as if a scream would escape.

"Good. Just a bit of pressure now."

That's when she heard it. The drill.

A small squeak emitted from her throat as the device began to bore its way into one of her vertebrae. She felt a warm liquid begin to run down her back. Blood and spinal fluid. In a last-ditch plea for mercy, she weakly began to sign.

S-T-O-P

Over and over again, as her squeaking screams rose in volume, she signed: STOP.

And then the drill stopped. She felt as something latched onto the inside of her bone.

"We're almost done, Paige." The doctor's voice was distant and warped.

She felt as the device released something into her nervous system. It was as if a metallic spider had latched onto her nerves, slowly crawling up the rope of fire in the back of her neck, and nearly causing her to leap from the table with pain. She thrashed wildly, even with the sedative.

Another shot in her arm forced her muscles to relax. The thing was attached to her nerves and creeping its way into her brain.

One last sign.

P-L-E-A-S-E

And then the device gripped the back of her brain, digging its claws in. A surge of pain, and then darkness. A calm and cool darkness, where nothing existed.

"Goodnight, Paige. Dream well."

The darkness pulled her under.

With a strong blast of telekinetic energy, Paige shoved Loki backward. The pain in her head intensified, forcing another squeaking scream from her lips. When she regained her senses, she stared at him, eyes wide with terror, as her mind continued to flit through images of the implantation. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. The headaches. The restraints. The coolness of his touch. The sensations were bleeding through over the illusion.

He wasn't real. He never had been. Perhaps the demi-god who killed her father was real, but this phony copy was only a dream, created by the scientists.

AVCORP had captured her again. She had stolen their device, and they wanted it back. Why not give her mind peace as they ripped her secrets from it? After all, the island was supposed to have been a distraction. But, too many people had too many opinions. The device was supposed to adapt to each person's personality, but the stressful situation of the island created too many variables. Now, the scientists had to be singling out their guinea pigs, one by one, to finish the tests and terminate them. A peaceful dream about a handsome prince would keep Paige occupied as they slowly killed her.

She remembered the horrible headaches she experienced on the island whenever she remembered AVCORP. The headaches were designed to make her forget.

Paige let her head fall back against the back of the chair, her free hand pressed to the side of her head. The pain was still intense. These headaches, she thought, were also designed to make her forget. But, she refused to let them win. As long as she knew she was dreaming, she had the upper hand. She could control it.

Paige looked down at her bound wrist and began tugging on the straps with her free hand. They didn't budge. She willed them to open. She knew about the dream. She should be able to control it. Why wouldn't the straps open?

She let her head fall back again, exhausted, and let her hand fall into her lap. She was scared, confused, and still had her pounding headache.

There was nothing she could do. The scientists had her completely at their mercy, with her trapped in her own subconscious. She closed her eyes, wishing for real sleep to come. She willed the calm darkness to envelope her again, making her forget the pain.

The telekinetic blast he hadn't seen coming knocked Loki off balance and he fell to the floor. He scrambled to kneel in front of her as he saw her fingers move a million miles a minute, but was at a loss to understand what she might be trying to say. So, instead, he turned his attention to what she was thinking. Reading minds often became a helpful tool.

He saw the petty doctors, there only for money and power. He saw the cold metal and the horrible, horrible drill. He heard her silent screaming. Her helpless, silent torment. And he heard that she didn't believe he was real. He held back a smirk when she called him handsome. Maybe allowing her to learn he read minds as well wouldn't be the best idea right now.

He frowned when she began to tug at the restraints. How to convince one so blinded that he was, indeed, real.

He started by releasing her second hand himself. One slender finger at a time, he pulled the strap from its resting place and let it hang open. Her calm, still face unnerved him. He waited for her to do something violent, something that would convince her fully that he was indeed unreal. Against his better judgment, Loki remained silent.

Paige felt as he released her hand, only helping to confirm her fears. She did have control over the dream. She wanted to be released and she was. All hope seemed to fade away as the strap hung open. It didn't matter if he released her. The worst prison was to be contained forevermore inside oneself. She let her hand rest where it was, not caring that she could not move it.

She opened her eyes and gazed sadly at the prince in front of her. If only he was real. She would rather be captured by a psychotic medieval villain a thousand times over than subjected to the false world of AVCORP. All she could do was play along with their cruel game, as death silently lurked around every corner.

At least fix my headache. Allow me that relief. Steal my mind, kill my soul... but at least have pity enough to end the pain. Paige winced as the sharp pain in the back of her head momentarily grew worse as she weakly broadcast the message.

She reached down and took his left hand in both of hers, finally welcoming the comfort he'd been trying to give her all along.

Loki wanted to heal her pain. So terribly badly. But he couldn't. He hadn't stopped reading her thoughts. He knew that she wished for him to end it, and he knew if he did he would play into her fear that she was inside her own head. Which, she most definitely was not. So, as much as it pained him, Loki removed his hand and shook his head. "What do I have to do to convince you, my beautiful telepath?"

He took her hand in his own for a brief moment. If they were to remain here, if he were to help her, there were a few things he needed to accomplish. He released her slender fingers and turned for the door. He would explain later, after he had secured their privacy.

He paused outside the door to lean his head back against it, feeling absolutely evil for leaving her in that state. But, he would return. And she would still be there when he did.

Paige watched, helplessly, as he stood and left the room. She sighed and laid her head back. Great. Just great. They were on to her. They knew that she knew and removed her one comfort. Sick monsters.

Is this what you want? She broadcast, trying her best to ignore the pain. There is nothing more I can do to you! Is this payback? Your revenge? Bait me with a prince, and then steal him away? She let her head hang forward again as a new flow of tears threatened to well up behind her eyes. Take it! You want the metallic monster so badly? Take it! Take everything! Can't you hear me? Take it and end this!

She reached up and gripped the hair on the back of her head, sobs wracking her body yet again, as her migraine thundered through her skull.

/

Within an hour, Drake arrived back at Paige's house. He had no idea what he would say to her mother. All he could do was tell the truth. When he knocked, Mrs. Barnett quickly answered the door.

"Did you find her?"

"Actually, Mrs. Barnett, I have some bad news. You might want to sit down."

Mrs. Barnett backed away from the front door until she bumped into a nearby bar stool. She climbed onto it, her eyes never leaving Drake's face.

Drake walked in and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the kitchen wall as he told her the story. "This morning, when I went upstairs, I found a piece of green cloth stuck in Paige's window. When I ran off in such a hurry, I ran to Stark Tower. I thought The Avengers would help us find her, since Paige is like them. I met Thor. He told me the cloth belonged to Loki and that they would track him for a while before they find him. Loki kidnapped Paige."

Mrs. Barnett shook her head in disbelief. "You are one heck of a liar, Drake Kier. Blaming my daughter's disappearance on a myth. Thor took care of that monster after the attack on the city. He's gone. I don't know what you're up to, but don't you come here telling me stories." The angry mother stood. "Get out."

"But, Mrs. Barnett..."

"Get out!"

Drake quickly fled the house before he made the situation worse. He walked the few city blocks back to his apartment. What a terrible day this had been. He unlocked his door and flopped down on his sofa. All he could think about was Paige.