A/N: Yes, I am alive. Personal life has taken the downhill dive off of a cliff, but I bring you a new chapter! Hopefully I'll be slowly updating all my stories. If you've stuck around THANK YOU SO MUCH! I"m so sorry for the long wait, but bad stuff happens that takes a person away from things.

I don't own The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, Thor, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head.


Three different cells, all bare, all white, set in a circle next to each other, but none of the occupants knew the others were there. Thick glass doors were the only viewing point. It didn't matter where they were, didn't matter what the cells looked like, their captors didn't know what they had unintentionally done.

There were six different screens, all of the same three people. On the first screen was Naiden. He looked suddenly smaller, younger, than before. He sat on the floor, under the bed hanging from the wall, his legs pulled up to his chest, head resting on his knees. He didn't look around, didn't try to talk, just stared at the floor, not moving. On the next screen was the man they had really wanted to capture.

Loki had woken up shortly after arriving to his new cell. He sat up on the cot, letting one leg dangle, and stared straight ahead. He was quite and still like Naiden, but he looked up. It was a completely different man from the one they had caught before, from the one that had tried to take over the world and helped bring an invasion.

Then there was Tony Stark. He wasn't like the other two, he never quit moving. They had been forced to sedate him while they let a doctor get close to examine his arm. After Tony had refused to sit still the only thing the man could do was wrap the affected frostbitten areas and set his arm in a sling. He would need to run some tests, but Tony wasn't cooperating. He paced the floor back and forth, and for the first couple hours yelled at the cameras he knew were there. Ordered them to let them go, to let him see Loki and Naiden, to let him help Loki. Now he just paced.

Steve didn't like it, but what could he do? Fury had all but locked the others in another room, telling them to keep out until they could make sure that Tony and Naiden weren't under Loki's control. Clint had even been able to open his mouth to tell them that if the scepter had been destroyed then control was almost impossible.

"I hope you didn't have any physical tortures planned," everyone in the room jumped at Tony's voice. After three hours of silence his voice over the speakers sounded like an explosion. "Because the mental torture you're putting the three of us through is gruesome enough." Tony sat down on the cot, the first time since he'd been put there, and slumped against the wall. He looked defeated, and that just wasn't Tony Stark.

"He's right," Bruce said quietly from his chair in the corner. "If what he told Fury and Steve is true, locking them up again is probably one of the worst things to do." The other Avengers glanced back at Bruce and he rubbed the bridge of his nose, glasses in his hands. "Look at them," he gestured towards the screen. "Naiden is almost catatonic. He lost his parents in a cell, and now the only other two who cared for him are gone, too. Who knows what Loki went through after Tony and Naiden were gone, but he's already given up. And Tony, he looks like he's one breath away from giving up."

"Even if they know that it is not the same?" Steve asked.

"All three of them look at where they're at, and see the place that probably haunts their nightmares," Bruce said while looking at the set of screens. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tony felt a little betrayed right now."

"Just a little?" Clint snorted. "He probably hates us." And Clint was finding it hard to blame the genius.


There was a click in the room and Tony glanced up, eyes narrowing when he saw Fury standing there. "What do you want now? Want to run some tests on me? Well, you wouldn't be the first."

"You're the only one that will talk," the one-eyed man told him. "The other two are being awfully quiet. You know why?"

"Do I know why?" Tony let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah I know why. Do I want to tell you? No, I don't." He straightened a little. "I told you what happened to us, and this is how you repay my generosity? Fury, you really have a shitty sense of repayment."

"It wasn't exactly generosity that had you telling your story to me before." Fury told him, hands behind his back. "It was more necessity."

"No, it was not necessity. What happened to us was personal, and gruesome, and something that you really had no right knowing about." Tony took a step closer to where he knew the speaker was. "That information wasn't needed to stop Loki, because whatever had happened to him happened after Naiden and I left."

"I can't clear your or Naiden until I know more details. I need to know that the both of you aren't compromised," Fury said matter-of-factually and Tony growled lightly.

"Shit happened to us, and right now isolating us is Not your best course of action," Tony was straining to keep his voice at a decent volume. "I imagine that you know a few things about mental torture Fury, of that I have no doubt. You also have to know that too much can permanently damage the subject. You're bordering on a line right now, Nick, and you need to make a choice real fast."

"And what are my options?" Fury entertained the injured billionaire.

"Either keep us locked up, risking permanent damage, and possible retribution from Asgard, or put the three of us together." Tony kept direct eye contact with him. "Keep us under surveillance if you must, just not in these small rooms, and not separated. Treat your hostages with a little bit of kindness and it might just be repaid." Fury studied Tony with his good for several moments before walking away silently. Tony watched him until he was out of site, for once unsure of what his decision was going to be.


Tony blinked his eyes sleepily when he heard a couple of clicks in the room. The lights had been dimmed in the cell and he assumed that meant it was dark outside. He turned and pushed himself up slowly with his good arm and saw someone standing by the cell door.

"Cap?" He yawned a little, almost surprised that he had managed to fall asleep. It had been an exhausting couple of days. The door swung open after another click and he saw Steve walk in.

"I'm here to take you to your new room," he said a little hesitantly and Tony knew there was a catch. He just raised an eyebrow and Steve held up a wrist cuff. "It's a monitor, for vitals and location."

"And if I put that on where will I be moved?" Tony swung his legs around so he could sit more comfortably on the cot.

"Somewhere bigger, with Naiden and Loki." Tony raised his eyebrows high. "Constant surveillance and monitoring is part of the deal though."

"What have Naiden and Loki said?" Tony asked, wanting to know if he really had an option, or if SHIELD was even pulling one over the good Captain.

"Your the first one I've asked. If you said yes they'd let you go in and tell the other two yourself, let you put the cuff on, and move you all at once." Steve shuffled his foot a little nervously. "I know it's a delicate situation, Stark. It's why I asked to come down and talk to you myself."

"You did?" Now Tony was a little confused. He had been a little torn on whether he should land a punch on his jaw, even if the super solider wouldn't feel it, or just ignore him.

"And Banner would handle the monitoring, and Barton and Romanoff are setting up surveillance," Steve continued.

"And Thor is the muscle, just in case?" Steve just shrugged a little, but didn't deny it.

Tony took a little breath and looked at Steve then down to the cuff in his hand. He had been the one to tell Fury that he would stay under surveillance if Fury would put them together, but to be fair he didn't actually think that Fury would actually listen to him. After a minute Tony pushed himself off of the bed with his arm and took a few steps closer to Steve.

"On one condition," Steve raised an eyebrow at the inventor. "I want a glass of scotch, and not the cheap stuff." He held out his arm as Steve rolled his eyes and slipped the cuff around his wrist, fastening it. It was a snug fit but not too tight. He shook his hand out a little and Steve held the door open for him. Tony took a tentative step out, waiting for someone to yell 'Gotcha' and lock the door.

He looked around the room and watched Steve walked to the right, then noticed that the trio had been in the same place the whole time. Keep the captive together without them knowing. Steve had stopped in front of another door and punched in a code to unlock the door. He handed Tony another cuff and Tony looked in the room to see Naiden sitting on the floor underneath his cot. He glanced at Steve as he opened the door and Tony walked in.

Walking over to the cot Tony sat on the edge of it. "I imagine that this floor isn't as comfortable as the dirt," he said gently. "Cleaner yes, but harder." He felt more than saw Naiden jerk his body before moving his head quickly to peek out. "I'm older than you and you're crazy if you think I'm sitting on the floor next to you."

Naiden pulled himself up and threw his arms around Tony's neck, hiding his face in his shirt. Tony wrapped his arm around his shoulders, holding him tightly, reminded of when he was younger. "I promised you something better than a cell, I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You always do that," Naiden said quietly. "Blame yourself for something that isn't your fault. You should stop that." He took a breath and leaned back to look at Tony in the face. "So what's the bad news?"

"Bad news?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"They wouldn't let you in here until it was really bad news. Are they taking us away?" Tony blinked as he caught onto Naidens thinking. He thought that they were letting them say their last goodbyes to each other.

"Yes," Tony nodded. "And they're making us wear gaudy jewelry," he said as he held up the cuff. "But at least they'll put us all in the same room if we agree to their fashion rules." Naiden stared at him for a second. "They're not going to separate us anymore, kid, but they're still going to watch us."

"All three of us?" Tony nodded and Naiden grabbed the cuff and slipped it on. Tony snorted a little and pushed himself off of the cot. "We still have to stay with SHIELD?" Naiden asked as he followed Tony for the door, staying close to the man.

"For now," Steve answered for him, still holding the door open for them. Naiden eyed him for a second but never strayed too far from Tony. Tony squeezed his shoulder before following Steve to the last room.

They both saw Loki sitting on the cot, staring forward, eyes unseeing though. Steve entered another code and the door opened, he handed Tony another cuff and Tony stopped to look at Steve. "When we walk out of here I don't want any other Agents here to escort us. I want it to be the Avengers only." Steve nodded once.

Naiden started to follow Tony but he put a hand on his arm. "Give me just a minute alone, okay?" He bit his lip but nodded and watched his parent walk in, letting the door slowly swing, not closing all the way. Steve muted the speaker to give them a little privacy. Tony walked over to Loki and gently sat down next to Loki, and for what seemed like a few minutes neither one moved or said anything.

Naiden watched as Tony gently moved his hand and put it over one of Loki's, just letting it sit there. "They helped raise me," Naiden said quietly, not taking his eyes off of them, catching Steve a little off guard. "While my parents were still alive. Loki taught me about my magic, making sure that the guards never knew about it. Tony taught me how to read and speak different languages I had never heard about. He taught me math and science and how to build things. All through two sets of bars, never touching, for nine years."

"Tony said he hadn't hesitated when they took you in," Steve replied, glancing at the young man.

"When I was thirteen I found it odd that they weren't teaching me how to fight. I knew what my future would be in that place." He shook his wrist with the cuff a little. "You fight to survive, that's it. Sometimes I wish that Loki had just told me what they had planned on doing. I could have helped with my own powers."

Steve took the couple steps closer to Naiden and put a hand on his shoulder. Golden eyes met Steve's. "Don't do that to yourself. They did what they thought would protect you."

"Like parents do," he nodded a little. "I know." He turned back to see that Tony laced his fingers with Loki's now. "I watched him after we escaped. Tony is one hell of an actor."

"I can't deny that," Steve agreed.

"I know it sounds absurd, but I was lucky the I lost my parents. I knew Tony and Loki, they already felt like family, there was no awkward transition like you hear about here." Naiden put a hand in his pocket. "But Tony lost Loki after so long, and there was no answer about if it was for forever or not." Tony glanced up and looked at Naiden, nodding once. He looked at Steve and gave him a small smile. "We're a family, and we'll fight tooth and nail to stay together. We've been through too much pain to let anything happen again."

Steve watched as he walked in and Loki moved for the first time since waking up. He reached up his free hand and cupped the back of Naiden's neck as the younger elf sat down next to him. Naiden said something and Tony laughed as Loki then cuffed the back his head. Naiden just grinned at the two of them.