Sorry it's been such a long wait! I had a case of writer's block and the homework monster caught up to me!
Thanks to my four reviewers:
Jimenush: You are such a cruel person. Thank you.
Katdog: Don't care when you read it, just that you do and review. I promise that Pepper will find out in this chapter. Spoiler Alert!
Koalamarch/Ann: Amazing is a title I will definitely stick to. I agree, Loki is life. I don't want to make you pee your pants, though. Whoever does your laundry wouldn't be very happy with me. ;3 Thank you for the idea of adding Thanos! I think I will add him... and a few others. :D Spoiler alert!
Moriartsmajor: Lucky you, here's an update!
Now.. the story. Warning, there is some major whump in the first half and in the second half there is some fluff, angst, and the realization... Also, a mention of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the second half, but no, it remains an Avengers fanfic.
Tony blinked open his eyes. He felt strangely well rested, seeing as he was at the mercy of a psychotic god. Except for his throat feeling like it was lined with sandpaper and his stomach feeling like it was going to implode. "Still alive," he muttered. He turned over to his stomach, hissing in pain at the aching in his chest... and everywhere else.
Suddenly, the door opened. Tony shuffled back on the floor, staring in fear at the shadow that stood in the doorway. Then the lights in the cell flickered on and instead of Loki standing in the doorway, there was a young girl, no older than fourteen, carrying a tray of food. The girl wore a black catsuit, not unlike the one Natasha wore. Thinking about his friends made Tony want to cry.
"Please, don't. I won't hurt you." Her soothing tone surprisingly calmed his nerves. She stepped forward, and he flinched, but did not say anything. "I brought you food. I think you're going to need it. Loki is... very angry today."
Tony shuddered. That would not end well for him. "Thank you," he said in a hoarse whisper. "What's your name?"
The girl hesitated. "Alane."
"How old are you? You look pretty young to be working here."
"I'm fourteen. Anyone over twelve can work with no education, and my family needs the money."
Tony smiled a strained smile. Alane set the tray of food in front of him and continued speaking. "It's not all bad. I pretty much just run around and deliver food to the other prisoners. The food is fine, but the ham is kinda dry." She nodded towards the tray, where sure enough, a slab of ham, mashed potatoes, and a glass of water sat.
"Did you say there were other prisoners here? And why is Loki angry?"
Alane froze. "I... I shouldn't have said. I'm sorry."
It was Tony's turn to hesitate. "Thank you, anyways. For the food."
She smiled at Tony and left the room. This time, the lights stayed on. Tony looked at the tray as his stomach rumbled and realized just how hungry he was. Within minutes he had devoured the food and downed the water in one gulp.
With food and water in his stomach, he curled up on the ground again and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
He woke suddenly when the door slammed open. This time it was Loki standing there, clutching his scepter with white knuckles. He stepped forward, snapped his fingers and left Tony dangling from the ceiling. Tony yelped as the chains shortened, pulling on his already sore arms.
He glared at Loki with renewed strenght. "What do you even want from me?"
"Oh, I don't need anything from you. Yet. I have plans," Loki growled as the scepter in his hand shrank down to a whip with barbed tips. Tony gulped and hissed as the whip slashed across his rib cage, tearing the shirt, warm blood seeping through it. Loki rounded around Tony and raised the whip to fling his arm down and across and up, tearing Tony's back to shreds.
Every time the whip ripped out another inch of flesh from anywhere on his body, Tony grunted and tensed up in his restraints, keeping his practice of staying quiet.
Just for a moment, Loki paused and turned around to face Tony again. "Actually, I do need to know something from you. Where is the permanent location of the SHIELD base? I destroyed the one in New Mexico, so I know they must have built another one in the years I haven't been... 'home'."
When Tony did not reply Loki raised the whip again and hit him over and over and over again. Tony counted each strike, trying to keep his mind off the pain that came with each one.
When what felt like an hour had passed, Loki stopped. He let the hanging pulp of a man rest for a minute and left the room.
Tony felt like he had been cut open with a chainsaw multiple times, all over his body. The tears fell and washed away the blood caking his cheeks. Then he realized he was still hanging. Loki had not bothered to let the chains down this time. He groaned as he shifted around in his restraints, stinging the multiple, deep cuts across his back and the sores on his wrists.
Tony was so sore, tired, dirty, and so ridiculously injured he felt like a potato stuck into the oven for three hours with a temperature of 500 degrees. Still, it could be worse. He could be in below freezing temperatures with the arc reactor out and three times the pain he was feeling at the moment. Not that it felt any warmer than below freezing in the cell.
Suddenly, with Tony lost in his own thoughts, the chains loosened and dropped Tony to the floor. He was caught off guard and tried to land on his feet, and as his feet hit the ground, a crack echoed around the room and a great pain raced up his leg from Tony's ankle.
He fought back a scream as he crashed to the ground with a definitely broken ankle. He curled up on the ground and fought back the tears as they threatened to fall down his cheeks.
Not sure of how much longer he could hold against Loki, he whispered into the darkness an unheard call for help.
"Any time now, guys. I'd appreciate it."
Pepper followed Natasha through the hallways of the helicarrier. She had never been in it before, so it was new to see a flying ship with so much of the tech she was used to at the tower and the Malibu home.
Something was wrong, Pepper could tell. Tony hadn't answered his phone when she had called, which was strange because he always picked up for her. And the sympathetic glances everyone gave her were driving her crazy.
Natasha led her to a room with a large table and multiple chairs around it. Already sat there was a decked-out Steve, a pale Bruce, a pacing Clint, and a Thor who was clutching Mjonlir so hard his knuckles had turned blue. Also, a Fury with his head bowed and arms crossed, an also pale Phil Coulson, and a stony faced, but obviously worried, Agent Hill.
Pepper gulped and stayed standing while Natasha sat herself in the only remaining seat. She stayed up with Clint and Maria, who seemed to be trying to melt the far wall with her glare.
"So... Pepper. We brought you here to tell you something... well... concerning." Fury spoke with deliberate pauses and slurs to mask his words.
"Just tell her, Fury. She has a right to know, and it's been since Wednesday and she has no clue what's going on," Steve snapped.
Fury flinched the smallest of flinches. How would you react if an angry super soldier snapped at you? He cleared his throat and decided to get to the point. "Tony has been kidnapped by Loki. We have absolutely no idea where he is or what Loki is doing to him, but we can assure you, we will find him. I swear."
Pepper's eyes welled up with tears as she bit her lip and tried not to cry. 10 seconds. I will help in 10 seconds when I have gotten myself together.
Steve saw Pepper close her eyes and count to ten under her breath. When she was done, she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve. "How can I help?"
About ten minutes later, Clint was leaving with Thor and a group of eight or so agents on another search party. Some party. 'Oh yeah! Put on your party hat and find your friend!' Clint looked over at Thor, who had not let go of Mjonlir since the meeting with Pepper.
Clint steered the jet over blue ocean and stared down at random patches of sea that looked suspicious. Nada. This had been his eighth search party that week, since Wednesday. Now that it was Saturday, he concluded he had done two searches per day. Clint frowned. Had it really been that long? It felt like a month already, and no matter how often Natasha pleaded him to eat, or even sleep, he felt obligated to search for his partner in crime.
Steve glanced along at Pepper. She seemed to be doing fine, but he was still worried. Knowing she was a strong-willed woman consoled him, but not enough.
"What about off-world?" Her voice surprised Steve.
"Wh-What?"
"What about searching other worlds? I know Thor is kinda the expert on this thing, so Loki must be, too."
Seeing Steve's obvious discomfort about speaking in "science language" as Steve would so often call it, Bruce added in. "We have the Guardians of the Galaxy and some of Thor's Asgardian friends looking. All the SHIELD agents are looking in their free time, either on computers or manually."
Then he heard her murmur, "That's not going to be enough." Then she spoke louder, "Is there any way we can track him?"
"Not that we know of. I can't think of any way we could. Personally, we should put tracking devices in all of the agents and Avengers, but Tony doesn't do that thing."
"What about... no, never mind. Crazy." Pepper kept muttering.
"What is it?" Bruce asked.
"A crazy idea. No way it's possible."
"No, nothing's crazy in my world. What's up?" Now it was Steve's turn to be curious.
"What about the arc reactor?"
Bruce's jaw dropped open. "Pepper, you're a genius!" And with that he ran down the hall to the lab.
Steve just stood there. "Wha..."
"I though Jarvis could track the reactor."
Steve smiled for the first time that week, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Bruce is right about you, Pepper. You are a genius. Just... one question. How did you come up with that and SHIELD combined couldn't?"
That was a long chapter!