It was the morning of the fourth day since what was being called 'the Battle of New York'. Tony sat at the kitchen table in one of the guest suite in Stark Tower. This particular floor hadn't been damaged during the attack and the structural integrity of the building was still intact so Tony and Pepper and some Avenger's stayed.

They could stay at another of Tony's properties while clean up was on going in the tower and the city but it didn't feel right to leave the city now.

He had tried to suggest that Pepper stay elsewhere but she'd refused to leave him, in fact she'd been like his shadow since she'd gotten in. She was still in shock and he couldn't blame her, lots of people were still reeling.

Tony was sober, very sober. Something about flying a nuke through a portal into another part of space did that to a man.

Pepper brought him a cup of coffee and took a seat by his side. She was quiet for a time staring down into her own cup. When she spoke it was a soft serious question. "Have you heard yet if there will be a funeral service for Phil?"

Tony held his lifted coffee mug at his lips and then put it down without drinking it. The realization struck him that in all the confusion, tears, and anger in the aftermath of the battle he hadn't thought about there being a funeral.

Now he was mad at his self for now thinking of it, of course there should be a funeral for Phil, a service, a wake, and a monument erected 'in memory of Agent Phil Coulson defender of Earth'. But Tony hadn't heard a thing.

"I'll find out." Tony pulled out his phone and figured 'why not start at the top' "Call Fury" he spoke and the phone dialed. Tony waited and Pepper picked at some dry Cheerios that she just didn't feel like putting milk on.

The phone rang and rang and was not answered. "I guess he's busy."

"Or he doesn't want to talk to you."

"Hey I just saved New York he should take my calls. I'll try Natasha." Tony hung up and dialed the female Avenger.

"What's up Tony?" Natasha picked up on only the second ring.

"Hey, I've got a serious question." Tony stood up from the table and walked to the large window and looked out over the city it was odd to see no traffic around the Tower, the area was still blocked off to the public while clean up crews still worked to clean up the wreckage. "Is there going to be, ya know, a funeral for Agent Coulson?"

Natasha didn't answer right away. "Gosh, we've been so busy, I hadn't thought about it. No one's said anything."

"I tried calling Fury about it but he didn't pick up."

"I haven't seen Fury in days, not since he took Loki."

"Did they get Crazy Pants lock up nice and tight, with a straight jacket and ball and chain or oh, one of those pink uniforms like they wear in that prison in Arizona?" Tony couldn't help but be curious.

"I don't know, they've not made Loki's whereabouts or details of his captivity known even internally. I assume Fury is on it. I'm sure we'd know if there were any problems. Have you heard from Thor?"

"The big guy is hold up in New Mexico, he says the wall between our worlds is thin there so it's the best place for Asgard contact him. He says he should hear something any day now."

"Do they even know what's happened?"

"Thor says that Heimdall character can see everything so he must know whats happening. But apparently time is different there, it's slower or something. So what seems like a long delay to us might only be a day to them."

"Trippy."

"Yeah, so do you know who else I could call, I mean about the arrangements?"

There was another pause on the line while she thought. "You could try and get a hold of Agent Hill she might know."

"Ok thanks." Tony ended the call and turned back to Pepper.

She looked up at him expectantly. "I'm sorry there's no news." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'll keep trying." He picked up his now cold coffee and downed it in one gulp and then kissed Pepper on the top of the head. "I'm gonna go and see if I can find someone else to call. What are you going to do?"

"Look over contractor bids." She gave Tony the look. The one that said 'you should be doing this but I'm going to because you're a big baby.'

"Ok well don't have too much fun." he said while making a face that was a cross between an apologetic smile and a grimace before he made a hasty getaway.

Fury had tried to keep things interesting for himself and for his prisoner. He was rarely away from the control room and had for the past four days almost exclusively been running the controls to Loki's cage. He liked to change things up.

He rotated Loki back and forth while the god hung bound to little more than a backboard. Let him hang upside down for a time and then right side up. He had the fans blow and then cut them letting the heat build in the room. Even though it was a large room Fury had discovered quickly through their careful monitoring of the god's vitals that it didn't take long for it to get too hot for the prisoner.

By chance he had found that he could increase and decrease the intensity of the jamming frequency they were using on Loki's magic. It seemed to disrupt the frequency at any level, any interruption in the current seemed to render it useless. The increased frequency just seemed to cause the prisoner greater discomfort. Fury made sure to use all these things to keep the god guessing.

He knew he was no scientist but he kept telling himself, he was preforming an import experiment that would help keep the people of Earth safe. After four days of 'experimenting' on this alien invader Fury had found that after not being allowed to heal or eat and drink or sleep for long that Loki even without the use of his magic was still alive and in better shape than any human would have been. This of course was nothing that they didn't already suspect.

The fact that they hadn't discovered anything new or particularly useful just meant Fury would have to take his 'experiments' to the next level. He was determined to continue, to get something from this. He told himself 'the world needed to know what they were dealing with and this was how they would to do that.'

It had been a long time since Loki had heard anything other than the blasted buzzing in his ears. Fury hadn't said another word since his 'welcome.' Loki might have thought they'd forgotten about him had his position in space not continued to shift at seemingly random intervals.

At least he thought it had been a long time, it certainly seemed like a long time. He had no way to determine how much time had actually passed. He only knew what he felt and he felt awful.

He was too hot. So much heat made him feel ill. At first he had become drenched with sweat, which had made the chaffing of the straps exponential worse. Now he was Dried out and wilted. Raw and bloody. Stretched and exhausted.

It was like his imprisonment by the Chitauri all over again, he had no hope of escape, no hope of anyone coming for him. It seemed to him he must be 'right were the universe wanted him.'

Why the universe felt the need to be so cruel to him he didn't know. Maybe the universe thought it was being kind leaving him in the comparatively soft hands of SHIELD instead of the Other. Of course, Loki was well aware, there was the possibility that they could find him. He shuttered to think what would happen if the Chitauri found him like this.

He wondered what SHIELD's goal was. Perhaps this torture was the mortal's revenge. Did they plan to kill him soon or was Fury going to keep him here like this for years? They could always hold on to him and use him as a bargaining chip should the Chitauri return to Earth.

Loki's mind wondered. With no outside input he couldn't properly assess his situation save to say, from what he did know. that it was currently grim. He was left shifting through all the possible outcomes of his fate.

He would not last indefinitely, especially if they gave him no food or water. He would eventually waste away. Still he imagined, even if he never healed properly he would hang on to life even if it was a withered half-life for a very long time in mortal terms.

He considered for a moment if this bizarre hanging treatment he was being put through was some how orchestrated by Odin. 'Poetic' Loki thought indignantly. 'but what knowledge do you wish me to learn Old Man? This is not Yggdrasil I hang from, the only thing I have learned is more hate.' Hate for the mortals, for Thor, and hate for his own weakness.

'If I had my magic there would be no...' Loki didn't get to finish his musing as he was jerked up vertical and his feet were dropped. His weigh was caught by the strap that was fastened tight across his chest. He coughed unpleasantly his cracked dry lips rubbing at the strap that bound his mouth as the pressure forced air out of his lungs.

He groaned, he had been in the one position for a long while and had started to go numb which was alright while he was hanging there because his pain was lessened. Now that he was moved his weight shifted the blood rushed back into his limbs this caused him a great deal of pain on top of his broken bones shifting and the maddening crawling sensation under his skin intensifying again.

Then without warning he felt himself falling. He dropped and hung vertically with his head down and his feet in the air and all of his weight being held by the strap around his ankles.

It was an excruciating feeling as his muscles were strand at pulled to their limit. Blood began rushing to his already pounding head.

He had enough fight in him to tug against the straps at his wrists but it was a futile gesture that did nothing but hurt him.

It was worrying to him that he wasn't getting better, his magic wasn't coming back to him.

A concern that perhaps the pain and torture the Chitauri put him through had had taxed him too greatly and his magic would need a great deal of time to return. Perhaps it wouldn't return to him. Maybe they had crippled him and he would always need the aid of the scepter. It was a scary and sad thought.

Fury watched as his prisoner swayed in the air for some reason it reminded the spy of a rabid wolf caught in a snare. He could imagine Loki like a crazed wolf trying to chew through his own foot off to get away. This particular crazed wolf would have no opportunity escape, not on Fury's watch.

"Jarvis, pull up the file we got off of SHIELD's servers with agent contact info." Tony sat in the lab, he had moved because he didn't want Pepper to be a part of his less than legal search. He was uncharacteristically patient and serious as he waited for the AI.

"It's up on the display now, Sir." Tony turned to the large clear screen and swipped through the information until he found what he was looking for, Maria Hill's SHIELD cell phone.

He dialed the number and readied himself for the question he knew was coming.

"How did you get this number Stark?" The woman on the other end did not sound happy.

"Off of your guy's computers, it wasn't that hard to find either. You guys didn't hid your numbers that well, it was almost like you wanted me to call." Tony thought it was funny that SHIELD had a file just for agent's phone numbers but he guessed every organization, even spy ones, need to keep track of these kind of things. For billing and what not. He rolled his eyes even though no one could see him.

"What do you want? I'm busy you know."

"Sure yeah aren't we all. I tried to contact Fury but he didn't pick up."

"Director Fury has taken the containment of the prisoner Loki very seriously, he is seeing to the details personally."

"Well that's great. I'm glad to know you guys are on top of it or rather him. If you need any of my tech for that let me know. The reason I'm calling is just I wanted... we wanted to know if there was going to be a funeral for Agent Coulson."

"Stark..." Maria started, the tone in her voice softened slightly. "Agent Coulson has already be laid to rest."

"What? Really?" Stark was shocked, under the circumstances with the battle and the clean up and caring for the wounded, that was very fast. Almost rushed. "The Avengers would have liked to have been in attendance to show our respect. Will there be a memorial service?"

"There was a small private service for Agent Coulson, the same that all SHEILD agents get when they are killed in the line of duty."

Tony thought about that 'how did you hold a funeral for a spy?' he knew that the CIA had a memorial wall with stars for fallen operatives and a book that listed the names of the people the stars represented but only if the operative's work was declassified. 'Did SHIELD have a memorial wall?'

"Is there someplace or someone we could send flowers to?" Tony was looking for anything that could help give them closure.

"There isn't a grave if that's what your asking and if Agent Coulson had any family that information is classified and can not be given out." The softness in her voice had melted away leaving her tone cold and professional.

It was apparent that he wasn't going to get anyone from her. "Alright, well I guess, I'll let you get back to work then." Tony said not knowing what else to say.

"Don't call this number again Stark." With that the line went dead.

Tony was left feeling unsatisfied and admittedly hurt, two feelings that he detested. He wondered what he was going to tell Pepper and the other Avengers.

TBC...

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy. Sorry this chapter was kinda sad. I am really glad for the reviews I've gotten and the favorites and alerts, Thank you. They really do help motivate me to continue and keep me focused. I've got the next chapter started.

* there is a myth about how Odin hung from Yggdrasil and that's how he got all his knowledge.