So, here is the conclusion to that sort of cliff-hanger. Decided that I haven't done any shout outs in a while so here we go! Also thanks to my wonder Beta whose back at last!

Black Thorn: Haha, I've always loved "fondued" and use the term in every possible circumstance.

Moriarty-Assbutt: Well you'll find out what she was doing in this chapter, hopefully it wasn't expected

FloraBlue: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it! Hopefully this chapter be satisfactory.

skydancer2ooo: Don't worry, Clint will be proven wrong very soon indeed.

fan-de-carlisle-cullen: Of course the other is stupid and that Nat will call back up... that is if she goes at all o.O

Chapter 16

There was a flash of red hair, then he felt the sudden wetness on his cheek. It took The Other and his guards several moments to comprehend that Natasha had just spat on him. When they realised they cried with outrage, some unsheathing their weapons, but The Other simply raised a hand to silence them. He turned back to Natasha and whipped his upright hand across her defiant face.
She felt her neck crack, and then the familiar feel of blood sliding down from under her eye- the rusty metal covers on his hand had left her with four scars running from the side of her cheek to her nose. The only satisfaction she could gain was when she saw that the effort it has taken to hit her had weakened him greatly. He wheezed and coughed before returning the favour she had bestowed upon him only seconds before, and spat a wad of deep blue saliva from his mouth.

"You've made your choice." He said quietly gesturing for two Chitauri to secure her bonds. He followed his procession to the door before stopping suddenly.
"You'll regret it." He rasped before the thick door was slammed shut, leaving Natasha alone in the darkness once more, with only the slim hope that Loki would be freed to comfort her.
At the other side of the door, The Other fixed his metal glove, taking a moment to regain his energy. One of his soldiers approached him gingerly. "My Lord… what do we do about the traitor? Do we let him go? Now that the human has stayed…" He trailed off after seeing his leader's expression.

"Keep with your orders. Prepare the torture chamber." He hissed before marching down the dark hallways.

"Can you go up it?" Steve said hopefully, glancing back a Tony with an almost pitiful expression. Tony didn't have the heart to snap at him.
"No can do bud, I've tried making altercations to the suit, but I've hit dead-end after dead-end." He said, clapping Steve on the shoulder. Most would buckle under the weight of the iron man suit, but not Captain America.
"There are space suits out there Stark, couldn't you just modify them?" Bruce said distractedly, taking notes on the recently resealed sky.
"They don't look cool." He stated simple. Bruce rolled his eyes before turning to Thor.

"Can you get up there? You've taken Jane Foster to Asgard; surely you could take a couple of us to a spaceship?"
Thor shook his head, his arms crossed, a position they all knew to mean stress.
"I'm afraid not, friend. That… wormhole?" He paused, to make sure he had used the right "midgardian" term. Bruce nodded encouragingly. "That wormhole could have been opened from anywhere. I would not be able to find it again." He turned to Clint, looking at him thoughtfully. "I am sorry."

Clint threw his quiver to the ground, staring intently at the dark grey clouds, as if willing them to re-open.
"So that's it then? She's gone? There's nothing we can do?" He half-shouted at no-one in particular. The remaining Avengers looked at each other worryingly, not quite knowing what to say to comfort their friend. Luckily, they weren't kept awkward for long.

"I- I can help" Erik Selvig panted, running up to them from the destroyed turned to them in surprise, Thor beamed at him happily. "Of course you can, but how so?"

Erik bowed his head, ashamed. "I could have prevented this, I may- I am responsible for this." He glanced up at their appalled expressions, and turned even redder. "You have to understand, they threatened to invade Earth again if I didn't rebuild it… I had no choice." He finished weakly, throwing another shaky look at them. It was Steve who spoke first.
"You did what you had to do, and at least you've saved us from another invasion." He looked at the others to see if they agreed, and even Clint nodded reluctantly.

"Did they say what they wanted?" Thor asked hopeful for any sort of advantage for the fight that was going to take place. They were all relieved when Erik gave a semi nod.
"They told me they wanted revenge on Loki, for failing to conquer us- They knew he'd be here. I don't know why they took Agent Romanoff though."

They all threw an awkward look at Clint, who rolled his eyes.
"Look you said you can help us, how are you going to?"
"They gave me this", He raised a small object that was obviously chitauri. It looked vaguely like a beeper.

"They would be able to contact me through it, and vice-versa. Also it would glow blue whenever they were near or coming. I think they forgot about it, but, with Doctor Banner's help, we could use it as a tracking device. It would then be easy for Thor to find the ship. There can't be many surviving Chitauri floating around space." He concluded, his breathing becoming irregular again with excitement.
"Well then." Bruce said clapping his hands together.

"Let's get started."

Loki glanced up when he heard the tell-tale clang of metal boots, marching up to his cell. So, then. The torture was to finally begin. He placed his usual cocky smile on his face when the greatly deteriorated Chitauri leader swooped into his cell.

"I would not get to comfortable, Laufyson. Your punishment will begin momentarily."
Loki only crossed his leg, leaning back into the cold hard wall, defying him in the only ways he could. The Other only sneered.

"I have something to tell you- I spoke to your whore earlier." Loki hissed sharply knowing her could only be talking about his Natasha.

"Do not speak of her in that way again." He spoke through gritted teeth, though still wanting desperately to know about her.
"There is little you can do to stop me. But as I was saying I made her an offer. I told her she could take your punishment and let you go free, or leave now, knowing that you were left behind."

The Other did not seem to know that when you were teasing a prisoner, you should wait until the last possible moment to tell them what they wanted to know. He continued instantly.

"She chose the latter with a smile on her face, and bow to me. In fact…" He said leaning down to Loki, with a slow grin spreading across his dirty face.
"In fact, she seemed to take pleasure in knowing that you were to be tortured." He stood up straight again, massaging his back.
"Unfortunately you won't have any time to dwell on that." He nodded to two soldiers.

"Take him away."