A/N: well... This turned out a lot darker and more serious than I intended for this idea.... So fair warning I guess? I'm also tempted to use this as another story (chapters that connect, plot, etc), but I don't think I have time for it... If you like this idea, leave a comment and tell me about it? If I get enough feedback, I could probably do it!

Enjoy!

Peter could honestly say that he's had better days. Maybe even better weeks... When had his week started spiraling downhill like a flaming car with no breaks? Could it have been when Flash nearly broke his nose in PE? Or when MJ started hanging out with one of the seniors? It might have something to do with all three of his parental role models canceling their plans with him (funny how none of them knew that the others canceled either). Whatever minor thing that started the flaming car down the hill, Peter really had to find a way to stop it... Because any further down the hill and he might end up dead.

"I can't believe that Spider-Man is a kid..." A bald headed man with an accent Peter couldn't quite place muttered, glaring at Peter tied to a chair. "All that extra work we had to go through to capture you... and you're just some stupid kid."

"Actually, I took one of those IQ tests on Buzzfeed and it said I was 'gifted' with a score of one-" A heavy fist lined with knuckle busters landing in Peter's stomach, effectively cutting him off. He gasped for air, fighting back against the blood that was coming up and hindering his oxygen supply. That probably wasn't a good sign. It was probably even worse that he had been coughing up blood for the last thirty minutes now.

Peter had to admit, these guys were smart... Staging a robbery, creating their own drug to knock him out, the chains that would send an electric shock so powerful it would give him a small seizure if he tried to pull on the chains, even the peppermint smell filling the room (who knew that he would lose almost all his strength just because of a few drops of peppermint oil?). They thought of and planned everything, even waiting until after he had called May and saying he would be out late and that she shouldn't wait up for him. Of course, all possible trackers had been taken care of as well - his watch being carted around Queens for the majority of the night and his suit fried like the food at an American fair (he actually fried his suit when he tried getting out of the chains, whoops).

Safe to say, Peter was their play toy until tomorrow afternoon.

"You know," He coughed, "it's rude to hit someone when they're in the middle of talking. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?"

Oh... Oh, he shouldn't have said that...

It was a wonder how no one had heard his screaming and sent the police... Peter was almost positive that his scream echoed across all of New York. It felt like hours he had been screaming and reeling from the pain inflicted on him, though the sun would have been up by now if he had. Unfortunately, he was still cloaked in the dim light of a flickering lamp that was seriously messing up his eyes.

As far as he could tell, there were two more men hiding in the shadows. He wasn't entirely sure because damn, that peppermint messed him up more than the light. If he could just get out of the chains though... Peter was positive he'd be able to handle a few normal humans - if that's what they really are.

Baldy's hand knotted in the back of Peter's hair, yanking it to force Peter's head up to gaze at the man.

"Listen here, kid... I don't want to be here any more than you. I know that messing with you is basically a suicide mission. But my superiors want to get revenge on the Avengers for what they did to us, and what better way than to take their precious pet?"

Don't do it, Peter. Don't you dare do it... Your body will end up in a ditch on the edge of - oh hell. "Great, another one of you 'Revengers' - that's what we call people like you," Peter croaked, his voice hoarse. "Let me guess, at some point in time one of the Avengers gave you a funny look through the TV and you decided that all of your life problems were their fault? Geez, I'm getting tired of guys like you. You're all the same. Could you not get your own individuality?"

The man stared at him for a second before a smirk played on his lips, "I don't think you quite understand what's happening here, Mr. Parker."

A chill went down Peter's spine at his name. He knew they knew who he was, but it didn't make it any less unsettling.

"So then tell me. Because all I know is that you're some sicko that likes to beat up kids."

The man circled around him a few times, his smile growing each time and effectively creeping Peter out to the max. 

"I'm sure you've heard of us before... We are sleeper cells for a company called Hydra."

Peter was wrong before. Now he was creeped out to the max plus had chills going down his spine. "I thought Hydra was wiped out..."

"We are inevitable. Cut off one head, three more will grow. No one can ever truly end us, no matter how hard they try." He leaned down in front of Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We are always hiding in the shadows, always watching, always waiting. Waiting for a moment like this. You see, Mr. Parker, you will be our new prize. That buffoon, Captain America, stole our last prize from us. You will replace him, and become even better."

Peter's eyes were wide as he reeled back slightly. He couldn't mean... there was no way... Baldy was talking about how Steve rescued Bucky, so did that mean he intended to turn Peter into the next Winter Soldier?

"Maybe you are smart, after all, child." Baldy smirked as he stood up. "Yes, we will turn you into a new solider for us. You are young, so you will be easier to manipulate. And with time, you will be the one to destroy the Avengers."

A loud scratching sound assaulted Peter's ears, causing him to flinch back and nearly set off the taser-chains. He didn't realize he closed his eyes until he tried to see what the sound was, finding it slightly difficult to get them open but eventually succeeding. And he really wished he didn't.

It was a large metal table with two robotic arms sticking out of the head, buttons and knobs and spikes all over it. Were they going to put him on that? Is that what Bucky had to go through? He really didn't want anything to do with that...

"Don't worry, Mr. Parker," Baldy stated as he walked over to the table, "You won't forget everything right away. It'll take many, many hours of us working close together for you to actually forget... But that just means more bonding time for us."

"As much as I would love to have lots of... bonding moments with you, I really don't. So if you could just let me go now, that would be great."

"Afraid I can't do that." He waved his hand and one of the men came out of the shadows to place a towel on Peter's arm. The boy was confused at first, what was that supposed to signify? But then he felt the burning pain shooting through his arm and he almost cursed. The towel was soaked in peppermint oil and not only taking his strength and fighting will away from him, but feeling as if it was burning his skin off.

Everything happened in a blur after that. The pain from the oil was clouding his mind enough for him to not fight back when they unchained him from the chair and moved him onto the table, strapping his arms and legs in. He only came out of his daze because of the insistent buzzing above him. The machine was coming to life, the pillars above his head were spinning and crackling with electricity - getting closer with each second.

This was it, Tony and Loki would come busting through the doors any moment now and save him. They would show up and shut the machine down and take him home and he would be able to sleep for the rest of the week. Any moment... They were so close he could almost-

Pure and utter terror coursed through Peter a second before the machine's electric plates pressed against his head. His back rose off the table, his limbs straining against the bindings, and a scream tearing out from his throat.

This... This was hell. This was one of the worst pains Peter had ever felt in his life. The only thing that was more painful was his currently shattered hopes of being saved. Because Tony and Loki weren't there... Why weren't they there?

He must have blacked out at some point, because suddenly it was daylight and he had a mouth guard. His mouth also had a very suspicious metallic taste to it...

"Awake already?" 

Peter almost groaned at the sound of Baldy's voice. He would have if the machine hadn't turned on again and he was sent back into his living hell.

He ended up losing track of time, it felt like an eternity but that wasn't possible. Hopefully. His body had started to numb to the pain, which probably wasn't that good... also the fact that he was having difficulty remembering things like his favorite color and what he got for his birthday. Why was he trying to remember those things? Of all the random things he could be thinking about during his torture session, he had to be that.

He faintly heard the sound of Baldy talking to him, reading something to him. Words that stirred something inside of him. That couldn't be right... There had to be a mistake.

Suddenly everything stopped; the pain, the words, the screaming, everything. But there was  yelling now. Yelling and explosions...

Peter - against his better judgment - cracked his eyes opened with much difficulties and looked around. He was still strapped to the table, but there were flashes of color in the building now. Mainly red and green... Was it Christmas? What had he gotten for Christmas?

"Peter!" A voice called for him, making him jump slightly. He wasn't used to his name being shouted so loudly. He tried to move his eyes to see who was calling him, because that voice sounded comforting and familiar, but he was having trouble getting his body to cooperate.

Cold hands were on him as a pale face and gold helmet came into his view, worried green eyes looking down at him. "Hold on, child, I'll get you out of this."

Loki's already adrenaline boosted pulse skyrocketed more when Peter's response was his eyes rolling back into his head and his body going limp. Loki wasn't a medic, he never wanted to be a medic, but he really wished he was right now... "Wizard, get over here and help him!"

Seconds later, Dr. Strange was hovering next to Peter, his hands checking his vitals and whatnot. "He's alive, but I need to get him to the med-bay soon. Will you be able to handle yourselves here?"

Loki glanced around the room, seeing Stark in his iron suit taking out two of the men that were holding Peter. His eyes darkened as he saw three other men trying to escape. He opened his mouth to reply to Strange, but the doctor shook his head.

"I'll leave the rest of these men to you." And like that, both the man and the boy were gone in a flash of orange light. It was annoying, but Loki was grateful for it now... because his anger level was way above a ten right now, and he really didn't want Peter to see this.

Standing and moving away from the empty spot where Peter once was, Loki made his way to the locked door that the Hydra agents were trying to get out of. They wouldn't escape though, Loki's magic was what was keeping that door closed and these pathetic humans wouldn't be able to break it.

Seeing the angry god walking towards them, one of the men pulled out his gun and began firing at Loki. He faltered slightly when Loki disappeared in a flash of green, all three of them on edge now as they glanced around.

The door flew open, hitting one of the men in the forehead and sending him flying back into his companions. Loki stood in the doorway, his hands gripping his knives tightly and ready to strike at any moment. He watched the humans try to crawl off of the pile that they were on the floor, and he felt his rage building. These men were begging for his mercy now, kneeling before him, asking that he spare their lives. Had they thought about these things when they were hurting Peter? Did they even view Peter as a person?

A wicked smile spread across Loki's lips, "It's your lucky day, gentlemen. It's not every day that one can be killed by a god of tricks."

He would make them pay; he would repay every injury they gave Peter tenfold.

Unfortunately, Loki momentarily forgot how fragile humans really were and may have killed them before he was finished fulfilling his promise. But that turned out alright in the end, because it was just in time for him to see Stark cornering the supposed leader of this group.

"What did you do to him?" Tony asked, his fist raised and repulsor glowing with deadly energy. "Did you turn him into another one of your pawns? Answer me!"

The bald man started laughing, looking off to where his machine once was. "He called for you. Right before we started the machine, he kept muttering about how the both of you would swoop in and save him. The hope leaving his face right before we fried his mind was great-"

One of Loki's knives went into his leg, an almost growl coming from him, "You are this close to getting your mind removed from your skull. Tread lightly with your next words."

Tony silently nodded his agreement with Loki, his repulsor flashing in response. "How far along is the brain washing?"

"Did you know it only takes two days to completely wipe the memories from someone's mind? It's a very special art, one I am quite skilled in, if I do say so myself." He looked up to meet Loki's gaze, then Tony's. "It still takes a few months to make them completely compliant though... But I have a feeling that Mr. Parker is going to be very different for us. You had better keep a close eye on him, because we are halfway in control already. His days with you are numbered."

It was safe to say that Baldy didn't live long after that.

"Strange!" Tony shouted, pacing the room until the orange portal opened. He and Loki walked through, instantly being met with the med-bay waiting room filled with the other Avengers. Loki went to stand by the windows, glaring out at the lake across from the Compound that had the audacity to sparkle in the sunlight while Peter was hurt. Thor went to stand next to him, saying nothing but offering support while listening to Tony explain to everyone what they had found out.

"We're going to have to go Hydra hunting again," Tony said after his explanation came to an end. "We can't let them get Peter; we can never let that happen to him. We have to end Hydra once and for all this time."

"We thought that's what we did before, Tony," Rhodey commented, looking down at his clasped hands. "And that's what will happen again. We'll think we finished them off, but they'll just be laying low for the next few years until they see another opportunity to strike."

"So what? We just... give up and wait for them to take Peter again?"

"That's not what I said-!"

"He's just a kid-!"

"Enough!" Loki's sudden outburst caused everyone to freeze, not knowing the man to raise his voice often. "Arguing about it will solve nothing! Stark is right, we cannot let this pathetic excuse for a villainous organization capture Peter again, but we cannot blindly go attacking everything we see in his defense. We need to catch one of them, the newer members, and make them crack, working our way up through the chain. Don't just hit the biggest head and hope the body stops moving with it."

Nat shook her head, "I've interrogated them all before, these men are trained and would never give up their other agents."

"You've used human methods." Loki turned from the window and took a step toward the group, "There are other, more persuading, methods to use."

It was silent for a while, Loki's information sinking into their minds slowly. Before they could discuss what kind of details for this plan, Bruce came out of the med-bay and quickly captured everyone's attention.

Tony quickly moved to stand in front of him, peering around to the closing door behind him. "How's he doing? Is he going to be okay? What about his head, does he remember everything?"

"Whoa, calm down, Tony." Bruce smiled slightly and nodded, "Peter's mostly okay. He has a lot of bruising and a few cracked ribs, but his mind is still there as far as we can tell."

"He's asking for you two," Strange announced, walking out of the room and nodding to Loki and Tony. 

Tony was heading for the door not a second later, but hesitated slightly when he didn't hear Loki's footsteps catching up with him. Everyone looked to see Loki facing the window again, some raising an eyebrow at his strange behavior.

Was this really the same man that had nearly gone out of his mind with worry when they discovered that Peter was missing? The man that could barely even wait when Strange arrived to lend them his portals? Why was he not rushing into Peter's room now?

"Brother...?" Thor asked, reaching to place a hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki shrugged it off however and turned his head further away.

"I can't see him, not now." His voice was barely above a whisper, but they all still managed to hear it.

"What?" Thor squinted at him, his head tilting slightly. "Why? You couldn't wait to see him earlier, what changed?"

"You wouldn't understand, brother."

"But I might." Tony made his way back towards Loki, standing right behind him. "It's because you kill those Hydra agents, wasn't it? You killed them and now you feel like you can't face Peter because of it." The way that Loki's body stiffened was enough answer for anyone.

"I don't expect you to understand either, Stark-"

"Well I do." Tony grabbed Loki's sleeve and pulled, forcing Loki to face him. "I was a mess before I met the kid; parties, women, drinking, I was in a downward spiral really fast. And it got worse after Cap and half the Avengers ran off. I tried to ignore the world, I tried to ignore the kid... But he wouldn't let me. Peter dragged me out of my personal hell and forced me to face my mistakes and learn from them. He has that effect on everyone! He makes us see our mistakes and refuses to let us hide from it! You don't think I feel bad about killing those men? They were human, just like me and the kid. But if we didn't kill them, they would have killed Peter. Not physically, but they would have killed his mind - taken away everything good from him. We killed those men for Peter's sake, and we did the right thing.

"Now I am going to visit the kid, because they hurt him and he probably needs us. You can stay out here if you want to, but don't you dare say you were worried about him if you do. Because if you were really worried about him, you wouldn't even wait a second to go see how he is now."

The two men glared at each other for a while, neither one of them saying anything until Loki finally sighed and close his eyes. "Fine. I will see him."

A faint smile formed on Tony's face as he went back to Peter's med-bay room, this time with Loki's footsteps trailing behind him.

Once they were both in the room with the door closed, it hit them how serious this situation had been. Seeing Peter's small frame in the bed with bruises and cuts all over his face, they realized that they could have actually lost him...

"Hey," Peter sat up a bit in the bed, trying to hide the obvious pain it caused him, "I was wondering when you would get here."

"We just had to... you know, talk some things over."

Peter nodded with a knowing look in his eyes and a soft smile, and the men both remembered that Peter had enhanced hearing. Well that was slightly embarrassing.

"Peter, listen-"

"Thank you," Peter interrupted Loki. "I knew you guys would come save me, and you did. That's all that matters, not anything else that happened there."

Loki, who had been going to sit in one of the chairs next to Peter's bed, stopped slightly and stared at Peter's sincere eyes. And just like that, Loki felt as if all of his doubts about him killing those humans had vanished. The only thing Peter cared about was that Loki had showed up to help.

Tony smiled at the two from his seat on the other side on Peter's bed. Loki was still new to the whole 'being good thing' but he would learn soon enough that Peter's type of good was very forgiving. But Tony's was more...

"You are in so much trouble."

Peter's eyes widened as he looked over at Tony, "What did I do?"

"You have to be the only kid I know that can get kidnapped by a nearly dead organization! No one has heard from Hydra in years, and then you just had to go and get kidnapped by them!"

"I didn't plan for that to happen though...!"

"Now that I think about it..." Loki raised a brow in thought, a smirk playing on his lips. "How did they manage to capture you, child? I thought you were always watching out for this type of thing?"

Peter frowned and slouched in his bed slightly. This was totally unfair...

"You're a bear cub." Tony announced, drawing curious looks from the others. "No, hear me out. Have you ever seen those videos on YouTube about bear cubs? They're always getting themselves into danger and chaos all the time. And that's exactly what Peter does!"

Silence remained after Tony gave his explanation, everyone just staring at each other for some time. Then, quietly, Peter let out a small laugh. The laugh was contagious because then Tony joined in, and Loki not far after that.

Even if Loki and Tony gave him a hard time, and never let him forget that he was still a child... They were still his favorite parental figures. They were always there to help him when he got into trouble and weren't afraid to do anything to save him. 

"I guess we're just a whole family of bears then."