Narrator's POV

"Tony." Bruce sat next to Tony on his bed. "I promise you we will find him." Tony was only quiet. Bruce sighed. "Please get some rest, Tony. We'll continue looking tomorrow."

"Bruce I can't."

"Talk to me." Bruce put a hand on Tony's knee.

"I've had so much happen to me. I've lost family, I've lost friends... This-" Tony sighed. "This is why I didn't want to get my feelings involved. They play with me. I hate them. I wish I had none."

"Tony-"

"He knew exactly what he was doing when he took Stephen. He hit me where it hurt the most. Stephen's the closet I'll ever have to a real family."

"Tony, look around."

"Bruce don't even-"

"No, Tony. Listen to me. You have friends who care about you. They're concerned about you. T'challa's concerned, Everett's concerned, Thor's concerned." Bruce said. "For sure, I'm concerned. We all care about you. You have a family here. I know Stephen's really important to you, and I promise we'll get him back. We'll find him. But please, get some rest. We care about you and would hate for something to happen to you." Tony looked at Bruce with tears in his eyes. He sniffled. "Tony, I-"

Bruce was cut off when Tony suddenly embraced him. He held his friend close, wrapping both arms tightly around him. Bruce sighed and held his friend close, patting his back. Thor soon joined them, holding both of them close.

They were a family. And when a family member was having some trouble, everyone came to help.

///0///0

"Mm..." Stephen groaned. His eyes slowly began to open, tempting him to close them with every attempt he made at trying to open them. His vision was blurry, very blurry. He tried picking his head up, it was very difficult; but he managed to pick it up. He blinked a couple of times before his vision adjusted. He saw Timothy standing with his back to him. He squinted. "Timothy?"

"Oh." Timothy turned to him. "You're awake."

Stephen looked around. "What? Where am I?" He tried to sit up, but couldn't move. He looked down at himself. He was tied down on a chair and only wearing a pair of boxers he had borrowed from Tony.

"No. You still can't go." Timothy said, pointing at him. "Oh, where are my manners?" He laughed. "Good morning." He smiled.

"Where am I? Where are my clothes?" Stephen asked. "I would very much like to have them back."

"Don't worry. They're getting washed." Timothy said. "By the way, Tony's a very lucky boy." He winked.

"Timothy, please. I-ah!" Stephen groaned when he felt pain all of a sudden when he tried to move in the chair.

"Yeah. The drug wears off after a few hours." Timothy said. "I could give you more if you'd like." He said, taking out a syringe.

"No, thank you." Stephen shook his head.

"Well then..." Timothy put it down and brought a chair in front of Stephen. He sat down in it and leaned close to Stephen. "Should we start talking now?"

"Timothy, I told you. I don't remember."

"I know you're smarter than that." Timothy smiled at him. He tossed a dagger into the air and caught it.

"I have nothing." Stephen said. "I don't know anything. I-"

Timothy brought the dagger up to Stephen's neck, quieting him. "Did you know if you cut the carotid artery, it takes about four minutes for a person to die from bleeding to death?"

"I actually did know that." Stephen said, trying his best to get the blade off his neck.

"Would you like to test that theory?" Timothy smirked.

///0///0

"Maybe we should talk to someone. We've already checked three hideouts and one that was secret, and haven't found anything." Bruce said looking around one of the hide outs.

Everyone was there.

"We should ask around f they've seen anything." Steve asked.

"We need to ask an adult. We need to contact the police." Everett said.

"Yeah. We need people who actually know what they're doing." Clint said.

"If we go to the police, they'll just push us off the case. They won't want us around. Plus, you forgot none of us are like regular people." Tony said, looking back at everyone. Everyone stayed quiet.

"Then what do we do?" Bucky asked.

"We keep searching." Tony said. He looked at Clint. "Where's another one?"

"Not far."

///0///0

"Doesn't that feel good?"

"Uh-huh."

"See, I told you. This'll keep the pain away." Timothy chuckled. He watched as Stephen sat in the chair drugged and losing all sense of reality. Stephen already had bruises and marks all over his fore arm where Timothy would inject the drugs. Stephen's eyes were half lidded and his head fell limply back in the chair. "Should we talk?" Stephe didn't answer. "Do you remember that night you saw that Anthony was very frustrated?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And you helped him solve an equation for a formula?"

"Mhm."

"What was that equation?" Timothy asked, hoping the drug would help clear some of Stephen's stubbornness.

Stephen suddenly jerked his head forward. "Where's Randy?" He asked.

"Randy?" Timothy asked. "Who's Randy?"

"M-My little plant. The one that used to be in the pot you hid in." Stephen said. "Where is he?"

"Oh." Timothy chuckled. "I disposed of him out the window."

"You're a monster." Stephen said.

"I really do appreciate you taking care of me. You gave me good amounts of sunlight, kept the temperature comfortable, watered me everyday. Oh. Speaking of water, are you thirsty?" He asked.

"Mhm." Stephen nodded.

"Oh, good, good." Timothy went over to a counter top and got a small pale along with a small face towel. "I've got some water right here." He soaked the towel in the pale. "Now." He slapped Stephen across the face. "Tell me what I need."

"What was that again?" Stephen asked.

Timothy sighed. "Even when you're drugged you still adorable." He shook his head.

"Huh?" Stephen asked, but was surprised when the wet towel covered his face.

"Thirsty?" Timothy asked and began to poor the pale of water over Stephen face. At first Stephen wasn't making sound or struggling, but then he began to gasp for air and cough. He chocked.

"Tim-" He gasped.

"Had enough?" Timothy asked. He listened to Stephen choke. "Alright then. Take your time." Timothy continued.

Stephen wriggled in the chair. He didn't care if every other muscle and bone were screaming in pain throughout his body, he had to get the towel off his face.

///0///0

"Do you think he's still alive?" Steve asked Tony.

"Of course he is. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep moving and hiding from us. He's using Stephen against us." Tony explained.

The whole group was walking the woods searching for anything that they might lead to Stephen.

"How long have you two known each other?" Steve asked.

"Since the beginning of the school year. We got roomed together and became really good friends." Tony said. He smiled at the ground. "I never thought I'd actually be so-"

"Anthony!" T'challa called him.

Tony looked up and saw him waving for him to come. Everyone else gathered.

Once Tony got there, he saw footprints. "That's him." He said.

"But that's only one pair. Where are Stephen's?" Bruce asked.

"He must've been carrying him." Tony said, looking up and seeing a trail.

"I found this." Thor said, exposing a long plastic cap.

Bucky took it. "A syringe. He's drugging him."

"We need to find him, quickly." Steve said.

The boys followed the trail.

"You won't find him going down that way." Said a voice.

The boys stopped in place and looked around. They stood with their backs to each other, ready to defend themselves and ready to attack whoever was coming.

Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the trees and landed in front of them. They all turned to it. It was a girl with red hair.

"He made that trail, traced his steps back and continued off this way." She said, pointing over at a bush.

Thor walked over to it and looked behind it.

"She's right." He said. "They're the same prints."

Everyone in the group relaxed and went over to Thor.

"Who are you?" Tony asked.

"I'm Natasha, but you can call me Nat."