"I know, I know," Peter insisted, shaking his head and immediately wincing. He sighed, twisting his hands together in his lap. "But if I had asked to do this, no one would have let me go. And I just -- I just wanted to look around a little, I wasn't going to. I didn't mean to get --" He was still trying to wrap his mind around the last few hours. It wasn't the first time a bad guy had knocked him down, but they stuck him in a cell. With chains. The suit had kept them from rubbing against his wrists, but he still felt the weight of them there, like a phantom pain, a shadow sensation. "No one was supposed to find out. I was going to go in, listen for a minute, and then get out." That had been the plan, he had repeated it over and over and over on the way there. He felt Uncle Loki sit down beside him, and Peter stole a glance over. "You are," he admitted, still worried that maybe his secret wasn't so safe. "No, but I just -- I..." The pain swelled for a minute, he held his breath, and then he felt a soft hand on the back of his neck. A soothing sensation drifted over him, the pain settling and disappearing almost entirely. "Magic is cool," he said again, letting out the breath. "Thanks." He was quiet for a moment. "I keep Spiderman a secret so that he's judged based on his own actions. Not because he's kind of an Avenger, or... Because of who his dad is." Peter looked up at Loki now, biting down hard on his lip. "If I had told you, would you really have let me go? I can't explain it all, it's not mine to tell, but -- it's important. I thought I could help," he murmured. "And maybe -- I don't know. Maybe if I pulled it off, then I'd feel like... Doesn't matter now, I guess." He shook his head, without so much pain this time. "Bruce wants to adopt me, and my dad is showing me how to take over for him someday, but if I can't even pull off one solo-mission, how am I supposed to say yes to either of them?"