Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any of its characters.

A/N: I was so excited to write this chapter as I was planning to have Coulson in it... then I remembered that he died in the film! I hate my life. Maybe later on I'll do a One-Shot on Clint's friendship with Coulson. I always liked the idea of them being friends :) Sorry if anyone seems out of character in this chapter, I think it's my weakest one so far as I struggled with it a bit. Please leave a review letting me know what you think!

Chapter 4

Clint Barton leant forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his knees and his head in his hands. He screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the memories. It proved futile though, as he soon found himself drifting back to that moment when he had returned to SHEILD to talk to Fury.

Clint stormed into the meeting room throwing open the glass doors, causing them to shudder as they smacked against the wall. Stark, Fury and Bruce Banner, the only team members in the room, turned around to look at him. Tony was the first to speak up.

"Hey, Legolas! Where's Romanoff?"

Clint glared at him.

"Shut up, metal man. You know she's not here," Clint snapped. He stalked over to the remaining vacant seat, resting his elbows on the table. He began to roughly yank off his arm braces, and it soon became clear to the others that he was not prepared to divulge any more information without heavy prompting.

Bruce Banner sat forward in his seat and looked towards the archer. "Barton, you're going to need to tell us exactly what happened if you want us to help you."

Clint looked up at Bruce. He didn't really know him that well as he was always holed up with Stark - but from what Clint saw, he seemed like a nice enough guy. "I was scoping out our target's office from the top of the building opposite. We suspected that the information we needed might have been in there. If I deemed it safe, Natasha was going to go in there and look around whilst I watched the perimeter."

"So what happened?" Fury interjected.

"I was about to tell her that I couldn't see the area clear enough, but she just went in! She never listens to me. I was trying to warn her that Amyot's thugs were most likely hiding in the shadows, but she didn't wait for me to finish talking!" Clint rambled on. "One minute she was there, the next minute she was smashing through a window. I lost contact after that. I saw this massive SUV swerve around the corner and went to reach for my bow – the next thing I knew she was gone."

"Don't worry about it Barton, we'll get her out."

The voice came from behind him. Clint, who had calmed down a bit since his arrival back at SHEILD, turned to find none other than Steve Rogers leaning casually against the doorframe.

"Hey, Cap!" Tony piped up. "Come sit next to me!" he grinned, patting the seat next to him. Steve just rolled his eyes and went to sit next to Bruce, opposite Clint.

Clint took in a deep breath and looked around at the others. "I have to get her back."

Easier said, than done. He'd navigated those tunnels and infiltrated the facility, except now, instead of going to find Natasha, he was just sitting here thinking back on it all. He had to get moving sooner or later. With one last cursory glance to the screen that showed Natasha, he leapt up, grabbed his bow and raced out the door – straight into a group of about five agents.

Clint chastised himself for being so hasty. Nice one, Barton.

The agents clocked him and swarmed like bees to honey. One of them grabbed Clint from behind, using his arm to create a vice-like grip around his neck. Clint clutched at that arm with one hand, using the other at the same time to seize his assailant's gun and shoot at the rest of the group. Three guards went down instantly.

Clint backed up, slamming the guy on his back into the wall, and feeling the grip around his neck slacken momentarily. Taking his opportunity, Clint grasped the arm and ducked underneath it, before yanking on it and slamming the guard face first into the wall, pinning his arm to his back. Clint turned to face the other guard that hadn't been hit yet, and was forced to duck and let go of his grip on the agent he had pinned to the wall as bullets ricocheted off the walls around him. Without hesitation, Clint reached for his bow and released an arrow, knocking the man to the ground. Four agents down, one to go.

Whipping around with his bow poised, Clint searched for his last target. Noticing that the last guard was speeding round the corner of the corridor, he tore off after him, slinging his bow back onto his shoulder as he ran. His shoes pounded against the floor. He couldn't stop and shoot, as the corridor had too many twists in it – if he stopped to reach for his bow, he risked losing his target.

Clint puffed out heavy breaths and forced himself to surge forwards. He turned an approaching corner sharply, reaching out with his arms to catch himself against the wall as he slipped slightly, his shoes screeching against the linoleum flooring. Pushing himself away from the wall he raced after the guard, ignoring his ribs as they ached in protest.

Recognising that the corridor he was in was shaped like a horseshoe, and that the room next to him provided a direct shortcut that cut out the long corners, Clint busted through the door to his left. He raced into the room; rolled over the low table in the middle, and launched himself through the door on the opposite side of the room, slamming into the guard he was chasing in the process.

The guard smacked back into the wall behind him, cracking his head against it. Clint slammed his fist into the side of his head and backed up, analysing the damage. The man lay sprawled out on the floor, one hand on his gun, one hand on a security pass. Crouching down next to the body, the archer snatched up the pass and turned it over in his hands. A large smile crept across Clint's face.

There was no stopping him now.

Note: Thank you so much to RogueRecruit and MJ Lynn for your reviews, it means a lot to me :) 12/1/13 ~ Re-uploaded. Minor updates done.