Summary: During a routine recon mission for SHIELD, Clint disappears without a trace. In trying to find him, the team stumbles across an unwelcome (and psychotic) blast from Clint's past out for revenge. And it seems he's not working alone... In other words, Clint's in danger. Must be Tuesday.

Pairings: Clintasha and background Peppernony

Warnings: Just general spoilers for the movie… but everyone should've seen it already by now so no worries!

Disclaimer: If I owned anything having to with the Avengers I would be a rich, happy woman. Instead I am a broke, happy woman. One out of two isn't that bad. I also don't own Once Upon a Time or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I certainly don't own any bronies. Although now I kinda want one.

Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks again for all the love shown to this story. It means a lot. Also wanted to apologize for the cliff-hanger of sorts. Won't happen again… in this story at least! Anyway, that's about it. Hope you enjoy.

Skin to Bone

Tony was pacing. On any other day, it would've been amusing for Steve to watch as the man paced back and forth in the heavy metal suit. Honestly, it would be a comical sight with the whirring of the gears with every pass he made and the clanking that echoed every footstep if it were any other day. But it wasn't any other day, it was today. Over a day and a half passed since Clint went missing. They were all feeling anxious but Tony more than the others (save Natasha, but she was used to hiding her true feelings). He was both blaming himself for Hammer being involved and concerned with whatever he heard in Clint's voice when they talked. He knew it was a mistake to let Tony take the lead but Bruce was right when he pointed out that Duquesne and Hammer were both drama queens. They needed to feed into that drama so they would make a mistake. With less than an hour to go before the exchange, Steve was still waiting for that mistake.

"What's wrong, Stark?" Hammer asked, also watching Tony's anxious pacing. There was a smirk on his face that Steve longed to wipe off. But he was the team leader. He needed to set an example. Tony paused briefly to turn a glare in Justin's direction. Having been on the receiving end of Tony's glare through his suit, Steve knew it was intimidating. It was made even more intimidating by the fact that Steve was starting to realize that Tony was dangerous even without the suit. He also knew that right now Tony needed a distraction of the non Hammer related variety or else he was going to explode.

"What's this?" Bruce muttered from where he was sitting beside Natasha and Thor. Steve and Tony turned in unison to regard the scientist. He was holding his cell phone in hand with a confused expression. "It says I have a missed call and a voicemail? But when did it even ring? It's been in my pocket this whole time."

"Maybe it was while Stark was throwing his hissy fit after talking to Bird Boy," Hammer pointed out, not at all helpfully.

"It's because all our phones use the Stark satellite," Natasha murmured, waving a hand towards the sky. "Tony repositioned it so that he could use his facial recognition program on a wider scale to keep searching for a sign of Duquesne while also searching for our SHIELD mole. So it's screwing with our reception."

Hammer looked concerned as well as slightly in awe. "You can do that?"

Tony turned that glare on Justin once again. "I told you once before that you were out of your league. I was building your most advanced stuff when I was eight."

"Still an arrogant asshole."

"No, just incredibly aware of what I can do," Tony replied, false calm oozing out of his voice. "You'll never be as good as me."

"Maybe. But which of us is the one with the very human shaped weakness that is easily exploited? I'd say that puts me ahead of the game. I'm sure that Duquesne would agree."

Steve winced as Tony let out a growl that would make even the Hulk proud. He was weighing the pros and cons of separating the furious Tony and the verbally stupid Hammer when suddenly Bruce was in the middle of the genius showdown.

"Tony, I need your help."

"What? Now?"

"Yes, right now. It's one of my experiments. The ones with the suits."

Tony's faceplate slid back allowing Bruce to receive the full effect of his incredulous look. Bruce simply stared back. Tony arched an eyebrow. Bruce tilted his head to the side. Tony nodded, clearing his throat.

"Right, so your experiment. Let's go check on that."

Before Steve could even comment on the odd silent conversation, Tony and Bruce were flying away. He knew them well enough (or as well as one could know Tony Stark) to know that he just missed something huge but what, he had no idea. What could be more important than getting Clint back? Certainly not an experiment. But apparently it was because they were gone. He glanced up at the sky, not surprised that he didn't even see a smoke trail.

"What just happened?" Natasha murmured, voicing the confusion apparent on her and Hammer's faces. Thor, on the other hand, smiled. Now Steve was certain he was missing something. The god tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear. His finger lingered briefly on the earwig still in place. Steve almost forgot he was wearing the tiny communication system. It wasn't necessary before as they were all in one place. But now they weren't. He turned it on and heard a very familiar bantering conversation.

"How long do you think we have until they figure it out?"

"With Nat, I think she's probably already clued in by now. Now the problem is Steve. I think we'll be there and back before he figures it out."

"I think Thor knows."

"Sad when the Earth ignorant alien god figures it out before the super soldier and the ninja spy."

Steve cleared his throat quietly but didn't speak. He got the feeling that for whatever reason, Bruce and Tony didn't want Justin clued in whatever they were doing.

"Oh, hey there, Cap. Guess you're wondering what we're up too." Steve grunted. "We found him, Steve. The call was from Clint. He put a tracker on his bow. Remind me to never joke about him being a paranoid little freak again. It actually came in handy this time around. Anyway, you know how he is with that bow. We never found the bow on the scene. So it's with him. And it's not moving."

Steve's gaze darted to Hammer. "They're playing games," Bruce continued for Tony. "They probably know we're not letting them out of here. The only way to make sure we don't catch them right away is to hold Clint's location."

Steve ran a hand through his hair. Never in his life did he want an alien invasion before. This was officially beyond ridiculous. Not to mention really, incredibly frustrating. Clint suffered enough at the hands of this man fifteen years ago. Why did he need to suffer any longer? Why was this even happening? And why was it all so stupidly convoluted?

"What did Banner leave something burning?" Hammer spoke up. He smirked at the three startled looks he received. Steve cursed silently. They all almost forgot he was there. Good thing the others all insisted on tying him up. "You know without Stark around, it's strangely quiet."

"Would be even quieter if we cut out your tongue," Natasha hissed. "You don't need a tongue to make weapons. Might even improve the quality of the service."

"You're a lot testier without Bird Boy around."

"We're here," Tony reported, cutting off any response Natasha might have made. "Are you kidding me? Damn it, he was right down the street from where he was taken. The whole goddamn time, he was right here!"

Steve felt the same anger but fought to keep his expression neutral as a nondescript van pulled up. The whole situation was beginning to resemble one of those really stupid crime movies that Clint always watched. Steve promised himself that as soon as they got him back, Clint was banned from watching those movies. They all were.

"The Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, we meet at last!" Duquesne boomed as he stepped out of the van. There was a long sword strapped to his waist and he was smiling as if they were all old friends meeting up for a friendly drink. Steve really couldn't wait to punch him in the face. He also wouldn't mind hitting the two smirking walls of human flesh that he called bodyguards. There was something about them that told Steve that he didn't like them.

"Where's Clint?" Steve settled for asking. He hoped that Tony would understand that question was meant for him as well.

"Clinton is safe… for now. I simply needed some extra insurance that my employer and I would be allowed to leave in peace as was our deal."

"Still looking," Tony answered. "JARVIS do a life scan for Clint. Steve, you gotta buy us some time here."

Steve took a steadying breath. "What's to stop us from arresting you on the spot and turning you both over to SHIELD?"

"I think you and I both know that breaking a prisoner out of a maximum security facility, even one run by SHIELD, is not exactly considered to be in the interest of the agency. You'll more than likely be arrested right along with us. Not to mention, I'm the only one who knows where your precious archer is. The longer you keep us here, the worse it will be for him. Personally, I hate the little bastard. So I really don't care either way. It's your choice, Captain."

"These readings don't make any sense. According to JARVIS, Clint is here but here's something blocking him from giving me a clear indication of where," Tony muttered. "JARVIS, seriously, work with me here. He's here and that's awesome but where?"

There was a pause and then the AI spoke. Steve knew that JARVIS was one of the most advanced (if not the most) AI systems ever created. He was capable of a range of emotional inflections in his tone. But they never heard the AI sound hesitant before. Steve vowed that after all this was over, he wanted Tony to program hesitance out of JARVIS.

"Sir, it would appear that the signal interference is because of a large metal barrier surrounding him. Judging by the location of the signal traces," JARVIS hesitated once again briefly. "It would appear that Agent Barton has been buried. Alive."

In that moment, Steve finally gained a true understanding of what Bruce struggled with every day. He felt the rage boiling in his blood. A voice screamed in his head, begging him to make the ones that hurt one of his own pay. He was past trying to rationalize why he shouldn't anymore. His normally upright and intact morals were pushed to the side as he finally gave into the destructive impulses he was fighting against all day. A clap of thunder followed by a jagged streak of lightening dangerously close to a clued in Hammer signaled the end of their exchange. Duquesne pulled out his sword, his gaze darting warily between the three assembled Avengers and his own men behind him. Steve smirked. This was going to be fun.

There were more than a few things about Clint Barton that most people didn't know. He fought through his trust issues and gave the Avengers what he could. But there were still things that he just couldn't say. Fortunately, he was surrounded by a group of people that were very good at reading between the lines. They all knew enough about Clint's coping mechanisms, nightmares and history of abuse to know that his punishments growing up weren't always physical. One thing that was very obvious upon meeting him was that the archer really didn't like small spaces. He seemingly made an exception with the vents but Bruce believed it was probably because they were higher up and he was usually the only one that would venture up there. So it was a safe small space. But that was the only exception to the rules. Clint hated small spaces and they all knew it and tried to work with him. If a large conference room wasn't available for a debriefing meeting, Fury was known to have them on the roof. Clint's room at the New Mexico base was one of the biggest rooms and he shared with no one. It was widely accepted that he craved open space and didn't like to be crowded.

They all knew it was because he used to be locked into small spaces for long periods of time at the mercy of sick bastards like Duquesne. It was unspoken fact amongst the team. They all knew but never said a word about to Clint. They just subtly made sure to take care of him the best that they could and find as many high open spaces when he needed to let off steam. Bruce knew he wasn't the only to silently promise to never let Clint feel trapped again.

"Well, blew that one," he muttered to himself as he sat on the ground just outside the warehouse. It was difficult to figure out where Clint was buried after JARVIS' announcement. There was a patch of dirt that was clearly not like the others. Not to mention shovels still lying on the ground. They weren't trying to make this hard or anything like that.

Bruce was forced to wait on the sidelines as Tony, using every bit of his suit's power, dug in the general location of their missing archer. They both knew the Hulk could do this faster but there were so many variables in this situation that the speed wasn't worth it. So Tony dug and Bruce waited. As he watched, he was dimly aware of all hell breaking loose over the comm. His only focus, however, was on the hole which was steadily getting deeper with no sign of Clint or whatever they used to bury him in. He could feel the Hulk's confusion and anger. But for once they were on the same page. The Other Guy knew that Bruce was the best for Cupid right now. Later, they could both have their revenge.

"I think I got something!" Tony yelled over his shoulder. He had long removed the helmet, claiming that Justin's cries of pain were an unnecessary distraction. Bruce privately thought he was just upset that he couldn't be there to get in a few hits in. "I think this is it." Bruce moved to stand on the edge of the hole where a long, metal locker was visible in the freshly dug earth. His eyes closed involuntarily as Tony ripped the lid off, letting out a soft series of curses at what he found. "Clint!"

Bruce forced himself to open his eyes and look. He knew he wanted to see his friend again but not like this. His eyes were closed and the dark eyelashes stood out sharply against the too pale cheeks. The dirty blonde hair was matted with blood. So probable concussion. Bruce continued a cursory exam, hoping to see a sign of life. Though it was slightly hitched, Bruce could make out the telltale motion of Clint's chest rising and falling. So he was alive and breathing. That was… good.

"How are we supposed to get him out of there? He looks like one giant bruise."

Bruce wondered the same thing. There really didn't seem to a single part of Clint's skin that wasn't heavily bruised. Moving him was going to cause pain. Not to mention he was very likely to wake up and start fighting them if they just hauled him out of there. There was no way of doing this that wasn't going to cause pain. So Bruce decided to go for the easiest way. He leaned down and poked Clint's arm. Clint was a notoriously light sleeper. Even beaten and broken, he was still easily roused. They watched as his eyelids flickered. A low moan sounded from his lips as he finally managed to crack his eyes open. Bruce leaned back and motioned for Tony to do the same as Clint slowly woke further.

The archer bolted upright, letting out a strangled cry of pain as his various injuries were aggravated with the movements. Wide fear blown eyes scanned his surroundings like a wild, trapped animal. From what he could tell, Bruce didn't think Clint even knew where he was or how he got there. But he could see the moment when it clicked for him as his friend's body language changed. A whimper of some unknown emotion slipped from his lips as he buried his face in his hands and dragged his legs up to his chest with visible effort. For a few moments, heavy silence hung over the three Avengers. The only sound was Clint's panting and muffled words that Bruce knew were meant to calm him. Tony was staring in horror at their wreck of a friend with distant eyes and Bruce knew that Clint wasn't going to be the only one with nightmares after all of this was over. But at the moment, Clint was his priority. He would deal with Tony later. Bruce lowered himself into the hole carefully so that he was kneeling at the far end of the box. Clint was still burrowed into himself, hiding from sight. His head shot up at Bruce's arrival but he didn't move his hands away from his head.

"Hey," he whispered, holding up his hands. "Clint, it's me. It's Bruce." The younger man watched him warily but still didn't say a word. "Tony is here too. You're safe. Okay? We found you, like you asked us too."

"Bruce…." Clint mumbled, lowering his hands completely. He glanced at the dirt walls surrounding him still, letting out another shuddering breath. "Get me.. get me out... please... just get me out of here?"

Tony leaned over the edge of the hole, holding out a hand for Clint. Bruce helped the shaking archer stand, largely supporting his trembling weight until Tony had a good enough grip to easily pull him out of the tight metal box. Once he was above ground, Tony let him sag to the ground before collapsing beside him. Bruce climbed out as well, immediately going to Clint's free side and doing the same. The three men lay in silence staring at the sky above them.

"Are you….?" Tony trailed off, seemingly realizing it was a stupid question.

"No. But I will be," Clint replied. He shuddered. Bruce shifted closer to him, so that their shoulders were pressed against one another. He nodded in silent acknowledgement. He opened his eyes, his head turned slightly towards Tony. "You found me."

"Did you ever doubt I would?"

"Truthfully… the metal box gave me pause."

"Well, you never have to worry. I, or rather JARVIS, will always find you."

Clint snorted. "Do you promise?"

Tony grinned. "I do."

Bruce's brow furrowed. The whole dialogue sounded oddly familiar. And then it hit him. He sat up so he could get a better look at the two men still sprawled on the ground. "Are you actually quoting Once Upon A Time?"

"This coming from the man who's other half is a brony," Clint laughed quietly. His eyes fluttering shut again. "You don't get to mock entertainment choices. Especially not since the theme song to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic makes you Hulk out in happiness! "

Bruce fought the blush that threatened to take over his face. "That's your fault anyway. You were the one that insisted on showing it to him."

"Figured… he'd like… it," Clint replied, voice trailing off towards the end. Now that Clint was out of the box, Bruce had a better view of the extent of Clint's treatment at the hands of Duquesne. His arms, legs and hands were faintly trembling. Just from the brief contact of their shoulders, Bruce could tell that Clint was running a temperature. Most likely from the inflamed skin around the gash on his arm. Though his limbs were trembling, the movements didn't seem voluntary or even controlled. When he wasn't in sniper mode, Clint was always moving around. This wasn't the same movements though. Oh, of course...

"Clint, did he give you something? Like some kind of drug?"

He nodded, his eyes still closed. "When he cut me, there was something on it… said it was to make me… behave. Gave me another dose later."

Tony growled but otherwise remained quiet. Bruce had a few choice words that he also held back. He gave Tony a look that he hoped was correctly interpreted. It was. Tony helped Clint upright, letting him lean his back against Tony's chest.

"So Katniss, what was your favorite episode of Once?"

"Only saw the first few episodes," Clint replied, wincing as Bruce started a more thorough exam. He knew that Tony already alerted SHIELD where they were. It was only a matter of time before they showed up. This was just so he knew what they were dealing with when the kid inevitably broke out of medical. So far, he wasn't happy with what he saw. Between the bleeding, raw marks on his wrists from the restraints to the slow reaction of his pupils, Clint was a mess. Not to mention he was probably starving by now. Even Bruce was feeling the faint stirrings of hunger and Phil forced them all to eat before they left to free Hammer. And yet here he was quoting television shows and mocking the Hulk's single minded quest to be a brony.

"Why'd you miss the rest?"

"Base in New Mexico only picked up three channels," Clint said. "None of them played it. Wi-Fi was horrible. And then… Loki. So I missed the rest."

"Don't worry," Tony grinned. "I call that as our next marathon night."

"But you finished it," Clint protested, halfheartedly. Bruce smiled even as he ripped the bottom of his shirt to bandage the sluggishly bleeding cut on Clint's head.

"And that's never stopped us from watching Dr. Who like a million times. Besides I think Thor would like it. Maybe it'll be enough to lure him away from reality TV. I swear I caught him watching Snooki's show the other day. I'm a little afraid."

Clint chuckled but didn't say anything else. Bruce tapped him lightly on the cheek. One eye cracked open, allowing a hint of grayish blue to be seen. "I know. No sleeping."

"Good boy," Bruce patted him on the head. "Speaking of Once, anyone else notice that Charming looks a lot like Thor's friend, Fandral."

"You mean how he used to look. Looks different lately. Like he's a totally different person or something," Tony mused. "Must be a god thing. Like you know how one minute Thor's sleeves are there and then they're not."

Still Clint didn't reply. The brief adrenaline rush he felt after being freed from the box was gone and the archer was fading fast. Bruce was tempted to tell Tony to just fly him to the nearest hospital when the sounds of multiple helicopters approaching reached his ears. He glanced back to see Clint was unconscious but still breathing. He'd accept it for now.

The helicopters landed a short distance away from the three heroes. Bruce was both not surprised and yet dismayed to see Maria Hill leading the way. Several agents, including two of the ones that lost Clint in the first place, followed in her wake.

"You did it. You actually did it. You got Barton," Maria said, by way of greeting.

Tony gave her a look. "Of course we did. Avengers look after their own."

Maria returned the look with one of her own. "I know given the circumstances you may not believe me, but SHIELD does too. I know I was definitely left out of the communication loop but I know that you did what you did to rescue Barton."

Bruce held onto Tony's arm when he noticed the billionaire about to fight the hands lifting Clint away from him. He shook his head minutely. Tony sighed but didn't fight anymore. "So what happens now? Are we under arrest?"

"You probably should be," Maria replied, though her eyes were tracking the medical team working on Clint. "The Council is calling for an immediate debriefing. Between you and me, they're looking for blood. But Coulson and the Director are willing to fight for you guys." She glanced back at the two men. "They're not the only ones."

"Thanks, Agent Hill," Bruce nodded. "Can we…."

"I'll be riding back with Clint. You two are to ride with me. I need to make sure you don't escape custody."

"Oh, of course," Tony smiled, slightly. Maria's lips quirked into a smile of sorts before she turned to start barking orders at the lingering agents. As they followed after her, mindful of the agents that were watching their every move, Tony elbowed Bruce into the side.

"You're still in the suit, Tony," Bruce reminded him, rubbing his sore chest.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, when did Maria get cool?"

"I guess she has her moments," Bruce shrugged. "The real question is are we ready for this meeting? I don't have to tell you what will happen if it doesn't go our way. But I will. I'm gone. They're going to lock me in a Hulk proof chamber for the rest of my life."

"One, do you honestly think I would ever let that happen? And two, do you honestly think I'm not ready for this?"

"My bad. I forgot you're Tony Stark," Bruce retorted, only half kidding. He should've known that Tony figured out who the mole was by now. Tony wasn't lying. Hammer was definitely out of his league. Tony was a genius of a different caliber and Bruce was starting to realize that while he was a genius in his own right, he really didn't match up to Tony. He glanced at the man out the corner of his eye and smiled.

"What?" Tony asked him, warily.

"Nothing. Just happy it's over."

Tony nodded, watching as the medics loaded a still unconscious Clint into the helicopter under the constant supervision of Maria. "Yeah, the worst is over. Now comes the fun part."

"You and I have very serious differences in opinion about what is fun."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I asked Natasha if she wanted to party with me one weekend and she gave me a dirty look. Thor flew away from me. I just don't get it."

Bruce shook his head as his best friend (and wow, when did that happen) continued to rant and pout about his friend's lack of trust in his ability to have a good time. As he settled down in the helicopter, close enough to the gurney Clint was strapped on that he could rest a hand on his leg, Bruce felt the Hulk calming down for the first time in days. The others were being escorted back to SHIELD headquarters also and judging from Thor's movie stolen one-liners, Hammer and Duquesne were in custody as well. It was over….

Well, almost. One last piece of this puzzle to sort out and then they were done. He didn't know what the rest of the planned, but Bruce was not leaving the Tower for at least a week. He was pretty sure it would be longer than for Clint.

"I know how to have a good time! You watch! I'm throwing a party and it's going to blow your judgmental little minds!"

Bruce chuckled and closed his eyes, settling for the rest of the flight back. Everything was as it should be. Tony ranting and Clint here. Everything was finally ok. Except for a niggling thought in the back of his mind.

"Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Somebody told Darcy that Clint was missing, right?"

There was a long pause. "Uh, we kinda thought you were going to do that."

Bruce's eyes widened. "Oh, we are so dead."

*The Darcy part is not entirely random. She's heavily featured in an upcoming chapter of Dynamics (the next chapter to be precise). But just a brief account of her role in this story: she's Phil's assistant, i.e. the Avengers live in babysitter. She is super close to Clint. She makes frequent trips to visit Jane in New Mexico. And that's pretty much the gist of that. Until next time!