Bruce

Bruce had never felt comfortable around large groups of strangers. He preferred the solitude of his own house, where he could relax and not worry about having to interact with people. It made him feel pressured and nervous to be a part of a social gathering like that.

Which is why he mainly hung back in the far corner by himself. He was about to go outside to get some air when suddenly there was a blast, and before he could even think he was thrown back into the wall.

Bruce tried to shut out all of the screaming and panic that was going on around him. He tried to take deep breaths, to keep his heart rate at a normal pace, to stop the sweating and shaking. But the Hulk was beginning to surface.

"No," Bruce growled through gritted teeth. "No, I won't let this happen! You do not control me!"

Bruce turned and fled out of the building, tearing away from the flood of people who were evacuating the building and running down the street to avoid the chaos. He refused to let the Hulk beat him.

He ran until he forgot why he was running, eventually slowing down to a stop. A few police cars whizzed by him, and suddenly he was reminded of what had just happened.

"I have to go back," he stated out loud. Where were Tony and Natasha and Steve? Were they hurt in the explosion? What was going on? He couldn't just leave them – maybe they needed his help.

When Bruce returned to the building he was told of the masked men and of his friend's kidnapping. The reality of the whole situation sank in then and there and he sank to his knees, fighting back angry screams.

My friends were taken.

Bruce regained some control and slowly stood up. There was only one thing he could do now.

He had to find them.

Pepper

Pepper was about to pull out of her parking space at Stark Industries when she realized she had left her phone in her office. She sighed and got back out of her car, walking into the building and taking the elevator to the third floor. She turned down the first hallway and into her office. "There it is," she muttered. She retrieved the phone from her desk and clicked it on, noticing that she had missed a call from Tony.

Pepper listened to the voicemail Tony had left her and smiled. Of course he would be more occupied with trying to contact her than actually enjoying himself at his party. When the voicemail ended she called him back, but he didn't pick up.

Oh, well. He's probably busy, Pepper thought.

She had just gotten home and changed into more comfortable clothes (a pair of sweats and one of Tony's old T-shirts) when her phone rang. She eagerly picked it up, thinking that it was Tony, and was slightly disappointed to see that it wasn't.

Pepper put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Ms. Potts?"

"Speaking," she answered.

"This is Agent Coulson from SHIELD."

Pepper's heart stopped. Why would SHIELD need to contact her?

"I recently received an alert from Agent Romanoff. I fear that something may have happened at the party that she was attending. Mr. Stark was also at that party, correct?"

"Yes," Pepper choked.

"Have you spoken to him recently? Has he mentioned anything that seemed out of the ordinary?"

"H-he left me a voicemail at around seven-thirty this evening, and I haven't been able to contact him since then."

"Okay, thank you. We have SHIELD agents trying to locate them as we speak. I'll keep you in touch."

Pepper's throat felt tight from worry. "Okay. Thank you," she managed.

"And, Pepper," Coulson added softly, speaking her name with warmth, "it's going to be alright. I promise."

Pepper nodded even though she knew Coulson couldn't see her. She couldn't bring herself to speak. She lowered the phone from her ear and turned it off, leaning back into the couch and hugging her knees to her chest.

"Please let Tony be okay," she whispered aloud to no one.

She had come close to losing him too many times, and each time it had almost been too much to bear. How much more of this could her heart take before it finally shattered?

Coulson

"Agent Coulson, we just received an alert from Agent Romanoff."

Director Fury was speaking to Coulson through his earpiece.

"What happened? How much do we know?" Coulson questioned.

"Right now, not much. I'm putting Agent Hill and her team in charge of discovering her currrent location. Contact Ms. Potts to see if she can help out."

"Right away."

Coulson called Pepper, and the worry in her voice made him want to reach out and comfort her. Of course, he couldn't do that, and he had to remain calm and professional.

"Romanoff was at the party in Lost Angeles when she sent out the alert," Fury confirmed. "Agent Hill is still working on determining her location. Inform Agent Barton."

"Copy that."

As if on cue, Agent Clint Barton appeared in the room right as Coulson moved to go find him.

"Barton," Coulson said, "I know you just returned from a mission yesterday, but something urgent has come up. We have reason to believe that Romanoff and possibly Stark, Rogers, and Banner are in trouble. We need you on the case."

Clint's jaw locked at the mention of Natasha. He looked at Coulson, his eyes serious, and loaded an arrow into his bow.

"I'm on it."