Out of all the ridiculous ideas that Fury had this one had been the worst. Bruce had told him over and over again that there was a reason he rarely went out into the field. It wasn't that he didn't like the job, it wasn't even that he was at odds with most of the people that he worked with; it was the fact that Hulk was unstable and Banner couldn't always pull him back. Fury had just smiled at him, clapped a hand on his shoulder and said that he had complete faith in him. Bruce tried not to panic.

Natasha had also tried to talk Fury out of it. She had already seen first hand the sort of damage that the Hulk could do. It wasn't that she was scared, she was pretty sure that Bruce had a very tight lid on things, it was that there was the potential for things to go bad. The fact that a good portion of their mission had to do with hunting around a military base did nothing for her nerves or to reassure her that this was going to go without a hitch. She figured that her best bet for the moment was to go and talk to Bruce.

Bruce wasn't at all hard to find. When he wasn't in the kitchen making tea or in his room, he was usually in the lab. The lab was where she found him, staring at a half-finished module of his latest blood work. She had no idea what he was doing and figured that if he was anything like Stark (being the mad scientist/engineer that he was), she didn't want to know.

"Dr. Banner, are you busy?" She waited in the door. She knew that he could say yes and that she would leave. But she also knew that if they had any hope of finding their target they would have to leave soon. The whole point of this little meeting was so that she could be sure that he would be able to handle himself once they were out there. She knew that if he doubted himself for even a second she would be on the phone with Fury, telling him that there was no way in hell that this mission was a go. She knew that they needed to find Hawkeye but she also knew that the last thing that they needed was a wounded (and possibly dead) archer, a massive body count and a great, big, green, rage-filled Hulk reeking havoc on everything in his path.

Bruce brought her attention back to the room by turning around in his chair, pushing his glasses up on his nose and looking at her. "No, what can I help you with?"

She leaned up against the other workstation. She knew that there wasn't going to be an easy way to say this, and she figured that in times like these it was best to just be blunt and honest. "Did Director Fury talk to you about the mission?"

Bruce took his glasses off and clipped them to his shirt, while pressing to fingers to the bridge of his nose. He could feel a tension headache starting, he could also feel the dull throb of the Hulk, the ever present pressure; a constant reminder of what would happen if he just let things go and let 'the other guy' take over. It was tempting sometimes to just let him win, take a backseat so to speak but he knew that now was not the time or the place.

"Yeah. Apparently one of the tracking devices that was placed on Clint was activated and SHIELD seems to think that they know where to find him. They also believe that sending you and me in to go get him is the best option they have of recovering him alive. I tried to talk Fury out of it. I told him that you and Stark could handle it but for one reason or another he is insisting that I go." He shook his head. "I don't completely get it. I mean, there are hundreds of agents within SHIELD that could handle this better than me. I'm not even part of SHIELD, not really. The whole thing smells funky. It's either a really good idea or there is a hidden trap somewhere."

She stared at him for a minute, not really sure how she should continue. There were a lot of things they needed to discuss before they left but he just seemed so lost. She knew that he felt safer in the lab, where as far as he was concerned Hulk had no interest and both he and the Hulk seemed to have come to the conclusion that The Avengers Tower was safe and therefore the lab was safe by default. She squared her shoulders, clearly having made up her mind on how she should proceed.

"I know that you don't want to do this, but I will personally make sure that everyone comes home; that includes you. And as much as I would love to sit here and go through every little detail of the mission we need to get a move on before they move him. If we lose the trace this time, there may not be a next time."

Although Bruce nodded his agreement and started shutting down the various machines that he had running, she couldn't help but catch the flash of green in his eyes. She knew that she should have the decency and common sense to be scared but she was more worried about Clint than anything else.

"We leave in fifteen minutes, if you're not on the plane I will leave without you." She walked out of the lab before he could respond. Bruce watched her leave, taking a deep breath through his nose, he needed to be calm. She wouldn't lie to him; she wouldn't lead him into a trap, would she?

Clint opened his eyes, but that didn't help. Wherever he was being held it was dark. He was tied to a frame of some sort, his arms spread to the sides and his legs tied at a wide stance, his quiver filled with arrows and his bow was missing. He hated not being able to see anything. He hated not being able to move; whoever had tied him knew what they were doing. No matter how much he moved or struggled there was no give in his restraints. He took a deep breath to calm himself down; panicking wasn't going to solve anything. That was when it hit him…he couldn't hear anything either. He took another deep breath, he was sure that his captors would be in to tell him their entire plan; like a bad Saturday morning cartoon and even if they didn't he was more than certain that SHIELD knew that he was missing and that they was more than likely someone looking for him.

He turned his head to the side as the lights were turned on. He shut his eyes because the lights had been off for so long that they hurt his eyes. He opened his eyes again when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

There was a man standing in front of him. He looked like a university professor of sorts, right down to the thick rimmed glasses. He didn't say anything just smiled and held something in his hand and Clint gritted his teeth and glared. In the man's hand were Clint's hearing aids.