AN: Thank you to theaterinspired for reviewing. Many thanks to all the people who alerted, favorited, and read as well. PLEASE NOTE: I will likely not be posting twice a week. More than likely I will make weekly posts on Thursday nights. Just so you know. However, in this case I had Chapter Two all typed up and ready t post and I wanted to see how my readers thought it was going.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Simple as that.

Last Chapter

"I'll let you know as I think of some," Kline said. "Until then, be intelligent and don't try to make this harder than necessary. I have four, I need one."

"I can do simple math," Clint snapped.

"London," Kline repeated and then he hung up.

We can try to avoid making choices by doing nothing, but even that is a decision. –Gary Collins

Earlier that morning-5:45AM

"How long have you been up Tony?" Pepper asked him. Her face took up the screen as he video-chatted with her for the third time in two days. She wore a frown that spoke of the worry she felt.

Tony focused on the Iron Man suit in front of him. This latest idea had put him in the lab to make the vision a reality. Of course, the inventing process was nothing new for Tony or Pepper. "Only a day, I came down Tuesday morning."

"And it's Friday morning," Pepper said.

Tony winced. Looking down on the Iron Man suit on the table he realized he'd completed too much work to be condensed into only twenty-four hours. "Oops."

"Oops? Tony, you can't keep doing this. It's not healthy," Pepper plead.

Tony ran a hand through his hair, set down his tools, and gave her a typical Tony Stark grin. "I'm almost done. I'll finish this and then sleep for three days. I promise."

"You'd better," she said. "Jarvis, if he finishes that damn robot and then keeps working I want you to shut all the power off to the lab."

"I love you too," Tony said. The connection between them went dead. Tony resumed work for a moment and then asked, "You wouldn't really do that to me would you, Jarvis?"

"Miss Potts has threatened to pull my plug more than once, sir," the AI gave as his answer.

Tony just shook his head. "Traitor."

Now that Pepper had pointed out exactly how long he'd been up Tony started to feel all those sleepless nights catching up with him. He rubbed his eyes a few times but still managed to complete the suit before the new hour. Tony moved the tools from the table and raised his hands in the air. "Triumph! Jarvis, fire this baby up. I want to see it fly."

"Sir, Miss Potts demanded you take some time to rest," Jarvis replied.

It amazed Tony that the computer he'd created could be so manipulated by Pepper. "And I demand the suit fly. One test, Jarvis, that's all I want."

Jarvis made a sigh and then said, "You do show a tendency to sleep longer after a test has been completed."

"Yes!" Tony exclaimed. The lights on the suit flickered on slowly one by one. All that was left was the central control in the helmet and then, blackout. The lab, the suit, everything went dark. Tony slammed his fist on the table. "Come on, Jarvis. I thought we decided on one test."

The lab's lights flickered back on and the suit, unlike the slow process the first time, blazed on at once. The eyes flickered and then the suit sat up. Tony took a step back, "Whoa. Jarvis, status report."

There was silence. Tony frowned, "Jarvis, status report. Jarvis?"

Finally Jarvis' voice came back but when he spoke it lacked the familiarity Jarvis always brought. "Tony Stark identified at location Lab 0013. Containment protocol instituted."

"Containment protocol? We don't have a containment protocol," Tony said.

The suit stood up and aimed a repulsor at Tony. There was a crashing noise and suddenly the other three prototypes of various Iron Man suits joined the party. They all were without a driver and all had repulsors aimed at him. "Tony Stark identified at location Lab 0013. Containment protocol instituted. Please await further instructions."

Tony wasn't exactly sure what was going on but one thing he did know. It wasn't anything good.

Also at 5:45AM

Although Steve had never been a huge Sinatra fan, believing him to be just another man with looks and talent like he'd never had, the gentle crooning coming from the stereo while Steve ran was comforting. It, like so many other things, reminded him of home. Steve kept a steady pace around the track with the thumping of his feet creating a different beat than the music. Steve was pretty sure he didn't actually have to exercise to maintain his abilities. He'd managed to sleep for nearly a century without gaining any body fat. No, Steve worked out so that he had something to do other than sleep. If he waited until he was absolutely exhausted he didn't tend to worry he might sleep through another seventy years.

Steve's phone went off in his pocket. Tony had offered to make a copy of his phone for Steve but Steve couldn't figure out how to work Tony's phone so he just got the simplest phone available. It even flipped up to open. Tony looked sick every time he saw it. He pulled it out, opened it, and answered. "This is Rogers."

"Captain Rogers, this is Director Fury," the man said.

Steve sighed. "Yeah, I figured that out with caller ID."

"Sorry, Captain. I just assume…" the Director trailed off.

Steve sighed again. "What can I do for you Director?"

"We took a look into this Kline guy. He's a nasty piece of work. I just want to make sure you all get the heads up. I tried contacting Stark but he's ignoring my calls as usual," Fury said with surprisingly only a hint of frustration. "Just keep your eyes peeled. You all need to be careful. He wants-"

Steve didn't catch the rest. "What? He wants what?"

Silence was all that greeted him. Steve looked down at the phone. The screen read, CALL DROPPED. Steve closed his eyes in frustration and said, to no one in particular, "And this is why I don't like technology."

Steve, his hearing heightened by the serum, caught the sound of a faint ringing and then everything went dark. Steve froze unwilling to take a step and risk walking into something. "Hello?"

The lights abruptly turned back on and a slight hissing noise replaced the ringing. Steve looked up to where the vents seemed to be producing some kind of mist. Steve reached up, too late wondering if the mist was safe to touch, and stuck his hand in the mist. He hissed out in pain and pulled his hand back. The tips of his fingers were covered in ice. The air blowing out of those vents was cold. Steve sprinted over to the thermostat and tried to turn the heat back up. All his button pushing wasn't doing anything to change the rapidly falling temperature. Very rapidly falling temperature, Steve thought as he watched his breath billow out in front of him.

The mirrors were already fogging up in the cold temperatures when Steve got to the exit from the work-out room. He pushed on the handle but the door wouldn't budge. He drove his shoulder into the door and when that didn't work tried kicking it down. Nothing he did made even dented it. When Tony had remodeled the tower for the Avengers he'd made some changes to the structure. Every room was Hulk proof. Apparently, that meant it was Captain America proof too.

The temperature was still dropping. Even with his heightened tolerance Steve had started shivering. He instantly regretted wearing shorts and a t-shirt to work out in even if there hadn't been a reason not to when he'd put them on.

Steve wasn't exactly sure what was going on but one thing he did know. It wasn't anything good.

Also, also at 5:45AM

Natasha couldn't sleep. It was probably a combination of not having been on a mission for so long and worrying about Clint. She could only wonder how he was doing. Then she chuckled, knowing Clint he was enjoying the alone time. He found being alone something to look forward to. That hadn't exactly helped him become part of the group but after helping Bruce with his problem, well; the group had accepted him anyways. There was probably nothing to worry about.

"You can't sleep either?" Bruce asked as he walked into the kitchen.

Natasha gave him a warm smile. "What's keeping you up?"

He only chuckled for an answer. "You shouldn't worry. Clint will love a month without us to bother him."

Natasha looked down. "How did you know?"

"How did I know you were worried about him?" he asked. She nodded and he replied, "We can all see it, Natasha."

"It's not like that," she defended.

Bruce shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with being in love with someone."

Natasha frowned. "Love is for children."

"When you get tired of repeating that mantra we'll bring this topic of conversation up again," Bruce said.

Natasha gave a very unladylike snort. She opened the fridge. "You want something to drink?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Does Tony have anything stronger than orange juice?"

She gave him a look complete with an arched eyebrow. "This is Tony we're talking about. Tony doesn't even know what orange juice is unless it's in a Fuzzy Navel."

Bruce caught the beer bottle she threw at him with only minor fumbling and a heavy sigh of relief. "What really worries you?"

"Protocol doesn't actually work," Natasha said. "I mean, you of all people should know that the government is not perfect. I mean, theoretically this should keep him safe but that's with the theory that the threat is always against the agent."

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked.

Natasha explained. "Think about it. This guy calls up with information SHIELD would do anything to get and all he asks for is Clint. He doesn't want to kill Clint or harm him he wants to use him. Clint turns him down. What's this guy's next move?"

Bruce frowned. "Well, he won't kill him. He wanted to use him. He can't do that with Clint dead."

"Exactly," Natasha said. "So, he has to find Clint and make him work for him. What's the guy's next move?"

"To go after someone Clint knows," Bruce said. "But Clint doesn't have any family left."

"That's right. He has us," Natasha said.

Bruce set his beer down on the counter and frowned deeper. "Surely no one would be stupid enough to take on the Avengers. Not after the fight over the summer."

The kitchen went dark. Natasha cleared her throat. "Might want to rethink that."

The lights snapped back on to reveal ten armed men in black. Bruce put his hands up. Natasha glared and spun around to run. She tried to open the kitchen door but found it sealed. "Jarvis?"

No response. One of the men started for her. She aimed a kick at his face which he dodge but he was too late to miss the punch to his stomach. She twisted to kick again, this time connecting with his face, and used his moment of disorientation to leap on his back. He reached back to dislodge her but she managed to get her hands under his chin and yank a hard left. The snap of his neck was very audible.

"Natasha!" Bruce shouted. She froze. One of the men had made his way to Bruce and had a gun aimed at his head. He was gripping the edge of the counter and breathing heavily. For a moment all Natasha could see was Bruce on the Helicarrier transforming but the vision was gone and she was reminded that the problem was here and now. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Now would not be a great time to unleash the Hulk."

Natasha had to agree. In Hulk form, Bruce got along with everyone on the team…everyone except her. Tony claimed it was because of all of them she was the only one still terrified of the Hulk. Maybe he was right. Natasha held her hands up. One of the men grabbed her arm. He attached the bracelet of a pair of handcuffs to her wrist and then attached the other bracelet to Bruce's wrist. Natasha swallowed hard.

"That's really not a good idea," Bruce mumbled.

Natasha leaned closer to him. "Bruce, if you change what are my chances being attached to your wrist?"

Bruce winced. "I've got it under control for now."

"Right," Natasha replied well aware Bruce hadn't actually answered the question.

Natasha wasn't exactly sure what was going on but one thing she did know. It wasn't anything good.

Back to 9:00AM

Bruce didn't have a whole lot of experience with handcuffs but he was quickly realizing that being handcuffed to another person could get real uncomfortable real fast. Every shift on Natasha's part no matter how small had her yanking his hand. Maybe it wasn't uncomfortable so much as it was frustrating, especially for someone who was trying to meditate to keep his heart rate down. Natasha changed her position causing Bruce's hand to fly off his knee. He sighed causing Natasha to reply, "Sorry."

He chuckled. "It could be worse. I could be chained to Tony."

"Yes, but it could be better. Steve wouldn't need to move every four seconds. Clint can sit still for hours and hours. I don't know how he does it honestly," Natasha said.

Bruce sighed. "It's okay Natasha. You're worrying is actually making it worse."

She reached up to scratch her nose and Bruce's hand went flying up with her. She sighed. "I'm sorry."

Bruce just laughed but quietly he resumed his counting, "Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten."

He opened his eyes. The sight of the guns still bumped his heart rate up a bit but he had a fairly good hold on himself. "Where are Captain Rogers and Tony?"

The men didn't say anything. Natasha put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine. Hell, Tony's probably building something to get us out of here right now."

"Attention. Containment protocol continued. Isolation protocol continued. Threat not active. Repeat. Threat not active," Jarvis' voice came through. The gun toting guards visibly relaxed. "Await further instructions."

Bruce wasn't exactly sure what was going on but one thing he did know. It wasn't anything good.

AN: Sorry to all the Clint fans out there. There will be more of him next chapter though. I wanted to make sure everyone knew what went down at Stark Tower. Don't forget to review. All of you.