The journey to Kazakhstan had been a bumpy one. As Natasha had wanted, they almost left immediately after Clint made that call. Tony had to move heaven and earth to arrange a flight in such a short period, but they managed to leave after only 45 minutes. Steve had been impressed by Tony's ability to pack things as fast as he'd done, but the soldier had the feeling that Tony had a lot of experience with quick getaways. Tony had described himself as a playboy on numerous occasions, so Steve figured he must have left a lot of girls behind in their hotel rooms at morning.

"Did you really have to bring all of those suits with you," Natasha wondered aloud as she watched Tony struggle to load some prototypes of his newest suits in the jeep they brought along. They just landed at a private airport that was located 53 miles north of the town where Clint was hiding, so they couldn't make their journey on foot. It would not only take them too long, the probability of getting noticed would also be a lot higher then when they were travelling by car.

"I don't know if they all work properly yet, so yes, I brought them all," Tony puffed as he put yet another case with a suit in the trunk of the car. Luckily, those cases were rather small, but Bruce was nevertheless looking a bit worried.

"I don't think everything will fit in there. Remember that we all have to get in the car as well," he remarked slowly, while pointing at the others.

"Don't worry, Dr. Banner," a voice coming from the car told Bruce, "I made some calculations, and according to those, everything will fit in the car just fine."

"JARVIS?" Steve turned to Tony, "You have installed your AI in your car? Impressive."

"Thanks for the compliment, Cap," Tony said, "Always handy to have some extra brains around. And he is the one who'll help us find Legolas."

"If you don't hurry up with your luggage, we'll never find Clint," Natasha snapped. "Give me your car keys, I'll drive," she added commandingly. Tony looked at her in disbelief: "You are not driving my car."

"I am, we took a vote," Natasha replied.

"My apologies, but as far as I remember, we didn't," Thor remarked.

"I took a vote with JARVIS," Natasha explained, "He said that I should drive, as you cannot drive a car, Steve drives to slow, Tony never listens when someone gives him instructions or tells him where to go and Bruce didn't want to drive – I asked him. So I'll drive."

Tony looked from Natasha to the car and back: "Just because your partner isn't here, doesn't mean you can get cozy with mine. JARVIS, I am disappointed in you."

"No offense, sir, but miss Romanoff also has much more experience in driving around without being – how should I put it – 'noticed'. And that will be a necessary skill, certainly if you don't want anyone to find out you're looking for something in the streets of a HYDRA-controlled village."

"Point taken, but still, you disappoint me," Tony shrugged and threw the car keys at Natasha. "I guess I don't have a choice? But don't think you are commanding me now."

Natasha pursed her lips: "Fine. Guys, get in the car. I am getting cold. Tony, hurry up will you. Did you bring the medical equipment?"

"Yes, madam," Tony snarled.

"Good," Natasha nodded and she turned towards Steve, "Cap, you can take the front seat. I need you to keep an eye on the road for me."

"I can do that as well," Tony remarked. Natasha frowned: "Maybe, but Steve is less easily distracted than you, Thor or Bruce."

"Fine, fine, stop picking on me already," Tony waved his hand in surrender and directed Thor and Bruce: "Come on big guys, you have the honor of sitting next to me in the back, while Cap and the red headed dictator can be their boring selves in the front." Tony shot one last, angry look at Natasha before he got in the car. The Widow only smirked and got in as well.

Tony had to give Natasha credit, as she knew how to drive a car. Although he'd never say it out loud, he would consider taking driving lessons with her – just to be as good as she was. She had been soaring over the highway at incredible speed, but it did not even seem to bother the captain. Her finesse was unparalleled.

"How long before we reach the town?" Steve asked JARVIS.

"We should arrive in 15 minutes sir," the AI answered.

"Great," Steve murmured and he turned around to look at Tony, Thor and Bruce. "Maybe we should split up and look for Barton in groups. Tony could go with Thor and Bruce can go with me and Natasha – that way, our powers will be equally divided over both teams."

Thor nodded. For once, he was dressed in regular clothes. The others decided that he would draw to much attention in his armor. For the same reason, Natasha and Steve were dressed as civilians and Tony was prohibited to use one of his suits unless it would be necessary.

"No," Natasha said firmly. Four pairs of eyes looked in her direction. "What?" Tony said.

"No, we won't split up. JARVIS will be able to locate Clint and we'll go together. We have to stay close to each other," Natasha stated.

"Why are you so concerned?" Bruce asked quietly, but he looked like he already knew.

"You want me to be honest?" Natasha asked, her eyes still fixed on the road.

"Yes, for once, please," Tony said.

"Because, believe me or not, I don't want to lose another one of you. It's bad enough that we have to save Clint's ass. I don't have time to come looking for you guys as well. This place is nothing like you've ever been to before. People are not nice here, don't give you mercy. They try to survive and protect themselves. And in their case, it means selling every bit of information they have to HYDRA. So I think it's not wise to go out there alone. I've lived in a place like this, so believe me – I am telling the truth."

Silence fell in the car as the Widows words dawned on the others. All of them realized that Natasha just spoke of her past, and although she revealed nothing special, it felt like she was reaching out for them. It was Bruce who finally broke the ongoing silence: "I guess we'll stick together then. JARVIS, do you already have a sign of Clint?"

The AI wasn't enthusiast when he answered the doctor's question: "Nothing yet, sir."

"That's not abnormal," Tony pointed out, "We have to reach town before JARVIS will be able to track Clint. I programmed him so he would look out for people with the same build as Barton – JARVIS has access to satellites and-"

"Fine, enough info, we get it. Don't need you to explain your technological mumbo-jumbo," Natasha interrupted. Tony opened his mouth to tell her of, but Bruce put his hand on his shoulder.

"What?" Tony hissed.

"Leave it," Bruce whispered, "Please."

Thor looked from the one guy to the other and asked, as quietly as he could: "Can't you humans just get along for one minute?" Bruce palm faced when Tony leaned forward to give Thor a lecture, but before that could even happen, Steve demanded them to stop.

"Please, just save it for later. Maybe you should want to see this," the captain said. Tony turned his head away from Thor and fixed his eyes on the road. His jaw dropped. In the distance, he could see a town, but there was a slight problem with it.

"Is that a large bonfire?" Thor asked.

"No, big guy, I am afraid it isn't," was Bruce's reply.

"So what is it?" the Asgardian demanded.

"Trouble," Steve sighed, "Big trouble."

Hey everyone,

Here I am again, and no I am not on hiatus as some of you might have tbelieved. I am SO SORRY for not updating in a while. School demanded all of my attention lately, with a lot of tasks going on, so that was priority. I'll keep writing though, and I hope to update more in the future - but I can't make any promises as I still have a very busy schedule.

So about the chapter. I know it's short and I know it might be full of mistakes (I have read it over a couple of times, but not as many times as I normally do), but I wanted to post it as soon as it was finished - because I haven't posted in decades. I hope you like it anyways...

Oh I also really want to thank every follower or person who has reviewed. You guys are SO NICE to me, really! I love you all for that ;-) I am glad that some of you pointed out that I captured the characters well, as I try to stick to their personalities from the movies. If I don't, or if you think one of them is too much out of character, please tell me! Someone also asked me if Loki or Bucky will show up - and the answer is probably yes. Loki will come up sooner or later, as his scepter is involved and more important - Thor still believes he died. and I believe the guy deserves to know the truth. Bucky might find his way into the story as well, but I don't know when that will happen. Right now, everything will center around the original 6 members, the twins and Fury. Another thing - those who are concerned about Clint - he's not dead yet. As for the change of time thing in the story (someone wondered about it in the comments) - it will all be explained. I am not planning on leaving loose ends in the story. If I do, you must tell me (because I forget some plot points sometimes).

Anyways, thanks again for being the nicest readers in the world!

xoxo

Ellyn