Barton looked at Pepper in a vain effort to reassure her. He'd been in situations like this before; there was almost a predictability to them. Of course when dealing with people like this, anything could happen at any time but one could usually predict the limited ways they would react.

"You need to hurry; they'll be here any second. You need to trust me Pepper, I have a plan; it's going to be ok." It wasn't a complete lie; he kind of had a plan, more an idea really. The gunmen started their job by shooting up the place so Clint highly doubted he would be dealing with masterminds. They would provide an opening he could exploit, and when they did it was better that he didn't have to worry about Pepper getting hurt in the crossfire.

He watched as Pepper removed the vent cover and climbed in. The gunmen were searching the office next-door. The vent snapped back in place the same moment the door crashed open and Clint counted down the seconds until they found him at the end of the small blood trail.

"We'll look what we have here, Dave," said one of the thugs.

Two sets of hands grabbed Clint and roughly dragged him to his feet. The moment he put weight on his injured leg, pain shot threw him and his knee buckled. The archer would have crumpled to the ground but the men held him up and after Barton caught his breath he gingerly straightened out his aching limb but shifted his weight to his right side. The gunmen practically dragged him out of the room and into the lobby where the others were being held hostage.

Even when Barton was dropped onto the hard marble floor and blackness threatened to steal him from the white blinding pain that radiated through him, he never made a sound; he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in agony as long as he could help it. His arms were pulled behind his back and tightly restrained with plastic ties that bit into his flesh.

The main doors were chained shut and the lobby was in ruins; shattered glass and wood littered the floor, along with the spent bullet casings that had created the destruction of the once peaceful bank. The other hostages consisted of a few clients and a handful of employees. So far Clint had seen seven men moving freely around the room; he recognized several from when he first arrived with Pepper, and the two that entered just before all hell broke loose.

The bank robbers left him alone and went back to focus on their immediate goal. Clint surveyed his surroundings forming a mental map of possible exits, hiding places, weapons and enemy locations. There were several other people tied in a similar fashion all sitting on the floor of the lobby; they were spaced out just far enough that they couldn't whisper to one another, but everyone's fearful eyes were fixed upon the newest arrival.

Sure the situation seemed bleak. He was alone, his weapon of choice was currently taking up counter space at Stark tower instead of in his hand and he was injured; it wasn't the worst situation he'd ever found himself in, but part of him was hoping his fellow Avengers would show up to save the day.

"Tony!"

Tony froze when he heard Pepper's distraught voice. It was one thing to put himself in harm's way to save the world or people he cared about, but it was quite another to know that someone he loved was in danger. She didn't need to say it, the terror in her voice told him his fear was correct; Pepper was in the middle of the scene playing out on TV at that moment.

Stark held his breath as he asked, "Are you at the bank? Are you Ok?"

"Yes, and yes; for the moment I'm fine. But oh god Tony, they have Clint." Iron Man had to strain his ears to understand the words through Pepper's quiet sobs.

"Ok, Pepper I need you to take a deep breath for me, can you do that? Take a deep breath and tell me, are you in any immediate danger?"

All three men looked at each other as they awaited her answer. Their helplessness unbearable; thousands of horrible scenarios playing out in their heads, as they knew there was nothing they could do for their friends at that moment.

"No, I-I don't think so. I'm in an office; the gunmen are all out in the main lobby of the bank. Clint told me to climb into the vent; they don't know I'm here. Tony, Clint's injured; I think it's pretty bad."

Steve closed his eyes in an effort to stop the horrible images his mind was creating; Hawkeye was in the middle of a hostage situation, alone and possibly dying. Since waking up to a brand new world Steve didn't have any friends to speak of; they had all lived their lives while he slept, leaving him alone in this brave new world. He hadn't exactly been actively inserting himself into the world or seeking out friendship in the beginning, but after the Avengers came together and saved the world he hoped he could count his teammates as his friends. Instead it seemed that right now Rogers was facing the very real possibility of losing yet another friend.

Bruce saw the concerned looks on his friends' faces. This was personal; he could feel it, and knew the other guy felt it too. They were going to rescue their friends if it was the last thing any of them ever did and, damn it, they were going to be fine when they did save them.

The need to act was racing through his veins as Tony realized not only was his girlfriend in danger, but an assassin that he'd reluctantly grown rather fond of over the last few months. He might even dare to say he considered all the Avengers close friends at this point.

"Pepper, I want you to listen to me; stay hidden and keep this line open. We're coming for you!"