"WRITING."

"SIGNING."

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The Avengers were in a tizzy in Tony's lab after watching the video of Angel's abduction. Clint and Natasha were torn between being proud that their daughter had taken out three men and concerned about her gunshot wound and glass cuts; she had lost a lot of blood. Tony was in his element, tracking any technological bursts that had happened anywhere in the world, trying to pinpoint the area where they had remotely shut down JARVIS temporarily. Tony was sure they had done it remotely, he had checked and had seen no internal damage to the tower. Although that fact calmed the guilt that weighed on him, Tony still felt that it was his fault that the security wasn't as good as it should have been. Tony had seen how close Angel had grown to Bruce and had thus included her in the small amount of people he cared for as family. Now, due to something that was frustratingly out of the genius' control, Angel was gone and the entire team was frantic with worry. Even the normally jovial Thor was grim and silent as Tony did his computer work.

"I have some high levels of tech bursts in the Washington area, possibly bridging into Canada. I doubt HYDRA brought her out of the US if they wanted her to live." The thought that they might not want her to survive hung, foreboding, over their heads but Tony cleared his throat and forged ahead. "They'd had to have stopped to give her a blood transfusion somewhere before heading off all the way to Washington. So, if Washington is our place, they might not have arrived yet. Do we have any way to track her?"

"No." Clint said, voice tinged in regret, but Natasha approached Tony and he smiled knowingly.

"Now, I'm sure a smart woman like you wouldn't let your little girl go out with the big, bad super soldiers in big, bad New York without a tracking device."

"There's a tracking chip in the bracelet she always wears. She was definitely wearing it today, so we should be able to track her. Move over." Tony grudgingly gave his seat up to Natasha and her fingers flew over the keyboard. Clint watched in relief; at least one of them had had the foresight to bug Angel.

"It seems the tracking device is located somewhere in the Michigan area, but I am unable to narrow the search down further." JARVIS announced after a few agonizing seconds. The group let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

"I can get us within seven miles of the tech burst that probably shut JARVIS down. But, as much as I hate to say it, I think we need to try there to get information first. The entire state of Michigan is a big area to work with." Tony said.

"You're right." Steve stated as he strode into the room with Bucky, radiating his Captain America determination. "The man is in the Hulk room ready for you, Tasha. Get in there and try to find out any further information before we suit up." He ordered, coming up behind the red-headed assassin and watching the softly blinking red area that indicated where his Angel was located. Natasha looked at the two soldiers intently, noting the way they were as tense as one of Clint's bowstrings.

"You know, don't you?" She asked quietly.

"She was trying to tell us before we left. I found her notepad." Steve responded.

"Good. It's about time. I just wish you could have found out under better circumstances." Natasha said as she and Clint left the room to question the HYDRA agent.

"What does the Widow speak of?" Thor asked, confused.

"Angel's our soulmate." Bucky said in a clipped tone, wanting to get out of there and find their girl as quickly as possible. Thor brightened at the news while Tony smirked. He had figured it out a long time ago, with the way the three always acted around each other. Being a genius had its perks but, as it was Angel's choice to remain quiet – in a manner of speaking – he, for once, didn't interfere. Soulmates weren't something you messed with and even the great Tony Stark understood that.

"It is a well-made match! You two are worthy warriors for the fair Angel!" Thor boomed, glad to have at least some happy news, and clapped them both on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Thor. But, right now, we just want to find her, not celebrate. No offense." Bucky ground out in the face of Thor's big smile. That sobered the big man immediately, his frown returning.

"Go ahead and suit up. As soon as Natasha and Clint are done with the HYDRA agent then we're out of here. We'll meet you on the jet." Steve said and turned with Bucky to leave the room.

"Cap?" He turned to glance back at Tony who looked uncharacteristically serious.

"Yes?"

"We'll get her back. They wouldn't have stopped in Michigan if she was dead. Besides, you would feel it if she were… you know. We're going to find your girl." Steve gave the older man a strained, wane smile.

"Thanks."

"Get up." I moaned quietly as I was roused from the sweet darkness of my head. I looked up blearily to find the same man that had knocked me out – had I been out for a couple of minutes? A few hours? – leering down at me. He grabbed my arm and roughly jerked me up from the floor and I felt several stitches in my side tear at the treatment. I cried out silently and he looked at me funny before chuckling, a low, evil sound. "Oh, I get it. You're a mute. Oh, this is great. The Avengers are playing with retards now!" I glared at the man, wishing I had the powers to shoot lasers out of my eyes. Just because I was mute did not mean I was mentally handicapped! "Guess you couldn't answer me earlier even if you had wanted to. Huh." His face darkened. "But that didn't give you the right to spit at me, you little brat." I'm still going to make you regret that, don't think I've forgotten." My eyes widened in fear and pain as he dragged me out of the cell.

"Hey, boss? Since she's a mute do you think we could have some fun with her? It's not like she could scream for help." One of the guards suddenly groped my ass and I jerked forward out of his grip, sending him a dirty glare over my shoulder. He simply laughed. "Feisty. I like 'em feisty." I swallowed back bile as he licked his lips, looking me over like I was a piece of meat.

"No. We're keeping her alive and with the condition she's in now, you'd break her. We all know you're anything but gentle with your conquests." The man laughed at the leader's words and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. She couldn't handle me." He went to grab at my ass again and I used my free hand to smack his away, much to his amusement. "Now, now kitten." Revulsion made me shudder and I had to stop myself from trying to make a break for it. I knew I wouldn't get far and I also knew that the Avengers would come for me. They had to.

"In case you were wondering, we're moving you. We don't want to stay in one location for too long, don't want your little friends to catch up to us before we want them to." The leader said conversationally as he continued to drag me, stumbling down the hall. I couldn't understand why they thought this would work. Why they thought that luring in the Avengers was a good idea. The boss must have seem the doubt on my face because he shoved me up against the wall again, his gross breath fanning across my face as he spoke. "You think we're stupid to lead the Avengers to us? Well, you're wrong. Since it's not like you can tell anyone, I'll go ahead and inform you, let it sink in that you're going to die. We've come up with a solution that will drive your friend the Hulk crazy. And how are the Avengers going to fight us when they'll be too busy with a rampaging beast? We just need to make sure the serum stays in. In the chaos, we'll simply reobtain and reprogram the Winter Soldier. We can snag Captain America later, the Solider can take care of him once he's back online." He smiled and I felt sick to my stomach. They couldn't do that to Bucky again! He had confided in me how much his assassin days still haunted him and how the memories that had slowly crept back into his mind gave him severe nightmares. He would never forgive himself if he had to go back to that life! And, God, Bruce would never forgive himself either if someone got hurt because of his alter-ego. I struggled as he pressed me harder into the wall, my cuts and side screaming in pain.

"Jerry says that the plane is ready, boss." The guard said from behind the man. He smirked and pulled away from me.

"Fine. Come on, bitch. Time to go to your new, and last, home. From there, we'll contact the Avengers and get what we need."

"Ms. Barton's tacking device is moving." JARVIS informed them all from the jet that the Avengers had just gotten up into the air.

"In which direction, J?"

"Towards the west." JARVIS replied. The Avengers all gave each other pointed looks. After a little… persuasion on the part of the assassins, the HYDRA agent had sung like a canary, telling them that they would most likely take Angel to their base in the woods of Washington.

"Towards Washington. We have to get there first. Clint, Natasha full speed. We need to be there to get our Angel back." Steve barked out. While the other members of the team shared quiet smiles at Steve's claim on Angel, they immediately followed his orders, heading at full speed towards Washington.

And, hopefully, towards Angel.

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AN: I hope the POV change isn't tripping anyone up. It's a little difficult for me to switch POV while writing, but I feel like this I the best way to go. That way you can get some of the whole team's thoughts on the matter, instead of just one persons.

Also, as a side note, I hate the word "retarded." It's a nasty word. However, considering this guy is HYDRA I figured he wouldn't have my hang-ups. Please don't get mad at me for using it.