A/N. Hiya everybody :) so here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! :D

CHAPTER XXIV

While Tony, Bruce, Peter, and a little bit of JARVIS spent the entire day and most of the night trying to find the location of their friends and not succeeding, Clint and Natasha went straight to the theatre and didn't even bother with disguises. In fact, their recognizable faces as Avengers would most likely help in this situation.

Dressed in their SHIELD uniforms and armed to the tee, the two of them recruited Happy to drive them to the theatre. Within the night, Fury had sent several SHIELD agents to clean up the mess of murdered HYDRA agents without anyone noticing and to re-establish the security without the staff's knowledge of it ever having been disabled. Clintasha arrived just as Agent Sitwell was exiting the building. They exchanged what they knew in French so that no one could understand and shook hands before passing by each other as if they had never seen one another.

Happy, on the other and, had been given the low down in the car and wanted to help in any way he could. The agents had told him to return to the Tower and do his job: Protect Pepper. So he did just that.

Hawkeye and Black Widow kicked the large double doors open as one entity and strolled inside, trying to look intimidating – it wasn't hard, especially since Natasha had thrown her sling in the garbage as soon as she'd left the helicarrier.

Everyone inside, mostly employees, jumped and looked shocked and scared at their entrance. Clint held his bow at the ready and Natasha had guns in her holsters as well as a utility belt loaded with weapons.

Natasha was furious. She had been shot and not only had it hurt like hell, but it was because she was distracted for a moment that they had gotten to her. She was getting soft. But softness is what made her care, made the others care for her. She cared about Tania and Steve and the others and she loathed the thought of harm coming to any of them. She would personally kill anyone who literally considered that idea for one second with her bare hands. She was determined to get Steve and Tania back. While the Captain was an admirable leader and a great person and friend, his girlfriend had made several valiant efforts at befriending her and had succeeded for the most part. She couldn't deny that she had grown closer to both her and Pepper within the last several months and very much enjoyed their bi-weekly spa days. She also couldn't deny the little spark of jealousy when she'd been sent that picture of Betty practically taking her place but she shrugged it off. It was just one more person to worm their way under her skin, under her umbrella of softness and care. What was one more person when there were already so many? So yes, Natasha was determined to get her two friends back – no matter what.

They walked straight up to the manager who appeared to be sweating and… cowering? "We need you to answer a few questions for us," Clint told him, twirling his arrow against his bowstring while he held it leisurely in front of him pointing at the floor.

The manager whose name tag read, "Mike C." quaked in his boots and he ran a hand over his bald head nervously. "Ah… what for? Mr. Hawkeye, Sir?"

"Were you present last night during the last showing of the Wizard of Oz?" Natasha asked, arms crossed and face stone cold.

"Uh… um, yes?"

"No need to be nervous," Clint reassured, "we won't hurt you." He twirled the arrow again and smirked before stabbing it back into his quiver. He was enjoying this a little too much.

"Of course not, what super hero would do that?" Mike tried to assure himself.

"What super hero, indeed," Natasha mumbled loud enough for both of them to hear. "Where were you, exactly?"

"I was behind the counter?" he answered like a question, like if he said something wrong they would kill him on the spot.

Clint and Natasha exchanged looks, reading each other's minds in that one glance and nodded once. "Follow us," he ordered before Natasha turned and headed towards the room that they had fought in last night. Clint nodded his head in her direction and Mike gulped before following her with the archer close behind.

The other witnesses around whispered and gossiped to each other, but no one dared approach the famed Blackhawk, as they had been dubbed by the press. Others called them NaCl. It was a long list of couple names. The Avengers mostly referred to them as Clintasha.

The trio eventually ended up in the meeting room that had been cleaned up and had its furniture replaced hours prior. Clint grabbed the man's shoulder and pushed him down into one of the chairs before spinning him around to face him. The man had a natural dark complexion, but right now you wouldn't be able to tell because he was so pale.

"Mike," Natasha started, walking back and forth in front of him while Clint stood off to the side, bow still in front of him, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "We need you to answer some questions for us, okay? That's it. Just questions."

"O-okay?"

Natasha had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She reached into her belt and pulled out a folded picture of Arnold Austerlitz. She outstretched her hand towards him and he shoved the chair backwards, hitting the table roughly. She raised both eyebrows but didn't comment, slowly pushing the photo further forward.

He eyed it warily before accepting it. He unfolded it slowly. "Do you recognize this man? Was he here last night?"

Mike stared at the picture for a few moments and swallowed nervously, adjusting his collar. He was sweating like a pig. "Um, yes, I… I recognize him." Good. Maybe they were getting somewhere. "He and another man approached me a few days ago-"

"When?" Clint interrupted.

"O-on Friday-"

"Time?"

"Umm… I-I don't know!"

"Fine. Go on."

"Well… they asked to book one of the rooms. Uh, the meeting rooms! This was rather unusual and I told him they weren't f-for rent. He offered up… well… he… uh…"

"What did he offer you?" Natasha prodded.

"Um, a very large sum of money?"

"How much?"

"… two grand?"

"And then?"

"I… well I accepted the offer. He told me to keep the room off limits to anyone except for those who knew the password for two weeks and I … well I listened to him."

"What was the password?"

"Skrulled. It's a weird password if you ask me, but… that's what it was. I'm sure of it."

Natasha looked behind her to Clint and they both knew immediately why that was the password. If you rearranged the letters a little bit, it spelled out Red Skull. She turned back to the manager.

"Did you ever speak to them again?"

"No. He asked not to be disturbed or spoken to. Actually, he asked that none of them be disturbed or spoken to. Most of them didn't speak English anyway. They spoke German. I-I think."

"This man," she gestured to the photo, "was he here last night?"

"Not that I know of, but it's very possible."

"Are they coming back?"

"I-I don't think so. I haven't seen them since last night."

"So they're gone?"

"I would assume so."

"Can you describe to me this man you've been talking about?"

"Um… I don't have that good a memory…"

"Try. Please."

"Um, well, okay. Um, he had a thick German accent and um… was very tall. Taller than me, definitely. At least six feet. He had bright red hair, kind of… shaggy, I guess the kids call it these days, and he wore blood red contacts. He had what looked like an unhealthy association with that colour. He wasn't here last night, at least… not that I know of."

"Did he say his name?"

"Um… I don't think so. But for some reason, the letter D comes to mind."

"David? Drake? Daniel? Danny? Dan?"

"Dick? Diablo? Devil?" Natasha turned and gave her partner a look. He merely shrugged. "What? He was asking for it with all the red and stuff."

She rolled her eyes but turned back to Mike. "Any of those names ring a bell?"

He shook his head. "No. It was none of those. I… I still don't think he told me his name."

"… alright, well thank you for your time."

He looked extremely relieved and handed back the picture. "It's no problem. Whatever I can do to help the Avengers."

"If you ever remember anything vitally important about those men, go to Avengers Tower. There is a computerized voice who will ask you your purpose. Just tell them you want to speak with Pepper Potts and that Black Widow and Hawkeye sent you. She'll let you in and you tell her everything you know. Got it?"

"Uh huh," he nodded his head vigorously.

"Good. Let's go Clint."

"Right."

He followed her out of the room, but not before turning and saluting Mike while walking backwards and turning around again to face forward.
The manager used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief. That had been nerve wracking.

Outside in the cold afternoon air, Clint kicked over a trash can in frustration. "Ugh! That got us nothing!"

He felt like a failure. An utter failure. He'd brought Tania into the line of fire once, he had been determined not to do it again. But then he had. And this time, he hadn't been enough. He'd brought her in this stupid mission in the first place and now she AND Steve were gone. It was all his fault. He knew himself to be one of those people who blamed themselves for everything, who felt guilty for things they couldn't control, but he couldn't help it. It was a part of who he was. He couldn't change it. So the guilt that gnawed at his stomach every second that two members of his fucking Avengers family (and let's face it, his only family) were missing. Gone. Kidnapped. Captured. Taken. Whisked away. Maybe even killed. He wanted to put an arrow through every one of those HYDRA bastards' eyes and then do it again and again until all you could see of their bodies through all the arrows was bits and pieces of their clothing. Oh how satisfying that would be. But until then, he would just have to keep trying to find the woman who felt like his sister and the man that was like… the best man at his would-be wedding! He would fail a million times if it meant he could find them eventually, safe and sound. He would do anything to get them back. Even make deals with this so-called "Devil" they appeared to be dealing with.

"Litterbug." Natasha's accusation snapped him out of his train of thought and it took him a second to realize she had spoken in Russian.
He sighed. "The press are coming," he answered in the same tongue.

"I know."

"We should go."

"I know."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going for a walk."

"A walk? A walk where?

"A walk to one of the SHIELD bases. Right after you pick up that garbage."

"Aw, come on!"

Around the same time, at the top of Avengers Tower, Thor teleported onto the helipad using his lightning while in full battle armor. He looked up to the sky. "Heimdall, if I cannot come to Asgard, allow me to see a sign of some sort!" he boomed toward the clouds.

Lightning flashed in the sky. Thor laughed. "I will take that as permission to come!" He raised Mjolnir to the heavens and looked up. Another bolt of lightning zapped his hammer and he grinned. He always loved this feeling. A great circle of power surrounded him and the clouds mashed together above as he felt the connection to the rainbow bridge.

His grip tightened just as he felt a huge power surge and heard a clap of thunder. For one exhilarating moment, he was freefalling. But then his feet met solid ground and he bent his knees to soften his fall. He laughed in joy and looked around him.

Ah, Asgard. He had missed it. It had been almost two months Midgardian time since he had last seen it. He took in the fantastic glory of his realm and sighed. This would always be his true home.

He approached Heimdall, who leaned against his staff and stared at nothing and yet saw everything. The Guardian of Worlds, he was.

"Heimdall, my friend," Thor greeted with a hefty pat to the shoulder.

"You seek information from me," he stated, staring straight ahead. "You should not have come."

"My friends are in great peril," Thor told him gravely, his smile dissolving when he thought of his friends. They could be dead for all he knew. His hold on his hammer became exceedingly tight; so much so that his knuckles were turning a deathly shade of white. They could not be dead! He refused to believe so! He would fight until his dying breath for them. He would save them if it was the last thing he did.

"I know. I have seen it."

"You must tell me where they are!" the thunder God demanded.

"I cannot."

"Why?"

"The Allfather has forbidden it."

Thor reeled back. "My father? For what reason has he ordered such a thing?"

"He fears that you meddle with the affairs of mortals too much for your own good. You are not the Prince of Midgard; it is your duty to protect the humans, not to rule them."

"I mean not to rule them, Friend. I mean only to save those who are in danger. I mean to protect those who protect others."

"That is not why you wish to save them."

"It is not the only reason, I confess. They mean a great deal to me. They are part of a rather large family that have accepted me as one of their own."

"I know. I have seen it."

"Then why do you not understand the urgency of my request?"

"I understand, Thor, son of Odin. It is your father who does not. I cannot disobey him."

"Heimdall… allow me to deal with the King. I shall accept punishment for my actions later, but I need to help my friends – my second family."

"Thor, you cannot do that. I cannot do that. Please understand-"

"Then I will go to my father this instant!" Thor boomed, angrily beginning to march away.

Heimdall's hand shot out and gripped his elbow with surprising force. His head had yet to move. "He cannot know of your presence here. He will be angry."

"I can take his wrath."

"I know. But when he is angry, he is unreasonable. He will never let you leave."

"So you are saying that it is hopeless? That I cannot help them?"

"No. I am saying that I cannot tell you their location. But the others, the ones you call Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, Betty Banner, Graham Banks, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Nick Fury, and many others are out there looking. Perhaps you should join them."

There was a long silence. "Perhaps you are right," Thor admitted, resigned. His shoulders slumped and he stared down at his feet.

"I am sorry." Another pause filled the space. "They are alive."

Thor looked up curiously. "Who?"

"Your missing friends. They are alive. They are burdened with sadness, but they are together and they are strong. They plan to escape. One is hurt, but he is not dying."

"Steve Rogers," Thor breathed, noting Heimdall's use of the word, 'he'. "How long do I have?"

"It is hard to say. The enemy does not appear to have any immediate plans to kill them. But plans change in the blink of an eye."

"Thank you Heimdall."

"You should go. It has already been almost a full day on Midgard. The one you call Bruce Banner appears to have discovered something."

"Thank you. To everyone else, I was never here."

"Who was never here?" He quirked his head and pulled back his hand to rest on the staff before returning to the same position as before, still as a statue.

Thor smirked. "No one." He twirled his hammer several times before raising it skyward and disappearing in a flash.

Not three seconds after he left did the Lady Sif enter the chamber. "Doth my eyes deceive me or was that the Prince?" she asked as she came down the steps in her battle armour.

Heimdall's lips twitched. "No, milady. He is on Midgard; where he is needed."