A/N. Boo! Did I scare you? Yeah, I didn't think so xP Sorry about the lack of update yesterday. Life suddenly decided to show up on my doorstep and yank me from my computer. But I'm doing the best I can to give you guys updates whenever I can :) So I hope you guys like this one, it's kind of all over the place. I couldn't think of another way to write it though. So here you go, back to the helicarrier and life at the Tower :D Enjoy.

CHAPTER XXVI

In one of the may labs aboard the helicarrier, Tony, Bruce, and Peter, (the Science Bros plus one – but Peter liked to think they were Science Pals [because they were WAY too old to be his bros]) had searched and searched for almost a full twenty four hours without rest. It had gone all through the night with lots of coffee and interrupted phone calls from worried girlfriends and such and now it was morning on January eleventh and they were nowhere closer to finding Steve and Tania.

In the corner, Tony sipped his fifth cup of coffee greedily. He had failed to protect someone he loved once, when Pepper had been kidnapped by Killian, and now he had failed to protect two more people he loved (though he would never admit it, especially using those exact words): Steve and Tania. What he'd said to Steve in the car in England had been true; they fought and bickered all the time but they were like brothers. They were both stubborn and wanted to be leaders although Tony usually consented to let Steve take the reins except when technology was involved. That was when Iron Man took over. They had bonded over their lack of knowledge about women and how they both didn't like being shown up – although Tony was more argumentative about it. And with Tania… Tony had no idea how, but she had wormed her way into his heart. At first, he'd been totally convinced that when she moved in, she would just be this totally hot employee who he had to set up with Capsicle. But now, she was like… some sort of family member. Not a sister, exactly… that was more along the lines of her relationship with Clint. Not a daughter either, she was more mature than he was (at least they both acted like it). Maybe a niece? A cousin? Let's go with cousin. A very close cousin. Yeah, that works. She was like his cousin. And when someone threatened his family, they… well, look at Stane. Look at Vanko. Look at Killian. All dead. Oh yes, he'd kill those HYDRA nazis with one, totally justifiable blast from his- okay, so he didn't have a suit anymore. But he was still Iron Man. He took another sip of his coffee.

In the other corner, scratching away at a notepad and fixing his glasses every so often, was Peter. He and Tania had something more than a boss-employee relationship, like Tony and she did. Although he wasn't all that close to her, at least not as close as the other Avengers were, he still thought of her as a friend and a really cool person who did not deserve to be in the situation she was currently in. And Steve was like, the epitome of what every man should strive to be. Even Peter. And if he needed help, Peter would gladly give it because that man had saved the world more than once and still remained humble and just all around a good guy. A good guy who needed saving. And Spider-man was someone who saved people. It just made sense.

In the middle of the room, fiddling with the screens over the counter, was a very exhausted Bruce Banner. He and the Hulk were both very angry that Steve and Tania had been taken, but Hulking out and smashing things wasn't going to bring them back. So he held it in, playing Tania's singing voice in his head over and over again to keep himself calm. It didn't work as well as usual, not only because it wasn't the same as the actual thing, but it just reminded him that she was gone and couldn't do it for him because she had been captured by HYDRA FUCKING NAZI- Calm down! God, he needed to calm down. He needed more coffee. He began to play the song again and even out his breathing. Tania was like… kind of like his daughter, in his a sense. Except she was usually the one giving him advice. Did that make her kind of like his mother figure? No, that's just weird considering he's just about twice her age. So he was going to go with very insightful daughter. And now she was gone. And Steve… Steve was like his… he didn't know, partner "in crime" for lack of a better term. He and Steve were the only ones who never got drunk and were therefore the most responsible of the team. They were kind of like partner mother hens. Although Natasha was responsible of herself, she didn't help out with caring for the others too much unless it was a life or death situation. So it was left up to the two of them to haul Clint and Tony's drunk asses back to their rooms while Thor was either in Asgard or just intoxicated enough to not want to help. Steve was the calm in the raging storm that was the Avengers. He was the level-headed one. He and Bruce probably got along the best first. Steve hadn't been afraid of the Hulk or resented him for it or even cared. He'd just treated him as he was another scientist searching for the Tesseract. And so they'd become like partners, in a sense completely different than the Science Bros. Tony would probably call them the Father Roosters or something stupid like that.

He grabbed his tea (with added caffeine) and shakily brought it to his lips, swallowing the now cold liquid in gulps before setting it back down on the counter roughly, splashing it a little. "Jarvis, bring up any and all information on Arnold Austerlitz and HYDRA side by side," he ordered.
He flicked and scrolled and swiped through many screens until his eyes widened when he found a connection. "Call a meeting. Call a meeting right now!"

So half an hour later, the Avengers (plus Peter minus Steve) sat in the meeting room once again with Fury standing at the head.

"Welcome Avengers," the director greeted when they were all seated and settled down.

"Or what is left of it," Thor mumbled, having returned from Asgard mere minutes before.

"What was that?"

"We are not a complete team without our Captain, our leader, nor our singing Avenger of Honour."

"Thor's right," Natasha agreed, having returned from her walk with Clint twenty minutes prior at the call, "We're not complete without Steve and without Tania, Steve wouldn't be all there. We need them both to be complete. We need to get them back."

"I understand that," Fury said before his aura darkened, "I feel it is my duty to inform you that the council has made a decision to blow up the HYDRA base exactly twelve hours after we discover its location unless we get the Captain and Miss Banks out of there any earlier."

Immediately there was an uproar up activity. Many of the Avengers stood up from their chairs and began yelling, shouting, protesting.

"They can't do that!"

"Those assholes!"

"This is completely unnecessary!"

"Tis not fair what they have chosen!"

"This is absolute BULLSHIT!"

"Who the heck elected these ass hats onto the Council?"

Standing over to the side, was Agent Maria Hill, with her hip cocked and her arms crossed. She watched this for about five seconds before she stepped forward. "EVERYONY CALM DOWN NOW!"

It was completely silent in the meeting room. Even the agents below had ceased their activity.

"Thank you, Agent Hill," Fury told her. She nodded in return. "Barton, Romanoff, report."

Clint and Natasha told the others about their trip to the theatre. They told of a man who Clint had convinced them was name was Dick with red hair and eyes. They told them that Austerlitz and that man had not been present that night and any and all information they knew.

Thor was next. He revealed that he knew Steve and Tania were alive, which released a little bit of the tension in the room, but not all of it. He said that Odin would not help because he feared that he would mess with the affairs of Midgard and become obsessed by it, choosing to rule another realm instead of his own; which was preposterous but that was apparently what Odin had chosen to think.

When it was Bruce's turn, he stood up. "I think I may have something."

"By all means," Fury urged him on.

The doctor adjusted his glasses nervously. "Um, well…" he brought up an exact copy of the scattered mess he had been looking at in the lab that no one could really follow, "I had Jarvis scope out this Austerlitz person and give me as much information as he could before we came here. Arnold was apparently a fifty-one year old man who dropped out of college a year and a half in. He was studying to be an electrician. He moved in with his girlfriend whom he married shortly after. He has been almost completely under the radar since, nothing to do with him except for records of his children's births. But a week after the Chitauri incident, when the world discovered that Captain America had survived the crash, he moved out for a pretty long time, but there are no records of him moving in anywhere. He did eventually move back in with his wife sometime last month, but that's irrelevant because according to Jarvis, several men (mostly in Germany but not all) dropped off the face of the planet – but there were no police reports for missing people – around the same time he did. I have a hunch they all dropped what they were doing to become HYDRA once again after they'd disbanded. I suspect they've been regrouping and planning ever since Steve and Tania came out with their relationship on Rhodey's birthday back in August. They know she's his weakness now. I also suspect that they think Clint and Natasha are dead, otherwise they wouldn't have left them there.

"Anyway, in order to find their HQ, I had Jarvis triangulate the coordinates between the previous homes of all those 'missing' men to find a location equally distant to each of them, which is where they would most likely build their base." He pulled up a three dimensional holographic map of Germany. "If we draw a circle with a diameter of approximately this size," he drew a circle with his finger on the map, leaving a glowing trace, "their base would most likely be in here. Of course it's all just a hunch, but I'm thinking it's all we got."

"You'd be right," Fury agreed, stepping closer to the map. "Hamburg, Germany."

He nodded. "That's all I've got. I'm sorry."

Tony patted his friend's back heartily. "It's better than nothing. Good job Jolly Green."

"Commence the hunt!" Thor boomed before Peter began whispering in his ear. "Er… I mean, commence the search!"

Fury raised an eyebrow. "Hill, get this ship to Hamburg yesterday."

"Yes, Sir." She nodded curtly before exiting.

Tony stared at Bruce's circle on the map with sad eyes. "Don't worry guys, we're coming."

Betty, Graham, and Pepper were in pretty much the exact same situation as Tony, Bruce, and Peter. They had been using JARVIS to try and track down the HYDRA base and had so far been unlucky – or just plain had no idea what they were doing. But unlike the Science Bros plus one, this trio had something else to deal with – Felicity.

That woman had been driving the others crazy. With the Tower void of employees because of the Lock Down, Ms. Deed had no one else to bug and although she spent a lot of her time talking on her cell phone to some unknown person, when she wasn't talking on the phone, she was drilling Pepper, Betty, and her son on everything related to Tony and Pepper's income.

It was obvious that the self-righteous bitch was just trying to find a way to receive some of that income. From the others understood, she was pretty much homeless even if she acted like she had all the money in the world.

But it was on this day, that Felicity crossed the line.

"Who are you talking to, Betsy?"

Mrs. Banner ground her teeth. "It's Betty. And I'm talking to Bruce," she told her as she pressed the phone into her shoulder. "I'm done now, though." She hung up and looked over at Pepper and Graham who were anxiously awaiting news. "He says he did some research and thinks that Steve and Tania might be somewhere in…" she looked over at Felicity warily, "Europe."

Pepper and Graham exchanged glances. Felicity snorted. "So the monster actually found something useful? We know that they're on… wait for it, a continent!" she rolled her eyes. "Oh please. That hulking creature has no right to be in society, let alone trying to find my daughter with a team of superheroes."

Betty blew her top. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! JUST SHUT UP!" she screamed, surprising everyone in the room. "You fucking bitch! Bruce is a wonderful person who has every right to be here as anyone else! Even you! But you know what? After what you just said, I'm taking away that right. And I'm one hundred percent sure that Pepper will back me up on this. Get. Out."

Felicity's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "I-I-"

"GET OUT!"

"Before we get Jarvis to make you," Graham added on, almost giddy with excitement that his mom would be leaving.

Pepper was speechless. But she knew that if they were going to kick Ms. Deed onto the streets, then she needed to make a phone call. She quickly excused herself from the room and dialed a number.

Back inside, Betty and Graham were ganging up on the older woman threateningly. Felicity eyed them for only a second before standing her ground. "Fine then. Make me."

"Jarvis?"

"Activating the Justin Hammer protocol, Sir." Felicity fell through the floor with a scream. "Activating the same protocol for Ms. Deed's luggage."

Graham couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "Thank you, Jarvis. You are the best AI any human could have ever asked for."

"Thank you, Mr. Banks."

"No, thank you. Make sure Felicity gets kicked to the curb please, literally. And don't let her back in. No matter what. Ever."

"Of course, Sir."

"You're awesome!"

"Thank you."

Pepper returned to the lab as she snapped her phone closed. "I just called a news reporter for the New York Times. I warned them about Felicity and told them that if she says she was kicked out and that we're terrible hosts and stuff like that, that she's lying."

"Nice!" Graham high-fived her.

Betty was still seething in the corner. Her two companions made quick work of calming her down. All of them couldn't deny the relief at finally having that nuisance gone. Hopefully for good.

Out on the street, Felicity landed on the curb roughly and she grunted. Her luggage tumbled after her and whacked her in the head. She groaned and rolled over, pulling out her cell phone as she stood up. She was in the parking lot around the back of Avengers Tower where no one could see what had just happened. She dialed his number and held her phone to her ear.

"It's me. It didn't work. I literally got kicked out. Where am I supposed to live now?" She waited impatiently while the person responded. "I don't care about that, give me my money! I need a place to live!" Another pause. "Fine. But it won't work. They probably already called a reporter ahead of time to prevent that exact thing." Pause. "Oh… very clever." She rolled her eyes as he babbled on for what was probably around thirty seconds. "Fine. But then I get my money?" She grinned satirically at his reply. "I look forward to it, Mr. Hammer," she purred. "Be right there."

Twenty some minutes later, Felicity was crying fake tears in front of a news reporter for some famous magazine who was faking sympathy right back with a microphone shoved in her face.

"And then they took my daughter! I don't know where she is and she could be killed, dead, or worse!" She sobbed heavily. "And her boyfriend, the nice Captain, he was taken too. We think they were taken by some sort of Nazi organization and that they're somewhere in Europe! They've been captured and my daughter… she's… she's… she's missing!" She bawled into her hands as dramatically as she could. She grabbed the arm of the reporter and shook him violently. "Please spread the word! I need to know if someone's seen my daughter! PLEASE!"

Pepper and Tania had become like sisters in the time that the brunette had spent at the Tower. They told each other everything and they spent the most time together out of all the Avengers duos (except Clint and Natasha... and maybe Tony and Bruce). They frequently texted and worked together and went shopping all the time and went out for meals just because they could... they were each other's social lives. So when Tania was taken the first time, Pepper had been in tears. This time, Pepper was hysterical. But she hid it very well. Only in front of Tony did she ever really cry. Sure, she shed a few tears in front of the others, but with her boyfriend, she sobbed and bawled and sniffled and hiccuped. And then there was Steve. Steve was a great friend. He was an amazing listener and gave great advice and was willing to put his life on the line for anyone and everyone in the universe - especially those he considered friends and/or family. Steve had saved her from having to walk home alone once. A meeting had gone overtime across town and the car Happy had taken to come and get her had broken down. So Steve had elected to pick her up on his motorcycle. It had been incredibly sweet of him and he was just an all-around sweet and sensitive guy. And he had been captured by HYDRA. Pepper was devastated that he was in danger. If any one of the members of the Avengers had been taken she would be devastated. But right now it was just Steve. And she needed both him and Bruce to mother the others - it just wouldn't be the same without him.

While she pondered these thoughts and tried not to cry, she walked through the lobby after collecting some of her employees' assignments and paperwork when all of a sudden she was blinded by multiple white flashes. She turned to face the glass doors and shielded her eyes with one hand and carried her work in the other. Right outside, practically shoving their faces against the glass, were dozens and dozens of paparazzi.

"Jarvis!" She called in a panicky voice. "The Iron Reveal protocol! Now!"

"I thought you'd never ask." All of a sudden, thick metal walls fell down in front of all the glass in the entire Tower, preventing anyone from seeing inside from any angle.

Pepper sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"My pleasure, Ms. Potts. It has been brought to my attention that Ms. Deed appears to have gone to the press about the disappearance of Miss Banks and Captain Rogers."

Pepper dropped her papers. "She what?!"

"The entirety of New York and is now privy to the knowledge that one of their heroes is missing and that Miss Banks has gone missing as well under the protection of the Avengers. To quote one of the articles posted, 'What hope do we have that these people can protect our country when they can't even protect one of their own?' The city is in an uproar."

"Who wrote that article?"

"Miss Christine Everheart."

"Ugh!"

"Perhaps you should meet up with Mrs. Banner in the lounge?"

"I'll do that, thanks Jarvis. Where's Graham?"

"Mr. Banks is currently in the shower."

Pepper nodded her head and began picking up her papers. Once she had them in a somewhat messy pile, she hurriedly made her way to the elevator. She waited impatiently to be taken to the lounge.

When the doors opened, she sprinted out and almost ran into Betty. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I was just coming to look for you. All the windows suddenly closed off with metal somehow! Was that you?"

"Yeah, that was me." The two woman made their way to the counter where Pepper dropped off her papers. Betty began to make tea while they talked. "You'll never guess what just happened."

After regaling the tale of what JARVIS had told her, Betty gasped. "She didn't!"

Pepper nodded her head sadly. "She did."

Just then, JARVIS interrupted them. "Ms. Potts, you have a video call request from Miss Foster and Miss Lewis."

"Put them on the TV screen, Jarvis."

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

As Betty and Pepper took hold of their teas (Peppermint and Orange Pekoe) and relocated to the couch, Jane and Darcy's faces appeared on the monitor.

"What happened to Tania and Steve?!" Jane demanded.

Darcy waved in the background. "Hi from both us. Sorry bee-tee-dubs. She's kinda out of it." She circled her finger around her ear and made a funny face.

Jane ignored her. "Is it true what all the papers say?"

Pepper and Betty both turned solemn. "Yes, it's true," the red head confirmed.

Both Jane and Darcy gasped. "How did the press find out?" Jane asked, one hand against her chest.

"And why didn't you guys call us? More importantly, why didn't your Godly boyfriend call us?" The intern poked her boss' arm, which went ignored.

"We're sorry," Betty apologized. "But SHIELD has us pretty tight lipped, otherwise we would have told you earlier."

"Stupid iPod-stealers…" Darcy mumbled.

"Now that the world knows," Jane interrupted, "you can tell us stuff, right?"

Pepper and Betty exchanged a glance before shrugging in sync. "Sure. Why not?"

Just before they started the story (from the thing in Philadelphia first) Graham walked in toweling off his hair in jeans and a white T-shirt. "Okay gals, I'm back for some more research and yes, I shaved. Just cause my mom left, doesn't mean you get to mommy me." He removed the towel from his head and tossed it into the wall/laundry hamper.

The first thing Darcy said was, "Damn…".

Graham looked up at the TV, only just noticing the extra company. "Oh, hey! More gals! Sup Jane? I don't believe we've met," he moved his gaze over to Darcy who had composed herself and crossed her legs.

"I think I would remember if we had."

He smirked. "So would I. I'm Graham."

"Darcy."

"Nice to meet you."

"Right back atcha handsome."

He winked at her before plopping onto the couch on Pepper's left. "What are we talking about?"

Once Jane, Darcy, and Graham were filled in on the situation, Graham's eyes darkened and he stood up abruptly. He stomped out of the room and slammed the fridge door closed just for the sensation of slamming a door in anger seeing as he couldn't slam the elevator.
Jane, Darcy, Pepper, and Betty were left in stunned silence.

"What's his deal?" Darcy asked, jutting her thumb in the direction of where Graham had stormed off.

Pepper sighed. "Felicity is his mom."

The intern's eyes widened. "Wait, wait, wait," she waved her hands in front of her frantically, "That makes him Tania's brother! Woah… mind-fuck… I was wondering what some stranger was doing at the Tower. So his sister's the one that's been kidnapped?"

Pepper nodded.

Jane lowered her eyes and head. "This must be so hard for him…"

"He mostly buries it under optimism and laughs but that's how he is usually so you can't really tell the difference. But sometimes… he has little break downs. But I emphasize the word, 'little'," Pepper explained.

Upstairs in his room, Graham knocked over his lamp and watched it shatter and spark before he shoved his back against the wall and slid down, with his head in his hands.

How was he supposed to cope with this? How was he expected to deal with the fact that his sister had been kidnapped by a secret organization of HYDRA Nazis focused on weaponry? Was there some sort of book out there titled, "How To Deal With Your Sister Dating A Super Hero And Getting Kidnapped All The Time". Like seriously. What the actual hell? This was his sister. The girl he'd grown up with, who'd babied him since he was an actual baby. She'd taught him how to ride a bike and they spent all of their childhood together building forts and occupying each other's time when their parents refused to play with them or when Aunt Gemma was busy or when they hadn't learned sign language yet and couldn't communicate with her. She'd introduced him to his first friends and set him up on his first date. She'd held his hand when he got his braces on and off and when he had his tonsils removed. She supported every decision he made even if she didn't agree with it. She embarrassed him sometimes whenever he had a girl over by fussing over him or telling embarrassing stories but that was just what she did and he wouldn't change that for anything. She was there when he burned himself trying to cook dinner and she was there when she scraped his knee and fell off his bike and didn't want to get back on. She was there for his graduation and she was there for him when he couldn't decide on where to go for University. She was there almost his whole life and even when she had moved away, they had kept in close contact. They were as close as brother and sister could be. How was he supposed to deal with losing her? Maybe permanently? And then there was her boyfriend: his childhood hero. After giving Steve the "If you hurt my sister I'll kill you" spiel, the two of them had decided to try and spend time together for Tania's sake. They got along really well and they both owned motorcycles so they liked to talk parts and shit to make each other feel smart (especially in the presences of Tony and Bruce). And now he was gone too. Graham just couldn't deal.

So every once in a while he allowed himself to break, knowing that Tania wasn't there to patch him back afterwards. But he could do it himself. He was a big boy now, as he had been telling her for the past ten years or so. It was just a lot harder. But he did it anyway, because he knew that if he didn't, he would give up hope. And that was something he could not afford to lose on top of everything else. He just couldn't.

A/N. Sorry about the REALLY long paragraphs btw, but I really wanted each character to have one paragraph on their feelings about Tania and Steve's disappearance so I kept it in one. So far, in order, we've done Natasha, Clint, Thor, Tony, Bruce, Peter, Pepper, and Graham. Who's left? Betty and Fury. Stay tuned because next time, we go back to Stania :)