Clint was pacing the rooftop like crazy. Natasha was watching him with an unamused expression and Bruce was learning the whole thing from Tony. They still hadn't heard from Steve and to make matters worse, Thor had to be hauled off to his own universe where yet another planet was rioting.

"Where is he?" Clint exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

Bruce looked out over the city as if maybe he could see the man they had tried so many times to find themselves.

"He would have contacted us by now!" Clint yelled into the crowds returning to the city. "Four hours! It's been four hours!"

People looked up concerned. They were still a little twitchy. Four hours and then they were back in the city. There really hadn't been any damage at all. A few cars knocked around and some broken windows but beyond all that, nothing.

"Hawk," Tony went over and clapped him on the shoulder. "We have people looking for him. The good Cap'll show up when he wants to."

Natasha nodded. "He'll be fine Clint. If he's not we will go get him."

"I've got the best tech looking for Capsicle anyhow." Tony commented. "If his spandex hide is anywhere near us, J.A.R.V.I.S. will let us know."

There was a sudden ring. Tony glanced all around him. He didn't have his cell with him. And it was a pitifully generic ring tone anyway.

The ringing suddenly silenced.

"Hello?" Natasha asked looking placidly at Tony.

There was a wave of jabbering coming from the small machine.

"Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., can we peek in?" Tony whispered.

"Sir that is an unsecure line and easily hacked." The AI answered.

Tony waited a second then grew exasperated. "Then do it!"

"Yes sir."

The speaker warbled to life so Bruce and Clint could hear.

" … town. Repeat. Squad Seven has found a crushed van over on the northwestern part of town. It matches your description. I don't think there's any chance that anyone survived that though. We're extracting it now." An authoritative voice said.

"Copy." Natasha said, turning it off. "Let's go."

The two assassins jumped right off the roof to the street below and took off following Natasha. Bruce looked after them, confused.

A hand startled him from his watching.

"Lift?" Tony asked through the mask.

"Uh-h." Bruce stuttered waving his hands. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Wasn't actually a question."

Iron Man rocketed forward and picked Bruce up by his shoulders. The man swallowed hard and shut his eyes tight. Bruce held his breathe and for the first time in a long while, Bruce felt like yelling at the top of his lungs. He flailed and grabbed at the metallic arms that had him in a vice-like grip, and suddenly he was on the ground again. His knees buckled and the doctor slapped his face flat into the ground.

"Ouch." He groaned, drawing out the word.

"You okay?" Natasha asked carefully from a good distance away.

Bruce grunted as he got to his knees. "Yeah."

"Of course he is." Tony said hauling him to his feet. "Thank you for flying Air Stark."

Bruce shook out his head. He glanced at the distance between them and Natasha and nodded comfortingly to her harsh eyes.

"It's good." Bruce nodded.

She came up to them nodding. "What do you have for us, Officer?" She asked in a business-like tone.

The gaping uniformed and mustachioed male closed his jaw. "Well, the van is right here. We just finished making sure the building is stable and we're about done dragging her out."

The crane gave one last piercing beep and the destroyed piece of metal crunched to a halt. The big yellow van was nearly flat. Tony walked over, lifting his visor. He ripped the thin top off the thing like opening a can of sardines.

"Oh God." Clint shuddered in disgust.

He wanted to turn away but he had to keep looking, one of his family could be a part of the bloody mess. Bruce walked forward, not as affected by the disaster while Natasha looked away for a moment to collect herself. They all scanned the mess savagely for any bit of patriotic blue.

Tony spoke up. "None of them are Spangles."

"How do you know?" Clint yelled furiously.

"Easy Birdie." Tony held up his hands. "Scanners. J.A.R.V.I.S. says there are no matches." He pointed to the metal parts of his helmet.

"Looks like three people." Bruce noted as he suddenly bent down and picked up a couple of tubes carefully. "Over the comm they said something about these."

"Injection." Tony caught on. "We could maybe analyse it to know what it's done"

"…Create an antidote." Bruce mumbled, looking at the needle and old fashioned glass tube.

"What about searching for Steve?" Natasha asked.

Bruce turned. "Look, even if we find him he's going to be suffering the effects of whatever was shot into him. Plus I don't exactly have the searching and finding skill like the rest of you do. What I can do is get ready for him to get back and prepare for the worst."

"Righty-o." Tony nodded.

A sudden noise caught their attention. The yapping and talking of a small animal. They all watch the excited little pup come racing towards them. Bruce smiled and Tony flipped up his visor farther. He smirked then Tony jumped.

"NO!"

His cry echoed across the vicinity.

There was no warning for the little dog. No loud beep or the squealing of tires. The car just smacked right into him and kept going. The pale blonde form flew out from under it and was spit out into a nearby alley. The Avengers stood stock-still, wide-eyed at the scene they had just witnessed and they all found themselves wishing that they could rewind time just for a moment.

Natasha started forward to go see the corpse.

"N-no. Please." Tony's voice warbled and he had his faceplate back down to obscure his emotion. "Please don't check on it…there's still a chance. The little guy could have made it…don't confirm it."

They all knew he was crying. They all knew they would be doing the same. The dog was dead. The Cap was missing. Why couldn't things just work sometimes? Why did Captains have to be abducted? Why did puppies have to be hit by cars? The Avenger's fragment barely could hold it together.

"Let's get back." Tony croaked.

Clint nodded. Natasha didn't go over to check on the little dog. Nobody checked to see if the puppy was still alive. Nobody confirmed its death.

In the hearts and minds of the Avengers, the puppy was still alive and well.