New chapter! I'm trying to update faster. So I think I'm going to end this whole thing with four stories, I'm really excited about my idea for the next one. This story still has a ways to go before it's complete, but I am looking towards the future.

As always, please review :)

Impatiently waiting for FRIDAY to given them some kind of update, Peter couldn't keep from bouncing his leg rapidly as he hunched over running his fingers through his hair. He hated this, being on the sidelines felt wrong.

He was trying to keep his fidgeting to a lesser degree because he had been making Bruce nervous, but nothing he did helped.

He heard Pepper come into the lab, asking for an update from Bruce. As he listened to the good doctor relay that they hadn't heard anything yet, he knew that Pepper was looking at him.

He straightened up and leaned his elbows against the workbench. Less manic appearance, but still his leg bounced giving away his unease.

There wasn't anything they could say that would make him feel any better, they knew that, so they let him sit with his misery. However, he was surprised when he realized Pepper had come to sit beside him. He looked at her and he could see that she was worried as well. It made his eyes widen slightly when he realized why.

Yes, there was some concern for him, but she was worried about the others as well. He felt guilty as he recalled that she often had to sit on the sidelines while Tony went into dangerous scenarios, not knowing if he was going to come back, but she handled it with far more grace than he was doing at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself, forcing his leg to stop bouncing and to be calm the way the Avengers had been training him to. He reached out and took Pepper's hand that rested on the tabletop and squeezed it gently in reassurance. Pepper met his gaze and smiled. She rested her head against his shoulder, his cheek rested against her hair as they waited together for word that the others were okay, that the people they loved were okay.

…

Kate moved through the vents with ease, listening to Clint direct her through her comm. Despite his agreement to the whole thing, she could hear the deep frown that was on his face right now. Was this the smartest thing? Probably not. Was it necessary? Kate thought about May bleeding out under her hands. Absolutely.

"You have a clear hallway, he's in the room right in front of you." Clint said, tense. "He's facing away from you currently but you're gonna have a small window."

That wasn't ideal for there to be a door separating them., but if he was as skilled as she read, then he would know if she was gonna drop down on him. Carefully sliding the vent cover aside, she poked her head through first making sure the way was clear before she slid forward, inverting herself midair to land on her feet. Moving towards the door, which was partially open, she paused outside for just a moment, letting out a slow breath before she slipped through the small opening. Creeping in the darkened room, she scanned the area carefully, every sense tuned in around her, looking for her target.

~ Feeling at the blindfold covering her eyes, Kate grumbled. "How am I supposed to fight if I can't see?"

"Are you really asking me that question?" Came the amused reply.

Kate rolled her eyes behind the blindfold, not that the man in front of her could have seen it if the blindfold was gone anyways. "That's not what I meant." She replied.

"You have unparalleled vision, just like your brother." The voice replied. "And no one can deny your beautiful mind, but Natasha asked me to do this training session because she sees what anyone would. You rely on these specific things, and you push your other senses to the side. It'll make you vulnerable."

"Enlighten me." She replied, not seeing it.

"Look what happened in Russia." Came the reply. Her jaw clenched. "Don't grind your teeth, you'll ruin them." He corrected her, much to her annoyance. "You lost your bow, you lost your team, sure you could see what was coming, your mind could figure it out. But that doesn't help you when you're being held under water."

A shift in the air caused her to turn her head but a sudden thwack to her thigh from a cane on the opposite side made her yelp and jump. She cursed softly, angry.

"Let's put that anger to use, shall we?" ~

Kate let out a breath soundlessly as she turned her senses outwards, listening for the slightest change that would alert her to her target.

A shift in the air as the vent system kicked on, but she ducked, dropping into a crouch avoiding the incoming bully stick aimed for her head. She landed a straight punch to the balls on her attacker, driving a hand up into their throat as they pitched forward from the first impact. She spun away, avoiding a grabbing hand, skillfully pulling a rope with a weighted piece on the end from her pocket. She casually spun it as she got her first good look at the man who turned their lives upside down only a few weeks ago. He could have been considered handsome with his sandy blonde hair and square jaw; the detractor was the almost manic look to his gaze as he loomed in front of her.

"You should have stayed where you are safe." Dex told her.

"And missed this?" Kate smiled, feeling a cold rage spread through her chest. "I think not. I have some questions."

He was a skilled fighter, and he was both stronger and bigger than she was. She could wear him down, but the probability that other inmates were going to come by was high. She needed to end this quickly.

"Tell me Dex, was this the life you envisioned when you signed up for service?" She asked continuing to casually twirl the rope. "Distinguished career, putting aside your troubled past…" His jaw twitched. "Only to become one of the most wanted terrorists in the country you vowed to protect."

He swung out with the bully stick he was carrying, but she was waiting for it, letting the air pressure change guide her timing as she swung the rope, wrapping it around his wrist, the weighted end propelling it forward to smack his hand, making the stick drop. With it wrapped tightly she threw a small electric disk to connect to his leg, bringing him down to one knee. She used the raised knee to spring up and over him, bringing the rope length up to wrap around his neck. His other hand came up on instinct to protect his air way, getting it caught in the rope as well, now she had both of his arms trapped, a rope around his neck and one of his legs incapacitated.

"Let's make this easy on everyone." She said as she pulled it tight. "Tell me who hired you to kill us."

Dex grunted and struggled, but she had the leverage. She didn't have to exhibit much force to keep him where she wanted him to be.

"I can get them to give you a plea deal if you tell me who hired you." She tried to reason with him. "I know you're a gun, not the brain behind it."

"Bitch." He said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I can be." She replied. "But you killed a lot of people Dex. I'd take being a bitch over mass murderer."

The strangled laugh made her blood run cold. "You really think you and I are any different?" He asked. "You'd be on his payroll too if it wasn't for Barton."

"How do you figure?" She asked.

"There's not a lot of use for your skills that the public approves of." Dex said with a crazed smile. "He would have known what to do with you. You would a have been a high pick if you had stayed a Widow."

"Give me a name!" She demanded pulling the cord tighter.

He choked slightly but grinned. "We do not say his name." He replied.

Fuck. She thought.

"KATE, MOVE NOW!" Clint's voice snapped her out of her daze, and she heard people running. She let go of the rope and ran towards the door at the opposite end. Running down the hall, she could hear the voice calling out as the ran to catch up with her.

"Come here girl!"

"Come play with us!"

She could outrun them any day, but she had a finite amount of space she was working with. She needed to get back through the vent system, but she needed to lose these guys first.

Turning a corner, she saw another group of prisoners straight ahead, but she picked up her speed, kicking off one wall and then the opposite to gain the height to jump over them. One hand tipped her foot, and she dove forward, rolling and ending up right back on her feet to take off.

Heading around another corner, she ducked through a door on the right, flicking the lights off and moving towards a back corner. She had ended up in a locker room. Keeping her ears trained for the door opening, as she quickly jumped up on a table to open a vent in the ceiling. Jumping up, she hooked her fingers in the vent cover and kicked her legs up, falling back to bring her weight down, bringing the cover with her. Tossing the vent cover aside, she jumped off the table and quickly squeezed behind a row of lockers in the back corner, well out of sight of anyone in the room no matter their position.

The air froze in her lungs as the lights flipped on, glaring even from her position in shadow. She waited as she listened to multiple pairs of shoes make noise against the floor. She heard several swear words as one of the inmates call back out that she had gone into the vents.

It was several more tense seconds before she heard the last pair of footsteps leave the room followed by the door closing. Resting her forehead against the back of the locker, she let out a quiet breath that she had been holding.

The relief was short lived as her heart kicked into overdrive as she registered someone else in the room only a second before a hand grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her hiding spot and slamming her against the wall, a forearm to her throat.