SAVED BY THE AVENGERS

VENTS

"Hawk, what's your position?" Natasha spoke into her comm device.

"I've checked all our floors, there's no sign of them," came her partner's voice in her ear.

"I checked all the R&D floors." Dr. Banner's voice was tight with just barely controlled emotion. He was being very careful to keep his other half in check. "I doubt they would have hidden there, but it never hurts to be sure."

"Very true Bruce," Captain's voice rang through her ears. "According to Thor, they haven't tried to go through any of the doors on the ground floor. I think we need to change our strategy."

"I agree with Spangles." Even serious, Tony's attitude still made Natasha want to punch the man. "I just looked at the footage from the elevator they were in. I think we went in the wrong direction."

"Meaning what exactly?" That was Clint's voice again.

"I think they went up," Tony stated simply. "Gwen took the emergency exit on the roof the the elevator they were in."

All the lines were silent for a moment before the sound of Steve cursing could be heard. "Alright, I want everyone to the top floors asap. Tony, you're still on security feed in case we're wrong and they try to get out another way."
Everyone chorused their agreement and Natasha made her way to the nearest elevator. She punched the button for the top floor and leaned her head against the cool metal interior. The pair had been missing for just over five hours now and everyone was getting more than a little bit scared.

What if they hadn't reacted fast enough and they were already out of the building? What if Osbourne had caught them again? What if they never came back? Natasha wasn't sure which one of the last two was worse. The duo had been at the tower for all of two days and already she had grown attached. She didn't want to know what that said about her at the moment. All she knew was that she felt overly protective of the pair, and judging from the way the rest of her teammates were coping with the situation, she was willing to bet she wasn't the only one.

The soft 'ding' of the elevator told her that she had arrived at the top of the tower. Her and Clint's floor. Clint had insisted on having the top floor, his name was Hawkeye for a reason. As she stepped off the elevator, her eyes were scanning the room for anything out of place. Something that would tell her that someone other than herself or her partner had been there recently.

"Clint, did you take the vents?" Natasha asked into her comm.

"No. Been doing it the old fashioned way," came his reply. "Any reason?"

"I'm on our floor and it looks like the vent grate in the front room has been used recently."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's on backwards."

"I'm gonna take the nearest entrance and have a look around."

"Want me to meet you in there?" Natasha asked.

"Sure. You remember the layout?"

"You want any other back-up in there you two?" Captain asked.
No offense Cap, but I practically live in these things." Clint's voice was echoing around him. "And Natasha knows her way around well enough. Anyone else up here
would get lost in a heartbeat. I don't wanna have to run two rescue missions instead of one."

"You all meet us on the community floor," Natasha said. "They've been up there for hours so I'll bet that they're cold and hungry. You guys order out and someone find Peter's cold medicine. There's a good chance that it's gotten worse."

"Lady Natasha." Natasha raised her eyebrows when she heard Thor's voice at the other end of the comm link.

"What's up Thor?" she asked as she swung herself up into the ventilation system.