They weren't very successful in their research. Everything Tony found led to dead ends and the key didn't reveal anything they didn't already know. Clearly the kidnappers had used gloves to prevent fingerprints and managed to keep even dandruff out of the car. The only DNA they found belonged to Natasha which only confirmed that she'd been taken and wasn't out shopping with Wanda and Laura. It had been nearly 24 hours since Steve had last seen her and he was getting more and more anxious by the minute.

"It has to be Russia," Clint said for the third time. Despite all the leads being fake or dead, Clint was absolutely certain the Red Room was involved. Steve didn't say it out loud, but he knew Clint was right. Very few people would have been as careful or knowledgeable when it came to kidnapping her. Of course, she had other enemies out there that could have been just as good, but Steve had the feeling Russia played a major part in it this time.

"We've been through the files of known HYDRA, KGB, and Red Room associates and they were all either killed by her personally or died by other causes," Rhodey reminded him. Tony leaned back in his computer chair, glancing across the room where multiple profiles were sitting open. Black and white photos of each suspect stared back at him as well as large red Cyrillic that translated to say either 'dead' or 'deceased'.

"What if she didn't give us every name?" Tony suggested, staring at the faces. Everyone looked at him and he sat upright. "I mean, think about it: she might not have held a grudge against everyone involved, but maybe they'd hold a grudge against her for leaving."

"You're saying she lied?" Clint accused. Tony sucked in a breath and opened his mouth to argue, but couldn't come up with anything to say. "You think she hid something that important all these years because what, she "didn't hold a grudge"? That's absurd, Tony. She hated everything about that place."

"I'm just saying, it's a possibility," Tony defended. He gestured towards the photos as he stood up, walking over to get a closer look. "We all have people that we left behind at some point that we may not hate, but who's to say they don't hate us?"

"I think it's worth a shot," Steve said. He hadn't slept since he'd discovered Natasha had gone missing and even though he didn't technically need to sleep as often as normal people, Tony could see he was exhausted. The stress of everything was getting to him and he was vibrating with anxiety so much that Tony was worried he'd combust.

"Fine, see where it takes you," Clint said, clearly not happy with the idea. Tony tapped on the first file and searched for everyone who'd ever had contact with them. Rhodey stepped up to another hologram and copied Tony's actions. After a while, Steve joined while Clint left to make them more coffee.

* * *

Natasha ached all over. She had a cut down her upper arm that was still trickling blood even though it was an hour old. The t-shirt she'd been wearing was covered in blood and ripped. Her leggings were ripped as well and her legs hurt too much to move. Thankfully they weren't broken as far as she could tell, but they were obviously horribly bruised. She was terrified that the bruising on her ribs extended far enough to harm her baby, but she couldn't do anything about it. She just sat curled up in the corner, hand on her belly and she subconsciously rubbed circles under her shirt.

"Get up!" Alexei shouted from outside the door. She jumped, pulling her hand away from her stomach just as he walked into her room. Three men pulled her to her feet and dragged her out of the cell after Alexei. She stumbled along, pain coursing through her with every limp as she forced herself to continue forward.

"Useless bitch," a man growled, hauling her to her feet again as she stumbled and collapsed. Her knee hit the cement painfully and she bit back a cry of pain. She was dragged down multiple hallways and into a room. The walls were painted dark red and the carpeting was dark and plush. The men forced her into a chair and cuffed both of her wrists to the arms of it. Two stood at her side and one stayed behind her. She heard rustling then the clicking of a gun before the cold barrel was pressed to the back of her head.

Alexei took a seat in front of her on the other end of his desk. He turned a camera so it was facing her and turned on his computer screen. He glanced at Natasha but didn't say anything as he typed. A few seconds later, she heard the familiar dial tone of Skype and knew exactly what was happening.

"They're not stupid," she told him. The man on her right gave her a hard slap with the back of his hand and she blinked to prevent her eyes from watering. "They'll track you. You won't be hidden after this."

"Oh I'm counting on it," Alexei smirked. He turned to the screen and grinned when he realised they had answered his call.

"Nat!" Steve exclaimed as the screen in front of him revealed her. She was cuffed to a chair and three men stood around her. He couldn't see their faces, but he could see the gun pointed at her head and the bruises covering her face and arms. "Oh god, I'm so sorry we aren't there yet, love, we're coming."

"You might want to, Captain," a clear voice said. Steve frowned, not sure who had spoken. Tony was already working on tracing the signal, making a motion for Steve to keep the line connected. "Your lovely wife may not have mentioned me, but my name is not important. The important thing here is that you listen."

"What do you want?" Steve asked, aware of how horribly cliche it sounded, but not caring. He couldn't look away from Natasha's beaten face or cut arm. He wondered if she could see the screen or if she was even aware she was being filmed.

"I want to see you all suffer," the man answered. One of the men beside Natasha pulled out a knife and made another cut on her already cut arm. Natasha tried to pull away, scrunching her face in pain and gasping silently. She panted as the man slowly pulled the knife out and blood flowed out of the fresh wound.

"Please, there has to be something else," Steve exclaimed, trying to look away from the screen but unable to. The second man beside her tried to punch her abdomen, but Natasha brought her legs up quickly and deflected the blow. The man chuckled darkly and Steve watched in horror as hit after hit was delivered to Natasha. Her legs never left their place in front of her stomach no matter how painful it must have been to keep herself curled up.

"You know what's interesting," the man mused, making Steve's blood boil as he chuckled. "She won't let us hit her abdomen. I wonder why that is." He said something in Russian and one of the men beside her pried her legs away from her stomach. Natasha kicked and yelled in Russian, fighting as hard as she could to keep her legs tucked close. Her face darkened moments before she broke the handcuffs off the chair and sprung up.

She punched a man in the face, taking the knife that had been used on her to slice his neck. A body fell to the floor but she couldn't stop the other two. One man grabbed her from behind while the other tried to subdue her. There was shouting in Russian and Steve's heart raced. Suddenly, Natasha was yelling something, screaming directly into the camera in a language Steve didn't recognise.

Tony's head snapped up and he looked at the screen. His eyes widened the more Natasha screamed and he froze. Steve looked at him quickly, trying to ignore the tears he could see in Natasha's eyes as she fought the two men. A hand was wrapped around her mouth, but she bit the man's fingers and screamed again, a hoarse, desperate cry that Steve couldn't understand.

She shouted again and repeated the same thing, fighting the men even harder. Tony rushed to the screen in horror, watching as she was hit and shoved around harshly.

"Where are you?" he demanded. He repeated it in Italian, desperate for an answer even more than before.

"Alexei Shos—" The video cut off before she could finish and the screen went black. Tony punched the screen, making it crash to the floor and shatter. He cussed in Italian, pulling at his hair and pacing the lab in a panic.

"What did she say?" Steve asked, grabbing Tony's arms to stop his pacing. His eyes were wild with panic and beginning to fill with tears. "What did she tell you, Tony?"

"I can't—You don't know?" he asked, looking at Steve painfully. Steve shook his head, a couple tears starting down his face. Tony's face fell and he closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he told Steve, "She's pregnant. She said she was pregnant."