So this is my second Avengers Fanfic (go and read my first one if you want) and I spent a lot of time making sure it's exactly how I planned it. I've thought about this for a while, so now the first chapter is here! This first chapter is just about how Steve got into the coma, the next few chapters we'll be the team visiting him in the hospital. I hope you'll all like it. Remember, read, relax and review!

Everyone thinks superheroes are invincible, indestructible; that they will never fall.

But everyone has a weakness. Everyone feels pain, either physically or mentally. Most of the time, it's physical. But when it's mental or emotional, it hurts much longer, much deeper than one might think.

And when someone gets hurt, those around him will feel the same. They themselves understand how helpless they are against life, against fate. But through this process of realization, they can finally understand how life isn't scaring them, but it's teaching them to be much stronger.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, can someone remind me again why we're chasing robots down the streets of New York City?" asked Clint.

"How many times do I have to say it? Crazy scientist wants robots to rule the world, letting them lose." Natasha sighed through her headset.

The Avengers were in Quinjets above the city, Tony, Steve and Natasha in one, Thor, Bruce and Clint in the other. Below them, the city was in chaos. Not as much as when they were fighting the Chitauri, but still, it was insanity. Robots were terrorizing New Yorkers all over the place, screaming and fear filling the air.

"Why are all the bad guys insane? A simple robbery… no, they don't call us, the police can take care of it, and the people don't need us. When some crazy idiot releases robots onto the streets, they're all like, 'oh, Avengers, we don't know how to handle this guy, help us!' Seriously, what are we… mental hospital workers?" Tony added, looking at the chaos below.

"At least they know when to call." Steve stood at Tony's side, already formulating a plan. "We arrived not a minute too soon." Another group of robots had appeared out of Central Park, right where he team had pinpointed the psycho scientist to be.

Both the Quinjets turned till they faced nose-to-nose, right above the centre of Central Park. "We're in place, over to you, Cap."

Steve didn't waste a second, speaking into his headset. "Ok guys, listen up! Thor: there're transmitters and receivers all around the park; light them up, no mercy. Bruce, you go in and find the psycho's base, destroy all the computers and hard drives. If he or any robots come after you… get angry. Clint, Natasha, after we get out, you two get people to safety. Try driving the robots back to the park. Stark, you and I get rid of those things, make sure none, and I mean none of them are left standing. Got it?"

Five voices were heard in unison. "Let's go!"

The doors of the Quinjets opened, letting the noises from outside become that much louder. Tony put his helmet on, turning to Steve as he got his shield. "You ready, Cap?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Steve stared straight at the trees below him, looking for metal.

A mechanical head flashed past. "GO!"

The Avengers take off, Thor jumping down, while holding Bruce, into the park, already summoning lighting. Bruce takes off as soon as he hits the ground, running to the scientist's base. Tony flies off, already blasting robots to pieces. Steve follows suit, his shield decapitating the horrible creations. Clint and Natasha fly the Quinjets away, to wherever people needs help.

The team was sure nothing would go wrong with the mission, but they couldn't be more wrong.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, that wasn't difficult at all." Bruce stepped into the Quinjet, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. His face was covered with dirt, but his clothes were brand new, what with SHIELD's budget for his clothes on mission and all.

"We won, nobody died. Shouldn't that be good enough?" Natasha asked, already getting into her co-pilot seat.

"It would be better if I didn't go… all angry like that. There's a huge gaping hole in the park where plenty of trees used to be."

"Hey, guys?" The two turned to look at Steve, who was sitting at the side, pressing the heel of his palm against his temple, nursing a terrible headache and concussion. "Can you two argue when we get back home? I seriously need an icepack."

"Buckle up, boys." Natasha put on her headset. "Hey, Barton, you good to go?"

Clint returned the message, talking from the second Quinjet. "Everything's good over here. Tony's still angry at Thor for hitting him with the hammer." A slight pause before he adds. "They're still arguing."

"So, nothing weird then?" Before he can answer, Natasha starts the jet, taking off.

All seemed normal, but then…

"Why is the door opening?" Bruce stared at the back of the jet, fidgeting with his glasses.

"What!" Natasha shouted, turning around just as a light on the system board started flashing. She checked all the readings. "There's nothing overriding it. Something's opening it from the outside!"

Steve grabbed his shield, preparing himself. The door opened fully, wind blowing into the jet. He walked forward, grabbing a handlebar at the side and looked out. "There's nothing here. Must be a bug in the system."

Just as he walks away, Bruce shouts. "Cap, behind you!" But it was too late. A one-armed robot appeared from the side of the door. It kicked Steve's shield out of his hand, pulling him nearer and nearer out to the opening. The captain fought back, punching and kicking with all his strength. But the robot was incredibly powerful, even with one arm.

"Bruce, do something!" Natasha shouted, trying her best to stabilize the jet.

"I can't hulk out here! I'll destroy the jet!" Bruce felt useless, looking at Steve fighting.

"Here!" Natasha tossed a gun to Bruce. He caught it in his hands, aiming directly at the robot. Pulling the trigger, the bullet shot straight into its back, destroying its circuit board. Steve pulled away, grabbing his shield.

The robot crumpled to the ground. Steve kicked it out the door, into the air. But as he does, the robot grabs his ankle, pulling him down with it. He falls forward onto the floor of the Quinjet, sliding backwards out the door. Bruce reaches forward, stretching to grab Steve's hand. He does, at the last second.

Bruce groans at the strain. He was holding onto the weight of Captain America, along with a crazy robot. Needless to say, it was heavy. And he wasn't sure he could hold on much longer. He could see Steve flailing his legs to try and get the robot off him, but it had an iron grip. It wasn't going anywhere. With the swinging movements of Steve, the strong wind blowing at them, Bruce's grip was faltering. His arm felt as if it was being torn out of the socket.

Natasha was already calling for help. She told Clint to turn his Quinjet back around, with Tony and Thor ready. "Cap, Doc, hold on, they're coming!"

Bruce's hands were getting sweaty, and he could feel Steve already slipping. He shouted back. "Hurry!"

Blue eyes looked straight at brown ones. Both were filled with pain, fear, but more importantly, realization. Both men knew they couldn't hold on. Everything was against them. Bruce could feel the traction between his body and the floor weakening, along with his grip. Steve didn't want any more of his teammates getting hurt.

Then the inevitable happened. Steve's red-gloved hand slipped away from Bruce's. The captain, along with the robot, plummeted towards the ground.

"NO!"

.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow-motion. Bruce's arm was still hanging over the edge, mouth opened in a shout. Natasha turned around, shock and fear plastered on her face.

On the second Quinjet, Clint, Thor and Tony watched as a helpless Steve fell through the air. Thor shouted at Clint to open the hatch doors. Tony wanted to as well, but he knew. At the speed Steve was falling, and the speed of the doors, it was too late.

.

Steve was afraid. His was falling at who-knows-what speed, towards the concrete ground of the city. The robot had finally let go, falling next to him. Looking up, he could see Bruce staring at him. He turned his head, looking through the glass of the second jet. The other three of his teammates were there. They all had the same look on their face: helplessness.

Steve knew he could die when he hit the ground. But back during the war, there was always the possibility of death, so he knew the source of fear wasn't there.

It was from the fact that he would be causing his friends pain. He didn't want that. He never wanted that. Ever since the battle with the Chitauri, the six of them had bonded so well. They became this weird family of superheroes. Steve couldn't hurt family. Never.

He was fast approaching the ground. The robot had fallen faster than him, already broken into hundreds of pieces. Steve wondered if his body would react like that upon impact. Maybe he would be better dead than alive if that happened.

.

Tony watched as the gap between Captain and concrete became smaller. Less than ten feet before Steve hit the ground.

He wanted to turn his head, to look away from the imminent impact, away from the pain. But somehow he couldn't. He just couldn't.

.

As the ground rushed up to meet him, Steve just hoped that the rest of the team weren't looking. He hoped that they wouldn't get hurt.

XXXXXXXXXX

They had all seen the impact. An audible gasp came out from all of them. In that instant, Natasha and Clint immediately found a place to land the Quinjets. During that time, all the team could do was hope for the best.

They ran, not stopping for a moment. All they could think about was Steve. Was he dead? Was he alive? They didn't know, and they couldn't be sure. Not until they saw him.

Once the team saw the man in the star-spangled suit, they went into turbo mode, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Clint, being the fastest of the five, got to the captain first. "He's still breathing!"

The others finally got to Steve's body. His body was sprawled on the pavement, his shield lying a short distance away from his hand. One of his arms was at a weird angle, obviously broken.

"You sure?" Natasha asked, squatting beside Steve's body.

"Yeah, but barely. The fall knocked him unconscious. I'm amazed he only broke an arm. Pretty sure he has at least half of his ribs fractured, and massive internal bleeding."

Somehow, Tony had propped Steve's head on his lap. "His head's fine, just a huge bruise. No skull fractures, incredibly."

Bruce just stared at the limp body, concentrating on the rising and falling of Steve's chest. It was all he could do to mutter out the words, "We have to get him to the hospital."

"We can't put him in a normal one." Clint looked at the doctor. "They'll recognize him immediately."

"Then we need SHIELD's hospital." Natasha answered, standing up. "Get him to the jet."

Before anyone could say anything, Thor carried Steve onto his back. "Time is of the essence. Where to?"

Clint led the others back to the jets. Once inside, it was all they could do to not look at Steve's bruised, broken and battered body. They just hoped that they would get him to the hospital in time. And that he would be fine.

Because if he wasn't, they weren't sure how they would feel.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a weird sight in the hallway of SHIELD's hospital. Doctor Banner had his face buried in his hands. Iron Man was silently pacing the ground, back and forth, back and forth. The god of thunder was sitting on the bench, the back of his head against the wall. Black Widow was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, sighing every few seconds. Hawkeye was on the floor, arms draped over his knees. All of them were still in their battle gear, clothes torn, dirt, cuts and bruises all over their faces. But underneath all the dirt was the grief and fear.

No news had come from the doctors tending to the captain for almost an hour, and the rest of the team was getting more and more worried by the minute.

On the Quinjet back to the hospital, Steve's breaths were getting shallower as they travelled, and it had felt as if the trip took hundreds of years.

And now, it was like a thousand years, because none of them knew what would happen to him.

Finally, a doctor appears from behind the doors. The five of them rush to him. "Doc, is he alright?" "How bad is it?" "Will he make it through?" "Will the captain still live?" "Is he awake?"

"Okay, I know you are worried, but can you please calm down?" The team all went silent. The doctor looked at them. "Well, it's a miracle that he survived that fall. He broke his left arm and leg, along with plenty of his ribs. There's some major internal bleeding and bruising. But you can be rest assured he's still alive."

The guys breathe a sigh of relief, but Natasha creases her eyebrows even more. She looks at the doctor. "There's something else, isn't there? What is it, Doc? You have to tell us."

The rest of the team go from relief to even more intense worry. The doctor sighs, with a painful expression in his eyes. "He suffered a huge concussion from the fall. He's still unconscious, and we know he'll wake up, but… we can't be sure when. There's no telling when, it could take weeks, even months or years."

Bruce feels up to the brim with guilt. "You mean… he'll be in coma… just like before?"

"Exactly, but we're not sure if it would be like last time. The ice and cold helped slow down the aging of his cells by a whole lot, but now… it could be different. There's no telling how the super-serum works on damages as bad as his. It would heal all his injuries pretty quickly, but not the heavy concussion. It could take forever, as far as we know."

The team was speechless. Captain America was yet again in another coma, but this time, they were there to experience the pain of it. What if he didn't wake up for another 70 years like last time? What would happen to him? "Is there anything to help him wake up?"

"Not at the moment, no. But there has been research done that says coma patients awake faster when visited frequently be friends or family. So maybe you could come and visit him one day. But not right now, he needs at least a full day's recovery by himself."

The doctor saw the faces of the team; guilt-ridden, fearful, pained, terrified, worried. "Why don't you all go home and get some rest? It's been a long day for you too. Get some sleep. Come back some other day. I'll promise we'll take good care of him."

The team knew they could do nothing else, so, following the doctor's advice, they went back to the Avengers' mansion and got some rest.

But none of them could fall asleep, no matter how they tried. As long as Steve was still in the coma, they wouldn't feel peaceful at all. They had to try and wake him, because as much as they did (or didn't) want to admit it, they needed Steve, and Steve needed them. For better or for worse, they were a team and a family. And you never, ever give up on your family.