All was quiet as the team shock off the cobwebs of a challenging mission. The plan had actually been going accordingly, until Hydra unleashed its latest weapon. A machine gun which shot out fire, ice, electricity and acid. When it had finally been presented they aimed straight for Cap's shield, Rogers assumed it was meant to destroy the vibranium, but luckily Stark had had a few more ideas for the shield. Some of which gave it an extra few layers of protection. But that gun had still put up a fight; melting Thor's Cape in an attempt to hit him, giving Clint some stinging burns on his arms and Nat had been knocked out cold by the ice.

She was still unconscious as they flew back home, they were above water, following Jarvis' instructions for where to go. Barton was flying the quinjet, Banner taking care of Natasha, Thor taking a nap, Stark talking to Agent Hill and Rogers...Rogers was thinking things over.

He was in the middle of reliving his battle with Red Skull, every time they battled Hydra his old life was brought back to him, every time. When suddenly the jet swung to the side, pushing Thor off his seat, he hit the ground with a thump! Still asleep.

Stark, clearly annoyed with the sudden shift in the air demanded "Barton, what's going on back there? You're not doing any of your elaborate stretches are. . . . ." His words were cut off by the sudden loop of the quinjet.

They all, except Clint who was strapped in his seat, were lifted up and hit the roof. Steve had a second to catch Natasha before she collided with the ceiling, which would have been very painful. He was aware of the fact that the jet was dipping forward and using all his strength he managed to grab a handle bar, for support, with Nat soundlessly asleep in his arms. Oblivious to their current surroundings.

"Barton, what's going on. . . . . . . ." Abruptly the jet turned the right way up and Steve had to let go of the bar otherwise he would have experienced an eye shutting, ear splitting, neck cracking, head stand. Stark, paused for breath before running to the pilot area and yelled with surprise and terror at an unconscious Hawkeye, rolling around with control panels being knocked left, right and centre.

"Guys, Clint's dead!" Stark screamed.

"What!"

"That's impossible..."

"Who, did it?"

"Ahh, Clint?" The last one came from a crumbling Natasha who was lying on Steve's chest, his head was pushed back as he tried to shake off the blow and take in the unlikely information.
As if suddenly hearing the news - whilst Rogers was still processing it - Natasha sprang away from Steve and joined a mouth gapping Stark whose eyes' were close to tears. In any other situation he would have vaporized anybody for seeing him in such a state, but right now he wasn't the only one. Bruce was choking back a sob and Rogers' ocean blue eyes were glued to Romanoff.
He was mesmerized that she hadn't fallen apart at the sems having been so close to Clint, or that she hadn't erupted and sent the still spinning jet down to the ocean to sink with her heart.
But then her small, delicate fingers rested with the lightest touch on his neck. Her pupils grew in the blinding sunlight that the jet was reaching for.

Her nonchalant voice challenged anyone to state otherwise, "He's alive you moron!" Stark's tears melted away as quickly as they'd risen. Banner charged forwards, his finger replacing Natasha's "Just...help me get him to the table?" Nat obliged, lifting Clint with ease.

Precipitously the jet rounded a stomach churning corner in mid air and Thor was bashed around from wall to wall until his eyes smacked open and he looked around the spinning room. What was going on? He saw a nauseous Stark roll in mid air, Thor grabbed his leg before he almost collided with the bridge button. That wouldn't have been good! Rogers curled in on himself as his body was thrown against the ceiling, or was it the floor? Thor couldn't tell. He peeked round the corner and saw Clint's unconscious body caging a struggling Black Widow against the wall. Banner was slowly rising and falling under the table. Thor felt terror and suspense build like a brick wall inside his veins as Bruce turned a shade of green and instantly went back to his peachy complexion.

Cautiously Stark yelled "Jarvis, what the fuck is going on?" A bruised Rogers motioned under the cover off his shield "Language!" But hardly anybody heard due to the uproar the bodies of the frantic and helpless avengers were making whilst they were flung from wall to wall like lifeless rag dolls. "Sir it appears when Agent Barton put me on auto-pilot my program was being hacked, he received an electric shock." the usual inanimate, robot voice started to lower until it was a long held yarn. "and that knocked him unconscious and the hacker targeted the jet controls." His voice fizzled in and out of focus.

Trying to supress a scream, Natasha squirmed, as the sharp instruments Bruce had set out earlier - for her previous check up after she'd been attacked by the sheet of ice burning fire - pocked and prodded her and Clint's bodies. Barton was wrapped around her, unaware of the immediate protection his sleeping figure was giving her. But still the odd knife sliced her skin, sending shivers and sparks of pain down her back.

Against her the sharp fingers of pain dragged a blood curdling, ululating scream from her. Tearing the veins and vessels, that intricately interlaced her heart, from her chest as pain embedded itself in her mind. She felt the word engraved on her eyelids, burning like a punch to the gut. If she could have collapsed forward she would have, she felt like shrinking inside herself, going into hibernation and crawling in her shell as the jet summersaulted, landing the right way up. During this painful duration of spinning Clint had floated forward a fraction and Nat's body uncontrollably went to follow. Before she had a chance to steady herself a sharp pointed instrument dug between their bodies and right before gravity was about to push it into Clint's back the jet changed course and Clint's back moved with unstoppable speed and inserted the miniature blade into Romanoff's chest. Blood ran from her wound and her eyes saw stars as her cheeks drained.

Clint muttered under his breath as he came to. "Tasha..." when he felt the sticky feeling off spilling blood he protectively wrapped her up in his arms and put her down on the dented hospital table in the centre of the jet. "Bruce! Tasha's been hit!" The now calmer scientist materialized next to Hawkeye "How?" Barton's ears turned red. He held a crimson coloured knife in his fingers. Stark began yelling orders. "That can wait. Barton get your ass back at the controls before..." He spoke too soon as the quinjet tipped like a teapot forward, threatening to enter the stormy looking ocean.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Jarvis get us under control." All the boys, relying on instinct, ran to Romanoff careful to avoid her wound as they buckled her in a seat and did the same as Clint tried to regain control of the ship. A thunderous silence established in Steve's head as a pool of memories clouded his vision. His eyes froze over as he remembered the heart numbing conversation he'd had with Peggy before dumping his jet in the ocean all those years ago.

His muscles flexed as his eyes returned to his surroundings Natasha was staring at him, he realised, trying to conceal a blush and failing, that he must have been freaking her out, looking at her like his life depended on it. "Try to relax Rogers, we're not dead yet." Her amusement returned to her cheeks, as her smile reached her eyes. Making them shine. "You don't sound too hopeful." His hands unclenched and his nails removed themselves from digging into his palms "Ha, you try sounding cheery with a knife wound in your stomach. And you never know. I might get lucky and save the world from a thousand more press conferences with Mr self centred cry baby over there." Stark turned, his brows positioned perfectly "What did you just say, red?" Cap and Widow shared a glance and out of the blue the quinjet abruptly crashed into a beach, sending sand over the windscreen. As the plane flipped over, Steve's eyes never left Natasha's.