"I demand a shower when this is done." Natasha grumbled into her ear-piece. This was dirty and grimy work, picking through a half collapsed building in hopes of recovering a piece of dangerous tech. It was blistering hot, which also tended to make her grumpy. Sweat clung to the back of her neck, it caused her tacsuit to stick to her skin. Her hair was filthy and sweaty.
"I second that statement, but only if I get to join you." Tony's voice filtered through her ear-piece. He was over in the northern sector as she was picking her way through the eastern. She smirked, climbing over a rather large piece of fallen wall.
"Only if you promise me a—" She was cut off suddenly as the ground rocked beneath her and she felt herself thrown into the air. Her entire left side screamed in pain, and she could vaguely hear her name being screamed in the distance. Or through her comm, she couldn't tell. She passed out before her body met the ground.
—
Tony was focusing on Natasha's voice, letting it try and relieve some of the frustration. JARVIS' scans weren't enough, and Tony was partially designing a better scanning system in his head as he picked his own way through the piles of rubble. It was tedious work, and they had no idea if the tech they were looking for had even survived the initial explosion of the building. He was frustrated, yes, but content enough. It wasn't too terrible a mission for them, and he had Natasha in his ear. Until she got cut off by a large explosion that rocked the ground he stood on.
"Shit. Tasha? Natasha?" He called, angling himself and taking off in the direction of the explosion.
"Tony, what was that?" Steve called, and Tony spared a glance towards the western sector, where Steve was. Tony shook his head and then realized Steve wouldn't be looking at him.
"I don't know, but it came from Natasha's direction. And she's not answering on her comm." Tony responded, landing on the edge of a small crater in the rubble. He flipped his visor up and waved the smoke away with his hands. He couldn't see Natasha initially, so he started calling her name.
"Natasha? Tasha, come on, answer me." He started carefully picking his way through the new rubble, the smoke and dust already clearing with the wind. He scanned the area, trying to find signs of Natasha. He didn't know how close to the blast she had been, but he needed to hope. He needed her to be alright.
"Tasha, answer me. Please." He wasn't looking too deeply at the rubble, someone else could figure out the logistics of what happened. He needed to find Natasha. He crested a huge chunk of rubble and he saw her. Then he had to stop and process what he was seeing.
"Fuck. Shit. Steve, we need medical. Now." Tony pitched forward as he spoke, trying not to be sick, trying to tell himself that she was alive. Even if her entire right side looked like hamburger and her arm and leg no longer resembled the limbs they were supposed to be. He couldn't stop staring at her right leg. It was so torn up and mangled that it made him want to vomit.
"JARVIS." He managed to get out, hoping his AI would know what he needed. What he needed was to know that she was alive, even as he stumbled closer to her prone form. The visor on the suit closed, the HUD flashing and displaying Natasha's vitals. Tony choked back a sob, she was alive, but not for long if they didn't get her to help. He reached her side and the visor flipped up, She was bleeding heavily, even he could see that. But there were too many wounds, too many places where blood was leaking. He could see her struggling for breath now that he was closer. Hear her wheezing.
"Bruce." Tony croaked. "Bruce, I need you here." He tried to make his voice steady, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. Tony knelt down next to Natasha's uninjured side and cupped her face with his hand.
"Come on, babe. Open your eyes. Please." He wasn't above begging in this situation. He stroked his armored thumb along her cheek, trying to wake her up.
"Jesus!" Tony's head snapped up to see Bruce scurrying over the rubble towards them. Tony swallowed against the lump building in his throat. Bruce looked white as a sheet, and that just scared Tony more. The other scientist stumbled to Natasha's side, tripping over a chunk of rubble as he ran. He dropped to his knees beside her and pressed fingers to her neck.
"Steve, ETA on medical." Bruce called over the comm line, and Tony watched him rock backwards to assess the damage.
"About eight minutes now, I think." Tony could hear Steve's voice through the comm and in the distance, closing in. Bruce muttered what sounded like a curse.
"Whoever is closest to the jet, grab the emergency blanket and bring it here. Quickly." Bruce's voice was quick and urgent, even as he kept two fingers pressed against Natasha's neck.
"She's not waking up." Tony said quietly, tapping her cheek gently in another attempt to wake his girlfriend. Bruce shook his head and glanced behind him.
"Almost there, Bruce." Steve's voice carried over their ear-pieces. Tony frowned, trying to push the panic aside. It wouldn't do her any good to break down here, not when she needed help.
"Oh my god…" Tony's head snapped up to see both Steve and Clint standing above the rubble. He wasn't sure which one of them had said the words, or if they had said them together. They just stood there for a moment, and Tony watched as they digested the scene before them. And both he and Bruce kneeling in Natasha's blood. Steve moved first, leaping down and running over to them. He handed Bruce the still packaged blanket.
"Alright." Bruce said, and Tony thought maybe he was talking to himself. Tony watched him rip the packaging open and unfold the blanket. Bruce covered Natasha with the blanket, edging around her arm. Which brought Tony's focus back to her arm. Her forearm looked about as mangled as her leg, he could see bone in places, muscle in others. He glanced at her elbow and had to swallow bile, because it looked like it was only attached to the rest of her by a few tendons and some muscle. Her hand was in even worse shape. At least her leg was covered, and he no longer had to see the bones and muscle that made up her leg. But that was where a good chunk of her blood was coming from, and it was already soaking through the yellow blanket.
"Steve, put pressure on her upper leg. Don't worry about hurting her." Bruce instructed, moving a little so that Steve had room. Steve knelt by her leg, and the moment he pressed down, Natasha jerked and screamed. Thankfully, she didn't have to air to sustain a very long scream, and Tony was leaning over her, stroking her cheek and trying to calm her down. He didn't even need Bruce to tell him to do that.
"Shh, easy. It's alright, babe." He told her, leaning in close. Her eyes were open, but she seemed to be staring past him. "Natasha, come on. Look at me." He coaxed her, placing both hands on either side of her face. Her gaze finally focused and and she looked at him, breath still wheezing.
"S'a bomb." She murmured, offering Tony a bloody smirk. Tony huffed out a laugh and leaned back, shaking his head.
"No shit, I think you found it." He told her, leaving one hand against her cheek and taking her uninjured one in his. Natasha's smirk quickly faded into a pained grimace. Tony wanted nothing more than to take the pain from her, take the injuries away. He wanted to be sure she would be alright, he wanted to be certain she'd live through this. But he couldn't. And he wasn't.
"How bad?" She slurred, and Tony glanced at Bruce. The scientist shook his head and Tony nodded, understanding. He stroked his thumb along her cheek and forced a smile for her. He needed to not alarm or agitate her, he needed to keep her calm.
"It's not that bad." He told her and her eyes glazed over for a moment. That scared him, and he tapped her cheek to try and draw her attention back to him. She refocused her gaze on his face and smiled tiredly.
"A-awful liar." She breathed, weakly squeezing his hand. She closed her eyes after that and Tony started. He tapped her cheek again.
"Come on, babe. Keep your eyes open." He coaxed her, squeezing her hand back. He could hear helicopter blades, and he could only hope that meant the medics were here. Natasha rolled her head to the side and cracked her eyes open. Out of the corner of Tony's eye he could see Clint stand and flag down the medics.
"Help's here, Tasha. Be strong." He told her, stroking a hand across her cheek before he had to move away from her to let the medics work. He hovered nearby, though. Watched as she was loaded onto to a stretcher. He tagged behind when they moved her, only partially aware of the rest of his team. They set her down on the grass out front, where their jet and the helicopter were parked. Tony didn't even notice Steve walk up behind him until there was a hand on his shoulder. But he couldn't pry his eyes away from Natasha as the medics worked on her. It felt like he was rooted to the spot, forced to watch.
"Scans of the place didn't show any bombs. Nothing." He found himself muttering. He couldn't help but feel this was a failing on his part, that his tech had let them down. Had let Natasha down. He watched the activity around Natasha. Watched as the medics cut away her tacsuit to place leads and an IV.
"Tony, it's not your fault." Tony started and turned to face Steve, only to see his own expression mirrored on the faces of the rest of his team. They were all terrified, even Thor. They all knew how bad it was, how they could still lose her. Steve's hand was still on Tony's shoulder, and suddenly Tony was grateful for the support. Natasha was what held the team together, he wasn't sure how he could go on if they lost her. Tony was so busy watching his team that he immediately noticed the change in Bruce's expression.
"Shit." Bruce said, and Tony turned back to watch Natasha. There were too many medics swarming, he couldn't tell why Bruce was upset.
"Bruce?" Tony asked hesitantly, trying to glimpse what Bruce had seen.
"She stopped breathing." Bruce said quietly, and Tony flinched at that admission. And then he heard the metal of his shoulder grind beneath Steve's grip. He stood there, still rooted to the spot, and watched them load her onto the helicopter. He wished he could stay by her side, but he knew he'd just get in the way.
"I'm going to follow them." He found himself saying, shrugging Steve's hand off and launching into the air after the copter. At least he could follow this way. He knew the team wouldn't be far behind, their previous mission forgotten. What mattered now was Natasha, and nothing else. Tony flew the suit manually, keeping the helicopter in sight. Flying gave him something to focus on, something other than the vision of Natasha laying in the rubble.