Thanks for the love for the first chapter! This is going to be the one that might get me into trouble but that's fine! :3

ELOSHAZZY; I'm glad you liked it my dear :) I like to think that Barton actually hates killing! It's why when he was taken by Loki he wanted to know how many agents he killed, or why he never took out Natasha in the first place. And even in the comics he only ever seems to kill in actual near death situations! But yeah, keep that in mind, cause later chapters will need that little knowledge there! ;) Thanks for the review and I hope you like chapter 2!

Niom Lamboise; Glad you liked it! Means alot! He's going to feel more than just a bit of guilt, trust me! Enjoy this one! :)

WitBeyondMeasure23; I'm glad you're excited! I am too! Though people may kill me for it, blame ELOSHAZZY for the idea for it! :D

DISCLAIMER;
Tony: Nope. None of us are happy with her or ELOSHAZZY right now, so, none of us are willing to do this for her. Just read the one in chapter 1.


The suit was sluggish, like it always was after rebooting. He thought he fixed that bug, he really did, and now was NOT the time for the damn thing to break down!

Things had gone quiet on Clint's end of the comms, and it scared Tony more than anything.

As he stood, the suit finally allowing him to, his eyes went wide at the sight infront of him. He hadn't a clue what happened, Hawkeye never responded to that question, but Barton was slumped against the wall, blocked out though by Doom who was piercing something into the archers chest.

Tony didn't have the time to think of a proper plan. Clint wasn't moving, so he knew he didn't have much time at all. He just put all the power he had into the thrusters of his suit and went flying, knocking Doom away from his team mate and onto the floor.

Victor let out a grunt as he landed hard on his back, whatever device he was using flying off along the ground in the process. Tony was leaning over him, practically pinning him to the floor to keep him down. He popped his face mask up so the diplomat could see the glare he was sending his way before pulling his fist back to land a blow on Doom's masked face. He would kill him. Not even because it was the mission anymore, but because he had the nerve to hurt Clint on Tony's watch!

"Wait!" Doom suddenly yelled, his hands coming up to try block the blow. Wouldn't do much good against a mechanical suit. "Your friend doesn't have the time for this."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the man, not risking letting him even leave his sight for a second to look back at Clint. "It'll take me no time at all to finish you."

"But then how will you escape with him?" Doom asked coyly, though Tony could only see his eyes, the way they turned up just meant he was smirking behind that mask. "My army would have been alerted, they're behind that door, and you alone will have to fight through them. That is, if you can even open the door to get him the attention he needs."

Dammit.. He can't. He tried before the electro pulse knocked off his power. Whatever that door was, it was solid enough to withstand a number of blasts from his repulsers, and that's saying something, especially since he had them at full power!

"Let me walk away." Doom continued, his hands lowering as if testing Tony. "I'll call off the army, I'll open the door, I'll let all of you leave with no fight. But he stands next to no chance of survival without this offer."

He hated that Doom was right..

Tony stared the man beneath him down for a moment, almost daring him to try something funny. The look in his eyes told Stark that it was a solid offer though. He did enough business back in the day to know a bullshit deal just by a persons eyes.

"Just get out of here." Stark growled, standing then to hurry over to his fallen friend.

He could hear the retreating footsteps of Doom and the sound of the door opening like promised, but he couldn't care. He was in complete shock at the state Clint was in.

He was sitting slumped against the wall, his head bowed towards his chest with his eyes closed. He was barely breathing, and when he did it was shallow and pained. There was a substantial hole in his chest, where that device was plunged into his body. It was bleeding pretty heavily, but that wasn't the main worry believe it or not.

His right arm. The bicep.

There were alot of horrible sights Tony has seen over the years, alot of horrible things done at parties when things got a little out of control. He'd have an iron stomach at those times, but this nearly had him throwing up all over the place.

There was a gash to the bicep, a deep one. So deep that Tony was sure he could see bone, positive that the arm was probably barely holding on. It was ragged, so it wasn't cut, more like split open from whatever had knocked him against the wall.

It was bleeding more than Tony could ever think possible. There was some amount of veins cut across that were still pumping blood, so it just flowed out of his body.

"J, I need full status." Tony said frantically to the AI, letting his mask fall back down and the armour glove retract to use his bare hands before kneeling down to tend to the archer.

He ripped apart some of Clint's shirt into strips and started wrapped them tightly around the wound on his arm, trying his best to stop the bleeding that was causing a bit of a puddle to form. He tied them off as tightly as he possibly could before creating a make shift tourniquet above the wound. It would stop bloodflow, good thing and bad thing. But he had to do something.

"Sir.." Jarvis said after a minute or two, while Tony was tending to Clint's chest. "Heart rate and blood pressure are dropping. Agent Barton is losing blood at an alarming rate. I'm afraid if this continues, he won't survive the shock attack it will cause."

"Dammit Jarvis, he will survive!" Tony snapped, making sure everything was tied up and secure before daring to even try move the unconscious archer.

He jumped when static came through the helmet, grinning a little then when his comms came back online fully. He could hear Steve give some orders to Natasha and Thor through the line.

"Code purple." Tony said sternly down the line, hearing nothing but intakes of breath then from all the team.

Code purple was the second worst case scenario in their code list.

Green meant that Hulk was needed to help clear things up. White was someone was hit. Orange means a civilian was in danger or already hurt. Red was a civilian death. Purple was a team-mate gravely injured. Black was a team mate death.

This was the first purple they've had, and Tony found some kind of comedic justice in the fact that it was Clint who suggested the colour for the situation.

"Clint's down." Stark continued, a little frantic now as he checked to make sure the archer was still actually alive and it hadn't fallen into a code black. The team seemed to be in more shock than Clint was about to go into, so he only had one person he knew he would really trust. He switched over the comm channels to the jet's line only. "You there, Bruce?"

"You don't need green, do you?" Banner's quiet voice responded, a slight quiver to it. From the information Stark just sent through all channels or the thought of a code green, Tony couldn't tell.

"Army are pulling out. We have a clean exit, Doom assured." Tony said as calmly as he could. He risked moving the archer to a lying position once the bleeding slowed enough. "I'm sending you Clint's stats. I can't wait for evac or the team to get here. I need to know if it's safe enough to fly him out to you."

Things went quiet once the data was sent, so Stack flicked back on the main team channel to see if they were in the mood for talking just yet.

"-od Stark, if you don't answer me!"

"Sorry Widow. Busy saving your fuck buddy here." Tony replied quietly, not thinking he'd ever hear such fear in the assassins voice.

"What's his status?" Natasha replied sharply. Tony was getting his ass kicked when she saw him, he so knew it!

"Meet us at the jet and I'll tell all." He said quietly. He wasn't trusting his voice, and stomach for that matter, to tell her exactly what was wrong.

An all clear message flashed up on his interface from Banner a moment later, and Tony was never as happy to see something like that before!

Carefully, so as to try not make the bleeding any worse, he picked up the archer in his arms and wasted no time in flying out of the room to speed towards the main exit.

He hated how limp Clint felt in his arms, how much weight was there. Sometimes, he'd get injured.. Ok, alot of the time. But he'd never been so limp and lifeless before. He was such a brave guy, himself and Romanoff equally. No powers, no protection, just them and their skills. Still, Barton rushes head first in on fights. He doesn't think twice about risking everything to save someone on the team if they need it. This time, he happened to get the most horrific injury while trying to save Tony.

This was something Tony couldn't even begin to know how to pay back.

The suit was at full power again, thankfully! It meant that he could go full speed along the halls of the castle, meaning the pair reached the quinjet in no time at all. It took all he had to make sure he didn't pass any of the other team-mates. He didn't need them trying to stop him, Clint couldn't have them trying to stop him. Though he did sense Thor flying right behind him as he got closer to the exit.

When he got to the jet, Bruce had everything ready. He got the report and video feed of the injuries from Jarvis, so he no doubt knew exactly what Clint would need to give him a fighting chance.

"Put him there." Bruce said quickly, calmly though, as soon as Tony entered the jet. Stark did just that, laying the archer carefully on the table-turned-make-shift-bed so Bruce could look after him.

"You stay with us, Barton." Tony whispered in Clint's ear once he was lying down, Bruce by his side inserting an iv and blood feed. He didn't like how pale Clint already was. "I still need to teach you about that Mustang engine of yours.. So stay with me.."

"Stark, you absolute ass!"

Oh no.. This was going to hurt..

He turned toward the entrance to the jet to see a very angry Black Widow storming towards him, the truly terrified faces of Steve and Thor entering behind her. of course the Widow could scare a super soldier and a god..

"Natasha.." He started calmly, stepping out of the suit and holding his hands up defensively. "I'm so-"

He willingly took the punch to the jaw, his head snapping painfully to the right and his balance faltering a little from the blow. He deserved it..

"What? You're sorry?" Romanoff spat, her fists now just curled by her side. "Sorry doesn't fix things! Sorry doesn't help Clint! There was a plan for a fucking reason!"

"I was the one attacked, trapped!" Tony defended, arms held up to try show he was no threat. Lame excuse, but he was the one trapped in that room, not Barton. He didn't ask to be saved.

"He didn't want you.." Natasha said quietly, all her fight seemed to be gone now. Tony followed her line of sight and frowned. She had finally spotted her fallen partner, lying bleeding and near death on the table.

He couldn't ask what she meant by that, he didn't have a chance. The widow was gone, replaced by the much softer side known as Natasha Romanoff. Known as Clint Barton's partner, more ways than one, though the team aren't supposed to know that. He stood aside and let Natasha cross the small distance to Clint's side. No one would be able to move her now.

Tony couldn't look at her though, couldn't look at Clint more like. Banner had the make shift bandages taken off to be replaced with actual ones, and he couldn't look at those injuries again once the adrenaline was out of his system.

It was a damn good thing himself, Barton and Romanoff were the only pilots on the team. Because with the other two currently.. Well, busy, he'd be the one who'd be at the stick.

He turned on his heel and left the team, going to the secluded cock pit area to start taking them home. It was a while away, roughly 6 hours, so the sooner he left the better, otherwise Barton would stand less than no chance.

What did she mean though?

If Doom didn't want him, then why was he trapped? Why would he kill the suit? Why would he do to all that trouble if he didn't want Stark?

He glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, seeing the sombre face of Steve looking out the main window.

"Are you sure you're ok to fly?" He asked softly, the daddy voice on. He may technically be younger than Stark is, but he was basically the father of the group.

Tony nodded and looked back out to the skies, knowing he wasn't 100% focused, but Jarvis would help him if he ventured too far off course.

"You can go back out there, if you want. I'm fine." Tony replied quietly, both hands gripping the control yoke. He was staring at them, rather, staring at the blood that covered them.

"I don't think I can." Steve sighed, moving to take the co-pilot seat next to Tony. He usually hated others up here while he was flying, but right now, he might need someone. "It's not the nicest sight.."

"He doesn't stand a chance.." Tony whispered, his head shaking a little at the thought. "Even if we get him back, if we get him to the professionals waiting at the tower, he doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell and I.."

"Tony." Steve said sternly, causing the billionaire to look at him. He had a worried frown on, watching Stark like he was the one hurt. "He'll be fine. He always is."

"He's never this bad.." Tony said with a shake of his head. None of them were ever this bad.

"When has that stopped him?" Steve smiled a little sadly, moving to sit back against the chair and watch the clouds. "We can never get rid of Clint. He'll never allow it, will he?"

Tony couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face, a nod following.

"Imagine the peace in the tower though." He chuckled humourlessly, glad it was Steve who came up to him. He always knew what to say to calm people down.

"What happened in the room?" Rogers asked after about 20 minutes of silence. Tony wished it stayed silent.

What did actually happen?

He knocked down the door, was just in the place, and another slid shut. There was no one else in there, nothing to be seen other than pillars and horrible furnishings. An electric pulse hit him and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

But Doom didn't come near him.

Doom only showed his face when Clint came in, only sent in the troops when Clint came in.

Then Clint got his ass handed to him, though he was kicking some army ass himself!

Clint could hold his own again that large amount of people, but the second Doom got to him, he was down..

But that didn't sit right..

"He got beat too easily.." Tony whispered, more to himself than to Steve. "He's a better fighter than most of us. He can take these things. He got beat so easily."

"So?" Steve asked, confusion lacing his question. "These things happen.."

"You don't understand." Tony cut off the captain, shaking his head quickly. "He was prepared for Clint, he was ready for Hawkeye. He had the army there, to outnumber and distract him. He had some device to knock him off his feet and keep him down. He was ready for Clint, not me. Steve, I'm unharmed.."

"Clint was.." Steve began, Tony nodding with a frown as he upped the throttle of the jet.

"Hawkeye was the target. Widow aswell if he got the chance." Tony confirmed his thoughts matched Steve's. Both frowned at what that meant. "I was just bait. If Clint wasn't as kind hearted as he is, if he just left me there, he'd be fine. I'm the reason he's like this right now."

And, dammit, that's the first time in a long time Tony Stark has felt properly guilty about something.


The wait was more agonizing than the flight was.

On the way to the tower, Tony made sure that Pepper got the best specialists and surgeons available and even those not available to get their asses to the tower infirmary before they landed.

True to her word, she got it done, and Barton was wheeled off the jet and given to the care of the team of experts. He didn't even have to ask Banner to follow, he just stayed by Clint's side the whole way and wouldn't be pushed away easily.

Same couldn't be said for Natasha. They had to keep her out of the way, so Thor literally had to drag her from the side of Clint's bed kicking and screaming as they wheeled the archer to the emergency area.

They had him somewhat stable in the jet. Somewhat. He was slowly slipping into shock, it was inevitable at this point, but they had enough adrenaline shots, painkillers, and oxygen on board to stop it happening where it couldn't be dealt with properly. Bruce wrapped the wounds up properly, and the guy honestly looked like a mummy when he was wheeled out. Tee look on Bruce's face just confirmed Tony's suspicions that, even if he survived or not, it wasn't going to be a good outcome for the archer. There was just too much damage.

He stayed in the jet for a while, not knowing if he could face the team just yet. An hour passed, then two, then before he knew it, he was sitting in that pilot chair for 4 hours and 23 minutes, just starting at the long since dried blood on his hands.

This was some poetic image.

He had blood on his hands. Both literally and metaphorically. If Clint didn't survive this, then Tony didn't know what he'd do. He didn't know how he'd handle the knowledge that he was the bait, that he was the one predictable enough for Doom to use to lure the archer into that room. He wouldn't know how to handle the fact that he'd be the reason Clint was dead.

He was still staring at his hands when a slender pair started wiping away the blood with an alcohol wipe. He knew who it was by the red nail varnish on the manicured finger nails, but he didn't look up at her, he couldn't.

"Team's wondering where you are.." Natasha whispered, her hands not stopping in the task of wiping her partners blood off the man who killed him. Her voice was hallow, strained. Trust Clint Barton to be the one to bring out any kind of emotion from the Widow. "I think Steve has it in his head that it's better if we're all together right now.."

"Yeah? So how long have you been away from them?" Tony asked with an attempt of a smile, his voice a little hoarse from over 10 hours of lack of use. If Steve wanted them together, Natasha would naturally leave to wind him up.

"Long enough." She replied through an attempted laugh. They had to force some humour or who knows what would happen. The other option is what Strike Team Delta do after a bad mission; fighting, and he wasn't as good at keeping up with Natasha as Clint was.. "I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Deserved it. Long before today, actually." He shrugged, frowning a little at how, even though the blood was fading, the feeling was still hanging heavy on his hands.

"I was just upset." She sighed, and that's when he looked up to her. She must be more shaken than usual, she'd never admit to such a thing if she was in her right mind.

"He'll be ok." Tony said with the smallest of smiles, but none crossed Natasha's face. She just kept her blank gaze on his hands as she cleaned them. She was usually the one assuring them of that though.. "Won't he..?"

"We should get back to the others.." She said quietly. That was it. That was all he needed to let him know he was right to be freaking out a little right now.

He nodded though and stood up, letting her lead the way to where the others were waiting.

That's where he sat for another six hours.

Ten whole hours they've been separated from the archer, with pretty much no news.

It was strange to think he was being kept out of a part of his own house, but he knew it was necessary.

The injuries Clint suffered, externally at least, would take time to fix up. Take alot longer to heal up. It was hell trying to get him to rest during a simple flu, so getting him to rest after this was going to be next to impossible!

The team didn't move, they didn't speak. They all just sat around the room Tony set up for them to wait in. He knew when re building the tower, after having to fix up alot of injuries after the battle of New York, that they'd be waiting like this alot if they were going to continue as a team. So the waiting room had sofa's, had a tv, had game consoles, a kitchen area, even a bed. It was basically a little apartment.

But none of them moved. None of them used any of the entertainment equipment in the place, none of them could even think of food.

They all just waited for any sign of news of their fallen friend.

Just past the eleventh hour, a very haggard looking Bruce Banner entered the room. The whole team shot to their feet, tired as they were, and went to the doctor.

The look Bruce gave them all meant in wasn't good news, and it deflated whatever little bit of spirits they had left.

"Don't tell me he.." Natasha started in a whispered, and when Tony glanced at her, he noticed Steve holding her arm as if she was about to fall down.

Bruce shook his head slowly, a hand rubbing the spot between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. It was usually Tony's mad ideas that achieved that reaction.

"He's alive.." He finally said. Those two words had a breath that Tony didn't realise he was holding leaving his body.

He's alive..

"Why the sullen face then?" Thor asked in his usual confused tone. Tony guessed on Asgard, simply being alive after a battle was something to be celebrated. And with the injuries Clint had, it seriously is. But the rest of the team knew that it was usually the recovery that killed people. "Is he well?"

"Stable as could be.." He continued, shifting on his feet. He was avoiding some information. "Had to have two blood transfusions, and is on his third as we speak. Broken ribs from hitting the wall he was slumped against, probably a concussion, won't know until he wakes. We closed the hole in his chest, can't figure out what damage it was supposed to cause. It was in the middle away from anything vital. Some cuts and bruises.."

"Bruce.." Steve said calmly, the stern edge to it not as effective as it usually is. If Steve could even notice that Banner was avoiding the subject at hand, then he was being way too obvious!

Banner sighed and shook his head, moving slowly to go take a seat. He looked unsteady on his feet.

After staring at his shoes for what felt like an eternity, Bruce finally looked up at the team and shook his head. He finally let them know about the most pressing issue playing on everyone's minds.

His arm.

"We tried everything.."

The breath left Tony in an instant, leaving a strange pang in his chest and his head shaking of it's own accord. The silence in the room told him everyone else had the same reaction. They all knew where this was going.

"We tried rebuild it, tried fix the muscles and nerves, but there was no chance.." He continued, using the heels of his hands to rub at his eyes. Bruce was never one to hide his emotions, but Tony was trying his best right now to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

"He was bleeding so much from it.. We had to make a choice; either continue trying to fix it and risk him bleeding out and dying.. Or.."

"No.." Natasha whispered from Tony's side, and now the way Steve moved told him that the widow definitely did nearly fall and startled the Captain.

"We had to amputate." Bruce finally sighed out, and now the doctor's tears were falling. "Whole arm had to be taken.. From the shoulder down.. I'm sorry guys, I really am."

To have a room of the worlds mightiest heroes stunned into silence took something major. This was more than something major.

Their archer, their trickshot, their team mate, their friend, hell, their family. He just lost something that was more important to him than anything in the world.

With his arm gone, Hawkeye was no more.

When Clint woke up - yes, when, not if! Tony would be dammed if he'd let the kid leave now! - he'd find out he could no longer shoot. No longer do what he loves.

That thought must have crossed through everyone's mind, that their friend was going to be devastated, that his world has basically turned completely upside down, because everyone just kind of sunk. Natasha literally, she dragged Steve down as she fell onto her knees. Thor was in a state of shock, his eyes betraying that his mind was working through a million ideas of solutions to this problem.

But was there really one..?

Tony was the first to move.

He turned on his heels and walked as quick as he could without running. He left the room, left the devastated and heart broken team, and headed for his lab.

His friend was injured. Damaged.

It was a problem.

All problems had a solution.

And since he caused this problem, it was Tony Stark's duty to find a solution.

It was Tony Stark's duty to give his friend his life back, his love back.

If there was one thing Tony was good at in this life, it was solving problems.

"Come on, J." He called as he entered the lab, opening up multiple computer screens for the task he was about to start. "I have something I need to fix."