Chapter 14

"Come on Tasha! Faster!" Agent Clint Barton ordered as his legs were taking him as fast as he could down the flight of stairs. There was no time to waste and after the reaction to the arrow Clint had shot through Tony, there was no doubt that Loki would hold nothing back if he were to stay trapped within the tower. The Black Widow listened to the man ahead of her as she quickened her speed, but in all honesty she wanted to turn back. Turn back to the dying teammate they left behind. But was he even considered a teammate after all of this?

Clint burst through a door as he finally reached the main floor and his eyes searched the lobby for an exit. He held the door open just for a few seconds, allowing the female agent to rush out after him.

"Over there!" Natasha pointed down a hall that led to the main entrance of the building and this time she took the lead, dashing ahead of Barton.

Both agents were breathing heavily as they took large jumps ahead of each other down the long narrow hall until finally reaching the wide open space of the main entrance. This was it. If they were too late, they would be stuck alone with the angered god with no way of telling when they would be able to leave.

Clint and Natasha ran besides each other as they neared wide glass doors. Hawkeye's breath took a sharp inhale and he held it there as he dashed straight for the door. But instead of going through, a light blue barrier appeared and both agents shot back into the air with greater momentum. The pale blue glow of the barrier faded again as the assassins fell hard against the cold ground.

"Fuck!" The archer growled and he quickly sat up on the floor. His eyes looked over to the Russain laying limp on the ground besides him. "Tasha..? You alright?" Clint crawled over to his friend with a sense of worry and he softly shook Natasha by the shoulder.

"Yeah... I'm fine." The master assassin gradually moved up into a sitting position with a look of defeat. Now what? Clint could sense his friend's feeling of concern and he gently brushed her hair back.

"We're going to get through this. We're smarter than that so called God." The archer said in reassurance as he helped Natasha to her feet. He let out a long breath and his finger gently pushed into his earpiece. "This is Agent Barton. Loki has created a barrier around this tower and Romanoff and I are going to be stuck in here for a while. You guys won't be able to get in." There was a short moment of entire silence as both agents waited for any reply.

"What?! What happened over there?" Captain Rogers was the first to respond with a voice of confusion.

"Is Stark still with Loki?" Director Fury's question came next and Agent Barton wasn't quite sure how to respond. Was Stark still with Loki? He didn't see a way that Stark could be with anyone after having an arrow shot through him. He's dead. I killed him. The archer thought in silence.

"Stark is down..." Natasha was the one who answered when Hawkeye couldn't manage a reply.

"Down? You mean... Tony... died?" Doctor Banner's question came in disbelief and Clint stayed silent.

"Hold up! You have to tell us what happened! What did Loki do to Tony?!" The captain demanded and the archer gave a small wince from the loud voice booming in the earpiece. Natasha and Clint looked into each other's eyes and they could tell that neither of them wanted to talk about the subject.

"I'm not sure on all the details of what Loki did to Tony during captivity. But our enemy wasn't the one to kill him." Clint finally spoke up and his voice gave a small tremble as he took in a deep breath. "I did." And silence fell again for what seemed an eternity.

"Barton! You were supposed to get him back on our side! What happened to the plan?!"

"You killed Tony!?"

"So... He's really dead?"

"It's not his fault." Natasha spoke as she saw the archer's expressionless face look away in response to the team's questions. "Stark was going to kill me. He might have succeeded if Barton hadn't stepped in." She took in a deep breath as she recalled her last look into Tony's dying eyes. He was still alive the last she saw. "We... Don't exactly know for sure if Stark is dead but he had little to no chance of survival."

No one made a sound as they took in the news. How were they supposed to respond to all of this?

"Where is Loki now?" Fury finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

"We're not sure. But I don't think he would have left the building. You should have seen him... He was a disaster."

"Find him, stay hidden, and keep close watch. I don't need anyone else dying but I need both of you to stay on top of what Loki is doing and serve as our spies." The director ordered without bothering to ask any questions. Natasha took in a small swallow as she looked towards Clint. If there was one thing she knew, it was that she didn't want to go back there. If the god even so much as saw them again he would have both of them killed on the spot. But... Maybe he didn't have to know that he were stuck in the tower. Maybe he could believe that they had made it out in time before the barrier became apparent.

"Understood." Barton replied as his eyes glanced towards the Russian. If they were going to be trapped with the enemy, they may as well accept a mission against him. The agents looked to each other and Natasha gave small hints of reluctance, although she knew it was best that follow orders as told.

"Anthony! Anthony stay with me!" The god of mischief gave the frantic demand as his watering eyes gazed at the dying man in his arms. He had to take him somewhere. But where? Tony was non responsive as Loki spoke to him and his vision wouldn't stop from fading in and out. The billionaire wasn't even sure what was happening anymore except that there was an arrow through his body and Loki was begging him to stay alive. I can't... The thought came through Tony's mind as Loki was hurrying through different hallways with him in his arms. Why? Why was the god crying? He would have never even imagined such emotions to pour from the criminal. Stay alive... Stay alive for Loki.

Loki rushed into open room where he could see various supplies of medical equipment. He knew that the arrow had to come out but once removed, Tony would loose a critical amount of blood. The god cleared a long metal table before gently placing the mortal on top and onto his side to avoid anything touching the arrow. His trembling hand waved over Tony and his shirt and jacket instantly disappeared into a gold light. Now Loki could see the full horror of the arrow piercing straight through his body and flesh and more panicked tears came to his eyes. He looked upon Tony's face again and became more worried as the mortal's breath was slowing and his eyes softly closed. Loki swallowed down a lump in his throat and his hand met with the base of the arrow. This would have to be quick to get it over with. With an abrupt movement, Loki jerked at the arrow and it roughly left the mortals body. Tony let out a sharp cry of pain as his muscle's tensed before going limp once more and he fell from his side so he was flat on his back. Just as the god suspected, heavy flows of blood started leaving the wound and Loki immediately placed his hand over Tony's stomach as his mind was searching for a spell that could help. The mortal was turning impossibly paler and Loki let out a choked cry in panic.

"Anthony! Just stay alive a little longer and I can get you through this!" The god's ice cold hands were soaked with the mortal's vast amount of deep blood and a warm white light started to illuminate between his fingers. The spell would only be enough to slow the bleeding but it could still offer a lot of assistance with prolonging the mortal's life. However the only sign of life Tony was showing was the subtle movement in his chest with each slow agonizing breath he took. Loki cleared a tear from his face forgetting his bloodied hands and the red liquid smeared across his cheek. His hand returned to Tony's soaked body and he abruptly sent a sudden burst of strong energy throughout the mortal to keep his heart beat strong. Tony's eyes widened and he took in a deep breath of air as his gaze moved across the deity's face, however it wasn't lasting long and the energy was already wearing off.

"Loki... Why..? Why are you doing this?" Tony had to choke out the question after looking at the tears and blood streaked across the god's face. He had no idea that this villain would actually care so much if something had actually happened to him. But Loki simply shook his head as he brushed the mortal's hair back.

"Shhh. Save your energy. We can't risk anything until I can guarantee your survival. And your condition is still severely critical." The god whispered and his hands gently pushed into the bleeding wound. Tony gave a small grunt as his eyes fell shut and he let the god continue on his work without any interruptions. Loki took in a deep breath as he worked on some healing magic that would recover most of the mortal's internal damage to critical organs.

The deity's jaw gave a small clench as he wiped away another fearful and angry tear. It was deathly heart breaking to see Tony in such a horrid state and the knowledge that this man's life was within his own hands was utterly overwhelming. What if he just cannot make it? And there simply is not anything you can do? Loki couldn't bear the painful thought and he instantly pushed it from his mind.

"You will live." The god ordered under painfully gritted teeth and he only left Tony's side for a few moments as he found a large cup and filled it with clean water from a nearby sink. He wasted no time in preforming a quick spell to add healing properties inside the water and he gently poured it over the open wound to help recover and also to wash away some of the sputtering blood. Loki gently turned Tony onto his side so he could do the same for his back before letting the mortal fall into a flat laying position again. The energy Loki had sent through the mortal's body had almost completely worn off now , however Tony's breath was not entirely as weak as it had been. The magic must be working.

Loki's lips turned into a soft smile as Tony's chance of survival was raising. But he was better then to let this stop him from doing everything in his power to ensure that the mortal would live. The god's smile fell when the washed away blood was soon returning and he knew that his spell that was slowing the bleeding wouldn't be enough to stop him from loosing a deadly amount of precious blood. He quickly left again to search through different cupboards and drawers until finally coming across a large supply of sturdy bandages. Just the thing to help with the deep injury. Loki returned to the bloody mess upon the table and he didn't hesitate to begin working with the bandages, delicately and securely wrapping them around Tony's stomach and back. The first couple of layers weren't enough to hold the blood in and the red liquid was already soaking through the thick bandages. But Loki only continued to wrap, swiftly as he could while trying not to hurt Tony any further. Only taking a few breaks to tie and tear when necessary, until the mortal's whole stomach was covered with several layers.

"Anthony?" The sound of Loki's voice broke through Tony's draining thoughts as the god was checking to see if life still lay within the body. Tony forced himself to give a soft nod so the man working so hard to keep him alive knew that he was conscious. He wished he could speak. Or at least even think clearly. But the only thing that was there was the pain and fear of death, occasionally interrupted by Loki's cries. Tony's eyes slowly blinked open and the dying man could see that the god was sitting on the table besides him, gently lifting his head and pressing a cup of some form of liquid to his softly parted lips.

"Please. Please drink this." Loki pleaded knowing that all of this could end up meaning nothing if he didn't get some of the magic actually within Tony's system. The mortal didn't respond and his eyes locked painfully onto the god above him with a look of agony, as if he'd rather just be put out of his misery. Loki swallowed back another cry as he lifted Tony into a sitting position. He carefully tipped the cup so healing water was pouring into the man's mouth, however Tony abruptly coughed, spitting out the water along with more blood. But Loki refused to give up, he tilted Tony's head further back and poured more water into his mouth.

"Come on, drink it!" Loki ordered through tears and Tony held the water inside his mouth. The mortal gave a slow nod as he gradually forced the liquids down his throat. The god let out a long breath of relief and let Tony rest into a laying position again. Loki stood above the mortal, carefully examining him for any signs of improvements. But instead of getting stronger, Tony's breath was weakening and his eyes were closed. How?! If anything Tony's condition should be having improvements. If this didn't work, there wasn't much else he could do to ensure his survival.

"Tony, fight! Fight to live!" The god grabbed onto Tony's hand firmly as his bloodied fingers ran comfortingly through messy tufts of hair.

As if on cue, the magic within Tony begun to take hold and the mortal took a sharp intake of breath. Loki's eyes widened in hope and relief and the mortal's breath steadied at a strong rate. Tony kept his eyes shut but at least he had a regular breathing rate. Now that there was the assistance of healing water running through the man's body, it should be enough for him to survive on his own.

"Tony... It's working! You're going to make it!" Loki proudly exclaimed and he wrapped his arms around the mortal so he was holding him firmly. But Tony had fallen into a state between consciousness and unconsciousness as his body was diligently working to better his condition. You're going to make it...The part of Tony that could comprehend this was thankful and he wished he could respond. But for now all he could do was focus on staying alive.

Tony was fading in and out again as the god was carrying him into a bedroom. The mortal had lost track of what was happening or even where they were until he could feel Loki place him upon a soft bed.

"Get some rest. It will take quite a lot of recovery to heal from such an injury." Tony's eyes opened longed enough to see the god as he spoke the words. Loki's face was streaked with dried blood but his eyes shown didn't show any signs of more tears. Instead his face seemed emotionless with a still expression, but Tony could sense a deep rising anger within the god.

Loki turned away from the nearly unconscious man with a soft growl as he walked towards the door. He wasn't supposed to have expressed such emotions. He was supposed to have cleared all of those pointless feelings from him so he would not be such a week vulnerable mess if something like this happened. But that wasn't how it turned out. And now he wanted cruel revenge upon the archer who had almost killed what appeared to be the only man he truly cared for. Before Loki could leave the room, he heard a soft whisper leave Tony.

"Don't go." The man uttered the soft plea as he brought himself to keep his gaze upon the one who saved him. Loki's eyebrows furrowed over his glistening eyes as he turned to to face Tony once again. He had actually spoken.

"Anthony..." Loki whispered and he slowly approached the mortal.

"I... Need you." Tony continued while closing his eyes for a few moments. Tears were once again returning to Loki's eyes as his anger was being pushed aside by concern and soft emotions. He supposed it wouldn't hurt too much if he were to stay in the room with the man who had almost died. Even though he was sure the magic could keep Tony strong enough to survive, it would still be best to stay near the mortal just in case of any emergencies. And there wasn't even any guarantee that the agent he so badly wanted to kill was even in this building. There was always the possibility that he got out in time.

"Very well then." Loki sat himself upon the bed and he rested into the bedpost besides Tony, delicately running fingers through the man's hair. Tony struggled to change his position so his head was resting into the god's lap. He still wasn't grasping the full mass of what had happened but he did know that he was still alive. And he had Loki to thank for it.

"Thank you." Tony breathed as he relaxed into the god. "For everything." The gratitude drew a soft smile from Loki as he continued to stroke Tony's hair. Only a few moments ago, before his mortal's life was put into danger, Loki would have never expected himself to weep, fight, and even save Tony's life. But now that he had, the god knew that he would have to keep Tony as far away from harm as possible so he would never have to bear through so much shattering pain. Loki would have to protect his claimed mortal; no matter the costs.

A/N: Not a whole lot of dialogue... Which made this chapter awful to write but I hope you all still enjoyed! I just love Frostiron so much! Also I would like to point out that Clintasha is my second favorite ship! ;)