Tony didn't like Mumbai. Not at all. And this army of enemies didn't make it any better. He fought together with Hulk and the Cap, all three trying to find Clint who should be somewhere near, considering the mass of guards.
There. Behind a bench. Why was there a bench? Not important. Important was only one thing: Clint stood there, firing a gun and looking pretty much alive. A guard attacked Tony from behind, but he just punched him in the nose. Then he looked back at Clint. And watched in horror as the archer was hit.
Steve saw Clint getting hit, too. He desperately looked around. There were too many enemies still attacking, he didn't know if he should fight them off first or go to his teammate. Suddenly, Pepper's voice came over the com.
„Steve, there's an empty apartment about 100 metres east from your position. You can take Clint there, you need to get him out of plain sight. Tony, cover them. The Hulk will distract them. One of our helicopters is on the way to pick you up, I told them to prepare their medical."
Steve listened, in awe of Pepper's organization skills, and then told the Hulk to go smash some bad guys. The Hulk answered with a loud roar. Taking this as confirmation that the order was understood, Steve grabbed Clint and carried him to the apartment Pepper had found for them. Far away he could hear police sirens. At least some help is coming,he thought. But then he saw the blood pooling out of Clint's gut and forgot everything else.
„The helicopter better be fast." He said while trying to stop the bleeding.
Natasha was frantically pacing through the livingroom. It was the total horror for her. Watching Clint getting hurt and knowing there was nothing she could do was about the worst situation she'd ever been in. She wished she'd be there, her trusty Berettas in her hands, and could shoot those idiots... but she was over thousand miles away, and all she could do was staring at the video and watching Pepper calling numerous people and every once in a while telling the team something.
She had said nothing since the fight started. She couldn't. All she could do was watching.
Suddenly Steve heard something, while the gunshots stopped. A helicopter.
„Come on, Clint, they're here. It's gonna be alright. Come on, wake up!" He murmured, than the docs were there, taking Clint and carrying him to the helicopter. The street looked like a war zone, but the guards seemed to have given up. Bruce was already normal again, while Tony had put down the mask of his suit.
While they all went on the helicopter, they watched the medics fussing around Clint. None of them said it, but the archer didn't look good.
Two hours later, they were on a plane towards New York. Clint had nearly crashed two times, but now he was stable enough for the transport. He was unconscious, but alive. Bruce knew that this was nearly a miracle. As a doctor, he knew how close it had been, and he knew that Clint wasn't out of the woods just yet. They were on the fastest way to the SHIELD-hospital in New York, where they had the best doctors.
It was kind of ironic: The helicopter had belonged to Stark Industries, and the whole thing had been only half legal, but now, when they had finished it, they were flying a SHIELD-jet. He'd never understand the council. But he was going to have a serious talk with them. And he had the feeling Steve and Tony would stand right next to him when he did so.
Pepper was alone in the livingroom. Natasha had gone to the gym, probably shooting something. Pepper hadn't stopped her. It calmed the assassin down and that was what the woman needed right now. Also, Pepper wanted to have the livingroom for herself for this call.
On the screen, the members of the council appeared.
„What do you want, Ms. Potts?" One of them asked.
„After New York, I was the nice girl. I played along, acted like I didn't know what you tried to do. This is going to stop now." She said sternly.
„Is this a threat?" Another council member asked.
Pepper let out an unhappy chuckle. (Everybody who knew her would have started trying to find out what he did wrong and apologizing for it right now, hoping not to have to face her full wrath, but the council didn't know her, so they just stared at her.)
„If something like this ever happens again, I'll tell the president about the New York thing. Oh yes, I know he doesn't know the full story. And the Brits won't be happy when I tell them about the fiasco you caused in Cornwall." She smiled sweetly (As Tony could tell, her most dangerous smile).
„This was a threat. I think you see the difference." She said into their shocked faces. None of them said anything.
„Make sure it doesn't happen again." She said before disconnecting the call.
„Impressive." Nick Fury said on the other screen.
„Somebody had to tell them." She shrugged.
„I took care of McKennan. He isn't going to work in any governmental institution anymore."
„Good." Pepper just said.
„Are you sure you don't want to work for SHIELD? How you handled the situation in Mumbai... You could be a great handler." Fury asked.
„I already am the inofficial handler of the Avengers. And I rather not have to answer to this idiots from the council. So, thank you, but no thank you."
Fury smiled. The respect he had for the redheaded woman was evident in his eyes.
AN: As you probably all realized by now, I'm a huge Pepper fan. So sue me, but I like it. Tell me what you think!