Summary: After suffering a crippling and devastating betrayal from someone he trusted, Clint struggles with his demons as he goes on a quest for vengeance. Grace Melnychenko Drăgoi struggles to cope, after a traumatic ordeal that collides her with a vengeful archer. Co – Written with snowqueen79. Clint/OC, Bucky/OC, Steve/Natasha, and other pairings. Rated M for violence, upsetting scenes and eventual smut.

Downfall Of Us All

Chapter 29


"I need you to come for me," Clint whispered, nearing his end but refusing to get there before she did. Lowering his hand between them, he teased her clit, soft touches that had her clamping around him, her breath coming faster.

"Clint," Grace gasped. "I'm… going to…"

Grace's sharp cries rang out in the quiet of the safe house and Clint held on as she became a silken vice around him. Holding onto him as if she'd die if she didn't, he worked Grace through her climax until her breathing started to gentle. Just a few sharp thrusts and he was right there with her, growling out his release, buried in all that soft warmth and beauty. He loved the feeling of her heart pounding against his.

Rolling to her side, Clint pulled her in to be his little spoon, burying his face in her hair while they both struggled to breathe.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked breathlessly, his breathing heavy and his body slick with sweat from their love making.

Grace hummed happily in his arms. "That was wonderful," Grace whispered. "It… it didn't hurt."

"Not supposed to hurt," Clint explained. "Supposed to be beautiful, to feel good. Especially with someone you love. I love you, Grace."

Grace smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her. "I love you, Clint."

"Want to sleep for a few hours?" He asked. "I'll stay awake. I'm hoping they will be here soon."

Grace smile up at him. "Wake me up."

Brushing a kiss to her forehead, Clint agreed to.


"You're sure they are okay?"

"Steve, they are fine," Nat told him on the jet. "Clint just texted me. They made it to the alternate safe house just fine. They are going to get a little sleep. No reason to think that their location has been compromised in any way."

Sophie was as nervous as Steve was. "They're okay?"

Nat's eyes were kind on her. "They are fine, Sophie. We'll get there."

Bucky's arm around her tightened and he pressed a kiss to her temple. "It's going to be okay, doll."

Sophie wasn't so sure. She'd never laid eyes on Rumlow until that day and a man with colder eyes she'd never met. That man had captured her sister, raped and tortured her for weeks. That man had been the father of her beloved lost nephew. Sophie swore to herself on the souls of her parents that if Grace didn't end the bastard then she would. She would make him pay for every minute he'd hurt Grace.

Steve studied the screen before him hard. He knew where Clint and Grace were, knew where Rumlow and Laura were. He wanted more than anything to catch Ross. Ross was in all of it, he felt it in his heart. Steve wanted nothing more than to bring it to light, expose him for the fraud he was, and to protect his team and others like them from any more of his cruelties.

He was going to bring down Ross, even if it took him months to expose the man. He'd caused so much pain, and just to control super powered individuals? It sickened Steve that a man like Ross had become Home Secretary.


It was dark outside when Grace left to go into the bathroom, she quickly left after using the bathroom, and curled under the quilt beside Clint. His expression was one of peace, and he had his arms wrapped around her. She smiled softly and curled into him as he held her close against him, when his phone rang. He answered it quickly, and a look of relief was on his face.

"Steve and the others will be here soon, but we better suit up in case Rumlow and Laura show up." Clint explained quietly, Grace nodded and after showering got suited up. Both stood close to each other, on the lookout for any sign of Laura or Rumlow, when Grace thanks to her sense of hearing the sound of a gun clicking.

"Get down, Clint!" Grace said quickly and threw herself over him as gunshots shattered the living room windows. Clint pulled out his bow and fired at the mercenaries that Rumlow had with him and Laura.

Grace incorporated her powers with her moves, taking down the mercenaries alongside Clint, she used her spider webbing to pin two mercenaries to the wall. Clint covered her, using his bow on the last of the mercenaries until they were all taken care of. He was still ready for a fight, and sure enough Rumlow arrived with Laura.

"Barton, you've got my girl on your side. I'm gonna need her to come with me, and Laura." Rumlow said menacingly, pulling out his taser batons that lit up dark red.

"Not a chance, asshole. She's not your property, or HYDRA's," Clint growled dangerously, glaring at the man who had hurt his girl, who'd caused her so much pain. And Laura was standing next to him, the woman who had betrayed him.


Before Grace knew what was happening, they were fighting Laura and Rumlow, she went up against Rumlow while Clint dealt with Laura. She felt her hands glow with her venom blasts, as she glared at Rumlow.

"So, you're with Barton? I gotta say, I didn't think married men were your type." Rumlow taunted cruelly, she avoided his punch and kicked him in the left knee.

She ignored his taunts, knowing he was trying to get under her skin and blasted him across the ground. She stalked towards him with a glare, and her blue eyes flashed dark red dangerously.

"You tortured me, beat me and then you raped me. You nearly destroyed my life, but in a sick twisted way, you gave me Zach. But you've destroyed so many lives and killed innocent people." Grace said finally, glaring at the man who had destroyed her life.

Rumlow laughed, a cold bitter laugh that was cut short when Grace slammed her knife into his chest. She thought of how he'd hurt her, when he held her prisoner in Sokovia.

Rumlow started choking on his blood, and she glared at him before cocooning him in webbing. Rumlow snarled and tried to break free, but to no avail.

"You bitch!" He snarled enraged and tried to break free, but the webbing started strangling him to death. Grace looked at him and shot him in the head. The man who had made her and other women suffer, was dead and Grace was relieved. She then left Rumlow's dead body on the ground and went to help Clint.


Clint could feel sweat bead down his back, as he glared at Laura who held two knives in her hands. When she heard Rumlow yell in pain, she whirled around.

"Brock, no!" She screamed agonised, and a look of hatred cane across her face, as she saw Grace and charged at her. Clint tackled her, and kicked her away from Grace, and Laura snarled as she glared at him.

"You bitch!"

"Call me all the names you like, Clint," Laura taunted him, holding her side and rising slowly to glare at him. "You were the one too stupid to see what was going on before your very eyes. You made it so easy for me all those years."

Clint came at her, aiming for one of her knees. Laura dodged him, barely. "All those years of lies, Laura. And what did it get you? Look where you are."

Clint swung at her, she dodged. He caught her with a backhand and sent her stumbling backwards. "Your evil lover is dead," Clint growled. "You failed."

Laura swiped the blood off her lip as she straightened, chuckling under her breath. "You used to know how to treat a woman, Clint."

"Still do," Clint told her, advancing again. "You don't count. You're not a woman, or a wife, or a mother."

Laura laughed out loud. "Still blathering about those two little brats? You were barely home anyway. Don't project your misguided guilt on me, Clint."

He didn't see the knife she pulled from her sleeve, using it to swipe across Clint's ribcage and he winced at the cut.

"You never loved them, did you?" Clint bit out bitterly. "Not for one moment of their goddamn lives."

Laura's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I did? Because they are still dead, Clint. And better off that way. The first pregnancy was a mistake. The second I did on orders to get a very specific mission done."

"And they meant nothing? Say it," Clint wanted to hear her say it.

"I never wanted children," she told him. "Never did."

Tears filled Clint's eyes as he stared her down. "That's not an answer, Laura."

"They meant nothing to her," Grace muttered behind them. "No life but her own ever mattered to her."

Laura moved back, trying to navigate so that she had both Clint and Grace in her sights.

"You helped him violate other women," Grace spat at her. "You helped him experiment on innocent children. What sort of monster does that?"

Laura's grin widened. "Monster? Look at yourself and tell me who the monster is. Just because you're fucking an Avenger doesn't make you one. Want to know what the funny thing is? They were trying to breed more of you. More monsters. And all to have a chance one day to outmatch Clint and his pathetic band of buddies."

Grace shook her head at Laura, trying to keep the woman's attention on her. "How could you help them do those things to other women?"

"I was rewarded well," Laura told her.

"I hope so," Grace told her. "You talk about all of this like it's a sick, stupid game to you. It was my life. I was born into it, but I had parents who loved me, loved my sister. Something you don't even understand. And your Brock forced a child on me, but I loved my son. You may have taken him away, but you'll never destroy how I feel about him, what he meant to me."

Clint was measuring his step carefully while Laura's attention stayed on the other woman.

"How did it feel, Laura?" Grace took another step in her direction and Grace's gaze stayed locked on her. "The man you loved and all he wanted was me."

The hate in Laura's eyes swelled. "Bullshit!"

Clint moved closer.

"No? Pepper and Darcy both told us that I was all he talked about. All he wanted. That must have hurt, huh? Do you think if he'd gotten me back, he'd still want you? It's really too bad we can't ask him, isn't it? Because he's dead. And he'll never hurt anyone else like he hurt me and those women again. Do you understand?"

"I fucking hate you!" Laura screamed enraged.

"Were you with him when he wrote my name on the wall with Lilia's blood?"

Laura's weight shifted as she prepared to strike. She wasn't watching Clint.


Clint was ready to strike.

He pounced on her and used his bow to fire an arrow at her, the arrow piercing Laura in the throat. She staggered backwards, trying in vain to pull the arrow but her movements were slow. Clint watched as Laura collapsed onto the snow-covered ground, and went limp as a pool of blood circled her body. Clint could feel his rib cage ache, and he put an arm around Grace, as she went to get the memory stick from Rumlow's left cargo pant pocket.

Grace leaned against him heavily, realising that Rumlow was dead and he couldn't hurt her or anyone else no longer. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, Rumlow was dead.

"Now, we just need to wait for the others and I'll let Coulson know that Laura and Rumlow have been dealt with. You alright?" Clint asked quietly, Grace nodded reassuringly, and they went back into the farmhouse to wait for the others.


Sophie almost sobbed in relief, when Natasha informed the team that Clint and Grace had taken out Rumlow, and Laura in the fight. It had been bloody, but they weren't hurt.

She was just happy that her little sister was safe, and that Clint wasn't badly hurt, according to Natasha who had spoken to him, as they began landing the quinjet.

Once they landed on the ground and the door was opened, Sophie hurried out to see Grace waiting for them. She wrapped her arms around her little sister tightly and looked at Clint who was beside her.

"Thank you, Clint." She said thickly, Clint nodded and hugged her tightly, as Bucky joined the embrace with the others. Clint and Grace were safe.


Once Tony and Lilia were informed by Steve that Clint and Grace were alright, Tony focused on locating and arresting Thaddeus Ross who had gone underground. Then there was the headache with the Sokovian Accords Committee, they wanted to speak to them, especially Grace. The head of the committee, Kara Nguyet had informed Tony that the UN wished to speak with them on Friday at the UN embassy in Belgium.

They wanted Lilia there as well.

"Do you think they want me there because of what happened to my mother, Tony?" Lilia asked quietly, she felt nervous about this meeting and uneasy.

"Most likely Lilia, don't worry. We won't let them do a smear campaign, your parents were good people." Tony reassured comfortingly and felt his stomach drop.

He didn't doubt that Ross would take advantage of what was going on, he'd caused this whole mess. Ross had instigated the civil war, and he felt angry.

He'd used him like a puppet.

"Mr Stark, Miss Potts is asking to speak to with you and Miss Dumitrescu." Jarvis said gently, Tony sighed and let her in as he checked on Howard.

His son was fast asleep, looking at peace.

"You don't have to go, Lilia," Tony explained to her. After everything his girl had been through, taken captive and beaten, forced to watch her father beaten to death before her eyes, the last thing he wanted was Pepper taking her down another notch with her spite.

He wasn't entirely surprised when Lilia's small chin tipped up. "I'm not afraid of her. I'll go. I'll be fine, Tony."

Tony smiled at her gently. His Lilia was as brave as she was beautiful. He knew he'd be taken to task for hooking up with a younger woman, but he just knew in his heart that if he'd met her before Pepper, he would still be right here. Taking her slender hand in his, Tony glanced down into her beautiful eyes.

"Let's get this over with," he told her with a smirk.

"Lilia nodded her agreement. "Yes, so we can get back to Howard."

"You know," Tony began, for once struggling a little with what he wanted to say, "taking care of Howard isn't within your job parameters."

Lilia glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. "I know," she said quietly. "I help take care of him because I fell in love with him. He's this beautiful little baby who already has a mother who doesn't want him, wanted to get rid of him."

"Yeah, his father's not so hot either," Tony threw in there.

"Stop," she told him. "His father is a wonderful man. I'm pretty crazy about him too."

Tony stopped them in the hallway of the compound. "Usually this is the part where I say some narcissistic thing about you being right and continuing on as if you're lucky to be here with me. The truth is, Lilia, it's me who is lucky to be here with you. I'm so happy you came into our lives. I just wanted to make sure you knew that."

When Lilia's eyes began to shine, Tony leaned down to claim her lips in a kiss that was unfamiliar to him. It wasn't the kiss of a billionaire playboy genius philanthropist slapped on the lips of the next runway model piece of ass to come in his revolving doors. It was the kiss a man gave woman he loved, a woman he needed. Her lips were warm like the spring sun, as sweet as fresh honey.

Tony pulled back and Lilia's eyes were wide on him.

"I'm trying… really hard not to read too much into this," Lilia's voice was low. "I am. But you send me mixed signals and…"

"No mixed signals," Tony told her, still holding her hand. "Howard and I both need you so much. I'm going to try to do something new, Lilia. Something I've never done in any relationship. I'm going to try and be the man you deserve. And you deserve quite a lot."

A tear escaped down her cheek. "You mean it. "It wasn't a question. "You really feel that way about me?"

Tony could only nod, only hope she could see the love he felt for her shining through his eyes.

Lilia swallowed hard. "Tony, I've been in love with you most of this time and I… don't know if I'd survive it if you were playing me, you know? And –"

The second kiss not only stopped the words he didn't want to hear, didn't want her to believe, but it set her heart to hammering as he pulled her closer.

"Just give me a chance to prove to you that I love you, Lilia," Tony begged. "Please."

"Of course, I'll give you a chance, Tony but I don't want you getting hurt because of HYDRA. I don't know if I could handle you being hurt, just because HYDRA was trying to hurt me." Lilia said thickly, feeling happy since coming back.

Tony loved her, he loved her for who she was, and she loved this sweet, gentle yet sarcastic and compassionate man. He smiled at her and took her hand.

She smiled at him, and they reached the living room of the compound, where Pepper was sitting on one of the black velvet sofas.

Lilia prepared herself emotionally and mentally, she knew Pepper didn't like her and felt that she'd been having an affair with Tony based on no evidence. She prepared herself, and Pepper stood up with a bitter expression.

"Tony, what the hell are you doing?! You're financing a cake shop, and making Stark Industries look like a laughing stock. I'm not lying to the Sokovian Accords Committee just because you're friends with the freak who is the reason I had freaks!" Pepper shouted enraged, lashing out at Tony.

"Grace didn't deserve anything that HYDRA did to her, Pepper. She tried to tell the police what Rumlow had done to her, but they didn't wanna hear about it. Don't you dare, judge her." Tony warned quietly, grateful that Lilia was next to him.

"She's a murderer Tony! Grace murdered four highly respected US government officials who were trying to keep us safe, she's a vigilante. Just like Clint is, and he's a disgrace," Pepper said bitterly, resent in her tone.

"They tortured and murdered innocent children, Pepper. One of them was her son, and Sophie's nephew and I don't blame Grace for going after them, neither does the UN or the USA Congress. No one blames Grace, and she was provoked." Tony snapped frustrated with Pepper, surely, she understood as a mother that Grace had snapped.

Then again, she'd tried to kill Howard before he was born.

Pepper glared at them both, and stalked out of the compound, and they heard a car driving away.

"Come on, let's go check on Howard." Lilia said gently, Tony nodded and followed after her, blood still burning as he thought of Pepper and her hurtful words.

Damn her.


The team flew to the UN International building quietly, Grace knew she had to answer questions, but didn't enjoy the thought of her ordeal with Rumlow being dragged up again. T'Challa and Rhodey greeted them, and Grace held Clint's hand tightly while Sophie stood beside her, and they were guided into the main room.

She saw every ambassador sitting in the room, and took in a few deep breaths as they sat down in front of the tribunal. She knew this wasn't the time for her to be angry. Clint squeezed her right hand, and she held it tightly. She didn't deserve this man, but she loved him so much. He'd been there for her, with Sophie and Bucky, and the team.

"Avengers, we are here to discuss the amendments to the Sokovian Accords, and the deaths of Zach Melynchenko Drăgoi, and six other children. Mr Stark, can you please tell us what you discovered and how this came about?" The Ambassador for Great Britain asked calmly, Tony nodded.

"As you saw in the files we submitted, the experiments conducted by HYDRA to breed children with supernatural abilities has continued on until very recently," Tony began, "until we put a stop to it."

Pointing to Secretary Ross, Tony grinned. "After the Sokovian Accords tore the Avengers Initiative apart, many enhanced individuals were approached and if they didn't comply with the accords, they were arrested. If they did comply, they were offered rather limited options."

"Is that how Grace and Sophie Melynchenko Drăgoi came to be part of your team?" The German ambassador asked calmly.

Tony nodded. "They weren't really given a choice."

Murmurs filled the room and Tony gave them a moment to talk amongst themselves. He did know how to work a room after all.

"Yes, Ross added the Melnychenko Drăgoi sisters to our team. Their abilities are similar to those of Peter Parker and that's all documented in the files. We found intel among their parents' the experimentation that led to their existences. They were injected with spider DNA in utero. They were the only two children they bred on their mother in the program to survive. Their father was part of their Winter Soldier program and fell in love with their mother. They managed to escape HYDRA's clutches and live pretty happy, obscure lives. Their family owned a bakery and they made cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other special occasions. Hardly the business of hardcore criminals."

Spotting Pepper looking flabbergasted in her seat next to Ross, Tony winked at her, remembering her spiteful words about the bakery.

"Still, isn't it interesting that Ross had us go in, take over their lives," Tony's gaze met Grace's. "All of a sudden, they were told where to live, forced to go on dangerous missions. They weren't like most of us in the Avengers. Most of us are here by choice. They had no choice. And I'm confused about that because I thought we were supposed to be a democracy."

"And it's interesting because while HYDRA lost them, both sides were aware of the girls and both sides tracked their whereabouts. That makes it curious that Ross added them to our team, doesn't it?"

Ross scowled at him, but Tony had the floor, so he was silent. For the moment.

"The specific topic, Stark, was regarding Zach Melynchenko Drăgoi," the French Ambassador spoke up. "What has any of this to do with him?"

"Oh, I'm getting there," Tony told the man. "Just need to mention a couple more things before we talk about those atrocities."

"When the Sokovian Accords were approved, Ross had a team of former SHEILD specialists arrest Enhanced, Mutant, Inhuman and Gifted children. An eye witness saw Bobbi Morse, Tomas Calderon and Anton Ivanov storming into the bakery, when they were celebrating Zach winning a sports day medal." Tony informed the ambassadors, and a few of them looked horrified.

"Mr Stark, are you telling us that the Sokovian Accords SWAT team dragged a six-year-old boy from his mother, and aunt?" The Israeli ambassador asked angered, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yes, ambassador Danilowciz. Home Secretary Thaddeus Ross and Robert Gonzales ordered and sanctioned the abduction of Zach Melynchenko Drăgoi, after they discovered he was the only surviving child of the Project Genesis Program," Tony confirmed gravely, and the room began whispering.

The Sokovian ambassador stood up and his expression was grave but he looked determined, and Tony was intrigued by what he had to say.

"If I may, Mr Stark. Could we speak to Grace Melnychenko Drăgoi?" The ambassador requested calmly, and Tony nodded as he looked at Grace who walked up to the panel calmly.

He knew Grace could do this, she was tougher than she looked.


AN: Enjoy and review. We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas :)