"Hulk! I could use a hand!" He shouts hoping that Hulk hears him. Clint had just been ambushed and despite his pride, he admitted that he needed help. Hulk growled before bounding over and smashing multiple enemies into a wall at once. He repeats it until they are all gone.
"Thanks big guy." Clint pants out. He leans on his knees and breathes heavily, hoping to catch his breath before barging back into fighting. Hulk growls under his breath. "Arrow man?"
Clint looks up at him in surprise. His laughter breaks the silence. "Haha yesss. Guys, Hulk gave me a name. I'm Arrow Man now." He starts laughing as he hears Steve chuckle across the comm.
Hulk picks Clint up by his wrist and Clint gasps. He feels his shoulder pop out. He has no time to react when he is thrown over Hulk's shoulder to stand on. He feels a rib crack and wheezes out a shaky breath. "Hulk stop." He whispers out.
"Arrow man need help?" Hulk questions him. "Yeah buddy, can you put me down?" Clint responds quickly. He wraps his bad arm around his waist.
"No. Hulk and Arrow Man fight. Together." He says. Clint winces but stands up on Hulk's back. "No, look Hulk. The battle is almost over. We should go back to Steve." Clint manages to groan out as his arm is jostled.
Hulk grumbles and then tells Clint "Stay on." Before jumping off the building and landing surprisingly softly on the pavement a couple stories below. Clint shouts in pain at the sudden stop because he is slammed against Hulk's back. There are more cracks from his torso and he feels his ankle pop before a burst of pain flows through his leg.
Hulk leans to the ground like a horse letting his rider off. Clint practically falls to the ground and limps slowly to Natasha. His left foot drags behind him before Natasha throws his good arm around her shoulder and takes his weight.
"You okay?" She questions.
He nods. "Shoulder, Ribs. Ankle." He grounds out. "It's okay though." Hulk must see Clint in pain because he roars. Clint barely conceals a flinch, he hopes Steve can get here soon.
Natasha shields Clint when Hulk takes a step forward. "Hulk , calm down. The sun's gettin' real low."
Hulk seems to sway in place, but before he falls to the ground his hand shoots out and grabs Clint from behind Natasha.
"No!" Natasha shouts. Hulk wobbles away with Clint in his painful grasp. He only makes it a couple steps before falling to the ground, Clint falling out of his grip in the process, and Hulk begins to get paler and smaller until what's left is an unconscious Bruce.
Natasha runs over to where she sees Clint wheezing on the cement. "Steve! Tony! Thor! Get your asses here now. Clint's down and Bruce is out."
Natasha sits criss cross on the ground with Clint's head in her lap. His wheezing has become labored and Clint started coughing. Blood rolled out of his mouth. He gasps in another breath. "…tash-" he pants out.
"Shh, shh. It's okay Clint, you'll be okay." Natasha mumbles. She's trained for this medically. She doesn't have the tools though. She left them with Bruce before battle so he could inspect them and make sure they are up to date within medical rules.
"Clint, stay awake. Do you still have the med pack that Phil gave you?" Clint nods before wincing. "Quiv-… he lets out a gasp of pain. "-er."
Natasha unstraps the buckle across Clint's chest, making it easier for Clint to breath and more comfortable laying down. Natasha uncaps the bottom of the quiver revealing a secret compartment with a box of medical tools inside.
"Thank god." She breathes out. Grasping the box firmly and opening it up. She pulls out a thin, clear, plastic tube and her pocket knife.
"Okay Clint, this may not be very sanitary but it'll get the job done." He nods shakily but gags and chokes on a blob of blood that gets lodged in his throat. Natasha rolls his head to the side in order to free it, the blood rolls out of his mouth and down his cheek. Dripping onto the floor below. He relaxes marginally.
"Ready?" She asks, more for herself. Clint tenses in advance but forcibly relaxes in order to make the process easier for Natasha.
Natasha cuts a whole in his vest before sliding the knife deep into his rib cage. Right between two ribs. They move out of the way with ease that suggests they were broken. Natasha winces as blood begins to pool by her knees and Clint grunts in pain. His legs scramble beside her, kicking rocks and pebbles away. He expertly keeps his upper body still.
At one point his breathing stops, but only for a little bit until Natasha pulls the knife out and shoves the tube in. He gasps in oxygen and blood and air spurts out of the tube. This clear yellowish liquid came out with it and splattered on the floor, only adding to the pile.
Clint is gasping on air and his hand finds Natasha. He's gripping it with enough force that she's wincing in pain. "I'm sorry Clint, it's okay though. Medical is probably already on their way here."
Clint nods, still trying to recover from the pain.
"Jesus." They hear a whisper from behind them. Clint doesn't have the energy to look but Natasha swivels around to face Steve and Tony. Both have looks of horror.
"I did what was needed. Where's Thor?" She says quickly.
"Thor's on his way. I'll call medical evac, Tony, you take care of Bruce." Steve orders.
A short half hour later, Clint is pale and sweaty while Natasha is literally biting her fingernails in anxiety for her friend. He needs to get to the hospital, the gaping whole in his side is probably infected.
He hears the truck pull up and medics run out, with an oxygen tank and a gurney. Clint grasps Natasha's ankle from where he's laying on the floor. He smiles bloodily. "See ya on…the other… s-side." He manages to say. Natasha smiles. "I'll be here when you wake up."
Clint's lifted carefully and placed on the bed before being wheeled into the ambulance. His legs and arms get strapped down and two iv's get placed in his arm. With the drugs comes confusion, and with the confusion comes panic. Clint realizes he's being tied down and starts fighting.
Natasha runs over and places her hands on his face. Looking into his glazed over eyes. "Clint, it's okay. Just fall asleep. Don't fight it." Clint flinches when an oxygen mask is placed over his face, the plastic pushing Natasha's hands off. His eyes start to close. Before not opening back up, the gurney is pulled away from Natasha and she is pushed out of the way.
She sighs before heading back to the team.
"How is he?" Steve asks. He stood there anxiously while watching his teammate be pulled away.
Natasha sighs again. "They'll probably hook him up to the ventilator cause they need his lung to heal. I mean, I did just stab another hole into him." She chuckles lightly before turning somber. "You know he'll make it out of this, he always does. Besides, it wasn't even that bad." Steve nods. Together they walk towards where Thor came over and where Tony was helping Bruce up.
…
Clint wakes up into a world of pain. There is a thing lodged in his throat that wants to make him cough but he can't. His heart rate picks up and he feels hands on him. "Clint?" It's Natasha. He manages to calm down a little bit. He tries to talk but can't. His eyes fly open and he sees why.
He crosses his eyes to get a better view but it only adds to his pounding headache. It's enough to see the tube sticking out of his mouth. A squeak manages to escape him.
A doctor runs in with some nurses following. "Mr. Barton? We're going to remove the ventilator now. When we tell you to, can you please cough? Then we'll slide out the tube." Clint nods shakily but can't help the flinch when a nurse takes hold of his head.
"Okay ready?" The doctor gets a grip on the tube. "Now."
Clint wheezes a cough and he feels his chest muscles spasming. There is a rough scraping in his throat and it releases tears in his eyes. They drip down his cheeks.
The tube is almost all the way out and when it comes out of his throat, Clint is left in a coughing fit that leaves his lungs seizing.
He slowly becomes aware of what's around him. He tries to speak up to Natasha but can't because his throat grates painfully. He winces but is happy to feel relief when an ice chip is placed to his lips.
Clint realizes that he's laying on his back on a bed. He glances around the room and lazily makes eye contact with everyone.
"How are you feeling?" Steve asks. "You fainted for a little bit after they removed the tube." He says solemnly.
"I-" Clint coughs. "...didn' faint Steve." Clearly Clint is on some good drugs. "I passed out. May-maybe blacked out...def-defin-" Clint stumbles on the word. "def'n'tly didn' faint."
Steve lets out a soft chuckle, at that moment Bruce walks in. He blinks in surprise then walks out guiltily. "Bruce wait!" Clint called out for him. "It's not your fault!" Bruce hears this, of course he does, but the hoarse and practically dead voice that sounds like it's killing Clint to talk makes him feel worse. Bruce pretends not to hear it and continues on his way. Away from Clint, the guilt is too much.
…
Clint had been released from the hospital the day after he woke up. They would've kept him in for his recovery but Clint demanded to get out and he pulled a prank on every doctor and nurse that said no. One young nurse ran out screaming because Clint "died" the room was silent except for the long monotone beep of Clint's heart stopping. Clint started laughing mid-way through so he couldn't pull it off fully.
…
Time Skip: 3 ½ weeks
…
Clint hobbled around on his crutches. His lung was just about healed and his shoulder had healed about a week ago.
He was getting his purple cast off today. Now he was just waiting for Bruce to call him to his office.
"Agent Barton? Bruce is awaiting you." Clint nods and starts to hobble over to the elevator.
"Hey doc." Clint says calmly. Bruce startles and turns around to Clint.
Bruce gestures silently to the cushioned bed and goes to grab the saw. Not even five minutes later, Clint's calf high cast is off and in the garbage can. Clint hops off the bed to test his new leg. It's weak and feeble, but Clint is used to this. "Thanks doc." He gives a goofy grin to Bruce and is happy to see a shy smile back.
"Look man, this wasn't your fault. Trust me, I let him do it." Bruce's eyes flick towards the floor. "I know Clint, I just can't help the guilt anymore."
Clint nods. "S'there anything I can do to help?" Bruce chuckles quietly. "You'll see eventually how I cope whenever I hur- I mean Hulk hurts someone. He likes you, ya know. He tries to protect you a lot."
…
It's a battle again. And just like every time, he needs to get away from his post. Thor's fighting like 20 enemies. Iron man is with him. The only person left is Hulk. Clint breaths out a quick breath.
"Hulk, can you give me a ride?" He asks tentatively. Clint sees the green mass below him and jumps onto his back. Twisting his bad ankle on the landing, Clint all but collapses onto Hulk's back.
"I'm good, I'm good." He reassures himself.
After the battle, Clint is standing next to Bruce. "You okay?" Clint hears the muttered words next to him.
"Yeah I'm good." Clint heads towards Steve when he calls him over. Bruce sees right through the lie. Especially after seeing how Clint limped towards Steve.
At the tower Bruce walks over to Clint. "Can I talk to you in my office?"
Clint nods and limps behind Bruce down the hallway. "Sit." Bruce orders. Clint hops up on the same bed he was on only a week before. Without a second thought Bruce takes hold of Clint's leg and starts to take his shoe off carefully. Clint winces and sucks in a breath.
"Sorry." Bruce says. He still tries to wiggle Clint's boot off of his swollen ankle. "Jeez." Bruce mutters. The skin is stretched out across the swollen ankle, about twice its regular size. It's already mottled with purplish and green spots.
"When did this happen?" Bruce says quietly. Clint rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "I hopped on Hulk's back and when I landed, I must've landed wrong or something." Bruce nods before he leaves and starts opening a whole bunch of drawers and cabinets. "What're you doing?" Clint asks.
"Aha." Bruce pulls a hard ankle brace from a cabinet below a set of drawers, along with some medical self-adhesive wrap. "I'm gonna wrap your ankle, which you're going to keep on and not take off, in order to reduce the swelling."
Bruce sets to the task that makes Clint grip the seat with tense hands. "Sorry…" Bruce apologizes quickly.
After a couple minutes, Clint's ankle is tightly wrapped with the brace keeping it locked. Clint reaches for his boot but Bruce stops him. "It won't fit over your foot." Clint sighs. "Damn."
Clint hops off the bed and lands on his right foot, keeping pressure off his bad one. He winces when he puts pressure on the swollen joint.
"I recommend not putting pressure on it." Bruce says, knowing it won't stop Clint though.
Clint chuckles. After a quick thanks, he limps heavily out the door and to his room. Where he immediately lays on his bed with a groan. "Ow…"
Clint wakes up and forgets that his ankle is hurt. He hops off his bed and practice collapses in surprise when a jolt of pain travels up his leg.
He groans in frustration. His stomach growls at him so he gets up and hobbles to the kitchen. He didn't expect Steve to be there. "Hey Steve."
Steve nods as a wave, sipping out of his coffee.
"What happened to your ankle?" Steve comments.
Clint looks at the brace on his barefoot, the wrap underneath is still there.
"I twisted it pretty badly." Clint says at last.
"Oh. I hope it heals quickly."
Clint laughs. "Don't worry Cap, I'll be good soon."
…
Yet another week later they were called to New Jersey for a fight. Clint doesn't know why anyone else couldn't have handled it
He hears the Hulk nearby and Tony's repulsors going off in the distance.
Clint reaches into his quiver and rips out an arrow, shooting the man behind him with zero hesitation. He smiles as he sees Hulk heading his way.
"Hulk, I need a lift!" He says with a smirk before jumping off of the building.
I actually had this chapter ready yesterday but I didn't have the time to actually publish it, so sorry for the delay. Also, I can't believe that we have one more day left.
Thanks so much for reviewing Katie MacAlpine, jamiehernandez8888, and Nao-Loup!
Katie MacAlpine: Thanks for noticing my mistake. I honestly read over it like 3 times and still missed it, I fixed it now though.