Prompts: Fracture/Dislocation/"Are you here to break me out?"
Clint and the team
I tried not to break him too much in this chapter!
"Giant frogs? Really?" Clint muttered into the comms as he shot arrows at the creatures hopping down the street.
"What, Barton? You got a thing against amphibians?" Tony said as he flew over, shooting projectiles to knock the creatures down.
"I do when they're interrupting my pizza time."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but these are toads, not frogs. You can tell by the dry, rough, bumpy skin and the fact they're not anywhere near water."
"Thanks for the science lesson, Barnes."
"Anytime, Barton." Bucky shot one of the massive toads that headed toward him, causing the creature's internals to spray everywhere, which gave the surroundings a sickly green look.
"Great, now the neighborhood looks like one of Tony's hideous smoothies," Sam complained as he flew overhead toward another street.
"Hey, one less hopping thing you have to worry about. You're welcome," Bucky snarked back.
The team was seemingly winning the battle against the latest AIM creation. Why all their scientists wanted to create super-sized animals was unknown to anyone, so when the latest ones would appear (the last having been unruly hyenas – not as much as people would think), the team would suit up and head out. Clint and Natasha agreed these escapades weren't SHIELD-level missions, but they were always suitable for diversions. Steve looked down toward the end of the block and noticed buildings crashing to the ground. "Guys, be on the lookout. We've got buildings falling. Can anyone get to Hawkeye?"
"I'm fine, Cap," Clint snapped back. "I can see them from here. If they come close, I've got time to move to another building." As soon as Clint finished speaking, one of the toads flicked its tongue, striking the building he was camped out on, causing it to cave in on itself slowly.
"Clint!" Several voices called out over the comms. All they heard in response was a scream, then an eerie silence.
The team quickly took care of the remaining toads and left the wrangling of the AIM agents to the police. "Tony! Sam! Get your asses over there and report what you find. Bucky, Nat, and I will see what we can find on the ground." The team knew it had to be bad if Steve was foregoing the cleanup and debriefing to search for one of their own. Each of them kicked their energy up another level and hurried toward the building where Clint had last been seen. The group on the ground couldn't get very close. The building falling had caused dust from the rubble site to rise into the air. The air support didn't fare much better, as all they could see was the dust.
Since Tony's mask covered his face, he was able to fly in for a closer look. "I found the cave-in, going in to see what I can find." Tony disappeared into the bowels of the building. Everyone was on edge, waiting to hear what Tony would find. "Found him, but I'm gonna need some muscle." Steve and Bucky started to climb the rubble, but Tony stopped them. "Don't think it's stable enough to get in the usual way. "Wilson, fly them to me one at a time. The hole should be big enough for two people to get through."
"Stark, I am available. I am sorry I missed the battle." Thor appeared on the scene and picked up Bucky. Sam followed closely behind, carrying Steve.
"Never been so glad to see you, Thor."
"As am I, you," Thor replied as he dropped down the hole in the building. "I am just sorry I could not get here sooner. There was some trouble on Asgard, but it has been handled, and now I am here and ready to assist where needed."
While Thor was talking, Sam flew in, bringing Steve. "I've got a heat signature down there." Tony pointed to an area covered with rubble. "We need to remove the debris gently so it doesn't shift and fall any further." The trio began moving and shifting the pieces of rubble as Tony used his repulsors to slice through rebar and stone when he could to make the building materials easier to move. After several minutes, Tony could see Clint's bow and quiver. "Got eyes on Barton." The men picked up speed and got the debris off their archer without more falling on him. "Barnes, gonna need you to get to him. I can't get there without taking off the suit."
"On it." Bucky handed Steve the rebar he'd just picked up, crawled over to Tony, and lowered himself into the small area next to Clint. "Got a light to shine down here?" Tony aimed the light from his suit at Bucky and Clint. Bucky waved, then began a cursory examination. One of Clint's legs was turned in a direction not possible unless he was made of rubber; the other one wasn't much better. "Looks like a fractured leg and a dislocated knee on the other leg. He's breathing normally, so I don't think there's any internal damage. Has some blood running down his head, probably a concussion."
"I've got an ambulance standing by," Natasha said.
Miraculously, none of the debris smashed into Clint, so it was an easy chore for Bucky to pick Clint up and hand him to Tony, who flew him up and over to the waiting ambulance. Thor and Sam stayed to make sure Steve and Bucky could get out okay. Since they didn't have to worry about debris shifting, they quickly climbed out and returned to the ground. Natasha had ridden with Clint in the ambulance, so the rest of the team was left to make their own way.
Several hours later, the team was in the waiting room after the doctor gave his report. The doctor confirmed what Bucky had said. Surgery was needed to put pins in Clint's leg, and they also had to reattach Clint's kneecap on his other leg. "He'll be asleep for the next few hours but should recover fully."
"Not like he hasn't had any of those injuries before," Natasha said under her breath. "Clint won't like that he'll be grounded, but at least this time, it's not because he decided to jump off a building."
"Yeah, not like he could help some weird toad knocking over the building he was on," Bucky added.
About an hour later, Clint woke up with the team standing around him. "Hey." His voice sounded like he'd swallowed glass. "Are you here to break me out?"