Warning, this one's a little heavy and mentions death of innocent people. If you're sensitive, feel free to skip this chapter.


Thor

The fourth time it was their first big battle together after New York, a big enough threat that even Thor had specifically returned from Asgard to help defend the Earth.

There were a few moments when it was uncertain if they would win, much less make it out alive, but when the smoke had cleared they were all there, injured but able to heal.

The city they were in was now in ruins. Cars, rubble, glass, bodies and much more littered the streets. The battle was over and until their transport arrived the Avengers were doing what they could. Hawkeye, Black Widow and Iron Man were searching the city for any enemies that had been missed while Captain America, Thor and a de-hulked Dr Banner were helping the survivors and clearing the streets so emergency vehicles could get through.

Natasha was walking away from a caved in building when lightning struck not a metre away from her. She rolled with the shockwave and came up standing, facing the furious demi-god on the other side of the street. He roared and she was forced to leap out of the way of another bolt.

"Thor, what are you doing?!" she shouted, dodging a third strike while simultaneously pulling her gun and aiming it at her team member.

"What am I doing?" he thundered. "What are you?!" Natasha ducked as a bolt cracked through the air right where her head had been.

"I am your team member," she shouted, tense and balancing on the balls of her feet, waiting for the next strike. She didn't want to shoot Thor until she had to and had little chance of incapacitating him without being electrocuted. She was fast, but not faster than lightning.

"Thor, buddy, what are you shooting at down there?" came Stark's voice over the comms.

"Me," she gasped out as she performed yet another dive roll and came up in front of a car which had been crashed into a streetlight.

Thor shouting "Traitor!" drowned out the other's responses. The next lightning bolt was the strongest yet and the force of it threw her back onto the roof of the car. A quick backwards tumble prevented her being smashed by Mjolnir but she hit the ground on the other side of the car hard.

With a growl Thor threw the car, dinted beyond recognition from his hammer, out of the way and kept advancing towards the spy until she was cornered against a building. She raised her gun with determination. The crack of a gunshot and the clash of Mjolnir sounded simultaneously as Thor swung the hammer into her gun. The bullet went wide, the gun flying after it, leaving Natasha unarmed and with a broken finger. She prepared herself to tackle a god of lightning.

"Stop," ordered Rogers, running up to the pair.

Thor ignored him and raised Mjolnir.

"If you move one more inch, I will shoot you through the eye," came Barton's quiet voice. He dropped down from the roof of the building behind Natasha, arrow nocked, string drawn and bow aimed, taking up position next to his partner.

"Well this is fun," commented Stark, landing opposite Rogers, forming a rough circle.

"What is going on?" Rogers demanded.

"The Black Widow has done an unspeakable thing and must be punished," Thor answered, never taking his eyes off of Natasha.

"You're going to have to speak about it if you want to ah, punish Agent Romanoff without an arrow in your eye," Stark pointed out.

"I wouldn't count on it," was Barton's only reply.

"Enough," Rogers shouted. "Thor, Barton, stand down."

"I cannot do that," Thor said.

"Sorry, Cap, me neither."

"It's okay, Clint," Natasha said quietly.

"Nat?"

"Tokyo."

Barton lowered his weapon, but left the arrow nocked. Natasha stepped forward, no longer tensed for action, until she was in range of Mjolnir.

"Why, Agent Romanoff? Why did you do such a thing?" Thor asked quietly, lowering his weapon upon seeing her submit.

"What exactly did she do?" interrupted Stark.

"Thor saw me killing someone – a child."

Stark and Rogers stared at her with shock and disbelief.

"I've heard you've had a hard life, Romanoff, but what the hell?" Stark said.

"It was a mercy killing, Thor," she explained, meeting his eyes, "I ended his pain and made sure he wasn't alone."

"You should have taken him to a healer, not… You killed him in cold blood! You are a monster!"

Natasha didn't flinch, at least not physically. "He could not be saved by any healer on Earth."

"She did the child a kindness, Thor," Banner said, slowly walking up to the group, his borrowed clothing stained with the blood of the survivors he had been tending.

"That is a kindness? How can it be?"

"It is the greatest kindness one person can do for another; being there for someone so they do not have to die alone," Rogers said softly.

"What I saw was not a kindness," Thor insisted.

"His name was Luke," Natasha said, "he was eight years old. I held his hand when he said he was in pain. He said his mother took him into the city for a day out, but he lost her in the crowd when the attack began. So I told him she that she would be there soon. I told him everything would be okay and to just close his eyes and his mother would be there when he opened them. Then I broke his neck."

The fight went out of Thor. "There was no way the child could be saved?" he asked meekly.

"I know death."

Thor looked long and hard at the Black Widow. "I acted with haste. I am sorry, Agent Romanoff."

"I'm sorry, too."

She walked away from the rest of the team, back to her search of the city.