Wow, 52 reviews. You guys rock! Bet none of you can wait for this chapter. ^_^ Well, here you go.

They ended up in a dusty, unused hallway with a door at the end. Clint barely remembered getting there, mostly due to the hard knocks to his head. Though he found it funny, the one group he'd willingly follow for torture is the only group that actually attacked him like he'd run. As they went further down the hall, and closer to the door, the four agents who had grabbed him began to get antsy.

"Jeff, you sure we can do this?" one asked. Clint smirked. Now they were wondering? Not before?

"We'll be fine Chris. Just keep quite," Jeff responded. "Sides, we're only getting a little payback."

"Yeah, not like we'll kill him like he did our friends," someone else added. Clint winced at the harsh tone but knew he deserved it. Hell, he'd be glad if they killed him. It would certainly end the guilt that was going to be slowly killing him.

"Guys, stop saying names!" the fourth one called as he opened the door at the end of the hall. Clint slipped inside without any prodding. The four hesitated now.

"Anyone feel that this may be a trap?" Chris spoke up before they all agreed they were being paranoid. With a vocal negative, the four men entered and found Clint kneeling on the ground with his hands clasped behind his back. Again, they hesitated. "We sure?"

"Agent Colleen Fistberg," Clint suddenly recited. Jeff stepped forward and hit the archer's cheek with a powerful right hook. Clint fell the to ground and slowly worked his way back up, the bruise already appearing.

"Don't you ever say her name," Jeff ordered. Clint nodded but knew that he'd say it again if the agent hesitated. Chris then stepped forward and sent a harsh left jab. All men heard a sharp crack. Clint bit his tongue to hold back a cry of pain. When Chris backed away, the blood began to stream down the archer's face. That made the four agents trade a glance before they descended onto Clint.

Punches, kicks, slaps and stomps fell onto Clint so fast that he dropped to his side and instinctively curled up on himself. That just seemed to enrage the men more. Soon, a lot of the attacks focused on Clint's left side until he unfurled and they could get at his stomach. Cracks echoed through the room as they began breaking bones and all too soon, the group turned Clint into a writhing mess.

Blood seeped from his nose, split lip, his tear duct on his right eye, and from his left ear. Clint could barely see around the swelling eyes and his hearing had diminished. He knew the swelling would die down within a few days, so he wasn't worried that it would effect his future. The four had also thankfully missed hitting his fingers. So he could still use his bow and arrows. That fact alone had Clint grimace into a smile.

"What the fuck you smiling about?" one of the four demanded. Clint recognized his voice as the one who said to stop calling out names earlier. "Fucking traitor."

"Hey, we missed his hands," Chris pointed out. Clint froze. They wouldn't. They couldn't. Greyish blue eyes focused on Jeff. The agent gave the archer an evil smile.

"Break them, break them so he can never fire again," Jeff stated. Chris and the other two grinned like idiots before they converged. Clint tensed as they reached for his hands. Chris was just about touching them when-

BANG!

The door slammed open. All five men focused on the suddenly bright area. There, standing in a halo of light, was an extremely pissed off, protective Russian assassin. Clint groaned lightly as he realized that Natasha was going to report this but, deep in the back of his mind, he was glad she got there before they broke his fingers. Slowly, curiously, Clint's gaze shifted to his tormentors. They were all frozen in fear at being caught. Especially by one who was, seemingly, unaffected by the events.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Natasha growled even though she already knew the answer. She could see the blood clearly. The rapidly forming bruises made he clench her fists together. Clint gave her a meek smile. Her stare hardened into a glare. That was when he realized he was in just as much shit as the four who had been beating him. Of course Natasha would pick up on the fact that he had let them pound him to pieces. Why couldn't it have been someone else that found them? "Well?"

"Uh..." Chris began before Natasha shifted to face him. Clint tried not to laugh as he heard the poor agent's voice catch in his throat.

"Barton fell," Jeff suddenly answered. Everyone's focus turned to him. He looked sweaty and nervous but still stood tall against Natasha's evil look. "Yeah, we saw him fall out of the vents!"

"Okay. And what were you planning on doing with him?" Natasha questioned, the heat in her voice turning curious. Clint stared at his partner, reading silent signs. She was still tense but gave off on air or relaxation. Her fists were clenching and un-clenching as she thought of what to do next. Green eyes were still hardened but the glare was now replaced with a softer gaze. Natasha was toying with them. No, not Natasha. Black Widow.

"We were... Um," Jeff paused as he tried to quickly think of a good reason for the four of them to still be standing over a clearly injured agent.

"We were getting ready to bring him to Medical!" one of the still unnamed agents lied. Black Widow smiled as she listened to the lie. She had been standing behind the door for a while. In the while, she had heard them mention breaking Clint's fingers. There was no way she'd allow that.

"Oh. Cause I thought I heard mention of breaking his fingers," Black Widow cooed as she stepped into the room. The four agents stepped back away from her. Now they weren't just scared, they were petrified. "Did I hear correctly?"

No one answered. Whether it was because of fear of Black Widow or that they had lost their voices, Clint didn't know. All he knew was that his partner's eyes narrowed once again and she slowly looked down to stare at Clint.

"Clint?" she asked him. Not wanting to admit to anything, Clint looked away from her. Black Widow nodded. "I see. You four, run. Now, before I call the other Avengers down on your asses!"

The group followed her command so fast that her red hair swayed as they ran past. Clint smirked as he turned and laid down on his back. He was partly relieved that they now couldn't attack his fingers, but he was upset that the beating was over. He deserved it. Deserved every broken bone, every cut, and every bruise. It all helped him see how truly evil he was for attacking his friends and co-workers.

A sudden gentle touch on his right shoulder made Clint jerk. The touch vanished quickly. Turning his grey blue eyes back toward the source, he saw Natasha with a worried gaze looking down at him. She was on her knees beside him.

"Hey," he whispered to her. Natasha gave him a very soft smile. Then it transformed to something else. Clint barely had a second to try and figure it out before she sharply punched his arm. "Ow! What the hell Tasha?"

"You idiot! Why did you let them do this to you?" she called. Clint frowned but didn't answer. It was too hard to try and explain it to her. Hell, it was hard just to admit that he had allowed himself to be beaten up. "I've seen you take on over twenty men. Why couldn't you take on those four bullies?"

"Cause I deserve it! Tasha, I killed our co-workers! I killed their friends, family! I betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D!" Clint screamed. Natasha sat back in surprise. She couldn't believe that he believed what he was saying. Slowly, the archer's eyes began to tear. "Tasha, I killed Coulson."

One more chapter and then we are done. Remember to please review and I might even add the next story when I post chapter 16. ^_^