Bones focused it's attention on Natasha and the Chameleon suit came after him. Clint was sure Stark was directing them but keeping his voice muted inside his own red and gold suit. Natasha fired her gun at the base of Iron Man's head. The bullet bounced off and Stark whirled around to face her.
An idea came to him and Clint readied another arrow. He wasn't able to make the shot though as he had to avoid the incoming beam from the chest of the Chameleon, it was more powerful than the repulsor beams from the hand plates. Clint swore as he felt the raw energy fly past his head. The beam destroyed half the kitchen counter.
Natasha meanwhile was trying to out manoeuvre Bones and was using everything in the room to her advantage. There were minimal bullets in the gun so she was saving them. A torn open pillow was used to block Bone's vision and she slid under it's legs, using her stolen knives to try and slice the connection wires to it's feet. As she came up behind the suit she jumped up and kicked it in the back. The suit staggered momentarily before swinging around to face her. Natasha caught the outstretched metal arm and swung up. Her thigh hooked around the reattached head and she swung around. The suit was thrown into the ground.
Both Clint and Stark hesitated at the display. Clint honestly hadn't realised just how strong Natasha was. It seemed Stark was having the same thoughts.
Clint then used the moment of hesitation to fire his arrow. The grappling hook wrapped its way around Chameleon's neck. The cabling followed and Clint quickly pulled it off his bow and reattached it to another arrow. This one he'd never used. Honestly he'd never seen a purpose in it until now. Clint fired the arrow and it took off carrying the cable with it. The arrow shot past Chameleon before changing direction and circling the suit. It was heading back to him now.
He half thinks Natasha gave him a boomerang arrow in the hopes he'd be stupid enough to take himself out with it but now it was going to help save their lives. Clint caught the arrow and shot it again. Stark and the AI controlled Chameleon didn't give him enough time to send the boomerang cable off a third time but Natasha had seen what he was doing and intervened. She took the fight with Bones over to Stark and all three of them crashed through the wall Stark was standing near.
Clint didn't pause to watch them and instead ripped the boomerang arrow out of the floor and fired it again. This time he fired it from a crouch on the ground and the cabling wrapped around Chameleons legs. The suit tried to walk but the cabling was strong enough to hold and the suit tripped. Clint caught the arrow again and stored it back into the quiver. This time he reattached the cable to a standard arrow and shot it into the floor. The suit staggered to a stand and Clint released another grappling arrow. This one wrapping around the legs. Rather than following with the boomerang he grabbed the cable in his gloved hand and ran around the suit to further tangle it.
The Chameleon suit wasn't able to stop him as it struggled against the cable. Clint nodded in satisfaction and attached the cable to another standard arrow and shot it into the ground again. The suit was completely tangled. He knew the arrows in the floor wouldn't hold for long so Clint sized up the suit, trying to find the best way to take it out.
A glowing in the chest made him duck before he got taken out. Clint then grinned. The suit was being powered by the arc reactor in the chest. If he shut that down then the suit would fall. Clint selected two bows, just to be safe and fired them both into the suits arc reactor. The first one released an electrical pulse and the second exploded it. The glowing reactor dimmed and Clint saw the fractures that had formed. It was clearly built to last but an angry frustrated kick to the reactors chest finished it off. The reactor split and the blue glow died. The suit fell to the ground, nothing more than useless scrap metal now.
"Widow, one down." Clint said into the comms, having lost visual of her and the other two suits. He could still hear them though. The sound of things being splintered and shattered, the blasts of the repulsors and the solid thunk of metal being hit.
"Make that two." Natasha responded breathlessly.. Her tone changed to something entirely void of emotions yet at the same time filled with an aura of deadliness. "Ready to end this Stark?"
Clint and Natasha faced Stark. They distanced themselves from each other, keeping up the guise of hating each other. They'd face unbeatable odds and come out on top. Together they were one and together they were unbreakable. Clint had never felt so alive. Natasha was what he was missing in life. With her he'd never need anything again. The dreams he once strived for didn't matter. He didn't need them. He just needed her. Clint reeled at his revelations.
Did he love her? Maybe. He thinks he loved her from the moment he saw her. Clint wouldn't tell her though. Not yet. Natasha would freak and run. Love is for children. She was programmed not to love, not to feel, not to care. But Clint knew she was changing, day by day she was learning to be something more than a cold emotionless killer. And it was beautiful, Clint wanted to be there for every moment of it. Wanted to be there for every moment with her and for her. Clint knew then that he'd do anything for her. No matter what it was.
Even killing Iron Man. Anthony Stark. A man he looked up to, wanted to be like. Clint let his blue eyes fall onto his target.
It was easy to be cocky now. They'd taken out two suits and only Tony remained now. Surrounded by them with his back up against the window. One of the only windows that had survived the fight.
"Give me what I want and you'll walk out of this alive." Natasha said flatly.
"JARVIS initiate Wipe Out Protocol." Stark ordered the AI. Tony flicked up his face plate. "That particular protocol has just wiped all my files. I can start again."
Natasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Fool!"
Clint had a feeling she was more pissed about the fact this meant her failing the mission. A sick feeling hit his gut. Natasha failing a mission could mean her life. He didn't know how to protect her from that, they could run but he didn't know if Nat would agree. He was so sure of everything a moment ago and now reality was setting it.
"Sorry Spidey." Stark replied, his tone sounding less than sorry.
"Let's go Widow. The mission is over." Clint glanced over at her.
"No." Natasha growled out. "I can't leave empty handed."
Clint knew she was panicking and maybe she was scared. However deep down it was, it was there. Natasha couldn't afford to leave with nothing. Clint didn't know what they would do to her, but it wouldn't good. Someone who could turn another human being into an emotionless killing machine was not the type to forgive and forget a failed mission. If Clint failed a job all he lost out on was his pay and maybe pissed a few people off. But when wasn't he pissing people off?
If Natasha failed...Clint remembered what she said about him not being tortured correctly. He isn't so sure whether it was because she was captured by an enemy now. The Red Room details he had were scarce at best but something shrouded in that much mystery, something that produced the Black Widow wasn't ethical or humane.
"There's nothing left." Clint said softly.
Tony nodded. "Legolas is right. So run back to your handlers and let them know you've failed. Good luck with that."
"Then I'll take something else." Natasha said turned back to stare down Stark. And more importantly the suit. Clint realised her plan and fell back into an offensive position.
"Over my dead body." Tony growled out and shut the face plate again with an audible snap.
"That can be arranged." Natasha responded icily.
The two assassins circled around Iron Man. Clint knew his hand to hand was good, better than most, not as good as Nat's as much as he'd like to think it was. But his strong suit was in long distance and he was only going to get in Natasha's way. With reluctance Clint backed up to cover Natasha.
Natasha wielded her only remaining knife and begun her attack. Clint watched with his sharp eyes, she was truly spectacular. Stark was only pushing her away and blocking the attacks. Occasionally he'd get a repulsor blast off but Natasha was easily able to dodge them. She stabbed the knife into the shoulder joint – Clint remembered it being the same placed she threw her first two knifes at. He understood now, she was weakening the connection. This time it fried the movement in the left arm and Stark was reduced to only being able to use his right arm.
Clint remembered her shooting Stark in the base of the neck earlier and realised that's the second weak spot she was going for. Natasha leapt onto Stark's chest and held the knife up ready to stab into the back of his neck. Clint didn't know if the knife would slip through and sever the man's spine or merely fry the suit.
Iron Man tried to rip Natasha off but she held on despite a closed fist into her ribs. Clint was sure more than one of her ribs would have fractured or broken.
The struggle was over before it started. Natasha brought the knife down and the suit powered down. It was still standing and Clint couldn't tell whether Stark was dead or just trapped. There'd have to be way to pry the man out but dealing with Stark outside the suit would be child's play.
An explosion behind, followed by another tore Clint's attention away. The two suits they'd taken down had just self destructed. Clint didn't know if it was an order from Stark or simply built in. If that was the case then if Stark was dead, the suit he was wearing would blow too. Leaving Natasha back in the same situation.
Clint turned to look at her and it seemed the expression she was wearing reflected his thoughts. She quickly slipped her mask back on though.
A thousand thoughts were going through his head. They had to be able to salvage something. There was no option not to. Clint was so caught up that at first he missed the glowing from Iron Man's chest.
They both realised at the same time but it was too late. Iron's Man suit mustered up enough energy to fire a beam from his chest. It struck Natasha point blank. Clint watched in muted horror as she was thrown backwards and out the window. It shattered on impacted.
For a second he swore she hovered in mid air. And then she was gone.