Leap of Faith
"Feathers, you gotta get off that roof."
Clint frowned at the anxiety that was all too clear in Stark's voice.
"Why?" he asked.
It was the perfect spot, the highest building all around, providing him with a great view of the surrounding area. He could easily see the others, two blocks away, engaged in battle against what he had dubbed the "Villain of the Week" (it was a group, actually, but who cared?).
"Cos the building's rigged with explosives. And they'll blow it to pieces any moment, so get off that fucking roof NOW!"
"Right."
Clint rose and touched a switch on his bow to attach the grappling-head to one of his arrows. The plan was to jump, shoot the arrow and use the rope attached to it to get down from the building as fast as he could.
He had just reached the edge of the roof when there was an ominous sound from down below and the building started to shake beneath his feet. He could feel the explosives going off one by one.
"Uh, guys –"
He heard Stark curse over his earpiece.
"Jump! We're on our way."
"On our way" might prove to be not even nearly fast enough but Clint had run out of time. It was jumping or waiting here and be blown to smithereens. In the first case, he might end up as an ugly stain on the pavement below, in the second, there probably wouldn't be enough of him left to justify burying it.
So he threw himself off the roof, trying to get as far away from the building as he could. He fell for what seemed to him like forever and wondered whether it was really true that, when you were about to die, you saw your life flashing before your eyes because there were things he could do very well without seeing them again, thank you very much. Then, he hit something. Not the ground. It was considerably softer and greener.
"Hulk got little hawk!"
The building exploded.
The Hulk curled himself around Clint. Chunks of concrete, pieces of twisted steel and a shower of glass-shards rained down around them. The force of the explosion flung them several feet away from the building before the Hulk landed on the ground, hitting it so that he was shielding Clint from the falling debris without crushing him.
When the noise subsided, there was absolute silence.
The Hulk crouched, still with Clint in his arms. Static crackled over his earpiece, as if the others were holding their breath.
Clint took in several deep breaths and willed his wildly hammering heart to slow down.
"Right", he said. "Everyone seen that? Cos I'm not doing it again."
More silence.
Then:
"Jack Sparrow, 'On Stranger Tides'", Tony answered.
Clint frowned.
"What?"
"Sorry. Captain Jack Sparrow, of course. That scene where he's just jumped off that really, really high cliff."
A faint metallic sound. Probably Tasha whacking the guy a good one. Or rather, his suit.
Clint grinned.
"You're an idiot, Stark."
"Only trying to live up to my reputation."
"As what?" Clint shot back. "Walking one-liner?"
Someone laughed. It sounded like Tasha.