As the man's neck broke with a clean snap, Natalia vaulted off him and ran to the child. 'Stay behind me and I promise that you won't get hurt,' she told the child as she turned to face the crowd of men before her. She gunned down two and tased another three, yet the last one was harder to take down, as he was much stronger than the others and she had been unfortunately disarmed with her gun five feet away from her. It didn't help that she was simultaneously attempting to protect a child- in fact it made things much harder. She could no longer jump or duck or take the man by surprise for fear of hurting the child. He punched her in the shoulder and she shifted slightly, reaching for her gun as she did so. He swiftly pulled a small knife from his belt and threw it at her. She was forced to shy back to the left and that distanced her from her gun even more. He then threw some form of powder on her face and everything around her was reduced to a blur. She heard a gunshot go off and moved towards the girl, gasping in pain as she felt a bullet bury itself into her right side.
When the effects of the powder finally subdued, she noted the barrel of a gun pressed against her temple and her blood ran cold. She was going to die. She hoped that the SHIELD agent perched on the rooftop nearby would be willing to help the little girl behind her after she was killed. She silently readied herself for what was to come.
The man before her suddenly emitted an odd gagging noise and when she looked down, she saw an arrow protruding through his chest, its tip barely grazing her catsuit. The man crumpled to the ground as she jumped out of the way. Immediately, she turned back to the little girl behind her. 'It's okay now. I'm so sorry that you were caught up in this. The bad men are all gone. You can go now.' The child shot her a mute, bewildered glance, took a few steps back, then turned and ran away as quickly as her little legs could carry her. A small, sad smile crossed Natalia's face before a pang of pain made her grimace. Right, the bullet. But as of now, there were more important things that she had to deal with. Whipping around, she raised her gun towards the roof of the building to the right of her, 'Clint Francis Barton, SHIELD agent. You were sent to kill me.'
'Yes, I was.'
'You saved me back there.'
'I did.'
'Why?'
'I don't know.'
For a moment, they stood there in absolute silence. Natalia was the one who broke it by raising her gun and shooting at him three times. Clint dropped to the ground swiftly. By the time he had straightened himself and ran back to the ledge of the building, she was already gone and nowhere to be seen.