Chapter 1
They had been in the midst of battle for hours now, the sun just starting it's descent down the sky.
None of them were entirely sure what they were fighting. But they had not only guns but long sharp wooded sticks, with fragmented metal embedded in the ends.
The guns seemed to be something similar to their own, just bigger and clunkier.
But since the beings were also all at least six feet, it didn't seem to hinder them.
They wore masks and long black robes.
They'd come with no warning and the Avengers had barely had time to gather their weapons, never mind suit up.
Tony had been the only one to have time to get his suit before they were thrown in at the deep end.
Most of them took up purchase on the ground, with Tony in the skies and Clint skipping from roof to roof, with Hulk slamming into the aliens from above.
Now, hours into the fight, the group of aliens was dwindling and all of the Avengers could feel their adrenaline begin to wear thin.
They were beyond lucky that no one had gotten seriously hurt yet.
They all had, bar Tony and Bruce, some degree of cuts and 'light' stab wounds.
The group surrounding Natasha, Steve and Bucky began to thin out and Natasha took a step away, ready for more, ready for the next fight.
But there wasn't one.
The redhead inhaled raggedly, chest heaving as she pushed hair from her eyes and moved towards Bucky and Steve.
"Everyone okay?" She asked, eyes already skimming over them.
Bucky grunted as Steve helped him up from the floor, brushing down his jeans.
"That is the last time I fight without my suit. I never want to wear a pair of jeans again." He groaned, lifting his head.
"Steve?" Natasha asked.
"Fine, but..."
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Natasha blinked.
Three things happened in the next second.
Choked calls of her name. Steve rushing forward. Natasha's legs giving way.
Steve slid the last foot to her, arms wrapping around her waist as she fell.
He managed to cushion most of her weight, a sharp inhale escaping Natasha's mouth.
Steve kept a hold of her head, leaning against his knees.
Natasha grunted softly, mouth opening once before closing.
Bucky was there in another second, landing heavily on his knees.
His eyes widened as he watched blood seep into the material of her shirt, covering her entire right side.
Working on autopilot, he lifted her shirt until he saw the wound, panic settling into his stomach.
The wound was wide and deep, and he saw the glint of muscle before more blood seeped out.
Without thinking, he clamped his metal hand on the wound, fingers curving around her ribs.
Natasha hissed and tried to buck up with the pain, but the hand kept her firmly in place.
"You're okay." Steve said quietly, eyes stricken as he pressed the comms device in his ear.
"Natasha is down. Tony, do you copy? We need help."
A crackle of static then 'on my way'.
Steve looked back down at Natasha, her face white and teeth gritted.
Her eyelids fluttered and Steve's stomach dropped.
"Hey, eyes on me, Nat." Steve said firmly, running his thumb over her cheek.
"They are." She said quietly, weakly. She made to lift her head to see, but Bucky murmured softly in Russian and continued to hold her down.
"Look, boys-" Natasha said thickly. "I know this doesn't look good."
"Did someone say looking good?" Tony landed to Natasha's left, face plate sliding up as he knelt.
"Jesus, Natasha, what did you do?"
"The bleeding isn't stopping, something inside must have been hit." Bucky shook his head, eyes desperate. "You must be able to do something?"
Natasha grimaced, voice hoarse. "Where's Clint?"
"He's coming, Nat, don't worry." Steve soothed.
Tony quickly ran through the features of his suit in his head.
He could try to cauterise the wound, but without knowing the damage internally, that could cause more hurt than good.
"I don't-"
From beneath him, Natasha inhaled raggedly and he saw Bucky stiffen at noise.
It was wet and pained and suddenly Bucky was moving.
"Oh her side, quickly." He ordered.
The three men rolled her onto her uninjured side, Bucky's metal hand still pressing down against the wound.
With Natasha on her side, Bucky leaned over and tilted her head back.
Natasha struggled weakly, breaths gurgling in her throat, her hands trying to grab at her neck.
"Tony hold her hands." Bucky demanded, keeping her head tilted back.
"Breathe, Talia." He murmured, quickly wiping away blood from her lips as she coughed against the intrusion in her chest.
Steve balled his hand up and hit the centre of her chest, causing blood to spray from her lips.
Tony's eyes widened and in one second, he'd ripped the bottom half of his face plate from his head.
He slid it over Natasha's mouth and nose, holding it for a moment before it stuck.
Cool air forced itself into her mouth and lungs and the redhead began to stop struggling.
Instead, her eyelids fluttered.
They quickly rolled her onto her back again.
"No, no, Natasha. Stay awake." Steve's voice cracked.
"Natalia, don't you dare close your eyes." Bucky grunted, eyes dark as he looked up at Tony.
"You need to get her to help. We can't do anything from here."
It physically pained him and Steve to let go of her but Tony could fly, they couldn't.
"Use her phone, call Coulson. Tell them to get the med team to the tower." Tony said quickly.
The Shield med team had bases everywhere and one in New York, less than five minutes drive to the tower.
With that, Tony slid his arms under Natasha, cradling her gently to his chest as he shot off into the sky.