Converto - Marvel Studios [8]

thirty-five.

The bright fluorescent lights blinded me as my feet hit the glass platform, the cold smooth surface sitting against the bottom of my bare feet.  My legs felt like lead, as if the soles of my feet were glued into place to keep me from slipping away into the Quantum Realm again to be whirled through another time warp. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the change, my blurry vision being able to make out the large figure of Bruce standing opposite me. It took me a moment to figure out where I was, a thudding feeling in my head making me nauseous and confused both at the same time. I feel t a strand of my hair fall out of the messy undo it was in, the strands sticking to my neck which was prickled with beads of a cold sweat.

"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked as I blinked a few times, hearing a few grunts and words of confirmation as I let out a loud and sudden laugh at the fact that we had pulled off this impossible mission. I shook my head as I practically jumped onto Steve, wrapping my arms around his neck in relief as he held me close to him, one arm wrapped around my waist and the other holding his shield down by his side. I felt his shoulders relax under my arms, the constant feeling of fear and anxiety leaving his body at the thought that we managed to pull off this mission. He set his hand on my lower back, pressing his palm right on a cut from the glass balcony earlier, the pain shooting up my back as I bit down on my cheek to stop me from pulling away from his touch, wanting nothing more than to collapse into Steve's arms after everything we had been through today alone.

"You telling me this actually worked?" Rhodey asked as Bruce let out a small whooping noise, my cheek resting on Steve's shoulder as I finally opened my eyes. Just as I looked over Steve shoulder I saw Clint fall to his knees, his hands limp by his sound as the movement caused the glass platform to rumble under our feet. I pushed myself off of Steve, my brain suddenly thrown right back to the edge at the thought of Clint being so injured that he collapsed to the floor. He was wobbling on his knees like he might faint, all eyes on him as my heart thumped in my chest so hard it threatened to break through my rib cage.

"Hey" I said worriedly as I ran over to Clint, my hands on either side of his face as I sunk down to my knees with him, staring at his eyes with a concerned look in my eyes. His lifeless stare wasn't connecting with my eyes, his cheeks red and his face feeling like he had a fever. "Are you hurt?" I asked him, looking over him quickly to see any open wounds of pools of blood that I may have missed. The warehouse was still silent as Clint finally looked at me, his lip trembling as tears threatened to fall from his eyes, my eyebrows knitting together in confusion. His eyes were telling me that I should already know why he was upset, this emotion being something that I should be able to understand without any words being shared between us.

Yet I couldn't put my finger on what was different.

"Where's Natasha?" Steve asked as his voice cut through the silence, my eyes being torn away from Clint's face as I looked back at Steve, wondering why he was asking that question. I dropped my hands from Clint's face slowly, turning to look around the platform to try and find where Natasha had landed. My stomach dropped as my eyes drifted once again, no sight of the red head as my eyes widened my heart dropping to my feet as I realised what was going on. "Clint" I said, my voice cracking as I turned back to my best friend, a tear rolling down his cheek as I held my breath at it's deepest point. The archer didn't reply as I let out a shaky breath, my mouth hanging open slightly as I shook my head.