At the sound of determined footsteps in the corridor, V leapt to his feet and pulled Tony up by the collar. Tony rest on his knees and panted through the gag, pain ebbing off every part of his body. He felt the cool metal tip of a gun touch his temple. He was losing spirit and succumbing to the dark comfort his injuries brought him. V bent down and whispered into Tony's ear, "You're going to make your super friends listen to me or I will kill each and every one of you. Then I'll go out and find your friends, Colonel Rhodes and Miss Potts if I remember correctly. They'll face exactly what you did for the past while, and then I'll kill them. So be reasonable and make them surrender. Understand?"

Tony's closed his eyes. He wasn't ready for this. If he had to gamble his own life, everything would be fine. He wasn't afraid to die. Oftentimes, he was quite fond of the idea of dying. But now everyone he cared about was on the line. Tony knew how pointless it was to deal with a madman, and he knew that the Avengers could take care of themselves, but he couldn't willingly risk Pepper's and Rhodey's lives. Tony nodded, hoping that when the heroes came, they'd kill the son of a bitch holding a gun to his head.

"Good. Now I'm going to remove your gag, and you are going to reason with them. They'll listen to you. But don't do anything stupid, or someone is going to get a bullet to the brain." V nodded, condescendingly ruffled Tony's hair, and stood up.

Tony felt the gag loosen around his maw and he spit it out. He breathed heavily, enjoying the easily accessible oxygen. It had been hard breathing through his nose; the dried blood from the beatings had clogged the pathways.

"Tony… Tony?!" The distant chant of his name approach and Tony gulped. This was it. Either V died or the world did, because if Earth was left to the madman, it would surely end.

"Here they come." Tony didn't bother looking at V, he knew that there was a cocky smile plastered on the bastard's face. "Remember our deal, Tony. It's pointless to break it. We will win, we are VICTORY."

Tony vaguely realized that V had begun to refer to himself in plural, but before he could bring attention to it, he caught sight of Steve's blue Captain America cowl, emblazoned with a capital A. Then, the rest of the all-American body came into view, shortly followed by Thor, Natasha, and Clint. He realized that there had been a loud thumping at regular intervals and finally pieced together its source. The Hulk jumped into view, in all of his purple-short glory. The pants were a gift from Tony – they were extra stretchy.

"Hey guys," Tony managed to say. He had been awake for far too long and he just felt tired. There was no longer adrenaline pushing him to make the next move, he was almost ready to give everything up and leave it to his friends to avenge him. He was hungry, thirsty, beaten, and bruised.

"Tony, are you alright?" Steve asked. From what Tony saw of his face behind the mask, the American hero was weighed down by worry.

"Good as ever, Cap." Tony responded by reflex. He didn't like Steve worrying about him. Tony was well aware of the fact that he was the most vulnerable person on the team, that's why he was always looking for ways to get the suit on faster – so that Steve would stop treating him like a porcelain doll.

Clint snorted. "As if! You look like shit! But don't worry, we'll get you out and let you have a nice long shower… After we kill this asshat." To emphasize his point, Clint notched another arrow in his bow. From the look of the tip, it was an arrow Tony had designed. It was made so that after the arrow was shot, the tip would open up to reveal an active drill bit. Tony had made it for the use of getting through any tough alien exoskeleton… not to go through a human male's skull.

Steve stared defiantly at V while he gripped the edge of his shield, preparing to throw it.

"Indeed, friend Tony. We will take care of this, you may rest." Thor in war mode was frightening, and even though there was no wind in the room, his cape looked like it was billowing.

"Smash. You." Hulk pointed a threatening finger at V and a grotesque frown was made through yellow, stone-like teeth.

Natasha remained silent, only cocking her gun and aiming it at V's head. She look like a lion, ready to pounce.

V nudged Tony's temple with the gun, signalling the hostage to take care of matters.

"Wait! Guys!" Tony yelped, hating himself for every word he was about to say. "Don't kill him!"

The Avengers froze, simultaneously wondering if they had misheard.

"You heard me! Don't kill him!" Tony warned. 'Don't kill the lunatic who beat me to an inch of death!' Tony mocked himself in his mind, understanding how crazy he sounded to the others.

"What the hell are you talking about, Tony?" Steve asked.

"I'm saying don't kill him!" Tony yelled. He pictured news of V's death reaching his partners, for he surely had some. A single man couldn't be the mastermind to a plan that felled Tony Stark.

"That is Stockholm syndrome talking, Tony. You're not yourself." Natasha noted calmly, never lowering her weapon.

"No. it's not. Don't touch him." Tony commanded. Pepper couldn't get hurt. She was his responsibility. He needed to save her.

"You should listen to your friend," V chided, "Unless you want his brains blown out." V shoved the gun into Tony's temple hard enough that Tony knew it was going to bruise. He winced and stared at his friends pleadingly.

Tony watched as the heroes hesitated, at least, for the most part.

Steve cared too much; he wanted to play things safe. He wasn't confident enough that he'd stop V before the bullet reached Tony.

Thor was similar to Steve, except her saw things as a king. Tony was a friend but also a subject. In Thor's mind, it was the king's duty to protect his subjects. Plus, Thor's experience with the greatest madman of all, Loki, let him know that V would – without a doubt – pull that trigger.

Hulk saw the fear in Tony's eyes, and perhaps a bit of Bruce inside calmed the beast. Hulk appeared internally restrained, a touch of intelligence in the raging mind. Without Bruce, the Hulk would've likely gone to smash V and Tony would've been killed.

Clint and Natasha seemed to be the least affected. This was expected due to their training. They were used to going out on missions with colleagues and watching them die. It came with the job description. Don't get attached; don't make friends because they will die. But Tony had sparked up quite the kinship with Clint. They both laughed at the same jokes, and they shared the same cynical humour. The two would spar from time to time, being the unenhanced males on the team. Both were more willing to fight each other over a super-soldier, a god, or the Hulk. Tony had learned a lot about fighting from Clint, and he could take Happy down in seconds, like how Natasha had in the ring back when she was 'Natalie Rushmore'.

But Natasha was different. He'd always been more distant from her than the others. Partially because she was a woman and she'd spend more time with Pepper than him. But mostly because he was absolutely terrified of her. Clint had informed him during a sparring match that Natasha was probably the best hand-to-hand combatant on the team – based upon technique alone. Clint was a fan of distance fighting, the bow and arrow his weapon of choice. He liked to keep far from his opponent. Natasha, on the other hand, was an up-close and personal type of gal. She'd let herself get captured by her targets, each opponent holding several bulky bodyguards. She'd take each one down, breaking their faces without breaking her high-heels. It didn't hurt that she looked great while doing it. Tony had a vague understanding that Natasha hadn't had the best of childhoods. She was left cold and furious. She had killed a man back when Tony was assembling his first few motors. Basically, she was a natural born killer – an assassin that any agency would love to have on their side.

So, when V shoved the gun to his head, Natasha was the least affected. Rather than recoil, she reacted. She moved with the swift and precise motion of a machine, calculating what the best move would be in the situation. She thought on her feet, she was used to being the person with the gun pointed to their head. She pulled the trigger.

"NO!" Tony yelled, hearing the gun ring. He flinched, expecting a similar shot but aimed at his head. But there was nothing. He felt a warm splatter and glanced up to find the most horrendous sight he'd seen in his life. A single hole penetrated the area above the center of V's lips, just below his nose. The scary part was the exit path of the bullet. Tony gagged and this time he couldn't fight it. He threw up. There wasn't enough in his stomach to become vomit, so he dry heaved, spitting out blood and saliva. He remained still on his knees, his head bowed to the ground beside a bloody puddle, his arms stiffly behind his back. 'It's over. V was bluffing.' Tony thought but he doubted it. V had gone through with every threat he'd made before, why'd he change it up. Tony struggled to remain angry but the crippling anxiety grabbed him. He had nearly died again. It was basically Afghanistan and New York all over again. He took rapid breaths and repeated in his mind, 'It's over. It's over. It's over.' Tony continued to chant, 'It's over.'

Tony heard the muffled noises of the Avengers rushing towards him. He felt them pick him up gently and begin moving him back to the aircraft. His body grew weak and tired, but not in the way that one gives up on living. But rather the same way one relaxes into a mother's warm embrace. That was it. Tony was relieved. Relieved of the pressure of being leverage on the world. Relieved of the fear of the next punch or kick or broken bone. And soon enough, Tony was relieved of consciousness.

"Good job, Tasha." Clint nodded at the redhead. He felt ashamed. He should've taken the shot but instead he faltered. He was every bit the SHIELD agent she was, they both knew it. But he let his emotions put Tony in more danger. Who knew what would've happened in Natasha hadn't taken the shot. Lunatics were hard to predict. He might've shot Tony to see what they would do. The incident was a reminder to him that, as great as emotional ties were, they could be a burden. A dangerous burden.

Steve gasped as V's body hit the ground. It had taken him a moment to understand what happened. His gaze swerved to Natasha and found her with the smoking gun in hand. He realized that he couldn't have done the same thing in her position. He knew that it was probably necessary, but part of him wanted to negotiate. The situation had been clearly in their favour. 6 superheroes against one unprotected man. He felt a little angry at the injustice before he remembered the cruel sins of V. The man may not have deserved death without trail, but lady justice was often cruel and blind.

Thor's grip on his hammer tightened at the sound of the gun. For a moment, he feared that it was the same weapon aimed at Friend Tony's head. He didn't understand humans with their guns and bullets. It was an awfully unfair and inglorious form of combat. There was no test of skill or strength, it was who shot first. Then, V's body dropped and Thor sighed with relief. Tony was safe. He found Natasha was the one who shot and he felt a surge of both pride and jealousy. He was proud of Natasha representing the strength of her species. She had made the correct choice. She had saved friend Tony. It was a reminder of a fact that Thor often forgot, even in his homeland. Women were warriors just as much as men. The jealousy came from the fact that she was the one who succeeded, not him. It was petty envy, one that Thor didn't pay much mind to. It was fair; Natasha had made the choice so she deserved the glory of her victory. Thor reminded himself that he must think faster, weight the pros and cons more rapidly and find the best plan. It was something that Loki had excelled at, and it was a skill that the thunderer decided he must learn too.

The Hulk growled at the sound of the gun, ready to swipe at its source. Bruce mentally stopped the beast from striking Natasha down like a rag doll. Bruce had learned how to control the beast to a certain degree. The Hulk could always over power his decision, but Hulk also recognized that if he listened to Bruce, every once in a while, he'd be allowed to let loose in battle. The Hulk still remembered the fun times in New York – the free for all, unrestrained melee. Bruce reminded Hulk that if he killed Natasha, Hulk wouldn't be allowed to fight like that again. Instead, they would undergo the same painful loneliness as they were treated like rats to be experimented on in a top secret lab. Hulk smiled when V died, Hulk didn't like how V smelled. Bruce let out a sigh of relief. Tony was safe.

Natasha lowered the gun. She had shot V in the brain stem, separating his brain from his body. It was the same technique snipers used when dealing with hostage situations. V couldn't flinch and pull the trigger on Tony before he was dead. She left out a slow breath and watched as V's figure crumpled, the gun harmlessly dropping from his hand. She holstered her weapon and began to walk to Tony. He had seen the injury inflicted upon V and had thrown up. She didn't blame him. She was reminded how he was a civilian, untrained and not used to the sight of a man with his head shot out. He had certainly never been beside a man when it'd happened. He had yelled no when she shot. It startled her. Natasha had assumed that the words he'd been speaking before were forced by V's gun, but perhaps there was more to the story. Maybe she'd shot too soon… Natasha shook the thought away. She'd saved Tony's life. The was the objective and she had reached it.

The Avengers made their way to Tony. Thor and Steve worked together to lift him up, trying to be as gentle as possibly as neither of them knew the extent of his injuries. Tony had fallen unconscious and then group had momentarily feared that he had died. But the slow rise and fall of his chest proved them wrong. Nevertheless, he needed medical attention.

"Let's get him to the sick bay. We know first aid." Natasha commanded, referring to Clint and herself.

"Roger that." Steve nodded. He and Thor began to make their way to the corridor when the Hulk bounded in front of them.

"Hulk make sure hallway safe." Hulk told them and ran through the corridor. The Hulk's natural battle instinct trumped all of theirs, the green giant remembered things most would forget in the heat of a vengeful battle.

"Okay, Steve and Thor go next. Tasha and I will follow last and make sure no undesirables follow." Clint glanced at Natasha who nodded back.

Thor and Steve followed instructions and walked Tony out of the room and through the hall.

Finally, Clint and Natasha lifted their weapons and moved down the hall, their backs to the others and their aim prepared for any sneak attacks.

"I guess that's mission complete." Clint noted as they felt the outdoor sunlight glance upon their backs.

"I guess so… wait!" Natasha suddenly swerved the gun in her right hand to follow a movement she caught in her peripheral vision.

"What was that?" Clint asked curiously.

"I…" Natasha lowered the weapon, the movement was gone. "I saw two people just there." She pointed to where she had just aimed.

"I don't know. Maybe you're just imagining it. Your brains in overdrive right now." Clint reassured. They made their way to the quinjet. They saw Steve and Thor making their way inside with Tony in their arms.

"You know that I don't just imagine things, Clint. I saw two people over there." Natasha was certain. It wasn't good to doubt yourself in the field, especially if it meant lowering precautions.

"Okay. Then they were two henchmen trying to run away from the big band of scary superheroes. Anyway, I don't see anyone coming over here, Tasha. Take a breather. We're going to get back in the quinjet and we're going to wrap Tony up in enough gauze for him to be a mummy." Clint said, guiding Natasha onto the quinjet. She was like this whenever she's on the job. Paranoia was a good thing but it wasn't what they needed right now.

"Fine, but we'll talk about this later. I don't like leaving loose ends." Natasha boarded the jet and Clint followed closely behind.

"Job well done." JARVIS' voice greeted him. If an AI could sound overjoyed, it would sound quite like him.

"No problemo, Jarvis." Clint nodded.

"I thank you for bringing Tony back. Notably, alive. I was informed that you two would treat him to first aid. Since you will be too busy to pilot, would you like me to set course to SHIELD headquarters?" JARVIS asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Clint approved and suddenly, the engine roared to life and the jet began to fly.

Steve and Thor sat beside Tony as they waited for Clint and Natasha to take over. After the Hulk had run onto the ship, he had immediately gone to the depths of the ship to turn back into Bruce.

Tony had entered a fitful sleep and he struggled and twisted. Steve and Thor pitied him. He looked like a child amidst a nightmare.

Thor caught sight of Natasha and Clint and stood up. "Here approaches lady Natasha and friend Clint. Perhaps we should leave so the two may have the space to work on friend Tony." Thor said to Steve.

Steve nodded, running a hand through his hair. He had removed the Captain America mask the instant they had laid Tony down. Steve gave Tony a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said, "It's over. Tony. You're okay. It's over."

A/N: I hope this chapter makes up for the super short one yesterday. But shabam, that's the final showdown. Sorry there weren't any explosions or such. I just needed to write some BAMF!Black Widow (Natasha needs more love). As for the shot she made, I remember reading that at some point. I don't know if I remembered it correctly, but it seems plausible enough.

And have no fear, there will be an epilogue! This fic isn't done!

And FuyuSarah kind of inspired me with the idea to turn this into a series. Would you guys be interested in that? Tell me in a review. If I do write the series, it'll explain what the heck V was up to… so… closure?

Anyway… YAY! Tony is safe!

Love ya,

Elide