Two minutes and she would be dead. She closed her eyes. Just feeling the wind rush past her body. She could feel the blood being pulled from the 3 bullet holes. Pain slowly throbbed throughout her body. She turned so that she faced the ground 30,000ft below. She had fallen just as the aircraft carrier flew just over the coast. If Lex was lucky she'd be able to survive the impact into the water, but she had to land just right. If not, it would be like landing on concrete. She had just from a helicopter into the ocean before, but that had only been a 150ft up not 30,000.
She had two minute though. Two minutes before she lived or died. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about anything. She tried to let her mind go blank, but as she did the pain became worse. That was another thing she had to factor in; would she reach the water before she died from the bullets. Even if she did, it would still be a good mile or so back to shore. Shit. She was so screwed.
'C'mon, Barton, think of something that doesn't evolve dying.'
What about her brother? What about Tony?
She knew that Clint would be wrecked over her , she wasn't so sure about. They were literally about to physically fight right there in front of everyone. Did he really mean it when he said he hated her? It sure seemed like it the past day or so, but she knew differently. All those long night working on his suits or his cars said other wise. There was something there. She just hadn't a clue as to what it was…or did she?
As the ocean neared, she maneuvered her body so she was feet 's how she was train to jump out of a chopper, hopefully it applied to this situation as well. She slung her bow over across her back so it was with her arrows. She didn't know if they would survive the drop, but she sure hoped they did. She closed her eyes as she broke the surface of the blue landscape. Salt water rushed around her and she drove deep into the waves. The bullet holes burned with unbearable pain. She was paralyzed as it crawl up her torso and down her arms and legs.
Once Lex felt her body discontinue its decent, she began her journey to the surface, whichever way that was. She couldn't tell. It was all blue. She couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. She just swam in straight and prayed it was the right choice. The light shown through the water become brighter and brighter. She picked right.
Halfway to her destination, her lungs started to burn. She still had a fair amount of water to surpass before she reached air. She focused on the burning in her lower left abdomen instead.
A couple more yards…almost there…
Lex burst through the blue wall and gasped for air allowing the burning in her lungs to subside. As she caught her breath she looked for shore. It was a good mile away. Great. Lew was in phenomenal shape, but swimming a mile with 3 bullet hole in her was not something she would enjoying enduring.
40 grueling minutes later she stumbled into the sand. She would have made a better time if she wasn't bleeding out into the ocean. Dragging herself up the beach, she reached one of those showers where she rinse all the sand from her body and out of her wounds, quiver and off her bow. Survive the drop, check. Make it to shore, check. Next on the list was live through her injuries.
Lex watched as taxi pulled up a few feet away. A young man dress in bean attire readied himself to enter the cab. "Hey! You!" His head snapped up and he locked eye with her. His pupils began to dilate. He was freaked out. Who wouldn't be? She was dressed in all her gear, bow in hand and gun at her hip. He went to grab his stuff and scramble into the yellow car, but Lex was much faster then he was. She pulled a bow out of her wet quiver and shot it in a matter of seconds. The arrow went through the loss fabric of his swimsuit and into the metal of the taxi. Lex walked up smugly to the car and the now frightened man who was struggling to pull thte arrow lose. "This could have gone so much better."
He didn't say anything, his brown eyes wide and locked on her. She felt a pang in her heart as she was reminded of Tony's beautiful brown eyes. She shook the thought away and focus back on the man in front of her. She wrapped her hand around the arrow and yanked it from the taxi setting the man free. "Scram." Lex certainly didn't need to say it twice. The man took off running. She forced herself not to laugh. Laughing would be cruel right?
Returning the bow back to its place in her quiver, she climbed into the cab. "Where to?" The drive asked blatantly, oblivious to the events that happened outside.
"The nearest hospital."
"Will do."
Lex sat back as he pulled away from the beach. She came to a realization that she had absolute no idea where she was. "Um… what state am I in?"
The driver chucked and glanced at her via rear view mirror. "Rough night?"
"Something like that."
"New Jersey."
XXX
The cab dropped Lex off at the Bayshore Community Hospital emergency room free of charge. It may have been the fact that he was really nice or that he saw that he was armed with a bow and 9mm hand gun. The whole way to the hospital Lex could feel the blood leaving her body. The constant pressure she kept on her wounds didn't stop the blood flow.
Now you'd think Lex you go INTO the emergency room and seek help, but no. She slowly made her way over to one of the parked ambulances. As quickly as possible, she opened the doors and pulled herself into the back of the emergency vehicle. She closed the door and got to work.
She rummaged through all of the medical equipment looking for just the basics; tweezers, a few towels, gauze, cotton balls, something to disinfect her wounds, and stitches. She found the first 5 with no problem, but it took her some digging to find the last.
Lex pulled her skin tight shirt up slightly and grabbed a towel and took grip of it between her teeth. She then disinfected the tweezers and started fishing for the first of the three bullets. She had to painfully feel her way through her abdomen. After ten minutes she grabbed the first one, placing it next to her. Another ten and she grabbed the second. The last one took her longer to get a hold of, but she finally managed to pluck it out after 20 excruciating minutes. Next came the disinfecting. Once she was done with that she moved to the stitching portion of her medical mission. Lex grabbed the needle and stitches and started on again on the first bullet hole. Stitching was easy, painful, but easy. She finished all three in about 25 minutes. Last, but not least, she covers her new stitches in gauze.
She gingerly pulled her shirt back down and took a look out of the ambulance window. There were a few people here and there, but most were inside. She opened the door and slipped out of the emergency vehicle. She tried to look a casual as possibly, but that was pretty hard seeing that she was suited up. Most people minded their own business though, only a few looking her way. As she walked past a man, no more than 20 years of age, she pick pocketed his phone without his notice. It was an old flip phone, so no password to worry about.
She off walked a bit so she was well in front of the emergency room. She needed to get back to the team. She flipped opened the outdated phone and dialed a number that she knew by heart. A number that knew would get her help.
Once the second ring she heard the heard the line open. "Hey, boss."
XXX
"Lex? I…We thought you were dead!" Tony freaked, his eyes watering at the sound of her voice. She was alive. He hadn't lost her. Tony felt the weight on his heart lift.
"Well, sorry to disappoint." Disappoint? Hearing her voice was possibly the best thing he had ever heard.
"Where the hell are you?" He didn't want to go into detail. At least not until they were face to face.
"Bayshore Community Hospital emergency room in New Jersey. I could use a lift."
"See you in 2." Tony instantly changed course and headed for his thought lost best friend.
XXX
Lex snapped the phone shut, a smile firmly planted on her face. It wasn't because of the fact that Tony was coming. No, it was what he said. He called her Lex for the first time since he found out she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. Did being under the false pretense that she was dead make him rethink his harsh words? She sure hoped so.
Lex turned as she heard the familiar sound of thrusters. Her smile slowly faded at the battered suit. What happened to it? Tony landed clumsily in from of her, quickly regaining his balance. His helmet melted into the rest of his suit, reveiling his face. His eyes, brimmed with tears, showed happiness and relief. He had a smile on his face, the type of legit smile that took a lot to get out go him
"I…" He wasn't sure what to say. All thing passed between them the past day or so had been hurtful and cruel. He didn't know what to say to make up for that. It was all his fault really, the fighting. Excepting her past should have been something he should have done instantly. He was wrong for saying what he did to her.
Lex didn't wait for him to come up with something to say because she knew he would. She knew Tony Stark was not one to talk about his feeling. So, she threw he arms around his neck and embraced him, resting her head on his metal shoulder. The cold metal felt good against her wounds. Tony returned the gesture by wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, making sure she was as close as possible. He never wanted to let her go.
The metal against her skin was cold to the touch, but warm in meaning. "I should have told you-."
"No. You had your reasons. I was just a dick who though he knew everything. You didn't want anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.. You wanted to start new and you found that with me. Being from S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn't change that. It doesn't change that. You are and will always be my best friend. No one gets me like you, not even Pepper. She did to a certain degree, but you have surpassed that by a hell of a lot more." Lex pulled away from him slightly, just enough to see his face. Her hands remained around his neck and his on her waist.
"I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to see me for me. You're one of the few people in the world that means anything to me. One of the very few I trust with my life. I would have told you eventually. I think…" Opening up really wasn't her thing, but when it came to Tony, she did a lot of things she usually wouldn't do.
"You think?" He teased. He raised an eyebrow in question. He smiled as she giggled. "Just promises me no more secrets, okay?"
"No more secrets," She repeated in conformation. There was a few seconds of silence before Tony spoke up.
"There's something I never told you. I was never planning on telling you." He confessed. He might as well get it out there. He didn't have a lot of 'deep' moments so he figured now or never.
"Huh?" Tony told her everything. He really did. He may not go in depth and in detail all the time, but he always mentioned anything on his mind.
"Remember when me and Pepper broke up? I told you she broke up with me." Lex slowly nodded. She was clearly still confused as to where this conversation was going because they obviously had more important things to do. "Well, that was a lie." He smirked as her right eyebrow went up stating her confusion and curiosity, just as his did earlier. "I was the one who broke things off."
"What! Why would you do that? You guys were-"
"She wasn't the one," He simply stated. Lex just stared at him wide eyed. She thought they were a great couple. They were always so cute together. Total opposites. It was so entraining to watch them.
"And how do you know that?" She always like them together no matter her feelings towards the billionaire. They were great together. Sure there were areas in each other lives where the other didn't really fit, but that happened with every couple. Pepper always put Tony first, that was clearly obvious. But now that she thought about it, Tony didn't always put Pepper first. Lex spent more time with Tony this past year then Pepper did.
"Because I found her. She was one of the smartest women I've ever met, beautiful, could easily match my sarcasm, put up with my shit, and put me in my place," Tony took hold of one of her hand with his metal ones and looked down at the ground. He really wish he wasn't in this damn suit now. "I almost lost her though. I couldn't see past one of her…quirks and I almost pushed her away completely. As a matter of fact, I thought she had died thinking that I hated her. I would have never been able to live with myself…"
"Did you ever tell her how you felt?" Lex asked. She knew exactly what Tony was doing, but she didn't call him out on it. She played along. She knew he was talking about her.
"No. I'm Tony Stark, I don't fall for people. I'm just a man in a metal suit playing the hero," He smirked as he quoted her. He looked back up at her and met her blue eyes with his brown. "I wasn't ready to take the risk of losing her. Which now that I think of it, is kinda ironic."
"Ever take into consideration that she could feel the same way?" She smiled at him as his face brightened.
Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted by Captain America. "Stark, you there yet?"
"Just about," He replied. Tony tightened his gripped on Lex and shot off into the sky, his helmet now inclosing his face. Tony felt Lex's body tighten up.
"I'm going to fucking kill you for that one." She yelled over the wind.
"Let's worry about saving the world first."

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