Avengers/MCU Oneshots

Sacrifice (Clint Barton)

Alternate ending to AoU, though... you may wanna grab some tissues. The title is from the song Sacrifice by Zella Day... listen to it during or after reading and you'll understand why I made it the title. The first few verses are also at the end of this oneshot.

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Clint Barton thought it couldn't worse. Pietro Maximoff- that quick little ba*****- had gotten himself killed, and devastated his poor sister in the process. But he'd also saved Clint's life- he couldn't let that go. He'd asked Vision to go get Wanda, bring her safety to the helicarrier. That was the least he could do for his savior.

But when Vision came back, he was holding two small, unconscious toddlers. They must have been buried under some rubble. They were breathing, but barely. Dr. Cho quickly whisked them away. The city vaporized, and Clint's heart broke.

"Why didn't you bring Wanda back?" He asked Vision. He was upset, and sort of angry. He owed Pietro his life, and he wanted to repay the favor by protecting his beloved twin.

"She found these two right before the city dropped. She insisted that I take them, and leave her. She knew that she would die, and she didn't care. She said that those children deserved their lives, and that she'd lived hers, and she was ready."

Clint hated- HATED that a young woman, who couldn't have been more than nineteen, was ready to die. She shouldn't have been. She shouldn't have been through h*** like that.

She should have been safe, and happy. She should be happily eating with her dinner with her family. But her family- like her- were gone for good. Clint was sure that's why she was ready. Would living truly been better for her? Or was this merciful? At least she was with her family again. And she was forever safe now, wasn't she?

Tony and Thor walked in. Thor was carrying a girl's limp body in his arms. Clint realized it was Wanda. Thor set her down gingerly beside her brother. He looked depressed, as did everyone in the room.

A few strains of music played from a radio, catching Clint's attention. Listening to the music, he noticed it suited the situation.

-•- Five says later -•-

While the twins were buried in what remained of Sokovia, the Avengers were holding a private memorial service for them in New York. Even though none of them had known the twins very well, they decided that they deserved it. They sacrificed themselves for their people, their country, and the world. And that deserved recognition.

Clint was asked to say something, given that he was deemed to be the one who knew them best. And he technically did. He had talked to them on the way to Sokovia. They'd explained their story, and apologized. Clint had apologized too, for electrocuting Wanda in the face, and for shooting the floor out from under Pietro's feet. They shrugged it off, pointing out that they were fighting.

"So, the Maximoff twins. None of us knew them even a week before they died. But they had an impact on us, that's for sure. I owe my life to Pietro, and we could quite possibly owe the world to Wanda. If she has left earlier, who knows what could've happened. They made a mistake, and they cleaned it up at the cost of their own lives. And THAT, in my opinion, is one of the noblest things that you can do.

"Sure, they messed up. Sure, they hurt people. But they didn't enjoy it. They told me so themselves. They went through a lot in their short lives, more than anyone should have to.

"They watched their parents die in a bombing that almost killed them. They were ten. Honestly, their young age probably contributed to their hatred. They were little, they couldn't understand why someone would do that, who would do that. The only answer for their questions was the name painted on the side of the shell. Which, if you didn't know, was Stark.

"Their country then descended into a civil war that killed half its population. And they were homeless through it, struggling to get by.

"When Strucker approached them about the HYDRA experiments a year ago, they did what would they thought was right. They thought we were a bunch of overpowered hypocrites. So what if we saved the world? We lived there! Through, I'm sure that they realized the true impact of it when they were saving the world.

"They came to realize, though, that we did our best. That we saved as many people as we could- and that sometimes that doesn't mean everybody.

And it wasn't as if the twins didn't take responsibility for their actions- I was with Wanda for most of the fight, and she acknowledged several times that it was her fault, her and her brother's. I told her that you could point fingers to just about everyone, but that it didn't matter. What mattered is what she chose to do now. 'It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were.'

"And that is the best advice I've ever given, I think. It wasn't the first time I've ever given it, just ask Nat. No one's perfect. And if you really stop to think about it, are we that much better than the twins? Sure they almost helped cause human extinction, but they immediately stopped helping Ultron when they realized what was up.

"They were heroes, and deserve to be recognized as such. Both were brave, I couldn't have done what they did when I was their age. I mean, honestly, could you have done that at nineteen? They were strong, and brave. And we will be sure to remember them.

"As for the music I picked, I picked this song for two reasons. One, it was what was playing on the helicarrier when Tony and Thor got on. Two, the lyrics. I thought that song suited the twins pretty well, and I hope that I didn't make an error in judgment. It's called Sacrifice, and I want you to take a few minutes to listen to it when I'm done talking.

"Well, that sums that up, I guess. Those kids certainly drew the short straw, but their story inspires me, and I think that it always will. No matter what you do, there is always a way to fix it. I hope this speech made that speedy little ba***** and the little witch proud."

There was applause as Clint made his way to his seat, and it was quiet except for the sound of music drifting through the air.

"I don't wanna be touched by the fear in your eyes. I don't wanna be left for my demons to find. When the leaves are gone, and the beating's sung, brings the world bang drums. Tell me you, will hold me in the golden afterlife. Yeah, you. You don't have to die alone tonight.

"I will find you in a burning sky. Where the ashes rain in your mind. Ohh, ohh. Sacrifice.

"If we're closer to the other side. And the heavens all start to cry. Ohh, ohh. Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice."