SIXTY-EIGHT

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"The rules have changed,"

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"The rules have changed,"

A smile crossed the lips of Charlotte Watson as she walked between Thor and Steve, Tony on the far side of them. She ignored the conversation, which she knew was a petty argument about how Vision lifting the hammer meant nothing because he wasn't human. Instead, she admired the glass windows and their view of the front lawn to her right.

The new Avengers headquarters in Upstate New York was a sight to behold. It was larger than the tower, with a lot more land and storage space around for anything they would need to do. It was gorgeous, and Lottie knew that memories would be made here, that the Avengers would truly grow here.

"...It's not like a person lifting the hammer. Vision is artificial intelligence,"

"There's different rules for us,"

"You two are just butt hurt that you couldn't lift it," Lottie teased, earning a high five from Thor to her left.

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone," Thor told them, putting an end to the discussion. "It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply."

The group was silent for a moment as they came up on the exit to the field just outside the compound.

"...but if you put the hammer in an elevator-"

"Elevator would still go up!" Tony argued, but Steve only shook his head.

"Elevator isn't worthy,"

"I'm going to miss these talks of ours," Thor told the group as Lottie laughed over the comments. "Unfortunately, I have to go. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position..."

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony suggested, gaining an elbow to the ribs from Lottie as Thor moved to stand in front of them, hammer in hand.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve questioned him.

 "I do. Besides this one," Thor pointed to Tony with a wink. "There's nothing that can't be explained."

With Mjolnir pointed toward the sky, the bifrost enveloped Thor, taking him back to Asgard as leaving the familiar print ingrained in the grass before them. Lottie let out a chuckle as she saw the annoyed look on Tony's face.

"That man has no respect for lawn maintenance," Tony shook his head, walking with the two soldiers toward his car. "I'm gonna miss him though. I know you'll miss me, Clarke, you'll be lost without me. But you're gonna miss me, Cap. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

"I will miss you, Tony," Steve spoke, sending the man a small smile as they came to stand by Tony's bright orange car.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up,"

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