Bird Set Free | Natasha Romanoff ✓

Chapter Twenty-Three

As the night grew longer, pretty much everyone had left, leaving only the Avengers left. 

The atmosphere in the room was playful as quite a few people had had more to drink than they meant to. 

With Clint spinning drumsticks in his hand as he leaned against the couch, it was really all the confirmation you needed. 

However, the Avengers managed to get themselves stuck into yet another debate as they were currently discussing Thor's hammer which was resting on the table in the center of where they were sitting, mocking the worthy rule. 

"It's a trick," Clint shouted for the fifth time, refusing to believe anything but the fact that it was a trick.

"Oh, no. It's so much more than that." Thor replied laughing as Aquila found herself nodding along with realizing. 

"Ah, 'whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power.'" Clint tried to mock Thor but failed miserably causing Aquila to burst out laughing from the couch.  

"What was that supposed to be, Clint?" Aquila teased. "Was that supposed to be Thor? Sounded more like if a little grumpy thunderstorm guy had a voice."

"Hey, don't be mean, Aquila. I highly doubt you could do better."

"Yeah, you wanna test that theory?" 

"Clint, if you are still convinced that it is a trick, please, be my guest," Thor spoke up interrupting, Clint and Aquila's childish banter. 

"Come on!" Tony encouraged. 

"Really?" Clint asked looking around in disbelief. 

"Yeah, of course." Aquila chimed in, pushing her own encouragement towards a situation that would bring her great joy, also a great chance to tease Clint about it later. 

"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey commented as Aquila shot him a humor-filled grin in return. 

"Clint, you've had a rough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Stark teased as more laughter echoed across the room. 

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint said, placing his hands on the handle of the hammer, trying to pick it up but failing miserably. "I still don't know how you do it."

"Smell the silent judgment?"

"Why don't you have a go, Stark?" Aquila asked. 

"Yeah, exactly. Please, Stark. By all means." Clint held his hands open, inviting the billionaire to take his place. 

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." 

"Oh god." Aquila sighed, looking over towards where Quinn sat on the floor next to Steve. 

"It's physics," Tony stated, wrapping the handle strap around his wrist. "Right, so if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" 

"Yes, of course," Thor replied, confident that none of them would succeed. 

"I will be reinstituting prima nocta."

"Stark, really?" Aquila commented. 

Aquila had the utmost pleasure in watching Tony fail miserably, leaving the group, only to return with his Iron Man arm from the suit but even with that still failing miserably.

"Oh, this is just too good," Aquila said, clapping her hands together like an excited child. 

Eventually, Rhodey was also roped into to helping Tony but even with both the Iron Man and War Machine arms, still failed. 

"Are you even pulling?"

"Are you on my team?"

"Just represent! Pull!"

Bruce ended up going next but as the other before him, failed. Steve was the next to go and somewhat succeeded as the hammer had just budged enough for the human eye to see.

"Widow? Keira? Aquila? Cap's girlfriend?" Tony asked as Aquila hid her smirk as Steve glared at Tony. 

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered." Natasha said. 

"Besides," Aquila said, chiming in. "I can rip anyone's chest open with my own talons, I don't think I need to rule Asgard to be awesome." She said arrogantly. 

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged."'

"You bet your ass."

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria teased, pointing towards Clint. 

"Did you tell everybody that?" Steve complained to Tony.

"The handle's imprinted, right?" Tony asked Thor, completely ignoring what Steve had said. "Like a security code. 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints' is, I think, the literal translation."

"Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one," Thor said standing, picking up the hammer like it weighed nothing. "You're all not worthy."

Groans of disappointment and disagreement exploded within the group but their bantering was quickly interrupted by a loud high pitched screeching noise which led them all to silence.

"Wooorrrrttthhhyy." The voice croaked out. "No. How could you all be worthy?"

Aquila's eyes widened as she took in the sight in front of her, one of the Iron Legion bots crouched down, missing an arm, looking extremely different than what the bots usually looked like.

"You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve said warningly, as everyone in the room tensed. 

"Jarvis!" Tony shouted out, trying to call his system.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," The robot apologized, even though it sounded like anything but an apology.  "Or. . . .I was a-dream?"

"Reboot, Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

"There was a terrible noise," The robot figure still continued on. "And I was tangled. . . in . . in . . strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked as Aquila instinctively stepped back to stand next to Natasha. 

"Wouldn't have been my first call," the robot then responded trying his best to defend himself. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor asked, his voice authoritative. 

Tony's voice then echoed across the room but it didn't come from the man himself. "I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Ultron!" Bruce shouted out distressed. 

"Ultron?" Aquila asked in confusion. 

"In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this. . . chrysalis."

The atmosphere that had been so playful only moments before was now thick with tension, as no one quite knew what was happening. 

"I'm on a mission," The robot tried to explain. 

"What mission?" Nat asked.

The remaining Iron Legion then burst through the wall, causing everyone to jump into action.

Chaos broke loose, but as Aquila took down one of the bots, her only concern was, even though Natasha was more than capable of taking care of herself, making sure Natasha was alright.