Sunshine | Pietro Maximoff

CHAPTER 4

When I found Natasha, she was standing behind the bar with a coy smile on her face. Steve sat opposite her. As I approached them, I overheard part of their conversation.

"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" Steve asked, a small smirk on his lips.

"Fella done me wrong." Natasha replied.

Deciding it was best not to interrupt, I made my way over to where I could see Clint and Bruce chatting.

"Dr Madden." Bruce greeted with a smile.

"Dr Banner." I replied.

I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray and took a sip.

"Any news from the lab?" I asked.

Bruce shook his head. "Unfortunately, no." He said.

"I'm sure you'll get there." Clint began. "You have two of the greatest minds, plus Stark, on the case."

Stark, who had been passing by, joined the conversation just as Clint spoke.

"Someone say my name?" He asked with a smirk.

"It was nothing flattering, I promise." Clint said with a small chuckle.

"Remember who's building this is." Stark gave Clint a rather hard pat on the back before leaving.

~*~

After the majority of the guests had left, the team and I sat lounging on the couches. Taking a sip from the beer in my hand, I listened as Clint argued with Thor over the logistics of Mjolnir.

"But it's a trick." Said Clint, spinning a drum stick in his hand.

"No, no, it's much more than that." Replied Thor.

"'Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!'" Clint mocked. "Whatever, man, it's a trick." He said with a laugh.

"Please, be my guest." Insisted Thor.

He gestured to Mjolnir, which sat on the table in the centre of where we sat. Everyone turned their attention to Clint.

"Really?" He asked.

Thor nodded and Clint arose from his seat.

"This is gonna be beautiful." Remarked Rhodey.

"Come on, you can do it, old man." I said.

"Don't you start, kid." Clint replied with a small chuckle.

After more teasing from the rest of the team, namely Stark, Clint approached Mjolnir. Placing one hand on the handle of the hammer rather confidently, he strained for a moment. Then, with a laugh, he released his grip.

"I still don't know how you do it." He said, returning to his seat between Maria and I.

"Smell the silent judgement?" Asked Stark.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Encouraged Clint, gesturing to Mjolnir.

Stark arose from his seat and cockily unbuttoned his suit jacket. "Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." He said.

The team goaded him on and he stepped up to where Mjolnir rested. Placing one leg on the table and both hands on the handle of the hammer, he pulled with all his might. Mjolnir didn't budge.

"I'll be right back." He said.

Tony left the room and returned moments later with the gauntlet from his Iron Man suit. He tried again, but the hammer still didn't budge.

"Rhodey, little help." Stark said.

With a sigh, Rhodey went off to retrieve his own gauntlet. Even with the combined power of both their suits, Mjolnir still didn't move an inch.

"Are you even pulling?" Asked Rhodey.

"Are you on my team?" Countered Tony.

"Just represent. Pull."

"Alright, let's go."

Despite their efforts, Mjolnir refused to move. Eventually, the pair gave up and released their grip.

"Just accept defeat, Stark." I teased.

"You think you could do better, Madden?" Replied Tony, taking his seat.

I shrugged my shoulders, setting down my bottle of beer.

"We'll find out, won't we?"

I got up from my chair and cracked my knuckles.

"Come on, 'Phelia, show 'em how it's done." Nat said from her seat beside Steve.

"I think it's time Asgard had a Queen." I told Thor, stepping up to Mjolnir.

"We'll see." Thor responded, a confident smile on his face.

Placing both hands on the handle, I let out a deep breath. It couldn't be that hard. With all my might, I pulled at the hammer. Nothing. It was as if it weighed a million pounds.

"We'll go ahead and throw that 'queen' idea out the window, shall we?" Stark teased.

"Not too fast there, I'm not done yet." I said.

Releasing my grip, I created a lasso of light and bound it around the handle. Once again, I pulled with all my might. Still, nothing. With a defeated laugh, I returned to my seat.

"It was a nice idea, Lady Ophelia." Thor reassured me with a smile.

Next up to try was Banner. He gripped firmly around the handle with both hands, and pulled. With a yell, he made out as if he was turning into the Hulk. When no one fell for it, he released his grip, a smile on his face. Steve arose next. With shouts of encouragement from members of the team, he placed both hands on the handle. Then, to my surprise, Mjolnir moved ever so slightly; barely an inch, yet a movement nonetheless. I noticed the panic that seemed to flash in Thor's eyes. The look of confidence he had worn until this point disappeared. Steve tried again, yet nothing further happened. He let out a sigh and released his grip, a smile on his face.

Thor disguised his panic with a laugh. "Nothing." He commented, laughing once more.

"How about you, Nat?" I asked.

"No, no. That's not a question I need answered." Natasha replied, leaning back in her seat and taking a sip from her beer.

"Fair enough." I said with a laugh.

While Tony and Barton continued to argue with Thor over the legitimacy of his hammer, I sat back and simply enjoyed this moment. Despite all of us living here, it wasn't often the whole team had the chance to spend time together like this.

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

"Yes. It's uh, a very, very interesting theory." Thor replied, rising from his seat and approaching the table. "I have a simpler one."

As if it weighed nothing at all, Thor picked up Mjolnir and flipped it in his hand. "You're all not worthy."

Collective groans arose from the team. Suddenly, a high pitched noise came out of nowhere, causing me to quickly cover my ears. Following the noise came the sound of metal clunking closer and closer to where we sat.

"Worthy..." Said a distorted voice.

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the voice to see a disfigured, robotic body slowly approaching us.