Frostbitten

Chapter 24

I looked through my extensive hoodie collection to find the best one to wear to the party. My dark blue jeans fit well with the hoodie I picked. I opened my door to find Natasha standing ready to knock.

She laughed and commented on my hoodie, "Fluent in awkward? That's hilarious and it fits you so well." I smiled and asked why she had come. "Clint and I are organizing a nerf war and we want to know if you'll join our surprise attack." She said. "We're betting on the fact that Tony will start a dumb game and we can either stop it at the beginning or interrupt halfway through the game."

I grinned and agreed to be on her team and we walked down to the living room together.

"We have a surprise guest everyone!" Tony yelled when Nat and I came into the room. I looked around and saw a tall, well built man with long blond hair and recognized him immediately as Thor.

"THE MAN OF IRON HAS INVITED ME TO YOUR PARTY, MORTALS!" His booming voice echoed through the tower and Tony asked him to keep the yelling to a minimum. After introductions had been made, we sat down on Tony's huge couch with bowls of popcorn and Tony started a game right away. I wanted to shrink into the couch as he announced we were playing truth or dare. Dares scared me well enough but the truth was much more frightening. I looked to Nat to see if she was going to start the war right away but she gave the signal to wait. I inwardly sighed as Tony began the game.

"Alright, Clint. We'll start with you. Truth or dare?" He asked. Clint said truth and Tony replied, "Have you ever hit someone with your car?" The whole room gasped as Clint's face fell.

"Well," He started, "I actually hit Natasha with my car once. It was accidental, she walked out in front of me but yeah. She was bruised for a week." We all looked to Nat for confirmation and she nodded, Clint was telling the truth.

"Okay, now it's my turn." Clint said grinning, "Thor, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" The man said loudly.

Clint smiled and said, "I dare you to kiss the most attractive person in this room."

Thor immediately got up and walked over to the mirror and kissed it, giving us all a good laugh.

"My turn?" He asked when he sat back down. Tony nodded and Thor turned to me and asked, "Lady Makayla, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I said, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.

"What is the last lie you told?" He asked.

I thought for a moment before replying, "I'm fine." Dead silence followed while everyone stared at me.

"Truth or dare, Steve?" I said in a dull voice. He slowly replied dare. I smirked and said, "I dare you to go to the animal shelter tomorrow and adopt the ugliest cat you can find." Steve looked relieved that I gave him something relatively easy. Clint suddenly got up and announced he was going to get some water. I looked at Nat and she nodded, giving me the signal to be ready. I reached behind the couch cushion where Nat hid two pistols for me and waited for Clint to begin the war. I tuned out the game until a nerf bullet hit Tony in the side of the head and bounced to the floor.

"Oh, it's on now, Barton!" Tony yelled and I pulled out my pistols and followed Natasha out the door to meet up with Clint.

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I snuck through the dark halls of the tower alone after Nat and Clint explained the rules and their strategy to me. Head shots (killed) knocked a person out of the game, chest shots turned them to your team and leg shots wounded them. My job was to take out Steve while Natasha hunted down Thor to bring him to our side, knowing Tony and Bruce would form an alliance and Steve is an unbeatable, one man army. I was restricted from using my powers since they were a controllable advantage whereas Steve couldn't help being a super soldier so he was excused. Tony had shut off the power in the tower so I had to walk around in the dark. Clint stayed behind to guard a room we had claimed as our headquarters. The elevator at the end of the hallway started opening slowly and I saw a pair of hands prying it open quietly. I knelt down by the wall and watched Steve cautiously walk down the hall with a nerf rifle in his hands. He walked by without noticing me and I let him walk a little farther before turning around and shooting him in the back of the head. He dropped his gun and turned around to see who shot him, then exclaimed, "Makayla! I didn't think you would be the one to do me in. Good job."

I smiled and let him leave for the living room to wait until the game was done. I slowly headed back to Clint to see if Nat had found Thor to bring him back.

"Has Nat come back yet?" I asked Clint and he shook his head. I sighed and found a spot to wait until she came back. My head perked up a few minutes later when I heard footsteps. Very odd footsteps, they were uneven.

"Be prepared to shoot when Nat comes in." Clint said quietly. I was confused but followed his orders. "Aim for the head, I'll explain later."

Nat walked in with Thor close behind and I shot in the general direction of their heads and heard them call out that they were down. Clint had hit Thor easily from his vantage point and I was able to hit Nat in the head. They left immediately to join Steve in the living room and Clint explained that Natasha's footsteps had been morse code for "done". In other words she had been captured and was giving herself up so we could win. We stalked through the tower until Clint decided to go up into the air vents to try and find Tony and Bruce. He gave me an earbud and said he would tell me when he found them. I walked around quietly until I heard Clint tell me he found the guys cooped up in a lab room and paranoid as anything. I chuckled as Clint told me his plan and he said he was ready when I was.

I knocked on the door of the lab where the guys were hiding and told them I was alone and I needed to join someone before I got caught.

Tony asked through the door, "How do we know you're not lying?"

"I'll lay my weapons at the bottom of the door and step back if you open the door unarmed and let me in. We'll just have to trust each other." I said and followed my word, laying my guns down at the door. Tony slowly opened the door and kicked my guns inside the room and showed me his empty hands, ushering me inside. I slowly reached for the pistol at my back and pulled it out, shooting Tony point blank in the forehead. I heard the click of a gun and felt a bullet hit my temple and I yelped in surprise. Bruce hid behind me and shot me, taking me down. Clint and I had expected that and I was willing to sacrifice myself while he hid in the vent to take out Bruce after he shot me. And just like that, the game was over. Tony turned the lights back on and we all met back in the living room where we talked about the best parts of the mock war and I was very glad I decided to join the party that night. For once I felt like I belonged.