Adopted Assassin [COMPLETED]

Chapter 20

.20
TESSA: ?
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I held on to the two ropes as they got heavier. I couldn't hold both of them over the cliff for much longer. One held my Dad, unconscious and suit-less, and the other held Clint, whose wrist was broken.

"Clint!" I screamed. "Hold on!" I turned to see the rest of the Avengers losing to HYDRA. I had to make a choice. Let Dad go, let Clint go, or the rest of the Avengers.

"I can't hold on much longer!" He yelled back. "Save your Dad, Tess. I'm going to let go. I love you."

"No! I can't lose you again!" I looked at him and he smiled. He let go of the rope and fell into the canyon below. "Clint!" I cried. But I couldn't let both of them die. I yanked on Dad's rope and heaved him up over the edge. "Dad, wake up!" I screamed in his face. His eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" He sat up.

"I almost lost you." Someone I didn't see came up behind him and put his hands around my Dad's throat. The man snapped his neck. "Dad!"

I woke up screaming. I looked around and saw that I was in my own room. Natasha came running in as I bawled. "Nightmare?" I nodded. She put her arms around me. I cried into her shirt. "Shh, it's okay. You're here now. Everyone's fine," she soothed. "What was it?"

"I-I h-had to ch-chose between C-Clint and D-Dad's lives," I managed to say between sobs.

"That'll never happen. I promise." I looked at her.

"Thanks, Nat." I glanced at the clock. 2:00 am. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"I barely sleep anyways. I have a lot of nightmares. Are you alright now?" I nodded. "Do you need anything?" I shook my head. "Okay, I'm going to go back to bed."

"Thanks, Natasha." I thanked her again.

" 'Night," she replied. Nat closed the door behind her. I laid back down in my bed for a while. I could not go to sleep. I walked out of my room and went into the elevator.

"Hey, JARVIS, take me to the living room."

"It is very early in the morning," he answered.

"I can't sleep," I said. I felt the elevator go up. After a while it stopped and I got out. I walked over to the couch and plopped down. I noticed Thor's hammer sitting on the coffee table. Am I worthy? I thought. No, you're broken. But you're brave and strong. Kind and gentle, well, mostly, anyways. Give it a try. I looked around. I didn't see anyone around to see me fail. I wiped the sweat on my palms off on my t-shirt and stood up. I wrapped my fingers around the handle and lifted up as hard as I could. It came off of the table without hesitation and I stumbled back because of my amount of effort. I gasped. I am worthy? Of Thor's hammer? Thoughts were racing through my mind a million miles per hours. I passed the hammer between my hands. I placed it back down on the table and tried to lift it up again. It came up, again, without a pause. I threw it up in the air and caught it. "Holy crap, I'm must be dreaming." I examined it in my hands.

"No, you're not," a voice said from behind. I turned to see Bucky standing not far from me.

"I didn't see you there," I laughed nervously as I placed the hammer back down on the coffee table. He walked over.

"Why are you up?"

"Nightmares," I said. "Why are you up?"

"Just got back from a mission," he said.

"Oh."

"You can lift it too?" He asked softly.

"I guess so." I took in a deep breath. "Wait, what do you mean 'too'?" He took his regular arm and lifted it up with ease.

"Every time I try to lift it, I think it's not going to work again. But every single time it comes up without a second thought." He looked at me. "I have no idea why it thinks I'm worthy. I killed a lot of people. I betrayed my friends. I just don't understand how I'm worthy of it. No one else knows. Except you, and maybe Thor." He sat on the couch. "It's like he knows who can lift his hammer."

"Can the hammer be wrong?" I asked out loud.

"I asked Thor the same thing. He said that the hammer is never wrong." He smiled. "He got a little suspicious after that."

"Wow. I'm friends with Loki and I can lift Mjolnir. What a week!"

"How's your training going?"

"Good. Loki's teaching me to get a grip on my powers." I sat beside him. I saw his metal arm was dismantled. "What's with your arm, Bucky?"

"On my mission, it got jacked up. Tony taught me how to fix it before. But I kind of messed up." I let out a small laugh.

"Where's the tools?" He pointed at the kitchen counter. "Come on, I'll fix it."

"Do you know how?" He asked as we walked over to the counter. I turned on the light and I saw the real damage.

"Yeah. It's not that hard when you think about it. What happened to it?" I grabbed a pair of tweezers.

"Well, a HYDRA agent had this metal disc sort of thing," he started as I reconnected the wires. "He attached it to my arm and it apparently fried the circuits. I got back an hour ago and your dad wasn't up, so I tried to remember how to fix it myself. I think I made it worse." He groaned. "Ow!"

"Sorry, I didn't know that would hurt," I apologized. In 15 minutes he was good to go. "It should work now. Do you still have that disc?"

"Yeah. I ripped it off when I got back." He shoved it in my hands. "I never wanna see that thing again. What're you going to do with it?"

"Eh. I don't know, probably see how it works." I shrugged. A familiar pain shot through my head. I cried out in pain. Bucky rushed to my side.

"Tessa, what's going on?"

The sickening sweet voice ran through my head once again.

Tessa, you have not come to Svartalfheim yet. Come, my child. Your destiny awaits. If you do not, more of my minions will come. They will kill every last person that you love. Starting with that metal-armed monster.

"No!" I screamed and slammed my fist on the table. "I will come. I swear upon it." I sound like Thor, I thought. "You are not allowed to hurt any of them. I will arrive soon. Leave my friends alone."

"Tessa, what're you talking about?" Bucky asked, clearly worried.

What a clever girl. Meet me in Svartalfheim in a Midgardian week or less and I shall leave your friends and family alone.

"Count on it," I seethed through my teeth. The pain was getting to be too much. I turned to Bucky. "Get - Thor - and - Loki - now." I breathed. "Go!" I waved him away from me. He bolted out of the room.

I will see you soon, dear child.

The searing pain grew worse and worse until there was darkness.