Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 60: Shoot to Thrill

Chapter Sixty

Shoot to Thrill

Milky Way Galaxy

Sol System

Nine Realms / Planet Earth

When the elevator opened, being face-to-face with an unfamiliar man was not what she expected.

'Who are you and what are you doing here?' Natasha asked immediately. The man stared at her in shocked silence for a moment.

'He was checking up on the fireworks!' called a voice from inside, probably Bruce, but it sounded like he was eating something.

Clint did not wait for the man to move, he stepped out of the elevator and passed him. Natasha followed after a moment. The man stepped into the elevator and left right away.

'They're really putting on fireworks too?' Clint asked as soon as they were inside. Bruce was indeed eating some Chinese food from a box.

'Did you not see the crowd outside?' Bruce asked. 'I'm surprised there's no giant Iron Man hot air balloon tied to the Tower.'

'Don't jinx it,' Clint said.

'So what are you guys doing here?' Bruce asked.

'Is Steve around?' Natasha asked. 'JARVIS?'

'I already let him know that you are here, Agent Romanoff,' the AI replied dutifully. It was probably only her imagination, but the AI always seemed to say her name with the same tone Pepper Potts used nowadays, deliberately poorly concealed false politeness.

'Is there trouble?' Bruce asked.

'We're just monitoring the situation,' Natasha answered.

'In other words, Fury's Pepper Paranoia is acting up again,' Clint added. It made Bruce chuckle. Natasha wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained.

'You should take this more seriously, Clint,' she said instead.

'Really?' Clint looked back at her. 'That the big birthday festival outside counts as suspicious activity?'

'There was even a concert,' Bruce added. 'And the kids got free Iron Man figurines if they answered the Tony Stark trivia questions right.'

'Wow, this really sure sounds nefarious,' Clint said with a completely flat tone. 'Maybe there's even free beer down there... the horror.'

'This whole celebration came out of nowhere,' Natasha said. 'And she's supposed to make some big announcement. There are a lot of reporters outside. Why?'

'Maybe the Stark Industries engineers finally managed to finish some of Tony's half-finished inventions,' Bruce suggested. 'I know they've been trying. That would be big news.'

'And that would explain why she would make a huge Tony Stark festival around it,' Clint added. 'Marketing you know.'

'And why the tower?' Natasha asked. 'She could have picked any location. She arranged it around the Avengers Tower.'

'Because she asked us to make an appearance,' Steve said as he entered the room. 'Hey Clint, Natasha.'

'She did?' Clint asked.

'Not as a request,' Steve said as he walked to the fridge to get out some water. 'She just said it would be nice if people saw us a little. It is for Tony's birthday, so it would be a nice gesture and all.'

'Oh, I'm in,' Clint said. 'Free beer and dancing Ironettes, what's not to like?'

'We're not here to party,' Natasha reminded him, but Clint did not seem reprimanded at all.