1| Silver & Gold [Pietro M.] ✔

09. Wifi Problems

Just as suddenly as the fight seems to have begun, it ends with Thor using his trusty hammer to demolish the final ragged robot standing.

You'd think that nearly dying would be the worst possible thing to happen to you. But for me? Sitting in awkward silence as the Avengers brood while the Wifi is shot...now that is third-tier level horror. Add onto that, I have a hungover Murk wearing the darkest shades possible fretting over Tony Stark with a volume much too loud in a space as small as this lab. "Here, Maria, let me help." I pull up a stool across from where the agent is attempting to pull the glass from the bottom of her foot, mostly unsuccessful. She grumbles in defeat and rests her ankle across my knee before handing over the tweezers. I carefully begin to extract the small pieces with a steady hand while the Avengers converse after Tony's shut Murk up — no easy feat. The broody Russian abandons the billionaire to wrap his arms around my shoulders, using the back of my head to rest his chin on. "Hello to you too, Murk."

"Shhh...Iris quit yelling."

"Bitch, I will show you yelling-"

"I'll put whip cream between your toes-"

"I'll shave you bald-"

"I'll steal your dog-"

"I'll- wait, what dog?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Are your conversations always like this?" Colonel Rhodes cuts into our back-and-forth bickering with bewilderment.

"Yes." The two of us answer together while Maria leans back in her seat, watching us with close eyes. I've only ever told her stories about Murk, but to actually witness the two of us interact must be a real experience. Still, she keeps to herself. In the background, Dr. Banner has begun conversing about the latest excitement. Or should I call it the latest threat to Earth?

"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch."

Steve quietly whispers 'Ultron' to himself while shaking his head, unhappy with the whole situation. I mean I would be too if a robot smashed my hella rad party with my friends, tried to kill a doctor from a foreign country, stole a weapon that had belonged to a brooding Asgardian who could crush your skull with his bicep alone, and totally decimated your entertainment space.

Not to mention the wifi.

Murk seems to agree with my sentiments. He groans and tilts his head to rest his cheek on my head. "Did angry robot have to take out the wifi on the way out? Now how am I supposed to watch compilations of Tony Stark breaking stuff in New York?"

"Nothing is sacred with this Ultron man." I concur.

"Robot."

"Huh?" I look up at Banner.

"Robot. Ultron's not a man." He corrects me.

"Right, right." I straighten up, much to the displeasure of my accomplice, and allow Maria to set her glass-free foot on the cold tile. "I suggest cleaning that up with a bit of hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. None of the cuts were large enough to need stitches." I tell her calmly, which puts a smile on her face, albeit briefly.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance... He probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Romanoff adds, arms crossed as she leans against the far wall with a window into another portion of Stark's lab. Barton shifts uneasily behind us, takes a deep breath and looks around uncomfortably. It's like there's something he doesn't want anybody to know, even his closest friends.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodes poses the question seriously. The side of my lips curls upwards while I let out a soft snort.