Tour Guide | Steve Rogers ✓

Chapter Nine

As the night grew later, the majority of the party guests had left the building only leaving the Avengers with Quinn and Keira, Tony's girlfriend as tag-ons left. 

Quinn sat against the couch near Steve as she looked over at the Avengers many whom she had only met that night, at their playful antics that had clearly spawned from one too many drinks that night. 

She shared a quick smile with Steve who returned it before his eyes left her gaze once more, something clearly on his mind. 

The playful conversation in the air courtesy of the Avengers suddenly took a turn, becoming a debate of Thor's hammer which rested on the center of the table in front of them. 

"But, it's a trick," Clint Barton shouted, his firm belief that the worthy rule surrounding the mystic hammer was nothing but a trick.  

"Oh, no. It's so much more than that." Thor replied laughing at Clint's attempt to prove his theory, the rest of the room falling into laughter with him. 

"Uh, 'whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power.'" Clint imitated in an attempt to mock Thor only to fail miserably.

"What was that supposed to be, Clint?" Aquila teased, falling back against the couch in her glee. "Was that supposed to be Thor? Sounded more like if a little grumpy thunderstorm guy had a voice."

Quinn shook her head with a laugh, and exchanging a glance with Keira Ross from across the table who had a similar confused expression on her face. 

"Hey, don't be mean, Aquila. I highly doubt you could do better."

"Yeah, you wanna test that theory?"

"Clint, if you are still convinced that it is a trick, please, be my guest," Thor interrupted the childish banter between Clint and Aquila that was growing in volume with every passing word. 

"Come on!" Tony encouraged against his better judgment. 

"Really?" Clint asked in disbelief that he would even get an opportunity to do so. 

"Yeah, of course." Aquila chimed in encouragingly, clearly as eager to see the outcome as everyone else. 

"Oh, this is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey commented.

"Clint, you've had a rough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony Stark teased, only increasing the laughter in the room. 

"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint clarified before placing his hands on the handle of the hammer, giving it his all but failing miserably. "I still don't know how you do it."

"Smell the silent judgment?"

"Why don't you have a go, Stark?" Aquila chimed in once more. 

"Yeah, exactly. Please, Stark. By all means." Clint invited wanting to watch the billionaire fail as he had. 

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge."

"Oh god." Aquila sighed from across the room, sharing an eager smile with the blonde. 

"It's physics," Tony stated matter of factedly, wrapping the handle strap around his wrist. "Right, so if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?"

"Yes, of course," Thor replied, knowing very well that none of them would succeed at all. 

"I will be reinstituting prima nocta."

"Stark, really?" Aquila commented once again. 

As expected Tony soon failed like Clint had before him, attempting to use his Iron Man arm his suit but still failing even with that. 

"Oh, this is just too good," Aquila commented. 

Eventually, Rhodey was also roped into helping Tony but even with both the Iron Man and War Machine arms, they still failed.

"Are you even pulling?"

"Are you on my team?"

"Just represent! Pull!"

Bruce ended up going next but as the others before him, failed. Steve was the next to go and somewhat succeeded as the hammer had just budged enough for the human eye to see. 

Quinn turned slightly to whisper something to Steve about the fact that he definitely could pick up that hammer but was choosing not to, but he was clearly blocking her, so she gave up turning back to the group. 

"Widow? Keira? Aquila? Cap's girlfriend?" Tony asked, his eyes looking towards Quinn as Steve only glared at Tony. 

"Oh, no, no. That's not a question I need answered." Natasha said, both Quinn and Keira quickly nodding in agreement. 

"Besides," Aquila continued. "I can rip anyone's chest open with my own talons, I don't think I need to rule Asgard to be awesome." She boasted arrogantly.

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged."'

"You bet your ass."

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Maria Hill teased, pointing towards Clint.

"Did you tell everybody about that?" Steve complained to Tony still obviously ignoring the blonde who was doing her best to try and get his attention.

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

"Yes, well that's, uh, that's a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one," Thor said standing, picking up the hammer and spinning it around easily. "You're all not worthy."

A chorus of disagreement and disappointment with Thor's statement echoed off the walls, however, it was soon interrupted by a high pitched screeching noise that caused Quinn to hold her hands over her ears in pain. 

Everyone in the room turned to find a mangled bot against the elevators, sparks flying everywhere from exposed wires. 

"Wooorrrrttthhhyy." The metallic voice croaked out. "No. How could you all be worthy? You're all killers."

"Stark," Steve muttered warningly, pushing the tiny blonde behind him protectively. 

"Jarvis!" Tony shouted out in an attempt to call his AI.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," The robot fakely apologized. "Or. . . .I was a-dream?"

"Reboot, Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

"There was a terrible noise," The robot figure still continued on despite the tense atmosphere in front of him. "And I was tangled. . . in . . in . . strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

"You killed someone?" Steve asked confused. 

"Wouldn't have been my first call," the robot then responded in defense. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor demanded. 

Tony's voice then echoed across the room but it didn't come from the man himself. "I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Ultron!" Bruce said in complete disbelief. 

"Ultron?" Aquila asked, looking around in confusion. 

"In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this. . . chrysalis." The robot explained. "I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Nat asked.

"Peace in our time." The bot said as all chaos let loose in the room.