Venom | Avengers: Age of Ultron [5]

Chapter 3

I could hear everyone chatting from my crawlspace, and I was slightly nervous. I sighed, shaking my head. It's just paranoia. I told myself as I put on my suit jacket. I put on my heels, made sure my leg was hidden, then went downstairs to the party. A ton of people I didn't know were milling around, drinks in their hand.

I saw Helen Cho and Maria Hill wandering around, along with The Avengers, but other than that I didn't know anyone. Nat wandered over to me, looking at my face. "I've never seen someone who looks like they want to shrivel up and disappear with that intensity," She observed. "I don't know anyone except y'all, Dr. Cho, and Hill!" I exclaimed quietly. "You better hope Tony doesn't hear that," She said.

"Too late, he already has," I said, nodding in the direction of Tony Stark, who was currently walking our way. "Shit. Good luck," She said, walking away. "How are you enjoying the party?" He asked. "I only just got here, Tin-head," I said. "Hey, let me introduce you to my friend, Rhodey," He said, putting a hand on my back.

Before I could object, he steered me towards a man with a grey suit on. "Rhodey, this is Ellie. She's a friend from work," Tony said, gesturing a hand towards me. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rhodey," Rhodey said, extending a hand. "Ellie Scotch. It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking his hand. "So, how'd you get mixed up in the superhero life?" He asked.

"I'm an okay shot with a gun," I said. "Okay? You can shoot a fly down without using a scope," Tony said. "You're exaggerating," I said. Somehow we made it over to the bar, and all of them had drinks in their hands. "But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the general's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like 'Boom, you looking for this? Boom are you looking--why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills," Rhodey said, telling one of his stories.

"That's the whole story?" Thor asked. "Yes, it's a War Machine story," Rhodey said. "Well, it's very good then. Impressive," Thor said. "Quality save. So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" Rhodey asked Tony. "What about Jane? Where are the ladies gentlemen?" Maria Hill asked.

"Oh, Miss Potts has a company to run," Tony said. "I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer," Thor said. "And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on Earth. It's pretty exciting," Tony said. "There's even talk of Jane getting a Nobel Prize," Thor said. "Yeah, they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together. Testosterone," Maria coughed that last part.

Rhodey and Maria left, and I wandered off before Tony could introduce me to anyone else and to get away from the overwhelming stench of testosterone. I ended up bumping into Steve and a stranger. "Oh, I don't believe we've met. I'm Ellie Scotch," I said, holding out my hand to the stranger. "I'm Sam Wilson," He said, shaking it. "Hey, where're your crutches?" Steve asked.

"Oh, Tony set me up with a new leg," I said. "New leg?" Sam asked. "I got my leg blasted off to heck knows where during a HYDRA raid," I said. "What? How are you walking?" He asked. "Oh, my prosthetic leg," I explained.

"You're an Avenger?" He asked. "One of 'em," I said. "I didn't know kids were allowed on the team," Sam said to Steve. "I'm a teenager," I piped up. "Well, she earned her spot after New York," Steve said.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Sam. I'm gonna wander around some more," I said, walking off. Later, I spotted Steve with Thor and a few other guests at the bar, Thor with a tiny flask out. I managed to snipe a coke, score, and opened it as I wandered around. I wandered my way over to the upstairs, running into Nat again. "Hey, Ellie. Enjoying the party?" Nat asked.

"Yeah, and the testosterone free air," I said, and Nat chuckled. "So...you and Banner?" I asked. "What, no! No, nothing is going on between us," She said, flustered. "Don't worry, you're not breaking any bylaws. Hell, if anyone should be worried about those, I'd be me. With the whole...you know," I said. "Nothing is going on," She lied.

"Keep telling yourself that," I chuckled. "So, who did Tony introduce you to?" Nat asked, changing the subject. "He introduced me to Rhodey, and I later met Sam," I said. "Sam Wilson?" Nat asked. "Well, are there any other Sams here? And don't answer that," I said, pointing my finger at her. By midnight, everyone except the Avengers, Helen Cho, and Maria Hill had left.

Our conversation had landed on the dynamics of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.