The Fox's Return

The Dramatic Robot Calls Its Dramatic Makers Dramatic

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony asked his teammate.

"Please, Stark, by all means," Clint challenged him.

Tony got up with more attitude than Marlene would have thought possible if it wasn't Tony Stark. He unbuttoned his black jacket.

"Oh, here we go," Nat smirked as she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of beer.

"Uh-oh," Rhodey looked down, already disapproving of Tony's actions as a best friend does.

"Um-hmm," Clint hummed with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge," Tony explained. "It's physics."

"Physics!" Bruce echoed.

"Right, so, if I lift it, I...I then rule Asgard?" Tony wondered.

"Yes, of course," Thor repeated, more confident than before.

"I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta," Tony declared.

"Excuse you?" Marlene asked in a mother-like tone looking at him. "Try it, and I'll reunite you with your father."

Clint snorted at Marlene's remark.

Tony rolled his eyes and attempted to lift the hammer. . . and failed.

"I'll be right back."

When Tony returned, he wore the gauntlet of his Iron Man suit. He tried lifting the hammer once more but failed. It wasn't long until both Rhodey and Tony were wearing their gauntlets and trying to lift it.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey grumbled.

"Are you on my team?" Tony retorted.

"Just represent! Pull!"

"Alright, let's go!"

Once again, they failed.

When Bruce's turn came he roared loudly. Marlene wasn't sure if he was trying to turn into the Hulk or pretending to be him . . . Regardless, it didn't work.

Steve had finally gone. Now, he had managed to move it a smidge. When it did, Thor looked alarmed. However, no one but Marlene seemed to notice the events.

"Nothin'," Steve said casually.

"Widow?" Bruce asked, turning the redhead.

"Oh, no no," she smiled softly, taking a sip of her beer. "That's not a question I need answered. What about you, Fox?"

"Looks like we're in the same boat, Nat," Marlene laughed, sharing a glance with her best friend.

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged," Tony said with a deeply wounded ego.

"You bet your ass," Clint agreed, twirling a drum stick.

"Steve, he said a bad language word," Maria joked seriously. It was one of the first times Marlene had ever seen her short brown hair out of its ponytail.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked Tony exasperatedly.

"Actually," Marlene leaned forward, placing her whiskey on the table. "It was me."

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code," Tony reasoned, trying to explain why he failed. "'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 grinned wildly. He stood up and lifted his hammer effortlessly before flipping it in his hands. "You're all not worthy."