A Call to Action (Avengers Fan Fiction #1) | REWRITING

Chapter 30

Laughs echoed against the walls of the living room. Drinks clinked against each other in a joyous way. The dim lights lit up the room and reflected back against the new windows Tony's contractors had put in. Rock music played in the background as white noise. Peter's fingers clicked against the keyboard on his laptop as he played a game. Bruce started up a conversation and got the group interested. Steve and Clint played a game of cards while sitting on the floor. Nat curled up in a chair and watched Tony and Bruce go back and forth, bickering like children. Thor added a few comments here and there, but he mostly laid back in a relaxed state.

My mind wandered off for a bit. It had only been a day since the incident. I finally mustered up the courage and pushed down the guilt to come join the group. When they noticed, they didn't try to engage me in conversation. They acknowledged my presence, but waited for me to join in when I was ready. I respected them for that. They didn't push me to do anything. I could tell they were just happy I was out there with them.

"So, if you shoot a bullet into the vacuum of space, would it leave the gun?" Clint questioned. This was a new topic he wanted to know the answer to. He was tired of Bruce and Tony fighting about some scientific thing, so might as well hear about something the group could actually be interested in.

Tony spoke up first, "If the gun had it's own oxidizer, then yes. It needs oxygen to fire."

"Would it ever stop?" Steve asked curiously. He glanced up from his deck of cards and looked around at everyone.

"No. If it were released into the vacuum of space, it would go on forever until a force acted upon it, like the orbit of a planet or something," Peter chimed in. He pushed his glasses up and cracked his knuckles.

Bruce added onto that, "And the speed of the bullet would be much faster. Without air or any forces acting against it, whatever got hit by that bullet would be pulverized."

"Why did you ask, Nest-Maker?" Tony turned to Barton and stretched out in his seat. He loosened his tie and drank some more of the alcohol in his hand.

"Lame!" Peter called out, referring to the nickname. Tony shot a glare at him, but in return, Peter stuck his tongue out at him.

Barton shrugged. "For...research."

Romanoff licked her lips after finishing her drink. Her green eyes landed on me and left me a small smile. Her fingers pushed some of her shiny red hair behind her ear. "So, if I shoot a bullet into the sky, could I still kill someone?"

"Not really. Maybe kill a bird," Bruce replied and popped some chips into his mouth. Clint gasped loudly at the sound of it.

Tony chuckled and tapped his fingers against the black leather seat. He thought about it for a moment. "It could kill someone. Eventually, the bullet would stop because of the force of the atmosphere. It would fall back down and eventually get up to a high speed. If anyone was nearby, they could get killed."

"Unless it lodged itself into an airplane or something else on the way down," Peter contributed. He smacked the laptop and cried out in frustration. "Damn it!"

"What, die again on your little game? Man, your skills are really lacking," Clint remarked jokingly.

Peter growled lowly and eyed him. "I'd love to see you try, Barton."

"Alright, let me show you who's boss." He cracked his knuckles and got up from his card game.

I stopped listening and walked out onto the balcony. The skyline was so beautiful at night. Lights everywhere, people bustling on the street down below, airplanes taking off or landing. The stars shined brighter the higher in the tower I got, which left a lovely view from our rooms. The moonlight lit up the dark sky and the tops of buildings. I leaned over on the railing and took in the breeze of fresh air. Something clicked behind me. "I could have killed you."