Frostbite

Thunder and Ice

"Are you sure we should do it here? Won't your brother be upset if we mess up his building?" Thor teased lightly as we made our way outside to the landing pad of the Avenger's tower.

"Where else are we gonna try it? Plus, Tony can't really get too upset, because he tries experimenting with stuff he shouldn't be all the time," I said, rolling my eyes with a grin.

There were only so many Hydra bases we could find and take out at once; it was a process. So, we had a lot of downtime in between the raids. It never seemed to get too boring though with all the Avengers under one roof. It made sense for us all to stay together while tracking Strucker and the scepter, so everyone had willingly stayed.

"Are you sure you can channel it here? I know there's not really any risk of hitting other buildings but..." I trailed off uncertainly. He chuckled and flipped Mjolnir cockily.

"I am Thor, the god of thunder, a little lightning is easy. Are you frightened of getting singed?" he scoffed, causing me to tense. I hadn't thought of that.

"Of course not!" I denied loudly, sure my lie was obvious. He tried to hold back a laugh, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'm still not sure you can do what you say..." he added, face turning curious again. I shrugged. I wasn't sure either.

We had been arguing on whether or not I could freeze lightning, which is supposed to be physically impossible. But nothing about any of us had seemed possible at one point in my life. So why couldn't I break the laws of physics and rub it in his face too?

"Well, I guess we'll see. Hope you're ready to see greatness," I teased, wiggling my fingers and releasing little wisps of magic. He chuckled, walking to the edge of the pad. I followed and positioned myself readily in excitement.

I gave him a nod, and he thrust his hammer into the air. The once white, fluffy clouds turned dark and swirled threateningly in the sky. Lightning zigzagged its way down, but I was ready. I blasted a beam directly at it; it did nothing at all. The particles in lightning are continuously moving, making what I was trying to do incredibly difficult.

I faltered, but quickly squared my shoulders again, adjusting my position to a better one. This time the ice flowed continuously from my hands, but still nothing was happening.

"Gotta try harder than that," Thor huffed, still summoning lightning from the sky, letting it connect with Mjolnir. It was actually spectacular to see it so close, like a dangerously beautiful light show.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Tony called, jogging out of the tower in curiosity. Steve was right behind him, and he didn't look as thrilled. I knew I would lose my focus once they got too close.

I braced my shoulders and put more energy into it, almost grunting at the force. Suddenly, it was like an explosion. Just without the noise. Ice seemed to pour from me, and it amazingly stuck to the particles. The lightning began to freeze. It was gorgeous and impossible.

I laughed and wobbled, taking a knee as I stared up at the sky. Thor came over and clapped my shoulder happily. He put the hammer down and looked on in wonder.

"You did it! Maybe I'll finally have a worthy opponent to practice with," he crowed suddenly, laughing in amazement. The particles became too much for their cage and broke free, fading from the air.

"Or not," I shrugged, not sure I'd want to take Thor up on that offer.

"Melanie, holy crap," Tony whooped, racing forward, "that was awesome! You're getting stronger."

"You two know we're in the middle of the city, right?" Steve interjected, cocking a brow at us. I huffed loudly.

"We had it controlled. There's nobody around up here," I replied defensively. Standing, I crossed my arms across my chest and didn't break eye contact.

"You were. What if it had gone wrong, and you got hurt? No offense Thor, but you're pretty much immune to it," he pointed out, glancing his way. Thor shrugged, not bothered by the comment.

"But I didn't, and I think you're just overreacting," I countered. His mouth twitched, and he reached out to stroke my face for a moment with big fake puppy dog eyes.

"Maybe I am, but only because I love you."

"Oh my god. Don't even start with the puppy dog eyes; they won't work this time," I laughed, shoving him gently. Tony glanced between the two of us and apparently decided everything was good.

"I have some stuff I want you to try in the lab. Come on," Tony announced excitedly, dragging me behind him as he rushed back inside. Steve and Thor followed behind, snickering at the face I made at them.

Tony's experiments were usually unpredictable. I was rightfully a little frightened, but I couldn't tell him no. He was like a little kid in a candy shop.