'A mess of beautiful contradictions make her whole, she wears fire for skin but a storm lives in her soul. '
For the next three days Carter spent most of her time held up in the training room with Clint, Natasha, Thor and Steve.
Tony and Bruce were off doing something sciency that Carter had been banned from and the others were uninterested in.
Since she was already a star combat fighter the group focused on teaching her to improve her technique as Natasha and Clint secretly helped her learn to use certain weapons whilst the blonde healed.
One of Tony's rules had been that he didn't want her to be involved in their world yet and he thought that postponing her training would help. Ken doll and Assassin Barbie disagreed.
So when the day of the party arrived Carter had completely forgotten, getting lost in her training until Jarvis reminded her.
Luckily enough for the forgetful teen, Tony had brought her a dress and left it in her room for her, giving her enough time to get ready and retract her wings as not to receive unwanted attention.
Smiling at her reflection Carter admired the emerald green material as she ran it through her fingers, humming to herself as she slipped on her heels before bouncing on her heels and exiting the room.
When she got to the main room that the celebration was taking place in the party was already in full swing.
Carter walked in and spotted most of the Avengers scattered across the room engaging in conversations far enough away from the bar for her to order a drink for herself without being caught.
As she walked across the floor towards the bar tender she scanned the area and located the rest of the Avengers, cursing under her breath when she noticed Bruce sitting on one of the stools talking to Natasha who was working behind the counter.
Sitting down on the farthest stool from the scientist and the Assassin, Carter flagged the guy working behind the counter down as he walked over checking her out in the process.
"Smirnoff Ice... please" She told him leaning one arm on the counter and crossing her legs over one another as she let her gaze travel around the room once more.
Whenever Tony threw a party Carter would attend them and observe as people interacted with one another, spending her time downing drinks in private and getting involved in games of pool, showing everyone how the game was really played.
For a minute Carter sipped on her drink as she watched Bruce and Natasha flirt with one another.
She found it quite surprising when she had first noticed the sexual tension between the two as she'd innocently thought Nat and Steve had a thing.
Apparently she couldn't be right all the time. Although the majority of the time she would like to think she was.
Going back to her drink she focused on Steve's approaching figure as the conversation between the two love birds died down and Carter made her way across the room to get a game of pool going with Sam who was waving her over.
..........
In the after hours of the party when all the guests had gone, the team all sat around the living room space drinking and laughing together.
When the night had wrapped up Carter had found herself huddled around the Coffee table with her fathers team mates, enjoying the stories they told as she sat on the couch between the super soldier and the large Asguardian.
"It's a trick!" Clint groaned as they got onto the subject of Mjolnir -- Thor's hammer.
"Oh no, it's much more than that." Thor laughed as he leaned over Carter to pour some of his drink into Steve's glass.
"Ah, whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power ." Clint mocked knowingly, "Whatever man it's a trick!"
"Please," Thor laughed again, gesturing to his hammer on the table, "Be my guest."
Everyone including Carter, who had managed to cross her legs to sit more comfortably between the large species either side of her, looked to Clint, seeing if he'd take the chance.
"C'mon." Tony ushered him towards the hammer mockingly.
"Really?" He questioned boredly as his gaze settled on Thor.
"Yes." Thor spoke enthusiastically.
The Marksman scoffed and got up from his seat on the floor.
"Oh this is gonna be beautiful." Rhodey mocked from the couch to Carters right.
"Now Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony smirked as Clint sent him a glare, Carter hiding the laugh bubbling up inside her as she caught onto her fathers inuendo.
"Come on Ken Doll, show the old man what the weak and crippled can do." Carter laughed as Tony tossed a scrunched up napkin at her.
The others all laughed at her joke as Clint stood before Mjolnir.
"Y'know I've seen this before right?" He eyed Thor who nodded with a knowing grin.
Clint turned and grunted as he tried to lift the hammer failing miserably.
Eventually giving up with a soft laugh he backed away from the hammer and towards his spot "I still don't know how you do it." He chuckled.
"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony mocked.
"Please, Stark -- " Clint motioned between the billionaire and the hammer "By all means." He replied.
And with that, all the guys took their turns trying to lift the hammer. After Tony failed he went to retrieve one of his gauntlets.
Rhodey got one of his own and they tried pulling together. "Are you even pulling?" Rhodey shouted over the loud whiring of the machinery.
"Are you even on my team?" Tony shot back as they glared at one another.
"Just represent, pull!" They both groaned before eventually giving up.
Next up was Bruce who made a show of yelling as he stood on the table and pulled with all his might.
He eventually faked a Hulk out which just had the rest of them sitting back in silence giving him patronising smiles.
Steve stood next rolling up his sleeves.
There were many hoots and hollers from the team as he walked over to the hammer, the loudest being Carter as she used her thumb and forefinger to wolf whistle resulting in a deep blush appearing on the super soldiers cheeks as Carter and Thor laughed.
"Go ahead Steve no pressure." Tony mumbled unhappily as he sent his daughter a disbelieving look.
As Steve gripped Mjolnir and pulled Carter wondered if she was imagining things when she saw the hammer move slightly.
Thor tensing by her side and the flash of fear in his eyes told her she wasn't seeing things as she leaned forward in wonder.
Steve had been able to move the hammer but not lift it. Now Carter was interested.
When he gave up the fear in Thor's eyes didn't diminish completely but he hid it well behind a satisfied smile as he lent back into the couch.
"Nothing." He grinned between chuckles.
Everyone turned to Nat who only laughed and shook her head "Oh no, no, that's not a question I need answered." She smiled before sipping her beer.
"Lady Carter?" Thor questioned as he looked down at the young mortal, he'd continued calling her that after she told him it was endearing and always made her smile.
"Yeah come on Carter your up, when you lift it we can combine our genius minds and figure out a way to rule Asguard." Tony smirked at his daughter from his spot beside Rhodey.
"I'd love to make your dreams come true, Tony, but I'll have to pass on making myself look like an ego inflated walking encyclopedia." Carter sassed as she took a sip of her drink.
"Atta girl." Natasha and Maria grinned as they both high fived the teen, the rest of the team chuckling at the girls quick wit.
"Thanks for hurting my feelings Angel" Tony spoke holding his left hand over his heart with a fake hurt expression on his face.
"Don't thank me for insulting you Tony, It's my pleasure." Carter smirked as Tony shook his head with an amused grin, enjoying the relationship him and his daughter had.
Getting back on topic the conversation came back to Mjolnir.
"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged" Tony muttered plainly.
"Bet your ass." Clint smirked as he passed Tony.
"Steve," Maria called getting the captain's attention as she pointed to Clint "He said a bad language word." She finished causing Carter cover up her laugh with her hand as she gave Clint a thankful look considering he'd been the one to tell her about Steve's blunder on their mission a few days prior.
"Did you tell everyone about that?" He glared at Tony in frustration.
Tony however just tried not to laugh as he paid no attention and continued to look at Thor.
"The handles imprinted right?" He suggested "Like a security code whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints Is I think the literal translation." He continued to theories, not wanting to believe it was an ancient magic, being a man of science and all.
"Yes, well that's a very, very, interesting theory." Thor sighed as he stood up causing Carter to lean forward in anticipation "I have a simpler one."
He picked up the hammer with ease causing Carter to huff as she slumped back, downing the rest of her drink lazily as Thor flipped Mjolnir in his hand.
"Your all not worthy." He cockily said as they all laughed in disbelief.
The moment of fun and games was interrupted though by a high pitched ringing sound causing Carter to screw up her face and try to turn away from the noise before it died down.
Mechanical groans and creaks caused her to stand and look up like everyone else as one of Tony's damaged suits entered the room.
"How could you be worthy." It spoke in a haunting mechanical voice as it turned to them "Your all killers."
"Stark," Steve warned as he held a hand out in front of Carter only to have her slowly push it back down again as she kept her eyes on the suit.
"Jarvis." Tony tried but received no reply from the AL.
"I'm sorry, I was asleep -- Or was I a dream." The suit continued as it's motions became more alert and awake, swatting at the wires it was tangled in.
As Tony continued to try and work Jarvis, everyone else focused on the rogue suit.
"There was this terrible noise," The suit said as it turned and moved it's arms as though remembering the sound "I was tangled in -- in strings, had to kill the other guy, he was a good guy" It flippantly replied.
"You killed someone?" Steve spoke up as the suit turned to look at him.
"Wouldn't have been my first call." It spoke, beginning to sound more and more sure of itself as it's voice took on a stronger tone "But down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."
"Who sent you?" Thor questioned as Carter subtly began to bend and break the bones in her back, suddenly thankful that Tony had gotten a backless dress.
In reply the suit only made a slight groaning noise before it replayed a recording of someones voice.
"I see a suit of armour around the world " Tony's voice.
"Ultron." Bruce muttered as he looked over at Tony.
Carter began releasing shuddering breaths, blood dripping down her back as Steve and Nat took a sideways glance her way, seeing her wings beginning to rip from her back as a pain filled look took over her features.
"In the flesh." The suit cringed as everyone looked at the two scientists for answers "Or no, not yet, not this Christmas but I'm ready, I'm on a mission."
"What mission?" Nat asked as Carter slowly slipped her dress from her body, letting it fall into the growing puddle of blood at her feet.
"Peace in our time." The suit said darkly as Tony's legionnaire broke through the walls, everyone jumping into action as they hid behind objects and furniture.
Carter quickly spread her wings and flew up, grabbing one of the bots by their neck and tossing it across the room just as another crashed into her side, bringing her down hard on the glass table.
Letting out a grunt of pain the dark haired girl flipped herself over and -- quicker than most could comprehend -- grabbed one of the larger pieces of metal that fell from over head beginning to beat the bot with it.
Turning around Carter spotted Nat and Bruce making a run for the stairs as one of the bots shot at them.
Quickly reaching to her left Carter grabbed the nearest thing -- which happened to be a large shard of glass -- and threw it at the bot.
Doing nothing to distract it she sighed in frustration, turning back to the one below her only to have it throw her across the room and collide with the bottles and glasses behind the counter at the bar.
Cursing in frustration Carter pulled herself up again, jumping up onto the counter and flying right at one of the bots, smashing it into the ground as it hit weirdly on the one Steve had just taken out causing it to break and stop moving.
"That was dramatic." The seemingly possessed suit spoke as Carter raised herself from the ground, breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry, I know you mean well, you just didn't think it through." The suit continued, somehow managing to sound amused as it spoke "You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change, how is humanity saved if it's not aloud to -- evolve."
The suit moved forwards causing Carter to move back as it got closer to where she was standing and eventually stopped where she had been seconds before.
"With these, these -- puppets." It spoke in a more bitter tone as it broke the legionnaires face mask, throwing it to the ground after "There's only one path to piece... The Avengers extinction."
Carter jumped sightly as the bot was shattered by Thor's hammer, everyone turning to look at the God as Mjolnir returned to him.
"I had strings but now I'm free..." The suit sang as the light in its interior died out, everyone staring at the metal corpse in a shocked silence.
The sound of Carters wings fluttering snapped everyone out of their daze as they checked on each other, Carter instantly going and crouching beside her father, looking at the gash on his arm as he checked her over for any signs of injury.
They all knew this was far from over, in fact, it was just the beginning.