A/N: Sorry for the late update, but many chores to do today. And I still didn't get to the post office on time. This is inspired by the preview for Age of Ultron where the guys are trying to lift Thor's hammer. I didn't go back and watch it for the dialog, it's just inspired by the idea of what "worthy" means.

The Fix

Steve Rogers good-naturedly tried to lift Thor's hammer from Tony Stark's coffee table. Mjolnir shifted, rattling on the table. Thor sat forward, dismay fleeting across his face, but even Captain America's enhanced muscles couldn't raise the enchanted hammer. Steve released it with a smile.

"Guess I'm not worthy, either," he joked.

Clint Barton huffed in disappointment. "Well, if Captain America isn't good enough, a former circus act and sniper sure isn't."

"I'm not perfect," Steve corrected. "I've got a temper."

"And you're stubborn as the legendary mule," Natasha Romanoff put in.

Steve smiled. "I believe that's been mentioned once or twice," he admitted. "Go ahead, Clint. Give it a try. Can't do worse than Stark."

As Tony protested, Clint set his beer bottle down. Natasha shook her head. "I thought you were a carnie," she chided with her patent-pending smirk. "Don't you know not to bet against a sure thing?"

Clint paused. "You think the fix is in?"

"You think Papa Odin rigged the game?" Tony demanded.

"Are you impugning the honor of the All Father?" Thor asked, his tone threatening like a thunderstorm on the horizon.

"Not what I meant," Natasha said calmly, waving at Thor to sit down again. "But this is Odin's spell, right?"

Thor nodded.

"So it's Odin's definition that determines who's worthy," Natasha said. "I'd be willing to bet that criteria doesn't include 'Midgardians,' no matter how noble." She gave Steve a smile and he bowed his head in thanks for the compliment.

"So you think only an Asgardian would be worthy?" Clint mused.

"If Odin compared Jane Foster to livestock, I'm sure he doesn't think too highly of humans," Natasha said dryly.

Everyone regarded Thor who picked up his hammer easily and flipped it thoughtfully in one hand.

"But you don't think that's cheating?" Tony asked Natasha.

"It's Odin's game, so Odin's rules," she answered.

"Something else," Clint said. "As I remember from New Mexico, the 'worthiness' was a test for Thor. The hammer was never meant for anyone else."

"So none of us can pass the test," Natasha said logically. "To be worthy in Odin's eyes, you have to be Odin's son."