Ok, so this is chapter two. My sister and I came up with the idea, and we tried to make it as humorous as possible. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm running out of ideas already. :P Anyone, I plan to have this whole fanfiction done by at last the 27th of December. I want to have the last chapter posted on Christmas day, but I'm not sure if too many people will be on to read it.
Chapter 2: A Christmas Scavenger Hunt
It was 8:30 am in New York City, and, much to the Avenger's surprise, Tony hadn't woken them up. The sun was already up and shining in the ocean blue sky and the light snowfall was a beautiful sight.
When Steve opened his light blue eyes, he rolled over onto his back. His wounds from the day before had healed well, and they were now only a dull ache. The blonde super soldier slowly heaved himself out of bed, glancing around his room in Stark Tower. He spotted a gray t-shirt at the foot of the bed, and he quickly slipped it on before stumbling towards the door.
The captain swung his bedroom door open, and an amazing scent reached his nose. Steve blinked in confusion. Was that the smell of breakfast? No, it couldn't be. Pepper, as sweet as she was, wasn't the best cook. Tony refused to try; he would just have bought shawarma. And Natasha? She had blown up the kitchen last time she tried to use it.
Steve cautiously walked towards the kitchen that was attached to the living room, and what he saw was probably more shocking then Natasha trying to kill him the day before. Pepper and Thor were sitting over, on the couches. It looked as if Pepper trying to explain the movie Mean Girls to their Asguardian friend. Bruce and Tony were sitting at the dining room table, having a huge discussion about their newest experiment.
Clint was the one who was cooking. The sandy blonde haired archer was at the stove, with a pan that by the smell of it, contained bacon. On the other side of Hawkeye there were stacks of pancakes on plates. And to the left of him was Natasha, sitting on the counter, watching him work with a cup of coffee in her hand.
"Good morning, captain," Natasha hummed, taking a sip of the cup of coffee.
"Barton… You can cook?" Steve asked, bewildered. Clint just nodded in response.
"He's an amazing cook!" Natasha added, turning back to her partner. "Can we eat now?"
Clint chuckled slightly. "I'm not done cooking, Nat."
Natasha folded her arms and mumbled something to herself. Steve watched them for a few more moments before joining Thor and Pepper over by the television.
It was a few more minutes before they heard Clint announce, "Breakfast is ready!"
Bruce and Tony looked up from their work, glancing around. Then Tony pushed all of their papers and files off the table to make room for the food. Bruce yelped, bending down to pick everything up off the ground.
Thor and Steve darted towards the table and quickly took their seats. Both of them were happy to have something decent for breakfast for once since their stay at Stark Tower.
Pepper strolled over to the wooden table, taking a seat next to Tony. Naturally, she started to scold him for knocking all of Bruce and his work off the table.
Clint grabbed the large plate of bacon and a plate of pancakes, motioning for Natasha to help him with the other one. The redhead only stared at him like he was crazy.
"Do you really think I'm going to help you with that?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.
"If you want to eat anything this morning, then yes, you will," Clint replied with a grin. Natasha rolled her eyes and picked up the last plate. Once everything had been set on the table, and everyone had taken their seats, the frenzy began.
Everyone tried to fill their plates as fast as they could. It seemed like their goal was to be as greedy as possible. Once their plates were stacked high with food, and everyone seemed happy, Tony decided to speak.
"So, I think I know what we should do today," Tony announced through a mouthful of pancakes and butter. Everyone else at the table groaned.
"I thought we said we weren't doing anything else today, Tony," Bruce pointed out.
"Yes, I also assumed that, Man of Iron," Thor said as he nodded in agreement. He swallowed piece of bacon whole before picking up another one and observing it. "I like this. Another!"
For some reason, everyone decided to ignore the fact that there was now greasy bacon on the dining room floor.
"Awww, come one, it'll be fun!" Tony whined, folding his arms in a pout.
"Tony," Pepper warned, hoping he wouldn't continue his thought.
Tony paused dramatically before saying, "We're going to have a scavenger hunt!"
Then everyone groaned once more.
"Seriously, Stark?" Natasha muttered.
"Yup. All you have to do is collect the four items on the list and beat everyone else back to the helicarrier first. It'll only take a few minutes," Tony explained.
Clint shrugged slightly. "Come on, Tasha, it doesn't sound too bad."
Natasha just shot him one of her infamous Black Widow glares.
"Only twenty minutes out of your day. What do you say?" Tony pressed, taking another bite of food.
Without knowing what they were getting themselves into, the Avengers and Pepper reluctantly agreed.
"Ok, everyone pick a partner," Tony order as he stood in front of all the Avengers and Pepper on the SHIELD helicarrier. They were in the room where the jets were kept. No one really knew why, except for Tony who couldn't stop grinning.
"But there are seven of us," Bruce observed.
Tony just shrugged his comment off. "There can be one group of three."
Thor turned to the person to his right, who happened to be Steve. "Do you wish to be partners, Steve, son of Roger?"
"Why not," Steve replied with a small smile at his teammate.
Natasha and Clint glanced at each other before taking a step closer together. They didn't need to say anything. It was pretty obvious that they would choose each other since they were already partners.
"I guess that leaves us," Tony said with a grin as he turned towards Pepper and Bruce. Pepper just gave her new teammates a smile. Bruce whispered, "The science bros and Pepper."
"Ok then," Tony continued, turning back to the whole group. Then he began to hand out a piece of paper. "Here's the list. Pick a jet. Whoever gets the majority of the objects on the list first, and beats everyone else back here first wins."
"Wait, I thought they had to get all four items," Pepper stated, confused.
Tony shrugged. "Rules change. Ready, set, go!"
The three teams all raced into the jets and took off into the sky. They all couldn't wait to get back to Stark tower in twenty minutes; little did they know it would take a lot longer than that.
"Friend Steve, could you please fly the large bird instead of me?" Thor almost begged as he tried to fly the jet over a forest in Canada.
Steve shifted in the co-pilot's seat uncomfortably as he glanced out the front window of the jet. "Um, I don't think I should…"
"Can you please take the controller?" Thor asked once more, referring to the wheel. Steve took a deep breath before nodding slowly.
"I guess so, but if I crash it into the Arctic Ocean, it's on you," the blonde super soldier mumbled as he and Thor switched seat. He sighed as he felt his hands touch the cold wheel. Here goes nothing.
In the harsh tundra of northern Russia, Clint and Natasha's jet flew swiftly across the sky.
"Oh, god, let's get out of here as soon as possible," Natasha muttered as she glanced out the window with her bright green eyes. Clint didn't reply, he had his blue as fixed on the sky ahead. "Clint?"
"Hm?"
"Can we please hurry? Please?"
"We just have to get a stupid Santa flower vase or something Tony put in the mountains and then we'll go, ok?"
Natasha was silent for a moment before replying, "I hate this place, Clint, and I don't plan on coming back here ever again. Let's get that fucking vase and get the hell out of here."
"You gotta love the tropics!" Tony sung as Bruce flew their jet over the rainforest.
"Tony, when did you have time to hide a reindeer statue in the rainforest?" Pepper asked as she observed the list that Tony had handed out.
Tony was acting like an over-grown toddler about the scavenger hunt, not that Pepper or Bruce was very surprised. "Where do you think Happy was the week before he got off work for Christmas?"
Pepper let out a soft laugh before glancing over at Bruce. "Are we almost there?"
The scientist didn't reply, instead the only response was the whole jet being shaken slightly. The shaggy brown haired man turned to his teammates and smiled sheepishly, "We're here."
Tony snickered slightly, but Pepper only mumbling about having to pay for the repairs on the jet. The three of them exited the jet and looked around the huge rainforest.
"So where exactly is this statue?" Bruce asked as he looked up to observe the canopy level of the trees. Pepper glanced over at Tony, hoping for an explanation.
"Um…" the billionaire began as he searched the rainforest for any sign of his car. Suddenly, a toucan with a beautiful orange, yellow, and green beak landed on a tree branch beside them. It let out a loud squawk an beat it large wings. "Hey look, it's a bird! Hey birdie, show us where the statue is! Go on!"
"Tony, I seriously doubt the bird knows where you put your car," Pepper pointed out, letting out a small laugh. All of a sudden, the bird took off, flying into the trees.
Tony pointed at the toucan franticly. "See! I told you! Now let's go!"
Bruce and Pepper watched as Tony disappeared into the underbrush of the forest before sharing a concerned glance. "Tony, wait for us!"
"Hurry it up!" The genius hollered as he raced through the trees after the bird.
Pepper tried her best to run after Tony, but she kept tripping on her high heels. "I picked the wrong day to wear heels."
Bruce tried to keep up as well, but he didn't want his heart rate to get too high so he ran by Pepper's side.
Suddenly, Tony stopped in place about a hundred yards ahead of them. By the time they caught up with him, both Pepper and Bruce were breathing heavily. Then Pepper noticed he was staring at something. "Wha.."
Then she and Bruce both saw what Tony was staring at. There was the silver reindeer statue, the colorful toucan perched on its head. "Squawk!"
Tony turned back to his teammates and smiled. "Let's get it back to the jet and head for the last object on the list."
"Why the last one?" Bruce asked curiosusly.
"Because the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Hawk, Goldie Locks, and Capsicle probably already have the other two. Now hurry up!"
"Friend Steve, what are we looking for again?" Thor asked Steve as they walked through the wildlife filled forest of Canada.
Steve glanced at the list in his hand. "It says we have to get a fish bowl. Why the heck would Stark have a Christmas wine bottle? What is that anyway?"
"What is this so called 'wine bottle'?"
"It's a container for wine…" Steve replied as he stopped at the banks of a small lake. He looked into the clear lake at his reflection, getting lost in thought.
"Son of Rogers?" Thor spoke suddenly. Steve shook his head as if to get out of his little trance.
"Yes, Thor?"
"I believe that I have found the 'wine bottle'."
"What?" Steve's head snapped up as he turned to look at his teammate. "Where?"
Thor hesitated before pointing to the middle of the small lake. "There."
Steve blinked in confusion before turning his icy blue gaze to the middle of the lake. Sure enough, there was a colorful wine bottle with a christmas tree painted on the side sitting on the bottom of the lake. "Oh god."
There was silence before Steve finally spoke up, "There is no way I am getting that. I'm already flying the jet."
"It is alright, friend Steve. I can retrieve the 'wine bottle'," Thor assured him, taking his crimson cape off.
Steve gave Thor a surprised look. "Really?"
"Yes," Thor responded, looking into the water. "Lady Jane taught me how to swim last time I came to Earth."
"Oh," Steve mumbled as he took a small step back from the water. "Um, ok then. Whenever you're ready."
Thor nodded and dived into the crystal clear lake. Steve waited anxiously, pacing around the banks of the lake impatiently. After a few minutes, Thor resurfaced with the Christmas wine bottle in hand. The captain let out a sigh of relief as Thor made it to shore.
"Great! Now let's get to the last object on the list… The others are too far away. There's no way we're going all the way to Russia!"
"Oh my god it's freezing!" Clint complained as he and Natasha hiked through the Russian mountains, both of them covered in layers of coats.
"Deal with it you big baby," Natasha muttered.
Clint blinked in confusion as he gave her a questioning look. "Aren't you cold, too?"
Natasha rolled her eyes, "Russians don't get cold."
"Wait, didn't you say you were cold last night?"
Clint waited for Natasha to say something, but she didn't. He glanced over at her to see a huge smirk on her face. He chuckled slightly before looking down at the list. "Ok, so the vase should be somewhere around here."
Natasha blinked in confusion. "But there's nothing around here…"
Before either of them could say another word, a growl came from behind them. They both froze and slowly turned around to see a gigantic white bear standing behind them.
"Wait, don't polar bears live in the north pole?" Clint asked his partner in a whisper.
"Apparently not!" Natasha shouted, grabbing Clint's arm and started to run away.
The two continued to run, not stopping until they reached a steep, snowy cliff. They whirled around to see the polar bear still running towards them.
"Why does this always happen to us? It's like Budapest all over again!"
"Why does every damn thing remind you of Budapest!?"
Clint and Natasha waited for the polar bear to catch up to them and kill them, but that never happened. The huge bear froze in front of them and let out a roar before collapsing on the ground. The two assassins shared a confused glance before stepping towards it.
Clint observed the polar bear carefully. "Is it dead?"
"I don't know! Point the fucking thing!" Natasha scowled.
Clint hesitated before slowly leaning forward and poking the polar bear's furry shoulder. Suddenly, there was a huge snapping sound, and the polar bear split in half. Clint and Natasha's jaws dropped open as they saw a bunch of cogs and metal inside the polar bear, as well as a blue vase with a huge Santa on the side.
"It was a robot!" Clint whispered in shock as he slowly grabbed the blue vase. They both paused for a moment before screaming at the top of their lungs.
"STARK!"
"We're almost back at Stark Tower," Bruce announced from the pilot's seat.
"Good," Pepper mumbled, looking up from the list long enough to make eye contact with Tony. "The last object is a fire extinguisher? Really? Why isn't it a Christmas object?"
Tony's eyes sparkled with joy. He was obviously enjoying this whole Christmas scavenger hunt thing way too much. "Yup! I didn't want to pay for another object, and there were plenty of those in the lab."
Bruce chuckled slightly, but didn't say anything. Tony made things explode during their experiments all the time, and he remembered their recent accident all too well.
"There it is!" Tony squealed like a little kid as Stark Tower came into view. "And you can see the fire extinguisher on the top of the tower!"
Suddenly, two black shapes appeared in the horizon, making a beeline for Stark Tower.
"Uh oh. Tony, I think the others have caught up too."
And Pepper was right. Now they could see Thor and Steve's faces in the windows of one of the jets, and Clint and Natasha's in the other. Tony stood up and walked over to the speaker. "I think it's time to talk to everyone."
A loud creak echoed through the air as Tony flipped the switch to the speaker on. "Ok, everyone, let's decide who gets the last object in a nice orderly fashion…"
Suddenly, Clint and Natasha's jet's gun appeared on the side and began shooting at them.
"Dodge the bullets!" Pepper yelped as Bruce made the jet swerve out of the way.
"We're not giving up so easily. You tried to kill us with a freaking polar bear!" Natasha's voice came throughout their jet's speaker.
Pepper's eyes widened and she turned to Tony, hands on hips. "You sent a polar bear after them?"
"Technically, it was a robot," Tony pointed out. Pepper just shook her head in disbelief.
Suddenly, Natasha's voice echoed through the sky once more. "Fire!"
Gun shots rang in their ears as the assassins shot at them.
Tony slid into the co-pilot's seat, grabbing the shooting tool. "We can't just let them win! Fire team Stark, Potts, and Banner!"
"We have to get the fire extinguisher!" Steve exclaimed as he flew Thor and his jet out of Clint, Natasha, Tony, Bruce, and Pepper's shooting range.
Thor nodding as he glanced out of the window at the top of Stark Tower. "I could fly down there with Mjolnir, retrieve the object, and meet you back at the helicarrier."
Steve blinked in confusion before glancing over at Thor. "Are you sure you're ok with that?"
"Of course, Friend Steve. Make sure the 'fish bowl' arrives at the headquarters safely," Thor responded.
Steve nodded slowly. "Ok, good luck."
Thor raised his arm and began to swing his hammer in a circle. Then he hopped out of the jet, momentarily watching Steve begin to fly away before flying down in the chaos below.
"Gosh, Romanoff, stop trying to kill us!" Tony retorted into the speaker.
"Not until you give up!" Natasha shot back. Suddenly, much to Pepper, Bruce, and Tony's surprise, Clint and Natasha stopped shooting at them.
Tony listened to the silence with widened eyes. "That's it! We won!"
"No you didn't, Stark!" This time it was Barton's voice that came through the speaker. "Thor's got the fire extinguisher! He's heading towards the helicarrier!"
Tony's brown eyes darted around until the spotted Thor flying towards the helicarrier, where Steve was already parked. "We can't just let them win! After them!"
Both the jets turned around and headed towards the helicarrier, but it was too late. Thor and Steve already stood on the landing area, waving the fire extinguisher and the Christmas wine bottle in the air.
"Have you learned your lessons now?" Director Fury asked the Avengers as they stood on the streets of New York, cleaning up the mess they had made when they fired at each other.
"Yes, sir," the six of them muttered in unison.
Suddenly, Tony looked over at Fury and whined, "Why does Pepper not have to help?"
"I'm sure you just dragged poor Miss Potts into all of this," the dark skinned man snapped back. Pepper, who stood to his right, just gave Tony a small smile.
Then Fury turned to Natasha and Clint, his eye narrowed. "And I expected better from my two best agents. Well, I expected better from Romanoff at least. You two are grounded from going on missions until after Christmas."
Clint didn't seem too mad about this, but Natasha was another story.
"WHAT?!" The redhead screeched. "A mission was my only chance of getting out of being forced to celebrate Christmas with these people!"
"I'm sorry, Agent Romanoff, but it seems as if you have no choice now," Fury replied bluntly before turning around and walking away.
Natasha groaned slightly, putting her head in her hands.
"You finally have to celebrate Christmas with me this year," Clint said with a large grin.
"Oh goody," Natasha replied, her tone dripping sarcasm.
I hope everyone like the second chapter! Please review, follow, and favorite!
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