Just a Hammer
Summary: The Avengers have gathered once again to spend some time with each other between missions and getting on with their lives, and something crazy happens.
Written originally on AO3 as a prompt fill.
One-Shot
Life is good at the moment for Wanda Maximoff. She joined the Avengers almost a year ago (eight months to be precise) and though it had been tough then, with the painful loss of her twin brother, she had learned to cope with the loss thanks to the help from her new friends and teammates.
She had become especially close with Nat, Clint, and Vision. The former two seemed to have taken on a protective, parental role towards her though she was an adult (they wouldn't hear it) and Vision had seemed to take a liking to her. They spent a lot of time together, wandering the grounds of the compound.
So, yeah, life was good.
Tonight, she and some of the other Avengers (those who could make it) had gathered in one of the lounges and were having a few drinks. There was laughter, banter, and recounts of favourite memories. Wanda didn't have many good memories from the first half of her life, but she didn't mind listening to the others.
"So, then I was like, 'dude, watch out, that's a grenade'," Natasha laughed. She was retelling a tale from one of hers and Clint's missions. "And we both just kinda froze for a second."
"You froze?" Steve chortled.
"Rookie mistake!" Thor boomed.
Wanda stifled a laugh behind her drink.
"Hey, don't judge!" Natasha waved her hand at the boys. "Anyway, we froze and then, just as I think it's about to go off, Clint kicks it!"
"Why?" Sam demands.
"Hell if I know, but it goes straight back at the guys who threw it then explodes in the air! We all go flying! Clint and I end up in a heap on the floor and the bad guys are like, 'whoa, what the hell?' And I'm like, 'you're telling me, fellas. You're not paired up with the guy who kicks grenades!'." Natasha finishes her story and throws her hands up.
The guys laugh heartily at Clint's past antics and even Wanda chuckles a little. She swallows the rest of her drink and then refills her glass from the bottle on the table.
Wanda had never really been a drinker as she hadn't had access to much alcohol on the streets, but after joining the Avengers and Natasha had introduced her to the wonders of drinking with friends, she'd come to enjoy it.
There was something freeing about getting drunk around those you trusted and just letting go for an evening.
A thud causes her to turn her head towards where Sam is sitting and she sees him throwing his hands up indignantly.
"Dude, move your hammer!" He tells Thor.
He had been trying to put his feet on the table, but with Thor's hammer in the way, he's forced to put them back on the floor.
Wanda looks at Thor in time to see him grin cockily.
"You move it," he tells Sam.
"Oh, not this again," Steve rolls his eyes good-naturedly.
Thor shrugs.
"I thought only you could move your hammer," Sam says, still slightly annoyed.
"Not strictly true," Thor replies.
Wanda raises an eyebrow at that. She'd thought only Thor could move it, too.
"Come on, Sam," Natasha goads with a grin, "let's see if you're worthy."
Sam takes up the challenge.
"Course I'm worthy," he says as he gets up, "I'm the motherfucking Falcon!"
The Avengers laugh at his antics.
As he rises, he stumbles a little, but manages to hold himself. He rolls his shoulders and makes a display of stretching, getting ready.
The others all clap and shout encouraging things at him, which he laps up with a grin.
Once he's done stretching, he wraps his hand carefully around the handle of Thor's hammer.
With one last look at the others, he tugs on the hammer. His brows crease as he looks down at Thor's weapon and it doesn't move. It doesn't even budge an inch.
"The hell?" Sam asks then tries to lift it again.
He continues to try and lift the hammer for a further minute, but it doesn't move in the slightest.
In the end, he gives up and falls heavily back into his seat. He throws his hands up then crosses them unhappily over his chest.
The Avengers all laugh, Thor the most.
"Guess you're not worthy, buddy," Steve claps Sam on the back.
"Don't need no stupid hammer telling me if I'm worthy," Sam mumbles to himself then grabs his half-empty drink and downs the rest.
"Would you like to try, Lady Wanda?" Thor asks.
Wanda almost blushes at the eyes falling on her all of a sudden, but manages to keep her composure. Even being with the Avengers as long as she has doesn't stop her from blushing under so much attention.
"Oh, I don't know," she laughs awkwardly, "I think I will sit this one out."
"Come on, at least give it a try, Maximoff," Steve encourages her.
"Yeah, don't let me be the only one getting beat by a stupid hammer tonight," Sam says.
"Stupid?" Thor repeats.
"Just a joke, man, just a joke," Sam holds up his hands.
Wanda looks at the hammer sitting innocently on the table and sighs. What the hell? She decides.
"Okay," Wanda relents and stands up.
The others cheer happily for her.
"Don't let me down," Natasha says jokingly, pointing a finger at her.
"I will try my hardest," Wanda tells her.
She puts her drink down on the table and breathes out through her nose. She flexes her fingers and stares at the hammer on the table.
She just has to try and lift it, that's all. So why does she feel so nervous? It's just a hammer. There's no way she'll be worthy, like Natasha and Steve had joked to Sam about being.
Though she has powers and has been deemed the most "powerful" Avenger, that doesn't mean she can lift Thor's hammer.
Wanda takes in another deep breath and clasps the handle of the hammer. She can feel it practically humming beneath her palm, almost like it's alive and sentient. She chalks it up to her powers reacting to the hammer.
When she tugs on the hammer, it doesn't move at all. She purses her lips, suddenly feeling challenged, and pulls again.
This time, however, the hammer moves with her hand. It lifts from the table with minor resistance and, all of a sudden, she's holding Thor's hammer in her hand.
She stares wide eyed at the hammer, no longer on the table, and stammers.
"What the fuck?" Sam exclaims.
"Lady Wanda, you're worthy!" Thor booms.
"Holy shit, Wanda, you did it," Natasha laughs.
The hammer is heavy in her hand and now she can really feel it humming. It makes her hand feel weird and her powers want to envelope it and tug on it.
As quickly as she had lifted the hammer and the others had reacted, she lets the thing drop to the floor in shock. She can hear the floor crack a little under the weight of if, but it doesn't go straight through.
"Mjolnir," Thor quickly rises from his seat to retrieve his hammer.
"I picked up the hammer," Wanda states obviously.
"Hell yeah, you did," Natasha agrees.
She pulls Wanda back down to sit beside her and puts an arm around her shoulders.
"Here," Natasha hands Wanda's drink back to her, "I have a feeling you're going to need this."
"Did I really pick up the hammer?"
"Her name is Mjolnir, people!" Thor corrects. "And yes, Lady Wanda, it seems that you are as worthy as I am."
"Her?" Sam snorts. "Your hammer is a woman?"