A/N: First of all, I'm so sorry this chapter is late! I didn't realize how much editing it needed it, I worked on it all day yesterday and it still wasn't anywhere near where it needed to be. Hopefully, this won't happen again. As a consolation, this is a really long chapter, so hopefully the wait will be worth it :) Okay, onward!

Chapter Twenty

"You sure he's going to be okay?" Nat asked, leaning back into the corner and smirking, "Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together."

"There's no possibility of deterioration," Dr. Cho assured her as she powered up her machine and began the process of putting Clint back together again, "The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

"She is creating tissue!" Alice exclaimed, tugging on Bruce's sleeve in her excitement, "It's so cool!"

"What's cool was that stitching job," Helen said with a smile, and Alice resisted the urge to hide her blush behind Bruce's shoulder, "Those sutures were a work of art. I was sorry to have to cut them."

"I wasn't," Clint assured her, his words slurring the tiniest bit from the anesthetic, "I have enough scars to last a lifetime. I don't need another one."

"Well, it would have been a beautiful scar," Helen insisted, forcing Clint's head back down to the table, "Now hold still. This takes a little longer without the Regeneration cradle."

"Oh, he's flatlining," Tony announced as he made his grand entrance, "Call it. Time?"

"Nah man, I'm gonna live forever," Clint answered as Tony handed him something green and slushy in a plastic cup, "I'm gonna be made of plastic."

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton," Helen insisted, "Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference."

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend," Clint said with a lazy smile.

Helen rolled her eyes. "That I can't fix."

"You're gonna teach me how to use this thing, right Helen?" Alice asked, crouching down so she could watch the fabricator humming back and forth over Clint's side, "Before you go home?"

"Of course," Helen said, nodding absently as she adjusted something on the main output screen, "It's pretty simple once you get it programmed, and we'll take care of that before I leave, collect samples from everyone, make sure their molecular structure is plugged in. Then it's only a matter of scanning the wound and pressing a button. This is the next thing, Tony," she said, tossing him a smirk over her shoulder, "Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust."

"Well, that is the plan," he agreed, "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties."

"Aw, come on, Helen!" Alice insisted, hopping to her feet, "Pepper already said she can't come. Please don't make me and Nat deal with all these Neanderthals on our own."

"Hey!" Tony exclaimed.

"Well, I suppose I can't leave fellow ladies in need," Helen said, grinning, "It'll take until Saturday to get the equipment calibrated anyway."

"It's a date!" Alice declared.

"I thought I was your date?" Bruce asked, trying and failing to turn his lips into a convincing pout.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll save a dance for you," she said, leaning in to give him a kiss.

"You guys are gross," Clint mumbled.

"Come on, Doctor," Tony said, clapping Bruce on the shoulder, "We've got our own sandbox to play in."

"But I like this sandbox," Bruce said, throwing Alice a grin over his shoulder as he allowed Tony to pull him out of the room.

"Love you!" Alice chirped.

"We love you too!" Tony called back, tossing her a wave without a glance back. Alice rolled her eyes, but she still felt a grin sliding onto her face.

"Seriously," Clint muttered, his eyes sliding closed as the pain meds finally took him under, "Gross."

"Sounds like a hell of a fight, sorry I missed it," Sam said, as they sidestepped a group of party-goers heading downstairs toward the dance floor.

"If I had known it was going to be a firefight I absolutely would have called you," Steve insisted, but Sam just grinned and shook his head, clapping him on the shoulder in that easy-going way he had.

"No, no, I'm not actually sorry, I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons' case. Avenging is your world."

They reached the top of the stairs and turned to look out over the large, open floor covered in flashing lights, thumping with music that Steve would never have believed could exist five years ago, and filled with hundreds of people he didn't actually know.

"Your world is crazy," Sam said, sounding partly sincere, partly in awe.

"Be it ever so humble," Steve agreed. It hit him at the oddest times, how much his world had changed. How much he now took for granted. How much this place was starting to feel like-

"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?"

Steve snorted and turned back to his friend, leaning back against the railing. "I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, well, home is home, you know?"

Steve felt a smile tug at his lips. He actually couldn't agree more.

"You planning on sticking around for a bit?" Steve asked, "I think Alice has another movie night planned this coming weekend if you wanna-"

But Sam was already shaking his head.

"Nah, I actually gotta go in a little while, got a plane to catch."

Steve raised an eyebrow, feeling a jolt in his chest.

"Lead on that cold case?"

Sam shrugged.

"Could be nothing. There's been some odd search activity out in the Midwest the last couple of months, somebody poking around in the old SHIELD files, digging for some pretty specific stuff: amnesia, missing persons reports, prosthetic research."

"Doesn't sound like nothing," Steve said, straightening under the weight of guilt and duty he could feel settling over his shoulders, "You want me to go with you?"

"Nah, man, I got this," Sam said, clapping him on the arm in a friendly but insistent way, "It's just some hick town in west Kansas, probably some kid gearing up for the coolest history paper ever. It's not super sophisticated stuff, they haven't even broke most of the encryption. I'll call you if I find anything else."

Steve was about to reply when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Alice making her way toward him, slipping by several older men in uniform who whistled as she went by. She smiled sweetly at them, while simultaneously flipping the bird, which made them roar with laughter.

"Damn girl, that was stone cold!" Sam said as she approached, brushing back her short hair and tugging at the mauve dress that hugged her knees and shoulders, draping around her collarbone. Her matching heels made her almost level with Sam's eyes and she used it to her advantage, giving him a wicked grin.

"Don't play if you don't wanna get hurt."

Sam lifted his glass in respectful salute, and Alice turned her attention back to Steve.

"Hey, sorry to bug you, but I can't find Klara. I think she slipped off somewhere and I can't seem to drag Thor's attention away from that stupid foosball game he's playing. She's been pretty down lately, would you mind-?"

"Yeah," Steve said, pointedly ignoring the smug, knowing look on Sam's face, "I'll look around for her."

Alice's smile relaxed a little.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." She reached out to squeeze his elbow, then gave Sam a friendly punch on the arm as she walked by, weaving her way down the crowded stairs.

"So," Sam said, and Steve was forced to face that irritating smirk, "Captain America gotta go save the day again, huh?"

Steve rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything in his defense, Sam held up his hands in surrender.

"Look, all I'm saying is, Alice isn't stupid, and she came to you. There's a reason for that."

"Yeah, Thor was unavailable," Steve said, finishing off his beer to wash away the tang of bitterness on the back of his tongue.

"Yeah, I don't think that was it," Sam said, his eyes sparkling as he leaned forward, "Come on, man, why don't you just—"

"Because she's leaving, Sam," he said, setting his empty beer bottle on a nearby table with the resounding finality that he felt in his chest as he said the words, "Back to Asgard. Tomorrow."

When he met Sam's eyes again, he didn't find the sympathetic look he was expecting. Instead, his friend was smirking.

"Really? Did she say that?"

...before you all troop back to Asgard.

That's what Tony had said. And Thor had agreed. And Klara... she hadn't argued, of course. Where Thor went she followed, that was just how it was. But Steve had seen a flash of-he hesitated to call it panic-surprise in her eyes...and she had been so quiet lately...

Goddamnit, Sam.

"She's going home," he repeated, mostly for himself, shoving down the tiny bubble of doubt he could feel pressing against his ribs.

Sam shrugged.

"If you say so," he said, "But you should probably ask her. You know, just to be sure."

He winked and tipped back the last of his beer. Steve rolled his eyes, but he could feel the fond grin tugging at his lips despite himself.

"You're a goddamn sap, Wilson," he said, "You and Romanov should form a club."

"The Hopeless Lost Cause of Captain America's Love Life," Sam recited solemnly, "We meet every third Wednesday."

Steve laughed and shoved at him playfully.

"Get outta here, you idiot," he said, "I gotta get to work."

"Yeah, alright, fine, I'm gonna catch my plane." Sam held out his hand and Steve took it. "I'll let you know what I find."

"Thank you, Sam," he said, and he meant it. Ever since SHIELD fell, and through everything after, Sam had been there for him, in so many ways. Steve honestly didn't know what he would do without Sam watching his back.

He watched Sam make his way through the crowd until he was out of sight, then he turned and headed for the elevator. He already had a pretty good idea where he might find their missing Asgardian.

...you should probably ask her...

Steve frowned as he stepped onto the elevator.

Goddamnit, Sam.

Klara sipped at the colorful mixture in her glass and turned her face up to the night, letting the breeze toss back the loose curls of her hair and flutter at her shimmering blue skirts. The moon shone brightly, and Klara shut her eyes, imagining the myriad of stars that lay beyond...waiting. She took another sip, though it did her little good. Midgardian drinks were not nearly as potent as she was used to.

"There you are."

She turned, startled. Captain Rogers stood in the balcony's doorway, the dim light of the abandoned penthouse lounge filtering in behind him. He was dressed quite nicely in his buttoned shirt and slacks, and a small, hesitant smile tugged on the corners of his lips. He let the door shut behind him, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Alice sent me to look for you," he said, taking a measured step further onto the balcony, "I think she got stuck playing hostess."

"She is doing quite well," Klara agreed. It was true. Alice had taken to the party like she had been born to such things, flitting from group to group with her easy laugh and charming personality. It was easy to see why everyone liked her so very much. Why she would have found her place here.

"I'm supposed to bring you back," the captain said, studying her face, "But you don't exactly look like your in a party mood."

Klara turned her gaze outward again, this time observing the lights of the city twinkling around them. There was so much here that she still had not seen, so much she had not yet had the courage to do. So much...

"So," Captain Rogers said, turning to lean his back against the railing, and making it much more difficult for Klara to avoid his gaze, "Asgard."

Klara stiffened, regretting the drink she held that prevented her from clasping her hands as she wished to.

"Yes," she replied, trying to sound as neutral as possible. There was a weighted pause she wasn't sure how to fill.

"You know..." He trailed off and Klara risked a glance at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, one of his anxious quirks. "I mean, you don't seem all that thrilled about it. About going home."

Home. The word pressed on her like a hand to her chest. She felt her fingers start to tremble and she tightened her grip on the glass.

"I suppose not," she said, "I do not expect I will be particularly welcome there."

She had not meant the words to sound so bitter, so pained. She was on the verge of speaking an apology for the abrupt manner of her-

"You could stay."

The breath froze in her throat. It took her several moments and another of the captain's anxious gestures (this time smoothing back his hair) for her to realize that she was staring at him. She dropped her eyes to her drink.

"I mean, we could definitely use you," he went on, and then winced as if he had misspoken, "I don't... What I'm trying to say is you're not just Thor's servant, or handmaiden, or whatever you wanna call it. You have a place here, you've earned it, same as the rest of us."

Klara met his eyes again. He was so earnest, so sincere. He seemed to hesitate, then reached out and took one of her hands. It always surprised her: how strong he was, and yet his hands were always gentle.

"You're home, Klara," he said, "If you wanna be."

This time, when he said the word 'home', the pressure in her chest lifted. She felt as light as the breeze that still ruffled her hair. She dipped her head in acknowledgment.

"I will consider it," she said softly, "Thank you."

He smiled and squeezed her hand before he released it. Klara felt the absence of his touch far more keenly than she should have liked.

"We really oughta get back," he said, pushing off the railing and heading back toward the door, "Alice is doing a great job, but if she misplaces two of us, she might lose a grip."

He held the door open for her to pass through, and Klara obliged him. They took the elevator together, and as the floors slipped by on the digital display, Captain Rogers turned and offered his elbow.

"May I?"

His smile was cheeky and warm, a jest only half-meant. The pendant around her neck seemed to gain weight, and Klara paused. It was only for a breath, but long enough for just a few words to whisper through her mind.

...That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,

If thinking on me then should make you woe...

She settled her fingers into the crook of the Captain's elbow as the elevator doors slid open and they stepped out into the noise and laughter of Mr. Stark's party.

Alice could feel the smug satisfaction on her face as she watched Steve and Klara sidle up to Thor, just as the group of older men surrounding him burst into a chorus of raucous laughter. Bruce came back with two drinks in hand, and Alice tried to wipe away the expression, but apparently, she didn't do a very good job.

"What do you look so happy about?" Bruce asked, handing her a glass.

"Oh, just-" She waved her drink in the direction of the others. Klara's hand was still resting on Steve's arm as he accepted a splash of something from a flask Thor was offering. The girl shook her head, but she was grinning, almost despite herself. "-I haven't seen Klara smile like that in...forever. Not since way before we got the scepter. I think...I don't know, maybe Steve and Klara have been good for each other. Maybe they could keep being good for each other. I'd like that."

Bruce shook his head, swirling his drink absently in his tumbler.

"Don't get your hopes up too high," he said, "There's a lot going on there that none of us understand. On both sides, not just Klara's."

"But they're good people," Alice insisted, "They deserve to be happy."

"We don't always get what we deserve."

Alice grinned at him, slipping her arm through his. "I got you."

Bruce gave her a weak smile in return. "Exactly."

Alice sighed and laid her head on his shoulder, breathing deeply of the cologne he so rarely wore, warm and lightly spiced.

"You're right," she said, "You're way more than I deserve."

She felt Bruce huff a laugh, as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"You're ridiculous, and I love you," he murmured.

Her grin widened, and she didn't argue.

"Come on, it's a trick!" Clint exclaimed, twirling an arrow in his fingers and grinning at Thor who, despite his inebriated state, was attempting to look earnest and profound. Alice was exhausted, content to watch the argument unfold without any intervention, now that the rest of the party-goers had left. She had curled up on the couch, her head in Bruce's lap, her bare feet tucked up under Tony's thigh, her eyelids starting to droop a little as Bruce ran his fingers through her hair.

"Whosoever, if he be worthy, shall haveth the power!" Clint recited dramatically before dissolving into laughter, "Whatever man, it's a trick!"

"Then please, be my guest," Thor said, sweeping his hand over the hammer sitting innocently on the coffee table between them.

Clint looked skeptical, but he got up off the floor. "Really?"

"Oh this is gonna be beautiful," Rhodey muttered, sitting back as Maria buried her face in his shoulder to smother giggles.

"Now Clint, you've had a tough week so we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up," Tony said, and Alice moved a foot up to shove his shoulder.

"Be nice," she mumbled, "He's an invalid."

"Thanks, Ripley, for that rousing endorsement," Clint muttered as he pushed up his sleeves and approached Mjolnir, eyeing the hammer as if staring at it might reveal its secrets. He smirked at Thor as he wrapped his hand around the handle.

"You know I've seen this before, right?"

He braced himself, tightened his grip, and pulled. Nothing happened. He strained for only a second before he let go, laughing.

"Man, I still don't know how you do it!"

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony asked, grabbing Alice's ankle before she could shove him again.

Clint stepped back and held out his arms. "Please, Stark, by all means."

What came next was the most ridiculous display of male testosterone Alice had ever seen. It was worth getting up, just to see the look on Bruce's face when he pretended to Hulk out and not a single person twitched. It was both hilarious and endearing.

After Steve had his turn, everyone turned expectantly to Nat, but the red-head only waved her beer at them.

"No, that's not a question I need answered."

"Klara?" Steve offered.

Klara blinked, her expression of tentative interest disappearing into surprised uncertainty. She glanced nervously at Thor before dropping her eyes down to her hands.

"I...believe I possess an unfair advantage," she admitted, "Mjolnir was put under a spell by the Allfather. Because of my...genetic disposition...to lift the hammer would not make me any more or less worthy of its power. It would be no more than a block of metal in my hand."

There was an awkward pause, and Alice could see Klara cringe a little between Thor and Steve as if she were aware that she had caused the uncomfortable silence.

"So," Alice said, sitting up and planting her feet on the floor, "None of the ladies wanna give this a shot? Helen? Maria?"

"Well come on, Baby Bird, let's see what you got!" Tony said, tapping her shoulder playfully with his knuckles.

"That's still not my code name," Alice said, but she got up and padded across the carpet toward the coffee table.

"If you think you're escaping that, you're delusional," Nat said, settling back onto the couch.

Alice squared herself up with the handle and gave it a quick glance. She had seen too much weird shit in her life to think for even a second this was some cheap carnival ripoff. She'd worked plenty of carnivals: she'd never seen anything like this. But still, there had to be something, some kind of strategy or method to it. It couldn't just be random. She looked at Thor, who was smiling but his eyes were intense as he watched her.

"Worthy, huh?" she asked, trying to sound glib.

Thor shrugged. "That is the inscription: 'Whosoever holds this hammer if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.' Though I assume gender is not an obstacle in this instance."

"But who, or what, decides?" Alice asked, and Thor tipped his head, "Who decides what we're worth? Maybe..." She looked down at the handle and slowly wrapped her fingers around it, feeling the smooth leather of the grip, pressing it into her palm. "Maybe we do. Maybe we decide if we're worthy, something deep down inside us. And when we decide..."

She shut her eyes and looked deep, deeper than she normally allowed herself to go. She saw Bruce's face, the light in his eyes when he smiled, the way he was always trying to reassure her: I love you, I love you, I love you.

She saw Tony too, covered in engine grease, and holding out his hand to her expectantly, always tinkering, never satisfied. She saw Clint and Pepper, Klara and Nat, Steve and Maria, the way they all surrounded her, lifting her up, each in their own way, seeing so much more than she ever saw in herself. She tightened her grip on the hammer and started to lift-

Jacob.

The name dropped into the sea of faces like a drip into still water, sending them rippling away and all she could see was the dark, the dark in her closet where she hid as the gunshots rang out, and her brother screamed and then didn't scream, and then there was blood, blood glistening in the moonlight-

Her hand jerked against the hammer's handle, but it didn't budge. Alice opened her eyes and let go, nearly tripping over the edge of the rug as she stumbled back, cradling her hand to her chest. She was suddenly cold, and she realized with a shiver that a thin sheen of sweat had broken out over her skin.

"Woah, easy, easy," Bruce soothed, appearing beside her and slinging Tony's suit jacket over her shoulders, rubbing warmth back into her arms. Alice leaned into his chest and shuddered.

"Sorry," she muttered, trying to shove the lingering dark back into the hole it had come from, "Sorry, I must have...must have had more drinks than I thought.

"You know, as much as 'Alice, Queen of Asgard' has a nice ring to it," Tony quipped with a grin, "Maybe we shouldn't kill ourselves trying to beat a system that's rigged. Which it is, by the way," he added, pointing at Thor.

"Bet your ass!" Clint agreed, "If Alice can't lift it, that thing's gotta be rigged!"

"Steve, he said a bad language word," Maria said, pointing meaningfully at Clint.

"Did you tell everyone about that?"

"These are all fascinating theories," Thor said, getting to his feet, "But I have a better one."

He scooped up the hammer and flipped it jauntily in the air.

"You're all not worthy."

Alice rolled her eyes as everyone loudly, but good-naturedly, protested this assertion...and was then cut off by feedback squealing across every speaker in the room. Even with her hands over her ears, Alice could still hear the ringing.

"Tony, what the-?"

"Worthy?" a tinny voice said, through the fading screeches, "No...how could you be worthy? You're all...killers."

The unfamiliar voice was coming from one of Tony's suits, one of the Iron Legion. It stumbled across the floor, dripping fluid and sparks, its face pocked with scorch marks. But its eyes were lit and focused entirely on them.

"Stark." Steve barked, but Tony was already moving.

"JARVIS?"

He stepped in front of Alice as Bruce pulled her back, slipping his phone out of his pocket and swiping at tech readouts. JARVIS didn't answer. Alice's heart went to her throat. JARVIS always answered.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep," the suit said, then shook its head, as if clearing a thought, "Or...was I a-dream?"

Everyone was on their feet now, staring at the cobbled together machine lurching into the room. Tony was still tapping on his phone, his eyes flicking back and forth from screen to machine.

"Reboot Legionnaire OS, we got a buggy suit."

"There was a terrible noise..." the bot said, almost pained, "And I was tangled in...in strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Alice felt her skin crawl, and she slipped her hand into Bruce's. He took it and squeezed tight.

"You killed someone?" That wasn't Steve speaking. It was Captain America. And he was pissed.

"Wouldn't have been my first call." The suit waved its partly crushed hand in a disturbingly human fashion. "But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor demanded, his voice crackling with power, waiting only for his call.

But instead of answering, the bot quirked its head and what sounded like a recording played.

"I see a suit of armor around the world."

"Tony?" Alice asked, a trickle of nerves bleeding into her voice, "Why does the scary suit sound like you?"

Tony and Bruce exchanged a look.

"Ultron," Bruce breathed, sounding horrified.

"In the flesh," the bot said, then seemed to hesitate, "Or...no, not yet. Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" Nat asked.

The bot, Ultron, looked at her, and Alice could have sworn there was a smirk on its metal face.

"Peace in our time."

The wall exploded and everything happened so fast. Alice found herself tossed down in front of one of the couches, Bruce crouched over her, shielding her from the debris and the oncoming rush of suits. The Iron Legion. She had helped create these robots with Tony, they were a peacekeeping force. They weren't designed to hurt anyone. But here they were attacking them, all of them, even their makers. It was like a nightmare, only worse because it was real.

"Stay down!" Bruce yelled and rushed across the room toward Tony, who was wrestling one of the bots. There were gunshots and clangs of metal on metal all around her, but Alice wasn't scared. Not really. Instead, she felt the old, familiar weight-destiny, Death, waiting to settle up the debt she owed-that she had been ignoring the last few years, for Bruce's sake. But it was here now. She could sense it, lurking in the shadows.

Someone screamed, and Alice looked right. Helen Cho had hidden behind the grand piano, and one of the Legion had cornered her, wide-eyed and terrified. Alice felt a resolve harden in her chest. Death was coming for her, there was no avoiding that. But she would be damned if it was going to take anyone else tonight.

She lurched to her feet and rushed the bot, flinging herself onto its back and jerking it off balance. It tossed her aside as easily as she'd imagined it would, and she slammed into the piano with an off-key bang. She hit the floor and cried out, but managed to scramble back into a crouch. Helen was staring at her, frozen on the floor.

"Run!" she snapped as the Legion suit turned its attention to her.

"We are here to help," the bot intoned in the voice Alice had helped Tony to program, the most non-threatening voice they could imagine.

"Like hell," Alice snarled and got ready to lunge. If she was gonna go, she was taking this bastard with her. She knew where the power cables were, buried in the neck joint, if she could just-

The bot moved and Alice tensed.

Clang!

The metal head suddenly caved inward from the back in a shower of sparks. Alice blinked. Another clang, from the side this time, and the head came off entirely, hitting the carpet with a resounding thump, followed shortly by the body, twitching and sparking like an electrified fish. Klara was standing where the bot had been, brandishing what looked like a leg from the now-destroyed coffee table. Alice stared at her for a solid five seconds before she could find words.

"Nice work," she said, sounding about as awed as she felt.

Klara grinned. "Thank you."

Alice saw the other bot a second too late. She couldn't even cry out a warning.

"Klara!"

The girl dropped with surprising fluidity, turning to brandish her makeshift weapon, but as soon as she was down the bot exploded into pieces, the red, white, and blue shield of Captain America protruding from its midsection. It collapsed to the floor and Steve was leaping over it, crouching beside Klara, his hands hovering over her but not quite touching.

"Are you alright, are you hurt? Did I hurt you?"

"I am perfectly well, Captain Rogers," Klara assured him, standing and brushing her hair back out of her eyes, "But thank you, all the same."

"Alice?" Bruce's tense voice brought Alice to her feet again, searching. He was covered in what looked like transmission fluid, a dismantled bot on the floor at his and Tony's feet.

"I'm sorry, I know you all mean well," Ultron said, still standing where they had left him, twitching and dripping fluid on the floor, "You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?" He picked up one of the broken bots and examined it. "With these? These puppets?" He crushed the metal head and tossed it aside. "There's only one path to peace: the Avengers' extinction."

There was a boom of sound and Thor's hammer plunged through the chest of the machine. It burst like a pinata, spilling metal parts onto the floor. As the lights in its eyes flickered out, the echoes of an old children's song floated through the buzzing air.

"I had strings, but now I'm free... There are no strings on me..."

A/N: Man, I really hope that chapter was as cool as I thought it was :) Also, there's a clue about the next story I'm planning to post in this series buried in this chapter, I'll give out internet cookies for guesses, and I'll even respond with "hot" or "cold" or variations on that theme ;P Anything else you want to discuss? Go ahead and let me know, I'll respond if I can without spoiling anything :D Only five chapters left!