"Wait, we're going to Voss...like the water bottle?" Natasha asked while looking at the map. Since the fiasco last year involving poorly planned routes, Natasha was made in charge of all navigational tasks. She was currently sitting shotgun to Bruce, who had elected to drive the first leg of their journey around Norway.
"Yeah, I read that the river we're rafting down is the same one they bottle the water from, the water is that clean." Steve remarked from the backseat.
"Hopefully this rain will clear up." Bruce said, looking out the windshield and up towards the clouds.
After spending only one night in Bergen, the avengers were once again on the move, this time on the way towards Flåm. About half way is the town of Voss, the so called 'adventure capital of Norway'. That was a slogan Steve couldn't pass up. The first advertisement that popped up when he searched Voss was for a rafting company called Wild Rivers, which promised an unparalleled rafting experience down the river. Never had the team gone white water rafting, so this was an exciting prospect for the entire group.
After an hour of driving, the rain had cleared up, and the sun had even begun to shine. Bruce turned down the driveway and parked next to small bus with the company name painted on it.
"Are you the Potts family?" A man asked as the seven got out of the car.
"Yes, I hope we're on time." Steve said, checking his watch.
"No problem, the name's Hank, I'm gonna be your guide for the rafting. Follow me and we'll get you geared up, hope you brought bathing suits!"
The group was led down to a lodge and handed wetsuits.
"This doesn't bode well." Bruce muttered.
"The water is only about 5 degrees Celsius, you'll need these." Hank explained. "The locker rooms are just inside. When you're changed, we'll give you your shoes and helmet, then we'll head out to the river."
Once everyone was dressed and prepped, the bus was loaded and the raft secured, and they drove out to the boat launch.
"So what's going to happen is everyone will get a paddle. The smaller folks in the front and the larger ones in the back with me." Hank started. "Everyone needs to paddle at all times to keep the boat from flipping."
"Wait, we may flip?" Steve asked. "The brochure never said anything about that."
"The rafts have flipped in the past, but they're designed not to. If it does decide to turn turtle, you'll be lucky you have those wetsuits. The rapids aren't bad, only maybe class II, and if you want to jump out into the calm section of the river, you can."
"Last one in is bantha poodoo!" Tony shouted.
Steve and Thor helped Hank drag the raft to the shore, settling it in the water. One by one the group scrambled onto the raft and took their seat on the edge. When everyone was in, Hank gave the raft a shove before jumping in the back. The raft was waterborne.
"The trip lasts about an hour, but no rush. We have some warm drinks for you guys when we get back to the lodge." Hank said. "Now let's paddle out into the current and get on our way."
The first set of rapids was easy, just a little bit of chop. The second patch, however, wasn't so kind.
"So there are rocks to the right, but a big eddy to the left, we need to stay in the center or we'll wreck." Hank said, pointing. "We need to hit these waves head on to maintain our balance, just relax and paddle and we'll get through it."
"I'm finding it hard to relax after you telling us about our possible demise." Clint mentioned.
The raft floated swiftly towards the rapids, and everyone gave a lurch back as the raft dipped.
"Paddle, paddle, paddle." Hank shouted, and the group started rowing for their lives. Water was splashed up into the raft as it was propelled through the torrent, spray from the paddles drenching the group. But it was over in the blink of an eye. The raft sailed into smoother waters again.
"This is the smooth part-"
"Oh thank god." Clint sighed.
"-you can get out here, if you like." Hank finished.
Everyone eyed the water suspiciously.
"Eh, it didn't seem too cold when it was splashing us." Tony said and set his paddle down. He slid of the side of the boat backwards into the water, then bobbed to the surface. "Ah, I was wrong, I was horribly wrong!" He shouted, spitting out water and racing for the edge of the boat.
"Nuh, uh, Nat, you are not getting me-shit!" Clint was flipped by the super spy off the edge of the boat and into the river.
"I told you to take a shower this morning." She said grinning. Standing up, Natasha stood up on the edge of the raft. "See you later boys!" She said and dove off the side into the water beside her partner.
"Come on Bruce!" Tony said, trying to hide the chattering of his teeth. "The water's great!"
Bruce rolled his eyes and set down his paddle. Swinging his legs over the side, he slid into the water next to Tony. "You're right," he said, holding back his obvious discomfort, "the water's great."
It was just Steve, Thor, Loki, and Hank left in the boat. Hank was removing his helmet and locking in the rudder. Steve was shocked as he watched the man do a backflip off the end of the raft, landing perfectly in the water behind them.
"Come on in boys, we don't have much time left in this part of the river!" Hank called out.
Thor looked to his brother. "I'll go in if you do." He said.
Loki shook his head. "We are adults now, Thor, and I will not fall for that trick any longer."
"Ok, you two can fight it out, but I'm going to get the full Voss experience." Steve decided. He removed his helmet and peered into the clear river below him. Nat and Clint were having a splash fight, and Tony and Bruce were holding swimming races with Hank.
"Steve, come join us!" Nat shouted. "I need you on my team!"
"If you get Steve then I get Thor and Loki." Clint replied.
Steve looked over at Thor and Loki, and they returned the look. A mutual agreement to competition flashed across their faces, then the three of them dove into the water and took their appropriate sides.
"Hey, it's not even, I need another person on my team." Nat noticed.
"Let's snag Tony, this is right up his alley." Steve suggested, waving over towards his teammate. Hank, Tony, and Bruce swam over, and the lines were drawn. Bruce and Tony joined Natasha's team, and Hank floated over to Clint's side.
"So when do we -" Tony was cut of by a huge splash to the face. Clint had launched a huge wave over towards him. "Ok, that's it, free for all!" And all hell broke loose.
40 minutes later
Back in the lodge, the group was warming up with hot drinks and fluffy towels. The water fight lasted about 5 minutes until everyone decided the water had become too cold for them to stand. Upon their return, they were also surprised to find that the experience had totally wiped them out.
Hank walked in with some sandwiches and a folder. "So I forgot to tell you guys that we had a photographer positioned on the bank to take some shots of you guys on the rapids. They're in this folder, you guys got some great pics." He handed the folder to Steve. "Hope you guys had a great time, I sure did, and enjoy the rest of your time here in Norway."
"Ok, I gotta see these." Tony said, reaching for the folder and spilling Natasha's drink on the floor. Ignoring her glare, he grabbed the folder from Steve and laid out the photos. There were some shots of them paddling on the raft, then some of them on the rapids. "Steve, look at your face!" Tony shoved a photo towards said person, and he cringed at seeing the warped expression of concentration.
"This is a nice one of Tony." Clint said, plucking another from the pile.
"Just wait til I find one of you, birdbrain." Tony replied, rifling through the stack.
Bruce snatched one away from Tony's search. "Look at this one." It was a photo of everyone in the water during the splash fight. It was hard to see the faces through the water jets, but Steve knew that all were having a blast.
"We gotta watch Frozen tonight." Tony said randomly.
"No karaoke, though." Clint replied.
"You're just jealous of my amazing singing voice." Tony teased.
"Save it for the car ride, we've got two hours to go until we reach Flåm." Steve said. "So let's get this show on the road."