Avengers Assemble
Okay, this story is mainly going to focus on Iron Man in the beginning but then it will go into the Avengers more!
I don't own Avengers or any related content.
Thanks Hollie for pretty much co-writing this with me and giving me some of the best ideas that will go into this fic!
Thank you for reading and I would love any reviews!
This first chapter is a series of flashbacks, hence the italics.
The first 2 flashbacks also take place before he's met Pepper and the last one only just after he's hired Pepper.
Complicated Possession.
Chapter 1 – Exceptional

Flashback 1:

Tony Stark hated the public side of his life. He loved designing the equipment, he loved playing around with it and building the different devices but he hated attending the parties. Well he said he hated the parties, he didn't mind them. He hated having to be polite to the press and talk to them like he cared. Tonight for instance, he was attending one of these parties and he was bored out of his head. It wasn't his favourite kind of party, it was a formal party where he was required to look smart and act polite.

Moving through the masses of people he observed every one of them, he'd decided it made a nice pass time to analyse each person he passed and tell himself different things he could deduce from them. For example; he squeezed past a rather portly gentleman which he knew was a key donator to his company and so he gave him a polite nod. The ring on his wedding finger told him that he was married, but the direction of his eyes around the young women told him that it was not a happy marriage or that this man was simple unfaithful, later confirmed as he caught this man with a young brunette sneaking out of the disabled bathroom. He rolled his eyes before allowing them to search the room for his next victim. They sought out a young woman who had her back to him.

The woman wore a floor length crimson dress which had a halter neck and spaghetti straps, her hair was long and blonde and pinned up out of her face, held half up half down by a blood red ribbon. The blonde was a bright blonde that seemed to glow like an angel however it had subtle traces of honey tones. The hair was sleek and straight, falling down her back to about her waist. Her skin was lightly tanned and again seemed to glow, showing that she'd obviously spent the day in the sun today and as she turned he saw her full profile. Her eyes were a soft green that shone in the lamplight; her cheeks were paled by make-up but ever so slightly rouged to enhance her gently rounded cheekbones. Her nose was slightly longer than average although it suited her slightly longer face and she was slightly taller than the average woman anyway. Her mouth was animated as she spoke and laughed, her teeth the most perfect white, not too white but just right. Her hands looked soft and her fingers were graceful, holding onto her champagne glass. He smiled as he saw her slightly chipped nail varnish; perhaps appearance wasn't everything to her after all.

He found his feet gravitating towards her and as her company saw him approaching they left her alone with him she shook his hand and returned his greeting enthusiastically. This man was normally a play-boy but when he spoke to this woman his heart skipped a beat. She was perfect in his eyes, he didn't believe in soul-mates or true love or any of that crap, but this woman was different, she was an exception.

"Pleasure to meet you," He said, acting calm as usual even though inside his chest his heart was pumping, "And how are you affiliated with my company?"

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Stark! Sorry! My name is Anna Murphy, my father is an investor, he asked me to accompany him here tonight." She said with a smile, gesturing to the portly gentleman that Tony had seen emerging from the bathroom with the young brunette. He kept this piece of information to himself.

"Anna! What a beautiful name!" he said smoothly, beginning to enjoy the conversation and allowing a slight amount of smugness to cross his features, she evidently found him as attractive as he found her.

"Thank you Mr. Stark."

"Tony, please!"

She paused and narrowed her eyes, looking at him, "Tony…" She looked him up and down for a moment before shifting her weight from one foot to the other and swapping the champagne glass to her other hand before taking a sip. Tony got the impression she was waiting for him to say something, but at the same time he felt like he didn't need to. A moment later the latter was confirmed.

"Are you trying to get me into bed Tony?" she asked, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.

Damn. She'd done her homework. Or read the tabloids. Or both.

"You know," he said slowly, as she looked triumphant, a look he should be wearing right now as he escorted her to the car, "You really shouldn't believe everything you read."

"Oh I don't believe everything." She grinned, obviously enjoying herself while Tony was in agony. How could she be so well informed? Did the tabloids really give that much of his personal life away just like that?

"Please enlighten me further." He pushed and she gave him a gentle smile as she took another sip of her champagne.

"You'll have to buy me dinner first." Sensing an opportunity, Tony took it.

"Let's go."

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Flashback 2:

Another Tux! Tony really hated Tux's. If this was meant to be the happiest day of his life then why couldn't he decide what he was going to wear? Luckily Anna had been lenient and agreed that he didn't have to wear a tie as long as he agreed to the rose in his lapel. He admitted it did add a nice splash of colour to an otherwise fairly boring outfit.

He stood in front of a full-length mirror admiring himself in his tuxedo. He was clean and tidy and neat and he was sure that his bride would be so very proud of him. He'd never been sure that he was the person for marriage but after spending a year with Anna he was sure that she was the one he wanted to be with forever. She had made his life complete, he'd found that little piece of the puzzle he'd been searching for, for so long. She was it. She was his exception to the rule.

Roadie, who was acting as his best man, stuck his head around the door and announced that they would be leaving for the church and the ceremony momentarily and so once Roadie had left, Tony looked at himself in the mirror and realised he was so incredibly nervous. In an attempt to fight back the nerves he decided now was the time for a pep talk.

"Okay Stark. You are a strong man who is head over heels for this woman. She's hot, she's clever and she's great in bed. So you can totally do this, you can totally commit to her for the rest of your life. She will make you happy every day and then you can have lots of little Stark's running around too. You want that, don't you?" Even now there was the element of doubt in his voice which he quickly dismissed. "You can do this, man."

He was summoned out to the car and as he climbed in he couldn't help an almost overwhelming sense of pride at how smart he looked and how he was actually going through with something he'd always been so certain he would never do. The car ride wasn't particularly long but it didn't stop the nerves rising in him rapidly, like lava up the crater of a volcano. He hoped he didn't explode.

The church looked amazing. Probably because Anna hadn't spared any expense, after Tony had told her not to. As long as he hadn't had to help plan it he was happy for her to plan her dream wedding. And the money didn't matter to him, because the place did look, fantastic. He smiled to himself despite the nerves and strolled casually up the aisle to the front, taking his seat and smiling as the priest. He didn't believe in God, but if a God would help get rid of these goddamn nerves then he would be polite to anyone. The priest gave a courteous smile in return. The wait seemed like hours, he couldn't get comfortable; he needed to get this over and done with, now. Before he changed his mind.

Finally, the priest mentioned for them to rise and that the bride was here. Giving a nod Tony stood at the front with Roadie beside him. He didn't dare turn around, the nerves were starting to make him feel a bit queasy and he didn't want to throw up.

"Roadie!" he hissed and Roadie leaned in close to listen. "How does she look?" he asked, acting as cool as he possibly could but he was sure that Roadie could recognise his nerves. He turned slowly to observe the bride and gave an approving nod, smiling warmly as he spoke to Tony.

"She looks beautiful." Tony dared to turn slowly and sneak a peek. Roadie was right, she did look beautiful. Her shimmering golden hair was tied into a tight bun with her favourite blood red ribbon, the veil she wore was attached just behind her bun and the clip seemed to be silvery white roses with the white, netted fabric falling down to her lower back. She wore very little make up, only a little mascara and lip gloss. But she didn't need it, she looked radiant anyway. The dress had long sleeves that clung to her arms and the top half of the wedding dress clung to her near perfect figure. The skirt was a little looser and seemed to shimmer in the light with every step she took. It was plain white but it was a strange shade of white, it made it look almost silver in certain lights. As Tony admired her, he noticed that the baby bump didn't even seem to show.

She walked up to stand beside him and he felt his nerves disappear. She kissed her father on the cheek and Tony gave him a slight nod. They'd never really seen eye to eye or really been able to look each other in the eye since the night of the party where he'd met Anna. Anna turned to Tony and grinned. Taking his hand, they began the ceremony.

"Do you, Tony Stark take Anna Murphy, to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health 'till death do you part?" the priest asked, a lot sooner than Tony was expecting, things went so fast when it was happening to you.

"I most certainly do." He said, turning to his bride with a grin.

"And do you, Anna Murphy, take Tony Stark to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, 'till death do you part?" he asked Anna in his dreadfully droning voice and Anna nodded giving a light giggle.

"I do."

"Very well." He sounded bored. "By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride Mr. Stark." He didn't even smile at them. Tony supposed he must just be bored of doing weddings.

He turned to Anna and took her waist, pulling her in close before kissing her passionately; not caring about what the others thought or saw. After a few seconds he pulled away and grinned at her.

"You know," he said admiring her dress, "You look real pretty. Nice choice with the dress. It'll look great on the floor tonight."

She laughed and took his arm as they walked back up the aisle together.

Tonys favourite photograph that was taken of them together was one of them stood outside the church together; Anna was smiling at the camera with her hand on his shoulder and once of his hands was resting on her back. The other resting on the slight bulge in her stomach.

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Flashback 3:

If the screams weren't agonising enough the pain in his hand was. Anna had gone into labour two hours ago and it had all gone downhill from there. He'd been so excited for months at the idea of having a child. They'd discussed names, they still hadn't agreed but they'd discussed it. Originally Anna had wanted Minnie (Or Minerva) for a girl and Daniel for a boy. And he'd wanted Jack for a boy and Lola for a girl. Eventually they settled on Daniel for a boy but Tony point blank refused to call any child of his Minerva or Minnie. They didn't know the sex of the child yet and so they had decided to dispute over the name once it had been born.

But the excitement was wearing thin now and now it was just pain. He understood that she was in a lot of pain but did she really need to grip that tightly? It didn't mean that both of them needed to be in pain. But according to the doctors, it was nearly over. Just a couple more pushes. Tony could see that Anna was running out of energy, she had a tendency to give up in these kinds of situations. What would happen if she just gave up now?

Tony leaned down to put his head close to hers. "Hey." He said softly and she turned to look at him. Her eyes wide with fear and exhaustion. "I love you. Okay? And this baby, it's gonna love the both of us. Just a little bit longer and then you got a mini me or you. So come on, just try for a little bit longer…" after a moment she nodded and pushed even harder than before. Tony knew this was the case because the pressure on his hand intensified by a significant amount. He bit the inside of his lip to stop himself yelling in pain.

After one long scream there was the sound of crying. A baby's cry. Tony looked down at his wife with a grin. But she was pale, leaning back against the pillows, sweaty and sickly looking. Her breathing was shallow and it looked as if all the blood had drained from her face. Her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Her hand was no longer gripping his, but limp and lifeless. Doctors were bustling around her; a nurse took hold of Tonys arm and moved him back out of their way. He didn't like this, he couldn't see her, and all he could see was the commotion surrounding her. The same nurse moved to speak to a Doctor before returning to Tony and gently took his arm, guiding him out of the room.

"I'll bring your baby out to you in a minute. She's perfectly healthy." The nurse said with a sort of forced smile. Leading him to sit in a chair.

"What about Anna? Is she okay?" he asked, terrified. The nurse only gave him a nervous smile before rushing back in. Tony sat in shocked silence. She would be okay, they both would. His little girl and his wife, they would be okay.

A few minutes later the nurse came out holding a little bundle. "You're lucky!" she said with a warm smile, Tony took that as a good sign; "She's not a fuss-maker. She's stopped crying already." The nurse handed him the girl. She felt oddly small in Tony's arms, she was too light, too small, and he felt like he could break her in two too easily. She was so gentle, so small, it scared him. The little eyes looked up at him; eyes that he knew were going to trust him. To love him. She was so beautiful, the perfect little girl. He knew that this girl was going to make his life wonderful. He couldn't wait to see Anna, to hold their child together. He held the child close, unaware of the tears brimming from his eyes. It took a moment to register the nurse standing beside him.

"Mr. Stark. I need to speak with you." She said softly, he looked up at her as she took a seat beside him. Her eyes looked saddened; suddenly fear began pounding through his heart.

"Go on then, don't keep me hanging." He said tightening his grip ever so slightly on the child.

"Mr. Stark…" the nurse began but then a young woman came rushing in. Tony had hired her recently to help out around the house and to help with his work. Pepper Potts, she was still quite young and looked at Tony with a worried expression.

"Is everything okay?" she asked and then she noticed the baby. "Oh God…" she whispered, walking over.

"Miss Potts I presume?" the nurse asked with a weak smile and Pepper nodded not taking her eyes off the child. "Perhaps it would be best for Miss Potts to take the baby for a few minutes whilst I talk to you…" Tony nodded and stood up to hand the child to Pepper. She held her gently, a little nervous to be holding her but also excited that she would be able to help take care of her. She sat opposite Tony, gently rocking the child and smiling at her.

The nurse turned back to Tony, "Mr. Stark, it's about your wife. There were some… complications. She's being taken care of, but it's not looking good."

"What… What do you mean?" Tony was confused. She was going to be okay. She had to be. They were going to be a family, the perfect family. The nurse took a deep breath and looked at him apologetically.

"She's very unstable; we can't keep her stable for more than two minutes at a time. I would recommend you go and see her now, say your goodbyes. We don't believe she's going to make it."

Tony's world came crashing down around him. His wife, his beautiful, perfect wife, was going to leave him. She wasn't just leaving him and moving away, not even to another country, she was leaving the world. She had to keep fighting, he could convince her to, and he would force her to. He stood quickly and told Pepper to look after the child.

Walking quickly into the room he saw her lying there, obviously still exhausted from giving birth but there was also an aura of something more there. He took her hand and leant in close to whisper to her. She looked at him with a weak attempt at a smile.

"Hey there…" she breathed, and he couldn't stop the tears falling down his cheeks and splashing the pillow around her scattered hair.

"Hi…" he said, he was suddenly lost for words as the realisation of what was really going to happen dawned on him. "Please, keep fighting."

"I can't…" she said bravely, "I can't fight any longer, I'm too weak. But you listen to me." she spoke with a tone of authority and he found himself captivated by her voice, looking her steadily in the eyes, "You take care of that little girl, and you tell her that her mother loved her so very much. Give her this when she's old enough… Tell her about me…" she took his hand meekly and pressed the crimson ribbon into his palm, "Move on, please, don't mourn me forever. Miss Potts will help you with her I'm sure… Make sure that little girl knows that I loved her, but also make sure that she has a mother, a woman to hold her and kiss her goodnight. And always make sure she has her father. One more thing…" she was struggling to get out her final words now, Tony knew she was going and the doctors knew it too. They knew they couldn't save her. "Make sure she knows I loved you… Because I do, so much… I love you…"

With that, her eyelids drooped shut and the staccato bleeping blurred into one long monotonous note. He heard someone read out the time of death and he put his forehead to hers. "I love you too. I will never forget you Anna Murphy-Stark." He whispered before kissing her forehead and standing up. There was a little girl who needed him.

Forcing himself to turn his back on his dead wife he walked back out to the hallway. He knew that the longer he stayed there the harder it would be to move on. He intended to follow her dying wishes. Pepper took one look at him and deduced what had happened. Wordlessly she handed him the child.

He held her as gently as he had before; loving her all the more even though he knew that she would be a daily reminder of the pain of his loss. He looked into her eyes, the eyes that already trusted him, already sought his comfort, like she knew. Even though she was barely two hours old she already reminded him of her. Her beauty lived on in this child, she was a mini-Anna.

She was Minnie.

What do you think so far? Please I love feedback! I'm open to ideas! But please, no hate. People who I've spoken to know how interesting this story's going to get so please follow and review and yeah! Thanks!