Technically, the whole thing was Fury's idea, or so Tony was informed. Apparently the subject had been brought up in one of the meetings that Fury insisted everyone attend - "...and by everyone, I mean you Stark..." - a meeting that Tony had evidently forgotten to attend; opting instead for the company of a very expensive bottle of scotch and, given the lack of actual human fellowship, a malfunctioning robotic arm. Needless to say, it was not the first time he had woken up in his garage, hungover and covered in extinguisher discharge.
What he was yet to determine, however, why no one had taken the liberty to fill him in until today. He was sure that Natasha found great satisfaction in notifying him of their impending PR campaign over breakfast. However, when Tony asked for specifics, it was Clint who called joyfully from the adjoining room, "We're going to Sesame Street, man!" Tony snorted with amusement, chuckling into his coffee until he caught the deadpan glance Natasha was giving him.
"Since when does our super secret boy band entertain children?"
"Since Fury deemed it necessary for us to improve our public image. If you weren't too busy being a 'genius-playboy-billionaire-philanthropist', as you put it, and attended briefings like a mature adult perhaps you'd have known about this sooner," she replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"But Sesame Street? Really? Can you honestly tell me that Nick Fury, our very own sassy cyclops, deemed it necessary for us to parade around on PBS?" Although, the longer Tony thought about it, the more he began to suspect that Pepper had suggested Sesame Street.
"You don't like PBS?" Natasha was beginning to smirk.
"No; it's boring. Its shows are insufferably boring."
"Well, tough. The idea is to get a better public image. What better way to do that than on a public broadcasting service?"
"You're enjoying this a little too much," Tony grumbled, downing what remained of his coffee with a general sense of bitterness and reached across the table to refill his Ironman mug.
"Of all the people I was expecting to object to this plan, you were not one of them," Natasha shook her head, "Even Fury agreed to participate." Tony spluttered, having accidentally inhaled some of his coffee. Natasha waited patiently for him to finish choking before continuing.
"Look Tony, everyone has agreed to do their part in helping out..."
"Not exactly everyone," Banner remarked as he trudged in, "I'm not going."
"What?" Tony turned indignantly on the weary scientist, "Why the hell not?"
Banner stuck some bread in the toaster, yawning as he answered, "For three reasons. One, unlike some people around here I've actually got a day job; two, kids don't know Bruce Banner, they know the Hulk; and three, Coulson has forbidden me from going for safety reasons."
"Hey, I've got a day job too!"
"Copulation and alcoholism doesn't count," Banner countered, grabbing a plate for his toast. Natasha sighed in exasperation, cutting off whatever retort Tony was about to fire at Banner.
"For God's sake Tony, it's one day. The rest of us have agreed to do it. Clint, Nick, Steve, even Thor was up for it. If I had a dollar for everytime JARVIS showed me a video of you on Youtube, I could buy out Stark Industries three times over. How about you grow a pair and start building a good reputation for yourself?" and with that, Natasha spun on her heel and stalked out of the kitchen.
Banner gave a dark chuckle. "That's right Stark. Grow a pair so she can rip them off."
"Better to have had 'em and lost 'em than to have Coulson own 'em," Tony shot back, Banner falling silent and scurrying away with his toast once he caught Tony's glare. Alone with his coffee, Tony sat in contemplation for several minutes. In silence he weighed up the pros and cons of the situation; the pros being an improved PR front, the cons being that on the off chance that Loki watched PBS, he and the Avengers would probably lose their ferocity somewhat. Eventually, his brain went 'what the hell' and once he'd finished his coffee, Tony went to get his suit on. He'd debase himself for a day, if only to see how Steve and Thor would handle a mob of children.