A/N: Many thanks unto you, the reader of my first fan-fiction! I will be updating every Wednesday (Well, in Australia it's a Wednesday for me.) So you can be sure to get a weekly dose of SPNL. Once again, thank-you, thank-you for clicking my fanfic, hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers. The Avengers are owned by Marvel. Rebekah was created and is owned by me, however.

Chapter One- The Red Carpet Becomes Green, Sort Of.

"I really don't think that this will be such a good idea, Tony" Bruce said, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. Tony heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Well I don't care, we're all going, and that includes you!" Tony put his hands on the slim doctor's shoulders and pushed him over to a workbench, where a new-looking duffel bag sat next to a ridiculously complicated microscope. "Take that to your room, and put it on"
"Tony, I-"
"Come on Big Guy! Hurry up, everyone else is going!" Tony interrupted, sounding more and more like a teenage girl by the second. Bruce hung his head to hide his smile, lifting up the bag, he fixed Tony with a look that strangely matched the look of a child that has been scolded. Embarrassed he slung the duffel bag over his shoulder, and headed to his bedroom. Tony followed him out the door, shaking his head."Jarvis, turn out the lights"
"Certainly, Sir"

The Avengers met Happy in the bright, clean lobby. Clint was talking quietly to Natasha in Russian, who looked beautifully dangerous in a long black dress, artfully split up the side all the way to her thigh. Steve was chatting animatedly to Happy, who was watching him with a kind of rapt attention that wasn't unlike that of the late Phil Coulson. Tony stood alone, waiting for Bruce, he knew that he probably shouldn't have pushed Bruce into coming with them. He was already insecure. But it's our party,he thought, why shouldn't he come?. The elevator doors opened smoothly and Bruce stepped out, fiddling with the left cuff of his suit jacket. Speak of the Devil, and the Devil shall appear. He looked up and Tony clapped his hands together unintentionally loudly, Natasha's head snapped around at the noise.
"Well, lets get going"
Happy stood up and walked out the door. The Avengers followed, Tony excited-looking, Steve unsure, Natasha and Clint bored. It seemed as if they had been to one too many ceremonies, whether undercover or not. Bruce, true-to-form was nervous, he walked slowly, as if he thought if he moved slow enough, they would leave him behind. Steve smiled at the small doctor as Tony steered Bruce to the front of the line.
"Come on" Tony said, slightly miffed. "Shuffling is for slow-pokes and Steve, we've got a party to go to!" Bruce made a face as Clint smirked behind his hand, Natasha shook her head at Tony's childishness.
Happy held the limousine door open as they filed in. Bruce deliberately sat in the very front corner of the expansive black and maroon interior. To compensate, Tony sat next to him. Bruce sighed and shuffled closer to the clear screen that separated them from Happy. Natasha sent Bruce a scrutinising look as the car started moving, the engine purring quietly.

The trip was surprisingly quiet and short, and before the team knew it, Happy had pulled the car up, and gently opened the door. A wave of voices and clicks of cameras filled the empty void of sound as Natasha and Clint walked down the red carpet, pretty much ignoring the cameras completely, bar a few which they smiled weakly for. Steve came next, smiling politely for a few photographers, the cameras clicked away madly. Tony pried Bruce's hand from the door and practically dragged Bruce down the carpet, stopping for a multitude of photos, Bruce blinked, dazzled by the multiple bright flashes, trying to grin. This went on for quite some time before the flashes stopped, and they walked inside the hall.

The stage up the front of the large hall was dimly lit, a row of 6 chairs sat to the side, and a highly polished podium sat center stage. There was a flutter of the velvet red curtain, and it opened just a fraction, before closing again.

The walls were adorned with photographs and paintings of all of The Avengers, Clint whistled low. They really had gone all out! They weaved amongst the multiple groupings of tables, acknowledging glances, returning 'hello's' and accepting unnecessary thanks, occasionally stopping to shake hands with the odd person or sign pictures and pieces of paper.
When they finally made it to the table, Steve pulled out a chair for Natasha, who smiled, an odd look for her. Once they were seated, a door to the left burst open, causing Bruce to jump. Into the cavernous room piled hundreds of waiters and waitresses, all wearing a similar white and black uniform, accented by a tie. Tony noticed that the ties ranged in colours from purple, black, red, gold, blue, green and silver. Awesome, where is our hot waitress? He thought, watching a particularly pretty one head over to a table nearby and begin talking.

Clint nudged Tony's elbow and pointed to a waitress skirting the outside of the stage, she had a small white slip of paper, they watched as she glanced at it and started, a shocked look crossed her face, and she glanced at it again, before her hand fell back down to her side, and she began zig-zagging between the tables, before stopping at the front of theirs, smiling a little too brightly.

"Hello, my name is Desiree, and I will be your waitress for tonight." She said sweetly, brushing her sandy-brown fringe behind her right ear. She placed the silver embossed menus in front of each of The Avengers. Clint picked his up almost immediately, Steve smiled up at her in thanks and she blushed.

The chairs and tables around them were filling quite quickly, and the noise had gradually gotten louder and louder. Bruce was becoming uncomfortable with the multiple glances and occasionally the odd sentence being thrown his way, he answered in short form, hands fidgeting in his lap.

"What can I get you to drink?" She asked Steve, when he put his menu down lightly on the silken tablecloth. He put his hands on the table in front of him, clasped together.
"A glass of Lemonade, please" She nodded, and her hand flew quickly across the book in her hand. She looked to Natasha, who was glancing round the room, but didn't miss the waitress looking.
"Caramel Kahlua Malt, thanks" Desiree looked to Clint who was watching Natasha with an odd kind of rapt attention.
"Uh, Corona, please" She moved around the table.
"Scotch on the rocks" Tony said simply. "Please," He added after look from Steve. Lastly it was Bruce's turn.
"Oh, um. Tonic Water, please" He said quietly, wringing his hands, staring down at the menu open on the table. She nodded and closed her book.
"I'll just go get your drinks" She turned and walked away, heading towards the door she had come through, which was now bustling with hurried waiters and waitresses.

"Tonic Water, Lemonade?" Tony said, laughing "It's our party, why not have some alcohol?" Bruce looked down at his hands, and Steve looked at Tony, slightly miffed.
"I can't get drunk, and not everyone drinks alcohol constantly" Steve said shortly as Bruce looked up. There was a scraping of a chair as the person at the table beside them stood.
"Yes, um. I don't react to alcohol too well, and I just don't see the point of it" Bruce said, seemingly as quickly as he could, before lapsing into his comfortable silence. The man from the table beside them walked out the door, looking annoyed.

Shaking his head, he looked to Tony, who was fiddling with a sort of bracelet on his wrist, that was projecting a holographic image of some sort of laser device. He twisted a small dial, and a formula came up. All Steve understood was that is was a continuous line of letters, numbers and symbols, but Tony seemed to collect something from it, for he was nodding at it and mumbling under his breath.

Desiree came back, and with a quiet clinking of glasses, set their drinks down in front of them. Clint reached over and sniffed at Natasha's drink, who made a face as.
"Hey, that actually smells pretty good!" He said, and Natasha pulled her drink over a little closer to herself. Tony took a big mouthful of his drink, and sighed blissfully. Desiree then placed a wicker bread basket on the table. The sharp smell of warm garlic bread invaded Clint's nostrils, and he lunged forward to grab a piece so quickly that Desiree jumped, her book falling to the floor with dull 'thud'. She looked around the table apologetically. Picking up her booklet, her face flushed. Steve smiled at the young woman's awkwardness in serving them.

"So, what may I get you all to eat?" She asked, and waited politely. Bruce nudged Tony gently.
"Yeah, Big Guy?" He said, slightly airily.
"I'm going to go outside for some air," Bruce said, flinching away from the table behind him as a chorus of raucous laughter began. "It's a little too crowded in here" Steve leaned over the table as Clint told Desiree what he would like to eat.
"I'll come with you" Steve said, and got to his feet, Desiree raised her heavily pencilled eyebrows at him, but turned to Natasha, pen poised and at the ready. Steve waded between the sea of tables, Bruce following closely behind, and led him out the glass doors.

Bruce breathed in, and sighed, sitting on a metal chair from a nearby outdoor setting. There was a light hum of chatter here, but it was much quieter in comparison to inside the hall, where the chatter reverberated like a furious humming of bees.
"I'm not a fan of crowded places" Bruce muttered, glancing around at the smaller, much less crowded grouping of tables.
"India?" Steve said contradictively.
"That was different" Bruce laughed breathily. "It was crowded where S.H.I.E.L.D found me working, it is, er... secluded where I lived" He looked out of the balcony, and up at the night sky, a deep blue colour, with a light sprinkling of stars here and there. Steve nodded, and smiled slightly.

"Oh. I see, I read your f-" Steve started, a gunshot echoed off the buildings, startling Bruce, Steve and the numerous people sitting on the balcony. A woman let out a sharp shriek as Steve vaulted over the railing, sprinting towards what Bruce guessed to be the source of the sound. The people filed inside as Bruce got up, leaning over the railing, watching as Steve disappeared around the corner. Sighing he jumped down the stairs two at a time, and jogged around the corner Steve had just taken, he walked along the street behind the hall.

It seemed as if, after the Chitauri attack, this street had been condemned. The cracks in the asphalt created potholes in the road. To his left, a street light flickered, emitting a shower of orange sparks with a loud 'pop!'. He flinched as another gunshot went off to his left, and he dashed into an alleyway, expecting to see Steve.

The person waiting in the shadows was definitely not Steve, Bruce inhaled sharply as the lighting in the alleyway flicked on, then off again. The figure smiled, standing in a provocative pose, his grey-green army uniform decorated with numerous badges, another flicker of light threw his face into sharp contrast. The grey hair, square jaw, straight teeth and malevolent glare.

Bruce's watch started beeping erratically, and the man nodded to Bruce's left. Bruce heard a rustle of clothing, and then a sharp pain pierced his side. His heart slowed almost immediately, beating sluggishly in his chest, his eyelids growing heavy.
"A diversion...the gunshot." Bruce slurred, swaying. The man nodded.

General Thaddeus E. (Thunderbolt) Ross, stepped forward, grinning toothily.
"Exactly, Dr. Banner, a diversion."

Ross laughed as a bag was placed over Bruce's head, blocking out his weakening vision.
"Put him in the car, quickly" was the last thing he heard.

A/N: There you go! My first chapter! What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Want to strangle me for not including Thor? Let me know by clicking that review button down there and sending one in...or do whatever you want. I'm not choosy. Oh, by the way...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :P