A/N: I know, I know. I have a long fic already. And a second one fully outlined and planned that no one but my wife and Marcus S Lazarus has seen or even heard about. But this fic was inspired by a simple premise. A "What If" scenario that wouldn't leave my head. A seemingly simple question that spawned what will be a MASSIVE fic. That question?

"What if, rather than split, the Avengers had stayed together after capturing Loki?"

Now, I know why they don't stay together all the time in the comics and movies. Splitting the team means more sales from the individual stories, and having that much talent for every movie would see the budget spike exponentially. So in the end, it all comes down to the almighty dollar. But I don't have that problem. Word processors and fanfiction are free. So I decided to go for it.

I had to figure out a linchpin that could cause such a change, and in my research, I found it. The Iron Man 3 Prelude comic, where Rhodey arrives while the Avengers are at the shawarma place. All it would take was a single sentence, something that Rhodey DIDN'T say but COULD have based on his character interactions with Tony in the past, and I was off to the races.

This is the result of that. I hope you enjoy. Welcome to my newest universe folks. Earth-200K, to use Marvel terminology. It's gonna be a wild ride.

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin

Chapter One: The Horseshoe Nail

Throughout the Multiverse, there exist nigh infinite possibilities. Multiple realities that can be very similar, or very different, depending on how closely related they are. Some realities feature a mad being in a blue box traveling through Time and Space, while others have siblings (usually brothers, but not always) who defend humanity from things that go bump in the night, aided and abetted by their angel buddy and a demon. And still others, are the worlds of superheroes.

This reality is one such universe, filled with superheroes and villains that inspire and terrify. In one universe similar to this one, the Main Comparative Universe (MCU for short), designated Earth-199999, a group of these heroes banded together in a team known as the Avengers. After their first battle, that group went their separate ways, only rejoining each other when a drastic need arose.

In this universe, however, something else occurred for the Avengers. It's been said that, for want of a horseshoe nail, the war was lost. In this universe, designated Earth-200K, the proverbial horseshoe nail, a single thought spoken aloud, was not only found, but used.

UWSUWSUWSUWS

The Avengers were silently eating, exhausted from the battle they had managed to win, even if the cost was still being counted. It had been close, for all of them, but they had done it. They occasionally looked at each other, but no words were spoken. Whether it was the exhaustion or the fact that the group hadn't truly spent that much time together was unknown, but before the reason why could be considered for too long, a sound interrupted their meal. A sonic boom shook the air, followed quickly by the sound of something coming to land outside. The group tensed up, Cap reaching for his shield, before Tony waved them back into their seats. "Relax old-timer. I recognize that sound. It's a friend." Tony called out as the door to the restaurant opened, revealing a black and gray version of the Iron Man suits, this one sparking in various places, damage obvious but still carrying plenty of weapons. "Rhodes! Pull up a chair."

"Tony? I saw the damage outside. What the hell happened here man?" Rhodey's helmet visor started opening, but froze halfway as the suit fully shut down.

"I should ask you the same thing."

"I was hunting down a Ten Rings group, the suit took a few hits and there were micro-fractures throughout. Probably didn't help that I just about killed the repulsors pushing them to get me here ASAP." The suit opened as Rhodey explained, allowing him to step out and take a good look at the others around the table. "Now, I repeat my previous question, and add another. What happened, and who are your friends?"

"Well, as for these fine folks, you may recognize Miss Rushman from her time at Stark Industries. Her real name...I'm not sure actually. But she goes by Natasha Romanoff, and she's an agent of SHIELD, code-name Black Widow. So is the guy next to her, Agent Clint Barton, code-name Hawkeye." Natasha glared slightly over at Stark while Clint raised a hand at Rhodey, waving tiredly. "The scruffy guy to my left here is Bruce Banner, a brilliant mind on par with my own, specializing in gamma radiation and biology, and turning into a green rage monster known as the Hulk." Rhodey turned a surprised glance to the other man, who hand simply put his head in his hand as an almost reluctant smile seemed to be on his face. Rhodey had heard of Banner, anyone in the military had considering how much Thunderbolt Ross had been requesting help to look for him over the last few years. "The man who escaped from the Ren Fair on my right is an Asgardian, goes by Thor. Not sure if your security clearance would have let you know before hand but it was him that stopped that rock-em sock-em robot attack in New Mexico."

"The Destroyer was no simple robot, Man of Iron. It was a creation of magic and science combined, controlled from the throne of Asgard." Thor smiled, clapping a hand on Tony's shoulder, making Rhodey wince since he knew Tony's aversion to uninvited touch ever since Stane had left him to die in Malibu. "T'was a mighty battle indeed!"

Tony tensed for a half moment before he shrugged off Thor, regaining his composure as he smirked at Rhodey. "And, if I remember one of your heroes correctly from our years of friendship, you should recognize Old Glory over there." Tony turned and offered one of his mock salutes to the last man at the table. Rhodey was about to berate him again, knowing that Tony used to do those fake salutes just to mess with Rhodey's head, before what was said registered and he turned, taking in the site of the man more closely.

"Wait...Captain Rogers? Captain America?" Rhodey knew that Tony would tease him for the way his voiced got a little high pitched there at the end, but he couldn't help it.

The smirk on Tony's face let Rhodey know that he was dead on in that assessment, but that he was saving it for later. "In the flesh, thawed from the ice where SHIELD found him. And they, along with the brilliant, stunning, fantastic-"

Steve cut in then, smirking as he did so. "Egotistical"

Natasha was next, and now that she spoke Rhodey definitely recognized her voice from his comms during the battle with Vanko. "Narcissistic"

The rest looked like they were about to join in before Tony glared around the group. "Next person to talk pays for the food, including Thor's." When no one rose to the bait, Tony's smirk returned, before he continued talking to Rhodey. "Anyway, they, and I, form The Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. As for what happened? Alien invasion. We stopped it though."

Rhodey just waited, and when Tony seemed to not want to elaborate on that, he turned, looking outside at the crashed giant monstrosity stretched across two skyscrapers that was just visible in the window of the restaurant. "Okay, I'm gonna need a little more than that. Start talking Tony, from the beginning."

And so he did. Interspersed with comments from the others, such as Natasha recounting her recruitment of Bruce, eventually the whole story was told. Loki's arrival on Earth, his controlling of the other agents, including Barton, the theft of the Tesseract, the assault on the Helicarrier, and the Battle of New York.

"That's...that's quite a story Tony. If this was 5 years ago I would say you had drunk too much again." Rhodey shook his head, still trying to take it all in. "I'm glad you had a good team around to help. Something tells me this wasn't something Iron Man could handle on his own."

Tony, rather than respond to the comment with his usual brand of snark, sat back, his thinking face on. Rhodey turned towards Captain Rogers as he spoke up, seeing that Tony wasn't going to. "We did good, no doubt about that."

"Yeah. Yeah we did. We should do it again sometime." The group, Rhodey included, turned to take in Tony, who had that manic look in his eyes that Rhodey had come to associate with an idea that was either going to be genius, lunacy, or both. "We should stick together. All of us."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "All of us? You suddenly change your opinion on trusting me Stark?"

Tony either hadn't heard her or decided to ignore her. "The world just got a massive wake-up call. Not even SHIELD could cover this up. Not only are we not alone in the universe, but some of those others are definitely hostile, and like Fury said we are hilariously out-gunned. If they saw us, the group that protected them sticking together and continuing to do so? It might just keep things stable. You can all stay in the Tower, it's got plenty of space. Imagine it, a big shining beacon of hope for the world, with the ones who saved it together. The first line of defense."

"Or make a big target for any two bit threat or bad guy who wants to make a name for themselves. SHIELD teams operate in secret just to avoid that. Hell, the Helicarrier has cloaking tech because it would be too big a target otherwise." Clint leaned back in his chair, looking at Tony like he was crazy.

"Well yeah, but come on. Us together, we could take anything this world or any other throws at us. And, if they are gunning for us, they won't be gunning for innocents." Tony wasn't letting the idea go, which meant that he had decided already that it was something that had to happen. "You guys can't operate in the shadows anymore, too many people saw your faces. Not to mention, the fact that they were actually aliens in the sky, you can bet that video of ALL of us fighting will be all over social media and the web before long, if it isn't already."

Clint put a hand on Natasha's shoulder when the other agent went to comment. "He's actually got a point. We're known in some circles already. Add what happened here? I think we should try this, see what happens." Natasha nodded, conceding the point.

"Well, we couldn't do it right away. From what I saw, the Tower took a fair few hits. And there are some things I personally need to take care of on my own anyway." Steve spoke then, remembering the file he had showing Peggy was still alive, and the number that he had decided not to call yet, the image of both imprinted in his mind.

"And I cannot stay, even if the rest of you do. I must return Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard. The Nine Realms are under attack, and with the Bifrost damaged, the armies of Asgard have not been able to take on this group of Marauders, leaving them free to loot and pillage."

"Then how exactly did you get here Point Break?"

"My father, Odin, used a powerful energy source known as Dark Force, to forge a temporary connection between our realms. But it is dangerous, with a chance of both my death and his. I don't even know if he survived, though as I made the trip unscathed, I have hope that he did so. Regardless, it was a one way trip. I will have to use the Tesseract to make the return journey. We need its power to repair the Bifrost, allowing us to take on these fiends."

Tony nodded, but turned to Bruce, the only one who hadn't voiced an opinion yet. "What about you Banner?"

Bruce thought about it then shrugged, nodding his assent. "I don't exactly have anywhere else to go. It would be nice, being in a place I could work without worrying about Ross finding me again."

"See? Banner's on board. Come on guys, think about it." Tony pointed out to the wreckage of the city. "This? This is a PR nightmare. Aside from the death and destruction, people are going to be scrambling for answers, looking for who to blame and who to support. It may not devolve into disorder without us as figureheads, but it might. Protests, riots, looting, all of it. But not if we get ahead of it."

"I didn't think you cared about what people thought Stark." Cap had raised an eyebrow now, a hint of respect mingled with genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"I used to not. Then a man saved my life at the cost of his own. Tends to change a person. Ever since I put on the suit to defend people, I knew what I had to do. And this? This is something else I have to do. Something /we/ have to do. Hell Cap, you of all people should know the power of a symbol. My dad used to play "Star-Spangled Man With a Plan" every July 4th. Tell me I'm wrong, that the world couldn't use something to rally behind right now."

Steve just shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed at the reminder of the USO shows he used to do. "I can't. It would definitely help." He sighed, before grinning. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. It sounds like a good idea. Once you get the place rebuilt, I'm in."

"Agents? How about you two?"

Clint and Natasha turned, speaking silently through looks, expressions, and minuscule gestures, before Clint turned to Tony. "I'll probably have to go through a few months of psych eval and other things, but...yeah, provided this doesn't blow up in our faces and we get approval from our superiors, we're in."

Tony clapped gleefully, turning to Thor. "And you big guy? I'd love to study how you're able to control and channel lightning and energy. If nothing else, my suit heard you tell Loki that Earth was under your protection. It would be a lot easier to protect if you were here instead of outer space or another dimension, whatever and wherever Asgard actually is."

"You make a fine point Stark. But I have responsibilities to Asgard, and the other Realms. I will have to discuss it with my friends and family back on Asgard before I can give you an answer."

"Fair enough." Tony turned, taking in Rhodey who had been mostly silent through this exchange. "What about you Rhodes? Another fighter would be a good addition, especially one familiar with my tech."

"What? Tony...I appreciate it man, but I wasn't part of this group. If it's about making a symbol, you sure you want to add someone new to it for people to question?"

"You've been taking out the Ten Rings for months. And I bet having you there would soothe some of the DOD people as well. Plus, I know you. If you could have been here to help instead of stuck in Hong Kong, you would have."

Rhodey nodded then, genuinely touched. "Damn right I would have. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help you."

"Well, judging by the damage to the suit, you look like you saw your fair share of the action. What the hell did the Ten Rings hit you with?"

"One of Hammer's designs, a battle tank powered by a mini-reactor along with a fair few bits of your tech thrown in."

Tony's eyes narrowed, and long years of knowing him let Rhodey know he was angry that his weapons designs were being used against innocents and people he cared about still, especially in the hands of the Ten Rings. "I thought I had most of those missing shipments accounted for."

Surprisingly, it was Natasha that spoke next. "Everything on the books yeah. But from what SHIELD has been able to tell, Stane sent out several off the books shipments on top of the "missing/damaged" ones. A few months ago I was on a mission in Russia where someone had managed to build a Jericho from various parts and pieces from other shipments."

"And you and Fury didn't think I should know this?"

"We were handling it. Plus, after the World Security Council nixed the Avengers Initiative, they didn't exactly want us talking to you. Something about hitting on Malick's daughter a few years ago?"

Rhodey smirked, remembering that particular encounter. "Didn't you send her a horse as an apology?"

Tony glared at Rhodey before shrugging. "Fine. I'll have JARVIS go through the files I got later, see what else to do with my weapons they've been hiding."

Rhodey wondered at how Tony acquired those files, and then, knowing Tony, decided that he should have plausible deniability. And being Tony's friend, he wanted to offer another, possibly much more legal way. "Or you could ask Coulson." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew. The way the others tensed, eyes closed or soft intakes of breath. "Don't tell me."

Barton was the one to respond, voice tight. "Yeah. During the attack on the Helicarrier. Loki...he killed him during his escape."

Rhodey had seen friends and family of fallen soldiers. He knew it wouldn't help that much, but he wanted to say it anyway. "I'm sorry. He was a good man."

"Yeah. He was." Tony settled back into his chair, grief in his eyes. "He was a pain in the ass sometimes, but he was a good man. Better than most. Better than me."

Thor set aside his food, raising his glass instead. "The Son of Coul was a warrior. I did not have much time with him, but I consider him a friend. If it was his time, I think it is what he would have wanted. A nobler death I do not know. He fell in battle, fighting for what he believed was right."

Cap moved his own glass up. "He believed that the world needed a few old-fashioned ideas. He was wrong. What it needed, was more men like him."

Bruce was next. "I think I may have the least interaction with the man, but even I could tell he was one of the good guys."

Clint raised his glass too. "He was. The best damn handler I ever worked with. He never stopped believing in what SHIELD was about. Protecting the people. When you're an assassin, you can forget that sometimes. He never let me. And I'll always be grateful for that."

Natasha was last. "He, Fury, and Clint are the ones that gave me a chance. Where I was trained...they make you believe that what you are doing is important. That it's needed. That the Mission is all that matters. He showed me that it's not the Mission. It's the people. I've done...a lot of bad things. I told Loki that I've got Red in my ledger. Whatever bit of it I've managed to wipe out, was thanks to him."

"To Coulson." The group was silent for a moment, then started gathering their trash, as if the toast was the cue for them to leave. "Come on, back to the Tower. There should be enough places undisturbed for us all to rest while Fury deals with the old farts on the council. And you, Thor, can tell me more about this Dark Force. It sounds like something my dad mentioned looking into once or twice..."

UWSUWSUWSUWS

While Rhodey called in to his superiors and let them know that he had arrived safely in New York and would be staying there for a bit while the War Machine armor was repaired, Tony got in touch with JARVIS. The Mark VII, still damaged and not combat ready but flight capable, was routed to gather the remains of the War Machine armor and take it back to the Tower. Once they had paid and made sure the armor was secure and on its way, the group headed that way themselves. All around, they saw the devastation the Chitauri had wrought. Now, with the battle over, and the tunnel vision brought about by a fight for survival no longer present, it was much clearer to see. Agents of SHIELD were already on the ground, cataloging and gathering pieces of Chitauri tech and the bodies of the aliens themselves. Everywhere, there were bits of rubble, damaged buildings, destroyed cars, and more. As they closed in on the Tower, the damage increased. The Tower itself was mostly still intact, as Loki had wanted it to be the place he launched his take over from. But it was also the main entry point for the Chitauri, and they were not exactly discerning about the damage they did.

Stepping into the Lobby, the group looked around. Tony made his way to the stairwells, not trusting the elevators until he had a moment to assess the structural integrity of the tower. "We have a few basic rooms available on the lower floors, places that some of the SI people stayed while we built the Tower and organized the move of operations from California to here. They aren't the Ritz, but they'll wor-"

"TONY!"

The group turned at the shout, Cap raising his shield while Thor started to wind up his hammer, but Tony once again recognized the voice that had shouted and moved in front of the group, catching the speeding red-head that was the source of the shout. "Pepper!" Anything else Tony would have said was cut off as the two met, Pepper nearly tackling Tony into a hug. Behind her another man appeared, nodding at the group as he pulled a few bits of luggage with him. Tony nodded at the other man through the embrace with Pepper. "Happy, you alright?"

"I should be asking you that boss." The other man, Happy Hogan, looked around the Tower before raising an eyebrow. "You throw another party while we were gone?"

"Come on now Happy, you know the truth. If it had been one of my parties the Tower wouldn't be standing anymore."

Pepper pulled back, eyes bloodshot from tears even as they narrowed. "How can you joke about this? You nearly died! And don't you DARE say you didn't because the news showed you taking a missile up through a giant hole in the sky and then falling and that green...whatever it was catches you-"

"That was the Hulk. Good guy. And I tried to call you this time!"

Pepper's eyes softened and she hugged him tight again, sniffling slightly. "I know. I saw. I'm sorry. I had put it on silent during the meeting and forgot to take it off when we got on the plane."

"I figured." The two went silent, Tony cupping Pepper's cheek as the rest of the Avengers watched on, temporarily forgotten. It was a side of Tony Stark that they hadn't seen before. Not the sarcastic genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, but something else. Someone more genuine.

The only one who wasn't surprised was Natasha, who had seen this before. She knew Stark was capable of more. And even if she didn't believe in love for herself, it was nice to see it for others. The others were silent, not wanting to interrupt what was obviously a private moment, but they needed to get settled and she needed to contact Fury and Hill, so Natasha cleared her throat softly, reminding the two that they weren't alone.

Tony gave her a halfhearted glare at the interruption, before turning back towards Hogan. "Hey, Happy? Take theses guys to the SI quarters yeah? They'll be staying with us overnight. I'm gonna design them all some proper rooms later." Happy raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded, and the Avengers followed after him, leaving Rhodey, Tony, and Pepper alone in the lobby.

As they left, Rhodey turned, smirking at the surprised look on Pepper's face as she processed what Tony had said. He'd known them long enough that he was able to countdown in his head, timing Pepper's reaction down to the second. 3...2...1...

"Anthony Edward Stark. Explain."

Tony put on his most press worthy innocent face and acted confused. "Explain what dear?"

Rhodey, who wanted an explanation himself, answered for her. "How about the fact that Tony 'Don't touch my stuff' Stark is now willingly opening his home to people he didn't know less than 48 hours ago, and then inviting those same people to live with him after he personally designs new rooms for them, and adding a place for me as well, when that offer hasn't been on the table before, even after years of friendship."

"Oh, that."

"Yes Tony, that."

When Tony didn't answer, Pepper turned his head, looking into his eyes. "Something happened. Something more than what I saw on the news, didn't it?"

Tony tensed up, eyes flicking back and forth between the two, before he sighed. "Loki. He attacked the Helicarrier. I was outside, trying to fix it, and I did. But while I was outside, Coulson...Loki stabbed him. He's gone."

Pepper gasped, hands flying to her mouth and new tears welling in her eyes. "Oh no. Not Phil."

Tony nodded and pulled Pepper back into a hug, holding tight as she cried. Rhodey was about to leave and give the two of them some time when Tony motioned for him to stay as he lead Pepper over to the waiting area here in the lobby, taking a seat on a couch that somehow survived the attack, pointing Rhodey down into a chair that was nearby as well, as he breathed deeply, the bravado and cockiness that Rhodey was used to no longer present. "It's my fault he's gone."

"Tony no, it's not-"

"Tony you can't blame yourself for Loki's-"

Tony raised a hand, cutting the two of them off before they could finish. "Yes it was. When Fury called us in...I bonded with Banner. He's a hot, brilliant scientist and therefore awesome, and we work together well. But my first encounter with Thor was a fight, one that Cap had to break up, and Cap and I rubbed each other the wrong way from the get go. Not to mention Natasha was there, which already had my hackles raised. If I hadn't gone in there with a chip on my shoulder, if we had bonded as a team and got the job done faster, Loki may not have been able to escape. And you, Rhodey, you may not have had to face a battle tank filled with my tech unprepared. Not if SHIELD had trusted me enough to let me know what they were doing instead of letting me think the weapons were all accounted for. Yes, I blame Fury for that, but part of that is on me too. On not making them think that I was trustworthy."

He sighed, sitting back as Rhodey and Pepper watched him, neither one speaking as Tony confided in them. "So that's why I invited them in. The Avengers can do a lot of good. But I want them here for far more selfish reasons as well. I want to keep you safe. Both of you, and Happy too. A team of heroes that the world respects and knows, who can look after each other, and each other's loved ones. I can't...I can't do it alone. Losing Agent taught me that. I will not lose either of you. So if that means I have to have a bunch of people living nearby, or even in the same building, then I'll do it. No matter what."

"Then you have learned a lesson it took me hundreds of years to learn, Stark. Though I'm sorry the cost was so high." The three turned, seeing Thor had returned. "No one person, no matter their strength, can do everything."

"You know Point Break, for a big guy you can walk very softly when you need. How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you blame yourself far more than you should. The scepter Loki carried had an unknown power. Magic, science, perhaps a blending of the two. But whatever it was, it influenced your mind and actions. All of us were arguing when we should have been focusing on working together. A lesson I had already learned but the influence of the scepter made me forget."

"You're saying that it was the scepter's fault?"

"No. Loki's. He set out to break us apart, and attacked us in a way that we were unprepared for. And if you do not wish to accept that, then you must also accept that you are not the only one to have failed. I went after my brother and he fooled me with his magic, projecting an illusion that led to me being in the cell he had previously occupied. The Son of Coul tried to stop him dropping the cage with me in it. Had I not been fooled by Loki again, or been able to break out sooner, then he would still be living today."

Tony stood, needing to move, needing to not be sitting still, even as he listened to Thor talk. "So what, we don't take any blame? Everyone made mistakes so we just...we shift it all to Loki and just move on like nothing happened?"

"No my friend. We accept that we made our mistakes, and we work to ensure we do not do so again. We learn, we train, we repair. But we also realize that it was not our desire that lead to the destruction around us. It was not our plot that lead to the madness the scepter brought about in us. And it was not our hand that wielded the scepter when it laid our friend low. That is on Loki. And it is a crime that my brother will pay for upon our return to Asgard. I make solemn vow to you about this, as a Prince of Asgard. I will see it done."

Pepper placed her hand on Tony's arm, gently bringing him back down to sit with her again as he absorbed Thor's words. Rhodey looked on, concerned, as Tony seemed to be struggling to accept what Thor had said. Finally, Tony nodded, and it was as if a tension that they hadn't noticed had left him as he accepted that he wasn't responsible for Coulson's death, at least not him alone. "Repairs. I can do that."

"Of that I have no doubt." Thor's voice was soft and warm, rather than the booming baritone that Tony had heard on the battlefield. "You've already started by having us here. Which is the reason I came back after being shown my bed for the night. I would ask a boon of you, Stark."

Tony raised an eyebrow and smirked, his normal smart-ass tendencies resurfacing as he regained his equilibrium. "What, you need another pillow for your hammer?"

Thor laughed, even as he shook his head in denial. "Nay friend, Mjolnir will rest wherever I lay it. No, I would ask you to allow three others into your house, people dear to my heart. While I must be away attending to my duties on Asgard, I would ask you to keep them under your protection, so that I can battle safely without worry. Much as you would have our compatriots help you protect your friends."

Tony had been about to make a sarcastic comment about babysitting fees, until that last sentence. He was hoping that the Avengers being here would be a benefit to Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey. And Thor knew that. So it wasn't like he could say no without being a massive hypocrite, which was something he was trying to leave behind in his pre-Iron Man days. "Ah hell. Most of the team is scattering while the Tower is rebuilt. I suppose three people wouldn't be too much of a bother. Who are they?"

"Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis."

Tony's eyebrow rose again, in surprise this time. "Foster and Selvig I know. They've been leading the research on what brought you down to Earth. Entire new fields of astrophysics, or at least fields that have moved from the theoretical to the instrumental and experimental areas. Who's the other one?"

"A young woman, who seemed to act as Jane and Erik's apprentice. I believe Jane said she was an...intern?"

"Yeah, I think I remember the SHIELD reports mentioning her in the description of the New Mexico events. Sure, they can all stay. Be nice to have more geniuses in the building." Tony's eyes widened as he recalled the information in the SHIELD packet before his look turned positively gleeful. "Isn't Darcy the one who used a taser on you?"

Thor raised his hand and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as Rhodey and Pepper, both of whom had been unaware of this particular bit of information, couldn't help but let out a bit of laughter. "Indeed, she did. I admit, that was not exactly my greatest moment. And the attack was well deserved." Thor stood then, intending to head back to get some sleep. "Thank you for this, Stark. I should go rest. I must take the Tesseract and my brother back to Asgard early in the morning."

Pepper spoke then as Rhodey and Tony also stood to head to get some much deserved rest. "Wait, you're not going to stay until your friends get here?"

"Alas, I cannot. I must return to Asgard in order to protect the Realms from the Marauders who are even now assaulting the homes of my friends. The Tesseract is the only object that could allow us to repair the Bifrost quickly enough to make a difference."

"Oh. No wonder you wanted us to look after them. What did Dr. Foster say when you told her that?"

Thor looked at Pepper, a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes. "I haven't." Seeing Pepper narrow her eyes at him Thor once again had the feeling of impending doom he most often got around Lady Sif, particularly when he had said or done something that he was unaware of being considered rude. "I plan to return as soon as the Marauders are defeated, and the only reason that they have gained the victories that they have, is that the armies of Asgard have been unable to respond in a timely manner. I didn't think it necessary to leave a message, as I can't see the battles taking more than a few months after the Bifrost is repaired. I doubt I will be gone much more than a year, and for so short a time I didn't believe a message was required."

Pepper closed her eyes, calling on her years of dealing with Tony to keep her calm. "While that may not be long to you, for those of us on Earth, it is. You are going to come with me and we'll make a message for her. Tony, go and make yourself useful and find where Thor's friends are. Maybe we can get them on an express flight and have them here before Thor leaves anyway." Not waiting for a response from either man, she started to walk towards the stairwells, and Thor followed after, a bemused expression on his face as he passed between Tony and Rhodey. .

Tony watched them go before turning towards his friend, smirking. "You know, watching Pepper boss others around should not be as attractive as it is, and yet..."

"Too much information Tony. Too much information."

Tony laughed, one of the first genuine ones of the day, and pointed Rhodey towards the stairs as well. "Come on. I'll help you get settled and get the two SHIELD agents up there to see if they can find Thor's girlfriend and her coworkers."

UWSUWSUWSUW

The next day, Bruce settled against the hood of Tony's massively modified Acura-SI car, being careful to stay away from the flares and the plasma countermeasures that Tony had warned him about, lest he accidentally set one off and bring out the Hulk. He looked over, intending to ask Tony a question but found the other man facing away from him, talking on the phone. Instead, Bruce looked back at the car, directing his concerns towards it. "Uh...JARVIS?"

The front window of the car lit up from within, a HUD displaying a scan of the area around the vehicle, along with status of the car and a display representing JARVIS' link to the vehicle. "Yes Dr. Banner?"

Bruce shook his head, still marveling at what Tony had accomplished in building JARVIS. Fully capable of passing the Turing Test, the only thing that limited JARVIS to being an artificial intelligence rather than an artificial person were the subroutines installed that meant he had to follow orders that Tony gave, meaning that his free will, while vast, still had limits. Tony had mentioned that he rarely, if ever, exercised that power, and JARVIS had learned and grown in such ways that he was able to find ways around it if he thought it was truly important. After the events of the Stark Expo, Tony had even installed an outright exemption to those subroutines, at the insistence of Pepper Potts, so Tony's orders could be ignored if JARVIS believed they were detrimental to Tony's health. Shaking his head to clear the stray thoughts, he once again focused on the image representing JARVIS. "Tony didn't forget to mention any other surprises he built into this thing, did he? I don't want to be leaning against something that might hold a Unibeam or a missile launcher like he hides in the armors."

"The car itself has no weapons, though it is scan- and radar-shielded, along with being bullet proof and theft proof due to palm scanners on the wheel and its up-link to my servers. There is also a remote reconnaissance drone that launches from the rear of the vehicle. The drone is capable of self destruction, but requires a code from either myself or Mister Stark to activate, and can not do so while in the launch bay of the vehicle."

Bruce relaxed at that, and settled back onto the hood again, turning his attention across the northern part of the park that SHIELD had cordoned off for their use as Thor made preparations to take Loki back to Asgard. He felt the car shift as Tony joined him, sliding his phone back into his pocket as he lowered his sunglasses and gave a cheeky wave at the bound and restrained Loki, only to receive a glare in return. Tony turned, focusing his attention back on Bruce and ignoring Loki, which Bruce knew had the added benefit of getting under Loki's skin even more. "Talking about my creations behind my back Bruce? I'm hurt."

"More like making sure that you weren't going to suddenly have a taser pop out and stab me in the ass again. After letting Hulk loose for so long I don't think I would be able to restrain him as well as I did on the Helicarrier."

Tony laughed as he pulled his sunglasses completely off, sliding them into his shirt pocket. "Fair enough. By the way, Hawkeye and Widow should be here any second. They had a little trouble convincing our guest to come but he's on the way now."

Thor approached them then, pulling Loki with him. "We must depart soon my friends. Asgard and Loki's judgment await."

"Don't worry, they're on the way." A low rumble of sound filled the air and Tony turned, recognizing the sound of the car that he had lent the two SHIELD agents for the afternoon as it came around the corner, followed by Steve on a motorcycle.. "See? Gang's all here. And we even got a plus one to attend."

Sure enough, as Cap dismounted his bike, three people stepped out of the car. Natasha and Clint went around, settling against the side of the car while talking to each other, occasionally sending smirks and laughter Loki's way. The third figure though Bruce didn't recognize, but it was clear that Thor did as he practically flew forward to embrace the other man. "Erik! It is good to see you my friend."

Erik appeared startled at first, but slowly returned the embrace. "It's good to see you too Thor."

Thor stepped back, his eyes taking in Selvig's still haggard appearance. Bruce recognized at least part of what had the other scientist looking out of sorts, and it tallied with what Clint had told them of his time with Loki. The ones under Loki's control had not slept, their bodies being fed energy through the scepter somehow, but being human the energy wasn't a true replacement for dreams and sleep that humans needed to function, and after Loki had been stopped everyone that had been under his control had the same disheveled look. Hawkeye had slept for nearly 12 hours the previous night and had told them that it barely felt like enough. Erik, who had not been free of Loki's influence as long as Clint, would probably need more than a single night of recovery.

Thor apparently reached the same conclusion as the happy smile dropped from his face. "My friend...I am sorry. You did not deserve to have your mind and will stripped from you. None of you did. My brother will pay for his crimes, and the bindings I have placed on him prevent his magic from hurting anyone else. He can not escape, and I promise you, he will face justice."

Loki, his mouth covered, couldn't verbally respond, but he still made his derision known as he snorted through his nose and rolled his eyes, catching Erik's eye as Thor turned to glare at his brother. Erik slowly walked forward, his eyes locked on the captured god, and though his voice was quiet, it still carried to the Avengers watching around the two. Tony pulled his phone out again, pressing record on a camera app and angling towards the two as Erik built up a head of steam and berated Loki. "Loki. The would be king of us all. Look at you now. How does it feel, to be trapped? Contained? To have no way out? You who thought yourself above us just because of who you are, now brought to even lower than you had been. You're a prisoner, brought to heel by those you thought below you. How does it feel to know that even as you kept my mind captive I was still able to work around your orders and make a way for you to be beaten?"

Erik looked to be ready to continue his speech, but the anger he had built up was so intense that he didn't seem to be able to get the words out. Finally, rather than say anything else, Erik curled his hand into a fist and brought it about it a devastating right hook, sending Loki falling to the ground from the force of it.

Clint and Natasha watched as the blow landed, Natasha turning towards Clint as it did. "That's actually fairly good form."

Clint nodded, impressed with the punch as well. "And speaking from experience, cathartic as all hell."

Tony didn't comment directly, only cackled with glee before turning towards the car. "JARVIS, upload that to my private servers and then to YouTube please. Title it: 'Loki gets decked'."

"As you wish sir."

Thor reached down, dragging Loki back to his feet and holding out the device he had brought that would direct the energy of the Tesseract, allowing the two of them to safely return to Asgard before he looked around at his friends. "Farewell, Avengers. We shall meet again." With a twist, the Tesseract activated, and in a blinding flash of rainbow light, Thor and Loki were gone, headed back to Asgard and away from Earth.

As Tony slid his phone back into his pocket again, Natasha pulled out her own phone and made a call, putting it on speaker so that the rest of the team could hear. "Director Fury, this is Black Widow. Loki and the Tesseract have both officially been contained and escorted back to Asgard by Thor."

"That's good to hear Agent Romanoff. I'm currently aboard the Helicarrier, Hill is bringing it in to the dock for repairs. You and Barton report for debriefing by 1800 hours."

Natasha raised her eyebrow at that before responding, curiosity clear in her voice. "Just the two of us sir? What about the rest of the Avengers?"

"Hill asked me the same thing. Officially, Stark, and Banner are not under SHIELD authority, and therefore can do whatever they want. Captain Rogers, while he worked with us on this particular incident, is still officially on leave recovering from his time in the ice, and is therefore excused from debriefing and free to go back to whatever he wishes. As for you two, as far as I'm concerned you've all earned a break. Unless another Level 7 event happens, consider yourselves on leave after debriefing."

Clint pumped a fist in victory even as Natasha rolled her eyes at him. "That's generous of you Director. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now I have to go brief the World Security Council about the battle and the repercussions of it."

"You sound...oddly gleeful about that sir, considering how much you hate those calls."

"That's because for once, I am. Seems that Gideon Malick was the one to push for launching a nuke at New York, and as such, the United Nations has decided that he no longer shall be serving on the WSC. And I get to be the one to inform him of this fact."

Natasha smirked and Tony had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh as well, his glee at Malick's dismissal easy for the other Avengers to understand after they had heard Malick was why the Avengers Initiative had nearly been scrapped in the first place. "Enjoy yourself sir."

"I shall Agent Romanoff. Fury out."

As the call disconnected, Tony clapped his hands together, catching the eye of all the others. "Barton, Widow, Cap, you sure you three don't want to stay?"

Clint and Natasha both shook their heads, Clint speaking for them both. "After the debrief we both have things to do and people to see. But we'll come back Stark. Give SHIELD a shout when the Tower is ready."

"Roger that Legolas. Follow Bruce and I back to the Tower, and Happy will drive you to wherever you need to go afterwards. How about you Rogers?"

Steve had already started moving back towards his bike, shoulders set and determined as he got on and made to leave. "I'm with them Tony. Let us know when the Tower is ready and I'll come back. But I've got a girl waiting on me, and I've made her wait too long as it is." The group watched as Steve drove off before heading back to their vehicles, making their way back to the Tower.

What should have been a matter of minutes to drive ended up taking over an hour with the destruction and clean up going on around them. Tony, never one to sit still, constantly tapped his finger against the wheel, which would have normally been irritating to Bruce but now was just a source of amusement. Finally, Tony let out an explosive breath of frustration. "JARVIS, remind me to look over those files we hacked from SHIELD. I want to see if they ever made anything of dad's flying car tech, and take a look at their cloaking tech too. This traffic is ridiculous, and from what I know it won't improve much even when the clean up is done. If SI is moving out here, I want to be able to avoid it."

"Note made and reminder set, Mister Stark. I'll have the relevant materials ready in your workshop at the Tower."

"Good. Also, make another note to talk to SHIELD about getting something set up to clean this up faster. Leaving alien tech out and about on the streets doesn't sit right with me. And if the Avengers have more battles like this, damage control both before and after is going to be a big part of it if I have anything to say."

"Perhaps asking Miss Potts to arrange that would be better sir? I doubt that SHIELD would like to work on clean-up of advanced tech with the man who hacked their files on Phase Two technology."

"You doubt my charming personality J?"

"No sir. I simply know you."

Bruce laughed out loud as Tony pouted, before finally reaching a place to get out of the flow of traffic and head directly for the Tower's garage. Upon arrival, JARVIS had already called for Happy, and he was waiting to take Clint and Natasha back to SHIELD. "Hope you've got some good music onboard Happy, the roads are a mess."

"Miss Potts arranged for me to get an advanced copy of The Martian on audio-book sir, I'll be good."

Tony grinned and turned towards the agents and Selvig as they shifted out of the car they had driven in. "Doctor Selvig, did Thing 1 and Thing 2 tell you what Thor set-up?"

Natasha ignored the verbal jab as Clint let out an amused snort, having heard much worse names thrown at him throughout his career. The two loaded themselves into the car Happy indicated, even as Erik nodded before answering Tony's question. "Yes. They mentioned that he had asked you to let me stay here. I don't know if it's needed. I have a home, and a job teaching that I should be getting back to now that I won't be working on the Tesseract."

As the car with Hawkeye and Widow drove off, Tony shifted his attention fully to Erik. "Yeah, about that. SHIELD has probably told you you can't talk about everything, or even share the findings of your research outside of their control, or something to that effect right?"

Erik nodded again. "I figured as much when I first signed on."

"What if you didn't have those restrictions?"

"What?" Erik's face shifted from curiosity to confusion, his still sleep deprived brain not fully comprehending what Tony was telling him. "What do you mean?"

Tony pulled him over towards the other side of the garage, showing where his armor creation and fabrication set up was located. "I mean, what if you could continue your research, talk about what you find with some of the brightest minds on the planet, and do so in a rent free environment with all the best toys, either ordered or custom made, like my stuff there?" With the garage being underground, it had survived the Chitauri assault intact, with the equipment still in proper working order as Tony gestured around to it. "Stark Industries is the only name in clean energy right now. And with the arc reactor tech, we are only going to advance. I have the tools, now I need people using them."

"Are you offering me a job Stark?'

"A job, lab space, assistants, all the tech you need. And all of it custom designed and free of charge, provided you work with and for SI. Here at the Tower, I'm going to be redesigning the top floors to include lab and living space for the Avengers, and Thor asked me to offer you a space there, if you want it. We're doing the same for Dr. Foster, soon as we can get in touch with her."

Erik looked around again, the confusion on his face changing to one of intense interest as he considered the possibilities of what Stark was saying. Bruce had heard it all before, and even agreed to it already, with a few stipulations. "The offer is good Dr. Selvig, I've already accepted it. And you can stipulate that you have final say over what anything you discover or create is used for."

Selvig's eyes narrowed, taking in the other two. "Complete control, no selling or using anything I am able to find or make without my approval? Not even SHIELD will get it if I say no?"

Tony nodded, one of the very few times in his life that he was completely serious outside of the armors. "Complete control. After I found out my tech was used against the people it was supposedly saving, I made it a central part of any contract that SI offered anyone. I know what it's like to discover that something you thought of or created was given to others and turned against you or those you wanted to help, and I don't want that for anyone else. Pepper agreed to keep it as part of the policy once she took over as CEO. You can look over the contract before agreeing, but the offer for a place for the next few days stands, especially as Pepper is going to be having Dr. Foster brought here. The two of you could talk and decide together if you want."

Erik looked at the other two men, considering the offer before nodding again, his face determined. "Provided Jane agrees, I'll take it. I wasn't actually looking forward to going back to teaching. All the rules and laws that I have been teaching for years...now that I know what's out there, how many things can violate and disregard the laws of science as most know it? I want to know more. Crazy at it might sound, considering everything."

Tony grinned and headed for the elevators, JARVIS having finished a structural integrity scan that morning and finding they were secure to use. The other two followed after him as he started speaking again. "Sanity is overrated, in my humble opinion."

"Humble? You?"

"No insulting your new landlord Banner. JARVIS, wasn't that in the contract this time?"

"No sir. Miss Potts said, and she asked me to quote her directly here, that 'Anyone who lives and/or works with Tony Stark needs to be free to insult and snark back at him without fear of reprisals.'"

Tony's mouth dropped open, looking completely nonplussed at the comment even as Bruce broke into laughter, Erik smirking a bit himself at the expression on Tony's face. Finally, Tony seemed to gather himself and glared at the camera in the elevator. "And where might Miss Potts be? I think I need to have a word with her about tenement contracts for my tower."

"Miss Potts' is located in the lobby area sir, receiving another pair of guests."

The elevator began moving, taking the three men upwards towards the lobby area as Tony grumbled under his breath at Pepper undermining him. Bruce watched, amused and knowing that when they did find Pepper, that the discussion would invariably go her way rather than Tony's. Even being at the Tower a single night had already taught Bruce that lesson.

As the doors opened, Tony stepped out, catching sight of Pepper at the main reception area. Taking notice of the other two women in the area only enough so that he didn't run into them, he called out as he approached. "Pepper? What's this I hear about you changing the tenement contracts?"

Pepper turned, rolling her eyes at Tony as he approached. "Those contracts were a joke Tony. If nothing else, the people here are not going to call you 'Your royal genius, Lord Stark' no matter how much you like Game of Thrones."

Tony's look of ire changed to a pout, before he turned to the main screen behind the reception desk. "JARVIS, is anything of the original contract I wrote in there still?"

"The creator control clause is still present, as is the restriction and penalties for divulging any intellectual property that is not under the signer's control. The rest however has been either modified or replaced entirely by Miss Potts."

Pepper smiled as Tony turned to her. "CEO. You were the one who decided to make those who rent lab space or living space here under the authority of Stark Industries to avoid SHIELD or someone else claiming jurisdiction. That means my word is final."

Bruce was resting against the desk now, his body shaking as he laughed. The other two women watched the byplay between Pepper and Tony in interest, one of them grinning as she popped her gum before she noticed Erik standing near Bruce. "Erik! We didn't expect to see you here. Last I heard SHIELD had you locked away in some uber-secret research base out in the Mojave."

Erik turned from watching Tony and Pepper argue quietly, recognizing the other two figures. "Jane! Darcy!"

As the three friends rushed to greet each other Tony turned to watch, his attention diverted by the three. "You found them?"

Pepper shook her head, smiling as she watched the three as well. "They found us. They had already started to make their way to the US even before we made contact, and I told them we would be able to get them in contact with Dr. Selvig."

"They know about the job and living space offer?"

"Not yet. I made sure Thor included that in his message though. I thought it would be nicer that way."

Tony shrugged, well used to letting Pepper handle things when it came to interacting with people. With few exceptions, he was much more comfortable with machines. Turning towards the monitor again, he called out to JARVIS, catching the attention of Jane, Darcy, and Erik as he did so. "JARVIS, bring up the big guy's message will ya?"

Without a word, the screen shifted from showing the SI logo to instead bringing up a video message. Jane gasped a bit as she saw Thor on the monitor there in front of her. Before she could ask what was going on, the message began to play. "My dearest Jane, and Erik and Darcy of course. The Lady Potts helped me record this for you, so that you could know what was has kept me away, and will keep me away a while longer."

The three watched as Thor explained everything that he had told the Avengers previously. About how his battle with Loki lead to the destruction of the Bifrost, and how with the Bifrost inoperable, he had been stranded on Asgard, unable to return. The rise of the raiders that were attacking the other realms, the Marauders, and how with the Bifrost no longer functioning, they had been able to attack and escape before the ships and armies of Asgard could respond, leaving the rest of the Nine Realms in chaos. How he had to leave and was unable to stay, as the recovering and return of the Tesseract to Asgard was required to end the threat and bring peace back to the Realms.

"And so now I must return, and I can not delay, no matter how much I might wish to. I have asked Tony Stark to provide you all with houseroom while I am gone. Depending on how long the repairs take, it may be a year or slightly longer before I can return to Earth, though it may also be less time. And I do promise to return. I would have stayed now, had I a choice in the matter. I look forward to the day we can all be together again."

The message ended there, Jane sniffling and smiling at the image before she turned and embraced Darcy. "He hadn't forgotten about us."

"What, you thought he had?"

Jane pulled back, raising an eyebrow at her intern. "You were the one who said that it had been a long time!"

"Yeah, but that didn't mean that he forgot you! It just meant that maybe he was stuck somewhere, and I was right, so HA!" Darcy smirked at her boss before turning around, looking over at Pepper and Tony again. "So, was he right? Can we crash here at Casa Stark?"

Tony nodded even as he started pulling Pepper away towards the elevators. "Yup, offer is legit. Ask Brucey boy and Dr. Selvig for details, and just let JARVIS know what you decide. Miss Potts and I need to go discuss arranging rooms for all the people that will be living here."

"We do?"

"Yes, we do. It's going to involve some major remodels, and I've already got a few ideas."

The two walked away as Bruce rolled his eyes, moving to join the other three and explain things to them with help from JARVIS. In his mind, in the part that he associated with the Other Guy, he felt a rumbling of contentment and anticipation. Although he still had trouble understanding the Hulk, Bruce thought he could understand the feelings this time. He didn't know what it was, but something told him that he was a part of something that was going to change everything. And he found himself looking forward to what the future might bring.

A/N Mark II: And there we have it. The Horseshoe Nail has been applied, and the universe has shifted. For those curious, I am planning on taking this throughout the MCU, hopefully at least through Avengers 4. While things will still start off the same and certain events WILL happen as they did in the movies, things are changing, and will be changing, slowly at first, but by the time we hit Winter Soldier and the end of Agents of SHIELD season one, it's going to go directions that I hope entertain and excite people.

Enemies and Allies, both old and new, will be showing up, and will be pulled from the ENTIRE MCU, with the exception of Marvel's Inhumans as I did not watch, and from the sound of things it has had absolutely ZERO effect on the overall MCU. And while some argue that the Netflix shows have had the same effect, the way I'm planning to write this story, they will in this universe.

Everything else, from the smallest information packet on a DVD Easter Egg to the big screen movies, will be included. Not just the movies or TV shows either, but the tie in comics as well for example. Even some promotional material that I like, as seen by the Acura car that Bruce was leaning against in this chapter. That's an actual, in canon car that Tony designed with Acura. In case you don't believe, or have questions about how I'm going to be doing things for this fic? Let me tell you, I have a 138 page outline so far.

Yeah. I've got a lot of research done.

For a quick recap, everything that happened BEFORE Rhodey arrived at the shawarma place happened as seen and described in the various media of the MCU. So the Phase One Movies, the Agent Carter TV show, and the stuff with the Guardians of the Galaxy characters HAS happened, and some of it will continue to happen. It will just happen off screen. The focus of this story will be the folks living and working out of Avengers Tower.

Of course, it may turn out that it will be MORE than the Avengers living there, as shown by Darcy, Jane, and Erik now moving in. Want to know who else I plan to bring in? You'll have to keep an eye out.

So let me know what you thought so far, and if you have any ideas or guesses about things that may or may not happen in the future, feel free to let me know! I've been known to reward eagle-eyed readers that spot clues and details that I put in as foreshadowing or world building with cameos or early chapter reads. Until the next time, I hope you've enjoyed this prologue, and are ready for the MCU as you know it to drastically change.

Peace and Out,

Pwn Master Paladin