Hi everybody!

Everbody: "Hi Dr. Nicholson!"

Haha, so nice to see y'all again. Wow, I am just super busy lately. So, this will be my first time writing an Avengers fic, or an AU of this magnitude, so I'm a little out of my depth here. Luckily, I'm not in this alone. This story is a collaboration with Rasi10. One of us writes a chapter and the other reviews and edits it. So the first chapter will be written by me, the second by her, so on and so forth. As such don't expect a very consistent update schedule, although we'll try our best. Rasi has also published a version of this story, it can be found on Wattpad.

So the premise: What if the Avengers didn't start out as an elite team of super-heroes, but just a group of everyday schlubs in the army? How did we come up with this batty idea for an AU? Don't ask me, I haven't got the foggiest idea. But we did, and we've written the first two chapters in advance, to give you a taste of both our styles. I hope y'all enjoy!

The chapter below was written by me and edited by Rasi10:

All his life, Tony had been told he was going to do great things when he grew up. And why wouldn't he? After all, how many four year olds do you know that have assembled their own motherboard? His parents were so proud of him.

Then, Tony disassembled his father's old motorcycle when he was 6 and reassembled it in his father's garage with no help. Now his parents were sure he was going to be a brilliant engineer, just like his dad.

So at 17, Tony was sent off to MIT to get an engineering degree. He passed with flying colors, Valedictorian of his class. He also roomed with a young man named James Rhodes, better known as Rhodey. Rhodey became Tony's first friend.

Tony Stark was going to do great things. The problem was, he didn't know what great things to do. His second best friend, Pepper Potts, knew what she was going to do; she was going to work as an engineer for Stane Industries. Tony would have known this, if he'd paid more attention to her. He would have also known she thought of him as more than just a best friend.

But Tony was too busy wondering what great things he should do with his life. He didn't want to work for a company, like Pepper. It seemed... boring. Rhodey's career choice, however, wasn't boring at all. Rhodey was joining the air force. And to Tony, this sounded like a great idea. After all, his dad had served in the army, in Vietnam. He'd be proud of his son's enlistment.

He wasn't. Mr. and Mrs. Stark wanted their son to do great things. They didn't want him to risk his life overseas in a job that had so few benefits. But Tony had made up his mind, and when he did that there was no changing it back. So despite his parent's pleading, Tony enlisted as a private, packed his bags and headed off to a basic training facility in Maryland.

Tony ambled to his new home, a barrack at the far end of the camp. He was wearing his new army uniform, which had been given to him when he entered, along with an unwanted haircut and a shave. Tony was pretty upset about the shave. He'd spent the last few years meticulously grooming that goatee to perfection, and now it was gone.

The barracks were clean and barren; rows and rows of bunk beds and drawers underneath said beds. Tony thought he was the first to arrive, until he saw a man in the corner unpacking his roll in a corner. He was older, as evidenced by his greying hair and lightly wrinkled face. Like all the other recruits he'd been given a buzz cut, but his curls had remained intact.

When he saw Tony the man walked over with a nervous smile. "Hey. Hi. Doctor Bruce Banner." he stuttered a little as he introduced himself, and held out a nervous hand.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Banner. I've read one of your papers on gamma radiation. Good stuff." Tony replied, shaking his hand. Banner had a weak grip and a strong tremor. Tony briefly wondered what a nervous, shy intellectual type was doing in basic training.

"Please," the doctor responded, "Call me Bruce. And thank you." Bruce went back to making his bed, a bit more at ease then he'd been before. Tony, being a friendly type, decided to take the bunk above him. They began making scientific small talk, Bruce began opening up.

"So, Bruce. What made you quit your job and enlist? Sudden bout of patriotism?" Tony asked jokingly. Instantly Bruce clamped up again. His expression became more guarded as he looked up at the perplexed younger man.

"Um w-well, you know..." he mumbled. Tony didn't think he did, but Bruce refused to elaborate more. This seemingly innocent question had made him very uncomfortable, Tony could tell. In a strange bout of tact, he decided not to press further.

The uncomfortable silence continued for a few more minutes, until the next member of their squad arrived, much to Tony's relief.

"Steve Rogers. Pleasure to meet you." said the new man politely. He held his hand up for Tony to shake. And yeah, I mean up. Tony may have been on the tall side, but Steve Rogers was tiny. Tony figured him at 5'6. And he was skinny too. His uniform swam on him. Once again, Tony wondered what had made another clearly unathletic person decide to enter this rigorous program.

He was pulled by his thoughts by Steve asking him and Banner for their names. Unlike the doctor, Steve seemed quite friendly, if not at ease. He made polite small talk with the other two while he made his bed.

"Why'd you join?" Bruce asked the newcomer.

"Why'd I join? Well, I guess I just wanted to do some good. Help the country. My buddy Bucky joined up last year. I was going to be with him, but my asthma got me held back." Steve gave a "what can you do" shrug. "I'm on stronger medication now, so I should be fine." Steve did his best to look confident in that statement, and Tony realized just how pale and sickly this guy looked. He'd figured it was just his complexion, he was quite blonde, but no, Steve was definitely pallid. His nose was a bit runny too, and his voice sore like he'd just recovered from a nasty cold. Despite this, his blue eyes were bright and clear, and his friendly smile genuine.

"Well, great to have you on the squad, Steve." Tony replied.

Another man arrived a few minutes later, swinging the door with enough force to knock it full open. At first, Tony didn't recognize him, what with his hair in the same military regulation as everyone else, but he soon realized he'd seen this guy before. This giant had asked for directions when he'd first arrived. Of course, he'd had a grizzly beard and long blonde hair back then.

"Hello!" the man called out enthusiastically, waving to his new squadmates. He shook Tony's hand while introducing himself, and Tony inwardly winced at the strength of his grip.

"Name's Thor Errikson." he proclaimed proudly, with a slight midwestern accent.

"Like, the God of Thunder?" Bruce asked, confused.

Tony sniggered. "It doth me pleasure to meet thou, Mighty Thor!" He said, bowing dramatically.

"Thor" didn't seem to notice Tony was making fun of him. "My real name is Chris, but all my buddies on the football team called me that. I like you guys to do it too."

Tony shrugged. "Well, nice to meet you Thor. This is Bruce - he's shy- and Steve." Steve began making small talk with Thor as fifth and final members of their group walked in. He introduced himself as Clint Barton, and when Tony shook his hand he saw Clint had a wedding ring.

"We eloped right before I enlisted, Laura and I," Clint explained when Tony asked. "You should've seen the look on her face when I gave her that ring." he said, smiling fondly.

It was at that point the drill sergeant walked in. Tony's previous army experience had come from watching "M.A.S.H." and "Stripes", and he expected the Drill Sergeant to be a big, angry looking older man who would come in yelling "A'right ladies! Drop and give me twenty! Go! Go! Go!" at the top of his lungs. He certainly didn't expect Sergeant Phil Coulson.

Phil was in shape, and he was older, but he wasn't very big or angry. He seemed less like a member of the armed forces and more like a kindly bachelor uncle who always brings candy when he visits.

"Hello, Men. I've see you've gotten yourselves acquainted with one another." he didn't sound like a drill sergeant either. His voice was soft, his manner polite, yet formal.

"Finish unpacking quickly. We're marching over to the main hall for Colonel Fury's orientation at 1500 hours."

"Um, hey, Sergeant Coulson?" Tony raised his hand like a little kid in a classroom.

"That's Sergeant Coulson Sir, Private." Coulson replied.

"Well, Sergeant Coulson Sir, what if we don't wanna go to orientation? What if we want to go into town and pick up girls instead?" Tony could hear the others snickering behind him.

The Sergeant's gaze was one of power and authority. "The meeting's mandatory, Private. Unless you want to clean every bathroom here with a toothbrush for insubordination."

"Yes sir!" Tony responded, jumping to attention and giving a mock salute.

"And that's a hundred pushups already Private. On the ground."

"Wh-what?! You can't- you can't make me..." Tony stuttered in indignation.

"Sure I can. I'm your sergeant, and I demand respect. On. The ground. Private."

Tony was going to hate Sergeant Coulson. he could tell.

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Do the character changes we made make sense to you? Please review, I appreciate constructive criticism. Don't mince words.