This has been an idea of mine for a while, but it only recently started coming together. It's pre-season 4 (DW), runs side by side with AOS season 1, pre-Winter Soldier. I started this before I'd seen TWS (lame, I know), so I don't want things to get confused in my head if I try to work out my plans with that film.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know! Enjoy!

Avengers: Time War

Chapter I

It's funny how the world can change when you least expect it. I never thought I could become someone impossible, someone worthy of so much more than what I could have been destined for. Even now, after the end of the world, when I don't know up from down, I don't where I'm going, but I know that it will be somewhere greater. Better. A world where there are no monsters in metal suits, no green beasts, no men out of time, no false gods, no creatures who think themselves better than the human race. For while we are weak, we are many.

We have the ability to stand up for what we want and for what we need. I never thought I could be anyone but a girl from a council estate, much less one of the most incredible people in the universe. And trust me, I've met the others.

I owe it all to one man-a man I ran away with, a man I hated, a man I fell in love with. He introduced me to the greatest people I've ever known, and broke my heart while simultaneously giving me the ultimate gift: a chance to become the best person I could possibly be.

So while he is now dead and gone, I will forever owe my entire life to him: the Doctor.

"Life on Earth is hella boring," said Tony Stark, stepping down from the platform atop Stark Tower, impatiently waiting for his computer systems to disassemble his suit.

"Not the way I see it," replied the woman following him, a thin woman with short, red hair. "Not now that every alien race has decided to make a punching bag out of us."

"Oh, come on, Romanov," Stark said as he rolled his eyes, "you literally just proved my point in your own sentence. 'Alien race?' Yeah, don't have many aliens on Earth."

"Technically, any sort of foreigner is an alien."

Stark sighed and turned to the hero in blue. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. And, y'know, that includes you. You belong on another planet, not to mention another time period. Look at us; we're like the freaking dream team of superheroes. I mean, we are the Avengers. Never mind, forget I said anything."

As soon as the present four heroes entered Stark Tower-now referred to as the Avengers Tower-they were surprised to see none other than Director Nick Fury waiting rather impatiently at the counter.

"Nick, my cycloptic friend!" exclaimed Tony, clapping Fury on the back as he passed the man on his way to pour himself a drink. "Long time no see! And I mean that in the best possible way."

Steve was less than amused by Tony's amiability. His back straight, Steve approached Fury. "Director Fury," he began, "do you have a mission for us?"

"Not this time. At least, not like you might think. An organization from Great Britain has been poking around our systems for a few months now, ever since the Battle of New York. IT's grown tired of having to rewrite their firewalls, so we've invited a representative from this organization to act as a liaison between SHIELD and-"

"Torchwood," interrupted Tony.

Fury sighed. "Are you even going to pretend you didn't know that?"

"No. I, too, noticed their little expeditions. I tried to do some digging but couldn't find much. Although now that I've got a definitive reason to look into it, I'll look into it."

Natasha leaned on the counter. "When are we meeting their representative?"

Fury looked at his watch. "In about three minutes."

Stark groaned. "It just so happens that I have a very important meeting with a very important person about very important things in two minutes, so I'm afraid I'll have to miss."

"The jig's up, babe," called Pepper from where she was seated on the sofa, mindlessly scrolling across her tablet. She didn't even look at him. "He asked me to clear your empty schedule."

"Damn. Well, it was worth a shot."

Clint Barton snapped open his bow, gaining Fury's attention. "This is a peaceful meeting," said their boss. "No need for hostility. Though I would appreciate someone going to get in touch with Jane Foster. Maybe she knows something about this Torchwood Institute, since she now lives over there." Barton nodded, leaving the room. "And tell her to tell Thor that the honeymoon phase is over! I expect him back by the end of the week."

"Gotcha," Barton shouted from down the hall.

Tony groaned and dropped his head back. "Why do we have to do this?" he whined. "Why can't I just hack into Torchwood's systems and do it the easy way?"

Fury rolled his eye(s, presumably). "Because she's already on her way here."

"Indeed, sir," said JARVIS.

"Thank you, JARVIS," said Tony. He walked closer to Fury. "She? You never mentioned it was a woman."

"You could at least pretend to realize that I was in the room," Pepper said, still refusing to look up from her tablet.

Just then, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "Ms. Tyler," said Fury, walking over to the elevator, extending his hand to the woman exiting. She was blonde, well-dressed, and younger than was to be expected.

She took his hand and shook it with a gracious smile. "Director Fury, it is so nice to speak with you in person." Sure enough, she spoke with a proper English accent that reminded Steve of Peggy.

"Let me introduce the crown jewel of SHIELD-what we like to call the Avengers Initiative." Fury gestured to the rest of the group. "Tony Stark, his CEO Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanov. Our other agent, Clint Barton, is off contacting another liaison of ours, Jane Foster."

"Oh, yes," Rose said, "I met Jane last month at a work thing. Pete-my father-took me to a Vitex luncheon, and Jane was the keynote speaker. She's very good."

Tony narrowed his eyes as she spoke, and when she finished, he smacked himself on the forehead and immediately crossed to her, taking one of her hands in his and kissing her knuckles. "Miss Rose Tyler," he said, "I had no idea you were going to be our liaison with Torchwood." He looked at his friends. "Come on, guys, this is Rose Tyler, of Vitex fame."

She flushed, and Steve said, "Vitex, as in the drinks?"

Rose grew even redder and nodded. Before she could say anything, Tony continued, "I am still amazed how you managed to disappear off the face of the earth for the first twenty-one years of your life. Then again, one of our buddies is a Norse god from another planet, so I guess nothing should surprise me anymore."

"Yes, it was quite a lifestyle," Rose agreed with a smile, but it was very clear that she was used to keeping her private life close to the chest. "Well, let's get to business, shall we? I'm feeling rather tired from the flight and would like to retire soon, if that's alright."

"Fine by me," said Natasha. "I just want a long soak in a tub to get the alien guts off of me."

That got Rose's attention. "I'm sorry?"

"We were fighting these brown, toothy aliens all afternoon in Times Square," Steve explained. "Savage guys with no hair. Don't worry; they're all taken care of."

Rose perked up. "Did they come from the sewers?"

The Avengers exchanged looks before nodding and mumbling, "Yeah."

She grinned. "They're Weevils! God, I hate those things. They're basically harmless-I mean, they're killers an' they rip people's throats out with their teeth, but compared to other aliens, they're easy to get rid of. Just like roaches. I'll get Jake to send over some Weevil spray, then you won't have to deal with 'em as much."

There was a brief silence before Natasha said, "Are you, like, an expert on aliens or something?"

Rose bit down on her lip for a minute. "Um, a bit, yeah."

Tony smiled widely. "Can she stay forever? She'll be great on the team. Rose, welcome to the Avengers."

She gave them a smile, but shook her head. "I have my own missions with Torchwood, including one very important personal project, so this is just going to be a quick meeting before I get back on the plane to London tomorrow evening." She paused, then her grin grew. "Besides, I doubt I'd pass SHIELD's background screenings. They wouldn't be able to find enough about me."

Tony brightened. "Challenge accepted!"

Natasha rolled her eyes and widened her stance, clasping her hands behind her back-a neutral, yet controlling position. "What exactly does Torchwood do? How will we be working together?"

Just then, Barton walked back into the room. "Jane wasn't very thrilled at being woken up at a late hour. Torchwood's just a security firm," he said, clearly not having noticed Rose's presence. Steve cleared his throat, drawing Clint's attention to the new blonde in the room. "Agent Clint Barton, SHIELD." He offered his hand to her, and she shook it firmly.

"Agent Rose Tyler, Torchwood," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Why does a private security firm have agents?" asked Steve. "And how do you know about aliens?"

"Let Scully talk," Tony said. Steve's forehead crinkled; Tony, understanding the look of confusion, sighed, "I'll explain it later."

"I assume SHIELD has at least level eight clearance with UNIT?" Rose asked. Fury nodded, and Rose continued, "The Torchwood Institute, founded by Queen Victoria, acts as a sort of intermediary between the citizens of Earth and visitors from other planets. The most popular place for alien activity is Cardiff in Wales, though our headquarters is in London. We scan for alien technology, anticipate any contact, and take preemptive measures to determine if the visitors are a threat. If they are not humanoid, we try to keep them out of public eye, but otherwise let them carry on, so long as they check in with us every few days."

Steve held up his hands. "Wait a minute; there are aliens that look like humans?"

"Come on, Gramps," said Tony, "keep up. You've seen Thor and his asshole of a brother. They look pretty damn human to me."

"I'm sorry?" Rose interjected.

"Our buddies from Asgard. You know, Thor and Loki, the Norse gods?" She shook her head. "What, do you live under a rock or something?"

"Tony," Natasha groaned.

Rose's smile tightened. "Like you said yourself, Mr. Stark, I stayed out of the public eye for quite some time. Things slip by you when you're avoiding the rest of the world."

Tony gave a low whistle. "Damn."

Pepper stood from the couch, holding her tablet to her stomach. "Mr. Stark, if it is alright with you, I think I'm going to go home for the evening." Tony groaned, knowing that this was Pepper's way of telling him that he needed to step away from the situation and return later.

"Yeah, babe," he returned, "I'll be with you in a bit. I'm getting to know my new friend here. Just think, if we took a photo and put it on Instagram, the paparazzi would have a field day. Tony Stark and Rose Tyler-we'd blow up the Internet." Pepper sighed and left the room.

Fury cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I need to have word with Ms. Potts. Ms. Tyler," he acknowledged with a nod before exiting the room, leaving Rose Tyler alone with five of the Avengers.

Tony was the first to break the silence. "I'm serious about this selfie thing."

Rose smiled politely. "Maybe another time, Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me Tony."

Natasha groaned.

Rose folded the pillow over her ears, refusing to be drawn from her dreams of better times, but that insistent beeping would not stop. She squeezed her eyes tightly for a moment before opening them, surprised that the room was still dark. She had expected it to be daybreak.

Pushing the covers off her, Rose swung her legs to the floor and stood, picking up her dressing gown and wrapping it around her. Looking at the sliver of light peeking through into the room from beneath the door, Rose grabbed her handbag and pulled out her taser. She hated using guns but would never go unarmed.

Her bare feet were silent against the floor as she left the guest room and started heading towards the lounge two floors below. The concrete in the industrial stairwell was cold against her feet, but she remained silent. Once she pushed open the door to the floor she was aiming for, Rose picked up her pace.

She checked around the corner before entering the lounge; the coast was clear. As soon as she walked through, however, she ran smack into someone else. "Fuck!" the person exclaimed. He flipped the light switch by Rose's shoulder, illuminating the room. It was Tony Stark, his arc reactor glowing through his t-shirt. He looked at the taser in her hands. "Not you, too."

"What the hell is going on?" asked Rose.

"That's a good question," said Natasha, walking in from behind Rose with Clint.

Tony shrugged. "JARVIS set off the systems. I was asleep. Good thing the Jolly Green Giant's back in the middle of nowhere again."

"He went to Jersey," said Steve, entering from the way Tony came in.

"Exactly."

A tall figure emerged from the shadows with something in his bulky arms. "Maybe I can shed some light on all of this, if you agree to assist me."

Rose could hear the jaws drop as the room grew unimaginably silent.