Ever had one of those beautiful summer days when you're with the other five of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and a god's baby brother and then that's not a pile of cables it's a dragon and seven teens need your help to save the world from the bogeyman? No? Well, Tony Stark was having one of those days.
It started out well enough, even if Thor was stuck "babysitting" everyone's (least) favorite demi-god. On instinct, Stark had grabbed his Iron Man suitcase, causing Natasha to scoff as she muttered, "Paranoid". This from the assassin who he knew had at least two guns, no less than five knifes, and her widow's sting electric charges at all times. Hypocrite.
But gossip and paranoia have one thing in common: they spread like wildfire. While Thor never left his hammer, Loki had his magic, and the Russian was perpetually armed to the teeth, the rest of the team returned to the tower for a shield, a bow, and a book. Bruce doesn't exactly need a weapon.
"Because he's Batman!" "Wrong genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist! Also, WRONG BRUCE! We were talking about Banner!" Mr. Wayne looked very disappointed to find that this was not Gotham, and Robin was nowhere to be found. "Wrong fandom! Get off the page!" The sheer ludicrousness of Hawkeye arguing with Batman caused even the die-hard fans to put the phones away. "I'm Batman…" he whispered before sulking off.
Eventually, and after explaining Batman to those who didn't know, they found a great spot, a hill overlooking a wooded valley, with one tall pine standing separate from the rest, as if on guard. They all got a different impression and reactions. Thor felt like this would start a great adventure, Natasha was naturally suspicious, Clint was attempting to climb said tree, Stark was getting bored and hungry, Bruce (Banner) was reading, Steve was sketching the view, and Loki, well…Loki was sitting as far from the tree as possible and staring into the valley without saying a word.
Everyone was about to enjoy Captain America's world-famous apple pie , well, realm-famous after that trip to Asgard, when there was a strange hissing sound. Then, a terrific, earth-shattering whine followed by an impact that made any Hulk smash, Chitauri dragon crashing or explosion you could think of sound like a balloon popping.
Not far from the residents of Avengers Tower was a smoking crater with a badly damaged, but not wrecked, machine inside. Six people saw a helicopter's tail and rotors twisted and completely useless. But someone saw something completely different, though he didn't say a word…