Stark Residence, L.A, California, United States of America, Earth-199998
August 20th, 2012 9:05 P.M P.D.T
"And right as he was about to finish me, Rhodes blasted the Melter from behind, allowing us to take him into custody. Oh, don't look like that Natasha; Fury isn't danger of losing one of his 'Avengers'. Besides, that whole little fiasco helped me iron out some bugs in the prototypes I've been workin' on." Tony Stark took a sip from his glass of wine, oblivious to Pepper's look of distaste at the mention of said prototypes. "I've got this big idea involving telepathic controls for my suits. It wou- Pepper, where you are going?"
"It seems to me that your toys and business with S.H.I.E.L.D are more important to you than the dinner we were having. If you're going to blow me off like this, I've got important work to take care of." The Stark Industries C.E.O. stood up from the couch and walked away towards the stairwell. Tony watched her walk off and hesitated for a moment before standing up from his seat.
"Please, excuse me, agent Romanoff. Let me go talk to Pepper…." The billionaire exited the room after his girlfriend, calling her name as he ran on the curved staircase. The red-headed spy walked across the room to the grand piano before moving to place two surveillance devices within it when JARVIS spoke.
"Mrs. Romanoff, May I Remind You That Any And All Surveillance Bugs Within The Stark Residence Will Be Disabled By My Security Systems. If You Continue To Plant Remote Observation Devices, I Will Inform Mr. Stark Of Your Actions And Ask You To Vacate The Premises."
"That's okay JARVIS, I was on my way out. Please tell Tony I'll talk to him later." Natasha left the piano's side and exited the mansion. She smirked to herself as she stepped into her car.
'Looks like some S.H.I.E.L.D. tech is still ahead of Stark. I wonder how long it will take him or JARVIS to figure out that I managed to bug the place.'
Natasha Romanoff started the engine to her car and drove off the multi-billionaire's property. As she drove down the road leading away from the opulent home a screen blinked on with Commander Maria Hill's face looking up at the former Russian national.
"Agent Romanoff, you are to cease observation of Tony Stark and report to the Heli-carrier at these co-ordinates immediately. There's an unusual 0-8-4 and Fury wants you there in case things head south."
"And that isn't something more suited for someone else?"
"You'll be briefed once you arrive here. Hill signing off."
The screen flicked off as suddenly as it had powered on, leaving Natasha mildly bewildered.
Regaining her resolve, she sped down the motorway with a determination not often seen in people. Whatever was going on in Tony's life was going to wait; she had more important things to worry about.
Back inside of his not so humble abode, Tony Stark was baffled.
'Pepper knows how important the Iron Legion I'm building is and anything involving S.H.I.E.L.D. has to be top priority. I mean, yeah, we had been planning that dinner for a month but plans change and Pepper has to realize that. After all, wasn't that how I became Iron Man in the first place?' Tony gently ran his hand through his short hair and knocked on the door to their bedroom.
"Pepper, can you let me in so we can talk? Look, I know you're upset but what agent Romanoff was telling me in very important. Still, I promised you dinner and Tony Stark is nothing without his word," he said with cocky smile on his face.
The slowly opened as Pepper let him and she walked backed to the large bed across the room.
"You don't understand do you? Still, it's better than nothing… I'll go make a reservation." "Who needs a reservation when you're part of the one of the richest couples in the world and member of the Avengers? Just kidding, I'll try not to mention anything related to Iron Man or S.H.I.E.L.D. for the rest of our evening." Tony wrapped his arm around her waist from behind, pulled her close to himself and began to rest his chin on her shoulder. "I'm about to go jump in the shower and cleaned up. I'd like it if you were to join me…." A small grin grew his goatee'd face, as he began to rock back and forth.
"Ha, you'll do whatever you can to get out of dinner won't you? You play very, very dirty." Pepper slowly removed herself from his grasp. "I'll get the water ready." Pepper sauntered over to the bathroom door, adding a slight sway to her hips before closing it behind her.
After the door closed, Tony reached into his pocket and answered his cell phone.
"Hey Rhodes, can you call me back later? Look, I know it's important and the fate of the world is probably at stake but I have to go, okay. I can't talk right now. I made a promise to Pepper. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Rhodes, you're a big boy; you can handle the Mandarin for now. I'll have JARVIS help you with that. I'm hanging up now- going, going going…."
He slowly drew the device away from his face as he said that, tapping the screen as he did so. "Gone. JARVIS? Please be a dear and make sure to redirect all incoming calls to DUM-E. Make sure to record them though."
"Of course, sir. Is there anything else you need before you begin preparing for the rest of your night?"
"No, that'll be it. I'm sure you can find something useful to do."
Tony glanced over at the clock, which read 9:27 pm. He strode over to the bathroom, all thoughts of S.H.I.E.L.D, the Avengers, Iron Man and Rhodes gone from his mind.
Brooklyn, New York City, United States of America, Earth-199998
August 20th 2012, 12:30 A.M E.D.T
Steve Rodgers wasn't easily bothered by many things. In the seventy years he was frozen, the world changed tremendously. Hardly anything was like he remembered and many things were vastly improved, but it was the little things that really bugged him. Steve was walking through the streets of his old home and saw the little things everywhere.
'That used to be Vinnie's Diner, and that was that movie theater where those guys jumped me in that alley. Bucky sure saved my ass that time. Heh, Bucky saved my ass a lot of times. And I never repaid the favor….'
A sour look crossed upon his face, a dark cloud hanging over him. Thoughts like those were what kept him up lately. He weaved through the crowds that milled through the streets of the community with one destination in mind. As he neared the orphanage where he grew up, the familiar sounds of jet engines grew louder. Steve looked towards the sky as a Quinjet lowered itself into the middle of an empty lot across the street. Amidst the confusion of the teeming masses forming near the lot, he crossed the road over to the crowd. At the front of the crowd, a pair of soldiers in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms was attempting to keep the curious bystanders back.
After having pushed through the crowd with ease, the tall super-solider walked towards the aircraft as the soldiers let him past. A familiar figure walked down the access ramp of the aircraft.
"Captain! It's good to see you! Dir. Fury is sending you north for a mission." Clint Barton, better known as Hawk-eye, said to Steve.
"It's good to see you too, Agent Barton. What's up north?" Steve shook hands with the spy. The crowd grew wild when they realized two of the Avengers were before them. Rodgers looked back at the unruly people before speaking again.
"Maybe you should tell me once we're in the air."
"Never planned otherwise, Cap."
The two men stepped up the ramp of the V-TOL aircraft, the soldiers following closely behind. Once all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives were back in the Quinjet, the pilot started the ignition sequence.
"Alright, Barton. What's going on up north and how far north are we talking?" Steve strapped himself into one of the seats. The large man sat patiently for Barton to answer, watching the man adjust something on the side of his head.
"Sorry, Steve. These engines are so loud and these hearing aids pick up everything. Any ways, we found something in the Artic. We're not quite sure what it is, but Fury thought it would be prudent for you to be around. The object is less than ten clicks from where you were found. Hell of a coincidence, right?"
Steve shook his head.
"There is no way it's that easy. What's the chance it be connected the Tesseract? It was down there just as long as I was."
"That's what we thought initially, but the tech heads are saying it's like nothing we ever seen. You'll be fully briefed once we arrive. You might want to catch a little shut-eye. It's gonna be a bit of a flight."
Steve closed his eyes, hoping to have an easier time at resting now that he had something to focus on.
It's been over a year since I posted those first two. Wow. I was not prepared for how hard-ish actually writing can be. I've got a slew of excuses and reasons for why I haven't written or updated but most of them are crud. I plan on updating more frequently coming soon(around 1-2 a month). BTW, the worst thing about my procrastination was the release of Winter Soldier and the reveal about Hydra and SHIELD.