After three days with little success, the team began to lighten their search efforts. A lengthy investigation by SHIELD proved that neither Tony nor Bruce had been kidnapped by anyone on their wanted lists, so the team at least had the peace of mind knowing that they probably were safe. At the very least they had seemingly gone missing of their own free will.

Thor's whereabouts were an entirely different matter. SHIELD had long since given up on trying to keep track of where he went ever since the Bifrost was repaired. He freely traveled back to Asgard for weeks at a time, but he had always come back when they needed him (though how he knew he was needed was a question that kept Fury up at night).

The only logical explanation that any of the remaining Avengers could settle on was that they would wander back soon enough on their own. At the very least they all knew that Tony would have to come back sooner or later, if only to collect his things.

This was why Steve was currently sitting in the living room of Stark Tower all alone. The remaining team had been maintaining a constant watch of the premises waiting for Tony to return. Steve had been there since midnight going on his twelfth hour. He was getting sleepy doing nothing, but Clint would be back any moment to relieve him so he could get some sleep.

Steve pulled himself off the couch and turned off the TV. He needed a fresh mug of coffee to help him wake up a bit more so that he could make it back to his room when Clint showed up. The newfangled coffee machines of the modern day were not as complex as he initially thought it would be. Tony had a very simple machine where all he had to do was open the lid and put a small plastic cup inside and push one button and it would be done in a minute. It was one of the few things in the house that Steve could actually use completely on his own.

He put his designated red, white, and blue Captain America mug under the dispenser (Tony had run out and bought personalized mugs, thinking it would be hilarious if everyone drank out of their own merchandise) and placed the plastic cup inside. One of the drawback of the super-soldier serum was that coffee was not as effective for him as it was for other people. Usually it would take a whole pot of coffee just to give him the same buzz everyone else got from one cup. Thankfully, Tony had ordered a special blend of super caffeinated coffee just for the Captain to save him from having to drink so much, though Steve was sure that Tony occasionally drank a cup or two himself when working on late night projects. But he did not mind sharing.

Steve leaned on the counter as the machine gurgled and filled his mug. He had been up for over a whole day looking for Tony, Bruce, and Thor, and it was beginning to catch up with him. He needed some sleep if he was ever going to be ready to defend the city in case something really nasty decided to attack while half of their team had gone AWOL. Steve knew that Tony and Bruce were not soldiers (and he had no idea how to regard Thor as a prince), but he did not ever think that they would just run off like this. Surely they realized that when they joined the team that they had a responsibility to that team? Maybe their little group was not as strong as he had thought? They had not known each other for very long, maybe a situation like this was only a matter of time?

The machine had gone silent for a few minutes while Steve was turning these thoughts over in his head. His exhaustion got the better of him because he had not realized that his eyes were closed. He pushed himself off the counter, hoping to push a little energy into his body and turned around to retrieve his coffee. He drew his hand back from the machine slightly when he noticed that his mug was not there like he remembered. He could have sworn that he put his mug right there.

Looking around the machine and one the floor he could not see any sign that he had forgotten the mug and it had poured out onto the floor. And opening the machine showed the Captain that the plastic cup was still there and had been used. He could smell the scent of the coffee in the air. So where in the world did it go?

Steve began searching the immediate area for the coffee. He was slightly glad that Tony was missing, because if he were here he would have likely made a joke about his age, saying that his memory was going bad. He could practically hear Tony snickering to himself now, it almost make Steve laugh a little. He sighed in resignation and closed his eyes to think. Maybe he had picked it up and forgotten where he had put it down? It happens.

"Now where did I put it?" Steve mumbled to himself as he tried to think. But he was so tired, it was becoming more and more difficult not to fall asleep. "I'll just make another one." He decided and opened his eyes to see his mug sitting on the counter in front of him.

Steve took a small step back in surprise. Had it been there the whole time? Was he that tired that he had just not seen it? He took hold of the coffee and let the warmth sink into his hands. The mug was not as full as he thought it should have been. It looked as if part of it had been drunken already, but maybe he had pushed the wrong cup size on the machine, it would not hurt to make a second cup to add to this one.

However upon getting a second cup ready Steve found that the machine was missing from it's spot on the counter, as well as his newly found coffee. Now either he was so sleep deprived that he was losing it, or someone was messing with him. He chose the latter. No way he was that tired to hallucinate that much for that long. Someone was up to something.

"I know you're in here!" Steve shouted as he slowly began to back out of the small kitchen and look around his surroundings. "Just come out now and we'll talk about this." He was met with only silence. After a few minutes of silence Steve gave up and put a hand to his face.

Maybe he was that tired to dream up making coffee. "Tony you owe me big time. JARVIS, tell Tony that he literally might be driving me crazy with his disappearing act."

"Of course." JARVIS answered as Steve sat on the couch, "Sir, Mr. Rogers wishes to inform you that he believed that your actions are making him insane. Do you have a response you wish for me to give him?"

Steve shot up from his spot like lightning. "JARVIS, where is Tony?"

"Shush!" Steve heard hissing from the room. It was close. "I cannot say, Mr. Rogers." The AI replied.

"Tony! Tony where ar-" Steve turned around to see Tony standing right in front of him with a small bag slung around his shoulder. "Tony! Where have you been?"

"Aw, crap..." Tony looked around the room really fast, "sorry Cap. Um, this is just a dream. OOooooOOooOOOooo." Tony waved his arms around a little, but when it became obvious that he was not buying it he quickly pushed Steve back slightly before bolting for the balcony as fast as he could.

"Tony! Tony wait!" Steve yelled as he tried to run after the man, but for some reason he was not making any headway. No matter how hard he ran he did not move forward at all. Suddenly Steve began falling forward, only he never fell, but just began spinning around in a forward tumble. "Tony! TONY! Tony, help!" Maybe this was a dream after all?

Suddenly Steve heard a loud roaring sound like a waterfall had suddenly manifested outside of the tower. And then gravity returned and everything went black as Steve fell to the floor, finally getting his much needed rest.

Three days earlier…

Thor was running late and it was making Tony nervous. He was beginning to wonder if something had gone wrong. Either that, or Thor got distracted, which would be just a bad. With his extended lifespan, a small distraction for Thor could be a lifetime for him. Tony understood that Thor must of had some Asgardian duties to perform, being a prince and all, but surely he could take some time off to drop off some books. Tony really hoped that whatever was keeping Thor was not serious, but he better be fighting for his life to get those books to him, otherwise he had no business being nearly four hours late.

"Is he here yet?" Bruce asked as he readjusted himself on his chair.

"No." He groaned back. "Thor better be dying or I'm putting blue hair dye in his conditioner."

"You really want to anger a thunder god that just did you a huge favor?"

"Ugh, fine." Tony groaned again. Bruce was right, as usual when it came to these things.

"He'll be here. Just give him some time."

"Yeah but-"

Suddenly there was a loud booming sound of thunder and a blinding light coming from the balcony. Tony jumped up in surprise. That had to have been Thor's inter-dimensional transport. This only confirmed all of Tony's suspicions about magic, it sure was showy.

"My friends!" Thor shouted arms wide to embrace Tony and Bruce once they reached the balcony eager to greet them. "Things have been well in my absence, I pray?"

"Yeah everything's been spiffy." Tony smirked and looked up down and behind Thor. "Were you able to get anything?"

"Nay," Thor shook his head. "Father would not permit any tomes on magic to leave Asgard for the protection of the nine realms."

"Oh," Tony sighed, slightly disappointed that his shortcut was pulled out from underneath him. But this was not the first drawback he had faced, and it certainly was not going to be the last. "Alright Bruce, plan B. Let's see if we can figure this out from scratch."

"Don't be discouraged so easily my friends" Thor shook Tony and Bruce a little. "Hope is not lost." Thor pulled the pair very close to himself. "Heimdall!"

"Wait, wha-"

Suddenly a pillar of every color light possible crashed upon them like a waterfall. At first the weight of the light pushed against Tony's shoulders so hard that he would have fallen to the floor if Thor was not holding him up. Suddenly the crushing weight vanished, and was replaced with a vacuum pulling him up higher and higher. He could not make out much, just wave after wave of color flashing past his eyes. He could not breathe, but for some reason he did not feel like he had to. He could not move either, but he did not know if that was because Thor had pinned his limbs in his embrace, or if the light had somehow paralyzed him. Probably both.

After a few technicolor seconds of horror, the lights faded and Tony could breathe once more.

He decided to fill his first few gasps of air with expletives.

"What the hell was that Thor?" Was among one of the kinder phrases to leave Tony's mouth. It was also one of the last before his breathing evened out.

"Welcome, my friends, to Asgard!" Thor smiled and opened his arms wide to free the pair.

"You brought us to your crazy ass planet?" Tony coughed and took a good look at his surroundings. Everything was shiny. Ridiculously shiny. Shiny beyond all reason. From the rainbow colored sheet of light to the massive golden palace on the other side and everything in between. It was all shiny. Yet Tony had to admit. It was rather awesome looking.

"Oh," Bruce groaned from his place on the floor. He was on his knees, holding his stomach and wiping his mouth.

"You okay, buddy?" Tony asked helping him up.

Bruce nodded, "I think so. But the Other Guy did not like that. What happened?"

"Looks like Thor took us to Fancy Town." Tony smiled and patted Bruce's chest.

"I have brought you to Asgard." Thor repeated, a little less joyously that before. "Have I upset you?"

"No, no of course not." Bruce stood up a bit more. "But is it okay to be here? I mean, you're not worried about setting the Hulk loose on your world?"

Thor laughed a little. "Do not fret my friend. Asgardians do battle against giants, ogres, and trolls. We are quite capable of defending ourselves against your other half. At least until you regain control."

"So why are we here Thor?" Tony asked taking another good long look out at the realm.

"In order for you to have access to the requested tomes I had to bring you here." Thor explained as he joined Tony. "Father would not permit they leave Asgard, but he agreed that you may come here to study magic instead. Come, he wishes to see you both. Heimdall! Have the horses arrived?"

"Yes, my prince." A deep voiced echoed behind them.

Tony turned and was met by a very tall man with a pair of impossibly golden eyes that seemed to stare right through him. A sudden wave of intimidation swept over him. He had not felt this way since his father had looked down on him as a child. He did not like it at all.

"Thank you Heimdall. We shall be off now," Thor smiled as he guided them further down the path to a small stable where four horses stood waiting for them.

"Wait wait wait wait," Tony stammered. "We have to take horses? There isn't a tram or a car that can come pick us up?"

"'Nay," Thor replied pulling the reins on of what Tony assumed were three of Asgard's finest stallions. "We ride to the palace."

"Yeah, no. Not gonna happen." Tony announced as he backed away from his steed. "I'm not riding a horse all the way."

"Come on Tony, get on the horse." Bruce sighed from atop his own animal.

"No way in hell. I played spaceman, not cowboy."

"Something wrong my friend?" Thor asked trotting over to Tony. "Is the beast not to your liking?"

"The horse is fine, Thor." Bruce answered. "Tony just refuses to ride it."

"It's not that. I just don't know how to ride one." Tony admitted, kicking the ground a little.

Thor laughed. "Did you not learn riding in your youth?"

"They don't teach this sort of thing in school. It's kind of out-dated," Bruce explained.

"Honestly I never thought it would come up." Tony tried to defend himself. He did not feel like it was working.

"Very well Stark," Tony suddenly found himself being picked up by the arm and hoisted onto Thor's horse. "You shall ride with me."

They were at full gallop before Tony could protest any further. He was holding on to Thor's torso with an iron grip. Looking out over the edge of the colorful bridge, made his stomach drop.

All he could see beneath them was the empty void of space with the occasional star cluster dotting the darkness. No way he was getting thrown off into that. He had almost been lost in space once in his life, and he was still having some problems with that, he could not imagine the years of therapy he would need if he fell into space twice. Tony buried his face into Thor's back and counted the seconds until the whole ordeal was over.

Thankfully, they rode for about only fifteen minutes before they began to slow down to a gentle trot. Tony risked a peek at his surroundings only to find the trio was being greeted by what looked to be the whole of Asgard.

"Thor," Tony said though the professional smile that suddenly appeared on his face, the same smile he gave reporters when they catch him off guard. "What is going on here?"

"Fear not, my friends. Asgard is celebrating our arrival!" Thor answered as he waved at the crowd, looking like he was used to doing this sort of thing.

Bruce did not look happy to suddenly be the center of attention. He pulled the reins close to his chest, only occasionally returning a wave to the crowd around them. After a few minutes of cheering, Bruce did seem to relax a bit more, likely realizing that no one wanted to cause him any harm.

Tony was, of course, was regretting not manning up and riding his own horse to the palace. Of course they were going to be met with a parade, Thor was royalty. It would be only natural to give him the VIP treatment. And of course, this was not just any old trip back, he had brought with him his fighting buddies from another realm. They probably saw Bruce and him as something special to have earned the friendship of their prince.

However, it was demeaning clinging onto Thor like a damsel in distress. It was a serious wound for his ego that he was going to have to make up for as soon as possible. If all went well, no one back on Earth would ever find out about this embarrassing little blunder. Thank heaven the press could not follow him here. He would never be able to live it down.

"Just smile and wave, Brucie-boy." Tony said as they trotted closer and closer to the palace. "It can't get any crazier right?"