Darkness

Uranus

The Other stared at the goddess lying on the ground in front of him, her bruised body slowly returning to its unblemished appearance. Sigyn was shaking, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, and she was whimpering softly.

Thanos, out of frustration with The Other's failure in breaking Sigyn, had bombarded Sigyn with constant images of her dead child and Loki. At first Sigyn managed to hold on against Thanos – who further sent fiery whips down the entire length of her body – but soon the images broke past her mental barrier.

Now, Thanos was confident that Sigyn had responded to his mind control, and that they would soon get their plans in motion.

"Who do you love?" Thanos asked, as he hoisted Sigyn to her feet.

She swayed slightly, weak from the tortures she had just experienced. It took her some time to reply, and when she did she raised her head and stared at Thanos.

"What is love?" Sigyn asked, her tone dead and emotionless. Her blue eyes, which once sparkled with life and vibrance, were empty. It was as if the real Sigyn had been sucked out and replaced by a drone. "I know not what it is."

Thanos turned to The Other triumphantly, smirking. "And who do you follow?"

"Thanos. Only Thanos." Sigyn's eyes flickered over to him and Thanos gave a dark chuckle.

"She is ready." Thanos reached over and cupped Sigyn's face roughly. She didn't flinch, but met his gaze steadily. "You will return to Asgard, dearest Sigyn, and bask in the love your family members and friends will bestow upon you. You will then wait for the perfect opportunity and open a portal that will help me and my army to enter Asgard undetected."

"I will, my lord Thanos," Sigyn confirmed.

The Other stepped forward. "My lord, I have thought of an alternative."

Thanos nodded. "Speak."

"I was thinking, my lord, that it would be better to send her to Midgard," The Other began, leaning forward to whisper in Thanos's ear. "She can serve as a distraction and lure the God of Thunder from Asgard. With Odin's son gone, we can easily attack his realm."

"And frame her husband in the process," Thanos added thoughtfully. "That would work. A most excellent suggestion."

The Other tried not to look too pleased as Thanos waved his hand over Sigyn, replacing her worn Asgardian clothes and improving her appearance.

"We have a change of plans, dear Sigyn," Thanos said, circling the goddess like a shark. "You are to take a good portion of the Chitauri and our vastly improved Leviathan to Earth and get the attention of these…Avengers. Kill as many people as necessary, but make sure that you give the Midgardians just cause to summon your brother-in-law from Asgard."

Sigyn nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"Show no mercy, no sentimentality," Thanos continued. "Your presence will certainly distract the God of Thunder and lessen Odin's protection considerably."

During a lull in Thanos's speech, The Other shuffled forward. "My lord, how are we to enter Asgard without her help?"

"We storm the Bifrost, you fool!" Thanos thundered, and The Other flinched. "Thor is our greatest concern. Odin is but an old man; I am certain I can handle him."

Thanos turned back towards Sigyn and smirked. "How soon can you leave for Earth, my dear?"

"At once, my lord."

"Then do so."


Stark Towers

Tony reached for some chocolate sherbet balls when his hand closed on empty air. Frowning, he lowered his Armani sunglasses. "Antonia!"

The baby was sitting on the glass coffee table, eating the last of the chocolate. Her mouth was smeared with the rich Belgian chocolate mix Tony loved, and her hands were crushing the last sherbet ball. At the sound of Tony's voice Antonia looked at him, blinking slowly.

"Jesus Christ, you're going to give me a headache," Tony groused, removing his sunglasses and tossing them onto the couch. "Come here."

Tony lifted Antonia and studied her critically for a few seconds before bringing her to the kitchen, where he set her on the counter and wiped her mouth with some wet wipes.

"Tony? What happened?" Pepper entered the kitchen, frowning slightly. She noticed the discarded wet wipes and sighed. "Not again."

"Oh yeah. Again," Tony confirmed, taking another box of the sherbet balls. "This is the third time she's done it. How does she even get out of the damn crib?"

"She was…she was in her playpen," Pepper answered, her cheeks flushed.

"Well that explains it. You know how easily she can get out of there." Tony was referring to the playpen one of his employees had bought for Antonia. The wooden gates were rather low, and Antonia could easily climb over the playpen.

"What is this? A playpen for baby ants?" Tony had remarked once he and Pepper had finished assembling it. Tony wanted to get another one, but Pepper said that they should use it to avoid hurting the employee's feelings. During Antonia's first few months the playpen served its purpose, but as she grew older, Antonia was able to climb up and over the playpen. It drove Tony mad.

Antonia reached for Tony, who automatically raised the box of chocolates. Antonia made a soft noise and reached for Tony again.

"Tony, I think she wants you to carry her," Pepper said in hushed tones.

"I think she just wants my chocolate."

"Tony!"

Tony sighed and handed the box to Pepper, who set it on the counter. Antonia didn't pay any attention to the chocolates; rather, she bounced slightly and reached for Tony.

"Gah," Antonia said, and Tony smiled in spite of himself. He picked Antonia up and she made a happy sigh, resting her head on Tony's shoulder. After a few seconds, she was asleep.

Tony glanced at Pepper, who smiled. Tony walked back to the entertainment area, still carrying Antonia. Pepper watched the two, noticing that Tony was now more relaxed when holding the baby.

"Hey Pepper." Steve appeared from one of the guest rooms, his dirty blonde hair slightly tousled and his clothes wrinkled. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

"No problem, Steve," Pepper answered. "Of course this really isn't my place."

"It's half yours," Steve corrected her. "I'll just be in the kitchen when the others arrive."

Pepper nodded and Steve ducked inside the kitchen. Pepper moved towards Tony and Antonia, who was drooling on Tony's shoulder.

"Did I just hear Steve?" Tony asked her as she sat down beside him.

"Yes. He's just getting some food. Clint and Natasha are on their way, while Bruce is in the labs. He'll be here soon."

Seconds later they heard the door to the suite open, and Bruce Banner came into view. He ran a hand through his curly hair and nodded once at Tony, who raised his hand in welcome. Bruce returned a few minutes later with Steve, who was chewing on a tuna sandwich made from whole wheat bread.

Clint and Natasha arrived shortly after that, and the group waited for Jarvis to transmit Fury's message. Pepper tried to take Antonia from Tony, but she gave a sharp cry when Pepper removed her from Tony's arms.

The other Avengers tried not to grin too widely, while Bruce rubbed a hand over his mouth.

"Avengers," Fury greeted, as Jarvis displayed the holographic image in front of them. "I'm glad to see you're all here."

"Save for Point Break," Tony added, shifting Antonia in his arms slightly.

Fury turned towards him, his eyebrow raised. "Does the child need to be present?"

"She's a baby, Nick," Bruce pointed out. "She doesn't understand what's going on yet."

Fury sighed and pressed on. "We have tracked the message, and it seems to come from one of the planets in our solar system. Agent Maria Hill has yet to pinpoint which planet, but when we do, we may be able to determine where to send your space probe, Stark."

"No problem," Tony assured him.

"Let's just hope we find the message's exact location before its sender decides to visit us," Fury added. "Now I have gotten clearance from the government to access several nuclear weapons in case we experience an attack similar to Loki's. The President does not want a repeat performance, which is why I would like you all to stay there for the moment."

"Sleepover," Tony commented dryly. "Fantastic."

Fury remained on the line for another hour, where he discussed in detail the Avengers' possible plans for attack. Halfway through his discussion, Antonia woke from her nap and crawled towards Bruce. Antonia sat on his lap, untied his tie, and started playing with it.

"Geem," she said, patting a chubby hand on Bruce's cheek. The radiologist smiled at her and held her tiny hand in hers. He could feel the "other man" growl softly, as it savored the attention the baby was giving him and Bruce.

Antonia dangled Bruce's tie off the edge of his lap and peered down to see as it touched the ground. Bruce pulled her back just in case she fell. Fury cleared his throat loudly, and Bruce raised his head.

"Now that you all know what to do in case of an attack, I'd like to focus on the matter of our new facility." Fury turned towards Tony, who stood up. A touch screen descended from the ceiling, and Tony tapped it a few times. It showed a complete blueprint of Stark Towers, including the nearly-complete underground facility that would serve as the Avengers' main base of operations.

"My team has promised me that we would be finished within a month. We're going to have everything we need, from training rooms to top-of-the-line detection and security systems," Tony announced.

Fury nodded, pleased. "Well done, Stark. Until next time, Avengers. And I pray that time comes later rather than sooner."

The transmission ended, and the Avengers all turned towards each other.

"Well that was intense," Tony said. "Now who's up for a drink?"