It took you a minute to process what Tony said. You couldn't believe that you were about to go stay in Avengers Headquarters, the Avengers Headquarters. So many thoughts were running through your head, one of them was if you were going to meet any of the Avengers. You especially wanted to meet Captain America. You had so many questions you wanted to ask him about the 1940's since he was actually there. But you secretly fangirled over Natasha Romanoff, who was by far your favorite Avenger. She might not have superpowers like the others, but you've always looked up to her for being capable of protecting herself while simultaneously kicking ass. You grew giddier by the minute but forced yourself to hide it from Tony.
There was only one thing that didn't make sense to you. Why would Tony bring you there of all places? You didn't want to ask and risk not going to see the headquarters, but it was odd that he didn't send you anywhere else. You decided to risk it.
"So why Avengers Headquarters?" You asked, "You can just drop me off at a motel. I'll be fine and I'll even pay for the night."
"I could, but I figured HQ was a bit nicer than some sleazy hotel like the Hilton." He made a sharp turn, the engine lightly roared, "We're like a hotel, but cooler." Tony's eyes lit up, "That has a nice ring to it. 'Avengers Headquarters: We're like a hotel but cooler'. Don't steal that I'm officially trademarking it."
You couldn't help but laugh, "I won't, I promise." He smiled back, a flicker of delight surrounded him.
The rest of the ride was silent, other than some rock music playing through the stereo. You looked at your phone in your pocket and realized you had a dozen texts from Lilly and Maya. Dammit, they're probably worried sick.
[Lilly]: omg girl where r u?
[Lilly]: maya found elliot on the floor
[Lilly]: we think he had a seizure
[Lilly]: nvm hes up
[Lilly]: holy shit did iron man really taze him?!
[Lilly]: omfg im sorry elliot was such a dick i kicked him out
[Lilly]: hello?
[Lilly]: pls respond
You thought about what to say to her. They knew you were going out that day, but you weren't exactly honest with your intentions. Your phone buzzed and your battery icon showed you only had ten percent left. You at least wanted to send a message telling them you're okay.
[You]: i'm fine, staying somewhere else for the night. battery almost dead i'll tell you everything later.
You were relieved that Lilly made sure you were fine, but you felt guilty for not telling them where you were or why you were out. They've been so nice to you and all you've done was keep secrets from them. Hopefully once this whole fiasco was over you would go back and apologize, maybe even make it up to them somehow.
So much was running through your head. You were so lost in thought that you didn't even notice Tony pull up a gravel driveway. Looking up you saw it, the Avengers Facility that was home to most of Earth's mightiest heroes.
You gaped at the sight. The structure was ginormous and seemed to be attached to another building. Aircrafts were laid about on platforms, you figured they were some sort of jet wings or something similar. You'd be lying if you didn't want to fly in one of those. The area was surrounded by trees, making the building seem far more advanced in comparison to its surroundings.
Tony looked at you with a small gleam in his eye. He seemed to adore that you were fascinated about the building, and you haven't even set foot in it yet.
The car pulled up to what seemed like a slanted glass wall. Tony rolled down his window and stuck his head out, a small machine scanned his face. "Welcome home, smartest Avenger." the familiar female voice said. Of course it would say that. Tony slyly smirked as the gates opened with an immense creak, you rolled your eyes well knowing he programmed it to say that every time. The doors opened horizontally, allowing Tony to drive in.
The doors closed behind you as lights lit up to reveal the room. There were multiple vehicles parked around. Cars, trucks, a few motorcycles, and even a huge Hummer that could be mistaken for a military truck. Maybe it was military given where you were.
Tony swung the car in a spot a little too harsh, making you grip the passenger seat. He then turned the engine off and exited the car, you followed behind. "So, whaddya think so far?" He asked.
"I've barely seen anything and it's already a lot," you said, "but it's really cool."
"Thank you." Tony said, opening a glass door for you, "I made a lot of modifications when we first moved in. Everything was so out of date dinosaurs would've called it vintage."
"How old is this place?" you asked.
Tony hesitated, then he spoke, "This used to be a warehouse built by my dad. He kept a bunch of Stark equipment here until it was abandoned. Then I figured we needed a base of operations and boom, here we are."
You stepped through the doorway to be greeted by a large white room with tall windows. The floor was plated with grates and mirrors mixed into the floor. Most notably in the room were a pair of jets sitting right in the middle like they were decor, but you knew they were used due to the fuel tanks next to them. You turned to look at Tony and saw the Avengers symbol of an 'A' high above the doors. "Wow, you guys sure know how to decorate. It's almost like an Ikea ad."
You could've sworn that you heard him chuckle, but you were distracted by more voices coming from the other end of the room. It sounded like two men, but you couldn't quite hear what they were saying.
Tony went ahead so you followed. The two of you approached the source and you almost yelled in excitement. Right in front of you was Captain fricking America. It was weird not seeing him in uniform, but you didn't mind the white t-shirt that showed off some of his muscles.
He was talking to two other men. Where they were standing you could only see the Captain's face while the other two's backs were turned to you. All you could tell was that one was slightly taller than the Captain, had short blonde hair, and wore a denim jacket, while the other man was about the same height as the blonde haired one but had intensely dark hair to his shoulders. The dark haired man stood out like a sore thumb, not just because of the hair but he also wore a completely black suit.
You looked at Tony, who was now walking ahead of you, and noticed that his mood changed entirely. One moment he was eager but now he seemed vexed. He didn't show it much but you could tell in his eyes that something was different. Maybe it was because of the men the Captain was talking to.
The Captain noticed the two of, "Welcome home, Tony," he shifted his attention to you, "I see you brought a guest with us tonight."
The other two men turned around to see the new visitor to the Avengers HQ. The blonde haired man gave you a welcoming smile. You weren't sure but you swore you've seen him before. His face was familiar but you couldn't place a name.
Meanwhile your eyes met with the dark haired man. His face seemed uninterested but his green eyes were focused directly on you, like they were trying to study who you were. You were good at reading people, but this man wasn't like the others. He seemed different than the rest, not because of the way he looked but his eyes told a story you couldn't figure out. They seemed full of emotion while the rest of him was stoic.
You focused on him for what seemed like eternity until Tony spoke, "Yep. She's an exclusive guest with us tonight." Tony looked at the Captain, "If you would be so kind Jeeves and show her a room, I'd like to catch up with buzzcut and Hot Topic wannabe here. I'll fill you in later." The dark haired man rolled his eyes while the blonde haired man laughed. The Captain sighed, then patted the blonde haired man on the back. He walked past you and you followed, looking back at the two men, especially the one in black.
The Captain opened a door for you, making you feel giddy again. Now it's just the two of you walking down a corridor. You looked around and admired everything about the building, how sleek the walls and floor were, you felt like you were in a futuristic setting in a book.
"Tony must trust you a lot to let you stay the night," the Captain said, pushing a button to an elevator, "how do you two know each other?"
"I think he's my dad." You responded, the Captain looked perplexed by your comment. Might as well be straight forward, "My name's Y/N."
"Steve Rogers." He held out his hand and you gladly shook it. You honestly didn't realize he had a normal name instead of just being called 'Captain'. Hopefully he didn't feel you shaking nervously.
The elevator dinged and the two of you stepped inside. Now it was really just the two of you. You looked at him up and down. He caught you and you jerked your head away hoping he didn't really see you. He smirked, "I take it you're a fan?"
"A bit." No, not just a bit, but you didn't want to seem weird. "I'm a fan of the Avengers, but I swear I'm not making up being Tony's kid to meet you guys if that's what you're thinking."
"I wasn't thinking that at all," Steve smiled, "I'm just happy that you aren't the type of fan that bombards us on sight."
You looked at him concerningly, "Some people don't actually do that, do they?"
"You'd be surprised how many times it's happened," The elevator stopped and opened its doors, you followed Steve down a long corridor, "people these days don't have much respect for personal space as much as they use to."
"Oh right, I forgot you're from the 40's." You actually didn't forget, it was on your mind this entire conversation but you didn't want to be the first to bring it up, "What was it like back then? If it's okay if I ask."
Steve chuckled, "Different. Definitely different than now. New inventions, how people look and talk and act, it's like I stepped foot on a different planet rather than sleep for seventy years."
"I wish I could sleep for that long," you joked, "I bet it'd be the best sleep I've ever had." You looked at Steve for approval, but instead he gave a puzzled smile. You guess your joke was too soon for him.
The two of you walked down the hall lined with doors until you stopped in front of one of them. Steve opened the door revealing a wide room with a plain double bed, dresser, desk with a lamp, and chair. You stepped foot in the room and also noticed to your right a door which you assumed was either a closet or a bathroom.
"This room isn't occupied at the moment," Steve said, "so you can use it for however long you'll be staying."
"It's just for the night, but thank you." Before you got comfortable you suddenly remembered your now dead phone, "Oh, I don't suppose you guys have a charger. My phone's dead."
Steve pointed to the desk against the wall, "Put it face up on the surface of the desk right there."
You looked at him questionly, but did as he said. The moment you put your phone down the desk flashed a neon blue before your phone turned on, the charging symbol on the screen turning on as well. You gasped, then looked on and around the desk to see that there were no power cords or outlets the desk was plugged in to. You picked up your phone and saw it was already on twenty percent, "Holy crap, this is the fastest I've seen it charge in like, ever! How did-"
"One of Stark's inventions." Steve smiled at your reaction, "The table has some electrical stuff to charge any electronics without being plugged in. Don't ask me what's in it or how he did it I have absolutely no clue. I'm still getting the hang of how video games work."
You laughed, "It's techy things, got it. Thanks."
"Let us know if you need anything." With that Steve closed the door behind him leaving you alone in the room.
You set your phone back down on the table to let it charge fully and went to inspect what was behind the door. As you suspected it was a bathroom, but it seemed more like a hotel bathroom than a normal one. There was a large counter with a sink in it, a huge mirror with vanity lights embedded in it was placed behind the counter. The shower was as wide with glass walls, not to mention a big bathtub right next to it. You definitely were gonna take a bath before you left in that thing.
After inspecting the rest of the room you plopped yourself on the bed and checked your phone that was now at sixty percent. You were starting to wish you could take this desk home so you didn't have to buy a new charger every time it stopped working.
Everything you've seen was incredible, but you knew you couldn't get too attached here. It was only for the night of course, and even if Tony is your dad and invited you to stay you knew you had to keep moving. Staying in one place was too dangerous for you.
You checked your phone a few minutes later, it was at eighty percent and around five o'clock. It felt like it was later in the day for how tired you were. You figured you should text Lilly and Maya now before you forgot. So you texted the group chat everything that happened today, from confronting Tony to where you were now. Several minutes went by and nothing. Usually at least one of them is on their phone and would respond. Something inside you began to worry that something bad happened to them, but you shrugged it off. Maybe they were still dealing with Lilly's now ex boyfriend.
You felt your eyelids begin to droop as you started to doze off from the long day you had. You thought you should get some sleep, even though it was still early. You placed your phone back on the desk and stared at the ceiling, your eyes going in and out of focus as you drifted into a deep sleep.
It was the same dream you have almost every other night. Everything was blurry, dark, and shades of red splattered everywhere. From the blurry images you could only see one face. His face. The same damn face that makes you regret ever being alive. He started running to you, faster and faster, you try to run away but your feet don't move. They can't move. Before he reaches you, you wake up.
You barely heard the knock on your door, but the moment it opened you shot up from the bed fully awake. You breathed heavily, wiping away the sweat from your face before the person could come in.
The door opened revealing Tony with a plate of something you couldn't quite see and a glass of what you presumed was water. "Hey kid, brought some leftovers from dinner. We would've asked you to join but you were pretty knocked out." He turned on the light and your eyes adjusted.
You looked at your phone and checked the time. It was a little past nine, so you only slept for about four hours. You let out a quick yawn and stretched your arms, "Whatcha got for me?"
"Just some pizza. I didn't know what kind so it's just cheese." Tony extended the plate and glass of water towards you.
You looked at the plate and back at Tony, "I'm a vegan." You said as stale as you could. The expression on Tony's face was priceless and you couldn't help but laugh, "I'm kidding. Pizza's fine, thanks." You gladly took the plate and glass from Tony who now has a relieved yet glaring look.
"Well, I'll leave you to it." Tony turned towards the door, but you wanted to have an actual conversation with him.
"Wait," he stopped, "can I ask you a few questions?"
He turned back around and took a few steps towards you, "If it's about your mom I already told you-"
"No, I just wanna talk." You scooted over on the bed, allowing enough room for Tony to sit down. Getting the hint, he sat down at the foot of the bed. "So, does every Avenger live here? I swear it's like a sitcom trying to keep up with how many of you guys there are."
"Kardashian-esque, aren't we?" He joked, "Not everyone. There are a few who aren't public with their identities yet and some who do their own thing. We keep in touch from time to time, making sure the world hasn't blown up yet."
You nodded, thinking about how there were others out there with super abilities protecting the world. Then you thought of Thor, who wasn't even from this planet. "What about Thor? Is he ever coming back?"
Tony looked at you puzzled, almost as if you had three heads. "You know you saw him earlier, right?" Now you gave him a puzzled look, he saw this and raised an eyebrow, "He was talking to Cap when we got here."
You suddenly remembered the man with short blonde hair. There was no way he was Thor, "That was Thor? Last I checked he was in armor and had longer hair than I did, oh, and even had a hammer that shot lightning from it."
"Yeah a lot happened to him while he was gone. Banner too." Tony scratched the back of his neck, "It's best if he explained it to you. I'm still confused even though he told me twice already."
That settled who the blonde man was, but you were still wondering about the dark haired man. You've never seen him fight with the Avengers, unless it was some sort of special ops or secret missions he went on, "What about the other one? The one with black hair. Is he an Avenger?"
Tony froze, he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He thought for a minute before finally speaking, "He's not an Avenger. He's Loki, brother of Thor, almost destroyer of our world." His tone went flat towards the end.
Loki. So that's who he was. Everything was clicking in your mind, "Was he the guy who almost destroyed New York a few years back?"
"Yep. Thor claims he's reformed a little bit now, but after they're done helping their people he'll be out of here in no time."
"What do you mean they're helping their people?" You asked.
"They kinda sort of had to obliterate their home world with their sister on it and now all of Asgard is on Earth now." You didn't know how to comprehend what he said, so you just went with it, "I offered them all jobs at Stark Industries to work for a few months to get started, hopefully that goes well and doesn't get too medieval."
"That's surprisingly nice of you." The media had always made Tony Stark seem like a typical rich guy who was all about himself, but after today you were second guessing yourself. First he invited you to stay the night after saving you from a creep, his attempt to make amends with you was stale but you appreciated it no less, and now he offered an entire city to work for him after their home was destroyed.
"I'm a surprisingly nice person." Tony shrugged, "Just like when I tazed America's Most Wanted back at what you called an apartment."
A new thought emerged in your head. How did Tony know where you were to save you? "Wait, did you follow me to my apartment?"
Tony stood up, "I wouldn't say 'followed', more like making sure you got home okay." He opened the bedroom door, "Oh, and you're welcome by the way for that."
"I could've handled it," You started to feel angry, but you didn't want to ruin the bonding moment the two of you had, "but thank you."
Tony grinned, "Get some sleep. I'll take you home first thing." He turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Once again it was just you. The short conversation you had with Tony lifted a weight from your chest, but now there was only one thought in your head that you couldn't shake. Loki was the one who attacked New York with an army of aliens, but they looked nothing like him. You could only wonder how he had that large of an army, or if he was working alone. Even if he was working alone or not, was he going to try to attack again? Thor said that he was reformed, and when you looked in his eyes you couldn't see any malicious intent. Just his green eyes observing you, your mind couldn't stop thinking about his eyes and the way it gleamed in the light. The rest of his face was unexplainable. His sharp cheekbones, the way his lips pursed and his eyebrows furrowed when he looked at you.
You couldn't get him out of your head, so you decided to finish your dinner and check your phone again. Your phone was blowing up with texts from Lilly and Maya, mostly along the lines of how cool it was how Tony Stark could be your dad, but they also forgave you for not telling them and it was personal problems. You were relieved that they could forgive you, but you still wanted to make it up to them. Trying to get Loki out of your mind you thought of things you could do with Maya and Lilly to give them your gratitude. A few ideas sparked in your head before you drifted back to sleep.
The next morning you woke up from a dreamless night. You looked at your phone that read nine am. That should be a suitable time to get up and get ready for the day. You looked around the room, you almost forgot you spent the night in Avengers HQ. All of yesterday felt like a weird dream, but this all really happened. You stood up from your bed and headed to the bathroom. You undressed, hanging your clothes from the day before to air out as you turned on the shower. The cold drops soon turned warm. You let the water run down your hair all the way to your toes, removing yesterday to go down the drain. As you washed up a certain god entered your head, but you quickly dismissed it easier today than yesterday.
You stepped out of the shower and dried yourself off, changing into yesterday's clothes as they were your only clothes you had on hand. You would've packed at least a pair of pajamas, but a surprise sleepover with the Avengers caught you off guard.
You grabbed your phone and bag as you left your room, only to be greeted by Tony walking down the hallway accompanied by another man. "Good morning, Y/N. Hope you slept well." Tony said. "Rhodey, this is Y/N, the one I told you about. Y/N, Rhodey."
"You can call me James if you want." He reached his hand out. You shook his hand, recognizing him as the man who flies Tony's suit War Machine.
You shrugged your bag over your shoulder, "I'm ready to head out whenever."
"Got all your things?" Tony asked, you nodded your head, "Alright, I'll be ready in a few."
Rhodey looked at Tony, "So soon? She can stay a bit longer, at least for breakfast."
Tony turned to Rhodey and furrowed his eyes at his contradicting remark, "I don't suppose why she shouldn't." He jerked his head for you to follow him, "Come on, I'll get Cap to make you a smorgasbord." You grinned, the hunger finally setting into your stomach.
You followed Rhodey and Tony to another room. It had many sitting areas and a kitchen off to the side. There were two people in one of the sitting areas talking, and few more people in the kitchen. Your eyes gleamed as you recognized the people who filled the room.
In one of the sitting areas was Wanda Maximoff, with freaky but cool powers. Next to her was Vision, another one of Tony's creations that helps the team. In the kitchen was Banner, who you remembered from yesterday talking to the Falcon, actual name Sam Wilson. Then there she was. The woman you were ecstatic to meet from the beginning, Natasha Romanoff AKA the Black Widow. You gawked at them but quickly kept your cool to not embarrass yourself.
"Everyone, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is everyone." Tony waved his hand towards them.
"I already know who you guys are," you said shakily, "it's really awesome to meet you." Your eyes looked at Natasha, your heart thumped in joy.
You heard the doors open again and looked to see who joined. It was Steve walking with- oh no.
"Mornin' guys." Tony acknowledged the two, "Y/N you might not know this man, but this is Bucky. He's the newest addition to the team. Old friend of Cap's."
Your eyes were wide as your heart began to race. Bucky looked at you in familiarity, but it looked like he couldn't place it where he knew you from. You could tell he remembered the second his eyes went wide as he recalled. "I know you." Bucky stated, "You're with Hydra."
