"A book?"
"That's right. When I was your age, television was called books. And this is a special book. It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick, and I used to read it to your father. And today I'm gonna read it to you."
"Has it got any sports in it?"
"Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles…"
"Doesn't sound too bad. I'll try to stay awake."
"I don't remember any giants," Tony points out, his perpetually amused smile in place.
"Well, unlike you Tony, the other guys are kinda tall."
"I don't remember any torture," Steve adds, trying, diplomatically, to steer the subject from Tony's unimpressive height.
Loki smiles mysteriously. Not even I am sure if it is in reaction to 'torture' or some thought about Tony's height. And I'm the author! Loki was never one to be cooperative, though.
"There is a bit of torture. Just not in the usual sense," I defend.
"Like having to be near them," Loki finally speaks, his tone dripping with disdain.
"That's not what I was talking about," I reply in exasperation.
"I want to know where the true love comes in," Vision interrupts, though by the look on his face I think he already has an answer in mind.
"Push me and I will pair you with Wanda."
"How unoriginal."
I glare at Loki. "Thus the threat."
Silence reigns for a moment before I turn to the still-silent Thor and Natasha.
"Well, are you two going to say anything?"
Natasha shakes her head in a barely detectable gesture. How very Natasha of her.
Thor looks uncertain. "Hi?"
Jane steps from the doorway. "What do you mean: where does the true love come in? There'sTony and Pepper, and… and… Thor and I…" she stops, realizing her list isn't very long after all, and looks to me for help.
I shrug. "You'll have to wait and see."
"I hate waiting," Astrid quotes with a grin.
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Full Summary: Astrid Quimby is a woman of great mystery. Even the man who claims to be her brother seems to know little about her. When a man comes to Earth searching for something, her brother and her new friends will learn more about her. But not every one of them is sure that's a good thing.
Join Astrid as she forms unlikely alliances with both the Avengers and Loki, and tries to keep them from killing each other—or, at least, trashing her place in their attempt. Follow her as she finds herself fighting for something she thought she never wanted to fight for, and falling for someone she never wanted to fall for.
[Featuring Tony, Steve, Thor, Jane, Natasha, Vision, Wanda, and Loki. MCU canon pairings and Loki x OFC. (Mostly?) MCU canon background, but not a retelling of any of the movies. Set before, during, and after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (but, again, not following the movie, but what is going on elsewhere)]
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Disclaimer: THIS APPLIES TO THE ENTIRE WORK! I do not own any characters or concepts borrowed from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the original Marvel comics, or any other recognizable content, including other brands, books, and movies that may be referenced, whether obviously or cleverly (if you consider me clever). All credit goes to their respective creators and owners. This is a fan fiction, after all. That's how it works. I do not make any profit from this work. It is for my enjoyment and yours. I do own my OCs, plot, original concepts, etc. Please respect that.
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Without the Darkness There Is No Light
by Riley Berg
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Prologue
Plans Change
Tony Stark was a man of no small means or reputation. He called himself a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, and although not all of those epithets were once true or remained true, they were quite accurate in defining him for the multifaceted person he was.
His skyscraper in New York City was almost as large as his ego though it no longer bore his name in large, brightly lit letters as it once did. It still afforded a wonderful view of the Empire State Building and the rest of New York City's wonders, but after the succinct but destructive battle with the Chitauri, Pepper and he had rebuilt the penthouse floors with his new team members in mind. Only the "A" from his name had remained in the damage, and they had decided to replace it with the sign of the Avengers, his new team and the victors of the battle.
Of course, everyone had gone their separate ways after a particularly quiet meal of shawarma and a much needed, long, restful night's sleep, so the newly renovated floors had gone mostly unused. Virginia "Pepper" Potts—the Chief Executive Officer of Stark Industries and his girlfriend—technically lived there, though Tony knew she kept her own condominium somewhere in the vicinity as well, so he always had company. His friend James Rhodes, whom he generally referred to as "Rhodey," was a frequent visitor after their adventures together two years previous.
Dr. Bruce Banner, a nuclear physicist who knew everything there was to know about gamma radiation, was the only member of the team—the Avengers—that had spent any time in their newly designated tower and headquarters. He had a brilliant mind, and Tony liked that. Though their fields of expertise and personalities were remarkably different, they got along surprisingly well.
Bruce never had anywhere to go. He was one to find himself lost in Indonesia or working as a sorry excuse for a doctor in some poor city in a developing country. And so, with nowhere to go, he went to the Tower. Of course, he came and went as he always had, but Tony—under the direction of a concerned Pepper—always made sure he was provided for.
None of the other teammates contacted him, but they had no need to. Tony kept his eye on the news, and whatever illegally-obtained information he could find, and so he knew, or suspected, of the adventures they had had since their parting. Of course, he had had his own adventures not more than a year after the battle against the Chitauri. And there was some excitement in England that involved Thor some months after that.
About a year before he received the call from Pepper, SHEILD had gone dark. There was no more top-secret information to hack into, no databases via which to keep track of Agents Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers—though there had been little to no information on them anyway. But before that, there was a lot of action on the Eastern seaboard, and Tony knew that at least one of them was involved.
But the team had gotten together again. They were in the middle of one of many in a series of missions to weed out Hydra when Pepper called with the urgent news. Something was happening yet again. Pepper said Erik Selvig and Jane Foster were already at the Tower, waiting for them. Tony wondered why Selvig was so frequently involved, but was begrudging, though silently, grateful for his expertise. Stark informed the team.
"There's been a change of plans."
As soon as they finished their mission, they would return to Avengers Tower.
But there would be more waiting for them there than Foster and Selvig. And what they thought was the end would, instead, be the beginning.