Chapter 5: Falling Apart Part 3

"It's the funniest thing but I could swear that I've had this conversation before."

"You've probably stood on this balcony and had morning coffee a thousand times, Jan, talking with me or one of the others."

"In a way, you're right, Steve.but there's something about this particular time that's really creeping me out with how familiar it all seems."

"Déjà vu all over again, eh?"

Steve Rogers and Janet Van Dyne were standing on the second floor balcony of Avengers Mansion, located at 890 Fifth Avenue on Manhattan's East Side. The balcony overlooked the beautifully kept garden located at the rear of the mansion. The curving walkways and wonderfully green trees and many species of gracefully maintained shrubs and colorful flowers were lovely to look at in the light of the rising sun that seemed to rest on the rooftops of the Manhattan skyline. Both of them held large mugs of steaming Columbian coffee. Steve was garbed in the world famous costume he wore as Captain America but the hood was pushed back revealing his proud, handsome features, clear bright blue eyes and blond hair trimmed just a shade shy of being a regulation military cut. Janet Van Dyne wore a red and black costume that Steve eyed curiously. As The Wasp, Janet's costume changes were legendary and a few years back MARVELS magazine had even run a special issue highlighting the dozens of costumes she had sported during her career.but there was something about this particular costume.

Janet noticed Steve's expression and she grinned mischievously. "It's a modern variation of the very first costume I wore when I started out as The Wasp.you were trying to figure out when you'd seen me wear it, right?"

"My God, you're right!" Steve shook his head. "It all seems so long ago but then again, almost as if it happened yesterday." he sipped a bit of coffee before answering the question to which he already knew the answer: "What made you decide to start wearing it?"

Janet's amazingly attractive blue eyes darkened with wistful sadness as she replied: "I suppose that I've been feeling nostalgic.what with just you, me, Tony and Thor operating as The Avengers these days.just like when we first started out."

Steve placed a comforting arm around her slim shoulders. "And it makes you feel closer to Hank, doesn't it?"

Janet looked up at her old friend, her eyes sparkling with tears that were welling up. "Yes.yes it does.I miss him so much, Steve."

Steve put down his mug on the railing and hugged Janet tightly. "We all do, Jan. You know that. Hank was one of the finest men I've ever known. Certainly he had his demons but he never stopped trying to conquer them. And that was the most heroic aspect of his character."

Janet wiped the tears away and nodded. "I know. He was a good man, Steve. And he would have been proud to see the way we've been carrying on."

Steve's arm dropped away and he turned to pick up his coffee cup and his voice had a harder edge as he answered: "Maybe he would. But Hank always did have that forgiving side. I can't say I've been pleased with the way I've been handling things lately."

Janet placed a small hand on Steve's thickly muscled right arm. "Hey.none of us have exactly been thinking straight since Hank's death..and what with The Vision being deactivated and Simon losing his powers..things have just been a little crazier than usual around here."

"And I haven't been helping matters at all, have I? I had nearly two dozen of Earth's Mightiest Heroes right here in the mansion ready, willing and able to help and I sent them all packing." Steve shook his head. "I don't know what I could have been thinking of, Jan."

"I think I do. That final battle with Ultron affected us harder than just about any other fight we've ever had. And Hank's death.well, I know I haven't fully gotten over it and I seriously doubt any of the rest of us have." Janet squeezed his arm and smiled. "I think you were trying to prove something by just having the four of us operate as The Avengers again, Steve. Whatever that is, only you know. But none of us ever doubted your decisions."

Steve drained his mug and looked down at with the stylized slanted A that was the symbol of The Avengers on its side. "Still, we've been killing ourselves trying to do the work of a full squad and that was simply a poor decision on my part."

"So take steps to rectify it."

"I already have. I had a talk with Hank McCoy yesterday. Despite the fact that The X-Men are having problems of their own he's agreed to return to active duty until we can get a full roster of seven active members and two reservists."

"Oh, Steve! That's inspired! What made you think of The Beast?"

"First and foremost, he's always been an outstanding member of the team. And right about now we can use his morale boosting just as much as his brains and abilities." Steve turned toward the double French doors. "I'm going to outline the rest of my plans at breakfast. Tony and Thor should be in the dining room right about now and I'd like to address everybody at one time."

Janet followed Steve into the second floor auxiliary office that Steve had been using since 5AM that morning. "And what's Thor going to do? Do you really think that his father is dead?"

Steve's eyes were troubled as they made their way through the office. "I was reviewing some of Thor's personal log entries and there have been many times when Odin was thought to be dead including quite a few where he himself faked his death for one reason or another. But I really can't say. Thor certainly seemed to be shaken when his father's ravens appeared."

"Long Live THOR, Lord of Asgard!"

The squawking of the huge black raven that perched on the back of one of the heavy mahogany chairs filled the main dining room. The long mahogany table, capable of seating fourteen at a time, gleamed magnificently in the blazing light from the chandeliers. The sideboard held a variety of doughnuts, danishes and breakfast rolls. Five silver urns were filled to the brim with five different blends of freshly brewed coffee. The delicious aroma of eggs, sausage, French toast, ham and hash browns meticulously arraigned by Jarvis on the sideboard made Tony Stark's stomach rumble as he entered the dining room, walking slowly and painfully. He needed coffee. A lot of it. And then he needed a lot of food. Pulling all-nighters for a week did that to a man, even one who was an obsessive workaholic before the phrase was even thought of.

Anybody looking at Tony Stark now would be forgiven for doubting that this pale, sunken-eyed apparition was the world-famous, jet set, billionaire playboy technocrat. That Tony Stark had walked like a demi-god among men, devastatingly handsome and fearsomely brilliant. A mandarin of the corporate boardroom and a magician in the laboratory, once upon a time Tony Stark had juggled the most beautiful women in the world with the skill and finesse of the true romantic in the same way he deftly manipulated the destiny of one of the world's major international corporations.

But this Tony Stark.even during his alcoholic days he hadn't looked quite THIS bad. Pain had etched deep lines around his mouth. There was significantly more gray silvering his otherwise anthracite hair. His eyes were watery and remote. He'd lost nearly thirty pounds in the past two weeks and his clothes no longer fitted his once trim and muscular body. The only thing holding him up was a modified version of the chest plate he had once worn to keep his shrapnel damaged heart still beating. Now the chest plate electronically stimulated his nervous system to keep him awake and alert.

But it was killing him.

"Long Live THOR, Lord of Asgard!" The raven howled again. Tony threw the bird a wicked glare as Steve Rogers and Janet Van Dyne entered the dining room. Both of them swapped concerned looks.

"Dear God, Tony." Janet swiftly walked over and reached up her hands to cup his pasty, thin face. ".what are you doing to yourself? You've got to stop, Tony.PLEASE."

"I'll stop when he does." Tony jerked his head in Steve's direction. "He's convinced that the four of us can be The Avengers. Good. I'm convinced I can revive The Vision."

"And neither one of those goals is worth either of us killing ourselves or the others over, Tony." Steve walked over and placed one of his red gauntleted hands on Tony's thin shoulder. "I've been thinking all wrong since Hank died. I was blaming myself for losing him in battle and forgot the first thing I had to learn in World War II: in war, soldiers die. And Hank Pym was one of the finest soldiers I've ever served with. I thought that by the four of us carrying on as The Avengers we could prove to the world that we hadn't lost anything, that we were still capable of taking on anything thrown at us." Steve's voice dropped: "That simply isn't so. I'm going to put The Avengers back together the way it should be. And I'm going to need your help to do it, Tony. But I need a Tony Stark who is rested and healthy. I blame myself for Hank. You blame yourself for The Vision. Maybe we should both forgive each other and ourselves and move on. There's a world out there that needs its Avengers. And it needs its Avengers now."

"And as always, thou speakest naught but consecrated truth, Steven!" The voice rumbled like thunder in the deepest crags of the tallest of mountains as The Mighty Thor entered the dining room, a raven that was twin to the one perched on the back of a chair rested on one of his brawny shoulders. The golden discs on his ancient breastplate sparkled as if newly polished and his elegant crimson cloak billowed majestically as if caught in some unseen northern wind. The great gray Uru war hammer Mjolnir was tucked securely in Thor's wide golden belt. The raven on his shoulder took wing to fly across the room and land next to his brother and they both opened misshapen beaks and screeched as one:

"Long Live THOR, Lord of Asgard!"

"Do they have to keep doing that?" Tony asked irritably.

Thor's wide, handsome face broke into a grin. "Aye, Anthony. I fear that it be proper and fitting for Huginn and Muninn to proclaim to all that Thor now be Lord of Asgard."

"But how true is this, Thor?" Steve asked. "Is Odin dead?"

Thor shook his head. "Nay, Steven. If such a dire occurrence were to have transpired, by The All-Father's own sacred decree, the blessed Odin Power would have passed onto me. Since it has not, I can only surmise that my father has not gone to sit upon his throne in Valhalla." Thor frowned slightly. "But I have spent this past night in deep council with Muninn and he is The Raven of Memory and he insists that Odin is dead."

"Long Live THOR, Lord of Asgard!"

This time, it was Steve Rogers who threw the ravens a look of annoyance. "Could it be possible that Muninn's memory has been tampered with? And Huginn as well so that they both truly believe that Odin is dead?"

"Aye! Thou echoes my thoughts exactly, Steven! Huginn and Muninn have served All-Father Odin well and true for more ages than I care to recall. They were ancient when I was but a stripling and there is naught that escape their far seeing vision or the bottomless well of their knowledge. If they have been bewitched into believing that my father is dead and sent to me then this can only be sorcery of a level achieved by only one god in Asgard."

Tony was putting sausage and scrambled eggs onto a plate as he said with certainty; "Loki."

Thor nodded and his voice was somber and grim as he said: "Aye. But there is something else." Thor held up a huge golden scroll. "I received this but a few days ago." He unrolled it with a gentleness and care that was unusual in hands mighty enough to shatter stone and read: "Thor Odinson, my dearest love, I ask thy forgiveness in leaving this note and not seeing thee in person, but my presence doth be required in Asgard, so I have but little time to delay. I beseech thee to return to Asgard. I cannot explain to thee why thou must return and leave Midgard, but tis important that thou dost return with much haste. I pray that I might see thee soon, my love. Lady Sif."

Janet stepped forward and stood on tiptoes to look at the glowing words on the thin paper woven of purest Asgardian gold that glowed with a soft amber burn. "Oh, Thor.she left this and didn't even stop to see you? That's not like Sif."

"Indeed it is not, Janet. There be trouble in The Golden City."

"Why didn't you tell us about this sooner, Thor?" Steve asked.

Thor rolled the scroll up and his voice was firm as he replied: "The Avengers as they stand needed the good right arm of The Thunder God wielding Mjolnir in the service of the oath I swore to protect Midgard. Asgard hath many gods."

"But there is only one Thor." Tony painfully walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. He sat down and began to eat. "On Earth or Midgard or whatever you chose to call it as in Asgard, there is only one God of Thunder and that's you. If there's something wrong in Asgard you need to go home and put things right."

One of the ravens flew over to Tony's elbow and yowled: "Long Live THOR! LORD OF AS-AWKKKK!"

Tony's right hand had reached out with a speed that proved that debilitated as he was; he was still not to be taken lightly. His hand closed on the raven's beak and he drew the huge raven closer until he was looking right into the glittering black eyes of the bird. In a low, dangerous voice, Tony said: "We get the point." He released the bird's beak and it flapped back to take its place next to its brother. The two ravens turned on their perch and it seemed as if the two were actually having their own private conference, ever so often turning to reproachfully look at Tony who ate his breakfast in peace and quiet.

"Tony's right, Thor. Somebody's going to a lot of trouble to try and get you to return to Asgard." Steve walked over to the sideboard to get a fresh cup of coffee. "Now either the scroll is a fake and Huginn and Muninn have been enchanted and maybe they haven't. But the fact is that something isn't right in Asgard. Have you tried to contact anybody at home?"

"Nay, Steven. I wished to confer with thee before making a decision. If I do return to Asgard it may be quite a while before I am able to return and in that time what will become of The Avengers?"

"That's part of what I wanted to talk to all of you about." Steve turned to face his friends and took a deep breath before continuing. "I made a mistake. I should have taken the help offered after Hank's funeral and put together a proper squad of Avengers instead of trying to carry on with just the four of us. Powerful we may be but the days when the four of us were enough have long gone. I'm going to put a proper roster together. Seven active full time Avengers and two reserves. I've already spoken to The Beast and he's agreed to come back. The X-Men are going through some rough times of their own but The Beast will be an Avenger at least until we get the team back to where it should be."

"About time," Tony muttered around a mouthful of sausage.

"And part of the reason for that is so you can get the proper medical care that you need, Tony." Steve walked over to where Tony sat and looked down at his friend. "I'm not going to stand by and watch you do this to yourself."

"I'm going to get The Vision back on his feet, Steve."

"And nobody says that you can't continue to work on The Vision. But you can't do that and continue on as Iron Man as well. It's either one or the other. Make your choice."

Tony Stark put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a white silk napkin. He turned his head and looked up into the determined blue eyes of Steve Rogers and saw the concern, the love, and the friendship there. And in those eyes he saw the reason why he had followed Captain America into more hells than he cared to remember and would continue to do so. He held out his right hand. "You put together a full roster of Avengers and I'll step down."

Steve shook his hand. "Done."

"But I'll be going to Asgard with you."

Steve frowned. "What makes you think we're going to Asgard?"

Tony returned to eating his breakfast. "Because I think that based on the evidence we have so far we more than ample enough reason to believe that Loki wants The Avengers to come to Asgard. Loki was the reason that The Avengers came together in the first place. And I don't believe in coincidence. Loki wants US in particular to come to Asgard. It could be that Asgard is in trouble. Despite everything else, Loki doesn't want Asgard destroyed. He wants to rule Asgard himself and he can't do that if somebody else is ruling Asgard."

Thor was nodding in agreement. "Thy reasoning is wise, as always, Anthony. Though thy body may be unsound, thy mind is as sharp as Heimdall's sword. Even my father has acknowledged that Loki is above all a schemer with no equal in The Nine Worlds."

Tony nodded, forking more sausage into his mouth. "Loki would rather steal a quarter than work for an honest dollar. If there IS trouble in Asgard he'd rather go through some elaborate scheme to lure Thor there to take care of it than just come out and ask Thor for help. And he knows full well that we'd go to Asgard with him to help. I say we go to Asgard. Thor's family. And that means that Odin is family as well."

Janet walked over and kissed Tony on the cheek. "I think that's one of the sweetest things you've ever said, Tony. And I agree."

Steve looked at Thor. "How about it? We go to Asgard and put things right there and then we come back to Earth and put the team back together?"

Thor replied by laying his hand on Mjolnir and removing the war hammer from his belt and lifting it high above his head. "Aye and Aye! Long have the legends of The Avengers been told and retold in the halls of Asgard! No mortals but thee have earned the right and the glory to tread it's hallowed halls! Come with me thou shall and whatever has been wronged shall be put right by the word and the might and power of The Avengers! And once we have done so we shall return to Midgard and put the destiny of this hallowed world back on its proper course! Stand with me my friends!"

Steve Rogers placed his coffee cup down and walked over to stand by Thor and placed his hand over his. Janet placed her hand over Steve's and they waited while Tony got out of his chair and placed his hand on top. They stood there for a full minute, silent, each making their silent oath, reaffirming their faith and their pledge to an ideal, a faith, a sacred pledge. It was Steve who finally broke the silence:

"Avengers Forever."

Janet's voice was choked with emotion: "Avengers Forever."

Tony's voice had an uncharacteristic humbleness: "Avengers Forever."

Thor had bowed his head while they spoke but now his voice rose in a roar that was like the rumble of iron-shod wheels of some great war chariot as he flung his hand upwards with all of theirs;

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"