Sorry, sorry, sorry! OMG, I feel so bad for not updating, but it was out of my hands. First of all, I moved. So it took a while to get moved into the new house. Then my laptop got a virus. My fault. I won't express my opinion of a certain video website, as it might get me in trouble on Fanfiction. However, all I can tell you guys is that some sites are dangerous and I do not recommend putting your computers at risk. Well, I fixed it. Sort of. Everything was wiped, but fear not. My fanfics were saved on a flash drive, so I had no trouble updating. Sorry again, and let it be known that my updates will come more frequently. I posted this message on The Portal of Destiny as well so that everyone who knows me will understand why the updates stopped for a period of time. I sure hope I didn't lose anyone over it!
laureas: Yeah, I usually make Anakin act like that (see Pwning and Gaming for reference). I'll try to calm him down a bit. And sure, I think it'd be cool for them to meet in hologram form. Thanks for the idea!
Pergjithshme: Yup, this Crossover wouldn't be complete if the Jedi weren't involved! :D Mace and Fury shall meet. I will find a way to incorporate it.
Raychaell Dionzeros: I'm so glad you like it!
AaylaKit: Aw, man, that was awesome! I laughed. Meh, now I feel like Tony's comment pales in comparison to the scenario you set up. And don't worry. I will not hurt Loki. I love him too much to let anything like that happen to him. I'm not sure if the Chitauri will make an appearance or not, but Thor will take care of anything that threatens his brother, I assure you. ;)
Ptroxsora: I know, I loved that part of the movie. It was awesome!
JapanRules555: Great! I always wonder if I capture his character the right way, so your review is very reassuring.
Pirate-Spy-Demigod-Wizard: Hi, I remember you! Looks like the majority rules that a meeting is in order between Fury and Mace. Looks like there will be one, then!
Jess Marylin: Glad you like it!
LAGR86: You're welcome! By the way, your email didn't show up. It just displayed as "" which is probably Fanfiction keeping personal information from being displayed to others.
Irish-Brigid: Yeah, I have to agree on…well…everything you said there. Thor is nuts, Loki is awesome (even when hit with a frying pan), bad guys are ignorant, and you're right, Loki would have major self-esteem issues if Dooku was successful.
chris: I will, I promise. Read the Author's Note for an explanation as to why I haven't updated in a while. I wrote and finished two fanfics already, so I'm pretty reliable when it comes to completing stories.
Darth Ocnarf: I'm glad you like it! I can kind of see what you're saying there, where the conflict between Loki and Dooku foreshadows a larger-scale battle.
Guest: Okay, I'll include Yoda and Fury and Mace shall meet, whether it be in hologram form or in person.
Zanondalf1992: I certainly am not the only one who wonders what follows the Avengers. I figured I'd type something up that would interest others as well as myself.
AaylaKit: I hate the Guest thing too. My suggestion is that you create a Fanfiction account just for reading and not for writing unless you end up wanting to write. That way you can use your pen name. Ayy can do the same thing.
"How do you intend to do that?" Loki inquired. There was no aggression in his tone. Just mild curiosity.
Anakin smiled. "I was hoping you'd ask," he said, approaching the device Dooku had used to make contact with his world. "Is this what you used? Poorly-put-together, but he nailed the basics. Hmm. I think I can re-wire it to make it a bit more useful to us." He rubbed his hands together before beginning to fix the machine.
"Any way we can help?" Banner offered.
Anakin shook his head. "No offense intended, but I don't think any of you are quite at the level of understanding the technological advancements that I am getting into here." His gaze hardened as he concentrated on his work. Nothing was equal to Anakin Skywalker bonding with machinery. His sense of purpose and connection to the task at hand was unmatched by any being in the universe.
"What makes you the expert?" Tony asked, clearly jealous that he was not the one making the necessary adjustments to increase the quality of the device.
Anakin shrugged, still intensely fixed on his work. "I can fix anything," he said simply. "I've had this talent since I was a boy."
"Show-off," Tony mumbled.
Thor and Loki exchanged amused glances, then turned away quickly, suddenly feeling awkward at the moment of bonding that they had just shared. Neither was ready to admit that their severed ties were beginning to mend themselves. It would take time to heal the wounds of the past, and both knew it.
"Artoo, help me out here," Anakin said. "Snips, you've been awfully quiet since we've arrived. That's not like you."
The Avengers looked around, slightly confused. None of them knew who he had been addressing, but the small female figure seemed to recognize that he was talking to her. They were surprised to hear her respond. "Sorry, Master. I figured I'd let you do the talking this time."
"Sit down or something. I hate the way you're standing at a respectful distance like you actually care about being…well…respectful. At least take that hood off. We're away from the community. No one will stare at you here. Well, these guys might, but they won't blab. Right?"
"What is he talking about?" Loki asked the nearest Avenger, who happened to be Barton. The agent acted as though the god had not spoken, making the silence that followed Loki's question that much more awkward.
Finally, the girl let out a sigh and pulled her hood down, revealing her non-human face. Everyone gazed at her with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. Loki and Thor were the only ones who did not regard her appearance as much of a surprise. Considering both of them had been to different realms before, foreign species did not bother them. "I'm a Togruta," she explained. "Not human, obviously, like the rest of you."
Loki broke the ice. "We're not all human, you know. Being one of the only gods in the room does not add to my comfort levels in the slightest." He smiled faintly. "Rest assured that you are not the only one that feels out of place here. Let me remind you that the mortals in this room have not been beyond their own planet, so they know little to nothing about those that reside outside of Midgard."
Thor nodded his agreement. "Loki and I have never encountered anyone like you, but that means little. Feel free to sit if you want."
"I still want a drink," Tony announced, shattering any awkwardness that might have remained after Loki's words of reassurance. "I'll try this again. Loki!"
Loki rolled his eyes. "I will not humor you, nor will I stoop to serving drinks to mortals. If you want a drink, you can get it yourself."
"Grouchy," Tony mumbled.
Loki turned his attention away from the whining mortal and surveyed the others in the room. His adept attention to the details of others' feelings served him well in this instance, given that he was in a room full of people that could potentially threaten him. Banner had inched over to the door, resuming a post that he seemed determined to keep in case the other guy decided to pay a visit. Fury stood near the kitchen, his hand on his belt and his eye flickering around the room suspiciously. Thor sat on one side of Loki, staring at the floor. Thor was not much of a thinker, but today was in no short supply of surprises. Barton sat on Loki's other side, his gaze fixed on the wall. It was no secret that the god of mischief was front and center in his mind. Natasha's thoughts were even clearer, given the fact that she was staring at Loki as if he had horns and a tail. Steve sat beside Tony, silently observing the scene as Loki was doing. Anakin worked, Obi-Wan watched, the droid helped, and Ahsoka finally sat on Tony's other side.
"So how did this war start?" Loki asked, addressing any of the three Jedi that felt compelled to answer him.
Anakin was busy and Obi-Wan was absorbed in his observation of Anakin's work, so Ahsoka answered. "It's kind of a conflict between the Republic and those that do not agree with us. It mostly consists of systems that have separated from the Republic, which led to the name 'Separatist.' Count Dooku used to be a Jedi, but…" She trailed off.
"He left to pursue his political ideals," Obi-Wan finished for her. He finally turned his attention to the Avengers.
Tony sighed dramatically. "Politics."
"Enough said," Steve agreed.
"Politics could twist anyone beyond recognition," Natasha murmured.
"We do not struggle with that on Asgard the way you do," Thor said.
"This whole thing kind of reminds me of the Civil War. The Northern and Southern parts of the settled area of the United States went to war over slavery," Steve said thoughtfully.
"Please don't get us involved in a history lesson," Tony begged.
"Got it!" Anakin said proudly, striding over to join the group assembled on the couch. "We can contact the Council now if you wish to speak with them. Obi-Wan and I are going to address them anyway, but if you want to sit in on the meeting, it certainly wouldn't hurt."
"As long as it doesn't involve boring debates," Tony said, raising an index finger.
"Finally, someone who gets me!" Anakin said. He hated boring debates, which seemed to be the core of the Council's being. "There's more debate than action involved. Nothing gets done. If I was on the Council, I'd work harder to take action rather than discuss whether or not action should be taken."
"It's not that easy, Anakin," Obi-Wan said patiently.
"Are we going to do this?" Loki asked. He was beginning to notice that their conversations always seemed to stray away from the main point.
"Yes," Fury said. He wanted to be front and center in this meeting, considering he represented everything the Avengers stood for. In this case, he represented everything the planet stood for.
"Right. I'll send a transmission through to the Council," Anakin said. "Are they in session right now, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "They just started a meeting."
"Let's drop in, then." Anakin worked on the technical things. Finally, holograms of the entire Council appeared. That area of the room was filled with life-size chairs filled with beings of various types. The Avengers marveled at the group in shock and awe. Even Thor and Loki were surprised to see so many types of creatures in one place. Anakin stepped into the center of the circle. "Hello, Masters."
"Skywalker, state your business," a Fury look-alike said. When he spoke, everyone's eyes directed to him, then Fury, then back again.
"Nick, you didn't tell me you had a twin!" Tony said. "Or is it a clone?"
Natasha took it a bit more seriously. "Director, who is that?"
Fury was speechless for a moment, which was unusual for him. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "We're about to find out. Just watch—I'm sure everything will be revealed in a moment."
In response to the question, Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Do I have to have business? Can't I just drop in to say hello?"
Everyone on the Council frowned. Well, those who could frown, anyway. One in particular had a mask over his mouth and goggle-type things over his eyes, preventing him from making any sort of expression. Loki had never seen anything like it. He made a mental note of everyone on the Jedi Council in case he needed to identify them in the future.
"We are at war, Skywalker," a man with an extremely tall forehead said.
"Really? I thought you were in session," Tony said, strolling through Fury's clone to stand next to Anakin. Everyone regarded Tony with surprise. "What? Was I supposed to dress up for this meeting? Don't expect me to shave."
Obi-Wan positioned himself so that he looked like he was sitting in a seat on the Council. "We have much to explain," he said.
"Clearly," the alien with the mask said. He did not sound sarcastic or authoritatively-ticked-off. Just matter-of-fact.
"Let me start by introducing the Council," Anakin said. He told the Avengers their names one by one, the important ones being Ki-Adi Mundi, Plo Koon, Yoda, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin. He looked around at each of the figures. "I'm doing this because you have some people to meet here."
Tony grinned. "Introducing the Avengers. Yours Truly is Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries and also known as Iron Man. I—"
"Skywalker, we don't have time to meet your new friends," Mace said irritably.
"Lighten up," Kit urged. "Everything Anakin does has a purpose. I'm sure he wouldn't waste our time if these people were not important."
"They are," Anakin assured them. "The war has threatened their planet."
"The war has threatened a lot of planets," Ki-Adi said exasperatedly. "We cannot go after everyone that has a problem with it. We only have so many troopers to spare."
"They saw Count Dooku himself," Obi-Wan said seriously. "He is invading their world. They are an undeveloped and uncharted planet called Earth. He speaks of a glorious battle there. I think that this group has a lead on his whereabouts. If we help them, we might be able to stop Dooku."
This got the Council's attention. Kit grinned, his eyes on Tony. "You were saying, Iron Man?"
Tony smiled. "Right. Get over here, Loki."
Loki walked carefully over to the center of the Council. He did not like the way these strangers were looking at him. "Hello," he said uncertainly, suddenly wondering if they were part of the universe that the Chitauri would have ruled had they been successful. Stop thinking about them, he scolded himself. They have no way of hurting me here. Right…?
"Loki here is the god of mischief. He knows all about invading the Earth and he was there when Dooku infiltrated my building to contact his army. I think he might be of use to you."
For the umpteenth time that day, Loki relayed what had happened the night Dooku had attacked. "He escaped, of course, but we know one thing for sure: he will be bringing his 'glorious battle' to us."
Mace leaned forward. "It looks like giving you aid might give us an advantage in the war. If we can capture Dooku in the end. Very well, then. The Council would like to get a profile on each of the…Avengers…so we know who we are dealing with."
"Thor and I are from Asgard," Loki said, motioning for his brother to join. Thor strode up with Mjolnir in his right hand. "He is the god of thunder and a formidable opponent in battle. If the droids are as puny as Skywalker claims, then he should not have a problem knocking out a few hundred with his hammer."
Thor nodded. "And Loki might not be a hardcore warrior, but he can fight. Plus, he knows more about magic than anyone I have ever met."
"No one messes with the Odinbros," Tony said.
It was an innocent comment, but it made Loki wince. He didn't mean to have such a reaction, but it had indeed stung. Odin had always favored Thor, even before he imprisoned him and practically disowned him as a son and took away his rights. He was not Odin's son; he was Laufey's. He wanted to correct Stark, to say that he was not and never would be Odin's. But for once he, the Silvertongue, was speechless. His mouth had gone dry and something kept him from speaking.
While Loki stood there speechlessly, Tony described his suit of armor to them. "It's very durable and it served well in the last battle. I promise you won't be disappointed."
"So it is the three of you?" Mace asked.
"Nope. There are way more than that. Cap?"
Steve joined them as Thor walked out. Loki still stood, swaying a little. Thor turned worriedly, but decided not to make a point of pulling Loki away. As long as the Council did not have their focus on his brother, he would not make a scene. He did not want to embarrass Loki by making him the center of attention.
"Captain Steve Rodgers is a soldier here. He knows all about war strategies, so you could probably compare notes. We call him Captain America. He knows what he's talking about most of the time, so he's a great asset," Tony explained. Steve nodded politely and left, replaced by Natasha and Barton. "Agents Romanoff and Barton are assassins. They go by Black Widow and Hawkeye. Barton is a master with the bow and arrow. Romanoff is a ninja." Tony grinned. "Next?"
Fury took Banner's arm and tugged lightly. He knew that the doctor would not be keen on standing front and center. "I'd rather stay here," he said awkwardly.
"Not an option," Fury said.
Reluctantly, Banner walked over and stood by Tony's side. Fury held back, figuring he'd join later. Tony immediately started introducing him. "This man is two different guys entirely. Right now, he's Doctor Bruce Banner. If something sets him off, he is the Hulk." He pulled out a datapad and showed the council a video of the Hulk in action. Everyone watched silently. When it was over, their gazes fixed upon the flushing Banner.
"Is he safe?" Kit wondered aloud.
"Of course he is," Tony assured them.
"Be honest," Banner said. "I'm extremely unstable and unpredictable in that state. I can't entirely control the other guy."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Mace said. "Anyone else?"
"Yes," Nick Fury said, stepping forward. "There is."
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, all that stuff you already know. I don't own Star Wars or the Marvel Universe.
AN: So I've discovered, as you all have, that Fanfiction has adopted a new system of the reviewing system, where everyone without an account is referred to as Guest. Might I make a request to make up a penname for yourself and write it at the bottom of the review so I know who you are? That way, I can do my AU shoutouts to each reviewer without saying Guest #1 and Guest #2. That would be difficult for me and difficult for those who reviewed to distinguish which reviewer I'm referring to. For example, if I wrote a review, it would go something like this:
"Blah, blah, blah, words, words, words. Reviewed by Maralexa" or something like that. Just do it to make things easier on everyone. AaylaKit did this in her latest review. I'd like it if everyone did the same. Thanks in advance!
Anyway, did you like the chapter? It was a little longer than usual to make up for the length of time I was gone.