Hello, sorry this was so late. No excuses, just life. I also want to thank everyone who has liked/followed/reviewed this story. This is by far my most popular ever with over 50 follows :D

And you know how I said the thing about the Fruity Pebbles last time, well it turned out the next morning my mommy had brought some home :D so I got my Fruity Pebbles as I read the first review for that chapter :D

So this week, I'll say I want a mountain of Reese's Peanut Butter cups for each review. Maybe that'll come true too :D

And obvious I don't own the Avengers or the other characters in this story (Unless I do, but honestly you can never really know that.) So please review and I love all of you beautiful readers.

You are formally invited to the first Stark/Avenger's Charity Ball.

Ms. Antoinette Stark invites you to a charity ball to help raise money to help in the rebuilding of New York City following the alien attack. Though none of the Avengers are set to appear, there is to be a video message from the heroes; which is to also serve as an official public introduction of the team to the world...

'Blah, blah, blah. More bureaucracy to deal with...' Toni rubbed her head as she put down the invitation sample she had kept from when they had been sent out two weeks previously. She had hardly realised that all that time had passed, spending more and more time in the lab. She would have even forgotten about needing to leave Malibu if Happy hadn't had reminded her. She was a wreck, she knew; hell even DUM-E knew it.

"JARVIS, how long do I have till Happy gets here so we can get to the airport?" She asked the AI butler, standing up.

"45 minutes, ma'am." the British butler voice responded.

"All right, make sure the suit is secure by then." Toni said before asking, "Have all the Avengers responded to the invitation? Well, all but Thor since I don't think mail reaches there yet."

"Yes, Dr. Banner sent his confirmation reply today." There was a pause before JARVIS said, "Though he did put a side note saying that he did not know how this would affect his temperamental control."

"He's just doesn't want to go." Toni said with a smile. Though she had left the other scientist in New York to work on some Stark business in California; she really liked his company. There weren't many people who could keep up with her on the best of days. Even Bruce had trouble when things got too technical. "How has he been? No Hulk outs or close calls?"

"No, ma'am. He seems to be isolating himself on the floor that he gave him. Only visitors seem to be SHIELD agents and Captain Rogers."

Tony nodded, setting the protocols on the lab for while she was gone. "And how is the city rebuilding going?" She had locked herself away the last few weeks, the last time she had even turned on a television was when she first arrived in Malibu three weeks earlier.

"As well as expected. The damage was rather extensive, so things are going slowly."

Finished locking the lab, "Thanks J." There was the sound of the door opening and Toni came up to see Happy standing in the sitting room. "You're early." She said.

Happy nodded, "Can't have you late. The schedule's too tight for anything to be changed."

"Don't trust me, do you Happy?" Toni pouted playfully. "Honestly I don't get why I have to even use the jet. The suit takes half the time."

"Mr. Hogan, there is a crate that will need to be transported with Ms. Stark's things. It will be in the front in a few minutes." JARVIS said, as there was a moment of silence.

"See, the suit is in a crate." Toni said, protesting.

"Toni," Happy began, "Hair and make-up will be on the flight. And Pepper said you need to sleep on the flight. When was the last time you even slept?"

"Ms. Stark has not slept for 72 hours. The last food she ate was left over pizza and a toaster waffle at about 7 this morning and she's had 6 cups of black coffee since 4 this morning."

"Toni! You need to take care of yourself." Happy scolded, walking closer.

Toni scowled at the ceiling, "Traitor." She said before looking at Happy, "I'm fine, honestly. Da Vinci only slept like an hour a day."

Happy ran his hand down his face and sighed, "Well, let's get going and we'll get a burger before we get to the airport. But you will sleep; the pilot and crew know this so there is no getting away with anything."

Toni groaned, "This is horrible, Happy. I got rid of my nanny when I was 14; I don't need one now."

Happy didn't say anything, but went to the front where the crate (more of a heavily reinforced foot locker) that held the Iron Man suit was waiting. From there he got the car loaded and left with Toni towards the airport.

Toni got off the plane about six hours later, trying not to rub her face as the evening sun hit her eyes. She had actually slept for a bit while a team of people worked on her hair during the flight; nothing very fancy was added, but the short black hair was curled and pinned in a rather becoming state. She was quickly ushered into an awaiting car and driven to Stark Tower.

The buildings on the way were still battle-scarred, but the construction crews were doing a good job. She made it to the tower more quickly than she thought; one of the only upsides that the damage to the city brought since less people were out in the city.

Walking into the towers penthouse, she was immediately greeted by JARVIS's voice. "Well back Ms. Stark. Your dress has been delivered and is in the bedroom."

Toni nodded, "Thanks J." She said, heading in the direction where the bedrooms are. "Happy should be up in a moment. Can you make sure it's in working order?"

"Of course, ma'am."

Steve sat in his seat, messing with his tie. He felt more out-of-place here, in a ballroom full of people who had more money than probably the country than he felt in that week of basic training. The only comfort he took was that he wasn't the only one at the table to be uncomfortable. Dr. Banner was staring around the room and checking his watch every other second. Agent Barton was playing with his glass, looking at the bottom for some reason. The only one who was sitting still was Agent Romanov.

"Will you put that down, Clint?" She said, taking the champagne glass from the other SHIELD agent as she spoke.

Clint set his hands in his lap, looking over at the women beside him. "Why in the world are we even here, Nat?" He looked at her, pausing as he seemed to do anything time her looked at the auburn haired agent.

Agent Romanov was dressed beautifully, in a backless black gown. "We're the SHIELD representatives here; you know that."

"You mean we're here because Fury wants to make sure that Stark doesn't let anything slip, don't you?" Barton replied, picking up a fork. "Do you think this is real silver?"

"Yes." Romanov replied, looking over at Banner for a second before looking back at Barton. "Will you stop that? Just sit still, you're going to make people think we're party crashers."

Barton was about to make, what Steve was sure from his other encounters with the archer, a smartass reply when a voice came from the center of the room. "Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen. Sorry for the delay, but traffic was terrible." A voice he immediately knew belonged to Toni Stark. There was a group laugh from the others in attendance and Toni continued. "I'm happy to welcome you to the first ever Stark/ Avengers Charity Ball. Now, I know many have speculated on what this evening would be, and I'm here to say what this evening is about.

"As you know, less than a month ago, there was an extraterrestrial attack on this amazing city that was stopped by a team of quote unquote Superheroes. And obviously, one of these heroes was my bodyguard Iron Man."

Steve looked away from Toni as he heard Barton say to Romanov, "A bit full of herself, ain't she." This earned a small smile from Romanov.

"And the others, which have been confirmed by a press release I personally over saw, have been named as a team called the Avengers." There was a screen dropping behind Toni as she spoke next. "The members of this team are completely unaffiliated with me or Stark Industries; but tonight I have been given permission from them to introduce you to them. The first member is the leader." A picture showed up on the screen of Captain America, an American flag waving behind him. "This is Captain America. Yes, he seems to be the exact same one of WWII fame that disappeared just before VE-Day. I am personally unsure on how this is possible, but it seems that this American Golden Boy is back." There was a roar of applause from the other guest and the Avengers' table clapped with them.

Toni waited for the crowd to quiet before continuing. The screen changed and a duo picture of Black Widow and Hawkeye were shown. The picture was shot in such a way that neither of their faces was completely visible. "This two are Black Widow and Hawkeye. Both of whom could easily put any movie spy to shame. Widow is a master assassin; and as camera footage from the attack showed, very capable." There was some more clapping and a few cat calls, and Barton looked at Romanov with a comical grin. "Hawkeye wasn't seen as much, but he is a master marksman."

"That's it?" Barton complained silently, "I took out probably as many of the Chitauri as the rest of you."

Romanov looked at Barton, "Just hush, you can complain to her later."

The screen changed again, a photo of the Hulk on the side of a building smashing together two of the Chitauri and their flying crafts were on the screen. There was an audibly sound of surprise from the crowd and Banner looked away as Toni started again. "We call him the Hulk. Don't let his size or past get to you, because this is a hero. He saved Iron Man after his trip into the wormhole which stopped the Alien attack. I know many of you know what happened a few years back when he was seen in Harlem; but trust me when I say that the media was completely unfair to him." The screen changed again, showing Thor. "And, last but certainly not least is this man. This is Thor, and yes I mean like the Nordic god of Thunder. I can't say much about him but that he was a great help and that his hammer packs a mean punch." There was some laughter and applause as the screen went back up and the lights illuminated the back part of the room, showing a dance floor and tables laden with objects.

"Now to the main part of this evening. This is in fact a charity ball, which means that all the items behind me are part of a silent auction. There is a large range of items, from new Stark electronics that aren't set to hit the market for another few months to Broadway tickets and dinners for two to many of the world's top restaurants." There was a pause before Toni said, "And I'm sure many of you want me to shut up so you can get the night started; so let me end with this. Remember why we are here tonight and I'm glad to announce that I have confirmation from the CEO of Stark Industries and its board of trustees that all the money raised here tonight will be matched." Toni gave a slight bowed and said, "With this I leave you to your evening and hope you have a good night."

There was applause as Toni left the front of the ball room. "She really wasn't that bad." Barton commented, "Though I still don't like that she said so little of me."

Romanov shook her head, visibly deciding not to say anything to that comment.

Sorry for the delay in this chapter but it seemed that I just couldn't find the time to write and when I did, I seemed to lose what I had written. Hopefully the next chapter is here next week (that is if the Arrow and Supernatural Season finales don't kill me Wednesday). Hope you like it, I'll have some cute Fluffy ness next chapter and maybe some dancing and definitely some fondue :D