Finally, some party action! Enjoy some awesome party fun, and a little mystery. And this is only part one! Thanks so much to all who have been following the story, I hope you continue to enjoy! :) Thanks and please review!
Steve entered the London hotel and felt immediately transported back to his rightful time. The grand lobby maintained an elegant air reminiscent of pre-wartime splendor, and the properly dressed men and women who milled about weren't all that different from the party guests of the thirties and forties.
Okay, maybe a little different. The ladies showed a lot more skin, for one thing. But Steve still felt comfortable and adequate in his simple tweed suit.
As the Avengers entered the party, many flocked forward to welcome them. A pair of women urged Clint away, taking him by the arms. Tony was greeted whole-heartedly, slapped on the back by a group of other billionaires before being whisked away for drinks. Pepper and Jane seemed to find familiarity with a group of rich wives, who were happy to maintain a pleasant conversation with a CEO and a scientist. Steve noticed Darcy wandering off toward the dessert table, and Natasha was nowhere to be seen. In her usual stealthy fashion, she had disappeared into thin air- no doubt focused on the mission of finding Mr. Pembroke. Steve and Thor were left in the middle of the lobby, unsure what to do next.
Several hordes of people stood on the fringes of the room, gaping at the two Avengers.
"Right...shall we try the ballroom?" Thor muttered, simultaneously taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter.
Steve nodded and swallowed nervously, faltering slightly under so many critical gazes. Thor and Steve wandered into the adjacent ballroom, which was stuffed to capacity with well-dressed men and elegant women. If the lobby had been grand, the ballroom was grander. Ornamented gold walls depicted romanticized images of London life, studded with rubies and diamonds. A dozen mammoth chandeliers hung eloquently from the soaring arched ceiling. Long buffet tables with fancily displayed appetizers lined the edges of the room.
As Steve descended the wide, golden steps, he scanned the crowd for a man in a purple suit. Thor was doing the same, although the task was becoming increasingly difficult as he and Steve were recognized and drew the attention of the other guests.
Several times Steve was forced to stop and make awkward conversation with admirers, who praised his work in New York City and asked him to sign various articles. Oddly enough, no one mentioned Sokovia- the more recent venture- which led Steve to believe that somehow the whole Ultron incident remained hush-hush.
At some point, he lost Thor, and was forced to traverse the party alone, wandering from billionaire to billionaire, and attempting to cryptically determine the whereabouts of the mysterious and evasive Mr. Pembroke. Steve was momentarily relieved when he found Jane and Darcy milling by a chocolate fountain.
"Found anything yet?" Steve questioned quietly to Jane while dipping a strawberry in the chocolate.
"There's a middle eastern man over there who wants to buy my hair." Jane muttered. "No sign of Pembroke though." She added, sounding slightly flustered.
Darcy pushed her way into their circle, holding a kebab jammed with shrimp.
"A lady with a kimono is giving me death glares." Darcy chided as she nibbled off one of the shrimp. "What else is new?"
Steve smirked. "We can all agree this is a weird crowd, so it's best that we find Pembroke quickly and get out of here. Either of you seen Natasha?"
"No... if you see her, can you give her this from me? I'm working on making her not hate my guts." Darcy mumbled, passing Steve a chocolate truffle with gold sprinkles on top.
Steve gave Darcy a weird look, but took the truffle and pocketed it. He bid she and Jane farewell and continued his wandering.
In one corner of the party, a riser had been erected to house a small stage. It appeared that guests were taking turns singing karaoke. One of the weirder 21st century inventions...Steve thought. He ambled over and stood quietly in the audience. He watched a number of ridiculous drunken singers; well dressed guests making fools of themselves. A few songs in Steve watched, incredulous, as Tony was thrust onto the stage. He was staggering a little and had clearly consumed a few too many beverages.
Tony took the mike and slurred something incomprehensible about lions and time travel. He spoke to the DJ, waited for music to start and then began belting out a ridiculous song.
"I've got a love-ely bunch of coconuts...dee dah-ly dee dee."
From out of nowhere, Pepper suddenly appeared at Steve's side. "God, he's embarrassing himself!" She proclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Please help me Steve, we've got to get him off the stage."
"There they are a-standing in a row..."
"Sure, ma'am. We aren't finding Mr. Pembroke by singing karaoke." He answered, before following Pepper up to the stage.
"Big ones, small ones, some as big as Thor's head!" Tony shouted, just as Steve and Pepper got up there beside him.
Steve took one arm, and Pepper took the other, and they awkwardly dragged a protesting Tony Stark away from the mike. Once off the stage, Steve propped him up in a golden chair by the dessert table.
"Why'd it stop?" Tony whined. "I haven't fed the lions yet, and we still have to go to Greece." Tony mumbled, already slumping in his chair. "Ever tried Shawarma?" He whispered, almost unintelligibly.
Beside him, Pepper frowned. "How on Earth are we going to get him home like this..."she inquired to no one in particular. "I shouldn't have let him hang out with those German mining tycoons..."
Suddenly Clint joined them, having noticed Tony's episode on stage.
"That was quite some singing." He stated happily, observing the now sleeping Stark.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "This night is a disaster! None of us have even seen Pembroke!"
Clint looked doubtful. "Who cares if we never find the purple suit man- this party is awesome! They're giving out kittens as party favours like that wedding in Bridesmaids!" he exclaimed.
"They gave out puppies in Bridesmaids, Clint." Pepper grumbled.
"Same difference."
Pepper's worries didn't ease. "It's past ten...I say we give it until 10:30, and if none of us can find Mr. Pembroke by then, we get out of here." She decided, casting a glance at Tony, asleep in the golden chair.
"I agree." Steve said quickly. "Come on, Barton, we have work to do."
Clint grumbled unhappily. "Fine...but let me grab some deep-fried ice cream first."
Steve and Clint indeed grabbed the ice cream, before surfing the crowds once more. They wandered for a few minutes but didn't run into any of the other Avengers, to Steve's bewilderment.
"It's not that big of a party." He muttered to himself, wondering where they had all gone.
It was nearing ten thirty when Steve and Clint finally caught sight of one of their own. It was Clint who did the spotting, with his excellent vision.
"Steve- look up there! Natasha!" he quipped, grabbing Steve's shoulder and gesturing to a balcony which jutted out over the ballroom. Sure enough, Natasha- impossible to miss in her stunning red dress- was up on the balcony, deep in conversation with the purple suited man.
"Jeez, she beat all of us to it!" Clint said with a chuckle.
"Thank goodness." Steve stated with heavy relief. "Let's go get- wait, where's she going?" he said suddenly, as he watched Natasha and Mr. Pembroke walk away from the balcony and disappear behind a set of gargantuan oak doors.
Clint was audibly confused, emitting a series of stunned noises. "I can't believe she would go in there alone..." he murmured in disbelief.
"I feel like something's wrong. We should get up there." Steve decided, hastily starting towards the stairs which led up to the grand balcony.
Clint put his hand out to stop him. "What if she's about to seal the deal? We can't just barge in..."
Steve shook his head. "Something isn't right. I can just feel it. We should find Thor and go investigate."
"Whatever you say, Cap."
"Where do you think Thor's at?" Steve chided, scanning the room.
Once again, Clint's sharp eyes beat him to it.
"He's at the drink table, surrounded by a horde of girls." The archer proclaimed irritably.
Steve shrugged. "It figures. Grab him and meet me at the bottom of the stairs- I'm going to go tell Pepper." He called out, before dashing back toward the golden chair.
He was extremely surprised to arrive at the chair and discover that Pepper had vanished. Tony remained uselessly asleep, and all of Steve's prodding did nothing to make him stir. More confused than ever, Steve made his way to the bottom of the staircase. Thor and Clint were already there.
"Pepper's gone." Steve announced to his bewildered teammates.
Clint sighed. "We can find her later. Let's go see what Natasha's doing."
Thor, Steve and Clint jogged up the stairs and onto the balcony. The party buzzed on below, no one noticing the three Avengers' absence. At the top, the titanic oak doors awaited, beckoning to them with shady suspiciousness. Without hesitation, Steve shoved the nearest door, and was surprised to find that it swung open, permitting them to pass.
Inside was a luxurious suite, but the expected awe was greatly diminished by what lay waiting. In an instant, the doors behind Steve, Clint, and Thor had slammed shut, trapping them inside.