How did you introduce aliens to a planet that mostly thought of the concept in connection to invasion and abduction narratives? It had to be instantly obvious that there wasn't a threat. And that assessment couldn't start at the government level—or appear to, at least. It shouldn't be left entirely to the press either, because they'd probably either sensationalize it and start a panic or dismiss it as a hoax. Plenty of regular people should get a chance to witness it in person, somewhere familiar to them. Especially the handful of civilians who were already witnesses. A positive reaction needed to go from the bottom up; let the President and the U.N. and whoever else official ask for a meeting with the princes of Asgard after the people already liked them.
And to reach that point, it had to be fun.
Tony had his whole plan figured out within minutes, which gave him the rest of the afternoon to execute it. He started by making calls to Happy, Rhodey, the New York City Event Coordination and Management Office, the Steinbrenners, and Angus Young. He let JARVIS take care of contacting the uploaders of the YouTube videos and the people who had called in with witness accounts to news shows covering the Kingsbridge Park story, as well as arranging for complementary concessions for everyone who showed up.
Next, he bought up advertising space on NYC buildings and sent an open invitation through all the local news stations. It was the best marketing he could do in the window of a few hours, no matter how much money he threw at it, but between the involvement of Iron Man, strong hints of a satisfying explanation for the viral videos, and the promise of free food, he felt confident plenty of people would show.
He had just left the Virginia house again to fly to the venue when Pepper's face appeared in the corner of his HUD. "Answer call," he said, and the icon opened into a live feed. "Hello, dear."
She gave an almost imperceptible eye roll while also betraying a little bit of a smile, which made it difficult for Tony not to grin. "Hello," she said. "Happy says you've got him scheduling a big press conference in New York City. What's this about?"
Tony didn't know whether he was pleased or disappointed that she hadn't phrased her question "What'd you do?" He should probably err on the side of pleased; not stressing her out was a good thing. "Thor and Loki made an obvious enough public display of space Viking magic that it's time to make it official to the rest of the Earthlings that they come in peace," he said. "For some reason Agent Coulson thought I was the right person to deal with that."
"He must like you better now that he's seen you as a flying squirrel."
"I made a very likable flying squirrel."
Pepper smiled. "You were adorable. Those little paws."
"So are you gonna come out east? I can get you a front row seat."
"I might be able to squeeze it into my schedule."
X
Brunnhilde leaned on the bar that divided the diamond-shaped field from the lowered area where she and the sons of Odin waited. She liked the music that was playing. It matched the industrialization that made Midgard so different from what it had looked like during the Aesir-Jotnar war. Lots of strong beats and electricity. "What sort of place is this? Some kind of battle arena? It's very clean."
"It's not for battle, it's for sport," said Thor.
Brunnhilde exchanged a confused look with Loki.
"Those are generally two different things on Midgard," Thor elaborated. "You know, games that don't involve combat."
"I understand people playing them," said Loki, "but enough people enjoy watching them to fill all these seats?" There were certainly people filing into what they could see of the stands from here, and a man in another of those flying suits kept hauling in battered-looking vehicles and setting them on the grass. Closer to where they were was a raised platform with a podium and a few rows of chairs, all currently unoccupied.
Thor shrugged. "This is the first time I've been to a place like this." He pointed Mjolnir at the field like he was measuring the space in his mind. "We should have enough room, though."
X
Steve pulled the Brooklyn Dodgers cap Romanoff had somehow procured for him a little lower over his forehead. Just because Thor and Loki were making their public debut didn't mean he was ready to be back in the spotlight. "I can't believe he picked Yankee Stadium," he grumbled, moving slowly up the stairs amid the throng of 21st-century New Yorkers.
"I can," said Romanoff. "There's an atmosphere to baseball stadiums that's wholesome and American in a way that I'm not sure anything else is. Plus there's plenty of space and it's not far from Kingsbridge. Don't tell Stark I said it, but I couldn't have picked a better location myself."
"No, I get why a baseball stadium, but the Yankees?" It wasn't like Ebbets Field was an option anymore, though. Finding out that his favorite team had moved to the opposite end of the country more than fifty years ago really smarted, and the fact that the Yankees had stuck around kinda made it worse. Thankfully only one of the players Steve had followed had been involved when they moved to L.A. If more of 'em had, he wouldn't be wearing the cap.
It took them a few more minutes to reach their seats. Tony had told them he wanted a couple of people in the know sitting with the people who'd been spreading the footage of Thor and Loki on the internet (however that worked). They slid along a row in the section closest to home plate until they came to two empty seats next to a family of three. The trio, a forty-something couple and a boy who couldn't be much older than nine or ten, were wearing blue and orange caps that said Mets on them, a team name Steve didn't recognize. The boy had an Iron Man mask pulled up over his. He was also clutching what looked like Thor's hammer, made out of a paper towel roll and a tissue box. It was the kind of thing Steve and Bucky made all the time as kids, and it made him smile.
The woman and the boy were watching what was happening on the field, but the man looked around at Steve and Romanoff as they took the seats next to them, and his eyes immediately found Steve's cap. "Brooklyn Dodgers, huh?" he said. "Get that hat from your grandpa or something?"
"What else was I gonna wear to Yankee Stadium?" said Steve.
The man grinned and stuck out his hand. "Ben Parker."
Steve shook it. "Steve Rogers," he said without thinking. He heard Romanoff groan from his left. Ben Parker wasn't paying attention to the cap anymore but to Steve's face, and his expression held the same childish glee as Agent Coulson's when he first met him. To Steve's relief, it mellowed quickly.
"So...not your grandpa's cap."
"Not mine either," said Steve. It didn't seem like Ben was gonna start shouting that Captain America was sitting next to him, so he relaxed a little. "I can't believe they moved to L.A. That's some of the worst news I've heard since I woke up."
"When was that?"
"A few days ago."
Ben let out a whistle. "That's rough. Well, us Mets fans would be happy to have you, if you don't mind a team from Queens."
The enormous screen at the far end of the stadium lit up and began playing images of Thor flying with his hammer, a large bird turning into Loki, and a woman in armor appearing out of a beam of multicolored light. It didn't take the crowd long to notice, and the noise level started rising.
"So, uh, did you send in one of those videos?" said Steve.
"No," said Ben. "We met the big blond guy in person at the Stark Expo last month. My wife and I got separated from our nephew in the chaos when those drones attacked, and he helped us find each other. Then he spun his big hammer and flew off into the sky! We could barely believe it. So when the videos played on the news, Peter wanted to call in. Couple hours later we got personal invitations here from someone who works for Tony Stark." He shook his head, grinning. "Crazy, right?"
"You could say that," said Steve. He looked around at Romanoff, who raised a chastising eyebrow. Steve couldn't feel guilty, though. Chatting with a fellow New Yorker was the most normal thing he'd done in 2011.
X
Reporters and photographers swarmed Tony and Pepper as soon as they got out of the car by one of the stadium's private entrances. She slipped her arm around his and they waded through. They weren't dressed black tie or anything, but the cameras still flashed like strobe lights.
"Mr. Stark, do you have answers for us about this morning's footage from Kingsbridge Park?"
"Mr. Stark, a caller from Queens said you personally knew the people we saw in the footage, and that one of them was fighting alongside you and Colonel Rhodes at the Stark Expo. Can you confirm that?"
"The unsubstantiated accounts of pillars of light in New Mexico, Missouri, and D.C. seem more believable in the wake of what happened in Kingsbridge. Is Stark Industries responsible for these displays?"
"Mr. Stark, did you come to the East Coast because you and Miss Potts were going through a rough patch?"
"Warm, warmer, ice cold, don't quit your day job," said Tony, pointing at each of the reporters in sequence, while Pepper gave the last one a bewildered and offended look. "Follow us, guys. This should be a lot of fun."
They kept up the barrage of questions, but Tony wasn't going to give them any more hints. He was about to give them the biggest story of their careers; they could deal with a little suspense in the meantime.
X
When Stark and his lady arrived on the field, they were surrounded by people carrying notepads and cameras, just as he had said. Thor glanced at Loki and Brunnhilde. He'd never exactly done a press conference before. In the original timeline, word of the events in New Mexico, New York, and London just seemed to get around. By the time he had a chance to be on Earth in moments of peace, he was already widely known and beloved by the humans.
Thor wasn't worried, though. God of Mischief or not, Loki was excellent at diplomacy when he wanted to be and Brunnhilde was still in remarkably good spirits despite not having drunk any for at least a few hours. He chuckled to himself at the joke but decided not to jeopardize her good mood or his lack of bruises by voicing it.
The press people began filling up the seats on the raised platform, Stark tapped his ear and gestured at someone they couldn't see up in the stands, and Lady Pepper made her way over to where the Asgardians waited.
"Lady Pepper!" said Thor, inclining his head to her. "We didn't know you were coming."
"Tony convinced me," she said, smiling.
"You won't regret it," said Loki. He held his arm out to Brunnhilde. "May I introduce Brunnhilde Sigursdottir."
"It's nice to meet you," said Pepper. "Pepper Potts."
"I'm not that nice to meet," said Brunnhilde, "but thanks."
Pepper laughed and handed them each an earpiece. "Use these to communicate with Tony if you need to once you're off the stage. He'll be your go-between for playing off the crowd."
They put the earpieces in, and Thor looked over at Stark. He gave a thumbs up to the person in the stands, and suddenly his voice boomed over the stadium, much louder than the music. "Good evening, New York City!" At the same time, the image on the huge screen behind the field showed him standing at the podium. The crowd cheered, and Thor could hear disorganized chants of "Iron Man! Iron Man!"
"I decided to borrow Yankee Stadium tonight for something special. It could get messy, but don't worry; I promised Hank and Hal I'd have it good as new in time for the first home game next week." Some laughed at that and there was more cheering. "I'll be your MC for the evening. I hope you're enjoying the catering. I didn't give these guys much time to pull it all together, so make sure to thank them if you get the chance. You might've noticed my good buddy Colonel Rhodes flying in a few props over the last hour or so. We'll get to those soon enough. We have some pretty out-of-this-world guests here today, and I don't want to steal their thunder."
Thor let out a hearty laugh while Loki groaned.
"Okay that's your cue," said Pepper. Thor, Loki, and Brunnhilde followed her out onto the field to the platform.
"You three are the ones from the videos!" said one of the reporters before they had even climbed the short set of stairs to join Stark behind the podium.
"Indeed we are, good man!" said Thor, pleased that they had realized so quickly.
"What's this about?" said another. "Some Stark Industries stunt? Is that why Ms. Potts is here?"
"What was that pillar of light? Is it the same thing that's been reported across the country since last month?"
"A caller to WCBS earlier today said you were at the Stark Expo fighting the rogue Hammer Industries drones. How do you respond?"
It quickly became difficult to hear individual voices amid the din, which the crowd was also contributing to. Stark intervened. "Hey, hey, one by one, guys, and maybe wait for them to answer before firing off the next? We've got plenty of time to get around to everyone." He turned to the Asgardians. "Make sure you talk into the mic, okay?" He slapped Thor on the shoulder and stepped aside.
Thor moved up and bent slightly so that the microphone was closer to his mouth. "Hello." He gave a wave. "Probably the most important thing to know, in case it doesn't come up in your questions, is that we're not from Earth."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, the crowd erupted into a mixture of skeptical laughter and jeering. That was alright; it wouldn't last. Eventually one of the reporters found his voice. "You're saying you're from another planet."
"Yes," said Thor.
Loki edged in closer. "Technically it's an artificial planetoid."
"And we're supposed to take your word for it?" said another reporter. "You're dressed like you came here from a Renaissance festival, and you're speaking English."
"You're hearing English," said Thor. "We're not speaking it."
"Ask anyone here with a different mother tongue, and I think you'll find they aren't hearing the same words you are," said Loki.
Brunnhilde made the most of her shorter stature to get between them and reach the microphone. "Also, if you've never met someone from another planet before, how could you expect to know how we'd look?"
"Well, not like humans," said the same reporter. The jeering kept going in some parts of the crowd, but there was also a lot more whispering.
"That's ridiculous," Brunnhilde snorted. "You're the ones who look like us."
"Some of us," said Loki. "Perhaps I can provide a more satisfactory example of a being not of this world."
"Are you sure, Brother?" said Thor, standing up straight so it wouldn't come through on the microphone and reaching out to grab Loki's arm. He could hardly believe Loki would want to put his true form on display for mortals, and just to win this rather stupid argument. They'd come to Earth partly because of how some of their own subjects were handling the knowledge of Loki's species, after all.
"I didn't get to decide how it got out on Asgard," said Loki. "This is my choice." Thor looked for any sign of doubt but found none. He nodded and let go of his arm.
Loki closed his eyes. Blue spread swiftly over his skin, leaving the grooves of his ancestral lines in its wake. Several of the reporters and many in the crowd gasped. His eyes were ruby red when he opened them again. He pointed to one of the nearest reporters, who scooted farther back in her seat. "Would you be so kind as to toss me that bottle of water?"
She stared at him, glanced nervously at the people on either side of her, then picked up the item in question from where it sat by the leg of her chair and threw it clumsily in Loki's direction. He caught it in his left hand, and the water froze solid so quickly that it burst free of the plastic. He then flipped it lightly into the air. At the top of its arc, the chunk of ice transformed into a plume of glittering snowflakes, like a miniature blizzard. He grinned as they drifted down in the space between the podium and the press. "Still think I'm human?"
"It could just be some kind of fancy new Stark tech!" said the first reporter in a more quavery voice.
"I actually didn't know he could do any of that," said Stark. He turned to Loki. "You've been holding out on me?"
"I told you other matters had arisen," said Loki. "Such as discovering I was adopted."
"From who, Jack Frost?"
Thor leaned over to the mic. "Next question?"
Tony could've had enough podiums set up for them each to have their own, but making them fight over one was going to be a lot funnier, which is key for making sure people don't freak out once they accept these really are aliens.
I'm not any kind of sports fan, but I think I come closest to it with baseball, and that's largely because of the atmosphere surrounding it. This press conference could've happened in D.C., but because so much of Marvel is NYC-based and because I didn't want it to seem like a government-sanctioned event, a baseball stadium seemed perfect. There's such a rich cultural history around baseball in NYC, which once had three Major League teams based out of it. It's canon that Steve is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan (that's the team playing in the game Fury had on the radio for him when he woke up), and I'm sure he was devastated to learn that they left for California while he was in the ice, and that the stadium he must've gone to countless times as a kid was destroyed. Since the Parkers live in Queens, I figured they'd be Mets fans, and so much cuteness ensued from seating Steve next to them. I'm very happy I was able to give Ben Parker a moment to shine. The Steve&Nat bromance is also coming along nicely.
Even though I was really happy with Yankee Stadium as the location, I still had lots of logistical problems with this chapter. I had most of it written with the press conference taking place in the actual press box up in the stands, but those things are not shaped well for this kind of event and it was really hampering my ability to picture it playing out. I moved it out onto the field and had the Asgardians wait in the dugout, and that worked much better. (Happy's up in the press box, though. That's who Tony was gesturing to while they were setting up.)