Chapter 1- Unexpected Visitor
AN: Hi! Guess what! I'm writing again, well sorta. I am writing again but I'm also doing a bunch of editing and rewriting. Like this story, which was originally called New Heroes in the Neighborhood. But I had some issues with how I wrote it so I decided to fix it and repost. If you're new, I hope you like it, if you're returning, I'm soooo sorry it took so long.
Avengers:
Mornings in Avenger's Tower always had a feeling of restrained energy as the resident heroes started their various wake-up rituals. Steve Rogers was an early riser who preferred a vigorous run to wake him up. So he had been up for hours by the time he tackled the stove to try to make breakfast for the group. He was trying to make omelets, but the eggs were not cooperating. All of the enhancements and abilities that come along with being Captain America were useless in the face of eggs that refused to flip properly. Beside the super soldier, Sam Wilson was buttering a truly impressive stack of toast and trying with all his might to not laugh at the older man. Sam was the newest and youngest Avenger. Tony had recruited him from SHIELD and Sam was still a little awestruck to be included on the team as Falcon, though he certainly held his own.
On the counter farthest away from the egg massacre, Tony Stark, a.k.a. Ironman, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and whatever new title he picked up that day, focused on his waffle maker. He planned to improve it, maybe make it self-sufficient, though not self-aware. He had learned that lesson a long time ago: do not make appliances sentient. Of course, Clint Barton was not helping. The archer was not a morning person usually, so he had restrained himself to flinging cheerios into Stark's hair, trying to get them stuck in the genius's gelled do. He counted how many he could accumulate until Tony got annoyed and brushed them off. The record was 16, but he was going to break that. He had a reputation as Hawkeye after all.
At the dining table, Hulk and Thor ignored their teammates in favor of their own boxes of poptarts. They argued back and forth about which flavor was better. Luckily they seemed to be content with just arguing, so Tony's table might survive another day. This one was reinforced titanium in a sleek modern style and was only a week old. Natasha Romanoff sat at the far end of the table, drinking her coffee and reading a book, studiously ignoring the antics of the rest of her team. Over all, it was a perfectly normal morning for the rag-tag group, full of chaos, peace and comradery all at once.
The atmosphere was broken by the sound of JARVIS, Stark's AI butler. "Sir, there is a disturbance in front of the tower," it announced over the intercom. JARVIS ran the tower's general functions, security and was linked to most systems nearby so the Avengers would be alerted to any threat.
Tony put down his waffle maker and rubbed the cereal out of his hair. He ignored Clint's cheer of "18!" to pull up an interactive display on the kitchen island. "Bring it up," he ordered. A 3-D view of the street in front of the tower popped up, allowing all the Avengers to see the cause of the alarm.
"What in the world is that man wearing?" Clint asked, as he grabbed a spare bow and quiver from behind the couch. On the display, a man dressed in a strange black costume stumbled across the street, heading straight for the tower. He appeared disoriented, not really seeing anything in front of him until he nearly ran into something. He had two close calls with angry New York drivers before he reached the sidewalk in front of the tower. As the assembled heroes watched, a policeman approached the man to stop him or help him, but the man reacted to the gentle hand with a solid punch to the solar plexus that sent the cop to his knees.
"Doesn't matter," Captain America said, his eyes narrowed as he considered the video. He turned off the stove and grabbed his shield that he rarely let out of his sight. "He is a danger to himself and others, we must stop him. Avengers assemble."
Hulk rolled his eyes. "It's only one guy," he complained as he carefully unwrapped another poptart. "You take care of it. Goldilocks and I will stay here just in case you need help."
"Yes, call us if you need assistance, until then we will leave the battle to you," Thor agreed dramatically. He tended to do everything dramatically.
Cap shook his head, but he knew the two would be overkill anyway so he didn't argue. "Agreed," he said and turned to the rest of his team, who were already moving or gone. Black Widow and Hawkeye were almost to the ground floor already while Tony and Sam were on their way to suit up, just in case. "Okay, then," he said with a shrug as he raced after his team.
On the street, Black Widow approached the man first. She held up her hands and tried to talk to him. She couldn't see his face because of the cowl covering most of his face, but he didn't appear to hear her. She reached out to him to get his attention, but he took a swing at her and she barely avoided both the fist and the sharp edges of his gauntlet. She swore in Russian under her breath as she turned her hands over to shoot a couple of her Widow-bites from her own gauntlets. The shots stuck in the man's Kevlar suit, sparking, leaving the man inside unaffected.
"He's got body armor," she spat into the comms. "My Widow-bites have no effect and he's not listening." She had backed up to report but the man seemed to follow her movements without looking. Widow cursed when she saw him fling his arm out, sending an oddly shaped shuriken flying at her. He was still disoriented, so it wasn't hard to dodge, but she'd be more cautious from now on. "He's armed," she warned her team.
Behind her, Clint fired a bolo arrow. "Ha!" he cried. "Let's see him stop that!" The archer's face fell when the masked man rolled and used his long scalloped edged cape to deflect the arrow that should have bound the man's feet. Not to be discouraged, Hawkeye shot a heavy, blunt arrow, aiming at a possible weak spot in the man's cowl, but it was deflected by an armored gauntlet. Then the fighter cut Hawkeye's net arrow in mid-air with one of his weird shuriken. Hawkeye ground his teeth before talking into his comm. "He's good, guys. We still don't know who he is so I don't want to use the higher ordinance I have on him. Someone else want to tag in?" The stranger stood still, his chest heaving as he tried to get a breath, but he stood in a defensive posture, ready for the next attack. He wasn't bothering to look around, so he still couldn't see. Clint wondered about that.
"I've got him," Captain America said, rushing into the fray. He charged at the man, attempting to get a hold on him. Maybe then they'd be able to identify him and talk some sense into him. The stranger was slippery though and he hit hard. A solid right to ribs followed by a jab to the chin that had even Captain America seeing stars, forced Cap to back up. A kick laid him out and before he could reorient, the masked man flipped him on his stomach and pinned his arm behind his back, pushing against the shield painfully.
A blast from Ironman knocked the stranger off the captain and Natasha used the opening to attack and grapple with the man. She had stopped holding back after hearing Steve's pained gasp and she soon pinned the man, reading her Widow-bit to shoot in a joint of his armor. However, the man had a free arm, and he pulled an aerosol can out of his belt. He twisted to bring the can to her face, spraying her. She saw it coming and only inhaled a minuscule amount but it was enough to make her woozy and she had to let him go and retreat. She trusted her team to protect her while she shrugged off the drug's effects. The caped man backed away, crouching defensively. He shook his head to try and clear it and rubbed a hand over his ear.
Ironman swooped in to cover Black Widow, hovering above the man and blasting him again. The blast knocked the stranger off his feet, but not before he threw another shuriken from his belt. Tony scoffed as he dodged, but this one exploded, damaging the suits sensors. Tony cursed when he was forced to land because of the temporary blackout. Before he could fix the problem, an electric shock hit him out of nowhere, shorting out the suit, forcing a reboot.
The stranger turned to run after disabling Ironman. He swung toward the busy street, so Hawkeye sent an arrow at his feet, which sent the man wheeling in another direction. Cap flung his shield at a lightpost to redirect the man back at the Avengers, rather than into the gathering crowd. The shield ricocheted back to Cap who caught it easily and turned to stand defensively to the left of the black-clad man. To the right, Falcon landed beside Ironman to help Tony get the suit back up faster.
Cap stepped forward, drawing the man's attention. The man tensed, using his cape to mostly hide the movement of reaching for his belt. Cap held his shield before him but lowered it enough to address the man in his best "Captain America" voice. "Stand down! Who are you?" he demanded.
The man didn't show any sign that he could hear the captain, merely shaking his head again and breathing heavy, practically gasping for air. He swept his cape dramatically, which was effective in keeping them away from him.
Finally, Tony got his suit back online. "Finally," he groaned. "JARVIS give us an update, please."
"Sir, I detect more weapons and explosives in his belt," the AI said, showing Tony a display overlaying the stranger.
Tony frowned as he saw the read out on what he could seea in in the man's arsenal. It looked a lot like one of Clint's quivers, and even more worrisome, there were several compartments that he couldn't scan. "You don't say," Tony said, trying to sound unimpressed. "Anything else?"
"Yes, sir. His vitals are dangerously high. If this continues, I calculate a 78% chance of cardiac arrest," JARVIS added helpfully.
"Cap," Ironman announced over the coms, "J says that this guy could die if we keep fighting him."
Falcon scoffed, pulling away from Ironman to ready the weapons on his wings. "How are we expected to stop him?" he asked incredulously. "It's not like we started this fight."
"Well, Nat hit him with her bites," Hawkeye pointed out.
"He swung at me first," Black Widow snapped aback. She was leaning pretty heavy on the archer, still reeling from the effects of the gas, though she was improving.
Before anyone else could argue, the man, apparently done waiting for his opponents to make a move, threw a smoke bomb that made everyone without a mask start choking and making their eyes burn. The man seemed to disappear. Above them, they heard a crash as Hulk leapt through the window, falling for several seconds before landing just out of sight of them, though they all felt the force of his landing.
"Hulk!" Tony shouted. "Stop breaking things! I put doors in this place for a reason!"
Thor flew out of the hole in the building and landed beside his comrades. "Do not be angry, friend," he said as he touched down beside the irate billionaire. "Time was of the essence or we would have lost your quarry. See there," he pointed with his hammer at Hulk who was coming around the corner, carrying the limp stranger by his cape.
Hulk grunted as he laid the man out gently at the feet of his teammates. "He fell and hit his head," he explained. He shrugged when Stark flipped open his visor to glare at him. "He was getting away."
Captain America knelt by the man. The man's costume hid all of his pulse points, but a hand over his mouth proved he was still breathing. "Let's bring him inside and we'll see to his needs and restrain him if necessary."
"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" Sam asked, taking off his helmet,
"No," Natasha interjected. She finally stopped leaning on Hawkeye, though she swayed for a moment before straightening up and glaring at their foe/guest. "He stood his own against all of us. Until we know what we are dealing with, I think he should stay here where we can keep an eye on him."
"I say he's an escapee from a mental hospital," Clint joked as Hulk picked the man up again and cradled him bridal style. Clint leaned in to get a better look at the motif on the man's chest. "Why else would he be dressed up like a bat?"
