AU. Ivan Vanko attacked Tony at the opening of Stark Expo, setting all kinds of other changes in motion. Slowly, Tony gathers all the pieces of a group he was not aware he was collecting. What's he going to do when he's collected them all? Alternate path to The Avengers in which the team comes together in a different, though no less combustible, way. This fic has been abandoned.
Rated: T - English - Drama/Friendship - Chapters: 20 - Words: 100,459 - Reviews: 231 - Favs: 228 - Follows: 340 - Updated: 1/19/2014 - Published: 2/14/2013 - Black Widow/Natasha R., Iron Man/Tony S., Hawkeye/Clint B., Hulk/Bruce B.