Chapter 15 Avengers: Assemble!

Tony's point of view

We settled down to watch the next film.

After being exiled from the Nine Realms following his actions in Asgard, Loki wanders the periphery of outer space before coming into contact with Other, the servant of a mysterious warlord. The Other makes a deal with Loki: in exchange for recovering the Tesseract, a powerful energy source being studied by S.H.I.E.L.D. On Earth, his master promises to give Loki command over the Chitauri, a warmongering race of cyborgs so that he may conquer humanity. Seeing this as a chance for greatness, Loki accepts.

"So you just wanted respect?" I asked

"Indeed, and I am acutely aware that my acquisition strategy was less than optimal. Surely, my adjustments, my reparations, have accumulated to a point where the fundamental currency of respect should, naturally, be mine?" Loki replied

"You are on probation, cross us once more and The Other Guy will be the least of your worries." Clint growled.

"Would it help if I apologise for putting you under mind control?" Loki asked

"Yes it would." Clint replied

"Well then I apologise unreservedly for putting you under mind control" said Loki

"Apology accepted but I still got my eye on you" said Clint

"Hey! Gimmick infringement alert!" said Fury

On Earth, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, Erik Selvig, and Clint Barton are called to the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility in the Mojave Desert, where Dr. Selvig is researching the Tesseract. The Tesseract has recently begun emitting strange quantities of energy on its own accord, prompting the facility to be evacuated.

"You found the tesseract?" Dad asked

"Yes, while looking for me" Steve said sheepishly

Before any necessary precautions can be made, Selvig's Tesseract Accelerator activates, opening a portal from which Loki appears. Announcing his intention to conquer Earth, Loki steals the Tesseract. He uses the Scepter, given to him by Other, to enslave the minds of Selvig, Barton, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, aiding him in his getaway. Despite the efforts of Fury and Hill to stop him, Loki escapes. In response, Fury reactivates the Avengers Initiative.

"Why did you do that when you had been told to concentrate on Phase 2?" Councillor Hawley asked

"I had no choice. It was that or risk chaos" Fury explained

"And yet, somehow you still caused chaos" I said

"I had no choice but to act. The world security council did not offer any form of a solution so I took matters into my own hands."

Despite orders from the World Security Council to proceed with "Phase 2," Fury sends Natasha Romanoff to locate Bruce Banner, who has been living in Kolkata, India as a doctor. Agent Coulson is sent to recruit Tony Stark. Both of them are hired to help locate the Tesseract. Fury himself meets with Steve Rogers, informing him of Loki's theft of the Tesseract, requesting his help in recovering it and subduing the invader.

"If I hadn't done that, would we be sitting here right now, on this mission? I don't think so. The Chitauri would have won and we would be toast and [redacted statement] would have [redacted statement] so…"

"Why?"

All three men accept the offer, though Rogers is reluctant to do anything involving the Tesseract after his experiences with it in World War II. Banner is also hesitant to assist, fearing that his alter-ego, the Hulk, may cause mayhem.

"Steve is right, you should have left it where it was" said dad.

"I hope the Ultron disaster isn't mentioned in this" I muttered sheepishly to Pepper

"It probably will be Tony."

The group gathers on the Helicarrier, where Banner starts tracking the gamma radiation emitted by the Tesseract, while S.H.I.E.L.D tries to find Loki. Meanwhile, Loki uses the scepter to communicate with The Other, who warns him that the consequences will be unspeakable if he should fail.

"I thought this was the only way to get respect." Loki admitted

Shortly after cutting off contact, Loki is discovered in Stuttgart, Germany. He attacks a man named Heinrich Schafer before terrorizing a crowd of people attending a gala, providing a distraction so that the brainwashed Barton may retrieve Iridium to stabilize the Tesseract.

"Yeah… not a fan of mind control. At all."

"I would be surprised if anyone was"

"Harry can throw off the Imperius Curse which is the Wizarding world equivalent of mind control" said Hermione proudly.

Romanoff and Rogers arrive to apprehend Loki, with Rogers and Loki engaging in an even fight until the timely intervention of Stark, who forces Loki to surrender. After capturing him, they board a Quinjet and start their return trip to the Helicarrier. A lightning storm suddenly forms, and Thor appears, transported to Earth by Odin and Heimdall's dark magic.

"And if someone hadn't destroyed the Bifrost, I wouldn't have had to ask Heimdall to use his dark magic" said Thor.

Thor takes Loki from the team's custody and carries him to a nearby forest. Thor attempts to persuade Loki into abandoning his campaign and returning to Asgard, but Loki, blinded by his jealousy of Thor and contempt toward Odin, refuses.

"Loki, was it really so bad that you had to do this?" Frigga asked and Loki had the good grace to look thoroughly ashamed of himself

Stark flies in and attacks Thor, engaging him in a battle that levels part of the forest. Before any further damage can be done, Rogers intervenes and attempts to get Thor to stand down. Thor responds by lunging at Rogers with Mjølnir, only for the captain's shield to absorb the blow. Thor finally agrees to work with the humans and joins them in bringing Loki to the Helicarrier.

"Well that was interesting"

On the Helicarrier, Loki is imprisoned inside a cage designed to hold Banner's Hulk. Fury attempts to interrogate him regarding the Tesseract's location, but Loki remains silent. Thor reveals Loki's plan to the Avengers: with the Tesseract, Loki hopes to open a portal that will allow the Chitauri access to Earth, thus beginning an alien invasion. While Stark and Banner work on locating the Tesseract, Stark is intrigued by Banner's level of control over the Hulk. Rogers, annoyed by Stark's erratic behaviour and disrespect toward authority, tries to get him to follow orders more carefully, which instigates a rivalry between the two.

"You were such a stick in the mud back then Rogers"

"I always follow the rules, Stark. You should know that"

Amidst their arguments, they begin to question S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intentions, deducing that Fury is hiding something regarding their plans with the Tesseract. Stark reveals that he has started hacking the agency's mainframe to unlock their secrets, while Rogers leaves to investigate the restricted areas of the Helicarrier for himself. Both Stark and Rogers' investigations stumble upon "Phase 2", which they realize is a project aimed to use the Tesseract to make weapons.

"As I told you at the time Nick" Rogers began sternly, "Keeping your people in the dark about what you are doing never ends well"

"Yeah and boy did I learn that the hard way" I admitted. At the curious looks from my parents, I said "If it's not covered here I will explain it. I am sorry that my intentions did not work."

The Avengers confront Fury with their discoveries, to which he reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. began using the Tesseract to manufacture weapons in response to the incident with the Destroyer in New Mexico. A massive argument ensues, during which the brainwashed Barton, accompanied by various soldiers also working for Loki, attacks the Helicarrier, crippling one of its engines.

"Oh CRAP!" Dad exclaimed "Get out of there quick!"

The resulting explosion destroys the lab where the group is arguing, causing Romanoff and Banner to fall into the boiler area, trapped by wreckage. Despite Romanoff's attempts at calming him down, the injured Banner transforms into the Hulk and chases Romanoff throughout the Helicarrier.

"Yikes…" said Pepper

"NOW do you understand why I wanted no part of this mission?" Bruce asked

"Yes, but we needed your big brain," I admitted, tapping him on the temple.

"You have one of those yourself Tony" Bruce reminded me, reciprocating my actions.

"Sure, of course I do, but I had no experience with Gamma radiation and you know about it so…" I replied.

"Thank goodness you did not approach Dr Samuel Sterns. He turned evil in the aftermath of the heated battle the Other Guy had with The Abomination that I was referring to when I said that the last time I was in New York, I kind of… broke Harlem." said Bruce

Thor comes to her rescue and brawls with the Hulk, only to be outclassed in strength. A S.H.I.E.L.D. jet attempts to lure the Hulk away from Thor, only for the Hulk to leap at the plane and tear it apart. The jet explodes, and the Hulk is sent careening toward the ground.

"Good… I am no longer a danger to the rest of the team"

Rogers and Stark try to repair the damaged engine, but Loki's underlings hinder their efforts. Romanoff confronts Barton, and after an intense fight, she is able to break Loki's control by delivering a concussive blow to Barton's head. Thor attempts to prevent Loki from escaping, but is tricked by an illusion of Loki and trapped in his former prison cell.

"Well that is one way to end mind control I suppose."

"Thank God you never tried that with me"

Coulson tries to save Thor, but Loki stabs him through the chest with his scepter and then jettisons Thor from the Helicarrier. Thor breaks free from the cell at the last second, landing in a field. Rogers and Stark eventually overcome their aggressors and get the Helicarrier airborne again. However, the victory is bittersweet as Loki escapes and Coulson dies from his injury.

"How horrible for Son of Coul, He was a good person"

Fury attempts to use Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers into cooperating as a team, but Rogers and Stark get into another argument.

Nat began to laugh, hard

"The sexual tension in that room could have been cut with a butter knife" she guffawed and I scowled at her and slid my arms around Pepper, she reciprocated. Steve blushed furiously.

"Don't worry Tony, I know you are not… I figured out that Steve is though because he didn't react when Clint taught him about Playboy magazine"

My father was blushing furiously.

"Something you wanna share there, Pops?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I caught him with a Playboy magazine several times before we got together" said mom. "And I know about the Playboy scrapbook he made"

"When I showed you it… did you notice a commonality between the ladies in the pictures… apart from their obvious nudity?"

"They all had brown curly hair and big brown eyes… which means… you had…"

"Yes I did"

"You were too shy to approach me though?"

"Yes, until Maria intervened"

"Maria as in my godmother?"

"Yes… and that is one of the many many reasons your mother and I named her your godmother… We had tried… dating and it didn't work. We did nothing more than squabble."

"Thank you Howard"

However, the two realize that Loki plans to open the portal above Stark Tower, at the center of New York City, in an attempt to satisfy his ego. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton take a Quinjet to New York City, following Stark in his suit. Stark arrives first, failing to stop the brainwashed Selvig from using the Tesseract to open the portal in conjunction with a device he built

"It took me a hot minute to realise that he was brainwashed. Once I did though,"

Stark confronts Loki. The two engage in a brief battle of wits, with Stark failing to intimidate Loki with his threats regarding the Avengers. Loki unsuccessfully tries to possess Stark, as his Arc Reactor physically blocks the scepter's power, and instead throws Stark through a window. Fortunately, Stark manages to activate his Mark VII armour, which attaches to Stark before he can hit the ground. Stark then attempts to incapacitate Loki, but Selvig's device initiates, opening a portal above New York. The Chitauri fleet emerges, beginning Loki's invasion.

"Aw hell diddly-ding-dong CRAP!" the entire team exclaimed…

"You know The Simpsons?" Peter asked and Steve nodded

"D'oh!"

Barton, Romanoff, Rogers, and Thor join Stark to destroy many Chitauri, but more pour from the portal. Banner arrives on a motorbike and uses a special technique to willingly transform into the Hulk. Hulk "smashed" a huge vehicle. Then Hulk beats Loki into submission. Meanwhile, the team fights hordes of Chitauri. Romanoff makes her way to Selvig's device. Selvig, now freed of Loki's control, reveals that Loki's scepter can close the portal.

"So… you closed the portal?"

"Not yet"

Meanwhile, the World Security Council attempts to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Manhattan. Iron Man intercepts the missile and takes it through the portal toward the Chitauri fleet before running out of power and plummeting back to Earth. The Hulk catches Stark as he falls, while the Chitauri fleet is decimated by the nuclear explosion, effectively disabling the Chitauri forces on Earth. Romanoff then closes the portal, the battle finally won.

"That's where your PTSD came from?"

"We can discuss that later Pep"

"OK"

The world, changed forever, is taken over by the idea of a superhero team. The Avengers become the center of media attention, admired by the public as heroes, but are also met with some concern and fear. Some find their appearance during the battle to be too coincidental. Joining in Central Park afterwards, the Avengers diverge, though Fury notes that at such a time that a new world-threatening menace emerges, the team will reassemble.

"Until then though… the cowardly Fury will not call us in"

"Hey! I am no coward!"

"Really Nick?"

Meanwhile, Other meets with his master and informs him of Loki's failure. He shares his concerns over the strength of Earth's heroes, commenting that attempting to rechallenge them would be deadly. The warlord smiles sadistically at this idea. Before disassembling, the Avengers gathered at an empty Shawarma Palace and ate in silence.

"I came in about 10 minutes after the end of the battle" said Pepper

"The Shawarma was awesome but quite unhealthy…"

"So we figured out how to make a healthy version at home"

"Using the slow cooker"

"An Avengers Cookbook!" Constance exclaimed "The proceeds of which go to the victims of the Blip!"

"Awesome idea Constance"

"We can all contribute to it."

At the very end of the film Tony and Pepper are seen rebuilding Stark Tower, after the hulk wiped the floor with Loki, the tower has also had something of a name change

"Am I still a puny god?"

Bruce's eyes glowed green for a second and he nodded but he was smiling. His right hand was green and it reached out and ruffled Loki's hair. Loki scowled.

The door opened, someone came in hurriedly, whispered something to Metatron, who went white and after a hastily whispered conversation with Rufus, they left the room.

"And on that note ladies and gentlemen, it is time for bed."

Metatron waved his hands and the couches and seats we had been sitting on became beds.

"Sleep well. We will resume at 0800 hours tomorrow morning"