INT. HELICARRIER BRIDGE � LATER

Fury gathers Tony and Steve back into the briefing room everyone there has a look as if in a daze. A look of numb shock is shown on their devastated faces.

NICK FURY:
These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them.

Fury throws Coulson's Captain America trading cards on the table towards Steve. Steve picks them up, stained with blood.

"Oh wow that's just mean" muttered someone

NICK FURY:
We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming.

(A BEAT)

Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes. Tony gets up and walks off, not wanting to hear it anymore.

Some Purebloods scoffed at that while the light side looked a little uneasy.

This sounded a little to familiar to everyone in the room.

NICK FURY:
Well, it's an old fashioned notion.

EXT. MEADOW � DAY

Thor walks out far into the meadow. He looks down. MJOLNIR.

INT. ABANDONED BUILDING � DAY

Banner wakes up, in human form. He looks around and sees he is in a pile of rubble and looks up at the open ceiling he crashed in. and is completely naked. A security guard stands there, amazed.

SECURITY GUARD:
You fell out of the sky.

BANNER:
Did I hurt anybody?

Bruce looks a little red from being nude in front so many people. He was glad his junk was at least covered in every shot.

Remus looked at the screen with understanding. Waking up with no understanding of what happened the night before. So many morning waking up thinking he maybe hurt someone or worse.

SECURITY GUARD:
There's nobody around here to get hurt. You did scare the hell out of some pigeons though.

BANNER:
Lucky.

SECURITY GUARD:
Or just good aim. You were awake when you fell.

BANNER:
You saw?

SECURITY GUARD:
The whole thing, right through the ceiling. Big and green and buck ass nude. Here...

He throws Banner a pair of big pants. Banner pulls on his pants.

SECURITY GUARD:
I didn't think those would fit you until you shrunk down to a regular size fella.

BANNER:
Thank you.

A beat.

SECURITY GUARD:
Are you an alien?

BANNER:
What?

SECURITY GUARD:
From outer space, an alien?

BANNER:
No.

SECURITY GUARD:
Well then, son, you've got a condition.

INT. HELICARRIER MEDICAL ROOM � DAY

Barton is strapped down. Natasha and Regulus watch over him as Barton tries to shake off Loki's mind control.

NATASHA:
Clint, you're gonna be alright.

CLINT BARTON:
You know that? Is that what you know? I got...I gotta go in though. I gotta flush him out.

NATASHA:
We don't have that long, it's gonna take time.

REGULUS:
Mind control isn't something you can shake off Clint.

CLINT BARTON:
I don't understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and send something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?

NATASHA:
You know that I do.

REGULUS:
More ways than one.

Clint looks at them both, apologetic. They weren't offended by him; they knew he was having a hard time. People look at them questionably, especially towards Regulus.

Sirius thinks about their parents and how they've controlled their whole lives. Regulus had been under the control of  his parents and the Dark Lord, but also of the Red room. Not that Sirius or anyone else knew.

CLINT:
Why am I back? How did you get him out?

REGULUS:
Cognitive recalibration. She hit you really hard in the head.

CLINT:
Thanks.
(Natasha unfastens the restaurants)
Tasha, how many agents?

NATASHA:
Don't. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.

REGULUS:
You guys weren't, but i am. Hell. I even went to school for magic people. I-If i was there i co-

CLINT:
It's not your fault Reg. You were retired. You've done your part. It's not your fault.

REGULUS:
Yeah, well I'm not the only one with a family. They are agents with kids and spouses and they're still working.

CLINT:
That's different. You're a single father.
(chuckles)
You need to be there for my favorite nephew .

A beat

CLINT:
Loki, he got away?

REGULUS:

NATASHA:
I don't suppose you know where?

CLINT :
I didn't need to know. I didn't ask. He's gonna make his play soon though. Today.

NATASHA:
We gotta stop him.

CLINT BARTON:
Yeah? Who's we?

NATASHA:
I don't know. Whoever's left.

CLINT BARTON:
Well, if I put an arrow in Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose.

NATASHA:
Now you sound like you.

Natasha sits next to her partner and friend. Regulus leans against the wall by the door.

CLINT BARTON:
But you guys don't. You're spys, not soldiers. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?

NATASHA:
He didn't, I just...
(SHE PAUSES)

CLINT BARTON:
Natasha.

NATASHA:
I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out.

REGULUS:
Who said I wasn't a soldier.

That left a solemn taste in everyone's mouth. Another reminder of the on going war.

INT. HELICARRIER DETENTION SECTION � DAY

Tony looks at the empty cell container. He stands not saying a word. Steve walks in.

STEVE:
Was he married?

TONY:
No. There was a uh...cellist, I think.

STEVE:
I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man.

TONY:
He was an idiot.

Many of the light side scoffed at this and looked offended.

STEVE:
Why? For believing?

TONY:
For taking on Loki alone.

STEVE:
He was doing his job.

TONY:
He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have...

STEVE:
Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony.

TONY:
(WALKS AWAY)
Right. How did that work for him?

STEVE:
Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?

TONY:
(turns around sharply)
WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS!  I am not marching to Fury's fife!

STEVE:
Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list...

TONY:
(looking at the blood stained wall)
He made it personal.

STEVE:
That's not the point.

TONY:
That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?

STEVE:
To tear us apart.

TONY:
He had to conquer his greed, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience.

STEVE:
Right, I caught his act at Stuttgart.

TONY:
Yeah. That's just a preview, this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered...

Realization began to pawn over everyone.

(PAUSE)
Sonofabitch!

EXT. STARK TOWER � DAY

Selvig works around the CMS device that has already been set- upon the rooftop of Tony's tower.

INT. HELICARRIER MEDICAL ROOM � DAY

Steve walks in full uniform. Natasha looks at him, unprepared.

STEVE:

NATASHA:
Go where?

STEVE:
I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?

Barton walks out of the restroom. Looks at Cap.

CLINT BARTON:
I can.

Steve looks at Natasha and she nods her head to confirm Barton's on their side. He gets another confirm from Regulus

STEVE:
You got a suit?

CLINT BARTON:
Yeah.

STEVE:
Then suit up.

MONTAGE

- A blinding bolt of lightning strikes down from above, colliding on mjolnir. The explosion is massive. the Mighty Thor.

- Captain America pulls on his helmet and shield.

- Tony welds his iron man helmet. light slips down over iron man's eye holes.

- Black widow attaches a glove gauntlet with her rounds on her wrist. a blue light charges.

- Regulus reloads his guns. He slips them in the right side of his thigh.

- Hawkeye slips on his quiver of arrows.

"Cool superhero montage" someone squealed in the back.

People started to cheer for the Avengers. For those who knew Regulus, they started to see him in a new light. He's not the quiet boy that ignored most people. The one that looked at you with a glare if you breathed around him. The one that many were afraid to talk to or didn't because of how much Sirius had bad mouthed him. He had changed. He was different.

EXT/INT. QUINJET � DAY

Cap, widow and hawkeye walk towards and into the quinjet. A young shield pilot looks and stands in their way.

YOUNG SHIELD PILOT:
You are not authorized to be here...

CAPTAIN AMERICA:
Son... just don't.

INT. HELICARRIER BRIDGE � DAY

Fury looks the window of the ship, contemplating. Agent Hill walks up to him, knowing.

AGENT MARIA HILL:
Sir.

NICK FURY
Agent Hill?

AGENT MARIA HILL:
Those cards, they were in Coulson's locker, not in his jacket.

"Wait what?" This confuses a lot of people in the room.

EXT. NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE - STARK TOWER � DAY

Iron Man arrives at Stark tower where Selvig activates the cms device, holding the tesseract.

JARVIS:
Sir, I took off the arc reactor. The device is already self-sustained.

TONY:
Shut it down, Dr. Selvig.

SELVIG:
It's too late! It can't stop now. He wants to show us something! A new universe.

IRON MAN:
Okay.

Iron Man aims his hands toward the cms and fires. The energy from his boosters shatters with a deafening crack! selvig falls backwards. Down below, citizens of New York look up at Stark tower. Iron Man stares in disbelief at the cms ... unharmed.

'Woah"

JARVIS:
The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreachable. The Mark VII is not ready to be deployed.

TONY:
Skip the spinning rims. We're on the clock.

Tony lands his suit and goes through the gauntlet and unsuits him. Loki looks up at him, smiling. They proceed to walk into the penthouse.

INT. STARK PENTHOUSE � DAY

Loki walks in, holding the scepter. Tony casually walks down the steps, towards the bar.

LOKI:
Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity.

TONY;
Uh...actually, I'm planning to threaten you.

LOKI:
You should have left your armor on for that.

TONY:
Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?

LOKI:
Stalling me won't change anything.

TONY:
No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one.

"Are you seriously going to have a drink?" screeched Molly. Tony didn't bother to reply he just rolled his eyes and ignored her.

LOKI:
The CHITAURI are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?

TONY:
THE AVENGERS.
(Loki looks at him, confused)
It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES' type of thing.

LOKI:
Yes, I've met them.

TONY:
(SMILING)
Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one.

TONY (CONT'D):
But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-God; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them.

LOKI:
That was the plan.

TONY:
Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you.

From underneath the bar table, Tony pulls on colantotte bracelets, a honing device.

LOKI:
I have an army.

TONY:
We have a HULK.

LOKI:
I thought the beast had wandered off.

TONY:
You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it.

This gets cheers from everyone. Tony's usual smug smile becomes a shy one. He didn't really intend for anyone to ever hear that.

LOKI:

Loki TAPS Tony on the chest with his scepter. Ping!! Nothing. Confused, Loki tires again. PING! NOTHING.

James, confused, asked "Why isnt it working?" Tony looked at the kid and replied "he kept tapping my arc reactor.'' James was still a little confused but just nodded and kept staring at the screen. Regulus knew he was slow sometimes but damn. He really is a himbo.

TONY:
Well, performance issues. You know?

In anger, Loki grabs Tony by the throat and flings him across the room.

TONY:
Jarvis. Anytime now.

Loki grabs Tony by the throat again.

LOKI:
You will all fall before me.

Loki throws Tony out the window. Tony freefalls down the tower.

"That really hurt" mutters Tony remembering having to pick out glass from his hair.

*percy