Hi there people. I just want to say that I've been really into the Avengers since it came out, and I'm excited about his fiction that I'm writing now. I have another fiction going that I kind of lost interest in, but I'm writing more for that one as we speak. Basically, this is just a short beginning to get my story out there, I'll post a full real chapter tomorrow night. I like the idea that I came up with, I like the character, and I hope the rest of you do as well. Thank you...

Prologue

There is a gap between those who are successful and those who are not. In the popularity contest of success, the victor rises to the top on a column of wealth and fame while the rest of humanity sits on the transparent side of the two way mirror that separates them. They see all that transpires in the lives of the famous who stay blind to the rest of the world.

Tony Stark was the epitome of this blindness. With his ingenuity came arrogance, and with the power he drew from his suit of iron came a never ending void of vanity. Saving the world from the evils of other worlds only worsened his narcissistic condition and clouded his vision further.

Of course, his genius called for fame, but he received it at the price of his humility. Everyone below him knew and saw that this was his nature, his niche in a world of mediocrity. But acceptance didn't change the fact that he was a rude, pompous egotist who wanted more than any human should be allowed.

The world watched as he created a new persona for himself, created more power for himself. It watched as he built a suit that could kill a man in a split second; that could level a city in two. He held the keys to a weapon of mass destruction and allowed everyone only the luxury of knowing that he used it for selfish, rather than evil, purposes. When the identity of Iron Man first came to the public, Tony Stark used it as an excuse to further his own fame, or infamy to some. His company blossomed in the stock market and fans flocked to have the "hero" sign every scrap of paper they pushed at him. He used the suit to get money and fans and women.

But as time passed, a new side of Iron Man arose; a side of valor and heroics. With his new power he became a surprisingly generous philanthropist, devoting his time to uncovering the secret to clean energy. Of course, as a man of materialistic need, he built a tower in his name to reach higher than all others, to prove that he was the alpha dog in the world. This tower housed the most brilliant mind in the world.

Too bad Tony didn't know it was there.

Night fell across the Manhattan skyline as the sun finally dipped below the horizon. Stark Tower, the tallest building in the United States, gleamed high above the world, lit by a huge arc reactor at the core of the structure. Like the rest of Midtown, it was slowly being rebuilt from the attack on Earth by alien forces. Construction crews dodged in and out with thousands of tasks to recreate and improve what now was being called the Tower of Hope by the citizens of New York. They named it thusly due to the new addition to the Stark logo, which stood brighter now than it ever did. The "A" was bigger, more elaborate, and shinned intensely enough to illuminate the darkest corners of New York.

The Avengers. Earth's mightiest superheroes that would come together in a time of crisis to save the world, because with every superhero that popped up so did a supervillian, set on destroying the peace that everyone hoped for.

But now they were scattered. With the crisis over, they each went their separate ways to pursue their own private agendas. Captain America decided to get an apartment somewhere in the Lower East Side, near where he lived as a kid. He was a large asset in the reconstruction of the city, as well as a hero who took it upon himself to join the crowd and make personal ties with the people he protected. Thor took Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard, where Loki was subjected to a punishment of some sort. Agents Romanoff and Barton returned to SHIELD to recuperate, before being sent off to another country for a mission involving, thankfully, normal humans. And Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk, was right here in Stark Tower.

"JARVIS?" a female voice called out from inside a darkened laboratory, her accent making the robot's name seem more exotic than it was. A small screen in front of her displayed the profiles of all of the Avengers and she studied it with quick moving eyes, soaking up the information as quickly as possible.

"Yes, Ms. Hernandez?" the gentle British voice responded. His voice, which was usually broadcasted throughout the room, came from a small speaker connected to the computer in front of the woman. After countless nights of conversing with the artificial intelligence, she had made it quite clear that she hated the way his omnipresent voice came from the darkest corners of the rooms.

The Hispanic woman leaned forward on her stool to get a closer look at the green monster who ravaged Harlem silently. She could see his mouth opening to roar but the computer was muted to preserve her secret snooping. "Would you consider this man dangerous when he isn't the Hulk?" she asked, eying the picture of a tanned, gentle looking man with brown eyes and black wavy hair. Though she was only assigned to work on Stark Tower at night, as was tradition, the thought of having a time bomb monster in her workplace made her anxious.

"Dr. Banner generally has a calm disposition," JARVIS replied after a moment of consideration. "I find that being in the company of Master Stark eases his nerves." The woman rolled her eyes and snorted in response. JARVIS noted her reaction and responded wearily, "Yes, I had quite the same reaction when I noticed. Master Stark has been known to have the opposite effect."

By now the woman had grown used to JARVIS and his human tendencies, so his sarcastic response wasn't much of a surprise to her. She clicked through Bruce Banner's file once again, reading further into his research than she understood. "JARVIS?" she called again. "Does Tony have books on gamma radiation?" she asked, trying hard to sort through her mind's database to recall any information on the topic before her.

After a few seconds, the AI responded. "Master Stark has six books on gamma radiation in the library. Two, which were in his chambers, were destroyed in the battle last week. One is irrelevant to Dr. Banner's research. The other three have pertinent information." The woman sighed and checked her watch. It was just half past three AM. "Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Potts is on the elevator, ascending to your floor." The woman nodded and brushed her fingers along a few keys, logging out of the information she was looking into and shutting the computer down. She stood up, dusting off her black slacks and putting the stool back where she found it. As she made her way to exit the room, a quiet murmur from JARVIS made her pause. "Don't forget your badge, Ms. Hernandez," he reminded her. She chuckled and pulled out a name tag from her pocket and pinned it to the lapel on her white button up shirt.

The elevator doors at the end of the hall opened just as the woman reached her destination. She grabbed a hold of the cart in front of her and plastered a smile on her face as Pepper Potts emerged from the elevator. Pepper's heels clicked against the cold marble floors as she walked; only nodding at the Hispanic woman as she passed.

She looked at the cart she was pushing with disdain. The cart was full of cleaning supplies, everything she needed to match her job title that shouted from its position on her badge.

"Rosalinda Hernandez – Custodian."