Epilogue

Three weeks later.

Clint checked the Quinjet's GPS. "We should descend already. The city's just a minute away."

Those were just the words that Natasha had been waiting for. Pushing forward on the stick, she brought the aircraft into a steep dive. The two of them flew back into their seats as the jet rushed into a layer of thick white clouds.

"Whoa!" Clint yelled.

Coming out from the clouds, Natasha was finally able to see New York. Even at the speed they were going, she was able to appreciate the city and the beautiful sunny afternoon. New York looked remarkably good, just two months after the Chitauri invasion.

Natasha remembered the tens of billions of dollars that Tony had poured into the recovery effort. Stark's money had definitely helped, but Natasha realized that the city would not have recovered so quickly if not for the contributions of millions of other people. Together, people from all walks of life had come together to do what none of them could accomplish alone. Perhaps the world wasn't quite as horrible as she had often believed it to be.

"Pull up! Pull up!"

Easing the stick back, Natasha leveled out their flight. She then turned to Clint and saw him still leaning back in his seat. His eyes and mouth remained wide open with fright. "Take it easy," she said with a smile.

"I should say the same to you." Clint took a breath and relaxed his expression, though Natasha could see that he was still nervous.

"What's the matter, Clint? You afraid?

"Just a little."

Natasha laughed. "After all the crazy crap we've seen, you're worried about me crashing this plane?"

"I think I'd rather fight the snake again than go through this."

"Oh please. You've flown like that a million times."

"Yeah, I have flown a million times. You haven't."

Natasha reached over and gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "Don't worry. I learned from the best." She leaned back into her own seat and looked forward to complete their descent.

Banking the aircraft, she spiraled down to the city. Natasha did so at a leisurely pace, taking time to soak in the view offered by the Quinjet's big glass canopy.

"There's Stark Tower," Clint said as he pointed down to their left.

"I see it." The building was impossible to miss. It dwarfed the surrounding skyscrapers, and it was further set apart by its unique architecture and the prominent "A" near its peak.

"Can't believe he never fixed that sign," Clint said. "You'd think he'd take better care of his own place."

Natasha sighed. "Wow, Clint."

"Wow what?"

"For someone so observant, you really have a hard time reading people."

"That's your job."

Natasha turned and looked him in the eye. She wasn't going to accept that excuse from him anymore, and she had told him that.

"Okay, okay," he said with a smile. "I'm working on it. Thanks to you."

Slowing to minimal speed, Natasha activated the Quinjet's dual lift fans to bring them down toward the tower's helipad.

"Easy," Clint said. "Easy..."

They were now hovering still directly over the platform. Natasha dropped the Quinjet's landing gear as she pointed its nose up. She then cut the power to the lift fans, gradually in order to bring the aircraft to a safe landing. Feeling the rear wheels touching down on the platform, she turned the lift fans off entirely. The front of the aircraft slammed down hard, shaking both of them.

"A bit lighter next time," Clint said.

"We're intact, aren't we?"

"Yeah, and let's keep it that way," Clint said. The two of them unbuckled themselves and got up from their seats. "I'd hate to write a hundred million dollar check."

"Maybe Tony could cover it. Cost of doing business with us."

Natasha opened the rear ramp and walked outside with Clint. Looking down the walkway on the right side of the platform, she saw that two people had already come outside to greet them.

"Finally!" said Pepper Potts. "Everyone's been waiting for you!" With a large man at her side, she made her way onto the helipad. "Gosh, Natalie. You look great."

"Thanks. So do you. It's Natasha, by the way."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." She turned to the man at her side. "You remember Happy, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" Natasha said, smiling as she looked over at him. "You still like to box?"

"Sometimes..."

"Good. I've got a few moves I wanna try." Happy's eyes widened, and he took a big step back. Natasha maintained a straight face as she stared at him, resisting her urge to laugh.

"You're gonna love the gym," Pepper said before she turned to Clint. "Hi. You must be Agent Barton."

"Uh huh," he muttered.

Natasha glanced over at him to get him talking.

"You can call me Clint." He smiled, before he reached out to shake Pepper and Happy's hands.

Natasha knew that he actually liked to be called by his first name. He had told her that shortly after they had first met. Despite that, he had long grown accustomed to being addressed as "Agent Barton." He wasn't comfortable enough with most people to be casual with them. This seemed to be a good start.

"I'm glad you two were able to make it," Pepper said. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, before she leaned in to speak in a more subdued voice. "Don't tell Tony I said this, but he's really been looking forward to this day. I think he missed you guys."

"Didn't figure him for the sentimental type," Clint said.

"People can surprise you," Natasha replied.

Pepper smiled, before she turned and led them inside to the tower's lounge.

Natasha looked around, admiring the clean and stylish room. She could hardly tell that Bruno Horgan and Nathan Garrett had torn the place apart less than a month ago.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite assassins!" Tony said. He came over to greet them with a glass of liquor in his hand. As usual, Tony was trying to play it cool. However, he was given away by the pace of his approach and the wide grin on his face. Pepper was right. He really was excited to see them.

"Hello, Tony," Natasha said. She looked him right in the eye and smiled. "Big day, huh?"

He chuckled, before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of plastic swipe cards. "These are for you," he said as he handed them to Natasha and Clint.

Clint carefully looked over his card. "Avengers ID cards?"

"Wow, Tony," Natasha said. "You really pulled out all the stops."

"I decided to make things official," Tony said, practically beaming with pride. "Now that we're setting up apart from SHIELD."

"We're still active agents," Clint said. "I hope you understand."

"No problem, Barton. I've given you guys reserve status. Let me know if you ever wanna make it full time."

"Looks like you've got everything figured out," Natasha said.

"Not everything," Pepper said.

"That's why I have you," Tony replied. He reached over and pulled her in for a quick kiss on the cheek.

Pepper smiled as she chuckled with a thinly veiled menace. "You owe me, Mister." Separating from Tony, she turned and headed for the door. "Come on, Happy. There's still about a hundred things to do."

"The press conference isn't until three," Natasha said to Tony. "What are we gonna do until then?"

"I dunno," Tony said with a mischievous look on his face. "Drink?" He finished his glass and turned to point to the bar near the wall.

Natasha saw Banner hunched over on the counter in front of a familiar-looking bartender. "Is that?"

"Yup," Tony replied.

"Hey, come on over!" Darcy yelled.

"What can I say," Tony said as he led Natasha and Clint across the room. "The girl knows her way around the bar."

"I think I've found my calling in life," Darcy said to him as they arrived at the counter.

"If you wanna call it that," Tony said. "I gotta say, you're one of the best bartenders I've ever had."

"She even got Bruce to drink," Natasha said.

"You wouldn't believe it," Tony said, "but that guy is a surprisingly happy drunk."

"It's Thor's fault," Bruce mumbled. He grunted and smiled, with his eyes closed and his head still resting on his arms.

"So what will it be?" Darcy asked Clint.

"Uh, beer?"

"My God," Tony said. "Darcy, our friend over here is in dire need of an education."

"I'll see what I can do," Darcy said. Turning around, she reached for one of the bottles behind her.

"I know what I'll be having," Natasha said. As Tony and Clint sat down, she went for the seat closest to the door.

"Hey, wait," Tony said.

"Need me to do something?" she asked.

"Yeah. See if you can drag Captain Steve out of his room. He's been in there all day."

"I can go," Clint said.

"Sit down, Barton. We're about to put some hair on your chest."

Thor turned away from the big window in the hallway as he heard footsteps coming out from the lounge. "A pleasure to see you again, Lady Romanoff."

"Hi Thor," she said. Something was on her mind, because she barely looked at him as she walked by.

Just as well, he thought as he gazed out the window again. He had wanted a few minutes alone, which was why he had come out from the lounge. Looking over the city below, Thor realized that he still hadn't explored its streets on a normal day. After all, he had arrived in New York for the first time during the Chitauri invasion. In the aftermath of the battle, he hadn't been able to see much of it on his own.

The place was so different from Asgard, but also from the rural areas where he had been during his two stays on Earth so far. Compared to New Mexico, or the realm called Wyoming where he had recently stayed with Jane, it was virtually another world. It was crowded, noisy, and artificial, but it was also teeming with life. Thor was glad that Tony had invited him and Jane to the tower. Life in the city seemed like an exciting prospect. So did a life with Jane.

He looked down the hall, toward the room where he and Jane had slept the night before. Jane was still inside, most likely answering messages on her laptop. Her work seemed to follow her everywhere, even when she claimed to be on leave.

Thor understood her well enough by now to know that she would take her time. Looking up at the sky outside, he decided to do something that he had neglected over the last three weeks.

"Heimdall, if you are watching, then please, hear me now. With Amora's defeat, I suspect that the crisis has abated, and that the shroud has been lifted from your eyes. Still, forgive my lack of communication. I have been...preoccupied as of late."

"Hey Fabio!" Tony yelled from the lounge. "Where'd you go?!"

"Just a minute," Thor said as he heard the others laughing inside. He looked out the window again and continued. "As you can see, I have found myself a life here on Midgard. Stranded though I may be, I am far from alone. I have friends here...and I have Jane. Together, they have given me a purpose on this strange world, which I have come to see as my own."

"You did this, Thor!" Bruce slurred.

"You did it to yourself," Tony replied.

Thor laughed out loud, almost bending over as he did so. Getting a grip on himself, he suppressed his laughter just enough to finish what he had wanted to say.

"This isn't the life that I had planned for myself, but it is one that I feel fortunate to have. I look forward to the day when the Bifrost is repaired, so that I may return with Jane to the land that I call home. But until then, please know that I am happy here. Tell my mother and father that I love them, and that I will see them again soon enough."

The door to his room slid open, and Jane came out from it. Thor turned and looked at her, before he remembered something that he had almost forgotten. "One last thing," Thor said with a smile. "Tell Sif to watch the boys when they visit the tavern."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Jane asked as she arrived at his side.

"Not anymore," Thor said as he turned around. "Have you warded off disaster for today?"

"Believe it or not, I wasn't working this time."

"Oh?"

"I was on the phone with Erik."

"How does fare?" Thor asked. More than a week had passed since he had last heard from Erik Selvig. He felt guilty for not speaking more with his friend.

"Good," Jane said. "The therapy is definitely helping."

"It pleases me to hear that." Thor looked off to the side as he pondered what Selvig was going through. "To think that he went so long without accepting aid."

"Erik is a proud man."

"Pride alone should not drive our decisions," Thor said. Turning his head, he looked directly into Jane's eyes.

She smiled, clearly delighted to hear those words from him. "Something to keep in mind," she said as she caressed his arm. "Every day."

"Should I forget, I will have you to remind me," Thor replied. He began to lean down for a kiss.

Jane suddenly pulled away from him. "I don't know about that." She stopped and sighed, before she continued. "My vacation's almost up."

"Can you not leave, as Darcy did?"

"No, Thor. I love being with you, but SHIELD needs me to. And my work is important to me. I can't give it all up, just like that."

"I...understand," Thor said. He nodded his head, though there was no hiding how displeased he was.

"Hey. We've been further apart than this before."

"That we have," Thor said, before he gave her a bittersweet smile.

"There are ways around this. Like video chats." The look on her face made it clear that she was grasping for any solution she could think of. "We don't have to be in the same place to see each other."

"You don't have to be in the same place to work either," a woman said.

Thor and Jane turned around and saw Agent Hill approaching.

"I'm sure Stark has enough labs for you to conduct your research in." Agent Hill walked right by into the lounge without another word.

Turning back to each other, Thor and Jane both smiled before embracing each other for a deep and passionate kiss.

Clint set his glass on the counter as he laughed along with Tony and Bruce. He had to admit that he was having a good time. The fact that Natasha had gone off to get Steve was bothering him a lot less than it should have.

"Well, it's good to see you're all getting along."

Darcy turned to the door, and her eyes immediately narrowed. "Hill?"

"Darcy?"

"What are you doing here?" they both said at once. They tried stare each other down for the next few seconds.

"I'm working," Hill finally said.

"Yeah? So am I." Darcy slowly turned away to take Tony's empty glass.

Clint noticed then that Agent Hill wasn't in uniform. Nor did she have on the type of conservative civilian outfit that she had sometimes worn in the field. Hill was wearing a sleeveless green blouse along with a short black skirt. She was in heels, and she had let her hair down for once.

"Wow, Hill," Clint said as he continued to look at her. "You look..." He was about to say "hot" when he stopped himself short. Alcohol or not, he'd never recover from that.

Hill smirked at him, before she walked up and handed him a thumb drive. "You sober enough to guard this?"

"Uh, sure," Clint said as he slipped it into his pocket. "What is it?"

"It's the rest of the intel we've gathered on Baron Zemo. Hopefully, you and your friends here can track him down."

"So that's it, huh?" Tony said. "You're just gonna leave it up to us?"

"That's right," Hill replied. "We're still figuring out the extent of the breach. It's better if the Avengers do things on their own for now."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Tony said.

Hill nodded before she turned to Clint. "See you next month, Barton."

"I'm not working in that doomsday shelter of yours."

"Neither am I," she replied.

"What happened?" Clint asked.

"I gave up the command. It's tough to be cooped up with the same people every day."

"You don't say," Darcy said from across the bar.

Hill chuckled. "I'll be back on the ship again, four weeks from now."

"Just like old times," Clint said as he raised his glass to her. "What are you doing until then?"

"I don't know," Hill said with a smile. "For the first time in about five years, I'm not on a schedule." She stopped and looked around at everyone else in the room. "Call Agent Sitwell if you need anything. As of right now, I am officially on vacation."

With that, Hill turned and headed straight out the door.

"About time," Darcy said.

Damn it, Stark, Natasha thought as she walked through the halls to Steve's room. She took her time, feeling the need to think things through before she knocked on his door.

Nearly a month had passed since he had damn near killed himself to defeat the World Serpent. In that span of time, she had seen him only three times.

Two of those occasions had taken place in the Helicarrier's sickbay, where he spent several days recovering from the internal injuries that he had endured throughout the battle. The first time, Natasha went with Clint and the rest of the team. Everyone expressed concern for him, but nothing particularly deep or personal was discussed. The second time, Natasha went alone. Finding Steve in a peaceful slumber, she took it as an excuse not to confront their feelings for each other.

As Steve recovered, Natasha kept herself busy with all of the intelligence work that needed to be done. Even though she wasn't deployed again so soon after the battle, her time was consumed by debriefings and analysis of what she had seen. Zemo and his organization may have been defeated, but they still represented an ongoing threat.

Despite her busy schedule, Natasha still found some time to speak with Director Fury about Steve's emotional state. Observing Steve, and providing him with friendship if need be, had been one of her tasks all along. Fury had seen that as an additional bonus, on top of the obvious benefits of having two of SHIELD's best assets working together.

During their meeting, Natasha told Fury as much of the truth as she was comfortable with. She told him that Steve was stressed out, lonely, and in need of a normal environment. She didn't tell him that her job had begun to turn into something more.

Her statements, along with Steve's physical injuries, convinced Fury to grant Steve some mandatory leave. That wasn't what Natasha had been looking for, but it was hard to argue with the idea that Steve needed some time off.

Natasha saw Steve off along with several other high-ranking agents. The two of them were barely able to speak before he was escorted onto a Quinjet and flown back to his apartment in Brooklyn. After that, Natasha had gone right back to work. She hadn't had much free time since then. Even her flying lessons with Clint had been conducted as "training."

You should've called him, Natasha thought as she neared Steve's room. Steve had known better than to bother an active duty intelligence agent with personal matters, but she had possessed no such excuse. She had taken comfort in the distance, while Steve had probably sat in his apartment alone and confused.

Over the course of her career, Natasha had left quite a few men hanging without any sort of explanation. She had never regretted it before, until now.

Arriving at Steve's door, she raised her hand to knock on it. She paused before she could bring herself to actually do so. Natasha still wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him, and that scared her.

You're a God damn coward, she thought to herself. It didn't matter if she was afraid. Steve deserved to know where they stood with each other. Knowing that, Natasha took a deep breath before she knocked three times on his door.

"Hey Steve! It's me! Open up!"

She heard nothing for a few seconds, and that made her nervous. Maybe he's not there, she thought as she began to turn around.

"Nat? Wait! I'm in the bathroom! Don't go anywhere!"

"I can let the lady in if you wish," JARVIS said from a speaker on the wall.

"Yeah!" Steve yelled. "Do that!"

The door slid open in front of Natasha, and she went inside. As she walked past the bathroom, she could hear the shower running.

"Sorry about this," Steve said. "I'll be a few minutes."

"Take your time."

Natasha looked around as she slowly made her way into the suite. It was beautiful, luxurious, and bare, like a room in a five-star hotel that had just been cleaned out for the next guest. Everything inside screamed Tony Stark, from the modern furniture to the abstract art to the silk sheets on the king size bed. Only the flannel shirt and khaki pants on the bed, and the leather jacket hanging on the chair by the desk, seemed to come from Steve.

According to Tony, he had only moved in a day ago. Despite that, Natasha could see that Steve just hadn't had very much to bring with him.

Natasha made her way over to the desk and sat down. What the hell am I doing here? she thought. She still hadn't come up with anything to say.

Her eyes wandered along the wall, over to the corner of the desk where she saw a spiral bound sketchbook. She remembered from the records that Steve had studied fine arts as a young man in college, more than seventy years ago. It had always struck her as a strange background for a man known to most of the world as a Super Soldier. Steve had never talked about it before.

Instincts took over, and Natasha found herself reaching for the sketchbook. Her job required that she understand the psychology of the people around her. She told herself that as she flipped open the book's cover. It was just an excuse. In truth, it was just easier for her to examine Steve than herself.

She flipped through the pages, spending several seconds on each drawing. She saw the Empire State Building. People boarding a subway car. A baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Most of Steve's drawings were well done, but they had a simple and distant aesthetic that lacked emotion. Taken as a whole, the pictures suggested a man who didn't feel very connected to things.

Natasha turned another page, and she discovered a drawing that stood out above the rest. It depicted a woman with wavy hair and a subtle smile on her face. She was well dressed in a striped jacket and a knee length skirt. Her arm stretched behind her body to pull a roller bag.

That's me. Natasha recognized the skirt suit as the one that she had worn to Rome, while Steve and her had posed as husband and wife.

His portrayal of her was as detailed as it was flattering. He had captured everything from her lips to the shape of her nose, and the picture was shaded in just the right way to emphasize her best features. At first glance, it looked like a black and white photo. Natasha thumbed through the next few pages to see if there were any more drawings like that, but all she saw were blank sheets of paper. Steve had obviously spent a lot of time working on that last picture.

Turning back to it again, she couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to draw her on that night. She realized that it was one of the few times they had been together, without the costumes and guns.

His picture made her look so graceful and angelic. Despite that, what she remembered most from that evening was how she had yelled at him for having a drink with Amora. Even that had been nothing, compared to when she had chosen to stand by and watch as Baron Zemo beat him to within an inch of his life. That horrible memory flashed before her eyes again, and she felt a lump forming in her throat because of it. I don't deserve this...

Natasha was so deep in thought that she kept staring at the drawing even as she heard the bathroom door opening. She looked up and saw Steve standing in front of her in a Navy blue bathrobe, with his mouth hanging open.

After a few awkward seconds, he finally gathered himself enough to say something. "Sorry. I know this must look creepy."

"No!" Natasha said as stood up. She was suddenly afraid that he would feel bad about himself. "No," she said again as she looked back down at the picture. "It's...beautiful."

"You're beautiful."

Oh God, Natasha thought, as she turned and put the sketchbook on the desk. She really wasn't ready for this.

Steve took a step toward her and stopped. Natasha could see how unsure he was, and it made perfect sense that he would feel that way. He had never been this close to a woman before. At least not when he was only wearing a bathrobe. Steve maintained eye contact though, and he worked up the courage to press on.

"I've felt...empty these last few weeks. I know, it's stupid with all the free time I've had, but I've really missed you, Nat."

"I missed you too." She began to raise her hand to touch him, but she stopped herself. A move like that might send a message that she didn't fully mean.

"You've been a real friend. Probably the best one I've had since I came out of the ice. And that means a lot to me, because I haven't had that many people I can trust."

He looked down and sighed, clearly finding it hard to continue. "Zemo nearly killed me down there. I gotta admit I nearly gave up." Raising his head, he looked back into her eyes. "You were the one thing that kept me going. I knew you would've done anything in your power to help me, and that I couldn't do any less for you."

"Steve..." She wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but she couldn't bring herself to do that.

"You were there for me, every step of the way. And I'd like for that to continue. Whether we're at work or not." He moved in close, wrapping his left arm around her back as he reached for her cheek with his right.

Natasha looked away. She didn't go along with it as he tried to turn her face and kiss her. This is too much. Steve was so good to her. But what could she actually give him that he deserved? She just couldn't see herself being the person that he needed her to be. "Stop it, Steve," she said as she backed away from him.

"What's wrong?"

"You have an idea of me that's just not real." Natasha paused and looked at him, noticing the confused and longing look on his face. He was so vulnerable and in need of companionship. She didn't want to hurt him, but she felt that she had to cut things off while she still could. "I'm not a good person...I've done things I'm not proud of. Some very recently."

"Like what?"

"You might have heard some people talking about me. Ask around at SHIELD. They can tell you everything."

"I don't wanna hear it from them. I wanna hear it from you." He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're so much better than you think you are." Steve waited for her to say something, but she didn't. "Do you want this, Nat? Tell me you don't, and I'll stop right now."

"Damn it," she said as she brushed his arms away. "It's not about what I want." She saw him opening his mouth to say something, and she quickly spoke again to beat him to the punch. "This will never work, Steve. We come from two different worlds." Trembling, she looked into his eyes for several seconds before she turned and headed for the door.

I'm doing the right thing. Natasha moved quickly for fear that she would backtrack on her decision. Love is for children, she told herself again. Those words had never ringed so false to her before. The tears flowed freely from her eyes as she reached for the button to open the door. She hadn't cried like this in years, since before she had shot the bastard who had raised her to be a killer. Natasha realized then that she had changed, and that she could no longer pretend otherwise.

"Don't go," Steve said. "Please."

Without wiping away her tears first, she turned around to face him. Her tenuous defenses had crumbled down, and she had no more excuses to give him. She felt bare and exposed, but strangely safe in his presence.

"You can be happy, Natasha. You deserve to be."

She sniffled as she nodded in understanding. "Thank you. I believe that now."

"Don't run away from this," Steve said as he walked down the short hall to the door.

"I'm not running away. I'm done with that." Natasha stepped forward and hugged him. "I'll tell you everything...one of these days. Soon." She separated from him so that they could look at each other again. "Just not today, alright?"

"Whenever you're ready."

"The press conference is coming up. Focus on that for now." Natasha opened the door and stepped outside. She turned around to say one last thing before heading back to the lounge. "I just need you to slow down, so that we can both understand what we really want."

Steve stepped out of the elevator and onto the ground floor of the tower. With his vibranium shield in hand, he was dressed up as Captain America for the first time since the battle.

The suit he was wearing was a fresh one that had just been delivered by SHIELD the night before. It had yet to be broken in, and it felt stiff around his body. Steve felt oddly comfortable in it though. It would be good for him to have duties again, and a routine that he could lose himself in.

He walked down the corridor to the lobby, passing Thor and Jane along the way. Locked in each other's arms, they continued to make out without even noticing him. Steve wondered what could separate him and Natasha more than the two of them.

There wasn't much time for him to think though, because Clint and Natasha were also standing along his path. The two of them had been talking to each other, but they noticed his approach right away.

"Good to see you in uniform again," Clint said.

"Thanks," Steve replied. "Same to you." He turned and looked at Natasha. "You two coming out with us?"

"Nah. We don't do cameras." She smiled at him, as if nothing had happened in his room just an hour ago.

Steve nodded. He kept looking at her for a couple seconds more. Long enough to let her know he was thinking about her, without being too obvious about it. Steve wondered whether Natasha would really open up to him, as she had promised to. He wanted to believe her, but that moment already seemed to be fading away like a dream. Turning around, he continued toward the lobby.

"Just remember," Natasha said from behind. "We're not running off anywhere."

Steve stopped in his tracks. He smiled, before he made his way into the middle of the lobby next to Bruce.

"There you are," Bruce said. "Tony and Pepper have been looking all over for you." His eyes were squinting, and his purple dress shirt was wrinkled and untucked. He hardly looked like a superhero.

"You okay?" Steve asked him.

"Yeah. Just had a little too much fun with the guys." Bruce groaned and rubbed his head. "Watch yourself around Thor. That guy will drink you under the table."

"I can't get drunk."

Bruce chuckled. "You say that now."

Steve laughed for several seconds, before he heard heavy metal footsteps coming from his right. Turning around, he saw Tony arriving with Pepper.

Tony was in his brand new Mark VIII battle suit with its faceplate flipped up. He had completed the suit just a few days ago, and he had spent more than an hour last night showing it off to the guys. The armor was painted in his usual red and gold color scheme, and it was heavily armed with lasers and missile pods just like those on the Mark VII. However, the new suit was far sleeker and more aerodynamic than its predecessor. "Sexy" and "badass" were how Tony had described it yesterday.

"Last minute change of plans," Tony said. "You're the team's new spokesman."

"What? Me?" Steve couldn't think of anyone less suited to public speaking than he was. That was until several seconds later, after he had looked around at each of his teammates.

"It was between you and Tony," Pepper said. "Except he doesn't need the excuse to open his big mouth."

"This will be for the best," Tony said as he patted Steve's shoulder.

"Uh...thanks," Steve said. He turned and looked out the glass revolving doors at the front of the lobby.

Through it, he could see the podium that had been set up at the top of the steps leading up into the tower. Happy Hogan and a security team were lined up on the step right below it, trying their best to hold back the enormous crowd of people who had gathered outside to see the Avengers.

Steve could hear the screaming from where he stood, and it kind of freaked him out. He might have been more comfortable if had been given a script and some time to prepare. Instead, Tony and Pepper were throwing him out there and asking him to wing it. Steve took a nervous gulp, before he turned back to face them. "Is all of this necessary?"

"Since when have I cared about what's necessary?" Tony said with a smile.

"This will be great PR," Pepper said. "We're gonna need it to fend off all the rabid Congressmen." She looked down to check her watch. "It's 2:59. We should head out."

Crap, Steve thought. He looked at Bruce, who just shrugged in response.

"Hey Bruce, you coming out or not?" Tony asked.

"Heh. I wouldn't go if I was sober."

"Come on, you really gonna wuss out on us?"

"I told you, it's not my thing," Bruce said.

"What about the Other Guy? Is it his thing?"

Bruce looked Tony right in the eye. "I don't know. You wanna find out?"

"Alright, grumpy pants." Tony turned about, as if looking for something. "Hey, has anyone seen Darcy? We need more of the happy sauce, pronto!"

Steve looked over at Bruce again. They both sighed and shook their heads.

"Just ignore him," Pepper said as she urged Steve outside. "Let's go, Thor! Plenty of time to do that later!"

Thor left Jane and ran across the lobby, catching up with them as they reached the revolving doors. "My apologies for the delay."

"I was actually hoping for some more time," Steve said.

"Don't worry, Captain," Pepper said as she walked to the front of the group. "Just be yourself. I'll handle the introduction." She gave Steve a cheerful smile as she reached for the door handle.

Easy for you to say, Steve thought. He had noticed the index cards in her hand, but he decided not to mention them. Instead, he smiled back before he followed her outside with Tony and Thor.

The crowd went nuts the second they stepped through the door. Steve stood dumbfounded as he looked around at it. There were reporters and cameramen, along with fans of all ages and backgrounds. Some of them held signs or wore replica costumes, but almost everyone was trying to be heard. Steve heard a lot of inarticulate shouting, along with his teammate's names and quite a few marriage proposals. It was a lot to take in all at once.

"Just wave," Pepper said as she quickly walked to the podium.

Steve did as she said, and the crowd grew louder because of that.

"Please settle down," Pepper said into the microphone. "We're about to begin."

She had to repeat herself several times, and it took almost a minute for everyone to comply.

"We will always remember that day two months ago," Pepper said. "It was a day of terror and destruction, but also of courage and triumph. It was a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat – to fight a foe no single superhero could withstand. On that day, the Avengers were born!"

The crowd erupted into cheers again, interrupting her speech. Steve watched Pepper waiting patiently as she read her second and final card. Clearly, her introduction would be a short one. Steve knew that he would be taking her place in another minute or two, at the very most. He tried to come up with something to say, but he was too distracted by all of the screaming.

The noise eventually died down, and Pepper continued. "We have not had a day like that since, but we are reminded far too often that this world will always need protectors. In light of that reality, Stark Industries, and its charitable arm the Maria Stark Foundation, have decided to do our part by reuniting the Avengers on a permanent basis. To support the team's operations, we are donating the building behind me for use as their headquarters. Henceforth, it will be known as Avengers Tower, standing not only as a beacon of clean energy, but as a symbol of the heroism that we all aspire to."

Everyone applauded, although several of them shouted a few good-natured ribs.

"Finally!"

"About time!"

"What's with 'A' on top?"

"Yeah, I know," Pepper said with a chuckle. "World's worst kept secret, right?" She turned around and raised her arm toward the team. "And now, without further delay, I present to you, the Avengers!"

Powerful orchestral music blared from several loudspeakers, as she motioned for the team to come toward the podium. "You're up, Captain," Pepper said as Steve walked past her.

Flanked by Tony and Thor, he took his place at the podium. The music died down, and suddenly all eyes were on him. Steve tapped the microphone even though he knew it was working perfectly fine. Anything to buy himself a few more seconds...

"Uh, hi everyone."

Nothing. Steve suspected that all of people out there had thought that Captain America would be a lot cooler than this. Without a speech prepared, he would have to say something witty, or funny, or powerful to win them all over.

"Hmm," Tony said softly. He kept looking forward with a smile fixed on his face. "It's times like this when you can really use a battle cry..."

"You think it will work?" Steve asked as he also faked a smile.

"Just say it. I know you wanna."

Might as well, Steve thought. Raising his shield, he shouted it out loud.

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

The crowd responded with even more enthusiasm than they had before. Steve smiled wide as he felt a wave of relief passing over him. He still wasn't sure if his battle cry was cool or corny, but he had just shouted it in public and it was now here to stay.

Regardless of what the people thought about it, Steve could see that they were on his side. Their cheers lifted him, and he was reminded of the days when he had toured the country selling war bonds. His current fans looked so different from the ones that he had had before, but he could see in them the same spirit and basic values that he had once sworn to defend.

"A worthy slogan, Captain," Thor said. "Truly, it is." He raised his hammer and yelled it himself.

Tony laughed and waved as he put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "What he said."

Steve felt happy to be surrounded by friends. He knew that this was just the beginning. There would be other battles, other challenges. Not every day would be as joyous as this one. But for the first time in a long while, Steve was looking forward to what the future would bring.

The End.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, everyone! Especially to those of you who have been nice enough to send me your reviews and private messages. Please, let me know what you thought about this story. I'm open to all honest feedback.

This story was a challenging one for me as a writer. It grew from an idea that I had for a single scene, with Clint watching over Steve and Natasha as they infiltrated an enemy camp. I imagined that there would be an ancient evil hidden underground, which would cause the mission to go terribly wrong.

Around that time, I also watched through the entire Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes series. After finishing it, I was inspired to write a similarly fun and action packed story involving every major character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Other things that captured my interest were Norse mythology and Thor's corner of the Marvel universe. When I had first read the myths as a kid, I really liked the idea of the World Serpent. It seemed perfect for the ancient evil that I wanted in this story.

My inspiration caused my story to grow and grow. I knew that I had a lot of work cut out for me, because my previous Avengers stories had been short or focused on only a few characters.

I prepared myself by studying the movies, so that I could get the facts and characterizations right. But I also read through the first sixteen issues of the comic, looking for additional ideas that I could adapt.

Baron Zemo was always going to be the mastermind. I really enjoyed his portrayal in the cartoon, and he was Steve's archenemy in those early Avengers issues. Originally, it was just going to be him along with a single secondary villain.

However, I ran into problems when I discovered that my secondary villain might be appearing in one of the upcoming movies. Not wanting to tread too much on continuity, I began to think of other villains to fill out Zemo's forces. More villains were needed anyway to challenge heavy hitters like the Hulk.

One thing that I wanted to do was kick the story off with Tony Stark fighting one of his own enemies. I decided to use the Melter, a low tier Iron Man villain that few people knew about, and even fewer would care if I altered in some ways. He had a very simple and easily understood gimmick, and he wouldn't take too much attention away from my big bad.

However, for a minor character, Bruno Horgan turned out to be a lot of fun to write. I used his original comic characterization (vengeful and disgraced business rival of Tony Stark) and expanded it into a portrayal of middle-aged male frustration. My Bruno felt victimized and emasculated. He would jump at the chance to boast and put down others, but he was also quick to run away when things went wrong.

Funnily enough, Marvel released its own Bruno Horgan story set in the movie universe. It's a one-shot comic called Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter!, and it came out last May after I had already published several chapters. I knew it was a young reader comic published merely to cash in on Iron Man 3, but I had to buy it just to compare our portrayals. The comic didn't really do anything with him as a character, but it did have a slightly updated portrayal of his gear and costume with some small aspects that I wish I had used in my own story.

I had always intended for Thor to battle the Frost Giants again in his segment of the story. Originally, his counterpart was going to be a particularly big Jotun with magical ice armor like what was shown in the movie tie-in video game. However, I eventually came up with the idea to use Amora and Skurge instead, since they had far more dramatic potential.

With those two, along with Zemo and Horgan, I realized that I had four of the original six Masters of Evil from the comics. I decided then to go all the way and adapt the Black Knight and the Radioactive Man as well. It was a lot of fun to tie them together and link them up with Iron Man and the Hulk.

I repurposed Chen Lu from a Thor villain into an opponent for the Hulk, and I changed Garrett a lot so that he would be a low-grade Iron Man knockoff. I actually wish I had gone further in my adaptation of him. In the comics, Garrett's flying horse was eventually mutated into a dragon-like beast after his death. Had it been like that in my story, Garrett would have been an even more intimidating villain.

But for a long while, I clung on to an idea of Jane and Darcy stealing his horse to escape. I couldn't see them riding something so vicious and bloodthirsty, so I decided to keep it as just winged horse. As it turned out, I didn't even use that idea since it didn't fit into the flow of my final chapters.

With everything that I wanted to fit in, this story grew way past my original thirty-thousand-word target to the final novel length story that we have now. It became a lot more dramatic as well. I love all of the Avengers and their supporting casts, so I felt a strong desire to write something that would give everyone a chance to shine.

It was tough to juggle all of these characters, and this story took far longer to write than I had first thought it would. There were weeks when I really struggled and became frustrated at how much I was falling behind. Thanks again to everyone who stuck it out with me despite my slowed production rate.

It'll probably be a little while before I start publishing another Avengers story, but I already have several ideas in my head. If you enjoy what I've written so far, then please give me a follow and spread the word about my stories. Seeing reader reactions is one of the best parts of writing!