Chapter Text
Everyone stood up and listened intently to the being that brought them here. Whatever was going to happen in the near future was too serious to let past issues get in the way, so they would take any information they could get to prevent it.
"Okay, then first things first. Thor, I'll give the location of Surtyrs crown. You'll need it and his information to do something and find a comrade of yours. Once you've done that use the Tesseract to bring your people to Earth before finding the dwarves to make you a new weapon. You won't understand it now, but you will."
In an instant, Thor knew exactly where to look for the crown. He also had a vision of an axe, a vague one but the shape he was certain of.
"Captain Rogers, have Vision brought to Wakanda to remove the Mind Stone from his body. Don't worry, it won't affect him much. King T'Challa's sister will be able to remove it. Then bring all the allies you can to protect it."
Vision, Wanda, T'Challa, and Steve eyed each other warily. T'Challa was not big on involving his country or Shuri in this. However, if the body count was that big then he needed to take the risk. The Avengers were primarily concerned about Visions life. Not that they didn't trust the being, but that stone was what brought him to life in the first place. Would removing it really be okay?
"Mr Lang I'm going to give you some information about your old colleague's wife and an old associate's daughter in great pain. Contact them after this to speed things up. They will have the means to break you out of your confined space without detection. I also recommend you contact your buddies and enlist their aid. Additionally, I've provided information on individuals you and your companions should be wary of."
Scott was suddenly made aware of Janet Pym and how to find her. He was made aware of Ava Starr and her condition (much to his horror). He was also made aware of Sonny Birch and his crew.
'Looks like I've got a lot to do when I get back,' he realized. 'Hopefully, Hope and Hank will listen.'
"Mr Stark you have certain material on Thaddeus Ross. The time has come to use it. Pass it on to Mr Rhodes and he will do the rest. You and Mr Parker will then go to a location I have shared with both of you to seek out a certain man and his associates for their aid. I've given you an event that took place in their lives that no one else knows about to convince them."
Tony and Peter eyed each other with shocked eyes. Superpowers and aliens they could deal with, but magic and wizards! It seemed a bit much.
Rhodey was content with his role. While he had respected Ross for his position and service, he'd grown discontent with the way things had gone because of his actions. This would set the record straight.
"Mr Fury and Ms Rambeau. You have the pager you know who to call. When she arrives, have her seek out these individuals and bring them to Earth. Have her invoke the name of the one who will cause you all trouble. Thanos!"
Thor frowned. That name sounded alien, but it was not one he recognized.
Despite the circumstances, Monica was overjoyed at the thought of seeing her aunt after so much time.
Fury frowned at the knowledge of these so-called Guardians of the Galaxy. Were they new? Then again, space was a pretty big place. Like Earth, there were all sorts of individuals out there. Maybe he could ask Talos about them sometime.
"Well, that's as much knowledge as I'm willing to bestow upon you. Use it wisely."
"We will," Peter assured him. "Thank you for everything. We appreciate it."
"Don't sweat it Spider-Man!" the being causally dropped as though it were common knowledge (knowing full well it was not). "Just trying to help."
The air in the room suddenly became much colder as Peter's face went pale. Everyone had turned to look towards him, then Tony, then back to him. Their expressions contained a mixture of surprise, understanding, and horror.
Thor was confused. Who was Spider-Man? A new hero perhaps? He had been off Midgard for so long he had missed out on a lot of events.
Monica raised an eyebrow. She had seen a few YouTube videos about him but otherwise knew nothing of him.
Fury's eyes widened. So this is who he was. He hadn't had much of a chance to look into him (that and he lacked the resources).
"Queens?" Steve said softly.
"Hey, Brooklyn," Peter answered slowly (nervously). "How's life? Is your friend doing okay?"
Bringing up the Winter Soldier (he didn't know his real name) probably wasn't the best response but it was the only one he could come up with.
"Kid. How old are you?" Clint asked warily.
"Mr Parker is sixteen not far from seventeen," the being announced without warning. Why were they doing this you may wonder? Purely for no other reason than to screw with them. "He was fifteen when you met in Germany. I believe Mr Stark showed up at his apartment during your little disagreement and claimed to his aunt that he was interested in providing Peter with an internship. When speaking in private he revealed evidence of his secret identity and convinced him to come to Germany by offering to show it to his aunt."
The air in the room somehow turned even colder than before. As if they were standing out in the snow with no jacket or top. The silence that followed was unbearably uncomfortable.
Neither Peter nor Tony quite knew what to say at that moment.
"When I went to recruit King T'Challa, this boy was your other option?" Natasha questioned as if she couldn't believe it. And for once, she couldn't.
"A teenager!?" Rhodey repeated incredulously. "Seriously, Tony! Even for you, that's… I don't know… too much!" He remembered Spider-Man sounding young but he didn't think that young.
"You blackmailed him into joining you!" Wanda seethed.
"And without notifying his guardian of anything," Vision added sounding disappointed.
"You asshole!" Clint swore. "Did he even have anything to do with the Avengers falling out?"
"He did not," Sam clarified. "None of us had seen him until that point."
"I can explain. We were low on numbers and," Tony tried to defend but they were having none of it.
"Mr Stark I can understand evening the odds but I would not have involved a child in it," T'Challa chastised.
"We would've held back if we'd known," Steve paused horrified. "Oh, shit! We didn't hold back. Kid, I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I punched you pretty you pretty hard."
"And I knocked you into wooden crates," Scott remembered. "Sorry about that!"
"Guys it's fine. I get hit very hard all the time. Trains, cars, criminals who also tend to shoot at me, and come out fine every time," Peter shrugged off.
Everyone, including Fury, stared at him with disturbed expressions.
"There was probably a better way to phrase that," Peter realized.
"Not really," Monica deadpanned.
Everyone turned to glare at Tony.
"We will talk about this when we get back," Natasha informed him. "I'm quite sure Pepper would love to know about all of this."
Tony paled. That was not going to end well for him.
Peter on the other hand couldn't see what the big deal was.
"Alright. I'm going to send you all back now. Say your goodbyes and have fun saving the universe!"
They all quickly said goodbye. Peter pet Goose for the last time and promised to come visit if able. Having grown to like the boy, Goose's response was to affectionately bunt against his cheek. Monica inwardly decided to ask Fury to look into Peter later so he and Goose could meet again.
With that done, the being teleported everyone back. Their fun is now achieved.
Rambeau House
Not long after he returned Fury informed Maria of everything that transpired. The latter was easy to convince, purely because it explained how he teleported in front of her. She was shocked by what had learned. The fact that a being like that existed and could do stuff to show recordings of a person's life like it was some sort of movie was unsettling.
Much later Monica arrived just in time to see the pager out and ready.
"We're really doing this?" she asked despite knowing the answer.
"That being, whatever it was, didn't strike me as the type to lie," Fury admitted. "If anything, they're the sort who'll do something for their own amusement."
"Are we going to get on with this or not?" Maria reminded them. "I'd like to get the spare room ready."
Goose meowed in agreement.
Without further ado, Fury activated the pager.
Deep in Space
The sound of beeping made Carol jolt upward. Glancing around she noticed it was coming from the communicator in her bag.
Curious she stood up and walked over slowly. Upon opening it, she was surprised to see who it was coming from.
"Fury?" she repeated.
In all the years since she gave it to him, not once had he called her for anything. That may have been a good thing considering… you know. If he was calling her now it must be serious.
Though she was concerned about seeing her family again, she nevertheless suited up and flew out.
A few days later
"First off, I love the eyepatch," Carol complimented. "Second, what happened to your hair?"
"Thank you, and the job happened, along with old age," Fury replied nonchalantly. "I see your sense of humour hasn't changed."
Carol's only response was to grin.
"Anyway, you're probably wondering why I called you back," Fury got straight to the point. "Something was shared with me and a few others recently. We were given information and told to act on it. Tell me, have you ever heard of someone named Thanos?"
The mere mention of his name caused Carol to stiffen as her expression morphed into one of concern.
"The Mad Titan?" she asked. "That Thanos?"
"I wasn't given any description, just a name," Fury clarified. "It was said he would bring ruin to us."
Carol said nothing. It wouldn't have been inaccurate. She had never personally met the man but she had heard enough to be wary. Even the Kree feared him.
If he was the reason Fury called then he did the right thing.
"Who told you all of this?" she asked.
Fury shrugged. "It's kind of a long story. One best shared over a drink or two. Shall we head inside?" He gestured towards Maria's house.
Carol glanced at her best friend's house. Although she was nervous, part of her did want to see her friend and niece again. Regardless of everything that had transpired since then.
The two stood up and started walking.
"Just wait till you meet everyone," Fury announced. "They're keen to meet you. Up for Karaoke as well."
Carol snorted. "What? Like last time!"
Flashback
Carol marched up and down by her troops with the most serious expression.
"This mission is of high importance! Failure is not an option!" she stated authoritatively. "If any of you wish to back out, do so now!" She paused. "Do you?"
"NO SIR!"
"Good! In that case, move out!" Carol commanded.
Pancho's Bar
First up was Fury who grabbed the mic and took to the stage.
Insert song: Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes (1961)
He danced and sang in a manner that was as upbeat as the people who sang the original. Carol still couldn't remember the song, but she would remember this.
Next up were Monica and G'iah, who were a little nervous at first but followed on after a bit of encouragement.
Insert song: Bad by Michael Jackson (1987)
G'iah and Monica, despite their age, were able to sing along perfectly to the song with no problems. Carol thought it was funny that Lieutenant Trouble would pick that song to sing.
After that, it was her and Maria's turn.
Insert song: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (1991)
Just like when they were in training, the pair of them sang side by side in perfect harmony. It seemed that even if you were abducted by aliens and given powers, certain things never changed.
This time it was Talos and Soren taking the stage.
Insert song: The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand (1973)
They sang softly and slowly. The husband and wife matched each other perfectly as did their voices.
To everyone's surprise, next up was Goose.
Insert song: I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston (1974)
The only thing Goose did was meow. And yet… she matched it up with every verse and chorus to the point when she was finished she left several individuals crying over how amazing she sounded.
"Goose," Fury sobbed. "That was beautiful!"
"Who knew Flerkens could sing?" Talos sniffled. "And that well?"
So, cats could sing. Or Flerken in this case. Carol thought she had witnessed everything, but ultimately realized she had only scratched the surface. Who knew cats could sing?
Seriously!
Who knew?
Finally, Fury and Carol took to the stage again wanting to do one song together.
Insert song: Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson (1967)
They sang loud and proud. They danced. It was the best fun they had in a long time. Who knew when they would have it again?
"Well, I think it's safe to say this mission was a success," Carol announced.
There was a large murmur of agreement.
"Let's do it again sometime!" Monica yelled.
Flashback end
"Fun as that was, it can wait until afterwards," Fury declared. "I'm going to tell you a little story, Captain. About a group of unique people brought together to fight the battles we never could."
Carol raised an eyebrow intrigued. Just what had happened while she was off Earth?
"We call them… the Avengers!"
THE END