"Now, I don't want any misunderstandings when Iron Man shows up, so please try not to smash him if he doesn't immediatly trust you, okay?"
"HULK WON'T SMASH GOLDEN MAN FIRST"
"Close enough." I send up a flare of light, catching the attention of the flying golden object in the sky. I've managed to lead Hulk away from the city back into the wilderness to atleast try to preserve the fragile peacefire I settled with him, which would probably fall apart if the National Guard started shooting at him. Iron Man spots the signal and begins descending, stopping a few feet away when he sees who I got with me.
"I'll admit this isn't what I was expecting to find when I finally tracked you two down. What exactly did I miss?"
I motion towards Hulk "I tried talking it out with Hulk instead of blasting him, it wasn't working very well so far. He's willing to hear us out, but reserves the right to smash further. I paraphrased that part, but you get the gist."
Hulk nods "HULK LISTEN. YOU SPEAK."
Iron Man looks between the two of us for a few confused seconds, before snapping out of it "Well, not how I was expecting this to go, but I'll take it! Hulk, you do know why we were chasing after you, don't you?"
Hulk huffs in annoyance "HULK NOT WANT SMASH TRAIN TRACKS."
"It seems unlikely, and both your friend Mr Jones, and Mr Sunshine here seems to agree, but the fact is, you were seen breaking the tracks, but you also held them together again. Can you explain exactly what happened?"
"HULK SEES BOMB ON TRACKS. TRY TO SQUISH IT. BOMB VANISHED."
"Wait a minute..." the voice of Pym suddenly cuts in, and Ant-Man suddenly appears, growing to visible size "You're saying there was an explosive on the tracks? And it just disappeared when you tried to stop it from exploding?" Hulk nods "Strange, that sounds like..."
"A set-up!" Wasp adds, appearing next to Pym "I bet someone wanted to trick Hulk into destroying those tracks, just so he'd get the blame for it!"
"SOMEOME TRICK HULK?!" Hulk snarls "HULK WILL SMASH!"
"If we can find them, we'd happily help you with that, Hulk" Iron Man says thoughtfully "But who would have the ability to do this? Or even the motive? Who'd even want to set you up?"
"That line is starting to form around the block at this point" I give Hulk an apologetic shrug "Sorry dude, but you've got a bad habit of making enemies. We'll have to work on that too. The real question is, are we sure the Hulk was the point behind the setup? I've followed the Hulks... career, such as it is, in the news..." close enough to the truth "And as far as I know, illusions aren't really the style of the kind of people after him."
"You're suggesting the setup was intended to draw OUR attention..." Iron Man puts the pieces together.
"Exactly, or if not all of us, than one of us atleast. I'm guessing between us there should be atleast one jerk with illusion powers who'd like to see the Hulk smash us to a pulp."
There's a pause as the assembled heroes look between eachother uncomfortably, racking their brains for anyone they could have pissed off enough to set up this whole scheme, but nothing seems to spring to mind. And considering I've only had powers for a week, and this is my first actual outing with them, it's not like I have anything to offer.
Pym seems to be about to ask something, when a loud thunderclap echoes from the clear sky, and a familiar figure appears in a flash of light above us.
"Worry not, friends! For I have exposed the true cause of this mischief!" Thor lands in the middle of the clearing with a large thud, and holds up the captive struggling against his grip, another familiar figure dressed in green, with a truly gaudy golden helmet adorned with two massive horns.
Loki.
.....
"So let me get this straight" Iron Man says in a tired voice "This is your half-brother Loki, as in, the evil guy from Norse mythology. He's the one who set this whole mess up?"
"Indeed, Man of Iron!" Thor responds with a booming voice "Loki had hoped to frame the Hulk in hopes that I would be drawn into battle with the behemoth, and either perish in the attempt, or taint myself by destroying an innocent! It was only by pure luck that his wicked scheme drew your attention as well as my own, and I sought him out in Asgard while you were busy pursuing the Hulk! Only he could have created the Hulk illusion that drew me away from our assembly!"
"THAT'S where you ran off to? You thought you saw the Hulk and went after him yourself? Why didn't you ask for our help?"
Thor actually looks a bit ashamed "I apologize, Man of Iron, it has been a long time since I fought side by side with brothers in arms, I have grown used to facing the threats of the cosmos alone."
"You know, we're almost lucky he did run off on his own like that" Wasp says, flying up to eye level with the snarling Loki "If Thor hadn't gone after this creep himself, we might all have tried fighting the Hulk, and who knows how that would have turned out."
"GREEN GOD WAS THE ONE WHO TRICKED HULK?! NO MORE TALK, HULK SMASH PUNY GOD" Hulk takes a massive stomp towards Thors captive, when Loki suddenly springs to life in Thors grip, his body pulsating with a sickly green glow, the sudden force knocking Thor backwards and loosening his grip.
"Back! BACK, you human dolt! No mortal may lay a hand on Loki! I have powers you never dreamed of!" His grin quickly fades as he sees his attack has seemingly no effect on the enraged Hulk, who lashes out with a swing, sending Loki crashing into the treeline.
"GREEN GOD TALK TOO MUCH"
"W-what just happened?" Wasp asks shakily.
I stare after Loki's disappearing form "I..think he was trying to drive us back with radiation? I mean, against the Hulk, that's basically like trying to put out a volcano with a flamethrower."
Loki is struggling back to his feet among the ruins of the trees, the glow disappating "Bah, no matter, if the powers of radiation has no effect on you, perhaps the magic of Asgard will! I summon the-" he cuts off suddenly, clutching his eye with a yell of pain, as a swarm of insects surround his face, stinging and biting at his exposed skin "WHAT IN DAMNATION-"
Using the distraction provided by Ant-Man's insects, Thor once again grabs his brother by the neck, throwing him to the ground, and stops his struggle with a well-placed blow to the back of his head, finally knocking him out. "That's enough of your mischief, brother. It's time to return you to your prison."
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding "Okay, evil god down for the count. Quick thinking with the bugs there."
Iron Man nods "I couldn't agree more. Do you need help securing Loki, Thor?"
"I do not believe so, Man of Iron, my brother should remain senseless until I can return him where he belongs."
"Wait!" Ant-Man says, as he returns to normal size "Before we go our separate ways, me and Wasp have something to say. Each of us have a different power, if we combine our forces, there's no telling how much good we could do together!"
Here we go.
"Work as a team, eh?" Iron Man looks thoughtful "Never been on one of those before. Sure, count me in!"
"Aye, you speak much truth, Ant-Man and Lady Wasp. It has been far too long since I enjoyed the company of fellow warriors. I would be honored to fight side by side with all of you!"
It takes me a moment to realize that the silence that follows is because everyone is looking at me for my answer"...oh, you want ME on your team too? Sorry, I wasn't sure if that invitation included me. I mean, you guys are all established heroes, and I'm just the guy who showed up and gatecrashed your meeting."
"Maybe, but this isn't exactly a business that requires a resume, Mr Sunshine. You not only heard about a dangerous situation that needed to be stopped, you also tried using your head instead of your fists, even when it was risky. I'd say that earns you a place with the rest of us."
"Hey, like I'm going to say no to this? Sign me up. But with one condition..." I turn to the Hulk "Hulk, you in too?"
He actually looks puzzled at being included "GLOWY MAN WANT HULK TO JOIN? WHY?"
"Well, like Ant-Man said, we all have a different power, and I'd think you'd make a great addition to this... whatever this is. What do you say?"
Hulk thinks for a moment "...HULK TIRED OF BEING CHASED. TIRED OF ALWAYS RUNNING. HULK WANT TO BELONG."
"Excellent! Mr Sunshine, Mr Hulk, welcome to the...the" Iron Man pauses "Say, what should we call ourselves?"
"It should be something colorful, and dramatic" Wasp chimes in "Like..."
"The Avengers/The Beat-Alls!"
The group turns and stares at me "What, not a fan of the Beat-Alls? No one? Okay, well, Wasp's idea is pretty good too..."
"The Avengers it is!"
"AVENGERS!!"