2012

A Grand Entrance

DISCLAIMER : I DON'T OWN ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT THE PLOT!  

  It was a large room, grand and stellar and imposing all at once. The room was dark though, and eerie shadows lined the walls directly behind fancy gold candle holders, each one containing a mound of wax with a dancing flame. 

  Velvet curtains swayed lightly in the non-existent breeze, and dust was piled in the corners of the rich red walls. It seemed very old, though a dark red projector hung from the ceiling, matching the tiles above it. 

  Two rows of cherry-red seats were placed in an arc facing the far wall. The rows seemed to go on forever, as did the wall they were pointed towards.  

  There was a large crimson stage at the far wall. More curtains hung down from the platform, and a long black line cut into the red wood. Behind it was jarringly bright white wall, the complete opposite of the smooth and warm colors surrounding it. 

 On the stage was a girl. She wore a normal t-shirt and leggings, with high boots and long red hair. Like everything else in the room, her clothing was a deep scarlet. She seemed to be looking at her phone, muttering words that could not be heard. 

  She hesitated, then pressed a button.

~

  Tony Stark was fine. He told himself this as he rode an elevator down his shattered and damaged tower, with a bunch of others who were just as odd as he was. He repeated the words over and over again, staring mindlessly at the shiny steel wall. 

  Tony wasn't supposed to be fine, right? So it was okay if he wasn't feeling as good as he should have?  After all, he and the rest of the Avengers had just stopped a mass invasion. It should be okay if he wasn't feeling stellar like normal. 

  But the problem was, these people were different. They were like him, but so unlike his dazzling self that it was confusing. Tony tried to hide it behind snark and sass, but he really didn't know what to think of his new teammates.

  Spangles was easy. The rest, not so much. 

  Tony snapped to attention as the elevator dinged loudly. Spangles and Reindeer Games cringed at the sound, but the super spies and Point Break stood as rigidly as ever. Tony took a deep breath before swerving around to flash an absolutely brilliant smile at the people assembled in the lobby. 

  He grabbed the Tesseract case out of the elevator and walked out. The other Avengers followed, as did their prisoner. Tony glanced back to check if Loki was trying anything. It was a justified fear; the villain had just sent New York into a state of panic.

   The others didn't look back. They didn't turn around. They only moved around him, shook hands and talked. Which was why Tony Stark was the only one to notice the bright red portal hurtling towards them before the room went black. 

~

  Natasha Romanoff awoke to darkness, the black pressing down on her like the pipe that had trapped her leg only a day earlier. She tried to open her eyes, only to find that they were already open wide. It was that dark?  That could only mean that they were indoors. No natural darkness could be this deep. 

  "Natasha?"

  She nearly punched the speaker in the face before she realized it was Clint. Natasha felt the ground around her. She was sitting, and the floor was soft and sort of fluffy. She quickly pulled her hands away from it and stood up to where she could see a faint outline of her fellow agent. 

  "Do you think it's Loki?" Clint asked her. Despite not having the ability to see, Natasha knew his eyes were scanning their prison, just as hers were. 

  "Possibly," she replied. "Doesn't seem like his type of magic though, from the data we got from Thor."

   Clint took a step forward. His footsteps were muffled by the carpet, so he took another one. "Speaking of Thor, where are the others?"  Natasha was about to reply when she saw something. 

  "Get down," she hissed, getting low to the ground. Clint followed her lead, crouching on his stomach next to her. The Natasha saw it again. A faint red glow, coming from around the west. "Do you see it?" she asked him, keeping her voice  below a whisper. Then, the lights turned on. 

  It was blinding, being in darkness and then light. Natasha rubbed her eyes, blinking away the spots that showing up in her vision. She stood up. Thor was seated near Loki, who was strapped firmly to a velvet cushion chair. Behind them was Stark, Pepper Potts, Colonel James Rhodes, Happy Hogan, and a small family with a child.

  Natasha realized she was standing in front of a row of chairs. She inspected the chair, but when she saw Stark had no handcuffs on him, she tenderly sat down. Clint followed her lead. Both of them were surprised when nothing heavy clanked around their wrists. 

  Natasha looked to her right. She was sitting in a section of chairs, away from Stark and Thor. SHIELD agents were seated in her sect, with Fury and Hill on the end next to Clint. 

  "Alright!" A voice called. Natasha moved her eyes to a black white wall. A girl in all red was standing there. She didn't look too much of a threat, but Natasha knew never to underestimate your opponents. 

  There were multiple shouts at the sound of her voice. The girl waited for all the talking and yelling to stop before continuing. "I have brought all of you here today because you are all very important to the future." 

  Again more cries came from the crowd. The girl once again waited for them to stop before continuing. "It's a dangerous game, playing with time. But I think you deserve the privilege. Anyways, I know your future, and soon you will too!" 

  With that, she vanished and the screen flickered to life.