The Equivalents

10. The gala.

Tony had planned to hold a gala to lure out the DC villains. From what Bruce Wayne had said, they wouldn't be able to resist it. He was right. As usual.

The plan was simple. Draw them in, take them out. They had split up into a few groups.

Team A was Tony, Bruce, Dick, Peter, and Oliver. They were the faces of the gala. The ones who could go around and act like money or partying was their lives. The ones who drew attention.

Team B was Steve, Sam, Diana, and Clint. They were the heroes in hiding. Waiting for the signal to go in and attack while the other groups could slip out and change before coming back to help.

Team C was Natasha, Cassandra, Bucky, and Jason. They were the stealth. The ones who could blend in with the rest of the guests and get a closer look if any of them were sketchy.

Team D was Tim, Roy, and Kate. They were the tech. Even though Kate wasn't really happy about this, she agreed because she knew Tim would need help. And Roy agreed because Kate did.

Team E, well... the Avengers had gotten a distress call so Hulk, Thor, and Clark went to check it out.

Everything was set. Everything was going perfect to their plan.

"Good evening, everyone." Tony said as he started the night with a toast. "I'm not big on fancy parties, even though I'm big on regular ones, but tonight is different. Tonight, we all are here dressed up in fancy suits and dresses, because it's for a good cause. All the money you guys paid to be here is, as you know, going to help kids in Sokovia. So, here's to fancy parties for a good cause."

Everyone toasted their glasses and clapped for Tony's speech. And so the night began. Everyone playing their part. Bruce and Oliver began conversing with Tony's friends while Dick Grayson danced with every red head he could find.

Steve, Sam, Clint, and Diana were all suiting up. They were on a lower floor then the party, but they made sure they had both of the stairwells covered so they could get upstairs quickly. Now they were just waiting for the signal.

Tim, Kate, and Roy were on an even lower level. They had computers set up all around them and monitors as well. They were linking the comms and keeping track of all the cameras in case someone tried to get the jump on any of the other teams.

Natasha, Bucky, Cassandra, and Jason were all out on the dance floor. Jason didn't dance much, but with Cassandra as a partner, it didn't matter. Same went for Natasha and Bucky.

"Nothing yet." Jason whispered into his comm. "Bucky?"

"Nothing so far." Bucky replied as he waltzed with Natasha. It felt so nice to be doing something like this with her again. He wished they could go back to the way things were before. Before he was cut out of her head. When she loved him.

"That man, over there." Natasha said. She looked over and saw a man reach into his jacket. She waited a second to make sure it wasn't a gun. He was just grabbing a pen. "We're good here."

Jason and Cassandra had danced over to where Bucky and Nat were after they heard Nat worry about someone.

"A pen. Do you guys think you can handle this one? Or will we need to call in backup?" Jason mocked, earning a shove from Cass.

"Care to switch partners?" Natasha suggested.

"You sure?" Bucky asked, kinda saddened by her suggestion.

"I'm sure, Barnes." Natasha said, without even looking at him. Her gaze was on Jason the whole time. She took his hand and went back onto the floor. Bucky did the same with Cass.

Natasha took Jason to the other side of the dance floor.

"So, what's it like in your universe?" Natasha asked.

"Well, it's not too bad. In other places at least. I live in the most crime ridden city in the world. Gotham." Jason explained. "Although as many times as I've tried to leave, I always go back. It's my home."

"Sounds interesting." Natasha smirked.

Jason could tell she was flirting with him, he could also tell that Bucky was staring at them. He was obviously jealous of the affection Nat was showing Jason. The three of them got so distracted with this that none of them noticed a disguised man sneak into the room. Thank God for Cass.

"Him. He is hiding something." Cass told Bucky.

"Are you sure?" Bucky asked. Jason heard him through the com.

"If Cass says someone is acting weird, they're acting weird." Jason replied. "We're coming over."

Natasha and Jason danced over to Bucky and Cass. Cass pointed out the man. Jason didn't recognize him, but he recognized the person he was talking to.

"The man next to him is Black Mask. He must be wearing a... well, a mask." Jason said.

"Who's the other guy?" Natasha asked.

"I can't tell from here." Jason said. "But we need to tell Bruce that it's about to go down."