New York City
Only a few days had passed since what could be considered the biggest criminal breakout in modern history. The state of New York was still recovering from the damage. While life went on, people were justifiably on edge.
As a reminder of this recovery, the destroyed Helicarrier was still being lifted out of the bay. Throughout the city, Damage Control employees repaired the damage to the civil infrastructure. Some would consider this damaged state an opportunity to loot while security recuperating.
From the third floor of a Bank of America building, high-strength glass shattered from the force of a criminal busting out. To the civilians, they witnessed what appeared to be a humanoid named after their resemblance, Mandrill, descending from his escape. Normally, Mandrill would have gone the more stealthy approach, but time was limited. He needed cash and fast to start his trek out of the state. He swung onto a street light to the street with his boon over his shoulder.
Just as he was about to sprint down an alleyway, a lone female officer arrived on the scene. "Freeze!" She aimed her pistol, but instead of the typical bullets, it glowed blue as it primed. Due to recent events, local law enforcement received an upgrade courtesy of Hammer Industries. With the number of superhuman criminals unleashed, the city responded in kind. Unfortunately, this officer was a bad match for this encounter.
Mandrill turned toward the woman and focused. His golden iris swirled, causing the woman's eyes to do the same and halting her movement. Now that she was stunned, his facial pores released gas in her direction. Upon contact, she passed out. Without missing a beat, Mandrill ran to a manhole cover to escape. Just as he got his hands on the edges, an electrical shock to his ass made his fingers slip.
"Mandrill, right? Baboon guy, pheromone powers," a female voice asked.
The villain spun around, looking for his attacker until his eyes fell on the small form of the Wasp on the ground a short distance from him.
Her expression was more resigned, with her hands on her hips. "I'm gonna have to ask you to put down the money and surrender, or else you will be beat up."
Feeling a sense of superiority from the size difference, Mandrill just laughed. "Wasp? Do you think I'm scared of you?" He brought his face to her level. "I'll tear those wings off, and then I'll pin you to a corkboard."
Red and gold boots stepped into his field of vision behind Wasp, and his gaze drew upward to see Iron Man. "I could say the same thing about that fur of yours and then toss you in the Gowanus Canal."
Wasp floated up to hover next to his shoulder. "Come on, Tony. That place is dirty enough as it is without him in there."
"Fair point."
Wasp, he could handle her. Iron Man was slightly above his weight class. Now, he was nervous, backflipping away from the two. He couldn't look weak. "It doesn't matter. I can take both of you."
From behind, a green flash went off. Looking over his shoulder, he paled, finding his evolutionary superior counterpart.
A few times Mandrill's size, a large gorilla with black fur and three pairs of eyes glared at him. Two pairs of retractable spider legs from his waist raised his body to dwarf the mutant criminal. "Return to monkey!" A primal howl escaped his mouth, further intimidating the escapee instinctually, even peeing a little.
Mandrill's legs buckled to the ground when the ground shook. A pair of massive footsteps signaled the arrival of the Gi-Ant Man. A large shadow fell over him, fists resting on his hips in a cocky manner.
It was like getting slapped one after the other. A loud thunderclap echoed from above. Thor touched down from above before playing with his hammer.
Fear made Mandrill unconsciously back away from the heroes. Emotions skyrocketed when he backed up into something. Unfortunately, it wasn't a brick wall. It was a wall of muscle. The Hulk growled down at him with his arms crossed, seemingly annoyed at Mandrill's very existence.
Feeling like an ant, Mandrill stuttered and stammered at the sight of the heroes. Their voices seemed to overlap. His breathing grew rapid. Overwhelmed, Mandrill's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he fainted. Suffice it to say, he soiled himself.
"Well, that was easy," Wasp grinned.
Ultimate Spidermonkey chuckled. "We might have gone a bit overkill against one guy." His face contorted at the smell. "Ugh. Let the police get him a change of pants."
Thor scowled. "He brings shame to all monkeys with his cowardice. I had hoped he would put up more of a fight. What say you, Iron Man?"
Iron Man shrugged. "I say one down, seventy-three to go."
Ultimate Spidermonkey held up a hand. "Trust me, Thor. There's a list of people that would give you a decent fight. We'll get there eventually."
Hulk sighed and started walking back to his temporary place of residence. He wouldn't be getting any stress relief today.
Hank shrank down to normal size and pulled out a tablet. "Well, according to Mandrill's file, he's a mutant. He was supposed to be handed to the Mutant Response Division before everyone escaped. I've also notified the nearby hospital of Mandrill's pheromone victim. It's highly addictive."
Tony cringed. "I've had my fair share of withdrawal in my early years. Not fun."
Janet finished detaining Mandrill and shook her head. "I do not like the recent uptick in mutant crime. While his options may have been more limited compared to that Whirlwind guy, I could see him as a good jungle zoologist."
"A bit on the nose there." Ben had some words for the MRD after an earlier encounter with them out of state, but that was for another time. He looked down at the unconscious criminal. "I've met others who had powers since birth. A good social support system for natural superhumans would make good change."
Hank smiled. "I'm glad you think the same way. Maybe we can make a charity out of it."
A Few Days Later
The city of Manhattan bustled about under the midday sun. People walked about doing their usual activities. However, some gave some weary looks as they passed a particular group of people.
Pepper Potts read over a data pad in her hand. Next to her was the Hulk and the shapeshifter, now referring to himself as Four Arms. A fitting name since this form was a red muscular biped with four arms and eyes. At the moment, all three were sipping on smoothies courtesy of the Alien Hero.
It was a lucky choice as the trio had been waiting for the others for the past twenty minutes since the requested time. The three stood at the gate of a large mansion. Tony Stark had asked the team to gather. Considering their lunch chat, this was their new base of operations. Idle chitchat managed to stave off the boredom and distract themselves from the afternoon sun.
Fourarms held up a hand. "I'm just saying that General Ross needs to get his priorities straight. He had better things to do than hunt Superhumans down if Nazi organizations were still running around. From what Bruce said, you intentionally isolated yourself in the desert and rainforests to try and not hurt the people around you."
Pepper nodded. "I have to agree." She turned to their new ally. "For what it's worth, Hulk. I'm sorry that you had to go through all that. A lot of people believed the stories from the military put out about you, but I'm hoping we can change that."
Hulk turned away from them, looking at the families walking across the street. "It's a start," taking another sip of his Strawberry Guava drink.
"Would having a room in the mansion make you comfortable? We can make other arrangements if need be."
He looked back at the mansion. "Dislike cramped spaces."
Pepper pulled up some photos. "Perhaps we can set up something for you by the Botanical gardens or the koi pond. We can get more into it when Tony gives the tour." She received a shrug but not one of indifference. Checking her watch again, she sighed. "Thank you two for actually being on time. Unlike the others. Sorry again for the wait."
Four Arms pulled out his phone. "In hindsight, we should have made a group chat or something. At the very least, they would have told us they were running late. Well, that's not including Thor, maybe."
Hulk shrugged. "Kept losing phones." Getting new burner phones got too inconvenient at a point. He grunted in annoyance with his arms crossed and scowled.
"You alright?"
Cars passed by them, honking to get their attention. "... Not used to the city."
"Understandable… I don't think anyone expected that out of the gate."
"I'm sorry that you're getting a bad first impression. I would have led us inside and out of the sun, but Tony decided to hold onto the keys."
Hulk raised a fist, gesturing to knock down the gate.
Four Arms held up a hand. "Let's not resort to breaking things. Wanna hop the fence and chill on the front lawn?"
The giant considered the idea, but some called his name.
"Oh, my goodness. Are you the Hulk?" The trio turned to see a blonde woman in an emerald dress and light green jacket smile at the giant. Next to her was a mustachioed burly man in a dark blue overcoat. "You're one of the heroes who saved the city. Can I have a picture?"
The alien hero smiled. "See, Hulk. I told you your image was improving."
Hulk blinked for a moment. This was the first time a stranger praised him for heroism. "Sure?" It was a foreign feeling.
"Thanks!" She gave her phone to her friend before standing beside Hulk. She gave a Chesire smile to the camera. "Say cheese!"
The burly man grumbled before taking the picture.
"The name's Leena." She turned to the red hero with an analytical appraisal. "So, who are you supposed to be?"
"Call me Four Arms. It's self-explanatory."
"Quite." Her gaze seemed to rest on the hourglass symbol before turning away. She blew a kiss to the Hulk before walking off again. "Hope to see you again soon!" The friend sent the Hulk a dry look before following after Leena.
Four Arms patted him on the shoulder. "Now, that wasn't so bad, right?"
Hulk watched the two strangers walk away, but he couldn't help but get a weird feeling. It only grew stronger when she left. Maybe it was nothing. Before he could think on it deeply, the outline of a familiar Asgardian warrior flew down.
With a huge grin, Thor landed on the sidewalk. "Ho, Miss Potts! Hulk and Changeling. 'Tis good to see you again. Are you ready for the upcoming battles?" Thor asked with joyful enthusiasm
Unfortunately, the Hulk did not share the same enthusiasm. "You're late..."
Four Arms gave the god a dry look. "Yeah, man. We've been standing here for half an hour."
Pepper frowned. "What took you so long, Thor? I would have thought a man like yourself would be more punctual."
The words struck him deeply. The God of Thunder looked away and thumbed at his hammer. "Apologies to you all. I am not used to your city's mapping. Many roads and turns may have led me astray. In the end, I scouted until I found our friend, Hulk."
The trio considered Thor for a moment before relenting. Giving a Norse god a modern address and expecting him to understand how to use it was a big ask in hindsight. Thor was likely too ashamed or proud to ask for directions from strangers.
Four Arms groaned to himself. "Yeah, we should have seen that coming."
Pepper opened up her calendar. "We'll give you a proper tour around the city so you can direct yourself better."
"Much thanks. I appreciate your efforts," nodded Thor.
A tired voice sounded. "We're here!" A shrunken Wasp flew to the center of the group. "Sorry, we're late. I had to tear Hank away from his lab. We also had a disagreement on how to get here."
Ant-Man then appeared in normal size in a yellow light, a stray any now flying away. "First off, it was an important experiment. Also, you know how I feel about getting into uniform just for travel. We could have taken the Lexus."
"Breaking down the grasshopper genome can wait. Your sponsor in Japan gave you a modest time limit. Besides, this is Hero work!" She gestured to the others on their team. "Everyone else did. Besides, we dodged the traffic near midtown."
Hank rolled his eyes. "I guess..."
"Friend Pym, it is good to see you." Thor raised a brow. "Although, I expected you to be a giant."
"Really? Why?" Ant-Man asked in confusion.
"Thy giant self seems more useful."
"Time and place, Thor," answered Janet. "We don't need a giant walking the streets unless there's something to smash."
"You could say the same thing about those Ice Giants around the palace," offered Four Arms.
"A wise decision then," acknowledged the god.
Having run out of smoothies, Hulk tossed his cup away in annoyance. "Where's Stark!?"
A few seconds later, they heard the familiar jet boosters. "Sorry. Sorry, everyone." Iron Man landed near them before taking off his helmet. "I got caught up in a meeting."
Pepper tapped her boss on the shoulder before showing a list of messages from disgruntled business associates asking where Tony was.
"Uh, actually, I missed that meeting, too," he guiltily admitted.
"I've been messaging you for the past hour while also covering for your absence."
"And you are great for doing that. You deserve another raise."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "If you keep this up, I'll be getting paid more than you do."
"But it would be deserving." Tony turned to the rest of his allies. "Anyway, thanks for coming, and welcome to Avengers' Mansion." Iron Man gestured to the gated mansion in front of them.
"That's what we're calling it?" asked Four Arms.
"It's a placeholder until the group calls it something else. Anyways, this was my-" Iron Man got cut off by Hulk jumping over the gates and walking underneath a tree's shade.
Four Arms shrugged and did the same. "We've been waiting since high noon, Tony. Let's not waste any more time."
Iron Man checked the time again and cringed. Even Pepper seemed more annoyed than usual, thanks to waiting in the sun. "Fair enough." The Iron Avenger sent a command and unlocked the gate for the others to follow.
---
The mansion's main hall was massive, with a checkered floor and white marble columns leading to a grand staircase. Everyone gazed at the spacious interior. Thor started looking at a strange terminal in the wall.
A light scanned over the god's eye, and a British voice spoke, "Greetings, Thor Odinson. May I offer you a drink?"
Ben raised a brow at what he assumed was an AI's terminal. The general shape looked oddly familiar.
The Asgardian stepped back in confusion. "What manner of palace is this?"
Tony smirked. "This was a museum for the Maria Stark Foundation, my mother's home. I've had it upgraded since the breakout. I thought this could be our headquarters."
"Swanky." Wasp flew to the rafters of the room.
"The mansion is run by J.A.R.V.I.S, my personal artificial intelligence. Anything you need, J.A.R.V.I.S will provide. Say hi, J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Indeed," answered the AI.
Seeing Thor's wariness, Four Arms explained it another way. "Just think of it as an enchanted home that helps you out."
"It's a real Smart House." Wasp paused before turning to Tony. "It's not gonna turn into a Terminator situation, right?"
Four Arms snapped his fingers at the panel. "That's it. It looks like HAL 9000."
Several pairs of eyes looked at Tony for an answer a moment later.
The Armored Avenger got a good look at the panel and frowned. "Remind me to change the design." He held up a hand to the others. "I know it looks bad, but I can assure you, J.A.R.V.I.S is only at level 3 of AI theory. He's not Self-Aware yet."
"Yet?" repeated Janet.
Tony deadpanned. "You know what I mean. We're not gonna have a robot apocalypse from me getting a digital assistant."
The rest of the room, who have seen the genre of movies, shook their heads, hoping this wouldn't bite them in the ass in the future.
---
Tony started the tour of the mansion, the first being the kitchen.
"We've got a full kitchen. Chef on call." Tony explained.
Now out of the sun, Hulk and Four Arms started indulging themselves in the fridge and the microwave. Hulk started biting into a watermelon while Ben started snacking on heated chili cheese fries.
Wasp flew over to the Hulk and landed on his shoulder. She got a front-row seat of bits of fruit flying and falling to the floor, a look of disgust growing.
---
Upstairs, Stark showed the living quarters. "There are 12 bedrooms, maid service, laundry, room service, a theater/lounge, satellite TV and movies, every form of video entertainment on the planet."
Thor and Ben tried out king-size beds, but they still felt cramped. "I don't think Hulk and I will fit these well. Would it be possible to adjust our living arrangements?" asked the god.
Ben could revert to human to get more space, but he wasn't going to turn down the chance to get a bigger bed.
Tony's lips thinned. "I probably should have taken your measurements beforehand. Don't worry. I'll get everything fixed within the week." Tony turned to the Hulk. "Pepper told me you wanted to camp outside near the gardens. Any bed preference?"
The giant contemplated before answering. "Sandstone."
Tony blinked before shrugging. "Must really like it firm."
---
The Avengers entered the lounge area with chairs, couches, and a fireplace. Wasp and Four Arms hopped on the couch and raced for the remote. Janet got it first, sticking her tongue at the sour alien. The remote caused a painting above the fireplace to slide, revealing a large TV taking up half a wall. The two beamed, sharing the same brain cell. This would be great for movie nights.
Not everyone seemed thrilled. "Are you serious, Stark?" asked Ant-Man. "This is what you wanted to show us?"
"Uh, no, I haven't gotten to the good stuff yet. You're going to need these." Tony replied. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out cards with a large blue A on the left side and a small black screen on the right. "These ID cards are linked to the Stark entry satellite network and will keep us in audio and video communication anywhere in the world. They also give you full access and control of the mansion."
Four Arms examined his card. "I don't suppose this also works as a credit card," he joked. Was he short on money? No, but it's always more fun spending other people's money.
Iron Man rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Pepper's the only one getting paid, but depending on your request, I'm willing to help you guys if it's important."
"Does spending an entire day at Legoland count as important?" asked the Alien Hero.
A coy smile appeared. "Perhaps."
As the other Avengers examined their cards, Pepper held one out to the Hulk. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."
Hulk's voice raised a bit, a small flash of yellow in his eyes. "I can-" He cut himself off along with the glow. That... didn't feel right. Compared to the others, Pepper had been nothing but flexible with him. Maybe he needed to clear his head a bit. "I... Thanks..." He slowly picked the card out of the woman's hand, wanting to end the interaction quickly.
"No problem," she replied with a smile.
Across the room, Ben nodded in approval of the interaction. It was nice to see Hulk get more acquainted with regular people. Just like home, the battle for good publicity will be a long and hard journey. Checking a few radio stations earlier this week introduced him to quite the character. This Jameson guy had a real hate boner for Superheroes, especially this Spider-Man guy. Ben made a mental note to try and meet him.
Thor, didn't miss the Hulk's slip, but since he reeled himself back, he decided to put it off for now. Although, he would keep a closer eye for any more slips of anger.
Iron Man cleared his throat to get everyone's attention as he walked to a terminal and held up his ID card. Machinery moved the fireplace, revealing a hidden elevator entrance.
Four Arms smirked. "Aren't you being fancy with secret doors?"
Wasp brightened, shrinking and flying towards the elevator. "Nifty. Anymore around the mansion?"
"That's something you learn yourself," snarked Tony.
In the elevator, the team descended underground. "And voilà, the sublevels," Iron Man gestured. Moments later, they reached a large pyramid structure. They entered a laboratory filled with sophisticated machines and gadgets. "The mansion's got a beyond state-of-the-art science lab, space for Hank's modular labs and my armory."
Despite his initial reservations, Ant-Man had to admire the workspace. This place had a much higher budget than his university lab. 'Perhaps this place won't be so bad,' he thought.
The Avengers reached a large platform over a body of water.
"Wow, big pool," Wasp commented.
Ben agreed. "You could probably fit a lake monster or two."
Tony raised a brow. "Met some?"
"Met some. Fought some. Babysat for some," Four Arms playfully yet truthfully stated.
Iron Man dismissed it as a joke. "Well, the pool's on the roof." Machinery moved, splitting the water in half. From below, a large red and white aircraft rose into view. "This is a full-functional hangar with two prototype high-speed aerial shuttles. The Quinjets." Several panels on the Quinjet opened, revealing many missiles and laser weapons. A moment later, a distorted force field surrounded it. "Top of the line weapons and shields"
"I can see why you ended your contract with the military. You would have promoted an international arms race." Ben tapped against the field. "How'd you develop the forcefields, anyways?"
Tony coughed into his fist. "I may have had some input from an associate."
Hank deadpanned. "You asked Reed for his data on Susan?"
"... I'm not answering that." He disabled the shield and patted the hull. "This baby reaches an airspeed of Mach 8, only getting faster with my future upgrades. Perfect for those of us who can't fly long distances." This earned him a look from the others even though they didn't do international travel regularly. "They are also space ready, too."
Four Arms shook his head. "Another item on the list of private innovation keeping your planet at level 3. How are you not contracted with NASA for this stuff?"
Tony stood straighter. "Actually, after our little lunch talk, I'm currently in talks regarding energy distribution. Unfortunately, the G-Men are stonewalling NASA talks unless I help out with the military."
"Well, you wouldn't be the first," commented Ben. "Even General Electric works with the military."
Wasp blinked in confusion. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, General Electric made the GAU-8 Avenger Machine Gun," remarked Tony. "Even my dad threw his hat into the ring for that contract."
"You're telling me the same people that make washing machines are the same people that make machine guns."
Ben shrugged. "One spins to make something clean, and the other one spins to make something disappear. It's really not that complicated."
Wasp turned to Hank. "You don't find it weird that the same company that makes toasters also makes stuff that vaporizes people?"
Her boyfriend didn't seem to mind. "Toasters and machine guns, it's all just engineering."
"This is the world I live in, I guess." She shook herself of those thoughts. "What's next, Tony?"
"Well, there's the training room." He said as he turned and began to walk out of the room.
Four Arms looked back at Thor and Hulk. "Do you have stuff for our weight class?"
Stark crossed his arms and chuckled. "After seeing Graviton, I have a decent gauge. I got the suggestion from another associate, but I call mine the Danger Zone."
There were a few smirks. "Of course you did, Tony."