Thor smiled heartily at everyone in the room. "Hello, everyone. I am Thor of Asgard. I am glad to have been invited to this team of Midgard's mightiest heroes… It is also nice to have a bit of time away from my betrothed. She is currently VERY mad at me…" Thor mumbled out as his smile shrunk. He had trouble figuring out what the problem was though.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Thor. But welcome to the team!" Steve said sincerely. "What's the problem between you and your girl? Is it cold feet before the wedding?" Steve asked.
"Nay, tis not that. Lady Jane is more than happy to get married. She is upset about being pregnant currently." Thor explained.
"Awwwe." Andrea cooed.
Natasha was listening in and couldn't help but be a tad bit jealous of Jane Foster. Natasha was a SHIELD agent, she obviously knew who a famous alien prince was currently dating on their planet. One thing that Natasha had always wanted was children. Specifically now, Layla's children. The red room took away Natasha's ability to ever have children when she was younger. Layla of course, being the amazing woman she was, had completely healed Natasha. Layla had asked her to wait on having any children though until Earth's bigger threats were cleared up first. Natasha was glad that they were clearing up one of those threats shortly.
"Congratulations, man!" Tony walked up to Thor and patted him on the shoulder. "My fiance Pepper and I have been thinking about making mini versions of ourselves as well."
"I can't wait to be an auntie!" Andrea said with a smile. Tony and Pepper, in this world, had taken her in and treated her like true family.
Everyone in the room was enthusiastic to hear about Thor's future kid.
Thor nodded. "Thank you for the encouragement everyone, I'm excited to be spending the next few hundred years raising our child!" He declared.
"..."
The happy atmosphere in the room immediately vanished.
"Wait? What?" Tony asked.
"Hundred years?" Andrea asked with a sense of foreboding. "Thor? How long do Asgardian children take to grow up?" She asked him.
Thor didn't notice the mood shift in the room. He was still smiling proudly at the thought of being a father. "How long? Not that long. Only a few hundred years. The average Asgardian child should be finished potty training usually before they're 60 in Earth years."
Natasha's eyes widened in shock at that number. She was now very glad that she held off on becoming an Asgardian when Layla offered her one of those apples! Natasha now knew why Jane was so upset as well. For a woman who started out as a human, that amount of time raising a child would seem horrifying.
"60 years of diapers…" Andrea muttered to herself in horror. She was starting to regret eating that apple impulsively…
"..."
The doors opened again and Fury walked back in. He wasn't alone, a teenage boy with blond hair and blue eyes was following behind him.
The current roster of gathered Avengers were looking at the kid curiously. Fury sighed before introducing him to them. "Everyone…this is Danny Rand. Otherwise known as the Iron Fist."
Danny bowed to everyone in the room. "Greetings everyone. I hope this day brings you good fortunes. I am the Immortal Iron Fist. I have been told that you brave warriors have been assembled to help me do battle against the Hand! With my help, I assure you we will be victorious. The sun shines down and smiles upon us this day."
"Why doest this child talk comically?" Thor asked ironically.
"I'm glad he said it, because I was also thinking it." Tony added.
Fury sighed again and explained. "He was raised by a secret sect of monks who are sworn enemies of the Hand. Iron Fist here knows where the Hand's main base of operations is. On top of that, the base is typically surrounded by a powerful barrier which Danny should be able to break…with his Iron Fist?" Fury said questioningly. Fury wasn't sure how it all worked to be honest.
All Fury knew was that the Hand had operated in this world long enough and it was time for them to go. After the Scotland incident, they had become public enemy number one for giving Voldemort the ritual to summon a King of Hell into their world. Other nations were rightfully afraid that the same thing could happen to them. Layla might not be around to save them in time and reverse the damage done either.
Natasha was looking at Danny Rand, she was very unimpressed. "What is his power exactly? He can break barriers? The black weapons that Layla gave us can do that."
Danny frowned at being so underestimated. "I assure you all that the power of the Iron fist is unrivaled. With its awesome power I can smash boulders and dent even the strongest of metals in a single blow!" He said proudly while expecting everyone to be awed.
"...Wait…? Is that it? I can do that too now that I'm an Asgardian!" Andrea said. And with her suit's firepower, she could blow up entire mountain ranges…
"Shameless boasting." Danny scoffed at her.
Andrea gaped at him. "Now listen here you ignorant little–"
"Whoa! Calm down there, Sis! No need to get into a fight with a 15 year old." Tony said with a laugh.
"I'm 19!" Danny declared.
Tony looked at him up and down. "Really? You need to eat more then because you're thin as a twig."
"I'll have you know that my muscles are perfectly compact and that I have trained my body to the pinnacle of martial arts. No one in the world can match the Iron Fist in combat!"
Tony obviously did not believe that. As did no one else in the room. Tony pointed to Natasha. "If you can land a single hit against her I will buy you whatever you want."
"I care not for worldly possessions, but I cannot have my honor coming into question. I will defeat this woman with ease."
Natasha wondered why she was suddenly being dragged into this but she supposed she could see what the kid was made of. She stepped forward and told the kid to come at her.
Danny paused for a moment and took a strange pose. His right hand started to glow a faint golden light before steadily getting brighter. Eventually his fist was glowing brightly. The whole process took around 30 seconds…
"Does he expect his enemies to just sit around while he does an anime style powerup?" Andrea asked Fury while they watched Danny prepare to spar with Natasha.
Fury sighed. "According to him, he has faced the Hand before. And they DID sit around and wait for him to power up in front of them… Apparently it's dishonorable to attack someone when they are doing that." He stated.
"What kind of Dragon Ball Z bullshit is that!?" She remarked!
"I'm ready!" Danny declared. "Prepare to face the Iron Fist, woman!" With his hand glowing brightly, he ran forward and punched at Natasha's torso.
She easily stepped out of the way of his punch and retaliated with a blow of her own. She kicked him hard in the stomach. She made sure to hold back to test the waters with him.
Danny stumbled backwards in pain and was gasping for air. "Not bad, but I was only going easy on you!" He charged back towards her and started releasing kung fu punches and kicks with a fury!
Natasha had to admit that the kid had some skill, but he was clearly not a master. It was easy enough for her to dodge the bright glowing fist and block his other blows. Finally, she saw an opening when he went for a wide hook. She ducked under the blow before spinning and kicking out his legs from underneath him. He lost balance and fell backwards. His head smacked against the hard floor with a loud thunk.
Danny did not get back up…
"He's not dead is he?" Tony asked in concern. "The kid's head hit the metal floor pretty hard."
"He's just knocked out for now." Natasha said as she checked Danny's pulse. She turned to Fury and stood back up. "Did we actually need this kid to tag along?"
Fury sighed while looking at the unconscious Iron Fist. He wasn't expecting much, but he expected more than that sad display honestly. The average SHIELD agent could probably beat the kid in a fight as long as they stayed away from his right hand. Considering it took Danny 30 seconds to power it up…that was a mute point anyway.
"He was supposed to be back up in case Layla's black metal weapons failed to pierce through the barrier surrounding The Hand's main base. Seeing as he probably now has a concussion, and we have no way to heal him because Layla ran off with Asia Argento, I suppose we'll just leave him here." Fury said. "I suppose we'll commence the Avengers first mission without him and hope for the best."
"Alright then!" Tony cheered while pouring himself another whiskey, "Let's go take down the Huns!"
"It's the Hand, Tony! Did you even finish reading the mission dossier?" Natasha asked him.
"No, I couldn't take it seriously after I read that we were fighting ninjas who still used swords and bows…" Tony said.
"My people still use swords and bows…" Thor grumbled.
"Well, your people are bulletproof. These guys are not." Tony said and Thor nodded.
With that, the Avengers assembled to take on their first mission in this Universe. Layla would be sad that she missed out on it when she returned...
XXX