Thor and Loki walked to the bridge that overlooked Central Park in New York. Loki was gagged by a device that SHIELD was avid couldn't be removed without Thor's ability. Cuffs severed his wrists together and the demi-god stared down in defeat. His army was destroyed, and his scepter was taken by SHIELD, now powerless and a prisoner of Asgard. His reign was over before it even began.

Thor turned to the others who gathered at the clearing. He shook hands with each of them, stopping at Sue and acted hesitant. But he dropped the act and gave a smile, cupping her hand. Sue's tricks were beyond him and he still didn't understand how she could do what she did, but she was his friend and a part of the team. Thor would be back when he was needed by the Avengers, so it wasn't a final goodbye.

Bruce took the Tesseract out of the case that Tony brought in his firey red sportscar. Bruce enclosed it in a glass cylinder that would act as a teleport to Asgard. It would need to be hidden away on the far away planet and Thor would be sure that no one would get their hands on it again. Especially not anyone of the likes of Loki.

Thor and Loki took hold of their teleportation device and stared at each other as they disintegrated. The Avengers watched as the particles of the brothers flew into the air and headed into the sky. The world was safe from Loki and they could rest. That was for now, anyways.

'-I went skiing in the alps one time,' Johnny spoke to Clint and Natasha as they walked to their respected cars. 'SHEILD tried to keep me under quarantine at first, but rules aren't really my thing. I just... lit up and melted about half a mountain. I then spent the next few weeks burning through all my clothes. That was until Stark's suit and-'

'My suit,' Sue corrected from her place next to Tony. Johnny rolled his eyes and looked to his ride home.

'Can I get a lift?'

'You can fly, can't you?' Tony put his sunglasses over his eyes. 'Make your own way, burnout.'

Johnny grumbled as he watched Tony take hold of Sue's hand, rubbing the salt in the wound even more. His sister was involved with the biggest playboy known to man. Not only that, but Iron Man, as well. But Johnny learnt quickly that Sue wasn't just someone to Tony. The way she looked at the man next to her was something anyone could see as love. Even if she hadn't admitted it yet, everyone could see the two were destined to be together. Tony's eyes sparkled when he looked at her, and Johnny hated to admit that he liked Tony. The man was a menace, but he was good to Sue. That's all he cared about.

Tony smiled down at the woman he adored and opened the passenger door of his car. Sue, dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt, stepped into the car and beamed up at Tony. He showed his bright teeth in a genuine grin before closing the door and heading to the other side.

'I just bought these,' Johnny sighed as he looked down at his new leather jacket and jeans. Johnny jumped into the air and the Avengers turned to watch.

His usual fires lit up his clothes and revealed the blue suit underneath. The streamline of light followed the man as he flew into the clear sky. Sue and Tony looked up through the windshield of the car and saw Johnny take a sharp turn, before turning back and flying through the middle. A flaming 'A' blazed from the flames and Johnny flew off, heading to his new home in Malibu with Sue.

≛≛≛

In the year 1999, the city of Bern in Switzerland boomed with excitement. The new millennium was half an hour away and a science conference was the last place anyone wanted to be. The hall was filled with scientists and researchers from all over the world. They were having a professional and peaceful affair until twenty-seven-year-old Tony Stark arrived four hours late.

Susan Storm stood in an Irish green dress with an unfinished champagne glass in her hand. Her blonde hair was tied back into an extravagant wrap of braids at the nape of her neck. She was only twenty-four and recently graduated from university with her friends Reed and Ben, and her older brother, Johnny.

'Well, this is boring,' Johnny groaned. He stood in a black suit, his blonde hair slicked back and his eyelids heavy. He attempted to have a good time and drink the conference's supply of champagne, but it was no use.

'Looks like that guy's having a blast. Can I join him?' Johnny pointed to Tony Stark who laughed drunkenly. His posse were the only people that were having a good time in the grand hall.

'Stark's speech was near inaudible,' Reed Richards said with a roll of his eyes. 'He's a disgrace to scientists everywhere.'

Tony Stark swayed in his place as he patted his bodyguard, Happy, on the shoulder. He stood in a suit and sunglasses covered his eyes, his facial hair growing into the pattern that would soon be iconic.

The posse's table was full of empty glasses and women giggled around it with balloons in their hands. They attempted to turn the science conference into some sort of celebration for the new year, but it was failing.

Susan Storm watched as Tony Stark left the hall with a woman attached to his arm. She turned away in disinterest and saw Ben Grimm return to the group with a similar look of boredom as her brother. They agreed to accompany Reed on the trip in hopes of having some sort of celebration for New Year's, but they were yet to experience such luxury.

'Reed, can we please move this to a bar?' Ben pleaded to his long-time friend. 'I'm dying here.'

Reed sighed before lowering his head into a nod. Johnny and Ben grinned and put down their champagne glasses. Sue swallowed the last of her drink and put it down on a nearby table. Johnny led the three out of the hall and towards the elevator that would take them to the bottom floor. He and Ben started to sing 'I Want It That Way', a song that was released earlier in the year and was a hit by the Backstreet Boys. Their bellows were cheerful at the promise of Swiss bars and New Year street parties.

People had the same idea as the four and waited for elevators in the hall. They joined the crowd that contained Tony Stark's posse and others who wanted to party for their last half hour of 1999. Sue stood with Reed as her brother and Ben continued to sing loudly, drawing the attention of others.

'I like the dress,' Reed said to Sue. She turned to her friend and smiled bashfully.

'Thank you,' she replied, and Reed smiled back. 'Did you get what you wanted out of the conference?'

'I got enough. Stark took the rest.'

An elevator dinged and the swarm piled in. Balloons hit the doorframe and shrunk underneath to get through. Tony Stark's bodyguard stood with his boss as the elevator filled and Johnny tried to push through with Ben next to him. But the two were stopped by Happy Hogan, who looked at the men who swayed together.

'Sorry, guys. We're full,' Happy said. The two shrugged and stepped away to wait for the next one.

Tony laughed at the two before he saw the bright green dress that stood behind them. Sue met eyes with the Stark who had taken his sunglasses off and gave him a hard look. The ruckus he caused in the hall and the pitiful speech he gave irritated Reed, therefore irritating Sue. She knew how much the conference meant to her friend, and the fact that the billionaire waltzed in and made it a circus was disgusting.

Sue stepped away with Reed to stand with Johnny and Ben, and Tony's eyes followed until she was out of sight. His attention was then pulled away by the young botanist he planned to see the new year through with. The woman in the green dress slipped his mind and the elevator doors tried to close, but were stopped by a man hobbling with a walking stick.

---

Johnny Storm walked from the kitchen to the living room with a pack of flat popcorn in his hand. His other hand held a beer and he fell onto the grey sofa in the large living room. Malibu was bright outside the floor to length windows that displayed the city's warm summer day. The Storms' home was encased by the sun's warmth and Johnny turned on the TV that mounted on the rustic brick wall.

'Susan Storm's decision to sign over the Richards' company has been said to be a 'poor career choice' by many,' the news reporter said through the TV. A picture of Sue appeared in the box next to the woman in the studio. 'The Invisible Woman released a statement earlier this week saying that the company was too much for her. Sources say that the decision was made as a result of Storm's involvement with billionaire and Iron Man, Tony Stark.'

The popcorn packet that sat in Johnny's hand expanded slowly from the popping of kernels. Heat radiated through his skin and cooked the kernels until the smell wafted throughout the room. Johnny took swigs of his beer before opening his lunch and leaning back to shove handfuls into his mouth.

'In news of The Invisible Woman, her brother, The Human Torch, has been spotted frequently with his sister,' the box displayed a picture of Johnny with flames on his shoulders in the streets of New York during the Chitauri invasion. 'Johnny Storm was said to have been killed in the Marvel-1 mission but has recently been seen alive and well. Sources say he now lives with his sister in California and the reunited siblings are yet to release a statement about their association with Tony Stark.'