Flashback

Four Years Ago - Age 27

Morgan was laying in her bed when she heard a scream coming from someone's room. She immediately gets up from her bed and runs over to where the voice was.

"Morgan" Liam sobbed, he climbs down from his bed and runs into his sister's arms. Liam hoists him up to comfort him.

"What's wrong Liam?" Morgan asked

"I had a dream! A really bad dream." Liam said as he began to cry

Morgan yawns and wipes away Liam's tears, correcting him, "You had a nightmare?" She said

"I dreamt that something bad happened to you and you died! We were all alone!" Liam cried

Morgan sits down on the bed and says, "It's okay, you have nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to happen to me and I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

"You pinky promise?" Liam asked as he held out his pinky finger

"I promise." Morgan smiled as she put her brother to sleep, "I won't let anything separate us. We will never be apart from each other." She kissed her brother's forehead and then walked out the door.

End of Flashback

Morgan woke up with a gasp and panting heavily with sweat draining down her face, "Glad to see you're awake." A voice said

Morgan turns around to see Phil Coulson, who was sitting in a chair next to her, "Phil?" She asked

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up." Coulson said

"What happened" Morgan asked

"You jumped out of a truck and were unconscious. The doctor said you have a mild concussion but you should be fine in a couple of days." Coulson said

"Guess that explains the headache." Morgan said as she pulled the covers off of her, "What happened to Clint?" She asked

"He's been brainwashed by Loki and they have the tesseract. We're working on tracking them down but so far haven't found anything." Coulson explained

"Fury wanted me to show you this. It's a list of people he's recruiting to help find the Tesseract and oversee any dangerous situations that should arise in the future." Coulson said as he handed her the file.

The first file was of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. He is an intelligent billionaire who created his own Iron Man suit after being held captive inside a cave by some terrorists.

The second file was of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. After being frozen in ice for over seventy years, a few S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists found him and brought him to one of their facilities.

The third file was of Dr. Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk. After being exposed to gamma radiation, Dr. Banner transformed into a giant green monster.

The fourth file was of Thor. Like Loki, he is also from Asgard. When he first came to Earth, he caused quite a commotion at S.H.I.E.L.D. He is the reason the Tesseract was on Earth.

The fifth file was Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. She was the first person who interacted with Morgan and the two instantly became friends. She would also become Morgan's S.O.

The sixth file was Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. He is another one of Morgan's friends, he also has a wife and two kids. Whenever Morgan needed advice on taking care of her siblings he would be the one to help her.

"I'm surprised that Tony's on here given that he doesn't play well with others." Morgan said

"Well, I'm on my way to try to convince him to join but I'm going to need your help." Coulson said

"Do you really think Tony's going to listen to me?" Morgan asked

"You and Pepper are about the only one's he trusts so if anyone can convince him it's you." Coulson said

Morgan stands up, "Well then let's go." She said

------------------------------------

Steve is beating a punching bag in the gym lights, alone on the floor, lost in the fight. He beats the bag harder, like physically hurting it.

Flashback

In a Hydra base, Steve is running through a forest, dodging mortar shells, gunfire and Tesseract energy blasts.

"There's not enough time! I gotta put her in the water!" Steve said

In the present, Steve's punches become harder and more violent.

In the flashback, Steve places the compass he has, featuring a picture of Peggy, on the dash as the plane plummets towards the ice.

"You won't be alone." Peggy said

Red Skull picks up the Tesseract, and vanishes.

In the present, Steve is beating the bag with everything he has, destroying it and beating his fists.

"Oh my god!" A Shield Scientist yelled

Steve is lying on a table, half frozen, and still partially trapped in a slab of ice. Two Shield agents along with Morgan scientists run equipment over him, checking for his vitals. Something flickers...

"This guy is still alive!" Morgan said

Steve punched the bag so hard it flung across the room with one swing snapping the metal chain and pummeling it back a dozen feet, sand spilling out from where he cracked the fabric. He stands up, breathing hard, and grabs another bag, resuming a more normal routine.

"Trouble sleeping?" Fury asked as he walked in

"I slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill." Steve said

"Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world." Fury said

Steve stops punching and walks over to the bench, unraveling the tape off his hands. He sits down, "I went under, the world was at war, I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost." Steve said

"We've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently." Fury said

"You here with a mission, sir?" Steve asked

"I am." Fury answered

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asked

"Trying to save it." Fury said and he hands Steve a file on the Tesseract, along with other files on HYDRA'S projects

"Hydra's secret weapon." Steve said

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think, the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." Fury said

"Who took it from you?" Steve asked

"He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Fury said

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me." Steve said

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing package waiting for you back at your apartment." Fury said

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Fury asked

"You should have left it in the ocean." Steve said and he turns and picks up a punching bag. 

Fury starts walking out of the gym.

------------------------------------

"How does it look?"

Tony smirked as he flew. "Like Christmas...but with more me."

"We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. Kara, too, honestly." Pepper rambled. "I'm in DC tomorrow. I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings."

"Pepper, you're killing me," Tony told her. "The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment."

"Then get in here, and I will."

Tony's heart leapt at her words as he landed on the launch pad, and the suit disassembled around him. As he walked inside, JARVIS' voice filled the air.

"Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line."

"I'm not in," Tony told his AI. "I'm actually out."

"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting."

"Grow a spine, JARVIS. I got a date."

He walked over to Pepper and grinned as she focused on the visual projections of their project.

"Levels are holding steady, I think." She bit her lip in uncertainty.

"Of course, they are. I was directly involved." He quipped and joined her at the desk. "Which brings me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?"

Pepper shook her head. "Well, ha, I really wouldn't know, now would I?"

As she dismissed the projection, he furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? All of this came from you."

"No, all this came from that." She tapped the arc reactor in his chest.

"Give yourself some credit. Please. Stark Tower is your baby." He gazed into her eyes, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Give yourself...12% of the credit."

Staring at him, Pepper scoffed. "12%?"

"An argument could be made for 15!" Tony said quickly, sensing her ire.

"12%? My baby?" She turned and walked to the living room table.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting." Tony followed her. "Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And, sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."

"Oh." Pepper said absentmindedly as she poured champagne.

"My private elevator..."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean our elevator?"

"...It was teeming with sweaty workmen." He reminded her. "I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"It's not going to be that subtle." She informed him and smirked.

"I'll tell you what. The next building is going to say 'Potts' on the tower." He compromised.

"On the lease." She corrected him.

He winced jokingly. "Call your mom. Can you bunk over?"

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."

From his phone, Morgan's voice echoed. "Tony, we need to talk."

Tony sighed and held his phone up. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message."

"This is urgent."

"Then leave it urgently," Tony suggested as the elevator doors opened, revealing Coulson and Morgan. "Security breach!"

"Mr. Stark," Coulson said without pleasantries.

"Phil! Morgan!" Pepper exclaimed, standing to greet him. "Come in."

"Phil?" Tony was confused. Since when were they on a first name basis? "Uh, his first name is 'Agent.'"

"We can't stay." Coulson told her.

"Come on in; we're celebrating."

"Which is why they can't stay," Tony repeated, quickly following her movements.

Shaking her head, Morgan held out a file, "We need you to look this over as soon as possible."

"I don't...like being handed things."

"That's fine because I love being handed things," Pepper said as she took the file from Coulson. "Let's trade."

She handed him her glass as she grabbed the file, then passed it to Tony while taking his glass. "Thank you."

Tony sighed, "Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation." Coulson said

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asked, and everyone turned to her. "Which I know nothing about..."

Scoffing, Tony opened the file and made his way to project it on his desk. "The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought, and I didn't even qualify."

Pepper winced. "I didn't know that, either."

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, and don't play well with others." Tony listed the thing Natasha had written about him.

"Now that we did know." Morgan said

Phil smirked at Pepper before turning back to Tony. "This isn't about personality profiles, anymore."

"Whatever." Tony rolled his eyes. "Ms. Potts, got a second?"

Pepper smiled apologetically at Phil. "Half a moment."

She walked over to Tony at a rapid pace as he typed things into his database.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment."

"I was having 12% of a moment." She teased. "This seems serious, Phil and Morgan are pretty shaken."

"How would you know if it's..." Tony turned to her. "Why is he 'Phil'?"

"What is all this?" Pepper asked him, ignoring his question.

"This is...uh..." He blew up the images onto the projection in front of him. "This."

Noise filled the room as videos from multiple battles played a the same time. On the left, images of the Hulk flashed, while next to it, images of battles fought by both Captain America and Thor respectively played as well.

"I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight." Pepper said immediately, overwhelmed by the footage.

"Tomorrow," Tony told her.

"You have homework." She reminded him, neither of their eyes leaving the screens. "You have a lot of homework."

"Well, what if I...didn't?" He asked her seriously.

"If you didn't? You mean when you've finished?" She asked, and he nodded. "Well, um, then..."

She leaned in and whispered something into his ear. His eyes grew wide, and a grin spread on his face. "Square deal. Fly safe."

"Work hard," Pepper told him before she kissed him. "So, any chance you're driving by LaGuardia?"

Phil nodded, "We can drop you."

"Fantastic."

Tony pointed at him as a goodbye as they left before dropping his arms at his side. Turning back to the screens in front of him, he focused on the image of the Tesseract. Grabbing it, he examined the cube and waited until he couldn't hear their voices anymore.

"Oh Coulson, we want to hear about that Cellist, is that still a thing?" Morgan asked

"She moved back to Portland." Coulson said

"What?" Morgan said

"Boo!" Pepper said