Norway - New Asgard (January 2018)

[Ariel]

(Gamora - Temp-played by Ariel)

"You made me promise to keep you away from Thanos so that he couldn't use you," "I can't do that if I'm not with you."

Gamora's heart swelled as the warmth of Peter's loving touch radiated against her cheek. Closing her eyes, she basked in the moment as she wanted to stay in his embrace forever, he always made her feel like they were the only two in the Galaxy. But they weren't, and the thought of being away from Peter was one of the hardest decisions to come for her. Though, sometimes the right choice wasn't easy.

"How many are going with me?"

Gamora's eyes blinked open again at the sound of Hope's voice, taking in the sight of Peter's face one more time before coming to terms with what she needed to do. Taking Peter's hand from her cheek, she laced her fingers into his before answering the call, "Peter is!" Gamora shouted regrettably, beginning to back away from Peter. Their fingers still intertwined together, the space between the two lovebirds grew wider as Gamora looked upon Peter with apologetic eyes "I'm sorry, Peter. I can't just stand around and wait for my father to take me...this may be the last chance we have to save humanity. We'll find each other again, I promise you that," Gamora's fingertips finally lost touch with Peter's as she turned away from him, her heart aching too much to handle looking back. Gamora headed in the direction of Tony Stark.

"I'm in. I have something they might want to hear, something that might help save us all." From what Gamora understood, these Avengers had experience with run-ins with this Planet's government and had no choice but to trust that he had a plan.

[Kristi Lynne]

"How many are going with me?"

"Peter is!"

"No, no, he isn't!" Peter insisted to the contrary. Granted, she was a warrior and an assassin, but they were heavily outmanned and outgunned in the current situation. "Gamora--"

"I'm sorry, Peter. I can't just stand around and wait for my father to take me...this may be the last chance we have to save humanity. We'll find each other again, I promise you that."

Even though Gamora seemed to have made up her mind, Quill was still not okay with it. There was no telling if the outcome would be better with the guy in the weird suit or the girl in the weird suit with wings. But Peter didn't realize that the decision was being made for him until he felt vines begin to wrap around his arms and waist. "No, Groot, let go of me!!" he protested futilely as the tree tightened his tendrils and pulled Peter in the direction of Hope's team.

[DarkSideCookie]

Drax was rather undecided about which team to join - he actually hated making decisions like that - before he saw the female leader of one team - he actually had forgotten already if that was the team of confrontation or escape - rummaging about a collection of neatly organized mini vehicles or sort of.

"Hey Quill, look!", Drax suddenly called out to Peter once he had reached their place among team Hope, pulled along by Groot. "Your ship has become part of a collection. Doesn't make it look less paltry though. Hahaha."

[DarkSideCookie]

"You can count me in, Tony."

Tony turned to Bruce with a satisfied nod and a short clap on his shoulder. He really appreciated his friend's decision and honestly would have worried a little if he'd have chosen to go with Hope. Not because he had no trust in Hope, for it was actually quite the contrary, although he probably would never give voice to that, but because Tony thought it was wise to let the military know the big green guy kind of delivering himself up to them after all that had happened in Sokovia.

"Hey, Bruce, that’s good – then we two are in the same team!"

Of course, Tony wouldn't ask but he could hear and see that during this last absent years there seemed to have been built some kind of bond between Thor and Banner, because Bruce's reaction was still somewhat reserved but not in the way he was used to it. Well, a lot of stuff seemed to have happened if they all had been ending up with Loki. Tony's eyes wandered over at Thor's maniac little brother for just a little moment before another noise at the barrier around them instantly made him turn his attention back to their mission.

And while Hope was drumming up her team, Tony watched around the people that decided to join him for the direct face-off with the military. Just as he was going to start some kind of motivational speech, at least a very short one, Thor was raising a word fist.

"Okay. Avengers,""are you ready?"

Well, why not. This was fine with him as well. "Okay, then. Just leave..." the talking with me, he was just going to say when, actually to his surprise, Fiona joined their team as well.

"I'm in. I have something they might want to hear, something that might help save us all."

Tony faced her, ignoring her boyfriend's whining in the background, maybe just noticing it with one single look of annoyance before speaking up to her. "That's great, but I'd like no one to say anything stupid without my official okay. Means, leave the talking to me."

[Hollywood Heidi]

Hope nodded to each person as they claimed their team, mentally adding a 'Well that's a shame,' when Thor decided to go with Tony. The man was a god and he certainly looked like one. Ah well. Those muscles would have been a distraction anyway. They didn't have time for distractions. Even her current line of shallow thinking for her own amusement was a distraction. She pushed that aside and got back to business.

Judging by the intimate exchange between Captain Small-Ship-Fixation and his green-skinned girlfriend, one would be going with her and the other with Tony. Count that as one more space needed. Not soon after, Hope was distracted from her vehicle perusal and watched in fascination as Groot had assisted in finalizing the decision by simply growing and extending his limbs to wrap around the guy and drag him over toward her team.


"No, Groot, let go of me!!"

A decision the guy didn't agree with. It was sweet, really, how much he didn't want to be separated from the woman. He was more than just a cocky, self-centered, self-assured macho man. That was good. The last thing she needed was another Tony in her life.


"Hey Quill, look!" "Your ship has become part of a collection. Doesn't make it look less paltry though. Hahaha."

Quill. That was his name. Hope smirked and almost felt bad about it after having witnessed his forced separation from the woman.


"Miss vanDyne, is there anything we need to know before you are going to do your little trick?"

"I'll just need a very small momentary break in the shield," she said, holding up the SUV she'd finally settled on for Loki's view so he'd have a better idea of what they'd need. Hope placed it on the ground and stepped back, making sure enough area was clear of people before pushing the button on the specialized clicker. The tiny car instantaneously zoomed to its normal size sending a short gust of wind ruffling the area around it.

She looked toward the ones who'd gathered near her and gave a sweeping gesture to the car. "My team, hop in." As they got to settling into the car, Hope walked toward Tony in time to hear his response to one of his teammates.


"That's great, but I'd like no one to say anything stupid without my official okay. Means, leave the talking to me."

Hope snorted and couldn't resist a jibe at Tony. "Yes, because saying something to intentionally piss people off is completely different from saying something stupid." Goodbyes weren't her strong suit so she used humor as a crutch. "Hope you don't mind," she said, gesturing to one of the SUV's with the Avengers symbol emblazoned on all sides that had gone missing from the fleet. "I pimped one of your rides."

[DarkSideCookie]

Tony instantly knew who was going to add her two cents already before he heard her voice speaking up because he knew that snort of Hope good enough to filter it from every other noise around. He answered it with a roll of his eyes as he finally turned his head around to face her.

"Yes, because saying something to intentionally piss people off is completely different from saying something stupid."

"Oh, I actually don't remember to have invited you to our team meeting.", he snapped back at her.

"Hope you don't mind," Tony followed her gesture towards the SUV before his gaze returned, giving her kind of a really? expression. "I pimped one of your rides."

"I know very well why I've never shown you my garage."

[Anduin]

"I'll just need a very small momentary break in the shield," 
"You shall have it. As well as the others. But," he made a short break and put on a solemn face while he looked from one to another, "don’t forget that I could not hold the barrier any longer when we got too far away from here. These people will see our folk. And it is your turn to protect our folk from them." 
His eyes leaned especially on Thor and Tony during his last words.
Oddly enough he was sure that he shouldn’t worry about Dr. Banner and the Hulk. He knew that Bruce could manage the situation.

Then Loki concentrated on his powers.
It felt just like it was a piece of cake due to the Tesseract that he was still hiding with him.
"The barrier is now open for us. Just step through it." 

"Ladies first," he directly addressed Hope now and accentuated his word with a gesture of his hand.
 
Again his eyes wandered into Thor’s direction.
"Brother! Good luck! Don’t forget – we protect our father’s legacy." 
"Oh, and you," he approached Tony, "you owe me a drink, Stark! Hope there would be a good reason for one the next time we will meet…" 

[Anduin]

"That's great, but I'd like no one to say anything stupid without my official okay. Means, leave the talking to me."
"Yes, because saying something to intentionally piss people off is completely different from saying something stupid."
Okay, nothing stupid.
Now everybody should get it.

When he saw the little car with the Avengers symbol he laughed out for a moment.
"Oh, that’s nice. I like it. Maybe I can have one of these, too?" 
He didn’t really expect an answer.

"The barrier is now open for us. Just step through it." 
The God of Thunder took a deep breathe.
Time to… Well, he would see for what. A fight? Maybe. Who knew?
But probably they would recognize the Avengers and listen to them. No matter if there was something like that so-called Sokovia-whatever. 
"Brother! Good luck! Don’t forget – we protect our father’s legacy." 
"I know, brother. Take care of you." 
"Oh, and Hope – you should take care of my little brother." He gave her a wink and a winning smile.

And then he stepped through the door to the outside and wandered towards the barrier…

[Ariel]

(Gamora - temp played by Ariel)

"That's great, but I'd like no one to say anything stupid without my official okay. Means, leave the talking to me.""Yes, because saying something to intentionally piss people off is completely different from saying something stupid."

Gamora grinned to herself as she chuckled inwardly. She could handle big egos without a problem, yet she always found it entertaining when one was put into it's place. Clearing her throat slightly, she composed herself back to the serious matter at hand, "Good luck," Gamora nodded in Hope's direction as she said her goodbyes. A force was attempting to draw her gaze to the passengers piling into the vehicle, yet Gamora knew that if she happened to catch one more glimpse of Peter she might change her mind altogether. Turning her back on the other team, Gamora faced Tony directly, "We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden," Gamora respectfully addressed her team captain without shedding doubt, though that was what everyone was calling this Avenger, wasn't it? She could have sworn she at least heard Peter say that phrase once before.

[Hollywood Heidi]

"I know very well why I've never shown you my garage."

"All those fancy cars, you'd be the envy of all Hot Wheels collectors," she said, holding up her little Hot Wheels case with a little enticing shake.


"The barrier is now open for us. Just step through it." "Ladies first,"

"Thanks," she said quickly. "Give me a minute. I'll be right there."

Loki wandered over to his brother and Hope turned back to Tony. This was going to be a difficult time for the both of them. They had minutes to make final decisions. Plus she had feels hitting her over this whole separation thing. From Tony, of all people. Normally she'd jokingly say it would be a relief but this was so much bigger than anything that had been thrown at them before. Hope tried to swallow her pride and put some of all this into words. Hope shifted uncomfortably and voiced what most likely everyone was thinking. "This isn't going to be easy." Her statement wasn't only regarding the task that lay before them but also referencing the difficulty of a pair of reluctant friends trying to offer well wishes and say their goodbyes.

Hope made an annoyed sound of surrender. "Just.. be--" Loki was back and cutting her off before she managed to drag the words out of herself.


"Oh, and you," "you owe me a drink, Stark! Hope there would be a good reason for one the next time we will meet…"

A drink? Hope looked at Tony in confusion. Did she miss something that had happened between the guy trying to take over New York and now? Hope was distracted from her bemusement by Thor's enthusiasm over her tech.


"Oh, that’s nice. I like it. Maybe I can have one of these, too?"

"We come out of this whole Thanos problem intact, then sure, why the hell not."

The two brothers engaged in their own conversation and Hope turned back to Tony, trying to get back to their one-on-one. Great. She had to start again with the swallowing of pride. It was a little easier this time. "You guys--" Again she was cut off.


"Oh, and Hope – you should take care of my little brother."

She was about to retort that Loki didn't need any help taking care of himself, but that friendly, good natured winning smile of his had her sighing and saying, "Will do."


"Good luck,"

"Thanks," Hope said, nodding back to the green lady and returned the well wishes. "Same to you guys." It was stupidly much easier to give well wishes to a stranger than it was to Tony.


"We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden,"

Hope started to laugh and quickly covered it in a cough. As hilarious as that had been, it had been unintentional and she didn't want to cause embarrassment. Hope was about to throw in the towel on the whole well wishing thing but upon looking around, could see that the two teams were finally dispersing into two groups; hers into the SUV and his over by Bruce, nearer to the opposite side of the barrier where they'd be confronting the military.

[DarkSideCookie]

"All those fancy cars, you'd be the envy of all Hot Wheels collectors,"

Tony didn't say anything to that but gave her a look like don't you ever just think about it before she changed some words with Loki and then walked back over at him. He wouldn't even admit that to himself but there was some kind of wistfulness laying in the air between them. Despite all their bickering they both had grown to each other, especially in times that hadn't been easy for both of them, and might have become something like best friends even. So, to be honest, this was not the easiest from all farewells. Although it surely was not for forever, they didn't know when they would meet again. But which was the worst of this was that everyone around was watching actually.

"This isn't going to be easy.", Hope started, being the one who swallowed her pride first. Tony knew that she wasn't referring to only their task. "Just.. be--" Tony let out a quiet harrumph, not actually intended, when suddenly Loki was appearing right next to them, cutting into her words.

"Oh, and you,""you owe me a drink, Stark! Hope there would be a good reason for one the next time we will meet…"

What the...? Tony looked back at Hope in confusion as well. And even if he wouldn't have been like kind of disturbed himself by just the picture of sharing a drink with the guy who had tried to kill him, just like every other human being in New York, Tony didn't even get a chance to react to that, because the crazy chitchat around was going on.

"Oh, that’s nice. I like it. Maybe I can have one of these, too?"

"We come out of this whole Thanos problem intact, then sure, why the hell not."

Tony exchanged another look with Hope, probably thinking the same thing again. What the hell was wrong with these people? At some point, Hope tried again to just ignore shit around and finally get back to the point where they were awkwardly saying their farewells to each other.

"You guys--"

And yet again she was cut off.

"Oh, and Hope – you should take care of my little brother."

Yah, because everyone was so keen to take care of that guy. At this point, Tony started to get really annoyed by all this. The military was still attacking the barrier around them and everyone was still like not getting the seriousness of the situation.

"Will do."

"Good luck,"

"Thanks,""Same to you guys."

"We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden,"

"Man! It's Iron Man!", Tony corrected in annoyance while he facepalmed himself, having enough of this. "Okay, you guys, just gimme a break and let the adults talk for a while. Hope, do you have a moment?", he added to retain her for a one-to-one, even though it seemed that it was just that what Hope had been trying to do for a while already.

Once everyone else had been finally dispersing into two groups, Tony was finally able to broach a topic that he didn't like to bring up with everyone else around. "Okay, listen. You gotta head back to the Avengers Facility. Inside the bottom drawer of my desk, you'll find a flip phone. Don't question me about it. Take the phone and dial the only number that you will find programmed in its address book." Tony really wasn't keen to answer questions about it right now regarding all the drama he had been through with Steve while he knew that Hope probably was just the same not keen to talk about Scott who they both knew had been with Steve and the others as well, so Tony just rattled on. "We need every help we can get. Also..." A little pause brought back some of the awkwardness, this time him being the one who swallowed his pride and even gave her a light clap on her shoulder. "... Take care."

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Man! It's Iron Man!" "Okay, you guys, just gimme a break and let the adults talk for a while. Hope, do you have a moment?"

She made a sweeping gesture. "Maidens first." With a smug smirk, Hope followed him a few steps further from the group.


"Okay, listen. You gotta head back to the Avengers Facility. Inside the bottom drawer of my desk, you'll find a flip phone.

She opened her mouth to fire off questions but knowing her well, he'd called her on it before she could.


Don't question me about it. Take the phone and dial the only number that you will find programmed in its address book." "We need every help we can get."

She gave a serious nod of agreement, seconding that motion. "Will do." No time for questions anyway. All their time had been used up in the chaos of the large group trying to organize into teams. Once she called the number and spoke to whomever was on the other end, she'd get her answers.


Also..."

With a bit of surprise, she watched the motion of his hand moving toward her for a short clap on her shoulder. She looked back at him with her face showing a mixture of feeling touched yet awkward about it. This was all very odd, but they'd never faced something on this level together before.


"... Take care."

"You too," she said, adding an awkward clap of her own on his upper arm. The whole thing was so massively awkward that she felt self conscious about anyone witnessing it cringing in awkwardness themselves. She wanted to quickly escape the suffocating uncomfortable air around whatever this was but something held her back. The severity of what they were heading into, the danger of it, the possibility she might not see his annoyingly smug face again, suddenly hit her. "Ah, hell," she said, pushing herself forward and throwing her arms around him in a hug that was over almost as soon as it had begun. She stepped away and quickly held up a silencing finger toward his smart mouth. "Don't ruin it."

She started to walk toward her group and tossed, "You ever tell anyone, I'll flat out deny it!" over her shoulder.



Any remains of the sad smile she'd worn while walking away were gone by the time she hopped into the driver's seat and shut the door behind her. She turned to look over all the passengers. "We got everyone?"

[DarkSideCookie]

"You too,", Hope replied, giving him an awkward clap of her own. Yah, this whole thing really was just terribly awkward and actually not his style.

"Ah, hell,"

Tony gave her a questioning look at the imminent approach towards him. Was she going to hug him? No, she wouldn't... fuck, she did. Just as he was going to ruin the moment with some kind of snarky comment, Hope was actually hushing him.

"Don't ruin it."

Well, she knew him too well. "Gonna save it for later then.", he couldn't help but murmur into her direction before she left to walk towards her team.

"Well then.", Tony said as he was about to turn to his own team, stopping in his enthusiasm immediately though when he saw that bug lady looking at him all cheerily as she would kind of ship them (a sudden shiver ran down his spine), obviously having been a silent watcher of this from the distant background. Tony suppressed another facepalm as he just wanted to go on and finally get this done.

Then he walked over to his team as well, facing the barrier that was already in danger of falling apart. "Everyone's ready?"

[DarkSideCookie]

All throughout the chattering around, Bruce might have been the only person who kept completely silent, except Natasha that was, just as the sight of the military people attacking the barrier and the thought of the upcoming events seemed to discomfort him the most. Despite his rather passive attitude in situations like this, at least when it was him in the foreground and not the other guy, there even had been a moment that he was almost about to speak up to remind everyone of the seriousness of their situation when it suddenly had been Tony and Hope who did so first. What luck.

He glanced over at them in silent worry but also realized and respected that this was a moment of their own. Time seemed to have changed not only him, Bruce thought with a slight smile before he turned his attention towards the other side of the barrier again. If they wanted to act out complaisant, they had to do so fast.

And finally Tony and Hope parted, both walking towards their own team. Bruce sent one last look over at Hope, not giving her a wave of goodbye but an expression that said We'll be alright, take care and finally another at Natasha, who was silently disappearing into the car. Bruce had been hoping their remeet would have been different and especially not ending in another farewell. Also, since they both weren't good at farewells, specifically not her, above all not with so many people around, it felt yet again like getting torn apart without actually anything. He just wondered if it always will be like this between them.

"Everyone's ready?"

Bruce answered Tony with just a nod. As much as he wasn't looking forward to being taken captive, for he was sure that would be what all of this was coming down to, as much was he looking forward to just get out of this situation somehow. He felt his pulse rising, and even though he was able to control himself nowadays, he didn't like the feeling of it.

[Kristi Lynne]

"We got everyone?"

"Not everyone," Peter said glumly, as he watched the retreating form of Gamora through the vehicle's window. He could only hope with the others' influence that she would rely on more diplomatic terms than her usual 'stab, stab, those are my terms.' But she knew better than anyone the danger that Thanos posed to not just this planet but the entire universe, and was probably in the best position to help Earth defend itself. 

A plaintive "I am Groot" was heard from the backseat.

"Yeah, I know she's doing the right thing," Peter replied. "Just want to make sure we all see each other again once all this is over."

"I am Groot!"

"What?! No, you cannot play the radio!" he protested, swatting one of Groot's wooden tendrils away from the dashboard.

"I am Groot!"

"Because I'm in the passenger seat," Peter patiently explained. "Co-pilot picks the music." He turned back to Hope with a smirk and a shake of his head to convey that everyone should already know this rule.

"I AM GROOT!"

"Did you just say my music is lame? My music is not lame! Those are the best songs in the history of the galaxy!"

"I am Groot...."

"Y'know what, Giving Tree? I will have her shrink you to the size of a pea if you keep on--" 

[Ariel]

(GAMORA - TEMP-PLAY BY ARIEL)

"Everyone's ready?"

As Gamora stood in between Bruce and Thor, her eyes rolled upwards at the top of the barrier that visibly began to grow weaker. Feeling incredibly vulnerable, her hands ached to reach for her weapons in self defense. Yet, they were not here to fight. They had a job to do, and Gamora only hoped that they would be listened to. Persistence crept in and she kept her hands hanging at her sides, and knew that if anything did happen to go wrong then at least she wasn't alone.

Taking in a deep breath, her throat was shaky with nerves as she set her sight straight in front of her as the barrier began to break. On an exhale, Gamora expelled any sort of nervousness or doubt and centered herself into the zone. "Ready."

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Not everyone,"

Hope turned to glance at the passengers to determine who was missing but caught Peter's look out the window to the pretty green skinned woman and easily caught onto his meaning. She wanted to offer encouraging words but didn't know them well enough to make any solid determinations of character or make promises that weren't hers to make. Luckily, the adorable tree creature piped up.

The last of the doors closed so Hope safely assumed everyone was on board. She started the souped up SUV and headed for the opposite side of the barrier, glancing at Tony and his team in the rear view mirror, hoping and wishing for the best. They did not have an easy task ahead of them.

All the while, Peter and the tree creature carried on a conversation, though even in her driver distracted mind, she couldn't comprehend how it was possible when the tree creature only uttered the same three words each time.


"Y'know what, Giving Tree? I will have her shrink you to the size of a pea if you keep on--" 

Peter's head still turned to the back seat, his hand started reaching for the console and it was Hope's turn to do the swatting. "Pilot picks the music," she corrected, "and that's not the radio." She gave a nod toward the custom lever and screen built into the console. The barrier was approaching and her hand came to rest on the lever. She looked to everyone in the rear view mirror. "Hold on, everyone. You might feel a little disoriented." Hope was used to sudden shifts in perspective but remembered the feeling and how others reacted the first few times. Luckily, nausea had never been a side effect for anyone who'd experienced it, but that still didn't stop her from placing a few bags in the compartments just to be safe.

With that, Hope pulled the lever down and the glowing blue circle on the console screen turned red as the car shrank to Hot Wheel size just as it got to the small hole in the barrier. The smooth ride suddenly turned bumpy as the tiny vehicle became more susceptible to the grassy terrain. The blades of grass, normally so easily forgotten as they crushed beneath feet and tires, were now blurring by the windows like tall hedges as Hope maneuvered her way through rows of them. Tall and unmanicured, it was more difficult to drive through but provided even better coverage. Not that Hope felt she ever needed it. Nobody ever took notice of really small things.

[Anduin]

Finally Hope entered the car, too.
Great, so they were ready to start their escape.
It wasn’t as comfortable as a space ship. Rocket was sitting on Groots knees to save space. Luckily Groot didn’t mind it. Because the image of himself sitting on Drax‘ knees was way too awkward…

Rocket listened to Groot’s and Peter’s argument and shook his head.
"Guys, stop it! If you don’t I will…" 
"Pilot picks the music," Hope interrupted him.
"See? She has the whip hand." 
"and that's not the radio."
Gosh! Who knew what Peter could have done?!
"Quill, you little…" 
(Although he had said that he wanted to stop their disput he ironically tried to start his own one now.)
"Hold on, everyone. You might feel a little disoriented."
Can’t be much more worse than quick trips through the Universe…
A few moments later Rocket revised his thoughts. It could be more worse.

[Anduin]

Being forced to listen to all those nonsense between these guys who travelled alongside his brother was like a torment. He truely asked himself how Thor could have been with these guys for more than just one day.

Luckily Hope stopped that conversation.
"Hold on, everyone. You might feel a little disoriented."
The Trickster was curious how it feels like to shrink.
Suddenly everything around them turned bigger and bigger – or better said themselves turned smaller.
But Loki didn’t feel that kind of disorientation.
Actually it made him remember the day when he shapeshifted himself into a snake to frighten his brother…
"Nice trick, Miss VanDyne. I like it!" 

[Anduin]

The King of Asgard (or better said New Asgard?) stopped right in front of the edge area of the barrier.
He knew that he should wait for Tony, Bruce and the others who were going to join him.
He watched at the strangers on the other side and came to the conclusion that they would have no chance to defeat them – or at least not without needless damage.
But they didn’t want to fight.
And he was sure These guys also wouldn’t like to if they get the chance to talk with them instead.

It took some more moments until the rest of his team caught up with him.
(Yes, he thought about this as his team, not Tony’s. It was an unspoken challenge between manly men.)
"Everyone's ready?" It was Tony who first raised his voice.
"Ready."
Thor gave Gamora a smile. He liked her. She seemed to be a strong woman.
This time she reminded him of Syf – whereever his old companion might be now…
"You betcha!," he gave back to Tony.
It was time to react. 
"Oh, but after this we should also talk about some things I thought. It happened a lot since we saw each other the last time, Stark." 
And then the God of Thunder smirked at Tony. 
"We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden."
He remembered that Gamora said this to Tony when he was walking outside and that Tony wasn’t amused about it.
A little joke between old friends.
Hopefully Tony didn’t mind.

[DarkSideCookie]

Just as everyone else's, Tony's eyes were glued to the breaking barrier straight in front of them. The truth was that he had no idea if this was a good plan or not. In the end, they all would be sitting in a cell, waiting for team Tinkerbell to rescue them. At least it wasn't only him for that might lower the chance that she will be coming back for him. Deep down though they both knew that they cared for each other more than they would admit to themselves.

"Ready."

"You betcha!,"

"Good.", Tony answered, still looking at the barrier, while the sound of a screaming engine told him the other team was as well. He didn't bother to look back at them though. Everyone was heading to their own mission now. And just as he was going to lead his team to face the military, Thor addressed him one more time.

"Oh, but after this we should also talk about some things I thought. It happened a lot since we saw each other the last time, Stark."

"Sure, we can have a chat, some pizza, videogames or what else, but please, could we just focus finally?", Tony replied rather annoyed again.

"We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden."

Just one more sideglance before Tony went on before, walking through the breaking shield and making himself and the team following his steps visible. Time for a battle with words...


***

[DarkSideCookie]

(tempplay by DarkSideCookie)

"Hold on, everyone. You might feel a little disoriented."

Intuitively Drax held on to the first thing he could grab, which almost had been Rocket. Their little hairy friend could be lucky though that he had found something else to hold on in the last nick of time. And when the car was shrinking with them shrinking with it, Drax couldn't help but utter a sudden thought. And of course, he couldn't help but utter it by rubbing it right in a certain face.

"Hey Quill, now your ship is twice as tiny. Like a toy within a toy," Drax burst out from behind. "A toy's toy. You get that? Hahahaha Ahahahaha!"

[Kristi Lynne]

"Hold on, everyone. You might feel a little disoriented."

An awestruck "Whoa!" was all Peter managed to utter as the vehicle shifted size. 

"Hey Quill, now your ship is twice as tiny. Like a toy within a toy. A toy's toy. You get that? Hahahaha Ahahahaha!"

"Yeah, hilarious," Peter replied sullenly. He just hoped the Milano being shrunk now twice over wouldn't harm anything that hadn't already been damaged by pirate-angel Thor and their rough entry into the atmosphere. He was also glad that Mantis was not here, as she had a tendency to latch onto Drax's emotions and then he would be hearing the jeering laughter in stereo. 

"It is pretty damn cool, though," he relented as mammoth blades of grass and pebbles flew by the windows. "What other kinda' cars you got in that carrying case?" he asked Hope. "Do you have a black '69 Impala? 'Cause that would be awesome!"

[Ariel]

(GAMORA - TEMP-PLAY BY ARIEL)


"We'll wait for your lead, Iron Maiden."

Gamora turned her head to the side, smirking slightly at Thor's reprise of her original wrongful remark before noticing Tony's cue as he began to walk forward through the shattering barrier. Without putting much more painful thought into what they were about to do, Gamora followed his lead just as she said she would. She wasn't sure what to expect on the other side, but she was willing to let Iron Man do the talking. Hopefully he was good with his words.

***

*** Gamora, Mantis, Thor, Bruce and Tony exit through the barrier - scene cut ***

[Hollywood Heidi]

"Nice trick, Miss VanDyne. I like it!"

Hope smirked, always proud of her and her father's advancements and accomplishments with Pym Particle. She didn't say anything in return, not only because she was still having trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that the guy who'd tried to take over the world was making casual small talk with her, but also because at their size, the terrain was no longer flat with no apparent obtrusions. Pebbles that would have easily been driven over would now be like driving into walls and small creatures that would have scattered might now take unwanted interest in them.


"Hey Quill, now your ship is twice as tiny. Like a toy within a toy," "A toy's toy. You get that? Hahahaha Ahahahaha!"

Hope chuckled and painted an overly ridiculous scenario in hopes of distracting him from being so pouty about his ship. "Just don't roll down the window to make spaceship noises while you pretend to fly your toy spaceship. You lose it outside of the car before we get back to normal size, we'd probably never find it."


"Yeah, hilarious," "It is pretty damn cool, though," "What other kinda' cars you got in that carrying case?" "Do you have a black '69 Impala? 'Cause that would be awesome!"

"Hm, I'm sure I do somewhere. Don't think I saw it in that case. Maybe in one of the others?" They had a vast collection, which was probably obvious in the way she spoke about it. "Have a look," she offered, nodding down by his feet where the case rested. "And not just cars," she added proudly. "One of the choppers and a motorcycle is in that one and I know we've got some planes, boats--hell, I even started working on converting a railcar, 'cause why not. Might come in handy.

"Tell ya what, once we get back and settled in, you can check out more of the collection. And we'll get your ship fixed," she promised.


*~*~*~*~*


***Drax, Groot, Hope, Loki, Nat, Peter Quill, and Rocket exit to New York - Avengers Facility - Living Area***

[DarkSideCookie]

*** After a long while of debating with the military men outside, Gamora, Mantis, Thor, Bruce and Tony are led away to [mobile location] The Raft ***