Heroes Assemble!

Testing Times

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"You're early," Tony stated, pointing an accusatory finger at the trio that Happy had just escorted up from the garage of Avengers Tower.

"Sorry?" Jane replied, sounding as though she wasn't actually sure if she should be apologising or not.

"Would you believe our plane got in early? I mean, that never happens. Except this one time, right? But what are you gonna do?" Darcy explained with a shrug.

"Thank you for sending Mister Hogan to pick us up," Erik said, reaching over to shake Tony's hand.

Immediately, Tony's hands flew up and he backed away.

"Don't mind him, he doesn't like to be handed things. Including hands, it seems," Pepper apologised as she walked into the lounge.

"Can you blame me? You never know where things have been," Tony stated.

"But it's alright for me to take things from others and then hand them to you?" Pepper asked before continuing without waiting for an answer. "Jane. Darcy. It's so good to see you both. You, too, Erik."

The three women hugged in greeting, leaving the two men looking on indulgently.

"I thought Thor would be here," Jane half-stated, half-asked, looking around the open room.

"Point Breaks' down playing with our newest puppy," Tony explained happily.

"A puppy? Thor? This I've got to see?" Darcy exclaimed with a huge smile. "Can you imagine the adorableness? The levels have got to be off the chart."

"Darcy, if you're going to stay here, the first thing you're going to have to learn is never to listen to what Tony says, only to what he means," Pepper told the young woman with a pat to her arm.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Darcy asked.

"In this case, I would assume that someone brought a new person to the Tower and Thor is ... testing out their skills?" Jane asked, looking at Pepper.

"I like her brain, she's smart," Tony said, cocking a thumb at Jane before turning to point at Darcy. "This one, though, we can keep her, she's more fun."

"There, see, I told you I was fun and you didn't believe me," Darcy said pointedly to Jane.

Pepper closed her eyes momentarily before interceding.

"Come on, I'll take you down so that you can say 'hi' to Thor," she said.

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"Woah, that's one big, green woman! And I mean all woman. She's like ... she's ... hulk-like," Darcy exclaimed.

The woman in question turned from where she was standing in front of a weightlifting bar that was filled with the biggest weights imaginable. The menacing stare that she was giving had Darcy backpedalling, her hands raised in front of her.

"Hey! I meant that as a compliment. We need more strong, powerful women types to balance out the testosterone levels in the world," Darcy stated.

"Darcy truly meant no harm," Thor said, placing a hand on Jennifer's shoulder. "She often speaks before thinking. It can be quite refreshing."

"And irritating as hell," Jane added, before walking forward, her hand extended. "Hi, I'm Jane Foster."

Almost tentatively, Jennifer shook her hand, realising that she'd squeezed too hard by the wince on the other woman's face. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to my strength like, well, like this. I'm Jennifer Walters, Bruce's cousin."