The Aftermath

Chapter 1 - Official Statement

Friday the 3rd, August 2012. Silence. Dead silence despite the crowd of thousands of people huddled together amongst rubble and debris still yet to be cleared from the streets.

Their eyes were transfixed on a large news screen on the side of a building that had survived the attack, 200 feet in the air.

The screen had been blank since 8:50am, but they still waited patiently.

The events that took place on Grey Day were beyond anyone's' comprehension, except of course for the Avengers that they knew had been involved in saving the lives of their families, themselves and keeping the city relatively intact.

Up to this point, everything else that they had heard was sheer speculation; some had heard that countries were preparing themselves for a second encounter and others heard that other countries were to blame.

The President, therefore felt it was necessary to inform his country and the world of the true events that happened 6 days previous.

He had released a public statement, broadcasted on all channels in all countries, that a member of S.H.I.E.L.D, of which few had whispered about, would be present at a press conference on this date at 9:00am.

9:01. 9:06. Nothing. Just a blank screen with a small black and white clock in the bottom left side of the screen. 9:07 and the screen changed and the speakers made a whining sound that went across the crowd.

They stared at the screen, which now showed a large room, well lit, with walls made of glass. In the middle of the room there was a red podium on a raised platform. Behind the podium there stood a well-built gentleman in a long black leather trench coat, sporting a black eye patch and wearing a look on his face that made it impossible to tell whether he was nervous or frustrated.

Either side of him there stood two burly gentlemen in plain black suits. Behind them 10 men and women in dark military attire stood in front of their seats with the same emotionless expression on as Fury had.

The camera panned out further away from the podium and stopped about 30 feet away from Fury. In front of him there was an array of seats with news reporters and TV crews clutching their notepads and portable cameras.

9:08. Both the crowd in the street and the press conference were silent, waiting for this peculiar man to begin his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I' am Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. An organisation that helped this city stand tall against an enemy which seemed undefeatable. I' am here on behalf of the President and the world, to inform you of what we truly faced that day."

He adjusted his papers in front of him so he could be seen to be doing something other than stalling.

"You may have heard stories about what happened that day, what nearly destroyed our beloved city and possibly even the world, but none of the culprits currently being blamed were responsible. The only facts that people have been informed about which are true, are of the people who assisted S.H.I.E.L.D in defeating the undefeatable. Of course I speak of the Avengers. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow. These are some of the true heroes that saved us from the enemy along with the help of our own police department and some brave civilians."

He now turned his head slightly to peer directly into the main camera broadcasting into the street. Again, not stalling.

"As you may have noticed, Thor, our newest avenger, is depicted in Norse mythology. Many of the tales are true save some of the more outlandish ones. One fact that is true in both reality and mythology is that he has a brother named Loki. Most like himself, Loki possesses abilities that he claims to have in mythology. It is he who caused the invasion on July 27th and caused the loss of life. We can now report that a total of 117 were killed and a total of 221 fatally injured.

The army that assisted him were quickly dealt with in a manner that I'am pleased to announce ended in the army defeated and their leader, incarcerated.

We should view this sad day as not a day that we lost many, but as the day that we openly sent the invading force back where they belong.

Our beautiful city still stands because it's citizens were brave enough to stand against unknown forces of incredible power. We must now concentrate on repairing the city and it's people to show that we are resilient and do not take kindly to invasion.

Since Loki attacked several countries and nations, it was decided to send him back with his brother to their home for their version of trial and punishment. We deemed it unfair if one country had the honor of punishing such a man."

With that the small group of journalists and large crowd of people simultaneously started to complain. They didn't want to be told that he was going to be punished, they wanted to be shown that he was being punished.

Fury shifted even more visibly than before, with a slight glance to Agent Hill. She glanced at a clock on the back wall. 9:12.

Suddenly the room darkened ever so slightly but quickly enough that everyone noticed. The general bickering quietened down as the skies became overcast; unusual weather for early August.

A man in a long flowing red cape landed 50 feet or so from the building; Fury mentally thanked Thor for not crashing into the building since the glass worrying seemed to bend due to the sudden impact.

Thor began to walk in a brisk but calm fashion towards the building and through double doors, also made of fragile glass.

The entire room fell silent again; not that they hadn't been prepared for his general appearance, but his sheer size was unbelievable, even the large tv in the street didn't do him justice.

He walked onto the raised platform, and greeted Fury with an out stretched hand. Fury gladly shook it and stepped aside for Thor to address the public and press.

"Citizens of Midgard, also known as Earth, I'am Thor Odinsson. I'am a member of the Avengers Initiative of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm pleased to inform you all that we defeated our enemies and have sent them back from whence they came.

As you now know, my brother Loki was to blame. I returned him that day to Asgard to be held in front of the royal court. I have just returned to bring you the news of his fate.

Without boring you with the complexities of our culture, he has been sentenced to solitude, with only his thoughts as his company."

Many of the people in the street were getting agitated. He killed so many and yet he's essentially getting solitary confinement?!

"I understand that many of you wouldn't believe that this would be just action to fit the crimes committed, but even though I didn't anticipate my brothers actions, I can tell you all truthfully that what Loki seeks most is attention and acknowledgment. This is why we have left him to himself until he has been deemed fit to enter our society again. After his sentence is carried out, we guarantee that he will not be the cause of another incident such as Grey Day.

As for the avengers and I, we are set to leave the publics eye while the city rebuilds but we promise that our solemn duty is to protect the innocent and this great realm from anyone who would see it fall."

With that he stood back and Fury gave him a slight nod; Thor then walked back out the door and took off again. Fury walked back towards the podium and ended the press conference.

Thor landed on the balcony of Stark Tower; luckily the emergency supports had been set up to withstand such force. he proceeded into the main living area where the remaining avengers we scattered across the furniture. Tony as always, scotch in hand seemed deep in thought while glancing over some schematics. Natasha and Clint were silently cleaning their weapons and testing the damage caused to their equipment. Bruce was cleaning his glasses with his t-shirt while rummaging through dozens of loose papers with diagrams and calculations on them. Steve was draped loosely over a large armchair; he had evidently been in the gym since his gym gear was caked in sweat. Pepper was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't doubt that she had gone far.

As soon as his presence was known they all stood up looking like young children with anxious looks on their faces.

"How did they take it?" Asked Bruce.

"Well, but I think they will need to have understand my brother to realise the punishment is just. And that's something even I struggle with." Thor replied, while removing his cape and placing Mjolnir on the floor.

"Fury seemed to handle himself well so I think they'll be reassured that we are the good guys, although when does that guy ever not win at presentation, even if it is through verbal means?" Tony put down his schematics and wandered closer to the centre of the room.

The rest of the group just mumbled a response but all seemed too busy to give a solid answer. They didn't think this was the right thing to do, not now at least, barely a week after what happened last week.

"I've been thinking." Steve finally broke the silence. "I understand that we all have our doubts whether leaving the city at this delicate point is the right thing, but I think the last thing the people need, is a reminder of Grey Day."

"I second that." Tony said, with just a hint of a smile appearing on his smug face. "Especially not by one that is wearing bright blue spandex, besides I think we've deserved a break after all we went through. I almost died and the first thing I thought of was shawarma?! That is a sign right there that I need a break."

The others couldn't help a little smile crossing their faces.

"I agree. We all have memories here of the battle, and seeing the ruined city on a daily basis is not going to help. I think we should just leave as planned and come back when the people have calmed down and gotten over the initial shock." Natasha put down her tools and one by one glanced at all her fellow teammates.

After all receiving acknowledging stares from each other, they one after another, proceeded to collect up their gear and exit the main room and go to their own living quarters, courtesy of Stark Industries.

Bruce and Tony were the last ones to leave, first clearing their papers away and tucking them into binders and then followed the rest of the avengers. With the binders tucked neatly under their arms, they made their way to their rooms.

9:32. Pepper entered the main living room and made her way over to the bar to get herself a drink, while concentrating on getting a specific file from her briefcase.

Satisfied with her choice of beverage, she sat atop the nearest barstool and opened the document to the first page and took out another piece of paper with her own writing on.

She was never an A star student in maths but even she couldn't have miscalculated the amount Stark Industries was spending on rebuilding Stark Tower and replacing all the equipment. She had all the numbers in front of her but the overall sum didn't add up.

She gave up after 20 minutes of checking and double checking, eventually coming to the conclusion that Tony was probably working on upgrading his suits so he could pipe scotch into it while flying.