Returning Home (Avengers)

[Toxin]

It was a difficult decision from the get go. One side of him - the side that was a trained and committed NYPD officer - wanted to see him register with the CSA and SHIELD, to obey the law and follow the dictates of the government in his country.
The other side of him - the side that idolized Peter Parker, the hero who had become his mentor - wanted to see him follow Spiderman's example and defy the government and the law.
The symbiote? Well, the Toxin symbiote hadn't actually seemed to care either way. It almost seemed to Pat that it didn't seem to understand the implications of either decision, and was too busy with its own problems.

And so, left to make the decision on his own, Pat had been forced to register and follow the law. How could he not? He was an officer of the law, and to uphold it he surely had to set an example, to follow it. He couldn't afford to act as if he were above the laws and policies, even if he didn't agree with them.
As a result of registration, he had been approached by recruitment agents for the SHIELD sponsored 'Avengers'. Wanting to do his part wherever he could, Pat had accepted.

So here he was. After a few hours of swinging around the skyline of the big apple he was at the front door to the Avengers new mansion. It had been destroyed in a battle during the registration drive, an a conflict Pat didn't want to think about, and one Toxin didn't care for.

Well, no sense in hanging around out front. Might as well go in. . . Pat thought silently to himself.

I'm hungry. We should see what they have lying around. . . something meaty. . . and raw. . .

Pat found himself licking his lips involuntarily. Sometimes the Toxin symbiote really disgusted him, but Toxin was young and impulsive. If Pat struggled to resist Toxin's savage impulses, the young symbiote must find it impossible.
Each day though, they seemed to becoming more and more alike. Pat wondered if they'd eventually just become the same being - much like his symbiote 'parents'. His symbiote assured him that was ridiculous, and they were just starting to see eye to eye on matters.

Pat found himself reaching for the door handle. Even in human form, he found strands of red and black symbiote fluid flowing out of his hand and grasping the door handle as he did.
He stepped in to find an array of different figures, some of which he recognized by reputation, and one he actually knew in person - She-Hulk.

"Uhm. . . hello?" Pat offered the greeting as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. If he was going to be honest, he was a little intimidated by the weight of all of this. He was an Avenger!

[dantesparda]

Dante stopped outside the Avengers mansion and whistled as he looked the building over before he walked inside. He wasn't much of a team player but he was willing to give it a shot if he didn't like it he could always leave. Dante walked passed Pat and into the kitchen were he heard all the talking and took a set he put his feet on the corner of the table one crossed over the other as he leaned back in the chair "Nice place ya got here." He said as he looked around the room at all the people with a raised brow as he looked at the green woman and blonde dude with the wingy hat.

[Vixen]

It was a long day for Mari; going to three modeling photo shoots is not something she ever planned on doing again. Not to mention she had to wake up early to get a two mile wake-up jog in before starting her day. A quick coffee run and then her shoots. Unfortunately, she forgot her first Avengers team meeting that evening and she instead went home to relax. As she prepared to watch a movie with popcorn, she realized what she had previously planned. A gasp of realization, Mari dropped her popcorn and ran to get changed. Mari slid her Tantum Totem on her neck and put her fingers on it.

"Speed of a cheetah, help me."

Vixen pushed open the front door of her home and dashed out, running at the high speeds of a cheetah. Within minutes, she arrived in New York City where the Avengers Mansion was located. Vixen smirked and brushed off her costume. Next to the double doors was a small speaker and a call button. She reached out and pressed the button and waited for a response. The sound of a phone picking up from the receiver rang out of the speaker and Mari walked over it.

"Hello and good day, Madame. I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark's butler. How may I help you this morning?"

"Hello Jarvis. Pleasure to meet you. My name is Vixen and I'm here for the Avengers' meeting. I hope I'm not too late."

"You're right on time, M'am. Come right in and enjoy you're stay."

"Thank you."

Vixen smiled and pushed the doors open as she heard it unlock. The mansion was huge, much larger than the Watchtower or the Hall of Justice. Vixen looked around in awe as she began walking down the hallway. Her boots clicked against the tiles with each step as she continued towards the meeting hall. Around her, on the walls, were images of previous team rosters and various other pictures. She finally reached the door the held the "Meeting Hall" sign and breathed in slowly. She pushed the doors open and walked in with a warm smile.

"The Mighty Avengers, I assume? Which one of you is Mr. Tony Stark?"

[Pepper]

True to her word, Pepper smiled as four more members came strolling in - Cain Marko, Vixen, the devil hunter Sparda, and the symbiotic Patrick, doubling the size of the group in the room. With an 'I told you' smile at Tony, she went about quickly laying out food and drink for those coming in. Surreptitiously, she also laid out a piece of meat for Pat, just in case he got in the mood for something a little more heavy than the hors'oeuvres she was preparing.

She continued to smile as Vixen asked who Stark was, and was about to indicate Stark when she abruptly decided against it. The man could introduce himself, and as the leader of the Avengers he would need to. She also knew most of them there recognized her as his assistant, though word of what she had done to rescue him was likely beginning to circle. Perhaps not so much an assistant anymore.

She finished her soda and put it in the trash, then waited to see if Tony would introduce himself.

[Toxin]

Pat had spent the last few minutes standing just inside the doorway to the massive and ornate conference room that was the Avenger’s meeting hall. He’d watched closely as all sorts of interesting looking new arrivals entered the mansion, and looked on with interest as the others, already assembled here, moved about and talked with one another.
It had been particularly awe inspiring just being in the mansion, but standing in the same room with such well known and respected heroes as Thor and Iron Man was something else. He was going to be one of them now – a big shot, a high rolling hero playing in the big leagues.
Just standing around waiting for something to happen or for something to be said – well, it was a little tense. Pat honestly felt that they should all be out there kicking some ass and doing some good, not relaxing, drinking and eating . . .

Patrick had smelt it the second it was served up, and it had him salivating in moments. Right there on the table was as thick and juicy a hunk of steak as the symbiote – and himself – could have asked for. It seemed they had everything here.
Forgetting himself and his surroundings, and entirely losing all recollection of whose company he was currently in, Pat moved into the middle of the room – towards the table.

It happened quickly, and was entirely instinctual for Patrick. The dark red and black, viscous symbiotic fluid began to flow out of and across his body, flowing out from beneath his clothes to cover him entirely.
Muscles doubled, then tripled in size, his hands began to change to become long, dextrous and clawed with razor sharp talons. The most significant change of all was yet to come. His head seemed to change shape, taking on a more alien form as his jaw dropped and elongated and his mouth filled with hundreds of long, needle-sharp teeth.
As the patches of white grew and formed around Toxin’s eyes and the transformation finished, the blue and white shirt he had been wearing stretched, then split and fell to the floor.

Even at his smallest size – seven feet tall, as opposed to fifteen – he was still an unusual and often unsettling, even alien sight. Seemingly oblivious to things around him, Toxin quickly grasped the meat from the table and almost threw it into his maw, his impossibly sharp teeth completely shredding the meat in seconds. He swallowed once, loudly, before wiping a strand of viscous drool from his mouth with the back of one clawed hand.

Then he looked around. As if seemingly remembering just where he was, and suddenly becoming aware that everyone was looking at him, he swallowed again, nervously.

“Uhm. . . yeah. . .” Toxin muttered under his breath, “Healthy appetite. . .”

[Iron Man]

Tony put the last of his sandwich in his mouth as Dante came in and took at seat at the table and put his feet on it. Walking over he pushed the mans feet off the table "Don't put your feet on the kitchen table." He said shooting the half demon a look before moving over to where Vixen was "I'm Tony Stark you must be Vixen?" He said before he caught something out of the corner of his eye it was Patrick turning into Toxin and inhaling the hunk of meat like it was nothing Guess Pat didn't teach Toxin any table manners he thought with a shake of his head before turning back to Vixen.

[Hulk]

Bruce was walking down the sidewalk, thinking to himself as usual. To make sure no one noticed him he decided to have a hat on with a hood over his head. If people found out who he was it would alert the public. I can't believe after all this time I would be coming back. I just need some where safe to stay until I make up a plan. And what better place than Avengers Mansion. Bruce thought to himself, pausing to look to his right. He looked at the closed gates that were locked up. Bruce looked around a bit to see if anyone was around. There wasn't anyone in the area so Bruce quickly as he could began to climb over the metal gates. If people saw him doing this they would probably think he was a lunatic or something. Bruce shifts his body over the gate and drops down to the ground.

"What am I going to say to them?" Bruce asked himself, walking towards the front door.

As he took a step onto the mat that layed in front of the door he lifted his right hand and knocked on the door three times. While waiting for the door to be answered Bruce takes off his hood and tries to put a smile on his face.

[Pepper]

[using 'my' Jarvis in this post]

Pepper stifled a smile as Toxin ripped the meat to pieces. She'd expected nothing less from him, and as Pat turned and began to flush she offered him a kindly smile, trying to tell him with her eyes that it was all right. Tony began to introduce himself and Pepper kept one eye on him as he moved around the kitchen, pausing at Vixen. Then, she stopped and looked fully away. He was her fiance, no need to be concerned about female company.

The doorbell rang and Pepper chuckled slightly as she headed to answer it. Whoever was there was clearly new - if you were an Avenger, you simply walked right into this place. It was your home.

"I have this one, Jarvis," she said to the young blonde-haired man who had taken up a role as Stark's butler in addition to running his house. Jarvis nodded and stepped back. Pepper opened the door with a welcoming smile...which froze on her face.

"Bruce Banner," she said, striving to maintain some form of smile. This felt incredibly awkward. The Hulk himself, formerly a target of the Avengers, now come to join them? It was a massive firepower addition - but it was another sign of just how the war had affected them all.

She took a deep breath and smiled for real at him this time. "Please come in, everyone's in the kitchen. I'm Pepper Potts and it's a pleasure to have you here."

[Hulk]

"Nice to finally meet you." Bruce said walking past her and inside.

He looked around for a bit, taking in the old smell of the mansion. He hadn't been here for what seemed ages. He looked at the wall to see a huge framed picture of the very first Avengers, including him. Along with him was Steve Rogers; the super-soldier himself Captain America, Tony Stark; the invinsible Iron Man, Thor; the God of thunder, Giant-Man and Wasp. Man, those were the good olds days but they were done. Now we live in a new time with more danger than ever.

Bruce thought to himself, I hope Betty is alright. God, I haven't seen her since before this all happend.

Bruce looked back at Pepper with a smile on his face. There wasn't any type of sound in the room.

As Bruce slowly removed his hat he asked her, "Aren't you Tony Stark's assistant?"

[Pepper]

Pepper blinked as Bruce brushed by her coolly, and then she turned to follow him into the mansion. He stopped to look closely at a picture and she waited beside him, smiling pleasantly but coolly. When he looked back at her his face seemed a little more gentle and accepting, though his eyes were still dancing with anxiety and tension. Jarvis came up out of nowhere and offered his hands. "May I take your hat and coat, sir?"

Bruce replied to Pepper, whose mouth quirked in a half-confused, half-comical smile. "My name is Pepper Potts," she repeated. "Yes, I am Mr. Stark's personal assistant." She kept the title - she allowed Tony to make the announcements that he was engaged, and she held the ring on her finger to prove it, but she didn't go out of her way to point it out.

"The kitchen is through there," she added, gesturing.

[Hulk]

Bruce looked at Jarvis, hearing his question. "No its alright," He said, "Thank you anyway."

Bruce turns back to hear that Pepper was indeed Tony's assistant and told him the kitchen was just near him.

"Its alright, I'm not that hungry."

He tried to bring up a smile but it was too weird. As Bruce couldn't think what else to say he noticed something shinning below him. He moved the direction of his eyes to see a ring around her finger, the sun light reflecting off of it. He looked back up to her face.

"So whose the lucky man?" Bruce asked, staring into her eyes.

He could tell that she was nervous by the tone of her voice when she talked. Who wouldn't right? She's talking to a monster right in front of her. He was surprised that she didn't call for the other heroes right then and there.

[Toxin]

It had been something of a surprise for Toxin to find that nobody really seemed to care that there was a flesh eating, destruction sewing, chaos causing symbiote in their midst - one who had just demolished a good few pounds of meat in seconds.
Apparently they seemed to trust him, and that meant quite a lot to both Pat and the Toxin symbiote. If he was going to enjoy life and hero work, and get anywhere in this team, he'd need their trust at the very least. He didn't expect the public to love him though - they never had. They just saw another Venom. . .

Brrrriiiing

The sound of the doorbell caused Toxin to look up from his recently finished meal. Curious, and eager to get out of the middle of the room - away from all those staring people - he leaped into the air and landed deftly on the ceiling.
Intrigued to see who had arrived next, Toxin almost scuttled across the ceiling and down to the kitchen doorway, before leaping up to the incredibly high ceiling of the main hall.

Toxin crawled down the wall towards the man standing just inside the doorway. He smelled unusual to say the least. In fact he looked a bit like Bruce Banner from up here, but he shouldn't be here. Not after what had happened. . .
Now only feet above the new arrivals head, toxin looked down at the top of his head and smiled, showing an array of lethal-looking teeth and a snake-like tongue, dripping with viscous saliva.

"Gooooooooood morning." Toxin hissed a welcome to the stranger below.

[Pepper]

"Oh...Mr. Stark. Tony." Pepper grinned; Banner's sharp eyes had caught the ring on her finger even though she'd been trying to play it off cool. Next to her Jarvis fell away, withdrawing, his eyes troubled. No doubt he was feeling the pressure from Bruce's presence here as well. Pepper was getting used to the idea. Bruce was a nice, handsome young man. The monster inside of him was the problem, and if they could work around him he would be an asset to the team.

Bruce didn't seem to like being in a social area at the moment, and Pepper decided to stay with him instead of returning to the kitchen. One might say she stayed to make sure he didn't destroy or steal anything. In Pepper's mind, however, she stayed to make sure he had some company and felt at least partially welcomed.

Until Toxin showed up. Pepper looked up alarmed as the man oozed and slithered towards them, snarling slightly. "He's here with permission," she said slightly sharply, not knowing why she felt the need to defend Bruce to Toxin, but doing it anyway.

[Hulk]

Bruce was surprised to hear that she was engaged with Tony. Finally, Tony Stark was settling down with someone who seems like he really cares about. Good for Tony.... Bruce thought to himself.

"Congrats on your engagement."

She seemed like a kind person. Usually people would run away from him because of the monster inside of him but this was different. No one ever treated him like a human being besides Betty.

Just as the two of them were getting to know each other that's when Bruce noticed Toxin on the ceiling. He wasn't startled by the creature one bit. He had seen bigger threats than this thing. Bruce was more afraid of what would happen if the army found out where he was.

[Illyria]

The air rippled just before a portal opened and a woman stepped out she is pale, with tints of blue on her neck and forehead with brown that had shades and strands of blue in it and her eyes were an unnatural ice-blue. The woman wore an elaborate red leather body suit with black high heels and gloves, covering her whole body from the neck down. The portal closed behind her as she stared at Pepper for a long moment before turning her gaze to Bruce "Fear curls off you like smoke." She said then cocked her head to the side "You fear yourself?" she stated not entirly understanding why he would fear himself.