Marvel Cinematic Universe Reader Inserts

“Okay, Tony, this was your idea. What’s the plan?” Steve asked as he set the heavy bag down on the ground.

“Don’t make it sound like it’s work, Cap. This is supposed to be fun!” Tony replied, pulling the baseball cap down on his head. “You and I are the team leaders, so we choose our players and then we get started. I’ll be the nice guy and let you pick first.”

Quickly glancing out over the remaining Avengers, Steve began formulating his plans for winning the upcoming game.

“Bucky,” he called out.

“Seriously?” Sam muttered while watching a now-smiling Bucky Barnes run over to take his place beside Steve.

“Rhodey,” Tony yelled without hesitation.

“Sam,” Steve said.

Sam jogged over and stood on the opposite side of Steve.

“Second is nothing to be ashamed of,” Bucky whispered to Sam with a smirk.

“Oh, shut up,” Sam snapped in response.

“Peter,” Tony said.

“Yes!” Peter yelled out, fist-pumping the air. “You won’t regret this, Mr. Stark. I’m a great baseball player.”

“Yeah, sure, kid,” Tony replied, patting the overly-enthusiastic youth on the shoulder. “Love the energy.”

“Thor,” Steve said.

Tony studied Steve’s team before turning and pulling Rhodey and Peter to him on either side for a group huddle.

“Alright, he’s picked all the power players which means, except for the kid, we’re way behind,” he said.

“Thanks a lot,” Rhodey mumbled.

“Our only chance at this point is to play dirty,” Tony continued, ignoring Rhodey.

“You mean cheat?” Peter asked, looking appalled. “I can’t do that!”

“I know you can’t, so we need people who can.”

“We’re not getting any younger waiting around, Tony,” Steve yelled.

“You’re already old, Cap! A few more minutes shouldn’t kill you!” Tony yelled back. “Um, we pick Romanoff.”

“Clint.”

“Loki.”

“Oh no, I wanted Loki to be on our team,” Thor said with a sigh. “He’s a dangerous opponent to face.”

“He isn’t such a great ally, either,” Clint muttered.

“Scott,” Steve called out.

“Stephen.”

“Wanda.”

“Vision.”

“Does Vision even know what baseball is?” Rhodey whispered to Tony.

“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”

“Alright, the teams are picked. So, who bats first?” Steve asked.

“We do,” Tony answered.

Nodding his head, Steve ran off to the center of the baseball diamond and waved his arms for his team to assemble around him. Once everyone was present, he said, “They’re batting first. I’m going to pitch. Bucky’s on first, Sam’s second, Thor’s third, and Scott is shortstop. Clint, you’ve got the sharpest eyes so I want you in the outfield. You too, Wanda. Thor, do you remember everything I explained to you about how the game works?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good. Honestly, I don’t think they’re going to stand a chance against us. But, it isn’t a competition. We’re just here to have fun,” Steve said with a smile.

“Okay, we’re here to kick ass by whatever means necessary,” Tony said to his team. “Kicking, biting, stealing bases, throwing sand in their eyes, I don’t care… just make sure we win. Stephen, can you make portals for the ball to fly through? I’m pretty sure that counts as a home run.”

“If he can’t, I can make it look like it’s going in one direction when in reality it is going another,” Loki volunteered.

“That’s not bad,” Tony said. “The Asgardian is up first, followed by Peter, me, Rhodey, Natasha, Stephen, and Vision. I really, really, really want to win this, so as an incentive, everybody on the team gets a thousand dollars each if we beat them. Now, game on!”

The players took their spots on the field while Steve warmed up his pitch. He watched as Loki stepped up to the plate, got used to the feel of the bat in his hands, and took the stance that Tony had showed him. Steve knew that Loki was a lot stronger than he looked, so his best tactic would be to strike him out. For the first two pitches, he was successful. But on the third, Loki’s bat made contact with the ball well enough to send it flying into the air.

“I’ve got it!” Thor yelled as he backed up, lining himself up with the spot where he thought the ball would come down. But when he jumped into the air to catch it, it dissolved in his hands.

“Ow!” Clint cried from the outfield, hitting the ground in pain after the real ball suddenly appeared and hit him directly in the crotch.

“Yes!” Loki screamed as he happily made it to third base.

“You cheated!” Steve said, storming over to Loki.

“Of course I did. What did you expect?”

Steve glanced over at Tony to see him grinning from ear to ear. Running over to him, he said, “So, that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Well, two can play at that game.”

Turning on his heels and jogging over to a recovering Clint, he gathered his team and said, “Forget what I said about this not being a competition. We’re playing to win. No matter what it takes.”

“Captain America is telling us to play dirty?” Bucky asked with a smirk.

“Yes.”

“Good,” Clint said, giving Loki the evil eye. “Let’s play.”

As the game went on, Stephen dropped Scott through a portal in the ground, Thor electrified third base, outing both Peter and Natasha, Wanda magically moved every ball in Clint’s direction so he could catch all of them, and Bucky stuck his arm out at the last minute, knocking Tony to the ground.

“Oh, did my new arm get in your way?” He said. “Maybe you’d like to blow it off like the last one.”

“Time to switch,” Steve called out.

Rubbing his sore backside, Tony assembled his team in the outfield.

“I’m sticking Vision and Rhodey in the outfield. Loki gets first, Stephen second, Natasha third, and Peter will be our shortstop. I’m going to pitch.”

Looking over at the batter’s plate, he watched as Steve picked up the bat, flexing his muscles in his tight shirt and squeezing the handle so firmly that Tony was surprised it didn’t snap in two.

“Change that, I’m not pitching. Any volunteers?”

“Oh I’ll do it, you wimp,” Natasha muttered.

“Good girl, taking one for the team,” he said, slapping her on the arm before running to third base.

Moving to the pitcher’s mound, Natasha took a deep breath and prepared herself for her throw. She felt it unlikely that Steve would miss, and if he didn’t, it would easily be a home run. She pulled her arm back, swung it forward, and released the ball. In the blink of an eye, it came into the contact with the bat, creating a loud, almost thunderous sound. It flew through the sky, over the fence that surrounded the field, and landed somewhere in the wooded lot in the distance.

“Damn it, Vision, you could’ve flown up and caught that!” Rhodey yelled.

“Oh, my apologies. I wasn’t entirely clear on what my duties are out here.”

Tony rubbed his hand across his face in exasperation.

“This is going to be ugly,” he muttered while Steve jogged past him, unnecessarily running the bases simply to rub it in.

Bucky and Thor followed him, managing to knock their hits out of the park as well. Sam, Clint, and Scott did pretty good also, significantly bumping up the score for Team Captain America. The last person left to bat was Wanda.

“I can’t do this,” Wanda told Clint.

“Sure you can, honey,” Clint said gently, placing the bat in her hands and showing her how to hold it. “Just like this. You’ll be fine.”

“No, I won’t. I’m going to mess it up.”

“Move in! Move in!” Natasha yelled.

Wanda sharply turned to look at Natasha.

“She didn’t,” she said.

“She did,” Clint replied. “You aren’t going to let her get away with it, are you?”

Wanda’s expression took on a certain resolve, and she lifted the bat up, ready for Natasha’s pitch. She missed the first two, which shook her confidence, but she managed to hit the third. Squealing with excitement, she took off running as it rolled across the ground.

“That was wonderful, Wanda, my dear!” Vision yelled from his place in the outfield, not picking up the ball when it stopped at his feet.

“Vision, pick up the damn ball!” Tony screamed. “We can’t let them score again!”

Darting over and scooping up the ball, Peter threw it in Loki’s direction. Before Wanda could arrive safely at the base, she tripped and fell face first in the dirt, giving Loki time enough to catch the ball and out her.

“You bastard! You tripped her!” Clint yelled, running over.

“I did not!” Loki said defensively.

“You did! I saw you!”

Suddenly, everyone ran over to first base to get in on the argument.

“What kind of man trips a little girl?” Bucky asked.

“A complete monster,” Scott supplied.

“Hey, Thor tried to electrocute my kid and I didn’t complain,” Tony said.

“You are exaggerating. I did not try to electrocute him.”

“And you’re the one who had to win at all costs,” Sam interjected.

While they continued bickering, a car pulled up outside the field and a single man got out. He walked over to the fence and leaned against it, watching as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fought amongst themselves like a group of rambunctious children.

Shaking his head at the sight in front of him, Bruce said with a laugh, “Come with us, Bruce. It’ll be fun. Not at all stressful. Sure, Tony, sure…”