SHIELD Surveillance Report - Subject: Team code named 'The Avengers' - Top Secret - Nick Fury's Eyes Only - Transcript that follows documents a conversation between Steve Rogers (Former Captain America) and Tony Stark (a/k/a Iron Man). 
 Steve Rogers: Hey, Tony. How are you doing? 
 Tony Stark: Not too bad. You wanted to talk about something? 
 SR: Yeah, I do. Take a seat. I just wanted to let you know that I was initially a little leery of putting you on this team of Avengers. 
 TS: I understand. After all, we were leading opposite sides of a civil war. And I did have you arrested. Which led to you getting shot and killed. For a while. By the way, now that you've returned are you ever going to take back the Captain America name from Barnes? 
 SR: Well, Bucky has been doing really well with it, and I've got this job keeping tabs on all the super powered people and threats so I'll just be Steve or now. But I have a feeling I'll be back in the old red, white and blue before too long. 
 TS: Funny. I had the same feeling. Anyhow, thanks for letting me on the team. I need to make a lot of things up to a lot of people and this is a good way to do it. It's great being an Avenger again. 
 SR: Like I was saying, I was hesitant, but you've been doing excellent work so I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you doing things my way. I know that's hard for a Type A personality like you to let someone else run the show so.... Are you OK? Got a headache? 
 TS: I'm getting a psychic message from Professor Xavier. 
 SR: Charlie's calling you on the mind phone? Tell him I said hi. 
 TS: Uh oh... I think we got trouble, Steve. 
 SR: We're superheroes. There's always trouble. What's up? 
 TS: Weeeeelllllll... First I need to tell you something, and you're not going to like it. 
 SR: *sigh* What have you done now, Tony? 
 TS: It's not like that. Nothing new at least. 
 SR: Tell me. 
 TS: Remember that alien Kree/Skull war a while back? After that was done, I got to thinking that we couldn't just wait around to get surprised by stuff like that. So I made a few calls. Got some guys together, and we kind of decided that we would ....handle certain things...try to steer some big events...take charge of situations that... 
 SR: Is this a government thing? Some secret team I haven't heard of before? 
 TS: Uh....no. We just kind of decided that we'd take care of some things on our own. 
 SR: Who exactly is 'we', Tony? 
 TS: There's me and Professor Xavier. Because I thought the mutants should be represented. Then Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four because that guy is almost as smart as me. And Dr. Strange. I don't understand all that crazy new age shit he spouts, but I figured we'd need to keep an eye on the magic side of things. Black Bolt from the Inhumans, but he's dead now. And Namor... 
 SR: You included Namor? Hell, Tony, he's tried to destroy New York before! 
 TS: Yeah, but he rules the oceans and you know how he gets if he isn't included. 
 SR: What did you guys do? 
 TS: It's no big deal. We would just meet every now and then and trade some info. If one of us saw a big threat rising, we'd let the others know. 
 SR: If it wasn't a big deal, why'd you keep it a secret? 
 TS: You know how it is, Steve. Look at the weird shit we deal with. So every once in a while we would do something.... 
 SR: Like what? 
 TS: Oh, like each of us took one of the Infinity Gems and hid them in secret and secure locations to keep them safe. 
 SR: The Infinity Gems that are so powerful that they control all of reality when put together? The ones we all risked our lives to keep from being used for evil? Those Infinity Gems? 
 TS: Yep. 
 SR: Tony, where do you get off thinking that you and your little secret club were entitled to do that? 
 TS: Hey, who else would you trust to do it? The U.S. government? Hell, they can't protect their own nuclear secrets and Congress can't pass a bill to handle the budget, and you want us to turn over objects that could destroy the universe to them? 
 SR: No one gave you the authority to run a secret society that would make decisions that impact every person on earth. 
 TS: That's the point, Steve. There is no traditional authority that's even close to being able to deal with the stuff we see every day. Think about doomsday weapons, aliens, magic, super villains. Who can handle that crap? The United Nations? Please. It's gotta be us. We're the only ones equipped and responsible enough to do it. Honestly, do you feel safer thinking that some government has possession of the Infinity Gems or would you sleep better knowing that Reed has put one in some alternate dimension he created in a lab or that Namor has stashed one on the deepest part of the ocean floor or that I've used all my engineering genius to secure the one I have? 
 SR: Wait a second. You said Black Bolt had one, but he's dead. What happened to his? 
 TS: Uh.... We actually didn't get that one back after he died. That's why Charles was contacting me. Apparently someone found it and is using it to locate and take the rest of them. 
 SR: That is just great, Tony. Someone is rounding up the Infinity Gems so now we're all going to have to.... Hang on. Just got a text. Apparently the Hulk wants to talk. He says he met some guy with some crazy gem who kicked his ass. He has some info. 
 TS: Uh...Hulk? I probably shouldn't be around him. 
 SR: Why not? 
 TS: Um....Here's the thing. A while back me and the other guys in the secret group decided that having the Hulk on earth was too big a risk in case he ever goes rage crazy again so we kind of tricked Banner into getting on a space ship and then shot him to another planet. 
 SR: Would this have anything to do with that thing that happened while I was dead where the Hulk declared war on the entire Earth and showed up with a bunch of aliens and tried to take over? 
 TS: Yeah, he was kind of pissed. 
 SR: Just to recap, your argument is that your little secret group is the only one powerful and responsible enough to decide the fate of the world yet your plans have resulted in a pissed off Hulk and someone stealing the Infinity Gems? 
 TS: When you say it like that, it does sound kind of bad. 
 SR: We're going to need to have a long talk about this, Tony. But you're OK on this Hulk thing. It's the Red Hulk, not Banner as the Green Hulk who we're meeting. 
 TS: Wait. There's a Red Hulk now? Since when? 
 SR: I don't know. I'm supposed to be in charge of this shit, and I can't keep up with it.