That explains so much about Tony Stark.

Well, it works for the purposes of this story, I'm generally not keen on "the devil made me do it" as an excuse for evil or thoughtless behaviour.

Oh you just CAN'T leave it at that!

Oh, and semkirk? Iron Man in armor VS Captain America is probably a losing battle for Steve...but Tony Stark with just a repulsor glove VS Captain America? Tony had better use the confusion to duck out and quick, or he's toast.

I have a ridiculous number of unfinished stories - I need to work on them, and to be honest the outcome of this isn't really in doubt, Steve will kick his ass then spend a long time trying to explain things etc., which just isn't that exciting.

Nicely done! Now please write the next chapter with the rest of the battle and outcome. Puhleeeese!?!?!?

Probably not, I'm afraid - or not soon, anyway. Sorry!

Epic. I don't know the crossover, but it flowed seamlessly with The Avengers. I'm thinking I will have to read this other 'Verse.

Very strongly recommended - there's a new Millennium Edition of ebooks that is bringing all of the stories up to date for the 21st century. Full details of the series here

http://www.dianeduane.com/

Nice ending. A touch of a Civil War there?

Yes, that was what I was thinking. That and the whole "bringing about world peace by superior firepower" thing - it seems a peculiarly skewed set of values.

That Loki of the changing eye color got rolled has been my assertion all along, the Lone Power being responsible (and having moved on to Tony) makes a chilling kind of sense.

Actually, I've gone with Loki being a self-made monster - even the Lone Power can't do everything.

The logic of Tony being in its thrall came to me while I was writing the first half of the story, and it made so much sense I had to go with it. Glad you liked it.

First off, I have to say that this is definitely the first Young Wizards/Avengers crossover I have ever seen.

Second, you pegged Tony perfectly, with the arrogance and total self-assurance that *he* has not only ensured world peace by privatizing warfare, but that his idea for registering everyone who has any sort of power or ability not possessed by so-called 'normal' people is the solution to a problem which doesn't really exist yet.

The idea that the Lone Power is controlling him fits his behavior perfectly, and only increases my desire to see someone send a very large, frangible or mushrooming, piece of metal through his head, because although I admire Tony's genius, I also recognize that he is the archetype for people who wish to control others in every way possible, and removing people like that is the best solution to a constantly growing problem.

Kudos for a great story.

Actually one of my previous stories, Cat Chaser, has a bit of a YW/Avengers crossover in it, although it's primarily Supergirl/Avengers.

Tony is difficult to categorise - he's so in love with his own brilliance that he doesn't sometimes realise when he's wrong. The idea that he could be being nudged that way makes sense in the YW universe, so I went with it.

End?! Wat do you mean, End?!! I hope there is a sequel to this coming soon! But what is here was pretty good. Poor poor Stephen Strange.

I doubt I'll be writing more - whoever wins, it really isn't going to be good.

Re Stephen Strange, the idea of a Sorcerer Supreme really doesn't work very well in the YW universe; it made the most sense to say that he was lying or delusional about his importance.

Intriguing. I have some books on a shelf gathering dust. I may have to take another look.

Well worth a read - and there's a "Millennium Edition" on the way which updates all of them to 21st century technology etc.

Excellent! I always loved the series, except for when the plots started to get too outrageous for me.

It makes all kinds of sense that Tony is the host for the Lone Power; who'd suspect him? Loki was easy to suspect, seeing as how he was so upfront about taking over the world.

Tony is the last person you'd suspect, simply because you think he's such a cool guy what with all of the gadgets and whatnot.

Someone who privatizes world peace by building the ultimate weapon? And wants to register all mutants, wizards etc. just to keep tabs on who might be a threat? Yup, that's the Lone Power all right.

The question is: Is Tony a willing host, or an unwilling one?

Oh, almost certainly unwilling and unaware - he thinks he's doing things for the best of reasons, not realising his logic is a little skewed.

Oh, no! Tony's a vessel for the Lone Power! I do hope you're planning a sequel to this? Pretty please?

Probably not - I think readers can imagine the resolution for themselves, and I have too many other things to write.

Very nice, up to your usual great standards. The twist of Steve being a wizard, and Tony being under the influence were nice twists.

I know that the canon reason for Steve's survival is that he got treatment nobody else did, but once I'd thought of a YW crossover the idea that it was his magic that kept him alive was very compelling. As for Tony, it may be something that Steve can fix, with a little help from his friends.

Very very nice!

An excellent crossover.

Thanks, glad you liked it.

Really enjoyed it, although I was of course saddened by the ending. I liked the take on Dr. Stephen Strange/Sanders, M.D. (retired).

I'm maybe just a little too suspicious of someone whose idea of "privatising world peace" is to build an ultimate weapon of sorts. Glad you liked it.