Title: IronPika
Author: Stormy1x2
Wordcount: (chpt 1) 8300
Notes: Okay, so I started writing this back in December 2013 after my accident and then I spent April and May infatuated with Danny Phantom and therefore ignoring it. Now I'm rewatching all the Marvel movies to get ready for Avengers 2 and realizing that I really wanted to get this out there and maybe some encouragement will help me work on it.
Note to Danny Phantom fans – yes, chapter 2 is almost done. Patience Is a virtue.
Anyway, this fic takes place in the Diamond and Pearl heydays and is a response to the question someone once asked me: what would have happened if Ash had been shoved through the portal made by Uxie, Azelph, and Mesprit? If in a desperate attempt to keep Cyrus from damaging another world, Ash made one of his famous 'heroic leaps' and knocked him aside only to end up going through it himself?
This is my answer.
Chapter 1
It seemed like just another, typical day in New York City.
"A dragon? In New York?" Steve turned incredulous eyes on Fury. "Really?"
"Sounds like just another work day," Tony said, waving his hand dismissively. "C'mon, after Thor's Bilgesnipes last month, a dragon is just so... ordinary."
Ignoring her teammates, Natasha leaned forward, eyes on the 3D map rotating in the middle of what the Director called his 'war room' – metallic, and simplified and technology-enhanced - but Stark tended to refer to it as the 'dungeon that style forgot'. Bright green sparks were highlighted all over the floating grid. They were fairly well clumped together, but with no other discernible patterns that they could easily see. Touching one of the sparks revealed coordinates and a physical address. "Previous sightings?"
"A string of them up and down Central Park," Fury replied. He seemed likewise inclined to ignore the other Avengers. "Infrequent sightings starting about three months ago. Reports to local police weren't treated seriously – seems the only witnesses were homeless people and known park vagrants. It wasn't until last week, a local grocery store reported a giant yellow rat stealing food off the shelves. One of their employees chased it off in time to see it jump on the back of a large orange dragon and fly off towards Central Park's north entrance."
"Yellow rats and orange dragons," Tony mused with a grin, shooting Clint a grin the archer immediately returned. "Sounds very colorful. Much better than the normal green dragons and brown rats we usually get. Hear of. Whatever." He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "What color were the dragons of Pern?"
"That would be what you focus on," Bruce said, chuckling lightly. He directed his attention to Fury. "And no one's been able to find a lair? A den – something to indicate where it's been living?"
"Again, not until recently." Fury did something off-screen and a series of orange dots coalesced onto the holographic map. "We can reasonably assume it's around this forested area. Local police attempted a search yesterday, but were chased off long before they could enter the area. The dragon attacked, along with the yellow rat, which appeared to shooting some sort of electrical current, and what people said was..." Fury trailed off for a moment, quirking his brow at his notes. "I can't believe I'm saying this... but they were chased off by 'the abominable snowman throwing fireballs'."
Clint and Tony chose that moment to break out into laughter.
"Was anyone hurt?" Steve asked, throwing a reproving frown at his twin reprobates. Clint snorted but settled himself quickly, only a slightly curled lip indicating his entertainment. Tony, on the other hand, continued to chuckle out loud, eyes glinting. It was easily apparent that he was far more amused than concerned about their present mission. Steve's frown intensified slightly, and Clint tugged Tony next to him, nudging the billionaire. Tony pouted – actually pouted – for a moment, and then his attention was back on the holo-field.
"Surprisingly, no. All attacks apparently came close but no actual contact. Well, the rat-creature shorted out the electrical grid in the area, and the dragon blew up an abandoned car. The snowman hurled fireballs at people's feet, as though herding them from the area."
"Thank goodness for small favors," Steve muttered. "I'd like to keep a zero body count for once."
The meeting room door was suddenly opened by a young agent looking urgently at them all. Fury raised an eyebrow and the agent held up a clipboard. "New sighting sir," he spoke quickly. "And it's still there."
"Paper," Tony groaned, sounding physically pained.
Captain America took the clipboard and scanned it, Widow looking over his shoulder. "Third Street," she said. Her fingers danced numbly over her Widow's Bite cuffs, checking their charge as she took in the information.
Tony groaned again. "Do you have any idea what the traffic is like around there?" He brightened. "Anyone need a ride?"
"I'll take that flight," Clint said eagerly, raising his hand. He'd do just about anything to avoid SHIELD transportation if Natasha wasn't the pilot. Fury hadn't let him pilot officially since the Chitauri invasion, and Tony's promise of his very own Quinjet was literally still in the making.
Cap was already moving. "Let's go catch us a dragon, people!"
The report had been simple enough. A local tweet blew up the internet with a thousand people posting within seconds about a dragon robbing a pharmacy in broad daylight. Shield's computer geeks had all the information within moments of it happening, and were continuing to monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, having reached Third Street minutes before his team, Iron Man did loops around the building, his scanners latching on to the strange energy signal radiating from the creature. "Houston, we have contact!"
"What do you see?"
"What do you think?" Tony replied. "I got eyes on a fucking dragon. An orange dragon. A ridiculously bright orange dragon. His tailor should be drawn and quartered."
"Keep back, Iron Man," cautioned Captain America. "I'm right below you." Tony looked down to see Cap's motorcycle roaring up the street, swerving between the few cars left there unattended. "We don't want to do anything that'll make this thing attack."
"Yeah, yeah," Tony grumbled. Party pooper. "I'm gonna—"
Tony never got to finish his sentence because all of a sudden, the dragon flew upwards into a beautifully elegant loop that had him over Tony in seconds, its mouth wide open. Flames shot forth and Tony cursed over the comms, trying to cut far enough to the right to avoid them. Heat blossomed on his left arm, and his sensors began feeding him data. "Jarvis?"
"You avoided most of the blast, Sir," came Jarvis's calm response. "Mere scorching. I'll have Dummy ready the buffer for your return."
"You do that." Tony was now being chased by the dragon, who was still shooting amazingly lengthy streams of red and yellow flames in his direction. He began to zigzag, trying to stay more or less over the main road Fury'd had the local PD section off. Having set him down on a hotel on Third Street, he knew Hawkeye was probably watching his little aerial battle. Black Widow was on foot down below, moving the instant the plane touched down in the middle of the road but they couldn't help him up there. The dragon stayed right behind him. Then the flames stopped. Tony glanced behind him and blinked in stupefaction. A yellow-gold ball of light was forming inside the beast's mouth. "That... that does not look good."
"Move Iron Man!" Cap was shouting.
The dragon roared and the yellow light coalesced to a white point of pure power before blasting in Tony's direction, the beam traveling even faster than the flames. Tony yelped and aimed up – going down into the buildings seemed like a really bad idea – and breathed a sigh of relief as the beam continued on its way, a dozen meters below him.
Then he balked. A news helicopter was hovering a couple hundred meters away, cameras aimed in their direction. The beam of light didn't dissipate like the flames did. It continued straight on its deadly course. The helicopter pilot tried to dodge but the copter was much slower and heavier than Iron Man's suit. It managed to turn slightly away, but the beam of light shot directly over, searing right though part of the roof of the main cabin and exploding with amazing force. The helicopter began to spiral and sink towards the ground, smoke pouring out of the top. The propellers were still spinning but slowing with each passing second.
"Incoming!" Tony hollered through the coms, and dove towards the plane. The dragon seemed to have the same idea, and Tony tracked its movements.
The dragon flew straight towards the falling helicopter. Iron Man sped over and raised a hand to fire his gauntlet – and then stopped, staring. His hand dropped slightly. The dragon had dropped down hard on the back of the copter and was gripping the back of the helicopter with its clawed feet, sending chipped bits of metal and paint falling. It flapped its wings furiously, taloned fists clenched with the strain of trying to slow the dead weight down.
Tony took in the sight, automatically logging everything through Jarvis' scanners. The creature was heavily muscled, and obviously incredibly strong, but the helicopter was too heavy for it to stop completely. It's helping us, Tony realized, and he relayed that across the communications systems.
There was a gust of wind and a streak of brown and white shot past his helmet; Tony blinked, and suddenly there was a giant bird with a star-shaped crest, hovering by the open door. "Another one?" Tony gaped.
"Say again, Iron Man?"
"There's another animal-thing up here in the form of a huge-ass bird!" Iron Man shouted into the comm., his eyes fixed on the newest creature.
The bird screeched a keening shriek and flapped its wings violently, sending a large gust under the belly of the 'copter, helping the dragon to slow its descent momentarily. The wind swirled beneath it as though trapped between the landing struts. Tony could actually see the whipping winds circling in a funnel under the machine.
"Sir, by all laws of physics in this world, what that bird is doing shouldn't theoretically be possible."
"Jarvis, by all laws of biology in this world, neither of those animals should theoretically be possible, and yet here they are. Let's focus more on what is happening than what shouldn't be." Tony blinked, and then added, "For now, at least."
"Very good sir."
Iron Man watched as the bird then turned its attention to the body of the aircraft and latched on to the struts with its talons. The metal creaked and tore under the force. The bird reached in the side door with its massive beak and pulled out one of the passengers by the back of her jacket. The woman - a reporter Tony guessed, judging from her brown suit and name clip over the breast pocket – was screaming in fear, waving her arms in an attempt to strike the bird, but couldn't reach from her current angle.
Tony moved in closer just as the bird swooped away. He watched, dumbstruck, as the bird sped off at a speed he hadn't known was possible to achieve without an engine attached, dropping the woman gently to the roof of a nearby building, and then speeding back. He returned his gaze to the dragon, still somehow managing to slow, but not completely halt the descent of the helicopter. "Are you getting all this, J?"
"Recording continues sir. Scanners are operational as well. You will have a full record of this event in the home network."
The bird started to retrieve a second victim from the helicopter, and Tony finally snapped out of his frozen state. He dove towards the front of the helicopter and gripped the edging separating the metal from the windshield. Firing his thrusters at full power, he dug his fingers deeper into the metal and hauled upwards as hard as he could.
"Descending rate diminished by 13.7% sir."
"Let's try to increase that, shall we?" Tony growled out through gritted teeth. "Divert all secondary power systems to the thrusters."
"You will reduce your own capabilities by a large margin, sir. Your flight stabilizers may fluctuate. Life support systems will be reduced to 5%."
Tony had to stop himself from smacking his helmet in pure frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you not to tell me the math? Do it!"
"Diverting power now."
Tony felt a shudder through the Iron Man suit, and then white-hot flames shot from his boots. He could feel the metal edge of the helicopter windshield straining against the unerring pull of gravity. His feet were sweating.
The front of the helicopter slowed even more, and the machine started to balance itself out. A man was pounding on the windshield, trying to get his attention – he could feel the vibrations through his suit – but he couldn't take his eyes off the orange beast across the helicopter from him, who was glaring at him and then NODDING at him, as though in approval of his actions.
The bird was screeching at the door and suddenly there was a loud scream. Tony looked down in time to see the man at the windshield being yanked backwards. He looked to the side of the helicopter and saw the bird flying away with the man dangling from its mouth by his pant leg, screeching and flailing. He couldn't resist a chuckle. "Jarvis?"
"Recorded sir."
The bird was flying back to the building to drop off its second passenger. A purple-clad form was waiting there to assist the man in his landing – Clint. "You make good time, Katniss," Tony took a moment to acknowledge. The form raised a hand at him, possibly a finger as well, and Tony snickered. He looked back at what he was supposed to be doing.
Scanners indicated one more life signal aboard the helicopter. The rooftops of some of New York's finest skyscrapers – including Stark Tower, thank you very much – had started to become taller than him and the helicopter. He could almost make out people the size of large bugs in the windows. He looked across the body of the copter to the dragon that was still flapping its massive wings for dear life. "I hope that bird knows we're on a tight schedule."
The dragon snorted a small ember in his direction, chuffing. It looked like a smile – no, more like a smirk. Tony blinked, considering the implications of that remarkably human-like gesture. Then the dragon turned its head and roared in the direction the bird had flown. It came streaking up in a flash of light – literally a flash, almost magically materializing at the door of the falling 'copter, pulling up to an almost instant stop. Tony's hands were locked around the metal wedge which was a good thing because he might have dropped the plane otherwise.
The bird had stuck its head inside the door and was rooting around inside the helicopter. Tony could hear its muffled squawking and the subsequent cries from the person inside. He risked another glance down – the cars were growing ever larger with each passing second. "Anytime now, Tweety," he ground out between gritted teeth.
Finally there was a loud scream from a man being yanked out of the hold, a camera strapped around him, dangling into the air. The bird had him firmly clutched in its talons, though the sharp claws weren't actually piercing anything - Tony's scanners confirmed that quickly. The bird hovered for a moment, looking at the dragon with a screech before flying back up to the rooftop where it had dropped off the previous passengers.
The dragon looked at Tony, then at the ground, back at Tony and roared.
Tony grinned, completely at ease with the insanity that was him having a non-verbal conversation with an orange dragon. "I hear ya! Let's land this puppy!" Checking below, he told Jarvis to turn on and amplify his external speaker system. "Clear out! Out of the way!"
Below him, he could see Captain America leaping off a taxi roof, a passenger slung over each shoulder. The Hulk was roaring and punching the remaining cars left and right, smashing them up against the buildings. He seemed to be following the directions of the Black Widow who was gesturing with wide arms where he should hit them.
"Hulk!" Tony shouted. The Hulk froze for a second and then looked up, snarling. "Catch this thing, will ya?"
Natasha heard and threw her hands up, shouting something at the Hulk, who looked at her, looked back up again – and then raised his hands.
"Oh, thank the gods," Tony breathed. Hoping against hope, he looked back to the dragon and crossed his mental fingers that the creature would understand. They were only a few stories up now and still falling. "Okay lizard-breath – let's drop this thing okay? Do you understand me?" The dragon gave him a short nod. Tony swallowed down his excitement at the intelligence it was displaying and focused. "Three... two... one!"
Both dragon and man dropped their ends of the helicopter at the same time.
The minute the dragon had dropped its end of the helicopter, it was flying off as fast as it could flap. Tony waited just long enough to see Hulk catch the whirli-bird and set it down with a surprising level of gentleness – only partially crumpled from where he shoved it away from him. Then Cap was shouting at him to follow the dragon.
"On it, Cap," Tony confirmed. He had switched his power levels back to normal and while depleted quite a bit, he still had enough juice to keep going for the time being. The dragon was on a direct course to Central Park and the giant bird was already circling one portion of it, moving in for a landing somewhere in a more densely forested part towards the north end. He relayed the information to his team and then settled in for a controlled landing a couple hundred meters back on a path. "Well… they picked a nice part of the park to play house."
"Wait for us," Natasha barked over comms. "Cap's on his way. Bruce and I right behind you. He'll join you. I'll pick up Barton and rendezvous over Central. Leave the coordinating with Fury to me. He wants to send additional agents in."
"I'll bet he does," Tony muttered. Like hell he'd allow these fascinating creatures to be trapped in Fury's cages. There was sentience to be had in those brains – they'd worked in tandem to coordinate a rescue and Tony himself had seen, he knew that the dragon had understood his every word perfectly. He powered down to basics and started walking towards the brush, curiosity eating him up.
Cap was actually only two minutes behind him, pulling up short from a dead run. "Hold up, Iron Man."
Tony didn't even look back. "They're smart, Cap," he said, continuing his careful walk, eyes flying in all directions, looking for a flash of orange. "I don't want Fury cutting them open to see what makes them tick."
Steve grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt. "You think I'd let that happen?" he asked, sounding almost hurt. "I just don't want you going in there without backup. They may have saved those people, but they were also the cause of that crash."
"It was an accident," Tony insisted. "He was aiming at me."
Steve pulled his cowl back and raised his eyebrows, giving Tony an odd look. "Do you really think that makes it okay?
"Yes!" Tony threw up his hands. "I'm moving past that, Cap. I saw intelligence in those eyes. I saw it follow my instructions. I saw them rescue those reporters without any coercion. The Hulk throws cars at me when I piss him off yet I'm willing to forgive and forget, Cap, why aren't you?" He batted his eyes at his teammate. "C'mon Cap, forgiveness is a virtue."
Cap shook his head, apparently amused – albeit reluctantly, no doubt - and then finally grinned, raking a hand back through his hair. "I have to say," he admitted finally. "I've always wanted to see a real, live dragon."
"Then let's get to it!" Tony turned back and took another step towards the densely forested section of the park.
Cap planted himself in front of Tony, eyebrow quirked. "As soon as the others get here."
Tony groaned.
It was technically a Shield plane, but Natasha was piloting so everything seemed right in Bruce's world. Sort of.
Bruce was still reeling a bit from his transformation, but thankfully Tony's experimental shorts – each stage showing more and more promise – had held up extremely well this time 'round. He adjusted the waistband so it was actually around his waist and nodded out the window at the greenery below. "They're living in Central Park… I don't believe it."
Clint and Natasha exchanged grins. Clint shot him a look over his shoulder as Natasha hovered the Quinjet over the Park. "We should get a few interesting jobs we've done around this area declassified for ya, Bruce. You'd be surprised what lives here."
Natasha transferred control of the Quinjet to Clint and unbuckled her belt. Bruce looked at her, slightly confused. "What are you doing? I thought Clint wasn't cleared to fly."
Natasha snorted. "This isn't flying. It's hovering. And even a Shield newb can land a Quinjet – Tony made it idiot-proof, remember?"
"Hey," Clint complained.
Bruce blinked. "Okay. But why…" He trailed off as Natasha pulled gear out of a storage locker near the doors.
She smirked at him and held up a coiled rope by its large metal clip in one hand, a harness in the other. "Ready to get up close and personal with those creatures?"
Bruce swallowed. "You're not landing first?"
Clint chuckled. "Not in the park, Bruce. I got reamed out by Fury last time I burned a portion of Central Park without prior permission. You guys go down and I'll find a roof." He nodded at a strangely familiar building nearby. "Maybe the Baxter Building. That'll give Tones something to laugh at later."
Bruce sighed and raised his arms, allowing the Widow to buckle him together for the drop. "Be gentle with me," he joked weakly. "I'd rather stay all fleshy for the time-being."
Natasha's eyes softened ever so slightly as she tightened the harness. "We've done this a hundred times, Bruce. It's like sliding down the pole on the jungle gym, just without the pole."
She was sort of right. The harness looped around his thighs and around his waist. The clip was right at his midsection. As Bruce leaned backwards out of the hovering jet, eyes squeezed shut, he realized dimly that it was a lot like belaying down a cliff. Without a cliff. He clutched at the lead rope and opened his eyes. Widow was right above him in the doorway. She nodded at him. "Sit back," she said calmly. "You'll swing a bit, but then I'll lower you down."
Bruce took a deep breath and did as he was told. True to her words, he did swing a bit, but then he was fairly stable as he was quickly lowered to the grass. Captain American and Iron Man were directly underneath – Tony had his face mask open and his arms outstretched, as though trying to catch him. Bruce couldn't help but laugh. Tony had a way of reducing his blood pressure at times, even while trying to raise it.
A moment later, he was down. Cap had him out of his harness in a moment. Bruce looked up – and gasped as Natasha came sliding down the rope without a harness of any kind. Cap looked up and grinned. Holding the rope taut, he leaned forward just enough to provide Widow with a platform. She landed on his shoulders and spring-boarded lightly to the ground. "That was fun."
"Looked like it," Bruce chuckled. "So let's move in and see what else is here for entertainment."
Tony beamed and drew Bruce to him, arm lightly resting on his teammates shoulder. "I like the way that sounded."
Widow melted back into the shadows, no doubt on her way to rendezvous with Fury's dispatched field team. Coulson would likely be there.
Captain America stepped around them to lead the way. "Careful guys. Intelligent or not, they are still powerful and dangerous. Let's see if we can keep this calm."
"I'm always calm," Tony insisted as they moved. "When am I not calm?"
Bruce rolled his eyes and kept walking. They found faint traces of dead fire; black swathes of charcoal on the bark of the trees lining the paths. Bruce scraped a few samples into a specimen jar, just in case.
Tony was stomping ahead in his Iron Man suit, complaining about the heat and the need for him to improve the internal cooling tubes that ran through his flight suit. His rant was cut off by a ping from Jarvis. "Sir, I'm picking up rather extraordinary heat signals one hundred and seven degrees northwest of your current position. One hundred and five. One hundred and—"
"Thank you Jarvis, I think we know we're going the right way." Tony held his arm up and a small device that look like a camera with an incredibly long, thin lens unfolded from his arm, extending out to nearly twelve inches. "Bio scan, if you would."
"It's unlike anything in my database, Sir," Jarvis said after a minute. "There are either a multitude of creatures or one very large one. Their signatures are somewhat reminiscent of Master Thor's energy."
"And he's a tough guy to scan," Tony muttered. "Loki?"
"I don't believe so Sir. The scepter gave off a very distinct signal and this does not match the signal I recorded previously."
"Well, this is going to be an interesting day," Tony said, withdrawing the scanner and clapping his hands together.
Steve gave him a wry grin. "You mean the giant bird and the orange dragon weren't interesting enough?" He nodded to a path veering slightly off the main walkway they were on. "I'll go down this way, you keep walking straight ahead. Bruce?"
Bruce was already pushing his way near-silently through the underbrush on the other side; years of experience in escaping government goons serving him well. He'd had to force his way through jungle growth where there were no paths, climb hills and rocks where there were no stairs – the bushes of Central Park were no match for him. "I've got it, Cap."
He could hear Tony grumbling about something and then there was a thump overhead. He looked up and saw falling leaves and a – was that a zip line? "Clint?"
A chuckle came over his comm. "Reed's probably gonna complain about the earthquake that hit his tower," he said. Bruce could hear the amusement in his voice. "I was in a hurry so it wasn't my gentlest landing."
"You are my new favorite Avenger," Tony chimed in. "Next time, take out his satellite dish. That would make my day."
"I already was your favorite Avenger," Clint corrected him with a sniff.
"Clint, how's it look up there?" Steve cut in firmly.
There was a moment of silence and then Clint came back. "You're heading in the right direction," he said quietly. "I can see the dragon from up here – there's a small clearing in the brush about fifty yards ahead of you, Bruce. Tony, you're on target. Cap, veer about twenty two degrees to your left."
Natasha materialized at Steve's side, making him bite back an obvious yelp of surprise. "There is a team about one hundred yards back and holding for your signal," she said quietly and then she turned to follow Bruce's trail.
Bruce waited for her to catch up before pushing aside the last bits of flora to reach the clearing. Tony was already there, helmet off and staring at a grouping of… animals? Creatures? Steve was suddenly next to him and Bruce could hear his intake of breath at the sight.
"Whoa," came Clint's whisper over the comm lines.
That one word seemed to sum everything up.
The bird wasn't there that they could see, but there were three creatures standing before them, eyes narrowed and muscles tensed. Obviously they would attack if they didn't like what they saw, and Bruce took a deep breath, trying to control the pulsing urge with his brain that was the Hulk, who was on the verge of forcing his way out, out of sheer curiosity.
The dragon, a rat-like creature, and what seemed to be a white-furred monkey stood there like a living wall. The dragon's tail lashed to one side, the flame flaring bright, and it growled, dripping embers and snorting smoke into the cooling air. Bruce noted the flames touching the grass and trees seemed to go out almost instantly, leaving behind the same kind of charcoal residue he had scraped off moments before.
Beside the dragon, the yellow rat with rabbit sized ears on guard, all four tiny legs spread and ready as if to launch itself at the first Avenger who moved. Its red-marked cheeks were sparking with some form of electricity, but it didn't seem to be in pain. Indeed, marveled the fascinated Bruce, it was like the creature itself was generating its own electrical current. The lightning shaped tail and zigzag marks on its back were obvious tells.
The monkey looked the fiercest though. Eyes burned like charred embers, and its teeth were grit, showing massive fangs. Unlike the dragon, who was unmoving in its stance, the monkey-creature was shifting from foot to foot with clenched fists, and Bruce was afraid it was seconds from attacking. In fact, it had taken a step towards the tree Clint had perched himself in, as though it wanted to climb up there and rip him apart. But the rat had growled something – 'pica? Pi ka?' – and the monkey had stood down, albeit reluctantly. It seemed almost absurd – a large dragon with razor sharp fangs, a fire-breathing monkey - and it was the tiny yellow rat that was the boss?
"They're not stupid," Bruce murmured over the comms. "We should see if they can be reasoned with. Steve?"
Steve nodded. He took a slow step forward, showing his empty hands, shield slung behind his back. "We don't want to hurt you," he said calmly, firmly. "Do you understand me?" He tilted his head to one side and directed his attention to the dragon. "I think you do, at least on some level. You helped save the people in that helicopter. You understood they were in danger and you knew what to do to keep the plane from crashing long enough for your bird friend to help out. Right?"
There was a long, silent pause as man and dragon stared each other down. The dragon broke its gaze away to confer with the yellow rat who looked up – and gave a short nod. Bruce gasped silently, and beside him, he could feel Tony practically vibrating in place with excitement. Steve never wavered. The dragon swung its head back, looked Steve in the eye and nodded, growling lowly.
Steve let out a breath, and smiled, though he was careful not to show his teeth, just in case. "I thought so. My name is Steve." He held out his hand awkwardly.
Over the coms, Clint barked a near silent laugh. "Seriously? He's introducing himself to—"
The archer cut himself off as the dragon slowly reached out to grip Steve's hand in its paw, careful not to let the razor-sharp claws touch his gloves. At Steve's side, Natasha tensed, but she didn't bring out her weapon. Bruce breathed easier. The dragon shook once, and then let go, still maintaining eye contact. It growled something.
The monkey-creature jerked, and started at the dragon, who growled again, this time louder. After a moment, the monkey nodded and closed its eyes. A few seconds later, it reopened them – the sclera had changed from glowing red to a white color, like the human eye. The flame-like glow surrounding its body faded, and the fire on its head went from raging inferno down to a hair-shaped conflagration.
"Fascinating," Bruce murmured.
"I know, right?" Tony was grinning wildly. "Seriously, there is so much I want to know and do right now, I can't even think of a place to start!" The dragon shot him a glare – yes, that was definitely a glare – that made Tony blink and wave his arms. "Nothing bad, I swear! But I've never seen anything like you three before! You're amazing!" The yellow rat cocked its head at Tony, obviously assessing the man's intent. Then it gave a small smile and chirp. Tony crowed. "See? They like me! Everyone does, you know."
The monkey snorted and then turned around, stomping into the bush. Tony made as if to follow but the dragon's tail was suddenly stretched across his path. Steve was there in a flash, pushing Tony back gently. "Hang on a second, Tony."
"They're obviously hiding something back there," Tony stated plainly. He looked up at the dragon. "Right? Something important?"" He gestured to himself and all of the Avengers. "Man, I wish Thor was here. That All-Speak of his would come in handy right now. Look, like Stars-and-Stripes here said, we don't want to hurt you. We can help you. You can trust us."
The rat and dragon exchanged yet another look. The uncertainty they felt shone through as clear as day. Bruce crouched down, addressing the rat, who was apparently in charge. The rat focused on him and took a step forward so they were in the middle of the two groups, each apparently speaking for their own side.
Bruce made firm eye contact. He knew that wasn't always the smart thing to do around normal Earth animals, but these creatures had such an air of humanity about them. "I've always believed that animals could sense a person's true intentions," he said, speaking calmly and quietly. He held his hand out, open and nonthreatening. The rat stepped forward, shooting looks from his eyes to his hand and back again. "Be as sure as you need to be. I don't mind."
The rat crept ever closer. Bruce didn't look away, but he could feel the dragon's eyes on him. He had no doubt that if he appeared to be any kind of a threat, the dragon would unleash a fireball on his head. He had no intention of letting the Hulk out at such a vulnerable time, but it would be hard under those circumstances. He had to remain calm. He blinked as a cool pressure touched his fingertips.
The creature's furry snout pushed against him lightly, sniffing. Its ears, laid back as they'd been all along, slowly began to rise in a show of what Bruce took to be curiosity. The rat sniffed again, and then sat up on its hind legs, bringing them face-to-face. Bruce gazed calmly into its eyes, smiling softly, letting it take its time. Finally the creature gave a small smile in return. "Pika!" it chirped, and held out one tiny paw, imitating what Steve had done earlier. Bruce carefully grasped the paw in his hand and gently shook it. He braced instinctively for an electrical charge, but was pleasantly surprised when nothing happened. "I'm Bruce," he found himself saying automatically. He could feel the Hulk pressing against his mind – not enough to evoke a change, but enough that he could tell the Hulk was curious. "It's nice to meet you."
"Pee-ka-chu!" came the response and he grinned with renewed fascination as the creature tapped its chest as it spoke.
"Is that your name?' Bruce guessed. "Pee-kah-chu?"
The rat nodded. Tony crouched down as well and did the same thing, as did Steve. The rat touched its nose to all of their hands, staring them down before returning the greeting.
Then it turned and looked at the dragon and repeated its name – or parts of it, at least, Bruce realized. Its name seemed to also be a form of dialect. The dragon growled in response – obviously understanding, even though it hadn't made any discernible semblance of speech – and then trudged through the bushes after the monkey. The rat turned to follow, and then looked at the group of them, waving its little arm in an obvious, 'come on' gesture.
"You heard the rat," Tony said, and moved swiftly after it before Steve or Bruce could stop him.
"Tony!" Clint yelped. Bruce swung his gaze upward and only saw a few shaking tree leaves as the archer followed his partner through the treetops. Bruce mused that Clint must have been concerned if he'd left clues to show he'd been there at all.
Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Bruce shrugged and pushed his way through the shrubbery. He heard Steve mutter something behind him but he was almost all the way through and Tony was saying something.
"There's a kid back here," Tony called out suddenly. Tasha muttered something in Russian before she stepped back and melted into the undergrowth. She was likely headed back to the squadron for medical backup.
Steve and Bruce exchanged looks, and then Bruce was forcefully pushing his way through the undergrowth. The tangled brush and tree branches eventually gave way to an even tinier clearing beside some boulders. A small indentation in them gave the illusion of a very shallow cave, and lying curled against it was a young man. Bruce glanced over him quickly and guessed his age to be between thirteen and sixteen, approximately. The dragon lay by his feet, long tail draped carefully along the boy's torso, the fiery tip fully elevated away from vulnerable clothing – keeping him warm, Bruce realized. The yellow rat had wiggled its way under the boy's half-curled arm, nosing the lax fingers. The monkey stood guard at the child's head, fists loosely clenched. "You're protecting him," Bruce said quietly, slowing easing himself forward. "Is he your friend? Owner?"
The rat nodded, and leaned forward, nosing the child's cheek. A weak mumble came from the boy. "...k'chu..."
"Pee kah pee," the rat said sadly, rubbing its nose against the boy again as though trying to wake him up. A squawk from above had them all jerking their heads up to see the giant brown and white bird from the helicopter rescue perched on a branch just above them, glaring down fiercely. Her wings were spread, her talons digging into the branches. Her eyes flashed from the group below to where Clint was crouched in a neighboring treetop. The rat looked up. "Chu pee! Pee pee kah chu!"
The bird subsided somewhat, though her gaze was firmly fixed on Clint for the time being. Steve and Bruce exchanged a look. The yellow rat seemed to definitely be the leader. Tony leaned forward to peer over Bruce's shoulder, eyes roving over the kid with assessing gaze. "Doesn't look too hurt," Tony commented in a low tone. "I don't see any blood, no obvious injuries."
"Doesn't mean there aren't any," cautioned Steve. He made as if to move closer, but Bruce waved him back.
"Let's take this one at a time," he suggested, nodding at the tension slowly building again in the monkey creature. Tony leaned back and Bruce directed his attention back to the rat. "May I take a closer look at him?" Bruce asked. He spread his hands out carefully. "I won't hurt him. I'm a doctor. I want to help him." Did the rat know what a doctor was?
The rat nodded but didn't move. He chirped something and the dragon lifted his tail, moving out of the way so Bruce could get closer. The first thing Bruce did was carefully remove the faded ball cap perched precariously on the boy's head. The monkey growled and snatched it immediately out of his hands, guarding it carefully. Bruce blinked; he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and smiled. "Okay, that obviously is important. Better you hold it than me."
The monkey snorted.
Tony edged a little closer again, holding out his gauntlet. "Jarvis isn't picking up any internal injuries," he reported quietly. "But the kid's vital signs are really low and he's running a massive fever." He whistled lowly. "How does such a normal-lookin' kid end up with so many awesomely strange pets?"
"Couldn't tell you." Bruce took a few minutes to run his fingers lightly over the blackish-blue hair, feeling the skull beneath. "No major trauma that I can feel," he murmured. "A few small bumps, but nothing too serious." He pinched the skin lightly on the boy's hand and watched as the skin sank down slowly. "A bit dehydrated." He put a light hand on the child's face, wincing at the dry heat. "Can you hear me? My name is Bruce. I'm a doctor. Can you open your eyes?"
The boy moaned softly, and his eyelashes fluttered but didn't quite open all the way.
There was a rustling in the undergrowth, and Natasha stepped forward. "Phil has arranged for SHIELD transport. Director Fury wants the boy and the animals taken to the Helicarrier—"
"Over my dead body," Tony snorted. He backtracked quickly when Natasha raised a finely shaped eyebrow at him. "I mean, come on. These are intelligent creatures. Fury'll have 'em locked up in the prison bay or whatever."
"Shut up Stark." Natasha quelled him with a look before switching her attention back to Bruce. "As I was saying, the director wants them on the Helicarrier, but Coulson has convinced him that we can better contain the creatures ourselves in the tower. Jarvis's defenses are more than adequate." She nodded back the way she'd come. "Clint will direct them in here." Bruce looked up and saw that Clint had indeed disappeared from his perch.
"Adequate?" Tony sounded insulted. "Adequate?!"
"Good," said Bruce, once again ignoring his friends sputtering. He turned one of the boy's arms over and noted a deep gash on the forearm. A defensive wound. The angry red tinge bleeding out from it and the tight, shiny skin spelled infection. His first thought made him glance at the dragon, zeroing in on the sharp talons on the paws and feet. As though reading his mind, the dragon snorted a small fireball in his direction and then shook its massive head. Not the dragon then.
"Looks like a knife wound," Natasha commented knowledgeably, peering over his shoulder. "Clean, sharp, deep. Kitchen knife, I'd say. Hard to trace." Bruce didn't argue with her assessment.
"He was attacked," Tony confirmed. A holographic image of a police report hovered over his gauntlet. "Jarvis was scanning all of the reports SHIELD got. A kid matching this one's description was attacked by some muggers, two of them, one armed with a knife. Before the witness could help, a dragon – this one, I presume – swooped down and blew fire over all of them. They all suffered mild first degree burns on their arms and faces and—" Tony gave a slight chuckle – "—massive hair loss, but no permanent injuries. The kid ran off, and the dragon flew away overhead."
"Any other attacks?"
"If there were, no one reported them," Tony confirmed.
Bruce ran his hand along the child's right leg and felt a large mass over the ankle joint. He began to raise the pant leg, and the boy let out a pained cry.
"Pee kah pee!" the rat cried out, and whirled around, glaring at Bruce. It's cheeks seemed to sizzle with barely-restrained electricity.
He froze. "I'm sorry," Bruce said, gently but firmly. "I'm not trying to hurt him, but I need to see what his injuries are so I can help him." He began to carefully move his arm again, much slower this time.
The animals all seemed to relax a fraction, but Bruce was keenly aware of all the eyes on him as he coaxed the fabric out of the way. Then he blinked in shock and surprise at what he saw.
Leaves and vines were tightly wound around the boy's ankle. A large, flat rock was keeping firm pressure on the wound. Blood had leaked out and dried on and around the wound but the flow was definitely slowed, if not stopped altogether. Based on the swelling, the black and blue bruising reaching up the boy's calf muscle, and the distorted shape of the leaves, Bruce was willing to guess a compound fracture of some kind. He looked closer – small marks – from teeth and claws, no doubt – littered the leaves and vines. Apparently, the child had not bound his own injuries.
Natasha cursed under her breath again and then tapped her finger to her comm, turning aside slightly to report the details.
Steve breathed in sharply. "They treated his wound?"
Bruce nodded, somewhat shocked. "As best they could."
Tony whistled in response. "Ooooh... that looks bad." He nodded at the dragon. "Well, now we know why this one was trying to rob a pharmacy."
"I'm not going to open this up," Bruce said. He looked up at the animals watching him, giving them an impressed nod. "You managed to bind the wound and keep pressure on it," he continued with awe. He looked at the other Avengers. "If that's not proof of sentient intelligence, I don't know what is."
There was a beep in the quiet that startled them all, and then Natasha broke in. "Transport is here. They can't get through the brush easily, so I suggest we bring the boy to them - if he's able to be moved."
Bruce nodded. "His spine and neck are intact and there's no deep bruising. But how can we do it without hurting him more?"
Suddenly the dragon snorted and spread his wings. Bruce fell back against Tony in surprise, and Steve moved out of the way. The monkey carefully reached down, removed the rock, and picked up his – Owner? Master? - cradling him gently and setting him down in the outstretched arms of the dragon. The boy whimpered but a few gruff growls from the dragon seemed to settle him.
"I think they understood that," Tony said casually, as they all backed up.
Natasha frowned, scanning her eyes upward. "There is almost complete tree cover here. How will they get him out into the open without hitting anything?"
As though to answer her question, the rat leaped onto the dragon's shoulder and called out a sharp warning to the bird. Its small paws waved in some sort of sign language, punctured by quick 'pika's'. Above them, the bird gave a screech that apparently acknowledged whatever the rat had... said?... and suddenly its wings shone a silvery steel.
"What the heck?" Steve gaped.
The bird launched itself off the tree it was perched in and streaked upward leaving behind a glowing contrail of white, shearing away branches and outreaching twigs, and clearing a smooth path directly upwards. The monkey leaped into the air after it, swinging by his feet. It caught the falling branches with ease in its massive hands – and even its tail - and chucked them off to the side, letting the smaller ones fall to the grassy floor.
The path now clear, the dragon growled and pumped its massive wings, rising into the air with its unconscious master. The giant bird led the way, and the monkey swung through the air below the flight party.
"Let's go!" Steve turned and led the way back through the undergrowth to the main path where a group of SHIELD officers were waiting with a hovering medi-bed (a new development from Stark Bio-Medical Research). Bruce followed, and as he reached the medi-bed, he looked up to see the dragon circling above.
The SHIELD officers immediately pulled their weapons, taking aim. Tony flew up and hovered directly beneath the dragon, blocking the line of sight of the officers. "Hey, cut it out!"
"Lower your weapons," Steve ordered, raising his shield in a show of power. "NOW."
Natasha had her own gun out, aimed at the officers. Clint suddenly manifested at her side, bow drawn and arrow aimed. Natasha cocked her head. "You heard Captain America."
"I'd listen to her, boys," Clint suggested in an easy tone that was at odds with the steel in his eyes. "She hasn't had a chance to shoot anyone all day."
The officers wavered, and then Phil Coulson was waving the officer's down. With a great deal of reluctance, the SHIELD officers holstered their weapons – but kept fearful eyes on the angry-looking predator overhead. Phil sighed, and walked over to his agents, raising his brow. "Are you completely sure about this?"
Bruce breathed a sigh of relief as Natasha nodded firmly, and Clint backed her up. Everyone then backed away as Iron Man led the dragon to the ground. A final thump, and then Iron Man was helping the dragon set its precious cargo onto the medi-bed and stepping back. Bruce moved forward to help lead the med-bed to the waiting ambulance. "Let's go," he said.
The yellow rat had settled onto the chest of its master. One of the officers tried to shoo it away with his gun before Bruce could intervene, and suddenly the air was filled with static electricity. Iron Man backed off before he could conduct any of it in a negative way. "No!" he shouted frantically. "You'll hurt the boy more!"
The electricity instantly fizzled out, and the rat turned to face its owner, nuzzling his cheek worriedly. Bruce breathed a sigh of relief. "The rat comes with us," he ordered briskly, and directed the officers to each grab the sides to guide the med-bed smoothly. He helped load the bed into the ambulance and then hauled himself up after it.
Meanwhile Natasha was frog-marching the rash-acting officer over to Phil. "We can handle it from here," she said, giving the terrified officer a cool look.
"Very well." Phil waved at the large van he'd apparently requisitioned before sending the terrified officer over to a group of Shield members about to return to the Helicarrier. The van driver saluted and started the engine. "I believe the trip will be much calmer and safer if the creatures were to utilize this rather than their usual mode of transportation." He patted the van door.
The monkey and the dragon were reluctantly coaxed into the van with Captain America after repeated scoldings by the electric rat, but nothing could coax the giant bird from flying high in the sky.
"No worries," Tony said. He opened his helmet and flew up to meet the hovering creature. "You can follow me, okay? Your buddy is gonna stay at my place. It's a first class joint all the way, I promise."
The bird actually nodded, and Tony flipped his faceplate down, grinning with anticipation. "Let's move out, people!"
End chapter 1
Soooo…. Whew…the fic is over 20,000 words so far and keeps growing. I have no idea when it will end and frankly, I'm enjoying writing it too much to care.
Any and all feedback, particularly C&C is highly valued. I read this thing over 4 more times, plus waited 2 days and read it again in an attempt to catch errors and I think I got most of them but I never do. .;; Also, I write in chunks – a paragraph here, a paragraph there – whatever I feel like writing – and then I try to link them together at the end, so if there are any major discrepancies, please inform me.
Also, I KNOW Charizard wasn't with Ash during those episodes. There's a reason he's here, so please don't feel the need to inform me of those details. I have those eps on DVD, I have those eps downloaded on my pc and I've been surfing Bulbapedia religiously since I started writing this. If I've eliminated something, it's because I wanted/needed to eliminate it. Or vice versa – it's been added because I need it.
So yeah, hoping you enjoyed this. More to come!