10.

Games And Strategy

"That's just great," said Fury. "But why is he here? Why exactly did you take it upon yourselves to start drawing recruits from-" He stopped. "Why?"

"Thereby hangs quite another tale," said the Doctor, now ensconced in his own chair again. He steepled his fingers against his chin. "One you may have missed the first time around."

Tony sighed. It'd be hours before he could get another drink, he just knew it.

***********

Back on the plane, Fury plopped himself down in a chair near the back of the cabin, tilted it into the sleeping position, and almost vengefully willed himself into a nap. The scowl on his face didn't relax in the least.

Bruce and Tony played a desultory round of chess on a small table near the cabin's front. They focused on the game at first, which offered a much lesser problem.

"So," Tony finally said. "A vampire."

Bruce picked up a pawn. "That's a new one for me, too. They're not exactly thick on the ground back home."

"Yeah, but. This one almost killed that one guy in New York. Fruit loop with his picture plastered across the Daily Bugle front page every other day like it was his personal fanzine or something." Tony hiccupped. "I really need to get to Manhattan more often." He moved a pawn forward. "What's this totem business again? I was kinda zoned out by then. You're an Indian?"

"No," said Bruce. "Totem like the embodiment of an animal spirit. They exist in every culture. Or the belief in them does. And this vampire apparently feeds on them."

"His name's, what, Morlock?"

"Morlun. I've never heard of him, but I wouldn't have. Strange said he can feed from ordinary humans and superhumans, but he prefers superhumans who embody totem energy. Apparently your friend in New York with the spider mojo fought him to a standstill and then killed him, but he has a nasty tendency to come back. Strange sensed him again, somewhere on the West Coast. Anyone you know out there sound like a possible candidate?"

"For Merlin to snack on? Sure, tons. Are you kidding? I just barely got into this gig." Tony took a bishop. "So they brought you here because you're some kind of superhuman bat guy"-here he unsuccessfully covered a smirk-"and they think you'll draw him in and defeat him, is that it?"

"I'm not superhuman. Strange knew that, but he thought it might work anyway. He's afraid that this vampire might come back and finish off the last guy and start going through other people like him. So..." His knight scattered Tony's pawns.

"...so, Strange decided he'd pull you in and use you for bait. And either you kill this thing and get to go back home, or you don't and we're not immediately worse off here, but in your own world, things don't go so well. I realize the Doctor didn't want to put it that bluntly, but..."

"The Doctor believes I'm destined for this, or something like it. He scryed it, so it must be true." Bruce offered a sour smile and looked at the board.

"And you're just supposed to run around Los Angeles at night like it was Gotham and eventually this Mordred is going to zero in on you? And you put a stake through his heart, and then Strange magicks you to your world again? You better hope they don't make the same mistake twice about the transportation. It'd suck to kill Dracula and end up going down on the Titanic when you get back home."

Bruce almost laughed. "Yeah, well. It's the getting around L.A. that worries me right now. Gotham is mostly vertical. L.A. is mostly horizontal. My usual M.O. won't work. I'll need to find a motorcycle at the least." If only I had the one back in the cave, he thought wistfully.

"Is anyone missing you?" asked Tony. "What with the plane crash and all?" He winced slightly as he said it. Possibly a bad question. Too late now. His rook picked off another pawn.

"Just my butler," Bruce answered. "His name's Alfred."

"You said in the car this morning," reminded Tony. He deployed a bishop. "He sounds like Jarvis."

"He does at least twice more in a day than Jarvis does," snorted Bruce.

Tony perked up at this. "He's an AI?"

"He's an Englishman." Bruce's queen slid across the open board and cozied up to Tony's king. "Checkmate."

Tony blinked. "Yeah. I'm...gonna change into something more comfortable." He got up and wandered to the small cubicle that served as the plane's walk-in closet. Gratefully, he shucked off the remains of his suit for a pair of jeans and a plain cotton T-shirt with sneakers.

Back in the cabin, he plucked his lunch's small half-empty bottle of sake from the fridge and turned to Bruce. "Wanna slug?"

"Nothing personal, but haven't you already had en-" He stopped midsentence, staring at Tony's chest.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Did I spill something?" He looked down at the arc reactor, glowing through his shirt. He drummed his fingers self-consciously against it and looked back up at Bruce.

"Oh, that," he said.