jeeze I have an abundance of muse this week. I'm sorry for that cliffy last time around, actually, no I'm not. :P
enjoy some Loki feels and some Science Bros to make up for it.
I love you all! Its jumpstarts my writing to read your reviews, you are all so kind! :D
Tony's vision began to dim out as he stared at his arc reactor in Bruce's hands. He was going to sit there on the floor and wait for the shrapnel to dig in one final time. It would finally bury into his heart and give him a few more minutes of blinding pain while the remnants of oxygen in his blood kept him alive to feel every last shuddering beat. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad, his chest always hurt, ever since Yensen jammed an engine in his heart powered by a car battery. He had altered the designs, obviously, and created the most efficient machine possible to drive the shards of metal in his chest away. That didn't mean it didn't hurt when he twisted the wrong way or when he slept on his stomach. It was almost liberating to see the glowing blue curse outside of his body.
Then he noticed the look on Bruce's face. The darkness was gone, his eyes back to their usual muddy brown, wide and blinking in shock. His mouth opened as he looked to the arc reactor in his hands, his face going pale.
"T-Tony?"
"Hey…Jolly…" Tony wheezed, unable to even finish the nickname as he began to feel his chest tighten.
"Oh god, I did this, didn't I?" Bruce looked around, frantically searching Tony's crumpled form. The billionaire began to fade, a small smile on his face. "Tony, what do I do? How do I put it back in?" the scientist's voice started to distort in his ears. He forced his eyes open one last time and used the last of his strength to grab Bruce's arm.
"I'm sorry." He wasn't sure if the words actually left his lips as the pain in his chest escalated to a new high. Sorry. Sorry Bruce. I'm sorry.
A parched dusty trail cracked through the barren landscape in strange curls and twists, weaving between burnt trees and boulders; quite unlike the modern roadways that blasted through mountains and chopped down the plant life. The plains were usually golden yellow and brown with the occasional lone tree watching over the land, littered with wildflowers and honeybees. It was a place of life, or, it had once been.
Now all that was visible of that life was the trails. Deer trails in the blackened woods and horse trails covering the country. The rest was ash that was covered by a thick layer of grey smog that hugged the ground. Fire had scarred the land after a careless group of campers had not properly extinguished their campfire. Exactly what the giant sign along the road had told them not to do. They had even put a threatening grizzly bear on it to drive their point home. It was so wonderful how chaos worked that way.
The earth still smoked in the absence of the flames, and the skeletons of fences and trees still hissed with heat. A lone stallion stood among the darkness, its rich crimson coat glowing like an ember in the sea of grey.
The horse's black eyes were calm as it lazily shifted its weight and occasionally stretched its neck and shook its head. War hummed to himself as he sat atop his steed as though he were in a pleasant meadow, not a scorched field devoid of life. His head bobbed slightly to the tune, blue eyes scanning the horizon.
"Well, this is interesting," he said to no one. The stallion jerked beneath him and lashed its tail with impatience. Suddenly Conquest appeared before the horseman, enveloped in a swirling mass of gold and green. Loki. A smile spread on his lips as the Jotunn prince appeared on bended knee, flanked by his brother and America's hero. Loki's eyes glowed bright white as he stood.
"Impressive," War commended his sister. "I didn't think you'd get all three."
"You underestimate my skills." Conquest greeted him with a smile. Her horse nickered softly, unnerved by the presence of another horsemen. The horsemen were a dysfunctional family, occasionally working together but always competing for the prize of victory and favor. Their horses reflected their true feelings about one another; each had their fair share of healed scars beneath their coats from battles past.
"So, no problems? Even with the Frost Giant? Very impressive." He let out a low whistle and slipped off of his horse before stepping closer to examine the three trophies in front of him.
"And what of your plans?" Conquest asked, watching as he placed a hand on Loki's chin and tipped the prince's head side to side as though he were an animal being inspected for sale.
"Everything is falling into place quite nicely," War replied, his eyes flashing completely red for a moment.
"Everything?"
"It's almost pathetic how easy it is to get under their skin. Surely you've figured that out by now," he returned, eyes turning blue one more.
"Of course," Conquest said with narrowed eyes.
War nodded to himself, prodding Steve in the chest. The soldier stood stock-still and his eyes stared straight ahead. Complete control. He turned to Thor next, eyeing the warhammer at his side.
"Look at you, wielding Mjolnir," he chuckled.
"An added bonus," Conquest agreed. War stepped away from the Asgardian to take another look at Loki. He was the true prize, the perfect pawn. Everyone already assumed him to be evil, so they would not be surprised when he began to carry out their duties.
"Mind if I pay him a visit before we get started?" the horsemen asked. Purely out of courtesy of course, he did not need permission to go about delving in the minds of any prisoners. Conquest gave a slight nod, bobbing her diamond crown. War pressed a hand to Loki's forehead and his eyes burned crimson.
The throne room in Asgard was in ruin. The spiraling columns that had once stood as proud beacons were toppled and crushed. The polished stone floors cracked and broken. In some places debris piled high enough that War was unable to see beyond it, yet the room had retained its cavernous atmosphere with the high arched ceilings that now had deep grooves veining out like rivers above him. It was dark and cold, every fireplace and torch burned out, casting an eerie blue light across the battered floor.
The throne remained intact. He knew it would still be there, as this was Loki's mind. War carefully picked his way toward the ravenous prince where he had draped himself across the throne, resting his head on one of the golden armrests. He was staring blankly ahead, but War knew he had heard his arrival, his intrusion, into his head.
"Even in my dreams I cannot lift it," Loki's voice travelled to his ears. The Jotunn snapped his wrist toward Mjolnir, tipped on its side on the approaching stairs.
"This is not a dream, Frost Giant," War said slowly. "This is the place of your innermost desires. I must say, you have quite a dreary outlook on things from the looks of it. " He sidestepped the hammer and took a few paces forward before stopping.
Loki looked to him with tired eyes, the mischievous glint now wiped away to reveal nothingness.
"Where is he?" the horseman asked, cocking his head slightly. "Thor, where is he?"
The Jotunn looked away and the moon cast a white glow on his horned helmet. War's lips spread into a smile.
"I know he is around here somewhere. This place reeks of blood and rage."
Loki's eyes flashed a vibrant orange, flecked with the color of rust. The eyes of his true heritage. His lips curled into a sneer and he sat up abruptly.
"He is buried beneath the rubble," the Trickster seethed. "Crushed beneath his precious kingdom."
War chuckled, pivoting on his heel to look at the closest pile. Maroon liquid oozed from the spaces of the rocks like a decorative fountain of blood. The sight of it made him smile, he was almost getting jealous of the prince's imagination. "This is your fantasy? To destroy Asgard and take your throne as king? Alone?" he turned around to find Loki standing right in front of him, eyes wild. "To turn your brother into a bloody mess on the floor?"
"He is not my brother!" Loki spat venomously.
"Oh, right. My mistake," War smirked. "Anyway, I came to express my admiration of you, Loki Laufeyson. " The prince's eyes narrowed, but War held his gaze with truth. "You are incredible in your antics, and it's obvious that you still want the throne," he motioned to the destruction around them, "I don't think I've seen anyone with more, oh, what was it that Coulson said, ah, yes, conviction than you."
Loki snarled as he leaned in closer, "I am God of Mischief and Deception, I can see when you are attempting to fool me."
"Sorry, Frost Giant, but you are not a god. Just a powerful alien muddling around on our planet. Unlike the humans, we can destroy you. I bet Thor still feels hunger pangs from his little incident with my brother. Well, the real Thor," he flicked a glance back at the bleeding rubble.
"You come here with flattery and now you insult me?"
"I came here to let you know that I, we, are fans of your work and of your ambition." He rested a hand on Loki's shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he stared straight into the Jotunn's burning eyes."We…are proud of you. I am proud of you."
He saw Loki's throat clench and watched the sensation travel to his eyes as they turned back to their rich emerald green. The prince stumbled backward and nearly fell down the stairs, the look of shock still spread across his face. War kept himself from smiling as he lowered a hand, gripping the handle of Mjolnir and lifting it up as effortlessly as if it were nothing more than a stick. He held it out to Loki.
"Take it," he whispered. "Fulfill this dream"
Loki blinked, staring at the hammer like it was a lost piece of himself. It probably was, in a way. The poor sap had to go through his whole life watching his brother wield the ultimate weapon while he got nothing more than spells and a bag of tricks. It wasn't the real Mjolnir of course, but that didn't matter as Loki extended a ghostly hand, slowly nearing the handle. His fingers touched the leather and then he lunged for it, yanking it away from War with wide eyes. The horseman's lips twitched as he watched Loki's expression.
"I will see you soon, Your Highness," he offered a polite bow, concealing the wicked smile on his lips before vanishing, leaving Loki alone with the hammer clasped in his hands and the blood of his brother pooling on the floor behind him.
A fire exploded in his chest and Tony was thrown back into the world with a massive gasp. His entire body hurt like hell, with the epicenter right above his heart. He could only see white light in front of his face as he struggled to grasp just what was going on. Because if this was heaven, it sucked. A click sounded below him and he heard a rush of air as the pain began to ebb away. Slowly, but he could feel the life coming back to him. An annoying low buzz started to sound in his ears and he tried to blink it away. Then he realized the buzz was talking to him.
"Tony? Are you there? Can you hear me?" Bruce. His vision snapped back to normal and he found himself face to face with the man who nearly killed him. Tony opened his mouth to say something, but started coughing instead
"What…how long was I out?" he managed between spasms.
"A day or so," Bruce answered, "I replaced the reactor after you passed out but you didn't come back. You're incredibly lucky that the shrapnel in there is magnetic."
Tony looked down at his bare chest to see two scars that hadn't been there before. "So you're a surgeon too?" Lifted a hand to feel the scar and felt a shooting pain in.
"Eh…I tried. You've still got a lot of shrapnel in there, but I managed to move some the closest pieces away from your heart enough to get you stable. "
"Well, where is everybody? You're telling me they weren't standing around worried sick that I was out?" His sarcasm returned as he shifted up onto his elbows.
"You did it."
Tony looked up with a furrowed brow. "I think you're giving me too much credit there, Broccoli."
"You found the cure, Tony," Bruce smiled. He held up a glowing blue triangle that Tony instantly recognized as the element he had created just a few years ago. He looked down at his arc reactor, but it was still whirring.
"Did you…make that yourself?" he asked, reaching out and running it between his fingers.
"Yes. Well, Jarvis helped me out, but I did it. Whatever is in here trumps the horsemen's effects."
"War's effects, you mean."
"No, Famine's cloak isn't radiating any energy after I put one of these on it."
"One of these?" Tony raised an eyebrow, "You mean you made more?"
"There's one for everyone on the team," the scientist replied with a smile."You had the cure right under your nose the whole time, literally."
That explained why Famine hadn't affected him, and why his first experiment with that stupid rock had worked. He had unconsciously been holding it to his chest, like he sometimes did when he became too focused on something else. It must have provided just enough radiation to permeate the stone and cause it to glow when it came in contact with the cloak. For the first experiment it must've had enough power distill the beam's effects. Damn.
"Natasha is still under War's…spell. I wanted to wait until you were awake to test anything on her," Bruce said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"What the hell are you waiting on me for?" he asked incredulously.
"We want to try something." Bruce pulled out a thick leather string and looped it through the glowing triangle before slipping the makeshift necklace over his head.
"Well it better be a damn good something. What are you wearing that for?"
"Just in case. We don't know if I can still trigger if I'm not wearing the necklace. I don't really want to find out."
Tony nodded, chewing his bottom lip. "I know it wasn't you."
"That doesn't change anything. I tried to kill you. I'm just lucky War wanted to use me and not the Other Guy," he swallowed, "I could have crushed your reactor to smithereens. Then you wouldn't have come back."
"But I did," he paused, not wanting to focus on any of it anymore. "Did anyone else come back?"
Bruce shifted uncomfortably, and Tony knew the answer before he opened his mouth. "No, but we know where they're going to be." Tony waited for him to say something more, but Bruce stood up and wiped off his hands on his pants. "Let's get going. Clint is getting anxious."
Tony carefully got to his feet with only a slight lick of pain in his sternum. He grabbed a shirt that was neatly folded next to the operation chair that he had hand built for just such an occasion. He slipped the shirt over his head and followed Bruce out the door.
"Glad to see you, Mr. Stark," JARVIS's voice filled the lab. Tony smiled, turning around to face the lab once more.
"Glad to hear ya, J. Nice to know you survived without me."
"It was difficult."
The billionaire's smiled widened as he backed out of the room and turned down the hall, quickening his pace to catch up with Bruce, who now held a very familiar suitcase.
"What are you doing with my suit?"
"Sorry, I hope you don't mind. That's what we're trying to test, I want to see if we can disinfect someone with a blaster."
"Jesus Bruce, we aren't married, you can't just go through my stuff like that without saying something."
"You were kind of…on the verge of death. Consider it my fee."
"Okay, except that you aren't actually a surgeon and I'm pretty sure you don't even have a proper medical license. "
"That's a very minor problem." Bruce stopped in front of a closed door and handed the suitcase to Tony. "Here."
He snatched it away and followed Bruce inside. The room was apparently an indoor shooting range that had been turned into a makeshift holding cell for Natasha. The Black Widow looked demonic as he caught sight of her. Her eyes were red like Bruce's had been, and a dried trail of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth where someone had hit her. She was breathing heavily and fighting against the nest of chains that were wrapped around every limb.
"I feel like you've done this before," Tony smirked, looking to Clint who was glaring straight ahead.
"Can it, Stark," the archer snapped. Tony shrugged and popped open the suitcase with his foot, standing spread eagle while the metal wrapped around him. It was an older model, which was probably a good thing.
"Okay Jarvis," he said as systems came online, "Did Bruce actually know what he was doing when he modified this thing?"
"I should think so, he did follow your examples from the beam you created earlier."
"Because that went well," Tony grumbled under his breath as he turned to face Natasha. "So what do you want me to do, just shoot her in the leg or something?"
"You could do it with a bit more seriousness," Clint hissed.
"Hey, I win the bad day award, Bird Brain." He raised a hand, leveling the blaster and aiming for Natasha's left thigh. JARVIS downgraded the energy levels and he released a small beam of energy.
She jerked and snarled in pain, but her eyes remained red. Clint squeezed his eyes shut and didn't say anything.
"That went well," Tony said, powering down and allowing the suit to fall off of him. Bruce pulled another triangle pendant from his pocket, though it was a much smaller necklace than the one he was wearing that went down to his stomach. The scientist stepped forward and crossed the room until he was in front of Natasha and wrangled the string around her neck as she struggled to get away. The pendant fell against her and within the same instant her eyes were back to normal and she slumped to the floor. Clint was there in a heartbeat, helping her up from the ground and assisting her out of her chains. But Natasha wasn't focused on that, or even the fresh burn on her leg, instead she was staring straight at Bruce.
"Did he tell you?" her voice was raspy.
"I don't know what you're—" Bruce started, but she cut him off.
"Answer me. Did he tell you?"
"I think I'm missing something. Clint, are you missing something? 'Cause I sure am," Tony commented, glancing back and forth between Bruce and Natasha.
"Yeah," the scientist answered finally. "I thought it was just a hallucination.
"What was a hallucination?" Tony demanded.
Natasha turned to face him, a dark look on her face. "War told us where he is. And he's ready to take us on."
"Okay, so we're just going to listen to the crazy bastard who turned you guys into zombie monsters? That sounds like a fantastic plan."
"We have to. Conquest is with him."
"Even better, now we're going to walk into a trap set by two horsemen. You guys are really on to something, you know that?"
"Tony," Bruce turned. "They have Steve, Thor, and Loki."
"I figured that much," the billionaire growled.
Bruce and Natasha shot each other a look and Tony felt a sinking feeling in his chest, and it wasn't from the arc reactor. The scientist swallowed and a pained look crossed his face.
"He," his voice went quiet, "He showed me. They're in a burned field."
"And?" Tony demanded after a brief pause.
"They're all going to die."
Stark froze with his mouth open to snap a snarky reply, then shut it again. He would kill these horsemen if it really was the last thing he did. He would skin those god damned horses and make a fancy throw rug for his living room so he could remember it too. They were trying to tear apart the deadliest force on the planet, maybe even the entire universe if the Chitauri were the best thing out there. The worst part was, they were getting the job done. What had started as a stupid little goose chase after a starved, half-delusional horseback rider had turned into something where any wrong move could get them killed or captured. A simple touch could send them into a murderous rage. He looked down at his arc reactor, pressing a hand to its center.
"Well, I think I've got a plan, my friends."
