3 Broken Hearts Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I make no claim to either JKR's Harry Potter universe, or Disney/Marvel's MCU.
Warnings: Discussion of injuries, medical professionals believe one thing, the team knows another.
Minerva was party to a brightly colored whirlwind that abruptly left Surrey, once word came of the encounter between Tony, Bruce, and the Headmaster. Cursing under her breath in Gaelic, she quickly followed behind Captains Rogers and Braddock, and the fey girl, Meggan, as they commandeered a vehicle and made for the cul-de-sac three streets over, where the Quinjet waited for them.
Captain Rogers quickly and tersely introduced the other members of the team, pilot Clint Barton and co-pilot Natasha Romanov. As they made the final pre-flight checks, Rogers turned to the other unknown.
"Thor, can you get to Tony and Bruce, and help?" he asked the tall, armored blond standing in the cargo area of the jet.
"Aye, I believe I can get there with all speed," the man's accent was unknown to Minerva, vaguely Scandinavian, but otherworldly. "Pray excuse me, madam," he said, giving Minerva a brief bow before sweeping out of the jet, blood red cape billowing. A hammer appeared in his hand as he strode with solid purpose down the ramp.
"All right, update?" Rogers asked, as the ramp closed up behind Thor's departure, and the others took seats to strap in.
"Unclear," Natasha began. "Tony radioed in, and sounded pretty freaked out. It sounded like he ran into Gandalf. JARVIS told me that the local authorities are having a showdown with some magicals."
Minerva could have groaned right then. What had Albus done? His fervent disregard for Muggle authority and burning desire to keep Harry Potter hidden might have cost them that day..
"These are likely Aurors, Captain," Minerva supplied, coming to stand next to Rogers by the cockpit. "They are analogous to your police forces, but won't hesitate to 'shoot first and ask later', as the saying goes." She feared it would cause an even larger problem if it became known that the Potter child was missing and unaccounted for. It was at that moment, Minerva realized she had a very important decision to make. One that would lead to an irrevocable stance as far as Purebloods would care. After nearly 500 years of her clan's support to Wizarding kind, Minerva McGonagall was perched on a precipice to a chasm of change.
"Captain, we need to get there before the Obliviator Squads do so. If they get a chance to alter the peoples' memories, the next step is out of our hands," she continued, making her choice. The boy needed a secure, loving family, and she'd be damned if Albus got his way anymore. She knew she needed to live up to her vows.
"Obliviator?" Steve said the word slowly, testing the syllables of the unfamiliar word. Something in his own mind latched on to the word, and he found himself briefly thinking of some covert missions he and the Commandos had done during the war.
"Yes," Minerva was solemn, drawing Steve's attention back to the present, "They are wizards and witches specifically tasked with keeping the secret of our world. They have immense talent in charms, specifically, memory altering ones." She was lecturing, and knew it, but the dry facts were important more than any embellishment.
"You two need to strap in so we can get there," Clint advised, hand on the throttle as he looked up and behind. Rogers nodded and escorted Minerva to a jump seat.
"Pardon me for asking, but you appear rather comfortable interacting with all of this strangeness," the Captain said, helping her to settled the straps and secure the harness.
"I've been the person responsible for introducing mixed blood and first generation wizards and witches to our world. It has been of immense benefit to keep some contact with the non-magical side of things," Minerva explained. Her time serving in the two world wars was of little importance here, though something about this Captain Rogers kept reminding her of the charismatic young man who led a group of special forces in the 2nd war.
"Why the emphasis on blood status?" he asked, shifting his stance on the bulkhead floor as the jet lifted into the air. Barton muttered a few expletives about the Captain's willful ignorance of flight safety.
"The usual line is that the more generations of wizards in your family, the stronger you are, magically. Which was true at one point." Minerva shook her head. "But now, many first generations wizards are attending the school, and appear to be stronger than the current scions, and their parents combined. They still practice intermarriage as well as arranging them when children are quite young. Advantageous matches are much sought after."
"History, as well as modern science, have been able to determine how limiting that is for a community," Captain Britain joined the conversation.
"Believe me, I understand this. But change is VERY hard to put into effect, because of the strong attachment to purity and status. I'm not even sure what could be the necessary catalyst," Minerva explained. There were theories and legends, but it was not something she had spent a lot of time on. The Department of Mysteries was probably the place to go, she speculated privately. It might be worth pursuing later after this new crisis. The group fell into silence as Barton and Romanov directed the jet to Scotland. Minerva prayed that Thor wasn't too late!
Thor was not late at all. Indeed, the Thunderer arrived on scene in Inverness in a flurry of whipped clouds and misty rain. He found Iron Man and their small ward outside a pub, speaking with uniformed police officers. Thor landed amidst the sounds of gently rolling thunder and flashing lightning.
Harry giggled, having seen the abilities of the Thunder God a few days earlier. The little boy grinned a wide, face splitting smile up at the newcomer and wiggled the fingers of his free hand in greeting. Thor briefly acknowledged the boy with a smile and head nod before turning a scowl on the crowd.
"Iron Man," Thor said, interrupting the silence that had fallen with his appearance. His voice carried hints of the thunder that died off as he stood, cape whipping in the breeze. Tony turned his head to see his teammate, the tension stiffening his posture easing slightly.
"Thor, good to see you," Tony said, relief incredibly apparent in his tone of voice. The crowd being watched by police appeared to be mostly the press, but Thor caught sight of a few people that stuck out, simply because they seemed to be wearing maroon choral robes with odd silver patches on the shoulders and left breast. These individuals all carried thin sticks openly in their hands, each a different wood if Thor could judge from so far.
"How may I assist?" he asked, bringing his gaze back to Tony and Harry.
"Just" Tony briefly closed his eyes, and Thor immediately noticed the tiny signs of stress, worry, and fear on his teammate's face. "I've updated the police. Bruce has been taken to the nearest hospital." He sighed, "And Gandalf has disappeared." Uncharacteristically, Tony sounded defeated.
Thor frowned at this news. "Is there ought that we can do? There are oddly dressed strangers to the back of the crowd yonder," he only nodded his golden head in the direction of the robed individuals.
"Oh fantastic," Tony spat. "We're being monitored. Officer Brown, a word please," Tony called over the uniformed officer that he'd been dealing with since law enforcement arrived.
"Yes Mr. Stark?" a young woman in blue turned back from the group she stood with and moved closer.
"We have some potential people of interest at the back of the crowd. Look for robes and sticks," he quietly explained. The officer left to spread the word amongst the other police officers to try and detain one of the wizards without sparking panic in the crowd.
It took the arrival of the rest of the Avengers to cause enough distraction for the police to stop and question a couple of Aurors.
Minerva stayed hidden, through the use of a Notice Me Not charm on herself, cast as soon as she spotted the red robes. She could hopefully avoid discovery, assuming there weren't spell canceling wards up in the little street.
As reporters clamored to get the attention of the spandex clad newcomers, Inverness police were able to surround and detain just two Aurors. Another six managed to get away via Apparition. Their disappearance confounded the crowd for awhile. Police and a few of the heroes had their hands full, redirecting the crowd away from the unexplainable.
Tony went to give Officer Brown the contact information to the Surrey department, and Constable Stephens specifically, so that the case involving Harry had a record of this attack. He'd also had JARVIS leave a detailed email with accompanying video of what happened for the Constable. After a twenty minute round of autographs, the heroes were able to get the crowd of onlookers and reporters to disperse. There had been no avoiding pictures with Harry in them, so Tony alerted Pepper and the head of PR so they could the engine started on rumor control.
"So, can we go to the hospital? Need to check on Bruce," Tony agitated. He would have been shifting on the spot if not for the fact that the suit translated each muscle twitch into some kind of movement, and Harry was still firmly attached to him. Tony did not want to accidentally hut the boy because of his inability to stand still.
"You're all right? And Harry?" Steve questioned, sending the last reporter packing.
"Yeah Cap, we're both fine. Right little man?" the question was directed at Harry, who stared wide eyed at the team, who until that moment, hadn't all worn their uniforms in his presence. Prior to that day, he'd only seen Thor in his armor. Overcome with shyness, Harry ducked his head against the armor. "Well, he's fine, if freaked out. Hell, so am I. Who the hell was that?" Tony tried to hitch Harry up on his hip before remembering the armor. "Harry, go with Natasha for a moment, okay? I need to get out of the armor," he said, putting back Harry on his feet.
Natasha came over and stood near enough that Harry was reassured by her presence. "We've got a representative from the wizarding world with us. I'm sure she'll be able to answer all of our questions." She placed her hand comfortingly on Harry's shoulder.
"Good." Tony pulled at the hidden latches at the shoulders of the armor and it folded away and off his body, collapsing back into the suitcase that made it easy to transport.
Minerva canceled her spell as soon as the police had taken the wizards into custody and removed them from the scene. She stepped forward from the corner of the building, eyes on Harry. She saw a scrawny, underfed child with a wild mop of black hair and a bent pair of spectacles. Visible on his left arm was an off white cast reaching from his elbow to his wrist, and some kind of splint on his right hand. It was these that made her frown.
"Madam," Capt Rogers addressed her, "May I introduce Tony Stark, our inventor and engineer. Tony, this is Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall."
The two individuals sized each other up.
"Madam," Tony said, nodding his head. "Welcome to our little group. I hope we can be of assistance to each other." Holding back his usual acerbic attitude was something of an effort given his state of agitation, and his current feelings about magic users. He really hoped this old woman could really answer their questions.
"Mr. Stark," Minerva returned the nod, quite reserved in the face of yet more unknown.
"I think we're done here kids," Tony tried to move the team along. He was very concerned about Bruce, and was beginning to see all the delays as completely unnecessary. His dedication to the boy prevented him from just rocketing off in the armor in search of Bruce.
Clint appeared from the alley, holding a small, clear plastic bag in one hand. There was some kind of object inside. "Did some recon. We can bug out," he reported, placing the bag in one of the pouches hanging from his belt.
"All right, let's go then," Steve agreed to leaving the scene, satisfied there wasn't anything else there for them to do. He informed the remaining police, and handed over one of the cards he kept, that had all the team's public contact info on it. This way, updates on the situation could be sent directly to them.
Tony breathed a sigh of relief as they finally got moving. Natasha scooped up Harry with a quiet warning, slinging him around to her back. Harry giggled as he wrapped skinny limbs around her shoulders and waist to hold on as Natasha skipped away to the jet. The others followed like ducklings, Steve carrying on a quiet conversation with the Lady McGonagall.
"Captain Rogers, I would like to offer my assistance in getting your teammate back on his feet," Minerva offered. She had an idea that just might expand on the good will she needed from the team of heroes.
"I'm sure the staff at the hospital," Steve began.
Minerva placed a restraining hand on his arm, "No Captain, I don't believe they will be able to handle it. Magic needs to be handled by magic. Albus Dumbledore is a proficient and powerful wizard, so there is certain to be lingering effects from whatever spell he cast on your friend." The explanation dismayed Steve, and he looked at Tony who was just a few steps ahead of them. Minerva followed his gaze. "They are together?" she asked in a moment of clarity. Tony's face was pinched with worry, and he carried a soft gray shirt that he ran through his fingers in a worrying way.
"Yes," Rogers replied, tense. He hoped she wouldn't take issue with it.
"That is all to the good," Minerva promised with a gentle smile. She could tell that her words helped the captain. It was uncommon that witches and wizards found their lovers amongst their own sex, but it did happen. Usually only when the Muggleborn returned to their world, as Purebloods were still quite strict about these matters. At least, as far as the public perception was concerned. Then Minerva explained, "If I might, there is something I can do for young Mr. Potter, but," she paused, both the conversation and her forward movement. "It needs to happen before we get to your aeroplane."
Steve stopped a few feet away, having been lost in his own thoughts. Something about this woman kept sparking memories of the war, and he was at a loss to figure it out. For now, he had to keep his attention on matters in front of his nose. "What will you do?" he asked, if a touch harshly, feeling overprotective right at that moment.
"I am proficient with most medical charms, and can help Harry heal faster than by mundane methods alone," Minerva offered.
Steve sighed, one hand coming up to remove the cowl from his head. Minerva was startled to discover he was a twin to the Captain she remembered from the war. But now was not the time to worry about it.
Steve called Tony over.
"Cap?" Tony asked when he got close.
"Madam McGonagall has offered to heal Harry as a gesture of goodwill, and to show how she might be able to help Bruce," Steve explained with a movement of his hand in Minerva's direction.
"And this goodwill?" Tony directed flat, angry brown eyes toward the witch, upset by this newest delay.
"I can prove my own abilities, and help you. Help Harry," she said in quiet earnestness. "I can tell you now Mr. Stark, that you will need someone to help you navigate the Wizarding side of things. My world is very archaic, and even those of us born to it don't always know everything." Minerva ignored the anger directed at her with the ease of long practice. She reached into her suit jacket and pulled out a slim stick, varnished to a shiny, light brown. "Now, can Mr. Potter join us?"
Tony turned and called for Natasha to bring Harry. The rest of the team had milled about the open loading door to the Quinjet, waiting for Steve and Minerva. Natasha quickly made her way to Tony's side, Harry still bouncing on her back. She quirked an eyebrow at Tony, and then Steve, but remained silent.
"Mr. Potter, we have not yet been formally introduced. My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am a magic user, or witch," she began, holding her wand loosely in her right hand. "Do you know what magic is?"
Harry shook his head from behind Natasha's. "Freak stuff," he allowed.
Minerva blinked, shooting a quick, assessing glare at Steve and Tony. Neither had an answer for that. "Well, some people might believe so, but magic is," she thought for a moment, "Magic is life. It gives us many opportunities non-magic users don't have, or have to use technology to overcome." She conjured a stuffed stag with a short wave of her wand. The animal had a striking resemblance to the animagus form of a former student, and the father of Harry.
Harry looked at both Steve and Tony, who each nodded that he could accept the gift. "Thank you," he said quietly, reaching out one hand to take the stuffed animal. It reminded him of something from a far off dream, and made him feel warm inside.
"You're quite welcome. Now, normally, we'd have to go shopping at a store to find such a plush, but with magic, I can make one especially for you. That is magic. Another thing magic can do, is fix what is broken, or injured, including our bodies."
"Could magic fix Mr. Tony?" Harry asked abruptly, startling all the Avengers.
Minerva glanced at Tony, but he could only shake his head, not willing to impart the knowledge of his issue right then. "It might be able to. But first, why don't we fix your arm and fingers?"
"Can we? The cast is itchy," Harry looked ashamed as soon as he said it, knowing from experience that he'd always been given things only grudgingly, or only given kicks to the back of his legs, or fists to his head. His time with the Avengers had proven that this need not always be the case, but he spent a lot of time confused.
"Everyone has problems with a cast, Harry. Tony and Clint probably have a lot of stories to tell," Steve laughed.
"Hey now!" Tony defended, also laughing. Natasha chuckled, and put Harry down on his own feet, retaining the stuffed stag.
"Of course Harry," Minerva said, kneeling down to his level, "Please hold out your arms. And sonare iniuriam," she said twice, once over each skinny arm. "There, though I'm sure Mr. Stark would like to confirm that the breaks are healed?"
"J?" Tony asked his AI, listening in from the com-buds the team wore almost all the time.
"Scanning," was the tinny reply. "Scans confirm Madam McGonagall successfully healed Mr. Potter's injuries." JARVIS reported after five minutes.
"Then we can remove this," Minerva cast a low powered scissor spell and cut the cast off Harry's left arm. "And this splint is removable, so there goes that." Minerva banished both items and made to stand, putting her wand away. Steve was there at her side, giving her assistance to her feet. "Thank you, Captain."
"You're welcome. That was impressive," Steve said, holding her hand over his forearm to escort her back to the jet.
Harry quickly rubbed his newly freed arm, and then looked up at Minerva. "Thank you!" he chirped.
Natasha took hold of the boy's hand and without a word, led him back to the jet and inside to a jumpseat.
"As you saw Mr. Stark, magic is needed for magical issues," she said, as though teaching a reluctant student.
"Well, it certainly helped Harry. Let's go, Bruce needs us, and that magic," Tony agreed, turning to lead the way to the jet. Steve kept beside Minerva, walking in silence as he turned over the new information they had.
The group quickly took their places aboard the Quinjet once more. Clint and Natasha almost rushed through their preflight check to get them airborne. Tony was immediately on his phone with the hospital, getting an update on Bruce. Meggan sat close to Minerva, and along with Capt. Britain, talked with Thor and Minerva about magic, and how different things were between the different peoples who used it.
It didn't seem very long before Clint was touching down near the helipad, but out of the way in case it was needed for a Life Flight.*
Tony was up and out the nearest hatch as soon as the wheels were firmly on the ground, trusting the others to catch up and look after Harry.
Natasha turned to Clint as they shut the jet down. "What about Coulson?" she asked. They had meant to pick him up in London, and now, were in the Scottish Highlands.
"I'll call him, see what he wants to do," Clint responded, flicking switches and adjusting knobs on the dash to turn the plane off and secure it. She nodded and left the cockpit so he could have some privacy.
Steve and Thor were discussing the merits of changing clothes when Natasha joined them. Thor presumed that the extra authority granted by their uniforms might make things easier in dealing with any problems. Steve reiterated that they needed to keep a low profile as nothing official had been done about the heroes visiting the hospital and he didn't want to cause the staff problems.
She offered her opinion, reminding Thor, "It will avoid a scene we aren't prepared for, like being asked to visit the children's ward."
"What's wrong with visiting children?" Harry asked, looking up at his heroes with curiosity.
"Absolutely nothing Harry," Natasha reassured him, "However, we usually bring gifts when we visit." Harry's expression changed to one of confusion, and Natasha clarified, "It cheers them up, because it's not a lot of fun being stuck in hospital."
Harry made an 'oh' face, understanding at last why they were so hesitant. "So then, Mr Thor and Captain Steve should go as themselves, instead of Captain America and..." he trailed off. Thor didn't have a secret identity, he was just Thor.
The god smiled at the boy. "I am myself, always, young Harry. But I see the value of wearing 'plain clothes' rather than my armor," he said with a laugh.
With that decision made, Thor and Steve took turns in the small lab, changing into clothes that were always packed on board for emergencies. Natasha also took a turn, coming out in jeans and tank top.
Brian Braddock stayed in his own uniform, thinking the Avengers might need the presence of Captain Britain before the day was out. He then had to convince Meggan to change her own uniform to something more like Natasha was wearing. She reluctantly agreed, the green leotard morphing into a sundress in a few blinks.
Eventually, the team was able to leave the jet and head into the hospital to find Tony. They were directed to the ICU by administration, finding him just outside, speaking with a couple of doctors about Bruce's injuries.
"The burns do resemble radiation burns, and," one doctor emphasized, "Friction burns from some kind of restraint. Highly unusual," The female doctor shook her head with this pronouncement.
Tony replied, a slight chill to his words, even as he maintained his media smile and persona, "It was an unusual situation, Dr. Robards, I assure you. When will he be able to have visitors?"
With a negative shake of her head, Dr. Robards answered, "Quite out of the question, we have him sequestered in our chemical exposure ward. And no one receives visitors there"
And that was the wrong thing to say to Tony Stark just then.
"Madam," Tony went angrily stony, his face lost the mask, and his eyes hardened as he straightened his back to wage verbal war, "The gentleman you have in isolation wrote most of the established papers on radiation, and happens to be quite familiar with all the procedures!" Before he got a good rant going, Steve appeared at his elbow, Thor to his other side.
"Tony," was all Steve said, quiet, warm, supportive.
Tony didn't so much deflate as nearly collapse in on himself. Thor wrapped him in an embrace and led him away from the doctors. Braddock joined Steve, making the doctors back up a step from his sheer, overwhelming presence alone.
The twenty minute discussion between both Captains and the doctors ended with Tony being escorted back by the male doctor, who'd largely stayed silent in deference to his colleague's lead. He was a quiet, studious man, clearly shocked by the celebrities that had invaded the otherwise quiet little hospital.
When Tony disappeared into the ward, Brian spoke again to the remaining doctor. "Please understand the nature of our presence. This group, is known as the Avengers. You know who I am." The woman nodded. School children throughout the British Isles were taught about Captain Britain, and his team, Excalibur. "Then they will be accorded all respect and given as much assistance as though the PM himself were here. Are we understood?"
Dr. Robards reluctantly nodded, and excused herself to make sure the staff was aware of what was now happening.
Clint joined the team, having missed the tense standoff, and waved Steve over from the nurse's station. He brought up the phone call he'd made. "He's going to join us here. The team in Surrey is picking him up and bringing him as fast as they can," he informed his team leader.
"Thank you Clint. If we're not here at the hospital, we'll be staying in Inverness until they release Bruce. We do need to discuss what's best for Harry, and Phil is probably the best for that," Steve replied to the team as a whole.
Minerva stood from the chair she'd taken upon arrival, trying to stay out of the way. "I believe that would be my cue, Captain. As soon as we can, I need access to Dr. Banner so that I can counteract whatever Albus did to him. I would also like to discuss matters with whomever will be taking care of Mr. Potter whenever that decision is made."
Steve nodded, "It will probably be Tony and Bruce, but Agent Coulson will be of great help in that matter, being more connected to the bureaucracy than anyone else on the team."
Clint laughed, "Steve's being polite. Nobody does 'pencil necked geek' better than Phil. He'll help cut through whatever red tape is surely to be in place in a situation like this."
Steve continued, "We'll try to figure out a way to get you in to Bruce as soon as possible."
Minerva agreed, and sat down again. Meggan took the opportunity to ask some questions about magic. Natasha listened in, occasionally asking her own.
Back in the quarantine ward, Tony barely restrained his temper once again, as he was asked to don a clean suit. The staff sympathized that Bruce was safe, but the whole floor had potential issues and it was for Tony's sake. Once completely covered and carting an independent breathing unit, Tony moved as quickly as he could to Bruce's bedside.
The plastic suit crinkled as he reached for his lover's lax hand. He wished he didn't have to wear the infernal plastic wrap, but had to concede that the ward was dangerous enough. Thirty minutes into his vigil, a new pair of nurses converged on the alcove.
Tony looked up in surprise, finding Natasha and the teacher under the clean suit masks. Natasha raised an index finger over the mask, an indicator to keep quiet. McGonagall pulled a thin stick from a pocket of the clean suit's top, and moved to the free side of the bed.
With some simple maneuvers, and a string of what sounded like Latin, McGonagall produced some kind of energy field that leapt from the wand and covered Bruce in a pearly blue light. Just as the light faded into his skin, the room was plunged into darkness.
Natasha broke and shook a chemical light into being and quietly said, "Barton's playing in the vents. We'll have to get out of here in a moment."
"And Bruce?" Tony asked.
"Look for yourself, Mr. Stark," Minerva said, putting her wand away.
Bruce groaned, and blinked open his eyes. "What happened?" he said, hoarse from Hulk's recent activity.
"Thank you, madam," Tony said, grateful for what Minerva had done, even with an ulterior motive.
"You are most welcome, Mr. Stark. Now, Ms. Romanov, we will need to alter the memories of the staff present so that Dr. Banner may leave the hospital whole and hail, and most especially, unbothered," Minerva said, turning to Natasha to lead the way.
"Of course. Tony, twenty minutes. There's a bag of clothes just outside in the clean room." Natasha led the witch from the room, leaving the pair alone again.
Bruce sat up in the bed, and Tony scrambled to reach the bed's controls to get the head of it up to support his partner. "Tell me what's happened, Tony, please? And help me with these wires and leads," Bruce requested, reaching for the wires and IVs attached to his body.
"Well, after Gandalf hurt Hulk, you took off," Tony started there, and described the scene that the Avengers entered into, plus getting to the hospital. He left out the discussion-slash-argument with the doctors, and just told him about Minerva. "Not sure what her goals might be, other than getting close to Harry," he said, having pulled two of the monitoring wires off and away from Bruce. He went in search of something to stop any bleeding while Bruce removed the IVs from his hand, and chest. On his way back to the room, Tony ducked some scrambling medical personnel, and grabbed the small duffel he knew contained Bruce's clothes. He believed they had maybe ten minutes left before they had to scramble.
Once those insignificant wounds were dealt with, Bruce shifted himself to the edge of the bed, and dangled his bare feet off the edge. "Well, sounds more exciting than what's happened to me. Give me the bag?" He took possession of the duffel and pulled out the canvas shoes and jeans to pull on first. The t-shirt was last, and Bruce zipped the bag closed before slinging it over his shoulder.
"You ready?" Tony asked, emotions still all over the place.
"Yeah, just..."
"I know."
Bruce slid to his feet from the edge of the bed, making sure the shoes were on as he regained his footing. "This is definitely odd. Are we sure the hospital will be okay?"
"I believe so, but I can always make a donation to them to help them along?" Tony reached out and grabbed Bruce by the shoulders. This wasn't to steady him, but just reassure Tony that Bruce was okay.
"I am okay, Tony. Whatever the woman did, helped. I assume we'll talk about it when we're away from here?"
"Yes, but just, one minute," Tony said. He pulled Bruce into an embrace, and they stood for just a few minutes before the vents rattled, a warning from the archer that they needed to get moving.
Tony let Bruce go, but before the scientist stepped back, he reached up and cupped Tony's cheek with one hand. "Really, I feel fine," he murmured, giving Tony a small, gentle kiss in reassurance.
"Gotta work on staying that way, Mr. Banner," Tony snarked as they left the hospital ward as unobtrusively as possible.
Bruce tried to keep his laughter quiet as they moved out.
AN: Life Flight – usually helicopter response team to transfer seriously injured patients from accident scenes or other facilities to hospitals and trauma units that have better staff and equipment.
Bet you thought I forgot all about this story, huh? Nope. Just took quite a long time to get something out, as I've been having a crisis of confidence. That's ongoing, and I'm trying to beat it back. As promised, I will NEVER abandon a story. Though the ending you get might not be what you'd like to see.
Speaking of endings, I hope to have this part of the crossover wrapped up in no more than 4 more chapters. I expect to take time off to figure out how to deal with the intervening years before Hogwarts, before diving into how I am going to change that canon. And also to make sure I think my divergence makes sense! When I do wrap this story, I will go back and make small changes, like spelling, formatting, and cleaning up authors' notes that don't pertain to the story in any significant fashion. Makes for a cleaner read, IMO.
As always, if you want to keep up with how things are going, you can go to my profile page and find several links and/or locations to look me up. See you in the funny pages!