Chapter Sixty Four: Process
(I know this one is shorter, but the next one will be longer... I think)
Honey couldn't believe Tony had let them off without anything more than admonition to be careful and be back before lunchtime. It was so unlike their previous incarceration by the billionaire that it almost made her wonder if he was up to something. She quickly shook the thought aside. At least they didn't have to rely on a taxi this time around, she thought as they headed towards one of several museums in the area, one they hadn't visited earlier.
"You'd think you'd had enough of museums already," GoGo quipped in a bored way as she stared out the window of their borrowed vehicle. It might have been more fun if she'd been the one driving that their current babysitters had vetoed that from the get go.
The chemist clicked her tongue. "One can never have enough art!" she protested in a cheerful voice. "Don't you agree, Kally?" she looked expectantly at her closest neighbor.
Kally smiled. She wasn't opposed to art, by any means. That and she'd had Sammy look up some information on the museum they were headed to. Apparently it had a wing dedicated to Norse artifacts, which she was more than willing to give a look at. "As long as I can check out a certain gallery, I'm game for whatever," she replied.
"At least it should have a wing on older super heroes," Fred spoke up. He'd wanted to go to that particular museum for the exact purpose of seeing images of his add in his hero outfit. Seeing the iconic suit of his father's hay day hung in a small, hidden closet wasn't the same as seeing images of him in action. And even though his dad was more than willing to give the occasional advice, he mostly left his son to his own devices to figure things out, just as he'd had to do.
The car pulled up the museum, parking near one of the exits in case they needed a quick out. After one of the bodyguards checked the area, and deemed it clear, they were allowed out of the vehicle.
"Isn't this just a little overkill?" GoGo asked as Krei's men, the ones assigned to them, along with one of Tony's people, made a loose circle around them as they headed to the front doors.
Kally found she had to agree. Judging from what she saw, and sensed, from their current bodyguards, they had a better chance of defending themselves without them. Even though they were big, muscled, and probably could handle themselves, she had a feeling she could do better. And, after seeing the others in action, she knew they'd probably fly circles around, if they had their gear. Which they didn't…. well, they couldn't have everything, she supposed.
Fred paid for everyone's tickets and the lady at the counter stamped their hands with something that looked like a defunct logo in indigo ink. Even their bodyguards got a stamp, Fred paying their way. GoGo insisted on keeping the receipt for reimbursement for the extra tickets when they next saw Krei. Chances were good the tech giant would try to weasel out of hit but there was always the chance, if they went through his secretary, as much as she loathed the idea, that they'd get the money back. Not that Fred cared, but it was the principle of the matter.
Once past the front foyer area, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh. With the metal detectors leading in, it would be hard to carry a gun through into the rest of the place. Even their bodyguards had a bit of a hassle getting through since they were all packing heat. That, of course, left a bit of confusion about whether or not the others should wait for them or just move on. They moved on.
The first exhibit was the one Fred actually wanted to see and he eagerly looked through the photos and artifacts until he found the ones he wanted. The area was cordoned off with a sheet of plastii-glass. Despite the signs telling people to keep their fingers off, he pressed both hands and face up against the clear surface.
GoGo gave him a look as she stood off to one side, arms crossed over her chest. "Doesn't that get old?" she inquired with her usual dose of sass.
Despite her tone, Fred shook his head, his nose rubbing against the glass. "Nope." His voice came out somewhat muffled as he ogled the now defunct gadgets on display. He knew they'd all been deactivated, any parts making them dangerous removed. But that didn't make them any less cool.
Not sure why Fred was so intent on this particular superhero when there were many other's things on display, Kally moved closer. "Someone you know?" she asked.
Fred finally pulled away to answer. "Uh, yeah." He suddenly looked a bit bashful as he rearranged his beanie. "Boss Awesome's totally my dad." He said it quietly, almost reverently.
"Boss Awesome?" A look of confusion and almost distaste crossed Kally's face.
Honey quickly moved in. "That's the name he went under. Of course, you have to remember this was like back in the sixties and seventies. They used a lot of strange names back then." She ushered Kally on to the next hero's gadgets on display, Iron Man's. "I do have to admit, though, we had the same reaction when we found out."
With that image in her mind, and her attention now directed to Tony's gear, Kally couldn't help but wonder something. "Does Tony know?" She looked back towards her other friends, noting their bodyguards hadn't quite caught up yet. "I mean does he know about your dad being a super hero?"
A thoughtful expression crossed Fred's face as he joined her in front of the display. "It may have come up once or twice." He didn't at all sound certain. "But, to be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure. I mean it would probably help him understand why I'm so into super heroes and all that but I'm not really sure if he knows or not. I don't think dad told him and I can't remember if I did or didn't."
"That would be an interesting conversation," GoGo said under her breath but quickly dropped it as their bodyguards finally caught up with them. "How about we go to that Norse exhibit?" she said instead, nodding in the appropriate direction to get them going.
Taking the hint, Kally resisted the urge to squeal just a bit as she took the lead. One never knew what one might learn, even if most people thought it was just a bunch of myths or someone's religion.
Tony definitely needed to get a grip on things. He'd been too shocked, too surprised, to really process what had just happened. Loki being a good guy was something he found hard to believe. He'd had too many encounters with the man to think otherwise and so began trying to figure out what his angle was. And then, of course, was the unexpected turn of events with Hiro. Just how on earth had the teen managed to throw him across the room anyway? The guy had next to no muscle mass!
He briefly thought about trying to contact Thor, hoping he had some kind of insider knowledge about what was going on but had to scratch that idea. One, he didn't think Thor had a phone; and two, he remembered the Norse god saying he was going to some of the different realms to check on things, whatever that meant. Well, if it had anything to do with Loki, it made sense, but who knew for sure.
There was always the option of calling Bruce to see if he had any ideas, but he kind of had his hands full with the students from NYU. Apparently they'd decided it would be a good idea to bond over roasted marshmallows and hot dogs and had accidentally set one of the buildings on fire. The fact that they'd decided to try this indoors was less than amusing and he fully expected them to take care of any charges for the damages. But, for the time being, Bruce was too busy to help him.
Natasha was another option, but she was out on one of her secretive missions and probably couldn't be reached. And he wasn't about to see if Steve Rogers had any ideas, partly because the guy wasn't a scientist, and partly because he didn't think the man could wrap his head around it any more than he could. He'd probably shoot Loki on sight and then any answers they'd get from that quarter would be gone.
No, there really wasn't anyone he could call in for help on this whole situation. He'd just have to trust himself and run with it, keeping a very distrusting eye on the Asgardian prince until they got things sorted out. The fact that he'd somehow brainwashed Hiro was certainly a point of concern, though the notion that he was responsible for their finding Hiro and Kally earlier that year couldn't be entirely dismissed either. Perhaps it was a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, that had to be it.
Feeling a bit better about things, Tony continued on his way to the kitchen where he found a bottle of over-the-counter pain pills and down several of them with a glass of water. JARVIS made sure to point out that taking them with any form of alcohol was not recommended, with the added threat of telling Miss Potts if he did. Not wanting his girlfriend brought into the mess, he'd decided to be good. For now. Instead, he took an ice pack out of the freezer and applied it to his sore shoulder.
Wasabi slowly made his way into the kitchen as Tony found a seat at the kitchen island. He was a bit surprised to see their host with an ice pack but chose not to question it as he headed to the freezer for a matching pack. His ribs were hurting a bit. Remembering the advice to occasionally alternate hot and cold to help with swelling, he'd thought it best to start with the cold.
"Morning," Tony greeting upon noticing the younger man. "I'd ask how you're feeling but the expression on your face gives it all away."
He'd tried to not startle him; he really had, but suddenly speaking up seemed to make Wasabi freeze. That and it was hard to miss the look of pain that crossed the man's face as he turned in surprise. To his credit, Wasabi did manage to control his breathing before things could get out of hand, but he didn't look too happy about the circumstances. "Morning," the younger man returned. "What happened to you?" He was in too much pain to ask anything else.
Tony debated on answering truthfully or not. It didn't exactly sound very heroic to say he got pimp slapped by a teen, but he wasn't sure how else to put it. "Nothing much," he decided to say, going with the safer route of being vague. His pride hurt too much to say anything more.
"Okay then…." Wasabi trailed off as he retrieved his ice pack and headed out of the kitchen. He'd left during the commercial break on a show he'd wanted to watch for a while now and only hoped he'd be back in time to finish it without missing anything.
As soon as Wasabi was gone, Tony let out a sigh, switching his ice back to the back of his head. "You really probably should have someone look at that," JARVIS spoke up. He'd taken the liberty of requesting Baymax's scan results and wasn't thrilled with them. Tony would likely complain and complain but not actually do anything about it.
"I'm fine," Tony growled. This whole day was getting on his nerves. First there was the whole discovering Hiro was gone incident, only to discover he and his "bodyguard" had gone to see Lucifer. Then there was taking half of his guests to breakfast, leaving them to their own devices afterwards, and now this. Definitely not a good day in his books.
The more he thought about it the more agitated he felt about it all. There was one way to get an answer to all the questions churning in his head and that meant he had to risk Hiro's ability to throw him once more. Decision made, Tony left his ice pack on the counter and headed back to the teen's assigned room.