Show Yourself Into The Unknown

Summary: The one where Thanos is dead, Tony has weird dreams instead of nightmares, the Avengers watch dubious Disney movies and mystical creatures are more than real. Oh, and the Cloak totally ships it.

"How could this happen!?" An almost exasperated and disappointed™ Captain America asked as he watched the pitiful group that had returned from the impromptu mission getting treated in the medical wing, showing none of the concern that should be there for the people he so often preached about being his teammates and how they should trust him more. Stephen could absently register how close to murder several people in the room were - Nebula, Rhodey and Pepper looked ready to eviscerate Stephen and Fury, Hope looked ready to kill Rogers first before she set her claws on them and Wong looked ready to kill everyone who had no place in the medical wing of the Avengers Compound if they didn't leave right the fuck now and even Stephen himself would be up for breaking his doctor's oaths at this point if it meant he can finally get some peace and fucking quiet and some rest from these imbeciles - but that was only in the periphery of his focus.

In the center of it all was, surprise surprise, one genius billionaire playboy philanthropist and his dragon, both of which were out cold ... quite literally, at that. And they both looked to be in agonizing pain and stuck in haunting nightmares in their comas.

After the strange blast had somehow shattered the ice shield sphere Elsa had hastily threw up to protect herself and her summoner -despite how impossible that should be given Tony himself had ran several rigorous and punishing tests on the strength of the ice his dragon companion could create - Tony and she seemed to be having a pain seizure for several minutes in the air. Stephen will never forget their screams, how they had sounded like they were being torn apart molecule by molecule. It had lasted nearly a full minute before it stopped and the two just plummeted from the air. Had it not been for FRIDAY taking over, the both of them would have fallen into the once again alive and unfrozen Amazon river, where they might have met a far worse fate as piranhas lived in the river. When Stephen had finally made sure that the 'stitches' in reality will hold for the time being before he can get a group of sorcerers to come and help him repair the rift properly, neither of the two were in any way responsive and both he and Wong were horrified - to say the least - to discover how low Elsa's magic seemed to be running. The constant, impossible-to-be-ignored hum of her magic was near nonexistent and both she and Tony were catatonic. Whatever had hit them, it had had a strong and nasty effect.

Neither sorcerer had wasted any time in bringing them back to the compound and hooking Tony up to various instruments to monitor their condition through him, as no one actually knew what to make of any readings they might get from the dragon. The readings from Tony, though, were terrifying enough on their own.

Any normal human being would have been dead with how low his core temperature was at the moment. The connection to Elsa seemed to be the only thing keeping him alive.

Too bad that, according to a hastily summoned Aidna, Elsa's magic was also that which was dragging him towards death as well.

"He shows no signs of any physical wounds but FRIDAY keeps insisting that a shard of ice pierced his heard. The armor has it recorded in detail," Bruce Banner could be heard somewhere puzzling over the readings FRIDAY was showing him to counter his arguments that her creator was physically unharmed.

"It is magic," Aidan reminds, sounding unimpressed with the scientist's logical thinking and reasoning. Stephen kind of agrees but he finds he himself is catatonic, if not for the same reason the genius and his soulmate were. He had failed to protect Tony. Again. And this time, it really was a failure rather than a calculated nonexistent risk on Tony's part. "Dragon magic, might I remind. From what Master Stark has told us, Elsa has been kept in the coldest of temperatures for centuries. She is an ice dragon. She has protected him from cold but it would seem her own magic can pierce that protection. She would never harm him and yet it would seem that the blast has forced a shard from her shield straight into his heart and is slowly freezing it."

"And there is no known cure for a frozen heart, no matter the means it has come to be," Loki, who had been hastily summoned back to help with the current situation, regretfully explained, looking with something between rage and sorrow at the downed pair. Tony, despite being catatonic, seemed to be somehow still reaching out for Elsa, searching for her, while the dragon herself already seemed resigned to her fate, to the death of her summoner being her own fault. Whether they were all just projecting their own views on the two unconscious forms is yet to be seen.

"That in itself is a falsehood, a misinformation, Frost Born," the last remaining snow demon - and by last, Stephen truly meant the last - cut in from where he had been keeping his distance and had been restrained so far by Thor and Carol on each of his sides.

His name was Hikupakularmadiramis but he preferred Hiku to all of them accidentally butchering his name in an attempt to pronounce it and he had been the leader of his people before the 'enemies from beyond the veil' attacked their home world. He brought with him many grave, horrifying news, one of which being that the supposedly 'legendary' Empirikul were not so much legends as one would have preferred. A race of robots created to serve their leader, the Imperator, in his mad quest to destroy all of the world's magic just because his parents were sacrificed by a mad, blood-lustful sect of magicians, the Blood Monks who had been his first victims, when he was but a babe, the Empirikul have divested over a hundred dimensions so far and the snow demons had been a rather recent one. Not only that, but for their strength, size and scary appearances, the Imperator had had Hiku mind controlled by a device Stephen had accidentally destroyed, hidden inside the white chest plate the other had worn as a sign of his office as leader. As such, Hiku had led his race to invade countless others, killing millions of random magical species in whatever new universe that the Imperator sent him. Snow demons were bound by their oaths even more tightly and strictly than the sorcerers of Earth, so they had to follow no matter what.

Now, all of his people were slain and he, finally free, was alone and in Stephen's debt. Saving his life was, apparently, not enough to repay the debt, as freedom is more important than life. Instead, he has sworn himself to Stephen's service and refused any denial of such. He said he had no purpose anymore, as all he had known and loved was gone. He needed something to live for. For all that they were snow 'demons', they were bound by emotions and Hiku will cease to exist as anything more than a wall decoration if he has no purpose, no goal, no precious people to hold dear and to protect.

Stephen really didn't have the strength right now to argue with him and Wong seemed to be rather eager to have such an ally on their side so he had let it be. Protesting would only waste time.

"How do you mean?" Loki asked, confused, as all sorcerers in the room were, by that declaration. Even Aidna, the most knowledgeable about dragon and snow/ice magic of them all, had agreed that a frozen anything is extremely difficult to heal and actually requires the caster of the magic to remove it but a frozen heart is deadly. Why does that sound so familiar and cliche, the former neurosurgeon idly wonders to himself.

"One does not even need the caster for a frozen heart to be cured. The process is dangerous and will have eternal consequences, but a way exists, as long as there are those who are willing-"

"There's plenty of those," Peter, usually almost painfully polite, points out from where he looks ready to break down the wall separating everyone from Tony and Elsa, mostly because the two demand to be close but Elsa seems to be executing some serious freezing powers in there. No one could enter that room and stay in there for longer than a couple of minutes without getting some serious frostbite.

"And powerful enough to execute the ritual." As one, everyone gathered outside of the genius engineer's room turned their gaze in his direction. Stephen had no reason to be surprised, so he wasn't. Two thirds of the present company had seen him all but tear asunder the wards and seals protecting the Temple of Ahtohallan when he had thought he had failed Tony before.

"What do I need to do?"

"And how come none of us has ever heard of this ritual that might save someone with a frozen heart?" Wong asked a second after him and Hikupakularmadiramis gave a sad, almost condescending smile.

"Because so far only Star Born have survived even remotely long enough to be a part of the ritual, let alone survive its success. This ritual is risky, for both parties involved. are you certain, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, that you would take such a risk for the Star Born?"

"I wouldn't be asking what I needed to do if I wasn't absolutely certain," Stephen all but snapped, finally getting out of the funk he had fallen into ever since they'd set Tony down on a bed and realized there was nothing any of them could do for the brilliant, wonderful - dying - man. "Besides, my own feelings on the matter aside, this is pretty much necessary. We don't know whether Elsa is the last of her kind. If it turns out that she is and she dies when we could have done something to prevent it, the death of existence itself is on us. I already have enough guilt and remorse, thank you, and Tony is precious to me. So just tell me what to do and don't waste any more time. I believe it to be of essence."

Which was an understatement in several different areas. Two days have passed since Tony and Elsa fell. And only after two days had anyone been able to approach them at all as Elsa seemed to be trying to start a new ice age in the room she and Tony were currently residing. They had put them down and she had covered the whole room in ice. Now, with the horrifying truth that her power was faltering due to Tony's life doing the same, they were all pretty much aware that every second wasted was one second closer to disaster.

And that's not even mentioning the shit storm going on in the outside world!

Elsa wasn't just trying to start a new ice age in the room she and Tony were resting. The second her power had started faltering within the hospital room was the second that the entirety of Earth was hit with a snow storm the likes of which had not been seen in millions of years. The entirety of the Sahara was covered in snow, the ice covering the ocean was actually strong enough that a highway road could be made between the continents and every single active volcano in the world has had its very much scorching hot, melting, liquid lava turned into fucking ice in seconds. Just a couple of hours ago more bad news came from Wakanda, also covered in snow, stating that the Earth's core temperature was slowly but steadily dropping. Scientists all over the world have confirmed that no heating can keep a place warm for longer than a few hours and the winds mostly put out whatever fire was lit.

'At least this will help with global warming,' Stephen thought dryly as he arched an eyebrow at the creature that had sworn his alliance to him.

Hikupakularmadiramis only nodded. "My people calls the companions of dragons Star Born," he started explaining. "For their souls shine as brightly as the lights of the universe themselves and run just as hot, especially after they awaken their dragons. Usually, extended exposure to one of them is rather dangerous to our health. However, even one or two of my people have been Star Born and we have had dragons in our midst. Once, one of my elders has told me, during a ceremonial spar with a potential life partner, a Star Born's heart was pierced with ice of magic and their heart was frozen in much a similar manner to your friend. Their dragon was not in any way harmed in the process, but the Star Born's slowly dwindling and fading life force made them weaker in moments. The dragon's own internal fire kept them both alive for days as our people tried, tirelessly, futilely, to find a cure. The dragon eventually told them to stop looking. Your magic runs cold, the dragon had said. Nothing you do for my hatcher will help, the reassured, as though comforting them in their helplessness. My summoner's intended, even if they were to run as hot as the Mages of the Seven Suns, is not powerful enough. It is our time. The dragon then took the Star Born and flew away. Days later, the Star Born's intended found them far in the highest mountain, encased in ice together, so not even death nor time shall do them part."

"I don't really see how this story is helping," Scott Lang muttered uncomfortably but Stephen ignored him.

"Basically, the dragon from your story said that to cure a person dying of a frozen heart, all that is needed is a powerful enough sorcerer who's not naturally inclined towards the element that was causing death to creep in?"

"Quite so," Hiku nodded.

"Okay, but you mentioned a ritual. What do we need for it? Any special ingredients? Symbols drawn? Blood sacrifices? Poison drinking? Summoning of ancestral or natural spirits?" Stephen listed off, wanting to start with the solution as quickly as possible. They had already lost two days due to what seemed to be a defensive mechanism. Elsa had made it so that Tony shouldn't be affected by the cold if it had not been for the little magical ice shard to the heart incident. That was still something they ought to discuss with Elsa as to how it was even possible for any weapon made to break through her magical barriers.

"Nothing of the sort," the snow demon assured casually. "All you must do is desire to share the energy inside the very essence of your soul with the Star Born so it can ignite the fire being connected to a dragon affords him and usually burns eternal. You shall be exhausted once you finish and you will need time to process binding your soul to another-"

"Whoa, hold it right there, mister!" Barnes interjected, eyes wide and a bit panicked. Stephen could sort of agree and this was happening to him an will affect him directly in the near and distant future from now onward! "You never said anything about binding their souls together! I might not be an expert on Tony Stark but I'm pretty sure that he'd have a few objections to that!"

"Doesn't he already share his soul with the dragon?" Romanov asked pointedly while everyone else ignored Maximoff's muttering under her own chin that the man in question probably didn't even have a soul, despite the evidence to the contrary.

"Yes, but that is a connection dragons and their hatchers are born with, created with. They just officially establish it when the dragon awakens and is hatched into the world," Aidna explains, sounding both tired and intrigued. "The Northuldra don't have much knowledge or records of it, but we do know that dragon hatchers can, indeed, form soul bonds with other people and creatures. They'll just never be as deep or as intimate as the one shared with their dragon."

"The solution is at the very least doable and sounds like a course of action we should take," Wong agreed in his own way, which was already more than enough for Stephen to know this will be happening.

A soul bond with a person meant to stay alive as long as a dragon is doesn't really bring all that much new to his table. The Sorcerer Supreme is expected to stay alive for centuries, if need be, until a sorcerer of equal or greater strength and the right disposition is born to pass on the title. Given that no sorcerer had ever done half of the things Stephen has in the past few years, ever since he used the Eye of Agamotto to trap Dormammu in a time loop to make him submit to his request, he was probably looking forward to a very long wait indeed. The Temple of Antohallan thing kind or really set the bar at a completely new level.

"Is there any incantation I should say? A spell to cast? Special requirements to be met?"

"Hold on, Strange," Rogers was quick to protest, seemingly thinking Stephen had ever given a fuck as to his opinion on any matter, let alone one as important as this. He'd do anything to keep Tony safe even if Elsa wasn't involved, but Rogers seems to be forgetting that Tony dying meant Elsa dying and if she's indeed the last dragon, as they fear, then the multiverse will die, too. "You can't just-"

"Oh, but I can, Mr Rogers," Strange cut him off at the knees, giving him his most terrifying smile that used to make nurses cry and interns quake in fear and is used nowadays to make Masters of the Mystic Arts quiver in anticipation and the apprentices vibrate in excitement as to what new spell he had deigned to show them or what new training regimen he had come up with to make them stronger. The blond supersoldier actually blanched back. The memory of the Temple of Ahtohallan must still be fresh enough for him to be smart enough to step back. "Perks of being the Sorcerer Supreme. Tony and Elsa are under my jurisdiction and it is up to me to ensure their safety and continued living. So back off or you can ask Loki what it's like to perpetually fall for twenty minutes, though I might forget about you longer."

"Did you just threaten him?" Maximoff asked in a dangerous voice, seeming to have been less intelligent than Rogers - there's a shocker - and stepping forward as though challenging him.

"Ms Maximoff, back the fuck off and let the man do his fucking job!" Fury, who took no shit from no one and was definitely worried about Tony no matter how much he would deny it, snapped, glaring at the young woman. "Or you will be benched until further notice."

"You need me," the Sokovian countered with a snort, giving them all a very unpleasant smile. Stephen wasn't even surprised when Wong, who took even less shit than Fury, cast a quick spell that completely bound the Scarlet Witch's powers in a spell every Master of the Mystic Arts must learn in order to be able to discipline others.

"We really don't," Carol, her fellow Infinity Stone powered individual, said with a raised eyebrow when the girl started shrieking. Stephen couldn't listen to her so he just went by the way of dealing with Loki and closed the perpetual, endless portal behind her.

"So, you were saying?" He asked Hiku pointedly, signaling that any further distractions will be dealt with similarly.

"There is no need for additional outside interference. Just let your energy enter his body and find his core, intertwine your magics and souls and lend him the power he needs to stabilize his core as the ice melts. By morning, the Star Born will be awake and about."

"Any last comments or objections before I go in, then?" Stephen asked the room at large, eyes lingering on Tony's dearest and nearest.

Pepper just shook her head. "Just keep him alive."

"And be prepared for a lot of bad soulmate puns, Doc," Rhodes said with a grim smile. Apparently, he was perfectly okay to leave all the raging at a lack of choice in the matter to Tony when he woke up. "And maybe a bit of pouting and yelling. Just weather it through and you'll be fine."

"Bring him back," was all Nebula said (commanded) and Vision sent him a grateful, trusting smile. Peter just looked extremely hopeful between a worried but faithful Happy and May. Carol and Hope said nothing but they clearly expected Stephen to bring shellhead back. Barnes and Lang gave their support in the form of a thumbs up and Wong, when he looked at him, gave him a firm nod.

"Wish me luck," was the last thing Stephen said before stepping into the room and bracing himself for the colder temperatures in there. It wasn't even bellow zero degrees Celsius but it wasn't exactly pleasant, either, especially as he needed skin on skin contact for this to work. He looked to the faithful Cloak around his shoulders and gave it a nod. "Hold me up if I fall over." It gave a nod with its collar and Stephen stepped up to Tony's bed, took off his gloves and put one shaky hand under Tony's shirt and right over his heart, channeling magic from the core of his being, through his arm, down to his hand and into Tony's own through the genius' chest.

Which was how he found his mind being pulled under, falling, into endless darkness and freezing shadows, no wind, no air, no resistance until he slammed into a hard, iced over ground painfully enough that he actually wondered whether his body will have evidence of the crash despite this being an astral experience at best. A cursory look around gave him surprisingly quick results.

There, not too far away, just a bit out of hearing distance unless he were to yell, curled up in on himself, was a man Stephen would recognize even blind and deaf.

Tony.