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.
Their recovery time was riddled with Avengers meetings with both Ross and Fury as Tony, once more, spoke of a danger just waiting to descend on them. This time, though, at least everyone was listening, even if he no longer came to the meetings with a dragon wrapped around his shoulders or resting in his arms. Elsa was still very much unwell and getting used to the new form she refused to leave until her control was back under, well, control. Peter spent most of his free time with her, which was almost all day every day since all the schools were still closed as the world was still trying to wrap its head around what the hell had just happened days earlier when a new near ice age had ended with a planetary healing of all of the wounds anyone had suffered during their lifetime.
Really, it was only a matter of time before the governments of the world got curious and impatient and greedy for the source of such a miracle and such a power. Tony had been expecting it, especially after FRIDAY showed him an interview Rogers gave without anyone's say-so to a bunch of reporters, saying that the one responsible for the healing was unavailable, as though he even understood what he was talking about. Tony had to be held back from ripping his throat out with his own teeth and Fury was still chewing him out for that mess a few days later when Agent Ross arrived with General Ross in the afternoon, the younger of the Rosses looking decidedly uncomfortable to be there and extremely apologetic when he saw Elsa was only now getting her serving of lunch from Barnes.
The rest of the Avengers, old and new and formerly rouge, immediately all but leapt into defensive positions but, thankfully, Fury had been there, having taken an interest in Elsa's new appearance and the stories she was willing to share about the Emirikul that she knew of so Earth can be better prepared for the inevitable attack, so he controlled the more trigger-happy ones.
Tony deliberately didn't even flinch, continuing to chew on the barbecued chicken breast piece he was eating and not even being hostile, just nodding at the general, just to see his blood pressure skyrocket from that alone. He hated that Ross had been chosen to investigate the situation but he had known it would be him and not someone else.
He was power-hungry, he liked hunting innocent creatures and he was merciless.
They were all suddenly glad that Elsa had chosen to stay in her human-like form. Less suspicious. Even mutants didn't get their powers this young.
"Mr Stark," General Ross greeted and Tony chewed for a few more seconds, just to get his eyebrow ticking before swallowing and putting on his most charming press smile that once used to make everyone think he was just a drunk rich asshole with a bit too much intellect that he didn't use for anything better than Vegas or downright charm them to do his every whim. It depended on the person. Some had even thought it to be an invitation into his bed, so there's that.
"Mr Ross." The power play didn't go over his head, either, as Ross had once called him Dr Stark for 'diplomacy's sake' - rather, trying to appear competent and the right choice to lead the Avengers through this new Accords-guided age in the eyes of the UN Council - so Tony returned the favor by calling him Mr Ross, instead of General or Council-chairman, though the latter had been pretty much abolished after Tony released the information on the RAFT. The only reason Ross - the elder, assholish one - was here was because the US government probably thought there was a powerful being to be hunted and brought in and experimented on and used as a weapon.
As if Tony was ever going to let that happen to anyone, let alone Elsa.
"How may we help you, General?" Fury cut in before Tony could tempt the man into a pissing match, much to his amusement. Bucky and Bruce were trying to appear as small as possible with Natasha standing next to them, casually fingering a rather sharp looking knife that had no business at the dinning table. Damned spies and their tricks, no matter how handy in this situation. What Tony found the most amusing, though, was the cat in Carol's arms. He knew it was a scary alien that could eat them all - it ate the fucking Tesseract! How about that, right? - but Carol was apparently willing to let it loose on General Asshole if he became too much of an asshat. God bless that woman. God bless all of the strong and independent and scary women in this world.
Though it wasn't a good sign that Nebula already looked ready to commit murder.
Nor that Hope was already on the phone with, no doubt (*shudder*) Pepper, already planning how to legally murder Ross and then covertly hide his metaphorical body. Though it's quite possible none of it is a metaphor and he found he really wouldn't mind.
The rest were just quiet and observing what was going on, wondering if they should get involve, scatter or just sit and wait it out. Stark was personally of the opinion that they should leave, because some of these people had no mute button and when dealing with this asshole, it was necessary. Even worse would be if one of them actually drew attention to Elsa and the fact that she's a dragon. And since it was technically Rogers' fault that the asshole was here in the first place, Tony sent Loki a look.
The trickster, thankfully, understood and leaned over to whisper in Valkyrie's ear. The lovable drunk grunted, stood up and, much to his amusement, grabbed Rogers by the ear, started dragging him out of the kitchen. Loki looked in a sort of besotted way before sighing and extending a hand to the disguised dragon. "Let me escort you, young Lady Stark." Claiming she was an adopted or bastard child of his was the best cover for her, even if Elsa protested that she was no child. They were equals but they needed a believable story, so she'll have to get used to it for a while.
Elsa shot Tony a look, not budging from her seat. 'I'm not going anywhere without you. Especially not if it means leaving you alone in the presence of the likes of him.'
Tony didn't know whether to roll his eyes or curl up around this warm feeling he got every time Elsa showed how much she cared about him. "Go on, it's fine." 'Stephen and Fury are here and if you're really that worried about it, ask FRIDAY to show you the live footage. Just go with Loki. If you stay, you'll be suspicious and I want you out of sight, out of mind where this bastard is concerned.'
'You better stay safe,' was the last thing she sent before nodding her head and accepting Loki's hand. Tony still had some difficulties with dealing with the fact that he and Elsa were practically magical royalty. Or even more, but royalty was already hard enough to manage so he didn't even try to think of the implications behind the whole warden of all of magic and the Flow of Existence thing. It's okay to distantly, theoretically be aware that the multiverse's continued survival depended on you but he'd rather not be directly confronted by that knowledge. Even if he now possessed a constant awareness of the Flow.
Tony watched them go even as he addressed the others. "Bucky, Thor, do me the honor of getting the others out of here. Not you, Romanov, Hope, Carol. Stephen, send Wong my regards when you see him later. It seems you'll be late for your lesson with the novices." The others were staring at him in either unease or dumbfounded confusion. He arched an eyebrow that practically screamed 'Did I stutter?' Barnes was the first to stand up, grabbing Wilson up in a fireman carry and taking him out of the room before he could protest too much. Thor was about to follow his lead with Barton but Clint, for once, decided to leave the matter in Tony's hands and left with a guiding hand on Wanda's back, the Scarlet Bitch looking ready to protest but for once keeping her mouth shut when the still murderous looking Nebula fell in step behind them. Vision once again trailed after the cyborg, Lang shooting out of his seat before Thor could carry him out, leaving the big Asgardian looking like a kicked puppy as he trudged out.
Rhodey, predictably, planted himself stubbornly at Tony's right and didn't budge, right where he belonged. He didn't flinch when both Rosses' eyes trailed down to his now perfectly healthy legs.
"General?" Fury reminded and the older Ross stopped staring, cleared his throat and getting on with it.
"Yes, right. I came here today to discuss the ... phenomenon from a couple of days ago on behalf of the US government. The president is concerned about the hypothetical existence of a person or creature with the power to affect our planet in such a way."
Stephen arched an eyebrow as he lowered his cup of tea from where he was leaning against the bar-like counter in the kitchen/dinning room. "Extraterrestrials and extradimensional beings have been visiting Earth for longer than the human race has existed, General Ross. They're hardly going to stop now just because humanity doesn't like it."
"Isn't it your job to keep them out?" The man challenged but Natasha cut in before the good doctor could answer.
"Doctor Strange has submitted a throughout report at the start of his association with the Avengers, on the behest of Dr Stark, that explicitly and transparently explains what he does and what is in his domain of power. His order has been protecting this world and this dimension since times immemorial. If I understand it correctly, it is up to his order to make sure none of the visitors to this dimension have malicious intentions or are a danger to us all. The 'threat' has been dealt with and the Avengers are currently busy with another potential threat that may just come at us in a few weeks time. I'm afraid none of us have the time to spare for a proper hearing at this time."
Tony could only hope that Hiku and his people were notified to stay inside of the training room until Ross leaves. Snow demons aren't exactly something the government should know about, not when they're already close to extinct and will need help reestablishing themselves on a different world.
"That doesn't answer my question," Ross growled and Tony sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat.
"Well, you didn't exactly ask one," he pointed out, much to the army man's annoyance. Tony didn't need to look over his shoulder to know Rhodey was biting back a smile. "As for the phenomenon that hit our planet, you also weren't exactly specific. Two happened in rather quick succession. I admit that the cold one had been rather ... traumatic and I understand the government's need to explain to the people why and how it had happened and that they are overall safe-" The way Ross twitched told Tony exactly what he had thought: this hadn't even occurred to the bastards. Not that he'd expected much better. If they could, they would write it off as a result of overpopulating the planet or some other shit, possibly blame it on the effects of global warming, while keeping the truth to themselves, especially if they could get their hands on the actual source of power. They were predictable that way, all the people in any position of power. "But that has been dealt with, the snow and the damage it had caused are gone. As for the other one, we have even less of an explanation for that one."
"It's never been seen or heard of before," Carol pipped in, drawing attention to how ... ominously she was petting Goose. Very cliche villain-like. "I've visited thousands of planets, sir. Mass healing on this scale is unheard of."
"No texts that we're in possession of suggest any explanations, either," Stephen confirmed, sounding far too casual.
"Besides, it's not like the second phenomenon was bad for Earth or humanity," Rhodey pointed out, sounding blase. "Haven't we been trying to find cures for cancer, HIV and dozens of other illnesses? Whatever the hell happened just saved millions of lives. If anything, we should be grateful for such a miracle."
Tony winced. 'Bad move there, buddy.'
"And how exactly, Colonel Rhodes, can we be sure that this 'miracle' will last and won't just be reversed in the deadliest way possible? How can we be sure this isn't some warmongering space monster's attempt to lure us into a false sense of security so it can strike us down while we're vulnerable?" Ross dished out paranoid question after question that, honestly, Tony would usually be the first one asking where magic was concerned if his soul wasn't bound to a literal real life fucking dragon and to a very real, very powerful sorcerer.
"As long as magic exists," Strange cut in before anymore paranoia could be thrown their way. "What happened a few days ago will be permanent. The people and the injuries healed won't revert back to their previous state." Then, because Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange was Anthony Edward Stark's perfect and most compatible soul match, the man continued. "Trust me, I'm a doctor." And he fucking winked.
Hope actually looked close to cracking up at that.
Tony just rolled his eyes.
"As you can see," the Wasp said when she got herself under control and saw that Ross looked ready to pop a blood vessel. "There is nothing to concern yourself with here, General. Director Fury and Agent Ross have been diligently updating all concerned parties in Avengers business and the Avengers themselves have been sending our reports-" More like Tony, Vision, Rhodey, Hope and FRIDAY had been doing it for everyone who wasn't (Rogers, Maximoff, occasionally Wilson, more often than not Barton) or simply didn't know how (Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Nebula, Peter) in order to keep the paper pushers off of their backs. Pepper and Happy helped when they weren't swamped with SI work and meetings. Even Ross and Hill falsified the reports just to keep the Avengers running in the wake of the Snap and the whole Thanos situation. It was easier than trying to convince Rogers that he had to defer to someone other than himself. That was just a lost cause and a pure waste of precious time, brain power and nerves. "Regularly. You could have found all of your answers there instead of wasting your valuable time by coming out here."
Which was her basically chiding him for not reading the damned reports in a very subtle way. It didn't escape anyone's notice.
Ross just looked pissed.
"Is there anything else you needed, Mr Ross?" Tony oh so innocently asked and watched the vein in Ross' temple budge, looking ready to pop any second.
"I know you're hiding something, Stark." It's been a while since someone spat out his name like that. St least they were finally dropping their false polite acts and getting to the real deal. Tony felt the second his press smile slid right off his face to leave behind the man who had blown his way out of a terrorist camp to freedom in a masterpiece of technology that was unmatched to this day (not Mark I but Iron Man armor in general). "And you know I'm going to find out. And when I do, you and your group of circus freaks will finally be out in your proper place, where you belong."
The smile stretched on his lips was sharper than a diamond drill. "Will that be all, Mr Ross?"
The man was seething as the other Ross escorted him out of the room and then the compound. Elsa came running into the room as soon as it was safe, her crystal-like eyes immediately scanning Tony for any possible harm despite having watched the entire thing on the live security feed. Tony still found it very strange to see a little girl when he was used to a dragon. He missed her dragon form. It was beautiful and a masterpiece of creation, as far as he was concerned.
"Was it really necessary to aggravate the man, Stark?" Rogers, who'd followed after Elsa with everyone else and was still rubbing his ear from Valkyrie's rough handling, admonished when he walked into the room.
Tony rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't been an utter idiot and hadn't blabbed to the media about there being 'someone' responsible for all of this, we wouldn't even be having this problem right now, Craptain Rogers. And yes, it was very necessary. What do you think was the first thing I did for SHIELD, back in 2009?"
"I dread to ask," came the dry reply but, surprisingly, Fury indulged Tony with a response, possibly because Rogers' had pissed him off with the amount of work he had dropped in the man's lap with his idiocy on camera.
"Stark is perfectly capable and absolutely the most suitable person to deal with Ross. When we wanted him off of Banner's case, we sent in Stark to get him to back off. As you can see, it worked." Well, for the most part, but that's because Ross had been going out of his way to hunt the Avengers and that was while they were heroes. Tony had also been the only one suitable and capable of dealing with Ross when the world demanded the rouges' heads and the only reason he had taken up the call was because he knew something big was coming and that the world would need all the firepower they had. It simply hadn't been the time to let the backstabbers get what they deserved. "That aside, we need to make plans. It's obvious that our schedule's just been screwed and that we'll have to pick up the pace a bit. Any bright ideas going around?"
"I'll take Tony and Elsa for training so they can get proper control of their powers," Stephen immediately said and Tony grimaced at the thought of magic training but didn't object. Elsa needed her instinctual control back and he needed to get used to having magic. "Wong is on standby for Kamar-Taj and magic related problems. Any immediate issues can be dealt with by Loki."
"Valkyrie and I will prepare the Asgardians for war," Thor offered next, already preparing to take himself and said warrior back to New Asgard to do so. "Earth is our home now, too. Even if this upcoming battle wasn't important for existence itself, we would fight on your side."
"In other words, when the time is right, we'll be ready," Valkyrie confirmed, for once sounding completely sober.
"Should I get word out that Earth is the current temporary housing of the last dragon and its summoner?" Loki mused, green eyes trained on Tony and Stephen. "The knowledge that the last dragon is in trouble will have magic users from all over the multiverse arriving at our doorstep to offer their aid."
"That comes with the risk of the coming of those who would wish to harness my powers for themselves, I fear," Elsa countered, discouraging the idea. "A dragon is precious. The last dragon will be more than. They may fight the Emirikul for us but they will turn on us the second the threat is neutralized."
"Right. Keeping it on the down low, then." Carol nodded, handing Goose over to Fury as she let herself light up with her powers. "I'll get the Guardians of the Galaxy. For them, at least, we can spare some trust. They'll be a good asset in this fight."
"I'll contact King T'Challa and we'll ask Wakanda for help," Everett said as he walked back into the room, sounding exhausted and looking like he was battling a raging headache. "Sorry about that, Mr Stark. I had no choice in bringing him here."
"Perfectly understandable," Tony assured. "And yeah, we'll need all the firepower we can get. Kitty cat and his badass Dora Milaje will be a great addition to this fight, especially as magic itself is in danger and these fuckers have a way to neutralize it."
"Me and my brothers in arms offer our aid, Starborn," Hiku vowed as he and said snow demon warriors joined their little consortium. "We owe you a debt that cannot be repaid but we shall try."
Rhodey turned to Tony and nodded towards the waiting Sorcerer Supreme. "You go ahead and leave all of the planning to us. You've got your own problems to solve."
Tony nodded and took the hand of one of his soulmates while walking over towards the other. "Ready?" Stephen asked even as he took out his sling ring and started casting for a portal.
"As ready as I'll ever be, Doc."
