How's it going guys! Here is the next installment!
Disclaimer in chapter one. I don't own Doctor Who or Guardians of Gahoole.
Bruce Banner was used to strange happenings. Hell he himself could turn into a ten-foot indestructible green monster. However usually people were the strange ones, animals usually went about their business. It became clear to him after almost three hours of being essentially stalked by an owl that 'usual' was not going to apply today.
The second he made it back to his temporary house the huge grey owl flew in the window and landed on the back of his only kitchen chair. Bruce and the owl stared at each other for several long seconds before the owl hooted at him and held up his leg. Bruce looked to the leg and saw that there was a small draw string pouch attached to it. Bruce looked back up at the owl with wide eyes, the owl chuffed and shook its leg insistently.
Bruce approached the animal cautiously and untied the bag from its foot. The second the bag was free of his leg the owl took off and left the house, "Well okay then." Bruce sighed as he sat down on the now owl free chair. He opened the bag cautiously and, when the bag didn't immediately explode or emit a toxic gas, he slid the contents free of the bag. "Impossible." He muttered as a roll of parchment, a rather large bag labeled owl treats, a leather bracelet, and what appeared to be tiny bits of what looked like armor slid out of the bag. He looked inside the bag, his eyes boggled and his mind raced when he saw all the space within the bag that could fit easily inside his pocket. He put the bag aside gingerly, promising himself he'd figure it out later, and reached for the parchment.
He carefully unrolled the outdated material and read the message it contained.
Hello Bruce,
You more than likely have a lot of questions right now but most of those are better answered in person. That won't happen until you're ready for it.
Let's start off with the simplest one. My name is Harriet, most call me Harri, and I am a friend. I don't want anything other than you being happy, healthy, and safe but I know it will take you time to believe that. Because that will take time I have begun with a few simple things which are included with this letter.
First, the owl (a great grey owl to be more specific) that brought you this is yours now. He more than likely left as soon as you took the bag but he will be back, he's just off hunting. He doesn't have a name yet so you'll have to give him one. He has been trained to recognize both you and you're alter ego as his owners. He can also carry messages to me if you wish to communicate, he will always be able to find you again.
Secondly, the bag of owl treats is for the owl. He will be able to hunt for himself however sometimes he likes a treat if he's done a good job delivering something or the like.
Thirdly, the armor pieces are also for the owl. I know you are likely worried about the owl meeting the Hulk but the armor will enhance him to be fast enough to evade most anything, strong enough to be touched by the Hulk without injury, and the slightest bit bullet proof because I knew what kind of situations you can get into. They will also return to the bag, which the owl knows to carry, if you have left them behind somewhere. He can wear the armor for up to a week at a time but after that he will need at least two hours to be out of it.
Finally, there is the bracelet. Please put it on. It will tell me if you are healthy and that will put me a bit at ease. It will grow with your transformation so don't worry about it breaking. Also, if you ever feel comfortable enough to call me or need my help for anything you can press the phoenix symbol in the center for several seconds and I will be there as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Harriet R. Potter
Bruce let the parchment fall to the table as he looked over the contents of the bag. He wasn't sure what to think, it would be nice if all this was true and he had someone who actually cared but he'd never had the best of luck with this sort of thing. He didn't want to be tricked into anything again.
Before he could spiral too far down into his thoughts the owl came swooping back in and landed in front of Bruce who drew back quickly in shock. The owl ruffled his feathers and hooted at the scientist, Bruce reached out tentatively to brush the owls storm grey plumage and watched in shock as the owl cooed under the petting. "So I guess you need a name huh?" The owl bobbed his head in agreement and Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Smart guy aren't you?" The owl puffed his chest out and Bruce chuckled, "Hmm, how about Rutherford?" The owl looked to consider that then blinked at Bruce, "No then. How about Villard?" The owl hooted, "You like that? Villard?" The owl hooted again and Bruce smiled as he stroked the grey feathers. "That's your name then." He opened the bag of owl treats and allowed Villard to eat from his palm.
He looked at the bracelet on the table, sitting in companionable silence with Villard. It was thin black leather that came together with a brass clasp on each end, in the center was a blue phoenix with its wings spread and its head turned to the side. Hesitantly he took it and brushed his fingers along the blue bird, it shimmered slightly. Villard chuffed lightly and butted Bruce's hand, "Do you know her?" He asked, feeling a bit crazier than usual talking to the owl. Villard bobbed his head and made a chattering noise, "Is she really a friend?" He asked, Villard bobbed again and Bruce sighed. "It's not like it can kill me." He muttered, he snapped it in place and watched as the blue phoenix glowed before going back to normal. "Well then. This should be interesting."
Across the ocean in a SHEILD base Clint Barton was enjoying time in his main nest. It was up at the very top of the main security tower in the space between where the sensors were mounted, he had padded the small space with blankets and had even dragged a stash of snacks up there. Here he could watch the entire grounds and be alone; not that he wanted to be alone, but Natasha and Phil were both out on missions and they were the only ones he really wanted to hang with. Currently he was watching the compound for the pizza to arrive, it was pizza night and the new recruits should be arriving with it at any time.
A soft kree sound came from behind him and brought him from his thoughts. He turned around and his mouth dropped open when he took in the sight of the large red tail hawk sitting on the edge of his nest. "Hello there beautiful." He breathed, sure being up so high he often saw birds and loved to watch them but none ever came over to him. Not wanting to scare the hawk he kept perfectly still, just taking in the gorgeous creature. He was so focused on just watching that he fell back with an embarrassing squeak when the hawk hopped forward. Just as he sat up he felt a weight on his knee and looked up to see the hawk perching there, looking at him curiously.
All Clint could do was stare in amazement at the winged hunter; he loved hawks, it was one of the reasons he had chosen his name as Hawkeye, but he never thought he would get to see one this close. His eyes dropped a bit nervously to the hawk's dangerous talons were he noticed two things; one, the hawk was deliberately being careful not to sink its claws deep into his knee and two, there was a small draw string bag tied to one leg. The hawk lifted the leg with the bag and shook it at him, Clint cautiously untied the bag and examined it for potential danger. He relaxed a bit when the hawk pecked at the bag insistently, carefully he opened the bag and dumped out the contents in the nest next to him.
His eyebrows rose when much more than the bag should have been able to hold fell out, he looked into the bag curiously and snickered, "Its bigger on the inside." He looked back to the contents and took quick stock, there were four pieces of metal that looked to be tiny bits of armor, a group of three silver rings fused together, a small cage with three mice in it, a small leather bracelet with a silver clasp, and a roll of what looked like parchment. The hawk glided from Clint's knee over to the cate and began trying to pry the door off, it looked over to Clint and gave him a sharp kree. "I guess they're for you huh?" He asked, slightly amused. He leaned over and opened the door, immediately the hawk grabbed the three mice and flew to the far end of the nest to eat.
Clint took the parchment and carefully unrolled it, his eyebrow rose at the elegant scrawl and he began to read.
Hello Clint,
You more than likely have a lot of questions right now but most of those are better answered in person. That won't happen until you're ready for it.
Let's start off with the simplest one. My name is Harriet, most call me Harri, and I am a friend. I don't want anything other than you being happy, healthy, and safe but I know it will take you time to believe that. Because that will take time I have begun with a few simple things which are included with this letter.
First and foremost, Clint, the hawk who delivered this to you is now yours.
Clint stopped reading right there and looked over to the beautiful bird who was just finishing its third mouse, "You're mine?" The hawk looked to him with piercing yellow eyes before bobbing its head and coming a bit closer, ruffling its feathers a bit. Clint reached out a hesitant hand toward the hawk and it came forward immediately to rub its head against his hand, he stared stroking its chest feathers gently and it let out a small pleased sound, Clint went back to reading.
First and foremost, Clint, the hawk who delivered this to you is now yours. She has been trained to recognize you as her owner. She will also need a name. She knows several basic commands such as attack, retrieve, and retreat but she can also be used to communicate, she will take missives to and from places and always find you wherever you go.
Secondly, the mice are for the hawk. She is a bit impatient when it comes to food so you have more than likely already given them to her. Those were just so you had time to introduce her to the base so they wouldn't hurt her, she will hunt on her own most of the time though she fond of sausage and bacon.
Thirdly, the armor. That is also for the hawk. I know you are often in dangerous situations so I made these for her so she could go with you. The helmet will protect her from bullets, pretty much anything other than a missile. The circle piece goes around her neck and will enhance her speed and maneuverability. Finally, the battle claws, in addition to being razor sharp, they will enhance her strength so she will be able to carry extremely heavy loads. Also, keep the bag with you, if you ever have to leave the armor behind for some reason, it will return to the bag. The hawk will be able to wear the pieces for up to a week at a time but after that she will need at least two hours without them on.
Next is the three fused rings. Put this down in your quiver and put an arrow in each circle, it will copy that arrow so it will never run out. Turn it over to key in new arrows.
Finally, there is the bracelet. Please put it on. It will tell me if you healthy and that will put me a little at ease. It will also give you a degree of protection from the elements. Also if you are ever pinned down and can't get back-up to you in time you can call me by pressing the phoenix on the front of the band for several seconds. I will be there as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Harriet R. Potter
P.S. Feel free to look me up. You would have done it anyway but I feel better giving you permission. Yes, that's really me. No, I don't need saved, the people you see are already being taken care of.
Clint's eyebrows rose even higher. Whoever this girl was, she knew who he was and what he did. She expected him to check her out and gave him free reign to do so, though he did wonder what he could see in her file that would make him want to rescue her. He promised himself he would look her up as soon as he got to the more important things from the letter.
He looked to the hawk again, "Guess this makes us partners." The hawk bobbed her head, "So you need a name. Something kick ass and something that will suit a gorgeous lady such as yourself." The hawk drew herself up proudly, Clint thought for a minute, "Hmm, how about Artemis? She is the Greek Goddess of Archery and the Hunt." The hawk bobbed her head again and Clint laughed, "Awesome! You're Artemis then!"
"Now for the toys." Clint said rubbing his hands together. He inspected each of the pieces of armor and the three fused rings but he couldn't find anything on them expect for small lines of squares doodles. He placed the fused rings on the flattest part of his nest and pulled out a simple arrow. He placed the arrow head in the center of one ring, the ring glowed briefly before going back to normal. Thinking he'd done something wrong he frowned and pulled the arrow back, he yelped when another arrow appeared in the ring and immediately fell out without support, which created another arrow. Clint scrambled to catch the arrows but the number kept growing, he reached down blindly and flipped the rings. He sighed in relief as they stopped duplicating, "Well I guess it works." He inspected some of the arrows and were delighted to see they were all exact replicas with perfect balance and razor sharp heads. "Sweet." He quickly gathered the arrows up and placed them strategically around his nest for extra ammo before placing the rings down in his quiver and keying in one of his normal arrows, his exploding arrows, and his split arrows that would split in two seconds after he shot.
Next he picked up Artemis' claws, true to Harriet's word they were razor sharp. Clint looked to Artemis, "You'll really wear this stuff?" Artemis walked forward awkwardly and lifted a claw toward him, he carefully put the battle claw on her and she accepted the change with no problem. He did the same with the other claw and then added the necklace and helmet when the pushy hawk butted at his hand with her head insistently. Artemis drew herself up proudly when the final piece was on and clacked her beak at him, "Yes, you look awesome." Clint chuckled, he glanced back at the parchment, "How strong do those claws make you?" he wondered.
Artemis flew at him, knocking him backward, clutched the front of his uniform, and with a single wingbeat drew him into the air with her. Clint squawked in surprise before laughing excitedly when he realized he was being held up completely by Artemis and she didn't seem to be having any trouble with the weight. "Awesome!" Artemis kreed in agreement and set him back down carefully. Clint sat up immediately and grinned at the bird, "We are so using that!" the hawk bobbed her head at him.
Artemis picked up the bracelet and hopped over to him, she dropped it in his lap. Clint frowned at the bracelet, he picked it up reluctantly and brushed his thumb over the blue phoenix, it shimmered slightly. Clint looked to Artemis, "Is she really worried about me?" Artemis nodded, "But she doesn't even know me!" Artemis pecked his hand, "Ow! Fine." He put the bracelet on and watched as the phoenix glowed before going back to normal, "Well I guess someone who wanted me harmed wouldn't give me unlimited ammo." He muttered, the sound of car doors drew his attention back down to the compound. He saw the newbies getting out of a standard black car carrying large stacks of pizzas. A devilish grin appeared on his face and he looked to his new partner, "Artemis, retrieve me a pizza please!" the hawk took off in a single wing beat and screeched as she dived toward the tallest pizza stack. Clint cackled when the newbies' screams reached his ears.
Tony Stark sat staring at the new element he had just synthesized that held the power to save him. He was happy of course but he was a bit suspicious of how he reached this point.
They had been running simulations of every know element over and over for weeks and found nothing. Then all of a sudden Jarvis had his father's old Stark Expo model delivered to the house, when asked Jarvis had said that he had found new information in his system that pointed to this having the answer. Sure enough, after he had played with the image it had revealed an element that would work to keep his reactor running without poisoning him, funnily enough it was the same material that had been used to make Captain America's shield. Since the only known bits of the element that occurred naturally were lost Tony had to synthesize it, which he had, in record time.
Tony still didn't know where Jarvis had gotten the information and the pesky A.I. wasn't sharing willingly. Since it hadn't caused harm Tony let it go at the time, but things had started getting weirder. While he had been setting up the partical accelerator he had noticed Jarvis running the laser engraver. He hadn't said anything about it but he saw pieces of his suit and several of his watches under the treatment. When he looked at the pieces later he what looked to be ancient writing etched into his suit and watches, again on his watches it wasn't noticeable and on his suit he thought it looked kind of cool so he let it be.
Today though, was the last straw. This morning he'd come down, ready to start the process of making the vibrianium he'd needed, and found Dum-E, Butterfingers, and U absolutely covered in blue paint. It wasn't an actual paint job, which he wouldn't have been too mad about, no they had taken buckets of wall paint and poured them over each other. He had to take out the power washer to get all the paint off and when they were clean again the three pouted. When he had asked Jarvis why they suddenly felt like they wanted a color change he told him that a friend had showed them what they would look like in blue. That had set him off because, he loved his bots but, the only friends they currently had were each other and they bad never had a problem with black and chrome before.
Then, the second the new core was finished Jarvis had rushed through a diagnostic that he knew usually would have taken two hours, hours Jarvis normally would have taken to ensure Tony hadn't skipped over anything himself. Tony had made him run it twice more before he even considered putting it in. Now he was just staring at the core.
"Sir, the faster you change cores the less of the symptoms you'll have to endure." Came Jarvis's voice overhead.
Tony looked toward the nearest camera with a raised eyebrow, "J what has gotten into you lately? You've never been happy about me being reckless and now your rushing me to shove this thing in my chest! And don't think I missed your funky drawings all over the place! What are they for?"
"Protection." Jarvis stated shortly.
"Yeah, see buddy it doesn't work like that. They're just drawings." He eyed the line of the lines that surrounded his new core, "Where did they even come from?"
"They appear to be a mix of Scandinavian, Dalecarlian, and Germanic based runes." Jarvis replied.
"I didn't mean it like that smart ass. I mean where did you get the idea to put, what did you call them? Runes? On my suit, watches, and core." Tony snapped.
"A friend."
Tony dropped his head to his desk, "Is this the same friend who gave the bots the idea to paint themselves?"
"Yes."
"Have you been on some dating website then?" Tony joked, "Because the only way you four could have made a friend like that would be over the internet."
"We did not meet her on the internet." Jarvis said.
Tony's eyebrows rose, "So it's a her? Are you in love then?"
"No, she is just a friend." Jarvis said.
Tony grinned, "I think not! Why would you be hiding her from me then?"
"She is just a friend." Jarvis repeated in monotone.
Tony rolled his eyes, "Fine, but I'll get it out of you eventually." He promised.
"Eventually." Jarvis acknowledged, "Now please sir, the new core is ready to be put in."
Villard the Owl gets his name from Paul Villard, a French Physicist who originally discovered Gamma Radiation(discovered but didn't name, that was Ernest Rutherford).
Doctor Who reference! Yay!
Also the bird armors are from Guardians of Gahoole. I love love love that movie and the books are great as well. I just couldn't pass up having some bad ass owl and hawk armor.
I was also thinking about when everyone finally meets up. Tony will more than likely be SUPER jealous that Harri didn't get him a bird as well and just talked to his bots. So, what should Harri get him? A bird just doesn't seem like Tony but I'm not set on anything in particular. Thoughts? I haven't written that part yet so its still wide open.