Helloo! Finally got all the editing done and hope you enjoy :)

Shout outs!:

CHSHiccstrid

Yay! Makes me so happy to hear, it's been a tricky time, especially with the Iron Man movies themselves to still have Tony be Tony just not quite so bad with the negatives, like his self-destructive habits. One day maybe. Thanks :)

SmolAvidReader

We are. Strange definitely is, it will be an interesting time when he get introduced to the Archipelago. Definitely needs therapy and it's only going ot get worse for the poor guy. Sorry, he does know about it just nothing much has changed with it yet so I didn't really mention it. It is still a part of the story.

Journal 2, Entry 27: "Iron Man Pt.2"

Hiccup stepped through Yggdrasil and onto Asgard with Toothless by his side, shifting their appearances to Sigyn and Jarlberg the second they entered. They easily navigated the forest to the grand palace and entered through Frigga's garden where the queen herself was meeting with a few servants. She waited at the edge of the gardens until Frigga spotted her and dismissed them.

Frigga hugged her and greeted her warmly. "Sigyn, I must confess that I did not expect you on Asgard during this time. I regret to inform you that Loki is off-realm at the moment. Thor was about to go stir crazy with the coronation so close, so he drug his friends and brother off on a hunt."

Sigyn's shoulders fell. "Oh, that's a shame."

Frigga smiled softly and started walking away but kept a firm hand around Sigyn's shoulder. "What brings you here, my dear?"

Sigyn chuckled breathily. "My family threatened to… stuff me in a sack and toss me over. Things have been a bit stressful at home."

Frigga's face fell and she nodded. "Let's continue these discussions in my chambers where privacy is to be had."

Sigyn hummed in grateful agreement and they walked silently until they entered the lavish rooms.

Frigga closed the door firmly and locked it before returning to the lounge where Sigyn had shifted back to Hiccup and Toothless was sniffing the platter of fruits and snacks, huffing in disappointment when no fish was to be found. He plopped down on a pile of cushions and glared at the platter.

Hiccup snorted with his lips curling upwards. "Oh yeah, go ahead and pout you big baby boo."

Toothless snorted indignantly before trotting over to Frigga and glaring at his rider. Frigga laughed and stroked his head. "So what is wrong on Midgard that made you seek solace here?"

Hiccup looked down, cheeks a bit red. "Tony almost died. I, we, the Archipelago could have gone in and rescued him a month sooner but he didn't want us to—didn't want us to risk it. And because we didn't, a man who'd been held captive with Tony died and he nearly died in the escape. He's also struggling with the ordeal. I mean, I went through similar experiences far too often from the time I was a teenager but…I'd grown up in war. Far more than Tony, and it just kind of was what it was. I don't know how to help him with it, not really. Oh, and let's not forget that he's got a permanent magnet in his chest to keep shrapnel out of his heart because of the kidnapping."

Frigga frowned and sat next to him. "Mh, Loki mentioned something about that. And that is true but there was a time—for quite a while—that you didn't know how to deal with it. As I recall, you still admit to having some gaps in that memory to this day, a millennia later."

Hiccup grunted and looked away. "Yeah, I guess."

Frigga grasped her hand. "Listen to me. You out of anyone can relate to him. Just see if he is willing to talk to you, then maybe share some things that helped you handle your experience."

Hiccup sighed, eyes distant, and remained silent for a long moment. "I suppose. I just. I feel like I should be doing more to help him. I've already talked to Agnutt about sessions…But I hate to have them myself. I can only hope Tony actually calls them up and doesn't just ignore it like usual."

Frigga nodded and pulled Hiccup into an embrace. "You always will find ways to help, and I'm sure you know that. But remember that Loki has felt that way for many a year. It nearly drove him mad when you chose to remain with that Hydra group instead of returning to your people for fear of risking them. Tony made a similar choice. All I can recommend about that is to give your empathy and ear. It did help you no matter how much you like to deny it."

Hiccup glared at her before smiling sadly. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, I needed someone to spew at…and I think I owe Loki an apology. Astrid too probably."

Frigga laughed lightly. "My pleasure. However, I know my son would only accept that apology only if you swore up and down to the Norns that you would never do it again." Hiccup chuckled but it tapered off as he looked away. "Now, that that is out of the way; how are you progressing with your magic? Loki mentioned he taught you some new healing spells?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, it was more like properly applying it. I had the spell down, just not the right focus when using it…Ivana laughed at me for it." He shook his head in fond memory. Loki had also looked a bit miffed when Ivana had told him how to better apply the spell.

Frigga smiled brightly. "She is an excellent student. If she lived on Asgard, Eir would demand her as an apprentice."

Hiccup grinned proudly. "I'll make sure to tell her that. She'll be thrilled."

They chatted for a few more hours about little things like Frigga instructing him a little bit with his Æsir. Eventually, the time arrived for him and Toothless to leave, once again disguised. They shifted back to themselves as they stepped upon Yggdrasil and landed back at what people nowadays called Stonehenge. That had been annoying, the mass of rock steadily becoming an increasingly popular tourist spot. It had forced them—specifically him—to come up with a rune system and spell work to hide the coming and going from prying eyes. It was also a blessing in disguise to keep Hydra from poking at that branch too much, it was far too public for their tastes.

He jumped over to New Berk and was met by Nuffink who looked both grim and amused. He sighed pat Toothless' head before walking over to his son. "What happened? Is it Tony or the Archipelago?"

Nuffink laughed and walked back to the village with his father. "Tony. He decided to recreate the metal death suit that he used to escape and returned to Afghanistan where he proceeded to blow a band of the Ten Rings to Helheim."

Hiccup snorted as he tried to suppress a laugh. "Really can't blame him on that one."

Nuffink chuckled. "Guess not. Oh, Folke called. He needs to officially debrief Tony but he wants you to instead. They have a date set."

Hiccup nodded. "I'll be there."

They had just entered the village when an explosion rang across the air. Both men sighed and continued until they had a clear view of the R&D building where a grey plume rose out of a shattered window.

Fire Squads were already at the scene despite the indoor deterrent that was already working. He crossed his arms as the necessary labs were evacuated, eyebrow raised. "Which one was it this time?"

Nuffink hummed as he studied the scene. "Well, given the smoke coloration and the burn marks of the vísindamaður, I'd say they were testing some mixture of Zippleback gas and Nightmare gel…or possibly Cavercrasher mucous."

Hiccup nodded. "I'm curious to see what it is they're trying to do." They turned away after seeing it was being taken care of. "Well, Ivana's going to be busy all evening. Are you and Zephyr still planning on coming over for dinner?"

Nuffink beamed. "And miss your sweet cakes? You must be mad! Though, we should probably make Ivana a Terror bag. She'll be ticked if she misses all of dinner."

Hakon sat with Phil at SI's main building, waiting to be called up for the meeting. Actually, they weren't here for the meeting, as they just learned. They were here waiting for Pepper to take them to the house because Tony had gotten locked out of SI, a recently learned fact that neither man was happy to hear about. But still, they sat in the lobby waiting for further directions though Hakon was heavily tempted just to leave and drive out to Tony's home.

Pepper's heels lightly clacked down the stairs. She held her head high and rigid with an air of pompous professionality, though a bit wide eyed. She wanted to sigh in relief upon seeing the government agent since she'd gotten caught snooping on Obadiah's computer, even if it was on her boss' orders. With what she found, Obadiah wouldn't care one bit about that fact.

Phil leaned forward, narrowing in on her odd posture and asked, "Miss Potts, we had an appointment? Did you forget about our appointment?"

Pepper shook her head and said tersely, never once breaking step. "Nope, right now. Come with me. We're going to do it right now. Let's go, walk with me." Her voice was tight and forcibly even, belaying her fear.

Hakon was on his feet with Tor looking back and growling quietly. He looked over his shoulder as well and spotted Obadiah Stane, Tony's business partner, glaring at Pepper and he couldn't help but return the feeling. Obadiah caught him staring as he walked out the doors and smirked. Hakon sneered in return—barely listening to what Pepper was saying.

They exited the building and Hakon thrust his hand out to Phil. "Give me your car keys."

Phil hesitated in surprise while Pepper stared at him, digging both her keys and phone out of her purse, starting to say, "Hakon, we need to get-"

"I need to get to Tony." Hakon interrupted. "I've seen that look before and I need to get to Tony before Obadiah does. He's probably already out the back door and gunning it to Tony's place as we speak."

Phil frowned and pulled out his keys, marching towards his car. "Well I can't let you go alone if that's the case."

Pepper gripped her purse tightly and looked back at the building as if waiting for the trigger to be pulled. Hakon shook his head and Phil cried out in surprise and indignation as Tor stole his keys. "No, go with Pepper, she needs protection too. I can take care of Tony."

"Hakon, I can't-" Phil started to protest.

Hakon sighed and opened the back door for Tor. "Do you really expect Tor to let anything happen to me?"

Phil grunted and finally opened the passenger door to Pepper's car. "Fine, but I'm not taking the heat from Fury. That's all on you to explain."

Hakon gave him a thumbs up through the window and drove off. He weaved through traffic, taking several side streets and shortcuts to hopefully reach Tony before Stane could. As he drove towards the rapidly setting sun, he called Tony. It only rang twice before Tony picked it up.

:Hey uncle H. Uh, sorry about the meeting. Obadiah locked me out and I forgot to tell either of you…I was, am a bit mad. You guys coming here?:

Hakon sighed and tried to answer evenly. "Tony, you gotta get out of there. Get into that suit of yours and meet me somewhere."

Tony made a sound of confusion before responding. :Wh-what, why? Uncle H, what's wrong? Did Obi catch Pepper!?:

Hakon could hear Tony running through his house, ordering JARVIS about. "No, well, sort of. She's okay and with Phil but he knows Tony. You gotta get out—he looked like Schmidt asking me about the Tesseract."

Tony grunted in understanding and was silent for a moment then growled. :I can't, the suit's still getting repaired—it's got about thirty minutes left.:

Hakon snarled and pressed down on the gas pedal a little harder now that he was on a temporarily open highway. "What about your cars?"

:Not a good idea, they all have trackers in them that Obi can activate.:

Hakon groaned and could only ask, "Why?"

He could feel Tony's glare through the communicator. :Besides me being the head of SI and Obi obsessing over all my designs—which now makes much more sense than him just being a curious business partner. Gah, I feel like an idiot! I had them put in after your almost kidnapping.:

Hakon sighed. "Thanks, I feel loved."

:You're welcome.: Tony chirped. :Anyway…I'll have JARVIS lock down the house until you get here. You're, what, twenty minutes out?:

"Fifteen." Hakon corrected, checking the built-in GPS. "So long as traffic holds out."

:See you in a few then.: Hakon could hearTony ordering JARVIS to lock down the house before the connection ended.

Tor whined in the backseat and placed his head on the center console, nose touching Hakon's elbow. Hakon glanced down at him and quickly rubbed his ear before gripping the steering wheel again. "Sorry bud, I don't like these speeds either."

They arrived at Tony's home in thirteen minutes and thankfully there were no other cars on the drive. Both he and Tor jumped out of SHIELD's car and ran up to the house. He pounded on the door and shouted, "JARVIS! It's Hakon, open up please."

Tor barked and glared at Hakon to which he sighed. "And Tor, too." The door clicked and Tor jumped up with his two front paws and shoved the door open, running in with echolocating barks.

There was a racket from the kitchen and Hakon ran around the corner to see Tony running out with a red gauntlet faintly glowing on his hand. Upon seeing Hakon, Tony sighed, shoulder sagging in relief. "Oh, thank Thor."

Tor ran up from the lab and skidded on the tile before wiggling around his legs and panting happily. Hakon raised an eyebrow, briefly staring at part of the rebuilt suit—a flare of brief curiosity rising on how well his suit worked in comparison to the ones of the Archipelago—before meeting Tony's eyes. "The kitchen?"

Tony shrugged, the gauntlet whirring as his hand clenched. "It's the last place Obi would ever look for me…I doubt if he would ever look there."

Hakon nodded. "Fair enough…Your cooking rivals Astrid's."

Tony started shrugging off the gauntlet and waved for Hakon to follow him down to the lab. "I want to finish programming the suit so JARVIS can control it then send it to me—it just needs a few more keystrokes."

Hakon's nose wrinkled. He didn't want to stay here for a moment longer until Obadiah had been dealt with but he nodded. "Let's make it quick then."

Tony grinned and started to run down to the lab, stopping when Hakon asked as he trailed behind him, "Is your Go Bag still ready?"

Tony sniffed but grinned. "Of course." He paused in thought before smirking at Hakon. "You know, I never thought that would actually be useful. I was wrong, apparently."

Hakon rolled his eyes and turned to Tor with a look and silent question through the bond. He yipped and ran off up the stairs without having to be truly asked then Hakon continued to follow Tony down.

Tony's fingers flew over the digital keyboard, locking in the coding and returning the gauntlet to the mostly repaired suit. He turned to Hakon and grinned, then snatched a thermos off the countertop. They trekked back upstairs but Tor didn't greet them, most likely dumping the bag out by the car. Smart and kind dog that he was.

Tony held up a finger and ran over to the couch. "Just a sec, I dropped my phone on the couch after you called…Pepper will kill me if I continue to miss her calls."

Hakon laughed in understanding but it tapered off instantly as fury came through the Familiar bond. His head snapped around to the front door—which was now closed…with a mop shaft through the handles. "Tony!" Tony grunted in answer and Hakon was torn between running to Tony and unlocking the door. "JARVIS loc-"

A high-pitched ringing filled the large room and cut off his instructions. Tony stiffened and started to fall sideways until a hand guided him backwards to the couch.

Hakon pressed his hands over his ears and stumbled with the sound, muscles spasming and slowly seizing the longer he was subjected to the ringing. He sunk to the ground as his legs fully gave out and glared at the man standing over Tony but watching him warily, holding a device glowing with a soft red.

Tony's breath hitched a few times and his eyes burned with the hatred that his face was incapable of expressing as he watched Obadiah come around the couch and closer to Hakon, watching him closely as he finally fell limply against the ground. He held out the rejected paralyzing device for several unbearable seconds longer before finally snapping it shut. Tony wanted to pass out in sheer relief that the sound was silence but his limbs remained useless and still, forcing him to only watch.

"There's no need to ask JARVIS for anything. I disabled him before I came in." Obadiah turned and calmly approached him with an easy smile, holding up the silver device and taking out the specialized earplugs. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve of it. There's so many applications for short term paralysis."

For who? Assassins, kidnappers, business partners that want to stab you in the back? Tony wanted to snarl out but it was unfortunately confined to his mind.

Obadiah grabbed a case from behind the couch and sat next to him, voice soft but utterly unremorseful. "You know when I, uh, ordered the hit on you—I worried that I was killing the Golden Goose."

Tony's bloodshot eyes distantly watched Obadiah fiddle with a machine and he could only guess as to what its purpose was for, that guess turning to certainty as it was fitted over his arc reactor.

"But, obviously, it was fate that you survived that." Tony inhaled involuntarily as heat seared his chest and the arc reactor was yanked loose. "You had one last golden egg to give."

Obadiah stared at the arc reactor in amazement and leaned closer to Tony. He couldn't pay attention to whatever the backstabber was saying, some mumbo jumbo about his father; his attention fully focused on the tiny twitches of movement from Hakon through the very edge of his peripheral and the increasing clamor from Tor as he repetitively slammed into the front door.

Obadiah ripped the arc reactor fully from Tony's chest and he gasped. Detached from his life support, his heart skipped a few beats with the shock of the rip. It continued to pulsate irregularly as it tried to find its perfect beat again with the hampering of the shards once more poking into its tender flash.

"It's beautiful," Obadiah said as he admired the glowing white jewel then sat next to his friend's dying child again. "Oh Tony, this is your ninth symphony. It's a masterpiece, look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart."

Though it was spoken softly, Hakon still heard it and an instinctual growl quietly rose from his throat. He trusted Tony to selfishly and safely hang on to any and all arc reactor technology but with Obadiah…he would create weapons that would rival Hydra in the Second World War. He scowled at the floor beneath him and focused on clearing his mind, forcing his magic through it and his body, but it was infuriatingly slow at clearing the paralysis.

Obadiah placed the arc reactor in the case next to the extraction device and smiled wistfully. "I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as, uh, well not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this." He looked up when he spotted Hakon twitching, recovering movement far sooner than he should have, and frowned. Come to think of it, he held out far longer than anyone ever has as well. "Or Hakon. I would have preferred both had lived. If you were the Golden Goose, he was the platinum one, even if he was reluctant to share his advancements. Such a shame for great minds to be wasted like this…"

He retrieved a thin object from the case before snapping it shut and standing, walking over to Hakon and kneeling by him. He caught Hakon's eyes roll around and scowl at him, having just barely enough strength to shove himself away an inch. Obadiah smiled sadly at him before kneeling down and rolling him onto his back, turning his head so they could easily see eye to eye. "We all know Tony will die shortly after the paralysis effects wear off, I can easily weave it as a suicide—with his PTSD and all, the masses won't question it much. And you, Hakon, well, you're old…"

His smile was twisted as he prepped a needle. "You had a heart attack and it gave out upon finding your deceased godson. Sad, simple, sweet—the end and beginning of eras."

Hakon bared his teeth and reached for his magic, like Hel he was going to let this man kill him or his godson! Reaching for his Æsir was a tad sluggish because of the phantom ringing in his ears but as soon as he managed to touch it, it leapt to life even if he physically was still hampered.

Obadiah paused and looked up before turning to look at the door in confusion, all occupants just now realizing it had fallen silent. He shrugged and focused again on Hakon. His small smile fell as Hakon smirked.

Before Obadiah could overcome his confusion, Hakon lashed out and kicked him solidly in the chest…or that's what it looked like to cover up the wave of magic that lashed out. Hakon smiled in satisfaction as Obadiah cried out in pain as he rolled, the needle sent flying and lost somewhere.

Obadiah growled and climbed to his feet, glaring at Hakon before drawing short with a baffled expression as Hakon still laid on the floor and struggled to get up. "You know, you are making this much harder than it needs to be."

Hakon's lip curled and bit out venomously. "It shouldn't have to be easy or hard, you cowardly Death Gripper."

Obadiah rolled his eyes, catching Tony's eyes twitching as he tried to fight. "You know, even after all these years, I still don't get your slang, and I'm not going to miss it either. Now, where did that needle go…?" He turned away and looked around for the misplaced container of death.

Hakon finally managed to roll over—gods, this is worse than Speed Stinger venom—and spotted something that made him grin victoriously.

Obadiah was so caught up looking for the elusive needle, still coming up with nothing, that as he growled he missed the deeper tones that were not from his own throat. Something finally reflected the overhead lights and he stepped towards it, which finally caused the fourth party to move into the light as he tense to spring.

Obadiah hit the ground with a surprised gasp just the black mass of mutt pounced on the place his chest just was. He snatched the case with the arc reactor and scrambled backwards as Tor leapt at him again. Tor clamped down on his arm, sending a spike of agony through the breaking bone—if the dog chomped much harder he would splinter it effortlessly—and causing him to shout through gritted teeth, but he kept enough presence of mind to swing the case like a club.

It smacked into Torbjörg's skull with a dull thud and startled Hakon's companion enough for him to loosen his hold which allowed Obadiah to rip his arm away, losing some flesh but it was preferable to losing the whole arm. He scrambled back and ran to the side door not far off the kitchen, just beating Tor to the door only because his nails kept causing him to slip on the tile. He slammed the door shut and ran for his car, throwing the case in and jamming the gears into place. He would just have to deal with Hakon another way and he had just the thing—it needed a test run anyway.

Tor snarled and huffed at the shut door before turning tail and running back to his other half. He nuzzled Hakon's face and whined worriedly.

Hakon sighed in relief and slung an arm around Tor's head. "Thanks, buddy. Timing's impeccable."

Tor snorted and licked his face, laying down next to him and nosing his body. It was a slow process—but not as slow as Tony's—to regain bodily function again and even then he was using Tor for balance as his equilibrium still hadn't been fully restored.

Tony gratefully accepted his hand, muscles shaking as he struggled to make himself useful. "Uncle H, you are a very spry old man full of many surprises. Get me down to my lab. Pepper saved my first arc reactor out of sentimentality…never thought I'd see the day where sentimentality saved me."

"Be thankful she did." Hakon chastised and practically carried Tony down to the lab via elevator, that he thanked Loki for even if he did not know why Tony insisted on having one. As Tony fought to regain feeling in his legs and Hakon himself still leaning heavily on Tor for balance as they stumbled out of the elevator.

Tony nodded with a small laugh. "I will never complain about it again."

"Good." Hakon said and deposited Tony by the tool cart that the arc reactor display still sat on. He picked it up and examined it, but couldn't find a release latch

Tony reached up from the floor and made grabby fingers. "Give it here."

Hakon handed him the glass box and Tony promptly smashed it into the floor. Hakon bobbed his head to the side, lips thin. "That's one way to do it."

Tony shook the glass out of the second generation arc reactor before his shoulders fell. "Uh, uncle H? I need help."

Hakon knelt by his godson. "What is it?"

Tony grimaced and set the reactor down. "When Obi yanked out the arc reactor, he jostled the magnet…also it doesn't have the copper attaching it anymore so it can't connect with the old arc reactor."

Hakon's brows scrunched in mild disgust before nodding. "Joy, I get to stick my hand in your chest."

Tony laughed dryly then grunted and tried to breathe normally which was becoming more difficult the longer his heart tried to find a proper beat without hitting shrapnel.

Hakon grimaced then stuck his hand into the metal tube in Tony's chest. He felt the magnet at his fingertips and pressed his hand a little more against the tube, grateful for his long fingers as his hand was a tad wide for the shaft. Finally, he managed to get his middle finger wrapped through the middle of the donut shaped magnet and pull it out.

He didn't hesitate before running off with a slight hobble to Tony's collection of wires. He wrapped the thin copper wire around the magnet then reached for the wire cutters, except they were missing. "Odin's beard, Tony! Can't you keep the wire cutters in the same place?"

There was a dry chuckle from Tony before his attention was stolen by a muffled yip. He looked down at Tor who sat with a wagging tail, cutters in his mouth. He smiled and scratched his chin before taking the wire cutters. "Thank you, Tor."

After that, it was a quick process of reconnecting the old arc reactor to the magnet and placing both back into Tony's chest. As soon as it was connected Tony felt the pinch in his chest lessen as well as a weight he hadn't realized settled over it lift. He sat there for several minutes, allowing his heart to return to a normal pulse and smiled gratefully at his uncle—at one of the few people who hadn't turned their back on him.

Hakon smiled back at him and settled on the floor with him, leaning his head against the tool cart, still fighting the lingering effects of that Norn forsaken paralysis machine. "You better?"

Tony nodded and leaned his head back against the cart, eyes closed. "Yeah. Thanks."

They were silent for a minute, Hakon equally exhausted but had to ask, thinking back to the faint, dark lines starting to etch out from his chest. "So…when were you planning on informing me of the palladium poisoning?"

Tony choked on a few words that never made it out before looking down at the arc reactor thrumming in his chest, cheeks and ears warm. "I, I'm not sure. It's so mild right now…I guess I wanted to have more of an answer before I told anyone."

Hakon huffed and glared at Tony. "That's a stupid reason."

Tony's lips quirked, side glancing at his uncle. "Never said it was smart."

Hakon grunted in agreement and they sat in silence for another several minutes, both breathing heavy. Tony finally sighed and looked over at Hakon. "You wanna help me figure something out after I stop this son of a troll?"

Hakon grinned, Tor lifting his head with his tongue lolling out as well. "I would love to."

With that, they fell into silence as they continued to regain feeling and movement. Eventually Tor perked up and growled. Both men became tense and Hakon shifted, grabbing his knife as someone started shouting for Tony. Tony thumped his head against the cart in relief as he heard Rhodey's voice and Hakon sank back to the floor, Tor relaxing as well.

Rhodey ran down the stairs, eyes wide at the sigh of the roughed up pair, and knelt by his friend. "Tony! Are you okay?" He asked as he grabbed Tony's arm.

Tony nodded and grabbed his in return. "Yeah, how's Pepper?"

Rhodey's nose wrinkled at Tony's dismissal of his own health but let it slide. "She's fine. She's still with five agents."

Tony scowled while Hakon felt his gut clench, the former standing with Rhodey's help. "That's not going to be enough."

Hakon hummed in agreement and got to his feet, Tor not leaving his side, wandering over to the chair by the computer and already fiddling with his communicator. "I'll contact Phil and warn him."

Tony nodded and started manually putting on the restored armor. "Can you get JARVIS back online?"

Hakon smirked and he sat down at the keyboard, he may not be a computer genius like Tony but operating one was still simple enough and he did have years of Hydra computer raiding under his belt. The first system he got online were the machines to help Tony put on the armor then focusing on reactivating JARVIS.

Rhodey stared at his friend and the new invention he no doubt had wanted to show him shortly before the attack in Gulmira. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Not bad, huh?" Tony said, poorly fighting back a pleased grin before shooting his already totaled car out of the way to have easy access to a straight path up.

Hakon typed in the final command and the lights in the lab flickered for a moment. He smiled sheepishly and half shrugged. "Sorry. Obadiah used an EM pulse on JARVIS. I had to reroute around the fried systems to power him back up. He should be back in a sec."

Tony silently snarled at the thought of his AI being shut down so brutally and stormed over to the hole. "Let's do it."

Rhodey watched Tony get into place and couldn't help but feel a tad useless. "Need me to do anything?"

The mask snapped down and Tony's hands straightened, pressed tightly against his sides. "Keep the skies clear."

With that, he blasted out of the house and Rhodey watched him leave wistfully. He turned around and spotted another suit hanging by chains, staring at it for several seconds before turning his eyes away. "Next time, baby."

Hakon chuckled as he worked on ensuring JARVIS came online properly and without any bugs, taking extra care as he was already 'awake' and helping Tony. "It wouldn't do you much good anyway without a power source."

Rhodey paused and looked back at Hakon, genuinely concerned for the elderly man who was as good as his best friend's father. "Are you going to be alright here, alone?"

Hakon nodded and shot him a quick smile. "Perfectly." He resumed looking at the computer then at his communicator to get ahold of Phil.

JARVIS crackled over the dusty speakers. "Hakon is perfectly safe here at Sir's home. If something is to happen, there is a panic room on the lower floor."

Hakon's head shot up and stared bewildered up at the ceiling. "When did Tony install a panic room? Why didn't he go there when we called about Obadiah?!"

Though he had no face, both men could hear JARVIS' smile. "Sir had it installed after you were almost kidnapped. And, as he said, he was not going to hide from a two-faced backstabber."

Hakon groaned and Rhodey rolled his eyes, ignoring the rest of the banter to run to the nearest car—Tony wouldn't mind if he borrowed it—and sped out of the garage.

Hakon finally tapped on Folke's rune and the man answered almost immediately. "Phil, Obadiah got here and-"

:We know!: Phil cut him off and Hakon winced as he heard bullets firing and pinging loudly off of metal.

"Ooh, I should have remembered to call sooner," Hakon said, shoulders curling inwards.

:Would've been helpful.: Phil hissed and another rain of bullets echoed through the comm.

Hakon winced and worked on hacking into the Arc Reactor Facility, keeping note of JARVIS' notes on Tony and his old arc reactor. "Sorry, was a bit busy being paralyzed then helping Tony not die from his arc reactor being yanked out."

There was silence from the gun fire but screeching filled the line before Phil swore in Ancient Norse. :Agh! Stane just went through the ceiling. Call back, or better yet, wait until debrief.:

Hakon grunted, SHIELD debriefs were the worst. "Or we can skip that." He could feel Phil's glare through the communicator. "Or not…just a suggestion."

:See you later, Chief.:

Hakon groaned, it was going to be a long night. He looked down the curved entry to the garage and pursed his lips in thought, glancing down at Tor who wagged his tail eagerly. It was dark and they'd be easy enough to miss. At the very least they could get Pepper, Phil, and any agents out—they were grazing sheep for anyone in the armor.

"Hakon, I must inform you that Sir has authorized lockdown priorities—specifically in reference to you. If you attempt to run out, for any reason, I will be forced to detain you."

Hakon stared at the ceiling in open mouth shock. He wouldn't! But this was Tony, the guy who went all or nothing on everything including the safety of the few people he cared about. Odin's beard he would, Hakon mentally groused.

He sat back in the chair and crossed his arms, watching the visual feed from Tony's suit. He wanted to kick Tony's butt when he came back and teach him that despite how old he might look, he was far from incapable of defending himself. The only problem came from the fact that he looked and was supposed to act like he was in his mid-eighties. He could fudge acting and looking a decade younger but that was going to start pressing the lines of believability and he was 'getting to the age' where it all blurred together anyway. Oh, he hated this very much.

He watched Tony engage Obadiah in his bastardization of Tony's suit, jerking involuntarily as he and Obadiah crashed into the freeway. He continued to watch Tony fight and try and keep casualties to a nil, except Obadiah, and had an uncomfortable jolt of realization. He was going to have to fake his death at some point. He could get away with living for another two decades before people got suspicious, but…

His heart sank. He didn't want to leave Tony thinking yet another person abandoned him despite the fact that it would look like death from old age. What was worse is that he would be abandoning him because he would very much be alive.

He clasped his hands and fell into deep thought as he absently watched the battle progress. Maybe it was selfish—okay, it's totally selfish—but what if he showed Tony the New Archipelago? If there was anyone from the outside that he felt he could trust to show and keep the secret of the New Archipelago, it would be Tony. He would have to think this over more, not to mention discuss it with the leaders of the New Archipelago.

The video cut off suddenly, the last display being of Tony attacking Obadiah and his large hand closing over the helmet.

Hakon leapt to his feet and ran for the car, for show until he was out of range of JARVIS. "JARVIS, what happened!? Is Tony still alive?"

"Yes, though his vital signs are worrisome."

Tor leapt into the passenger seat through the driver door and Hakon slid in.

"Hakon, I cannot allow you to leave yet. Clearance protocol has not been given and Obadiah is still at large."

Hakon ignored him and slammed the door shut as he turned the engine over, he should have left with Rhodey. Hakon revved the car and gunned it for the driveway out.

JARVIS sighed in annoyance, a fun little protocol Tony had added on a whim, and locked down the entire house—every door and window being shut and covered by thick plates of steel.

Hakon slammed on the brake and the car fishtailed as the bomb door slammed shut across the exit. He white-knuckled the wheel and shook with fury before throwing the door open. "JARVIS! Tony could die and I need to help him! He can't finish this on his own!"

JARVIS was silent for a moment before replying, both listening to the comms shared by Tony and Pepper. Hakon felt his heart stop. Tony was going to blow the reactor—with himself above it. "When the threat is neutralized, the protocol will shut down."

"JARVIS!" Hakon shouted, nearing the point of tears, Tony was as good as his son and was about to die because he was incapable of acting. No, I'm just not willing. Loki curse it all, I'm not letting him end this way! I'm not letting him do it alone again.

He ran over to the computers and typed in a specialized code. JARVIS began sputtering over the speakers in the garage and Hakon felt mildly bad for the AI, saying just before he finalized the command, "Sorry, JARVIS."

With that, everything in the lab fell dark. He could hear JARVIS upstairs, speakers raised to maximum volume to be heard down in the lab with broken windows, but he ignored the AI and grabbed Tor before teleporting them out.

They appeared in the darkened parking lot of the facility, the building in shambles and glass spewn everywhere. Hakon ran for the building only to pause briefly when Phil ran up to him. "Tony wasn't…?"

Phil's lips thinned and looked worriedly up at the roof. Hakon sprinted inside and up the stairs while Phil trotted over to check on Pepper.

Tor beat Hakon up the stairs and barked upon finding Tony in his armor. Hakon sunk to his knees on the grating and started trying to rip the armor off, however, it wasn't designed to come off easily, eventually managing to get the helmet portion off. Hakon checked Tony for a pulse and wasn't quite relieved when he found an erratic and faint heartbeat which was becoming weaker the longer it went without the electromagnet being lit.

He didn't need to look down at Tony's chest to see the arc reactor had finally fritzed out from the over taxation and gone dark. He glanced at Tony's face again. He was unconscious and utterly unaware of Pepper downstairs fighting her way through the debris. He bit his lip and prayed to the gods and Norns as he allowed his green magic to swirl around his hand before thrusting it into the arc reactor.

It blinked and fought to wink into life, but lost. Hakon grit his teeth and let more magic build up before thrusting it in again, desperately willing it to force the arc reactor to function once more. It flickered, and he kept up the flow, glaring at the testy device, until it tiredly burst to life and stayed alight. Hakon sighed and rested his head on Tony's chest piece, feeling for his pulse again and breathed easy as it slowly started to even out.

"Ung, didja get the license plate of that semi?" Tony groaned, barely lifting his head off the grating.

Hakon's laugh bubbled up despite his relief threatening to choke it out. "Yeah. You got him, kiddo."

Tony hummed quietly and closed his eyes. They remained closed until Pepper picked her way through the rubble and crouched by his side. "Tony?! Tony, are you okay?"

Tony tiredly opened an eye again. "Define 'okay'. I'm alive? Does that count?" He looked over at his uncle and tried to smile cheekily but it came out as exhausted. "I think that counts."

Hakon nodded and chuckled wearily, sitting back on his feet more as Phil started helping Tony sit up. Then they both began to help Tony out of his armor as they waited for paramedics and a SHIELD crew to secure the scene.

Tony tossed away the remaining gauntlet before his eyebrows knit together and turned to Hakon questioningly. "How did you get out of the house? I haven't given JARVIS the clearance yet."

Hakon bit his lip and looked away, shifting to Tony's back to start working the piece off.

Tony craned his neck to scowl at his elderly uncle. "Uncle H—what did you do?"

"Kicked JARVIS out of the lab." Hakon answered innocently enough.

Tony's eyes narrowed. "How? And even so, how could you have gotten out? Just because you kicked him out doesn't mean you could actually get out."

Hakon smiled and pulled, dislodging the back plate. "I may have taught you much, but I haven't taught you all my tricks yet."

A growl rose in Tony's throat but he was too exhausted to argue further, for now.

Tony walked up to his home after finally escaping the press conference and Phil's disgruntled lecture of all the work he was causing him, Hakon had snorted into his scotch and muttered in Ancient Norse about Nels at Hydra. Tony smiled at the thought, remembering Phil pale and shiver—"I almost felt bad for those bastards. Almost."

The car door behind him closed with a gentle slam and he paused, waiting for Hakon. Hakon shook his head at Tony again, faint smile playing on his lips. Tony shrugged with a 'it's me, what did you expect' look. Hakon rolled his eyes as Tony opened the door and entered the house to the proximity alarm weakly blaring but quickly fading as JARVIS greeted them, informed them of an intruder, then dropped off entirely.

Tony scowled at Hakon. "What exactly did you do?"

Hakon frowned and looked around, hand closing over the hilt of Loki's dagger. "Whatever this is, it's not from me."

Tony was instantly on high alert and gripped the knife Hakon gifted to him so long ago as they walked through the hallway. Hakon was right beside him and already locked his eyes on the dark figure standing behind Tony's couch. Tor too started to growl and stepped in front of the pair then paused, head tilting curiously as he recognized the scent.

Hakon's nerves relaxed with Tor's acceptance, but Tony wasn't as accepting and scowled at the figure.

"I am Iron Man." The person spoke and Hakon instantly groaned, in annoyance and for the unnecessary fright. "You think you're the only superhero in the world?"

Hakon loudly sheathed his dagger and walked into the living room, slamming his fist against the lightswitch. "Fury, next time you decide to invade a home, wait until a month passes after the last home invasion. I almost drove a knife into your skull." Tor growled in agreement and after a second of sniffing the air then giving a disappointed snort, he jumped up on the couch and laid down.

Fury frowned at Hakon and crossed his arms. "Did you do anything to goad Tony into going so off the rails?"

Tony cried out indignantly. He didn't need any prompting for stunts like that.

Hakon scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Like he needed any help in that department. Besides, they would have figured it out eventually. Who else could have designed a suit like that? It was only a matter of time before Tony's ego got the better of him and he'd want the spotlight back. It is his invention after all, and he is the pilot."

Tony nodded firmly next to his uncle, not even bothered by the ego comment—everyone knew that well, no point in denying it.

Fury glared at both of them. "I don't think you realize just how much more work you've added to my load, Mr. Stark, Hyse."

Hakon smiled sweetly. "Oh, I think I do, Nicholas."

Fury walked around the couch to stand face to face with the pair, focusing on Tony. "Mr. Stark, you've become a part of a much bigger universe, you just don't know it yet.

Tony looked the intruder over critically. "Hm, bald head, eye patch, Matrix trencher…You must be Fury, director of SHIELD?"

Fury's good eye twitched and glared at Hakon. "Yes, I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

Hakon chuckled from the kitchen as he got a glass of water and a bowl for Tor who jumped off the couch and ran for the liquid. "You still on about that? It's been a decade and you have what, maybe one candidate?"

Fury glowered at Hakon while Tony smiled and followed after his uncle to the kitchen. "I have several people on that list, one which Tony has just become a potential candidate for."

Hakon nodded and lifted the glass. "Right, some of your best agents. FYI, Fury, you might want to choose someone with a little less flashy hair the next time you want to try and find where I hang my axe up at night."

Tony got himself a shot of whiskey as he settled to watch the match between his uncle and the director, Tor sitting next to him equally as curious.

Fury grunted and looked away in mild vexation. Natasha had been fuming that the elderly man had evaded her. "I don't see why you have a faux house, it's barely listed in SHIELD's database and even then it's locked down so tight only I and one other have access to it."

Hakon nodded and stared pointedly at Fury. "SHIELD knows, so it's not secure enough for me."

Fury sighed and looked over at Tony. "This argument is not helping my case."

Tony grinned and lowered the glass. "Oh, I knew all this before. What few secrets uncle H did keep about this, came out with the Winter Soldier's attack."

Fury nodded, a brief flash of impressment glinted in his eyes before being covered. "Yes, that was some feat."

Tony tried to play it off as self assured but the still haunted look of terror hid in his eyes. "It was, wasn't it?"

Fury took a heavy breath before gesturing to the living room where the comfortable seating was. "We still have some things to discuss…"

Tony smiled politely and walked out of the kitchen with a mock huff, smiling at his uncle amusedly who returned it whole-heartedly.

Now Iron Man is officially done, on to it's sequel! R&R and see you soon!