I don't use a beta, so any mistakes are my own.
I do not own any of the Marvel characters in this universe, I only own Caelum Stark, some parts of the plot and any other OC's I make up. All rights to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics go to their respective owners.
Cale did as much of his school work from his new home for the next two weeks. Lecture notes were sent to him from his professors and Tony had managed to keep his spot at the college by donating a new building to the school. There was nothing that copious amounts of money thrown at you by Tony Stark that couldn't be solved...that and a perfectly worded press release written by Pepper. The damn thing was all over the news within hours of it happening and Cale's house arrest got worse. But he was at that point that he had to go back to school and get glared at, possibly hit again...this was gonna be great.
Happy dropped him off at the student pick up zone and Cale made his way towards the science building for his chemistry class. When he got there, the first person he noticed was Jake leaning against the entryway, arms cross against his chest and green eyes piercing through Cale's protective outer shell. "So you actually came back," he noted. "Bold, but Stark's got money enough to ensure you keep your place here."
Cale didn't want to bite but he couldn't help himself. "You know what, this isn't exactly easy Jake. Trying to juggle my life as Magus and as Caelum Turner. Then you upload that shit to the student notice board and the whole world gets a hold of it...you're just fucking lucky I have no one I care about that can be used to hurt me." Those words hit home hard and sent an emotional shockwave through his body...he did have no one to be used against him. Could the Avengers be considered family? The thought was laughable and sad. "You're a bastard, you know that? At least I save people, you just fuck them over."
Jake studied him closely and sighed. "Look, I found the footage whilst cleaning out some of the old archive stuff on my dad's old laptop. Uploading it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do but I guess I was kinda pissed off that you didn't say anything to me. We're friends."
"We were," Cale scoffed. "And we could have been more but you fucked it up when you exposed me. I liked you Jake, I really, really liked you which is weird for me since I don't like anyone. Then you go and do this, I can't trust you." He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "I'm just here to learn, not make any friends."
"Cale-" he started to object but stopped. "This is a private conversation Williams. Bugger off."
"Oh because you're such an honest, well-meaning individual?" she snorted. "I'm on my way to natural sciences and you're in my way and Cale clearly doesn't wanna talk to you." She nudged the redhead with her hip, lightly pushing him out of the way and away from Jake. "Come on Callie, walk me to class. You can do better than Jake."
For someone so small, she certainly had an iron grip of her own. Cale found himself being pulled away from Jake and into the building, his protests falling on deaf ears. Once he was safely away from her, Cale yanked his hand out of her grip and scowled at her. "What on earth is your game lady?"
She pressed her lips together. "My name is Amelia Williams, second year into studies to become a marine biologist. You?" It was like his question didn't even register.
"Biomedical engineering," Cale answered. Tony had picked the course for him after seeing the teenager in action aboard the helicarrier. He was willing and ready to assist both Bruce and Tony in the lab whilst they were trying to work out Loki's staff, of course Cale had to agree but it only took a few days for him to realize that he really enjoyed the courses offered. "Look, Amelia, thanks for helping me back there but I don't understand why."
"You look like you could use a friend," Amelia pointed out. "And you kinda remind me of me when I first started college, isolated and in desperate need of a friend. Meet me at the cafeteria and we can have lunch together then go from there."
"But why?" Cale asked her.
"Because you need friends outside your little gang of superheroes," Amelia answered. "So we'll catch each other at lunch yeah?"
"I don't think so," he frowned, staring at the photo on the wall of an idyllic ocean view. "What I said to Jake wasn't a lie. I don't have anyone that can't look after themselves to care about, now that people know who I am you're more a liability than anything. Thanks for the offer Amelia but I'm going to decline."
"No you're not," she called back as she headed into her classroom. "See you at lunch Callie."
Cale grumbled under his breath and started to make his way to his first class of the day but stopped when his phone rang. He ducked into an empty room and answered the call when he saw the name JARVIS pop up across the screen. "Um...JARVIS, why are you calling me?"
"I have been directed to Times Square Caelum, there is some kind of animal on the loose that is either a loose experiment or something that's managed to escape detection from the battle of New York. You are the closest one with the ability to do anything about it. Local law enforcement lack the weapons to take care of the creature and the military will no mobilize in time."
"You're joking right?" Cale groaned. "Fucking hell JARVIS I'm about to go into class for an exam." He ducked out of the room and dashed down the corridor towards the janitor's closet where he stashed his bag. "I'm on my way JARVIS, do what you need to do."
"Already done Caelum. Come back in one piece or Tony will not be pleased."
"Yeah let's not talk about what makes Tony pleased," Cale muttered as he hung up. He put his phone in his bag and when he left the room, the teenager sealed the door so no one could get in. He nearly crashed into Jake running out to find a good place to take off.
"Cale-" he started.
"Can't talk," Cale cut him off as his skin glowed green and he propelled himself into the air. Flying was easy, it was a skill he hadn't developed until a few weeks before the business with the Chitauri, even then his ability to do so was shaky and he couldn't stay in the air for long periods of time. Now it was like breathing in a way.
It didn't take too long to find what he was looking for, Times Square was a mess of mangled cars, scattered people screaming and something as on fire, the most notable thing was the giant hole in the middle of the road. Officers were using their squad cars as cover but as they held their weapons like it was the one thing to save their lives, Cale could see the fear and confusion on their faces. He landed on the ground and took a few steps back as he looked around. No sign of whatever creature was supposed to be terrorizing the area.
Cale turned back to the police, trying to find someone who appeared to be in charge of this entire situation. Eventually he spotted a man in a suit with a gun in hand and walked over to him. "You in charge?" he asked. He had to be a detective or something.
"Who the hell are you kid?" He glanced around and his eyes landed back on Cale. "You just flew...you're that kid from news, the Avenger."
"Yeah that's me. There's some kind of thing on the loose, wanna tell me where it is so I can go back and take my exam I'm missing out on?" he asked.
"Detective Reyes, guess you're what we're getting for this." Cale was trying not to scowl at the disappointment in the detective's voice. Yeah, so he wasn't Tony but he was still a good fighter. "This thing...it looks like a wolf but it's gigantic, bigger than a food vendor truck. It disappeared down there. They've suspended all trains running underneath but just be careful. You look like a strong wind could break you."
He ignored that. "Down the big imposing hole in the ground?" Cale pinched the bridge of his nose. "As if this was supposed to be easy." He made his way over to the edge and let his mind sweep over the area, he could feel it infecting everything with its unique touch, sinking, memorizing, implanting it all in his mind. It took a few minutes but finally Cale found himself with a full map of the immediate area in his head. There were two energy signatures that didn't belong. The teenager took a step forward and plunged into darkness, when he hit the ground, green fire enveloped Cale's hand to give him enough light to see.
He walked down the deserted tunnel, following the first energy signature through the darkness. His senses were screaming, it was almost like he was ready for some kind of fight, ready to take on the entire world if he had to. This was technically the first job that he'd been trusted with since the Chitauri and Cale wanted to make an impression, prove he was able to handle anything.
A low growl vibrated off the stone walls, forcing Cale to stop in his tracks. He turned and looked down what looked to be another subway tunnel before he stepped off the beaten track and onto the path less travelled. The fire burned bigger and brighter on his hand, lighting the way and illuminating the tunnel ahead of him. "Fuck me," he whispered, nearly tripping at the sight of the wolf cornered at the end of the line.
Underneath all the dirt and grime, the wolf would have been white and no kidding it was the side of a small food vendor truck. There was no way this thing was from a lab or left over from the Chitauri invasion, it had to been from somewhere but right now Cale was drawing a blank. What he did notice was the way it kept licking its paw, like it was wounded. "Hey big guy," he spoke in a gentle tone, trying to show the giant creature that he was not a danger to him. Wounded animals were dangerous when they were backed into a corner. Cale approached slowly, watching the wolf as it growled deep in its throat and licked a bleeding paw. "It hurts huh?" he asked it. "I can help if you'll let me."
The wolf stuck it's snout in the air and sniffed. Cale had read once that a wolf's sense of smell was about a hundred times greater than humans and they used it to perfect the art of hunting. Whatever it was looking for, it must have known that he wasn't going to hurt it so it lowered its head to the ground and just watched him with golden eyes. Cale knelt down beside the paw and looked at it carefully, he could smell burnt flesh and singed fur. He pressed his lips together and placed his hands over the top, waiting as they glowed green and he started to draw the pain away from the beast.
As he worked on the wound, Cale took careful note of the creature; it's big paws and the way it acted reminded him of the time his father got him a puppy for his fifth birthday. If this was a pup than he hated to see how big the adults were. When his work was finished, Cale pulled back as sweat dripped into his eyes. The teenager wiped it off his head and sat back on his hunches. "Now we just gotta figure out how you even got here in the first place and see if we can get you home big guy."
The beast got up and tested its weight on its front paw before snapping playfully at Cale and licking him. Before he was able to do anything, the wolf wrapped its jaws around him and tossed Cale up in the air like a dog did a toy. He had to admit, a slightly undignified shriek may have left his mouth only to be silenced as he landed on its back. Cale's mind practically went blank but the first thing he did was hold onto its fur for grim death as it bounded down the tunnel.
Everything went by in a massive blur but Cale could smell the change in the air. That underground subway smell soon disappeared and was replaced by something damp and musty but so, so fresh. Even when he was growing up he'd never smelt air so clear before. Cale managed to look up ahead of where the wolf was taking them and he could see light at the end of the tunnel. He squinted and waited for his eyes to adjust before the two of the burst out into what he now knew was a cave and not a tunnel.
"Holy fuck," Cale whispered as he took in the sea of green surrounding them. Wherever that wolf had brought him it was straight into a forest in the middle of nowhere and Cale had no idea how the fuck he was supposed to get back home. He looked back just in time to watch the dirty wolf bound off through the treeline, leaving him there alone. Where the fuck was he?
The teenager let loose a string of curse words that would have made a sailor blush before he went to get his phone from his pocket. He'd left it in his bag in the closet. He growled and looked around him, Natasha's words of advice flooding through his mind. If you don't know where you are, find a vantage point, somewhere high, and get your bearings. Cale needed to get somewhere high…
He launched himself off the ground and jumped to the top of the tree so he could in a complete panoramic view. "Nothing...nothing...holy mother of god…" Every fibre of his body completely shut down at the sight of a collection of elaborate buildings and intricate spires in the distance, the most notable of which was the palace in the center of the city...the way that Thor had described it to him did not do it justice.
Asgard...he was in Asgard. How the hell did Cale manage to get here?
