I have zero consistency with my updating. Ha. Ha. Ha. Sorry. And Nano is coming up so this whole one chapter per decade thing is gonna become even more of a wait. If anyone's even still waiting.
Chapter Ten:
"Alright, in the absence of-"
"What doesn't this do?"
"Absence of Jack-"
"Is that a decellular particular band?"
"Absence of Jack I'm going-"
"What on Earth is that-"
"Would you shut up!" Ianto snapped, turning on Tony. Everyone else had gathered on chairs and table tops, gathered around and listening for what they were going to do next. Except Tony, who without anyone he remotely considered someone he had to listen to, had elected himself leader and dissolved into uselessness.
"Geez sorry, proceed." Tony muttered, putting down a dangerous looking blade with glowing lights lined along the edge.
"As I was saying." Ianto continued, stretching each word and following Tony's progress as he turned and made his way to join the group. "In the absence of Jack I'll be directing you in how to take these guys down."
The group all nodded and somewhat agreed, either too confused, concerned, and startled by the situation to say much against it, or actually comfortable with the new team was still to be decided.
"The Angels only have one major weakness." Ianto continued. "When observed by any living creature, they turn to absolute stone."
"How are they ever moving then?" Skye interjected. "I mean, there must be dozens of bugs at any given moment that can see them. If you're never more than six feet away from a spider that must apply to the Angels."
Ianto blinked.
"I think it only applies to animals that have Metacognition. The awareness that you are aware." He said slowly after a while.
"Likewise, it doesn't have to be someone else. If an Angel sees another Angel-or even itself, that Angel is now frozen." He explained. "Tosh?"
Tosh quickly grabbed a handful of mirrors, handing them out to each Avenger one by one.
"I had Tosh grab every mirror we had in the building. We just had enough, thankfully we won't be going with you." Ianto finished.
"You're not?" Rose exclaimed, concerned. She liked the Avengers. She really did. But… They just weren't her speed.
"You'll be fine without us. Besides." Ianto paused, looking around. "We've got our own job to do."
Rose glared at him, then nodded and sat back.
"Any questions?"
"How do you kill them?" Natasha called from the back. Ianto looked startled to hear the red-headed girl speaking.
"You don't. If you injure the Angel in stone form it will start screaming-every Angel within one square mile of existential existence will be brought down upon you." Ianto corrected. He really hoped they didn't try and kill the Angels.
"What do we do then?" Natasha countered, a little put off that they couldn't just kill them.
"Trap them. Put them in a situation where it's impossible for them not to be looked at." Ianto said. There was a little bit of silence before Jemma spoke up.
"What do we do once we trap the, eight."
"Eight?" Ianto echoed. Tosh and Owen both looked up in extreme interest, neither missing the pattern.
"Eight what." Jemma replied. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, before eventually settling into an uneasy conversation again.
"Uh, contact us. We'll link the Angels together through Jack's time warp and a few Celestic-Metamaterials and poof them away to a different plain of existence."
"You can do that?" Thor asked, his voice carrying unnaturally loudly in the formerly quiet room.
"Where were you during the battle of New York?" Clint scoffed.
"Where were you while Abbadon was rampaging through London?" Ianto snapped back, before somewhat dignifiedly shuffling papers and finishing what he was saying.
"Jemma and Skye will be staying here." He said after a moment, and both Jemma and Skye would probably tell you they protested, though that's not true.
"Probably best." Tony muttered.
"What now? We wait until Jack and Steve get back with Bruce?" Clint asked.
"Who knows how long they'll take-Jack may not get the calibration exactly right upon return." Owen added. "We may as well start now."
"Steve won't be pleased about this." Thor said, once again shattering the calm silence.
"We don't take orders from Steve." Ianto said matter-of-factly.
"Then Jack won't either!" Tony exclaimed, sitting up and actually paying attention. "They're important parts of our respective teams, we can't just leave them behind."
Ianto opened his mouth to reply, but Rose beat him to it.
"I don't know about you bucko's but I need to get going as fast as you can. I'm on a time limit." She stood up, folding her arms and daring anyone to challenge her. "Now are we going to go try and steal a splinter back from an army of unkillable Angels or not?"