No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 1
Chapter 66: Headspace (Part 6)
Bucky wandered pretty far from all the others. He kept looking around and he finally settled down beside several trees.
It seemed weird as he looked around because it didn't seem like they were limited to the space that was in the sparring room.
Bucky was curious about it. He wondered if they were actually transported somewhere else. It even felt hot when he sat down. He was wandering around the bizarre habitat, and he didn't know that it belonged to an ancient tiger.
The Vishanti entity named Hoggoth had a realm of his own. Hoggoth's home was a mystical mesh of dry grasslands, swamps, and tropics. Tony loved it there, and he was watching Bucky's attempt to lure him out.
Tony was the one orchestrating the heartfelt reunioun between Ezekiel and his former teammates, but he also had plans for Bucky Barnes. Tony watched Steve's best friend dig something out of his front pocket.
He was holding onto a crunched up pack of cigarettes, and retrieving a gunmetal lighter.
Hmmm... Tony quietly relocated. He was in a brand new suit, and it was made specific to the environment that he was in. His "Hoggoth" armor was officially named the Tiger Striped Cat.
The name was silly, but Tony didn't care. He identified with his Vishanti entity far more than Steve and Stephen. Bucky didn't know where Tony was hiding, but he started pondering a plan to draw him out.
The soldier slowly inhaled, then he released out a puff of smoke. He stared at the cigarette that was in his hand for a good while. He stared at it until his brilliant idea decided to stick.
Bucky leaned over toward some of that tall gold grass. It looked real, so...
He took a bunch of it in his hands, then he brought it over toward his lighter. Tony watched him set the grass on fire, and then he tossed it off into the rest of the brush.
That fucker. Tony's teeth started grinding together. The impulse to kick Bucky in the teeth returned to him, and he took a quick step in his direction.
Bucky was about to destroy even more of Hoggoth's magnificent habitat, but Tony put a stop to it.
He appeared before him very quickly, and he snuffed out the growing mess.
"So, now you're a tree hugger?"
"Dumb fuck."
Their salty statements were exchanged, but they both kept looking in opposite directions. Bucky felt triumphant, while Tony felt enraged.
His suit filtered out the smell of all the smoke but Tony kept staring down at the grassland that had been torched. The patch of land was as black as coal, and Bucky started laughing.
That smug laugh was buggin...
"What are we doing here Tony? What do you want?"
Bucky was tired and very annoyed. He planned to burn the entire field down to the ground just to get shit rolling. He didn't care, and an angry Tony Stark made him happy.
His smile was gigantic. Tony noticed it again beneath his armor. He took a step closer. Tony got a better look.
"What do I want?"
"Yeah. What do you want?"
...
"World peace."
...
Bucky returned with another short laugh. Tony's annoying shit always amused him, but the man wanted to go home. It was hot there in Tony's tiger jungle, and that shit wasn't cool.
The not-so-winter-soldier thought it over as he tossed the rest of his cigarette to the ground.
He stepped on it, and he started looking at Tony's new suit. He kept using a translucent design. Bucky actually caught a glimpse of the man underneath, if he stood in a certain direction.
He managed to see Tony's shoulder, then his neck.
Bucky noticed that his hoodie disappeared. Beneath the surface, Tony was wearing a small black shirt. It had no sleeves...
"Ezekiel spoke to us. That's a good sign, I guess?"
Bucky was barely conscious of the actual plan, but he could tell that the higher ups were intending to test Ezekiel Stane.
It seemed like everyone was silently working on helping him achieve some sort of humanity or whatever. Bucky started piecing together the Vishanti's little plan, and it all had to do with some sort of redemption.
Good luck with that.
Bucky tossed up the comment about Obadiah's son, and he waited for Tony to respond. The other brunette was also inspecting the armor. He thought that Tony looked too cool for school in that moment, and it amused Bucky where he stood.
"It's a good sign."
Meaning Ezekiel. Tony decided to respond to what Bucky said. The shorter brunette was testing the waters a little bit. Tony planned to see where the conversation would go.
"You never told me how much those cost."
Bucky pointed at Tony's shiny new armor. He wanted one, and he also liked to tease. They had a similar conversation once before, but Tony shut it down.
He didn't get an answer at first, and Bucky still had no idea why they were there. Tony transported them to some space jungle, but he wasn't explaining jack shit.
"It can't be bought. If it was for sale, you couldn't afford it."
Ouch. Bucky maintained his grin. He looked back over where he triumphed before. He stared at the patch of land that he scorched. It made him feel a little better, because Tony wasn't budging.
He started looking at Tony's suit again, because it was a bit mesmerizing. There was so much to it.
Complicated.
"Do you understand how important he is?"
Tony tried to keep Bucky fucking Barnes focused on the subject. It was obvious that he wanted to discuss random shit, but Tony didn't care. It was also obvious that Steve's best bud seemed very interested in his suit...
But, Tony didn't care.
"Do I understand how important, who is?"
Be specific. Bucky almost cracked a joke about not being as smart as Tony, but he didn't. The soldier caught on to where all of it was going. Was he talking about Victor Strange, or Ezekiel?
Only one of them had a treasure chest full of darkness. That particular person seemed extremely ill, so Bucky picked up the pace.
"The other day you mentioned bacteria dying off... amongst all the other shit you randomly say. So, this place? This climate? It doesn't seem good for his situation."
"It's not. I'm surprised you listened."
Very surprised. Tony almost rolled his eyes when he first spoke, but Bucky actually spoke with reason. Tony didn't have to dumb it down for him, and that was ...
Bucky could see him within that glowy distortion. He noticed his clothes again, and what Steve left on his skin. Steve Rogers was trying to tell him something, right there on Tony's neck.
The not-so-winter-soldier glanced at the mark that Steve left on Tony's neck again. He started imagining what he did. Bucky could see Steve doing that. The whole thing felt crazy.
It felt like Tony and Steve were messing with his head or something. Double Trouble.
...
"Where's Steve?"
...
"Why?"
Steve was wherever he wanted to be. Tony arched a brow. He didn't answer the question, and the smaller brunette waited for Bucky Barnes to say something else.
The man simply shrugged instead.
Chapter: END
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