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Journal 2, Entry 46: "Iron Man 3 Part 5"

Fury breathed heavily through his nose, good eye glaring at Loki. Steve stood next to the quin jet's ramp, watching the scene with wide eyes—though not focused on either Loki or Fury. The half-dozen men assigned to assist them on this mission skirted past Steve as they slipped onto the jet, eyes never leaving the cause of all this commotion lest they be devoured whole.

"You are not taking a polar bear on the mission with you." Fury snapped.

Loki stood casually, hair blowing as the wind whipped across the Helicarrier's deck, flicking both his and Fury's coats around. Jör, sitting on his now furry haunches, bared his Ursidae teeth at the director. Loki thought he hardly looked terrifying in his Midgardian guise…but the workers on deck did not appear to think so. "I was not asking. Either he comes with you, or you'll be Dýrsvell sitting. And given your lack of magic or Jötunn blood…it will end the same anyway."

Fury's forehead furrowed as he gripped the walkie-talkie tighter, bringing it up to his mouth and growling. "Coulson, stop laughing your treacherous Archipelagon arse off and get up here!"

Loki raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Jör, but said nothing.

It only took the man a few short minutes to reach the deck, exiting the outer hatch with a flummoxed expression. "Director?"

Fury pointed to Loki then Jör. "You're one of his people. Get him to listen to you. He cannot bring a polar bear on the mission…On any mission!"

Phil blinked, then shrugged, looking blankly at Loki. "You can't bring a polar bear on the mission."

Loki nodded sagely and Fury sighed, ready to run a relieved hand down his face. "Very well. I did not plan to anyhow."

Fury's ire re-emerged up instantly. "You—then what do you call that?" He pointed harshly at Jör. "Wait, I'm sorry, in your language it's a Deer-spell."

Loki blinked and looked back at Jör, head tilted and mouth narrowed thoughtfully. "No. On Asgard we have no such a word for a Midgardian polar bear. A demon bear of Jötunheim might be the best approximation."

Fury's good eye twitched. "Then you cannot take the demon bear of Jötunheim on missions with you."

Loki looked at Fury exasperatedly. "I do not plan to. I am taking my bonded Dýrsvell with me."

Again, Fury shot Phil a near murderous look. "Remind me to kill Hakon for putting me through this hell."

Phil frowned, eyes wide as he glanced at a glaring Loki. "I wouldn't suggest it. First you would have to deal with Loki, or Toothless. Whichever one gets to you first—either one would not be pretty. And then Hela would come after you, then you really will know what Hel is like."

The deadpan look of 'whose side are you on?' was Fury's only answer to the Archipelagon infiltrator. "Loki, it is you and you only going with the team. That—whatever it is—is too slow and too much of a liability."

"Jörmungandr will not leave my side." Loki said firmly, said 'polar bear' sliding under his Commander's palm.

"Wonder why." Phil snorted before turning to Fury. "Director, just let him go. He'll be going one way or another. After the last two years, Jör will not be letting Loki out of his sight for at least the next two centuries."

Fury looked skyward and growled. "Fine. But that beast better not cost the mission." He turned to Phil with an annoyed light in his eye. "Are all these 'bonds' this bad?"

Phil laughed dryly. "No, Toothless is worse. Hi-Hakon's incident was a millennia ago and Toothless—Torbjörg still going strong today in not letting him out of his sight."

Loki snorted from the ramp of the Quin jet. "Incident? He has a Norn forsaken saga of events. He's lucky that dragon hasn't decided to sit on him over the last century alone."

Phil's eyebrows rose at the god of tricks. "That's the cod calling the herring smelly."

Loki glared at him before turning his nose up and entering the jet with Jör at his heels. The jet took off without incident; all its occupants bar Loki and Steve pressing into their seats and hardly daring to breathe—praying the bear did not turn its attention on them.

Fury turned to Phil after they were out of sight. "I'm seriously considering the validity of you staying employed with SHIELD."

Phil smiled knowingly at him. "I was hired by Hyse and per my very legal contract with you, I can only be terminated by him."

Fury stormed towards the door. "Then I'll be having you scrubbing toilets for the rest of your employment!"

Phil laughed silently as he followed his boss inside. "If that's how you feel my skills can best be used…"

"Shut up, Coulson, and get back to work." Fury snapped tiredly, cursing everyone who had a hand in placing the nightmare of Loki Friggason under his jurisdiction.

The first shack Tony came across, he pried open with a crowbar conveniently left nearby. Screw breaking and entering—he'd pay his dues when this whole thing was over and he was back in one of his safe and warm homes. The relief of the shack was tenfold that of the phone booth. Not only did it block the wind, but there was warmth in here too.

He took a quick look around the shelter and nodded. It was quite a nice shed. Actually, it looked more like a garage—whoops. But it would serve well enough to make some quick repairs on the suit…hopefully he and uncle H could figure out the electrical issue with the scrap metal lying around. Who am I kidding, uncle H's going to drag me back to the Archipelago.

Making quick work of once again dragging his poor suit through the garage to the couch, he struggled to get it sat up on the couch before flopping down on the other side. He laid his head back with a groan and closed his eyes…he could afford a nap. At least a small one until uncle H got here, which, knowing him—wouldn't be long.

*O*

Toothless circled the sleeping town once before diving closer to the ground and soaring by the only gas station on the outskirts with a few homes. His nostrils flared as he searched for a scent and, while not as adept as a Nadder or Rumblehorn, easily picked up Tony's on the still snow.

Landing with hardly a sound but a small plume of snow, Hiccup dismounted and gave his familiar's head a grateful pat. They followed the tracks of the drug the Iron Man suit, though were quickly being covered as the snow continued to fall, to a garage. Hiccup tested the door and it opened easily. Gesturing Toothless inside before he slipped in, glancing out once to ensure they had no tails. There was none.

He looked around once inside, brows creasing softly as Tony just audibly snored on the couch next to his creation. Toothless cooed, wiggling his head under the inventor's hands and onto his lap. Tony moaned and shifted closer to the warmth.

Hiccup quietly chuckled before pulling a coat out of the saddlebag and wrapped it around Tony, then carefully guided him off the couch to a curled up Toothless—the man not once waking. The cold tenseness of his shoulders instantly fell with the radiant heat of a dragon wrapped around him.

"Thanks, bud." Hiccup grinned at his best friend, who gummily smiled at him.

Unlike if it had been Hiccup tucked away, Toothless didn't bury his head under his wings, but watched his rider instead. Hiccup sat where Tony had been and tapped on the suit before lifting the visor. "So, what's your problem?"

*O*

Tony didn't want to wake up. He was warm, and there was a hypnotic thumping that very nearly lulled him back to sleep. That was until something like glass shattered and a deep rumbling came from the thing that still provided the thumping. With a start, he shot up and knocked his head against a leather tent.

He batted the material away, only for it to whap in on the head and shove him back down. He yelped and shoved it out of the way again, winning the brief battle long enough to poke his head out. Then blink at the strange sight.

The thing, no…dragon, wait, that's Toothless! Was almost imperceptible in the near blackness, the only light coming from a ball of soft green light that hovered by—uncle H! Said honorary uncle was trying to restrain the large snout of deceptively round yet sharp teeth. "Toothless! It's okay, he's just a kid—we probably spooked him…coming into his garage in the dead of night and all."

Tony looked, and sure enough, there was a kid who couldn't have been older than ten, thirteen at the oldest, holding a…potato gun?

The kid was stuck between absolute terror of the growling black demon and near joyous shock that a dragon was in his garage. His garage of all places! He'd only seen clips of them in the news and still struggled to believe that the creatures of myth were actually real, but—here was living proof that it was all true!

Toothless shook his head, throwing Hiccup off, but snapped at his leather vest before he was out of range—dragging his other half underneath him to room with Tony that he easily shoved back down.

"Toothless! You good-for-nothing reptile! He's a kid! No biting his head off." Hiccup shouted, pounding a fist against the scaly under-hide.

Toothless shook his head with a snort and narrowed his acid eyes at the 'intruder', who still had yet to move after his strident entry. Hiccup glared at his dragon, trying to wiggle out, but had even less room than normal due to Tony's presence and could only groan his annoyance.

Tony tried to shift, Hiccup's shoulder pressing against his neck uncomfortably, but had no luck. "Ger'off, you overgrown lizard." Tony grunted, then hissed as Hiccup's prosthetic jabbed into his shin.

"Sorry! Gah, hang on." Hiccup wrapped a hand around Tony's arm and teleported them out from under Toothless.

Tony swayed gently, head spinning from the sudden shift—though it could have been worse if he wasn't so used to dizzying stunts from flying regularly. Toothless' head shot around and scowled at Hiccup before glaring at the intruder again, shifting his body between them and the kid. Hiccup rolled his eyes and took a firm hold of the saddle. "Toothless, calm down. All he has is potatoes. What can he do to me with that? Kill me with their mystical healing powers?"

Unhappily, Toothless flopped down into a sit, wings falling from their Deimatic splay but kept twitching his earflaps—glare bouncing between the boy intruder and his own dumb rider. Only to bear his pearly white teeth again at the clatter of the potato gun hitting the floor. Toothless blinked at the dropped weapon, then proceeded to yawn and curl up for a nap now that the perceived danger had passed—as if he hadn't caused half the mess.

"Oh, my…is that-" The boy stared at the Iron Man suit, now visible after Toothless sat down—no longer obscuring the table Hiccup moved it too, "is that Iron Man?"

Tony glanced at his battered suit, now laying in a few pieces. "Technically, I am."

"Technically," the boy said, slapping Tony in the chest with a newspaper, "you're dead."

"Kinda the point." Tony muttered, wrinkling his nose at the picture of the Mandarin on the front page, along with a shot of his destroyed house.

The kid walked past both men, fawning over the armor. "What happened to him?"

Hiccup smiled at his curiosity, the kid peeking around the open armor and circuitry, before it fell—turning to Tony with a serious and deadly look. "That's what I want to know. The best we got is what Pepper told Phil. That super soldiers were involved. Did Hydra really make a move?"

Tony sighed, running a tired hand down his face. "Yeah, they did. There were four or five? I couldn't quite keep track. And uncle H they're, they're worse than I think you know…They have magic."

"That's, impossible." Hiccup breathed.

Tony shook his head. "Impossible or not, they got it, all of them. Silvery—kinda like that liquid metal in Terminator 2. And equally as terrifying."

Hiccup shook his head before taking a step back to pace, Toothless watching him closely. "It doesn't make sense. They'd need an Apple to make more, especially those with any hint of magic…and they don't have that. I mean, for Steve, I had to use my…"

Tony's shoulders stiffened as horror bloomed on Hiccup's face, coming to the same realization. "But how would they have gotten that?"

Hiccup leaned against Toothless, eyes screwed shut angrily. "Back during WWII, when Schmidt captured me in Britain…I was in my Jötunn form. That definitely would have intrigued the maniac."

"Odin's ghost." Tony breathed, more colorful curses dancing on his tongue.

"Man, he's really beat up." The kid observed, having ignored their hushed conversation to ogle at the suit, carefully picking up the helmet with scrapes and scuff marks.

Tony gave a tiny huff but couldn't help but smile slightly at the beating his suit took, yet still got him out of yet another sticky situation—and most of that, thanks to JARVIS. "I'll fix him."

"Like a mechanic?" He asked.

"Yeah." Tony nodded, coming over to see what his uncle had started on. He jerked when Hiccup tapped his shoulder with something hard before taking his dagger back with a confused furrow. "What?"

Hiccup stared at him flatly. "I added a tracker charm…since you seem to be dead set on being repetitively kidnapped. I should have done it from the get-go." He finished with a murmur.

Tony smirked, taking the familiar knife back. "You're one to talk—at least from all the stories I've heard."

Hiccup huffed and walked off to a different section of the suit, the perpetual green orb following him and darkening the upper half of the suit. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The boy watched them eagerly, eyes constantly sliding back to Toothless who barely acknowledged him now. Going so far as to cover his snout with his tailfin to ignore the world. He set the helmet down and gave Tony his full attention. "You know, if I was building both Iron Man and War Machine-"

"It's Iron Patriot now." Tony couldn't help but to correct with an annoyed eye roll.

"That's way cooler!" He cried, eyes wide in amazement.

Tony eyed him and said defensively, "No it's not."

The kid shrugged and turned back to the armor. "Anyways…I would have added in the retro-ret-"

"Retro-reflective panels?" Tony supplied. Hiccup chuckled as Tony came a little closer to the kid, interest perked.

He nodded. "To make him stealth mode."

"You want to make him a stealth mode? That's actually a good idea." Tony easily acquiesced. "Hey, uncle H, your people got any good stealth tech that isn't magic based?"

The boy stared at Hiccup, his mouth open a little in awe—only having had glimpses and rumors of the people, not Avengers, that helped in the New York invasion. Superheroes and aliens, dragons and magic—what's not to love?

Hiccup smirked at his godson. "Oh definitely. But they're dragon based. Turns out that even after a Changewing loses its skin or scales…they can still make you invisible."

Tony tilted his head in minor exasperation. "I said tech, not dragon magic."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "The only dragons innately magical are Bewilderbeasts."

"You know what I mean!" Tony glared, the boy snickering but not saying anything.

Silence fell over the group as Tony flicked on the nearby lamp and started diagnosing his suit. Metal tinked against metal as they worked, the boy watching every movement with careful curiosity, until Hiccup glanced up from fixing wires and motherboards. "How you doing, kiddo?"

Tony tiredly looked away from his quite damaged suit, staring at the far wall. "Tired, beaten and bruised. Pretty sure I got some degree of a concussion along the way—the room isn't spinning much now. The walk in the cold must have been good for something. But more than all that, I'm pissed. Hydra just destroyed my place and wanted me for Odin knows what, got beaten up again and I'm no closer to figuring out a reason why any of this is happening…other than the fact that I threatened the Mandarin. Which, let's face it, should be that much of a threat to send super soldiers after me!"

The thought prompted a memory that felt years old, not a day. "Did you find anything on Killian? He gave Happy a bad feeling before all this…and all this has not helped my confidence that he was being his usual paranoid-for-no-reason self."

Hiccup breathed slowly and shook his head. "Not really, no. If he has connections to Hydra or the Mandarin, he's kept a really tight wrap on it, so he never came up on our radar to keep tabs on. I had the Berserkers looking into him more before I left to find you, but…"

Tony nodded, leaning his head back and closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. "Alright, well…I'm here. I might as well check out my lead."

Hiccup's lips thinned, shoulders falling, annoyed but knowing. "I don't suppose I could convince you to come to the Archipelago and let us handle this?" Tony shot his uncle a look that made him roll his eyes. "Yeah, I thought so."

Tony beamed and turned back to his suit with a thoughtful frown before looking at the kid, who watched them excitedly. "So, who's home?"

"Uh…mom already left for the diner and dad left to get scratchers. I-I guess he won because that was six years ago." He looked down, lightly playing with one of Iron Man's fingers.

Tony crossed his arms and hummed while Hiccup looked sympathetically at the kid. "Which happens, dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it."

"Tony!" Hiccup hissed with a disapproving glare.

Tony shrugged. "What? Not everyone gets an amazing dad like Loki. As odd as his parenting style may be."

Hiccup twitched, sorely tempted to use Astrid's method of communication and slap him upside the head. "I didn't meet him 'til I was a teenager—and you have no excuse! Sure, Howard wasn't what he should have been," Tony snorted, "but I was there for you, you brat."

The boy's eyes bounced between Tony and Hiccup once again, staring at the younger man in shock—mind not quite computing that this man who rode into the middle of an alien invasion on dragon back was supposed to be the same old man that was Tony's mentor. Often mentioned in the papers and magazines but rarely photographed; and the times he was, he was old with whitening hair.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, you were. Alright, here's what I need." Hiccup threw his hands up as Tony plowed on, not even a hint of remorse for the harsh words to the kid. "-And a tuna fish sandwich," Toothless' head shot up at the word, "with plenty of mustard." Tony turned to his uncle. "You don't happen to have any of that on hand, do you?"

Hiccup put his hands on his hips. "I'm an inventor, Dragon Rider and chief—not a packrat."

Tony looked at him so innocently, it was just wrong. "Yeah, but you got that weird magical packrat space…" He gestured to Hiccup's general vicinity.

Hiccup huffed, shaking his head. "I carry a lot of things, but definitely none of that."

Tony hummed, considering the kid still standing next to the suit, not having moved an inch. Despite the intruders in his home, he wasn't the least bit afraid—not even of the now 'napping' Toothless. No, instead, awe filled his eyes, along with countless unspoken questions. Tony cursed Hiccup's influence in his life. "What's his name?"

"Who?" The kid tilted his head, glancing at Hiccup, who could only shrug.

"The kid, that bullies you at school." Tony pressed. He seemed like a smart kid—and they were usually a popular target. The boy averted gaze and pursed lips, confirming Tony's suspicions. "What's his name?"

"How'd you know that?" He asked suspiciously.

Tony hummed, looking along his suit for the right compartment. "Everyone's got a bully."

The kid narrowed his eyes. "Even you?"

Tony snorted, gesturing to his suit. "How do you think my baby ended up like this?" The kid cracked a small smile, watching Tony intently as he pulled out a palm sized, red and gold capsule. "I got just the thing."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the device, not recognizing it but putting enough faith in Tony that he wouldn't give the kid anything lethal.

"This, is a piñata for a cricket. Point it away from your face, hit the button on top…it discourages bullying. Non-lethal, just to cover one's ass. Deal?" He held it out, and the kid reached for it, but he pulled it back. "Deal?"

He kept trying to grab it, smiling at the game, before he finally acquiesced. "Deal."

"What's your name?" Tony went back to his suit, pulling out a few cables that lead to a circuit board.

"Harley." He answered, looking over the device carefully.

There was silence as Tony and Hiccup went back to fixing the suit until the former felt his stomach contract again. "You know what keeps going through my head? Where's that tuna fish sandwich?"

Toothless' head shot up again, pupils wide at the mention of food.

Harley laughed at the dragon, never having thought that it could be so cute, and looked back at Hiccup. "You want anything?"

Hiccup smiled at him. "The same, if you wouldn't mind…minus the mustard."

Tony perked up. "Do not forget the mustard on mine. I would actually like to eat my sandwich."

Toothless hissed at the dreaded condiment, grumbling as he laid back down. Hiccup rolled his eyes at his familiar's dramatics. "Really, you big baby?"

Toothless made eye contact with his rider and grumbled some more, snorting so hard at the end that wisps of smoke rose from his nostrils.

Harley scooped up his potato gun and left, pocketing the device as he darted out the door but making sure to close it behind him. Hiccup watched him run up to the house through the foggy window, brows pinched together. "I'm not sure about bringing him anywhere near this—not with super soldiers running about."

Tony turned to his uncle with a light glare. "What'd you want me to do? I brought him into it by stumbling into his garage."

Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know. I just, I don't know."

Tony subconsciously copied his movement, staring down at his suit to distract himself. "Well, let's start by trying to get this back up and running."

Hiccup nodded and they set to work, silence filling the garage again. Tony pulled apart the armor, disconnecting several wires as he dug deeper into the faulty machine, while Hiccup continued visually checking over the suit's other functions—the heel of the right thruster needs a bit of fixing.

They were so engrossed in their work; they didn't notice Harley's return until Toothless snarled at the intruder before flopping back down at the false alarm. Harley eyed the black dragon for a moment before shrugging and ignoring him, hurrying over to the inventors with his arms laden with stuff. Toothless picked up his head again, sniffing the air as the boy passed, then wiggling his butt excitedly and licking his toothless chaps.

Tony glared at the fish-thieving dragon and took his tuna sandwich from Harley, waving it in front of the blunt snout. "No stealing—it has mustard in it." Toothless recoiled with a hiss, glaring at his other half's godson as he took a large bite out of it, staring the winged beast down as he swallowed the delicious bite. The food tasted wonderful after…twenty-four, thirty-six hours of not eating? However long it was, he savored every bite.

Hiccup chuckled behind him, enjoying his own sandwich before rolling his eyes at Toothless' hurt and pleading look—tearing his sandwich in half and tossing the portion to his best friend. "Alright…here ya go."

Toothless snapped it out of the air with a happy warble, making Harley giggle at his cuteness even as he set the other requested items down on a nearby table.

Sandwich finished, Tony snagged the laptop and plugged the suit in—its most essential functions cropping up on the screen. He grinned and re-activated them. Leaning back with a sigh, he glanced over at his uncle and new little friend. "It's gonna take J a while to reboot…how about we go into town and see about Davis and see if he has any connections to Killian? Or Odin forbid Hydra."

Harley perked up at the name, trying to suppress a grin at the thought of being able to help Tony Stark even more. "I know him! The whole town does. There's a memorial built where he died."

Tony and Hiccup shared a look before smiling at him, Hiccup gesturing to the door. "Lead the way."

Harley skipped to the door, only to pause as the large and definitely not normal dragon stood and stretched to follow his troublesome other half. A half-formed question lingered on his lips even as the dragon shook, a green ripple rolling over his black scales and leaving midnight fur in its place. His mouth fell open and stared wide-eyed as the massive mutt trotted out the door. "That is so cool."

Hiccup chuckled and followed his familiar outside, Harley falling in line beside him, only to stop and glance back at Tony, who glared at the snow falling on his nose as he stood frozen at the door. "Kiddo?"

Tony tightened the Archipelagon jacket around him, perfectly warm inside of the blessed material…but it unfortunately left his head and legs with little protection. "I hate the cold."

Hiccup snorted, trying and failing to hide his amused grin. "And yet you have me as your godfather."

Tony grumbled something incoherently before saying clearly, "At least you make warm coats. Thank Thor."

Harley suppressed a laugh, thinking Tony wouldn't much appreciate the amusement at his expense, and waved for them to follow. Ready for his best adventure of guiding the heroes around his humble town. None of the guys at school will believe this! At the thought, his hand slid down to his pocket with the 'piñata' Tony gave him—they'd have to believe him with that! "Come on, town's this way!"

The trek to town was a short one in Hiccup's humble opinion while it was a long and arduous one in Tony's—Tor's didn't count as he had too much fun burrowing through the snow, only to pop up and pump it on an unlucky traveler. He almost hated Harley's laugh as it encouraged the blasted dragon-dog to continuously dump it on him! He was cold enough already, thank you.

His only saving grace was his dearest, beloved uncle, who continuously cast drying charms over his hunched form. Christmas was coming up…what could he possibly get the millennia old, Viking chief, dragon riding, demi-god of a godfather who was the greatest person in Tony's little world right now? He grunted and glared at the black terror as another spray of snow flew in their faces, quickly followed by the warm gust of barely existent wind. He huddled into the coat even more as he trudged on, taking the time to think about it…starting with surviving this whole ordeal.

They finally arrived in the town as the sun began to lighten the dark grey clouds, people already on the streets, but thankfully they were few. Harley danced around a few bypassers to a dead-end street. "It's down here!"

Hiccup and Tony followed along as the excited boy trotted ahead, the latter glancing down at his borrowed watch. He couldn't wait for JARVIS to come back online, it was almost painful to be without him. "You know, when you said your sister had a watch—I'd been hoping it'd be a little more adult than…that."

Harley chuckled at Tony's furrowed brow, staring again at the time on the Dora the Explorer watch. "She's six! And, anyway, it's limited edition."

Hiccup pressed a knuckle to his lips to keep from laughing, but a tiny snort still escaped him, to which Tony glared. Tor bumped against his side ears flicking in every direction and sticking to Hiccup like a Grimora. Hiccup sighed and scratched his neck, making sure to avoid the 'sweet spot', and glanced around the line of shops, cafés and bars. He tuned back into the conversation, leaving Tor to watch his back.

"When can we talk about New York?" Harley pressed once again, like so many children since that day.

"Hopefully, never." Tony groused.

Harley rolled his eyes before spotting Hiccup and grinning at Tor. "So do all dragons do…whatever he did?"

Hiccup smiled but shook his head, keeping an eye on Tony as he left Harley to take a look at the memorial. "Not like Toothless. Though we do have trickster dragons that our ancestors said were spawns of Loki because they could turn into anything—you couldn't tell the fishing boat from the beast."

"Wow." Harley breathed. "Are they still around?"

"Oh, yeah." Tony huffed. "And they are the worst when they have a rider with magic."

"That's so cool. It'd be awesome to see that." Harley grinned, hurrying over to Tony as he looked around—the area holding next to no helpful clues.

Tony stood from observing the memorials left at the tragic sight, even less helpful than the floodlights pointed on the blackened shadows permanently etched onto the far walls. "What's the official story here? What happened?"

Hiccup stared uneasily at the imprints, they looked disturbingly similar to an aftereffect of a project Howard assisted on. Taking a step back, the sickening feeling returned as he took in the remains of some shop that was obliterated in the blast that etched the eternal shadows.

Harley eased up to Tony, sobered at the reminder of the tragic fate in his tiny town. "Guess this guy named Chad Davis, he used to live around here with us. He won a bunch of medals in the Army, then he went crazy and folks say he made, you know, a bomb. And he blew himself up, right here."

Harley knelt next to the floodlights, staring uneasily up at Tony as he examined the shadows who asked, "Six people died here, right? Including Chad Davis?"

"Yeah." Harley nodded.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Tony finally circled around to stand next to his uncle, not convinced of the story. "Think about it. Six dead, only five shadows."

Hiccup frowned as he glanced at them again. "There are only two walls."

Harley looked uneasily up at the shadows, this place always gave him the willies. "Yeah, well, people always said that these shadows were the marks of the souls going to heaven. Except the bomb guy. He went to hell on the account that he didn't get a shadow."

"You buy that?" Tony asked, a note of frustration leaking into his voice as this lead began to look like a frustrating chase after non-existent information.

Tor growled quietly, his body pressed against Hiccup, rumbling more than it made an actual sound. Hiccup's head whirled around, watching the people pass by but saw nothing…but Torbjörg wouldn't act up on nothing. He glanced back at Tony, who hadn't heard the low warning, too lost in thought. "Kiddo."

Tony looked up at him. "Any thoughts?"

Hiccup shook his head and glanced back down the street. "Nah…But Tor's getting a back feeling about something. We're gonna go check it out. Be okay for a bit?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I'll look around town a bit more…I don't have a phone for you to call."

Hiccup smirked and nodded at his belt. "Don't need one."

Tony glared at him. "You know, that could get creepy."

Hiccup huffed a laugh. "Then you shouldn't get kidnapped so often."

Tony's eyebrows rose with a tiny smile. "Like you're one to talk."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Just don't get into trouble."

Tony grumbled half-heartedly as they left and returned to glaring at the shadows like he could make them talk. Harley leaned closer, staring at the small crater before looking expectantly up at the mechanic. "You know what this crater reminds me of?"

"No idea, don't really care." Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think.

"That giant wormhole in, um, in New York." Harley said with a grin. "Does it remind you?"

Tony glared at the boy and took a conscious breath. Uncle H just had to leave as this kid starts pushing again…Just let it go! "That's manipulative. I don't want to talk about it and you're not my therapist, so I don't have to."

"Are they coming back, the aliens?" Harley questioned, far too innocently for the turmoil he was creating in Tony.

"I don't know, maybe—that's a question for Hakon, but he's not likely to tell you. Now please stop." Breath, feel around, I'm solidly on Earth.

He tried breathing again but Odin curse Harley, he wouldn't shut up! Running through grounding techniques also proved useless as the childish prattle about aliens, wormholes and bad guys looped. He stood and tried to escape the circulatory questions and reminders, just barely hanging onto his vision of reality as he felt along the rough brick wall of the neighboring store.

Of course, Harley followed, still asking questions, but finally they at least weren't about New York. "Do you need a paper bag?"

"No."

"Do you need medications?"

"Not yet."

"Are you going mental?"

"I will if you don't shut up."

"There's a couple vets around who have PTSD. Mr. Wilkens hates the Fourth of July and New Year's because of the fireworks. Do you have PTSD? Does talking about New York and the aliens freak you out?"

"Yes!" Tony finally snapped, startling Harley into blessed silence. His breaths came out erratically, and he fought to normalize them again, trying to count—but one second seemed like five and three seemed like one.

He sank into a berm of snow as his knees weakened while he fought off tremors. The frozen flakes shocked his knees, only the denim to fight off the chill, but it was a welcome distraction. Burying his hands in the fluff, he brought a mound of it to his face and cooled off his overheating cheeks. After a minute, which Harley thankfully stayed silent for, his breathing was calmer as he focused on the iciness of the snow and not his panicking heart.

In a fit of retribution, he threw the handful of snow at Harley's face. "Your fault. You spazzed me out." Harley smiled apologetically. "Alright, where were we?"

*O*

Hiccup and Tor slunk around the busying streets, the dragon turned dog occasionally sniffing the pavement or air. In the shadow of an alleyway, Tor paused, raising his hackles and silently snarling. Hiccup put a hand on the spiked fur, eyes narrowed at the awakening street.

A car pulled up to the sidewalk but didn't turn off its engine. A red head walking along stopped by the car and leaned through an open window, speaking to the driver before continuing down the street. Hiccup eyed the car curiously, but Tor's attention was on the woman. Keeping an eye on the car turning the corner, human and disguised dragon slipped out into the street.

Nodding to Tor, he took off as green rippled across Hiccup's form, leaving a shockingly small nine-year-old in his place. Presently, a loud screech echoed throughout the street. Hiccup took off towards it shouting, "Get back here you blasted mutt!"

He wove around a few people only to be tackled by Tor holding a small black purse, tail wagging excitedly. Hiccup glared at his friend and pointed at the ground. "Drop that!"

Obediently and with ears pulled back, Tor dropped the purse, spilling its contents across the pavement. Hiccup began collecting the items, shoving a lipstick into the bag and just grabbing the wallet—fondling it just so to peek inside—when the now scowling redhead snatched them from his hands. "Sorry ma'am…he likes to retrieve odd things."

She glared first at Tor, then at him. "Get a better hold of your dog or next time there'll be trouble."

She stormed away, only to run smack dab into Tony, dropping a badge that hadn't been in the bag. Already irritated, she ripped her badge out of Tony's offered hand before stalking off. Tony glanced back down the street, eyes pausing on Tor but missed Hiccup, before ignoring the incident and continued on inside the bar.

Hiccup reverted back once back in a shadowed alley. He leaned against the building with his arms crossed, watching the people and cars pass, thinking about the unnerving ID he glimpsed—identification for AIM. A car door slammed shut not far away, and he turned to look, but didn't truly process the scene of a bald man exiting while talking on the phone. So lost in thought that he missed the flicker of recognition on the man's face. It wasn't until Tor growled again that he noticed the man hurrying towards them.

He frowned and started across the street, not eager to talk to any 'admirers' that'd been cropping up since the battle of New York. They made it halfway across the unbusy street when the man called out, feet clomping across the asphalt. "Hey! Hey, Hyse, right?!"

Hiccup paused with a growling sigh, but turned with a mild smile. "Yes, can I help you?"

The man stopped just a foot away from them. "Wow, it really is you—what luck." He grinned dangerously and glanced around. "If you're here, I guess we finally found our missing paper weight. Not that we need him anymore."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed, all forced humor lost, and Tor snarled. He shifted nearer to his familiar while drawing Loki's knife behind his back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The man's eyes glowed red hot as he seized the collar of Hiccup's black trench coat, his hand clenching so tightly it made the glowing veins impossible to miss. "My boss would like a word with you."

Hiccup's face hardened, gripping the feverish hand. "Killian, right?"

The man smirked. "He's been trying to get a meeting with you for quite some time."

"And given your state—I'm pretty sure I don't like the company he keeps." Hiccup bit back, shifting subtly to open the man up to Tor.

A car honked, reminding them of their current location, and the man pulled on his coat. "Let's take this into the car. I'm sure Stark'll be joining us shortly."

"I think not." Hiccup wrenched himself to the side and thrust Loki's knife into the man's side—not immediately lethal, but enough to permanently distract him. Or it should have been. The man yelled in pain but held fast to Hiccup and seethed, his flesh glowing red while the weeping wound glowed like molten magma as it healed shut. "Great Odin's ghost."

Despite the annoying pain, the man grinned, tightening his grip on the Archipelagon's coat. "Nice tr-Ah!"

Tor leapt and sunk his teeth into the fleshy arm holding his other half. Muscles spasming, he released the coat and caught Tor by the scruff, yanking him off his arm and throwing him across the street. Tor rolled to his feet with a snarl, un-dog-like green eyes narrowing with rage.

Hiccup jumped back several feet but didn't run, turning his back to this unknown would be far more dangerous. He twirled Loki's knife while staring at the now healed wound in thought—until gunshots from the bar Tony entered, creating chaos in the street.

The man's head turned at the sound and Hiccup struck. Something intercepted him as he plunged Loki's knife toward the man's chest; the man grinned at his failed attempt only for it to falter as Hela's dagger thrust into his stomach. He growled in feral pain and seized Hiccup's retreating hand, his own glowing white.

Hiccup yelled as a searing heat, worse than any forge, blistered his skin. Torbjörg howled as their bond rang in shared pain and fury. His mind went white with pain and instincts took control. Without thought, Hiccup's form changed and his Jötunn magic reacted to the bane of its existence—icy spikes encircling him as they had only once before.

An airless wheeze escaped the man as he staggered back. Two vicious looking spears of ice sliding out of his chest and arm, the tip of the one in his arm broke off, and remained lodged in the burning flesh. The man nearly doubled over, fighting for breath and holding the gaping wound in this chest.

Tor wove his way through the protrusions to his other half's doubled over side, whining and shoving his nose between his arms until he could see and unfortunately smell the badly burnt hand. With a piteous whimper, he started licking the wound as Hiccup fought to return his breaths to normal. His hand throbbing and cores flaring painfully.

He hissed as Tor's tongue drug across the tender flesh—eyes squinting as he tracked his attacker. Pleased to note that for once an outburst was useful. The magma like flesh glowered brighter then dimmed before pulsing again, healing the wound at a far slower rate than before. His arm was a different story. The wound refused to heal, even as small wisps of steam rose from the icicle, it couldn't close.

The man glared balefully at the pair and pulled out a pistol, aiming it as Hiccup wrangled his wild magic into submission to form a shield—only for the man to miss by a snowball to the head. Both turned to see Harley duck behind a large lamppost then rush away with the fleeing crowd. Deciding to follow his example, Hiccup ducked beneath the spikes and slipped into the still dark morning.

He didn't run far but to a nearby alley and started assessing his hand, barely managing to get his charred fingers to twitch, when an explosion rocked the street. He ducked while Tor jumped on top of him, feeling the ire through their bond of not being his proper self to fully protect him. The air stilled, though it still rang, and Hiccup peeked out—the Muspelheim man gone. Likely drawn to the cause of the explosion, which was sure to be Tony.

He ran out into the street, now nearly empty, still cradling his hand and stared in disbelief at the obliterated restaurant. The power lines sparked nearby and could only wince at the body straddled between them—not entirely sure he wanted to know how they got up there. Groaning from down the street swiveled both human and dragon head alike.

The few people still on the street ran, slamming doors shut behind them. Hiccup barely had time to grab Tor and cast a shield before a flood enveloped them. The torrent went as quickly as it came, and Hiccup dropped the shield—eyes wide as he called out, "Tony?" His attacker was just as likely to hear as his godson, but he could only hope Tony responded first.

"U-uncle H!" Tony answered weakly.

Tor turned and sprinted away, Hiccup on his heels while fighting a hiss with every jarring step. Tor skidded to a stop not far from the collapsed water tower, Tony struggling under some debris. "Kiddo!"

Tony's shoulders sagged at the sight of his uncle. "Oh, thank Thor. I-I can't move. My leg is pinned."

"Hang on." Hiccup grabbed the beam pinning Tony, merely to draw a sharp breath and dropped it the half inch he raised it.

Tony yelped, about to throw an accusatory question at his uncle, only to pause and stare at the carefully clutched hand. "Uncle H…?"

Hiccup waved him off, flicking his hand at Tor and replacing him with Toothless. The Night Fury shook off the feeling of dog and bounded over to the beam, about to grab it but ceased with a deadly hiss—back arching while a dangerous blue glow began building in his maw and spines.

Hiccup whirled around and Tony's head shot up as the bald aggressor sauntered into the ruined remains of a tree lot, Harley pounding on his back. The man glared momentarily at Hiccup and Tony before grinning, setting Harley down but keeping him tightly within his glowing but yet harmful grasp. "Anyway…hey kid, what would you like for Christmas?"

Harley grasped the arm, trying to pull it away, but failed—just as he failed in trying to keep his frightened tears at bay as his eyes glittered wetly. "Mr. Stark—Hakon, I am so sorry."

Tony shook his head, making eye contact with Harley. "It's not your fault, kid."

The man tisked, keeping a close eye on Hiccup and the…dragon at his side. Almost missed that. "No, no, no. I think what he means to say is that you," he nodded at Hiccup, "are going to call off your dragon and dog, wherever he's at, and then handcuff yourself to that pole over there until my friends come to collect us all."

Hiccup glared at him, not moving except to raise an eyebrow. Toothless too only growled at the thought of his human doing something so stupid…And the scary thought was, was that he actually might if it prevented bloodshed.

The man sighed. His hand glowed brighter and Harley yelped softly, trying to edge away from the dangerously hot appendage but not harmed by it yet, while drawing his pistol again—aiming it at Tony this time. "Last warning. We'd prefer Stark in one piece, but the kid…eh."

Hiccup and Tony shared a glance, then the former started towards the aforementioned post and the man grinned smugly while Tony looked Harley in the eyes and said, "Remember what I told you about bullies?"

Harley's eyes lit up as he caught on and Tony nodded. Harley pulled out the piñata and pressed the button before their attacker could catch wind, and was the only one caught with his eyes still open as the world turned blindingly white. He yelped and reeled back, instinctively letting his hostage go to rub his eyes.

Hiccup shot forwards, forming an ice sword and piercing the man's chest before cleaving clear across. But like a horror film, while in pain—the flesh severed by ice spit and sputtered like an angry fire—the magma bubbled and began reforming the body. Before he could strike again, repulsor and plasma blasts flew by each side of his head, slamming into the man's own and finally stilling him.

Tony heaved at the horrifying sight while throwing off the makeshift repulsor as it overheated on his hand. Hiccup, having enough with their strange regrowth, sunk his sword between the man's torso and lower half—encasing both in thick ice as they seemed to struggle with it and so his people could look into it later.

Toothless snorted at the dead attacker before turning and helping Tony extract himself. Tony scrambled away from the wreckage and stumbled over to his godfather's side, the man once again holding his hand—though it ached a little less with the contact of Jötunn ice. "Uncle H?" Tony worriedly reached out then faltered…how to help him? "Hang on, let me find a first aid kit."

Hiccup shook his head, holding his injured hand with his healthy one. "It's alright, kiddo. Just, give me a minute."

Tony started to protest as Hiccup began chanting something he couldn't understand and a soft green light enveloped his hand. Immediately, the bubbling flesh began to soften and become an angry pink rather than blackened and blistering red. By the end, Hiccup's chest was heaving and the hand—while far healthier—still looked painful. "I'm going to need a nap before I finish healing that."

Tony smiled sadly and relaxed. "Yeah, well, you're better off than I would have been."

Hiccup shot him a strained smile. "Just tell me if you found anything useful on this cursed excursion?"

Tony grinned. "I did actually, but, uh…left it back at the bar."

Hiccup sighed and nodded for Tony to lead, placing a reassuring hand on Toothless' neck. "Then by all means. I wanna be far away from here by the time AIM comes looking for their missing people."

Tony scowled at the encased body. "So what was his deal with you?"

A dark look fell over Hiccup's face, barely pausing to glance at the deceased. "Killian wanted to 'meet me'. He mentioned trying to use you to try and make it happen."

Tony's lips curled but ignored the implications for now…he'd already lived through it. "Hm…well, let's head back and check on JARVIS before heading out to find more dirt on Killian and how he's doing this."

"Wait, you're not taking him back to my place?!" Harley bit out, pointing at Hiccup, wide eyed.

Hiccup tilted his head to the side, mimicking Toothless, while Tony shot him a confused look. "Yeah? He's…already been there."

Harley's glance bounced between Hiccup and the man who held him hostage. "But he's one of them!"

Tony's eyes pinched, staring at the ice mass—unable to see the body but pretty well having his and the woman's image seared in his memory—then at his godfather. "Uh…I think I'm missing the connection."

Hiccup nodded, frowning as he tried to figure out the likeness between a being of Jötunheim and one taking after Muspelheim.

"His eyes are red—like his was!" Harley said confidently.

"Oh." Hiccup breathed a quiet chuckle, then left his form shift back. "I guarantee you, that's the only thing similar between us."

Tony raised a hand to his chin in thought. "They're not even the same red. Theirs glowed…uncle H's is just, red. Though, I guess they do kind of glow when the lights hit them just right."

Hiccup smirked, it would have been truly terrifying had he still been in his blue skin. "I have been called a demon many times…I'm sure the flickering light of burning ships and buildings doesn't help that image."

Tony snorted. "Nor does riding a fire-breathing dragon that's invisible at night."

Harley scooted a little closer to Tony, still eyeing Hiccup a bit warily. "So…you're good?"

Tony huffed and pat his shoulders reassuringly. "Yeah, he's good kid. Probably even better than goodie-two-shoes Capsicle."

Harley frowned at the name, trying to place him, but Hiccup shook his head with a small laugh. "Not sure Schmidt would agree."

"That's a matter of opinion." Tony said before ducking into the bar and returning with the file. "Now, back to JARVIS! Hopefully, he's rebooted by now."

The housekeeper propped the door open as she drug her cart inside. She spared the room half a glance. Very little seemed to be touched, but she went about her duties. Tidying up the room and cleaning surfaces until she came to the bed to strip the sheet from it. She sighed at the object left behind. Honestly, the things people forget…

She grabbed the helmet that looked suspiciously like that of Iron Man and picked it up, intending to take it down to lost and found…Only to shriek and throw the rather heavy helm as a silver thing shot up from a shredded mess of a bed underneath. It squawked indignantly and flew a circle around the room before darting out, ignoring the screeching woman running as fast and far away from the not so innocent room.

The little plush flew high into the morning sun and chirped again, circling the air once before setting off in single-minded determination.

Longer chapter and have a safe and fun New Year. Leave your thoughts, I love hearing them!