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Chapter Text

Tony POV

He's not sure how long he's been lying here. Blood on his lips, ice sinking, sinking into him. Words echoing in his mind. Images flash by, memories pile up. He can't see a tunnel but it is like life is flashing before his eyes. Or at least every painful moment.

There are so many.

Things are not in order, not by date or severity. Maybe his brain is firing as he dies and memories are being sparked. He's forced to watch events from a different perspective.

Is this madness?

Looking back, he wonders if they were really his friends.

"The futurist, gentlemen! The futurist is here! He sees all! He knows what's best for you, whether your like it or not."

The problem is, that he thinks the answer was yes.

"You better watch your back on this guy. Chances are he's going to break it."

Sitting in the vents with Clint's eating mini snickers. Hanging with Clint in the rafters. Snarking with Clint during battles. Holding baby Nate…

"I said I'd help you find him, not catch him. There's a difference.."

Natkas hand slipping into his when he was feeling overwhelmed. Natkas head resting on his shoulder as she slept. Natkas face when he ordered those sweets.

"Sometimes my teammates lie to me ."

Steve bringing him food. Steve pulling him away from the workshop when insomnia gripped him so tightly. Steve's concern after battle…

This is what madness feels like.

They were his friends. But it didn't stop Steve… Rogers lying.

"Look, I'll tell you… but you have to go alone and as a friend."

It didn't stop them running off to his side.

Red sparks with visions that for some reason look different now.

The vision. The nightmares. He can see them all not and they seem to vibrate at a different frequency to his memories. She was still playing with his mind?

He had done everything Steve asked to bridge the gap

He'd known though. Oh, he'd known. He asked, he cajoled, he downright begged Rogers to make her stop using her magic around him.

You're being unfair Tony.

It's integral to her being.

She is her magic.

Who gives a fuck about people's trauma, right?

He coughs and he feels like he's drowning again, but slowly this time. Every cough tastes of iron.

"Tony, I'm flying dead stick."

Why did it take nearly dying to gain this clarity? Again?

Not when he had people like Rhodey in his life. His brother. His best friend. His saviour.

The man who caught him when his knees hit sand.

The man that he failed to catch.

Footsteps appear out of nowhere, derailing the chaotic nature of his thoughts and instantly putting him on alert.

Steady pace, they aren't in a rush. Women's shoes.

But he can't see.

Even though the footsteps sound close enough that he could reach out and touch them.

"Oh, your memories have yet to return. Well, I could wait, but it seems needlessly cruel."

The woman is suddenly kneeling over him and Tony is spiralling.

"You've been through far too much this cycle little one."

Her eyes are while. Completely white and that should be terrifying but it's comforting.

It probably says a lot about Tony's life, but that scares him more.

Her words barely register. But she feels like a homecoming.

He can't pinpoint her age, she seems ageless somehow. She could be your sister or your mother. Silver hair, the colour of the metal rather than usual greying hair. Her skin is pale, her lips are deep red and her dress is black. It looks complicated, layers and layers, silver writing of some kind is embroidered but it's no language he knows and looking at it makes him dizzy.

She reaches an arm out, towards his face and he tries to back away but it hurts and he's drowning.

He notices odd details, like the laugh lines on her face and the complicated blue design that start winding around her fingers and vanish up into her sleeves.

But that isn't the strangest. Nor is the fact she feels different. His mind is screaming at him that she is not human. Danger is here. Caution. A primal instinct ticking at the back of his skull...

So why does he want to curl up on her lap?

"Calm my Cadeyrn."

"Look, lady, I think you have the wrong gu-"

She brushes her fingers across his forehead this time, delicately but still smearing blood. Tony freezes and his eyes turn white. Memories flood through his mind, power floods his veins.

"Dammit! I was a few years off winning that bet. I… probably… maybe… could have survived this mother."

"Maybe, but perhaps I tire of watching you suffer in this cycle."

"Mother…"

"Don't you mother me, come on up you get. You are going to be Tony Stark a little longer anyway."

"It's the Titan isn't it?"

"Yes, even as a human you sensed him. But you need to be more than human to fight this threat. We can afford to be a little direct. Times are changing."

Times are changing.

The last time those words were uttered, it had been at the start of the exodus, at the end of the last battle he had to lead the charge on Earth.

He nods and then winces, realising there's still metal in his chest. Rolling his eyes as he's engulfed in black flame and is then kneeling next to the suit. Dressed in a simple black tunic with Celtic design in silver. His arms are covered in deep blue intricate design as he stretches, similar to his mother's, but also completely different. Signs of age have bled away and he cracks his back, sighing at the lack of pain. With a flick of his hand, the suit, arm and shield disappears into a pocket dimension. He stands up, stretching. He might have lost the bet, but he'd be damned if he doesn't feel better.

"Much better."

She walks over to him and fussed with his shirt and he just smiles and allows it. He still wants to curl up on her lap, but there is time for that later. He indulges himself a little by linking his hand with hers. The connection is a balm to the pains of this cycle that he knows will haunt him. Not like that's new for him, he has a knack for getting in trouble when he enters the cycle to direct events.

They exit the bunker and she pulls him close, he sinks into the hug. He knows she will have to return, to explain what is happening. Their kind don't have much connection with this world anymore, only a few of them stay connected. But maybe...

Times are changing.

Humans had recognised, named and gifted titles to many of them, they are tied to this world, many have snapped or worn away. His family, however, they are still tied to this world, those ties will never erode as long as humanity survives. He will persist as long as Fire burns.

One of his titles even flowed to his mortal form strangely, but then this cycle had been strange after Howard struck him down when he was 4. It hadn't quite killed him, but it also hadn't not killed him. If he had been a true human, he would have died. However he is not, and to enter the cycle is to pledge at least 28 years before death, so death could not release him from his duty at 4 years.

It hadn't brought his memories back, but it had brought him closer to the surface than he had ever been during a cycle. There were enough parallels to give him chills. Tony Stark had suffered many ways that mortals should never feel, carrying the mind and psyche of an immortal but bound by mortality.

"I have to get back, for now, I trust you have this in hand?"

"Of course, one thing first though."

He turns to face the bunker making a gesture with his hand forming a black pole, a blade slices out at the top, black and wickedly sharp. A fitting weapon really, he amuses himself at what the reactions would have been if some of his so-called friends had seen him now. He spins it a few times lazily in his hand, with ease despite its size, before slamming it into the snow, a shock wave rolls and spreads out towards the Hydra base, striking it as metal screeches, concrete is rendered to rubble and it implodes in on itself. Leaving a collapsed circle of dust. So fine the wind creates flurries with it, mixing with the snow. Much better.

"Was than really necessary?"

"Yup, definitely."

"Hm, well, I'll never be far away, are you okay from here? I will check on you soon."

He waves away his Scythe in a flash of black fire and she pulled him into a hug that he melts into again. They'd never been apart this long, his cycles usually had a tendency to turn rough, but were required to nudge or direct events down a certain path. But he had never lived past age 28 before. Then again, he'd never not quite died before, it had caused a complication, it had gotten him rather close to winning too...

"Of course mother, I'll see you soon."

She nods, kisses his forehead before vanishing and a huge, white-eyed Crow takes her place, she Banks and flies in a graceful circle that brings a smile to his lips and memories of open skies for miles and miles, with a caw that would send chills down anyone's spine but floods him with warmth, she flies away. Tony watches until she completely vanishes before vanishing in a burst of black flame and arriving in Rhodey's hospital room.

Not even looking back at the crater where he had died.

Again.

Chapter Text

Tony POV

Looking down at the pained face of his brother, even in slumber, caused him to frown.

"This definitely will not do."

He placed a hand on the man's forehead, gently laying his hands on his brothers head, the heat warming him and chasing away thoughts of snow and drowning on iron, for now.

He raised his other hand above his chest and closed his eyes. Seeing through the layers as his hand moved down his chest, eventually resting his hand on his stomach. Grimacing at the damage. He opened his eyes and centred himself, it had been a while since he had done a healing like this, and it was not as simple as summoning a weapon that is as fundamental to him as his arm.

He can't help a little excitement. Most humans will explain away changes, like his eyes for example, humans are very good at seeing normal. Especially in this modern day and age, where humans had practically taught themselves to ignore that feeling in the back of their minds. Something humanity ran a gauntlet of pain and suffering to acquire. He somehow suspects his platypus won't, he's not like most humans, he'll notice. He smirks as his eyes blanch again, turning completely white as Black Flames lick at his fingers before sinking into Rhodey's skin. Searching for the damage and knitting it back together.

He is still for around 5 minutes, even the rustle of feathers at the window doesn't cause him to move a muscle, although he smiles in his mind at her presence. Rhodey's features slowly smooth out from the grimace of a pained sleep, smoothing as the pain slips into him, black lines that follow the same twisting, turning pathways as the blue on his arms.

He slowly pulled back when the damage was healed, blinking a few times as the white swims from his eyes, returning them to gold as he looks down at his brother, just to ensure he has missed nothing. He had not gotten so attached to a human in a long time. Mother will most definitely wish to meet him. When his eyes land on his face however, they widen and he cursed silently.

"It's been a while since I healed a human..."

He cringed slightly, looking at Rhodey, completely healed but also considerably younger than he had been a moment ago. He looks deeper and his eyes widen again when he sees that the Black Flame was still active. That… that was not possible. This didn't happen anymore, a Reaper had not been called for so long, but there it was. It explained why he survived that fall. Even dormant and bound, the Fire increased certain attributes. His Fire was strong. It chose well.

Times are changing.

He summoned his Fire to his fingers, moving it closer to Rhodey's chest, just to double-check. Sure enough, his Black Fire reached up. His magic, like others of his kin with certain jobs, had their magic seeded in humanity. Where it hunted out potentials. Humans that could help them. For him, that Black Flame showed him potentials for the group known as The Reapers. As much as humans thought so, their jobs had less to do with taking souls and more to do with protection. They were a battle-ready unit. Unlike others, he was always more invested, he fought with his Reapers rather than have them fight for him, but it had been a very, very long time.

Rhodey's Fire wasn't unlocked yet, wouldn't be until he made the choice and began the process, but it had the potential. Yup. Mother was going to be meeting him. How he hadn't noticed it before he started healing him, he had no idea. Concern had blanketed his senses, but that was a pretty serious thing to miss.

"Well, at least you look my age now Sourpatch."

He dropped down into the chair next to the bed, suddenly extremely drained, healing magic was very taxing. He relaxed for a little while, set to wait for Rhodey to wake up. The crow watching him from the window, looking highly amused with the situation whilst he looked anywhere else. He scratched his goatee, that was back to its immaculate state he noticed. He hadn't even felt his mother do it. Yes. He was definitely rusty.

"I'm just a bit rusty, I'll get back up to speed soon."

He swears she is laughing at him in her shifted form and it makes him smile. Really smile, he hadn't had much cause to lately in his human skin, and it feels good to laugh. Plus, he's seen others healing humans make much more of a mess than reversing age a little bit.

A shining blue light caught his eye from the dark beneath Rhodey's bed, he opened his arms and in a flash of pale white fur and bright Blue Fire, a bundle all but crashes into him. Leaving flickering patches of Blue Fire where large paws had skimmed across the floor, with more grace than would be expected for a beast of his size. His paws hooked over Tony's shoulders, mouth opening, teeth that were long, sharp and lethal on display and the same Blue Flame shone from his mouth too. He smiled, running his hand over the perfect white coat as Caratacos nuzzled his head under his chin. He was thin for so large a canine, his face was shaped closer to a wolf than a dog, his powerful legs articulated closer to a panther than a canine. Sharp retractable claws, there was no mistaking what he was capable of.

"I missed you too boy, where is Drest?"

The shadows pulled together beneath the bed, forming into what looked like a slightly larger looking house cat. Her fur was sleek and Black as pitch, barring a shining white blaze at her chest. Her eyes, one a bright vivid green, the other golden like his, telegraphed irritation as clear as her very long Black tail that whipped out behind her, lashing through the air. In a fluid leap, she landed perfectly on his shoulder. Her size-shifting down slightly, allowing her to get comfortable. He was surprised not to feel teeth when his fingers slipped into her fur, but he wasn't fooled into thinking she wasn't still mad at him.

He felt a tug inside him, pulling his attention back to Rhodey and oh that Fire was strong! The pair turned to Rhodey at the same time he did, assessing the newest Flame carrier. Caratacos nuzzled him one last time before heading back into the darkness, slipping into the in-between. It was probably best not to overwhelm Rhodey as he woke up. Drest, however, showed zero intention of leaving, she disliked spending large amounts of time away from him and he'd really spent a lot of time as a mortal this go around. She occasionally turned up as a cat in his mortal life, but Howard had been very against pets. She curled up, looking for all the world a bored, younger cat. Her eyes mostly closed but he knew otherwise, despite looking asleep, she was alert.

He grins, a little giddy as Rhodey wakes up. He can see the moment he realises his legs can move and the stunned shock makes him thankful that his mother pulled him free from the restrictions of the mortal cycle. Even though staying in this land could be complicated, luckily he had friends here. Not that mother overly approved of Coyote, they got each other involved in trouble more often than not. It would earn him safe passage and dwelling rights, especially given the cosmic threat and all that.

The Blue Fire felt slightly different here too, compared to the first entrances to his home. Not much, but whilst the Blue Fire flowed through the veins of this world, different locations tended to present in different ways and he had only visited this side of the ocean a couple of times.

As he had been out of touch during this cycle, he would need to look into the health and strength of the Fire sooner rather than later. Unlike others of his kin, he was tied more directly to the Firelands, born from complications in his childhood. Meaning it wasn't something he could afford to be complacent about. He drummed his fingers where the arc reactor once sat, where a different blue glow rested even now. His connection to the Fire was quite literal.

That's why he spent so many trips in the mortal cycle, even after many others retreated with the exodus. He remained, nudging here and there. The Fire that ran in the veins of this land was tied to his heart, tying him closer to this side of the mists than his kin. But then, he was closer to the fabulous beasts than some of his people too.

That closer connection could either complicate matters or help, occasionally it did both at the same time.

Strangely, he's sure that he can feel a connection to home much, much closer than it should be. Times are changing indeed. That, and the Blue Fire is much stronger too, it still needed strengthening for what's to come. It is promising however, the industrial revolution had not been kind to the realm nor the Fire. That would be high up on his priorities.

Either way, it was Tomorrow Tony's problem.

Right now he could just relish in this, he'd be busy soon enough. He always was. Drest's claws flexed, keeping him from getting too lost in his thoughts as Rhodey spoke.

"Fuck, am I dead? Because when I went to sleep you were missing and I was paralysed. Also, you have suddenly gotten a lot younger and why do you have a cat?"

Tony summoned a mirror from Black Flame, earning himself little more than a shocked, raised an eyebrow as he offered it to Rhodey from his chair. Leaning forward slightly, which of course earned him another taste of claws as she held her place. Rhodey took it and simply assessed his features, with more calm and grace than most mortals could even dream of mustering. He couldn't help the fierce spike of pride at that. He was closer to mortals than some of his people, but sometimes they were painfully annoying, even to him.

"Tony. You just made a mirror appear from Black Fire. You just did magic! You hate magic!"

"Well yes, I always implant that when I hop into a cycle. Humans are disasters at magic Rhodey. I mean, abject disasters, there are some who aren't bad, but as a whole, just no.

'Ooo I found this mystical, ancient book! Let's read it!'

'Oh look, a malevolent space stone that can subjugate someone's will! Let's use it to give people magic!'

"Dis-as-ters. If I went and prattled around with something, being human, it could carry over to me and then I'd have to deal with human magic."

He shuddered at the thought.

Rhodey POV

The grimace on Tony's face gave the impression that it was the most disgusting thing he'd ever considered. It was actually quite hilarious and he would definitely get amusement out of this when there were answers to his questions. He kept his voice measured as Tony finally calmed down from the grossed out theatrics at the mere idea of humans and magic.

However, fair play. From what he'd experienced since becoming an Avenger, he wasn't wrong.

Although Rhodey was pretty sure the cat had rolled its strange, odd coloured eyes at Tony's rant and that was a realm of strange he did not know what to do with yet.

"Tony, why are you saying humans like you aren't one? Am I really not dead?"

Tony… He was definitely pretty sure this was still Tony, he looked like Tony, just back in the peak of his health, but there was something else there too. There were differences.

His hair was different, the soft brown seemed darker in the muted light of the hospital room, but where the sun hit it, the auburn stood out. It mostly looked to be a deep red, the colour was quite striking with sun-streaked highlights showing off an array of reds in the curls. His hair was also much fuller and thicker too, more so than it had even been before the palladium poisoning. A little longer, letting him see the curls he hadn't known Tony was hiding. 

His face was smooth of the signs of age, his olive tanned skin seemed more vibrant, edging closer to golden now, just not so much as to be glaringly obvious. A perfect balance of strange, but not.

That seemed to be a theme to these changes, they were just that little bit shy of looking completely unnatural.

The slight kink in his nose from where it had set badly as a kid was gone too. It was lots of little things, individually, there was nothing huge that screamed different, but the more he looked, the more he noticed.

Like how… for lack of a better word. Perfect. (He would never say that to Tony.) How perfect his face was now, almost to a degree of unsettling, uncanny valley, but not. Because it was still Tony. It was strange how he looked so similar yet he could see all these changes at the same time.

His eyes were possibly the biggest change, the iris seemed bigger maybe? Or maybe it was a trick of the light, he honestly wasn't sure. They were no longer that familiar whisky brown with flecks of gold, it was like a light had been turned on behind them. Now they were more gold with flashes of brown. But again, the harder he looked… the more it changed until they were just gold, pure molten gold, like the metal was shimmering and moving in his eyes somehow.

Strangely, even though the more he looked, the more differences became apparent, he had a feeling that nothing was actually changing. Just him looking harder meant he noticed more.

That if he hadn't looked as intently as he did, would they just look brown with flecks of gold?

Overall, it's a strange feeling with an overlying feeling of familiarity. Also, Tony carried a degree of confidence and strength that was several orders of magnitude higher than what he was accustomed to. His easy smile spoke volumes and eased a tightness in his chest. It had been far too long since Tony had smiled with such ease.

Tony just raised an eyebrow before scooting himself, and the chair, closer to his bed as seemed content to wait for Rhodey to assess the changes in his brother. The passenger perched atop his shoulders opened a single, vivid green eye of irritation. Closing its eye when it seemed Tony was finished moving.

Tony's shoulders were minutely tensed up as if he was looking for Rhodey to flee or react badly to this whole situation, which told him this was his Tones clearer than anything else could. It would take much more than Tony getting a freaky deeky magical makeover to make him budge. The slight tightness faded as Tony seemed to realise this and Tony flashed him a bright smile for allaying his fears.

"You're not dead, but I, potentially, nearly did die, kind of died, and that triggered… something that brought me back to my original self, so to speak. So, I immediately came here to heal you! I'm a little out of practice from being human for so long and might have been a little overzealous.."

He noted how Tony didn't really answer his first question, but he decided it would be later Rhodey's problem.

"A little overzealous?! You fountain of youth'ed me!"

"Want me to make you old again?"

"Fuck no. With your current track record, you'd make me 90!"

Tony barks out a laugh and it lights up his entire face and Rhodey can't take his eyes off of him. He's not attracted to his brother. Because ew, but damn. Tony had always had a presence, the ability to enter a room and just draw attention. That when he spoke with intent, people tended to listen, like they were drawn in. It had helped him ruthlessly dominate multiple markets in the business world, manage military personnel with a practised ease and always left people feeling like they won as he walked away, secure that he had actually won.

It had been a skill he had not used as often after Afghanistan. First, Stane. The betrayal had him off-kilter. Then… then it was the Avengers. Who had controlled him to a terrifying degree. However, looking at this Tony, he had a feeling this Tony wouldn't be holding back. Not with that bright, sharp smile, flashing what looked like small goddamned fangs! Oh, Gods, he hoped they weren't vampires. He liked the beaches. If he was a vampire then he wouldn't be able to sit in the sun.

That was when a strange sound drew his attention from the window.

"Tony… is that huge bird laughing at us?"

Tony glanced and smiled a warm smile at the creature, that was much, much larger than a crow ought to be! The pale white eyes landed upon him and he got the feeling that whatever it was, it just saw him. Saw everything. His past, present and future. His life drawn out and analysed. Then the feeling went away and he released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Yup."

"Tony…"

"Yes, Platypus?"

"Are… Are you a vampire?"

Tony actually fell out of his seat cackling, so he was guessing the answer was no. The cat deftly leapt to the bed just as Tony fell to the floor laughing, immediately making itself comfortable on his legs, because why the hell not.

Well, how was he meant to know?! He promptly lobbed one of his pillows at Tony's head.

Chapter Text

Stephen POV

Dr Strange and Wong had been enjoying their tea and reading quietly when alarms went off. Both of them instantly jumped to action, discovering that there had been several interesting readings. Something small enough in comparison that they could put it off for later had happened in Siberia, the signature, however, was nothing like he'd seen before which meant they would definitely look into it. It had sent ripples out that definitely needed assessing.

A similar signature, almost identical but definitely different was what had caused the alarms. They didn't look into every magic-user on earth, not for every usage of their power. However, strange magic suddenly appearing usually did warrant investigation. What made this interesting was the strength. It was incandescent and it was still going. There had been burst after burst. So fast after each other that even Wongs eyebrows were up.

Even one of these bursts at that strength would require at least some recuperation time. Yet… They were still going. It had to be multiple people, but the signatures were the same, or someone insane. In a relatively small area, it was lighting up like a damned Christmas tree, repetitively. After that continued for a while as they tried to analyse what was being done, a lot of different things apparently. Now they seemed to be moving in a circle, around where the previous bursts had been.

"Warding?"

"The pattern suggests as such… but…"

He reached a shaking hand over the map as another burst splashed out, feeling the magic again. Strangely it had an almost physical presence, a silver liquid metal pooled in his hand, still brightly glowing. He thought maybe his newness to the position explained why he had not come upon this before. Wong, however, looked equally perplexed. Which had the result of shattering that illusion. The silver liquid then burst into a harmless flurry of Black Flame, then it winked out of existence, which didn't help matters at all.

"I think you should investigate this now Stephen. I don't know what this is, but I have a hunch. From a text, I had read many years ago back when I visited the London Sanctum. If you are not successful, when you return, I have a few people to question at the Kamar Taj."

It was easy to find a picture online to summon a portal to check things out. A strange place for magic, but then things had been strange lately.

"Are you going to share your hunch?"

"No. It could colour your interaction."

"Well, that's helpful. I'll guess be off then."

"Stephen. Just in case I'm right. Do not insult them. Just… Do not agree to anything without speaking to me."

"Well, that's not cryptic at all."

Instead of joking or saying he was being paranoid, Wong looked more concerned now than he had on the day 4 trainee sorcerers accidentally summoned a fire-breathing giant arthropod in his library.

That more than anything else had the Sorcerer Supreme proceeding with caution.

Most of that caution fled however when he exited the portal onto a lush lawn, in front of him was a very high, white wall that had not been in the images online. There was also the fact that it hummed with enough power he could feel it in his teeth. No, that couldn't be. Not in such quantities.

He had a small disk of Atronach in his room. An exceedingly rare stone, not naturally formed on earth. He'd never gotten a straight answer as to where it came from either. Everyone wanted it. If news of this wall got out, magic users from several dimensions were going to be turning up with sodding picks.

Unlike a relic which was empowered and then set. Or any other magic absorbing stone, even Validimire for example, that sucked up spells and magic gleefully. Allowing you to lay an enchantment of your choosing. Unfortunately, it had a 6-month half-life and required cleansing and topping up. It was also very rare. Atronach didn't have a half-life and could take multiple enchantments, the only limit was the quantity. His small disk was a priceless treasure he'd been given for helping a Sorcerer in a different dimension.

Which was what made this insane.

This entire fucking wall was made of Atronach. He ran his hands over the stone, sensing and confirming the impossible. It stretched in both directions too, it was definitely a large wall. Surrounding what he had thought was the Avengers Compound. He had noticed the Avengers had a magic user, he'd been about to look into it before the chaos of the Civil War. He had not expected anything like this.

The magic was still building too, as a flash assaulted his senses again, this close it was more than a little disorientating. Whoever, whatever was doing this, wasn't done.

He rang his fingers over the stone again, unable to stop himself as he felt it down to his bones. That was another thing. Atronach felt good to magic users, probably because of how it worked with them. He'd never even conceived of being in the presence of so much of it.

The magic being laid into the wall felt like it was building under each iteration, layering what he was sure now were Wards of protection. He cast a simple revealing spell, expecting the Wards to become visible to him. Instead, the wall shimmered, as if it was about to comply, and then it absorbed his own damned magic and added it to whatever the hell was building up. That was disconcerting.

Given the fact it was a wall, protection and Warding seemed logical but against what?

He had never conceived of a person using such a rare stone for something like this. That, and the fact it was also building in strength exponentially with each iteration, he had never read of a Warding like this, probably because it required a huge wall of Atronach. He'd never felt magic like this, it wasn't what they used, it didn't come from the source that he was taught. It also wasn't an Asgardian using the Odinforce, there simply were not many types of magic user on earth in this dimension. It didn't even feel like any signature that he had become accustomed to in different dimensions either. It was already extremely strong, yet it was still building up to something.

He closed his eyes and walked back and forth, trying to discern which side was weaker and then more likely, where this individual would likely be. The wall was large and in the distance, the edges disappeared into a woodland area on each side. An odd thing to have close to a wall, trees would help someone gain access surely. It was odd, an extremely rare stone, a very powerful Warding, a strong defence… and then put something you can easily climb next to it. Although the Ward likely protected against that. Shrugging he discerned the direction they were moving in. Widdershins.

So. Left.

He started walking and eyed the little woodland area as he was coming up to it, a hand out near the wall to monitor the spell caster. As got closer to it, alarm bells began ringing in his mind. He didn't know why, it was just trees for The Vishanti's sake and they were in upstate New York! And yet… it didn't feel like an innocent little woods. It felt like an ancient Dark Forest. The kind you walk in and may never come out again. The kind that help all manners of creatures that had faded into lore.

A loud cawing snapped him out of his thoughts, making him actually jump, jarring him from the extremely strange direction his thoughts had taken. The woods were still there, it was still looming before him. Putting ideas in his mind. Scratching at a primal fear of the dark and of Dark Forests like this. A leftover from a time when these forests stretched for miles and those who survived to produce the next generation knew to fear them.

He wanted to scoff. But yet...

He glanced at the crow and froze. That bird was much too large and those eyes…

As if in recognition, as if it saw him with those blind eyes, the bird dipped its head before taking off in the direction he had already been heading in. He got the impression he was meant to follow.

Wong was going to be so angry, because he was intrigued, so he followed it.

He stood at the precipice of the forest, because there was no calling it a simple woods now, even stranger was that he felt the pressure of passing through a threshold.

He knew another fact. This forest had not been here yesterday, as far as he knew, there were no Dark Forests of this kind on this side of the ocean. Those previous readings, the flashes before, this creature somehow brought this forest here and it already had a threshold that felt like walking through syrupy molasses. He expected it to leave a chunk of his magic behind, forcing through a threshold without invitation did that. It was why creatures that relied on their magic to sustain their life force were unable to pass through a threshold without invitation.

He would not be powerless, but it would diminish his power marginally. So when he breached that step, he fully expected the disconcerting feeling of part of his essence being dragged away from him. It was not a thing he did often. However, the threshold parted before him and nothing was held back.

The first thing he saw when he shook off the confusion, was the crow. Sitting on a branch. He got the feeling it was amused. He remembered Wong and stuffed down his instincts and gave the creature a bow. Somehow he was given an invite and this was the only creature he had come across and he was actually capable of being polite. Occasionally.

The next caw reverberated around him seeming to echo and stretch. Causing him to glance behind, but he didn't see the neat little lawn he'd stepped over from. There was more dark forest and there was no light through the trees. He swallowed, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into and decided to continue following a few feet away from the wall now, not wanting to be too close to it should another iteration complete before he discovered the caster.

Until he came upon a man.

The back of a very human-looking man.

It had not been what he was expecting, but he also knew mortal appearances could be deceiving. He was short, around 5"6 at a guess. Thick, dark red, glossy hair. He had an athletic build, corded muscles flexing as the Ward came together under his hands. A fitted, short-sleeved, black shirt of an odd design with what he guessed was silver embroidery. He was too far away to tell, but the muscular, tanned arms, skin that looked just this side of too golden when compared to a natural tan, hardly noticeable but he was looking for clues. The intricate blue designs covering his hand and up arms, vanishing into his sleeves were also very interesting and matched the colour of the Ward he was working. The trousers seemed to be similar to the shirt and what he assumed were black leather boots.

He was drawing a huge sigil. The base was circular with large symbols on the inside edge. Inside followed a series of interconnecting geometric shapes with further symbols getting increasingly smaller. It wasn't too dissimilar to what he was used to, but at the same time, it was night and day. It also practically thrummed with power, he didn't understand how the person could stand so close to it, let alone cast it. He was using some kind of blue substance that he could not immediately identify.

To add strangeness to the situation, a small black cat was just dozing on the wall above the sigil. A paw casually hanging down towards the ward, a long tail lazily swishing back and forth. One vibrant green eye, another golden seemed to be watching him intently enough to think this was no house cat.

He decided to act, not wanting to be caught staring at this individual through the trees, not when he could still feel the blind eyes of the crow on him. The too vibrant eyes of what he assumed was the man's familiar. Plus, he wasn't going back to the sanctum without finding out something.

"Hello?"

Chapter Text

Tony POV

Pretty much the second he got Rhodey back to the compound he started work. There was damage to his home and that just would not do, and whilst this base might have been suitable for the previous iteration of the Avengers, he was planning bigger now. Plus, he needed more buildings for one of his Great Wards, he's pretty sure he can make up some officialish reasons for them.

He set Rhodey to work scouting out potential new members to the Avengers and he, of course, did not start that, because he realised that Tony's method of fixing the compound was not to order builders in. It was magic. Quite a lot of it too. He also quickly discovered that Rhodey was much more interested in him blowing shit up too. He'd forgotten how much of a menace young-Rhodey could be.

The first few days after he came back to himself always came with a few constants. Nightmares, old and new, the usual fun. His magic, after being dormant for so many years, bounced back a lot faster, which sounds awesome, but it wasn't exactly comfortable at first. Like carrying around several glasses of liquid, filled right to the top. Try not to spill them, except spills were unintentional magic. Unintentional magic tended to be… chaotic in nature.

Which is why he threw himself enthusiastically into new projects until he passed out.

Usually, it would be on his lands on the other side of the mists. From his Atronach quarries or his Forge. Or he would pour magic into crafting new and better Battle Wards which was one of his specialities. Throwing huge amounts of magic around there was a pretty normal occurrence, so much so, that his returns barely caused a blip, he was not the most magically gifted of his kin after all. He had his specialities however and he was very good at them.

This side of the mists, however, was a little different. There wasn't as much magic on Earth, so he couldn't hurl it around as freely without attracting attention. But channelling his Fire into the earth to allow him to mould stone into buildings? That he could do. Pulling large quantities of Atronach from his quarries to create a wall around the compound was key and utterly exhausting. A wall was not something Tony Stark would have considered important, but, Cadeyrn? He liked walls. Walls were prime locations for Protection Wards. The pathways around his newer buildings would be connected into a Great Ward that connected to the Wards he sank into the walls.

Casting a lot of magic like this, especially channelled through earth magic had the bonus of nourishing the Blue Fire. And he occasionally blew stuff up when Rhodey started booing.

Hopefully, by the time he was done, he'd be exhausted enough to fall into a dreamless sleep. Or at least fall asleep and not wake up to chaotic magic having run rampant in his sleep.

Rhodey had found himself carrying Drest around as he worked too, she was crafty like that. It was going to be highly amusing when Rhodey discovered her shifting abilities at some point in the future. She'd remained in her smaller form, not quite a kitten, but not a full-grown cat either. Cara had been waiting for things to calm down, he didn't mind magic being cast left right and centre, but when he got to building, the spectral hound had a tendency to wait him out.

After the outer wall was summoned, Rhodey had declared that was enough magic for him for the day and actually went to get to some work. The little extra pep in his step of restored youth made him smile. Drest had demand to be transferred, she liked to watch over him when he cast the Outer Wards on the wall as when he started each design, he couldn't stop until it was complete, then he had to activate and move on to the next.

Before he could get started on that, he had a visitor about a forest on his way. Out of his kin, he was possibly one of the best when it came to the care of humans, but he didn't want to immediately hurl Rhodey in the deep end without explaining certain rules that potentially seemed… counterintuitive to humans. Whoever trained humans to thank people for fucking everything was a devious bastard.

After that, he would start on the outer wall, he folded away his non-static glamour that covered his arms and would generally dissuade most people from looking too closely at his changed features, at least the ones at him arms that could possibly interfere with the casting. His base glamour was rooted in his Fire, so that was fine.

He really didn't expect to run into a sorcerer in the middle of his work on the wall, reaction times at the sanctum were much improved it seemed, he was sure he had at least 45 minutes left before they noticed his magic.

Stephen POV

"Hello?"

The figure showed no sign he heard him, and he stood waiting as he continued. Just as Stephen was about to shout again, however, the figure put down the tray that carried his supplies to craft the Ward and he figured that maybe when he was painting the symbol he was unable to answer? A trance or maybe heightened concentration. Or maybe he just didn't want to fuck it up. Feeling the sheer strength emanating from the Ward he wasn't sure which he wanted it to be.

He wanted to understand how that Ward worked. He knew that much.

He wanted to know what this man was shielding this property from.

By the Vishanti why on Earth did he need a Ward of this strength? Or was he just extremely paranoid?

Something that required this much power to keep out was definitely something that was potentially important to him.

He also really hoped this person was amicable to teaching him that Ward.

His fingers practically twitched in the need to understand it. Even if it could only be cast on Atronach, he still wanted to know. Since he got over the is magic real question he'd put considerable effort is reading and understanding everything he could with the same voracity that had sped him through medical school to be the top of his field, when others in his class were barely out of their internships.

Stephen had learned to expect the unexpected since entering Kamar Taj. It was practically the first rule.

Tony Fucking Stark turning around, however, was not one of them.

First, he immediately thought that this was a shapeshifter of some kind. It was Tony Stark, but there were mistakes. The age was incorrect and he could see the golden eyes from here, plus he's sure if Stark had tattoos, hundreds of idiots would have copied them. He did not know enough about how Tony Stark looked to know if there were any other differences, despite Christine's fan-girl influences. A shapeshifter taking the face of someone this famous was potentially disastrous, but they seemed to be doing it badly, which had him wondering…

Secondly. Tony Stark is a baseline human. No magic. Just a flying robot and a team with a penchant for collateral deaths and property damage.

Before he can say anything, they speak and he is thrown off slightly as the speech patterns were familiar to what few TV instances he had been subjected to of the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Christine really was a huge fan. Annoyingly. If these aspects are correct, he has to wonder why they're making such obvious mistakes? However, it isn't so much how he says it that blows his mind. It's what he said and it utterly derails everything.

"Ah, it's the Sorcerer Supreme! It's funny. I expected you to be bald. And, you know, female. I can't believe I missed Rigantona's passing. She owed me several drinks. Damn you're a tall bastard."

Stephen finds himself to be dumbfounded by what is going on, which is his excuse for his less than eloquent response...

"What?"

Tony walks closer. Carelessly wiping what looks like blue paint on his trouser legs, his head tilted to one side.

"What? Have you had the job for 5 minutes? Surely things like this are old hat by now."

Annoyingly at times like these, he was reminded just how little time he'd spent in the seat, it felt like barely yesterday he was staggering around Nepal desperately.

"Sure, some Tony Stark lookalike, suddenly at a centre of several magical explosions-"

"Heh. Oops. My bad. I'm also not a lookalike, Me and Tony Stark are the same person!"

"And then I get here and you're painting…. I don't even know what that is!"

"Why would you? I made this myself and your remit doesn't cover me and mine."

"What do you mean?"

"Feel my magic. You'll get it. Or you won't. Not my problem."

Then the bastard winks at him. He might be closer to believing that this is Tony Stark as he is infuriating but his mind refuses to let go of the fact that everyone knows Tony Stark is baseline human. Also, there were very, very few dimensions and worlds that didn't fall under their purview, usually because the occupants had enough magic or be formidable alone.

"What are you?"

"Well, now that's just rude. Plus, everyone knows that Tony Stark is a baseline human."

Eyes shining with amusement and echoing his thoughts, he pulled a knife from somewhere, slashed his palm deep enough to make him wince and strolls back to the Ward, then he slammed it onto the Ward. After that, things get confusing, it was just a palm touching stone, it shouldn't have created a roaring bang that left his ears ringing, that he felt in his bones. It shouldn't have created a wave of force that had him staggering, swaying on the spot, vision blurred and head killing. He swore the Ward burned in a Blue Fire but the next chance he sort of sees the wall, its blank.

Suddenly, there was someone lightly touching his elbow, steadying him.

"There we go, I didn't realise you were that sensitive to magic such as mine. I'm quite impressed, very rare in humans. If you would let me, I can heal the aftereffects of my magic."

"Why?"

"Because my magic hurt you and I pay my debts."

He decided to throw caution to the wind. For some reason, since the magic explosion, Stark's words had the ring of truth. Sometimes the after-effects of magic had strange traits and he was not above using it to his advantage, even if he felt atrocious. It meant he had to ask before he healed him.

"Before you do, are you really Tony Stark, did you really know The Ancient One?"

"Hmm, crafty little sorcerer. I like it, so I will answer, this time. Do not get greedy. I was and still am Tony Stark, in a way, I spent a cycle as him, usually, after I die as a mortal I leave, but something is coming. Something big. As for 'The Ancient One', seriously humans and their dramatic titles, I told her she'd end up with one you know, after she mocked mine. I did know her, from a very long time ago, she didn't go as The Ancient One back then. I'm going to heal you now clever little sorcerer. "

Being called crafty and clever little sorcerer like that by a magically de-aged Tony Stark, who spoke of living as a human as a thing he did often, like one would pick up milk from a corner shop, should be insulting. Somehow, it sounded and felt like a great compliment and he can't put his finger on why. Even so, if he were capable of it, he would be glaring right now.

It's easier to accept things like this happening in different dimensions, it this one, it was still odd to him.

He felt fingers brush against his temples, he didn't feel him cast any magic like he'd come to expect, and his vision is all wonky anyway. Warmth blossoms and spreads from his head and after blinking a few times, he can finally stand up straight. He hadn't even realised he has been he'd doubled over. That was quite an efficient healing too, usually, it tended to take longer. He turned to the shorter man to thank him but barely gets the word out.

"Th-"

"Ah ah. Don't go throwing that around. Not everyone is as kind as me you know, so, my clever little sorcerer, do you have a name? "

His head was tilted to one side as he looked up at him intently and suddenly he wasn't sure, Stephen is not used to being on the back foot in conversations and he's decided he still doesn't like it. For some reason, his rudeness earns him a bright smile. Because Tony Stark is mad? He has no idea.

"I promise not to abuse the privilege, and you need not give me every name clever little sorcerer."

Ah, well that at least gives him some information. Finally. The list of people and creatures that used naming magic was small and not something he'd run into before.

"Dr Strange."

"Code name? Or an actual doctor?

He rolled his eyes, but then he'd come to expect this by now.

"I am a world-famous neurosurgeon."

"Hmm, very interesting, I definitely like you. Now, mind if I greet my friend?"

"Friend? "

Before Stark can reply, the cloak practically vibrated on his back before it bounded over to him and practically glomped the shorter man. He was again, thrown, an irritating pattern he was beginning to notice. His cloak began zipping around Stark like an over-excited puppy. It was moving so fast that he can hardly track it, but from Stark's nodding he apparently can understand the cloak with apparent ease.

Whatever the cloak is saying, however, is now pissing off Stark. He had gone from easy and smiling to straight back, stone-faced, the air even seemed to be shifting around him and it had taken on a heavy quality, he can feel the magic and wonder what is this man to have so much excess magic practically boiling around. The aura of the forest was even reacting, shifting from ominous to deadly.

The cloak was still going too, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was causing or utterly unconcerned either way. Which considering the palpable threat in the air is pretty strange.

He can understand the cloak occasionally, but not at this speed. It was talking so fast he didn't have a chance of deciphering it, which is annoying because he really wished he knew what was said to have caused this reaction. Especially as its attention shifts to the sodding cat, leaving Stark turning to him.

He really doesn't want to get into a fight, not with his cloak playing with a sodding cat, but he readies a few spells in his mind just in case. Maybe this is a misunderstanding, or nothing to do with himself. Sometimes he wonders why he took this damned job.

Especially when those gold eyes turned on him. Goldeyes that now bare very little resemblance to humanity. With a cold, sharp intellect burning at its centre.

'Oh fuck.'

Chapter Text

Stephen POV 

"Thank you, Dr Strange." 

Stephen was pretty sure his life just flashed before his eyes and now he's just confused.

The cloak chooses that moment to finally return and settle around him, giving him a squeeze as the anger that still felt like a damned physical pressure pushed in at him. Stark was obviously working to fold his anger down but he can see it's a struggle, especially with magic reacting around him as if it would be gleeful for him to give into it. Another thing, even though he hadn't given his entire name, there was a feeling of power in it. 

Whenever he says his name, Stephen can feel the magic crawl up his spine, even though humans are much less susceptible to the magic of names from what he'd read. Humans change as they grow, making a static name only useful for short periods of time, unlike a Demon for instance, when you have a demon's name you have a means of summoning and control. The fact that a single name was eliciting such a reaction, made him damned thankful his anger was not directed at him. 

He praised himself for at least retaining some eloquence this time Stark shocked the hell out of him. 

"Mind if I ask why? At that speed, I can't understand what he's saying yet." 

For some reason that earned him a pleased smile which thankfully took some of the pressure around them away. 

"You released him. You gave him a home and you treat him well. That's all I ask for. Occasional visits would be nice, I've missed him. If I find out who put him in a display box, however, I might just do the same to them." 

The threat wasn't big and flashy as threats of doom and suffering are usually want to be, it was uttered in such a matter of fact manner that Stark might have stated that the sky was blue. It was, however, a very clear threat.

This situation was just getting more and more bizarre. He, however, didn't feel strange admitting that the cloak had become a friend to him. 

"He saved my life and he's become a close friend. I'm happy to have helped in freeing him." 

"Levi is as loyal as loyal can be, I hope you will be just as loyal in return my crafty little sorcerer. Because I like you." 

Considering others had called the cloak fickle, something he had never understood, considering how loyal he was to him. Having another person call him loyal was vindicating in away. The rest of the sentence was again, slightly unnerving, but that seemed to be the pattern when conversing with Stark.

Confusion peppered with threats on one's life. 

The threat was more nerve-wracking somehow than his comment of putting someone into a display box. But then ever since he had stumbled on Stark, this entire situation had been unnerving. It would probably help if he knew what Stark was, but he suspected he would not get a straight answer and that the man would enjoy confusing him if he gave him the opportunity. 

"He is my friend, of course, I will."

"That's what I like to hear. Now, as much as I'm enjoying this conversation, and I am, but I have to finish up as holding the building magic in my mind isn't exactly comfortable and I don't want to start from scratch or accidentally release everything I've already built up. When I'm finished you should get less crazy readings in the sanctum. 

Feel free to pop around later, I don't think you'll want to be here through the next few iterations as they grow exponentially. You are also very sensitive to my magic."

He couldn't help but widen his eyes, just the magical discharge from one had rendered him utterly disoriented. 

"I'll head back to the sanctum…"

He paused and wondered for a second if it was wise to open a portal in a forest like this. He turned to open a portal and figured asking was probably best. Wong would be proud, and would likely never believe him if he mentioned it. 

"Do you mind if I open a portal here?" 

The loud caw again caught him off guard, he had completely forgotten about the crow. 

"Sure, feel free." 

"Goodbye Stark." 

"Catch you later, Dr Strange." 

There, he felt it again, and from the amusement shining in his eyes, he knew it too.

However, he'd managed to not offend anyone and Wong would be impressed. He wasn't going to ruin that now, he summoned the portal and stepped through, he glanced back and was surprised to find the area completely empty, the portal closed before he could try and work it how the man had vanished. He hadn't felt a portal being summoned, even the cat was gone. 

"Ah, your back. I'm assuming everything went well." 

"I'm not even sure if you'll believe me." 

"Try me." 

"Well, the Wards are being placed around the Avengers Compound, the wall was made of Atronach and the Wards were being cast by Tony Stark who has not only de-aged, but I don't think he is human either. Also, moderately terrifying and friends with the cloak." 

Wong just blinked at him before sitting down, he goes to speak a few times before choosing something to focus on. 

"Atronach, really? "

"Completely, and no it wasn't a covering. It was nine feet high and at least a foot thick I believe. There was also an actual Dark Forest on either side that a blind crow gave me access to." 

"I'm surprised you're not dead." 

"I'm blown away by your confidence in me." 

"I know you, you just fell into a highly dangerous situation woefully unprepared. Much worse than I'd even considered." 

"You literally sent me into it! He thanked me. For taking the cloak from the display stand." 

"He thanked you? Huh. Colour me impressed. Maybe my lessons are finally getting through to you. What are you going to ask for?" 

"Rude, and what do you mean what am I going to ask for?" 

"He thanked you, make sure it's of equal value too or you'll cause offence. Anyway, I'm going to the London Sanctum. I need to pick up a few books that I think you need to read and their library is unparalleled for what we're after." 

With that, Wong just left, leaving Stephen more than a little confused. Stark had stopped him from thanking him. Now Wong was interpreting a thank you as what? An offer for services? Stephen felt like he was missing out on important information and for some reason, Wong was not sharing. Usually, that meant he was trying to teach him an infuriating lesson of some kind. 

He decided to hunt in the library for anything that could help him. He collected a few books on Dark Forests, there were so many books on them it would take a while to get through but it was the only real lead he had. They weren't often found in America however, so Wong didn't have many available. It wasn't like Stark had told him what he was after all. He could potentially look up the crow as well but he figured that there would be many creatures that moved under that symbolism. It might have been a shapeshifter of some kind. The forest, however, that was a set thing. 

True Dark Forests tended to differentiate based upon the local, but that said more about who was available to live within them, there were some things that were the same for each. Maybe he could find out more, find out what kind of person has the power to move? Relocate? Grow? Whatever Stark did to have his Avengers Compound flanked by one. 

He takes the books to the map to see how far he had come with his Warding. The circle was almost complete now. He could see the after images of previous castings and could see the perfect circle with a small gap in between each after image. In the middle, so inside the compound he presumed, there was all manner of after images. From small to blinding beacons, even now, when some of the other after images were beginning to fade. 

He definitely had been busy before he started working on the walls. The walls themselves were an after image in a perfect circle. So he'd somehow used magic to shape Atronach into the wall in the first place? Or had he summoned it in its current form? Who had that much of the stuff just lying around as ready-to-go walls? 

He started reading but was also watching the circle, he was interested to see how much of a flare it would create when it was done, now he also knew Stark's magical signature, tracking him would be much easier. At least that's what he thought. 

The last piece flashed brighter than all the rest, and Stephen could almost feel it, feel the last bit slip into place. Which considering he was so far away to feel such things, was very strange. After that, however, all of the after images utterly vanished and the area went dark. It looked no different from any other area where no magic had been cast for many, many years. Even the after image of his portal was gone. He glanced at the table in shock, as far as he knew, there was no way to get around it. Yet those Wards had blanketed the place and retroactively removed all traces of power. 

Stephen wasn't sure if he was annoyed or impressed. 

Tony POV

He dusted off his hands, sending his equipment back to his workshop and his glamour clicked back into place. He paused at the wall, tensing for the inevitable claws. For a creature able to flow between places with such ease, Drest's favoured means of travel was this. Over the years the sheer number of people she tricked into carrying her about was utterly baffling. All she had to do was bat her eyes and people fell over themselves to carry her around. (He thought all this of course whilst he was carrying her around.) 

Well, when she was this size. Other sizes could lead to the screaming and the running. His magic was finally starting to settle down, the exhaustion following the final Ward on the wall was lingering instead of building back up again. 

Pepper would be returning from Germany soon, a few days maybe. It gave him a little more time to get things ready before his next phase. He still had some work to do around the compound. 

If he was actually planning on living on this side of the mists for any protracted length of time, as himself rather than as a mortal, there were a number of things he'd need to bring over.

Blending his lives as Tony Stark and Cadeyrn together. He would need to set up a second workshop, alongside his current one would work nicely, harder to access too given the kind of things in it.

This, however, was good.

It was a good start. 

Chapter Text

Pepper POV

She had not long been back in the country after a business trip to Germany. Tony being forced to clean up messes that were not his own often left her infuriated, and after the trip to Romania…? It was pretty fair to say that she was fuming. Captain Perfect had found himself resoundingly at the top of her shit list, which was quite an achievement considering some of the utter slimeballs she dealt with in the business world. 

Tony had been out of touch for a while, which had worried her. The last video call he had not looked well and she had wanted to scream at him to please just rest! However she knew that if she did, he'd either take it as a cue to do more, or he'd say he would rest and just go back to work. Right now he needed people on his side rather than against. With their split, she was unsure if she could even get him to rest anymore, she hoped that one day their friendship would be a solid foundation once more, because Tony needed more of that, not less. 

The hospital had been her first stop, then she got Tony's message asking her to meet him at the compound, but she had to check in on Jim first. He had, however, been transferred it seems, which was odd. She and Tony had chosen this hospital as it was the best for Jim's injury, the compound was listed as the hospital he'd been sent to. Peculiar, but not out of the range of possibilities. Maybe the initial estimates and scans had been incorrect and his injury had not been as bad as they had feared. 

She slipped back into the car, smiling at Happy as she flipped through her other emails and caught up on work that had built up as she had been running around.

Happy's exclamation pulled her from her work haze. 

"What the…?"

She glanced up and was left blinking herself, it had been a few weeks since she had come to the compound but there definitely had not been a huge white wall spanning it with a large, intricate silver looking gate, which whilst she had to admit, it was absolutely beautiful, but it was rather strange to find it here. Tony tended to favour functionality over decoration. A blue light flashed over the car, leaving her blinking as the gates opened. Tony was pretty well known for having things built alarmingly fast, but this was a shock, even to her. Vision was stood just inside the gates, glancing around in confusion. 

Which was when she looked and realised there were changes everywhere. It still looked like something Tony would build, sleek designs and very modern, but there was an almost… organic element to it now that hadn't been here before. Vision followed them to park the car and they walked together towards the building they were meeting in. 

"Sir has made quite a few changes in a very short period of time, he also seems to have had the damage repaired.." 

She flinched at that, she was still fuming over the what that little witch had done to Vision. 

"Well he's certainly been busy hasn't he." 

There were voices coming from the meeting room and Jim's was very clear from the hall, causing her to frown. He should definitely not be up and around, not at all. Why were these two boys so incapable of resting? Would it kill them to stay in a hospital bed for five minutes? We're doctors recommendations just a joke? The two of them were going to send her prematurely grey. 

She'd entered, ready to lay down the law, so to speak, but seeing Jim pacing back and forth utterly threw her for a loop. He was walking. Even the best estimates had been that he may never walk unaided again, the more likely result of his injury was that he'd be completely paralysed from the waist down, that he would require a wheelchair for the rest of his life, or at least until Tony got to work she supposed. But there was no way he had built something already and even if he had, Jim would not be strong enough to use it. He was meant to be healing… 

"Pepper pot! How was Germany?" 

She pulled her vision from staring at Jim's legs and then was just as stunned when she saw Tony. It was like someone had peeled back the years. Jim cleared his throat and then she noticed that he looked much younger too. Shock, as a rule, made Pepper annoyed. Seeing Jim walking had been a huge shock on its own, and it meant no one had bothered to call her to tell her he could walk again! Add in these other changes, yes, she was unimpressed and would be letting the boys know it. Eyebrow raised, in a manner that brokered no argument as she gestured to the table. 

"Right now you two are going to sit down and explain to me exactly what has happened." 

Jim was a little on the excitable side it seemed, which was a pretty rare side of him to see. Usually, this side only came out when Tony had well and truly done something crazy. 

"Tony healed me! He put a little too much strength into it. Which is why I now look like I could get carded again." 

"Pfft Platypus, you didn't even get carded in college when you were 17."

"Right, and how did Tony do this?" 

"With magic." 

Jim looks a little too smug and Tony thunked his head down on the table in exasperation. 

"But doesn't Sir hate magic?" 

"Right you are Vision, Tony, want to give them your rant again about those pesky humans and magic?" 

Tony sat up and threw his hands up in frustration. 

"It's not a rant! Trust me, when you've cleaned up as many messes as I have because Humans just can't not poke around with magic, it gets annoying. Very, very few humans have an actual capability for magic, yet there you all go, reading books and touching things. It's maddening. I once met a man that had accidentally fused himself to a stone Pepper, then there was the man who tried to use magic to fly, that was the most disturbing transfiguration I've ever seen and don't get me started on the guy who thought entering his wife's dreams was a top-notch idea!"

Jim snickered to himself as she and Vision glanced at each other, at the tail end of Tony's rant and then back at Tony who looked like he was gearing up for more ranting. 

"Not a rant. Tones that was a rant."

"Right. Explain. Now." 

"Well, after Germany I spoke to Wilson, I found out where Cap was going… hilarity ensued, fights were had and I technically, kind of, nearly died." 

"YOU WHAT?!" 

"I said technically! Look, I'm here, all alive and all that jazz and it's kind of lucky I did really as otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to heal up our Platypus now would I. Usually, I have to die for my memories to return, but as I was close enough we were able to exploit a loophole. Plus, things have gotten fucked enough that I can help in my original capacity instead of nudging things as a mortal. It's awesome, well, barring the Cosmic threat. But! I do better living on this side of the mists but I've not been able to do it for ages unless I was human." 

"Don't worry Pep, he still keeps talking like we have any clue what he's saying. Basically like he does with science, but now he does it with magic too. He's still Tony, but he was … someone else before." 

"Right. I'm going to pretend I understood that. So, you are Tony, but you aren't?" 

She wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that. 

"Tony Stark was more me than most of my cycles, feel free to keep calling me Tony however, it's what I'm going by now." 

He jumped up and clapped his hands, waving towards a wall that shifted and then displayed 6 stones, one of which looked considerably like what Vision had in his mind. 

"We have one more person to come. "

"This that Sorcerer you met when you were working on the walls?" 

"Yes, the Sorcerer Supreme. Not the one I had expected, the last one passed on whilst I was Tony Stark apparently. This new guy seems interesting, however. His sensitivity to my magic is impressively high. He was prophesied and everything. Damn Riga, she bet me that the bastard would be taller than me. How was I meant to know you humans would start getting so damned tall! Anyway, he's a good example of a human meant to use magic." 

"Man, I still can't get over you talking about magic without cringing!" 

To say that she was confused was an understatement. Whilst Jim just looked like a younger version of himself, Tony had differences here and there to the younger man she'd known. His hair was darker, yet, redder, eyes lighter. Just, little changes here and there. But watching Tony and Jim banter however set her at ease. This was a change, yes. But somehow, this was still the Tony she had known for many years.

This was just another in the long line of curveballs he had thrown her way. 

Vision was contemplative but he seemed quite relaxed by everything. If anything, it proved how off the mark their lives had become when things like two of her friends magically getting younger only created a few moments of confusion before it was seemingly accepted and moved on from. 

"Now. I want more about how you nearly died." 

Tony sighed and he was so much -Tony- at that moment, she knew she would be fine with these new changes. He waved a hand at the wall again and she wondered if that was technology… Or magic? 

“We have some time before the Crafty Sorcerer arrives, so here. This is what happened in Siberia. "

By the end of the video, she knew if she ever saw that man.. No. That parasite again, he would be sorry. 

Chapter Text

Stephen POV

Wong had just gotten back with his 7th stack of books from the London Sanctum, And Stephen wasn't quite sure what to think. He'd barely got a word in edgewise before he'd portaled off again and this had been the pattern now for a few days. He'd glanced at some of the books, they were in a myriad of languages, heavily geared towards Goidelic and Brythonic in origin, not surprising given the library they hailed from. Several of the books he was pretty sure were fiction, but he'd picked up a few of them to leaf through and was currently looking at a translation of Red Book of Hergest. He was pretty good at picking up languages but oddly enough, middle Welsh was not one he was adept in. Or just. You know, Welsh. Glancing at the pile, he realised that and Gaelic were heavily featured too. Joy. 

Several of the books were straight-up Fairy tales, heavily focused on the British Isles and he was unsure whether Wong was having him on. 

Since his training, he had learnt that a lot of things had moved from Reality to Word to Myth. That just because they had, didn't mean it wasn't real. That things had also gone the other way, starting in Myth and ending in reality by sheer force of will. With a heavy amount of people writing what they believed or wanted to believe, then it being picked up as fact. But he struggled to look at a pile that contained Arthurian legends as anything not a prank of some kind. It didn't help that it wasn't the first time Wong had done it to him. That little lesson on separating fact and fiction before visiting the Feory people in the Masagix Dimension had nearly gotten him roasted to within an inch of his life. 

Since then he had been a little more critical of Wong and his annoying lessons. 

"There we go, that should do it." 

"Are you sure? I bet there are some books left in their library if you had a look." 

"Don't be snarky. You are beyond unprepared. This would have been simpler had you got a name of some kind. The masters in England are more versed in this than myself but without a name, there isn't anything specific they can tell us."

"Tony Stark not good enough?" 

"That was his mortal name during this cycle. If he's operating out in the open like you mentioned then likely old-world rules apply. Some are more… vicious in their application than others." 

Old world rules? 

Before he has a chance to voice that however, the huge black crow from a few days ago flew into the room. Both of them were startled, especially as it flew through the wall of the sanctum and landed on the table in front of them as if doing such a thing was normal. Well, Stephen supposed normal had become a subjective term ever since he heard those two words and went off on a wild goose chase. 

Again, those white blind eyes found him with a startling degree of accuracy and ease before the creature hopped over to him, dropping an envelope in front of him. It let out a caw, forcing him to repress the shiver it triggered down his spine. It then launched itself at the wall and flew right through it as if it wasn't even there. The wall rippled slightly, before solidifying. He picked up the letter and a black feather that had been left behind. 

"You must have made quite the impression with Stark. At least that gives us an idea of who he potentially knows." 

He ignored yet another of Wong's cryptic comments, he was getting good at that, and opened the envelope. It was a means of correspondence that he hadn't expected someone like Stark to use. The paper of the envelope was heavy and had a rough feel that paper rarely did these days, it was also tinted. The fact it was also sealed with black wax with a wing imprinted into it didn't alleviate the oddness of receiving a letter via a bird that can fly through walls from Tony Stark. 

That was possibly throwing him off the most, that made this entirely impossible to fathom, that out of all the people in the world to be involved with something like this, was the entirely modern, futurist, human, Tony Stark. It was triggering a disconnect in his mind. 

There were a number of beings that could enter the mortal cycle, but from what he'd been told it had fallen out of practice a long time ago. He'd said he usually left after his mortal form died, which meant that sometime recently he had been killed or brought close enough to death that it had released him. There had been little on the news bar this Civil War. He had to wonder just what had lead to his 'death'.

The letter started off pretty formal. An invitation to the compound and assuring of his safe passage, which was a bit of a strange thing to include in an invite to the Avengers compound, but OK. 

Then it got slightly less formal and slightly more Stark when the reason was regarding a "discussion about the threat to reality and a cosmic fuck up to end all cosmic fuck ups." 

The entire thing was heavily surreal. He had said something was coming, something big. Something that had made him create those Wards maybe? 

"Hmm, well, I'd have preferred you to have read more, but you also don't want to be late. Get going and Stephen, try not to put your foot in it will you?" 

"Get going?" 

"Yes, look, the meeting is in 15 minutes." 

"Who the hell sends an invite with 15 minutes to spare! What if I'm busy?" 

"But you're not busy." 

"I could have been." 

"That's probably why such an important person delivered it."

He rolled his eyes before slipping the letter back into the envelope, the cloak was practically vibrating, at least someone was excited about this. He moved to the computer to bring up a picture of the Avengers Compound this time, to turn up closer instead of outside its walls like he had last time. 

Just as he stepped through the portal, Wong shouted through. 

"Don't eat or drink anything!" 

The portal closed before he could yell back that his cryptic messages were not helping the situation at all. 

He glanced around and was surprised to find himself outside of the wall again. Even though he was pretty sure he had portaled inside of them. A blue light flashed over him, leaving him blinking and his skin tingling that he barely noticed the silver gates opening. 

It didn't take too long to find his way around the compound at least, locating where the meeting was with surprising ease. Despite being so large and sprawling, much larger than the pictures on the Internet had indicated too, it was very nicely signposted.

Even the door to the meeting had a sign attached to it. 

"End of the universe / Cosmic threat meeting."

Well. That's not unnerving. 

Chapter Text

Stephen POV 

With a sign like that, Stephen had honestly expected more people to be at the meeting.

Stark was sitting on the edge of the table with some familiar faces around him (although now he was grudgingly thankful for Christine's fan status, otherwise he'd have little idea who any of them were). Stark was also literally swinging his legs like a teenager and Stephen again found himself questioning everything. 

Colonel Rhodes was kicked back in a chair, legs crossed ankle to knee, looking at him with the air of a military man assessing a newcomer. The cat from the other day was dozing across the man's shoulders. What was strange was that he was sure he'd heard the man had suffered a severe injury at Leipzig-Halle and had been rushed to a hospital that was known to have the best spinal surgeon he knew of. Seeing the man sitting there, staring at him was somewhat confusing. He assumed that the injury was not as bad as he had thought, or, he had made an incorrect assumption as to why that hospital, in particular, had been chosen over the other, much closer hospitals. 

The other two where Pepper Pots, a bit of a strange addition. As far as he knew she was the CEO of Stark Industries, not an Avenger. The other was The Vision. The interesting life form that was powered by an Infinity Stone. 

It was definitely a smaller meeting than he expected. 

But then, he supposed that the Civil War had ripped the team asunder. The lion's share of said team was now on the run having escaped from a creepy, pretty illegal looking underwater prison that was straight out of the super villain's handbook.

The world became more ridiculous by the day.

"Well, that's everyone, for now, come on in, Levi!" 

Levi… He was unsure how he felt about his cloak being called Levi, but the cloak seemed to like it. At least, he assumed as much, the way it fled his shoulders to jump directly onto Stark's face was somewhat telling. 

"Um. Tones. Are you being attacked or hugged by the wizards' cloak? I honestly can't tell." 

Tony's reply was muffled but he waved his hands in an 'I'm fine' manner. 

"I'm a Sorcerer, not a wizard. You may refer to me as Dr Strange." 

Levi finished his 'greeting', waved at the other confused people and settled back on his shoulders. The chair in front of him moved out in invitation and he noticed that Ms Potts jumped a little, and Vision gave it a baffled look. Causing him to believe that open displays of magic, were the very least, fairly new to them. 

"So. You lot are being read in first for fairly obvious reasons. Rhodey-bear is the leader of the Avengers-" 

"I'm what now?!" 

Stark ignored friends shock and promptly kept speaking. It was somewhat gratifying to know that he was not the only one Stark seemed to garner glee from confusing.

"As I was saying. Platypus is the leader of the Avengers, Vision, this directly affects you because of the Mind Stone. The Sorcerer Supreme for a similar reason. And Ms Potts is one of the most organised human beings that I have ever met." 

They were all left a little stunned as Tony waved his hand, the wall flickered and the 6 stones came up. Already Stephen was not having a good feeling about this. 

"These, are the Infinity Stones. Very powerful, to be used, they usually require a cradle of some kind or they'll shred you with their power. They, simply put, are the fundamental constants of existence, leftover from the previous universe and multiverse. Someone that has been known to my extended family and friends for some time, and has caused us no end of problems, has decided to up his game. 

"He plans on collecting all 6 to speed up his goal of wiping out 50% of life in the known galaxy." 

Everyone reacted at once, with a similar sentiment-

"What the fuck?!" 

"I never said he was intelligent. The Titan is something much, much worse. He's a fanatic."

Stephen a single thought regarding this-

"Oh fuck." 

You can't argue with fanatics, you can't reason with them. They're rabid in their beliefs, even when insurmountable evidence is against them. Especially when confronted with such evidence.

"But... why?" 

"From what I've been told, he thinks he's saving the universe from overpopulation Pep, or something. However, it will really fuck the Balance up. It won't just kill 50%, because if the pilot of a plane vanishes, if half the doctors at a hospital vanish, more die. Killing the population will free up food, until it rots on the shelves.

"This will ripple out and will knock our dimension out of alignment. Which means others could be wiped out, we could be wiped out, dimensions could merge, or a whole cluster domino effect can happen." 

"Shit, this keeps getting better and better. Why is he coming here Tones?"

"The Mind Stone and The Time Stone are on earth. Also, we had The Space Stone for quite a while and humans, being very human, of course. You lot poked at it till it created enough discharge to create some fun weapons. Fury thinks they're disintegration rays or something, they're not, they're teleportation rays without a fixed point. Which, of course, gives off readings that it's still on Earth. Plus, things have a habit of ending up here. Earth is like a magnet. A bright light in the black of the void."

"Fuck."

"Oh, he was behind the battle of New York too." 

"I thought that was Loki?" 

"Nope, mind control." 

"When did you work that out? Also, why does that seem to be behind everything these days?" 

Stark leaned back, scratching his beard with his head tilted as if he was looking at something none of them could see. 

"I had my doubts back then, but I can see it more clearly now. He was a figurehead because the Titan wanted The Space Stone. Wiping out a chunk of humanity the sams time. No idea why its become so popular, but I hate mind control.."

For a second, the aura around Stark turned dark and heavy, filled with a wealth and depth of anger that he struggled to conceive of, it's like he can taste it, his teeth were even aching under it.. and that thing in the back of his mind is practically screeching at him that danger is here. Then it was completely gone, leaving him lightheaded and Tony was bringing up videos and pictures from the invasion and talking like nothing had happened, while Stephen was pretty sure that was one of the topmost terrifying moments of his damned life. And that included being murdered, repeatedly. He listened, whilst relearning how to breathe, and made a mental note to not be on the other side of that anger. The others had felt nothing it seemed, just sitting there paying attention. Sometimes Stephen cursed his new senses. 

"He got caught much too easily, barely made use of his Seiðr which was very telling, he made a lot of noise about coming to conquer us, opened a tiny window, then went away quite peacefully. Very obvious that something was up, plus friends have been trying to get me to meet Loki for centuries, he's a prankster, not a megalomaniacal overlord. He'd get bored of it in a week." 

"Okay, information overload. But this...this is what you've been talking about for years isn't it?" 

"Yup, I only implant a few things when I 'go mortal', but the ability to recognise threats like this in advance is one of them. This time round I obsessed on it to my normal degree, which is fine for me, not really fine for a mortal." 

Colonel Rhodes and Stark bounced off each other leaving him wondering. He remembered that attack, he had been in the hospital, had refused to leave whilst huge beasts swam through the air. That it was for a single stone? That Stark didn't even deem it a real attack? That did not bode well for Earth. 

Or for the fact, he was wearing one around his neck.

It suddenly felt much, much heavier. 

"So, you've known this was coming?"

He attempts to keep out the implications that if he had known, what's being done about it? Wong would be amazed at his diplomacy. 

"Not precisely. When I'm human, I'm literally human. Part of the rules. All I knew was that the attack wasn't the end of it, I could feel it in my bones. I blew up 1 mothership with that nuke, as I fell back and it came apart… I saw more, then the portal closed as I fell. Few people are interested in a threat they can't see, that looks defeated, with only an eccentric genius with PTSD knowing about it."

He winced, that couldn't have been an easy cross to carry. The fact he was casually talking about flying a damned nuke through a closing portal into space was not disconcerting. Not at all. 

"Right, who wants food? Drinks? We're going to be here a while going over earth defences and what we can do under certain time frames. I won't be informing the UN just yet, I'd like a plan before chaos breaks. The UN and the Accords needs to settle first and we have time."

He had been about to agree to the food until he remembered Wongs annoyingly cryptic words and was torn. His hesitation again should have been insulting, but Stark seemed to find it amusing, whilst his companions were looking at him in confusion. 

"Don't worry Crafty Sorcerer. I'm ordering in. You won't have to worry about that in my lands anyway. All is given freely and without obligation."

"If you give me your orders I will get onto that now." 

"Thanks, FRIDAY." 

"FRIDAY?" 

"She's my AI, helps me out with everything and you'll all be able to access her on your phones, just in case something comes up regarding world-ending drama." 

Before he can say anything about how old his phone was... Tony slid a huge, expensive-looking phone over the table that came to a stop perfectly in front of him. Well, that cleared that up. He made a note to keep his current phone distinctly out of sight. He has a feeling it would greatly offend the man. 

"So, Crafty Sorcerer, are you joining the Avengers?" 

"Why on earth would I do that?" 

"World saving hi-jinks! At least think on it, maybe ask some of the other masters? I could even visit if they wanted, it has been a while. They might want you to join so I don't... Plus, if you join, I'll even lend my services should you need them on your side, only fair after all." 

"I'll think about it." 

"That's all I ask." 

The man looked far, far too smug for something he had little intention of doing. 

Chapter Text

Tony POV 

A very, very long meeting later, that included more hacking of international government servers than his entire education as Tony Stark (which really was saying something). Two more food runs and more than a little magical discussion between himself and Dr Strange, who was starting to come around. Potentially because the Sorcerer wanted access to his Battle Wards, either way, it was amusing... It had been quite a while since he taught a human magic-user how to use some of his more unique Wards. The man had enough raw power to be able to work some of them. He had great potential, he can now see just why Riga spoke so highly of him. He is truly meant to hold change in his hands. Tony has a sense for people who can upset the Balance, but he also a sense for its protectors, and this crafty Sorcerer shines.

He was, however, finally ready to crash on his feet. He might have pushed a little too hard in the first several days here, even with his excess magic, but he'd wanted the place protected and his magic masked. Along with his excess magic build-up used harmlessly and constructively. Healing people didn't help matters, healing was a very taxing form of magic. 

It, however, meant that he needed to sleep, unfortunately, insomnia was not a trait unique to Tony Stark and it was kicking up a fuss. In fact, his insomnia had leaked through into his mortal life. For him, not sleeping for 5 days might not strictly be healthy, but it wasn't that bad. Humans however needed to sleep more often, which had caused him no end of problems whilst he was human. Tony Stark and circadian rhythms were not even remotely acquainted. 

He had bid everyone goodbye, Vision had picked a new room for himself, away from those he had once shared with Wanda. He'd be redesigning the rooms soon anyway and the bots were helping out by collecting his stuff, not that he had much, it was mostly a large selection of disturbing sweaters and cookbooks. Pepper had to get back to SI, she was already running late and Dr Strange had taken a portal back to the Sanctum. 

"Alright Tones, what did you want to talk to me for, because you look like you should be unconscious" 

"I feel it, but I've been trying to work out how to broach this and I might be using exhaustion to my favour.."

"Not ominous. Not ominous at all." 

He dropped into a comfortable chair in the common room, Rhodey joined him and Drest appeared, making his lap her nest. Rhodey was already completely whipped when it came to his familiar. She liked most Reapers, that they carried his Black Fire was part of it. Drest found his magic comfortable. She'd actually found several Reapers before him in the past, by sitting on random humans until he found her. She definitely seemed to particularly like his Platypus, she had remained exactly the same size each time he'd seen her. Tony hadn't thought that was possible. 

"It's not a bad thing, it's more of a… choice thing. And a 'confusing to explain' thing. Back when my people actually visited The Firelands, Earth, more often there was a closer tie between us and humanity. Some of my kind were worshipped and this lead to them becoming... specialists in certain areas. Our magic, then seeded into humanity by the Fire and then it would pool in humans that had potential. Mine are called The Reapers." 

"What? Like Death?" 

"No, I'm not Death, I mean, there are loads of Death Gods and Goddesses out there, I'm not one." 

"Do you have a Scythe though? "

"Were getting off-topic…" 

"Oh my god. You totally do, don't you?! Let me see!" 

Tony rolled his eyes and knew that there would be no getting out of this so he summoned the black bladed weapon, slightly amused with the look on Rhodey's face as the very long blade slid into place. He had multiple Reaper blades for himself, but the Scythe had become a signature of sorts in The Firelands. It was imposing, it made people pause. Rhodey was immediately drawn to the black blade, just stopping his fingers from running along it, as if just realising what it was. Tony smiled, already attracted to the Black Reaper metal? He had a feeling his Gumdrop would be strong.

"Holy shit. Does this mean you take people's souls or something? Reapers sounds pretty deathy." 

He waved his hand and the Scythe vanished in another flash of Fire. 

"Humans come up with some weird shit, you know? You guys hear one thing, I go away for 10 years and all these weird stories pop up, of me harvesting souls. Mortis especially found it hilarious. So, no, no soul taking, Reapers fight threats. To the Land. To the Fire. To the Balance." 

"Okay. That sounds a little odd, but cool." 

"There hasn't been a new Reaper called in centuries, I took it to mean the Balance was settling, the realms we're moving away from threats like this and the Fire has been sleeping more over the last few generations. As humanity moved on. For a while, things had been calming down. Maybe the Balance had become more stable. I don't know if it's the Titan, he's definitely risking the balance, or something else, but something has changed, the Fire is strengthening once more, despite humanity's efforts. Now, I've found a person who could be a Reaper. Signs are stacking up, Times are Changing."

"How do you know who can be one?" 

"The magic that pools in them is visible to those it stems from. So, potential Reapers carry my Black Fire inside them. It can be left dormant and bound, or I can awaken and release the Fire, it's your choice. I've been told I'm 'annoyingly' protective of people carrying my Fire, personally, I just think others are lazy. Reapers are a type of Highly Enhanced, Gifted human. Abilities are derived from my line, along with a compulsion to keep the Balance. They become 'Of Magic' when they take up the Mantle." 

Rhodey was nodding along, looking thoughtful and he knew he hadn't picked up on it yet. 

"Rhodey. It's you."

"Huh, what?"

"The person I'm talking about is you." 

"Are you sure, because I - Wow." 

He didn't let him finish his sentence and put his hand near his chest, summoning Black Fire which flickered around his fingers, causing Rhodey to look down just as the Black Fire from inside him pushed upwards and out of his sternum. Becoming visible as Rhodey's Fire reached out for his own.

"Holy shit, that's inside me?!?" 

"Yup, completely harmless, however, it explains why you always healed so fast and rarely got drunk enough to be hungover. Even dormant and bound, you are more advanced humans. You could easily reach a step just beneath a Super-Soldier with the correct training. Without even waking the Fire. It is why you survived that fall..." 

"Man, this is so weird. First, you die, de-age and get all magical, now I'm some sort superhuman? That actually solves a few mysteries of my life. Yours too." 

"Yup, other Reapers in the past told me I really suck at this. I mean, I have cousins who do this magically appearing at the strike of midnight. They start a whole spiel about duty and magic and honour whilst floating, glowing and shit… but it's just not me. I am quite lazy at heart. Can you see me doing all that? So, my Reapers started this tradition of writing these journal entries and then magically compiling them into one book. To give new potentials an idea of what is ahead of them."

With flash of Black Fire, Tony handed over a large, leather-bound book. The leather was a deep blue intricate Wardings stitched in Silver combined with Celtic knotwork. His Reapers had put a lot of work into its design and contents.

"Um Tones, I don't even know what language this is in. Languages even… I also think it would be hilarious if you tried to go the mystical route, see if you could keep a straight face." 

Rhodey smirked and that and Tony was pretty sure he'd barely make it through a sentence. 

"Oh, I forgot about that, do you want our version of the all-speak? What the Asgardians use to understand other languages, We didn't give it a fancy name though. I just call it a Translation Ward. Don't tell Pepper. She'd probably want to brand it." 

"Sure. And she totally would you know."

It wouldn't take too long, plus, with Rhodey already carrying the Fire inside him, he was that little bit more susceptible to Tony's magic than most humans, it likely had a hand in the healing going a little awry. The Ward was around an inch tall and wide and it was a Ward he had tweaked himself here and there to keep up with languages as they change. The Asgardians were in serious need to update their All-Speak judging by Thor's manner of speaking. 

Rhodey was looking at it critically as Tony brushed Black Fire over it as it dried. 

"Is this a sneaky way to get us to have matching tattoos?  Again?" 

Tony snorted and glanced at his own arms before remembering that he still had his glamour up, as such, all of his Warding was concealed. Rhodey had stayed inside whilst he had been working on the wall and as such, hadn't gotten to see them. He sent a pulse to dispel the glamour on his arms, just the one that gave the illusion that his arms were clear any magic. Start small he figured. Only his hands and forearms were visible, the rest obscured by other glamour's or his clothing. 

"You'd need a few more before you get to my stage. There, done. Now check the book." 

Rhodey just about pulled his attention from the book, obviously amused that he could now read it. He flicked his eyes at his arms, eyes going wide in shock when he registered the Warding, from his fingers to his elbow, there were many Wards interconnected that served many functions. It resembled a sleeve really, but down to his fingers and in a single colour.

"Why did you cover that up anyway?" 

He was very proud of his Wardings, but he had become accustomed to hiding them beneath glamour's. Humans found them odd which made them uncomfortable and Tony was used to altering his attire, appearance and actions to the comfort humans.

"Hmm? It wasn't so much an intentional thing, a habit I guess. Once upon a time, these would have gotten me attacked on sight by Romans..." 

"Well, you don't have to do it here, pretty sure we don't have any Romans hiding in these halls. I'm apparently going to do my homework now. You should go and get some sleep Tones." 

He nodded, it would take him a while to get used to not hiding himself by degrees behind glamour. Even around Rhodey. It was a long-standing issue, but he figured he could try for his Platypus after all. It would be nice, to maybe be himself around others or at least close. He doubted many humans would truly wish him to be himself. It was a nice thought. However, the comfort of his people always came first.

He knew that Rhodey needed to think about this alone, it was a lot to dump on a person. Especially in this day and age. In the past, the magic of the land was a given fact, stories of his people were real, and mostly warnings, not cutesy Disney films.

Now, magic belonged to annoying people who tended to blow things up every Tuesday. Finding out magic has chosen you to keep The Balance of the Multiverse in check... Was likely less appealing he supposed, it had been on his shoulders since he was a child, he was used to it. 

Tony headed back to his apartment, this definitely needed refurbishing. The entire living quarters would be reworked. That was work for tomorrow, for now, sleep was definitely on the docket, even though he could feel that his insomnia was still up to no good. He had really hoped that exhausting himself magically would help, the first sleep after The Return always sucked. It was like a memory recap.

He hadn't, however, anticipated that his mother would be sat on the sofa, listening to music via FRIDAY with Cara curled up happily at her feet. Drest immediately trotted over and curled up on top of Cara. 

"Was it really important for you to do that much, just after returning? When was the last time you slept, dear?" 

Tony just dropped down on the sofa next to her, shrugged but not complaining when she manoeuvred his head into her lap. He dropped a hand to brush across Cara's smooth white fur and occasionally catching Drest's silken soft fur too. 

"First sleep always sucks. You like your new home Cara?" 

He got a grumbled reply which most likely meant that he needed to see about getting a nice large fire for his apartment. 

"Hmm, I thought as much, which is why I'm here. Sleep now dear one, I shall watch over your charges as you slumber." 

"Rhodey took it pretty well, I think you'll like him." 

"He seems very loyal, I will reveal myself to him at some point. Especially when he chooses to embrace your Fire and take the Mantle. I see great power in his future." 

"He might not, you never know for sure." 

"Mhmm. Of course dear. Now, sleep, restore and replenish, I shall guard the gates of your mind against the ghosts your past." 

He would have said something more, but the calm music and fingers carding through his hair dragged him into a calm, dreamless sleep. 

Chapter Text

Stephen POV 

He had honestly expected the masters at the Kamar Taj to be profoundly unimpressed with this idea of joining the Avengers. Especially as it included signing an Accords contract, which, for a group that had hidden in the shadows for generations, it seemed unlikely they'd want to out themselves to the UN.

The parting words Stark had called out as he had stepped through the portal had stayed with him; however, 'Times are Changing'.

The only real comment he received was - 

"He owes you a favour, does he not? You could use it to help with your contract?" 

They were however intent that he be involved with this issue regarding the Infinity Stones, which likely meant aligning himself with the Avengers. He was Sorcerer Supreme, so he did not technically have to heed their requests, but he had kept the council active after he had been named Sorcerer Supreme as he thought it was a better system than one person ruling overall.

Plus, despite The Ancient One's plans, despite their confidence and despite Stephen's confidence in himself, it hadn't even been a year since the aftermath of the crash, after he heeled enough to start chasing dreams, let alone since he stumbled into Kamar Taj. He learned fast, he took that drive for perfection from medical school and had applied it tenfold, he even studied as he slept. Even so, he still felt painfully new to already have saved the world once and to be already facing down a universe destruction level event. No, a multiverse destruction level event. Part of him wanted to hand this over to someone more experienced, a more significant part of him could not tolerate that idea; he had to be involved. He couldn't stand idly by.

He should have known really, how vital Earth was, given how it was protected in comparison to other places he'd been. He just hadn't truly thought about it before, discovering Earth was not so much the centre of the universe or any such twaddle, but rather a Balance point? That to knock it out of alignment just a little, that it wasn't only earth or humanity at stake. It was all the branches of Yggdrasil surrounding it, then the rest of the universe which spread out and, which was ostensibly littered with life of many different flavours. All the dimensions and realms attached to this world, of which there were much more he has first conceived.

All of that could suffer if the one measly little planet, that likely wasn't advanced enough to be a blip on all those other worlds radars, was knocked out of alignment. Earth was probably considered a tiny backwater planet, and yet... So much ended up here. In all his research, he was yet to find another world that attracted dimensions, portals and the like to the same level Earth had. What made this planet so unique? Why was it the Balance point of the multiverse?

Stephen was convinced this was an utterly stupid system. 

He summoned a portal that once again dropped him outside of the walls of the Avengers compound and found himself gritting his teeth. He was going to have to look into that, there must be a way around it, in a thoroughly professional way, of course, and he wanted to know dammit.

Stephen knew now, that Tony would likely tell him if he asked, that the man was surprisingly free with his knowledge, except for that of his species. That there were rules apparently that governed how he could tell people things like that and that it was merely easier if he found out on his own. Stephen couldn't tell he was winding him up not. He said that he would tell him in a second, but that he would be highly amused if Stephen worked it out himself. Stark had also said that he doubted Stephen would even believe him unless he came to the answer alone.

Anything else? Stark was happy to teach, his eyes lit up and shifted in shimmering bright golden hues any time Stephen asked a question. He got the feeling that it had been some time since he had had the opportunity to teach, that it was something that he enjoyed, prided himself on.

Stephen had never been one to gather friends easily. His personality was off-putting. This was not helped of course by the fact Stephen did nothing to mitigate this. Stark seemed not to care about any of that. He offered knowledge in trade for good conversation. Something that Stephen always longed himself, to speak to an intellectual and magical equal was something he quietly wanted but never honestly expected to find. If anything, Stark seemed to enjoy the that he put others off him.

There was also the fact that he was also revelling in the challenge aspect, something that he suspected Stark knew, so his portals continued to drop him outside. He was also hopeful in a way.

Even if the smug bastard somehow predicted that he would be recommended to join The Avengers.

FRIDAY pulled him from his thoughts as she directed him to a beautiful garden, that looked as if it had been there for centuries, it had a strange, almost ancient feel to it. Which was impossible, the compound was relatively new. It had been a warehouse before. He doubted this garden had been part of the Compound until recently.

He followed a twisting path through what looked to be a maze. Thanking FRIDAY profusely as without her, he'd be lost. He passed many different hedges, with different plants entwined perfectly. He was not a botanist, but he felt pretty confident that not all of the flowers or shrubbery he passed were from Earth. The closer he got to what he assumed was the middle, green began to give way to a myriad of colours that somehow we're complementary and not a mess of colour and scent. He had never seen so many flowers in such a small space before, the scents of some that he passed were strong and strange enough that he was very confident now in that many of these were not of Earth. One plant he passed, for instance, sported purple and black blooms. They were vibrant, beautiful with seven petals in the shape of a star. The centre was silver that glimmered in an opalescent manner. They also followed him as he passed them.

He found Tony centre of the maze. He was sitting on the grass next to a man sitting on a large stone, wearing what looked to be biker leathers, at a guess he would say the man was Native American. Stark somehow spotted him first, raising a hand in greeting. The startling part was the fact that his back was to him. The other man lifted his head, giving him a sharp-toothed smile before hopping off the stone with surprising grace and then ambling towards what he swore was a dense hedge, yet he disappeared into it in a fluttering of yellow petals. A portal perhaps? 

“I hope I didn't interrupt?"

"Nah, he was about to head on his way, we were just catching up, come, sit!"

"Ah, someone you knew from before then?"

"Mmhmm, this land is closer to living on his territory, even though I've felt some connections here already, odd as it may be. I didn't want to be rude."

"Funny, I thought you were very good at being rude."

"Ooh. Snarky. Well, I am. Even I have enough sense not to be a dick to someone like Coyote in his own backyard. Anyway, I believe you have some news for me!"

"Yes, the general consensus is that joining would be wise, but there are concerns regarding the contract and secrecy of the order." 

"Hmm, they wish you to use your favour, yes? Well, you don't have to do that. Count it as payment for joining. We'll work it out. I've already started the groundwork on fixing the mess left behind." 

"Then it looks like I'm an Avenger, what favour do you mean?" 

"For rescuing my friend." 

Stark gestures to his back, the cloak perked up and waved over his shoulder. He had completely forgotten about that. It felt strange to ask for something in return for doing something that has benefited him so much. He spoke of debts, favours and payments as if they were physical things and he couldn't quite get his mind around the concept. Stark threw any further questions by shocking him again. It seemed the man lived for shocking him. 

He was running his hand back and forth in the grass, which was fine. A little odd, but okay. It was Stark, the man was odd, seeing him not doing something peculiar would be the anomaly.

However, this time it wasn't him that startled Stephen. It was the sudden sparks of blue energy that got his attention. All of his senses lit up the sight of this strange energy. This was something of great importance.

"What is that?" 

"Hmm, you can see it? Interesting. Strange too, with how you Sorcerers draw your magic from the universe, and not this land, don't you think?" 

He had a feeling Stark was testing him for something. It seemed he was doing well so far at least. At least he wasn't insufferable like Wong, Stark framed things as ordinary conversations, and Stephen always walked away with an inordinate amount of new information. Some times it was hours later before he realised.

Stephen had never been a good student. Oh, he was the top of every class and excelled at anything he put his mind too, but teachers from kindergarten to his PhD, as a rule, hated him. Again, Stephen put little effort into being well-liked which likely did not help the matter. Stark didn't seem to care about any of that. He was simply pleased to share knowledge with someone eager to learn. Always in a way that Stephen took in without becoming bored or frustrated. Stark also seemed to like his abrasive personality. Not merely tolerate it.

"There is a difference?" 

"Oh yes, Earth is very special. Remember, it has the Blue Fire. That is why many call this 'The Firelands'. It attracts many, but those who can even see it properly are few, those who can call it? Fewer still. Those who can wield it, now they are exceptionally scarce."

He had known that this energy was significant the second he saw those first blue sparks, the extent of it was still startling.

"The Blue Fire is unique to this world, breathed directly into its veins, the blood of the world, by the fabulous beasts... It is the same in every version of Earth. It bleeds through the barriers.

"It's what attracted my people, our entire realm. It's what attracted so many pantheons. Do you know how many religions this one small planet has had since there were people to worship them? Far too many, many more than much larger, much older worlds. Worlds with trillions of people over many myrietes don't even have a tenth of the what this planet lured in from the dark. The territories here are staked and ruthlessly guarded due to how many traversed the void just to come here. Now, watch." 

Stephen had not really thought about the amount of religions Earth had had before; it was just a fact, surely. Earth had many cultures that tend to have their own religions. The Norse pantheon actually turning out to be real and aliens should have started him thinking about all the others, about why humanity seemingly sucked them in. That territory was mapped out, oh he would certainly be returning to this topic.

Stark repeated the motion along the ground again, and this time, the blue light… The Blue Fire rather followed his hand eagerly. It built up steadily with each pass until it was practically climbing his hand, slipping around his fingers in an almost… playful manner as it wrapped around his wrist. Now there was so much of it. He could see the flames.

After it had built up a little, Stark glanced up to check that he was still watching, then he pushed his hand into the grass abruptly. Stephen felt the pulse beat in his bones as he watched the Fire skate off in 3 different directions. Blue Fire was rippling away, and that is when he recognises what it is. That the Ancient One had been teaching him about the Fire without saying it was Fire. Did she know he would meet Stark?

"Ley lines?" 

"Mhmm, even as a human, I tend to gravitate towards them. So, many of my properties around the world are on them. Usually at convergences like this. More so this time around given Tony Stark's resources. Pretty handy for me really." 

It was immensely peculiar to hear a person discussing themselves in such a way, but somehow, it didn't seem out of place at all. He'd only really known the man a short time, but he had a pretty good sense of him. Well, of what Stark showed him. Stephen suspected there was much to him beneath the surface. Things like why he felt like a predator his mind, how his aura fluctuated and flickered out of his scope of human sight. 

Stephen slipped down from his perch to the ground, sitting on the grass as he pushed out his senses as he laid his hand on the ground, but not coming up with much. Maybe because of the difference in their magic?

"Here, it takes a long time to learn to call it. The Fire has to get to know you first. It has to want to answer. Like you're knocking the door at someone's house. If they like you and are friends, they're more likely to respond in comparison to a door to door salesperson. 

"Even for the few of my people who can possibly touch it without burning up. All humans carry a little Fire, so it is safer for them than people from other realms. But even people whose magic stems from it, which has always been very rare, they still have to work for it. The Blue Fire is very picky about who it will even speak to. It takes offence easily, and it will make you work for it. It has a brilliant, vibrant personality. It will be a best friend too you if you let it. Loyal, will never abandon you when you need it."

He considered asking how long it took him to learn this but decides he's probably better off not knowing, there is a degree of familiarity when Stark talks of the Fire, that speaks of a much deeper connection, he's sure of it. How he looks almost reverent when the Blue Fire slips over his skin. How the Fire feels happy when it wraps around his wrist. How he talks about it, as if the Fire has been a constant companion.

That his own magic displays as Black Flame has him wondering too.

That this Fire somehow has a personality is extraordinary.

"The Blue Fire has a few names, but it is The Lifegiver. The Worldfire. The Fire of The Balance."

Stark swiped his hand back and forth a few more times, the Fire quickly, almost eagerly answering his call this time. Leaping up his fingers to circle his wrist. He got the sense somehow that The Blue Fire was happy to have him back. This time he held it in his hands, cupped as it pooled there and glanced pointedly at Stephen again. 

He hesitated for barely a second before impulsively pulling off his gloves to get a better sense. He expected a familiar look of pity aimed his way when Stark saw his scars, but instead he just got an understanding smile, not something he was used to. He wondered what scars Stark was carrying to have that sense of understanding and quiet acceptance that instantly relaxed Stephen.

It was worth it too, as Stark moved the Fire close to his hands. He then paused, and Stephen was unsure why, until the Fire slipped from Stark's hand to his on its own volition. Unquestionably an entity of some kind. He had expected Stark to pass the fire to him.

Stephen waited, letting The Fire get to know him, not rushing it. He was rewarded after around 30 seconds when it began moving, twisting around his shaking fingers happily, before wrapping around his wrist. Stark's exclamation of shock barely registered as suddenly he could feel The Fire. It didn't mind that his hands shook which was an incredible feeling on its own.

The Blue Fire was like pure, vibrant, beautiful energy, so very different from the energy he drew upon. Invigorating, he'd go as far to call it life-affirming. It felt both new, incredible, yet comfortable too, like home. 

"That.. is very different." 

"You should see it at sunrise at certain convergences and standing stones, at least back in Britain. I've yet to search this land properly, bar this convergence.

"I know you don't understand it yet, but I can see why she wanted you to take after her. She spoke about you often, you know. How you would arrive thinking you knew everything, but when you realised you didn't, that you'd completely dedicate yourself with a passion that was utterly, preciously rare. The Fire did not take to Riga half as well in the beginning as it just took to you." 

He blinked a few times, that she had known for so long what he would be like? He hadn't considered that, even to this day he wondered about why he was chosen, he'd barely been around for minutes compared to others at Kamar Taj. Stark seemed just to know the direction of his thoughts somehow.

"I've only met two Sorcerers who can even see the Blue Fire well enough to one day, maybe learn to call it, to manipulate it and care for it. That's the duty of anyone who can touch the Fire. We must care for it Stephen because it could run out. Those two Sorcerers? You are one of them. She was the other, and you are much, much more sensitive to my magic. Which means you are more sensitive to the Blue Fire, you could have the ability to manipulate multiple forms of magic, more than what you've been taught. It makes you very powerful." 

Oh. Okay, that sounded like a pretty good reason. No pressure, though. 

"It also took Riga 16 years to get to where you are now with the Blue Fire. I know because I don't just care for the Fire, I don't just work with it."

Stephen blinked at the flickering Blue Fire in his hand, and he realised he didn't need to be told to care for this precious Flame. He wanted too.

"Do you know about the mantles of power. How a becomes the personification of something?"

"A little."

"Well, I am Blue Fire. I am the first and only being to be offered a mantle from the Blue Fire. I am the personification of it. Do you trust me? I can show you."

"Yeah, I do. How can I see, your aura is confusing enough?"

"Close your eyes."

He felt Stark's hand cover his eyes as he closed them, feeling a warmth before he pulled away.

"That will last around 10 minutes."

When he opened his eyes, everything was the same but different too. He could see the lines of Blue Fire in the grass without the Fire lightning them up. He could see a little spark in everything around him. He couldn't see Stark anymore, in his place was a tremendous torrent of flickering Blue Fire in hues that ranges from the colours of Stark's tattoos to bright white. 

When he had said that he was the personification of Fire, when he had read about mantles, Stephen had thought it was mostly symbolic. This was not symbolic, Stark literally was the Blue Fire, and it was remarkable. At his heart, we're two other Fires, the Black Flame of the man's magic, twinned with White Fire. Which if he had read the correct source, it was The Purifying Flame. He did not know the purpose of the Black Flame, but he knew this was an intensely powerful Triad of Fire. It also told him that his assumptions of Stark's power level was so far off, that it was almost funny.

It also warmed something in him. That the man who was Blue Fire, thought that he could one day learn to work with it.

Rhodey POV

Things had been pretty crazy lately, the whole Civil War had devolved so fast that they just couldn't keep putting out fires without ten more appearing. Then he'd fallen. It had always been a possibility. He knew it going into the airforce that there were chances of injury someday down the line. Just seeing Tones after a battle showed him that the armour didn't leave you injury-free. He was still shocked when it happened, though. As much as he'd always known it was a possibility, it had blindsided him. 

It had also meant he was trapped in that stupid bed when Tony went missing and he was unable to do anything. He had hated himself at that moment. He cursed his body, and he'd prayed to any God or Goddess willing to listen to him for something, hell, anything to let him be able to be at his brother's side once more.

Then he was waking up to a freaky, young Tony, to discover that he had been fully healed and de-aged, that had been crazy. For days he'd been scared that he would wake up back in that bed. This all being a fever dream, Tony still lost. He might have hugged him even harder on those nights. Tony always seemed to just know too. He stayed up with him until dawn each time.

Watching Tony do amazing things with Earth Magic, stone moving in ways stone really shouldn't be moving, magic or whatever it was, either way, it was weird. It had looked like he summoned the outside damned wall out of nowhere. Sure, he then had a lecture that creating something from nothing was an exhausting practice and really what he was doing was pulling it from his other home. To him though, it just looked like Tony magicked up a big ass shiny wall and smacked it down around the compound. Tony didn't even mention where the vast bloody forest came from. Or how it was much larger than it looked.

Oh, and he kind of had a cat now. Apparently. Tony's cat would appear and demand to be carried around several times a day and he'd woken up more than once to her sleeping on his chest. Greeted by a cold nose pressed against his own... Tony had explained her name to him, Riot. Which was odd as she was such a small, sweet little thing. 

This fanatic titan did put a little bit of a bummer on things, but he figured that they had time. It was also what brought him back to this book. It was more of a diary than a book, written by many different people. All the different languages had become English, which was handy as he could tell that the first pages were ancient. The entries he was currently reading was of 6 different people discussing the same battle. The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. 

After that, it jumped to a completely different set of events. He's not sure if that meant it went well or not. He assumed it went well, considering humanity made it to the 21st century after all. Not being horribly enslaved and tortured. Reading something someone wrote hundreds and hundreds of years ago, heck, thousands, is pretty trippy and yet… their random notes of Tony left him thinking that he hasn't precisely changed much. Taking people in and making them family. Taking on too many duties himself. Doing stupid shit and nearly getting himself killed, surviving by the skin of his teeth. Very Tony. 

He'd love to say that he decided to take Tony up on his offer because of the fight. He'd love to say it was because of the promise he made to a nameless deity, that after reading this diary, he realises that someone might have actually listened to him and gave him his wish. He'd love to say it was to defeat the bad guy, to fight for the greater good or even just because having powers seemed pretty cool.

Although there was no preset powers, apparently, everyone tended to be different. The abilities came from Tony's line, which evidently included freaking shape-shifting! Yeah, they were going to be talking about that! 

What he actually cared about was being with his friend, with his brother. It was why he'd joined the Avengers. To make a difference and help Tony from taking everything on himself. To fight by his side. Not that it wasn't slightly nerve-wracking, to join the ranks of people going back millennia, who had been fighting and saving people for thousands of years. It was daunting, but the choice itself? That was easy when it came down to it.

He'd follow that man anywhere.

He'd walk with him into hell and drag his ass back out.

"FRIDAY. Tell Tony I need to see him." 

"Of course, Colonel Rhodes." 

Chapter Text

Peter POV

Peter had kept his head down since he had gotten back from Germany, although he had kept an ear to the news. There had been no sightings of Ironman or Tony Stark in three weeks, and he was starting to get concerned. The other Avengers had broken out of jail and had gone on the run!

Captain America was a fugitive, on the run!

With no mention of Mr Stark after they became fugitives, he was starting to worry. Not that it was his place to worry, Mr Stark probably had plenty of way more important people to about him. Peter couldn't help it though. These people were meant to be Mr Stark's friends. His family! Yet, they had not held back. Mr Stark's side had wanted to take everyone in safely, the others had been brutal, especially with poor Mr Rhodes.

So Peter was concerned. In his opinion, Mr Stark needed more friends like Mr Rhodes, or Ned and MJ! Not like Captain America. Who he had once looked up too. His callous disregard for Mr Stark after Mr Rhodes fell? That had snapped something inside Peter. Using it to escape, that was simply wrong. You don't leave friends like that, even if you are arguing.

He swung in through his bedroom window, utterly distracted by the park path his thoughts had taken and nearly yelped when he realised he was not alone. Before he had a chance even to think, a hand closed over his mouth to stop him. Oddly his spider senses remained completely calm, that was when he saw it was Mr Stark. 

Mr Stark! 

He grinned and backed off, letting go of Peter, who was brimming with excitement because he was fine! If anything he looked significantly better than he had back when they'd first met. Actually... A lot better. 

"Mr Stark! Oh my god, Mr Stark, is in my room! Also, you look much better than you did back when we were in Germany. Uh. I mean, it's not that you looked bad in Germany, so to speak, but now you look different! Younger too. Not that you were old before. And I'm shutting up now."

"Kid, breathe, it's fine. I just wanted to apologise for bringing you into that situation and offer you that internship, but for real. I can even tell you why I suddenly look different if you want."

How Peter didn't squeal and wake up everyone in a 30-mile radius, he didn't know, but it was a damned achievement. 

"Really?! That would be amazing!"

"Sure, I've got Peps writing up some paperwork. I'm going to be having a press conference in a few weeks explaining a made for TV version of what happened to me. I like you kid, and thought you'd like to know first. You came and helped me when I needed it. That kind of thing is incredibly important to me."

He'd be lying if he wasn't intrigued as to what had happened and the fact that Mr Stark valued him! Him!

"That's amazing, th-"

Before he could say anything, Mr Stark started talking, and he was baffled.  

"OK, so, I'm not human."

He was pretty sure Mr Stark was human...

"Huh!?" 

"I was human, but after the airport, I got into another fight that had less favourable outcomes with our dear Captain Spangles. It resulted in me sort of 'dying', but to me, dying meant I got my memories and powers back." 

Peter just blinked for a second before actually properly looking at Mr Stark and realising that he did look really different, and there were blue lines of the back of his hands vanishing into his sleeves. His eyes looked different too. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed that! 

"I can't believe you died!" 

In a fight with Captain America. If Peter wasn't mad before, now he was fuming.

"I only technically died, but it's okay, I do it all the time, why does everyone focus on that? I'm all better and much healthier than before. Usually, I wouldn't stick around 'after', but there is something big coming this way. I know you kid, you won't stay out of it, so you need to train. I also want to place you under my protection." 

Mr Stark stayed for about an hour sorting things out around his schedule, and Peter still couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that he had died and then came back looking younger.

The way he occasionally discussed humans was also bizarre. 

He was dying to find out more, but he wasn't sure how to go about asking. Surely it was rude to enquire upon a person's species?

It didn't take away from the fact that Mr Stark had somehow broken in into his bedroom, however. He talked himself into it and managed to ask how he got in as he was about to leave. Me Stark had just grinned, wide and Peter was sure he flashed what looked like fangs! Peter didn't get a chance to question that before Mr Stark vanished in a burst of Black Flame that caused him to yelp and fall off his bed. 

Luckily Aunt May didn't hear. 

Tony POV

Tony Firewalked back to his apartment, feeling pretty damned good after talking to the kid and laying about an hours worth of warding and protection charms whilst Peter had been out on patrol. It would do, for now. His powers slipped back into place comfortably after he left the threshold. The fatigue of casting on less power seeped away. He had enough power that Thresholds were not such a big deal to him as they were to others, but he still didn't like being cut off from his own reserves.

The kid was far too young to be a full-time Avenger, but he knew people like Peter, that wouldn't stop him from getting into all kinds of trouble, and if he brought him into the fold, he could do his best to mitigate it. Or at least teach the kid ways of dealing with it. His kind had a thing when it came to kids. They were to be protected, guided and guarded. Peter had already been forced to grow up fast. Tony would fight for Peter to retain and enjoy what was left before he was forced to grow up again because Peter's current trajectory was certainly aiming in that direction. He would work to negate that now he was officially his.

The Accords were coming along nicely now too, the Raft and a few leaked documents here and there had removed his little Ross problem. There was also the fact he was working at 100% now rather than running on empty, the fact he was okay with being a little more ruthless also helped. His contracts packed a little more punch. He had apparent and defined goals.

Things were going well. Stark Industries had launched five new green initiatives, and he had his subsidiaries working on a few more, he'd also slid himself into a few other companies with a few choice words and deals. 

After he had his 'I'm alive' press conference, he could start approaching people to become New Avengers. Start up his Recruitment Drive.

When the Titan came, it was unlikely that he'd come alone. So, he needed a team to deal with that as he'd be preoccupied. With Rhodey at his side, which was a delightful, unexpected change to his plans. 

He and Thanos had been battling for millennia, and they occasionally won battles against each other, but their power also seemed to increase in line with each other. Leaving the fights at unsatisfactory draws where Tony had had to content himself with ruining the Titans plans. Tony had plateaued power-wise not long after he gained his sword. As such, Thanos gathering the gems did not comfort him. Rhodey had turned out to be more potent than his Reapers were, just out of the gates and he could call fire. Tony hoped this might tip the scales, that maybe they could end this dance. Too many had died already by Thanos' words, hands or deeds.

So Tony had hopes that this time would be different. Times were changing, after all. 

The chances of luring his people directly into the fight were sketchy at best, and he wouldn't be able to control them after, so he needed forces. Forces of Earth.

His excellent mood stuttered slightly when he walked into the main room of his apartment to find his mother and Pepper drinking tea together. Because that was a terrifying sight if ever had he seen one, and he had seen a lot. He has a feeling that they are waiting for him, and idly considers fleeing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" 

"Of course not dear." 

"I came to drop off that contract for your intern and remind you that you need to come out the UN with your abilities before you do the world, and that we think you should release the video." 

He dropped into the armchair next to them and thunked his head into his hands. Pepper levelled him with the look. One his mother matched with an eerie degree of precision. He should have fled.

"OK. I get some of that. I'll call the UN later and tell them the spiel."

Waving his hands, gesturing to explain what he planned without having to explain, luckily they were both familiar with this trait as his human-self had kept it.

Writing what to say had been quite complicated given his restrictions, he couldn't tell them the whole truth, they'd instantly be wary of him if they knew how old or powerful he was. If they knew his names or titles, they would likely fear him. The Norse Pantheon had given everyone the impression that the Gods were quirky Aliens, fundamentally not understanding the strength power Thor or Loki could wield. That he was both older and stronger than the young princes would likely not go down well. So he had just glossed over that entirely.

Running that line of truth, yet without terrifying the humans was interesting, and not one that he'd had to do to before such a large group before. It was quite fun; however, that kind of game was something his kind enjoyed very much.

"And the video." 

"Pep, Mom, is it truly necessary?" 

Having both of them stare at him with such similar looks on their faces was not at all terrifying. When did humans start to become such forces in their own right? He finds himself rather proud. He always liked humans, so much potential in those short, short lives. No matter how his kin deride them, they were inexplicably drawn to the Fragile Creatures. Stealing them away was practically his kins nationwide hobby. Never something he partook in himself, he found enough discarded humans back home and gave then sanctuary. There was no need to pilfer the larder of the Fixed Lands.

"I believe this is a wise course of action." 

"Why is that?" 

"Just because you were human when you were left to die, it doesn't change that you were betrayed and left to die. If you do not find a way to punish him, if you let this Steve off for his betrayal and abandoning someone in the field, 'others' will. Darling, you are well-loved, you know this. Many watch your human lives, this last one was particularly unkind, and I find myself angry. I am not alone." 

Ah fuck. Tony hadn't really thought of that. Mother wasn't the Patroness of Revenge for fluffy reasons. There were others who may get involved too. Many found his work in the cycles to be pointless, but many also knew it was important. Rogers had done a number of rather awful things, but to his kind? Many of his actions were capital crimes.

Hopefully releasing the video would help sate anyone's drive for vengeance for now. 

As far as Tony was concerned, if he couldn't see them, he tended to care very little. Not all of his people were the same, and an excuse to have some fun? Oh, many would jump at the chance to play.

"OK, yeah, you're right. I'll have FRIDAY leak it. Is that acceptable?"

"For now. This little parcel here might have pushed my hand."

Tony froze as he took the box from his Mother, great, Rogers had actually found a way of actually pissing him off without being on the same fucking continent. That was fairly impressive, and he didn't miss the anger snapping in his mothers' aura. Sometimes Tony forgot that she watched him through the cycles, many were hard, his line of work rarely attracted an easy life, but Tony Stark had become the derided whipping boy. Little care or regard given to his severe PTSD, used, mocked and isolated. Attacked for lying when Rogers was hiding the knowledge of parents murder, all to end in Siberia with Vibranium to the chest, left behind to die, without a glance, after yet another betrayal by a man who often quoted, 'No man left behind.'

His Mother was white-hot with rage, even if she was sat calm, drinking tea. His face was carefully blank, but his Fire was waiting.

It took him a few seconds to read the letter, and the rage he'd felt in Siberia was back, but this time it wasn't just the rage of a 40 something human. It was so far beyond that as a glacier is to an ice cube.

A humans rage could never compare to that of his kind, who felt emotions keenly and explosively. It was a blessing and a curse, for they felt good emotions with such range and all-encompassing depth too. Earths Natural disasters better described their rage. A volcano that tears a wound in the rock, fire and ash, chaos and madness. Molten stone and earthquakes. Tornadoes and brutal lightning storms. The Earths fury was theirs, which was why they had to maintain control.

His rage and Fire mixed and blended with his mother's. Twin Fires pushing each other higher as the fireplace behind then reacted to the raw power in the room. The quiet flames grew to a white-hot inferno that Pepper watched in fascination.

Pepper also managed to snag the letter before he accidentally torched it and tucked it away in her bag. The phone, however, was turned to sludge in his hand, and he kept it up until there was nothing left. His mother waved a hand, clearing the smell from the room. He packed his rage down and decided to press on. He couldn't afford to let that slip, not now, definitely not on this plane. 

"I need to call T'Challa too, offer healing for Barnes mind..."

His mother smiled, but Pepper was less impressed, a little stunned at Tony's abrupt shift from anger to this, but also pretty angry herself. The letter and phone had evidently irritated her, but they were from Rogers, not Barnes. He hadn't explained why staying angry wasn't quite ideal for him yet either.  Tony hadn't even had a chance to reveal the disparity between their emotions yet. So, she still was just seeing him as Baseline Human Tony Stark. With a power upgrade. Soon they would understand that whilst he could play human, fundamentally he was of a different species.

"Tony, he was there too!" 

"Wasn't his fault Pep, if I'm releasing this video, straight after we need to sort out something to protect him from negative reactions to it, I've already got lawyers on his case. I owe that man a debt." 

"Lady Pepper, from what I have seen, and I have seen much. The Winter Soldier does not deserve more suffering." 

Pepper seemed to mull it over a little but still didn't exactly look happy with it. If he'd still been human, he suspected he would be on her side of the equation. The divide in their species meant they saw things through different lenses.

Plus, his mother had a thing for warriors, and the Winter Soldier was precisely the kind of mortal she would be interested in. Survivors were like tempered steel to his family. Hardened by a hammer that regularly shattered those it struck. He favoured Survivors. The Winter Soldier easily could fall under either of their preview.

"Fine, I'll guess I'll get right on that, and the other million things we have going right now." 

"Thanks, Pep, you're the best."

"Xavier got back to us too." 

"Oh Brilliant, is he going for it?" 

"Yes, he said it's very devious, it'll get the Accords where we want them via the people who called for them in the first place, whilst of course, being good for the environment."

Tony smirked, everything was coming along nicely. 

"Let's start bringing people in."

Chapter Text

Tony POV

He'd been having a productive time of it lately, but he couldn't quite afford to slow down just yet, no matter how much he wanted to curl up in front of the fire.

"Fry, who are we after first today?" 

"You were going to visit Pym Tech first, but an alert on the Eddie Brock file has just come up and he was caught on CCTV." 

"Show me." 

He watched the man, or rather man and symbiote for a few seconds.

"Damn, he just straight up ate that guys head, this real time Fry?" 

"Sure is Boss." 

He shrugged and switched his clothes to something more respectable and stepped through the fire into the alleyway that the man was currently stood in, seemingly having an argument with himself. 

"Hi!" 

"Holy fuck, where did you just come from?" 

Tony pointed at the patch of wall he'd appeared from. 

"There. Soooo . Why are you on Earth?" 

"What do you mean don't answer him? He just appeared out of a fucking wall like magic… No I will not eat him, we've had this discussion!" 

"I'd probably give him indigestion anyway. So, Eddie Brock, what's his name?" 

"Umm." 

"Right, this is probably a bit weird?" 

"Tony Stark appearing out of a flaming wall of fire to chat with me in an alley over a dead person. Surprisingly, that isn't even in the top 10 these days. Would you be quiet! Of course he's not a- they're not real ! No, he's human! A very rich , powerful human!" 

Aw. He was going to blush at this rate. He scratched his beard thoughtfully. It seemed like an isolated case, not a precursor to an invasion. That could be exceptionally handy. 

"I suppose life with a symbiote can get rather odd. Want to come and be an Avenger?" 

Eddie however was looking at him like he was crazy. 

"Uh.." 

"It will cover food for your buddy too, chocolate?" 

Eddie glanced down at the chocolate bar in utter confusion before Venom apparently decided to take over and snagged said chocolate bar. 

"Haven't heard of your kind being active in many yearss.." 

"Circumstances change, annoying Titans, you know the drill. Food is included in the package, give this to Eddie for me will you. Looking forward to having you both on the team!" 

A human who could work with a symbiote was very interesting and he wasn't risking someone else getting there before him. 

"Venom. I am Venom." 

"Awesome, I'll be seeing ya!" 

He smiled and stepped back into the fire and grabbed his list to see who was next. 

"WHAT THE FUCK" 

"Hi, Hope Van Dyne?" 

"I repeat. What. The. Fuck. How did you get in here?!" 

"Pictures of your office online, big sign at the front door inviting anyone in. Easy peasey."

Tony dropped himself down on the chair in front of her desk. Tossing two thick stacks on paper onto her desk. Kicking his feet up on the desk and tilting the chair back on two legs as Hope stared at him in confusion. 

"So, want to talk about how we save Pym Tech from its inevitable demise and you joining the Avengers?" 

Lang had done most of the property damage at Leipzig-Halle single handedly. Pym tech was being utterly roasted for it. 

"Uh.." 

"Come on. Your suit is way cooler than Lang's." 

It really was, the videos he'd nabbed off Pyms servers were brilliant. Tony always took someone hacking him as a blanket invitation onto their servers after all. Pym was always trying to hack him and steal his tech. Pym had this whole rivalry thing in his mind, Tony already had a scientific rival he hated, thank you very much. 

"What is happening right now?" 

"Your Hail Mary pass." 

He shot her a grin with a little too much teeth as she grudgingly sat down to look through the contracts he'd tossed her way. They were actually quite kind, he could get quite… brutal when it came to contracts. 

Occupational hazard. 

He'd made an effort however, and suspected it would be appreciated, Pym Tech was on thin ice after ' Little/Big? Man' and ripe for the taking. It had taken considerable restraint. 

"Where is the Bruce Tracker right now Fry? Pictures too, please." 

Humming at the pictures and location, he'd definitely need a few short cuts for this trip. He firewalked his way there, skating along the Blue Fire before exiting. Glancing at the middle of nowhere-esque village Bruciebear was in this time before strolling through like a man who knew where he was going. 

It's amazing how few people bother you if you look like you know where you're going. Even if he looked almost painfully out of place. He kept an eye out, looking around before spotting the man putting clothes on a line outside a tiny hut. 

"Brucie-Bear!" 

"Wha-TONY?!" 

"That's me, How are ya doing buddy?" 

"Urr, I'm okay? What.. What are you doing here, are the.. Are the others here? Is.. She here?"

"Wow. You are like… Super behind on the news. The Avengers went Boom , they're international fugitives. I'm putting my own band together and wanted to extend an invitation to my favourite lab partner!" 

He grinned and handed over supplies for Bruce to fly himself home, which he took tentatively, really looking at Tony now. Hulk was probably keying the man into his changes, he had always been much more sensitive. Bruce, whilst having amazing powers of observation in the lab, was one of the most oblivious humans on the planet. 

"Tony.. Uh, what happened, you feel.. look.." 

"Different?" 

"Yeah, but the same." 

"I got the nearly dying makeover package! Anyway, I'm on a schedule and I have to run, everything is here if you want to come home." 

"Thank you? Wait. You nearly died!“

"Think about it as incentive to come home, I'll tell you all about it!"

Tony grinned, offering a thumbs up before walking back into the Black Fire, laughing at Bruce's yelp as he did so. 

"Platypus!" 

"Tones, what can I do you for? Aren't you on a recruitment drive today?" 

"Yes! But, I thought you might want to do this one." 

Tony wiggled the thick contract and housing option for a friend in front of his brother. 

"Huh, who is it?" 

"Just your little crush from college. Say 'Hi' for me!" 

"I did not have a crush on Danvers!" 

"Sure. Sure. So, how did you know who this was for before you even read the name? Have fun, dress up!" 

 Tony snickered before scarpering. 

He glanced at the next name critically as it flashed up on his list, it had been several names down. For a reason. 

"Fry. Why are you doing this to your father?" 

"You wanted to prioritise any recent CCTV sightings Boss." 

"Uh Huh. Can't we get Rhodey to do this one?" 

"Sorry Boss, he's getting dressed to meet Carol Danvers. He's already discarded 8 outfits, it is going to take a while . This one is all you." 

Tony squinted at a camera to show he was sure that had been a set-up. It was totally a set-up. Sighing, he took down the location and scanned through the images to see where he was heading and where everyone was situated. It was another long trip. He stretched, before pulling himself through the Fireworld and eventually stepped out onto a roof, it was dark, so there was that at least. It was also quite high up, which was nice as Tony liked heights. The red and black clad individual whipped his head around, gun pointed at him as he exited the fire and Tony couldn't resist. 

"Boo." 

His deadpan delivery, and probably having Tony Stark appear behind you out of a column of Black Fire had a quite predictable reaction actually, thinking about it. 

"WHAT THE-ACK" 

"Huh." 

"I think you made him fall off of the roof Boss." 

"Not my fault." 

Tony stepped down from the roof, landing lightly next to the semi-splatted man just as Deadpool was coming around. 

"Holy fuck did you just step of a fucking building or am I actually brain-damaged?"

"I suppose I did. Hey. Wanna join the Avengers?" 

"Uh, you want me. Deadpool. To join the Avengers?" 

"Ahuh, that's why I'm here. Look I have a contract with your name on it and everything." 

"Is this some kind of fever dream right now where a young, hot Tony Stark asks me out?" 

"Hey, I'm hot. I'm always hot. Here read this, and give this one to your buddy hiding over on the other building pointing a sniper rifle at me. Later!" 

He left Deadpool pointing at a column of fire shouting "WTF CABLE" as he walked backwards giving him two thumbs up. 

"FRIDAY. I refuse to go and speak to a person genuinely calling themselves 'Squirrel Girl'. Seriously, what power is that? No. We have enough animals in our menagerie. NEXT" 

"What is it with superheroes and dark creepy alleys?" 

Tony glanced around the dingey, unpleasant smelling alley before focusing his attention on the next person on his list. He had actually expected to get a bit of a runaround for this person and had been surprised when the CCTV alert had flashed up. 

But seriously. Dingey alleys. 

"What the-" 

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" 

"You just appeared out of a column of what appeared to be fire." 

"Hmm, dry. I like it. Want to join the Avengers?" 

"I don't join groups.." 

"Awww, come on. This contract even includes a significant amount of money for you to use on your pro-bono cases!" 

Which of course, resulted in the red, leather clad man stepping menacingly towards him. Tony just carried on as if the potential violence level hadn't gone up. 

"How did you-" 

"Do you have any idea how many cameras are in this city? Don't worry, I scrubbed you, which I will continue doing if you join the Avengers! I've included the next few versions of the Accords too.. Including the clause of secret identities!" 

That seemed to do it as the masked man tentatively took the thick stacks of paper as if they might bite him. 

"Awesome, luckily your pals are much easier to find, have fun!"

Daredevil had more composure than others and just barely tilted his head as the fire swept Tony away. He did wonder what the Black Fire actually looked like to the blind man, he'd find out when he was all signed up. 

He actually walked into the bar. Using the door and everything. Which he figured, was an amazing amount of restraint on his part. He had to firewalk into yet another alley so he could enter through the front door!

FRIDAY had helpfully pointed out that there might be customers who could be alarmed by the column of Black Fire and person emerging henceforth. 

He vetoed firewalking into the bathroom for similar reasons. Also, landlords tended to notice their punters, as such, a strange man appearing from the toilets just sounded like a bad plan all around. 

"What can I get you?" 

He dropped the contract onto the surprisingly clean bar, where it was glared at as if it mere presence was profaning the grand establishment. 

"That's not a drink order." 

"Nope, I just got back from visiting Double D, this is an all expenses paid trip to Avengers Town to save humanity and all life in the universe." 

"...." 

Tony sighed, pointing at one of the top shelf spirits which was dropped in front of him with an irritated glare. 

"Why would I have any interest in joining the Avengers. Didn't your group just implode after causing massive amounts of property damage and killing innocent people?" 

"Yes!" 

"Uhh." 

Luke obviously hadn't been expecting such an exuberant reply and was actually thrown as Tony smiled widely. 

"They're fugitives, now we are creating the New Avengers under the leadership of my best platypus, Colonel James Rhodes." 

"Platypus?" 

"I'll leave you to read, feel free to contact your lawyer! He'll be expecting it." 

He downed his beverage and left money and a tip under the glass. As Tony also walked out of the establishment, he figured he definitely deserved something in recompense for sparing the bar's patrons the sight of his fiery majesty. 

Which was why he was eating an ice-cream when he firewalked into the next hallway, causing a man to yelp, fall backwards into his apartment and gape up at him from the floor. Tony pointed at the door, that looked as if it had been repaired a dozen or so times. 

"Is Jessica in?" 

"Uh, she might be awake but unless you have alcohol she won't talk to you at this time." 

Tony nodded at the sage advice before flicking his fingers and pulling on of the fancier bottles of scotch from his stores. Holding it up to show the man. 

"Will this do?" 

"Sure. Sure. Guy just magicked fucking alcohol out of fire. What is my life?" 

"That's the spirit." 

He grinned before heading into the office. Jessica was in fact at her desk, just slightly slumped over and looking rather hungover, so Tony put the bottle in her line of sight. Which she instantly grabbed whilst looking up at him with more than a little irritation. 

"What?"

"Avengers, contract, joining." 

"You're going to need more words to make sense to me right now Mr Stark." 

"I'm putting together a new and improved Avengers with people that actually have personalities and your little group hit my list. Already visited Murdock and Cage. I've included a lifetime supply of your favourite alcohol in you contract and if I'm feeling generous, an un-hangovering now and then."

"A what now?" 

"Show and tell?" 

Jessica just shrugged, seemingly unphased by the whole thing. 

"Why the fuck not." 

Tony lightly, very fucking lightly, let's just get rid of the hangover and not something else this time, Thankyou. He brushed his fingers across her temple, causing her to blink a few times as the magic swept through her mind. Easing the pain and after effects of the alcohol. She gave an appreciative hum before opening the bottle with her teeth and taking a long drink. 

"I'm not sure this isn't some kind of bizarre dream." 

"Jess, this guy appeared from a column of fire. In our hall. Eating ice-cream!" 

"Is the ice-cream really an important variable? I mean, it is really nice ice-cream and everything. Give the contracts a read, anywho, I'm on a schedule!" 

The yelp and crash from the guy falling over again as he firewalked to his next destination was added to a collection of files FRIDAY had been recording. Jessica's laugh trailed after him, seems he wasn't the only person who was amused by his antics. 

Danny was actually harder to find than Matt and gave Tony a bit of a chase. It seemed he'd been warned that Tony might just appear wielding contracts and ice-cream like the ghost of Christmas past. 

FRIDAY however, had real time access to anything with a lense and an Internet connection. As such, he found the guy in a tiny diner after a few false starts. 

"Table for 1?" 

"That's alright, I can see my table from here." 

The nice lady nodded and he made his way across the room and sat down in front of Danny. His own fault really for having his back to the door, rookie move. 

"Hi." 

"How?!" 

"You actually gave me a bit of a run around. Congrats." 

Tony grabbed a fork and promptly skewered the guys waffle in recompense for making him Firewalk to multiple locations. 

"So, you probably know why I'm here?" 

"The Avengers recruitment drive is terrifying." 

"I'm not that terrifying. I will have you know that I'm probably as terrifying as a cute, fluffy bunny." 

"Jess said you vanished in a column of Black Fire whilst eating ice-cream." 

"It was really good Ice-cream." 

"Matt said you appeared at the end of a dead end alley." 

"Well, that was his own fault for lurking in dark alleys really." 

"Luke said you over tipped." 

"Is that actually a complaint? I mean, over tipping? Is that a thing?" 

"So, what do you want with me ?" 

Tony pulled two contracts from his jacket, well, he summoned them, but did it in his jacket. As to not terrify the other patrons. Restraint. 

"What the.. How big are you pockets." 

"Infinitesimal. Here's your Avengers contract that includes the Accords etc. This is to offer a partnership with SI. Pym too when Hope kicks pops into gear. Right, any questions?" 

"About 500."

That made Tony grin, he liked this guy. 

"I have time for 2."

"Why do you want us in the Avengers?" 

"A fanatic space grape is trying to wipe out 50% of all life in the universe." 

"That's just created even more questions." 

"Hmm, I know, but talk to Murdock to help with the contract. Your company's Lawyers on the other. If you join I will literally sit down and let you ask me an actual 500 questions if you can come up with the full 500." 

"Cool! So, uh, why do you look like a young Tony Stark?" 

"I kind of died. Right, see ya!" 

"No, wait, you can't just leave it at that!" 

Tony snickered as he strolled out of the diner. 

"FRIDAY. Why am I here." 

Tony squinted at the Baxter building as if it had personally offended him.

It had. 

"Colonel Rhodes booked you an appointment to secure an alliance with the Fantastic Four Boss." 

"Does Rhodey know how much Reed plays with Portals? Because. It's a lot. Like, a lot a lot." 

"He said to remind you of the threat from space and to ignore your petty rivalry."

" PETTY ?! The man opened a damned portal in the middle of a battle, and had the cheek to claim he was too busy to clean up! I'm not even getting into the fact that he tried to get a new PhD everytime I did." 

"Colonel Rhodes instructed me to make 'Uhuh' noises as you ranted. So. Uhuh." 

"Fine, fine. I'm going in." 

He made his way up quite quickly, at least Rhodey had booked the appointment via Sue. If he'd done it through Reed the bastard would try to keep him waiting for an hour. 

"Tony!" 

"Sue! Wonderful as ever to see you, ah good, the entire gang in one place. I had to chase the last group all over the damned city." 

"I hear you have a proposal for us?" 

"Yup, contracts and everything. Even just on the scientific side as long as I'm not left alone in the lab alone with your husband at any point." 

"I heard that!" 

Reed quipped from the table. 

"I know. That was the intention. Reed ." 

" Stark ." 

They were glaring at each other when Sue threw her hands up in irritation. 

"You two are impossible." 

"I'm not! / He's Impossible!" 

"FRIDAY, why is Fury on this list. He's meant to be dead. I'm not talking to dead people." 

"But Boss-" 

"Dead!" 

"Why is Britain cold? And wet? I don't remember it being this damp."

"Probably because its an island in the middle of the ocean Boss." 

"I'll just carry on blaming the Saxons, thank you very much." 

He rolled his eyes, knockin the door as a frazzled Darcy opened it. Squinting at him and his hands in confusion. 

"Where's the pizza?"

"I'm not the pizza guy." 

"Holy shit, fuck. No. Way. JANE! JANE! Tony fucking Stark is at the door!" 

"Pizza?" 

"I'm feeling like I should have brought pizza…" 

Jane stuck her head around the door, eyes going comically wide. 

"Oh my god, you actually are Tony Stark. Erik, put your pants on! We have guests!" 

"Come in, come in. If the pizza ever arrives, you can have some." 

Which was how he found himself sat, eating Pizza, with Jane, Darcy and Selvig (Who did not, consequently, have pants on). It wasn't as good as the ice-cream but it was definitely superior to Danny's waffle. 

Darcy was the first to speak up after consuming two slices of pizza like it was the first food she'd seen in weeks. 

"So, why are you in England? And you know, here? In this room? With us." 

"Oh, right. Contracts for everyone, the three of you are here by formally invited into the Avengers Initiative. There, I even made it sound fancy because, you know, 'England' ."

"Uh.."

"It includes complete funding." 

"YES!" 

Well, that was easy. 

He kicked back on his sofa to make the last call of the day. Smiling as T'Challa came into view. 

"So, have you learned not to take in strays yet?" 

Might be a touch petty, but the man did kind of leave him to die and took in the rogues. So the man's long-suffering sigh was music to his ears. 

Chapter Text

Sam POV 

When he left the Raft, he hadn't expected to end up in Wakanda. Or for Wakanda to be a rich, vibranium filled wonderland. Quiet farming and textile villages? Peel it back and suddenly he was in a scifi novel, which considering he'd been living at the compound and Stark's inability to not upgrade everything was notorious, Wakanda was still a shock. 

Steve had said that they'd only be staying for a few days. Two weeks, tops. Then something strange had happened in Wakanda that they'd had to hide in caves from, even now no one would tell them what had happened, but he could say for sure, it wasn't good. Natasha had offered to do some information retrieval after she turned up, but Steve had been against it. Not wanting to anger their hosts. 

Days became weeks . 

Weeks became months .

Scott was just as miserable as he was in the beginning, Clint was angry all of the time. Like seriously, all of the time. If his toast didn't cook properly he was fuming for an hour. Wanda mostly stuck to Clint or Steve, who spent every other day looking at Bucky in the cryo chamber. Because that wasn't creepy at all .. There wasn't even a window to see Bucky through. Lately he'd seemed upset about something, but he hadn't elaborated as to what it was and honestly? Sam was dealing with his own issues. 

Natasha had joined them after the problems in Wakanda and she'd been hopeful about going home, she said that Tony hiding away was a sure sign he was being to spiral so he would fix their pardons in no time. 

The way she said it had not sat right with him, but he hadn't said anything because he'd been angry with Stark. He'd told him about Siberia only if Stark went as a friend, yet Bucky and Steve came back bloody. 

After June, Stark Industries, and the absolute mountain of subsidiaries he hadn't even known existed, had been almost excessively busy, it was as if the company had decided to clean up the planet and was dragging everyone along, whether they liked it or not, kicking and screaming. With a frankly terrifying degree of competency and ruthlessness. Green energy initiatives started popping up all over the planet, water cleaning, air purifiers, Intellicrops... 

There were also all of the reparation works. Then there was the fact that everyone thought he was dead, that the company was carrying out his last wishes. Clint and Wanda had been sure it was a publicity stunt, because sure, the man currently being hailed for dragging the world kicking and screaming towards renewable energy, single handedly destroying climate change.. Yeah he needed a publicity stunt to look better. Well, except to people who made their profits in oil and such, they really hated him now. 

A statement was eventually issued that he was fine and would have a press conference at the end of August explaining what had happened. Which wasn't at all ominous. All the while subsidiaries Worldwide came out with more and more eco friendly directives. He had no idea why Stark had gotten a little obsessed but at least it was for a good cause? 

Natasha howeve, had been getting quieter and quieter. 

Then it finally came to the press conference and that was where shit got weird, because Stark looked different . He was young, healthy and just looked all around better . He spoke about how he was involved in another fight after Leipzig-Halle, as he was trying to straighten things out with the Accords. Obviously referring to what happened in Siberia. How he was mortally wounded. 

Steve had gone white as a sheet and everyone was looking at him. He'd said Stark was fine. Just cooling off. He could have gone in the same direction and Clint and Wanda, who said Stark was blowing it out of proportion, that this was a cover for experiments he'd done on himself to restore his youth. But Steve looked shaken. He'd never seen Steve look like that. 

Apparently nearly dying had triggered something dormant in Stark that he has never known existed, it had healed him right up. He joked that sometimes healing could be a little overzealous, whilst gesturing to his younger self. He finished by stating he would still be Ironman, but that he would do more as Tony Stark to help the world now he'd been given back his youth. 

Natasha had been frozen. After that Stark was always on the TV when Natasha was down and no one knew why . It pissed off Wanda to no end. Steve grew angrier with every broadcast of Stark doing something, that he should be getting their pardons instead. Their hosts were tiring off them too, Steve couldn't see it though. 

The Accords grew and became something bigger, Sam had watched many talk shows of Tony talking about it protecting people. When the amendments to protecting children were announced, the day after, Stark and 4 unknown children and Charles Xavier, went to different locations all over America, turning toxic, dead lakes clean and healthy seemingly at random. Other countries were actively inviting them across their borders instead of being angry at powered people in their countries. Stark had never struck him as that much of an environmentalist before, baring his green energy work, but you couldn't say he wasn't committed now. Why? He hadn't a clue. 

Barely a day went by without Stark doing something. He could probably take over the sodding world at this point and he bet many wouldn't complain.  The Avengers were growing too. More and more people were turning up to Avengers Events and when they were called. All signed the Accords. 

Things were moving fast over in America. 

Whilst they… languished. 

People had been talking about them a lot - in the beginning. People calling for pardons, there was a lot of good press in amongst all of the bad.

Then Stark started doing a very simple thing.

It was subtle as first. That Sam didn't pick up on it until it had started to gain steam. He refused to talk about them. Reporters who forced the issue? They found themselves barred from events that included him. Which right now? Was a lot. He would stand up, shrug and simply leave shows that tried to catch him out. Not saying a single word. It was subtle, but with how much Stark and his companies were involved in? No one wanted to be left out. So, people stopped talking about them. It was subtle but painfully effective. 

Then, the video in Siberia was leaked. Stark tried to do damage control, saying he didn't want people to be forced to watch him nearly die, but even he couldn't stop it because it was everywhere . 

The result in the house had been instantaneous. Wanda immediately congratulated Steve, but told him he could have killed him and that he should have. Clint had been stunned into an eerie silence he maintained on and off to this day, vanishing for hours each day into the forest. He and Scott had mostly split off, they did their own thing now. He'd spent so long being angry at Stark for attacking Bucky and Steve for 'no reason', that video had made him wonder what else Steve had omitted and he felt a little lost. Maybe he should have said something about it.

Nat still stalked Tony online and on TV, still would tell anyone why. Steve was oblivious to the problems this had caused for them. He was just terrified the video would result in people calling for Bucky's head, and refused to acknowledge anything else. 

Steve, it turned out, had also told T'Challa that Tony was fine, and nothing about why the fight took place. Suddenly they were restricted to a small corner of the Palace away from everyone. Safe in the knowledge they were on thin ice. The Princess had given them a blistering dressing down. 

Stark then shocked them, again, claiming upset for his loss of composure and then using the release of the video to launch his initiative to gain Barnes his freedom, and raise his public image. 

Steve was barely mentioned. When he was? It was not favourable. Just by walking away and not answering a few questions, Stark had, with terrifying ease, completely destroyed what little public support they still had. Sure there were still some, but without Stark's PR teams and mind? Without being able to even contact anyone? What could they do? But slowly watch as they were forgotten. 

He noticed then that Natasha actually had started to look scared . He'd never seen fear like that on her face before. 

"What is it Nat?" 

"I profiled him Wilson. He was left alone, broken up with Pepper, Rhodes in hospital and Vision suffering because of Wanda. He should have spiraled. But he didn't . Even with him miraculously healing, he should be spiralling.. He shouldn't be protecting Barnes like this… I keep having these dreams, memories.. I don't know… I just don't.." 

"I think we're all starting to go a little stir-crazy in here. I just wish Clint and Scott would lay off the pranks you know?" 

That was something that had become a fun feature of his life over the last few weeks running up to Halloween, it was starting to get annoying. He knew it was Wanda, Clint and Scott, because who else would it be? At first he he swore he ass seeing things out of the corner of his eye. Dark shapes were fluttering around his vision and then the pranks started straight after. He got that everyone was frustrated! But come on! Were pranks really the answer here? They were adults and driving each other insane was not going to make this situation better! 

What was worse, Scott and Clint kept denying they were doing it! Wanda of course said she had nothing to do with the dark shadows, but like the pranks, these things come just appear out of nowhere . It started of pretty normal really, if extremely annoying. Salt swapped with sugar, decaf swapped with caffeinated. How one of them got a spring to the bottom of a cereal box so it exploded when he opened? He had no clue but damned was he cleaning up their mess. It had gotten to the point he was actually nervous of picking anything up now. He'd picked up the TV remote earlier and it just fell apart in his hands. 

Scott had sent him out to pick up something from T'Challa which had taken 3 hours to find the king, who didn't have anything for him. Scott had the cheek to say he'd not sent him anywhere. 

Clint appeared just then, smiling, for a change. 

"Hey Sam, want to go out for a bit? To apologise for all the pranks you know?" 

"Thank you! That's all I wanted man. Some fresh air would probably be a good idea. I think we're getting cabin fever here. Nat, you coming?"

Nat barely even looked up, eyes fixed on the TV as if she dared not miss a single detail. Oookay. 

They'd been walking for a few minutes when he noticed it. Now, it wasn't that he was a bird nerd or something, but he liked corvids. Okay, he liked birds. They were clever and fun. Which was how he knew that that was not a bird native to Africa. He turned to Clint to say something but the man had vanished which was incredibly strange. Stranger still was the voice that came from nowhere. 

"One for sorrow.." 

James POV

He woke up with the chill of cryo clinging to him and the bright lights. It didn't take him long to remember everything that had happened and he was already wishing for the silence of cryo. It didn't hurt in there, he didn't remember there. After Siberia, after seeing the agony he had caused, he'd longed for the black with a passion. He knew they'd never undo what Hydra did to him, so he went under until they could find a way. Assuming that he could just rest and stop hurting, finally. 

It didn't even feel like a very long time had passed. T'Challa looked harder somehow but not that different. 

"Good Afternoon Sergeant Barnes, its 2pm, October 30th and you're in Wakanda." 

"What's happened? What's gone wrong?" 

"Nothing has gone wrong." 

"You're waking me up awful early so I thought something had happened." 

"Oh no, I'm sorry we gave that impression. A person has been in touch with me who can help with your problems. It would completely remove the words from your mind." 

"What's the catch?" 

"He's not sure you'll accept it from him and he's the only one who can do it apparently." 

"Who is it?" 

"Tony Stark." 

He was pretty shocked, the man had no reason to help him. Whilst he hadn't been trying to kill him in Siberia, he might have changed his mind. That was OK, it was better than just waiting to be triggered, he did not think Tony Stark would use the code words against him. Plus, even if he did, the Dora wouldn't let him hurt anyone. If it turned out to be nothing, or a revenge plot, he'd let it play out and hopefully just return to cryo. 

"Okay." 

Chapter Text

Wanda POV 

"They'll all blame you, you know." 

She opened her eyes and found herself once again summoned to the dreamscape against her will. She tried everything to stop it, but every night she was drawn here. Now she was back in the daytime too. Great. The nebulous place between their reality and something else she didn't know about. She'd tried to investigate it, but the mists had halted her time and time again. 

She was concerned that maybe she had attracted the attention of someone through those mists, because the voice? It trailed after her. Night after night. 

Her magic was not such a sure thing in this in-between space, she had to be careful too, the first time the voice appeared, she had lashed out and was woken by Steve's screaming. In her sleep her magic had thrown things around the room, as she had been pinpointing the voice to attack, in the real world, that had been aimed unerringly at Steve. 

Sometimes the voice spoke liquid words of languages she didn't know, the power that emanated from them was something she did recognise however. The words would seem almost physical around her, wrapping her up, dragging her down and down to dark laughter until she found herself deposited in memories. Twisting them, good memories twisted into a mockery, worst though… worst was the awful memories. The ones that still itched inside her skull and never healed, no matter how much time had passed. 

The voice would speak now and then, changing tiny things. Usually things that had been in her power, her words, her choices, her actions. Then she'd be forced to not just watch, but live it, as the scenario change for the better. She'd been trapped in one of them long enough to be at Pietro's wedding. As soon as she'd stopped fighting and decided to stay in this better world, she was hurled from the dream world with a chuckle and she was left blinking at the ceiling, laughter in her ears. 

She felt like she was fracturing, her ability to tell reality from dream was fading around the edges. She'd thought at first, the old trick to tell dreams from reality, pain. But it hurt everywhere. The voice had mocked her for pinching herself. 

"Even a novice such as you should understand this. A dreamscape of a magus is different, here there are possibilities, and in possibilities… there is pain." 

That had been a terrible night, from being chased through a dark forest with black wolves snapping at her feet. Feeling every whip or branches across her face, her bare feet torn by the pine needles and the cold bite of winter sinking into her skin. She felt all of it so keenly it was maddening but addicting at the same time. Things here felt more, better… truer in a strange sense, that even when it was pain, she found herself yearning to return even though she knew pain would likely be waiting for her. Even as she drank coffee to stay awake. 

"My little red one, do you want a story tonight?" 

She rocked on her feet, it wasn't the first time she had been offered a story. Tales of fantastical beings, tales of dread creatures that stalked the night. Some had thrilled her. Some had been familiar to tales the old witch lady had spoken to them as children, to scare them away from the dark forest, to scare them into behaving. Some had dragged her into horror scapes that started with dancing beautiful creatures spinning, music playing. Then, she'd dance, and catch sight of the band. See the exhaustion on their faces, the golden shackles at their feet. 

She'd try to stop but find that she was unable, that she was helpless as time went on and the pain built and built until she was sure she would collapse, but she didn't. It carried on and on till she was scratching at the walls of madness and she was watched with hungry eyes until she awoke screaming. Her legs had hurt so bad that she'd been unable to walk the whole day. 

After that, she had said no to all questions that asked something of her, but carefully, even to the delicious food that was offered to her. That she was trapped in a room with for days to weeks to months as she felt herself waste away yet stay alive, conscious, awake to feel her body eat itself. No one entered, the food never spoiled, and she felt eyes upon her the whole time. Only to wake up and find only a night had past. 

Blue lights had tried to draw her from her path, temptations in every room as she resolutely walked ahead. Pain. Pain. And the release, of bliss and floating and happiness and tantalising glimpses of happiness and hope and friends. The glimpses of the pain she could cause, red flowing from her fingers whilst she laughed. The voice told her that she should be careful how far she pushed, that a power such as hers was a two edged blade. That she could only slice into others as far as she was willing to slice into herself. She could feel herself bleeding, could see the damage to herself that she'd inflicted, but the whispers, the whispers from the stone coaxed her even further, showing her things she'd never considered. 

"Little Red one, I won't wait forever, and I think we've shown that you don't like it when I take my own initiative."

She flinched because he was right. Night's where she had ignored him completely, those had been the darkest, those were the nights he'd manipulate history to come out better at her hands and force her to live what never could be. 

"Why don't you ever show yourself! Always hiding behind the mists!" 

"I suppose it would seem that way, alright." 

She had a second to think she had messed up before the dreamscape shifted and twisted around her. Leaving her stood in a forest so dense and dark she could barely see a few feet in front of her face. In front of her, ripped into the earth was a stairway, leading down into darkness. 

"Come then, or would you rather stay in the Dark Forest?"

She sucked in a breath and started down the steps, the Dark Forest held many creatures shed met and experienced, after barely out running these short creatures who seemed to have a thing for scalping she'd avoided it. The dark stairs were her only out, now. She knew this being didn't change his mind when the dreamscape changed. The stairs went on and on, the darkness was so thick she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. It carried on for so long she wondered if she would go mad here, just as her steps began to falter, a light appeared up ahead, luring her forward until a room opened up. Sweet smells of burning plants and oils wrapped around her as she took in the large, strange room.

There were 4 windows at the cardinal points, looking over a beautiful glittering city. By each window sat a creature that resembled an animal but had the reek of other that she had come to recognise. Intelligence, malice and hatred sparked in their eyes, a too human emotion in such an odd shape. The boar was huge and emanated rage as it glared at her where it sat, chained to a wooden chair. A huge hawk watched her contemptuously, a salmon mocked her as it's tail beat out a rhythm on its chair and finally a bear watched her with hunger in its eyes. Each was chained to its wooden chair, huge and imposing. 

From the drapes that were embroidered with gold and silver to the carved stone and etched floorboards, magical symbols were everywhere. Lines flowing from fabric to stone to the slate at the ceiling. Red lanterns burned from where they hung, strange items from globes that looked nothing like earth, telescopes, golden equipment she could not name and books lay scattered on tables. 

In front of her, against the wall sat a figure, reclined with his feet upon someone's lap, she could tell it was a woman but her face was obscured to her. The figure was tall, she'd guess at least over 7 feet, he was wearing a cowl that seemed oddly shaped until she noticed the hood had 4 spaces for a different brass mask from each. A hawk mask assessed her and not for the first time did she think asking to see this creature was a mistake. He started talking in a voice that was different to what she'd heard, before it had been distorted, now is was clear and rang through her, bringing her to attention as if every word was whispered directly into her mind. 

"Without distinction to discerning,

Without ships, a ruthless course, 

the truth was not known, 

beneath a sky full of stars,

whether they were of heaven or of earth." 

She blinked, it wasn't the first time he'd said this to her, it was the story that drew him and his kind to their world, she didn't know why he was telling her this again.

"You might be wondering what drew one such as me, to you?"

She nodded, she'd been wondering why since the first time her dreamscape shifted and the effects carried through into the waking world. Dreams fade as the person wakes, but this place never faded from her mind, it was more real than reality. 

"You have been reckless with your magic little red one, I found traces of it in an apprentice of mine. I followed these traces and came across you, unguarded, unprotected."

A grating noise caused her to flinch as the masks rotated, the hawk going still and they moved until the boar came to rest on her. Rage and hatred shone through the small, dark eyes. Chains rattling drew her attention to the creatures in the chairs and the boar was now leaning forward, grunting in an effort to get to her. The man, or creature, whatever he was, his voice had changed. Taking on a grating, growling quality. 

"I do not take kindly to those hurting people under my protection, worst is, you do not even know of whom I speak. You have recklessly sliced into so many minds.." 

She ground her teeth together, she did what she had too! She didn't ask for this life, it had been forced onto her. Her happy home had been torn from her by one man, her brothers life had been ripped away from her by one man. If he wanted to punish someone for what her magic had wrought, it should be against him! Yet again, she was suffering because of Tony Stark. 

The grating noise ground again until it came to rest on the bear, glassy black eyes bore into her, stealing the breath from her lungs and leaving her helpless, her magic was nowhere to be found in this place. The man stood, he was so tall she had to crane her neck to see. She didn't even consider running, she was frozen staring up into the brass mask as a hand that seemed to be ravaged by fire reached out and almost tenderly brushed through her hair. 

"Would you like to see what you are to be blamed for today, little red one?"

Chapter Text

Steve POV

He'd seen her a few times now, whenever he made the journey from their little corner of the Palace to the medical centre where Bucky's cryogenic unit stood. At first he'd seen a flash of long, long blonde hair disappearing around the corner. He'd ignored it at first, it wasn't exactly important and sure there were probably other people who lived at the Palace. 

No one else had seen a person with such striking hair and as it was there every single time he left their rooms it had started to concern him. 

Was someone spying on them? 

He asked around more and didn't get very far with his enquiries. So he started keeping an eye out for her. Occasionally he found flower petals on the ground around their rooms too, even though there were no flowers around that matched them. 

The next time, he was faster, the long blonde hair had flowers attached to it. There were tiny yellow flowers he didn't recognise but had seen around their rooms, the other two were quite strange and not what you'd usually see in someone's hair. One seemed frothy and white that twinged in his memories for some reason, the other was long strands wrapped around her hair was flowers so small he didn't even know the colour. It seemed odd, yet they were all wound into the golden hair. He'd even tried finding the names of the flowers using the laptop T'Challa had provided them. Unfortunately he'd not been able to wrangle it from Natasha. 

He was heading to see Bucky again, and because he needed to get out of the damned rooms for a while. Natasha was still watching everything with Tony in it, to an obsessive degree. He was starting to worry about her, Tony turning his back on them had really hurt her. When they got back to America he would hope the man would apologise for what he put her through. Although as to what Tony was doing these days, he had no idea. When they return home he would get to the bottom of things, as he doubted Tony was telling the truth about his changes . 

Then there was Sam, Clint and Scott who had engaged in some kind of prank war? He wasn't exactly sure, they were grown ups, he would wait for them to sort it themselves. Wanda had much more of his concern, her nightmares seemed to be getting worse, she'd had such a bad night her magic had been sparking online all morning as Scott wished them a Happy Halloween, she'd immediately gone back to bed. The nightmares were bad, at the start it was one every few days. Every night he had been woken by her screams for the past few weeks, if not her screams it was her magic. If only she would talk about the dreams, maybe he could help . 

Gold flashed out of the corner of his eye and this time he decided to follow. If this person was spying on them, he needed to know. Plus, it was something different to shake his day up. The repetitive nature of their lives was straying to drag at him. He had not thought Tony would hold out this long. 

He turned down the same corridor he'd seen the owner of the golden hair  head down, surprised to see no one, but when he looked up, at the very end of the corridor he saw the hair flick around the bend and a flash of a pale, bare foot. 

He picked up his pace and saw that something had been dropped on the floor, it was one of the flowers. The strange one that he wouldn't expect someone to put in their hair, tiny white, not quite flowers. It was very sweet-smelling however. He gently put it into his pocket, maybe he could work out what it was now he had some. He followed the empty corridor and at the end was unsure where to go until he saw yellow petals on the left. 

This carried on through several more corridors, now and then he was treated to a flash of pale skin, golden hair and petals leading him. Some he recognised, some he didn't, there were even some nettles at one point oddly. Every corner turned pushed him harder until he was running to get a better look. Eventually he hit a corridor that had no petals at the end of it. 

Disappointed, he traced back the last corridor incase he missed something, in the middle there were a few yellow petals in the middle, he wasn't sure how he'd missed them, he glanced up and noticed it was a doorway to what looked like gardens. He followed the stone path that was now lined with petals. Tiny yellow ones, tiny white ones, the frothy white ones from the plant in his pocket, oddly spikey, purple flowers… There were at least 9 different types and it was such an odd mix to be scattered. 

Eventually he found a huge tree, which was oddly in flower for the time of year, but then it was Wakanda and he was pretty sure they could do anything here. The path of flowers finished and he wasn't sure where to turn next, not until he saw a pale ankle and foot from the other side of the tree. He straightened up, to look around the tree, the woman was sitting now which meant he would finally get to meet her after chasing her for so long. She'd obviously wanted him to find her, leaving a trail for him to follow. 

She was reclined against the tree, concentrating on what was in her hands, her feet were bare and the dress she was wearing looked airy and white with flower petals embroidered in it. There were what looked like vines wrapped around her right arm, starting at her shoulder all the way to her fingers, her left leg had the same, the vine was odd as it had many different colour blossoms blooming from it. Her long, pale fingers worked quickly and surely on what looked like a ring of flowers. To Steve it looked like someone had stepped from a book, she was beyond beautiful. 

He must have made a noise as he stared because her eyes flicked up to him, they were blue, but that didn't do them justice, they were such a vibrant blue, like moving, deep waters. The corner of her mouth picked up into a smile and he found himself grinning back. 

"Hi, I'm Steve." 

Her voice was, no lie, like bells. It was so perfectly feminine, more so than anything he'd ever heard before in his life and just hearing it warmed him inside. It was a balm to his pain, it washed away his troubles and for the first time in so long, he felt light, free of the murk that had been crushing him. 

"I'm waiting for someone." 

Not wanting to leave so soon, even if she was waiting for someone else, he had followed her trail after all. 

"Well, maybe I could wait with you?" 

"Why don't you come and sit with me?" 

He practically tripped over himself to sit next to the beautiful woman, she smiled as he did so, she finished the piece in her hands, smiling brightly and laid it upon his head. He was pretty sure he looked ridiculous with a flower crown, but Bucky always told him to go along with girls when they did stuff like this because it made them happy. He wanted her to smile again, so he sat with it on. 

"So, what are these flowers?"

She pulled the tufted, frothy one out of a pile first, offering it for him to smell. 

"This one, is meadowsweet, I find the smell quite beautiful, don't you?" 

"Yes, I thought I recognised it, my mother used to talk about meadowsweet with some of her old stories. But I can't remember them." 

She picks up the yellow petals and then lines up the other 8 plants, pointing to each as she named them. 

"Primrose, Burdock, Broom, Bean, Nettle, Hawthorn, Chestnut and finally Oak." 

"They're beautiful, do you.. Do you want to come and get a drink with me?

" I'm waiting for someone."

He frowned but figured that they could at least stay there. Especially as he felt so good around her. Pain and stress he hadn't even realised he was carrying were just gone now. 

"Mind if I stay as you wait?" 

She nodded and they remained like that for a while, talking as the sun began to cross the sky. As hours turned to hours, Steve spoke about things that had been bothering him, about his hopes and worries for his friends. All the pain from this ridiculous civil war. She smiled and she really listened, like so few people ever did. Yet, everytime he talked about them moving to somewhere else, to get drinks or food. Especially as his stomach informed him he'd been sat at the tree for several hours. Everytime he got the same response. 

"I'm waiting for someone." 

The sun started getting closer to the horizon, the blue blue sky split into reds and purples and the sun dropped lower, the pale blue sky darkening until it mirrored the vibrant blue of her eyes. She seemed in no rush, nor upset that the person she was waiting for didn't show. He found himself angry on her behalf, that a person would keep such an enchanting lady waiting all day? What if he hadn't come around? She would have been sat alone for hours!

"It's getting quite dark, do you want me to walk you home?" 

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Look, Miss, I'm not sure they're coming, who are you waiting for anyway?"

Her head tilted to one side, eyes focused completely on him and he couldn't look away, not that he wanted too. Maybe she would forget this other and leave with him. 

"Arawn, God of Death." 

Her jerked back, surprised but a sound of stone scraping against stone surprised him, causing him to glance away, when he looked back, the beautiful woman froze, before slowly crumbling into the flowers she had shown him before. He jumped and scrambled to his feet to get away, panicking and backed into something solid but soft to. He stopped and slowly looked behind him, his fight response felt crushed and he was flooded with fear, not something he was accustomed too. 

He saw the bone white of a skull, causing him to jump back and take in what he was looking at but his brain was screaming at him to run and he was flooded with adrenaline he couldn't seem to use. It was 8 feet tall, wearing a huge, thick, heavy black cape. A mask he assumed on an animal skull with great antlers coming from the top. It cut an imposing figure. It spoke, at least he assumed it was him, with a voice an intoning as a gong compared to the beautiful woman. Death to her life. His voice pressed in on him, crushing him with everything in his life that went bad, the pain he'd caused and what he'd been through was all there. Pressing him to the spot. His legs felt like lead. 

"Hir yw'r dydd a hir yw'r nos, a hir yw aros Arawn." 

He swallowed thickly before replying, because he had no idea what strange language this being had spoken to him. Although seemed somewhat familiar, he couldn't place it. 

"I.. I don't understand." 

He froze again as a person pressed up against him to whisper in his ear, blonde hair flickered in the corner of his vision and he felt relaxed until he saw flowers falling, she held him firmly in place as she whispered into his ear. 

"Long is the day and long is the night, and long is the waiting of Arawn"

He could not move and he didn't understand what was happening or why it was happening to him, the imposing figure stepped forward and he was held in place as the woman moved to whisper again in his other ear. He didn't dare look as the other being was so close now, even as her hair brushed over him. 

"Wandering soul, out of time, now confined 

You are seen, through eyes, forever blind." 

He closed his eyes and started praying and for a minute, no one moved, no one did anything. He chanced opening his eyes to find the skull close enough that it was practically touching his face. 

"Your god cannot help you now."

Chapter Text

Clint POV 

Halloween was usually one of Clint's favourite times of the year. He could be making costumes for his kids, watching scary movies with them. If he was working, then he and Nat always did something. Since joining the Avengers there was always a party around Halloween too. This year, he was trapped in Wakanda and the people around him were going crazy. If Sam came screaming in his face one more damned time about some stupid pranks that he had nothing to do with, he was going to deck him. Or he was going to deck Scott as he was obviously where these stupid pranks were coming from. 

He was concerned about Nat, at first she was gathering information on Tony about how to get everyone home. But, it quickly turned into an obsession and getting anything out of her these days was difficult. He was worried about her, that was for sure, he just didn't know what he could do. 

He felt beyond useless. He couldn't even help Wanda with her nightmares. He couldn't help Steve as he was mostly worried about his man on ice. Steve had already left to return to his vigil on Bucky. Nat was sitting in front of the TV, shockingly. He didn't know where the idiot twins were. Wanda had woken from another round of nightmares closed off this time, but her magic has been going haywire all morning and even though she was going back to bed, he just reached a point that he just had to get out! 

It wasn't the first time he'd needed a break from the cabin fever. Like Nat, he just wasn't accustomed to staying in one place for so long. That's what got him in this mess. Their section of the Palace backed onto a forest of some kind, it wasn't exactly huge but it was big enough. 

He'd set himself up a few trails now, he took his bow and arrows too. Not that he was actually planning on hunting something, he just needed something to do! 

Se set off around midday and let himself relax the further away from the Palace her got, his footsteps were light on the ground, stepping lighting and making no noise. It meant he got to enjoy the wildlife of the forest as they didn't flee from him like some clumsier, loud interloper. It gave him the feeling of belonging he'd been missing lately. 

He kept walking away from the Palace, aware that he should turn back soon. If he wasn't careful it would take him half the day just to walk back and everyone would be worried about his disappearances. He sighed, knowing he really should head back and that was when it caught his eye. A strange track in the mud. He knelt down next to it, hovering his hand over it to make sure he wasn't seeing things. That was huge. Thick claws had sliced deep into the mud too. He glanced down at the print, it was heading away from the Palace. It was incredibly fresh… and he really wanted to see just what could make something like that. 

He slung his bow on his back and switched all his focus into tracking. Following the strange creature. Twice now, other tracks crossed his path, at a guess he would say there were at least 5 of them. Maybe more if he took time to check, so this was definitely a pack of some kind and they were resolutely moving away from the Palace. He was just about to give up when he heard a snap off in the distance, his eyesight picked up a flash of white and he was back on the trail. 

"I am the glint upon the spear

the breath within the horn…" 

He stumbled and looked around for the voice, glancing up at branches that people could hide in and seeing nothing. It was close, it shouldn't be too hard to locate. 

"I am the rush within the blood

the sweat upon the brow…" 

This time he'd been listening for the strange voice that sliced through the air. It was coming from behind him so he turned to face it, even though he couldn't see the person. 

"I am the thunder of the hooves

and the lust within the heart…" 

The voice came from behind him again, causing him to whip his head around. He was so sure he'd faced the right way. 

"I am the fear in every bone

the chase within each fibre

and the pounding  of hooves upon the turf…" 

This time when he span around, he saw something, a glint of sun on metal out of the corner of his eye. 

"I am the dodge and turn, the swift race and the bounding escape…" 

Now he was getting angry. 

"Where are you?!" 

"The rut, the hunt and the ending of life are mine and all come from me." 

Clint was starting to have a bad feeling about this, that was when he realised just how far he was from his trails. He didn't recognise this patch of the forest and he'd gotten so turned around chasing the voice, he wasn't immediately sure which way was the Palace. He'd not brought any gear with him, all he had was his bow. 

"Each stag, each doe and each fawn are under the sweep of my spear

and each to become upon its tip…" 

There were flashes in the woods around him, bright white, similar to the flash that had lured him in. He wondered if it was their tracks he'd stalked. The snort of a horse drew his attention, as a pure white stallion calmly came into view a few hundred metres ahead of him.

The man sat on his back was strange, with long black, slightly curled hair, pale white skin covered in strange blue markings, his arms, chest, even his neck and face were covered in them. Even though his chest was bare, he seemed dressed for a fight. A long, sharp looking spear rested easily in his grip. He was holding something in his other hand but Clint the sun was caught, blurring his vision when he tried to focus on it. Oh, and there were the antlers. 

He was about to ask him which convention this guy got diverted from, because seriously what the fuck. Who gets dressed up weird like some strange, ancient story to torment innocent people in the forest?

"I am Gwyn ap Nudd." 

Clint was about to tell him to get lost when he raised his hand, the one not carrying the spear. Clint slipped his bow into his hand with practiced ease, an arrow knocked and waiting. He didn't want to risk him having another weapon that he could attack him with. 

It turned out, the thing in his hand was a horn, the loudest horn he had ever heard, it practically reverberated through his body, his bones and damned soul. He could feel it, a call to arms. A call to hunt. He felt it all in the long seconds the noise stretched out. 

He felt a horse beneath him, hooves chewing up the earth, heavy breathing, misting in the cold which was strange as he was in Wakanda, it wasn't cold. He felt a weapon in his hand, prey in his sights, the joy of the chase, the thrill of running them down, victory and scalding hot blood. 

Then it shifted, his feet were on the cold, hard mud and he was running. Throwing his whole body into it, each jolt that shot up his leg every time his foot hit the floor, leaping over trees. Looking always looking for an advantage to take, the thrill of running and dodging before a slash of white to his side then pain pain-

The horn stopped and Clint was panting, blinking around the Wakandan forest. The heat now felt oppressive and crushing compared to the cold of that… what was it. A vision? He was dazed but he still saw movement around him, the strange man clipped the horn back to his belt before returning his attention to Clint, he could see the man's smile clearly over the distance. 

"Now. Run !"

The flashes of white burst towards him and Clint had a fraction of a second to see what he's looking at before his mind screeched breaks on because they're so large type of canine with red noses, powerful looking white bodies, teeth that seemed too large for their mouths but most importantly, they were heading for him . 

As he turned, he fired off a few quick bolts towards two of the white beasts that were bearing down on him before he put his head down and ran. Praying that he'd come across one of the trails he'd laid because then he could find his way out of the forest with ease and return to the Palace where there were guards who could protect them from Mr weird named hunter dude. 

He was running too fast to be silent but not so fast that he couldn't navigate fallen debris. Running full out is all well and good along flat territory, or at least known territory. He had no idea where he was in this damned forest because he'd gotten caught up following the tracks, so he can't push too hard lest he end up catching a root of a tree and falling down, hard. 

The horn sounds again, slightly to his left this time so he immediately banks and continues forward but away from the sound. None of the white beasts are too close to him yet but he can feel the thundering of their paws around him. 

After five minutes he was starting to feel a burn in his legs and he was pretty sure he was being herded. As soon as he worked out that he was being herded somewhere, he tried making turns in the opposite direction. Only to be faced by one of the white beasts close enough to snap at his thighs, narrowly twisting to avoid the bite. He knew that allowing himself to be headed was the worst thing he could possibly do.

Generally, you don't want to be where someone is chasing you too, especially if they're choosing your route. That applied to many people in life, apparently it also applied to weirdos like this. Clint allowed himself to be herded a little longer, slowing down his pace to conserve energy as the beasts were staying a certain distance away as long as he kept to the path they chose. 

He knocked an arrow to his bow and turned of his heal, bolting the left instead of the right that they kept pushing him in. Just like he was expecting, one of the white beasts burst out of the trees, snapping towards his legs and he loosed his arrow. He carried on running as fast as was safe as he heard the beast crash loudly into the forest floor, making a huge racket. He was constantly looking for any of his markers when that damned horn sounded again. 

The beasts were suddenly a lot closer as he ran, there was one literally snapping at his damned heels and he didn't dare look behind him for a second because that would be all it took for him to stumble. A stumble with the beast that close? It's teeth would be at his legs to take him down as if it were chasing prey for its master. Well, he supposed that's what he was. He bit down on the manic laugh that tried to break free and focused. 

The burn of lactic acid was starting to build up in his and he could almost feel himself slowing down because of it. There were at least two beasts behind him and there was one on his right. Another to his left. Where the bastard with the horn that he suspected controlled these dread beasts was, he had no idea. That was when he saw it, one of his markers! 

Almost immediately he sped up because he knew this trail, he knew where the logs where, he knew when to jump and when to duck and most importantly, he knew the way to the Palace. He put a final push in, using up all of his reserves and running the route mostly on muscle memory. It felt like seconds but also an eternity, but the trees were thinning, he was jumping less and soon he burst free from the forest and was in open land. 

He risked a glance behind him… and there was no one. Panting he was surprised to see how late in the day it was, how long had he been running? He started on the path to their rooms, shaking slightly, not knowing of what happened was real or not. Maybe he was finally losing it. 

Chapter Text

Natasha POV 

She couldn't keep up, she couldn't bear it anymore. Everytime she closed her eyes, she was ripped away from the world as she knew it. It all started when she got back to Wakanda after the utter disaster that was the Civil War. Thanks to T'Challa and his restrictions, she was just as trapped as the rest of them, her hand firmly torn from the wheel by Steve. Now they had to wait, wait until Tony let them come home. Her only escape had been her dreams. 

At first there had been a woman. Beautiful with sun brushed golden skin sat on a hill in the countryside, bare feet pressed into the grass. She had been welcoming, her hair was long and fell in tight red curls so similar to her own that she'd been shocked at first. 

She had beckoned her closer, which was when she saw the complicated circlet resting upon her head, silver rings and bracelets adorned her hands and for the first time in her known memory, she had felt completely at peace. 

She had dropped down next to the beautiful Queen, because that's what she was. She didn't know how she knew this, but the information was there in her mind and there was little use contesting it when it was fact. 

Her head had been pulled down into her lap and long, cool fingers had slipped through her hair, nails scratching pleasantly against her skull. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that, boneless and completely pliant. It felt like forever but at the same time, not long enough. All of her pain, her stress, every second guess… everything bled away from her. 

Waking was a torture in a way, everything came back, left to languish. She started to sleep more often, just hoping to see her queen.

It all changed the day she assured the others that Tony would bring them home soon. She had been acting as normal, ensuring the others were calmed by her knowledge of the engineer. Even without her there to steer him, he would act according to the patterns she'd enabled since she had been set on him by Fury. 

She had stumbled into her dream, but the summers day that usually greeted her was gone, the grass was brown and blackened beneath patchy ice and snow. The warm breeze had become harsh, cold and biting into her skin. The perfect blue sky had darkened, dark clouds that looked as if the sky was boiling. Trees were bare, the three brightly coloured birds that she had fed apples too were replaced with three large black birds with wicked sharp looking beaks, black eyes trained on her from their perches in the naked trees. 

The woman looked the same as she always had, seemingly unperturbed by the change in the world around them. She was still smiling, hand out, beckoning her to come to the hill. 

She went to her, because she was warm and this dead world was cold. Out of the corner of her eye she saw white blurs moving amongst the trees in the distance. She lay down in the location she had started to see as home, the woman smiled and she had foolishly hoped nothing had changed. She should have known really, hopes and dreams were for children, and she was no child. 

Nails clutched her head, turning to face the trees and the white flashes came together, in a movement that was too fast for her to track, the billowing white went from far in the distance, too right in front of her. Details got a little sketchy then as all she remembered was screaming. The scream cut right through her, and she was screaming too. It was hard to work out where her scream stopped and the other began. Despite her increased strength, she was unable to move her head an inch, her eyes locked with the pale eyes of the being in front of her. 

Then everything slipped to black, she'd breathed in relief, happy that it was over, her dream had obviously taken a bad turn, floating in the darkness, she waited to wake up. Instead of waking however. She found herself in a memory. Full technicolour, surround sound. She could feel the scratch of the sofa under her fingers as she watched herself pace. 

Back at the tower, tormented by nightmares that wouldn't let her get an inch of rest, she had abandoned her bed and had been pacing in the common room. She approached herself, waving in her face, but it was as if she wasn't there. She remembered this moment however, Clint had been away and she had been stressed, with no one to turn to. Then, Tony had appeared. 

He hadn't made a big deal of it, he'd pulled her down to the workshop because he wanted help with something. It was obvious to her now that this had been a cover. She saw Tony enter the common room and startled when he saw the other Natasha. His head tilting as he watched her, she hadn't even known he was there. She could almost see him come to a decision and she was pulled away. They'd spent the night eating Russian candy, popcorn and watching movies as he ran tests on her gear, asking her a question now and then. 

It was a memory that made her happy and warm, even more so now she had more information about it. The scene then bled away through her fingers, scrambling just to hold on a little longer before returning to the black, nothingness of that space in between. Then things had swam back to colour, and she hoped for another memory like the first, only to watch herself stab the injector into Tony's neck after he realised she had infiltrated him company. 

Then, the screaming was back, or rather, it was like the screaming had never ended. She was lying on the lap of the queen, held in place as if she were an errant child, her head swimming. Exhaustion had spread through her as the creature cut off its scream and floated away, her own petered out and she found herself panting, desperately trying to catch her breath. The fingers that had held her as surely as a steel vice began to gently comb through her hair again, she'd felt barely able to move a finger, let alone fight it. 

That was the first time the Queen spoke, her voice was musical and she felt it lift her spirits even though she was exhausted.

"Do you understand now?" 

That was when she woke up, she was just as exhausted as she had been in the dream. Walking to the kitchen for coffee has been one of the hardest things she had ever done and that included her training at the red room. Her skin was hypersensitive, her clothes felt like they were tearing at her skin. Every noise was just that much louder, pounding into her skull, anywhere she sat or was even just standing, she was assaulted with pins and needles. If she'd been slightly less strong, she might have curled up in the corner and sobbed, but that was not her. The only time the pain eased was when Steve asked her to do some research into Tony, and how long it would take for their pardons. 

Every night, she would collapse into bed, exhausted after spending a day with the bone deep exhaustion and hypersensitivity. The only reprieve she got was when she researched Tony. 

Even though she didn't pray, she found herself praying for the summer world when she opened her eyes in the dream. She knew in her heart that it would not be there, that the dead, winter world with screams that sliced through her consciousness and mercilessly tossed her back into memories would await her.. 

Over and over. 

Night after night. 

The only words she was given - 

"Do you understand now?" 

She wanted to rage and scream that no, she didn't understand why she was being tormented like this! 

But she knew in her heart. It was something that always happens to her, but she was always careful that the repercussions didn't land at her door. 

The cost of one betrayal too many. But she didn't understand why it was happening now . Why Tony .. There were others she had hurt, so many others. So much worse. 

She wasn't even sure which part was worse, her dreamland being replaced with the dead land that it had become. The women in white that whipped around the hills, too fast to be real, white billowing out as they almost danced in the wind. The moment one of them would turn to her. How she'd suck in a breath knowing that they would be on her in a second, no matter how far away they were. Then, the scream. 

The scream that shredded her being and tossed her through time to experience a memory of kindness and her betrayal in return. 

Then she would be back, the Queen smiling down on her.

"Do you understand now?" 

Everytime it started anew, she considered not walking up to the hill. She considered turning from the proffered hand. The Queen always made it a choice to climb her hill. She could turn into the dead landscape and walk away because she wasn't sure she could take it anymore. In the waking world, the memories didn't fade and they didn't leave her alone. Pestering her, chasing her. She barely knew what was going on with the others, just that she needed to know about Stark. Needed to know what he was doing. Needed to know why him. Why was he different. 

The day he'd turned up, younger, with gold brushed skin… That was when she felt real dread. 

Stark wasn't human. 

She'd fallen into a world that stories had warned her about. 

She'd finally betrayed someone she really shouldn't have. 

So instead of turning, and running away when she opened her eyes onto the world that had slowly become her reality, she walked towards the hill. Towards the smiling Queen, she didn't fight as she was gently pulled down and lay her head onto her lap. She didn't even wait for her to turn her head and hold her in place. She turned herself and waited. 

"I knew you would understand eventually my little one." 

All she could do was wait whilst long fingers slipped through her hair. 

Wait for the banshee scream. 

Whilst their Queen watched over her. 

Chapter Text

Scott POV 

So, Scott was starting to regret a lot of things. 

This wasn't a new revelation, he'd been regretting this shit the second those cuffs had snicked on and his hero was off in the wind. 

Sure, Captain America had come and broke them out, sure, a king of a supposed to be tiny village turned out to be tech paradise gave them a place to stay. That's all good and great, but everyone was talking about Tony Stark getting them pardons, and that was another point that he regretted things… 

Stark didn't know who the fuck he was. 

Well, after the number he did on the Ironman suit, maybe that was for the best? 

He doubted Hope would be working on a pardon for him. Nor Hank. So, he was up shit creek and he'd pretty much destroyed his paddle. 

Apart from the ache that he missed Cassie with, this place wasn't too bad at first. It just so happened he was rooming with actual crazy people. There was the one that had mad nightmares that tended to land on one of them. The one watching TV and researching Stark to a terrifyingly obsessive degree. The one who stood vigil of their frozen friend and kept talking about flowers. The one who kept vanishing into the woods thinking he was Robin Hood or something, then there was Sam. The most put together out of all of them, he had recently started shouting his head of about pranks that no one else ever saw! 

So it was Halloween and he wanted to be home . The house was quiet, Sam had mentioned something about heading out early to watch birds. Scott just nodded because you don't argue with people who want to go out at 5am to watch birds. Steve had vanished to his vigil, Natasha was sleeping on the sofa and Wanda was back in bed. Clint had gone out too. 

So, he was left with two terrifying, yet unconscious women. 

What the fuck had his life come to? 

He needed to see someone, speak to someone. Do something or he was going to end up climbing the walls like the people around him.

At least it was a nice day! Scott spoke to a few people as he wandered before music caught his attention and he meandered over to it, which was odd because it seemed quite far away for one man singing to have reached him. 

He was sat in a field, under a tree, relaxed back is strange looking clothes, tapping his foot and singing as Scott approached to actually hear what the man was saying. His accent was strange, lilting and musical. 

"The world, how it comes again,

When it falls in decay,

Again in the enclosing circle.

The world, how wonderful it is,

That it falls not at once.

The world, how peculiar it is,

So great was it trampled on." 

Ooookay. So. Maybe this wasn't the best idea he's ever had? 

"Why don't you come and sit with me, your friend will be coming to join us soon." 

He shrugged and dropped down next to the strange man, whose dark hair was tied up in an honest to god ribbon! 

"So, uh, who are you? You don't seem the type to be kicking back in Wakanda ya know?" 

"Oh definitely not, I've never been here in my life, or after it. The veil you see, some days it's thinner and we can press close. There are restrictions of course, but then my patrons taught me all about that. I'm Taliesin, nice to meet you." 

"I have no idea what you just said, but I'm Scott!" 

"You are a harmless sort aren't you? Shame you got caught up in things as they are, but young lovers and children a favoured sort you see, and you left behind one of both, didn't you?" 

Cassie. Hope. His heart, it was so painful to be so far away from his girls. Although he had a feeling that Hope might not want nothing to do with him. He'd been doing so well with Cassie. Fighting with Captain America was meant to be a dream come true. He'd always been told to never meet your heroes, he'd never realised how true that was until now.  The man took his silence to start singing again, the sing song quality of his voice mixed with the strange cadence of the music lulled him slightly. Even if he had no freaking clue what this mad bloke was singing about. 

"In the deep it will cease from ire;

In the deep it will be excessively angry;

In the deep, below the earth;

In the sky, above the earth.

There is one that knows

What sadness is,

Better than joy."

"Strange song.." 

"Well, I've been away from the world a while you see, what use is there now for a bard like me?" 

"Oh I don't know, there's all kinds of music these days, everyone likes something, so which of my friends are on the way?" 

"Well now let's see, one is tangling with Math, that's a sold out show let me tell you now! Blodeuwedd and Arawn are visiting your dear Captain Gwyn ap Nudd has invited your little Archer on a hunt! Lots of fun there. Clíodhna has whisked away the pretty little doll of an Assassin."

Scott nodded along, because really, he had no idea what was happening. Every other word was confusing and sounded like an utter mouthful. He would attempt to say them back but he suspected that he would be laughed at for the disastrous attempt. Who ever these people, were they people? He seemed a cheerful sort when talking about them so Scott assumed that it was a good thing? 

"Oh. OK, is that good?" 

"Well, I'll be thinking that you and your winged friend will be happy that you got me. Let me tell you now, us humans don't really hold a candle to them." 

"... Us humans?" 

"Well, I suppose you could still call me human? I'm not sure. Spend as long as I have on the other side of the mists and you start to wonder. Just ask good ol' Tom!" 

"Tom?" 

"Oh don't worry, Tom won't be here, he doesn't approve you see, he can be a miserable sort sometimes. Good drinking buddy though." 

Scott was so far past confused now, who was Tom? Why was he miserable? What mists? Before he could ask the strange, cheerful bloke any of these questions a black and white bird flew over to him and landed on his knee! Holy crap that was cool, he'd never seen a wild bird do that before. The man then, for some unknown reason, saluted the bird. 

"Here, do you want to feed him?" 

"Heck yeah!" 

He dipped his hand into his pocket and came out with a handful of seed, which Scott thought can't he best. From all the times Maggie had yelled at him for having tissue paper in his pockets when it went around in the washing machine. He accepted the seed and was happily grinning and feeding it when Sam jogged over to them looking at the strange bloke warily before he focused on the black and white bird. Maybe Sam knew what it was, seeing as he was out here bird watching after all. 

"Hey Sam, look at this! What kind of bird is it?" 

"That's the thing, it's an Eurasian Magpie. It shouldn't be here.." 

"Around my parts Scott, we have a little rhyme that goes along with magpies." 

"That's weird.." 

"I think Sam here knows a bit of it, don't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." 

"Ah, come on, I'm sure you haven't forgotten yesterday so soon. Very well then." 

He noticed that Sam had paled and was looking at the man nervously, but he couldn't quite understand why, he hadn't done anything. Sure he was a little odd, but then they were kind of odd too weren't they? 

" One for sorrow,

Two for mirth

Three for a funeral,

Four for birth

Five for silver

Six for gold

Seven for a secret,

Never to be told.

Eight for a wish,

Nine for a kiss,

Ten for a bird,

You must not miss ." 

With every line the strange man spoke, another magpie flew down and perched around them, hoping very close. Which was strange as birds tended to avoid humans, yet these had no fear. One had gotten closer to him and was tugging on his arm to reach the seeds. 

When he finished, the strange man dusted off his hands and Scott, a cold breeze hit him, startling him because he was sure it had been midday, but the sky was darkening and readying for night. The sky split with reds and purples. 

"It's been lovely speaking to you fellows, but you see, a lot of people are very angry. You'll be wanting to run now, up, up with you." 

Scott stumbled to his feet in confusion, coming to stand next to Sam, the man was still smiling completely at odds with his strange words. When he and Sam just stared in confusion, he sighed.

That's where things got weird. 

You know, if this is hadn't already been a weird enough day for Scott. 

He flung his arms out dramatically and for a whole second, nothing happened as he smiled, then there was a noise, of wings beating and then birds just exploded out of him, flying straight at himself and Sam. 

Sam grabbed his forearm and ran, head down as fast as possible but the birds were faster. Scott tried to fling his arms up to protect his face but Sam wouldn't let go of him and kept the pace up. They were both screaming and beaks and claws scratched against vulnerable skin and the beat of wings blocked out all sound. 

They ran for their rooms at the palace and almost crashed straight into Steve who was running full out like the damned devil was chasing him. All three of them were fleeing from the birds as they come across an exhausted looking Clint. 

"Oh fuck me, what is happening today?!" 

The four of them burst into their section of the palace, and as they crossed the threshold, all they could hear was Natasha, red covering her face, screaming on the sofa, Wanda was floating, straight up damned floating in their living room. The birds vanished into red bursts as they entered and the red floated over to and joined with Wanda. 

Steve recovered first, shaking the girl until her eyes opened causing her to drop in a heap on the floor. Natasha woke up, looking shaken and they all glared at the woman at their feet. 

"Fucking magic." 

Shuri POV

"Oh that was perfect." 

"I thought you might enjoy a little show to make up for their presence. Now, remember what I said?" 

"Don't tell Tony!" 

With that, the tall silver haired lady morphed into a bird and flew through the wall, leaving Shuri to chuckle over her entertainment. She wasn't actually sure why this was happening, but she liked Tony. If some abjectly terrifying people apparently had his back? All was good in the world. 

She chuckled as she noticed that the Captain had pulled a flower out of his pocket and paled. 

Chapter Text

Tony POV 

Tony stretched, luxuriating in the stretch as he pulled himself from sleep fully. He slipped out of his bed and into his apartment, it was a little lonelier up here now that Rhodey lived across the hall with Carol. 

The kids all had rooms in his apartment however for when they visited. Peter visited quite often what with him being an official intern, Harley was considering an internship himself, he'd convinced both families to move to the Non-Avenger residential district in the compound. He had tucked away all the families potentially in anyone's crosshairs, even with Ross gone. 

The compound was very busy these days, as were the Avengers. Rhodey accused him of collecting anyone vaguely related and tucking them behind his walls. Old habits tend to die hard. 

The small meeting they had had back in June felt like years away rather than months, but then Tony might have used a touch of magic to speed along getting the compound ready for the influx of people. There were sections that were purely for the Avengers, then there was The Guard, put together with ex-SHIELD members and housed 3 elite groups of powered individuals that were not full Avengers members called the Black Feathers. They helped out the Avengers, and they had missions of their own. 

One group was linked to the mutants, inhumans and supers that were slowly cleaning up parts of the world along with himself occasionally, it wasn't in his usual scope of abilities but his connection to the fire was useful. He was also getting laws pushed through to ensure that governments wouldn't up pollution now there was an easy fix. A few people were quickly discovering contracts with him held more sway. Punishments had been swift and more people were falling in line than not. He checked the relative health of the planet often, the Blue Fire got stronger by the day. He'd started in places that fed power to the links around the base before spanning out seemingly at random. He had to be careful crossing into some lands, just because the government says yes, doesn't mean that a local pantheon might not still be active. Luckily, The Reapers were well known enough that he hadn't been force to fight. 

Rhodey had come into his powers with an ease and grace that stunned him. He adapted to the change as if he'd always had the ability to control fire. 

Stephen was still trying to work out his species so to speak. Or rather, he didn't believe Wong. He refused point blank and said until Tony said what he was, he would not believe that. The Sorcerer ranted at him often about it, dropped little tests here and there, he just smiled and changed the topic. Maybe he was having a little fun with him. He still called his mother 'The Crow'. He'd discover her name eventually. He really was just being obstinate by now. 

Rhodey had taken the mantle of the leader of the Avengers with Carol now and he had become their second, even though for matters that were more in his ballpark, that then flipped. When the titan arrived Rhodey would be his second for example, even though the Avengers would be involved. 

None of his family or friends had gone into vengeance mode, at least that's what he was choosing to believe. 

He'd had a few people stop by to see him and add that they did not approve of his current tactic of ignoring the rogues, and he knew damned well that something was going on because they'd been a little too quick to accept his reasoning. At least if they were being sneaky they wouldn't trigger an international incident. 

It felt like he had barely stopped for a few seconds since he was in Siberia whilst slowly freezing to death. Annoyingly he was still having nightmares from this life, added to what he had collected over his life time and he was having trouble sleeping again. It was a frequent problem and one of the reasons he'd always been so willing to become mortal. He rarely let on however, it was exactly something many people could help with and now he had shaken off mortality, a regular sleeping schedule was less important. He was also a lot more dangerous if woken incorrectly. 

The Select Committee had been informed about the Titan, and Tony was doing what he could, they were not entirely believing him yet. However they were fine to let him work so far. Advancing technology, building bunkers, launching various satellites to monitor space. Making the planet healthier increased his ties to the Blue Fire which would lend him strength when the day came, an added, unseen bonus that enough people aiming their faith in his direction was fun too, he hadn't felt that in a while, hadn't expected it in this millennia. Plus, the world was just generally doing better. It was not perfect, of course, he might be good but it had only been months. He had some family and friends who could speed things along, but that was risky. 

Eventually they'd be able to officially tell the UN. The utter migraine that was proving Loki's innocence to set up the stage for a bigger bad guy, had yet to fade. 

Today however, today was the day he had been invited to Wakanda. 

The rogues, from what he had been told by T'Challa, continued on. Oblivious to the fact James 'Bucky' Barnes had been awake now for 16 days. He wanted the man to think on it before he just turned up, he'd accepted his offer to quickly. He was tucked away in a smaller palace atop a mountain of sorts. He'd seen Shuris pictures, it was beautiful. The rogues were in a corner of the main palace, hopefully where they could do little damage. His anger had calmed somewhat, but he knew it would not be wise for him and Rogers to be in the same room yet. 

Steve was still visiting Barnes in his cryo tube often apparently, or rather, his now empty tube. That it didn't have a window made things easier of course. 

"T'Challa! I will be arriving today as planned." 

"Of course Dr Stark, I can send coordinates to your AI if you like. If you come in through a set path you can remain unseen by the rogues." 

"Better idea, are you alone in that room you are in? Except your guards of course." 

"I am, yes." 

"What if I said I could just hop in?" 

"I would say that is ridiculous." 

"So I have permission?" 

"Sure. If you can just step into this room, yes, you have permission." 

T'Challa looked amused at his antics, really by now you'd think he'd know better to challenge him on anything. Although in his defence, none of that had been magic. 

"Cool!" 

With that he Firewalked into Wakanda. He could only Firewalk to a place he had seen, or where one of his reapers were, the video chat had made this easy, the modern world was awesome. It was a little further than a single step, but he knew of some shortcuts. When he stepped out of the black flame T'Challa was looking at him with stunned disbelief, that he came around from rather quickly was pretty good considering the weapons at his throat. He continued as if this was pretty normal. 

"Hi." 

"I'll be honest, I did not expect that." 

"Good, I enjoy being unpredictable." 

"I saw your press conferences that you seemed to have become younger, I see more has changed than that?" 

T'Challa was eyeing him, checking out any changes and assessing him. As Tony was in a land not of his people and as a guest he allowed it as he was on best behaviour. Plus, pointy things at his neck. They might not be able to kill him easily, but it wasn't fun being stabbed . 

"Just a little, Siberia unlocked something that had always been in me. Lucky really, what with the whole drowning in blood, freezing to death fiasco.." 

"I know I have already apologised for leaving Siberia without assessing you myself several times now, but I believe it bears repeating, given what you are here to do." 

And finally the Dora backed up, he shot them a smile because if a stranger ported into his home, he would have reacted much less favourably. He had a habit of becoming very protective over lands he lived in. He countered that it was not over protective, it was just the right amount. 

"Ah, King Kitty, were good. Shall we visit our Soldier? Plus, you're allowing me in your territory to right a wrong, that clears any debt." 

Not if the man kept sodding apologising it wouldn't, he could feel the weight of every damned one. Even he wasn't void of temptation shove into his face. 

"Of course, he's down in the courtyard reading last I checked, I'll go ahead and tell him you have arrived." 

He nodded and followed the King and a leisurely pace so the man would have a moment before he turned up in front of him. Sure this made sense to him and his mother as to why he'd heal the man, but most humans were stuck on his part at Siberia and the death of his mortal parents, and tended to think Tony should hate him. To him now, the situation was very different. Siberia, the betrayal was Rogers, although there was the aspect of him fighting with Rogers. There was a little weight as he joined the fight, but the scales tipped heavily in one direction. 

As a weapons maker and a weapon himself, he maybe saw things differently. Plus, no matter how close to humanity he was, he wasn't actually human. 

Tony saw Barnes before T'Challa had even reached him and the first thing he saw was Black Fire. 

Now that… he had not been expecting.

Now however, The Winter Soldier, Rogers best pal, was firmly under his protection and his mothers. Well that won't complicate matters at all. 

Chapter Text

Tony POV 

"Sergeant Barnes, I'm sure you know Tony Stark." 

The first clue that Barnes hadn't been keeping up with the news at all, was how his eyes went wide with shock for nearly a whole second before he got his expression under control. 

"I take it you haven't been keeping up with the news, have you?" 

"Ah, no, if you didn't come I was just going to go back into cryo." 

"Is there a private room we can talk, if you don't mind of course King Kitty?" 

Both men agree, Barnes a little too quickly for his comfort and T'Challa a little more reluctantly. Which meant the man cared for people under his protection. Soon enough they found themselves awkwardly stood in a living room type area, Dora were placed at the doors but Tony suspected that the place would be monitored. 

"So, do you have any questions?" 

"A few, but right now I'm focusing on how you look so different. It's not just age, your eyes are much different… you just look… "

He waved his arm, as if gesturing to all of him. It was funny, some humans tended to see him exactly as he'd been before Siberia, not even really seeing how his age had been peeled back unless their attention was drawn to it. Then there were a few who could start cataloguing differences in seconds. Rhodey was going to pout, Barnes had him beat. 

"Different? Hmm, yes, I came pretty close to dying in Siberia, which lead to all this. Which was quite handy really, because if I was still human, healing you would be much more difficult." 

"You nearly died because of me, and your parents… this is so fucked up." 

"James, do you mind if I call you James?" 

Despite not knowing how he used his name and using minimal power, he saw his back tense and felt the magic through his fire, he winced internally, he hadn't expected that. Even so he nodded which made Tony smile brightly. Which didn't seem to help the confusion the other man was faced with. 

"Rogers is responsible for my previous untimely death. Not you." 

"He wasn't alone in that fight. I.. I was me, and I chose it." 

"How about this. I choose to not hold you at fault for what happened in Siberia. A lot happened very fast in that bunker and you'd been in a permanent state of hypervigilance, fight or flight and anxiety after you fled Hydra."

"Okay.. Yeah.. This. This is very weird." 

He couldn't help chuckling at that a little, although he supposed it was kind of odd. 

"Now, before we continue, I just want to be sure you are on board with this and not just going along with it for someone else?" 

"I… I think at first I might have, but I want to have a chance at living, you know, I want to be me.." 

"I get that. You should have a chance to find yourself, you don't have to be what anyone is pushing you to be." 

He paused, eyes narrowing at that, how he went completely still and held himself ready, well. Tony was a little impressed. 

"Can you read my mind?" 

Ah, yeah. He forgot that he'd spent time near Wanda. 

"No, not at all, my abilities run along a completely different path. I just had a feeling that Rogers would expect you to be how you were in the past. Am I right? Some humans have a terrible time letting go and he is extremely stubborn ." 

"You're saying ' human' like you're not one..?" 

"Now you're getting it." 

It definitely said something for all the crap he'd been through that he barely blinked at Tony casually admitting he wasn't human. 

"You… You really do want to help me, don't you? 

"By Claíomh Solais! What have the others been saying about me? I'm here to make amends, not take your life. Right a wrong in the world. I'm also here as a guest and any harm I cause to another guest would impact me greatly. I swear on my magic James, I'm here only to help." 

Plus, his mother would rip him a new one if he didn't. To say she'd become invested in the Winter Soldier would be an understatement of the millenia. If her magic leaned more towards healing, she'd be here.

Healing humans however was a tricky business, he had a bit of a cheat really being so connected to the Blue Fire. He'd seen an apprentice try and heal a human once and they became a damned tree, the thing was still standing in Sherwood Forest a thousand years later. Poor old Major Oak. 

"Magic? That sounds pretty serious, I uh. Yeah, I want your help. I want to be free of this shit in my brain. "

"Great, come here and sit down."

He pulled one of the comfier looking chairs away from the wall, he'd need to stand behind him for part of this and he had a feeling that wouldn't exactly inspire comfort, but he had an idea of getting around that. 

"Will I be unconscious or something? How long will this take? How is this going to work?"

"Magic, generally. Nope, fully awake, and not long at all really, this of magic as the universes cheat sheet. Would it make you feel better if you could see what I'd be doing?"

"Sure, this sounds interesting, I mean when am I going to see actual magic again? That isn't the Ved'ma anyway, but I don't really like her.. "

"I knew I'd like you Snowflake, you have good instincts. Many humans ignore that feeling in their head, the one that warns you off seemingly harmless or innocent looking things."

He waved a hand casually to the side and a body length mirror appeared before him, he'd get it back before Carol missed it. Hopefully. This time his eyes went wide and stayed like it. It looked like James liked magic which had him grinning, he loved his magic, others liking it tended to make him happy.

"OK, I'm doing this in stages, first I'm going to heal your physical health, remove the pain from your arm. Would you like another?" 

"Wait? What?! You have another arm for me?!" 

"Yup, Shuri made it, it's why it took so long for me to get here." 

He flicked his fingers and the case appeared on his lap, there was a sudden intake of breath at it, Tony was amazed how the fire from that even reached towards him like a magnet. He carried a lot of fire, it was more than even the first Reapers had, which interested him. He wondered if the serum had something to do with it, or potentially his age. He'd never had a hundred year old human with inactivated fire before. Mostly because even humans with inactivated fire could die of old age. 

Although he was dreading telling him, he sucked at having that conversation with new potential Reapers. An old friend told him that he was so nervous about potentially manipulating someone into taking up the mantle that he practically went the other way. But then he'd seen what many of his kin did to humans, it left him tentative. Not explaining the great parts and so on. They were right, he just didn't want any of his people to wake up one day and realise they'd never wanted this. It wasn't the kind of thing you could put down. 

James opened the case and the bright silver metal shone out, he had been fine with the design before but he thought up a change now. Especially given the Black Fire and that maybe it would remind him too much of the old one. He hadn't known before, but now he could feel the pain surrounding the socket without even touching him, so the old arm probably hurt much more. 

He telegraphed his movements so James saw his hand well before he lay it on his left shoulder and moved to the back of his neck, his non static glamour on his arms folded away, revealing the blue designs and James groaned as the black lines started leeching his pain away. Leaning into him subtly, but considering the relief from pain, he suspected that was more subconscious than conscious. Tony clenched his teeth against it and placed his other hand on his chest first to start healing everywhere there was damage. 

"Holy shit, thats, the pain… the new arm. It won't hurt will it? Then yes, I want it. You.. You're taking my pain on yourself aren't you?" 

"Not for long, soon there will be no pain to take." 

He finished healing stress fractures and bad breaks that healed too fast before moving to the mess Hydra made installing the original arm, and it was a fucking mess, the more he did, the more James sagged towards him. That James barely reacted as he slid his right hand up to the front of his shoulder told him enough. His eyes were open, but Tony could see it was a struggle, his eyelids dropping occasionally. He hated to think how much pain he'd been in, and for how long for him to be having such an extreme reaction to its removal. He really did get invested in potential Reapers quickly, that he was suffering in pain in silence?

It sped things along. Plus, survivors like this really were a rare sort to come across, attracted his kind like catnip. Well, many of his kind had a favoured sort, some preferred soft handed artists and others wanted warriors like his mother. He liked survivors. 

When he'd healed everything he needed for the next stage, this time he sent a pulse summoning the Black Fire in both hands. Enough to completely engulf his shoulder, the fire within offered itself up too. James eyes were locked on his shoulder, instead of looking nervous or scared, he looked interested, like he was memorising every detail. 

He discarded the old socket painlessly, then healed and resituated the new one he summoned in place, coating the silver vibranium in the black metal of the Reaper blades. When that was done, he released 1 hand, the other stayed active, he summoned the arm. Sure, he could have picked it up, but his reaction was worth it. 

James was watching in fascination as he connected the limb and then pushed the fire down, throughout the limb. As the magic spread down from the shoulder, the shining metal shifted, coating with the same black metal as the socket. 

The metal of the reapers blades layered over the Vibranium would create a strong potential weapon in itself if he ever needed it. He left some silver coming through, creating an understated looking pattern down the length. It was actually a series of defensive wards. He couldn't put much on without it becoming obvious what he was doing and end up looking similar to his own arms. Instead of blue on skin, in shining silver on reaper black. This just looked like an interesting pattern. 

The vibranium bonded beautifully with his magic, it sucked it up gleefully and the defensive wards set with surprising ease, he would definitely be investigating that in the future. Because James carried his own fire, he wouldn't even need to top it up often. It would power itself from the residual Black Fire. As well as that, the magic should make the arm feel more like a real arm, and have the general properties of a flesh hand too. Just metal. It was enough magic that he probably should go and rest now but he was pushing on, he was pretty sure he'd be fine. He'd just have to pass out when he got home, healing was taxing. 

"There, how does it feel." 

James had switched from watching him like a threat to more confusion mixed with interest in the display of magic. Tony just stood back and let him test the arm, watching his excitement grow as he realised it could feel different textures. 

"This is impossible, how? Well I'm guessing magic? This is amazing, nothing like the Ved'ma at all." 

"Yup, magic can be awesome. Wanda's magic.. The source it comes from plus how she was lost in fantasies of revenge when he bonded with the power.. It sculpted her magic based in fear, pain and control." 

"She did something to you? Didn't she?" 

He shrugged, her magic was blasted clear from his mind by the fires of rebirth. 

"Yes, she has a habit of forcing people into their worst nightmares." 

"What..? And they let her on the team? Even though she.. " 

"My objections were ignored. Rogers was pretty determined to have her on the team and believed that she had switched sides, I think he just conveniently forgot the fact she wanted to kill me. It's fine, really" 

"What the damned hell has gotten into him? It's definitely not fine!" 

Tony would have to watch his brain/mouth filter, because he was a bit thrown by his reaction. The witch couldn't exactly come at him now, if anything that would be hilarious. 

"Just, don't go and get yourself hurt on my account. There is something I can do to keep her generally out of your mind, it's a temporary ward whilst I work on something better." 

"Why are you offering me so much?"

"I'll explain that when I've finished up, but I guarantee that it's a choice and I will not force, influence or expect payment. I also honestly just don't trust her, magic like that, it's a strong corrupting force that I particularly dislike." 

"Okay, I don't exactly trust her either." 

Tony blinked before slowly moving in again. He wasn't quite used to humans just trusting him to do so much magic on them after so short a time period, even beneficial magic. It just wasn't something he was really used to straight up. Distrust first, work your way up from there. Especially from humans. 

But then… time had marched on, their image had changed dramatically from what it once was. Not that James had any idea as to what he was. 

He put the thought away for now, coming up behind him. This was the big power use, the first part was easy compared to this one and he had originally planned on coming back tomorrow. He carded his fingers through his hair, concentrating to find what he needed and to put James at ease, looking with his eyes closed but guided by his magic. He did that for around a minute until his hands came to rest on either side of his head as he'd identified the damage. He opened his eyes that had been replaced with the completely white ones of his mother. That James didn't jerk away was also impressive, he couldn't see him, not really, but he could feel his interest and that told him James was watching him intently. It took longer than healing Rhodey's spine, it was much, much more complicated, the mind always is. 

He couldn't erase the memories, that was very dangerous territory, but he was erasing the control words tied into them. Healing the damage to his brain caused by the chair. It wouldn't bring back every memory, some of them were just were gone, and some might come back slowly over time. He was putting a little more in it to help him heal psychologically too, it wasn't a 'fix it', but it was like offering the first step. If he moved to heal then it would help, if he didn't take the steps to do so it would sit unused. There were limitations to healing the mind, he knew someone who was better than himself, but he really was not human-friendly. 

When he pulled back he sagged slightly. Dizziness overcoming him from expending a lot of energy intensive healing, yeah, he probably should have done that in multiple sessions… even with the black flame inside him. That possibly had taken a little more than he had expected. A lot more. 

"Oh fuck.." 

James however was quick as a cat and caught him as he blinked golden eyes at him slightly woozy and everything went black.

Chapter Text

James POV 

He hadn't known what he was expecting when T'Challa told him that Tony Stark was coming to heal him and that didn't get much clearer in the following days.

Part of him thought the man was coming to kill him. Not because of Siberia, Stark could have ended that fight 22 times, yet they walked away. No, the man the others described was arrogant, cruel, narcissistic, that he would never help a person without personal gain of some kind. Stark tore the team apart, kept them from their home and there was a murder bot in there somewhere. There was no reason to heal him and Steve said Stark might still want him dead.

There was some other stuff, but as he was going into cryo, James had honestly lost interest and stopped paying attention to what the team told him about their former teammate. Or anything really. 

Now, he wished he'd paid attention seeing as Tony Stark went and his got himself a magic makeover.

It's not just that he looks younger, James is good with faces and there are little differences, his eyes for one, were like liquid gold and seemed slightly strange. It was like something in his head, that for once wasn't the jumbled mess of memories, was telling him something was different. 

Not necessarily bad, but there was definitely an edge to him that people didn't have. Like that one time he'd run across a wolf on a mission. The wolf didn't attack, he just stood, watching. Waiting for him to make his move. Like a predator, studying his every move. So when he said he wasn't human? James believed it because he really didn't feel human, at all. 

Everything got even stranger from then on out, he couldn't explain it, but Stark felt trustworthy, especially as he drained the pain from his shoulder into himself. He saw it travel up his arm with those weird fancy blue tattoos that appeared out of nowhere, as James felt relief from the constant pain that had plagued him since he'd fallen from the train. Then things moved fast again. In 5 minutes he was pain free and had 2 hands, it was amazing and James was left thinking was there nothing Stark couldn't do?

He wondered if he should be freaking out? 

Fixing his mind was weird because it was like  he actually felt it clearing as he went. He found himself watching those white eyes intently, thinking that he should have been freaked out, but then figured if he wasn't freaked out by the man cradling his shoulder in Black Fire, the colour of his eyes changing wasn't really a big deal was it? It was kinda cool actually. 

When colour started to swim back into Stark's eyes, he was going to stand up and thank him, it was pretty lucky that he had been watching him really, otherwise he might have missed it. 

Stark wavered on the spot slightly, then his eyes glazed over and James could see where this was going, he moved fast and effortlessly and caught the smaller man. Then he had no idea what the hell to do, because Stark was vulnerable and unconscious, he couldn't just leave him there, especially after he'd just healed him. To the point of exhaustion.

Apparently the man was also an utter idiot. 

He scooped him up with ease, especially now he had two functional arms, Stark was so light that carrying him across the room was slightly unnerving and the whole experience left him wanting to yell the man who just healed him for doing it to exhaustion. Which was possibly the strangest thing in James' admittedly, very strange life to date. He laid him down on the sofa and decided to stay, to ensure nothing happened whilst he was unconscious. It was the least he could do. 

Sitting in front of the sofa, he decided to maybe catch up on what he'd missed using the tablet T'Challa had given him. Considering he wasn't going back into Cryo now, and last time he didn't do research Stark turned up all magicafied and less human. 

He found that a lot had happened since Siberia. He definitely hadn't expected Stark to be practically single handedly fixing the world? Why he'd taken time off such an important task like that to heal him was extremely confusing. He was pretty sure climate change was more important than him.

He also discovered that the Internet was pretty fucked up and full of weird shit. He loved it. 

There was no mention of Stark's powers online, so if anything, this excursion to healing him was potentially detrimental too. He could release his powers to the world, or something, let alone that the exhaustion had left him vulnerable and alone. Not that he was going to do such a thing. He avoided watching the video from Siberia, but came across it a few times, until he discovered that a whole bunch of Stark lawyers were apparently fighting for his freedom? What the hell? Had everything flipped upside down whilst he was in cryo? 

He definitely didn't know what to do with that information. Stark was obviously unable to answer questions, sleeping peacefully, looking somehow even younger and lighter as he slept.

There was very little, practically nothing mentioned about Steve and his pals so he focused on Stark. Everything he knew about the man had been told to him by someone else and after he gave him something he had thought impossible? James figured he deserved a little effort before he judged him. 

It was about half an hour later when Stark made a noise and it quickly became obvious what was happening, he locked the tablet and kneeled in front of the sofa, panicking slightly. Tony fucking Stark was having a nightmare in front of him and he had no idea what to do.

The way the others described Stark to him had left him with many preconceptions, then having him breeze in and magically heal him of damage he had accepted as permanent… seeing him having a nightmare just threw all of that out of the window. It made him more of a person to him somehow. 

He tried to take him gently awaken him, but waking people from nightmares rarely goes to plan, but James couldn't just leave him. It didn't go too badly, considering that time he punted Steve into a wall. Stark bolted upright, gasping wildly, his breathing was erratic. With one hand at his chest, the other ended up gripping James metal arm in a solid grip that he suspected from the feel of it, would easily have crushed his bones if it had been his flesh arm.

James wasn't sure how he went from being healed to being the one comforting in so short a time period, but he was happy to be able to give something back, even though it wasn't exactly much. 

"Hey, you're okay, you're safe. I just moved you to the sofa here. It's not been long, around 35 minutes. You're in Wakanda, no one else has entered the room." 

Stark glanced around in obvious confusion, James swore it looked like someone helping him during a nightmare was the strangest thing to ever happen to him. Similarly to the confusion Stark had exhibited when he had expressed anger at what had happened to him at the hands of the Ved'ma. Maybe it was because Stark had healed him, maybe it was because of what happened in Siberia. Either way, the almost wild look in Stark's eyes was like a punch to the gut. Instead of backing off like maybe he should have… Had this been literally anyone else he would have, instead he gripped his arm right back, until a little more of Stark comes back to his eyes. Hoping it would help. 

"Ah, yeah, I didn't mean to do that, hope I didn't scare you or anything..." 

"Are you seriously apologising to me for healing me till you passed out? Did you know you'd pass out?" 

"I've been human for a while, finding my limits again, healing is a lot of exertion." 

That was just a fancy way of saying that he'd known it was a possibility. 

"Well, you should be more careful with yourself." 

Stark just gave him a look that he read that the chance of that happening are pretty much zilch. He knows, because he's seen other idiots with the same look, risk themselves to get shit done, he seems to attract them.

He changed the topic however as Stark looked uncomfortable, he understood that, having nightmares wasn't something he liked to talk about, especially with people you've only just met properly. James wasn't sure about counting the other times as meeting properly. He had barely been a person then. Now, he didn't feel perfect, but he felt more… solid. 

"So what was the thing you were going to tell me?" 

"OK, so this is pretty weird, but when my people were more connected to humanity, sometimes our magic would... find people, sort of, that could help with certain tasks they carried out. There is usually a sign, for me it's my fire, I can see it in people who are fated to become protectors of the realm and the balance. I always make it a choice, you can just carry the Black Fire and continue as normal, just a little enhanced and with me occasionally making sure you're alive. Or take up the mantle, and gain the powers that come from it."

He was nodding a long, even though he was pretty sure he had no idea what the hell Stark was talking about. That was until he realised that Stark had switched from speaking of people in general to saying 'you'. 

"Wait, are you saying I have this?!"

Instead of answering, Stark pulled himself to his feet, not exactly steady yet so James moved to steady him automatically.

Stark stepped closer, just shy of standing in his personal space and summoned the Black Fire he'd used earlier to his hand, which was really trippy. He held it in his hand, then moved hand closer to James chest, but he didn't have to see it. He could feel it. 

"Don't worry James, I'm not drafting you into war you don't understand, or anything like that. That's not my style. Like I said before. Choice." 

"So you didn't heal me to get me to say yes?"

"Nope, that's why I healed you before telling you. Like I said, no payment required, the healing was my part for Siberia. The rest is up to you, I'm not expecting you to decide anything now and I have to get back soon anyway. 

"FRIDAY, wipe this phone, leave mine and Platypus' number in it." 

Platypus? 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

OK. That phone just talked. And apparently its Irish. 

"So you can contact me on this if you want, or Platypus, he's a Reaper, just don't tell anyone that? Oh! And Honeybear decided to translate this into English for me just in case. Past Reapers started this process of writing a diary for people like you. Because apparently I suck at this bit."

He wasn't sure if Platypus and Honeybear were different people as he glanced at the book and phone in his hands, more than a little overwhelmed, but then an hour ago he was pretty sure this guy was coming to kill him.

This was... The most opposite thing possible. 

He got all... magically healed, got a new arm and now he has magic fire inside him that means he could protect the world, or something.

So. Yeah. Weird day.

Fuck, weird hour.

That was before the guys Phone talked back like a person. 

"Would it make me like you? What are you?" 

"No, you'll still be human, just with some… upgrades, I can't tell you what it would be like as it's different for each person that is chosen by the fire. But you'd live longer, be harder to kill, stronger and such as a basic. Rhodey-bear has developed a commendable strength in Pyrokinesis for example. My line has quite a sizable variation on abilities you see."

Nope. He did not see. He really needed to do homework. Apparently. 

"And people tend to freak out or not believe me when I tell them what I am, so I gave up and just let people work it out themselves. My people are from a different world, humans have given us many names, some better than others. You going to freak out on me?"

Stark grinned when he finished the sentence, wider than before, flashing canines that were a lot sharper than he'd ever seen on a human. It made James think of a cat more than anything else. 

"No. I don't think so?" 

"Tylwyth Teg, Tuath Dé, Aes Sídhe, Daoine Sìth, any bells?" 

Actually yes, Holy shit. One of them, anyway.  Thank you Sarah Rogers. Who would have known her strange tales from Ireland and the British Isles would come in handy. 

"Fae?" 

"Like I said, we have many names." 

James was 100% not sure what to actually do with this information.

He thought things were weird when your friend turns out to be a superhero in the future that fought aliens. This.. This was beyond that. This wasn't futuristic, it was.. ancient. So, he packed it back in his mind squarely in a box marked 'later'. 

"Th-" 

Stark's hand across his mouth stalls him, leaving him confused and frowning as Stark had stepped closer to cover his mouth. He hadn't quite realised how much taller he was until that moment. Stark had to tilt his head up to speak to him, it felt odd somehow, knowing how powerful he was. 

"Careful how you use that word. It creates debts, like names have power. James. Debts are.. Powerful things in my peoples hands."

He swallowed as he heat shot up his spine at the use of his name, he had no idea how or why it happened. James really should have listened more to Sarah Rogers, but James figured he was too old for fairytales at the time. 

Stark definitely got his point across. With that Stark turned to, possibly leave, which was when James acted utterly on impulse and grabbed the man into a hug. James had a moment of utter mortification before he heard Stark chuckling and hugged him back. That place that had reacted when he had felt the fire seemed to hum with the contact.

Stark stayed for a little after that, talking about random things, it was strange how normal it was. It was.. strange that James just felt comfortable talking so much, he'd been barely managing 3 word sentences before this. Strange feeling comfortable in the same room as another person. Strange that James didn't feel the constant itch to get away. 

Stark eventually left in an explosion of Black Fire that left James utterly stunned and more than a little intrigued. That warmth he'd felt was quickly fading and he didn't need prompting to get reading. He had homework to do. 

Chapter Text

"What do you mean, try to be less terrifying?" 

"I mean, just, be less.. Terrifying . Not like you're going to consume my immortal soul." 

"I sat in a diner and said "Hi". How was that terrifying?"

"You ate my waffle!" 

"Solid 4/10. Jane's pizza was better."

"Just... try to make the Avengers Recruitment Drive something less to run screaming in terror from, and more, you know.. welcoming ." 

"But.. you joined."

Danny thunked his head down onto the cafeteria table. 

"I tried. No one can say I didn't try." 

Tony patted his head and continues stealing his fries. Slightly baffled by the whole thing. He wasn't terrifying, he smiled and was polite to potential new recruits. No one found that scary. Surely. 

"Boss we have a current sighting." 

"Ooh, Show me baby girl." 

"You see, this is part of the terrifying." 

Danny leaned over to see who had been picked up on FRIDAY-Recruitment Cam today. 

"I see what you mean about the alleyways." 

"I know right! Why can't people hangout in well lit areas?" 

"Before you go Tony, say it after me 'I will not terrify the recruits'. Got it?" 

"I will not terrify the recruits." 

Tony smirked as he summoned his fire to take him to dingey alleyway number 18.

"Much."

He chuckled as the sound of Danny's head thunking on the table followed him. 

"Ow." 

The move from sitting on a chair in the canteen, manipulating the fire so it was more a light falling than walking, leaving him sitting instead on a dumpster. Lovely. Before he could say or do anything, he had to tilt to the side an inch to dodge a bullet that ruffled his hair as it smashed into the brick behind him. He didn't let such a greeting disturb him. 

"Hi!" 

He had to tilt the other way to dodge another bullet. 

"Francis, darling, is that any way to greet new friends?"

He snatched the knife that hurtled at him this time from the shadows, out of the air, and started spinning it deftly in one hand. 

"Thankyou! I don't often get gifts when I'm out recruiting." 

As no projectiles came at him this time, he figured he was doing well. 

"Now, Francis, can I call you Francis?" 

"No." 

"He speaks! I assume you know who I am." 

"Iron man. Born Anthony Edward Stark. Heir to Stark Industries." 

"And Danny told me not to be creepy." 

"What do you want with me Stark. I don't play with heroes ."

The sneer at heroes made him chuckle and hop down from the dumpster, walking up to the man who was casually leaning against the wall in the alley, using a knife to clean what looked like blood from beneath his fingernails. 

"You see, there is this guy. From space. That is coming here, to wipe out 50% of life in the universe. Indiscriminately. I'm collecting people to help me battle this chap." 

"I have little interest in being an Avenger." 

"Whilst that is option A, there is also option B. An armistice of sorts. One time deal, come together. Save the universe. Not murder each other during key moments of battle because I gaurentee you, it will piss me off and I will slice you six ways from Sunday."

He offered Castle a shark toothed grin and knew that if Danny was watching, he would be repeatedly slamming his head onto the table. The thick contract he dangled in front of the man was taken however. His methods did work, Danny had to agree to that. He had a 100% recruitment rate for people signing up so far after all. 

"After all this is cleared up, I can join you in hunting down some of the harder names on that list of yours if you're interested." 

"I don't leave my targets alive Stark." 

"Oh Francis darling, who said anything about leaving them alive?" 

He smirked and stepped backwards into black flames, flashing a wide grin as he stepped back into the Avengers canteen where Danny was staring at a tablet, looking utterly incredulous. 

"Did you just try to be extra terrifying because I asked you not to be?" 

Tony smirked as he dropped back down into his seat, swiping another of the man's fries. 

"Would I do that?" 

"Yes. And get your own food. You are a literal billionaire." 

"But it's a canonical fact that other people's food tastes better." 

"I knew getting the short straw for this job was going to make me question all of my life choices. It's been 7 minutes Tony. 7." 

"Boss, Another sighting." 

"Were on a roll today aren't we baby girl. Any advice for this next target Danny boy?" 

Danny brought up the file for the next person on Tony's list and paled. 

"Wait. What? No… you and FRIDAY are having me on." 

Tony just gave him a smile that Danny had categorised as abjectly terrifying and not safe for public consumption, before standing up, grabbing a good handful of fries that's time and stepping backwards into the fire. Into, you guessed it, dingey alley number 19! The world had too many alley ways. 

He'd just stuffed the remaining fry into his face as he ducked, a sword slicing through the air silently and slamming into the wall where his neck had been milliseconds before. The strength sent the blade inches into the concrete that shattered. Causing Tony to grumble as he brushed concrete dust from his hair. 

"Hi. Nice to see you too." 

The individual in question didn't speak as his blade was wrenched from the wall. Tony winced in sympathy for the blade but didn't waste any time before summoning a long blade of his own. Parrying the next several attacks. The only sound was of the man's leather coat occasionally creaking and their blades cracking together under both of their enhanced strength, neither breathing harshly. Tony had a feeling this could go on for a while. 

"Eric, how long are we going to do this? Because I have a schedule you see." 

Eric was a man of few words as the attacks increased in speed and strength. 

"Now, not that I'm having fun. But I am here to talk business, but I am totally up for a repeat. My Rhodey bear, platypus, light of my life, could seriously benefit from sparring with you. We just have this problem with a space grape that wants to kill 50% of all life in the universe."

That caused the man to falter from confusion, giving Tony the opening to step in closer and bash the hilt of his own sword harshly on Eric's wrist. The crunch of bones was quickly followed by the blade clattering to the floor and a gun being drawn.

Tony ignored the gun currently resting against his forehead as he fished out the relevant contract and his little dossier, of a sort, on Thanos and the Fam. 

"Everything you need is in here, including my contact details. FRIDAY will answer any questions you might have." 

"Are you fucking insane?" 

Tony tilted his head and offered a blythe smile at the gravelly voice the dhampir sported. 

"Sanity is an overrated human concept." 

The documents were taken gingerly by the man's healing hand, although he didn't drop the gun that was still pressing into his forehead. 

"I will read, but I guarantee nothing." 

"That's all I ever ask. Catch you later Eric." 

He stepped backwards away from the gun and back into the cafeteria. Danny's chips had unfortunately all vanished but had been replaced with a bottle of Jack Daniels. He had his elbows on the table and his face covered with both of his hands he peaked at the tablet to see Blade flipping through the pages of the dossier as he strolled away. 

"You're doing this on purpose." 

Tony smiled innocently as he sat down, Swapping out the bottle of Jack for Makers Mark because Danny should develop better taste. 

"Sandy, can you bring me a glass of cranberry juice?" 

"Of Course Mr Stark." 

"Oh, and bring Danny more fries." 

The young woman nodded before skipping off and Danny finally removed his hands. 

"You have been shot at, had a dagger thrown and you, and you got into a sword fight with a vampire." 

"Dhampir." 

"What now?" 

"He isn't a full vampire. He's a Dhampir." 

"I thought Vampires were fiction 9 minutes ago! I'm just calling him a vamp. Who is next?" 

"If I don't get interrupted by more CCTV sightings, I have a few options. Why ruin the surprise?" 

"I'm going to kill Jess. I swear she orchestrated this whole thing." 

"You could do some of these for me if you're so worried about me terrifying the general populace by saying Hi." 

"Ahuh. No. I repeat. You've been shot at. Twice." 

"I think that's just how Francis says Hi back." 

"Engaged in a terrifying sword fight where you both somehow looked bored ." 

"I got him to actually speak to me. That's an accomplishment, trust me." 

"I think I'll just remain here thank you." 

They both thanked Sandy as she brought Tony's drink and 'Danny's' fries. Tony drank the last on Danny's Jack as the man just watched. Obviously decided fighting was useless. Tony poured half of his cranberry juice into Danny's glass and topped them both up with Makers Mark before taking a long sip, another handful of fries as he brought up the image of his next hop. Winking at Danny before stepping into fires once more. Leaving Danny eyeing his drink speculatively, as if it would bite him. 

Thankfully, this was no dingey alley and he smiled as he stepped into the library, happy that his next targets were in residence as it saved hops and every other damned property he had came with thresholds. Libraries were for learning, originally to invite any who wished to learn. As he always wanted to learn, it was a fun loophole he liked exploiting. 

And, his source told him that the library was the man's current favourite location. Before he could open his mouth however, a blue fist came at his face, rolling his eyes he dodged and blocked the next few hits. People were very attacky today he noted. 

"Lehnsherr. Can we sit and chat?" 

"You are the one trespassing on private property. What makes you think I have any interest in conversing with yourself?" 

"Well, you don't really have a way of booking appointments now do you? I'm here to offer a deal." 

"Again. Why would I have any interest in what Ironman has to offer?" 

"Because your Brotherhood will be hit as much as everyone else if the Mad Titan achieves his goals. He is going to wipe out 50% of all life in the universe at random." 

Lehnsherr tilted his head in speculation as he continued trading blows with Mystique. Who was getting angrier the longer Tony looked mostly bored with the fight. It was amusing how easily that riled people up. 

"Mystique." 

The fight ended as abruptly as it began. Tony stopping the second Mystique did, he shot her a wide grin with a flash of fangs, causing her to frown. 

Tony simply walked past her after that and perched on the edge of the huge mahogany desk, ignoring the seats opposite. He summoned and dropped the relevant documentation in front of him, with a USB stick attached. He had a number of different contract options on the stick for members of his organisation. The contract on his desk was purely for Lehnsherr however. 

"Here, these will outline everything, including an armistice under the Accords for you and your group to help during the battle with assurances that allies will not use the chaos to attack. Before, during or after the battle for a day and an hour. Of course you will also agree to this and it is something that I will enforce. Strictly."

Magneto gave him an assessing look and Tony just smiled blithely in return, giving the mutant absolutely nothing, which he could tell irritated him given the tick in his jaw. 

"I promise nothing."

"Like I haven't heard that before. Call me, or my Baby Girl if you have any questions, you can continue as normal until events draw closer. When events start to pick up, you'll be called in and given targets." 

"Where will you be in this fight?" 

"Fighting the Titan." 

"As Ironman?" 

Tony summoned his Scythe in his right hand, grinning as Lehnsherr sat back eyeing both the blade and his now uncovered arms with interest. 

More of Lehnsherr's attention was for the blade however, legit trying to decipher what it was made from. Which Tony found endlessly amusing, an ability to sense metals must throw back something interesting when confronted with a Reaper Blade he supposed. A barest of nods was all he received, Tony's message had been understood. Lehnsherr had little respect for baseline humans after all. 

Tony stepped back to the canteen, sending his blade away and rebuilding his glamour before sitting in front of Danny again. 

"This is nice. Tastes nothing like alcohol. Or cranberry juice. It's like.. Cherry drops." 

"I know, Magneto is probably on board." 

He honestly didn't time that for when Danny took a sip and no, it wasn't hilarious watching the man splutter as he helped himself to the fries, smiling as FRIDAY scratched another name off of his list. 

"Boss, we have had another sighting." 

"How many systems is FRIDAY in exactly? How does she keep finding people, who by their nature, tend to hide and have secret identities so easily?" 

"Danny. Do you really want me to answer this?" 

"Kind of?" 

"FRIDAY, Whilst I'm busy, show him how many cameras around the world you can access. Start big, end small." 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

This time he took the basket of fries with him this time. Porting constantly like this was hungry work he mused as he entered dingey alley number 20.

The young, blonde woman immediately jumped backwards instead of attacking him, which was a nice change of pace for today really. Her eyes flashing yellow as she started to fade into invisibility from her position, up on the wall. He would have to introduce her to Peter he thought, they could bond over their ability to stick to walls.

Tony manipulated the shadows around her to make it harder for her to fade completely from view if she continued, not being the first Chameliel he'd met. They tended to get on quite well with the Fae, both not overly caring that the other changed their appearances like shirts. 

"Hi there, I'm a friendly, you don't have to vanish on me. I'm just here to chat." 

Her eyes flashed a bright yellow that he returned, removing just enough of his glamour for his eyes to flash gold. Causing her to pause before she dropped down in front of him. He offered her some of 'Danny's' fries, pleased when she accepted whilst also moldy concerned by how quickly she did so. 

"You're Chameliel?" 

"No, but my species has some.. similar traits." 

"So you are not human?" 

"Nope, didn't figure that would be a problem." 

"It's.. Unexpected. To discover Tony Stark isn't human after he steps out of fire." 

"Would you rather I lie?" 

She contemplated that a moment before shaking her head. 

"How much do you know about the Avengers Miss Nelson?" 

"They've grown a lot since that Civil War, it's almost like you are preparing for something." 

"I am, did anyone ever tell you stories of the Mad Titan?" 

"The Deviant? I have heard some stories. Few of them are good." 

"He's coming here, and not with good intentions. I'm putting together a few groups to combat him and his people. To stop him destroying half the universe. Here." 

She took the contracts he summoned, and his Thanos file and started to flick through them. He went back to finishing up his fries. 

"You don't have to make a choice now, but give me or FRIDAY a call, my card is in the file." 

He waved as he dropped back into the cafeteria, with an impressed look on Danny's face. 

"See Tony, I knew you had it in you! I knew you could not be abjectly terrifying if you really put your mind to it." 

"I'm not abjectly terrifying. Who thinks I'm terrifying? Did you have fun chatting with FRIDAY?" 

"I think she is the one person more terrifying than you. I didn't know you could just access people's camera phones!" 

"You'd be surprised in 2016 how many people don't secure their tech. I generally see it as an open invitation." 

"Tony. No." 

"Tony. Yes." 

Chapter Text

Tony came back from a scout for more food to find that Danny had been replaced with Wade, who had folded his mask up so he could steal Tony's drink, he diverted back to the front of the cafeteria and promptly doubled everything on his tray. 

"Danny tapped out and you bring me delicious food. I don't see why everyone spent a week playing rock-paper-scissors and drawing straws to avoid this job." 

"Why has everyone been doing this exactly?" 

"Well, FRIDAY told Matt, who told Hope, who told Jess, who told Bruce, who to-" 

"Is there some kind of Avengers gossip chain I don't know about other than our mess of a group chat?" 

"Only after you decided to recruit more people." 

"I don't see what's wrong with my methods. You all joined." 

"I don't get it either."

"That's why you're my favourite, here, have some cake with those fries." 

That's why he loved Wade. He ate the cake and fries happily. 

"So, who is next on the list?" 

"I have Xavier booked in an hour because he is actually easy to contact and schedule. I finally got a location on Wolverine. So I'm thinking Canada or maybe Latveria next. Could put Avalon higher too.. My list is long . I've mostly been using the CCTV method." 

"When you see Logan tell him I miss him, and if you visit the school I have letters." 

"I'll pop to Canada whilst you get the letters, be quick and guard our bountiful feast." 

He stood and stepped into the fire and Wade shoved half a burger in his face as he placed knives around their food it a menacing display. 

"Will do Bossman." 

"I'm not the Boss!" 

He yelled back through, only hearing laughter until he stepped out in the woods. Near an honest to God's log cabin. He knocked on the door, pushing out his senses and getting a pingback for someone inside just before the door opened. 

"Hi."

"What." 

"And people tell me I'm the terrifying one. World ending drama is afoot."

"Did you just say afoot?" 

"Yup." 

Logan just blinked at him as if he wasn't entirely sure about what to do with him, Tony summoned up the contract he'd had printed for the guy, which got him a set of claws to the throat. 

"You really hate contracts?" 

"I'm suspicious by nature."

"Me too!" 

"You seen more… overly excitable." 

"Wade says 'Hi' by the way. The offer comes with lodgings if you want a change from this lumberjack calendar that you appear to be living in." 

"You want me to live in the same building... as Wade ?" 

"Sure. Think about it, because, you know. World ending drama." 

"Are you being serious? Because I can't tell." 

"See, this is what happens when people tell me to be nice and not terrifying. Yes, crazy space grape, wiping out half of the universe, yadda yadda." 

The claws finally left his throat and he took the contracts, turned and shut the door without saying anything else. Tony shrugged and stepped back to the cafeteria, assuming he would hear from grump cat at some point. 

"Living alone in a cabin in the woods makes people anti social. "

"Na, that's just Logan."

"Is that an actual sack of letters? You realise I am not UPS right?" 

"Yup, you are better." 

Tony frowned because he wasn't going to let people know the way to get him to do things was complimenting him. 

"Boss, we have a CCTV hit for two people on the list.. But I'm not sure about how well received you will be." 

"Eh, give me the location baby girl, well see."

He flicked through images as he familiarised himself with the street as he started a slice of pizza. He stepped through still eating and straight into a blast of fire that tickled across his skin. He scooped up some of the flames that burned brighter at his attention. Tony was so enamoured with the little flame he completely missed that the two beings that had been all out trying to end each others existence had stopped to gape at him. 

"Fire likes me?" 

He placed the little flame on his shoulder where it moved back and forth a few times before jumping and burrowing in his hair. 

"What the fuck?" 

"I get that a lot. First things first, Johnny, you wait there. Now, are you still affiliated with Thanos and his current goal." 

"No, do you know how much of a headache his current goal is? I keep getting all these souls ahead of time. It's a mess!" 

"Actually, I do, you should speak to Hela, she has a system in place to deal with the backlog, Mortis too. I can hook you up." 

"You've changed since I last saw you Merchant." 

"And you are as fiery as every Mephy." 

He groaned and sat down on a step at Tony's nickname, which just made him grin as he turned his attention to the other person. Who looked more confused than anything, but then Tony hadn't gotten around to meeting him yet. He'd met several people in his family over the generations, family curses at the strength were an intriguing draw. Not that he could do anything about it, well, he could, but the family would end up bound to him in some way instead and he didn't want to risk what could come from that. 

"What the hell is going on!?" 

"You two can get back to killing each other later, right now we have more pressing matters." 

"He's evil, if you are working with him I can't work with you." 

"Why?" 

"Why?! Because he's evil!" 

"Right now, he's the one that is going to help fight a guy that wants to kill 50% of the universe. Not even just earth, thousands of worlds trillions and trillions of people. Personally I think that's more important that the good and the bad guys." 

He tossed over a contract to Mephisto over his shoulder who deftly caught it out of the air, summoning a pair of glasses to flick through them. 

"What's stopping the bad guys taking advantage of this fight? You really think a contract will keep them in check?" 

Tony gave a self satisfied smirk at that, running his tongue across his teeth. He couldn't help his nature after all. 

"It will, contracts from me.. Well, they come with an extra kick. Anyone who does something fucking stupid like attacking each other with find themselves thrice bound and in my debt. Usually I'm pretty easy going compared to my kin, people who fuck around on my battlefield? You gonna break a contract by me Mephy?"

"Fuck no."

"There." 

"What if you die?" 

"The contracts pass to different people, whoever I think it will suck the most for. Meph, What do you think about Mab?" 

"Fucking hell Merch, what the fuck did I do to you?" 

"You know what you did." 

"That was 970 years ago!" 

"Ahuh, and I'm still pissed. So, you in?" 

He looked between himself and Mephisto a few times before holding his hand out, Tony summoned his contract in a burst of black fire. 

"This also counts as an invitation to the Avengers Initiative for yourself. Mephisto is under an Armistice agreement only. Read the contracts before you go back to fighting." 

He pointed at them both, he would be watching, then he turned and dropped back into the cafeteria. 

"Bossman. Your head is on fire." 

"I picked up a little friend, want to say hi?" 

He lifted his hand and the little flame hopped onto his fingers so he could show Wade, who instantly fell in love with the little fire and promptly picked him up. 

"Isn't that burning you?" 

"Yup." 

"And you don't care?" 

"Nope. He's so cute!" 

"Feed him some paper or something while I'm gone, I'll make a little enclosure for him when I'm done porting all over the damned planet. 

"Boss we got a hit on one of the more elusive contacts." 

"Really? She has been evading cameras with a near terrifying accuracy and now… She's sitting on a bench eating a hotdog?" 

"Sure is Boss." 

"Yeah, I have no idea how she does it, says her superpower is luck." 

Probability manipulation. Tony's eyebrows shoot up at that and he's porting to the bench with a bare thought spare to the fact it's in the middle of a public park. However as he landed, there is literally no one in sight as she hands a hotdog to him before he even fully materilised. Then several people walk past as normal and Tony is a little giddy because wow. 

"Hi" / "Hi" 

They speak at the same time and she flashes a wide grin at him, he flashes his fangs in a wide grin back. 

"Oh that's so cool, you have fangs!" 

"Yup!" 

"So, you have something for me?" 

"That I do, I wrote it up when Wade told me about his team but then I just never seemed to be able to find you." 

"Well, you found me." 

"Here's me feeling you lured me with, oh my god, this is the best hot dog I've ever eaten. And I'm old as fuck and have eaten a lot of hot dogs." 

Tony practically indecently moans as he summoned her contract and the 'What the fuck is a Thanos' file. Wade renamed it.

"Awesome." 

She starts leafing through and Tony is content to eat his hotdog, because if he takes this back to the cafeteria Wade will try to eat it, out of his damned hands. He knows that because of the day he got the last fudge cake and ended up with Wade in his lap and his fork in Wade's mouth. 

When he stepped back into the canteen, Wade was sulking. 

"That was out right cruelty Bossman, you made me watch the both of you eat delicious food." 

"Hmm, I know. It was lovely. That's why I did a nice thing and brought you one back." 

The little fire was now sat in a next of shredded lapper and was merrily burning away. 

"Before you bliss out on that hotdog, option A or B." 

"Where's A and B?" 

"Latveria or Avalon." 

"Huh, should have known you entering this 'verse would make matters more complicated. A." 

"I'm not looking forward to this… What's the bet I get to Latveria and he and Reed are duking it out somewhere else." 

"Stop stalling. Go and recruit." 

He grumbled before bringing up what images he had of Victors last known location and stepping through. The man wasn't around, but there had been a fight of some kind which was actually better. He splayed a hand casting his Magic out, humans with magic were not so industrious about cleaning up after themselves. Especially after years of holding dominion over this planet. Victor was better than most, but it didn't take long to see a silver shimmer, fluttering lightly in the wind. 

He had to scale a wall, he cast blue tendrils out to capture the thread, encasing but not changing it. That was the real fear of leaving your magic around, Tony could easily absorb this and add it to his power, instead he spoke the man's name to it, encouraging it to return home. He frowned when it brought him to a building, testing the threshold. That was annoying. The area was pretty empty though so he backed up and found a wall to perch on. Switched the spell from questing to luring. If he'd done it right, and it had been a while, he'd exit the house for a normal reason. If he'd done it wrong, he'd come out pissed off. It entirely depended on how much time Victor had spent with Morgan. 

When the door opened, and he didn't step out, Tony knew he'd spent at least some time with Morgan. 

"Who is there?" 

Tony hopped down from his perch and deflected the silvery blast that immediately aimed for him. Holding his hand out, freeing the silver thread. 

"I was returning this." 

"Since when does Ironman have magic?" 

"Since Ironman got bored of remaining human and.. You have an open debt on you." 

The words clicked as his eyes widened and he backed into the room, which he assumed was possibly a secret lab of some kind. He hadn't kept up with his and Reeds little war. The debt gave him what he needed to slip inside his threshold. Grabbing hold and feeling the threshold part for him, allowing him entrance without being forced to leave any of his power at the door. 

"I'm actually here to make you an offer." 

"Offers from the Fae are never worth it." 

"Tsk, that's a broken debt on your end Vic, not hers. How's your magic holding up under it?" 

He didn't get a response to that, just glaring. 

"How about this, you give my contract a read and, if you decide to play on our side, I will remove that open debt." 

"Only she can remove it." 

"Maybe, but I have enough debt on her that I could purchase it from her and close it. 

"What's to stop you using it?" 

"Ew. No. Gross. I dislike other people's debts, my own are much more interesting." 

He summoned up the contracts and a pen as he made adjustments regarding the man's broken debt and handed it over. 

"Up to you Viccy-boy, but I will advise until the battle is completed and a day and hour past, it will count as a deal. I won't simply leave you with a broken debt like blood in the water." 

"That doesn't sound remotely comforting." 

"Was it meant to?"

He dropped back into the canteen, before Victor attracted Reed and then he'd be caught in-between them. Immensely awkward. 

"How was Doom?" 

"Amusing actually, seemed he'd gone and broke a deal with an old acquaintance. Give me your damned sack anyway." 

He couldn't believe he was turning up with a literally sack. 

He firewalked to outside of the school, not wanting to potentially scare any of the children before making his way to Xavier's office. 

" Tony, it's great to see you again. I see you've come bearing gifts?" 

"Deadpool has some letters for people and asked that I drop them off as I'm on my way over. Have you had a chance to look at the file?" 

"Of course, we just have a few questions, come sit down, I'm sure you've been quite busy." 

Tony dropped into the comfortable seat, enjoying the general feel for this school. The combination of all the different abilities, different people. It created a please to hum against his senses. 

"Porting can be exhausting." 

"Yes, Kurt has told me that it can be hungry work. So, was he in the library after all?" 

"Yup. You saved me a lot of trouble." 

Chapter Text

Tony POV

The alarm to assemble jerked him out of the first reprieve he'd managed to literally carve out of his schedule for months and to say he was irritated would be quite the understatement. Plus, it looked awful out, it was a cold, damp March and he'd basically been in a blanket nest in front of the fire. 

"That's it. I'm fucking killing whoever triggered this. Do villains not understand the meaning of day off FRIDAY? What is happening?" 

At least magic made getting dressed easy and he had the latest of his nano suits on him. He now owed James a new blanket as the guy had bet him he couldn't have a day off in peace. So close. 

"I don't think so Boss, Jane says she has readings that the Bifrost will land in 76 seconds." 

"Oh joy. Asgardians." 

He paused for a second, not knowing if he should head out suited up with the Avengers or if this was something for him and Rhodey to deal with. He let the suit form around him and headed to the contact point Jane had instructed. It was highly unlikely they knew who he was now, not landing here at least. It would be fun to see how they dealt with him as a human, before they realised he very much wasn't. 

"Tell Rhodey to suit up, we'll play it by ear. Oh and pull Eddie in." 

"Sure thing Boss!" 

The onduty group that assembled was a little strange, Himself, Rhodey, Jess and now, Eddie. Smart people had taken their designated day off and gone out for the day and others on duty were helping with a rash of fires in a different country. Others currently on duty were not rated for unknown Asgardian contact. 

"Ugh, it's drizzly. Why am I here Tony?" 

"Aliens, about to land on our lawn. Space Vikings." 

Eddie tilted his head as if in consideration before nodding. 

" Vikings . From space are landing on our lawn ." 

"I know." 

"Dammit." 

Tony groused slightly as the bright light flash, branding his poor lawn. Nothing fazed Eddie. Out of the bright light he could see two shadowy figures and one looked to be the relative size and build of Thor which immediately spiked Tony's irritation through the roof. As they cleared he found it mildly amusing that he was more interested in being polite to his brother and wanting to throttle Thor right back. 

The life he'd lived as Tony was close enough to him that shrugging off parts of it were not as easy as he'd made them out to be to some people, it still happened to him after all, like the Asgardians he saw time differently, a few years to him was nothing. Likely not helped by the fact he really was still kind of living the life of Tony Stark, just upgraded. Rhodey knew, as did a few others and that was enough. 

"Man of Iron! I bring word from my father of a threat heading to earth! Where is the Captain!" 

Tony sighed and lead them inside, because royal Asgardian pains in the ass or not, he wasn't standing outside in drizzly rain, as he got inside the ground floor common room, he pulled the suit back into the hive and flopped down onto the sofa. Thor looked a little confused and Loki seemed slightly startled at the easy invite. 

"Point Break, Reindeer Games. I assume you are here to tell me about the mad Titan that's coming to earth to gather the infinity stones to do colossally stupid shit with?"

Loki was however looking at him very intently, obviously he'd picked up on something so he flashed him a sharp toothed smile, he blinked for barely a second, recovered and shot a very similar one back, he had a feeling he was going to get along with Loki. He could see why friends had wanted them to meet but he'd never had a chance before the Asgardians started to pull away from earth after the ice giant fiasco. Others still travelled to the Asgard occasionally, and the other Realms, but it had rarely drawn him, never to the Palace. Usually too busy elsewhere, as Cadeyrn he was possibly more of a workaholic on occasion than Tony Stark. His aunt was forever on at him to take a break. 

"Right you are, I find myself surprised you know of this already." 

"I'm crafty like that you see. So, are you messengers or are you Asgards offer of fighters?"

"We'll be staying to defend Midgard, I know you might be wary of my brother.." 

"Nope. I sorted all that out when it was painfully obvious that Lokster wasn't behind the wheel. So, we're cool. You and me however, I'm still a little… pissed shall we say. That was a very human neck you throttled after all." 

He was highly amused with their reactions, which one was more surprised? He couldn't tell. Loki recovered faster, obviously, smirking he dropped himself down in a seat near him. Practically draping himself over the sofa with practiced ease, offering his hand. Tony knew exactly what the other God was doing, but it was confusing Thor so he was going with it. He held his magic in check however, even when Loki's 'accidentally' sparked, trying to draw his magic out to get a read on him. He played the dumb, magicless human. Loki didn't buy it, but he also had no idea what he was. 

"I was expecting irritation at my presence, seems you have out done even me Thor. Might I introduce myself properly? Last time things were a little tense, but I believe you still owe me a drink" 

"Sure, I go by Tony Stark in these parts. I will be happy to oblige, I have some drinks you might have an interest in." 

"Go by?" 

Thor interrupted before he could answer Loki and Tony knew he'd have to leave them to it soon. His irritation was well on the way to slipping into anger if he wasn't very careful. That was the problem about spending so long as a human, their kind tended to feel things more… intensely, blanks out everything else. Rhodey had nicknamed it the tinkerbell effect and refused to call it anything else. 

The longer he spent as a human, the less practice he had for keeping that anger back, and the consequences for releasing it was never worth it. It's why there were so many stories of huge reactions to seemingly petty grievances and very confused humans. 

"When will the others by arriving?" 

"They won't be Thor, we had a few differences you see. However, come to think of it, you two are quite convenient. I can set you up with the UN to announce the upcoming threat and I can move up my plans." 

Rhodey strolls back in with two sets of the Accords, passing Loki his and dropping the other on the table in front of Thor with a little added force. 

"Right, I'll leave you to read. When you've done that come and find me, till then, I was on my day off. FRIDAY can help you if you need it. Catch you later for that drink Lokster." 

He should probably hit something or other for a bit so he didn't hit Thor. 

Loki POV

Things had definitely turned out much differently than he and Thor had expected. He had thought Thor was to be welcomed with open arms and he was to be scorned, yet they were invited into the heart of their home with little fuss. As the Ironman suit came apart around him, he knew that something was instantly different. Out of everything, eyes of that colour didn't belong in a human and he could feel something different about him. There was something more there although it was hidden well, sharper too, he scanned the room and moved more akin to a jungle cat that a human. It was subtle, but Loki picked up on things like that. His irritation had been sharp enough to pick at Loki's sense, which was strange, humans tended to come in at a low on his senses. 

As they were left in the room he picked through the papers to read, sighing when Thor did not. 

"I do not understand what has happened here in such a short period of time." 

"They're expecting you to apologise for assaulting their leader Thor. It's painfully obvious." 

"It was a petty squabble, that can't be it. I will have to investigate what has happened in my absence, maybe this UN could be of help? " 

"Thor. Do you remember why your father sent me with you?" 

"Too make up for the damage and lives taken during the invasion." 

"No Thor. The real reason. I'm to act as your council when dealing with the leaders of this word. Tony Stark is a glaringly obvious leader that you have insulted. Apologising would do a long way." 

"He is my shield-brother! You worry too much Loki."

He wasn't sure why he was wasting his breath. Thor had come down here expecting this ragtag band of heroes run by the Captain, being faced with something quite different had thrown him. Whilst he could be great at politics, Thor was a lot smarter than he lead people to believe, he played the dumb oaf card to his advantage. It mostly irritated Loki that it worked so often. 

However, somethings tended to slip by him until they exploded in his face. The way everyone had angled themselves in the room pointed to a clear leader with a wealth of respect. 

There was also the fact that the man looked considerably younger than he should. His memory from the invasion was not that great, but he remembered enough of what the Ironman had looked like before. Mortals aged quickly after all and yet, he looked younger than he had been back then. Thor tended to forget the fragility and ageing of the humans.

He rolled his eyes at the determination on Thor's face and realised he was going to have to clear this up himself. Not the first time and he doubted it would be the last

Chapter Text

Loki POV 

"Miss FRIDAY is it? If it were possible, do you think I could arrange a meeting with Mr Stark?" 

"Sure thing Mr Liesmith, I'll ask him now." 

He smiled at the name, Thor would likely be irritated with it when he eventually heard it, of course, he wondered if that was why the incorporeal voice chose it, it was the kind of careful slight that he enjoyed immensely. But considering they'd barely stepped of the Bifrost and already he was cleaning up his messes, he allowed himself the amusement. They'd been here a few days now and whilst they had met with a few people, they had largely been left alone to read these Accords and speak to their UN advisor. Thor was taking it surprisingly seriously, but he had of course, not apologised for his behaviour. 

"He says he's free now, would you like me to lead you to him?" 

That surprised him, he had expected to be made to wait a little given Thor had actually throttled the man. That wouldn't go over well in many places, but humans with their extremely fragile bodies and short life spans, it was worse. He followed the flashing lights from their guest rooms to the elevator which went up to the top without any intervention from himself. The lights then lead him to a door at the end of a corridor that opened automatically for him, leaving him in a very large living area that blended a more organic decor with the more futuristic one, similar to what he'd seen elsewhere in the compound in quite an interesting manner. He preferred it to the gold of Asgard. There was a lot of wood and natural stone around that pleased him. 

The man he was looking for was sat in a large seating area near an absolutely huge fire. He grimaced internally at the thought of sitting near that much heat, and he must have given himself away somehow, as he was surprised to find very little heat was given off by the flame as he sat down. It threw him off balance slightly, it wasn't often people read him so easily and even less often that they put consideration into his comfort. He added it to his collection of strange information about their host. 

"I thought I should stop by to apologise for Thor." 

"You know, eventually you have to get to a point in life where you stop apologising for others. Otherwise, they will never learn. Never be accountable for their own actions and if you aren't careful, it might just kill you." 

He paused and felt the truth of that statement, which was very odd in itself. It sounded as if he was saying that his covering for others had resulted in his death. 

"You sound like you are speaking from experience, but I can't help noticing that you are very alive." 

"Sure I am, but Tony Stark the human died in a sub zero temperatures, drowning in his own blood." 

He searched for the lie in that but came up with absolutely nothing, something that he'd noticed the few times they'd spoken so far. Everyone lied, even people who thought they were telling the truth lied occasionally, accidentally even, and he was not the God of lies only because he was good at telling them, but because he could feel them. There were ways around it, to tell the truth but to mislead, certain races incapable of lying were experts at it and taught him a lot of what he knew. 

Stark just flat out spoke the truth as if it was nothing, spoke to him easily and without scorn, it was a little disconcerting. 

"So, who are you now if Tony Stark died?" 

"Oh, I'm still going by Tony, it grew on me." 

Which told him absolutely nothing and yet, it was the truth again, but before he could question again, he turned to place his cup on the table beside him. Offering his hand out towards him as he had on their first meeting. Wiggling his fingers tauntingly when it wasn't immediately accepted. He took the proffered hand, but instead of the lack of magic he felt last time, this time is was right there and there was a wealth of raw power that surprised him in its strength.  

The level of trust for a magic user to offer that to another was not something he had ever expected to find in his direction. The only answer he could think was that he was young, inexperienced and didn't realise he was basically offering his magic up for Loki to get a read on it. There was no block or shield to remotely protect his Magic from his senses. He doubted he would have been so casual about it if he knew the implications given his reputation. Not that Loki would be stupid enough to do anything at this juncture, he was a guest in this man's home, but people often thought the very worst of him and he'd come to expect it. He had to ask though, to know, because if by some chance that he did.. Then maybe there was a chance of getting to know another magic user without the distrust and thinly veiled disgust he'd come to expect on Asgard. Maybe. Midgard didn't have the same hangups Asgard had about magic. 

"Do you know what you're doing?" 

He didn't answer with words, but he smirked and sent a concentrated pulse of raw magic to him. Small black flames pulled a surge of green from him, over to Stark's skin, as if such a feat was the easiest thing in the world. He didn't even snatch his hand back quickly, he kept up the contact and keeping his magic forward for Loki to learn until he decided to let go. 

Which definitely told him a few things he was not a young, inexperienced magic user. He was much stronger than he suspected and that Thor needed to apologise for his transgressions himself before this escalated beyond his measure to control. The tenor of the magic rang a bell but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was as if he'd come across it, or something similar before, but long ago. Midgard wasn't exactly a magical nexus, oh there was magic within Midgard herself, but it didn't often pool in humans themselves to this extent. Other creatures were attracted to it however. Seated at the centre of the tree, home to a strange, blue magic he'd never quite understood, Midgard attracted all kinds of people. 

His appearance didn't help Loki in discovering who this man, that had been a human not long ago, really was. The golden eyes definitely were not human and he felt predatory, but that could be one of thousands of races. His magic was as innate to him as his Seiðr was to him and he could be behind a glamour just as he was. It was a mystery and Loki liked mysteries, he would get to the bottom of this, but maybe with more care than he usually showed, goodwill such as this was strange to him and he was interested in keeping it. 

If anyone had told him when they arrived on Midgard, that he would be received better than his brother and end up sitting with another magic user like this. He would have considered them insane. However, it seems the Midgardians knew more than they had ever suspected and Stark had been laying the groundwork to announce the titans plans starting with convincing the world he had not actually been behind the attack. 

Miss FRIDAY had given him the rundown, that at first people were confused why he was defending an alien invader that wasn't even here. He could see it as merely a first step in announcing a larger threat was coming. Not that Stark had feelings towards him in anyway at that point, or, like Thor thought, he was doing it for him. Otherwise people had believed the threat defeated with him, and even then, a single band of heroes had pulled it off. Convincing people of his innocence lead to the question, "Then who was pulling the strings?" which was what Stark wanted. 

They stayed talking for a while, he did not try to bring the conversation back to Thor again as that had been closed with a note of finality. He needed to also get Thor to stop bringing up these missing teammates, it was painfully obvious it was them he was referring to and explaining this to Thor who, as a rule, purposefully didn't understand magic, was going to be painful. 

Stark summoned a number of different bottles, arriving in bursts of heat-free dark flame as he explained where each came from, it's potency on someone like Loki which lead him to believe he had a constitution similar to him and Thor, he added it to his list. He became quite enamoured with a honey strawberry and raspberry wine that Stark had made himself. Sweet, but not cloying, an edge of tartness but not overtly sour with a devious kick. It was the kind of drink you'd finish several bottles of without realising how inebriated you were becoming. 

A delightful black cat appeared from beneath the table, seemingly coalescing from the shadows and Loki was very sure that she had not been underneath the table previously. Stark introduced her as Drest, meaning Riot in a language he was only partially familiar with, which he found amusing and the name started to potentially give him more clues, she became smaller as she curled up in a ball on his lap, claiming him as a new bed with an ease that again took him by surprise as he knew this was no Midgardian feline.

Stark became Anthony, much to his mortification and Loki's amusement, he asked him if he had any other names and was told he had plenty. Again. Not a lie. 

That maybe he could tell him some of them one day. Loki didn't take it as an insult, some creatures were more susceptible to truenaming than others and he got a sense he had suffered great betrayal before, as he had suffered the same, he had a sense for it. For some it was rude to even speak their names. He was willing to wait this out he thought.

"Thor, when are you going to apologise to our host?" 

"Do not worry so much brother! Things will sort themselves out sooner rather than later. The aid the UN sent to me has been most hopeful. You should stop your fretting." 

The desire to slam Thor's head into the nearest wall was strong. He had a bad feeling that whilst he had been trying to mend bridges that Thor had been setting them alight. Cursing Odin for putting him in the position for the hundredth time, he sat down and tried to be calm. 

"Thor? What have you done?" 

Tony POV 

“Motherfucker!"

Tony was just staring at his phone, he'd read the email from the UN a few times and he was trying to remind himself that violence was not the answer. Who was he kidding, violence could be very well the answer, but Rhodey was pacing in front of him. Rage practically pouring off him, so he had to be the sensible one it seemed. The fire in his apartment was white hot as Rhodey's rage bled over. Cara was of course enjoying himself in front of it. 

"I can't believe this Tones. Thor's been here for two fucking seconds and people are already using him." 

"I should have expected it. The Cap column has been growing since I started informing them of a greater threat. Thor is their golden haired ticket." 

"We can stop this." 

"We could, but it would cause us problems down the line." 

"And you don't think they'll cause problems?!" 

"Probably. But we can get ahead of it, if we agree we can set down some ground rules that they'll have to accept." 

"Tones, you shouldn't have to keep doing this." 

"If we look to be blocking help when I'm telling everyone of a serious threat. It would look as if I was putting personal grievances ahead of the planet." 

"Attempted fucking murder, manipulation and the mind raping bitch are some pretty serious personal grievances." 

"I know Platypus. We'll work it out, we have good people on our side."

"So you're just going to let Thor get away with this?" 

He just laughs to that which eases the anger in Rhodey a little. His phone went off again and discovered he had 26 texts from James asking what the fuck was going on. 

TS - Looks like you're coming to America. Unfortunately so are your housemates. 

SF - At least Shuri will be happy? 

"Ah, so that's why you aren't so against this." 

"Huh, I'm against it. I don't want Rogers or, Wanda especially, anywhere near me, it will be an effort not to cause serious damage." 

"But getting to see your boyfriend is a free silver lining?" 

Rhodey had switched from barely contained violence go a complete shit eating grin in a matter of seconds that made him roll his eyes. 

"He's not my boyfriend . He's a friend . We just text occasionally." 

"You and me have different ideas of texting occasionally . You guys watch movies together on video chat. That's next level sappy shit. Plus, I always know when you're texting him." 

"No it's not, I'm helping him get up to date on things, and no you don't?" 

"I do. You get this smile on your face when you read the texts, if it wasn't so gross I'd call it adorable. You are so gone for him dude." 

"No, I'm not, we're friends ." 

"Mmmhmm, you keep telling yourself that…" 

It'll be interesting to see the man again at least, they'd kept in contact secretly since he had healed him. Well, secretly on James side, maybe he should have kept it secret on his side too as its given Rhodey the wrong ideas. James even provided him with occasional updates of what the others were up to. He'd only popped back to Wakanda once to place the mind protection ward on James so Wanda could not invade his mind and that had been months ago and he had missed him, but he'd not had a reason to pop over so he'd stuck to texting. 

"He doesn't think of me that way, so you can stop planning weddings in your head." 

"Ahuh, sure, the guy who texts you like a hundred times a day isn't into you. Makes perfect sense." 

He rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel to stalk off, he had a lot of planning to do for these newcomers. 

"Right, I'm going to go and do something more productive than this, like sort out accommodation for that lot." 

"You should house James in the residential unit with us, make a separate unit for criminals only or something. There's a free room down the hall. Didn't you mention that he likes heights?"  

"That's a good idea actually. I'll get on it." 

Rhodey smirked to himself as Tony hurled himself into work.

Chapter Text

Tony POV 

"Boss, you need to go to the common room."

Tony jerked out of his doze, having fallen asleep on his sofa whilst reading, he had a feeling it was around 3am. But that was early for being summoned places. 

"What's going on FRIDAY, its 3 am for fucks sake." 

"Mr Liesmith just came across Goose." 

Tony froze for a second before swearing profusely in a few different languages. Dammit, how had he forgotten that someone like Loki would obviously be well travelled. He jumped up and firewalked to the common room, not wanting to waste and time and immediately jumped in between Goose and Loki. 

Catching the surge of green magic before it got to his murderfloof. 

"Mm, tingly!" 

"Do you know what manner of creature is stalking your hallways?!" 

"Actually, yes I do. I know Goose is a Flerkin, and she's very nice! Best Flerkin I have ever met!" 

Loki just blinked at him with a facial expression he was very familiar with. It was the "Are you out of your damned mind?!" look. He edged closer to Loki, knowing the man was still on edge. 

"Look, why don't I introduce the two of you?" 

Loki was squinting at him now and Tony wondered how the next meet and greet he had planned would go. 

"Hey FRIDAY, is Eddie up? I figure we should get our interesting residents officially introduced to our resident God of Mischief." 

"You consider me a resident?" 

He took that opening to link arms with the other God and sublty tug him in the direction of Goose. 

"Of course I do! Now, Goose will eat anything you put ham on, but if you ask her not to eat anything in your room, she won't. Usually. Isn't that right my Goosey-Loosey Murder-Floofy." 

"I'm actually more concerned for your sanity than I am for my safety right now. Bravo." 

Tony snickered at that and it worked in loosening the other God up. Goose had been watching them with mild disinterest until Tony opened up his arms, the Flerkin made a graceful leap and he caught her easily. She started purring like a train. 

"You like Drest, I'm sure you'll like Goose too." 

"Drest is small, and does not have tentacles." 

"Well. One of those things are true, don't freak out." 

"One saying 'Don't freak out' is usually cause to 'freak out'." 

He pointed as the table where Drest coalesced from the shadows in her small, kitten shape. In the several steps towards Loki she shifted, growing larger each time until she was the size of a very large, sleek Panther. Muscles rippling under shining fur as he proceeded to greet Loki in the same manner as she had since they'd been introduced. A head but from a kitten however packed a lot less punch that as she was now. Loki wavered on the spot, his hand automatically going for her ears. Drest trained people very quickly. 

"I did not expect that. Do you have any other felines that defy the laws of physics?" 

"No, but since you are doing so well with Goosey-Loosey and Drest, I figure you should meet Eddie while we are ahead. Luckily the man's sleeping patterns are worse than my own, is he alright to come down Fry?" 

"He's on the way Boss." 

Loki was gingerly offering a hand towards Goose, who was purring up a storm. 

"Is it normal for people of Midgard to harbour one of the most dangerous species in the known universe and name them after harmless avian creatures or is it just you? "

"Actually, Goose has Carol as her pet human. And harmless? Goosey-Loose is much nicer than actually geese!"

"That ridiculous nickname is causing quite the disconnect in my mind. Right, after this I'm sure nothing could shock me. Why do you wish me to speak to Eddie? I remember him vaugley from when we arrived, he seemed Midgardian in appearance, but everyday I spend around yourself that means less and less. "

"I'm taking that as a compliment, so, funny story. Do you know much  about Klyntar? "

Loki seemed to be speechless, something Tony found rather amusing. In his defence, it was 3am.

"You are jesting. Surely." 

"What are you after Tony, I was playing Diablo 3, Venom is grumpy as he finds the voices amusing." 

Loki was looking at Eddie critically and Tony kept himself not so subtly in the middle again. 

"Well, you see, Lokester here just ran into Goosey-Loosey, which made me realise that introductions might be in order." 

Eddie was however quite distracted by Drest.

"Tony. Are you quite aware there is a giant fucking Panther head butting you right now?" 

"That's Drest." 

"No, Drest is a kitten." 

"Didn't I mention Drest can change her size to whatever she wants?" 

He was sure he'd mentioned that. 

"Nope, I would have remembered if you told me the kitten that sleeps on my chest could eat my head in one bite." 

"Really Eddie?" 

"Okay, fair point. So, what's the deal?" 

Tony turned back to Loki, who was still holding himself carefully but had been following the conversation back and forth with amusement. 

"Loki, no magicy or throwing sharp pointies, Venom is friendly." 

Tony magiced up some chocolate which instantly got Eddie's attention. Tony had become Venom's chocolate dealer pretty early on after Eddie moved into the compound. 

"If this is a prank, I commend you on your commitment." 

"You get used to weird stuff happening around Tony. I say this as part of the weird, right, Venom, no attacking. No. You can't eat him. He's Tony's friend." 

Before anyone could say anything else, Venom decided to become an active participant and Loki proved to be very adept in swearing in several interesting languages. 

"Friend of Tony is Friend to Venom?" 

Loki nodded minutely before turning to Tony. 

"You are actually insane." 

Tony opened the huge bar of chocolate before handing it over to Venom who was very happy with the Offerings. Giving Loki a huge smile. 

"You only just notice that Lokester?" 

He was slightly tired, having spent the early hours facilitating conversation between Loki and Venom, he had not gotten much in the way of sleep. So he was relaxed, sitting in a chair in his favourite meeting room, chair tilted back and his feet were up on the table. 

Rhodey had told him that he looked like a teenager for someone so damned old, he'd just grinned and tipped the chair even further back. 

He'd been in the workshop when Thor had agreed to the meeting so he was dressed in torn jeans and a t-shirt. He'd had the glamour covering his arms again since the Asgardians arrived, mostly because it amused him that Loki was trying to work out who or what he was. Rhodey was stood behind him on his right, a stark contrast to Tony's easy going expression and dress, he was straight backed and stone faced wearing a very smart bespoke black on black suit that may or may not have wards stitched into the fabric. 

Loki entered first and Tony could tell that their resident God of Mischief did not want to be in this meeting but was stuck following Thor's problems around. He felt for the guy, he really did. The two of them were on the way to becoming good friends, it would take a while for him to open up, Loki had obviously not had much luck, but then being a magic user in Asgard wasn't fun from what he'd been told, even for an excellent battle magus like Loki. It was a damned shame and he could see it anytime he switch topics mid sentence if he thought he'd been discussing magic to long. 

Asgard tended to see magic as lesser , parlour tricks compared to real battle where as his people venerated both in equal measure. Magic was not a woman's art or cowardly to them. Math would probably eat anyone who said that to him. Or worse. Loki could do more with a thought than several well trained warriors. Which is what it boiled down to in the end, magic was power, sheer power that a well trained magus could bend and shape the world with. It scared people, and it should really. He would have to introduce Loki to Math some day, maybe even have him visit his lands underhill. He had a few books he was hoping to tempt the other God with too, he'd wait him out, he could be quite patient if the hunt required it. 

It would not stop him leading Thor into a debt however. It would be amusing to see if Loki caught him before he managed it though. The other God, despite not being from his neck of the woods, was Fae enough that this kind of game was fun for them both. 

It meant shortening his game with Loki about his race, but Thor had forced his hand. His mother was looking forward to meeting Loki too, he has a feeling meeting the Patroness of Magic would be good for him. His mother was far different to the shiny, fluffy magic users from Asgard but then she was also the Patroness of Revenge and a few other things. He figured Loki would be amused that Tony was the Patron of Battlemagic, an area the other God specialised in. 

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Thor entering. Thor looked happy, probably thought he had done a great thing when really a bunch of people at the UN were basically using him to force through these damned pardons. 

"So, I'm sure you two have heard that a number of people in the UN are pushing for pardons of the international fugitives." 

"I think it's great Friend Tony, you have gathered many to your cause, but getting your team back together is an important task you should focus on." 

Tony's eyes narrowed dangerously, Tony Stark might have hated people touching his things, Cadeyrn? He hated taking orders from people who had no business giving them to him, it was a sore spot born from a painful time in his life. His irritation must have been visible because Loki's eyes widened minutely and he elbowed Thor with a painful looking jab to the ribs. He wasn't there yet, but he was quite dangerous when angry, he wasn't loud or explosive, he was quiet and stone faced in the face of pain he might inflict. He had to be, anger was dangerous for him. 

"You should be careful Thor, that sounds a lot like an order." 

"I just think that it's important to bring your friends back." 

"Well, they obviously aren't my friends, if you had bothered to talk to me about it, I could have told you exactly why they are not, did you not wonder why they're currently international fugitives? I didn't think I had to lay everything out for. I'm really considering taking a leaf from your book here and I'm trying to remain calm here for Rhodey." 

"Don't be calm for me Tones, I don't think he's going to understand just what he's done until your blade is at his neck. Maybe you should introduce yourself properly for a change." 

He tilted his head to consider Rhodey, he was probably correct but he really was trying to avoid it. Damn Asgardians and their warrior culture, nearly every time he'd had to deal with them in the past, they got absolutely nowhere until he had a fight of some kind. Barring their magic user's, they were amazing. Maybe if he dealt with the more official lot it would be different, but he'd never had the cause to do so. So when they crossed paths, it usually took a fight before things could be sorted. His height was a lot of the problem. Because he was not extremely tall and built like a brick shit house, he had a runner's body and didn't wear skin tight shirts that showed off his muscles after all, they assumed he was weak. Which is why they didn't treat him with the same respect until he beat them bloody, usually much to their enjoyment, even when they lost. 

After, they were brilliant, easier to deal with than some pantheons that's for sure. Easier to deal with than his own people, but that's a pretty low bar. Some of the Courts of Underhill were mostly straight forward. Then you had the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Every pantheon had its quirks, ran by different rules and loved making things hard for outsiders. Asgard was no different. 

When he was younger and enjoyed brawling occasionally, he always sought out some Asgardians for example. But, when you were trying to get shit done, it could be extremely annoying and he just wished he could skip this step. Loki was whispering furiously at Thor to think about his words before he finds himself attacked and Thor just had to push him by saying he was harmless out of the armour. Which caused Tony's jaw to twitch in irritation and Rhodey gave him a look . 

Thor saw Rogers as the leader in his mind, and whilst he liked Tony, it was glaringly obvious he didn't hold the same respect as someone stronger like Rogers, which was amusing as he was a damned sight stronger than a super soldier now. Rhodey was much stronger than the serum, and he hadn't carried his active fire for a single year yet. But then his people were much better and taking apart and repurposing humans than a human scientist, they'd had much more practice at it. 

Sighing, he dropped the chair back to the floor with a thunk loud enough to disturb the conversation in front of him. He was pretty evenly matched with Thor when it came to strength, so he'd have to do something showy enough to make his point fast or end up brawling and breaking his meeting room and taking hours of his time up until they came to a draw, low on magic too, maybe just Firewalking. He'd take his speed to his advantage as he was definitely faster than Thor, being small could be handy. Plus, cloaks slow you down when they aren't like Levi. He stood up, taking time to dust off his clothing, Loki even took a step away from Thor that made him chuckle. Thor looked confused. 

The next things happened incredibly quickly, he Firewalked, coming up behind Thor, while he was in the Fireworld, he shook of the glamour on his arms only and shifted his clothes back to the more traditional garb and summoned his scythe, as he stepped out of the fire, Thor barely had a chance to register that he was behind him before a well placed kick into the back of his knees, added to the shock of what was going on, allowed him to cause Thor to stumble and before he followed it up immediately with another to the small of his back. As that included a lot more strength he was dropped to the floor, air forced out of his lungs as Tony placed his foot on Thor's mid back to make it hard to gain leverage to remove him. Before he hit the floor, Tony slid his Scythe soundlessly around his neck. Just resting the blade against his skin, the threat clear. 

The combination caused the Thunder God to freeze and not immediately retaliate. He'd hoped Thor would recognise the black of his blade, that made things a little easier. His mother would be impressed, usually she'd leave him too it and they'd still be fighting several hours later. Maybe he was getting old. Loki and Thor were at the equivalent age of very early 20s in human years. Where as he was around late 30s, early 40s.

He only kept enough pressure to keep him down, he knew Thor was shocked by his sudden strength and the blade curled around his neck delicately was hopefully enough of a threat enough to make him pause to think . Tony's blades where wickedly sharp and he was one of the best of his people when it came to weapons. Many had tried to recreate the black metal he made the blades from, none had succeeded. Except for daggers which he gave to friends, full Reaper blades could only be welded by Reapers and were made for the individual by him. He had a few, the scythe was his favourite, but not always practical. It was however perfect for situations like this, showy and it had a reputation, a lethal one at that. 

It helped that he hadn't expected it and his reactions were slowed. Not having his hammer in the room was also a plus. He'd not tested his blade against Uru for a while and that would be a long, annoying battle. As the two Gods fully registered the blade, both of them instantly froze. Loki spoke up first, but then he didn't have a blade pushed into his throat. 

"I did not know any Reapers still walked Midgard." 

"They do, but you are reading this situation wrong, I'm not a Reaper." 

Thor relaxed slightly and made to move so Tony increased his pressure, Loki just looked more intrigued. Focusing on his arms. If Thor thought him not being a Reaper was good , he was in for a rude awakening. 

"Might I ask Anthony, if you are not a reaper, why do you carry one of their signature weapons?" 

"Why does everyone think that, just because I happen to like this.. Oh shut up Rhodey." 

Rhodey smirked and summoned his own black blades, the man was constantly ribbing him for favouring his scythe. Loki was glancing between them like he'd started to put the puzzle together and that they'd come out of the bad side of the equation. 

"He's got you there Tones, it is a little obvious. Introduce yourself properly this time." 

"Humans, I swear. Overdramatic little shits the lot of you. I have many names, I don't know which you two would be familiar with God of Thunder, Lightning, Storms, Fertility and The Protection of Mankind." 

He felt Thor twitch beneath him, Asgardians might not be susceptible to truenaming, but Tony had enough magic that he could cause a flare, even in other gods. 

"I'm of the Trí Dé Dána. The Merchant of Death, Gaurdian of Life. The Patron of The Reapers and The Upholder of Battle Magic. There are more, but I figured that should get the point Across. You might know me as The Balance." 

With that, his scythe vanished into Black Fire and he stepped over the stumbled Thor to return to his seat to grab his tablet. He had a feeling that even if Thor did not recognise one of those titles, Loki might. He had a few other titles, like his Mother, the more time you spend around humans, the more things they begin to associate you with. 

Their will, backed by the Blue Fire tended to nudge them in certain directions. His mother for example was entwined deeply with magic and his father with war, making him uniquely skilled in battle magic, he was skilled in other paths, but he didn't hold a candle to his teacher, Math when it came to pure magic. Just like the fact that he was a known battlefield healer, especially when it came to damage in the mind, but Dian was the master. Dian was slightly less human friendly however. As in he tended to see them as the same level that humans do lab rats. Potentially cute, could be trained and came in handy when testing new things. Order up a batch of 50. Shockingly, his apprenticeship there did not last long. 

As well as being a battle mage, he was also known as The Balance. He had a unique feel if it was in danger and passed this onto his Reapers, as his mother was known for Prophecy he believed it stemmed from that. He didn't know of any other pantheon that operated the same way, almost guided by humans, but then many couldn't interact with the Blue Fire directly like a small portion of their kin could, others deemed the cost too high. The closer to the fire, the closer to humanity after all, there is always a cost. 

Thor at least seemed to finally realise he's not dealing with a human anymore, but someone at their level from a different pantheon, in his own home. Sure, Tony could have told him when he turned up, but that wasn't in his style and really, if he was planning on living in his house, he needed to develop more respect for humans under his care. Not just the really strong ones. Even then, it still took a jab from Loki elbow to produce a lackluster apology. It was still better that a throw down fight, he really liked this room. Plus, it was a start and it gave him the opening he was after. 

"I did not know, I hope you can accept my apology? My anger got the better of me and I forgot how fragile humans can be.. I'm sorry.. " 

He shot Thor a sharp tooth grin as he felt the debt sink into place. Which was good, had Thor thought about it, he might have realised that the event was far enough in Tony's human life that he'd been unable to form a debt. Otherwise the debt denied would have been something he could work with. Nope, he'd needed Thor to give him those words and he saw Loki register what he'd done at the same time. 

"Was that so difficult? Right, I have other things to do today. I know you're responsible for their pardons Thor. Thus I hold you accountable for every fuck up they make." 

A pressure built up in the room and snapped as he finished talking, causing Thor's eyes to widen and for Loki to raise an eyebrow, obviously impressed at the fast magic. Anything they did that was against the rules Thor would see in a vision and would be expected to clean up, he better hope Wanda had learned to behave or he'd be getting disturbing visions. He wouldn't chuck Thor in jail if they did something that dumb, he needed Thor as a fighter. He would however make Thor be the one who has to explain to them when they fuck up and he would be the one who cleaning up messes, not him. 

He just about heard Loki's 'You Idiot' as Rhodey was singing 'You fucked up' as he strolled out of the room. At least Rhodey had a little fun. 

Loki POV

After learning about Thor's meetings, encouraging people to bring back the team dubbed as 'The Rogues' he'd been waiting for Anthony to call a meeting. He really didn't want to go, because he knew it would likely be terrible. He'd at least tried to counsel Thor but when Thor got stuck on something, he rarely could see the bad until it exploded in their faces. After their early morning encounter and discovering the kind of friends and allies Anthony effortlessly surrounded himself with, he'd been waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

When that extremely familiar black blade appeared he knew things had exploded spectacularly. 

Most pantheons that visited Midgard knew of The Reapers, The Guardians of The Balance had defeated many and saved more, even those that hadn't visited Midgard knew of them as they were known to walk any plane where there was a threat to the balance, although in recent years he had not heard from any of them, things had begun to quieten down. He should have realised that Than posed a threat to the Balance, that it would attract Reapers. 

They were extremely ruthless in their work, lethal alone, but they rarely traveled that way and their Patron was unlike others he had heard of, in that he was very invested in his people, he equipped them, trained them and most importantly, he fought by their side. He was also quite old and very powerful in magic and with an assortment of black blades. 

It made Reapers dangerous in a way other blessed, raised humans simply were not and a Reaper's blade was pretty dangerous on its own. No one knew what the black metal was crafted from. The Colonel summoning twin black blades added to it. Two Reapers was a dangerous situation, Cadeyrn was surely around somewhere, he watched and cared for his people closely. Thor should hope that Anthony does not inform his Patron of Thor's transgression. 

He had thought that was it. But then Anthony claimed not to be a Reaper. 

Thor relaxed but Loki did not, because Rhodes was a Reaper and Anthony was carrying a black scythe.

No… surely not. Anthony couldn't be The Scythe? Could he? Cadeyrn in the flesh? If so, then Anthony was much, much more dangerous than he had first rated him as. Loki simply had not thought he was that dangerous, he didn't give of that feeling around him. 

That's when Loki really looked. His attire, the celtic designs that graced his arms, he suspected there was more. He knew a little of Cadeyrn, his exploits on the battlefield, a battle magus had obviously drawn Loki's attention but he had never met the man. Only read about him. 

Hidden beneath a glamour there was no way of confirming it. The Sidhe were known for some of the best glamours amongst the magical community. For their ability to seem far less threatening than they were. Which Anthony had managed perfectly, no way would he have connected the two. 

Golden eyes was one thing that he remembered however. Either they burned through his glamour or he left it that way intentionally. He also wasn't stupid enough to piss him off by truenaming the man. Later, he would meet up with him, Loki had many, many questions. 

As they left, Thor had the sense to at least look chagrined. If only he could realise these things before situations escalated. 

"You idiot."

"Brother, how was I supposed to know!"

"How were you supposed to know there was obvious conflict between Anthony and his teammates? They're hiding from the law in a different country!" 

"I believed Friend Tony to merely be human, I did not expect him to be someone else. Which Pantheon does he hail from?" 

They both were surprised before he could answer by a large black crow flying into the room through the wall . Thor startled as the Crow transformed, Loki having now realised what pond they had been unknowingly sitting in, an extremely dangerous one, was not surprised by this. Asgard might have little use for magic, but this pantheon? They were steeped in it and dangerous with it. The woman was motherly in a way, with silver hair but she also looked young and beautiful, she reminded him deeply of Freya. The white eyes were a tad unnerving as they rested on them and Loki was just pulling information in his mind, it had been a very long time since Asgard met with the Shining Ones and he hadn't read up on protocol for dealing with them in a very long time. He did however recognise this woman, which meant Anthony had very powerful Allies. 

He remembered the warnings however. Agreements, bargains and just generally talking to them was to be done with utmost care before you found yourself bound in contracts and on your way to Elfame. 

"You put your hands on my son." 

Loki blinked, because again, he had not been suspecting that. Although, now the level of his power suddenly made a lot more sense. Loki wondered idly if he would stop being utterly shocked by this man. 

"I do not know who you are." 

"Thor. Stop. How do you not know who this is."

He needed to teach Thor how to apologise without actually apologising too. And fast. 

"If you think my son is powerful Thunderer, what do you think I am? When these people arrive, you will ensure my sons workload is not burdened, do you understand me? I'm asking for such a small thing considering your transgression, will you do this?" 

"I shall of course do my best to help the Man of Iron." 

"Good, I will be watching so I may advise you as to what is required from time to time." 

Loki decided to jump in there before Thor agreed to anything else, said something rude or slipped up before he had a chance to teach him how to speak with this Pantheon, like the Greeks, they were not ones to take slights well, but instead of a curse they'd wrap you up in words and debts until you no longer know up from down before you even realised what was happening. 

"You have a wonderful son, Anthony has showed remarkable trust in myself." 

"Hmm yes, Tony told me about you. Told me you're a survivor. I happen to like survivors, I hope you will be a better friend to my son than he was. And Thunderer? I'll be watching you. I'm not the only one, he is well loved you see." 

With that subtle threat hanging heavily in the air, she utterly vanished in a blink of white light, Loki's hand was left tingling slightly where she shook it. He bent down and picked up a large, silken soft black feather from where she had stood. 

"Loki, I'm assuming you know of these people?"

"I knew you skipped the lessons when it came with dealing with other Pantheons. Come on, this will take a while. The Shining Ones are an interesting lot, on your side they will move the earth and sky for you." 

"And… against?" 

"Oh, that's a much longer list, they can have you praying for death and for more in the same instance. They're also nearly as bad as the Greeks when it comes to perceived slights." 

That caused Thor to wince slightly. 

Chapter Text

 "Anthony, please provide me with a distraction. Thor is driving me up the wall with questions." 

Tony was relaxing on top of the tallest bookcase in the library, it was in front of a very large window that was a beautiful mixture of stained glass. Carol had had it designed to make the library more colourful for the kids. What she didn't know was that Fae were somewhat (very) partial to pretty colourful things. Warm things too, and the window caught the sun perfectly. Loki ported from the floor to the next to him, sitting comfortably and gesturing at his nest. 

"Why are there pillows and blankets on top of a bookcase?" 

"Because it's warm and colourful."

"Ah, so that little bit of information that Fae are attracted to colourful and shiny object is true then? Interesting." 

"Don't forget the warm. Hey, how do you feel about helping me recruit people to the Avengers?" 

"Ah, is that the Avengers Recruitment Drive I've been hearing about, where you terrify people with contracts and cordial greetings?" 

"Hmm, someone is up on the gossip. Usually I don't try to be terrifying, but I have a target that FRIDAY keeps putting on my list." 

"I think I could be convinced to help you on your endeavour." 

"You don't have to worry about Thresholds do you?" 

"Thresholds?" 

"Hmm, without an invite my powers can be limited." 

"That is quite strange." 

"Annoying more like, but if you are on full power I don't mind going in with limited power myself." 

"You do keep surprising me Anthony." 

Tony flashed a wide grin before pulling his list out to tell Loki who he had left. He was very impressed with the FRIDAY-Recruitment-Cam too. 

"Greetings!" 

"No, we say Hi, I don't know why, but Danny says that was the most terrifying part." 

"Why would a friendly greeting be terrifying?" 

"I don't know, humans though, am I right?" 

Fury was sat behind his desk, watching the pair go back and forth. Blinking rapidly. 

"Motherfucker. How did you find this place!? How did you get in here?!" 

Tony raised an eyebrow, smirking as he hopped to perch on Fury's desk as Loki leaned against the wall. 

"Come now Nicky-boy. You didn't think you could hide from little old me now, did you?" 

"I'm dead!" 

"I know, that's what I kept telling FRIDAY, yet your name keeps appearing on my list." 

"I'm confused, he is clearly not dead. Are you a shade?" 

"Oh no, he just faked his death and actually thought I fell for it." 

Fury threw his arms up in the air. 

"What's going on with you anyway Stark. You found yourself a fountain of youth or something?" 

"Do the Midgardians not know of your position?" 

"Not many, but it has been quite a while since I was worshipped in this realm. Although recently things have started kicking up again, the power boost of modern humans worshipping you? It's quite interesting isn't it?" 

"I had noticed there was a little extra kick lately." 

Fury's eye was twitching, which almost made this worth it. 

"What the fuck are you two talking about. How did you get in here?! Why is the goddamned God of Mischief back on the planet? Why isn't he in jail?!" 

"Oh Nicky. Being dead is not good for you. You are so out of date! I recently got Lokester cleared of all that mess. He's now an honoured guest. So, want to save the multiverse?" 

"WHAT?" 

"This is much more fun than I was expecting Anthony, you didn't mention how flustered he would get. The very threads of reality are at risk, a chain reaction could be lit that would upset the very Balance of existence. Causing parallel dimensions to crash into each other should we not act. "

"Stark!?"

"What, Loki's right, he says it much better than me. More doom and class. Look, I have a file that explains it and everything."

He summoned the files in a burst of fire. 

"What the fuck is a Thanos?" 

"Deadpool named it." 

"DEADPOOL?!" 

Tony hummed and started picking up random items on Fury's desk to look at. Not because they were interesting, but because his eye twitch increased with each item he inspected. He was so stressed Fury completely missed the bug that Loki placed on Fury's computer as he came to stand next to Tony. He was to busy watching Tony, expecting the bug to come from him. Tony kept his hands fully visible the entire time just to confuse the pirate. 

"He's quite an excitable fellow that Deadpool. The Avengers is far more interesting and diverse compared to the last time I visited." 

"Visited?! When you trying to take over the planet you mean."

"Catch up Nicky, we already covered that. I told you back then that the invasion was hinky. Now I have proof, so, catch up, your stuck in 2012."

Fury grumbled under his breath and Tony was sure it was mostly swearing and complaining as he leafed through the contracts. 

"Why is there a file here for Coulson?" 

"Because I know he's alive. Nicky darling, I am on good terms with several Gods of Death. It will take a lot more to pull the wool over my eyes now. Now, I recommend you read these contracts. Your usual games won't work as well, you don't want to know what I do with people who break my contracts. "

"Oh, you really don't. He has quite a wicked, devious mind this one. Even for a Fae." 

Fury had been reduced to just looking between them in confusion and irritation, Tony cackled, flashing his fangs before giving Fury a more serious look, pulling back the human mannerisms he aped and being more himself. Fury had impeccable instincts so Tony knew he would be pinging as something dangerous. Then he slipped back into the easy, more human stance. Leaving the man to wonder if he imagined it. 

"Be hearing from you Nicky, Rhodey and Your pal Carol are heads of the Avengers. I however deal with recruitment and contracts, all that jazz. Whilst we are interested in utilising every means to deal with this oncoming threat, I think you will find me much harder to manoeuvre or control."

"Oh, please do try, I believe that would be most entertaining to watch. Eddie and Venom recently introduced me to popcorn, I believe that is the correct confectionery for such events?"

"Caramel popcorn, perfect for it. Come on Lokes, we have other people to visit. Be seeing you Nicky-boy!"

Tony waved as Loki executed a perfect bow and flourish, with a sharp smile. 

"Director." 

They vanished in black flames and green ribbons, both of them chuckling as they stepped back into the library. Tony collapsed back into his pillow nest. Practically giggling. 

"FRIDAY, tell me you got that recorded?" 

"Oh course I did Boss, distributing it now. Shall I record Danny's reaction when he sees it." 

"Oh definitely. That felt far too good." 

"Well, from what you described I think you let the man off easy." 

"Well, he thinks his new version of SHIELD is completely secret. We just told him we know, we can find him in his most defensible position. We know who he has working under him. Also alluding to my Godhood is going to give him nightmares." 

"That was quite impressive, when you pinged my predator radar, I wonder what he was thinking." 

"Humans spent millennia to get that instinct to recognise my kind, they then spent millennia teaching themselves to ignore it. All I have to do is use human mannerisms and they are unsure whether I am a threat or not. So I can seem utterly harmless." 

He shrugged as he pulled his list up again. He supposed he should visit Avalon first. Victor had finally hashed out a contract both of them were comfortable with. Loki might enjoy a trip to Avalon too. 

"I don't think anyone with eyes would mistake you for harmless." 

"Oh you will be utterly surprised at what humans can talk themselves into, remind me to get you a Starkpad and let you loose on the Internet. Right. Have you ever been to Avalon?" 

"No, it was of interest when I was on my travels but garnering an invitation was quite impossible." 

"It's good I keep a few of these on hand. Given freely without obligation, of course." 

He summoned an apple of Avalon from his stores, it would give Loki the ability to see through Morgan's Mist and protection from the nine under his banner. 

"interesting, I have always wanted to visit the Isle of Apple Trees." 

"It is quite a beautiful land, this covers safe passage, but I don't think I have to remind you of the rules?" 

"I have recently been teaching Thor the rules, unfortunately. So you do not have to worry." 

"Good, good. Morgan is usually good, but leading people from the path is a favoured game of hers. This is the location we will port to, got it?" 

Loki scanned the images and nodded as he finished the apple, and they stepped through. Tony took a few shortcuts through the Blue Fire, so beat Loki by a good minute. He was comfortably sat in a tree when the green ribbons signified Loki's arrival. 

"How did you beat me here?" 

He jumped down from his perch, bending down to run his fingers along the earth, blue fire sparking and jumping eagerly into his hands. The Fire was always strong around Avalon. More excitable too, happy to have someone paying attention to it attention. 

"You travel along the blue fire currents? Isn't that terribly dangerous?" 

"Yes, for most people. I have a connection to the fire. Touching a vein let's me know everything about it. It's why I'm working to raise the health of the planet, to heal damaged veins. It increases my own strength. Here." 

That Loki actually held his hand out when he offered was quite impressive. With a bit of training Tony was convinced Loki could garner some control over the blue fire, being a God of Fire, he could speak to flames like he could. Tony's connection was somewhat more visceral. 

"I've always wondered about this strange fire, it never answered my calls." 

"Fire of the fabulous beasts can be quite capricious. Speak to it as if you are speaking to a Fae." 

He let Loki talk to the small flame as he sent a signal fire through the mists. A few minutes later a boat arrived. Loki released the flame grudgingly, he had an idea that it wouldn't be the last time as they hopped onto the small boat. He let his magic flow into the boat, wards lighting up in a mix of blue and black flame to protect them as they crossed the waters and to guide and propel the vessels. 

"Your magic, it isn't just black flame is it?"

"Oh no, it was once closer in appearance to yours actually, but black instead of green. I bonded with the blue flame, and it altered the appearance of my magic. That's where the black flame comes from." 

"I've never heard of someone's magic changing appearance before." 

"It's not something I overly recommend." 

He drummed his fingers over his chest, where the reactor had been in his life as Tony Stark. Where he carried the Blue Fire with him now. He shifted the conversation to something more pleasant, the island coming into view was hand. 

"There, the mists should clear for you now." 

That would never get old for him, Avalon was beautiful, steeped in magic yet closer to Albion than Underhill and less painful for him to remain on. He steered them into the docks. He'd spent long enough on this island that he knew every pathway, but he was under invitation to bring debts to the table, so there was a path lit for him to follow. With her foresight, she likely knew he was bringing someone, so he suspected it would be a winding path that showed of the beauty of the island. With temptations at every turn of course. To see if she could win his guest from him, would give her an advantage in the debt talk. 

"She will try to lure you from my side on the pathway to her castle, be careful not to look at anything for more than a few seconds. If there is something that catches your eye, tell me and I'll basically hold you to the path." 

"It's a strange way to talk business about such a serious matter?"

"No matter is so serious that a Fae wouldn't try to one up the other. Bringing you is my play in itself. You have a reputation among the Fae." 

"I doubt it is good."

"It's very good actually, remember Loki, the Fae are not Asgard. You are a known trickster with very strong magic, those things are positives to us." 

He hopped out, holding the boat still for Loki to follow. She'd lit their path with wisps. It was a crafty ploy, they would be following wisps, so there would be several intended to lead them from their path. 

"I don't think I'll get used to that."

"I'll just have to keep reminding you. Follow me rather than the path. She's lit our way with wisps." 

The trip to the castle was quite enjoyable, it had been too long since he had visited and he was enjoying soaking in the magic and generally energy of the island. The Genius Loci of the island brushed against them in greeting. 

"What was that?"

"Does Asgard not have Genius Loci's?" 

"As I have no idea what that is, I'll say no."

"It's probably best described as a protective spirit of a location, but it's more than that. It is the island, greeting us. Underhill has many. A court is born from a Fae settling, a strong power in someway deciding to stop travelling in unowned lands. Others are drawn and the court grows. Underhill is a place of intention, enough people think a thing, and it simply becomes. The tipping point between a gathering, the equivalent of a Lord and holdings to a court is a Genius Loci. The land given form, personality, magic. The Loci then chooses a Foci. Here that Foci is Morgan. She can feel where we are through the Loci if she wants. She's bonded to the entire island."

"That is… I knew the Shining Ones had powerful magic, but I didn't know that. Are you part of a court?" 

"Oh no, I have little interest in binding myself to a court. True, all of the Trí Dé Dána usually take up royal commissions, but I chose not to. I rent lands specifically in the middle of two opposing courts, which is where my house is, my forges. I have a few people. The location and my ability to mine Atronach gave me a high debt gathering level. I used that to free a number of people from some of the less desirable courts where I can."

He hopped a few times on stones across a stream, they were coming on the castle now. Loki had been interested enough in his explanations that the wisps had barely caught his eye.

"Underhill has always seemed to be such a strange land, Asgard is bound entirely by the Odin Force. All under the same power." 

"Well all the Genius Loci's of Underhill come from a single Loci. At the heart of Underhill. I call her Tilly. Generally though, it's best not to draw Tillys attention. What people forget is that the Loci's are also Fae, with all of our bad traits, but instead of a person, it is a land. So innately powerful. Here we are, Morgans Castle is quite impressive."

"You'll have to tell me more about Underhill later." 

"Of course, you might regret that. If there is one thing a Fae enjoys more than getting one up on another, it's telling stories." 

"And little Black Scythe always has many stories."

He did his usual bow, in other words with a heavy dose of sarcasm, Morgan just rolled her eyes. Used to his ways, Morgan had been trying to have him take up a commission since it had been known he could handle bane metal and become one of the Trí Dé Dána. 

"I'm not exactly little any more." 

"True, I do like this new glamour you are using. Very Handsome, I do miss your woad though little nephew. I might even consider parting with Victor's broken debt should you design me a new ward? Then I can see your contract for this matter with the Titan. I assume you are not inviting the Courts of Underhill."

"Definitely not. Only Albion and I am considering visiting a few other active pantheons only. Humanity has moved on in our absence and whilst some returning occasionally wouldn't be bad, we can't expect things to be as they were. "

"True, I will consult the nine with this. They feel the same, we enjoy our safety behind the mists. Humanity has spun Bane Metal in protection of their world. However, if some people realise the state of land…" 

"Yes, yes. I know. I'm working on it." 

"I know you are, come on. Introduce me." 

"Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief, Fatherhood, Truth Telling and most importantly, Stories. What can I say, I have a favourite."

He grinned at the surprise Loki showed over that, eventually he would realise that the Fae had a very different opinion of him than other races. 

"Morgan the Seaborn, Enchantress and Chieftain of the Nine, over Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, Thiten and Thiton. She's also good friends with my mother and put up with me running all over her island as a child." 

"And that is why you will always be little to me Nephew. I chased you through enough caves and pulled you from enough ponds that I think I earned that right."

"So, I'm assuming you have embarrassing stories you might wish to trade?" 

"Hey, hold up, when did we get to embarrassing stories of me!" 

Tony pretty much sulked as Loki and Morgan looked quite pleased with themselves. 

"Oh, I like this one." 

"You did claim me God of Stories after all." 

Tony flopped backwards on to the chair. 

"I'm not sure how I didn't see this coming." 

Chapter Text

Sam POV 

They were going home. Home. 

He was even getting home in time for his Ma's birthday in a week at the start of August. 

It was like a dream, it felt like they'd been in Wakanda forever even if it was just over a year. It didn't help that things were still pretty awkward around the house, especially after Halloween when Wanda's magic got out of control and screwed with all of them. He still had dreams of birds scratching and pecking at his face to strange songs. 

After James randomly turned up one day, looking tons better, sporting a new arm and code word free, speaking occasionally full sentences. He wasn't 100% better, but then that was a pipe dream of Steve's that had no basis in reality. In fact it was damned magic he was even this good, Wakandan tech was amazing. He was seeing a therapist and he smiled more than he seemed to hurt, getting better every month. Sam thought it was freaking amazing what he had achieved with the Wakandans. Because he was really putting the work in to get better, no matter how many times Steve said he didn't need a therapist, he stuck at it. 

He and Scott had spent a lot of their time with James outside of mandatory team breakfasts and team dinners, getting to know the guy. Steve and James had been clashing since Steve started to realise that James hadn't turned back into Bucky and more importantly, that he didn't want to. Steve had initially been over the moon of course, but as time moved on and he proved to be different from the Bucky in his memories, things got awkward, fast. 

James also had a phone, even though they were barred from outside contact, he didn't know where he got it from but he'd seen him with it more than once, texting someone possibly. He didn't know who exactly, but then James hadn't slept the decades like Steve had. Maybe he had friends outside of these borders. It was also, without fail, one of the times he'd seen the man smile, so he'd just not mentioned it to anyone. T'Challa obviously knew he had it, as they were obviously under surveillance and he seemed fine with it and that was all that matters in Sam's mind. Plus, even when James was having a hard day, a text from the mysterious person would brighten him up, he'd seen him grinning like a damned teenager with a crush into that phone. It was grossly adorable. 

James freaked out when he first realised Sam knew, but Sam assured him he would never tell a soul. He even helped clear the house out occasionally because he wanted to watch a movie over damned video chat with the mysterious person. Which was the most adorable thing in the world he'd seen the giant super soldier master assassin getting excited for and perfect ammo for ribbing. 

James also refused to be around Wanda for extended periods of time but didn't elaborate as to why, but after Halloween Sam could get behind that. Clint obviously took great offence to this and was increasingly hostile to James, going as far to call him Bucky constantly, even though he hated it, and being a dick around him when he had bad days, just a lot of awful shit that pissed Sam off because going after a person with PTSD was never something he could get behind. So James avoided Wanda, Clint was awful to James and He refused to be around Clint much which had Wanda using her powers around him more which was nerve racking for everyone. Scott was just generally freaked out and Steve was left trying to pull the squabbling family together. Badly. Because nothing ever got addressed. 

Nat was still pretty obsessed with Stark, who had not slowed down from that original pace all year. The ruthless businessman was definitely out to play and just watching it made him thankful Stark had good things in mind. He'd never noticed before how terrifyingly well he could wield power that had nothing to do with superheroes and more to do with his mind. 

He even had a hand in their pardons! It had surprised him really, he'd thought Stark didn't want them back, for a long time it seemed he had washed his hands of them, moved on to greener pastures, yet he helped arrange their pardons. They had to be on house arrest for a while and they had community service as Avengers to work off their charges. No two of them had identical charges so it was individual for the person, they'd all signed a base version of the Accords which counted whilst they were under probation. Their actual contracts would be discussed and individualised when they hit Stateside. 

Whilst they were under house arrest, their movement around the compound was restricted in areas and their rooms were in a separate building. To him, it all sounded reasonable, it was a dream compared to The Raft, or even a normal jail. So he was cool with it. Especially after he discovered Stark had saved his family from one of Ross' minions who had tried to use them as blackmail material. He didn't have to do that, he hadn't even really talked to Stark before all this went down yet the man knew of his family and saved them, he didn't know how he'd ever pay him back, but he knew he'd try. 

TicTac was equally happy. As Clint's Accords came with divorce papers, he was less happy and Steve kept assuring him and Wanda that he'd sort everything out with Tony when they got home. Steve had also sworn them all to silence about Wanda's little magic explosion, worried it might affect her pardon, he'd agreed for the time being, when she was near. At some point he was going to find a way to tell Rhodes or Stark, if they could protect him of course, he avoided thinking about it just in case she heard. He thought Steve was a little too hopeful, he was expecting the Stark they'd left behind, Sam wasn't sure he existed anymore. 

He'd seen the news, the writing on the wall, this new Stark didn't look like he could be pushed into accepting the old status quo. He'd done too much, and there were forums dedicated to working out Stark's new powers, as that was a thing now apparently, several weeks ago someone had a picture of him dressed in a strange black outfit, blue tattoos up his arms, talking animatedly with a pardoned Loki. There were forums dedicated to practically worshiping the guy which was utterly bonkers. 

He'd tried to point these things out to Steve of course. Fuck did that backfire. Wanda stoked that fire, that without them to watch over him, Tony had obviously done something to himself and they needed to make sure they weren't moving towards an Ultron 2.0. James hadn't commented but had seemed highly amused at the time, Nat had been silently nervous like maybe she knew something, but she didn't say anything. 

For now however, he could push that out of his mind. Because the plane was landing soon and they'd be home . 

James POV 

Leaving Wakanda was harder than he'd expected it to be. For years no where had been home, just a series of missions interspersed with cryotubes and pain and foggy memories. Bucharest was as close to home, but he'd been ready to run at any second. Wakanda is where his pain was taken away. Where he was given a new arm, much better than the one before. Where a strange man came and healed him, then dumped a bunch of magic on him, hugged him and practically fled into a wall of fire. Because these are things that happen in James life now. 

Wakanda is where Stark become Tony. Where Tony became someone he trusted , where he went when he was hurting. The first person he thought to text when he saw something awesome, the first person he talked to when he said woke up and the last before he went to sleep. Okay, so he might have a teeny, tiny crush on Tony. 

He hadn't used the phone at first, too nervous, how do you just text a person like Tony Stark? But the more he read, the more he couldn't help himself. So, when he had questions about the insane, fantastical events he was reading about, he started texting, he didn't expect much Tony was a busy man and he didn't think he'd have time for him, man was he wrong . Tony always replied. He then used it when his nightmares spiked after pissing off the Ved'ma by getting at Steve for calling him Bucky, Tony instantly turned up, and half an hour later he had a nifty woad tattoo, his pain drained away, even though he'd told Tony he could deal with it. Tony had told him that just because he can , doesn't mean he should and then they'd spent 2 hours talking about rifles before he poofed into fire again. Bizarre . 

After that, they'd spoken more and it snowballed, he practically knew everyone at the place they were heading too in some way or another. Tony had sent pictures all over the compound, some with him in them. He'd kept all of this to himself, the others seemed to dislike Tony, and he'd been very pointed about not getting into trouble for him. He'd gone along with it, but he had called him an idiot at the same time. He didn't deserve the crap they were spilling. Wings knew about the phone, and he'd kept quiet about it, which was great. He didn't know how he would have coped these months without it. 

In the small space of the ship he was unable to pull his phone out, which sucked, because he had a horrible building migraine and he was sure it was the Ved'ma, trying to get into his head and his anxiety was spiking. His inner arm near his elbow was burning, the place the woad tattoo was that kept his mind safe, he'd managed to keep it hidden from the others. He really wanted to text Tony to even him out after the argument with Steve he had before getting on the ship, he always seemed to know what to say. 

He traced the protection wards that Tony had laid into the arm for him, he found their presence comforting, magic laid into the arm to protect him. When he was stressed or anxious he would follow the pattern with his fingers, the black metal was slightly raised, laid on top of the silver, so the wards were like gaps down to the silver. Meaning he could trace it without looking. It had become a soothing exercise for himself that he enjoyed. He knew that Steve didn't seem to like it. But he had no idea why. 

He ignored everyone but Wings and TicTac, when Shuri and T'Challa crossed through to their section of the plane, he spoke to them, but no one else, he wouldn't even look at Steve right now. Before they had boarded the plane, he'd gotten into an argument with Steve who had wanted to sit him by Wanda. He had even said they might 'hit it off' on the trip, as 'Bucky you were such a ladies man, maybe you should find that part of you again'. He added that he didn't like Wanda and didn't remotely find her attractive. Things escalated, James might have punched Steve, who knows. He was trying to find himself, it was scary but he was trying and he didn't like being told to like someone. 

Wings and TicTac, both of them were practically vibrating in glee, they'd also missed the fight. Wanda and Clint were like dark angry clouds. Steve was unsure and just kept trying to talk to him and he seriously wanted a break, he'd told him he was not talking to him till he apologised. 

Natalia was the curious one out of everyone, she was quiet, if anything he swear she was nervous but Black Widows didn't get nervous. 

When the Wakandan ship landed it was like everyone held their breath for a moment. T'Challa and his sister disembarked first followed by several of the Dora Milaje. They also had a contingent attached to them. They slowly moved out, carrying their meager belongings accrued in Wakanda and he assessed those waiting for him. Putting names to pictures he'd received from Tony. 

Tony stood in-between two men, one that he recognised as Colonel Rhodes, he knows Wings has been excited to speak to the man after what happened at the airport. The other is a reporter, a little odd to be associated with the Avengers so he's pretty sure there is more to that. T'Challa and Shuri head straight towards them, leaving them to amble out slowly. They know someone is waiting to be paired with each of them. 

Hope Van Dyne, looking incredibly irritated and staring daggers at TicTac is pretty obvious. 

Colonel Rhodes detaches and raises a hand towards Wings. 

The very oddly dressed man who Tony had informed him was a fancy sorcerer of some kind, looked incredibly bored but he can see his undivided attention is on Wanda. 

The Reporter, Eddie, that was it, detached from Tony and put a hand up for Steve. Which was incredibly interesting. 

A strange man dressed in a red and black suit actually has a sign for him with James written in it surrounded by hearts that looks like it was drawn with crayons. Jumping up and down. So that's Deadpool. Tony had apologised profusely. 

A small blonde woman, who he knows as Carol Danvers, partner of Colonel Rhodes and Co-Head of the Avengers is waiting for Natalia.

Bruce Banner is last, waiting for Clint. Probably because they already knew each other he assumed rather than gauged on strength. A bit overkill really, Hulk vs Hawkeye. 

Steve was trying to catch the attention of Tony but was immediately blocked and redirected. He would have missed it if he wasn't watching, but Tony smirked at the same time before subtly waving to him when the others were occupied. He smiled, he would definitely not be admitting to anyone how much that small acknowledgement helped him feel better. By the time Deadpool linked arms with him, he was feeling better already. 

Deadpool he discovered seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy and a penchant for skipping places. Most of them from Wakanda seemed mostly baffled by their partners and the trip to the compound in the converted bus was pretty tense for the most part. He and Deadpool had a good talk about the weapons he was carrying, the tic in Steve's jaw clenched everytime the masked man pulled another gun or blade out. Deadpool showed him which ones Tony had made for him and that he was the best at making 'sharp things', each blade was different in someway and he'd admit to being kind of envious of his collection. 

The Royals obviously aren't travelling with them in their prison transport, because that's what it is, they and Tony were in the flash car they were following. Tony had offered for him to travel with them, but he knew that would cause problems. 

Tony however, got through the meet and greet without being dragged into a single awkward conversation which means on their daily challenges that Tony won this one. For him, it's it he can make it to his room at the compound before Steve realises he isn't sleeping in their dorm. 

Unlike the rogues, he was entirely cleared months ago after all.

Chapter Text

Scott POV 

As he exited the plane, he was so happy to be back in America and to be near Cassie again that he nearly forgot everything that had happened. Seeing Hope however stood there, with the other one to ones reminded him quite sharply.

He made sure to put himself slightly separate to everyone else, because he figured not being seen in the same group as Wanda was probably a damned good thing?

He chucked his bag on his back and glanced at the other chosen guards and wondered what it was that made these people up to the challenge? The man staring down Steve just looked like an ordinary dude… but then everyone just looked kind of normal really when you're next to super soldiers with more muscle mass than is strictly fair.

T'Challa and Shuri walked over to Stark who was standing next to a really awesome looking car. Even though he was there to oversee the transfer, he barely offered a glance in their direction. It was so weird looking at the differences in the man from the last time he had seen him at the Raft. It wasn't that he'd exactly looked old back then, but now he just looked fresh. More put together talking to royalty overseeing a prison transfer of international fugitives that he could manage on his best day. It was more than a little intimidating. 

He turned his attention to Hope and boy did she look pissed. She didn't speak but she jutted her chin towards the bus thing and then practically dragged him to it as everyone paired off. Thankfully they didn't have to spend too long on it, because it really did feel like a prison transport vehicle, but much comfier. The compound was amazing when it came into view, the exclamations from the others made him think that a lot had changed. 

He got to shake hands with a cloak though, that was something he honestly never thought would happen. 

Passing through the extremely intimidating white walls was nerve racking. The man in the red and black costume perked up when they did, halting his conversation with James about his knives. Which he had not been watching with a mixture of awe and fear, at all. 

"Rightyo International Fu-gi-tive-ios! You and your babysitter will pair off when we exit the bus, you will get a little tour! You can ask your questions and then you will be seen to your rooms!" 

"You will be given cards that allow you access to areas you have been given authorisation to go. You will have access to a map that clearly states where you have access. Green is Yes, Red is No. Yellow is by escorts only. Mistakes will not be tolerated as it will be obvious it wasn't a mistake. 

I do not recommend attempting to access other areas. If you manage to behave, you will be given a wristband that will allow you to leave the compound. Too many strikes and you will be restricted further, sentences extended. Too many and you'll actually end up in jail. Ignorance is not a defense, so if you didn't read your packs in Wakanda, do so tonight." 

Steve's pair was surprisingly intimidating for such an ordinary looking guy and Scott found himself nodding along. Like, more intimidating that the happy sounding guy with all the scary weapons. What was it with the New Avengers and effortlessly intimidating the fuck out of him? 

He knew Steve was not happy with everyone separating when they left the bus, but his complaints fell on deaf ears. He was sure that his pair muttered to the strange suited man that this was making him hungry which got amused glances from everyone on their side. Scott actually found himself liking them, they seemed like the kind of people he might get along with. Still bonkers intimidating though. 

He didn't get a chance to really find out much about them and everyone was split up. It seemed they were getting individual tours. 

"You have no idea how unbelievably angry I am at you Scott, your actions nearly destroyed Pym Tech, you know that, right? The only reason it's still going is because Tony wanted it that way." 

"I bet Hank wasn't happy about that!" 

The first crack in her frown broke through at that, leaving her grinning slightly. 

"No, he was not happy. But then in the papers they were calling you Tiny/Giant Man. So he hasn't been having the best of times." 

"Tiny Giant man? Ah come on! So, this place is huge!" 

"Hm, yeah, Tony is a damned miracle worker, seeing him move earth and speed along the new buildings is awesome." 

"You mean in the Ironman armour?" 

"No, with magic." 

"Are you telling me Tony Fucking Stark, Ironman, has MAGIC. Aww come on. That's not fair." 

"Yup, you would not believe how much he's changed, but don't worry, you'll probably see it soon enough. So you better not piss him off." 

He already knew that, the man was intimidating in a way he didn't quite know how to deal with. In a way he hadn't experienced before. Stark was friends with God's. Literal God's, just.. Yeah. 

They walked through a building that had a large common room, all kinds of people were lounging around, it looked nice. This was the common room that they had access to as long as they followed the rules and behaved. No bothering the residents and they were allowed in. Same with this huge cafeteria with just… the best smelling food. 

Comparing this to his actual stint in prison was night and day! 

There were laser tag and paintball facilities for God's sake. Clint and Wanda can call this a gilded cage all they want, it's amazing. They clearly hadn't been to an actual prison, at least not one you were expected to stay in. 

Hope showed him the other residential area, that Tony had cordoned off for people like Maggie, Jim and Cassie. People who aren't superheroes but their lives were affected by them. It was a pretty, neat little street really. With detached 2 story houses with large gardens, it was gorgeous. There was a wall that was hip height and another silver gate. 

"When Maggie decides, you'll be given access to The Borough. I know the wall looks like you can hop over it Scott, but don't." 

She bent down, picking up a stone and flicking it over the fence, it stopped in mid air and there was a distinct crackle, a smell of ozone and the little pebble started lighting up until it was bright and exploded. He put his hands and to shield from it, but it had somehow harmlessly blew apart, only a gust of wind hitting them. 

"Holy shit. Stark isn't fucking around is he?" 

"When children are involved, he is quite ruthless in their protection." 

Note to self, do not piss off Stark. 

Addendum - Hope he has forgotten about that getting tiny and destroying his suit. 

Although that rang a bell in his head for some reason. 

"Young lovers and children are a favoured sort you see, and you left behind one of both, didn't you?" 

Weird. 

Hope showed him a few more places, from training floors, entertainment to little restaurants that were restricted to people who lived and worked here. By the time they were heading to the residential block that had been created for them he was slightly overwhelmed. 

This wasn't a base, it was a goddamn town. 

A town where everything was free, where you could just walk in and order food or anything. There was a freaking mini cinema, and a lake with a bay that looked an awful lot like a beach. 

He'd been warned to avoid the forest and only enter it with permission, thinking about the stone exploding fence, fair to say he was giving it a wide berth. 

If his prison sentence was to live here, he was pretty overjoyed really because this place was amazing. 

"Right, tomorrow you have a meeting with your Accords Advisor, it will show up in your calendar for the when and where." 

"Um, what calender? I didn't even know if I'd be signing, I mean, without the suit, what's the point right?" 

"Scott, if you carry out your sentence with best behaviour, and sign the Accords, I'm willing to let you join the team with the Ant Man suit for your community service, maybe more." 

Which was enough to stun him into silence as they entered the pretty white building. The bottom floor was a mini version of the huge common area he'd seen earlier. Sofas and a TV with a decent sized kitchen. No pool tables and arcade games though. He could tell which common room he'd be favouring! His room was on the first floor. And by room, it was more like a mini apartment, small living area with open plan kitchenette. Bedroom, office and a bathroom. He'd lived in much, much crappier joints. 

"Here is your phone and your tablet, this is where your calendar is. The map in there too which is what Eddie mentioned. Also FRIDAY has access all over the compound if you ever need help or get lost." 

"FRIDAY?" 

"Good Morning Mr Lang. May I offer on behalf of the Boss a welcome to the compound, he hopes everything is to your liking, should you need access to any services not mentioned on your tour, feel free to ask me." 

He did not jump. Or Squeak. Hope was chuckling to herself as the Irish lilt came from the ceiling. 

"Um, who is that?"

"I'm FRIDAY, Mr Lang, I'm the Bosses Artificial Intelligence."

"Holy shit, that is amazing." 

He might be nerding out a little, but he had a degree in computing engineering and a sentient AI like this was so awesome! 

Hope left him to it, he started looking at the tech that had been left to him and he was just sat on the sofa. Looking around his apartment, with more tech on his lap than he could ever have afforded. Remembering everything that they'd passed and he couldn't help the huge smile on his face. The others had been complaining about gilded cages, but it was obvious they didn't know what prison was actually like. Obvious that they'd gotten used to getting everything for free. It was obvious because this place was amazing and he felt privileged to be on this side of that white wall, it didn't matter if he wasn't allowed to leave for a while. Why would he want to?! 

"I think I'm going to love it here FRIDAY." 

"Boss will be pleased that you like his compound." 

"Would you tell him, whenever he's free obviously, that I'm thrilled to be here, this is the best place I've ever been. And that you are amazing too." 

"I'll pass that along Mr Lang." 

"FRIDAY, You can call me Scott too, I mean, if you want." 

"I think I'd like that Scott."

Chapter Text

Sam POV 

Everything narrowed down when Rhodes left Stark and moved to greet him. He hadn't noticed it before, but like Stark, Rhodey was different. It was like someone had peeled back the years. There were no new additions though, at least not that he could see. Stark was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, but from here he could see what looked like dark blue tattoos winding around some of his fingers, a spiral was very clear on the back of his right hand and they vanished up into his sleeves. 

But Rhodey was young. And walking. He could have sworn that the fall would have done some damage, he'd heard that he'd been rushed to a very fancy hospital through Nat. He'd looked up the hospital online to find out why that one in particular and found out it had the foremost specialists in the world for spinal trauma. Maybe he'd just been thinking the worst? He hadn't been in the papers constantly like Stark had, so he really had thought the worst. 

The transport ride was uncomfortable , everyone was on edge and it didn't help that their one to one's were a little… Strange. Wanda's guy was the Sorcerer with the apparently sentient outerwear that waved at him, he found himself waving back in utter confusion. He made the cloak happy though as they shook 'hands'. Scott was watching in amazement and tentatively offered his hand, the cloak seemed happy, at least he assumed it was happy again, judging the emotions of a cloak was not something he was well versed in, shockingly. The Sorcerer pointedly ignored their entire exchange with his cloak. 

He mostly just looked bored but he didn't take his attention of Wanda for a second. The guy in the red and black suit remained masked in front of them, which he could tell irritated the hell out of Steve. The fact he was pulling out an increasingly wild selection of weapons for James, who was enthusiastically responding he noticed, didn't help. James was speaking more to this masked stranger than he had in months to Steve, but given his new tactic of walking out of the room anytime someone called him Bucky, that wasn't a surprise. 

They'd had a serious argument before getting on the ship, he could tell, but Steve refused to tell him what happened, saying it was 'nothing' and 'Bucky' was just 'confused'. He'd pointed out that James was not confused, at all. That he was doing amazingly considering what had happened to him. Steve, of course, disagreed. He can't be doing amazingly because he isn't acting like Bucky! He has no idea what James did today that was un-Bucky like, but he hadn't seen Steve get this worked up since James told everyone he wanted to be called James. 

Steve looked around helplessly when they were all separated as they exited the bus. Sam shrugged, it was just a tour, he didn't get why Steve was so desperate to keep them together, they were literally sleeping in the same building and none of them could leave the compound. Hope practically dragged Scott away. He'd been eyeing the impressive wall that hadn't existed the last time they had been here, before Rhodey took him on his own tour. The wall wasn't the only change he noticed as they walked.  Damn when Stark is motivated, healthy and happy, he gets stuff done . It's not at all intimidating as fuck. The dude built a damned town! 

"I thought I'd show you around outside first, give you a chance to stretch your legs after the trip back." 

"That's great, thanks man. Before we continue, I just have to apologise for what happened at the airport. Seeing you fall from the sky…" 

"Hey man, it's alright. We're cool. Plus, you dodged an attack, it wasn't your fault. That's the kind of shit that happens when people like us fight. Someone was obviously going to get hurt." 

"I was just so worried that you'd be paralysed or something." 

Instead of laughing it off, Rhodey slowed to a stop of his little tour and turned to face him. Completely serious. 

"I actually was, I mean. I was paralysed from the waist down." 

Sam's mind practically stuttered to a stop, things got hazy and everything slowed down. That had been his worst fear. He'd been searching for every press release and anything that Stark or the Avengers did for a solid year trying to put his fears to rest. That he'd been at fault for an airman falling from the sky was painful to him. 

"But… How? I mean, how are you walking right now?!" 

"Tony." 

He shrugged as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

"Did he build you something?" 

"Na man. He healed me up. Turned up in my hospital room after coming back from Siberia and healed me. It's why I look like this now. The magic accidentally turned back the clock." 

"So after nearly dying, Tony Stark got magic or something, used it to heal you and accidentally deaged you. Do you realise how insane that sounds." 

"I know, but you'll get used to it living around here. Insane is our normal. He didn't so much nearly die in Siberia Sam. He partially did . If he'd been any other baseline human he would have died." 

"Shit, how long was he out there?"

"Around the 22 hour mark was when it happened. No one knew where he was. He brought himself home. Who knows how many hours or even days he could have been left there. Roger's never called it in, just left him to die." 

This was so much worse than he had expected. Sure he'd seen the video, it started as they watched the video of his parents being murdered, but it had ended shortly after the fight. It hadn't shown how long he'd been trapped there. Shit, he'd been feeling guilty for ages about sending Stark and his friends got injured. Now he felt like shift for forcing Stark to go into a situation alone, 'as a friend', and he'd ended up being traumatised and somehow dying! As insane as it was too refer to an alive person as someone who had died. 

"Fuck, I'm so sorry, for what happened to you, but can you apologise to him to? For me?" 

"Sure, but it'll be better if it comes from you." 

"You think he'll even meet with me? I thought he was done with us, I mean, I wouldn't blame him if he was, I asked him to go as a friend, he went alone and was left behind because of me . I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been." 

"I think he will, think about it, everything you know about Tony comes from people like Rogers, Wanda, Clint right? So, set up a time through FRIDAY, I think meeting the real Tones would be good for you. It's about time you take off those Captain America sized blinders, don't you think?" 

He nodded, thinking about that as they traversed the base, it was utterly different to the old compound. This really was a town. So many people greeted Rhodes with respect as they passed, he was definitely doing well in his new role as the leader of the Avengers. The deaging probably helped too, he just seemed even more collected and sure of himself than before. Which considering how confident he had been before, that was saying something. 

"Yeah, I think I'd like that, I shouldn't have just assumed what they said was right. I was going to meet with him when I first moved in, you know? Steve told me it was a bad idea and anytime I recommended talking to Stark about the missions, he just got irritated at the idea. I thought it was just stress… but after those Siberia tapes… "

Now he realised that Steve wanted Stark in the dark. Because if he had known what they were doing, then the chances of Stark discovering Steve's secret increased. 

"It's good to see you really thinking, I've been best friends with Tony since he was 14 years old."

"Holy shit, I didn't know that! Steve always thought it was weird you and Tony were friends, he wondered how because he thought you had nothing in common. Told me you were assigned to him as a military contact and that was it, it's not is it? "

"Fuck no, I was 17, off to college and my first class there was this 14 year old skinny white kid at the front, correcting the professor! No one would team up with him, which I thought was mean, I thought he was just doing some classes you know. Like extra credit for high-school? I didn't realise he'd been sent to college alone, at 14. The only time Howard showed up was to give him work, he'd been making things for SI since he was a kid. The way at 14 how he could disassemble and reassemble weapons was eerie. So, I kind of just adopted him."

"He was alone, in college, at 14, what the fuck man.. and what do you mean work for SI? He was a kid!"

"I eventually switched to share a room with him, he was working on like 4 degrees and was close to finishing one and starting a masters when I did. He liked to build and Howard wanted him focusing on the family business rather than his 'pet projects.' If Tones had had a choice, he probably have focused on artificial intelligence rather than weapons."

This was a completely different side of the man. A man he had been so sure he had figured out. 

"He didn't even know it how messed up it was that during midterms, after not sleeping for days, having Howard yelling at him for not getting his designs in time. Older kids pushed him around, it was like he didn't know how to say no. When Howard died, Obie was worse. I was worried he wouldn't reach 20."

"Shit. Does Steve not know this?"

"Doubtful, he was fed some videos and read a report by SHIELD and then made up his mind. Tony tried to be his friend, bent over backwards, would have died for that idiot. He's extremely loyal as a friend, kind, giving to a fault. Complete idiot. Me and Tones have tons in common, he's my little bro. So, if you want to talk to him, cool. If you hurt him Sam, I will not stand for it anymore, understood?"

Rhodey had a sharper, more menacing aura around him that had him blinking and then it was gone. Leaving him wondering if he'd imagined it. 

"Crystal!"

He nodded, trying to absorb what he'd been told. He knew Stark was smart, but he hadn't realised how smart. Like going to college at 14 smarts. 

Although the idea of sending a kid to college alone is just wrong to him. No wonder his socialising skills were kind of weird, he didn't really get a childhood if he was working from a young age. Much different than the picture Clint painted of an entitled, drug addicted party goer, skating through college on dad's money. He was going to research Stark, maybe he could ask Nat, she seemed to be trying to get a degree in Stark lately. 

"There is also the fact you lot aren't safe in Wakanda now, his family were quite restricted as to how much they can do you know?" 

"Huh?" 

Rhodey shrugged but grinned before switching to talking about how the canteen worked. Sam was a bit confused? Family? 

They didn't enter many buildings, it was mostly just Rhodes explaining what each one was. They came to what looked like a little street with several two story houses in. 

"Now we can't stay for a long time, I have to take you to your room, but I thought you might want to say Hi." 

He was slightly confused as he put his palm on what looked like a white stone pillar. A blue light flashed over them, similar to the one when they arrived. The silver gate opened and he followed Rhodes to one of the houses. Before they even started up the path, the door flew open and 3 kids erupted out and he was utterly frozen as his brother gave him the look. The one that said clearly he done gone fucked up. 

The kids mobbed him and they'd changed so much! His ma then appeared behind his brother and he couldn't believe he was seeing them after such a long time. It didn't matter that they were going to chew him out. 

Rhodes hung back but he was dragged into the house for tea, with such familiarity that he thought this wasn't the first time. He was uncle Rhodey and they even spoke about Uncle Tony who was teaching them Italian. Which was mind blowing, when did he get the time to teach the kids Italian?! Rhodey just laughed and told him that that's Tony for you. He drops everything for the compound kids. 

He got to spend half an hour covered by kids, getting chewed out. He was told however that he had access to The Borough. Which meant he could visit them. He couldn't sleep there, part of the agreement was that they resided in the containment residential block. 

He had a month first, then if he passed that he'd be allowed to leave the compound as long as he returned by 9pm. Rhodes showed him the fence surrounding them. He'd never have pegged Stark for such a degree of protection for kids, but then he was realising that he had a lot wrong about him and looking back, things had him more than a little uncomfortable. Steve had said it was just jokes and that Stark didn't want to spend time with them anyway, now he was just thinking back on loads of little things, arguments he witnessed, so much with Wanda. 

He'd actually tried to bring that up with Steve once, he swore one morning, Stark had come looking for coffee and Wanda had opened the cupboard, Sam was off to the side, neither of them had noticed him. Tony didn't look annoyed or upset, for a second he swore it was fear on his face before he wiped it. It had concerned him because if he could hide fear that quickly, it couldn't be an isolated event. Instead of asking Wanda to not use her powers around Stark, something he'd seen Stark literally begging Steve to do. Steve assumed Stark had put Sam up to it and there was a huge fight, Stark called the suit after Wanda started actually throwing objects with her telekinesis. Steve yelled at Stark, said nothing to Wanda and started mandatory training biweekly for Stark to get over his fear of Wanda's magic. Stark dodged every session, Steve forced it. Come to think of it, it wasn't long after that Stark left. He'd never looked at it that way before, God, how much crap had he heaped on that man by trying to 'help'. 

He was a little subdued on the trip to their residential zone, wishing he was still in that living room and rethinking of practically every action with Stark. But his family were here , they were safe and he was so damned thankful for it. 

His room, or rather apartment was more than he had expected it to be. Clint and Wanda had been discussing the new accommodation as if it was going to be horrendous. Instead he had a bedroom, an office and full set up. Free tech and a meeting tomorrow with his Accords Advisor on this fancy calendar app. FRIDAY also made herself known. 

"FRIDAY, do you have surveillance foot from the compound before the Civil War." 

"Of course." 

"I wonder if you can show me interactions between Stark and Wanda, anything when I was there, or those training sessions Steve wanted." 

FRIDAY was silent for a minute, he thought the answer would be no, but he wondered if she was thinking about it. 

"Why? What do you plan on doing with them? I won't have you hurting Boss." 

"I don't want to hurt Stark, I… I've been thinking about stuff and I think I've maybe been on the wrong side with some things. Wanda.. I think here is a lot I missed. I think I didn't really know Stark, just what I was told." 

"Okay Mr Wilson, I'll show you. I'm trusting you because you want to make up for what you have done. Please don't betray my trust." 

"I won't FRIDAY, you have access to my tablet, so I can't show anyone else anyway. You can just hide it, or something." 

"Might I suggest one thing whilst I compile relevant data?" 

"Of course." 

"Call him Tony, he hates being called Stark." 

His eyes widened in shock. 

"Fuck. I have a lot to learn, don't I FRIDAY?" 

"Yes you do Mr Wilson." 

"You can call me Sam if you want to FRIDAY." 

"Okay, Sam" 

The compound was amazing, but all he could think about was his family and how much pain they'd caused a teammate. Team was family, that's what Steve said. So why had they done it, he can't remember why. 

Maybe his brother would let him take the kids to the cinema tomorrow. To get out of his head a little bit, ask them what they knew. Kids always saw more than adults realised and his brothers kids were sharp. 

Until the welcome dinner, he has videos to watch. Videos where he says things he can't remember saying, where he does things and doesn't remember why. He starts keeping a list with FRIDAY. FRIDAY starts to get concerned for him. With FRIDAYS help they look through night surveillance and he sees red mist settle over him. He doesn't know what to do. He's starting to see why James wants nothing to do with Wanda. For now, he'd act normal, he lived with her, it wasn't safe to act against her, she could hurt him, Scott or even Nat. He can't even go through it all at once without feeling sick. 

"Will you be my secret partner for information gathering FRIDAY?" 

"Of course, but are you sure this is safe Sam? Shouldn't you tell Boss?" 

"If we're careful, I can't risk her lashing out because I went off half cocked. But if she ever wipes me, you can tell me about it, anytime she's anywhere near me FRIDAY, even a smidgen of red Mist near me, you have full surveillance permission." 

"Be careful Sam." 

"I will, this is something I have to do, maybe to make up for what I've done." 

Chapter Text

Wanda POV

They had spent a long time in Wakanda and she was more than ready to go home. The dreams hadn't stopped, but since Halloween, they had not manifested in the waking world. Everyone had blamed her, just as he'd predicted, which was ridiculous. 

She had had a lot of practice using her abilities and increasing her strength over the last few months, and she practicability wanted to dance at the thought of returning home. She would finally get to see Vision! Who would be so proud of how far she'd come, she just knew it. Maybe he could help her find a way to protect her dreams from invaders. 

She still did not like these Accords, but the choices of languishing in Wakanda? They agreed to sign even though she had no intention of doing such a thing. Steve and her Clint didn't either. They had been her rocks in this place and she had done everything in her part to make them happy, even if they blamed her for things she had nothing to do with. It wasn't their fault, they were confused, scared and know so little of magic. She had made sure that they wouldn't stay too mad at her though. 

Sam and Scott didn't really concern her anymore, Scott never really had and Sam had just been a stand in for Steve until Bucky came home, so now she had to focus her magic where it was truly needed. Natasha had been nervous at first, which had started to concern her Clint. She'd put effort into fixing the situation for him back then and it had stuck, even though she had very little interest in being her friend so she didn't bother with anything else. Really she was just happy with Clint and Steve. Anyone else were extras. 

Plus, actively using her powers on so many people was exhausting , so she just had a few suggestions implanted in the others to improve their lives for the best. It was a shame they would never know it was her, but she was fine with that. She would work from the shadows to help people. 

The blight on her happiness had a name, and for once it wasn't Stark nor the terrifying man from her dreams.

It was Bucky Barnes. 

The coward had slunk off into cryo the first chance he got, leaving Steve depressed and forlorn. She could help for short periods of time but it always returned, but then happier emotions were complicated. Harder to implant without pain to lock it in place. 

Then he came back and she was happy that Steve had his Bucky back. Maybe he could even join their family, he might be better than Sam. Who kept sticking his nose into places. He questioned too much, thought too much, was too concerned with his teammates ' mental health'. 

Bucky didn't seem to remember the time they had met at Hydra, and she had suggested to Steve that they not mention her connection with the organisation, as surely discussing Hydra could be triggering for the man. She did not want him remembering her. 

Also she convinced Steve to only tell him that her powers were telekinetic based, incase just mentioning mental manipulation could trigger him. He hadn't wanted to lie at first, but she had convinced him it was in Bucky's best interests and that she would be willing to hide her powers around him, even if it hurt her to do so, she'd be willing to do so for him and his Bucky. Steve was so proud of her. 

Until she got a proper look in his mind she needed to know what could trigger him to remember her. He was gaining memories back daily now. Ideally she needed to get in there to see if there was anything to wipe. 

Bucky didn't explain why he was suddenly healed, word free and sporting a very different looking arm. He seemed happier too, it was like someone had… accelerated his healing. His mind felt different compared to the first time they had met. Then it had been like jagged, broken glass. Shattered and broken. His pain had been amazing and he was so interesting. Now it seemed the breaks were filling in. It concerned her, between the memories and how his mind felt more stable, she knew he might remember her. He might tell Steve about her time with Hydra. 

She didn't know enough about Wakandan health care to know it something was suspect or if it was just normal to them. When she suddenly couldn't hear his thoughts however, then she was suspicious. Because no tech would protect a mind from her magic. She also wondered why he was shielding his mind all of a sudden. She spent a few hours each night trying to pick apart the magic protecting him, because it was magic. 

Where he had gotten it from was something she needed to know as it was incredibly strong, but she was wearing it down. As each day passed he was in more and more pain that he wouldn't mention to anyone. Eventually it would snap and she could slip in. She just hoped her room in this new facility was close to his, not that she needed the proximity persay, but her magic was stronger for it. Then she could correct his aberrant behaviour. 

Steve was unhappy that they were being separated, she wasn't exactly happy either but she assured him they will all be together soon and calmed him as best she could. He was under so much stress, it didn't help that every time he called Bucky by his name he left the room! Such a selfish man, after all the things Steve did for him! When she got past that magic, she was going to have to correct such selfish behaviour. 

Right now she had other things to be concerned with. 

Hydra had given her a list of names and titles of people she should avoid being in the presence off. The title at the top was - Sorcerer Supreme. There was no name attached, but this man called himself the Sorcerer Supreme so she would have to be careful. Such a pretentious title, she suspects he would be weak compared to the magic the mind stone had gifted her. But he had magic and as such was a potential threat to her family, so he should be assessed as soon as possible. 

He didn't speak the entire trip to the compound and she switched her thoughts to Sokovian just in case he was trying to get a read on her. She skimmed into his mind but was faced with a buzzing that left her feeling sick and her head was pounding. She was not to be deterred however and continued to look for a way in. There was always a way in, she followed the whispered encouragement from the magic that the Mind stone had imparted her with teaching her. Guiding her. 

It was her closest companion, always pushing her to new heights. No matter what the man from her dreams said, using her power didn't cut her up. She was stronger for it. The more she pushed, the more powerful she became. The further she went, more opportunities would open up. She wasn't selfish, everything she did was for her family. She helped people. Steve had had such a hard few years, helping him out really was the least she could do for the man who gave her a new family. 

The blue light that had flashed through the bus as the arrived left her skin buzzing and instantly she knew it was magic. This Sorcerer wasn't just polluting her home with his presence, it was clear he had left his Magic lying around too!

No matter. She would inspect all of it, she might even leave some of it benefited her in some way. 

As the others were drawn away, he waited until they had been the only two remaining. She stood, uninterested, as if she could last a year. She would show him nothing. 

"Come." 

Finally, but did he have to be so rude! The incessant buzzing was keeping her from his mind and correcting such an awful display of behaviour. Did his parents not teach him manners as a child? He turned, the peculiar cloak snapping behind him as it ruffled against the wind. She remembered from the press conferences that it seemed to have a mind of its own. Maybe if she could not get to this sorcerer she could get through to his companion. 

For now she would appear the dutiful little prisoner, obedient and hurt by her trials. Maybe they could lure some of these new members to their side also. 

"I shan't be giving you a tour, you can find everything using the tablet provided in your room where I am taking you now. I will remind you that entering someone's mind with magic is against the law and if I discover you trying what you have tried on me on anyone else who resides at the compound, I will not hesitate in my actions. "

She smiled sweetly, making herself small and scared. Sniffing slightly and allowing a few tears to fall. Men were very susceptible to this. Women would like a little sister to protect, that was the best method of manipulation for women, but men liked to protect. To be strong and powerful, protecting her from the bad world. Even though she was obviously powerful, a tear here or there, turning her body language to huddle, appearing timid and downtrodden. It triggered these protection instincts and made them easy to mould. She could pander to his magical abilities too, that would probably be wise. Make him think he was more powerful than her, then he would underestimate her as she learned his weaknesses. 

"I am so sorry, sometimes it just happens, especially when I'm scared and this place has changed so much from the home I knew and then… we were separated." 

She ducked her head, so she was looking up at him, eyes wide as she tucked her hands into her sleeves. Vulnerable and soft. 

"Well. Let's be sure it doesn't happen again. I can offer lessons in control if you like. Now, here is your room. You have a meeting tomorrow with your Accords Advisor. If you do not wish to go alone, for your comfort of course, we wouldn't want you to accidentally violate your advisors mind now would we. Speak to FRIDAY and whomever you wish to go with you, they can rearrange the session."

Well. Even if his mind was difficult to access, it seemed he was easy to play at least. She found men to be quite easy if she played the 'scared and alone' card. It made them wish to protect her or in this one's case, teach her. As if there was anything he could teach her that the mind stone couldn't do better. Although lessons would be a good chance to assess him. 

"Thank you, you have been so kind to me. After the last year, it means a lot to me. I'm sure you have heard many things about me, I'm happy you have not let them unfairly cloud your judgement. "

"I like to see things for myself, now, I'll leave you to get settled. You have been through quite an ordeal. If you need me, you can contact me using your phone or through FRIDAY. I do not live at the compound, but I can be here in a second if required. Goodbye."

With that, he shut the door and she dried her face. Dropping her bag on the floor she turned to investigate the paltry offerings. If Stark thought he was going to get away with this, he was in for a nasty surprise, even her belongings were absent!

Yes, she certainly had a lot of work to do. 

Aberrant behaviour that needed correcting. Her work was never done.

Chapter Text

Steve POV

It was good to finally set foot back in America. Wakanda had been nice, except for that terrifying incident with Wanda's powers, he still had nightmares about the beautiful woman and her terrifying companion. 

T'Challa had been very kind to shelter them from the fallout from the ridiculous Accords and they had healed Bucky. But it wasn't home. 

They had made him a new arm, that he obviously was happier with than his old one, although he didn't exactly know why, They were both the same really? How different could 2 metal arms be? Sure, it looked different to the plain steel and red star, but he thinks that this one definitely needs brightening up. The black with silver accents seemed a little scary and definitely was a downgrade, Steve thought it sent the wrong message. 

He had no idea what Shuri was thinking when she made it so dark , out of so many options! She could have made it look skin coloured even, that would have been better. Maybe he can convince Tony to help fix that mess, remove that peculiar pattern too. Bucky seems to like the pattern, he's seen him tracing it with his fingers but it's not fitting for an arm. He definitely did not like it, the original steel colour would be better than what it currently was. Maybe he could even go for red, white and blue. That would be much nicer. 

Bucky seemed happy with the arm itself though, surprisingly. He had avoided anyone touching the other, wouldn't let Steve touch it and didn't like even looking at it himself. He'd meant to ask him why but then Tony had cruelly blown it off for no reason and Bucky had weirdly said good riddance. He assumed it was the pain and shock talking. He'd mentioned never having it replaced before he went into cryo, luckily he seemed to have gotten over that. When Scott had asked to touch it he'd been baffled when he'd said yes! Then he had flinched when he went to inspect it. Cryo had clearly left him awfully confused. 

He almost seemed proud of the new one which is incredibly strange and he doesn't quite understand why. The old one seemed heavier and more useful as a tool or a weapon, much more robust. This one seems to light for such purposes and the colour and patterns… no. It definitely needed fixing. They could maybe choose a new colour together so he can make sure it's better, Bucky was still new to the future and if he was so set on having a design, they could choose one together too. It would be a chance to talk properly. Even though it was too reminiscent of a tattoo for Steve's liking and he never liked them. Even though everyone seemed to have one these days. Steve just didn't see the appeal in marring one's skin with needles, his mother had thought of them as dirty and he agreed, it says a lot about a person and none of it was good! As it's a metal arm, he supposed he could make an exception for Bucky. 

For now it didn't matter, to have him out of that blasted cryo tube, a strange limb was by far worth it! Easy to fix too now they were heading home. He would accompany him each time of course, Tony needed to be monitored, it was bad enough the man had been alone for a year. God only knows what he had gotten up to in all that time, he'd definitely been messing with something to make him look so young. He would love to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe it was just plastic surgery and vanity, as Nat would say, his ego was definitely one for that, but Steve had an inkling it was more. Hopefully it was reversible whatever it was, then they could find another pilot for the suit which shouldn't be to hard, he can't imagine it's terribly complicated after all. Then Tony could just focus on making their gear. 

Bucky was starting to do slightly better at least, his memories were returning too, more each day, even though he was fighting it for some odd reason, everytime he tried to help correct him to what he should be doing he got angry. He assumed this was just because healing was hard and when things are hard you lash out at those you love most. He could take it, when he had all his memories back, he knew Bucky would apologise for everything he had said and thank him for never stop trying to save him. Even if it was from himself. The Wakandans had somehow cleared his mind from those vile words and had set his brain off on the path of healing. It was painfully slow, they should have perfected it before they used it, then he would have just been Bucky straight away. But Steve was a patient man. It was just so hard to watch him struggle, to do things he hated. Like this business with his name. 

If they had simply deleted all the memories from after the train, this would be moving at a swifter pace he thinks. For each good memory of Bucky he seems to get 5 horrid memories of his time at Hydra. What use are those? It wasn't him after all so he shouldn't have to carry them. Sam had shown him these glasses Tony had invented to help people with PTSD alter memories, he was quite excited. He was unsure why Tony would go to the hassle of altering, when he bets if you can alter, you can delete instead. That was a definite possibility for Bucky. 

His other idea had been for Wanda to simply delete everything after the train, and maybe even use Steve's memories to fix any problems or fill in blanks. He also thought that Wanda could help. Unfortunately Bucky was oddly… disliking of Wanda, even though he thinks they would make an adorable couple, Bucky could finally settle down and marry as he'd barely seen a gal twice back before the war. 

It's exhausting keeping everything going, but it will be worth it in the end. He just wished it would move faster, for Bucky's sake. 

There are a number of things that trouble him for the time being though. He didn't smile much, when he did, he wouldn't tell Steve what he was smiling about either, he was constantly tense and stuck to the shadows more often than not. There was also the fact he vanished for a few hours every day and so far Steve had been unable to follow him. Maybe Tony could loan him one of those tracking devices. That way he'll always know where Bucky was and then he could protect him. 

This was a strange new time and Bucky was not prepared for it at all. He couldn't let him do this alone! If only he could get through to him faster! Stop all this nonsense of him going by James , where did he even get that from!? He hated being called James in the past. He was sure that it was slowing his recovery too. It was so disheartening every time he pushed away from him, every time he pulled away, every time he refuse physical contact even though Steve was sure after being with Hydra for so long that he would be touch starved like the internet said. A lot of the psychobabble was useless but some of it made. Yet he still pulled away from him. 

Every time he slammed a door to hide away from him or even took off into the jungle! He was left fretting the entire time, what if he got hurt out there and Steve didn't find him in time. 

It was just so disheartening but Steve wasn't a quitter and he owed it to Bucky to save him. First he'd had to find him, now he had to help Bucky find himself. 

If only he understood that he had a family here, willing to catch him if he stumbled. He didn't need to pull away or be alone, they were there for him. But he really just didn't seem to like Wanda, and he couldn't work out why! Wanda was the sweetest gal he ever did set eyes on and deserved the love and protection of them all, seeing her in tears when he refused to even eat at the same table had been utterly heartbreaking. Steve was determined to heal this rift in his family however! Together they could be the couple that came back from the ashes of Hydra. They'd understand each other in a way no one else could, she could help him with his memories and he could treat her like the queen that she was. Wanda would probably be much happier with children and a home to take care of too. They would be an inspiration to the world of overcoming anything. 

America would be their fresh start. The American dream would be theirs.

They would be home again in the beautiful compound. 

They were apparently assigned new rooms, some silly rule that because they were fugitives they had to be housed separately with rules for where they could be put. Utterly ridiculous, and the sooner this farce of calling them fugitives ends the better. There were even restrictions on where they could go in the compound! In their own home! They couldn't even leave the compound for the first month! These restrictions were frankly ridiculous, but he couldn't sort it out from Wakanda. He just needed to talk to Tony, then they could get rid of these Accords, Tony could get the government out of Avengers business and return the Avengers to its rightful position. 

He just needed steering in the right direction, like Natasha, he didn't seem to understand right from wrong sometimes but where as Natasha came to him, Tony assumed he was correct. With some guidance Tony could be truly wonderful. Less ego, less of this flashy showmanship, he should really just leave the business to Pepper even though she was a dame, she was quite capable, like Peggy had been. If Tony would focus on one thing, focus on being humble and following instructions, practice his craft, he would find himself much happier. 

He had so much to do, he wondered if he would ever get a moment to find happiness for himself, no, that was selfish of him. It was up to him and he would make things better for everyone. He'd needed to see to Laura too, divorce clearly wasn't the answer, it wasn't Clint's fault he was forced to hide out in Wakanda after all. T'Challa should have let him talk to her. That would be easily sorted now they were home. 

The new members were a quandary too, Steve would have to assess them to see if they could actually remain. Tony had seemingly just let anyone into his Avengers even though he didn't have permission to take such action. If he was that desperate for more people he should have sorted their pardons faster, or he could have called him, they could have gone through resumes together. 

So far, he was unimpressed. The one to ones they had been set had not impressed him one bit. Wanda's pair, Dr Strange was extremely rude and as they had Wanda, he was unnecessary, he doubted he was close to her level of power. Hope seemed nice, even if she did seem excessively angry towards Scott. He had always respected Colonel Rhodes, he'd hoped that he could take on the mantle of Ironman one day but he seemed quite attached to the Iron Patriot and he had to admit, the name has a nice ring to it. It was nice to see Bruce had returned to them, he had missed the man. Even though he was unimpressed with him for shirking his duty and running off for no reason, he was a calming presence and he could forgive the man. This Carol he was unsure about, but it warranted further investigation, knowing she was military helped, having an assessment of her abilities would be next, that she been paired with Natasha meant she was obviously unenhanced, so he wasn't overly hopeful.

That brought him to the two individuals that would certainly not be staying. The Black and red masked man would have go first. Such costumes in the field were one thing. To wear them in the presence of fellow Avengers was quite rude. Even if he was enhanced or had some kind of ability to be paired with Bucky, his temperament was all wrong. He was currently pulling out a at all manner of weapons. All attempts at interrupting their conversation had been thwarted, which brought him back to the final person who had kept him from disrupting the pair. 

Eddie Brock, he had introduced himself as a reporter , which instantly made him dislike the man. The utter trash paraded as news in this day and age was a sacrilege. So he obviously didn't have the moral compass required to be an Avenger. He also had not stated if he was enhanced, there must be something for him to be placed with him. He had hoped Tony would be his one to one. It would streamline things and he could finally quiz the man over what he had gone and done to himself without the team to keep him in check. The lies he had presented to the world were obvious, he had been perfectly fine when they'd left Siberia, he was not close to death. He had played up collapsing for the cameras but he likely flew himself home straight after. So he had done something to himself to make him appear younger, potentially using the super soldier serum from the deceased winter soldiers perhaps. He would find out soon enough. 

Entering the compound, he found himself frowning. It was practically unrecognisable. There were so many unnecessary new buildings and just far too many people, this would also have to be addressed. All the security was unnecessary too, they lived here, why did they need security, they were the protectors after all, if it were known that they were cowering behind a wall and security they would be a laughing stock! 

Another thing that would have to be addressed quickly would be their quarters. The easiest option would have been for them to move into their old rooms, but it seems like Tony hadn't finished being petty. What was the point in giving them new rooms when their old ones were just sitting empty? He had thought a year of keeping them away from their homes was enough, but it seemed not.

"Eddie, you know you'll get indigestion if you eat that." 

"Believe me, I've told him. Every argument possible has been bounced back." 

Was a parting quip before the black and red man dragged Bucky away. He'd hoped to speak to Tony when they got off the bus, but the car carrying him and the Royal entourage was nowhere in sight. 

"Right, anything in particular you want to see?"

"Well so much has changed, I don't even know where to start. I would like to see Tony though, that would speed things up." 

"No." 

Steve was confused by that response. 

"No?" 

"Yup. I'm one of Tony's body guards you see, and I will not be authorising a meeting." 

"Tony doesn't need a bodyguard from me, we're friends! I'm sure he wants to see me." 

"No." 

Steve frowned as they came to a stop. Eddie seemed mostly unimpressed. 

"Not even a hand, you remember what Tony said." 

"What?" 

"Wasn't talking to you." 

Steve glanced around, there were a few people wandering around but none close enough to have a conversation with. No one else was stopping and he was speaking quietly. 

"I'm sure if I can just talk to Tony, we can just get this sorted." 

"No." 

"You can't just keep saying no!" 

"You will find I can. No. See. Easy." 

"How is a reporter even qualified to be Ironman's bodyguard anyway?" 

"Oh you will find we are uniquely qualified. So, do you want to have a tour, or do you just want to see your room." 

He would like to see his room, his actual room on his floor. Not this ridiculous new residential area. Eddie turned to walk and as far as Steve was concerned, the conversation about Tony was not over. These petty games were annoying so he reached out to grab the man's arm. 

"You'll want to let go Mr Rogers. Or you will find out exactly why we are Tony's bodyguard. You see V, he loves Tony. Tony brings him snacks and is fine with the licking thing. Not many people accept V so easily, Tony gave us a home. So you see, he is very protective of his Tony." 

"What?" 

This man was making no sense! 

"Let go." 

"Now hang on a minute." 

Before he could say anything else, the man's muscle moved beneath his head, rippling and this black substance came from nowhere and started covering him. He jerked his hand back as he transformed. Leaving him taller, covered in a black, shiny substance with huge teeth and a long tongue hanging down. 

"Eddie says Venom can't eat Rogers. But Rogers has two hands, Venom is sure he can live with one." 

"What?!" 

"Venom guards Tony. Tony is ours. Rogers understands this now? Yes?" 

Steve blinked a few times, wondering what the hell was happening with his team whilst he'd been away. This did not look like an Avenger, this looked like an enemy. 

Venoms face…? Peeled back on one side, showing Eddie underneath. 

"We are Tony's bodyguard. You nearly killed Tony. As he won't get a restraining order, a number of us have decided you will not be alone with Tony. Now you see that white building down there. That is your quarters. FRIDAY will direct you to your room." 

With that Eddie? Venom? Stalked off, that black substance peeling back, just leaving Eddie walking towards a large building. He would not let this deter him however. Tony couldn't be guarded everyday . He would have to see him eventually and stop this schoolyard behaviour. 

Steve was thrown however, he was utterly confused, not understanding what actually just happened. He headed to the white building deciding to put it out of his mind. It looked newer than all the others. What a waste of effort. 

As he entered, he had to admit that wasn't actually that bad, at least when Tony was being petty, he still put effort in to see to their comfort. It showed he still cared about them. It was however much smaller than their old quarters, instead of having a floor each there was 4 to each floor. 

He was sharing with Sam, Scott and Clint according to the names on the door. Which was upsetting, he'd rather be closer to Bucky. Maybe he could encourage Scott to swap to whatever floor Bucky was on? Or, as he had an office in his little apartment, maybe Bucky could move in there. The papers had told them that they were restricted to this building until they had worked off their community service, but it didn't state they had to reside in separate rooms.

For today he would fix Bucky's accommodation, he doubted Tony would see him today by choice based on earlier, but he'd have to stop being petty soon however. When Bucky returned from his tour they could fix their little fight they had before they left, he was sure by now Bucky would feel awful for hitting him and would be ready to apologise and then they could head to this dinner together as a family, there were some people he wanted to introduce him to and he bet Bucky would love them. 

He'd seen on TV that Thor was here, he imagined they'd get on very well, he would also help him get things fixed around the compound, then they could have words regarding Loki. After New York he should not have been allowed back to Earth. He was definitely going to be busy, but it was good work, he was home and he had Bucky. All was well. Even if things were strange. 

He stepped into the bedroom to store his bag of clothing and saw something on his pillow. He completely froze, he could see it from here but he found himself reaching out for it anyway, raising it to his face, the scent of meadowsweet chilled him. No, it was only Wanda's ability, this was just a coincidence, that was it. 

Chapter Text

Natasha POV

This had probably been the longest year of her life. 

As Steve had been concerned about angering T'Challa, she had been trapped, languishing in Wakanda with no ability to speed things along. Her dreams had taken over her life completely, but last night it had been different. She'd told Steve to not corner Tony, to not go ahead with their plans, that they should apologise. Steve hadn't listened, of course, but her dreams had been filled with warm summer air and comfort on that night. 

She was unsure how to approach Tony now, not knowing what he is, except not human. Of that she was sure of. She had not wanted Tony to think she was betraying him, she really hadn't, but it became clear during the battle of Leipzig-Halle that Steve was not going to stop and the best way to avoid further conflict was to separate them and regroup. 

Before she had a chance to do that however, Steve and Yasha had gone to Siberia to face the threat of 5 Winter Soldiers alone, which was frankly ridiculous of them and that Steve didn't call her in for that fight was insulting. Via Sam, Tony had headed there too and fallen into Zemo's ridiculously convoluted trap. 

If Steve had done what he'd sworn he would do, the trap wouldn't have been sprung. She had foolishly trusted him to tell Tony about his parents. She had trusted him that it would be better coming from him as a friend than her. 

Even though she had thought of Tony as a friend. Steve had told her that she wasn't best with emotions and she'd believed him. Her Queen had helped her seen the friendship Tony and others had offered her, that she'd been unable to see before. 

Back then however, it wasn't her area of expertise, so she had deferred to Steve. Without Clint around to help her through interpersonal matters that didn't include manipulation, she needed Steve. 

Even though the look on Tony's face at the airport haunted her for some reason she didn't quite understand. Her Queen had let her relive that so many times, he looked shocked at her betrayal she noticed after a while. Shock. Meaning he genuinely thought she had come far enough to be trusted. 

In the beginning, when they were safe in Wakanda, before the dreams changed, it was just a matter of time before Tony organised their return. The man was alone and he did not do well alone. His break with Pepper and subsequent awkwardness had lost him Pepper and Happy. The battle of Leipzig-Halle had lost him Rhodes who was unconscious and paralysed. Something Tony would blame himself for. Vision was also likely to be distraught. 

However, he didn't bring them home. She then suffered for her cruelty and arrogance, she'd been taught a lesson. 

Stark Industries started working harder than ever and for a while she was concerned that the pain he had mentioned at the airport had become a heart attack and that he was dying. The fear was a surprise, not for her, but for Tony. It was something she didn't understand so she fell back into old patterns. Collect information and analyse. 

Tony being declared alive had left her almost giddy with relief. 

However, he steamrolled on without a single glance back at them, that hurt. Steve wouldn't tell her what happened at Siberia, so at the time she was confused. 

Then he turned up, saying he had nearly died and was now magically young again. His skin, brushed gold, was so much like her Queens, and she started to understand. He was one of the old ones, or something close, maybe? That was more likely. She didn't know how, but she knew . She watched everything, devoured every news source for mentions of them. The closest was when the Siberia footage was released and she'd nearly attacked Steve. 

For some reason, even with the knowledge the Winter Soldier killed his parents, he started protecting Yasha. He would not even talk about them, especially not Steve. If a reporter pushed too hard he would have them removed and after a few press conferences where he had simply walked out at a mention of Steve, people stopped asking about them. People stopped talking about 'The Rogues' altogether when Tony was around. It had a knock on effect, because Tony was doing so much , all over, people slowly stopped talking about them all together. Only online were they still brought up often, and it was less than favourable. 

The longer time went on, the more she felt something alien to her. Fear. 

Tony was acting against his profile, he wasn't spiraling, he was flourishing, not just as Ironman, Tony Stark became a name associated with cleaning up the planet, saving communities, the amount of work he was doing was frankly ridiculous. It was like he was on some quest to raise the health of the planet but she couldn't for the life of her work out why . Sure it got people in his favour and political capital, but it burnt bridges with many in politics who had the lionshare of the money. The oil industry for example currently despised him, she'd seen a number of contracts out on his life, they were picked up at first but then it was as if the community was refusing contracts on him. Only the desperate took them, and they didn't take any after. 

She also wanted to discover the source of Tony and now Rhodes apparently, change of appearance and healing. She needed to know if the connection to him and her Queen was a coincidence, although in her heart, she knew . She didn't tell the others though. 

Even after a year she was unclear of Tony's motives and as much as she was looking forward to leaving Wakanda, she didn't like that she was going into an unknown situation. There was also the fact that thanks to the charges laid upon her. She was equally restrained to the compound as she'd been in Wakanda. 

The blonde that had been assigned to her, seemed unimpressed with their ragtag band. At least her one to one would be badly matched as everyone believed her to be unenhanced. As everyone split up, she made herself look as friendly as possible, Wakanda had not been kind to her and she definitely was not looking her best. That would need to be rectified soon. 

"So, Major Danvers was it? How are you finding being a part of something like the Avengers." 

"Oh it's great, it's nice having a team you know? Previously when I was operating planet to planet, saving people from this race of aliens guided by this central intelligence, I was mostly alone. I like working with a team when I'm planetside." 

She was actually thrown for a few seconds, she had no idea if this woman was lying or not, if she wasn't then she was certainly no ordinary human. 

"That sounds quite amazing, I suppose being set to guard me is a bit of an easy job."

"Tony thought it would be best." 

"Tony?" 

"Yeah, he knows I'm not one to blab and he said that you're pretty invested in appearing as a baseline human, so he thought I'd work as a good compromise. On our paperwork, I was the only one available to serve as your one to one. I originally was going to be with the ol' Captain, but Tony told me I couldn't punch him." 

Tony knew she was enhanced? For how long? Why had he told no one. Even now? When she had betrayed him and he had no reason to keep her secrets? 

"So, as you can see, the compound has changed quite a bit. Tony asked that I highlight the rules in your packet and suggested you follow them to the letter. I recommend that too, maybe apologise to him, don't hack FRIDAY and don't try and spy on him and you might just have a chance."

By the time she is returned to her room, alone, they had run into none of the others in such a way, that she can only assume it was preplanned. 

If Tony had known she was enhanced, he should have done something about it. His profile wouldn't have included keeping that secret for her. She was starting to wonder how much of her profile was masks after all and she didn't like the uncertainty that overcame her. 

Chapter Text

Clint POV

Clint was angry. 

He didn't know why, but more and more recently, anger had been just under the surface.

The anger was at To-.. No. Stark. Because of Stark, he wasn't with his family. Because of Stark he was in an underwater secret prison. Because of Stark he was trapped in Wakanda. Because of Stark he couldn't talk to his wife and children who were hurting for him to return. Because of Stark, his wife had sent divorce papers, from the compound. Stark had his wife and children. 

He was retired. 

But then, he'd been starting to struggle with that. Hadn't he? He was starting to climb the walls, the anger bubbling just under the surface. He remembered just sitting at the window for hours. Waiting. Waiting for what exactly, he had no idea. He'd snapped at Laura and the kids but he couldn't remember why. Something was missing. He stared out of the window waiting for it, missing it like his heart had been torn away, he didn't know why he was waiting, but he remembered doing it and he jumped at the chance to rescue Wanda from Stark's devious machinations. He remembered thinking 'Finally!'.

He hadn't expected to be fighting against his Nat. 

Then everything went to shit. Turned out Steve didn't burn the world for moral reasons against a corrupt government. Steve didn't even seem to understand what the UN is! It was to save his boyfriend who had murdered Stark's parents. Then, plot twist, Bucky turned out to not be what Steve had wanted and they'd entered a weird melodrama stage. Bucky wanted to be called James and this apparently was the worst thing to ever happen to Steve. Bucky however has some kind of grudge against Wanda and he can't have that. Wanda didn't do nothing to him! How dare he be cruel to her. 

The only thing that had kept him sane was Wanda. Without her he was lost. He needed her, he had to stay with her and protect her. Even though some days he had trouble seeing past the haze of anger more and more, and all he wanted to do was hurt and rip and rend and kill. 

Then there were the migraines, but Wanda always knew what he had one and she would put his head in her lap. A wet towel over his eyes and run her fingers through his hair just like when he got sick and Lau-

Wanda took away his pain, she gave him reasons to keep going. 

Finally, they got word that Stark was organising their pardons. He's not sure what took the man so damned long, what was more important that getting them back to America? 

They had a month of good behaviour before they'd be tagged like dogs. The gilded cage was set up and all they had to do was walk right into it, they had 6 months after the original month to choose if they wanted to sign the Accords properly. Steve was very against this idea, but it was that or retire. Wanda had helped him realise that retiring wasn't best for him, so it looked like they were heading for having the Accords signed. Wanda was pretty sure she could sort something out, as soon as she could get her hands on Stark. 

For now though, Bruce was here! That had been a shock, he had ran away shortly after Ultron for some reason. Probably because of Tony and his murder-bot. But then, Bruce had a bit of a habit of running away. It could have been anything. They'd been strolling around the compound that had changed insanely since he was here last. Stark had apparently been a busy little bastard whilst they'd been trapped in Wakanda. 

He knew there was something he'd been meaning to ask his one to one but it had slipped his mind and the thought was gone. When he saw the archery range the pain came back, same as the laser tag. The weirdest was when he saw this soft play thing for toddlers. He snarled to Bruce about why the hell does the Avengers facility even need something like that! They'd just got to their prison barracks when he decided to ask Bruce if he signed his soul away. 

"So, did you sign yourself into servitude?" 

"I'm assuming you mean the Vienna Accords? Yes I did. Tony and other prominent figures like Charles Xavier have done a lot of work on it you know. Plus 138 countries agreeing on something good, it is a sight to behold." 

"But Ross is a part of it? You just made it easier for Ross to get you. Now Ross can experiment on you and others!"

Bruce frowned at him, shooting another confused look before directing him to a chair in the common room. Tiny compared to the one in the actual Avengers building, they have access to it and it's quite nice to have their own- absolutely petty. Showing off their fancy amenities whilst they're stuck here! 

"Are you sure you're okay Clint? Ross has been in jail for months and the Accords protect me from people like him. Even if they didn't, you know Tony would." 

"Stark had us locked up on the raft Bruce." 

"Clint I think you need to do some reading, that was Ross. Tony was working to free you all before you broke out." 

"He was? But… why?" 

"He had everything set up, when he came to see you guys he was recording everything for human rights violation and the raft was illegal under the Accords. Ross even refused for the lawyers he hired for all of you, he'd was setting something up for you to call Laura when Steve pretty much killed him. She told me she called and got told you'd escaped half an hour before. "

"I… I'm not…" 

"Have you even read the Accords Clint? They wouldn't have even impacted you when you were retired.." 

"But we'd have to register and…" 

"No Clint, its voluntary, and it provides protection for families like SHIELD did before everyone got burned." 

"So Tony was trying to help me? Even after I said.." 

"Said what?" 

"I don't know but it was meant to hurt him.. I think." 

"But why would you say that, you two were great friends." 

"We were? But he looked down on me and.." 

"Clint, Tony never looked down on you, he told me you were one of his best friends, that he really trusted you, told me you and he were therapy buddies, talking to each other as neither of you trusted shrinks. Hiding in the vents together when you couldn't sleep.. " 

Bruce chuckled and Clint had absolutely no idea what the hell he was talking about but there was something, in his mind, the workshop, he even got Tony to join him in the vents where it was safe, he shared his safe space and Tony told him things, he told Tony about Loki and the Mind contr- and Tony took him gliding once- Tony built his improved implants so no one even saw the hearing aids--he taught Tony ASL and Tony taught him Italian - no none of that happened, it couldn't have, he barely spent anytime with Stark because he looked down on him for not being rich but… he brushed his hand over the small control panel hidden discreetly in his hair that allowed him to alter the strength, it meant he could raise the sensitivity and they doubled as listening devices through walls, heck, he could hear through most sound proofing, or he could shut them off if it became to much, Tony was the first person to ever give him that option, no one else ever considered it, but... who made them? He couldn't remember who designed it, they replaced the SHIELD ones after the battle of New York but-

He bent over double clutching his head, it felt like his skull was being split in two as he pushed the heel of his hand into his eyes but it didn't alleviate the pain. He felt sick, he needed to lie down, damned migraines. Plagued him his whole life… hadn't they? He was sure they had as a kid but he didn't have any memories of him having them. Another spike of pain sent him reeling. He had to lie down, he had to get help. Lau-

Wanda. 

He had to go to Wanda, she would help, she always helped She was the only one who really cared about him, the only person who liked him for him. The only person who understood him. Everyone else had motives or looked down on him, like Stark born with his silver bloodstained spoon and his perfect childhood... Wait… Wasn't it? Didn't Stark tell him about Howar- His dad who paid for everything he wanted, never had to work a day in his life, just sit back and slap his name on his employees inventions. But. SI had won awards from employee satisfaction, had high minimum wages... lies, all publicity and lies. 

"Sure, sure. I'm going to head to my room. I've got a killer migraine coming on." 

"Okay, but think of visiting the doctor Clint, that seemed really bad and they might be able to help with the pain." 

He glanced up at Bruce who was slightly blurry, but he looked concerned for some reason. It was just a migraine, painful but Bruce was looking at him like he was worried he was dying or something. He ran his hand across his face and it came back wet, he glanced at his hands in confusion to find blood. It didn't hurt that much. What the- Wanda. Need Wanda. Must get Wanda. Wait for Wanda. 

"Why, so Stark can use my migraines to cut me from the team? No thanks." 

With that he slammed into his apartment. How did he even get upstairs. Did Bruce help him? Na, no one helps him. Only Wanda.

What happened to their floors? He has no idea, Stark probably repurposed them so he could have several floors for himself or some bullshit. The penthouse wasn't enough for him, living like a king at the top of the castle. They'd not even been allowed in after he moved out but Wanda had gotten around that. She was clever, much smarter than Stark. 

He checked out the accommodations and found a surprising amount of his stuff. Probably stuff he had left on his floor before he had retired. It was nice of To- well really it was the least Stark could do! 

When he'd just finished checking out the vents, there were welded grates in them for fucks sake. Was that really necessary? There had been a length of vent included a large section usually reserved for intersection before the grill. It was strange, like maybe someone had put it in so he had somewhere to retreat too, without breaking the rules of his contract? Which was odd why would he do that if he was screwing them over so badly. 

Before he can consider it further, there was a knock at his door. He was just going to ignore it and go to bed because now his head was really hurting after discovering that Stark had gone and intentionally locked him out of the vents. However he had a flash and decided to open the door anyway. 

Wanda was on the other side, he sagged in relief, the pain already felt less just from her being there. She knew he was hurting too and wordlessly came in, setting things up to take care of him in a way no one ever really had before, she never demanded anything in return, she just looked after him and he felt himself relaxing finally. Everything would be fine. 

Wanda was here. 

Chapter Text

James POV

Everyone's pair was scattering in different directions, which James thought was strange because he was pretty sure that a tour would have been a damned sight easier if everyone had gone at the same time. It would likely have taken considerably less Avengers too. 

Deadpool antics were highly amusing to him however, he skipped as they walked and he pointed things out. He was enthusiastic about everything and had already recruited him to a paintball team. He'd never played paintball before, but it sounded fun. When they were alone, none of the other rogues around, he finally let himself smile because this had Tony's fingers all over it. 

"So, how did Tony convince everyone to do these one on one tours?" 

"And what makes you think boss-man had anything to do with it?" 

"I might have mentioned last week that I was dreading telling Steve I'm not living in the same block as them."

This way he would likely get to visit his room and put his stuff away before the conversation even came up. It was only delaying it, but then Steve was bound to notice at some point. 

"Well, boss-man has a soft spot for ya, that's for sure." 

He didn't know about that, but he liked talking to Tony. He'd been a real friend to him in the following months since he'd come out of cryo. Some days had been bleak with memories stacking up and the only thing that had gotten him through minute to minute was Tony texting him about Goose or answering his endless questions from the diary. 

James had felt absolutely useless on more than one occasion, and yet, he always texted him back. Even when James forgot to actually check the time in America before he texted him. Heck, he'd received real time texts from Tony when he'd been watching him on TV battling a giant squid monster. Likely assisted by FRIDAY. He had freaked and sent a text, asking if he was actually being eaten by said giant squid monster. It became mostly Tony complaining about tentacles which cut an odd image watching the Avengers battle the creature. 

He had ended up having to hold back laughter as he surreptitiously checked his messages whilst the other Rogues were watching the very serious battle. Tony's very vivid commentary that slimy tentacles on his suit was very rude and not proper sea creature etiquette. Which had created a whole new slew of questions. 

He didn't know why Tony seemed to always be there for him, it was strange. If James wanted to discuss memories from before the war or from his time at Hydra, Tony was equally as interested. If he wanted to ignore everything and talk about his new blanket purchase instead? Tony would somehow be just as interested. It was overwhelming sometimes, but not at the same time. It was easy, he didn't struggle to maintain the conversation. They'd talk and suddenly it was hours later. 

Deadpool jerked him out of his thoughts, they'd been swinging that way more recently, but then talking to someone everyday for the better part of a year would do that. That was the only reason. That and the rogues were driving him to distraction. He spent more than a few days hiding in Shuri's lab or T'Challa's office. 

At least Tony's side of the conversation had more variation, his was mostly the dramatisation of the house of out of work superheroes.

Aka, living with the rogues.

That and his quest for new hobbies. He'd even got Tony trying some, to give him the drive to stick to it if the both of them worked at it. He kept waiting for the man to get bored of him, but it hadn't happened yet. 

"It should be pretty obvious that you aren't living with them. That residential building is specifically for people on house arrest, or well compound arrest. You aren't on compound arrest." 

"I think Steve conveniently forgot I was cleared of all charges months and months ago." 

"Looking forward to having a break from them?" 

"Definitely, Wings and TicTac are cool. But the Archer is angry at everything, he rants about everything and he's utterly whipped for the Ved'ma. She gives me the creeps, plus Tony told me she screws with people's brains. I don't trust her, even if Steve says her abilities are just telekinesis. I know there is more to it. Steve takes personal offence to the fact I don't think she's utterly perfect and keeps trying to fix the relationship, wants me to date her or something? Oh, and the three of them keep 'forgetting' to call me James."

"Yiiikes that sounds exhausting . I think you're gonna fit in well around here. There are a few of us that look after the Boss-man, when he forgets to you know, eat, or sleep. How a man that powerful forgets to eat and walks into walls when distracted is beyond even me! Want in?"

He'd read enough of said doary to know that wasn't new behaviour and spoken to Rhodes enough to know he'd been managing Tony for years. Apparently adding Tony's new abilities, like Teleporting, had not made his job easier and he was no above recruiting Avengers into mission 'Keep Tony Stark Alive.' 

"Sure."

"Oh, and FRIDAY hooked me and Eddie up, we wanted to know why he had such an aversion to Wanda you see, more so than the dude that straight up killed the man. I can send you the files to your new tablet in your room if you like."

That would be handy, he felt something off with that woman but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Something beyond the dream fuckery. It was like a shadow at the edge of your vision, it was there but every time he looked at it, it moved. 

" Right, do you want to see your room first or Boss-mans workshop? After the tour Cable wants me to deliver food and I can also deliver you!“

Well he wasn't about to pass up a chance to see Tony's workshop in person. 

“Um, I'll drop this off in my room, then workshop?“

“Okey-dokey! This way Jamesaroni." 

He smiled as Deadpool pulled him towards the gorgeous building with a huge A on the side with all the exuberance of a hyperactive kid. The ground floor was wall to floor glass and he could see all kinds of people lounging around in a huge common area. And it really was huge, sure he'd seen it in pictures, but they had not done it justice. The rest of the building also seemed to be made of glass, but the other windows were tinted. 

"Boss-man said you liked being on the top floor? So you're opposite me! There are 4 other apartments on our floor, Eddie, Cable, Rhodey and Carol and finally Tony at the far end. Clearly the best floor." 

He nodded along as the lift shot up extremely fast. He hadn't expected to actually get a room on the top floor, but was happy he had, and the floor definitely had an interesting mixture of people. The room was also not a room . It was an apartment and it was gorgeous. All open-plan and the sun lit the rooms up from the floor to ceiling windows, giving everything a hazy glow. The glass was clear from the inside, but no one could see in, it was a bit disconcerting at first. FRIDAY could change the windows too. You'd think coming from Wakanda he would be used to the tech level, but it was a very different type of tech that it was still throwing him. 

The kitchen was a good size considering he knew that the common room kitchen was used more often than not. There was a huge bedroom, office, two empty rooms that he could do 'whatever' with and a bathroom that was huge. He was pretty sure that the bath was more of a hot tub and the shower was huge and had a dozen or so heads. 

"I know, Boss-man really knows how to set us up doesn't he." 

He nodded, tossing his small bag onto the bed and glancing around the room. There was a whole walk in wardrobe and drawers and a dresser in the room. He was pretty sure his clothes would fit in a single drawer. Half of his bag was his actual blankets. He'd just not acquired much stuff when he was in Wakanda, he'd spent most of his time in the library. 

He found the tablet on the bedside table, he already had a phone, at least he didn't have to hide it now. There was also another device. 

"What's this?" 

"Hmm? Looks like an ereader to me? We have an actual library too on the compound. Boss-man laughed about reading paper books, I think he built it for the kids, you know? Although you can occasionally find him napping under the stained glass window on top of the bookcase" 

"So he's a cat?" 

"Surprisingly accurate description. I'm guessing I don't need to give you all the rules and shit?" 

"Na, I know everything." 

"Including don't go into the creepy forest?" 

"Huh? Tony said there was a forest surrounding the compound, I saw it coming up in the bus, and it looked really interesting. Tony said I could go in whenever I pleased." 

Rhodes had even invited him running, he hadn't realised the forest was creepy. Huh. 

"Did he now?! In-teeeer-esting! That's fun gossip to add to the group chat. Well, come on, let's get going, Cable has some food to pick up and we get to visit our glorious leader." 

"I thought Rhodey and Carol were heads of the Avengers?" 

"They are. When you're here for a week tops, you'll see what I mean. Did Boss-man make that arm?" 

"Yeah with Shuri, it's awesome, he even changed a little after installing it because it reminded me a bit too much of my old one. I like the black metal." 

"Noice!" 

They barely took a few steps out of his room before they bumped into someone carrying a box with different tupperware containers stacked inside. He had a very, no nonsense look about him and James was just amused that he wasn't the only metal armed person around. 

"Take this to Tony." 

"Awww, you not coming with us?" 

The shorter man just glared at Deadpool, barely glancing at himself before answering and walking away. 

"No." 

"He loves me really." 

"I do not." 

He didn't even turn as he called out, James tried to hold back his chuckle. 

"He totally does." 

"No I don't." 

James glanced between the two equally strange people and instead picked up the box that had various food stuff in containers. The trip to the workshop was more than a little confusing, not helped by Deadpool as his stories were confusing in general and he had no idea what he was talking about at least 40% of the time. If he thought Tony's nicknames were hard to track, he had nothing on Deadpool. However he was quite excitable so it was fun, even when he had no idea what was happening. It was quite a change from how everything had been in Wakanda. 

They entered the workshop and even though he had seen bits and pieces of it in pictures, it didn't prepare him for the overall effect. He could see why Tony and Shuri got along so well, there were holographic interfaces everywhere and Deadpool just walked through 3 of them whilst he tried to awkwardly side step them. 

It looked like Tony was in the middle of a hundred different things dotted around in various states. There was an odd, organised method to the madness, like if he let his eyes relax he could see patterns. The man himself was absent as he sped up, he'd lagged behind a bit when he'd seen a few different rifles in various states of assembly that drew his attention. 

The workshop seemed to shift around the halfway mark from futuristic techies wet dream to a mechanics wet dream. There were at least 3 cars in various states of disrepair and 2 bikes too if he was putting together the pieces correctly. There were a number of other vehicles stretching back behind the mechanics pit. Which was where they eventually found Tony. Well, Tony's legs. Deadpool grabbed him unceremoniously by the ankle to pull him out. The workshop was absolutely huge. 

"Wait wait wait! Just let me finish this one thing…" 

"Last time I fell for that, I was sat here for 4 hours." 

"It wasn't that long!" 

"Was too." 

"You're obviously exaggerating." 

"I wasted away!" 

He snickered listening to the pair bickering.

"Where do you want me to put this?" 

“James? "

The following clunk of Tony hitting his head on something made both men wince, a few seconds later Tony slid out from under the car. He was wearing an old faded shirt and shredded jeans. Completely different to the image he presented when they arrived from Wakanda. He was pretty much covered in grease too and he was pretty sure he could see a blue glow underneath his shirt that was more than a little interesting. 

"Charming! You never stop working that quick for me." 

Tony tapped him on the head, smiling and directed the two of them over to what could be described as a food and drink zone. He started scrubbing his hands in the sink. 

"I didn't know the tours were finished yet, I settled Shuri and T'Challa and decided to get some work done. You usually bring me work, can you blame me for hiding under cars?" 

"Ahuh, I'm sure it's got nothing to do with the fact that our newest arrivals don't have access to your workshops." 

"Shush you, unless you don't want the new blades I'm working on? How are you liking the compound James?" 

"It's awesome, I never really considered how much was here when you were telling me about it till I was actually here if that makes sense?" 

"Oh yeah, our fearless leader here literally builds everything he thinks of. Anywho, I have a different metal armed person to chase! Toodles!" 

"I'm not the leader! Aaaand he's gone." 

Tony finished drying his hands and leaned forward to take the box, however he froze when their hands brushed. 

"James, why are you in so much pain? Sit." 

"It's not that bad, my head is just a bit sore." 

He shrugged, the worst of the pain has faded now that he wasn't in the same room as the Ved'ma so it wasn't really that bad. Tony however had other ideas and he found himself sitting on the sofa. 

"That's not just a headache and the fact you think it is, is extremely concerning. Show me the mind protection ward." 

He shrugged off his jacket, rolling his sleeves up to reveal the woad design hidden on the inside of his arm. Looking at it, it had faded more than last time. He hadn't realised how much. 

"Shit, she's using fucking pain to pick apart my magic the little -" 

After that he had absolutely no idea what Tony was saying as he switched to a different language. He couldn't understand the words but he was pretty sure he wasn't saying pleasant things. It was oddly melodic and more than a little bit entrancing. After nearly a minute, he took a deep breath and it was like he could see Tony packing away the anger. When he turned back to him, he looked more serious and intent than he had when he was healing him. His eyes looked like shifting molten gold and he was faced with a bit of whiplash. 

"If you want, I can strengthen this. I'm still working on my other option, I'm waiting on a part from a friend, but I can bolster this." 

"Sure." 

"Okay, come on, we need my other workshop. I knew that little witch was going to cause me problems." 

He waved his hand and an area that had previously been a solid wall that he was sure the other side was the hall. The hall they had walked down to get into the workshop, but he could see from here that the newly opened door didn't open out into the hall. 

There was another workshop from what he could see, a contrast with the workshop outside. In a way, it was similar. It was exactly the same size, like it had been mirrored, the desks were even laid out in the same pattern but wood instead of steel. The same chaos reigned, and although he had equally few ideas what the hell happened in here as outside, he could see patterns. The other workshop was firmly in the realm of science, whereas this one was blatantly magic orientated. There was a huge wall with a large number of different black bladed weapons that drew his attention and he'd been very close to touching one until Tony obliviously interrupted him. Directing James to a large, comfortable sofa. 

"Sit here, I just need to find… got it." 

He had barely sat before Tony's hand slid across the back of his neck and that was when he realised how bad the pain had been. It wasn't until he started removing it, leaving him a little dizzy. How had he not noticed that! When he realised how much pain there was and remembered how Tony removed pain, he went to move away, Tony just shook his head and gently but surely tugged him back. Holding a familiar jar of blue paste, that he now knew was woad, in his other hand. 

"Shit, I can't believe I didn't notice that!" 

"There, at least she didn't anchor it, okay I'm going to fix this up and add a little more to it." 

"I kept meaning to tell you, but it's like I kept forgetting. It heated up when she was near me." 

Tony practically growled as he dropped into the seat next to him.

"The way she's going about this... This could have been dangerous. She doesn't know my magic, or how to pick apart even simplistic wards. This could have gone very badly and she recklessly did it anyway!" 

It looked almost like he was just painting with the woad on his skin, just as strange as the first time, but when dried it was as permanent as any tattoo. His skin tingled as he painted, a spreading warmth that was different to the heat that came from it when the Ved'ma pushed. 

The irritation slowly bled from Tony's features as he concentrated, gnawing on his lip in concentration, especially as his canines kind of looked more like cat-fangs. 

James had no clue about magic, but he was pretty sure it was more than just painting, somehow. He swapped brushes and added a ring of much smaller, very detailed symbols around the original one, he knew to expect the burst of black flames this time as he finished, so he didn't jump out of his skin like the first time. Earning him a lightning flash smile from Tony. 

"There, I can't believe the nerve on her! If I run into her.. I'm going to have to step up my investigations already. They've been here for 5 fucking minutes!" 

The frustration was back, he ran his hands through his birds nest of hair, pacing back and forth with blatant anger simmering around him, he swore he could feel it and he could see this going to an incredibly violent place. Very fast. He reached out to catch his arm, causing Tony to stop his pacing, even though he was pretty sure Tony's strength could outmatch his easily. 

"I'm fine, she didn't get in my head really." 

"James, she's been trying to torture your mind into breaking! Not my ward, your mind. Do you have any idea how many laws she's breaking? Not just in this realm, even some hell dimensions have laws against that tactic to ward breaking!" 

"You know if you go after her on the first day back it won't end well." 

A lot of the fight bled out of him and he dropped down in the chair next to him, with his head in his hands looking more lost than he would have attributed to the man. 

"She's in my territory."

James wasn't sure why, but new Fae tended to be territorial over what they deemed as there's, land, possessions and people and had little tolerance for people who didn't respect that. 

"I know, you'll work out something." 

He'd witnessed the man's strength and power on a few occasions, he'd read fantastical stories spanning millennia, with events he could hardly fathom, so it was easy to sometimes forget he was a person under it, he might not be human, but the man was cursed with nightmares as he slept and the world on his shoulders. 

"Why don't we see what food the terrifying short man gave us and you can tell me what you're working on." 

Tony snorted but he straightened up from his previous position and waved his hand. The box they'd left in the workshop appeared at their feet. That would never get old. 

"If you're calling Nathan short, I'd love to hear what you call me." 

"Not sure you'd hear it all the way down there." 

He got a shove but the man was smiling as they started rummaging through the box for food. They dodged the light lunch that had been put on for them, giving excuses separately to the others via FRIDAY.

They had the wonderful dinner lately that the rogues had of course been invited to in the name of cooperation . That was later, for now they had admittedly damned tasty food and conversation they picked up as easily in person than by text, stashed away in Tony's hidden mirror workshop.

He knew that the anger towards Wanda was not gone, that Tony likely had several plans for what to do with the little Ved'ma. Tony had explained that their kind had a tendency to feel emotions more keenly, that it was much easier to get swept up in them, that anger could build to dangerous heights, it was easy to become lost in it. 

Chapter Text

Tony POV

"Boss Rhodey told me to remind you that the welcome dinner starts in half an hour. And no, you can't dodge it like you did the lunch." 

He glanced up from what he was working on the same time James glanced up from the book he was reading. He'd been devouring the history books he had stashed away since they'd finished their lunch with the help of another woad ward inked into James skin. He was now sitting on the rug in front of the bookcase with several books in front of him. Tony found it hilarious that he was that wrapped up he hadn't made it the 3 steps to the sofa. 

Both of them were not exactly looking forward to this dinner. Preferring the companionable environment of his hidden workshop. Occasionally talking about what they had been working on, Tony had been answering any questions James came up with. It was fun in a way, events that had happened thousands of years ago, that he often looked back and only noticed the bad, it was nice to be reminded of the good, and downright crazy, antics of his Reapers again. 

He stood, stretching, deciding to change into something more dinner presentable. Switching his workshop wear for one of his new suits that was an interesting melding of his traditional garb and the suits he wore as Tony Stark. Pepper had told him he was confusing people switching between them, although she likely had intended him to switch to the suits, she was pleased with the outcome. A little extra pulse removed any leftover grease as he combed his fingers through his hair. 

"I'm pretty sure magicing up clothes from nothing is cheating." 

"They're not 'from nothing'. Practically everything I summon existed somewhere, I'm more.. Moving it around. Making something from nothing is very labour intensive and I'm quite lazy." 

"Well, you got any clothes for me because I don't have anything that fancy." 

"Actually FRIDAY did order you some things. She likes shopping for new people and might have gotten a bit carried away. After Carol barred her from buying any more after the slew of pink furry jumpers, she's happy to have a new victim." 

"That doesn't sound disconcerting. At all." 

He held out his hand, wiggling his fingers at him and James put his book down, albeit grudgingly, before crossing to him. 

"You going to make us vanish into fire? Because I've been dying to know what that would actually feel like." 

He chuckled as James took his hand, he gestured towards the books he was working through too, sending them to James room when the man was distracted contemplating his first Firewalk. With a secure grip on James hand, he pulled him along as he went. Sure, it might be a little (a lot) taxing to take people with him when he did this, and he didn't really do it with many people at that, but it was more than worth it when James was grinning widely as if it had been the best thing that had happened to him after they exited into the hall. He paused in the hall and James door opened to the handprint scanner on the handle. 

"That was awesome! Come on in. So where are these clothes?" 

"In the normal place one would find clothes." 

James rolled his eyes and flipped him off, causing Tony to chuckle as he led the way, opening up the walk in wardrobe. 

"Holy shit, when will I ever wear this many clothes!"  

"It's not that much, and you have a nice variety. Avoid FRIDAYs more questionable choices and you'll be awesome! Right, I'm going to head down now because if you enter with me, Steve will give you no end of drama." 

He turned to head off and chuckle as he swore he heard James saying that he'd like to see Steve try. 

He found T'Challa and Shuri pretty easily surrounded by several Avengers, none of the rogues had turned up yet and the atmosphere was easy-going enough that he let a little tension bleed out of him and let himself get pulled into a conversation with Shuri about his latest suit. T'Challa was still incredibly wary around him, realising that there was a lot more to him than he said. He wondered if he should mention to the man that he and Bast were actually quite good friends. Although that probably wouldn't help. 

The Egyptian pantheon could be a bit terrifying, but then his own wasn't exactly innocent in that regard. Because of his connection to the fire, he travelled a lot more than his counterparts. Earth attracted pantheons like no other planet he'd ever visited, that they had staked out territory was one of the few things in a delicate balance that stopped all out warfare. The humans thought they knew what religious wars were like at their worst, but they had no idea what it could really be if that balance was disturbed. 

"Do not think I didn't see how the plates of your suit shifted and melded together during your last fight white boy. I want to know how and if you answer me with magic one more time, I will stamp on your foot!" 

"Well you've left me with nothing to say." 

"Sister, I literally showed you the video of him arriving in Wakanda." 

"Ahuh, sure Tony Stark appeared out of a column of Black Fire. I'll believe that when I see it." 

"How about something less showy?" 

He snapped his fingers, summoning one of the small cakes she had been eyeing since they'd entered the room that were not available until after dinner, offering it over. 

"Are you serious right now? Actual Magic?" 

"Mmhmm." 

"Huh. Okay, I thought you just had weird friends. We are not done talking." 

"I didn't think we were." 

He grinned whilst Shuri swatted T'Challa away from her prize. He was chuckling when a quiet started to spread amongst those already gathered and that meant the rogues had arrived. He kept his back to the exit, as Rhodey was not that far away from him facing it. Rhodey's face tense for a second, but then Wades over exuberant chatter broke out, causing Rhodey to relax, smiling slightly. Wade was definitely getting a new set of weapons soon. 

So it had taken all of two seconds of entering the room before Steve decided to go after him? Why should he be surprised? Apparently the Avengers had a group chat specifically for keeping the rogues distracted before dinner, they'd formed up around Tony to divert them from their path. It wasn't necessary but it was damned hilarious to witness. Steve was more than a little frustrated given the amused smirk Rhodey was sporting. 

He was surprised none of his extended family had dropped in yet. One thing that the Rogues had been unaware of was that they were… protected in a way in Wakanda. Oh, he didn't doubt that some of them had likely found a way to cause a little harmless mischief, but Wakanda was not a territory you carelessly blustered into and started causing havoc. The few times he had popped over came with permission for example. On the ground and otherwise. 

However, there were currently multiple connections to underhill in this realm, even before he set down territory in the form of the compound. The pantheon of this land had been… most welcoming to his own. He had always liked this land, he had more than a few friends here too. 

"Man of Iron!" 

Oh. Yay. Tony was jerked out of his thoughts as Thor bound over. The man was doing better since Loki began his lessons, but Tony still saw this irritating dinner he had been strongarmed into hosting by the Accords Council as his damned fault. Having them in his territory was one thing, being forced to provide food and drink without obligation against his will? That the little witch had been attacking one of his was now eating his food? With his other people in attendance… It didn't put him in the best frame of mind. Thor was only just starting to understand the quirks of his people, that he might someday look back on this and realise was at least something. 

"Thor! How are you today, looking forward to dinner?" 

"Verily, I also would like to express how bad I feel given current events. My brother has been helping me understand things that had gone on in my absence, if I had known..." 

Loki had been teaching him to apologise without leveraging debt too, he was impressed that his lessons were taking.. 

"It's alright big guy. Speaking of Lokester, is he joining us today?" 

"Oh yes, I believe he is talking to Eddie?" 

Thor then kind of swapped with him, talking to T'Challa as he found Loki and Eddie in the corner looking like they were conspiring something that would give him a headache of some kind. After Loki got past his initial shock, he immediately started working out which Avengers would help or hinder him in his pranks. There had been a few moments since Loki had recognised what Venom was, multiple questions of his sanity, but now the three of them were as thick as thieves. 

"If you lot are planning on turning the lake green again, I'm going to bed." 

"Come now Anthony, do you really think I would do the same thing twice? Plus, Mr. Brock here was just telling me about his time with the little Captain." 

"I know you told me he was a dick, but it did not prepare me for the utter blind privilege on that man!" 

"How much did V want to say something?" 

"You don't want to know, the running commentary was a headache ." 

"Well, tell him to give you a break." 

"He said he would consider it for you, you bring him the tastiest snacks."

"Did he feel anything?" 

"No, we both checked, but the hum you showed us? We could not hear it." 

He nodded, technically it didn't mean that Steve had no magic on him, Wanda might have masked it somehow. It could be subtle or it might not be active. But Venom was very sensitive to the different vibrations of magic, especially when they stood close to a person. Which had been fun to find out and completely accidental. Venom decided he liked this hum and as such Eddie found himself hanging around himself or Loki quite often because it was a good way to make Venom happy when he was being annoying. 

Tony and Loki weren't entirely sure when a human had basically turned them into magical pacifiers for a creature like Venom, but Eddie was smug about it. 

This was only the start of his investigations into Wanda, there were a number of things operating at the same time. Now he was waiting for her to attempt to pick at James ward again. He didn't know how long it would take, but he doubted she would wait long and he wanted eyes on Thor when it happened. The Accords Council had received a few reports from Steve about Tony potentially being 'unfair' to Wanda, Tony was not about to let Wanda's little plans of making him out to be the villain work, which was why he had Thor. Thor was not planning to go off world  for a good 4 months. If she could go that long without doing something illegal and without permission, he would be grudgingly impressed. 

A verbal recounting from the man who fronted the call to bring them back carried a lot more weight than his own. That his magic was involved facilitating said link would be allowed as he wouldn't be able to trick a Norse God after all. Well, at least that's what they thought. Tony could set it up on a false reading, but on examination someone might pick up the tenor of his magic. Trickery came in more pathways and he planned on leading Wanda where he planned and the end result being that the case be water tight, so that the council would not pardon her again. 

He started to head to sit down, saying hello to a few others here and there. All of the Avengers who lived on the compound were attending, which was quite a lot of people alone. After it was known Tony was hosting a meal for the rogues, a few off site Avengers showed interest in attending too. He suspected that group chat he was not privy too was involved somehow. There were even several X-men dotted around. Sue had turned up which unfortunately meant so did Reed, Tony had been very tempted to invite Victor but Rhodey told him there was already enough drama having the rogues here. Victor and Reeds squabbles could get messy he had to admit. Either way, it was quite a large turn out. 

"Tony?" 

"Brucie-bear, how was Clint?" 

Bruce opened and closed his mouth a few times. Frowning before removing his glasses to clean them on his shirt. That told him enough.

"Something is definitely wrong, he was behaving erratically and his memories seem… wrong. However he is completely closed off. I can't see him agreeing to you or Stephen getting anywhere near him. I couldn't even get him to go to medical! Convinced that you would use it to kick him off the team." 

"I didn't think he would, we'll have to monitor the situation. Just tearing any magic from his mind without some cooperation could be more dangerous than leaving it." 

"We can't leave him like that Tony, something is very, very wrong." 

"We aren't leaving him like that, but we have to be delicate. If he's pushed into thinking against her the magic could slice his mind up. We'll keep him under watch for now. Stephen is trying to make Wanda think he is either fooled by her, or on her side, I'm not convinced about his acting abilities but she's smug enough to believe anything I suspect. He might be able to get closer to Clint that way."

"Can't you just go and fix it? I see why you used to hate magic so damned much."

"Not until I know more about what she has done and how. Just ripping into whatever magic she's laid down without at least getting his permission, his mind could fight me, she might have left traps. If Clint stays in his holding pattern he should be safe, when I know the tenor of her magic better I can clear away anything she has done without hurting birdbrain. If her magic has already caused conflicts, adding my own recklessly.." 

Tony shrugged, he hated it. He remembered Clint as a friend and now… after Thor had forced his hand he had spent a few nights combing over the Tony Stark memories, now, with his own knowledge thrown in, he could see something wasn't right and it started with the witch. At the time Tony had also been under her magic, he had explained Clint's changes away as his own fault, but now he could look over the memories from a different perspective and he had not liked what he'd seen. If he had the rogues trust he would simply visit each of them and see what he could do, but there was a lot of suspicion and resentment. Healing people's minds was delicate business normally and it required at the very least, active consent if not some trust to go well. Add in malicious magic and it upped the danger level, especially on baseline humans. 

Tony could heal a lot, but damage a person's mind, sanity and personality enough and even he would be stuck. Magic generally came with a price, smaller magic and the price was drawing from his energy, the larger and more complex things got, that price climbed exponentially. He had a lot of energy to burn, but it was not limitless. He didn't want to risk pushing Clint over that edge recklessly. 

"It's just hard… seeing him like that. Because of her ."

"I know. That she is in my territory is barely tolerable."

He dropped down next to Loki who nodded, having worked out the discussion. They'd been discussing the best way to deal with Wanda off and on for a while. Loki was not the best pleased with even an echo of the mind stone being anywhere near him. He was still coming to terms with Vision. 

There were set places for food, because coraling this many supered people for dinner required a degree of organisation that 'just sit anywhere' simply couldn't convey. It made things easier for the kitchen too with people's unique dietary requirements. As he sat down however, he knew the name opposite him was not meant to say Steve, but it did now. He glanced over to where the rogues were meant to be grouped, seeing a stone faced Nathan sat, highly unimpressed with how things had turned out. They chose well he had to admit, anyone else would have simply tossed Steve's card at the nearest bin.

James entered then and he'd definitely cleaned up well. He hadn't gone for a suit, but he was wearing a deep red shirt that had a few buttons undone and black jeans with his hair pulled up quickly into a messy bun. Steve made a beeline for him, patented concerned face in place. Loki of course noticed his attention. 

"So, this is the fabled James you have not stopped talking about." 

"I haven't mentioned him that much. He's a potential Reaper." 

He shrugged as if that explained everything, to him it did. He did pay more attention to humans than his peers, in his own or other pantheons. His Reapers got a little more. Loki just snorted. 

"Sure, because you didn't notice him the second he walked in and you totally aren't checking him out. He does clean up well doesn't he." 

He managed to keep the growl down but the amusement sparking in Loki's eyes apparently meant he didn't do that well. Loki was enjoying this far, far too much. 

"Get your mind out the gutter, we're just friends." 

"Mmhmm." 

Anything else was interrupted by Wade flouncing down in his chair opposite Bruce to Tony's right, and sighing dramatically as he noticed Nathan was off somewhere else and realised what had happened. Eddie had taken up his spot opposite Loki, also giving Steve's card a look of irritation. His head tilted in a way that told Tony that V was talking. Wade huffed out in irritation. 

"Awww, Why am I next to Stebe?" 

"Looks like someone moved the cards around." 

Wade and Eddie however snickered when they saw that Wilson was trying to make conversation with Nathan, who was sat straight backed, eyes forward and ignoring all attempts. His metal fingers drumming steadily on the table out of irritation. If it had been anyone literally else, they'd have tossed the card and sat where they were originally placed. Nathan was just the kind of man who followed the cards and wouldn't swap them back. He was sure a dinner without Wade stealing his food might be a potential lure too. Even if it did mean he was sat with the Rogues. Wade was a notorious food sneak and was not put off by a fork to the back of his hand. If anything that was his goal because then you were down a fork. 

All too soon people were sitting and he had Steve sat in front of him. 

He just hoped it didn't kill his appetite. Eddie had been holding him in conversation whilst a few others around him. Including Loki and Jess, spoke anytime Steve did. Rhodey and Stephanie were chatting off to his right, drawing him in anytime they sensed a lul. It was like protective Avengers Conversation, Tony found the whole thing quite amusing. 

He noticed that James ended up on the other side of Nathan and it looked like they were actually having a conversation. Loki of course saw him looking and raised his eyebrow, grinning mischievously. Tony rolled his eyes instead of replying. Which apparently gave Steve the lul in conversation he needed to force himself into it. 

"Tony!" 

"Yes Steve?" 

"I was just hoping we could have a moment to catch up, a lot seems to have happened whilst we were away." 

He just nodded and turned his attention to food as it arrived and he was pretty sure everyone around Steve mentally started a countdown in their minds. Watching for when Steve would glance to his side… and actually look at Eddie's plate. 

"Pretty much everything is available online Steve, transparency and all that is very important to the Avengers Initiative. Plus, I know you lot were kept apprised. Who do you think told T'Challa what was happening? So I don't really see any need to talk to me." 

"Well, I just thought that now we're back we could.." 

"I'm going to have to stop you there Steve, because you should know, I'm not the leader of the Avengers. I don't write your contracts, literally nothing to do with any of you, has anything to do with me. I'm just a member of the Avengers." 

"But who else could sort out Bucky's living situation! His room isn't with us."

"That's because he was cleared of all charges months ago. I thought that's what you wanted?" 

"I know, but-" 

"How about, if he wants to move his room, have him go and talk to his UN advisor, or put a form in for moving lodgings. Getting clearance for someone to stay in that building who isn't serving out their community service would be extremely difficult however and again, not my decision. The building is separate for a reason and I have no part in the decision making of where you sleep. Generally, I didn't think I could even get you guys pardons. Let alone how good the terms that were wrangled for you were." 

Tony smiled, true, he didn't choose where Steve slept exactly, as in which room, but the separation of living quarters had been all him, he had also cashed in a favour and got someone else to request it, so he was on paper as arguing about it. Because he was irritated that he had to build an entire new building for them. Nothing he has said was a lie. For example, he hadn't thought he could get them such good pardons, because he had zero interest in getting them pardons. Steve would of course read this as he had worked to gain them said pardons. Loki had a wide grin that he was hiding behind his drink, he did find it highly amusing when Tony lied by telling the complete truth. 

"But I'm sure if you tried.." 

"Steve, I'm dealing with tons of stuff daily, I can't go to the Council because you don't like the terms of the agreement you signed. Speak to your Accords Advisor and the UN official. It's their job. I'm not the leader of the Avengers, I don't decide where people sleep. I'm literally dealing with global defense projects right now with the UN. You guys seem to think I can do anything, demand I do it and then scorn me behind my back for it when I'm done. I'm sick of it. We aren't friends Steve. So. Just drop it . "

"But I just want us to get back to where we were. "

"I don't. I trusted you Steve. Even after Ultron I trusted you. Even after you ignored all my requests, I still trusted you. I thought you were one of my closest friends.."

"I am-"

He held a hand up which silenced Steve surprisingly well, calmly putting his drink down with a resounding thunk. He didn't raise his voice, didn't need to. If anything he was still trying to tone down humans natural reactions to his kind but some of it must be bleeding through or Steve wouldn't be behaving as well. He wanted this nipped in the bud, fast. If he had to deal with Steve repeatedly then blood would probably end up spilled. Especially if Steve kept thinking he was owed Tony's time. 

Acting as if he had debt over him. It was one of the worst things you could do to one of his kind. A huge insult. He was also going about it in a sloppy way, which just added to it. 

"I trusted you. You lied to my face for years. You used my money, my equipment, you just plain used me Steve. Even though it meant lying to the son of a man you claim was your friend. You left me to discover a horrible, painful truth in probably the worst possible situation. Then, you left me in a suit with no power, my collar bone broken, do you know how painful a broken collar bone is to a baseline human Steve? Very ..."

Steve was frozen, pretty much everyone had paused to listen but Tony had hyperfocused, looking nowhere but right in Steve's eyes, forcing him to hear the consequences of his reckless actions.

"I was dying slowly for over 22 hours until this dormant energy was released and healed me. 22 hours is quite a long time when all you feel is pain and ice. So. Tell me, Steve . Why should I trust you again? The man that forgave you for everything died on the ice. Stop looking for him."

Steve just gaped, unable to formulate a response as he realised everyone around then was staring at Steve. With more than a little hostility. Eddie was gripping the table, even Wade was dead still on either side of him. Huh. Maybe he had spilled a little more than he had intended. Bruce was tinged green. He didn't know if Jess was holding him in check or if he was holding her. James looked sick and he did feel bad for that, he didn't really blame him for any of it, his head had been a mess of trauma and Hydra brainwashing. He registered a threat and fought for his life. 

He sent a pulse of raw magic through the dormant Black Fire. His magic jumped at the chance, which was a bit of a shock, his magic usually took a lot longer to get attached to people, even potential Reapers. Tony saw him blink rapidly a few times before hiding a smile behind his hand. 

At Steve's lack of answer, he turned and pointedly started his conversation up with Eddie again as he started his food, snapping the almost trance-like state everyone had been lulled into as he'd talked, he was usually more careful than that, sometimes he played a human so long that he forgot the effect his kind had on humans. Steve, not to be denied and filled with constant optimism, tried to muscle in on a conversation he actually didn't have any knowledge on, given it was on restoration efforts, and that might have finally drawn Steve's attention to the fact Eddie's food was nothing like anyone else's. 

"Oh my God, what is that?" 

"Food." 

Steve was slightly green and less talkative after that. Eddie was thrilled. 

Chapter Text

James POV 

FRIDAY had helped him work out what he should wear for the impending disaster that was dinner. He considered hiding out in his room, but knew if Steve didn't see him he'd think Tony had kidnapped him and locked him in a torture dungeon or something equally ridiculous. He left the pile of old books that had magically appeared on his nightstand with a forlorn look. Running his fingers over them as he forced himself out of the door. 

Why would he want to eat some awkward semi formal dinner with two very different sets of people who distinctly did not like each other, when he could be reading.  

The room was large, which was handy because there were a lot of people in there and he very nearly backed out. Theoretically, Tony had told him who was coming to this, but seeing all those people had him less than comfortable. 

Tony was easy to spot even though he was surrounded by people. They were not so much clustered around him, but he was blocked off from approach by several people and he was starting to see what Deadpool had mentioned already, the masked man was currently keeping Steve from Tony. His entrance gave Deadpool a little break at least. 

"Bucky!" 

"Steve, you know I prefer it you'd call me James." 

"Ah, sorry, I was just so worried when you didn't come back from your tour."

"I went straight to my room, needed to wind down after all the excitement."

"I thought that might be it, but I couldn't find your room." 

"Well it's in the other residential unit, my charges were dropped months ago, so I wouldn't be in the same unit as you guys." 

He was not quite sure how to add it that he'd already signed his Accords contract whilst he was in Wakanda too, but figured ignoring that was a good go to plan for now. He was currently under emergency reserves, end of the world disasters only before he cleared medical and psych. He already had a therapist set up too. Tony had said he wanted his transition to be ready, which apparently meant the other man sorted out everything that he could possibly need, just asking him questions on what he would prefer. It was nice. Rhodes had told him it was normal Tony behaviour. It made the transition from Wakanda to America way smoother than he had thought possible. 

"I'm sure if we asked they might make an exception to house you with us. It's unfair to leave you somewhere alone." 

"I'm not alone punk, already met a few people I'm sharing a floor with. They're nice. Looks like I'm even sat by one of them. "

Which didn't look suspicious, at all.  

He supposed that he could have swapped places with Deadpool or even Loki to have made it worse. The fact they'd already resorted to switching seats around to try and get some time out of Tony meant he was down on a bet. Idiot that he was, he thought Steve and the Rogues (worst band name ever) might at least wait a day before they resorted to things like this. 

"Steve, you're literally a building away, it's not like they set me up in Australia." 

With that he walked towards his seat, dropping down heavily with a sigh. The Ved'ma turned her attention to him immediately, which he ignored to strike up a conversation with their unimpressed guest. His arm warmed up pretty quickly, but this time there was no pain. Suddenly it abruptly cut off and he risked a glance at her without breaking his conversation. She was holding her head as if a migraine had just hit her, realising that Tony had made her attack bounce back made him smirk. If it was anything like the ones she'd been giving him, she was in for a lot of pain. 

He didn't know what started it, but slowly, it was like everyone's attention got pulled towards Steve and Tony. He was just talking to Steve, but there was a pull. His voice was low, obviously he was just talking to Steve, and yet it was almost impossible not to listen, it spread throughout the room bit by bit. James was starting to see why people were seeing Tony as the leader no matter how many times he pointed out that he was not, just a natural trait of his kind maybe. They attracted humans, in the same way he'd read that they Fae we're sucked in by certain humans too, it was strange considering the groups were often opposed and cultural differences caused huge, runaway style problems. 

He'd read more than a few stories that ended with intensely angry Fae and confused humans, or confused Fae and very angry humans. 

For now however, he could see Steve paling by the second. He wasn't exactly faring better himself and was considering leaving when warmth pooled in his chest out of nowhere. Tony didn't seem to blame him for Siberia, which he found odd because he was pretty damned sure that he should be, but then maybe he was thinking too much like a human? 

The warmth was good though, slowly spreading to his limbs like molasses and damned that felt amazing, like he could curl up and doze in front of a fire. He had to cover his mouth from smiling like an idiot, Loki caught it and smirked at him, even though he wasn't sure why. Tony wasn't looking at him, he was talking to Eddie, but it was like he could feel his attention on him, like a physical weight that reassured him more than he thought it should. 

The rest of dinner was somewhat anticlimactic after that, the effect Tony had had on the other diners slowly peeled away, leaving Tony sat just like any normal human and left you thinking if the feeling had been real. He'd been training his brain to pay attention to their weird lately, with his current reading material, how could he not? So for him it sort of remained, like an after image around Tony. If he let his eyes relax he could see something similar over a few others too. Tony and Rhodes were the brightest to this vision, but other Avengers were pinging too. It didn't really tell him much. Other than they were likely not baseline. He wondered if he could improve this Sight any, if so it would be damned useful, figured it likely came from the inactive Black Flame. 

Everyone was sort of mingling around in easy groups, some people moving around from group to group. It looked fun, there were so many interesting people and yet Steve had dragged him over to Clint and the Ved'ma, they had separated themselves off in a corner and pretty much everyone was giving them a wide berth. Wonderful. Although Scott was making considerable inroads speaking with others he noticed, flitting from group to group with all the exuberance of a labrador puppy and a hundred tennis balls. Wilson had taken an easier target of Rhodes. Yet he was stuck, bored out of his mind listening to the archer fawn over the Ved'ma and her terrible sudden migraine.  

Nat had separated herself too, but seemed to be picking at a dessert alone, she looked quite relaxed but he knew she was peoplewatching to gather information. Her eyes scanning over certain Avengers, never too long, never long enough to be seen as rude. After a while Carol approached her and even though his feelings around Natasha were complex, she saw him as a mentor, he felt awful about what he'd been forced to do, it warmed him that she seemed genuinely tentatively happy that the short blonde had approached her. Out of everyone on the Avengers, she was one of the brightest to his vision, with Tony, Loki and surprisingly, Eddie. There were a number of other bright spots, he figured he'd talk to Tony about it, he might understand it as now he had.. Unlocked? Yeah that felt right, now he'd unlocked it, it didn't seem to be Fading back. If anything it was getting more detailed. Loki's bright hum was more green in colour, Eddie's had darkened. He didn't know how black was still registering as bright, but this was magic crap wasn't it? Was it meant to make sense? Carol blazed. Tony's seemed to shift and change, it was gold but there was Black Fire there too, which made sense, blue too, which had him wondering. Tony occasionally spoke of the Blue Fire, usually in reverence would be the best way to describe it. 

James a was generally thinking that as well and good as this sight seemed to be, he was probably lacking information on how to use it? Although he was pretty confident thinking that the brighter a person glowed, the more powerful they were. Now, he expected it from Tony, given the man was a God even though he rarely referred to himself as such. Rhodes however, that was a shock. He knew Reapers were powerful, had been reading about their exploits, but reading and seeing the visceral, burning White Flame flickering around the other man… James had a feeling that Reapers as a group were more powerful than he had first suspected. It was daunting to think he was potentially in the same category, Rhodes made perfect sense. He was strong, he was good. Not for the first time, James wondered why Tony's Fire came to him.

Steve jerked him from his thoughts, asking him if he had any idea what could help poor Wanda's migraine. He had just shook his head and turned his attention back to the people in the room. Like Nat, he enjoyed people watching and this sight made it a lot more fun. Steve was not in the best of moods, he had returned from his mission quite subdued and more than a little green for some reason. Tail firmly between his legs. 

He'd been considering abandoning them for a while, edging a step away here and there until he could maybe vanish into the large crowds. Steve was very concerned about Wanda and they'd tried to get him to join in. He didn't know why, why would one more person fawning over her help? Maybe they could be concerned enough they wouldn't miss him slipping away, there were a LOT of people here, he was certain more had arrived after dinner too. Maybe he could duck and find Shuri? If he was with Shuri or maybe Deadpool he wondered if he could actually meet some of these people. He wasn't the Bucky from before the war, but some of it stayed with him. Bucky had loved meeting new people, finding their stories and getting to know people from all kinds of backgrounds. 

In Wakanda he had made quite a name for himself amongst the Dora with his pesterings. Now there was a room filled with all kinds of extremely different people. God's and humans. Mutants, Aliens, People who had been altered against their will like him, people who chose it, there was just so much it was like he was itching to get out there. Bucky would have confidently marched up to people, but he felt held back in a way. Which was ridiculous because this group wouldn't care about his arm, Nathan proved that. Sometimes it doesn't matter how illogical the barrier is, it was still a barrier. He was at point A, dreaming of C but the bridge of B was elusive and slipped through his fingers like sand. 

Until a red and black rescue in the form of Deadpool sneaking up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and literally dragged him away, made him thank whatever God had been listening as suddenly everyone in the room didn't feel so far away. Deadpool dragged him through the crowds, not that he exactly put up a fight, he gleefully went wherever the masked man was taking him, mostly because it was away from the Ved'ma. One more comment about 'poor little Wanda' and he was going to slam his head into the wall. He couldn't help smiling, he had a feeling he was going to like Deadpool. 

"Boss-man thought you might need a rescue." 

"He was right, hearing two grown ass man fawn after the little Ved'ma was nauseating." 

"Speaking of vomit, FRIDAY might have made a gif of the moment Steve worked out what Eddie was eating." 

Deadpool showed him his phone, he had to admit it seriously amused him, watching Steve have no idea until suddenly, wham. However he was also really confused about what Eddie was eating, he recognised the chocolate and.. tater tots? But he was unsure about the rest, the video was more focused on Steve's face, but it seemed to be a mix of foods that he would not normally have put anywhere near each other. Whilst Tony told him a lot about the compound. He'd said that some secrets are for others to give up and that he didn't want to spoil James's fun of getting to know people. Tony suddenly appeared behind him and Deadpool skipped away to try and dance with Nathan by the looks of it, he managed to suppress the jump as Tony had actually had surprised him this time, that man was also quiet as a damned cat. The amusement shining in his eyes showed that he knew exactly what he'd done. 

"How was dinner?" 

"Not bad, I had a buffer for conversation and Steve was suspiciously absent." 

"Hmm, I hate to say it, oh wait, no I don't. I told you so." 

"Yeah, yeah, my hopes for their ability to act like adults has been stomped into the dirt. I am sorry, by the way for Sib-" 

He didn't get any further as Tony covered his mouth with his hand, he smirked and stuck his tongue out this time. Making Tony genuinely laugh eased the guilt crushing his chest a little bit. 

"We've already covered that, we're good Snowflake." 

"Okay, fine, I'll try to stop apologising." 

"I saw you glancing at your arm, did she try something?"

It surprised him that he'd noticed something so small, but he shrugged it off, he didn't want to start an incident and from the way Tony was occasionally looking at the three who were tucked away in the corner, he was definitely pissed. When he'd left them, Clint and Steve were trying to convince her to go and lie down. Obviously concerned at the sudden appearance of the pain and she couldn't exactly explain where it had suddenly come from. 

"Yeah, but I felt nothing and she's now sporting a migraine." 

"Good. I only set it to reflect mental interference. There were some nastier things I was heavily tempted to add."

"That might have made a bit of a spectacle during dinner." 

Tony flashed him a smile that was more teeth and sharper than usual. He noticed that usually when Tony smiled, his cat fangs weren't on display, but if he was amused about something like this, or when he was just too caught up in what they were discussing, he'd catch a flash of fang. 

"Let's just say she is lucky I have a high level of control over myself. Although she should be careful, my control is not endless ." 

He reached over, although he wasn't entirely sure why he'd done it, but stress seemed to bleed out of Tony's shoulders when he made contact. A grateful smile seemed to back it up as a good idea, as did his leaning further into the contact. He didn't know whose actions surprised him more, his own or Tony's. Either way he wasn't moving, not when Tony practically melted under the contact. Tony was a warm solid presence under his hand which he slipped to his back instead of his arm, less obvious and more comfortable too. It likely looked like they were just standing a little close, with James slightly behind and Tony hummed in a pleased manner.

"I will be fine Snowflake, it takes a lot to snap my control. But this is grounding." 

"I'm glad I can help, I mean, you've done so much for me after all." 

"As long as you do not think you owe me back. You've kept me sane via text these last few months, so know you're always welcome in my workshops to raid my books." 

"I think I'd like that." 

Tony's attention wandered over in the direction of the rogues several times, he noticed that Tony looked confused? There was something drawing his attention over and over but he didn't seem to know why. He kept glancing at Thor too who was happily chatting to several people. Tony had told him that Thor was loud, James added this to the list of things he had underestimated, because wow was he loud. 

"What is it?" 

"I don't know. I'm not familiar enough with Wanda's magic to know if I'm picking up on something or if it's left over anger from earlier." 

"So why do you keep looking to Thor?" 

"Hm? Oh. It's his fault they're back, so I linked him with Wanda, the others too but my primary intention was Wanda. If she breaks the rules, Thor knows. My intention was to have a legal watch on Wanda who is seen as on their side. If I did it to myself the evidence wouldn't be accepted due to 'conflicts' and Steve preempted me, saying I was biased against her. Like he isn't. Wanda can do no wrong just as Tony Stark could do nothing right. Thor however is very well recorded now as being on their side, it carries a little extra weight if I have him report Wanda."

"Crafty."

"It technically doesn't stop her casting magic, if she has permission. Permission is a tricky thing though, especially if she's already been working on people. I didn't realise how much of a loophole that was until now when Thor didn't pick up on her casting magic on you. I don't like how that slipped by me."

Tony frowned, he was taking this a lot more seriously than James thought it warranted. She hadn't actually gotten into his mind or hurt him that bad. He was fine. He didn't want to cause Tony trouble with the Accords Council or the UN just over himself. 

"I'm not sure I even understand this properly, but I definitely didn't give her permission."

"Steve might be, and being on Steve's team as of right now, he's technically in control and she could be looking into strange magic for her team leader. The laws of humans haven't quite caught up with magical laws of intent yet. It's a loophole I didn't predict. I don't like it when that happens, tonight … I think I'm going to weave a Web."

"A web?"

"Like a magical net cast across the entire compound if that makes sense. Any magic she casts in the range of it, will ping and get caught in the Web. Like an after image of what she cast, the general shape of her workings and, if I cast it correctly, small chunks of her magic will get caught too. That way I can examine it properly. I would rather not have someone hurt irrevocably before I can have her permanently removed. I don't want them just pardoning her again, I want permission to rip her power from her."

"You planning on getting shot of her already?"

He'd known that Tony had not wanted her returning to his compound, any of the rogues really. But especially not Wanda, he had not realised how much Tony disliked her, he was definitely going to have to ask Wade about it. 

"She hurt you."

Tony said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. If anything he looked baffled that James had asked about it. 

"I'm a patient hunter, she will trip up. That power of hers, it yearns to be used. She'll feel my Web, likely not thinking it is mine and she'll decide to lay low." 

"Won't that make it harder to catch her?" 

"At first, yes. The longer she lays low however, the more tempting it will be. She'll trip my trap and then I'll have evidence to get shot of her. If her magic is legal, I'll just use it to learn the tenor of her craft and I'm stuck waiting until she breaks a law. If I go to the council with anything other than 100% proof, ugh. It's just politics. I hate politics." 

"Devious. Can't believe you're doing all this for me though." 

"You're my friend. You're mine . She tried to tamper with your mind. On my territory. If we were underhill I'd have rights to execute her for that alone. Instead, she is on my territory, risking people who are mine.." 

There was a low growl to Tony's words and the gold in his eyes seemed brighter, shifting as his eyes scanned over the scattered Avengers. There was a dangerous air around him, like the air was charged somehow. That afterimage sharpened. Some people even subconsciously edged away from them. He wondered what it said about him that he found the whole thing comforting?

The rest of the evening was quite pleasant and they stayed like that for quite a while, as Tony didn't seem to be concerned with moving, he didn't either. He didn't realise he was doing it at first but he'd started running his hand slightly up and down Tony's spine when he'd started to get overwhelmed with all the people, it made him feel better and he was amused seeing Tony try to keep up a conversation whilst he was doing it. It also helped distract Tony anytime his attention inevitably swung back to Wanda like a magnet. 

He got to meet a whole lot more people this way too. When he'd been standing with Steve and the others, there had been a wide berth. Wings and TicTac had broken away to meet people, but few would actually approach the other three. Stood by Tony however, he met all kinds of people. No one seemed scared of him, no one looked at his metal hand with thinly guised disgust. People willingly shook his hand. But then, again, he wasn't the only metal armed person around. 

Thor however, was a revelation in himself, he was like a giant dog in a cape. Super excitable. With an actual, flowing Cape. 

"Ah, you just be James!" 

"You have a cape." 

Okay, so that hadn't been the most eloquent thing he'd ever said. In his defence, it wasn't often he met Cape wearing space vikings. The Sorcerer he kind of expected the weird get up, his cloak also had a mind of its own and it was on his list of people he wanted to meet. Which, he was still finding it hilarious that one of the people he wanted to meet was sentient outwear as Sam called it. 

A dark haired man joined them, smiling at him whilst ruffling Thor's cape. From pictures he knew this was Loki, the bright green after image flitted around him, it was like he could feel it.. the magic , in his teeth. He'd gotten quite accustomed to Tony's level of power, or maybe that was the Black Fire helping it along? Loki felt completely different. Which he supposed made sense, they came from completely different worlds and pantheons. Whereas Thor actually looked like a space viking as Tony called him, Loki was dressed quite stylishly in a green shirt and ridiculously tight black jeans. 

"I do! It's lovely isn't it!" 

"Oh course it is Thor. You look wonderful." 

"Anthony, please do not encourage him." 

"Oh come on Lokes, don't you miss your get up, can have a fancy green cape made up for you. It's a staple for off worlders you know, Thor set a trend." 

Thor seemed immensely happy that he had apparently set a trend. It made him think for a second though. 

"Does that mean you have a cloak?" 

Loki and Thor's peaked interest had Tony rolling his eyes. 

"Rarely. Definitely not during battle, they drag. Not fun to fight in. Even spelled. Then they get super opinionated about your eating and sleeping habits." 

Loki looked interested by the information where as Thor looked like he wanted to prove him wrong. Tony shot a glare over towards Stephen Strange, although he wasn't sure why. 

"You just have to learn to work with the cape!" 

"Says the man weilding a flying projectile that returns to him. Some of us actually have to move on a battlefield." 

"Don't you teleport?" 

"Dammit Snowflake, whose side are you on!" 

From this angle he also got to see how people seemed to form up around Tony, should any of the Rogues decide to approach he assumed. Tony seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around him. James wasn't sure if he actually was oblivious or just made people think he was. Colonel Rhodes was the only one to take visible notice to how close they were standing, raising an eyebrow and smirking in his direction while Tony was saying something to Bruce about quantum something particles. 

He shrugged to the man, the two of them spoke occasionally, he being the only other human to carry the Black Fire inside him after all. Unlike him, he had taken up the mantle of The Reapers. He'd told him the process wasn't lengthy or large on ceremony. He didn't tell him exactly what it was, well, he told him Tony pretty much spoke some strange words and then the Fire inside him would become active . That Tony would show him things in a brain melting fashion, which didn't really tell him much, at all. That he'd need to breathe. As far as advice goes, breathing? James squinted heavily at it. 

He'd been thinking about it a lot, he didn't know if he was worthy of something like that. Colonel Rhodes was a proud man, who had fought well his entire life. A true protector when his hands…his hands were drenched with blood. 

He wanted to prove that he was better than what Hydra made him. To himself as much as Tony and Colonel Rhodes. He wasn't sure how he was going to do it, but he had made it his new mission. Reading the tales of Reapers past and other history tomes that Tony had given him access to so far had amplified this. He wanted to protect, but first he had to become worthy of it. 

After Bruce moved with Thor to meet T'Challa, he figured the lull in conversation was going to be the only one for a while before someone else turned up. 

"So, my vision is being… Weird." 

Tony tilted to face him, head cocked and was more looking around him than at him. 

"Weird how?" 

"It started during dinner, it's like some people were brighter somehow. At first it was just like this glow, but it's been sort of changing slowly."

"How is it changing?" 

"Well, Loki is green, has this green shifting glow around him? I don't know what it means." 

"That… should not be possible. I've never had a Reaper gain the sight before having their powers released. That is pretty amazing, mind if I check something?" 

"Sure." 

Tony shifted so that he was giving the room his back before summoning that familiar Black Fire to his hands, he felt the answering pull in his chest, like a pleasant hum. Instead of just holding it near him, this time he lightly pressed it to his sternum. James wondered if seeing literal Fire on your chest would ever not be extremely weird. 

"Still inactive, but you do have a lot, hmm, your Fire is nice." 

"It's different to yours and Rhodes?" 

"Every Reapers Fire feels different. Rhodeys is warm and very affectionate, run your fingers through it and it wraps around your arm up to your damned elbow. Yours.. Is like silk. It's impressive that you are already learning how to use your Fire. With the sight it's best not to force it. Just let your eyes unfocus and let the information come naturally. The more you use it, the better you'll get at understanding different readings."

He ran his fingers through the Fi re before it vanished back to where ever magical Fire goes when it isn't right in front of him. It was surprisingly cool compared to the soft warmth of Tony's. He liked it, even if it was still kind of weird. It was his.

Chapter Text

Tony POV

"Tony, why are we up at the ass crack of dawn?" 

"Because you said you'd help me with my Web." 

Rhodey glared at him, he was pointedly wrapped up in a dressing gown and big fluffy slippers in protest of being forced out at this time of the night/morning. After Tony had turned up, knocking the door, Carol had been highly unimpressed with being dragged out of bed. Carol however had promptly shoved Rhodey into the hall when she had realised that she was not actually required for this morning's venture. Just Rhodey. Rhodey had just stood in the hall, blinking and glaring as Tony had dragged him outside into the dark. Maybe when Tony had told Rhodey about the web he hadn't mentioned dawn being a requirement… 

Tony had already done a lot of the set up over the last few hours, his hands were completely stained blue as he was ready to get some sleep himself. As such he was kind of hyper, because that's generally what happened when he was overtired. There was also the hoarding energy and gearing himself up for a large casting. So he was bouncing on his toes slightly, he loved casting large workings on his Great Wards 

He'd set up all the points along the wall where his web was going to connect and threaded his warp. Or at least, the magical equivalent of warp, which was a set of rather inert threads of very thin magic. Strong but they would not interact with the active magic he'd eventually weave with. 

Tony couldn't single out the Rogues property of course, so this spanned the entire compound, otherwise that would be seen as unfair. This way it was just part of his very legal, very accepted by the Accords, very not Wanda targeted, defences. Also it would give Wanda other places she could go on the compound to dodge his Web if he just cast it over their building. 

The magical specialists on the Accords Council still didn't quite know what to do with him, so it had been surprisingly easy to get permission for his Ward Web. He'd spent about 45 minutes talking to them about it with enough magical jargon to sink a ship, also with enough obscure jargon that the specialists couldn't tell if he was being truthful or making shit up.

Sometimes, it was good to be very old and very well travelled. He was pretty sure they had no idea what a Ward Web was, which made sense as Tony had invented the idea back when he started using Great Wards in general. Few people used magic like he did.

His compound was laid out for magical use, down to the very building placement and the pavements themselves. His walls were always set to become any number of things, which also included looms if required.

Weaving and looms were prime targets for working magic, Tony had just sized it up. He hadn't thought he'd be casting compound wide magic so soon however. 

Having the head of the Avengers oversee him setting it up had been a requirement of the Accords Council, even though Tony had no idea why.  

They were unaware of Rhodey's Reaper status and that was the only reason Rhodey would actually see anything he was going to be doing. Something about an unbiased judicature over magic caught in his Ward Web. 

Non magical beings on the base wouldn't even know this was in place. Wanda would probably sense the web setting into place, he wasn't sure. She wouldn't have felt the warp as it was inert, but the weft, that she could sense. Maybe. If not, he suspected that she would pick up on it eventually, but then Tony wasn't actually being secretive about it, he wanted Wanda to know that people in his territory were protected. That drive, that instinct was hard coded the second he claimed these lands and having Reapers and kids had made it annoyingly strong, but at least this way it actually worked to his advantage. She would be less likely to cast large, damaging magic, but try to sneak through something that would likely still be illegal and not harm someone as much. Underestimating the strength of his Web. 

Wanda had had no real magical training and her abilities were frankly, all over the place. Even if she did have training, his people's magic had been gone from the world for many, many generations, and Tony's flare complicated matters futher. 

Some easy stuff she was completely blind to, yet she was well versed in other things that people took centuries of learning. With zero concept of rules or the fundamental principles and Laws of Magic.

Because of this, predicting her was practically impossible, and that made her dangerous. Tony was sure that one on one, she wouldn't remotely stand a chance against him. Tony was powerful when he was young and he never stopped working on his craft. However, Wanda was Hydra, even if she claimed to leave, even if she had left, they were the ones to train her. 

Magically inclined individuals tended to imprint like ducklings onto their first tutors. Sure over the years they could spread out, pick up different styles, but fundamentally they stuck to a core thread, for him it was his mother which was why he usually came back to painted Wards even though he threw his own twist to it. Wanda was originally trained by Hydra, if not to their ideals, but their standard operating practices could easily permeate her magic. 

They didn't play by the rules and as such, she would seek ways to even the playing field somehow. Usually by harming innocents, people who lived on his territory.

People who were his. 

"I'm not sure I want to be connected to a thing that senses magic in the compound. You and Loki live in the compound. Do you know how much magic you and Loki do? Because it's more than Reed plays with portals." 

"Do not compare me to Reed! Believe it or not, we are actually both being quite restrained when it comes to magic, given the inherent lack of it in this realm." 

"RESTRAINED?!"

Rhodey squeaked out, looking highly unimpressed. He supposed from an Earth perspective, he and Loki used a lot of magic. But from even just an Asgardian perspective? They were actually being quite reserved. Asgard had nothing on Underhill, that place lived and breathed pure magic. It was entirely made of magic, will and intent. Where as the Firelands were fixed, Underhil was nebulous, shifting, breathing pure, unadulterated magic. 

"Yup, someday I'll take you to my lands Underhill. My house is really nice, and then you'll realise just how restrained I'm being. Lokester is the same." 

"But the two of you are always doing magic." 

"Then you'll be happy to know I set this up to ignore magic it recognises, and as its made of mine, it won't ping for me. Now we're waiting for Lokester." 

"So you drag me out of bed at ass crack of dawn yet you patiently wait for him?" 

Tony stepped into a flurry of fire, sitting up on the wall at the top of the last Ward, his Control Ward, leaving Rhodey blearily glancing around until he looked up. Scowling at him. 

"Hey, if you want to drag a Chaos God out of bed, be my guest." 

"You're a damned Chaos God is what you are. And don't pretend to be scared of Loki, I know you're older than him. You're damned ancient." 

Tony snorted, he was not that old, there were some of his people who had been born in their original lands for example, and was not a chaos God. It was this new date system the humans had been using over the last few millennia. Anything over 2000 was 'Ancient' these days and he was quite a bit older than that. The amount of films that had everything set at 2000 years ago was staggering, the kind of thing you didn't notice, until you did and it was everywhere. 

He brought his attention back to the job at hand, holding so much magic was making his thoughts jump around, luckily he had everything he needed, including his representation of the Ward loom, and now he just needed Loki and the dawn. 

"Are we really insulting my age? Is that where we are right now?" 

"Yes. Get Loki before I freeze to death." 

Tony felt the air charge a few seconds before a green flash left a well dressed Loki standing next to Rhodey. Even though it was still dark with dawn not far away. It just made Rhodey's get up look even more hilarious. 

Loki paid no attention to that and was more interested in the large Ward on the wall. 

"Give me some magic Lokes." 

"As long as you explain this web to me after." 

He held his hands out as Loki sent him a small green ribbon, it lightly coiled in his hand before he coaxed it into the Control Ward, a segment of it that he'd devoted to ignoring Loki's magical signature briefly flashed green before returning to the usual blue. He'd left a space for Stephen's magic next time he visited. 

He fished a folded up sheet of paper out of his pocket which had the general gist of what he was planning with this Ward, along with the new Ward he'd designed on the back that acted as the connection points. Tossing it over. He knew Loki would easily recognise it as a circular tapestry pattern, if he remembered correctly his mother weaved magic more often than not. It was something Tony occasionally dabbled in but in a different way. Bigger. 

"Here, that's a general idea. The Connection Ward is on the back, this is just the Control Ward." 

"Did you just design this?" 

"Hmm? Yeah, after dinner." 

Loki was squinting at him but he was paying more attention to the time. Waiting on the dawn, it was the best cheat when it came to static magic like this. Dawn eroded magic, like running water, the more water the quicker the magic runs down. The more dawns pass, the weaker the magic gets. It's why people liked to keep magically infused items in doors, away from the dawn. It meant they needed to be topped up less. 

Tony was always fiddling, and he'd had a good 6000 plus years to get fucking annoyed with Earth's dawns and their magic eroding properties. 

The Ward Web wouldn't be dawn proof, even his outer wall enchantments were not completely dawn proof, nothing was. They were regularly supplied with his own magic and a few taps to the Blue Fire. Eventually dawn would win, but he was a master at delaying it. The building iterations kept the Outer Wards powered for longer, this Ward Web however was different. He couldn't activate each connection point separately, building up the power. Which was what made the outer Ward dawn resistant. 

The Web was very much weaving. Taking different wefts of magic to come together. 

Each connection point was a catch for the warp so to speak. Connecting it in a perfect straight line to the connection opposite. Like spokes on a wheel. Which was why he couldn't build up iterations, it would throw off the tension in his weave. In tapestry weaving, tension was everything. 

Now he had his warp, he'd use the inherent magic of the dawn to weave a mix of blue and black flame towards the centre. Hopefully without passing out. Because that would be annoying and he suspected that Rhodey would let him fall off of the wall in recompense for the early wake up. 

Loki was looking at the image whilst trying not to be impressed and Rhodey was squinting at it as if it was written in Gaelic. (Which it wasn't, Rhodey had a thing with Gaelic after he'd heard Tony speaking it. Called it a language of terrifying ghost whispers. Welsh apparently was freakishly musical for a language that had its vowels looted in the night. He had a few other Brythonic and Goidelic languages to expose Rhodey to eventually.)

"I can't believe you dragged me out of bed to do magical arts and crafts." 

"That's actually a good description of this, and you get to take home the finished product." 

"Yay." 

Rhodey did not look even remotely enthused as Loki ported and came through sitting next to him up on the wall. Whilst Rhodey couldn't see his warp, Loki could and he ran his fingers across the thread. Pinging it slightly which brought it briefly into the visual spectrum for Rhodey, the silvery thin thread briefly flashing before slowly Fading away. Tony swatted Loki from pinging any more of his threads. 

"This is entirely not fair." 

"I can get you a ladder?" 

Rhodey glared at Tony and Loki, who were both doing their interpretation of 'perfectly innocent.' 

"Ahuh, fine get me a damned ladder." 

Tony waved his hand, pulling one of the ladders from maintenance so Rhodey could climb up and sat on his other side. 

"Where did this come from from anyway?" 

"Maintenance." 

"Well, make sure you actually put it back." 

"Hey! I put things back… Mostly." 

"Uhuh. Carol still wants her mirror back by the way. It vanished in Black Flame months ago when she was getting dressed." 

"Ah fuck! I knew I left something in Wakanda!" 

Rhodey just gave him the look whilst Loki was trying not to laugh. The automatic counter in his head for dawn finally ran down. 

"OK, shush, yell at me about mirrors later." 

"Arts and crafts time?" 

"Yes." 

As he was weaving with actual thread on an actual loom, that was the best description. With a 7 inch silver tapestry needle. Luckily this wasn't the first time he'd done this, although it was the biggest one and channeling blue fire through all of it was going to be a little painful. He couldn't afford to look up from his loom but he knew Loki and Rhodey would be watching the larger version play out in front of them. 

"OK, this was kind of worth being woken up for."

"It is quite beautiful." 

Tony hummed, he had an idea of what it looked like but being the one actually doing the casting, he couldn't spare the focus to look.

As he did a simple weave, no fancy patterns required, it was the thread that was important. Black thread enchanted with Black Fire, a deep blue for the Blue Fire and grey for the dawn. A simple pattern, but the repetitive nature would layer the magic and enhance its strength. 

When he hit the centre he sagged slightly. Huffing at the exertion as the weft settled in place over the compound. The Blue and Black wound with a shimmering, glittering, silver thread of dawn that threw of a refracted rainbow of colour would slowly fade until even he could not see it. When it completely vanished from his visual senses he grabbed Rhodey's arm, flipping it palm side up. 

"Um, what are you doing?" 

He could feel his Web automatically as it had been constructed of his own magic, Loki would be able to feel it too. Might even feel it when it catches some magic as he'd put the mages magic into his Control Ward. Rhodey however did not do magic. He was of magic, not a wielder. 

"How else are you going to know when the Web picks up on something?" 

He pressed the loom into Rhodey's palm and in a bright blue flash, it completely vanished. Leaving a blue, circular weaved pattern on his palm. Rhodey looked at it critically. 

"How many tattoos are you planning on giving me?!" 

Chapter Text

Tony POV

Tony dropped his forehead on the breakfast table and his friends were mean enough that they just carried on eating breakfast over him. Ignoring his very real plight and pain. 

James and Rhodey were trying not to laugh, Loki was just acting as if he wasn't complaining. Calmly spreading an incredibly thin layer of honey onto the sweet bread, both of which his mother had brought from Underhill and as such tasted vastly different to that found on earth. James had already been gifted a jar from his mother. In thanks of what, he was unsure but James had not stopped grinning.

His mother, of course, was endlessly amused by his complaining. 

"But why is he coming here? I have enough annoying people in my territory I'm being forced to deal with under human-legal means. I don't want more." 

"Fury is coming because of the other irritations, you knew your preliminary report of the Witch would likely bring him sniffing. The Accords Council was bound to send it to him and Stephen. Who else could they send it to?" 

Tony turned to glare at Rhodey because this was not a time for logic. Not a time for sense. This was Fury. Entering his territory and sticking his nose in Tony's plans. Most importantly, setting foot in his territory. 

The possessive nature of Fae, for land they hold, people that dwell upon it and people under his protection was something his friends were only just starting to understand. Which was good, because he worried that they may dislike being referred to as his. It wasn't that he believed that he owned them, nor that they were property, it was a subject tricky to explain to those that were not Fae. They were simply… His. His to protect, his to home, his to provide for. Simply, his . It was a word with obvious meanings in English, but in magic it was a beautifully layered, territorial word of protection and power. It was more important than debt. 

Rhodey had just rolled his eyes and proclaimed Tony to be his. Which was something that made him happy inside, he had never belonged to another in such a way, he enjoyed the bond. Loki had taken it as a research point. Now endlessly interested in all things Underhill, almost as much as James. Who had surprised Tony the most with such a calm acceptance of it. Humans usually took at least some explaining over the concept, even Rhodey did. But Tony had slipped, being distracted with the Witch and told James that he was his before he had a chance to explain it. After Tony had realised his slip, he has been concerned, but James had just smiled and was happy about it. That was baffling Tony, he wasn't just going along with it as a weird Fae thing, he was happy. Tony was as such, confused, James didn't react like any other human he had ever met. 

"Cer is planning on arriving after breakfast." 

That jarred him out of thoughts but his mother's proclamation did perk him up a little, making him actually sit up and consider having another waffle. She had likely seen that he was getting lost in his thoughts again. He had discussed this with her for a few hours, for 4 nights in a row and Tony was nowhere closer to understanding James reaction. 

This and his investigation into the little Witch had almost taken over everything. Only iron control over himself had him still dedicating time to other projects other than his plans for Wanda. He'd spent 8 hours last night combing through magic the witch had used since his web had fallen into place and mostly it had been telekinesis. Not that he would allow repetition to let him go lax. He would investigate the 500th use of telekinesis at the same level as the 3rd incase this was her way of subverting his Web. 

Personally Tony had been considering just disappearing her again, but had been reminded that that would negatively impact him with suspicion and Steve would go yelling to the Accords, potentially screwing up the very delicate balance of things required to take down the Titan. Rhodey and James had taken to reminding him of this multiple times a day. It was a shame, he could just port her to the mists, dooming her to wander for hundreds of years. Technically he wouldn't be killing her, was it his fault if humans couldn't navigate the mists? 

The only magic she had cast on Clint had been a sloppy, extremely basic, pain lessening charm on 4 occasions. Which, in a way, great that she wasn't pushing Clint further, at the same time there was nothing he could use. Clint was highly unlikely to consent to be checked out by himself, Loki or Stephen, which meant there was no proof that he was being manipulated. The Accords had already pardoned her from crimes that should have had her on the way to supermax, Captain America carried some sway still and him talking her up as an innocent child? It worked. 

The Magic department of the Accords was still struggling to get off its feet, whilst occasionally useful for him, it was made up primarily of people under 100 years old. His overtures to Kamar Taj to take a more active role were going at the usual speed of ancient magic institutions. Slow. His report had recommended that Wanda be relocated to Kamar Taj immediately for 'training'. It had nothing to do with him wanting her to be conveniently locked in an institution that understood the Laws of Magic.

The Accords were getting there, but it was a young document that simply could not compare to the Laws of Magic. To the Accords, a team member investigating strange magic under authorisation of the team leader? Technically legal and therefore, Thor saw nothing. Under the Laws of Magic, using pain to pick apart a Ward you have never seen? The Book will be smacking you in the face before you could think up an excuse. If anything, Wanda with her Hydra training was highlighting weaknesses in the Accords he had to work on. It also had surprised him just how competent she could be under her Hydra training when she wasn't acting the spoilt brat, it was easy for even him to forget she was a trained Hydra operative. He'd also forgotten how annoying it was to act entirely under legal means in the open when your opponent had no such qualms.

James nudged him and he realised his thoughts were trailing again. He pushed the thoughts of the Witch back for now, maybe there was a way he could use Fury to his advantage. Hmm, that was an idea. 

"Big C? Awesome, FRIDAY send a message to all the compound kids. They love it when he visits."

"Already done Boss." 

James and Loki having no idea who they were talking about were interested. Both of them were heavily interested in Underhill and its occupants. Big C was a good person for them to meet too. He enjoyed the company of travellers and humans alike, and was of a kind as himself and his mother, favouring survivors. 

"You know, your thing with the nicknames doesn't make things complicated at all." 

"Anthony can't help it, it's a trait of his race to form nicknames, it avoids the uncomfortable mess of truenaming. Which is the only reason I tolerate being called 'Lokester'. Anyone else was to try it and they'd find themselves in the lake." 

"Hey, I've been any combination of Platypus, Gumdrop, Rhodey-bear and about 500 others since he was in university." 

"My nicknames are awesome and you all love them or you have to meet Fury in my stead."

He glanced around the table and there were no takers. Shockingly. Sighing, he had been waiting for Fury to find an excuse to visit his compound since he'd ported directly into his office. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it. 

"How should I do this thing with Fury? Nice, or terrifying?"

"You mean you have other settings?" 

Tony tossed his toast at James for that, who just caught it and tore a chunk off to eat. Not even remotely repentant, much to Rhodey's absolute delight. 

"Why did I invite you all to breakfast to be mean to me again?" 

"You didn't dear, I did when you were asleep." 

"That sounds about right, hey, maybe I could introduce Fury to Big C?" 

Rhodey looked heavily amused with the idea. 

"Suddenly, I find I am available." 

"Oh no, you told me you had drills." 

"Oh look, my calendar just opened up!" 

"I'll remember this, next time you pull the C-Card, I'm actually going to check with her." 

"No you won't." 

"I will." 

If he had to get FRIDAY to sodding remind him, he would do it. 

He felt his gate scan a new vehicle, registering 3 humans. He assumed that it was Fury, no one else was due today. He shrugged his shoulders and shifted his outfit to something more 'outside' as Rhodey and James grumbled about him cheating. 

Which just amused him, tilting his head as an idea occurred to him. 

He made sure to brush his hand across both of them in some way, shifting their clothing with a quick glamour. 

"Better?" 

“Huh, what the?!"

Rhodey blurted out whilst James looked surprised, before running the material through his fingers. His glamours for clothes, that whilst they might look like Earth clothing, we're of fabric found in Underhill. It was what he was used to working with. It took a little extra boost of magic to add the feel of the fabric into the the glamour, but he knew that James had a thing for few textures. Especially soft things and the fabric was softer than any human silk garment. 

"Now the two of you know I can do that, just think about all the options I could have gone for?" 

He'd shifted their clothes to just a smart version of what they were already wearing, this time. James seemed amused and happy with the change, Rhodey however had known him long enough to be amused and moderately horrified of the implications. 

"Right, I'm going to meet the pirate, send Big C my way when he arrives."

He flicked through the CCTV and found Fury stood in the Carpark, with Coulson and a random "Totally not a Shield agent". He stepped into fire and came out behind Fury. 

"Boo." 

"Motherfucker, how did you..?" 

He firewalked to the other side of him, grinning as Fury span and glared at him. 

"Very easily Nicky-boy." 

"Huh, I was sure Fury was pulling one over when he said you could teleport. What's your range?"

"Why? Fancy visiting Wakanda or something?" 

Coulson just blinked at that, obviously expecting his range to be limited, where there was blue fire, he could reach on earth. His range Underhill was a complex thing. But then distance itself in Underhill was usually too complex for humans to understand. The Firelands, Earth were fixed. A metre was a metre. A mile was a mile. Underhill wasn't fixed, fundamentally humanity struggled with this concept as much as his people struggled with the fixed nature of Earth. As usual he was caught between them. 

"So, welcome to my compound. I would let you wander, but that requires a degree of trust I can't hand over yet. Did you read your contracts? If you both sign I will allow you a degree of freedom." 

"Yes. Both of us have, haven't we Director?" 

Fury had an unimpressed but cautious look on his face, interesting. 

"Good! So, there are rules to entering the compound, as you've read. Have you signed?" 

Coulson handed over a contract, his neat script in the margins. Tony touched the contract and sorted through any changes the man wanted, shifting parts he agreed with and red lining others. It took around 5 seconds. 

"That more acceptable?" 

"What?" 

Tony gestured to the contract, and Rhodey's snort as Coulson's eyebrows shot up made him smile. He glanced over as Rhodey, James and Loki made themselves comfortable on a bench to watch the proceedings. Coulson was paging through, seeing his notes that Tony had accepted now typed and added to the document. 

"How did you..?" 

"Contracts are a specialty of my kind." 

"And what is 'your kind'? Howard Stark was human." 

If Fury thought the glaring was going to work on him this was going to be boring, stilted conversation peppered with glaring that he just smiled blithely at. 

"Tony Stark was too." 

Whilst Fury glared Coulson handed over his signed contract, happy with the changes. Tony tripled it, locking it, sending a copy to the Compound vault, one to his pocket dimension and handing one back to Coulson who was looking at it in confusion, as all his notes had now vanished. 

"Nicky?" 

There was a lot of grumbling as he handed over his own contract that had a good 30 extra pages stapled to it. Tony held it for 10 seconds before passing it back. 

"If you thought you'd tie me up for weeks, you miscalculated." 

Loki and Rhodey snorted at that. James was at least trying to not look like this was a strange audience event as Fury flicked through the newly changed document, his usual glare replaced with something he had not expected. There was a degree of uncertainty by the time he reached the end. Tony had even included profiles, but not names he could easily google, on who the debt would pass too if he died and Tony's mother was not a fan of Fury. They went back and forth a few more times until Fury had little choice but to sign or leave. Grudgingly the pirate signed handing it over, watching as Tony did exactly what he'd done to Coulson's. 

"Right! Now, wasn't that easy?" 

"So what are you?" 

Fury had actually put that in his contract and capitulated on several things for it too. 

"I'm many things, and no I'm not dodging, I just don't know your understanding of different pantheons of Earth." 

"I know enough." 

"Helpful. Hmm, then I am the Celtic God of The Balance." 

Fury just blinked at him and Tony grinned. 

"Hey, I gave you the chance to have an answer that meant something to you. Now you have your answer, so, you read my report?" 

"Now hang on a minute.." 

"Director, might I suggest not making out you have been cheated on a contract. His kind don't take well to it." 

Tony just raised his eyebrow as Fury glanced between him and Loki. Trying to work out if he could push this before sighing and rubbing his hand across his face. 

"Fine. So you think the witch is fucking with the old teams minds? Do you have any evidence? Because Rogers has laid the groundwork for you being biased towards her, if you push too fast too soon… "

"I prove him right and my evidence will be looked upon less favourably. I know. I can't exactly examine them myself, hey, now you're here, you could talk to them! Aren't I coming up with great ideas today!" 

He wasn't sure if Fury was glaring more at him or at the peanut gallery. Even Coulson looked like he was trying to hide a smile. Nameless agent had been hiding in the car since he had ported in. Tony must have scared the poor dear considering he had locked the doors. 

"Speak to Clint, try to get him to agree to be assessed by someone with decent magical training. But, if he starts behaving too erratically, back off, you could create conflicts that could damage his mind. I want authorisation under the Accords to shut her down, I'd rather the hunt be slow than you sacrifice Clint."

Before Fury could respond to his idea, his uncle spotted them and immediately made his way over. 

Now, Big C, was big, he easily tapped a good 7 or 8 feet. He was under a glamour so the antlers that usually added a good 2 or 3 feet were hidden. He was built like a forester, broad and heavily muscled. Sporting a black beard that was ever so slightly tinted green, his long, loose hair was the same. His eyes were an 'utterly never going to be mistaken for human' vibrant, shifting green and like his own eyes, there seemed to be simply.. more colour. Wearing a silver torc around his neck, each end had a silver leaf beneath a sizeable emerald. Big C had glamours that he could pass in much better, but he never bothered using them at the compound. The kids would hang off him even if he was a friendly giant. 

"There's my Nephew! Your mother had me stepping through brambles to find you! What have I forgotten about now?" 

"You were meant to have that cloak finished a season ago." 

"I knew I was forgetting something. Introduce me to your friends?" 

"The giggling trio back there are my friends, You know my Platypus and That is Lokester of Asgard, finally my Snowflake. The angry pirate is one Nicholas Fury and his Right hand man, Phill Coulson." 

He smirked at the discomfort that flashed on Fury's face at the use of his name, Coulson as ever just looked mildly intrigued. As Fury generally looked angry, Phill always looked bland. Fury was the spy but Phill was perfectly forgettable in nearly every way. From his hair cut to the very tenor of his voice. To Tony, the near perfect level of that had always made him unforgettable in a way, even when Tony was human. He stood out because he was perfectly sculpted not to. Fury was trying not to get a crick in his neck and looking up and up and failing miserably. 

"You always surround yourself with the most interesting Fragile Creatures." 

"As do you, how many do you have marked of the Green?" 

"As many as are needed. The Firelands have not fared well in my absence." 

"Things are improving, that is what's important, you aren't going to go and blow up anymore Nuclear power stations are you?" 

"It was being decommissioned was it not? I was merely offering a helping hand." 

Tony snorted at that, sure, turning up in the middle of the most irradiated room and turning it into a forest spanning 10 miles in every direction. He had deposited the humans at the edge of the forest though. Fury was now looking at Big C with more interest. It had been in the news for weeks, no one could explain it. 

"Fury, Coulson, this is my uncle. He's a tad over protective." 

The laughter from the peanut gallery was not remotely contained this time. 

"I wondered where you got that from Tones." 

"Hmm, yes, I remember this man now. Your mother does not like him. Beware Fragile Creature, because there are few places in the Firelands that blind eyes don't see, and anywhere there is Green, you will find me." 

Big C was more than a little menacing for a good 10 seconds before he turned back to Tony. Jovial as ever. 

"I am taking the little ones raspberry picking, don't waste too much time or they will eat everything before you catch up with us." 

Rhodey, James AND Loki then abandoned him. 

Which, to be honest, if he had a choice between Fury and running around with the kids in the forest, he knows what he would choose. 

"So, this way to the Rogue House." 

He turned and walked, expecting to be followed. It took a few seconds before the two men caught up with him. Both of them looking at everything and anything in the compound. Tony could almost feel the Hypervigilance coming off of the pair as he summoned up to maps and handed them over.

"What's your evidence?" 

"Clint is acting erratically, Bruce said his memories are wrong, I don't mean, oops I forgot what I ate last week. I mean events entirely rewritten and expressed confusion in his own actions. He's always with the Witch. So far the only magic she has cast has been telekinesis and a pain soothing spell that was just a mess to pick through. I'm keeping an eye on her. The problem is that magic laid down before she entered my territory can remain active without her active participation."

"And in English?" 

"The magic would be in effect, grandfathered in. Until she adds more, reinforces or does something The Accords decreed illegal, I have no proof. I have legally removed James from Rogers team to my own, so Roger's cannot authorise any more magic cast on him."

"And Steve?"

"No idea, Venom couldn't feel anything, but that's not concrete. Unfortunately none of the rogues will trust me to check their minds. Maybe Sam and Scott someday? But right now they are tied too much to Steve to be able to trust me."

"Motherfucker, you die for 5 minutes…" 

"And Captain America invites an Ex-Hydra, Mind Stone warped Witch to stay who spent years laying magical groundwork to potentially subvert their will?"

Fury grunted as they arrived at the building, Tony collected a few new red strings from his Web as Fury watched him with no small degree of caution. At a cursory look, it was more telekinesis, but he would assess each one. 

"What about Natasha, Scott or Sam?" 

"As yet, she has not cast any magic on their person, but that doesn't mean.." 

"That she didn't do it in the months they spent in Wakanda or the years before. I expected you'd have sorted this already." 

Tony glared at him, enough irritation bleeding through that the spy froze. 

"What everyone, including the Accords Council is forgetting is that not only is she a highly trained Hydra operative that has had years to work on the Rogue Avengers, is how she obtained that power. The Mind Stone is one of 6 universal constants that survived the destruction of the previous multiverse and the big bang. You know how powerful Carol is. Don't underestimate her because she looks like an innocent waif, she is of a power level of Carol, in a way, higher. Her magical skill is middling at best. Even then, she's had mere years of study , without a true teacher, and yet she has skills that many take centuries to gain. Ever wonder how? The Mind Stone has shown a degree of sentience that the others do not, we believe Vision purified the Mind Stone alone, but what if he didn't? What if part of that malignant sentience transferred to Wanda with her powers. It could be teaching her, not just with disregard of mortal or magical laws, but how to bypass them."

Fury paused at the door before he was about to enter. 

"You're using me as bait." 

"Now, would I do such a thing? I will assess you both before you leave. Remember Nicky, this was all your idea." 

"I'm starting to doubt that more and more." 

"I didn't even want the witch in my territory, it was heavily implied if I did not concede my careful plans to stop the multiverse disaster level event would be put at risk. I have a duty that must come first and as such, I'm being forced to house a security threat against my will. This has not placed me in the best of moods, do you expect me just to allow it? That's not how I work. If she puts my people at risk, you will find that I do have other avenues at my disposal should the Accords fail, and I will utilise them if pushed.

"Have fun, FRIDAY is always watching and I can port to you in a second anywhere on my base. Your contracts were very strict about fucking with my compound and I don't advise testing me. Call out 'Tangerine' if Wanda threatens you and I'll arrive on site. Enjoy." 

Tony stepped backwards into fire, following the pull of Rhodey's and James fire to step out behind them. Even the older kids came out when Big C visited so Harley and Peter grabbed him almost the second his feet hit dirt and he was immediately dragged into whatever competition was set up. Much nicer. Also he was keeping James and Rhodey's schedules as busy as he could to reduce chances of coming into contact with Wanda.

Chapter Text

Tony POV

Tony was frowning down at the files he had from Fury, the angry pirate writing up what he'd seen in the rogue house and at the end, stating that he would make more visits. Joy. Tony was going to have to give the man an access card at this rate. He highly doubted the pirate was going to focus 100% of his attention on the rogues either, not Fury. The man was incapable of it. At least he had an ally when it came to his rogue problems. Even if it was Fury. 

The little Witch didn't rise to the bait, not even to peak in his mind and Tony had been pretty damned sure she would. Wanda was not a pinnacle of restraint and yet… the only magic she seemed to have cast was that single attempt to break through James' Ward and then, a lot of low level, perfectly legal, crap. 

He had so many samples of her telekinesis now it was fairly ridiculous. 

These pain soothing spells however, Tony wasn't satisfied with what he knew about them so far. 

Sure, they looked sloppy. The kind of thing an apprentice comes out with in their first year and it's seen as quite good for the level. Wanda was above this level, even if she was all over the place, she definitely should be above this. If anything repetition should have improved this weave alone as she'd cast it multiple times on Clint. The archers active consent was worked into each one as well. As if there was a big sign screaming 'I am a legal spell.' which had him instantly paranoid. 

Tony had to constantly keep reminding himself that he wasn't just up against Wanda, but likely the sentience of the mind stone too. Even if it was just whispering to her, it could tell her a lot. 

He was several thousand years old and his magical database was highly impressive. The mind stone had had billions and billions of years to change hands. Flowing from culture to culture, traversing the galaxy, gathering, learning, manipulating its way through the worst of people. 

Fury had spoken to her and decided she had a 'creepy vibe'. She acted the spoilt brat but he got a completely different feel from her that sent his spy senses all over the place. He hadn't even had a chance to speak to Clint, apparently he had food poisoning. Which Tony found highly unlikely if he'd been eating food from his compound thank you very much. Although he supposed they do make their own food, it was possible and as he refused to go to medical, citing Tony's nefarious plots, they didn't know for sure. 

His evil, nefarious plots to make sure he was healthy and not being mind fucked into oblivion. 

Steve had basically cornered Fury and spoked for nearly an hour about how everything had changed without his input, and how he was very angry about it. A good rant about how poor Bucky had been isolated cruelly from his family too. When Tony had checked them out at the car, with the baby SHIELD agent still hiding inside, Fury looked like he had a migraine of his own building. 

If he didn't have to comb through all this junk magic, that might have been enough to cheer him up. 

Tony wasn't sure if she was trying to overload his net, distract him or even convince him that this is what her magic looked like, masking something else entirely. 

He'd tried to meet up with Clint, but the man resisted all attempts and the situation was too delicate for Tony to just teleport to him and start poking around. Stephen was trying to make friendly overtures… 

Stephen should never, ever be sent on undercover work. 

Ever. 

If anything, the footage made great clips for movie night. Watching Stephen trying to look friendly and open, smiling at the Witch. It was more of a grimace. 

Tony was pretty sure he'd get further under a glamour to make him look like Stephen, but the mind stone might see the edge of a glamour. 

He pulled apart more of the string pinned, sighing with Irritation. Even sorting it out was a mess, it was tangled and muddied. Usually if he pulled apart someone's magic in this piece of equipment, it came apart like a rope. Different pieces twisted together to make the thread. Different parts for the will, intent, the core magic. At least 7 parts, occasionally more to blend into the workings. 

Wanda's was just strange, for one there were 16 parts. A strange number and far too many for the strength of the spell. Some parts were muddied and knotted and it just was awful to separate. Put 5 pairs of headphones in a pocket for a year and that was like this crap. 

James POV

Tony had sighed for about the hundredth time when James figured that he needed a break or he was going to break something. Catching the witch out was all well and good, but James didn't want to see his friend go crazy over it. He needed to remember to have breaks occasionally. However getting Tony to take breaks was actually harder than getting him to eat an adequate amount of food. 

James however had managed to get quite sneaky at both of these things. Rhodes had even commended his skill at 'Tony Wrangling.'

"So, Rhodey tells me you have a giant Scythe." 

Tony chuckled, bent over his desk with complicated looking equipment set out, a piece of Wanda's red magic had been teased apart and pinned so Tony could sort through her will and intentions. Not that he understood half the things Tony had been muttering to himself. He got the feeling that Tony was at least slightly offended at the mess that was Wanda's magic. 

"I do." 

"How do you, you know, fight with it?" 

None of the books he'd read so far focused on battles, he had a few on the to read pile. Which, if he was honest, his to read pile was Tony's bookcase.

Cases.

He might have a problem. 

A Scythe was pretty huge, and, not actually a weapon. Well, many things can be a weapon, but it was not originally a weapon. 

"I worked out a few styles over the years, really it all came about from me getting annoyed with carrying staff and blade when I needed to cast battle wide magic and fight at the same time. What is a Scythe but a blade and a staff?" 

"Huh, I never thought about it like that." 

Tony dropped a lid over the skewered magic, silvery magic lashing it to the table as Tony straightened up, wiping his hands on a cloth before sliding back from his desk. Success! Now, if he could find a way to get Tony talking about something. He'd stay out for longer. Fae love telling stories, it's just a fundamental part of their character. Plus, James was always after more information. 

"Hmm, this will be easier to show you outside. Plus, I need a break from Wanda's magic and Fury's bullshit before I actually go insane." 

He offered his hand and James carefully closed the book he had been reading. Tony said they were spelled to not degrade but his mind couldn't get past the fact a book that is 5000 years old isn't delicate. 

In a step they were in the forest, James recognised the scents of the forest around the compound immediately, having visited it several times by now. It was by far his favourite place to run. Blinking in the sun, he quickly realised that he'd never been here though. It was bright out, but definitely cool, the heat of the summer was now fading away. It was warmer than it should be here though, the air was in that perfect state of warm but not too hot, with a breeze that was not too cold. It was such a degree of perfect in fact, that James was pretty sure that magic was involved somewhere. He'd also ran a good amount of the forest now. At least he was pretty sure he had, and he'd never seen any Groves. 

James had also worked out that the forest was a damned sight bigger that it looked from the outside. Probably from above too. Tony had told him that forests had an inherent magic all to themselves. Dark Forests had just that little bit more, Tony spoke of it like it has a personality and whilst once upon a time, he would have laughed at such a motion. These days, it was pretty cool actually, that the forest might have a personality, that he could get to know it. James had readily accepted that his new normal was just utterly bonkers. 

The clearing was like a Grove, but also like a training ground. He'd not actually visited any Groves in person, but he had read about them. It was very different to the training grounds in the compound. They were tech, really cool tech that you could program practically anything into. Tony had pulled him down for 'Reaper Training' the other day, and James was pretty sure it was not actual 'Reaper Training'. More that they'd spent the night watching Zombie films and Tony and Rhodes obvious reaction was to stay up all night programming a post apocalyptic zombie world. Not that he was complaining. The program was awesome and as far as he knew. Virtually everyone had either given it a go, or was on the list to try it out. Everyone loved killing zombies apparently. 

He felt the rush of Fire that had Tony summoning his weapon which brought him back to the present, and James decided that it was more impressive than Rhodes had alluded to. Very much so as he looked at the sleek black blade. The staff was actually straight, which he found odd, most Scythes had strangely shaped handles, but then they were gardening equipment. This was as far away from gardening equipment as could be. It was the kind of weapon that gives you an extra dose of fear before it's even in use. 

"I'll add a little Fire, and you'll see the Wards." 

Tony brought the Scythe down into the dirt and Blue Fire slowly worked its way up from the base to the blade, alighting thousands of tiny, interlocking Wards. His eyes could barely track one Ward from another. When the Fire reached the blade, it whooshed to the tip, Fire licking across the black metal as different Wards lit up. James had seen a lot of Tony's Wards by now and even though he hadn't looked at every single one individually, he had recognised the ones being lit up. If not exactly the meaning, he recognised the style. 

The blade was a completely different thing. Just above the blade was a long line of Wards, but they were different to the rest. Made up of 3 lines each in different configurations. Then along the flat of the blade were more Wards that were completely different again. But there was a large symbol on each side that he did vaguely recognise but couldn't name. 5 interlocking circles on one side, the other was 3 dots with the lines beneath them. They felt different from the Wards, he wouldn't call them decoration, but that their purpose was not to be activated like the Wards. 

"Force waves, fields and such are very magically intensive, but I worked a cheat because I like using them. Remember when I told you that creating something from nothing is labour intensive? Well standing and sending a blast of force from nothing is going to require a good portion of energy to do so. But, by building up kinetic energy…" 

Tony started spinning the Scythe deftly with one hand, which was pretty impressive on its own and he imagined in a fight, would likely put some people off. If he was fighting a person who could spin a huge, scary looking Scythe with such ease and familiarity? Yeah that would definitely have him off of his game. Plus, he didn't even know how you would combat a Scythe in a battle, not that he knew how to use swords yet. If he did, he suspected that combating such a strange weapon would be tricky. Which he suspected was part of the point. It was also very recognisable and Rhodes told him Tony had quite a reputation with it. 

Tony somehow sped up spinning the Scythe, single handedly, until all he saw was practically a black and blue blur. James couldn't even work out how Tony was doing that, let alone if he was physically fighting with it. 

"Pick a target."

James pointed to one at random, Tony turned to face it, keeping up the spinning and James was now starting to get why he'd picked this weapon. Figuring it was more than just convenience of having a blade and staff combo. James imagined that the challenge of mastering such a peculiar weapon would appeal to Tony as well. 

Suddenly he stopped spinning and slammed the base into the ground again, it crashed into the dirt with a loud bang that was far, far louder than it should have been. The sound reverberated around the Grove and even though the weapon was pointed away from him, he felt a gust fly backwards at the same time as an invisible wave of force flooded out, spreading out in a triangular shape. The point at the staff and spreading out and forward, completely obliterating 9 of the 10 targets. Wood and metal groaning as shards shattered in all directions. The one on the end that was spared the bulk of the hit, sort of weakly fell over. 

He couldn't help himself. 

"You missed one." 

Tony rolled his eyes, he switched the Scythe to a two handing grip, not held vertically, but at an angle. As if he were to bring it down. He thought he was going to use the blade, but Tony shifted his hands over the Wards. The Blue Fire lit Wards suddenly shifted, some darkened, whilst others suddenly burned brighter as he sent out what James assumed was a thin spike of force. Shattering the remaining target into actual dust particles.

Wow.

"Better? I can channel a lot through this too. Force is easy. Earth magic has always been something I've had a knack with and the staff amplifies that. Water too. A staff in the hands of a magic user is a very, very dangerous thing, but people look at this and see a bladed weapon. Not a staff. I don't usually light up the Wards like this you see. As such, people underestimate me and don't expect the Battle Wards I can deal with it until it's too late." 

"In my head I was trying to work out how you'd fight with a Scythe, I kind of forgot the magic thing." 

"Oh, I do use it that way too, I just blend the two together. It gives me an advantage as most people don't know how to combat my fighting styles and fighting with a staff/sword combo is awkward like I said. So many just don't. Leaves magic users open to me. Most Reapers give it a go when I start blade training, to see what it's like. Rhodey actually threw his at a tree in frustration because it was 'too unwieldy'. This, coming from the man practically wielding two bastard swords."

"I wish I could have seen that, so is this your Reaper Blade then? Like Rhodes swords?" 

"Yes and no. When you first unlock your Fire, you will likely already favour a blade type as I'm starting early on your training. Rhodes started after I'd removed his bind. I'll make your Reaper Blade to that specification, but it will unlikely be a perfect fit for every battle. So, as you progress, I will make more weapons to build your arsenal. Only you can use the blades I make for you, and Rhodey can use his and so on. It's coded to your magic, but I have a number of, let's call them blanks."

"Blanks?"

"Blades I've created that are not coded to anyone. So you can use them, try them out. If a battle requires a certain weapon that isn't in your arsenal, I'll summon the blank. It won't be as powerful as your blades, but they're good in a pinch. You can also use mine."

"How come? If they're individual?"

"Your Fire comes from me, so you can use one's from my arsenal if I hand them to you. There are a few you won't be able to wield. The older the blade, the bigger the personality."

"Does magic give everything personalities?!" 

"Huh, kind of actually. I never thought of it like that." 

"So, which one is your main weapon?" 

"The Scythe is my second, this is my first." 

Tony's waved away the Black Scythe and summoned a sword to his hand. It was different to every other Reaper blade he had seen so far. For one, it wasn't entirely black. It was long, starting pretty thick before tapering off. Straight too with a long hilt that could be used for a two handed grip even though Tony easily held it single handedly. The hilt was leather wrapped, but that didn't do it justice. He'd say the leather had been stitched with what looked like silver coloured thread that glinted in the light. The cross guard was smooth, black metal facing Tony but made of intricately carved feathers and the pommel was an incredibly detailed wolf head made of the same black metal, with gems that looked as if they were golden fire, and shifted like Tony's eyes. He assumed all of that was the metal that usually made up the Reaper's blades. 

The blade however was where it got weird. Reaper blades were solid black. Even the edge was black. This looked like it had been twisted with a shining, silver metal and been beaten flat. He could also feel the strength and presence coming off of it in his bones. 

"I've never seen a Reaper blade with silver in it before." 

"Hmm, that's because they don't, this is the only one. I have some reaper blades edged with iron, for when we're fighting my kin or others that are sensitive to the bane. But this is the only blade of its kind. Bane twisted and it has more of a reputation Underhill than that Scythe does in the fixed lands."

Tony moved fluidly with the sword, even more so than with the Scythe. As if it was part of him. He was going to ask about what reputation, but the dark, far away look on his face made him pause. Tony occasionally had a far away look on his face, but then he'd been alive for actual thousands of years. James didn't know the exact number, but from what he'd read, it was somewhere between 6500 and 7500. He wasn't entirely sure, Tony just did that enigmatic smile any time he asked him his actual age. 

"What is on the hilt? “

Tony jerked slightly, blinking as he came back to himself. Coming to stand very close to him. Laying the sword across his palms so James could see it properly. 

"Mother made the binding for it, stitched silver into and made it smooth so the metal doesn't irritate my hands. The Wards are some of her best work and the leather is actually a construct. Not from an animal, but of woad." 

"Wait, silver, as in metal?" 

"Yeah, it's a speciality of hers. I can do the same with bane. I'm pretty good with silver, but mother is far, far better." 

"You Fae are always being weird. Stitching with metal."

Tony chuckled at that, but didn't argue the point because he was sure he was right. 

"Well, this sword has a complicated history, how its parts came together, want to know?" 

"That answer is never going to be no."

"Well, it wasn't my first Reaper blade, but I needed one that had... More to it. It all started with my mother after she made the leather as my departure gift when I became nomadic. 

"The Feathers actually come from Brãn. The Genius Loci, which is the land. Each court rests on living land in Underhill. We call them Loci. They bond with the ruler of that court, the Foci. The Court of Blackened Fate was the court I was originally born to before I struck out. When I left, Brãn gifted me some Feathers of his bird form. He's usually a Blackwood Tree atop a mountain but he likes to fly occasionally. 

"Then, Arawn for whom I was working for at the time and still occasionally do. It's why I needed a new blade actually. He is the King of The Court of Sundered Song. He carved the Wolf's head out of Marwolaeth Daear. Which can only be found at the very heart of his court, from his Loci, Asgwrn. Then it was covered with a thin layer of the metal I use to construct the Reaper blades. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to physically hold it without dying. He styled it after myself. 

"The eyes are gems of Sgrechiwr Tân from The Warden of the Court of Obsidian Dreams. Which, as you might be seeing a pattern, came from his Loci. Cysgod. They're Gold fire gems. Direct translation would be 'Fire Screamer'.

"The hilt doesn't come from a Loci, but it was gifted or rather won when I led The Wild Hunt for the first time and is Asgwrn Gwyn. Very powerful stuff on its own really. That's the Court of Reign and Fury's contribution." 

James blinked, looking at the sword in a completely new light. 

"That's.. Uh. That's a lot. That's a lot of courts."

"Hmm. I mined the bane myself, constructed the Reaper Blake purely of my core and bound them. The Sheath is equally as complicated and has material from. A number of courts. The idea is a little something from every court of Underhill. Although I rejected the material from certain courts that I will never work for. But of the 15 Lower courts, there is something from 13. The High Seelie Courts finished the Sheath and Iron, Bane, the Antithesis of the Courts is what it's bound in. It's my Dienyddiwr's Blade."

"I didn't know you could make a sword so complicated." 

Although it made sense in a way. It didn't feel like anything he'd ever been near and he'd seen quite a few powerful artifacts by now. Hanging out in Tony's workshop as often as he did. Tony Scythe hummed with power, Rhodes swords had this presence to them. This was something else entirely. 

"I can feel it, it's different from the other Reaper Blades." 

"That's because it is. When I wield this, I become the Dienyddiwr of Underhill. The title and position carries a magic to itself like with the Scythe, I'm the Patron of Reapers. I'm these things all the time, but it's like a doctor is always a doctor, but when they wear the uniform they are an authority. My different blades are my authority, when I act as the balance, it will be one of these two blades I wield. Likened maybe, to the Crowns of Underhill. When a Loci bonds with someone, it gifts the Foci a Crown. Very, very powerful artifacts that fundamentally change the wearer from the second it is worn. It's the difference between you now and when you choose, you after I remove the bind. But more, much, much more. When I first wielded this blade my power changed. Make sense?"

"Kind off. As much as plots of lands giving gifts can make sense to me." 

"You're picking this up much faster than most, give yourself some credit. Rhodey still gets stuck on the concept of Locis." 

"Well, land being alive is quite weird, but then Underhill is quite weird. I'm guessing none of the Reaper blades are this complicated?" 

"No, that would require you to ingratiate yourself with 13 Lower Courts of Underhill, the Seelie Courts and mind metal by hand from Bane Mountain. And nick my job." 

Tony grinned at that. 

"Yeah. I don't think that is happening anytime soon." 

"There have been some Reapers who have been gifted artifacts, from the Courts, or from different lands all together that I can work into the blade for you. If you want it in your blade, there is a high chance I can get it in there somewhere. Nothing will be as complicated as this."

Tony waved the blade away and James felt it's absence, he didn't understand Tony's title, what with it obviously not being in English, but he had a feeling that whatever it was, it was very important but not something Tony was proud of as such. The sword was like having another Fae standing next to them, a very lethal Fae, and he was pretty sure that Tony's power level fluctuated when he was holding it to. But he didn't know if that was because the sword changed it. Or if more strength bled through, because he knew Tony kept a lot of his power tucked back normally out of politeness. 

"You'll start with one of these though, nice and simple." 

Tony summoned two swords, they weren't made of the black metal, instead a silvered metal with a blue, shifting sheen to it. They were quite thin and ever so lightly curved. 

Now James had used a lot of Weapons in his time as being a weapon. A sword was not one of them, as such, he took it awkwardly. Strangely, his hands seemed to know where to go to hold it. Which was interesting, because he had no idea how they knew that. 

"Hmm, close, your Fire is helping you, that doesn't usually happen until I remove the bind. Try switching to this grip, your muscles will be killing you after, but trust me, it's worth it." 

Tony then put his hand over his own, the blue of the blade fluctuated, a small Ward turning up on the blade next to the hilt and the weight of the blade changed too. Then took a few steps back as he studied the blade. 

"After?" 

Tony grinned, holding his own blade in a loose grip. Before suddenly moving towards him. James wasn't even sure how he knew how to block but he went with it. 

"Good, most people fight the influence from their Fire at first, loosen your grip or you'll injure your wrist. That is now your first training blade, it's weighted to not strain but to push. You have the serum so I went a little extra." 

James wasn't sure how him getting Tony out of the lab meant a lesson with a sword, but he wasn't exactly complaining. Every now and then he got distracted just looking at the weapon in his hands. 

He had a sword . 

A few times Tony corrected his stance, kicking his feet into the correct locations and James was trying to keep up and wondering how he'd gotten here again. Mostly there was a lot of repetition until Tony was satisfied he could react correctly and then he moved on to the next. Drilling him harder than Carol did on her drills. 

"Keep an eye on distance, you have reach but that's wasted if you walk yourself onto my blade." 

Tony made a point of that by a hit to his ribs, the spelled blades not cutting but he was definitely going to be a walking bruise for a good hour after this. 

James had no idea how much sword fighting was to do with footwork. Frankly, it was ridiculous. Tony also interspersed a lot of stretching and lots of repetition. So much repetition. And if number 100 was not as perfect as number 1, he found himself back starting at 1 again. The people on the base that said Carol was the hardest task master for drills had obviously never been in this grove with Tony. 

"Thoughts are too slow, even a Reapers as you'll be fighting creatures with faster thought processes. So we do this until it becomes instinctive. If you have to think about a move you've likely lost the opening." 

He nodded before trying to keep everything straight in his head. He'd had a few training sessions so far. With Natalia and a few people since arriving at the compound. The serum always gives him an advantage, and it took more and more to get him sweating these days. Tony however, seemed to have made adjustments for his serum and his Fire, as such he felt like he'd had a serious work out. With more muscles feeling a not so familiar burn than he would have expected. It brought back memories of when he first arrived in the army or back during those arduous hours he did in training when boxing was everything to him. 

He had been looking forward to sparring with the man, a non sword version in the Avengers Training facility. They had a day set aside, but after this impromptu sword lesson, he was now expecting to get royally trounced and still be made to work hard for it. He was kind of expecting the first part anyway, he had not expected the latter. 

"Aw, you guys fighting without me?" 

Tony danced back, not looking even remotely tired as James, grinning at Rhodes. James was quite happy for the interruption so he could go and collapse by a tree for a year. He was used to being smug whilst the person he was sparring with collapsed on the bench. It was very strange being on the other side. 

"James was wondering how I fight with the Scythe, fancy showing him?" 

Tony waved his hand in James's direction, in a burst of Black Fire a bottle with some kind of purple drink appeared and James honestly didn't care what was in it as he downed half of it. The second sip he actually tasted it, it was nothing he recognised, possibly close to blackberries, but it had something else to it that made him wonder. That and he felt hydrated and a burst of energy from just a small amount. He looked at the bottle critically as Rhodes came over to join them. 

"Nu-uh am I fighting you and that damned Scythe again. Your fighting style is too weird to combat." 

"That's kind of the point, but fine, fine. Give James an idea of what it's like after you've unlocked the Fire? Plus, you're due for training anyway."

Tony willed away his blue sword, summoning two black blades to match Rhodes as he rolled his shoulders. 

James wasn't sure where to look. He could see the basics Tony had been teaching him. Alternating between looking at their feet, watching the basic moves Tony had been teaching him. But faster, so, so much faster. The fact they were also both duel wielding didn't help matters either. James still had a feeling that they were slowing down for him too, so he could analyse their moves. 

Every ten minutes exactly, Tony shifted his style from what James could tell. Pushing Rhodes to change and adapt. Rhodes grumbling every time he did it was usually swiftly followed by Tony's laughter. He wondered just how many fighting styles and weapons was Tony familiar with exactly. 

He wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up in a sword fighting lesson and he could already tell he was going to be feeling this for a damned while, but it was definitely fun. 

Things might not be perfect, the Witch obviously was not far from Tony's mind, but he decided he liked life at the compound. 

Chapter Text

James POV

It had been nearly 2 months since they'd arrived back in America, James spent quite a lot of his time in one of Tony's workshops. Whether he was playing fetch with the bots or sitting on a plush rug reading books, he loved it. He also spent quite a lot of time with others around the compound. It was so much more livelier than the corner of the Palace they'd inhabited for so long. Peter introduced him to lazer tag and then he discovered that Tony, Wade and Nathan take paintball extremely seriously… ridiculously so in fact. Harley had even started to warm up to him and they went to the little cinema once a week, dragging Tony and Peter when they were free. He had friends. Absolutely strange and weird friends, but friends. He was still kind of nervous of Loki, but they'd recently started talking about past experiences and they'd been getting along with each other. There was even a support group for victims of mind control and brainwashing, which really said something. 

He even loved the training drills designed by Carol that everyone else complained about. After Tony's drills, anything seemed like a break. No matter what it was Tony had them doing, he and Rhodes usually ended up on the floor. 

Carols drills were highly specialised and he spent a solid week doing tests until she came up with his first drill and he loved it, it was so much fun. 

Tony just randomly appeared occasionally. There didn't actually seem to be a pattern to it and Rhodes had told him he was sure Tony did it on purpose so neither of them could plan in advance and forced them to do any 'homework' quickly, as they never knew when it would be 'due'. No last minute work. It didn't seem to matter that it was in the middle or dinner or 3am. He and Rhodes couldn't work out if there was a schedule in Tony's brain or if he just went with it whenever the idea to train them in X or Y occurred to him. 

Between Tony and Carol, in such a short period of time he already felt stronger, faster and his Sight was still fluctuating after the initial burst. Sometimes he would see nothing for days, then he'd catch someone like Carol out of the corner of his eye. Standing proud with light around her and huge wings. Sometimes it was just vague lights, other times it was random insights. Occasionally it was stuff that he had no idea how to even verbalise, let alone explain. 

Most of The Rogues hadn't even set up their drills with Carol yet, and currently we're not training at all as they seemed to be dodging the assessments. Honestly he had no idea what they were doing. He just knew they weren't happy with the current set up and hiding away whilst complaining to Fury seemed to be their long term plan. It was irritating Tony to no end that he was stuck waiting but everyone was trying to distract him from hyperfocusing. He had promised Tony to stay within FRIDAYs range if he went anywhere near the Ved'ma which had helped, James had also been utilising FRIDAY to entirely avoid her, FRIDAY was very happy to help. There hadn't even been a flicker of warmth on the ward but Tony regularly checked up on it whilst he was waiting on parts to forge something better. 

The Rogues had been awarded their tracking bands but he didn't think that they had actually gone out yet, hilariously after all that moaning about being contained. Tony had an alert on the Ved'mas band, so he could track her outside of his web. So far she hadn't taken a single step out of the compound. 

Steve of course didn't like that he was spending so much time with so many other people. It was like talking to a brick wall. Steve seemed to have this idea that if James spent more time with them, he wouldn't have to spend time with the New Avengers. Not understanding that James was actually enjoying himself. The compound was full of really interesting, different people from all walks of life including different planets and dimensions. 

The fact Steve expected him to be Bucky again didn't help matters. Even if he hadn't been experimented on, turned into a super soldier and spent 7 decades as the asset, the war changed him. 

Getting captured the first time changed him, hell, getting drafted had changed him. Bucky getting drafted had changed a lot between them, Steve desperately wanting to get shipped off and Bucky actually wanting to live his life. He'd made a good go of it, at least from what he remembered, he'd been good at it, but that didn't mean he hadn't been dreaming of home. Of his bed. Events like that… it changes you. No matter how many platitudes and 'friends for life' you throw around, life generally has its own ideas. Clinging to the past just wasn't something he was interested in and Steve didn't seem to want to get to know who he was now. James liked his life now. 

Despite the rocky, jagged, pit strewn road he'd taken to get there, James was happy with who he was now. Even if it meant being dragged out of bed at 3am by a hyperactive Fae creature for sword fighting lessons in a magical forest. 

James liked who he was becoming, but Steve was only interested in having his best friend back. Every time their conversation strayed down that line, all James heard was "You aren't good enough." So was it really a surprise that he went to places where there were no expectations? To safe places when he needed them. He had several. The Gun range with Deadpool and Cable. Hanging out in the library with Eddie. Tony's workshops, which was a whole different can of worms. Steve seemed to take serious exception to him spending time with Tony. 

Tony apparently was tricking him into a false sense of security to kill him, because Steve apparently didn't know enough about Tony's powers to realise how utterly ridiculous that was. Even though Tony was pretty open using magic around the compound. If he spoke to practically anyone this notion would likely elicit much laughter. 

There was a simple thing that had started to make him pull away from Steve. After the dinner, he had informed Steve, point blank, that he didn't want to eat at the same table as her . Steve had immediately accused Tony of lying to him. 

Today he had been about to explain to Steve that he had felt her in his mind, not far from the truth, really, but he knew mentioning Tony's name would derail the conversation and they'd get nowhere on the Ved'ma front. Today had been rendition 43 of "Wanda is innocent and perfect, stop being mean to her." He'd stuck to his guns though, he hadn't eaten a single meal or attended any team bonding event with the Ved'ma present since arriving in America. 

Today however, went a little different and a single sentence that snapped something inside him. 

Steve said something that stopped that conversation, and started another… 

"She's not Hydra anymore Buck, she switched sides to fight against a murder bot with us, that Tony created . It's her second chance Buck. She's just a kid and she deserves better than Tony poisoning you against her." 

Anymore. 

Not Hydra. 

Anymore. 

"What the fuck did you just say?" 

"Wait, didn't Tony…" 

"Are you telling me, that the fucking Ved'ma, is Hydra ?" 

A Hydra agent had been trying to access his mind. 

"Come on now Bucky, it's not like that, she was just a kid and Hyd-" 

"I can't believe you'd do this to me, what the hell Steve? How could you hide that from me?" 

"What's going on out here?" 

"It's okay Nat, I'm sorry we disturbed you, we're just having a misunderstanding here, isn't that right Bucky." 

Steve did possibly the worst thing, he stepped closer, using a placating tone as if he was being the unreasonable one and tried to grip his arm. James was faster than he'd ever been before, in the last year since waking up he'd actually been eating regularly and although it hadn't been long, they'd only been in America for 8 weeks now, but Carol's and Tony's training was getter better, and he'd already been better trained than Steve. He was sure the fire inside him gave him an edge to, even if it wasn't active. He grabbed Steve's arm and had it twisted around his back so he could yell at him. 

"Steve here, fucking lied to me, about Hydra . I deserved to know!" 

He shoved Steve away from him with all the force he could manage, not wanting to be near him right now. 

"I didn't lie Buck, and it was Wanda's story to tell. It wasn't up to me and she didn't want to make you uncomfortable." 

"Oh Steve. No, tell me you didn't…" 

"I. Deserved. To. Know. You forced me to eat with Hydra. You forced me to live with Hydra!" 

"She's not-" 

"I don't care what you think!" 

"Buck, you need to calm down, I think you're slipping into the Winter Soldier." 

"Just because I'm angry at you doesn't mean I'm turning into The Soldier. Trust me, you'd know if I was. I wouldn't be shouting and you wouldn't be standing. And for the hundredth time, stop calling me Bucky!" 

"He's got a point Steve."

"I'm not sure Nat, Bucky would never have shouted at me like this, he's been acting strange for weeks. He hated being called James. I think Tony-" 

"Fuck you Steve. I'm allowed to choose who I spend time with. It will never be Hydra. I'm leaving now, and Steve, at least until you understand what you did. Don't contact me." 

He turned to storm on and Steve grabbed his arm, James froze but didn't turn around. 

"If you do not remove your hand, I will break it. Then, I will never speak to you again. Do you understand me Steve?"

Steve jumped back as if burned. His therapist told him that breaks in situations like that were good, distance. He needed that right now or he was going to punch someone. 

"What you did was fucked up. After everything I've been through. I deserved to know. Two weeks. You leave me alone for two weeks. If you still think you are right after that, make it four."

With that he stormed off without looking back. The anger was still there, simmering under the surface but he was also not quite feeling right. 

"James, maybe you should visit Boss."

"I'm fine FRIDAY." 

He was pretty sure he was fine, he just needed to not be anywhere near Steve. 

"I was about to tell you that we have code blue, before Mr Roger's ambushed you. I think it would be good for both of you not to be alone." 

FRIDAY's ability to sound so put out at Steve ambushing his lightened things actually before he actually processed what she said. This was good actually. Well, not good, code blue was bad, but this was something to focus on. Focus was definitely good. Anything to not think about her trying to get into his mind. He pushed that brutally to the side. Focus now, freak out later. 

"How long has he been in the workshop this time?" 

"He hasn't left since Monday." 

James was starting to realise that Deadpools and Rhodey's comments abouts Tony's occasional inability to look after himself were much more realistic that he had originally considered. It wasn't that Tony couldn't look after himself, he wasn't a kid, but occasionally he would hyperfocus on a project that petty mortal requirements of sleep, liquid and food fell to the way side. This was quite long though, even for Tony, he hadn't popped up for training for the last few days and he had assumed Tony was busy, but this was definitely odd. 

"That was 4 days ago! Is he at least sleeping?" 

"A little bit… No one else has managed to get him out of his workshop.. I thought you might have more luck." 

Which was FRIDAY code for, yes, but he's had a nightmare and I'm not allowed to tell you that. It hadn't taken long for them to work out a code regarding Tony. 

When he got there he knew something was seriously up, more than usual of Tony forgetting to occasionally come up for ait. There was usually chaos in the Workshop, but it usually had some degree of order. Now it was just pure chaos, there were things in pieces on the ground because there was no space left. There was no Tony to be found, here or in the mechanics area. He went to the section of wall that he knew formed the door to Tony's mirror workshop. 

He had a new black corded bracelet with a small grey, blue speckled stone attached, so he could access the mirror workshop and Tony's separate library. Running it down the wall caused the wall to ripple like water. Something that he would never get bored of seeing, because damn. The doorway formed and he stepped through and was faced with more chaos and confusion which was where he found Tony, sat on the floor with a ton of books around him, open scrolls, weird devices. His hands were stained almost entirely blue with woad, it was also smudged across his face. His hair curled and unstyled, flopping into his face, the auburn was streaked with the woad paste. If he didn't look so stressed it would be adorable. 

"Tony, when was the last time you left the workshop? You need to actually get out of here occasionally." 

Tony glanced up at him, blinking golden eyes in confusion. Yeah, he definitely needed out. He jumped to his feet deftly and started pacing, practically vibrating with frenetic energy. 

"I can't, I have too much to do. I need to contact an envoy of the Seelie court about heading up the problem in Brazil. I need to get back to Mab about the ice caps, if she freezes sections I have more time to lower the ocean temperatures to heal the fire under the sea. I have to contact the UN, organise safe passage for several teams in different countries, I have the gear to fix, I have… there's other things too, I have to do them now."

He stopped Tony's pacing, causing him to rock in place, he'd never seen him this bad before, he had no idea what happened to trigger this but he didn't like it.

"Tony, do all of these things need to be done right now, by you?"

"Uhhh yes?" 

"OK, FRIDAY, do you know who to delegate these tasks to?" 

"Of course I do. As I have told Boss, 26 times." 

"Right, we're getting you in the shower. You are covered in woad." 

"Okay.. Okay. But then I have to get back to work." 

"Of course, lets just get you feeling more alive first." 

Tony wavered when he let go, so he kept his arm wrapped around his shoulders as he took the man up to his apartment and sort of aimed him in the direction of the shower. He'd work out how to keep Tony out of the workshop after. 

"Are you.." 

"I'm not going anywhere Tony, I'll be right here." 

With that he stumbled into the shower and he knew FRIDAY would make sure he didn't collapse or anything. It was probably a sign that he'd been around strange things long enough now, that a huge crow flying through the wall didn't even startle him. When it landed next to him on the chair, he was quite surprised though, he recognised that crow. He'd seen it in Wakanda, watching over him. When it transfigured into a woman he was pretty sure it was a sign that his life was officially off the rails. He had not known Tony's mother could do that. 

"Hi." 

"Hello James, Thank you for caring for my son. We're at an… uncomfortable anniversary for him. It would be good if he was not alone." 

He found himself nodding, because he was more than a little intimidated, he had an idea about some of Tony's powers and this was a strong reminder that the kind motherly woman that made him pancakes was a power to be reckoned with, he had read enough about Tony's mother to be extremely intimidated and he also wondered if Tony could turn into a bird that could fly through walls… he knew Tony could shape shift, but that he preferred a wolf shift, there had been a few sketched pictures in one of the books he was pretty sure his wolf form was taller than his usual one. He knew Rhodey had 2 other forms, it was one aspect of being a Reaper someday that he was quite hyped on. His brain was all over the place today, he distinctly blamed Steve. 

"Yeah, of course. I wasn't planning on going anywhere. Maybe convince him to eat or sleep." 

"He likely won't sleep. Maybe not for another 2 or 3 days." 

"And he'll be okay? Not sleeping for that long I mean? What happened? 

"We can last longer than a human without sleep, but he will work himself to the bone if left alone. Last year he tricked Rhodey into taking a trip so he could throw himself into his work. I can't tell you what happened, it's his story to share."

"Has he ever told anyone?"

She shook her head before standing up. The shower shut off at the same time. 

"No, but he talks to you. The only few who actually know were there at the time and it was a very, very long time ago, back when he was a child. I still remind him of it too much around this time you see, so all I can do is watch and wait. I'm hoping that you could make this year different... Ask him about the Blue Fire." 

A beat of wings and she was gone, leaving him with way more questions than answers. He didn't know exactly how old Tony was, but his age was described in millenia in some of the books he'd read and they were old, so for something from his childhood to still be haunting him, it must be serious. Plus there was the Blue Fire connection, Tony spoke highly of it. Not as if it was connected to something bad? Also he didn't think Tony spoke to him more than others, usually that was just him bugging Tony for stories. 

Tony stumbled out of the shower, he glanced over and his brain stuttered to a stop. 

Tony had a pair of low slung jeans on, bare feet and was in the process of putting a t-shirt on. Which left his chest on display and James finally had confirmation that under those suits and baggy shirts, Tony was built like a runner. He also had none of his glamours up to hide the woad tattoos that he'd seen on his hands and forearms, so he could now see that they completely covered his chest and continued around his sides. At least half of it he could see, the other half was obscured by the t-shirt he was struggling with that painted a strange image to look at really. 

Modern low slung jeans, the body and designs of an ancient celtic warrior and struggling to put a shirt on. He even saw a brief flash of bright blue, the light that lay at his sternum that he wanted to know more about but didn't have the guts to ask. 

He was still struggling, so James crossed the room to help, intentionally walking heavy footed as to not sneak up on him. He stopped struggling when James stilled his arms, it didn't take long to fix the problem, that he was still damp and severely sleep deprived had not helped matters. He tugged the shirt into place and startled. It had been a surprise seeing the designs carry onto his chest, but now he could see them come up his neck too. A thick woad band crossed his eyes, which made the gold of his eyes even more startling. Up from that, the design got more delicate and it looked like complicated knot work… or roots of a tree, stretching to meet the seven pointed star at his forehead. 

"Ah shit, I forgot to put the glamour back up, didn't I..? Running water.." 

"It's OK, I mean, you don't have to. Only if you want to."

"Really? I don't mind, I'm used to it.."

"Not at all. It's part of you. Now, do you want to get food coming to us or go to food? Or do you want me to cook?" 

"I'm not sure, I should probably get back to work…" 

James figured he needed to change tactics, getting him to look after himself wouldn't work, rarely did but he always tried, but maybe he can do something else. 

"You can do that later, for now, we eat and then you were going to tell me about the Blue Fire." 

Tony perked up slightly at that which made that a good choice, smiling which moved the designs on his face in interesting ways. It was weird, he'd seen Tony's face a lot but with this addition, it had taken on a whole different quality somehow. 

"Okay, I can do that. I didn't know you were that interested..?" 

"Tony, I've read 86 of the books from your mirror workshop already, I always want to know more, The Blue Fire is at the top of my list, so you sit down here, I'll throw together a late breakfast and I finally get to understand this fire better. No cliff notes version either."

Tony chuckled and sat down at the breakfast bar and he grabbed everything he needed to give things a larger breakfast. Quickly preparing and getting it in front of Tony so he didn't get distracted and vanish back to the workshop. Trying to corral a person who can teleport is harder than it seems and mostly included distracting Tony so he completely forgets that he had meant to go back to the workshop in the first place. 

James metabolism was increased because of the serum, Tony seemed to be able to subsist on very little if left to his own devices, but if he was, for lack of a better word… managed by Rhodes, his mother, countless others and apparently, himself, his caloric intake was on par with his own and others at the compound with abilities. 

Tony seemed to contemplate something as he ate before coming to a decision. 

"If you really want to know some more about the fire, we should probably  take a field trip. Visit my old stomping grounds, this land is great and I'm developing a better connection. I can connect with the fire anywhere on this planet, but I know all the ins and outs over there. Some places that maybe I should actually visit again."

Well that's definitely better than his vanishing back to work and it got both of them away from the compound for a bit too. 

"Does this mean we get to Firewalk?"

He grinned, because he really liked it when Tony took him with him as he Firewalked. That place inside him where the fire rested hummed in contentment when he did, it sent his skin tingling and he felt invigorated, like he'd just run under a waterfall. So he was pretty much hooked on it and if Tony recommended going virtually anywhere by means of the fire, he'd jump at it. 

"Yup, it's much faster, and a challenge too, I've never Firewalked that far with a person before, it should be fun." 

"I'm unsurprisingly, very cool with this." 

"You know. Normal people would say 'Tony, shouldn't you try shorter hops first' instead of encouraging me." 

"Well it's more fun this way, I'm sure other people you have done this with felt the same." 

Tony finished his food, flicking his fingers and the plate appeared in the sink, smiling before heading to his bedroom, likely for more clothes. Seeming more awake and less scattered now. 

"Not really Firewalked with many people, there was one time during a battle, one of my Reapers was injured and I got him to the healing tent, that was about it, he threw up, I nearly passed out but I was only a couple of hundred years old. If you want to get changed, I recommend something that would work in a forest. "

With that he vanished into his bedroom, James was wearing combat trousers and a comfortable t-shirt, he was sure he'd left a jacket here last time he was over, he started looking for it whilst wondering why others hadn't joined him in Firewalking. He guessed it might look slightly disconcerting to walk into fire, but it didn't burn so that would be a pretty crap reason. If anything the flames were warm, like the softest of furs, with a humming buzz that left him slightly dizzy. 

"Tony, is my black jacket in there?" 

"You mean my jacket? I'm sure it's mine, I mean, it's in my wardrobe, but I'm sure I could lend it to you?" 

He came out of the bedroom, smirking and holding his missing jacket, dressed not to dissimilar to himself with a black jacket of his own. 

"I'm pretty sure you'd drown in this, so it must be mine." 

"That's what makes it so comfortable. Come on then, I'll try not to drop us in the ocean." 

He held out his hand out wiggling his fingers, grinning mischievously as James slipped his hand in, fingers entwined with no hesitation. 

Which considering Tony had just mentioned dropping them in the ocean accidentally probably said a lot about his impulsive streak and flare for danger. The fact it actually made Tony smile brightly to flash his cat-fangs despitewwhat had been bothering him obviously had nothing to do with it at all. His denial was on top form today too it seemed. 

Chapter Text

James POV 

From a step out of the apartment, the familiar feeling flooded his skin and senses, setting them alight in a way that always made him giddy, the Fire inside him spread and hummed in contentment. Usually, it was over all too fast in a single step, this time however, his hand stayed linked with Tony's as they actually walked. Huh, he guessed this was why Tony called it Firewalking. He had always wondered about that when it felt more like steps before, this time they walked. Tony went slow, and he had a feeling it was for his benefit as he gawked at everything. 

In his defence, this place allowed him to actually see the world they were traversing for a change. Black and occasional Blue Flames flickered around them. Leaving him feeling warm, safe and content in a strange way. James wasn't sure when his mind had connected the Fire with a slew of good, happy and home feelings, but it made sense. 

If he strained and looked out into the distance, through the Black Fire in the low, flickering lights. He could actually see places beyond the Flames. Not that he recognised any of them, just enough to know it wasn't New York. Nothing jumped out to him as familiar in the slightest. 

'Found one. This is the fun part, just remember to breathe Fy Sidan, okay?' 

His attention was pulled back to Tony as he spoke, and he blinked a little in confusion as he nodded, he only had a fraction of a second to take in what he was seeing before his senses were flooded with Blue Fire and the feeling of sliding very fast, but Tony had looked different. His short hair was very long, curling down to his back, partially braided in what looked like a very complicated manner, some braids had even glinted with silver in the low Firelight.

His golden eyes were pure gold now, shifting and moving like molten gold. Maybe it was just the lighting, but in the seconds before his senses were blown apart and overtaken with Blue Fire, it was Tony's eyes that had held his attention. Tony's eyes had always seemed interesting to him, not human, full of colour, life and things that James just simply couldn't interpret, couldn't put words to. Now that feeling was multiplied a hundred fold. There was no white around the edges at all and James swore the pupil was more catlike than human. Slitted vertically and slightly widened from the low light. His skin still looked as if it was brushed with gold, just with more of a glow behind it, the woad designs seemed more vibrant somehow. 

That was all he got to register until they were going fast. He couldn't help the laugh that came from him, he liked fast and this was quicker than the fastest of Tony's cars. He heard Tony's chuckle as he enjoyed himself, feeling lighter than ever. 

Another step and they suddenly were back in the Black Fire world, his head spinning as Tony tugged him along and he followed. James tried not to stare, because if James guess was correct, this was Tony's true form. Tony with no glamours up and he knew that for some reason, Tony was sensitive about it. He avoided most conversations about his glamours and Rhodes had told him it had been a challenge to get him to even keep his arms uncovered. That he kept falling back into the pattern of covering up without seemingly realising what he was doing. 

James was actually surprised that Tony had kept the glamours obscuring the rest of his woad down. It was very clear to James that Tony was very proud of his woad, but it sounded like he hid them for other people's comfort. James thought that it was a good thing he had not put them back up after, he seemed quietly happy about it. Smiling in a way James didn't often see. Plus, James really liked Tony's woad, it did interesting things to his face. 

He wasn't sure. Maybe James was just looking at it from a human perspective? Glamours were pretty normal to his kind, as normal as wearing different jackets are to humans. So maybe he was thinking about it as too much of a human when he thought it was good that Tony was using glamours less. That he was being himself more? 

There were definite differences in Tony now, but at the same time, somehow, he didn't actually look that different. The beard remained, he was the same height and his facial structure was very similar, maybe a little more defined, delicate and near perfect. The light didn't actually help matters, casting shadows, but James could recognise Tony. He wondered if that was intentional. When he went human, his human form was intentionally close to his actual form? 

The big difference was the eyes. He would never mistake Tony's eyes for human on a normal day, but now they were miles apart. They were very much 'other', the thick blue woad that went temple to temple, a good 2 inches thick made the gold stand out even more. Everytime his eyes were drawn back, the gold has shifted and looked a little different, again it was so hard to put it into words. James never thought he'd be one of those people to wax lyrical about someone else's body part, but he also knew he'd never forget how the gold shifted and shined in the Black Fire. 

As they took a few more steps, the Fireworld folded away around him, his feet depositing him onto vibrant green grass. He found himself hoping to actually see Tony's eyes in better lighting some day. 

The smell of the forest hit him right away, much different to the one around the compound. It had been about midday when they'd left, now the sun was nearing the horizon, throwing off golden streams through the thick trees and hanging vegetation, giving everything that fuzzy, golden look. The trees were big, old and the forest had a heavy feel to it. 

"Wooo! No dropping in the ocean!" 

Tony was obviously happy with his feat and James wondered if that actually had been a possibility. He noticed immediately that Tony looked more like he was used to again, eyes human, well, the colour still wasn't, but everything else was. His hair was shorter again, skin closer to olive tinged gold than shining gold. James was very happy to see that he had left the glamour covering all the woad designs down however. He decided to keep his observations in the Fireworld to himself. If Tony wanted to show himself with no glamours, he could wait. James was quite a patient person. 

Which generally made Tony's impatience all the more hilarious given the disparity in their ages. James would have thought a man of Tony's age would be quite patient, and although he claimed to be, he was definitely not being patient when it came to the Rogues. He and Rhodes had taken to reminding him often that 2 months is not that long and the fact is they were keeping their heads down, abiding by the rules, only bitching at Fury was a good thing. 

"That was much different than usual, awesome though, really awesome. Usually it's all over in a single step, but now I see why you call it Firewalking!" 

"Well it's a longer trip, so I took a shortcut through one of the veins of Blue Fire, just had to find one going in the right direction and slipped us into the current and let it pull us here." 

Tony shrugged, as if that was a completely normal, not awesome and mind blowing thing. He hadn't known you could travel in the Blue Fire. 

"So others can travel in the Fire too?" 

"Some people can, but unless you know the current, the directional flow, whether that vein is healthy, damaged or even hemorrhaging, it can be dangerous. I can read the Fire better than most, just touching a vein I can feel and see everything and it's connections because of my link to it. We have a little ways to walk, I try to avoid Firewalking too close to larger convergence like this. You don't want to get sucked in and scatter."

"What is a convergence?" 

"It's where multiple lines of Fire cross, we have a 3 point one at the compound. I haven't visited this one in a long time, but I think it's time I did. It's a very, very rare, seven point convergence. There are veins all over the planet, it is a living organism and the Fire flows in certain directions. Over the years, especially with how the Firelands have been treated, the Fire has suffered in places. Convergence however usually remains powerful because they're fed from many sources, the more lines meeting in one place, the stronger it is. 7 in one place is very rare." 

His eyes instantly flicked to the seven pointed star on his forehead and figured that must be related somehow. If not it was quite the coincidence. Tony had that look on his face again, like he was remembering something from long ago, he'd learnt to pinpoint that look by now, but then when your age was described in literal Millenia's, that was an occupational hazard. It was the first time he'd seen him rubbing the spot on his chest where the blue glow was at the same time though, and he wondered if this had something to do with the anniversary he'd been warned about?

"Make sure you don't stray from the path, no matter what you see, this is an old forest." 

Which of course had him looking around instantly. His eyes kept flicking around him as he tried to force them back to the path. Tony rolled his eyes and dropped back to walk beside him instead of in front. Looping his arm around his elbow as if to physically hold him to the path. 

"Where are we?" 

"This is Cwm Byddog in Wales. When I was younger I used to sneak across the mists to see the Fire every chance I got. This place was one of my favourites because the Fire was so busy here, even if I couldn't reach it very well back then. I was born on this side you see, so I was drawn to the Fire, even then. That and then later… this." 

Tony tapped his chest a few times, the place he'd seen flashes of where the blue light comes from. He had wondered if the blue light in his chest was Blue Fire.. 

"So, I formed a close connection with the Fire, and humans as a result. As a species with relatively little access to magic, all humans are keyed into the Blue Fire, the life blood of Earth. It's why we call this world 'The Firelands'. Some of my people didn't like it, most pantheons don't actually."

He had a feeling that there was a lot more to that story, but he didn't want to push what was obviously a painful subject. 

"Sounds like jealousy to me."

"You're not far off. Ever wonder why earth has so many pantheons? There are worlds out there with trillions of beings and they barely have a fraction of what earth has attracted. Beings that would normally never come across each other, became neighbours in some lands. The Fire draws them in from many different worlds and realms, this world doesn't just sit, it glows like a bright, burning beacon through space and the black of the void. Shines so brightly that dimensions seek out its warmth."

"Wow, I never really considered that before. Earth has so many cultures, different pantheons sort of made sense. Thor turning up definitely posed questions, now your pantheon. Are all the Gods aliens?"

"Depends what you mean by aliens. Some are from different planets in space. Asgard isn't actually a planet anymore. A great catastrophe rocked their world long ago, and now that's all that remains, so it's flat. With an edge. Some come from other dimensions, some Pantheons are potentially humans raised up. I have travelled a lot, but I don't know all of the myriad of beings attracted to this world. I don't know if I count as an alien? I was born on the land we are currently walking in but I'm obviously not of it. My mother and father are of Underhill."

"Huh, that seems extremely complicated and I guess calling everyone aliens is humanist."

Tony grinned at that.

"Well, humanities worship is backed by the Fire which adds to their power. It's addictive in a way. It's why many Gods like to make a point of mortals being pathetic you see, some hate that mortals, that live such short lives are closer to the Blue Fire than they could ever dream off. My people are not immune to that jealousy just because we can feel the Fire. For some it may be worse in a way. They can feel but never touch."

"But your people could control it? The Fire?"

"Not so much, we are closer to this realm than most pantheons, our current realm was attracted by the Blue Fire, and attached itself to it. I'm a special case." 

Current? James put a pin in that because that sounded interesting on its own. 

"Underhill presses close here and there, places like the mists. A few of us got closer to the Fire, but it meant we were, of course, closer to humanity. The closer you are to the Fire, the closer you are to humanity. The more static our personalities became, humans defined us and we changed. Some found this horrifying, some of my people don't even have a physical form, the idea of possibly being forced into a single aspect? Horrifying."

"Not you though?" 

"Nope, I have spent more of my life on this side of the mists, I like humans. My magic was one of the first to become seeded in humanity just like the Fire is, that's where The Reapers come from. It's why I've spent so many years in the cycles, trying to help humanity. Some of my people find it admirable, others… not so much. I can't retreat to Underhill permanently like they can though, I need to be near the Fire. I'm of both worlds but also from neither, straddling the divide. Too human for my people, too other for humans."

"I don't think you're too human or too Fae, I think you've got a nice balance. The best of both worlds." 

They continued in silence for a little bit but that had made Tony smile. James hadn't realised Tony had felt that way about himself. He was always so sure of himself and confident. 

He chewed on what he'd said about other races, not surprised, but saddened really that politics and discrimination seemed to be a thing that spanned Realms, dimensions, worlds and species. No matter how long lived or evolved they claimed to be. 

Eventually, they came a strange clearing, strange in that it was perfectly circular, ringed by trees with thick trunks that looked incredibly old. He didn't know enough about trees to recognise them, but it looked like some kind of oak. 

It was a Grove, like the one back at the compound, but it had a completely different feel to it. Older. It definitely didn't look like the kind of formation that would grow naturally. In the centre of the open space, set into the earth was a stone that was familiar to him. From a glance he was sure that it was the same as the one he had on his wrist, the one that opened Tony's mirror workshop. Bluestone. It was a long slab, a good six feet long at a guess and at least 3 feet across, about a third down there was a gap that looked scorched, almost melted through Tony sat on the top side, ignoring the scorched gap as James sat opposite him. 

"So, why this place in particular?" 

"Like I said, it is a seven point convergence, they're very rare. The Fire here pool's from many places, it's also where I bonded with the Fire." 

Before he can work out how to ask any questions about that, because even though Tony tends to talk about the Fire with reverence and that he's happy to carry it, his face doesn't give him the impression that that was a good experience. The fact James could hazard a guess meant that it must be absolutely awful. That he can even read it on Tony's face this easily told him something. He was getting better at reading Tony, but it was not usually so clear. 

Tony swiped his hand back and forth to the side of them, fingers trailing through the grass. After a few passes in the grass, a trail of Blue lights up where his hand passed. The Blue under his shirt increased in strength too, enough that it was suddenly clearly visible through his t-shirt. Tony glanced up to him to check he was watching, before smiling, trailing his fingers onto the stone, the stripe of Flames following his hand before he slammed his hand down onto the stone. Blue Fire suddenly shot out around them along seven different paths. Brightly lighting up the forest and the circle they were sat in, it was stunning. He tried to watch it all, turning to see the lines crash into the barrier of the Grove. 

"Whoa!"

Tony grinned before repeating the motion, his fingers running through the grass again. The Fire came much faster this time, as if eager to jump into his hand now it had been woken up. It was tailing up his fingers and wrapping around his wrist, flickering happily? He got the feeling it was like an old friend? Not sure where that idea came from. Sometimes his sight did that, just gave him information that he had no idea what to do with. 

"Good, I was hoping you would be able to see it on your own. Your Fire is very strong so I thought you would, it takes some Reapers years to develop the ability. With how your sight is developing however, I'm not surprised. Even with your Fire still bound, it's quite amazing. Here, give me your hand." 

Tony laid James hand flat on the stone and sort of… poured the Blue Fire into his hand. Which was completely strange and he was sure that his mind should be telling him 'do not touch the Fire', if anything he was excited. 

It felt completely different to the Black Fire, either his own or Tony's. This was all electric and tingly, invigorating. After a few seconds of it pooling in his palm, it seemed to rock back and forth a few times before it slowly, tentatively moved towards his fingers. He watched, slightly amazed as the Fire seemingly gained confidence in the fact he wasn't shaking it away from him. Slowly it began skating up his wrist, small flames remained wrapped around his fingers. 

As if it was investigating him, when he remained still the Fire increased suddenly. Wrapping around his hand with more confidence and then, all of a sudden it was like his senses seemed to extend out. Almost exploding out as he could feel everything connected to the Fire in the Grove. Everything, from every blade grass, the Bluestone they were sat on, the veins travelling out to the border of the circle. It didn't stop there as more and more complicated things flooded his mind, from the animals, to the ancient trees and finally, to the Fire wrapped around Tony's heart, deep in his chest, that was somehow keeping him alive. He knew that with the same surety that there was a sleeping owl in one of the trees and a myriad of different creatures.

"That feels amazing. There is so much.." 

"Impressive, the Fire must like you to show you that. This world is special to be able to hold the Fire of the fabulous beasts. They first breathed it into the world long ago and this world thrives because of it. I've not found another like it. It feeds the world in a way, so everything that comes from the earth and returns to it carries a portion of the Blue Fire. The circle is closed so it's keeping your awareness locked in, but if it opened, and only if the Fire allowed, you could feel everything that carries it." 

The Fire then shot out along the seven pathways, lighting up the circle again as if it was showing him the boundary. Small flames remained on his hand, some shifting between his fingers and others wrapped comfortably around his wrist. The connected feeling lingered but slowly toned down to be less overwhelming as Tony turned to lie down. James pulled him into his lap just as Tony had with him on more than once, usually after he half collapsed after a training session. Tony didn't put up a fight, he looked completely exhausted as he finally settled down.

He wondered if this was what Tony felt all the time? That connection. But not contained by the circle. Even in this small space it felt like a lot. He was just a shade under being overwhelmed by the knowledge alone. Or if he could control it, reach for it when required. It made a few things make sense, how sometimes Tony just seemed to know things, or had this look on his face that was hard to decipher. Feeling that connection, it helped him understand. 

"So, is your magic Black Fire because you are linked to the Blue Fire?" 

"Mmhm, my magic manifested very early, and it was more like Lokester's originally. These pitch, velvet black ribbons and wisps instead of Lokes green. It was envied by many. After I merged with the Fire, it became this. I actually prefer it like this, but then I only had it the other way for a handful of years." 

Tony summoned the Fire to his hands which instantly pulled on the Fire inside him. He didn't know if it was the location or maybe the lingering Blue Fire of his hands, but his Fire answered faster and larger than usual. Tony skimmed his fingers through it. Not for the first time either, any time Tony called forth his Fire for whatever reason, he always ran his fingers through it a few times. It always made Tony smile for some reason. James liked his Fire, even if it was still bound, he was hoping to work up to agreeing to Tony releasing it one day. He felt he had a way to go before he deserved the title, but it was something he was looking forward to. To one day join Rhodes as a Reaper, he already called him his brother. 

"So, why haven't you come back here in so long? It feels like the Fire missed you. Which is one of the strangest things I've felt so far, but it seems happy that you're here." 

Because talking about Fire that missed people was something that happened in his life now. The Fire curled around his wrist definitely did give him the impression it was happy. As if to confirm what he said, the lingering Blue Fire at his wrist expanded and flickered more insistently. As if it was agreeing with him, or thanking him. 

Everytime he found out more, he waited for his mind to go 'no, too far!' Instead… it was like another piece of a puzzle he was putting together. 

"Bad memories." 

James ran his fingers through Tony's hair, hoping to help in some way. That he was lying down, resting and with his eyes actually shut seemed an improvement. So he stayed quiet and waited. 

"It wasn't my choice, to bond with the Fire when I was younger you know. It's… hard to kill my kind, but it's not impossible, and I was on the edge. My magic and life essence was bleeding out. My people, we have enemies you see. Whilst Underhill was not our original home, it is now and everything in Underhill is in balance even if it might not be obvious at first. A place of Magic, Will and Intent needs a place to balance it out. An absence of these things. A place that seeps magic from the world, a place of bindings where conscious choice and decisions simply cannot be. A fixed void where nothing can change, no matter how much you intend it. A howling void of cold, dark absence . 

"The black void is where they spill from, they are born in the cold, dark land and hate creatures born of free will, hate warmth, they simply hate and desire only to spread, cause suffering and death in their wake. They're called many things, but many know them as the Fomóire. I didn't know that Molaich, who was a general in the Great Army of Him, that he had started to watch the mists, watching for when I'd cross over you see. Usually alone, young and vulnerable. It was my own fault. Recognisable patterns are dangerous, but I just wanted to see the Firelands, I wanted to speak to the Fire, to talk to the Fragile Creatures, humans." 

James could already see the bad angle this was going. That Tony has suffered at the hands of this creepy General bloke and somehow blamed himself for it. 

"You were a kid, feeling drawn to something. It's not your fault if some bad guys used that against you. That's on them for being bad guys, and these guys sound like seriously awful, very obvious bad guys." 

"That's not what many of my people thought, they didn't have me long anyway. Enough people wouldn't stop looking for me that it started to cause them problems. So eventually I was left here, with Molaich's blade through my chest, skewering me to the earth. He couldn't sense the Fire, it was an utter fluke really, or fate maybe. It attracted a fabulous beast as my magic was draining into the convergence. She wanted to know what the disturbance was at such an important convergence. I'm happy to have the Fire with me… it's just… "

He has a feeling there was a lot more to the story, that he doubted their enemy would have been kind to a child and for how long he was in their care… he'd worked out that Tony's version of 'not long' differed wildly from his a while ago. He figured that that wasn't the only painful part of the story too. But James wasn't about to push too hard. Not when he had an inkling this was the most he'd ever really spoken on the subject before. This was a story that he was willing to wait on, for Tony to tell when he was ready. 

"Just because a good thing came from something awful, it doesn't eliminate the pain or awful things that happened Tony. You're still allowed to be hurt and sad over the awful thing. Even if you love the Blue Fire, even if without it you would have died. Being upset or hurt doesn't mean you love it or care for it any less."

Tony seemed to think on that for a little while, as if the thought had never even occurred to him before. As if he had to completely ignore his own feelings of pain. Which sounded like Tony, he suspected he had been bottling this event down for a very, very long time.  James was pretty happy to wait for the rest of this story should Tony want to tell him. Give him time to allow himself to feel it instead of just trying to ignore it. 

Despite the fact they were in Wales in Winter, it was oddly warm in this circle. Like it was out of time somehow and the late afternoon sun gave everything a golden hue. 

"Thank you James, I think I needed to hear that. Know that for this, you are always welcome in this circle. This is why I found myself drawn to humanity, you see things in different ways, the way you speak, the intention, clarity and meaning." 

He felt the usual zing down his spine when Tony used his name, but this time it came with a little extra this time. Spreading out to his fingertips like a warm, tingling feeling that caused the Blue Fire as his wrist to actually ripple. So that was why Tony got him to not thank him for everything. It was like he could feel it, like he was holding the intention of thanks in his hand as if it were an object. Not for the first time, he had to marvel at magic and the bizarre rules it followed. 

He noticed that Tony seemed to be loosening up, his eyes were already closed and he could practically see the exhaustion around him. That was an improvement however, he'd lost the almost manic edge to his energy. 

"Do you think you could sleep now?" 

"Maybe? I don't know. I might just close my eyes for a bit? We're completely safe in this circle, no one can enter it unless they're with me anymore. Except for you." 

"Then I think I'll join you." 

He shuffled himself down to be lying next to him and resumed his duties as a pillow, using his jacket as his own pillow. Tony did something, dipping his hand in the Blue Fire, summoning his own Black Fire with his other hand, mixing them together and then casting it over them like a blanket or a net.

It wasn't a solid blanket, but it made him warm and comfortable. It was humming with the electric Blue and soft, warm, soft furs of Tony's Black Fire that soaked into his skin slowly. Leaving him pleasantly fuzzy and a shimmer of Blue and Black around them. The Blue Fire was still coiled around his wrist and he definitely got a feeling that it was happy somehow. 

James kept himself awake, but breathing slowly and evenly until Tony's breathing seemed to slow down and even out. Until he finally tipped over into sleep, his limbs finally relaxing. That he was finally sleeping, after so many days of stress and pain? James was happy that he had managed to do this one thing before he slipped to sleep himself, feeling better than he thought possible after how his day had started. 

Chapter Text

Nat POV

She was happy to be back in America, but she had an awfully hard task on her hands. She had only just managed to convince everyone to do the bare minimum to get the tracking bracelets under the Accords recommendations. Hoping that with the idea of freedom, everyone would be easier to manage and yet everyone seemed… stuck. Like they were in a holding pattern that she can't explain. It made sense when they were in Wakanda, but now… if still felt like they were waiting for something. Every step forward was taking so much more effort and she could not quite put her finger on why. 

Steve had decided that practically everything wrong was Tony's fault, even when actual evidence was to the contrary. 

She had evidence of which Councillor's wanted the Rogue Avengers, and didn't Steve just hate that name, in a separate building. The minutes of the meeting actually included Tony arguing about having to build another building for them. The building was set to only house Avengers on Probation or doing community service. It was a strict rule set by Councillor Featherstone, the British member of the Select Committee. 

Yet, Steve believed it was simply a plot to separate him from Yasha for nefarious means. That they were arguing, only because of Tony. Despite the very real reason that Yasha had to be mad. Because Wanda was now good, as far as Steve could see, there was no reason for Yasha to have a problem with her. Unless Tony twisted him into it, of course. 

Steve still didn't believe that Tony's changes were the result of what happened in Siberia. Even though Natasha had gotten hold of an original video, that didn't cut off when Steve and Yasha left. She had sat through 22 hours of watching Tony, trapped and alone as he froze to death. When he started coughing up blood and could hardly turn his mouth to not drown in it even her steadfast composure cracked. 

At 22:47, Tony suddenly looked nervous, as if he could hear something but was unable to move to see or run. That was where things got strange, there was a fault in the tape. A smudge of some kind that he was looking at as it moved towards him, it looked like Tony was talking to someone. The video then completely scrambled, a few minutes later, Tony was standing in the place of the armour, which had utterly vanished and there was a blur on the tape next to him. It really seemed like he was talking to someone, but the blur made it impossible to tell who and there was no sound. The video wasn't exactly the best quality, but he was clearly younger, healthier, dressed in a strange manner with peculiar patterns on his arms. He walked out of the bunker. 

Steve was convinced it was a fake. 

Nat was starting to see that if it didn't fit his narrative, it was wrong. Take Yasha for instance, given what the man had been through, two stints as a POW, one he became a super soldier, the other he was taken, half frozen to death, missing an arm. Where he spent decades resisting programming but was eventually turned into the fist of Hydra. Tortured, wiped, forced to do all manner of things he would never have conceived. She didn't know how many memories he had recovered, yet she both wanted him to remember the Red Room, to remember her. At the same time. She knew what some of those memories could do to a good man like James. 

She found that she was not selfish enough to wish such pain on the man so that he might remember his star pupil. 

Yasha was doing great, he looked healthy, she saw him smiling quite often, he had a wealth of friends. People he spoke to, did activities with. He was active and had hobbies. Considering what that man had gone through, these things were frankly amazing. He spent less and less time with Steve the more he pushed, but given the way he discovered Steve was hiding Wanda's Hydra connection, that was not surprising. Since that argument, Steve had not seen him once. Steve refused to believe he was at fault, it must be Tony's fault. 

Steve knew for sure that they had spent some time together, on one single afternoon and it had been enough to send him down conspiracy avenue. Which was why she tried to avoid Steve seeing just how much time Yasha and Tony actually spent with each other. They were close friends from what she'd seen. Yasha was the one who got Tony to leave his workshop more often than not, and Yasha had gone straight to Tony after the argument with Steve. 

She knew Wanda was fueling all of this, but didn't know how to combat it. Wanda was talking about getting the 'Real Bucky' back and then he'd feel bad for ignoring Steve. This potential 'Real Bucky' returning seemed to be a get out of the jail free card for all the quite bad things Steve was doing. She was sure they were bad, she spoke about it often with her queen. 

She ran better interference now, making sure none of the rogues knew when Yasha was with Tony. She didn't know how close the pair were, she would not spy. She was helping Yasha and helping Tony. Spying would only help herself. It was hard, but at the end of each day, she felt better than she had in a long time. 

Tony and Yasha both deserved friends. That they found this in each other was something she felt should be protected. She hadn't spoken to Tony yet, she hadn't quite gotten the nerve up, so she had decided to help from afar. She completed her assessment with Carol and she had actually not held back, it was quite… liberating, to be seen as strong as she was. Carol would not be keeping her back from combat, she could tell. She had even struck up a friendship with the blonde. 

It wasn't the same as what she had once had with Clint, that she felt the absence of like a hole in her chest, still bleeding. 

It wasn't the same as what she had once had with Tony, that was like a constant ache and feeling of being left in the cold. 

But it was something that left her feeling less alone. She told Carol everything about her interferences and made sure the blonde knew that it was not an exchange of information. Even though she had a constant itch in her mind to find out exactly what these changes meant for Tony. 

She had a few conclusions. 

His similarity to her queen could not be ignored. They both shared unnatural coloured eyes, their iris were also slightly larger than a humans. Giving the appearance of added colour. Tony's molten gold could not be mistaken for human, it shifted and shimmered like her queen's moved with her moods. She hadn't seen it up close, or face to face, but she had seen enough to make this observation. She imagines if she did see it face to face, the eye colour would stand out more for her than it would for most people thanks to her training. 

As well as the unnatural eye colour, their skin was similar to. Tony's olive complexion had been traded for a brushed gold. Not as striking as her queen, Tony's could still possibly be mistaken for human. 

Occasionally he drew attention, seemingly not noticing the effect he was having on the humans around him. Humans just naturally gravitated towards him, like they had to look. There was also that feeling she got in the back of her mind, very different to what she felt around the most dangerous of humans, it was more like an ancient memory of predators. It was much closer to when she had once been faced by a puma concolor than anything she had felt from a human. Her queen elicited the same feeling. 

The forest that bracketed the compound was no ordinary forest. She had not entered, of course. They had been warned away from that immediately and informed anything that happened in there was at their own risk. The only reason it was taken seriously was because of her and Wanda. They both knew that what happened on Halloween had been real, they also had grown up in lands that knew of dark forests, of what lay inside of them. Nat was waiting for those who had taunted them to turn up again. Her queen had never left her, but she wondered about the two that had terrified Steve. Time moved differently Underhill, but there was a mounting anxiety the longer they were left alone. 

It all added up to something she was not quite willing to believe. That Tony was one of the Sidhe. 

Her current running theory was that he was a favoured human. There were all kinds of stories like that, a human attracting the attention of the Sidhe. They always went for the brightest humans. Intelligence, skill, beauty, passion. Humans that were set apart attracted them like catnip and most of the kind of people who ended up in their line of work fit the bill. They were taken, changed, gifted… not always voluntarily. Time moves differently between worlds, Tony could have been gone for hundreds of years in that scrambled minute. 

Even if she was going to tell Steve about her observations, which she was not. The man would never believe her. When Thor had literally fallen in their laps one of the first things he'd said was 'There is only 1 God'. The further complication that was just the idea of the Sidhe, the wide range that it could include. She had no idea what was real and what was fable. It would be a lot for him to handle. The only reason he really got around Thor was because he had marked him in the Alien box. 

She knew of the Otherlands, Summerlands, of Underhill and Beyond the Mists. They were not of earth, but it wasn't a different planet, her queen had described it as an ever changing world with different rules in different places. A place moulded by thought and intent. It had attached itself to Earth long ago, drawn by the fire humans held in their hearts than ran through the veins of this world. She hadn't quite understood, but to her it sounded more like a dimension of a sort that had attached itself to earth. Her head just hurt considering trying to explain it to Steve. She'd kind of hoped his Irish heritage might have come with some of the old stories being passed down, yet he was all too quick to assign halloween to Wanda alone. 

She was sticking close to them still, so she'd know about any plans that could affect people living at the compound. She'd even convinced Sam and Scott to finally complete their assessments via Carol. She never quite got a valid reason out of them for why it had taken so long. Clint was currently too sick to go through his, his Migraines were acting up and Wanda was taking care of him. It burned that it wasn't her doing it. Steve had screwed up his assessment four times now and she wasn't sure how much more crap Carol would take before she showed the man just how powered she was. Despite being there for a good while now, Steve knew next to nothing about anyone at the compound. 

Sam had tried to impart something about Tony but had given up. Tony using magic to build buildings? Clearly a lie. Tony healing Colonel Rhodes who was paralysed? Again, a lie. Designed to make Sam feel guilty from his injury when he was clearly fine. Sam gave up. Scott didn't even try. Wanda only really had interest in Dr Strange now, something about a magic net, Clint only had interest in Wanda and mostly Steve only had interest in Bucky with a side of blaming everything on Tony. She was worried that he and Wanda had been planning something, but she'd struggled to get any information out of the pair. 

Steve had his eggs in the basket of Bucky getting all his memories back, coming back and apologising for all the pain he'd put Steve through. Which included no longer spending any time with the new Avengers because he won't need to. They only needed their family. Which was quickly becoming Steve, Wanda and Clint only. Sam and Scott were slowly making friends outside of the family. She was seen as being friendly with Carol who Steve clashed with often, for a man who loves the military, she couldn't help noticing he clashed with people from it often. Probably because he did a week of basic, jumped on a grenade and signed up for human experimentation and figured that made him the leader of every single situation. Rhodes and Danvers worked for years. Carol spent years in space fighting an evil alien race! 

She dropped onto the bench. Watching the sun set, lately she'd noticed that the compound looked really gorgeous at dawn or dusk, the light creating patterns that she could not quite explain but she came to watch daily. She used to love this, missions, information gathering, even protecting. More and more, she just wanted to go for dinner with Carol. She'd been introducing her to the others too, Eddie, Deadpool and Cable had invited her to their poker group. She had a lot to make up for however, and making sure Tony was not excessively affected by their presence was the least she could do. 

"Hey Nat." 

The only reason she didn't jump was years and years of training as she looked up, seeing Tony casually leaning on a tree, right in front of her. Too close, a step and she was in arms reach, and the only reason she knew he was there was because he spoke. Finally face to face, she wondered if she'll be able to pick up something, but for a few seconds he's blank, a void of human mannerisms, then suddenly he's the Tony she knew before Germany. Leaving her blinking. His golden eyes shifting and changing in the golden light of the last few hours before dark. 

Part of her brain railed that she wasn't ready to have this conversation but another part was confused. Why wouldn't she be? Things weren't exactly changing, just hovering outside of his sphere seemed pointless yet she felt stuck in a way. 

"Hi Tony, I've been meaning to see you.." 

"I know, I was waiting until you were ready, but I just saw you and…" 

"And? "

"If you feel weird, like a strange impulse, that's out of place? Like a feeling burning up inside you that you need to get out. Tell me. I'll be able to help"

It was a clear order, if the instruction doesn't make much sense to her. It's easy to agree as it's Tony, if there was one person she could trust that he wanted to help, it was Tony. 

"Okay. I will."

"Good, come and see me when you're ready." 

Tony stepped forward, studying her, raising his hand until it was a bare centimetre from touching her face, looking thoughtful and that was when she noticed something in his eyes. Something no camera had picked up on, something she wondered if anyone else had seen. How they couldn't see it. Age. Time stretching and stretching, back and back until she was absolutely dizzy with it and still on it went. Then he vanished in a burst of warm black fire that flickered across her skin and sent her nerves singing. 

What was that? 

Tony POV 

He wasn't sure exactly when it happened or if it was a gradual process over time, but he was sitting in his lab testing out a few different reactions with materials he'd just got in after his chat with Nat. Which had been interesting in itself, seeing her aura had changed and he was interested in what it could be. He really hoped that she got past whatever block was holding her back soon. Maybe he could work out why they were all acting strange. Even if people kept telling him it was good that the Rogues were keeping their heads down… Tony did not like it. Not one bit, even with no proof Wanda had been using her magic, he had a base level anxiety that wouldn't go away. Which was why he was trying to distract himself with this project which had opened up an entirely new can of worms. 

The exact thing isn't what was important, it was when he managed to do the thing he'd been considering, his impulse was to go to James whilst still excited and shocked by it before anyone else. 

When he realised that, he couldn't unsee it. 

Everytime he did a 'thing', his first instinct, before he even registered what he was doing was - go to James. 

Heck, they still texted each other good morning when they lived on the same floor! Thanks Rhodey for pointing that out! A few mornings they even had breakfast in his apartment, sometimes as a group or just the two of them. Drest had adopted him as one of her favourite humans. Cara, who liked his Reapers well enough, fought beside them, assisted them, but Tony had never seen the spectral hound crawl into someone else's lap! At least with James, the beast looked slightly less ridiculous than when he did it with him. 

Cara was big, even for the hounds of the hunt where he originally came from. He'd been badly injured on a hunt he had been on. Tony had decided to heal him, and he had been slipping. But he'd been loyal to him during several hunts and Tony is not good at letting go, he'd tapped into the Blue Fire. He looked different to the other hounds now, so Cara adopted him, and they became three. He was linked to the fire like he was. Now, he made a great dane look dinky. He came up to James waist but still thought he was a pup. Cara liked his mother, would sit with her, but it was different with James. 

He always knew James was at the door because he'd bounce around the apartment like a pup. Much to Drest's abject horror of course. Then, there was his magic. It had a tendency to reach out to the man now, on its own volition. 

He had no idea what to do about all of this. They were still visiting restaurants often all over America, he wasn't sure if James just liked the excuse to go Firewalking. There was a corner in both of his Workshop's that was James's. He was even a main player in their paintball team. 

Tony isn't even sure when all this happened. But now he's seen it, he can't unsee it. It also isn't helped by Rhodey, Loki and Stephanie giving him pointed looks. Apparently this had been obvious to them for a long time, but no one had told him that! 

He's pretty sure he's too old for this. People his age don't get crushes. Or if they do, he bets they had an idea about what to do about it because Tony hasn't a sodding clue. 

Chapter Text

James POV 

"Is Tony in his Workshops Fry?" 

"Sure is, he's stressing himself out so he could probably do with some company if you're still trying to avoid Steve." 

"I'm not avoiding him, he hasn't apologised yet. If he thinks that he can wait me out, he's going to be waiting a long time." 

He slipped on a jacket, even though the cold didn't really affect him too badly, he still didn't exactly like it and it was mid November, the nights were starting to get colder. He managed to cross the compound with minimal distraction, which was good because it was gray and drizzly out. He stuck his head into the workshop but knew the chances were that he was in the other workshop. 

There was still a considerable amount of time on the Titan Counter, but Tony seemed to be taking every single day as a personal failure at the moment, even though he was ahead of schedule of the planetary defence satellites and the Blue Fire was stronger every day. The looming threat of climate change was becoming a thing of the past although there were still holdouts of people who didn't like this fancy green energy push Tony was practically single handedly forcing around the globe, although there were a few others involved now and he had an idea they were as human as Tony.

There were even less assassination attempts after he was out with Eddie and himself and one came after him. The Rogues were partially at fault, them being well behaved apparently had Tony on edge, Tony had explained it was his instincts telling him something bad was going to happen so he had to do something. 

He opened up the second workshop and wasn't surprised to find Tony at his desk, practically buried in books. He was supposed to be on a magic break, after he spent 5 solid days creating new battle wards and he then passed out for 8 hours. Although Tony's idea of a magic break didn't actually seem to include resting, or not doing magic. 

"Afternoon Snowflake." 

"Aren't you meant to be resting?" 

"I am resting, look, I'm sat down and everything. Although I might need to make a trip, I need information." 

"Information? This isn't to do with the Rogues is it? I'm pretty sure it's a good thing that they're keeping their heads down, abiding by the rules, you know?" 

"Mmm, I've been considering visiting the
Gruagaich. About the titan, and I'm not being paranoid about the Rogues." 

"Ahuh, so, who are they? I thought even Thor couldn't find out anything more concrete about the Titans schedule." 

"The Gruagaich? They cross over from the Grimlands." 

"Grimlands, that's a realm of the dead, isn't it? How could they help?" 

"In the spirit world, all vistas are open. Time, space, dimensions, it's all at the same in a way. It also makes them super cryptic and usually grumpy about being woken up." 

James isn't entirely sure when talking to dead people about the impending alien invasion became something he nodded at as if it made sense. 

"Do you want some company?"

"Only if you want, they can be a bit creepy."

"They're dead people Tony. I didn't expect them to be sunshine and daisies." 

"True, you got any of that fancy mead left? The red one Loki brought." 

"Yeah, why?" 

"It's always good to bring an offering. We can head out in an hour, dress for Scotland in winter." 

"I'm going to put like 5 coats on then.." 

"Oh, wait, I finished the leather coat I was working on for you. Like Rhodey's." 

"I'm pretty sure that that included magic." 

"Magic break is for creating new battle wards, everything I put into this I'd already created." 

Tony hopped up from his main desk and moved deeper into the workshop before returning with the coat. James held up the jacket, it had a serious weight to it, but then he was tall and this was a full length leather jacket. The material was softer than he had expected, it wouldn't need breaking in which was good. 

At first it looked pretty normal until he ran his fingers over the surface. The wards were worked into the leather with a tattoo gun, and, from what Rhodey told him, could stand up to blasts that Carol could put out. Leather not being alive meant they needed topping up occasionally, more often Tony grumbled if they kept testing them on Carol. The inside had intricate stitched wards too although he had no idea what half of them did. 

He could recognise some, but Tony had a habit of blending his wards in confusing ways, he'd heard Stephen complaining about it vociferously. Whilst he was copying them so he could learn them at the same time. 

"That sounds like your way of getting around the rules, I'll go and get changed, at least pretend to rest before we go?" 

"Sure, sure. Want to hitchhike to our floor?" 

He grabbed Tony's hand and a step later he was outside of his door as Tony jogged off to his room. It didn't take James long to dress for what he assumed Scotland would be like in winter. Cold. 

Firewalking longer distances was officially one of James, all time favourite things. 

It was strange seeing places whisk by in the Fireworld, lit by the low light cast from the Black Flames, occasional Blue Flames flickering in between. If they were going further and there was a vein of Blue Fire? Then they'd be pulled along in the stream, going fast whilst everything fell electric and set his skin humming with it. It was a mashup of visual and sensory information that was just awesome. 

There was also the fact that Tony looked different in this place, he still didn't know if Tony actually knew this or not because it wasn't often they travelled so far away that the Fireworld was more than a flash, barely a second or two. Although after the trip to Wales, further destinations had been popping up more. He also hadn't worked out how to bring it up or ask if that's what Tony looked like beneath his glamour. 

His features were sharper, but not actually that much different from what he normally looked like. At least James could see familiar aspects. The biggest changes were his eyes that were cat-like and much, much longer hair, this time he actually got a better look than usual, walking for longer before Tony pulled them to the side. Then they were in the Blue Stream. After a few seconds, Tony pulled him quickly to the left and they slipped into a different pathway. Tony repeated that two more times before the Black Fire took over again. By the time he set foot into Scotland, he was a little dizzy but exhilarated like he'd just been on a roller-coaster. 

"That was different. Good different though, like a roller-coaster." 

"Hmm, this area has had standing stones for a very long time, it can make approaching them a little tricky through the Blue Fire." 

"Stones?" 

"Clach na Gruagaich - The Maiden's Stone and Clach na Fala - the Blood Stone. We are after the Maiden's stone today, hence the liquid offerings. Milk was the common offering back in the day, but whisky was quite common in the depression. I figure if we cover alcohol and milk, maybe, just maybe we won't leave with a headache. "

It was still quite a hike to get to where Tony was leading them, he seemed to know exactly where he was going without even pausing. Tony hadn't so much dressed for the weather, he had thrown a jacket on but James had a feeling that maybe it was habit. He looked not dissimilar to what he'd been wearing back when it had been a little warmer back at the compound. The cold, brutal wind seemed to not bother him in the slightest. 

The new coat started to warm up steadily on the inside as the temperature dropped, which was awesome. The terrain was surprisingly flat, after Wales he had expected more hills but definitely was not complaining. The grass was short and ready for winter, and the terrain meant he could see quite well, it had a different quality to Wales but was also beautiful. Like the forest in Wales, it had a strange.. untouched feel. Like the modern world had been unable to encroach everywhere. Pockets of untouched land. 

The wind whipped over the flat terrain quite brutally, from how Tony walked through it, he had a feeling he was more used to this than the weather back home. Even with the coat, James was starting to wish he'd brought a hat too. The hills actually gave them breaks from the wind, even if they were exhausting to keep climbing up and down, the flat nature of this area left them with little cover. 

The sun wasn't quite set, but the sky was definitely darkening when Tony slowed. He wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting. Ancient stones used for generations to give Offerings didn't give him much of an idea considering he now knew that Britain was practically littered with them. Stonehenge came to mind but that was miles south and he knew that Britain was home to many other henges that were less well known. Tony didn't explain the purpose of the other stone, but with a name like 'The Blood Stone', well he suspected it didn't have a fluffy past. The stones they stopped at where lying in the grass. If Tony hadn't stopped, he likely would not have known that they had any significance over other stones they had passed. 

"They're recumbent now." 

Tony answered the question before he had a chance to voice it. He wondered how well known these stones were to the modern day people. 

"That one is where Offerings are set." 

There were four stones, two smaller, then two larger. The one he indicated for Offerings had a small hollowed out section. 

"People leaving Offerings thought they were for the daoine-sith in this land, for those of the Otherworld. But this was much closer to home. 'The first among the old tribes, The people who took up the mantle. Those who placed these stones.' Put these in the gap and now we get to sit and freeze our arses off."

Tony also handed him a few sprigs of a plant with small yellow petals on it to add to the drinks. 

"So who is it for? I recognise this from somewhere?" 

He indicated to the flowers as he added them to the little collection. Although for the life of him, he had no idea where from. For some reason though, he recognised it. 

"Direct translation is the long haired ones. The Celts. The First Reapers were amongst those who laid the stones. That is Woad, all my Reapers carry my magic and Woad so with an offering of both, we'll see who we get."

He'd thought Tony had been joking about the freezing their arses off. 

He wasn't. 

They placed what they'd brought and then sat on the freezing cold floor and watched as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. Even with his coat warming up, the cold felt like it was seeping from the ground into his bones. The open nature of the land offered zero protection from the wind. 

The sun dipped lower, scattering gorgeous colours of reds and purples that split the sky and slowly faded to a darkest blue. The sky steadily lit up with stars in a way he wasn't accustomed to anymore, as they sat close to conserve what warmth they could. When the last of the sun vanished, by some cue in Tony's mind he summoned his fire to both of his hands before pressing his hands to the earth. 

James could see tiny flickers of Blue Fire over the stones. Any time he tried to focus on it, he couldn't see it, but if he let his eyes unfocus he could see them out of the corner of his eye. 

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but it was at least a little taxing on Tony he thought, his eyes remained closed as if deep in concentration, breathing hard. With Tony's eyes shut, his Hypervigilance seemed to automatically step up a notch as he constantly kept a look out around them. 

At first, he thought it was flickers of moonlight, but then the very air of the area seemed to change in some way that he could not quite put his finger on. Nothing visually changed from one instance to the next, but it was different. The lighting was the same, the stones the same, nothing James could point to and say, that, that changed. There was nothing like that, but something had changed.

The moon shadows that he had been watching flickering over the rolling terrain, suddenly seemed to become more… insistent. Shadows started suddenly moving faster, sharper. The hairs of the back of his neck picked up and he found himself almost holding his breath. Waiting. 

The blurred edges of the shadows seemed to be hardening in front of him when he realised Tony was actually speaking quietly. 

"From the powers

Of Earth, Sea and Sky

Of Man, Beast and Sidhe 

And Shades of the night

Hear the call of our ancestors

Of blood and bone

Of womb and tomb

And standing stone." 

The shadows were pulling together faster now and he was the first to admit this was extremely creepy. 

He felt a shiver down his spine as steadily human-like shapes formed from the flickering black shadows. Again it was a difference of one second to the next but it didn't stand out. Not a moment he could pinpoint the actual change too.

The shadows steadily darkened, suddenly splitting into more and more flickering shadows, and out of practically nowhere, there were suddenly a lot of them spreading out in front of them. James eyes jumping from one point to another, as to keep them all in his field of vision. 

As James was glancing around, he steadily realised they were already drastically outnumbered by the people taking form. The more they split apart, the more details seemed to form from the flickering black. He started noticing more and more individuals now. 

Clothing slowly formed out of shadows, he noticed long dark hair, some curlier than others, pale skin visible in flashes under stripes of blue or black. Some furs and hides for warmth at a guess, James wasn't about to devote too much attention to the dead peoples fashion choices. Not when tension was thrumming across his skin the closer and more solid they got. 

Their approach was eerily silent, but not uniform, as some moved faster than others. Some were walking whilst some moved at a faster lope. All of their attention however was completely and utterly focused on him and Tony. It wasn't like a group where a few people would be looking off in different directions, focus split. The focus was so sharp he could feel it skittering across his nerves. 

Wind still buffeted himself and Tony, he could feel and see his own hair and clothes caught up in it the powerful wind as it snapped around them, but the figures were still as if it didn't touch them. It added an entirely new level of creepy somehow, that they crossed the land, untouched by nature. James wasn't sure why that point, over all of the other very creepy things to have happened already was the one that edged him closer to Tony. 

They came to a stop at the exact same time Tony suddenly sat up, both Tony and the collected group of Gruagaich acting upon a signal that he was obviously not able to discern. 

Tony pulled his hands from the ground as if they'd actually become stuck, with a grimace of pain that he quickly wiped from his face. Tony stood slowly, offering a hand for him for which he was grateful for as his legs felt like frozen stone. He stayed slightly behind Tony, watching carefully. 

'Why have you summoned us from the Grim Lands, Guardian, Lord of Reapers.' 

He glanced around for the speaker, there was a man closer to them even though James hadn't seen him move. They had all been one group a second ago, now this one was standing closer, out in front. James hadn't seen or heard him move. That was more than a little disconcerting. His skin covered in black stripes as if camouflaged somehow. Not like Woad, there were large stripes of smooth black. 

The thing James was actively trying to ignore, but could not, was that his, and all of the others eyes were black and completely shadowed in a fashion that made James really not want to see what lay behind those shadows. His mouth hadn't moved, and it didn't feel like the sound reached his ears, but was rather spoken directly onto his mind. It was strange and hard to explain. 

The night felt alive brimming with anxiety and danger, in a way that James was not really familiar with. Whatever, and whoever these Gruagaich once were, now they were not passive creature's, that's for sure. It was as if the wrong word being spoken, or a movement at of order… and they'd be on them. 

There was a base level hostility. A constant hum or beat of silent music that was a constant pressure across James senses. Had the hairs of the back of his neck and his arms standing. Had adrenaline pounding through his veins. Everything felt just on that shade of ready for… something.

"I seek insight for the coming battle against the Titan, for the sake of the balance." 

Nothing happened for a solid minute, and it was potentially the longest damned minute of James life. He had to force himself to breathe and not hold his breath. That was when he realised one of the things that was setting off alarm bells in his mind. He and Tony were standing still, but they breathed, the moved, just hundreds of tiny actions that everyone does that you barely register. None of the Gruagaich moved. Not a single one, no one shuffled their weight to a different foot, no one moved their head, no one breathed. It was like a void to his senses, there was no one there, but there was. 

'Birth, Life and Death; Past, Present, and Future; Earth, Sea, and Sky.' 

Now he understood why Tony was complaining about cryptic messages. 

At least that didn't tell him anything, Tony's clenched jaw made him think he heard something in that. He would look to Tony in question, but that would require him to take his eyes off the Gruagaich and that was not happening anytime soon. 

Another figure separated from the group, coming close enough to put his foot up on the stone they had left the Offerings in, leaning on his leg casually. For a dead person, he had much more… life to him. The wind still didn't affect him, but there was just something that again, James couldn't point to. He just knew. 

This man was as covered in Woad as Tony was, with long, curly, dark hair, and loose looking trousers. He guessed being dead protected you from the freezing temperatures as the man was shirtless. He noticed that he was carrying a black, strange looking short blade in a loose, left handed grip. 

He was also smiling which was somehow creepier than the expressionless ones. Especially when his shadowed eyes turned and locked onto him. He spoke too, unlike the words feeling like they appeared in his mind. His voice again has a little more too it, but it was still missing something. 

"This one has the feel of a Bone Inspector, your fire always did choose the interesting ones, Black Scythe." 

What was a Bone Inspector and why did he feel like one? Oh he would definitely be questioning Tony about this later. 

"You would know Morcant, do you have anything to add?" 

"All of our time and legends lore, 

Through the mists that invade our shore. 

Ripped clean from the nightmare, 

Out from Balor's rotting, blood soaked lair. 

Tearing right through realities seams, 

Hunt, but flee before the banshee screams." 

Tony paled further as he went on and if that didn't concern him he didn't know what could, and he had a feeling that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Titan. 

"Fuck." 

"Good luck, Black Scythe." 

He blinked and they were suddenly alone. The oppressive air was gone in a flash and if felt like he could actually breathe even though he hadn't noticed it pressing in on him until it lifted. He felt nearly dizzy with it. That's when he noticed what they'd left on the stones had vanished too. 

"Right, just hang there for a quick second. Guard him."

Tony jogged off and he was confused about the last part until a wet nose nudged his hand. He blinked down at Cara, wondering where he had just come from. He also had no idea how Tony moved so fast after that, his legs felt like lead as he leaned on Cara. Not long later Tony reappeared and Cara bound over to greet him. It was full dark now too, which had been a surprise. He wondered just how long they had been sat or stood there, it felt like barely 5 minutes the shades were speaking but his body and the sky said otherwise. He felt locked up as he slowly stretched his muscles out whilst he had waited on Tony. 

"Come on Snowflake, let's get home where it's warm." 

They hiked away from the stones for a while, Cara walked with them, enjoying the walk much more than himself as it was quite cold, especially now it was deep into the night. He assumed it had been taxing on Tony too as he was moving slower than he had on the way to the stones. Occasionally leaning on his arm and with a hand on Cara when the hound wasn't looping around them in excited circles. 

When he got to a certain place, again, he had no idea but Tony seemed to know as it looked exactly the same as where they'd been 10 minutes ago. He took Tony's hand and didn't miss the wince, probably from over using his magic again, as fire curled around them, warming him to his bones as Tony took a different route home.

Certain veins only traveled in certain directions, so the trip back was different but still took them through several streams of Blue Fire. Cara didn't follow them, but he figured he had his own way of travelling seeing as he had not arrived with them. When they stepped into Tony's apartment, it felt almost burning hot in comparison to the chill and blistering winds of Scotland. He had been about to say something about it as Tony wavered on the spot. 

He was getting far too good at catching this idiot when he passed out.

Chapter Text

James POV

Cara slipped from beneath the table as he lay Tony on the sofa, James just stared for a few seconds, because it's one thing to know the hound could travel. It's another to leave him Scotland and have him slink from beneath the coffee table as if he'd been curled beneath it. Cara gently jumped up and lay himself over Tony's legs, which always looked kind of ridiculous to him given how huge he was and well, how tiny Tony was in comparison. Cara was a big hound, he easily covered James legs when he lay on him.

"Fry, can you order some pizza from the canteen or something? He passed out again." 

"Done, and the first aid kit is under the sink." 

First aid kit? 

Cara nudged Tony's arm at him that he could now see was wrapped in a makeshift bandage, and apparently still bleeding. Which was odd as he'd seen the man heal from cuts instantly. Frowning, he retrieved the first aid kit and cleaned the large, deep looking wound at his wrist up and used steri-strips to hold it closed. He didn't know if he required actual stitches and really didn't feel like stitching his arm up. He hoped this would hold at least until he woke up. 

Which hopefully would not take too long. James was surprised at how long they had been gone after he checked the clock. They'd left at about 1pm, it was now 11pm. Which had definitely been a bit of a shock, it certainly hadn't felt like that long, he didn't even feel like he'd missed lunch. He settled himself on the sofa not far away from Tony and Cara as Drest made herself comfortable on his shoulders. Whilst giving him a look that she was not the best pleased with him. Claws prickling through his t-shirt. Because it was his fault Tony passed out, apparently. 

"Don't go around blaming me. I just catch the idiot." 

He couldn't even be much use on what had been said, might as well have been speaking a different language.

But with rhyming.

Because creepy ghost people giving you information wasn't bad enough, nope, gotta make it confusing with poetry, in the dark. Tony at least seemed to have an idea on what was said, he had paled considerably at what the second guy, Morcant, had said. Which wasn't comforting. He'd never seen Tony pale when discussing the guy trying to wipe out half of the universe, that threatened The Balance of the multiverse. More irritation than fear. 

It was about an hour later they had returned, 5 minutes after food was sent up when Tony actually woke up, blinking around slightly confused at the sight of food. He glanced at his bandaged arm, as if confused that James had bandaged his arm. 

"I passed out again didn't I?" 

"Yup." 

"I was 70% sure that wouldn't happen." 

"Well, the 30% won and now your cat is pissed at me, so I'd eat that if I were you." 

Which he ate like a person who hadn't seen food in a week. James guessed that it had taken more out of him energy wise than he had realised. At least he was eating though. 

"So, are dead people usually so cryptic? Is it a rule?" 

"Actually, they weren't too bad this time around, relatively straight forward. The information isn't something I can work on about the Titan yet. Pin in it. The second part, now that's actually worrying." 

He hates to think what them being worse would have been like, if that had been considered 'not bad'. James definitely wouldn't have called them 'straight forward'. Relatively or otherwise. 

"More worrying than the dude that wants to wipe out 50% of all life?" 

"Ahuh. He had more of a 100% scope. Dominance, slavery, full evil bad guy list. To shred reality with the Void, render life into nightmares." 

"OK. Didn't see that coming. I thought I recognised the name.." 

"Hmm, you read Dédenach Maige Tuired? That was the battle that spurred the Exodus. But the Fomóire are trapped, he's dead. I scattered part of his ashes myself. This shouldn't be happening. Can't be! Why can't there be one ridiculous thing to do at a time? Drest, inform mother, see what she can do. But the chances of them fighting another battle for an earth that's moved on? Not likely."

"So, basically your people's ancient enemies are planning on conquering Earth and then spreading out again, but your people aren't going to be interested in fighting a war when they're safe behind the mists?" 

"Basically. Most likely his generals, at least two I know of. They were still alive, unfortunately, when we triggered the Void-hex. I wanted to hunt them down but we were running out of time. We would have felt the Void-Hex being broken though. My human form would have expired immediately to free me. The 7 of us that cast it would feel it break and there has been nothing."

"OK. Yeah. That's definitely not good, I remember reading about the battle, but not the Void-hex bit."

"That came at the end, most accountings don't include it. I made sure of it. If it isn't written there is less chance it can be undone. After He was rendered to Ash, in the chaos we had to put the Fomóire away. Even without their leader, they're dangerous and would sweep across the Firelands and slaughter or enslave everything in their path. Without a leader it would be brutal chaos. Me and Mother stole one of their Wish-hexes a few battles prior in preparation. Nasty things. Me and Math altered it. Between the 7 of us, we effectively tore a hole in reality directly into the Pit of the Void, then used the Void-hex to pull them all in. I sealed the tear with the Fire. Trapping them in the centre of the Void and sealing it off. 

They can't even reach the edge of Underhill like they used to because of how we worked the Void-hex and how I used the Fire. Even so, Mab still guards the precipice as she always has, watching where they once crossed over from. She would tell me if there was so much as a damned leaf falling and there has been nothing."

"Well that doesn't sound at all terrifying, so you'd know if they escaped?" 

"Definitely, the 7 of us are partially bound to it, we'd feel if they opened the door. It would fucking hurt, but we'd know."

"Well that's kind of good then, that they're still locked up? What was the first thing?" 

"Unless someone has slipped through without us knowing. The other is just a reminder of something I already knew." 

He waved it off and James was now starting to wonder, because Tony had basically just avoided answering that question twice, which he didn't often do. He didn't really want to ask a third time as that would force him to answer and that was a pretty dickish thing to do to a friend. But he also wondered why. Tony was very upfront and willing to dive into pretty much anything he showed an interest in. He'd even told him about how he'd bound to the Fire. So this was definitely odd behaviour. 

The sentence hadn't made much sense to him, but then as much as he read into this, he was still pretty new to it all. He was sure he had heard it before somewhere, but the meaning and how it tied into their current situation? That was lost to him. 

"How is your arm anyway? I thought you healed instantly?" 

"Usually, but an offering isn't exactly a big deal if you just heal immediately. It'll take a few hours." 

"At least try and get some actual rest, Rhodey threatened to sit on you if you pass out again." 

"You didn't tell Platypus on me did you?" 

"No, but you know Fry will tell him if she thinks it is in your benefit." 

"Baby girl, did you tell Rhodey bear about when I got back did you." 

"Not yet Boss, but he is waiting to hear what the dead people said." 

Tony snorted at the and sat back in his chair, he was still a little on the pale side, but a damned sight better that what he had been when they'd first gotten back. He wondered if it was physically possible to get him to watch out for himself. 

"What is a Bone Inspector by the way?" 

"Ah, not got there yet in your reading?" 

"I don't recognise the words but there is something.."

Tony shifted on the sofa, folding his legs beneath him and James recognised this stance quite well. It was how Tony spoke about very important things about very old things and how he told stories. Which meant James was instantly attentive, he had grown quite attached to the Stories that Fae told, even though he had only met a few of them but the few he had met were pretty old, and had gathered all kinds of stories.

Cer preferred to be deep in the forest, with many people sitting around him. Tony's mother preferred to give you enough to take the journey yourself to tell the story. Tony seemed to like to tell his stories like this, or as part of his training. Testing his ability to take in the story whilst in the middle of a sword fight, sometimes James really did wonder how this was his life some days, but he wouldn't change it. It was his and he loved it. 

Stories were an incredibly important and serious thing to the Fae. The entire story was important too, he'd found that with some stories, it wasn't until the end when the most important thing could evade you and then suddenly it tied everything together. Sometimes it was weak later when he was ruminating over what he'd been told when he'd eventually realise the pointpoint Tony had been making. 

"Hmmm. Bone Inspectors were crafted, trained and bound by the Dryw, the Druids. They are many things. They are one thing. They are constant. 

"They are The Sentinels. 

"They are The Wardens. 

"They are The Defenders. 

"Usually, but not always, from a very young age they are Targeted, Taken and Trained and are tasked with keeping the Knowledge of the land, with collating the Secrets of the land and with taking Care of the land. 

"The writing of stories, like I do, is more of a Fae trait. However you might notice that they're guarded in this workshop that is out of magic, space and time. As for this workshop… 

"It can only be found by those who hold knowledge of it. 

"It can only be seen with an ongoing gift of my magic. 

"It can only be entered with a shard of Bluestone "

As a person who had been given permission to take the books out from this room, he was suddenly happy that he had been extra paranoid and started locking them in the safe under his bed. Friday had told him the room was secure, but he felt better keeping them safe, out of sight, telling no one he had them and in general, he wanted them unable to be taken. 

"The Dryw preferred Oral means of Gathering, Storing and Celebrating the Stories. You know how precious, paramount and powerful stories are. The Dryw served three core functions when it came to the Stories, to the History and to the Land. 

"Gweled to See. 

"Gwawd to Sing. 

"Gweinydd to Serve. 

"There was more when it came to other things of course, they served the function of many jobs that still exist today, but the focus today is on the Stories, History and the Land because that is why they formed the Order of Bone Inspectors.  

"And one thing Bone Inspectors did, by the Guidance, Will and Gift of the Dryw, was to Travel, Listen and Remember."

"They collected people's stories?" 

Tony nodded and James had a feeling it was more as he didn't look finished. Not that James was complaining in the slightest, this was possibly one of his favourite parts of his new life. He wondered what it was like in ancient times, wandering the land, speaking to people, collecting their stories and passing them on so they wouldn't be lost. 

" You Hunt stories like a Bone Inspector. You Crave Knowledge like a Bone Inspector and I believe you will Guard what you learn like a Bone Inspector too. With your Life, With your Power and with your Death. 

"The Bone inspectors were very important when it came to the stories, especially for that last part. To guard the words. That was also why the tradition was oral. 

"You cannot steal a story gathered within the Mind. 

"You cannot alter a story kept in the Heart. 

"You cannot taint a story bound by your Soul.

"As well as the Stories, Albion has many, many Old Places. These are very important. Standing stones, hanging stones, henges, groves, wells, hills, carvings and places like The Cerne Abbas Giant. The holy trees of Oak, Ash and Thorn. Guardians and doorways and many, many others. Some large and known about, others are small and hidden. Even now, with the modern sprawl, the old places are kept, watched and guarded. Even by those who do not believe. Some not as well as they should but they do what they are able. Sadly many of the oldest Yew trees were claimed by the Church as a means of converting the populace. Place the church on a site people already visited. Now those churches are falling into disrepair. There is a Yew tree that is almost 3000 years old in one of these churches. 

"These places, of many different kinds and significance, like where we visited today actually, they require Protection, Maintenance and Care.  

"Some Bone Inspectors would devote themselves to a singular place that called to them, others would travel to every island, every corner of the lands. Never standing still. Some cared purely for the Blue Fire instead of the Stories or the Land. Morcant used to joke that I needed a Bone Inspector more than any of the Henges and sites of old."

Tony huffed in indignation which just made it more amusing. He was smiling though, and likely remembering the man he has glimpsed today. Bone Inspectors seemed something huge to James somehow, already. To remember so many stories, to guard so many secrets and care for many sites. That was something big. 

"I think he just liked to steal my food. He claimed when he was on duty he had to be fed you see. To protect me from getting into trouble. He got himself into just as much mischief as I ever did. For all of his guarding, I'm sure at least half of it was his fault. Morcant is one of the first Reapers, his diary is a Bone Inspector Tome, very, very rare. It's also much, much larger, so separate from what you've read so far. I can get it for you if you like?"

"Oh, I definitely want to read that." 

Tony grinned and James knew that grin. It was the one when Tony thought he had bitten off more than James could chew, and was highly amused at the fact. He closed his eyes and instead of summoning the book on a burst of Black Fire, this was a mixture of Blue, Black and White. 

Suddenly there was a huge book in Tony's hands. It was a good 2 feet across and 4 foot long. It was very thick too. James wasn't sure he'd ever seen a book that large before. The exterior was a deep blue leather and heavily decorated with knot work that mixed Blue, White and Black around the edges. There were a number of symbols that he could recognise, the Awen was in the centre was one he did. There was a lot he did not recognise however. It was a work of art.  The translation Ward also allowed him to read the text stating it was 'Morcants Tome of Reapers and Bone'. Also he could read beneath it, 'Book The First.' Tony's smile suddenly made a lot more sense but he was extremely excited to get his hands on it as Tony handed it over to him. The weight of it was shocking and a quick peak made it clear the text was small too. Each page was a work of art, not just the cover. James had a feeling he was going to enjoy this. 

"Back to the Bone Inspectors, now, each is different, like each Reaper is different but they all have a drive to Learn, to Protect, to Guard. Like Reapers have the Compulsion. Bone Inspectors are all thrice bound to the Land, the People and the Fire. 

"Now when it comes to you… 

"You might not have been Found. 

"You might not have been Taught. 

"You might not have been given the Duty. 

"What you do have however, is the most important part of being a Bone Inspector." 

"What's that?" 

"The Spirit, The Drive and The Will." 

When James had read that the number three was important to the Celts, he hadn't quite realised just how much until Tony had explained what a Bone Inspector was. 

Rhodey POV 

"I heard you went and spoke to dead people with James? Interesting date choice, but OK. Anything new?"

"It wasn't a date. It was a very important information gathering venture. Does a whole different, horrific threat count?" 

Tony recounted what he had been told, both separate messages and he had a bad feeling about that first one. 

"Birth, Life and Death; Past, Present, and Future; Earth, Sea, and Sky." 

Rhodes scratched his head as he thought about what Tony had told him, and what information just seemed to be there since the Fire had been unlocked inside him. Threes. Threes were very important to the Celts. 

"For the Titan, there needs to be three of us, doesn't there?" 

"Pretty sure, but then I have been pretty sure about that since I woke up and miraculously found myself faced with two potential Reapers. Two incredibly powerful Reapers. And my base is on top of a three point convergence. That kind of shit doesn't just happen ." 

"And because its you, I'm guessing you haven't explained the significance of threes to James." 

"I haven't not explained it, he's learning everything he can get his hands on, but I don't think he's made the connection between the importance or their being 3 Reapers for this fight. He certainly hasn't connected it to himself . He discounts himself and his importance far, far too easily. 

"Morcant is right though, I don't know how I didn't see it before today. He's got the feel of a Bone Inspector, even though he is in the wrong land and wasn't trained for it and hasn't been given the duty, he still feels like one. However, I'm not going to dump The Mantle on him, rob him of his journey, of his choice or force his hand just because the fates are complicated gits!"

Tony was pretty close to ranting on the subject, but then it was important to him. Mantles of Power are immensely powerful things, but they don't just grant authority or offer power. There were changes that happened when you took it on, how it influenced their thoughts and even personality to a degree. Tony had taught him to build a barrier in his mind, when he dropped that barrier, to call Rhodey human would be untrue. His human nature was more of a... hold over, that he could pull out now, when required. Rhodes dropped that barrier and nature, then in effect, became more like Tony than any human. He noticed that humans reacted to him as if he was a predator when that happened. Tony would never have a person walk into that decision blind or without it being entirely their choice. 

He stood to pace, something that had become a comfort to him after Tony had healed him. He could certainly see where Tony was coming from, taking on the Mantle also wasn't the kind of thing you could just pick up for a fight and then put back down. When the Fire burned, it could not be rebound. There was a certain compulsion to ensure The Balance was maintained that became intrinsic to your very being. Tony had told him he feels it constantly, so it made sense that it was passed down to them. 

James deserved to know that dead people were basically creating a prophecy about him, but at the same time… any kind of free will would be instantly compromised the second he knew. Would he just accept it because three were needed? Or because it was something he wanted? Rock meet Hard Place. 

"There is a chance he could work this out himself you know. If he's going through your reading material at half the rate you say he is, it's not going to take him long to see the patterns. To maybe connect these patterns to himself." 

"I know. The amount of Fire he carries to, it's going to make taking in the information quicker. He still discounts himself far too easily, something I am not usually fond of, but I think when he moves past that, he will take up the Mantle. It's just a race for which comes first. Especially after he asked me to explain what a Bone Inspector was, how it relates to him, there is no way to explain them that is not literally littered with threes and I don't deny requests of Reapers craving stories. 

"We all have a little prophecy in us from Mother. Not to her degree or strength which is good, because prophecy is usually complicated and headache inducing. There is a reason she is blind. For us, it is usually feelings, sudden ideas or drives. I can manipulate threads when it comes to healing, to see the best course of healing that leads to the longest thread, but I can't see what happens in those threads. 

"Like when I went to heal James, as I placed his arm it slammed into me to coat it with the Black of the Reaper. That maybe, one day, I will have someone to share the secret of the metal. Sharing that with a Bone Inspector makes completely perfect sense now. To the point it's painfully obviously smacking me in the face for not seeing it sooner. Back then, I had no idea. Just a feeling, a push. I won't truly know if he will be able to understand until the bind is off and his powers start to manifest. This however? The First Bone Reaper decreeing James is of his line? He didn't say it in so many words, the message was for me to understand right now, not for James yet. See how it's little things that snowball? So, when a Reaper asks for a story, they get it. I don't always know when that information will be relevant to them." 

"I understand, it makes sense. I can't wait until he decides to take the bind off. To see what powers he calls, and not just because I want to see if he nearly sets the apartment on fire like I did." 

"We are both waiting on that day." 

"So, which one am I?" 

"You are Birth, Present and Earth." 

"Didn't expect you to already have it that clear in your head." 

"You're the Anchor. The centre. Your Fire is steady. Me and James… We both have a lot of raw power that can burn us up if we aren't careful. A lot of other similarities that are written in blood and pain. Add your control to our potential polar Fires if I'm right, and the triangle is virtually unbreakable. Especially if I'm right about what one of his gifts will be." 

"Is this why you keep doing dumb shit and passing out, we're unbalanced aren't we." 

Tony sort of made a seesawing gesture with his hands whilst shrugging. 

"Maybe? It's not exactly new for me to drain myself down to empty. Morcant used to pull me back, I've always had a Reaper to make me pause. The Reaper is usually a Bone Reaper too. 

"But it is certainly happening far, far too often. It will only get worse with time. We can work together as a duo for most threats, it's fine. After a certain level? Even day to day? Yes, we're currently unbalanced and I'm working to make up the difference. I am powerful on my own, but I am as tied to the Balance as can be. If things are not balanced? It weakens me, it puts more strain on me and it kicks up my instincts. Leaving me on edge and more likely to burn down. It's why I'm uneasy about certain threats being so close."

Rhodes sat back, pinching the bridge of his nose because he really couldn't see a way around it. Tony would never forgive himself if he felt he pressured a person into becoming a Reaper. Hence why Tony was apparently burning himself out, repeatedly, when he guessed James releasing his bind alone would stop that. 

Tony would always put the choice to become a Reaper ahead of his own desires, wishes and even his damned health. That was something that was written over and over. 

It wasn't even as if James wasn't interested, he was , extremely so. 

There was something holding the man back, although he had no idea what it was. Tony had no idea what was holding James back either. It was a pretty personal journey into finding your way to that yes. For him, it had been easy, he was Tony's right hand man. It was more like a conclusion of something he'd been moving towards for years without realising it. Rhodes was pretty sure James was already falling into the role he'd take after, he already guarded Tony, even though James didn't seem to realise he was doing it. 

James, was still pretty new to their strange family, and whilst he fit in perfectly with the new Avengers. He took their crazy in a stride that even he found impressive. There wasn't anyone at the compound who he found off putting apart from Ms Witch Bitch, and that included people like Venom and Deadpool. Even the kids loved him. He won Harley over in record time.

Somehow, he had survived months of dealing with the rogues and still came out of it optimistically. After his last argument with Steve, he was still holding strong whereas Tony in that situation had buckled repeatedly until he died . Watching him fight was a spectacle alone, Tony had called him his Battle Wraith, flowing across any field and completing any objective Carol gave him with a level of competency even she found staggering. 

There was also the fact he took Tony's new brand of crazy and simply adapted. No matter what Tony threw at him, the man just went to meet dead people and got Tony to eat!

Rhodes had absolutely no idea what was holding the man back, what made his discount himself so easily. Rhodes had been trying to give him space, both he and Tony had, and now, they had no way of suddenly being more interested in it without James asking -why?- and potentially connecting it with what he heard from the Gruagaich. 

He's pretty sure the dead people had actually further complicated their lives rather than helping. 

" This is why you don't ask dead people things."

"Well, it was that or find out a way of visiting the Grimlands myself. Which. Trust me is a capital bad idea. Bad enough that even I won't consider it." 

"Why is it so bad?" 

"Well, I could die to get there if I skipped a few stops, but then I'd be beholden to the same cryptic bullshit the Gruagaich have to deal with to pass messages on. And I'd be, well, dead." 

"Yeah, let's not do that." 

"There are… ways into the Grimlands, but Rhodey, I say this as one of the fundamental truths of reality. The dead despise the living. To summon them and pay tribute is one thing, to break into their lands to steal from them? The payment would be too high. Even those who are our friends, that wish to help, they are never alone in the Grimlands and there will never be enough to protect you." 

The way Tony full on body shuddered he wondered just how he came about this information, but decided that might be a story he doesn't want. 

"Explain the other thing to me, maybe we can at least think on that."

"All of our time and legends lore, 

Through the mists that invade our shore. 

Ripped clean from the nightmare, 

Out from Balor's rotting, blood soaked lair. 

Tearing right through realities seams, 

Hunt, but flee before the banshee Screams." 

"Apart from creepy as all hell, I'm missing a lot of information here, Who is Balor?" 

"He's dead. And as much as I don't want to have people thinking about Voldemort, avoid saying his name too much. To draw his attention, to have him just look upon you, was certain death once. Even for my kind. Not just death, obliteration, those who were rendered to Ash under his gaze do not even get to move on. It's only of the ways he was so detrimental to The Balance. Even now he's dead, it's avoided. Prophecy can act as a by pass but I would prefer to not keep reciting it.." 

That, out of anything, told Rhodes this was several orders of magnitude above what he had already classed it in his mind. Tony's was not the kind of person that was needlessly superstitious. 

"OK, so, Sauron is dead..." 

"Really?" 

"What, you said no voldemort. You can't deny me my Tolkien. So, Sauron and his death ray eye of doom is dead. I'm guessing, being an evil overlord dude. He had generals. Right? And, I'm betting they really hate each other." 

"Molaich and Calatin were the highest ranking, most active and still alive at the casting of the Void-hex. They're both Fomóire but very different from each other. Calatin could be mistaken for one of my people, rumoured to be half actually. Molaich however has twisted himself beyond recognition, his magic has pushed him so far beyond his original form, that the only way to contain his energy was within a magical, swirling murder of crows, taking the shape of a man."

The anger and distaste on Tony's face when he spoke about Molaich vs the bland indifference of Calatin made it pretty clear which one Tony saw as either the greater threat, or there is a history there he doesn't know. Generally that was a given, his best friends age went from 40 something to 4 digits overnight, he's accepted that there is a lot of Tony's life he doesn't know. 

"So, the chances of us fighting some normal bad guys seems to be getting slimmer everyday. At least it can't get more complicated. So we have two bad guys, who conveniently hate each other. Maybe they'll kill each other?" 

"If one kills the other, they'll simply absorb the split faction." 

"And become twice as strong. Gotcha."

"It took a war last time Rhodey, a long, bloody, violent war. That I was only a general in with The Reapers. Many Reapers, the youngest of which was 390 at the time. With centuries of pain and blood before it even came to that." 

"And I'm guessing from the look on your face, that the chances of an army popping out from behind the mists ain't gonna happen?"

"That's the thing Rhodey, even if they did? What makes you think they'll just go back after?" 

"Oh come on!"

Chapter Text

James POV 

"James, Steve has asked to meet with you. Again." 

James rolled over and stuck his face into his pillow. This was how he had woken up every day since their argument and it was starting to slowly drive him insane. Was that Steve's new tactic? Drive him freaking crazy so he'll have to punch the punk? He rolled over, because as much as he wanted to scream into his pillow, he wasn't going to do it. 

In general, the rogues had been suspiciously low key, it was driving Tony around the bend that they seemed to be doing completely nothing. The main magic the Ved'ma had used was telekinesis. James was hoping that the fact they were abiding by the rules was a good thing. He did understand why Tony was fixating however, having Wanda in his territory was not good for him. The tracker bracket monitored her movements, she had not once left the confines of the wall, the web was still in effect. Tony was concerned for his safety, but he figured that was his instincts giving him trouble. He felt safer than he ever had, but then between Tony and Rhodes alone he was covered. 

“Which pre-recorded response did you go for today Fry? "

"I went with 6, we haven't used that one for a while, he actually responded differently today."

That was new. 

"He did? What did he say?"

"That he wants to apologise."

"Holy shit. Are you fucking with me Fry, I thought the damned apocalypse would come first. One of them anyway. Is there a plural of apocalypse?"

"I'm not sure. He wants to know if you'll meet him for a run later."

"Uh, yeah that's fine. I've got dinner with Tony at 5, tell him 11 is fine."

"You will be careful though, won't you? It's just you're very important to Boss and myself.. "

"I'll be fine Fry, plus, you're with me now."

It should be pretty amusing when Steve worked out he had a watch that just so happened to have Fry in it. She was great, he had tried heading out of the compound on his own a few times, but found the anxiety crushing. Tony had told him about how JARVIS and then FRIDAY got him through enough anxiety to sink a ship. That had led to him getting one of Tony's techy smart watches. 

"Buc- uh. James, sorry it takes some getting used to. But I'm going to do better." 

"Thank you Steve. That means a lot to me, you're probably out of practice is all." 

"So I was thinking tonight you could come to the team dinner. I wanted to apologise for how things happened with Wanda." 

The fact Steve is calling them team dinners is amusing, the team is huge and occasionally has big dinners together. Wings and TicTac occasionally show even if they don't socialise much. It's a slow process, Nat even showed a few times. Steve, Clint and Wanda had rejected every invite. 

"It's not really a team dinner when you exclude most of the team." 

Steve frowns and he can almost see the angry biting reply form in his mind before he pushes it down, smiling instead. Which is a huge improvement, he's actually impressed and damned hopeful. 

"I guess you're right. Family dinner, then." 

Not so hopeful. He feels like sighing but Steve is trying, so he'll at least try. Wanda however was not a thing he would bend on, and he doubts he'd deny the little Ved'ma access to family dinner. 

"I don't know Steve, they might be your family but they ain't mine."

"Sure they are, you're my family, so they're your family." 

Steve was just utterly ignoring the Wanda shaped elephant in the room. It was starting to grate on his nerves. 

"Steve, I've tried to tell you a hundred times, I don't want to eat at the same table as Wanda, OK?Especially now I know she's Hydra" 

"But I don't understand why , she's such a sweet kid, you should give her a chance. I'm sorry for not telling you, that's on me. Wanda probably would have told you but she was worried it would hurt your recovery. I don't know what Tony has done to poison your against -"

"You realise all of you were bad mouthing Tony, constantly, for months , right? Yet you act like if Tony told me 1 bad thing about Wanda, that's the worst thing in the world." 

Well. This was going well. And he bets Wanda didn't want him knowing about their little shared connection. After telling Tony that Steve had kept this information from him he had raged. He was pretty sure the fact he was using Tony as a pillow was the only reason he hadn't gone after Steve right then, he had however told him everything. Everything he remembered and everything he had learned since regarding Wanda. Tony had since managed to locate some Hydra information sites, so soon James was looking forward to finding out just why the little Hydra bitch didn't want him knowing about her. 

"She's just a kid, and the team had reason, they needed to blow off steam. Tony has no reason to attack Wanda." 

"Except for the mind manipulation?" 

"I can't believe Tony has been lying to you about Wanda, I knew it." 

"Steve I've seen the videos." 

He grated out, because Wade had recently come through on that promise when he first arrived. He'd showed him all kinds of footage that had pissed him off. Her fucking with people's minds had made him sick. How she had even put Natalia on her back in her nightmares? Wanda never should have been put on the team. Second chances are all well and good, but what she did? That was too far in his mind. 

It's also interesting to see who Steve offers his second chances too, given the scathing comments towards Loki. Someone he had become quite good friends with, he and Tony made a point of occasionally dragging him away from his work. He deserved a second chance, he felt remorse for what he did under mind control. Wanda was in control of herself and James had asked around. She had never apologised as far as anyone knew. 

Is Clint could state that he did not want to be near Loki, then he figured he was within his rights to avoid the fuck out of Wanda. Jessica vehemently agreed with him on this.

Venom the sweetheart even offered to eat Wanda for him. 

"Tony can doc… Let's, Let's just leave this OK. So you'll come to dinner?" 

"I won't eat with Wanda. Plus, I have plans tonight." 

He can't help but smile at that, since they'd now made a few trips to the UK without landing in the ocean even once. The look on Rhodes face when Tony said that was now saved and on his phone via FRIDAY. Tony had now thrown a few other options into their dinner pool. It was somewhere in Germany tonight and he was looking forward to it. Bucky barely got out of Brooklyn before the War, The Asset travelled everywhere, but he wasn't exactly one for sightseeing. So as James he wanted to experience what the world had to offer. Plus, there was the 'spending time with Tony' aspect. Also the Firewalking aspect. 

"What plans?" 

"I'm going to dinner." 

"So you could cancel that dinner and have it with us?" 

"No Steve, I'm not cancelling my plans, I'm looking forward to tonight. Even if I was willing to cancel, still not eating with Wanda." 

He has enough of Bucky's memories now that he can literally see Steve getting angry. He decides to wait him out, depending on how Steve handles the next few sentences would be if he goes running with Steve, or if he heads to Tony's workshop.

He's willing to give him a chance, but he isn't going to let himself be railroaded. 

"Okay, just you and me then yeah? Instead of running in the compound we can head to this cafe, it's a good hour run and then we could get burgers and a taxi back here." 

He couldn't be more shocked, he was worried that Steve would push this until it broke.

He was glad that he actually listened to him. Yeah, he wasn't perfect. Buy boy if he wasn't actually trying . 

"Okay, that sounds nice, I'm happy that you accept my conditions. My therapist will be thrilled we came to a conclusion that makes us both happy." 

"Don't know why you see one, they're just charlatans and you don't know if they're trying to brainwash you. Especially with what happened last time." 

He thunked his head into his hands. One step forward. Two steps back. How did Sam put up with this? 

"Okay. Topics you can't talk about on our run or I go home. Tony. Therapy or me being in the same room as Wanda." 

"Okay, okay, I just need to drop off my gym bag at the house if we're running out of the compound. Don't want to lug it along." 

"Sure, I'll wait at the gate. Fry you up for a little run outside?" 

"Always, maybe if food is at the end you'll beat your old time like you keep talking about." 

"Cheeky minx is what you are, does Tony put up with this sass or is it just me?" 

"Who do you think programmed me?" 

James laughed as Steve frowned at his watch. Amazingly, the blonde didn't say anything, just gave him a determined smile and jogged over to the Rogue House as it was now known as. James was actually feeling pretty good about this. That Steve was taking his wishes and abiding by them, even though he disagreed with them.

A few minutes later Steve met up with him at the gate and James actually enjoyed himself. He didn't often run outside of the compound, barring the forest with Tony and Rhodes, and never this far from it. He always liked trying new places for food too, he loved a good burger. They set off at a good pace. Today was shaping up to be a good day. 

"I've never been out this far, it's nice." 

"You should run more out of the compound, it's how I found this little place a week ago, ran till I nearly dropped and staggered towards food." 

"That does sound like you, I run in the forest mostly, I like it there." 

See, he could be diplomatic too. Usually, if he was running in the forest it was with Tony, who James was convinced didn't know how to run in a straight line without kicking off of trees, occasionally yelling Parkour. Dramatically flipping or jumping long distances that no human had a hope of managing. James figured it was good, Tony was starting to realise he didn't need to act human around him. It seemed he dropped a little more of the act everyday. 

He also ran in the forest with Rhodes, who was a little more dignified when they went out. He actually could run in a straight line, but James loved watching when he 'Let go' so to speak. Ran as fast as he could. James didn't have a hope of keeping up but it was thrilling. Plus all his training with Rhodes and Tony, he was already faster and could run further, he could feel himself improving and he couldn't wait to feel the difference when he became a Reaper. It was starting to be a thing he could see. The more he trained with the two of them, the more he felt like he had a place. Like he slotted into place safely and happily. 

When the three of them ran together, it was a mess of competition but very fun. Even Rhodes would eschew his more normal style of running. He had even run with Rhodes shifted into a Panther. 

He wisely did not mention any of this as the happy memories flitted across his mind. Likely better for Steve to think he ran alone in the forest. 

"Huh, I thought we weren't allowed in the forest?" 

"You have to get permission, I don't recommend just waltzing in. Forests can be dangerous places Steve." 

Steve bit back another comment and they finally came across the cafe as they slowed to a jog. James was impressed, he really was trying, he just hoped that in time Steve could stop seeing Tony as the villain in their little life drama.

There were enough real villains in the world.

Steve was at least making an effort. He and Rhodes had talked about it a lot, about how Steve and Tony were during the years prior to Siberia. Rhodes didn't want to lose him because he bent himself into knots over Steve like Tony had. That Rhodes considered him such a good friend, his brother, that he was worried, had left him feeling great. Not that he was worrying him, but that he had a person that cared like that.

Rhodes was a very, very loyal person and an awesome friend to have. Plus, he made great pancakes. He didn't even share them with Tony when he was in the Rhode's-Doghouse for passing out again. 

They entered the cafe, and realised that maybe he should have actually brought a bag. Pretty sure the staff didn't really want to wait on two guys who had just ran for an hour. It took a lot for him to really sweat, but as hour of running with someone who could moderately keep pace with him had him sweating a bit. Steve was drenched, it was a visual reminder of how much he had improved under Tony's insane training practices. 

"That was great Bucky!" 

James bit his tongue as they were led to a table at the back, tucked away from everyone else. Steve must visit a lot to get such good seats. As soon as they were sitting, he realised that he had to say something. No backsliding. If he let Steve get away with one 'Bucky', even when he was all exhilarated, he'd have to fight tooth and nail to get back to 'James' again. He didn't want to do that. Not after being called James by everyone so easily. 

"Steve. Please?" 

Steve sighed, a very put upon sigh, as if the fact that he wanted to be called by his name was the hardest thing in the world. James would let it go, Tony had several nicknames for him, some that he literally did not know the meaning of and still meant to look up. He liked those. 

It was just something about 'Bucky' that made him feel like he was slipping. Like he'd lose everything he'd gained. Everything he'd fought for. Everything he'd built.

It just.. wasn't him, he couldn't explain the feeling of dread he got when he was called it. Like the bottom dropped out of his stomach and his skin felt like it didn't fit right. He was probably making a mountain of a molehill, and it would make Steve happy if he conceded. But after months of people calling him by his name? Just because he asked? No. He refused to go back, even for Steve. 

"I don't see why you want to be called James, you used to hate it, reminded you of-" 

"Being yelled at by our ma's. I know. You've told me. Repeatedly. But I've told you, I'm reclaiming my identity. This makes me happy Steve, makes me feel like I've come out the other side after everything in the War, with Hydra. Like I've carving my place in the world and it starts with my name. I want to be James."

"Or is Stark forcing you to abandon your name." 

James froze.

He knew that voice, he watched, dumbstruck as Wanda slid into the seat next to him, at first, he felt so angry that Steve could do this to him, until he saw Steve's earnest, pleading face.

This couldn't have been a coincidence. This was a set up. 

He was just... tired. He knew what friendship could be like now and 'this'... Wasn't it. 

"Steve. What the fuck. No. I'm leaving." 

He stands and Steve jumps up, hands out, pleading with him. 

"Please, sit down Bucky, it's not what you think!"