fossilised | I come from a land of ice and snow

I come from a land of ice and snow

Asgard sat atop the branches of Yggdrasil since time began, and little had changed in their society in the years since. Each Asgardian was long-lived into the millennia, their lands were fertile, their people brave and strong. They had their vassals, their allies, and their enemies. Yet even those who opposed them respected the might of the Golden Dias, and the royalty who sat upon it. Currently that was Odin Borson, though he grew weary more easily now and had begun to consider passing the throne to his eldest son.

He had been blessed with many children, but only two that he considered worthy of his lineage and status. His firstborn, Thor, strong and honourable and everything an Asgardian warrior should be. His second son, Loki, was not natural born, though none knew that but his wife. He was different, a creature of magic and mayhem, of sharp intelligence. Both were worthy, but together they would take Asgard to a new prosperity, he was certain of it.

Midgard, where the mortals dwelt, was a land raided every few centuries for stock. It was seen as a breeding ground, much like a corral for cattle. Mortals were lesser, short-lived and weak, they were fit only as slaves. The last raid had taken place when Loki had been but a baby, nearly a thousand years ago, but the mortals that had been taken had been bred and cared for so that a healthy slave population still thrived. Slaves were given a weakened mixture of Idunn's crop with their food, to extend their natural lives to at least a few centuries in order to make them worth the effort to train. They had no rights, but they were taught well that this was their natural position.

All slave children were raised in a central pen and taught the same when small, those that then displayed talent at cooking, riding, hunting, housework, artisan skills, or singing were then measured off to be specially trained for higher masters. Every five years those who could afford to buy a slave, or those of high enough status to simply demand them, came to the corral and chose. Those who were chosen were special, were envied, and those who were not ended up working the fields out in the far reaches of Asgard, the most menial of work.

Anthony and Steven had been friends since they were little and being raised in the large pens together. Both had excelled, Anthony at crafting and Steven at warrior's skills, but neither were chosen when they were five, nor ten, nor even fifteen. Now, at twenty, it was their final chance to be chosen before they would be assigned to one of the meanest farmers beyond the borders of the great capital. Steven woke Anthony as the dawn rose, mingled excitement and nerves on his face.

"Anthony! Wake up, I've got news! I heard the overseer talking to one of the passing guards, and Princes Thor and Loki are coming to the corral today."

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Bruce's eyes snapped up in fear and surprise, before he assumed (wrongly) that Loki must have already spread the news about what happened. His shoulders hunched in as if to defend himself against the hatred that would surely come his way - not from Mohinder, but from everyone else - and he sighed.

"I sprung some kind of trap, it filled me with enough toxin to kill most people several times over, it-- that made him angry."

Stupid thing to say, really. Everything made the Hulk angry, most things made Bruce angry, he was just good at pushing it down and pretending that it didn't.

"Tony got in the way. Loki did too."

"I assume it was less getting in the way and more attempting to help you," Mohinder said. "I was not on his side of the Avengers Program, but everyone who was spoke about how selfish and difficult of a man he was." The Indian looked over at Tony. "You can give half of your wealth to charity and the other half striving to make the world better and if you happen to be abrasive, you're labeled as difficult by the people who are meant to handle you," he shook his head.

It probably wasn't well known that each of the members of the Avengers Program happened to have a set of SHIELD handlers that monitored them. Or gently nudged them towards information. Natasha Romanoff tended to be the face that they always saw first but it was people like Mohinder that allowed her to be.

"Someone once said at a mixer that Stark is too stubborn to die. And I think that's true. But I also think he wanted to save you. He can be a difficult man, but he is also a good one. He wanted to save you. And he wanted to save all of us. And I think he did. Your Other Guy didn't do much damage in the grand scheme of the universe this time. And all because of that man. You did well by him. Don't let yourself feel guilt too. He would never want that. Instead, let's work on a solution for how to sweep for Asgardian traps. We can't risk bringing them with us to our new home."

Somehow it seemed as if he and Mohinder were destined to always rub against each other in the wrong way and misunderstand what the other was trying to say or do. Such was the case now, Bruce had not meant that Tony had been in the way in an insulting or derogatory manner, only that anyone who got in the way of the Hulk's fists was bound to get injured. But it seemed he would get a lecture on Tony's merits for his troubles.

He was too tired to make any corrections and too heartsore to care, nor would he listen when he was told not to feel guilty. But that didn't mean he would wallow, he was capable of being productive and guilty, he had many years of experience in that.

"I don't think there's much danger of us bringing them with us, this was just laid out in some ruins waiting for an unwary traveller. We should just limit the amount of exploration and keep to paths we already know are safe."

He replaced his glasses, but his eyes still felt grainy with sleep. "I'll be waiting here until Tony wakes up." Or dies.

Mohinder was just an endless mess of rubbish when it came to making a person feel better. He meant well but it didn't end up well.

"I would have thought that it would dishonourable to set traps like this," Mohinder said, sitting back for a moment before he used a lean forward to lend momentum to his getting up. "You ought to stay. You're the best doctor we have. I'm going to fetch you something to eat. You could use it."

He didn't touch Bruce on the Way out even if it was sort of his MO. Instead, he just lightly touched his own chest. A man who had been living in India as long as Bruce would understand that it stood for well wishes and solidarity. Even if Bruce didn't want it.

Much as they kept misreading each other, Bruce still appreciated the gesture. It was a small reminder that not everyone blamed him for his mistakes, not always a good thing, but comforting nonetheless. Somehow he thought that Tony might try and excuse away what happened as well, but Loki-- he had attacked a foreign dignitary, they were lucky that Jotunheim hadn't already retaliated.

He sank back down into a chair when Mohinder had left for food, and began to speak to Tony, uncaring that he couldn't hear what he said for unconsciousness.

"You have to survive. I've killed so many people that I care about, I don't think that I could see it through again. You're my only friend, please-- please don't say that I've murdered you."

Though there was silence for a moment, followed by a beep of a machine doing its job, a groan escaped from Tony's throat and he inhaled sharply. "Waiting for a love confession," he whispered. "Guess this will do."

He didn't open his eyes. The dim lights hurt enough all ready.

"Everyone all right? You okay?" he asked, worried about Bruce because he was there, because he would always be there. And that had to really do something to a guy. "Someone might have to get Loki. Not sure where I sent her. She's in my armor though." Leave it to Tony to have to tell a whole story the moment he wakes up!

Bruce didn't believe in God, but he still offered up a silent and thankful prayer of relief that Tony had regained consciousness. He was still badly hurt, but that was the big hurdle crossed, he would likely survive as long as he obeyed the orders of doctors and kept resting. He was prepared to use restraints if necessary.

"...she's been found, I think, or they're on their way to find her. Steve and Bucky and Helblindi, I mean."

He reached out as if to rest a hand on Tony's shoulder comfortingly, but then withdrew it before he made contact.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"How's it your fault?" Seriously Banner? "It was an accident. It was a good thing you found that and we didn't end up losing someone else to the Ass-guardians." Yep. Immature. Nope. Didn't give one shit. He tried to sit up, which ended up being a really bad idea but he had already committed to it and Bruce wasn't trying to actively restrain him. "No one was too badly--"

Was that his leg? The gauze was brown and purple that wrapped it. How could that be his?/I>

Trying not to panic, trying not to let this get to him, Tony reached out to grasp at Bruce's something. He didn't care what, he just needed to grasp something alive and whole.

"How bad's it?" Because it looked really bad.

How was it his fault?! Tony was an idiot, pure and simple, all that engineering genius must have sapped him of genius in all other regards, because there was no way that this was anything but Bruce's fault. But he didn't have to argue it, because Tony almost immediately moved onto a much more pressing concern.

"Lie back down, you have to rest."

He didn't reach out to actively push him back yet, but if Tony didn't listen then he would, his doctor instincts overtaking his guilt and need to not touch someone he had hurt so badly.

"It's pretty bad, several breaks and a compound fracture, but the leg is saved. You just have to take it easy, do some physical therapy when it's healed enough, and you should be okay."

"Okay-- Okay good," Tony said, breathing hard. It was hard to tell if it was from the pain of the thought of what he might be losing. Probably both. He wasn't about to lay back down though. Even if he was dizzy, he was already tired of being flat on his back. And he had to find Loki.

If she wasn't here or Banner hadn't mentioned seeing her and instead said that she had to be fetched, then Tony needed to get to her before they all destroyed his armor. The prototype armor that saved him was already a bucket of junk but he needed the other one!

"Help me down from here. I'm not laying around all day. Stuff to do. Is there a wheel chair?"

"No."

Bruce's eyebrows drew together in a frown and he managed to look extremely forbidding despite being in rumpled clothing and looking as if he might fall over to sleep any second.

"I told you to lie down and I swear to God, Tony, you will listen to me. You nearly died and you're not going to play fast and loose with your recovery, and I will sedate you if you test me on this."

Tony's eyes widened before he laid himself back down. "No ones yelled at me that way since I had a nanny," Tony wanted to point out, frowning. He tilted his head towards Banner, face mostly neutral as he gazed up at him from the bed. "Thanks. For worrying about me."

Bruce needed to hear that before he busted a gut.

"I probably don't say that enough. If I promise to not give you a reason to sedate me, will you sit down and take care of yourself now?" Bruce looked on the verge of collapse here. Tony didn't want to be responsible for that.

At least Tony wasn't arguing with him, though Bruce wasn't nearly stupid enough to think that this would be the end of it. His friend was a stubborn idiot, and another day or two would probably have him forgetting his agreement to take it easy and be trying to sneak out behind Bruce's back as soon as he closed his eyes.

"Yeah," he said after a moment of considering whether to deny he needed any taking care of at all. Why hide it? Tony saw what happened, he must know that he got exhausted after the Other Guy took over and he hadn't had a proper chance to deal with that yet, he'd been too busy tending to Tony.

He sank down once more and sighed, nearly asleep there and then, though he spoke up again after a moment. "I'm afraid I might have doomed us all. I attacked a delegate from Jotunheim, surely they'll withdraw their support even if they don't just see it as an act of war and wipe us out."

"You didn't," Tony said, wondering where Loki even was. If the two super soldiers went to get her, she should be back by now. "I asked her to teleport you somewhere else for a little while. She couldn't do it before you were more like a you without caffeine. The armor took her away before you could do anything. And then the Hulk and I chilled for a little bit. We were going to smash stuff together until FRIDAY went ahead and third wheeled my date."

Tony gazed up at the ceiling with a look of amusement rather than fear or pain on his face. The medication was damned good and he couldn't feel a thing.

"Other than his obvious violent streak, he's not a bad guy. A little unreasonable at times but I felt like I really got to him. We spoke a little. I don't want to step on your toes here as your only friend-- Which isn't true by the way-- but he wasn't a bad guy."

The more Tony rambled on, the better he actually felt. God help them all.

Bruce didn't really remember what happened in his time as the Hulk, it was kind of like viewing a half forgotten dream, and he didn't know whether to take the idea of Tony conversing with the Hulk as actually what had happened or as hyperbole on the part of a man trying to make him feel better. Either way, he managed a very tiny and very tired sort of smile.

"He and I have killed hundreds of people. It doesn't matter how good the conversation was, we're both bad guys."

He scrubbed his hands over his face, trying not to get too outwardly maudlin.

"You should get some more rest, your body is going to need a lot of it over the next few days and it's better not to ignore that."

"Okay, if you're going by second hand killing, I have you beat. I probably have everyone beat." He had listened to Bruce speak about the pain he'd endured in life before. He shared all sorts of terrible things with him, but Tony wasn't letting him win this particular fight. "The Hulk isn't a murderer either. People just get in the way of his smashing and--"

Mohinder, Ruiner of all things, appeared in the door with a tray. Tony wasn't pleased to see him.

"Not hungry."

"Good," Mohinder said, with an annoying degree of kindness, "because this actually isn't for you. Doctor? A small update for you as well. Evidently the princess has become a bird... But she is free and safe."

A bird. Of course she had, why would he be surprised by the idea of an alien princess flying around on a strange moon as a bird? He just hoped that Helblindi would be able to find her soon, before any anger of the giant might come to the fore. He did not want these creatures as enemies, especially not with their depleted firepower and numbers.

"...thanks, Mohinder. For the food and the information, would you keep me updated if you hear anything else? I'm going to stay here and keep an eye on Tony's condition, he can't be properly trusted to stay put and rest."

His lips twitched up in the tiniest of smiles.

"I think it's coming from a billionaire lifestyle, it's made him accustomed to getting his own way."

Taking that as his cue to go, Mohinder left the tray and allowed himself only to feel grateful for Tony being awake and alive. If he was sassing up the place, he'd be fine.

After the Indian left, however, Tony counted the seconds. No princess turned bird was making her way into the room. Where has she gone? She was probably pissed at him--

Tony snorted. He probably deserved it but he just wanted her to be safe. He couldn't just demand Bruce let him go to find her. That would never work.

What bad luck.

"If I had my own way, there'd be a whole lot of changes," he pointed out. "I never get what I want."

"It's probably a good thing that you don't get what you want, Tony," replied Bruce through a mouthful of food. He still felt guilty and wretched, but teasing helped to hide that and it wouldn't do anyone any good if he fell apart on them all. His eyes, though, sad and soulful and deep, told the truth about how hopeless he felt.

The princess had not yet come to find Tony because she had simply fled as soon as she had been released from the armour, flying as fast and far as she could. She soared in the air until her heart rate had decreased slightly and she no longer felt as confined as she had in the hours she spent inside the armour. But when she came down, she realised that she both had no idea where she was and did not have enough seidr left to teleport herself back to the others.

Which was why she had been relegated to wandering the jungle area, back in her true form, trying to find her way back to the village as she hoped to run into someone. A mortal, her brother, anyone. She had not felt quite as much like a pathetic lost child in many a long year, it was humiliating.

Though Loki was gifted in ways Helblindi would never be, Helblindi had not gone blindly into this universe without a way to find his sister should she decide to take off on a flight of fancy. He had seen the bird crossing over the center of the human city and had turned in its direction, knowing immediately that it was of their home and not of this planet. He'd been slowly following the people who ran off to find his sister and they had done their jobs perfectly. It was now his.

He could feel the princess through an amulet she herself had enchanted at their father's insistance, and though he had a head start to following her visually, he was slow and she was quick. He needed to rely on thst amulet to locate her, but luckily, she had already been coming in his direction. It was nightfall when he broke done enough trees in his path to come to her and Helblindi immediately scooped the obviously tired girl up in his embrace before he turned to head back to the village.

"Your friend has been injured. I feared the worst for you, Loki."

Loki had always been a fiercely independent girl, even when she had been little, but just this once she returned Helblindi's embrace with no trace of irritation or embarrassment and did not demand to be immediately put down. Her seidr was so depleted after hours of attempting to free herself and then her foolish flight, that she was near dropping with the exhaustion of it.

"Tony Stark is injured? I had thought he had experience with the creature."

Concern filled her voice, and some awe as well. She was no stranger to giants of great strength, but she had never seen anything like the beast that Bruce Banner could become, she did not think even her father could have bested it.

"One of their number is not mortal, the doctor Bruce Banner, he can change into a fearsome creature. He was able to resist my magic with seeming effortlessness."

There were few things that caused Helblindi to anger but his sister's demeanor was currently one of them. It was not her fault, she surely did not mean to set him off, but he was protective over the sorceress, not just because all of Jotunheim was tasked to encourage and protect those with magical ability, but because she was afraid. These people whom she had tried to hep had scared her. She didn't need to say it. He felt it.

"Tony Stark has been injured gravely. I know not of the creature you refer to. I had thought he was injured in a crafting accident." His sister had been in danger with these people and they had lied about it?

He could feel the ice rage building inside of him.

"This is unacceptable, Loki. These people have taken advantage of us. They are cursed, or perhaps willingly attempting to lead us astray. Perhaps they lure us into a trap with the blood thirsty Asgard of this Realm. We can not stay."

Helblindi was the more logical and calm of her brothers, Bylestir always more hot tempered and willing to get into a fight. But it was Helblindi's rage that she feared, for his was terrible to behold when it was stoked, and she had only seen it a few times in her life. She did not want to be the cause of that being unleashed on these hapless mortals, though she also felt that a lie told about what had happened was suspicious even in the best of circumstances.

"No, we must give them the opportunity to answer for themselves, I do not believe I was wilfully led into a trap. Tony Stark acted with haste to protect me from the danger of the situation, I do not think he knew I would become trapped in the confines of his armour."

She leaned into his chest, taking comfort in the cold that seeped out and lowered the temperature of the warm night.

"Should they prove to have been false all along, we will deal with it together."

Helblindi was not soothed. There was an anger in his heart that could not be quelled, though his silence acted as permission for Loki to do as she wished, to seek out the answers she had wanted for the questions she had. That did not mean he cared at all for this and the hurumph of glacial ice proved it.

They parted ways at the building that had been set aside specifically for their comfort. The humans roamed around, waving at the pair in curiosity. They didn't know much about the blue skinned aliens, but if the Captain trusted them, the majority of the people in the city did too. And they seemed so unassuming. How could they have all collectively kept a secret of a monster in their midst?

Helblindi would think about it all that evening while his sister gathered information.

None of this sat well with him.

Loki did not want to gather information that evening, she wanted to sleep for several days while he magic regenerated properly, but she could not. Knowing that Helblindi held his temper at bay only for her sake, she had no time to waste on frivolities such as sleep until this was done. That was a lesson all the royal children, and even other children of Jotunheim to a lesser extent, learned very young - sometimes duty outweighed need.

So she took herself to the small low building that had been set aside for medical purposes and she slipped past Mohinder on the door to the inner rooms. It did not take long to locate both Tony and Bruce, for both were in the same room.

She hesitated in the doorway, reluctant to enter when she saw that the disguised beast was there, and instead spoke up from that position. She kept her expression and voice guarded and calm, she would not give either the satisfaction of seeing her scared. "Explanations are needed. My brother wishes to abandon your cause for the deceptions given, and I do not know if I should counsel him against this."

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