fossilised | it's a new plot!

Truthfully, James could take care of himself. Tony didn’t need to be that mindful of him (thankfully, because he truly wasn’t mindful of anyone). He was already on his feet again anyway, grinning at the screen almost stupidly, like someone just found his puppy. It took a moment for it to click that the Hulk was talking in full, mostly complete sentences, and that the Hulk was there. On that ship. With retro 80s shaven haired and monocled Thor. Whom, again, Tony cared absolutely nothing about with Hulk there taking up all of his attention.

Wisely, Tony held any questions as to why Hulk was there and not, say, Bruce Banner. He was docile and talking. No one was getting smashed. Things seemed to be all right.

That presence of mind did cause Tony to glance to the guy who had been sitting next to him and his gaze lingered on the now empty spot. He wouldn’t be getting support from that direction on this, it seemed.

“Where else is better than here? And I actually think you’re wrong. You have fan pages. And there were way more Hulk costumes this year than Iron Man on Halloween,” Tony said, leaning back with both hands on the metal countertop.

Thor narrowed his single eye. “And of Thor, Stark? Were many dressed as the Mighty Thor?”

“As you? No. You’re like the worst. No one likes having to carry a hammer around. Or wearing a cape,” Tony said, good naturedly. “It’s about time you kids have come back, by the way. Things went to hell while you were on your vision quest, Cyclops. Is that why you’ve brought me more creepy alien tech? Peace offering?”

The Hulk didn't look convinced, once again looking down to Valkyrie for her opinion. She had become his closest thing to a friend, someone who respected his strength and liked him better than Banner, that was a rare thing for him. She nodded slightly and the Hulk huffed loudly.

"Okay. Hulk go to Earth and stay in tiny Tower."

Another face appeared in the camera view, pale features twisted up into minor disgust as he looked down at who they were talking to.

"You want us to stay with him? I have half a mind to stab you again and steal the ship, it would be a far less tedious end to this journey."

Jerking up his head, first at the fact that the Hulk had himself a girlfriend and that evidently, he was getting more houseguests, Tony’s expression changed abruptly when that man can into view. His smile dropped immediately. “Didn’t you die? Twice? You and a cockroach have a lot in common, huh? Thor, ever try removing his head? Sometimes that works-- Just how many people are with you? Only the Hulk can stay. The rest of you-- He threw me out of a window and tried to destroy our planet-- Did you enchant him or something?”

It was a little too much talking for Thor to follow completely and he scratched his head a little bit like a hairless orangutan and leaned forward in his chair. “Stark, my people seek asylum. I know my brother and you have had your differences—”

“Diff-- I have scars on my back from when he literally threw me out of-- Well, that window right there! That very window! I mean it’s replaced now with shatter proof glass but ouch? No. I’m sorry, your people-- Let’s go back to how many people you have on that ship?”

Thor glanced at his brother for counsel as he had not actually counted. “Many. Many more perished on Asgard. We also have many others from Sekhar, joined in Resistance against— Stark, your head pains you?” Thor frowned as Tony clasped the bridge of his nose. It was more than just a cacophony of voices this time. There was also some PTSD and some mind exploding new realizations that were coming to mind as he stood there facing them. “Stark?”

“I need a minute, Point Break,” Tony said and had FRIDAY disconnect them so he could sit down and breathe.

This was new.

This was unexpected.

But he knew those eyes and that voice. He’d always had. He’d felt the same as they stood against one another at this Tower years ago. It just bothered him a lot more now and he needed to calm himself down before he talked to any of them again.

Onboard the stolen ship, Thor glanced up at Loki with a smirk before he stood. “You do leave an impression on people.”

Loki was still getting used to this new equilibrium, but it felt good.

The people of Asgard had forgiven him, for the most part, because of his heroic gesture in bringing the rebels to assist in the fight against Hela. Without him, none of them would have got off the realm before it died, and that had given him enough respect to place him back to what he thought of as his rightful place. Thor had even accepted him, finally, as who he was. A troublemaker, chaos, but still loved him.

And he hadn't tricked anyone to get in this position. It was strange.

He smirked right back and waved a hand looking smug. "It is my winning personality, my brother, everyone remembers Loki long after they have forgotten anyone by the name of Thor even exists."

“You know that is not the truth,” Thor said as he and Loki left the ship’s grand hall (as he had come to call it) to head towards the shuttles docked below. He wanted to embrace Stark in person and speak with him thus. Valkyrie would be left in charge in his place and with her, Hulk and Heimdall as well. Perhaps his father’s oldest advisor should be the one to remain in charge, for he saw everything, but Thor was certain he needed a bit of time off from being heroic. He himself needed only Loki with him. “Remember not how we were greeted in London? The mortals there did not know your face nor care to inquire who it was I was with. It is only I that they love. You will need to work quite hard to regain your status among them, but I believe you, if no one else, is up to such a task.”

He passed his reflection on the gilded walls and ignored it. He was not as vain as he had been in his youth, but he did not care for his current appearance. The missing eye was a statement he had not gotten used to yet, a statement that he was not as indestructible as he once thought he was. The scar on his side left by their sister was just further testament, though that which could easily be covered.

It was the cropped hair, the lack of tattooing in its place, that harmed him most to look at himself. It would grow back, and yet it was still a shame he could not seem to remove from his troubled mind when the rest had been banished. He did not dare tell Loki this.

“I want you to watch yourself with Stark. I have been away a great deal longer than I wished to be. Humans tend to be angry when you do not write nor e-mail.”

He did not need to tell Loki this.

Though he was not always the most sympathetic of people, being a master manipulator depended on him being able to read the room and figure out what people's fears and delicate subjects were. Thor's hair was an obvious one, the braids and long mane of a warrior were important to most Asgardians, for Thor to have been shorn it showed him as one defeated.

"I am not afraid of Stark, he is not a threat to one such as me, but I will be on my best of behaviours when we meet again."

Which meant that he was very unlikely to stab more than once, and he would cause the minimal of havoc within his halls.

"The Hulk is more likely to cause damage than I."

“Hulk and I have become fast friends, but he and Stark are better friends still. You would do well not to anger one lest the other come to his aide. I have seen Hulk assist very few the way he has done with Stark for he brought him back from Valhalla with a single call the day we faced one another in battle upon that flying ship.” Thor hit his palm against a red button set into the wall and the small, unseated vessel they had stepped into was closed up and dropped immediately from the bottom of the larger ship, causing it and the pair inside to free fall towards the Tower.

Thor hit his head and his foot at least twice each against his brother, and the former splintered the glass on the porthole, showing only moving images of street and sky and street and sky and street and sky in a cyclical fashion.

Dampeners blasted to life a few moments prior to the vessel striking the Tower and the two Asgardians inside groaned in union as it touched down on the landing pad at the top of the building.

By that point, Tony had told FRIDAY to be on alert, to tell James to ‘mind the shop’ while he was gone, and donned his armor as he stepped out through the door. He was too dazed to move as he was nearly struck by the ship and as it slowed, he took a few steps back, blinking, to greet Thor and the Hulk—

He was less pleased to see Loki beside his brother as the door shot open, the two looking worse for wear.

FRIDAY promised to pass the message along to James as soon as she located him again. For a Tower with her access everywhere and state of the art security systems, it was almost embarrassing how easily the ex-assassin could slip under the radar and find weaknesses to exploit.

Loki straightened his clothes and at least thanked the Norns that he and Thor weren't doing "get help" this time. So humiliating.

"Anthony Stark," he said, which would likely cause the voices to rise in a cacophony at the familiar and usually loved form of address from those lips. "We seek shelter, we are all that is left of Asgard following Ragnarok, and we have no other realm to harbour our people."

True, he had caused Ragnarok, but it had actually been with everyone's blessing, and he might have taken a little trinket or two for himself in the meantime.

“Nobody calls me Anthony,” Tony said, teeth clenched impressively. “Nobody. Stark is good enough for you—. You know what? Don’t call me anything. Why don’t you tumble back up there and send the big guy down.”

He wanted just to talk to Banner again. The guy got him, sort of. And he didn’t just disappear like Bucky. Oh wait—

Shit. He had shit taste in friends.

“Thor— Nice do. Good to see you. Part of you. Are you doing like a Fury thing?”

“No Stark. Let us go inside,” Thor suggested, but Tony stepped out in front of him.

“I don’t think so.”

“I vouch for my brother. He will bring you no harm. Loki? Give Stark your word.”

Tony bawked. “His— I’m sorry. God of lies? Giving me his word? No.”

A smile spread across Loki's face at the sweet juxtaposition of Thor's and Anthony's words, and just because it would mean absolutely nothing now that his position as the god of lies (and mischief and stories, thank you very much) had been pointed out, he put a hand over his heart sincerely.

"I give you my solemn word, Anthony Stark, I will bring you no harm while we reside within your Tower."

A small voice sounded in Tony's ear, FRIDAY routing her voice through his phone and making sure that only Tony would be able to hear what she said, so that she didn't accidentally cause an incident.

"Sir, Sergeant Barnes is positioned to snipe and offers to rid you of your problem if you raise your right hand."

It was driving him utterly crazy. ‘Anthony’. Anthony in that voice. It itched at the inside of his skull, impossible to scratch, and he wondered if he had some sort of alien science magic thrown over him for the trouble of allowing these idiots to land on his roof. Tony could almost feel his eye start to twitch, right until FRIDAY informed him that his best childhood friend was currently ready to kill for him. It was sweet and the cacophony of voices that all seemed to want him to understand why Loki said his name that way buzzed down dully for the strong emotion issued towards James instead.

“Fine. No. Not fine. You’ll bring no one any harm. At all. On this planet. Or deal’s off, Thor. Man, I liked you better in that muzzle. Okay, Buzz Cut, why is Hulk having full blown conversations these days and what happened to Banner?”

Tony headed instead and once through the door, he stepped out of his armor, pulled out his phone, and texted to FRIDAY to tell James to find a new position. Loki was dangerous and he wasn’t ruling out a sniping just yet.

Oblivious to that, and annoyed at Stark’s inability to be serious about anything, Thor ignored the new nickname. “Bruce Banner was trapped within Hulk for several years and Hulk is far stronger than than Bruce at the moment. He had feared that transforming once more into Hulk would make it impossible to return to himself, but he sacrificed himself to help us hold off my sister and unleash Ragnarok. He was instrumental in defeat of the great wolf, Fenrir, mount of Hela.”

“So I understood half of that... Banner’s really stuck in there?” Was he disappointed, yes. He liked the Hulk but he was no Banner... and, technically, he wasn’t his baby-daddy anymore. That was depressing.

He knew Bruce theorized that one day, when he was no longer strong enough, he would die and the Hulk would take over completely. He just didn’t think it would be so soon.

“Coffee? Poison? Fruit juice?”

Thor shook his head. “No. We have much to discuss and now is not the time for merriment, Stark. Where is Rogers?”

Tony rolled his eyes before he turned to face the two. “Should be at HQ by now. You should take your crew there.”

Loki had been down on Earth a few times during Thor's long absence, before they had both found themselves at the mercy of Hela and a broken bifrost. He had seen that the Avengers had sundered themselves with petty rules, and it made him amused to know that the rifts still had not healed.

"Is this no longer your base of operations? Why then, does the man of iron stay in exile, no longer wanted by your companions, Anthony?"

Loki delivered all of this in a smooth tone as he meandered into the tower as if he belonged there. It was how he managed to get by in most of his life, by putting on an air of confidence and allowing everyone to believe he possessed ultimate self assurance.

"Perhaps we were wrong in coming here, my brother, if the might of Midgard no longer sits within these walls."

“You’re-- You’re doing it on purpose,” Tony grunted, shoulders raised like a cat’s, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He was not at all having a good time here, and though he told himself not to be so obviously angered by it, his emotions were running extra hot right now. Thor, however, seemed oblivious, never breaking stride and not finding the need to reign his brother in.

“Those on Midgard live large lives that burn out quickly. Change is nearly constant, but I have seen no reason to believe that we can not find a common ground. I am still part of the Avengers, am I not, Stark? We have fought many battles together. We all have. Tell me what has happened to our forces.”

The two of them, the Asgardians, chirped one in each ear. Thor meant well. Loki obviously did not. It caused Tony to stop in his tracks and turn, hands lifted towards his ‘guests.’ “Jesus Christ, you both need to stop right now. I retired. The Avengers still exist, they are almost all up at HQ right now. Remember? The Compound in the woods? I have a lot of houses. Everywhere. This is just one of them. The base is where you left it though. So I encourage you to just go there, how about that? Rogers will be super happy to see all of you.”

That probably wasn’t true, though, but Tony was tired of it being his problem and it had only been for the last three minutes.

Thor frowned. “We shall, with your leave, but my people need rest and a moment off of that ship. May we enjoy your hospitality?”

It sounded like a question, but it wasn’t. Tony scowled. “Uh…” Well the Tower was mostly empty save for the first five floors. “Fine. But he has to stay somewhere else,” he grunted, pointing at Loki.

Tony should be careful about raising his hands at the moment, considering the person watching from a distance. Loki only got as far as opening his mouth to denounce such a prejudice as uncalled for after he had given his word to behave, been polite, and was now accepted by his people again... before a small pop sounded in the distance and then a bullet hit him square in the forehead.

It was a perfect shot. Literally dead centre of his head, and yet there was no sign of the sniper anyway. If Loki had not been a Jotnar, he would have been dead the very instant it hit him, but his skin was made of tougher stuff than that. So, although a small smear of blood was left behind, he looked more irritated than anything.

"Is this how you show your hospitality, Anthony Stark, with Midgardian weaponry and underhanded tricks?"

Holy hell, he’d forgotten. The pop caused Tony to fall to a crouch, ducking down by the wall with his head covered by his arms. Loki’s voice, insect like and scratching at the inside of his skull, had caused him to forget something so basic as hand signals to an expert sniper watching him from the wings. James was only trying to help, Tony was not his target, but the older man was having a panic attack over it anyway.

Thor, unconcerned with his brother (it was only a bullet after all), moved to Stark’s side and bent to touch his shoulder. Tony flinched. “Are you unwell? We have healers on board. They have become familiar with Midgardian physiology and can assist you.”

Over Thor’s voice, Tony muttered to FRIDAY to have James just stand down. No more shooting. And to Thor, whom he had not listened to, he thought about pushing on his cement-like chest to give himself some room, but instead, his eyes were focused entirely on the little bead of red on Loki’s forehead and, beneath that, the cat-like glow of green. The whispers were back in full force and he needed a moment away from everyone.

“Okay, okay! Floors 50-70, all yours. They’re empty. No one’s allowed in my space and I’ll let Rogers know he’ll have guests coming. Just-- Everyone chill out!” The scotch was not going to be safe tonight.

Loki was not injured physically, but his pride felt a little ruffled. Though no Midgardian shooter could hurt them, that there was one positioned and had actually shot at them seemed an ill omen. He tilted his head in the direction that the shot had come from and then glanced down to where his brother was tending the fallen Stark.

"It seems the shot was unexpected, and so the shooter may well be an enemy in truth rather than a vicious jest. I will seek out the culprit and bring them to your feet."

A glow of green surrounded him and he disappeared.

...just in time for the message to reach the ship that they were to be given hospitality and a swarm of Asgardians to begin trooping onto the roof from the lowered gangplank, along with other creatures and the Hulk, huge and green in amongst them.

“Oh my god, today sucks,” Tony said as Thor pretty much lifted him to his feet. Loki was going to find a way to trigger James. His only friend was going to hate him for suddenly having a few thousand people in the Tower. There was no Banner, only Hulk. And the once quiet tower was soon filled to the brim by Asgardians and rowdy aliens of several species that Tony had never known before.

Any other day, he might have been amused. But he’d only just talked James down from the ledge. His luck was shit. He was exhausted. The voices were having a merry time and all he wanted was a drink.

“Thor, I need you to get your brother to leave everyone alone. I can’t do it today,” Tony said, and Thor, who had indeed grown up since the last time he saw him, put a hand to Tony’s shoulder.

“My concern for you is real. I will be mindful of your fragile state and warn the others to steer clear from your path until your health improves. Thank you again for your hospitality. I will be ordering many cheese and meat disks to satisfy our hunger. I require use of your small plastic rectangle.”

Tony didn’t fight him on that. He told FRIDAY to put in orders from as many pizza shops as she could and to stagger the delivery. And after that, he left Thor to his own devices and ran off to his workshop. Hopefully James would be there before Loki could find him and ruin their lives.

Any other time and Tony might go to greet the Hulk but not today.

Whatever Bruce may have feared, he was not lost to the Hulk.

The sight of Tony stirred something in him, a friend that he had been worried that he had lost for good. The sight of his pain, of his panic, of him fleeing from company. It gave him the strength to fight back against the monster that shared his skin and shrink from his green form back down to his human one. It was strange, even when doing so, to find himself surrounded by admirers. The Asgardians and their friends valued him for his strength, and for his help, regardless of his form.

He jogged after Tony, with a strip of cloth hastily wound around his waist and held there to keep his modesty in check, and called out to him before he could go into any locked areas.

"Tony! Hey-- Tony, wait!"

“FRIDAY, seal off—” Tony half fell into a door that was closing as he turned quickly, the voice calling his name making his eyes widen and his forward trajectory cease all together. “Ignore that,” he said, watching Bruce stumble after him. He was certainly a sight, cleaned up, hair cropped as closely as Thor’s, much of the scruff on his chest gone, and somehow more…muscular? Tony took him in for a moment as they stood at either side of the door leading to Tony’s workshop.

While Bruce looked fantastic, sound of mind and body and not the worse for wear despite evidently being the Hulk (Tony remembered a man left shivering with music playing in headphones to help him calm down post transformation) just moments ago, Tony himself looked horrible. There were circles under his eyes. That flash of silver at his temples had grown up into his hair. He seemed almost twitchy, like a drug addict (or a man in the middle of a hangover). His clothing was weirdly dusty and he looked unkempt. The shine behind his eyes was nothing short of manic.

“You’re really…really late.”

Tony was wrong to think that he was not worse the wear for being the Hulk, he would still have his moment later on to freak out that he was losing himself too rapidly and the day that he would never return was approaching. But he knew that he had to fend that off for now and see what the hell had happened to his friend while he had been gone.

"Yeah," he smiled, sheepish, and scrubbed a hand over his head. "Not really to plan. I was the Hulk for a long time and it's a really long story. But hey-- better late than never, right?"

He always knew that Tony had an issue with drink, but with how much he had aged and how awful he looked, it seemed as if he must have fallen into full on alcoholism.

The sad truth of the matter was that just a day ago, Tony looked all right. He’d been pretty happy with having James around, happy for someone to help with his projects or to play games with him, happy to go back to a more carefree and less stressed lifestyle. But everything had started up again all at once and he was currently the portrait of a man who was no longer hanging all the way on.

It was amazing what two hours and some change could do to a person.

“That’s probably the best excuse I’ve heard for going missing for two years. ‘Sorry I couldn’t send you a birthday card. I was the Hulk.’ Think I could get away with that one?” He wasn’t mocking Bruce, he was just feeling very tired about the entire thing. “I looked just about everywhere on earth for you. I wish I’d known to check Asgard. That would have saved me a lot of time and energy. What did you do with that quintet you stole? My favorite shirt was in there.”

"I wasn't in Asgard. Or... I was, but only for the last couple of days, I was somewhere else before that. I can't even really tell you the name of it, it was all Hulk until Thor showed up. The quinjet is there, it's broken, and your shirt-- I had to borrow it and then it got ripped off in the transformation."

There was something very tired behind brown eyes, but he was careful not to let it show too much when Tony was on edge.

"I'm sorry that I was gone for so long, and I'm sorry that we've all descended on you now, it's not fair. It's just been-- well, kind of crazy."

“Crazy’s a really great way to put everything.” He hadn’t moved from the doorway, as if he didn’t want anyone to follow him into the workshop. The last time Bruce had been in here with him, they were working around the clock to build and program Ultron, to put a suit of armor around the entire world. There were a lot of things that Tony had done that he wasn’t proud of, but pulling Bruce into what ended up being a really terrible idea made him feel even worse. Letting the other man back into that place… It felt wrong. “It’s been crazy here too. Less space aliens, but with the Chitari black market going strong, it’s still pretty space alieny. Well, extra now with a side of weird. Is one of those people out there a giant bug or hairless mole? Wow. I wonder what fumigating the Tower is going to cost.”

Yes, he was rambling, maybe even stalling, and he wasn’t quite sure how much sense he was making because the Loki chant going on in his head, surround sound with HD speakers, was making it pretty hard to follow along.

“I’m also pretty upset about my shirt, Banner. Just because we wear the same size doesn’t mean you can just raid my closet whenever it suits you. But maybe you should actually…you’re not really appropriately dressed.”

"Uh, yeah, some clothes would probably be a good idea sooner rather than later. But listen, Tony, I heard what you said about being retired now."

There was something pained in his face. He had wanted to come back and rejoin his friends where he was welcome, and Tony was a big part of that. It had been Tony that taught him how to stand tall and use the Hulk to the advantage of the team, at least as best he could, and without Tony then he didn't think he wanted to be on the team.

"Why-- what happened?"

There was so much going on here that he didn't know. Unless Tony had retired because of Ultron? But surely not, that had been two years ago now, the others would have made him reconsider before now.

Yes, actually, Tony had retired because of Ultron. He’d tried not to meddle too much before that, he’d tried not to get too involved with the armor and the vigilante heroic justice. His suits had become a lot more three-piece instead of gold-titanium alloy. He’d been happy like that, for awhile. And Pepper had too. There had been many reasons to retire at that point. He’d not quite been at his lowest, but he was on his way there.

“So let’s see. That piece of legislation I tried to sponsor ended up splitting up the team. Cap walked out, became a fugitive again for aiding and abetting a terrorist though, spoiler alert Banner, everyone’s been cleared of wrong doing since then. We tried to kill each other, he gave up the shield and went to Wakanda to play in the Vibranium mines. You guys picked a good day to come back, though, so that’s a big plus. All of the prodigal sons and daughters are on their way home. Rogers called for Avengers to Assemble. Sure, we have a lot to work through, but I’m going to the party. I’m funding it after all. Have the press coming. Thor’ll be popular for Halloween again if people see he’s back.”

He left some details out for a good reason. He had no reason, whatsoever, to go dumpster diving in his past for this guy. Tony was feeling a little too vulnerable for that right now.

“It’s been a hard few months, Bruce.” That might be all that the scientist got from Tony as a way of letting his guard down right now. “And I kind of wish you weren’t out of cell reception. Hey FRIDAY? Get DUM-E to bring up Banner’s stuff from storage and stick it in his old room downstairs. As much as I like looking at his hairy legs, it’s pretty drafty here.”

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alas I gotta go to bed, hopefully see you on the train tomorrow but if not then see you Thursday <3

ME TOO. If not though have the best time!!!

<3

FOSSIL!

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