Iron Man/Avengers fic: Build a Bridge Betwixt the Stars
Title: Build a Bridge Betwixt the Stars
Rating: Adult (mostly for swears and bloodshed, with possible sex scenes which will be clearly labelled)
Spoiler warning: Will contain material compliant with Iron Man 3 and the Thor 2 trailer
Pairings: Loki/Tony Stark; Pepper Potts/Tony Stark; Tony Stark/Pepper/Loki
Summary: It takes a lot of skill to engineer something delicate, not to mention something that is also, in a word, enormous. Odin knows better than to tackle the Bifrost on his own, and help close to home is... not forthcoming. Happily, his elder son has made some very useful friends. Tony Stark's about to receive an offer he can't refuse, and there's one hell of a vacation behind Door Number Three. Good thing he's a fast learner, and that his girlfriend's got the patience of Job. Shame that his teacher's a genocidal jerk with Lilith Fair hair and a bad habit of outright lying, but, hey, you can't have everything. Except he's Tony Stark. Of course he can. Somehow...
"Ow, Jesus, what...." Not that his sleep had been that fucking sound but he's sure as hell awake now, tiny electric pulses coursing from somewhere in his goddamn bed , not strong enough to interfere with the bracelets yet...
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Stark," and he knows that voice, which shouldn't be anywhere near his goddamn bed at...
"JARVIS, time," he growls.
"Three twenty-three a.m." At least he has the decency to sound apologetic, unlike Nick Fury, who is fucking chuckling into what is apparently a taser phone.
Tony flails around and does not yelp, of course not, when he grabs it and hits "end call" with the righteous fury of the unjustly awoken. The phone sparks, actually visibly sparks along to... "Is that the Galaga theme," because of course it is, what the hell...
"Incoming call from S.H.I.E.L.D.," JARVIS says in his most conciliatory tone, and something in his angry flailing must look like acquiescence because the damn thing stops sparking and picks up which won't do at all, there's got to be something big enough to smash it if it won't just spark out and seriously, what the hell.
"Did you just call me to breathe on the phone, Little Nicky, because there's a word for that." There. Good. At least that sounded calm.
"It wasn't my idea to interrupt your beauty sleep," and there's a touch of annoyance in that unflappable voice. "Seems you've gone and impressed somebody who don't keep business hours."
"OK, Captain Cryptic, that doesn't sound like 'hey, get up, aliens are already invading.' Is this a puzzle because, seriously, Words with Friends never sleeps unlike, say, oh, ME. Pepper's gonna skin you, she's been trying to get me to sleep for days and... hello, video, is that your brother from another mother, seriously, if this eyepatch thing is a trend now..."
"War-Smith, we have need of you," says Eyepatch the Second.
"Yeah, well, we all have needs. I, for instance, need a pony and an appointment, seriously, I have a schedule..."
Fury's cough says bullshit without even muttering it, how does he do that anyway, and Eyepatch Two: the Reckoning wrinkles his brow, mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "steed," shakes his fairly righteous head of hair. "My son gave me to understand that this hour saw you at the height of your craft."
"Well, yeah, ok, usually that's true but I don't take calls then either and..." Tony's brain catches up with his mouth, shuts it with a snap. "Son... eyepatch... Right, ok, sorry I'm not dressed to receive royalty," he says, smirks, and.... "Did Odin just wink at me, because I think he did and, hey, awesome, I've read about you, we can talk, you seem like an all right guy unlike Colonel Killjoy over there, why the middleman?"
There's just the tiniest hint of a smile there and Tony's not proud that Odin Allfather digs his schtick, he isn't, everybody does, really. "I was under the impression that he was your commander."
"Yeah, no," and Tony gives Fury his oiliest smirk. "I'm a free agent. Seems somebody thinks I don't play well with others."
"You fought at my son's side well enough," Odin says and yeah, that's some deceptive mildness, not the time to ask which son, and hey, look, tact, who says he doesn't have any of that?
Tony trains his eyes on Nicky. "Yeah, well, seems I'm good enough for the team when the world needs saving."
"Stark," Fury growls.
And Tony's not at all self-satisfied when he purrs, "not the time, Colonel Sanders," nope, not at all. And hey, need, Odin had said, need was a good word, seems like a guy you'd like to have owe you a favor. "Which leaves me, fortuitously, free to help you out. What are you after? Smith, you said, does big and blond need some new armor because he's got serious style but he's a little behind the times, not that he's not formidable now but with a little tech behind him, wow. I was meaning to get around to that anyway next time we saw him stateside."
Odin gives him a considering look. "That was not my intention, but we would be honored to accept such a gift from a mage of your caliber."
Tony's mouth twists. "Mage, whoops, sorry, no, wrong guy, tech only," and his hands are doing his apology thing.
"Call it what you will," Odin dismisses. "I can feel the workings of your power even through this device." Tony's dubious wince must penetrate, because, "it is different than our workings, I grant, but Heimdall has seen the power in your creations and it is your craft we have need of."
"Need, you keep saying, but..."
Odin's face takes on a serious cast. "My son told you, perhaps, of our Bifrost..."
"Yeah, no, we didn't have much time to chat but I picked up a little from Jane Foster and ouch, sore subject, I see, sorry..."
Odin waves it away. "She is observant, yes, but she lacks your powers of creation," and hey, Tony only winced a little at this casual use of the word powers, so, hey, progress, although he's willing to bet this guy doesn't miss a trick. "Someday, perhaps, she may prove worthy," and that sounds like a grudging admission and, yeah, not touching that. "The problem is too pressing," and Tony wants to interrupt but maybe they're getting somewhere and hey, Odin. Even Tony thinks twice about cutting him off. "The Bifrost has been shattered." The lines on Odin's face seem to deepen at that - Tony's willing to bet he knows who did the shattering, passive voice notwithstanding. "That would be enough of a hindrance; it is a... delicate time and I am loathe to spend so much on communication and travel that should by rights be simple. But spend I must, though all the while the bridge loses stability."
"And I'm guessing you're the guy that made it. No time to fix it and hold it together both?"
"That, and I do have other duties," Odin says drily. "It is, as I said, a delicate time."
"And there's no homegrown talent to help you out," and it's a statement, just thinking out loud, but Odin... He looks suddenly, infinitely older, fathomlessly sad.
"None that will aid," he says, and Tony swallows. "That is why I must call on you."
"I'll do what I can," he says, without really meaning to, because hey, big project and he's got Iron-Manning to do and a company to run, even if that's more or less in theory these days and shouldn't he at least bargain or something but there's something about this guy, this request... You don't have to come right out and say worlds-hanging-in-the balance. "But, hey, tech guy, remember..."
Odin nods, grave. "Perhaps your workings can create a solution where we can find none. And we are not without teachers, though they lack the power for such a work in their own right, should our bridge prove resistant to your methods."
"I'll need readings, sensors, can you get some up there, and hey, anything you you can tell me about how the thing was made in the first place..."
He's already off a mile a minute but, hey, "You are ready, then, for the journey?" That'll yank a guy back down to earth.
"The... journey..." he repeats and Odin gives him a look, like he's missed the obvious.
"It is no small honor," he says with sardonic little grin. "It has been many years since one of your kind came to my city. Longer still since he who journeyed still was numbered amongst the living."
"Right. About that..." Tony shot a guilty glance at Fury.
Odin followed it, turned to Fury. "I understand that you have formidable forces at your disposal?"
"That we do." Tony's almost -almost - impressed that Fury still sounds unflappable.
Odin turns back to Tony. "Your concern does you credit. If there be need, I will see to your return and with you any aid that Asgard can provide."
Fury's eye widens fractionally. "Good to know. We can cover the day-to-day."
Odin nods, and hey, hand motions, motions with the hands, that looks like a stiff brew of mojo which is not so good....
"Hey, are we talking right now, because I'm going to need to get some stuff, set things up because I assume we're not talking a day-trip here if my travel's gonna require your personal attention, and hey, maybe I can get dressed..."
"You speak true," Odin says, and that amused little curl of his lips is back. "How much time do you require for your preparations?" And that's a toughy, there's Pepper and the company and he'll have to ditch his patrol work and why hasn't he already modified a laptop to run on arc power because he's betting they have a different voltage up in Valhalla and Jesus.... Odin must not like the twitch of his calculations because he intones, "Time is of the essence."
"Right, yeah, got that, so..." He pauses, swallows. The mods won't be that hard, honestly, and everything's more or less here, factor in a couple of hours for a Defcon-level Pepper freak-out and... "Nine hours," he says, "give or take."
"Nine hours," Odin intones and if that's not the nod of finality... "Our thanks, Tony Stark."
"Make it ten." And hey, Fury, forgot that guy was there. "We've seen the kind of damage your... transport can do. Better pick him up at the facility upstate."
"Until then," and then Odin's just... gone.
"Well, fuck," Tony whistles.
Fury's mouth twitches. "When you're right, Stark, and that's not very damn often.... When you're right, you're right."
Rating: Adult (mostly for swears and bloodshed, with possible sex scenes which will be clearly labelled)
Spoiler warning: Will contain material compliant with Iron Man 3 and the Thor 2 trailer
Pairings: Loki/Tony Stark; Pepper Potts/Tony Stark; Tony Stark/Pepper/Loki
Summary: It takes a lot of skill to engineer something delicate, not to mention something that is also, in a word, enormous. Odin knows better than to tackle the Bifrost on his own, and help close to home is... not forthcoming. Happily, his elder son has made some very useful friends. Tony Stark's about to receive an offer he can't refuse, and there's one hell of a vacation behind Door Number Three. Good thing he's a fast learner, and that his girlfriend's got the patience of Job. Shame that his teacher's a genocidal jerk with Lilith Fair hair and a bad habit of outright lying, but, hey, you can't have everything. Except he's Tony Stark. Of course he can. Somehow...
"Ow, Jesus, what...." Not that his sleep had been that fucking sound but he's sure as hell awake now, tiny electric pulses coursing from somewhere in his goddamn bed , not strong enough to interfere with the bracelets yet...
"That won't be necessary, Mr. Stark," and he knows that voice, which shouldn't be anywhere near his goddamn bed at...
"JARVIS, time," he growls.
"Three twenty-three a.m." At least he has the decency to sound apologetic, unlike Nick Fury, who is fucking chuckling into what is apparently a taser phone.
Tony flails around and does not yelp, of course not, when he grabs it and hits "end call" with the righteous fury of the unjustly awoken. The phone sparks, actually visibly sparks along to... "Is that the Galaga theme," because of course it is, what the hell...
"Incoming call from S.H.I.E.L.D.," JARVIS says in his most conciliatory tone, and something in his angry flailing must look like acquiescence because the damn thing stops sparking and picks up which won't do at all, there's got to be something big enough to smash it if it won't just spark out and seriously, what the hell.
"Did you just call me to breathe on the phone, Little Nicky, because there's a word for that." There. Good. At least that sounded calm.
"It wasn't my idea to interrupt your beauty sleep," and there's a touch of annoyance in that unflappable voice. "Seems you've gone and impressed somebody who don't keep business hours."
"OK, Captain Cryptic, that doesn't sound like 'hey, get up, aliens are already invading.' Is this a puzzle because, seriously, Words with Friends never sleeps unlike, say, oh, ME. Pepper's gonna skin you, she's been trying to get me to sleep for days and... hello, video, is that your brother from another mother, seriously, if this eyepatch thing is a trend now..."
"War-Smith, we have need of you," says Eyepatch the Second.
"Yeah, well, we all have needs. I, for instance, need a pony and an appointment, seriously, I have a schedule..."
Fury's cough says bullshit without even muttering it, how does he do that anyway, and Eyepatch Two: the Reckoning wrinkles his brow, mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "steed," shakes his fairly righteous head of hair. "My son gave me to understand that this hour saw you at the height of your craft."
"Well, yeah, ok, usually that's true but I don't take calls then either and..." Tony's brain catches up with his mouth, shuts it with a snap. "Son... eyepatch... Right, ok, sorry I'm not dressed to receive royalty," he says, smirks, and.... "Did Odin just wink at me, because I think he did and, hey, awesome, I've read about you, we can talk, you seem like an all right guy unlike Colonel Killjoy over there, why the middleman?"
There's just the tiniest hint of a smile there and Tony's not proud that Odin Allfather digs his schtick, he isn't, everybody does, really. "I was under the impression that he was your commander."
"Yeah, no," and Tony gives Fury his oiliest smirk. "I'm a free agent. Seems somebody thinks I don't play well with others."
"You fought at my son's side well enough," Odin says and yeah, that's some deceptive mildness, not the time to ask which son, and hey, look, tact, who says he doesn't have any of that?
Tony trains his eyes on Nicky. "Yeah, well, seems I'm good enough for the team when the world needs saving."
"Stark," Fury growls.
And Tony's not at all self-satisfied when he purrs, "not the time, Colonel Sanders," nope, not at all. And hey, need, Odin had said, need was a good word, seems like a guy you'd like to have owe you a favor. "Which leaves me, fortuitously, free to help you out. What are you after? Smith, you said, does big and blond need some new armor because he's got serious style but he's a little behind the times, not that he's not formidable now but with a little tech behind him, wow. I was meaning to get around to that anyway next time we saw him stateside."
Odin gives him a considering look. "That was not my intention, but we would be honored to accept such a gift from a mage of your caliber."
Tony's mouth twists. "Mage, whoops, sorry, no, wrong guy, tech only," and his hands are doing his apology thing.
"Call it what you will," Odin dismisses. "I can feel the workings of your power even through this device." Tony's dubious wince must penetrate, because, "it is different than our workings, I grant, but Heimdall has seen the power in your creations and it is your craft we have need of."
"Need, you keep saying, but..."
Odin's face takes on a serious cast. "My son told you, perhaps, of our Bifrost..."
"Yeah, no, we didn't have much time to chat but I picked up a little from Jane Foster and ouch, sore subject, I see, sorry..."
Odin waves it away. "She is observant, yes, but she lacks your powers of creation," and hey, Tony only winced a little at this casual use of the word powers, so, hey, progress, although he's willing to bet this guy doesn't miss a trick. "Someday, perhaps, she may prove worthy," and that sounds like a grudging admission and, yeah, not touching that. "The problem is too pressing," and Tony wants to interrupt but maybe they're getting somewhere and hey, Odin. Even Tony thinks twice about cutting him off. "The Bifrost has been shattered." The lines on Odin's face seem to deepen at that - Tony's willing to bet he knows who did the shattering, passive voice notwithstanding. "That would be enough of a hindrance; it is a... delicate time and I am loathe to spend so much on communication and travel that should by rights be simple. But spend I must, though all the while the bridge loses stability."
"And I'm guessing you're the guy that made it. No time to fix it and hold it together both?"
"That, and I do have other duties," Odin says drily. "It is, as I said, a delicate time."
"And there's no homegrown talent to help you out," and it's a statement, just thinking out loud, but Odin... He looks suddenly, infinitely older, fathomlessly sad.
"None that will aid," he says, and Tony swallows. "That is why I must call on you."
"I'll do what I can," he says, without really meaning to, because hey, big project and he's got Iron-Manning to do and a company to run, even if that's more or less in theory these days and shouldn't he at least bargain or something but there's something about this guy, this request... You don't have to come right out and say worlds-hanging-in-the balance. "But, hey, tech guy, remember..."
Odin nods, grave. "Perhaps your workings can create a solution where we can find none. And we are not without teachers, though they lack the power for such a work in their own right, should our bridge prove resistant to your methods."
"I'll need readings, sensors, can you get some up there, and hey, anything you you can tell me about how the thing was made in the first place..."
He's already off a mile a minute but, hey, "You are ready, then, for the journey?" That'll yank a guy back down to earth.
"The... journey..." he repeats and Odin gives him a look, like he's missed the obvious.
"It is no small honor," he says with sardonic little grin. "It has been many years since one of your kind came to my city. Longer still since he who journeyed still was numbered amongst the living."
"Right. About that..." Tony shot a guilty glance at Fury.
Odin followed it, turned to Fury. "I understand that you have formidable forces at your disposal?"
"That we do." Tony's almost -almost - impressed that Fury still sounds unflappable.
Odin turns back to Tony. "Your concern does you credit. If there be need, I will see to your return and with you any aid that Asgard can provide."
Fury's eye widens fractionally. "Good to know. We can cover the day-to-day."
Odin nods, and hey, hand motions, motions with the hands, that looks like a stiff brew of mojo which is not so good....
"Hey, are we talking right now, because I'm going to need to get some stuff, set things up because I assume we're not talking a day-trip here if my travel's gonna require your personal attention, and hey, maybe I can get dressed..."
"You speak true," Odin says, and that amused little curl of his lips is back. "How much time do you require for your preparations?" And that's a toughy, there's Pepper and the company and he'll have to ditch his patrol work and why hasn't he already modified a laptop to run on arc power because he's betting they have a different voltage up in Valhalla and Jesus.... Odin must not like the twitch of his calculations because he intones, "Time is of the essence."
"Right, yeah, got that, so..." He pauses, swallows. The mods won't be that hard, honestly, and everything's more or less here, factor in a couple of hours for a Defcon-level Pepper freak-out and... "Nine hours," he says, "give or take."
"Nine hours," Odin intones and if that's not the nod of finality... "Our thanks, Tony Stark."
"Make it ten." And hey, Fury, forgot that guy was there. "We've seen the kind of damage your... transport can do. Better pick him up at the facility upstate."
"Until then," and then Odin's just... gone.
"Well, fuck," Tony whistles.
Fury's mouth twitches. "When you're right, Stark, and that's not very damn often.... When you're right, you're right."