[Fic] Playing with Forces Beyond Your Ken: Chapter 8 (avengers_rbb, Avengers)
Title: Playing with Forces Beyond Your Ken
Chapter Title: Reunion, Part Deux or the Big Combat Scene
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 11,150
Chapter Word Count: 1,781
Summary: When Natasha plays with forces beyond her ken, there's a field trip to a new world.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for neera_pendragon for creating this wonderful art! Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Tony looked around at the castle they had been transported to. It wasn't as green as he thought it should be. Then again, it wasn't called the Emerald City and was probably a witch tower, so it fit with the rest of the décor of the realm as he amused himself. It was either this or he was going to go a bit mad at the fact that he couldn't contact Jarvis for anything. Plus, the suit was getting to be a bit uncomfortable, even though he had made it for comfort. "There's no flying monkeys," he muttered.
"Those don't exist," Steve countered.
"We're in a magical world. They could exist," Tony said.
"How do you even know it's a magical world?" Clint asked.
"We got transported from one place to another without moving. Plus, it was supposed to be a day or more of walking. Therefore, magic. Or a transporter beam. If it is a transporter beam, that means we really could get off of here faster," Tony said.
"Has he been like this the entire time?" Coulson asked.
"Yes," Clint and Steve said at the same time.
"I'm so sorry," Coulson said.
"Hey, at least it is making small talk," Tony said.
"At least you haven't figured out which characters we are," Steve said and then looked at Tony, who was grinning like a cat. "You didn't."
"I so did, Dorothy," Tony said.
"Why is he Dorothy?" Clint asked.
"Most innocent," Tony said. "Even though I am going to take care of that in a while. I can't decide if you're the Scarecrow or the Lion though," he said to Clint.
"Am I allowed a choice?" Clint asked. "As I like the lion more. He had the good sense to try to run away."
"So that would make Coulson the scarecrow," Tony said.
"Why aren't they telling him not to talk?" Coulson asked.
"They probably don't understand English," Tony said as he looked at the guards. "No, they do. They just aren't sure what to really do." He watched as the guards suddenly looked up, as if hearing something from the air, before moving over to him and grabbing him from the line, dragging him forward. "Hey!"
Steve lunged to go after the guards but was knocked back hard by a blow to the stomach. It took the air out of him as he sat back on the ground. "I'm fine," he said with a cough as Coulson moved over to help him up.
"Why hasn't Stark just blasted them yet?" Coulson asked in a whisper.
"Because we don't know why we're here or who we're dealing with yet," Clint whispered back. "Easier this way."
Tony was dragged forward to a circle and his suit chained to the ground. He raised an eyebrow at that but looked up as light shone down on him. "This is not going to be good," he said right before a mass of power shot through him and the suit. He screamed out in pain before disappearing all together.
"What are you doing?!" Bruce yelled as he came into the courtyard with Natasha. There was no answer from the guards as staffs appeared in their hands and they pointed them at the two separate groups.
"Down!" Natasha said as she pulled Bruce down with her as the staffs shot out red lasers. She pulled out one of her guns and shot at the person holding the weapons of the rest of the group before laying down cover so they could run and get them. She continued to do so until she saw them able to take cover from the lasers.
"Move away!" Bruce said. He waited a moment as Natasha ran off towards the other group before turning into the Hulk and bashing away at the guards in the courtyard.
"Are you alright?" Clint asked as Natasha joined them.
"Yes," Natasha said and looked at Coulson. "I'm sorry."
"I'm just glad to know that you'd lock me in a tower instead of killing me," Coulson said.
Natasha looked to Clint looking confused. "We'll explain later," she said before turning and shooting another guard point blank in the head. "We'll need to head up to the throne room. That's probably where the light took Stark."
"What is it? Or, better question - who is behind it?" Steve asked.
Thor was able to rejoin them at that point. "Loki," he said.
"So, nothing new," Coulson said.
"He's in the body of Lady Sif," Natasha said.
"How did you know that?" Thor asked.
"I saw what happened between you and her… Well, him," Natasha said. "I'm able to sneak up on him."
"Lucky you," Clint said. "So let's get inside and rescue Tony before Loki tears him to pieces. Lead the way," he said to Natasha said. Natasha nodded a yes and they group quickly fought their way through what was left of the guards and make their way into the castle.
*~*~*~*
Tony winced as he tried to sit up and gasped in pain as a foot came down on his stomach. "Jesus Christ, what did I ever do to you?" He asked as he looked up at the beautiful woman that was there.
"You destroyed all of my hard work, Tony Stark," Loki said.
"Okay, that's trippy," Tony said. "But I love the work you had done. Not a lot of people are able to go to that level of woman on the first try."
"Why do you make everything into a joke?" Loki asked.
"Either laugh or cry but can't do both at the same time," Tony said. "Would you mind letting me up?"
"Yes, I would," Loki said as he put more pressure on Tony's stomach. He concentrated the power to break the suit. "Just as you broke my friends, I will break you and then make you watch your friends die."
Tony yelled in pain as the metal of the suit broke and he felt a rib break as well. He knew that the glass around the arc reactor was going to be next unless he did something. His arms felt like lead or something was running through them as he tried to lift them. He was about to beg for his life when, all of a sudden, Lady Loki was off of him. "Oh thank God," he said and turned his head to see Thor. "I guessed right."
Steve was by his side in a second while Thor dealt with Lady Loki. "That looks painful."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Tony said. "I need Bruce."
"I don't know if he's going to be much help," Steve said.
"What, they don't have basic tools here?" Tony asked. "Or right, this is Oz. Or Not-Oz. Whatever we're calling it."
"He was down in the courtyard being Hulk," Natasha said as she watched Sif and Thor fight. "Should we - "
"No," Coulson said as Thor was able to deliver a blow that made Sif go unconscious.
"I'll go see if he's turned back into Bruce then," Natasha said as she turned and went out the room.
"Thanks big guy," Tony said to Thor as he came over. "Moment longer and I don't know if I would be talking."
"I think we're going to be stopping your off world visits for a while, Stark," Coulson said.
"Kill joy," Tony said.
"He's fine," Steve said.
"Actually, no, I'm in a lot of pain," Tony said. "I just thought it would be polite to keep up my rapport with Coulson. Otherwise he'd really worry."
"Didn't know you cared that much, Stark," Coulson said.
"Eh, it's the small things in life," Tony said as Natasha came back with a Bruce rapped in a cloak. "Oh good."
Bruce moved over and leaned down. "So, we have to increase how much weight the suit can take," he said as he gingerly moved a bit of the suit away from Tony's body. "Natasha, can you take the other side? We need to get him out of the suit before the arc reactor starts draining to try to fix it."
Natasha nodded a yes, moving to the other side of Tony and doing as Bruce asked. It took about a half hour to get Tony out of the suit completely with Tony complaining most of the way. "Big baby," she said to Tony when they were done.
"You do that with cracked ribs and tell me I'm a baby afterwards," Tony shot back.
Thor, during all of this, was looking around the room. He moved aside a rug on the floor and grinned at seeing the runes for a bridge. He stood in the middle of it and called out "Heimdall!" before disappearing completely.
"That can't be good," Steve said.
"He's getting reinforcements or something," Coulson said. "Heimdall is the one who controls the bridge." He was proven right as Thor came back with the Warriors Three and two other people who wore the robes of healers. "Captain, you should let them help Tony," he said.
"We shouldn't be more than a few moments," one of the healers said.
Steve nodded a yes and moved over with the others to where Thor was speaking with the Warriors Three. "So how long has she been acting strangely and I haven't seen it?" He heard Thor ask.
"A couple of days before the both of you disappeared," Fandral replied. "Nobody really questioned it at the time."
"Is there a way to reconnect Sif to her own body though?" Hogun asked.
"Odin will know," Volstagg said. "And if not, we'll find a way."
"Aye," Thor said. He quickly made introductions to the rest of the group. "As soon as Stark is able to move on his own, we can send you home. We'll take care of Loki."
"Thank you," Bruce said.
"When she first met with us, she was wearing a necklace," Natasha said. "I haven't seen it since. It was on a silver chain and it was … I don't remember what color the stone was."
"That has to be where Sif is," Thor said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Natasha said. "I just hope that you're able to find her in time."
"I am too," Thor said.
"All ready to go," Tony said a few moments later after being helped up by one of the healers. "Thank you."
"You're more than welcome," the healer said with a smile.
"Shall we go home then?" Tony asked as he moved over and took Steve's hand.
"Yes," Thor said as he got his friends in a circle and called upon Heimdall once more. There was a flash of blue light as they disappeared from the fantasy world.
Chapter Title: Reunion, Part Deux or the Big Combat Scene
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 11,150
Chapter Word Count: 1,781
Summary: When Natasha plays with forces beyond her ken, there's a field trip to a new world.
Author's Note: I do not own Avengers or any of the characters from the movie series.
Thank Yous: A big thank you for neera_pendragon for creating this wonderful art! Also, a big thank you to my beta, sirwynai, who doubles as cheerleader and flailing partner.
Tony looked around at the castle they had been transported to. It wasn't as green as he thought it should be. Then again, it wasn't called the Emerald City and was probably a witch tower, so it fit with the rest of the décor of the realm as he amused himself. It was either this or he was going to go a bit mad at the fact that he couldn't contact Jarvis for anything. Plus, the suit was getting to be a bit uncomfortable, even though he had made it for comfort. "There's no flying monkeys," he muttered.
"Those don't exist," Steve countered.
"We're in a magical world. They could exist," Tony said.
"How do you even know it's a magical world?" Clint asked.
"We got transported from one place to another without moving. Plus, it was supposed to be a day or more of walking. Therefore, magic. Or a transporter beam. If it is a transporter beam, that means we really could get off of here faster," Tony said.
"Has he been like this the entire time?" Coulson asked.
"Yes," Clint and Steve said at the same time.
"I'm so sorry," Coulson said.
"Hey, at least it is making small talk," Tony said.
"At least you haven't figured out which characters we are," Steve said and then looked at Tony, who was grinning like a cat. "You didn't."
"I so did, Dorothy," Tony said.
"Why is he Dorothy?" Clint asked.
"Most innocent," Tony said. "Even though I am going to take care of that in a while. I can't decide if you're the Scarecrow or the Lion though," he said to Clint.
"Am I allowed a choice?" Clint asked. "As I like the lion more. He had the good sense to try to run away."
"So that would make Coulson the scarecrow," Tony said.
"Why aren't they telling him not to talk?" Coulson asked.
"They probably don't understand English," Tony said as he looked at the guards. "No, they do. They just aren't sure what to really do." He watched as the guards suddenly looked up, as if hearing something from the air, before moving over to him and grabbing him from the line, dragging him forward. "Hey!"
Steve lunged to go after the guards but was knocked back hard by a blow to the stomach. It took the air out of him as he sat back on the ground. "I'm fine," he said with a cough as Coulson moved over to help him up.
"Why hasn't Stark just blasted them yet?" Coulson asked in a whisper.
"Because we don't know why we're here or who we're dealing with yet," Clint whispered back. "Easier this way."
Tony was dragged forward to a circle and his suit chained to the ground. He raised an eyebrow at that but looked up as light shone down on him. "This is not going to be good," he said right before a mass of power shot through him and the suit. He screamed out in pain before disappearing all together.
"What are you doing?!" Bruce yelled as he came into the courtyard with Natasha. There was no answer from the guards as staffs appeared in their hands and they pointed them at the two separate groups.
"Down!" Natasha said as she pulled Bruce down with her as the staffs shot out red lasers. She pulled out one of her guns and shot at the person holding the weapons of the rest of the group before laying down cover so they could run and get them. She continued to do so until she saw them able to take cover from the lasers.
"Move away!" Bruce said. He waited a moment as Natasha ran off towards the other group before turning into the Hulk and bashing away at the guards in the courtyard.
"Are you alright?" Clint asked as Natasha joined them.
"Yes," Natasha said and looked at Coulson. "I'm sorry."
"I'm just glad to know that you'd lock me in a tower instead of killing me," Coulson said.
Natasha looked to Clint looking confused. "We'll explain later," she said before turning and shooting another guard point blank in the head. "We'll need to head up to the throne room. That's probably where the light took Stark."
"What is it? Or, better question - who is behind it?" Steve asked.
Thor was able to rejoin them at that point. "Loki," he said.
"So, nothing new," Coulson said.
"He's in the body of Lady Sif," Natasha said.
"How did you know that?" Thor asked.
"I saw what happened between you and her… Well, him," Natasha said. "I'm able to sneak up on him."
"Lucky you," Clint said. "So let's get inside and rescue Tony before Loki tears him to pieces. Lead the way," he said to Natasha said. Natasha nodded a yes and they group quickly fought their way through what was left of the guards and make their way into the castle.
*~*~*~*
Tony winced as he tried to sit up and gasped in pain as a foot came down on his stomach. "Jesus Christ, what did I ever do to you?" He asked as he looked up at the beautiful woman that was there.
"You destroyed all of my hard work, Tony Stark," Loki said.
"Okay, that's trippy," Tony said. "But I love the work you had done. Not a lot of people are able to go to that level of woman on the first try."
"Why do you make everything into a joke?" Loki asked.
"Either laugh or cry but can't do both at the same time," Tony said. "Would you mind letting me up?"
"Yes, I would," Loki said as he put more pressure on Tony's stomach. He concentrated the power to break the suit. "Just as you broke my friends, I will break you and then make you watch your friends die."
Tony yelled in pain as the metal of the suit broke and he felt a rib break as well. He knew that the glass around the arc reactor was going to be next unless he did something. His arms felt like lead or something was running through them as he tried to lift them. He was about to beg for his life when, all of a sudden, Lady Loki was off of him. "Oh thank God," he said and turned his head to see Thor. "I guessed right."
Steve was by his side in a second while Thor dealt with Lady Loki. "That looks painful."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Tony said. "I need Bruce."
"I don't know if he's going to be much help," Steve said.
"What, they don't have basic tools here?" Tony asked. "Or right, this is Oz. Or Not-Oz. Whatever we're calling it."
"He was down in the courtyard being Hulk," Natasha said as she watched Sif and Thor fight. "Should we - "
"No," Coulson said as Thor was able to deliver a blow that made Sif go unconscious.
"I'll go see if he's turned back into Bruce then," Natasha said as she turned and went out the room.
"Thanks big guy," Tony said to Thor as he came over. "Moment longer and I don't know if I would be talking."
"I think we're going to be stopping your off world visits for a while, Stark," Coulson said.
"Kill joy," Tony said.
"He's fine," Steve said.
"Actually, no, I'm in a lot of pain," Tony said. "I just thought it would be polite to keep up my rapport with Coulson. Otherwise he'd really worry."
"Didn't know you cared that much, Stark," Coulson said.
"Eh, it's the small things in life," Tony said as Natasha came back with a Bruce rapped in a cloak. "Oh good."
Bruce moved over and leaned down. "So, we have to increase how much weight the suit can take," he said as he gingerly moved a bit of the suit away from Tony's body. "Natasha, can you take the other side? We need to get him out of the suit before the arc reactor starts draining to try to fix it."
Natasha nodded a yes, moving to the other side of Tony and doing as Bruce asked. It took about a half hour to get Tony out of the suit completely with Tony complaining most of the way. "Big baby," she said to Tony when they were done.
"You do that with cracked ribs and tell me I'm a baby afterwards," Tony shot back.
Thor, during all of this, was looking around the room. He moved aside a rug on the floor and grinned at seeing the runes for a bridge. He stood in the middle of it and called out "Heimdall!" before disappearing completely.
"That can't be good," Steve said.
"He's getting reinforcements or something," Coulson said. "Heimdall is the one who controls the bridge." He was proven right as Thor came back with the Warriors Three and two other people who wore the robes of healers. "Captain, you should let them help Tony," he said.
"We shouldn't be more than a few moments," one of the healers said.
Steve nodded a yes and moved over with the others to where Thor was speaking with the Warriors Three. "So how long has she been acting strangely and I haven't seen it?" He heard Thor ask.
"A couple of days before the both of you disappeared," Fandral replied. "Nobody really questioned it at the time."
"Is there a way to reconnect Sif to her own body though?" Hogun asked.
"Odin will know," Volstagg said. "And if not, we'll find a way."
"Aye," Thor said. He quickly made introductions to the rest of the group. "As soon as Stark is able to move on his own, we can send you home. We'll take care of Loki."
"Thank you," Bruce said.
"When she first met with us, she was wearing a necklace," Natasha said. "I haven't seen it since. It was on a silver chain and it was … I don't remember what color the stone was."
"That has to be where Sif is," Thor said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Natasha said. "I just hope that you're able to find her in time."
"I am too," Thor said.
"All ready to go," Tony said a few moments later after being helped up by one of the healers. "Thank you."
"You're more than welcome," the healer said with a smile.
"Shall we go home then?" Tony asked as he moved over and took Steve's hand.
"Yes," Thor said as he got his friends in a circle and called upon Heimdall once more. There was a flash of blue light as they disappeared from the fantasy world.