Redolence; 9: Aggregation
[Story Info]
Title: Redolence
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Erotica, drama, suspense
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., Nick Fury, Loki, Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor
Pairings: Tony/OMC. Brief Tony/OFC/OMC. Implied past Pepper/Tony. OT6 (Bruce/Clint/Natasha/Steve/Thor/Tony) if you squint.
Summary: Tony disappears for days and returns with a rather unlikely companion, whom Tony then viciously protects from anyone who tries to separate them. Thor claims the alien is controlling Tony’s mind - but that is only the first of many problems the Avengers and Tony will be facing.
Complete.
Written for: Tentacle Big Bang (tentaclebigbang)
Also filling the “mind control” square on my card in Trope Bingo’s Round 1.
Artist: swcajolings / ART
Warnings: Sexual content between human/alien males (includes tentacles), brief het and slash threesome content (between humans), dubious consent/rape (sex while drugged/mind-controlled), (unwanted) male pregnancy, abortion, violence.
~ ~ ~
9: Aggregation
Steve knew that whatever he said or did next would ignite the situation in a heartbeat. Most of the Avengers weren’t armed; he didn’t have his shield and while Clint and Natasha had weapons and Thor his hammer, he couldn’t risk this getting out of hand. If Bruce snapped and let the Hulk out - and if the Hulk for whatever reason didn’t recognize Tony or ended up hurting him…
“There’s no need for anyone to get hurt,” Steve said, spreading his hands. “We won’t fight you, of course not.”
“You will leave?” Tony asked.
“This is our home -” Steve argued although that wasn’t what mattered right now. They could stay at dozens of places but what he wanted was to stay close to Tony and sort this out. The change had happened way too fast, there was no way it was natural. Whatever the alien had done to Tony’s mind, to make him go back on what he had previously vowed to do… He didn’t dare to imagine the lengths the alien could force their friend.
“I want you gone, all of you,” Tony declared. The Iron Man armor took a step, raising one arm. No weapons were exposed yet although the repulsor glowed slightly brighter.
Steve raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay! We’re leaving.” He motioned at the others. “Right now, out. All of you.”
Bruce looked like he might disagree but after a brief wordless battle against Steve’s determined look, he joined the others at the main elevator. Tony watched them go and there was no mistaking the look of satisfaction on the alien’s face as the doors closed between them.
“What are we going to do now?” Clint asked when they were in the garage.
“We need help,” Thor announced.
“What we need is a plan,” Steve argued. Getting too many people involved would risk Tony’s health - more than it already was, clearly.
“My brother can help,” Thor went on, startling them all.
“Loki?” Clint exclaimed. “No way.”
“He has dealt with these parasites before,” Thor argued. “He knows how to counter-act their magic; of this I’m sure.”
“Magic?” Bruce frowned skeptically.
“I do not know how they control those under their will, but I have seen it before,” Thor nodded solemnly. “Magic or something else…”
Steve felt the others looking at him, prodding him to refuse Thor’s plan. “We need to resolve this quickly,” he mused. There was no telling what those eggs would do to Tony if they stayed in his body long enough. “What happened to the others that these parasites… impregnated?” he asked, cringing slightly at the word.
“Of what I have heard and witnessed, most of them died,” Thor replied. “We must make haste; if our friend can already feel the presence of the foul seed in his body, there is no time to waste.”
Steve nodded stiffly, closing his eyes. “You think Loki could help us?”
“As I spoke before, I am certain of it.”
“Then we’ll do that.”
“You can’t be serious,” Clint argued. “Look at all the times we’ve encountered him. Every time he’s tried to kill us; who’s to say he won’t use this opportunity to eliminate Tony instead of helping him?”
Steve looked at Thor, expecting the Asgardian to jump to his brother’s defense.
“Loki knows what danger these parasites pose to all living creatures in the existing worlds,” Thor said instead. “He will help us to get rid of this one.”
Clint grunted unhappily but Steve’s mind was set and they took his bike and two cars out of the garage, heading out to find a place where they could get a hold of Thor’s brother.
- - -
Loki had been rotting away in another one of Allfather’s creative prisons after his latest attempt to take back what was rightfully his. Thor and his Midgardian allies, once again, had thwarted his attempts - yet it somehow didn’t surprise him that it was because of them he was being set free and sent to Midgard to aid his brother in his most recent plight.
Thor had never quite accepted Loki’s hatred of him, and remained ever hopeful that one day Loki would turn back to the docile little child to whom everyone had lied about who he was and what he would become.
The Bifrost took him to New York City’s Central Park - a bittersweet location since this was the very spot from which Thor and he had departed for home, several years ago, after his first attempt to take over the Middle Realm.
The Avengers were there, save for one. “I see you are a man short,” Loki noted.
Captain America glanced at Thor and gave a minimal nod. Thor stepped forward, a grave look upon his face, and that alarmed Loki somewhat. “Brother, we require your help.”
“My help?” Loki repeated, looking at the four other defenders of Earth.
“You recall those parasites we have encountered before, traveling the known world and attempting to breed with whichever new species they come across,” Thor begun.
Loki shivered with repulsion. “The ones with tentacles? How could I forget? Disgusting creatures of lesser intelligence, only existing to share their genes and reproduce.”
“It seemed pretty intelligent to me,” Hawkeye argued. “Got rid of all of us by playing its cards right.”
Loki was beginning to think he saw where this was going. “Let me guess - Iron Man has finally met his match?”
It didn’t go unnoticed how unhappy Bruce Banner looked - or how tense the Captain’s jaw was.
“Iron Man is in grave danger,” Thor pushed on, dismissing the jibe. “One of the creatures has him under its influence and he cannot be reasoned with.”
Loki pursed his lips. “And you want me to do what?”
“To help,” Black Widow snapped as if it were obvious. “Can you do that?”
Loki scoffed. “You clearly lack the basic knowledge of this species - otherwise you wouldn’t require my presence. However, for a price I may be persuaded to -”
Banner had him by the throat before he could finish, lifting him up. His eyes were bleeding green, his grip shaky as if he were trying not to squeeze any harder. “You will help us or I will rip off your head right here,” he threatened.
“Well, when you put it like that,” Loki managed through the grip and was slowly let down. Banner looked him in the eye then shoved him back and returned to his place in the ring formed around him.
Captain America gave him a quick look then glanced at Loki again, not at all concerned by what had happened. “What do we need to understand about this alien species, in order to save our friend?”
“It is not a species, per se,” Loki started. “We do not know where they originally come from - or what they were originally like. Your visitor is no doubt a product of several cross-species, inheriting traits from many sources. What they seem to be driven to do, however, is to find the perfect combination - which would, eventually, conquer the world. A master-race. I do not believe they’ll ever manage that, seeing as they’ve already crossed between too many races to actually hold onto the best traits of any of them, but that is their biological imperative and that’s what your tentacle-covered friend is trying to do. It probably studied Earth for a time before coming down to find a suitable breeding ground. Tell me, is Stark already heavy with its eggs?” he asked, unable to keep from smiling.
“Yes,” Captain America snapped, voice devoid of patience or humor. “We need to… He was going to get rid of them before the alien changed his mind.”
“Ah,” Loki nodded. “Pheromones; they are so very effective once they take hold.”
“Pheromones?” Banner repeated, his mind already working. “That’s how he does it…”
“Have you tried to counter-act their effect yet?” Loki asked, although he already knew the answer.
“We didn’t know how the parasite was affecting our friend,” Thor admitted.
“Predictable,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Your memory has ever been selective. Now, depending on how long Stark has been under the influence, it may require some finesse to overcome the pheromones currently controlling his body, and thus affecting his mind on a primal level. I have never seen what they do to humans, but I would wager it won’t be long before he’s crawling on all fours…”
“I’m glad you’re entertained by this,” Hawkeye growled. “I’ll be sure to be there when you try to get to Stark and get a face full of Iron Man’s Unibeam.”
Loki pursed his lips. Yes, there was that… “We must clear the pheromones in his system. Not a simple feat, seeing as they’ve already bonded with his biology. However, I think it will be easier to take the simple route to success.”
“Which is?” the Captain asked impatiently.
“Create a pheromone that is stronger and will… how shall I put it… lure him to us instead. At this point re-directing his instincts will be easier than purging his mind of their effect.”
“We need a lab,” Banner noted.
“And suitable pheromone sources, preferably human,” Loki added. He looked at the five Avengers and smiled. “I think this will work nicely.” He took special pleasure in the way the Avengers exchanged an uncertain look amongst themselves.
- - -
“You are certain this will work?” Steve asked.
“In theory, it should,” Bruce nodded.
They were headed back to the Avengers Tower in a Quinjet after spending the better part of a day in the best S.H.I.E.L.D. lab NYC had to offer. They had hurried the process along and Steve hoped they wouldn’t blow this; they might not get another chance.
Human pheromones were far more subtle than most of those found in the animal kingdom, even Steve knew that. Far weaker than the kind the alien had been using on Tony. With a little mixing, Bruce thought he and the other scientists had what it would take to temporarily veer Tony away from the alien, so that he would lower his guard and let them help him.
It had been a long debate as to whose samples were the best to use as a basis for the pheromone; Thor’s may have been too alien although more potent, Steve’s might work in unexpected ways, the gamma radiation may affect the result from Bruce’s and Clint and Natasha’s were too weak on their own, according to Loki. Whether he had been right would remain to be seen, after all their samples had been mixed together in something that would hopefully work.
Steve could admit he didn’t even try to understand the process but he hoped it would give them an opening nonetheless. He didn’t want to try and knock Tony out just to deal with J.A.R.V.I.S. trying to protect his creator.
As Clint landed the Quinjet on the helipad outside the main floor, the entire Tower seemed eerily quiet. Steve knew there was no way he could know that, but he had a feeling Tony would have barricaded himself and his alien lover into the building with considerable effort after managing to get rid of the Avengers.
“I called Pepper,” Bruce noted as the engines shut down. “I told her to stay away until we gave the all clear, just in case. She said the building’s on lock-down, which means J.A.R.V.I.S. is in control of the area.”
“Great,” Clint muttered as he got out, his bow out and fingers ready as he studied the wide windows. They were opaque, not giving them a glimpse of what lay inside. Steve shifted his shield and knew they would have to break their way in. Once again he made sure he had the spray at the ready and out of harm’s way, then nodded at Thor who descended from the Quinjet with Loki.
“He doesn’t have to be here,” Bruce muttered.
“I know, but would you rather leave him in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and hope he doesn’t escape?” Steve asked, giving the God of Mischief a warning look.
“Thor better keep him in line,” Bruce growled. “The other guy isn’t in a good mood; he knows something’s off.”
“Just make sure he won’t take it out on Tony,” Steve said then set out towards the door. The glass was reinforced, in the aftermath of several attacks on the Tower, but his shield would smash through with ease; Tony hadn’t yet found a substance hard enough to repel vibranium.
Before Steve could make it to the wide glass wall, however, a blast hit the concrete before his feet and Iron Man flew into view, weapons at the ready. “I told you to stay away,” Tony warned them through the speakers.
“He’s in the suit,” Clint noted needlessly; this had been something they had all hoped to avoid.
“Take him down,” Steve ordered. He didn’t need to add ‘carefully’ or ‘gently’, knowing his team knew what he meant.
That gave Tony all the encouragement he needed to open fire on them. Steve threw up his shield and wondered if Bruce was already changing or looking for cover. There was no inhuman growl or sounds of pain, however, so he guessed it was the latter.
Clint fired then dodged out of the way of a repulsor blast. Natasha was looking for a vantage point, pulling Loki behind the Quinjet with her. Thor, on the other hand, readily met Tony in battle, rising into the air and slamming Mjolnir at the armored chest. Iron Man flew backwards, into the wall above the windows, then shot back, igniting the air around Thor.
Steve took that moment to dash forward and send his shield flying. It smashed into the glass doors and sent them crashing to the floor in shards, opening for them a way in. He looked back, to motion the others to follow, then felt heat a fraction of a second before a repulsor blast hit him and threw him into the air.
Gravity gripped him and he felt the wind for an instant before he felt something loop around his ankle and found himself hanging face down over the long fall to the ground. He looked up, seeing Clint holding his weight with some trouble. As smoothly as he could, Steve lifted his body upwards, muscles straining, and grasped the lightweight cable, starting to climb back up.
By the time he reached the ledge again, Bruce and Natasha had joined Clint in holding his weight. Above them, Thor and Iron Man were going at each other, yet Steve could tell Thor was holding back because he hadn’t summoned the lightning yet. They all knew Tony’s suit could take it, but it was always a risk.
“Let’s get inside,” Natasha said. “Thor will meet us there.”
Steve nodded, not questioning the new plan of action. He took the lead, picking up his shield on the way, the others following him. The space was eerily quiet - too quiet. “J.A.R.V.I.S.?” Steve called out. He suddenly wondered what kind of defenses Tony had installed inside the building - or how many operational suits he had here that the AI could remotely control.
“Captain Rogers,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
“I need you to help us,” Steve pleaded, although he knew his orders would never override Tony’s.
“Mr. Stark has instructed me to engage in full lock-down. No one is allowed to enter without his express command.”
“He’s not well,” Bruce interrupted. “You must know that. You helped him discover his… condition.”
There was a pause. “Mr. Stark’s wellbeing is my first priority,” the AI cited.
“Just… don’t do anything,” Steve tried to bargain. “You don’t have to help us, but don’t help Tony hurt himself. Please.”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Captain,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied and Steve wondered what that meant. Perhaps J.A.R.V.I.S. was still processing their request, trying to calculate all the variables.
Before they could say anything else, though, Iron Man came crashing through the windows, rolling across the floor. Thor flew in after him, burn marks on his armor but appearing otherwise unharmed. This was their chance, Steve knew it, and he dashed forward, yet didn’t know if he could actually hold Tony down while he was wearing the suit.
Thor moved forward just as he did, raising Mjolnir.
“Thor, no!” Steve cried out, fearing Thor may have lost their objective in the heat of the battle, which sometimes happened; Tony was in there, confused, and if they hurt him it would hang over them for the rest of their lives.
However, instead of striking down, Thor simply lowered the hammer on top of Tony’s chest - then let go.
With a hard thump, Tony’s upper body crashed into the floor where he had been trying to get up and back into the fight. He struggled for a moment, like a tortoise on its back, trying to dislodge the hammer but failing at it. “What, you’re too afraid to fight fair with me?” Tony snarled at Thor. “Pick it up and we’ll go again, Thunderclap!”
“No,” Thor said and stepped forward.
“Fine,” Tony grunted and lifted his arm, clearly prepared to take a shot at Thor anyway. “J.A.R.V.I.S., you know what to do.”
“Sir, your body is reacting to the stress. I do not advise continuing this battle.”
Tony had never been particularly good at heading warnings. He fired, although Thor managed to dodge it at the last moment. A piece of the wall exploded next to the already broken windows. Tony renewed his struggles, trying to shift Mjolnir or wriggle out from beneath it, then suddenly froze. His body jerked, the movement partially hidden by the armor but it was clear J.A.R.V.I.S.’s earlier concern was becoming imminent.
“Get the helmet off him,” Loki ordered from the side, joining them indoors. Steve looked at him as he approached, having expected him to bail as soon as their attention was on Tony.
The suit hissed and the mechanism holding the helmet together released, allowing Natasha to tug it off.
Tony’s eyes were closed tight, his body jerking. A faint trail of blood was coming from his nose, either a result from the battle or whatever was going on.
“Seizure,” Bruce noted. “Quickly, spray him and we’ll get him out of the armor.”
Steve reached for the spray, for a second fearing he might have dropped it as he almost fell to his death earlier, but it was still at his belt and he tugged it free, opening the safety lid and giving it to Bruce. The scientist moved closer to Tony’s face, who promptly opened his eyes as if alerted by the proximity. One armored hand came up, trying to fight, but Bruce placed one knee on top of it, leaning his weight on the limb before he released the spray on Tony’s face.
Arching his face away, Tony sputtered and sniffed, drawing in harsh breaths then sneezed harshly. “What the fuck?” he started, then blinked, eyes watery and confused. “What…?”
“Take the suit off,” Bruce said quickly, already looking for the hidden latches that helped with the manual removal of the armor; Tony had shared those details with select members of the Avengers, usually in tight conditions, and Steve moved to help him, piece by piece freeing Tony from the armor.
Their teammate looked dazed and confused, his body still tense from obvious pain. He sniffed at the air - at Steve’s neck, he noticed, as he dragged Tony away from the disassembled armor. “You smell nice,” Tony murmured, almost dreamily.
“I think it’s working,” Bruce smiled.
Tony turned his eyes at him and beamed. “Hey, Doctor.”
“Hey yourself,” Bruce replied, quickly grasping Tony’s hand before letting go. “Okay, we need to find the alien before it manages to get away.”
“I’ve got this,” Natasha said, moving forward, allowing Steve to move up. Tony looked at her, inhaled, conflict on his features but something else seemed to be taking over. She pushed her gloved fingers into his hair and he closed his eyes, body jerking slightly as another wave of pain must have passed through him.
“What’s wrong with him?” Clint asked.
“His physiology isn’t meant to handle whatever it’s going through,” Bruce started.
“Many of the beings these parasites bred with didn’t make it through the forced pregnancy,” Loki agreed.
“Because they were males?” Steve guessed.
“Not necessarily,” Loki shook his head. “Some of them simply lacked the strength to take the stress on their bodies. I think I don’t need to tell you Stark needs medical attention at your earliest convenience?”
“We got that,” Natasha bit back a more creative reply. “We’ll take care of you,” she said to Tony then, who smiled briefly then frowned, as if uncertain whether that was the right response.
“Okay, where’s that tentacle head?” Clint asked, arrow notched and ready to fire. “Hiding beneath the bed? So much for mates protecting each other.”
“Search the area. We must find it,” Steve ordered.
“I’ll go search for a sedative - it might ease the seizures,” Bruce said, looking at Tony with some concern.
“He was doing fine in battle,” Thor mused.
“The sudden stress might have worsened his condition at a rapid pace. It doesn’t matter; we need to get him to a hospital,” Bruce noted then froze, sniffing - just as Tony did. He turned to look towards the other end of the room, the others following his gaze. The alien stood there, looking rather pissed, tentacles jerking and clawed fingers moving like talons eager to grab onto its next prey.
“He is mine,” it hissed.
“Come and get him,” Clint replied and shot.
It was rare that he missed, but the alien dodged, lightning fast, moving down and across the floor. Steve moved to intercept it, determined that its slippery touch wouldn’t reach Tony ever again. He would cut off every single tentacle if that’s what it took. The shield hit the alien hard but the tentacles crawled over the edges and Steve had to roll to the side to keep his balance. He hadn’t thought the alien was this strong, having cowered behind Tony’s back during earlier conflicts. Apparently that was the impression it had wanted to make.
“No!” Tony shouted suddenly, breaking Steve’s concentration. He was struggling in Natasha’s hold, eyes wide and panicked. Clearly their version of the pheromones hadn’t quite shaken the hold the alien had on him. As long as he couldn’t get in the way of what needed to be done, though, his cries were the price they had to pay for acting too slowly.
Clint shot at the alien again, catching one of the tentacles this time, making the creature hiss and pull the arrow free, snapping the shaft in two. It moved fast, then, making Clint swear and put away his bow; the target was too close, it was a wasted effort to try and get a shot. He took out a knife instead, planning on going at it the easy way.
“Get Tony out of here!” Steve ordered and the alien let out an angry howl. The air tasted strange for a moment and Tony doubled his efforts to get free, seizures forgotten; he elbowed Natasha hard in the face, making her fall backwards. Thor moved to subdue him before anything worse could happen, hauling Tony bodily up and away.
“Let me go!” Tony shoved at the Asgardian. “You can’t hurt him! I can’t… I can’t be without him.”
“Trust me, you can,” Natasha replied, wiping blood from a wound on her brow.
The alien dashed forward, after Tony, and Steve sprang after it, both of them falling to the ground. He drew his arm back for a punch then felt razor-sharp teeth sink into his neck. He brought his shield up instead, at an awkward angle, dislodging the alien’s hold. He could feel the blood pouring out along his skin and rolled to his stomach, trying to get up. “Cap!” Clint shouted, “I’ve got this. Just… don’t bleed to death or anything.”
It was perhaps supposed to be funny but the entire side of Steve’s face and neck were on fire. Trust that alien creature to have some kind of venom in its teeth. The serum was already battling it, he could feel it, but he wasn’t getting to his feet anytime soon.
Steve looked up just in time to see Clint lunge at their slippery opponent, sliding his knife deep into its side, almost cutting one larger tentacle loose. The alien screeched and reached back with another two tentacles, grasping Clint by the throat and slamming him hard into the floor.
With the knife still embedded in its side, the alien moved forward. Tony was still struggling, keeping Thor busy. Steve knew it had more to do with an attempt to not hurt Tony rather than lacking strength or a firm hold.
Natasha turned to face the alien, a blue spark flashing over the Widow’s Bite bracelets. “Come and get him, you slick scum,” she taunted, crouching low.
“Please don’t hurt him,” Tony pleaded, his voice so broken, so honest, as if they were trying to take someone he truly loved from him. If Steve didn’t know better - he hoped they were right - he would have regretted all of this.
Before the alien could reach Natasha and try to get past her, the floor suddenly bulged and then broke apart as the Hulk smashed through it, sending Natasha and the alien flying in opposite directions. Chest heaving and breaths hard, the Hulk followed the alien, then without a word or even a snarl he seized it by its head, lifted it up and smashed it down, then stepped on the wriggling, struggling body. A squishy sound followed, swiftly echoed by a crunch.
“No!” Tony howled then began to sob uncontrollably. Thor turned his body away, shielding him from the vision of the Hulk viciously stomping on the now-dead alien, reducing it to little more than a stain on the floor.
“Well,” Loki commented from the side where he had retreated when the fight began, “that solves one problem.”
Steve grimaced, struggling up to his knees. His head was swimming and his body unstable, but he knew he could get to his feet if he really tried. The burn had already disappeared and as he pressed his fingers to where the wound had been, it felt like whole skin again.
Clint was picking himself up as well, coughing slightly and holding his throat. It looked like he might have severe bruising there soon, as if someone had tried to hang him. “I think it’s dead, big guy,” he called out to the Hulk.
The Hulk huffed angrily then stepped back, peering at the broken, destroyed body. “Smelly squid,” he commented then turned towards the direction of Thor and Tony’s somewhat weaker gasps of despair. “Shellhead smells wrong,” the Hulk pointed out then.
“We’ll fix that,” Steve promised him and the Hulk gave him a firm nod before he began to shrink and change color, letting Bruce emerge now that the danger had passed.
“I’ll tell S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medical to get here,” Natasha said and raised a comm device to her ear, looking worriedly at their distraught friend who clearly wasn’t anywhere near being himself.
to be continued…
→ Info ←
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Erotica, drama, suspense
Rating: MA / FRAO
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., Nick Fury, Loki, Pepper Potts, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Thor
Pairings: Tony/OMC. Brief Tony/OFC/OMC. Implied past Pepper/Tony. OT6 (Bruce/Clint/Natasha/Steve/Thor/Tony) if you squint.
Summary: Tony disappears for days and returns with a rather unlikely companion, whom Tony then viciously protects from anyone who tries to separate them. Thor claims the alien is controlling Tony’s mind - but that is only the first of many problems the Avengers and Tony will be facing.
Complete.
Written for: Tentacle Big Bang (tentaclebigbang)
Also filling the “mind control” square on my card in Trope Bingo’s Round 1.
Artist: swcajolings / ART
Warnings: Sexual content between human/alien males (includes tentacles), brief het and slash threesome content (between humans), dubious consent/rape (sex while drugged/mind-controlled), (unwanted) male pregnancy, abortion, violence.
~ ~ ~
9: Aggregation
Steve knew that whatever he said or did next would ignite the situation in a heartbeat. Most of the Avengers weren’t armed; he didn’t have his shield and while Clint and Natasha had weapons and Thor his hammer, he couldn’t risk this getting out of hand. If Bruce snapped and let the Hulk out - and if the Hulk for whatever reason didn’t recognize Tony or ended up hurting him…
“There’s no need for anyone to get hurt,” Steve said, spreading his hands. “We won’t fight you, of course not.”
“You will leave?” Tony asked.
“This is our home -” Steve argued although that wasn’t what mattered right now. They could stay at dozens of places but what he wanted was to stay close to Tony and sort this out. The change had happened way too fast, there was no way it was natural. Whatever the alien had done to Tony’s mind, to make him go back on what he had previously vowed to do… He didn’t dare to imagine the lengths the alien could force their friend.
“I want you gone, all of you,” Tony declared. The Iron Man armor took a step, raising one arm. No weapons were exposed yet although the repulsor glowed slightly brighter.
Steve raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay! We’re leaving.” He motioned at the others. “Right now, out. All of you.”
Bruce looked like he might disagree but after a brief wordless battle against Steve’s determined look, he joined the others at the main elevator. Tony watched them go and there was no mistaking the look of satisfaction on the alien’s face as the doors closed between them.
“What are we going to do now?” Clint asked when they were in the garage.
“We need help,” Thor announced.
“What we need is a plan,” Steve argued. Getting too many people involved would risk Tony’s health - more than it already was, clearly.
“My brother can help,” Thor went on, startling them all.
“Loki?” Clint exclaimed. “No way.”
“He has dealt with these parasites before,” Thor argued. “He knows how to counter-act their magic; of this I’m sure.”
“Magic?” Bruce frowned skeptically.
“I do not know how they control those under their will, but I have seen it before,” Thor nodded solemnly. “Magic or something else…”
Steve felt the others looking at him, prodding him to refuse Thor’s plan. “We need to resolve this quickly,” he mused. There was no telling what those eggs would do to Tony if they stayed in his body long enough. “What happened to the others that these parasites… impregnated?” he asked, cringing slightly at the word.
“Of what I have heard and witnessed, most of them died,” Thor replied. “We must make haste; if our friend can already feel the presence of the foul seed in his body, there is no time to waste.”
Steve nodded stiffly, closing his eyes. “You think Loki could help us?”
“As I spoke before, I am certain of it.”
“Then we’ll do that.”
“You can’t be serious,” Clint argued. “Look at all the times we’ve encountered him. Every time he’s tried to kill us; who’s to say he won’t use this opportunity to eliminate Tony instead of helping him?”
Steve looked at Thor, expecting the Asgardian to jump to his brother’s defense.
“Loki knows what danger these parasites pose to all living creatures in the existing worlds,” Thor said instead. “He will help us to get rid of this one.”
Clint grunted unhappily but Steve’s mind was set and they took his bike and two cars out of the garage, heading out to find a place where they could get a hold of Thor’s brother.
- - -
Loki had been rotting away in another one of Allfather’s creative prisons after his latest attempt to take back what was rightfully his. Thor and his Midgardian allies, once again, had thwarted his attempts - yet it somehow didn’t surprise him that it was because of them he was being set free and sent to Midgard to aid his brother in his most recent plight.
Thor had never quite accepted Loki’s hatred of him, and remained ever hopeful that one day Loki would turn back to the docile little child to whom everyone had lied about who he was and what he would become.
The Bifrost took him to New York City’s Central Park - a bittersweet location since this was the very spot from which Thor and he had departed for home, several years ago, after his first attempt to take over the Middle Realm.
The Avengers were there, save for one. “I see you are a man short,” Loki noted.
Captain America glanced at Thor and gave a minimal nod. Thor stepped forward, a grave look upon his face, and that alarmed Loki somewhat. “Brother, we require your help.”
“My help?” Loki repeated, looking at the four other defenders of Earth.
“You recall those parasites we have encountered before, traveling the known world and attempting to breed with whichever new species they come across,” Thor begun.
Loki shivered with repulsion. “The ones with tentacles? How could I forget? Disgusting creatures of lesser intelligence, only existing to share their genes and reproduce.”
“It seemed pretty intelligent to me,” Hawkeye argued. “Got rid of all of us by playing its cards right.”
Loki was beginning to think he saw where this was going. “Let me guess - Iron Man has finally met his match?”
It didn’t go unnoticed how unhappy Bruce Banner looked - or how tense the Captain’s jaw was.
“Iron Man is in grave danger,” Thor pushed on, dismissing the jibe. “One of the creatures has him under its influence and he cannot be reasoned with.”
Loki pursed his lips. “And you want me to do what?”
“To help,” Black Widow snapped as if it were obvious. “Can you do that?”
Loki scoffed. “You clearly lack the basic knowledge of this species - otherwise you wouldn’t require my presence. However, for a price I may be persuaded to -”
Banner had him by the throat before he could finish, lifting him up. His eyes were bleeding green, his grip shaky as if he were trying not to squeeze any harder. “You will help us or I will rip off your head right here,” he threatened.
“Well, when you put it like that,” Loki managed through the grip and was slowly let down. Banner looked him in the eye then shoved him back and returned to his place in the ring formed around him.
Captain America gave him a quick look then glanced at Loki again, not at all concerned by what had happened. “What do we need to understand about this alien species, in order to save our friend?”
“It is not a species, per se,” Loki started. “We do not know where they originally come from - or what they were originally like. Your visitor is no doubt a product of several cross-species, inheriting traits from many sources. What they seem to be driven to do, however, is to find the perfect combination - which would, eventually, conquer the world. A master-race. I do not believe they’ll ever manage that, seeing as they’ve already crossed between too many races to actually hold onto the best traits of any of them, but that is their biological imperative and that’s what your tentacle-covered friend is trying to do. It probably studied Earth for a time before coming down to find a suitable breeding ground. Tell me, is Stark already heavy with its eggs?” he asked, unable to keep from smiling.
“Yes,” Captain America snapped, voice devoid of patience or humor. “We need to… He was going to get rid of them before the alien changed his mind.”
“Ah,” Loki nodded. “Pheromones; they are so very effective once they take hold.”
“Pheromones?” Banner repeated, his mind already working. “That’s how he does it…”
“Have you tried to counter-act their effect yet?” Loki asked, although he already knew the answer.
“We didn’t know how the parasite was affecting our friend,” Thor admitted.
“Predictable,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Your memory has ever been selective. Now, depending on how long Stark has been under the influence, it may require some finesse to overcome the pheromones currently controlling his body, and thus affecting his mind on a primal level. I have never seen what they do to humans, but I would wager it won’t be long before he’s crawling on all fours…”
“I’m glad you’re entertained by this,” Hawkeye growled. “I’ll be sure to be there when you try to get to Stark and get a face full of Iron Man’s Unibeam.”
Loki pursed his lips. Yes, there was that… “We must clear the pheromones in his system. Not a simple feat, seeing as they’ve already bonded with his biology. However, I think it will be easier to take the simple route to success.”
“Which is?” the Captain asked impatiently.
“Create a pheromone that is stronger and will… how shall I put it… lure him to us instead. At this point re-directing his instincts will be easier than purging his mind of their effect.”
“We need a lab,” Banner noted.
“And suitable pheromone sources, preferably human,” Loki added. He looked at the five Avengers and smiled. “I think this will work nicely.” He took special pleasure in the way the Avengers exchanged an uncertain look amongst themselves.
- - -
“You are certain this will work?” Steve asked.
“In theory, it should,” Bruce nodded.
They were headed back to the Avengers Tower in a Quinjet after spending the better part of a day in the best S.H.I.E.L.D. lab NYC had to offer. They had hurried the process along and Steve hoped they wouldn’t blow this; they might not get another chance.
Human pheromones were far more subtle than most of those found in the animal kingdom, even Steve knew that. Far weaker than the kind the alien had been using on Tony. With a little mixing, Bruce thought he and the other scientists had what it would take to temporarily veer Tony away from the alien, so that he would lower his guard and let them help him.
It had been a long debate as to whose samples were the best to use as a basis for the pheromone; Thor’s may have been too alien although more potent, Steve’s might work in unexpected ways, the gamma radiation may affect the result from Bruce’s and Clint and Natasha’s were too weak on their own, according to Loki. Whether he had been right would remain to be seen, after all their samples had been mixed together in something that would hopefully work.
Steve could admit he didn’t even try to understand the process but he hoped it would give them an opening nonetheless. He didn’t want to try and knock Tony out just to deal with J.A.R.V.I.S. trying to protect his creator.
As Clint landed the Quinjet on the helipad outside the main floor, the entire Tower seemed eerily quiet. Steve knew there was no way he could know that, but he had a feeling Tony would have barricaded himself and his alien lover into the building with considerable effort after managing to get rid of the Avengers.
“I called Pepper,” Bruce noted as the engines shut down. “I told her to stay away until we gave the all clear, just in case. She said the building’s on lock-down, which means J.A.R.V.I.S. is in control of the area.”
“Great,” Clint muttered as he got out, his bow out and fingers ready as he studied the wide windows. They were opaque, not giving them a glimpse of what lay inside. Steve shifted his shield and knew they would have to break their way in. Once again he made sure he had the spray at the ready and out of harm’s way, then nodded at Thor who descended from the Quinjet with Loki.
“He doesn’t have to be here,” Bruce muttered.
“I know, but would you rather leave him in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and hope he doesn’t escape?” Steve asked, giving the God of Mischief a warning look.
“Thor better keep him in line,” Bruce growled. “The other guy isn’t in a good mood; he knows something’s off.”
“Just make sure he won’t take it out on Tony,” Steve said then set out towards the door. The glass was reinforced, in the aftermath of several attacks on the Tower, but his shield would smash through with ease; Tony hadn’t yet found a substance hard enough to repel vibranium.
Before Steve could make it to the wide glass wall, however, a blast hit the concrete before his feet and Iron Man flew into view, weapons at the ready. “I told you to stay away,” Tony warned them through the speakers.
“He’s in the suit,” Clint noted needlessly; this had been something they had all hoped to avoid.
“Take him down,” Steve ordered. He didn’t need to add ‘carefully’ or ‘gently’, knowing his team knew what he meant.
That gave Tony all the encouragement he needed to open fire on them. Steve threw up his shield and wondered if Bruce was already changing or looking for cover. There was no inhuman growl or sounds of pain, however, so he guessed it was the latter.
Clint fired then dodged out of the way of a repulsor blast. Natasha was looking for a vantage point, pulling Loki behind the Quinjet with her. Thor, on the other hand, readily met Tony in battle, rising into the air and slamming Mjolnir at the armored chest. Iron Man flew backwards, into the wall above the windows, then shot back, igniting the air around Thor.
Steve took that moment to dash forward and send his shield flying. It smashed into the glass doors and sent them crashing to the floor in shards, opening for them a way in. He looked back, to motion the others to follow, then felt heat a fraction of a second before a repulsor blast hit him and threw him into the air.
Gravity gripped him and he felt the wind for an instant before he felt something loop around his ankle and found himself hanging face down over the long fall to the ground. He looked up, seeing Clint holding his weight with some trouble. As smoothly as he could, Steve lifted his body upwards, muscles straining, and grasped the lightweight cable, starting to climb back up.
By the time he reached the ledge again, Bruce and Natasha had joined Clint in holding his weight. Above them, Thor and Iron Man were going at each other, yet Steve could tell Thor was holding back because he hadn’t summoned the lightning yet. They all knew Tony’s suit could take it, but it was always a risk.
“Let’s get inside,” Natasha said. “Thor will meet us there.”
Steve nodded, not questioning the new plan of action. He took the lead, picking up his shield on the way, the others following him. The space was eerily quiet - too quiet. “J.A.R.V.I.S.?” Steve called out. He suddenly wondered what kind of defenses Tony had installed inside the building - or how many operational suits he had here that the AI could remotely control.
“Captain Rogers,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
“I need you to help us,” Steve pleaded, although he knew his orders would never override Tony’s.
“Mr. Stark has instructed me to engage in full lock-down. No one is allowed to enter without his express command.”
“He’s not well,” Bruce interrupted. “You must know that. You helped him discover his… condition.”
There was a pause. “Mr. Stark’s wellbeing is my first priority,” the AI cited.
“Just… don’t do anything,” Steve tried to bargain. “You don’t have to help us, but don’t help Tony hurt himself. Please.”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Captain,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied and Steve wondered what that meant. Perhaps J.A.R.V.I.S. was still processing their request, trying to calculate all the variables.
Before they could say anything else, though, Iron Man came crashing through the windows, rolling across the floor. Thor flew in after him, burn marks on his armor but appearing otherwise unharmed. This was their chance, Steve knew it, and he dashed forward, yet didn’t know if he could actually hold Tony down while he was wearing the suit.
Thor moved forward just as he did, raising Mjolnir.
“Thor, no!” Steve cried out, fearing Thor may have lost their objective in the heat of the battle, which sometimes happened; Tony was in there, confused, and if they hurt him it would hang over them for the rest of their lives.
However, instead of striking down, Thor simply lowered the hammer on top of Tony’s chest - then let go.
With a hard thump, Tony’s upper body crashed into the floor where he had been trying to get up and back into the fight. He struggled for a moment, like a tortoise on its back, trying to dislodge the hammer but failing at it. “What, you’re too afraid to fight fair with me?” Tony snarled at Thor. “Pick it up and we’ll go again, Thunderclap!”
“No,” Thor said and stepped forward.
“Fine,” Tony grunted and lifted his arm, clearly prepared to take a shot at Thor anyway. “J.A.R.V.I.S., you know what to do.”
“Sir, your body is reacting to the stress. I do not advise continuing this battle.”
Tony had never been particularly good at heading warnings. He fired, although Thor managed to dodge it at the last moment. A piece of the wall exploded next to the already broken windows. Tony renewed his struggles, trying to shift Mjolnir or wriggle out from beneath it, then suddenly froze. His body jerked, the movement partially hidden by the armor but it was clear J.A.R.V.I.S.’s earlier concern was becoming imminent.
“Get the helmet off him,” Loki ordered from the side, joining them indoors. Steve looked at him as he approached, having expected him to bail as soon as their attention was on Tony.
The suit hissed and the mechanism holding the helmet together released, allowing Natasha to tug it off.
Tony’s eyes were closed tight, his body jerking. A faint trail of blood was coming from his nose, either a result from the battle or whatever was going on.
“Seizure,” Bruce noted. “Quickly, spray him and we’ll get him out of the armor.”
Steve reached for the spray, for a second fearing he might have dropped it as he almost fell to his death earlier, but it was still at his belt and he tugged it free, opening the safety lid and giving it to Bruce. The scientist moved closer to Tony’s face, who promptly opened his eyes as if alerted by the proximity. One armored hand came up, trying to fight, but Bruce placed one knee on top of it, leaning his weight on the limb before he released the spray on Tony’s face.
Arching his face away, Tony sputtered and sniffed, drawing in harsh breaths then sneezed harshly. “What the fuck?” he started, then blinked, eyes watery and confused. “What…?”
“Take the suit off,” Bruce said quickly, already looking for the hidden latches that helped with the manual removal of the armor; Tony had shared those details with select members of the Avengers, usually in tight conditions, and Steve moved to help him, piece by piece freeing Tony from the armor.
Their teammate looked dazed and confused, his body still tense from obvious pain. He sniffed at the air - at Steve’s neck, he noticed, as he dragged Tony away from the disassembled armor. “You smell nice,” Tony murmured, almost dreamily.
“I think it’s working,” Bruce smiled.
Tony turned his eyes at him and beamed. “Hey, Doctor.”
“Hey yourself,” Bruce replied, quickly grasping Tony’s hand before letting go. “Okay, we need to find the alien before it manages to get away.”
“I’ve got this,” Natasha said, moving forward, allowing Steve to move up. Tony looked at her, inhaled, conflict on his features but something else seemed to be taking over. She pushed her gloved fingers into his hair and he closed his eyes, body jerking slightly as another wave of pain must have passed through him.
“What’s wrong with him?” Clint asked.
“His physiology isn’t meant to handle whatever it’s going through,” Bruce started.
“Many of the beings these parasites bred with didn’t make it through the forced pregnancy,” Loki agreed.
“Because they were males?” Steve guessed.
“Not necessarily,” Loki shook his head. “Some of them simply lacked the strength to take the stress on their bodies. I think I don’t need to tell you Stark needs medical attention at your earliest convenience?”
“We got that,” Natasha bit back a more creative reply. “We’ll take care of you,” she said to Tony then, who smiled briefly then frowned, as if uncertain whether that was the right response.
“Okay, where’s that tentacle head?” Clint asked, arrow notched and ready to fire. “Hiding beneath the bed? So much for mates protecting each other.”
“Search the area. We must find it,” Steve ordered.
“I’ll go search for a sedative - it might ease the seizures,” Bruce said, looking at Tony with some concern.
“He was doing fine in battle,” Thor mused.
“The sudden stress might have worsened his condition at a rapid pace. It doesn’t matter; we need to get him to a hospital,” Bruce noted then froze, sniffing - just as Tony did. He turned to look towards the other end of the room, the others following his gaze. The alien stood there, looking rather pissed, tentacles jerking and clawed fingers moving like talons eager to grab onto its next prey.
“He is mine,” it hissed.
“Come and get him,” Clint replied and shot.
It was rare that he missed, but the alien dodged, lightning fast, moving down and across the floor. Steve moved to intercept it, determined that its slippery touch wouldn’t reach Tony ever again. He would cut off every single tentacle if that’s what it took. The shield hit the alien hard but the tentacles crawled over the edges and Steve had to roll to the side to keep his balance. He hadn’t thought the alien was this strong, having cowered behind Tony’s back during earlier conflicts. Apparently that was the impression it had wanted to make.
“No!” Tony shouted suddenly, breaking Steve’s concentration. He was struggling in Natasha’s hold, eyes wide and panicked. Clearly their version of the pheromones hadn’t quite shaken the hold the alien had on him. As long as he couldn’t get in the way of what needed to be done, though, his cries were the price they had to pay for acting too slowly.
Clint shot at the alien again, catching one of the tentacles this time, making the creature hiss and pull the arrow free, snapping the shaft in two. It moved fast, then, making Clint swear and put away his bow; the target was too close, it was a wasted effort to try and get a shot. He took out a knife instead, planning on going at it the easy way.
“Get Tony out of here!” Steve ordered and the alien let out an angry howl. The air tasted strange for a moment and Tony doubled his efforts to get free, seizures forgotten; he elbowed Natasha hard in the face, making her fall backwards. Thor moved to subdue him before anything worse could happen, hauling Tony bodily up and away.
“Let me go!” Tony shoved at the Asgardian. “You can’t hurt him! I can’t… I can’t be without him.”
“Trust me, you can,” Natasha replied, wiping blood from a wound on her brow.
The alien dashed forward, after Tony, and Steve sprang after it, both of them falling to the ground. He drew his arm back for a punch then felt razor-sharp teeth sink into his neck. He brought his shield up instead, at an awkward angle, dislodging the alien’s hold. He could feel the blood pouring out along his skin and rolled to his stomach, trying to get up. “Cap!” Clint shouted, “I’ve got this. Just… don’t bleed to death or anything.”
It was perhaps supposed to be funny but the entire side of Steve’s face and neck were on fire. Trust that alien creature to have some kind of venom in its teeth. The serum was already battling it, he could feel it, but he wasn’t getting to his feet anytime soon.
Steve looked up just in time to see Clint lunge at their slippery opponent, sliding his knife deep into its side, almost cutting one larger tentacle loose. The alien screeched and reached back with another two tentacles, grasping Clint by the throat and slamming him hard into the floor.
With the knife still embedded in its side, the alien moved forward. Tony was still struggling, keeping Thor busy. Steve knew it had more to do with an attempt to not hurt Tony rather than lacking strength or a firm hold.
Natasha turned to face the alien, a blue spark flashing over the Widow’s Bite bracelets. “Come and get him, you slick scum,” she taunted, crouching low.
“Please don’t hurt him,” Tony pleaded, his voice so broken, so honest, as if they were trying to take someone he truly loved from him. If Steve didn’t know better - he hoped they were right - he would have regretted all of this.
Before the alien could reach Natasha and try to get past her, the floor suddenly bulged and then broke apart as the Hulk smashed through it, sending Natasha and the alien flying in opposite directions. Chest heaving and breaths hard, the Hulk followed the alien, then without a word or even a snarl he seized it by its head, lifted it up and smashed it down, then stepped on the wriggling, struggling body. A squishy sound followed, swiftly echoed by a crunch.
“No!” Tony howled then began to sob uncontrollably. Thor turned his body away, shielding him from the vision of the Hulk viciously stomping on the now-dead alien, reducing it to little more than a stain on the floor.
“Well,” Loki commented from the side where he had retreated when the fight began, “that solves one problem.”
Steve grimaced, struggling up to his knees. His head was swimming and his body unstable, but he knew he could get to his feet if he really tried. The burn had already disappeared and as he pressed his fingers to where the wound had been, it felt like whole skin again.
Clint was picking himself up as well, coughing slightly and holding his throat. It looked like he might have severe bruising there soon, as if someone had tried to hang him. “I think it’s dead, big guy,” he called out to the Hulk.
The Hulk huffed angrily then stepped back, peering at the broken, destroyed body. “Smelly squid,” he commented then turned towards the direction of Thor and Tony’s somewhat weaker gasps of despair. “Shellhead smells wrong,” the Hulk pointed out then.
“We’ll fix that,” Steve promised him and the Hulk gave him a firm nod before he began to shrink and change color, letting Bruce emerge now that the danger had passed.
“I’ll tell S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medical to get here,” Natasha said and raised a comm device to her ear, looking worriedly at their distraught friend who clearly wasn’t anywhere near being himself.
to be continued…
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