FIC: Deux ex Machina (1/4)
Title: Deus ex Machina
Author: WinterofourDiscontent
Beta by LaReineNoire, TheMegaloo, and AnalineBlue
Characters/Pairings: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts, Justin Hammer, misc others
Rating: PG-13
Word count:
Warnings:: none
Disclaimer: Avengers are property of Marvel, Greek Mythology is public domain
Summary: By the time Steve noticed something was definitely off about this particular rescue, the sea serpent was hitting on him. MCU!Avengers/Greek Mythology fusion.
A/N: My second Avengers/Mythology crossover, this one is inspired by Perseus and Andromeda. Very, very loosely. It exists in a different universe than The Mind Has Mazes, though they share narrative DNA.
Since I’m setting it in an explicitly mythological Greek rather than historical Greek setting, historical accuracy was not a priority, honestly, considering I’m crossing it with Marvel it’s pretty much an impossibility, though I’ve tried to avoid anything distractingly anachronistic. Special thanks to my crack team of beta ninjas, though any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.
On AO3 or under
***
The first sign that something was off was when he met the human sacrifice.
Though in retrospect, the flippant attitude of the king when he arrived should have been a clue. It had seemed straightforward enough at the time: sea monster attacking the coast of Aethiopia, about to be appeased with a virgin sacrifice. Save the girl, kill the monster… nothing he hadn’t done a time or two before.
He’d been furious to find out how long they’d waited to ask for him; the latest sacrifice had been tied to the rock only that morning, and it would be a struggle to make it in time.
It had bothered Steve at the time, a king should care about his people first, but there’d been a clear and present danger.
“The fate of one woman is unfortunate." King Justin had said, somewhat sanctimoniously. "But if this monster’s attacks continue my entire kingdom will suffer. My concern is for the greater good.”
So yes, he should have noticed something sooner, but instead his first inkling was finding the sacrifice so... unconcerned with the whole state of affairs. Usually they were screaming. Or at least worried. Perturbed, perhaps. “Here to rescue you, Miss.”
“Untying me would be lovely, thank you.”
Steve did as he was bid, freeing the redheaded woman from the boulder she’d been lashed to and very deliberately not looking at or touching any more of her body than was necessary.
“There are clothes hidden under that rock,” she said, indicating a direction with her head as she rubbed feeling back into her wrists and ankles. “Dammit, it must have shifted in the storm last week.”
So she’d had clothes hidden here for over a week, waiting for her to be unsuccessfully sacrificed to a sea serpent? Something was definitely up.
Steve could just see the edge of cloth peeking out from underneath a rock easily half the size of the one she’d been tied to. He braced himself as best he could in the sand and pushed with his shoulder, sending the stone rolling a few feet away. Steve grabbed the fabric bundle and turned to see the woman staring at him.
“That rock must have weighed a few hundred pounds.”
He tossed the bag to her, then politely turned so she could dress. “I’m stronger than I look, Miss.”
“You can quit facing away, I’m clothed now.”
Steve turned back to see her giving him a considering look. She seemed just as in control of the situation clothed as she had been while naked, but it was a great deal easier to talk to her when he didn’t have to worry about accidentally looking anywhere but her eyes.
“I’m Pepper. Thank you for untying me.”
“Happy to help, Miss Pepper. My name is Steve.” Her eyes widened slightly, clearly putting together his general appearance, the rescue, and the round shield strapped to his back. “Uhh, yes, that Steve.” He always found it a bit embarrassing when people had heard of him.
“Wow, it’s… an honor, Steve, it really is. Something I’ll tell my children about. But you should probably be going now.” She turned away from him and began scanning the sea.
“With respect, miss, you should probably head back to the capital now, I’m sure they’ll all be happy you’re safe.”
“Oh, I’m sure Justin would be overjoyed to see me again, but no. I’m fine here, all untied, clothed, and safe, I’m sure you have other monsters to slay, people to rescue…” She actually made a shooing motion with her hands.
“There’s still a sea serpent out there killing people.”
“Of course. He didn’t send you to rescue me at all, did he.” It wasn’t a question. “He sent you to kill the sea serpent.”
“I’m not his servant, Miss, I go where I’m needed.”
It was then that the monster appeared.
Its body was a sinuous line of red and gold, gleaming in the sunlight. Because of the churning of the sea around it, it was impossible to gauge the creature’s full size, but the at least twenty feet of monster about the waves suggested a great deal more lurked below it. Plumes of smoke issued from the nostrils of a head that could have easily swallowed men whole, and its eyes glowed bluer than the sky.
Without thinking, Steve moved so that Pepper was behind him and his shield in front of them both, in case the creature breathed fire.
“Dammit, of all the times to be fashionably late…” Pepper yelled from behind his back. She gripped Steve’s arm hard enough that it would have hurt if he’d been a normal mortal. “Please, don’t try anything. He’s not going to hurt us.”
“With all due respect…”
“And Tony, don’t you dare breathe fire, I’m know you like showing off but this is Not The Time.”
“Pepper…” the monster said. Its voice had a strange resonant quality, a cross between a cave echo and a metal horn.
“Don’t you ‘Pepper’ me, Tony,” she said, stepping out from behind Steve. “I have been chained to a rock all morning I have been chained to a rock all morning naked, which I suspect is somehow also your fault.”
Steve looked back and forth between them. She looked annoyed, standing with her legs spread slightly apart normal mortal. “Please, don’t try anything. He’s not going to hurt us.”
“With all due respect…”
“And Tony, don’t you dare breathe fire, I’m know you like showingand her arms crossed, while the sea serpent seemed… Well, if a sea serpent could look contrite, then this one did.
“You two… know each other?” Pepper and the monster both turned their heads towards him, as though they’d only just remembered he was there.
“Well hello there, tall, blond, and demi-godly,” the monster said.
“Unfortunately,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes. “This idiot is my employer. Tony, come out of there. I’m getting a crick in my neck having to look up to yell at you.”
The serpent slowly laid its head and neck on the beach. The head settled ten feet away, curled in slightly so that it was still facing them. The blue light in its eyes dimmed, then ceased entirely. With a loud whirring noise, the head split open along the jawline, opening like a snake distending its jaw prior to eating. Instead of swallowing, though, it revealed a man seated at its centre, surrounded by levers, gears, and various unrecognisable bits of machinery.
“That’s… something,” Steve said.
Pepper seemed unsurprised.
(chapter break?)
The man at the center grinned at Steve, clearly pleased to have impressed him. He was well-built, dark-haired and handsome with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard.
He stepped carefully out of the monster’s head and made his way over to them. “If I’d known it would take Justin that long to pick you, Pep, I’d have had the Oracle suggest redheads sooner.” He glanced over at Steve thoughtfully. “Then again, maybe blonds…”
“And the naked part?” Pepper asked.
Tony shrugged. It would have been a more convincing denial if his mouth hadn’t been turned just slightly up at one corner. “Can’t imagine where they could have gotten an idea like that.”
“I think I’m owed some explanation,” Steve said firmly, re-securing his shield to his back and crossing his arms across his chest. “For…” he paused as he tried to think of how to phrase it, then gave up. “Everything.”
“Poseidon’s fishy balls, Pythagoras could write theorems about that jawline,” the man said with a hint of awe.
“Tony, quit thinking with your phallus.”
“Tony of Athens,” he said, holding out a hand.
“King Anthony of the Royal House of Athens,” Pepper corrected.
“...and this would be my trusted assistant Pepper, actual ruler of Athens.”
Steve looked at the outstretched hand, surprised. “You don’t expect me to kneel?” King Justin had, of course, not that Steve had complied. He knelt for gods, generally, but he’d never found a man he thought was worth kneeling to.
The king’s eyes roamed up and down his body and he could feel himself turning red under the frankly appreciative gaze. “Oh, I’ve no objection to that, but trust me, you’d be finding the sand unexpectedly for weeks. This one time, I...”
Steve interrupted him before he could go into any further details. “Hello, I’m Steve,” he said, grabbing King Anthony’s hand, pleased to discover the man had a firm and slightly callused grip. From operating the sea serpent, perhaps?
King Anthony’s body immediately went still, hand still clasped in Steve’s.
“Steve? Son of Zeus? Defeated the Red Skull? The Hydra? Protector of the downtrodden, etc etc… That Steve?
“Uhh, yes?”
The king glanced over at Pepper, seeking confirmation.
Pepper shrugged. “I saw him lift a heavy boulder like it was nothing, and there have been rumors he’s back. And he does have the shield.”
King Anthony took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, if you are Steve, you knew my father, Howard. Tell me something no one else would know about him.”
As soon as he’d mentioned Howard, Steve could see the resemblance. It was less the physical appearance, though they shared dark, wavy hair and brown eyes, and more the sheer charisma. Men would follow Howard anywhere, and he had a feeling the same must be true for Anthony.
Besides, you could tell a lot about a ruler by the quality of their retainers, and anyone who could convince a woman like Pepper to follow him was likely to be a man worth following.
And Howard… It really had been a long time. He’d really and truly been gone long enough for those he’d known to have grown children, and if Anthony was king now, to have passed into the underworld as shades.
He was alone.
Some of what he was feeling must have shown in his face, because Anthony and Pepper were both looking at him with expressions of concern.
“Okay, no, I am not going to be responsible for making a demigod cry. I do not want that on my record…” Anthony said, looking uncertain in a way that Steve might have found amusing under different circumstances.
“Sorry, it’s just… Howard, he… He was with me when Athena gave me this shield. I think he was jealous. He tried to… He tried to bargain with Athena. He was that kind of guy, the kind who’d try to charm a virgin goddess. The kind who could charm a virgin goddess. And he’s dead. Everyone I knew is dead now.”
“Yeah, he was… a guy…” Anthony said, his fingers drumming on the center of his chest for a moment as though to reassure himself. “Uhmm…” He leaned forward and put his hand on Steve’s shoulder tentatively. “Steve, can I call you Steve? You’re definitely Steve. Wow, those statues don’t do your arms justice. Remind me to have a word with the sculptors. ny said, looking uncertain in a way that Steve might have found amusing under different circumstances.
“Sorry, it’s just… Howard, he… He was with me when Athena gave me this shield. I think he was jealous. He tried to… He tried to bargain with Athena. He was that kind of guy, the kind who’d try to charm a virgin goddess. The kind who could charm a virgin goddess. And he’s dead. Everyone I knew is dead now.”
“Yeah, he was… a guy…” Anthony said, his fingers drumming on the center of his chest for a moment as though to reassure himself. “Uhmm…” He leaned forward and put his hand on Steve’s shoulder tentatively. “Steve, can I call you Steve? You’re definitely Steve. Wow, those statues don�ll me Tony. And I’d say it’s fine, but clearly it’s not fine, won’t bother lying. Seriously, the gods are assholes sometimes, no lie, but… uhm… There’s bound to be some good stuff now too, even if I could not quite currently name what it is, uhm… Less war now, or at least, that’s what I’m trying for, so that’s something, right? Hey, we’ve got indoor plumbing now, in Athens.”
Howard’s son was clearly insane, but there was something about the babble that was soothing. At least soothing enough for Steve to push the grief to the back of his mind for the time being. He took a deep breath. The motion caused Tony to pull back.
“I’ll make offerings for their shades later,” Steve said, voice unexpectedly firm. “Right now, I have a feeling I’m in the middle of something big.”
“Would you believe riding giant sea serpents is all the rage now?”
Steve crossed his arms and stared at Tony.
Tony shrugged. “Worth a shot. Okay, so… I’m guessing you’re not up on geopolitical events.”
“Tony…” Pepper said warningly.
“Oh come on, Pep, if we can’t trust Steve who can we trust?”
Pepper glared at both of them but didn’t argue.
Steve’s stomach chose that moment to grumble embarrassingly loudly. Apparently he was still readjusting to needing to eat again.
“Whoo boy, you keeping a minotaur in there?” Tony clapped his hands together. “And what kind of a host am I… the kind that forgets to pack food in his sea serpent, that’s what kind. Let’s head back to Athens, I have everything there. Food, maps, feather mattresses, everything.”
“Will there be enough room in there for all of us?” Pepper asked.
“Well, I wasn’t planning on a threesome when I built it, but…” Tony looked at both of them, then the monster’s head, and Steve swore he could see the gears turning. “We’ll fit. I hope we’re all feeling friendly.”
They fit… just barely, but the tight space meant Steve’s right side spent the journey pressed against Tony’s left, while Pepper stood to Tony’s right.
“So where are the other sacrifices?” Steve said, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the machinery.
“Took ‘em with me back to Athens,” Tony yelled back. “Offered them employment or a purse and a one way lift to wherever they wanted to go.”
“And none of them wanted to go back to Aethiopia?” He was pretty sure he believed Tony, but some independen
Author: WinterofourDiscontent
Beta by LaReineNoire, TheMegaloo, and AnalineBlue
Characters/Pairings: Tony Stark/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts, Justin Hammer, misc others
Rating: PG-13
Word count:
Warnings:: none
Disclaimer: Avengers are property of Marvel, Greek Mythology is public domain
Summary: By the time Steve noticed something was definitely off about this particular rescue, the sea serpent was hitting on him. MCU!Avengers/Greek Mythology fusion.
A/N: My second Avengers/Mythology crossover, this one is inspired by Perseus and Andromeda. Very, very loosely. It exists in a different universe than The Mind Has Mazes, though they share narrative DNA.
Since I’m setting it in an explicitly mythological Greek rather than historical Greek setting, historical accuracy was not a priority, honestly, considering I’m crossing it with Marvel it’s pretty much an impossibility, though I’ve tried to avoid anything distractingly anachronistic. Special thanks to my crack team of beta ninjas, though any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.
On AO3 or under
***
The first sign that something was off was when he met the human sacrifice.
Though in retrospect, the flippant attitude of the king when he arrived should have been a clue. It had seemed straightforward enough at the time: sea monster attacking the coast of Aethiopia, about to be appeased with a virgin sacrifice. Save the girl, kill the monster… nothing he hadn’t done a time or two before.
He’d been furious to find out how long they’d waited to ask for him; the latest sacrifice had been tied to the rock only that morning, and it would be a struggle to make it in time.
It had bothered Steve at the time, a king should care about his people first, but there’d been a clear and present danger.
“The fate of one woman is unfortunate." King Justin had said, somewhat sanctimoniously. "But if this monster’s attacks continue my entire kingdom will suffer. My concern is for the greater good.”
So yes, he should have noticed something sooner, but instead his first inkling was finding the sacrifice so... unconcerned with the whole state of affairs. Usually they were screaming. Or at least worried. Perturbed, perhaps. “Here to rescue you, Miss.”
“Untying me would be lovely, thank you.”
Steve did as he was bid, freeing the redheaded woman from the boulder she’d been lashed to and very deliberately not looking at or touching any more of her body than was necessary.
“There are clothes hidden under that rock,” she said, indicating a direction with her head as she rubbed feeling back into her wrists and ankles. “Dammit, it must have shifted in the storm last week.”
So she’d had clothes hidden here for over a week, waiting for her to be unsuccessfully sacrificed to a sea serpent? Something was definitely up.
Steve could just see the edge of cloth peeking out from underneath a rock easily half the size of the one she’d been tied to. He braced himself as best he could in the sand and pushed with his shoulder, sending the stone rolling a few feet away. Steve grabbed the fabric bundle and turned to see the woman staring at him.
“That rock must have weighed a few hundred pounds.”
He tossed the bag to her, then politely turned so she could dress. “I’m stronger than I look, Miss.”
“You can quit facing away, I’m clothed now.”
Steve turned back to see her giving him a considering look. She seemed just as in control of the situation clothed as she had been while naked, but it was a great deal easier to talk to her when he didn’t have to worry about accidentally looking anywhere but her eyes.
“I’m Pepper. Thank you for untying me.”
“Happy to help, Miss Pepper. My name is Steve.” Her eyes widened slightly, clearly putting together his general appearance, the rescue, and the round shield strapped to his back. “Uhh, yes, that Steve.” He always found it a bit embarrassing when people had heard of him.
“Wow, it’s… an honor, Steve, it really is. Something I’ll tell my children about. But you should probably be going now.” She turned away from him and began scanning the sea.
“With respect, miss, you should probably head back to the capital now, I’m sure they’ll all be happy you’re safe.”
“Oh, I’m sure Justin would be overjoyed to see me again, but no. I’m fine here, all untied, clothed, and safe, I’m sure you have other monsters to slay, people to rescue…” She actually made a shooing motion with her hands.
“There’s still a sea serpent out there killing people.”
“Of course. He didn’t send you to rescue me at all, did he.” It wasn’t a question. “He sent you to kill the sea serpent.”
“I’m not his servant, Miss, I go where I’m needed.”
It was then that the monster appeared.
Its body was a sinuous line of red and gold, gleaming in the sunlight. Because of the churning of the sea around it, it was impossible to gauge the creature’s full size, but the at least twenty feet of monster about the waves suggested a great deal more lurked below it. Plumes of smoke issued from the nostrils of a head that could have easily swallowed men whole, and its eyes glowed bluer than the sky.
Without thinking, Steve moved so that Pepper was behind him and his shield in front of them both, in case the creature breathed fire.
“Dammit, of all the times to be fashionably late…” Pepper yelled from behind his back. She gripped Steve’s arm hard enough that it would have hurt if he’d been a normal mortal. “Please, don’t try anything. He’s not going to hurt us.”
“With all due respect…”
“And Tony, don’t you dare breathe fire, I’m know you like showing off but this is Not The Time.”
“Pepper…” the monster said. Its voice had a strange resonant quality, a cross between a cave echo and a metal horn.
“Don’t you ‘Pepper’ me, Tony,” she said, stepping out from behind Steve. “I have been chained to a rock all morning I have been chained to a rock all morning naked, which I suspect is somehow also your fault.”
Steve looked back and forth between them. She looked annoyed, standing with her legs spread slightly apart normal mortal. “Please, don’t try anything. He’s not going to hurt us.”
“With all due respect…”
“And Tony, don’t you dare breathe fire, I’m know you like showingand her arms crossed, while the sea serpent seemed… Well, if a sea serpent could look contrite, then this one did.
“You two… know each other?” Pepper and the monster both turned their heads towards him, as though they’d only just remembered he was there.
“Well hello there, tall, blond, and demi-godly,” the monster said.
“Unfortunately,” Pepper said, rolling her eyes. “This idiot is my employer. Tony, come out of there. I’m getting a crick in my neck having to look up to yell at you.”
The serpent slowly laid its head and neck on the beach. The head settled ten feet away, curled in slightly so that it was still facing them. The blue light in its eyes dimmed, then ceased entirely. With a loud whirring noise, the head split open along the jawline, opening like a snake distending its jaw prior to eating. Instead of swallowing, though, it revealed a man seated at its centre, surrounded by levers, gears, and various unrecognisable bits of machinery.
“That’s… something,” Steve said.
Pepper seemed unsurprised.
(chapter break?)
The man at the center grinned at Steve, clearly pleased to have impressed him. He was well-built, dark-haired and handsome with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard.
He stepped carefully out of the monster’s head and made his way over to them. “If I’d known it would take Justin that long to pick you, Pep, I’d have had the Oracle suggest redheads sooner.” He glanced over at Steve thoughtfully. “Then again, maybe blonds…”
“And the naked part?” Pepper asked.
Tony shrugged. It would have been a more convincing denial if his mouth hadn’t been turned just slightly up at one corner. “Can’t imagine where they could have gotten an idea like that.”
“I think I’m owed some explanation,” Steve said firmly, re-securing his shield to his back and crossing his arms across his chest. “For…” he paused as he tried to think of how to phrase it, then gave up. “Everything.”
“Poseidon’s fishy balls, Pythagoras could write theorems about that jawline,” the man said with a hint of awe.
“Tony, quit thinking with your phallus.”
“Tony of Athens,” he said, holding out a hand.
“King Anthony of the Royal House of Athens,” Pepper corrected.
“...and this would be my trusted assistant Pepper, actual ruler of Athens.”
Steve looked at the outstretched hand, surprised. “You don’t expect me to kneel?” King Justin had, of course, not that Steve had complied. He knelt for gods, generally, but he’d never found a man he thought was worth kneeling to.
The king’s eyes roamed up and down his body and he could feel himself turning red under the frankly appreciative gaze. “Oh, I’ve no objection to that, but trust me, you’d be finding the sand unexpectedly for weeks. This one time, I...”
Steve interrupted him before he could go into any further details. “Hello, I’m Steve,” he said, grabbing King Anthony’s hand, pleased to discover the man had a firm and slightly callused grip. From operating the sea serpent, perhaps?
King Anthony’s body immediately went still, hand still clasped in Steve’s.
“Steve? Son of Zeus? Defeated the Red Skull? The Hydra? Protector of the downtrodden, etc etc… That Steve?
“Uhh, yes?”
The king glanced over at Pepper, seeking confirmation.
Pepper shrugged. “I saw him lift a heavy boulder like it was nothing, and there have been rumors he’s back. And he does have the shield.”
King Anthony took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, if you are Steve, you knew my father, Howard. Tell me something no one else would know about him.”
As soon as he’d mentioned Howard, Steve could see the resemblance. It was less the physical appearance, though they shared dark, wavy hair and brown eyes, and more the sheer charisma. Men would follow Howard anywhere, and he had a feeling the same must be true for Anthony.
Besides, you could tell a lot about a ruler by the quality of their retainers, and anyone who could convince a woman like Pepper to follow him was likely to be a man worth following.
And Howard… It really had been a long time. He’d really and truly been gone long enough for those he’d known to have grown children, and if Anthony was king now, to have passed into the underworld as shades.
He was alone.
Some of what he was feeling must have shown in his face, because Anthony and Pepper were both looking at him with expressions of concern.
“Okay, no, I am not going to be responsible for making a demigod cry. I do not want that on my record…” Anthony said, looking uncertain in a way that Steve might have found amusing under different circumstances.
“Sorry, it’s just… Howard, he… He was with me when Athena gave me this shield. I think he was jealous. He tried to… He tried to bargain with Athena. He was that kind of guy, the kind who’d try to charm a virgin goddess. The kind who could charm a virgin goddess. And he’s dead. Everyone I knew is dead now.”
“Yeah, he was… a guy…” Anthony said, his fingers drumming on the center of his chest for a moment as though to reassure himself. “Uhmm…” He leaned forward and put his hand on Steve’s shoulder tentatively. “Steve, can I call you Steve? You’re definitely Steve. Wow, those statues don’t do your arms justice. Remind me to have a word with the sculptors. ny said, looking uncertain in a way that Steve might have found amusing under different circumstances.
“Sorry, it’s just… Howard, he… He was with me when Athena gave me this shield. I think he was jealous. He tried to… He tried to bargain with Athena. He was that kind of guy, the kind who’d try to charm a virgin goddess. The kind who could charm a virgin goddess. And he’s dead. Everyone I knew is dead now.”
“Yeah, he was… a guy…” Anthony said, his fingers drumming on the center of his chest for a moment as though to reassure himself. “Uhmm…” He leaned forward and put his hand on Steve’s shoulder tentatively. “Steve, can I call you Steve? You’re definitely Steve. Wow, those statues don�ll me Tony. And I’d say it’s fine, but clearly it’s not fine, won’t bother lying. Seriously, the gods are assholes sometimes, no lie, but… uhm… There’s bound to be some good stuff now too, even if I could not quite currently name what it is, uhm… Less war now, or at least, that’s what I’m trying for, so that’s something, right? Hey, we’ve got indoor plumbing now, in Athens.”
Howard’s son was clearly insane, but there was something about the babble that was soothing. At least soothing enough for Steve to push the grief to the back of his mind for the time being. He took a deep breath. The motion caused Tony to pull back.
“I’ll make offerings for their shades later,” Steve said, voice unexpectedly firm. “Right now, I have a feeling I’m in the middle of something big.”
“Would you believe riding giant sea serpents is all the rage now?”
Steve crossed his arms and stared at Tony.
Tony shrugged. “Worth a shot. Okay, so… I’m guessing you’re not up on geopolitical events.”
“Tony…” Pepper said warningly.
“Oh come on, Pep, if we can’t trust Steve who can we trust?”
Pepper glared at both of them but didn’t argue.
Steve’s stomach chose that moment to grumble embarrassingly loudly. Apparently he was still readjusting to needing to eat again.
“Whoo boy, you keeping a minotaur in there?” Tony clapped his hands together. “And what kind of a host am I… the kind that forgets to pack food in his sea serpent, that’s what kind. Let’s head back to Athens, I have everything there. Food, maps, feather mattresses, everything.”
“Will there be enough room in there for all of us?” Pepper asked.
“Well, I wasn’t planning on a threesome when I built it, but…” Tony looked at both of them, then the monster’s head, and Steve swore he could see the gears turning. “We’ll fit. I hope we’re all feeling friendly.”
They fit… just barely, but the tight space meant Steve’s right side spent the journey pressed against Tony’s left, while Pepper stood to Tony’s right.
“So where are the other sacrifices?” Steve said, raising his voice to be heard over the noise of the machinery.
“Took ‘em with me back to Athens,” Tony yelled back. “Offered them employment or a purse and a one way lift to wherever they wanted to go.”
“And none of them wanted to go back to Aethiopia?” He was pretty sure he believed Tony, but some independen