The Dream Below, 3/8. NC-17
Title: The Dream Below
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: *deep breath* Steve/Bucky, Steve/Natasha, Steve/Bucky/Natasha, Clint/Natasha, Loki/Natasha, Tony/Pepper, Maria/Natasha, Jane/Thor.
Disclaimer: Not mine! Not even by a little bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: MCU AU. Based off of this AU gifset on Tumblr. Come on, a mashup of Inception and the MCU. *drools* Did you really think I could stay away from this? No, I didn't think so either. :D Title and chapter titles from Linkin Park's "Castle of Glass."
Summary: Thor of Odin Corp. hires Steve Rogers' elite dream sharing team to perform inception on his brother, Loki, and a shade of their ex-resident thief Bucky (who was killed when the team's last job went horribly wrong) tries his best to sabotage it.
Or: Steve extracts, Tony builds, Clint runs point, Natasha's a master of impersonation, Bruce concocts, Thor's a tourist, and things happen.
Prior chapters:
One - Through The Secrets That I Have Seen
Two - Wash The Poison From Off My Skin
Three - Warm Me Up In A Nova's Glow
Dinner with Maria was at a very private yet upscale restaurant in Paris. She was very amused by the whole thing. "So. You drew the short straw to butter me up, huh?"
"Look, it's not a big deal, really," Natasha said, laughing. "You know how paranoid Steve gets when you start getting mean to him."
"Because half the time he doesn't discuss anything. He just makes a decision and charges ahead, expecting you to follow along."
"Problem is, nine times out of ten, he's not wrong."
Maria nodded and shrugged. "Still, this is fancier than I expected."
"It's nice to get away from it all, I get it." Natasha grinned. "And hey, this is a business expense, so order whatever you want."
"I assume this has something to do with Thor Odinson, given that he's footing the bill on the conference space. My boss definitely likes the income, even if he thinks you all are full of shit. He's just too nice to say so."
Natasha laughed along with her. "Thor was nice enough to create a corporate expense account, yes," she admitted. "But Steve's worried about the office space and if we're going to get you into trouble about it."
"We just assume it has to do with all the extra security Loki had hired on last week," Maria said with a shrug. "It really isn't a big deal on our end, but Steve is being all secretive. I understand why, my boss doesn't. I have to make up some kind of lie about how you're looking into possible corporate espionage or some bullshit like that."
Natasha blinked and filed away the fact that Loki was hiring security. Clint would need to know about that if he hadn't found out already. "Well, you're not wrong."
"Huh. Look at that." Maria grinned. "So. Is that it for the business part of the evening?"
"Yeah. Unless there's really an axe to grind somewhere."
She shook her head. "No. Steve just caught me at a bad time the other day."
"Can I tell him I smoothed things over? I have a reputation to uphold."
Maria laughed, amused. "Sure, I don't care."
"Fantastic." Natasha reached across the table to pat her hand in thanks, and Maria looked down at her hand, then up at her face. "What?" Natasha asked, confused.
"Do I look that desperate?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning.
"Are you taking me out to make sure I think kindly on you, maybe give me a pity fuck or something like that?" Maria asked, getting upset.
"Jesus, Maria. Do you honestly think I pity you?" Natasha asked, affronted.
"Then what is all this?"
"C'mon, Maria. We are both the only women on our teams. It's an utter sausage fest with asshats full of themselves. I figured you'd like a nice night out where you don't have to posture or be a kickass bitch." Natasha leaned back in her chair and gave Maria an assessing look. "I'm guessing it's been ages for you if you jump to thinking I'm trying to seduce you."
She leaned forward and rubbed her face with her hands. "Fuck, I'm obvious about that, aren't I?"
Natasha pulled a face. "Only because I know you really well. What are your hours like now?"
"I pull eighteen, nineteen hour days sometimes. It's ridiculous."
"Shit, no wonder you're wound so tight." Natasha signaled for the waiter to return, and ordered red wine to go with her meal over her protests. "Water isn't going to cut it, Maria. I insist. Treat yourself for a change. If you burn out, where are you going to be?"
Maria shook her head. "But then if I get drunk..."
"I'll take you home," Natasha replied, affronted. "C'mon, what do you take me for? You really think I'd leave you stumbling down the street unaware of what's going on?"
She blew out a breath and looked at Natasha with a vulnerable expression. "Sometimes I just wonder if all this is really worth it. Why do you stay doing what you do?"
For a moment, Natasha thought of what she used to have with Steve and Bucky, and what she now had with Clint. "The people. The challenge of it. The paycheck doesn't hurt. But I'd walk away from all of this if I found something better."
Sighing, Maria rubbed at her eyes, then grimaced at the smeared mascara and eye shadow on the backs of her hands. "I haven't felt really challenged or motivated in a long time. It's the same old shit, day in and day out, entitled wealthy people cheating on each other and businesses wanting more security to protect assets they stole."
Warning bells were sounding in Natasha's head. "You mean Loki Odinson, don't you?"
She nodded and blew out another breath. "Well, there goes the confidentiality clause."
"You're burned out, Maria," Natasha said, clucking her tongue. "I won't tell, you know that. If anything comes up, just say it's the Odinsons being paranoid as fuck, which they are. But if you hate it so much, go out on your own. Or, if you can stomach breaking the law, come on out with us. You would be wonderful as point."
Grimacing at Natasha, Maria shook her head. "I couldn't do that."
Natasha grinned at her, hoping to lighten the mood. "Well, it was worth a shot."
Maria laughed a little. "You're a good friend, Natasha."
"I do try," Natasha said brightly. "Hey, after dinner, want that pity fuck? I have been told that I'm pretty damn amazing. Which I know, but it's nice to hear that, too."
Now Maria's laughter was more genuine. "Jesus Christ, girl, the ego on you." She laughed a little more and then shook her head. "You know what? What the hell. I haven't gotten laid in three years and I do nothing for fun anymore. Unless sleep counts."
"Decidedly not."
"Then yeah. Let's do this. I can't believe I'm saying this, but why not?"
Natasha gave her a wicked grin. "Well, then. In that case, prepare to be seduced."
It was fun to see Maria's reaction to playing footsie under the table - "Jesus Christ, I've never even done that with a man, Natasha, what the hell?" - or more subtle flirting. She had an easier time with the compliments and sly smiles, the looks out of the corner of her eye as Natasha licked her lips seductively. If anything, Maria seemed nervous, and Natasha had to remember that her friend hadn't had sex or been on a date in years. Maria was also the kind to be uptight enough and busy enough not to masturbate, poor thing.
They went back to Maria's apartment, a classy walkup on the third floor. Natasha thought about shoving her up against the big plate glass windows and fucking her there, giving any passersby a show, but knew Maria would never go for that. She was the serious kind, the one that worked long hours, needed to have an emotional connection before bedding someone, but couldn't go out to a club and meet people. She wasn't a pickup artist the way Natasha was, didn't like the concept of casual sex or having multiple partners at once. When she twigged to Natasha being in a sexual relationship with Steve and James years ago, she had turned puce and couldn't meet their eyes for about three days. It had been adorable and annoying at the same time.
"Don't be nervous," Natasha told Maria once they took off their jackets. "You change your mind, we'll just have drinks and make fun of porn on the internet or something."
She choked and looked at Natasha incredulously. "What?"
"Oh, come on. You've never done that? Some of it out there is just made so badly, you can't help but make fun of it because they're doing it wrong." She grinned at Maria and pulled her in close. "Don't be nervous."
"Um... It's been a while."
"And never with a woman, I'm guessing," Natasha said, tilting her head to the side.
"No."
"You don't have to reciprocate if you don't want to," Natasha murmured, leaning in to kiss Maria with a smirk. "Though not gonna lie, it would be fantastic if you did."
That made Maria laugh against her mouth, working loose the last of her misgivings. She kissed Natasha back enthusiastically, opening her lips and letting Natasha slide her tongue in. Maria held onto Natasha's hips gently, getting used to the rub of breasts against hers. Natasha gave that a moment, then reached up to stroke her through her blouse and bra. She grinned against Maria's mouth when the brunette gasped. "Not kidding about it being a while," Natasha murmured, moving to feather kisses over her cheeks. "You're so sensitive."
Maria actually trembled a little. "I always was before, too."
"Mmm, good to know," Natasha purred. "You know me," she continued, stroking her breasts and nibbling on her ear. "I always get what I want. And right now, I want you to come a lot tonight."
"It usually takes me a long time to get that point."
"Then you were dating losers before," Natasha declared. She unbuttoned Maria's blouse and moved to kiss her neck and chest, running her lips over the slope of her breasts not covered by the bra. She ghosted her fingertips over Maria's back and arms, trying to heighten the sensory input. "I am definitely not a loser."
That made her laugh again, which was a plus. Maria slid her hands up Natasha's spine, then rested her hands on her shoulder. "No," she murmured, "you're definitely not that."
Off came the bra, and then Natasha sucked on a breast, abrading the nipple with the tip of her tongue. Maria shivered in her arms, gasping at the contact. She gave up trying to talk, so Natasha gauged her reactions by the shivers and moans. Sliding her fingers down Maria's torso was nice, but undoing her trousers and slipping her fingers into her panties was even better. They were sensible bikini briefs in plain light pink, nothing fancy. Maria really hadn't expected to get laid tonight. That was fine; Natasha hadn't really been expecting it either, so her underwear wasn't the ridiculously expensive lace and satin concoctions she wore for a seduction.
Natasha worked at her breasts with lips and tongue, switching periodically to make sure that she didn't get so oversensitized that she would feel numb to it. At the same time, she gently explored Maria's sex with her fingers, figuring out what kind of touch she liked. "There," Maria suddenly whimpered, her grip on Natasha's shoulder growing painfully tight.
"Let's move it to the bedroom, huh?" Natasha asked, lifting her lips from Maria's breast. "Better angle and more comfortable for you."
She blinked, clearly not understanding the point, but led Natasha to the bedroom. She started to apologize for it being messy and the bed unmade, but Natasha pulled her in close and simply kissed her. As she did that, she pushed down on the trousers and panties, then slid her fingers right in, thumb on Maria's clit. She squeaked in surprised pleasure, making Natasha laugh a little, and grasped Natasha for balance before stroking her breast. Her touch was almost hesitant, as if not sure how hard she should do it. Natasha slid her free arm around Maria's torso and sucked a kiss onto her neck. "C'mon, Maria. Touch me. It's not like a woman's body is a stranger to you. We've got the same parts."
Maria snorted. "Only you can make this sound like a challenge."
"Isn't it?" she asked, pulling back to smirk at the brunette. She watched Maria shiver as she curled her fingers, steadily thrusting them in and out. "If you wanna play with me, play with me. Trust me, I'll tell you if I like something or not."
"You're very matter of fact about this."
"How else am I going to get what I want?"
"Huh," Maria murmured before gasping and arching into Natasha's touch, practically riding her hand. "I never-thought-Oh, God, there, Natasha, right there." She moaned, clenching tight around Natasha's fingers, eyes falling shut. "I never thought of it that way."
"You do for work," Natasha murmured, leaning in to mouth kisses along Maria's jaw. "Why should this be any different? If you're shy about it, nobody will figure out what makes you feel good." She leaned down and pressed her lips to the curve of her neck. "And this is about making you feel good."
Maria hadn't been kidding earlier about taking a while to ramp up to orgasm. She gasped and writhed in pleasure, but seemed to hover on a plateau despite Natasha fingering her and sucking on her breasts. Her wrist ached and there was a crick starting to form in her lower back, which simply wouldn't do. Gently pushing Maria to lie on her back on the bed, Natasha kept up the same thrusting rhythm. She pushed the panties and trousers down to Maria's ankles and nudged her knees wider with her free hand. Then she knelt between her legs and started licking and sucking on Maria's clit as she kept up the thrusts, adding another finger to stretch her out and add more sensation. Maria had to shove a fist into her mouth to muffle her cries, her entire body thrumming with building tension.
Natasha sat back on her haunches when Maria finally came, massaging her jaw a little and then licking her fingers clean. "There we are. Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad?" Maria echoed with an incredulous laugh. "Fuck, Natasha. That was good."
"I'm thinking we're only getting started," Natasha replied, getting up to sit on the bed next to her sprawled form. She let her fingers trail down Maria's stomach to the nest of curls at the juncture of her thighs. "What do you think?"
Grinning, Maria pulled at Natasha's blouse. "Let's get rid of this and keep going."
Natasha was definitely on board for that.
***
"I can't believe you left me out," Clint whined when Natasha arrived in his apartment the following morning. "You suck."
"And swallow," Natasha replied with a sweet grin, her usual response to his whining. "But the important part was what Maria let slip, too." That got Clint's professional attention. "Loki's hired on the company for their security expertise."
"I didn't find that in the company accounts!"
"I know. Which means it's probably one of the personal ones that you haven't gotten to yet. So what is he hiding from Thor that he would need a veritable army for?"
"Wait, what?" Clint asked, frowning. He moved over to the file cabinet in the corner of his apartment and started rifling through it. "An army?"
"C'mon, you know that no case covered by the Fortress would be any less protected. So what is he doing? Moving to take over Odin Corp from the inside?"
"Shit. Would explain some of his attention on you, then."
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"Your focus is on who to forge in the dream. Well, you don't have to now, right? Watch him closely. If he's making a move on the inside, then he might be trying to figure out which employees could be loyal to him and which to Thor. Then when he makes his power play, he knows which ones to tap."
Natasha sucked in a breath and nodded. "I can see that. If he could apply some kind of pressure, figure out what Natalie wants and keep her loyal to him and not to a temp agency..." She approached Clint and leaned up against him. "That might be a whole other thing to have to deal with in the dream, you know. Getting him to abandon that plan?"
"Thor has no idea that's coming, and I don't know if we should mention it or not," Clint replied with a sigh. "But I sure as hell don't want to add anything to this nightmare of a dream. It's going to be complicated enough already."
"We'll need to bring it up, though. It's an added wrinkle."
"We need to figure out who's holding down which layer of the dream anyway. It won't need to be one hundred percent set until the idea's locked down and Tony has his mazes settled, but I'm thinking we should probably do it soon. If Loki is this crazy, we're facing militarization-level projections even if I can't find any sign of prior training."
"Wouldn't hurt to be prepared for that. In addition to..." She made a vague gesture.
"Bucky," Clint said for her unhappily.
"He might not show up," Natasha allowed, letting her head fall against Clint's chest. "But I don't think Steve's in that healthy a headspace."
"Are you?" he asked gently, wrapping his arms around her.
"I've done my grieving," she said softly. "I've pieced myself back together."
"But you know what it's like to be unmade. To feel like you've been taken apart..."
"You know that I do," she murmured.
"I've never seen a shade when I went under with you," Clint said in gentle tones. "If anything shows up, I know it won't be from you. It won't be from me. We've worked out the worst of our issues, so they don't come out on a job." He paused, pursing his lips. "But Steve..."
"But Steve," she echoed in agreement. He was the wild card in all of this.
***
Steve, blissfully unaware of his teammates' concerns, was meeting with Tony to try to finalize some of the ideas for each level. That would lock in which dreamer would take which level. As forger, Natasha would have to be in all three, even though she was going to keep the Natalie Rushman persona. She had gotten to know a lot of Odin Corp staffers, and could flawlessly shift to become someone else if necessary. She would likely have to take over dreaming that level; while Steve would have to be there too, he wasn't sure if Bucky would show up to ruin the job. He hoped that wouldn't be the case, but for five jobs in a row after Bucky's death, he had shown up and shot either Clint or Natasha out of the dreams. Sometimes both, and he had tortured them first. Steve had tried to tell Bucky that it wasn't their fault he had died, but perhaps some part of Steve didn't believe that. Why else would Bucky keep showing up?
He was thankful they hadn't really discussed the shade issue with the rest of the team. He didn't want them afraid of him, or thinking he wanted to kill them while in the dream. Steve truly missed working like this, being part of a team and doing something important. Okay, maybe he wasn't a soldier in the army or saving the world, but this was still important to someone, and it was a job he did well. He wasn't some kind of trussed up dancing monkey or science experiment for the government, which was more than he could say for a lot of people that knew about dream share. It was still primarily a military training exercise in most countries.
Tony was enthusiastic about the design of the dream cities for each layer. Steve hadn't even minded when Pepper arrived with lunch, Thai takeout and some Tsingtao beer. "I got the day off," she had explained when she showed up with the food. She was dressed in jeans and a simple white button down blouse and Keds, a decided step down from her usual stilettos and a power suit in the law firm where she worked. Her strawberry blonde hair was done up in a loose ponytail, wisps falling loose. She looked very young and very sweet that way, but Steve had already gotten the impression that she knew how to handle anything life threw at her. "I wanted to see what got Tony so worked up. It's good that he's got a new project to work on."
Steve listened as Tony gleefully bounded over to his sketchbooks to show her. Due to the nature of the job, he hadn't brought them home like he did with his usual work. They were locked up in the office suite at The Fortress.
"So, it's like this. We have the first layer, where we talk about the joys of being adopted."
"Not quite like that," Steve demurred.
Pepper laughed. "I can translate Tony's speech, Steve, not to worry."
Tony had just grinned. "So, we have to have a more open area to work with. Nothing oppressive or dreary, or the symbolism will attach that to the message of the layer. I'm thinking more modern style, maybe Art Deco."
"Oooh. I like that," Pepper remarked, paging through the first layer sketchbook. She tapped on one of the sketches that Tony had colored in. "Hey, that one there reminds me a little of that hotel we went to last year."
"Exactly! I liked it there, thought it was a great little getaway. That's the atmosphere I want to bring into this layer."
"And it was my idea to go there," she replied smugly. "I should get some credit for this."
"Twelve percent," Tony offered.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't even leave your office if not for me."
"Innovative design doesn't happen overnight!"
She huffed, though it was a playful sound and it appeared to be a frequent occurrence in their relationship. Watching it made Steve feel almost uncomfortable; he once had this with Bucky and Natasha. He once had the playful back and forth ribbing with Clint. They had been a team, a solid foursome in the field, bringing in chemists only if there were specialized dreams that the ordinary somnacin wouldn't be good for.
And then a year and a half ago, everything went to hell, and nothing had been the same.
"Thinking hard there, Steve?" Tony asked. "Got a new idea?"
Ideas were slippery things. So were emotions.
"I like the Art Deco," he said, as if he was paying attention to Tony's byplay with Pepper. "It's classic looking without being overdone. It should play into the message of that layer. It's the second one I'm worried about. That one is much more nebulous."
"Because the ideas are too different," Pepper replied. "The whole point of this is to implant an idea, but if it's too complicated, it's going to fall apart."
Steve lofted an eyebrow in surprise. "Have you been in dream share?"
She smirked. "My boyfriend and best friend are. So by extension, I suppose I'm involved. But Ariadne was involved in quite a bit, including a successful inception."
Leaning forward with interest, Steve stared at her. "She was?"
"Yep. Brilliant architect. Maybe I should introduce you if Tony ever retires from this and sticks with real world building. She's much easier to deal with than this ball of ego."
"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Tony snarked.
"Anyway, the point is, the secret her team found was keeping the idea simple. One idea, planted at the lowest level of the dream. The others were mostly for show, to set up the simple idea all the way at the end."
"Did she tell you what her job was for?"
"Absolutely not! And I don't want to know those kinds of details," she admonished, wagging her finger in his direction. "But it sounds to me like you're making things too complicated. Make it even simpler. Remember, it's a dream. You have to work with dream logic, not real world logic."
"We can still keep the Art Deco, right?" Tony asked Steve. "I really like the look and feel of it."
Steve looked through the sketches again. Keep it simple, stupid. It was the first rule any kid learned in school, and he had forgotten it.
Mostly because Bucky and Natasha frequently called him stupid. Too many memories, too many tangled emotions, too many regrets.
"The idea at the end is to let go of negative emotions," Steve murmured. "Grief, anger, pain, all of it. Keep the love and fond memories, get rid of the baggage."
"This sounds like the set up to a bad joke," Tony remarked.
"If we want to play up the positive aspect of things, we want everything light and airy. Happy kind of architecture. Nothing overpowering, nothing oppressive," Steve continued as if Tony hadn't spoken. He had noted that Pepper did that a lot when she had a point to make. It seemed to be a very good technique in handling Tony's snarking.
"We need to symbolize it somehow, you know," Tony told him. "You don't just say 'let it go' and it magically happens. There has to be some symbolic thing to tell him that the bullshit and daddy issues aren't worth keeping."
Steve looked at Tony. "Then he has to get rid of his father's things. That'll be the final layer of the dream. We'll need to recreate their boyhood home, and he's going to have to get rid of their father's belongings himself."
"Thor did it in the real world, didn't he?" Pepper asked, frowning. "So he never got closure."
"You follow the gossip columns?" Steve asked, surprised at her.
She rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised what high powered lawyers talk about during breaks or when paperwork threatens to drop our IQ's. Plus, that paparazzi spread from last summer in Monaco? Have you seen what he looks like in a swimsuit?"
"Hey!" Tony cried, though the others could tell he wasn't insulted. "You're supposed to be looking at me, Pep."
"And that's why I drag you out of your office, honey." She grinned and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I've got other errands to run, and you have homework," she said, nodding at the spread of sketchbooks on the table. "It's probably going to be a long night for you. I could always ask around, see if I could snag tickets to a benefit the Odinsons throw. There's usually one or two things they have at their house. Or see if one of the interns knows Jane."
Steve and Tony gaped at her. "Why didn't you mention this before?" Steve asked.
"Tony never mentioned it," Pepper replied with a shrug. "What's your time frame?"
"Natasha's cover ends in nine weeks."
"Plenty of time to pull some strings on my end." Pepper rose gracefully and grinned at Steve's surprise. What was it about redheads throwing him for a loop? "You boys play nice, and I'll see what I can do. I am very talented and well connected in Paris."
"I'm starting to see that," Steve commented.
Waiting until Pepper made her goodbyes and left, Steve turned to Tony. "She's amazing. Why haven't you married her yet?"
"Oh, please. Like she wants me tying her down. This way, if she gets a partnership offer, she can take off immediately."
"She could do that even if you're married."
"Not to the old school bigwigs in the field. They see a wedding ring as an anchor."
Steve winced. "That sucks."
"Tell me about it. It's not like we need that, anyway." Tony shuffled through the pages in his notebook for the second layer. "Bright and airy, huh? Convention for the first level, his childhood home for the third. We're going to want something fun in between."
"Like having someone dream up a beach?" Steve offered.
Tony snorted. "Too conventional. I'm disappointed in you. If we go by gossip columns, he likes icy places. Skiing, snowboarding, stuff like that. And he's something of a geek, I think. But the way Natasha talked about him, I'm thinking he's got a drama queen streak."
"So what would that boil down to?"
He grinned in response. "Give the diva what he wants, obviously. He wants his name in lights, he wants applause and adoration." When Steve clearly didn't get it, Tony shook his head. "Give him control of Odin Corp. Let him think he took it over. Have you seen that building? It's all glass and golden accents, like a spire up into the sky. Just give it to him, see what he does with it. That would be the positive emotion you want to feed on and build up when you take him down to daddy issues."
"You know, I think that just might work."
"Of course it will. I'm brilliant that way."
Rolling his eyes, Steve sighed. "Let's not push the issue."
Laughing, Tony grabbed his sketchbook and got to work.
***
Clint returned from various offices and archives in Paris to The Fortress. He was armed with all sorts of blueprints for Tony, base chemicals for Bruce to tinker with, vital records and interviews that he had collected regarding the Odinson family. He had even managed to wrangle some time with Frigga Odinson, even though Thor had clearly not informed her of his intentions to use inception to mend the family rift. He had posed as a freelance journalist trying to do a piece on her humanitarian efforts in the poorer neighborhoods in Paris. From there, the troubled woman had actually spoken of her family difficulties as her inspiration, making him think that she was incredibly lonely without her husband and children. When he had commented on that in an oblique manner, she had given him a sad smile. "You have no children, then," she observed with a soft sigh. "They are everything to me. Family is everything. It's built up of relationships, and they're all that matters. Everything in this shining city is meaningless without family. What else would you work for, if you don't have that?"
"I suppose that's why I'm working on this story, then. Maybe I can figure it out."
She had laughed softly at his reply, shaking her head slightly. "Don't listen to an old woman's rambling on that topic."
"You are hardly an old woman."
Frigga had smiled, every inch the elegant socialite she had been before Odin's death. Her hair was still elegantly coiffed, tasteful gold and crystal jewelry dangling from her ears or throat, her dress a very expensive and tasteful dress in light green and blue. Still, there was an incredible sadness about her, something that seemed to suck the energy right out of Clint. "Not in age, perhaps. But years don't tell the whole story, young man. You can be young in years but still live a life full of regrets weighing you down. That makes you old before your time, and you can feel the press of lifetimes on you." She sighed and stood. "I'm sorry. I've grown maudlin, and I don't think it is very conducive to your article."
"Maybe not," Clint said, rising to his feet as well. It would certainly explain to her why no article would ever be written or published. "But I have a feeling you needed to say it and have someone hear it. I'm glad I was here for that."
Then she smiled warmly, a return to who she had been before the worry and grief had worn her down and erased her joy. "Thank you."
Natasha and Steve had nodded in understanding as Clint relayed the interview over dinner around the conference table. Bruce had set up a separate area to serve as his work bench to create his own somnacin blend; commercial somnacin or even standard attempts to recreate it would never give the clarity needed for multiple level dreams. The university he had studied with had its own proprietary blend as well, the basic formula tinkered with and adjusted to give a sharper image within the dream, as well as a lighter hangover effect once the subject woke up. The team would still have to find a long enough period of time and good enough excuse for any potential grogginess once they were through with the inception attempt.
"Grief does that," Bruce remarked, shrugging at them. "So if we have our layers more or less set, and I think I have enough of a supply here to start getting on with practice runs." He said, nodding toward the work bench. Making somnacin was a long process, and for all of the trials they would need to learn Tony's mazes, it would be continual work on his part to provide that constant supply.
"Meaning, we're going to have to decide who's taking on what level," Clint said, nodding.
"Tash has to go all the way down with me, so she's got to anchor the third layer," Steve said. He didn't explain any further, but she nodded her agreement so he didn't have to.
"The upper layers traditionally have all the subconscious security. So if Loki's going to be paranoid as all hell, you want me free on the top level, maybe second," Clint replied. "I guess that means I take the second."
"So it means somebody disposable for the first level," Tony said. A chorus of groans greeted him at that pronouncement. "What? You need someone nonvital to your mission to anchor the top level, am I right?"
"I guess I could do it?" Bruce volunteered. All eyes swiveled in his direction and he appeared very self conscious. "What? I've been working on my temper, okay? I'm not going to turn into a rage monster just because something goes wrong." He pointed at Tony when the architect snickered. "Yes, I know what people say about me out in the field. You can't help but hear that kind of bullshit, even if you're not active in it."
"Look. I sought you out because you're good at what you do," Natasha told him. "If I thought you were going to be dangerous to us, I would've found someone else. If you're comfortable with that idea, you have my support."
"Thank you," he said, giving her a gracious nod.
"So I guess we have that set," Tony said. He leaned back in his chair with his food, putting his feet up on the table despite the glares he got from others. "I'm working on the overall layouts, trying to add in hidey-holes and switchbacks and stuff, just in case. I figure it can't hurt to be prepared if something goes wrong."
There was a knock on the door before it opened. Maria appeared uncomfortable and she ducked into the room. "I know you guys said that you needed to be undisturbed, but Thor's here. He's demanding to be let up."
Natasha looked concerned. "Weren't you supposed to leave four hours ago?"
Maria sighed and tucked her dark hair behind her ears. "Something came up. As always." She studiously ignored Natasha's pointed sigh and looked over in Steve's direction. "Well?"
Now it was Steve's turn to sigh. "Send him up. Something must have happened."
That something turned out to be his desire to join them on the inception. Thor waited patiently through the protests, then pulled up a chair at the head of the table. That set him across from Bruce and his adjoining table full of glassware, Steve and Tony on one side of the table, Clint and Natasha on the other. He merely smiled at them magnanimously, as if their discord was an everyday occurrence and not worth worry.
"Friends," he began in a patient tone of voice. "This is my brother we are talking about. I just want to ensure his safety. You gave me a time frame of nine weeks for this to happen, and I have the perfect opportunity for you. My mother is hosting one of her elaborate charity balls in two months. Natasha of course will be there to help assist Sif and some of the publicity staff, I'll make sure of that. The rest of you can be either on staff to help or you can come as guests, whichever is easiest for you."
Tony raised his hand. "I can come as a guest. My girlfriend is Pepper Potts, you might have heard of her. She's amazing and brilliant as a lawyer."
"I think I have," Thor said with a polite incline of his head. He looked at Steve and then Clint, no artifice in his expression. "Jane's friend Darcy would need a date, so one of you perhaps would be able to stay part of the evening with her."
"It's incredibly awful to ditch a date halfway through," Natasha piped up, shaking her head. "It's going to be a few hours under. Loki might be okay disappearing, but I'm sure Darcy will mind if her date does, and we'll want to be as far from memorable as possible."
"And how do you plan to excuse your own absence?" Steve asked, looking wary.
"Jane will understand if I say there is business at hand. It happens a lot, whether I will it or not," he replied with a grimace. "She is exceedingly understanding of that."
"Lucky," Tony remarked. "If Pep and I disappear, no one will remark on it." The others stared at him. "I'm assuming we're asking her to watch over our sleeping bodies, right? I don't trust some stranger to do it. And if she's with me, wagging tongues will just say we're abusing our host's hospitality and testing out a bedroom or something. Whatever. I suggest that you two become part of whatever security detail Thor's going to hire for the shindig. Or just let you two show up solo and say you're friends of his."
"All of us disappearing for a few hours at a party is difficult enough. Now you want to come in on it as well?" Steve asked, shaking his head. "I don't think it'll work."
"Then make it work." There was a steely undertone to his voice, one that his business associates likely heard often. "I plan to be there, and I plan to make sure that Loki isn't harmed by this endeavor."
"You have no idea the potential harm inherent in this kind of undertaking," Bruce said, lips thinned with impatience. The other dream share veterans all surreptitiously were on the alert for his temper. "You say he hates you? Well, you showing up and walking all over his dream is going to make it so much worse. It won't be any one of us that ruins the job you set for us, it'll be you, not understanding what we're doing. There's no room for tourists on a job," he finished, a derisive curl to his lips.
Given Bruce's history of punching out people he worked with or knocking them clear across the room, this was downright tame.
Thor bristled, standing at his full height and trying to appear intimidating. "You have no idea who I am or what I can do to all of you."
"Or what we can do to you," Natasha said, voice even. She even smiled pleasantly at his startled expression. "After all, how many personal finance accounts did you have to tap in order to hire all of us? How many HR rules did you have to bend to get me in ahead of however many other candidates they wanted to hire? You're betraying the trust of your brother, your mother, your friends and confidantes in the company... Should I go on?"
They were in a staring match for a moment, but Thor was the one that caved first. He looked away, then looked back at them. He appeared gutted, defeated before he even began. "He's my brother," he said quietly. "I'd do anything for him."
"Then let us do our job," Steve said in a conciliatory tone. "Everything falls apart if we're out of step with the plan, and we're all professionals in dream share. We know what we're doing."
"I need to be there," Thor said quietly. "Loki isn't doing well. There are... problems. I worry for his sanity."
"You being there won't help matters," Bruce said. "You could compromise the whole mission."
Something in Thor flared, a ghost of his old arrogance. "Then consider it compromised. I will be there, I will be part of this entire enterprise. You do it with me, or you all go to prison." He glared at everyone around the room. "Even if you take me down with you, none of you will be free for years."
"You think we don't have protections in place?" Clint asked, voice cold and even. "You think you even have our real names?" He smiled at Thor's indecisive expression, and it was a chilling killer's smile. "Think very carefully about what you're going to say next, Mr. Odinson."
Thor's eyes narrowed. "Plan on me being there."
When he strode out of the office, Steve sighed and looked around the room. "So. Are we getting some of Maria's people to protect us?"
"Damn straight," Clint replied, lips thin in distaste. "Let Natasha negotiate a contract with her, you and I need to go over the plans for the Odinson estate and figure out the best location for this all to go down. I don't trust him."
Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This entire plan stinks to high heaven."
"I won't fault any of you if you decide to back out," Steve said slowly. "You have your safety to think about. Your families, maybe. Tony, he knows your real name."
"Yeah, well, I've never been real good at hiding my identity. Secret identities are for losers."
There was a chorus of snorts and disgusted laughter; most of the others, even Bruce, had at least one or two false identities set up around the world. Steve had even gotten fancy at one point years ago and made himself a Captain in the army for one of his identities.
"Anyway, guys," Steve murmured. "I took on the job. This is my responsibility. I got you into this mess, and you don't have to follow me back out of it."
"Yeah, you're an idiot," Natasha agreed with a nod. She shrugged. "I never did want a normal job, you know. Not exciting enough."
"Total adrenaline junkie," Clint agreed.
"I'm in it for the money," Bruce admitted. "And the practice. Decanting all of this is far more difficult than the work I've been doing most recently in Calcutta."
Tony shrugged. "Pure design, man. And it's a good stroke to my ego if this works. I still can't believe Ariadne has one over on me! I mean, she's only a couple of years out of the Grand École, it's disgusting." He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "C'mon, you didn't think that douchebag could scare me off, did you?"
Steve grinned at all of them. Overcome by emotion, for a moment he couldn't speak. "I really appreciate this. The confidence that I can get you all through this." He took a deep breath, then before someone could make a snarky remark to spoil the mood, he nodded at all of them. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? We've got an inception to perform."
***
During Frigga Odinson's gala, no one really noticed when Pepper Potts and Tony Stark disappeared together, though they had a ready excuse. Natasha was there initially to help, and Sif released her from marketing or public relations duties early to experience an Odinson gala for herself as thanks. She had made a big show of appreciating the art collection and gardens, both areas with low foot traffic during a party where movers and shakers were trying to be seen, and she was not well known anyway. Loki followed her, a move which most Odin Corp staffers did note. The staffers didn't take notice of two other well dressed men they didn't know well moving about, or when Thor and Jane ducked out of the main area.
Loki was hit with one of Bruce's highly potent sedatives from behind. Stronger than he looked, Bruce caught the falling millionaire and dragged him out of the gardens and into the side room reserved for their purpose. Jane and Pepper were going to keep watch over the collection of reclining sleepers, and were fully aware of the stakes if they were all caught.
Efficiently sliding the needles into wrists, soon everyone was hooked up and ready to dream. Thor didn't have any last minute demands, and everyone was long past the time for warnings, second thoughts or nervousness.
"Sweet dreams," Pepper said with a pleasant tone of voice. She pushed the red button on the PASIV she had smuggled into the estate earlier when meeting with Frigga.
The somnacin began to flow, and everyone began to dream.
***
***
To Chapter Four - Drop Me Down To The Dream Below
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: *deep breath* Steve/Bucky, Steve/Natasha, Steve/Bucky/Natasha, Clint/Natasha, Loki/Natasha, Tony/Pepper, Maria/Natasha, Jane/Thor.
Disclaimer: Not mine! Not even by a little bit.
Spoilers/Warnings: MCU AU. Based off of this AU gifset on Tumblr. Come on, a mashup of Inception and the MCU. *drools* Did you really think I could stay away from this? No, I didn't think so either. :D Title and chapter titles from Linkin Park's "Castle of Glass."
Summary: Thor of Odin Corp. hires Steve Rogers' elite dream sharing team to perform inception on his brother, Loki, and a shade of their ex-resident thief Bucky (who was killed when the team's last job went horribly wrong) tries his best to sabotage it.
Or: Steve extracts, Tony builds, Clint runs point, Natasha's a master of impersonation, Bruce concocts, Thor's a tourist, and things happen.
Prior chapters:
One - Through The Secrets That I Have Seen
Two - Wash The Poison From Off My Skin
Three - Warm Me Up In A Nova's Glow
Dinner with Maria was at a very private yet upscale restaurant in Paris. She was very amused by the whole thing. "So. You drew the short straw to butter me up, huh?"
"Look, it's not a big deal, really," Natasha said, laughing. "You know how paranoid Steve gets when you start getting mean to him."
"Because half the time he doesn't discuss anything. He just makes a decision and charges ahead, expecting you to follow along."
"Problem is, nine times out of ten, he's not wrong."
Maria nodded and shrugged. "Still, this is fancier than I expected."
"It's nice to get away from it all, I get it." Natasha grinned. "And hey, this is a business expense, so order whatever you want."
"I assume this has something to do with Thor Odinson, given that he's footing the bill on the conference space. My boss definitely likes the income, even if he thinks you all are full of shit. He's just too nice to say so."
Natasha laughed along with her. "Thor was nice enough to create a corporate expense account, yes," she admitted. "But Steve's worried about the office space and if we're going to get you into trouble about it."
"We just assume it has to do with all the extra security Loki had hired on last week," Maria said with a shrug. "It really isn't a big deal on our end, but Steve is being all secretive. I understand why, my boss doesn't. I have to make up some kind of lie about how you're looking into possible corporate espionage or some bullshit like that."
Natasha blinked and filed away the fact that Loki was hiring security. Clint would need to know about that if he hadn't found out already. "Well, you're not wrong."
"Huh. Look at that." Maria grinned. "So. Is that it for the business part of the evening?"
"Yeah. Unless there's really an axe to grind somewhere."
She shook her head. "No. Steve just caught me at a bad time the other day."
"Can I tell him I smoothed things over? I have a reputation to uphold."
Maria laughed, amused. "Sure, I don't care."
"Fantastic." Natasha reached across the table to pat her hand in thanks, and Maria looked down at her hand, then up at her face. "What?" Natasha asked, confused.
"Do I look that desperate?"
"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning.
"Are you taking me out to make sure I think kindly on you, maybe give me a pity fuck or something like that?" Maria asked, getting upset.
"Jesus, Maria. Do you honestly think I pity you?" Natasha asked, affronted.
"Then what is all this?"
"C'mon, Maria. We are both the only women on our teams. It's an utter sausage fest with asshats full of themselves. I figured you'd like a nice night out where you don't have to posture or be a kickass bitch." Natasha leaned back in her chair and gave Maria an assessing look. "I'm guessing it's been ages for you if you jump to thinking I'm trying to seduce you."
She leaned forward and rubbed her face with her hands. "Fuck, I'm obvious about that, aren't I?"
Natasha pulled a face. "Only because I know you really well. What are your hours like now?"
"I pull eighteen, nineteen hour days sometimes. It's ridiculous."
"Shit, no wonder you're wound so tight." Natasha signaled for the waiter to return, and ordered red wine to go with her meal over her protests. "Water isn't going to cut it, Maria. I insist. Treat yourself for a change. If you burn out, where are you going to be?"
Maria shook her head. "But then if I get drunk..."
"I'll take you home," Natasha replied, affronted. "C'mon, what do you take me for? You really think I'd leave you stumbling down the street unaware of what's going on?"
She blew out a breath and looked at Natasha with a vulnerable expression. "Sometimes I just wonder if all this is really worth it. Why do you stay doing what you do?"
For a moment, Natasha thought of what she used to have with Steve and Bucky, and what she now had with Clint. "The people. The challenge of it. The paycheck doesn't hurt. But I'd walk away from all of this if I found something better."
Sighing, Maria rubbed at her eyes, then grimaced at the smeared mascara and eye shadow on the backs of her hands. "I haven't felt really challenged or motivated in a long time. It's the same old shit, day in and day out, entitled wealthy people cheating on each other and businesses wanting more security to protect assets they stole."
Warning bells were sounding in Natasha's head. "You mean Loki Odinson, don't you?"
She nodded and blew out another breath. "Well, there goes the confidentiality clause."
"You're burned out, Maria," Natasha said, clucking her tongue. "I won't tell, you know that. If anything comes up, just say it's the Odinsons being paranoid as fuck, which they are. But if you hate it so much, go out on your own. Or, if you can stomach breaking the law, come on out with us. You would be wonderful as point."
Grimacing at Natasha, Maria shook her head. "I couldn't do that."
Natasha grinned at her, hoping to lighten the mood. "Well, it was worth a shot."
Maria laughed a little. "You're a good friend, Natasha."
"I do try," Natasha said brightly. "Hey, after dinner, want that pity fuck? I have been told that I'm pretty damn amazing. Which I know, but it's nice to hear that, too."
Now Maria's laughter was more genuine. "Jesus Christ, girl, the ego on you." She laughed a little more and then shook her head. "You know what? What the hell. I haven't gotten laid in three years and I do nothing for fun anymore. Unless sleep counts."
"Decidedly not."
"Then yeah. Let's do this. I can't believe I'm saying this, but why not?"
Natasha gave her a wicked grin. "Well, then. In that case, prepare to be seduced."
It was fun to see Maria's reaction to playing footsie under the table - "Jesus Christ, I've never even done that with a man, Natasha, what the hell?" - or more subtle flirting. She had an easier time with the compliments and sly smiles, the looks out of the corner of her eye as Natasha licked her lips seductively. If anything, Maria seemed nervous, and Natasha had to remember that her friend hadn't had sex or been on a date in years. Maria was also the kind to be uptight enough and busy enough not to masturbate, poor thing.
They went back to Maria's apartment, a classy walkup on the third floor. Natasha thought about shoving her up against the big plate glass windows and fucking her there, giving any passersby a show, but knew Maria would never go for that. She was the serious kind, the one that worked long hours, needed to have an emotional connection before bedding someone, but couldn't go out to a club and meet people. She wasn't a pickup artist the way Natasha was, didn't like the concept of casual sex or having multiple partners at once. When she twigged to Natasha being in a sexual relationship with Steve and James years ago, she had turned puce and couldn't meet their eyes for about three days. It had been adorable and annoying at the same time.
"Don't be nervous," Natasha told Maria once they took off their jackets. "You change your mind, we'll just have drinks and make fun of porn on the internet or something."
She choked and looked at Natasha incredulously. "What?"
"Oh, come on. You've never done that? Some of it out there is just made so badly, you can't help but make fun of it because they're doing it wrong." She grinned at Maria and pulled her in close. "Don't be nervous."
"Um... It's been a while."
"And never with a woman, I'm guessing," Natasha said, tilting her head to the side.
"No."
"You don't have to reciprocate if you don't want to," Natasha murmured, leaning in to kiss Maria with a smirk. "Though not gonna lie, it would be fantastic if you did."
That made Maria laugh against her mouth, working loose the last of her misgivings. She kissed Natasha back enthusiastically, opening her lips and letting Natasha slide her tongue in. Maria held onto Natasha's hips gently, getting used to the rub of breasts against hers. Natasha gave that a moment, then reached up to stroke her through her blouse and bra. She grinned against Maria's mouth when the brunette gasped. "Not kidding about it being a while," Natasha murmured, moving to feather kisses over her cheeks. "You're so sensitive."
Maria actually trembled a little. "I always was before, too."
"Mmm, good to know," Natasha purred. "You know me," she continued, stroking her breasts and nibbling on her ear. "I always get what I want. And right now, I want you to come a lot tonight."
"It usually takes me a long time to get that point."
"Then you were dating losers before," Natasha declared. She unbuttoned Maria's blouse and moved to kiss her neck and chest, running her lips over the slope of her breasts not covered by the bra. She ghosted her fingertips over Maria's back and arms, trying to heighten the sensory input. "I am definitely not a loser."
That made her laugh again, which was a plus. Maria slid her hands up Natasha's spine, then rested her hands on her shoulder. "No," she murmured, "you're definitely not that."
Off came the bra, and then Natasha sucked on a breast, abrading the nipple with the tip of her tongue. Maria shivered in her arms, gasping at the contact. She gave up trying to talk, so Natasha gauged her reactions by the shivers and moans. Sliding her fingers down Maria's torso was nice, but undoing her trousers and slipping her fingers into her panties was even better. They were sensible bikini briefs in plain light pink, nothing fancy. Maria really hadn't expected to get laid tonight. That was fine; Natasha hadn't really been expecting it either, so her underwear wasn't the ridiculously expensive lace and satin concoctions she wore for a seduction.
Natasha worked at her breasts with lips and tongue, switching periodically to make sure that she didn't get so oversensitized that she would feel numb to it. At the same time, she gently explored Maria's sex with her fingers, figuring out what kind of touch she liked. "There," Maria suddenly whimpered, her grip on Natasha's shoulder growing painfully tight.
"Let's move it to the bedroom, huh?" Natasha asked, lifting her lips from Maria's breast. "Better angle and more comfortable for you."
She blinked, clearly not understanding the point, but led Natasha to the bedroom. She started to apologize for it being messy and the bed unmade, but Natasha pulled her in close and simply kissed her. As she did that, she pushed down on the trousers and panties, then slid her fingers right in, thumb on Maria's clit. She squeaked in surprised pleasure, making Natasha laugh a little, and grasped Natasha for balance before stroking her breast. Her touch was almost hesitant, as if not sure how hard she should do it. Natasha slid her free arm around Maria's torso and sucked a kiss onto her neck. "C'mon, Maria. Touch me. It's not like a woman's body is a stranger to you. We've got the same parts."
Maria snorted. "Only you can make this sound like a challenge."
"Isn't it?" she asked, pulling back to smirk at the brunette. She watched Maria shiver as she curled her fingers, steadily thrusting them in and out. "If you wanna play with me, play with me. Trust me, I'll tell you if I like something or not."
"You're very matter of fact about this."
"How else am I going to get what I want?"
"Huh," Maria murmured before gasping and arching into Natasha's touch, practically riding her hand. "I never-thought-Oh, God, there, Natasha, right there." She moaned, clenching tight around Natasha's fingers, eyes falling shut. "I never thought of it that way."
"You do for work," Natasha murmured, leaning in to mouth kisses along Maria's jaw. "Why should this be any different? If you're shy about it, nobody will figure out what makes you feel good." She leaned down and pressed her lips to the curve of her neck. "And this is about making you feel good."
Maria hadn't been kidding earlier about taking a while to ramp up to orgasm. She gasped and writhed in pleasure, but seemed to hover on a plateau despite Natasha fingering her and sucking on her breasts. Her wrist ached and there was a crick starting to form in her lower back, which simply wouldn't do. Gently pushing Maria to lie on her back on the bed, Natasha kept up the same thrusting rhythm. She pushed the panties and trousers down to Maria's ankles and nudged her knees wider with her free hand. Then she knelt between her legs and started licking and sucking on Maria's clit as she kept up the thrusts, adding another finger to stretch her out and add more sensation. Maria had to shove a fist into her mouth to muffle her cries, her entire body thrumming with building tension.
Natasha sat back on her haunches when Maria finally came, massaging her jaw a little and then licking her fingers clean. "There we are. Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad?" Maria echoed with an incredulous laugh. "Fuck, Natasha. That was good."
"I'm thinking we're only getting started," Natasha replied, getting up to sit on the bed next to her sprawled form. She let her fingers trail down Maria's stomach to the nest of curls at the juncture of her thighs. "What do you think?"
Grinning, Maria pulled at Natasha's blouse. "Let's get rid of this and keep going."
Natasha was definitely on board for that.
***
"I can't believe you left me out," Clint whined when Natasha arrived in his apartment the following morning. "You suck."
"And swallow," Natasha replied with a sweet grin, her usual response to his whining. "But the important part was what Maria let slip, too." That got Clint's professional attention. "Loki's hired on the company for their security expertise."
"I didn't find that in the company accounts!"
"I know. Which means it's probably one of the personal ones that you haven't gotten to yet. So what is he hiding from Thor that he would need a veritable army for?"
"Wait, what?" Clint asked, frowning. He moved over to the file cabinet in the corner of his apartment and started rifling through it. "An army?"
"C'mon, you know that no case covered by the Fortress would be any less protected. So what is he doing? Moving to take over Odin Corp from the inside?"
"Shit. Would explain some of his attention on you, then."
"What do you mean?" she frowned.
"Your focus is on who to forge in the dream. Well, you don't have to now, right? Watch him closely. If he's making a move on the inside, then he might be trying to figure out which employees could be loyal to him and which to Thor. Then when he makes his power play, he knows which ones to tap."
Natasha sucked in a breath and nodded. "I can see that. If he could apply some kind of pressure, figure out what Natalie wants and keep her loyal to him and not to a temp agency..." She approached Clint and leaned up against him. "That might be a whole other thing to have to deal with in the dream, you know. Getting him to abandon that plan?"
"Thor has no idea that's coming, and I don't know if we should mention it or not," Clint replied with a sigh. "But I sure as hell don't want to add anything to this nightmare of a dream. It's going to be complicated enough already."
"We'll need to bring it up, though. It's an added wrinkle."
"We need to figure out who's holding down which layer of the dream anyway. It won't need to be one hundred percent set until the idea's locked down and Tony has his mazes settled, but I'm thinking we should probably do it soon. If Loki is this crazy, we're facing militarization-level projections even if I can't find any sign of prior training."
"Wouldn't hurt to be prepared for that. In addition to..." She made a vague gesture.
"Bucky," Clint said for her unhappily.
"He might not show up," Natasha allowed, letting her head fall against Clint's chest. "But I don't think Steve's in that healthy a headspace."
"Are you?" he asked gently, wrapping his arms around her.
"I've done my grieving," she said softly. "I've pieced myself back together."
"But you know what it's like to be unmade. To feel like you've been taken apart..."
"You know that I do," she murmured.
"I've never seen a shade when I went under with you," Clint said in gentle tones. "If anything shows up, I know it won't be from you. It won't be from me. We've worked out the worst of our issues, so they don't come out on a job." He paused, pursing his lips. "But Steve..."
"But Steve," she echoed in agreement. He was the wild card in all of this.
***
Steve, blissfully unaware of his teammates' concerns, was meeting with Tony to try to finalize some of the ideas for each level. That would lock in which dreamer would take which level. As forger, Natasha would have to be in all three, even though she was going to keep the Natalie Rushman persona. She had gotten to know a lot of Odin Corp staffers, and could flawlessly shift to become someone else if necessary. She would likely have to take over dreaming that level; while Steve would have to be there too, he wasn't sure if Bucky would show up to ruin the job. He hoped that wouldn't be the case, but for five jobs in a row after Bucky's death, he had shown up and shot either Clint or Natasha out of the dreams. Sometimes both, and he had tortured them first. Steve had tried to tell Bucky that it wasn't their fault he had died, but perhaps some part of Steve didn't believe that. Why else would Bucky keep showing up?
He was thankful they hadn't really discussed the shade issue with the rest of the team. He didn't want them afraid of him, or thinking he wanted to kill them while in the dream. Steve truly missed working like this, being part of a team and doing something important. Okay, maybe he wasn't a soldier in the army or saving the world, but this was still important to someone, and it was a job he did well. He wasn't some kind of trussed up dancing monkey or science experiment for the government, which was more than he could say for a lot of people that knew about dream share. It was still primarily a military training exercise in most countries.
Tony was enthusiastic about the design of the dream cities for each layer. Steve hadn't even minded when Pepper arrived with lunch, Thai takeout and some Tsingtao beer. "I got the day off," she had explained when she showed up with the food. She was dressed in jeans and a simple white button down blouse and Keds, a decided step down from her usual stilettos and a power suit in the law firm where she worked. Her strawberry blonde hair was done up in a loose ponytail, wisps falling loose. She looked very young and very sweet that way, but Steve had already gotten the impression that she knew how to handle anything life threw at her. "I wanted to see what got Tony so worked up. It's good that he's got a new project to work on."
Steve listened as Tony gleefully bounded over to his sketchbooks to show her. Due to the nature of the job, he hadn't brought them home like he did with his usual work. They were locked up in the office suite at The Fortress.
"So, it's like this. We have the first layer, where we talk about the joys of being adopted."
"Not quite like that," Steve demurred.
Pepper laughed. "I can translate Tony's speech, Steve, not to worry."
Tony had just grinned. "So, we have to have a more open area to work with. Nothing oppressive or dreary, or the symbolism will attach that to the message of the layer. I'm thinking more modern style, maybe Art Deco."
"Oooh. I like that," Pepper remarked, paging through the first layer sketchbook. She tapped on one of the sketches that Tony had colored in. "Hey, that one there reminds me a little of that hotel we went to last year."
"Exactly! I liked it there, thought it was a great little getaway. That's the atmosphere I want to bring into this layer."
"And it was my idea to go there," she replied smugly. "I should get some credit for this."
"Twelve percent," Tony offered.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't even leave your office if not for me."
"Innovative design doesn't happen overnight!"
She huffed, though it was a playful sound and it appeared to be a frequent occurrence in their relationship. Watching it made Steve feel almost uncomfortable; he once had this with Bucky and Natasha. He once had the playful back and forth ribbing with Clint. They had been a team, a solid foursome in the field, bringing in chemists only if there were specialized dreams that the ordinary somnacin wouldn't be good for.
And then a year and a half ago, everything went to hell, and nothing had been the same.
"Thinking hard there, Steve?" Tony asked. "Got a new idea?"
Ideas were slippery things. So were emotions.
"I like the Art Deco," he said, as if he was paying attention to Tony's byplay with Pepper. "It's classic looking without being overdone. It should play into the message of that layer. It's the second one I'm worried about. That one is much more nebulous."
"Because the ideas are too different," Pepper replied. "The whole point of this is to implant an idea, but if it's too complicated, it's going to fall apart."
Steve lofted an eyebrow in surprise. "Have you been in dream share?"
She smirked. "My boyfriend and best friend are. So by extension, I suppose I'm involved. But Ariadne was involved in quite a bit, including a successful inception."
Leaning forward with interest, Steve stared at her. "She was?"
"Yep. Brilliant architect. Maybe I should introduce you if Tony ever retires from this and sticks with real world building. She's much easier to deal with than this ball of ego."
"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Tony snarked.
"Anyway, the point is, the secret her team found was keeping the idea simple. One idea, planted at the lowest level of the dream. The others were mostly for show, to set up the simple idea all the way at the end."
"Did she tell you what her job was for?"
"Absolutely not! And I don't want to know those kinds of details," she admonished, wagging her finger in his direction. "But it sounds to me like you're making things too complicated. Make it even simpler. Remember, it's a dream. You have to work with dream logic, not real world logic."
"We can still keep the Art Deco, right?" Tony asked Steve. "I really like the look and feel of it."
Steve looked through the sketches again. Keep it simple, stupid. It was the first rule any kid learned in school, and he had forgotten it.
Mostly because Bucky and Natasha frequently called him stupid. Too many memories, too many tangled emotions, too many regrets.
"The idea at the end is to let go of negative emotions," Steve murmured. "Grief, anger, pain, all of it. Keep the love and fond memories, get rid of the baggage."
"This sounds like the set up to a bad joke," Tony remarked.
"If we want to play up the positive aspect of things, we want everything light and airy. Happy kind of architecture. Nothing overpowering, nothing oppressive," Steve continued as if Tony hadn't spoken. He had noted that Pepper did that a lot when she had a point to make. It seemed to be a very good technique in handling Tony's snarking.
"We need to symbolize it somehow, you know," Tony told him. "You don't just say 'let it go' and it magically happens. There has to be some symbolic thing to tell him that the bullshit and daddy issues aren't worth keeping."
Steve looked at Tony. "Then he has to get rid of his father's things. That'll be the final layer of the dream. We'll need to recreate their boyhood home, and he's going to have to get rid of their father's belongings himself."
"Thor did it in the real world, didn't he?" Pepper asked, frowning. "So he never got closure."
"You follow the gossip columns?" Steve asked, surprised at her.
She rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised what high powered lawyers talk about during breaks or when paperwork threatens to drop our IQ's. Plus, that paparazzi spread from last summer in Monaco? Have you seen what he looks like in a swimsuit?"
"Hey!" Tony cried, though the others could tell he wasn't insulted. "You're supposed to be looking at me, Pep."
"And that's why I drag you out of your office, honey." She grinned and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I've got other errands to run, and you have homework," she said, nodding at the spread of sketchbooks on the table. "It's probably going to be a long night for you. I could always ask around, see if I could snag tickets to a benefit the Odinsons throw. There's usually one or two things they have at their house. Or see if one of the interns knows Jane."
Steve and Tony gaped at her. "Why didn't you mention this before?" Steve asked.
"Tony never mentioned it," Pepper replied with a shrug. "What's your time frame?"
"Natasha's cover ends in nine weeks."
"Plenty of time to pull some strings on my end." Pepper rose gracefully and grinned at Steve's surprise. What was it about redheads throwing him for a loop? "You boys play nice, and I'll see what I can do. I am very talented and well connected in Paris."
"I'm starting to see that," Steve commented.
Waiting until Pepper made her goodbyes and left, Steve turned to Tony. "She's amazing. Why haven't you married her yet?"
"Oh, please. Like she wants me tying her down. This way, if she gets a partnership offer, she can take off immediately."
"She could do that even if you're married."
"Not to the old school bigwigs in the field. They see a wedding ring as an anchor."
Steve winced. "That sucks."
"Tell me about it. It's not like we need that, anyway." Tony shuffled through the pages in his notebook for the second layer. "Bright and airy, huh? Convention for the first level, his childhood home for the third. We're going to want something fun in between."
"Like having someone dream up a beach?" Steve offered.
Tony snorted. "Too conventional. I'm disappointed in you. If we go by gossip columns, he likes icy places. Skiing, snowboarding, stuff like that. And he's something of a geek, I think. But the way Natasha talked about him, I'm thinking he's got a drama queen streak."
"So what would that boil down to?"
He grinned in response. "Give the diva what he wants, obviously. He wants his name in lights, he wants applause and adoration." When Steve clearly didn't get it, Tony shook his head. "Give him control of Odin Corp. Let him think he took it over. Have you seen that building? It's all glass and golden accents, like a spire up into the sky. Just give it to him, see what he does with it. That would be the positive emotion you want to feed on and build up when you take him down to daddy issues."
"You know, I think that just might work."
"Of course it will. I'm brilliant that way."
Rolling his eyes, Steve sighed. "Let's not push the issue."
Laughing, Tony grabbed his sketchbook and got to work.
***
Clint returned from various offices and archives in Paris to The Fortress. He was armed with all sorts of blueprints for Tony, base chemicals for Bruce to tinker with, vital records and interviews that he had collected regarding the Odinson family. He had even managed to wrangle some time with Frigga Odinson, even though Thor had clearly not informed her of his intentions to use inception to mend the family rift. He had posed as a freelance journalist trying to do a piece on her humanitarian efforts in the poorer neighborhoods in Paris. From there, the troubled woman had actually spoken of her family difficulties as her inspiration, making him think that she was incredibly lonely without her husband and children. When he had commented on that in an oblique manner, she had given him a sad smile. "You have no children, then," she observed with a soft sigh. "They are everything to me. Family is everything. It's built up of relationships, and they're all that matters. Everything in this shining city is meaningless without family. What else would you work for, if you don't have that?"
"I suppose that's why I'm working on this story, then. Maybe I can figure it out."
She had laughed softly at his reply, shaking her head slightly. "Don't listen to an old woman's rambling on that topic."
"You are hardly an old woman."
Frigga had smiled, every inch the elegant socialite she had been before Odin's death. Her hair was still elegantly coiffed, tasteful gold and crystal jewelry dangling from her ears or throat, her dress a very expensive and tasteful dress in light green and blue. Still, there was an incredible sadness about her, something that seemed to suck the energy right out of Clint. "Not in age, perhaps. But years don't tell the whole story, young man. You can be young in years but still live a life full of regrets weighing you down. That makes you old before your time, and you can feel the press of lifetimes on you." She sighed and stood. "I'm sorry. I've grown maudlin, and I don't think it is very conducive to your article."
"Maybe not," Clint said, rising to his feet as well. It would certainly explain to her why no article would ever be written or published. "But I have a feeling you needed to say it and have someone hear it. I'm glad I was here for that."
Then she smiled warmly, a return to who she had been before the worry and grief had worn her down and erased her joy. "Thank you."
Natasha and Steve had nodded in understanding as Clint relayed the interview over dinner around the conference table. Bruce had set up a separate area to serve as his work bench to create his own somnacin blend; commercial somnacin or even standard attempts to recreate it would never give the clarity needed for multiple level dreams. The university he had studied with had its own proprietary blend as well, the basic formula tinkered with and adjusted to give a sharper image within the dream, as well as a lighter hangover effect once the subject woke up. The team would still have to find a long enough period of time and good enough excuse for any potential grogginess once they were through with the inception attempt.
"Grief does that," Bruce remarked, shrugging at them. "So if we have our layers more or less set, and I think I have enough of a supply here to start getting on with practice runs." He said, nodding toward the work bench. Making somnacin was a long process, and for all of the trials they would need to learn Tony's mazes, it would be continual work on his part to provide that constant supply.
"Meaning, we're going to have to decide who's taking on what level," Clint said, nodding.
"Tash has to go all the way down with me, so she's got to anchor the third layer," Steve said. He didn't explain any further, but she nodded her agreement so he didn't have to.
"The upper layers traditionally have all the subconscious security. So if Loki's going to be paranoid as all hell, you want me free on the top level, maybe second," Clint replied. "I guess that means I take the second."
"So it means somebody disposable for the first level," Tony said. A chorus of groans greeted him at that pronouncement. "What? You need someone nonvital to your mission to anchor the top level, am I right?"
"I guess I could do it?" Bruce volunteered. All eyes swiveled in his direction and he appeared very self conscious. "What? I've been working on my temper, okay? I'm not going to turn into a rage monster just because something goes wrong." He pointed at Tony when the architect snickered. "Yes, I know what people say about me out in the field. You can't help but hear that kind of bullshit, even if you're not active in it."
"Look. I sought you out because you're good at what you do," Natasha told him. "If I thought you were going to be dangerous to us, I would've found someone else. If you're comfortable with that idea, you have my support."
"Thank you," he said, giving her a gracious nod.
"So I guess we have that set," Tony said. He leaned back in his chair with his food, putting his feet up on the table despite the glares he got from others. "I'm working on the overall layouts, trying to add in hidey-holes and switchbacks and stuff, just in case. I figure it can't hurt to be prepared if something goes wrong."
There was a knock on the door before it opened. Maria appeared uncomfortable and she ducked into the room. "I know you guys said that you needed to be undisturbed, but Thor's here. He's demanding to be let up."
Natasha looked concerned. "Weren't you supposed to leave four hours ago?"
Maria sighed and tucked her dark hair behind her ears. "Something came up. As always." She studiously ignored Natasha's pointed sigh and looked over in Steve's direction. "Well?"
Now it was Steve's turn to sigh. "Send him up. Something must have happened."
That something turned out to be his desire to join them on the inception. Thor waited patiently through the protests, then pulled up a chair at the head of the table. That set him across from Bruce and his adjoining table full of glassware, Steve and Tony on one side of the table, Clint and Natasha on the other. He merely smiled at them magnanimously, as if their discord was an everyday occurrence and not worth worry.
"Friends," he began in a patient tone of voice. "This is my brother we are talking about. I just want to ensure his safety. You gave me a time frame of nine weeks for this to happen, and I have the perfect opportunity for you. My mother is hosting one of her elaborate charity balls in two months. Natasha of course will be there to help assist Sif and some of the publicity staff, I'll make sure of that. The rest of you can be either on staff to help or you can come as guests, whichever is easiest for you."
Tony raised his hand. "I can come as a guest. My girlfriend is Pepper Potts, you might have heard of her. She's amazing and brilliant as a lawyer."
"I think I have," Thor said with a polite incline of his head. He looked at Steve and then Clint, no artifice in his expression. "Jane's friend Darcy would need a date, so one of you perhaps would be able to stay part of the evening with her."
"It's incredibly awful to ditch a date halfway through," Natasha piped up, shaking her head. "It's going to be a few hours under. Loki might be okay disappearing, but I'm sure Darcy will mind if her date does, and we'll want to be as far from memorable as possible."
"And how do you plan to excuse your own absence?" Steve asked, looking wary.
"Jane will understand if I say there is business at hand. It happens a lot, whether I will it or not," he replied with a grimace. "She is exceedingly understanding of that."
"Lucky," Tony remarked. "If Pep and I disappear, no one will remark on it." The others stared at him. "I'm assuming we're asking her to watch over our sleeping bodies, right? I don't trust some stranger to do it. And if she's with me, wagging tongues will just say we're abusing our host's hospitality and testing out a bedroom or something. Whatever. I suggest that you two become part of whatever security detail Thor's going to hire for the shindig. Or just let you two show up solo and say you're friends of his."
"All of us disappearing for a few hours at a party is difficult enough. Now you want to come in on it as well?" Steve asked, shaking his head. "I don't think it'll work."
"Then make it work." There was a steely undertone to his voice, one that his business associates likely heard often. "I plan to be there, and I plan to make sure that Loki isn't harmed by this endeavor."
"You have no idea the potential harm inherent in this kind of undertaking," Bruce said, lips thinned with impatience. The other dream share veterans all surreptitiously were on the alert for his temper. "You say he hates you? Well, you showing up and walking all over his dream is going to make it so much worse. It won't be any one of us that ruins the job you set for us, it'll be you, not understanding what we're doing. There's no room for tourists on a job," he finished, a derisive curl to his lips.
Given Bruce's history of punching out people he worked with or knocking them clear across the room, this was downright tame.
Thor bristled, standing at his full height and trying to appear intimidating. "You have no idea who I am or what I can do to all of you."
"Or what we can do to you," Natasha said, voice even. She even smiled pleasantly at his startled expression. "After all, how many personal finance accounts did you have to tap in order to hire all of us? How many HR rules did you have to bend to get me in ahead of however many other candidates they wanted to hire? You're betraying the trust of your brother, your mother, your friends and confidantes in the company... Should I go on?"
They were in a staring match for a moment, but Thor was the one that caved first. He looked away, then looked back at them. He appeared gutted, defeated before he even began. "He's my brother," he said quietly. "I'd do anything for him."
"Then let us do our job," Steve said in a conciliatory tone. "Everything falls apart if we're out of step with the plan, and we're all professionals in dream share. We know what we're doing."
"I need to be there," Thor said quietly. "Loki isn't doing well. There are... problems. I worry for his sanity."
"You being there won't help matters," Bruce said. "You could compromise the whole mission."
Something in Thor flared, a ghost of his old arrogance. "Then consider it compromised. I will be there, I will be part of this entire enterprise. You do it with me, or you all go to prison." He glared at everyone around the room. "Even if you take me down with you, none of you will be free for years."
"You think we don't have protections in place?" Clint asked, voice cold and even. "You think you even have our real names?" He smiled at Thor's indecisive expression, and it was a chilling killer's smile. "Think very carefully about what you're going to say next, Mr. Odinson."
Thor's eyes narrowed. "Plan on me being there."
When he strode out of the office, Steve sighed and looked around the room. "So. Are we getting some of Maria's people to protect us?"
"Damn straight," Clint replied, lips thin in distaste. "Let Natasha negotiate a contract with her, you and I need to go over the plans for the Odinson estate and figure out the best location for this all to go down. I don't trust him."
Bruce sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This entire plan stinks to high heaven."
"I won't fault any of you if you decide to back out," Steve said slowly. "You have your safety to think about. Your families, maybe. Tony, he knows your real name."
"Yeah, well, I've never been real good at hiding my identity. Secret identities are for losers."
There was a chorus of snorts and disgusted laughter; most of the others, even Bruce, had at least one or two false identities set up around the world. Steve had even gotten fancy at one point years ago and made himself a Captain in the army for one of his identities.
"Anyway, guys," Steve murmured. "I took on the job. This is my responsibility. I got you into this mess, and you don't have to follow me back out of it."
"Yeah, you're an idiot," Natasha agreed with a nod. She shrugged. "I never did want a normal job, you know. Not exciting enough."
"Total adrenaline junkie," Clint agreed.
"I'm in it for the money," Bruce admitted. "And the practice. Decanting all of this is far more difficult than the work I've been doing most recently in Calcutta."
Tony shrugged. "Pure design, man. And it's a good stroke to my ego if this works. I still can't believe Ariadne has one over on me! I mean, she's only a couple of years out of the Grand École, it's disgusting." He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "C'mon, you didn't think that douchebag could scare me off, did you?"
Steve grinned at all of them. Overcome by emotion, for a moment he couldn't speak. "I really appreciate this. The confidence that I can get you all through this." He took a deep breath, then before someone could make a snarky remark to spoil the mood, he nodded at all of them. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? We've got an inception to perform."
***
During Frigga Odinson's gala, no one really noticed when Pepper Potts and Tony Stark disappeared together, though they had a ready excuse. Natasha was there initially to help, and Sif released her from marketing or public relations duties early to experience an Odinson gala for herself as thanks. She had made a big show of appreciating the art collection and gardens, both areas with low foot traffic during a party where movers and shakers were trying to be seen, and she was not well known anyway. Loki followed her, a move which most Odin Corp staffers did note. The staffers didn't take notice of two other well dressed men they didn't know well moving about, or when Thor and Jane ducked out of the main area.
Loki was hit with one of Bruce's highly potent sedatives from behind. Stronger than he looked, Bruce caught the falling millionaire and dragged him out of the gardens and into the side room reserved for their purpose. Jane and Pepper were going to keep watch over the collection of reclining sleepers, and were fully aware of the stakes if they were all caught.
Efficiently sliding the needles into wrists, soon everyone was hooked up and ready to dream. Thor didn't have any last minute demands, and everyone was long past the time for warnings, second thoughts or nervousness.
"Sweet dreams," Pepper said with a pleasant tone of voice. She pushed the red button on the PASIV she had smuggled into the estate earlier when meeting with Frigga.
The somnacin began to flow, and everyone began to dream.
***
***
To Chapter Four - Drop Me Down To The Dream Below