Prompt#315- Murrini - Room for Improvement 4.0- Tekia – The Avengers/Exalted

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Room for Improvement 4.0
Fandom: Avengers/Exalted
Prompt: Subterfuge
Warnings: none
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After falling into a trap, the first order of business it to find out where you are. But, if where you are makes no sense, then what are you supposed to do? Traveling to the future is easy, just fall asleep, right? Waking up to a whole different world is harder. Luckily, Tony Stark can adapt to any environment.

Wisp returned four weeks to the day after he left, paler than before, but that might just have been Tony’s perception of the man. After all, his skin wasn’t any shade of tan, but so white it was nearly blue. Blue like he were dead.
Tony shook such thoughts out of his head and shook hands with the man when they greeted him at the door. When they did shake hands, some sort of spark came to his eyes, a spark that Tony hadn’t realized was missing. He looked tired and dead, and when he shook Tony’s hand, his eyes focused on him for a brief moment before that spark went away, leaving his dark eyes empty once more. Tony shivered under his tunic and rubbed his hands over his arms to dispel the chill that had settled over him.
Wisp of Shadow directed them into a sitting room and sat in a tall wing-backed chair, sinking into the dark brocade and filling the room with the chill of death. Tony sat next to White Song, the most alive thing in the room, and she patted his knee.
“Do not lie to me,” Wisp of Shadow said as his dark eyes bore into White Song’s. “My lord and master has told me of a rumor spreading around the spirit realm about someone that could tip the scales in this war. You know about this, don’t you, with how friendly you are with elementals.”
White Song calmly folded her hands on her lap and tilted her head to one side. “Tip the scales of battle? Sounds terrible.” Her lips curved up. “Sounds like victory to me.”
Wisp of Shadows flicked a long fingered hand through the air, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not for us.”
“Us?” White Song cut in. “I didn’t know your lord and master was on our side.” Dark eyes sparked with fire as he glared at her. He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say a thing, she went on. “But then again, just how many sides to this war are there?” She leaned forward. “Which side is your lord and master on?” She batted her lashes at him.
He leaned forward. “If we find this someone, we could use them against our enemies.” His face twisted into a grimace. “We will join with you in protecting Creation against those that seek to destroy her.” Then he grinned, eyes just as deadly as before, “Then things can go back to the way they were meant to be.”
“Life against death,” she answered tartly. He nodded and she laughed. “What makes you think I know who this someone is? Have I not been here for the last month?” She spread her hands wide, indicating Tony, the room, the city beyond the walls. “Even my pack mates have left the city weeks ago and the gods and spirits here have much more important things to do than gossip with an outside like myself.”
Wisp of Shadow’s eyes flicked to Tony and then back. “Leave your god-touched pet here and go out and seek this rumor to its source. We will do well together, White Song. You’re ability to worm your way into anything, and my wealth and contacts.”
She arched a brow. “I can’t leave him.”
Tony almost smiled at her loyalty to him, but Wisp of Shadow’s next words made his smile turn sardonic.
“Star of Sorrow’s presence is a given,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I do believe the two of you are tied together at the hip.”
White Song nodded in agreement and Tony bit back a smile. They sometimes reminded him of Natasha and Clint. When one appeared, the other was sure to be nearby. Only, these two weren’t master spies. Well, as far as he could tell. He eyed White Song and wondered if they were playing a game with him, the way Natasha had when he first met her. After all, White Song had admitted that they used false names as easily as breathing, and Iron Dust had changed his appearance like it were a mask.
But, he trusted them. He trusted them both with his life and these thoughts weren’t helping matters. He looked back at Wisp of Shadow, reflecting on his words. He had said there was someone that could change the course of the war, and Tony wondered if it was him.
Really, though, he wasn’t worth much here. He had no contacts nor wealth here, so he didn’t know how it could possibly be him, but then again, wasn’t Luna one of the most powerful gods here? Wasn’t he under her eye? White Song and Iron Dust both were doing a lot to keep him hidden, first keeping him away from Exalting, and when that failed, keeping him hidden from the Hunt and out of trouble.
There was a lot they weren’t telling him, and at first he had accepted that because he didn’t want to know. It had been better if he hadn’t known. If he didn’t know, there would be no reason for him to be here and he could go home without a quam. If he knew what they knew, then how much guilt would he feel?
“My master has also offered a reward for this someone’s presence.”
White Song nodded again and sat forward in her seat. “What does your master plan for this someone?”
He shrugged and sank back into his chair. “To win against the Alchemicals. Of course.”
“Of course. I’ll talk with Star of Sorrow about it.” She stood and ran a hand though her hair. “Maybe he will find working with you not so revolting as you find working with him.”
Wisp of Shadow made a face and slowly got to his feet, as if he were struggling under the weight of the world on his shoulders. He rubbed a hand over his face. “See that you do. I’m retiring for the day.” He lumbered out of the room, and they listened as his footsteps took him down the hall and up the stairs. Tony turned to White Song.
“It’s me, isn’t it?”
She whipped around, one finger to her lips and hissed at him to shush. “Don’t think so high of yourself. You’re watched by a lowly god that only thinks she’s great. Merely an hour keeper.”
Tony opened his mouth to retort, but caught himself. The walls had ears and all that. He closed his mouth with a snap and nodded once. “Right.”
She nodded and stalked out of the room, her skirt swishing with her steps. He sighed and sat back down on the couch. He had finished the clock, even added more decoration to it than he had originally planned. His armor had come been completed to perfection, the gauntlets working with the armor like they were made for it. Only, he still couldn’t fly, not without the repulsors in the gauntlets. Well, he could fly, just not well. The technology needed for the repulsors didn’t exist in this world, and even Tony, with his newly enhanced intelligence, couldn’t figure it out just yet.
He closed his eyes and let the ideas, the old schematics and blueprints, flow through his head. He could change a few things to make it simpler for the technology that was currently available. He couldn’t remake the gauntlets, but he could add the balancing repulsors to the gauntlets by attaching them to the outside.
He drifted off to sleep that way, numbers filling his head, giving him pleasant dreams. He woke when a slave settled a tray on the table before him, the silver clattering loudly. He sat up, smiled at the slave who kept her head bowed, and finally noticed Iron Dust sitting beside him.
Iron Dust was bent over a scroll, his hair pushed back from his face, behind his ear, chewing on his lip. “Welcome home,” Tony said, his voice rough from his impromptu nap. He stretched and yawned, one hand dropping to scratch absently at his side. “What’s on today’s agenda?”
He waited until the slave had left the room before replying with, “Have you mastered your spell?”
Iron Dust had taught him a few spells that he had said were basic spells that every Solar needed to know. Tony was proud to say that he had amazing balance now. He couldn’t wait to take the Iron Man out with his new abilities. He could also read and understand schematics much faster than he had been able to before. Maybe he was even faster at finding faults and weaknesses than JARVIS.
“I can do it with my eyes closed,” he said, referring to the latest charm he had learned, the ability to summon his armor to him, to enfold him inside it, with only his Essence. He loved having Essence.
Iron Dust nodded and reached for the cup of warm tea sitting on the tray. “From another room?”
“As easy as snapping my fingers.”
“Good. Tonight, then, we’ll see how well you can fight. Outside your armor.” He sipped the tea, and then caught Tony’s eye. “We’ll go out into the city. There’s a park that’s massive enough to hide in, and we’ll play there tonight.”
Tony’s heart thudded in his chest. “What about the Hunt?”
“You will not use any Essence to night. They can’t see you if you don’t use your Essence.”
Tony took his own cup of tea, made a face, and then drank it. “Will you be using your Essence against me?”
He could see how his lips turned up behind his cup. “I won’t need it against you.”
Tony would have felt insulted, but he knew that he was nearly useless outside the armor. Steve could mop the floor with him, had often done so in training, and he had no doubt that Iron Dust could as well, despite his small size. Well, maybe Tony would have that over him at least.
Iron Dust had been teaching him basic things such as controlled breathing and meditation. He had some boxing lessons from Happy, and even more sparring lessons from Steve, but Tony felt like the Karate Kid when Iron Dust began training him. He was doing so many things that had nothing to do with sparring or fighting that he often found himself playing close attention to how these simple tasks could be turned into defense or offense.
Tonight, he was going to put it all to the test. To see if waxing the car really was proper training for blocking attacks.
White Song went with them, bringing up the tail of their little party, her hands folded behind her head, her hair fanning out in the wind. She strolled along, her long legs encased in the first pair of trousers he had ever seen her wear. The tunic she had slipped on over it all was dark blue, but the tattoos on her arms seemed to glow in the moon’s light. Nobody paid any heed to her, but Tony had yet to see anybody else with tattoos like hers. Her pack mates didn’t even have tattoos that were half as well made.
When Iron Dust paused under a tall tree well into the park, Tony reached out and touched the raised flesh of her arm over the silvery lines. “What do they mean?”
She glanced down, a frown curving her brow as if she had forgotten about the tattoos. “They’re protection from the Wyld.”
“You found me in the Wyld, didn’t you?”
“Nearly. Any father in, and nobody mortal would have found you. You would have been the main dish to some Fair Folk,” she said with a grin that was all teeth.
“How big of a chance is it that we’re going back there?”
She shrugged. “It depends of where our quest leads us. Hopefully, you won’t have to ever go back there again.”
“And if we do, do I get tattoos too?”
She laughed. “These are Lunar tattoos. They are given to Lunars.”
“Oh.” He turned toward Iron Dust. “Are there Sidereal tattoos?”
Iron Dust looked up from where he had begun digging through his bag on the ground. “No. The Wyld doesn’t affect me as it does humans.”
“It’s because he’s a Fate Maker, thus, the Wyld doesn’t easily change him.”
“Is that what the Wyld does? Change people?”
“It changes everything. It takes Creation and unravels it and makes of it something different.”
Tony grinned. “Like a fork that cleans itself?”
They both looked at him as if he had been playing in the Wyld and had grown a second head on his shoulders. He waved a hand, dismissing the topic. “What are we doing?”
Iron Dust stood and held out a length of ribbon. He tied one around Tony’s bicep and another around White Song’s. She returned the favor for him. “We all will hide, and try to find each other without getting caught. The limits are the park, and the deadline is dawn. The goal is to keep your sash, and gain the other two.” He slanted a look at White Song. “We are training him, so go easy on him.” He turned to Tony. “Watch and learn, trust your Essence to guide you. It won’t steer you wrong.”
Tony nodded. Iron Dust had once said that his Essence may talk to him. He hadn’t heard a voice in his head other than his own, so he didn’t think it was literally talking to him, but he did have a new instinct for things. Building things, machines, robots, and buildings had always came easy to him, but now it was second nature. Now he was going to see how second nature this physical activity was going to be.
There was a faint rustling in the bush to their left and, as a group, they turned. Two young girls with green and brown skin that looked like the bark of a tree approached. Iron Dust held out his hand toward them. “These are your companions, Lost Path. They will help you around the park, and even help you with your Essence if you need it.”
“How?”
“They are made of Essence, and understand it far better than you ever could. They don’t speak, so you’re going to have to watch them. Remember what I taught you about seeing Essence?” Tony nodded, then smiled toward the two wood nymphs. One scowled at him, and the other hid behind her sister and blushed until the skin on her cheeks turned a deep green.
Iron Dust stood with his back straight, eyes close, and hands held out before him. A faint yellow glow began to grow from his hands and brow. A symbol appeared in the same faint yellow on his brow, and, eyes narrowed to see it in the gloom of night, Tony recognized it as the sign of Mercury. That had remained unchanged through time. He wondered how the people of this time connected with the Greeks.
The glow surrounded all three of them for a moment and then vanished. “That will protect you while you use Essence, just as long as you don’t show off. Use your personal Essence.
“Of you go, then,” Iron Dust said, flapping a hand at them. Together, the girls reached for one hand each and dragged him away. They walked for a bit until Iron Dust and White Song were lost to sight. Then the girl that had scowled at his charming smile dropped his hand and scampered up a tree. She nearly blended in with the dark bark, only her bright blue eyes visible as she turned down to glare at him.
“Right,” he said, and the other girl slapped her hand against his hip and then pressed her finger to her lips, shushing him. It was becoming a habit for people around him, shushing him. He made a face and sealed his lips. The other girl, he was going to call her Glare, had disappeared into the leaves of the tree.
He tried to find her, but she was gone from sight. The other girl, Sweet Leaf, was waving her arms over her head, herding him toward the tree.
He stood at the base and looked up. From this viewpoint, he could now see Glare glaring down at him, one hand flapping at him to follow her up. Shrugging, he reached for the nearest branch and began struggling up. With both his feet off the ground, Sweet Leaf followed him up, scampering up his legs and around his body as if he were just another lump on a log. She chirped at him when she reached his face and widened her eyes. Once his attention was on her, she pushed herself away from the trunk of the tree until only her feet were touching it. Her hair, soft strands that looked like the vines of a willow tree, hung over one shoulder, reaching toward the ground. She stood perpendicular to the tree as easy as breathing. She spread her arms and grinned at him.
Oh, yeah. He had to use Essence to do that, but Iron Dust had told him not to show off, not to use the Essence that made him glow. He closed his eyes and found his Essence inside him, felt it thrumming throughout his body like blood. Once he had a firm grasp on it, he opened his eyes and looked, really looked, at her Essence.
She was made out of the stuff, Iron Dust had said and he hadn’t been lying. With Iron Dust and White Song and humans and object, he could only see the Essence that surrounded them. With these girls, he couldn’t tell the difference between their own Essence and the Essence outside their bodies. It was all the same.
Focusing on how she was using her Essence to balance like that, he tried to copy it. He did copy it. He couldn’t walk sideways like she could, but he could balance on the little knobs that protruded from the tree that otherwise wouldn’t have held him.
Once he found his way, he too moved up the tree as if it were a straight, well-kept path. He reached the same level as Glare and shared a grin with Sweet Leaf. She chirped back at him, and Glare smacked her in the shoulder.
Sweet Leaf’s eyes went wide, and she bit her lips around another grin. Once she was sure that Sweet Leaf and Tony were going to be quite, Glare shoved at Tony’s shoulders until his back was pressed against the trunk. He hunkered down, and Glare nodded her approval. She pointed toward the ground, then spread her fingers over her eyes, miming hiding behind the leaves. Tony nodded that he understood. She then covered his mouth and nose with her small hand. She touched her face to the back of her hand, and showed him that she wanted him to slow his breathing.
Together, they sat in silence, the animals of the forest once more coming to life after the commotion of their arrival. Glare lowered her hand and turned to watch the path under them. For the first time, she grinned, sharp teeth gleaming in the low light. Sweet Leaf hovered over Tony’s elbow, also watching the path.
There seemed to be an invisible signal, and the two girls nodded. They stood and climbed farther up the tree, beckoning him. Tony followed, easily keeping up with them with the aid of his Essence. They reached the top, where the thin branches were so thin that it should have been impossible to hold his weight, and the cool wind above the tree line was nice blowing through his hair. He paused, Sweet Leaf pressed against his back, her small hands clinging to his tunic. The moon was bright in the sky, and millions of stars spilt across the sky. He tipped his head back to follow the Milky Way as it stretched across the sky.
Glare tugged on his tunic, drawing his attention back to her. She pointed toward the ground, and he hunkered down to see where she was pointing. There was a deer on the path, slowly walking away from them. Glare puffed out her cheeks and blew out a lungful of air. The deer started and galloped off. Tony silently chuckled as Glare grinned at her sister.
The girls led him from tree to tree, hidden from sight from below. They delved deeper into the park, and Tony never saw anybody, and sometimes even lost sight of the girls’ physical bodies.
It was because he was watching their Essence that he had any warning at all. The girls didn’t react to the new presence, telling him quite plainly that they were there only to teach him tricks, not to help him win this game.
He dropped down into the leaves just as White Song dashed overhead. He felt her reach for his ribbon, and he twisted out of the way. She growled and dropped down with him. Sweet Leaf tugged at his arm, directing him into fleeing. He ran, going lower with each leap from branch to branch, feeling like an overgrown monkey.
He paused, and Glare put her hands on his cheeks, squishing his face until he steadied his breathing. He couldn’t hear White Song following, and let his shoulders relax. Once his heart slowed to a more normal rhythm, Glare left him to look around the area. Sweet Leaf nestled into the crook of his elbow and rested her head on his shoulder, bright eyes gazing up adoringly at him.
For several long moments, nothing happened. There was no movement in the park, and there was no wind to rustle the leaves. Tony began to feel twitchy, just sitting. That’s what he had been doing in Wisp of Shadow’s house for the past month. He was ready to move. He carefully stood and leaned back against the tree. Sweet Leaf dropped from his arms and watched him.
He could feel the Essence, when it was being used. If he was touching something, like he was the tree, he could feel the Essence inside it moving, living. He closed his eyes to feel, and then opened them to a new world.
Where the shadows of night had reigned supreme, now the colors of Essence swirled like the tide. He couldn’t see much, only the pale colors that were in use, and if White Song wasn’t using her Essence, then there was no way for him to see her.
But, he had learned to listen. He could hear the bugs in the trees, hidden under the bark, as the moved about. He could hear the leaves as they settled against each other. Now, he could hear the small rodents on the ground, hunting now that the day creatures were asleep.
He could hear White Song’s bare feet slapping against the packed dirt of the path as she raced toward him.
With a grin, he dropped from the branch, caught himself, and swung down, tackling her. She gave a startled yelp as she rolled to her feet.
“Good,” she said, grinning. Her grin turned devious as she dived toward him, hand reaching for his ribbon. He turned his body away, shielding the ribbon, and reached for hers.
She caught his arm instead of the ribbon and pulled him from his feet. He did a summersault that landed him between two bushes, and jumped to his feet, laughing.
He hadn’t felt young in a very long time, truth be told. He was well past his fortieth year, and the other Avengers often made him feel his age. Now that he had gained his second breath, he felt that he could keep up with Steve and Thor. Maybe even give them a run for their money.
White Song was up and charging him.
Tony sidestepped and snagged her about her waist. She collided with him, and they fell again. She flipped over him, landing on her feet and his ribbon in her hand. She took the time to grin at him, waving the ribbon over his head where he still laid on his back, then took off at a jog.
Tony scrambled to his feet and gave chase. She put on just enough speed to stay out of reach, the ribbon trailing nonchalantly behind her. He made a few futile grabs for it.
Sweet Leaf easily kept pace with them despite her small stature and grinned up at him. She put her thumbs in her ears and flapped her fingers at him.
Essence, right.
He swerved off the path and rebounded off a trunk to gain on White Song. He could see approval in her eyes before she danced out of his reach, then leaped straight up and out of sight behind the leaves above them. Glare took off after her.
Watching them leave him for a moment, Tony wondered how this had become his life. Chasing a pair of girls through the forest at night was supposed to be creepy and unhealthy.
Instead, he was grinning and giving chase. White Song kept the ribbon just out of his reach as they raced through the trees. When he nearly reached the ribbon, she spun on her heel, caught his arms, and flipped him over her shoulder and down to the ground. He landed hard, something that would have landed him in the hospital only weeks ago, and he jumped to his feet. He looked up just in time to see White Song tumble out of the branches, the ribbon in her hand gone.
She cursed softly and leaped back into the trees. Tony followed, noting that she was wholly focused on Iron Dust as he swung from branch to branch instead of walking the way they were. He nimbly glided away from them, putting a massive amount of distance between them before suddenly swinging around and returning toward them.
Tony paused, but White Song went for him, fists up, ready to fight. Iron Dust landed on her branch, kicked at her feet, and swept her from her perch.
She caught herself before she fell, her nails turning into massive claws that had no right being on a human. Tony gaped, his eyes wide as he realized that he had never seen her use any Essence before. This was what she could do.
She pulled herself up, teeth bared as she snarled at Iron Dust. Her eyes flicked toward him, assessing how dangerous he was to her at the moment and he held up his hands in surrender. Her eyes had turned a molted yellow color, and her teeth were sharp. She turned her attention back to Iron Dust and Tony breathed a sigh of relief.
She lunged at him, claws extended. Iron Dust knocked her hands away with his forearm and slammed a fist into her side, successfully dropping her to her knees on the thick branch. He tugged at her ribbon, turned toward Tony and held up the two of them.
“Come, Lost Path, take them from me.”
Tony steeled himself. He had an inkling that Iron Dust was much stronger than White Song, even though she seemed the stronger at first glance. Maybe she was physically stronger, but Iron Dust had training and age to back him. Iron Dust was the greater challenge.
He stepped forward and readied himself. He stood in a martial arts stance that Steve had taught him ages ago, but for some reason it seemed wrong. He adjusted accordingly and saw Iron Dust nod at him.
“Good,” he said. “Listen to what your Shard is telling you.”
Tony mentally snorted and tackled him. “It tells me that I’m not a martial artist, but a brawler.” He grinned down at Iron Dust for about half a second before he flipped them, Tony landing on his back with Iron Dust standing over him. Tony’s eyes went immediately to the two ribbons hanging from his hand, and he lunged for them.
Iron Dust took one step back, and White Song crashed into him. They fell onto Tony, and the three of them tumbled into a mass of limbs. Tony laughed, and he could feel White Song’s smile against his neck before she pushed away. Iron Dust put his hand to her face and shoved her away before she could get his ribbon.
Tony tugged at the two ribbons firmly clasped in his other hand. White Song licked the hand against her face, and Iron Dust cursed, loosening his hold on the ribbons. Tony pulled them free and shoved to his feet.
He felt White Song’s hand swipe at his leg, but his Essence gave him a boost of speed and he was up in the trees before she could catch him. Glare and Sweet Leaf both joined him. He heard a low rumble of a growl and figured it had to be White Song chasing him. He dropped from the trees and took a moment to retie his ribbon around his arm before she dropped before him.
“Fight me,” she said. “No running away this time.”
He nodded and dropped into a fighting stance. She feigned to the right, then ducked under his arm to come up around behind him. She shoved him off balance before crouching and pulling his legs out from under him.
Tony’s face nearly met the ground, and only his newly heightened reflexes saved him. He landed hard on his knees, wincing at the bruises that were bound to show up tomorrow. He twisted about to face her, climbing to his feet. She grinned at him, holding out his ribbon.
Returning her grin, he uncurled his fist to show that he still had hers. Her eyes narrowed and she pounced, leaping higher into the air than a normal human should have been able to. He stumbled back, and held up his arm to block the downward swipe of her claws.
Iron Dust jumped between them, his own arm blocking the strike. There was the sound of metal being hit, the claws skidding harmlessly off the bracer Tony didn’t know Iron Dust wore. He caught White Song as she landed, his hand curled around her shoulder.
“Back, Lunar. He’s stupid and still learning.”
She stared at him for a moment, panting hard, before she physically shook herself. “My apologies. I got caught up in the moment.” She slanted Tony a look that made him feel like a child. “But you pamper him too much.”
She ducked around Iron Dust and swung at his face. Tony gasped and fell back, and she pursued. She threw punches left and right, Tony only barely dodging each one. They danced backwards, Tony’s feet taking him away from the fight without his conscious thought.
She switched it up by adding a sweep into the mix. Tony easily jumped over her kick and retaliated. He caught her in her knee.
She howled, crumpling to the ground.
“Shit,” Tony said. “Are you alright?” As he bent over her, her hand snaked out, caught his collar, and she flipped him over her head. Her body followed and she landed on him, her ribbon in her hand.
She held it up in triumph and grinned down at him. Tony rested one hand over his arc reactor, and steadied his breathing, laughing softly. “Game. Please say the game’s over.”
“Very well,” Iron Dust said, shoving White Song off him and offering Tony his hand. He easily pulled Tony to his feet and motioned behind him. “This is the way back.”
White Song dusted off her knees. She caught Iron Dust’s hair and threaded her ribbon through the length. Iron Dust glared at her, but made no move to remove it.
They walked for a while, the silence between them companionable. Glare and Sweet Leaf walked with them, but when they reached a part of the park that looked more widely used by humans, they waved goodbye to them and disappeared into the foliage.
Tony waved his hand after them, watching the spot where they had blended into the background. He was going to miss them. In such a short time, they had grown on him. He turned back toward the path and found that White Song hadn’t stopped walking. Iron Dust was waiting for him, eyes turned away.
“Will we see them again?”
“If you want to.”
Tony thought about it for a moment. “There’s a way to summon them to me, am I understanding that correctly?”
Iron Dust’s eyes turned back to him. “Yes. They know you, and like you, and if you call upon them, and pay them properly, they will come to you.”
“Pay them?”
“Elementals and spirits are greedy.” He beckoned Tony to resume walking. Together, they moved to catch up with White Song. “What you can get them to do for you depends on how much you pay them.”
“Are they ever friendly just to be friendly?”
Iron Dust’s lips curved up. “If they are, be cautious. They are powerful and wise, and they hunger for everything.”
“Right. They’re politicians too.”
Iron Dust laughed outright at that. “Everything is give and take in life. If you have the resources, then you can have the world.”
“It’s the same in my time. I guess some things never change.”
They walked a few more paces before Tony asked, “What did you pay them?”
“To play with you? A few shavings of murrini glass from the floor of a jeweler’s workshop. Listen.” They stopped walking and Iron Dust tilted his head. Tony waited, but heard nothing. He closed his eyes, tilted his head up and felt the wind pick up, whistling down the path that was bordered by tall trees.
There. He heard the faint chime of glass on glass. He smiled. “They like their bribe.”
“They do. Come along. I long for sleep.”
Tony nodded and smiled at White Song as she stood waiting for them, one foot tapping impatiently. “And you say that I’m like a child,” Tony said. “You’re so impatient.”
“It’s because Iron Dust lets life happen to him. And he’s teaching you to be the same way.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I say you need to happen to life. Make life happen.”
Yeah, Tony thought. That’s how he had always acted as well. He shot Iron Dust a glance, wondering how much his time here was really changing him. Steve had always lamented his impulsive nature, and now he was taking time to learn, to think things through before acting.
It wasn’t like him at all.
He nodded. “Make life happen. Yeah, I like that.”
Iron Dust reached out and rested a hand on his arm. “Be cautious, Lost Path. This world is dangerous.”
“So was mine.”
Iron Dust shook his head. “Not like this. Here, gods can and will fight you.”
“I’ve fought gods before.”
“And you can destroy gods now.”
That gave him pause, but only for a moment. “Then I’m safer now, right?”
“With training.”
White Song snorted. “He’s a Solar. He needs no training.”
Iron Dust glared at her. “That aside, we need to focus on getting him back to his world, and not into trouble in ours.” He walked around her and toward the exit of the park, finally in sight.
White Song rolled her eyes. “Just remember that it’s your choice to make. If you want to obey him or not. You can fight now, or you can hide away and let him protect you, it’s all your choice.”
“I’ve never let anybody protect me before, why should I start now?”
She grinned at him, teeth white against her tanned skin. “Good. I like that attitude. Shall we temp fate tomorrow and play like the demigods we are and finally stop hiding?”
Tony felt exhilaration filling him. Finally, a chance to play with his new magic, maybe even with his adapted armor. He nodded and they finally went back to the dark house. Iron Dust ignored them as they prepared for bed, and only relaxed when White Song wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they laid on the bed.
“Don’t worry so, Star Stepper, I’ll watch over your pet. I’ll keep him safe from the evils of the world.”
Tony rolled onto his opposite side. “I’ll keep myself safe from the evils,” he muttered under his breath.