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tamingthemuseTitle: Room for Improvement
Fandom: Exalted/The Avengers
Prompt: Hopelessness
Warnings: none
Rating: PG
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.
“We hold the fate of all Creation in our hands, and we are fallible.” His head bowed, his hair falling over his shoulder in a silver curtain. “The mistakes we have all made may even have set us up for this failure.” Then his eyes turned to Tony. “But then again, maybe the future isn’t all that we fear. After all, you were born there, and you’re meant to be a hero.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far. You know, right time, right place and all that.” Tony shrugged. “I’ve had people tell me plenty of times how much of a hero I’m not.” Sometimes, it even still stung, after all the time that has passed them by. Sometimes he could still feel the hopelessness that plagued him in that cave hot on his heels, dragging him down. It was hard to keep going, and he could only wonder at the will it took for someone who had so much power that he feared like Iron Dust had to keep going. He almost felt humbled by the thought. Were he a lesser man, less Tony Stark, he might even felt prone to fan over that level of courage and strength. He smiled at Iron Dust. “I’m not even sure if I consider myself a hero. Just doing what needs to be done. Cleaning up my mess.”
Iron Dust clapped a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “That’s all we can ever ask, isn’t it? Keep this heading and I’ll see what I can find about this manse.” He pulled the papers that Tony and he had made up of the writings and art of the manse and drifted off toward a table, shoving aside maps. He bent over the papers once more, and soon White Song was at his side watching him work.
Several hours went by before Iron Dust came up to the helm again and made minute changes to their heading, pointing at the vast expanse of green before them. “There is a gate there.”
“Gate?”
“Into Yu Shan. I need to access the Forbidden Manse to gather more information. Hopefully, I’ll find something out there about who made the manse and where it is located.”
Tony’s eyes went wide. “Heaven?”
“Heaven,” Iron Dust agreed.
“How long are we going to be there?”
But Iron Dust was shaking his head. “Only me. Solars are not allowed into Heaven. You would be killed on sight.” He turned his back to the control panel and leaned on it, his arms folded over his chest. “You and White Song will hide. And stay out of trouble.”
White Song snorted. “Right. We’re not protected in the city. Trouble will find us,” she predicted. Iron Dust rolled his eyes, and Tony laughed.
“Try to stay out of sight. Don’t do anything stupid to get caught. We are not only hunted by the Hunt, but by a Death Knight as well.”
“Maybe we can get them to fight each other,” Tony offered.
“That’d be nice,” White Song said around a yawn. She sat beside Tony’s feet, her head leaning heavily on his knee. “Things never work out that way for us, though, do they?”
“We can hope.”
They settled into silence again, calm and soothing as they drifted through the air, softly rolling hills below them, all covered in every shade of green and the sky a soft blue. Iron Dust quietly directed Tony toward the gate that was invisible from the air.
“I can feel it,” he answered when Tony asked how he knew where it was. “It’s in my Essence to know where lay lines and dragon lines and gate into heaven are.”
“That’s handy,” Tony murmured. “All Sidereals can do this?”
“Yes, just as all Solars know what time of day it is.” Tony opened his mouth to protest such a thing, but Iron Dust interrupted him, “What time is it, Iron Man?”
“Three hours until sunset, five and a half passed the zenith,” Tony instantly answered. He closed his mouth with a click of his teeth. “That’s cool, but creepy.” He nudged White Song with his knee. “What does your Essence know?”
“The phases of the moon,” she said, her voice soft as she drifted sleepily. She wrapped one arm around his thigh to hold him still, her long fingers playing with the seam of his trousers.
Night was well under way by the time Iron Dust pointed out the small dip in the earth that housed the gate. Starlight glittered off a small lake, and a temple had been built in the center of the lake.
White Song jumped to her feet to see the lake, nothing more than a glitter on the earth. She nodded. “We can hide in the forest to the east.”
“Not too far,” Iron Dust commented. “See that light there?” They both looked in the direction he pointed and, in the thick of the trees, there was an orange glow coming from under the leaves. “Don’t bring those villagers into our mess.”
“That must be a city, at least.”
“Better not to find out.”
“Oh, but I want to,” White Song said. She turned away, walking toward the back where there was a bench. “Wake me when we get there.” She curled into a loose ball and soon began to snore.
As they approached the lake, Tony could feel something crawling under his skin, fighting to get out. He shifted from foot to foot, tapping his fingers on the smooth wood of the ship’s wheel and all but dancing in place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to identify what it was that was making him so antsy, when he realized it was the Essence inside him. His eyes popped open and he glanced back at the other two.
They both seemed calm, but after a moment of careful scrutiny, he realized that White Song was holding her breath, her hands clenched tightly under her chin as she pretended to sleep. The quill in Iron Dust’s hand moved across the surface of the paper before him far faster than necessary.
“It’s the gate, isn’t it,” Tony said, breaking the silence.
Iron Dust looked up from his project. “It is.”
Tony shuddered and looked back out at the lake growing in size. “Maybe we shouldn’t go to that island. We can drop you off at the shore.” He didn’t want to get any closer to that gate if this was how it was going to make him feel. “Is it always like this?”
“It is.” Iron Dust began shuffling papers and storing them away. “Descend here; the trees will give us much needed cover. If those in the forest city haven’t seen us yet, let’s not risk it.”
Tony nodded and began lowering the blimp to the tops of the trees. Iron Dust woke White Song, who tried to pull him down into a kiss. “No time,” he said, easily slipping out from her embrace. “Lower the ladder to the trees, and I’ll go ahead alone.” He turned back to Tony. “Keep an eye out for our pursuers. They may be moving quicker than you think.”
Tony nodded, most of his attention on lowering the blimp without catching on the branches reaching up for them. White Song and Iron Dust both descended to the lower level of the blimp. Moments later, White Song returned, stood next to him, and peered out at the mass of green leaves under them. After studying the trees, she pointed.
“There.”
Tony narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the shadows to see what she was seeing. Then there was a flash of color, and Tony caught sight of Iron Dust’s hair as he dropped from the higher branches to lower ones, and then to the ground. He hesitated before sprinting out of the forest and through the clear space toward the lake.
Tony spared a moment wondering how he was going to cross the water, but Iron Dust didn’t stop running, merely walking over the water as if it were solid ground. Tony watched, stunned.
“Can I do that?”
White Song slanted him a look. “If you train.”
He grinned, thinking of how red with anger Pepper would turn when she discovered that he could walk on water.
Iron Dust disappeared from sight inside the temple, and he felt White Song suddenly relax next to him. She brushed her hair off her shoulder and turned to him. “Who knows how long he’ll be gone. Let’s go see that city.”
“But-“
She held up a hand. “Nope, we made a deal. We were going to live dangerously. Maybe the Hunt will be there. Then we can get rid of them sooner rather than later.”
“Iron Dust would say he’d much rather not fight at all.”
She snorted. “That he would. And I would much rather deal with the Hunt now, than have him have to fight.” She moved away, picking up her own bag and Tony’s helmet.
Fandom: Exalted/The Avengers
Prompt: Hopelessness
Warnings: none
Rating: PG
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.
“We hold the fate of all Creation in our hands, and we are fallible.” His head bowed, his hair falling over his shoulder in a silver curtain. “The mistakes we have all made may even have set us up for this failure.” Then his eyes turned to Tony. “But then again, maybe the future isn’t all that we fear. After all, you were born there, and you’re meant to be a hero.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far. You know, right time, right place and all that.” Tony shrugged. “I’ve had people tell me plenty of times how much of a hero I’m not.” Sometimes, it even still stung, after all the time that has passed them by. Sometimes he could still feel the hopelessness that plagued him in that cave hot on his heels, dragging him down. It was hard to keep going, and he could only wonder at the will it took for someone who had so much power that he feared like Iron Dust had to keep going. He almost felt humbled by the thought. Were he a lesser man, less Tony Stark, he might even felt prone to fan over that level of courage and strength. He smiled at Iron Dust. “I’m not even sure if I consider myself a hero. Just doing what needs to be done. Cleaning up my mess.”
Iron Dust clapped a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “That’s all we can ever ask, isn’t it? Keep this heading and I’ll see what I can find about this manse.” He pulled the papers that Tony and he had made up of the writings and art of the manse and drifted off toward a table, shoving aside maps. He bent over the papers once more, and soon White Song was at his side watching him work.
Several hours went by before Iron Dust came up to the helm again and made minute changes to their heading, pointing at the vast expanse of green before them. “There is a gate there.”
“Gate?”
“Into Yu Shan. I need to access the Forbidden Manse to gather more information. Hopefully, I’ll find something out there about who made the manse and where it is located.”
Tony’s eyes went wide. “Heaven?”
“Heaven,” Iron Dust agreed.
“How long are we going to be there?”
But Iron Dust was shaking his head. “Only me. Solars are not allowed into Heaven. You would be killed on sight.” He turned his back to the control panel and leaned on it, his arms folded over his chest. “You and White Song will hide. And stay out of trouble.”
White Song snorted. “Right. We’re not protected in the city. Trouble will find us,” she predicted. Iron Dust rolled his eyes, and Tony laughed.
“Try to stay out of sight. Don’t do anything stupid to get caught. We are not only hunted by the Hunt, but by a Death Knight as well.”
“Maybe we can get them to fight each other,” Tony offered.
“That’d be nice,” White Song said around a yawn. She sat beside Tony’s feet, her head leaning heavily on his knee. “Things never work out that way for us, though, do they?”
“We can hope.”
They settled into silence again, calm and soothing as they drifted through the air, softly rolling hills below them, all covered in every shade of green and the sky a soft blue. Iron Dust quietly directed Tony toward the gate that was invisible from the air.
“I can feel it,” he answered when Tony asked how he knew where it was. “It’s in my Essence to know where lay lines and dragon lines and gate into heaven are.”
“That’s handy,” Tony murmured. “All Sidereals can do this?”
“Yes, just as all Solars know what time of day it is.” Tony opened his mouth to protest such a thing, but Iron Dust interrupted him, “What time is it, Iron Man?”
“Three hours until sunset, five and a half passed the zenith,” Tony instantly answered. He closed his mouth with a click of his teeth. “That’s cool, but creepy.” He nudged White Song with his knee. “What does your Essence know?”
“The phases of the moon,” she said, her voice soft as she drifted sleepily. She wrapped one arm around his thigh to hold him still, her long fingers playing with the seam of his trousers.
Night was well under way by the time Iron Dust pointed out the small dip in the earth that housed the gate. Starlight glittered off a small lake, and a temple had been built in the center of the lake.
White Song jumped to her feet to see the lake, nothing more than a glitter on the earth. She nodded. “We can hide in the forest to the east.”
“Not too far,” Iron Dust commented. “See that light there?” They both looked in the direction he pointed and, in the thick of the trees, there was an orange glow coming from under the leaves. “Don’t bring those villagers into our mess.”
“That must be a city, at least.”
“Better not to find out.”
“Oh, but I want to,” White Song said. She turned away, walking toward the back where there was a bench. “Wake me when we get there.” She curled into a loose ball and soon began to snore.
As they approached the lake, Tony could feel something crawling under his skin, fighting to get out. He shifted from foot to foot, tapping his fingers on the smooth wood of the ship’s wheel and all but dancing in place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to identify what it was that was making him so antsy, when he realized it was the Essence inside him. His eyes popped open and he glanced back at the other two.
They both seemed calm, but after a moment of careful scrutiny, he realized that White Song was holding her breath, her hands clenched tightly under her chin as she pretended to sleep. The quill in Iron Dust’s hand moved across the surface of the paper before him far faster than necessary.
“It’s the gate, isn’t it,” Tony said, breaking the silence.
Iron Dust looked up from his project. “It is.”
Tony shuddered and looked back out at the lake growing in size. “Maybe we shouldn’t go to that island. We can drop you off at the shore.” He didn’t want to get any closer to that gate if this was how it was going to make him feel. “Is it always like this?”
“It is.” Iron Dust began shuffling papers and storing them away. “Descend here; the trees will give us much needed cover. If those in the forest city haven’t seen us yet, let’s not risk it.”
Tony nodded and began lowering the blimp to the tops of the trees. Iron Dust woke White Song, who tried to pull him down into a kiss. “No time,” he said, easily slipping out from her embrace. “Lower the ladder to the trees, and I’ll go ahead alone.” He turned back to Tony. “Keep an eye out for our pursuers. They may be moving quicker than you think.”
Tony nodded, most of his attention on lowering the blimp without catching on the branches reaching up for them. White Song and Iron Dust both descended to the lower level of the blimp. Moments later, White Song returned, stood next to him, and peered out at the mass of green leaves under them. After studying the trees, she pointed.
“There.”
Tony narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the shadows to see what she was seeing. Then there was a flash of color, and Tony caught sight of Iron Dust’s hair as he dropped from the higher branches to lower ones, and then to the ground. He hesitated before sprinting out of the forest and through the clear space toward the lake.
Tony spared a moment wondering how he was going to cross the water, but Iron Dust didn’t stop running, merely walking over the water as if it were solid ground. Tony watched, stunned.
“Can I do that?”
White Song slanted him a look. “If you train.”
He grinned, thinking of how red with anger Pepper would turn when she discovered that he could walk on water.
Iron Dust disappeared from sight inside the temple, and he felt White Song suddenly relax next to him. She brushed her hair off her shoulder and turned to him. “Who knows how long he’ll be gone. Let’s go see that city.”
“But-“
She held up a hand. “Nope, we made a deal. We were going to live dangerously. Maybe the Hunt will be there. Then we can get rid of them sooner rather than later.”
“Iron Dust would say he’d much rather not fight at all.”
She snorted. “That he would. And I would much rather deal with the Hunt now, than have him have to fight.” She moved away, picking up her own bag and Tony’s helmet.
