Prompt#325 – That’s Life- Room for Improvement - Tekia – Exalted/the Avengers

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Room for Improvement
Fandom: Exalted/The Avengers
Prompt: That’s Life
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.

Stone’s Throw studied Tony in his armor, from broken jet boots, thanks a lot for that by the way, to his jade gauntlets. Then he sneered. “It’s a good thing that he’s not, with that he’s just as likely to turn on us.” His next words were directed at Tony. “Do you worship him? Is he your true master?” He stood and began backing away, shadows overtaking him. Tony stood as well. “How do we know that he’s not a spy for the machine god?”
“Help us find the manse.”
“No, I’ll keep it from you.”
White Song dropped down from the tree, her fingers ending in wicked claws. “Luna’s command-“
“I care naught for Luna’s command! My sacred duty is to protect these people and my ancestors’ manse, and that’s what I’ll do.” He ducked away and out of sight as the first rays of dawn finally crept over the trees and through the leaves.
“Let him go,” Iron Dust said as White Song took a step after him. She turned toward him with an arched brow. He held up his book. “Heaven has proven helpful and I believe I have found the manse we look for.”
“Is it his?” Tony asked, picking at the meat on the plate still in his hand.
“Perhaps. It is near here. And there are not many floating islands left in Creation. Just a few years back on crashed landed on the ground several days north of here.”
“Do you think they’re one and the same?”
Iron Dust thumped the book with the back of his hand. “Hopefully this will tell us.”
“Ye ol’ book of Floating Islands?”
Iron Dust gave him an odd look before Tony shrugged. He’d slipped some English in there without thinking about it. “Never mind. What does your book say?”
He flipped through a few pages as White Song sat beside him, her long fingers threading through his silver hair. “The writings on the walls of the manse tell the story of a Solar that built the manse.”
“What else would it be,” White Song murmured. She brushed the tips of his hair on her chin as her eyes roamed the page.
Iron Dust slanted her a glare before going on. “He was twilight caste and he built many great wonders in his time. He built weapons that were used against the Wyld. The manse was meant to be one of those. As we concluded a while ago, it is an air aspect manse, and was meant to be closer to the North than East. It’s been untended for so long the guidance system must have gone out of it.”
“Any notes on where it could be?”
Iron Dust slammed the book closed. He folded his arms over the cover and screwed up his lips in thought. “No. We’ll have to look from the air ship.”
“Sounds fun,” Tony said, finishing off the unidentified meat and setting the plate back in the bag to be washed later. He stood, stretching his arms over his head. “Shall we return to the ship now?”
“We can’t risk staying here. If he’s convinced the locals that he’s their protector and we’re demons, they will join him coming after us. Sooner rather than later, too.”
White Song stood. “You two go ahead. I’ll set a false trail for them to follow and meet you at the ship.”
Tony opened his mouth, but Iron Dust was already agreeing with her. “Don’t take too long. We don’t want to give the Wyld Hunt a chance to catch up.”
They broke their camp, Iron Dust kicking out the fire and Tony gathering up their supplies. White Song ducked away into the shadows, only a fail rustling of leaves giving away her position.
Tony had a strange sense of deja vu when Iron Dust took a hold of his hand and, together, they rushed through the forest. Nowhere near as fast as the first time, the trees still blurred as they ran. There was no rush of Essence flowing around them, but Tony knew Iron Dust was pushing some magic into their bodies to make them move this fast.
He grinned and picked up speed so that Iron Dust wasn’t pulling him, but they were running together. This type of magic Tony could learn to like. He could even learn to copy it and make it his.
The morning grew, making their shadows stretch out before them as they raced through the forest. Tony could feel laughter building in his chest and bit his lip to keep the chuckles from spilling out. Iron Dust wouldn’t appreciate it.
Maybe he didn’t really want to go home.
That’s life, though, wasn’t it? Always changing and one had to adapt and adjust and change with it.
After Afghanistan he had changed, and now, after this trip into the past, he was changing once more. Magic wasn’t something to hate, despite it being the cause of him being here, but the new core of him, settled right in next to his arc reactor. In his blood.
He was Solar and he needed to be here.
No. He shook his head. What was he thinking? He needed to be home, with the family that he had found in Pepper and Steve and Bruce and all the others. The gods here had warned him time and again that he needed to be away from here and out of this war.
But.
But there was something in his chest that was telling him that this was his home too. Iron Dust and White Song were also his family. His circle. How was he supposed to just leave them behind when he went back, knowing that they were going to end up in those caskets, lifeless and set up to bring him back.
His hand tightened on Iron Dust’s and he pulled him into a different path. Iron Dust trusted him, following him without protest.
Tony danced around a branch and under another and pointed. “The air boat.”
Iron Dust nodded and glanced behind them. “White Song is here.”
Tony stopped running and followed his glance and caught the sight of White Song’s cat form’s tan hide flashing from between trees. “Were we followed?”
She transformed as she stepped out from the trees. She brushed her hair out of her face. “Of course. They followed my false trail away, but don’t expect your brother to fall for it for too long. He’s a hunter and can track almost as well as I can.”
Iron Dust leaned against a tree, one foot propped up on the opposite knee, picking a rock out from the seam of his leather boot. “He’ll be on us in moments.”
“So quickly?”
“You doubt your siblings,” White Song asked with an arch to her brow. “You are arrogant, thinking you’re better than them.”
Tony shrugged and grinned. “I usually am. What’s the plan?”