[A few days later]
The lab area was sealed off. With Tony, that usually ant he's up to sothing.
He sat in his chair with one leg stretched out and the other tucked beneath the desk, turning the small gray gem between his fingers. It did not glow like the others. There were no dramatic pulses or overwhelming energy pressing against reality. Only a faint shimr that seed to avoid attention.
"Subtle," Tony muttered, holding it up to the light. "You're the quiet type, aren't you?"
The surrounding displays dimd as he shut down the last of his scans.
Tony already understood what this was.
It wasn't power in the usual sense. Neither was it capable of destroying or doing anything apocalyptic.
"Disappearance..." Tony smiled.
He rolled the gem across his knuckles, his eyes narrowing as the idea settled into place. "You don't win fights," he said quietly. "You make sure nobody knows there's a fight to begin with."
Tony leaned back, the chair tilting slightly as he stared at the ceiling for a mont before looking back at the gem. "You make six," he said under his breath. "Two more to go."
He used the Space Gem's power to pull out all the Gems. The Four Infinity Gems appeared with a wisp of blue light and began to spin very slowly over his palm. "Arg!" He felt a little sting in his head. The Mind Gem reacted, and too much data got dumped into his head again. There was a brief resonance when six of them ca together. He quickly sent them back to the subspace, except for the new one.
For a few minutes, he took ti to process the new data.
Tony thought, 'Wow! Even without the Ti Stone, I can do the snap, huh? I guess six is all you require to control everything.'
He exhaled slowly and lifted the gray gem again. "And then there's you," he said. "The best disappearing act in the universe."
For a mont, he remained still. The sharp, analytical edge in his expression softened into sothing more thoughtful.
"The Gems keep finding , or at least the events are bringing to them... If I had all eight," he continued, his voice quieter now, "every cosmic nightmare out there would eventually co looking. It doesn't matter how strong you are. There's always soone out there who is much stronger."
He turned the gem slightly, watching the way it bent the light just enough to feel wrong if you focused on it.
"But if nobody can find you," he went on, a faint smirk forming, "then nobody shows up in the first place."
Tony tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest, his thoughts already moving ahead. "Hide the energy signatures, mask the presence and there's no cosmic breadcrumbs to follow. So, there won't be any, 'Hey, there's a guy on Earth holding the universe in his pocket. Go after his ass.'"
He paused, then nodded once to himself.
A wild grin ford on his face, "One Gem to rule over all... My Precious." He made the Golem sound.
"Uuuhh! That's creepy as fuck," a familiar voice ca from behind.
"Ahem! Hey, Yelena, wassup?" Tony put the Gem into his subspace and spun the chair, facing her.
Yelena walked closer and climbed right onto his lap without asking, one arm sliding around his neck while the other grabbed the edge of the chair to steady herself.
"You've been cooped up in here for four days," she said, narrowing her eyes at him like she was inspecting a problem she already planned to fix. "Everyone was kinda worried, but here you are…" She leaned in slightly, her gaze flicking toward the paused screen behind him. "You binge-watched The Lord of the Rings without ?"
Tony raised a hand in mock surrender, though the corner of his mouth lifted. "First of all, I didn't binge-watch," he said, shifting slightly so she didn't knock over anything important. "I conducted a highly detailed cultural analysis of cinematic storytelling."
Yelena didn't even blink. "You watched all three extended editions, didn't you?"
Tony hesitated for half a second too long, then pointed at her. "That's not the point."
She squinted at him, then shook her head slowly, disappointed in a very specific way. "Unbelievable. You start talking like a creepy cave creature, and now this. I leave you alone for four days and you beco Gollum with a lab."
Tony snorted, leaning back a little in the chair. "Hey, that was one ti," he said. "And for the record, my impression was spot on."
Yelena tilted her head, studying him like she was reconsidering several life choices at once. "You were petting a glowing rock and whispering to it," she said flatly. "That is not 'spot on.' That is concerning."
'Ah! Okay, fair point. I must've looked like Sandal from Dragon Age... Enchantnt! Fuck, I want to say it out loud for so reason.' Tony opened his mouth to argue, then stopped and shrugged. "Okay, a little concerning."
She huffed softly, but her grip around his neck didn't loosen. "You need to call everyone and let them know you're alright," she added, quieter now, her tone losing the teasing edge. "Nat asked twice if you were eating properly. Maria almost ca down here herself. I had to stop her, and you know it's not that easy to stop her."
Tony's expression shifted just slightly at that. He reached up and tapped her arm lightly. "I'm sorry, and thank you for stopping my mom," he said. "I'm just working through a few things. You know how it gets. I'm a father now and... Well, I want to make sure everything remains safe and sound for our little Nikolai."
Nikolai Stark is the na Tony and Natasha decided on. 90% Natasha's idea. Tony was glad that she didn't go with Nikolaj, or else it'd have turned into a pronunciation gag from Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the future.
Yelena didn't answer right away. She watched him for a second longer, like she was checking if he ant it or just saying it. Then she leaned back just enough to look at him properly.
"So," she said, her voice lighter again, "what were you actually doing in here besides ignoring everyone and becoming weird?"
Tony smirked faintly, one hand resting against the armrest as his fingers tapped lightly. "Let's just say I found sothing useful," he said. "Sothing that makes sure problems don't show up at the door in the first place."
Yelena raised an eyebrow. "That sounds vague and slightly dangerous."
"It's ," Tony replied. "Of course it is."
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "Fine," she said. "Keep your secrets. Just don't vanish for four days again without telling anyone. Or next ti..."
Tony chuckled under his breath. "Sorry again. It was my bad."
"You weren't watching porn, right?" She raised an eyebrow.
Tony wrapped his arms around her and leaned closer to her face. He looked straight into her eyes and said, "Honey, if I need to unleash my sexual desires or wish to see a naked girl, I'll go to you, Sue, Wanda, Mystique or Nat. Though Nat is dically unavailable at the mont."
"Do you want to see naked?" Yelena smirked.
He quickly nodded. "That and I want to fuck you doggy style on the floor. After that..."
"Missionary on the desk?" Yelena whispered as she licked his lips.
"Raw and hard," He whispered back before kissing her softly.
"Creampie?" She asked before lightly biting his lower lip.
"For dessert," Tony said. [I'll make a smut chapter later with only smut content since not many like to read smut.]
...
[anwhile...]
At Avengers HQ, the atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
The main lounge looked like a ss. Pizza boxes stacked on the table, a couple already empty, a few crushed cans scattered near the couch, and the faint sll of cheese and burnt crust hanging in the air.
Thor sat in the center of it all like he owned the place, one leg up on the table, a slice of pizza in one hand and a drink in the other. A movie played on the massive screen in front of him, so loud action scene with explosions that barely held his attention.
He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, then nodded to himself. "Midgard continues to impress," he said, pointing at the pizza like it deserved recognition. "This dish alone justifies my return."
Thor ca back within a week after leaving Earth.
Johnny dropped onto the couch beside him, grabbing a slice without asking. "Yeah, yeah, wait till you try burgers at three in the morning after a fight," he said. "That's peak human achievent right there."
Thor glanced at him with interest. "There is a ti specifically reserved for this burger ritual?"
Johnny grinned. "Oh yeah. It hits different when you're exhausted and slightly concussed and when Ben is making it."
Across the room, Peter was stuck cross-legged upside down on the wall, mask off, scrolling through sothing on his phone. "I think that's just because your brain stops working properly," he muttered.
Pietro lounged near the window, spinning a coin across his fingers with practiced ease. "His brain stops working long before that," he added without looking up.
Johnny threw a crust at him. Pietro caught it mid-air without even glancing and flicked it right back, hitting Johnny square in the shoulder.
"Hey," Johnny protested. "That was a good throw."
"Not fast enough," Pietro replied with a smirk.
"By the way, what's Mr. Ben doing these days?" Peter asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, he's busy with the recruit training, alright. With the number of new mutants and superpower beings joining up, he's the perfect Thing to take heavy blows to test out their powers," Johnny explained. "Anyway, so, Pete... When are you and Lorna going out on a date?"
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