Brokering A Deal
Previously in Chapter Thirteen: The Kings Weigh In:
“Oh, but it is so much worse than that Stark. Your son J.A.R.V.I.S. has armed every nuclear warhead on the face of the realm and there is less than thirty minutes left in his countdown.” Oh, Loki was so smug. So, so smug. So Tony Stark did the only thing he could think to do.
“Well then. In that case. I. Ain’t. Going. Back.”
High atop the World Tree, Yggdrasil, in the Golden Realm of Asgard, its Castle’s Throne room held two living Æsir, one revived Jotunn, his half-living, half-dead daughter, and two Souls more or less recently dead. Six Souls in total and yet complete pandemonium broke when the Man of Iron, Anthony Edward Stark announced that he would not be returning to Midgard to stop his wayward A.I. from destroying the planet – and in turn all the Nine Realms. He’d lived a mere 43 years compared to the millennia those around him had had. Still he’d lived. He’d died. He was done being pushed around by cosmic forces that he couldn’t hope to understand. Fuck ‘em all.
Odin bellowed and growled his threats, while Frigg, tried gentle persuasion with promises of boons and gifts (umm… she was dead, how was she going to follow through?). Heimdall’s gaze fell out over the stars once more while Loki and Hel locked themselves in a heated conversation. Loki was of the mind the same mind as Odin – force the idiotic soul into a new body and shunt him back to Midgard. The A.I. will see him and stop. Hel was not so sure that plan would work – Anthony Edward Stark was the most clever of Souls she’d ever come across, he had a plan in place – and any force was likely to backfire.
Tony had to bite his lip to keep from laughing! It was all going spectacularly to plan.
~*~
“Man of Iron, why will you not return to your home and save it? Save us all?” Queen Frigg finally asked him outright.
“It’s like I told Pepper. I’m tired. Tired of always being the battering ram against the bad guys that are always coming. Tired of always trying and trying and never being good enough. I’m tired of putting the people I love more than anything else in this Universe in danger because I’m not fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough, to keep THEM SAFE!” he finally finished. And he’d said more than he ever meant too.
“And you think the answer to that is to let them all burn, then? Is that it?” Loki asked him, looking damn near horrified. “What’s to stop me from forcing you into a body and back to Midgard? Surely your son will see you alive and stop the countdown! And then what Stark!” he yelled back. Such a waste of life – but at the same time Loki could understand it. A long and lingering painful death, or a quick, over in a flash, never knew what hit you death? How many times had he prayed for death while at the mercy of the Chitauri? Was this Stark’s endgame?
“And what’s to stop me from manually overriding J.A.R.V.I.S. and detonating all those nukes he’s got primed and ready? Huh? You send me back… sure he’ll stop the countdown… but that’s no guarantee that the world will be safe. Who the fuck do you think taught him how to negotiate?” Stark hissed right back at Loki.
At the word ‘negotiate’ King Odin’s head snapped around. As did Queen Hel’s and Queen Frigg’s. Perfect. He’d gotten their attention. Now it was time for the sell. And since he’d he spent a good fifteen plus years selling weapons of mass destruction, he had a good pitch for getting exactly what and how he wanted something.
He’d never planned for it make it this far of course – he’d always known he’d die young – in was in the nature of his business. And he wasn’t angling for his resurrection here either. But there was something that needed to happen more than anything else in the Universe – and if they wanted to bring him back from the dead – well that was going to have to happen first. He’d known he was cutting his life expectancy exponentially shorter when he had the arc reactor removed and had coded J.A.R.V.I.S. to take the appropriate measures to insure the survival of Stark Industries and the Avengers. Something must have happened Earth-side to push him into taking down H.Y.D.R.A. himself… other than Tony dying of course. The only way to find out was to get back down there and find out what the fuck was going on, he supposed.
Odin spoke first, finally in a level voice without bellows and growls, “Negotiate. You want to negotiate for a chance to return to the land of the living to be with your loved ones.” So maybe he was growling a little bit. “You make a fair point that we cannot force you – what is it that you wish for in return for your cooperation?” Definitely growling again at this point.
“Actually it isn’t something that you can provide. You just need to not be in the way…” Tony trailed off as Odin’s tightened further on his staff and the alien metal creaked.
“You think me incapable of granting your request! Foolish mortal!” Odin roared and Tony winced rubbing his ears. See, Tony knew Odin couldn’t grant his request – or he would have done it by now.
“Funny how you assume it is only one request…” Tony trailed off as Odin’s anger got the better of him and he swiped at him with his staff. That went right through Tony because Tony was an incorporeal Soul – without any solid body. At least not yet.
“Odin, for shame!” Queen Frigg called. “Leave the boy alone until we know what he wants.” Tony threw her a smirk. “Behead him after he saves the Nine Realms, Yes?” Tony’s smirk faded, but this was all part of the show – and the good Queen Frigg didn’t even know it.
Odin, mollified after being called down by his late wife, looked the Man of Iron in the Eyes. He saw intelligence that would rival that of his own son – Loki – and desperation. He knew then, without a doubt, the Man of Iron would do as he said if forced. He, himself would destroy Midgard, if they failed to properly negotiate with him. But in order to send him back… they were already giving him so much power. Could he possibly be trusted with even more? If her were to ask for the Tesseract, Odin knew then, that all hope would be lost.
“I do not think you understand what is needed to bring you back from the dead back, boy. State your demands. Let us negotiate,” Odin finally said.
“The Avengers have failed. The countdown has zeroed. Midgard’s destruction is imminent,” Heimdall suddenly interrupted. Tony nearly lost his composure. Perfectly timing as usual J.A.R.V.I.S.
“That is unfortunate. My demands are simple – one) leave Thor alone. Loki let him leave Asgard to live on Earth/Midgard for as long as you were in the OdinSleep and he could be with Jane. Let him be with Jane.” Lady Frigg’s eyes filled with tears and Odin’s widened when they realized that this man – this mortal soul – who could be asking for anything in the universe, was asking for instead his friend’s happiness. Their son’s happiness. “Two, a life for a life. Or a death for a life. I don’t really know how to put this…” Tony trailed off as the first bombs on Midgard were triggered and the first shockwaves hit Asgard.
“Speak faster Merchant of Death or there will be nothing left to save!” Queen Hel hissed. She could feel her castle starting to succumb to the great evils pouring into Niflheim.
“I don’t want to go back to life, I want to stay dead and that’s not fair to me, dammit. I want someone else resurrected too. That’s Hel’s job, but Odin, you can’t stand in the way. That’s all I want. Leave Thor alone and Let someone else comeback too.”
“Done,” Hel agreed. Even if she had to drag a soul out of Valhalla for this man, she would do it to save the Nine Realms.
“Done,” Odin was slower to reply – surely this was too easy…
“Hurry,” Heimdall cut in.
Loki bent down and picked up the SoulSphere that the Man of Iron had been transported to Asgard in and turned to him. Odin placed his hands over Loki’s shoulders to provide the power boost that Loki would need to perform the spell and Loki beckoned the Soul closer to him. “There is no way that I can make this not hurt. If it is consolation, you are about to become immortal – never again ill, aged, or injured. Stronger that your Captain, the Beast, and even Thor. It is an amazing power to be granted, but then, someone must keep that son of yours in check.
“Wait!” Hel hurried over and whispered in the Soul’s ear; she needed the name of her requested resurrected before they continued. One the process was done he would be sent straight back to Midgard to prevent any further damage. And when the name was duly whispered into her flesh ear a tear escaped out of both sides of her face – both the living and dead for the first time in over a millennium.
Anthony Edward Stark made no sound as Loki slammed the SoulSphere into his chest (right where the Arc reactor used to sit) and channeled both his and Odin’s powers into it. He made no sound as electricity seemed to race through every nerve ending in his body as magic rebuilt it. He made no sound as he felt the strength and powers pour through every fiber of his being.
He did however gasp aloud when he was suddenly falling. Falling. Falling. They were sending him back to Earth. They were sending him home. And for the first time in over a decade his heart was pounding with joy and not exertion, fear, or pain.
To Be Continued In: Chapter Fifteen: Daddy’s Back