Chapter 4
When they finally got out of bed and into their clothes, there was the sound of a series of chain explosions and the roar of men in the tower. Then a loud alarm filled the area. A mutiny warning.
That was Yon-Rogg's doing. He didn't have a pleasant evening at all like the other two. He, unlike them, had spent the evening planning his escape from this God-forsaken place. Other inmates warned him there was no way out. But they never jailed anyone of his calibre. He, unlike the others, knew how to use the organ placed on his neck. He kept a close eye on his surroundings, and at night he plotted his plans. That morning, he put his master plan into action.
In a matter of moments, he had accomplished what might have taken some years. The whole area was in chaos. Yon had managed to keep his weapon, so when guards blocked his path, he was ready for them. They had no chance against him. For one simple reason. They underestimated their opponent.
But Yon wasn't just planning to run. He planned to take the reincarnation of Sherlock with him. He should probably learn his new name. It would be too much of a coincidence, after all, if this man, too, were named Sherlock Holmes. He reached the control panel, but it was password-protected. He couldn't get past it. One of the girls ran past him. It was Emily who had taken care of Tony the previous day. Yon didn't know. He grabbed her arm and stopped her from escaping. The girl stared at him with her large pink eyes and trembled with fear.
„Where can I find the man they brought with me?” he growled at her.
„The Grandmasters right hand has it,” she replied, her voice shaking.
„And his room? Where can I find him?”
„The penultimate floor in the tower. He's got the whole floor to himself. The floor below the Grand Master's bedroom. You can use the elevator ... It will be the fastest,” she added, fearing for her life. She was not used to such things and was of a timid disposition herself.
Yon didn't miss a beat and ran for the elevator. That, for all the damage done by the others, was still operational. He drove to a given floor and tried to open the door. They were locked, of course. But he was in no mood for that. He turned on his glove and broke down the door. He strode into the room and found the two of them sitting peacefully at breakfast. You could see Tony hesitate to eat the odd meal at first, but after a little persuasion, he had to admit that it wasn't that different from classic Earth food. Although they couldn't make proper coffee. The two of them looked at Yon, looking at why he was disturbing them and what was happening. The two of them rose from the table, but it was Loki who stepped protectively in front of Tony, possibly to protect him from danger.
„You,” Yon-Rogg growled. Loki instantly recognized him as his rival and summoned his spear through magic. Moreover, should the spear fail, he has an unlimited number of hidden knives. „Let him go!”
„I can't let that happen. He is, after all, a Midgardian on an unknown planet. If I let him go, he could get hurt,” he smiled slyly.
„You know what I mean,” he said irritably, pointing his glove at him.
„I don't think that will be necessary,” Loki said as if trying to calm the situation. It didn't seem to work, as Yon took a few practised steps forward, jerked his glove, hit Loki and tried to grab Tony's arm, but both figures melted away. Loki materialized again a few yards off. Eventually, they exchanged a few blows, gained some distance, and were preparing for another round when Tony Stark burst in, trying to keep them apart.
„That's enough!” he shouted at them, and the two of them stopped, but they were still pointing at each other. He was fed up with arguments, and he wasn't going to listen to them on other planets. It was involuntary, but in the end, they both obeyed. „You don't have to get along. I don't care, but as long as I'm here, no one's going to argue.”
„I remember you,” he said to Yon. „You saved my life in space. I'm grateful for that. I'm not going to kiss you for that. From what I saw in my head, we knew each other even... I don't know when. In a previous life? I guess. But just so you both know, that's not me," he said, aiming the last sentence at the two men.
In the end, the two agreed on a kind of truce where the best man would win. They sat at a table, wondering what to do next. Tony, of course, wanted to return to Earth as soon as possible.
„I don't think that's a very good idea,” Yon said.
„Why?” Tony asked, only more interested.
„To my knowledge, the universe is now in complete chaos,” he said. It wasn't entirely a lie, but he wanted to win Tony over for himself.
„All the more reason to go back. Earth needs me. They need Iron Man,” he replied.
They continued to argue there for some time, and it only reinforced his determination to return home. Eventually, Yon had to abandon his plan to return with Tony to a home planet called Hala. Loki, on the other hand, suspected that such a situation might arise and, in truth, did not mind. Now that he had finally established a relationship with Tony, he was sure he wouldn't just dump him.
Tony was adamant about getting information about his planet, and when he found out what had happened, no one could talk him out of going back. They devised a plan to retrieve the ship that, thanks to the turmoil on the planet, they could easily carry out. Once the ship took off, they set a course for Earth.
They reached Earth without any problems. That is unless you count the small ones, but for the frequent arguments between Loki and Yon. They were mostly arguing about what happened 200 years ago. Who took Sherlock from whom and who Tony will end up with now. In fact, for how old they were, Tony felt the most grown-up during the trip, with the two arguing like small children.
When they reached the Avengers' base, his former shipmates surrounded their ship. Hulk, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Rhodey, Thor and two people he didn't know. That is if one can be claimed for a person. It was a raccoon in some kind of suit, with a big probably firearm. The other was human, but he had never seen him before. Or maybe he did, but he didn't remember him. However, they had no idea if there was a speaker or anything on the ship, so they opened the door instead. As the door slowly dropped to the ground, the former Avengers were ready to attack. They aimed everything at them. Tony came out first with his hands up and a faint smile on his lips.
„Take it easy,” said Tony and went downstairs.
„Tony,” the others marvelled, not even hiding their enthusiasm. But that quickly disappeared when Loki and Yon-Rogg appeared behind him. The two of them walked without any fear of harm. The members of the Avengers again pointed their weapons at them.
“Easy. They're with me. He won't hurt anybody,” Tony tried. Steve signalled to hold his fire. Yon eyed them all, taking them as a potential threat to steal Tony. Especially the blond leader.
„Loki. You're alive,” Thor said without surprise.
„It's good to see you, too, brother,” Loki replied, having to hide his shock at the way his brother now looked.
„What do you want here?” the god of thunder asked.
„Just escorting Anthony here. I have no ulterior motives,” he replied candidly.
„And the other one?” the captain asked Tony.
„He saved me in space. I wouldn't be here without him,” he replied, making Loki feel as if he'd just betrayed him. This caution was slowly wearing off.
„Alright. Everybody lower your weapons!” he commanded. Most obeyed at once, but some eyed the group suspiciously before they dropped their weapons, too. Tony and his crew descended to the ground, where the captain and the others welcomed him into a collective embrace.
„We're glad you're okay,” Rhodey said.
„Good to see you too,” Tony said, smiling. He was glad to be home among his own.
Subsequently, they all moved to the Avengers building, to a room where a time portal was set up.
„What is this? Some kind of stargate? The Portal of Time?” he joked, studying the device from a distance.
„Exactly. Scott here gave us an idea that was absurd at first, but it worked,” Steve was explained.
„Actually, you came just in time. As a result, we were able to retrieve the stones of time even before Thanos got them. Now we're going to use them to bring back half the universe,” Bruce explained.
„That's amazing,” Tony said, „How did you do that?”
„Most of it was done, but it took us a while. Because at first, we sent time through Lang and not Lang through time. We had to figure out…”
„Space-time GPS. The first tests must have been unpleasant,” he interrupted.
„Tell me about it,” Scott sighed.
„Anyway, look here. That's how we got the infinity stones. I planted them in one of your Iron Man gloves. The metal was perfect since it can adapt to any hand.”
„All right. Who's going to do the snap?” Tony asked.
„That's what we wanted to get to before you arrived,” Steve said. Loki, meanwhile, walked over to Tony, put his arms around his waist and rested his chin on his head. His eyes studied the glove. If he had been the same, he would have tried to get them, but now he would have no use for them.
„I'll do it,” Bruce said determinedly. The captain wanted to object at first, but in the end, like everyone else, they conceded that he was right.
Hulk put on his glove and immediately tremendous and overwhelming energy coursed through him. If it was anyone else, his knees would buckle. He concentrated and snapped his fingers. No one knew at the time whether the stones had worked or not. Bruce fell to the ground and the others rushed to his side. They took off his glove and patched him up. Clint paced impatiently around the room. He stopped at the table where his phone was resting. The phone began to vibrate, and the screen showed a call from his beloved wife. He was going to take it when the building started acting weird. The ground began to shake, and the air seemed thick with tension.