The Chaos Theory

It wasn’t long before the Children of Thanos appeared but somehow, in the middle of the battle, Thor managed to break the Space Stone while Tony, Hulk, Wong, Strange, Valkyrie and Loki, as well as a very nosy Spider kid who decided to join them, were able to defeat them. Tony hated to admit it but Strange did know what he was doing when he fought, and he did actually listen to him when he needed help to evacuate the area… although the winking was very uncalled for.

“You loved it,” argued Pepper with a funny look on her face as he finished retelling their misadventures of the day.

They fought, they won, and one of the Infinity Stones was gone… which had felt odd. None of them were sure why but the moment it was destroyed a strong wave of energy pushed them back and once it was over, they all felt a deep sense of relief. Even if they couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going to happen if Thanos got all the Infinity Stones… now, that possibility was gone. Yes, he still had the Power Stone and they still had to make sure he didn’t gather the other stones. But this victory had already changed the course of the war towards something completely different.

They actually had a chance.

“That’s not true!” he said knowing that his silence would only convince Pepper even more of whatever she was insinuating.

“I dunno, it did seem like there was something going on between you two during the fight,” commented Peter with an expression way too similar to Pepper’s one. He shouldn’t have let those two spend so much time together.

“Why the long face? We should celebrate!” interrupted Thor and he didn’t need to see the big glass of beer to notice how he had been drinking to his heart’s content. It was written all over his face.

“Wait, where did you get that?” yes, they had regrouped with the rest of the Asgardians after the fight and headed towards the Avengers compound, but he never stopped to buy beer nor saw anyone do so, and the place was quite abandoned. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if it could be called the “Avengers compound” anymore. Not after everything that had happened. Well, now that Bruce and Thor were back it kind of felt like the old times… except there were still some people missing.

“You should ask Strange. Wizard or not, the man has some good tricks,” he said laughing a little bit. How much did he drank exactly? “You too!” He added noticing Pepper and Peter.

“No, no. Beer is off limits for the kid.”

“Come on, Stark! I’ve probably drank beer when I was half his age!”

“Yeah, well, things work a little different on Earth.”

“Oh, come on! Valkyrie, you agree with me on this one, don’t you?” called Thor and, to Tony’s surprise, the woman walked towards them looking even drunker than him.

“Sure, sure… Hey there, Red,” she said smiling to Pepper.

“Yeah… I probably should go. Some people have to work tomorrow,” commented the redhead ignoring the flirty glances she was receiving. “Should I drive Peter back home while I’m at it?”

“That would be great,” said the billionaire, noticing just then that the kid had left. Luckily he wasn’t far, but somehow managed to be holding a conversation with the worst option possible, “hey, hey, back off!” he said pulling Peter away from Loki, “don’t you think for one moment that just because your brother says you are on our side, I trust you. And certainly you are not trusted to be close to the kid, clear?”

“As crystal,” said the man raising his shoulders, “but just so you know. Your child was the one who came to me with all his questions.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he did,” he answered sarcastically, thought he couldn’t help but give the boy a warning look.

“But he’s on our side now,” he managed to say.

“You don’t know him, ask anyone here and they would tell he is not to be trusted… Well, except for Thor, but he is biased.”

“Oh no, I fully agree with you on that one. Never trust Loki,” chuckled the man, “but, he is on our side.”

“Like I said, biased.”

“I’m sorry Tony but I have to back Thor on this one. Loki is on our team… Yes, he did lie about having the Space Stone and probably put something on the soap because I haven’t stopped feeling itchy since the shower… but the point is, he fought with us against Hela and he sure wants as much as we do to defeat Thanos,” intervened Bruce.

“Right… sure,” he said clearly unconvinced, “you really have to tell me in detail what happened to you when you were gone.”

“Although it’s possible that your trust issues take root on something completely different, you do have a point,” said another voice.

“Doctor! I never thought I would say this but I’m glad you decided to join us,” he said making an effort to ignore the face that Pepper made as she left with Peter. Unbelievable.

“However, it’s true that the situation calls for desperate measures,” at least he seemed to be suffering as he said that, “but as soon as Thanos is defeated, you have to go.”

“Didn’t I mention it? Asgard is gone,” informed Thor without losing his smile, although that sounded pretty serious.

“I don’t care where as long as it’s as far as possible from here.”

“Well then, if Loki has to go, I shall go with him,” declared Thor. No doubt his statement sounded a lot more dramatic now that he was wearing a patch.

“Brother, although I appreciate your offer-”

“Wait, what? And who is going to take care of all your people, cause I sure as hell won’t,” interrupted Tony, gaining a glare from the blond.

“But you said-”

“I agreed to help you to get a place and settle in, but that’s it.”

“Tony…” Protested Bruce looking between his two friends.

“Then you should all go,” simplified the doctor.

“Really? That’s your solution to all of this?” questioned Tony turning towards him in disbelief.

“I told it to Odinson, and I tell it to you. I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world, and Loki is one of those beings.”

“Yes, but this is not just Loki you are vanishing. These are people, families,” he said making a gesture towards where the rest of the Asgardians were reunited, luckily too distracted with the food and the drinks (still don’t know where they got them) as to notice that their fate was being discussed.

“Guys…” called Bruce. If he thought things were getting intense between Thor and Tony he was wrong, at least they seem to notice when other people were talking to them.

“Maybe you should check your priorities again,” stated Strange, his eyes never leaving Tony’s gaze.

“Oh really? Says who?” was his defiant answer.

“Guys!” he could almost swear that if he had to shout any louder he would turn into the Hulk, “we can decide that later, okay? For now, we should focus on Thanos.”

“Right. About that, I have been doing some thinking and maybe is time we visit Nivadellir.”

“Yes! No, wait. Nivadellir?” repeated Bruce turning towards the blond.

“Yes.  Only Eitri the dwarf king can make me the weapon I need. Thanos might be getting another Stone as we speak. If he is successful, he might become too powerful to stop, even for me.”

“But… you can’t go. What if the Children of Thanos attack you on your way?”

“I will go with him,” declared Valkyrie, “but tell Red that I will come back for her.”

“Me too,” said Loki, “at least that way you might get some sleep,” he added mockingly.

“Really? I would expect you saying something along the lines of ‘staying to rule our people’ or something like that,” smiled the blond.

“What can I say? Maybe this is my chance to prove to them that I’m not their enemy,” he said earning more than one look of disbelief.

“For now,” added Tony, and he couldn’t help but notice how Strange nodded silently.

“Okay, I will prepare the ship along with a few chosen ones to be part of my crew,” decided Thor clapping his hands, “meanwhile, you should speak to Captain America so he can find Vision.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s necessary or is it?”

Both Thor and Bruce exchanged looks.

“Okay, Tony, you don’t have to call him if you don’t want to,” said the scientist carefully, “but given the fact that he’s our best shot at finding Vision, somebody has to do it. Okay? You just have to tell me how I can reach him.”

Tony sighed. Without looking at any of the people present, he took out a flip phone from his pocket, handed it to Bruce and left the room without even saying a word.

“You always carry that with you?” mocked Loki gaining more than one glare, “what? I’m just asking what we all were thinking,” he noticed then how Strange seemed to be having an argument with his cloak. Some kind of mythical artifact, he guessed.

“Ugh, fine,” muttered the doctor going after Stark. Again, a guess. However, he couldn’t discuss his observations as his fellow allies were already submerged on their own conjectures.

“Given the circumstances… do you think I should tell Cap to join us after he finds Vision?” asked Banner with worried expression.

“I don’t see why not. I’m sure that if they talk they can fix whatever happened between them. Believe me, on my time on Earth I have seen some of your movies and there is no love quarrel that cannot be fixed with some talking… although we should probably leave them alone to do that as those talks often lead to… fondue.”

“What?” asked Bruce confused.

“What? Captain America once used that term to describe how a man and a woman…”

“Okay, I think I got the picture,” interrupted the scientist, knowing that Thor could be quite unfiltered about the subject… and there were Asgardian children present.

***

 “I should have guessed that I would find you in a place like this,” said Strange entering Tony’s workshop, full of amours in different stages of building.

“Don’t know why you would want to find me in the first place, Gandalf,” was his answer, too focused on whatever he was building to bother to look at him, “what do you want?”

“A truce.”

“A truce?”

“I admit I might have been rash to judge you…”

“So that’s what you were doing all this time? I didn’t realize!”

“Sarcasm won’t get you anywhere, Stark.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere, I just want you to leave.”

“Perfect, we both agree,” but once against his cloak stopped him from actually leaving the room. He sighed, “listen, about that truce…”

“You want me to convince the others to get rid of Loki? Don’t worry, I’m all for it.”

“I know that,” he stated, deciding to address the elephant in the room, “what I don’t know is if you are letting other personal matters affect your judgement regarding our best course of action.”

“I’ve already let Bruce call Cap.”

“Yes. But, are you aware that we might need a little more help than that? As far as I know, not only would he be a good asset for fighting Thanos but also happens to be in contact with other ex-Avengers such as Black Widow, Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch. All of whom would also make excellent allies for the fight.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” he repeated raising an eyebrow.

“I know we need them!” Tony finally snapped turning towards him, “as I also know that they won’t listen to me if I asked! I know they… no, not only them, I know that we need a leader and that that leader is Cap!”

“Yeah… about that… I just want them to join this fight, then they can go back to being fugitives or whatever they want,” the doctor said dismissively, “we are not in need of a leader, we have-”

“If you say ‘a Hulk’ I swear to God…”

“-you,” he finished matter-of-factly.

“That’s not-“

“No, you listen to me. The first thing you did when the Children of Thanos arrived was help the people evacuate and make sure everyone was safe. As far as I know, that’s what a true leader does,” he said looking directly into his eyes. Tony could swear that that gaze could stop someone’s heart, “and no, I’m not saying it just to ‘boost your ego’, you don’t need me for that,” Tony laughed. It was nice to laugh after being told something like that.

“You know? You are not as bad as I thought.”

“Same goes to you, Stark,” he said returning the smile, “you are worse.”

“Oh, yeah, much worse.”