Draumr

Chapter five

It was hours later that Tony finally landed on the platform. Robotic arms sprung from the ground, removing the suit with a surgeon’s precision while Tony walked towards the entrance. His legs were shaking, and nausea was crawling in the pit of his stomach. All he really wanted to do was go to his room and pass out either in, or at least close to his bed. After the conversation with Pepper, he’d practically ripped his brain in half trying to come up with an explanation.

There were two scenarios he could picture. Either he got catapulted backwards several feet in the air and landed on top of a roof, somehow surviving it all without major injury minus the splitting headache. Tony found this to be very unlikely considering all the factors; like how if anything, he should have been hurled forward and splat against a pizzeria, not to mention he didn’t have enough speed to go flying in the opposite direction. Still, he preferred that impossible explanation over the other, even more impossible explanation. Which was that he, little old and very much human Tony, had somehow teleported. In the eyes of nature, Tony probably pushed his boundaries a lot, but even he had his limits and last he checked, teleportation was one of them.

He entered his building, thoughts still swirling around his head like an angry bee hive. They grew from frustration and confusion to cold horror when he realized. What would SHIELD do? The image of the cage they had wanted to put Bruce inside so they could poke and prod at him came to mind, and his fear grew until it clogged his chest. If SHIELD found out, there was no saying what they might do. Keep him locked up in a cage and experiment on him, trying to figure it all out. It’s what he would have done, or at least wanted to do. But it was something he never wanted to happen to him, not again. Images of dark, rocky walls and pain, so much pain, filled his head. It would be like the cave all over again. His head dunked under water, a scalpel cutting into his chest while he was being held down, still conscious. SHIELD said they were better than the bad in the world, that they were pure. It was all lies, lies! They would torture him, cut him open all while he screamed for them to stop. And they would never let him go.

Tony stumbled, hitting his toe against something on the floor. He wasn’t paying attention, instead letting himself fall flat, almost crashing into his bar, before curling up against it, as if it would somehow help. His heart was drumming inside him, faster and faster. It hurt, and he was so sure that any minute it would just pop out of his chest. Tony blinked several times, his blurred vision clearing as something warm slid down his cheeks. Breath came in quick, desperate gasps. All he could think was danger, he was in danger, as images of everything flashed in his mind. Everything, the cave, the water, the wormhole, it was all there. So livid and strong.

Through all the commotion, he didn’t hear JARVIS’ voice calling out to him, becoming more and more desperate with each ignored word. Somewhere in the room, there was a loud crash. The glass cabinet was now spread through the room in small, glassy shards. The sound was enough to bring Tony’s attention half-back to reality.

“Sir!” JARVIS’ voice had never sounded so… scared before. He blinked, focusing on taking deep, calming breaths. It took a while, but he finally managed to calm down. Though the echo of fear still clung on to the back of his head.

“J-Jarvis?” He croaked. His throat was hoarse from silently screaming.

“Sir, are you alright? I detected a drastic increase in your heartbeat and breathing pattern” Tony bit his lip.

“Yeah, I’m fine”

A low whine came from behind him, followed by the sound of glass crunching against his floor. Turning, he saw DUM-E whirring towards him, right over the broken glass. DUM-E’s camera was held low in a submissive and almost scared way, nearly scraping against the floor. Tony’s gut clenched a bit. He’d scared his boys.

“Hey, Dummy,” He said, staring sorrowfully at his droid. “Did I scare you? I’m sorry”

DUM-E replied with a slight tilt of his camera, a small bleep escaping his speaker. He lifted his head a bit higher, inching closer to Tony until his claw was resting on the inventor’s shoulder. Tony blinked a few times, surprised. DUM-E hadn’t been programmed with human interaction skills in mind. At the time of his creation, he was just been something Tony might impress his father with. The plan had failed, and Tony had honestly been tempted to just destroy his useless creation. He was glad that he hadn’t, especially now. The robot chippered, almost sounding like a bird, while his camera rubbed strangely against Tony’s cheek and head, ruffling his hair. A hand came up automatically, caressing the cold metal claw.

“I am sorry to interrupt, sir, but Mr. Barton is on his way up” JARVIS’ voice broke through the speakers.

“ETA?”

“One minute, sir” JARVIS replied. Tony sighed, leaning against the bar. DUM-E gave a small, robotic whine. Brushing away the tears, he got up from the ground, giving the robot a little pat in the process. To think he had ever thought about destroying him.

“You know the rules, J. Don’t tell anyone what happened” He commanded, looking around the room. Shards of glass were littering the floor, mostly gathered in a small pile where his cabinet used to stand. When the hell did his cabinet get destroyed?

He didn’t have much time to think about it, as the elevator dinged, marking the arrival of the medieval spy. Tony cursed inwardly, quickly brushing his hair back in somewhat order. Clint was whistling a tune as he walked casually into the room, eyes on the roof and not really paying attention to where he put his feet. That is, until his boot gave a loud crunching sound. The sight that met him was Tony standing awkwardly next to the bar with DUM-E wheeling around to find something to clean with.

“Woah… what the hell blew up in here?” The archer asked, raising an eyebrow at the mess on the floor.

“Dummy crashed into my cabinet” he lied easily, pointing an accusing finger at DUM-E. The robot gave off an almost angry whirr. Tony apologized internally. “The vacuum cleaner is in the locker room. Jarvis, you know where. Show him, please”

Clint stared at him for a while, and for a second Tony was afraid Clint would call him out. However, the archer’s eyes travelled back to the mess on the floor. “It looks like he threw a bloody grenade at it”

“That’s what I get for trying something fancy” Tony agreed, straightening his suit. He turned finally, giving Clint a curious look. “Why are you here, Feathers?”

“Bruce made bala… bal… Bruce made dinner” Clint replied, stepping around a particular big piece of glass. He leaned against the bar, waiting for Tony’s reply. The inventor looked from the mess on the floor, to Clint and back again. Finally, he shrugged.

“Was it Bruce of Cap who sent you?” He asked.

“Bruce. He wanted me to go and check if you were up here. Said something about you having left earlier today.” The archer replied lightly, already moving towards the elevator, clearly expecting Tony to follow. He considered just staying up here instead, maybe order some takeout. In all honesty, he wasn’t interested in having a shared dinner with the rest of his team. He’d always been a lone wolf, used to doing anything alone, including eating. However, wasn’t it only fair that he ate with his team at least once in a while? Tony could practically hear Pepper’s voice, telling him to do the responsible adult thing and eat with his teammates. And dammit, he was getting hungry.

No, he had more important business to attend to. He could eat when he was finished.

“Sorry, Clint. I’ve got work to do, a business to run, inventions to invent. Ya know, gotta make a living, right?” And more importantly, find out what the hell is wrong with me. He started moving towards the elevator, casually passing the archer who threw himself right into heel behind him, slightly surprised at Tony’s rejection.

“You’re a billionaire, Stark. Live a little! Enjoy a meal for once. We all know Bruce’s cooking is your favourite.” Clint said, grabbing Tony’s shoulder and spun him around. Still exhausted from whatever the hell had happened earlier, his balance wasn’t the best at that moment. The little meant-to-be friendly gesture sent Tony out of motion. He barely had the time to catch himself on the corridor wall. The archer received a nasty glare, but Tony found he didn’t have the energy at the time to keep it up.

“Woah man. You okay?” To his great surprise, Clint actually looked apologetic.

“I’m fine” Tony said, turning back towards the elevator. He needed to get to his lab and get to work. There was a scientific explanation, and he would be damned if he didn’t find it.

For a while, silence dragged on, and Tony was almost sure JARVIS was slowing the elevator ride on purpose. He was about to point that little detail out to his electronic butler when Clint spoke up again.

“Ya know, if there’s anything you aren’t telling us… If there’s anything bothering you, I mean. We’re a team, and…” The archer fumbled with his words, clearly not the type for the “you can tell me things” talk. Then again, Tony had never been really good at that either.

“I know you love me, Catniss. No need to say it” He patted the archer’s shoulder just as the elevator doors opened to the common room. Clint turned towards him, expression surprisingly soft.

“You sure you don’t want to eat? Just a little nibble”

“Save me a portion and we’ll see what happens. Tell my other fans I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. Genius doesn’t make itself, you know” With those words, the doors closed behind the archer and the elevator continued on it’s path down to Tony’s ground lab.

His lab was a sight for sore eyes. Thirty feet underground to prevent accidents from shaking the structures of the tower. It wasn’t as big as the one he had in Malibu, but it was big enough to house the equipment he needed, including JARVIS’ scanners and arms for when his suit was too banged up to release. It hadn’t happened since the Mark III, but it was always good to be prepared. A sofa was pushed into one corner, littered with empty cans of alcohol-free beer (damn you, Pepper) and an old pizza box. A blanket was thrown over one of the seats. Aside from that one little space of mess, the rest of the lab was surprisingly clean.

“Alright. Time to put on our thinking caps, J. Give me anything you’ve got” Tony said, plumping down in his chair. On command, the screen in front of him lit up. Bright blue letters and numbers came to life in front of him, calculations and factors for his many different projects. With the swipe of his hand, they were gone, replaced by a clean sheet.

“Okay. Let’s think back…” Tony mumbled, hands moving to hover over the keyboard. It took only a couple of seconds before the idea hit him. “Jarvis, what exactly happened that night on the roof?”

“I am unsure, sir. All I know is that you went up at eleven thirty pm. At twelve oh-five am I noticed an increase in heartbeat through your STARK watch, followed by a sudden decrease, which was again followed by an increase. To put it shortly, you seemed to suffer through a very nasty case of arrhythmia. Given your history with arrhythmia since the introduction of the Jericho missile, I quickly called for the closest help available” JARVIS explained. Tony thought, letting his AI’s words sink in. Arrhythmia was something he had gotten used to. The cardiologist had said that was something to expect with pieces of metal slowly trying to make their way into his heart, and it wasn’t like that was the first time something like that had happened. But he had never experienced something so severe, at least not since Obie…

“I need to get you some cameras on the roof” He said, quickly writing in an order for new security cameras. Something was telling him there was something more than just an arrhythmia, but he couldn’t for the love of him remember what it was. His brain itched, an uncomfortable feeling that no matter how many times he shook his head, wouldn’t go away.

“That would be much appreciated, sir” Said JARVIS.

They sat in silence for a while, JARVIS doing whatever it was JARVIS did on his spare time. Everything from running calculations to watching funny cat videos on youtube. Tony’s fingers were dancing over the keyboard, writing down thoughts and theories as to what could have happened.

“Hey J?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you noticed anything… different about me lately?” Tony asked, the typing ceasing. His mind kept going back to waking up on the roof. It was driving him insane.

“Nothing that immediately stands out, sir. Would you like to do a scan?” JARVIS replied, polite as ever.

“Yeah… a scan might be a good idea, actually” He mumbled. If he really had teleported, or been teleported, there was a chance that it would leave off some sort of energy residue. Tony couldn’t imagine something as big as teleporting could happen without a trace, and if anyone could find out, it was JARVIS.

Tony got up from his chair, walking over to the human-sized table further in the room. Lying down, he closed his eyes and waited for the familiar buzzing sound of JARVIS’ scanners working their magic. Just like he predicted, JARVIS wasted no time and soon the room was filled with a loud buzz that was oddly soothing.

Tony didn’t know how long he lied there. It was definitely not longer than his time in Bruce’s lab with his out-dated equipment.

“Scan complete, sir” JARVIS signalled just as the buzzing stopped. Tony yawned tiredly, getting off the table and back to his chair. For the second time, he slumped down in it, feeling the entire day as a heavy weight on his shoulders.

“And?” JARVIS didn’t answer. Tony’s back straightened, his attention sharpening exponentially. “Jarvis?”

“I…” The AI hesitated, seeming confused. If anything, that only made Tony even more freaked out than the silence. “It is difficult to decipher. There seems to be some form of energy signal, but I can’t get a read on it. It seems similar to the energy emitting from your new arc reactor, but… it doesn’t seem real. Like whatever it is, it is somehow managing to camouflage itself”

“Camouflage? What the hell do you mean camouflage?!” His voice came out a lot harsher than intended, but he paid it no mind. JARVIS’ words rolled around his head like a vortex, ideas and theories blending in with the mush, one scarier than the other.

“I mean there is an unknown energy signal emitting from your body, but it is so well hidden, I cannot seem to pin it down. It almost looks like the arc reactor sprung a leak and is bleeding into the rest of your body” Said the AI. Tony blinked, looking at the image on screen that JARVIS had so kindly supplied him while he was talking. On screen was the basic outline of a man, things like arteries, organs and skeleton all highlighted in a different colours. In the middle of the chest was the hole he recognized as the arc reactor. What bothered him the most was that, just like JARVIS said, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything looked completely normal and if the AI hadn’t pointed it out, he wouldn’t have thought any of it at all.

“Arc reactors don’t just leak, Jarvis”

“There is no need to tell me, sir” Was JARVIS’ snarky reply. Tony allowed a small smile to brush his lips, but it never grew into anything real.

“So what… some kind of anomaly? Come on, J. Give me details!” He tried, already knowing what JARVIS would say. Letting his face rest in his hands, he let out a frustrated sigh. Today had just gone from bad to worse. Starting with the stupid burns in the shower to a god damn car accident he should have been more involved in. It was a miracle no one had died, himself included.

“I am sorry, sir. But that is all the information I have…” There was a pregnant pause before the AI spoke again. “There is one more thing, sir”

He looked up. “What?”

His answer came when the screen to his left revealed a film. Tony instantly recognized the video as the security footage in his living room. There was him landing outside on the platform, visible only as a glint of red and gold behind the glass. He entered the building, and Tony was surprised at how exhausted he looked. His skin was almost sickly pale, bringing out the dark circles under his eyes. At first, he just looked tired. The inventor remembered something about going to his room. Then his entire demeanour changed. He went from tied/sick-looking to panicking. Tony watched himself stumble, crashing his foot into the raised ground in front of the bar. He collapsed on the ground and stayed that way, shaking like a leaf. It was strange, seeing himself look so… helpless. So scared. It almost made him sick.

Then it happened. JARVIS was calling his name, for the umpteenth time when the glass cabinet across the room exploded without anything even touching it.

Tony stared, eyes wide. “Play that back”

The footage played again. He saw the cabinet explode, his own body jump at the sudden commotion. There was something else though… something… “Zoom in on my hands”

JARVIS did as he was told, and the footage was now focused on his hands which were currently wrapped around his knees tightly. “Now play it back, slowed by 50 percent”

It only covered three frames per second, short enough to be a camera flare if Tony didn’t know better. But he did, which only made the sudden lump of steel in his stomach feel ten times heavier.

A short flash of green danced over his hands right before the cabinet shattered.