Draumr

Tony awoke with a startle, eyes snapping open with a sharp gasp. For a second, the unfamiliar surroundings brought panic to his being. It didn’t help that his limbs felt weak, his chest heavy as though a weight had been placed on it. Although he could move, it took more effort than what he was comfortable with. Still, he managed to wiggle enough to a more comfortable half-sitting position. Looking around, he took in the white room. He was back in the medbay. His arm felt itchy, an IV taped securely to his hand. That was… strange. What the hell had happened…

Memories came flooding back. The explosion, the bright green light. Dummy…

Instantly, he tried to force his way out of bed. His limbs barely budged, refusing to follow through with his commands. Gritting his teeth, Tony tried to hold back an angry snarl, cursing his own body’s weakness. Why was this his life? What the hell had happened to change it all so quickly? After a while of struggling, Tony gave into the exhaustion and allowed gravity to pull him back into the bed. He needed to get out of here, but he also needed to regain his strength.

He had to see if Dummy was… Christ, he didn’t even want to finish the thought. Barely able to keep awake, he closed his eyes, giving into a restless slumber while his minds screamed at him that he had to get out of here, had to get to Dummy. Had to…

The next time Tony awoke, he felt a little bit stronger. It was impossible to know how long he’d slept for, as there were no windows in his room. Just the artificial, blinding light from the ceiling. However, it was apparent that someone had been in his room and checked on him. The bag of fluid had been replaced with a newer one, he noticed. And a glass of water had been placed on the nightstand next to him. Tony just stared at it, still too weak to muster the strength to pick it up and actually drink. Heh… he would kill for a drink right now.

He felt nauseous, and for a second he was afraid he would puke, but managed to hold it back.

That was when the door opened, and a shaken Bruce entered. The doctor met his eyes with a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Tony didn’t waste any time.

“Dummy…” he mumbled, voice thick and hoarse with disuse. How long had he been out? No, that didn’t matter. One thing at a time. He had to know what had happened to Dummy.

“I don’t know much about AIs…” Bruce mumbled. Tony held his breath, a painfully tight feeling clenching in his chest. “I’m sorry, Tony…”

Tony didn’t react, unable to properly process the words. It took seconds that felt like hours until his brain finally caught up to what Bruce was saying. Emptiness… That was the only way to describe what he was feeling. Like someone had pulled his heart out and replaced it with a big, gaping hole. He didn’t know how to react. What to say. Anything.

“How?” Tony asked, forcing himself to sit up further. Bruce’s expression was grim.  

“He’s been moved to one of the storage facilities. We didn’t know what to do with him… Tony, I’m really sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but…” Bruce didn’t finish. Or he might have finished. Tony wasn’t sure. It didn’t feel real. None of it did. It felt as though he’d been pulled out of his own body. Unable to move, or just unwilling to. Tony’s chest ached, and he just wished he could force himself to feel something. He wanted to grieve, to feel loss and sadness and pain. But all he felt was nothing, and it was killing him. What kind of monster couldn’t even muster up the tears for when his own creation, his friend since fifteen, was…

“Tony… what-”

“Happened?” Tony cut in, shaking his head to rid himself of the fog. “I… I don’t know…”

Lies.

“Don’t lie to me, Tony” Banner said, voice suddenly stern. Tony stared at him, confused.

“I’m not-”

“Really? Because it seems like you’ve been doing nothing else the past few weeks. What, you weren’t going to tell me about how you magically ended up on a roof when you were supposed to be ketchup on a pizzeria?” He shook his head. Bruce sounded so angry, not the burning smashy green kind of angry, but the cold and dark angry that made his skin freeze under the force of those emotionless pits Banner called eyes. Tony shook his head, swallowing past the painful lump in his throat.

“How did you know…?” He managed, pushing himself away from Bruce.

In the blink of an eye, the image of an angry Bruce Banner changed to that of a confused and worried one.

“Know what?” he asked, voice back to that kind and soft tone. Tony blinked again, shocked at the sudden change. Was Bruce trying to mess with him? He just stared, as if Bruce was about to lash out again. Or laugh at his pathetic face. Instead, the other’s face contorted into worry, and he stepped closer. Instantly, Tony moved further away. What was the he playing at?

“Tony… what are you doing?” Bruce asked, sounding about as confused as Tony felt.

“Don’t- Don’t come near me” He whispered, wanting to get out of bed and out of the room. Everything hurt, but he didn’t care. He just wanted out. Bruce held his hands up in surrender, trying to show that he wasn’t a threat.

“Sir, please, calm down. Your body will not be able to handle the stress” JARVIS spoke, startling the engineer. The room started spinning slightly, and Tony forced himself to keep upright. Obviously, his attempt was for naught when he was suddenly looking at the room in a different angle. When did the floor get so close?

“Shit, Tony!” he heard Bruce yell. The doctor jumped forward, grabbing him just before his head collided with the hard floor. Tony’s entire body was shaking, convulsing. When did it get so cold in here? A warm hand touched his forehead, pulling back quickly.

“Christ, you’re burning up” Bruce swore, managing to lift Tony back into a more comfortable position on the bed. Tony barely noticed, the world spinning in and out of focus.

“Dammit. Shit shit shit. Ok. Jarvis! We need a medical team down here now! Tell them Tony’s having some sort of attack. Possible brain fever” Tony wanted to pull the covers over himself, but they were quickly yanked away. When he let out low, complaining groan, Banner gave a short apology of “Sorry Tony, we need to cool you down”

“They are on their way, Dr. Banner” The AI’s voice rang out, loud and clear. The world was blurring, shifting…

For a split second, there was nothing but the endless darkness and distant stars, before the image flickered back, replaced by the hospital room. Tony felt panic rise from his gut. Or was that vomit? The room flickered again, replaced by the void, before he was back in the bed, shivering endlessly. He blinked, confused. His brain somehow unable to keep up with the scenario around him. Unable to come to a logical conclusion for anything. Tony could barely remember where he was, and he had to forcefully remind himself every time the room faded into darkness.

“Stay with me, Tony” He heard the muffled sound of Bruce’s voice. It brought back a stinging pain in his chest, and he wanted to scream. Barely aware that somewhere, somehow, his body was trying to fight off the plausible attacker, he gasped as his chest constricted painfully. Air was entering his lungs, but it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t feel the relief of breathing, as the cold air did nothing but sting and burn.

Somewhere far away, a door opened. More people, more arms reaching out for him, suffocating. Tony’s fighting increased, though he was unable to do any real damage. He could barely even lift his arms. Was he screaming? Probably. There was no way of knowing. Everything was so blurred, so confusing. He could feel his bed, but was floating in the void. He could see the blurred and shifting edges of the room, but his body was floating weightless.

And just like that, it stopped. Darkness was dragging at his body, lulling him into it’s soulless embrace. Someone shouting his name, amongst other things, but he didn’t have enough brainpower to focus on it. Warm tendrils of green and gold wrapped around his body protectively. The comforting feeling was almost enough to startle him. It was like sinking into a warm bath after a long day, feeling the heat envelope him. His body ceased it’s fighting, the painful twitching of his muscles drowned out by beautiful, delicious warmth.

He was out within seconds, surrendering to the sensation of safety and fire.

Minutes later, Bruce Banner exited the room. Tony was stable, his fever slowly dying down. The doctors had done what they could, and left with the explanation that he needed rest. As if Bruce didn’t know that, he scoffed. JARVIS had naturally agreed to keep an eye out for his creator, and would alert Bruce should there be any drastic changes.

Natasha was waiting for him by the elevator that would take them up to the common room. Her arms were crossed over her chest, face set in a serious expression.

“How is he?” She asked when he got close enough, and if Bruce wasn’t a genius, he might have missed the small hint of worry in her voice. He shook his head, studying the tips of his shoes. Tony had given him those shoes after his former pair got torn when he transformed into the hulk during the invasion.

“He’s stable… for now at least” He replied, biting his lip. He had promised Tony he wouldn’t give away more information than necessary, but that was before… well, before Tony had somehow managed to blow up his entire lab without getting a single scratch or burn.

“What is going on, Bruce?” Natasha asked, the tone of her voice demanding his direct attention. Unable to really do anything, he looked up and met his eyes. Her eyes were emotionless pits, but Bruce knew better than to fall for her little façade. She was just as worried as the rest of them.

“I don’t know… This is all happening too quickly” He explained, stepping past her into the elevator. She followed quickly, pushing the button to take them to the common floor.

“This all began after Steve found him on the roof…” She said thoughtfully. Bruce nodded. He’d come to that conclusion as well.

“I have a theory… but it’s nothing solid”

“Spill” Said the widow, staring into the wall before her.

“Well, I guess it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Tony’s not exactly been himself lately…” Natasha scoffed, nodding. “I think he might be sick. Well, I know he’s sick. But I can’t find any matching disease on earth. He’s showing symptoms I haven’t even seen before…”

The Widow looked at him, eyes unreadable. “You think it could be alien?”

Bruce hesitated. He had promised Tony… Swallowing thickly, he nodded his head.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but at this point… is it really that unlikely? I mean, we’ve already fought an alien army. And we have proof that we aren’t the only species out there. It’s a probability we can’t overlook” It sounded so crazy, actually saying it out loud. He neglected to mention the part where he’d gone over the video recordings of Tony while he was unconscious, and heard the man mumble about the void. At first, he’ thought it just residue from what he’d seen when he flew into the wormhole, but in the recent light of things…

“Is it contagious?” Natasha asked, bringing him out of his grim thoughts. Bruce shook his head.

“No, if it was, we’d all be showing symptoms by now” he had checked his own blood, and that of Clint, just to make sure. “At least not through direct contact or the respiratory system”  

The elevator stopped, doors opening to the common room. Bruce followed after Natasha towards the dinner table, where Steve and Clint were already waiting for them. He swallowed thickly, throat dryer than the Sahara Desert. No matter what he did, his thoughts refused to leave the mangled shape of Tony Stark just a few floors below him. There was something he was missing, something important… something Tony had neglected to tell him. And his reaction. The way he looked at Bruce as though he’d just been slapped. He could still remember the haunting look in Tony’s blank eyes when he started backing away from him, scared… It was almost enough to bring out a dark chuckle. Tony Stark, the man who on many occasions had attempted to bring out the Hulk, just to prove to Bruce that there was nothing to be afraid of. The man who hadn’t ever been scared of him, despite knowing what he was…

It was Natasha’s voice yet again, that brought him back to reality.

“We need to get a hold of Thor”