Cap/Ironman Reverse Bang Fic: Flight 3/3
Title: Flight
Artist: made_of_tin
Author: sunryder
Rating (both art/fic): PG
Universe: Comic-esque
Word Count: ~16,000
Warnings: Abuse of Canon
Link to Art: Stunning, stunning artwork HERE Really, you need to go see it, it made my brain explode!
Fic Summary:
Back to Part 1 | Back to Part 2
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Thor and Steve stumbled into the Aerie late that night, both still on a happy buzz from their time outside. But the building obviously hadn't had such a wonderful day. The nesting area was in shambles, grass strewn everywhere, deep holes gouged in the wood from where claws had dug in, and the surface outside pockmarked with blows from an unseen force. Steve twisted out of Loki's claws before the griffin even landed and went straight to Clint, who was fending off Natasha nursing a cut that ran the length of his forearm. "What happened?"
"We were hit." Clint grunted.
"By what?"
Before either could respond Hill took her place at the center of the room, and all the riders stilled. "I do not yet know who attacked this Aerie. I do know that much of the damage done to the exterior of our building was an enchanted cyclone, carrying with it projections in the form of Kree."
"You mean those Kree we fought were just projections?" One of the riders questioned.
"Considering their bodies dissolved upon destruction, yes."
"But-" the rider tried to ask again, but Hill glared him into submission. Hill went on in her explanation while Clint leaned closer to Steve and whispered, "We got our asses kicked."
"To prevent the same thing from happening again," Hill's voice carried over the crowd, "we will establish constant patrols in a perimeter around the Aerie, giving us all forewarning."
Hill moved to walk away, and Steve couldn't help himself. "That's it?"
Hill froze before turning on her heel to face Steve, glowering at him while every one else in the room stiffened. "Nomad Rogers, you have no opinion here."
"My apologies for interrupting Madame," Steve said as Hill went to turn, "but someone should. We were attacked today by a magic we couldn't properly fight, and though advanced warning is good, it's not enough. We need to do something different drastically different."
"Until I better understand the magic used against us, that is the only step we can take, Nomad."
"If it's magic you don't know, then why not ask for help?"
"Help?"
"Yes, Tony could-"
Hill laughed, "Stark? You want me to turn against the strength of this Aerie and seek assistance from Stark? Who, for all we know, was the one who sent them after us!"
"Tony would never do that!"
"You forget your place Nomad. And you would do well to remember it." Hill stormed out of the room leaving Phil behind her to clean up the mess. Steve went to press on, but Phil raised his hand to stop him, and waited a moment for her to pass outside hearing distance when a sharp spike of surprise came from Loki, interrupting the conversation. Thor twisted around to look at whatever had stolen Loki's attention from what was sure to be a fight of epic proportions and paused before he said, "Steve, I think you should look at this."
Crouched down just inside one of the landing windows was a small, gasping griffin. From beak to tail he was a plain, bottle brown, with wings that spread no further than a meter across, but the very tips of his wings were beginning to turn white, meaning he was more than a few summers old, and old enough for Steve to tell that he was small for his age. Ignoring the group behind him Steve dropped to his knees and began running soothing hands over the little one's furred and feathered head, checking for damage. "Are you all right? What are you doing all the way up here?"
The little thing butted his head against Steve's hand, silently demanding that he keep petting while the small griffin all but crawled into his lap. Young griffins couldn't project their emotions the way older griffins could, a way of keeping the younglings protected from the outside world. So it was Loki, and by extension every other griffin in the room, who paused at the gentle purring of the little griffin, and Loki who was relied upon to give a translation to Thor. "He says he knew he would find you."
"Was I lost?"
"He says he's been looking for you for a whole month at the human village, but you never came. But when you did come down, he wasn't able to get there before you left. And then you came to him, and you played with him and the other hatchlings, but then you left without him." The little head popped out from its spot burrowed into Steve's chest, and he pressed his small beak to Steve's nose and stared him straight in the eye. "So he followed you. And he says you are not allowed to leave him behind ever again."
Steve ran a long, soothing hand down his back again and replied, "But you're a hatchling."
Loki snorted, "He says, 'what does that matter? when you know, you know.'"
Steve wrapped the little griffin in his arms, willing to trust him despite the fact that a creature so small had his mind closed off to everything not griffin, meaning it would be years before Steve would be able to feel whatever bond was tugging at the little one and know for himself.
What Steve didn't notice was the loaded looks being exchanged between all the riders in the room while each of them had a silent conversation with their own bonded griffins. Over the last few weeks, Steve had proved himself as invaluable to their Aerie, skilled and driven in ways that had apparently been forgotten over the last several decades, and they all trusted him implicitly in a place of authority over the Aerie. Already they were having trouble following Hill when Steve was in the room, but she was right in her objections that a griffin-less rider could never be the one to lead them into battle. But this recent hatchling, no matter how unready, changed everything.
XXXXX
Steve dropped to his stomach beside James and said, "Here, like this," and crawled along in his best version of a prowl. James crouched further down on his legs and pulled his wings tight against his back while he tried to stalk just the same. The two of them were cooped up in one of the far corners of the nests, safely hidden from view of the main entrance, and diligently guarded by Loki at the mouth of the alcove.
James made it a few steps before he popped up with a sense of pride and mental shouted to Steve in emotion that Steve could almost hear as the words, "I did it!" Steve laughed and gathered the little griffin in his arms, spinning him around with proud laughter. It would take James months to put human words to his bursts of emotion, but for now Steve was content to translate everything that he heard. Rather than simply delay James' education until Hill had been dealt with, Steve had taken it upon himself to teach the little griffin all he could about griffin skills, including this rather amusing lesson on prowling.
Loki laid near them, his head on his paws and his tail twitching in unwilling amusement. The little griffin had spent the last few days hiding out here, not yet strong enough to defend himself but unwilling to leave Steve for safety. James stared out his window and badgered Loki with questions (who, for all his protests to the contrary, had refused to turn James over to someone else's care), and slept in the cradle of Steve's shield. A few times a day Phil would drop by with updates on the Aerie's security, advice Tony was giving the magicians through the modified hummingbird, and questions about the best defenses. Steve answered them all with a warm smile and honest determination, smart enough not to question why Phil was coming to him instead of Hill.
Natasha strode onto the scene trying desperately to look like she wasn't in a rush. Widow took a quick glance around the room and sent a controlled burst of warning to the other griffins scattered around the nests. The griffins all shifted from where they'd been relaxing and fanned across the room in a pattern that covered all the exits and put a wall of their fiercest griffins in between Steve and what Natasha was coming from. James froze in the midst of stalking with Steve and twisted around to watch the other griffins move, vibrating with their shared worry before Loki reached out and tapped a paw to his head.
Steve could feel the mental hum of Loki explaining to James before Natasha slid next to Steve, grabbing his arm and steering him towards the open window. "Hill figured out our defenses and where Phil came up with the plan. She's upstairs screaming new orders at everyone and the second she's done she'll be here to scream at you."
Steve used his considerable bulk to stop Natasha, "She can't hurt me."
"It's not hurting you that I'm worried about. It's what happens to the rest of us if you get tossed in a cell. We're being attacked from the outside, we don't need a revolution right now."
Steve put a soothing hand on her shoulder, "No one here is looking for a fight, Natasha."
She stared at him like Steve had to be far more stupid than she'd given him credit for. "You're The Captain. There's not a rider alive today who wouldn't follow wherever you went. You could take power in every Aerie of this country if you tried, and Hill has never been one to give up her power. We're all on edge from the attack and Hill has half of the riders bribed into listening to her instead of their griffins. If you move now we'll be at war with ourselves, vulnerable to whoever it is that sent those Kree projections and it won't go as well next time. We can't have that. Not now."
"So you want me to run?"
"Phil will keep up the defenses and the magicians will keep up their correspondence with Stark. You're of more use if you stay someplace where we don't have to worry about you."
Steve nudged the pile of blankets in just the right way and his shield flipped up into his hand. "I'm The Captain, I don't need protecting."
Natasha gave him a surprisingly gentle smile, "You don't, but what about your griffin?" Steve looked over to James, who thankfully was wrapped up in an argument with Widow. (Though James was doing more of the arguing, flapping his little wings to violently dart up and around Widow's head in objection to being told he was leaving, while Widow just raised one smooth crimson eye ridge in amusement at all the fluttering.)
Steve gave Natasha a sharp nod and called to James, who immediately left of his argument to come to Steve. He pressed a warm kiss to the the still fuzzy feathers on James' crown and poured out calm while he whispered, "We're going." James' feathers drooped, but he nudged his beak along Steve's chin in solidarity. Steve tossed his shield over his back and grabbed a blanket to wrap around the little griffin as extra insulation against the cool night air, but they weren't fast enough.
Hill stormed through the main door, shouting, "Nomad! Where are you!"
On the far side of the room one of the larger griffins stretched up his white wings, distracting Hill's attention for long enough that Steve was able to cradle James to his chest and slip to the window ledge. "Go!" Natasha hissed. "We'll tell her you're on a long patrol." Steve hesitated half a second longer and she pushed him off the ledge, "Go!"
Steve sent James a mental image of keeping his wings pressed tight to his body so the wind from the sudden drop wouldn't damage any of his feathers. Steve twisted in the wind looking for Loki, who had made himself scarce the moment Widow assumed control over James. Loki swooped into range just as Steve's blood pressure started to rise, coming out of the dark like a shadow and sliding into perfect position to catch him with no pain of landing at all. James popped his head out of the blanket once they started to slow, looking around with wide eyes like he couldn't quite believe Loki had caught them.
James gave Steve a rush of astonishment and Steve leaned down to whisper in James' pointed ear, "Look at his wings. See how they're spread straight out, the front titled up just a little?" James pulsed an affirmative, "He's catching the wind, using it to coast, keeping him airborne. Loki has long wings with long feathers, and that keeps him up."
James cocked his head to the side and sent Steve a mental image of Widow and her short, but broad wings, wondering if that made a difference. Steve grinned, proud that his little griffin had even noticed and explained, "Widow is built for agility flying, darting and swerving through places that other griffins can't go."
James shimmied out of the blanket and stretched out one of his wings, twisting so Steve could examine them. Loki twitched his wings slightly, slowing their descent so no updraft would catch the small, sensitive feathers. Steve 'hmm-ed', stroking warm fingers along the wings, "They're beautiful, James." He fluttered his wings, as if to say 'that's very nice, but get to the point.' Steve grinned, "Your wings are still growing, little one, there's no way for me to be sure until they get a little bigger."
James seemed content with that, gently stepping forward to the spot between Loki's shoulder blades and spreading his small wings to match whatever the other griffin was doing. Steve took in the sight for a moment and then twisted around to look back at the Aerie, which had already faded into night. He hoped none of the riders were getting into trouble on his behalf.
XXXXX
Tony hammered out long strips of metal, using steady nudges of magic to strike his magic at precisely the right place. He could've shaped them completely done with his magic, but there were spells that unwound whatever magic had been done, and Tony didn't want his special project suddenly transformed into the heaps of metal that it had started as.
Tony leaned back from his forge and looked up to see Steve and Loki standing in his doorway. Wait… no, Steve, Loki, and a bundle of brown fur that was staring at Tony over Steve's broad shoulder.
Steve had a hatchling.
Tony's brain stalled on that detail for a moment, busily trying to figure out where in the world Steve would've gotten a hatchling when he hadn't found one at the Den. Steve ruffled his fingers through the fur on top of the hatchling's head and said, "James, this is Tony Stark. He's, well…" Steve trailed off, but whatever emotion he was sending the griffin as explanation was enough to make the griffin's ears perk up. Steve blushed a little and continued, "Tony, this is James. He's my griffin."
"But, not that I'm complaining, but weren't you dejected two days ago from not bonding with anyone?"
James wrapped his tail around Steve's shoulder, giving him an almost hug while he slowly shifted up from his spot to get a better look at Tony. "James says he's been feeling me every since I woke up, and he's been looking for me. He sensed me at the Den when I didn't sense him, and he decided he was done waiting, so he followed me home to the Aerie."
Tony grinned, "My kind of griffin."
The little one perked right up at that and came out from behind Steve with a flap of wings, heading straight for Tony. He dropped the hammer and tongs he'd been using on the metal plates just before James crashed into his chest, nuzzling Tony's jaw and almost purring. Tony could feel the little griffin reach into his mind a start projecting warm contentment, like he never meant to leave Tony's embrace if he couldn't help it. "Um, hey buddy." Tony tried to pretend he wasn't a little panicked, but it wasn't really working.
Steve just grinned and gave a Loki a pat on the neck before the griffin took off back into the night. Steve stepped into the lab, the slightest trace of worry in his eyes, but that faded at James trying to burrow into Tony's chest. "Not that I'm complaining about any of these sudden developments, but what's up?"
"Phil and I have been making preparations to protect the Aerie in case of another attack."
Tony started to scratch behind James' ears, "Yeah, I got that from the frantic messages from your magicians."
"Hill found out."
Tony paused, "Did you get thrown out?"
"No," Steve grumbled, "I would've preferred it if we had. Natasha snuck us out."
"Why?"
"Now is not the time for me to be picking a fight over control of the Aerie."
"Is there ever really a good time for an uprising?"
'When we're facing an external threat that none of us are sure we can stop it's really not a good time."
"So, you get forced out of your home and you come running to me?" Tony had been expecting a blush from Steve, but instead the man just shrugged his shoulders, "I knew you'd keep us safe."
XXXXX
Tony fed Steve and his griffin and put them to bed for the few remaining hours of the night, grabbing a mountain of coffee for himself and heading out to the town square to meet with the magicians and wizards who'd come out of their labs to meet with him in the early morning light. (Tony didn't remember calling a meeting, but never let it be said Pepper wasn't absolutely brilliant at her job.) Tony divided up responsibilities based on their strengths, getting the children gathered behind the wards at Xavier's mansion, checking that everyone had their homes safe from violent magic use, and appointing someone to constantly monitor the Aerie.
Tony had assigned on of their youngest magicians to the task of Aerie-watching, a girl named Wanda who seemed to think studying under Tony was better than going to school in the capital. She climbed to the top of a tree at the corner of the village square and had been watching the Aerie for a about seven seconds before she called down, "Uh, Tony!"
"Yeah, Wanda?"
"We've got incoming riders!"
Everyone in the town paused while Tony called up, "Any thoughts on who's coming?"
She muttered a change to the farsight spell, zeroing in on the lead griffin and sighed, "It's Loki."
"But, is Loki getting chased?"
"No, he's just on a straight shot here, not being hunted."
Tony dashed out to the field at the edge of the town where the griffins usually landed. Steve came crashing out of Tony's house, trying to toss back on his shirt while he and James scrambled out the door at the mental feeling of other griffins. They ran together to the field and got there just as Thor was landing. Rather than exchange pleasantries Thor declared, "Hill has lost her mind."
"What?"
"Phil attempted to reason with her after your departure, but she would not hear of it. She attempted to mount an expedition to find you, and when no rider would agree, she snapped. She has spent the better part of the last few hours hunting every man, woman, and child through the Aerie with her magic and trying to punish them. We have just finished the evacuations."
Phil, Clint, and Natasha landed behind Thor, having kept a more diligent eye on their trail than Thor had done. Phil went straight to Steve to report, "The riders have been divided up into parties, the more experienced looking after the younger and civilians. We gave them orders to scatter for the next three days then return to this town on the assumption that by then this will be handled. Though, since Stark is their hero I'm sure some of the magicians are ignoring orders and are already on their way here."
Phil pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Tony, "Before everything went to hell the magicians intended to get these to you. They're the results of their readings."
Tony immediately started rifling through the papers and turned his back on the the little collection of riders, assuming Steve would handle their placements now that the town was the most likely target of whatever was coming. He tried to skim over the data, getting a sense for all the tests they'd run and put everything in order.
Steve did as expected and issued orders before he caught up with Tony back in the lab, where Tony had the papers spread out in front of him, organized in some manner that only made sense to Tony. While he jotted down notes on his piece of glass. James curled up on the end of the table watching Tony buzz up and down the table's length, the little griffin occasionally hopping down to grab whatever scroll or device Tony called for, pick it up with his nimble, spindly tail and handing over before resuming his position. Steve smiled at the two of them for just a moment before he slid up next to Tony and asked, "Any progress?"
"I've been at it for less than five minutes."
"Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"
"There's only so much a genius can do with notes like these."
"Are they that bad?"
"They're not bad, they're just extensive. Filled with all kinds of information I don't need."
"Then why give it to you?"
"It might be because this is what Hill would ask for, or they're just guessing about what I might think is useful. Hill's the only sorcerer at the Aerie and everyone else is a magician, so there's a gap in experience and training. I should be able to cobble together what I would've done from this, but it'll take me time." Steve paused just long enough that Tony got concerned and asked, "Do I have time?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. We still don't know why the Aerie was attacked in the first place, so we don't know when they might attack again. And I'd like to think Hill wouldn't try to lead an attack against a town they're supposed to be protecting, but she hasn't been doing anything the way I expected."
James carefully stepped over the papers and nudged against Steve's chest, silently consoling him. Steve buried his hands in the little griffin's fur, trying to offer him what comfort he could without actually being able to speak to one another. James flicked out his tail and wrapped it around Tony's wrist, dragging his hand to the fur. "Heaven forbid a woman be predictable," Tony teased, trying to lighten the situation.
Steve pressed a grateful kiss to Tony's temple and scratched behind James' ears before he stepped away. "I better go help Thor get the town prepared for the worst." Tony pulled Steve back to his side and pressed a long kiss to his lips before letting him go.
XXXXX
The earth was just entering the warmth of true day when Tony came bursting out of his lab with a shout, and James came soaring straight for Steve. The human and griffin collided with Steve simultaneously and Tony shouted, "It's you!"
The people still running about the town on their watches stepped and stared at Tony indulgently while Steve asked, "What's me?"
"The traces of magic on you, the ones that took you out of the ice, they're the same ones that attacked the Aerie."
A few of the wizards took on panicked expressions, but Steve had no idea what was going on. "Tony, what does that mean?"
"It means the same person who woke you up is the one who attacked the Aerie."
"Does that, does that mean they want me?"
"I'd say yes, if you hadn't spent the last month hanging out at the Aerie unattended. If they wanted you they could've taken you then."
"Unless they just figured out how to get through the Aerie's wards."
Tony snorted and started waiving people back, clearing out a space for him to work his magic. "Steve, my hummingbird broke through those wards and I wasn't even trying. And the person who cast this spell has powers like mine."
Wanda darted out of one of the shops with a bag of supplies that she anticipated Tony would need. He riffled through the contents, giving her a brief grin before he uncapped a bottle of sand and started pouring it in a circle. "Um, Tony, what are you doing?"
"A seeking circle."
Steve sighed, and Clint roamed up to mutter to him, "It's the focal point of a big magical net that he'll spread around the town. Now that he knows what the magic of our attacker feels like he'll tune the net to look for that and warn us when they're on their way."
"Think he should make it watch for Hill too?"
"Frankly, I don't think Hill has it in her right now to make that necessary. At the Aerie it was like she'd completely lost control of her magic."
Steve stared at Clint for a long moment, looking straight through him while his tactician's mind put the pieces together in a way no one else could keep up with. After a long moment the light broke across Steve's face and he grabbed Clint by the shoulders and almost shook him. "Where are the magicians?"
"What?"
"The magicians! I need a magician who's been around Hill lately, scanning her, or reading her, or whatever it is they do!"
After a lifetime of reading between the lines Clint was able to figure out what Steve was asking for and called over Vision, one of their younger but more talented magicians. Steve grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him up to the edge of where Tony was working before he decided crossing the circle would probably be bad. "Tony! Can your scanny thing look at Hill through Vision's eyes?"
That actually got Tony to stop what he was doing and look up at Steve. "My. scanny. thing."
"Exactly!"
Tony quirked an eyebrow and looked at the rather shellshocked boy for a moment before saying, "I've got tools that can read what he's read from other people, yes."
"Perfect. You need to read Hill from him and tell me what you see."
Tony set down the rocks that he'd been placing at the cardinal points of the circle and stepped outside, making sure not to smudge the lines. "You know that this is going to be a little invasive, right?" He asked Vision.
"I'm aware of what the process entails."
Tony didn't think the boy really did, but Tony took his hand and tugged him close anyway. "Just think about Hill, about the last time you saw her, and I'll do the rest."
Tony whispered the necessary spell and skimmed into Vision's mind and found the boy surprisingly focused. Tony had anticipated needing to sift through countless unnecessary thoughts about how talented the boy was and how Tony should train him before eventually finding what he needed, but instead the last time Vision had seen Hill was neatly packaged at the front of his mind with the mental equivalent of a bright red bow on top. Tony ignored the context of the dream, (Hill trying to curse one of the old healers for keeping Steve alive), and instead focused on Hill's aura. Reading was blurrier through another person, like trying to read a book through foggy glass that didn't quite understand the language, but the picture was clear enough that Tony saw exactly what Steve wanted him to see.
Tony pulled out abruptly and muttered, "Well, shit. Hill's a puppet for whoever attacked you."
"So, going postal and attacking people…" Clint pondered.
"Probably the result of failing in whatever her orders were. Her magic reacted to the magic controlling her and she snapped."
Wanda called out from her place up the tree, "Tony! We've got incoming!"
"Who?"
"It's Amora!"
Tony paused, "Or it could all be a subtle plan to get us all the same place so she can attack."
The scientists scattered, all of them going to the most heavily warded parts of town. Tony very calmly picked up James and handed the griffin to Vision, who had called up his own magic and obviously looked like he meant to make a stand next to Tony. Tony gave the boy orders to get Wanda down from that tree and take her and the little griffin to the safety of Tony's lab and stay there until he came for them. Steve turned to Phil, who was directing the last of the civilians into hiding, and the rider explained. "Amora is a powerful sorceress. Stronger than Stark because she has no moral compass. All the wizards who meant to help will only get in the way of fighting her. Loki has some powerful magic of his own, so he and Thor will help all they can, while Clint, Natasha and I will wait for a chance to help without getting killed."
Steve nodded and took his place next to Tony, who for the first time since Steve had met him, was absolutely still, marshaling all his energy for the fight about to come. Steve readied his shield and silently wished he was wearing something a little better for fighting than borrowed pajamas. With closed eyes Tony asked, "I suppose there's no point in asking you to go wait in my lab with your griffin while I handle this?"
Steve just snorted and took off at a run for the green blur quickly streaking towards them. Steve tossed his shield at her in a wide arc, not trying to hit, but trying to throw her off course. Steve hadn't been expecting it to work, but he'd been hoping it would take her attention and give Tony a free moment to fire something of his own, but Amora swerved violently out of the path of Steve's shield and Tony actually had the gaul to giggle before bothering to launch a burst of blue light.
Amora tossed up a hand and reflected Tony's power at a house (thankfully warded so the magic sizzled out), and erupted a blast of green light of her own.
Steve's shield wasn't quite back to him when the wave of power hit, sending him skidding back towards Tony. Steve pushed to his feet, putting himself between Tony and the intruder, his head still ringing with the force of her magical blast. The woman was tall, with beautiful features and blonde hair that vaguely reminded him of Thor, but all that beauty turned loathsome with her smirk. "Life seems like it's been good for you, darling. You're far more lovely than when you first awoke."
Steve stared in confusion for a moment before he realized it was him she was talking to and he replied, "Why did you wake me?"
She smirked, "Ah, isn't Anthony the clever boy? Why did I wake you, not what am I talking about." Steve had ever been one for bantering with villains, so he clenched his shield tighter and refused to speak. "Come now Steven," Amora sauntered forward, "there's no need to be difficult."
"My level of difficulty depends on what you're here for."
"For the harvest." Steve stared at her completely baffled, and did his best not to react when Tony started tracing lines along his spine.
"Did you know, dear Captain, that you're perfect?"
"I believe perfect is a matter of opinion."
Amora tilted her head ever so slightly to look around Steve's shield and catch Tony's eyes, "Is he always this self-depricating?"
"Yup. I haven't decided if it's great or terrible yet."
Amora smirked, "Personal opinions aside, that is what the spells were designed to create: perfection."
"And you're concerned with my hypothetical perfection, why?" Tony's nimble fingers were to the small of his back now, and Steve assumed that meant tony was nearly done with whatever he was scratching.
"Because you're beautiful, soaked in magic, and exactly the ingredient I need for my spell."
Tony stiffened behind him, his hand leaving off the writing and fingers clenching in the scruff of Steve's shirt. Steve pretended like that didn't make him nervous and without taking his eyes off Amora asked over his shoulder, "Want to translate, Tony?"
"She wants your heart."
Steve furrowed, "Attacking my friends isn't the way to win me over, Miss."
Amora chuckled, "I don't want your romance, Steven. I want to pluck your still beating heart out of your chest and eat it."
Then Tony, powerful, reckless, beautiful Tony laughed and said, "I actually have a problem with that." Tony grabbed Steve's shoulder and wrenched him out of the way while both sorcerers erupted with magic. Steve pulled his shield over his head and tried to get out of the way of the torrent of raw power they were flinging at one another in place of trying to cast actual spells. Amora chuckled, "Oh, Anthony, you've done so well. When I plucked Steven out of that ice his heart was so tired, so lost and dejected that I despaired of ever fixing him. My darling Hill fought so valiantly against my control over her that instead of fixing the man like I told her to, she tried to break him, making him useless. But then there was you. My lovely Anthony. The Captain and his heart are practically glowing all thanks to you."
If you wanted to get technical about it, Steve and Tony had only known one another for three weeks, but despite that scant amount of linear time, Steve felt like he knew Tony. Which meant he didn't need to see the flicker of Tony's power or see how Amora's stream of light lurched forward against him to know that Tony was upset by the concept that he'd somehow exposed Steve to this.
Rather than get out of the way like any other good little non-magic user, Steve cranked back his arm and tossed his shield at the woman. Amora shrieked at the sudden presence of shield in her stomach and before either man could respond she sent another burst of raw power at Steve. He braced himself to go flying again, but when the spell him full on... nothing happened.
Steve looked around, baffled, and Amora launched another blast at him, this one Steve caught on his shield and reflected it back at her, forcing her to dart out of the way instead. Steve looked to Tony, who had an unbearably smug grin on his face, which was al the explanation Steve needed. "What did you do?"
"There's a spell that enhances a person's normal abilities, the kiddie version of what Erskine did to you. Since you're already mostly invulnerable, I just made you… more."
"That's what you were writing on my spine, runes that made me invulnerable?"
Tony grinned, which was all the answer he got to give before Amora shrieked and launched a fireball at Steve, assuming pure magic wasn't going to do the trick anymore. Steve caught the spell with his shield while Tony launched a stream of attacks of his own, driving Amora back.
Steve just grinned while she was busy with Tony and charged at Amora, launching his shield ahead of him to throw her off balance before he crashed his whole weight into the slight woman. Amora shrieked and pushed back at him with a rush of power, but the magic just sizzled off his skin, leaving Steve untouched. Amora had spent so long relying on her magic that she had no defense for someone outside her touch. Steve gently but thoroughly brought the shield down on the back of Amora's head, forcing her unconscious.
The second Amora hit the earth James came blasting out of somewhere he certainly wasn't supposed to be hiding and smashed into Steve's chest, his emotions a tangle of concern and pride. The other riders came from their positions with congratulations, and Steve ignored them all to press a kiss to Tony's lips (who was surrounded by his own fan club of scientists).
"You were going to do that all along, weren't you?"
Tony smirked, "I don't know which answer would get me in less trouble."
Steve rolled his eyes and kissed Steve again, too happy to care.
Artist: made_of_tin
Author: sunryder
Rating (both art/fic): PG
Universe: Comic-esque
Word Count: ~16,000
Warnings: Abuse of Canon
Link to Art: Stunning, stunning artwork HERE Really, you need to go see it, it made my brain explode!
Fic Summary:
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Thor and Steve stumbled into the Aerie late that night, both still on a happy buzz from their time outside. But the building obviously hadn't had such a wonderful day. The nesting area was in shambles, grass strewn everywhere, deep holes gouged in the wood from where claws had dug in, and the surface outside pockmarked with blows from an unseen force. Steve twisted out of Loki's claws before the griffin even landed and went straight to Clint, who was fending off Natasha nursing a cut that ran the length of his forearm. "What happened?"
"We were hit." Clint grunted.
"By what?"
Before either could respond Hill took her place at the center of the room, and all the riders stilled. "I do not yet know who attacked this Aerie. I do know that much of the damage done to the exterior of our building was an enchanted cyclone, carrying with it projections in the form of Kree."
"You mean those Kree we fought were just projections?" One of the riders questioned.
"Considering their bodies dissolved upon destruction, yes."
"But-" the rider tried to ask again, but Hill glared him into submission. Hill went on in her explanation while Clint leaned closer to Steve and whispered, "We got our asses kicked."
"To prevent the same thing from happening again," Hill's voice carried over the crowd, "we will establish constant patrols in a perimeter around the Aerie, giving us all forewarning."
Hill moved to walk away, and Steve couldn't help himself. "That's it?"
Hill froze before turning on her heel to face Steve, glowering at him while every one else in the room stiffened. "Nomad Rogers, you have no opinion here."
"My apologies for interrupting Madame," Steve said as Hill went to turn, "but someone should. We were attacked today by a magic we couldn't properly fight, and though advanced warning is good, it's not enough. We need to do something different drastically different."
"Until I better understand the magic used against us, that is the only step we can take, Nomad."
"If it's magic you don't know, then why not ask for help?"
"Help?"
"Yes, Tony could-"
Hill laughed, "Stark? You want me to turn against the strength of this Aerie and seek assistance from Stark? Who, for all we know, was the one who sent them after us!"
"Tony would never do that!"
"You forget your place Nomad. And you would do well to remember it." Hill stormed out of the room leaving Phil behind her to clean up the mess. Steve went to press on, but Phil raised his hand to stop him, and waited a moment for her to pass outside hearing distance when a sharp spike of surprise came from Loki, interrupting the conversation. Thor twisted around to look at whatever had stolen Loki's attention from what was sure to be a fight of epic proportions and paused before he said, "Steve, I think you should look at this."
Crouched down just inside one of the landing windows was a small, gasping griffin. From beak to tail he was a plain, bottle brown, with wings that spread no further than a meter across, but the very tips of his wings were beginning to turn white, meaning he was more than a few summers old, and old enough for Steve to tell that he was small for his age. Ignoring the group behind him Steve dropped to his knees and began running soothing hands over the little one's furred and feathered head, checking for damage. "Are you all right? What are you doing all the way up here?"
The little thing butted his head against Steve's hand, silently demanding that he keep petting while the small griffin all but crawled into his lap. Young griffins couldn't project their emotions the way older griffins could, a way of keeping the younglings protected from the outside world. So it was Loki, and by extension every other griffin in the room, who paused at the gentle purring of the little griffin, and Loki who was relied upon to give a translation to Thor. "He says he knew he would find you."
"Was I lost?"
"He says he's been looking for you for a whole month at the human village, but you never came. But when you did come down, he wasn't able to get there before you left. And then you came to him, and you played with him and the other hatchlings, but then you left without him." The little head popped out from its spot burrowed into Steve's chest, and he pressed his small beak to Steve's nose and stared him straight in the eye. "So he followed you. And he says you are not allowed to leave him behind ever again."
Steve ran a long, soothing hand down his back again and replied, "But you're a hatchling."
Loki snorted, "He says, 'what does that matter? when you know, you know.'"
Steve wrapped the little griffin in his arms, willing to trust him despite the fact that a creature so small had his mind closed off to everything not griffin, meaning it would be years before Steve would be able to feel whatever bond was tugging at the little one and know for himself.
What Steve didn't notice was the loaded looks being exchanged between all the riders in the room while each of them had a silent conversation with their own bonded griffins. Over the last few weeks, Steve had proved himself as invaluable to their Aerie, skilled and driven in ways that had apparently been forgotten over the last several decades, and they all trusted him implicitly in a place of authority over the Aerie. Already they were having trouble following Hill when Steve was in the room, but she was right in her objections that a griffin-less rider could never be the one to lead them into battle. But this recent hatchling, no matter how unready, changed everything.
XXXXX
Steve dropped to his stomach beside James and said, "Here, like this," and crawled along in his best version of a prowl. James crouched further down on his legs and pulled his wings tight against his back while he tried to stalk just the same. The two of them were cooped up in one of the far corners of the nests, safely hidden from view of the main entrance, and diligently guarded by Loki at the mouth of the alcove.
James made it a few steps before he popped up with a sense of pride and mental shouted to Steve in emotion that Steve could almost hear as the words, "I did it!" Steve laughed and gathered the little griffin in his arms, spinning him around with proud laughter. It would take James months to put human words to his bursts of emotion, but for now Steve was content to translate everything that he heard. Rather than simply delay James' education until Hill had been dealt with, Steve had taken it upon himself to teach the little griffin all he could about griffin skills, including this rather amusing lesson on prowling.
Loki laid near them, his head on his paws and his tail twitching in unwilling amusement. The little griffin had spent the last few days hiding out here, not yet strong enough to defend himself but unwilling to leave Steve for safety. James stared out his window and badgered Loki with questions (who, for all his protests to the contrary, had refused to turn James over to someone else's care), and slept in the cradle of Steve's shield. A few times a day Phil would drop by with updates on the Aerie's security, advice Tony was giving the magicians through the modified hummingbird, and questions about the best defenses. Steve answered them all with a warm smile and honest determination, smart enough not to question why Phil was coming to him instead of Hill.
Natasha strode onto the scene trying desperately to look like she wasn't in a rush. Widow took a quick glance around the room and sent a controlled burst of warning to the other griffins scattered around the nests. The griffins all shifted from where they'd been relaxing and fanned across the room in a pattern that covered all the exits and put a wall of their fiercest griffins in between Steve and what Natasha was coming from. James froze in the midst of stalking with Steve and twisted around to watch the other griffins move, vibrating with their shared worry before Loki reached out and tapped a paw to his head.
Steve could feel the mental hum of Loki explaining to James before Natasha slid next to Steve, grabbing his arm and steering him towards the open window. "Hill figured out our defenses and where Phil came up with the plan. She's upstairs screaming new orders at everyone and the second she's done she'll be here to scream at you."
Steve used his considerable bulk to stop Natasha, "She can't hurt me."
"It's not hurting you that I'm worried about. It's what happens to the rest of us if you get tossed in a cell. We're being attacked from the outside, we don't need a revolution right now."
Steve put a soothing hand on her shoulder, "No one here is looking for a fight, Natasha."
She stared at him like Steve had to be far more stupid than she'd given him credit for. "You're The Captain. There's not a rider alive today who wouldn't follow wherever you went. You could take power in every Aerie of this country if you tried, and Hill has never been one to give up her power. We're all on edge from the attack and Hill has half of the riders bribed into listening to her instead of their griffins. If you move now we'll be at war with ourselves, vulnerable to whoever it is that sent those Kree projections and it won't go as well next time. We can't have that. Not now."
"So you want me to run?"
"Phil will keep up the defenses and the magicians will keep up their correspondence with Stark. You're of more use if you stay someplace where we don't have to worry about you."
Steve nudged the pile of blankets in just the right way and his shield flipped up into his hand. "I'm The Captain, I don't need protecting."
Natasha gave him a surprisingly gentle smile, "You don't, but what about your griffin?" Steve looked over to James, who thankfully was wrapped up in an argument with Widow. (Though James was doing more of the arguing, flapping his little wings to violently dart up and around Widow's head in objection to being told he was leaving, while Widow just raised one smooth crimson eye ridge in amusement at all the fluttering.)
Steve gave Natasha a sharp nod and called to James, who immediately left of his argument to come to Steve. He pressed a warm kiss to the the still fuzzy feathers on James' crown and poured out calm while he whispered, "We're going." James' feathers drooped, but he nudged his beak along Steve's chin in solidarity. Steve tossed his shield over his back and grabbed a blanket to wrap around the little griffin as extra insulation against the cool night air, but they weren't fast enough.
Hill stormed through the main door, shouting, "Nomad! Where are you!"
On the far side of the room one of the larger griffins stretched up his white wings, distracting Hill's attention for long enough that Steve was able to cradle James to his chest and slip to the window ledge. "Go!" Natasha hissed. "We'll tell her you're on a long patrol." Steve hesitated half a second longer and she pushed him off the ledge, "Go!"
Steve sent James a mental image of keeping his wings pressed tight to his body so the wind from the sudden drop wouldn't damage any of his feathers. Steve twisted in the wind looking for Loki, who had made himself scarce the moment Widow assumed control over James. Loki swooped into range just as Steve's blood pressure started to rise, coming out of the dark like a shadow and sliding into perfect position to catch him with no pain of landing at all. James popped his head out of the blanket once they started to slow, looking around with wide eyes like he couldn't quite believe Loki had caught them.
James gave Steve a rush of astonishment and Steve leaned down to whisper in James' pointed ear, "Look at his wings. See how they're spread straight out, the front titled up just a little?" James pulsed an affirmative, "He's catching the wind, using it to coast, keeping him airborne. Loki has long wings with long feathers, and that keeps him up."
James cocked his head to the side and sent Steve a mental image of Widow and her short, but broad wings, wondering if that made a difference. Steve grinned, proud that his little griffin had even noticed and explained, "Widow is built for agility flying, darting and swerving through places that other griffins can't go."
James shimmied out of the blanket and stretched out one of his wings, twisting so Steve could examine them. Loki twitched his wings slightly, slowing their descent so no updraft would catch the small, sensitive feathers. Steve 'hmm-ed', stroking warm fingers along the wings, "They're beautiful, James." He fluttered his wings, as if to say 'that's very nice, but get to the point.' Steve grinned, "Your wings are still growing, little one, there's no way for me to be sure until they get a little bigger."
James seemed content with that, gently stepping forward to the spot between Loki's shoulder blades and spreading his small wings to match whatever the other griffin was doing. Steve took in the sight for a moment and then twisted around to look back at the Aerie, which had already faded into night. He hoped none of the riders were getting into trouble on his behalf.
XXXXX
Tony hammered out long strips of metal, using steady nudges of magic to strike his magic at precisely the right place. He could've shaped them completely done with his magic, but there were spells that unwound whatever magic had been done, and Tony didn't want his special project suddenly transformed into the heaps of metal that it had started as.
Tony leaned back from his forge and looked up to see Steve and Loki standing in his doorway. Wait… no, Steve, Loki, and a bundle of brown fur that was staring at Tony over Steve's broad shoulder.
Steve had a hatchling.
Tony's brain stalled on that detail for a moment, busily trying to figure out where in the world Steve would've gotten a hatchling when he hadn't found one at the Den. Steve ruffled his fingers through the fur on top of the hatchling's head and said, "James, this is Tony Stark. He's, well…" Steve trailed off, but whatever emotion he was sending the griffin as explanation was enough to make the griffin's ears perk up. Steve blushed a little and continued, "Tony, this is James. He's my griffin."
"But, not that I'm complaining, but weren't you dejected two days ago from not bonding with anyone?"
James wrapped his tail around Steve's shoulder, giving him an almost hug while he slowly shifted up from his spot to get a better look at Tony. "James says he's been feeling me every since I woke up, and he's been looking for me. He sensed me at the Den when I didn't sense him, and he decided he was done waiting, so he followed me home to the Aerie."
Tony grinned, "My kind of griffin."
The little one perked right up at that and came out from behind Steve with a flap of wings, heading straight for Tony. He dropped the hammer and tongs he'd been using on the metal plates just before James crashed into his chest, nuzzling Tony's jaw and almost purring. Tony could feel the little griffin reach into his mind a start projecting warm contentment, like he never meant to leave Tony's embrace if he couldn't help it. "Um, hey buddy." Tony tried to pretend he wasn't a little panicked, but it wasn't really working.
Steve just grinned and gave a Loki a pat on the neck before the griffin took off back into the night. Steve stepped into the lab, the slightest trace of worry in his eyes, but that faded at James trying to burrow into Tony's chest. "Not that I'm complaining about any of these sudden developments, but what's up?"
"Phil and I have been making preparations to protect the Aerie in case of another attack."
Tony started to scratch behind James' ears, "Yeah, I got that from the frantic messages from your magicians."
"Hill found out."
Tony paused, "Did you get thrown out?"
"No," Steve grumbled, "I would've preferred it if we had. Natasha snuck us out."
"Why?"
"Now is not the time for me to be picking a fight over control of the Aerie."
"Is there ever really a good time for an uprising?"
'When we're facing an external threat that none of us are sure we can stop it's really not a good time."
"So, you get forced out of your home and you come running to me?" Tony had been expecting a blush from Steve, but instead the man just shrugged his shoulders, "I knew you'd keep us safe."
XXXXX
Tony fed Steve and his griffin and put them to bed for the few remaining hours of the night, grabbing a mountain of coffee for himself and heading out to the town square to meet with the magicians and wizards who'd come out of their labs to meet with him in the early morning light. (Tony didn't remember calling a meeting, but never let it be said Pepper wasn't absolutely brilliant at her job.) Tony divided up responsibilities based on their strengths, getting the children gathered behind the wards at Xavier's mansion, checking that everyone had their homes safe from violent magic use, and appointing someone to constantly monitor the Aerie.
Tony had assigned on of their youngest magicians to the task of Aerie-watching, a girl named Wanda who seemed to think studying under Tony was better than going to school in the capital. She climbed to the top of a tree at the corner of the village square and had been watching the Aerie for a about seven seconds before she called down, "Uh, Tony!"
"Yeah, Wanda?"
"We've got incoming riders!"
Everyone in the town paused while Tony called up, "Any thoughts on who's coming?"
She muttered a change to the farsight spell, zeroing in on the lead griffin and sighed, "It's Loki."
"But, is Loki getting chased?"
"No, he's just on a straight shot here, not being hunted."
Tony dashed out to the field at the edge of the town where the griffins usually landed. Steve came crashing out of Tony's house, trying to toss back on his shirt while he and James scrambled out the door at the mental feeling of other griffins. They ran together to the field and got there just as Thor was landing. Rather than exchange pleasantries Thor declared, "Hill has lost her mind."
"What?"
"Phil attempted to reason with her after your departure, but she would not hear of it. She attempted to mount an expedition to find you, and when no rider would agree, she snapped. She has spent the better part of the last few hours hunting every man, woman, and child through the Aerie with her magic and trying to punish them. We have just finished the evacuations."
Phil, Clint, and Natasha landed behind Thor, having kept a more diligent eye on their trail than Thor had done. Phil went straight to Steve to report, "The riders have been divided up into parties, the more experienced looking after the younger and civilians. We gave them orders to scatter for the next three days then return to this town on the assumption that by then this will be handled. Though, since Stark is their hero I'm sure some of the magicians are ignoring orders and are already on their way here."
Phil pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Tony, "Before everything went to hell the magicians intended to get these to you. They're the results of their readings."
Tony immediately started rifling through the papers and turned his back on the the little collection of riders, assuming Steve would handle their placements now that the town was the most likely target of whatever was coming. He tried to skim over the data, getting a sense for all the tests they'd run and put everything in order.
Steve did as expected and issued orders before he caught up with Tony back in the lab, where Tony had the papers spread out in front of him, organized in some manner that only made sense to Tony. While he jotted down notes on his piece of glass. James curled up on the end of the table watching Tony buzz up and down the table's length, the little griffin occasionally hopping down to grab whatever scroll or device Tony called for, pick it up with his nimble, spindly tail and handing over before resuming his position. Steve smiled at the two of them for just a moment before he slid up next to Tony and asked, "Any progress?"
"I've been at it for less than five minutes."
"Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"
"There's only so much a genius can do with notes like these."
"Are they that bad?"
"They're not bad, they're just extensive. Filled with all kinds of information I don't need."
"Then why give it to you?"
"It might be because this is what Hill would ask for, or they're just guessing about what I might think is useful. Hill's the only sorcerer at the Aerie and everyone else is a magician, so there's a gap in experience and training. I should be able to cobble together what I would've done from this, but it'll take me time." Steve paused just long enough that Tony got concerned and asked, "Do I have time?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. We still don't know why the Aerie was attacked in the first place, so we don't know when they might attack again. And I'd like to think Hill wouldn't try to lead an attack against a town they're supposed to be protecting, but she hasn't been doing anything the way I expected."
James carefully stepped over the papers and nudged against Steve's chest, silently consoling him. Steve buried his hands in the little griffin's fur, trying to offer him what comfort he could without actually being able to speak to one another. James flicked out his tail and wrapped it around Tony's wrist, dragging his hand to the fur. "Heaven forbid a woman be predictable," Tony teased, trying to lighten the situation.
Steve pressed a grateful kiss to Tony's temple and scratched behind James' ears before he stepped away. "I better go help Thor get the town prepared for the worst." Tony pulled Steve back to his side and pressed a long kiss to his lips before letting him go.
XXXXX
The earth was just entering the warmth of true day when Tony came bursting out of his lab with a shout, and James came soaring straight for Steve. The human and griffin collided with Steve simultaneously and Tony shouted, "It's you!"
The people still running about the town on their watches stepped and stared at Tony indulgently while Steve asked, "What's me?"
"The traces of magic on you, the ones that took you out of the ice, they're the same ones that attacked the Aerie."
A few of the wizards took on panicked expressions, but Steve had no idea what was going on. "Tony, what does that mean?"
"It means the same person who woke you up is the one who attacked the Aerie."
"Does that, does that mean they want me?"
"I'd say yes, if you hadn't spent the last month hanging out at the Aerie unattended. If they wanted you they could've taken you then."
"Unless they just figured out how to get through the Aerie's wards."
Tony snorted and started waiving people back, clearing out a space for him to work his magic. "Steve, my hummingbird broke through those wards and I wasn't even trying. And the person who cast this spell has powers like mine."
Wanda darted out of one of the shops with a bag of supplies that she anticipated Tony would need. He riffled through the contents, giving her a brief grin before he uncapped a bottle of sand and started pouring it in a circle. "Um, Tony, what are you doing?"
"A seeking circle."
Steve sighed, and Clint roamed up to mutter to him, "It's the focal point of a big magical net that he'll spread around the town. Now that he knows what the magic of our attacker feels like he'll tune the net to look for that and warn us when they're on their way."
"Think he should make it watch for Hill too?"
"Frankly, I don't think Hill has it in her right now to make that necessary. At the Aerie it was like she'd completely lost control of her magic."
Steve stared at Clint for a long moment, looking straight through him while his tactician's mind put the pieces together in a way no one else could keep up with. After a long moment the light broke across Steve's face and he grabbed Clint by the shoulders and almost shook him. "Where are the magicians?"
"What?"
"The magicians! I need a magician who's been around Hill lately, scanning her, or reading her, or whatever it is they do!"
After a lifetime of reading between the lines Clint was able to figure out what Steve was asking for and called over Vision, one of their younger but more talented magicians. Steve grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him up to the edge of where Tony was working before he decided crossing the circle would probably be bad. "Tony! Can your scanny thing look at Hill through Vision's eyes?"
That actually got Tony to stop what he was doing and look up at Steve. "My. scanny. thing."
"Exactly!"
Tony quirked an eyebrow and looked at the rather shellshocked boy for a moment before saying, "I've got tools that can read what he's read from other people, yes."
"Perfect. You need to read Hill from him and tell me what you see."
Tony set down the rocks that he'd been placing at the cardinal points of the circle and stepped outside, making sure not to smudge the lines. "You know that this is going to be a little invasive, right?" He asked Vision.
"I'm aware of what the process entails."
Tony didn't think the boy really did, but Tony took his hand and tugged him close anyway. "Just think about Hill, about the last time you saw her, and I'll do the rest."
Tony whispered the necessary spell and skimmed into Vision's mind and found the boy surprisingly focused. Tony had anticipated needing to sift through countless unnecessary thoughts about how talented the boy was and how Tony should train him before eventually finding what he needed, but instead the last time Vision had seen Hill was neatly packaged at the front of his mind with the mental equivalent of a bright red bow on top. Tony ignored the context of the dream, (Hill trying to curse one of the old healers for keeping Steve alive), and instead focused on Hill's aura. Reading was blurrier through another person, like trying to read a book through foggy glass that didn't quite understand the language, but the picture was clear enough that Tony saw exactly what Steve wanted him to see.
Tony pulled out abruptly and muttered, "Well, shit. Hill's a puppet for whoever attacked you."
"So, going postal and attacking people…" Clint pondered.
"Probably the result of failing in whatever her orders were. Her magic reacted to the magic controlling her and she snapped."
Wanda called out from her place up the tree, "Tony! We've got incoming!"
"Who?"
"It's Amora!"
Tony paused, "Or it could all be a subtle plan to get us all the same place so she can attack."
The scientists scattered, all of them going to the most heavily warded parts of town. Tony very calmly picked up James and handed the griffin to Vision, who had called up his own magic and obviously looked like he meant to make a stand next to Tony. Tony gave the boy orders to get Wanda down from that tree and take her and the little griffin to the safety of Tony's lab and stay there until he came for them. Steve turned to Phil, who was directing the last of the civilians into hiding, and the rider explained. "Amora is a powerful sorceress. Stronger than Stark because she has no moral compass. All the wizards who meant to help will only get in the way of fighting her. Loki has some powerful magic of his own, so he and Thor will help all they can, while Clint, Natasha and I will wait for a chance to help without getting killed."
Steve nodded and took his place next to Tony, who for the first time since Steve had met him, was absolutely still, marshaling all his energy for the fight about to come. Steve readied his shield and silently wished he was wearing something a little better for fighting than borrowed pajamas. With closed eyes Tony asked, "I suppose there's no point in asking you to go wait in my lab with your griffin while I handle this?"
Steve just snorted and took off at a run for the green blur quickly streaking towards them. Steve tossed his shield at her in a wide arc, not trying to hit, but trying to throw her off course. Steve hadn't been expecting it to work, but he'd been hoping it would take her attention and give Tony a free moment to fire something of his own, but Amora swerved violently out of the path of Steve's shield and Tony actually had the gaul to giggle before bothering to launch a burst of blue light.
Amora tossed up a hand and reflected Tony's power at a house (thankfully warded so the magic sizzled out), and erupted a blast of green light of her own.
Steve's shield wasn't quite back to him when the wave of power hit, sending him skidding back towards Tony. Steve pushed to his feet, putting himself between Tony and the intruder, his head still ringing with the force of her magical blast. The woman was tall, with beautiful features and blonde hair that vaguely reminded him of Thor, but all that beauty turned loathsome with her smirk. "Life seems like it's been good for you, darling. You're far more lovely than when you first awoke."
Steve stared in confusion for a moment before he realized it was him she was talking to and he replied, "Why did you wake me?"
She smirked, "Ah, isn't Anthony the clever boy? Why did I wake you, not what am I talking about." Steve had ever been one for bantering with villains, so he clenched his shield tighter and refused to speak. "Come now Steven," Amora sauntered forward, "there's no need to be difficult."
"My level of difficulty depends on what you're here for."
"For the harvest." Steve stared at her completely baffled, and did his best not to react when Tony started tracing lines along his spine.
"Did you know, dear Captain, that you're perfect?"
"I believe perfect is a matter of opinion."
Amora tilted her head ever so slightly to look around Steve's shield and catch Tony's eyes, "Is he always this self-depricating?"
"Yup. I haven't decided if it's great or terrible yet."
Amora smirked, "Personal opinions aside, that is what the spells were designed to create: perfection."
"And you're concerned with my hypothetical perfection, why?" Tony's nimble fingers were to the small of his back now, and Steve assumed that meant tony was nearly done with whatever he was scratching.
"Because you're beautiful, soaked in magic, and exactly the ingredient I need for my spell."
Tony stiffened behind him, his hand leaving off the writing and fingers clenching in the scruff of Steve's shirt. Steve pretended like that didn't make him nervous and without taking his eyes off Amora asked over his shoulder, "Want to translate, Tony?"
"She wants your heart."
Steve furrowed, "Attacking my friends isn't the way to win me over, Miss."
Amora chuckled, "I don't want your romance, Steven. I want to pluck your still beating heart out of your chest and eat it."
Then Tony, powerful, reckless, beautiful Tony laughed and said, "I actually have a problem with that." Tony grabbed Steve's shoulder and wrenched him out of the way while both sorcerers erupted with magic. Steve pulled his shield over his head and tried to get out of the way of the torrent of raw power they were flinging at one another in place of trying to cast actual spells. Amora chuckled, "Oh, Anthony, you've done so well. When I plucked Steven out of that ice his heart was so tired, so lost and dejected that I despaired of ever fixing him. My darling Hill fought so valiantly against my control over her that instead of fixing the man like I told her to, she tried to break him, making him useless. But then there was you. My lovely Anthony. The Captain and his heart are practically glowing all thanks to you."
If you wanted to get technical about it, Steve and Tony had only known one another for three weeks, but despite that scant amount of linear time, Steve felt like he knew Tony. Which meant he didn't need to see the flicker of Tony's power or see how Amora's stream of light lurched forward against him to know that Tony was upset by the concept that he'd somehow exposed Steve to this.
Rather than get out of the way like any other good little non-magic user, Steve cranked back his arm and tossed his shield at the woman. Amora shrieked at the sudden presence of shield in her stomach and before either man could respond she sent another burst of raw power at Steve. He braced himself to go flying again, but when the spell him full on... nothing happened.
Steve looked around, baffled, and Amora launched another blast at him, this one Steve caught on his shield and reflected it back at her, forcing her to dart out of the way instead. Steve looked to Tony, who had an unbearably smug grin on his face, which was al the explanation Steve needed. "What did you do?"
"There's a spell that enhances a person's normal abilities, the kiddie version of what Erskine did to you. Since you're already mostly invulnerable, I just made you… more."
"That's what you were writing on my spine, runes that made me invulnerable?"
Tony grinned, which was all the answer he got to give before Amora shrieked and launched a fireball at Steve, assuming pure magic wasn't going to do the trick anymore. Steve caught the spell with his shield while Tony launched a stream of attacks of his own, driving Amora back.
Steve just grinned while she was busy with Tony and charged at Amora, launching his shield ahead of him to throw her off balance before he crashed his whole weight into the slight woman. Amora shrieked and pushed back at him with a rush of power, but the magic just sizzled off his skin, leaving Steve untouched. Amora had spent so long relying on her magic that she had no defense for someone outside her touch. Steve gently but thoroughly brought the shield down on the back of Amora's head, forcing her unconscious.
The second Amora hit the earth James came blasting out of somewhere he certainly wasn't supposed to be hiding and smashed into Steve's chest, his emotions a tangle of concern and pride. The other riders came from their positions with congratulations, and Steve ignored them all to press a kiss to Tony's lips (who was surrounded by his own fan club of scientists).
"You were going to do that all along, weren't you?"
Tony smirked, "I don't know which answer would get me in less trouble."
Steve rolled his eyes and kissed Steve again, too happy to care.