Brother Avengers

Brother Avengers Chapter 8

"In time we hate that which we often fear."

-William Shakespeare

Tony usually didn't get up this early. But at about five in the morning, he jerked awake, covered in cold sweat, the sounds of clanking surgical tools and pulsing electricity ringing in his ears, and the feeling of jagged pain lancing through his chest. He lay there for about an hour as the sensations faded, trying to calm down, but it didn't do any good. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and got up, threw on his jeans, shoes, and a black t-shirt, ran a hand through his hair and left his little spartan room, heading for the science wing.

He'd been to this compound before, twice, and Nick had let him leave some of his junk here. Extra storage space, that kind of thing.

He pushed through a swinging door, reached off to the left and flicked on the industrial lights. Bright fluorescent glare illuminated the long room, and the half circle of work tables and desks in the center, littered with computers, tools, small assistant robots and pieces of machinery. And past that, in a plexi-glass case, stood his metal suit, in bad need of a paint job.

He strode toward the work tables, perched up on a stool, and started tinkering with a new design for a nearly-invisible ear communicator. But he'd only been doing that for a few minutes before he felt somebody behind him.

He went still, then slowly turned his head and glanced over his shoulder.

A huge man stood in the doorway, arms folded, body gleaming in silver armor, his long blonde hair hanging to his shoulders. He was watching Tony with keen eyes that were a brighter shade of blue than he'd ever seen.

"Uh, hi," Tony said, lifting an eyebrow. The other man inclined his head.

"Good morning, son of Howard."

Tony stopped for a second, then twisted on the stool to face him, his tools still in hand.

"Um...We've...met haven't we."

"We were introduced yesterday," the big man reminded him, his voice deep.

"Oh, right—got a little distracted," Tony muttered, glancing down to tighten a minute screw. He looked back up. "And you're...um..."

"Thor," the man finished. "Son of Odin."

"Right—Thor." Tony said, setting the little screwdriver down and turning the earpiece in his hand.

"I am not lying," Thor added. Tony frowned at him.

"Did I say you were?"

Thor raised his eyebrows.

"You sound as if you do not believe me."

The corner of Tony's mouth twitched up as he reached over to grab a set of wires.

"Yeah, well—to me, Thor is some ancient thunder god that nobody believes in anymore. Gets used for mascots a lot, though."

"So...you don't believe me," Thor realized, watching him. Tony shrugged.

"I've seen a few funky things the past couple years," he admitted. "But not much to make me believe in old Norse gods. Just a little hard for me to imagine."

Thor chuckled. Tony didn't want to admit it—but the sound did resemble a distant roll of thunder.

"And yet you're a man with such an astounding imagination, Stark."

"Listen, what makes you think you know so much about me?" Tony demanded, finally sitting up straight and facing him. "It's kind of creeping me out."