Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 58: My Odyssey

Chapter Fifty-Eight

My Odyssey

Milky Way Galaxy

Sol System

Nine Realms / Planet Earth

Pepper was in a daze. It was like walking through a very fuzzy dream, like she just stepped into an imaginary world that was created by her subconscious. It was real though, very much real, even if it was still surreal at the same time. It was Tony, but it was not him. He held himself differently, he talked a little differently, his shoulders were a little wider, his chest a bit more prominent and god his face, he looked so young, like he just stepped out of an old photograph. She was understandably having trouble reconciling this Tony with the man she remembered. But it had to be him.

Rhodey asked them to speak in private and Pepper agreed, Tony was not bothered by the suggestion at all and just turned towards his crew - his crew of aliens and Loki! - and told them to make themselves at home.

'Welcome to my humble abode,' he said.

'Which of course is not humble at all,' the white-haired elf look-a-like said while he smirked at Tony.

'Yeah, like I promised,' Tony told him. 'You already know JARVIS, he can show and tell you everything about the house. Put down your stuff, eat something, there's enough room for everyone, although... JARVIS when is the extra big, extra sturdy bed for Drongo coming?'

'It should be delivered tomorrow, Mr. Stark,' the AI replied.

'Sorry about that,' Tony looked at the giant standing in the room.

'It's quite alright,' he answered in a deep rumbling tone. 'I slept in worse places than on your expensive looking carpet.'

'Okay then, my home is your home and all that jazz. I'll be right back.'

Pepper did not miss the way he shared a longer look with Loki before he turned around to leave the room with her and Rhodey in tow. Happy looked after her, obviously trying to be reassuring.

'I gotta say I feel like I'm talking to your supposedly non-existent little brother with the way you look,' James said when they were finally away from the others. 'You're not your supposedly non-existent little brother, are you?'

Tony laughed at that a little. 'Weird, and no,' he said then. 'You wanna check my fingerprints?' he asked wriggling his fingers in the air.

'You will have to be put through a full check-up anyway if you want to be declared alive again,' Pepper interrupted. 'The shareholders won't allow everything to be signed over to a man who just looks like Tony Stark.'

'But you know I'm Tony Stark,' Tony said, but then he continued before she could say anything. 'And no worries, I expected as much. They can check whatever they want, it's me.'

'All my primary scans indicate that he is indeed Mr. Stark,' JARVIS chimed in and Tony pointed at the ceiling with a "see?" expression.

'So, how about we move forward to the explanations part? Especially the one about the alien war criminal in your living room,' James said.

'You better sit down, because it's gonna be a long story,' Tony said. 'And most of it is not going to be pretty.'

x-x-x

The first part was the hardest to listen to, when Tony talked about being taken. He wasn't just a bystander who got caught in the crossfire like most of them assumed. They wanted Tony himself as well, not just Loki. And for what? Weapons. It was always weapons. He was not taken for his own invention this time, but for a nuclear weapon, but that made no difference at all.