RP log - Visit to Asgard - Part 3/?
Aug. 20th, 2012 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
withmoremeWhat: RP log - Thor was nervous about going back to Asgard to speak at Loki's trial. Tony made the suggestion that the team go with him, for moral support. Their first team field trip ensues.
Part 3/?: In which Tony has a business meeting with Odin and the team suits up for their sparring session with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.
Also: Long.
Part 1
Part 2
As it turned out, Asgard did seem to function on the same twenty-four hour time schedule as the rest of the universe, and sometime mid-morning, likely after Odin was sure his guests would be awake and already broken their fast, Kjetil was knocking on their door. Natasha, who'd been picking at a fruit that tasted vaguely like watermellon, got up from the table and and answered the door. She looked the kid over briefly, then glanced over her shoulder.
"Looks like you're up, Stark," she called, half-hoping he was, in fact, up and ready.
Despite how late he and Bruce had been out, and despite how much later Tony was sure he had been up than most of the others, and despite what he was pretty sure Natasha would expect, Tony was up and dressed, and had already eaten. He was wearing a different suit, and he'd skipped the tie from the start this time, the reactor glowing faintly through the cloth. "Coming," he returned as he side-stepped out of his room, case in hand, reaching back with his free hand to pull the door closed behind him.
She arched an eyebrow, almost impressed that he was on time for once in his life, and went back to picking at her fruit.
Kjetil waited for him to join him, and almost apologetically, he announced what he felt was the obvious -- "The Allfather will see you now." -- before turning to lead the way down the hall. Rather than go to the throne room as they had the night before, however, the boy lead them to a different room, though this one was no less vast if the doors were any indication, and gestured him inside. The doors closed heavily behind him.
"Good morning," Odin offered from a chair sitting behind a massive, empty table at the center of the room. He looked different than he had the night before, less formal, the cape and pauldrons missing from his armor, the golden eyepatch he'd worn the night before swapped out for a silver one. Gungnir rested against the wall behind him, catching the light from a series of impressive arched windows that circled the room, and his helmet was no where to be seen. "I hope you slept well?"
Tony arched an eyebrow back at her but offered Kjetil a smile. "Lead on," he told the boy, falling into step behind him.
It took effort, but Tony resisted the urge to glance back when the doors closed, though he did stop just inside the room. "Good morning," he returned with another bow. "I did, thank you." And he had, once he had actually gone to bed.
"I'm glad," Odin replied, offering him a smile. He gestured to one of the many available seats in the pause that followed, letting Tony take his pick rather than choosing one for him. "Come. Sit."
Tony smiled back, his smaller, and continued into the room, heading for the seats closer to Odin. Nervous as he might have been about talking to the king - to Thor's father -, they couldn't discuss business across this entire table. And that was what had something about him shifting as he crossed the room, something more self-assured settling around him as he set the case down and paused for a moment before taking a seat himself. He could discuss business and building with people, even when they were of such higher rank and did make him nervous.
If anything, Odin looked pleased that he'd chosen a seat so close, and he continued to smile for a moment more before a business-like seriousness drifted onto his face. "My son tells me you wish to employ my craftsmen to fortify your stronghold."
"I do," Tony returned. "We're a little tighter on space back home, but we wanted to build a room that would let us practice as a team without tearing the place apart while we did it. There's a few other rooms we wanted to reinforce, too." Namely the bedrooms. But he was less sure how to get into that without it getting too familiar.
Odin nodded, more than able to understand that if his training grounds and arena were any indication. "I would need to know the scope of what you need. The size, the shape. I doubt either of us would be satisfied if you walked away with too little to build your training room."
At that, Tony reached down to heft the case, setting it on the table beside him. "That would be a problem," he agreed, flipping the latches. "I have copies of the Tower's blueprints."
"I should like to see them." Obvious, likely, given both that he had asked and that Tony had reached for his case in mentioning he had the blueprints with him, but still.
Tony nodded, lifting the case's lid to pick up the rolled sheets, leaving the case propped open as he offered the king the blueprints. Once he'd passed them over, Tony reached into the case again, coming up with a slim silver tube about the size of a double shot glass, ringed in four black lines. He twisted it, splitting it into four smaller discs, each ringed once in black, and he set those on the table between them. Then, he turned back to his case, flipping the monitor up. The motion set the computer to booting, the screen coming to life, currently only displaying the Stark Industries logo.
Taking them from him, Odin studied them for a moment, getting to his feet as he did so. While he'd been planning on spreading the blueprints between them -- and potentially using his spear as a paperweight to keep the stubborn corners from peeling up -- he stopped as Tony went back to his case, watching him.
He understood magic to a degree greater than most people ever realized, if only because he didn't claim to be a magician, and he knew a fair bit about Midgardian technology thanks to Heimdall, but he couldn't say he quite understood what the discs his guest produced were for. Rather than admit this aloud, however, he simply kept his eyes on Tony, blueprints still in hand, waiting for some sort of prompt.
Tony stood as well, picking up two of the discs to place them on the edges of the blueprints before he added the other two. Once they were set, he tapped lightly on the top of each desk, and faint light emerged from all four. It brightened slightly before steadying out, and Tony glanced back at the computer in time to see a virtual representation of the blueprints appear on the screen. "Construction is still in progress at the Tower, so if anything needs to be changed, it won't be a problem."
Odin followed his gaze to the screen and nodded, understanding now. "I doubt it will come to that, but it is good to know, should I be wrong."
He turned back to the blueprints, studying them again, and when he had found what appeared to be the training room Tony had mentioned, he pointed to it, fingers hovering just above the paper as if he was afraid to disturb or destroy something by touching it. "This is to be your practice space, yes?"
"That's it," he agreed. Where the king seemed worried to touch it, Tony reached out to put a finger in the middle of the room on the blueprints, and on the computer, that area lit up and pulled itself into something more three-dimensional. "We're almost finished with some technology that will make the space seem bigger than it actually is." He and Bruce still had some bugs to work out with the holograms, but for the most part, it was ready to go.
"Which explains why it does not take up the bulk of your tower," Odin concluded. He glanced back at the screen, where he could get a sense of the height of the room, and then back to the plans themselves. "Having the work done should be no trouble. My craftsmen have added to this place as I needed them to over the years, and built the original hall for my father's father, ages ago. They will need a copy of your specifications, however -- or at very least the numbers that accompany them -- " He touched his fingers to where the dimensions had been written, this time without fear of breaking anything. " -- and I there is something I must ask of you before any work is done."
"These are for your builders," Tony returned, nodding to the physical copies of the blueprints. He had the plans on the computer, after all, and another set of physical copies at home.
At that, Tony looked up from the blueprints. "Your majesty?"
Odin hadn't wanted to assume that these were for his people, hence the statement; he offered Tony a small smile at the assurance before he sobered again.
"This work, these walls ... you must swear to me that you will set them with your own hands." That was a general you, one that reffered to the Avengers as a group rather than Tony himself. "I have seen the greed of men, of my people and yours, and I would not have pieces of what I offer you spirited away by your people's laborers, hoping for a souvenir of your glory."
At that, something about Tony seemed to shift again, his expression turning almost grave as he straightened. "I swear it," he said seriously. "No one outside this team will have access to these materials."
He had too much experience with the same thing, after all, and actually, he had already intended for that to be the case. While the lack of materials was part of the problem, construction had also stopped because they had reached a point that Tony wasn't comfortable with anyone else doing the work. The Tower was for the team. He was designing it to be a safe place for them, and if its secrets got out, that sense of safety would quickly deteriorate.
Odin studied him for a long moment, his expression both critical and searching. When he seemed to find what he wanted, he nodded once, and offered Tony a slow, warm smile. "Then you will have all you require from me for your stronghold."
Tony met the king's eyes evenly for that moment, his expression only lightening again when the king's did, and there was some extra relief behind it. "Thank you, your majesty," he returned, bowing lightly. This time, he meant not only for the hospitality, and not even just for the building materials. Knowing the king - and father of someone Tony was starting to call his friend - had decided he was worthy of his trust was at once a relief and something a little hard to take in. Trusting him wasn't something all that many people did.
Odin hummed, still smiling, and looked back down to the plans. "I will see to it that these end up in the proper hands."
A pause followed, almost a moment of hesitation on the king's part -- though he would never admit to such, if asked, for it was not becoming of someone as ancient as him or in his position -- and then he was looking up again, smile gone, the look on his face serious but soft. "And I thank you, as well. I know that none of you likely have any real want to see Loki again, even if he is to be punished, and yet still you have come for Thor's sake. Your respect and care for one another is admirable."
Tony smiled at that, too. "He's our teammate," Tony returned, "and our friend. I wasn't going to make him deal with all this alone if us tagging along would make things better."
"It will," Odin assured him. "It likely already has. Without you, without his Shield Brothers here, without this contest you all are planning -- " Oh, yes. He knew about that. " -- I imagine my son would be in a darker mood than he already is."
That Odin knew surprised Tony not at all, all things considered. Tony just nodded to that. "I'm glad," he said seriously.
"As am I," the king answered seriously. A pause followed, and when he spoke again, it was with a touch of amusement. "And I wish you luck against Thor's other companions. I do not question your skill, but I would not argue theirs, either."
Tony couldn't help but chuckle softly, at that. "Kjetil didn't seem to think much of our chances." He grinned, sounding amused himself.
"The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif are champions of Asgard, as your band is of Midgard. They are spoken of in song and story, and Kjetil has grown up watching them do the sort of things that would inspire such tales." Odin shrugged. "As interested as he is in you as a people, I do not doubt his hopes lie with them."
The grin faded just slightly, smile turning more sincere. "Oh, I don't blame him one bit, and I get where he's coming from. They're his heroes; we're the away team." Even if Tony wasn't that big on sports, sometimes a sports metaphor was the only way to go.
Odin could understand what he meant, even if he didn't follow the reference itself, and he nodded, the look on his face all at once distant. "Yes, I suppose you are."
Tony felt the rest of his smile slip off his face as the king's expression changed. He thought he knew what was behind it, but he really didn't want to assume, here. "And thank you, again. Seeing Asgard was definitely a bonus to coming with Thor."
Forcing the distance from his face, he allowed Tony another smile, though as much as he may have wanted it to, this one didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're welcome."
Tony just nodded, at something of a loss as to what had changed the mood - or what to say, now. There were things he had in mind, but he wasn't sure they were his place. And again, it would be assuming, and that always got him in trouble. He settled for reaching out to deactivate the scanner nearest him with another tap.
"You have plans to attend the feast tonight, yes?" Odin asked after a moment, both trying to get away from the thoughts of how Loki had once been a hero to his people, too, that had killed the conversation and to assure Tony he had had no part in its death.
Tony looked up, at that, posture relaxing slightly. "I do. I'm looking forward to it." And he was, even if he was with Thor in wondering about the timing. Still, it was another look at life here, and that, he was looking forward to. And as much as his life had calmed down, lately, he did still enjoy a party.
Odin offered him another smile, this one closer to genuine. "Good."
Tony returned the smile, still fiddling with the scanner, running his fingers over its edge, and there was something more thoughtful behind his expression, now. "Is..." he began, pausing after a moment and then pressing on, "Is there anything else we can do, while we're here? For Thor, or..." Whatever, or whoever. It was a question Steve might have been more likely to ask, but while Tony felt sure he had talked to Thor about the trip more than any of the others, he hadn't known exactly what to expect - and now, even knowing they had a schedule, he still felt somewhat at a loss.
And there was the fact that he had just asked the king for a rather large favor, in commissioning the Tower's walls. He could at least make the offer.
"When Thor and Loki were children, they made habit of finding places to hide from their instructors when they felt the need to be difficult," Odin started, this particular antedote relevant if the way he said it was any indication. "As they grew older, as they came closer to becoming men, these hiding places became where they escaped to when life became difficult." He glanced towards the ceiling. "One such place is above us, atop the main spire of the palace. I cannot go there, I will not, because it has become something of a sacred space for him, free from me and his mother, from duty and law, and I have always allowed him that ... "
He glanced to Tony. "He will likely spend much of his time between parts of the hearing there, rather than sensibly in the company of friends. It is my wish that he not be left alone there. Not entirely. Not for all of it."
Tony let the disc fall flat as he gave the king's story his full attention. At Odin's explanation, one side of his mouth lifted faintly, though there wasn't a lot of actual humor behind it, and it didn't stay in place for more than a few seconds. He knew that need; it was part of why he spent so much time in his workshop, after all.
When the king finished, Tony nodded. "We can make that happen."
"And you would have my deepest thanks," Odin returned.
"He's my friend," Tony returned simply. He didn't mean to make light of it, but at the same time, that was why they were here in the first place - to support Thor. It really wasn't that much to ask.
"There's a profound difference between wanting to help a friend and knowing exactly how to go about it," Odin said, taking care to keep his tone as light as possible. He wasn't trying to accuse Tony of not knowing Thor, he was simply stating a fact. "He would have tried to send you away, he likely still will, even if he knows you've found his hiding place, but Thor -- Thor has always needed the support of others. That you will be there even when he pretends to wish for solitude is a relief, and I have no doubt that he will be as grateful as I am, knowing you are a friend, knowing this is why you came to Asgard or otherwise."
On the other hand, Tony's tone was serious, the smile dropping the rest of the way off his face. It wasn't often that he was this sincere, but he could do it. "I don't deal well with people. Saying I'm hard to be friends with may win me a prize for understatement. I'm the face of one of the largest companies on Earth, and I would rather spend all day in my workshop with my robots." That wasn't strictly true, these days, but he wasn't finished yet. "This team..." he began, pausing for a moment as he looked for the words he wanted. "This team has done more to change my mind on that in two months, to be people I actually want to see regularly, just... by being another presence in my house, than most people have managed by actively trying to be my friend through my whole life. Including your son. If I can... give some of that back, to be the friend to him that he's already been to me...." He trailed off again but didn't pick up, this time. But the insinuation should have been clear enough: Being there for Thor was nothing to ask, but also something he took seriously.
For a moment, Odin said nothing, choosing instead to study him for another long moment. A warm smile followed. "And he could not ask for better companions."
It was harder for Tony to wait through this moment, if just because it was more personal, now. It was easier to promise to protect his work than it was to open up about himself. Still, though, he met the king's eyes evenly, again, smiling again himself, when Odin did. "Neither could I."
Humming, clearly pleased, the king turned away slowly, companionable silence falling between them. When he chose to break it again, he was interrupted by a knock on the door, and he looked back at Tony almost apologetically before straightening, acting more the part of king now than father of a friend. "Enter."
A woman, thin but well-built, with hair the same color as Natasha's entered and stopped just short of them. She bowed briefly, glanced to Tony, and then focused her attentions on Odin. "My lady requests your presence at your earliest convenience."
"You may tell my wife I'll be along shortly, Gna," Odin answered, and the woman bowed again, then disappeared from the room. Odin turned to the other man once she had gone. "I apologize for the interruption ... and for potentially cutting our conversation short."
Tony glanced toward the door, taking a step back when the woman entered. At the apology, he shook his head lightly. "Thank you for talking to me. And for the materials."
"You're welcome," he said, leaning down to gather the blueprints up, carefully shifting the rest of the discs Tony had left to pin it down out of the way. He turned to reach for Gungnir once they had been rolled up and tucked under one arm. "We can continue tonight, at supper, if you had anything else you would care to discuss."
And from the look on his face, he meant anything. He could think of worse ways to spend his time than getting to know his son's friends on a more personal level.
Tony reached to pick up the discs, clipping them back together and starting to turn toward his computer, though he looked back to Odin when the king went on. "I'll look forward to that as well," he returned with a smile and nod.
Flashing him a smile in return, Odin let himself out, trusting that Kjetil would get him back to his room.
Tony collapsed the computer's screen, tucking the scanners inside the case before he flipped the latches closed and picked up the case, heading back out of the room. That had been simultaneously what he had been expecting - and very different, all at once.
As Odin had hoped, Tony's gude was waiting for him outside the room. He looked up when he exited, his head inclining curiously, as if he wondered what the magician and his king had been discussing but didn't feel he had the right to ask, and then pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against, moving to join him.
Tony wasn't sure how he would explain it, anyway. He did offer Kjetil a nod when he caught sight of him, though. "I should probably go see what everyone else is up to."
"I will take you back to your chambers, then," the boy said, turning to move down the hallway.
Tony fell into step behind him, adjusting his hold on the computer. A short way down the hall, though, he broke the silence. "So what else do you do around here, other than keeping people from getting completely and hopelessly lost?"
"My brother and I were -- " He hesitated, as if he planned on correcting himself, than shook his head. " -- were the princes' personal manservants." Thor had been spending more and more time on Asgard, however, and Loki, well, needless to say, Kjetil and his brother had more or less been put out of a job and quite recently. "Now, we mostly attend to the Allfather, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, and the queen."
Tony gave an interested noise at that, even if that hadn't really been what he'd meant. "Got any good stories about Thor?" he went on after a moment, smirking slightly. It was possibly something he shouldn't be asking the servant, but he fully intended on begging Thor's other friends for embarrassing stories later, so he figured he could start now.
Kjetil glanced back at him, looking understandably a little nervous. In spite of that, though, he still said, "I may be able to think of a few ... "
Tony grinned at him, trying for reassuring. "Pick one and share."
He looked equal parts thoughtful and dubious for a moment, then slowed down to match Tony's pace, moving beside him rather than leading the way so that he could lean in conspiratorily. "When the princes were first learning to ride, my lord was in fine form the morning our master horseman was teaching them how to jump the horses. They came across a fallen tree and he thought to show off, thinking it easier than it was, but did not realize there was a drop beyond it. The horse landed safely, the prince ... not so much so. He landed in a knot of briars with my brother and I, and our horseman watching. He was ... not happy."
Tony snickered, at the story and the accompanying mental image. "Yeah, that would happen," he said, sounding serious, though he was still smiling.
"I am quite sure he had brambles in his hair for weeks after that," Kjetil finished, leaning away.
There was another snicker at that as Tony leaned away, too. He might not have the same reasons to pick at Thor as he had when they'd first met, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to remember that one, for some later use.
His guide offered him a brief, almost sheepish smile and moved back out in front of him, falling silent again until they reached the doors of the guest room. He pulled the door open and gestured him inside. "The prince will be the one to retrieve you for your meeting with the Warriors."
Tony started through the doors, offering the kid another smile and "Thanks" over his shoulder as he headed back into the common room.
Nodding, he closed the doors behind him.
In the time that Tony had been gone, Natasha had disappeared from the common room, Bruce having taken her place at the table, picking at some of the fruit. Whether or not the two were related, it was hard to tell, but regardless, the other man looked up at him as he entered, curious. "Hey."
"Hey," Tony returned, moving to set the case down against the wall before he joined Bruce at the table. "Well, I don't have to try and figure out how to keep the Tower standing without walls."
"Always a good thing," he answered, seeming to relax a little.
Tony nodded, reaching out for a piece of fruit before settling back in his chair. "You guys are getting home repair lessons, too. We're gonna do the work ourselves." It was clear, somehow, that it had been the king's order - but that it was one Tony agreed with.
"Wasn't that the plan to begin with? I mean ... " He trailed off, shrugging. There was work around the Tower that Tony could have hired people to do, without the king's blessing or Asgardian made walls, and yet, as far as he knew, no one had been brought in. He'd assumed that had meant he planned on doing the work himself or, if not with actual construction crews, with their help, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe the bulk of it would be done by the time they got home, the work overseen by Pepper.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, it was. I don't think I'd actually said that, though..." Unless he had mentioned it at some point, which was entirely possible, really.
Bruce shook his head. "Just a feeling a got. Though, uh, I'm not really the do-it-yourself type."
Unless, of course, Tony wanted things knocked down.
Tony grinned at him. "I will teach you, young grasshopper." Then, he went slightly more serious. "Unlike a lot of things in the Tower, it's a lot less complicated than it looks."
"Wax on, wax off?" He couldn't help but look dimly amused.
"Exactly." Tony paused for a moment, before going on, apparently completely seriously. "If I'm Miyagi in this scenario, does that mean I can leave things for you guys to do and go fishing all day?"
"Only if you do it the old fashioned way, with a stick, some fishing line and a hook," Bruce answered, looking equally serious. Ten bucks said he'd be bored in ten minutes.
Tony made a face. "Yeah, nevermind. Pass on that."
"Figured," Bruce replied, huffing out a sigh of a laugh.
Tony shot him another grin, at that. "So'd you all do any tv smashing in the hotel suite while I was at work?" It didn't look like he'd missed anything here while he'd been out talking to Odin, but since he hadn't seen anyone else, yet, it was harder to tell.
"Well, you know, since we're being given the rock star treatment, we figured ... " He popped one shoulder in a shrug, managing to look completely serious and a little sheepish, if only momentarily. "You didn't miss much," he continued more honestly. "Our friend stopped by to drop off something for me to wear later, but beyond that, it was pretty much quiet.
"I thought so," Tony returned, nodding sagely. "And oh, good. Did he manage to find you something that'll give me minimal material to poke fun at later?"
"For the most part, yeah." There was some fur involved, mostly for accents and largely unavoidable, he supposed, but barring that, they looked almost normal. They were also a little big on him, designed for someone closer to Thor's build than his own, but that was probably a good thing.
"Darn," Tony returned, dryly and apparently really disappointed.
Bruce arched an eyebrow, a small smile curling in the corners of his mouth. "Sorry to rain on your parade."
Tony sighed heavily, waving it off. "I'm sure I'll find something else." He paused for a moment before he spoke again, changing the subject. "So Kjetil and his brother were Thor and Loki's servants, before. I feel our tertiary objective while we're here should be to get as much material as we can for later mocking, from them, and from Thor's other friends."
Humming, Bruce's smile grew at the suggestion. "If it keeps you off my back, I'm all for it."
"I will not be deterred, just delayed," he shot back - though he went more serious a moment later. "There's also... we" - he gestured between them - "have the labs when we want to hide from the rest of the world. Odin said Thor has a place here that he tends to go, and the king wanted us to make sure Thor wasn't alone up there during the trial. I'll mention it to the others, too, and it was already sort of part of the plan anyway, but...." Since the king had brought it up and acknowledged it was a needed part, it had moved up in importance a bit, in Tony's mind.
"I figured he might." Bruce made a vague, almost nervous hand gesture -- one likely meant to indicate Thor's want to hide, during the recesses in between parts of the trial. "I take it the king told you where the, uh, proverbial lab is?"
"Not exactly. Well, he said it was on the main spire of the palace but not how to get there, and I don't know how much I'd've remembered anyway." Tony thought he could find his way to the places Kjetil had shown them the night before, but there was no guarantee. "We can ask one of the kids, though."
"You could fly up there, at least," he suggested. Not that that would do the rest of them much good, but it would at least mean that Tony could get up there quickly while the rest of them had to walk. "Assuming your armor still has the power for it, after the fight."
He didn't know what kind of power supply Tony had in the version of the armor he'd brought with him, after all.
"I could," he agreed, nodding. When Bruce went on, Tony reached up to tap on the reactor. "We should be okay." He didn't really expect this to get strenuous enough that running out of power would be an issue. Even if that was part of why he had brought his back-up.
"Right." And this was why he was a physicist, not an engineer. "Which, speaking of the fight ... Thor said he'd come and get us after your meeting, so at least one of us should go get changed."
He was talking about himself, for the most part; he expected Tony would just bring the armor with him and get into when they got there, always the show off, from what Pepper had told him and what he'd seen himself.
It also wasn't like they had done much discussing of how the suits worked, either. At that, Tony looked down at his dress shirt and blazer, nodding. "I'll take the armor with me, but this isn't the most comfortable thing to have on under it." There was an element of showing off that Tony couldn't resist, yeah, but it was also a lot more difficult to walk around in than the suits the others wore.
"Then we should both get changed," Bruce amended, glancing over his shoulder at the door to his room. After a moment and slowly, as if he was only now questioning the wisdom of his decision to participate in the first place, he got to his feet.
Tony nodded, pushing himself up out of his chair. "This is gonna be awesome," he said, sounding sure - and trying to be reassuring.
"Yeah." He paused, nodding more times than was likely necessary, and took a deep breath. He let it out again on a sigh, and once he felt steadier, moved for the door. "Yeah. I'll see you in a couple of minutes."
Tony offered him a smile, heading into his own room, picking up his computer on the way. It didn't take him long to lose the jacket and button-down and pull on a t-shirt over his flight shirt. He grabbed his ear piece, fitting it in before he picked up the briefcase and the smaller box with the other, newly redesigned comms and made his way back out to the main room.
Steve was there, now, in full uniform, the cowl pushed back off his head to lay against the back of his neck. He was sitting at the table, his shield on his lap as he checked the strap fittings. When Tony re-emerged, he looked up. "I thought I heard you out here. How was your meeting?"
"Fine. Odin has the Tower's blueprints for his builders." Tony set the briefcase down in one of the chairs. "He'll get us the walls."
"Good," Steve returned, setting his shield to lean against his chair, apparently satisfied.
Natasha joined them, quiet as ever and dressed for the fight. It was likely that she, too, had heard Bruce and Tony talking -- or, potentially more accurately, had been eavesdropping as they did. "Clint'll be out in a minute."
Steve just nodded, but Tony couldn't pass up the opportunity. "You two should've taken rooms next to each other. Would've made sneaking over a lot easier."
"The only people doing sneaking around here are you and Banner," Natasha shot back, nonchalantly.
Steve couldn't help but grin at that, despite himself. Tony looked mildly affronted. "You insult my honor, ma'am. I am a happily whipped man. I'll have you know we had a lovely tour of the place, last night, courtesy of Kjetil."
"Kjetil?" Steve repeated.
Tony just nodded. "The kids that showed us here last night are Kjetil and Aelif. They're brothers. They used to wait on Thor and Loki. I fully intend to get as many embarrassing stories as I can out of them before we leave, if you guys would like in on that." He looked down at the box in his hand, flipping the lid open and carefully lifting a small piece of molded plastic out, offering it to Steve.
It wasn't the same one Steve had used in New York. This one was newer - and better, in Tony's not so humble opinion. There was also some color in the plastic, and Steve frowned at it before recognizing his shield. "You brought the comms?" he asked, when he looked up again.
Tony shrugged, picking out another one to hold out to Natasha. Where Steve's had the shield, Natasha's had a black and red hourglass. "They were with the computer I was bringing to meet with the king."
Natasha took the earbud from him, turning it over in her hands, inspecting it. "Nice touch," she commented as she slipped it into her ear. It was hard to tell whether or not she was being sincere.
"Thanks," Tony returned anyway.
"What's a nice touch?" Clint asked, closing the door behind him as he joined them. He was in his full suit as well, quiver and bow on his back.
"Earpieces," Tony said simply, tossing him one bearing a bow and arrow.
Clint caught it easily, frowning at it for a moment before he slipped it in. "Nice."
"Too bad I don't get one," Bruce said, stepping out of his room hesitantly. He'd taken off his shirt and shoes already, not sure he'd have somewhere to put them, once they got down to the arena, and between that and the pants Kjetil had brought him, as ill fitting as they were at the moment, he felt out of place and exposed all at once, like he'd just shown up on the first day of some college class, buck naked. He looked away when Natasha glanced over at him, embarrassed, and curled further in upon himself than he usually did, not moving from the door. "I ... uh, well ... I didn't want to ruin another outfit."
"Made you one anyway," Tony returned, though he didn't take it out of the box, setting the nearly empty case on the table. He had made one for Bruce, partly for completionist's sake and partly because it could come in handy, at some point.
Clint barely spared him a glance, and that went to the fur on the pants, and Steve just nodded. "There's no reason to."
Bruce seemed to relax a little -- but only a little -- when it seemed no one was staring at him and padded across the room to join them, his footfalls frighteningly as quiet as Natasha and Clint's could be. "So ... anyone know when Thor's coming to get us? I figured it'd be soon, since he said after Tony was done with his father, but ... "
If Bruce hadn't trailed off, he wouldn't have been able to finish anyway, a heavy knock on the door following before Thor peeked his head into the room. He didn't seem all that surprised that they were already dressed and ready to go, but he still felt the need to ask, anyway. "Are you ready, friends? The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif await our arrival."
Steve stood, picking up his shield and clipping it onto his back as he looked to the others for a moment before nodding to Thor. "We're ready."
Thor returned the nod, once, sharply, and ducked out of the room. Natasha gestured towards the door for Steve to take the lead.
Steve shot another glance at the group, waiting for Tony to pick up the briefcase before he followed Thor out of the room.
Part 3/?: In which Tony has a business meeting with Odin and the team suits up for their sparring session with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.
Also: Long.
Part 1
Part 2
As it turned out, Asgard did seem to function on the same twenty-four hour time schedule as the rest of the universe, and sometime mid-morning, likely after Odin was sure his guests would be awake and already broken their fast, Kjetil was knocking on their door. Natasha, who'd been picking at a fruit that tasted vaguely like watermellon, got up from the table and and answered the door. She looked the kid over briefly, then glanced over her shoulder.
"Looks like you're up, Stark," she called, half-hoping he was, in fact, up and ready.
Despite how late he and Bruce had been out, and despite how much later Tony was sure he had been up than most of the others, and despite what he was pretty sure Natasha would expect, Tony was up and dressed, and had already eaten. He was wearing a different suit, and he'd skipped the tie from the start this time, the reactor glowing faintly through the cloth. "Coming," he returned as he side-stepped out of his room, case in hand, reaching back with his free hand to pull the door closed behind him.
She arched an eyebrow, almost impressed that he was on time for once in his life, and went back to picking at her fruit.
Kjetil waited for him to join him, and almost apologetically, he announced what he felt was the obvious -- "The Allfather will see you now." -- before turning to lead the way down the hall. Rather than go to the throne room as they had the night before, however, the boy lead them to a different room, though this one was no less vast if the doors were any indication, and gestured him inside. The doors closed heavily behind him.
"Good morning," Odin offered from a chair sitting behind a massive, empty table at the center of the room. He looked different than he had the night before, less formal, the cape and pauldrons missing from his armor, the golden eyepatch he'd worn the night before swapped out for a silver one. Gungnir rested against the wall behind him, catching the light from a series of impressive arched windows that circled the room, and his helmet was no where to be seen. "I hope you slept well?"
Tony arched an eyebrow back at her but offered Kjetil a smile. "Lead on," he told the boy, falling into step behind him.
It took effort, but Tony resisted the urge to glance back when the doors closed, though he did stop just inside the room. "Good morning," he returned with another bow. "I did, thank you." And he had, once he had actually gone to bed.
"I'm glad," Odin replied, offering him a smile. He gestured to one of the many available seats in the pause that followed, letting Tony take his pick rather than choosing one for him. "Come. Sit."
Tony smiled back, his smaller, and continued into the room, heading for the seats closer to Odin. Nervous as he might have been about talking to the king - to Thor's father -, they couldn't discuss business across this entire table. And that was what had something about him shifting as he crossed the room, something more self-assured settling around him as he set the case down and paused for a moment before taking a seat himself. He could discuss business and building with people, even when they were of such higher rank and did make him nervous.
If anything, Odin looked pleased that he'd chosen a seat so close, and he continued to smile for a moment more before a business-like seriousness drifted onto his face. "My son tells me you wish to employ my craftsmen to fortify your stronghold."
"I do," Tony returned. "We're a little tighter on space back home, but we wanted to build a room that would let us practice as a team without tearing the place apart while we did it. There's a few other rooms we wanted to reinforce, too." Namely the bedrooms. But he was less sure how to get into that without it getting too familiar.
Odin nodded, more than able to understand that if his training grounds and arena were any indication. "I would need to know the scope of what you need. The size, the shape. I doubt either of us would be satisfied if you walked away with too little to build your training room."
At that, Tony reached down to heft the case, setting it on the table beside him. "That would be a problem," he agreed, flipping the latches. "I have copies of the Tower's blueprints."
"I should like to see them." Obvious, likely, given both that he had asked and that Tony had reached for his case in mentioning he had the blueprints with him, but still.
Tony nodded, lifting the case's lid to pick up the rolled sheets, leaving the case propped open as he offered the king the blueprints. Once he'd passed them over, Tony reached into the case again, coming up with a slim silver tube about the size of a double shot glass, ringed in four black lines. He twisted it, splitting it into four smaller discs, each ringed once in black, and he set those on the table between them. Then, he turned back to his case, flipping the monitor up. The motion set the computer to booting, the screen coming to life, currently only displaying the Stark Industries logo.
Taking them from him, Odin studied them for a moment, getting to his feet as he did so. While he'd been planning on spreading the blueprints between them -- and potentially using his spear as a paperweight to keep the stubborn corners from peeling up -- he stopped as Tony went back to his case, watching him.
He understood magic to a degree greater than most people ever realized, if only because he didn't claim to be a magician, and he knew a fair bit about Midgardian technology thanks to Heimdall, but he couldn't say he quite understood what the discs his guest produced were for. Rather than admit this aloud, however, he simply kept his eyes on Tony, blueprints still in hand, waiting for some sort of prompt.
Tony stood as well, picking up two of the discs to place them on the edges of the blueprints before he added the other two. Once they were set, he tapped lightly on the top of each desk, and faint light emerged from all four. It brightened slightly before steadying out, and Tony glanced back at the computer in time to see a virtual representation of the blueprints appear on the screen. "Construction is still in progress at the Tower, so if anything needs to be changed, it won't be a problem."
Odin followed his gaze to the screen and nodded, understanding now. "I doubt it will come to that, but it is good to know, should I be wrong."
He turned back to the blueprints, studying them again, and when he had found what appeared to be the training room Tony had mentioned, he pointed to it, fingers hovering just above the paper as if he was afraid to disturb or destroy something by touching it. "This is to be your practice space, yes?"
"That's it," he agreed. Where the king seemed worried to touch it, Tony reached out to put a finger in the middle of the room on the blueprints, and on the computer, that area lit up and pulled itself into something more three-dimensional. "We're almost finished with some technology that will make the space seem bigger than it actually is." He and Bruce still had some bugs to work out with the holograms, but for the most part, it was ready to go.
"Which explains why it does not take up the bulk of your tower," Odin concluded. He glanced back at the screen, where he could get a sense of the height of the room, and then back to the plans themselves. "Having the work done should be no trouble. My craftsmen have added to this place as I needed them to over the years, and built the original hall for my father's father, ages ago. They will need a copy of your specifications, however -- or at very least the numbers that accompany them -- " He touched his fingers to where the dimensions had been written, this time without fear of breaking anything. " -- and I there is something I must ask of you before any work is done."
"These are for your builders," Tony returned, nodding to the physical copies of the blueprints. He had the plans on the computer, after all, and another set of physical copies at home.
At that, Tony looked up from the blueprints. "Your majesty?"
Odin hadn't wanted to assume that these were for his people, hence the statement; he offered Tony a small smile at the assurance before he sobered again.
"This work, these walls ... you must swear to me that you will set them with your own hands." That was a general you, one that reffered to the Avengers as a group rather than Tony himself. "I have seen the greed of men, of my people and yours, and I would not have pieces of what I offer you spirited away by your people's laborers, hoping for a souvenir of your glory."
At that, something about Tony seemed to shift again, his expression turning almost grave as he straightened. "I swear it," he said seriously. "No one outside this team will have access to these materials."
He had too much experience with the same thing, after all, and actually, he had already intended for that to be the case. While the lack of materials was part of the problem, construction had also stopped because they had reached a point that Tony wasn't comfortable with anyone else doing the work. The Tower was for the team. He was designing it to be a safe place for them, and if its secrets got out, that sense of safety would quickly deteriorate.
Odin studied him for a long moment, his expression both critical and searching. When he seemed to find what he wanted, he nodded once, and offered Tony a slow, warm smile. "Then you will have all you require from me for your stronghold."
Tony met the king's eyes evenly for that moment, his expression only lightening again when the king's did, and there was some extra relief behind it. "Thank you, your majesty," he returned, bowing lightly. This time, he meant not only for the hospitality, and not even just for the building materials. Knowing the king - and father of someone Tony was starting to call his friend - had decided he was worthy of his trust was at once a relief and something a little hard to take in. Trusting him wasn't something all that many people did.
Odin hummed, still smiling, and looked back down to the plans. "I will see to it that these end up in the proper hands."
A pause followed, almost a moment of hesitation on the king's part -- though he would never admit to such, if asked, for it was not becoming of someone as ancient as him or in his position -- and then he was looking up again, smile gone, the look on his face serious but soft. "And I thank you, as well. I know that none of you likely have any real want to see Loki again, even if he is to be punished, and yet still you have come for Thor's sake. Your respect and care for one another is admirable."
Tony smiled at that, too. "He's our teammate," Tony returned, "and our friend. I wasn't going to make him deal with all this alone if us tagging along would make things better."
"It will," Odin assured him. "It likely already has. Without you, without his Shield Brothers here, without this contest you all are planning -- " Oh, yes. He knew about that. " -- I imagine my son would be in a darker mood than he already is."
That Odin knew surprised Tony not at all, all things considered. Tony just nodded to that. "I'm glad," he said seriously.
"As am I," the king answered seriously. A pause followed, and when he spoke again, it was with a touch of amusement. "And I wish you luck against Thor's other companions. I do not question your skill, but I would not argue theirs, either."
Tony couldn't help but chuckle softly, at that. "Kjetil didn't seem to think much of our chances." He grinned, sounding amused himself.
"The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif are champions of Asgard, as your band is of Midgard. They are spoken of in song and story, and Kjetil has grown up watching them do the sort of things that would inspire such tales." Odin shrugged. "As interested as he is in you as a people, I do not doubt his hopes lie with them."
The grin faded just slightly, smile turning more sincere. "Oh, I don't blame him one bit, and I get where he's coming from. They're his heroes; we're the away team." Even if Tony wasn't that big on sports, sometimes a sports metaphor was the only way to go.
Odin could understand what he meant, even if he didn't follow the reference itself, and he nodded, the look on his face all at once distant. "Yes, I suppose you are."
Tony felt the rest of his smile slip off his face as the king's expression changed. He thought he knew what was behind it, but he really didn't want to assume, here. "And thank you, again. Seeing Asgard was definitely a bonus to coming with Thor."
Forcing the distance from his face, he allowed Tony another smile, though as much as he may have wanted it to, this one didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're welcome."
Tony just nodded, at something of a loss as to what had changed the mood - or what to say, now. There were things he had in mind, but he wasn't sure they were his place. And again, it would be assuming, and that always got him in trouble. He settled for reaching out to deactivate the scanner nearest him with another tap.
"You have plans to attend the feast tonight, yes?" Odin asked after a moment, both trying to get away from the thoughts of how Loki had once been a hero to his people, too, that had killed the conversation and to assure Tony he had had no part in its death.
Tony looked up, at that, posture relaxing slightly. "I do. I'm looking forward to it." And he was, even if he was with Thor in wondering about the timing. Still, it was another look at life here, and that, he was looking forward to. And as much as his life had calmed down, lately, he did still enjoy a party.
Odin offered him another smile, this one closer to genuine. "Good."
Tony returned the smile, still fiddling with the scanner, running his fingers over its edge, and there was something more thoughtful behind his expression, now. "Is..." he began, pausing after a moment and then pressing on, "Is there anything else we can do, while we're here? For Thor, or..." Whatever, or whoever. It was a question Steve might have been more likely to ask, but while Tony felt sure he had talked to Thor about the trip more than any of the others, he hadn't known exactly what to expect - and now, even knowing they had a schedule, he still felt somewhat at a loss.
And there was the fact that he had just asked the king for a rather large favor, in commissioning the Tower's walls. He could at least make the offer.
"When Thor and Loki were children, they made habit of finding places to hide from their instructors when they felt the need to be difficult," Odin started, this particular antedote relevant if the way he said it was any indication. "As they grew older, as they came closer to becoming men, these hiding places became where they escaped to when life became difficult." He glanced towards the ceiling. "One such place is above us, atop the main spire of the palace. I cannot go there, I will not, because it has become something of a sacred space for him, free from me and his mother, from duty and law, and I have always allowed him that ... "
He glanced to Tony. "He will likely spend much of his time between parts of the hearing there, rather than sensibly in the company of friends. It is my wish that he not be left alone there. Not entirely. Not for all of it."
Tony let the disc fall flat as he gave the king's story his full attention. At Odin's explanation, one side of his mouth lifted faintly, though there wasn't a lot of actual humor behind it, and it didn't stay in place for more than a few seconds. He knew that need; it was part of why he spent so much time in his workshop, after all.
When the king finished, Tony nodded. "We can make that happen."
"And you would have my deepest thanks," Odin returned.
"He's my friend," Tony returned simply. He didn't mean to make light of it, but at the same time, that was why they were here in the first place - to support Thor. It really wasn't that much to ask.
"There's a profound difference between wanting to help a friend and knowing exactly how to go about it," Odin said, taking care to keep his tone as light as possible. He wasn't trying to accuse Tony of not knowing Thor, he was simply stating a fact. "He would have tried to send you away, he likely still will, even if he knows you've found his hiding place, but Thor -- Thor has always needed the support of others. That you will be there even when he pretends to wish for solitude is a relief, and I have no doubt that he will be as grateful as I am, knowing you are a friend, knowing this is why you came to Asgard or otherwise."
On the other hand, Tony's tone was serious, the smile dropping the rest of the way off his face. It wasn't often that he was this sincere, but he could do it. "I don't deal well with people. Saying I'm hard to be friends with may win me a prize for understatement. I'm the face of one of the largest companies on Earth, and I would rather spend all day in my workshop with my robots." That wasn't strictly true, these days, but he wasn't finished yet. "This team..." he began, pausing for a moment as he looked for the words he wanted. "This team has done more to change my mind on that in two months, to be people I actually want to see regularly, just... by being another presence in my house, than most people have managed by actively trying to be my friend through my whole life. Including your son. If I can... give some of that back, to be the friend to him that he's already been to me...." He trailed off again but didn't pick up, this time. But the insinuation should have been clear enough: Being there for Thor was nothing to ask, but also something he took seriously.
For a moment, Odin said nothing, choosing instead to study him for another long moment. A warm smile followed. "And he could not ask for better companions."
It was harder for Tony to wait through this moment, if just because it was more personal, now. It was easier to promise to protect his work than it was to open up about himself. Still, though, he met the king's eyes evenly, again, smiling again himself, when Odin did. "Neither could I."
Humming, clearly pleased, the king turned away slowly, companionable silence falling between them. When he chose to break it again, he was interrupted by a knock on the door, and he looked back at Tony almost apologetically before straightening, acting more the part of king now than father of a friend. "Enter."
A woman, thin but well-built, with hair the same color as Natasha's entered and stopped just short of them. She bowed briefly, glanced to Tony, and then focused her attentions on Odin. "My lady requests your presence at your earliest convenience."
"You may tell my wife I'll be along shortly, Gna," Odin answered, and the woman bowed again, then disappeared from the room. Odin turned to the other man once she had gone. "I apologize for the interruption ... and for potentially cutting our conversation short."
Tony glanced toward the door, taking a step back when the woman entered. At the apology, he shook his head lightly. "Thank you for talking to me. And for the materials."
"You're welcome," he said, leaning down to gather the blueprints up, carefully shifting the rest of the discs Tony had left to pin it down out of the way. He turned to reach for Gungnir once they had been rolled up and tucked under one arm. "We can continue tonight, at supper, if you had anything else you would care to discuss."
And from the look on his face, he meant anything. He could think of worse ways to spend his time than getting to know his son's friends on a more personal level.
Tony reached to pick up the discs, clipping them back together and starting to turn toward his computer, though he looked back to Odin when the king went on. "I'll look forward to that as well," he returned with a smile and nod.
Flashing him a smile in return, Odin let himself out, trusting that Kjetil would get him back to his room.
Tony collapsed the computer's screen, tucking the scanners inside the case before he flipped the latches closed and picked up the case, heading back out of the room. That had been simultaneously what he had been expecting - and very different, all at once.
As Odin had hoped, Tony's gude was waiting for him outside the room. He looked up when he exited, his head inclining curiously, as if he wondered what the magician and his king had been discussing but didn't feel he had the right to ask, and then pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against, moving to join him.
Tony wasn't sure how he would explain it, anyway. He did offer Kjetil a nod when he caught sight of him, though. "I should probably go see what everyone else is up to."
"I will take you back to your chambers, then," the boy said, turning to move down the hallway.
Tony fell into step behind him, adjusting his hold on the computer. A short way down the hall, though, he broke the silence. "So what else do you do around here, other than keeping people from getting completely and hopelessly lost?"
"My brother and I were -- " He hesitated, as if he planned on correcting himself, than shook his head. " -- were the princes' personal manservants." Thor had been spending more and more time on Asgard, however, and Loki, well, needless to say, Kjetil and his brother had more or less been put out of a job and quite recently. "Now, we mostly attend to the Allfather, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, and the queen."
Tony gave an interested noise at that, even if that hadn't really been what he'd meant. "Got any good stories about Thor?" he went on after a moment, smirking slightly. It was possibly something he shouldn't be asking the servant, but he fully intended on begging Thor's other friends for embarrassing stories later, so he figured he could start now.
Kjetil glanced back at him, looking understandably a little nervous. In spite of that, though, he still said, "I may be able to think of a few ... "
Tony grinned at him, trying for reassuring. "Pick one and share."
He looked equal parts thoughtful and dubious for a moment, then slowed down to match Tony's pace, moving beside him rather than leading the way so that he could lean in conspiratorily. "When the princes were first learning to ride, my lord was in fine form the morning our master horseman was teaching them how to jump the horses. They came across a fallen tree and he thought to show off, thinking it easier than it was, but did not realize there was a drop beyond it. The horse landed safely, the prince ... not so much so. He landed in a knot of briars with my brother and I, and our horseman watching. He was ... not happy."
Tony snickered, at the story and the accompanying mental image. "Yeah, that would happen," he said, sounding serious, though he was still smiling.
"I am quite sure he had brambles in his hair for weeks after that," Kjetil finished, leaning away.
There was another snicker at that as Tony leaned away, too. He might not have the same reasons to pick at Thor as he had when they'd first met, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to remember that one, for some later use.
His guide offered him a brief, almost sheepish smile and moved back out in front of him, falling silent again until they reached the doors of the guest room. He pulled the door open and gestured him inside. "The prince will be the one to retrieve you for your meeting with the Warriors."
Tony started through the doors, offering the kid another smile and "Thanks" over his shoulder as he headed back into the common room.
Nodding, he closed the doors behind him.
In the time that Tony had been gone, Natasha had disappeared from the common room, Bruce having taken her place at the table, picking at some of the fruit. Whether or not the two were related, it was hard to tell, but regardless, the other man looked up at him as he entered, curious. "Hey."
"Hey," Tony returned, moving to set the case down against the wall before he joined Bruce at the table. "Well, I don't have to try and figure out how to keep the Tower standing without walls."
"Always a good thing," he answered, seeming to relax a little.
Tony nodded, reaching out for a piece of fruit before settling back in his chair. "You guys are getting home repair lessons, too. We're gonna do the work ourselves." It was clear, somehow, that it had been the king's order - but that it was one Tony agreed with.
"Wasn't that the plan to begin with? I mean ... " He trailed off, shrugging. There was work around the Tower that Tony could have hired people to do, without the king's blessing or Asgardian made walls, and yet, as far as he knew, no one had been brought in. He'd assumed that had meant he planned on doing the work himself or, if not with actual construction crews, with their help, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe the bulk of it would be done by the time they got home, the work overseen by Pepper.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, it was. I don't think I'd actually said that, though..." Unless he had mentioned it at some point, which was entirely possible, really.
Bruce shook his head. "Just a feeling a got. Though, uh, I'm not really the do-it-yourself type."
Unless, of course, Tony wanted things knocked down.
Tony grinned at him. "I will teach you, young grasshopper." Then, he went slightly more serious. "Unlike a lot of things in the Tower, it's a lot less complicated than it looks."
"Wax on, wax off?" He couldn't help but look dimly amused.
"Exactly." Tony paused for a moment, before going on, apparently completely seriously. "If I'm Miyagi in this scenario, does that mean I can leave things for you guys to do and go fishing all day?"
"Only if you do it the old fashioned way, with a stick, some fishing line and a hook," Bruce answered, looking equally serious. Ten bucks said he'd be bored in ten minutes.
Tony made a face. "Yeah, nevermind. Pass on that."
"Figured," Bruce replied, huffing out a sigh of a laugh.
Tony shot him another grin, at that. "So'd you all do any tv smashing in the hotel suite while I was at work?" It didn't look like he'd missed anything here while he'd been out talking to Odin, but since he hadn't seen anyone else, yet, it was harder to tell.
"Well, you know, since we're being given the rock star treatment, we figured ... " He popped one shoulder in a shrug, managing to look completely serious and a little sheepish, if only momentarily. "You didn't miss much," he continued more honestly. "Our friend stopped by to drop off something for me to wear later, but beyond that, it was pretty much quiet.
"I thought so," Tony returned, nodding sagely. "And oh, good. Did he manage to find you something that'll give me minimal material to poke fun at later?"
"For the most part, yeah." There was some fur involved, mostly for accents and largely unavoidable, he supposed, but barring that, they looked almost normal. They were also a little big on him, designed for someone closer to Thor's build than his own, but that was probably a good thing.
"Darn," Tony returned, dryly and apparently really disappointed.
Bruce arched an eyebrow, a small smile curling in the corners of his mouth. "Sorry to rain on your parade."
Tony sighed heavily, waving it off. "I'm sure I'll find something else." He paused for a moment before he spoke again, changing the subject. "So Kjetil and his brother were Thor and Loki's servants, before. I feel our tertiary objective while we're here should be to get as much material as we can for later mocking, from them, and from Thor's other friends."
Humming, Bruce's smile grew at the suggestion. "If it keeps you off my back, I'm all for it."
"I will not be deterred, just delayed," he shot back - though he went more serious a moment later. "There's also... we" - he gestured between them - "have the labs when we want to hide from the rest of the world. Odin said Thor has a place here that he tends to go, and the king wanted us to make sure Thor wasn't alone up there during the trial. I'll mention it to the others, too, and it was already sort of part of the plan anyway, but...." Since the king had brought it up and acknowledged it was a needed part, it had moved up in importance a bit, in Tony's mind.
"I figured he might." Bruce made a vague, almost nervous hand gesture -- one likely meant to indicate Thor's want to hide, during the recesses in between parts of the trial. "I take it the king told you where the, uh, proverbial lab is?"
"Not exactly. Well, he said it was on the main spire of the palace but not how to get there, and I don't know how much I'd've remembered anyway." Tony thought he could find his way to the places Kjetil had shown them the night before, but there was no guarantee. "We can ask one of the kids, though."
"You could fly up there, at least," he suggested. Not that that would do the rest of them much good, but it would at least mean that Tony could get up there quickly while the rest of them had to walk. "Assuming your armor still has the power for it, after the fight."
He didn't know what kind of power supply Tony had in the version of the armor he'd brought with him, after all.
"I could," he agreed, nodding. When Bruce went on, Tony reached up to tap on the reactor. "We should be okay." He didn't really expect this to get strenuous enough that running out of power would be an issue. Even if that was part of why he had brought his back-up.
"Right." And this was why he was a physicist, not an engineer. "Which, speaking of the fight ... Thor said he'd come and get us after your meeting, so at least one of us should go get changed."
He was talking about himself, for the most part; he expected Tony would just bring the armor with him and get into when they got there, always the show off, from what Pepper had told him and what he'd seen himself.
It also wasn't like they had done much discussing of how the suits worked, either. At that, Tony looked down at his dress shirt and blazer, nodding. "I'll take the armor with me, but this isn't the most comfortable thing to have on under it." There was an element of showing off that Tony couldn't resist, yeah, but it was also a lot more difficult to walk around in than the suits the others wore.
"Then we should both get changed," Bruce amended, glancing over his shoulder at the door to his room. After a moment and slowly, as if he was only now questioning the wisdom of his decision to participate in the first place, he got to his feet.
Tony nodded, pushing himself up out of his chair. "This is gonna be awesome," he said, sounding sure - and trying to be reassuring.
"Yeah." He paused, nodding more times than was likely necessary, and took a deep breath. He let it out again on a sigh, and once he felt steadier, moved for the door. "Yeah. I'll see you in a couple of minutes."
Tony offered him a smile, heading into his own room, picking up his computer on the way. It didn't take him long to lose the jacket and button-down and pull on a t-shirt over his flight shirt. He grabbed his ear piece, fitting it in before he picked up the briefcase and the smaller box with the other, newly redesigned comms and made his way back out to the main room.
Steve was there, now, in full uniform, the cowl pushed back off his head to lay against the back of his neck. He was sitting at the table, his shield on his lap as he checked the strap fittings. When Tony re-emerged, he looked up. "I thought I heard you out here. How was your meeting?"
"Fine. Odin has the Tower's blueprints for his builders." Tony set the briefcase down in one of the chairs. "He'll get us the walls."
"Good," Steve returned, setting his shield to lean against his chair, apparently satisfied.
Natasha joined them, quiet as ever and dressed for the fight. It was likely that she, too, had heard Bruce and Tony talking -- or, potentially more accurately, had been eavesdropping as they did. "Clint'll be out in a minute."
Steve just nodded, but Tony couldn't pass up the opportunity. "You two should've taken rooms next to each other. Would've made sneaking over a lot easier."
"The only people doing sneaking around here are you and Banner," Natasha shot back, nonchalantly.
Steve couldn't help but grin at that, despite himself. Tony looked mildly affronted. "You insult my honor, ma'am. I am a happily whipped man. I'll have you know we had a lovely tour of the place, last night, courtesy of Kjetil."
"Kjetil?" Steve repeated.
Tony just nodded. "The kids that showed us here last night are Kjetil and Aelif. They're brothers. They used to wait on Thor and Loki. I fully intend to get as many embarrassing stories as I can out of them before we leave, if you guys would like in on that." He looked down at the box in his hand, flipping the lid open and carefully lifting a small piece of molded plastic out, offering it to Steve.
It wasn't the same one Steve had used in New York. This one was newer - and better, in Tony's not so humble opinion. There was also some color in the plastic, and Steve frowned at it before recognizing his shield. "You brought the comms?" he asked, when he looked up again.
Tony shrugged, picking out another one to hold out to Natasha. Where Steve's had the shield, Natasha's had a black and red hourglass. "They were with the computer I was bringing to meet with the king."
Natasha took the earbud from him, turning it over in her hands, inspecting it. "Nice touch," she commented as she slipped it into her ear. It was hard to tell whether or not she was being sincere.
"Thanks," Tony returned anyway.
"What's a nice touch?" Clint asked, closing the door behind him as he joined them. He was in his full suit as well, quiver and bow on his back.
"Earpieces," Tony said simply, tossing him one bearing a bow and arrow.
Clint caught it easily, frowning at it for a moment before he slipped it in. "Nice."
"Too bad I don't get one," Bruce said, stepping out of his room hesitantly. He'd taken off his shirt and shoes already, not sure he'd have somewhere to put them, once they got down to the arena, and between that and the pants Kjetil had brought him, as ill fitting as they were at the moment, he felt out of place and exposed all at once, like he'd just shown up on the first day of some college class, buck naked. He looked away when Natasha glanced over at him, embarrassed, and curled further in upon himself than he usually did, not moving from the door. "I ... uh, well ... I didn't want to ruin another outfit."
"Made you one anyway," Tony returned, though he didn't take it out of the box, setting the nearly empty case on the table. He had made one for Bruce, partly for completionist's sake and partly because it could come in handy, at some point.
Clint barely spared him a glance, and that went to the fur on the pants, and Steve just nodded. "There's no reason to."
Bruce seemed to relax a little -- but only a little -- when it seemed no one was staring at him and padded across the room to join them, his footfalls frighteningly as quiet as Natasha and Clint's could be. "So ... anyone know when Thor's coming to get us? I figured it'd be soon, since he said after Tony was done with his father, but ... "
If Bruce hadn't trailed off, he wouldn't have been able to finish anyway, a heavy knock on the door following before Thor peeked his head into the room. He didn't seem all that surprised that they were already dressed and ready to go, but he still felt the need to ask, anyway. "Are you ready, friends? The Warriors Three and the Lady Sif await our arrival."
Steve stood, picking up his shield and clipping it onto his back as he looked to the others for a moment before nodding to Thor. "We're ready."
Thor returned the nod, once, sharply, and ducked out of the room. Natasha gestured towards the door for Steve to take the lead.
Steve shot another glance at the group, waiting for Tony to pick up the briefcase before he followed Thor out of the room.
