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Tony groaned half-tiredly and half in pain as he pulled himself upright as best as he could. He inwardly cursed Rogers, and perhaps, Barnes for his current situation.He sighed once more as he pressed the release button on his suit to remove the armor. It wouldn't do him any good if he got trapped in his damaged suit in the Siberia… in a HYDRA base with possible HYDRA agents lurking about.“If I wasn’t who I am, I would've died from that blow to the chest.” He muttered under his breath, and exhaled deeply. “Never mind that my Arc Reactor and the pieces of shrapnel in my heart would've caved in from an attack by a super soldier.”He let out a painful groan as he leaned against the cold wall, and glanced at his watch, trying to figure out an estimate on the backup armor that he called for before he confronted Rogers and Barnes. He still had about three minutes before FRIDAY arrive with his Mark LII – in the meantime, he was going to stay still and try to stay inconspicuous as possible.It wouldn’t do him or anyone else any good if he showed all of his cards here, especially when he knew there were hidden cameras littered in the base.He gingerly rubbed his ribs, already knowing the damages without having a doctor look at it – he would be extremely lucky if one of those broken ribs didn’t pierce his previously damaged lungs. In fact, he felt it was a miracle that he was still conscious with this injured body.Tony exhaled once more, silently watching the white smog coming from his breath due to the frigid air, and then inhaled just as deeply. He paused in his mid-action when his breath itched and coughed a few times before he paused once more when he noticed red droplets in between his hands.“Shit.”He immediately froze in mid-cough when the dim lighting in the base flickered off and a series of small explosions echoed in the air. The already freezing temperature dipped furthermore, reminding him off the frigid unforgiving climate of the Siberian winter and that he wasn’t properly dressed to combat its harsh coldness.Tony muttered another curse as he tried to stay inconspicuous as possible, and hugged his shivering body in a poor attempt to stay warm.“Looks like you need some help, Anthony.”He immediately looked towards the direction of the voice in startled, but instantly calmed down when he realized who it was. He took a few deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart, and gave a wry smile at the frowning figure before him.“…Took you long enough. Take me to your home?”The figure did not raise to his bait and instead remarked, “Let us get out of here.”He didn't get a chance to make a snarky comment when he fell into the rippling surface of the base. A wave of dizziness overcame to his senses, which he did not know if it was due to his injuries or the instant teleportation, but he was glad to be out of the cold weather and into a warm one.“Rest, Anthony. You shall be well when you wake up.”♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤Rhodey resisted the urge to throw the remote at the television screen, which was currently broadcasting the news that Tony Stark was missing, presumed dead, after being last seen in Siberia three months ago.
“– videos recovered from the bunker revealed that Anthony Edward Stark – famously known as Tony Stark – sustained grievous wounds to his sternum from the fight between two super soldiers. Experts waged that he likely to have sustained critical injuries to his sternum, most likely causing the collapse of his ribs and thereby his heart. However, we still do not have any leads as to where –”
He and the others (Vision, Pepper, Happy, and Peter) had already spent hours upon hours dissecting the videos recorded from the Iron Man suit. Thus far, none of them saw anything that would hint Tony's disappearance – he refused to believe that his best friend was dead, even when it had been months since that distress signal from Iron Man suit.The fact that Vision did not find a body upon reaching to that Siberia base gave him hope that Tony found a way to escape, somehow. He knew his best friend was resourceful like that. There was no way Tony, who escaped captivity in Afghanistan would roll over now.He didn’t know how to console the kid – heck, he couldn’t even console himself, much less the others. His best friend, whom he had known since M.I.T., whom he shared many birthdays, Thanksgivings, Christmases, and New Years with… how could someone like that be just…gone?He wanted to be positive and believe that Tony was still alive; but he could not help that his hopefulness dwindled slowly each day without a contact from his best friend.“Where are you, Tony? Give me a sign that you made it out alive.” Rhodey whispered dejectedly to the thin air, silently wishing for a response.♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤Four months.It had been four painstaking months since Rhodey (and the world, he added begrudgingly) had seen his best friend. He could not believe he had to go through this again – the first time in Afghanistan had been awful, and he had been hounding the military to not give up on the search, which he had led.This time… this time, he couldn’t even lead the search no matter how much he wished. The so-called media dubbed ‘Civil War’ amongst the Avengers fell apart catastrophically and he ended paralyzed waist down. It also didn’t help that the so-called ‘Rogue Avengers’ that media previously dubbed Rogers and his team got presidential pardons, and were en route to the Avengers Compound from what T’Challa told him via phone call.To be frank, Rhodey didn’t know what to make of Rogers and the others. On one hand, he wanted to blame them for having a hand (however direct or indirect it may have been) for his best friend’s disappearance. On the other hand, he knew blaming them would not make Tony miraculously return – divine interventions notwithstanding, of course.Speaking of divine intervention, he distinctly remembered Thor mentioned an all-seeing guy, who could see anyone anywhere. He wanted to ask the Norse God to ask the guy to locate Tony. However, he had not seen or spoke with Thor since the beginning of this Accords issue, and it wasn’t as if he could just call the technologically challenged Nose God.He doesn’t have a cellphone that could withstand space travel. It was something Tony would have invented.“Tony…” He murmured sullenly at the thought of his best friend, silently wondering how the billionaire was doing.He shook out of his thoughts when he heard the elevator’s ‘ding’, and composed himself for the upcoming meeting. His best friend would have wanted him to be amicable despite the falling out – Tony was – is – a kind person like that.“Rhodey, I’m so sorry, man.” Sam immediately apologized belatedly for the attack before anyone could say anything.He nodded at Sam’s apology, knowing that such incident was bound to happen when they fight amongst themselves. Despite how mentally prepared he was for such thing, given his career in the Air Force, it still hurt that he could no longer walk especially when he wanted to go out there to search for Tony.“It’s good to know that you finally signed the Accords.” He started, but raised a hand to stop whatever they were going to say. He doesn’t want to hear them slander his best friend, so he plowed on. “For the record for the umpteenth time, Tony didn’t have a hand in this except to amend it in our favor. That’s what he was doing while gathering evidences against Ross, who was behind your capture in RAFT. With evidences previously collected by Tony and continued by FRIDAY, Ross has been arrested and put in federal prison without parole. And if you had read the Accords, you’d know that it is the wish of people form 117 countries, not just the government.”“Speaking of Stark, has he been found yet? Do you think he’s hiding somewhere?” Clint questioned with furrowed brows and a frown.It looked like whatever grudge the archer had against his best friend dissipated. He supposed that was a good thing, even if he didn’t know the cause of it. “It’s been four months. You think he'd be still alive?” Steve added in an incredulous tone.Rhodey resisted the urge to clock the super soldier for that remark, knowing that he’d only hurt his hands in the process. He bit back a scathing remark that was on the tip of his tongue, and instead, schooled his expression to mask the anger boiling within him.“Of course he'd be still alive unless we know otherwise! That's my best friend you're talking about! I didn't lose hope when he was captured in Afghanistan, and I'm not going to lose hope now just because you slammed a vibranium shield to someone who is baseline human.” He responded with a scoff, and added, “I think by now, everyone saw that fight in the bunker. Besides, you know that Tony also has pieces of shrapnel in his chest and Arc Reactor. I – we don’t know how he managed to walk away from the scene. We still don’t know where he is! Or how he’s handling his injuries! My best friend is still out there, and it’s all your fault, Rogers!”No one dared to utter a word after his outburst, but he noticed the group exchanged several glances with one another. He had no idea what those glances meant, and frankly, he didn't have the energy to figure out its meaning. “We’ll help you look for him.” Wanda chimed in with a sorrowful smile, and explained when he gave her a disbelieving look. “Natasha explained to me some things, and made me realize that I was erring in my judgment against Mr. Stark. I’m sorry, Mr. Rhodes.”“Call me ‘Rhodey’, and it’s not me you have to apologize to, Wanda.”At least someone was trying to correct their past mistakes. ♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤ “So, you aren’t going to let the world know that you’re alive, Anthony?”Tony looked up from slurping a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and directed his attention to the one who saved him from that Siberian bunker. A wry smile appeared on his expression after he swallowed the contents in his mouth while he cautiously considered his words.“We all know that no mortal would be able to survive a blow to the chest from vibranium shield.” He replied with a frown, and placed his bowl on the table carefully. “I can’t just pop back in and say, ‘Hi guys, missed me?’”“You wish for the downfall of your former teammates then?”He pursed his lips thoughtfully at his savior’s inquiry, and shook his head in disagreement. While he may not care for the repercussion his former teammates (former, because he, technically, was no longer alive) might face in light of this incident, he does care for the damages in reputation of the name ‘Avengers’ may face as a result.“More than that, I care about my friends’ wellbeing when they learned this.” He replied in soft whisper and stared out the window. “I know it’ll be difficult for them to forgive me, but this needs to be done.”The snowy mountains and half frozen lakes despite the sunny view still reminded him that he was hours, if not miles, away from his home – the Stark Tower in New York. The serene scenery starkly differed from the turmoil he constantly saw on the television, wherein the media and rescue teams (headed by his best friend, Happy, and Pepper) were trying to find him or his body.The breaking news headlines ‘What happened in Siberia?’, ‘Iron Man Suit Found in Siberia’, and ‘Tony Stark: Still Missing After Several Months’ constantly reminded him of the live he left behind.“You could stop that, and go back. But you do not wish to return to that life.”“No, I do not.” Tony agreed quietly as he wetted his lips, and returned his gaze to a pair of green eyes looking at him. “But I might need to. It is time to implement the second part of this operation. They need to learn that they are not woefully unprepared for the upcoming threat.”The owner of green eyes merely gave him a small unreadable smile in response, and did not say anything else to contribute to the topic. There was nothing else needed to be said – they both understood the implications and the consequences in that Siberian bunker many months ago.“Then what name will you be using from henceforth?”Tony remained quiet for a few seconds, as if he was mulling over the names, and finally uttered, “Hephaestus. But I do not mind if you continue to call me ‘Anthony’ since it's a name I've gotten to hearing in my childhood.”“Thank you for helping me with this.”He brushed away the gratitude in the other party’s words and gesture to say, “Think nothing of it. We’re friends, Loki.”
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Rhodey was extremely doubtful that the Rogue Avengers had a change of heart regarding Tony, especially Wanda, who now wanted to help look for his best friend. There was no way someone who spat and seethed whenever they heard Tony's name would make a complete change. He would have to keep an eye on them and a closer eye on her.One thing he got from his years of being in the military and being Tony's friend: keep your friends close and enemies closer.From what he gathered, they seemed amicable enough whenever he was in the room, but he had a sneaking feeling it was just a front. He doesn't trust any of them. Rogers was still that condescending bastard, questioning about Tony's whereabouts and making it sound like his best friend was running away from duties.He wanted to wipe that disapproving frown from that bastard’s face, like it was Tony's fault for everything that had happened.He had read details for the presidential pardons, which, interestingly, had been posted online as a reminder to general public. He still couldn't believe that the president was still delusional to think that Rogers and the others were perfect angels, so to speak, and it was former Secretary Ross's fault.“At least they're confined to United States. We all know European nations wouldn't hesitate to shoot their idiot asses if they stepped on their lands.” Rhodey had to stop himself from gaping at Peter's words. He had a sneaking suspicion that his best friend would be giving him the lecture of the century for that language from Peter. “They're part of the reason why America is in debt even though Mr. Stark was paying for all the damages they did through Stark Relief Foundation.”He so did not teach Peter how to curse in those past four months. Nope. Not at all. So, he did what any sound adult would do in his situation. He decided to change the subject.“In other news, I believe Thor is returning today. I hope he'll tell us why we need everyone in detail because I don't want to work them, even though I can't pilot the suit anymore.”“We will have to wait and see, Colonel.” Vision remarked with a small amused smile at his panicked look.♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤☆♤Thor remained silent as Rhodes introduced him to new additions to the Avengers line-up, and looked around the living room to find a particular missing member. He found it strange that the owner of the Compound was nowhere to be found.“Where is Man of Iron? Is he arriving late?” Thor immediately questioned with a frown upon noticing the missing billionaire.His frown deepened when he saw the grim look on Rhodes and the dancing gazes on other Avengers’ faces. While he was not as observant as his brother, he had a feeling that the latter group was hiding something from him, and he does not like that one bit.“Tony’s been missing for nearly five months now, Thor.” Rhodes informed in a grim tone. “The last person to see them was Rogers and Barnes. They left him behind injured in Siberia, and that was the last we’ve heard of Tony. Apparently, Rogers knew that Barnes killed Tony’s parents and hid that information from him. And Tony didn’t find out about it until their foe showed the video of the killing with those two next to him.”Thor narrowed his eyes in displeased by the information even though he did not receive all details, daring the super soldiers to confront him, and immediately interjected when Rogers attempted to say something. “I am appalled and disgusted to call you one of my shield brethren, Son of Rogers. Anthony Stark is one of your shield brothers, and to know that you would choose one brother over another, and to protect the murderer and lie to Anthony… you are not the man I thought you were.”“Bucky is my friend, Thor.” The tone he heard from Rogers made him scowl and glared at the super soldier warningly.It disgusted him that Rogers thought he was a mere child who does not know how the world worked. While he came from a world mostly composed of warriors, he happened to be one of the heirs to Asgard’s throne, and as such, he knew politics and the workings of the world – not as much as Loki considering he skipped some lessons, but still more than enough to survive. In short, he was not an idiot like Rogers believed him to be.“By that remark, you are insinuating that Anthony is not your friend.” Thor rebutted relentlessly and bit back a triumphant smirk when Rogers sputtered out a denial. “I do not believe you, but I did not come here to rebuke you for your past actions however much I wish to do so now.”“Why do I get the feeling that whatever news you have has to do with Tony?” Rhodes interrupted with furrowed brows.Thor bit back a grin at the intuitive observation, and stated, “Loki wasn’t behind the attack of the so-called Battle of New York.”“What the hell do you mean Loki wasn't the one behind the attack?” Clint all but growled out with furrowed brows.“We found out that it was a Chitauri wearing Loki's skin during The Thing. He confessed that Loki escaped from their clutches years prior, and that he had been making a mockery of us all these years.”“Right, so where he is now?” Natasha cut in with a tone laced in disbelief.“After Loki let go from the Bifrost, we couldn't find him anywhere in the Nine Realms. We believe that he is hiding from Heimdall's sight – he had done that when we were younger.” Thor could not stop from frowning at their disbelief despite knowing that such reaction was natural. Nevertheless, he continued with his explanation because he wanted them to understand his brother. “We found out through his impostor that Loki landed on a desolate realm and was in clutches of a Mad Titan, a being whom Grandfather Bor and Father banished centuries prior. We do not know how my brother managed to escape, but he managed to escape with the Mind Stone. They were rather incensed about that.”“The Loki we fought had Mind Stone.” Clint reminded with a raised brow, silently asking him to explain that.He gave a solemn nod in understanding and continued with his explanation, “I do not know how to tell you this, but we found the Mind Stone used in the attack was mere replica. Loki created it to give Midgard a taste of what an Infinity Stone could do and a fighting chance against the Mad Titan and the Chitauri army.”“If he has that much power, couldn't he just destroy the Mad Titan?”Thor merely hummed thoughtfully at that inquiry from the Spider Kid, and nodded in agreement. “My speculation is that Loki did not have enough powers then to do that. He may be a powerful mage, but it’d take immeasurable seiðr and willpower to withstand Mad Titan’s wrath. Not only that, to steal the Mind Stone from the Titan, make a replica, and then escape from his clutches is a testament of Loki’s powers.”“You’re telling us that Loki has that much powers?” Bruce interrupted in incredulity.“My brother is the strongest mage in Norse pantheon, Banner. He is more of a God than I am, and you truly have not seen what he could do.” Thor shot a look at the stammering apology from the doctor, and promptly dismissed it as unimportant.“You said ‘Norse pantheon’. Does that mean there are other pantheons out there?” The Spider Kid questioned with thoughtful frown.He shot a proud grin towards the child at the inquiry before he began with his explanation, “There are others, but they do not care or involve themselves with mortals’ affairs. That is, except for Greek and Roman pantheons. I believe your War World II was due to a fight between the mortals influenced by the Big Three – Lord Zeus, Lord Poseidon, and Lord Hades.”He gave a bored look when Rogers exclaimed in astonished and shouted, “Many died in that war, and you’re telling me that these Gods had a hand in it?”“So, why tell us about Mr. Loki’s innocence and these pantheons, Mr. Thor?” The Spider Kid interrupted once more before Rogers could derail the discussion.Thor gave a small thankful smile towards the child, who returned it with a confused one. He had no desire to explain the mortals, especially the self-righteous one as Rogers about the inner workings of Greek and Roman pantheon when he wasn’t part of it himself. Moreover, he does not answer to Rogers and dismissed that Captain America’s Disapproved Frown with an inward scoff.“Heimdall noticed that the Mad Titan is heading towards Midgard from Beyond to obtain the Heart of Midgard or Aether – otherwise known as the Reality Stone. An Infinity Stone.”“Right, so we have an alien heading to our planet to get this stone.” Rhodes summarized with a nod. “Where is this stone? What's our plan?”“It still doesn’t explain what Loki has to do with this.” Clint interjected, sounding still irked by the thought of his brother.“My brother knows the location of Aether, but he has not revealed his whereabouts since his fall from Bifrost. However, I believe his friends from the Greek and Roman pantheons know where he is hiding.” Thor explained as he would to a child, carefully hiding his exasperation at their incredulous looks. “I believe they would also know where Friend Anthony would be. If he is still alive, Lord Hermes would be able to locate him; if not, Lord Hades would be able to tell us if he passed.”He narrowed his eyes in an annoyed manner when some of Rogers’ followers – particularly the Witch – sneered momentarily when he spoke about locating Anthony. It seemed he needed to keep a closer watch at her to discern her loyalty. After all, one simply does not sneer at the prospect of finding the missing shield brethren.“So, where can we find them?” Natasha questioned, but her tone sounded like she was amusing him.“Mount Olympus. Specifically, Empire State Building, 600th floor.” Thor replied without the usual warmth in his tone, reminding them that he, too, is a God. “I sincerely hope you lose the hubris that makes you think you are above law. While I may forgive you for your lack of respect towards me, they will not - they will not hesitate to smite you. We will need their help to defeat the Mad Titan, so I dearly hope you behave.”
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Rhodey never once thought that he'd visit Olympus, which was apparently on the 600th floor of Empire State Building. Then again, he highly doubted anyone would be able to go up to any elevator and pressed ‘600’ – apparently, one required a key from the receptionist, who he highly doubted would give it to anyone who asked.“Sounds like you've been here plenty of times.” Rogers attempted to make a small talk, to which Thor ignored in favor of twisting the key in its assigned slot to open a hidden compartment and pressed ‘600’.He let out an annoyed sigh at the classical music that started playing as soon as the elevator moved. There had to be an elevator music – why he did he hoped that there wouldn’t be one? The only consolation he had was that it was not a pop music or any other music that was highly addictive.“Great, 570 more floors to go.” Clint groaned and placed a forehead against a wall.“Take heart, my friends, we shall arrive momentarily.” Thor reassured with a grin and bobbed to the music as if this was a normal thing. “We could be listening to something worse than this.”“Was the Olympus always here? How come we didn't know about that?” Sam questioned with a small frown. “I would've thought that SHIELD would've known about this.”Rhodey had a feeling the only reason he and the others wasn't aware of its existence had to do with the fact they didn't know aliens existed until the impostor Loki came crushing to their front door. In short, they as human beings were too self-absorbed in themselves and didn't think that there would be others out there. By that logic, he supposed it would be easy for these Olympian deities to hide right under their noses. Another explanation was magic, and he doesn't want to approach that topic with a ten-meter pole. “The entrance to Olympus is here this time. It was at Chrysler's building two years before, then somewhere in your Canada's waterfall the year before that. They've also been at actual Mount Olympus because Hermes suggested it'd be funny.” Thor explained in an almost exasperated manner. “They've always moving Olympus’ entrance even if humans cannot see it.”"How come you know about it, Thor?" Natasha questioned with a raised brow. The Norse God gave an unimpressed look in response, and bluntly said, "We meet annually to discuss issues," but did not bother to elaborate on the matter. “Well, it's not we can see 600th floor from here.” Peter commented with a small frown. “Heck, I didn't think it has 600 floors just by looking at it from outside.”“Magic, my young friend.” Thor remarked with a grin. “We will be arriving soon. Word of advice, do not be fooled by their young appearances, and mind your manners.”Rhodey had a feeling Thor directed that last warning to Rogers, Wanda, and Natasha. No one dared to utter a word for the next five minutes – this was the longest elevator ride he had ever ridden – except for Peter who engaged in the science of long elevator ride with Bruce and Vision.A relieved sigh escaped from his mouth as soon as he heard that familiar ‘ding’, and promptly exited the metal contraption. He wasn’t looking forward to riding it back down, but at least he was out of it for now.“Whoa, look at that insane view.”He briefly turned his attention when he heard Clint’s voice, and turned his gaze to see beautiful Greek designs with ceiling to floor windows that showed the views of clouds outside. The room itself was empty except for them, an expensive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and beige carpet they stood on.“Come, my friends.”Rhodey looked at the views once more and shove away the thought of, ‘That’s a long way down’ out of his mind as he followed Thor to another pair of double doors with golden handles.“Prepare yourselves, my Midgardian friends, for the Council of Olympus awaits us inside.” That was the only warning they got before Thor knocked on the double doors and waited.“I never thought it’d be easy to meet Olympians like this.” Peter commented with a thoughtful look. “Do we just knock on their door and wait for them to address us? This is like, going to the principal’s office – not that I’ve been sent to one. I’m just saying.”Thor gave a confused chuckle and said, “I have no idea what this office of principal means, but I’ve sent word ahead of times for this meeting through Hermes. You do not want to know what will happen should we come unannounced.”Those were the only warnings Rhodey received before the double doors opened by itself, revealing a vast meeting room with the same ceiling to floor windows that revealed the clouds outside. Sitting around a large oval table were the most beautiful beings Rhodey had ever saw in his life, and they were unlike the Olympians he had read in his literature books.It didn’t take him long to figure out who Zeus was – the lightning bolt next to a blonde-haired man was the biggest indicator. The long light-blue haired man with a trident was easily Poseidon, and he could easily speculate that the long-haired black man sitting on the other side of Zeus was Hades. Suffice to say, he had no idea who the rest were.“Mr. Rhodey, do you think they’ll mind if I took a selfie here?” Peter questioned in a whisper, but since no one dared to utter a word, everyone had heard the question. "They're the most beautiful people - um, Gods and Goddesses - I've met in my entire life, and I feel the need to capture the moment."Rhodey resisted the urge to facepalm to hide his embarrassment, and some Olympians, especially the young-looking ones, looked thoroughly amused by the inquiry. Well, at least the kid knew how to cut the tension.One of the young-looking Olympians asked, “Are you going to put it on your Instagram?” in an amused tone while walking towards them.Judging by the small pair of wings on his helmet, Rhodey speculated that this being was Hermes. He never would have thought that the messenger God to be this young – perhaps, eleven or twelve years old.“You know Instagram?” Peter all but squeaked in surprised.“I’m one of the cooler Gods here. Of course, I know Instagram; I have one myself.” Hermes looked mockingly indignant by the question as if that was offensive. “Here, give me your phone,” and that was the only warning Peter received before the God grabbed the device to snap several pictures and keyed in something. “Awesome, now you’re one of my minions – I mean, followers.”“Hermes, this is neither the time nor the place for this.” Hermes merely waved away the comment with an exaggerated eye roll, but conceded by returning to the table.“Why have you asked for an audience with us, Norse God of Thunder?” Zeus interjected solemnly in a no-nonsense tone before more interruptions could arise.Rhodey shot a look towards Rogers when the super soldier did not take kindly to Zeus’s tone. Then again, he was positive that the Greek God had a reason to take on that tone with them when they were mere mortals (except for Thor) and the deities had more pressing matters to address than to cater to their whims.“My gatekeeper has warned me of a Mad Titan approaching from Beyond to seek the Heart of Midgard hidden here.” Thor replied, cutting straight to the issue without any preamble that the Thunder God usually does. “We have also found that Loki, my younger brother, was not the one that led the attack here, but it was an impostor wearing his skin. I seek your council and help in search for him, Lord Zeus, for he knows the location of Heart of Midgard.”“We already knew the truth behind the attack, Prince Thor.” The young man with honey-blonde hair and azure blue eyes commented with a smirk. “Even without utilizing one of my powers to garner the truth, Prince Loki came to warn us about the attack a few years prior to the arrival of Chitauri army. It is due to his warning that Hephaestus managed to advance mortal weaponries and technologies to ensure mortals’ survival.”“Because of Prince Loki’s warning and Hephaestus’s help, we were able to contain the damage to one location when Chitauri invaded last time.” The young woman with platinum blonde hair added. “You must be really naïve if you truly believe only a city block would be damaged in an invasion by a foreign invader.”“Does this mean you know where Loki is?” Thor questioned in a hopeful tone while ignoring the new revelations. “We need his help to locate the Heart of Midgard, and protect it from the Mad Titan.”Rhodey watched uneasily when the Greek Gods and Goddesses looked at one another, perhaps in a silent conversation to debate whether they should impart their knowledge about Loki’s whereabouts. He wouldn’t put it pass them to know about this information – after all, they seemed to know what was going in their so-to-speak backyard.“Our world could be in danger, and millions could die because you chose to keep it a secret.” A certain Mr. Self-Righteous just had to blurt it out.A Greek God with messy brunette hair and amber eyes scoffed in response, “Boy, do you think we care about your insignificant life? Your ego knows no bounds if you think you are powerful from saving the world from an invasion once, with our Hephaestus’s help, mind you.”He furrowed his brows thoughtfully, silently questioning about that statement. As far as Rhodey knew, he never met a Greek God named Hephaestus who helped them with the invasion - then again, the aforementioned God could have been in disguise and he wouldn't know about it at all. “Ares, mind your tongue and don’t smite them for their insolence just yet. We still have a purpose for these mortals.” A black-haired Goddess with gray eyes chided softly in a warning tone. “And some of them are still favored by Hephy.”He doesn’t know if he should feel thankful or be weary that these deities were this close to smite them because of what Rogers said. He exchanged a look with Peter, who looked just as fearful as his thundering heart was feeling, and Vision, who looked confused by the current situation.“Speaking of my son, where is he?” Asked the chestnut-brown haired Goddess with forest green eyes sitting adjacent to Zeus.From what he remembered from his literature, there was only one Goddess who withholds an equal power as the King of Olympus – Hera. It seemed literature was untrue because the Olympus Council he witnessed before him was not dysfunctional or anything of sort – if anything, they seemed like one big happy family. He was unsure how much of this was a façade, or if literatures he read had been untrue. He valued his life too much to question Zeus, 'I've read that you had many lovers. How much of those were true?'.Yeah, the God would happily smite him for that insolence. “Hermes, did you forget to tell my husband about the meeting?” The young woman with wavy blonde hair and striking blue eyes asked in an exasperated tone.“No, I told him to be on time –”Whatever Hermes was going to say thereafter got cut off when the double doors opened, and Rhodey heard a familiar voice saying, “Apologies for my tardiness, my Ladies and Lords. It took me a while to get my bearings after going through Mirror Travel, courtesy of a certain Norse Trickster.”“That’s because you refused my medicine, Hephy.” Apollo interjected playfully with a smirk.“Only because you tend to add questionable ingredients in it.” Ares complained with an eye roll, to which the other God did not bother to deny that statement and merely gave a cheeky grin in response.Rhodey turned to look at the newcomer, and openly gaped when he noticed that it was his best friend, whom he had been searching for the past few months. Tony, to his astonishment, looked perfectly healthy and younger, if that was possible. It was as if in all those months he was worrying about his best friend, the said best friend was off vacationing elsewhere. Moreover, the casualness in the way Tony walked made him ponder if the billionaire had walked through these doors plenty of times before.“Mr. Stark?” Peter all but gaped at the newcomer with an unhinged jaw and widened eyes.“Stark? What are you – how did you – where were you –? We were looking –” Sam blabbered incoherently, trying to voice out the inquiries he and the others were thinking.“You could’ve told us you were fine, Stark.” Clint sighed in exasperation with a head shake. “Everyone was looking for you.”“As the mortals say, practice makes perfect. At least this time, you didn’t vomit your lunch, so it’s a progress.” Another voice chimed in an amused voice from the doorway, and completely ignored their conversation.“Loki…” He briefly heard Thor murmured in similar state of surprise.Rhodey looked over at the mentioned person and blinked in surprise to see Loki with semi-short hair. He was used to associating Loki with long black hair that was slicked back and slightly greasy – the looked he had seen during the invasion.Judging by the surprised exclaims from others, he speculated that they were just as, if not more surprised, as he was. He wasn’t sure if the shock was due to Loki’s appearance or by the casual attire that consisted of black slacks and dark green button-up shirt.“Then you should be used to my way of travel too, based on your words.” Tony quipped back with a teasing grin.It startled him how friendly and nonchalant his best friend sounded to the Trickster God. Since when did Tony become friends with Loki?“Did you forget that I am a Jötun with ice affinity, Anthony? Fire and I don't mix.” Loki gave a fond eyeroll in response, and gave a nod of acknowledgement upon passing by him. “Now, we can discuss this at a great length later. We have work to do.”“Party pooper.” Tony grumbled with a teasing smirk before he strolled towards to the oval table. “Hi, family. I hope they didn’t give you the urge or a reason to smite them. I know they can be willful and stubborn.”“Stark, what are you –” Rogers began, but whatever words the super soldier was about to say died down at Ares’ warning glare.“Oh, trust me. That mortal’s self-righteousness was suffocating since the beginning, and the thoughts circulating in that mortal girl with powers extracted from the Mind Stone is disgusting. I can hear her thoughts from all the way here.” Athena interjected with thinly veiled disgust. “It’s only because we still have use for them that we didn’t smite them.”Surprisingly, her words didn’t offend Rhodey at all. It was probably because she was speaking about Rogers and Wanda – he knew without turning around (judging by the oppressive aura) that both of them were thoroughly incensed by the Goddess’s words. “Hephaestus. Welcome back.” Zeus greeted with a nod.“Father.” Tony gave a deep bow in response.He let out a surprised exclaim when a funnel of fire engulfed his best friend's entire person. Rhodey could feel the warmth of fire akin to blazing heat in a desert from where he sat in his wheelchair. When the fire died down, there stood a taller being with semi-long black hair and cold amber eyes. He had an inkling this was Hephaestus, and he had no idea why the God took on his best friend’s form or vice versa.He needed to exchange some words with his best friend after this meeting. Apparently, Tony is a Greek God or was it a Greek God was Tony? Regardless, his best friend had hid an important secret from him.“Mr. Stark?” Peter choked out in surprise and blinked a few times, trying to comprehend how that was possible.“Prince Thor, you have our gratitude for your warning against the oncoming threat; however, we have already began with our plans to combat it. Hephaestus, I gathered this is the team of enhanced that you prepared in the last few years to face against the supernatural threats.” Zeus’s comment had him gulped nervously when he saw the God’s judging gaze passed by him, and the others. The bored expression made him realize that the God look thoroughly unimpressed with them, “I must say they failed to impress me. Most of them do not care for accountability nor responsibility of their actions.”“I seemed to recall that they left your mortal form for dead in Siberia.” Poseidon spoke callously with a pointed raised brow. “If you truly were a mortal, you would’ve died from the injuries and the cold.”“Not to mention, the blatant disrespect and utilizing your resources without a word gratitude is also inexcusable.” Hades added with cold judging eyes.“I think it’s time we cut the wire, Hephaestus. You have suffered more than enough at the hands of these mortals.” Hera chimed in with an unfriendly smile. “Although I will agree that there are a handful worth saving from our judgment.”Rhodey swallowed his nerves as he shared nervous looks with Peter, silently praying to every deity he knew – that currently included the Greek Gods before him – that he and Peter were not included. He had an inkling that these deities heard his prayer, if those amused smirks and mirthful eyes from Hermes and Ares were any indication. However, he doesn’t want to correct them because he does not want them to smite him, and he certainly does not want to know how that would feel.“You can’t do that, Tony! Avengers are still needed – we are still need – to fight against this oncoming threat!”“Stark, stop thinking with your ego.” Natasha admonished with an eyeroll. “This oncoming threat is bigger than you.”“You don’t have the rights to change the members of Avengers, Stark. Only Steve does, because he’s the captain.” Wanda added angrily with red mists gathering in her hands as if daring his best friend to disagree.“I can’t believe you’ve dealt with these babies, Hephy. Their actions and egos are truly appalling.” The Goddess with wavy blonde hair and striking blue eyes murmured and clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “My King, My Queen, can I smite them for their slights against my husband?”His best friend, whom he never would have thought to be a Greek God, simply chuckled in response as if the thought amused him, and did not bother any words to counter against that remark.Well, undoubtedly, these deities would smite one of them (or a couple of them). He could only speculate that neither he nor Peter would be one of them. Hopefully.“Aphrodite, you can toy with the mortals later.” Zeus answered coolly and gave an amused smirk against Rogers's disapproving look. “Now then, Prince Loki, Hephaestus, I presumed you two already have a contingency of sorts to counter against this threat that you want to share with us?”“Presuming that's what you two have been doing instead of planning a prank war with Hermes.” Athena added with a pointed look that could make any lesser beings cry.“Which I’m still winning, by the way.” Hermes quipped with a cheeky grin despite the scolding glare from the Goddess of Wisdom.Loki hid a chuckle behind a cough, and schooled the mirthful expression into a serious one before beginning with an explanation, “I currently have Jörmungandr protecting the Reality Stone, and Fenrir protecting the Space Stone in Asgard. For safety purposes, I will not divulge the location of Reality Stone if you do not already know it.”“The tesseract is safe, brother. It is in Father’s weapons vault.” Thor protested with a frown, and seemed to disagree with Loki’s idea.“Is it really safe?” The younger prince rebutted with an arched brow. “I am not the only one who can travel through Yggdrasil, Thor. We must take every caution necessary in times of wars – we cannot be careless with our actions. We cannot know with positivity that they are truly safe when we have learned of their shift shaping ability. What is to say they cannot transform into one of you, or one of the guards?”“What is your plan then, brother?” Thor asked with furrowed brows. “How can we tell them apart when I had difficulties with you?”Instead of explaining that part, Loki merely looked over to Tony and said, “If you would like to explain, Anthony.”His best friend gave a small frown at Loki for delegating the task, but flicked a look over to him and the rest of their ragtag group in silent judgment. “Firstly, they cannot change their eyes to completely match the person they copy. Hence, it will always remain in dull blue. Secondly, they cannot copy the full extent of powers. If you remember the impostor Loki from the invasion, he didn't use his seiðr at all, and his battle tactics were chaotic. Which brings me to the third point, the impostors do not have auras that we do.”Rhodey had no idea what the last point meant – auras? How could they know what a person’s aura felt like, and how could one differentiate it from one another? Regardless of his confusion, the Greek Gods seemed to understand what Tony meant if those approving nods were any indication.Zeus nodded in agreement about the assessment, and said, “Athena, Ares, I want you to form a plan to counter against these. As for the rest, prepare your armies for the upcoming battle.”“If you need weapon upgrades, come see me at my workshop.” His best friend remarked solemnly without missing a beat.“What about us, we can help too.” Steve interjected into the conversation and gave a disapproving look towards the glares.“You've helped enough, mortal.” Zeus spat out in disgust with a sneer. “Do not presume that I haven't forgotten that you left my son to die. And you, Witch, that you tainted his mind. I will not forgive you even if you grovel before me.”“Tony, I can't believe you told them lies about us.” Steve reproached disapprovingly with a head shake, and that infamous ‘Captain-America-is-disappointed-in-you’ look.Rhodey promptly ignored Wanda screeching indignantly and inched away from the other Rogue Avengers. He looked over to Peter, who gave a small shrug as if to indicate ‘What can you do' like it was an explanation for their unruly behaviors. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Loki had placed a hand on Thor as a gesture to stop the older Norse God from disagreeing with the current situation.“They're delusional, and I don’t even have to do anything.” An effeminate long-haired God stated bluntly with an eyeroll.Judging by a glass of what he presumed to be wine, he guessed this was Dionysus. He would have thought the Wine God to be older looking, but seemed to be only a couple of years older than Peter. “Aphrodite, dear, see to it that they are properly punished for their misdeeds against Hephaestus. We all know that he's too kind for such things.” Hera decreed with a cold look in her eyes. “I will not have anyone disrespecting my son.”“Of course, my Queen.” Rhodey inwardly sighed in relief that the Goddess wasn’t directing that icy look towards his direction – in fact, he was almost glad that she was focusing her attention at Rogers, Natasha, and Wanda. Well, if he remembered his literatures correctly, Aphrodite is the wife of Hephaestus.Hell hath no fury like a vengeful wife, or something like that.“Somebody has some explaining to do. What happened to my wedding invite, Tony?” He muttered under his breath and gave a pointed look towards his best friend, who was currently conversing with Apollo and Ares.
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Rhodey heaved a sigh of relief when Zeus declared the meeting to be over, and most of the Olympian Council didn't give any warning before teleporting out of the room like their presences disgusted them. Then again, he wouldn't want to be in the same room as Rogers and the others if he could help it.The only ones left were his best friend, who was in a deep conversation with Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares. While he might not know the content of their talk (which seemed to have ended on a good note), there were a lot of hugs from the Goddess and teasing grins from the two Gods.“I can't believe Mr. Stark is married.” Peter commented in shock, sounding as if that news was a tough pill to swallow.“You can't believe that? I can't believe he didn't tell me that he was married.” Rhodey rebutted with a mock huff. “And I'm his best friend. I mean, considering he is a Greek God – goodness, I can't believe I'm say that. Can you believe I’m saying that? - I'll forgive him for not inviting me to this wedding.”“Only because you realized that you weren’t born yet when he got married.” Peter interjected cheekily with a snicker. “Were you disappointed that you couldn’t be the best man?”He shot a mock glare towards the Spider Kid, and continued as if there weren’t any interruptions, “It would've been nice to be told ahead of time.”“Still…” Peter trailed off with a thoughtful look while staring at Tony, who was heading to their direction. “I never would have thought Mr. Stark would be a Greek God. But it kind of makes sense, if you get what I mean?”Rhodey hummed in agreement with that assessment. If he considered the contributions Tony made to the society in terms of all these technological advances and weaponries when Stark Industries still had weapon manufacturing departments. It explained so much about all the inventions: the first Iron Man suit made from a pile of scraps in a cave, a miniature Arc Reactor in the same cave, the creation of new element, DUM-E, U, BUTTERFINGER, JARVIS, FRIDAY, the Spider Kid’s suit with KAREN, and his War Machine suit.“So, what do you think will happen to Rogers and his crew?” He decided to change the topic instead since he didn’t want to think about the mindboggling technologies Tony had created in all the years he knew the billionaire.“Generously speaking, they will be asked to leave the Olympus.” Vision spoke, scaring the soul out of him. He had forgotten that the android was standing next to them. “There is also high probability that these Greek Gods will curse them for speaking back to them and against Mr. Stark. I find it lucky that Lord Zeus did not throw his lightning bolt at Mr. Rogers or at us.”“We'll be so well done like fried chicken, it won't even be funny.” Rhodey commented with a nervous laugh and sighed dejectedly when no one laughed at his joke.Even though it was clear that Rogers was not paying attention to his conversation, the man still had the galls to say, “Rhodey, I don't think you should be joking about this,” in that I-am-disappointed-in-you tone with a head shake.“Clearly, Stark is the one who controls the rest of these Olympians.” Natasha commented with a smirk, sounding like she had figured out a hidden secret that no one knew. “We just need to make him see reason.”“I will make him listen if I must.” Wanda chimed in almost too eagerly with red mists circulating around her fingers.“I wouldn't be too sure about that, dear.”Rhodey nearly jumped in startled at the voice, and turned to see his best friend, who still looked like Hephaestus (black hair and amber eyes), standing next to Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares. The laid-back unassuming posture almost made him believe that Rogue Avengers’ comments didn't bother Hephaestus (not Tony because of the clear differences in attitude, posture, and charisma) until he noticed the unforgiving eyes carefully hidden behind faux friendly ones.“Miss Aphrodite! Mr. Stark! And the two sirs I haven’t met before!” Peter all but squeaked in surprised.“Hephy, can I keep this kid?” Ares questioned with an amused smirk that was clearly directed at the uncomfortably squirming Peter at the sudden attention. “I’m keeping this kid. You can’t tell me otherwise.”“Hey, that’s my kid. You can’t take my kid. Find your own kid.” Hephaestus responded in a very Tony Stark manner. “Underoos is mine, okay? We talk science together. Do you talk science, Ares?”“I don’t need to talk science, Hephy. I can teach him how to fight.” The God of War responded with a pointed look. “He’s clearly the Spider Kid that you mentioned, and I can clearly see that his fighting style is embarrassingly appalling. Goodness, what have you been teaching him? He needs a good role model in his life, and that’s clearly me.”Peter squeaked incoherently once more, looking totally unsure what to make or say of the new development, and simply stared in aghast that the Gods knew about that little secret.“Kid, I can’t believe you have two Gods fighting for you. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised since you’re likeable.” Clint commented in a very amused voice, looking thoroughly entertained by the scene before them.“I thought you didn’t like Tony. You are on Rogers’s side, aren’t you?” Rhodey stated with a disbelief stare at the archer, trying to gauge the former SHIELD agent.“Was.” Clint corrected with a deep exhale, sounding exhausted by everything. “Laura talked – well, more like beat, but we won’t go into details – some sense into me as soon as I got home. She and the kids wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Stark intervening, so I owe my life to him. Well, I’m still in the doghouse until Laura declared otherwise, and she doesn’t want to speak to me until I changed my ways. But at least I can still talk to my kids, so I’m fine with this punishment.”He gave an unconvinced stare in response before asking dubiously, “And you don’t blame Tony for that?”“What? Of course not. Laura’s her own person, and she can make her own decisions. Why would Stark…?” Clint trailed incredulously as if the very idea was scandalous.“It’s very strange how quickly you changed tunes.” Rhodey commented suspiciously with distrustful eyes. “You and I are going to have a long chat once we get out of here.”He was glad that Clint simply nodded in accord with a thoughtful frown, and didn’t dispute with his words. Nevertheless, he found it to be a bizarre behavior for someone who was once very against Tony in the aftermath of Ultron and the beginning of the ‘Civil War’. The current behavior was a complete change from the angry and snappish Clint Barton he knew during the whole ‘Civil War’ affair. He had a feeling something else was in the works, and he needed to investigate on this matter as soon as they finished here. “Tony, we need to talk.”Rhodey snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Steve interjecting into the lighthearted chat between the two Gods. Almost immediately, other conversations in the room grinded into a halt upon hearing those five words, and the atmosphere instantly chilled to the point that he wanted to leave, if he didn't know how rude such action would be. Furthermore, it baffled him that Thor was looking at Rogers with furrowed brows (like the Thunder God was thinking about a matter deeply) whereas Loki looked thoroughly amused (like the Trickster God knew what was about to occur).“I don't know why you bothered with this mortal, bro. I would’ve smitten him at the first instance of his impudence. He’s clearly a D– who thinks he’s A+, if we were to go with American grading system.” Ares remarked with a hand over Tony's shoulders, sounding as if this was a conversation about the weather. “I don’t understand how you can tolerate this. I know the mortal you influenced - what's his name, again?”“Howard Anthony Walter Stark.”“Right, Howard.” The God of War continued without missing a beat, and smirked at the furrowed brows on Rogers's face. “I know you liked his intelligent mind, and that the whole Captain America spiel was one of his legacies is something you need to continue in his stead. We all know that your mortal father wasn't a father material, but would he stand for this if he found out the way this douchebag and his minions are treating you?”“We can ask Uncle H to bring Howard's soul to have a chat. Make it a Sunday thing.” Apollo remarked with a sharp grin, and gave a deep sigh as if bothered by a thought. “But Hephy is too kind, Ares, and we know he’ll forgive them for their transgressions and blatant disrespect if we give him a chance. That’s why, we, as his big brothers, need to exterminate insolent bugs in his stead so he doesn't need to dirty his hands.”“Bugs? How dare you call us bugs!” Wanda all but screeched angrily and fired her powers towards the Greek Gods.Aphrodite gave an unimpressed glance in response, and pulled out a beautiful hand fan seemingly out of nowhere to block the assault. With an audible snap, she closed the fan and directed its tip towards Wanda, who looked astonished that the fan absorbed the attack.“Seems you don’t understand that your powers come with great responsibility.” The Goddess commented airily as a burst of sunset orange energy shot out of the fan.Rhodey blinked a couple of times in puzzle, wondering what the Goddess had done to Wanda when the light died down. However, he soon got his answers when he didn’t see any red mists despite the apparent concentration on Wanda’s expression. He had no idea how the Goddess had done it, not that he wanted to know the particulars, but she sealed off Scarlet Witch’s powers.“For the next 336 hours, your powers will be sealed.” Aphrodite decreed with a smirk that dared the angry Wanda to argue with her.“Miss, you can’t do that. Wanda is just a kid.” Steve reprimanded in that self-righteous tone.“What the hell, you know you don’t argue with an angry woman if you value your life. It’s one of those unwritten rules of survival.” Clint murmured with a disapproved tongue click. “You certainly don’t argue with an angry Goddess if you don’t want to be wiped out of existence.”“I wouldn’t be surprised if she zapped him out of his existence.” Sam agreed with a sagely nod. “It’s been nice knowing you, Steve.”Rhodey gulped nervously, even though he knew he wasn’t on the other end of the Goddess’s wrath, when he noticed a sharp smile on Aphrodite’s face, mildly curious of what she was planning and if he or the others needed to clean up after Rogers’s mess.“You want to treat her as a kid? I’ll give you the reason to do so.”That was the only warning everyone received before another burst of sunset orange light burst out of the fan and engulfed Rogers. When the light died down, Rhodey stared with his jaws unhinged - Holy everything, the Goddess had just reserved time (or something) because he was clearly staring at the clearly pre-serum Steve Rogers, whose figure could be knocked over by the wind, and where Wanda once stood was a five-year-old girl.“As of this moment, you are clearly not Captain America anymore.” Aphrodite announced relentlessly with an unfriendly gaze towards Rogers. “For the next 1460 hours, you are on your own. You’ve lived a privileged life under my husband’s money. It’s high time you learned what it is like to live on the other spectrum, so better find a place and a job. You now have a child to take care of. And if I find that the rest of you tried to help him, I will curse you as well.”“Tony, we need both Steve and Wanda if we’re going to fight against another alien invasion.” Natasha frowned at the new turns of events. “You should’ve controlled your wife. Now, turn them back.”“No one controls Love.” Apollo rebutted before his best friend could utter a word.“Love is for children.” The Black Widow refuted with steely eyes and pointed a pistol at the deities.“What a wrong thing to say to the Goddess of Love.” Sam sounded thoroughly amused by Natasha’s response and her apparent lack of survival instincts.Moreover, Rhodey found it rather ridiculous that Natasha seemed to think that such mortal weapon would work on a Goddess who just reserved time (or something – most definitely something) on Rogers and Wanda. He was unsure if the spy was trying to threaten Aphrodite (not that it would work), or if she was trying to protect herself (not that this meager would safe her from the Goddess's wrath either). “Oh, honey. I’ve had men go to wars because of love.” Aphrodite chided in a mocking tone, as if talking to a child and sounding as if the whole notion amused her. “Clearly, you need to be taught a lesson as well.”Clint heaved an exasperated sigh and blurted out, “Nat, you’re an idiot. It’s been good knowing you.” with a disappointed head shake.“You think you’re superior than others? Superior than Hephy?” Apollo asked rhetorically with a raised brow. “Let me give a reality check. You will nothing if we took away the powers you gained from the Black Widow program. You’ll be nothing but a helpless sheep.”“Sweetheart, don’t be too hard on her.” Hephaestus murmured with a pat on Aphrodite’s arm. “Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Parker, Mr. Vision, can I talk to you for two minutes?”Rhodey blinked in surprised at the formal speech directed at him and Peter, sharing a confused glance with one another before the two followed the Greek God to another room.“Stark, don't you dare walk away from this! You need to take responsible for this mess!”That was the only warning he heard before the sounds of gunshots filled the room. In the quick second that he blinked, he noticed Hephaestus held out a hand in amid grabbing something in the air – possibly the bullets – and there were black goo puddles around Natasha, who was seething angrily by the turn of events."That was rather foolish you, Miss Romanov. My love, I believe you have a handle on this situation?" Hephaestus remarked with the fist bursting in flame, and directed the latter half of his statement to Aphrodite, who simply smirked in reply. He then looked as if Natasha did not deserve the attention and said, “Let us go, gentlemen.”He wordlessly followed, but glanced back just in time to see Aphrodite blasting another burst of sunset orange energy at Natasha, most likely to seal off the serum the spy received from Black Widow Program.
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“So, you're a Greek God.” Rhodey began bluntly upon arriving to a new room.He does not know the purpose of this room, but it features stunning Greek architecture that made the room feel airier than it was possible. Additionally, the ceiling to floor windows encompassing the room made him feel like he was standing above the clouds. Not to mention, he had a feeling that the furniture and the exquisite artworks in the room was more expensive than his entire savings and military pension accounts combined.“Basically.” His best friend replied with a nod.“And married.” He continued in the same tone with an unimpressed look.“It was an arranged marriage, but we worked it out after many years.”“Were you going to tell me at any point?” He asked with a frown and arms crossed to illustrate his displeasure. “Even if you weren’t going to tell us that, you could've at least told us that you were fine. Do you know how worried we were?”Hephaestus sighed and ran a hand through that semi long black hair, as if silently considering what to say. “Firstly, I sincerely apologize for worrying you with my absence. I had no intention to do that to you. Secondly, I had no desire to reveal my true identity unless I truly needed to, or Father decreed it. Today's meeting was just that. However, my revelation tonight brought us to the third point.”“Aside from the fact that you’re not speaking like the Tony I'm used to, I have a feeling I won't like whatever you are going to say.” Rhodey interjected with a frown while he tried to process everything.“I've done the calculations. We have zero chance of winning against this threat if I remained as Tony Stark.” Hephaestus continued very bluntly, and seemingly dismissed their surprised looks. “Oh, don't be so surprised, honey bear. The Tony Stark you grew up with, and the current me are the one and the same. I simply favored this appearance more than my Tony Stark one, because really, who would want to look in their 50s when one could look like this?”“See, this is what I can't get used to.” He interrupted yet again with a hand gesture, and gave a mock exasperated sigh at the baffled look. “One minute you're all formal and speaking like you're someone else. Then the next, you're talking like the Tony I'm used to. And another thing, I can't get used to the fact that you look so damn young. How is that fair?”“You seemed to be Mr. Parker's age.” Vision chimed in. “However, literatures had portrayed you as a burly disfigured older man.”Hephaestus simply gave a raised brow and said, “Literatures are wrong, obviously. How dare they made me a burly disfigured old man? I’m going to sue them!” with an incredulous stare like the world had wronged him.“Right, we'll get to what's wrong with literature, and your apparent youthful look later. I want your fountain of youth, dammit.” Rhodey rubbed his temple in an attempt to ease the oncoming headache ad to calm down. “Now, what did you want to talk to us about?”He flinched in surprise at the solemn look from Hephaestus, and felt irked by the small smirk from his reaction.“For one, there will obviously be changes to Avengers lineup considering what happened to Mr. Rogers, Miss Maximoff, and Miss Romanov. I'm not sure if Aphrodite will return their powers back to them upon reaching the maturity of that date considering their insolence among other things. She can be rather vengeful when she's crossed.”“By the way, how did you catch those bullets with your bare hands, Mr. Stark? Can I still call you, Mr. Stark?” Peter barged in to the conversation with confused furrowed brows.“How many times must I tell you to call me Tony, kid?” Hephaestus replied with the right amount of exasperation of Tony Stark persona. “And one of the Olympians, remember? To put it very simply, weapons are my forte. I can easily control the ones I made - that also includes destroying them, as you saw from that puddle of goo around Miss Romanov earlier. I'm also the one who made other Olympians their symbol of powers. Which means, I could've thrown that lightning bolt at those ignorant fools at any time.”Rhodey gave an indescribable stare in reply, not knowing what to say to that statement. Clearly, someone had a lot of powers hidden, and could have easily smote those three without lifting a finger.“Look.” The God continued with an insufferable sigh, sounding tired by the whole explanation. “I know you're not used to seeing me or behaving like this. Heck, I haven't been in this form since the whole time I've been Tony Stark. But we can make this work – we have to, if you want to survive against Chitauri threat. The Greek, Roman, and Norse pantheons will help, but ultimately, it will be you protecting your own planet.”“I get it, it'll take time to get used to one another again. Heck, it’ll take time for me to get used to seeing you this young.” Rhodey nodded in agreement, ignoring the latter half to mull over at another time. “That reminds me - what are you going to tell Pepper?”“The truth, what else?” Hephaestus replied bluntly before directing a serious gaze onto Vision. “As for you, Mr. Vision, I highly recommend you start processing the databases JARVIS left. I can respect that you want to differentiate yourself from JARVIS, but your naiveté is rather appalling. Tony Stark may be fine with that during the so-called Civil War, but I will not tolerate it for the upcoming battles.”“Isn't that harsh, Tones?”“Mr. Rhodes, there is no mercy for such childishness in war. If he cannot step up to the plate, he's not worthy to be an Avenger. So, what will it be, Mr. Vision? Will you still contemplate about your emotions regarding Miss Maximoff because you two happened to share similar powers? Or will you finally lose those rose-tinted glasses and realize the reality?” His best friend replied coldheartedly with a tone reminding him that he was in the presence of a God. “Isn’t it better to utilize whatever data you have with you to seek a better outcome? If that naiveté cost someone their lives, can you handle that on your conscious?”“I understand. I will do my best to ratify that.” Vision answered solemnly.“Good.” Hephaestus replied with a nod, and raised a quizzical brow at his stunned expression.He had never expected his best friend to be this callous, especially when other Greek deities always said Hephaestus was kind and literatures also reported that. It made him ponder where Tony's personality began and where Hephaestus's personality end, and how much of the two's personality intertwined. “Which reminds me, I don't like seeing you in a wheelchair, platypus. I'm going to go ask Apollo to heal you - God of Medicine and all that.”“Yeah, you go do that. I’m going to be here and think about my life.” Rhodey grumbled tiredly and leaned back against his wheelchair.Goodness, he needed a strong drink after this whole ordeal.
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Rhodey couldn't believe the events transpired in his life in the last 24 hours. It felt so surreal, and he would've easily labeled it as a vivid imagination if he had not witnessed it with his own eyes.He never thought he'd meet actual Greek Gods when he thought they were myths. Not that he would’ve said that in their faces – he valued his life, thank you very much. Nevertheless, he never would have guessed that Tony was one of them – to think that he knew one of them for most of his life was crazy.Secondly, it was miraculous that he was walking again. Apollo came by after that talk with Tony, and placed a hand on his forehead. After two seconds and a bright flash of light that nearly blinded him, his injuries had been healed and he felt like he was in his twenties again, in terms of physical endurance. It was too bad that this healing didn't revert his physical appearance – too bad he didn't get a drop of elixir from that elusive fountain of youth.How was he supposed to keep up with Gods and super soldiers appearance-wise who looked to be in their late twenties, early thirties?Leaving that topic aside, interestingly, no one dared to speak about what happened to Rogers, Maximoff, and Romanov, or anything related to them since the incident last week. It became an unspoken rule in the Compound, not that anyone made it a rule per se – he speculated this was because no one was loyal enough to those three to care. Or perhaps, they were mildly curious but did not want to risk the wrath of the Greek Gods to inquire. No one had nine lives or even an extra life to spare for such curiosity.This brought him to the fourth point – Loki…and the Trickster’s connections with the Greek and Roman pantheons. Hence, the reason why Thor decided to call forth for the current meeting, where the Norse God was interrogating the Trickster. “Loki, why didn't you tell us that you were fine? Everyone, especially Mother, was worried and kept searching for you. You could’ve given us a sign.” Thor questioned with a confused and sullen look.“I didn’t want the enemy to know my location.” The younger Norse God replied, as if it was a simple matter, and seemed to pointedly ignore Thor’s frowning expression. “I wasn’t in the position to defend after I broke out of their captivity, and it would be foolish to unveil my location after I took great care to ensure they wouldn’t be able to find me.”“So, where you were hiding? How did you know Tony? Or rather, how did you find him in Siberia since you two came in together?” Sam shot off the questions like a bullet.Rhodey raised a quizzical brow when Loki and Tony looked at one another in a silent conversation – perhaps, trying to agree what to inform them and what to keep a secret. He gave up trying to understand all of this God stuff.“I was in Jötunheimr –”“King Laufey said he didn’t find you there.” Thor cut in with furrowed brows. “How dare he lied!”“No, you oaf.” Loki interjected exasperatedly with an eyeroll. “I wasn’t in that Jötunheimr. There is also a place with the same name here on Midgard, in Norway. Anthony got me a private cottage there for me to use for research purposes.”“Research purposes?” Rhodey had to question confusedly.He had no idea why Loki would be in remote location of Norway, of all places, to research. More importantly, he had no idea what Loki was researching, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know either.“The mountain ranges there disrupt magic signatures, which prevents anyone from finding me.” The trickster replied with a small smirk. “It helps when I had to hide from the Mad Titan and his army, as well as ensuring that my replica of the Mind Stone worked. The hidden location also gave me time to recuperate from my ordeal, and gave me the freedom to practice with my seiðr away from prying eyes. It also allowed me to scry to see what transpired with the Chitauri who cloned me.”“So, how do you know Tony… Hephaestus? Surely, it wasn’t from that battle.” Clint asked, surprisingly in a civil tone.“We’re in the same club, so to speak.” Loki answered in an offhanded tone, and snickered at the baffled expressions from everyone else.It mystified Rhodey that there were such things as ‘clubs’ that these Gods were in. Although he might not understand what kinds of clubs these were, or why they were in such clubs – in fact, he briefly wondered if it was the same as an after-school club activity he had done in high school. Unless Loki was referring to those adult clubs… in that case, he had no idea what to make of that revelation. Loki, in spite of himself, did not seem like a being who would enjoy visiting adult clubs. “It’s an information club with a side of pranking.” The trickster clarified offhandedly with a dismissive handwave. “Which Hermes is winning, so we need to step up our game, Hephy.”The latter half of that statement was clearly directed to Tony, who solemnly nodded in agreement like it was more important than the current discussion.“That still doesn’t explain how you are in it.” Rhodey felt the need to point out the obvious with a pointed look. "They're Greek, and you're Norse." “If you’re not going to explain to them, I will.” Tony grumbled and huffed when Loki remained silent on the matter. “Hermes found Loki on Long Island, injured and seiðr on near empty. Brought Reindeer Games to one of Apollo’s hospitals – and yes, Apollo works at a hospital in his mortal form because he's bored, don't ask why – there, we found out what happened to Loki.”“Only because a certain God forced me to tell the truth.” The younger Norse God scowled petulantly like a rebellious teenager.“Because we all know that you’d hide it, and attempt to handle it yourself.” Tony gave a judging look, complete with a pointed look and raising eyebrow. When Loki scowled deeply in retaliation, his best friend merely smiled as if everything was right in the world, and continued like there hadn’t been an interruption. “From there, we made plans on how to counter against this oncoming threat. I announced myself as Iron Man, influenced SHIELD to commence with Avengers Initiative, and make the organization be aware of life outside of Earth. Aside from that, ready our Greek and Roman pantheons should we need to step in. You all probably know the rest.”“You’re not revealing much, Hephaestus.” Thor commented with a frown that seemed to be permanently present. “You’re discounting many important information, like how you’ve known Loki for many years.”Rhodey silently agreed with the Norse God, but opted not to interject because he doesn’t know what Tony would do. However, the slight shift in his best friend’s expression made him aware of the transition from the persona that was ‘Tony Stark – the self-proclaimed genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist’ to ‘Hephaestus – the Greek God of Fire and Blacksmith’.“Loki fell into our world, Thor.” Hephaestus remarked in a serious tone, and cut off whatever the Trickster God was going to interject with a stern look. “I will not recount the ordeals he had undergone while he was in their presences, but he was running away from them. In his escape, he landed and trespassed unto our backyard, so to speak, without our permission. He became a refugee, if you want to use a modern human term, and since he is under our protection now, it is within our right to know what kinds of unknowns he is bringing into our lands. We may be of different pantheons, but we are not heartless to turn a blind eye to someone who needed our help. He is the only reason why Father didn’t blast you when you first arrived in our world as a mortal.”There were some phrases and wordings in that statement that he didn’t like – particularly the possessiveness with Earth like it belonged to the Greek Gods. Moreover, it was rather curious that Thor needed permission from Zeus to be on Earth – perhaps, it was a requirement from different pantheons.“I did not know I required permission from Lord Zeus.”“If you’ve paid attention during our lessons, you would’ve known that.” Loki replied as if it was an obvious thing. “But yes, you do require permission from Lord Zeus if you want to visit Midgard. Father apparently did not gain permission when he first dumped you here, and they could’ve easily blasted you into nothing with a snap of their fingers.”“I believe we’re straying away from our topic.” Vision reminded in a calm tone. “What will our next move be if we are to contest against the Chitauri army?”“Athena and Ares already gave me a list of items and weapons they need.” Hephaestus shrugged in an uncaring manner – a demeanor that reminded him of Tony once more. “I’ve already started on it. Other than that, there is nothing you will be doing.”“What. What do you mean we’ll be doing nothing?” Sam gave an indignant squawk and does not seem to agree with that idea. “This is our Earth, and we can’t leave you to protect it in our stead when we can do it ourselves.”“Avengers are called Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a reason, Tony.” Clint added with a frown. “We’re the first line of defense against alien threats.”Rhodey inwardly agreed with that notion, but Tony’s genial smile looked like his best friend was placating them instead of agreeing. Somehow, he got the feeling that they were mere children with plastic swords or wooden sticks in attempt to fight against the big, bad wolf, who could easily defeat them with a swipe of its paw.“Leaving aside the political storm this would bring, you are outmatched and outclassed.” Tony commented bluntly without mincing the words. “I will not stop you if you wish to participate. If you want to participate in the upcoming battle, you will need to train. A lot.”“I do not mind helping you train them, Hephy.” Loki chimed in rather playfully with a smirk that seemed to have hidden plans. “I know you are busy with getting the list done, but I believe you can squeeze in some time to see their progresses or give them a trouncing if they’re slacking. In accordance to literatures, many believe you to be one of the weaker Olympians because of your kind nature. They were, partially, correct in that you do not have an army of your own like some of your siblings.”Tony simply scoffed at that belief, and said, “They also forget that I am the God of Fire and Volcanoes, aside from being the God of Blacksmith. Civilization began with fire, and it can end with fire, by yours truly.”Loki tried to placate with a semi-amused smile, “Yes, well, if they cannot withstand or at the very least, attempt to withstand against your prowess, they are unmatched against Chitauri.”“What of Aether, brother?” Thor rumbled with furrowed brows. “Is it a wise idea to leave it unprotected from our foes?”“As I had mentioned it to the Olympians, Jörmungandr is guarding it.” Loki gave a pointed look to the abashed Norse Thunder God. “He is my creation, if you are curious, and is the Norse God of Rebirth. He currently protects Earth, and is the first defense against outside forces. He is a force to be reckon with, and I trust him and his ability to protect Aether and Midgard.”“Loki has an agreement with Greek and Roman pantheons.” Tony did not bother to give any more explanation, and gave a look that clearly suggested the topic was over.
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“It’s been two weeks since that meeting at Olympus, and it truly seemed you’ve changed.” Rhodey commented offhandedly as he nursed his cup of coffee. “Unless this is an elaborate scheme that I don’t know about.”He finally found some time to have that much-needed chat with Clint after a hectic week of training by Loki. From what he learned from Thor, Bruce, and Clint, who were part of the lineup during the Chitauri invasion a few years ago, the Chitauri replica did not portray any of the prowess Loki showcased during their training. It was truly an eyeopener for everyone – including Thor – to realize that Loki is the Norse God of Illusion and Chaos. Not to mention, the trickster had an affinity to ice that made him seem like a God of Ice. “You were judging me?” Clint all but squawked with an unhinged jaw.“I wanted to give you the benefit of doubt. But I wasn't sure, really, considering your spy background.” Rhodey bluntly replied with a shrug. “So, is this a scheme where you’re spying on us?”The archer simply sighed in response with reluctant acceptance, “I can see where you're coming from, but I’m not planning anything or spying on you. You can trust me on that.”“So, what made you change? It can't be just because of your wife and kids, considering how hastily you left them when Rogers called.” He prompted with a raised brow.It was one of the questions he was pondering for the past few days since that conversation at Olympus. No matter how sliced this puzzle, he could not fathom the actual reason for the seemingly sudden change. It was strange, to say the least.“We found out that Wanda had been mind controlling us.”“We?”Clint nodded in reply, and then heaved a deep sigh like the oncoming speech was a longwinded explanation. “Sam, Scott, and I. We were still hiding in Wakanda after the whole Accords mess with others. I think it was the first week that Tony went missing after that battle in Siberia. Every news channel was covering that story, and of course, Wanda thought it was lies. She thought that he made it up to increase his publicity and whatnot. Steve went on about how Tony was different from Howard, who would’ve been disappointed about the way Tony was behaving. Nat agreed with everything those two said, and that the whole thing was a play on his ego. Sam, Scott, and I didn’t think so, but we didn’t dare to say it out loud. While we were watching one news channel about Tony’s disappearance, I heard a loud shattering noise in my mind – almost like a glass or mirror shattering. When I snapped out of it, everything sudden became clear, like there was a haze that was suddenly gone from my mind. I didn’t have bursts of unexplained anger and irrationality clouding my mind anymore.”“It is strange that Tony’s disappearance would trigger that effect on you.” Rhodey commented with a frown, still unsure what to make of this new development.“It took me a few nights to sort through it, but it made me aware that Wanda was influencing our minds.” Clint continued with a frown and hands clenched into tight fists. “Loki visited a couple of months after my discovery and confirmed that my mind had been influenced. He said that a power flare from the Reality Stone – possibly as a warning of incoming danger – destroyed Wanda’s influence in my mind and some others.”He felt compelled to point out one detail, “Why would Loki come visit you? Considering it wasn’t him that brainwashed you during the invasion, he wouldn’t have known you.”“No, he wouldn’t have known me.” Clint agreed and took a long sip of his coffee. “He mentioned something about feeling the Reality Stone’s magic around my person and felt compelled to check it out. It was then that he found out what Wanda had been doing - to say he was disgusted would have been the understatement of the century. He also confirmed her influences from Sam and Scott were destroyed as well… something about her not having complete control over their minds yet, and that the power flare obliterated her connection to their minds.”“So, she mind-raped you?”“That’s one way to put it.” The archer nodded with a scowl, which then turned into a grumble. “I didn’t even know it even though I had a prior experience with it, despite everything.”Rhodey chose not to say anything that self-deprecating remark and opted to take a much-needed long sip of his now-cold coffee. All he knew now is that everything turned strange since that day in Siberia.