An Iron Resolve (Marvel)(Time Travel)

Chapter 70: The Truth

Chapter 70: The Truth

A/N: Shit meets fan.

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Tony was rapidly developing a hatred for situations where he didn’t hold all the cards. He knew he was spoiled thanks to his foreknowledge from the previous timeline, but even still... it would have been really great to know that Malekith didn’t just wield the Aether but had literally created it. Not that he had expected Thor from his original timeline to know that sort of thing... it just really, really sucked how close that had been.

He’d figured maybe Malekith had some sort of backdoor into the Aether that allowed him to utilize it without having to meet its insane energy costs. That was why their plan relied on dangling Tony as bait in the event that Malekith made it into the Palace and didn’t just die outside of the golden glowing force field that Asgard had.

That plan had ultimately come into play in the end, just like Tony had suspected. It had cost Malekith everything, but the Dark Elf Leader had nevertheless made it to his destination. Zealots like that didn’t usually allow themselves to be stopped so easily, that was for sure.

And yet... he hadn’t been prepared for how hard it would be to keep Malekith at bay. Even with him and the Aether working in concert, the Dark Elf had nearly managed to overcome them.

In the end, the others had stepped in before that could happen. JARVIS had played defense while Odin and Thor had tackled Malekith with a one-two punch that had ultimately led to the Dark Elf’s death. Exactly as planned.

... The destruction of the throne room’s beautifully painted ceiling revealing what looks like a bloody reign of conquest hidden behind it was not part of Tony’s plan. Nor part of his foreknowledge. If he’d known that Odin was hiding his fucking skeletons under the floorboards, or rather in the ceiling of his goddamn throne room, Tony would have suggested they lure Malekith somewhere else for fuck’s sake!

Unfortunately, the cat’s out of the bag now. Thor stares up at the far bloodier artwork in confusion and horror, while Odin leans against his spear and lets out a low sigh. Finally, Thor repeats his previous question.

“Father... what is all of this?”

Odin takes a moment to answer and when he does, the King of Asgard sounds so weary Tony honestly starts to worry Hela might pop out right then and there.

“The sins of my past, come to haunt me. I have failed you, my son. I have failed all of Asgard.”

Tony winces, really not liking the melancholy in Odin’s voice. Old man like that starts talking about his failures...

“Hey. You didn’t fail anyone today. Your Queen still lives. Remember that All-Father.”

On the one hand, Tony’s words have a very positive impact on Odin. The reminder that Frigga survives and that Malekith never even got the chance to get close to her actually does serve to bring a smile to that aged, wizened face. Odin stands a little straighter, bolstered by Tony’s words. Of course, on the other hand...

“What? What do you speak of mother for, Stark? Explain, now!”

Thor’s voice is a mixture of pleading and angry at this point. Unfortunately, Tony and his big mouth have all but let the cat out of the bag. Odin gives him a look and Tony decides it might be better coming from Thor’s father than him. If anything, Tony can offer corrections if Odin doesn’t present it well. Like a quasi-redo if it proves necessary.

“Your Shield-Brother, the King of Midgard, is burdened by visions of the future, Thor. It is why he knew where you would land when I exiled you. Why he was able to defeat Loki with minimal loss of life during her invasion of Midgard. And why he retrieved the Aether, to prevent the lives he saw would be lost here on Asgard.”

Thor looks like he can hardly believe his ears. But Odin isn’t done just yet.

“His visions showed the Dark Elves striking while we were still unaware. Their infiltrator that you slew last night would have managed to sabotage our defenses from the inside, allowing them to penetrate far deeper than they did today. Many more Einherjar would have died. Many more Asgardians in general. And among them... he saw your mother, my wife, fall to the blade of the one you just slew.”

Thor’s eyes grow wide and turn to the corpse of Malekith, laid out under the ruins of the ceiling that have fallen on top of him. He looks almost like he wants to stomp over there and do more damage, to desecrate the body in his mother’s name. Instead, after calming himself for a moment, Thor looks to Tony... and drops to one knee.

“Then... then I am in your debt, King Stark. You have saved my mother’s life.”

Tony opens his mouth to reply, but before he can, Odin cuts in.

“All of Asgard is in your debt. Including its King. You have opened my eyes today, Tony Stark. I have rested on my laurels too long... and in the process, I have weakened Asgard.”

Ah. So he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. Honestly good, because Tony really hadn’t been sure how he was going to tell the King of Asgard just how shitty his so-called Golden Realm’s defenses really were.

Seriously, from what he saw, this Malekith guy had one proper spaceship and a few dozen fighter craft. And sure, thanks to the ambush and the lack of a saboteur on the inside, they’d been defeated by Asgard’s own forces rather handily. But it hadn’t been very clean. Asgard had defeated an entire empire of these enemies five thousand years ago. Today, they’d taken enough damage on their home soil that they’d be cleaning shit up for months.

As Thor stands there, slack jawed at his father’s words, Odin uses the ensuing silence to move and sit on his throne. Leaning on Gungnir for support even then, he frowns as he stares down at Malekith’s body... and then up at the ceiling, at artwork that Tony can only assume is meant to depict the time before Thor was born. The time when Odin and Hela apparently cut a bloody swathe across the universe if the art was anything to go off of.

“You have an older sister, Thor. Her name is Hela.”

Mjolnir falls from nerveless fingers at that as Thor himself looks like he’s swaying on his feet.

“What? Father...”

“Sit, my son. Sit and I shall tell you everything.”

“She is too powerful. I let her grow unchecked for too long. Perhaps once upon a time that could have been a possibility, but not now. I am not the man I once was, Stark.”

Fair. Right now, the King of Asgard seemed far from the man who struck fear in even the likes of the Mad Titan and far more like a frail, old man with nothing but regrets and misery. If Thanos could see into this moment, Tony suspected they would be dealing with an all out assault on Earth and Asgard sooner over later.

“Sure, maybe you alone aren’t enough... but what if you had help? The Aether can bend reality, can’t it? So if I was boosting you, do you think you could effect the ‘reality’ of Hela’s power? Strip it away from her? Bind her to mortality? And then we can just dump her somewhere so she can learn her lesson the hard way, just like Thor did.”

For the first time, Odin looks... interested. Sitting back up in his throne, the All-Father peers at Tony closely, his one eye narrowing.

“... There is merit to your words, King of Midgard. The Aether presents an interesting possibility that I had not yet thought of.”

Then, the Asgardian King actually smiles.

“Yes! This will work! Hela will be neutralized... and may even have the chance to learn there is a different way, even if I do not live to see it! Of course, her exile and the loss of her powers will not be tied to me. They will have to be tied to you, Tony Stark.”

Wait, what? Tony had been smiling right along with Odin until that last part.

“... Excuse me?”

Odin sighs exasperatedly, before kindly explaining.

“If I die while Hela remains bereft of her powers, she will merely regain them, just as she would have gained her freedom. Disaster will still strike. However, if we tie her exile to your life force, Stark... then even when I pass from this world, she will remain controlled until such a time as you deem her worthy of being returned to her true strength. Besides, it only makes sense. Where else would she go?”

Oh no. Surely Odin doesn’t mean to say...

“You already look after one of my daughters for me, King Stark. What’s a second?”

Yep.

But that and this are two different things! Loki should be redeemable, at least from what secondhand accounts Tony has. Hela though...

“Haha! This is a most excellent solution! Thank you for coming up with it, Shield-Bro!”

As Thor slaps Tony on the back, Tony resists the urge to groan. Instead, his mind is racing a mile a minute. He can already tell he’s not getting out of this. So time tables are being changed. Things are being altered. And Tony... is going to have to move faster than he originally intended to.

“... A year.”

Odin raises his brow while Thor looks at Tony, confused.

“I’ll need about year if we’re going to do this. A year to settle things on Earth. A year to get my own house in order before I’m taking in your wayward child, All-Father. Think you can last that long, O’ King of Asgard?”

He knows he doesn’t sound very respectful right now. But while Thor might not fully understand what exactly Odin is trying to foist upon Tony right now, Odin at least does. He doesn’t get upset over Tony’s lack of respect or challenging tone. Even as Thor goes to protest both, Odin cuts his son off with a raised hand and a nod.

“Indeed, King of Midgard. A year is more than acceptable.”

Tony’s mind still racing and recategorizing steps in his plans, he slowly nods back.

“Alright then. Keep in mind though, you already owe me. This will only put Asgard further in my debt.”

Rather than taking that threat as seriously as they probably should have, both son and father chuckle. Odin even has the audacity to give Tony a grandfatherly smile.

“Long has it been since Asgard found herself in anyone’s debt, King Stark. But if it had to be anyone at all... I suppose I should be glad it was someone like you.”

Surely Odin was just saying that for Thor’s benefit, right? But no... looking the King of Asgard in the eye, looking at a man who knows everything Tony has been up to on Earth thanks to his all-seeing, all-hearing Gatekeeper... Tony can tell that Odin actually means every fucking word.

For fuck’s sake.

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A/N: You all thought Tony was going to be the one to suggest he take Hela, but no, it was Odin and Tony isn't remotely prepared!

We'll get Hela later on. For now... it's time for Tony to get his house in order.