Tony felt exhausted. His body felt heavy, and even the stim he had taken to combat fatigue didn't feel nearly as strong as it usually did. It sure did make his heartbeat hammer like crazy in his chest — a sign that it was working.
But his body and mind just needed rest.
Problem was, how was he supposed to rest?
After what had just happened? After what he'd seen?
He was tired, and his plan had been for everyone to go eat some shawarma, but sadly, the place was ruined, and everyone was either dead or had fled for miles around, so yeah… the entire city was pretty much still in absolute chaos.
But not his problem.
Sure, he wanted to help, as did many of the others, but Arthuria had been against it.
She had loudly proclaimed that warriors fight, and cleaners clean.
And that they were worthy warriors, so she wouldn't allow them to start doing the work of others. Not because she thought those who did the post-battle cleanup were lesser, but because she wouldn't allow their efforts to be reduced, wouldn't allow their honor to be dismissed. They were heroes, and should be treated like that.
It was a nice sentiment, and her tone had been firm enough that even Steve had stopped trying to help and finally come over.
Even if half of that was because Tony himself had told him that Arthuria wasn't going to ignore the whole nuclear bomb.
While the old captain often bowed to authority, it was clear that this was something that went beyond what he found acceptable. He, too, wanted answers.
They all did.
Even Natasha and Clint wanted answers; none of them liked the idea of a nuclear bomb being sent at them while they were fighting for their lives. It really made all the effort feel pointless.
Still, seeing the Knights of Camelot and Thor, the prince of Asgard and owner of the very mysterious hammer he himself had once tried to lift, just sit around eating junk food was an odd sight.
In particular because he had just seen them wreak absolute havoc out there not long ago.
Though a large part of Tony's current attention was focused on something other than those mighty warriors eating junk, and that was Mjolnir.
He had seen that hammer before, back in Camelot. He had tried to lift it and run all kinds of tests on it.
This included making a small device to try and help, getting up to more than two hundred tons of force.
And the hammer hadn't moved. Not even in the slightest.
And now, that hammer was just resting on top of his table… a table that should long have collapsed under that kind of weight.
He itched to try and figure out how it worked… but he knew that now wasn't the time for that.
"Please, everyone, may I have your attention?" he finally decided to get things moving and clapped his hands, bringing every pair of eyes onto him.
"Cap, you got the word." He quickly pushed Steve onto the spot, because he couldn't be asked to deal with this himself.
And Steve? He looked like a deer in the headlights as everyone suddenly turned to look at him.
"Right, firstly… good job everyone, you really did it. It sure looked impossible for a while, but everyone did their best, and that was enough." Steve wasn't a man of words, but he still did his best.
"I would also like to thank Lady Arthuria—"
"His Royal Majesty, King Arthuria Pendragon." Galahad was quick to correct.
"Right… His Majesty King Arthuria, and…" He paused as he looked at Loki. "Lord Loki of Asgard?" He sounded unsure if he was doing it right, but Loki didn't stop him, so Steve continued. "Without your help, and the help of your warriors, we wouldn't have been able to handle this, and many more would have died. You have my thanks."
He paused, looking around as if waiting for something. Until Clint slowly began to clap, which led to the rest of the Avengers, including the Fantastic Four, Nightcrawler, and Logan, joining in — some more enthusiastically than others.
Arthuria gently nodded her head once, while Loki clearly enjoyed the attention.
"But this victory isn't theirs alone. While there is no doubt that they are responsible for the fact we can stand here, alive and whole, I would also like to thank the rest of you, who fought down there, putting your lives on the line."
"It wasn't easy," he continued. "I know that, at times, I didn't think we could do it. We felt fear, hopelessness, despair, yet none of you backed down, none of you thought about running. That took bravery, and for that… well done, and thank you."
Saying that, he bowed deeply in thanks to everyone. "And, to Tony… I said some mean things when I first met you. I said you were nothing like your father… but you took a missile on your back and flew it out there, saved everyone. For that, I'm sorry. You are every bit as brave as he was, and… thank you."
His words made Tony feel uncomfortable. "Oh please, someone had to do it, and it's not like we have a ton of people here who can fly, and no offence to the human bonfire, but he isn't strong enough to carry something like that."
"It's Torch! Not bonfire! Get it right, or I will turn your damn tower into a fucking bonfire!" Johnny shouted.
"Oh, please go ahead. With how damaged it is, it'll need to be rebuilt, and honestly, it's way easier to sue you four for compensation than the ones responsible for blowing the top off. Just make sure your insurance can handle it first." Tony replied with a smirk.
His words made even Johnny Storm take a step back, because getting sued by someone with as much money as Tony Stark sounded worse than fighting one of those big leviathan things.
Seeing him step down, Tony just snorted and looked insufferable.
Splat
Everyone froze as a half-eaten sandwich smashed into Tony's face and slowly dripped down, leaving a large wet patch of mayo on his forehead.
"Ha! Good throw, Mordred, that guy's face did annoy me." Thor bellowed in laughter, before everyone else started laughing as well.
Tony did indeed have that effect on people, often making them want to smack him across the face, but few could get away with something like that.
Mordred, however, was someone who would and could do it, and Tony could do nothing about it, because he knew that Mordred would happily smash up his suits, reducing them to scrap metal — and she'd do it with him inside as well.
And she would do it if he so much as dared to talk back… so he could only swallow it down, and swear to himself to make a suit that would allow him to teach that brat a lesson one day.
"Right…" Steve said, "While we have won today, it didn't come without a cost… many died, many lost their loved ones, or their homes. This is a day of sorrow, and we shouldn't forget that. Nor should we forget how much worse it could have been."
His words caused the mood to take a dip. Everyone had seen the dead; thousands, if not tens of thousands, had died, and that was just in the blocks around Stark Tower.
None fully understood how many had lost their lives today, but everyone knew the number was going to be staggering.
And that was despite the war lasting less than two hours in total.
Short, yet brutal beyond what anyone could comprehend. Truly, the enemy they had fought was inhuman.
"Despite our victory, despite the fact that the war is won, and that our Asgardian allies are dealing with the last of the aliens, we still have something important to discuss." Steve continued.
"While we fought today, while we risked our lives to save this city, its citizens, the country, and even the world, those who should have been here — those who should have done that — sat back and even tried to kill us." He finally moved on to the topic everyone was waiting for.
"I'm talking about the nuclear bomb, the one Tony threw into space… Tony, Mr. Richards, you are the smartest here — smartest humans at least. Please tell me, what would that bomb have done to the aliens, to the portal?"
Tony and Reed looked at one another, a wordless conversation happening before everyone's eyes.
Tony spoke first. "I saw the other side of that portal. Even if that nuclear bomb wiped out every one of them on this side, it would have made no difference. There weren't billions of them; there were at least a few trillions of them out there… even every nuclear bomb in the world wouldn't have stopped them. No matter how many we could kill, there would be more."
His words caused a chill to run down everyone's spine. Only those from Asgard and Camelot were unaffected.
"And what about the portal?" Steve asked.
"That," Reed Richards spoke up, "would not have been affected at all. As I said before, nothing but that—" he pointed to the sceptre "—could penetrate the force field. Not a thousand nuclear bombs going off all at once would have so much as shaken it."
Steve nodded, having expected as much from the earlier talk after he had been freed. "This was also what we told Fury, and he in turn told those in charge — those who ignored it to nuke us, their own city… I can't accept this."
He paused, looked around the room, to the men and women he had fought side by side with. He still didn't know what to think about all the talk of gods and whatnot… but he had been in Albion, he had walked through Camelot, he knew that at the very least, Arthuria was a good person.
These were his comrades, and he wouldn't allow them to be hurt.
"And I'm not the only one who can't accept this… this wasn't just an attack on us, but on what we represented — an idea, the very idea that men and women can resist, can fight for what they believe in."
His voice grew stronger as he spoke. "They were afraid, not just of what we fought against, they too were scared of us… they didn't dismiss us, they wanted us dead. This can't be allowed to be ignored. We will demand answers — answers and responsibility — together."
These were his real feelings, though if not for Arthuria pushing behind, he might not have been willing to push too hard. But since she was forcing them, he saw no reason to hold back.
Everyone nodded. They all wanted someone to answer for what had happened, so they were all united in this.
"Very well, what are our demands?" Steve said, and looked towards Arthuria and Loki. Because he knew, in the end, they were the ones that really mattered.
"The ones responsible for the decision, whoever they are, from top to bottom, will meet us, and they will explain themselves. They will take full responsibility, and they will honour you all. They will help those who need help, and reward those who need to be rewarded, in full." Her words allowed for no disagreement.
They weren't a request, they were law, and after everyone had seen her power, and that of her Knights… well, they weren't about to disagree — not when they all agreed with her.
"Very well. Tony, I believe Fury has been waiting for our call," Steve said.
(End of chapter)
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