Chapter Text
Out of the three of them Morgana looked the most excited to be back to the present. She stood up and quickly dusted herself off and checked her bag of sorcery ingredients, or whatever was in there. Tony glanced over at Victor, intending to him over to make sure he survived the trip, only to meet the man’s eyes square on.
Morgana cleared her throat. “I’m going to need access to the deceased’s final resting place.”
They broke eye contact and Victor nodded and pressed a few buttons on one of the few panels that still existed on his armor.
“We’re close, follow me.” Victor lifted off, and hovered just above the tree line. “Iron Man, if you will take Morgana.”
Tony held out a hand to the sorceress. “My lady.”
Morgana took it and stepped towards him so he could wrap a hand around her waist and take off. “Your armor doesn’t clink together with each step, and yet I can hear… odd noises emanating from it.”
“It’s all the stuff hidden inside it, it’s… kind of hard to explain to someone that doesn’t know what circuitry is. Future stuff.”
“I see you both have much knowledge to share….” Her sentence trailed off as if she had more to say.
“More knowledge than you’ll know what to do with, trust me.”
“We’re not in my brother’s land anymore, are we?”
“Nope, this is a long ways south, a country named Latveria, Victor usually rules it.”
“Are you gossiping about me?” Victor said from where he was flying in front of them.
“I’m catching her up on the local political climate.” Tony responded dryly.
“Hold your tongue, knowledge is a part of our deal.”
“I’m not spilling all the secrets of nuclear fission just yet, Victor.”
“Good, we’ve arrived.”
They touched down a few yards away from a small, unmarked grave in a tree grove. Tony and Morgana slowly followed behind Victor as he approached the grave. A moment of silence fell over them before Morgana spoke.
“Doom, is it safe to presume that you are your mother’s eldest child, living or dead?”
Victor inclined his head. “Yes, I’m her only child.”
She started rummaging in her bag. “I will need your blood for the ritual.” Morgana set the bag on the ground and quickly drew a sheathed blade from it, gave it to Victor, and then began pulling out other objects, some plants, chalk, and candles.
Tony sat back and watched the sorcerers(witches? Tony could admit that he wasn’t caught up in the magic lingo) set up what could only be a summoning circle. Morgana laid out a piece of fabric near the grave, and picked up the chalk. Victor, having removed some of his armor and cut into his arm with the blade at some point, held it out for her; she took it and pressed the chalk into the blood running down Victor’s arm and then drew on the fabric with the bloodied chalk.
When the circle was complete Victor wrapped his arm in a clean piece of cloth handed to him by Morgana. The entire time this was happening Morgana explained what she was doing and why; Victor listened intently while Tony let the words flow over him.
Eventually, Morgana stood. “We’re ready to begin.”
“Should I like… back up… because I’m not magical or anything?” Tony asked cautiously.
“No, no, join us.” Morgana motioned him closer. “The spell will require our living energy to direct the deceased’s soul back into our dimension; and you’re the soulmate of the deceased’s eldest son, you’re as good as family.”
“What do I… do?”
“Standing next to us will be adequate, I’ll be the one performing the spell.”
Tony stepped closer to the circle, next to Victor. Morgana assessed him and then turned back to the summoning circle on the ground. She lit the candles, burned a few flowers with them which released an aroma into the air that Tony could smell even in the armor, and then raised her hands. Magic coalesced around her fingers and Tony shivered just a bit as goosebumps raised on his skin at the sight.
A few chanted words later in Latin a bright flash of light filled the grove and suddenly a woman stood on the summoning circle without disturbing the fabric.
Cynthia von Doom, presumably, stared at them in wide-eyed shock.
“Mother?” Victor asked cautiously.
“Victor?” She responded, equally as tentative.
“Yes, it’s me.” He raised a hand up as if to touch her, then abruptly dropped it to his side. “These two are Morgana Le Fay and my soulmate… who is called Iron Man.”
“It’s… a pleasure to meet you, Iron Man.” She smiled lightly at him. “Though, I’m sure you already know who I am.”
“I do, ma’am, it’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” Tony inclined his head towards his mother-in-spirit.
Cynthia turned towards Morgana with an inquisitive look in her eye. “Morgana Le Fay… any relation to the Morgana Le Fay?”
“I am the very same, brought to your time by your son and his mate.”
“Have you brought me here just simply to talk, to celebrate your finding your mate?” She eyed their monochromatic apparel, a clear indication that they hadn’t had time to acclimate to seeing colors.
“No, mother, we’ve come to release your soul from Mephisto’s grasp.”
“You… think you could do it?”
Morgana nodded. “Now that I’ve dragged your soul out of Hell already, it’ll be possible to sever your soul from that dimension and release you from your fate.”
Cynthia’s jaw dropped. “That’s… wonderful.”
“I must ask, before I complete the spell….” Morgana began saying. “Cynthia von Doom, you know me by name, even though I have gathered that I am far into the future. Do you know of my fate?”
Tony frowned beneath the armor. Morgana was smart for asking Cynthia, Tony and Victor would have withheld the information(if Victor had it at all), however the spirit was completely unaware of the deal of the trade for knowledge, and was unbound by it.
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Morgana, as far as the historical records for you go, you vanished.”
“I… vanished- that is disconcerting… was it before or after my brother’s death?”
“Before, I know that.” Cynthia responded.
Morgana frowned. “Do any of you have anything left to say?”
Victor shook his head. “I… find myself at a rare moment of being at a loss for words.”
“That’s okay, Victor.” Cynthia smiled. “I’m just happy I got to see you all grown up.”
“Thank you, mother.”
The two women nodded at each other and Morgana raised her arms again to complete the spell that would release Cynthia’s soul from Hell. Tony felt himself relax after Cynthia faded from existence and Morgana lowered her hands.
The sorceress had a sharp, calculating look in her eye when she turned to fully face the two of them. “You have received your end of the bargain, but I would like to alter my reward.”
Tony raised an eyebrow behind his armor.
“I owe you a considerable amount, Le Fay, what would you wish for instead of knowledge?” Victor asked.
“To stay in your time.” She looked Victor directly in the eyes.
“Impossible.” Victor scoffed. “The impact you staying here could have on the time stream…”
“Would be none at all.” Morgana countered. “Your mother stated that I vanished from history- this is a decision that’s already been made. Regardless of your doubt, in my time I had been cursed by my brother to be unable to leave my castle’s walls while he yet lived. I would not have been able to impact much of anything inside my castle, eventually loneliness would have been my undoing. If you give me a chance to reclaim the rest of my life, I will consider the deal paid and then some, I would owe you a great debt.”
“Personally, I don’t want the timeline to explode.” Tony said casually.
“A compromise, once I reclaim Latveria I shall resume my research of your past, Morgana, and if I deem the damage to the timeline negligible I will allow you to stay as the royal sorceress of Latveria.” Victor spoke only after a minute of thought. “If this will suffice we can resume discussion on the matter after I have not only reached my conclusion but also repaired my undoubtedly damaged time machine.”
“That is acceptable.” Morgana nodded.
“Then come with me, you would not survive this future without a guide.”
Morgana gathered her materials while Victor and Tony moved to the side.
“Iron Man, I imagine that it would be wise for you to return to Stark.” Victor said quietly.
“Yeah.” Tony hoped the armor’s voice modulator covered his surprise- he’d completely forgotten that he’d theoretically left his boss behind. “I’ll gather him up, and we’ll head back to New York.”
“I will contact you, once I reconstruct Latveria, I am genuine in my desire to show you my country.”
“Maybe I can give you a tour of New York when you’re not trying to bring down the Baxter building.”
“Go, or Zorba may think we perished.”
“Fine, fine.” Tony shot Victor a wink and lifted off.
—
Tony returned to America by plane after wrapping up the partially disassembled Iron Man suit into his suitcase. The first order of business after fixing the suit was to figure out what the rainbow looked like, and then figure out how to deal with having a dictator as a soulmate. A few weeks passed, Tony kept an eye on news coming from Latveria while he took the first steps in learning the country's language.
Over a month later he received a piece of mail that Mrs. Arbogast handed him personally, inside it Victor signed his name with a simple ‘V’, addressed the letter to Iron Man and threatened Tony Stark if he opened it, and it contained the coordinates of Victor’s castle and a date.
Tony arrived on time, flying through the window beneath the exact coordinates Victor sent. His soulmate sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, reading a book, and wearing a new cloak.
“Green?” He asked.
Victor hummed. “I intend to announce that I’ve found my soulmate, traditionally there is a celebration for the occasion.”
Casually, the man bookmarked his book, and set it onto the side table next to him, beside which sat a golden mask that would cover Tony's entire face.
“I’m not taking my armor off.”
“I created this mask for you, that would hide your face and voice.” Victor picked it up and handed it to Tony.
Flipping it over revealed detailed micro circuitry, among which included a voice modulator, a hud, and a built-in earpiece.
“Hidden tracker?” Tony asked as he flipped it around. “And magic?”
“Correct on both accounts.”
"I'm not wearing something you can track me with."
"You're not required to wear it outside the castle, but unless you wish to reveal that Iron Man is mated to the sovereign of an enemy nation you will need to cover your face."
Tony pouted beneath his faceplate. "But what about the rest of the armor?"
"I have clothing that should fit you." Victor gestured to the room's closet. "If you would change quickly, we're expected elsewhere in the castle- I'll avert my eyes if you continue to persist in hiding your identity from me."
"I do." Tony responded as he opened the closet. "Turn around."
"Of course."
Tony hurriedly locked the armor up with a lock and key provided, and turned to Victor with a flourish. “You can look now, and I hope you appreciate this, I’ve never put this much trust into anyone when it comes to the armor, it has to be from our bond, making us trust-”
Victor cut him off by resting a bare hand on the side of his mask. “Anthony, I appreciate the amount of trust you have placed in me.”
Every part of Tony’s body and mind froze instantly, and unfroze just as suddenly. "Nice guess, but-"
“Don’t insult my intelligence, I did my research on both Iron Man and Tony Stark, figuring out they’re one in the same wasn’t difficult. I just needed one final piece of evidence to confirm my suspicions, and, my soulmate couldn’t be in so low a social standing as a bodyguard, you’re no royalty, but a CEO is far more among my social circle.”
“Thanks.” Tony deadpanned.
“So you don't deny it?”
“If anyone could’ve figured out my secret identity, it would be you.” Tony adjusted the golden mask. “Is that why my clothes fit so well? You got my measurements?”
“Of course.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“And you,” Victor adjusted the lapels of Tony’s tailored suit, “are comfortable and well dressed, now, follow me.”