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Chapter Text

Larry Trainor’s resolve to keep going lasted until they made it to the new Universe.He took one look at the forest of the new Earth they’d arrived on, and promptly allowed himself to fall backwards-the hard landing not even registering-he’d fallen on harder surfaces before.

His chest glowed and he brought  a bandaged  hand to  it.After a while the negative spirit receded, and Larry didn’t bother  trying to coax  it  out.He also  didn’t bother  getting  up,instead  he curled onto  his side…and  cried.

Had he still had functioning  tear ducts,he was certain  the  flowers he lay  on would have been killed  by radioactive teardrops, instead  they were crushed as he  lay shaking and screaming.Waves of electric  blue running  across his bandages,and when it  all got too overwhelming,blissful darkness  came over him as the negative spirit  left his body.

When it  returned,the  whole  process began  again,until Larry was just…spent.

At some point Keeg stopped leaving him, and Larry hugged himself-hugged both of them-upon realizing that the spirit was crying in its own way.It was more of a feeling, an ache that settled deep in his bones and hollowed him out-a feeling that Larry had felt countless times since their bonding, but had been too lost in his own sorrow to pay it any mind.

Shame clawed at his throat,mixing with his grief and leaving him dry heaving as he tried to get himself under control.His chest glowed and voice like a thunderstorm broke through his panic.

“Forgave you…long ago”A blue hand shot out of his chest and Larry let his hand fall to the side as he turned onto his back, watching Keeg slowly emerge, with only half of their form coming out of Larry.

Phantom digits reached for Larry’s hand as they brought their head down until it met Larry’s bandaged forehead.

They didn’t speak again, simply looking down at Larry until he got himself under control-their mere presence alone giving Larry a sense of security.

The decision to get up took longer than it should have, but in the end with a few gently nudges from the spirit,Larry began walking.

***

The people in the town they walked into stared-of course they did.They pointed and whispered,some not even trying to hide their contempt for the stranger.He ended up in an alleyway, partly to avoid the light drizzle, but mostly to get away from the stares.His chest glowed, vapour hissing and crackling when it came into contact with the energy.

“…I know,I know, we’re alright”Keeg stopped struggling, but Larry could still hear them grumbling, static filling his ears.

He looked down at the soggy newspapers,the date read 1961.They were almost sixty years in another Earth’s timeline.The news should have elicited some kind of reaction from him, but all he could manage was a slow exhale and a shoulder slump, before sitting on the dirty ground and bringing his knees to his chest.

The 1900’s or the 2000’s ,no matter what the time,the team was still dead.

***

Days passed,people walked by and no one noticed him.For once Keeg didn’t force him to move,he took Larry away,letting him relive his moments with the others.Letting him spend time with Rita again.In his faraway place nothing hurt, and he could feel Keeg wrapping himself around the memories, trying to bask in them as much as Larry was…for once Larry wasn’t the only one running away-and that only made things worse.

The end of their pity party came abruptly, one moment Larry was sitting with Rita, watching her go through a turkey, and in the next he was staring down at a cat.

It stood a few feet from him,its tail flicking lazily as it took him in with wide green eyes.The cat took a tentative step towards him, the dark spots on its grey coat shifting in the moonlight.Limbs protesting as he moved for the first time in days, Larry held out a hand.

The cat tilted its head up, looking him in the eye,and Larry could have sworn he saw a calculating gleam there.Letting out a soft meow the cat closed the distance between them and sniffed at his bandaged fingers.

The moment its little nose touched him,all hell broke loose.

Keeg jumped out of his body so fast Larry was barely able to remain conscious, he didn’t even have time to voice his complaint because he was busy dodging tentacles…tentacles that were protruding from the cat?

Larry fought the darkness encroaching his vision as he watched the spirit and the cat circle each other.

The cat’s back was arched,its tentacles flaring wildly, but despite the way the image it presented made Larry want to run, he could feel the waves of fear emanating from it.

Was it like them?Had it been experimented on?

His train of thought made Keeg pause, and the instant the spirit stilled,so did the cat, and its tentacles went back into its mouth.Giving one last warning look, Keeg retreated back into Larry their presence chasing the fog trying to pull Larry away.

***

With all their cards laid on the table, the animal seemed to have made up its mind about Larry.It-She jumped into his hands and preceded to lick her paws, gently swatting at Larry’s glowing chest.

Holding a potential killer-feline should have been terrifying, but something about the solid warm  weight grounded him, and he pulled the cat a little closer,enjoying the comfort she brought.

“We’re both monsters huh?”The cat meowed and Larry tucked it into his coat, making his way out of the alley on unsteady legs-the gentle thrum of Keeg’s energy being the only thing keeping him going(once upon a time the Bureau hadn’t fed him for six months,hunger had gnawed at his insides, but his body had remained exactly the same,burned and charred, and improbably alive).

***

Just like in his old earth, the new earth did not have a shortage of abandoned bunkers.Larry finds one  that’s lined with lead, and claims it,walking through the empty corridors with the cat-named Gerty,for reasons Larry didn’t want to observe too closely-balanced on his shoulder.

Claiming things was surprisingly easy to do with an alien phantom living in you.Keeg simply floated into some very official buildings after closing,took out a deed,Larry signed it-as well as a few papers that gave him citizenship,and they made out the rest of the minor details that made everything legit.

…And because such things were still easily done in the sixties-Larry made himself rich.

The money was squirreled away in several accounts, and the rest that wasn’t used for building and renovation he put into investing.

Which was how he ended up with a few substantial shares in a company called Stark Industries,becoming a silent partner (something he wouldn’t understand the enormity of,until decades later).

***

Howard looked at the piece of paper.

He’d been so close to giving in.To letting half of Stark Industries be owned by the government.Then out of nowhere a savior had come,someone who wasn’t government, and wasn’t being controlled by them had bought fifteen percent of the shares-injecting enough income into the company to help Howard recover from a catastrophic project,that the government had underhandedly destroyed to get him in a bind.

Seeing the looks of shock on the faces of the generals,when he’d declined their offer had been absolutely worth it.

“Sorry fellas,but I still have a nest egg I can use, thank you for your generous offer though,”He hadn’t even tried to hide his smirk, as he’d ushered them out,all of them trying to figure out how he’d out maneuvered them.

***

Two years after the unexpected helping hand.Stark Industries was doing well and Howard decided it was time to tie up loose ends.He had fifty one percent of the company,something that gave him control, but the extra fifteen percent would make him unchallenged.

In the two years since the whole debacle,he’d never once met Lawrence Trainor,and all he knew about him was that the man lived half an hour out of New York.

The road was surprisingly empty,and Howard took the chance to test out one of his latest engines, making the drive  in half the time.When he’d been given the directions,he’d expected to end up in a stately home,something similar to the Xavier mansion, but instead Howard found himself driving up to a diner.The name which he’d thought he’d read wrong, was at the top of the small building…

Doom Patrol, it did not inspire confidence in him to come to a town called Deathtoll and have to eat in a diner that was all about doom.

Despite his reservations he walked in,and the attention of the few people there instantly shifted to him,they weren’t even subtle about it-they openly tracked him,yet he didn’t see a hint of recognition in their eyes.Clearly the people of Deathtoll(really?!), were a suspicious bunch.One particularly rough looking man gave him a scathing glare, and Howard was almost certain he’d seen a hint of metal on the man’s knuckles.

Were those claws?

Deciding it was a trick of the light, he caught the attention of a passing waitress.

“Excuse me ma’am I’m looking for Lawrence Trainor,tell him Howard Stark is here to see him,”He gave her a winning smile, but for once the Stark charm failed him, she gave him a suspicious look, and Howard got the distinct feeling that given the chance the patrons would rip him to shreds.

Had he said something wrong?

***

You could tell a lot about a man by looking at his face-an art Howard had perfected.Which helped him figure out absolutely nothing,when it came to Lawrence-call me Larry-Trainor.At first he’d thought the bandages were a joke,then as he’d sat down in the man’s office he’d realized they were not-something in the way Larry wore them said it was no laughing matter.

Disfigurement?Burn victim? Sensitive skin?

A cat jumped onto his lap,breaking his train of thought and Howard startled, losing his train of thought.

“Gerty,stop,you’re scaring him,”The cat gave him a swat,before jumping on the table and moving over to Larry,where the other man began patting it .

“So Larry, how about it,I’ll pay you triple what the shares are worth,and you and I can go our separate ways,”Larry looked at him,still patting the cat,he rolled his shoulders.

“Why do you want them back?”At that Howard paused,why shouldn’t he want them back-plus he and Obadiah had been talking, and though the other didn’t know that Howard didn’t own the extra fifteen percent of  the company-Obadiah had made some good points about holding onto the majority of the power for Tony’s sake.

“It’s better for him to have a larger monetary cushion when he takes charge,”Obadiah’d said and the points he’d made for that were pretty valid.

“I’m not sure I understand the question Larry…”

“Well Howard, it seems to me…”

They argued for hours , with Howard trying to push more money at Larry,and the other declining(to be honest,Howard knew the man didn’t need it-unlike the other board members,Larry didn’t come across as the time of man to be swayed by a few extra zeros).They ended up settling on a compromise.

“I don’t want to sell, but I’m also not interested in the pomp and flare of it all,”

“I’ll give you my proxy,and you can continue on,without anyone knowing the truth,” Seeing no way around it,Howard ended up agreeing,leaving the diner loaded with plates of food,and enduring more stares as he left.

He’d return a few times over the years,at first to try and get Larry to change his mind.Then eventually he came because he needed the sanctuary it brought-the meals Larry made,making him believe in the simpler things in life.On a few occasions he even brought Tony along-but the kid was too young to truly appreciate it.Too busy chasing Larry’s cat around the property.

Chapter Text

It was like watching piranhas devour a corpse.The moment Tony had gone from ‘missing’ to ‘declared dead’, despite his body never being found ,  parasites had come out of the woodwork.People Tony had considered friends showed their fangs,striking out in a move Pepper hadn’t seen coming.

All of them bowing to Obadiah’s will(witnessing the man’s betrayal had made Pepper almost glad Tony was dead-if only to spare him the heart ache).

“We’ll announce that Stark Industries has gone bankrupt, and as soon s that’s done we will sell it back to ourselves at a cheaper price,”

“Tony had a few projects in the works that I foresee being worth trillions in the years to come-by cutting off the staff,and all those charities Stark was tied to- we’ll be rich for generations to come,”The board clapped as Pepper stood frozen,not quite willing to believe what she was hearing.

“You can’t do this,Stark ind…”From his seat at the head of the table,Obadiah raised a hand-silencing her.

“Stark industries is no more, Miss Potts, this…”He gestured at the gathered men and women“…is just a formality,”

“Now, for the current plan to go into motion, there must be a hundred percent agreement from all shareholders,let’s get to it ladies and gentlemen,”His smile might as well have dripped acid all over the glass table.

Pepper stood to the side,watching as the votes were cast,the hologram casting a green light with each vote counted.And for the first time she realized exactly why Obadiah had wanted her there,and she nearly threw up on her shoes.She was the closest to Tony,and the man wanted to see her break the same way Tony would’ve if he’d still been alive.

Fighting back tears she held her head high, fighting the urge to jump across the table and strangle the man.

“And the results are in!Looks like business has been completed,”They all watched as the hologram at the center of the table fizzled,and despite her resolve,Pepper closed her eyes,unwilling to see the number that would destroy all of Tony’s work.

She waited for the cheers and claps, but they never came.Instead there was absolute silence, and it was soon broken by Obadaih cursing loudly.

She opened her eyes, and right there in front of her was the number 85…what?

“The figure is not wrong Mr Stane, all of you have voted with the entirety of your shares,and that is the total,”Jarvis’ voice filled the room.

“Mr Stane, you have access to your shares and Sir’s shares, but not to the fifteen percent proxy Mr Stark had, and the shareholder in question,cast a vote in the negative”Pepper had never been more glad that Tony had included smugness into Jarvis’ programming.

She looked at the stunned board,and over at Obadiah,who was doing his best impression of a choking fish,and Pepper couldn’t help herself…she started giggling.

***

Nick Fury was not a man who liked surprises.

He made it his business to know a surprise was coming, even before the person who was planning the surprise had a chance to think about it.

Shield had known what Obadiah Stane was intending for days, and they’d meant to get to the shares before he could.Granting themselves access to the tech Stark had dangled in their faces for years.

The mysterious shareholder…had been a surprise.Which led to them having to come up with another plan.

“Find out whoever this person is, and buy the shares from them before Obadiah does,”

“What if they don’t want to sell?”Sometimes Nick hated how reasonable Phil was.

“We persuade them otherwise,”The other man nodded,his eyes glinting even as his fixed smile remained(probably thinking of  the various ways of persuading someone).

“I’ll get Natasha and Clint on the case,”

***

Larry sat cross legged on a cliff’s edge, the cool morning breeze seeped into his bandages and he breathed deeply.Directly below him was a small lake, but Larry could no longer see it.His eyes were elsewhere-sharing a vision of the heavens with Keeg, who was zigzagging amongst the clouds.

A huff of laughter escaped Larry as Keeg barreled right into a flock of birds, breaking their formation,and getting a few angry beak snaps for his trouble.

When Keeg returned to him,they merged seamlessly, and Larry took a deep breath enjoying the moment.

“They’ll send spies soon, we won’t be able to do this anymore,”

“I know,”It was a strange thing, Larry mused as he got up, walking towards the diner .He didn’t know the sound of Keeg’s voice.But he knew the feel of it,like a thunderstorm rolling in,wrapping itself around him.

Before,when he’d regarded the other as a parasite, the sound of it had been nothing more than burning static, now it just felt like home.

Keeg let out a low rumbling laugh when Gerty,who was waiting by the  diner’s backdoor, jumped into their hands-greeting them with a gentle purr,before sauntering off  to do whatever Gerty did with her days.

“Mornin’ James,”The man in question-with his perfectly groomed beard-nodded, going back to his task of peeling the potatoes for the breakfast special.

The door to the front opened and a blur threw itself at him, he ruffled the patch of white hair that stood out against red, letting the hug linger longer than necessary –after over a hundred years of not touching anyone,he knew just how important touch was,and he was the only person she could touch without worrying about killing , so he indulged her.

“I’m almost set up front-you guys ready?”She pulled back,composing herself,pulling her walls up , the similarity to Jane nearly knocked Larry off his feet.

***

The Doom Patrol wasn’t the type of diner you visited because you saw it by the side of a road(it was nowhere near a road).It was a place known by word of mouth.

All the booths were sectioned off, giving privacy to the occupants.In the sixties, men came to cuddle with their boyfriends, and women in flowy dresses would make out with one another.All the couples feeling free and at ease, knowing that so long as they were in the Doom Patrol nothing would happen to them.Then as time had gone on, another brand of customers had made their way through the doors.

The first had been a teenager, she’d accidentally dropped a glass.It had shattered, but the water had never touched the ground, instead it’d snaked its way around her fingers.She’d only let it fall when Larry had calmed her enough for her to sit and had given her a proper meal.She’d come back a few months later, bringing with her a boy with glowing eyes,who’d shyly asked if they had any hot coal, and had stared at the plate like Larry had given him a slice of heaven.

There’d been more after that,the faces(except for a few), changing with the decades, but it was a well known fact to those who needed it that Doom Patrol was safe.

“Like Danny,”Keeg’d chimed and though that hadn’t been the intention-it’d just been a way to stop them from falling into a slump-Larry hadn’t been able to refute the statement.

***

Doom Patrol  was secure,they’d made sure of that-the bodies that they’d buried at the bottom of the ocean were proof .But every once in  a while someone got suspicious, and given the stunt that they’d pulled with Stark Industries, they knew someone was coming.

The couple that walked in later that afternoon ticked all the boxes of an ordinary couple.Something that-though they were unaware of it-made them stick out like a sore thumb.The woman, brown hair in a simple bun,and the man,wearing purple sunglasses, whispered sweet nothings to each other a little too loudly.

Young love,their act screamed…liars,their eyes said,they’d been looking at everything since they came in,making it look like bashful glances.James had tensed at just from looking at them through the small one-way window in the kitchen.

“They’re all wrong,their movements too smooth,calculated,”The cold hard tones had  Larry and Keeg on egde, reminding them of the killing machine they’d come across in ’88.

The kitchen door opened, and a man who’d been a regular since the early seventies, made his way in.

“Lar, you’ve got rats, need my expertise?”He emphasized his point by squeezing his hand, the kitchen fires glinting on his adamantium claws.

“Thank you for the offer Logan,but we should see what they want first,without tipping them off,”The Wolverine was famous, though the agents might not know Logan,the moment his claws came out,it would be pretty clear who he was.

Nodding to the two, Larry slipped out of the kitchen, Anna Marie was moving from booth to booth,but Larry could tell even she was on high alert.He held her gaze briefly,shook his head and she got the message,backing away from the couple without touching them.

Larry walked to their booth, the woman rummaging through her purse ,and the man gave him a perfectly friendly smile when he saw him approach(there was no way he wasn’t faking, normal people reacted more to a man bandaged from head to toe).

“Welcome to Doom Patrol,what can I get you?”The man opened his mouth to answer, just as the woman lifted her head, and the moment they locked gazes her façade fell away, and Larry stopped trying to be friendly.

“Business or pleasure,” He breathed, his voice coming out as bland as always, but judging by the way she straightened, she’d heard the warning in it loud and clear.

Her partner, having realized their cover was blown, reached into his jacket,but she placed a hand on him,aborting the gesture as she pulled off her wig,revealing her bright red hair.

“It’s alright Clint,trust me,”He inhaled sharply at her using what was obviously his real name, but Larry didn’t really care,she still hadn’t answered.

“Well?”

“It’s business,we’re here about the Stark shares,”The knot inside Larry eased, and Keeg retreated, no longer thrumming in the edges of Larry’s vision-this they could deal with.

“You , or your employer?”If it were just her,he’d be happy to send her on her way and be done with it.But an employer meant he’d have to deal with them head on, otherwise they’d keep coming back,and he didn’t want to put his customers at risk like that.

“My employer wants them,”Well, of course,no way it could be that easy.

***

The moment the diner was no longer in sight,Clint spoke up“Nat, what was that?”

“That, was me saving our lives,”She sped up,not able to relax until they were back on the highway.

“I’ll tell you,when we get back to the base,”Clint didn’t ask anymore and Natasha was thankful for that,she focused on driving,letting the task clear her racing thoughts.Now was not the time to panic,she needed to pull herself together, and calm down.

***

Phil Coulson had seen a lot of things in his life, but in all his years.The one thing he ever thought he’d see,was a freaked out Natasha.To a stranger,she would seem as calm as always, but Phil noticed the slight hitch in her breaths, and shared a look with Fury, who was just as surprised as he was.

“What happened?”

“We managed to get in, but our cover was blown as soon as we sat down,”That was impossible, Clint and Natasha were the best shield had to offer.How on earth had they gotten  caught?

“He knew Nat,”Clint offered, and Phil straightened in his chair .The people who recognized Natasha on sight,were few and far between, and in most cases,they had to be dealt with as soon as possible.

“Natasha,will this require wet work?”She paled even more at the suggestion.

“You can’t,”She looked around after uttering the words,as though expecting to be struck down.

Oh.

Phil’s mind whispered.

This wasn’t just Natasha freaked out,this was Natasha scared.And just like that,the Stark shareholder’s status went from person of interest to top priority.

“That wasn’t just some diner owner-that, was the Spirit,”And just like that not even top priority was enough.The Spirit had been named such because of the alarming lack of information they had on him despite having tried their best to reverse the situation.

“I only ever saw him once, in the remains of a burning Hydra base.I didn’t think he’d seen me, he never turned in my direction-but today,he recognized me,”The fact that the Spirit had been the one to set the base(full of highly skilled biological weapons) on fire did not need to be said.

“How long ago was that agent Romanoff?”

“Fifty-years,”And the situation kept getting worse, their records on the Spirit only went back twenty years.

Phil’s phone chose that moment to go off,and he answered the call.A few seconds later he put down the phone with an air of someone who was so done with everything, that they’d willingly sit and drink tea with a nuclear bomb strapped to their chest.

“Tony Stark is alive.He escaped from his captors late last night,”

Chapter Text

Having decided to draw heat away from the Doom Patrol, Larry had moved to New York(temporarily of course).

Saying he didn’t like the city was an understatement-none of them did.

Not James(who’d taken one look at Larry’s bag and added his own).Not Keeg, who’d had no choice in coming, since they were a package deal and not Gerty  who’d come hiding in their luggage.

Not only did they not like it-only weeks after their arrival-there’d been an alien invasion.

Complete with humanoid locusts and giant space worms.They’d mostly stayed out of it,their only interference being when he and Keeg’d snapped the forced psychic bond they could feel.It had been faint,originating from light years away,but the fact that it was even there(feeling like maggots feasting on live flesh as the victim tried to fight), meant that whoever was enforcing it had to be incredibly powerful.The fighting had ended soon after that, and he and James had been able to watch their favourite soapies uninterrupted.

***

One day, in their third month of being in the city, when things had finally settled after the alien attack.Larry returned from his daily deliveries at the local shelters, to find a limo in the building’s garage, the  license plates simply read STARK.

He parked his flower painted van right next to it, and the moment he stepped out,he was met with a familiar set of brown eyes.

“Tony Stark,” The man with the goatee said,extending a hand.

“But of course you already know that,Mr Trainor,”His eyes roamed over Larry, the assessment eerily similar to the one his father had given the bandaged man years ago.

“Call me Larry, please come upstairs, ”Knowing James, the penthouse had been cleaned out of anything suspicious while the limo was blocks away.

“…so was it a mummification gone wrong.Did a cursed treasure bring you back to life.Or is this just how you roll-bandages all the way…”The elevator ride felt like déjà vu for Larry.While Tony talked, Larry kept seeing the boy who used to spend hours chasing Gerty around the diner-he’d said almost the exact same things back then, only then he hadn’t even made it up to Larry’s waist and he’d had an adorable lisp.

“Aviation accident,”Larry answered truthfully when they were almost at the penthouse.

“Wha-”

“A pelican hit me head on, both of us were going at full speed and I was in a fighter jet…it didn’t end well,”Keeg let out a grumble only Larry could hear-he did not appreciate being called a pelican.Tony for his part  opened and closed his mouth a few times before doubling over laughing-he’d done the exact same thing as a child, and beneath his bandages,Larry’s mouth twitched in what would have been a smile if his skin still allowed for such movement.

***

“Thanks for helping me out with the whole Obi-Obadiah thing,”Tony said as he bit into a homemade cookie,and  his mind shut off for a few seconds,overwhelmed by how good it tasted.Larry sat on the other stood on the other side of the island peeling potatoes on god level(seriously,getting a single long peel out of each potato every time was a grandmaster level skill).

He watched the older man start cutting the potatoes,his gloved fingers dancing over them.The oil on the stove sizzled and Larry turned his back, adding onions and stirring them.

“So…why are you really here?”There was something about Larry’s voice that made everything he said sound like he was talking about the weather,but not in a boring professor kind of way-it was more of a grandpa vibe-and Tony found it soothing.

“One good turn deserves another-so I thought it fair to let you know that SHIELD knows you’re a mutant-they even have files on you,”Larry turned down the heat,his attention going back to cutting vegetables.

“I know,”He said,shrugging his shoulders like Tony’d just told him to add more salt.

“You already knew?!”The bandaged man nodded,adding the potatoes as well as some tomatoes to the pot.

“You don’t seem very worried about Nick Fury looking down your throat with a flashlight and finding that you ate the missing plum”Larry only shrugged,still focused on his dish.

“Well,I’m old-I’m past the point of worrying about everything, I just roll with the punches,”

“Besides if push comes to shove-I can take care of myself,”Larry turned then, and for a moment Tony felt that he was being watched by something other-his breathing stuttered and his heart rate picked up-the sudden fear taking the billionaire by surprise as he struggled to place it.Larry hadn’t moved a muscle, but something about him had turned dangerous, like a snake coiled and ready to strike, and Tony realized he was getting a glimpse of the man SHIELD called the Spirit.

The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come and Tony grabbed the island with one hand,the other clutching his chest.

“Wow…that is one hell of a party trick,”He palmed the arc reactor, a few buttons coming lose,exposing the unnatural blue light.There was an exhale from Larry,and Tony couldn’t be sure given the bandages,but he was pretty sure it had been a shocked gasp.

Not revulsion, fear or pity, but shock…interesting.

***

The moment Tony left(arms laden with cookies and some of the stew Larry’d made), James stepped out of the shadows,looking shaken.

“You alright?”Larry asked,pulling up a chair and going to pour him a glass of milk, only to stop and bring a bottle of whiskey, James immediately took a huge gulp.

“He looks just like Howard, but the expressions are all Maria,”The man rasped,wiping silent tears, and Larry placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

“It wasn’t your fault,”

In this world Larry had no history,so he supposed that made things easier for him-but James Buchanan Barnes was the world’s history.First as Bucky Barnes,Steve Rogers right hand man, and later as the Winter Soldier,the assassin who’d reshaped the fate of billions of lives with mass graves, broken bodies and poisoned drinks.Most of his work done so perfectly there was never evidence of foul play.

After Larry’d freed him, the bandaged man hadn’t killed the Hydra sect himself.He’d waited until James was strong enough,then he’d given him the key to the hidden base and stood outside watching Keeg fly amongst the trees.Both of them ignoring the agonized screams coming from inside.But even that bit of closure wasn’t enough sometimes.

“Whatever is up with Larry Trainor, none of you want him to come at you with the business end of his stick,”Tony said moaning around Larry’s stew,next to him Bruce sat quietly eating one of the delicious cookies with a content look on his face.

Tony watched as Thor finished his stew,then went for a third serving.

“We’re not attacking him Tony, just looking for an ally-maybe we can get him to use his powers for good,”Cap said looking   righteous(the effect ruined by the cookie crumbs around his mouth).

“Yeah I get the feeling he’s not into the whole hero thing, and I won’t force it.I’d rather not have a mummy as an enemy-that guy’s bound to know some nasty curses,”

“But if we could talk to him-”Tony shook his head.

“He already knows SHIELD views him as a threat-and you are the current face of SHIELD,”Next to Steve,Natasha’s sudden stillness was very telling,and Clint was trying a little too hard to act like he was only focusing on his food.

“Friend Stark is right, we should not push the phantom-besides,there’s still the matter of finding my brother, and he poses a much greater threat at the moment,”And just like that the brewing tension dissipated.Thor was right,Loki, for some unknown reason had abandoned the battle half way through,despite the fact that he’d been winning.None of them had been able to figure out why,or where he’d gone.He was currently at the top of their most wanted list.

Chapter Text

“What do you have on Larry Trainor?”It might have been a question,but Fury had a way of making everything sound like a threat.

“He lives with another man,and a cat.Has an impressive rooftop garden.He makes and delivers food to shelters around the city,goes on daily random walks,and some days he plays board games with the elderly at the park,he’s also fond of karaoke,”Coulson was describing the type of man he often pretended  to be when he was out in public- a perfectly boring,bland guy,no he’s not really carrying a huge gun ,and no,you did not see him kill that man.Pretended, being  the key word, before they’d discovered Larry Trainor,Coulson hadn’t thought anyone actually lived like that-and enjoyed it.At first Coulson had thought it a cover,but the man was proving them wrong,in the  months  they’d been tailing  him, he’d never once broken character.

“What about his roommate?”A blurry picture of a man with a ridiculously huge beard popped up.

“He rarely leaves the penthouse , and in the times that he has,it’s hard to see anything beyond his beard,”It really was an impressive piece“But we were able to get a first name…James,”They were moving at the pace of nerdy highschoolers with a crush in terms of getting information and Coulson didn’t like it-judging by Fury’s permanent(more than  usual) scowl,he didn’t like it either.

***

He and James were just wrapping up their morning sparring session when Larry felt  it.The smallest shift in the air, like a butterfly landing on a petal.He turned just in time to have a dagger pointed at his throat,and just as quickly as it was there-it was gone.James already engaging the intruder.

Larry watched James subdue their attacker in a matter of seconds,and then he pulled back their hood to reveal a face that had been plastered everywhere since the New York attack…Loki.

***

“Well then,I supposed I wouldn’t be able to trouble you for a drink…mead perhaps?”

“Depends,try anything and I’ll have you carved up faster than you can say Asgard,”Bucky said very pointedly tightening his  grip on Loki’s throat,momentarily cutting off air supply.

“We don’t have mead, but I do have some homemade ginger beer -not the yeast monstrosity kids today are using,”Larry went into the kitchen and came back with a pitcher,walking  in on a staring contest between James and Loki.

“So,your highness,what brings you here?”Loki crossed his legs on the mat,eyes widening and his lower lip jutted out just so.

“Everything was so dark for so long, and every thought I had hurt,but then I felt your presence and you  took my pain away,”Loki took a deep breath,a single tear running down his cheek.

“I traced your  energy here, I wanted to thank you in person.I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I just ignored you,”The prince stood then,giving a small bow.

“Thank you,”Earnest green eyes looked up at him, and against his better judgement,Larry raised his hands and gave a slow clap-Rita  would’ve loved him.

Loki startled,confused for a few seconds before he pulled on an affronted mask.

“What is the meaning  of  this- I, a prince am humbling myself before you, and you mock me,”His eyes blazed,green energy dancing at his finger tips  and Larry’s mind went back to Jane.

 “You’re lying,”He breathed,Keeg humming gently in the background.Loki’s angry mask dropped just as quickly as the humble one,and  this time the expression that followed was more genuine.An impish grin,with his eyes gleaming with sheathed rage.

“Well then,now that route’s closed,let’s get straight to the point.Why did you save me?”He tucked a strand of hair behind his  ear, his shoulders thrown back.

“And just so we’re clear,I owe you nothing.It was your decision to save me and you’ll just have to deal with it,”Beneath the haughtiness, Larry could see the hints of unease.

Loki was trouble,and that was something Larry had made an art out of dodging no matter how many times it came at him.But in as much as the prince was chaos,Larry could also see the injured soul beneath,and he couldn’t bring himself to kick the other out.

He looked over at James for the strength to kick Loki out,remembering too late that the other also had a soft spot for poor souls.

“So long as you don’t try to kill or hurt us, you can stay here,”He turned away before Loki could process the invitation,already knowing he wouldn’t be refusing.

***

Later,sealed away in his chamber for the night Larry watched his glowing skin.

Moving stiffly,he pulled out an old battered box.Gingerly taking out the remains of Cliff’s jacket, one of Jane’s rings,Rita’s pearl necklace and a shoelace belonging to Vic.Eyes burning with tears that would never be shed he held the objects close.

His friends had been forces of nature,too big and too bright to be relegated to nothing more than scraps, but other than his memories,it was all he had of them.Keeg detached from him,settling next to Larry,and looking over the relics with him.

They did not cry,but their sorrow reverberated through Larry’s bones,and he leaned into them,starlight engulfing his being.

No words were said, none were needed, the two of them understood their loss in a way that could never be expressed by sound.