Chapter Text
Castle Doom felt like a roadside attraction- the gray stone walls were lined with medieval-style lamps that buzzed with electricity. It even had fake walls and doors and robots to entertain travellers. Tony would consider it comical if the king resting in the castle wasn’t a dictator bent on world domination.
Tony strode through the castle until the armor’s sensors told him that the man himself stood on the other side of a large curtain. He reached out and shoved it out of the way.
Doom started speaking before Tony could even sight him. “What do you want, errand boy?”
“You know what I want Doom, I want what you stole.” Tony demanded- mentally shaking off the shock of having been anticipated.
“There has been no theft, payment was accepted- those components belong to me.” Doom said with his back to Tony.
“Not so, Doom. International law prohibits the sale of potentially dangerous commodities to any power that might pose a threat to global peace.” Tony took a step forward and Doom didn’t even react to the heavy footfalls of the armor. “And with your track record of violence and domination you could well be the greatest threat the Earth has ever-”
“Enough!” Doom cut him off. “I do not debate with lackeys, if your employer has a complaint, let him submit it through proper channels and now- go while you can.”
“I’m not moving an inch, Doom, not until I’ve got what I came for!”
“So be it. I offered you my patience- and you’ve taken it all. If you still refuse to leave this castle…” Doom turned to face Tony and the rest of his threat died in his throat.
Tony stood still in equal shock, crouched in a half battle-ready stance as the sky behind Doom burst into a brilliant color.
Doom recovered first. “No… you?!”
Without thinking, Tony responded. “You’re not my first choice either!”
And then the panic set in and Tony decided to flee; the boot jets kicked in and Tony lifted into the air in seconds. He was barely off the ground when something grabbed his leg- and despite the fact that the armor could easily lift far more than Tony’s weight he found himself being dragged to the ground.
“You will not get away!” Doom seethed.
Tony looked down as he crashed into something below the platform they had been standing on, to see that Doom had grabbed his leg. “I thought you wanted me to leave!”
“Don’t play smart with me!” Doom bit back.
Metal scraped against metal on Tony's back as Doom dragged him off the piece of machinery he had landed on. Tony lifted a hand and aimed a repulsor blast at Doom; the man recoiled for a second before recovering and leaping towards Tony's side. Tony deflected a hand reaching towards him and once again activated the boots.
This time Doom reached out and used some kind of spell and an invisible force yanked Tony out of the sky and towards Doom.
He caught Tony’s shoulders and pinned his arms to the side. "You can't run from this."
Tony was caught off from replying by the ground below them bursting into a bright color and then quickly rising to meet them. Doom let go of one of Tony’s arms to stare in shock.
“The time cube-”
Before Tony could even ask what he meant the light encompassed them both.
---
Grass greeted Tony’s faceplate as he hit the ground; Tony marvelled at it- so far the third most colorful thing he’d seen his entire life.
He rose to his feet. “Where... are we?”
“The machinery must have exploded, and cast us into the courtyard.” Doom explained as he stood. “But that’s irrelevant, we’re mated and that makes you mine.”
"Like hell I am." Tony growled.
"Clearly, you were made to serve me, your king."
"You're not even the current king of Latveria."
"Bah- Zorba is a fool that I will soon replace, he is nothing but a bug to be crushed."
“And yet he’s the current king with the backing of the UN.”
Doom abruptly took an aggressive step forward- and his eyes(the same color as the tree bark around them, Tony noted) blazed in anger. “He has their backing because the UN is full of snivelling fools that despise and fear me! He rightly does not have the backing of the people of Latveria- he is destroying my country! He’s reprogrammed my Doombots to execute citizens whenever they please- you cannot look me in the eye and tell me that you would rather he be on the throne because some bureaucrats that have never once stepped foot in Latveria favor him?”
Tony didn’t flinch back, but instead met Doom’s eyes. “I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn’t, ignorant American.”
“I’m sorry- you literally fight a team of American superheroes on a bi monthly basis, and try to take over the world, and you expect us to have a high opinion of you?”
“Surely neither of those things carry weight on how I rule my country-”
Tony rested his head in a gauntleted hand. “It’s called PR, Doom.”
"Unlike your master, I do not grovel for the media."
"The media exists whether you like it or not- you're a part of the game just by being a public figure. If you don't play the game you lose it."
The sound of horses and clinking armor made them both pause.
“We’re not in Latveria.” Doom said suddenly.
Tony glanced around and realized that Doom wasn’t lying- the trees and geography were all wrong. On further inspection the massive castle in the distance wasn’t Castle Doom.
“Camelot.” He spoke without context.
“Camelot?” Tony echoed.
Doom stood tall as he surveyed the area. “Yes, I recall now, we were standing upon my time cube as we fought and Dr. Hauptmann was perched near the controls. That sniggering weasel must have sought revenge for my killing his brother by attempting to lose me in time! But things may yet work out- I've been trying to reach this era- that’s why the time cube’s controls were present for this particular age, perhaps…”
“Wait- Doom, if we’re in the past and if the thing that sent us here isn’t with us, how are we going to get back?”
“An interesting conundrum, but at present, not my primary concern.”
“Not your-”
Suddenly, honest-to-god medieval knights burst from the tree cover on horses. “Stand to, sir knights!”
Both of them startled at the sight of a squad of armored knights in front of them.
“You trespass in the realm of Arthur, lord of the round table, whose loyal men-at-arms we be.” Said one, wearing another color Tony had never seen before. “Kneel and show obeisance, ere you be allowed to pass.”
“Kneel? Me?” Doom demanded as the knights swiftly surrounded them.
“Easy, Doom.” Tony muttered.
“Mayhaps the cur has forgotten the workings of his joints, Sir Gareth, refresh his memory.”
Another knight reached down in an attempt to manhandle Doom, but he didn’t get further than laying a hand on Doom’s shoulder
“You dare lay hands on me?” The man growled. “You have little regard for your life- and I have even less!”
In an instant he lashed out with a gauntlet and sent the knight flying clear off his horse and into a tree.
The remaining three knights lifted shields and lances and not five minutes and Doom had already picked a fight with the locals. Doom caught a lance thrust towards him and electrocuted its wielder through his armor and the poor man fell to the ground, stunned. Doom and another knight began advancing on each other before Tony shot a wide-range repulsor blast at the ground between them, gouging into the earth.
“Stop!” He shouted.
Both men froze, and turned to look at him.
“Do you… yield?” Said the knight wielding a sword, visibly frightened by them.
Tony barely spared him a glance before leaning towards Doom, voice low. “Listen, we’re strangers here, and we’re not going to get anywhere by antagonizing the locals!”
“You may have a point…” Doom huffed. “Very well, I agree for now.”
Everything calmed down after that, the two knights still standing seemed unsure about whether or not to frisk them for weapons before they decided to leave them alone and instead helped the knights Doom felled. Quickly the both of them were lead in the center of a procession towards and into a city. Medieval peasants whispered and gossiped as they walked through the center of the city and into the castle’s throne room.
The leader of the knight’s squad, now on foot, began shouting as soon as Tony and Doom were positioned in front of the throne. “All vow and hail our sovereign lord of the round table and master of all men’s souls: King Arthur!”
Everyone in the room bowed with exception to Tony and Doom themselves. Quickly a man with a crown and massive sword on his side walked into the room, undoubtedly King Arthur.
“Rise.” He commanded, before sitting on the throne. “You’ve always had good cause for interrupting my kingly duties, Sir Gareth. I trust this occasion is no exception.”
Sir Gareth bowed in greeting. “Sire, my patrol came upon these strangers in the Hildebrandt wood. They displayed great magicks and we feared them to be assassins sent by the evil queen; Morgana Le Fay.”
Subtly, or as subtly as one can in a suit of metal battle armor, Doom shifted in response to the name. Tony- a long time fan of Arthurian tales- recognized the name instantly, and Morgan Le Fay was a sorcerer, and Doom was a sorcerer, and he didn’t need to be a genius to know what business Doom would have here.
King Arthur turned his full attention to them, assessing them and their armors. “Aye, you’ve done well, Sir Gareth, my sister’s machinations are e’er to be watched for. But you whose armor is bright, have you an answer to these accusations?”
Tony stepped forwards and his white-painted boots rang across the quiet stone floor. “Your majesty, I am the champion of a great ruler in a far-off land. I came to your realm looking for this man, who is called Doctor Doom, with whom my master has grievance. I seek only settlement and a peaceful return to my own country.”
The king met Tony’s eyes behind the mask while Tony silently hoped that he’d sounded authentically medieval enough. “But what of these tales of sorcery, have you magical powers?”
“I do possess certain abilities, sire, ones which I use for the cause of good.” Tony stepped back from the throne and flipped over a control panel on his armor. “Observe.”
He manipulated the controls of his finer-tuned armor capabilities to accomplish what was essentially a magic trick, raising and lowering the king’s throne. The hall around them burst into noise as the peasants that had come to witness their meeting gossiped amongst themselves.
“I am most impressed.” The king said after a moment. “And you, of the ashen cowl, what have you to say?”
Doom stepped forward, barely sparing Tony a glance. “I say that I will not lower myself to performing parlor tricks for the rabble, highness, any more than you yourself would. For in my country I am also a king- as witness- the royal seal of Latveria.”
He raised a hand to reveal a ring around his metal fingers- Tony attributed its appearance to magic as it definitely hadn’t been sitting on Doom’s hand the entire time.
“I see.” King Arthur’s voice rumbled lowly. “You pose a complex puzzle indeed, good strangers, one that will take much pondering ere a just solution can be found. Therefore I will withdraw to my chambers to give judgement on the morrow, until then, you will be considered my guests- so long as you do not attempt to leave this castle.”
Tony frowned beneath the armor, a sentiment doubtless matched by Doom. A knight quickly approached to lead them to rooms.
“If I may request this, sire, my encounter with Dr. Doom here, on behalf of my master, has led to startling realizations for both of us.” Doom’s head snapped towards him- eyes wide behind his faceplate. “Namely that we are fated to be mates, and I would request that we share a chambers so we are able to properly discuss our bond.”
“We dare not separate mates in my castle.” King Arthur said. “If you are able to prove your bond I will allow your request.”
What followed was a frankly silly if not necessary game of identifying colors, where Tony and Doom learned the names of ‘gold’ (almost the color of the time cube platform) and ‘green’ (the color of grass and leaves) but were finally led into a single bedchamber for the both of them.
“You wish to speak with me?” Doom asked as soon as the door closed.
Tony rounded on him, wasting no time to get down to business. "You're here for Morgan Le Fay- why?"
Silence stretched between them as they met eyes, both of them as cautious as the other. Eventually, Doom spoke.
"I shall share my reasoning because you are my mate." He paused, though Tony didn't take the opportunity to speak. "I've spent years seeking out the world's strongest sorcerers hoping they will aid me in releasing my mother's soul from Hell. She died unconfirmed and thus was unjustly sentenced to an eternity of suffering; every year once a year I attempt to fight hordes of demons to free her but each attempt has ended in failure. Le Fay is my last hope; however, I believe she is strong and skilled enough to release my mother's soul."
That was… far less devious than Tony had expected, but it rang true. Something pulled at their metaphorical red string of fate telling him that no lies were told- or Tony was completely imagining it- the soulmate thing was kinda new.
“So you’re going to bargain with her, or what?” Tony questioned.
Doom paused, broke eye contact for a second. “We were prematurely sent into the past by Hauptmann, I hadn’t time to fully research Le Fay; however, that would have been my intent.”
“We’re gonna need to come up with something good to give her, you’re basically asking for your mother’s soul so if we let Le Fay set the price she’s gonna take us for all we’re worth.”
Doom reached out and tapped Tony’s armored bicep. “We could offer her technology, even if she could not take advantage of it we could trick her into considering it valuable.”
Tony shook his head. “Unless you’re willing to do that, I don’t know if Mr. Stark would be too excited if I left some of the armor hundreds of years in the past. But, we could give her knowledge of the future.”
“Knowledge would be acceptable, though perhaps we should hold this conversation for the morning when we have had time to ponder this.” Doom turned towards the single bed in the room. “Your decision to reveal us as mates has resulted in a… less than ideal sleeping situation.”
“With my secret identity and your…” Tony trailed off, unsure how to phrase it without potentially insulting Doom.
“While I cannot criticize your unwillingness to share your face I would like to be able to know the name of my mate.”
He shook his head. “Not a chance, Doom, not unless you take a 180 and stop being a supervillain.”
Doom snorted. “Of course, your perception of morality goes above our cosmically destined soulbond.”
“You said I was made to serve you, generally in America we consider soulmates to be equals.”
“That was spoken in the heat of the moment, as you would say, but I would be in your debt if we saved my mother’s soul.”
Tony let silence stretch between them, ideas swimming in his head about Doom’s debt, and then stepped away from Doom. “That’s great, but doesn’t solve our sleeping problem.”
“I will not be sleeping in my armor.” At that, Doom stripped his gauntlets off and set them onto the only table in the room.
Tony found himself staring at Doom’s exposed hand, it was lightly pockmarked with small cuts and electrical burns, the same exact type of scars Tony found on his own hands. He looked up to see Doom staring at him.
“Are you?” Doom asked pointedly.
He could sleep in his armor, half a year of being stuck in the chestplate rendered him able to sleep under any circumstances, but as Tony watched Doom grasp hidden latches and take his own armor off piece by piece he decided he could do without. Tony turned his back to Doom and quickly stripped his own armor- except for the helmet- and dragged a chair towards an east-facing window before placing all the armor’s pieces down on it.
“Solar powered?” Doom asked casually.
“Yup.”
Tony turned around and took in Doom standing near the bed wearing his armor’s tunic. He had discarded his faceplate, and wrapped black fabric around his head to hide everything except his eyes underneath his cloak’s hood. His eyes roamed Doom’s muscle-bound arms and legs and then met Doom’s equally interested gaze.
“Does Stark not pay you enough to afford clothes?”
Tony snorted. “The armor is a skin-tight mesh, clothes interfere, and it doesn’t look quite as good.”
“No undersuit? Or do you just like fighting naked?”
“I have boxers on.” Tony responded petulantly.
“Of course, my mistake.” Doom broke eye contact to scan the room. “We’ve decorated the furniture with our armor, is it safe to presume we’ll be sharing the bed?”
Tony resisted the urge to make a joke and moved towards it. “It’s a bed fit for a castle, it’ll fit the two of us.”
“That was hardly a concern.” He said smoothly and slipped beneath the bed’s covers.
Tony followed him and resolutely stuck to his side of the bed.
Doom, evidently not bothered by their closeness or Tony’s nakedness, turned to face him. “If I may ask… the scar in the center of your chest, are you well?”
His hand ghosted up to the scar he received during his surgery for his artificial heart- a heavily publicized event that could easily connect Iron Man to Tony Stark. “I’m healthy now, it’s a very old scar.”
Tony pulled the covers over himself- effectively ending the conversation. “Good night, Doom, don’t touch my armor.”
---
The morning came quickly; Tony woke second to the sound of Doom adorning his armor. He crawled out of bed and found his own armor undisturbed and fully charged.
The king summoned them not an hour after they were brought food and a knight led them down to King Arthur’s hall.
“I have made my decision.” The king addressed them. “Although you are strange knights you have not displayed hostile magicks or intentions while within the walls of my castle. You may return to your business as long as you leave my kingdom within the day.”
"Thank you for your kindness, Sire." Tony bowed towards the king.
After their dismissal the two of them found themselves being led outside of the town's walls.
"We need to acquire a horse." Doom said as soon as they were alone.
"My armor's fully charged, I could fly us there easily- a day's horse ride southwest?"
He nodded. "That is what the wench I questioned said."
Tony held out a hand for Doom to grasp. "Hold on tight."
He pulled Doom close and took off into the air, aimed southwest.
---
Half an hour later a massive, lone, castle appeared on the landscape. Tony landed them in front of the castle's lowered drawbridge.
"Wait." Doom threw out a hand to stop Tony from advancing on the bridge. "The bridge shouldn't be down."
He scooped up a stone from the ground and threw it on the bridge. It fell through the bridge as if it wasn't there and fizzled into nothingness upon hitting the 'water'.
"An illusion." Doom muttered.
"Let's just fly over it, then."
"I can sense magic in that tower." He pointed upwards. "Follow me.”
Doom lifted off under the power of his own jetpack and without indicating Tony to follow approached the highest tower in the castle. They entered through a massive window, and then started at the sight of Morgan Le Fay sitting in a massive chair on the other side of the room.
“I hope that you’ll forgive the intrusion, my lady, I am Doom, and this is Iron Man.”
“I know.” She replied as they moved further into the room. “I’ve watched you in my mystic mirror ever since you entered this realm, and I’ve learned much: first, that the two of you are soulbound; second, that you are of another time; and third that you are very strong men. But what the mirror does not tell is why you’ve come and what boon you seek of Morgana Le Fay. Pray, elucidate.”
Doom stepped forward and succinctly explained the deal they wanted to make, and how they had gotten there. “We come bearing knowledge in exchange for your assistance in freeing my mother’s soul.”
“I will agree to help, however, I will need access to things that would only be found during a time after her death.” She reached a hand out and a massive black bird flew to her. “I presume you have a means to return us all to the time from whence you came?”
Tony and Doom glanced at each other.
“We may be able to construct a device to return us given a few hours of work, it’s likely we have the means, if you give us time.” Doom said.
“That is acceptable, let me acquire the tools I’ll require and I shall return.” At that Morgana stood and left the room.
Tony turned towards Doom. “We have the means?”
“I believe we’ll combined have the components necessary to safely bring us back to the future, we simply have to create the device.” Doom explained before taking off his gauntlet and explaining the components he was going to use for the device.
They toiled for hours, familiarizing themselves with each other’s armor systems, disassembling, and re-soldering parts. The two of them worked well together- as if they’d been doing it their entire lives; few words passed between them as a mutual understanding washed between them.
Morgana walked back into the room after some time, and upon hearing what must have sounded like utter nonsense coming from them left once again.
“I’m beginning to understand why the universe has destined us mates.” Doom said quietly as he soldered a connection coming from Tony’s gauntlet.
Tony nodded. “I’m not just some dumb lackey, hm?”
“When it comes to electronics you’re almost as brilliant as I am, why do you wear Stark’s armor with this level of intelligence?”
Tony paused, he had never been a good liar and his secret identity was always a weak spot, even more-so in the face of his equally genius soulmate. He settled for a technical-truth, something Doom would accept. “I would be dead if not for Stark’s armor, I owe him my life.”
“A life debt, I see.” Doom paused in his tinkering to look Tony in the eyes. “But, have you not saved his life enough for it to be considered paid?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t considered that, but I wouldn’t give up the armor for the world. I don’t think I’d like watching someone else run around in the armor that used to be mine while I sip pina coladas on a tropical island.”
“You know, Doom,” Tony said after a pause. “You’re pretty good at this armor stuff, as well.”
“Call me Victor.”
“Of course, Vic.” He cheekily cocked his head to the side at Doom’s affronted reaction.
Doom’s uncovered hands taunted Tony through most of their building session- and eventually his will broke down while they were taking a short break. He slipped off his gauntlet and hovered his hand near Doom’s own, rested upon the arm of a chair. Doom wordlessly flipped his hand palm up, an invitation if Tony had ever seen one. He pressed his hand down onto Doom’s and curled their fingers together. Pure warmth coming from their hands- or their souls, Tony couldn’t really differentiate- spread through him at the touch.
“This is a bad idea.” Tony muttered.
“Because you’re a superhero?”
“No, because your world domination plan sucks.”
Doom looked up at him, and simply blinked in confusion.
Internally, Tony’s brain screamed at him that this plan was dumb and bound to fail, but he expertly ignored it in favor of the feeling of being next to his soulmate. “I won’t deny that I haven’t thought up a few world domination plans in my time, but I will say that step #1 on all of them is that it all comes crumbling down the instant the public considers me a supervillain.”
“Explain.” His soulmate demanded.
“Good always prevails over evil-” Doom snorted. “- which means if I actually want to take over the world I need to be perceived as a superhero. Taking it by force means it will be taken from me by force, the approach needs to be friendly, diplomatic, and seemingly altruistic. No one wants Iron Man killer of millions as ruler of Earth or anything, for that matter, but they would want Iron Man savior of millions in charge.”
“Putting aside the fact that the masses don’t need to like me for my rule to be true, are you implying that if I ‘changed my ways’ I would be a better ruler?”
“It’s all PR, it’s why the UN like Zorba more than you, and on a cosmic scale I think it’s why the FF always win, in the end.”
Doom extracted his hand from Tony’s. “That’s foolish.”
Tony flexed his hand at the chill in the air. “You have to face the facts, Doom, your brute force thing isn’t working out for you. I’m just saying, if you cut back on all the killing, and attacking the FF, and got some good PR you’d already be well on your way to world domination.”
“So, this is all a bid to make me change my ways.”
“Of course it is, you’re a genius Vic, one of the smartest men I know. Your armor, your bots, your tech, are all some of the most cutting edge technology on this planet. You could do so much good, if you focused on doing that, instead of world domination, you could be amazing. We could be amazing- working together.”
Neither said anything for a few long moments.
“I’m going to have our device traverse space as well as time, and land us in Latveria. After we take care of my mother’s soul, and I take care of Zorba, let me show you my country.”
“Okay… but, why?”
Victor took Tony’s hand into his own. “I believe it will help us understand each other more.”
Morgana returned to the room at that moment, shocking them apart, and returning them to work. They finished the device not two hours later to the glee of the excited sorceress.
Victor instructed her to hold onto them as they activated the device and were flung back into the web of time.
The two of them barely stayed on their feet as they landed in a dense Latverian forest. Morgana, not so lucky, had ended up thrown several feet from them as they snapped back into existence.