Chapter Text
The light came just as Dean was moving to open the impala. One moment Sam was on a bridge, Castiel by his side and mind still reeling under the pressure of trying to even begin to process the magnitude of the betrayal he’d just become aware of, and the next…
The next there was a soft, all-encompassing golden light and a still, small voice whispered something in his ear as the bridge fell away, to be replaced by a city street and crowds of gawping people. He had a split second to register that Dean, Castiel and even the damn car were still in the same places as before (comparatively speaking) before said crowd started to react- cars grinding to a halt, some pedestrians pinwheeling back, others shouting and still others whipping out cell phones and starting to record.
And then an honest-to-God metal man dropped with a solid thud from the air (and he wasn’t hallucinating- he knew he wasn’t hallucinating because all the hallucinations he’d had before had either been based on things from The Cage or caused by detox, and even a Djinn wouldn’t create something as nonsensical as this). The metal guy pointed glowing palms in their direction, and a distinctly human-sounding male voice came out of him.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”
The first question was not one Sam ever liked to answer, and the second… well, he’d have rather liked to know that himself.
“I could ask you the same.”
Ah, so Dean was apparently recovered enough to find his voice. The older man had moved to be closer to the trunk, ready to reach for its contents should things go bad. The pleading gaze he’d put on during his “I’m poison” speech had been wiped away without a trace, replaced with the smug, cocky expression he’d developed specially for his interactions with law enforcement.
Things only got weirder when a man wearing suit a which appeared to be based on a muted version of the American flag and an armoured guy almost as tall as Sam himself carrying- was that Mjölnir?- pushed their way through the crowd.
“Everything all right here, Stark?” The blond flag asked, and Sam had to admit the way he stood- seemingly composed, but poised ready to attack at any moment- was impressive.
“Just peachy, Cap,” the metal man- Stark?- replied breezily. “Honestly, I think these guys have even less of a clue about how they got here than we do. Car seems to suggest they’re at least from Earth, though, so that’s something, at least.”
“Where the hell else would we be from?” Dean demanded.
Armour dude looked around at the gathering crowd. “Mayhap it would benefit us to continue our discourse in a less public location?” He half declared, sounding like some kind of Shakespearean reject. Sam kind of agreed with him, though, and not only because crowds were always terrible things to have around in such circumstances. The situation really wasn’t helping the raw bone-weariness he’d been feeling in the few minutes- God, had it really only been a few minutes?- since he’d expelled that dick angel.
Dean, however, stayed true to form. “Oh, hell no. No way I’m going anywhere with you freaks. And I’m definitely not leaving Baby here.”
The metal man’s face-plate slid back, revealing a middle-aged man with a neatly styled beard and moustache. “Assuming ‘Baby’ is the impala? No worries, Lumberjack Joe, you can just back her into the garage. She’s already in the right place for it. One of us will have to ride with you, though. Make sure you don’t try to make a break for it.”
“What? No way-”
“Dean.” Castiel spoke up, glancing at Sam with a level of worry Sam didn’t even have the energy- or the brainpower, right then- to feel frustrated by. “I agree with the man with the old-fashioned speech pattern. Publicity is not wise. And Sam should not remain standing for so long in his condition. He needs rest if his body is to heal.”
Dean still looked like he was going to argue, even as multiple sets of eyes turned to scrutinise Sam, but Stark got there first.
“Well, that’s settled, then. Cap?”
“I’ll go with Dean and the car. You and Thor take the other two up to the common room. And tell JARVIS to assemble the team.”
“He’s already on it, spangles.” He walked the metal suit over to them and, keeping Castiel in his line of sight, fixed a near-uncomfortably sharp gaze on Sam. “You gonna be able to walk on your own, or are you really that delicate?”
Okay. Now that he could summon up a measure of annoyance for. “I’ll be fine, Tin Can.”
The corners of Stark’s mouth twitched upwards just marginally. “You know, assuming you don’t turn out to be evil aliens or something, I think I could come to like you guys. Now come on- it’s that tower right there.”