ILLYRIS | vi. "DESTINY IS A LADDER." CONFRONTATIONS
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ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, Dr. Bruce Banner's first ride atop a dragon was oddly smooth.
After the initial hesitancy and yelps as Rhaegon made sudden dives and turns, he found the journey wholly exciting. Everything was so small and fleeting as the wind blew through him like a frantic rush. For a man like him, he had multiple perspectives of a world that would soon be under attack... but this was far more surreal than anything he ever felt.
Thea on the other hand nearly lost the ability to breathe the second Rhaegon landed on the rolling sea of grass by the Avengers Facility. She remembered a school trip she went on after the Battle of New York to Avengers Tower. It was so shiny and so tall she remembered the ache in her neck from looking up at the looming building. They only cracked the surface of such a monumental experience and now she was about to go inside the shattered heart of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Bruce led the way down a pale stone pathway to a glass vestibule. He punched in a set of codes and the doors slid open with a low hiss. Thea's heart pounded in her chest as she stepped inside the foyer of the compound. It was comfy in a contemporary way— furnished with small lounge chairs and a perfect view of the landing pads for the team's planes and aerial vehicles... or Vissera whose golden scales shimmered in the sunlight as she reunited with her brother.
Though she had as much freedom as Rhaegon, she was tasked to protect the Valoqar upstate from anyone who would dare to poach them. Thea often wondered if criminals or revenge would follow from their stint in Madripoor but keeping Vissera with Serafina and the army gave her relief.
With a wave of her fingers, a crimson light washed over the dragons. They shrunk in size and their iron scales sprouted black and white fur. Their slashing, spined tails shortened and their ID tags clinked together from the dog collars around their necks. In seconds, the two dragons became large dogs, trotting up to Thea who rewarded them with scratches behind their floppy ears. She hexed her uniform and hair as well, returning to civilian clothes and dark brown, loose hair.
Bruce watched in sheer awe though he stumbled away when Rhaegon pressed his wet black nose against his sneakers. "Amazing..."
He explained every part of the compound the best he could. She learned of the extensive research and technological facilities, lounges and residences, shooting ranges, and state-of-the-art gyms— even a screening room and a natatorium. It was like a hotel on steroids, a sight more stupendous than Disneyland. Thea often fell behind in their trek to just look around and take it all in.
The two traveled up a sleek elevator to a large room exposed by its floor-to-ceiling glass design. Half of it was a living room, fit with bits of red and black furniture and a huge flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. The other was a workshop of sorts featuring a small cluttered lab table manned by a familiar person. His dark skin was lined with age and worry, his short-cut hair a rich gray. Thea's eyes dropped down to the metal prosthetics fixed on his hips and legs. She heard the story from Peter, about his accidental fall from the sky during the showdown at the airport in Germany. Then, she knew instantly who the man they were about to meet: Colonel James Rhodes of the U.S. Air Force, more commonly known to the public as War Machine and Tony Stark's best friend.
