The rush of alien memories of Gojo Satoru, of cursed energy, of a world utterly different from this one began to coalesce in the young man's mind.
The overwhelming chaos settled into a strange, new understanding. It was still disorienting, like trying to see through two different pairs of eyes at once, but the initial shock was fading.
After about five seconds, which felt like an eternity suspended between worlds, a lopsided, almost understandable smirk spread across his face.
"Hey... hmmm armor man," Gojo Satoru said, his voice startlingly clear and steady despite everything. He looked down at himself, then back at Iron Man. "I think I can fly now. Properly, I mean."
Before Tony could even process the statement, let alone quip back, the young man in his grasp simply… wasn't there.
He vanished from Iron Man's hold without a whisper of movement. In the next instant, Gojo reappeared a few feet in front of him, levitating straight casually, effortlessly as if he'd been doing it his entire life. His white hair ruffled slightly in the wind, but he seemed perfectly at ease.
Iron Man's thrusters flared slightly as he adjusted his own position. "Jarvis, you getting this?" he muttered under his breath, then spoke into the comms, his voice tight.
"Okay, team, update. Kid is definitely levitating, no visible means of propulsion. He seems… confused, maybe a little too calm, which is concerning. And he can teleport. Just saw it. Looks like a short-range blink."
Gojo tilted his head, his bright blue eyes, now unnervingly sharp and focused, fixed on Iron Man. He'd clearly heard the comms transmission.
"Don't worry so much, armor man," he said, his grin widening a fraction. "I'm not here to fight. To be honest, it just feels… so refreshed. And surprisingly nice too." He gestured vaguely at the vast expanse of sky around them.
"Didn't think I'd ever really appreciate the beauty of the sky this much."
Iron Man hovered, maintaining a cautious distance. "Really? I do that all the time," Tony replied, a touch of his usual bravado returning.
"Admire the beauty, I mean. Comes with the whole flying-superhero gig. Great views."
Gojo's expression shifted, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. "Well," he said, his voice a little softer, more thoughtful, "people often begin to appreciate their surroundings more when they've seen things they… probably shouldn't have." Before Tony could parse that, Gojo blinked out of existence again and reappeared directly in front of Iron Man, close enough that Tony could see the almost unnatural perfection of his features.
He extended a hand, palm open, in a clear gesture for a handshake. "Look, I don't really know what I'm doing here, or how I got here, to be honest," Gojo said, his tone surprisingly direct.
"My own memories… the ones that feel like mine… are a bit of a mess. It's hard to deduce anything concrete. But I do know my name." He paused, his blue eyes meeting the glowing optics of Iron Man's helmet. "It's Gojo Satoru."
Tony Stark was momentarily taken aback. The kid's demeanor was a strange mix of childlike wonder, unnerving confidence, and a hint of something ancient.
"Well," Tony said, not taking the offered hand just yet, "everyone knows me, so I don't think I need an introduction... Just kidding… Iron Man" He subtly shifted his weight. "Jarvis," he subvocalized, "run that name. Gojo Satoru. See if anything pops up. Anything at all."
Meanwhile, back on the Quinjet, the remaining Avengers had recovered from the shock of their unexpected passenger's explosive departure and the subsequent hole in their ceiling.
"Report, Tony?" Captain America's voice came over the comms, steady and authoritative.
"He's… chatty," Tony replied. "And powerful. Says his name is Gojo Satoru. Claims memory loss but seems pretty composed for someone who just woke up from a popsicle nap and blew a hole in my jet."
"Is he hostile?" Steve pressed.
"Doesn't seem to be, not actively. More like a curious, super-powered cat who just found a new playground. But he's definitely an unknown."
Captain America considered this. "Alright team," he announced to the others in the Quinjet. "Hold your fire if he comes back with Tony. We don't engage unless he makes a direct threat. The kid isn't a confirmed enemy… at least, not yet. Tony is coming back with him, one way or another."
….
The Quinjet touched down smoothly on the landing pad high atop Avengers Tower, the New York City skyline sprawling out beneath them.
The rear ramp hissed open, and the team began to disembark, the tension from the mid-air encounter still lingering.
Hawkeye was carefully helped onto a waiting gurney by a medical team. A woman Dr. Cho giving orders to the personnels.
As they stepped onto the solid platform, Tony turned to Gojo, who was looking around with an almost detached curiosity, taking in the towering skyscrapers and the bustle of the landing pad.
"So, kid," Tony said, his voice a little more subdued now, "you really don't remember anything? Like, anything other than your name? No favorite breakfast cereal? No awkward teenage memories you'd rather forget?"
Before Gojo could answer, Captain America stepped forward, his expression serious but not unkind.
"Tony, we shouldn't rush things. He just got out of that ice capsule, and who knows how long he was in it. Memories, if they're there, will come back when they're ready. Don't pressure him."
Gojo, who had been observing the exchange, straightened up. A faint smile touched his lips. "I don't really have much now," he admitted, his gaze sweeping over them.
"But I'll definitely let you know if anything… clicks." He paused, his blue eyes landing on Steve. "Thanks for looking out for me… whatever your name is." He then added, with a touch of that earlier, unnerving confidence, "But you don't have to. Though, what I can say from the… fragments I do have… is that I can be a little bit unbearable. That much, I'm pretty sure of."
Tony snorted a laugh and said, "Well that makes two of us now," and then he push himself up from where he'd briefly leaned against the Quinjet's frame.
He began to walk towards the exit ramp with Gojo. Just then, Maria Hill, looking sharp in her S.H.I.E.L.D. attire, strode up, a datapad in her hand.
"Boss," she said, nodding at Tony first, her eyes flicking curiously towards Gojo. "Who's the new kid?"
Tony clapped a hand on Gojo's shoulder, a gesture that seemed more for show than actual guidance.
"A guest, Hill. For now. He'll be staying with us. Prepare a room for him, will you? The good kind, not the one next to Hulk's 'quiet reflection' chamber." He then jerked a thumb towards Steve, who was now talking with Natasha.
"And he's the boss," Tony declared, pointing at Captain America. "I'm just the guy who pays for everything, designs everything, and makes him and everyone else look cooler." With that, Tony gestured for Gojo to follow, and they descended from the Quinjet into the Tower proper.
Maria Hill turned her attention to Steve as he finished his brief conversation with Natasha. "The two enhanced individuals you asked me to look into, from Strucker's facility," she began, her voice professional.
"Their names are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history, it's no secret. They've been involved in protests against Stark Industries and foreign intervention. It seems Strucker harnessed their latent abilities, augmented them. He's got a long history of human experimentation."
Steve nodded, his expression somber. "And what about this new arrival?" he asked, glancing in the direction Tony and Gojo had disappeared. "Gojo Satoru?"
Hill's expression became puzzled. She tapped her datapad. "That's the strange part, Captain. There's nothing. Absolutely nothing. No birth records, no school files, no government IDs, no social media, not even a whisper in any known database, ours or otherwise. We ran facial recognition against every global system. Nothing. Technically," she concluded, looking directly at Steve, "he doesn't exist. Even though he's right here, walking around."
Steve let out a slow breath. "Good work, Hill. Keep digging, just in case." He looked towards the interior of the Tower.
"Though I have a feeling we'll get most of our answers from the kid himself, sooner or later." He just hoped those answers wouldn't bring more trouble than they were already dealing with.
….
A/N: Well that is that for now. So, how was it?
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