#insomnia invaders thoughts

[invaders-forever]

Silly little headcannon of the night I think esp post war Toro's really good at convincing people he just belongs where ever he happens to be like kinda g'uy who could probably work at a restaurant for a month without ever being hired by just telling every manager someone else hired him and pretending the paperwork just got messed up' good. But then of course he doesn't actually feel a sense of belonging anywhere EXCEPT the Invaders bc at their core the invaders don't belong anywhere so that's the one place he does

[invaders-forever]

I do think the invaders commitment to never fucking talking about the wild bullshit that's always happening to them is maybe going to cause more problems down the line than the actual bullshit does. like Namor Steve Jim and Bucky have all done some insane (and hurtful) shit that wasn't fully in their control* and those things are not completely their fault of course** but the lack of acknowledgement of those things and that hurt is going to be a problem. Namor beheaded Jim they can't just brush past that and be totally fine again, but they sure as hell are going to pretend they can until someone explodes (I vote Toro. Bet y'all never would've guessed.)

*Hydra steve is not the same as regular steve but he also kinda is. and like someone with his face and his voice looked bucky in the eyes and said 'you're in my way and im going to kill you about it' and forced Namor's kingdom to submit to his will and hardcore went against inhumans to the point that Toro had to flee to atlantis. ironically this is probably the most acknowledged example but i digress

** we're really running the full spectrum from 'made poor choices in bad situations' to 'hydra literally made another me to do exactly what they want'

[invaders-forever]

Toro's backstory is crazy from Dr. Horton's pov like imagine you've got this lab assistant and she's super smart and you clearly really respect her (putting her name on that paper at all is super huge especially in the 30s) and you've become friends but unfortunately she studied radiation and gets sick from it. So she has to leave the field which is probably really fucking tragic for you.

Anyways then you invent a fully functional synthetic man except whoops he's actually like a full on sentient guy and neither of you react well to that. Also he burns down your house so that sucks.

So then at some point you hire your assistant's husband to be your assistant and it's nice to be back in touch with them and their kid is getting old enough to ask questions about stuff which is exciting and also adorable. Your friend seems kinda different and won't meet your eyes anymore. Maybe you even know she's started stealing from you but guessed there must be something more at play. And then her husband gets sick from working with asbestos and now two of your friends/lab assistants are dying bc of science but hey your android/son(??)/guy you made is talking to you again.

Flashforwards like a year your friends die in a horrific train crash and their son also apparently dies so that really sucks for you but like. You grieve and move on and - holy shit their kids alive and that guy you made recruited him to be a child soldier.

Like actually wild experience

[invaders-forever]

time travelled Toro trying to pass himself off as some v battalion member bc he doesn't know what's going on or what he can safety tell the invaders or even if he could get them to believe him but he's back in the War and it's not a nightmare or a flashback or anything he can wake up from or work his way through he's actually back there. So he asks if anyone has a cigarette and when Bucky gives him one he light's it up himself not even thinking about it bc he needs to calm down and that's all he's focusing on. But Bucky sees and then Bucky realizes why this random v battalion guy looks so familiar....

[invaders-forever]

My insane headcannon of the night is that Toro and Gwenny Lou eloped during the war (poss soon after Bucky died, when it's suddenly so much more real that they could loose each other at any time and hey if the government can find another guy who can set himself on fire or another gal who can shot energy from her hands command might just not bother to tell the other one what happened) but they don't tell anyone given the general attitudes at the time + high command already doesn't really like them two specifically. They never really told the other Invaders they were dating for similar reasons and once they're married Toro knows Jim will tell him off for jumping the gun like that so he just doesn't tell him. It's not like Toro could ever wear a ring anyway and Gwenny Lou wears hers more covertly (maybe on a necklace she can put under her costume). The only one who knows they're married is Davey bc he knew they were dating and those two can't pull anything past him. Jury's out if Bucky knew they were dating.

Anyways after the war they're both trying to get to the point they can break the news to their family and friends and Toro's planning to retire from superheroes and get a normal job so they can actually live together. But like they're also navigating the after math of WW2 and the end of the invaders (+ maybe very early v battalion) and then Toro just disappears for four years.

Gwenny Lou thinks he's dead ofc so when he turns back up she's started seeing someone else and then he can't tell her where he was or what happened and then the Torch dies and Toro's in no shape to be a husband. And like they've been married 10 years and never lived together, they're both grappling with problems they don't know how to or can't explain to one another, and they're just straight up different people then they were in their early 20s.

No one knew anyways so there's no point getting a divorce even through either of them would have legal grounds. (And I don't think either wants to go to a court of law and accuse the other of adultery or abandonment given the situation) So they just kinda agree it's over.

[invaders-forever]

I do think it's fun that Toro is vulnerable to cold and wears that costume like yeah hypothetically he can use his powers to stay warm but that does use energy and he can't do so indefinitely especially if he's going to have to fight soon. Just a thought anyways unrelated Bucky pretty much always has a coat/jacket with him but has no powers he can use to keep him warm

[invaders-forever]

As much as I complain about 2019 Invaders run, I do think they were on to something with the lack of communication like.. that's something that could be played with and expanded..why is Bucky running messages for everyone else? That's not his job! And because he's busy calling Jim bc Steve won't he's not doing his actual job on the team. That's got potential anyways I'm putting it in a fic

[invaders-forever]

I do think the thing that finally broke Toro in Dept X was when it sunk in that Jim wasn't coming, that no one was coming to save him or even really looking. And I think that's why brainwashed Toro had such a specific hatred of the Human Torch (as far as the people responsible knew Torch was taken care of). And I think that's part of why it took them three years to get him in a usable state because I think it started to sink in some time around the two or three year mark that yeah no, no one's coming. I think Toro would've made all kinds of excuses for why Jim didn't come for him I mean he knows Jim was captured too he has no idea what happened to him but at the end of the day Toro is one guy enduring torture and imprisonment that is designed to break him. So yeah I think brainwashed Toro had come to hate the Torch for not coming and himself for believing anyone would.