Defenders Of Midgard, #TheDefendersOfMidgard , An MCU Fan Fiction, Chapter 21: Caught In The Bear Trap!
Break On Through Space Crow! Mind The Gap!
Chapter 21: Caught In The Bear Trap!
Break On Through Space Crow!
Mind The Gap!
Ilsa and Morgana start to serenade the dark skies surrounding the Griffith Observatory, and winged horses begin to nay and whinny in the distance in response, but without approaching at first. Little Karnilla starts to chime in with a simple chant uttered into her Siren Blade, as if it were a microphone.
Princess Karnilla:
Come home… Come to Safety… Return to the stables… Come home… Come to safety… Return to the stables…
As little Karnilla Ward continues her chant, some of the winged horses start to make their way back to the observatory. King T’Challa and the monk Lance Hunter make their way back just in time to see winged horses flying in as the invisible demon bear roars again. A few fly in to land on the platform next to little Karnilla, Ilsa, and Morgana, as Danielle the Valkyrie stands amazed in astonishment as she approaches the winged horses to try and calm them further and make them stay put. Ned Leeds shadows the Valkyrie Danielle as Space Crow, staying on alert for advanced warning from his algorithms predicting the appearance of the space time anomalies that allow the demon bear to seemingly come, attack, and go as he pleases.
Then, something seems to spook Space Crow, and he rushes to block something unseen on the other side of Danielle as she tends to the winged horses. Just as Space Crow repositions himself, the demon bear’s giant head and gaping jaws appear looming above Space Crow with Danielle behind him. Then Space Crow raises his matte black gloved hands and causes something invisible to push back against the bear’s giant head.
Space Crow:
Sorry boss… But I’m going to have to risk some heroics and cross over… I have to test something!…
Wolf King:
Go!… Watch your hide!… And watch your six!…
Space Crow:
Roger that!…
The space crow launches himself up and straight at the giant demon bear head. The portal for the bear seems to widen as the bear is pushed back, offering a wider glimpse of the demon bear’s world, with its bright daylight shining through, and Iron Man hovering in the background behind the bear. The Space Crow seems to push the bear all the way back through the wide-open portal with an invisible cushion to the astonishment of everyone. The Space Crow flies after the demon bear through the portal, then the Wolf King rashly jumps after his new protégé.
Helga Ward:
Dad!?!…
The Wolf King’s voice sounds back at Helga using the FSB com system that the Space Crow now has working across the dimensional divide.
Wolf King:
I got this!… You take care of the musicians!… Get Dr. Foster on this trans-dimensional crap on your end!… And mind and defend those horses!…
Helga Ward:
You got it dad!… But what the hell is up with… Space Crow?…
Wolf King:
That’s Ned Leeds’s new call sign… I hated calling him golem master… and I’m sort of training him now… So now I’m responsible for him… especially when he does something stupid for me…
Helga Ward:
Roger that… What did he just do?…
Wolf King:
I don’t know… But he’d better know the way back or I’ll kill him myself… Ouch!…
Helga Ward:
Dad!?!…
Wolf King:
I’m fine!… I’ll get back to you when I can!… Ouch!… Dad out!…
Helga Ward:
Roger that… King T’Challa!?!… You’re back!… My dad put me in charge here just now… Did you catch that last broadcast your majesty?…
Black Panther:
Indeed I did… I believe I understand the situation… What would you have me do mistress Helga?…
Helga Ward:
I really need you to take charge of protecting the Valkyrie with my mom… Lady Sif… while they coral and protect the horses… So that way I can focus on the musicians and the scientists…
Black Panther:
Your wish is my command Mistress Helga… It will be my honor…
King T’Challa then waves his hand over at his shuttle like a jedi, as the shuttle then morphs, shape shifts, and shrinks down into the size and shape of a matte black Wakandan spear, with a Vibranium spear head and a power prism embedded just beneath the spearhead. Then the spear electromagnetically levitates itself over into its master’s hand.
Helga Ward:
Hellions!… You’re still on the scientists!… I’ve got the music section!… Keep it coming girls… Whatever you’re doing… it seems to be working…
On the other side, the Wolf King and the Hulk continue to fight with the giant bear to keep him busy, as the Wolf King calls out to his new protégé for urgency.
Wolf King:
Alright Space Crow… You’d better have some way back… or be working on it!…
Iron Man:
Roger that!… Space Crow?… You know you’re in trouble right?… We both know you’re in trouble… You know you’re in trouble… I know you’re in trouble… But I don’t know why you’re in trouble yet… So catch me up to speed… And explain to me how you’re in trouble now… Go…
Space Crow:
I was following the Wolf King’s orders!...
Iron Man:
Go on…
Space Crow:
The Wolf King told me to make another full throttle power prism… Because I needed to be at full power here… and they had a way to separate the other one later… He also said to arm myself but not to go overboard with extras…
Iron Man:
So far so good… Keep going…
Space Crow:
I decided to focus on powerful scientific tools that have multiple uses… And besides zero matter… the two coolest things I could think of were Vibranium… and Gravitonium…
Wolf King:
Gravitonium!?!… You synthesized Gravitonium?!?…
Iron Man:
You know about Gravitonium?…
Wolf King:
Yeah… I have a history… Back in my Shield Hydra double agent days… a previous lifetime ago… I don’t know how it works… I just know that it’s a bunch of unstable trouble…
Iron Man:
Well I know a great deal about Gravitonium… And I second that assessment… Is that what you used against the bear on your way in here?…
Space Crow:
Yes… I used the Vibranium to help control and stabilize the Gravitonium… The Gravitonium is easy to synthesize but hard to control and stabilize… But I figured that I could use Vibranium to do that… But the Vibranium is hard to synthesize with the FSBs… But I’ve been synthesizing thin layers of it and combining that with my power prism’s inner core as a factory and control center for Gravitonium… and using my power prism and the Vibranium to control all of it… I was also able to make my little gravity drones…
Iron Man:
Your gravity what now?…
Space Crow:
My gravity drones… I used the specs from Dr. Franklin Hall for his devices for controlling and manipulating Gravitonium… and used that strategically laced with Vibranium inside my new power prism’s core… and used the same method to make a small swarm of mini gravity drones… Space Crow mini golems… See?…
Space Crow opens up his hands palms up, and a bunch of small matte black specs begin to fly up out of his palms before enlarging to the size of little black mini crows. The black swarm flies over to the giant demon bear as it’s fighting the Hulk and the Wolf King, then they swarm around the giant bear as it begins to levitate, flailing its arms futilely for control as its feet lift off the ground.
Space Crow:
I use the mini drones to extend and finetune my control of the artificial gravity field that I project out primarily from my own power prism… That’s how I pushed him back through the opening… And that’s how I’m keeping him busy now… And it may even be a way to control the opening itself… I was able to open it pretty wide and hold it open on the way in… I just need more time to refine my algorithms… And maybe some suggestions…
Iron Man:
Well done!… Consider yourself officially out of trouble again!… Now if you want to stay out of trouble… get that doorway working both ways… without the big bad bear… I want to try and trap papa bear… And update me on your latest specs while you’re at it… me and everyone else… Especially Dr. Foster… You read me Dr. Foster?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I read you… We caught all of that… We’re ready when you are… Space Crow…
Space Crow:
Yes mam Dr. Foster!… I’m in the big leagues now!…
Iron Man:
Work now… Geek out later…
Space Crow:
Roger that boss… I’m on it… Wait… Why is this harder on this side?…
Iron Man:
Why is what harder on this side?… Space Crow?…
Wolf King:
Yeah Space Crow?… What did you just get me to jump into with you?…
Space Crow:
It’s fine!… The threshold for the interface between the two spaces is just a little less malleable on this side… But I think I know why!… Mr. Stark… I’ll have to stop diverting the bear with my murder of crows…. Take a swarm of my gravity drones and fly with them over to the other side again and I’ll use mine to help you from this side… If that works… I’ll shepherd the Hulk and the Wolf King through coordinating my swarm with the swarm that I send with you… Then maybe we can set a trap for smoky back on our turf…
Iron Man:
Ready when you are… Make it happen…
The swarm levitating the bear flies away from the bear and back towards the Space Crow and Iron Man, causing the bear to drop down and start fighting Wolf King and the Hulk.
Space Crow:
Okay… I’ll split the swarm and give your FSB control of the other half… That will give you complete flight control… and some fine-tuning control of the gravitational field… not as much as me on this side with my power prism… But this is the more difficult side… We can coordinate and fine tune between both sides through the BBN network…
Iron Man:
Roger that!… No more stalling!… Heading through now!…
Space Crow:
I’ve got you!… May the swarm be with you!…
Iron Man flies off in a seemingly random direction, engulfed in a mini swarm of Space Crow’s drones, and then the air opens in front of him as if it were a curtain being withdrawn between the two sides, revealing the winged horses and the others back at the observatory through the opening. Iron Man flies through the opening, but the opening stays open.
Space Crow:
I think I can keep it open… If I can figure out how to widen it and keep it wide open… we can bring the bear through…
Iron Man:
Excellent… Let me know when you’re ready for a trial run…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I have some adjustments to your approach that may help you control it and maintain it better… and allow for other FSB users to amplify the effect in coordination…
Space Crow:
Roger that… Adjusting now… I’m ready for an attempt… But do we have a trap for this bear back on the other side?…
Iron Man:
We don’t have a trap… But we have muscle… And I’m tired of crazy magic crap screwing with my space time… It’s time to get all of the players on side… this side… Bruce?… Are you game for trans dimensional Wrestle Mania?…
Hulk:
Ready to rumble!…
Iron Man:
Bring em home Space Crow…
Space Crow:
Okay!… Everybody grab a hold of the big bad bear!… And don’t let go!… Or you’ll get left behind!…
The Space Crow flies over to grab on to the scruff of the bear’s neck as the Hulk and the Wolf King each grab a hold of one of the bear’s legs. The bear lifts up off the ground and begins to levitate towards the opening between the two sides, with the two of them still holding on to the bear as the opening widens. The opening widens well clear enough to allow passage as the bear to levitated through the opening, with Space Crow leading the bear through and its passengers struggling to hang on as the bear flails in vain. As the bear and company fully clear the opening, it closes behind them and the bear begins to howl madly as he sees Danielle Moonstar.
Daniele The Valkyrie:
No!…
The bear is suddenly hurtled back out through an opening that rips open and shuts closed behind the bear before anyone can react, with the Hulk and the Wolf King still clinging to the bear and being dragged back to the other side with it.
Natasha Romanov:
Bruce!?!…
Helga Ward:
Dad!…
Wolf King:
What the hell was that?… Talk to me Space Crow… What just happened?…
Space Crow:
Uh… I don’t know!… At least… not exactly… There was a sudden spike in the strength of the effect that creates this artificial trans-dimensional division… It overwhelmed the warping countermeasures that allowed me to manipulate an opening… But I think I may know why… Can you hold on over there for a bit longer?… keep the bear busy and give me some time to compare notes?…
Wolf King:
Sure thing… But make it snappy… I’m not a fan of unnecessary dimension hopping…
Space Crow:
Roger that boss…
Iron Man:
Care to fill us in?… Space Crow?…
Space Crow:
Sure thing boss… I’ve been monitoring Danielle’s biometrics… and correlating it with our telemetry from the BBN system… I don’t think the bear has complete control over whether he comes over to our side or not… He can penetrate… and he can try and stay… but I don’t think he goes back willingly… The bear is actively being pushed back by Danielle…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Me?… How am I doing any such thing?… This is witchcraft!… Necromancer witchcraft!…
Space Crow:
I don’t think that you’re in conscious control of it… I think it’s all been a reflex… with powers that are now amplified… which apparently weren’t under much control to begin with… according to your mother… Whatever containment and treatment we were planning on for this bear… I think we’re going to have to take it all to the other side… and do it all there… with Danielle…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
With Me?!?… You want me to chase after the bear?… into it's own hell?… but not to kill it?…
Iron Man:
It’s not hell… It’s not even remotely hellish… In fact… it’s almost heavenly… an undiscovered and unspoiled country… with clear blue skies… I’m finding myself desperately yearning for a vacation that will never happen… And normally I hate vacations… at least solo ones…
Morgana:
The only treatment we have… is music… but we need the music to lure the winged horses back to the stables…
Iron Man:
Well… if we know that the horses are safe because we’re keeping the bear busy on the other side… then we can just let them scatter for now… Since we no longer need them as bait either… as we have to go after the bear on the other side anyway… So… who wants to break on through to the other side for a demon bear hunt?… King T’Challa?…
King T’Challa:
I would love to… especially for chance to see what you describe as so heavenly…
Necromancer:
It may not just be heavenly… It could be a heaven… The Valkyrie are trained to be sensitive to such things… not as strongly as the angels… or necromancers… But her Inhuman powers may have amplified that characteristic of the Valkyrie… or vice versa… allowing her to tap into an actual heaven… of some kind…
Iron Man:
‘Of some kind’?…
Lady Sif:
According to the lore… there are an infinite number of heavens… with some of them as personal as an individual soul… where all of them are intimately interconnected… But only the angels can access them all at will… I find this theory of the Necromancer’s very hard to believe…
Necromancer:
If I were to go to this other realm personally… I might be able to discern this more clearly…
Lady Sif:
Over my dead body Necromancer!… I will suffer alone eternally in Niflheim before a let any Necromancer just waltz into heaven… any heaven… even a fake one just in case…
Necromancer:
Do you really believe that you can take my daughter to the other side and leave me behind?…
Lady Sif:
I will personally guarantee it on pain of death…
Natasha Romanov:
And I’ll help her…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
As will I…
Lord Balder:
Indeed… Even if you mean well Dr. Vostocoff… I can’t blame them for not trusting your judgement… or your word… given what they’ve seen of it so far… You will not be going anywhere…
Necromancer:
I could just find my own way there…
Iron Man:
If that were true… or if it were at all that easy… then you would have done it already… And given enough time… you might actually manage it… Which is all the more reason to get this show on the road… Who’s up for the road crew?… Most of us should stay on this side and keep an eye on things here… Space Crow and I can take the musicians and a few others over to the other side for the treatment…
Black Panther:
I certainly wouldn’t miss it… But Brunhilda should probably go along with Danielle… as an expert guide of the Valkyrie… just in case the Necromancer is right…
Iron Man:
Any Acolytes of Avalon who want to assist are welcome to join in too… Black Smith?… Do you think that you can provide some armored flying car service?…
Black Smith:
Sure thing boss…
Dr. Jane Foster:
We should go along as well… We have healing power too… Don’t we Darcy?…
Princess Karnilla:
Wait!… What about me?… I have power too!…
Lady Sif:
Not this time little one… You’re not even supposed to be here… let alone charging in after would be demons into unknown worlds… You’re in enough trouble as it is… Your mother and your grandmother will hear of this as well little one…
The Black Smith enlarges a large flying car with three rows of seats, and slides into the driver’s seat in full armor. Then he is joined riding shotgun by King T’Challa. Morgana joins Ilsa on the back of her hover quad as Brunhilde joins Helga on the back of hers. Dr. Selvig and the acolytes pile in to the Black Smith’s stretch open top flying limo. Space Crow enlarges one of his mini crow drones until its large enough to ride with a saddle for two on its back, then invites Danielle to join him. Dr. Jane foster turns bright white with white flames and begins to levitate off the ground slightly, joined shortly after by Darcy as Darcy’s eyes start to glow yellow again and Excalibur is similarly engulfed in white flames like Dr. Foster.
Iron Man:
Alright Space Crow… Lead us through… Waiting on you now…
Morgana:
Ilsa… Start playing that calming and healing number that you used on the size shifting dragon that attacked before… the one that you told me about… We’ll try that first… Go ahead and play us in… And I’ll follow you…
Ilsa:
Yes Mistress Morgana…
Ilsa begins to play the tune that she used to help rescue Dr. Wilkes, then Morgana follows along as Space Crow opens up a portal through the trans dimensional divide. Space Crow begins to lead them through on the back of his giant crow drone as it opens. But Iron Man Flies through ahead of them at attack speed anticipating a bear attack on the way in, and then getting rewarded for being right by getting a face full of looming jaws. Iron Man powers through with his thrusters, and blasts his way in through the bear’s head, clearing the opening for the others as they fly into the light coming from the other side. Darcy and Dr. Foster follow in behind the Black Smith and his flying car, taking up the rear of the airborne convoy.
Iron Man:
Waiting on you guys now…
The other members of the expedition struggle momentarily to adjust their eyes to the bright daylight on the other side. Then King T’Challa jumps out of the flying car as they clear the opening and jumps onto the ground near the Wolf King. Then Dr. Selvig follows suit and jumps out onto the ground near the Hulk, brandishing his matte black FSB staff with its cross on one end like a weapon. The bear slashes downward at Dr. Selvig, and he just barely blocks it with his staff overhead. Darcy and Dr. Foster fly up high overhead waiting for an opportunity to act.
The Hulk:
Where’d you come in from?… jolly green Samson?…
Dr. Eric Selvig:
The mighty Samson you mean!… You don’t even recognize me do you Bruce?… It’s me!… your old colleague Dr. Eric Selvig!… No time to explain!…
The Hulk:
I can imagine… Well then Doc Samson… help me grab his legs so we can at least stop him from thrashing around or running off…
Doc Samson:
Roger that…
Wolf King:
King T’Challa!… I don’t suppose that’s one of those fancy Wakandan Vibranium spears… is it?… even an FSB version?… I could use some subsonic help keeping the upper body busy while the others restrain his legs… I’ve got enough synthesized Vibranium in my shield right now where I could do it myself… But I could still use help…
Black Panther:
Perhaps some hypersonic accompaniment…
Wolf King:
You take the high road… and I’ll take the low road…
Helga Ward:
That’s not the tune they’re playing dad…
Wolf King:
Shush Helga!… Wise ass…
Iron Man:
See if you can use your sonic weapons to amplify the music while you’re at it… Let’s give this bear a magical concert performance… arena style!…
Iron Man begins to beam the music from Ilsa and Morgana through his repulsors as he flies around the bear’s head. The Wolf King and the Black Panther follow suit with their Vibranium weapons, adding the music to their physical sonic attack. The bear begins to flail harder and howl louder. Dr. Selvig begins to chant a prayer as he struggles to control one of the bear’s legs. Then the other Acolytes of Avalon riding with the Black Smith begin to chant along with Dr. Selvig.
Iron Man:
Space Crow!… Don’t just joy ride with the Valkyrie… Do that bear levitation thing with your mini drones…
Space Crow:
You got it boss!…
All of the Space Crow’s mini drones are redirected towards the bear as the trans dimensional opening shuts closed behind them. They swarm around the giant bear as the bear lifts off the ground with the Hulk and Doc Samson still hanging on.
Iron Man:
Stop the sonic attack… But maintain the music…
Wolf King:
Roger That…
Black Panther:
Transitioning attack now…
The bear continues to flail and howl unabated as he floats upward.
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Can’t you do anything for him?…
Space Crow:
I thought that you wanted him dead… Do you finally believe it’s your papa?…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
I just don’t want to see the poor beast suffer!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Let me try!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Wait!… Wait for me!…
Dr. Foster flies down and lands on the back of the bear’s neck and grabs onto its fur before ramping up her white flames. Dr. Foster manages to stabilize the bear in the air as Darcy lands next to her on the back of the bear’s neck and follows suit with her sword. Eventually the bear stops flailing and howling as it starts to calm down under the combined influence of the healing white flames, the healing music, and the chanted prayers.
Iron Man:
It looks like it’s working!… Start lowering the bear down… And we’ll see if we can take this to ground…
Space Crow:
Roger that boss…
The bear starts to be lowered to the ground as it nods off asleep and begins to shrink slightly. The Hulk and Doc Samson release themselves from the bear and jump off down to the ground beneath them, while Darcy and Dr. Foster still cling to the back of its neck in order to continue to apply their white flame treatment. By the time they reach the ground the bear is eight feet tall and slightly more human shaped, with humanoid hands still covered in fur and claws. The man-bear creature collapses to its knees in a healing trance, still bathed in white flames.
Space Crow:
At least now he’s more calm… as well as smaller…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Is that.. really papa?… I just can’t believe it… Even now… even more so now… it is the creature from my childhood nightmares…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
I have similar nightmares of… other creatures…
Dr. Jane Foster:
He doesn’t seem to be getting smaller anymore… Perhaps we should dial back the treatment and see if we can get him talking…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Okay… But back away real quick and give it space in case it gets nasty again…
The white flames cease emanating from Excalibur as Darcy and Dr. Foster back away quickly from the bear, with Dr. Foster maintaining her white flame aura. Morgana stops playing to let her treatment take hold.
Morgana:
Ilsa… Go ahead and give it a rest for a moment… so we can see how effective we’ve been… Maybe we can get him to speak…
Ilsa stops her playing and the Acolytes of Avalon likewise cease their chanting. The bear shrinks again and transforms to the naked human appearance of Alexei Shostakov, Danielle’s adopted father, as well as Natasha and Yelena’s.
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Papa!…
Alexei slumps forward face down on the ground unconscious as Danielle jumps off the enlarged crow drone and runs towards her father on the ground. She rolls him over to get a better look at his face to confirm, then she removes her cape and drapes over Alexei’s naked body.
Danielle The Valkyrie:
It is him!… How is this even possible?!?… Is he okay?… Will he live?… Is he free of enchantment now?…
Morgana:
Slow down there young lass… We have to get him back home along with the rest of us first… As heavenly as it is here… we really must be going…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
It is… heavenly… Isn’t it?… It truly could be a heaven… It certainly feels like it… The Necromancer could well be right… But how?…
As if on que, a flying stampede of hundreds if not thousands of winged horses fly into view overhead from behind a nearby hill. A cacophony of whinnying horses fills the air as the flying stampede fills the sky. The ariel stampede begins to fly in a swirling swarm overhead. Then a few squadrons worth or so fly down in formation bearing Native American riders wearing traditional warrior garb and wielding spears. They circle immediately over the heads of the astonished group, with Brunhilde brought to her knees and awestruck by the sight.
Brunhilda The Valkyrie:
So many!… So Many… Who could have ever dreamed… that there could be so many?…
The hunting party on winged horseback flies down for a landing in a circle surrounding the group of trespassers.
Black Smith:
We come in peace?…
Iron Man:
I suspect they’ve heard that one before…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Mama!?!… Papa!?!… Is that you?!?… I remember you now!… I remember everything!…
A pair of warriors both dismount their steads, one male and one female, and they race towards Danielle, calling her by name.
Native American Woman:
Danielle!?!… Danielle Moonstar!?!… Is that you?!?… By the great spirit!… Have you come to join us too soon?!?…
Native American Man:
No Peg… She’s clearly not dead… She shouldn’t be here yet regardless… But it is good to see you again Dani girl… But what are ya doing here?…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
I… I honestly don’t know… I may remember everything… But that doesn’t mean that I understand any of it… And right now Papa… I don’t care!… I’m never letting you two out of my sight ever again!…
Peg:
William is right Dani girl… You don’t belong here with us just yet… You have to go back…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
No!… I’m never leaving you again!…
Brunhilde rouses herself from feeling the ground beneath her knees with her hands while staring at the circling swarm of winged horses overhead, and steps to her feet to approach Danielle.
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Listen to reason child… None of us belong here… not even you… By some fluke miracle you have been given special access to the spirit realm of your ancestors… Such powers are not to be trifled with child… Or they can bring suffering and ruin to all that you hold dear… even here in the afterlife…
Another more elderly male warrior steps down of his winged steed and approaches Danielle and the others with the steady deliberate speed of the elderly man.
Native American Elder:
You’d better heed your friend’s words little Spellbinder… I for one am not surprised to see you here… I saw this in a vision… I didn’t say anything because I thought it was just an ordinary dream… Because we were all dressed traditionally and Iron Man was doing a cameo… That never made sense… No offense…
Iron Man:
None taken… I wouldn’t believe me either if I didn’t know me…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Granpa Black Eagle!?!… But I have so many questions!…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
We must go… But we needn’t hurry… if you need some time…. as long as it’s not too much… I for one would like to ask a few questions about these winged horses of yours… Wherever did you get them?… and so many of them… How is this even possible?…
William:
Are far as most people know they’ve always been here… But Black Eagle communes with the older spirits… They might know…
Black Eagle:
As far as anyone can remember… they just started showing up from somewhere… No one knows where… But then they took to the place and made a home for themselves… The spirits of this realm have always taken it as our sacred duty to watch over the herd… until the great spirit moves us otherwise… What is your interest?… And what exactly are your intentions?…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
My interest?… I am Brunhilde!… leader of the Valkyrie!… The sacred winged steeds are our legitimate charge by the authority of Asgard itself!…
Black Eagle:
Asgard?… Never heard of it… The Valkyrie on the other hand we have heard about… The angels like to bitch about those who trespass on their turf… in terms of what they think is their turf… We don’t really care for what it’s worth… Just because they can come and go as they please doesn’t mean they own the place… or the spirits in it… What can I do ya for?… tall dark and beautiful…
Peg:
Dad!…
Black Eagle:
Shush girl… This is official herd business… The will of the great spirit may have brought Danielle to us this way for a reason… Perhaps the horses themselves called out to fate to bring her to them… in order to find their own way home… Can I help it if she has such hot young friends…
Peg:
Dad!…
Black Eagle:
Shush…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
I was just wondering if you would trust the upstart Valkyrie… with your sacred charges… We are in dire need of them… They are slowly going extinct in Valhalla…
Black Eagle:
Valhalla?… We’ve heard of that one… We’ve heard it mentioned among the names of the heavens cited by the angels… served by the Valkyrie…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Valhalla is both a physical place where we reside and serve with our winged horses… But it is also connected to the Valhalla that the angels speak of… That is how we access it… The winged horses were created to serve as a conveyance to and from Niflheim… to retrieve fallen heroes who fall into a fate that they do not deserve in exchange for their service… The true origin of the winged horses is lost to time… But it is said that the power of Yggdrasil itself had to be harnessed to create the winged horses that allowed us to access Niflheim… and allow us our own access to the spirit realm of our ancestors… The means to do so have been forever lost to time at this point… The rest is left to fate… or has been in the past… And now a great evil has used Niflheim itself as safe haven… The rules have all changed and now we are in need of the winged stallions more than ever…
Black Eagle:
Well… I’m sure that we’d be more than happy to help you out… For a kiss…
Peg:
Dad!…
Black Eagle:
What?… I’m old and dead!… And she’s cute!… I’m not likely to get another chance like this…
Black Panther:
He does have good taste…
Wolf King:
No argument…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Well… I’m more than happy to oblige… if you can be trusted to keep your word… If you break your promise… you may not get another one…
Black Eagle:
I swear by the great spirit…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Very well then…
Brunhilde walks over to the elder and moves in to plant a modest kiss on the elder’s cheek. Black Eagle quickly turns his head and grabs Brunhilde by the neck as he plants a presumptuously romantic kiss on Brunhilde’s lips.
Peg:
Dad!…
Brunhilde pulls back slowly seemingly unoffended.
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
It’s no problem… Provided that your father can fulfil his side of the bargain…
Black Eagle:
Sure I can… with one catch… You’re going to have to figure out how to get them back… We can’t go back with you… cause we’re dead… I’m not so sure about the horses… But we don’t really command the horses anyway… We ride them and take care of them if they let us… I very much doubt any of them have been trained the way that your probably accustomed to… They’re kinda wild really… Say… While I’ve got an actual Valkyrie here… perhaps you could tell us why the horses are blind?…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
They are blind because sight can be an illusion… especially in the Maze of Niflheim which they were made to be able to navigate safely and sanely… where even trained wizards may lose their heads entirely…
Black Eagle:
Well it never seems to stop them from flying… So we just assume that they know what they’re doing… But you might have a harder time of it if you’re more particular… No promises…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Fair enough… Danielle… We should probably load Alexei into the Black Smith’s flying car and see if we can’t get him and everyone else back to the other side for further treatment… But on the way out… I want to try something that I’ve only ever read about in the archives of the Valkyrie… But I’ll need at least one other Valkyrie to pull it off… More would be better… But we’ll have to make it work… Can you ride?…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Yes… But I don’t have much experience…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
You’ll do… In ancient times when the winged horses existed in larger numbers… many even existed in large wild herds… The Valkyrie developed methods for corralling them in the air using the horses own flocking behavior… But first we’ll need to see if we can mount these presumably wild steeds… Everybody else get ready to fly back through the gateway when Space Crow opens it up again… Then hold the gateway wide open for us and get out of the way… because there may be a flying stampede coming through behind you…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Wait!… I can’t leave my family!…
Black Eagle:
You have your present family to worry about my little Spellbinder… And you have to go back regardless… But I suspect we’ll be seeing you again… even before you join us permanently…
Space Crow:
That might be a reasonable expectation… given how we got here… You just need to learn to control your power… You’re the one that made it possible for any of us to get here to begin with… including Alexei… At least that’s my conclusion…
Iron Man:
I concur… Let’s leave the land of the spirits to the spirits for now… But if we’re going to do this… we should get on with it unless we all want to risk becoming permanent residents for lingering too long…
Wolf King:
Agreed…
Black Panther:
You and Dr. Banner should grab Alexei and ride with me in my shuttle… and let the Valkyrie tend to their herd…
Black Panther tosses his FSB spear before it enlarges and transforms into his shuttle again, with the rear hatch already open. The Hulk picks up Alexei and joins the Wolf King, Black Panther, and Doc Samson in the back of the shuttle.
Iron Man:
Alright Space Crow… Time for our exit…
Space Crow:
You got it boss…
Space Crow begins to open the portal, then Iron Man flies through, leading Space Crow and the others through to make way for the flying stampede. Back on the other side, the tense standoff between the Necromancer and the Valkyrie still smolders in silent stalemate.
Necromancer:
Where’s Danielle?…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Do not pretend to care for a daughter that you previously sought to kill in my presence witch!… My tolerance for you is at its limit!… Do not presume to try my patience any further!…
Natasha Romanov:
At ease Valkyrie… No one’s dead yet… And no one has to be…
Lord Balder:
Daughter… a word…
Lady Sif:
Yes father…
Lord Balder and Lady Sif step aside for a private discussion as the rescue mission returns from the other side and comes down for a landing on the platform.
Lord Balder:
I am as concerned about the necromancer as you are daughter… But for the sake of Thor’s friend… we must follow her lead with respect to her mother… But I fear that the hot-blooded Yelena won’t be able to follow suit… I need you to help me guard against Yelena’s hot blood… with steel if necessary… as well as guard her and the others against the necro sword if it comes to it… But you have more experience with this sort of thing… Is Yelena’s mother unavoidably forsaken?…
Lady Sif:
I know of no one who has ever come back from it… She already shows signs of greed for more of the power that comes from profane knowledge… Now that she’s had a taste… I fear that there’s no going back for her… We already can’t trust her… Are you really that taken by young Yelena?…
Lord Balder:
Well… She is endlessly fascinating… She already saved my life… And she bested me as a mortal… the moment we first met… I find her intoxicating… I may have to fear for my own heart if she returns to being mortal… The world will be a far duller place without her in it to be sure… I admittedly scoffed at Thor’s doomed fleeting romance with a mortal… But now I may succumb myself… following in the path of my own daughter as well…
Lady Sif:
But she is Valkyrie now… physically Asgardian by enchantment… But all of this may still be undone…
Lord Balder:
I know daughter… I know…
Morgana:
Ilsa… Let’s play the lure again… Perhaps we can provide a bit more of a pull from our side… for this flying stampede… Sounds fun!…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Flying stampede?…
King T’Challa’s shuttle lands and the hatch opens with the Doc Samson carrying Alexei’s cape wrapped body out, followed by the Hulk and the others. He brings Alexei over to Natasha Romanov and her sister Yelena and lays him down on the platform next to them.
The Hulk:
I couldn’t believe Alexei was really this so-called demon bear… But that’s certainly him… But he doesn’t look so demonic now… Is he cured?…
Space Crow:
Too soon to tell probably… but physiologically he’s reading mostly Asgardian… just like Danielle… Yelena… and Dr. Vostocoff… But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s cured of anything…
Natasha Romanov:
We won’t know until we can talk to him… But at least now it looks like we’ll get the chance… in spite of everything…
Necromancer:
You can’t seriously blame me for all this…
Natasha Romanov:
You certainly didn’t help matters with your attempted solution!… with the attempted murder of Danielle!… that nearly succeeded with Yelena!…
Necromancer:
That was not my intention!… I was only doing what was necessary!… And may yet still be necessary!… She is still too powerful!…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
You still plot her murder?!?… You are already mad with power death witch!…
Natasha Romanov:
As much as I may not want to… I’m finding it really hard not to agree with that assessment right now…
Necromancer:
Natasha!…
Natasha Romanov:
Don’t Natasha me right now… mother… if you really want me to call you that… as opposed to Necromancer…
Necromancer:
If you say so… Black Widow…
Natasha Romanov:
Where is Danielle?…
Space Crow:
She and Brunhilde are doing something special and… traditional… with the winged horses on the other side…
Natasha Romanov:
‘Special and traditional’?… What is that supposed to mean?… With what winged horses?… in a flying stampede?…
Space Crow:
I’m afraid those details are beyond me when it comes to the Valkyrie… But FYI… There are a lot of winged horses on the others side… You wouldn’t believe it…
Iron Man:
Seriously… You wouldn’t… massive flocks of them… I don’t know what they’re doing… But from the sound of it from Brunhilde… the fate of the Valkyrie may depend on it… if not the war to some extent…
On the other side, Danielle’s mother Peg and her grandfather Black Eagle lead Danielle and Brunhilde to the steeds they flew in on.
Black Eagle:
Here beautiful… Try mine on for size… He’s fairly experienced… and fast!… Perfect for the leader of the flock…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
The perfect the gentlemen…
Peg:
Danielle… Take mine… She’s tireless… and gentle… but fierce!… I’ll trust no other steed with my own daughter… Now hurry up and get going before you become a permanent resident!…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Yes mother!…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Indeed… We’d best be going… Follow my lead and we’ll try and get the others to follow suit… The rest of you better stay grounded until we’re all through the opening… lest you confuse the flock in an effort to remain on this side…
Black Eagle:
You got it gorgeous!… Good luck!…
Brunhilde and Danielle mount their steeds with a little trepidation on behalf of the steeds.
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Easy boy… I’m your new best friend… My name is Brunhilde… And me and my sisters are going to take good care of you and all your brothers and sisters… and hopefully many happy folds to come…
Brunhilde launches up into the sky quickly followed by Danielle, with both steed and rider following on instinct, soon followed by many others. They begin to fly in a circle and start to draw more and more of the herd into their flight pattern circling in the sky above Black Eagle and Danielle’s parents on the ground. Then Brunhilde and Danielle make a darting dive down, and they fly back through the mouth of the portal, followed by thousands of winged horses. A flock of thousands is called and lead to fly by the combination of the Valkyries use of the horses own herd instincts, along with the lure of fairy song playing through the opening. The flying stampede startles everyone as it erupts through the opening and flies just meters above their heads, causing almost everyone to duck. But the Hulk just sits back down on his butt and takes in the sight.
The Hulk:
Cool…
Lord Balder:
By the roots of Yggdrasil!…
Lady Sif:
By Gaia’s wings!… guardian angel of mercy and grace…
The sound of endless whinnying horses overwhelms the music section, and they cease their playing.
Iron Man:
Keep that opening wide open Space Crow… I don’t know where we’re going to put them all… But keep it open for as long as you can so we can get as many as we can… They might even be able to find their own way out from here…
Space Crow:
Roger that boss…
An endless stream of winged horses flies over their heads and spreads out through the sky above Liber Avalon for at least a minute before dwindling down to a trickle and stopping.
Iron Man:
Alright… It doesn’t look like we’re getting any more bites today… Wrap it up Space Crow… Time to reel in the net…
Space Crow:
Roger that… Time to close the door…
Necromancer:
Wait!…
Natasha Romanov:
No!… Don’t wait!… Do it now!…
The Necromancer makes a move towards the opening as it begins to close, only to be blocked by Lady Sif and Yelena, as the trans dimensional opening begins to close slowly.
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Stop Necromancer!… Necromancers aren’t allowed into heaven… Not in any heaven!…
Necromancer:
You’re insane!… Your mind is still enchanted!…
Lady Sif:
Perhaps so… But I am not… If you value what’s left of your life after what you’ve made of it… you will stand down and forgo the opportunity… and prove to your family that you can control your own avarice for profane knowledge… and the profane power that follows from it…
Necromancer:
I’ll show you profane!…
The Necromancer conjures forth her matte black necro sword from out of a swirl dust into her waiting hands and levels it at Lady Sif.
Iron Man:
Zip it up Space Crow!… Zip it up now!…
Space Crow:
Zipping as fast as I can boss!…
The opening finally closes completely, and the Black Widow sighs a brief momentary sigh of relief.
Necromancer:
Stubborn willfully ignorant fools!…
Lady Sif:
Save it Necromancer… It is clear that your concerns have already shifted away from your family… to become consumed with nothing but power… Such is the way of every necromancer…
Necromancer:
I can arrange a taste of that power if you like… meddling Asgardian cunt!…
The Necromancer takes a few steps towards Lady Sif, and the Black Widow moves to stand in between Sif and her mother.
Natasha Romanov:
Enough mother!… Can you at least stop this madness long enough for us to see to Alexei?… Can you show me you’re not completely power mad as she says?… and put that damn sword away?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
No really… Put it away…
Darcy flames up Excalibur again and points it in the Necromancer’s direction.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Or maybe I should see if white flames can cure necromancy… if you want to go third eye for third eye…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Or better yet…
Dr. Foster ramps up her white flames again and storms over to the Necromancer and grabs her necro sword with her white flaming hands, then yanks it away from her startling her and everyone else.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Besty!… Are you suicidal all of a sudden?!?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
No… Experimental… See… Between Black Box Gamma and the white flames on loan from Excalibur… I’m immune…
Dr. Foster takes the necro sword and smashes it over her knee, as much to test her strength as to demonstrate it. The smashed pieces of the necro sword deteriorate to nothing but dust on the ground.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Our gang kicks ass…
Dr. Jane Foster:
That stuff looked and behaved a lot like zero matter… the stuff the FSBs are made of… Is that what necromancy does?… conjure and manipulate zero matter?…
Lady Sif:
Perhaps… That is one theory behind the Inhuman power of the Black Queen Selene… a power from Terra Genesis… like Danielle’s… The Black Queen may be a natural necromancer… if any such thing can be imagined…
Necromancer:
Perhaps you may wish to experiment further…
The Necromancer conjures forth another matte black weapon, oozing up out of the earth to form a matte black necro spear in her hands. Danielle and Brunhilde ride in on their winged horses to land on the platform near them, followed by many other winged horses landing nearby with them, while thousands of others fly on past as part of the flock.
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Mother!?!… What are you doing?!?… What is going on here?!?…
Natasha Romanov:
We were just trying to sort that out ourselves… Perhaps mother might like to explain herself… without the spear…
Alexei:
Danielle?… Is that you?… Can you forgive me?… Please say hat you will forgive me…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Forgive what papa?… Are you okay?… Do you remember who you are?… who you really are?…
Alexei:
I remember everything now Danielle… poor innocent Danielle… Can you ever forgive me?…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Forgive what?…
Necromancer:
Get a hold of yourself Alexei… You’ve been enchanted… Your memory is not sound…
Alexei:
I remember everything!… I remember every drop of blood…
Natasha Romanov:
‘Every drop of blood’?… of the horses?…
Danielle and Brunhilde both dismount their steeds and Danielle rushes over to papa Alexei. Then all of the winged horses on the platform take off and flock after the others, seemingly vacating the platform for the relative safety of the flying herd.
Necromancer:
You don’t know what you’re saying Alexei… You should calm down and gather your thoughts…
Natasha Romanov:
Let him talk… I want to know what he means by ‘every drop of blood’… Do you mean the horses blood?… You weren’t yourself when you killed those horses… You can’t blame yourself for that…
Alexei:
No… I mean Danielle’s blood… the blood of her family!… her people!… the people I slaughtered with my own bare hands… I remember them all now…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
No papa!… That is the enchantment talking… You were never even there when my real family were killed… That is just what this enchantment has made you believe… I remember who I really am now… And the real tragedy of my family and my tribe has nothing to do with whatever this enchantment has done to your head…
Alexei:
No!… It was me!… I remember everything!… I was there!… At the reservation… it was me… It was a new experiment… an augmentation of the experimental super soldier serum that I had already been treated with… The augmentation involved transgenic mRNA gene therapy… using animal gene sources… in particular… the North American Grizzly Bear… project codename Ursa Major… I wasn’t strong enough… I couldn’t just be as strong as Captain America… with all due respect to Capt. Rogers… I had to be stronger than the Hulk!… thanks to the pressure of Dr. Banner’s accomplishment… all for the glory of Soviet communism!…
The Hulk:
Sorry?…
Alexei:
I was taken to an isolated Native American reservation in the mountains… Cheyene I think… They were just expendable targets for an experiment that the Soviets didn’t think Uncle Sam would care to notice… They were mostly right… They gave me a final booster shot right before they let me loose… Then I blacked out… I came to with shredded clothing covered in blood… and with Danielle in my arms passed out unconscious… the lone survivor… I couldn’t remember exactly what happened until now… Now I remember all of it… except for who was really behind it… I never really knew that…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
But you knew it was you?… You knew it was you at the reservation… Even if you didn’t completely remember doing it… or how… you knew that you did it… Then you handed me over to the mercies of the Red Room program… And yet you said nothing until now?…
Alexei:
What could I possibly say?… But now I can’t hardly even bare to look at you… not without seeing that little girl in my arms… And I didn’t turn you over!… I dropped you… in order to strangle the man that sent me in… and many of the men that came with him until they subdued me with tranquilizers… Then they imprisoned me to bury the disgrace of having produced such a useless weapon… a weapon that was nothing more than a mindless beast that couldn’t be disciplined not to bite the hand of its master… The obvious effects wore off… so I thought it was temporary… and I did my best to pretend to believe it… and then to forget about it… And now I can’t get it out of my head…
Necromancer:
You can’t torture yourself for that Alexei… You aren’t responsible for Ursa Major Alexei… I am… Ursa Major was my project… I was serving as a scientist with the Red Room program by then… I was tasked with the challenge of applying research from some Hydra contracted scientists in America… a Dr. Curtis Connors… and a Prof. Miles Warren… The Red Room program was always a Hydra franchise… as was Alexei’s copycat super soldier program under the Soviets… not just the Winter Soldier… The experimental mRNA gene therapy was in line with my own research of epigenetic mental conditioning and modification… So I was a natural choice for the program… But I wasn’t given a choice…
Natasha Romanov:
So… we’re all tragedy made to order by Hydra?… Is that supposed to make it okay to keep it all a secret from the rest of us?… like we all don’t have blood on our hands?… Danielle is the only one who doesn’t… And you wanted to kill her because she was too powerful?… when you're the truly dangerous one here…
Necromancer:
I had no choice!… You should understand better than anyone… you’re either on top of the food chain… or you are food for it… In Hydra… you're the mad scientist… or you're the expendable guinea pig… You are either the tool… or you are its master… I did what I had to do…
Natasha Romanov:
For power!…
Necromancer:
Yes for power!… Power is life!… Power is freedom!… Power is the only freedom!… We were slaves to power because we didn’t have it… Now we are free because we do… And knowledge is power!…
The Hulk:
You can take the mad scientist out of Hydra… But you can’t take the Hydra out of the mad scientist…
Lady Sif:
You are even more power mad than I realized… And clearly you have been for quite some time…
Wolf King:
Dr. Curtis Connors and Prof. Miles Warren were the scientists Amora mentioned being involved working with Oscorp on the project that created Spiderman… Do you understand what’s affecting him right now?…
Necromancer:
All I can tell you is that the technology involved has endless applications and possible variations… I couldn’t begin to tell you what particular variation on an infinite theme happened to make your friend Spiderman… not without samples to be studied in a proper lab… I don’t suppose that you can arrange that?…
Wolf King:
Not Likely… And I’m not so sure that I can trust a second opinion from you right now anyway…
Natasha Romanov:
Still digging for more information?… for more knowledge to convert into power for yourself?…
Necromancer:
I just want to be able to use my knowledge to help!…
Danielle The Valkyrie:
Like you helped Alexei and me?…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Or like you planned on helping… by killing them?…
Necromancer:
If necessary… For their own good if necessary…
Natasha Romanov:
I can feel the love…
Alexei:
Please Natasha… Yelena… young Danielle… Please do not take this out on your mother… not for my sake…
Natasha Romanov:
She turned you into a monster and let you wear the guilt for it!… And might have killed you for it given the chance!… should she deem it necessary in her infinite necromancer wisdom!…
Alexei gets up off the platform to stand in between the Necromancer and the others still draped in Danielle’s cape as he tries to mend their bonds.
Alexei:
Please Natasha… Don’t do this for me… I was a blind willing servant for duty… I was led blind because I wanted to be blind… and I paid for it… as did Danielle… even more so because of it… But we cannot go back…
Natasha Romanov:
We can’t go back… But we can’t go forward… not with her… not now…
Alexei:
But Natasha!… Be reasonable!…
Alexei steps towards the Black Widow to urge forgiveness and begins to transform slightly back into the monster bear as he steps, with brown fur beginning to grow and claws beginning to extend. Then the Hulk steps in between Alexei and Natasha and blocks his path with one arm held up as a warning.
The Hulk:
Back off papa bear!… Your claws are showing… I feel your pain man… But you better get used to it… And get it under control… Or I may just have to make you…
Alexei looks down at his claws as he continues to transform uncontrollably. Alexei grows to be 12 feet tall, towering two feet above the Hulk, and completely fur covered, as he drops Danielle’s cape to the floor of the platform, and his face and head go completely bear shaped. Then a third eye opens up in the bear’s forehead, and all three eyes start to glow green before the bear swipes his claws at the Hulk’s head, only to be blocked by the Hulk, followed up by the Hulk kicking the bear back and away for several meters.
The Hulk:
Back off Smoky!…
Necromancer:
Alexei!…
The Necromancer makes a move towards the Hulk with her necro spear and Dr. Foster steps in front of her and strips her of her necro spear. Dr. foster ramps up her white flames and engulfs the necro spear with them, incinerating it in her hands.
Wolf King:
Oh great… Not another one… Alexei too?… When did he even have time or the wherewithal to do that to himself as well?… unless the Necromancer did this to him as well as herself?…
Lady Sif:
In his previously enchanted state… he must have had enough knowledge to know what to go after… And there is a lot of winged horse carnage all over these hills… There must have been enough to affect him… and to affect the transformation… But I simply couldn’t say exactly what that means with this one…
The bear stumbles to his feet and begins to storm back towards the Hulk. The Necromancer steps in between them and stops the bear from attacking.
Necromancer:
Stop Alexei!… No more!… Calm down… Ursa Major was never supposed to be a monster… but a hero!… I need you to be the hero that I wanted Ursa Major to be…
Ursa Major:
Ursa… Major… hero?…
Necromancer:
Yes… Ursa Major will be a hero… if I have anything to say about it…
Natasha Romanov:
You have to go… Both of you… He needs you… And you can’t be trusted… So… both of you really need to be elsewhere right now…
Necromancer:
Elsewhere!?!… Where do you expect us to go in here?…
Natasha Romanov:
I don’t know… But you can’t be trusted with us… so you have to be elsewhere… LA is still a big place… even now… You both need to find somewhere else to be besides with us… for your sake… Necromancer… Give yourself time to prove me wrong… Or just give us time to figure out how to sort you out… Either way… it’s time for you two to be somewhere else… anywhere else… now…
Necromancer:
As you wish Black Widow… as you wish… Come Alexei… We must find a separate home for us… We are on our own now…
The Necromancer places her hand on Alexei’s hairy arm and they are both turned into black silhouettes of themselves, surrounded by white lightening, before disappearing entirely in a white flash.
Wolf King:
That exit looked familiar… a lot like the way the Black Queen escaped into Niflheim initially… after her attack on the Johnson Building… So real necromancers have similar powers?…
Lady Sif:
It appears so…
Wolf King:
Is there any cure for that?…
Lady Sif:
None known… The vision of the necromancer is not a poison that can be expunged… it is a special insight that creates the power of the necromancer… and the greed for more… And once that doorway is open it can’t be so simply shut… especially if the one who opened it refuses to even try to shut it again… And it would be completely unheard of if they tried…
Wolf King:
Where exactly did you learn to hunt necromancers?…
Lady Sif:
In Avalon… a few centuries ago… The Avalonian Orthodox sect is a religious order with a tradition that specializes in exorcism… healing… and the hunting of necromancers… Avalon itself has always had a problem with infestation by necromancers who covet the power and the insight of the angels for profane purposes… as it is well known to the profane that angels dwell in Avalon… and have always done so… although not openly for the sake of necromancers… It is said that the angels created Avalon… for the newly Christian fay…
Wolf King:
Real angels in Avalon?… Have you ever met any?…
Lady Sif:
Not that I know of… But they don’t like to advertise their true natures… They are meant to observe and bare witness anonymously… and intervene only when commanded to do so generally… They reveal themselves only as necessary… and only to the worthy… The legendary Lady of the Lake was supposed to be an angel named Angela… an angel long since moved on by the time I got there… Believe me I went looking…
Morgana:
The Lady of the Lake was most certainly an angel… And her name was Angela… It was she who was the very angel that forged Excalibur with Arthur’s essence and power… She was a fierce warrior… and the guardian angel of Avalon for a time while I was still queen…
Lord Balder:
King Odin used to tell a story of how he had an affair with an angel named Gaia… who bore him two children… fraternal twin daughters… Angela and Hella… But don’t ask Thor or Loki about that story… because they’ll just roll their eyes and groan in exasperation… They consider it to be just another tall tale of their fathers… But king Odin is not known for telling tall tales for the sake of telling tall tales… Very un-Asgardian of him really… You can even ask him today and he’ll tell you all about it… and very proudly…
Wolf King:
Well then… I might just have to now… I don’t suppose real angels can be easily recruited for the war effort… no offense Darcy but we don’t even know if any of the angels in here are real ones revealed… or just enchanted ones magically manufactured…
Blue Angel Darcy:
It’s cool… I don’t know that I feel all that real…
Lady Sif:
The real power of the angels cannot be brought to bear without being commanded by almighty God… or being fallen ones pursuing their own agenda and causing endless suffering for the sake of it…
Blue Angel Darcy:
But how do you know?… Or more to point… how do I know?… I can’t be for real right?… Excalibur’s for real… That’s for sure… But how do I know these wings are for real?… and these eyes?… I didn’t want to say anything before with the N-word still hanging around… but with these eyes… when they're like this… I can still see into the other side… I still can’t completely make everything out… But I can still see the spirits of that Native American tribe on the other side… with some of the winged horses that didn’t follow us over… It’s kind of weird… but I think some of those blind horses on the other side are staring back at me…
Lady Sif:
That would be a power of the angels… But an enchanted one might still wield that power… But not all angels necessarily have a third eye…. especially not the younger novice angels… according to the lore… The power of the necromancer doesn’t necessarily manifest as a third eye… especially in species without eyes… in the winged horses themselves… it manifests outwardly as blindness…
Blue Angel Darcy:
So… I may still be a fake angel… but at least I’m not a novice?… Is there any way I can know more concretely?… What are the real powers of true angels?… the ones that are supposed to be commanded by God almighty?… I don’t even know that I believe in God… Doesn’t that disqualify me?…
Morgana:
Not necessarily deary… The power of Excalibur was as much a function of Arthur’s faith as it was a function of some innate physical nature of his… Even as his reincarnation… you wouldn’t be able to wield it without having a little bit of it yourself… And you’ve been throwing those white flames about way more than Arthur ever did… more than he ever could… not without killing himself potentially… That can only be explained if you are tapping into the higher powers of the angel… their true powers… powers of faith… You may be doing it through nothing but some kind of intuition or spiritual reflex… born of the spiritual muscle memory of your past lives… But it’s definitely working… And I don’t believe that it could work that well unless you were a real angel…
Blue Angel Darcy:
If I am for real… what else should I be on the lookout for?… heavenly visitations?… burning bushes?…
Lady Sif:
In the lore… angels are the ones to make those things happen in service to God almighty… as God’s hand and mouth… They don’t perform that sort of service for each other… And God almighty doesn’t perform for the angels…
Blue Angel Darcy:
So… they’re like the roadie’s and stage managers for the God show…
Morgana:
Close enough… They’re also the bouncers when need be…
Lady Sif:
In service to God… the angels are said to have certain gifts with which to serve… They are said to know God… but not in an academic sense… but in a deeper sense… not entirely conscious… They must know God intimately and inescapably in order to serve the will of God… But that doesn’t necessarily guarantee faithful service… not even in the real ones… They are also said to know all the names of every soul… and all of the names of every soul of the genealogy thereof… and all of the languages to which they belong…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Languages and literature were my primary subjects of study in grad school… But I’m terrible with names… especially pronunciation…
Lady Sif:
But I suspect you know them very well regardless…
Blue Angel Darcy:
But shouldn’t I just be able to know the names of my own real parents then?…
Lady Sif:
The angels are not made to serve themselves… Perhaps there is a personal blind spot for the angels in general… or just a personal mental block for particular angels…
Morgana:
If I had to guess lassie… I would say that you're basically a real novice angel with a leg up thanks to Excalibur… Your third eye didn’t manifest itself until you pulled Excalibur from the stone… Your skin changed then too… Real angels are also said to be able to perfectly hide they're angel natures… You might find that eventually you’ll be able to do that too…
Natasha Romanov:
I need you to teach me everything you know about necromancers and how to hunt them…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Yeah… Ditto here… Someone has to watch the watchers…
Lady Sif:
That could take a good deal of time… I spent a couple of centuries in Avalon…
Natasha Romanov:
We’re not going anywhere any time soon… And there’s no time like the present with necromancers on the loose and more raw ingredients flying around to possibly make more of them…
Princess Frigga:
I want to hunt necromancers too!… Mommy can I learn too?… Can I?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
One thing at a time little girl… Starting with learning not to ditch your security detail… You’re not even supposed to be here to begin with… Remember?…
Helga Ward:
Told ya…
Dr. Jane Foster:
And you and I have homework to do anyway little princess… a lot of homework…
Wolf King:
We should all be going… regrouping… comparing notes… We need to track down those winged horses… do a head count… provide security…
Space Crow:
I tried to track their numbers as they came through the opening with my FSB… And I sent a number of my drones to fly off with them after they passed over head the last time… They mostly seem to have settled in the hills and mountains west and north west of here… basically the rich neighborhoods… Bell Air… Beverly Hills… From what little I can glean from my drone telemetry… they seem to have been made over as a network of medieval fortified reservoirs that constitute the sources of these new aqueducts…
Wolf King:
Med evil fortified reservoirs?…
Space Crow:
Yes… Very posh looking ones… but still medieval…
Wolf King:
We’ll need to secure those water sources as well as the horses…
Space Crow:
Yes… And a number of them seem to have escaped already…
Wolf King:
Already?!?… Any idea how many?…
Space Crow:
Exactly 4,342 came through to our side… including the ones that Danielle and Brunhilde led the stampede with… but not counting the ones that already made their own way over before that… But more than half of them seem to have taken off in the direction of what used to be Malibu… and disappeared with the drones that I had tracking them… So either they found their own way out… or they died trying… Either outcome is possible… and plausible… But I would bet on their survival… Although I wouldn’t necessarily bet my life on it trying to ride one out of here…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Duly noted…
Princess Frigga:
Mommy?… Can we go and watch over the winged horsies mommy?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Well… We really should be getting back to Emerald City… We have homework to do… remember?… And I know how much you love homework…
Princess Frigga:
But I want to look after the winged horsies!…
Helga Ward:
Hold it right there princess!…
The young princess runs off in the general direction of Beverly Hills as she ramps up her lightening preparing to launch herself in the direction of the medieval reservoirs. Helga runs after her to try and catch her before she launches. Helga deploys her vajra thunderbolt and ramps up her lightening anticipating a royal chase. Helga catches up with Frigga and grabs a hold of her arm as Frigga tries to launch herself. As they physically make contact with each other, some sort of circuit is connected between them, triggering a radical transformation in Princess Frigga.
Frigga transforms instantly with a bright lightening flash, turning Frigga into a sparkly rainbow colored kaleidoscope of energetic plasma in the shape of the little girl. Princess Frigga’s matte black tiara and cape fall to the floor of the platform, falling right through Frigga’s intangible ghost like plasma body, with her little princess dress being converted right along with her body. Helga’s hand then goes right through Frigga’s ghostly plasma arm.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Frigga!?!…
Princess Frigga:
Woh… This tingles… What is it?… Am I… made of plasma mommy?… mommy?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Undo it!… Undo it right now!… Helga!…
Helga Ward:
I don’t know what I did!… if I did anything… What did I do?…
Princess Frigga:
It’s okay mommy… I like it!… It feels… buzzy!… and looks really pretty and sparkly!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I don’t want you buzzy and sparkly!… I want you as flesh and blood!… Now!…
Princess Frigga:
Okay mommy… Let me try… I think I can control it…
Princess Frigga reaches down to grab her matte black tiara laying on the floor beneath her feet, with her feet now floating inches above the floor. Her hand passes through the tiara at first. But then she tries again and grabs it with her plasma hand and puts it on her head. She likewise grabs her matte black cloak and puts it over her shoulders as before, while she remains buzzy, sparkly, and slightly levitating. She emits another bright lightening flash, and her tiara and cape are then converted likewise into sparkly rainbow plasma.
Dr. Jane Foster:
Thats not moving in the right direction little girl…
Princess Frigga:
I’m trying mommy!… Don’t rush me!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Sorry Princess Sparkles…
Princess Sparkles starts to sparkle more brilliantly and more rapidly as the princess clenches her plasma fists and grits her plasma teeth. Then Princess Sparkles lets out another bright lightening flash and instantly transforms completely back into the flesh before landing with her fleshy feet back on the ground. Dr. Foster rushes over to Princess Frigga to bear hug her daughter, trying in vain to prevent her from transforming again.
Princess Frigga:
Mommy!… Not so tight!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Not a chance!… I’m never letting you transform into some freaky thing again!… Not on my watch!…
Princess Frigga:
But you did it mommy…
Blue Angel Darcy:
She’s got ya there besty… You did just experiment on yourself and catch fire in front of your own daughter and everything…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Under extenuating circumstances… And you’re not helping!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
I am trying to Jane… But I don’t think you can stop her from doing that anyway… If anything… she should practice more…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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