Defenders Of Midgard, #TheDefendersOfMidgard , An MCU Fan Fiction, Chapter 26: A Blood Feud Of Avalon With A Grudge From Camelot
The Killer's Breed Or The Demon's Seed! The Glamour, The Fortune, The Pain! Go To War Again, Blood Is Freedom's Stain! Don't You Pray For My Soul Anymore!
Chapter 26: A Blood Feud Of Avalon With A Grudge From Camelot
The Killer's Breed Or The Demon's Seed! The Glamour, The Fortune, The Pain!
Go To War Again, Blood Is Freedom's Stain! Don't You Pray For My Soul Anymore!
( 2 Minutes to Midnight, Iron Maiden )
After Queen Morgana’s necromancer metamorphosis, with her crown of dark green thorns, covered in a ring of glowing blue fox fire, glowing lime green skin, and glowing blue eyes and bejeweled forehead, her son Leopold Fits just stands and stares at her glowing aura and crown, and her thorny rose vine dress. The rest of those gathered in the Cosmic Forum of the Defender’s of Midgard Rally Club remain stunned and numb at the steady stream of revelations. Even Robbie ‘Ghost Rider’ Reyes’ skull has ceased to be engulfed in the low burn of hell fire, provoked by the presence of the Darkhold. But Robbie continues to stare at it hanging from the Moth Man’s shoulders.
Dr. Spectrum:
Mum?… When did this happen?… For how long?…
Queen Morgana:
It was a very long time ago… long before either you or your father were even born… Back when I was still quite young and still queen of Avalon… Much younger than you are now sonny… Nothing but a glorified teenager with a crown… It was after my brother Arthur and I were tricked and betrayed by Merlin…
Madame Web:
Tricked and betrayed?… by Merlin?…
Queen Morgana:
I became queen at a very young age… Our parents Uther and Igraine had been a royal pairing that solidified an alliance between the wolfkin of Midgard and the fay of Avalon… Uther Pendragon had unified by force the vast majority of wolfkin on Midgard who had any knowledge of being so… Together with human allies he carved out a stable dominion out of what would eventually become England… The Roman Empire had gone and left Christianity behind in its wake to some extent… But all was chaos and darkness… The wolfkin helped provide the necessary enforcers to keep the peace… And Uther gained a throne of Midgard and a bride of Avalon in exchange for protecting the realm… defending the faith… and upholding God’s law…
Madame Web:
That sounds somewhat like the story of Camelot…
Queen Morgana:
But the Black Queen Selene had other plans for the wolfkin in general… and vehemently opposed Avalon in general for other reasons… So… she conspired and arranged the downfall and destruction of our parents… Uther and Igraine… under the guise of Lady Gallio at the time… They were betrayed and slaughtered by many of their own family… rendering future England back into total fratricidal bloodshed and chaos… I had already been put in place as queen of Avalon by my mother Igraine… with Merlin as my regent… But Arthur had to go into hiding in England for many years before anyone could even dream of Camelot… That was when we were tricked and betrayed by Merlin… to produce an heir… just in case…
Dr. Spectrum:
Mordred?… Just in case?…
Queen Morgana:
Ai laddie… It didn’t take much neither… We had been separated for so long… we didn’t even recognize each other by then… A minor enchantment and a little wine was all that it took… We trusted Merlin… and he used that against us…
Madame Web:
Why would you do that?… Why would anyone do that?…
Dr. Merlin Simmons:
It may not be a pleasant reality to consider in modern times… But in ancient times… the considerations of legitimacy in claims to the throne more often than not trumped all qualms about incest or inbreeding… Even more so in the more ancient times of Egypt… and Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia… Mordred was the heir of last resort that I felt was needed to reestablish order and stability in future England… just in case I failed with Arthur… Which I eventually did… because of Mordred… Tragic irony… thy name is Prince Mordred… Which not coincidentally… is also the name of my guilt… or one of them…
Queen Morgana:
And then I let you take him from me… because the great wizard Merlin knew best… But that wasn’t the real reason… I trusted you like you were my father… I was effectively raised by you more than my own real parents… My regent… My Uncle Merlin… That’s what I used to call you… before your betrayal…
Another one of Hogan’s four chosen lieutenants chimes in from underneath his helmet.
Bad Lieutenant:
His betrayal mother?… You’re one to talk… What of your betrayal in giving me up to him?… Admit it!… You were scared and weak!… But then you made yourself stronger… Necromancy is the least of your transgressions… as a mother…
Queen Morgana:
Mordred?…
Prince Mordred:
In the profane flesh!… And enjoying the show immensely!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
That voice… That’s the voice of the creep that raised me…
Dr. Angela Simmons:
A master of deception and disguise as always… Eh?… Mordred?…
Prince Mordred:
Prince Mordred… Please… Don’t presume to demote me in front of King Odin when you know better… Please allow me to introduce myself properly… in such esteemed company…
The bad lieutenant stands up and removes his helmet as he makes his way down to center stage near King Odin and his mother Queen Morgana, leaving the two remaining chosen lieutenants of Hogan the Grim to watch on stone faced in their helmets. Hogan’s wife Rayna is noticeably shocked upon seeing the face of Prince Mordred, and rushes to cover her mouth with her hands to stop herself from saying anything. Rayna’s husband Hogan notices her distress, as do the Wolf King, Garret, and Deathlok, old associates of Rayna. Everyone else remains stunned into silence as Prince Mordred slowly makes his way down to center stage at the bottom of the stairs only for Deathlok to stand in his way at the bottom.
Deathlok:
That’s close enough… your majesty… You can properly introduce yourself from right there…
Wolf King:
Hogan?… That’s two of four chosen lieutenants… Do we have to have a long talk about security?… Shield style?… Agent Hogan?…
Hogan the Grim:
Rayna vouched for Garret… by name… and by vision… But I was sworn to secrecy… and to not interfere with prophecy… This one was always questionable to me… But he was a good fighter… He’s saved my own life a number of times… I asked Rayna about him… But she said that she had no insight to give… But he was a good fighter… So… I kept him close to keep an eye on him… but not close enough clearly…
Wolf King:
Rayna?…
King Odin:
Please do not press poor Rayna for spoilers Wolf King… It was I who swore her to secrecy… for a vision that we had in common… for a vision that simply must be… So… by all means… let him through… Let us hear from Prince Mordred… Let us have our proper introductions… if Prince Mordred can do so honestly for a change…
Deathlok steps out of Mordred’s way and allows him to present himself to familiar faces, some of whom recognize him in return, besides Darcy and Queen Morgana.
Iron Man:
Let me guess… Professor Miles Warren I presume?… according to the mug shot in your Shield file… Shield’s been looking for you… as have I…
Prince Mordred:
For the sake of poor Spider Man?… Or have you finally figured out who’s really responsible for all this enchantment?… I can’t claim sole credit… But I am a member in long standing of the organization responsible… not to mention a major backer…
Iron Man:
AIM… Advanced Idea Mechanics… I saw your name on the roster before with them… When I went looking into Spider Man’s background it popped up again… as mad scientists go… you like to get around… Don’t ya?… Was AIM involved with Spider Man too?…
Prince Mordred:
I assure you… I am no loyal sycophant for anyone… I am no one’s loyal and dutiful servant… I use… what is of use… including AIM… and including Dr. Conners and young Peter Parker…
Iron Man:
Who?…
Prince Mordred:
Do not insult me by playing dumb!… Professor Miles Warren might as well be a glorified pseudonym of mine for academic purposes… But I assure you my credentials are quite well earned… and then some… I am Prince Mordred… son of King Arthur of Camelot… and Queen Morgana of Avalon… and tutored by none other than the great wizard Merlin… as well as his first mistress… the Black Queen Selene…
Madame Web:
What?!?… Is that?!?… The Black Queen Selene?… was my father’s?… mistress?…
Dr. Merlin Simmons:
I was born her slave… in Attilan… the ancient alien city of the Inhumans… which the world knows by the legend of Atlantis… But I assure you it is quite real… or at least it was…
Dr. Spectrum:
I remember when you came for an advanced applied mathematics lecture at Shield’s Science and Technology Academy… Did you know about me back then?… me and Jemma?… I remember how keen you were to chat us up… I remember getting the feeling of being recruited… Don’t you Jemma?…
Madame Web:
As a matter a fact I do… Were you planning to abduct me too?… like you did to my sister?…
Prince Mordred:
I just wanted to meet you two… to compare and contrast… like a kind of twin study… but more personal… to compare you and your sister… as well as myself with my little brother… You two made such a cute couple… even then… oblivious… but cute… AIM certainly would have been interested… if they hadn’t already been exposed…
Excalibur ignites in white flames as Darcy points it at Prince Mordred’s head.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Why?… Why did you kidnap me?…
Prince Mordred:
I did no such thing… You appeared before me in the center of my home in a flash of light… Your powers were clearly sealed… but not so that I couldn’t tell… Upon further investigation I realized that your soul was that of my late father Arthur… the king of Camelot… But you still don’t remember me… Do you?… You must have blocked it out… on account of my having killed you before… Eh?… Father?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Don’t call me that!… even if it is true!… Why wouldn’t you tell me?… What kind of game were you playing with me?…
Prince Mordred:
No game… I just found you interesting… Our old family struggle is long over and done with… How many times can you kill the same soul before it gets old?… And for the record I was only hiding myself… And Merlin taught me very well… You were effectively hiding yourself with me… intuitively… But I couldn’t tell you why… or even exactly how given that your powers were sealed… Perhaps you could tell me… Maybe it might come to you if you properly and fully unsealed your powers… With the seal of the music box broken fully and properly… not only might you remember better how and why you came to me… you might even be able to restore your sister to proper living condition… if anything can… What say you… Uncle Merlin?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Is it true?… dad?… If you're playing more mind games with me… I’ll run you through…
Dr. Merlin Simmons:
It could be true… Ther is simply no telling… nor trusting… But we simply have to try… Although we never anticipated vampirism…
Dr. Angela Simmons:
Enough talk… Talk is Mordred’s favorite game as always…
Angela holds the music box in one hand, and holds her other hand on top of it, laying it flat over the lid of the music box as it starts to glow slightly. Then a rapid barrage of multicolored flashing and strobing lights floods the room. Angela rips open the box and everything goes dark save for arcs of lightening that escape from the music box and connect to Dr. Simmons, AD May, and Lilith, before cutting off as the music box plays Silent Night. Simultaneously, as other members of AIM continue to observe their experiment from outside of the Psycho Fandango, the vampire Revanche, sired by May, is also struck by lightning out of nowhere as part of the same process.
Then the normal lights slowly grow back to normal levels as both Darcy and Dr. Simmons are revealed to have been altered. Darcy appears as if a perfectly normal human woman, wingless, with normal skin color and only her normally colored pair of eyes in her head, as opposed a glowing yellow set of three. She still holds Excalibur in her hand with her unaltered son Michael in her other arm.
Dr. Simmons appears passed out face down on the floor with two large shiny black feathered wings protruding out of her back after having ripped their way through Dr. Simmons white lab coat. Dr. Simmons hair is also transformed to shiny black. Her FSB spider golem Agent Romanov still rests upon her shoulder as her winged pixie daughter flies down to land on her head to try and wake her up. Dr. Spectrum rushes to kneel down next to her to check on her.
Dr. Spectrum:
Jemma!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Jemma!… She’s got wings!… But I turned normal… Did Jemma take my powers mom?…
Dr. Angela Simmons:
No… Try changing back… You’re supposed to be able to go incognito when necessary… in order to observe and bare witness anonymously…
Darcy closes her eyes and tries to remember how it felt to have wings before, as if to manifest their return. Then Darcy’s skin turns blue, white wings spring from her back, and her third eye reappears with all three glowing yellow.
Blue Angel Darcy:
Awesome… I got far too used to being blue… I don’t think my own child would recognize me without the blue…
Cherub Michael Selvig:
Blue Mommy!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
That’s right Magic Micky… Jemma?…
Agent Romanov:
Madame Web’s heart and vital signs are all normal or superior to normal condition… Healthy or optimal functioning has been restored to all biological systems… Cause unknown…
Madame Web:
Unknown to science perhaps… so far… Oh… Wow… This is going to take some getting used to…
Dr. Jemma Simmons begins to get up off the floor and reveals her hands to be covered with red skin. As she lifts up her head, she reveals her face to be covered in red skin likewise, but with a matte black oval jewel aligned vertically and embedded in the center of her forehead.
Dr. Spectrum:
Jemma?…
Madame Web:
Am I Jemma?… I don’t feel like Jemma… I feel like… everything… I feel alive again… But I feel… everything… every life… It’s like a web of life… interconnected…
Madame Web stands up fully and stares down at her own red hands, marveling at her own red skin as she spreads her shiny black wings.
AD Melinda May:
Believe it or not… so do I… feel alive that is… I can feel my heartbeat again…
As Coulson turns towards May, he sees a translucent red oval jewel aligned vertically and embedded in the middle of her forehead. Coulson points to his own forehead as he makes his remarks back to May.
AD Phil Coulson:
Looks like you’ve been marked for life too… It’s pretty…
May feels at the jewel in her forehead and grimaces as she realizes that she may be alive but she’s in for a ride. Elsewhere, Lilith feels at her forehead to verify the presence of an identical jewel to May’s in her own forehead as she smiles.
King Odin:
Today is truly one of the happiest days of my life… I am with my sons… surrounded by my grandchildren and great grandchildren… My daughters… once long lost to duty… are now with me… by temporary leave of fate… reunited with their daughters and their daughters’ families… At this moment… I am truly the richest king in all the nine realms…
Prince Mordred:
Congratulations your majesty… I only wish I had a kingdom so rich as yours… But I have no kingdom because my own mother raised an army of the dead to destroy it after I took it from my father… I suppose it was for my own good… Politics is just so much dead weight for the soul… Politics are poison… And I might begin to have similar riches to yours for my non-existent kingdom… if not for the Wolf King that you’re so fond of… who made it impossible for me to find my own son…
Wolf King:
And how would I have done that?… Do I know you from somewhere?…
Prince Mordred:
You don’t remember me Grant?… Uncle Miles?… old friend of the family?… like really really old… You wound me Grant… Where’s Thomas?… Where’s my son?…
Wolf King:
Thomas is your son?… Hydra records say he’s adopted… How do you know he’s yours?…
Prince Mordred:
Because I forged those Hydra records personally… to hide my son… and to isolate him from any blood association with your royal line… among anyone who would know what it meant… Hydra… the Hand… now Shield… at least until the time was right… Like the man said… I like to get around… But you made it difficult for him to have a normal life with you obsessing over him and trying to make it right… to have ‘closure’… I found a nice little place for him to hide… discretely… without even introducing myself… But then you and Shield had to come traipsing through his life again… just so that you could get yourself killed… and then resurrected somehow… And you made it impossible for me to find my own son in the process…
Wolf King:
Well… it’s probably for the best that neither of us can find him… I’m not hiding him… And right now… I’m glad I don’t know how…
Prince Mordred:
I’m afraid that’s not good enough for me… The Psycho Fandango experiment has gone on plenty long enough for the sake of science… I could end this anytime I like… AIM could care less… But I want my son back… I was training him discretely… indirectly through his employer… one of my own properties… Tell me what you did with him… or I will make my own escape from here and leave you all to find your own way out… for yourselves and a few million people as excess baggage if you’re lucky… or a few million corpses as collateral damage if you’re not… Do you feel lucky?… Wolf King?…
Wolf King:
Not especially… But Like I said… I can’t help you… even if I wanted to…
Prince Mordred:
What about you?… Uncle Fitsy?… little bro?… Oh sorry… I forgot… you like to go by Dr. Spectrum now… while mother calls me a Jackal of Lucifer… Surely you can be counted upon to help your nephew return to the loving embrace of his own father…
Dr. Spectrum:
Over my dead body creep… But I’m in the same boat as Ward… I had nothing to do with Shield’s involvement with your son… I have no way of knowing how to track him down… And whoever did help him would know better than to leave any records… knowing that the infamous Hydra double agent Grant Ward would likely be the one looking for him…
AD Phil Coulson:
I was the one who adducted Thomas to get leverage on Ward… We let him go when we were done with him… But we didn’t help him vanish… not to help him hide from Ward… I was planning on killing Ward anyway… which I ultimately did… If Thomas used any special help or trick to vanish and hide from you… we didn’t help him out with that… You said you were training him… Maybe you trained him too well…
Prince Mordred:
I wasn’t training him to be some petty spy… But you may be right perhaps… Either way I cannot take your word for that… And I have no reason to help you with the Psycho Fandango otherwise…
Wolf King:
We could give you a reason…
The Wolf King transforms into his full wolfkin form and enlarges his shield to its full regular size, fastened to his left arm.
Dr. Spectrum:
Gladly…
Dr. Spectrum follows suit by rapidly materializing a matte black katana into his waiting hands. Darcy’s Excalibur also gets a fresh ignition of white flames.
Prince Mordred:
Now now… Surely we can still parlay… even as lords of war… If we cannot parlay in times of war as lords of war… then wars can never end… except in genocide… Surely King Odin cannot approve of such blatant disregard for diplomacy…
King Odin:
He certainly does not… But he is also no fool for petty manipulations… If it is so easy for you to go… then I say go… I have confidence in young Master Fits… And you are a notorious liar and a traitor!…
Dr. Spectrum:
Agreed…
Prince Mordred:
Come now little brother… Surely you can see how you need my help… Or do you think you already have a solution?… I would love to see that if you did… I would love to know what has inspired such great confidence in you by King Odin… Surely you wouldn’t want to let down the king… Would you?…
Wolf King:
Don’t let him play you… Don’t let him get in your head…
Prince Mordred:
I bet you already have a solution… Don’t you?… But you’re afraid… Too many variables… Too many people… And it’s all on you… because of this…
Prince Mordred pulls out a matte black power prism and holds it up in front of himself to show it off to his little brother, the inventor.
Prince Mordred:
Endless gratitude for this little brother… This universal tool of infinite adaptability has made so much possible that I would never have dreamed of before… Like Venom… I didn’t think that Parker could get more interesting as a research subject until your tech twisted up him even further… No doubt you think that’s a bad thing… And you’re worried that you can’t undo it… at least… not reliably… even with your so-called apex predator power prism… Dr. Spectrum… You’re a bit of a drama queen… Aren’t you little brother?… Why ‘Dr. Spectrum’?… Was Professor Sperg taken?… Have you yet to consider… the Sperger Meister?…
Dr. Spectrum:
That’s enough out of you jackass…
Prince Mordred:
Jackal… Mother called me a Jackal of Lucifer… Perhaps this might help you remember…
Prince Mordred suddenly changes into a green furred semi-wolfkin form with pointed ears and claws, but with a recognizable human shaped face.
Queen Morgana:
Don’t let him provoke you!… He just wants chaos for the sake of chaos!…
Prince Mordred:
So what if I do?… That doesn’t automatically mean that I’m wrong… or that I’m lying… I get chaos regardless… So I get what I want no matter what here… But I want to know what kind of man my little brother is… Which form of chaos will he choose?… And whom will he allow to suffer the consequences as a result?… Pick your poison little brother… Sorry… Dr. Spectrum…
Dr. Spectrum:
The bloody Jackal’s right… I do have a solve… but not necessarily for everyone…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
What do you have Master Fits?… How solid is it?… And what’s the real picture on the worst-case scenario?…
Dr. Spectrum:
It doesn’t matter director… We have no way of giving him what he wants… and we can’t trust anything he says anyway…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
That’s not necessarily true… as far as giving him what he wants… I happen to have that information myself… As you know… I have an entire task force doing a deep dive on Grant Ward and his family history… We already knew that anything regarding his immediate family would be the most sensitive… So we deliberately compartmentalized that information within the task force unless absolutely necessary to share… I’m the only one in here who knows… Level with me… What’s the worst-case scenario if we don’t give this creep what he wants?…
Dr. Spectrum:
No one ever goes back to normal… And no one ever remembers what normal used to be… That’s the worst-case scenario… And some people have been altered rather severely… even demonically… But some people have also been successfully treated already on an individual basis… So we can rule out the worst-case scenario… The most likely scenario is that all memory is restored… but physical changes mostly remain… as they will be the most difficult characteristics to change back… I wanted to conduct more individual experiments to be sure that the treatment would work individually on anyone left behind by the first try… But there’s never going to be any guarantee that everyone can be brought back to normal… or even remember it…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
Especially if they’re dead Master Fits… Especially if they’re dead… And people are dying in here for real… And although some are also being brought back from the dead for real… that is a process entirely outside of our control… Which would probably be for the best except that it seems to be under enemy control…
Dr. Spectrum:
If that were really the case… then the Jackal wouldn’t need to bargain with us… even just for fun… They would already be too powerful to care for anything from us… not even just to mess with me…
Prince Mordred:
You underestimate yourself… Believe it or not… I really do care that much… But your right… Technological resurrections are an interesting development… But outside of the more traditional methods of necromancy… I don’t control that… Perhaps you should ask our necromancer mother… or maybe Dr. Golem… a new colleague of mine… and a partial creation of yours… Dr. Spectrum… Perhaps you could do it yourself… with your apex power prism… not just to heal and restore… but to resurrect…
Queen Morgana:
Do not presume to temp profane necromancy!…
Prince Mordred:
Why not?… It’s practically a family tradition… I’m wondering if Dr. Spectrum here actually measures up to our standards… I’m suddenly concerned for the wellbeing and the upbringing of my precious new niece… Ilyanna… is it?…
Dr. Spectrum:
You keep my daughter’s name out of your inbred bastard mouth!…
Prince Mordred:
Make me… Make it all go away… if you think you can… for Ilyanna’s sake…
King Odin:
I say do it…
Yelena reaches over and suddenly grasps her sister Natasha’s hand really tight, startling her, causing Natasha to take notice of her sister’s apprehension at the news of possible salvation.
Prince Thor:
Father?…
King Odin:
I’m serious… As king you will have to learn to make hard decisions that are really just unavoidable gambles… with other people’s lives unavoidably on the line… and in harm’s way save for a stroke of luck that can’t even happen unless you take a big gamble on their behalf… I would certainly defer to Dir. Mace as the proper authority here on Midgard… But I certainly do not trust Queen Morgana’s grandson with this glorified brigand… a treacherous and murderous usurper… And I do genuinely trust the skills of Master Fits… I say take the gamble… sooner rather than later… Time is short for those who are trapped in the crossfire of our family dilemmas and melodramas…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
I agree… But what exactly does this entail?… Master Fits… What exactly do you need?…
Dr. Spectrum:
We need more flutes…
Princess Karnilla:
Like mine Uncle Fitsy?…
Dr. Spectrum:
That depends Karny Girl… on whether or not me mum taught you lot the Healing Lullaby… the one she used to use to put me to sleep when I was sick as a child… I know that was fairy song now… Do they know it?…
Queen Morgana:
Ai… And not only that… They’ve been using it with some limited success… especially with recovering hellhounds… Haven’t they Karny Girl?…
Princess Karnilla:
You bet!…
Pepper Pots holds her flute up at Hawkeye before speaking to him.
Sorceress Pepper Pots:
Looks like were up already…
Hawkeye:
That’s showbiz… The show must go on…
Wolf King:
Helga… Go and get Ilsa back here… Tell her it’s time to get back on the job if she wants to help Peter…
Helga Ward:
You got it dad…
Ilsa Ward:
You needn’t bother… I didn’t go far father… And I’ve been listening… I’m ready any time…
Natasha Romanov:
Uhm… What if someone doesn’t want to change back?… Some people… like their enchantments…
Dr. Spectrum:
It can’t be helped… We’ll need to blanket the entire city with sound… every single soul trapped in here with us must be able to hear it at the level of a whisper at a minimum… I suspect only those with an FSB will remain as they were before the process… since that seemed to shield some people when the whole thing hit to begin with…
Upon hearing this, Yelena stops gripping her sister’s hand in a vice grip and begins to mutter a Russian Orthodox prayer to herself in Russian under her breath, as if hoping not to be noticed, as her sister Natasha takes notice anyway.
Space Crow:
Our BBN system works for coms as well as navigation… The entire network within the city is as close as you're going to get to a city-wide PA system… We can pipe the music out to the entire city from this very room… And the acoustics are pretty good too… in spite of recent damage… It is a forum after all…
Dr. Spectrum:
Yes… I noticed… Very well then… On with the motley… All ye worthy flutes gather round then… Queen Aelsa… I know that you know the tune… If you wouldn’t mind…
Queen Aelsa of Alfheim:
It would be my honor…
Queen Aelsa gets up from sitting next to her husband Loki to join Ilsa Ward and the others. Pepper and Hawkeye do likewise while Dr. Spectrum pulls out his Apex Power Prism and tosses it up in the air slightly above his head. It hovers there and begins to spin and sparkle a multicolored sparkle.
Princess Frigga:
Pretty…
Dr. Spectrum:
Thank you… Gather round my light and follow my noise… This may sap your strength a bit as you play… I need you to focus on my little flying disco ball… and let the light wash over you as you play… Darcy… Dr. Foster… If you could bath everyone involved in those healing white flames of yours… that may just help everyone perform better… or at least hold up better… Don’t worry… I’m sure it will all be perfectly fine… mostly…
Prince Mordred:
This should be good… I love a good performance…
Wolf King:
Zip it Mordor!… Spartan… Loco… You two watch him… weapons drawn… And Mike… if you don’t mind…
Deathlok:
Already on him…
Wolf King:
If he makes any sound at all during the performance… feel free to kill him… silently…
Space Crow:
We are live city wide in all of greater Liber Avalon… This is Space Crow and I’ll be your DJ for this evening… bringing you the sweet sounds of fairy song salvation… hopefully… Dr. Spectrum…
Dr. Spectrum:
Thanks for the introduction… Now feel free to follow the main line with me… But if you know some of the supplementary parts… feel free to go with the flow and play the parts that feel right for you… If you have prayers to say… say them now…
Prince Mordred makes the sign of the cross with his hand while wearing a shit eating grin in support of the effort. Yelena’s murmuring prayer in Russian gets lauder as it elevates to an audible whisper, and she closes her eyes and grabs onto her sister Natasha’s arm with another vice grip like hold. Natasha just puts her hand on her sister’s hand and watches her closely as she prays. Lady Sif, Dr. Selvig, and other acolytes of Avalon also begin to mutter their own prayers in healing support. All throughout Liber Avalon, many who hear the suggestion to pray also follow suit.
Dr. Spectrum raises his mother’s new flute to his mouth and begins to play a fairy song lullaby like she would play for him as a sick infant, and the disco ball power prism starts to brighten and pulsate in time to its master’s playing. Darcy and Dr. Foster join hands and flame up, sending their healing white flames of support into the bottom center circle of the forum, filling the bottom of it and bathing all the players within it in white flames. The other flutes join in, and the multicolored pulsation intensifies and spreads to the outside, transforming the pitch-black cloud cover into a city wide ASMR rave with a fairy song flute ensemble soundtrack.
All throughout the city humans and humanoid creatures alike are stricken with sleepiness and collapse down where they stand to dream where they lie. Many but not all undergo humanizing and healing transformations while they sleep. Many battle wounds are healed and many on the edge of death are restored of some form or shape of health. The city itself also seems to undergo a healing restoration of sorts, as flowers and fruiting trees spring up all throughout the city, greening and rejuvenating the landscaping and whatever remains of the natural order within and surrounding Liber Avalon. Physical battle damage to existing structures is also magically repaired as they remain in their enchanted medieval forms.
Within the Cosmic Forum of the Defenders of Midgard Rally Club, many of those attending the performance succumb to the sleepiness of the fairy song Healing Lullaby and pass out. Deathlok, Spartan, and Loco succumb as well, leaving Prince Mordred unguarded. Those who are center stage at the bottom of the stairs and are bathed in a circle of white flame at the heart of the performance remain unfazed, along with a few others. King Odin simply closes his remaining eye and enjoys the performance. Prince Mordred likewise seems to be enjoying himself immensely. But Mordred never takes his eyes off of his little brother as he leads the performance.
The damage done to the dome ceiling by Ogun thrashing the Wolverine into it is also magically repaired and restored to its undamaged state, with the associated debris also magically removed. The sparkly emerald green color of Emerald City is restored from the matte black, and the flaming pyres of green flame are all extinguished, reversing the black magic makeover it had been given at the beginning of the Psycho Fandango. The flaming ‘Hellfire Club’ sign on the roof of the old Dunbar Hotel that has served as the stronghold of the Black Queen Selene is finally doused. But the sign remains in place.
As the song reaches its end, the pulsating lights intensify and accelerate inside and out until there is a single blinding flash of white light everywhere. With that last blinding flash of light, all of the black clouds surrounding Liber Avalon are instantly dispersed as winds rage through the entire area from the outside, revealing a substantially and permanently altered Los Angeles, bathed in the light of the noonday Sun of Midgard. As if startled by the sudden change, all of the winged horses suddenly launch themselves up into the sky without riders and they start racing their way west by northwest towards Ojai California, effectively rejoining the herd that had already made their escape there earlier.
Once the formerly invincible black cloud cover is fully dispersed, a number of Shield quinjets fly into the air space and do some quick recon passes to scout out whatever has happened to Los Angeles under the enchantment of the Psycho Fandango. One of the quinjets even hovers and circles in the air above the relatively new and still freshly smoldering volcano downtown. Inside the forum, Prince Mordred beams a wide stupid smile at his little brother and begins to clap loudly in applause, waking and stirring the now mostly slumbering assembly. Queen Morgana’s little pixie granddaughter Ilyanna flies over to sit on her grandmother’s shoulder.
Prince Mordred:
Fantastic little brother!… You have truly inherited mother’s talent!… for better or for worse… I can’t thank you enough!… Really!… I lied somewhat before… While it’s true that I could make my own escape any time I wished… AIM had no actual means of ending the experiment… Part of the experiment was to see how you might get out of it yourselves… if at all… So… I really can’t thank you enough for helping us complete the experiment… I can’t wait to go over all the data that you’ve given us to chew on… How ever did you come up with your ultimate solution?…
Dr. Spectrum:
It was like you said… There were too many factors… too many people… too many complications… So… I simplified all of them… And I focused on one simple task and nothing else… healing… Whatever transformations can’t be healed… can be addressed as best as can be on an individual basis after we are all free of your precious experiment… especially since we now have backup from full-fledged angels… as well as Dr. Strangelove over here…
Dr. Stephan Strange:
You’re one to name call… Sperger Meister…
Dr. Spectrum:
If you really can disappear from here at will… why don’t you just get on with it then?… and save us the trouble of bouncing you from the club the hard way?…
Prince Mordred:
Leave now?… before I’ve had a chance to get to know my niece?… Princess Ilyanna?… I’m sure she’s bound to have our mother’s talented ears as well…
Queen Morgana:
She’ll not have anything to do with you except over my dead body!…
Prince Mordred:
Do not presume to tempt fate mother!…
Prince Mordred whistles a brief magical fairy whistle, and Princess Ilyanna flies off of her grandmother’s shoulder to fly over to her Uncle Mordred.
Queen Morgana:
No!…
As Ilyanna flies within reach of Prince Mordred, his left hand begins to take on a green glow. Then he suddenly reaches up and grabs Ilyanna in the palm of his glowing left hand and seemingly prevents her from changing shape or size within his glowing grasp. Before anyone else can even react, Queen Morgana desperately lurches in her son Mordred’s direction without thinking, chasing after her granddaughter.
Prince Mordred:
Say goodbye to your granddaughter for the last time mother!… Then say goodbye to the world!… as per your death wish!…
Prince Mordred conjures forth a matte black necro dagger into his right hand, seemingly oozing into existence within a small cloud of black smoke in his palm.
King Odin:
No!…
Prince Mordred makes a move to meet his mother part way with necro dagger ready to strike. Queen Morgana continues to lurch blindly towards Prince Mordred, as King Odin leaps to his feet and rushes to intercept the charging necro dagger. Upon seeing King Odin’s leap into the fray, Prince Mordred adjusts his attack slightly and drives his necro dagger deep into King Odin’s heart before snapping off the handle and leaving the necro blade behind in Odin’s heart like it was a common prison shiv.
Prince Thor:
Father!…
King Odin falls back away from Mordred and falls into the arms of Queen Morgana as she just barley reaches him on her way towards Mordred. The wound in King Odin’s heart bubbles and oozes with a shiny black substance from what’s left of Prince Mordred’s necro dagger as black streaks appear in his skin where the poison is spreading and he begins to shake.
Queen Morgana:
King Odin!…
Prince Mordred:
How unfortunate… for the royal house of Asgard… Oh well… My condolences… Better luck on your death wish next time mother… Ta ta for now!…
Prince Mordred’s form turns into a dark silhouette surrounded by a bright white aura before disappearing in a blinding white flash with his niece Princess Ilyanna still in his hand.
Madame Web:
Ilyanna!…
Thor and Loki rush to kneel down by their father’s side. Princess Frigga stands stunned with her hands covering her mouth as she stares unblinking at her father and dying grandfather. Princess Karnilla simply closes her eyes and clutches her flute.
Queen Morgana:
Darcy!… Jane!…
Blue Angel Darcy:
On it!…
Dr. Nova:
You got it…
Dr. Spectrum raises his flute to his mouth and begins to play another song of healing to help in the only way he can, in part to give his mouth something more useful to do besides screaming. Ilsa and little Karnilla soon follow suit, quickly followed by queen Aelsa, Pepper, and Hawkeye. A low murmur of prayers surrounds the dying king, desperately trying to aid the rescue efforts. Thor grabs a hold of his father’s hand while Loki kneels at his feet.
Darcy kneels down with her son Micheal in one arm and holding a fully flaming Excalibur in her other hand, and she lays her sword down across his legs. Dr. Nova flames up as she kneels down by King Odin’s head and reaches down and attempts to touch her white flaming hand onto the king’s heart to heal the wound. But King Odin suddenly reaches up and grabs her hand to stop her from touching the black bubbling and oozes substance in the wound.
King Odin:
No!… Do not touch the wound!… The poison is too strong… Even you may not be immune… You cannot stop this… I have seen it!…
Dr. Nova:
With all due respect your majesty… I don’t care what you’ve seen…
Dr. Nova rips her arm out of his grip and firmly applies her white flames to the wound as the flames around her hand and the wound flare up for the effort.
Prince Thor:
I don’t care what you’ve seen too… No prophecy is ever perfect… nor perfectly understood… Mother taught me that…
Prince Loki:
Indeed… No need to rush to meet fate… otherwise it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy… That’s what you would always tell us about Ragnarök… Perhaps you should recall some of your own lessons…
Dr. Nova succeeds in purging and purifying the wound and King Odin ceases to shake, but the black streaks beneath his skin continue to spread along with the rest of the poison in spite of all their efforts.
King Odin:
I stand corrected in attitude… but not in reality… I have not just seen it… I can feel it… The poison is too strong… And I am too old and weak from my condition to fight it off… It is taking all I have… just to speak…
Prince Thor:
Well then… don’t strain yourself… With all due respect… shut up and let us heal you…
King Odin:
I will speak and you will listen!…
Prince Thor:
Yes father…
King Odin:
I don’t have much time… This moment is not the only moment that I have seen… The first vision I ever had… was of you and Loki ruling Asgard together… with you as king… and with Loki as your regent… And I have already decreed it to be so!… Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy if you must… But it should have been true a long time ago… But I failed to have the vision to see it before the seeds of conflict were sown into my own house… bringing the house of Asgard to the brink of total ruin!… even without Ragnarök… I must have your solemn words… from both of you… that you will see it done…
Prince Loki:
You have my word father… And I’ll see to Jotunheim too… My son Jack and I will take care of it… Just as I promised…
Prince Thor:
Indeed… You have my word too… We will restore order to the nine realms and settle the matter of the wolfkin with honor… And we will do it together…
King Odin:
I have no doubt… I have only faith…
King Odin begins to shake again as he closes his eyes. Then he ceases to shake or breath but begins to glow slightly.
Prince Thor:
Father?… What is this?… What is this?…
Prince Loki:
I don’t…
Before Loki can finish his thought, white sparkles begin to emanate from King Odin’s body as the glow intensifies. As Princess Frigga watches this her mood suddenly changes from one of being stunned by loss to being curious, as she lowers the hand from covering her mouth and instead hangs her mouth open with awe and wonder. She walks over to her grandfather’s body as the white sparkles intensify and she holds her hand above he grandfather’s body as the white sparkles from him pass through her hand.
Princes Frigga:
Pretty… What is it daddy?… Does this happen to all Asgardians when they die?…
Prince Thor:
No… No it doesn’t little Frigga… If this is what I think it is… This almost never happens… I thought it was only legend…
The emanation of white sparkles from King Odin’s body intensifies into a brilliant aura of white sparkles engulfing his body entirely.
Prince Loki:
You don’t actually think…
Prince Thor:
Yes I do… I believe that father has become one with Yggdrasil… This was only recorded in the distant past… and not very well… It was said to have happened to my grandfather King Bor… But many believe this to be apocryphal… since King Bor survived to a very old age… even for an Asgardian… He eventually succumbed to prophecy as well… Some believe that the report of him becoming one with Yggdrasil was just told to make him look better for not having died heroically in battle in order to get to Valhalla… But no one ever felt the need to glorify King Bor with lies… He more than earned his legend defeating the Dark elves… But we are all witnesses!… And what we just saw matches the description in the ancient texts… And father saw that too no doubt… That was why he was so steadfast in seeing things through… even though he knew how it ended… because it just had to be…
As Thor says this, King Odin’s body is finally and completely transformed into white sparkles that just fly off and pass through the walls and the dome ceiling to disappear entirely. A stunned silence hangs over the room for a few moments until Space Crow breaks the silence.
Space Crow:
Dir. Mace… I’ve managed to reestablish communications with the outside world and I’ve finished integrating our BBN system with the existing Shield network outside of it… And we’re getting hailed by quinjets… flying over us as we speak… in broad daylight… no cloud cover!… In fact… I think its high noon…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
I humbly suggest that we all check it out and get some fresh air…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Slava bogu!… I’m still pregnant!…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
Uhm… Congratulations… To you and Lord Balder… All the more reason for some fresh air I guess…
Natasha Romanov:
Indeed… You were really worried that the treatment might work too well… Weren’t you?… And since when did you convert to Russian Orthodox?… And was that before or after you regained your real memories?…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Before… Wise ass… I looked into it way before… back when I escaped the Red Room program… after we destroyed it… I liked the idea of the church more than the reality at the time… It wasn’t befitting a life as a professional assassin and mercenary… But after all this… especially with the Valkyrie makeover… I doubled down on the only real guide I had… And as far as I’m concerned it worked!…
Lord Balder walks over to Yelena to take her hand in his and raise it to his lips as he talks.
Lord Balder:
Nice to see the real you shining through again Mistress Yelena… Pretending is fun… But when it comes time to raise children… adults must be adult…
Lord Balder kisses her hand, then lowers it but holds on.
Yelena The Valkyrie:
How long did you know?… That I remembered?…
Lord Balder:
Almost immediately… I may not get around that much by Asgardian standards… but I am not completely clueless to feminine wiles… Besides… for a trained spy… you’re not very good at pretending… Which I find adorable…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
You’re just infatuated…
Lord Balder:
So be it… I freely and fully confess… I am properly infatuated… But never underestimate the strength and endurance of Asgardian infatuation…
Dir. Mace starts to make his way to the roof with Queen Karnilla followed by everyone else.
Wolf King:
What about Mordred Space Crow?… Did he negative flash his way out of here like the other necromancers?…
Space Crow:
That’s an affirmative… But I have an exit blip for him with no return… With our sensory reach no longer restricted by the Psycho Fandango… we effectively cover the entire solar system… So wherever he escaped to… it is definitely very far away… But we know that he knows how to hide… So we can’t even rely upon that… I’m afraid that’s a dead end for now… But I don’t think we’ll have to wait long before we see him again… And we know he’ll be coming after his prize subject… Venom… That may be our only chance at him… and Ilyanna…
Wolf King:
Agreed… unfortunately…
Dr. Spectrum:
‘Agreed’ Ward?… ‘Unfortunately’?… That’s my daughter he disappeared with Ward!… after committing bloody regicide!…
Wolf King:
I know that Fits… But until we have something more to go on we don’t have anywhere to look… except maybe Avalon… But that would be too obvious… and too soon…
Dr. Spectrum:
Too soon?…
Wolf King:
Prince Mordred most likely can’t easily show his face in Avalon without trouble… And pretty soon he won’t be able to show his real face anywhere in the nine realms… Part of the reason he might have taken Ilyanna is to make a play for Avalon… Since Ilyanna is in line for the throne… which is strictly matriarchal… You’re not eligible… But she is… And the throne of Avalon has been vacant for centuries as I understand it… ever since Queen Morgana’s abdication… You heard how he talked about his son… my half-brother Thomas… Thinking about it now… I suspect that he had an affair with my mother just to create an eligible heir to the wolfkin throne… If he gets Thomas and Ilyanna both under his control… he could make a serious powerplay… He might already be involved with the wolfkin uprising in his own way… He does like to get around…
Madame Web:
What was it like?… Being raised by him?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Strict… overbearing… controlling… and suffocating… But it wasn’t always like that… When I was little I worshiped and adored him… before I knew better… Everything was one sort of game after another with him… or so it seemed… They were all educational games… But I didn’t care… I didn’t know the difference… That was all I knew… Him and his games were all of the world that I knew until I was old enough to leave the house… and I almost never left the house… I lived for those games… I lived to please him and win his approval… I was drilled endlessly in math… language… history… even religion… He never acted very religious… But he had crosses on every wall of the house… and he drilled me about the bible almost as much as mathematics… our favorite subject when I was little… and all of my favorite puzzles…
Madame Web:
That almost sounds idyllic in a way… What went wrong?…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Eventually everything just got more and more intense… The stakes got higher and higher and the games became ever more demanding… It was when he started letting me take college level classes and enter academic competitions that the stress and the pressure eventually got to me… I failed one big test because I had a mental breakdown during the test from all the pressure… I couldn’t even face him after that… My obvious breakdown led others to ask the right questions… and I was eventually able to sue for my own emancipation… But only once I was able to see clearly enough to understand what kind of abuse that was… I can’t say that I don’t have fond memories… But I’m not sure that I can even trust my own memories of him… It’s just too weird… In a past life he was my son?… And then in another life he’s effectively my father?… And both relationships don’t seem to be going well…
As the Shield director and the others make their way to the roof, the biker hooligans born of Niflheim get antsy as they realize they have still never seen the Midgard Sun before. One by one they start racing with each other up the stairs, racing past the Shield director and the others until Ilsa and Helga arrive tied for first on the roof. They all bask in the sunlight, eyes squinting in the bright noonday Sun. Then, as Ilsa stands there with her eyes closed, her sister Helga turns to her and sees for the first time that Ilsa’s usual frost giant shade of blue skin has turned into a normal human tone of pink, seemingly in response to the exposure to direct sunlight.
Helga Ward:
Ilsa!… Your skin!… You’re Pink!… You’re actually pink!… Like normal pink!…
Loco:
Woh!… Look dad!… Its true… Ilsa’s turned pink!…
Wolf King:
I can see that… Ilsa?…
Ilsa frantically conjures forth an FSB made hand mirror to check for herself and takes a good long look.
Ilsa Ward:
How?…
Dr. Amora Laufey:
How?… Surely it’s not that much of a mystery… Your grandfather says that his skin only turns blue in response to extreme cold… It stands to reason that yours may be able to turn pink with enough of the right stimulus… There was no guarantee of it… But it stands to reason…
Loco:
I love the Sun!… The Sun rules!…
Spartan:
Tell me about it… I could bath in this Sun forever…
Wolf King:
That’s a good way to get sunburn…
Loco:
It burns?…
Ilsa starts to frantically worry as she raises her hood up over her head to protect herself from the burning Sun.
Wolf King:
It doesn’t burn that quickly… There’s no need to cover up just yet… But you kids might want to pick up some sunscreen later… I end up having to explain the oddest of things to you kids sometimes… I keep forgetting that you’re still just kids… Now that we’re out of that Psycho Spaghetti O enchantment… maybe my kids can spend a bit more time… just being kids…
Spartan:
Come on dad… You don’t really think that’s ever really happening do ya?…
Wolf King:
I can dream can’t I?… Don’t mess with my fantasies… especially not on a day like today…
Helga Ward:
Come on Ilsa… Off with the hood… No hiding… Or do you not like being pretty in pink?…
Ilsa says nothing in response, simply pulls down her hood, and pretends to ignore Helga otherwise.
As Shield Dir. Mace arrives on the roof, he’s already talking to the Shield quinjet hovering over the volcano downtown.
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
Yes… That’s right… believe it or not that volcano is our doing… as a stop gap measure to fill in that pit downtown… which is the enemy’s doing… That area immediately south of the pit is enemy territory… and enemy airspace… There’s no time to explain the details… Now that we’re free… all sorts of enemies will be attempting to make their escape… including some fairly exotic creatures still subject to personal enchantment… Others may try and take the opportunity to attack… We need to maintain a secure perimeter around the entire city… and prepare to safely accept refugees fleeing the city… and then gradually reinforcements can make their way into the heart of the city… securing it as they go… Keep in mind… many of the enemies in here are just victims of enchantment themselves… We can only hope that they’ve been healed and restored to normal… but there’s no guarantee of that… Be careful… And be safe… Mace out…
Wolf King:
Enemies are not the only things we have to worry about here… Some of the people themselves may react badly to the restoration of their memories… depending on their situation… There could be riots… Enemies won’t necessarily be the only ones giving us trouble while fleeing the city…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
Are you thinking of Venom?… That’s what I would expect him to do… first chance he gets… He’s probably already on his way out… And we probably can’t contain him within the city…
Wolf King:
Do you really think he’ll bolt that quickly?…
Shield Dir. Jeffery Mace:
First chance… I’ve been profiling this alter ego of young Mr. Parker… And he has two obsessions… your daughter Ilsa… and his own personal freedom… both at all costs… If he stays… it’s for Ilsa… But he’s smart… I suspect he’ll make a break for it first… and work his way back to Ilsa later… He certainly has no real loyalty to the Black Queen…
As if on cue, black lightening thunders out from the pit downtown and destroys the quinjet hovering over the volcano. Then a pillar of twisting and spiraling black lightening arcs is sustained between the volcano filling the pit and the sky above it.
Wolf King:
Speak of the damn she-devil…
Dr. Stephan Strange:
Well… That at least looks like something that I can finally help out with…
Dr. Strange flies off as Thor, eager for something to destroy, winds up his hammer to take flight before delivering a few parting words.
Prince Thor:
Stay with your mother little Frigga… Daddy has to go kill something and I don’t want you to watch…
Princess Frigga:
Okay daddy… good luck!…
Prince Thor:
Thank you sweetheart… Dr. Banner… if you wouldn’t mind joining me in some well-deserved aggression?… dare I say vengeance?…
Hulk:
Oh yeah!… A well deserved smash!…
Thor and the Hulk both launch themselves almost simultaneously in the direction of downtown. Followed quickly after by Iron Man, and then the War Machine, Black Smith, and Happy Hogan and all the other all the blue and green armored Guardsmen.
Quake:
They’re playing our song Robbie… vengeance served hot… with my favorite dance partner… mommy dearest…
Jack Frost:
Well I’m not waiting for a ride sis… Mommy dearest needs a bitch slap ASAP…
A swirling white funnel cloud of wind and snow engulfs Jack Frost and hurls him up into the air and flying off in the direction the rumble downtown.
Robbie Reyes:
You kids stay here… This rumble is gonna get extra messy… Adults only… You all steer clear…
Wolf King:
Better yet… They should all go and find Venom… If Venom is going to bolt he won’t be anywhere near downtown… They should find and capture Venom… And bring him back alive… For the honor of the Hulk Busters…
The Wolf King’s brood recites likewise with their father.
Wolf King’s Brood:
For the honor of the Hulk Busters!…
Quake:
Agreed… You hear me girls?… You two aren’t going anywhere near granma!…
White Queen:
Okay mom… We got it…
Wolf King:
Space Crow… You go and back them up… Be their eye in the sky…
Space Crow:
You got it boss… You don’t have to tell me twice… Bring him back alive… For the honor of the Hulk Busters and everything…
Wolf King:
Remember… he’s not going to be able to move quickly without showing himself in broad daylight… swinging from the rooftops… But he has his own FSB… So he could have just about any trick up his sleeve that the enemy has… as well as anything you might be able to come up with… Never forget how smart he is… Stark chose him for a reason… and it wasn’t just superpowers… Same goes for you… Space Crow… Don’t prove him wrong…
Space Crow:
You got it boss… I won’t let you down…
Dr. Spectrum:
Neither will I… Because I’m going with them… Like Space Crow said… Venom may be our only shot at Mordred… for Ilyanna’s sake…
Wolf King:
Got it… I’ll leave it to you then… I can’t imagine trusting my kids to anyone better under the circumstances…
Dr. Spectrum:
Oh shut up and get moving Ward… Don’t you have a Black Queen to bite?…
Wolf King:
Right… On it…
The Wolf King takes a running jump off the roof as he transforms, going full wolfkin as he simultaneously extends a set of FSB rollerblades under his feet. He lands on a virtual platform of invisible plasma that extends before him as he races through the air towards downtown in full battle mode. Then he shimmers out of view as he engages stealth.
Dr. Spectrum:
Are you coming Jemma?… We could use your help examining Parker if we can get a hold of him… And we might just run into the mad scientist that made him…
Madame Web:
No… I’m going after Thomas… Mordred’s son… Dir. Mace isn’t the only one who knows… Shield aren’t the only ones doing a deep dive on everything Grant Ward… I’ve been doing my own deep background research on him and his family ever since I first got an FSB… after the revelations about his unusual heritage… I’ve known about Thomas for quite some time… My Agent Romanov has been on top of it… Darcy and I should go at a minimum… as a family matter… with his grandmother… Morgan?…
Queen Morgana:
Ai lassie… I’m in… I’m not leaving any blood kin of mine in his hands… nor letting any more of it fall into them…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Well I’m definitely in…
Dr. Merlin Simmons:
So am I…
Queen Morgana:
The hell you are… You’re not coming anywhere near me and my grandson… You’ve meddled enough already with Mordred… You still have a lot of explaining to do here with Dir. Mace… if you can keep track of what time continuum you’re trying to explain… You of course are always welcome Angela… And you can get to know your daughter and grandson…
Dr. Angela Simmons:
Try and stop me…
Blue Angel Darcy:
Eric… Wanna come?…
Doc Samson:
I would… But I believe that I’m more needed here at the moment… I’m really just waiting for a ride downtown… But then I was hoping to make a pilgrimage to Avalon… for personal reasons mostly… but also to investigate… It seems like a lot of trails in this war lead to Avalon… Between that and my own previous enchantment… I simply cannot ignore Avalon… And we might run into Mordred there too… even though the Wolf King think it’s too soon…
Dr. Merlin Simmons:
Well I can help you there… I happen to be an authority of the law in Avalon… The sheriff of Avalon City in fact… I took on the position after Darcy disappeared… hoping that it might help me to find her…
Hella:
We must journey to Avalon shortly… to consult with the angels of Avalon about what to do with the Darkhold… I’m afraid I cannot be of more use in finding my grandniece… not unless we do find this murderous brigand Mordred hiding in Avalon…
AD Phil Coulson:
Ogun said that Logan helped the Black King of Shanghai disappear in Avalon… after he used the Darkhold to seal way the Black Queen Selene inside the Jia Ying persona… That’s someone we may need to find… We should talk to Logan about coming along…
Princess Frigga:
Can we go to Avalon too Mommy?… I wanna go to Avalon!… Please say we can go to Avalon… please…
Dr. Nova:
We are not rushing off into any more adventuring little girl!… We are staying put… nice and safe… And we are going to let daddy work without having to worry about us!…
Princess Frigga:
Okay mommy…
Lord Balder:
You two should both come with me to Asgard… I must return there at once now that the enchantment has been broken… especially since I must bring news to Asgard of the death of King Odin… and of King Odin’s decrees… A great deal must be taken care of… and a great deal must be explained… for the sake of the war… and for the sake of King Odin’s legacy… Our new regent Loki’s presence will be absolutely required…
Regent Loki:
You’ll get no argument from your new regent… but we may get more than a few from Asgard… and probably from Midgard as well…
Lord Balder:
Reinforcements will of course be sent as soon as possible Dir. Mace… Though I fear the battle downtown may be settled before that… one way or the other…
As if on cue, the Bifrost rainbow bridge opens up out of the sky and deposits a fleet of Asgardian flying boats floating over the ocean west of Emerald City.
Lord Balder:
It appears Heimdall has been watching closely… diligent as ever…
Princess Frigga:
More flying boats mommy!…
Lord Balder:
Asgard’s expeditionary force… It’s something of a rapid response fleet… Sif… take command of the expeditionary force upon my authority… and act as a liaison to coordinate between them and Shield for the Shield director and Prince Thor… Sorry… King Thor…
Lady Sif:
Yes father…
Lord Balder:
I leave the expeditionary force officially assigned to your command here on Midgard until further notice Dir. Mace… I shall return as soon as I can… But there is much to do in Asgard… Shall you and the princess be coming with me to Asgard Dr. Foster?…
Dr. Nova:
Well… I would have liked for Thor to be the one to show Frigga around Asgard…
Shield Dir. Mace:
It is also a security concern Dr. Foster… especially given what’s happened to King Odin and Princess Ilyanna… Not only should Princess Frigga be relocated to Asgard… so should Princess Karnilla… and all of the other royal children as well… Lady Amora…
Dr. Amora Laufey:
I will gather the children…
Dr. Nova:
Okay… I guess we’re going to Asgard…
Princess Frigga:
Cool!…
Princess Karnilla:
Am I even allowed in Asgard granpa?… being wolfkin as I am?…
Regent Loki:
You are now… by King Odin’s decree… as are all wolfkin… But given that the wolfkin uprising is still ongoing… Asgard may be slow to accept that… But we have to start somewhere… Care to join me in Asgard my love?…
Queen Aelsa:
No my love… I must return directly to Alfheim… I must gather more healers there and return to help the afflicted here… I shall leave the Crystal Palace of Alfheim docked with Emerald City for your convenience Dir. Mace… You can reach Alfheim directly from there as needed…
Queen Aelsa whistles loudly and melodically for a moment. Then the Crystal Palace they left floating in the sky offshore from Malibu rapidly flies over and gradually lowers itself into the water, until it physically rests butted up against the west side of Emerald City.
Lady Sif:
Helga… You must go to Asgard as well… Accompany Princess Frigga as her imperial bodyguard and escort…
Helga Ward:
But why can’t I join the fleet with you?…
Lady Sif:
You know exactly why… in your condition… Or should we discuss the matter with Gabriel finally?…
Helga Ward:
You’re in the same boat as I am… Or should we discuss the matter in front of granpa?… finally?…
Lady Sif:
Your grandfather already knows… as does your father… about both of us… Which is why your grandfather assigned me to command the fleet… and why I’m sending you to Asgard with Princess Frigga… You must also represent the wolfkin along with your sister Karnilla… Do not even presume to take the time to argue… And take care of your responsibilities… all of them…
Helga Ward:
Yes mother…
Lord Balder:
You and your sister should come with me to Asgard as well… Mistress Yelena… Let me show you off and show you around… Let me take care you a little… my baby-mama-to-be…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Well… While I would love to see Asgard…
Natash Romanov:
Its settled then!… Let’s go!… We can tell the others all about it later…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
Oh… Wait a minute… Aren’t you an Avenger or something?… Isn’t your boytoy fighting the big evil right about now?…
Natasha Romanov:
Yes… And right now it’s best for the both of us that his baby-mama-to-be is relocated to safety so that he doesn’t have to think about it… He knows… And now so do you…
Lord Balder:
So then I can take that as a yes for the both of you?… As my personal guests?…Yelena?…
Yelena The Valkyrie:
My sister and I will gladly accept your hospitality…
Lord Balder:
Excellent!…
Brunhilde The Valkyrie:
Yelena is excused… But I will need all of the available Valkyrie who aren’t pregnant helping me to manage the new herd of winged horses… enchanted or otherwise… I could use your help as well Pepper…
Sorceress Pepper:
You got it…
As everyone scrambles about to organize themselves for their various missions, the two remaining of Hogan’s four chosen lieutenants, who didn’t turn out to be old friends and/or old villains, decide to discretely make themselves scarce as everyone else is busy. They head back downstairs without having ever removed their helmets to bask in the sunlight and make their way into the now vacated Cosmic Forum. They look around for a moment without speaking to be sure they are alone. Then they remove their helmets and reveal themselves to a deceased duo of Ben Parker, uncle of Peter Parker, along with Shield cofounder and Captain America’s ex flame Peggy Carter. Then the Dark Angel Samual Wilson walks in the Cosmic Forum after them, accompanied by old friends of Peggy’s, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers.
Dark Angel Sam:
I knew it… I just couldn’t shake it… I remember you two… We tangled… Didn’t we?… when I was still enthralled to the Black Queen?… With that plus what Steve was telling me… I just knew it had to be true… But now I can feel it too… And I can hear it in your thoughts… I guess Angels know their own kind… Don’t we Peggy?…
Angel Peggy Carter:
I guess so… But I really wouldn’t know… since I’m as new to this as you are… Angels are supposed to be discrete… to observe and bare witness anonymously… which I have completely failed at thus far…
Angel Ben Parker:
You’re the one who’s supposed to be the seasoned spy here… Remember?…
Angel Peggy Carter:
I’m sorry Ben… If I hadn’t shown myself to Steve and just kept a proper distance… I guess I don’t make a very good angel… I just couldn’t stay away…
Capt. Steve Rogers:
I was worried… I knew you were real… But then you stopped appearing to me… I thought something may have happened to you… But I couldn’t imagine what could harm an angel… But I always believed…
Angel Peggy Carter:
That was the problem Steve… You weren’t supposed to believe… at least not about me… You weren’t even supposed to know about me…
Dark Angel Sam:
Where’s the other one?… That strange woman that likes to show up shot gunning for the Ghost Rider whenever he’s out hunting alone… Who is she?…
Ben Parker:
We don’t really know… But she’s way smarter than we are at this… I was called to watch over Peter Parker… my nephew… Peggy here was called to look after you captain… That was how we crossed paths… Whoever the other woman is… she seems to be looking after Robbie Reyes at a minimum… if not the entire Reyes family…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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