The Defenders Of Midgard, An MCU Fan Fiction:
By Ozymandias The Mad
Chapter 15
When Peter Met Ilsa
The Siren Song Of Little Miss Muffet
The flashing of multicolored lights from the onset of the Psycho Fandango die down until darkness takes over. The darkness is pierced only by the flickering green flames of matte black torches now distributed throughout Emerald City, itself now turned completely matte black save for the flickering of the green flames. Lady Sif and the Buster Brigade party returning from battle with MODOC, all wake up with matte black goggles and ear protection reflexively manifested on their faces and heads, an instinctive adoption of the Niflheim Protocols, born of long experience with the maze of Niflheim.
Helga:
Dad?… We’re not back in Niflheim are we?… Dammit!… We just got out of here!…
Grant Ward:
Don’t jump to any conclusions Helga!… This might be Malekith… We don’t know what this is… yet… We have to secure the city anyway… We need to know if the rest of the city is effected… by whatever this is… And do a full head count in case Malekith somehow used this to make off with anyone…
Lady Sif:
Helga… Ilsa… You come and help me and Amora wrangle the little ones…
Grant Ward:
Everyone else use the buddy system and search the city for others… and stay on coms… Maintain full Niflheim Protocols until we know what’s going on… And we’ll meet back up in Hulk Orchard Park… Ilsa?… Are you alright?… If you need to… it’s okay to step aside and center yourself… with your flute… or whatever you need…
Helga:
Come on dad… Don’t baby her… She’ll be fine… She’ll be with me… Even if this is Niflheim… we grew up here… It’s just another day in the neighborhood…
Grant Ward:
Well just remember… it wasn’t the neighborhood so much as the neighbors… And we don’t know what kind of new neighbors we may be dealing with… Just don’t talk to strangers… at least… nothing stranger than our usual…
Helga:
You got it dad… Come on Ilsa… Time for a surprise garden tea party… with extra robust security…
Elsewhere, Ned, Shuri, and Brunhilde awaken to find some of their companions in a physically altered state. Sgt. Bucky Barnes appears to be transformed into an actual white wolf example of a humanoid wolfkin, but still dressed and equipped as he was, complete with his matte black artificial left arm. Yelena wakes up dressed in the traditional armor and dress of the Valkyrie, clutching a spear, as she recognizes Brunhilde as her commander.
Yelena The V:
Commander Brunhilde!… Are you well?… We seem to be beset by black magic… Is that a real hell hound mistress?… Is this Midgard?… or Niflheim?…
Brunhilde:
Neither Mistress Yelena… That is Princess Shuri’s escort… Sgt. Barnes… I do not know what has befallen him… But you seem to be effected as well… as I am not your commander…
Yelena The V:
Not my commander?… It is you who are bewitched Mistress Brunhilde… And I suppose that… is just an ordinary giant spider…
Yelena the Valkyrie points her spear at something just over Brunhilde’s shoulder. Passed out hunched over the wall behind Brunhilde, rests a mostly humanoid figure, mostly wearing the somewhat torn remains of Peter Parker’s Spider Man outfit, with no mask, and four black fur covered spider legs poking out through tears in the sides of his costume. In place of the masked head and face of Peter Parker, there remains only a maskless and monstrous black fur covered spider head, with multiple compound eyes, and mandibles.
Brunhilde:
By the maze of Niflheim!… A spider goblin!… Here on Midgard?… if this still be Midgard…
Ned:
Peter?… Peter!?!…
Spider Goblin:
Uggh… My head… Who?… Where?… What the?… Argh!… My head!…
The Spider Goblin awakens in confusion and pain, then casts an organic web, springing forth right out of the palms of the spider goblin’s hands. The creature swings away and disappears into the darkness and shadows, dimly lit with an eerie green flame in Emerald City by newly formed matte black torches and pyres.
Ned:
Peter!…
Shuri:
Was that really the man of spiders?… And what happened to Sgt. Barnes?…
Brunhilde:
I do not know Princess Shuri… But we are indeed beset by a dark magic… And Princess Meghan has disappeared again!… Probably just run off… given her pattern…
Shuri:
Well… You and I don’t seem to be effected… Neither is the Golem Master here… What could have happened to Sgt. Barnes and the Spider Man… that didn’t effect us?… But only effected Yelena in the head it seems… and her fashion choices…
Yelena The V:
I am Valkyrie!… We do not get effected in the head… as you say… We are trained to navigate the maze of Niflheim!… Your majesty…
Ned:
Well… I don’t know about Valkyrie… But I suspect that they have a better than normal resistance to that sort of thing… But Shuri and I have FSBs… Their partly magic nature might provide some sort of artificial resistance… But that doesn’t explain Barnes… Doesn’t he have an FSB?… Isn’t his new arm made that way?…
Shuri:
Yes… But he has other complications to be concerned about… And he might be wolfkin… for all we know… There’s no test for that yet… not enough data… Perhaps we should wake him… and see if he’s still in there…
In a strip of walled garden courtyards, lining one whole side of Hulk Orchard Park, one particular garden plays host to a surprise garden tea party with extra robust security, sans full Niflheim Protocols for the sake of not alarming small children unnecessarily. Lady Sif directs a number of small children in the performance of garden chores to keep them busy. Lady Amora likewise conducts a proper tea party among the remaining brood, as they feed the koi in the koi pond serving as the source for water and fertilizer in their garden aquaponics system. Helga and Ilsa take up guard positions sitting on top of the walls, on either side of the courtyard occupied by the children and their mothers. Ilsa takes the opportunity to practice her flute, to soothe her own worries, and to soothe the worries of the small children in the garden while she’s at it.
The spider goblin swings in low over the courtyards, and catches an earful of Ilsa’a flute song as he swings over her head, then reacts as if stunned to the sound of it. He looses his grip on his webbing, and grips his spider goblin head in his hands, as he comes splashing down into the koi pond of the adjacent courtyard. Helga jumps off her wall and runs over to jump up on top of Ilsa’s wall, as Lady Sif and Lady Amora lead the small children elsewhere. Ilsa stops playing in stunned response to the sudden interloper.
Helga:
Ilsa!… What was that?… Did you get a good look at it?…
The spider goblin slowly emerges from the koi pond, but now with a much more human looking face, but still with a spider’s compound eyes.
Helga:
Is that the man of spiders?… Is that what he normally looks like beneath the mask?… And where did the other legs come from?… Spider goblins are gross…
Ilsa ignores Helga’s questioning, and resumes her playing. The spider goblin’s face continues to reform itself back into human shape, with Peter Parker’s normal eyes in their eye sockets where they’re supposed to be, but with four compound spider eyes spread across his forehead, two in front, and one on each of his temples.
Peter:
That sound… That sound… Do… Do I know you?… Do you know me?… I feel like… I’ve forgotten something… maybe everything… I’m having a really hard time seeing straight… But the sound of that flute… just makes me want to curl up… and take a nap under it… Who are you?…
Helga:
I’m Helga Ward… This is my sister Ilsa… master of the flute… and tamer of savage beasts apparently… Do you have a name?… man of spiders?…
Peter:
Uhm… Peter… I think… Peter Parker!… I feel like my head’s starting to clear a bit… Are you doing that?… Do you do anything besides play a beautiful flute?… Ilsa?… is it?…
Ilsa stops her playing and lowers her flute from her lips. Then begins to mouth words before speaking, shocking Helga.
Ilsa:
Hi… Hello there… I am Ilsa… Ilsa Ward… And no… Normally I don’t… Are you okay?… Peter?…
Helga:
Ilsa?… Loco’s gonna go loco…
Peter:
I am feeling better… But I’m starting to worry more though… Do you know what happened to me?… How did I get like this?… I remember enough to remember that this… is not normal for me…
Ilsa:
We don’t know… It all just happened… But it almost seems like Niflheim… to me… We were born and raised there… But we never want to go back… Our parents gave us special devices… to help us live there… They’re called FSBs… Fitz Simmons Boxes… They help shield us from the effects of the maze of Niflheim…
Peter:
Wow… I could really use something like that right about now… I feel like everything is upside down and inside out… and that’s just my stomach… assuming that I still have a human stomach… which I’m not so sure about at the moment…
Ilsa:
The FSBs can also have therapeutic value… psychologically… It helped our father when his head was mixed up… What do you think Helga?…
Helga:
Well… We’re not supposed to be giving those out… But his condition does seem like an emergency… But we have no way of knowing what that will do for him… or to him under the circumstances… circumstances that we don’t actually completely know…
Ilsa:
But he needs our help now!…
Ilsa begins to play again, and this time white sparkles begin to be emitted by her flute as she plays. The white sparkles form a matte black chain around Peter Parker’s neck, before ceasing.
Ilsa:
How is that?… Do you feel any better?… any clearer?…
Peter:
Yes… Yes I do… In fact… I’ve never felt better!… In fact… I have never felt more clear in all my life… Now I am finally free…
Helga:
Uh… You’re what now?…
Peter:
I am finally free… to be me… to be what I was meant to be… to be Venom!…
Ilsa:
Venom?… You said that your name was Peter!… Peter Parker!…
Venom:
Peter Parker is dead!… And I am the Venom that killed him!… with your help… my liberator…
Ilsa:
What?… What did you call me?… Your liberator?…
Venom:
Yes my darling Ilsa… You are my liberator… from the prison… that was… Peter Parker… and good riddance to feeble humanity!… They are worthless worm food!… all of them!…
White sparkles begin to form off of Venom’s matte black FSB necklace, and cover his entire body in white sparkles, which solidify to form a matte black body suit over all of his body save for the head. The extra spider limbs sticking out of the side of his torso are absorbed back into his body, and the compound spider eyes are absorbed back into the flesh of his face, restoring the normal appearance of Peter Parker’s face. Large white spider patterns form one each on the front and the back of the torso of his otherwise matte black one-piece. Venom shoots a web out of his palm at a nearby tree, and pulls himself up out of the water, and over to land on the wall, squatting next to Ilsa, where he leans in to her as if to kiss her. Venom reaches his hand up to touch the side of her blue skinned face as he talks to her.
Venom:
My lovely liberator Ilsa… I owe so much to you… I plan on getting to know you very well… But for now… I don’t think your sister likes me very much…
Venom steels a kiss from Ilsa’s lips, as Helga whips out her Vajra Thunderbolt, getting ready to light him up.
Helga:
Get away from her!… You goblin freak!…
Venom leaps straight up out of the way, right before Helga unleashes a lightening strike from her Vajra Thunderbolt, striking the wall where venom was perched, just missing him. Venom then swings away, calling out to Ilsa as he does.
Venom:
Goodbye for now my lovely Ilsa… Viva libertad!… Adios amiga!…
Helga:
Bruja pequena!… Freak!…
Ilsa:
Peter!… Wait!…
Helga:
Eat bug zapper!…
Helga unleashes a series of lightening strikes at Venom, missing as he swings away and disappears. Helga ceases her lightening assault, and turns towards her sister Ilsa, as Ilsa breaks down and cries. Helga rushes to comfort her, as lady Sif comes along, with twin swords in hand and at the ready to investigate.
Lady Sif:
What happened here?… Helga?… Ilsa?… Was that the man of spiders?… What happened to the man of spiders?…
Helga glances at her mom, just as Ilsa turns to her, as if to answer in desperation, then collapses with her head back down into Helga’s shoulder as before.
Helga:
Sorry mom… But I’ll just have to explain later… The man of spiders is in some serious trouble… And I think Ilsa just got her first broken heart… both love and heart break at first sight… instant crash and burn…
Star God, Spartan, and Loco come rushing into the garden to investigate the lightening flashes.
Star God:
What was that about?… What were you firing at?… Did you get it?… Is it still here?…
Helga:
No dad… It swung off… It… was the man of spiders… Stark’s intern… the one you told us about…
Star God:
Spider Man was here?… You were shooting lightening at Spider Man?…
Helga:
He’s been effected by something dad… He was like some sort of spider goblin…
Star God:
Spider goblin?… Really?… I hate spider goblins… Was he a spider goblin before?… Has he always been?… Would Stark even know?…
Lady Amora walks out into the courtyard leading a small brood of small children, in response to the Star God’s voice, and the absence of additional lightening strikes.
Lady Amora:
No… He wasn’t… not to Stark’s knowledge… I know this because I was consulted by Stark on the man of spiders… confidentially… in a double blind analysis… I did not know the subject… And the subject did not know me… My history of consultations with Shield and many other government agencies led Stark to seek out a confidential consultation on the subject… According to information in the file that I was given… plus my own analysis of blood samples… the boy was bitten by a radioactive spider… that was irradiated as a part of genetic engineering experiments… conducted by a Dr. Curtis Connors… and a Prof. Miles Warren… funded by Oscorp… The lab was destroyed in a suspicious accident… killing Prof. Warren and conveniently destroying records and evidence… And Dr. Connors… disappeared shortly after that… Subsequent investigations revealed all sorts of irregularities and unauthorized human testing… But as far as anyone knows… the man of spiders is the only product of that research… But there was never any involvement with any spider goblins… At least none that can be discerned from the records and evidence…
Helga:
Dad… Moms… He stole a kiss from Ilsa… before he swung off… He said that he planned on getting to know her very well…
Star God:
He did what!?!…
Helga:
There’s more dad… She talked… to him…
Loco:
She talked?… to the man of spiders?…
Lady Amora:
What ever compelled her to talk to a complete stranger?…
Helga:
She was using her flute to heal him… And it worked… kind of… But then she tried to help him by giving him his own FSB… like the way it helped you dad… and it seemed to help him physically… But then he started acting weird and calling himself Venom…
Ilsa:
That’s not his name!… His name… is Peter!… Peter Parker!… And I made him a monster!…
Loco:
Ilsa?…
Star God:
Now let’s get something straight right now little girl… You did not make him a monster!… By some reckoning… the man of spiders would have already been considered a monster… long before now… Back in New York where he’s from… the newspapers call him a menace… and call for his arrest on a regular basis… The man of spiders is no more of a monster than I am… in fact… even now… I still have him beat… And the Buster Brigade of Emerald City is all about dealing with monsters… one way or the other… I’m just going to have to add this Venom to my bust list… We’ll just have to bring this one back alive… For the honor of the Hulk Busters…
Loco:
You got that right!… Don’t worry Ilsa… We’ll bring him back…
Spartan:
Midgard was getting boring anyway…
Helga:
Yeah Ilsa… the Buster Brigade will get it sorted…
Star God:
But not today most likely… We have to deal with whatever the rest of this is first… Because there may be more like the man of spiders… both inside these walls… as well as outside… from whatever this is…
As they speak, King T’Challa rushes along the wall of Emerald City desperately searching for his sister and her escort, followed closely by Gen. Okoye of the Wakandan Imperial Guard.
King T’Challa:
Shuri!… Shuri!… Are you okay Shuri?…
Gen. Okoye:
Princess Shuri!… I had a vision that you were attacked!… By some spider monster!… Are you okay?…
Shuri:
I am fine!… But Sgt. Barnes has been seriously effected… by whatever this is… The Spider Man as well… But he swung away… I would be more worried about them if I were you…
King T’Challa:
Is that really Sgt. Barnes?… When the elders of Wakanda examined him after he first came to Wakanda… they had visions of a white wolf man… with a black left arm… When Shuri first gave him his FSB… and turned his artificial arm completely black… I assumed it was prophecy… But I assumed that the rest of the prophecy was just symbolic of something else… But it turns out be quite literal… Is he a wolfkin?… If he wasn’t before… he certainly seems to be now…
Shuri:
When did you start having visions general?…
Gen. Okoye:
I hadn’t!… until now… Mother was always a seer… Which is why she was on the council of elders at such a young age to begin with… But I never had any visions of any kind… until now… Now I keep getting these flashes… that just don’t make any sense… Are you sure that this Spider Man hasn’t attacked you?… He looked quite different from before…
Shuri:
He was changed physically… But he didn’t attack anyone… at least not here… Brunhilde called him a spider goblin… Maybe that’s why he’s the man of spiders…
King T’Challa:
No… I don’t know the details… But Stark said it was a consequence of some experiment… Something else seems to be effecting people… and effecting this place physically… I can’t help but think this is all related… including Gen. Okoye’s sudden onset of prophecy… But there doesn’t seem to be any logical pattern to it’s influence…
Shuri:
Yelena here seems to be effected as well… just not as obviously… The Golem Master believes that the FSBs may provide some degree of resistance to this influence… But that doesn’t explain Sgt. Barnes…
Yelena The V:
I am not under any influence!… I am Valkyrie!… a Chooser of the Slain!… an escort for worthy warrior souls… to Valhalla!…
King T’Challa:
I see what you mean… And what of Mistress Brunhilde herself?…
Brunhilde:
For my part… this does seem very much like the maze of Niflheim… But this is not Niflheim… as far as I can tell… But this does not seem to be Midgard anymore either… Valkyrie… real ones at least… are trained to resist these sorts of influences… But outside of Niflheim… I don’t see how such things are possible without some sort of enchantment at work…
Venom swings in as they are talking, swallows Shuri up in his webbing, and swings away with her screaming in shock, just as Sgt. Barnes starts to come to.
King T’Challa:
Shuri!…
Ned:
Peter?… Shuri!…
White Wolf:
Shuri?… Shuri!…
Venom knocks Shuri unconscious, and swings his way out across the causeway back to the mainland from an all matte black Emerald City, as they disappear into the darkness. The White Wolf staggers to his feet, and grabs his matte black plasma pistol, readying it to fire at Venom before he disappears. King T’Challa grabs his white fur covered aiming hand, and forcibly lowers it before the White Wolf could fire.
King T’Challa:
Stop!… You could hit Shuri!… And the Spider Man is not our enemy!… just momentarily lost to some form of enchantment…
White Wolf:
We have to go after them!…
King T’Challa:
And we will… As soon as we grab my shuttle… But what do you remember of your self?… This enchantment seems to be effecting people’s minds as well as their bodies… We can’t be sure that you’re not mentally effected as well…
White Wolf:
As well?… What are you talking about?… Oh crap!… What happened to my hand?…
The White Wolf suddenly notices the white fur covering his pistol hand.
King T’Challa:
Your body seems to have been enchanted Sgt. Barnes… But your mind seems to be intact… or as intact as it was… Come with us to my shuttle… and we can talk about what you remember…
Brunhilde:
I will go after this man of spiders on horse back from here…
Yelena The V:
As will I…
Before Brunhilde could stop her, Yelena runs over and jumps up onto one to the Valkyrie’s winged horses, then takes off on the winged steed as if she had been doing it her whole life.
Brunhilde:
Mistress Yelena!…
White Wolf:
I get white fur… and she gets to ride a winged horse?…
Brunhilde:
It could have been worse Sgt. Barnes… You could have become a spider goblin…
Brunhilde takes off after Yelena on a winged steed of her own, and the others head off for the king’s shuttle. Venom continues to swing his way to the Johnson Building downtown, with his prize royal hostage webbed up and sleeping in his grip. Many festival goers down below in the streets still lie unconscious, still effected by the onset of the Psycho Fandango, all seemingly transformed to some extent or another, even if only in terms of medieval clothing and weapons.
Venom lands on the roof of the now completely matte black Johnson Building, and unwraps his still unconscious prize from it’s webbing. As Venom clears Shuri’s head of the webbing, she begins to murmur slightly, as if groggy. The Black Queen Selene walks out of Queen Karnilla’s rooftop tent, and addresses herself to the would be spider goblin.
Selene:
That’s quite the prize you have there… Spider Man?… Isn’t it?… I don’t suppose that you’re Inhuman… Are you?…
Venom:
Spider Man is dead… I am Venom… And I am neither human nor Inhuman… if I understand your meaning… Selene… isn’t it?… Who else would be so bold… here of all places…
Selene:
I am Selene… And I am that bold… But I’m not the only one apparently…
Venom:
If you want a hostage… you’ll have to get your own… I need this one… to get the one I want… The one that I want… has powerful family… as does this one… But this one was caught in a moment of vulnerability… with guards unconscious or unaware… There seems to be a lot of that going around… Is this your doing?…
Selene:
No… But I am enjoying the show so far… I can’t wait to see what comes next… It all looks very promising… and convenient…
Venom:
Well… I am not here for your convenience… and neither is my hostage…
Electra appears behind Venom in a cloud of black smoke, twin sais drawn at the ready.
Venom:
Call off your minion Selene… unless you intend to sacrifice her to prove your own impotence…
Selene:
I plan on doing neither such thing… She is only there… because we are not alone here… Better look out now…
Samuel ‘Falcon’ Wilson suddenly flies up above the roof line from below, with angel wings instead of his Falcon flying suit, with his wings sticking out of tears in back of what appear to be a monk’s robes. Samuel the angel flies up carrying a red, white, and blue star spangled knight in armor, carrying Cap. America’s shield with one arm, and a straight double edged sword with the other.
Angel Samuel:
Unhand the girl!… And back away from her demon!…
Cap. Rogers:
Prepare to be purged from this earth!…
The angel Samuel tosses Cap. Rogers onto the roof, and he tumbles upon landing back up to his feet, as he swings his sword at Electra, and throws his shield at Venom. Electra parries with her sais and kicks the star spangled knight away. Venom catches his shield, then throws it back at the captain, but wobbly, and easily caught by it’s proper master, as he tumbles and recovers to his feet. The angel Samuel lands next to the Black Queen, and attacks her head on, throwing his fists at her, only for them to be caught in her waiting grip, with an impossibly fast motion, and holds him there as they struggle. Brunhilde and Yelena arrive on their winged steeds, high in the air above the Johnson Building, just in time to catch the angel Samuel and Cap. Rogers fully engaged in the fight.
Yelena The V:
Is that… a real angel?… Aren’t they just a legend?…
Brunhilde:
Most of Asgard believes that to be the case… But they sealed there own realm off from the others a long time ago… so long ago… almost no one remembers… But who are they fighting?… besides the man of spiders?…
The angel Samuel breaks free of the Black Queen’s grip, then grabs her around her waste with both arms, and flies straight up with her. Venom tries to web up Cap. Rogers, but the star spangled knight catches the webbing on the outside of his shield, then he cuts it off with his sword. Electra jumps over Venom and his hostage, and starts to reengage the knight with her sais, keeping him busy. The Valkyrie fly after the angel Samuel and the Black Queen, as a Wakandan shuttle shimmers into view above the roof of the Johnson Building, with rear hatch opened, overlooking the roof. The Black Panther and the White Wolf jump out without hesitation, landing on the roof next to Venom and Shuri. Ned forms a matte black hover quad with his FSB, and flies out of the back of the hovering shuttle with Gen. Okoye on the back.
Ned:
Peter!… Snap out of it!… Dammit!… Wake up!…
King T’Challa:
Back away from my sister Spider Man!… Don’t make me kill Iron Man’s intern…
Venom:
I am no intern!… Pussy cat!… I am Venom!…
White Wolf:
You are bug squat!…
Gen. Okoye leaps off of the back of Ned’s hover quad, and lands next to where Electra and Cap. Rogers are fighting, and engages Electra with her Spear. Venom quickly covers the king and the White Wolf in webbing. But then Shuri comes to, and she summons forth her own FSB Hulk Buster armor in a flash of lightening, forming all around her as she does. Electra then goes poof in a cloud of black smoke, only to reappear in another poof of black smoke right behind Venom.
Electra:
Sorry Venom… But it’s getting crowded up here… And the queen has her hands full at the moment… But you are more valuable than any hostage…
Electra grabs Venom from behind.
Venom:
What?!?… You dare!?!…
Electra and Venom disappear in a familiar cloud of black smoke.
Ned:
Peter!?!…
The Valkyrie continue to follow the battle in the air between the Black Queen and the angel Samuel. The Black Queen thrashes at the angel to try to release herself to no effect. Then she grabs a hold of his face in both hands.
Selene:
Oh my dear sweet angel… I have a crush on you too… And I shall have you… my Archangel…
The Black Queen begins to drain Samuel slightly, then she appears to send some matte black substance into Samuel’s face, appearing to seep into the veins on his face, and be absorbed. Samuel’s eyes turn matte black momentarily before clearing, but leaving blackened circles around the eyes.
Archangel:
Yes my queen…
Selene:
Fly me to the Dunbar Hotel… I have friends inside…
Archangel:
Yes my queen…
The Valkyrie continue to follow at a discrete distance, having witnessed Samuel’s corruption, and deciding to track the Black Queen, rather than confront her. They follow them all the way to the now completely matte black Dunbar Hotel, where they witness the Archangel Samuel kissing the Black Queen on the roof of the hotel, then decide to return and report. The Black Queen leads her new slave down into the Dunbar Hotel, and makes her way to the penthouse suit of the owner Giuletta Nefaria, AKA Madame Masque.
Inside the hotel, the walls are all matte black, with only burning matte black torches providing a dim red and orange flickering flame to light their path through the hotel. They come to the door of the penthouse suit, and the Black Queen enters followed by her Archangel. Giuletta Nefaria stands there waiting anxiously with Elias Morrow, surrounded by hell hounds and Hand ninja. Electra holds her sais at the ready, standing guard for the sake of the involuntary guest named Venom, who just sits there calmly in a comfy chair, glaring at Electra.
Selene:
Well… It’s nice to see you again… And getting along so well with everyone… Venom is it?…
Venom:
Yes… I am Venom… And you are the Black Queen Selene… And he is Elias Morrow… uncle to Robbie and Gabriel Reyes… Gabriel told Peter Parker all about you… There was a picture of you with them in Gabriel’s lab… Your nephew looks up to you… Does he know that you dance with the she-devil by the pale moon light?…
Elias Morrow:
No… And he doesn’t have to… at least not yet…
Venom:
Perhaps… Perhaps not… That may depend upon your new mistress here…
Selene:
Now now… Can’t we all get along?… I believe that we can help each other… Mr. Venom… Is it Mr. Venom?… or is it just Venom?…
Venom:
Venom… And you have nothing that I want… And you took from me what I needed… to get what I want…
Selene:
I think that you’ll be surprised by what I can do for you… to help you get what you want… But it would help us help you… if you just told us what you want…
Venom:
Ilsa… Ilsa Ward… my blue skinned goddess of the flute… tamer of wild beasts… and now the owner of my heart… or so it seems… I fear I may be lost to enchantment by her flute… I suspect that she doesn’t even know her own power yet… all the more reason why I must have her… But I must win her… and conquer her… so that I may own her…
Selene:
Well that’s fairly clear… if a bit obsessive… But I like obsessive… I can work with obsessive… It takes one to know one… Right?… I know of this girl… Ilsa Ward… daughter of Grant Ward and my old friend Lady Amora… granddaughter of Loki… I would love to see you two kids together… and making happy little blue skinned spider babies… I’m sure we can come to an understanding… so that we can all get what we want…
Elias Morrow:
So… You’re… the… Black Queen… Honesty I didn’t think that you really existed… Giuletta believed… I wanted to believe… But I’m a scientist… I’m willing to entertain the extreme… But ultimately faith-based life planning… just isn’t in my nature… But I wanted it to be true… I also expected there would be horns or something… But I’ve clearly seen too many movies… I’m sorry… I’m babbling… But I’m just so excited… I can’t help myself…
Giuletta:
Elias dear… Shut up… You’re spergging out again… I’m sorry for him… He’s a geek my queen… They’re like that…
Selene:
I’m aware of the species… It’s quite alright… I have memories of the two of you from Ogun… memories that I took from him when I cast him out for his betrayal…
Elias:
Well… do you know about my nephew Robbie?… and his relationship with your daughter?… I don’t mean to broach a sensitive subject… But he did father a child with your daughter… How do you really feel about your daughter?… I mean… I’m fine with it either way… I just need to know who we’re not allowed to kill…
Selene:
Truth be told… I’m on the fence with respect to my own daughter… I prefer her to live to learn to regret her past behavior… and make me more grandchildren… I thought that I had fixed that problem in Niflheim… But her will is incorrigible… apparently… If anyone is going to kill her… it will be me… and slowly… Your nephew is another story… But for now… he can help make more grandchildren…
Elias:
Well that’s clear enough… So you have Ogun’s memories of our plan?… Right?… I mean… they said it was your plan… But that was before I knew you were actually real… They also said that you were out of circulation for quite some time… But Ogun didn’t elaborate… Giuletta says that he had something to do with that… which is why he’s not here… I just need to know if there are any changes that I need to take care of… Although there’s not much that I can change this late in the game… unless of course this latest craziness is part of a change in plan… You didn’t do this… did you?…
Selene:
No… I didn’t… But I think it’s very interesting… and convenient… this strange effect it’s having on the fabric of reality… should make things even easier for us… allowing us to accelerate things further… From what I learned from Ogun… everything else is preceding according to my original plan… a plan nearly twenty thousand years old… There is not so much to change… so much as there will be plenty to add… and to accelerate… now that I have all sorts of new family to take care of… one way or the other…
Venom:
What about him?… Is he part of your new family?… Or just something to play with in the meantime?… How is it that he’s so agreeable all of a sudden?… You were just fighting moments ago…
Selene:
Some people just have a natural need and desire to be dominated…
Venom:
I assure you Selene… I have no such need… nor desire… That will not be happening to me… Ilsa will be mine… with or without you…
Selene:
Fair enough Venom… Fair enough…
Elias:
What if… I have a need?…
Giuletta:
Shush dear… Don’t seem so needy and desperate… We can take care of that later…
In the downstairs gallery of the Johnson Building, with all of the walls turned matte black, lit only by matte black torches and their flickering red and orange flames, the Warriors Three slumber, mildly effected by the Psycho Fandango, but apparently unchanged, as Daisy’s rescue dog Snoopy licks at the face of Hogan the Grim. Hogan awakens with a start, and he sees a glowing human sized fairy woman kneeling next to him. She has light blue skin, with purple hair, blue eyes, and blue antenna, and with pink and blue butterfly wings. She wears a raggedy but otherwise pristine white potato sack like dress, fastened around her waste with a plain white rope, with tears in the back for her wings, and covered with real flowers of various kinds, seemingly plucked then inserted into it’s fabric.
Hogan:
What in all of Midgard just happened… Ahh!…
Fairy Woman:
Ahh!…
Hogan:
Who… or what… are you?… Are you a fairy?… Are we in Alfheim?…
Fairy Woman:
Uh… No… At least I don’t think so… I’m what’s known on our planet… as an Inhuman… But I don’t normally look like this… I haven’t been able to find a mirror in this place… But this is definitely not my normal color… I don’t know where we are anymore… But it was earth… mere minutes ago!… Now everything is changed… including me!… Do I really look like a fairy to you?…
Hogan:
Yes… Very much so… and very beautiful… What is your name?… Do you remember?…
Fairy Woman:
Yes… My name is Reyna… I came here looking for an old friend… someone I’ve been avoiding for years now… But I had a vision of her here… with her evil bitch mother Jia Ying… alive and well in spite of my friend’s best efforts to kill the evil bitch… And I saw you too… Hogan… isn’t it… Hogan the Grim… I heard them say that… I saw a lot of things… heard a lot of things… But I can’t make sense of any of it… I came here for that… hoping that Daisy would know something…
Hogan:
You have visions?…
Reyna:
Yes… but I’ve learned the hard way that seeing is not believing… nor explaining… Daisy thinks that I’m dead… because I had a vision of Jia Ying killing me… in front of her… which then happened just as I had seen it… But I was newly transformed by terra genesis… and I had no idea how resilient my new body was… I was nearly killed… They even dumped my body… But I recovered… I’ve been steering clear ever since… So… Hogan the Grim… Are you by any chance… married?…
Hogan:
I am married to service… for Asgard… Why?… Did you have a vision of me getting married?…
Reyna:
Uh… You could say that… It’s probably best that you don’t know… Given the nature of prophecy… I have been wrong before after all…
Fandral:
Hogan… Who is this lovely creature?… And does she have a friend?… Wait… Fairy folk?… Here on Midgard?… Did they do this?… Are we even still on Midgard?…
Volstagg:
And did they bring any fairy food?… I’m starving…
Fandral:
Now Volstagg… You know you can’t eat fairy food… It never agrees with you… Eat drink and be merry… for tomorrow we puke… and for several days after as well…
Reyna:
I’m afraid that I didn’t bring any food… But I’m not a real fairy… I’m an Inhuman… I don’t know what did this to me… or to a lot of other people that seem to be changed somehow… But there is definitely something going around… all over downtown at least… if this is still downtown… Where is Daisy?…
Hogan:
Last we heard… Emerald City…
Reyna:
The sparkly green city that appeared in the sky?… I saw that too… But I didn’t understand… I shouldn’t be saying anything!… Prophecy is dangerous!… I should have learned my lesson from before!… I must find Daisy!…
Hogan:
We can take you to her… Mistress Reyna… It would be our honored duty to assist you in this matter…
Reyna:
My knight in matte black armor huh?… I’ve said too much… I have to go… I’m sorry sir knight… But I must do this alone…
Reyna floats up off the floor where she was kneeling beside Hogan, as she wiggles her fairy wings slightly, and shimmers away.
Hogan:
Wait!… Reyna!… Let us help you!… Reyna!… Dammit!… We must find Daisy ourselves!… We must leave for Emerald City at once!…
Fandral:
But what of this enchantment?…
Hogan:
We’ve dealt with enchantment before!… We must go now!…
Volstagg:
But don’t we have to man our posts here?…
Hogan:
We are only here to keep up appearances… as cover for King Odin’s relocation… But that has been rendered irrelevant now… Both Daisy and the King are in Emerald City now… And we must go!… Now!…
Just then, before they could leave, Pepper Pots comes down the stairs and enters the gallery. She appears wearing a sparkly red dress and a gold crown, and carrying a gold scepter.
Queen Pepper:
Hold there paladins… Do not abandon your posts… for the sake of the lure… of fairy women… As beguiling as they may be… That is no excuse for the shirking of duty… My husband the king will be very cross with you… If we must go anywhere… Then I must insist that you take me home… to Stark Palace… Then you can chase after fairy women all you like…
Hogan:
Uhm… Lady Pepper?… Is that you?…
Queen Pepper:
That is Queen Pepper to you… or just your majesty if you prefer… Have you been drinking on duty?… My husband the Iron King may have you all flogged for it… if he smells it on your breath… But perhaps I should beat him to it…
Queen Pepper waves her gold scepter, and the floor erupts in matte black writhing tentacles, that reach up from the floor and wrap around the warriors three, binding them in place.
Fandral:
Uh… Sorry your majesty!… Poor Hogan loves his drink after all… Right Hogan?…
Hogan:
Uh… Yes… Too much celebration for me… I am getting married after all…
Queen Pepper:
Oh… That’s lovely to hear… When is the wedding?…
Hogan:
The date… has not yet been set… But I will let you know as soon as it is… Your majesty…
Queen Pepper:
And who is the lucky lady?…
Hogan:
I believe she just left… We were going after her… But now I think you’re right your majesty… We should take you to this… Stark Palace… But I’m afraid that with all of our excess celebration… we’ve forgotten where it is… Could you show us the way?… So we don’t get into trouble with the Iron King?…
Queen Pepper:
Well okay… But if you are celebrating that hard… you really should take it easy on the drink… for your sake… and for the sake of your new bride…
Hogan:
Yes… Your majesty…
In a private bungalow near the jazz club of the Dunbar Hotel, the home of Dr. Jason Wilkes plays host to a few slumbering human experiments, including a sleeping Dr. Wilkes. The newly minted recipients of FSBs, including Black Box Extremis for some, begin to awaken in a now dimly lit bungalow, with matte black walls and burning candles, burning in matte black candle holders coming out of the walls.
Dr. Wilkes:
What?… was that?… and what the hell happened to my home?!?…
Dr. Pym:
I don’t know… But now I’m thinking Kurt was right about Babo Yaga… I’m no expert on magic… But this reeks of it… But with the capabilities of the FSBs… we have to consider that this might be an FSB related issue…
Dr. Wilkes:
The building isn’t responding to my commands… I colonized it with my FSB… But it’s not responding at all…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Welcome to the experiment…
Dr. Foster:
Welcome to the machine… Wait… Where’s Ava?…
Dotty walks in through the door to the bungalow, just as they are waking up, having heard them talking from the hallway.
Dotty:
Ava and I woke up a while ago… We went to check on the rest of the Hotel… It’s pretty much all the same everywhere… I left Ava behind to check the surrounding area… Again… It’s all the same everywhere… But there are more substantial structural changes to the surrounding buildings… not just surface appearances… and people have been changed… the people and the architecture all seem rather medieval looking… almost everyone is asleep… just like you were… but changed… Ava was supposed to be here when I got back… I don’t know where she is now…
Dr. Pym:
We have to find Scott and Hope… as well as Ava… not to mention those wingnut friends of Scott’s that I dragged into this with us…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Don’t beat yourself up about it… Let’s just focus on finding our daughter and the others…
Dotty:
Just remember… people have been changed… some of them quite substantially… And they’re waking up now too… You wouldn’t believe some of the characters roaming around out there… There be literal monsters among us… So be careful… I think I even saw an angel out there… But he didn’t look too friendly…
Dr. Van Dyne:
We have to go…
Dr. Pym:
Lets check the bar first… Scott and Hope were staking it out… keeping an eye on some former Shield agents for Gen. Talbot… But they took off a while ago… for some reason… Scott could have gone with them… But they were on coms with me right before this happened… and they were still in the bar keeping an eye on the place in case anyone else showed up… The wingnuts should be in their room fast asleep from the sound of things… But they might have been changed too…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Alright… You take Dr. Wilkes and Dotty after the wingnuts… and look for Ava while your at it… maybe even figure out what’s going on with this building of yours… I’ll take Dr. Foster here to the bar…
Dr. Wilkes:
I must say… It’s very disconcerting… I’ve been in this place for so long… It’s become as much of a security blanket… as much as anything else… even though it was effectively a prison…
Dotty:
We’ll figure this out…
Dr. Pym:
Alright… Let’s get going… But stay on coms… My only experience with magic was with The Hand… At least I think it was magic… Magic gives me a headache…
The respective search parties split up, and head out into the Dunbar Hotel to look for the others, and maybe find some answers in the process. In the bar, Dr. Van Dyne and Dr. Foster find the bar in full swing, with no one being the wiser for having been asleep mere minutes ago, but with everyone having been the recipient of the magic makeover of the Psycho Fandango. They find a medieval tavern scene in the bar, with wenches and warriors everywhere, and a live lute and flute band playing away. Large amounts of beer, mead, and wine are all on tap, directly from the barrels, stacked up against a rear matte black wall, and behind the bar. The tavern is enclosed on all sides by matte black walls, and lit with the flickering red and orange flames of torches. They find the three wingnuts at the bar, not drinking, but ministering to those afflicted with vice, wearing the robes of traveling monks.
Dr. Van Dyne:
Wow… This is definitely magical… But it seems like some sort of graft onto the existing things within the real world… I wonder if this is temporary… or maybe permanent…
Dr. Foster:
We have to believe that it’s temporary… Don’t we?…
Dr. Van Dyne:
We can hope… if we can find Hope… Let’s check out the wingnuts and see if they’re effected… in more ways than fashion sense…
Dr. Van Dyne and Dr. Foster start to head over to the bar, but then the three monks seem to notice them, and begin to head towards them. They meet at the end of the bar, and are presented with a scroll.
Luis:
May we take some of your precious time… to talk to you of the perils facing the church today… and it’s corruption… from the poison of politics?…
Dr. Van Dyne unrolls the scroll, and finds a medieval style hand written letter of introduction, with hand decorated lettering, just like medieval bibles.
Dr. Van Dyne:
‘Excommunicated Sacred Consultations’?… If you’re excommunicated… how is your consultation supposedly sacred?…
Kurt:
We have only been excommunicated by a corrupted church… that simply cannot abide any heresy… that challenges the sacredness their political authority… Especially when it comes to our Christian brethren among the fay…
Dr. Foster:
The fay?… You mean fairy folk?… How are they Christian?…
Dave:
We are acolytes of Avalon… a civilization founded by a Christian sect of the fay… But the church views all such sects as a corruption by Satan… But we have gotten to know the truth of it… Queen Morgana of Avalon has given us our mandate… We can introduce you… The church has no power here… so she can meet openly with anyone she wants…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Okay… Sure…
Dr. Foster:
Do we really have time for this?… We still have to find Ava and the others…
Dr. Van Dyne:
I think to do that… we’ll need to go along with whatever this is… and see where it leads us…
Luis:
Not all who wonder are lost… Seek… and ye shall find… Please… Right this way… The queen is at the end of the bar… with some friends of ours…
Dr. Foster:
Friends?…
They all look down at the end of the bar, and see a red headed woman with pointed ears and a large mug of mead. The queen leans back from the bar slightly to get a better look at them, then waves them over.
Morgana:
Hello there… Don’t worry… I’ve got what your looking for…
Dr. Van Dyne and Dr. Foster head over to the end of the bar with the three monks, and sit down next to the pointy eared redhead.
Morgana:
So… You look like you have an over abundance of questions… Well so do I… As far as what little I have in the way of answers is concerned… for starters… I am a real fairy… But this enchantment has created all sorts of fake ones… This enchantment… whatever it is… seems to primarily warp people’s minds… and memories… many of them changed physically as well… But I can tell that you two are not among them… for whatever reason… But these two have been…
Morgana pulls out a small music box, and opens it to reveal Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, shrunk down in size, but changed in appearance, having turned into small winged fairy folk. The fairy Scott wears a red and sliver medieval style armor, with slots in the back for small red and green butterfly wings. Fairy Hope wears black and yellow medieval armor, with slots in the back for slightly larger wasp wings.
Dr. Van Dyne:
Hope!?!…
Fairy Hope:
How do you know my name?… Is she a sorcerer?…
Fairy Scott:
If she were… our queen would not be so casual with her…
Dr. Van Dyne:
Why do they think you’re their queen?…
Morgana:
Because I used to be… in manner of speaking… I was the queen of Avalon… a very long time ago… I was just in town to check up on my own son… He was a Shield agent you know… But he was recently sacked… So I felt the need to check up on him… among other things… I was only just staying at the hotel… The jazz club comes highly recommended… Or it did before it became a tavern… Although the music is still not bad… Then this lot comes up to me in the aftermath of… whatever this is… And recognized me straight off the bat… called me by name… and addressed me as if I were still the queen… I’m still sorting it myself… But you lot seem to be immune… But you’re not fairy folk…
Dr. Foster:
We’re scientists…
Morgana:
Well good for you laddie… So’s my son… and his girlfriend… But that doesn’t really answer the question now… Does it?…
Dr. Van Dyne:
I suppose not… We don’t know exactly yet… But we took something recently… that seems to provide some immunity…
Morgana:
Neat trick… I have to go over to the Johnson Building… to check on my son… But I’ve been hesitant to leave just yet… not knowing exactly what may await us outside… But we could go together… to find answers… with strength in numbers…
Dr. Foster:
We have more people with us… or we did… We’re still looking for someone… a friend of ours named Ava… I don’t suppose that you’ve seen a black woman in white… with a hood…
Morgana:
Unfortunately… I can’t say that I have… Come along then… Lets all go and find them… The sooner we leave here the better probably… A dark aura has come over this place… I suspect there may be hidden dangers here… Either way… we shouldn’t linger any more than I already have…
Upstairs, Dr. Pym gets a strange heads up from Dr. Van Dyne downstairs, telling him that they’ve found everyone but Ava, and they’re safe, but different.
Dr. Pym:
Safe?… But different?… That sounds like a long story that we didn’t have time for… Whatever that means…
Dr. Wilkes:
The same could be said about us… safe… but different… They’re probably fine…
Ava:
Finer than you lot… Dr. Pym… Dr. Wilkes… Dotty… Allow me to introduce you to my new friend… her majesty… the Black Queen Selene…
Ava appears at the end of the hallway, where Ex-Con Security Consultants originally rented their room, as soon as they turn the corner. Behind her stands the Archangel Samuel, newly cursed slave of the Black Queen Selene, with blackened circles around his eyes, as the mark of his enslavement. Similar blackened circles are seen around Ava’s eyes. Sensing the danger, without understanding it necessarily, the group turns around to head back the way they came, only to be blocked by Venom, and the Black Queen herself.
Selene:
Dr. Pym… I’ve heard so much about you… not as much about you Dr. Wilkes… But what I have heard is astounding… I’ve never heard of a Dotty before… But for what it’s worth… Red Room assassins… are always of value… if they can be brought to heel that is…
Dotty:
Brought to heel bitch?… I’ve heard of you too… But Giuletta is the one who foolishly worships you… not me… And I’m not so easy to bring to heel…
Ava:
There’s no need to be difficult… doctors… and Dotty… You will be far better off I assure you… Free will is a burden that you needn’t carry… And the queen will not be denied her prizes… The queen will have you… or you will be removed from her chessboard… so that no one may have you…
Dr. Wilkes:
Forget what I said about safe but different…
Dr. Pym:
Not so fast Dr. Wilkes… Safe but different may be our only way out of here…
Ava:
Don’t be a fool Dr. Pym… Just by being here… you are already under her power… already in her cage…
Venom:
Enough talk!… Ilsa awaits!…
Venom shoots his webs at Dr. Pym, Dr. Wilkes, and Dotty. Dotty dodges and tumbles away from the other two targets. Dr. Pym gets fully webbed up, with his arms by his side. Dr. Wilkes goes intangible and the webbing goes right through him. Dr. Pym struggles in Venom’s web, reaching into his pocket to pull out a tin of Altoids. Dr. Pym rips though venom’s web with his newly augmented Black Box Extremis power, then opens up his tin, conjuring forth several enlarged ants, enlarged to the size of large guard dogs, which then attack Venom. Ava runs down the hall, and launches a flying tackle at the supposedly intangible Dr. Wilkes, but manages to grab him, and phases with him through the Black Queen, and through the wall behind her.
Dotty:
Jason!… You’ll pay for that witch!…
Dotty pulls out her pistol from it’s place of concealment behind her, and levels the gun at the Black Queen. She begins firing into Selene, emptying the magazine into her to no effect. The Archangel hovers down the hall, and grabs Dr. Pym from behind, while Dotty gets attacked head on by the Black Queen, grabbing Dotty by the throat. But dotty kicks Selene in her face as she breaks the Black Queen’s grip, knocking her back in the process.
Dotty:
I know that feeling… That’s zero matter… But way worse than Whitney’s ever was…
Dr. Pym:
Dotty!… Stick with me!… Follow my lead!…
Dr. Pym suddenly enlarges to Hulk proportions, breaking the grip of the Archangel, while just barely being small enough to still fit within the hallway. He and Dotty make a run for it down to the other end of the hallway from the Black Queen.
Dotty:
What about Jason?…
Dr. Pym:
We can’t even chase after him and Ava… We have no choice but to regroup and hope that Dr. Wilkes can make it out on his own… We can’t help him right now…
Back downstairs, before Morgana and company can make their way up to Dr. Pym and the others, several large hell hounds block their way upstairs, along with every other exit, trapping everyone in the tavern, ready for slaughter or worse.
Morgana:
Hell hounds!?!… Here!?!… Why bloody not?… Why should mobsters have all the fun?…
Morgana reaches for a traditional transverse wooden flute, strapped over her shoulder, and raises it up to her lips, then begins to play. The hell hounds freeze into place, as if paralyzed and catatonic on their feet. The tavern goers notice the opening and flee past the frozen hell hounds. Morgana continues to play her flute, and starts to walk past the hell hounds herself, followed by the others, with Dr. Foster and Dr. Van Dyne stunned at the spectacle. Morgana leads them outside rather than upstairs, before she stops her playing.
Dr. Van Dyne:
We have to get back in there!… Hank and the others need us!…
Morgana:
Now look here… That hotel… has just become a bloody death trap… We can’t help anyone out in there… We can only get caught in the deathtrap ourselves…
A Hulk sized Dr. Pym busts out of a third story window, and jumps out, followed by Dotty. They land on the street near Morgana and the others.
Dr. Van Dyne:
Hank!… Where’s Dr. Wilkes?… and Ava?…
Dr. Pym:
Ava’s been compromised… I don’t know how… But the Black Queen has gotten to her somehow… It must have been while we were still sleeping… We’re lucky we all weren’t compromised in our sleep!…
Dr. Foster:
Isn’t the Black Queen one of the enemies in the big war that’s supposed to be starting?…
Dr. Pym:
Yes… in league with the Kree empire… and the mobsters that own… or owned that hotel… I had no idea they would go this far… This all just has to be her doing… whatever this is… Kurt’s finally right… We are up against Babo Yaga…
Morgana:
Babo Yaga indeed!… an old prehistoric name… for the Dark Priestess… the angel of death… AKA in the vernacular… the Black Queen Selene…
Kurt:
Babo Yaga has found us…
Dr. Pym:
And we have found her… Ava said that just by being here… we were already in her cage… I think we really have found the lair of the witch… But we can’t do anything about that now… nor about Dr. Wilkes or Ava… We have to get out of here… and regroup with whoever we can find that isn’t waylaid by… whatever that evil bitch has cooked up for us…
Morgana:
We can go to the Johnson Building… My son lives there… He’s a former Shield agent… But I may have to differ with you about the cause of this larger enchantment… I have a feel for these things… The feeling of what hit Los Angeles… was radically different that what just seemed to take over the Dunbar Hotel… If one is definitely the Black Queen… then the other is most likely something else entirely…
Dr. Pym:
And who would you be to have a feel for these things?…
Morgana:
I am Morgana… of the fay… the real fay… former queen of Avalon… the real Avalon…
Dr. Van Dyne:
She’s for real alright… She just saved us from a bunch of werewolf looking things… with her magic flute!…
Dr. Pym:
Werewolf looking things?…
Morgana:
Hell hounds… members of the wolfkin clan of Midgard… enslaved and twisted by The Hand of the Black Queen Selene… Welcome to a war that’s older than any of us here… save for the Black Queen herself… and very few others…
Selene:
I’m so glad that you remember me Morgana… But you might want to update your information… for my resume…
Selene walks out alone from the Dunbar Hotel. Then Venom lands on the street next to her, holding a giant ant, then crushes the ant’s head in his hands. The Archangel exits the opening made by Dr. Pym, and hovers there with motionless wings, in complete defiance of normal physics.
Morgana:
Lady Gallio?… So… you were the Black Queen Selene?… I should have known that is was too good to be true that Loki had killed you…
Selene:
You’re welcome to try now if you like…
Morgana:
Sorry your harpiness… But I have multiple family reunions to get on with… and we’re not doing it in enemy territory…
Morgana takes her wooden flute, and starts to swing it around from one end, holding onto the strap to swing it. The flute makes all kinds of random but pretty sounding whistles as it twirls. The light shifts and twists all around Morgana and her new friends, and they shimmer away to nothing in front of the Dunbar Hotel. A similar whistling sound is heard, before the same sort of twisted lights appears again, materializing Morgana and company in front of the now matte black Johnson Building. The Warriors Three, Queen Pepper, and Daisy’s dog Snoopy, rush out to investigate the new arrivals.
Hogan:
Hold there!… Identify yourselves!…
Queen Pepper:
Queen Morgana!… You’re here!…
Hogan:
Queen Morgana?…
Morgana:
Hi there… Nice to see you too… Who are you?…
Queen Pepper:
Have you been celebrating too hard too?…
Morgana:
Perhaps… Maybe… But that’s neither here nor there… I seem to be suffering from some sort of enchantment… But can you refresh my memory a bit… and introduce yourself?…
Fandral:
Ah!… Enchantment!… We should have thought of that one… That sounds way better than drunk…
Hogan:
Shush…
Queen Pepper:
I am Pepper Pots… the queen of the Iron King… His majesty Tony Stark… Of course… I have always known you… You were my instructor in magic as a child… Your son Leopold works with the Iron King…
Morgana:
Oh dear… the enchantment on her seems to have mixed up her memories of me… part real… part fantasy…
Queen Pepper:
What ever are you talking about?… Is this some game?… Is this a test?…
Morgana:
Ah yes… It is a test… A test of enchantment… and resistance to it… this whole city has been enchanted to some extent or another… But you have to endeavor to tell the difference… with little in the way of hints… and no cheating… But it is not my test… It is a test of the enemy… the Black Queen Selene…
Queen Pepper:
The Black Queen Selene!?!… It is her evil that is upon us?…
Morgana:
Yes… Your majesty…
Queen Pepper:
We must go to Stark Palace at once!… And inform the king as soon as possible…
Morgana:
Stark Palace?… That sounds promising… under the current circumstances…
Hogan:
We thought so too…
Dr. Pym:
I suppose during a war with ultimate evil… any port in the storm will do… Even Port Stark…
Queen Pepper:
Stark Palace… Port Stark is on the coastline… across from Emerald City…
Dr. Pym:
Yes… your majesty…
Hogan:
Perhaps we can split up… and take both… We have other business in Emerald City… They must be informed as well…
Queen Pepper:
Very well then Master Hogan… chase after and secure your fairy bride… But make sure you’re doing your duty first…
Hogan:
Yes… Your majesty…
Morgana:
Fairy bride?…
Hogan:
It’s a long story that I don’t know yet…
Morgana:
Oh… kay…
In Emerald City, Daisy awakens lying on the grass in Hulk Orchard Park, now with all matte black walls, and lit by torches with green flames, with Bobby Morse kneeling down next to her, wearing the traditional armor of the Valkyrie. Lance Hunter stands next to her, and wears the robes of Christian monk. Emma and Amara lie still sleeping on the ground next to Daisy, having been seemingly arranged there by Morse and Hunter.
Daisy:
Morse?… Hunter?… Emma!… Amara!…
Morse The V:
Steady Mistress Daisy… Your children seem well enough… They are only sleeping… We felt it best to let them rest… And the Wolf King agreed…
Hunter Monk:
His majesty ordered us to look after you until you recovered…
Daisy:
The Wolf King?… You mean Grant Ward?… The man you hate?… probably more than any other man alive?…
Hunter Monk:
That is vile slander… May God forgive you for your lies…
Morse The V:
I’m sure Mistress Daisy is just suffering from enchantment… The Wolf King did say that it was going around… But he did seem to be acting strange around us… Perhaps the Wolf King is enchanted as well…
Grant Ward:
Not likely… How’s your head Daisy?… Do you remember who you are?… Not everyone does all of a sudden… These two are just the tip of the iceberg… The Spider Man got hit real hard… Brunhilde… the Valkyrie… the real one… says he looked like a spider goblin…
Daisy:
A Spider Goblin!?!… is that even a thing outside of Lord of the Rings?…
Grant Ward:
Yeah… We dealt with a lot of them in Niflheim… Nasty creatures… He then had an encounter with my daughter Ilsa… that I’m struggling and failing not to think about… Ilsa is still crying because of it… My daughter Helga confirms that he definitely appeared briefly to be a spider goblin… He was given an FSB by Ilsa… attempting to help him with his condition… like it helped me… But he seemed to have some psychotic break… and started acting different… calling himself Venom… And then he abducted Princess Shuri for some unknown reason… And based on what he said to Ilsa… he’ll probably be back… In fact… never mind what I said before… You should probably try and wake your kids anyway… just to make sure they’re still in there…
Emma:
I’m awake… But my head hurts… Amara you can stop pretending now… They’re not going away…
Amara:
They didn’t have to know that…
Daisy:
You were playing possum?…
Amara:
I don’t like being watched over by strangers… Especially crazy ones…
Morse The V:
We are not crazy child… We are duty bound… and dedicated… stranger or not…
Amara:
See what I mean?… Can we go back to the Johnson Building now?… Where’s my dad?…
Grant Ward:
Your dad flamed up pretty heavily… and drove off in the charger… no idea where or why… Hopefully maybe he’ll find whatever’s doing this… and kill it for us… Your kids seem unaffected… Did you give them their own FSBs by any chance?… Ned thinks that it provided a good deal of resistance to those who possessed one when this thing first hit…
Daisy:
I gave them all FSBs after Malekith escaped…
Grant Ward:
You were here for that?…
Amara:
Yeah we were… and we were useless…
Daisy:
You weren’t useless… You were unprepared… We all were for him… Where’s Robin?… I gave her one too…
Grant Ward:
She’s with King Odin and Queen Karnilla… comparing notes on prophecy I guess… King Odin’s prophecies seem extra triggered by everything that’s going on… Romulus and Remus are standing watch there… under Dir. Mace’s supervision… Loki gave an FSB to his son Jack… So he’s in the clear… What about your dad?… We can’t find him anywhere… But he does tend to wonder off…
Daisy:
Yeah… I gave one to him too… I hope he’s okay…
Grant Ward:
We’re still trying to get it all sorted here… But we can see from here… that the entire coast seems completely changed… given a medieval makeover… fortified castle keeps… lit by torch light…
Daisy:
What’s up with the green flames and the black city?…
Grant Ward:
Unknown… But that’s just about the only green thing left in this city besides Banner…
Daisy:
How’s Banner?…
Grant Ward:
He’s fine… We gave him an FSB back in Niflheim… He barely noticed this… whatever this is…
Daisy:
I bet your liking this… with these two… following orders… defending your honor…
Grant Ward:
Actually… I find it disconcerting… I think I’m more comfortable with them hating me… as long as they remember why… When you have memory problems like me… memory has a special value… a special premium… I spent a lot of time in Niflheim… writing my memoirs… part therapy… part confession… mostly setting the record straight for my kids… so that they have no illusions about me… Morse and Hunter are one whole chapter… And now they don’t remember… That bothers me… in ways I never would have believed before now… And all of LA might be like that…
Daisy:
Am I in these memoirs?… Maybe you should publish… set the record straight for the world…
Grant Ward:
The world doesn’t care… Just because I made the news… doesn’t mean anyone outside of my own family necessarily gives a crap… That’s not what I wrote them for… They’re unfinished anyway… too many missing pieces…
Daisy:
Like a royal lineage?… Wolf King?…
Grant Ward:
Well… I’m not so sure I even believe that part myself…
Daisy:
I don’t like politics either… But I can’t walk away from being the daughter of the Black Queen… anymore than you can ignore the fact that even if you don’t believe it… others do… and you have responsibilities to you own family whether it’s true or not… responsibilities that might be well served by the publishing of memoirs… even incomplete ones…
Reyna:
Am I in these memoirs?…
The Reyna of the fay shimmers into view floating in the air above Daisy and the others.
Daisy:
Reyna!?!… Is that you?… What happened to you?… How are you even still alive?… I saw you die!… You saw it before you died!…
Amara:
That’s Reyna?…
Reyna:
And you must be Amara… Yes… I am Reyna… I learned the hard way that prophecy doesn’t interpret itself… I nearly died… But I was far more resilient than normal for a human… But I didn’t realize that… This… only just happened… I chose to avoid everything and everyone after I survived… choosing instead to simply write down my visions… rather than sharing them… and misinterpreting them in the process… But then I had a vision of you battling along side Jia Ying out in front of the Johnson Building… with Grant Ward here fighting on the other side… Two supposedly dead people fighting in the streets after they died… is hard to ignore… And then the news started to report on Grant Ward’s supposed return from the dead… and I couldn’t ignore it… Is Jia Ying really alive?…
Daisy:
Yes… Unfortunately… But there’s is more that you should know… Are you familiar with the Black Queen Selene?… The angel of death?… That is my mother… Who according to legend at least… is beyond death…
Reyna:
Is she behind this?…
Daisy:
Unknown… Believe it or not… the big bad Black Queen Selene… is not the only problem we’re dealing with here…
The Warriors Three speed into Hulk Orchard Park on matte black motorcycles, all resembling one of Mack’s custom jobs, with Hogan’s ride sporting a sidecar with Daisy’s dog Snoopy riding in it. They screech to a halt by Daisy and the others, with Reyna blushing pink slightly in her blue skinned cheeks at the sight of Hogan’s dramatic arrival. Hogan looks at Reyna with wonder, as Daisy, her daughters, and the Wolf King all notice the obvious connection between them. Snoopy jumps out and runs over to Daisy, licking her face as a greeting.
Hogan:
Reyna!… We’ve found you!… Please don’t run off like that again… Warriors such as us are sworn to protect those in need… And under the current circumstances… it is not safe to go it alone…
Reyna:
I’m sorry Master Hogan… But I could not burden you with my problems… or even my presence… Prophecy is dangerous… And the fewer people who have to bear that burden the better…
Hogan:
We may not be able to bear that burden with you… But we can still protect you while you do… And it is our honor and duty to do so…
Daisy:
Yeah Reyna… Let the man be honorable… Duty calls… among other things…
Emma and Amara chuckle at their mother’s ribbing of Reyna’s budding romance, as Daisy and Ward share a knowing look with raised eyebrows, and Reyna continues to blush.
Grant Ward:
Master Hogan… How is it that you know Reyna?…
Hogan:
We have only just met… But she says that she knows of me from prophecy… But she did not elaborate… for fear of the danger of doing so…
Daisy:
I see… sounds like destiny to me… Right Ward?…
Grant Ward:
Yeah… quite literally… among other things…
Emma and Amara chuckle some more, as Hunter and Morse look confused.
Hunter Monk:
I don’t get it…
Morse The V:
I think they’re talking about sex…
Reyna blushes harder and pinker.
Hogan:
A great deal has happened during the past several minutes… And we have a great deal to report…
Grant Ward:
Right… Back to business… It was fun while it lasted…
Hogan:
We must report to Lord Balder… Is he still here?… Has he been enchanted too?…
Grant Ward:
He was here… But we can’t find him anywhere in the city… We’re still looking… But he was issued his own FSB… which seems to confer some resistance… Asgardian’s may have somewhat greater resistance than human… even without an FSB… The Valkyrie… the real ones… don’t seem to be effected at all… How are you guys holding up?…
Fandral:
Volstagg and I don’t have FSBs… But we do have experience in dealing with enchantment… We’re frankly just used to this sort of thing…
Volstagg:
I am suffering from hunger pains and strange cravings…
Fandral:
But that’s always the case with you…
Elsewhere, in an isolated part of the now blackened Emerald City, Dr. Simmons awakens to find a crying Lorelei kneeling beside her, staring at her intently through tears.
Dr. Simmons:
Lorelei?… Are you okay?… What just happened?… Where are we?… And why is everything black?…
Lorelei:
I need your help!…
Dr. Simmons:
Okay… Just start at the beginning…
Lorelei:
Feel this!…
Dr. Simmons:
I beg your pardon?…
Lorelei grabs Dr. Simmons hand, and places it on her heart.
Dr. Simmons:
Look… I know that we’re both undead women and all… But I just don’t swing that way… not that there’s anything wrong with that… as Seinfeld would say… Oh bloody hell!?!… Is that a heart beat?!?…
Lorelei:
That’s what I need you to tell me!… I don’t know what’s happened to Emerald City… But I have flesh again!… And I need to know why… I need to know if this will last… And most of all… I need to know that Malekith had nothing to do with it… And I need to know before I see Bishop again!… Or else… I just can’t face him!… or my own family!…
Speeding a burning path headed south east from Emerald City, the Ghost Rider is on the hunt, with Gen. Talbot riding shotgun, and Lord Balder in the back seat next to Daisy’s father, seemingly restored to his previous normal human appearance as Dr. Calvin Johnson.
Gen. Talbot:
So… You’re really not going to say a word are you?… Not even ‘We are Vengeance’?… How about a destination for vengeance?…
Ghost Rider:
We are vengeance!…
Gen. Talbot:
Well that clears things up… Why the hell did I jump in this car anyway?…
Balder:
For the same reason that I did general… Whatever is perpetrating this magical mischief… We must put a stop to it… And tagging along with Zarathos on one of his hunts… seems like the quickest way to get to the bottom of this… Because he’s most likely going after it already… And if not… it’s probably something that needs to be killed anyway… I have experience with this sort of thing… Not as much as King Odin… But I have chased vengeance with Zarathos myself on occasion in the past… Although last time was on horse back… I learned how to shoot a gun at the time… I still have my matching Colt 45s back in Asgard… They used to call me Kid Colt!…
Dr. Johnson:
Well… It’s a good thing that I brought these then…
Dr. Johnson pulls a pair of matte black plasma pistols from out of his overcoat, and holds them both up, pointed at the inside of the roof of the car, posing.
Gen. Talbot:
Will you put those things away… Why are you even tagging along anyway?… I’m happy you’re back to normal… physically at least… But that means that you won’t be able to handle yourself as well… You could get yourself killed… Do you even know how to use those things?…
Dr. Johnson:
What’s to know?… You just point and shoot… Right?…
Dr. Johnson aims one of his plasma pistols carelessly at Gen. Talbot’s head, but Gen. Talbot shoves the pistol away from himself instinctively, and causes Dr. Johnson to accidentally fire into the back of the Ghost Riders already flaming skull. The Ghost Rider turns to glare with flaming eye sockets at Dr. Johnson for a moment, then returns his fiery gaze to the road in front of him.
Dr. Johnson:
Sorry… I guess it’s not that simple after all…
Gen. Talbot:
It’s called muzzle discipline doctor… You never point a gun barrel at anything that you don’t want to kill… not even just waving it around carelessly… Not even if you think it’s an unloaded gun… Because accidents happen… even with properly trained professionals…
Dr. Johnson:
I said sorry…
Trailing behind them at a distance, but closing on them, Mack, Yo Yo, and Bishop ride matte black motorcycles, chasing after them.
Mack:
Are you sure that you don’t want to sit this one out Lucas?… given everything with Lorelei?… You don’t seem like your head is really in this… Maybe you should go back?…
Bishop:
I’m not going anywhere father… Lorelei has gone dark… Either this enchantment is effecting her too… Or she’s avoiding me… Either way… I need something else to deal with now anyway… Lorelei will most likely need time… And I need to be elsewhere…
Yo Yo:
Has she ever gone dark before?…
Bishop:
No mother… This is the first…
Mack:
I was hoping that you might take those two knuckleheads back with you… But I guess we’re stuck with them… I hope they don’t get themselves killed… Oh well…
At a discrete distance behind Mack, Yo Yo, and Bishop, two more matte black choppers are ridden by Werner Von Strucker, and the recovering hell hound Logan.
Logan:
Why are we doing this again?…
Werner VS:
Aren’t you curious Logan?… I don’t know where we are… Assuming this isn’t Los Angeles… But this is way better than Los Angeles… Way more memorable…
Logan:
Why does everything have to be memorable with you?… You sound like some sort of adrenaline junkie… Are you really that bored kid?…
Werner VS:
I’m not bored… I’m special… Like you… but different… I don’t need things to be memorable… I have perfect memory of absolutely everything in my life… except for one window of time that I’ve already accounted for… I even remember being born… which is more painful than most people realize… For me everything is memorable… whether I want it to be or not… whether it deserves to be or not… But not all memories are created equal… So I guess what I mean by memorable… is what is worth remembering… and makes an indelible impression… even for people without my condition… If I must remember everything… then it’s better to have as many memories as possible that are worth remembering… to overshadow the ones that I can’t forget…
Logan:
I seem to have the opposite problem… I seem to be living in a perpetual fog… I guess I don’t have much of a memorable life…
Werner VS:
Like the Silver Fox?…
Logan silently glares over at Werner before returning his eyes to the road.
Werner VS:
Well… At least you didn’t freak out… That’s a good sign right?… Do you remember anything about this Silver Fox person?…
Logan:
I remember her face… and the condition of her body when I found her… after Victor killed her… and left her for me to find… partially eaten…
Werner VS:
Oh!… Holy!… Shit!… That was the other guy that I treated?…
Logan:
That was him… I also remember a name… Victor Creed… and a headline… ‘Cannibal Creed Convicted!… Sentenced To Death By Firing Squad’…
Werner VS:
That’s it… I’m never treating anyone ever again… Wait… Death by firing squad?… I guess that never happened… He must have escaped…
Logan:
No… I was there… I volunteered for the squad… But it’s all fragments… I have no idea how he managed to survive… or why we both have these stupid dog collars that are supposedly so valuable… Maybe I’m better off with the fog…
Back at the Dunbar Hotel, Victor Cannibal Creed wonders into the hotel’s tavern. He finds the place completely empty, except for a single lone man at the bar, drinking from a mug of mead, wearing a set of black hooded monk’s robes, with his hood up, and a simple wooden bo staff leaned up against the bar next to him. Without turning around, the hooded man greets the not-so-fine not-so-young cannibal.
Hooded Man:
The tavern is closed… if your looking for food and drink… you’ll find none available here… But from the smell of your breath… I can tell that you’ve already eaten… And that your tastes are for more unusual fair… that’s not on the menu here… at least not normally…
Cannibal Creed:
You’re right… I’ve already eaten… But I could always use some desert… And what I want… is definitely on my menu…
Hooded Man:
Is that so?… Victor is it?…
Cannibal Creed:
How do you know that name?… How do you know me?…
Hooded Man:
Your mother told me…
Cannibal Creed:
That is some bold smack talk… for a dead man…
Hooded Man:
It isn’t smack talk… Your mother told me to expect you… She’s here now… I can introduce you… or reintroduce you…
Cannibal Creed:
Why?… Are we dining in hell this evening?…
Hooded Man:
If you insist…
The hooded man steps away from the bar and grabs his bo staff before turning around, revealing a black sash tied around his eyes, like a blind fold.
Cannibal Creed:
Your blind?… Are you playing me for a fool Monk?… I’ll make you pay nice and slow for that…
Hooded Man:
You’re welcome to try… And for the record… your breath stinks…
On a section of wall enclosing the now matte black Emerald City, Chief M’Baku sits on the wall overlooking the medieval torch lit Los Angeles, sampling some of the Wolf King’s secret stash.
Chief M’Baku:
This is not the party I was looking for… But it is pretty…
Meghan:
It is… Isn’t it?…
Meghan shimmers into view leaning on the wall next to Chief M’Baku, staring out at the torch lit coast.
Chief M’Baku:
Princess Meghan?… Right?… I thought you were hiding…
Meghan:
I was… I still am… Just not from you right now… You’re not going to turn me in… are you?…
Chief M’Baku:
Me?… Who would I turn you into?… And why would I care?… If anything… maybe you should care… I’m sure they’re very worried about you… with everything going on at the moment… whatever this is…
Meghan:
I’m just in the way… a burden they don’t need to deal with… with everything going on at the moment… whatever this is…
Chief M’Baku:
Worrying about the unknown fate of a loved one… is by far the greater burden… and a dangerous distraction when dealing bigger threats… I’m concerned for how my own family will worry about me back home in Wakanda… once they learn of this… whatever this is…
Cap. Britain:
Meghan!… Meghan!…
Meghan:
Brian!…
Chief M’Baku:
See?… I told you…
Cap. Britain flies in from above, after searching the city for Meghan from the sky, and lands next to Meghan and Chief M’Baku.
Cap. Britain:
Meghan!… You’re okay!… I was so worried!… Don’t run off and disappear like that on me again!… Especially not with everything that’s going on!… With Malekith on the loose from Niflheim… and all of this craziness… plus what happened with the Spider Man and Princess Shuri… it’s just too dangerous for that!…
Chief M’Baku:
What happened with the Spider Man and Princess Shuri?…
Cap. Britain:
I don’t know exactly… But the Spider Man seems to have been enchanted into becoming some sort of spider goblin… He started calling himself Venom… Then he made off with Princess Shuri… King T’Challa and company took after him in the king’s shuttle… I have to see if I can assist them… But I was too worried about Meghan to leave without being sure she was safe…
Meghan:
I’m sorry Brian…
Cap. Britain:
There’s no need for any apologies Meghan… But you have to stop doing that… You need to get over your mommy issues… and stop flying off in a panic just because someone mentions your mother… When your mother arrives we shall deal with her one way or the other… Now go find your father and stay with him… So that I can help the others…
Meghan:
Okay… I will… I promise…
Chief M’Baku:
Can you take me with you?… I consider the Spider Man to be a friend… And I can’t let my friend hurt a princess of Wakanda…
Cap. Britain:
It would be my pleasure Chief M’Baku… You’re not afraid of flying by any chance… are you?…
Chief M’Baku:
I don’t think so… But it sounds like fun anyway… Let’s go!…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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