The Defenders Of Midgard, An MCU Fan Fiction:
By Ozymandias The Mad
Chapter 19
We’re Off To The Witch! And We May Never Never Never Come Home!
But The Magic That We’ll Feel Is Worth A Lifetime! However Short
Tucked away in a secluded apartment of what used to be the Dunbar Hotel, Logan is passed out naked under the covers of the bed. Next to him in the bed, young Robin sits up in bed partially covered, with her arms folded in front of her, head resting upon her raised knees and folded arms, still tightly clutching her tiny carved wooden Robin in one of her hands. Logan awakens with a shock, as if he just remembered that someone he loved had just died, or close to it. Robins picks up her head in response to reveal her reddened tear soaked eyes.
Logan:
No mother… I said no!… Robin!… Robin!… Are you okay Robin?… I’m so sorry!… That evil bitch mother of mine will pay this!… I swear it to you!…
Robin reaches over to touch the side of Logan’s face to comfort him, trying to console him, and calm him down.
Robin:
Calm down Logan… You weren’t responsible for this!… This… This was the Black Queen Selene… The same evil bitch that killed my real mother in front of me… while I could only watch… then took me as her own daughter… and made me call her mother… I remember now… I must have blocked it out… by necessity… But what she just did to us… forced me to remember her evil… And I will never forget it again!… Neither of us are to blame for what she did to us… She didn’t give you a choice… She never gives choices… not unless it amuses her to do so…
Logan:
Fair enough kid… But we’re done with this hell hole!… I’m going to get us out of here… Even if I have to kill everyone here myself… Especially mother!…
Logan virtually jumps up from the bed and out from under the covers, and stands there naked, before his claws reflexively extend for battle. Robin just sits there looking at him wondering what he’s about to do next.
Logan:
Uhm?… Do you remember what happened?… to our cloths?…
Robin:
You were being too hesitant for your mother’s liking… so she whammied you a little extra… like flipping some sort of switch… Then you went all primal… animal like… You tore your own cloths off… Then you tore mine off… and ravaged me… repeatedly… while that evil bitched watched… as if to make sure… among other things… I think those shreds over there are what’s left of our cloths…
Logan:
Okay… First we’re getting some new threads… Then we’re getting out of here… Through my mother’s heart if necessary…
Logan retracts his claws, then white sparkles begin to emanate from his body, as if on cue, and form a new set of matte black robes, covering his naked body. Robin stands up in the bed and follows suit. Then the two of them make their way to the door of their room to begin to make their escape. Logan opens the door, to be caught off guard when he opens the door, and finds his brother, Victor ‘Cannibal’ Creed, standing there waiting for him.
Cannibal Creed:
Waky waky runt!… I thought I heard your pathetic whimpering in here… Sounds like you’ve come back to your senses… unfortunately for you… Looks like you’re just as resistant as I am to that sort of thing… I guess we just have to do things the old fashioned way then… Don’t we runt?… Now what was that you were saying?… about killing everyone here?… Allow me to volunteer to go first… if you think you can manage it… You might as well start with me runt… Mother will have to wait… I get first blood… I insist…
Logan:
Fine by me bub… Fine by me…
Logan extends his claws, and launches himself into Victor in a state of pure primal berzerker fury.
Robin:
Logan!…
The two terminal siblings trade blows, slashes, and gashes for a few moments, while Robin looks on in horror. Then Reyna and Gen. Fitz suddenly shimmer into view standing next to Robin in the hallway, with Gen. Fitz’ sword is drawn at the ready.
Reyna:
Stop!… Stop this now!…
Reyna cups both her hands in front of her, then blows a flurry of pixie dust at the two combatant siblings. The two are dusted into dreamy submission, as they both collapse to the floor of the hallway in a stupor.
Reyna:
That’s more than enough of that… Hi Robin… I’m…
Robin:
Reyna… I know… even though I don’t know… you know?…
Reyna:
Yeah… I know… even though I don’t…
Gen. Fitz:
If you two seers are done confusing each other… and me right along with you… I think it’s about time we get the rescue portion of this rescue mission underway… now…
Reyna:
Right… Time to go Robin…
Robin:
Wait!… We have to take him too!… It’s complicated… But he’s a friend… And we can’t leave him here with his mother… the Black Queen… There’s no telling what she’ll do to him if we leave him here!…
Reyna:
He’s Logan?…
Gen. Fitz:
Yeah… That’s him alright… I remember seeing him with Werner Von Strucker before… Are you sure he’s…
Reyna/Robin:
Yes…
Gen. Fitz:
Fine… But it’s time to go…
Gen. Fitz sheaths his sword, then he lifts up Logan, and slings Logan over his shoulder to carry him away. Then he draws his plasma pistol, before starting to head down the hallway, as Reyna and Robin follow close behind. The sounds of distant battle coming from the perimeter of the Black Queen’s territory grow louder as they flee.
Gen. Fitz:
Come on… We’re late for our ride out of here…
Reyna and Robin chase after Gen. Fitz down the hall towards a nearby window. Ava shimmers into view in the way. Gen. Fitz fires his plasma pistol at Ava repeatedly, as he keeps moving without slowing down. The plasma bolts fly mostly harmlessly through her, but electrify her on the way through her, causing her to recoil as if in literal shock as she seems to fall unconscious through the floor partially before shimmering out of view.
Gen. Fitz blasts out the window with repeated plasma blasts. Then Gen. Fits tosses Logan out of the window without anything to catch him, as they reach the window to Reyna and Robin’s shock. Logan lands on something invisible, and hovers there still unconscious. Gen. Fitz’ FSB griffin golem suddenly shimmers into view, enlarged with an extra large bench saddle cockpit in it’s back, like a flying griffin themed magic sleigh, holding Logan on the floor of the cockpit.
Gen. Fitz:
Get in!… No more talk!…
Gen. Fitz knocks Reyna and Robin into the saddle cockpit of the griffin, then shifts his plasma pistol to his other hand, and draws his sword quickly, before Electra and Matt Murdock shimmer into view behind them. Gen. Fitz opens fire repeatedly with his plasma pistol at Mr. Murdock, and Murdock dodges and rebounds away down a hallway out of sight. Gen. Fitz engages Electra with his sword and paries with her for a bit, before winning some space from her and jumping out into the cockpit of his waiting griffin, and beginning to pull away from the building. Electra moves to the the broken window to leap after them before they get away. Then Daisy Johnson shimmers into view across from the opening, hovering on what looks like a matte black skateboard without wheels, but with sparkly silver orbs giving off static electric discharge, as it electromagnetically levitates with Daisy standing on top of it. Daisy maneuvers her sais in front of herself, preparing an attack.
Daisy:
Remember me bitch?!?… Surprise!…
Daisy levels both her sais at Electra’s chest, as if aiming gun barrels, and fires off a triangulated and concentrated vibration attack, with both prongs concentrating their attack on Electra’s heart. Electra is thrust back by the force as she screams in pain. Then Mr. Murdock pops his head into the opening without his hood and blind long enough for Daisy to recognize her lawyer.
Daisy:
Matt?!?…
Daisy readies another attack, but this time crosses her sais in front of herself then uncrosses them, unleashing a wide vibrational barrage against the window opening, the side of the building, and anyone down on the street in enemy territory. Mr. Murdock ducks out of sight as the attack hits, and Daisy lifts straight up on her hover board, then angles away in the direction of Gen. Fitz’ griffin, straightening out and flying lengthwise, as if riding a skateboard in the air. Daisy uses her power to amplify her voice, and bellows out to those fighting behind her as she flies away.
Daisy:
We’re in the clear!… Time to go home!…
Elsewhere, the beckoning reaches Cap. Britain and the Warriors Three, actively attacking some nearby part of the perimeter defenses. Cap. Britain flies up suddenly as if on cue then flies downward rapidly, building up speed before he plows through a number of the enemy defenders, giving the Warriors Three enough space to make their getaway on nearby matte black motorcycles, and speed their way towards a meet up back at Emerald City. Daisy follows Gen. Fitz’ griffin all the way back to Emerald City, prize rescue target safely on board, plus bonus brother.
The Wolf King escorted hover quad convoy arrives at what’s left of Cal Tech after it’s magic makeover. The university has been turned into a sacked and mostly abandoned monastery keep, with only the FSB labs on campus remaining unaffected, and the ruins shape shifted all around them. The Wolf King lands first to secure the landing site for the others, with it’s previous occupants having abandoned their labs in a haste to regroup, now to be reclaimed for new purpose. Dr. Jane Foster and Dr. Eric Selvig find their labs unaffected, but in need of re-tasking. Gabriel finds his own lab in similar condition and need.
Wolf King:
Wow… It’s not as bad as I imagined… We could easily refortify this… and re-task a lot of it… I can’t believe that you have the whole campus to yourselves… Sacked monasteries may be depressing… But they make for very convenient enchanted backstory at the moment… Dr. Foster… we need to talk about Princess Frigga… and what’s coming here… Believe it or not… some vampires are allies in this fight… and not just Dr. Simmons… But we still can’t trust them around King Odin… or Princess Frigga… not without an escort… And they’re coming here… So I recommend that the princess spend a lot more time with her grand father in Emerald City… and travel here only with an extra security detail… In particular… Helga here…
Helga:
What?… Wait a second… Why do I have to be the imperial babysitter?…
Princess Frigga:
I don’t need a babysitter…
Wolf King:
Stow it Helga!… You are the only one who can keep up with the princess… So you’re drafted… as her bodyguard… and as her flight instructor… and not just for her… and not just from you… We all need training… And the princess needs a body guard now… not just a babysitter…
Princess Frigga:
So I get training too?…
Wolf King:
You bet… We all do… Although not all the same training… or necessarily for the same reasons… In particular flight training… and astronaut training… It’s not related… to this Psycho Fandango… But it’s serves the purposes of the greater war that still awaits us outside of this Psycho Fandango thing… Deciding to train Ned here has made me realize… that he’s not the only one who needs some training for this role… even in support… and this war… is an intergalactic war…
Iron Man:
Agreed… But are you really the man to mount such a program?… Nothing personal… Just asking…
Wolf King:
Besides having considerable conventional flight experience… including in space… even with enemy technology… I have also trained my own children with the help of an astronaut named Will Daniels… Who happens to be alive and well and in here with us… We practically ran our own private family space program back in Niflheim… Although it mostly degenerated into a series of space races… without that much to explore otherwise… because of the peculiar space time anomalies surrounding Niflheim that hindered proper navigation… and with only a single large gas giant in the sky to explore… and no stars to be seen… It just became one big race track to my kids… And Will’s not the only proper astronaut in here with us… Of course Will still needs convincing to reengage… But I’m working on him…
Ned:
Am I going to learn to race?…
Wolf King:
Sure… Why not?… Racing is good training… especially air racing… as well as road racing… And a good distraction from the war to help maintain moral… without wasting time in the process… by forgetting the war entirely…
Iron Man:
If you’re planning on launching a star fleet academy… you’re going to have very few cadets…
Wolf King:
We have to start the process some time… to lay the foundations if nothing else… Very few have escaped the Psycho Fandango’s enchantment… and few can be freed from it without some major intervention… And this thing isn’t likely to end any time soon… Downtime is the death of morale… and readiness… Fighting will come and go… But the need to stay busy and train will remain regardless…
Iron Man:
Agreed Wolf King… But doesn’t the need for medieval combat skills trump the need… for the right stuff?…
Wolf King:
To some extent… But not everyone can do that… The ones that can… and that have been whammied… have the medieval skills already… The ones that haven’t could probably use some practice… which they’re likely to get in here… unavoidably… And most of them have recourse to FSBs… which is most of those who weren’t whammied to begin with… We have to sort through them… and treat everyone who can be treated… and train everyone who can be trained… not just for the current battle… but for the next one… And you could just as easily add magic to the list for those who can manage it… there seem to be an awful lot of acolytes of Avalon in here… including one of my own wives… something I’m going have to ask her more about now…
Monk Eric:
Oh my dear!… We have to check on Darcy!… at the convent!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Darcy’s!?!… in a convent?!?…
Monk Eric:
Yes… That is how I remember her in my enchanted memories… She’s the head of the convent!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
The head of the convent?… I can’t even picture her as a nun… let alone the head of a convent…
Monk Eric:
I must check on her immediately!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Okay… But I’m sure she’s fine… If she’s in a monastery… Even if her head is whammied… she’s in a safe place…
Monk Eric:
You don’t understand!… She’s carrying my child!… for real!… Or at least she was… before this enchantment…
Dr. Jane Foster:
She’s carrying your child!?!… and she was before?… When did all this happen?…
Monk Eric:
She was hanging out with us a lot… even after she stopped interning with us… having moved on to her diplomatic career… And I began tutoring her at her request… to help her with some of the technical information she was dealing with as part of the diplomatic team dealing with the implementation of the Sechovia Accords… She didn’t really seem to need tutoring so much as familiar companionship… and lots of alcohol… If I didn’t know any better… I would think that she seduced me… She could certainly do better than me without trying too hard… But she only just let me know that we had conceived!… She dropped the news on me casually to explain why she wasn’t drinking all of a sudden…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Holy crap!… That was weird for her… She told me that she was cleansing!…
Wolf King:
Okay… We’ll take care of that… And we’ll look into this convent as well… There are bound to be lots of refugees here… And we’ll need a place for them… This convent just might be the thing we need for that… depending on it’s condition… Where exactly is this convent?… I wasn’t aware of any convent in Los Angeles before… Given the nature of what happened to Cal Tech here… it’s probably some other school campus…
Monk Eric:
I can’t be sure given the shape shifting of some of the normal landmarks… But I think it’s UCLA…
Wolf King:
That’s a big campus… We could totally use that… And we could use some new maps!… The layout of the roads hasn’t been changed that much thankfully… But all the freeways highways… and expressways… seem to have been shape shifted into some elaborate system of ancient Roman style aqueducts… actively bringing in and distributing water from somewhere… fortunately for us… Or the refugee situation would start to get real bad… real fast… if we had to rely on primitive medieval plumbing… digging wells and carrying buckets of river water basically… People die of thirst way quicker than they die from starvation…
Iron Man:
We should perform our own comprehensive survey… ASAP… for the new maps…
Wolf King:
We could also use our own navigation system… It’s bound to be a bit wonky I’m guessing… given all that… space time curvature stuff that’s being partially confused by the Psycho Fandango… a lot like Niflheim…
Ned:
Are you suggesting an FSB GPS?…
Wolf King:
Yes… But we’re not calling it that… That’s a bit of a mouthful… Let’s just call it Black Box Navigation for now…
Ned:
A BBN system?…
Wolf King:
Sure…
Iron Man:
We could set up something like that… We would need multiple locations… for triangulation purposes… Here… Emerald City… Stark Industries… The Johnson Building… This convent hypothetically…
Helga:
The observatory?… wherever that is…
Iron Man:
Yes actually… If it’s still there… We’ll need at least one location for the BBN system to be above the plane of the others ideally… for better resolution on depth perception… And that would also help us with our mapping mission… when it comes to all that space time curvature stuff you mentioned…
Wolf King:
But first things first… Helga… Pretty soon… some vampire friends of ours are going to arrive… So it’s time for you to give Princess Frigga here her first flight lesson back to Emerald City… with Romulus and Remus as escort… She can get to know her grandfather and her uncle Loki better that way… Now…
Helga:
Okay dad…
Romulus/Remus:
Yeah… You got it dad…
Princess Frigga:
I don’t want to go!… I want to stay with mommy and see the vampires!…
Wolf King:
Now look here little girl… Go with my daughter Helga here… or no flight lessons of any kind for you… princess or no princess…
Princess Frigga:
I already know how to fly!…
Wolf King:
Yeah… But My daughter Helga is still faster… And she can fly space ships!… Don’t you want to learn to fly spaceships?… don’t you?… I bet your mom wants to learn to fly space ships…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Hell yeah I do!… It’s a bucket list item for sure!…
Princess Frigga:
Well okay…
Princess Frigga launches herself up into the air on a sudden lightening bolt, leaving everyone behind.
Helga:
Wait!… Dammit kid!…
Romulus:
Crap!… We gotta go!…
Remus:
Let’s go!…
Helga launches herself after the princess, riding on a lighting bolt from her own Vajra Thunderbolt, a Romulus and Remus rush to jump on their hover quads, and chase after the lightening riders.
Wolf King:
Gabriel can get started on the preparations here with Mr. Stark… But your coming with me Ned… You’re still my wing man until further notice… or until temporarily relieved…
Ned:
Yes sir… But wasn’t I supposed to be working here?…
Wolf King:
Yes… But now you’re coming with me to check out this convent… and get started setting up that BBN system there… which is just an extension of the work here…
Iron Man:
Agreed… I’ll get started on that here… And I’ll send you specs as I go Ned… We should get that set up first and use that as a frame of reference for the mapping of the space time curvature… of whatever this city is now… Because it sure as hell aint LA…
Monk Selvig:
Liber Avalon… In my enchanted backstory… it was called Liber Avalon… It was supposedly founded by Queen Morgana… some time after she abdicated the throne of Avalon proper… according to the fairy tale… But I haven’t had a chance to ask her about that…
Iron Man:
From LA… to LA… That’s convenient… The city won’t even have to change it’s monogrammed cuff links… Am I really the Iron King?… of this Liber Avalon?…
Monk Selvig:
Not exactly… Liber Avalon had fallen… in the fairy tale… after it was sacked and conquered… Then the Iron King moved in to expel the conquerors… and take over the city… Then he defended it against it being retaken by the enemy… under the crest of an alliance… bearing the eagle crest of Liber Avalon… which just happens to match the Shield logo…
Iron Man:
Convenient for Shield…
Monk Selvig:
In the fairy tale… the sacking of the city was attributed… to the machinations of someone named Lady Gallio…
Wolf King:
A long time alias of the Black Queen…
Iron Man:
And so we have our cast of characters… for our medieval melodrama…
Wolf King:
When the others get here… I’ll pull their escort for our trip to the UCLA convent… Along with Ned… as well as Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig… We should probably contact Queen Morgana… and have her meet us there… to smooth things over with the enchanted locals… and possibly help treat this Darcy person… if necessary… You should also contact Dr. Pym and Dr. Van Dyne… put them to work at Emerald City… setting up there… with whatever you may come up with here… King T’Challa and Shuri are still at the Johnson Building… We can ask them to get to do the same there…
Black Smith:
We should also scout that observatory… if not make a few more… as sub stations if nothing else… repeaters and what not… as many as are practical… for better resolution… and depth of detail…
Iron Man:
Agreed…
The Hellions escort pulls in to the courtyard of the sacked monastery, coming through a gap in the outer wall, left over from the fictional sacking from the fairy tale back story. The Hellions pull up to their dad, to deliver their charges and report for further orders.
Spartan:
So this… is supposed to be Cal Tech?…
Wolf King:
What’s left of it… which is depressingly convenient at the moment… It’s virtually a blank slate… for whatever we need… And we’ll need a lot… and not just here… So… Lilith… your majesty… I hope you find the accommodations to your liking… Because this is all we have for you… Emerald City is off limits to vampires… except for Dr. Simmons… You’re not prisoners here… You don’t have to stay here at all… But if you don’t want to be on your own when dealing with your old friends… you’ll except our hospitality… and get used to it… You might as well settle in and pick out new drapes for the place… Do we understand each other?… your majesty?…
Lilith:
Yes… We do… Your majesty… This will more than suffice… But I am no majesty!… certainly not anymore… You needn’t be so formal with me…
Wolf King:
Sorry your majesty… But I kind of like saying it… I’m not so comfortable hearing it used with me either… now that people have started doing that… But I suspect some of them are doing that on purpose… Mistress Lilith…
Lilith:
That is more than fine Mr. Ward… I do believe that we understand each other completely…
Iron Man:
For the record… I have absolutely no problem being addressed as… your majesty… and not just when I’m naked…
Lilith:
Whatever you say Mr. Stark… Whatever you say…
Ruby:
And who might you be?… dark and handsome?…
Black Smith:
You mean me?… I’m Gabriel Reyes… and I’m spoken for… possibly even disputed over as it is already… and I have enough trouble… without adding another vampire to the list…
Ruby:
Another vampire?… Anyone I might know on the list already?…
Black Smith:
Doubtful… Let’s just say that I have complicated friends… that are none of your concern…
Ruby:
Ouch… Harsh much?… Maybe you need a better list of complicated friends… if you’re so sensitive about it…
Loco:
Does she hit on everybody?…
Spartan:
Not you…
Ruby:
I’m just a liberated vampire… trying to make the most of what’s left… of an undead life… If you have a problem with that… that’s your problem…
Lilith:
Enough Ruby… We have curtains to pick out… Werner… Let’s go ahead and explore this place… You can help pick out a place for Dr. Simmons’ new lab…
Black Smith:
Shouldn’t you all be perishing or something?… Or at least in pain?… This is technically holy ground after all…
Lilith:
Only properly consecrated ground has that power… by whatever tradition or faith has at least the veracity to be worthy of consideration as such… And this monastery seems to have been sacked… and most likely… deliberately desecrated as such… This place would have to be reconsecrated… in order to have that effect… And that requires genuine faith in order to perform… Any such consecration… will only be as strong as the faith of the person performing it…
Black Smith:
Duly noted… Good to know…
Monk Selvig:
Definitely… Thanks for the pro tip…
Lilith:
My pleasure… believe it or not…
The Hellions convert their motorcycle to hover quads, then follow along with their dad and Ned, as they escort Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig to the UCLA convent. Gabriel and Stark get to work setting up the corner stone of the new BBN system. And the vampires pick out curtains, among other things.
Helga beats Frigga back to Emerald City, where Helga touches down on a electromagnetic cushion of plasma first, quickly followed by Princess Frigga doing the same, with Romulus and Remus following closely behind on unlimited racing configuration hover quads, desperately trying to keep up.
Princess Frigga:
Helga!… How are you so fast with the lightening?… are you a goddess of thunder too?…
Helga:
Technically… neither of us are kid… But I do have a power prism that you don’t have… as well as several years of experience racing and flying with it… You may be Thor’s daughter… But you’ve still got a lot to learn about flying and racing princess…
Princess Frigga:
Can I get a power prism too?…
Helga:
That’s something that you’ll have to talk to your mother about kid… If you don’t have it already… odds are… you’re not suppose to… But dad says you’re supposed to be trained up with proper flight training… even for space flight… not just for flying off on your own and making everyone else chase after you… You keep losing your escort princess!… Not cool!… Keep that up… and no space flight for you!… Fortunately for you… we already have training facilities here in Emerald City… the same ones that helped train me…
Karnilla Ward:
Can I train too?… I’m too good at hide and seek… and I’m effectively the new girl… even though I’m the oldest… So I think they ditched me…
Little Karnilla Ward shimmers into view next to Princess Frigga.
Helga:
Probably… But that’s their loss… my gain… I mean our gain… Princess Frigga here is Thor’s daughter… And she needs a wing man… for flight training…
Princess Frigga:
Does she ride the lightening too?…
Helga:
No… But that’s not the only kind of flight training we’ll be doing… but also astronaut training… And we have all the flight simulators for that here in Emerald City… How would you two girls like to try them out?…
Frigga/Karny:
Cool!…
Princess Frigga:
But how are you the oldest… when she’s older?…
Karnilla Ward:
She’s compressed…
Princess Frigga:
She’s what?… You’re the shorter one… Don’t you mean… that you’re compressed?…
Karnilla Ward:
They were all effectively born yesterday… But they were born and raised in Niflheim… where time passes much quicker…
Princess Frigga:
So you mean time compression… I thought you might be suffering from some sort high gravity damage… So you’re the heir to the Wolf King?…
Helga:
That’s right… She’s first born and everything…
Karnilla Ward:
Grandma Queen Karnilla is teaching me magic!… She says that I have a talent for it!… Do you know any magic?…
Princess Frigga:
No… But I know science!… I know space science!…
Karnilla Ward:
Cool… The math and everything?…
Princess Frigga:
Especially the math!… I know the math better than anything!… I love the math so much that sometimes I forget to apply it… Math is beautiful… But so is space… And daddy’s from space… He’s traveling through space right now… coming here!…
Karnilla Ward:
I heard…
Helga:
The cosmos are lovely… dark… and deep… But I have promises to keep… and light years to go before I sleep…
Karnilla Ward:
You stole that…
Helga:
Shush…
Romulus and Remus finally catch up with Helga and Frigga, just as Reyna and Gen. Fitz bring home Robin and Logan, while Daisy and Cap. Britain arrive along with them.
Romulus/Remus:
Robin!…
Romulus:
Robin!… You’re back!…
Remus:
We didn’t even know they were planning a rescue!…
Daisy:
At ease lost boys!… You were too close to it… And you were busy… And this whole thing was improvised by Reyna anyway… She had a vision of an opportunity… Be grateful and get over it… But who’s the other one?…
Robin:
He… is Logan Creed… He… is the son of the Black Queen Selene… And He… is now the father of my child…
Daisy:
What!?!…
Romulus/Remus:
Robin?…
Robin:
I remember everything now… The Black Queen had her son Logan under her thrall… And I was blindly naive… her willing and dedicated servant… She made him ravage me… repeatedly… while she watched to make sure… Eventually… Logan broke free of her control… And we we’re going to make our own escape… Then you lot showed up… But not before Logan and I consummated enough to conceive a child… a daughter… I’ve already seen her face… and her claws… What Logan’s mother did to him and me was unforgivable… But that is not Logan’s crime… And I have been blessed by a child for it… and with the clarity to see through the Black Queen’s lies!… I remember her killing my mother now… while she made me watch… then made me call her mother!… So I will not tolerate any ill feelings or behavior towards Logan on behalf of what his mother has done… not by anyone… You’re the only mother I have left now Daisy…
Robin walks over to Daisy and puts her arms around her for a hug, as Daisy begins to cry, and the earth begins to shake slightly beneath their feet. Robin and Daisy unclench, and Robin turns to Romulus and Remus.
Robin:
You two… You two come with me… now…
Romulus:
Uh… What for?…
Remus:
Are you okay?…
Robin:
I will be… Now… No questions… I’m in charge now… You two are coming with me… now!…
Romulus/Remus:
Uh… Okay…
Daisy and Helga exchange confused looks of resignation, as Robin takes command of her boy toys. In spite of Robin’s wishes, Daisy and Helga begin to interrogate Logan. B & T fly escort close in for Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig, as the Wolf King and Ned take the lead, and Spartan and Loco take up a wide flank, all closing in on the UCLA convent. They find the place surrounded by refugees already, with numerous refugees being tended to within the walls by numerous nuns, and numerous Shield crest wearing medieval guards standing watch over all of them.
Wolf King:
Well… We found the refugees I was looking for!… Now if we can only find a place to land… Spartan!… Loco!… You go first… You’re with me Ned… You two hang back and stay together till we clear the landing site… Let’s try not to traumatize the locals unnecessarily…
Spartan and Loco gently but forcefully claim a clearing of space within the courtyard of the UCLA convent, followed close behind by the Wolf King himself and Ned, then closely by the remaining few, impatient to hit the ground. Dr. Selvig hits the ground running, throwing the Wolf King’s caution to the wind, but seemingly knowing where he was going.
Wolf King:
Dr. Selvig!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Eric!…
Wolf King:
Alright!… Leave the quads!… Follow the mad monk!… He seems to know where he’s going at least…
The group chases after monk Selvig until they reach a set of large double doors, with a set of eagle encrusted guards on either side of the doors. The guards seem to recognize Selvig, and open the doors to let him in, along with those with him. Inside they find Darcy, a curvy brown haired woman, wearing a blanket draped over her shoulders and covering her cloths, sitting upon a throne surrounded by nuns in attendance, in front of a large crucifix on the wall of the chamber, with a small door leading to an another chamber behind them.
Darcy:
Eric!… Jane!… You’re here!… Wherever here is!… Do you know where here is?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
This is still Los Angeles… as far as we can tell… Do you remember who you are?… who we are?… Because not everyone does in here anymore…
Monk Eric:
Is… everything… okay?… Darcy?… What do you remember?…
Darcy:
I remember getting ready for our little party… then whammo… I woke up here… and there’s more…
Darcy drops the blanket from over her shoulders, revealing a short skimpy black dress that just barely covers her front and her hips, and wraps around the back of her neck, leaving her back bare, before two angel wings materialize, and grow out of her back till they assume they’re full wing span.
Nun:
Mistress Darcy please!… Why must you expose yourself so all of a sudden?…
Darcy:
Stow it sister Maria!…
Nun:
Sister Piper…
Darcy:
Sister Piper… formerly Agent Piper if she could remember it… She was one of the private security hired for the diplomatic team… after she was purged from Shield with a lot of other people… I remember everything… but how I got here… Did I take something way to strong at that last party?… I’m not supposed to be taking anything… I’m… cleansing…
Dr. Jane Foster:
You mean you’re pregnant…
Darcy:
Eric!… You told them?… I was gonna tell you myself… But at this point… I don’t even know whether or not I’m still human… let alone still pregnant…
Dr. Jane Foster:
What are you wearing?…
Darcy:
I was getting ready to go over to Eric’s… for a little private party… among other things… Then this all hit… Are a lot of people really whammied that hard?… Like these people?… Other than wings… I’m still the same… I’m down one brand new leather jacket though!… The moment I woke up… my wings tore right through the back of it!… Leather!… Now I have nothing else to wear… I’m not even a Christian!… I do Yoga… I meditate… when I’m not drunk or working… Occasionally I crack open a wine bottle and read the Tibetan Book of the Dead for a while before passing out… Oh… This is your fantasy… isn’t it?… Mr. Born Again…
Monk Eric:
That wasn’t necessarily how I always pictured you in my fantasies…
Dr. Jane Foster:
We don’t need to to know…
Darcy:
The school girl outfit… That’s one of our other favorites…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Again… TMI… Are you sure that your head hasn’t been whammied?… Not even a little… In general… if you’ve been whammied… your cloths memories and weapons… if not your physical species and anatomy… are magically altered somehow to fit some enchanted template… But your memories are intact… and your cloths at least are also untouched… for better or for worse… For better or for worse… you don’t seem whammied… Maybe you really are an angel… Sgt. Barnes might actually be a wolfkin… without ever having known it… Are you sure you don’t have some secret ancestry?… that might explain it?… I don’t mean to pry… but you did say that you were an orphan…
Darcy:
Abandoned… No trace… Which means that it’s basically a dead end… and not worth talking about… right?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
If you say so… But we don’t know anything about angels… We can’t just assume that they’re not real… like we used to do with the ancient gods…
Darcy:
Well… I’m no angel… no matter what my wings say… There’s more by the way… Since they venerate me as an angel… they treat me like I’m mother superior or whatever… They showed me their most guarded treasure… and you not going to believe it… But I suppose that’s redundant at this point…
Darcy leads them through a door in the back wall to a chamber behind the throne room. In the rear chamber, they find a straight double edged sword, with Celtic runes on it’s blade, embedded in a stone, as Ned stops breathing momentarily.
Wolf King:
Breath Ned… Breath!…
Ned:
Yes sir!…
Wolf King:
Alright Ned… Colonize this whole convent… We need the place… and we need to convert it… We have no way of knowing whether this thing is real or not… But even if it’s just a glorified token in some glorified video game… we may need to play our way through that stupid video game… just to get out of it… So we have to own it… and we have to control it… Now Ned… Do you have Stark’s specs?…
Ned:
Yes… I got this…
Ned sends numerous white sparkles flying as they go about colonizing and converting the convent physically to serve as part of their BBN system, among other things.
Wolf King:
The refugee problem is already bad… and it’s going to get worse… We can ramp up food production in Emerald City… But we can’t supply all of LA… Ned… I’ll send you the specs of what we use in Emerald City… We use fairly basic and resilient systems of aquaponics there… hydroponics combined with fish farming… very efficient… But we’ll need to scale up… and expand… wherever possible… starting here and now… We can integrate and take advantage of the aqueducts… since we have those now… Ned…
Ned:
You got it boss…
Light shimmers about them in the chamber as Morgana uses their position to home in on them and join them in the rear chamber, along with Lady Sif and other the acolytes of Avalon. Morgana drops to her knees at the sight of the sword in the stone.
Morgana:
Arthur!?!… Are you here too?… after all this time?… Is this some foul trick of the witch?!?… I’ll have her skin made into shoes for this!…
Wolf King:
Now Morgana… We’ve only just gotten here ourselves… But this might just be some video game thing… Everyone knows that story… right?…
Morgana:
Not bloody likely… not enough to get these details right… even the convent where I kept it for a time… before it disappeared forever… stolen by Lady Gallio… after she had arranged for the sacking of Liber Avalon to begin with… I was holding on to it… for my brother… hoping that he would return… But I gave up on that when I lost his sword… along with forever turning my back on the poison of politics…
Wolf King:
Wait… Your brother?… As in… the… King Arthur Pendragon?… He can actually come back?… I have to say… I think everyone could use that kind of good news right now…
Morgana:
It’s not so simple as that… But we would need that sword in the stone to do so at a minimum… provided that it’s the real one… And being intimately familiar with the matter… I can confirm that that… is the real bloody deal!… I don’t know how or why… But it’s real… and it’s really here…
Wolf King:
Breath Ned…
Ned:
Yes sir!…
Lady Sif walks over to the sword in the stone, sensing an opportunity, and gives it a strong two handed Asgardian yank, with no success.
Spartan:
Mom!… That’s like… unprofessional… or something… right?…
Wolf King:
That’s how it’s supposed to work… according to the stories… right?… Morgana?… If you care to object…
Morgana:
No… Everyone should try… You too… your majesty…
Wolf King:
Me?… I don’t think that I can even trust myself with the attempt…
Morgana:
Worried that it might fail?…
Wolf King:
Worried that it might succeed!… I don’t trust some enchantment to get that right… to judge whose worthy… With my luck it might be on the fritz… and Britain could get stuck with me as king!…
Morgana:
I assure you your majesty… It just doesn’t work that way… You shouldn’t believe every story you hear… just because it’s old… And I insist…
Wolf King:
Alright… But if England is doomed… it’s all your fault…
The Wolf King struts about self mockingly, as he makes his way over to the stone to try. He grabs a hold of the handle of the sword, and pulls with one hand at first, then gives it a more serious effort with both hands, as he glances at his wife Lady Sif, seeking her satisfaction with the effort before quitting.
Lady Sif:
Okay Ward… I’m satisfied… Grant…
Spartan:
Okay mom… I’m going… Come on Loco… BT…
Wolf King:
Go ahead and give it a shot Ned… You know you want to…
Spartan and the various biker hooligans and acolytes of Avalon take their turns and each give their best efforts at being the next king of England, as does Ned and monk Eric. Dr. Jane Foster goes next, and fails.
Dr. Jane Foster:
So… I’m not worthy of the power of King Arthur?…
Morgana:
That is not what that’s about… Excalibur is the embodiment of my brother Arthur’s essence… and his power… Pulling the sword means that you are… Arthur… That is always what it meant… Because Arthur became lost… and needed to be found… or had to be lost… in order to be found… hidden… in order to be safe… among the mortals of Midgard…
Darcy:
So it’s like reincarnation then?… Not passing judgment or anything?… No obligation to run England or whatever?…
Morgana:
None what so ever…
Darcy:
Cool… I got enough to unwind as it is…
Darcy casually goes over to the sword in the stone, and simply yanks it out with one swift effortless hand, as the stone sheath of Excalibur shimmers away to nothing.
Darcy:
Holy shit!… Does this mean that I get to rule England?… I mean… I know that you said that there was no obligation… But is there an opt in?… I mean… at a minimum… I weald the power of Gray Skull now or whatever… right?…
Morgana:
What that means… is that you are the reincarnation of my brother Arthur… But I don’t think that you have fully realized that yet yourself… or you wouldn’t be able to ask that question… or even speak… You might want to lie down lassie…
Darcy:
Oh… Holy… Camelot… I think… you’re right…
Darcy passes out as she lies down on the floor just in time to avoid dropping hard in her condition, as Excalibur disappears from her hand, then her skin turns light blue, and a slit for a closed third eye forms in the middle of her forehead.
Monk Eric:
Darcy!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Darcy!…
The third eye in Darcy’s forehead begins to open and glow yellow, followed by her regular eyes opening and likewise glowing yellow. Darcy picks her head up off the floor as if startled by an intruder, and begins to speak with an english accent.
Darcy:
Who’s there?!?… What strange hell is this?!?… What am I seeing?!?… What foul enchantment is this?!?… Confuse my senses all you wish!… But you will not confuse my blade!…
Darcy gets up off the floor and hovers instinctively, while summoning forth Excalibur right back into her waiting right hand.
Wolf King:
Woh there!… We come in peace!… You’re among friends here… Do you remember who you are?… who your friends are?…
Darcy:
My memories… seem… confused… jumbled… I am Queen Boudica… of Britannia… But I also seem to remember… other lives… a king… named Arthur… and a knight… named Lancelot… and some woman… named Darcy…
Monk Eric:
You… are Darcy… That is your real name… the name of this life… the name of the mother of my child… Whatever other memories you may have… that is who you really are now…
Queen B:
I believe… that I understand… Eric… And I do believe that I remember you… and our time together… Perhaps if you were to come closer… so that my confused sight may have a better chance of recognizing some part of you…
Dr. Jane Foster:
What do you see?…
Queen B:
Everything it seems… everything and nothing… I see plenty… and none of it makes sense… It’s all jumbled together… I just can’t tell what I’m seeing… or if what I’m seeing is even real… But do not take my relative handicap for helplessness… I assure you… I have much experience navigating the fog of war… the smoke of battle… and it’s confusion of the senses…
Monk Eric:
No one wishes to trick you here… You are among friends here…
Queen B:
Come within reach of my sword and say that… supposed father of my child… Come and let me get a closer look at you with my confused eyes…
Eric begins to walk over to Queen Boudica, as she lowers herself to the ground. As he gets within range, Excalibur begin to emit white flames, then Queen Boudica places it’s white flaming blade against Eric’s neck. The white flames dance up the side of Eric’s face harmlessly for a moment, then Excalibur disappears. Queen Boudica then grabs Eric’s head with both hands and kisses him on the lips.
Queen B:
That will do nicely baby dady… very nicely… That is correct… is it not?… Baby daddy?… That is what Darcy calls you… among other things… Master Eric?…
Master Eric:
Yes… That’s me… I’m your baby daddy…
Queen B:
Good… Up close like this I can almost recognize you… Perhaps we should retire to more private surroundings… so that you can remind me more thoroughly… and vigorously… Take me home…
Master Eric:
Uh… Sure… Where is home?… exactly?…
Queen B:
Wherever you’re sleeping baby daddy… Where ever you are sleeping…
Wolf King:
Sounds like an excellent idea…
Lady Sif:
Ward!…
Wolf King:
I mean it… Ned’s process is underway… and this place just isn’t secure… not yet… My kids should escort you guys back to your labs… and take Queen Boudica with you… Ned and I have to go check out this… observatory… I didn’t even know LA had an observatory… What can they even see?… with all the light pollution?…
Ned:
Not much anymore… now it’s more educational… a famous landmark with a view… of LA… the Griffith Observatory…
Queen B:
I don’t care where as long as it’s your bed lover… Take me home…
Wolf King:
You heard the queen… Morgana… Your authority here… even a pseudo authority… will be indispensable for places like this… and there are bound to be more of them… And your acolytes will be indispensable… as they already have been… you may wish to try an treat as many here as you can… for recruitment if nothing else… For now… throw your weight around with the locals here… and treat whoever can treated before heading to Cal Tech… Ned and I will head to this observatory…
Morgana:
As you wish your majesty… as you wish…
Sister Piper:
Mistress Darcy… or whoever you claim to be now… if you must leave… you needn’t go about the world partly naked… You could at least cover up a little… We fixed your jacket somewhat… modifying it… for your dignity… as well as to cover your back…
The Sister Piper waves over another group of nuns, who reveal Darcy’s leather jacket, a knee length leather overcoat, modified with a short black cape, fastened to the collar and shoulder lapels, hanging down the back from the shoulders, and covering the hole in the back, with the edges of the hole now fastened with black trim. Queen Boudica puts her wings away, and wraps the the jacket around her shoulders, then summons forth her wings again, sending then shooting out through the hole in her jacket, with her small cape draped over the top of her wings coming out of her shoulder blades.
Queen B:
This… will do nicely… My compliments and gratitude to your expert seamstresses… You’re mother superior now Sister Piper… I leave things here to you…
Master Eric:
You can ride with me your majesty…
Queen B:
Clearly… and for longer than Darcy would like to admit… We have much to discuss… acolyte of Avalon… much to discuss… like this for example…
Queen Boudica pulls out something from her breasts, and hands a pair of small rings to Master Eric.
Queen B:
Darcy was going to… pop the question… as they say… She prepared some elaborate speech about how she was wrong about keeping things casual… But frankly… you’re better off without it… And it’s a lie… She wanted a baby… And you were simply a charming and brilliant option for her… at first… But hearts are never so well behaved as to conform to a plan… any plan… War allows for little to no time off for personal issues… like weddings… or even engagements… And we are already with child Master Eric… Take Darcy’s ring… and put mine on my hand… And I will consider us wed before god… By my decree as queen of Britannia…
Master Eric:
You certainly have a way of cutting to the chase… your majesty…
Master Eric puts his ring on then slides the other one on the queen’s blue finger.
Master Eric:
I was never really interested in casual… not really… I just didn’t think she wanted anything else…
Ned:
Not to question the happy moment… but is that legit?…
Morgana:
Legit enough in the eyes of god… before witnesses and family… and on consecrated ground no less… That’s more than legit enough in the eyes of Avalon normally… when the poison of politics isn’t actively getting in the way… And as far as Midgard is concerned… you could always just go to Vegas later for that…
Wolf King:
Our marriage ceremonies were little more than that… but with fewer witnesses… on captured ground… not consecrated… definitely not Vegas…
The Hellion escort gets underway for the angel and company to Cal Tech monastery. Morgana, Lady Sif, and the rest of the acolytes of Avalon set to work treating those who can be treated, with Lady Sif organizing and preparing the guard. Ned and the Wolf King head for the Griffith Observatory on their hover quads.
Ned:
Any idea what we’ll find there boss?… One ring to rule them all perhaps?…
Wolf King:
Don’t even joke Ned… The way things are going… it could happen… In fact… we may need back up just to find out safely…
Ned:
Back up?… for an observatory?…
Wolf King:
We don’t even know if it’s still an observatory… let alone who might be there…
Ned:
Gabe’s local… He might know the observatory…
Wolf King:
Let him know… Get him to meet us there… if you can pry him away from my daughter… or some other dangerous woman… With all due respect to my daughter… that dude definitely has a type… and it’s not healthy…
Ned:
A real Mr. Monster Magnet… with all due respect…
Speeding towards the Griffith Observatory, riding on a lighting bolt with Karnilla Ward riding on her back, Princess Frigga closes in on the hilltop.
Karnilla Ward:
Are you sure this is okay?… This is a war zone after all…
Princes Frigga:
Of course it’s okay… It’s just an observatory… Mommy says it’s the best view in Los Angeles… We go there all the time…
Karnilla Ward:
I don’t know… It might not still be there… a lot of things are different now…
Princess Frigga:
Come on… We’re princesses of power!… If anything nasty gets in our way… we’ll destroy it!…
Karnilla Ward:
If you say so your heinous… Helga’s going to be mad…
Princess Frigga:
Your not so little sister can catch us if she can… And she ditched us!… to deal with your brother’s melodrama… with that Robin girl…
Karnilla Ward:
K I S S I N G…
The two power princesses chuckle at Karny Girl’s taunt, as they speed towards the Griffith Observatory, unaware that someone else has beaten them to it, or that someone else is actively following them to it. On a winged horse out of Emerald City, the former Shield agent Bobby Morse the Valkyrie, and her monk boyfriend, also former Shield agent Lance Hunter, follow the errant young royalty at a discrete distance.
Hunter Monk:
Are you sure that we shouldn’t be raising the alarm?… They are but children… But they are royalty…
Morse The V:
They are but royal children… that we can keep an eye on discretely… And our forces are stretched somewhat thin at the moment…
Hunter Monk:
The lightening princess is hardly discrete… And she is too fast for us besides…
Morse The V:
We must do what we can… We can barley maintain sight of them as it is… There was no time for the raising of proper alarm…
The princesses of power land on the observation deck of an observatory that seems to have been converted to a medieval cavalry outpost, observation post, and stables, largely abandoned and neglected, save for the winged horses that are now scattered about and grazing on various surrounding hillsides. The outpost is still fitted with telescopes, but of a more primitive Galilean type, or little better. As they land, they hear a distant howl of some monstrous Grizzly Bear. Princess Karnilla reacts instinctively and shape shifts into her wolfkin form, of the red furred werewolf child.
Princess Frigga:
Wow!… You do that too?… You’re a real life wolf princess!…
Princess Karny:
Sh… We’re not alone… and not just that monster bear thing… I can’t really tell that well… what with all the horse smells… But there’s also a lot of bloodshed nearby… I hear feet shifting… metal scraping… people with weapons… We should leave here… now…
Princess Frigga:
We can’t leave the poor horsies!… We can’t let them be bear food!…
Princess Karny:
We can’t coral them or protect them either…
Princess Frigga:
We can slay the bear!… like Merida!… in the movie!…
Princess Karny:
That’s not how that movie went!…
Princess Frigga:
That was her mistake!… We’ll do better!…
Princess Karny:
Or worse… How do you know that we’re not supposed to save the bear?… like in the movie?…
Young Woman:
Over my dead body!… little witches!…
A teenage Native American girl with long straight black hair tied up in a single long braid, hanging down her back, steps out of the shadows wearing traditional armor of the Valkyrie, with a sword strapped to her side, leveling a bow and arrow at Princess Karnilla’s wolf’s head. A series of stomping metal footsteps are heard coming from behind the Valkyrie, as a large seven foot tall metal golem moves out of the shadows to join her. The metal golem resembles a stainless steel sculpture of a tall bodybuilder, with most of the skin peeled off and the individual strands of muscle fiber transformed into metal bands and strips, shaped and molded into an anatomically correct living metal model of human muscle, barefoot, and wearing nothing but a set of monk’s robes. The steel golem begins to speak with a Russian accent.
Steel Golem:
They are but children Danielle… Surely we are not stooping to the fighting of children… Are the times we live in truly so evil?…
Danielle The V:
Yes Piotr!… And we are on the hunt for it!… And the nature of what we hunt… is enchantment!… Illusion and deception is to be expected… Evil loves to wear a mask of innocence…
Princess Karny:
My name is Karnilla… But most people just call me Karny Girl… This is Frigga… What exactly do you have against this bear?… Valkyrie?… You are Valkyrie… are you not?… You seem rather impassioned for Valkyrie… Valkyrie are trained not to be…
Danielle the Valkyrie relaxes slightly, and lowers her weapon as they talk.
Danielle The V:
Yes… I am Valkyrie… But my parents have been taken from me… By that demonic bear… The bear has powerful magic… magic that hides it from us… even from the Valkyrie… My insight has been compromised by emotion… as you have noted… That bear… is a phantasm of fear… made of a transient ephemeral flesh… But with claws and teeth that will nonetheless rend flesh and bone… It disappears at will… fading in and out of shadow and smoke… It preys upon the winged horses of the Valkyrie… for something… that can never seem to satisfy it… My parents were caretakers of the winged horses… They got in the way… and disappeared without a trace…
Princess Karny:
And you witnessed this?…
Danielle The V:
Do you doubt me child?…
Princess Karny:
Not so much doubting… as seeking clarification…
Danielle The V:
It happened while I was away with the Valkyrie… All that was left… were the claw marks in blood… and the carnage that was left of some of the horses… My parents bodies were no where to be found…
Steel Piotr:
I was away tracking down an errant fold… The horses have been scattered ever since… If it weren’t for that… the entire herd could have been lost with them… This cowardly bear seems to know to avoid me… Or I would have already had my revenge…
Danielle The V:
As it is… the horses that remain keep the beast close… But we have no means to hunt it properly… If you are not witches… then you do not belong here… This is no place for children…
Princess Frigga:
We’re no ordinary children!… We’re royal children!…
Princess Karnilla shifts back to her human appearance as she face palms.
Danielle The V:
Royal children?… Don’t royal children normally come with escorts and bodyguards?…
Princess Karny:
See?… I told you…
Princess Frigga:
We are princesses of power!… We will kill this bear!…
Princess Karny:
We will?…
Princess Frigga:
Yes… Of course we will… As soon as we can find it…
Danielle The V:
Unless you have some witchy way to do that princess… you’re not likely to have any more luck finding that thing than we have… It only shows itself when it attacks… and often only at the moment of attack… And it’s prey is spread out all over the nearby hills…
The Black Smith comes flying in and lands on the observation platform next to the princesses of power.
Black Smith:
Okay… Where’s Helga?… And what are you two doing here?… with or without Helga…
Danielle raises her weapon again and levels it at the Black Smith.
Danielle The V:
Identify yourself sir knight!… Or prepare to meet your end!…
Princess Karny:
Wait!… He’s a friend!… His name is Gabriel… Gabriel Reyes…
Danielle lowers her weapon again.
Danielle The V:
And who is Helga?…
Princess Frigga:
That’s his girlfriend… I watched them make out…
Princess Karny:
Helga is my… bigger sister… who is supposed to be this one’s bodyguard…
Danielle The V:
I suspected as much…
Morse the Valkyrie and the Hunter monk arrive on their winged horse and land next to the group. As they land, their winged horse suddenly gets uncharacteristically unsettled. Morse and Hunter jump off, before the winged horse flies up and away without a rider. The demon bear let’s out a ghostly Grizzly Bear howl, that seems to echo in from everywhere at once, as the winged horse flies away.
Hunter Monk:
What… in all of hell’s perdition… was that?…
Princess Frigga:
We have a demon bear!…
Princess Karny:
Do you have to seem so excited about it?…
Black Smith:
Who the hell turned into a demon bear?… Anyone we know?… Or is this just some random monster?…
Danielle The V:
This monster is not random to me sir knight… to me it is personal… as personal as my parents lives…
The black Smith opens up his armor and steps out to show himself.
Black Smith:
Look… I didn’t mean to make light of your pain… miss…
Danielle The V:
Danielle… I am Danielle… of the Valkyrie…
Black Smith:
I’m just trying to sort through this all… There’s a lot of crazy stuff happening all over the place tonight… Not just here Danielle… And we only just got here…
Ned and the Wolf King arrive in the air above the group, and hover there for a few moments taking in the scene.
Wolf King:
I don’t… even know… where to begin…
The demon bear lets out another seemingly disembodied howl.
Ned:
That sounds like a good place to start… Why don’t we start there?…
Princess Karny:
We have a demon bear daddy!…
Princess Frigga:
Now who sounds excited…
Princess Karny:
Shush!…
The Wolf King and Ned struggle to get caught up, while several hilltops away, the Hollywood sign still stands, but unlit by electric light, and magically reshaped to read ‘HOLYROOD,’ and back lit with the flickering flame of one lone fire, nestled in behind the Y. A lone, cloaked, and hooded figure of a woman stands and leans over a large black cauldron, hung over the flames. She grabs various herbs, spices, and powders, then grinds them up in her hands as she sprinkles them into the pot.
Behind the R, a live winged horse is chained up to the R sign, with the chain around it’s neck. The woman pulls out a dagger and slices the winged horse’s throat, then drains the creature into a cup. She sets the cup of still warm blood down, then proceeds to cut out the creatures still beating heart, and takes the heart and the cup back to her cauldron. She dumps the heart into the cauldron, where it causes steam to billow out from the cauldron, and smother the entire area in the steamy miasma. Then she takes a sip from her cup of horse blood, and holds her own head over the steaming cauldron, as she repeatedly sips from her cup, periodically reeling from the sensations of her ritual, before returning to the steam.
After her cup of blood runs dry, she continues to force herself to inhale the steam for a while longer, until she can no longer tolerate it, and staggers away from the cauldron and the Holyrood sign. She staggers her way out of the steamy miasma, and stumbles to a stop, knees upon the ground, as she struggles to take a deep breath and clear her lungs, and regain what’s left of her senses. She removes her hood to get to catch a breeze on her face, and reveals a middle aged woman with long wavy brown hair, and black blood crying down from her eyes.
Then a third eye slit opens up in her forehead, and begins to stream black blood out of it as well, before suddenly opening wide. She wipes away the streaming black blood from her face, then staggers to her feet, before continuing on unsteadily. The black blood stops flowing from her eyes, and she wipes her face again, as her pace increases and becomes steadier, working her way through the hills towards the observatory.
Witch Woman:
Very well then my love… Now I’m coming for you… Papa bear…
The convoy for the angel Darcy Speeds their way towards the former Cal Tech campus, with Darcy riding behind Dr. Selvig on his hover quad, with her wings retracted for less wind resistance. Suddenly, Darcy is enveloped in a white flaming aura, as her wings fully extend, slowing down Dr. Selvig’s hover quad in mid air, destabilizing it slightly.
Angel Darcy:
Frigga!…
Monk Eric:
Darcy?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Frigga?…
Darcy disappears instantly in a blinding flash of white light.
Monk Eric:
Darcy!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Where’d she go?… And what the hell happened to Frigga?!?…
Back at the observatory, the Wolf King and Ned are still hovering on their hover quads listening to the various stories, tall tales, and tragedies, as he and Ned get caught up to speed.
Wolf King:
Right… giant demon bear… invisible until striking… with the power of fear?… That sounds like every other creature in Niflheim… But a large part of that was the nature of Niflheim itself… I’m not sure what sort of creature would do that by itself… as if they brought Niflheim with them wherever they went… your own personal hell… where you’re the hell… I can relate…
Princess Karny:
Are we saving this one daddy?…
Wolf King:
No way of telling… We’re certainly not pulling our punches regardless… And what do you mean we?… little girl?… This is no hell hound… and neither are the winged horses… These wee beasties won’t be so easy for you with your dagger… We certainly can’t assume that at a minimum…
A thirty foot tall giant bear shimmers into view behind the Wolf King on his hover quad, appearing to be made as much of shadow and smoke, as fur, fangs, and claws. The bear makes a swipe at the Wolf King first, with the Wolf King jumping off right before the bear slashes his hover quad to pieces with his monstrous claws. Then the bear makes a swipe at Ned on his hover quad. But Ned is already maneuvering away when the bear slashes at him, causing him to miss, before Princess Frigga unleashes a massive lightening bolt at the phantom bear, seemingly missing him, as the bear shimmers away again into shadow and smoke.
Princess Frigga:
I got him!…
Wolf King:
Not likely princess… Ned!… Grab some sky and start scanning!… heat sensors… motion sensors… sound and sonar… whatever you have… find me that phantom bear!…
Ned:
You got it boss!…
The blue angel Darcy appears instantly in a flash of bright white light, hovering a few feet above and behind Princess Frigga, wings fully spread, Excalibur already in hand.
Angel Darcy:
Frigga!… You’re okay!…
Darcy lowers herself to the ground behind Princess Frigga and bear hugs her with her left arm, while still holding her sword at the ready with the other.
Princess Frigga:
Of course I’m fine Aunt Darcy… But what happened to you?… Are you okay?… Does that hurt?…
Angel Darcy:
No Frigga… It doesn’t hurt… What are you doing here?…
Princess Frigga:
We’re hunting a demon bear!…
Angel Darcy:
A demon bear?…
Wolf King:
You seem like yourself again… Is Queen Boudica still in there?… Or is it just you now?…
Angel Darcy:
It’s me… My body’s become something of a time share for my past lives… But I’m still me… And this… Princess Frigga… is the… Excalibur… The real one and only… And it’s all mine… Well… me myself and mine… Ours?…
Princess Frigga:
Ooooh… Neato!…
Sensing some danger, Darcy becomes engulfed in white flames again, then pivots around with a white flaming Excalibur. She slashes at a demon bear claw, just as it shimmers into view for the attack, slicing off the giant bear claw, and dropping it bloody to the ground. The giant severed bear claw turns black, and begins to melt and ooze into the ground where it landed, until it fades away completely, like it was never there.
Angel Darcy:
What the literal hell?…
Wolf King:
How did you see that coming?… Is that third eye working that well?…
Angel Darcy:
No… At least not that I can make out… But I am getting used to it… I just felt it… Like I felt that Frigga here was in danger… But I have no idea how I got here… I just wish I could see well enough to read again… I love reading… I can’t live without reading…
As if in response to Darcy’s pleading, all three of her eyes stop glowing, and even the third eye in her forehead changes to her normal eye color.
Darcy:
I can see again!… Amen for literacy!… Wow!… I can read the writing on my sword now… It’s in Celtic runes… But I remember how to read that now… truth… love… justice… They left off the American way… typical English… But they didn’t know…
Wolf King:
Yeah… That’s right… We’ve got the Blue Angel here… along with princess Frigga… But we’ve got a bit of a situation here… some sort of demon bear phantom thing… Don’t know… Could be one of those… But it’s too early to tell… Yeah… You’d better head here too… Ned!… Are you getting anything?…
Ned:
Sort of… But it’s hard to sort… It’s not undetectable… But it seems to come in and out from our existence… like some sort of transient blip… that blips in to do it’s business… then blips out again… It could be some sort of energy projection… coming from somewhere else… But it could even be teleporting… even trans-dimensionally… Either way… it could literally pop in anywhere without warning… and escape without a trace… And there’s a lot of winged horse carnage… spread out all over several hills…
As if on cue to demonstrate, a giant grizzly bear head shimmers into view high in the air above them, looming over Ned on his hover quad, jaws gaping for a bite.
Ned:
Holy crap!…
Wolf King:
Ned!…
Ned jumps off of his hover quad just in time before the giant bear jaws snap and crush his hover quad in mid air, then disappears with the wreckage still in it’s jaws. Ned falls downward and is engulfed in a flurry of white sparkles, materializing a matte black replica set of the Falcon’s winged flying vest around his torso, before he flies over and tries to land down on the observation deck next to the others. Ned comes in a little too hot and careless, and tumbles a bit on the landing.
Wolf King:
Nice save… But you might want to work on that landing… Do you even know how to use those things?…
Ned:
I’ve never flown with them before… I only just got the specs… Mr. Stark insisted… after I fell off my hover quad before…
Wolf King:
Well you might want to practice more if you’re going to rely upon that…
Ned:
Roger that…
Wolf King:
Spartan… Belay that last order… Steer clear of here for now… The air space here is definitely not secure… I repeat… The air space over the observatory is not secure… Make no approach… and send no reinforcements of any kind until further notice…
The demon bear lets loose another disembodied howl, and the sound of panicked horses screaming are heard coming from nearby.
Wolf King:
Alright… That’s enough of that… Everybody inside…
The Wolf King tries to usher inside the occupants of the observation deck, when several more occupants arrive cloaked on hover quads, then shimmer into view as they come in for a landing. Dr. Foster, Dr. Selvig, and their escort all come to a firm landing, then Dr. Foster jumps off her hover quad, and nearly runs over the Wolf King racing over to grab up her daughter, the errant Princess Frigga.
Dr. Jane Foster:
What on earth are you doing here little girl?… Where’s Helga?… Did you ditch her?…
Princess Frigga:
Mommy!… I’m fine!… I’m hunting a demon bear!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
A demon bear?!?… The hell you are!…
Dr. Jane Foster faints and collapses down on to the floor of the observation deck, pulsating with a red and orange glow, indicative of human flesh under the influence of unstable Extremis.
Princess Frigga:
Mama!…
Dr. Selvig:
Jane!…
Wolf King:
What did you bring them here for?… I told you no reinforcements!…
Spartan:
Try telling telling that to distraught parents… I’m lucky that I got them to adopt stealth measures… They seem to work… Or maybe the beast is just busy…
The demon bear lets loose another disembodied howl, accompanied by winged horses shrieking in terror.
Wolf King:
That can wait for now… Help Dr. Selvig with Dr. Foster… and get them inside… everybody inside now… Ned… Start colonizing this whole compound with your FSB… I’ll send you the specs we used to use to shield Emerald City in Niflheim… We have no way of knowing if it will work… But it’s a place to start… And build a high electric fence around this compound while you’re at it… Princess Frigga couldn’t hit it before… But she did seem to drive it away… Again… No guarantees that will work… But that’s what we’re going with for now… Get it done Ned!… Now!…
Ned:
I’m on it boss!…
Black Smith:
Are we going full Forbidden Planet?…
Wolf King:
Consider that plan beta… till we can get to plan A… No more talk!… everybody inside!…
Gabriel grabs his armor and joins the others inside, while Dr. Selvig picks up the unconscious Dr. Jane Foster, and carries her inside with concern. They all make their way inside from the observation deck into the main observation dome, where they find numerous star charts decorating the walls, and an elaborate but primitive looking telescope filling the main dome.
Wolf King:
That thing can pop in and out… one body part at a time if necessary… simply being within a small enclosed space won’t necessarily provide any special protection… But the shielding that we used in Niflheim might at least help us buy some breathing room… Electrify the outside of these walls while you’re at it…
Ned:
You got it boss…
Wolf King:
Now… Ned… Do you have a power prism?…
Ned:
Not here with me… It’s stuck on a previous mission in the Monterey Trench… And I’m already at my limit…
Wolf King:
Never mind that limit… On my orders go ahead an make yourself another one here and now… you can always separate off the other one later… like we did in Emerald City… back in Niflheim… But we can deal with that later… For now… leave the trench for the trench… I need you to be at full power here… So go ahead and make your self another full throttle power prism… and use it to power your wings… and keep them on you at all times… just retract them or shrink them away if necessary when not in use… always on standby at a minimum…
Ned:
Ai Ai Rogue Leader…
Wolf King:
Knock that off… I’m going to send you a set of specs for the Niflheim Protocols… Go ahead and make yourself a flight helmet and rebreather… to go with your wings… that meet or exceed those specs… throw in every scientific observation and general surveillance device that you can manage to cram into it… And I don’t want to hear any back talk about not being a hero… a sidekick is a hero… avowed sidekick!… It may interest you to know… that those fancy wings that you’re wearing… are based on what used to be old military technology… for a para rescue mission… heroes rescuing heroes… the quintessential sidekick role… And this is now your primary mission statement… In service to that… You will need to maximize speed… agility… and maneuverability… on the ground… as well as in the air… Your first flight was half way decent for your first time with unfamiliar technology… better than I would have done… But you got sloppy and careless in a hurry… and came in way too hot on the landing!… But I may have a solution for that… Have you ever roller bladed?… or even just ice skated?…
Ned:
Yeah… My mother got me a pair of roller blades a few years ago because she wanted me to get more exorcise around town… But having to hike around town probably would have been more exorcise than just gliding along…
Wolf King:
Never mind that… Me and Fitz like to use roller blades combined with electromagnetic levitation… as another means of flying… which could also provide a better set of landing gear… and provide for better maneuverability on the ground… Remember… it’s all about escape and evasion… You can’t rescue anyone else if you can’t escape yourself… Maximize speed… agility… and maneuverability… on the ground as well as in the air… and stealth and surveillance as well… Fitz and I have a number of tricks for stealth that I’ll send you the specs for… Master all of them!… They usually involve matte black FSB material made clothing to help facilitate the process… You’ll also need that to help with thermal regulation while in high altitude flight as well… Space Crow!…
Ned:
Space Crow?…
Wolf King:
Yeah… I’m tired of calling you Ned… It feels like a breach of security… You need a proper flight call sign… not… the Golem Master… And the matte black version of those wings reminds me of a crow… I will be training you as an astronaut after all… If stark doesn’t like it… my orders… as your flight instructor… and flight boss… Now suit up!… And gear up!… Space Crow!…
Space Crow:
You got it flight boss…
Wolf King:
And don’t weigh yourself down with a bunch of big fancy weapons in some geek overkill fit!… Keep it to a minimum… light and agile… the power prisms and the FSBs themselves come with all sorts of built in electromagnetic defenses and offenses… Stick mostly to that… Don’t go crazy… and go bog yourself down… Even if you can carry the load… you don’t want to burden yourself with excess busy work while you’re in the the middle of fighting for your life… or to rescue someone else… Speed kills… So speed is life… Whether hunting or fleeing… speed is life…
Space Crow:
You got it flight boss…
White sparkles begin to flow and fly around Ned’s head, and form a simple matte black aerodynamic flight helmet, with a matte black set goggles completely enclosing the eyes, and a rebreather mouth piece resembling a matte black crow’s beak. A void opens up in the front of Ned’s matte black flight vest, and a power prism forms in the void, and begins to power his flight vest. White sparkles colonize his clothing and shoes, and converts them into a matte black flight suit and gloves beneath his winged flight vest, and a pair of matte black roller blades on his feet. A large pair of supplementary repulsors form on the back of his flight vest, vectored downward, for additional thrust.
Wolf King:
And get ready to go out again… Because we’re not done out there yet… I don’t think that thing cares for us… I think we’re just in it’s way… in it’s hunting territory… We’re not what it wants… It’s after the winged horses… But based on what I’ve already seen… it can pick them off one by one all over these hills at it’s leisure if it wants… if we’re not in the way that is… at least that’s what it seems to be doing to me…
Black Smith:
Do we plan on getting in it’s way?…
Wolf King:
Yes… But first things first…
Before the Wolf King can get to his next thought, Morgana, Lady Sif, and Mother Superior Piper, all shimmer into view, along with the other acolytes of Avalon, to take their place along side the Wolf King and company, right in the middle of the fray, against the Wolf Kings wishes.
Wolf King:
What are you doing here?… I said send no reinforcements… What good does it do me to have King Odin declare me to be the Wolf King of Emerald City… if no one ever does what I tell them?…
Lady Sif:
Oh Ward… you didn’t think that that was what it meant… did you?…
Morgana:
That just means that you’re to blame when everything inevitably goes wrong…
Space Crow:
At least you’re still flight boss…
Wolf King:
Thanks Space Crow… How’s that colonization coming?… I’m guessing the shielding is not up yet… or it wouldn’t have been nearly so easy as that for them to just pop in… Let me know when it’s done… And it wouldn’t hurt to have this place properly consecrated… or reconsecrated… just in case it helps… Since you’re here and all… Acolytes of Avalon…
Angel Darcy:
I can do that!… I think… with Excalibur!…
Darcy holds ups her mighty talisman of power, and it starts to emit white flames from it’s blade at first, then spreading to emanate from Darcy’s entire body and her wings, as all three of her eyes return to their glowing yellow state. The white flames spread harmlessly in a white conflagration that spreads and covers everything insight without destruction, and continues on outside the room, to extend and spread all over the compound, and lightly beyond. The demon bear howls in agony, as if struck by the flames. Dr. Jane Foster reacts to the white flames, and awakens as if in relief.
Wolf King:
Well we know that works…
Angel Darcy:
Jane!… Are you okay?… You passed out!… Is it… the thing?…
Dr. Selvig:
What thing?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
It’s not the thing!…
Dr. Selvig:
What thing?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
It’s nothing… nothing for public discussion at any rate… right Darcy?…
Angel Darcy:
Uh… Sure… Nothing…
Dr. Selvig:
Right… Nothing… Look Jane… I promised your mother that I would look after you… I don’t care if you two think it’s nothing… I need to know what’s bothering you… if anything… no matter what it is!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Now look here Eric!… You’re a great friend and colleague… I love you to death and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me… But with all due respect… you’re not my father!…
Dr. Selvig:
You’re wrong!… I am your father!… I’m sorry Jane… But what happened between your mother and I… was bad for both our careers… She was a student… We we’re very fond of each other… But we could never be together… I promised her that I would help her look after you… But we promised each other that we would never tell anyone… We made up a story about a dead colleague of ours… But I was going to tell you… ever since my own revelation about being a father again… I just couldn’t justify keeping it from you any more… but I still couldn’t bring myself to tell you… It’s not exactly something to work into your average water cooler conversation at work… I’ve been dying to say something ever since Frigga was born… But I didn’t want our scandal to rain on her parade… I figured better the eccentric Uncle Eric… than scandalous Grandpa Eric…
Princess Frigga:
I like scandalous!… Being scandalous makes you more interesting Uncle Eric… I mean… scandalous Grandpa Eric!…
Angel Darcy:
Wow… You’re my kid’s big sister!…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I… I’m not sure if I believe it but… at the same time… it makes more sense of our relationship than mere friends and colleagues… He’s always acted as my father in the absence of a real father… But you were my real father!… And you said nothing!… I have cancer…
Dr. Selvig:
Cancer!… Since when?… For how long?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Can you calm down so we can talk about this in private?…
Dr. Selvig:
No!… I want to talk about it here and now!…
Princess Frigga:
Me too!… You lied to me mommy!… You kept telling me you were fine!… That you were just tired!… You Lied!… Aunt Darcy lied too!…
Angel Darcy:
Ouch kid…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Look… it started about a couple of years ago… I’ve been treating it… mostly by conventional means… conventional means that have been long since failed and been disregarded…
Dr. Selvig:
Disregarded?… Disregarded in favor of what?…
Angel Darcy:
Yeah… and since when without telling your besty step mother?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Look… all the treatments failed to show results months ago… I had largely given up on treatment… choosing instead to focus my remaining time more on work and my daughter… Then along came the war… and along came the FSBs and Black Box Extremis… right along with it… I was hoping the FSB regulated form of Extremis might be able to function as a cure for my cancer… But my cancer has proven too unstable for it… and it was inoperable to begin with… brain cancer… I managed to buy some time and manage some symptoms… But I’m sill getting worse… I was contemplating one last ditch experiment… with something else that came along in the wake of the war… and AIM…
Dr. Selvig:
Wait!… You’re talking about Gamma Extremis?… Are you insane?… Do you even have the means to do that?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I’ve devised a means… But it’s experimental… Black Box Gamma… And it requires Black Box Extremis as a prerequisite… or otherwise requires a Gamma Infusor… which I don’t even have the specs for… Only AIM does… And even with Black Box Extremis… the process could still be unstable… atomically unstable… But as it is… I’ve been feeling more and more unstable anyway…
Dr. Selvig:
Give this treatment to me first… I will be your patient zero… You’ve experimented on yourself enough already… then we’ll see about this possible treatment…
Wolf King:
Now hold on here… I don’t mind that if you think it’s worth the risk… But is this really the time and place for this?…
Dr. Selvig:
Since this is the first that I’m hearing of this… everything else can wait… Give me the specs for this Black Box Extremis… that serves as preparatory step… and lets get on with this…
Morgana:
We can provide some degree of additional healing support… but nothing compared to the power of an angel… if the angel knows what she’s doing… and has mastered their true power…
Angel Darcy:
I know nothing of my true power!… I only just learned that I had power!…
Dr. Selvig begins to pulsate with a light blue glow for few moments, the tell tale signs of Black Box Extremis.
Dr. Selvig:
Okay… That feels weird… But okay… What’s next?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
If you insist on being my guinea big… can you at least tell me first… was the man you said was my father… even friendly with my mom?… or with you?…
Dr. Selvig:
Yes… He was your mother’s mentor… and a colleague in the very same work that inspired both your mother and I… Poor man died childless… He deserved to have children of his own… As is… we gave him credit for you… posthumously… Now lets get on with this… before we have time to be rational about it…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Okay… But we better stand by with those alternative healing methods of the acolytes… just in case… This is an experiment after all… I feel like we should leave and go far away from here for this… like the middle of the ocean far away… But we can’t get any where near that far away in here at the moment… We don’t have the luxury of ideal conditions… And I don’t know that I’ll make it long enough for ideal conditions… I’ll send you the specs…
Dr. Selvig:
Stand by…
Morgana nods to her acolytes to begin chanting, and raises her flute up to her lips to play the healing fairy song, as medical backup. Dr. Selvig begins to emit a pulsating bright green glow, as he begins to swell and grow thicker, as well as taller. Dr. Selvig’s hair begins to grow thicker and greener, as it grows to a luxurious Samson like mane of long bright green hair. Dr. Selvig grows to seven feet tall before he stops pulsating green, with a muscular build like Thor’s, and long bright green hair like a troll doll.
Angel Darcy:
Is that it?… Well that’s not bad… That’s not bad at all… The hair might take some getting used to… But I do like the green… And I’m hardly one to talk… about being… off color…
Dr. Selvig:
I feel… powerful… scary powerful… Although I half expected to end up like the Red Hulk… perhaps the Black Box Gamma provides a slightly more moderate process than what MODOC used for Sec. Ross… Perhaps it’s to soon to tell… Jane… What do you want to do?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
I want to do this… before I chicken out by realizing the odds of that being a normal experience… Stand by… Here goes all rational and responsible judgment… and all respectability as a scientist right along with it…
Dr. Jane Foster begins to emit bright sparks, as her skin starts to pulsate a bright yellow light. Dr. Foster’s skin begins to change and take on the appearance of sparkly translucent mini diamond scale, lit up by a bright yellow pulsating light. Dr. Fosters hair turns platinum white, then her hair and the skin all over her body catch fire, and burn with a bright yellow flame, incinerating her cloths.
Princess Frigga:
Mommy!…
Dr. Selvig:
Jane!…
Angel Darcy:
Woh there!… Jane!… Jane!…
Morgana:
Use your sword!… Use Excalibur!… and it’s healing flame!…
Angel Darcy:
But… How?…
Morgana:
Don’t sweat the details!… Just do it!…
Angel Darcy:
Alright!…
Darcy starts to emit raging amounts of harmless white flames again, mostly from out of her sword. Then places her sword’s white flaming blade upon Dr. Foster’s yellow flaming neck. All of the flames intensify, both white and yellow, then the white takes over from the yellow, before beginning to die down. Darcy lifts her sword away from Dr. Foster’s neck, and the white flames around Excalibur and Darcy die away to nothing completely, while Dr. Foster continues to burn with white flame.
Dr. Selvig:
Jane?…
Princess Frigga:
Mommy?…
Angel Darcy:
Jane?… Please tell me that you’re just really hot now…
Dr. Jane Foster:
It doesn’t feel hot… It tickles a little… especially since it turned white… What did you do?…
Angel Darcy:
What did I do?… What did you do?… I have no Idea what I did… What was up with that Black Box Gamma or whatever?… That’s your idea of a cure?…
Dr. Jane Foster:
The best that I could hope for at this point… was a treatment…
Princess Frigga walks up to her flaming white hot mommy, and cautiously tries to touch her white flaming leg. Princess Frigga manages to touch the side of her mommy’s leg without harm or trouble.
Princess Frigga:
They’re like magic flames!… Just like Excalibur!… But you’re still naked mommy…
Dr. Jane Foster:
Thank you for noticing… Are my flames magic now?… Did you make me magic?…
Angel Darcy:
I don’t think so…
Morgana:
The white flames of Excalibur… are the embodiment of Arthur’s power of healing… and of his faith… Truth be told… it was the greater power of Excalibur… Dr. Foster seems to have been given the ability to mimick that flame… and it’s properties… But can you control it?… or switch it off?…
Dr. Foster’s flames suddenly change color to red and orange, and ramp up in intensity, generating noticeably more heat among those present, as they all back away, including Princess Frigga. Then the flames change back to harmless white again, before gradually dying down completely, even restoring her skin to it’s normal non sparkly and non translucent human appearance.
Dr. Jane Foster:
I did it!… I can do this!…
Princess Frigga:
That’s great mommy… But you’re still naked…
A flurry of white sparkles forms around Dr. Foster, forming a matte black form fitting body suit, with bare hands and bare feet, covering her from her ankle, to her wrist, then to her neck.
Morgana:
The black box part… of Black Box Extremis… Is supposed to be some sort of magic science hybrid to begin with… It’s meant to be compatible at a minimum… I suspect Darcy’s power was able to give you the ability to mimick her sword’s white flame… Your guess is as good as mine as far as the rest… Good luck with that experiment…
Just then, Darcy faints, and collapses from all the exertion, down on to the floor of the domed room, wings and all.
Dr. Selvig:
Darcy!…
The demon bear lets loose another disembodied howl, to the accompanied chorus of panicked horses, as if to remind everyone of his existence, and demand attention. Just then, the brutal witch woman in black with the new third eye, casually walks in and greets her daughter.
Danielle The V:
Mother!?!…
Witch Woman:
Hello Danielle… We have much to talk about… including papa bear… especially papa bear…
Politics Are Poison!
Poison That Never Ends!
Battles Of Shadows And Mist!
That Forever Never End!
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