If you want to help me financially, you can do it on https://www.patreon.com/NeverluckySMILE
At around the same time that Harry was battling Thanos on Mars, Dani was fast asleep in her bed on the captured Kree warship. Thanks to it's hyperspace drive the Hellion had been able to exit the solar system within a few hours, leaving behind the gravity shadow of the Sun, and they were well out into deep space now, something that delighted most of the humans aboard. But unlike the others, Dani didn't really have much interest in space for space's sake.
Indeed, she had initially objected to being chosen to go, but had acquiesced after Jean explained why she wanted Dani along. Not only did it add a second sniper/rifle specialist, but Dani's mutant powers might come in handy. While she was still training with her powers, Dani could now create three-dimensional images of ideas and concepts taken from the minds of herself and the others around her. She could even, with difficulty, channel residual thoughts and emotional impressions from an area into a vision of past events.
The first ability had already proven very useful in training the team on the various tech on the ship. That was an ongoing process, since Nikolai, herself, and Paige had no idea how to use any of them. The second might prove useful if they had to figure out how any of the derelict ships they were intending to capture had been damaged, if it wasn't obvious, to get them moving.
Dani wasn't certain if that would work, but the team's training on the various ship's functions and systems had already begun. The Kree troops including Mar'vel had been astonished at her abilities, but with them and Douglas' help in actually understanding the programming of the various systems, the team would soon be as good as the original Kree sailors in controlling the ship. If they ran into a battle, or if some of the Kree decided that they weren't happy about being prisoners any longer that might prove necessary.
But using her powers like that wore Dani out, and she was routinely asleep before she even hit the pillow. Normally when she was so exhausted, she wouldn't have any dreams that she could remember, but this time when Dani opened her eyes she somehow knew this would be an exception.
All around her was an ancient seeming forest of pine trees and oak as far as the eye could see, with winter snow heavy on their boughs and on the ground all around her. Dani frowned then looked down at one of her hands unsurprised to find it holding a staff. "Am I dream-walking again?" She hoped she wasn't, talking to a local personification of death once had been troubling enough when Dani thought about it, getting called on again by the same being or others would go beyond even her extremely elastic weirdness quota.
Even so, Dani could not shake the idea that she knew where she was. There was a feeling of being home almost even though she didn't recognize the area right away. Take away the snow though, she thought, cocking her head thoughtfully as she stared around her, and this might just be someplace in the Rocky Mountains, someplace I've been. Could this be…
"In answer to your question you are dream-walking, but only in a sense," said a soft feminine voice from behind her. "You are not walking to something else, or by another person at that person's behest, more into something hidden inside yourself. Magic is rather confusing, and I can't say I'm an expert at it, especially soul and blood-based magics like this."
Dani turned calmly but with her body tensed just in case, only to face a woman that was unlike Hela as night and day. She was older looking then Hela, yet somehow there was something ageless about her attractive motherly features. Rather than being a lustrous black, her hair was just slightly too dark to be called a true blonde and rather than being loose like Hela's the woman's was tied up in an intricate braid under a small bit of linen cloth, symbolizing that the woman was married. And rather than having a mask over her face, it was clear to the sky, showing her light blue eyes.
Even more telling was her clothing. Where Hela had worn armor that looked decently made yet designed more like a marital aid, this woman wore a long skirt of white tied around her waist by a green and white braided rope though they did have a red cloak in common at least. In one hand the woman held a staff in one hand, the mirror image of the one Dani had arrived here holding.
Despite the sword, she looked like some kind of old time mother or housewife, but as she smiled there was steel there. As Dani walked closer to her she could however see something in those blue eyes, which were deep pools, their depth belying the woman's apparent age. But what Dani saw more than age and wisdom there was a faint glimmering of well controlled, icy fury.
For some reason this woman gave off the vibes of someone to respect, if not quite as much is Hela. "Greetings mother," Dani said in the Cheyenne tongue, the same language the woman had spoken. "I am Danielle Moonstar, might I ask your name?"
"Be welcome Danielle. I am Sigyn, wife of Loki. " the woman said formally, holding out her hand to Danielle in token of friendship. As Danielle hovered her own hand above the other woman's, she went on, her lips quirking in some hidden amusement. "Enter and be welcome."
Dani was still pondering that statement while the woman motioned her into the small, traditional Cheyenne tent behind her, wherein a small fire was blazing. Dani entered, looking around with a smile of remembrance. Grandfather's hunting tent… Every summer since she had been five or so, her parents and her would go up into the mountains or out into the desert with her grandfather, who taught her everything she knew about hunting, which she began when she was nine or so.
Later on it became a refuge from the bullies and the crap she had to deal with being a Cheyenne at a mostly white school, then even later the place she went to first to try and control her powers as they began to appear. She smiled appreciatively while running her hands over some of the simple paintings on the tent's interior, the smell and sight of the interior of the tent bringing back warm memories of time spent with her grandfather learning to hunt.
After a moment she moved over to the fire, sitting across it from Sigyn, her legs crossed under her. "That is interesting," she said at last, addressing the woman's statement. "I know of Loki from my studies of the Norse religion, yet there wasn't much information save for your aiding your husband in some kind of captivity he was placed under by Odin. But there's so little that isn't contradictory out there about any of you, it's hard to distinguish myth from fact."
"That's not surprising," the woman smiled a little grimly now. "The Christian missionaries and their puppet kings or those naïve enough to think things would not change by allowing in a new religion, probably did the best they could to destroy all memories of the old religion of the Asatru. Made all the easier by our own disappearance, I have no doubt."
"Disappearance?" Dani asked, leaping on that word with all the speed of a hunter on her target. There was something about that word that greatly bothered her.
"I cannot speak of it." Sigyn replied honestly.
That honesty and the response was so firm that Dani leaned back slightly in shock before shrugging and changing the subject. "Well could you tell me something about you?"
"I will tell you what I can." Sigyn replied in again in such a tone that Dani understood the hidden message there. Something was keeping this woman from talking as frankly as she wanted, and that was disturbing considering the fact that they were possibly inside Dani's head.
Though that thought brought back to mind her current situation and Danielle asked hurriedly. "I hate to be rude, but before that could you explain more about why I am, well, here? That initial explanation of yours wasn't enough."
"As I said I'm not an expert, but I will explain as well as I can. Dream walking in a sense is sending out your mind to another place or into another person's presence be it the person's mind or body through magic. Another person can pull you out of your mind, as I believe you know already, though your mind can in effect change where you actually arrive if you have the power." She smirked a little. "I imagine that came as a shock to my daughter."
"So it was your interference that kept me from appearing in Hel?" Dani asked. "And, daughter? The legends say that Hela is a daughter of a giant that Loki slept with, I'm sorry I can't remember her name."
"Yes, that occurred well before I married him, and her name was Angraboda, she was… not very motherly, but very powerful." She smiled somewhat caustically, as if from a remembered argument, or perhaps a bittersweet joy. Her voice however was grim when she went on. "I became a mother to all three of his children, though I doubt they remember me." Again there was a message there in the tone of the woman's voice and Dani began to be even more worried about the hidden messages she was getting here.
Even so, she had to smile at how the woman was getting around whatever was trying to keep her from speaking. "I see," Dani said, signaling her own understanding of the subtle messages that she was being passed here, causing the woman to smile slightly. "But please continue your explanation I'm sorry I interrupted."
"In essence what is happening here is that your mind did not leave your body, rather you are delving deeper into your own body as it were, where my soul is hidden. The soul is not a simple construct." Sigyn said smirking even wider. "Gods such as myself can do amazing things with our own souls, though it is taxing."
"I remember an old movie about a wizard that removed his heart and hid it somewhere else? Sinbad I think it was…" Dani mused. Harry had never discussed the horcruxes with any of the team, after all why would he? But the idea was well known in fantasy circles.
"Hah! That's amusing, we had the tale of the troll with no heart in his body, interesting how such concepts continue for so long. But no, if a normal human tried to do the same thing they would need to sacrifice something, and call upon the darkest magics, and it is not just a question of power or ability. Your jarl might be able to do it based on his sheer power, but I doubt he could survive as the man he is if he tried it. I sacrificed no one, and splitting my body and soul was, while not an easy affair, one well within the abilities I have learned from my husband."
At the last word Sigyn's voice, which had been grim when she talked about what a human would have to do to separate his soul from his body, became much lighter, fond in a loving but exasperated sort of way. "He and his brother were always incredibly good at magic, even those aspects that they should not as men have delved into."
"Why were you hidden my lady?" Dani asked.
"My husband had a scheme and I was a part of it. He hid my presence as well as he could, but our enemies still found me, and I was forced to hide my soul further. I hid my soul in the blood of some of my worshipers, who willingly accepted the burden." Now Sigyn's eyes glittered, and one hand caressed the staff where it lay beside her. "They will be remembered. One of my worshippers somehow found his way across the ocean to your people and eventually passed my soul down to you. You, who have the power to bring it closer to the surface than any before you."
"I see," Dani said, frowning thoughtfully. Going from what she had been able to find, the only enemies that the gods of the Norse had were at one point each other, and then giants, with whom they were constantly battling. Yet it also seemed as if there was some connection there as well, since many gods had married giants, though not vice-versa. The only ones that were certainly their enemies in their entirety were the fire giants but even that was somewhat disjointed.
Yes, they were supposed to fight the fire giants at Ragnarok but some of the texts hinted that Loki was a fire giant himself. Some of his powers hinted at that too, his ability to change form easily, even his gender, and it even tied in with his being the Foolsbane. After all, fire was something humans all needed to live, but if you fooled around with it, it would burn you just as easily as the wood on the fire.
Loki's own place in the Asgard pantheon was another area where the literature was 'lacking'. Some of the mythology said Loki was Odin's brother, some said sworn brother which wasn't quite the same thing, and many said his adopted son, and half-brother to Thor and Balder. Yet Loki was also their enemy, bringing about Ragnarok by killing Balder somehow. I really need to find an actual believer and ask some questions. Whatever I could wish, it's pretty obvious that I am tied up somehow with these Asgardians.
"In any event, I am only able to talk to you like this when we are away from Earth." Sigyn went on. "Our enemies' power is great, but centered on earth."
"If the spell or whatever is keeping you from speaking plainly even here, why exactly did you wish to speak to me?" Dani asked. "Is there any way I can help you or break the geas?"
"I don't think you could break it now, though that jarl of yours might. I've seen the memories of what he can do from your mind, and many of his powers go beyond anything the Seidr in my own time would've been capable of. Even Loki and Odin could not do some of the things I've seen him do through your eyes, or at least not as easily."
"Instead, I would like to ask you to find my body. When you dream-walked, I felt its presence. It was nowhere nearby, but it was on the same plane of existence for a time."
She paused, her mouth opening and closing then Sigyn paused, realizing she couldn't actually say what she wanted to say. Her eyes seemed to widen at some kind of realization, and she began to growl under her breath. "Ungrateful brat of a mangy lizard, fucking sea-slug with delusions of grandeur, I don't care how big you've grown, you're not too big for me to put over my knee you antisocial sadist, play with your food will you…"
As the imprecations got louder and much more vociferous Dani rose from where she had been sitting, backing away slightly from the other woman who now was gripping her sword hilt with every word. "Okay… I'm just going to go…" she murmured, backing away warily. Sigyn didn't even notice her move, still muttering imprecations and staring into nothing. Dani shrugged, and then left the tent.
Staring out into the forest all around she smiled, the staff in her hand which had not left her possession even sitting down, morphing into a bow and arrow. While I'm dreaming I guess I might as well dream about something I enjoy doing. With that she left the tent, tabling the incredibly odd conversation with Sigyn that she had just had to delve into the joy of the hunt.
The next day when she woke up, Dani was not surprised to find that once again she seemed to have brought something out from her dreams. In one hand she held a long staff, which seemed to shift in her grip as she stared at it into a bow of the finest quality. Frowning thoughtfully she put it to one side, then pulled out a datapad, one of the many that the team had and began to put in as many notes as she could about the odd dream that she had just had. I seriously need to talk to Harry when I get back.
OOOOOOO
"Are you sure you can hold up your end? That arm of yours doesn't look good." Ben Grimm asked, kneeling down to lift up several tons of rubble over what had been a subway entrance that had collapsed with his one good arm. The healing potions Storm had access to hadn't worked on his body, though the Pepper-Up potion she had left for Ben and the others had. And she was far too busy using her heling powers on injured civilians for him to want her to take time to look at his arm.
"I still have one usable arm tovarishch, and I could say the same for you." Colossus smiled, shrugging his shoulders in a Slavic shrug. "On three, one, two, three!" The two heroes grunted in unison, lifting the entire mass of the collapsed building that had been blocking the subway entrance, lifting it up above their heads to give enough room for Sasquatch and a team of waiting army troopers to rush in. Exclamations of shock and joy from below indicated that there were indeed survivors down there, and the two super-strong heroes smiled wanly at one another.
Teleporting other people, especially people without any inherent magic in them, had drained Storm, and even with numerous Pepper-Up potions, she was no longer able to attempt such safely. Even so she had almost knocked herself out a few times teleporting people who were badly injured out from under various pieces of rubble caused by the final few moments of battle against the purple skinned alien. However, Storm was still able to use another area of control spell that she had learned from Gaea to find people trapped in the rubble here and there.
She and the other members of the Custodes Mundi had been looked at rather askance at first. But when they began to pitch in immediately after the battle to aid in the aftermath, the troops stopped caring where they came from.
That was one of the reasons why the Fantastic Four were so respected: they always tried to keep their battles away from civilians and when they did occur in a city or around civilians they would always stay around afterwards to help clear out the aftermath. Reed Richards had access to a lot of medical technology, and with that, Susan Storm, the Thing and the Torch's aid in clearing away rubble they routinely saved hundreds of lives. That had begun with the Mole Man encounter, and it had continued ever since.
Storm had even ordered Cory and the other popping specialists to bring in hundreds of potions to aid with the most severely injured. When asked about them, she'd covered it by simply stating that they had bought the potions from Magical Minds long before they had been allowed out into the public. With the potions and Gaea-taught healing spells she was able to save dozens of people that would've otherwise died.
While Ben and Colossus were working to clear out the rubble to get to people trapped here and there, Storm leaned back from the last wounded child that had been brought into the hospital tents in the last hour. She smiled brightly at the young boy, who smiled hesitantly back, patting his stomach in wonder where a piece of metal piping had caught him in the side in a wound that would have killed him in short order without her aid. "It, it doesn't hurt, wow! Thank you miss!"
Storm smiled patting his head before nodding at the mother who raced forward to hug her son before standing up on weary legs. She looked over at the doctor she had been working with who had looked on at first in contempt and then growing shock and amazement as Storm went to work. "That's the last of them, yes?"
He nodded. "The rest of them modern medicine can handle thank you," he said, torn between his pride as a doctor and his belief in science and what he had just seen. "Thank you…" he said brusquely, shaking his head "but I think you're needed elsewhere. I think the general wants to talk to you for one."
The African woman nodded, then got directions to where the general's headquarters had been set up before stepping out of the tent, staring around at the city, most of which was dark save for emergency lights here and there. Power was out almost everywhere in the city, the initial battle against the Hulk and Abomination having taken out the local power plants. While she walked through the makeshift tents thrown up everywhere on the streets, she saw dozens of civilians clustered around, talking about what had happened, or simply sitting and staring out around them into the city in shock, or aiding the wounded or beginning to clear away the rubble.
Helicopters were being brought in to clear out most of the rubble, since the roads were so packed with people and cars that trucks couldn't get through. Medical personnel moved through the tents everywhere, along with soldiers all of them moving purposefully, setting up more tents, bringing out food for the civilians, directing them around, or aiding in the continued efforts elsewhere. Storm nodded approvingly, the general in charge of this effort was evidently a very good organizer.
As she moved through the camp, she heard a mutter behind her and slowed down shaking her head sadly, then smiling slightly. "Damn mutants, they should've kept their trouble to their fucking selves! Look what they've done to Montreal!"
"Those fucking green monsters weren't mutants, or haven't you watched the news with them in it before you racist fuck!" Said someone else, his English heavily accented, an accent that Storm noticed was like that of a Frenchman's almost. "The Hulk was someho' created by zome kind of weapons tezt gone wrong, and the Abomination was created the same way down in America. If you want to blame anyone blame the people who ran those experiments, not the heroes who helped stopped zer rampage!"
"We could've…"
"Done fucking jack shit!" Said a third voice, his English much better than the second. "Your company didn't arrive until after the battle Doborn, mine arrived first. We were doingjack shit against those green bastards! Bazooka rounds blew against their faces and did nothing, bullets bounced off their skin, and even a few of the experimental weapons did nothing! Hell if not for the Custodes, the remains of Alpha Flight would be dead, and so would a lot more people in this city."
The second voice piled back in, his tone dark but his words complimentary. "Zhat also doesn't cover zhe work they've been doing since the battle ended, 'ow many 'undreds of lives zhey've saved. You saw that black woman, whatever she was doing to teleport people out from under zhe rubble nearly killed 'er! I don' care if zey're mutants, I don't care where zey came from, zhere are only humans here!"
Storm moved on, smiling faintly to herself as she weaved her way through the crowd of tents. From such things progress is made.
A few moments later another conversation caught her attention. "And you say that he was calling himself Thor? And he was blonde?"
"For the 11th time man yes, what the hell is bothering you about that? Personally the way he was throwing down, and you know he was wielding a hammer, I'm not about to question him on his using the same name as an old-style Viking type of god."
"Old-style Viking? I suppose that's better than calling it a heathen religion but not by much." Another voice scoffed sounding somewhat angry, though more confused than anything. "It's not that he was calling himself Thor that's bothering me, but your description… it certainly matches the one that's been passed down among the faithful, but in all of the details that survived the coming of Catholicism Thor was known to be red-haired! This Thor, he sounds more like the image the Nazi's believed in. And historically he had a beard! Most men back then had beards. And the other one you mentioned, he sounds like the real Balder, only again not quite. Maybe they really are aliens who just look like our gods. That's, that's kind of sad for myself and other fultrui."
Interesting, Storm thought to herself, moving on. There was a point in the battle where Thor became red-haired… That could be important down the line. We really have to look into this Norse religion what was it called again, asat-something? If it was only a mistake of coloration, that would be one thing, but since his hair did actually change colors, that could mean there is something more going on, just like Harry's instincts was telling him. By that point Storm had reached the command tent, and she was quickly ushered in by two guards who looked at her in awe.
General Angus Millean was an old man with a stern-seeming face but he nodded politely to her as he stood up from the makeshift desk he and Vindicator had been sitting at going over the map of the city while they worked out where to direct the rescue efforts. "Ma'am, I can't thank you and yours enough for the help you've given my fellow Canadians here. Your efforts have saved thousands of lives."
"Thank you general, though I wish we could've done more."
"You did enough, certainly better than my team and I did." Vindicator shook his head sighing sadly. "This wasn't our first outing by any means, but those two behemoths mauled us. We overestimated our own abilities, and Northstar, Shaman, and Snowbird paid with their lives for it. Sasquatch, myself and Aurora would've died as well without you and your team arriving when you did."
And even so, Aurora will never be the same, he thought angrily. Jeanne-Marie had become comatose after the fight, her eyes blank and staring as she muttered her brother's name over and over. She was being looked over by one of the doctors that had been seconded to Alpha Flight, but their diagnosis was not good. Even if she came out of it, it was doubtful Jeanne would ever fight for the team again. Not that Vindicator could really blame her if she decided to walk away, not after this.
"As much as I hate to mention politics, however, the higher ups need to know what happened to the Abomination and the Hulk after you chased them out into the suburbs." The general said, clasping the young man's shoulder tightly for a moment.
Storm nodded, then gave a detailed report about the battle that occurred in the forest, ending with, "The Hulk is in our custody, where he will stay. I don't think my, my commander as you would put it, will wish to let him go. But since he teleported himself and that alien, he called himself Thanos, away we'll have to wait until he returns. As for the Abomination's body, it too is in our custody. I may be open to bring it back to show you, but we will be disposing of it in the near future." She smiled thinly. "Considering the fact that the Abomination was created through a mistake by the American military, we are not willing to allow anyone else to take custody of the body."
"You realize that people will be questioning you about that?" Vindicator asked skeptically. "I mean how will anyone know whether or not the body you took away is the same body that you show us getting destroyed or whatever."
"That has occurred to me, but I know that we have no real need for it. We already have powers of our own, the Hulk's power has no interest for us ,especially not with the evident downside."
"That's not enough," said a new voice and all three of them turned to face the tent flap. Nick Fury entered, staring at her than at the general gesturing at the young woman who had followed him and. "Nick Fury, SHIELD commander. I've got about a thousand agents coming in on six Pelicans, along with medical supplies. We'll need a landing zone, if you're com people could coordinate with Agent Alexa, we'll be on the ground quickest."
The general nodded to his own aide, who nodded and led the young woman over to the com gear set up in one corner of the tent. Nick turned back to Storm. "There are going to be a lot of questions after this on all levels not just about the Abomination's body, but why he and the Hulk were seemingly working together. You know anything about that purple skinned alien?"
"No." Storm replied coolly, her eyes narrowed at the newcomer. She didn't particularly like spooks, and the man had not made the best of impressions before this. "He gave his name as Thanos, but if that is a title or actual name I don't know. He said something about having used them, but how that came to be we don't know. In terms of your concerns about what we would do with the Abomination, you can question it all you want but we are not releasing his body to anyone else's custody. Most especially not someone who has connections with the American government, the same government whose military possibly helped create him in the first place."
"Agreed," Nick said surprising her. "I wasn't even thinking about the Abomination frankly, just stating a fact there will still be questions about it. My problem is with Banner being in your custody. Are you certain you can hold him?"
Storm smiled faintly. "Easily. He reverted back to Banner when he fell unconscious thanks to Thor, and we used a spell on him that will keep Banner asleep until we wish to revive him." She turned to the general. "I believe that once we do wake him up, we will be willing to have an observer along when we question him about what happened. Regardless of what did happen however, he will remain in our custody into the future. Dr. Banner has lost the right to try to handle his Hulk issue alone."
"Can I get a representative on that group as well? It will help me stave off several questions, as well as possibly stop important people looking at you and your team with concern," Nick asked quickly.
"No it won't." Storm said looking at Fury her head cocked to one side thoughtfully. "Many will still consider us a threat regardless, including you. That's how your mind works commander, but we do not answer to you. And we especially do not answer to your hidden backers."
"Enough," Angus growled, getting in between them. "Nick, stop acting like a damn spook. These people have done a lot of good here today, and that earns them an equal amount of trust here. I'll tell my higher-ups what is going on, but I think they'll agree that leaving the Abomination's body in their hands to be disposed of makes sense so long as we can see it happening. As for the Hulk, that's fine with us too."
Nick backed off a little but still looked at Storm his eyes hard. "Before this, you and your group were moving pretty well under the radar, at least as far as the world powers were concerned. Now though you've stepped out onto it in a big way. There will be questions asked, there will be repercussions from this, and not all of them will be good."
"What will be, will be. That is for the future however." Storm said nodding her head towards the general. "If you'll excuse me, I think I am rested enough to go and search for Guardian and I have a good idea of where he is. I will leave the rest of the Custodes Mundi here to continue to help of course. With a final nod to Fury, Storm left the tent, before deciding she wanted to get some aid for this trip just in case.
OOOOOOO
Carol Danvers had arrived with the first Pelican to land, which had been directed toward where Thor, Balder, and Magma were working around a collapsed skyscraper. Hurrying forward with a few of her men Danvers came close enough to hear what was obviously the tail end of the conversation. "And no, I will not try to drag you back to Asgard, that is not my mission and I couldn't care less about why you're still here."
"In truth, mine reasons have changed over time, expanding. Tis obvious that Midgard is in dire need of heroes, and what better role could there be for I? In ancient times I would defend them from the Jotnar, now needs must I defend them from others. The enemy changes, but mine duty remains the same. Nor is Midgard without its own heroes, valiant and true even those who durst not have powers of their own."
Balder laughed nodding his head, which was covered by a bandage under his helm. "Indeed, for all their short lives and physical weakness, there is something vibrantly alive about humanity that calls to me as well. Now let us move on."
Danvers walked up to Balder nodding her head at the rubble. "I take it there's no one left alive in there? Which buildings next?"
Neither of the Asgardians questioned her about who she was, simply assuming that she was from a different kind of military than had been aiding them in their efforts so far. Thor expounded, pointing in one direction with his hammer. "Mine brother, myself and our allies hast been moving through the city in yon direction, clearing out what we can and getting to as many innocents trapped therein. I believe that Betsy and Magma are already there."
Danvers nodded, and waved her team in that direction. "While we're moving, can you tell me anything about the purple skinned alien, and where Guardian might've gone?"
"Somewhere where he would be able to cut loose without worrying about innocents being harmed, or destroying too much real estate." Said Storm floating out of the sky to land nearby. "Thor, Balder, would you two be up for a trip with me? I think it's time for us to go and see if we can find Guardian and help him if necessary."
"Forsooth lady, I am more than prepared." Thor growled, lifting up his hammer from where he had set it on the ground. Its steel head gleamed in the light of the sun for a moment as he placed it on his belt, catching Storm's attention for some reason. "I am most eager to test mineself against yon alien once more." Balder nodded agreement touching his sword hilt, his normally friendly eyes gleaming dangerously.
Storm smiled, then nodded at Carol before lifting up into the sky once again, with the two Asgardians following. They flew straight up, and a moment later disappeared from Carol's line of sight. She stared after them for a moment making yet another mental note on whether she really wanted to continue working with SHIELD right now, before turning to her fellows. "What are you all looking at, we've got work to do, let's get moving!"
OOOOOOO
Deep within NASA's headquarters a low level tech was watching his instruments as he always did, watching the data from the telescopes spread around the globe. There was some noise in the background, some of his fellow techs talking about something up in Canada. Wasn't important. Especially since for the last few minutes there had been odd flashes and glimpses of something on the surface of Mars just out of range of the Rover's video camera.
He had been taking notes on them both on his own computer, and in the official log since he had seen the first. It was certainly the most interesting thing he had…. "Holy Shit!" he suddenly shouted leaning back as the light from the Mars Rover suddenly became as bright as that coming from the sun, then the image went out.
Around him all of the other techs looked at him in surprise. "What is it Jenkins?" his supervisor asked, standing up from his desk and hurrying over.
"Something's been going down on Mars, it was flaring for a while here and there, but just now it flared up like the surface of the planet was on fire, and now Rover's gone! I mean look at the readings, Jesus! Heat levels off the fucking charts then blam, nothing!"
One of the other techs had looked at his own screen, and he gulped in fear but raised his hand in the air. "Um, sir, the light from Mars, it um, it's been flaring for a while too. Sorry sir, didn't see it. Um, but um, now its, um, it flared up like the sun, er and it's still going on."
The supervisor turned from Jenkins and rushed over, staring at the screen, which the tech obligingly played a recording of the spectroscopic reading from Mars. The supervisor watched aghast as the readings changed from a planet to something a little bit less than the sun, quickly spreading from one central position to cover the entire planet. "What in the hell is going on!"
Hours later NASA still didn't know the answer to that, but whatever it was had finished. Now the light from Mars wasn't reading like a planet any longer. Its atmosphere was gone, and its surface had been turned into some kind of glass. It was almost reading like a giant asteroid, but not quite, the surface was too uniform for that, and far too reflective as well.
The supervisor was much more aware of what was going on in the outside world than Jenkins was, and he realized that this could possibly be connected to what had been going on in Canada. Hadn't there been a report about a purple-skinned alien, and it and this Guardian character teleporting away? "Someone get on the phone to SHIELD, I think Fury needs to know about this."
OOOOOOO
Fury had moved to the front of the relief effort, directing his men and actually joining in occasionally. Much of their equipment, such as hover beds and other things were making the job a lot easier than anything the Canadian army had on hand, and then even brought in a few portable generators. Power was returning to much of the city because of that, including several of the hospitals whose backup generators haven't worked. There would be questions asked about that later locally, but Nick couldn't care less about it.
Right now, he was watching from the shadows while a group of reporters recorded the Human Torch and Magma working to cut a way through some rubble that had fallen onto a car, trapping a family inside. Whatever powers the young girl had was allowing her to cut through the concrete as easily as Johnny could, cutting it down into small chunks that his men could move with their man-sized hover beds. Soon enough they had cut through the concrete and steel that had fallen onto the car, and now were removing the doors and smashed top gently to get at the wounded within.
Carol hurried forward with several medical personnel and a few gurneys, loading the comatose father and mother onto it while two other workers carried the unconscious child who had been in the back seat off after them. Carol stood there for a moment looking around and nodding bleakly. "I think we're done with this block, you two do good work you know. Without you and the others here this would've been a nightmare."
To one side reporters continued to record, and one reporter actually moved close enough for her mike to pick up some of the conversation.
Johnny simply shrugged, wincing slightly. His head was still ringing from the blast that had taken him out of the fight, and he thought he had a slight concussion from it. He was also hovering in the air not because he had to get at the rubble on the car, but because one of his legs was broken, and he knew that his ribs were aching a little too much from when he impacted the ground.
Magma was also in pain from her various wounds taken, though most of it was phantom pain after having been impaled in her energy-form. "We should have done more!" the young girl said, her tone cracking yet passionate. "We should've done more! What use are our powers, if we can't save everyone!"
"We have been saving people." Johnny replied, acting mature for once as he laid a gentle hand on the energy-girl's shoulder. "Sometimes I think cleaning up after our battles is worse than the battles themselves, because we really can't save everyone. We're not gods, and we're not perfect. All we can do is the best we can do, like you've been doing since this began."
"It's not enough!" Magma muttered, but she nodded sighing sadly and moving on following Johnny to the next street over. Behind them the TV crew, all looked at one another as the reporter grinned triumphantly. That would be an incredible human interest piece. After a second though, they hurried after the two heroes, not interrupting their work, simply recording everything.
Nick for his part however had stopped moving, having felt his cell phone go off. Pulling it out he held it up to his ear for a moment. Carol had paused as he did, allowing the others to move on. She saw him lose control of his face for just a second, then heard him say, "What do you mean something happened to Mars?"
After a moment he nodded his head mechanically. "I see." With that he closed the phone staring off into the distance. I've been concerned about Potter since he first showed up on my radar, if he was just fighting for mutant rights that would be one thing, but he's not, he's got an agenda, he wants humanity in space for some reason. He's a loose cannon, and he just killed a damn world! I told Storm that she and her crew just stepped on the world stage in a big way, well congratu-fucking-lations Potter, you just might have become public enemy number one!
After a moment however Fury calmed down from his initial reaction, and then went over what he knew about the battle here. Then he turned to Carol. "Danvers, how easy would it be for an alien to show up here on earth?"
"As I've been saying for months Sir it would be incredibly easy," Carol said, gritting her teeth in sudden anger. "All of the space-based sensors that humanity has combined can only cover about 40% of Earth's orbit, let alone the space beyond. I've been saying this for months Sir, it was in the damn memo I sent you a few days ago when the owner of Magical Minds went on about it." Unlike her boss Carol had not made the connection yet between Harry Potter and Guardian, thanks to the spells harry had cast on himself and Jean when they arrived in Cumberland County after the clash with the Hellions.
"None of your damn lip Agent Danvers!" Fury replied angrily. "Now is not the time, and I am not in the mood. So what you're saying is we wouldn't be able to tell if someone was already set up there?"
"Not if they were good enough at hiding it Sir." Carol scowled, controlling her temper with difficulty. She had been ignored on this issue for so long, and then to have her boss suddenly ask this question…. That thought made her wonder why he was asking about it now. "There are dozens of ways known to modern science and I'm not talking about Reed Richards or Tony Stark level here to hide things in orbit. Space is that vast, humans just can't grasp how much, even just the space around Earth is huge. And Sir, if you can control the orbitals, you could control the world. Nothing could get out of atmosphere that you wouldn't be able to see, provided you are spread out enough. Again, that was in my damn memo!"
"How long would it take for us to have a presence up there?"
That question calmed Carol down more, as she thought about it for a bit then shrugged. "It would depend. Years, decades more like conventionally. If we could work with some of the geniuses around, Stark, Richards and their ilk, maybe a few years."
"How would you go about trying to make certain that no one else has created a presence up there?"
Carol paused, cocking her head thoughtfully. "May I ask what brought that question on? I haven't seen any information about the other superpowers building up a space presence."
"It's not the other world powers I'm worried about, it's Guardian and his faction."
"What?" Carol asked, her voice going cold. "Sir, as far as I know Guardian has done nothing to incur any suspicion, not against America, not against humanity as a whole. In fact, I think we should give him a fucking commendation for doing our job for us! With respect, I don't think we have enough resources to waste on people who haven't yet proven to be a threat."
"Commander he just killed Mars!" Fury replied tightly. "He doesn't have to do anything to show it, he is a fucking danger!"
Carol looked at him, her thoughts going a mile a minute then shrugged her shoulders. "I think you're asking the wrong question Sir. I think you could should be asking not is he capable of destroying a planet, but why he was pushed to do it in this case. If you don't mind Sir, I'm going to get back to work. You can stay here and stew in your paranoia if you want to."
With that she tore off a textbook salute and then marched off to join Magma and Johnny Storm. Nick frowned after her then rubbed his nose wearily. Does she have a point? Am I really jumping at shadows?
After a moment he shook his head. No, Potter might not be a threat yet, but he has no ties to any conventional power structure except perhaps the United Kingdom, and he just proved that he could be a world-class level threat if he wished. If I don't answer these questions, someone else is going to try to, and I doubt they'll simply decide not to pursue it because he hasn't proven to be a threat just yet. Worse, they might force the issue. Then what will Potter do in response?
OOOOOOO
Lady Death had to take over powering Hela's scrying spell when the fight between Thanos and Harry moved from Earth to Mars, but she did so smoothly, so much so that Hela almost didn't notice the change. It was a sign of something that Hela hadn't considered before, that what she and the other Asgardians considered Midgard was simply a single planet, not the dimension it resided in. And they were tied to that planet in a way that limited their power beyond it.
But that was at the back of her mind, so far removed from what the rest of her mind was dealing with that it was almost nonexistent. The rest of her mind and indeed her libido was concentrating on the fight, and its aftermath. Now she was actually hyperventilating, her eyes wide, and her mouth open while the scene in her scrying pool faded. Though she didn't know it, she actually had something in common with Emma Frost, the most mortal of the trio of lovers that Harry Potter had gathered around him: Power was a turn on of immense proportions for any goddess, and especially one like Hela.
Yet the tenderness with which he touched the chosen of Gaea after that battle… I could almost feel it through the scrying spell. Power, kindness, ambition and honor… All right, so maybe I am a little more interested in Potter than I thought I was, but I still haven't answered the big question, would I be willing to share him?
It took several moments for Hela to regain control of herself even after the spell faded. But finally she turned to her Lady, who had sat motionless staring into the scrying pool even after the spell faded. "That was certainly interesting my Lady."
This understatement won her a sepulchral chuckle, the first time she had heard that sound from her Lady, and she actually felt a thrill, somehow knowing that she alone out of all of her Lady's servants had ever heard that sound. She knew others, including several from alien pantheons would have balked at calling themselves servants of anyone, but to Hela that was simply arrogance. To her there was no beating around the bush, that was what they were. Any God who ruled a realm that was designed to eventually return the souls of those inhabiting it to the mortal coil served Lady Death.
That was what separated them from gods like Odin and Freya. Hela believed they in some fashion stole from Death, or rather from the universe as a whole, and were thus an aberration rather than a part of the universe. They took souls that should have been returned to the mortal coil, hoarding them to be used later on at their leisure rather than returning them to be reborn, serving the great wheel.
Of course they also served the whole in some other fashion, but to Hela's mind not as nobly. Though she did have more respect for Freya than for Odin himself. I wonder if I could go to her for advice about what to do? She thought to herself, then wondered where that thought came from for a moment. Still it was a good idea, and having made a mental note to act upon it when she could.
Right now however she found herself curious. "Is your suitor alive, my Lady?"
Lady Death nodded her head slightly, now turning to face her.
Hela licked her blood red lips for a moment then went on more hesitantly. "For someone who claims to love you so, he seems unwilling to meet you firsthand. Or does he simply love the process of death rather than the person?" That comment won her a shrug and she went on as if talking to herself. "But that makes no sense, that death is just an ending, you are not…we are not in love with our own powers, we are simply part of the whole, there can be no life without death, no change without rebirth."
"Yes," Lady Death said in her deep resonant tones, which again held a smattering of contempt for her so-called suitor. "I have not yet discovered which of my servants put this notion into his head, or how it grew to actually include me rather than said servant, but I will."
Hela nodded, then turned her attention to her own business. Two of the soldiers who had died of their wounds after the battle was over had actually been of the Asatru faith, something that surprised her somewhat. Then she realized that given its martial overtones, perhaps the faith was somewhat more prominent amongst some of the militaries of the world than the general populace.
Normally since they had died of wounds taken in battle against an overwhelming foe, both souls would have been gathered up by Odin. But Odin lacked the power to reach to Midgard any longer, and so they fell to her. "If you would my lady, I have business to attend to." Taking souls for Midgard was something Hela had to see to herself, reaching across the realms wasn't something Niflheim could do by itself.
Lady Death nodded, acknowledging and respecting the seriousness with which Hela took her work then left as quickly as she had come. With that Hela turned her attention to the back of her hall not noticing that the shadows of her throne room for some reason became somewhat darker immediately after Lady Death left. "Garm, attend me."
A second later, a giant wolf moved through the hall. It was massive, larger than Hel's brother, though obviously fully grown, and it had scars slashing its body in places, especially on one back leg, it even had a fang missing. Even with all these wounds slowing it down however no one in their right mind would consider this wolf anything but dangerous. Even still, it bowed its head, resting it on the ground in front of Hela. "Mistress?"
"I have work to attend to on Midgard, two new souls that must be brought in. Guard my realm until I return, dear wolf."
"As always mistress." Garm nodded his head, turning back toward the door out into Niflheim proper, while Hela closed her eyes for a moment and then was gone herself.
OOOOOOO
Elsewhere Odin took his hand off a small runic array set into his throne room, the lights of the magic pumping through it darkening instantly. Another pebble has been set in motion, and another small hole made in their control. That is the best I can do for now, but that hole might widen as well. And any good general knows that you should attack from as many directions as possible. Ride the chaos that this Potter mortal's very presence has created, and eventually the change will become so powerful that I will be able to act.
Odin smiled grimly to himself. He had felt Death's entrance into Niflheim, which was a part of Asgard and thus under his purview, whatever Hela or others might think. He could see what occurred there if he so chose, and had felt Those Who Watch Above in Shadow withdraw in fear of her coming. Yet even so he hadn't been able to do much, simply planting a small seed in Hela's mind. As an avatar of death, Hela could act more freely than any of his other subjects, and he hoped to guide that action.
Planting a thought in her brain had been somewhat distasteful, but Odin was king of Asgard for a reason. He had ruled Asgard not just through power but through guile, cunning and the stark knowledge that sometimes as King one had to do distasteful things to preserve the realm. In the grand scheme of things this was a rather small example of such.
Feeling his so-called 'masters' presence returning to his mind however Odin quickly and very expertly erased the past few moment's memories from his mind, pushing them down deep, so deep they could never find it until it would rise up again when he next could strike at their control. His last thought before erasing the memory was: It will take time, but your end has already been written my so-called masters, and when it cones, I will tear you and all your edifices down. Then you will face she who you fear the most. But unlike mortals you will never return to the circle of existence. You will simply end, and the universe will be better for it.
OOOOOOO
Hela and Lady Death were not the only ones who had felt the spells that Harry threw around that day. Stephen Strange and his girlfriend Clea had finally gotten a day out on the town by themselves, and had not been interrupted at all by demons, sorcerers attempting to make a name for themselves by taking him on, other-dimensional issues, or anything of that nature. Even Wanda had responded well to the couples need for some intimate time, and had readily ensconced herself in her own room and remained there for the entire day.
The two of them had just made it back to Stephen's house when he began to feel the spells Harry And Storm were hurling around in Canada, then a shocking silence for a bit before feeling the reverberations of even more powerful spells much further away, out into space. He frowned for a moment, staring up into the sky and passed it before shrugging his shoulders as he felt Clea mold herself to his side.
Stephen decided to leave it to Harry for just a moment. He certainly hadn't felt any dimensional rift, or local magical power. In other words it isn't my problem, and Harry seems to be handling it. I'll check in with him tomorrow, but for right now, I think I will respect my fellow magic user enough not to poke my head in.
OOOOOOO
Dr. Doom stood in front of a holographic map of Eastern Europe hovering in the air above a small pit in his Strategic Control Room. There were several dozen androids at work all around him inputting data into it to reflect the growing amount of information about the Red Skull that Doom's spies, both robotic and human, were slowly putting together about the Red Skull and his activities since his 'rebirth', which had happened at least 10 years ago.
I will admit that the Red Skull was very careful at first, hiding his machinations very well. And even now the connection to most of the HYDRA is still very tenuous. Yet it is still there, Hydra is still dancing to his tune. That implies that Baron Strucker is being used, willing or no. It matters not, both will fall to Doom. He watched as the colors of many of his neighbors, including further to the east like Croatia, began to change color, indicating how badly their government had been invested with HYDRA agents. And in doing so I will gain an empire.
"My Lord?" said one of his human aides, speaking up hesitantly. All of his retainers knew that they could bring things to his attention, but if Doom deemed them not worth doing so, he was very likely to dump them back down to the lowest level worker in the Castle for a time. It was worse of course for foreign agents. Doom would not kill his own subjects capriciously, but neither would he allow his time to be wasted by fools.
Doom turned to him, motioning with an armored finger that the man should continue.
"Our bots watching the world news networks have reported on a battle occurring in Montreal, Canada my Lord. We might wish to think of a way to streamline the process of them bringing such to our attention my Lord, it took several hours to come to our attention." The man hurried on, knowing that alone would not be enough. "There was mention of a person using weather powers, and of another person throwing around things that looked like magic spells mentioned in the news report."
"Interesting." Doom murmured. "I wonder what could have caused Guardian to come out into the open like that…"
"My Lord, there is more. Mention of the Hulk, and the Abomination working together, coupled with videos of a purple skinned being trying to assault the city with Guardian and the local military trying to stop it. And later my Lord, our agents who have been working on Project Overwatch reported… well at first I didn't believe what they reported my Lord but something occurred on Mars my Lord, a battle of some kind. Mars is still there, but it has been changed. We estimate that it's atmosphere has been destroyed, and most of its surface wiped clean. Some kind of tremendous fire or blaze of some kind, it registered as bright as the sun for a few hours."
Doom scowled. If that battle had occurred out in space, then the purple-skinned creature might have been an alien. As such, if it was a threat to Earth as a whole, then Doom would have to do something, offer something in return for his not aiding Potter in his fight against it or be forsworn. "Get me all the information you have about the fight, all the newsreels and the data from all of our own sensors if we had any in the area."
With that Doom moved away from the holographic map towards a computer to one side of his control room, but paused looking at the man. "Well done. And since you were the one to bring it to my attention, I will place you in charge of figuring out a way to reprogram the bots we have watching the news, or find some other way in which we can get the information faster."
As Doom walked on, the man sighed in relief and smiled faintly. If that wasn't a promotion, he didn't know what was. Hard and somewhat dangerous to work for Doom might be, but he rewarded those who served him well.
OOOOOOO
"Well that was interesting. Did the video recordings of the fight give you any ideas about this Guardian's abilities my dear?" Mr. Sinister smiled faintly, sipping on the wine he had brought to this meeting between the two allies. They had come up with several ideas, plans to trap Guardian and his allies to bring the heroes onto their own territory where they would obviously be stronger than if they went on the attack. Sinister had long put together plans to heighten tension between mutants and humans which would also work to better cull out the weak. One of them would actually work quite well for this concept though it would put him in personal danger more than the others. Still, with Morgan helping, the two of them would hopefully be able to match Potter.
"Quite a bit yes, his spells are faster than I had expected, he's obviously a war-wizard. I thought those fools had all bred themselves out of existence decades ago. Still, it would make sense considering the amount of power I felt thrown around in London several months back. I wonder who he was fighting?" Morgan murmured, patting at her lips daintily with a napkin. "Still, everything he showed in this fight I can counter or overcome. If that is all he has, and we trap him in a place where his actions will be constrained as they were in the city, it will actually be relatively simple, so long as I can use a local array to aid in matching his raw power.
"I personally would like more of an indication about this Storm's magical powers, as well as where my own target has gone, she was not involved in this battle. The others are immaterial, but Subject Grey should be quite powerful, I'd like to get a handle on her abilities before we fully commit." Sinister replied frowning thoughtfully. "Guardian is unaware of us now, but if we strike at him and fail that will no longer be the case. He seems far more proactive then Xavier or your Sorcerer Supreme, which is worrying."
Or even Magneto, Sinister thought to himself thinking about the other player in the future of mutant kind. He had not been heard from of late, which Sinister knew was possibly not a good sign. Eric was far too intelligent and his organization too large for Sinister to like it being so silent for so long.
"While I care not for your target, you raise a good point." Morgan murmured. "Knowledge is power, that is true in all of life, but it is even more true in battles between magic users. It is all too often a case of…" she frowned then shrugged her shoulders, doing interesting things to the dress she was currently wearing though Sinister didn't notice. "Of knowing what particular rock or paper or scissor will work the best I suppose. But unless you come up with a way of finding out more about his abilities, and more importantly his resources, we are stymied there."
"I wonder if there is a connection between Guardian and Magical Minds." Sinister mused. "They do seem to have appeared at the same time, if so that might give us another way to discover more about him and his abilities."
"Perhaps, though I would have to get a sample of these new medicines that Magical Minds are selling to tell you if they are actually magical in nature. My resources in England are not up to that task. Are yours?"
"No, I have very little resources in the United Kingdom, as you well know." The two of them glared at one another, remembering how they originally met and the favor Sinister had gained from Morgan there and what it cost him in turn. After a moment however the glares subsided as they turned to more important matters. "However, he will be sending those potions to other countries, we might be able to hijack a shipment at some point."
Morgan nodded then cocked her head as Sinister frowned, reaching into a pocket on his very good Armani suit pulling it out quickly and holding a cell phone up to his ear. That was rather rude, but she waited to comment on it.
She watched as Sinister's eyes widened, then locked on her own as he slowly put the cell phone away. "I have certain agents that routinely watch the stars, and they have just reported to me that something has fundamentally changed with Mars. The planet no longer qualifies as an actual planet apparently, I'll have to look over the data to tell you more. Could that be where Guardian teleported them?"
Morgan's eyes widened, then narrowed as she thought, not saying aloud any of her thoughts just yet. They might be allies but they were not trusting allies and she had no more wish to share her own abilities and of course the limitations of her magics with Sinister than she would with anyone else. Mars is the closest planet, yet even so teleporting there would be incredibly difficult and power consumptive, but there are ways in which that could be made easier if Guardian had been there before. But to destroy an entire planet?
"You will have to tell me more about what you mean by no longer qualifies as a planet before I answer that. If you mean destroy the planet as in it's no longer there, then I'm afraid I will pull out of this alliance right now. That would indicate far more power than I would be willing to tangle with. Anything below that, we would have to see."
"In that case," Sinister said standing up from the table. "This has been a magnificent meal my lady, well-seasoned by plots and information, but I think I need to get those answers for you. Shall I return say, tomorrow afternoon?"
Morgan nodded, then stood as well walking Sinister to the door. After closing it behind the man she frowned, then waited a few moments before raising the magical defenses around her mansion to the highest level before turning and disappearing through an illusion where a wall supposedly was, heading down into her work area. I think I need to refresh my memory on war-wizards in general. Perhaps there is a weakness there I can exploit, a way inside Potter's mind perhaps, or a way to negate his power. There is far more to magic than mere brute force after all.
OOOOOOO
"…And so I left the others there to keep working with the locals. Ben was a massive help there, I have to say. As Reed mentioned, the FF have a policy of working with the locals to repair any damage caused by battles they are a part of, and everyone knew it, so they are seeing the Custodes in just as good a light. I hope that was all right?" Storm asked as they began to see Earth looming in front of them.
It had taken some time for them to fly back, with Thor and Balder actually having to tug the two humans along as they were so exhausted. Both Asgardians did so good-naturedly, only ribbing Guardian occasionally about performance issues, which he replied in similar vein to before asking Storm what had gone on during his absence.
"Honestly Storm that was perfect," Guardian said, reaching over to grasp her hand with one of his bring it up to his lips to kiss wincing as a cut on his lip twinged at the touch. "You did everything I would've done, even leaving Colossus and the others there. As for your dealing with Nick Fury in that manner, well he's going to be an unhappy camper anyway. I bet the events on Mars were visible by at least the Mars Rover, let alone to astrologists the world over. We've ruffled a lot of feathers today, I'm going to have to try to put out some fires there, but there was no helping it."
Storm nodded thankful that Guardian approved of the stance she had taken there. Yet she too was worried how the rest of the world would view them now. The battle in Montréal was one thing, Storm would hold her actions there and the actions of the team up against any scrutiny, but Guardian's battle on Mars? Even if the world governments understood the necessity of what Guardian had been forced to do, there would still be a large segment of the scientific community that would be calling for his head.
On top of those long term concerns Storm was also worried by the fact that Guardian's wounds hadn't begun to heal yet. Normally Guardian's magic would go to work on his wounds immediately and it was a sign of his utter exhaustion that it hadn't. The only other time that had been true was after the battle against Mephisto, and even then it had only taken a few hours before his magical healing kicked in. Now it had been five hours since they had met up over Mars, but his wounds still looked largely the same.
Guardian caught her worried look, and smiled faintly, reaching across again to take Storm's hand. "I'll be fine my love, I'm being forced to use up most of my magic to keep the bubble of air around us going right now. After I crash, I'll allow my magic to go back to doing its normal thing." The amount of control necessary to keep using his magic despite its innate desire to begin healing him was astronomical, Storm knew that and shook her head at Guardian's blasé attitude toward it.
By that point they had reached the outer atmosphere and Guardian looked over at the two Asgardians. "Are you going to go off on your own, or will you both wish to remain with us for now?"
Thor frowned, tapping the hilt of his hammer thoughtfully. "I believe I will remain with you, and indeed remain in Montréal to aid the relief effort with Ben Grimm and the Human Torch after you take you and yours away. There will still be work to do even after the debris and rubble is cleared after all."
"You're a good man Thor." Guardian said simply, reaching out to slap him on the shoulder. "We need to get together sometime and share a drink. I've looked up at least a bit of the adventures you're supposed to have had, and I'd love to hear them from you personally."
Thor laughed, a deep booming sound that echoed all the more as they reentered Earth's atmosphere. "Indeed, I believe you too shouldst have some tales of heroism to tell! I would be most interested in exchanging tales with thee."
"I believe I will leave when you do. I still need to report back to my king about the first exchange of shipments and I have other duties that I cannot in good conscience leave aside." Balder said.
Guardian nodded, and their flight continued down towards Canada. Moments later they arrived over the city, passing by several dozen helicopters and heavy lifters that Guardian recognized as coming from SHIELD though he had no idea what they were named. Several of the helicopters began to buzz them, following them until they disappeared into the cityscape. They landed right outside the command center, where Psylocke and the others had gathered for a small meal, looking incredibly weary after hours of heavy work following a harrowing and deadly battle.
As they landed Guardian nearly fell to his knees, catching himself only at the last moment before standing up straight, looking around. He knew he must look a sight. One of his arm was bound against his side, his facemask was shattered, half of it still covered with blood. His other hand was holding his shattered ribs, and back in gravity he couldn't put any weight on one of his legs, having to hold himself upright by leaning slightly on Storm, whose arm went around his waist protectively.
For a moment their return caused shouts and then silence before one of the soldiers nearby stood up from where he had been sitting eating a ready meal. Slowly he began to clap. This was taken up by others nearby, and then it spread. Every soldier there had either been part of the battle against Thanos and his dupes, or had arrived after and talked to those who had been before. Most of them realized that Thanos had been wiping the floor with them, and if Guardian hadn't taken him off they might well have all died, as well as the civilians it was their duty to protect.
The civilians knew it too. Video recordings had been made by men and women here and there watching Guardian intercept or block blasts that were meant to destroy buildings that housed hundreds of people, and the fact he worked with two of the Fantastic Four was also a mark in his favor. Later, after the initial rush of responses to the battle faded the Mutant Issue would rear its ugly head, polarizing even further but right now, the common people of the city couldn't care less about what happened to Mars, which despite what Guardian and others might have wished was quickly becoming common knowledge. All they cared about was that Guardian had very clearly been doing his best to save their lives, and had succeeded far beyond what their own team of superheroes or military would have been able to do. Later there would be questions about that as well in the Canadian government, but right now, there was nothing but gratefulness.
Several reporters scattered throughout the maze of tents hurriedly moved towards the center of the disturbance. Then, seeing Guardian, pushed forward through the crowd trying desperately to make themselves heard above the din of the clapping. "Guardian, Guardian, what happened, do you have any idea why that alien was attacking where it came from?"
"What happened on Mars?"
"Do you have a statement you wish to make?"
Guardian held up a hand, and immediately there was silence. "Other than the fact his name was Thanos, and that he wished to sacrifice all life on this planet to some deity, I cannot tell you much more. At one point he called himself a Titan, but if that is the name of his race, or if he has some connection to the Greek Titans of ancient mythology, I cannot tell you. But I will say that this incident was not isolated. There have been other aliens showing up, but the world governments have turned a blind eye to this threat."
"We are the Custodes Mundi as the name states we guard the world from foreign enemies. But I say to you all now, that we cannot do it alone, eventually aliens like the Kree and the Skrull will send their militaries against Earth, not because we are a threat, but because they see us as a resource. Alone my team might not be able to stop them if they come at us in sufficient numbers."
"What would you ask for in terms of aid?" said one reporter, a woman who looked much more like a military person than a regular reporter, complete with crewcut and lean muscular body.
"The willingness of the world to stand with us against threats like that. To pull what resources we can to create a space fleet of our own. And to turn from petty reasons to turn against one another and face the future united as one race."
"Are you talking about enlarging the United Nations remit, or are you talking about more social issues such as the Mutant Question," asked another reporter. He was dressed in a suit that despite the work and the dirt and dust around them, looked immaculate.
"I would be more in favor of replacing the UN with something entirely new to deal with this issue, and as to your second question, that is but one of many hurdles to uniting as a species we face, and one that needs to be overcome. For now however, I am more than willing to work with the governments of the world towards dealing with alien threats, but I am unwilling to be tied to them because they have patently refused to be willing to deal with this threat in the past." Guardian smiled slightly, visible thanks to the tears in his mask though it still covered his eyes and much of his face. "That, and they have to follow certain rules about borders and such like, which if I cared about, this city would not be here any longer."
There was some nervous laughter at that, but most of the listeners both in person and watching the live broadcast understood the point he was trying to make. There were indeed times when people acting outside the laws could get things done, after all security agencies the world over had certain broad powers to ignore the laws of their own countries. This was a little more in your face than those, but still not something any of the listeners particularly cared to call him out about.
"As for specifics, I'd like the powers that be to start looking into building up a space presence, at least to build some better detection equipment so that Earth can at least see the enemy coming. It won't be easy, and it won't be cheap, but I think when faced with the possible extinction of the human race counting pennies is stupidity itself."
There was a moment of silence then, another reporter asked. "What will be done with the Hulk?"
"As he reverted to his human form of Dr. Banner, we are able to keep him sedated for now. I will state unequivocally that we have no interest in him, or the Abomination as test subjects or whatever. I will not release Dr. Banner to anyone else's custody, but I will ask now for a representative of the Canadian government and of SHIELD to be available to be present when we wake him up to question him about what happened. I believe that the alien Thanos used some kind of mind control on him, as it's well known that he and the Abomination do not exactly get along."
A small but very fit elderly man came forward from the crowd, wearing a decent suit but which had obviously seen better days. "I'm the mayor Nolan, and on behalf of the Canadian government I accept your stipulation. Frankly we don't have facilities that would be able to hold the Hulk if he reverted, so we are happy to hand that task over to you. However I would ask to also have an observer watch you destroy the Abomination's body."
"Agreed," Guardian said with a nod. "I will send a messenger to you Mr. Mayor, so I would suggest that the representative chosen stay close by. It will however take several days." He gestured to his team where they slumped in exhaustion. "I need to heal, and my team does as well, just in case he is able to revert to the Hulk after we wake him up. I honestly don't know anything about how Dr. Banner becomes the Hulk, and I'm not prepared to take any chances."
The mayor nodded readily since that was only sensible.
One reporter however was not willing to concentrate just on the battle here. He was an amateur astrologist, and he was also very skeptical about the idea that mutants would be willing to live in peace with humans, given some of their powers. "The news of your battle against this Thanos causing the destruction of Mars has spread Guardian! How can we, how can any government the world over let alone its citizens trust someone who can mangle an entire planet like that?!"
There was some muttering from Guardian's team about that, and the two Asgardians both frowned angrily at the accusation in the man's tone but Guardian merely looked at him thoughtfully. "I would ask you to judge me by my actions. A man should always be judged by what he does and says, not by preconceptions and certainly not by fear because someone can do things you cannot, or fear over what someone might do in the future."
"That is the Mutant Issue in a nutshell, isn't it? People sometimes fear what is different, what is strange and unknown. But we cannot allow that fear to control our actions, we cannot allow our fear to force us to prejudge others. Judge me by my actions," Guardian reiterated. "That is all any man can ask."
Seeing that didn't seem to convince the man Guardian sighed before placing a finger to his forehead and gesturing forward after a moment. Suddenly there appeared an image of the battle against Thanos on Mars, which ran from start to finish before ending with Guardian barely escaping with his own life up into the upper atmosphere while behind him his spell did its deadly work.
Into the silence Guardian said simply. "I had no choice. I went into that battle completely blind, and I was losing. It was either this, or retreating and there was no way to tell if he could somehow make his way back to Earth immediately which would have forced us to fight here, where my abilities would've been constrained and where my team and the FF had been battered badly. So in a way you are asking the wrong question, instead of asking 'why did I destroy Mars', you should ask 'how powerful was the enemy that I had to destroy Mars'."
More than one person there shuddered a little in fear at that, and deciding he had said all he wanted to say Guardian gestured to his team together around him, with Balder moving with them. Well that, and Harry wanted to leave before someone like Fury pointed out that the recording could have been faked. It couldn't actually, but explaining that to layman would be impossible.
He nodded to Ben and Johnny who nodded back wearily. They would stay there for a few more days, though they'd have to rest first. Even Ben's endurance had been tested this day, even with the potions aid. He also wanted to head back to the Baxter Building and use some of the equipment Reed had come up with that would help his arm heal, since none of the healing spells seemed to work on his rocky body.
He paused for a moment, seeing Hela standing nearby, her body like that of a ghost even to his senses. She smiled faintly, nodded at him, then turned away, followed by two large lights of some sort, which Harry somehow recognized as the souls of people who had died recently.
Shaking that sight off he turned back to the watching cameras. "And with that ladies and gentlemen, I have nothing more to say. Remember, we guard the world, but we do not and cannot do it alone. I urge you and those watching to begin to pressure your governments to do something about protecting Earth as a whole from alien threat. Good day." With that Guardian concentrated, and he and his team disappeared from the streets of Montréal, leaving behind a worried yet thoughtful populace.
OOOOOOO
When news of the battle in Montréal broke Emma was at the Hellfire Club working out a new deal with some of its members supplying their security teams with weapons in return for access to their corporate information networks. Yet after the live newscast began during the initial assault by the Hulk and Abomination, most of the business around the club stopped. The terrified voice of the newscaster coupled with the scenes themselves shocked even the most ruthless businessman. Even the strippers stopped dancing around their poles to stare at the news, watching as the two green behemoths slaughtered their way through a few hastily gathered army companies and apparently a Canadian superhero team, caught by various camera crews then spliced together later after the crews had no doubt met their deaths just as many other citizens did.
Emma watched the reactions of the others, seeing shock and fear in many faces, then exultation from more than a few when another superhero team consisting of at least two members of the Fantastic Four and several 'unknowns' showed up, hammering into the two monsters and forcing them away from the city. At that point the live broadcast cut out for a time, and Emma began to watch the rest of the Hellfire Club members even more closely. She was confident that Harry would be able to handle the two green brutes.
That was why she noticed when Edward Buckman hurried out of the club, rushing down the stairs from the second floor seconds after the live broadcast cut out. Frowning thoughtfully she leaned back in her chair then tapped a small device on her belt buckle, activating a sound baffling system before she pulled out her cell phone. "Sandman? Edward Buckman just left, can you recognize him from the dossiers I gave you?"
Sandman was loitering in the Hellfire Club's parking garage, hiding somewhere among the cars and monitoring the doorway into the club's environs just in case. "Yeah I recognized him, he just got in one of the limos nearest the door, seems to have startled the hell out of his driver. Why, what's up?"
"I'll fill you in later on the details, but I want you to follow him. I think he's panicking about something, and panicky people make mistakes. Do you think you could somehow listen in on any conversation he has?"
In the parking lot Sandman began to form his body more than just a head and as single arm holding a cell phone to his mouth. He had been hiding underneath one of the cars spread out at as little granules of sand with his cell phone on top of one mound of sand directly underneath Emma's car before the call came in, now he frowned, but decided to chance it. "Maybe, I'll get back to you boss."
"Good luck," Emma replied, then closed her cell phone and went back to people watching. For a few moments life in the Hellfire Club began to go back to normal, save for a few clumps of individuals here and there who had business interests in Montréal. She was unsurprised to see Sebastian Shaw coming down, moving in the direction of those members one after another. He owned a construction company, and there would no doubt be work for many such in the wake of this disaster.
While a portion of her mind continued to watch the goings-on around her another portion of Emma's mind began to work at the problem of why the Abomination and the Incredible Hulk, who had last been seen totaling a downtown city in America and fighting one another were working together to assault a city up in Canada. I thought they were supposed to hate one another?
A cold feeling began to niggle at the back of her neck. Could this have been caused by some telepath taking control of them? As a telepath herself Emma knew that taking control of a person was difficult for any extended length of time. But planting suggestions as she had proven several times was actually quite easy unless the person had natural mental defenses. If that's found out, Christ the fallout would be huge!
About 20 minutes later the live broadcast began again with another newscaster, commenting on how relief efforts were ongoing, but that one of the superheroes had apparently had a mass teleportation power that had allowed thousands of citizens to get out of the danger zone around the monsters rampage. Then he cut out again as there was a loud booming sound in the background, and suddenly the camera panned to show a company of soldiers firing up into the air at some purple skinned creature. Emma continued to watch, one part of her mind calmly noting that the cameraman would probably win a Pulitzer for this day's work. The anchorman was nowhere to be seen, which Emma thought was rather amusing.
Such thoughts left her head the moment she recognized Harry and the others battling for their lives and for the lives of the citizens. Her breath hitched in her throat and even with all of her self-control she could not stop herself from tensing slightly when Harry in his Guardian persona seemingly tackled the self-confessed alien and teleported him away. She stared at the TV she had been watching for a moment her mind, which was always moving and thinking about hundreds of different things at a time slowing to a crawl as she began to fear for the man she loved.
It was a sign of Emma's self-control that she pulled herself back quickly when she sensed someone else moving toward her. She looked up as Sebastian Shaw, without so much as a by your leave, pulled up the other chair at the table Emma was sitting at, smiling thinly at her. "That was quite interesting don't you agree my dear?"
"Shaw." Emma replied, her tone as cold as a glacier. "We are business acquaintances and somewhat allied in certain social endeavors. We are not acquaintances, or friends. Moreover I think I have proven that my age is no detriment to my abilities. Please keep that in mind when you think to address me so familiarly."
"Very well," Shaw ground out, suddenly dealing with a spike of anger at the younger woman's tone, but he quickly moved on. Deftly he touched a small button on his own button deactivating the Club's bugs nearby. As a King, he could turn them off at will, especially when there were no other kings present. "Tell me, did your spies discover anything that hinted at this new superhero team?"
"A bit." Emma frowned slightly, looking down at her glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. She never drank alcohol at the club any longer, not unless Paris was there and they were interacting socially, fearing what Shaw could possibly sneak into her drinks. "They apparently had some kind of run in with a robot of some kind down in Florida a few weeks back, and they are heavily allied with the Fantastic Four as is obvious. Needless to say that has won them quite a good deal of respect from the common citizen. I've seen hints that they might be based in Europe somewhere, but other than that nothing. I do of course know who the hammer wielding one is, he has been in the American news often enough. Why?"
"It is obvious that they are mutants." Shaw said smiling faintly. "I am just wondering what their long-term goals are and if I could get in touch with the one in charge. Considering their various abilities, they would be a massive aid to our strategic base. Though I have to wonder what kind of powers that one who teleported away with the alien has. Material manipulation, teleportation, energy shields and various energy attacks? Certainly a most interesting bag of tricks."
Emma shrugged again. "I take it your own spies haven't discovered anything more than my own?"
"Nothing," Sebastian scowled. My penetration of the European markets is not nearly as good as that in the Asian markets. And even there I've been having issues lately."
"The Mandarin, yes, I've seen reports about him," Emma nodded her head. The man they were speaking of was called the Mandarin, a crime lord of some sort in China whose fingers were beginning to spread through the entire country and beyond. He didn't seem to be taking control of China, though from what little reports Emma had he already controlled the equivalent of a small fiefdom around his main base of operations. What he was doing instead was uniting the criminal underbelly of China into one massive juggernaut, and expelling any foreign influence.
Indeed nothing was known about the man himself, but he was pure death on any kind of foreign spies or influence. This wasn't just applicable to the agents of foreign powers, but foreign businesses as well. Frost Corporation had never been as well represented in the Asian markets as some of the other Hellfire Club members, so it hadn't mattered overmuch to her, but more than a few of the minor members of the club had been dealing with issues caused by no longer having access to their corporate espionage apparatus in China and beyond. Two of them had almost been ruined by it, the Mandarin's efforts had been so detrimental to them.
"I could have wished that Iron Man dealt with him permanently during their apparent confrontation two days ago. But I'm still getting reports that the man is alive and well," Sebastian grumbled shaking his head. "Even as a hero Stark is a Boy Scout."
"You wouldn't say that if he had hit on you. In his social life he is anything but a Boy Scout trust me." Emma replied dryly. I wonder if Pepper has had any luck in taming him? Must find a way to ask if we ever see each other again.
"Speaking of possible allies, is young Potter aware of your social agenda?" Sebastian asked delicately.
Emma allowed a faint scowl to appear on her face at the mention of Potter's name, keeping up the appearance of the two of them being at one another's throats no matter how cordially they went about it. "He is aware of it, as you should have known given that interview he gave on Paris' news network."
"So he really does believe in that drivel about everyone getting along?" Sebastian sneered a little. "That's depressing. I had hoped he was more intelligent than that."
"He does like to seem to be the nice guy doesn't he?" Emma smiled thinly. "Whether or not that is the reality, I cannot say. I have absolutely no penetration in his companies, or his social dealings outside the Hellfire Club. I would recommend you attempt to procure some of those, but I doubt we'll have much luck. His security systems seem to be top-notch."
"And you can't reach him?" Sebastian asked surreptitiously tapping his temples as he signaled the waiter to bring him a drink.
"No, he has some of the same devices that Buckman has, though somewhat better than his or the late Pierce's. Potter's actually protects his mind with some kind of electrostatic field that blocks my telepathy. If you look closely, you'll notice he has a small necklace on underneath his clothing. I think that has something to do with it though I am no engineer. Whatever happened to Pierce by the way? His forces attacked my mansion as you probably are aware, did they try to attack you as well?"
"Yes they did." Sebastian actually smiled, though there was no humor to it. "I should congratulate you on acquiring Sandman as a bodyguard my dear, he certainly proved his worth quickly didn't he?"
Thanks to Emma forcing them to hide their presence, no one knew that her security team had been augmented by Vanguard and the other snipers that day. Even her own security team hadn't put that together yet, though she felt that her security commander did have some suspicions. Even Harry's saving her sister had been put down to Firestar by the police. And while the police had been a little leery about it, they couldn't actually protest a friend saving another friend, even if the individual in question was a mutant.
"He did, but my own security guards were up to the task for the most part." Emma smiled thinly. "Cold Steel's stock rose almost 50% after that. A nice little uptick from what was a very bad moment. And yourself, oh and have you finished maneuvering yourself to gain control of Pierce's companies?"
"Of course, once they are released for purchase by the federal government I will sweep in quickly. It pays to have connections. As to my ability to see Pierce off, it was not without danger or loss but the losses were acceptable and the outcome was never in doubt." His eyes narrowed as he watched the young woman across from him, not speaking for a moment as the waiter delivered his glass of whiskey. After the man left he went on. "Perhaps you should take note of that, yes? We may as you put it be allied to one another, but there should be no doubt as to who the senior partner in this alliance is."
"If I cared about such things, I would not nearly be as powerful as I am." Emma replied coldly. "Don't try to threaten me Sebastian, it won't work."
"I would think that the fact that Pierce tried to kidnap your sister would have shown you about your vulnerabilities, my dear."
"Not my dear, and as you mentioned yourself he attempted it. Firestar was up to the task of seeing that assault off, and I have already boosted my security team to make good its losses and then some. You're showing your boorish side Sebastian, if all you're going to do is try to threaten me, please leave before you embarrass yourself." Emma drawled, though her eyes were glinting like chips of ice.
For just a moment Sebastian looked as if he was about to lunge across the table at her, and Emma cocked an eyebrow, readying her telepathic power just in case but not wishing to use it. Yet Sebastian calmed down quickly, and actually shook his head chuckling. "Your fierce spirit is one of the things that I admire so much about you Emma, I just hope it doesn't get you in trouble one day." With that he stood up, tipping his glass toward her for a moment before moving away, moving back up to the King's quarters on the second floor.
Emma allowed herself to have a brief sigh of relief, before going back to watching the rest of the club, then the news when it went back to covering the relief efforts going on in Montréal. One news agency showed a government man of some kind sharing the official report of what had occurred, before switching to show videos of the Human Torch, the Thing and the new heroes, whose names had yet to be shared with the public the newscaster was quick to point out, working tirelessly to save trapped civilians.
Several hours later, Emma was back home having been driven back by the two remaining security guards of her three man detail, watching the news once again as Harry showed up and made his statement. While outside she didn't let any of her emotions show, since she was watching the program with her sister and Angelica, inside Emma was doing cartwheels. Not only because Harry was alive, which sent a spike of pure relief through her, but because of the way he handled the newscaster's and their questions.
That will certainly put some steel into the idea of mutant and normal cohabitation! I doubt it will have any effect on the true diehard bigots, but at least it will point out that we are stronger when we stand together then divided. Leaving the two younger girls to change the channel to a movie Emma made her way up to her office, where she pulled out one of the special phones that Reed Richards had made.
She had intended to congratulate Harry on a masterful bit of public speaking, but what came out of her mouth was, "When you disappeared like that did you know you were being recorded? My heart nearly stopped! If you're going to continue this whole superhero business, I think I need to demand that you don't be recorded doing insanely idiotic things, like teleporting away with an incredibly powerful alien to combat him somewhere else. Don't do that to me again! I've only recently gained people I care about, I don't want to lose one of them now!"
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment then Harry chuckled wearily. "I'm sorry Emma, I didn't realize we were being recorded, I can only imagine how unpleasant that must've been. I'm sorry for that, but I can't promise you that you won't ever see me do something stupid like that again. In the end, it was the only way I could get Thanos someplace where I could go all out, and I did have to go all out."
Something in Harry's voice warned her. "You don't think he's dead do you?"