Chapter 3.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. One Week Ago:
Stephen Johanasson hated the humidity, he hated the way it made the scars from the surgeries to build him a new face itch. He hated the way the sweat felt along his hairline and he flexed his mouth, testing the muscles under the skin to see if they still worked and was pleased to see they did. The constant drone of cicadas in the background around him was annoying as well, and he felt a burning hate well inside him as he looked around the swamp. A mosquito landed on the back of his hand and drilled into it in search of for its next meal, as a trickle of sweat began dotting his brown hairline again, threatening to ruin his perfectly styled hair.
He wanted to be back in his nice, cool lab, surrounded by clean air filters and the complex lines of genetic code that he loved pondering over as he worked. His wonderfully sterile lab, void of any contaminants from the outside world. This filth filled world that deserved none of his attention, yet he profited so handsomely from. The lab was his sanctuary, a place where he gingerly nurtured new viruses, letting them grow and live as he tested them to see what wonderful plagues he could create. Limited only by his imagination, his own personal monsters, his glorious and deadly children.
Born to kill and infect, multiplying and thriving under his care.
His dark blue eyes focused on the irritating thing in the back of his hand and he slapped it quickly, making his personal guards jump to attention at the sudden sound in the quiet. As a former Hydra researcher, he was a genius. But now he was a defector, running constantly because he found better pay in making people sick and conveniently curing them with his developed medicines. He made billions when the last three flu seasons carried a viral lode that responded to the cure his pharmaceutical company developed and patented after a few thousand deaths occurred. His virus and his medicines of course, and he came out the celebrated hero.
Of course, no one had ever thought to lift the curtain and see the face behind Ghemma Pharmaceuticals, and no one ever would. He made sure of that, labeling himself the reclusive hero of Big Pharma. Hiding behind his false persona and the even more carefully constructed facade of humility, and ensuring through careful planning that no one ever thought to seek him out for an interview. He preferred the lack of attention though, the less showboating he went out for, the better his company was looked upon by the public as well. So unlike Stark and his need for constant accolades and fanfare, the man was a joke in all eyes.
Stephen neatly dabbed the sweat away, and did his best to ignore the humid air that threatened to wrinkle his suit. His patience was wearing thin, but he would continue to wait for the woman he had agreed to make this deal with.
Shortly, a van pulled up and the slender Haitian woman he was doing such deals with got out of it, her dark brown curly hair bounced and her ice blue eyes surveyed the scene. She carefully studied each man cautiously and produced an envelope from her dress pocket, handing it to Stephen. He took it calmly and looked at her. She was a very beautiful woman, but scary as hell in his eyes and he openly admired the face that hid such callous cruelty.
"Is the K Ap Viv Lanmo Virus ready?" She asked him, crossing her arms in front of her as he slipped the envelope into an inside pocket on his suit jacket. She sized him up briefly and he smiled at her politely and tilted his head slightly in his own assessment of her.
"Generation seven is perfected, ten seconds from exposure to death and another minute to the completion of the cycle. The Prions we introduced to this strain guarantee he host reanimates and continues to spread the infection. Repeating the cycle until the virus has spread, I am quite proud of the results Leonie. I am also sure that you will be very pleased with them as well my dear." He said and motioned for one of the guards to bring him the tablet he had loaded the video onto before the meeting, taking it gingerly and turning it to face her as he tapped the play icon on the screen.
A man came into view, he was Middle Eastern in descent and was in the throes of full panic as he fought against the chains with his arms above his head. He begged his captors in Farsi for his life and wept, a cold faced tech walked into the frame with a syringe. Ignoring his pleas for mercy and injecting the man roughly with the contents. Instantly, the man began to jerk and convulse as K Ap Viv Lanmo attacked his central nervous system, the prions implanting into his brain and spinal fluid as the man convulsed and tried to breathe. Seizures made his muscles spasm and his mouth foam as the primary viral infection shut down his respiratory system and the mad died suddenly and went limp in his bonds. The techs backed away and another living man, restrained on a gurney was pushed into the room and the door was sealed from the outside as the dead man on the wall began experiencing involuntary muscle spasms, his arms and legs twitching as the base electrical impulses shot from his brain and down into his dead limbs.
Explosive bolts in the chains fired, freeing the dead man and he collapsed to the ground in a disjointed heap. Slowly the mass of twitching arms and legs found coordination and stood up as the man restrained on the gurney began to thrash against his bonds. A primal scream left the mouth of the newly reanimated zombie as he lunged forward and sank his teeth into the struggling man on the gurney. The virus worked its horrible duty again as she watched, detached and emotionless from the cycle of violence and death that played out in front of her. Stephen looked down at the screen like a proud parent showing a friend the first steps his child took, the video ended and he darkened the screen and handed the tablet back to the guard as the other one brought forward a brushed steel case.
"Very impressive." Leonie said and nodded. "This will be greatly helpful in my work. Papa Legba was right in telling me of you."
Her Haitian accent became more evident as she strained to hide her excitement as she spoke to him, and she nodded at the slim case that looked as if it could hold a very expensive pen set in his hands.
"May I introduce you to your greatest weapon in your quest?" he asked her as he opened the case, revealing a syringe carefully nested into a foam rubber bed to keep it from getting damaged in transit. She smiled widely as Stephen and put her hand out on the thin tool in front of her and looked at him with a spark of madness in her eyes.
"One dose, one single dose and it is capable of infecting the entire world." Stephen said and closed the case gently, handing it to Leonie as she quietly took it from his hands and cradled it close to her like someone would hold a kitten. Her thin, calloused fingers stroked the case and she closed her eyes and smiled at him and he shuddered at the darkness in it.
"Thank you." She said to him. "I do not want the end though, I just wish to keep Stark and his friends at a safe distance."
"This should be very helpful to you then my dear, I am happy we could do business together. May I remain in touch with you to ensure that you are satisfied with this deal?" Stephen said and he smiled at her and mopped some more sweat away from his brow.
"Yes, and I wish to show you more gratitude later, when my work is finished." She replied and looked around at the other men. "I have great rewards for you in the future."
He nodded at her as she turned and got back into the van, the ancient vehicle shuddered to a start, the engine protesting as it was forced into gear. She drove away down the old access road, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake and turned down the bend in the road. The two guards began walking down the dirt trail, one talking into a cell phone as a beautiful white Mercedes pulled up and one of the large men stepped forward to open the door for him. He paused before getting into the vehicle, and looked at the man who opened the door, suffering the humidity a moment more.
"Make sure that Fury is made aware of our friend." He said to the quiet man, and turned a bit, lifting his leg to get into the vehicle.
"The Voudou loving bitch cannot end the world while there is still billions to be made from it. Have our girl inside his circle leak the video and the first site she plans to use, make the files very convincing. And ensure they cannot be traced back to us, get the team on it immediately." The guard nodded silently at him and closed the door as Stephen settled into the leather interior of the car, the large man climbing into the front seat, sending the required files remotely from a server in another country that could not be traced back to him or Ghemma Pharmaceuticals. Their plant close to Fury would get another email sent to her personal one, set up for communication between them both exclusively, with further instructions.
Stephen made himself comfortable in the air conditioned interior, looking out the window thinking about the woman he had just dealt with. As the car glided down the dirt road smoothly, and as the last human beings left the swampland, an alligator eased its body into the humid afternoon sun warmed water and vanished.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Loki opened the door to the Council Chambers and the six men sat in deep discussion around the table, ignoring us as we entered. Odin held the seat of honor at the head of the table and Thor, who seemed to have recovered from his hangover, looked up at me and gave me a quick smile. We both stood silently until Odin acknowledged us and I neatly pulled my gloves off and folded them in my hands nervously. Thor's quick smile told me that it was nothing horrible, and I felt somewhat relieved at the gesture. He was a good friend and often called me his sister. Some times becoming overly protective of me, and Loki tolerated it because he kept me living and they both agreed that I should be looked out for. He was a big lug, and he had the bad habit of lifting me off my feet when he hugged me, but it was always nice to have someone like him watching my back.
"Would the Lady care to take my seat?" Lord Sventaka offered me politely, his gray beard a stark contrast to his black robes and hands shaking with a touch of palsy as he spoke. I gave him a polite smile as the rest of the men in the room looked up at me, making me feel suddenly scrutinized under their stares. Instinct kicked in and I wanted to hide behind a pillar or Loki for protection, but stood my ground.
"Thank you for the offer sir, but my legs are younger than yours. I will stand." I replied politely and he returned the smile brightly.
"Such a sweet girl." He said and moved a paper closer to him with a shaking hand, forcing his fingers to cooperate as he trembled involuntarily. I blushed and smiled at him. He was a very nice man, and I enjoyed talking to him about the philosophies that I had read over my short years. I spent a day teaching him about numerology, and he was very fascinated by the subject of it and he listened carefully. Once he had mastered it, he began working out charts for everyone, and seeing what he could divine from the information given to him. He was delighted by everything I shared with him, and I liked the old man very much, he was a secondary father figure to me and he was one of the kinder men on the Council.
"That she is." Odin said and looked at the two of us, his remaining eye looking at me softly, and I relaxed completely under his gaze.
"Lady Lilliana Rose, I asked you here at the suggestion of Lord Sventaka and Thor, they believe that you may have some wisdom and insight into out current dilemma." Odin said and handed me a paper, I walked around the the table and took it from him, reading the page in my hands carefully.
"The girl can barely read our language, how can her pretty little mind give any sort of insight into our dilemma?" Lord Raithbourne laughed out, looking at me with his waxy face and licked his yellow teeth. He sneered at me in disgust, but he was right about my barely being able to read the blocky text in front of me on the page.
Loki had been spending a lot of time teaching me how to read and write Asgardian, and the lessons were slow at times. I was currently able to write simple sentences, but I still stumbled over some words as I read them in my mind. It was so much easier to learn Latin, at least with that language I did not have to learn an entirely new alphabet. I did manage not let the sneering old man bother me though, he was angry I existed period and he openly disapproved of Loki and I being allowed to continue what we had. He even went so far as to shove his daughter under Loki's nose in order to make me jealous, it did not work though.
I took my time with the paper in my hand, frowning at it and handed it back to Odin quietly, I thought over what I had read in my head and looked at the King. He opened his hand, inviting me to speak, and I gave a nervous jump at the gesture.
"What are your thoughts?" He asked me and I nodded.
"Why do you want to put such strict restrictions on the Jotun?" I asked softly and Lord Raithbourne chuckled as Loki glared at him openly.
"Do you see my King? She should not worry that pretty little mind over the problems of men send her back to her embroidery and the rooms she fills with pretty dresses and trinkets. She would be much happier there." He said and I looked only at Odin, his eye glaring at the old man at the open insult. Thor raised a finger in warning at the man. I heard Loki take a step forward toward me, but I remained openly calm in the face of the man.
"I value all opinions, and if Thor agrees with Sventaka, then I shall hear your solution to the current stalemate presented here. We must have an agreeable treaty after all." Odin replied and rested his closed hands on the table as all the men in the room looked at me. I sighed and looked up at the man who ruled and offered me open protection against all those who were hunting me throughout the universe.
"I would not put such strict restrictions on the Jotun." I said and everyone in the room gaped at me in silent awe for disagreeing with the Council.
"It makes sense you would not." Raithbourne hissed out and looked at Loki openly. I turned my head and looked at Loki as well as voices became heated in the room, and I calmed myself and gathered my thoughts as Odin cut off the din with a single gesture.
"Why do you take that opinion child?" He asked me and the rest of the room looked at me, Thor looking at me with great interest and smiling at me.
"A man on Earth once wrote that: it is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free. These restrictions you wish to place in effect would enslave the Jotun to Asgard. It is not the place of this realm to make slaves of the other Nine Realms, but to offer them aid should it be needed. Arrogance in this treaty will cause it to fail, and bring on more hostilities toward Asgard. Not only from the Jotunheim, but also from the other Nine Realms." I said to all the men in the room, the looked at me and blinked at what I had just said. Nervously, I began to scratch at the back of my hand, and Odin looked at me opened mouthed, I was beginning to think I had made a huge mistake in saying anything. Thor nodded seriously, and regarded me with a quiet smile.
Loki cleared his throat and I realized that I was scratching my hand again, I hid the nervous tic by folding my hands neatly over my stomach and looked at the Council afraid to speak further.
"I like her, she is level headed." Lord Sventaka said happily and chuckled to himself and the men sitting around the large table nodded with the exception of Raithbourne.
"Your opinion is very wise Child, and very valid." Odin said and smiled at me, I looked at him shocked and blushed a bit at his compliment.
"Put a crown on her head then," Raithbourne groaned and glared at me. "She can see then how far her pretty thoughts will go to save her."
Riathbourne had started hating me from our first meeting, and made his continued feelings about me no secret. He thought I was a passing thing, and every day that passed where I was talked about, irritated him more. It made me think that he made open comments and insults like that to see me squirm, mentally I beat the hell out of the disgusting man.
"We will have no insults about the Lady Lilliana." Thor said firmly. I gave him a polite smile and one of the men at the table looked at the Allfather and took in a breath.
"I am inclined to agree with the girl." He said and smiled at me. "Her argument is wise and valid for this situation."
"I agree with her as well." Lord Sventaka said, his hands shaking a bit worse, but his mind remaining clear.
Odin lifted the paper neatly and tore it in half proudly, his smile turned toward me as he did it. The men watched as he gestured toward the pages he was holding and he stood to drop them into the fireplace, he turned again and placed his hands behind his back, thinking as he walked back and returned to his seat quietly.
"This ends that stalemate." Odin said as Thor stood carrying a file folder and a white wrapped box, tied with a gray ribbon and handed the package to me. The telltale signs that Natasha had sent me another Glassybaby as a gift from his trip to the Earth this morning. She always sent me a different one, and I was puzzled as to how she had not sent me a double of a color I already had. He gestured to the folder in his hands, and I frowned at it, worried about what it would say and he put a protective hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me gently.
"This is unpleasant business, but it needs to be addressed." He warned and I handed Loki the box and took the folder from Thor, opening it and recoiling in horror at the pictures inside. I closed it quickly and internally cursed at Thor and SHIELD for all the nightmares I was going to have based on the top photo alone.
Really, sleep is so overrated after all.
"You need to look." Odin said. "You are both being accused for the deaths of thirteen mortals."
I looked at Loki who returned my concern and swallowed, but we both managed to remain calm under the circumstances.
"I can assure you, it was not either one of us." Loki replied as Thor motioned me toward his now vacant seat politely. I sat down at the table and set the file folder filled with horrors in front of me and with a shaking hand, I opened it and began looking at the pictures one at a time. The Council member next to me cringed at the photographs openly and I closed my eyes as I frowned down at the images, fighting the urge to throw them all into the fireplace. Thor passed me a cup of wine and I took a long drink from it, feeling sick with each photograph that I looked at.
"They know not the reason for their deaths, they hope that you can offer insight or surrender to their authorities if you are the beings that caused them." Thor said and I looked back down at the pictures again, searching for any reason for the death before me.
"Is there a connection between the victims?" I asked calmly. "Serial killers sometimes choose their victims for a reason."
Everyone around me looked confused and I sighed openly, knowing I was about to have to explain what I meant to the room.
"Often the victims share some trait, something common that the killer wants to erase from the world. They may go for a certain color of hair, or a occupation that the victims share. It may be also be something completely mundane as they all eat at the same restaurant. We call them Serial Killers because they have this compulsion in them to kill with impunity, the act on their desires to erase the trait and can sometimes go years without getting caught." I explained calmly and turned to the last picture slowly, and stopped as I looked at it closely.
"There was no connection reported to me, with the exception of how they were killed." Thor replied and I looked up at him, setting the photo in my hand face down on the table and folding my hands neatly.
"I can prove it was not Loki, but it will put suspicion on me." I said and everyone looked at me, Loki folded his hands behind his back and looked coolly at me.
"Continue." Odin said and I looked at him.
"What do you know of Voudou?" I asked Loki and his eyebrows pinched together as he looked at me.
"An odd word." He said and looked at me, catching on to what I was doing and tilting his head toward me in challenge.
"Can you tell me how to make a Poppet, or what ingredients go into Goofer Dust?" Loki shook his head quietly and I continued in my line of questioning, proving that he was not the one responsible for the horrible deaths. Fearing also that I was going to be held at blame for this.
"Can you read the Tarot, or tell me who Papa Legba is? What about the use of Red Brick Dust or Black Salt?" I questioned and the men around the table looked at me to see the point I was coming to.
"What are you speaking of Lady?" Odin asked and I picked up the picture of the Voudou Doll and showed it to the men around the table. They all looked at the photo and Raithbourne regarded it with disgust.
"A child's toy, strange but you failed to make any point." Raithbourne said and turned to the man next to him who glared at him in annoyance.
"Voudou is a religious practice on Earth steeped in superstition and Ritual Magick, they believe in multiple Gods or forces. But unlike Wicca, the practitioners do not believe in the Laws of Three. The guidelines that states whatever energies you put out into the universe come back to you, but three fold."
"This is not a child's toy, it is a Poppet. A magickal doll made by the practitioner to represent the person who you want to either curse or heal. The Bokor, or sorcerer who used this is controlling Papa Legba, the Loa or God who is believed to act as an intermediary between the human world and the other Gods." I said and watched as Loki licked his lips slowly, regarding me with interest.
I pointed at the symbol embroidered on the dolls torso and everyone looked closely at it as I took in a long breath. Raithbourne sat back and smiled cruelly at me, I then had the sudden feeling he was thinking something to use against me but I carefully thought out my next words before speaking.
"The symbol is the one that represents Papa Legba. Usually in the rituals for Poppet Magick, you would sew something of the person inside it and then work the spell. A piece of hair, or a nail clipping." I said and used my power to create the symbols that the people of Earth used to represent the various Gods throughout the ages. Crosses, Ankhs, and the Norse Symbol for Odin floated above the table, and I looked up at them.
"But you do not have either hair or nail clippings from a Deity, so you use their symbol. Because names and symbols is power alone in some practices of Ritual Magick. You can use the symbol of the Deity to evoke them, or bend their will depending on the Magick. A good practitioner will use the God or Goddesses influence and power to add force to their works, and to bring more strength to their ritual works." I said and made the symbols vanish one by one, holding up the picture of the carefully drawn pentagram in chalk on the ground where one body was found.
"These people were not just murdered, they were sacrificed." I said and the room went dead quiet and a few of the Council Men shifted in their chairs uncomfortably as they looked at me.
"Are you saying that, this mortal may be able to control even us?" Thor asked and Loki looked at me in concern.
"Possibly." I said and took another deep breath. "But most likely they will focus on the African of Voudou counterparts. Anansi, for example, the Trickster God who enjoys spinning stories or Shingo the God of Storms. Even Baron Samedi, who controls Guinee, their version of the afterlife." I sighed and everyone looked at me quietly, and with interest. Loki took in a breath and I looked up at him, he looked down at me impressed by my knowledge openly as I leaned back in the chair quietly as everything I had just said was processed by the group of men around me.
"How do you know all of this?" Raithbourne said and I closed my eyes, afraid of the judgment that was about to come down on me.
"Because I practiced Wicca when I was in school, and studied Haitian Vodou." I said and Raithbourne sneered at me in disgust at the revelation about my past.
"She is not a suspect Lord Raithbourne." Thor said defensively and I smiled up at him as everyone looked at Thor. He put a hand on my shoulder as Loki looked across the table at me, and smiled at his adopted brother for defending me. The men around the table, with the exception of Odin looked pale and I nervously began scratching at my hand. Loki cleared his throat again and I stopped, rolling my eyes and I felt the weight of universe came crashing down around me.
"They are in over their heads with this one, I have to go back to Earth and help them." I said and everyone looked at me, Loki closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
"Are you sure this is a wise course of action?" One of the Council Men asked and looked at Odin. "You are still getting control over your gifts, and you are still looked for across the Universe."
"This person has an end game here, they have to be stopped. Maybe I can just offer some insight into what they are facing. A couple of hours on Earth at the most and then I will come back." I said and Loki opened his eyes and looked at me, being strangely reasonable.
"You cannot go alone." Loki said and I nodded at him, me going to Earth alone would be like ringing the cosmic dinner bell, every tyrant in the known galaxy would descend on the planet and make one bad situation so much worse.
"Right now Loki uses his tricks to conceal her from the beings who would hunt her, it is a wise decision on his part. Can you extend the power over her wherever she goes brother?" Thor asked and crossed his massive arms in thought.
"I cannot, it requires me to remain close to her, it was risky enough for me to go to Jotunheim and leave her unprotected." Loki replied and I shivered, thinking about what would happen if I had to escape another attack on Asgard by myself.
"Take Thor." Lord Sventaka chirped out and Odin shook his head violently at the suggestion.
"He is needed here for the treaty, as well as the rest of our finest warriors." Odin said and I nodded in agreement. Something about the pictures did not add up as I glanced down at the photos of the bodies. I looked from one picture to another, spreading a few of them out in front of me as I frowned down at the images. I looked up at Thor and put my hand on his arm, tapping it to get his attention.
"How did these people die?" I asked him and picked up another picture and he looked down at me sadly, and uncrossed his arms.
"They were drained of blood by unknown means Lady." He replied and I stood up like a shot facing Thor, shaking and put my hands on his arms.
"Say that again." I demanded, my heart ricocheting off the walls of my chest like a stray bullet in panic. The nightmare replayed in my head as the ground tilted under my feet, Loki came around the table quickly and stood close to us.
"They were drained of blood." Thor said and my heart stopped in my chest briefly, and I turned back to the table and looked at the pictures in shock, remembering my nightmare and wondering if I was seeing all that happened that could affect the universe.
"Blood Magick." I said and put my hands on the back of the chair I had occupied and looked around the room.
"I have read about the workings of Blood Magick, but never practiced it myself, it is really bad news. Get it wrong, and you risk everything, even your own soul in your dealings." I looked down at the pictures and shivered, wrapping my arms around myself in fear. Loki gently moved me aside and gathered up the pictures quickly, closing the folder over them and shoved the folder at Thor as he turned on him.
"She has seen enough." Loki said. "Take your answers back to Midgard and report this to them, let them deal with this matter on their own."
"Midgard may need her to go Loki." Thor protested and Loki glared at his brother when Odin pounded his fist on the table to stop the two of them from arguing. My fingers gripped the back of the chair and I walked around it and shivered.
"I have to go back." I said and eased myself as I shook into the chair quietly, I glanced around me and all the men in the room looked at me, agreeing in various ways.
"This sorcerer poses a threat to us here in Asgard, this matter does require our intervention." Sventaka said and tapped his shaky fingers on the table top as I folded my hands in my lap.
"Loki will go with you." Odin said. "While he would be useful to the treaty, his knowledge of powers like this and his ability to conceal you may be helpful to you. I also have no doubts in my mind that he will keep you from harm without my command."
I nodded and pressed my lips together, looking around at the men in the room. Lord Sventaka smiled at me kindly and I returned it, but inside I wanted to scream and run the other way. I knew that this person had to be stopped by any means, and I would probably have to stay longer if needed.
"Leave in the morning." Odin suggested and I nodded to him feeling the day weigh down on me.
"I'm scared." I said, letting the men in the room see how really vulnerable I really was and Odin put his hand over mine gently.
"If you were not," He said and I looked at him. "I would call you a fool."
