Chapter 10: Man or Superman?

Mara gave indications that they needed to find somewhere discreet to train, and Ian suggested Baxter State Park. It was a massive area of two hundred thousand acres, and it was all wilderness. It was a state park, but one was only able to access it by dirt logging roads, and thus it was only meant for the real wilderness dwellers: mountaineers, hikers, hardcore campers, and so forth. There were many trails, but they were best navigated with proper hiking gear and supplies, for, one wrong step off the trail and wrong turn after that, and they find your skeleton in the spring. Because it was now past Labor Day, the place was practically deserted except for the lonely park ranger, Maine guides, and the isolated forest service fire tower people. In other words, they could fairly well do what they wanted. Within moments, Mount Katahdin came into view, and everyone circled around to find a good spot. They soon found an isolated clearing north of the peak and began. Mara then said, "Okay, so you mastered flying. Good, and now we can add to that. What we need to do now is find out what your main power is."

He looked at her out the corner of his eye, and she added, "Every one of us has an area of expertise. Now, there are general powers of aura reading, telekinesis, reading minds that are open to us, and great physical enhancements. We can see the entire electromagnetic spectrum when we want, for example, we can run with great speed, and can have unlimited strength when called upon. Now, you, well, because of being part human, you may have limits to that, and that we must test. However, each one of us has some area where we specialize. I hate to use them, but you know them best, so, Belldandy can use wind and air as her forte, but she can also speak to animals. In fact, even the most vicious becomes tame around her. Urd uses electricity and Skuld is a techno-magic user. She is a natural born engineer and computer geek, but machines and electronics are her toys, and she can make them do anything she wants."

"I found that out," he said, remembering his sudden experience in the world of Japanese pro wrestling. Mara then said, "First, we must find out your special power. Now, your little trick with the Plexiglas was really neat. I could say we can all do that, but the speed and haste with which it happens leads me to believe that you are a matter manipulator. Do you see that boulder coming out of the ground over there? Let's test the basics and see if you can change its basic state."

As a precaution, Mara caused the grass around it for about 20 feet to come out of the ground. She then said, "Okay, make it liquid."

"How do I do that?"

"Just imagine it melting like ice."

He just shrugged his shoulders, held out his hand, and did what he was asked. Instantly, the rock began to glow. Ian said, "I don't know why, but I don't feel the heat off it."

Hild then said, "In your state, you are actually immortal. Your supernatural side is compensating and causing you to be able to bear it. Like this, you are actually indestructible."

His eyes went wide at the thought, wondering just how far things could go for him. He returned his focus, and before long, the rock was molten and staring to run down like a fiery hot ice cream cone. He then said, "I wonder if I could go to gas?"

Mara said, "I would not advise…" but it was too late. Before long, the entire clearing was beginning to dry up and ignite in some areas. Indeed, the lava started to turn to a smelly, noxious gas. Yet, when Ian saw what was happening, he quickly thought of dry ice, and in that instant, pebbles were scattered over the now blackened and singed clearing, save for the spots where the three stood, where long green shadows sat behind them where the heat could not reach for their blocking it. They were all unharmed, but they were now blackened with soot, and Mara said, "Uh…let's find another spot to continue."

As they went, Mara shuddered to think of what would have happened if he decided to take the gas to plasma!

Soon they were at a lake, and Mara said, "Okay, now, we see you can handle the basics of matter. What we need to see now is if you can change chemical states."

Hild then said, "I don't think that's wise. I mean, what if he started a small nuclear chain…"

Yet, he had already started, going over to a puddle, and seeing if he could separate the oxygen from the hydrogen. It was only a puddle that was a foot wide and about an inch deep, but, when he started, because of the nature of hydrogen, and what it would take to separate the elements, the hydrogen went off with a report tantamount to an artillery shell going off. The sudden lack of ground underneath Ian took him off his feet, and when the dust settled, there was now a crater eight feet wide and two feet deep. At that, Hild said, "Just stick to basic state of matter changes for now. I am sure glad that was not uranium!"

Mara, to move things along, said, "Well, let's test your strength."

She went over to an old, massive oak that had fallen over from age and she said, "Pick that up."

"Okay," he said, and went over, finding that, with just a little effort, he had it over his head. He then aimed north, where he figured was nothing but wilderness, and Hild caught on to what he intended. She said, "Wait, I want to watch this."

She got airborne a good way, and then said into his mind, "Okay, let her fly!"

As if he was an Olympic javelin thrower, he hurled the thing, and it took off like a rocket. The oak went for miles, landing just ten miles short of the edge of the park itself. She came down and said, "Well, that was impressive. Had that been a standard javelin, it may have left the Earth's surface! I am not quite the math whiz like Skuld, but at my calculations, the max you should be able to lift is 800,000 pounds."

He stared at her in disbelief. He could not believe what he was hearing. She then said, "Oh, don't be surprised. It is only because of your human side that you cannot do anymore."

He plopped down onto his butt, at a loss. He had accepted the fact that he was now very powerful, but he never thought it would go that far. "This is too much!" he said, "I am SO not used to this!"

Mara slapped his back and said, "Hey, don't worry about it! The more you do this, the more used to it you will be. Now, let's test your speed."

While all this was happening, things were stirring for Belldandy and company. Thor and Urd came back just before the sun rose, and both did not attempt being quiet when they entered. Everyone staggered out to see them looking quite happy, and both reeking with the smell of beer. Now Skuld REALLY wanted to get out of there, because her brother became affectionate to the point of pain after a few kegs. However, he was not drunk, but he did feel good, and he came up to her, saying, "Come here, kiddo, and give your big bro a hug!"

Before she could retreat, he gave her a hug that not only would have shattered normal human ribs, but even Noble Scarlet emerged and looked like the air was being squeezed out of her!"

Urd said, "Well, it wasn't sake, but enough of it gave me the energy I need. So, let's find old boy and see what he's up to."

"We have to know where they went first," Thor said, "Let's ask his mother!"

"I think we need to be careful there…," said Belldandy, but he was already out the door and heading for Dorothy's place. Lind said, "Oh great: he could spoil the whole thing. We have to get there ourselves."

Lind followed while everyone else used their special abilities to travel through certain mediums for speed of travel.

Dorothy was going about getting herself ready for the day when there was a pounding on the door. She was still tired enough to not have the wherewithal to check the peephole and she opened it to see, and smell, Thor, who smiled and said, "MOM!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs and slammed the door in his face! Thor, not being accustomed to this kind of treatment, said, "Hey, that's not how you treat a guest. Let me in!"

She quickly went to fetch her old Browning .45 from the draw and said, "Go away, or I'll shoot!"

As an answer, the door came flying off its hinges with one good hammer blow, and as soon as he stepped in, she opened fire. Of course, the bullets struck him, went as flat as coins, and fell to the ground. She now just looked in shock at him as he said, "Well, I've had nicer greetings from people before, but I could understand, I guess. Anyway, you need to put that down. You'll hurt someone."

With the flick of a finger, a small and short burst of electricity from his finger shocked the gun from her hand. Without even thinking, he plopped down in an easy chair and put up a foot on a hassock, saying, "Nice digs you got! It ain't Valhalla, but it's homey!"

"And just who are you!" she said, angry with this man, now not certain who she faced.

"I'm your son's brother!" he said with a smile, "We got different mothers, but we are still blood."

She rolled her eyes and said, "More of your kind! When are you people going to stop harassing me?"

Thor got serious, and he stood up and said to her, "You know, for a human, knowing who she's talking to, you sure have a lot of guts to mouth off like that!"

"This is insane!" she shouted, looking for everyone, but Ian had been long gone, and the other two were out looking for him. Thor then said, "Who are you looking for?"

She had no answer, but all she could do is say, "You call yourselves gods, and you play with us like toys! I would have thought that you had some kind of care for human life, our affairs! You're not gods…you're all evil!"

A female voice came from another angle and from the nearby mirror on the closet door, which said, "Please, thinks of us not this way, for we do care, and there are greater things afoot."

She wheeled around to see Belldandy standing there in the clothes she normally would wear if she were back in her primary home. Her beauty was such that even Dorothy was calmed a bit. Before long, Urd and Skuld emerged, and Dorothy thought it odd that Urd looked so much like Hild. She had to ask, "You are Hild's daughter, are you not?"

"You mean that little impostor?" answered Urd, "Heavens, no…but she is the exact copy."

"I don't get it," responded Dorothy, to which Skuld answered, "We can reveal all to you if you give us a chance."

However, the contract that she held with avatar Hild was kicking in, and clouding her thinking she said, "No, I don't believe you! You're all connected! You all don't care one bit! If he had just left me alone, none of this would be! Someone needs to pay for this!"

Thor was about to become indignant over such statements against his father, but Belldandy stepped between them and said, "No, brother, she is right. Recompense must be made."

"Brother?" said Dorothy, to which Belldandy answered, "Yes, the father of Ian is mine as well. I understand you have felt much in the way of grief for the lack of my father being involved in his life. I assure you, father must have had a reason for what he did, for he is not a cruel person. Yet, some kind of restoration is needed, and because I am his daughter, I shall stand in his place."

She spread her arms and went to her knees, saying, "If you have much in rage against him, please, take it out on me. If I know the mind of father, if it meant it would help you and your son, he would do this himself. Go ahead, and I shall not resist."

Everyone else stood in shock to this act. What was she doing? However, in moments, Urd took a closer look and began to smile some. She could see the magic appearing before them, and she knew things were about to become very interesting. The rage against him, combined with the binding force of the contract, was causing Dorothy to shiver. Her hand was tensing up into a fist, and now she approached to try to find a mark with it. Others started to lean towards Belldandy, but she said, "No, let this be. Do not interfere."

However, Belldandy was staring right into the eyes of Dorothy, who was now raising her fist, getting ready to crash down on her, but her hand just shook as she held it up into the air. Dorothy said, "Do not look at me like that…those eyes!"

Belldandy did not move, or take away her stare. Dorothy wanted to strike, but for some reason, she just could not bring herself to do it. She stood there for a good five minutes in the valley of decision, tears now streaming down her face, saying again, "Please, don't look at me like that! I…I…" and she finally collapsed to her knees, now weakened by all the stress she had built up, but had not released. There she knelt, bent over onto the floor, bawling her eyes out, repeating, "I can't do it! I can't be like him, like them… Why is this happening? Why…"

At this, Belldandy came over and started to hug her, saying, "It is okay, because we are here to help…"

"…as am I," stated another voice, familiar to all of them, "Dorothy, because of what has happened, and who has become involved, it is time I explain all."

Yet, upon hearing that voice, she regained some of her resolve, and she came up to her feet, shouting, "Oh, you owe me more than that, you two-timing, womanizing, heartless…"

"ENOUGH!" he thundered, having finally been fed up with her attitude. She was about to find out why it was not wise to tick off a deity. The yell was enough to shake the place a touch, and Dorothy staggered back, and then fell back to her rear in horror, not certain what was to happen next. He continued, "Just who do you think you are to question the motives of the All-Father?"

"But I…" she tried to squeak out, but he again thundered, "SILENCE! Just who do you think you are to try to give ME counsel? Where were YOU when I framed the universe? Were you there telling me how I should frame each star, each galaxy? Were you there to decide how the laws of physics work? Do you dare imply that I do things without rhyme or reason? Do you think that for those 18 years I had no idea what was going on? Yes, I let you go through the fire, but have you forgotten the purifying properties of fire? I knew the boy would have a human side to him, but in order for him to be able to have it not drag him down, I had to allow this! Think about it: I could have let things be much worse, could not I have? Did he not turn out to be a virtuous young man? He is strong, caring, loving, has learned how to be humble. He knows that with strength comes the discipline needed to control it! If I had been involved from the start, he may have never learned how to appreciate the little things, or care for those less fortunate than he! Did you think I would stay out of his life forever? There was to come a time, and it came, but because certain forces thought they could play the game better than I could, I have allowed all this to happen, because he will be even more of an asset to me as a result, and to you! For your disrespect to me and all that is of me, I could wipe you out of existence!"

She went as pale as a sheet now, and all of her anger towards him was forgotten in this moment of instinct to survive, knowing how close to death she stood. Yet, he began to quiet, and he said, "However, amongst many things, I also know how to show mercy. You are under a spell right now, and it is hard for you to understand. Yet, as of this moment, I am overriding that, considering that who it was that formed the contract was not fully truthful about her intentions, so that you can think straight. You have to understand something: when I chose you, it was not for greedy reasons. I just was not going to pick just anyone…I picked you because I did find you attractive. Of all the women on Earth, I saw something in you above all others to bear this boy. When I met you, there was much more in you than any other could have had. It was not because I did not love you that I did this, but you have to understand who and what I am, and you must look beyond your little world to see the bigger picture. Your son is going to be a great doer of good and a help to others in this world, and for him to be the best, I had to back off for a time. You see, time has no meaning to us, and the boy is as immortal as we are. The 18 years I missed, and for good reasons, shall be nothing compared to the time we shall have together. My daughters, can you help me?"

The norns stepped up, knowing what he wanted, and knowing their unique positions over what they governed was going to come into play here. They all stood around her, and she sat in awe as she watched the angels of the girls emerge and all embrace her. She fell into a trance, and the real magic was about to begin.

At Baxter, the speed test was going to begin, but Hild said, "Wait, there is something that comes to mind when you talk about travel. If he can manipulate matter, could that me the means of his travel?"

"Good point," said Mara, and she told him, "Okay, try to go to that tree, and concentrate going through it and emerging out of that tree over there."

This he tried, but nothing happened. Then he said, "Well, let me try rock."

He went over to a boulder and saw a large rock sitting fifty feet away. He concentrated again, and this time he seeped into the boulder and came up out of the large rock. He was pumped on this one, and he said, "Let me try this!"

He went back to the same boulder, but this time, he eyeballed Baxter Peak on the mountain. "Wait," said Mara, "You may not be ready for that yet!"

However, he slipped through, and emerged on the peak. They were amazed that he had come that far in his powers, and they flew quickly to the peak. They said, "Well done!" and Mara added, "Well, what do you want to do now?"

He got a devilish look on his face and said, "Split!" and touched the outcropping again and vanished into it! Stunned and wide-eyed, they were afraid he may have done something stupid to trap himself into the earth, and they started to scan around to see if he was anywhere around, but there was no sign of him. What they had not realized was that he had concentrated on a certain set of rocks on the coastline right on One Mile Beach at Reid State Park not to far from his home. What he planned to do from there was to go south, visit Boston and maybe New York City, and see how he could not help people. If he could get his skills down, he would come back for his mother and take her far away from those women. From the start, they gave him the willies, and he had no trust for them. If anyone was going to decide his fate, it was going to be him and no one else. In fact, from that day forward, no one could ever cause pain and misery for his mother or him ever again, and he could really do this world some good. With that, he took off like a rocket to Boston.

Back at his mother's apartment, Urd, through World of Elegance, started to reveal the past, and things she had never seen. She saw Yogdrasil, and she heard the talk of maintaining balances and purpose. She heard that there was talk that "father" wanted to bring a hero into the world to help maintain a balance. There was also speech about finding the suitable one. The scene shifted to him looking over her images, as Dorothy worked her way into life, not but two years out of high school. He watched her every move, watching her go through her first phases of nursing school, loving the open and caring heart of the beautiful woman Dorothy was in her youth. Indeed, he still thought her beautiful, and though age had its way, she was still a sight. This was then he arrived. He did not reveal everything at first, finding out if she could love him for who he was as a person, rather than for what he was. Indeed, this was no one-time thing, for they had met and dated several times. In Heaven, Freya was questioning him angrily, and he said to her she should know better for what he allowed from her. She then asked if she was truly her one and only, and he said in Heaven, that was the case, but he hoped that, on earth, there would be none other than her. If he allowed her indulgences, she had to allow for his. However, she then asked about what he intended, and he said what he had to do was hard, but, in order for the best for this world to take place, she would have to bear the child, and then be without him, knowing that fiery trials truly brought out who a person really was, and made them stronger and better if they were able to endure. He also mentioned that he would not allow them ever to crumble or fall, but he also knew they could endure until the time came for Ian to emerge as a demigod and great hero. Before they came together, he told her the whole truth, revealed many things about his world, those involved with him, and it just made her love him more. Soon, it came the time, but the images also showed a grieving father in Heaven, knowing he had to leave her behind, the pain it would cause, and knowing that, if things were to come out right, this had to be the way. Outwardly, Dorothy began to cry again, and felt ashamed. She could only see what she had before her, and realized that, never once did she ever seek to try to see things from her perspective. Yet, she also wondered if she ever could. She had been so selfish, and now she knew it. Now, it was Skuld's turn.

Skuld, through Noble Scarlet, said, "However, if the current pattern of things remain, and you still seek to aid Hild and Mara, this is what could be."

There now were images of a world in a time of chaos, great flame, and misery. Ian would be sitting on a great throne, acting as a tyrant, making Hild and Mara do his bidding. Dorothy was sitting in a great position of prominence as well, but with a constant forlorn look on her face. However, in the images, screaming out of the skies were the Valkyrie, with Thor leading the way on his Harley, and Ian with his two minions going to meet them. After much vicious combat that caused a great amount of collateral damage—Dorothy being one of the casualties—he was finally subdued, and then he was sealed away into an inter-dimensional stasis to remain in limbo forever and ever. The image shifted to the earth being restored, but also there was the image of a grieving All-Father, saddened that it all had to go that way. It appeared to be a sad end to everything, but the images faded, and Skuld said, "This can be prevented, but it is all up to you, and what you choose to do with this."

From there, Belldandy took over, with Holy Bell aiding at what was happening at that instant, and Skuld showing the immediate future to that point. She saw the pair teaching Ian, and then Skuld showed him becoming ambitious and bolting, heading for Boston. Once all this faded, and things were back into her living room, Belldandy said, "Your son is going to act on his own, and it is actions that he is about to take this is going to start his mind towards delusions of grandeur and cause him to become exactly the opposite of the person he is."

"How do we stop this?" asked Dorothy, now desperate to prevent what she had seen.

"It depends on what you do with me," said the Almighty, "I wish to have you here as my one and only on Earth. I have 18 years to make up for, and believe me, with me, I shall insure that you receive twice what you sacrificed to have the life you and your son did have. I may not always be here bodily, but I will be around enough for you to know I still care, and no matter where I am, I will always be watching. Technically, it will be a contract, and I shall bind myself to it. What you make with me will supersede any and all other contracts, and you will be free."

Now that she knew all the truth, the anger she felt for him began to melt away into joy. She had never known love the way she saw it at that moment, and now she wanted it forever more. She flung herself into his arms and they kissed for a long time. In that instant, Yogdrasil made the contract, and her mind was clear. At that instant, she suddenly changed her mood and said, "Oh my, my son! We have to stop him!"

Thor grinned and said, "Leave it to us five. Lind, the Norns, and I are going to do what is needed to bring him around. Believe me, it's not too late."

"Come, sisters!" announced Lind, "We must save our brother from himself!"

"Wait," said their father, and he said, "Belldandy, please come here."

She approached, and she gave her a men's neck chain with a small white egg on the end. "Give this to him. This will be one thing that will aid him in never becoming what the future could have been."

"Are you coming, father?" asked Belldandy.

"Well, I think you can bring him around," he answered, "Once you do, bring him to me so we can meet. I have great plans for him. Right now, I have some…catching up to do."

Everyone smiled and nodded as they left on their mission to bring back their brother and restore the balance.

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