10/01/11 AN: Just editing/touch ups.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of LOTR & Marvel… etc. so don't sue… This is written in loving tribute of others great works. Please Review. Just say No to flaming and trolling.

Thoughts

(Author's Note)

Standing In The Line Of Fire

Chapter 11

"Here I am, on another horse and once again staring at Legolas' back," Gimli thought as he looked around at his other companions, "I've been on this horse so long that my feet are starting to reminisce about the ground. Huh, glad we were able to find some clothes for Laura to wear, that shirt she was wearing was about to fall off. Hmm, if she was a wee bit older I just might…"

Just then the horse suddenly shifted and Gimli nearly lost his balance and almost fell off the beast.

"Mind what you are doin' elf," grumbled Gimli.

"Well if you would stop ogling Laura, you might notice when the horse has to go over rough ground," whispered Legolas.

Gimli just grumbled a reply and told himself to be a bit more careful of his casual glances towards Laura's direction from then on.

It was indeed rough ground the horse was traversing; in fact, it was a dry river bed. Some wondered why it was dry at this very moment, but answers were not forth coming and the matter was not pursued further. Before the party could see Isengard, a foreboding feeling filled the air as the smell of smoke tickled their noses. Laura brought her horse up next to Gandalf's and waited for him to notice her.

"What is on your mind Laura?" inquired Gandalf as he allowed Aragorn and Legolas' horses to pass him.

"Have you noticed the change in the air since we reached the area, there is a smell of a damped fire," Laura noted with a sniff.

"Yes, there have been many changes in Isengard, I fear, and not all for the best. Come let us catch up with King Théoden for we are about to approach the main gates," Gandalf suggested to Laura.

Yes, there have been many changes in Isengard. The signs of war were seen in the marred landscape and battered stone walls. Laura would have kept pondering the cause of such devastation, if it were not for two hobbits, who suddenly stood up on the wall and shouted a greeting to the approaching party. Everyone (but Gandalf) was surprised to see Merry and Pip. Gimli, in particular, could not decide whether to greet them or admonish them. Laura tried to wait patiently, while they discussed salted pork, smoking, and Treebeard, but she could wait no longer. Laura leaped off of the horse and in a very short time was soon hugging a very happy hobbit, much to the amusement of her other friends.

"Well earned comforts, indeed," thought Gandalf as he watched the spectacle of Laura and Merry kissing. Hating to spoil the reunion, but having to nonetheless, Gandalf called out to Laura, Merry and Pippin, "Come, let us find Treebeard."

Laura and Merry quickly mounted Laura's horse and followed Gandalf, as he led the party to Orthanc to find Treebeard. Fortunately, this was an easy task to perform. Who can miss a walking, talking tree (He's actually an Ent.) with a beard made of moss?

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The Silvan scout crept slowly thru the forest of Mirkwood. Leger was the first to make it this far, and he did not want to blow this opportunity to bring back credible information that orc troops were forming at Dol Guldur. His Lord was depending on Leger to get any information back to him that would help him understand the enemies' plans. Leger was the best and last of his squad. Something has been killing off his seven man squad, one by one, since they crossed the river Anduin, and he was the only elf left. He was quieter than death, and his camouflage made him as visible as a shadow at dusk. He was on a knife's edge, because now all he had to do was leave the forest of Mirkwood, easy right? Nothing left but to wait in his spider hole (ironic, since he is in Mirkwood.) until night and sneak back to the Anduin where another squad will meet him and escort him home.

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Suk had a lot of fun with the first six elves, but the seventh was beginning to really annoy her. She was killing them off from the edge of Mirkwood to Amon Lanc, but she didn't get the last one. She doesn't know how, but sometime during the hunt she lost him. Since then she has only caught fleeting glimpses of him. Suk tried to follow his scent, but somehow that dru kautar (translation: "tree squirrel". It is an orc insult.) left his stink all over the place.

"Where is that little bugger?" thought Suk, as she began to panic as she stared at the setting of the sun (For those who know about Mirkwood, she is sitting in the same tree level as Bilbo when he saw the butterflies.). "If I was hiding from someone trying to kill me, where would I be? In the last place they would expect me…" Suk quickly climbed down the tree and made haste for Amon Lanc.

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It was pitch dark, and quiet out, just the way Leger wanted it when he made a run for the border. He cracked open the lid to his hidey hole, peered out, and finding nothing amiss in his surroundings, started to slip out of hiding.

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Suk made it back to Amon Lanc, just in time to see some movement in the ground near the fortress wall. "Chump seems to be leaving his hiding spot a little too late," she thought as she nocked an arrow.

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"Of all the times to get my cloak caught on a branch of the spider hole cover, why now… what's that?" Leger thought as he heard a sound nearby.

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"As someone once said, 'Never let a disaster go to waste', Suk thought as she let loose the arrow. "Got him, how's the sucking chest wound elf?" Quickly, Suk followed the arrow, to do a little throat slitting. As she arrived to her victim, she lifted his head to find that she had killed a dead orc that was set up as a decoy in that dru kautar marr (translation: tree squirrel's stupid) cloak. Suk was so angry that she could scream, in fact, that is what she did.

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"Heh heh, I guess someone isn't happy, I'm glad I had kept a cloak one of my dead comrades," Leger thought as he quickly left the forest to meet the other squad at Anduin.

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Laura sat in the lotus position in her private room in Meduseld, pondering the day's events. The confrontation with Saruman, and the rapid return to Edoras was a bit tiring, and she was feeling a little emotionally drained, especially after watching that drinking contest between Legolas and Gimli. She thought about joining in, but knew it wouldn't be fair with her healing factor she'd never get drunk. She saw how much Logan drank to even get a slight buzz and she knew that they didn't have that much hard liquor in this place. She just had a few drinks with Merry (Even though she wasn't in the mood for beer, she drank it anyways. She didn't want to spoil his fun.). The best part of the night for her was watching Merry and Pip sing songs from the Shire. After the festivities, she went to her room for rest and rejuvenation.

Laura has wanted to meditate again for awhile, especially since she found that she is able to do it so well in this reality; she never had been able to relax this well in her own world for some reason (that is one of the side effects of being brought into this realm by Eru Ilúvatar.). Laura took this opportunity to try meditating once again since everyone else was bedding down for the night. Laura slowly relaxed her mind and body, and began opening her gates once again. As she opened her fourth gate, she saw a familiar sight, a strange orange glow in the distance. As she was about to reach out for it with her mind, she noticed that it started to come closer to her. The closer it came, the more her mind filled with dread, not fear, but awe… and regret that she did not pay enough attention to Emma Frost's classes regarding mental defense against telepathy (Actually, she paid a lot of attention to the classes, Emma just didn't like Laura and purposely wasn't as much help as she could have been.). She sat there and watched this huge orange eye fill her mindscape and just when she thought she was about to be overwhelmed, she noticed that the eye was not noticing her at all, but that all of its attention was drawn by another (Her significance in this mindscape is comparable to a flea on the scale of a dragon. Since she is not a telepath, she is practically invisible.). She turns to see what is attracting the eye's attention and finds an enthralled hobbit.

"Pip, that idiot…. what is he doing with the Palantir?" Laura thought as she watched fire pour down upon him from the orange eye as a dragon would engulf its victim. She could feel thoughts being exchanged between the eye and Pip, but she heard nothing. Immediately, Laura broke contact with the mindscape, ceased meditating, and ran to the room that her companions were slumbering in. She got there in time to see Gandalf kneeling over, and talking with Pip.

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Leger was brought immediately to Lord Celeborn to make his report. Unfortunately, he did not have much to report.

"Rise and give your report," Lord Celeborn commanded.

"I have returned from Dol Guldur with a spotty report, milord,"

"Where is the rest of your squad?"

" The squad leader and the rest of the squad were killed on the way to the fortress by an unseen force. It followed us everywhere we went as we tried to evade or kill the enemy. We were unable to ascertain the number of those engaging us or even identify who was engaging us in combat, if you could call it that since we were being slaughtered."

"I see, were you able to scout out the fortress at all?"

"I was able to get somewhat close to the fortress, and could see some troops mustering in the courtyard, but I was unable to get a full count of the troops within fortress."

"Dismissed, be sure that I get a full written report within the hour."

As Leger was turning to leave the throne room, Lady Galadriel caught his attention. "Leger, how did you escape your pursuer?"

"Nothing a hundred captured mice, strips of cloth and a full bladder couldn't take care of, anything else milady?"

"No, thank you," Lady Galadriel said as she watched Leger bow and leave the throne room. Galadriel then turned to a crestfallen Celeborn and asked, "Can I now send for Laura and see if she could assist us in this endeavor?"

"Yes, you may now send for her. Contact Gwaihir and ask him if he could bring her to us."

"Thank you," Galadriel said as she kissed him on the cheek and left the room.

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"Boy, what a night," Laura thought as she finished her breakfast. She looked around the table and noticed how the table looked smaller since Gandalf and Pip had left earlier. Across from her Merry looked very un-merry. She couldn't blame him. She knew how it felt to blame oneself for not watching out for your team member's back. She tried to talk to Merry, but he wasn't ready yet.

"Laura," Eowyn called out as she approached the table, "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Well, here I am," Laura replied as she noticed Merry excuse himself from the table and leave the room.

"Can you follow me? There is something that I want to show you," Eowyn asked as she motioned to a hallway that lead to the armory.

"Sure, why not," Laura replied as she got up and started to follow Eowyn.

As the two ladies walked to the armory, they discussed the events at Helm's deep.

"…and when I got to the other end of the culvert, they were all gone. I guess they didn't like the welcome I gave them," Laura grimly replied.

"I wish I was there with you, protecting our lands from Saruman's minions, but my uncle feels that the battlefield is no place for me. I'm a shield maiden, I should have been there!"

"So what stopped you? If there was someplace that I wanted to be, I wouldn't let anybody stop me from being there. Remember there is always a way to do anything, if you want it bad enough."

"I'll try to remember that," Eowyn replied as they entered the armory. "Well, the reason I brought you here was to give you this." Eowyn walked over to a table and picked up some black leather armor that was lying on a black Ranger outfit (Its black overlapping leather armor that looks like dragon scales and it also has a black Gorget and pair of black Pauldrons.). "I heard your ranger gear was damaged beyond repair in the battle and I wanted to repay you for your help."

"Hey, repayment is not necessary, I volunteered for this, but I will accept it as a gesture of goodwill, thank you."

Just then, a soldier walked in as noticed the two women talking. "Excuse me for interrupting, but there is a giant eagle in the courtyard asking for you Laura."

"I guess I better find out what this is all about, excuse me, and thank you for the gift Eowyn," Laura said as she took the gift and turned to follow the soldier to the courtyard.

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Question:

A reviewer asked:

I wonder if she's going to tell them about what would happen in the future with card games on motorcycles.

Answer:

Laura only knows about this because one of her teammates showed her Yu-Gi-Oh, the Unabridged Series online.