Ok….

So, I decide to take a necessary break from work and my stories for both my health and my sanity. Go to Vegas, see the sights, plays some cards(Won a lot by the way) and just spend a nice long time with my friends and enjoy life.

Also, due to the Mandalorian season 1 being as awesome as it was on top of Clone Wars getting a final season, I just knew I had to take some time and focus on Infinite Wars.

And it felt damn good being able to get so much done in such a short amount of time, having pumped out up to 15+ chapters and still going strong. Big thanks and I mean this in the most serious way, big thanks to comrade Jebest for helping me so much in pumping out those chapters.

Also, in that time, he and I have worked on a new story. A Kingdom Hearts/Game Of Thrones crossover. The two of us have been writing his variation first and foremost as my own has yet to be fully formed on top of getting an outline and I'm really proud of what the two of us made. Go check it out, it's called A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts. I believe it is really damn good and some of our best work.

I've also recently become an uncle so wow, lot going on here on my end.

But now it is high time I return to my golden goose. This is my best and most favorited and followed story for a reason.

I invested a great deal of time and development into this story and I've only scratched the surface.

Been watching some war films and documentaries, like 1917 which was an amazing fucking movie. I implore you guys(notice the use of vocabulary to show how serious I am) go see this movie cause it has given me a great deal of inspiration for stories to come later on down the line.

But other than that, not much else needed to be said.

Let's pick up where I left off and kick things into high gear.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Noble Justice Chapter 40: Many Enemies Ahead

Six eyed the woman walking ahead of him analytically.

She didn't look like much.

Then again, there is the old phrase of not judging a book by its cover.

There's also the added feeling of ancient, powerful magic radiating off from her very being. Though it's subtle, for the past few weeks B312 has been growing in his connection and attunement with the mystical aspect of this universe.

And this Freya was undoubtedly powerful.

"Well we could check meeting literal gods off the list now." Dot whispered into his ear, Six's lip twitching upwards momentarily.

"This way." Freya said, diverting from the forest pathway towards a narrow corridor between two rock formations. "Mind the gap in between. A bit of a squeeze."

The team momentarily looked at Six who glanced around and then looked up.

"I'll just fly over it." Six stated, his thrusters powering up.

"That works to." Artemis shrugged.

Thrusters flaring out from his armor, Six used his legs for an added boost to "jump" over the rock formation landing in front of the group that had just finished squeezing through.

Freya couldn't help but gave over Six in slight astonishment.

"A true wonder what mortals can achieve in such a short amount of time."

Walking past Six, Freya scooped some dirt off the ground and waved it over a particularly large set of thick vines.

"Greiða."

The dirt glowed a golden hue, seeping into the vines which then retracted away to reveal another pathway.

Freya looked back to them with a smile. "Come."

"Whoa." Dot and Cortana said in unison.

"This place is beautiful." Wonder Girl said in awe.

It was something out of a world class painting depicting the utter wonders and beauty of nature at its most natural stated. The vibrant, near glowing shades of the shrubs, leaves, trees and other vegetation and flora was other worldly.

The entire area was surrounded by pristine white trees with a river a few yards behind the large colorful tree in the center.

Ethereal, one could call this place.

"My home." Freya said with a beaming yet also sad smile.

They approached the center of the area, Freya flicking her hand.

"Heimili!"

The tree shifted about until it began to rise up to reveal a large tortoise-type creature with a house attached to its belly.

"That's some Lord of the Rings stuff right there." Wally said in awe.

"This is amazing!" Cortana exclaimed in wonder. "The energy around here, it's so raw and pure! I wish we could study it. Can magic be stored or something like that?"

"Maybe." Dot mused. "Anything is possible in this universe to be honest."

"Save the 20 questions for later you two." Nathan said, eyeing the large tortoise creature who gazed down at the odd assembly of heroes and soldier that followed after his caretaker into the house that was attached to his belly.

"Really wish the others were her to see this." Artemis stated, hands grazing over some particularly strange set of plants.

"Mind the white flowers." Freya said from the head of the line. "They're useful for medicinal purposes."

"Now I wanna touch 'em." Dot said. "Or take some back with us."

Freya pushed the door open and in they all entered.

"Please, I know the journey getting here has been long so make yourselves comfortable." Freya said politely.

Her home was quaint, with a circular room that made up the entirety of the house it seemed. Yet the team knew there was more to this place then just what it appeared to be.

Magic can do that after all.

"When I sent out the Huldra brothers to find aid, I did not expect them to bring forth such an odd eclectic group of people." Freya remarked, taking a moment to observe each of the teens individually.

"We certainly didn't expect dwarves to appear at our front doorstep and ask us to help prevent Ragnarok." Dot said, making her and Cortana's appearance known by appearing on each side of Six's head.

Freya looked at both AI with great interest and wonder. "My word. Brok and Sindri had spoken of these artificial individuals that come from beyond the confines of Midgard but I had not thought that you two would be so…"

"Small?" Cortana guessed teasingly.

"Not what I would say." Freya said with a small smile. "However, now is not the time for that. I would like to first thank you for coming to the assistance of the nine realms. Things have been getting rather… palpable in terms of tension. Odin's rampant paranoia and tyrannical grip has gotten out of hand. Thor and Loki are missing along with Tyr, though many presume him to be dead. The armies of Asgard are invoking an oppressive rule to every realm Odin has complete control over. It's spiraling downwards into open war and genocide."

"Well that was a lot of news that we just got dumped with." Wally dryly stated. "Three gods missing, the head one-eye is apparently a jackass and war on the horizon. Anything else we should know?"

"I wish I could help more but as of right now; I have been confined here to Midgard and I cannot travel so freely when Odin's eyes are everywhere." Freya said apologetically.

"That's a comforting thought." Cortana said.

"Worry not." Freya said assuredly, going over to one of her shelves. "I have planned for such a thing, especially with Odin sending out his forces onto Midgard."

Grabbing a small ceramic bowl along with some paste and herbs, she murmured a series of words that the others couldn't quite make out. Her fingertips glowed and she began to grind her materials until placing them into the small bowl.

Snatching a bottle from the shelves, she emptied its contents into the bowl. A small flare of light later left the viscous material within the bowl glowing an array of different colors.

"This" Freya holds up the bowl. "Will help you all stay hidden from Odin's prying eyes. At least from a certain point of view."

"Like that watch guard on Asgard?" Dot inquired.

"Heimdall, yes." Freya stated, going over to Six first. She swirled her hand in the concoction before rubbing Nathan's shoulder.

The gold weaved around the area until it formed a ruin before fading away shortly after. Freya then went about applying this to everyone else.

"Thank you for this." Kaldur said politely.

"It feels miniscule honestly in comparison to what you are all about to undertake." Freya said self-deprecatingly.

"So then what do we do then?" Artemis asked. "Better yet, where do we even start?"

"Now with that, I can offer more assistance." Freya said happily, waving her hand over the window. "Heimili."

The cabin then jolted and the team saw that the turtle was lowering itself down under ground. Now, the group of teens saw stalactite and stalagmites showing they were now in some kind of cavern.

"Whoa." Artemis said, leaning out the window. She saw that some of the rocks and protrusions coming out of the ceiling and walls were a bright mixture of radiant colors.

Then came the noise of the rushing waters of an underground river. Accompanied with the flowing rapids, the sound of clanging metal echoing against the cave walls.

"You guys hear that?" Wally asked aloud, now resting his elbow on the window beside Artemis.

They heard a distinct murmur of a familiar gruff voice followed by another much softer one, both seemingly bickering with one another at the time until it was back to a silent muttering.

"Don't gimme that look, you know he'll need it sooner than later."

"When have we ever left a project in-completed?"

"Since now, since yer were rarin' fer a challenge after all. Those were yer words exactly, remember?"

"Urgh, of all times to be insufferable…"

"Cry me a river."

"Very funny Brok."

"Heh Heh. You talk with Freya and those brats. Gonna go make sure Fucking Gratitude didn't wander off."

"Wait, why no… Why do I even put up with him sometimes?"

The house touched down and Freya could only shake her head in amusement.

"Come on." Freya gestured for the group of bemused teens and AI to follow her. "Through here."

Opening the back door, they saw a structure of a wooden winding path down to a set of boats resting upon the bay of the underground river.

But what caught their attention was the small, makeshift workstation that was less than a yard from the door with a much paler dwarf compared to the blue skinned sailor mouthed Brok.

"Ah, so good to see you all." Sindri said pleasantly, setting down a short sword that he had been sharpening. "Your Majesty."

"Sindri, you do know I am no longer a queen of anything." Freya said kindly. "Not the Vanir, nor the Aesir."

"Be that as it may." Sindri waved off. "You were the Queen Brok and I chose to follow out of Nidavellir." The dwarf then looked to the others. "And it a pleasure to meet individuals as noble as yourselves in coming to the aid of the nine realms in our time of need. On behalf of myself and my grumpy brother, I thank you."

"The pleasure is ours, Sindri." Aqualad said respectfully.

"Is everything all set Sindri?" Freya inquired.

"Not necessarily." Sindri admitted. "See, a lot of our equipment is still unavailable with it being underwater and all so we've had to get what we can here. With Odin's eyes everywhere, we could barely get into Nidavellir without sending out a personalized Wyrm for us."

"Wyrm?" Wally repeated in a low voice to his girlfriend who only shrugged.

"But." Sindri stated emphatically, going under the tent of his small workstation. "My brother and I have been preparing this for a while and now we have the perfect candidate to wield it."

Sindri stepped forward to his table and placed down a magnificently crafted axe.

The handle and pommel were of an oak like design and wood, making it look somewhat rugged yet pristine at the same time. The grip was simple, a furry, leathery wrap of sorts. Its pommel was that of a dragon.

It was the stone-like metal that truly intrigued the group as it seemed to radiate a sort of underlying power.

The assembled group was truly entranced by the weapon, making Sindri smile with pride at his work.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and especially to you good Spartan…" Sindri gestured himself in Six's direction. "May I present to you, the Leviathan Axe. Courtesy of the Huldra brothers for one Spartan Six."

"You made that for him?!" Both Cortana and Dot appeared in front of Sindri, startling the poor dwarf.

"WAAA." Sindri yelped in fright, calming himself upon seeing it was the two AIs. "Ah, Cortana, Dot, good to see you both again. How have you been?"

"Horrible now that you've given the big lug here another super weapon." Dot whined out.

"He is the last person that needs something like… wait, what does it even do?" Cortana asked.

"Well I'm glad you asked." Sindri said chipperly. "Six, if you would."

Six felt all the eyes of those present now resting upon him as he stood over the table and Axe, gazing at the crafted weapon analytically.

Slowly and cautiously, Six reached forward to grab the axe at the grip.

Taking it into his hands, the metal part of the axe suddenly began to glow with blue particles appearing around it as they were sucked into the axe.

It was then that Nathan felt a strange feeling and surge within his very being, within his soul. He knew of it. He was aware it had been growing for some time now but this seemingly burst the floodgates open.

That unusual alien and yet so natural feeling that was a part of him.

Magic.

And this Axe just gave it a caffeinated boost.

Breathing heavily through his nose to steady his heartrate, Six looked down at his newest tool with both hands gripping it tightly.

"It worked." Sindri cheered happily.

"What was that?" Donna asked in astonishment.

"That was the binding of Leviathan to its true wielder." Sindri proudly declared. "Sure it can be utilized by others but not to its full capacity like Six here."

"How so?" Dot asked, curiously eyeing the Axe.

"That's a bit complicated to explain but to put it plainly, we made it specifically for him." Sindri revealed. "See, all beings, regardless of their potential for magic or not possess an Od."

"Od?" Several of the teens repeated in confusion.

"Od is the aura, the life force energy field that surrounds and binds all living things." Sindri elaborated.

"The force is your ally, young Skywalker." Wally joked in a mock elderly sage voice. Artemis silenced him again though even she couldn't deny a small amused smirk. The joke was to obvious.

"The Force?"

"Nothing, we'll tell you later." Cortana waved off. "Please, continue."

Shrugging, Sindri went on. "When we first met you all, we immediately pick up on the Spartan's aura and shortly after our Amazon here. Both possessed a powerful Od and so it was easy for my brother and I to grab a piece of Six's and utilize it in the forging of the Axe. Now, it is bonded to Six's very being."

"Interesting." Cortana mused, hovering in front of the Axe that radiated power. "So, what can it do?"

"The Axe is a kind of self-development weapon. It supplements Six's fighting style to better support and strengthen him in combat as well as his allies. As you fight, a kind of natural progression of its capabilities go with it. You just need to practice and use it frequently and it will come to you." The smith master explained. "Brok and I did something similar to this when we crafted Thor's hammer which complimented his natural affinity for thunder."

"Thunder?" Cortana said aloud, musing on the element. "Are you saying that this Axe has an affinity of its own?"

"Yes indeed." Sindri proclaimed. "Infused with the echoing screams of twenty Frost Trolls, the same pieces used in carving the handle of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. This is one of our finest. Even if it was crudely made."

"Like Six's armor?" Artemis asked. "Not really… ok, I know nothing about the mythology here. Just bits and pieces."

"What?" Sindri said in confusion.

"Long story short." Dot quickly said. "Six's armor is named Mjolnir after the weapon that Thor uses cause Six comes from a special breed of soldiers that are the only ones capable of using it."

Sindri and Freya stared at Six and his two AI companions in silent bewilderment.

"You were saying?" Cortana said, gesturing for Sindri to go on. "What else can this Axe do?"

Sindri blinked and shook his head to refocus. "If you would, see that pile of barrels there?"

Six nodded.

"Good, now, you'll need to focus on the Axe and the bond it has to your being." Sindri instructed. "Concentrate on trajectory, where you want it to go. Then release."

Following Sindri's instructions, Six faced the pile of barrels while holding up his axe.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he got into a shoulder length stance with his left hand acting as a kind of pseudo-guidance with his right hand holding his new axe. Releasing a calming breath, Six momentarily closed his eyes and reached within to that growing new familiar sensation.

Since coming to this universe, never had Six imagined that this would be something he would gain and begin to rely on overtime.

Magic.

After several seconds, he felt it and internally grabbed onto it to bring it forward. All the while, his allies had watched with anticipation.

Snapping his eyes open, the top of the Axe suddenly became coated with ice. He heard Wally and Artemis let out a dual "Whoa" at the change in the axe before he threw it at full force at the pile of barrels.

The Leviathan Axe utterly destroyed the wooden barrels with splinters flying about in all direction whilst the Axe was embedded into the ground with a thick layer of icy frost surrounding it.

"And now…" Sindri said excitedly. "Reach out to it once more."

Going by what Sindri said, Six kept his hand up and felt a nudge from the back of his mind to his hand. The Axe twitched for a moment until it detached itself from the ground and came flying right back into his hand.

"Whoa HO~" Wally cried out in awe; a sentiment shared by his teammates. "Where can I get one of those?"

"Don't worry, my brother and I are working diligently to assist you all for your stay here." Sindri promised. "Next time you see us, we'll have something special whipped up for the five of you."

"Thank you." Kaldur said graciously. "Your help is greatly appreciated."

"Think nothing of it." Sindri waved off. "It's the least we could do for you who came in our time of need."

After exchanging momentary farewells, Freya gestured for the group to follow after her.

Leading the group throughout the hollow caverns, Dot, Cortana and Kaldur noted the walls and erosion upon it.

"That would be because waters of the Lake of the Nine have been cut off from my home." Freya explained. "Though I am unclear as to why."

They came across a steep area that lead up to a wide opening with the sunlight streaming down.

"If you go up that way into the deeper section of the woods and follow down any of the many paths, it will lead you straight to the Lake of the Nine." Freya instructed. "My suggestion would be to find one of the two rivers going down this mountain. Both lead to the Lake of the Nine."

"What will we find there?" Artemis inquired.

"Hopefully, the temple of Tyr." Freya said, though she was clearly unsure. "I apologize for my vagueness. It has been difficult for me to travel with so many of Odin's spies on Midgard at the moment. My sanctuary remains the only place without prying eyes from Asgard. I wish I could be of assistance more."

"You've already shown yourself as our ally." Donna responded kindly. "Knowing we can rely on you for your aid is enough."

"I hope it will be." Freya said with a strained, saddened smile.

Bidding farewell, the group trekked up the steep exit and now stood in front of the entrance to Freya's cavern looking out on to the vast open forest before them. it was a vibrant sight to say the least with the trees themselves glowing with a kind of natural, ethereal energy.

Primordial energy.

"Whoa." KF couldn't help but let out. "Look at this place."

"It's beautiful." Donna whispered.

"Big time." Artemis murmured. "…I don't know why, but the forest, hell the trees… they feel-"

"Alive." Kaldur finished, eyeing the scenery finding it enrapturing.

"Wow, I have the urge to paint now." Cortana said jokingly. "Should've brought my body along."

"Be vigilant." Six said calmly, gripping his new Axe tightly. "There's definitely enemies around here."

"After the walk getting here, I wouldn't be that surprised." Artemis wryly remarked, pumping her fist out to call upon her bow that snapped open.

Six stepped forth to lead the group, utilizing his HUD radar to watch for any enemies with Kaldur right beside him. Wally and Artemis walked in the center with Donna backing up the rear.

It was a silent walk with only the ambient sounds of the forest echoing around them.

Their little stroll remained uneventful until…

"Hey, what's that?" Artemis piped up, trained eyes trailing ahead.

Six used his HUD to zoom in on what appeared to be a stone structure of sorts.

"Looks like a temple." Dot commented.

"Looks abandoned." KF stated.

"Which means there's probably enemies in there." Cortana said with an expectant sigh.

"Can you not tempt fate?" Wally dryly asked.

Cortana only shrugged in the speedsters direction as the team now began approaching the temple at the ready.

They weren't gonna let anything catch them off guard to easily this time around.

'Alright.' Six mentally mused, holding his Axe with both hands. 'Let's test out what you could do.'

Donna stood beside him, shield up and sword drawn.

Slowly, they came up to a bridge that lead straight to the temple gates over a frozen ravine.

"What is this place?" Wally asked aloud.

"Perhaps the journals may be of use." Cortana suggested.

Kaldur nodded and pulled out his own personal journal with his translation stone attached to the bindings by a rope.

Flipping the book open, Kaldur skimmed through the pages until he reached a page with a detailed sketch of the building before them.

"This was a trading post. A marketplace." Kaldur stated, his gem translating the runic symbols on the page for him. "Dwarves, men, Giants and… trolls?"

Wally glanced over to Kal. "Why'd you say it like that?"

"What?"

"The last one, Trolls."

"It's… the way the name is engraved on this page here." Kaldur noted. "Erratically, aggressively almost. Like Brok or Sindri or whoever wrote this did so spitefully."

"Let's play twenty questions later guys." Artemis cut in. "Should we go in?"

The group momentarily paused, eyes on the temple trading post.

"Six?" Kaldur asked to the de facto leader of this team.

"Radar isn't picking up any movement." He informed the others. "Dot, Cortana?"

"Tricky thing really." Dot said. "This place… our equipment works well enough but there's the occasional hiccup. Like something is amiss."

"Is it magic?" Cortana inquired curiously.

It was Donna who answered this question. "More than likely. I could feel it permeating the air."

"Indeed." Kaldur had his eyes narrowed and stance tense.

"Think I should run in?" Wally asked, stepping forward. "I could do a quick recon of the surrounding area at least."

The teens exchanged looks with one another, Six finally nodding for the go ahead.

Rolling his neck and shaking his arms and shoulders, Wally gave an appreciative and comforting smile from Artemis as she had placed a hand of encouragement before he ran off.

Those who stayed behind observed a yellow and red streak move straight at the structure before curving around it and disappearing round the corner.

Not a moment after this had happened, Kid Flash bolted around the corner once more and skid to a halt in front of his friends.

"Yeah, big horde of bad guys on the other side of this place." KF said causally, thumbing behind him.

The group stared blankly at him until Artemis sighed exasperatedly. "How many are we talking about here?"

"Like several dozen at least." KF said, briefly looking back from where he ran. "Didn't really count cause I nearly ran into one and now… oh there they are right now."

Up ahead, a large group of humanoids wielding axes, swords, shields and spears were moving around the large structure all right towards them.

"Draugr." Six and Wonder Girl said at the same time, the former gripping his axe with the latter wielding her sword.

"So these are the ones you two encountered in Central Park." Aqualad said, readying his hydro swords.

"Careful with those that are glowing." Dot informed. "They can hurl projectiles at you so they're always hanging back."

"I'll take care of those." Artemis declared, moving back behind the group and nocking in several arrows.

"Those guys are new." Cortana pointed out several Draugr that were particularly large and hulking with halberd Ax's.

Not waiting for them to get any closer, Six sprinted forward and felt a surge of energy from his Ax.

Going on instinct, Six flung Leviathan with his full strength and the edge embedded itself deep into the chest of the lead Draugr.

What he did not expect was the creature to completely freeze into solid ice, utterly immobile now.

"WHOA! Do that again!" Wally cried out in amazement, rushing past Six to elbow a Draugr in the chin.

"It appears there's more to this Axe than anticipated." Kaldur remarked, his hydro-kinetic swords being charged with electricity. The Atlantean proceeded to duck and weave through several Draugr that targeted him, changing up his left hilt into a back handed grip.

Dodging another swing from a Draugr, Aqualad went on the offensive delivering a series of precise strikes and slashes at the surrounding enemies.

Their wrists, elbows, knees, shoulders and necks were primarily target with some of the undead warriors managing to survive the onslaught thanks to their shields.

The others that did not have such defenses were cut down and defeated, dead once more.

Artemis had taken to moving around the area, on the border of where the skirmish was taking place. Using her more miniature explosive tipped arrows, she kept a vigil eye on the teams blind spots while having moments of switching from hand-to-hand combat whenever a Draugr had gotten close.

In that time, she would have her bow retract and form around her right arm into an armored gauntlet and deliver powerful punches and haymakers at Draugr that came within range.

Kid Flash moved to fast for the Draugr to keep up, tripping them up and tossing them around. Through his run throughs, he struck each Draugr with a multitude of hyper-sonic punches and kicks too fast for the eye to see.

Wonder Girl was in her element utilizing both her Amazonian and Spartan training, tearing a path straight through all the Draugr that went after her. After cutting down one of the feebler Draugr, she raised her sword in time to counter the halberd wielded by one of the bulkier Draugr.

She was slightly jolted back, surprised by the strength behind this undead warrior but hers still remained greater.

With a shove back, the Draugr stumbled which in turn allowed for Donna to move in for the killing blow. Decapitating the bulkier Draugr, Donna turned back to see the rest of the team had finished up with the rest.

"Alright, that wasn't so bad." Wally said, flicking off some undead resin that had gotten on his arms. "Thought these Draugr would be worse. Not like those Hel-walkers."

"These are just basic foot soldiers." Wonder Girl said. "Though I fear we may encounter more graver enemies."

That statement made the groups speedster ponder something that had been bothering him. "Say, Donna. Since you know enough about all these magical monsters from your own pantheon and all, is there anything you know about the creatures here? I never got to ask."

Wonder Girl only gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry Wally. I wish I knew more. I am aware of some creatures here but the most extensive knowledge I have is surface level. Like Odin, Freya, Thor and the Valkyries."

"Eh~ worth a try."

"Why not try the Bestiary's?" Dot suggested. "Could provide some answers."

"What did Freya tell us to do again?" Artemis asked aloud. "Find a Lake, right?"

"The Lake of the Nine, is what she called it." Cortana stated.

"Lake of the Nine." Donna mused aloud. "From what I can recall, the Norse Pantheon exists within nine realms of existence with each realm basically residing within the same…. I'm not sure how to explain this, reality?"

"What does that mean?" Asked a bewildered Artemis.

"As if they all exist on top of one another but accessibility to each realm can only be achieved through the world tree of Yggdrasil." Donna said. "It is what connects all the nine realms."

"Huh… Does your pantheon have something like that?" Wally asked making Donna smile at him slightly.

"Not necessarily. The Chain of Olympus connected the underworld, the seas and the skies. I believe it still does but due to the changing world, like Themyscira, it hid itself in plain sight."

"So there's a giant chain on Earth that connects to the heavens, huh?" Cortana asked wryly.

"It's not even the craziest thing in this universe all things considered." Dot said with a digital shrug

"True." Nathan said. "Come on, let's keep moving."

The group crossed the stone bridge, Wally making an offhanded comment about expecting some kind of troll under the bridge and entered the decrepit trading post where most of its walls were crumbling away.

Hazy sunlight streamed down from above as the team made its way through the old structure.

"Wally, can you stop looking around every corner?" Artemis called out to him exasperatedly.

"Babe, when it comes to places like these there's always something to find or some asshole enemy waiting to spring up on us and ruin our day." Wally countered.

"He does have a point." Dot remarked. "Maybe there's something we could find here in the ruins."

"Like what?" Artemis inquired, now walking up a s et of staircases while the others remained below going over to other spots within the large room, they currently resided in.

Before her was a door that honestly looked more like a few large splinters that was barely holding itself together. Considering where she was as well as the foes, she had faced not a long few moments ago, Artemis exercised caution first.

Carefully, she notched an arrow into her bow and approached the door slowly. In a quick movement, she kicked the door apart and bolted in with her arrow drawn back pointing in all directions.

"Artemis!" Kid Flash was by her side in an instant. "What happened?"

The archer smirked at her boyfriend's protective moment, patting his cheek then giving it a quick peck.

"Nothing you need to worry yourself over, speedster. Just doing some recon around us."

"Everything alright over there?" Kaldur called out from his end of the room, near a chain built into a deteriorating pillar.

"We're fine here Kal." Wally said back to his friend. "Just checking this room… out…"

Wally turned back to see Artemis standing before an unusual wooden triptych that had multiple Nordic ruins on top of strange images.

"What's this?" Wally asked, going up to his girlfriend to analyze the… it looked like some kind of shrine.

Artemis pulled out her translation Rune stone and held it up before her.

"Hey, Wally, try pronouncing this name here." Artemis requested.

Inclining his head forward for his eyes to hover in front of Arti's Rune stone.

"Whymer?"

Artemis snorted. "I don't think that's how you do it."

"Did you find something?"

Artemis turned back to see Donna walking in.

"Yeah, these weird Runes and pictures." Artemis said, thumbing to the triptych behind her.

"What is it?"

"Looks like a shrine or story of some kind." Wally said. "Like those Hieroglyphs with Egypt and all."

"Any ideas what this one is, Donna?"

Wonder Girl approached the shrine, Translation stone in hand.

"Oh, I think I've heard about this one." Donna said. "Ymir, the First Frost Giant. The… no he wasn't the King of the Giants. But…" Her hand travelled over the runes and scribes. "He was the First Frost Giant were all Frost Giants originated from. And that includes the Aesir and Vanir Gods, Dwarves, Elves and… well not sure on the humanity part."

"So what's happening to him in that last panel?" Wally asked, grimacing a bit at seeing a clear red cascade coming out from Ymir.

"Odin and his two brothers killed him." Donna said dejectedly when it shifted to confusion. "But it was necessary. The Giants stated the cycle began anew, the old being taken down and paving the way for the new."

"What does that mean?" Artemis asked. "That sounds kinda Darwinist."

"Who knows." Donna pocketed her stone. "It ends here."

"Well that's a bit of a cliffhanger." Wally stated with the two girls nodding in agreement.

"Hey you guys."

Six and Kaldur entered.

"So, what'd you find?" Dot inquired.

"A story board basically." Wally said plainly, stepping aside for Six and Kaldur to get a look at the shrine.

Dot and Cortana made a quick scan of the Shrine, cataloging it for later.

"Well, there's nothing else for us here." Dot said. "Our scans aren't picking up any energy readings or movement."

"Then let us keep moving." Kaldur suggested. "There appears to be nothing else here."

"Which way do we go now?" Artemis asked.

"Freya did tell us to find one of two rivers that would lead us to the lake." Cortana said. "So… let's go find a lake."

"You wanted to make that sound grand." Dot teased.

*Crunch*

The group tensed at the sound that echoed through the crumbling structure.

"What was-"

The sound appeared again several more times.

"It's coming from outside." Six said, grasping the handle of Dragonslayer.

The team cautiously exited the room, weapons at the ready.

The crunching sound continued on occasion with now several more joining to it. There were the rustling of leaves and other shrubbery.

Continuing through the ruined trade post, they found another gate on the other end and exited through it to the sound of several twigs.

The team whirled around, tensed and anticipating an attack only to find…

"Whoa~" Donna's eyes widened with wonder, lowering her sword at the sight of a brilliant white furred stag with large proportioned antlers that quite literally glowed with some kind of azure energy. Blue wisps flickered off the antlers, the large white stag looking towards the group.

It gazed at them intently with Donna sheathing her sword and raising her arms.

"Donna, what are you doing?" Artemis whispered/asked.

"I've never seen something like this animal before." Donna said, slowly approaching the stag. "On my island of Themyscira, we Amazons are naturally attuned to nature and its animals."

Reaching out, she felt the Stags nervousness but she made sure to exude a calming aura making the majestic animal slightly calm down.

Reaching her hand out, the Stag inclined its head and took a cautionary whiff of her before it pressed its forehead against her palm.

Exhaling excitedly, Donna began stroking the stags fur with a light laugh.

"Well this is certainly a cliché movie moment." Wally said, casually holding up his phone to record it.

"Is it strange to say that I'm surprised we haven't seen something like this yet?" Dot inquired.

"No, I don't believe so." Kaldur shook his head.

Six was silent the entire time, observing his lover who continued to stroke the white deer holding a serene smile to her the entire time.

He felt his own lips twitch upwards momentarily, feeling the calm demeanor that she was currently enjoying.

Which ended upon his head snapping upwards.

"DONNA." Six yelled out.

The Amazon looked up in time to see a gigantic bipedal beast appear through the trees. It was a good four times taller than them all and it in all honesty, did not look friendly. It had leathery, almost stone-like skin on certain areas, dual curved tusks on both sides of its face and a pretty damn big accessory.

"OH SHIT!" Wally and Artemis cried out simultaneously.

Donna's eyes widened in shock before she quickly jumped away with the stag dashing off. A giant stone pillar smashed down to where she stood before it was hefted back onto the shoulder of its owner.

"Great Hera!" Donna said aloud. "A troll!"

"That's a troll?!" Artemis yelled out incredulously, nocking several explosive arrows in her bow. "How in the hell do you know that?!"

"I saw it in our Bestiary's." Donna stated. "I saw it when I was first skimming through mine."

The identified troll growled at the five before him before letting out a reverberating roar, as if challenging them. The totem that it held on its left shoulder glowed as it held up its right arm that was covered in what appeared to be some kind of molten substance.

With a swing of its arm, liquid molten fire reigned down upon the area.

"Whoa! The hell was that?!" Wally zipped away from the troll while Artemis fired off several explosive arrows.

"It must be a Fire Troll!" Cortana yelled out, bringing up one of the pages she had scanned earlier.

"I know this one." Dot said, bringing up a page from the bestiary on Six's HUD. "This is Dauði Kaupmaðr. From the translation, I think it means Death merchant."

"Good to know." Six remarked.

Six had grasped Dragonslayer and brought it out in full swing, meeting the large totem that the troll swung at them. The blade and totem bounced off one another, leaving the troll stunned momentarily.

Wonder Girl used that opportunity in leaping forward to bash her shield into the trolls face. The troll stumbled yet it had remained standing, growling savagely as he grabbed Donna from the air and threw her through one of the walls of the trade post they had exited.

"Donna!" Artemis called out to her.

"I got her." Wally had already rushed right in while Six and Aqualad stood to face the troll with Artemis keeping her distance.

Six in particular doesn't take to kindly to seeing his girlfriend thrown around like that, placing Dragonslayer on his back while shifting to the Leviathan Axe. With a dash forward, Six moved to take down the Trolls bulky legs and bring him down to size.

Aqualad noticed a nearby stream and quickly called upon his hydrokinetic powers to call forth a pillar of electrified water, directing it at the troll.

Getting hit dead on, the troll swung his hands and totem about in an attempt to rid himself of the electrical water that was currently harming him. His pain however did not mean the Troll was unaware of the Spartan leaping into the air with his Axe raised.

Flinging it at him, Dauði Kaupmaðr raised its free hand and hissed in pain as the axe embedded itself into his coarse skin. He even felt an ice cold spreading upon his hand. Growling, Dauði shot out and grabbed Six. Since Aqualad had not let up his attack, seeing the electricity now affect his Spartan ally forced him to stop.

The fire troll growled aloud, holding up Six right to his face.

"Umfir Fua Fik Fir Valhalla!" The Troll bellowed aloud, slamming Six into the ground.

"That thing could talk?!" Artemis firing several explosive arrows to distract the troll who had dropped Six.

"Ok, ow." Six grunted silently.

"You alright Six?" Dot asked nervously. "Your shields nearly burst."

"I'm alive."

"Typical Spartan response." Cortana said with a tired sigh.

Dauði stood to his full height, totem raised and glowing.

"Incoming." Dot said aloud.

Six and Kaldur jumped a good distance away as the troll slammed his totem into the ground with several molten circles exploding out from the ground.

Hefting the totem back onto his shoulder Dauði kept up his assault, igniting his hand and flinging more fire and molten rock across the area.

"Whoa, it's getting hot around here."

Kid Flash zipped in with Wonder Girl flying up in the sky.

Dauði Kaupmaðr knew that he was surrounded and outnumbered yet that remained for a short instance.

As if an answer from the depths of Hel itself, Draugr burst forth from the ground warriors who refused to pass craving battle. On top of that, Tatzelwurms.

"Ok, that's cheap videogame bullshit right there." Wally said aloud in aggravation.

"Agreed." Kaldur said in mirth, shifting his aquatic blades into a three-pronged trident. "We shall handle these smaller foes, Six. You and Donna concentrate on taking out the troll."

"Right." Six reached out with his hand, feeling the mental link in place. The Leviathan Axe ripped out from the trolls arm and flew right back into his awaiting hand.

"That is too cool." Dot commented.

Wonder Girl twirled her sword in hand as she hovered in the air, before letting out a war cry and charging right at the Fire Troll who roared back defiantly.

Swinging its totem, Donna met the large weapon with her shield. With her super strength, she managed to parry the totem back making the Troll stumble with its weapon still in hand. However, he still had his other free hand and quickly grabbed his foe in the air.

Six however wouldn't allow her to be thrown around again, rushing forward and with a spinning swing impaled his axe deep into the calf of the troll.

The troll let out a shout of pain which gave Donna ample opportunity to break free of the trolls grasp on her. Still flying in the air, she lunged forward bashing her shield into the trolls face followed by a deep gash into his cheek.

Dauði didn't take to kindly to the injury, literally headbutting her away with his legs igniting the pyrokinetic powers and smashing both feet into the ground.

Six had rolled out of harms way, his shields flickering with the small pieces of molten earth that managed to get sprayed on him.

Holding out his hand, his Axe sailed back to him. It glowed upon returning to his hand with a nudge in the back of his head.

Grasping the handle with both hands, Six grit his teeth and felt the power flowing through him. The air visibly distorted around him with it appearing to get sucked into his body. With a wide arching, horizontal swing an energy wave of pure ice shot out around him.

Several nearby Draugr and Tatzelwurms got caught up in the ice wave, a layer of frost encompassing their beings and preventing movement.

The Fire Troll got struck, stumbling back with frost covering his legs and quickly travelling up to the rest of his body. With a growl, Dauði called upon his affinity for fire which melted away the ice in a second.

"That was Awesome!" Wally yelled aloud, throwing a Draugr into another with his speed.

"This must be that complementary battle style Sindri spoke of." Dot stated. "I guess that means there's more to this axe as you keep fighting."

"Then let's test what else it could do." Six said with anticipation, charging forward at the Troll.

Aqualad and Kid Flash all the while fought back against the smaller enemies with Artemis providing aid for the two.

Twirling his electrified hydro staff, Kaldur smacked away several Draugr that ran at him. With a twirl and a diagonal swing, Kaldur smashed a Tatzelwurm down to the ground.

Wally zipped around several Draugr and Tatzelwurms, punching, kicking or tripping at high speeds with many flying about from the damage.

Artemis had to move about constantly, having to deal with Draugr that had spotted and ran at her. She had to shift back and forth between her weapon mode from bow to bo, going from long distance to CQC on a dime.

Wonder Girl and Six continued with their fight with the fire troll, their adversary swinging his totem about with is being surrounded by burning embers. With every swing, small waves of fire shot out making them fight on the defensive.

Yet the moments where he was wide open, the duo struck hard and fast staggering and damaging the troll.

Its breathing was becoming haggard but it appeared hellbent on not submitting to either of them.

Wonder Girl kept striking it at vital areas or joints, with Six using his heavy frame and own super strength to deliver devastating attacks.

Dauði was beginning to get beyond frustrated so he did what he felt was his only means of defeating them. Upon the totem was a symbol that represented his connection to fire, with the engravings beginning to glow a fierce fire red embers floating off of it.

His entire upper body and head itself began to look as though it were a skin of fire with heat radiating off of him and slightly distorting the air around him.

The troll threw it up before thrusting it downwards in an arching swing directly at Six who rolled away. What Six did not expect was the fiery explosion bursting from the totems edge that seemingly struck the air.

The troll continued this movement several more times, fires and molten substances beginning to spread around the battlefield.

Wonder Girl grit her teeth, finding the blistering bursts of heatwaves generated from the troll greatly uncomfortable. It was strange as she would figure that heat not be that great a problem yet it was affecting her here.

Regardless, no monster such as this one would best her or her lover. Flying right at the troll, the beast swung his emblazoned arm in retaliation with molten and lava like substances being flung at her. With expert timing, Donna corkscrewed in the air shield raised. Her shield caught most of the fiery projectiles with the rest of her spinning motion being able to blow away the rest.

Now getting in close, she changed her sword into a backhand grip and uppercut the troll right in the chest creating a visibly large gash. She didn't end there, bashing her shield at his shoulder stunning him before impaling her sword deep into his lower right rib cage.

Dauði bellowed aloud in pain and managed to grab the Amazon once more though this time with no intention of tossing her away.

Instead, he used his emblazoned hand to burn her to the bone. Wonder Girl struggled but the overwhelming heat made her clench up until she cried out in complete pain feeling the fire searing her skin and insides. The moment was brief and only last a second or two as Wonder Girl found herself falling and get caught by Wally who had run by to get her away from the troll.

Wincing, she craned her head over to the troll to see Dragonslayer embedded into to its knee with Six switching over to his axe.

With a high jump, Six elbowed the troll with such force that he had shattered one of his horns getting atop its shoulders.

Six felt his adrenaline pumping hard and fast with his muscles tensing up as he pummeled the trolls face with vitriolic fury until he stabbed the axe into the trolls forehead. Pulling it upward and out, the troll cried out falling to the ground.

Instinctively, Six threw his axe out and grabbed onto the totem that was in the air and with his combined weight, strength and momentum brought it down onto the troll with all his power utterly crushing the gargantuan foe.

With a huff, Six pulled away the Leviathan Axe and flicked off any excess blood turning to see the others staring at him.

"What?"

"Dude." Wally said plainly.

"We've seen you do some crazy shit before." Artemis stated. "But still, dude."

Nathan shook his head, going over to Donna who had parts of her body covered with water conjured by Kaldur.

"Donna." The Spartan said in a soft tone, kneeling down to her. "Are you alright?"

She smiled at him tiredly. "I'll be alright after a few moments. These burns are nothing."

From the side, Wally let a tired and exasperated sigh.

"What's your problem?" Artemis asked.

"How can he just go from hardcore kill a giant monster mode to lover boy in an instant?" Wally rhetorically asked. "At least I have consistency."

"Really?" Artemis said flatly.

"Very much so." Wally said confidently with his arms crossed.

Nathan tuned all that out, holding his girlfriends arm while administering some Bio foam salve over her burned skin to help speed up the process.

"What's our next step, Six?" Kaldur inquired, taking a moment to look around the area so that there were no more enemies.

Cortana and Dot's Holo-visages appeared in the middle of the gathered group.

"Freya mentioned getting to the Lake of the Nine and locating the temple of Tyr." Dot said.

"Hmmm, a temple eh?" Wally said. "Shouldn't be too hard to find. Unless it's… you know… magically invisible or something. "You have to be worthy to enter" or something along those lines."

Dot wanted to argue against it but they were in the middle of a forest that was kind of a pocket dimension to an ancient time where the Earth was once connected to 8 other realities at once. So hey, who was she to dispute such an idea. Especially from one who had at one point didn't believe in magic.

"We should probably get moving." Kaldur suggested. "Considering what we've already encountered…"

"Sticking around here will only draw more unwanted attention and we're sitting ducks right now." Six finished for the Atlantean, Kaldur nodding in agreement.

"Are you alright to walk, Donna?" Six asked with the Amazon nodding as she got to her feet.

"Let's keep moving." She said determinedly. "We've got an apocalypse to avert."

"Yeah, that's not gonna be hard at all." Wally sarcastically stated.

"Wally, you're a protégé to a superhero who is part of a team that stops world ending events on a daily basis with some of those heroes having their own students with a team of which you are a part of… who also stops world ending events." Dot pointed out. "And you're walking with a Super-soldier whose job was to hold back humanities apocalypse from our reality."

Wally paused with the others joining him.

"You know… I really am glad I don't think about these kinds of things." Wally said, rubbing his head as he felt a headache coming on.

"At this point, I'm glad Dot told me not to." Cortana said, half-joking half-seriously.

"Come on." Six waved them to follow. "Let's get moving. We don't want to lose time against Ragnarok."

As the young teen heroes and their UNSC comrades continued to trek through Midgard, the rest of the team was picking up the slack back in the "modern world".

With the foretelling of Ragnarok upon the horizon on top of the "shift" in the air many magically attuned individuals like Zatanna and Constantine had been sensing, undead beings and other mythological aggressive animals from the Norse Mythology have been appearing in certain parts of the world with the many heroes going out to fight them back.

The Team back home had gone through several routine patrols and skirmishes already with these enemies yet their most recent encounter was rather… different to say the least.

Robin had spun his electric tipped batons, jamming them into the neck of a Draugr that had been shocked to the point that it fell apart into ashes.

Heaving a tired sigh, Robin slouched slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing over to his side, he gave a nod to Superboy who nodded back.

M'gann and Zatanna were finishing up their set of undead warriors with Cyborg and Rocket doing the same on their end.

Once that was all said and done, Robin looked over to the two other individuals that had assisted them in their little skirmish.

Since Kaldur had departed with Donna, Wally and Artemis with Six towards "Midgard" there had been these undead enemies popping up all over the place though in places nearby Europe or more specifically, where Winter was in heavy affect.

Which was a strange situation of sorts that these foes fought in areas of immense cold yet at the same time, it kind of made sense. With what he was able to read up on when it comes to Norse mythology, winter appears to be a very prevalent season within the pantheon. So, with that little nugget of information, narrowing down the areas where these Draugr and other rising undead enemies would appear would make sense.

Still… the thought of Ragnarok being the cause of these enemies appearing is startling and disturbing to say the least. The Justice League had been informed of the situation with the League making sure to disperse its members whenever things like theses Draugr would appear.

Most of the remaining team figured that the League would make the team go on standby yet his mentor Batman stated that this was a problem they chose to address before they did. Therefore, this is the teams fight as much as it is the older heroes.

Yet right now, that wasn't what was on the mind of the Boy Wonder. No, what held Robin's absolute attention was the same thing that had also had the rest of the teams attention.

The strange bi-pedal alien creature with a set of plasma weaponry being accompanied by an aged elderly lady with grey hair along with another individual who was decked out in all-too familiar armor.

In essence, all three of these individuals were too easy to discern who and what they were.

"I take it the way you're looking at the three of us, you clearly have an idea as to who we are." The elderly lady said plainly.

"In a manner of speaking." Robin said evenly. "Doctor Catherine Halsey, correct?"

"That is who I am, yes." Halsey said evenly.

"You're a Sangheili." Connor said to the bi-pedal alien. "And you're a Spartan."

"What kind are you?" Cyborg asked. "I remember Cortana talking mentioning new Spartans."

Halsey's head turned sharply to Victor; her eyes ablaze.

"What did you just say?" Halsey said in an interrogating manner.

"Man, I really wish Six were here right about now." Zatanna remarked.

"We'll have to wait till he and the others come home then." Superboy said.

"Uh…"

The Spartan next to Halsey spoke up, gaining everyone's attention.

"Not to sound rude or anything but what hell is going on? What were those weird enemies we just killed and how do you guys know about us?"

"I concur with Thorne." The Elite said, eyes narrowed. "It appears you all know a great deal about us."

"Easy now, Shress." The identified Spartan named Thorne said to the Elite. "Let's not antagonize people who haven't caused us any trouble."

"And who is this Six you mentioned?" Halsey inquired.

"You know him, Ms. Halsey, you entrusted humanities survival to him on Reach." Robin said cryptically.

Yet that was enough for realization to dawn upon Halsey's face, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Y-You mean-"

"Noble Six, yes." M'gann answered for her. "He is alive and he's been here for the past few months."

"I know that you have a lot of questions." Robin stepped forward. "Trust us, so do we. But right now we're in the middle of an extremely important situation and it's better to get you all to a secure location before we attract other unwanted attention."

Halsey regarded the group of teens before her, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts a second.

They knew about her and about the Spartans and from what they were inferring to, what had transpired on Reach and her giving Noble Six the last fragment of Cortana.

What was this place?

How did they end up here?

And who were these people?

Right now, their options were limited and didn't seem like they could do much to begin with. Having been separated from the rest of team Majestic as well as the UNSC it seemed, trusting these teens appeared to be the only viable choice that they could do.

"Very well then." Halsey spoke up. "Take us to this secure location you mentioned."

"Hope you're used to instant teleportation." Robin said, pulling out an orange glowing cubical sphere.

Dropping it to the ground, the large group were surrounded by an orange dome of energy before disappearing in a bright flash.

*INHALE*

*EXHALE*

BOY, it is good to be back and updating this one after a long Hiatus.

Really am sorry that I had wanted to update this one so many times before but things just kept popping up and I was on a role with Infinite Wars on top of my new co-written story with Jebest4781 A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts that I just kept putting this off.

But after too long a hiatus, I clenched my cheeks, tightened my fingers and typed away like a madman after coming back from a long day of work.

It's time to get back into the groove of this story and get on with the many plans that I have at long last written down in arc form layout. It's probably why I have managed to get so many Infinite Wars chapters consistently. Here's to hoping consistency returns for this one.

I'M BACK!

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.