7. RECRUITS.
"Will it be much further?" Jubilee asked. "I don't think that my backside can take much more of this."
The four New Mutants had been riding behind Ivar all that morning, ever since they had left Ivar's hall. Already, all four of them were beginning to feel more than a little sore in the rear. Ivar, however, did not appear at all troubled.
"Come, now!" he said. "If I did not know better, I would be under the impression that you've never ridden a horse at all, my child!"
"Well, we haven't," said Jubilee. "Back where we come from, we have cars instead."
"Cars?" asked Ivar, sounding puzzled. "What do you mean by that word? I've certainly never heard it before."
"They're kind of like wagons, without horses," said Bobby. "And they're much more comfortable than this."
"Wagons without horses?" said Ivar. "How do they go, without horses to pull them? Unless they are drawn by oxen instead."
"No, no oxen either," said Bobby. "They've got gasoline instead. It's - well, it's - just something that they pour inside to make the cars work."
"Some sort of magical elixir, then?" asked Ivar, sounding more and more astounded all the while. "Your homeland must indeed be a place of wonders, if that is the case."
"No, it's not magic either," said Bobby. In a lower voice, he muttered to the other New Mutants, "Anybody who knows more about what makes cars run than I do - now's a really good opportunity to speak up."
"At any rate," Ivar continued, "to answer your original question - no, we do not have much further to go. We should reach our destination before sunset."
"And just where is it, anyway?" Roberto asked.
"It's a place of assembly," Ivar explained, "where those who, like me, have tired of Alfadur's tyranny have gathered, to seek a way of toppling him from his throne and freeing this land from his misrule. Once we are there, we can prepare our forces to move against him at last."
He looked up at the sky. "It is close to noon by now," he said thoughtfully. "We should stop and rest ourselves for a while, and have a bite to eat. How do you feel about that, my young friends?"
"Good idea!" said Jubilee eagerly.
"I'll say!" agreed Bobby. "I'd like to get off this horse before I wind up permanently bow-legged."
"There is a clearing up ahead," said Ivar. "We can dismount there, and take a brief rest before continuing on our way."
With much eager and approving chatter from the New Mutants behind him, he rode on, they following. After a couple more minutes, the trees thinned out around them, and they entered a wide clearing. Some blades of grass poked up through the snow, and a few rocks and fallen trees lay at the edge of the glade.
Ivar halted his horse and dismounted; the New Mutants followed suit. While the horses began to graze on what grass they could find, the travellers sat down, opened their food-packs, and began to eat.
They were about halfway through their meal when Ivar, with a thoughtful look on his face, began looking through the pouch at his belt. At last, he pulled out a small tablet, and placed it on his lap, gazing down intently at it.
"What's that?" asked Bobby.
"This, my young friend," said Ivar, "is an object relating to a custom that we have in these parts. When a group of warriors enlist in an enterprise such as the one that we are embarked upon, it is traditional for them to make their marks upon an object such as this one, to demonstrate their loyalty and their commitment to the adventure that they have chosen, and to their comrades in arms. Thus they bind themselves to it all the more effectively."
"And you want us to sign it?" asked Ray.
"It would certainly not be amiss for you to do so," said Ivar. "It would serve as a token of your agreement to fight alongside us, in the coming war of liberation."
"Then I'll do it," said Bobby. He searched his pockets. "Although I don't have any pens on me. Not even a pencil."
"Take this," said Ivar, taking out a small knife from his belt and handing it to Bobby, alongside the tablet. "Make your mark with it, then pass it on to your friends."
"Okay," said Bobby. He began to scratch out his name with the knife on the tablet. It took a while, but he finally completed it, and passed it on to Jubilee. She in turn, once she had finished with her signature, passed it on to Roberto, and from him it went to Ray.
Ivar nodded approvingly as all four youngsters performed the deed. None of them saw an overly eager gleam in his eye that formed briefly as he watched.
"We're done," said Bobby, taking the tablet back from Ray and presenting it to Ivar. "It's all yours."
"Thank you, my friend," said Ivar, nodding. "This means a great deal to me." He tucked the tablet away in his belt pouch. "So, let us eat now, and ride on afterwards. And if all goes well, we should -"
He suddenly pricked up his ears, listening, then frowned. "Wait you here," he said, rising from his place.
"Is anything wrong?" asked Roberto.
"I thought that I heard something out amid the trees," said Ivar. "It may be nothing of importance to us, but it may also be some of Alfadur's Reivers riding close by. I will go and see what it is. None of you leave this place, until I return."
* * *
With that, he moved off into the trees, proceeding in the cautious fashion of a scout. And he continued thus until he was out of sight from the clearing, and then gestured with one hand. A spherical glow appeared in the palm of his hand, and in the middle of it, a face.
"Be more careful, Heimir," muttered Loki in a low voice, looking about him this way and that, to make certain that none of the youngsters had indeed followed him. "Remember, the time is not yet ready to reveal my true face to our new allies. Your summons almost betrayed it to them."
Heimir nodded stiffly. "I will be more careful in the future," he said.
"Well, what tidings have you?" asked Loki. "Did you capture the others?"
"Only one of them," said Heimir. "The girl who can transform herself into a fire demon like Surtur's people. She was the only one who partook of our food. The others grew suspicious, and did not eat. My knights attempted to capture them, but they have so far eluded us."
"But you are still pursuing them, are you not?" asked Loki.
Heimir nodded. "Indeed we are," he said. "But we may need some fresh help from you, Loki. The werewolf has fled in the direction of Jarnvith, and if she reaches it, we cannot follow her there."
"I will inform Utgard-Loki of it," said Loki. "He can probably spare a few of his folk to take up the hunt if she enters the Iron Wood. And the two boys?"
"Also being pursued," said Heimir. "And their course is not taking them towards Jarnvith. Hopefully we will soon be able to overtake them."
"Good," said Loki. "Do so. But at least you have the fire-maiden. And she has been changed?"
"Indeed, my lord," said Heimir. "She has become one of our kind now. I will show you."
The vision within Loki's sphere of light changed from Heimir's visage to Amara's. The girl now had the angular, stylized features of a dark elf, with long pointed ears. Her eyes were closed, and she was still clearly unconscious.
"Excellent," said Loki. "Just take care to keep her away from Utgard. I would rather that my charges not learn her fate just yet. It could make them too difficult to handle, too early."
"And how are you proceeding on that matter?" Heimir inquired.
"It goes well," Loki replied. "I persuaded them to sign the contract. They are bound to us now."
"Indeed?" asked Heimir.
"They cannot desert us even if they wished," said Loki. "Although I will see to it that they do not discover enough about us to develop that desire - at least, not for a good long time. It will save us some trouble, after all."
"I certainly hope so," said Heimir. "But in the meantime, they are your charges, not mine."
"Naturally," said Loki. "I will have words with you again, later." And with that, before the dark elf could reply, he twitched his fingers slightly, and the sphere in his hand winked out.
Loki nodded approvingly, and turned around, to make his way back to where the New Mutants were waiting.
* * *
They were mounted again, and riding on their way once more through the woods. The sun had passed its highest point in the sky, and now began to sink westwards. Afternoon drew on, and the shadows of the trees lengthened. Soon, the sky began to grow dark above.
"Are we almost there yet?" Jubilee asked. "We've been riding for hours, and I really don't want to have to camp out here tonight."
"You need not worry," said Ivar. "We are indeed, as you put it, almost there."
"And just what is this 'there' place, anyway?" asked Roberto. "You've never said anything about it."
Ivar nodded. "It's a surprise," he said, an odd smile playing upon his face.
Before any of them could ask him what he meant by that, they emerged from the trees, and brought their horses to a halt. All four New Mutants stared in awe at the sight that dominated the vast clearing.
A great castle loomed in the twilight before them. Its walls rose much higher than those of an ordinary castle, soaring upwards to such an extent that Bobby almost got a crick in his neck just by trying to look at the highest battlements and turrets. But its proportions, more suited for giants than for humans, were not the only thing that amazed them. For the walls were made, not from stone, but a glittering ice. It looked, in fact, like an ice sculpture of a castle, but much more solid and durable.
"What is this place?" Bobby asked.
"Utgard," Ivar replied. "This is where we who desire to overthrow Alfadur have assembled, to gather our forces and march upon him. And here is where you will remain, until we are ready to begin the war. So, come along, if you please. We must not tarry."
With that, he rode forward up to the gates, and as he did so, raised to his lips a great horn hanging from his horse's saddle. This he blew a mighty blast upon. At once, the castle gates swung outwards, grinding upon their hinges, revealing the entrance to the courtyard. Ivar rode through them, followed by the four New Mutants, who stared in amazement at the courtyard's contents.
Apart from themselves and Ivar, they appeared to be the only humans in the place. Most of the people in the yard were giants, clad in furs and hides, and bearing swords and spears that looked like gargantuan icicles shaped into weapons. Others were short and stocky folk, also dressed in animal hides, with coarse-featured bearded faces, looking almost like the popular image of a Neanderthal, only shorter; many of them, in fact, bore what looked like cows' tails, hanging from their rear ends. The people in the gathering closest to humans in appearance and size were a group of dark-clad folk with pointed ears, who looked very much like the knights that had attacked the mutants the day before; some wore armor of the sort that the knights had, while others wore elegant-looking tunics, breeches, and mantles, with silver chains about their necks and rings upon their fingers, looking much like medieval courtiers.
"Who are these people?" Roberto asked.
"Our compatriots in the war to come," said Loki. "Frost giants, trolls, and dark elves, all ready to join with us in the overthrowing of Alfadur."
"Trolls?" asked Jubilee. "Dark elves? That really doesn't sound very pleasant."
"Those guys look a lot like the ones who attacked us yesterday," said Bobby, studying the dark elves. "Those people that you called Reivers."
Ivar nodded. "Alfadur has drawn many of his knights from the ranks of the dark elves," he said. "But not all of them bend their knees to him and call him master. Some fight upon our side."
"I don't know," said Bobby, frowning. "Something doesn't feel right here."
"I'll say!" said Ray, glowering at Ivar. "What's going on here, anyway? Speak up, now!" And with that, he shot a blast of electricity at Ivar, before Bobby or anyone else could stop him.
The electric bolt whistled towards Ivar - then halted abruptly only a few inches from him, and fizzled out. The New Mutants, especially Ray, stared in utter disbelief at the results, blinking. Ray lifted up his hand and looked at it. "What happened?" he asked. "Did I blow a fuse or something?"
"Hardly that," said Ivar, sliding off his horse with a triumphant smile upon his face. "Rather, I would say that the contract that I had you sign has proven a success. Just as I had intended."
"What do you mean?" asked Bobby, as he and the others looked at their guide sharply. "What's this all about? What's really going on here?"
"Ah, yes, I believe that the time for masks is over," said Ivar. He raised his hand, and his form blurred and shifted. Within moments, he had become a dark-haired young man clad in yellow and green clothing, with a decidedly sly smirk upon his face. "My true name is not Ivar Hakonson," he said to them. "Rather, it is Loki Laufeyson, the grand architect of the alliance that will depose Odin All-Father from his throne at last."
"Loki?" repeated Bobby, blinking. "Odin?"
"Does anyone else have the feeling that we've been had?" asked Roberto, equally uneasily.
"Exactly," said Loki, smiling wickedly. "The four of you have agreed, by signing my contract, to aid me in my war upon Asgard and its people. You have no doubt already beheld one of the results of your act. Your mutant powers have now been magically bound, in such a way so that you cannot use them against myself or my allies here. Your deed has pledged you to our cause."
"All right, so how do we go about unsigning?" asked Jubilee.
"You cannot," said Loki, still smiling. "You are bound to us, henceforth and forever, until I decide to release you - and I have no intention of doing so as yet. You are far too useful to me, after all."
"So what are you going to do to us?" asked Bobby. He tried to speak those words in a bold and defiant tone of voice, the way that Scott or Wolverine would have said them, but they did not quite come out the way that he had hoped. Probably, he decided, it was the awareness that, if what Loki had said was the truth - and in light of what had happened when Ray had attempted to zap him, it probably was - then he wouldn't be able to let out an ice blast upon him, to back those words up if he had to.
"And what about the others?" Roberto asked. "Like Rahne and Amara and the rest? I don't suppose that you just decided to let them go, either."
"That is hardly your concern at this point," said Loki. "Your concern is helping me and my associates here assault the walls of Asgard. So you will be training here until our forces are fully marshalled and ready to march forth. And then you will be taking part in the siege with us, and help us to victory."
"And then what?" asked Ray. "What'll you do with us after that?"
"Well, I might let you return to Midgard," said Loki, in a musing tone of voice, "once we have deposed Odin and installed a worthier ruler over the Aesir in his place." The look upon his face made it clear enough to them just who he had in mind for that "worthier ruler". "Mind you, we will probably be invading Midgard after that. You can always serve as our heralds, warning the humans of our coming - for all the good that that will do them."
"You're going to take over Earth?" cried Jubilee, aghast. The other youngsters had equally horrified expressions upon their faces.
"Of course," said Loki. "I can scarcely rule over all nine worlds without it. I prefer the - what is the right phrase? - complete set.
"But that is enough talk for now." He waved to a couple of trolls. "You two!" he called to them. "Show our new recruits to their quarters, and make haste!"
The trolls nodded, and motioned for the New Mutants to follow them, with a couple of grunts.
"Might as well do what he says," said Bobby, with a sigh. He and the others walked behind the trolls, moving off towards a small group of huts in one corner of the courtyard.
"All right, so what have we gotten ourselves into?" asked Jubilee.
"I don't really know," said Bobby. "I don't know that much about Norse mythology, but I remember something about Loki. He was supposed to be this real trouble-maker who was always scheming against the other gods and plotting to overthrow them. And it looks like we're in his army now."
"Way to go, Iceman!" said Ray sharply. "Who're you going to sign us up for next? Magneto? Mystique?"
"Hey, how was I to know that he was really Loki in disguise?" Bobby protested. "Besides, you didn't see through him any more than I did."
"So how are we going to get out of here?" asked Jubilee. "Got any plans, Bobby?"
"Maybe," said Bobby. "Give me some time, and I'll think of something."
"I just hope that the others are all right out there," said Roberto concernedly. "Heaven only knows how they're doing."
"Will it be much further?" Jubilee asked. "I don't think that my backside can take much more of this."
The four New Mutants had been riding behind Ivar all that morning, ever since they had left Ivar's hall. Already, all four of them were beginning to feel more than a little sore in the rear. Ivar, however, did not appear at all troubled.
"Come, now!" he said. "If I did not know better, I would be under the impression that you've never ridden a horse at all, my child!"
"Well, we haven't," said Jubilee. "Back where we come from, we have cars instead."
"Cars?" asked Ivar, sounding puzzled. "What do you mean by that word? I've certainly never heard it before."
"They're kind of like wagons, without horses," said Bobby. "And they're much more comfortable than this."
"Wagons without horses?" said Ivar. "How do they go, without horses to pull them? Unless they are drawn by oxen instead."
"No, no oxen either," said Bobby. "They've got gasoline instead. It's - well, it's - just something that they pour inside to make the cars work."
"Some sort of magical elixir, then?" asked Ivar, sounding more and more astounded all the while. "Your homeland must indeed be a place of wonders, if that is the case."
"No, it's not magic either," said Bobby. In a lower voice, he muttered to the other New Mutants, "Anybody who knows more about what makes cars run than I do - now's a really good opportunity to speak up."
"At any rate," Ivar continued, "to answer your original question - no, we do not have much further to go. We should reach our destination before sunset."
"And just where is it, anyway?" Roberto asked.
"It's a place of assembly," Ivar explained, "where those who, like me, have tired of Alfadur's tyranny have gathered, to seek a way of toppling him from his throne and freeing this land from his misrule. Once we are there, we can prepare our forces to move against him at last."
He looked up at the sky. "It is close to noon by now," he said thoughtfully. "We should stop and rest ourselves for a while, and have a bite to eat. How do you feel about that, my young friends?"
"Good idea!" said Jubilee eagerly.
"I'll say!" agreed Bobby. "I'd like to get off this horse before I wind up permanently bow-legged."
"There is a clearing up ahead," said Ivar. "We can dismount there, and take a brief rest before continuing on our way."
With much eager and approving chatter from the New Mutants behind him, he rode on, they following. After a couple more minutes, the trees thinned out around them, and they entered a wide clearing. Some blades of grass poked up through the snow, and a few rocks and fallen trees lay at the edge of the glade.
Ivar halted his horse and dismounted; the New Mutants followed suit. While the horses began to graze on what grass they could find, the travellers sat down, opened their food-packs, and began to eat.
They were about halfway through their meal when Ivar, with a thoughtful look on his face, began looking through the pouch at his belt. At last, he pulled out a small tablet, and placed it on his lap, gazing down intently at it.
"What's that?" asked Bobby.
"This, my young friend," said Ivar, "is an object relating to a custom that we have in these parts. When a group of warriors enlist in an enterprise such as the one that we are embarked upon, it is traditional for them to make their marks upon an object such as this one, to demonstrate their loyalty and their commitment to the adventure that they have chosen, and to their comrades in arms. Thus they bind themselves to it all the more effectively."
"And you want us to sign it?" asked Ray.
"It would certainly not be amiss for you to do so," said Ivar. "It would serve as a token of your agreement to fight alongside us, in the coming war of liberation."
"Then I'll do it," said Bobby. He searched his pockets. "Although I don't have any pens on me. Not even a pencil."
"Take this," said Ivar, taking out a small knife from his belt and handing it to Bobby, alongside the tablet. "Make your mark with it, then pass it on to your friends."
"Okay," said Bobby. He began to scratch out his name with the knife on the tablet. It took a while, but he finally completed it, and passed it on to Jubilee. She in turn, once she had finished with her signature, passed it on to Roberto, and from him it went to Ray.
Ivar nodded approvingly as all four youngsters performed the deed. None of them saw an overly eager gleam in his eye that formed briefly as he watched.
"We're done," said Bobby, taking the tablet back from Ray and presenting it to Ivar. "It's all yours."
"Thank you, my friend," said Ivar, nodding. "This means a great deal to me." He tucked the tablet away in his belt pouch. "So, let us eat now, and ride on afterwards. And if all goes well, we should -"
He suddenly pricked up his ears, listening, then frowned. "Wait you here," he said, rising from his place.
"Is anything wrong?" asked Roberto.
"I thought that I heard something out amid the trees," said Ivar. "It may be nothing of importance to us, but it may also be some of Alfadur's Reivers riding close by. I will go and see what it is. None of you leave this place, until I return."
* * *
With that, he moved off into the trees, proceeding in the cautious fashion of a scout. And he continued thus until he was out of sight from the clearing, and then gestured with one hand. A spherical glow appeared in the palm of his hand, and in the middle of it, a face.
"Be more careful, Heimir," muttered Loki in a low voice, looking about him this way and that, to make certain that none of the youngsters had indeed followed him. "Remember, the time is not yet ready to reveal my true face to our new allies. Your summons almost betrayed it to them."
Heimir nodded stiffly. "I will be more careful in the future," he said.
"Well, what tidings have you?" asked Loki. "Did you capture the others?"
"Only one of them," said Heimir. "The girl who can transform herself into a fire demon like Surtur's people. She was the only one who partook of our food. The others grew suspicious, and did not eat. My knights attempted to capture them, but they have so far eluded us."
"But you are still pursuing them, are you not?" asked Loki.
Heimir nodded. "Indeed we are," he said. "But we may need some fresh help from you, Loki. The werewolf has fled in the direction of Jarnvith, and if she reaches it, we cannot follow her there."
"I will inform Utgard-Loki of it," said Loki. "He can probably spare a few of his folk to take up the hunt if she enters the Iron Wood. And the two boys?"
"Also being pursued," said Heimir. "And their course is not taking them towards Jarnvith. Hopefully we will soon be able to overtake them."
"Good," said Loki. "Do so. But at least you have the fire-maiden. And she has been changed?"
"Indeed, my lord," said Heimir. "She has become one of our kind now. I will show you."
The vision within Loki's sphere of light changed from Heimir's visage to Amara's. The girl now had the angular, stylized features of a dark elf, with long pointed ears. Her eyes were closed, and she was still clearly unconscious.
"Excellent," said Loki. "Just take care to keep her away from Utgard. I would rather that my charges not learn her fate just yet. It could make them too difficult to handle, too early."
"And how are you proceeding on that matter?" Heimir inquired.
"It goes well," Loki replied. "I persuaded them to sign the contract. They are bound to us now."
"Indeed?" asked Heimir.
"They cannot desert us even if they wished," said Loki. "Although I will see to it that they do not discover enough about us to develop that desire - at least, not for a good long time. It will save us some trouble, after all."
"I certainly hope so," said Heimir. "But in the meantime, they are your charges, not mine."
"Naturally," said Loki. "I will have words with you again, later." And with that, before the dark elf could reply, he twitched his fingers slightly, and the sphere in his hand winked out.
Loki nodded approvingly, and turned around, to make his way back to where the New Mutants were waiting.
* * *
They were mounted again, and riding on their way once more through the woods. The sun had passed its highest point in the sky, and now began to sink westwards. Afternoon drew on, and the shadows of the trees lengthened. Soon, the sky began to grow dark above.
"Are we almost there yet?" Jubilee asked. "We've been riding for hours, and I really don't want to have to camp out here tonight."
"You need not worry," said Ivar. "We are indeed, as you put it, almost there."
"And just what is this 'there' place, anyway?" asked Roberto. "You've never said anything about it."
Ivar nodded. "It's a surprise," he said, an odd smile playing upon his face.
Before any of them could ask him what he meant by that, they emerged from the trees, and brought their horses to a halt. All four New Mutants stared in awe at the sight that dominated the vast clearing.
A great castle loomed in the twilight before them. Its walls rose much higher than those of an ordinary castle, soaring upwards to such an extent that Bobby almost got a crick in his neck just by trying to look at the highest battlements and turrets. But its proportions, more suited for giants than for humans, were not the only thing that amazed them. For the walls were made, not from stone, but a glittering ice. It looked, in fact, like an ice sculpture of a castle, but much more solid and durable.
"What is this place?" Bobby asked.
"Utgard," Ivar replied. "This is where we who desire to overthrow Alfadur have assembled, to gather our forces and march upon him. And here is where you will remain, until we are ready to begin the war. So, come along, if you please. We must not tarry."
With that, he rode forward up to the gates, and as he did so, raised to his lips a great horn hanging from his horse's saddle. This he blew a mighty blast upon. At once, the castle gates swung outwards, grinding upon their hinges, revealing the entrance to the courtyard. Ivar rode through them, followed by the four New Mutants, who stared in amazement at the courtyard's contents.
Apart from themselves and Ivar, they appeared to be the only humans in the place. Most of the people in the yard were giants, clad in furs and hides, and bearing swords and spears that looked like gargantuan icicles shaped into weapons. Others were short and stocky folk, also dressed in animal hides, with coarse-featured bearded faces, looking almost like the popular image of a Neanderthal, only shorter; many of them, in fact, bore what looked like cows' tails, hanging from their rear ends. The people in the gathering closest to humans in appearance and size were a group of dark-clad folk with pointed ears, who looked very much like the knights that had attacked the mutants the day before; some wore armor of the sort that the knights had, while others wore elegant-looking tunics, breeches, and mantles, with silver chains about their necks and rings upon their fingers, looking much like medieval courtiers.
"Who are these people?" Roberto asked.
"Our compatriots in the war to come," said Loki. "Frost giants, trolls, and dark elves, all ready to join with us in the overthrowing of Alfadur."
"Trolls?" asked Jubilee. "Dark elves? That really doesn't sound very pleasant."
"Those guys look a lot like the ones who attacked us yesterday," said Bobby, studying the dark elves. "Those people that you called Reivers."
Ivar nodded. "Alfadur has drawn many of his knights from the ranks of the dark elves," he said. "But not all of them bend their knees to him and call him master. Some fight upon our side."
"I don't know," said Bobby, frowning. "Something doesn't feel right here."
"I'll say!" said Ray, glowering at Ivar. "What's going on here, anyway? Speak up, now!" And with that, he shot a blast of electricity at Ivar, before Bobby or anyone else could stop him.
The electric bolt whistled towards Ivar - then halted abruptly only a few inches from him, and fizzled out. The New Mutants, especially Ray, stared in utter disbelief at the results, blinking. Ray lifted up his hand and looked at it. "What happened?" he asked. "Did I blow a fuse or something?"
"Hardly that," said Ivar, sliding off his horse with a triumphant smile upon his face. "Rather, I would say that the contract that I had you sign has proven a success. Just as I had intended."
"What do you mean?" asked Bobby, as he and the others looked at their guide sharply. "What's this all about? What's really going on here?"
"Ah, yes, I believe that the time for masks is over," said Ivar. He raised his hand, and his form blurred and shifted. Within moments, he had become a dark-haired young man clad in yellow and green clothing, with a decidedly sly smirk upon his face. "My true name is not Ivar Hakonson," he said to them. "Rather, it is Loki Laufeyson, the grand architect of the alliance that will depose Odin All-Father from his throne at last."
"Loki?" repeated Bobby, blinking. "Odin?"
"Does anyone else have the feeling that we've been had?" asked Roberto, equally uneasily.
"Exactly," said Loki, smiling wickedly. "The four of you have agreed, by signing my contract, to aid me in my war upon Asgard and its people. You have no doubt already beheld one of the results of your act. Your mutant powers have now been magically bound, in such a way so that you cannot use them against myself or my allies here. Your deed has pledged you to our cause."
"All right, so how do we go about unsigning?" asked Jubilee.
"You cannot," said Loki, still smiling. "You are bound to us, henceforth and forever, until I decide to release you - and I have no intention of doing so as yet. You are far too useful to me, after all."
"So what are you going to do to us?" asked Bobby. He tried to speak those words in a bold and defiant tone of voice, the way that Scott or Wolverine would have said them, but they did not quite come out the way that he had hoped. Probably, he decided, it was the awareness that, if what Loki had said was the truth - and in light of what had happened when Ray had attempted to zap him, it probably was - then he wouldn't be able to let out an ice blast upon him, to back those words up if he had to.
"And what about the others?" Roberto asked. "Like Rahne and Amara and the rest? I don't suppose that you just decided to let them go, either."
"That is hardly your concern at this point," said Loki. "Your concern is helping me and my associates here assault the walls of Asgard. So you will be training here until our forces are fully marshalled and ready to march forth. And then you will be taking part in the siege with us, and help us to victory."
"And then what?" asked Ray. "What'll you do with us after that?"
"Well, I might let you return to Midgard," said Loki, in a musing tone of voice, "once we have deposed Odin and installed a worthier ruler over the Aesir in his place." The look upon his face made it clear enough to them just who he had in mind for that "worthier ruler". "Mind you, we will probably be invading Midgard after that. You can always serve as our heralds, warning the humans of our coming - for all the good that that will do them."
"You're going to take over Earth?" cried Jubilee, aghast. The other youngsters had equally horrified expressions upon their faces.
"Of course," said Loki. "I can scarcely rule over all nine worlds without it. I prefer the - what is the right phrase? - complete set.
"But that is enough talk for now." He waved to a couple of trolls. "You two!" he called to them. "Show our new recruits to their quarters, and make haste!"
The trolls nodded, and motioned for the New Mutants to follow them, with a couple of grunts.
"Might as well do what he says," said Bobby, with a sigh. He and the others walked behind the trolls, moving off towards a small group of huts in one corner of the courtyard.
"All right, so what have we gotten ourselves into?" asked Jubilee.
"I don't really know," said Bobby. "I don't know that much about Norse mythology, but I remember something about Loki. He was supposed to be this real trouble-maker who was always scheming against the other gods and plotting to overthrow them. And it looks like we're in his army now."
"Way to go, Iceman!" said Ray sharply. "Who're you going to sign us up for next? Magneto? Mystique?"
"Hey, how was I to know that he was really Loki in disguise?" Bobby protested. "Besides, you didn't see through him any more than I did."
"So how are we going to get out of here?" asked Jubilee. "Got any plans, Bobby?"
"Maybe," said Bobby. "Give me some time, and I'll think of something."
"I just hope that the others are all right out there," said Roberto concernedly. "Heaven only knows how they're doing."