Marvel Adventures: Dragonborn
…
Voice Cast:
Kari Wahlgren as Emma Frost
Erica Lindbeck as Felicia Hardy/Black Cat
Natalie Dormer as Red Sonja
Keeley Hawes as Betsy Braddock/Psylocke
Tara Strong as Laura Kinney/X-23
Richard Armitage as Dragonborn/Dovahkiin
And introducing Candice Swanepoel as Vault 76 Resident Aurora Rose
…
Chapter 2: Reclamation Day
Everyone quickly scrambled to catch up with Dragonborn. Betsy was the first to catch up with the man. "Could you slow down?" Betsy asked as she struggled somewhat to keep pace with Dragonborn's strides. Dragonborn's strides were long which meant Betsy had to jog every couple of paces just to keep up.
"The sooner we reach this Flatwoods, the sooner we can get a start on stopping this plague," Dragonborn stated simply, not even looking at Betsy.
"Well, I suppose you're right, but you could at least match pace with us can't you?" Betsy replied. Dragonborn slowed his pace down a fraction and allowed the others to catch up with him. Luckily they weren't puffing and panting which indicated that they were all physically fit for long travel, although they were a little red in the face.
"By Crom, man! You walk faster than that of a horse!" Red Sonja swore. "Are you not tired?" she asked Dragonborn.
"No," Dragonborn said casually.
"Even so, the rest of us can't afford to run in order to keep pace with you," Emma said archly as she panted for breath, her cheeks red. "So if you could do us a favour by slowing down your speed, then it would be much appreciated," she added.
"I'll see what I can do," Dragonborn replied as he pulled out from a satchel on his a waterskin and offered it to Emma who took with a nod of thanks and uncorked the bottle before taking a sip. The blonde gave a sigh and moan of relief as the cool liquid flowed down her parched throat.
"No more than a sip. Too much will slow your movements," Dragonborn advised the White Queen, obviously annoyed at being ordered around but she quelled the urge to snap out some scathing retort and handed the waterskin to Betsy who also took a sip. Betsy then handed it to Laura who took a conservative gulp before handing it to Sonja who took a long pull before handing it back to Dragonborn. Corking the waterskin back up, Dragonborn slipped it back into his satchel before he looked at each of them. Betsy felt a little self-conscious and wary as she couldn't tell what Dragonborn was thinking given that his helmet obscured his face.
"Since I'll be working with you all, I'll need to know your capabilities," Dragonborn finally said after a moment of looking at each of them. "I heard that you and Emma both have telepathy, but it's been inhibited by Sheogorath. Do you have any other abilities that are useful?" he asked looking at Betsy.
"I know martial arts and can swing a sword," Betsy replied. "I can also conjure a sword of psychic energy to use in a fight, but I don't know if I can with my telepathy disabled," she said looking uncertain.
"Try," Dragonborn told her. Betsy sighed before focusing her psychic energies and after a moment of concentration, a katana of pure violet psychic energy formed in her hand. Betsy gave a sigh of exhilaration and relief.
"What can your sword do?" Dragonborn then asked Betsy who replied with, "At its lowest level, it can disrupt neural pathways in the bodies of those it strikes, depending on what part of the body it strikes. At its highest, it can cut through most materials such as armour and flesh."
Dragonborn nodded at this and looked at Emma. "What other powers do you have?" he asked.
"I can turn myself into an flexible organic diamond form," Emma replied and she focussed and sure enough her body turned into a silvery crystalline diamond form. Dragonborn nodded at this and asked, "What are your diamond form's capabilities?"
"In this form, I don't need to eat, sleep or even breathe," Emma said. "I won't even age as long as I stay in this form, plus it also grants me a degree of superhuman strength and durability," she added.
"But diamonds usually have flaws in them," Dragonborn pointed out. "Do you have such a flaw in your diamond form?" he asked.
"I do, but forgive me if I don't feel like telling you," Emma said.
"Fair enough," Dragonborn said with a nod of his head. He then looked at Laura and asked, "What are your powers and skills?"
"I have a healing factor and adamantium claws," Laura said quietly and she prepared to unsheathe her claws when Emma stopped her.
"Wait! Your healing factor might be disabled! If you unsheathe your claws now, you could seriously injure yourself!" the blonde warned. Laura frowned a little but nodded silently at this.
"Do you have any other skills that are useful?" Dragonborn asked.
"I can track people by their scent," Laura replied and she then sniffed the air. "It seems to be working," she said.
"What can you smell out here?" Emma asked her.
"Lots of things," Laura said. "There are smells that familiar, but some that are different as well," she added. "Some of it smells… toxic," she then said with a frown on her face. Dragonborn nodded silently before he looked at Sonja.
"I was blessed by the Goddess to have great strength and skill at arms," the fiery redhead said proudly. "But it is on the condition that I do not lay with any man unless he bests me in fair combat," she added.
"What a ridiculous concept," Emma remarked.
"Any more ridiculous than turning into diamond?" Dragonborn asked her to which Emma didn't have a response. Dragonborn looked at Felicia and asked her, "What of your abilities?"
"Beyond stunning good looks, I am a master thief so I can pick open locks and break into just about any kind of security system there is," Felicia replied. "I also know quite a bit of martials and gymnastics which makes me very flexible, in more ways than one," she said with a flirtatious smile at Dragonborn. "I also have something of a bad luck power," she added.
"Bad luck power?" Dragonborn tilted his head to the side. "You can cause bad luck to people?"
"In a way I can," Felicia said. "It's uncontrollable most of the time, but it's useful enough to give me an edge against the bad guys."
Dragonborn nodded in understanding and he then looked at Sonja and asked her, "How skilled are you in combat? What weapons are you proficient with?"
"I've faced down many men and monsters in my quest to destroy Kulan Gath," Sonja replied. "I know how to use many weapons, but the sword is my preferred weapon of choice," she said tapping the sword that hung by her side.
"Well, now that you know our skills, what are yours?" Emma then asked Dragonborn.
"I have the ability to use the Thu'um," Dragonborn said.
"Foom? What is this Foom?" Sonja asked.
"The Thu'um or the Voice in the mortal tongue are Words of Power, the language of dragons," Dragonborn replied.
"Could you demonstrate?" Emma asked him.
"Let's see if I still have my Thu'um," Dragonborn said as he turned to face the open meadow that stretched out before them. Taking in a small breath, he shouted three words.
"YOL… TOR SHUL!"
A great stream of white hot flames spewed forth from Dragonborn's mouth and scorched a wide line through the meadow. Once the flames subsided, all that was left behind was a thick line of charred smoking ash. Whisps and curls of smoke rose the scorched earth, filling the air with the stench of burnt grass and earth.
"Crom! Are you part dragon?" Sonja asked looking at Dragonborn who said, "I have the body of a mortal, but the blood and soul of a dragon, given to me by Akatosh."
"Akatosh? Is he a god you worship?" Betsy asked.
"Yes," Dragonborn replied.
"Do you have any other skills?" Emma asked.
"I know how to fight with a sword and forge armour and weapons," Dragonborn replied.
"What weapons you have?" Betsy asked.
"This," Dragonborn stated as he pulled out the sword that hung on his hip. Betsy gave a low whistle as she gazed upon the lethal beauty of Dragonborn's sword. The blade was a dark smoky colour with water ripple patterns along it. The blood channel of the sword reached up three-quarters of the way and was a solid black. The ends of the crossguard twisted into the heads of dragons and looked to be made of dark iron as did the hilt. The pommel was set with a diamond shaped ruby gemstone that glinted and winked in the sunlight.
"Very nice looking sword," Betsy commented in approval. "Did you make this?" she asked looking up at Dragonborn.
The warrior shook his head and said, "I did not make this sword. It was given to me by a courier, along with a letter telling me that this sword belonged to my family. But I do not know who my family is."
"Oh right, you're an orphan," Felicia said, her green eyes softening in sympathy. "Have you ever looked for your family?" she asked him.
Dragonborn shook his head in response and said, "I don't know if I have any family where I'm from. I suppose you could say it's what keeps me going."
"Do you have any clues to your family? Other than your sword?" Emma asked, feeling a measure of sympathy for Dragonborn.
Dragonborn hummed in thought before pulling a small blanket from his satchel. "I have this." Everyone looked at the small and slightly dirty blanket in Dragonborn's hands.
"This is your baby blanket," Sonja stated rather than asked. Dragonborn nodded at this and said, "When I was found on the steps of the orphanage, I was swaddled in this blanket. The words stitched on it are a language that no-one knows."
And sure enough, there were some words stitched on the blanket in red and gold thread. The letters were clearly foreign and were elegant in scripture but no-one could make out what they meant.
"Has anyone been able to translate them for you?" Laura asked Dragonborn who shook his head in response.
"You poor thing," Betsy said sighing softly. "You must've had a hard life not knowing who your family was," she added kindly.
"I don't think about it to be honest," Dragonborn said. "Most people didn't even pay me much attention. It wasn't until I travelled to Skyrim and killed my first dragon that I was given the title Dragonborn that people started to take notice of me," he added.
"That's… that's absurd!" Emma exclaimed. "How could anyone not pay any attention to you?! What kind of world do you come from?" she demanded.
"It's just how it was," Dragonborn said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, we have more important business right now," he added stoically as he put away his baby blanket. "We need to get to this Flatwoods before sundown. I don't think we want to be out here at night."
"Agreed," Sonja said. "This land is strange to us all. The locals may not be keen on visitors," she added.
"Then let's get going then," Felicia said as they resumed their journey to Flatwoods.
…
Aurora Rose had woken up late. As usual. But in all fairness, last night's celebration did keep nearly everyone in Vault 76 up until the late hours of the morning and Aurora was usually a deep sleeper. If it wasn't for the alarm clock and the Vault PA system, she would've slept in all day.
Looking at her alarm clock, Aurora realised with a start that it was almost 11 o'clock in the morning. And it was Reclamation Day. The day where the all clear was given and the Vault Residents of Vault 76 would leave the Vault and rebuild America after the Great War.
"Fuck! Didn't mean to sleep in this late!" Aurora cursed as she got up from her bed and scrambled to put on her Vault suit. All the while the PA System spoke out through the entire Vault a message from the Vault Overseer. Slipping on a fresh pair of underwear, brushing her hair quickly and zipping up the front of her Vault suit. Aurora then put her Pip-boy 2000 on her left wrist and quickly left her living quarters, but not before sparing it one last glance. Aurora had been born in the Vault and grown up in the last 25 years inside it. It had become all she'd known and now she was leaving it behind to face the great wide world out there.
If she were being honest, Aurora would say that she was nervous at the thought of leaving Vault 76. It had been the only home she'd ever known her entire life and she was nervous to see what life was like outside of it. She'd miss life inside Vault 76, but the orders were clear; every Vault Resident was to leave Vault 76 and being rebuilding America, starting with West Virginia Appalachia.
Aurora had always wondered what the world was like outside the Vault. Given what she had learnt growing up, she expected to see a nuclear wasteland filled with just about every kind of mutated creature born of radiation, and those who were lucky enough to survive the bombs would be desperate scavengers who would sooner attack you and maybe even eat you. But call her naïve, Aurora thought that not everything outside the Vault wanted to kill and eat you. Perhaps there were some survivors who were friendly? It was a nice thought to think of.
Leaving her room, Aurora looked at the next room where she hoped her fellow resident and lifelong best friend Bella might still be asleep. Opening the door, Aurora noted with disappointment that Bella was gone. A little annoyed that her friend had left without waking her up, Aurora sighed before making her way to the Vault entrance where she picked up the last bag of supplies and materials that had been left for the Residents to begin the first stages of rebuilding Appalachia. Any other materials would need to be scavenged for out there.
Passing by the Mr Handy robot, Aurora left Vault 76 with a silent goodbye and a quiet hello to the outside world.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: The second chapter of this is done and dusted. I apologise for it being so short, but the hopefully the next chapter will be longer and we at least saw the introduction of my Vault 76 Resident Aurora who I will add is being voice by Candice Swanepoel. If you want a visual of what my Vault 76 Resident OC looks like, just picture her being a mix of Candice Swanepoel and Princess Aurora/Briar Rose from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, the animated version of it. As you saw in the chapter, Aurora apparently has a friend named Bella who has already left the Vault. We may or may not see Bella out in the Appalachian Wasteland. Who knows.
Anyway, not much to say about this chapter so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.