\Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and all related characters are the property of Marvel Comics. The Lord of the Rings and all related characters belong to the family and estate of J. R. R. Tolkien. If any of you are reading this, you've already got millions, I've got zilch, so suing me would only be a waste of your money and the American taxpayers'.
I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Because of that I decided to make this chapter extra-long. You readers who sent such wonderful reviews deserve that much.
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CHAPTER TWO
Web swinging through a forest wasn't quite the same as in New York City but it was the best that Peter Parker could do for now; the buildings in Rivendell just weren't tall enough and spaced too far apart for him to do it properly.
His costume had gotten worn during his walk to Rivendell; what he now wore reminded him of some of those costumes he'd seen the time Mary Jane had talked him into going to a Renaissance Fair. Peter was currently dressed in a blue tunic and trousers and red vest the elf seamstresses in Rivendell had made for him. He was amazed at how light and comfortable the fabric was, yet how strong. Peter was also wearing a pair of reddish moccasin-boots that were thin enough to enable him to stick to surfaces yet surprisingly durable. The elves, it seemed, took great care in their crafts.
Peter still wore his gloves and his Spider-Man mask; swinging just didn't feel right without it.
He swing up onto a rather large branch crouched down, thinking, Okay, I've been mysteriously transported to this strange dimension along with two of the X-men, rescued from certain doom four little guys, one of whom has a Cracker Jack prize that makes my spider sense go off like a fire alarm, and now I'm staying with a bunch of elves and not the kind who work for Santa or Ernie Keeblar. Peter sighed. Back home, no doubt his Aunt May and Mary Jane were worried sick. I wonder if M. J's gone to see Dr. Strange.
He had found an apothecary in Rivendell who coincidentally carried the very same enzymes he used for his web-fluid. After explaining why he used them, the apothecary contacted several weapon-smiths. They were all fascinated by the web shooters; the gold and silver they offered for the devices would have kept him and Mary Jane set for life back in New York.
"A highly unusual way of getting around, yet no doubt rather useful." Startled, Peter and saw Gandalf, the gray robed wizard he'd met four days earlier standing right behind him.
"H-how, did you get up here?"
"I have my ways," replied Gandalf as he sat down next to Peter.
"Oh."Peter was reminded of when his Aunt May told him how she learned his secret-he had just arrived in his room one night all battered and bloody. He pulled off his costume and lay it down on the floor. His aunt had walked in to check up on him while he was asleep, and saw the torn, blood-covered outfit...
The memory made him think of her and his wife again. "You seem troubled," remarked Gandalf.
"It's just-I have a wife and an aunt back home." Peter took off his mask; talking about his personal life as Peter Parker was a lot easier when he wasn't wearing it. "They're my only family and I worry about them."
"Ah." Gandalf nodded in sympathy. "You care greatly about them, don't you?"
"Yeah. Aunt May-she and my uncle Ben raised me since my parents died when I was a toddler; and after Uncle Ben passed away her health has taken a down turn. And Mary Jane's the best thing that ever happened to me. She's stuck by me and been my closest confidante-despite the troubles my life brings."
"I wish I could easily return you and your friends home, Peter," said Gandalf. "I will do what I can. But travel between dimensions is a very dangerous and chancy thing, especially if you do not know how you arrived here to begin with. Many wizards, some far wiser and more powerful than I, have destroyed themselves and caused great harm in the attempt."
Peter sulked. More to himself than to Gandalf he muttered, "I wouldn't be surprised if Dormmamu has something do with this."
Alarm filled Gandalf's face. "Dormmamu?" he said. "You know of Dormmamu?"
"Yes," replied Peter. "There's this wizard on our own world, Dr. Stephen Strange, who's dealt with him. I've sometimes gotten caught in the crossfire of their spats."
Gandalf shuddered. "Dormmamu arrived in Middle Earth shortly after Sauron was defeated. The carnage and destruction he'd wrought nearly rivaled that of the Dark Lord of Mordor; it took the combined might of me, Saurumon, and Radagast to finally seal him away."
"Oh." Now Peter thought of something. "This "Sauron' guy you talk about-he has something to do with that ring around Frodo's neck, doesn't he?"
Gandalf nodded. "That is his ring-a Ring of Power he made to rule over all other such rings. Those Nazgul Wraiths you and your friends rescued the hobbits from-they were once great kings of men, before Sauron gave them nine rings of power. Blinded by greed, they accepted-and became his slaves."
"Whenever I look at that thing, it makes my spider sense flare up. I can't even stand to look more than a few seconds; it's like the Bells of Notre Dame going of inside my head."
Gandalf frowned at the analogy but caught the gist of it. "This-spider sense-of your's. I've heard you speak of it before. Exactly what is it?"
When Peter explained how, whenever danger came near him he'd fell a buzzing in his head-the greater the danger the worse the buzzing was.
As Gandalf listened his face became very somber. "If only Isildur had such an ability. It would have saved us all a great deal of grief."
"Isildur? Who's he?"
"You will find out three days from now at the meeting. For the present, we are safe from Sauron and his minions. The only danger, it seems, is from Elladan and Elrohir, who just returned home this morning."
"Who are they?"
"Elrond's sons. Otherwise known as the Twin Terrors of Rivendell."
Logan sat back in the guest lounge of Elrond's house, puffing on clay pipe. What he was smoking right now wasn't tobacco but something the hobbits called 'longbottom leaf.' It wasn't quite the same-it had a spicier flavor and a rather lighter scent, yet Logan found he rather liked it.
Across the room Kurt was sitting with Merry, Pippin, and Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins. The old hobbit had been regaling the blue skinned mutant with tales of adventures he'd had when he was young-and Kurt was telling them of his own life with the X-men. Logan was glad Kurt enjoyed story telling; it kept those little guys happy and from pestering him too much.
"And there really are many such people as you in this world of your's, who have powers that don't come from sorcery?" asked Bilbo. He was copying notes onto parchment, to write down in his book later on.
"Yes," answered Kurt. The hobbits who were listening to him were smoking the same stuff as as Logan. This 'longbottom leaf smelled a little better than tobacco at least. Hopefully it wasn't as dangerous and secondhand smoke from it wouldn't harm him. "Many such as Logan and myself get them from a certain 'X-gene,' that we are born with; ve are called mutants. Others are like Peter; they vere born as normal humans but vere given powers by some outside force. They are called 'mutates.'
"Many are widely admired and held in high regard." Now Kurt sighed. "Unfortunately, others, especially mutants, are often looked at vith fear and suspicion. And there are those who have given humans good reason to be suspicious, such as one called Magneto."
Logan reached for a glass next to his chair, drank, and sighed. The elves of Rivendell didn't drink beer; like Greeks or Italians back home they preferred wine. It was very good wine-Logan didn't think there was any on his own world that could match it-but he longed for a cold bottle of Moosehead.
Logan tapped out his pipe and filled it up again. He wished for a nice convenient cigar; a pipe was just too time consuming for his liking.
He lit his match-he was amazed that this medieval-type world had strike-anywhere matches-and set it to the pipe's bowel....
Boom! The small explosion from the pipe bowel so startled Logan that he fell back in his chair to the floor. Kurt and the others saw him get up from the floor, his hair disheveled and his face covered with soot.
Merry, Pippin and Sam started to laugh. Kurt, Bilbo and Frodo didn't. Kurt knew Logan too well, and both Bagginses got the impression he didn't have much of a sense of humor.
The others' laughter died as Logan glared at them and unleashed his claws. Logan gazed particularly at Merry and Pippin; he got the idea that those two were troublemakers.
"Logan please," Kurt stepped forward. "I don't think it was these two that did it; if they had would they still be here when the joke went off?" Logan frowned then grunted; the German elf made too much sense.
"I'm gonna find out who did, then," he said, and walked out the room.
Pippin breathed a sigh of relief. "For a minute there I thought he was going to cut me to little pieces with those claws. I feel sorry for whoever did that to the pipeweed-if Logan ever finds out who it is."
"It shouldn't be so bad," said Kurt reassuringly. "Logan can be scary but his bark is worse than his bite-unless you really are his enemy, that is."
Bilbo Bagginses eyebrows furrowed; he already figured who had messed with the 'weed. And he hoped for their own sakes Logan never caught them.
"Shoot," muttered Elladan, he and his twin brother Elrohir were half a mile away, at the doorway of the Last Homely House where they lived when they weren't traveling in search of adventure. "I was hoping to get that blue one, or maybe one of the young hobbits." They could see Logan with the soot on his face quite well despite the distance-the elves of Middle-Earth had miraculous eyesight.
"From what everyone says, he strikes me as someone I do not wish to tangle with." While Elrohir enjoyed pranks as much as his brother he usually more cautious.
"Then we better not be around when he comes by this building," said Elladan,smiling at his twin.
The elven twins walked to where their rooms sat just across from each other. "So," smiled Elladan,
"which one do you think we should target next? The blue one or that other they told us about-the one they say is like a spider?"
"I don't know," said Elrohir. "How do you think Father will punish us this time?" While Elrond was a kindly father he was also a stern one, and had little patience with his sons' antics. "Last time he made us clean all the stables for two years-and before that, we had to clean all the diapers for the infants born in Rivendell that year!"*
"Perhaps we should try something really outrageous then-something that will put us on kitchen duty for perhaps a decade." answered Elladan, and the two entered Elladan's room, to begin thinking up the upcoming mischief.**
Elladan sat down on his bed grinning as his mind began churning with ideas. He was glad to be home; it had been so long since they had set out on that journey to rescue their mother. Now she was gone, having sailed to the Gray Havens in the West, and Elladan had no idea if he would ever see her again.
He tried to shift a little, then stopped. "What's the matter?" asked Elrohir.
"I'm stuck." Elrohir walked to the bed and placed his own hand on the top blanket as he tried to pull his brother off-and was stuck himself. "What's happened!"
The two brothers tried desperately to to get themselves out of the blanket but but instead found themselves rolled up opposite each other. "I couldn't have asked for it better myself," laughed an unfamiliar voice from a window neither of them could see. Next they were yanked of the bed through the window, and found themselves hanging from the branch of a tree, still wrapped up in the blanket.
Grinning at them was a young man who looked human-except no human they knew could cling to the outside of a building like this man was to the Last Homely House.
"Gandalf warned me about you two," the stranger said, "so I decided to pull what where I'm from is called a 'preemptive strike.'"
Peter Parker held his hand to his mouth. "Hey everyone! I've got the 'Twin Terrors of Rivendell,' right here! Come one, come all!"
Everywhere around them, elves flocked around the Last Homely House-and burst into laughter. Several, victims of the twins' previous pranks, ran off to find garbage or rotten fruit to throw at them.
Elrond and Arwen were among the crowd. Arwen laughed with the others; while she dearly loved her two older brothers she had been their favorite target when they were children and she always thought their father's punishments were too light. Seeing them humiliated like this-it was just so rich!
Elrond gave a small smile, the most emotion he ever showed. Although he hid it well-very well-he was always amused by the pranks his sons pulled. Lately however he felt they were getting too old
for such mischief-their 4,000th birthday would be coming soon. Maybe, just maybe, a public humiliation would make them grow up.
Or maybe they'd just try really hard to pay Peter back. Knowing Elladan and Elrohir as only a father could, Elrond thought the latter far more likely. From what Peter had told him and had demonstrated of that strange 'spider sense' of his though, they wouldn't have an easy time.
Peter smirked down at the twin elves. "I've covered the blanket with a thin coat of my webbing; it will dissolve within fifteen minutes. The strand holding you to the tree will last a little longer."
A rotten cabbage just barely missed hitting Elrohir's head. "Did he just say fifteen minutes?"
"I believe so," answered Elladan. The older twin had to admit, this was good. But there was no way he could let something like this go unanswered; he and his brother had a reputation to uphold. "Why do you ask?"
"Before we 'improved' the hobbits' pipeweed, well, I had a couple of cups of wine and..."
"HOLD IT!" cried Elladan-and a piece of moldy radish landed straight in his mouth.
For the next three days, the twins tried every trick they knew, and some others they'd just thought of, to try and publicly humiliate Peter. Yet somehow, nothing worked. He had ducked as soon as he opened the door to the cabinet that had a spring-loaded cream pie set to fly out. He stopped just as he was about to open the door and spotted the bucket filled with their sister's finest perfume. He had managed to set aside the goblet filled with wine that would have given him diarrhea and got a different glass. He even woke up before they managed to creep into his room to paint his face.
It was almost like Peter could somehow sense what they were about to do before they did it. For Elladan and Elrohir, it was infuriating.
"I've got to say, you got 'em good, Pete," said Logan a full week after they arrived in Rivendell. The three of them were sitting in a room where Elrond granted for them to eat alone. The could have joined the rest of the household in the Fire Hall, and they did at noon and evening meals. But for breakfast the three preferred to be alone together to discuss their situation. Logan himself had laughed at what Peter did; he decided then to give up any idea for retribution.
Peter spooned another bite of the silken wheat porridge that seemed a little like Cream of Wheat but was much nicer. "Yep. And because they've been so focused on trying to get me, they haven't been able to get anyone else. If only I could have gotten away doing this to Flash Thompson back in high school!"
Then Peter looked melancholy. Kurt and Logan both realized that thinking of home reminded Peter of his wife and his aunt. They'd both had an easier time accepting their situation than he did, mainly because neither of them had as close attachments as he did. Oh they had close friends that they would miss, but it wasn't really the same.
"Meine freund," Kurt said, placing a three fingered hand on Peter's, "I know, it is hard."
Peter was touched by Kurt's friendly gesture; up till now the only one of the X-Men he'd known personally was Logan, and their relationship wasn't exactly cordial. "Thanks," he replied. "Hopefully, Gandalf and Elrond will find the means to get us back."
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple, Peter." The three looked and saw Gandalf enter the room, followed by Elrond, Bilbo, and Frodo. "As I said before, dimension travel is a very serious matter. If we knew the means by which you came here, we might be able devise a way for you to return home. But as it is, it would take nearly a full year for us to do it safely-and and that would be if we did not have far more pressing matters."
"More pressing than getting us back home?" Peter cried, incredulous.
Elrond nodded. "I understand your reasons for wanting to go back to your own world, Peter. But for now, we do have matters more urgent. In fact, that is why we have come-to summon your to the Council."
"Many of the questions you have will be answered," said Gandalf. "And no doubt new ones will form."
Peter, Logan, and Kurt got up to follow the others. "Does he always talk like that?" Peter asked Frodo.
"Ever since I've known him," said the hobbit.
They walked out of the Last Homely House and out to a patio nearby, the hobbits leading Peter, Kurt, and Logan, with Elrond and Gandalf. Around a short stone pillar were seated a number of men, elves from Rivendell, others that looked liked the elves of Rivendell except for their hair was blond instead of black or chestnut and they wore green rather than brown or red. Peter looked a question at Bilbo. "They are from Mirkwood," the old hobbit explained. "A good distance from here." He indicated a third group. These were a little bigger than the hobbits but squat and bulky, with bushy beards they wore braided down to their waists along with their hair. The grim dour expressions on their faces reminded Peter of Logan. "Dwarfs." continued Bilbo, the his face lit up as he walked over to one who got up from his chair and embraced Bilbo in a tight hug.
"Bilbo!" the dwarf, evidently an old friend of Bilbo's, cried, "it's been too long, far too long."
"Gloin!" answered Bilbo. "How are the others?"
"Good, for the most part," answered Gloin. "Although Balin has left us some time ago with several other dwarfs for the mines of Moria, and we have not heard from him since. But come," he indicated another dwarf who looked like a younger version of him, "meet my son Gimli."
The others seated around the pillar turned their eyes at Kurt; never had they seen anything like him. Some, like the Mirkwood elves looked simply curious; others' looks ranged from wary to downright hostile. Kurt sighed; to the hobbits the fact that he helped to rescue them mattered more than his looks, while the Rivendell elves had been friendly and hospitable. Apparently not everyone on Middle-Earth was as open-minded. Kurt would have been more upset if he hadn't been used to receiving such looks at home.
Everyone stood up as Elrond and Gandalf approached. Bidding that everyone take their seats, Elrond looked out at the Council, and spoke:
"Strangers of distant lands, friends of old, you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor." The Elven Lord cast his his gaze at the assembly of men, elves, dwarfs, and hobbits-along with two mutants and one mutate. "Middle Earth stands on the brink of destruction. No one can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall." Pausing for a moment to stress the severity of the situation, then went on, "Each race is bound to this one fate, this one doom."
Elrond motioned for Frodo to stand up and come to his side. "Here, my friends, is the hobbit Frodo, son of Drogo, Few have come hither through greater peril or on an errand more urgent."
Elrond then went through all the various introductions for the rest who have not had the chance of meeting. "And these here," he said, indicating the trio who were not from Middle-Earth, "are Logan, Peter Parker, and Kurt Wagner, from the distant land of New York."
"New York?" The man who spoke those words was a tall, confidant man who seemed somewhere from his late twenties to early forties with longish blond hair and a disheveled mustache and goatee. His clothes and armor were worn but of good quality and he carried himself with an aristocratic yet rugged air. "I have never heard of such a land."
"Neither have I, Boromir son of Denethor," answered Elrond. "Now be silent, your time to speak will come." The man Elrond identified as Boromir sat back in his seat, but he continued to glare at the three.
"Bring forth the Ring, Frodo." At Elrond's words, Frodo approached the pillar and took the Ring from his pocket. Placing the small gold circle in the middle of the pedestal, he returned to his seat.
All seated in the circle gazed at the ring. It looked like a plain, simple ordinary ring. Yet it is so pretty, Kurt mused to himself.
Can't believe all that fuss is being made over a little trinket, thought Logan.
Peter averted his eyes; the pain caused by his spider-sense flaring up even after a few seconds was so great he couldn't bear it.
Elrond went on, explaining about the Rings of Power; about their forging during the second age of Middle-Earth thousands of years ago. He told of how three were given to the leaders of the elves, of seven to the dwarf lords, and nine to great kings of men. Peter perked up with interest; that last sounded like what Gandalf had told him the other day.
Then Elrond spoke of the Master Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron of Mordor. A ring to rule all the others, and their bearers. One ring to rule them all. One ring to find them. One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.
He told of the Great War against Sauron, of how he ensnared the nine kings the rings had been given to, and set out to conquer Middle Earth. Of the Last Alliance of men and elves had beat back the orc armies of Sauron to Mordor. Sauron himself had emerged from his fortress, and had struck down leaders of the Alliance-including Elindul, King of Gondor.
Elindul's son Isildur had rushed to his father's side. He grabbed Narsil, the sword which fell from Elindul's hands. Sauron stepped on the blade of Narsil, breaking it into pieces.
Undaunted, the Prince of Gondor grabbed the hilt of his father's sword that still had a fragment of blade, and cut at Sauron's hand, severing the Dark Lord's fingers-including the one bearing the Ring.
Without the Ring, Sauron's body disintegrated into ash.
Without their Dark Lord, Sauron's orcs were quickly defeated. Now, Elrond's eyes were downcast, as he told of how he himself had gone with Isildur to destroy the Ring, into the fires of Mount Doom where it had been forged-but Isildur refused.
"Instead, he took the ring for his own," said Elrond sadly. "On his way back to Gondor, to claim his father's throne, they were waylaid by orcs seeking revenge. Isildur put on the Ring to become invisible-but the Ring betrayed him. It came off his fingers just as he jumped into a stream-and the orcs shot him full of arrows. The ring lay there, until it was found by a creature called Gollum."
Bilbo stood up next. He told of how, along with Gloin and several other dwarfs he'd come to the Lonely Mountain, where Gollum dwelled. The old hobbit spoke of his confrontation with Gollum, and the contest of riddles. Peter and Kurt both smiled; many of those riddles where also told on Earth. Finally Bilbo explained how he accidentally discovered the power of the Ring; and used it's invisibility to escape from Gollum.
It seemed Frodo's uncle would go on with his life story, but Elrond cut him off. "That will be all for now, Bilbo," he said gently. "Now is not the time for that. It suffices to know that the Ring passed on to Frodo, your heir. Let him speak now."
Frodo stood and spoke of his dealings with the Ring since it fell into his hands, all the way to his arrival in Rivendell. He told of how he and the other hobbits met Strider in the town called Bree, about their first encounter with the Ringwraiths. He told of their escape and the journey to Weathertop, where they were attacked by the wraiths again-and the sudden appearance of Peter, Kurt, and Logan.
Frodo resumed his seat, and Gandalf took the floor. He told of how he had gone to an old friend and colleague, the wizard Sarumon the White. But Sarumon it seemed had decided to gain the Ring for himself, and had led Gandalf astray. "He kept downplaying the risks of inaction, saying, "'At the worst,' he said, 'our enemy know we have it not, and that it is still lost. But what was lost may yet be found. Fear not! His hope will cheat him. Have I not earnestly studied this matter? Into Anduin the Great it fell; and long ago, while Sauron slept, it was rolled down the river to the sea. There let it lie to the end.'"
Now Gandalf fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke again. "There I was at fault. I was lulled by the words of Sarumon the Wise; but I should have sought the truth sooner, and our peril now would be less."
"We were all at fault," said Elrond in a reassuring tone. "But for your vigilance, the Darkness would already be upon us. But say on."
"From the first my heart misgave me." Gandalf let out a weary sigh. "And against all reason that I knew, I desired to learn how the ring came into the hands of the creature Gollum, and how long he possessed it. So I set a watch for him, guessing he would come out to seek his treasure. He did come, and, but alas, he escaped and was not found. Then, sadly, I let the matter rest, watching and waiting only, as we have too ofton done."
Gandalf continued his tale, saying of how he kept watch over the hobbits' homeland called the Shire, with the help of wandering men call rangers, of whom Strider was one. With the latter's aide, Gandalf finally captured Gollum.
"He is a small thing you say, this 'Gollum?'" Boromir interrupted again. "Small, but great in mischief. What became of him?"
"He is imprisoned, by the elves of Mirkwood," answered Strider. "He has suffered much, and the fear of Sauron is carried deep in his heart. Still, I for one am glad that he is safely lock away; his malice is great and gives him a strength hardly to be believed for one so lean and withered. If he were free, he could work much mischief on us still."
One of the blond elves dressed in green cleared his throat as if to gain attention; Elrond had earlier recognized him as Legolas Greenleaf. "The tidings I was sent to bring must now be told," he said in a voice neither soft nor loud. "They are not good, but only here have I learned how evil they may seem to those here. Gollum has escaped."
Logan rolled his eyes at Legolas' words. Why do these people have to talk like this? the Canadian mutant wondered. Why can't they just come out and say something?
The elf went on. "Not through lack of watchfulness, for we guarded him day and night, at Gandalf's bidding, though we wearied of the task. In days of fair weather, we led Gollum through the woods, and there was a high tree standing alone that he liked to climb. Often we let him mount up to the highest branches, though we set a guard at the foot. One day he refused to come down, and the guards had no mind to come up after him; so they sat by the tree far into the night.
"That very night, orcs cam upon us unawares, we drove them off after some time, for they were many and fierce. When the battle was over, we found that Gollum was gone, and his guards were slain or taken. We then realized the attack was made for the purpose of his rescue, and he knew of it beforehand. How that was contrived we cannot guess; but Gollum is cunning, and the spies of the Enemy are many. The Dark things that were driven out the year of the fall of the Dragon have returned, in greater numbers, and Mirkwood is again an evil place, save where our realm is maintained."
"Yet all is not lost," said Elrond, as Legolas took his seat. "For while Gollum has escaped, fate has sent us new allies as well." He nodded where Peter, Kurt, and Logan were sitting.
The three had been silent during the whole time, listening as others told about the Ring. Suddenly a whole lot about the way the Ring affected Peter was clear.
"Wait," said Boromir as he stood up. "Just how did you three strangers happen to appear on Weathertop just as the hobbits were attacked by the Ringwraiths? Answer me that."
Peter got up and, as best he could, told of his background and the two X-men's, and about how they came to Middle-Earth.
A great stir went through the Council; none of them had ever heard of anything like remotely like what Peter had said. "What nonsense is this? Another world? Humans with strange powers and abilities like you describe? Such tales are the lies of Mordor!"
"Speak not of things of which you know nothing, Boromir son of Denethor!" cried Gandalf. "These are no more agents of Sauron than you or I; upon meeting them I used spells to test their truthfulness. None of them gave themselves the lie."
Boromir pointed at Kurt. "You say that, when that one looks like an orc!"
Angrily Logan got out of his chair at hearing his friend insulted. "Listen, bub," and Boromir, a seasoned warrior and veteran of numerous battles nonetheless flinched at the sight of the claws emerging from Logans' hands, "you live in a world full of wizards and elves-,
BAMF! Kurt disappeared from his chair in a cloud of smoke, and reappeared a second later in front of Boromir. "And you find our story hard to believe?"
Boromir sniffed, and grimaced at the brimstone reek surrounding Kurt. "Not only do you look like an orc, you smell like one would too, after a bath."
"Then take that as proof that he is not an orc, Boromir," spoke Gandalf. The wizard gazed out at the entire council. "Who among you, who have dealt with orcs, ever knew them to bathe?" A ring of laughter rippled through the assembly; even Boromir gave a smile at Gandalf's joke. "And remember, Boromir, that while the Dark Lord is evil he is not stupid. Were he to have a spy at this council it would be one whose appearance would not startle us." Boromir nodded and sat down, swayed by Gandalf's logic. Kurt teleported back to his chair.
"Now, if we may return to the topic," said Elrond, "Greenleaf, you spoke of your search for Gollum."
"Yes." Legolas got up again and told of how he and the other elves from Mirkwood had searched for the creature, until they tracked him to Dol Guldor, on the border with Sauron's domain of Mordor. "we dared not go further, for we would have drawn the attention of Sauron."
"So that Sauron guy has Gollum, then?" asked Logan.
"For now it appears so," said Elrond. "Yet Gollum is but one factor in these events. What of others who betrayed us. Gandalf, you spoke of Sarumon."
Gandalf nodded darkly and told of how he had gone to Sarumon's realm of Isengard. There he learned of how his old friend had joined with Sauron, and chose to betray him. The emotion in his voice as he described his imprisonment and torture at the hands of the White Wizard reminded Logan and Kurt of Xavier talking about Magneto.
"In the end, I only escaped certain death with the help of the great eagles," finished Gandalf sadly. "Sarumon hungers for the Ring; he can no longer be counted as our ally."
A long moment of silence followed, broken only when Boromir stood up. Everyone was so focused on the tales they had failed to notice the entire time he had been eying the ring with great interest.
"In a dream," Boromir began, "I saw the eastern sky grow dark, and in the west, a pale light lingered. There was a growing thunder, and out of the light I heard a voice:
Seek for the sword that was broken,
for in Rivendell it dwells,
There shall be counsels taken
Stronger than Morgul spells,
There shall be a token,
That doom is near at hand
For Isildur's bane shall awaken
And Halfling forth shall stand.
"Isildur's bane is found;" said Boromir, his hand subconsciously reaching for the Ring. "Isildur's bane is found-."
"NO!" Peter's spider-sense screamed to life and, quick as lightning, he leaped from his chair and grabbed Boromir by the wrists. Boromir tried to wrest free but he couldn't; he'd taken Peter for a mere slip of a youth. But apparently he had the strength of an orc!
"Ash nasg durbatulak ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulik, agh bursum-isi krimpatul!"
Now all the eyes in the Council were turned to Gandalf. He had spoken those words in a deep and harsh tone; the earth below began to shake and the sky above began to darken. Everyone reached for their weapons; Logan again unleashed his claws.
And strangely, Peter let go of Boromir. The man from Gondor just stood there, his eyes fixated on the wizard. When at last Gandalf ended the chant, the sun returned and the ground below steadied.
"Never before," said Elrond, "has anyone dared to utter that tongue here in Rivendell, Gandalf the Gray."
Gandalf looked shaken and weak, but he showed no sign of regret. "I do not ask for your pardon, master Elrond," he said between forced breathes. "For the black speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of Middle-Earth. The Ring is altogether evil!"
Now Gandalf's eyes gazed into Boromir's. "Peter did right in stopping you from grabbing the Ring; he has an uncanny ability to sense danger. If only Isildur had such a talent;we should not be here today!"
"It is a gift!" cried Boromir. "A gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring." Now Boromir looked out at everyone. "Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, held back the orcs of Mordor, by the blood and sweat of our people while your lands were kept safe." Boromir turned to Peter. "Explain to me, boy," the word stung, Boromir seemed only a few years older than Peter, "how you sense danger from the Ring."
"I can't explain it," Peter said. "I just-get this feeling, whenever danger approaches me. And when I look at that ring," he pointed at the pillar, still careful not to turn his eyes that way, "it goes off like it never has before. I can't even look at it for more than a few seconds, the pain in my head is so intense."
"Because the Ring gives you a headache, you say we should not use it?" Boromir gave a sharp chuckle. "Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy!" he cried to all those who were assembled. "Let us use it against him!"
"Peter is right." Now Strider stood up again. "You cannot wield the Ring, Boromir. None of us can. It belongs to Sauron, and answers to him alone. It has no other master!"
Boromir stared at Isildur with aristocratic contempt. "And what would you, a mere ranger, know of such things?"
"This is no mere ranger!" Legolas got up from his seat and stood in front of Boromir. "This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and Isildur's heir. You owe him your allegiance."
Now everyone looked at Legolas and at Aragorn. Frodo, Kurt, Peter and Logan glanced at each other in surprise. Strider was descended from a king?
"He IS Aragron, son of Arathorn," said Elrond, conforming Legolas's words. Reluctantly, as if he knew he was throwing oil onto a fire, the Elf Lord went on, "He is descended from many fathers from Isildur,Elindil's son, of Minas Ithil. He is chief of the Dunedain to the North of the line of Numinor of old, and there are few of that line left.
"Aragorn?" Boromir stepped up to Strider, or rather Aragorn, in a curious but skeptical manner. "You truly are Isildur's heir?"
"And heir to the throne of Gondor," Legolas added for good measure.
Strider lifted his hand to Legolas, and said something in the elves' language. Reluctantly, the elf from Mirkwood sat down.
Boromir stared at Aragorn for a minute, then back at Legolas. "Gondor has no king," he said tonelessly. "Gondor needs no king."
Boromir went back to his seat, and Peter to his. "Aragorn is right," said Gandalf. "We cannot use the Ring of Power, for there in lies the destruction of all."
"You have but one choice," Elrond said grimly. "The Ring must be destroyed."
"Well why didn't you say so?" Logan got up from his chair and unleashed the claws on his hands. He was a man of action; sitting in on this meeting had been making him restless and bored.
He ran over to the tablet and brought his claws down on the Ring with all his might. For nearly a full minute, everyone felt the shocks as Logan's claws struck at the Ring and sliced of pieces of the pillar. Yet as he stood back and took a breath, everyone could see while the adamantium claws cut through marble, the Ring wasn't even nicked.
"The Ring cannot be destroyed by any art we he possess, Logan," said Elrond. "It was made in the fires of Mount Doom, and only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor, and cast into the fiery chasm from which it was forged." He gazed out, his gray eyes boring into the entire assembly. "One of you must do this."
"That is folly!" cried Boromir. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. It's black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash. The very air you breath is a poisonous fume."
"Sounds a lot like New Jersey," Logan muttered under his breath.
"Have you not heard what Elrond said?" cried Legolas. "The Ring must be destroyed!"
"And I suppose you think you should be the one to do it!" roared Gimli.
"And if we fail, what then?" said Boromir. "What happened when Sauron takes back what is his?"
"I will die before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!" Gimli and all the other dwarfs glared at the elves, the old feud between the two races evident between in their expressions. "Never trust an elf!"
At that point, nearly everyone was getting up and shouting at someone-except for the three who were not from Middle Earth. Peter had closed his eyes, to avoid looking at the ring. "Strange, is it not," said Kurt to Logan in German, "that they fight like this over something so small?"
Logan grunted. He would have found it all hard to believe, if he hadn't encountered similar stuff back home-and the obvious effect the Ring was having on Peter. "I'd say that Ring is causing this fight," he answered in Kurt's native language.
Kurt looked at the men, elves and dwarfs bickering, then back at the Ring. It looked so ordinary-and so pretty and shiny. Suddenly he closed his eyes and crossed himself "Father, lead me not into temptation," he whispered in prayer.
Frodo was not paying any attention at all to the others; his eyes were fixated on the ring. Logan was right; the Ring was causing these normally peaceful folk to go at each others throats. He knew what had to be done.
"I will take the ring!" he shouted.
Gandalf's face fell; he was the first to hear Frodo speak. The young hobbit shouted again, and the shouts of the angry council died away.
"I will take the Ring," Frodo said for a third time. "Although... I do not know the way."
A silence fell through the council as they processed what Frodo said. Gandalf looked down on the hobbit, concern and caring in his ancient eyes. "I will help you bear this burden Frodo," he said, "as long as it is yours to bear."
Aragorn spoke next. "By my life or my death, that I can protect you I will." He moved to Frodo and knelt to the hobbit. "You have my sword."
"And you have my bow," intoned Legolas.
"And my ax," added Gimli.
Now Kurt teleported out of his seat, and in front of Elrond. "As much as I vish to return to my home," he said, "I must repay you for the hospitality you have shown. If you vill have me," he said to Aragorn, "I vill join you."
"And me to," put in Logan. While he wouldn't admit it the little guys had grown on him-and it sounded as if there there would be some good fights in the journey ahead.
Peter just looked at the ground. This wasn't their world, this wasn't their fight. He had Mary Jane and Aunt May back home, who he longed to go back to. They helped the Frodo get to Rivendell safely with the Ring. Why should they get involved?
Why should I get involved?
The last time he'd had that thought was at the wrestling center, when he'd let that thief get away.
And his Uncle Ben paid the price.
Gandalf had been right; there were matters more pressing than returning home for these people. Their entire world was at stake. It may not be his world, but it was a world full of people who would suffer needlessly if those had the power did nothing to act.
"And I'll be coming as well," he said flatly.
"You carry the fate of us all, little one." Boromir stepped toward Frodo, his gaze fixing on the little hobbit. "If this is indeed the will of the council, Gondor will see it done."
"I'm coming too!" Everyone looked to see Samwise Gamgee appear from behind a hedge and take a stand behind Frodo, and crossed his arms. "Mister Frodo isn't going anywhere without me!"
"No indeed." Sarcasm laced Elrond's words, yet he couldn't hide his amusement at the gardener. "Indeed, it is impossible to separate you two, even thou he is summoned to a council and you are not."
"And we're coming too!" Merry and Pippin lept out of an archway their places beside Frodo; Elrond didn't know wherever to be impressed or amused by the loyalty and antics of Frodo's friends. "We'll come even if you chain us up and put us in a sack!" finished Merry.
"Besides," said Pippin, "you'll need people of intelligence on this mission-quest-thing!"
"Well that rules you out Pip," Merry said flatly.
Elrond looked at them all. The fate of Middle-Earth would rest on the shoulders of four hobbits, two men, a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, and three strangers from another world. "Twelve companions," he said. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."
The twelve all looked at each other. "So, began Pippin, "where are we going?"
As the Council was broken up, Elladan and Elrohir walked off together. They had been silent during the whole time, and behaved themselves accordingly. "So that man can sense when somethings about to happen to him, can he?" murmured Elladan. "No wonder none of our tricks worked."
"Most unfair," agreed Elrohir.
"Maybe if we can't get at him directly," said the older twin, "then we'll have to go indirectly. Think of some way around the strange ability of his."
"I'm sure you two may be able to think of a way to bring it off." The twins stopped, turned around, and saw Elrond standing right behind them. "I just wanted to tell you that, until the Fellowship departs, you both will be on kitchen duty."
"But Father!" protested Elladan. "We haven't don anything...yet."
"That's why I'm having you work the kitchens." Now Elrond gave a very wide grin. Alarm filled the twins; whenever their father smiled like that the aftermath was-unpleasant. "To make sure you two don't get the chance. I do NOT want a repeat of what you did during the first time the senior Mr Baggins was here, with Thorin and Company."
End of chapter
Don't ask me what Elrond's sons did during the events of THE HOBBIT. The reason is-I don't know! Just use your imagination.
Hopefully I will have the next chapter up before Thanksgiving. Yes, I will be following Tolkien's basic plotline. Peter and Kurt's particular talents will be most helpful when the Fellowship goes through the mines of Moria.
*Given the elves' longevity and their low rate of reproduction neither would be as onerous as it would be for a human-although it wouldn't be pleasant either!
**In case anyone is wondering, Elrond's twin sons are not my original characters; they are mentioned in the original novels. Their individual personalities aren't well described, so I thought it would be fun if, unlike their somber father, they were insufferable pranksters.