Chapter Two: Mischief and Thunder
The wives, as expected, were not pleased, but they were mollified that they themselves didn't have to attend, though Sophie nearly took Ed's head off when she found out Clark had to go. By the time Halloween arrived, all three kids had been briefed on how to handle the party. Namely, stay close to Team One and, if they had to separate, for any reason, from the adults, they were to stay together at all times.
Greg and his nipotes made a quick dash for Pierre's Custom Robes and Samhaine Costumes in the magical mall to arrange for Sam's costume as well as the needed accessories; fortunately, the costume was completed quickly enough that Greg's plans for Team One to practice with their costumes weren't disrupted. Of course, said practice turned out to be a bit of a mess…
Ed's brief experience with Mister Miracle's aero-discs stood him in good stead; he at least managed to stay in the air, unlike his fellow aerial teammates. Using Mister Miracle's favored arsenal of tricks was a bit more of a problem.
"Ed, you almost hit me!" Jules yelped, ducking away as Ed's latest stun grenade went wide of its target and bounced near Jules, who was practicing with her Widow Bites.
Before the stun grenade could go off, Spike and Lou hit it with near identical repulsor blasts, reducing the grenade to so much dust. "Well, at least we can aim," Spike quipped as he tried to moderate his takeoff ability after the last three attempts ended with his Iron Man suit halfway through the nearest wall. The suit buzzed and lifted an inch or so off the ground. In Spike's excitement at finally getting the hang of flying, he added too much power…and promptly smacked into the ceiling. As he came back down, Lou slid War Machine underneath and caught his friend. Their teammates cringed as the suits collided with a metallic screech.
"Easy there, Spike, we don't need concussions on top of everything else," the less-lethal specialist chided.
"Why did we think superhero costumes were a good idea?" Spike groaned, covering his faceplate with one gauntleted arm. "I have no idea how Tony Stark does this…heck, I have no idea how I did it last year." He rolled off Lou and clambered back to his feet.
"At least you've had some experience," Sam complained as he tried, once again, to spin Mjolnir up to a speed that allowed for flight. For a few seconds, the hammer spun on its strap, then it snagged and Sam yelped as he was dragged downwards instead of upwards.
It turned out to be a fortunate mishap for, less than a second later, Wordy's shield missed its target and bounced off the wall, spinning back and right over Sam's head. "Sorry!" Wordy called as he raced after the shield. It rebounded off another wall and slammed into Wordy, taking the constable down with a startled yell. Naturally, he fell right into Jules' path and the two of them ended up in a heap on the ground, moaning as they started to disentangled themselves from each other and the Captain America shield.
Greg groaned, burying his face in his hands and wondering if it was too late to tell Commander Holleran to forget the whole thing. Maybe they could just call in sick…
Mayor Dickerson was a touch put out that only those who'd gotten the invites had come…he'd rather hoped the lovely ladies, both adult and child, would come as well; ah, well, next time he'd have to be a bit more clear in his instructions. No matter. He swept over to Sergeant Parker…ah…no, Maxwell Coulson if he recalled correctly…to be introduced to the newest member of the team. "Mr. Coulson, am I correct?" he inquired.
Coulson gave him a slight smile – not the snake oil salesman smile of the year prior, but the smile of an SRU Sergeant assessing the situation. "Yes, Mr. Mayor," he agreed. "I take it you'd like to be introduced to our newest member?"
"Quite so," Mayor Dickerson agreed. "And I see most of the ladies decided to stay behind?"
The negotiator/manager's smile grew fixed. "Prior plans for tonight," he replied glibly. "You know how little girls can get."
Hmmm…an excellent point, even if he still regretted the ladies' absence. "Of course, of course, I understand. Well, please convey my best wishes to them."
With a brisk nod, Coulson led the Mayor to his newest team member. "Mr. Mayor, may I introduce Thor Odinson of Asgard?"
As with the other costumes, all of which the Mayor recognized from the year before, Thor's was rich in detail. Unlike the character, he did not have long hair or a beard and mustache, but his costume more than made up for these minor lacks. A red cape swept from Thor's shoulders and hung to his boots, the material flowing around his movements and somehow not hindering him in the slightest. He wore a silvery scaled shirt, with armor over his chest and shoulders that sported six metal circles that marched in two rows down his chest and surrounded a narrow diamond shape, right below an equally narrow triangle; the designs were graceful and flowing, the metal above a dark blue tunic. Around his waist, Thor had a deceptively simple metal belt that meshed perfectly with the rest of his outfit. A large hammer, sporting a wood with silver rings handle as well as a leather wrist strap, hung from the belt, ready for action. On both forearms, over the scaled shirt and padded with red cloth the same shade as his cape, were two vambraces, each silver with etching in the metal; Dickerson would have liked to look closer, but moved on. Thor's leggings were the same dark blue as his tunic, with red stripes on them; they led right into a pair of knee-high boots of the same color, though the boots also sported gray metal accents that looked a bit like lightning bolts.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Odinson," Dickerson remarked.
Thor shook the Mayor's hand enthusiastically, his grin wide and open. "My thanks for your welcome," he rumbled, though he tossed Coulson a bit of pleading look.
Dickerson, realizing that 'Thor' hadn't had much time to practice his character, bit back a laugh. "Please, come in," he said to the whole group. "I think you'll find things are a bit quieter than last year."
"I certainly hope so," Coulson muttered under his breath.
As the heroes moved past, Dickerson frowned; perhaps it was just him, but it looked like they were all armed. That might be a bit of an issue…
When Loki appeared, Team One had mingled enough with the crowd that he was able to slip in unobserved, which suited him just fine. Truly, arranging this had been quite the pain and he would hate for his surprise to be sprung too early. No, no, no, that would not do at all. He slipped over to Dickerson, smirking at the man's clear discomfort with his presence. "Well?" he demanded impatiently.
Sweating, Mayor Dickerson replied, "They're all here, all the ones you insisted on; the rest had prior plans, so they aren't here."
Loki made a moue of disappointment. Pity…it would have been such fun to play with all of them, but, really, having the ladies was just gravy; his true quarrel rested with the Muggle Team One and their two Mudblood brats. Oh, and the son of the Muggle team leader. "I see…" he mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What can you tell me about them?"
"They have a new member," Dickerson began at once, eager to please. "He's dressed as Thor. One of their other members changed her costume from last year."
"Changed her costume?" Loki asked sharply. If they had changed their costumes, his entire surprise might be ruined.
A frantic nod. "She was dressed as Pepper Potts last year," Dickerson explained. "This year she came as the Black Widow."
"Intriguing, most intriguing," Loki drawled, thinking over the information and scanning the crowd to spot the woman. "You've done well," he decided after a few seconds of consideration.
"Then, you will…?"
A wave of the hand. "Patience, Mr. Mayor, patience," Loki chided. "The fun is only just beginning. When I have had my fill, you will get what you desire and not before."
With that, Loki swept his cloak around himself and strode away, angling for the mid-sized man on the other side of the room who was dressed as Thor Odinson. As he moved, he smirked to himself; this was turning into even more fun than he'd first anticipated.
The self-proclaimed God of Mischief snatched up a drink and descended on his 'brother' with a superior expression of haughty disdain. "Brother," he greeted, getting a confused look from the other man.
He restrained a laugh as his own costume was weighed, measured, and his tact understood. "Brother," the other returned, confusion becoming amusement. It took an instant more, but then Thor asked, "How fare you?"
Excellent, most excellent, Loki decided, sipping his drink. The Muggle was making an effort to be his character; it was a perfect base for his spell. "I fare as I always have, my brother," he replied airily. "And yourself? Have you amassed new tales of your exploits?"
Thor sipped his own drink, his eyes giving away how unprepared he was to discuss his character. He finally settled on, "None that are fit for this gathering, I fear."
"So," Loki mused, "You have finally learned manners, I see." He smiled to take most of the sting away. "Mother will be pleased." He shifted, eyeing the other man and restraining his true amusement as the quickly hidden look of indignation on 'Thor's' face. "Where are your usual companions?"
Another flicker of confusion, then his 'brother' went a bit off script, though he did manage to stay in character. "They had other duties for this eve. I chose to accompany another group to this celebration." The Muggle even, to Loki's delight, offered a contrite look. "Had I known you were to come…"
Loki cut off the apology with a wave of his hand. "It is no matter, brother. I chose to keep my plans to myself and so have only myself to blame. But I have other matters to attend to, so I must farewell for now. We will speak again, have no fear." With that, Loki swept away, laughing to himself. Glorious, it was going to be glorious. He strode right past the Mayor, ignoring the man's crestfallen look as he realized Loki wasn't done with his 'fun'. What an appropriate surprise the man would shortly receive…
In an inner room, apart from the festivities, the ritual had already been prepared; Loki drew his wand from its holster, smirking openly as he opened his left hand to reveal a small spark…the magical signature that marked all of the Muggles' costumes. He added it to his preparations, then moved to the center of the rite, bowing to the two faced statue of Janus before he began.
His wand flashed out, lighting the candles and letting the incense rise around him. When the level of power in the room had risen sufficiently, Loki began his incantation, emphasizing each phrase with a new swish of his wand. "Janus, evoco vestram animam. Exaudi meam causam. Carpe noctem pro consilio vestro. Veni, appare et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas. Persona in corpus et sanguinem commutanda est. Vestra sancta praesentia concrescet viscera. Janus! Sume noctem! (1)"
A rush of magic filled the air, a rush that Loki gloried in before his smile turned wicked and he invoked his second spell with a sharp, "Obrigescunt omnes qui Janus reprobi (2)."
In the main event hall, the first spell took effect with a subtle hum of power, right at the edge of hearing. Several of the guests stumbled, recovering almost instantly, but their stances were different, vibrating with tension and wariness. One of them acquired a puzzled look on his face, frowning and grimacing as the spell swept over him. Then, before any of the ten could react to their surroundings or situation, a new wave of magic slammed through the hall, leaving stone statues in its wake. Only the initially affected guests were spared, though they were, naturally, alarmed by the petrifications going on around them.
When it was done, the figures looked around and all of them wondered the exact same thing: What in the world just happened and how did I get here?
Author note: I've only described the new costume, because the other costume descriptions can be found in Samhaine, so for those who've read Samhaine, the descriptions would be the same and I think that would be a bit dull. The descriptions can be found in Chapter Three of Samhaine, along with a few notes on who, exactly, these characters are (for the lesser known characters). I won't be doing the same guess who's who for this story, especially since Samhaine's last chapter is basically the cheat sheet, with the exception of Jules (and Sam, since he wasn't in Samhaine). For Thor, I will say that I based his description on what he wore in the first Avengers movie, so, there's your source material.
Credit to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the Halloween spell.
[1] Latin for 'Janus, evoke your life. Hear my case. Seize the night for your advice. I came, shine forth, and to us the power of the monsters that it is infinite. It is time to change into the body and the blood of the person. Your holy presence consecrate tender. Janus! Take the night!'
[2] Latin for 'Petrify all who Janus rejects'