By: Inkbones
The following italicized text is taken from Ward, by Wildbow. Knowledge of Ward is not…
Status: ongoing
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-07-14
Words: 8338
Chapters: 10
Original source: threads/762290
Exported with the assistance of
Disassembly 1.1The following italicized text is taken from Ward, by Wildbow. Knowledge of Ward is not necessary.
He didn't die. Things around him flickered, then dissipated. No rain, no dust, no debris. The crowd of people around the space was a blur, viewed through a screen that was beaded with an uneven layer of water. The crowd mutated, drew close, disappeared, each of those things happening in eyeblinks.
"You should have gone for the head"
No, was his thought, and things around him moved in the time it took him to form that thought.
"Everybody comes home"
The tail end of that single word was coupled with the dawning realization he had power available. Not one day, not ten, not fifteen, not thirty or sixty or ninety-
"And I am Iron Man"
The bubble broke.
Cracks started in the center, radiating outwards. One lanced through Shawn's leg. If he could move he would have screamed.
Light was spilling from the breaks, beautiful and disgusting, colors he'd never seen before were spilling out and mixing together.
Shards of frozen time started to fall into the gap, and Shawn was being brought with them.
No! was the follow-up thought. His hand couldn't meet anything before he had another ninety or more days pass.
Instead, he pushed everything he had into his breastplate as he was drawn in.
He would weep if he could.
There were no words to describe it.
He fell through worlds beyond comprehension and reality.
The breastplate kept him alive. A shield of solid light, surrounding him and keeping his form solid, if not intact.
He felt pieces of himself, his body, his mind, fragment and drift off into the abyss.
His last sane thought was his son's name.
Somewhere, on one of an infinite tessellations of the planet earth, in a parking lot in New Jersey, something popped out of thin air and landed hard enough to crack the asphalt.
It had the shape of a badly charred man wearing a suit of amour, or a crystal sculpture mixed with flesh. The materials had become fused to the point the difference was moot.
Most importantly, it lacked sufficient energy.
To call this lack a hunger would imply it could be sated. To call it a need would imply it could be resisted.
Dauntless struggled to it's feet. It quickly located a power line, and after siphoning energy for several minutes deemed it insufficient for long-term power draw.
A magazine was found among garbage. The listed date was May 2nd. The front page discussed the miraculous rescue of an extremely wealthy weapons manufacturer. This was potentially useful for eventual [Conflict] generation, but uninteresting. Another article mentioned the same man owned a "cold fusion" device. This was extremely interesting.
A vehicle was located. After removing the door, a large portion of the newly acquired energy was spent [Empowering] the engine into serviceability.
This Arc-Reactor had great potential.
Addison
Last edited: Jun 21, 2019
Interlude: ObadiahI really should have learned by know.
You go into business with a man, work with to achieve something great. Something the world had never before.
You start as business partners, you start to respect him, eventually to think of him a friend.
You'd think this friendship would go both ways, that this man, whose dream you had devoted to your life to, would respect you as well.
Nope.
Because the asshole decides that you really can't be trusted with this dream of his, so he leaves everything to his kid.
Not just any kid, no sirree, this kid's a real piece of work. The first thing he does when he takes over is move the company into weapons manufacturing.
Now, we already made weapons, the military needs weapons, it's make the world go round, I'd always known that. God knows S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't have gotten anywhere without us. And I'll be honest, Howard's little pet projects like the Arc reactor had always cost more money than they made. But it did make me a little sad to see Howard's kid completely bulldoze over his father's work.
But that's just the beginning. The kid's a gambler, a nymphomaniac, a real chip off the old block. The one thing he had on Howard was the alcoholism, but that's really only a matter of time. I really can't complain about being ousted from the CEO's chair, I practically ran the company while the kid was off "fooling around". Every fucking week I'd have to rush and smooth over the newest publicity stunt from whatever he'd done this time.
But he keeps getting these ideas. And dear god, every one of them is so beautiful. Still, if I have to hear another lecture about how this "Ultron" idea is going to save the world, I'm going to stab something. Some of the things Tony came up with could have made Stark Industries(notice how it's not Stark & Stane? Cause I do) the richest company in the US by itself. And that makes him such a golden goose, the shareholders won't see how much he's costing us in the long run.
But, after a while, I'll admit that liking Tony became less and less of an act. Tony… he got it. In a way Howard never did. We're not the bad guys. We make the weapons, but we don't make people use them.
But he just keeps screwing up, making us look like idiots on the press, out screwing around in Vegas during press conferences, making a royal ass of himself.
It was a tough decision. Like I said, I like Tony. He reminds of myself, when I was a kid and thought I could change the world. When me and Howard first went into this business, we thought we would crack world peace in a decade. But a child can't run a business, only a man can. And when it came down to it, Tony just wouldn't grow up.
So, I did what needed to be done. After that it would've just been a matter of cleaning up these Ten Ring idiots, give Tony the best funeral money could buy, maybe give Pepper a shoulder to cry on, then I'd be home clear.
Nope.
The bastard rises from the dead. He builds a fucking one-man tank out of garbage, mows down a bunker full of the terrorists, escapes because perhaps I forgot to mention, he built a fucking rocket into it, and flies out of there.
But that's not all, no, he found religion in that cave.
Suddenly, we're the bad guys again. Worse than Howard, because he at least knew the difference between dreams and reality. If we stop making weapons, the contracts'll just go to Hammer, and god if that isn't terrifying all by itself.
But that isn't what hurts, what hurts is that after all this time, he doesn't trust me.
That fucking little glowing circle in his chest. If we put aside how much could be done with miniaturized cold fusion, which is a big if, it could power an army's worth of Iron Men. Oh, it's fine if he goes to Gulmira and kills a bunch of people, but anyone but him using it is "immoral".
Fucking Starks. You can't trust them. Vanko found that out the hard way. I found that out the hard way, but I never learn. I should know better. I started to think of this arrogant asshole as someone I could respect, as my friend, and then he fucking betrayed everything I thought we had in common. Like I said, chip off the old block.
And now Pepper knows everything, I'll have to get rid of her… ugh. Everything's going to shit.
Alright, Sector 16 is finished, all we need is the reactor. I'll go see if the eggheads have gotten anywhere reverse-engineering it. If they haven't, I'll just have to go forward with the… other contingency.
I'll admit my temper may have gotten the best of me.
"TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE, WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS."
I really don't want to think about what comes next. I won't say I won't enjoy it, but it doesn't mean it'll be easy. The scientist in front of me is saying something.
"Well I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark." Typical. Utterly typical. Tony always had to be the special snowflake.
Then some idiot from a Ren Faire walks in. What the hell. The moron in front of me seems to have a similar idea.
"Hey, you're not autho-" he's cut off because Mr. Centurion here blasts him with a bolt of lightning. I do what any intelligent man would do, fall to the ground and start to crawl away.
What is this? Howard said Hydra had weapons like this, but they had the magic cube thing, I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. kept that in their basement or something. Is S.H.I.E.L.D. attacking us? Have they found out about Sector 16? I would have thought they'd want a contract, like the old days. Apparently they've just decided to steal the damn thing for themselves.
The lights in the room flicker. Curiosity gets the better of me, I take a second to look over my shoulder. The armored guy is… sucking energy from the big Arc Reactor? He's got his arms stretched up, arcs of lighting are hitting them but he's just absorbing them.
Well, if they want my suit, they better expect a fight. I just need to get the reactor from Tony… or come to think of it, there might be an easier solution.
A few minutes later, I'm sitting in a dark supply closest, listening to dial tone for the third time. Bet you anything the bastard's working on one of his cars.
"Hello, Obadiah, listen. We didn't exactly part on the best terms, but we've been friends for a while and-" friends don't tear each other's hearts out Tony.
"No Tony, listen, it's not about that. Something's attacking the compound, it's drawing energy from the Arc Reactor."
"Wait- really? What does it look like?"
"A man in armor, but that's not-"
"Wait, it's wearing my armor?"
Well, whatever gets him here.
"Yes, or something like it. Tony, don't come-"
"I'm on my way."
Works every time.
Now, to get out of this building before it blows up.
Disassembly 1.3A twisting, churning mass of particle and wavelength. Energy, grinding against an incredibly dense collection of matter to slowly dissolve it into more energy. The opposite of Kronos' function.
Still nonviable as a long-term energy solution, but serviceable for restocking drained stores.
Sadly, the act of siphoning energy from the reactor was damaging it, it would soon become non-operational altogether. Irritating.
Addison
"Hey, if you needed a recharge, you could just ask."
Dauntless lowered it's arms and turned around. A human in a primitive yet sophisticated exoskeleton was stepping through the remains of the glass doorway Dauntless had entered through.
"Nice armor. Can't help but notice it looks a teensy bit like mine. I'm flattered, really. Mind taking it off?"
Why was this human still talking?
["Do you desire Conflict or not?"]
"Wow, and here I thought my voice was scary. Um, no, I'm not really in the mood for conflict, if I was being honest."
Dauntless nodded, and began siphoning energy from the reactor again.
"Though I am going to have to ask you to stop wrecking my stuff and to gett out of that armor."
Why can't humans make up their mind?
The gauntlets were further [Empowered] with electric blasts, the breastplate with further protective qualities, and the boots with further anti-gravity qualities.
The interloper was able to dodge the first attack, but not the second. The metal husk was overloaded, crashing to the ground. Dauntless calmly walked toward him to finish the job. The human was speaking to someone over some sort of basic communication, not that is would help them.
"-Obi One wouldn't have password locked it or anything like that, just fit in the prototype, give Jarvis the controls, and get out of there. No. Don't you even think about PEPPER I CANNOT LOSE YOU-" He was cut off when Dauntless stomped his armor's neck. I was unfortunately resilient enough to prevent the human's spine from breaking, but it was a close thing. Dauntless ground it's boot down further, trying to crush his larynx. The human struggled feebly, but his hands brushed ineffectually against the shield that now covered Dauntless' whole body. The sight evoked a memory. A once perceived fear. The thought of dying in muck, partially paralyzed.
Addison
There was a reason Dauntless was doing this, wasn't there? Conflict? No, that's not right. Every bit like… someone.
Addison
Every good part.
Addison
I do this for… for…
Dauntless' thoughts were interrupted by a missile hitting it at somewhere around the speed of sound, exploding directly in it's face. The force-field kept it from being harmed, but not from flying a good half mile away, shattering the asphalt where it landed.
A new challenger had arrived.
"You don't get to hurt him." The voice was booming, female, and held a tone of absolute finality.
This armor was bigger than the first's, but much less elegant. No matter. It would deal with this new threat just as easily.
"Pepper, don't, please-" Spoke the defeated male from where he lay.
"Tony, you have to let me do this. Saving you is the next mission."
Dauntless accelerates toward the new human, blasting her exoskeleton with electrical strikes-
Which she completely ignores, electing instead to grab Dauntless, hold it against the ground, and repeatedly punch it in the face.
"I don't know what Obadiah did with Tony's designs, but this thing has a lot more mechanical components. This won't be that easy."
Dauntless begins to truly panic as the shield starts to crack, using the [Empowered] boots to accelerate out from under the mechanical hand and try to fly away, only to be shot out of the sky by a plasma blast from the male's hand-cannons.
The male was talking again. "Well, I suppose I can get behind the idea of not dying. Want to finish this loser?"
Dauntless climbs out it's crater, surveying it's opponents.
"Almost as much I want to punch you for getting into this in the first place."
It weighed the odds of victory, uncertain for the first time.
"Surely that's part of my lovable, roguish charm?"
"Tony, stop making me regret saving your life."
"Noted."
The fight had truly begun.
Disassembly 1.4Ridtom said:
Dauntless should have better Thinker awareness at the moment
Click to expand…
Click to shrink…
This is intentional.
More energy was immediately dedicated to [Empowering] gauntlets, breastplate, boots, and helme-
[Error] [Host Connection Corrupted]
His name was Addison
Worrying. How long had this corruption been going on? How had Dauntless not noticed it before?
And that was all the time afforded.
"Tony" took flight, curling around Dauntless while blasting with kinetic beams. Dauntless responded with electrical blasts, briefly turning away from "Pepper" in order to better aim, each bolt slightly more on target but making him turn further away from her.
Pepper made this mistake clear by firing more missiles point blank, sending Dauntless careening across the parking lot.
They repeated this barrage, each attack weathering the shield, each attack catching Dauntless off guard.
The female threw an empty vehicle at it, the male brought down a rocket powered punch as it evaded.
Dauntless dodged micro-missiles from the male, the female wore it down with a machine gun.
And every attack wore down the shield. Soon Dauntless would be as vulnerable as a human wearing tin-foil.
Enough of this. Divert all power to helmet. They're only true advantage is distraction.
[Error] [Host Connection Corrupted]
My son's name is Addison
Repair corruption.
[Unable. Empowered Implement connected to Host cerebral cortex]
Everything I do, I do for him
Separate Implement and rebuild brain tissue from past records.
[Working… ]
Suddenly the male flew in close, delivering a cloud of bright red flares, obscuring Dauntless' vision to the point it didn't even see the female swinging a tank like an improvised baseball bat until it was too late.
Dauntless broke through the ground entirely, bounced off the floor of some sort of factory, then broke through a brick wall onto a freeway.
The shield flickered and died. All energy reserves had been exhausted. Dauntless' was dying.
Dauntless was-[Error]
Dauntless couldn't-[Error]
There was no Dauntless-[Error]
[Host consciousness restored]
Shawn was lying in a smoking crater. The other two were here, the Tinkers who had saved him. There were also a bunch of black vans, men holding guns. He couldn't really move, but he could talk. Shawn didn't know how much time was left. He had to speak.
"Listen"
The one in red and gold was instantly on alert, pointing those glowing palm-circles at him.
"Look buddy, last chance. It's been a bit of a day, and I'd rather not cap it off by killing someone. This fight is over. Give up."
"Thank you. I wasn't aware. I wasn't alive. I am now."
"Umm. You're welcome. You ever need someone to kick your ass, call me anytime."
God, did this guy ever stop cracking jokes? Shawn was getting Assault flashbacks.
"Listen to me. They're coming. The Worms are coming."
"What?"
The face plate lifts up. For the first time I see the face of my rescuer. He looks worried. Good
"I've let them in. I'm sorry. They came with me."
"You're going to have to give me more than that. What are you talking about? What's coming?"
"They're like me. Stronger, different. They want to make the world a war zone."
"There's more of you? People with armor?"
Shawn couldn't help it, he laughed out loud. This idiot had no idea.
"People with powers. Powers you cannot understand. Mine was broken and blind, the rest won't be. Please-"
He could feel it. Like being lowered into a cold bath, numbness spreading from his legs and arms into his chest, his head.
"Powers? What kind of powers? How do we stop them? What the fuck are you talking about, you bastard." The Tinker was shaking him, but Shawn couldn't really feel it.
"Please… save Addison."
Disassembly"We are standing at the beginning of history. Everything we know is about to change, and we need to be ready." The man with the eye-patch slowly moved his over the silver briefcase, almost caressing it.
"Why do need me to stop what's coming? What are you hiding?" The scientist is somewhat bewildered, but also intrigued. He's about to be let in on something most people never dream of, and it excites him.
"Your work in Gamma radiation has impressed a lot of people, doctor. That's why we need you, to study this." The scientist has no idea what he is seeing, but he's hooked.
"What is it?"
"This is our response to the greatest threat the world will ever know."
"What threat? What could possibly justify messing with this?" Despite himself, he's excited. He's wanted to discover something truly gigantic for so long.
"Superheroes, Doctor Banner. And the entities powering them."
In a dark room, watching through a false mirror, a figure nods to herself before precisely placing her hat on her head and turning to leave.
"Door me."
Last edited: Jun 23, 2019
Worth 2.1"YOU ARE A VAIN, GREEDY, CRUEL BOY."
The Ice Jotun attacked us in the first place, why am I being punished?
"AND YOU ARE AN OLD MAN AND A FOOL."
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know I've gone too far.
"A fool, yes. I was a fool to think you were ready."
No, father, I am ready let me prove it to you-
"Father-" Loki tries to plead for me, but father silences him with a look.
"Thor Odinson… You have disobeyed the express command of your King."
No, no he can't be doing this. This can't be happening.
"Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have opened these peaceful Realms and innocent lives to the horrors of war."
You raised us, every day, with stories of how many Jotun you killed with one throw of your spear.
With a thrust of Gungnir, father activates the Bifrost. I feel it tugging at my back. This can't be happening. He won't do it, not to me.
"You are unworthy of this Realm-" he starts to rip apart my armor.
"unworthy of your title-" I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I'll never disobey you again, please.
"UNWORTHY-" his voice suddenly softens, from a horrible yell to a whisper that is somehow so much worse.
"… of the loved ones you've betrayed." His one eye looks into my two, into my soul, and any kindness that I once saw… is no longer there.
"I know take from you your power." Mjolnir, my Mjolnir, the greatest gift he ever gave me, whose enchantments he forged himself so that only someone worthy of being his son could wield it, flies out of my hand.
He's not going to stop. He's not going to forgive me.
Destination.
The rainbow light from the Bifrost is replaced by a harsher white light, but I don't notice. He told me that real men were strong, so I was strong for him.
Agreement.
Heimdal, Loki, even Father, are all staring at the Bifrost behind me, not that it matters. He told me that the Jotun were evil, only good for killing, so I went and killed them.
Trajectory.
Everything I've done was for him.
Agreement.
Father, all I've ever wanted was to be close to you.
Last edited: Jul 9, 2019
Worth 2.2Surtur's ass, I feel awful.
What did I drink last night?
"Too much, by the look of you."
Did I say that out loud?
"Yes, very loudly, as a matter of fact."
Wait, where am I? What happened last-
No. Nononononono
"Okay, don't panic, calm down buddy. Try to get your bearings. Let's start by opening your eyes, okay?"
The light hurts, but after a moment I adjust. I'm lying in a pile of trash, in a grimy alleyway. The ground around me is scorched by the remnants of the Bifrost. The sky above is a sickening blue, so I'm on Midgard.
It really happened, it all really happened. Father cast me out.
I've ruined everything. I was just… I was just trying to make him proud.
Why can't he understand that?
"Hey, you alright? You kind of zoned out there. You got a place to stay tonight?"
Oh, it turns out the voice belongs to a person. His skin is more pale than his hair, his eyes are green, but he seems to be wearing blue colored lenses over them for some reason. His clothes are what I assume to be Midgardian fashion, black trousers and a simple shirt the color of my cape. What my cape used to be. Father ripped it off of my back. I don't have my armor anymore, either. I don't have anything.
It's been several minutes, I should probably answer him.
"No- no I don't have anywhere to stay."
"Alright, I'll take you to my place, that okay with you?"
"No reason not to, I suppose."
My attempts to stand are somewhat halted by falling down again. The scarlet stranger eventually helps me up. I am forced to lean on him, but we eventually stagger our way out of the alleyway.
Midgaurdian beer tastes like, well. Piss, if I'm being honest. Especially compared to the Brunhill's Fleet stuff. Still, it's beer, it gets me drunk, eventually.
I'm sitting on, well, more like sprawled over, a couch in my Midgardian friend's incredibly tiny domicile. He's left so that he can "make a call", whatever that means.
I reach toward another can, and find it in my hand. This is odd because the can was at the far side of the room. I must be more drunk than I thought. I decide to cure this by drinking more. Hair of the wolf that bit you and all that.
Gods, Loki's going to be so smug when I stagger home like this-
…
No, I suppose he won't.
Oh come on Thor, you're an Asgardian warrior, now is not the time to cry.
The scarlet man walks in, very rudely interrupting my manly eye cleansing session, so I throw him against a wall.
This is, again, odd because I didn't actually touch him. It also looked like the Bifrost came out of my hands, which I know can't be right because only Heimdall and Odin can do that. Also, I should probably make sure I haven't killed him.
It's my turn to help him struggle to his feet. He doesn't seem very mad; he even asks me to stop apologizing. Very nice of him, considering.
Uh, this Midgardian beer is weak, I'm sobering up already. There's also this horrible buzzing noise in my head. Oh wait, that's the "doorbell". Scarlet takes a second to straighten up slightly, tucking his shirt in and smoothing his hair. I now notice that he's wearing armor, and a face mask. Oh good, are we about to do battle?
Oh wow, forget what I said before, that's armor. Weird symbols on the cheeks though, have to ask about those eventually. The warrior takes off the helmet, revealing a very handsome man. He reaches forward and shakes my hand, smiling.
"Hello, Thor isn't it? My name is Max, Max Anders. I too am the son of an Allfather."
Last edited: Jul 9, 2019
Worth 2.3Anders, son of Allfather(who was actually named after Odin, funnily enough. Apparently the Aesir made something of an impression last time we were on Midgard) spent several hours bringing me up to speed on what was happening down here. Most of it made me want to get drunk again. There were three horrible giants roaming around and crushing cities for the fun of it, Midgardians were starting to develop Gifts (very worrying), and there were these people called "undesirables", which confused me.
"Well, you know. Peoples who aren't from here." Anders' smile is very handsome indeed. I'm reminded of some strapping Midgardian men I "met" the last time I was here. Loki always had more luck with women, for some reason. Right, he's still speaking, need to pay attention.
"-they come in, make things worse for everyone else, cause trouble, that sort of thing."
Ah, now I understand. "Like the Jotun?"
The scarlet man, whose name I've learned is Victor, seems to get uncomfortable every time I mention anything having to do with the Aesir for some reason. His armored companion simply nods.
"Exactly like the Jotun. Dangerous, unpredictable, with strange values and agendas. My Empire is dedicated to preventing them from further corrupting our way of life. Which is, of course, why I'm talking to you."
Oh, right. This is a recruitment pitch, isn't it. Damn, I was hoping it was just someone who wanted to talk. Well, at least I'll get a fight out of this-
"Did you know, my father once cast me out." What?
"What?"
"Oh yes. You see, I was rather young and impulsive in those days. I took risks I should've known not to, I picked fights that cost the Empire more than they gained, I made a royal ass of myself. I was absolutely sure my father's crown was mine, just waiting to be passed over, and I acted like it. So he threw me out, made me a common foot soldier. I became the laughing stock of the Empire, served under the stupidest and pettiest officers my father could find. I went through hell, but it made me stronger. And at the end? I was forgiven. I proved myself, and father gave me the name of Kaiser."
I was spellbound to his words. I'm fairly sure he could have told me to jump out a window, and I would have done it. He leaned forward, as if sharing a secret between the two of us.
"Now, I don't know your father. Perhaps you're right, he won't forgive you no matter what you do. But maybe, just maybe, he'll give you a chance. He'll watch your actions from afar, see how well you handle despair. Now, when he looks down from Asgard, what do you want him to see? A pitiful, broken man, getting drunk and feeling sorry for himself. Or do you want him to see his son, fighting for a cause that would make him proud?"
Well. When he put it like that.
"I'll need a hammer."
Anders merely stretches forth his hand. Blades of metal blossom out of his gauntlet, shifting and churning around his hand. It's rather mesmerizing to watch. They eventually resolve into a crude parody of Mjolnir, like what someone would make if they had only heard of a hammer without actually holding one. It's made of black iron, with cruel spikes jutting out of the corners. It feels wrong in my hand, lacking in Mjolnir's reassuring weight and certainty, but perhaps this is fitting. Maybe, just maybe, one day I will hold the storm in my hands once more. I shall once again stand beside my brother in the golden field of Asgard, and kneel before my father and make my oath of fealty and actually keep it. Until then, I will serve this Empire and battle against these "undesirables", whatever those are.
"Welcome to Empire 88, Odinson."
Worth 2.4Let no one ever accuse me of subtlety greater than a sledgehammer.
After my little oath of fealty, Kaiser and Victor(they asked me to speak their Titles rather than their true names, in fear of being revealed to their enemies) go off alone to speak to each while I watch their televisionary device.
All it seems to show is an Oracle foretelling the weather, which just reminds me how horrible rain is going to be now that I can't turn it off.
"He's batshit crazy and you unmasked to him."
For some reason they're whispering as they talk. Do they not know I can hear them? I guess Midgardian ears aren't as powerful as Aesir. I remember when Loki used to keep me up at night by whispering my name at random parts of the castle. He stopped doing it after I blocked the door to his bedchamber with Mjolnir, of course. Good times.
"Victor, you saw him literally fall from the sky. We need a heavy hitter, with Hookwolf and Stormtiger gone the Protectorate are eating us alive. I did what I needed to do to get him to our side. It's not as if the whole world doesn't know my face anyway. Brockton is dying, but with him we raise it from the ashes. A city on the hill, stronger than ever in spite of Leviathan. With him, it's within our grasp again."
"He thinks he's the god of thunder-"
"And why does that matter? I don't care about his origins, I care about his devotion. And there is no greater devotion than a man trying to be the good son. Believe me, I know that more than anyone. I grew up watching Albia try to please dad, no matter how many times he called her a disappointment, she just kept trying."
"Albia was far more trouble than she was worth."
"Yes, and she made the Empire something to be terrified of. Odinson could do that for us. Prove we aren't dying mongrels, that we still have teeth."
I stopped listening after that because the oracle was replaced with a vision of… colorful horses? With some sort of camaraderie-based magic system. Fascinating.
I was interrupted from a thoughtful thesis on the nature of friendship by Victor. Apparently we were going "power testing", whatever that meant.
I hadn't noticed before, but the Bay of Brockton was facing horrible tribulations. Apparently the beast Leviathan had left a horrible wake of devastation, including a large pool of water in the center of the city, and a large sphere of broken time that was slowly expanding, absorbing the city in the process.
"Oh yes, the PRT have established a perimeter around it, supposedly to prevent anyone from being sucked in but I think it's just to mask their fuck-up." Even under his helmet, I can tell Kaiser is furious. "One of theirs, a Tinker named Armsmaster, detonated a Tinker-tech time bomb without telling anyone, killed one of my best men in the process, Alabaster. Didn't even scratch the monster. Bastard set most of us up to die as well, just so he could get some one-on-one time with a fucking Endbringer. He's rotting the birdcage now, thankfully. I give him a week."
I didn't know what most of that means, but I got the general drift. I can think of no greater evil than betraying your comrades-in-arms for personal glory, I hope this Birdcage is truly the Hel I have heard it described.
To my great shame, I was defeated by only ten men. I half expect "Krieg" to disband me from the Empire, but he seems oddly enough impressed.
"So let me get this straight." He said from outside the fighting ring. I nodded, stepping over the groaning bodies of prone Imperial foot soldiers.
"You took down 23 of my men, in less than a minute, after drinking three six-packs of beer, and that was without using your powers."
"Well, you see, I'm not used to being a mere mortal. With my true power, I could've done something impressive."
Krieg chews his lip, absentmindedly takes a swig from his bottle, and scribbles something down on a clipboard.
"Alright, let's see how much you can lift."
"Are you sure you don't have any heavier weights?"
"None allowed by our current understanding of physics, no."
Scribble, scribble.
"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry about that, it's just you asked me to punch as hard as I could-"
"No, no, that's alright. We didn't need that pillar anyway."
Scribble, scribble.
"Are you sure?"
"Believe me, I can take being thrown into the air. My power allows me to slow my landing, and it'll give us a chance to see how much force your Blaster effect can dish out."
"I don't know, I feel your judgments are clouded, you've already emptied that bottle."
"Look, it's jusha- ahem, it's just a little whiskey to keep me going. Nothing to worry about."
"Well, you are my superior. Tell me when you're ready."
"Damn right I'm your superior. I've been in the Empire longer than you've been in diapers, blondie. I can take whatever you dishout and them- um, then some. Whenever you're ready, sugarchee-"
Victor sat kneeling, tracing the runic scorch marks created by the Bifrost with his hands.
"So, he told you to launch him as high into the air as you could."
"Yes, well, I assumed he was using hyperbole, so I only sent him a mile up."
"And where did you see him land?"
"Somewhere out in the ocean, I believe. Should we not send out a rescue band to save him from drowning?"
"No, his power allows him to float just about effortlessly. Never figured out how that worked, only Kaiser and him know the exact mechanics of it. He'll get back to land, he's done it before. If you see him again tell him Kaiser's banned him from every bar we own."
"Is that not a bit strict?"
"Levithan fucked up everyone's lives. Everything we assumed we had, gone. Everyone deals with it differently. Krieg's method is to drink until he stops thinking then get into a fight with someone. He used to be Kaiser's right hand man, now he's becoming a liability."
"I'm… sorry to hear that."
"No, it's alright. You're not the only whose lost everything, you know."
"Have you lost anyone?" I knew I shouldn't have said it the moment I did, but Victor just shakes his head.
"Her name… her name was Olivia. She didn't really believe in the Empire. I pressured her into it, preyed on her weaknesses, her loneliness. And now she's dead. God, I… I think I used to half believe half of this crap about "purity" and cities on hills. Now, I don't know what to do. Going with the Empire is better than starving, I suppose."
I frowned. "But isn't the Empire a good thing? Trying to save the world from the Jotun?"
Victor chuckles and stands, gesturing for me to follow.
"Sorry, I forget that you're Thor, son of Odin, Norse god extraordinaire. Sure, Empire's getting rid of the Jotun. Come on Odinson, let's go back to the apartment, I've got some more beer."
I entered the car with him, thinking heavily. What did Victor mean by purity? I was reminded of the fire Jotun, who claimed that every species other than them were "impure". But the Empire wasn't like that, surely? When Kaiser had spoken, everything had seemed so… clear. I absentmindedly handed the clipboard to Victor as I thought.
"Here, he dropped it before he got very high."
"Oh, alright. Let's see, we already knew you were a Brute of some sort… wait, you broke the dumbbells-"
Last edited: Jul 14, 2019
Worth 2.5Victor's car is rather small. I have to sort of hunch over to fit, and I have to keep my hammer between my legs. Victor offered to put it in the trunk area, but I want to keep it close to me. I already lost one hammer, I'm not going to lose this one. So, when someone starts tapping on the glass, I have to sort of rearrange myself in the car to see.
There's a creepy old man at the window.
He motions me to roll the window down with a strange, calm smile. I eventually manage it, although I'm ready to be attacked. Loki once disguised himself as a creepy old man as part of a convoluted plot to stab me.
"Hey sonny, sorry to see you've ended up here. Depressing, isn't it? Don't worry, it'll get better. Heroes win, even in Brockton Bay."
Wait, what?
Victor drives away before I can ask what the hell any of that meant. He's speaking into his phonetic device, well, more like shouting. He starts driving a lot faster, before tossing the device back to me. I hesitantly put it to my face.
"Thor? It's Kaiser. We're under attack from the Protectorate. We need you here, to help us repel them. It's time for the world to be introduced to Odinson."
Well, finally.
When we arrive, the battle has already started.
Kaiser is fighting a woman in camouflage with a military bearing, but is being harried by a red and gold blur. Various other members of the Empire are thier as well, Cricket is trading blows with a girl made of shadows as a flying boy pelts her with pellets of light. Another flying boy in a suit of armor blasts Rune with pink light, which are apparently..ticklish? Fenja, or is it Menja? One of the twins is standing perfectly still, likely frozen in some sort of spell. And if all that weren't confusing enough, the entire battlefield is warped and twisted, though I cannot see the source of such manipulation.
And now that I'm here, the battle can truly begin.
I charge at a woman bearing marks of cascading circuits who I'm 95% sure isn't once of ours, who somehow dodges me, but not my hammer, which sweeps her legs out from under her. A man in red(why are all these costumes so tight?) charges me, his face full of rage. I launch myself into the air, bringing my hammer down on his unprotected head-
Which does absoltuley nothing accept make him grin as he grabs my leg and wow now I'm flying-
Ow, okay the bastard threw me through a wall. Well then. Let's not lose our heads about this. I need to calmly figure out what his Gifts are, so that I can work around them.
Wait, he's saying something.
"Wow, you're kinda heavy, big guy. Maybe lay off the beer for a while?"
Or I can just kill him, that works too.
I charge toward him on a wave of rainbow light, lifting him off the ground and throwing him through a wall as I respond.
"I don't know, maybe it's just your tiny muscles."
He picks himself out of the wreckage, irritatingly none the worse for wear.
"Well, we can't all look like someone sculpted us out of fucking marble. Wait, I'm supposed to be insulting you, dammit." He has the gall to look sheepish.
I'm distracted from responding by the punch that would have broken my jaw if I were a mortal. Oh right, I didn't actually knock out the circuit board lady. She helps her comrade out of the pile of bricks while I lie dazed.
"Assault, honey, please stop flirting with the Empire cape."
"Sorry Battery, but, I mean. Have you seen him? Do you think we could-"
"You said the same thing that time Legend came to town, and you're getting the same answer."
While I will admit that banter almost always improves a fight, one must always remember not to let yourself be distracted. I remind them of this by hitting the ground near them hard enough to cause a small shock wave, knocking them both prone. While I do miss my original Gift, I must admit that the Bifrost allows me to mimic a lot of my original tricks, such as throwing my iron hammer at "Assault" and summoning it pack long enough to parry "Battery's" punch.
They get their act together quickly enough and start to "tag-time" me. Assualt distract me with brick thrown faster than a bullet, which gives Battery the opening to land a solid hit on my back, which knocks me off balance long enough for Assault to punch me in the gut.
"You know, for the supposed up-and-coming Empire heavy hitter, I'm not really seeing anything impressive, how about you battery?"
"Fight now, gloat afterward Assault."
"Oh, but come on! He's named himself after the god of lightning, I wanted to see something sparkly. I'm really not seeing anything worthy of the title-"
His eyes widen behind his mask as my hand closes around his throat. I bring his face within an inch of mine.
"I am more worthy than you will ever be. The lightning is named after me."
I throw him to the ground, and put all the might of the Bifrost behind my swing as I hammer him into the ground. Something cracks, and it isn't just the pavement. Battery screams and charges me, so I throw her a block down the street.
I realize why I had been losing. I'd been worrying about hurting these humans. What folly. Father's never going to forgive me if I keep holding back.
I tear through their ranks, my hammer breaking bones and sending enemies flying. I refrain from mortal wounds, but my mercy stops there. I scream as a shadowy arrow pierces my arm, but all I have to do is glare at the archer before she runs. The militant woman tries to cover me in white foam, but I simply burn through it. Another swift man tries to harry me, but I launch him into the air and then slam him back down with the Bifrost. The very ground tries to distort around me, but the Bifrost is meant to transverse time and space itself, and few light years of distance mean little. In the end, the supposed Protectors flee, carrying their wounded. I stand victorious, in the middle of devastation.
Kaiser walks up to me. For a moment I worry. Have I gone too far, was I too destructive? Is he disappointed?
He pulled me into a hug I didn't know I needed more than air. I embraced him so tightly, his armor buckled, but he didn't pull away.
"Odinson, you have won us the battle. You have proved you worth a thousand fold. It's time for your initiation."
And despite myself, there were tears in my eyes.