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It'd taken all of 20 seconds for everyone left on the bridge to realize that Harry and his girls would not be back anytime soon. Ignoring the chattering going on between Paige, Dani, and Susan about the wedding rings Jean and Ororo were now sporting Reed took command. He ordered the fleet to move forward slightly, putting them into geo-synchronous orbit at the edge of Saturn's gravity well, a bright red nimbus on the Hellion's scanners.
It took a while to get the ships to come to a near-to complete stop, but then Hellion abandoned its brothers and larger cousins heading in-system slowly in order to conserve its own reactor fuel. That this allowed Reed to record more than an hour's worth of the magnificent gas giant was a mere bonus. He and Douglas immediately bent over the scanners, going over what the advanced systems of the Kree ship could tell them about it.
After that, most of the people on the bridge knew they weren't needed, and wandered off to do their own things, which was sleeping for most of them considering it was already rather late in the ship's day cycle.
Dani was one of those and it took her all of three seconds after opening her eyes again to realize that she was dream-walking once more. The content of this dream was vastly different, however.
While the setting still seemed taken from one of her dreams, a place she recognized from a camping trip with her family, this time, the season and tone didn't match anything she had ever seen in real life. Moreover, it was rather... exuberant, possibly even overdone. Everywhere she looked she saw signs of spring being shown to an unbelievable level. Every flower was in full bloom, every bush was heavily laden with berries, and the birds she could hear about her were twittering madly. It was as if someone had decided to distill the essence of spring into a single scene, overpowering everything else. Frankly it looked more like a scene from a Disney cartoon then reality.
"Be welcome and more than welcome Dani Moonstar!" Dani turned with a start from surveying the scenery around her to see Sigyn standing alongside her, closer than Dani had thought she could be without warning Dani of her presence.
The Vanir goddess wore a different outfit this time, a long green and blue dress, the edges of which showed intricate embroidery, far too finely detailed for it to be for everyday wear. To Dani it looked like something one would wear on a festive occasion, it wasn't elaborate but the rich detail added to the impact of the garment. This matched the garland of flowers in her hair that now flowed down from its intricate braid to fall loosely down one side of her chest, the braid entwined with even more flowers.
The wide beaming smile on her face also took Dani aback. Given the stern self-control and barely leashed anger the other woman had radiated the previous time they had met, this almost ecstatic joy was welcome, but somewhat off-putting.
"I can feel it in the air," Sigyn went on before Dani could voice her questions. "The Lifebringer's Avatar, she is with child! I had not felt that until you returned here, into the center of our power; but now being this close to them both it fills my very being with the feeling! Such a thing radiates on levels that you mortals cannot truly comprehend. I do not mean that as a slight, simply as a truth."
"I… see…" Dani replied slowly, looking around her for a moment then back at Sigyn. "I honestly wasn't expecting this," she said gesturing to the dream world all around them. "However, I had been meaning to talk to you."
With a thought Dani was holding the dream image of the shape-changing staff that she had found beside her after her last meeting with the goddess. Holding it out in both hands towards Sigyn, she bowed slightly from the waist and her voice took a very formal tone when she spoke. "I have been remiss in not gifting you something of equal value that which you gave to me. This shape changing staff is a magnificent gift, which will no doubt be worth its weight in gold when I use it in battle. In the spirit of that, I ask if you can see my actual memories, or just my dreams in this realm?"
"I exist in your blood and in your soul, but that is a… distinct realm from the mind, dreams may cross over, but not actual memories. The amount of flow between the two is limited however," Sigyn stated, cocking her head with a wry smile. "Magic of this nature does not lend itself well to strict description I'm afraid."
This time her voice was softer than it'd been previously, as well as sounding somewhat less intoxicated if Dani was honest, but no less joyous for all of that. Dani smiled in return, nodding her head and concentrated. This meeting was happening in her own mind after all, she should, in theory, be able to control the dreamscape around them. "If I may?"
Sigyn nodded at her, and Dani reached out with her will (in a way she likened being similar to the way she used her mutant power) on a given area to the dream around them, substituting the artificial background Sigyn had created for some of her recent memories. Specifically she chose her memories of the combat against the various critters infesting the Kree ships, followed by the battles against the Kree themselves. She thought given how combative Sigyn had seemed the first time they met, this sort of thing would appeal to her, a change of pace so to speak.
The whole idea of giving a gift to repay someone who had done you a favor or given you a gift before was something Dani had stumbled upon after her first brush with the Asgardians then forgotten. Unlike Harry or even, though she didn't know it, Dr. Vorlus, Dani hadn't looked for information on the Asgardians themselves but rather the ancient Norse way of life, the societal mores and common elements so to speak. When she recalled the concept of re-gifting, Dani had realized what she'd have to do if the occasion ever arose and she was happy that her idea seemed to be working out so well in practice as well as she'd hoped.
"Remarkable," Sigyn murmured after watching the action closely through Dani's eyes and asking a few questions here and there. "I have said before that we Asgardians were based upon or around Earth since none of us have ever left the solar system before, after all why would we? So I'm afraid these blue skinned mortals, these Kree, are entirely new to me."
She gave the battle scene aboard the ship Dani, Paige and Nikolai had boarded a deeper look then the others, seeming to look at the Kree soldier's expressions. "They appear a worthy foe, if only due to their numbers and their, how do you say it, technology base?"
She smiled at the younger girl in appreciation. "That was fascinating, thank you."
"You're welcome," Dani replied smiling in turn and putting away her staff. It had helped her concentrate on changing the dream, but since her reciprocal gift to Sigyn was over, it seemed politic to put it away.
"I myself never took part in battles such as that, although I was occasionally called upon to officiate challenges, or Holmgangs, between warriors. Mostly for this or that girl's hand or ownership of land, with the occasional bout over an insult mixed in." Sigyn went on, "Certainly nothing as interesting as what you just showed me ever came into my purview, though there was this one time where a suitor for my daughter's hand thought that hunting down one example of every magical beast found in Norway and presenting their heads to our family would make us look favorably on his suit. Of course, because he called upon us by name after every kill, we did follow his exploits closely. He had more than one adventure like your friend Paige did which ended with him covered in gore from head to toe."
"What happened to him? And what do you mean when you say 'make us look favorably'? From what I read, I thought that the Norsemen were patriarchal, and that the Asgardians would have a similar social and family structure."
"Ahh, that is somewhat false," Sigyn said waving her hand gently from side to side. "As to what happened to that particular suitor, he faced an ancient example of a wurm, or a dragon without wings in your parlance. They grow smarter as they age, well, most of them anyway."
Sigyn seemed almost to return to her barely reined in anger for a moment before shaking it off. "And this one was ancient by mortal reckoning, and equally fell to match its age and cunning. It was a good battle but his courage failed him in the end, and he fled. Thus he ended up meeting my daughter in her professional capacity rather than as a suitor...and rather winded at that." Sigyn chuckled at her own phrase, then sighed as Dani didn't seem to get the joke.
"As to your other question, we Asgardians were indeed patriarchal. That is to say that the male head of the hall, if there was one, would have final say on any decision affecting the entirety of the family. But women had quite a lot of power within the household, the day-to-day running of the house fell to us, and it was a very foolish man who did not listen to his wife in matters affecting their daughters and sons. The sons training, his vocation, that was all controlled by the man, but basic care such as food, clothing and everything that went with looking after a child, that was all in charge of the woman. If a woman became a widow, she could assume her deceased husband's role in controlling the household and the land or other property, even rule or lead in battle should her position require it."
Dani suddenly realized this was a chance to get some more information of what might be afflicting the Asgardians if she could direct the conversation in that direction. Sigyn didn't seem to be in the mood to discuss it, though if that could be due to her general euphoria about being close to Jean and her pregnancy Dani couldn't say. Still, Dani owed it to the woman to try.
"It's funny that you mention that, because there was a rumor going around the Castle that Hela might have flirted with Harry the time they met after I passed on her message. Did Hela have many suitors? She apparently was passing a message or a gift on from her mistress, but the rumor is she also took the time to banter with him. Did Hela flirt often in her youth?"
Sigyn's eyes widened in shock, "Good grief no! Oh my daughter had no end of suitors who wanted her power, her future realm, or her body, but she was always a shy young maiden, never warming to any of them."
Dani tried to picture the aloof, wry, controlled and forceful goddess she had met as a 'shy maiden', and failed miserably. "I see…"
She attempted to keep her disbelief out of her voice and face, but something in her manner seemed to escape her control and Sigyn's lips twitched into a wry grimace. "Alright fine, she was about as prickly as a thorn and as warm as an ice flow to the whole notion! But what kind of mother would I be if I went about saying such hmm?"
Sigyn frowned softly staring off into the distance for a moment. "I think that came from having known early on what her powers and responsibilities would consist of. She knew right from the start a certain level of distance and...objectivity would be needed to perform her task as mistress of the dead, and she cultivated it."
She shook her head, a smile appearing again on her face as she turned back to the original topic. "But Hela flirting with your young Jarl? That I did not see coming, I must say, a bit like the moth to the flame or… or perhaps a bit of rebellion in that choice I feel."
Suddenly her eyes darkened. "I certainly hope she wasn't 'flirting' as I've seen occur in some of your dreams, for many reasons. What you call 'flirting' would certainly happen late in the process of any courtship if at all in my time."
"Oh, nothing of that sort, just light banter and interest shown I think. But was flirting so different back then, I have to confess that sounds odd to me." Dani asked, grateful she could allay the older woman's fears but also now wishful to change the subject somewhat out of dangerous waters... at least until Dani was out of range of a literally over-protective mother-goddess.
"Of course, such things change over time. For example, I've seen a few dreams of yours about 'dating', such an odd concept. Young people being allowed to choose the girl or boy they are with without consultation with their parents? That's just asking for trouble in my opinion." Sigyn sniffed disapprovingly.
Dani paused before replying to that, going over her own aborted attempts at dating before her mutant powers activated. "I… can't exactly find it myself to disagree with that, though I think I'm more of an exception to the normal way of things there."
"In my time courtship was a serious affair, a thing of compatibility between the betrothed, an investment between the two families involved. I've also noticed that people these days, at least according to the dreams of yours I've seen, throw around the word 'love' too much. In my time love was expected to come after the marriage, not before, but if it did...it would come with the thunder."
Sigyn chuckled at a hidden joke there, before going on. "It was called the 'inn mátkimunr', the mighty passion." After saying that her chuckle changed to a low throaty laugh, the sound of which sent Dani to blushing so brightly she could've been used as a neon light for a moment. "It certainly was that way with my husband and I. And don't get me started about Thor and his wife. Now there was a courtship whose passion reshaped the very land!"
Dani heard that and filed it away, but was too busy blushing and stammering at the tone of the other woman which left nothing to the imagination to do much at the moment.
Sigyn saw this, and went in for the kill with a rather...suggestive smile. "There were actually a few times I can remember which embarrassed the life out of my daughter and sons. One I remember distinctly. My husband came back from a successful fliyting, those were contests of intelligence and verbiage, against a large group of Aesir. We got into a contest of our own to see which of us could make the other more embarrassed. Though from what I recall, neither of us ever reached the level of red you are currently showing before the clothing started to come off. Really dear, how do you plan to join that strapping young Cossack and your Grecian friend if you can't even listen to a story like this without blushing like a plum?"
"But in the beginning…" Sigyn sighed faintly, pulling back from her teasing and giving the beleaguered young woman a chance to recover. "It certainly wasn't like that. Our marriage was arranged just like most of the others among the gods at the time. The only real exception I can recall being that of Thor and Sif. Our marriage was one of many supposed to solidify the alliance between Aesir and Vanir in addition to the exchange of hostages, but we actually became lovers shortly after."
She laughed once more in a bawdy manner, a rather smug, almost victorious expression coming across her face as she did so. "Indeed we courted and married so quickly the other marriages were still being considered by the time we entered our honeymoon. I heard from Loki that his brother was rather put out with him because it transpired so quickly he could get no political favor from it."
"It didn't bother you that he had children from previous assignations?" Dani asked hesitantly, unsure if this was a touchy subject or not.
"They were from before, not after." Sigyn said simply her smile turning somewhat saucy, an odd expression on that regal face, yet also somehow right at the moment. "After the handfasting he was as faithful as can be, believe me."
"The one called the Trickster God was faithful?" Dani felt her eyes cross slightly at trying to work out the implied paradox.
"Foolsbane the humans sometimes called my Loki, but also friend of humanity." Sigyn replied passionately, but not angrily Dani was thankful to note, suggesting it was an old topic. "He was never one to do as was expected of him, always looking to push the boundary and go his own way regardless of laws or society. Indeed his courtship of me was but one example of that since it began when Aesir and Vanir were still officially at war putting his life doubly at risk beyond the usual flouting of the men folk in my family."
She paused considerately. "Actually, thinking on that I really should have expected that young Hela would take after him in some fashion. And she has always been willing to go her own way since she was a youngling."
She frowned in deeper thought before turning to Dani once more. "Do you know exactly how serious was their flirting? Your Jarl has won the hearts of three maidens already and I would hate to see how the Avatar of the Lifebringer or the chosen of Gaia or even the mortal who you oft term the 'Ice Queen' would respond to that, especially now."
"I'm sorry I don't," Dani replied, shaking her head as she shrugged. "It was just a rumor at the time, though what wasn't a rumor was the 'gift' he came back with." Then she frowned in turn before continuing. "If your daughter was just passing on a gift from someone else, does that still mean that Harry should have given her a gift in like kind?"
"Yes," Sigyn nodded decisively. "Ignorance of that social nicety is excusable for a time of course, but he really should have figured that one out quickly. Something small but which both my daughter and her mistress would enjoy would be appropriate and prevent ill will or implied insult from brewing between them."
Sigyn frowned thoughtfully once more, almost visibly shivering for a moment. "Her mistress, Death itself embodied. My daughter has always stood slightly apart from the rest of us because of that, but she also embraced that power and her duties rather than simply acknowledged her connection to Death, like Odin and Freya did. Hmm…I wonder what your Jarl did to attract Death's attention."
Dani took a moment to think about that, putting it away in her mental databank for a moment. "I think it was the same thing that attracted your daughter's attention really. He apparently killed some monsters, he called them Dementors. I'm not certain how to describe them, but Harry said they were souls that had been torn from the weave and made into monsters that fed off sadness and other people's life forces."
"They sound rather monstrous, and yes, that sort of thing would definitely attract Death's attention if only slightly, and if those mortals were Asatru it would have incensed my daughter. She always took her duties seriously, far more than my other children, and anyone who she considered to be 'poaching' of those belonging to her got short shrift indeed. Outside of her duties she was sometimes as shy as a young maiden even after assuming the mantle of ruler of Niflheim, but inside her domain she was incredibly serious."
Sigyn almost glared at Dani playfully, daring her to comment on her description of her daughter again, but Dani merely held up a hand, smiling in surrender. Sigyn sniffed in satisfaction, going on with a smile on her face. "Word to the wise, tell your Jarl to never mention the Greek gods to her. She always thought that they were all worthless, especially her alternate Hades, with all the times he was tricked or simply allowed souls to return to the land of the living. She called him a…, what was it now, oh yes, a "blind old buffoon who should be made to retire immediately for the good of his realm." The harrumph that Sigyn ended the recitation with told Dani that the goddess agreed rather strongly with her step-daughter.
From there the conversation segued into further tales of odd courtships both modern and old, and what Sigyn could tell Dani about her children's younger years, which wasn't much at all despite Dani attempting to help her along. Sigyn had initially asked for her help and Dani wished to meet that request not because she felt she owed the goddess, which she did, but because Sigyn was a good person and Dani wanted to help her.
But whatever was keeping Sigyn from speaking was an invasive, all-encompassing thing. Several times during the conversations Sigyn had to stop speaking, clearly running into walls which she simply could not get around, but even that was telling to the observant young mutant.
Even so, Dani got a decent picture of their family, of Loki's general personality, and how he and Sigyn seemed to fit together so well. Sigyn also was able to find a way around her block by telling amusing anecdotes and not using names. Several times Dani nearly collapsed into laughter when Sigyn described the adventures a 'young wolf of our acquaintance' got into, and the hilarious teasing Sigyn would lay into Loki with about Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse.
Most of her tales dealt with her husbands' oh-so dubious sense of humor':
"That joke thing you humans have, the 'woopy cushion'? Imagine that filled with deadly gas that if you don't sit on it properly will explode, and if you do, will embarrass you from Vanaheim and back while causing all around to laugh at you or with you. Couple that to a master tactician's ability to find and exploit your weaknesses and you have an idea of Loki's sense of humor."
As time went on, Sigyn was able to find similar ways to get around the guise to describe Hela and her early life. Dani came away with the impression of a young woman who willingly took up a terrible burden, distancing herself from all but her family, who had supported her for the most part. A young woman whose will was of steel, and whose manner was distant not by choice but as a defense mechanism in both her duties and personal life. Not to say that all the stories about 'a pretty young child' was so serious in nature, some proving rather hilarious, including her attempts to garden, and her first meeting with Garm, whose name Sigyn could use for some odd reason.
Dani in turn told Sigyn a few stories from her own life, and even shared a few of her own waking dreams. That ended abruptly when Sigyn began to make suggestions on how to make her racy dreams better or more believable and Dani was left blushing fiercely once more. Dani had thought to herself rather ruefully that it was clear that the years with Loki had rubbed off on her, only to feel like her ears were about to burn off when Sigyn had replied to her accidentally voiced thought with the words, "Oh he certainly did, often and...vigorously."
All in all it was a fun time for them both, Sigyn having some companionship after centuries alone and Dani finding a sort of elder sister in the goddess. But it made Dani even more determined to share what she had learned with Harry and see if they could help the Asgardians.
OOOOOOO
Jean ran her hands through Harry's hair where he was asleep on her thighs then over to Ororo, who was splayed out on the right side of the bed completely comatose. Jumping to the Hellion from Earth had taken it out of both of them, and Ororo had only been up for one round before falling asleep, while Harry had lasted for three. This had left Jean and Emma the only two still awake, and Jean lazily turned her head, gently leaning in and kissing Emma first on the cheek then the neck, nuzzling into her. "Damn I missed this."
"Hmmff, if anyone had told me I'd enjoy this sort of thing I'd think they were on drugs, but I have to admit it does have some appeal." Emma chuckled quietly, leaning her head against Jean's for a moment. The two of them had concentrated on one another for the last round of lovemaking almost to the exclusion of Harry, who didn't seem to mind at all given how tired he was. It had been everything both of them had imagined, even though they hadn't experimented with telepathically reaching out to one another at the time.
But there was one question that Jean had to have the answer to right now. "Emma, are you…okay… with this?" She gestured down to her stomach. "You looked a little worried or maybe even disturbed when I made my little declaration."
"'Little' she says," Emma muttered, pulling away slightly to look at Jean for a moment, then down to where Harry laid out across all three of them, practically dead to the world. "Well first of all, I was a little surprised that you didn't want to wait to make the announcement. It would've been much better to learn about your upcoming 'bundle of joy' in private."
"I thought about it, but I honestly didn't see the point to waiting. Nikolai and the others already knew, and I felt as if I had to get it over with quickly. In hindsight I suppose I should have waited until we were all alone, but," Jean shrugged. "That's water under the bridge. And it doesn't tell me the real reason why you were so disturbed. Out with it Em."
Emma was silent, visibly gathering her thoughts, and possibly tact as well before speaking. "Jean, you're barely pushing 21 years old, and you and Harry and even Ororo all talk about this as if it was such a wondrous event! Are you sure you're up for this? Shouldn't you, I mean couldn't you," she paused, trying to think of a way to say what she wanted that wouldn't sound cold and overly-calculating.
Despite her lack of articulation, the gist of what Emma was implying thankfully got through and Jean shook her head. "No. I honestly thought about that at first, but I couldn't decide to take that step by myself." The word 'abortion' hung in the air between them unsaid for a silent moment.
Shaking her head Jean went on. "Then I talked to the Phoenix, and I suppose you could say it was a sort of quasi-religious experience. I'm not fully prepared to say I was happy about it at that point, but now the idea of aborting my child, our child doesn't appeal to me. I can easily understand why abortion would be an option for any other 20-year-old, and believe me, I fully support the idea that it should be the parent's choice, but that choice isn't for me. Besides, you saw how happy Harry was."
"I can understand that," Emma said, still looking a little disturbed now staring down at Jean's flat toned stomach, wondering how long it would remain that way. "But still…"
"Emma, you don't have to worry about the child. You don't have to try to be a mother or a big sister to it or anything, though it will probably grow up believing you're his or her aunt." Jean teased, grabbing one of Emma's hands bringing it to her lips to kiss the back tenderly.
She went on much more seriously however, still holding Emma's hand to her chest. "You're not your mother, you're not your father. However you interact with this child is up to you, but never fear that you will go down the same road either of your parents did with you and your siblings."
Or mine with me, Jean thought somewhat angrily. Emotional distance and restriction wasn't physically scarring, but it hadn't been pleasant either.
"Thank you for that," Emma said, then shook her head smirking a little. "But it isn't just my fears about what my family was like. I just don't like the thought of being pregnant that's all. The idea of something growing inside of you is a little cringe-worthy if you think about it. Gives me the willies something fierce."
There was also the caveat that for years Emma's body had been one of her greatest weapons, used to beguile men's minds, never used to its fullest extent, but that just added to the allure. And it had been hers, whatever her father's ambitions and power over her. Even now Emma prided herself on her control over her body, something which would disappear if she was ever foolish enough to become pregnant, regardless of whether she wanted the pregnancy or not.
"I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on that one," Jean laughed. She could also tell that Emma was lying slightly there. Oh, she was telling the truth that she was weirded out about Jean being pregnant, her age, and the whole process, but it went deeper than that. A concern there for their relationship, or something more? "And what else is bothering you?"
Emma paused, looking away, biting her lip in such a way that almost made Jean forget what they were talking about entirely in favor of more physical things. "I, can take children or leave them, I think I've proven I can deal with them well enough with my younger sister, but… but they are a weakness Jean."
She held up a hand as Jean made to speak. "I know you and Harry will do your best to protect your child, but I can't just forget that there are people out there who wouldn't hesitate to strike at us through your baby. Pierce tried to strike at me through Cordelia, and my father killed my brother just to send me a message for god's sake!"
Cocking her head to one side, Jean looked at Emma, and realized she still wasn't being totally honest. Yes, that was a concern, and one Jean understood, but with the resources of Camelot and all the rest, the idea of anyone getting to her child after he was born was almost laughable. No, Emma's fear was based on something else: the idea of family.
The Frosts had maintained a tradition of backstabbing and infighting against one another for generations, making the word 'family' mean the same thing as 'enemy' behind closed doors. Emma had once told Jean that her brother Christian had been the first child in four generations that hadn't taken part of the family pastime. Even Cordelia, young as she was, had been partially trained in that harsh school of familial threats, though thankfully her indoctrination in it had faded quickly after their father and older sister's deaths.
"Emma, our child, our family is not like yours, this child isn't a threat to your position, or Harry's or my love for you. It doesn't mean I've become more important in Harry's eyes, he loves us all equally and that's not going to change, nor will he or she grow up to be a threat to you or anyone else." Jean said slowly, choosing her words with care as she pulled the other woman into a hug. "You don't have to be afraid of anyone in this family acting like yours did toward you."
Emma stiffened in Jean's arms, and the redhead knew her words had been spot on. But after a moment her blonde lover relaxed against Jean's chest, sighing faintly. "I, I suppose you're right Jean, I can even admit that intellectually. But emotionally, the idea of family in general still bothers me. I sometimes twitch and fall back into my old Ice Queen persona around Cordelia at times. But, while it will take time for me to get used to the idea, I promise I will."
"That's all anyone can ask love, after all, you are trying to change the indoctrination of a lifetime," Jean smiled, kissing Emma lightly on the lips.
Eager to change the subject for something else, Emma leaned forwards as Jean pulled away, capturing the redhead's lips with her own in a gentle but insistent kiss, her tongue flicking into the other girl's mouth. Since their mouths were thus occupied, Emma opened up their telepathic connection. "I've had just about enough of this serious conversation. I vote we… find some other way to amuse ourselves…"
"Now I'm feeling tired." Jean groaned an hour later. Falling back onto the bed, her hair flared out on one of the conjured pillows Harry had created when the four of them had fallen into her bed. He'd also expanded the bed quite a bit, something all of them had been grateful for more than once this night.
"Pity." Harry's voice murmured, his arms suddenly going around her from one side as he leaned over her to give a still panting Emma a heated kiss on the lips. "That was one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."
Jean regretfully pushed him away slightly. "Maybe in a few hours, but we need to start having a serious discussion now."
"Where and when you want your wedding?" Harry quipped teasingly.
"Later for that," Jean replied though she was smiling as she said it. "I'd like to have a wedding sometime down the line, but I'm not looking for a big to-do or anything. Small and somewhere private would do for me."
"For myself as well." Ororo turned her head with difficulty to face the other three, not moving from where she was still splayed out on the side of the bed. Like Harry she had woken up during Jean and Emma's bout of lovemaking, and now she smiled happily if wearily at the younger women and Harry. "All I would request is that you and I have a Mediterranean-style wedding rather than a European-style Harry."
"Ahem, back on the actual topic at hand," Jean said, smiling at the other woman and reaching over Harry to kiss Ororo on the forehead, shuddering lightly as her still sensitive nipples slid across his chest. "We need to talk about what my pregnancy means for my team participation."
"It means your time as a field agent is very sharply curtailed from now on, and two months from now it ends entirely." Harry replied firmly, pushing himself up the bed to lean against the headrest, gaze switching between the three women.
Jean made to speak and he held up a hand. "I'm serious. For one thing, other than finding Magneto there doesn't seem to be any big issue on the horizon down on Earth, and it will be at least another month and a half before another Kree fleet shows up. Right now we need to wait until we find Magneto, do what we can to curtail mutant-norm violence, and build up our industrial capacity. I won't say that I will forbid you from coming out with the team if a major threat appears, but I'm not going to risk you against smalltime threats. And every time you do leave the castle or High Note, you're going to be covered with so many protective spells you're going to be able to survive a bloody nuke, even without your powers!"
While Emma rolled her eyes and Ororo laughed at Harry's protectiveness, Jean shook her head, almost ready to push out of the bed, but Harry pinned her in place with an arm around her waist. She scowled, thumping him on the chest with one fist, but refrained from lashing out telekinetically. "I'm not made of glass Harry!"
"No you're not, you're my beautiful phoenix, my firebird of passion and power, but while you can look after yourself, you're not on your own now." Harry saw that hit home, and he went on slowly even as he caught her fist in his free hand. "It's our responsibility, yours and mine, to protect the little life growing inside of you Jean. I'm not going to keep you sequestered for your own good or something like that, I respect you too much to try and take your freedom away, but I will make certain you're both as protected as I can possibly make you."
At his serious, loving expression and both of the other women murmuring agreement Jean subsided. She wasn't happy, but she could understand his concerns. Not only would her pregnancy slow her down, but it would also limit what damage she could take on her own, so the idea of being covered in defensive spells was actually reassuring.
"Besides," Harry went on. "It isn't like you're going to be bored after all. I have dozens of projects back home I want to throw you at."
He smirked, staring into Jean's jade eyes as he began to count on his fingers, each finger tapping against her side in turn. "We need to get the AI core Stark gave us up and running on defense while at the same time augmenting our scanners and work out how to speed up our response, get the X-Men accoutered entirely, follow up Mystique's report and hunt down Magneto. Hopefully he's the one behind the upsurge in violence between mutants and normal humans. We need to expand our industrial capacity and our energy business, make certain Saab's new hover-ambulance design is ready to go, possibly start setting up a real space-based military, figure out a way to start building more repair droids to throw at everything we've got in space at this point, figure out how to best utilize the ships you brought back, and oh yes…"
Jean eyes had widened at each new project, and she finally shook her head with a laugh. "Enough! Wow, you guys really have been busy since we've been gone haven't you? All right, I'll agree to that I suppose, so long as I can stay busy I guess I can understand you not needing me in the field. But you will let me join you when you go after Magneto so long as it happens in the next two months or so."
She stared into Harry's eyes until he nodded reluctantly and then went on. "But you didn't mention the Hellfire Club or the issues there. I take it things came to a head there while we were away?"
"Oh yes," Emma purred while stretching like a cat, her smile a mix of hedonistic and vindictive pleasure. "Yes, you could say that. The leftovers from that climax are still with us alas, but overall I have to say it definitely ended as well as we could hope…"
Sharing what had occurred on Earth since Jean and her crew of pirates left took several hours, so it was near the start of the ship-day by the time the quartet began to reluctantly pull themselves out of bed. Ororo and Emma moved to use the ship's sonic shower, wondering what it would feel like. Jean declined to join them, knowing it wasn't exactly pleasant, but when Harry made to join them, Jean grabbed his arm, pulling him back lightly. "Wait, Harry, we need to talk a bit more."
Harry cocked an eyebrow at her and she shrugged. "Nothing about us Harry, I think we've hammered that out for now." She held up her ring finger, staring at the symbol of their union happily for a moment, making a mental note to get with Ororo and Emma, who despite not willing to marry Harry was an equal in this relationship, to come up with something for Harry to wear. A simple silver ring just was not going to cut it. "No, something happened when we were heading out of Sol. Dani had a sort of out of body experience, only to hear her tell it that's rather inverted…"
Forty minutes later the quartet exited their room, slowly making their way up to the bridge. Most of the people who had been present when Harry Emma and Ororo had arrived had gone to bed long since of course, and the fleet had slowly made its way further in system under the direction of Reed, who had decided to drop off the other ships on the far side of Jupiter from Earth, before continuing on alone. Susan, Richard and Doug Ramsay were the only three awake, with Reed and Douglas going over something on the main viewscreen, while Susan was reading something on a data pad while maintaining watch on the sensors.
Susan looked up as the quartet entered, smiling brightly at them all, an expression that morphed into a smirk when she noticed Ororo and Emma were noticeably exhausted, and Jean looked to be limping slightly. "Heh, looks like you all had fun." Then she went on more seriously. "Harry, we didn't have time to ask last night, but has anything happened with our family while we were gone?"
Reed looked up at that, gesturing Douglas to take over whatever they were working on as he moved over to take a seat by his wife at the weapon's console. "Yes, can you tell us anything you know about Ben and Johnny, and of course Franklin. This is the longest period of time we've been away from our son since his birth."
"Nothing major," Harry said with a faint smirk. "A woman named Thundra came from an alternate dimension or something, can't remember the full story there but she and Benjamin are either an item or moving in that direction. She and Crystal's big sister did not get along but Medusa also seemed nice enough."
He went on much more seriously shaking his head. "Ben broke up with Alicia a few weeks after you all left. It was a mutual breakup, Benjamin was worried about protecting her after she was again kidnapped by one of your enemies, and she was concerned about the future I think. He seems to have gotten over it, but I don't know him well enough to know if that's a mask or not."
"I'll take him out for a few beers when we get home and get the whole story out of him." Reed nodded. "It's almost certainly a mask, I'm not certain if it started out that way but Ben was honestly in love with Alicia." What Reed thought about the arrangement was something he would keep to himself.
"And our son?" Susan asked impatiently.
"No issues there. Madame Harkness is still looking after him and you know I assigned a house-elf months back to the two of them just to make certain he had help if he needed it. However, I believe he's begun to exhibit some powers of his own. I don't know what those powers are based on, but they at least include telekinesis, and possibly transfiguration."
"He is so young though," Susan said, while Reed shook his head sadly.
"I think Madam Harkness can handle teaching him some control but we might wish to start training him sooner rather than later."
"Speaking of," Reed said, gesturing over his shoulder to Douglas. "I'd like to take that young man under my wing if I may? He is a master programmer, and it would be fantastic to help him on his way and have his aid with various projects."
"If you can put Doug up in the Baxter building I'm fine with that idea so long as he is," Harry said with a shrug. While Douglass' ability to understand any form of communication like he was a native was useful, Harry had never intended for him to be a field agent, and the rest of his education was such that he'd be better served by Reed or Xavier than Avalon anyway. "You might have to talk to his father but given how well defended the Baxter Building is I don't see him having a problem with that."
Reed nodded then gestured to the sensor section, which was still showing where the derelict fleet had been left in Jupiter orbit, well out from its rings, but stationary in respect to its gravity field. "What do you have planned for those?"
"A lot of things, because we need to get our space-based defenses up and running fast." He shared a look with Jean, who had been told about the Kree's attack on Earth earlier. She nodded grimly and Harry went on. "You see, Earth was attacked while you all were away. Five or six days ago actually."
"A small group of Kree frigates whatever they are called to check up on the missing Hellion?" Reed asked. That was what they all assumed, one more probing raid then a serious attack before another even larger and deadlier assault if that first one was beaten off.
"No, this was a full-on assault. They weren't even out of hyperspace for more than a few seconds before they started to fire on Earth." As Reed and Susan gaped in horror he went on quickly. "Sorry, I should've said I had been prepared for such before they arrived. Ororo, myself and several other wizards we're allied with both covered Earth with a Disillusion spell of sorts and created a magical illusion of Earth which drew their fire."
"It was a simple enough idea in theory; just create an illusion of Earth a day back in its rotation around the sun. Creating the illusion however was extremely difficult both in terms of mental ability and magical strength," Ororo said, shaking her head. "It exhausted both myself, Stephen Strange, Harry, Wanda, and Clea, Stephen's girlfriend. It's no exaggeration to say that Stephen and Harry are undoubtedly the most powerful wizards on the planet by a wide margin, but even so both of them were stuck in bed for days and the rest of us didn't recover for even longer."
"Stephen actually recovered a day before I did," Harry replied with a self-effacing shrug. "He might not have as much raw power as I do," though even that's debatable given how he can call upon multiple gods of magic to help power his spells, "but he uses what power he has somewhat more efficiently than I can. It's an experience and personal style thing."
"Understood, now what the hell happened with the actual Kree attack!?" Reed asked, restraining himself from reaching out to smack the younger man upside the head with difficulty.
"Earth wasn't attacked," Harry said with a shrug. "Doctor Doom, myself, Thundra, Ben and Johnny responded along with Carol Danvers, I think I've mentioned her once?"
Susan nodded while Reed looked confused for a second, before placing the name in his memory. "The woman you said worked for SHIELD yes? The one who might want to quit. Ben knows her from her NASA days."
"She did quit, and has been working with me ever since. Carol's been a major help setting up a think tank that has been working on the Ravenspires and other projects. We're going to be expanding that think tank hugely in the next few days, and I'd like your recommendations on who to bring in on it but frankly we just need more people, more bodies to throw at the problems we're facing."
"I understand that, but the aftermath of the battle was…." Richard asked leadingly. Good grief, keeping Harry on task here was getting rather irritating.
"We won of course, they didn't have time to figure out that the Earth they'd fired on was fake, at least we don't think so. We didn't take any prisoners this time. They did however find a way to get around the spell hiding the Ravenspires and destroyed several dozen of them which cost me several men and women who had been training to work in space from Carol's original group."
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Doom has created a device to pull a fleet out of hyperspace where we want it, but it's not tested yet, and it will be weeks before we're ready to do so. What we need to do immediately is set up Stark's AI and set up the sensors you developed, sending both you and Douglas on this mission was a mistake in hindsight. But even they won't give us much warning unless we can merge that idea with one I had after Jean telepathically told us you all had returned."
"You did mention something about that last night," Reed said, much calmer now that he knew Earth hadn't taken massive casualties. Already ideas for orbital defenses, shield arrays, and weapons were going through his head however. Some of them based on what they had learned from the derelicts but several others were from his own brain. We will never be able to match the Kree or the other powers out there in numbers, but I think we can exceed them in quality for certain.
"Jean's telepathic message was instantaneous despite the massive distance between where you all came out of hyperspace and Earth. At least it seemed that way. How much of a lag time was there between the message you sent us Jean and us arriving?"
"No more than a few minutes," Jean said after a moment's thought.
"And most of that time was spent gathering together," Ororo said with a nod. "So it was instantaneous over a system-wide distance."
"But telepathy can't cross interstellar distances," Jean cautioned. "I tried a time or two to reach out to you during our hyperspace trip back, and couldn't do it until we had emerged into Sol. I even tried it once when we were working on getting the derelicts up and moving, nothing."
"And if you can't, no one else can," Emma mused. At Jean's look Emma shrugged her shoulders. "Oh don't give me that look, you might not have my subtlety, or Charles' experience, but you have us both beat in terms of brute power."
Which matters quite a bit to determine how far away you could be heard, and not at all in mental combat, Emma sent to the redhead teasingly. This caused Jean's jade eyes to narrow slightly before she sent a mental picture of her smacking her own ass back to Emma, a picture that nearly made Emma break out in laughter. But she refrained with difficulty, turning her attention back to the discussion at large.
"Interesting…" Reed mused. "But I fail to see…" he paused trailing off as he stared at Harry. "Harry, are you thinking of trying to create some kind of device that can send a telepathic signal? As far as I am aware, telepathy is impossible without an actual living brain. The telepathic spectrum doesn't even exist in the real world. You can create devices to monitor brain waves and warn of any changes in them, even block some of the mental bands with the equivalent of a shield, but not to send an actual telepathic signal."
"Genetics could hold the answer though…" he mused after a mere second, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not a geneticist by choice, merely a dabbler but that could be possible if you could determine what genetic structure actually allows for telepathy in the first place."
The mere idea of taking on such a project would have seemed either incredibly daunting or simply insane to any geneticist who understood how tough even labeling mutants as such was in terms of genetics. But to Reed it was simply a challenge. Not one in his chosen fields, but certainly doable if given enough time.
"Back on task mad scientist," Harry said smirking at the older man who gave him a 'Hello Mister pot, I'm Mister kettle' sort of look, knowing full well Harry was his equal in his own field of magic. "Something like that yes, but not an actual mind, something simpler. But I'll leave that up to you Reed, that will be your main project when we reach Earth."
"Oh joy another one," Reed said, smirking lightly. "I've already developed several theories along other lines, which I'll share with you later on but I'll agree to that for now, since the distance question was one I had not found a solution to heretofore."
His smirk widened into a warm smile and he reached across to grab and squeeze Harry's shoulder. "Congratulations by the way," he said softly, gesturing to Jean. "Fatherhood is difficult at times, but it is also one of the most rewarding experiences that I have ever felt in my life, and I do not doubt that you and yours will feel the same."
Harry and Ororo both laughed, shaking their heads while Jean simply smiled and Emma smiled wanly if willingly. After all Jean was right, she wasn't going to have to be this child's mother. She could be the distant and rather standoffish relative. She already had enough issues with Cordelia.
But Harry simply laughed. "I've already discovered the joy of parenthood with Melody. And possibly Illyana as well, though I'm uncertain where the master and apprentice connection starts and the big brother's employer/semi-father figure begins there."
Jean frowned suddenly. "Oh, Melody, I, I hadn't thought about her reaction to this," she said, gesturing down to her stomach. "You don't think she'll be worried about being replaced or losing your affection or anything like that, will she?"
Harry and Ororo gave her their very best deadpan expression saying as one, "No."
OOOOOOO
Melody was at that moment waking up back on Earth stretching her arms and smiling brightly at the sun which was beating down outside, a bright happy day. It was nearing the end of August, and she knew that autumn would truly begin soon, but until then she, like all the other kids in the castle, were determined to enjoy as much sunlight as they could.
After a moment Melody turned her head to look over at the other bed which had recently been permanently installed in her room. She couldn't figure out the exact point where Illyana had stopped sleeping over with her and simply moved in, but she didn't care either. The two of them were practically inseparable during the day, only separating when they had to for classes, and when Illyana had to put in an hour on meditating on her magical core under Harry's instruction. According to Harry, meditating on her magical core would heighten Illyana's control when she began to actually learn magical spells.
Illyana was still asleep, and Melody slowly got out of bed, moving towards the door thinking to head to the bathroom without waking the girl up only to feel a pillow hit the back of her head. She turned quickly, grabbing the pillow as it fell to the floor hurling it back at the giggling Illyana for a moment then rushing forwards only to be stopped as a female house-elf popped in, one of the middle-aged ones whose name was Glora. "Mistress, mistress, the breakfast is ready. Mrs. Brown be asking you to join her class in the main hall, they be going down to the lake to collect some plants."
The two girls nodded, and quickly pulled on their clothing for the day, jeans and T-shirts of course. Dresses were all very good, and in fact both had dresses taken from Snow White so they could feel like princesses in the castle, but for this that wasn't really appropriate. As she pushed said outfit to one side to grab a shirt, Melody wondered where her father was. Normally he'd be the one to wake them up, for some reason he enjoyed waking the two of them up when he could, (just like they did to Harry but without the pranking) and there hadn't been anything on the schedule for today.
Illyana looked up as Hedwig alighted on their bedpost smiling at the owl, her English containing a bare slip of a Russian burr. Ororo and Mrs. Brown both had seen to it that Illyana and the other young Russians had learned enough English to nearly talk like a native by this point. "Hello Hedwig, are you going to join us today?"
The owl hooted at her softly, nipping at her fingers when Illyana began to stroke Hedwig's chest but shook her head in the negative. Hedwig had been kept up most of the night by one or the other of the odd raven duo even after she had returned from a successful hunt, which one of them had the gall to try and interfere with! That just wasn't done in the avian community.
The other had shown up with a dead mouse of its own in an attempt to placate her that morning, but Hedwig would have none of it. She was the queen around here, she would hunt on her own and prove her dominance. If the two of them were trying to butter her up for something, Hedwig figured it wasn't anything she wanted to know about. For some reason she couldn't escape the idea that the two of them were Fred and George Weasley reincarnated, troublemakers in the extreme.
Fighting that irritation however was the feeling of pure joy she was getting through her link with her Harry, though he was so far away Hedwig wasn't willing to attempt to pop to him. It was equal parts interesting and frustrating, because she had very rarely felt Harry this happy before, and she wanted to know why, but she knew her limitations.
Melody cocked her head as she looked at the owl. "I think she's tired Illyana, but I'm getting something else, a happy song but it's far away." The almost elfin girl shook her head. "Let's let her sleep for now. Come on, breakfast this morning is supposed to be waffles!"
With that Illyana nodded once at the owl, gave her a final scratch on her chest before racing after a friend. Waffles waited for no one after all. As they went, Melody could not help but ask aloud "I wonder where father is?"
Several hours later, the two young girls were the first to both see Harry and the others returning, and to realize the answer to that question. Harry, Jean, and Ororo all appeared suddenly in the dining hall, as Melody and Illyana were cutting through it to head back up to Melody's room.
"Father!" Melody said, skidding to a halt and staring at Jean before rushing forward to give her a hug. "Jean, you're back!"
Illyana crowded in as well, giving her own greetings, hugs all around. She had truly come to see Harry and the other adults, save Emma perhaps, as family, nearly as dear to her as her grandparents and big brother. She stopped as Melody suddenly pulled away from Jean to look up at her face. "There's something different about your songs, some of them are much happier, and there is a new one to, it sounds like a child's song almost…"
Jean laughed, putting an arm around Melody's shoulders as she leaned down to give the girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Well Illyana, Melody, Harry and I have something to tell you both."
Joy was too small a word to encompass the feeling that Melody felt after Jean explained. Illyana was surprised, but she had been part of the farming community and had seen families with babies before with women who were even younger than Jean, and she was happy for them. But her joy was next to nothing to Melody's who bounced up and down, her multi-colored hair flying as she exclaimed, "Oh this is so wonderful. Can I teach the baby how to sing?"
OOOOOOO
Ignoring her near sobs of exhaustion and fear Taavi pushed his newlywed wife into the doorway behind him staggering as a brick slammed into his shoulder. Taking up position between the door and the approaching mob Taavi had a moment to reflect that his large frame, dotted as it was by large patches of heavy tortoise-like slabs of shell, made him uniquely suited for defense of small places like this. Of course, if I didn't have this body this wouldn't be happening to us. "Get inside and lock the door!"
"No! Taavi I won't leave you!"
"Do it woman! Then hide yourself somewhere I…"
Another brick slammed into his head, and Taavi saw stars. The next thing he knew a axe was slamming into his chest, shattering against the shells that festooned his chest, followed quickly by a blow to the head. Taavi lashed out blindly, catching one of the rioters and lifting him off his feet with the force of the blow while another tried to hack at his legs. That one flew backwards his teeth missing thanks to Taavi's knee slamming into his face.
For a moment Taavi held them there, his mutant strength and armor allowing him to overcome any two of the rioters, and the doorway forcing them to come at him a few at a time. "Come on you sons of whores, come on!"
Suddenly there was a scream behind him. Taavi turned away from the doorway, racing into the house. A house he remembered now with growing despair which had another entrance hidden in the alleyway between it and the next house over.
In the main sitting area Taavi saw two men who had grabbed his wife. They had pushed her to the floor shouting "Whore! Mutant's bitch!" and other hateful remarks, while one of them raised an axe above his head intending to cut her head off.
Taavi barreled into them roaring, pushing them away from her.
Gunshots now rang out from behind him, the rioters from the front of the house having rushed in as soon as he had retreated. One bullet smashed into his shoulder, breaking one of the slabs of shell there while another followed quickly, piercing flesh, and he gasped, that arm going dead. He killed the man who had been about to behead his wife, but before she could get to her feet and flee another shot rang out.
Taavi watched in horror as his new wife, the girl he had married that morning and had hoped to spend the rest of his life with spasmed in a rictus of agony. The bullet had taken her in the side of the neck, blowing out her spine as it travelled through her body."
"Damn you!" Taavi shouted, sobbing, grabbing the would-be ax murderer and hurling him into the crowd around him, even as more shots rang out and other rioters came forward with makeshift weapons. "Damn you!"
Several days after the riots died down, investigators would come to believe that the riot had been caused by a mutant with obvious physical mutations apparently being seen walking around with a woman who was somewhat attractive in public holding hands in an out of the way section of the city. Within a bare hour the two of them had been mobbed, eventually ripped apart in a berserk mania.
From that beginning the riot spread to encompass the entirety of Ankara, Turkey. Even some mutants who had not been bothered previously for one reason or another, be they born into wealthier families, or with minor physical deformities and no powers, had been swept up in it. By the end of the day there wouldn't be a single mutant alive in the entire city.
But of course as always the riot became about something else rather than the hatred of mutants quickly. It was depressing for most people to think about, but when you peeled away the thin veneer of civilization, practically every common man had a bit of darkness inside of them. The riot spread, rioters looted, burned, and raped until the army was called in to restore order since the police had long since joined the rioters. Hundreds would die or worse, but the mutant issue had been the spark.
This didn't matter to the two individuals watching the current violence from a safe vantage point on the nearby rooftops. They would claim they were mutants, and proud of it, but if anyone thought they had anything in common with the genetic deadends dying to the mindless horde below them, that person would die in short order. "This is survival of the fittest at its finest," murmured one to the other. "You think we will be able to harvest anyone from this sorry lot?"
"Doubtful," the second said bluntly pointing to the house from which the sounds of combat still raged. "That one is possibly the only mutant in the city with a truly usable power. And he was willing to bed a common Homo Sapien? Such a waste of his genetic legacy, but at least he is paying for his folly."
"True. Yet despite the conflicts here in the Middle East and elsewhere, we have to admit that the First World powers are turning toward equality between Homo Sapien and Homo Superior. It is disturbing, but given the amount of positive PR that foolish point of view has gotten, it isn't exactly difficult to understand why."
"Yesss… Sinister seems to have a plan to turn that around, though it isn't one he wishes to share with us. Odd that, was he not supposed to be the Great One's chief scientist?"
"It has been several centuries since the Great One last walked the Earth and Sinister has never been one to wait or to seek advice even when he needs it," the first speaker said with some amusement in his voice. While he would never wish to meet Sinister one-on-one, he did hold a certain amount of contempt for the other man, who he knew chafed under his master's control.
He went on much more seriously however. "Magneto's disappearance is still an issue. Have our spies in his so-called Brotherhood told us anything?"
"They haven't been able to report in months as you well know," the second one said irritably shaking his head before smiling when a pain-filled scream reached their ears. "The sound of Darwin at work," he murmured shaking his head with a faint smile.
"Despite being a Homo Sapien that scientist certainly had a few excellent ideas," the first one murmured. "Still, with Magneto not acting out, and with Sinister seemingly playing his own game I think we have to assume that this trend towards equality may well continue without outside interference to turn things back onto the right direction. The Great One will not be pleased, but we might… have to wake him up…"
"The time has not yet come for that surely! Besides, that is a topic for full quorum of the clan, not just the two of us."
"We need to bring it to the attention of the clan, call that quorum," the first speaker said firmly. "I don't care where we meet, but we need to do it. We also need to figure out a way to spy on this Magical Minds company, and this new superhero group that has given equality such good PR."
"There I will agree with you. I will contact the clan and even take on the task of attempting to spy on Magical Minds and this Potter fellow. And if they decide we should, you will contact Lord Ozymandias, agreed?"
For a moment the first speaker turned away from the riot still going on down below them to stare out through the cityscape toward the south. It would be a tough journey, a true test of my physical and mental skills, just as much as figuring out a way to spy on a superhero group which doesn't apparently have any set home base. It is a proper way to prove my worth to my lord!
"Agreed," he said sharply nodding his head. "I will prove my worthiness by taking this journey. Only the strong deserve to survive."
"Only the strong deserve to survive," the second one intoned formally in return, clasping the first one's hand. Then as one they turned away, jumping away over the rooftops in two different directions unseen by any of the rioters or watchers elsewhere.
OOOOOOO
Later that evening, Harry called Dani up to the headmaster's room for a talk. "I understand that you had a sort of 'in-body experience' Jean called it? She told me a lot about what the two of you talked about, but I'd like to get your impressions about this Sigyn woma-er, goddess."
"I was going to talk to you about it tomorrow morning Sir," Dani said, somewhat more formally than normal, sitting straight but not rigidly in her seat. "And I have to say, I had another experience of a similar nature to when Hela first made contact. Sigyn pulled me into a dreamscape the night we spent coming in from the outer system. She wanted me to pass on congratulations to Jean, calling her the Lifebringer's Avatar, and you for the baby. Sigyn could feel her pregnancy on levels she said most mortals wouldn't be able to feel apparently."
"It made her somewhat...uninhibited at first if I'm going to be honest. It was kind of funny at first, and then it got really, really embarrassing for a time, though that could've been the discussion matter," Dani said flushing slightly and looking away, missing Harry's amused look.
"Like I said, I want to know about your impression, so why don't we start with the first conversation you had with her, and then this latest one after that. Particularly, I want to know what kind of blocks Sigyn has on what she can say, directly or otherwise, what kind of powers she has, and if what you learned completely contradicts anything I've learned since you lot left." Harry smiled ruefully. "Trust me, I'll interrupt your tale when we get to those kind of points."
Dani did so, making a point to mention the reciprocal nature of giftgiving in Asgardian culture. Harry made a note of it, nodded with a small wince and said he would get about that in the next few days. He wanted to think about an appropriate gift to bring the next time he saw the death goddess, as well as everything else Dani was telling him. He interrupted her tale many times, asking probing questions about the conversations in general, and like Dani built up a picture of what Sigyn could and could not talk about that did not make him happy.
"I like the Asgardians I've met so far," Harry murmured, running one hand through his unkempt hair. "They're good people if a little larger than life. But there are things that just aren't matching up here. You're certain that Sigyn said Thor was married?"
"Sigyn was certain about it, and ummm…." Dani blushed rosily as she recalled the relevant part of the conversation. "Very, very happily so apparently."
Harry nodded, making no comment about the younger girl's reoccurring blush. "So why's he apparently shacking up with a human woman now? It doesn't fit someone of his reputation at all from what I've been able to gather." Harry looked away from Dani at this point, mumbling to himself as he continued to process the new information. "Could they have had a falling out at some point? Occam's Razor would say certainly, but I don't know, something about that idea feels off to me."
This entire thing has baffled me from the very beginning, but this is proving to be something else, the threat must be far larger than I originally thought. Sigyn went to a hell of a lot of trouble to hide her soul like this, I can't even imagine the skill it must have taken. For Loki and her to go to such lengths... no one would do something like this except as a last resort. And now the Asgardians that I've met don't match what Sigyn related to Dani, let alone what Vorlus has turned up. How deep does this rabbit hole go?
"Thank you Dani, that was informative to say the least. I'll probably ask your opinion about the gifts when I come up with them, but could I look at this staff that Sigyn gave you?"
Dani nodded, and raced off returning not only with the staff she had been given by Sigyn, but also the lynx skin that she had killed in her out of body experience when she met Fenrir.
Harry had already analyzed that, and not found anything magical on or about it. He scanned it again now, coming up with the same response as before that he met with a satisfied nod. The staff however was a different matter. It read almost like a wand with an unknown core but not completely, with some magics he couldn't understand but which felt like some kind of transfiguration spell somehow buried within it. It was also tied directly to Dani, he could feel her life-force within every inch of it to the point where it read almost like an extension of her body.
Harry couldn't have used it, in fact he wagered that to anyone but Dani it would be a simple staff. On the other hand, it didn't give Dani any magical ability either. She didn't seem to have the magical spark within her, or if she did, it was so intertwined with her mutant powers it was impossible for Harry to discern. "What are you going to call this?"
"What else can I call it but Sigyn's gift?" Dani replied, smiling softly as she took the long staff back, her smile widening as it became a bow in her hand. With a nod toward Harry, Dani turned away and made her way out of the office. Amara had asked to talk to her, and she had a feeling it wasn't going to be good, but felt it better to get it over with now.
Harry watched Dani go, frowning as he thought to himself. I like the Asgardians, they're good people but dammit I already have so many other things going on, I really don't want to get involved in this. Yet at the same time he could hear that little voice inside him going, 'yes but if they are being mind-controlled then don't you owe it to your friends, or at least acquaintances to try to free them. And aren't you researching them already?'
"Merlin, Morgana and Maeve damn my people saving thing!" he groaned.
Shaking his head, Harry kneaded his lightning scar thoughtfully as his mental rumination continued, I wish Dani had asked more about this so-called 'overgrown lizard', that could describe so damn many Asgardian monsters it's not even funny. Starting to wonder if they weren't the ones to start the whole 'snakeskin' fashion trend, with the number of beasties with scales considered "extremely dangerous, kill on sight they seem to have. I want to know more about why that keeps riling up Sigyn, and I think I also want a way to get to Asgard myself without aid. I also think it's time to go straight to the source, and definitely ask Hela some questions. But subtly Harry, subtly, let's not trigger a violent response from whatever this is…or insult the queen in her own hall, that would be bad.
OOOOOOO
While Mystique continued her stakeout in Alaska, and there didn't seem to be any other Earth-based problems on the horizon, Harry and his faction were able to deal with more mundane issues. Done with what they could do for Tokyo, the Custodes concentrated on their training for the most part, with Harry and his ladies joining in every evening. Their training now consisted of facing Magneto or other super-powered mutants in preparation for the time when they found Magneto's base or when he began to move openly once more.
But the lovers' days were given over to other projects.
Of the quartet Ororo possibly had the easiest schedule, setting up a system to allow Illyich and the other teens who had volunteered to help Avalon bring in new students to do so. To aid this she and Kitty created five larger, more protected versions of Harry's magic carpet to fly them wherever they wanted to go faster than the speed of sound. She also continued training Kitty on the mental aspect of magic in the morning, in preparation for further training, and worked with Kitty's parents on creating a few interviews and FAQs for parents whose children were found to be mutants.
At the same time, Kitty worked with Harry and their new runic assembly line to complete work on the runic arrays for the X-Men and Jean designed and built weapons for the team after a brief discussion with Charles and Scott. The X-Men now each had four self-chosen items and an Orihalcum knife they could call up from a purpose built bag of holding, along individualized runic arrays to their specifications as part of their uniforms.
With that done, Jean turned her attention to working with Sage on okaying Saab's hover ambulance design and making certain that Arc Technologies was ready to expand across the UK, handing over the day to day running of the company to Sage and AC's newly hired president, who was more of a personnel director than anything else.
There were lots of protests about that of course. One reason was that Arc Technologies had a monopoly on the arc reactors. But of course Stark Industries also had arc reactors, they just weren't selling the energy from them to anyone else, so that argument wasn't getting any headway except among those people worried about what could possibly be foreign influences in their economy. Other protests were spurred on by companies who were looking at losing their own market share.
But the British Government, ecstatic about the cut to their energy budget, had gotten behind the idea and pushed. They clamped down on any protest that looked to turn violent as a matter of course, and provided security to the teams looking over the places chosen for the next wave of reactors.
After that work was done, Jean gleefully went on to the next few projects on her list: looking at the ships her team had brought back, working with Carol's think tank and, more importantly, going over shipboard weapon systems across the board.
Emma continued her work expanding their electronic espionage arm, and worked with Sir Dennis and Sage to expand their physical espionage apparatus. She also oversaw the purchase of some raw materials companies to cover what was being mined out of Forge 2 with Sage. Sage in turn continued to take over the day to day running of Harry and Emma's growing business empires, and helped Emma plan out a meeting the two of them were going to set up soon with the Hellfire Club's New York branch. All the covert moves they could do had been done there by this point, now it was time for an overt show of force and business deals.
True to his word to Jean, Harry first pushed forward with creating runic tattoos similar to the one he had on his palm. But these were not tied to his mokeskin pouch, they were purely defensive arrays, the strongest he could devise.
Emma had issues with the process due to the number of diamonds Harry had to grind into powder for them, but she got over it quickly. Ororo's and Emma's went off without a hitch, though surprisingly Emma wanted a second array like Harry's own as well as the defensive one. On the other hand Jean's array flashed red when he finished it for some reason, and for just a moment the shape on her palm almost seemed to change shape before stabilizing.