9th April
17:36 GMT +1
His eyes narrow, then twin beams of red light lance out at the metal near the join between the two halves of the door. A second later he stops, then shoves his hands into the softened metal. His muscles bulge as he pushes against the door mechanism. Ooo, this could be a fascinating opportunity to observe exactly how the body of a full blooded Kryptonian behaves when it's exerting-.
Darn. Too late.
There's a horrendous screech as the mechanism gives way. Mister Kent's arms shoot out to the sides as the two parts of the door slam back into the walls. On the other side are the Einherjar, the one I recognise from the fight at New Year as their leader standing about two metres away from the newly opened door. His hands are empty and visible as he regards Mister Kent with curiosity.
The rest of his motley crew are less inclined to passivity. Slightly crouched as if ready to receive a charge they clasp glowing, partially translucent swords and axes in their hands. The one next to Prince Jon has even managed to create a shield to go with his axe; I can dimly see the crossed forearms minus one hand coat of arms. Would it be a coat of arms for a Viking? So… Were they extending that aura over their weapons and armour during the fight? That might explain why we had such trouble working out how they work.
Mister Kent stands and wipes the partially molten metal residue from his hands before rising slightly into the air. A few of the Einherjar brace again as he does so, and from how Prince Jon's eyes move I think he noticed. He steps forward, jostling the shield bearer aside as he does so. Then he starts speaking. Hearing foreign languages at all while I'm wearing the rings just feels
weird.
"Health and happiness, Superman." He holds out his right hand.
Mister Kent drifts forwards a little before landing again, his point hopefully made. "May God keep you and bless you." He extends his hand, and Prince Jon takes hold of his forearm. Mister Kent copies the gesture without missing a beat.
The man with the shield mutters something, and a moment later I get the translation.
"Christ men. Feh. I thought we were done with those."
Prince Jon pulls away from Mister Kent to glare at him.
"You'll keep a civil tongue in your head, Lars. We're their guests, and your failure to discipline your sons is no one's fault but your own."
Lars sneers, but doesn't otherwise respond. Prince Jon then turns back to Mister Kent, for a moment looking past him to myself and Mister Allen.
"I don't recognise you from the fight. Were you there?"
"By the time Wolf Krieger called for your help, I was already unconscious."
Prince Jon nods, then focuses on me.
"You, I remember. You destroyed my shield."
I nod.
"What? If you hadn't wanted me to shoot it, you shouldn't have blocked my shot.
"
He grins.
"Heh hah!" Then he nods.
"True. But my wife has spent a long time trying to teach me not to block attacks with my body. She says that I can never tell when one of them will be something I'm not invulnerable to." He points to his left eye with his right hand.
"Like those arrows."
"A wise woman. I'm trying to teach-
" I point at Mister Kent with my right forefinger.
"-Superman the same thing.
"
Behind him, Lars mutters something and Prince Jon's eyes widen in alarm. The other Einherjar take a few steps away from Lars as the translation comes through.
"Perhaps he's the blue one's wife."
Prince Jon turns sharply on his heel and punches Lars full in the face, sending him flying backwards through the ranks of the Einherjar, halting only when he hits the far wall. Prince Jon stares down at him for a moment, then turns back to me.
"You have my sincerest apologies for his words. Upon our return to Valhalla I will see him harshly disciplined."
Um, okay? I nod my head.
"As you see fit. Superman's not pretty enough for me anyway.
"
Prince Jon looks puzzled by that, but after a moment seems to disregard it. Some of the tension leaves the Einherjar and several of them dismiss their weapons, blades evaporating into nothing as they decide that fighting is off the agenda for the moment.
Mister Kent stands aside, motioning towards the doorway with his right hand. "We weren't expecting you to wake up again. If you'll come with me, we can see about getting you your weapons, armor and horses."
"Thank you. For how long were we… Asleep?"
"Three months." Mister Kent and Prince Jon lead the way down the corridor in the general direction of the gardens. Probably the best place to put them for the moment. "Were you aware of anything?"
"I was not." Mister Allen and I follow on behind them, with the rest of the Einherjar forming up behind us. Lars retakes his position in the lead. A sergeant, perhaps? I note that he kept his axe and his shield when the rest let theirs disintegrate.
"I was fighting against your son, then I awoke in that chamber."
Mister Kent tenses slightly when Prince Jon refers to Kon as being his son. It's not an unreasonable assumption, given how similar they look and the fact that they use the same 'S' icon. "Do you have any idea why you've woken up now?"
"No, none. It was not like death; we Einherjar have all died before. A few moments of pain, then the body dies and the soul appears before Odin-."
Lars huffs.
"A few moments! Some of us had to bleed out over the course of hours! Fucking Christians can't even kill a man properly." That gets a few amused nods from Lars' fellows.
"And 'appear before Odin'? We all know you spent days fucking Geirahod before you went anywhere near the All Father's ha-."
Prince Jons turn his head to look at the man.
"Silence, churl!" Lars quietens -though he certainly doesn't look cowed- then Jon turns back and carries on as if nothing happened.
"When next I see the All Father, I will ask him what happened."
Mister Kent nods. "Do you know where Wolf Krieger is now?"
"Is he not dead, then?"
"Captain Nazi picked him up and flew through the portal you used to come here."
"A man such as that, fleeing into Odin's realm? I doubt he will be warmly received."
"Do you know why Odin offered him your help?"
"Above all things, Odin fears the Giants breaking free and making war upon the Aesir. To prevent this, he seeks knowledge, weapons, all manner of things which can best be obtained from Midgard."
"Krieger's been supplying him?"
"And testing weapons and spells for him."
"But Krieger is a Nazi!"
Prince Jon shrugs.
"What does that matter to Odin? Neither the people the Nazis killed nor the Nazis themselves worshipped the Aesir." There's a slight hesitation.
"Do your wizards have a way to reopen the portal to Valhalla? Though it would be interesting to see what has become of Denmark in my absence, I have duties to perform."
"Not yet. We thought you were dead permanently so it wasn't a priority." Mister Kent thinks for a moment. "Though I don't mind forcing Krieger to open one for you, if we can find him first."
Turns out that being a magic user
doesn't make you immune to telepathy. Not until the very high levels where you start to transubstantiate and aren't so reliant on your organic brain, at least. And even then, I could give him a very strong desire to open a portal.
"Odin has given me no order not to." He nods.
"We have an agreement."
"Hey, I was wondering." Mister Allen moves up alongside them in a blur. "If you're invulnerable, how did you manage to die in battle?"
Prince Jon smiles broadly.
"Telling you the full saga of my death would take many days. In short, Odin only made me invulnerable to things which he thought could give me an honourable death. His intent was that I should die in shame, failing to win my place in Valhalla and condemned never to see my beloved Geirahod again. So I sought out wizards and foul monsters in the hope that they would have the ability to attack me in some way that Odin had overlooked. Finally, a sorcerer named Thorvald was able with his last breath to freeze me solid, trapping me in ice for I know not how long. Centuries passed until I was freed by a man named Franklin Rock. The world I was now in was strange to me, but a battle is a battle. And Odin had not thought to make me immune to-."
"Translation unclear. Best fit: 'blast clay'."
"Yes, blast clay." Prince Jon nods.
"And as I left my mortal body my Valkyrie came for me."
