Asgard 1.4
Heather Sinclair
Verified Force User
Sorry, stuff got in the way yesterday. Have a snippet.
1.4
I stared at the surprisingly detailed map of the southwestern portion of the United States that Heimdall had laid out for me in glorious holograms floating above a very tiny emitter. There weren't any state lines drawn or even any major cities marked, but the largest urban centers were more than obvious.
He had his finger pointed a very brown and seemingly empty space. "Here."
I cocked an eyebrow and frowned. "Is there any particular reason you'll be dropping me off in the middle of nowhere, in the desert?"
"Less chance of being seen by mortals," he said bluntly. "There is a local superstition regarding extraterrestrials. If anyone was to report a sighting of the Bifrost while activated, it will most likely be ignored as erroneous."
Taking a closer look, I rolled my eyes. "You guys are responsible for all the Roswell sightings?"
The more I learned about this particular Earth, from Heimdall, the more certain things remained the same up to a certain time period. Cities, for the most part were identical, barring those that were hit by Endbringers on my world. A lot of the costal cites seemed to be flourishing a bit more, but nothing stood out as differing majorly. At least I wouldn't get totally lost.
The whole situation reminded me so much of the alternate Earths back home. Only this one was different in a lot of ways around the forties, and then periodically through the decades. Technologically, they seemed more advanced in some avenues, or at the very least some people thought in radically different ways. The presence of scientifically made capes was proof of that. They didn't have to rely on traumatic trigger events or buy their powers from Contessa and Doctor Mother.
I envied them their ability to choose.
"No," Heimdall answered. "I merely take advantage of what is already there."
With a mild grunt I thought about the distance I had to travel. "I guess it's not that far."
"I would advise practicing with your armor's flight capabilities, young valkyrie."
I was really getting tired of the whole "young valkyrie" thing everyone had going. Yes, I was the most recent addition to the Valkyrior, and yes, I was the youngest member by about eight hundred years, but still. That crap gets annoying after a while.
"I have. I've just been busy making last minute arrangements."
He looked down on me and I almost took a step back from his overly creepy yellow eyes. "Yes, I have been watching and listening. Judging by your talent with runes, you are most fortunate that you are not currently enslaved by Loki. The wager was foolhardy."
A little chill ran up my spine when I realized he was spying on what I was doing. "I can do them perfectly fine with my spiders."
"Spiders you cannot take with you to Midgard. By command of Odin, You will present them to me before I activate the Bifrost for your journey."
Giving him a quick compliant grin, but not actually saying anything, I activated the iridescent wings on the back of my armor and lifted off the platform in order to fly back to the palace.
They weren't actual wings, and I still didn't have a clue as to how they worked, but they did make traveling much easier. They were some sort of energy construct that made me light as the proverbial feather and provided propulsion I still have yet to test at full throttle. Luckily, I had my own flight pack back on Earth Bet, so I wasn't a stranger to flying the friendly skies.
When I landed on the Valkyrior training grounds, Brunnhilda peeled away from a conversation with one of the other valkyries and nodded in my direction.
"Heimdall showed you the location?"
"Yeah, and he's been perving on me just in case you didn't know."
She'd probably be quite happy when I left. I don't think the Allspeak was quite getting my point across a lot of the time.
"Perving?"
"Watching me in my room… in private."
"Heimdall?"
"Yeah. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. It's probably on Odin's orders but seriously, he's a guy that can see and listen to anyone, anywhere in the Nine Realms."
"Heimdall's honor is above reproach," she stressed more than was needed.
"Uh-huh. Keep on thinking that when you're in your bath after a long day of doing valkyrie stuff. I'm a mortal, so I'm probably safe, but you actually have Asgardian assets that he might be interested in."
Hopefully he was listening. That should make him think twice about jerking me around about my spiders – probably not, but hopefully. Either way, the next time she was in the bath, I had no doubt she'd remember my words. Not that she had anything to be ashamed about. The leader of the Valkyrior was the perfect model of blonde goddess perfection. At least she had a decent personality to go along with the perfect body.
Long ago, relatively speaking, I'd learned to deal with not being the perfect physical specimen. Genetics were against me there, but at least I'd finally grown out of the gangly teenager I was three years ago when I went through a massive growth spurt while I was with the Undersiders. I hadn't been mistaken for a guy for quite some time. Granted, that could have been due to my reputation, but I'd like to think it was because I filled out a little.
Having the armor didn't hurt.
Most shapely women look fat in armor if they didn't have the height to pull it off properly. Me? I looked pretty damn nice. It almost made me rethink the whole spider silk costume, but that was what I knew. Using something a lot heavier would affect the way I fought, and I was too far along at the moment to do something like that. Maybe later, when I had time to train properly, I'd go with something different.
Of course, I wouldn't be a valkyrie by that point, so this train of thought was fairly pointless.
"When will your preparations be concluded?"
I shrugged as Brunnhilda motioned inside. "My costume is ready. I just need a little more time to finish the runes on a few more things."
"Not the spiders?" she asked warily.
"No, not the spiders; I have to give those to Heimdall so he can stab them to death with his gigantic sword on orders from Odin."
"They are dangerous creatures, Taylor."
I shook my head. "I get it. I just hate wasting resources if I don't need to, and this is my one chance to work with them."
We continued along the corridor until it opened up into the main hall which eventually led to the kitchens and Odin's giant hall.
"The position will remain open until you return from your mission, if you happen to change your mind."
"And stay a valkyrie?" I confirmed.
Brunnhilda returned a single nod. "We perform important work, similar to your current assignment. Having someone that is unlike others in the Valkyrior opens avenues to Midgard that we were unable to use before."
That was something new. "So, I'd most likely stay on Earth even after this is over with?"
"Stay?" she replied with a glance toward me. "Not necessarily. However, the majority of your assignments would return you there often enough."
Once we made it to the big hall I noticed the feast was already in full swing. The tell-tale sound of a mead mug crashing to the floor alerted me that Thor was back from wherever he disappeared to the other night.
"Another!" he yelled while he was groping a chesty redhead.
I almost expected another girl to pop up on his other leg, but I guess he was inquiring after more mead. With an annoyed sigh I stopped and gestured to Brunnhilda.
"I'm going to eat in my room."
She frowned and looked over to Thor's table. "You must not let them intimidate you."
"It's not intimidation. They don't scare me. It's the nausea I feel when I see all these women throw themselves at him like he's God's gift. It puts me off my meal."
She shrugged. "Thor will be the next king of Asgard. The position of queen is highly sought after, inevitably dulling the minds of women around him."
My nose involuntarily wrinkled at the thought. "And you wonder why I would rather be on Earth?"
With a resigned look on her face Brunnhilda turned to me. "I will procure us a meal and we will retire to your quarters, if you wouldn't mind the company."
This was a first. It had been almost two weeks since I had arrived and now my boss wants some private time, probably to talk me into staying after I was finished on Earth.
"Uh, sure."
When Brunnhilda disappeared into the kitchens, I leaned against the wall and took in the idiots at the tables. Loki looked bored and even took the time to glance my way with a genial smile. One of Thor's friends, the one with the small Van Dyke beard even went so far as to poke him followed by a gesture in my direction, and then laughed uproariously. I could imagine exactly what was being said while I scowled in the guy's direction.
The brunette, sitting across the table, turned and looked curiously at me and then her eyes widened as I had one of my spiders quickly drop from the ceiling on a strand of webbing, coming to a stop on my shoulder. She nudged Thor with a kick under the table, and I'd finally come to the attention of another prince of Asgard.
He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment and then turned his attention to Odin, who was sitting on his throne speaking to a short line of people. Somehow the big guy knew he was being started at and raised his attention to his son and then to me. I watched as his grip tightened on that spear of his, but eventually he turned away, ignoring me entirely.
That didn't seem to satisfy Thor. He set his mug down and waved off the women surrounding him, grabbed his hammer and stood just as Brunnhilda exited the kitchens. She held two platters of food, one of which was significantly smaller than the other.
My boss immediately noticed something was off about the situation. Probably comes from being the head valkyrie and the whole thing about knowing when someone was about to die power they possessed. When she saw the presence of my spider, she followed my line of sight to the beefcake at the table.
"It is not wise to threaten the Odinson."
I shrugged. "I was just here leaning, not doing a thing. Blame the pretty guy with the tiny beard. He started it all by poking Loki."
"Fandral, close personal friend to Thor; threaten him all you want."
Brunnhilda and Thor shared a long moment across the distance. Her side of the exchange was grim and somewhat annoyed, while Thor's was more on the uncomfortable side. It was probably the reason he sat back down followed by the low thump of his hammer back on the floor.
"You actually stared him down," I said with mild disbelief.
"Hm." Handing my platter to me she gestured away from the hall. "We were lovers once, long ago, before Odin took me into service and created the Valkyrior. It was unseemly for him to associate with me afterward."
Someone had to be high when they decided that. "Unseemly? You're like the catch of the century."
I received a nod for that. "I agree. However, it is widely known that Odin prefers his son to wed the leader of his armies, who sits across from him, the Lady Sif."
Once we were clear of the hall I commented, "Judging by the women that are pawing him right in front of her, I'd guess he doesn't exactly want a political marriage?"
She grunted, which I found she usually does when she really doesn't like something. "I bear the Lady Sif no ill will, but she's a fool if she considers Thor will take her as his queen. Yet, she thinks if she waits long enough he will eventually accept her."
"Friend-zoned. Been there; bought the shirt."
Brunnhilda shot me a look at that. "Oft times I merely misunderstand one word, and now you offer me two sentences of nonsense."
With a chuckle I started down the stairs that led to my quarters. "Friend-zoned means someone that… well, an unrequited love. Thor thinks of her only as a friend."
"Ah, a statement that bears much truth."
"Been there; bought the shirt, means that I've personally experienced something like what she's going through."
Once we reached my room, I pulled an extra chair from the bedroom and dropped off my guard-spider to continue weaving a roll of extra silk for the future. I might not have another chance to work with them once I leave, and this way I'd have something to mend my costume if need be.
"What are your plans to retrieve the object?" she asked once I sat down and broke off a piece of what passes for poultry around Asgard.
I shrugged. "Heimdall says they're keeping it in southern Nevada, so I'll stake the place out, send in some bugs to confirm, and then go from there."
She looked at me, confused. "That's it? What have you been doing all this time?"
"Without blueprints of the place I can't exactly make a plan yet. I can do that with my bugs. Trust me. This is what I do… well, it's what I can do. I used to just fight other capes, but in unfamiliar territory I had to get there and form a plan first."
Brunnhilda thought it over and nodded. "I suppose that is prudent."
"I've been learning Loki's runes also; preparing."
She swallowed and took a long drink at her mug. "You are actually learning?"
I nodded. "It's easy enough with the spiders. One measures the rune and the other mirrors it onto whatever I need. That's one of the reasons I like them. Their front four legs are strong enough to cut into metal easily. So, I'm pretty much stocked up on weapons, food…."
"Food?"
Leaning back, I smiled. "Yeah, mostly fruits and veggies. Those trays they have on the tables at the feast replenish themselves constantly from the kitchens. I just carved the runes onto the tray and stick it in the pocket dimension, poof, fresh food whenever I want it. I'll still need to stop by a sports store whenever I get there and load up on my usual equipment, but… what?"
Brunnhilda was sitting there staring at me. "I owe you my apologies, Taylor."
"Why?"
She dropped her meat and wiped off the tips of her fingers. "When I envisioned you wanting to learn runescript for "creative" reasons, I did not care to think you might want it for something other than a place to store spoils you might come across after your battles. You aren't the first person to think of using the Heavenly Realm in such a way. Perhaps I misjudged your intent. For that, you have my apologies."
"Oh… um, thanks. You're not the first though, so don't beat yourself up over it. Most of the capes I fought back home didn't think much of me when we first met, especially the overpowered ones."
"They came to regret their initial thoughts," she concluded.
I grinned. "Yeah, you could say that. When a lot of them saw my bugs they thought since they could regenerate, had near-invulnerable skin, or used fire or something to surround themselves that they were safe enough. Sure, they'd be annoyed, but they could crush me eventually and then the bugs
would go away; end of story."
A thoughtful look dropped over her face. "I must have missed these times."
"It was early in my cape career." Shifting uncomfortably, but decided to go ahead. "I did some things I'm not exactly proud of."
"You regret them?"
"That's the question, isn't it? I'd like to think I'd do things differently, and there are some… events that I actually would, but overall, what I did and the reputation I built allowed me to save the world. So… no. I don't regret what I did. I'd probably wind up doing them in a different way, because of my experience, but in the end if I didn't do the same things then trillions of people and a number of alternate Earths would be dead."
We moved on to lighter subjects and finished our meals soon enough, then I brought out my serving platter full of fresh fruits, plucked one off the top and offered her one. Brunnhilda grinned and shook her head before taking a yellow apple.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
"About five days I think. They don't exactly miss anything, so nobody complains."
"They wouldn't. A number of us pilfer the kitchens between meals due to irregular hours. What I mean to ask is how long you have been partaking of these."
She held her apple up and showed it to me before taking a sizable bite.
"These are my favorite. Very juicy and it tames my sweet tooth. Why?"
"Hm? Oh, no reason. I'm happy that you will have a personal supply of them. Try to have one every day. They're very… nutritious."
Right. Thanks mom.
~O~
I wound up with four feet of silk before the morning hit. My spiders were exhausted. I had them etch the needed runescript onto the edge before sliding into the pocket dimension along with all the rest of my crap that I'd accumulated over the last week. Hopefully they didn't have a precise inventory of the palace, because I had a lot of stuff tucked away that might prove useful in the future.
With my costume on as a base, I called my valkyrie armor and took a last look around the room. Grabbing Loki's notebook I headed out to the small terrace and activated the wings before taking off down the rainbow bridge toward the Bifrost.
Heimdall was waiting for me with a stern look on his face while I guided my spiders down my armor and onto the floor.
After neatly killing them he looked to me. "Do you have any more of these creatures?"
"Those were the only two on the grounds, Heimdall. I made sure of that before I left."
His creepy yellow eyes bored into me before he was satisfied. "Are you ready to begin your journey, young valkyrie?"
"Sure," I said, gesturing toward the Bifrost. "Let's crank this thing up."
"You need only call out to me for your return, ideally without mortals looking on, ideally in the same place in which you arrive…."
"Ideally, in one piece," I mumbled.
"That goes without saying."
Sliding his giant sword into the control mechanism I watched as the room started spinning around me and eventually a blue beam of light lanced out into space.
"Yeah, that doesn't look safe at all."
"I find that the journey is easier if you hold your breath," he said as a final goodbye.
"That makes sense, I guess." Girding my loins, so to speak, I approached the light and then said, "Fuck it. I've been dead before."
1.4
I stared at the surprisingly detailed map of the southwestern portion of the United States that Heimdall had laid out for me in glorious holograms floating above a very tiny emitter. There weren't any state lines drawn or even any major cities marked, but the largest urban centers were more than obvious.
He had his finger pointed a very brown and seemingly empty space. "Here."
I cocked an eyebrow and frowned. "Is there any particular reason you'll be dropping me off in the middle of nowhere, in the desert?"
"Less chance of being seen by mortals," he said bluntly. "There is a local superstition regarding extraterrestrials. If anyone was to report a sighting of the Bifrost while activated, it will most likely be ignored as erroneous."
Taking a closer look, I rolled my eyes. "You guys are responsible for all the Roswell sightings?"
The more I learned about this particular Earth, from Heimdall, the more certain things remained the same up to a certain time period. Cities, for the most part were identical, barring those that were hit by Endbringers on my world. A lot of the costal cites seemed to be flourishing a bit more, but nothing stood out as differing majorly. At least I wouldn't get totally lost.
The whole situation reminded me so much of the alternate Earths back home. Only this one was different in a lot of ways around the forties, and then periodically through the decades. Technologically, they seemed more advanced in some avenues, or at the very least some people thought in radically different ways. The presence of scientifically made capes was proof of that. They didn't have to rely on traumatic trigger events or buy their powers from Contessa and Doctor Mother.
I envied them their ability to choose.
"No," Heimdall answered. "I merely take advantage of what is already there."
With a mild grunt I thought about the distance I had to travel. "I guess it's not that far."
"I would advise practicing with your armor's flight capabilities, young valkyrie."
I was really getting tired of the whole "young valkyrie" thing everyone had going. Yes, I was the most recent addition to the Valkyrior, and yes, I was the youngest member by about eight hundred years, but still. That crap gets annoying after a while.
"I have. I've just been busy making last minute arrangements."
He looked down on me and I almost took a step back from his overly creepy yellow eyes. "Yes, I have been watching and listening. Judging by your talent with runes, you are most fortunate that you are not currently enslaved by Loki. The wager was foolhardy."
A little chill ran up my spine when I realized he was spying on what I was doing. "I can do them perfectly fine with my spiders."
"Spiders you cannot take with you to Midgard. By command of Odin, You will present them to me before I activate the Bifrost for your journey."
Giving him a quick compliant grin, but not actually saying anything, I activated the iridescent wings on the back of my armor and lifted off the platform in order to fly back to the palace.
They weren't actual wings, and I still didn't have a clue as to how they worked, but they did make traveling much easier. They were some sort of energy construct that made me light as the proverbial feather and provided propulsion I still have yet to test at full throttle. Luckily, I had my own flight pack back on Earth Bet, so I wasn't a stranger to flying the friendly skies.
When I landed on the Valkyrior training grounds, Brunnhilda peeled away from a conversation with one of the other valkyries and nodded in my direction.
"Heimdall showed you the location?"
"Yeah, and he's been perving on me just in case you didn't know."
She'd probably be quite happy when I left. I don't think the Allspeak was quite getting my point across a lot of the time.
"Perving?"
"Watching me in my room… in private."
"Heimdall?"
"Yeah. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. It's probably on Odin's orders but seriously, he's a guy that can see and listen to anyone, anywhere in the Nine Realms."
"Heimdall's honor is above reproach," she stressed more than was needed.
"Uh-huh. Keep on thinking that when you're in your bath after a long day of doing valkyrie stuff. I'm a mortal, so I'm probably safe, but you actually have Asgardian assets that he might be interested in."
Hopefully he was listening. That should make him think twice about jerking me around about my spiders – probably not, but hopefully. Either way, the next time she was in the bath, I had no doubt she'd remember my words. Not that she had anything to be ashamed about. The leader of the Valkyrior was the perfect model of blonde goddess perfection. At least she had a decent personality to go along with the perfect body.
Long ago, relatively speaking, I'd learned to deal with not being the perfect physical specimen. Genetics were against me there, but at least I'd finally grown out of the gangly teenager I was three years ago when I went through a massive growth spurt while I was with the Undersiders. I hadn't been mistaken for a guy for quite some time. Granted, that could have been due to my reputation, but I'd like to think it was because I filled out a little.
Having the armor didn't hurt.
Most shapely women look fat in armor if they didn't have the height to pull it off properly. Me? I looked pretty damn nice. It almost made me rethink the whole spider silk costume, but that was what I knew. Using something a lot heavier would affect the way I fought, and I was too far along at the moment to do something like that. Maybe later, when I had time to train properly, I'd go with something different.
Of course, I wouldn't be a valkyrie by that point, so this train of thought was fairly pointless.
"When will your preparations be concluded?"
I shrugged as Brunnhilda motioned inside. "My costume is ready. I just need a little more time to finish the runes on a few more things."
"Not the spiders?" she asked warily.
"No, not the spiders; I have to give those to Heimdall so he can stab them to death with his gigantic sword on orders from Odin."
"They are dangerous creatures, Taylor."
I shook my head. "I get it. I just hate wasting resources if I don't need to, and this is my one chance to work with them."
We continued along the corridor until it opened up into the main hall which eventually led to the kitchens and Odin's giant hall.
"The position will remain open until you return from your mission, if you happen to change your mind."
"And stay a valkyrie?" I confirmed.
Brunnhilda returned a single nod. "We perform important work, similar to your current assignment. Having someone that is unlike others in the Valkyrior opens avenues to Midgard that we were unable to use before."
That was something new. "So, I'd most likely stay on Earth even after this is over with?"
"Stay?" she replied with a glance toward me. "Not necessarily. However, the majority of your assignments would return you there often enough."
Once we made it to the big hall I noticed the feast was already in full swing. The tell-tale sound of a mead mug crashing to the floor alerted me that Thor was back from wherever he disappeared to the other night.
"Another!" he yelled while he was groping a chesty redhead.
I almost expected another girl to pop up on his other leg, but I guess he was inquiring after more mead. With an annoyed sigh I stopped and gestured to Brunnhilda.
"I'm going to eat in my room."
She frowned and looked over to Thor's table. "You must not let them intimidate you."
"It's not intimidation. They don't scare me. It's the nausea I feel when I see all these women throw themselves at him like he's God's gift. It puts me off my meal."
She shrugged. "Thor will be the next king of Asgard. The position of queen is highly sought after, inevitably dulling the minds of women around him."
My nose involuntarily wrinkled at the thought. "And you wonder why I would rather be on Earth?"
With a resigned look on her face Brunnhilda turned to me. "I will procure us a meal and we will retire to your quarters, if you wouldn't mind the company."
This was a first. It had been almost two weeks since I had arrived and now my boss wants some private time, probably to talk me into staying after I was finished on Earth.
"Uh, sure."
When Brunnhilda disappeared into the kitchens, I leaned against the wall and took in the idiots at the tables. Loki looked bored and even took the time to glance my way with a genial smile. One of Thor's friends, the one with the small Van Dyke beard even went so far as to poke him followed by a gesture in my direction, and then laughed uproariously. I could imagine exactly what was being said while I scowled in the guy's direction.
The brunette, sitting across the table, turned and looked curiously at me and then her eyes widened as I had one of my spiders quickly drop from the ceiling on a strand of webbing, coming to a stop on my shoulder. She nudged Thor with a kick under the table, and I'd finally come to the attention of another prince of Asgard.
He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment and then turned his attention to Odin, who was sitting on his throne speaking to a short line of people. Somehow the big guy knew he was being started at and raised his attention to his son and then to me. I watched as his grip tightened on that spear of his, but eventually he turned away, ignoring me entirely.
That didn't seem to satisfy Thor. He set his mug down and waved off the women surrounding him, grabbed his hammer and stood just as Brunnhilda exited the kitchens. She held two platters of food, one of which was significantly smaller than the other.
My boss immediately noticed something was off about the situation. Probably comes from being the head valkyrie and the whole thing about knowing when someone was about to die power they possessed. When she saw the presence of my spider, she followed my line of sight to the beefcake at the table.
"It is not wise to threaten the Odinson."
I shrugged. "I was just here leaning, not doing a thing. Blame the pretty guy with the tiny beard. He started it all by poking Loki."
"Fandral, close personal friend to Thor; threaten him all you want."
Brunnhilda and Thor shared a long moment across the distance. Her side of the exchange was grim and somewhat annoyed, while Thor's was more on the uncomfortable side. It was probably the reason he sat back down followed by the low thump of his hammer back on the floor.
"You actually stared him down," I said with mild disbelief.
"Hm." Handing my platter to me she gestured away from the hall. "We were lovers once, long ago, before Odin took me into service and created the Valkyrior. It was unseemly for him to associate with me afterward."
Someone had to be high when they decided that. "Unseemly? You're like the catch of the century."
I received a nod for that. "I agree. However, it is widely known that Odin prefers his son to wed the leader of his armies, who sits across from him, the Lady Sif."
Once we were clear of the hall I commented, "Judging by the women that are pawing him right in front of her, I'd guess he doesn't exactly want a political marriage?"
She grunted, which I found she usually does when she really doesn't like something. "I bear the Lady Sif no ill will, but she's a fool if she considers Thor will take her as his queen. Yet, she thinks if she waits long enough he will eventually accept her."
"Friend-zoned. Been there; bought the shirt."
Brunnhilda shot me a look at that. "Oft times I merely misunderstand one word, and now you offer me two sentences of nonsense."
With a chuckle I started down the stairs that led to my quarters. "Friend-zoned means someone that… well, an unrequited love. Thor thinks of her only as a friend."
"Ah, a statement that bears much truth."
"Been there; bought the shirt, means that I've personally experienced something like what she's going through."
Once we reached my room, I pulled an extra chair from the bedroom and dropped off my guard-spider to continue weaving a roll of extra silk for the future. I might not have another chance to work with them once I leave, and this way I'd have something to mend my costume if need be.
"What are your plans to retrieve the object?" she asked once I sat down and broke off a piece of what passes for poultry around Asgard.
I shrugged. "Heimdall says they're keeping it in southern Nevada, so I'll stake the place out, send in some bugs to confirm, and then go from there."
She looked at me, confused. "That's it? What have you been doing all this time?"
"Without blueprints of the place I can't exactly make a plan yet. I can do that with my bugs. Trust me. This is what I do… well, it's what I can do. I used to just fight other capes, but in unfamiliar territory I had to get there and form a plan first."
Brunnhilda thought it over and nodded. "I suppose that is prudent."
"I've been learning Loki's runes also; preparing."
She swallowed and took a long drink at her mug. "You are actually learning?"
I nodded. "It's easy enough with the spiders. One measures the rune and the other mirrors it onto whatever I need. That's one of the reasons I like them. Their front four legs are strong enough to cut into metal easily. So, I'm pretty much stocked up on weapons, food…."
"Food?"
Leaning back, I smiled. "Yeah, mostly fruits and veggies. Those trays they have on the tables at the feast replenish themselves constantly from the kitchens. I just carved the runes onto the tray and stick it in the pocket dimension, poof, fresh food whenever I want it. I'll still need to stop by a sports store whenever I get there and load up on my usual equipment, but… what?"
Brunnhilda was sitting there staring at me. "I owe you my apologies, Taylor."
"Why?"
She dropped her meat and wiped off the tips of her fingers. "When I envisioned you wanting to learn runescript for "creative" reasons, I did not care to think you might want it for something other than a place to store spoils you might come across after your battles. You aren't the first person to think of using the Heavenly Realm in such a way. Perhaps I misjudged your intent. For that, you have my apologies."
"Oh… um, thanks. You're not the first though, so don't beat yourself up over it. Most of the capes I fought back home didn't think much of me when we first met, especially the overpowered ones."
"They came to regret their initial thoughts," she concluded.
I grinned. "Yeah, you could say that. When a lot of them saw my bugs they thought since they could regenerate, had near-invulnerable skin, or used fire or something to surround themselves that they were safe enough. Sure, they'd be annoyed, but they could crush me eventually and then the bugs
would go away; end of story."
A thoughtful look dropped over her face. "I must have missed these times."
"It was early in my cape career." Shifting uncomfortably, but decided to go ahead. "I did some things I'm not exactly proud of."
"You regret them?"
"That's the question, isn't it? I'd like to think I'd do things differently, and there are some… events that I actually would, but overall, what I did and the reputation I built allowed me to save the world. So… no. I don't regret what I did. I'd probably wind up doing them in a different way, because of my experience, but in the end if I didn't do the same things then trillions of people and a number of alternate Earths would be dead."
We moved on to lighter subjects and finished our meals soon enough, then I brought out my serving platter full of fresh fruits, plucked one off the top and offered her one. Brunnhilda grinned and shook her head before taking a yellow apple.
"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.
"About five days I think. They don't exactly miss anything, so nobody complains."
"They wouldn't. A number of us pilfer the kitchens between meals due to irregular hours. What I mean to ask is how long you have been partaking of these."
She held her apple up and showed it to me before taking a sizable bite.
"These are my favorite. Very juicy and it tames my sweet tooth. Why?"
"Hm? Oh, no reason. I'm happy that you will have a personal supply of them. Try to have one every day. They're very… nutritious."
Right. Thanks mom.
~O~
I wound up with four feet of silk before the morning hit. My spiders were exhausted. I had them etch the needed runescript onto the edge before sliding into the pocket dimension along with all the rest of my crap that I'd accumulated over the last week. Hopefully they didn't have a precise inventory of the palace, because I had a lot of stuff tucked away that might prove useful in the future.
With my costume on as a base, I called my valkyrie armor and took a last look around the room. Grabbing Loki's notebook I headed out to the small terrace and activated the wings before taking off down the rainbow bridge toward the Bifrost.
Heimdall was waiting for me with a stern look on his face while I guided my spiders down my armor and onto the floor.
After neatly killing them he looked to me. "Do you have any more of these creatures?"
"Those were the only two on the grounds, Heimdall. I made sure of that before I left."
His creepy yellow eyes bored into me before he was satisfied. "Are you ready to begin your journey, young valkyrie?"
"Sure," I said, gesturing toward the Bifrost. "Let's crank this thing up."
"You need only call out to me for your return, ideally without mortals looking on, ideally in the same place in which you arrive…."
"Ideally, in one piece," I mumbled.
"That goes without saying."
Sliding his giant sword into the control mechanism I watched as the room started spinning around me and eventually a blue beam of light lanced out into space.
"Yeah, that doesn't look safe at all."
"I find that the journey is easier if you hold your breath," he said as a final goodbye.
"That makes sense, I guess." Girding my loins, so to speak, I approached the light and then said, "Fuck it. I've been dead before."
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