Chapter 213 - Chapter 51: Winding Down, Gearing Up

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After two days of revelry, Harry had made the executive decision to return the majority of his folk to Earth. Luckily, the return trip from Asgard proved far easier than the one they'd faced traveling to Yggdrasil had been. With the Asgardian warriors and their non-Earth human forces having moved back to Asgard the city, Freya simply opened the Rainbow Bridge and let them through, countermanding Odin's previous orders on that score. "While that decision made some sense at the time, looking back on it, it was undoubtedly a ruling influenced by the touch of the Shadows on my husband's mind. While I do believe that having a permanent, continually running connection between our realms and that of Midgard would not be a good idea, perhaps now that the fanaticism of Christianity has appeared to have run its course, a connection with Midgard would be acceptable. So long as we control it from our end, and that your fellow humans understand we are not willing to deal with salespeople at our door, so to speak."

With a word and a touch of Freya's hands upon one of its banisters, the Rainbow Bridge shifted structure. The magic-made solid bridge rippled like water, coming apart along the center. One of the segments broke away from Utland, twisting around and pointing to seemingly nothing. The other half of the Rainbow Bridge grew in width until there were two full sized Bifrosts where there had once been only the one. At that point, Amara and Hela were called forward to share their memories of the other side, allowing Freya to situate the end of the newly reformed bridge to the same geographical point that the expeditionary force had originally used to cross the dimensional divide to Yggdrasil.

Once that connection had been made, Harry led the X-men through first while leaving Steve and Jean in charge as the others followed. As the leader of the Custodes Mundi, Harry had an extremely difficult duty to see to first and foremost.

Quickly using a runic doorway to port through to Charles' mansion, Harry and the rest of the X-Men smoothly moved out of the storage room where the doorway had been placed, walking up into the main foyer of the mansion, where they were greeted by Jubilee. The teen perked up from where she had been laying out on her back watching TV. "Oh, it's you all. You're back. Great, maybe you can stop Warpath from forcing six-hour exercise regimens on us."

"Don't count on it," Scott answered firmly, almost towering over the girl with a frown.

The faint twitching of his lips gave away his real feelings, while Harry, quite irrationally, felt a burst of real anger at the naïve girl. I know I shouldn't be angry at her, but damn it, given what I'm here for, that attitude just pisses me off.

"I do hope that doesn't mean you've been slacking off on your schoolwork, Ms. Lee?" Charles questioned, touching Harry's arm as he rolled forward, having seen and felt the rictus of anger on the younger man's face. The light warning note in his voice caused Jubilee to scowl and roll her eyes before hopping to her feet and exiting the foyer.

"Teenagers," Scott muttered.

This rather ironic statement was somehow just the right thing to cut off Harry's spurt of anger at the knees. He snorted, looking at Scott with a jaundiced eye. Catching this, the leader of the X-Men had the good graces to look a little embarrassed, knowing he'd had his own teenage issues, although he maintained that the drama within the new class of students was at least three times as high as his own class's had been.

After a second though, Scott sobered and gestured upwards. "Laynia usually hangs out in the solar, the greenhouse, her room, or down at the local library."

"She's actually in the greenhouse currently," Charles added, a brief hand raising to his temple before he located the young woman in question. "Do you—"

Harry shook his head, cutting off the professor from finishing. "Thank you for the offer, Charles, but no. I have to do this. If you could send Piotr and Amara up when they arrive, I would appreciate it, though."

After having been rescued along with her brother from the Winter Guard Program, Laynia had not wished to make a life based upon using her mutant powers, although she had agreed to occasionally help out the X-Men or the Custodes if asked. Instead, she'd gone on to test into one of the local colleges in New York and had spent most of her time studying for her various classes. That was why she stayed in Charles' mansion instead of Camelot.

True to Charles' words, Harry found the young Russian woman in the greenhouse, the same one that Xavier had originally created for Ororo years ago. Indeed, seeing Laynia sitting where Ororo had once sat many a morning as they'd flirted gave Harry a brief moment of pleasant déjà vu, despite there being little similarities between the two women.

When Laynia looked up, that brief moment ended. She looked at him, and before he even could open his mouth, her face closed down. She set the textbook she 'd been reading to one side , and the pen in her hand went up in flames as her Dark Force powers activated for a moment. "N-Nikolai?"

Somewhat thrown by her quick understanding of what was going on, Harry paused for a second, then continued to walk forward, saying nothing. As he did so, the hope that had been flickering in the former ballerina otherwise stoic gaze faded. In its place, tears began to fill her dark eyes, soon trickling down her reddening cheeks. By the time they did, Harry was across the room, pulling the now-weeping young woman into a hug and gently stroking her hair as he murmured, "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry…"

Laynia simply sobbed into Harry's chest for several quiet moments, her mutant powers activating then fading, activating then fading under her emotional distress When she did manage to speak, her words came out in thick, tear-slurred Russian, which made Harry very thankful for his translation spell. "I… I knew, you know? I knew the moment he agreed to become part of the Custodes that N-Nikolai would eventually get—get himself killed in the l-line of duty. But in a way, that's all my brother ever wanted. To fight for a cause he believed in N-not for some military goal, not for Mother Russia, but a cause bigger than nationalism. I could never understand that. I, I could never understand why Nikolai felt like he owed the world on some level. And it f, finally killed him."

"Some men, some women too, are happiest when they're fighting for a cause, when defending others," Harry answered softly, knowing that kind of calling himself. "I'm sorry that following my leadership led to his death, Laynia. But I am not sorry that he joined the Custodes. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have been the Nikolai that you knew and loved, would he? It's cold comfort, but it is all I can really say."

Laynia let out a long, rattling sob at that, but even still Harry could feel her nodding against his chest. He continued to hold Laynia for a time, letting her cry all of the tears she could in huge wracking sobs as she faced a world without her brother in it.

Eventually, she began asking questions through her tears, and Harry explained how Nikolai had died and the mission they had been on at the time. He ended up spending the rest of that morning with her there. At that point, Piotr and Amara had also come through via the Rainbow Bridge and the various runic doorways. The two of them quickly took over, along with Scott, who had stopped in to give his condolences as well. The X-men leader mainly left it to Piotr and Amara though. Piotr had been Nikolai's closest friend and Amara had been quite close to both siblings.

Under normal circumstances, Rogue would have also been there. She had become Laynia's best friend after Laynia had moved into the mansion. But the Southern belle was staying in Utland for the time being. Draining Jörmungandr to such a degree had, like draining the Juggernaut, changed Rogue physically. Where at that time, the changes were mostly unseen, this time, Rogue had grown 3 feet taller, 2 feet broader, and her skin had been replaced by scales, to say nothing of the newly grown claws and fangs. To say that was something of a shock to the system after the adrenaline drained away was an understatement.

This was made worse by how bad a reaction Scott and a few of the others had to her new appearance. They'd tried to make up for it since, but given Rogue's previous self-esteem issues, it was no wonder she had wanted to stay in Asgard. Indeed, even there she had basically sequestered herself away while waiting for Charles to provide her an image-inducer like the one Kurt used in public.

Thinking on it, Harry hoped Rogue would get over this without his intervention and if she needed help beyond the image inducer, she already had a support system in place. Beside, I don't think I can really do anything about it. That is, if it really is a permanent change like what happened when she drained the Juggernaut anyway. If it turns out it isn't, a simple vitality-draining array might be able help. Although, I'm getting antsy just thinking how long it would take to fully reverse all the changes.

Before returning to Australia, Harry checked in with Sage to ensure that no business or political issues had cropped up while he'd been away that she needed him to handle. Getting a generally negative response, he then he checked in with General Murphy and the returning ODMs. Once their three commanders and Sam, still in his Falcon gear, were gathered, Harry began. "It will be interesting to see what you all report in your AARs, but from my perspective gentlemen, the Orbital Drop Marine project has proved its worth."

He waited for a second, but when Sam and the other officers who had been on the expeditionary force nod, he went on. "With that said, I want the project's size to be increased tremendously. Sam, I'm not going to jog your elbow on what kind of training you do, but I want the training center's size enlarged within the week. You have three companies of veterans now, induct some fresh blood and parse them out amongst them., Then, when the center is ready, I want you all to start training four times your number and then keep going."

Sam winced at that order, knowing as soon as he heard it that he'd have to take a higher rank to make it work. Not to mention he'd need to put together a logistics staff.

When he tried to protest that he didn't have the training for such a large roll, Harry simply shrugged in response. "Neither did I. Do you think I've done some kind of official training for leading this whole Avalon Empire thing? Or that I took classes for anything on the commercial side of things?"

Sam winced, acknowledging the point, while the three company commanders all looked at one another before one shrugged their shoulders. That had nothing to do with them. Still, after a quick consultation, one of them asked about what kind of trainees Harry wanted to see.

"We've already opened our doors to veteran sailors and base personnel. We'll start to do the same for ground pounders, both Army and Marine. And I don't want to hear about any sort of rivalry or whatever popping up due to who was in what previous service, gentlemen. They join up with the ODMs, every man and woman become Oh Damns first and foremost."

"That does needs to be emphasized," the American company commander, Sean McClintock, said firmly. "Especially if we're going to continue to ask for troops to be seconded to us from various nationalities. Anyone, and everyone, who joins up needs to acknowledge they're leaving past loyalties behind while in service and take that oath with those trust-me arrays of yours."

"We've been talking," one of the others, the Australian commander Jeff Blaze, said, raising his hand for the floor. "The sheer maneuverability and firepower that even a single company of ODMs bring to a fight is incredible. We weren't fighting a par enemy over in Never-Neverland, but it still gave us a glimpse at what we would see on a more modern battleground. And that's to say nothing of the durability of our powered armor. Even the standard armor is like something out of science fiction, and that kind of durability and firepower will go to people's heads if we let it. We must keep up a sense of duty, camaraderie and purpose that define the Oh Damns' mission even as we enlarge to meet your goal, Lord Potter, or else we're going to end up with a bunch of yaks who think they're immortal until they aren't."

Harry nodded, no longer batting an eye at the 'Lord' part being added to his name. It had become something that all of the Oh Damns, and even a large majority of the Custodes and X-Men, had begun to use in formal settings like this and he had by necessity—and a bit of badgering from Emma—come to begrudgingly accept it. "I agree, but I also think that you all and Steve are up to the task.

"We'll also need to start advertising for fresh inductees. I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to sign up to defend the Earth on the ground and just have no prior training," Sam mused, tacitly agreeing with both Blaze's words and Harry's a faint smile on his face. "And there's the draftees to consider too."

"We've already begun to do that for Admiral Whitaker and the fleet," General Murphy pointed out. "There are only so many veterans, sailors and officers both, that can be lured back into the service, after all, especially considering that we're dealing with a void navy fleet rather than a wet navy here. There are entirely new sets of skills needed for the former as well, not to mention the inherent dangers far outclasses the latter's on a day-to-day basis. Ironically we've still had more luck crewing the Raven crews than filling spots on the capital ship crews, although we're still well below the numbers we need to see there too. Of course, that includes not having enough Ravens to put the would-be recruits in either. But the bottom line stands; we need a lot more personnel and some means of speeding up their training without cutting down on quality. The draft is going to help sure, but not quickly, and the majority of who we get from it will be green as grass."

The Avalon Empire had a military draft as part of its Bill of Responsibility, Those eighteen to twenty-five years old were compelled to spend a tour in the EDF after going through the mandatory basic training. The process of drafting these recruits had already begun, pulling young men and women from whatever other job they were doing or roll they were fulfilling and shipping them to training centers.

The process wasn't without bumps of course, and it had truly begun well before Harry had even spoken to the UN. In the main, the people of Harry's domain were by and large more than willing to do their part, regardless of their original reasons for immigrating to the Empire. Even some of the Savage Land tribes had agreed to take part, although obviously their training had, by necessity, been designed to be much more in-depth and wide-ranging since few had any knowledge regarding technology, let alone space-combat. The protocols for such trainees were similar in scope to those hailing from third world countries who had also volunteered. Still, that process too had begun almost as soon as Harry had taken over the Savage Land and Pinoptes and Ororo started to build up the educational network there.

But the problem was that any training, at any level, took time. The draftees— at least those from societies with higher technological standards—would be in the military for between eight to thirteen months of training and then service equating to a total of four years, regardless of military branch. That was a considerable chunk of time admittedly. Even the pre-trained naval personnel seconded into the EDF needed at least two months on average to get used to operating in a space-based navy.

"…I hadn't wanted to do this, but you're right, we need to speed up the training," Harry admitted, scowling. "Kitty and I will create a few more time dilation chambers and figure out where to put them in the various bases and training centers. We'll have to add a disclaimer to the contracts the inductees sign, as well as add to the available medical personnel heavily. We've seen that non-magical folk suffer from extreme headaches and disorientation when faced with temporal manipulations for more than a few days at a time. We might even need to break the training up with rest days."

He paused then as he thought about what would be needed, resolving to get Kitty, Ororo and Dr. Druid on this job with him as soon possible before coming back to the here and now, with a shaking of his head. "Sam, you'll need to do the same with Steve and Murphy on the Oh Damns side of things. In the end, the goal is to have enough ODMs on standby to drop a full battalion on at least one out of every twenty cities across globe. That manpower will be needed in case any extrasolar threat gets by our fleets."

At that point, Harry opened the discussion up to any points any of the others had, with Murphy and Sam taking notes. Eventually though, the discussion began to wind down, and Harry turned the conversation to something far more poignant. "When we're done here, ask the various chaplains here on Fortress Mars when they want to hold the funerals for our men. I understand that we all joined the wake the Asgardians threw to celebrate not only their fallen but our own, but we have to be aware that some individuals don't see that kind of thing as the proper way to mourn. If any of you wish to show up for the funeral for Nikolai, send a message to Camelot. Father Garnoff will be taking care of the details. Regardless of how any of them go about their duties to our dead, I'll be present for every funeral."

All three company commanders nodded somberly and the room fell silent in a shared moment of understanding. None of the men present, Sam included, were new to the weight of leadership, and all of them had been forced to bury men before this, to carry the consequences of their positions.

"Ahem. Do you think we have the logistics in place to support enlarging the training regime like this?" General Murphy finally asked, breaking the silence and playing devil's advocate to Harry's plan. What the commander really meant though, was that they didn't. Not in terms of people anyway. When called on this point, he admitted it, and Harry sighed.

"So we'll need to use time dilation chambers in even greater numbers than I feared. Well, we'll still have to do it, because the alternative is to keep generating too much raw material without the people to use it. Get with Forge and Sage, Murphy, start figuring out where to place the various training centers. If you know of any logistical bottlenecks off hand, bring them up to Sage or me sooner rather than later. We'll make any deals needed to overcome them with Earth's available resources. I want us to expand our training centers to match our needs within the month."

Murphy nodded in stoic agreement and breathed an internal sigh of relief at the one month deadline. That was at least possible, on his side of things. Whether or not Potter could come through with his end of things, well, Murphy had learned long before this not to bet against his Lord's abilities.

After another hour of discussion, Harry eventually took his leave, heading back to Australia. Approaching the designated area, the Rainbow Bridge appeared without his needing to do anything. Coming through, he nodded to several of the Asgardians nearby, including All-Seeing Heimdall. Between Charles and Emma the two powerful telepaths had managed to clear the man's mind and body of the taint the Shadows had imposed on him above and beyond the normal level of control the Shadows placed on the Asgardians. Although, much like with Hela, it had been an insanely painful process. Still, Heimdall appeared to be hearty enough as he stood guard over the Asgardian side of the split Rainbow Bridge.

Opposite his arrival point, Harry saw a long continuous line of people leaving Asgard the City toward Utland. With the muster of the Einherjar now over, most of the jarls and their folk were leaving, be they the warriors who had fought or the civilians who had fled to safety. Just standing there, Harry could sense the golden city was far emptier now than it had been even when he'd passed through the Rainbow Bridge just that morning, the background noise far less.

That didn't really surprise Harry. While the number of people still leaving was impressive, that movement had kicked off the instant Freya had returned to the city and declared the war won.

What was surprising was seeing Tony Stark still present, lazing about in a chair by a forge set along the main road, arguing about something with an assembly of dvergar. All of those present were drinking from large mugs of ale but seemed sober enough as Harry moved over to them from the main road, clapping the human inventor on the back. "Tony? I would've thought you'd be one of the first heading back to Earth."

"Now what could possibly give you that idea when there's still so much learning about metallurgy to be had here with these fine fellows?" Tony threw back, not even slurring his words a single bit. Apparently a playboy lifestyle had given him a liver fit for a dvergar. "They've even told me about something that could be of interest to you, Harry, and not just me. They call it the 'Odin Forge' or some such. From what I can understand, the metals refined at that forge are of supernatural quality, without any of your magic muckety muck being involved. It's simply the heat and smelting rate unique to the forge. It's what they use as the staple of their best armor sets, like Odin's, or Freya's, or Baldur's lamellar. Some of their weapons are even made that way, with the actual magic added in after the weapon's been crafted. If we could expand the process, we might be able to build our own starships far, far sooner than we would be otherwise."

There was no way to create Orichalcum in large quantities, even with Polaris aiding the mining process making gathering the raw materials easy. It was the magical side of things that lagged badly, as only Harry could use the Blackfyre spell that was needed to give the metal both it's final tempering and magical properties. And, alas, more magic in the form of a temporal displacement array messed with the process. Harry's one experiment in that area exploded on him, literally. That was why not even all the Custodes had that kind of armor, either the heavy variant or the light.

Similarly, processing the raw materials Polaris and the mining ships gathered into other, more useful forms, specifically electronics and battle-rated armor, remained a bottleneck that hadn't proven solvable by throwing money at the problem. So hearing about a metallurgical process that was at the level of Orichalcum but could be perhaps made in large quantities was interesting on many levels made even more so by the fact Harry had seen Gungnir in action. He knew the quality of Asgardian metalwork was toeing the line of being supernaturally high-grade even without the additional enchantments they worked into their best gear. "That does sound interesting," Harry said mildly, not wishing to show the dwarves how important this could be. Not before he could make a deal with Odin.

Yet even as he spoke, Harry was examining Tony speculatively. Seeing that the normally gregarious man was now unable to meet Harry's gaze, he asked the dvergar to let the two of them speak for a bit in relative privacy. The dvergar all nodded agreeably, turning to their own conversations, ones that Harry could barely follow despite the translation charm still active. There was something about gravity? That was all Harry could make out before he turned his full attention to Tony. "That's not your only reason for staying though, is it?"

Tony grimaced, but refused to answer immediately. Harry waited patiently, sticking his hands into his pockets as he leaned back and got comfortable. He knew Tony would break long before he would even have to consider speaking again. He'd begun to cultivate a kind of silence that could sort of just… sucked the words out of the people being subjected to it, a concept he had gotten from a certain series of books written by a fellow Brit.

"Dammit, I'm not good at all this introspective shit!" Tony grumbled, breaking under the quiet just as Harry had expected. The man sighed before admitting, "I… you know Pepper and I… we're… together. But I… I have major issues with real commitment, okay?! And… Well, during my forced convalescence and house arrest, I'd allowed my eccentricities and old habits out to play. I thought it'd push her away, seeing every shitty thing I could do all at once. But wouldn't you know it, through it all, she stuck with me So I… I just kept doing it. But now? After hearing a real-life Goddess of Love tell me that Pepper and I are bound together? It was… it was an eye-opener. So I'm kind of just… staying away from her… from us… for awhile until I can figure out a way to apologize for, you know, being me… if that makes any sense?"

"If you weren't you Stark, I doubt she would've fallen in love with you in the first place," Harry answered dryly before clasping the older man on the shoulder. "We all make mistakes. Trust me, I've made enough for a lifetime, both in my personal life as well as the leader of this whole boondoggle. I think, instead of concentrating on apologizing for anything specific you might have done, like putting your work or your hobbies ahead of her, you should simply…. Hmm…"

Harry trailed off, the beginnings of an idea percolating in his mind, before snapping his fingers. "You could bring her here! Set up something romantic, just the two of you, and thank her for just being her. Don't even bring up her putting up with you. Not then. That would set the wrong tone, I think. Instead just make it a 'get away from it all' kind of trip. I think someone like Pepper will understand how much that means to you, and will greatly enjoy it for her own reasons as well."

Tony nodded along, although internally he was somewhat miffed that he'd ended up accepting romantic advice from someone younger than him. Harry was at least four, maybe five years his junior after all. Still, that didn't make his advice any less useful. The guy had four permanent paramours for crying out loud and they all somehow co-existed in some sort of bizarre harmony. So he sucked up his pride and just nodded firmly. "Thanks, Harry."

"No, thank you, Tony. If not for your help, the ODMs would never have been able to fight as they did in this campaign. You kept them supplied with not only ammunition but also spare parts, something I hadn't seen the need for before General Murphy pointed it out to me. Between the two of us, I think you can consider your house arrest over with. I'll ask Wanda to drop by and install a runic doorway in your home, and you can start working on various projects with Reed and Forge if you want. I don't want to hear about you trying to take over, but you have a lot to contribute Tony, and I'd like to see what you can do."

Tony nearly sagged in relief, his face openly showing how he felt at finally having the chance to do something real againfor long periods of time . There was only so much house arrest he could take, with its limited access to, well… everything (even though Harry had already helped him break said arrest for short amounts of time in the past). Not to mention any self-contained home projects he'd found to do just felt lacking for some reason. But now, being able to work with the Avalon Empire's resources and all that entailed? Well, Tony was going to have trouble not acting like a kid given the keys to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory on Christmas morning. He couldn't wait to tell Pepper—

The thought of Pepper brought Tony back down to Earth, and he nodded at the young man that was, he was just now realizing, about to become his boss. "Give me some time to finish trawling the locals for intel, and figure out a way to set up a romantic getaway or something for Pepper, before you go back again okay? I'll have something ready by the time you can convince her to come through."

Harry nodded, then jokingly prodded, "And should I tell her what to expect?"

"No, but you should probably tell her what she should wear for the trip," Tony answered, and the two men laughed before parting ways.

Leaving Tony to make his apologies—and last minute information grabs—with the dvergar, Harry moved on through the now somewhat empty streets, mentally counting off who else would probably still be in Asgard. The sight of Danielle talking quietly to Skadi in an open plaza was not a surprise, nor was the fact that there were several dozen Valkyrie hovering nearby, chattering excitedly to one another as they watched the two converse, their eyes mostly locked on Dani. Like their patron goddess and queen, the Valkyries were apparently delighted at the idea that Danielle might be joining their number, even though the young Native American woman hadn't completely decided if she would just yet. They were almost possessive of the girl already, as was Skadi, and this had spurred a low-key territorial struggle between the Huntress and the various Valkyrie.

Despite being the subject of this conflict, Danielle didn't seem to have any issues with it and spent equal time with both Skadi and the various Valkyries she was closer to. Although, to Harry's eyes, it appeared more and more that the young Native American woman's interest in Skadi didn't exactly stem from a desire to worship the hunting goddess. Well, perhaps not in a religious sense now that she's met Skadi in person. Jean and Emma had clued him in on the fact that both had picked up Danielle was somewhat enamored with the Huntress, and seeing them now, Harry could see it too.

Jean had also returned to Earth with the rest by now, looking forward to having a few days of real, recuperative rest. Ororo, in contrast, had mentioned to Harry this morning that she, Þór, and Njord were still working, though nearly finished with, their task of reconstructing the natural weather patterns of Utland. Not, and it had been noted here quite emphatically to him at the time, repairing said patterns. Apparently, there hadn't been enough left of the massive land mass's weather to repair after the war was all said and done. Those able had been forced to rebuild it from scratch, taking clean air and non-saline water from Svartalfheim and Yggdrasil for building blocks, thanks to the remnants of Jörmungandr's miasma.

After that, Ororo also wished to procure the frozen body of Sigyn from its resting place in Camelot and bring it to Asgard. Harry and Ororo wanted Freya's take on Sigyn, the protective coffin around her, and how Loki and his wife had shielded her from the Shadows' influence. The plan after that was for Ororo to check in on Laynia to see how she was handling things before officially becoming Harry's chief spokesman back on Earth. She would only return to Asgard when Odin was well enough to meet with them all.

Of the other combatants who'd fought and bled during the war, only Emma, Rogue and Hela remained full time in Asgard the city. Hela was out and away from the capital city with her lupine brother, the two dead set on searching for their remaining wayward sibling, the eight-legged stallion, Sleipnir.

Of whom there was as of yet no sign. The unwillingly domesticated eldest son of Loki—who was actually Sleipnir's biological mother through machinations the Trickster God and Odin had concocted to carry out the paying of the dvergar craftsman who had built the walls of Asgard—had seemingly disappeared completely when Odin had fallen to the Odin Sleep and had not been seen since. Both siblings feared that their elder brother might have died during the original Ragnarök, like Þór and Sif's children, and not revived like them and a few others. How the Shadows had decided who would die for good and who wouldn't, no one understood, but the two of them were canvassing Utland from one end to the other in their search for him.

Meanwhile, Rogue had chosen to remain. In the same vein as Jean but on the opposite choice of locale, Emma had decided to stay to take a well-deserved vacation from her business operations back on Earth.

The blonde was, therefore, the only one to greet Harry as he came to the main building they had been given once they'd officially arriving in Asgard the city as recognized guests. She nodded her head towards him, then over at a nearby table where food sat, still steaming and looking delicious. "The others have already eaten, bar Tony, though given his new friends I wager he's made up for that with the amount he'll drink."

"Has there been any word on Odin?" Harry asked after exchanging a kiss with his blonde wife. She moved with him, sitting across the table as he began to eat.

"None. And as much as I'm enjoying the break, I still say we should all be transferring back to Earth instead of sitting here twiddling our thumbs. Staying here just waiting for Odin to meet with us gives us the appearance of supplicants. That's not the impression we need to be creating here Harry," Emma answered, immediately launching into her argument for their next move. Again.

"And if we leave now and return to Earth, Odin will without a doubt wait until the memory of his people needing our help has faded from their collective memory before contacting us," Harry replied, once again countering Emma's point. He knew the Asgardian king wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was necessary to lessen the appearance of any debts he owed. It was just in his nature as a king. "We need to strike while the iron is hot. We can't let Odin put any distance between our saving him and his people and our demanding payment for services rendered. That's why I was willing to help rebuild all of the rural towns over the past few days. Not only does it keep us present here, in more ways than one, but it only deepens the debt Odin will find himself in when he wakes up."

He then smiled with a small bit avariciousness entering his expression. "Tony has also pointed out to me that the Asgardians have a lot to teach us regarding metallurgy, at the very least. And he didn't mean just about infantry-type weapons either, but on the scale of starships. Imagine armor that could stand up to, say, a blast from the Phoenix Force. Anything like that would sneer at any lesser weapon. And… there's also my own projects I still want Odin's help with."

One project, really: the project to turn himself into a Titan, with a capital T. Harry knew he was close to a solution through his own designs, but he couldn't quite figure out how to get the runic array he'd been developing to work right. I've got the power source, my runic knowledge, Stephen's and Clea's, and the information Death and the Phoenix passed on to me. But I just… can't… Make. It. Work.

"Alright, I supposed those are logical points, but in that case, we need to do something about our domicile here," Emma scowled, waving a hand around to encompass the whole of the room they were currently in and beyond. At the same time, her foot was rubbing up and down Harry's leg, causing a odd contrast, pulling his attention in two direction in a way that Harry knew Emma enjoyed. "This place is a guesthouse. It's the kind of place you offer those who you're taking care of because they don't have their own resources, who need your help. Again, it's about projecting the concept that we are equals here."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, then asked Emma politely if he could finish eating before they worked on it. She looked at him quizzically, wondering what he meant by that, but agreed. When one hand fell below the table and began to give Emma a foot massage, she gasped a bit, but seeing Harry continue eating with one hand and still show good manners, she continued her little game, shifting the attention of the conversation shifted to Hela and her wild brother. "Are you really considering letting Fenrir return to Earth with Hela?"

"Even with the influence of the Shadows removed from their minds, the memories of the Asgardians are so screwed up that there is very little even Charles can do to return them to normalcy, whatever that might be," Harry answered, taking a sip from a flask.

Meanwhile his other hand continued to giver Emma's foot some attention, something that won a little whine from her even as she waved her hand indicating he should go on. Emma had helped Xavier for days on that project and understood better than Harry did that the Shadows didn't just suppress the Asgardians' memories, they erased them. That was irreversible because there was nothing 'original' to work with.

"Fenrir knows he was manipulated, but he also knows that the Asgardians treated him horribly. Even knowing that they too were also manipulated doesn't change that fact, and he has no desire to stay here if he can help it, and I agree. Besides, as you just pointed out, we're not here as supplicants. Thanks to those lessons you and Ororo crammed into my head, I also know that there has been a long history of foreign embassies on Earth giving local nationals asylum," Harry teased between bites, releasing her foot from his other hand, much to Emma's well-hidden chagrin.

"Hmm… You have a point. I hadn't considered it from the wolf's angle," Emma agreed. "And since Camelot already houses Garm, I suppose another super large, super dangerous monster won't have much of an impact."

Harry snorted at that, although comparing Garm to Fenrir was a bit misleading. Garm was dangerous, certainly. By sheer size alone he could take on most dangers without issue. But he was also intelligent, battle tested, and devoted to Hela. Fenrir, on the other hand, in terms of physical combat, was more dangerous than even Jörmungandr. The World Serpent, despite his size aiding him defensively, had paradoxically been somewhat crippled offensively by that selfsame bulk. In contrast, Hela's younger brother had very few weaknesses, and many strengths. The fact that Fenrir's saliva could completely erase magical constructs made him incredibly dangerous on its own, so Harry was very happy to see he wanted to join them instead of remaining here on Asgard.

Once he was finished eating and the two of them had spent some time on a nearby couch, Harry and Emma stepped out of the house together and onto the street outside. Once in the fresh air, Harry asked his blonde love for her opinion on what she thought an appropriate building to house them would look like. "Think of us as a foreign embassy, as you said."

Grinning, Emma began to describe what she envisioned any such building would look like, ticking rpoints off he fingers as she went. As she spoke, Emma followed Harry as he walked around the building they'd been given, measuring the distance between it, the home of an Asgardian who he'd been told had fallen in battle, and their nearest neighbors. Deciding there was room enough for what he had planned, Harry reached out and touched the outer wall. Closing his eyes, Harry filled his mind with the image Emma wanted the building to look like and slowly superimposed that image over the reality. Transfiguration on this level didn't really have a specific verbal spell to guide the magic but it was still well within Harry's imagination and magical power. Easily.

As his magical power flowed through him and began to wash over the building, Harry grimaced, feeling a sudden pain in his arms, chest and back. The damage that the Shadows had done to his Astral Form in the final battle still occasionally bled into the real world in the form of new scars that would appear on his body, glowing blue with eldritch light. When it had first happened his ladies had been concerned, but after many self-checks and even a diagnosis by Freya herself, the verdict had ended up being that only time could heal such wounds. Therefore, Harry pushed on, focusing on the image he'd created in his mind.

As Emma watched, the entire house they'd been given began to shimmer, rippling as if it were a mere mirage. Then its whole structure changed, shifting from a tenth century Norwegian-style home that mixed the styles of that of a chieftain and a temple to something that looked almost European in nature, perhaps Middle Ages in outline and size. The structure now appeared much more imposing and official-looking than its previous design, and Emma nodded in satisfaction. While nearby, the Valkyries, Skadi and Danielle who were still in the area watched in varying degrees of astonishment and wonder. "That will do nicely, Harry, thank you."

Bowing grandly towards her as the pain in his chest and arms faded again, Harry pulled his hand away from the wall and gestured for her to follow him back inside. Once they'd entered, Harry continued to use his magic to further create the correct ambiance, complete with altering the internal layout to account for a a viewing hall, private suites fit for nobles, a dining room, and a large, roofed area in the first floor courtyard large enough for Fenrir and Garm to be comfortable within. Thankfully, the two wolves had buried the hatchet after the Shadows had been dealt with, so they could peacefully coexist in the same quarters if needed.

Danielle and Skadi entered the building soon after the work on the interior had begun. When asked her opinion on things, Skadi agreed that this was the way to go about pressuring Odin. "Whatever he is as an individual, as a king, Odin is officious, arrogant, demanding, and authoritative. Letting him dictate terms even before the meeting takes place is not a good idea. Nor is Lady Freya without subterfuge or guile."

Later that evening, Ororo arrived with Pepper in tow. After a brief stop at the newly remade embassy, Ororo had gone back to Earth, as she'd planned, and returned with the body of Sigyn locked in its eternal sleep. A quick call had ascertained that Pepper was free, and worried enough about Tony still not having returned to agree to journey to Asgard.

After meeting the two at the Rainbow Bridge, Harry spent a few moments with the redhead, guiding her toward where Tony had apparently gathered enough materials for a picnic of all things. The sight of the Rainbow Bridge had nearly overawed Pepper. Even so, Ororo and Harry were able to get Pepper moving again, even if she continually looked over her shoulder at the split bridge… and at the woman in the diamond coffin who trailed behind the African woman.

Tony met them outside the new embassy building, a pair of horses in tow. There, Harry and Ororo stood with their arms around one another's waists as Tony presented Pepper with a bouquet of roses. The bouquet was made from Midgardian, Asgardian, and mechanical flowers, the last of which had been beaten into shape from various metals. Pepper laughed at Tony's showmanship, and at the sight of the two horses. Her breathless exclamation of, "But I thought you hated riding?" seemed to indicate that Tony had taken the right angle with that idea.

Harry nodded in approval when Tony continued with his plan and answered with, "You're right, I don't like riding these animals. I think they're grossly inefficient compared to modern transportation technology. But I also know that you love horseback riding. And tonight… tonight is all about you."

For her part, Pepper's blush was nearly incandescent at such words, only outshined by her smile.

Leaning in, Harry whispered into Ororo's ear, causing her to shiver. "He's handled this quite well so far. It's looking like Tony's truly, ready to leave behind his former 'playboy, egotist, mad inventor' persona entirely. What do you think?"

"While I would say the mad inventor portion of his character will stay, I do agree that it seems as if Freya's words have acted like the proverbial final straw that broke the camel's back. Having a Goddess of Love that his feelings for Pepper were really love, and that they were reciprocated, was likely what he needed to… well… get over his own fears and hubris, I suppose you could say," Ororo murmured back as she leaned into her lover, shaking her head. The two watched the older man and woman fumble like teenagers for a few minutes more before Ororo turned and kissed Harry on the cheek. "But come, we need to see Lady Freya ourselves."

Gathering Emma and Dani, the earthers headed off to Valhalla, where the Vanir Queen of Asgard greeted them in the doorway, smiling somewhat whimsically as she nodded toward Harry. No longer was Freya garbed for war. Instead, she wore a flowing, diaphanous dress, which hinted at the body beneath but showed little, embroidered with crisscrossing living flowers of various kinds and there were flowers in her hair as well. Combined, the effect denoted her realm of power as goddess of love rather than a goddess of war. When she spoke, Freya's voice was both regal, teasing and gentle.

"My folk have spoken to us of your renovations to your dwelling place, Jarl Potter. As a woman, I have to admit I approve of both the changes and…" she glanced at Emma with a knowing smile, "…the reasons behind it. As a Queen, however, do not expect me to acknowledge such reasons or anything else on the diplomatic front without my lord husband's say-so."

"Understood. Appearances need to be maintained, but we have something more important to discuss with you right now," Harry answered instantly. It seemed he was too fast if Emma's elbow to the side was any indication, but Ororo didn't react to any perceived faux pas, and Freya merely chuckled.

With a gesture, Ororo settled the transparent coffin encasing Sigyn's body on the ground. "his is Sigyn, Loki's wife. Or rather, her body, as we have previously told you."

Instantly, Freya turned her attention to the woman inside the coffin, frowning thoughtfully as Harry used several diagnostic spells on both her and the crystal encasement. For all his power, his magic could still barely tell that the woman was really there within whatever it was, but there didn't seem to have been any reaction, positive or adverse, to bringing her back into Utland or even here in the halls of Odin himself, which Harry had hoped might happen. But neither did there seem to be any sign of the Shadows' demise having had an impact on the crystalline creation.

At first, Freya remained concentrated on the woman's face alone, cocking her head to one side as she did so, pulling at her long braided hair, which she now wore in a single braid down from one side of her face. "Strange. I do not know her. Yet… the more I look upon this woman's face, the more I feel that I should. Curse the Shadows and their rape of my memories!" Even Freya, the Mistress of Seidr, had found that she could not recover all her memories from the time before the Shadows had first begun to manipulate them. Some things were just too far gone for magic and telepath both. "And you say that this Sigyn's soul is embedded in dearest young Danielle's very blood?"

She looked over at Danielle, who nodding in the affirmative. Seeing the fond, yet clearly greedy, expression on the Asgardian Queens face as she looked at her, Dani gulped. Taking a deep breath, she pushed that aside and hastily explained how she had first become aware of her connection to Asgard when Hela had attempted to pull her into a dream-walk in order for Dani to pass on a message to Harry, since the younger goddess could not approach him directly at the time, for her mistress, Lady Death.

The mention of one of the Endless in their highest forms caused Freya to twitch, her sharp, possessive expression even fading somewhat. Breathing in relief as the weight of the goddess's gaze lightened somewhat, Dani went on to describe how, instead of arriving in Niflheim, her spirit had found Fenrir instead. In comparison, Dani's recounting of making direct contact with Sigyn once she'd became aware of something hiding within her blood was far less fraught, simply being due to a trip out beyond the Shadows' influence. "I imagine now that they are gone, Sigyn and I will be able to speak more often, for longer periods of time, and more plainly, but I haven't tried to do so as of yet."

"Do so," Freya nearly ordered, leaning forward, her eyes narrowing. "Although, if Sigyn were struck by a geas of some kind, the magic of it would still keep her from speaking too plainly. Hmm, tell me more about Sigyn herself, dearest, and where her spirit resides within you."

Dani obeyed, describing her take on the woman's character from their brief interactions and the cottage that Sigyn's spirit stayed in. The fond smile on her face however, told Freya just as much as her words, and she turned back to look down at the woman's body, scowling. Only a portion of that scowl came from the jealousy of a goddess garnered by the sense of a goddess realizing another deity had a connection to an Asatru. "She sounds like a woman I would dearly like to know, and her apparent devotion to Loki, and vice versa, speaks well of them both in a way that my addled memories say I should not expect from him. Still, I have gotten used to the fact that Loki is not really my husband's mischievous son, rather his brother, so I suppose this is just more of the same. The idea that the Trickster is my Brother-in-Law instead of foster son is somewhat disturbing now looking back on past actions, and yet, a part of me cannot help but be thankful that our eyes have been opened to the truth of his nature."

So long it has been, that Loki seems to have been an unwilling tether. Sigyn's words to my young Valkyrie-to-be say as much, yet… he is still the God of Deceit… and yet still, if he was so faithful to his wife… Freya scowled angrily to herself, shaking her head. It is a foul day indeed when one cannot trust one's own memories, and it is made worse yet again for Loki's involuntary role in the Shadows' most favored play. I supposed I will cling to the idea that, whatever else, he was devoted to Sigyn, and let that speak for his character moving forward.

Turning her attention back to the motionless Sigyn, she asked, "Have you attempted to use a touch of your blood upon this crystalline coffin, Danielle Moonstar?"

Harry nodded, while Dani twitched at the semi-possessive tone Freya had used when she spoke her full name. "We've tried that. We've tried taking it out of the solar system and away from the Shadow's reach. We've even tried to have Danielle be in contact with Sigyn while her hand is against the crystal while outside the solar system. Nothing so far has worked."

Freya's frown deepened. Not looking away from the imprisoned goddess, the queen spoke, "Eir? Fetch me a diviner." With a silent bow, the healing goddess departed from the hall. When she returned minutes later, the requested item was a small piece of metal that looked like someone had taken two green branches, twined them together, and then set a ruby at the center of the joined length. Freya stepped off her throne and laid a hand against the outer coating of the crystalline coffin, still scowling in thought.

Again, nothing happened. However, when she laid the diviner on the crystal and channeled magic into the green metal branches, the ruby at the center of the device began to shine briefly… before sputtering out. Indeed, it did more than merely sputter out. The ruby, once shining, faded, becoming gray and worthless, before slowly turning to dust, a process that spread into the green branches. By the end, the entire diviner didn't so much age as it simply seemed to dissolve away.

"Ah, I know what this is now. And I say it makes me even more shocked at what its existence tells me of Loki's true character," Freya mused, shaking her head in shock.

The others all looked at her, while Ororo used a brief gust of wind to brush away the dust from the top of the crystal coffin. "I take it you are going to tell us what it is, Milady?"

Freya tapped Sigyn's coffin lightly with a knuckle as she explained, her tone morphing into that of a teacher. "As you all know, sacrifice is one of the most powerful of magics in existence. That title extends into the deific level as well. This coffin is called the Crystal Of Sacrifice. Such a construct can only be created by a god or goddess who willfully sacrifices an aspect of their divinity to protect the receiver. For instance, if I wanted to try and create something, of this caliber, for whatever reason, I would have to give up my influence over the sphere of fertility, or one of my other even more powerful aspects. In return, the Crystal of Sacrifice will protect whatever is inside of it from any and all outside influences, no matter what. Loki gave up a portion of his essence and soul to make this.

"I see…" Harry sighed, mentally saluting the original Asgardian Trickster God for his devotion to his wife. "I think this tells us a lot about what Loki felt—feels—for his wife. I think I even know what he sacrificed. I've talked to Þór over the past few days and have seen recordings of Loki fighting on Earth. From neither source did I witness any sign that he had any kind of self-transformational or transfiguration powers at all. But, as a God of Fire, he would have had to have had that kind of power, to a greater extent than even Surtur. Þór told me a story about one of his adventures when he was younger and there is the whole tale of Sleipnir as well. Yet can any of you say you've seen him use transfiguration powers while you were under the sway of the Shadows?"

Freya's lips quirked this way and that as she thought back while around the Asgardian queen, her handmaidens whispered to one another before turning to their lady and shaking their heads in unison. Still, if her adopted son said that Loki had once had those powers, then she would stand by his words even if her own memories did not. "So even if he returns, Loki will not be the God he once was. Then again, many of us are lesser now than we should be. Including myself."

Freya's lips twisted wryly at those last words, remembering her conversation with the Amora, the so-called Enchantress, that morning. The two of them had felt a connection when they'd seen one another for the first time upon the expeditionary force's arrival at Freya's camp. That, combined with the story of Volstagg and what had been hidden within him, the death of Odin's Wanderer aspect, the impression of the spell that had snuffed him out, and the fact that the Shadows had seemed to believe those same spells would be effective on her had told Amora, and later Freya that she had been an aspect of Freya.

In the same breath, the Enchantress had refused point-blank to even consider the idea of rejoining Freya. Indeed, so put off by the very concept was she that Amora had not even registered the fact that Freya had been joking when she'd brought it up. "No! I will not attempt to merge with you nor countenance any attempt to do so!" The younger-appearing blonde woman had barked, not so much angry at Freya for confronting her about their connection as the fact that her very existence was completely due to the Shadows. "I will not return to Asgard, and I will not give up my life."

Freya had trouble calming the younger woman down at the time, but did succeed in doing so eventually. Yet truthfully, the idea of merging with Amora had not even occurred to the queen. While Freya did feel that doing so would probably return her to an eternally youthful base form rather than her current pushing middle-aged self, as well as probably enhance her raw magical power back to what she was told it had once been, she honestly saw no need for it. Oddly, Freya had somehow managed to retain memories of how she had been before she and Odin had married one another, and she actually feared that returning to her full power could impact not only her sense of self, but her decision-making capabilities and other mental faculties.

Yet even remembering her 'party girl' ways, Freya was still somewhat bemused by the choices Amora had made in her life as a woman of Midgard. Being an actress or model was fine, the Goddess of Love and Lust could see that easily enough. But how material the younger woman was, and how wedded she'd become to the way of life on Midgard was something else; her love of television and sitcoms was downright bizarre. The level of cultural inculcation the other woman showed was nearly mind-boggling.

"Regardless, there is no way to free the victorious wife without Loki present to figure out the trick that is locking the Crystal in place. Which, considering he is the Trickster God, makes all sorts of sense when you think about it," Freya murmured, shaking her head. "But… what about removing Sigyn's soul from Danielle? Would there even be a point in trying to do so at this juncture? Is she acting as a passenger or parasite, feeding off you in some manner?"

"Passenger," Dani, Harry, and Ororo answered, causing Freya to chuckle at their impromptu synchronicity.

Harry went on to elaborate. "Very much a welcome passenger Lady Freya. You'd seen Dani's former weapon before its loss. She might not be able to help directly, but Sigyn has still made an impact in other ways. We have also studied Dani's body closely with all of our available magical and medical technologies and can detect no sign of Sigyn draining her vitality or anything similar.

He gestured down to the coffin. "With that said, there would be no point to removing Sigyn's soul right now without somewhere worthwhile to put it. Unless… Are you suggesting you and Odin can, between you, create life enough to fashion a new living body for her?"

Picking up on the subtle double-edged tone in Harry's words, Freya winced, raising a hand to concede the point.

Before she could speak aloud, however, Dani cut in, again. "Besides Lady Freya, it might not just be Sigyn's soul within my blood. She keeps saying that her realm is mine as well, and that I can re-create it as I wish. But even so, several facets within her long house are always there no matter how I imagine it. There has been, as far as I can recall, always the fire, a few pictures, a boar's tusks, and other odds and ends I've never examined. At first, I thought they were tied to Sigyn herself. But now, I also wonder if those bits and pieces could be representing Loki in some fashion? I mean, I've heard about how such items can represent memories when magic users use Occlumency, so…"

"…You think these constants could represent not Sigyn's, but Loki's, memories," Freya questioned exchanging looks with Ororo and Harry. She noted the odd looks on their faces and realized she felt something of the same shock herself.

Mind and soul magic on such a scale was both humbling and terrifying to consider. Tearing away an individual's memories weakens them tremendously and, in the case of a deity, whose memories—like their souls—were interconnected with their very being, would be quite painful. Taking the soul out of a body and hiding it within the blood of someone else, anyone else, was a monumental task only a god would have considered, and that under great duress. Taking one's own memories and ripping them out to hide them with another's soul… such an act spoke of love and trust beyond the norm. I wonder if I would ever have been willing to risk so much for Odin, or even my own children. It's rather humbling to think about, especially considering it is coming from someone with Loki's history, true or manufactured.

Danielle, who had no real knowledge of magic to understand how difficult what she had suggested would be, simply nodded.

"If Loki is needed regardless, then we'll take her back to Midgard with us," Harry said, Ororo instantly moving to do so. Dani quickly following the African goddess out of the hall, leaving Emma and Harry behind.

Turning to Freya, Harry set aside the problem of Sigyn to address the main issue that was keeping him there in Asgard. "I hope it doesn't take too much longer before Odin is ready to speak to us," he stated with as much authority as he could muster, which as this point in time was no small level considering even at that moment, still not fully recovered from the war with the Shadows, he was teetering on the edge of ascension. "If it does, other matters may force me to leave prematurely and assume that a debt will owed. Said debt would then obviously be liable for call at any time in the future. In the manner of such things, that would also mean regardless of whether or not Odin wants to pay at said later time."

Understanding the mild threat in Harry's words, Freya nodded gravely to the wizard in her hall, a faint promise to relay his words in her steady gaze. Nodding in return, Harry and Emma turned to join the others as they walked out of Valhalla.

OOOOOOO

At the same time that Harry was heading back to the newly transfigured ambassadorial mansion, life continued for those who had already returned to Earth. For the majority, this meant getting back to work in various forms. Some welcome, some not.

Carol groaned as she watched Steve push his way between Admiral Whitaker and General Murphy, both of whom had risen from their chairs, once again, to bellow into each other's faces. Despite there finally being near enough Doom-designed droids to throw at any construction projects, they had still run into the bottleneck of there being only so much material coming in from Earth. Those resources, from rubber to high end electronics was then fought over for a variety of projects, namely making the Raven Spires livable, starting the upgrades planned for the stolen Kree ships, building general-use spacesuits…

The list went on. With all of that, it had been inevitable that adding on the building of more power suits for the Orbital Drop Marines to the discussion would be like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

At first, everyone had agreed on their priorities: Fortress Mars and its gravity trap, the center of the solar system's defense. Then, the fleet would be retrofitted and upgraded. Following that would be the Ravens, their spires, and then the massive warp rings. But then reality had set in, and the fact that there was only so much material coming in had smashed headfirst into the fact that there were so many smaller projects going on congruently. People were now arguing left and right about where to allocate the few resources remaining that weren't yet allocated.

This wasn't helped by the fact that the Ravens, who were supposed to be the EDF's main in-system combat punch, had yet to go into mass production thanks to several logistical issues or that the interiors of the Spires themselves were so far behind their exterior work. Not to mention each of those Spires were so large they should have been considered an individual base each, equivalent to a modern carrier, and they just didn't have the command personnel to man them.

This all boiled down to the current problem; the Avalon Empire finally had enough construction crews but with their current level of resources, they were facing the issue of who's project got priority first. Which was made worse by Harry's personal order to expand the ODM program.

It really didn't help matters when Murphy tried to pull rank on Whitaker by being senior to him in terms of service length. Or when Whitaker responded by calling himself the Fleet Admiral, considering he's the only admiral we've got, and then called the fleet the senior arm of the Empire's military. I'll admit that was a good counterargument, and Murphy kind of asked for it, but dammit, Potter! Why am I the one dealing with this shit? Carol groaned, this time not at all internally, as Steve explained once more why the Orbital Drop 'Marines' would not be organized using the army model, despite what Murphy wanted, and why they were following the marine model instead. This time, he used smaller words.

Above Fortress Mars, Lorna Dane, in full Polaris regalia, hummed away happily as she pulled a large asteroid behind her through one of the jump rings, bopping in space to a tune playing over her earbuds as it restarted after fritzing out coming through the magical field. Yep. Fighting is all well and good, but this work is just so easy and restful it's amazing. You know, maybe tonight Betsy and I could get Steve to take us out on a date? Europa's actually looking kind of awesome these days.

While people were still arguing over the official name, Europa was so far the name that had stuck in unofficial discussions about the budding city in the Savage Lands. With a growing population last clocked at several hundred thousand, it didn't exactly qualify as a mere town any longer. And then there are the locals. Their food might be more of the street vendor or firepit variety, but Steve has mentioned how much he likes a good barbecue.

"Space Watch, this is Polaris towing asteroid 216-Kleopatra. Where do you want it?"

In front of her, several dozen small mining vessels cruised in a holding pattern above Fortress Mars and the five asteroids already in orbit over the glassed world which she had moved into orbit previously. These were small, blocky, crude-looking ships designed by Forge, and although the interior of the tiny vessels didn't match the exterior thanks to a mix of magic and technology, they were still leagues behind the pilfered Kree ships.

As Polaris watched, the crews manning the ships moved around the asteroids, placing strings of small, synthetic blue diamond mirrors held in ring-like constructs. Each construct contained small tracking devices, miniature thrusters powered by attached batteries, and were connected by the Reed Richards equivalent of a Wireless control system linking them all back to the mining operation's motherships. These small devices from the genius inventor, and the motherships they broadcast to, were the keystones of the quickly growing space mining operation along with the Doom-designed construction droids.

As the Space Watch controllers responded, Polaris hardly paid their actual words any mind, long used to the process by now. She began to move the asteroid into position as directed, her mind already more on the date to come than anything else. And, of course, if it happens that poor Betsy just can't get away from her business to join us well… that's just too bad.

Having gone home to Britain after returning from the Asgard expedition, Betsy had been surprised with a call from her brother. Even more surprising had been finding the newly crowned King of Britain waiting for her at the Braddock estate when she'd dropped by. She knew that Britain was one of Harry's closer allies, yet when pressed, she had hesitated when young King Duncan the First had asked her for a report on the events that occurred in Asgard.

Still, the young King's first words had eased her worries somewhat, as did the fact he wasn't speaking in the royal 'we' despite being obliged to use it. "I am mostly uninterested in the magical side of things. I simply wish to know how the ODM concept worked in practice. I know Britain cannot buy the plans for the two types of power armor Lord Potter's and his design team have come up with. But Britain isn't the only world power working on that idea for their own military. That started immediately after Mr. Stark showed up in his Ironman suit and has continued in many countries since. Still, there are aspects to the Orbital Drop Marine program on the tactical level I am most interested in, and would be satisfied learning more of."

After thinking it over for a few seconds, Betsy had bowed her head in acquiescence. "So long as Your Majesty realizes I'm not going to be sharing any military secrets, I don't believe Lord Potter would find any issue in me sharing details of how the Drop Marines performed."

"Considering I've recently nixed the idea of Our government creating its own superpowered mutant force completely devoid of Harry's influence, I think that to be the case, yes," Duncan answered with a chuckle before leaning forward. "Now, tell me what happened, and don't skimp on the details."

Elsewhere, even the regular Oh Damn troopers were likewise busy with various tasks. Throughout the various EDF installations, the Marines were writing up their after action reports about the battles they'd been in, working with their officers to develop methods to speed up the training regimen, or going over their personal suits writing up requisition forms for anything they felt was too damaged to be repaired or wasn't quite working right. Many had nothing but good things to say about the high tech gear, but there were a number of more experienced men and women who were eager to point out places for improvement.

At the Xavier mansion, Scott had dived back into his role as leader and teacher. From the moment he returned there wasn't a second he wasn't putting Jubilee and the others through their paces. He'd been impressed by James' ability to kept the flighty youngsters focused on training while he'd been gone, but no matter how good Warpath had proven himself to be, he had still wanted to remind them all that while they could grumble all they liked about the training, they didn't really have a choice in the matter. So long as their powers were a danger to others, and they didn't want to get arrested for one reason or another, they needed to train to control them.

The remaining members of the Custodes Mundi were pretty busy as well. Violence had flared up around the Black Sea between several mutant supremacist and anti-mutant groups, and Wendy Sherman, the young mutant with the electrical powers who had come to lead the retrieval team as Stinger, had requested help from their parent group. This had them splitting up into smaller bands and even bringing in Morph, Mystique, Logan and Laura to put more boots on the ground. The fact that such a dispute had grown so large and become so violent so quickly had been a clear sign that while anti-mutant and mutant supremacist movements were becoming more marginalized in more developed countries, elsewhere in the world they were still going strong.

Well, those that resorted to violence anyway. The truth was that the anti-mutant sentiment was still very much alive in even first-world countries, clearly visible in the slanted reporting of various news agencies and the passing of numerous municipal laws and codes that made life harder for anyone not a baseline human. But even there, such bigoted efforts were losing headway with each reporter or anchor called out or lawsuit filed. And at least at the federal level there was a clear shift towards pro-mutant laws.

Johnny, Ben and Thundra, as it happened, had found themselves along with Reed needed elsewhere before they'd even been able to return to the Tower. In their absence, the Inhuman's perilous internal politics had reached a boil. Such was becoming, in Ben's words, "Too damn normal!" at this point. "Honestly, if Black Bolt doesn't want to kill his brother, the least he could do is let us do it!"

Bruce was speaking to several lawyers in Canada, trying to work out what he would be doing for the Canadian government to pay for his part in the Montreal rampage. Meanwhile, Charles and his young Vietnamese protégé Xian stayed behind and helped Laynia as best they could with accepting and working through her grief.

Indeed, just about the only person who wasn't hip-deep in work of some sort within hours of returning to Earth had been Jean. Instead, she'd been spending time with Melody and the other kids in Camelot, getting to know more of those who'd been rescued and brought in by Wendy's crew. However, even there, she wasn't actually in charge. That burden fell on the teachers. Much to her delight, this meant that Jean was able to play the cheerful, happy observer as Melody and her little gang would bring other kids over to in ones and twos, while Jean just laid back in a comfortable chair and allowed herself to be waited on hand and foot by Cory and the house elves on kitchen duty.

As the evening of that first day back on Earth slowly ticked by in Camelot, and another snowstorm began to batter away at the castle's exterior, Jean stared off into the distance, smiling somewhat wryly. "I'm getting the feeling that there are a lot of people out there who are very busy right now." Blinking, she shrugged philosophically. "Considering the punishment the other telepaths and I took in Asgard, I'm just going to say thank goodness I'm not one of them anymore."

OOOOOOO

Perhaps it was thanks to Harry's parting words with Freya, or perhaps it really was because he had finally finished recovering at last, but regardless, Odin was quick to reach out after Harry had transformed their temporary dwelling. Before the sun had even risen over the horizon, a brightly dressed man Alfar outside the mansion, informing the Earthers that Odin would see them now.

By that very line and the use of a mere Alfar as a messenger, Harry knew that the games were already afoot. It was meant to imply that they were not worth one of his sons coming to tell them Odin was ready to meet Harry and his party, and that they would meet at his pleasure. Mind you, I doubt Baldur or Þór would have liked to do it. Baldur sees us as friends and Þór couldn't care less for politics. Regardless, Harry released the wild Emma to respond in kind.

"I am afraid that just will not do. One King does not summon another, good Alfar. This is to be a meeting between equals. Granted, it might not be happening on neutral territory, but your King needs to remember that we are not here as supplicants or worshipers in need of aid. Perhaps you… misspoke?" Emma drawled, one eyebrow raised in sardonic questioning of the messenger. The use of her eyebrows alone to convey additional meaning to whatever she said was perhaps one of Emma's greatest nonverbal tools; the oldest surviving Frost able to impart entire sentences with a mere tilt or bend of an eyebrow.

The Alfar in question bowed his head quickly, quickly enough to make it clear to those watching how nervous the elf was and amended his earlier words. After allowing him time to do so, Emma went on smoothly, "In that case, if King Odin is willing to treat with us, we will meet with him in three hours' time. That will allow us to properly prepare and perhaps for any other errors in communication to be smoothed away before we arrive."

Dani, who'd been called in as soon as word had spread through the castle that an Asgardian messenger had arrived, rolled her eyes at the older woman's behavior. She turned to look Harry's way as the poor messenger beat a hasty exit, chased out of the hall by Emma's imposing silence and icy stare. "Is all this really necessary?"

"If we were meeting with Odin as mere individuals, then no. And, if the story of how we found him in Muspellheim hadn't already spread like wildfire, I don't think he'd be trying this power-play either. The problem is, as Odin sees it, he needs to prove to his people that he is still the same, strong king he's always been, even as he must acknowledge that he needed our help in the end. That's a tall order, and I don't envy him the tight rope he's walking," Harry answered wryly, shaking his head. "Most of this panoply and bluster is just that, for form's sake. I think once we get the song and dance in front of the public out of the way we'll find that Odin is more than willing to admit that he owes us, so long as we don't humiliate him or try to take advantage of his current weakness."

"That's good to hear at least. Although I could do with a lot less in the way of this political junk," Dani muttered, before looking at Harry with a half-dreading, half-wary gaze. "Does this mean we have to dress up?"

Snorting, Harry shook his head. "Yes, although since this is Asgard, and it is a warrior society, I don't think the regular dress rules apply. Or at least, I'm not going to follow them on that assumption."

Dani smiled happily at that, saying she had an idea for what she wanted to where already, while Ororo and Emma shared a glance rolling their eyes in concert, although they had to admit, they understood their lover's point. The Asgardians were indeed a warrior culture. What would impress the high society types on Earth wouldn't be nearly as effective on them. Luckily, the two women had already thought of this and had Harry and his transfiguration powers available to create the designs they had already thought up.

Just as the clocks struck three hours since the Alfar messenger had been sent back to Asgard with their riposte to Odin's first play, Harry and his party arrived before the giant entrance of Valhalla, its twin doors of gold and steel opening before them. True to Harry and Emma's expectations, when they entered Odin's hall, it was clear that it had been transformed.

Every wall and pillar was hung with bunting, bright bolts of blue, green, gold, and yellow swaths of cloth hanging in the air high above and wrapped around everything else. On every pillar was a massive tapestry depicting some ancient battle. Most of these featured Odin in some way, and were magically enhanced so that portions of the battle played out on the tapestry in endless loops. Magical balls of light floated around the area in place of lit sconces, creating an almost sun-bright light, adding a natural warmth to the scene even as they bobbled around like living things. Lastly, as the massive double doors ponderously swung open to admit Harry and his band, a series of Alfar musicians began to sing, their voices rising and falling in a wordless hymn that denoted majesty and power. The volume of the music hammered into its listeners, surely enhanced in some manner as well.

Lining the walls of Valhalla were the Asgardians. Men, women, warrior or healer or civilian, they were all there. Intermixed with these godlings were select karls and jarls among the Asatru who lived in Asgard and Utland, those whose courage and worth had won them a seat in Valhalla in their past lives. For some, this was the second time they had proven worthy of standing beside their gods in battle eternal, and they wore small trinkets of gold on their forearms or shoulders to denote that fact. For others, born in Utland to warriors who'd been brought over the Bifrost during the first Ragnarök, this was the first time they had been in Odin's hall, and these warriors were obvious in their wide eyed wonder.

As Harry and his party stepped forward and entered, the gathered crowd let out a raucous cheer. "King Potter, and his honored party!" The baritone announcement by Heimdall, in his role as Herald, rolled through the air like thunder. That cheer, along with the humans from Earth and the two offspring of Loki being called "King Potter and his party" by Heimdall was a good sign that regardless of the play that they were putting on right now, Odin was willing to meet Harry on an even footing.

At the far end of the hall, Odin had stood up from his throne, resplendent in his best lamellar armor, much like Balder wore during the war, which shown in the magical light of the hall with regal splendor. Over his shoulders, Odin wore a lion's pelt, causing Harry to briefly wonder if the King had perhaps deliberately exchanged it for his normal wolf pelt. It would have been somewhat impolitic given Fenrir and Garm's presence.

Atop Odin's head rested a crown wrought of steel, stone, and gold in equal measure, the band and each prong marked by runes for wisdom and several etchings of branches demarking the boughs of Yggdrasil. In his off hand, the King of the Asgardians held Gungnir, returned to its rightful owner.

But more than his armor or his crown, or his spear, Odin's PRESENCE washed over the hall, uplifting his folk while pressing down on Harry and his. Here, Odin's aura said, was the Judge of Kings, Sky Father, and Elder Power. To hide was impossible, to flee an admission of cowardice. Come forth and be judged, as you would upon the anvil of war. Bow ye mortals, for you are naught in the face of such might.

But Harry, Hela, and Ororo responded to this by flaring their own auras in kind. Hela was a goddess of Death, and refused to cow before any but her Lady… save perhaps in certain specific circumstances involving her loves. Harry had been on the cusp of becoming a new god of magic not once, but twice, and his magical power remained close to that limit, as did his will, a line where those two things merged. And Ororo was the student of Gaia, Earth Mother, and her own might was vast as the sky. While moving forward without bowing before Odin's might was like pushing against a heavy wind, the trio did so, protecting Emma, Dani, and Garm behind them.

Fenrir needed no such protection. Rather, he needed Dani's calming hand on his side, her empathic powers working through that gentle, touch to keep him calm as he willingly walked into the den of his greatest enemy.

As if to counter her husband's overly stern mien, Freya also stood, one hand resting on his arm lightly, her own smile warm and welcoming. While a crown also rested atop her head, this one was crafted from a mixture of living flowers, various precious metals, and priceless jewels all woven together. Her clothing was much the same as what the Asgardian queen had worn the previous day; a long diaphanous dress that demonstrated her femininity to good effect without actually showing anything improper.

To either side of the ruling couple stood their sons Þór and Balder. Both were garbed in their preferred styles of armor although, by the expression on Þór's face, it was clear the Thunderer did not want to be there at that moment. "Good grief, when one thinks of the God of Thunder, one does not normally think of him as a browbeaten little boy forced to dress up by his parents and behave. Yet that is the impression I'm getting here," Emma sent telepathically, causing Harry to snort internally.

The humans were not cowed by the pomp and ceremony. Indeed, they had come armed—or rather, armored—for just this sort of warfare.