********************************************************************** DISCLAIMER 1) This material is not used for monetary profit in any manner. It is done solely for enjoyment purposes, and as homage to the great stories and characters of Marvel Comics Group 2) All the characters, events, and locations portrayed within are recognized as property of Marvel Comics Group should they so wish. 3) This story has been written by Samy Merchi . Any commentary in the form of compliments or critique is welcomed, and eagerly hoped for. So go ahead and drop me a line telling me what you thought, okay? It'll make my day. ;) ********************************************************************** RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES CHAPTER ONE: Back From The Future "AAAAAARRRRGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!" The scream seemed to go on forever, the sound of a man who was, if not dying, then at the very least wracked with unimaginable pain. The agony of unprotected timeshift was worse than any torture method known to humankind or most other races of the universe. Unsynchronized by additional measures, the subject would be transported from one time to another, literally taken apart, a cell at a time. Now, this might not seem all that bad when described like that - after all, that's what they do on Star Trek - but imagine for example, midway across the timeshift. Half of you would be in one time, and half of you in another. And it wouldn't be a clear-cut half, either, such as from the waist down or anything. No, every single part of your body would fade at the same rate, away to the other time. Every single part of you would be in as much pain, as if riddled with holes everywhere. And the worst part of it is that there would be two of you in mid-shift, in two different times, experiencing the same, excruciating pain. The aftereffects of the timeshift would be almost as bad, as the body chemistry tried to slowly settle down, everything adapt back to the normal routines. The only positive side of unprotected timeshifts was that they - usually - didn't last long. But that was of little comfort to Roberto Da Costa right now. The skies above a wondrous, crystal blue lake were lit up, the shimmering yellowish energies glistening off the waters as the timeshift wracked thru his body, bringing him back from the perhaps not-so-distant future. The scream ended as abruptly as the energies went away with a final, blinding flare. Then, Roberto fell towards the lake, unconscious, his eyes closed as he plummeted downwards thru the air. With a huge splash, his body hit the surface of the lake, a pillar of water flying high up into the air as he dove to the depths of the lake. Within seconds of that splash, there was another, a weaker one, and the water was perturbed only slightly by the edge of the water. The woman called Dusk slid thru the water like a dolphin, her lithe body speeding towards the center of the lake deep under the slowly-settling surface of the water. Her strong arms kept paddling powerfully, propelling her forward towards the dark spot he could see ahead of her in the waters. Roberto was unconscious, completely unaware of the approaching woman as he slowly sank deeper towards the darkness of the waters. He stirred slightly as Dusk's strong hand grabbed his naked body by the shoulder, halting it from sinking any deeper into the waters. His muscles twitched a bit, but he did not realize where he was yet, nor did his eyes open. Dusk slid her arm under Roberto's, and prepared to start swimming back towards the surface when she realized something was wrong. Her sixth sense, forged in battles too countless to mention, was tingling. Something was about to happen. Her body tensed up. Then, everything seemed to explode. She felt the water foam and churn as if something immensely huge had just streaked past at high speed. Everything was full of the white noise of disturbed water. The next thing she realized was that she was no longer underwater. She had been flung high into the air by something... And then she saw it. A sea serpent, huger than anything she had ever seen, had rushed them from the depths of the lake. They had barely missed being a light snack for the serpent, having just avoided the mouth and instead been carried on the serpent's nose up from the depths and now, flung into the air... As they fell back to the water, Dusk's arm wrapped tightly around Roberto's while her other hand went to her belt, quickly pulling an ornate dagger that seemed pathetic against the huge serpent approaching them. But her hand gripped around the hilt with grim conviction as the tall, over six-foot woman narrowed her eyes towards the monster, half-submerged and approaching, sliding thru the waters. The serpent's jaws snapped open as it sprung forward the last few yards, streaking thru both air and water with seeming ease, like an oncoming freight train, but Dusk barely blinked, a look of steadfast resolve on her face, as she quickly shoved Roberto's still-unconscious form out of the way. There was a huge roar filling the air as the jaws started closing around Dusk's body, and she tensed up, her body going taut and her muscles straining, as her daggerless arm shot up, the palm flat. Impacting onto the ceiling of the beast's maw, it held it up, preventing it from closing as her legs set against the bottom. "Thou shalt find Dusk not an easy prey, serpent", Dusk muttered thru gritted teeth as the waterborne predator tried to crush the tasty little morsel, but found its monstrous strength insufficient for the task. The surprise lasted only for a short time, though, as Dusk's fist tightened around the dagger, preparing to strike it upwards, towards the monster's brain. A dark, black flare flashed in the corner of Dusk's eye, and a second later she felt the jaws pressure onto her even harder, spasmodically, getting some desperate strength from somewhere. And less than an eyeblink later the spasms ended, and she felt the jaws go slack. Quickly she sprang from between the jaws and swam away a bit, her head turning to look over her shoulder at what had happened. The serpent was limp, slowly starting to sink into the lake. Before it could disappear, Dusk noticed something. Half its head was missing. Her head spun around, to look in the other direction. There was hovering a man, quite unlike what she had rescued. Not the young man, with chocolate-brown skin and flowing, curly, raven-black hair. But instead a living, breathing solar dynamo, his whole body transformed to mimic the obsidian coloration of his hair, the air around him darkening and sending miniature lighting bolts onto his skin and crackling over him. His gaze still fixed on the now-dead sea serpent, his right hand lifted and pointed towards its head and still crackling with dark energies, he wore a smile on his face that was almost cruel in its appearance. He was Roberto Da Costa. Power was coursing thru his veins, like never before. Well, not exactly true. He had felt like this twice before. That in itself was an important clue to his whereabouts. Second was the serpent. Nothing like that lived on Earth. Not that he knew of, anyway. And the final clue, if he wouldn't have figured it out already, was the woman. Super-strong, it seemed. And the armor she wore was familiar in appearance. He couldn't quite assign it to any other realm he had visited, except one. "Asgard", he stated calmly yet sharply, his eyes locking onto Dusk's. "Right?" Dusk lifted an eyebrow at this curious man who her instincts told her was the man she had rescued, but who now appeared so very different. His skin had become darker, and even before it had been much darker than she had seen ever before. She gripped the dagger a bit firmer, unsure whether this stranger was a friend or enemy. "Yes", she replied carefully, not volunteering any information as she bobbed faintly in the water. Crossing his arms over his chest, Roberto nodded and proceeded with his inquiries. He wasn't exactly certain of his next guess, but covered it up well by posing the next question in the form of a statement instead, attempting to bluff the answer out of the woman. "You are a valkyrie." For a moment Dusk paused. The stranger was definitely more than he seemed, and she decided to watch her words a bit more carefully. But, there was no reason to lie about this. "I am", she replied, her eyes studying the unclothed black man. "And thou art not from Asgard, stranger. Where hailst thou from?" "Midgard", was the curt reply from Roberto's lips as he descended towards the water's surface and offered Dusk his hand to lift her up. "I want to talk to Moonstar. Will you take me to her?" The energies crackling about him lessened a bit, in an almost ominous silence that might be interpreted as a warning not to turn him down. Just as she was about to touch Roberto's hand, her own reaching out, she paused for a moment at his words, hesitant at something. Roberto instead reached forward and grabbed her, lifting her from the water, light as a feather, and into his arms. In his usual impatient manner, and suspicious at the sudden silence, he narrowed his eyes and tightened his lips. "Well??" Dusk looked away from Roberto's eyes, faint sadness - or shame? - passing over her briefly. Then, she simply shook her head. "I doth not possess the power to accomplish that", she said. "Moonstar is dead."