********************************************************************** 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 TWO: Journey Into Mystery "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE IS DEAD????" There had not been a single time in his history that Roberto Da Costa's voice had been as furious as it was now, as it echoed unrestrained over the Asgardian plains and waters. It quivered with rage, trembled with booming ferocity, matching the burning blood-red blaze in his eyes. Held at the end of Roberto's arm, suspended over the lake they both were floating over, hovering thanks to Roberto's solar powers, was a lithesome woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties to mid-thirties, but with an eerie sense of age being reflected in her eyes. She was Dusk, one of the Choosers of the Slain, the mythical Valkyries of Asgard. And as she hung there, held by the front of her still-dripping-wet armor, she stared right back into the eyes of the man who had pulled her from the water, the man whose eyes were filled with little but insanity and obsession. "Moonstar hath perished five nights ago, Shadowskin", she simply explained, little intimidated by Roberto's eyes or manner. Roberto's eyes narrowed, and the blood-red energy flare in his eyes grew, crackling louder, but as he regarded the woman's eyes, there was no lie there. There were many things there, but no. As much as Roberto wished otherwise, she wasn't lying. "How?" he then asked with a whipcracking voice. "Who did it?" He practically spat out the words, quivering with rage, as his body gracefully flew from over the lake towards the edge of the water, his solar powers setting him down deftly, the balls of his feet receiving his weight some instants later than the taller woman touched down. As soon as they touched down, Dusk pulled away from Roberto's grip, and took a few steps back to regard the stranger. Completely jet-black. Skin, hair, even the air around him was darkened, crackling softly with energy, only broken by the dangerous red eyes, like headlights shining thru a mist. "I..." she started, and then raised her chin slightly, proudly, before going on. "'Twas Hela, Shadowskin. Moonstar fell to a foul plot of the Death Goddess." "Then", Roberto hissed, his hands clenching into fists, and the energy flare around them growing more powerful, as he enjoyed the powerful radiation envelope of Asgard that made him more powerful than anywhere else, "Hela will die." "Ho, Fandral! Feast thine eyes on the plentiful bounty that Volstagg the Enormous, the Lion of Asgard, hath found us!" "I have no doubts in mine mind that a feast be precisely what thou hast in mind, great Volstagg", Fandral replied with a smile as he looked towards the clearing in the woods Volstagg had led them to. "Bah!" Volstagg dismissed the words with a wave of his massive hand. "The bandits' valor was without peer, but even moreso was their folly in confronting the Warriors Three! Surely they didst not expect to overcome the three of us! One must wonder what motive they might have had to so daringly demand a toll from us. But 'tis a question to be pondered another time, my friends! Now let us enjoy the hospitality of the camp and the food the woebegone villains hath left behind lest it be left here to spoil!" "Volstagg doth have a point", Hogun remarked quietly, but as usual, his words reaching both his comrades' ears. "'Tis well curious why the bandits attempted to waylay us." "Aye, Hogun", Fandral nodded. "I agree. Volstagg's loud boasting of often is not without reason. There be indeed few in Asgard who hath not heard of the Warriors Three and their daring adventures and unparalleled prowess!" "Perhaps..." Volstagg started to speculate, and then the rest of his words were obscured as he grabbed the wild boar from over the fire and started devouring it. "It might well be, Fandral, that someone is trying to slow down our journey", Hogun pointed out. "Certainly they are not trying to stop us", Fandral replied. "Any one of us could have defeated those poor miscreants blindfolded." "Aye, in that, thou speakst the truth, Fandral. But who would be seeking to trouble us?" "Perhaps 'tis Hela herself!" Fandral smiled. "'Twould be a glorious adventure indeed, to ride into Hel itself and challenge the Death Goddess, as Thor and Balder once did to reclaim the poor mortal souls!" [1] He brandished his sword with an excited grin, the red-yellow light of the campfire glinting off it. "Perhaps", Hogun replied quietly. "Doubtless we shall find out. But after supping, 'tis best we rest for tomorrow's journey. 'Tis not impossible there be further obstacles in our way. Possibly more dangerous ones." "'Tis MADNESS thou speakst of, Shadowskin!!" "It's FURY I speak of, valkyrie!" Roberto growled, the energy crackling stronger around him, being fanned into a veritable storm of heat and electricity by his ferocious anger. "Moonstar was my FRIEND! And if you, who were SUPPOSED to be her friends, will do nothing to avenge her, then I WILL!" "Thou dost not understand, mortal! Hela is the mistress of her dark domain! She controls all she surveys there! Thou hast no chance against her! Even the thunder god Thor himself did not survive unscarred his battle with the mighty Hela in her domain!" "Then I will bring her OUT of her domain. Or if I can't do that, then I WILL go into Hel, and rip Hela's heart out of her chest with my own fingers before shoving it down her throat! Moonstar is someone I would have followed thru the gates of Hell! I will do no less to avenge her!" "Thou honorst thy friendship with thy words, mortal. But 'tis still folly thou speakst of. Not even the All-Father Odin dares challenge Hela within her own realm." "I", Roberto hissed sharply. "Don't. CARE. She killed Dani, and she will pay the price." "Will she?" a honeyed voice spoke with a soft grin as its mistress stared into a crystal ball, espying a scene within it, of Roberto and Dusk conversing by the lake, as they moved over to Dusk's camp and the valkyrie began gathering her belongings, stroking the back of her pegasus in passing. "Will she, indeed?" the voice smirked. "Thou hast annoyed me before, Shadowskin. As hath thy friend Moonstar. By staying in Asgard, she was subject to mine vengeance. As art thou, now." "How did it happen?" Roberto asked, as she watched Dusk start packing up her camp. He had his hands behind his back, seeming little bothered by the fact that his form was completely unclothed. Not that there was anything to be ashamed of. To quote something someone had once said, 'Bobby may have his failings, but he has a body to make statues envious.' One of the fringe benefits of having been one of Brazil's foremost young soccer players and a disciplined athlete. "Did she die with honor?" Dusk's eyes lowered slightly, and she didn't answer right away. Muttering a silent curse under her breath, she yanked the saddlebags off the ground after taking down her camp and packing her things into them. However, as she started towards her pegasus to place the saddlebags onto him, she was quickly stopped by a snapping voice. "How. Did. It. Happen??" Roberto hissed. With a quiet sigh, Dusk's shoulder slumped slightly, and she slung the saddlebags over her shoulder, as she turned to look at Roberto. "No, she did not die with honor", she stated with a touch of moisture in the corner of her eye. "Thou canst fly though thou possesst no wings, Shadowskin", she noted, and then continued. "Follow me and Eveningbreeze, and I shall tell thee the tale of Moonstar's death." Then, she lay the saddlebags across Eveningbreeze's bare back -- the valkyries did not use saddles -- and nimbly leaped onto the pegasus' back. Roberto took a deep breath, looking at the valkyrie and her mount sharply for a few moments, as the pegasus' wings beat a few times, and then raised them into the air. Solar energy crackled about him, and he rose into the air as well, matching their speed and direction, flying off beside the pair. [1] The Mighty Thor #361-362, right after the Surtur War, and during the New Mutants' first adventure in Asgard in New Mutants Special Edition #1 and X-Men Annual #9.