[Sama in the MU] Part 8
Added 2025-03-30 04:02:02 +0000 UTC“How do you prefer to be addressed, sir?” I asked politely.
“Hercules is fine,” he waved idly, obviously not one to stand on ceremony. “Your deeds have gained some renown, fair Dynamo! Well-done! For what reason have you sought the Prince of Power out?”
“I am aware of the Skyfather compact.” The genial, I’ve-seen-it-all expression on his face sharpened abruptly. “Likewise, I am aware that because you are a demigod, the strictures of it have been relaxed upon you, and you have actually been upon the Earth for quite some time. In this age of heroes, as science goes where once only magic did, the constraints are even further relaxed, and you are even allowed to walk openly.
“Thor is wandering about, there are Immortals quietly making their names known in China and India, ancient powers stir in Africa, and the Totems of the Americas and Beasts stir. The elder gods are making themselves known in more places, and even a Ghost Rider is about in the open.
“Your brothers and sisters might well be descending to the mortal world... and when they do, no doubt they will be making trouble for you, at the behest of Ares, Hera, and Pluto.” His bland smile had now fallen to a frown as he studied me more closely.
“You are more than you seem, Lady Dynamo,” he said shortly. “Why, then, have you come before me?”
“I am forming a team, and I would like you to be on it, sir,” I said respectfully. “And do you know why?”
He lifted his arm. “For the might and power of the son of Zeus, of course!” he proclaimed confidently.
“Not even close.” I made a poo-poo gesture, and he frowned again. “The Juggernaut of Cyttorak does not lose to you in any reasonable metric of might, and is more invulnerable. While your power is valuable and will be helpful, it can be replaced. No, I want you on the team because you are a god.”
His expression was both wary and interested as he looked at me. “You tread upon dangerous ground, Lady Dynamo...”
“Yes. Precisely the point.” He blinked again. “You are a god walking the earth. When you declare a place to stand, a position, when you decide to act like a god instead of some rudderless mortal, you attract conflict... to you.” I pointed at him. “Schemes that would fester, lay dormant, activate at some random place, some random time, will instead be stirred to action because you, Hercules, a heroic god walking the earth, are once more taking a stand and acting like a hero.”
His expression was something to see. “You... want the trouble I would draw to myself?” He found it hard to believe.
“It will be drawn to all of us, any of us. Any trouble that any of us have stewing will be lit, and it will come... because you are with us. That is the power of a heroic god.” I crossed my arms. “And so we all will be there to face it.”
He nodded slowly, his eyes glinting. “Your words show great courage and comradeship, Lady Dynamo.”
“Point Two.” I held up a second finger, and he nodded. “We need an elder, and a myth. We’re going to be fighting some very old things, and we need someone who knows about them. For instance, did you know the Grigorri are active here in California?”
A dangerous light flickered in his eyes. “Foul bloodsuckers,” he told me coldly, and I nodded agreement.
“I don’t want Hercules the happy strong man. I want Hercules, the hero of myth, the man skilled in all the ancient warrior arts of Greece. The master archer, master rider, master spearman, master wrestler, master boxer. You are the rare superstrong hero that can actually teach other superstrong heroes from experience. You have battled heroes, gods, demons, and monsters, and you actually know how to fight them.
“Your legends then and now don’t ever laud your brains, Hercules, but they also tend to overlook a very, very key point... forget your strength and your brawn, but you are very, very good at what you do.”
He finally put down the drink in his hand, and stared at me very soberly indeed. “You are a leader of warriors, are you not?” he asked me shrewdly. “You speak like Athena... but Athena never spoke such words to me.”
“Athena is a pure goddess. As such, she sees you through the lens of a god, and you are the god of strength. Why should see you as the mortal-born hero who clawed his way into legends, before Zeus gifted you with immortality? As far as she is concerned, you are a champion whose foundation is your might.
“But might is found in many places. I will take your might, but what I want is your myth, and your mastery. Your might is a sweet and useful extra.”
I had him right around the heartstrings. He had probably not been talked to like that in all his three thousand years of life. “I would be proud to join you, Lady Dynamo. What would you have me do?”
I raised my head abruptly, and turned. His eyes flickered. “You felt that too?” I asked calmly. He was somewhat shocked as he looked at me. “Conflict is coming. Where do we need to be?”
A smile slowly grew on his face. Gods had a talent for finding trouble, and that was not just a party tale. “Down by the water, I think.”
I smiled hard as well. “Before we begin, I wonder if you would be amenable to being Marked with a magical Tattoo that enables a telepathic link?”
He seemed somewhat surprised. “Such a thing exists? How long would it take to apply?” He did not seem overly concerned.
“About three minutes.”
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-Your manner of applying tattoos is most singular, Dynamo!- he /laughed, as he sat on my back and we hurtled towards the waterfront. In the distance, I could see Angel leading Iceman, and Johnny Blaze was ferrying the Black Widow upon his hellfire motorcycle.
The others all /agreed with grins, despite themselves, and I just /chuckled back at them as we headed towards the pier.
Black Widow’s SHIELD authorization gave us a lot of latitude for search and seizure, and she could effectively deputize us at her whim. So, while we had no official status for doing something like this, the Widow gave us all the excuse we actually needed.
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Hercules /laughed out in Markchat as the dragon smuggled into the port of Los Angeles smacked him hard. I /sent a move to Iceman, who made a tunnel in midair that curved Hercules right around and sent him flying back at the dragon.
Angel swooped in and knocked off one of the chanting mystics looking to cast something or other, while the Black Widow and Ghost Rider were dealing with the kung-fu flunkies below with aplomb.
There was some half-breed trying to put on some moves, wearing some fanciful armor of dragon scales, and I was dealing with him while running the show, looking through eyes and giving pointers and showing an utterly remarkable amount of teamwork for our first outing.
The Juggernaut came pounding through a row of storage containers, whose toys happened to be filled with an inert mix of soluble heroin, waiting to be filtered out and processed. His grim “Oops!” as he smashed into the side of the dragon’s side fooled nobody, and then Hercules’ fist crashed into the whiskered head like a great hammer.
I sent my opponent flying back into another container, whose locks bent and broke under the impact. As he hit the ground, my feet were already arriving, and voltage chuckled through his heart and left him unable to fight.
The doors above swung open, and the frightened women inside were revealed to everyone.
“Cain, stand on that dragon. If it tries anything, I want nothing to stop your foot atop its head from reaching the concrete.”
He grinned, put a big foot atop its head, and a golden eye opened just a slit as the pressure came down. Its tail twitched, and it stopped moving.
“Hercules, if you could lift that container down and nobly assist the ladies within out.”
“’twould be my pleasure!” he proclaimed, and given that he was a god, they understood him perfectly, and because I was speaking Human, they understood me. I flew up and just kept the container even as he reached up, grabbed it with his fingertips, steel protested, and he pulled it out easily and nimbly, with the skill of long experience at lifting heavy, awkward objects.
There were only a few cries from within as he swung it out into the walkway, now decorated with many unconscious Tong fighters, and despite all the physics saying it should have bent or folded or something, Hercules set it on the ground with perfect control and perfectly intact, stepped around to the front, and gallantly helped all the smuggled Chinese women out of there.
“Well done,” I indicated to everyone, as Iceman calmly nailed all the unconscious Tong to the ground with ice shackles for the SHIELD units stationed in the city. He had effectively been on oversight, playing support for everyone and ready in case something else came popping out in surprise. I gave everyone a quiet assessment at doing their jobs... including Evac, who had spirited the closest yard workers a quarter-mile away very quickly.
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“Well, rather a huge bunch of coincidences, I’d say,” I claimed with a perfectly straight face. “I heard there was a big drug load coming in. Was kind of surprised to see the Widow here, she’s usually out East, right? I think the Ghost Rider said he felt a big magic something coming in, and came down to investigate. The Juggernaut there, he’s a merc... someone probably paid him to be a pain in the ass here.” The camera swung over to where the Widow and a SHIELD agent were talking to the looming Marko. The Ghost Rider was long gone, of course, but everyone had seen him, and nobody was likely to forget a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle. “I think Angel and Iceman said they saw the Ghost Rider coming in, and followed him out of curiosity. As for Hercules over there... well, he’s a god. He probably thought he’d find a good fight here.” He was sitting over there next to the dragon, who was all coiled up and looking rather inconspicuous somehow, chatting with the god.
“Will you be staying together, Dynamo? Will we be seeing you as a group again?” the reporter asked, rather excited at the idea of getting a break on the story.
“Us?” I scratched my head. “I suppose anything is possible, but I’d have to talk with everyone...” I made a face, looked at him. “Sounds like an idea. Let me go talk to them. I’ll let you know if something comes out of it, Paul.”
He was absolutely delighted I remembered his name, and moreso that he might be the cause of a superhero team forming. “Well, that was Dynamo, people, the woman who’s been keeping the streets of the West Coast safe for the past year or so, and against some nasty customers! Who knows what might come out of this, we don’t usually see so many heroes gathered in one place...”
