//------------------------------// // S4: Deus ex Machina // Story: The Technological Technicolor Technomare // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "What father wouldn't..." As last words went, Tony felt those were some pretty damn good ones. Many probably would think that telling Rainbow he loved her would be better, but he figured what he was doing stated that rather plainly. Besides...if this was to be the moment of his death - dying saving his daughter - then he knew this moment would stick with Rainbow for the rest of her life, likely shaping the way she saw herself, saw the world. And for one who wanted to be a hero more than anything, a lesson on self sacrifice might be the right thing. Already dream visions of what she might accomplish in the future filled his mind. As he felt the metal of the back of his suit start to melt into his back, he clenched his teeth so Rainbow would not see his pain. He could save her from that last bit of torment, thanks to both their masks. And he would be spared the sight of her face wreathed in pain and loss. Although he regretted he wouldn't be able to look into her magenta orbs one last time, see her mane fan out around her. Although just now, as the metal began to cook his insides and the pain faded - beyond his mind's ability to process, presumably - he could swear he could see the rainbow that was her namesake spreading out around her, glowing all around them as the sounds of hooves filled his ears. As Rainbow perked up from the sounds, he heard an ancient, powerful authoritative voice ring out. "Well said, young warrior! Well said! Hraðar! Hraðar!" The cracking of reigns could be heard despite the vacuum of space. A multi-pronged golden spear head wedged itself between Tony and Rainbow, levering her out of his grip despite both their protests. A large hand then seized him by his arclight and threw him over the neck of a horse, and he found himself staring down at too many legs. Okay... he thought to himself. If this is what getting into the afterlife is like, those priests owe Rainbow some massive posthumous refunds on my behalf. As the horse he was on raced down the rainbow, he felt the heat of reentry vanish completely. Struggling to turn his head, he caught sight of Rainbow being held close to an armored chest under the watchful gaze of an old man...who looked a bit like Santa Claus wearing an eyepatch. "Don't try to move!" the man cautioned Tony. "Not until the Valkyries get a look at you!" Unable to resist further, Tony slumped across the horse's neck, blacking out. When the massive rainbow lanced down out of the sky into Central Park, literal swarms of people from all across New York City converged on it, hoping against hope that Rainbow Dash had somehow returned. They were actually right, but only one of those racing for it - clinging to his mystic hammer - knew what the rainbow truly was, having recognized it. Arriving on the scene, Thor's jaw dropped as he caught sight of a figure he never expected to see in Midgard. "Father?" Odin laughed gaily as Sleipnir took his hooves from rainbow light onto earthly soil. "Oh, son!" he bellowed expansively, carefully setting his burdens onto the ground, Tony on his stomach and Rainbow on her side. "Now I believe I perceive your fondness for this world! The danger and adventure is so much more intensive and personal! That rescue was so invigorating! I haven't felt this young since you were her size!" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Rainbow as he said this. "Father, are they alright?" Thor asked, rushing towards the prone figures. Odin held his exuberant son back. "The Valkyries will see to them now, just like they did in bygone days." As his gaze turned up, he spied another one-eyed face approaching him. "My good commander, do be so good as to have your men keep the civilians back, and I'll happily answer any of your questions that I can! For right now, my Valkyries need room to tend to the fallen who have not yet passed." He gestured to where several armored females on large armored pegasi were trying to come in for landing. Nick Fury was able to recognize medical supplies in the pouches the women carried, even if they were like none he recognized. He quickly ordered his troops to hold the crowds back, giving plenty of room around the fallen Iron Warriors for the pegasi to land, and to only let the other Avengers and Pepper through. "Well we can start with exactly who and what you are," he demanded. "I am Allfather Odin, King of Asgard, Father of Thor and Loki," Odin explained. As he spoke, the Valkyries dismounted and began examining their two prone patients. Nick blinked. "Okay. Maybe you're the one to ask. What the hell did Rainbow do?" He pointed to the sky. "She did something that obliterated the entire Skrull armada and generated a shield that protected the planet from the fallout that didn't fade for the entire 8 hours it took to finish cleaning up down here." "There are forces in the universe that cannot be filed easily under 'science'," Odin explained. "The laws that govern these forces reshape themselves at times, and the forces themselves react to use as though alive. While they can be reliably tapped, these forces cannot be effectively controlled, and to do so invites disaster as the forces themselves turn against you. For lack of a better term, we Asgardians have termed these forces 'magic'. Our own tech - such as the Tesseract - is actually technology designed to actively analyze and tap these 'magical' forces for more reliable and easily attainable results than the usual rituals. We call it magiteck." Nick nods. "While that explains a lot about the Tesseract and other things, that doesn't-" "Some races are born with the innate ability in every member of the race to tap these forces biologically to some extent," Odin continued. "The pegasi as they once were here in Midgard-" he gestured to the Valkyries' mounts "-do not have this ability. This young pony, however, does. Her basic flight is powered by this. She has designed her armor to run off this energy. The Sonic Rainboom I have beheld is a massive release of this energy." "So it's just something she can naturally do?" Nick asked in shock, staring a little nervously at Rainbow. "Nay," Odin denied. "When she performed that feat in the space above the skies, she tapped a fundamental force of existence, one of the sources of magical energy. Not unlike when we tap the Tesseract to warp across vast distances of space at little energy cost, but at a much larger scale. This is not something that can just be done at will, even by the most gifted of biological magic users. These forces are self aware, and have their own will and rules. Not only did very unique and specific criteria have to be met, but the power had to be channeled through her, and it nearly killed her. That is not a measure of her own ability. While I do not know this particular force, other Asgardians have encountered it in the past, and this is a price it always extracts for those who seek to wield its power alone." For some reason, Sleipnir nickered in amusement. "So it was one of those one-in-a-million miracle shots that can't be used every day, but that superheroes somehow manage to pull off anyway every time they really need them, and so otherwise is nothing for the government to really worry about?" Nick asked sardonically. "Precisely!" Odin beamed, pleased that Nick was able to understand this so well. "Do you think you could explain that to my superiors yourself?" Nick asked. "Somehow I don't think they'll take my word for it, and otherwise they're going to want Rainbow in a lab where they can poke and prod and figure out how she did it, and I know from experience all that will do is make her and everyone who cares about her go rogue." Including me, Nick surprised himself by adding silently. Odin smiled. "As soon as my Valkyries are finished with these young warriors, I will happily speak with your leaders. There is much that should be discussed." He turned as one of the Valkyries approached. "Ah, Sif! What news of their condition?" Sif cleared her throat as she looked over her report. "Tony Stark has suffered severe organ compression due to improper protection against g-forces during his trip to the moon and back. He is also suffering from massive oxygen deprivation, and serious liquid metal burn damage to his back, spine, and heat damage to his organs. While we can address all of these, there also appears to be metal shrapnel near his heart we cannot address, though it is being held in stasis - barely - by the arclight in his chest, though it is low on power." "That is not our concern," Odin pointed out. "That is a matter that he will address himself. What of the rest? How long will it take to repair the damage?" "We should have it all healed up in ten minutes, and the arclight recharged in an hour," Sif explained. "That's as fast as it can absorb the energy." "And what of young Rainbow?" Odin asked as Nick goggled at that assessment, both of Tony's injuries and of the diagnosis of how little time they'd take to correct. Sif's brow creased in worry. "She's worse off, actually. Massive energize strain to all organs, muscles and bones from trying to store that much magic in her own body. Major oxygen deprivation, atmospheric withdrawal - too much time spent in an artificially generated atmosphere, not to mention the strain of generating it herself - mental fatigue from forcing her mind to function on insufficient oxygen, and massive magical withdrawal. She doesn't currently even have enough innate magical energy being generated to keep her alive, not to mention the damage she did to herself by trying to run on artificially generated magic converted from solar power." Odin hissed in sympathy. "What can we do?" "The physical damage is easy enough to fix," Sif explained. "We're already correcting the damage to muscle, bone, and organs, and are working at getting oxygen back into her bloodstream in as high concentrations as her body can tolerate to counteract the debt. We've also gotten her out of the armor and the belt so we don't risk her losing any of the magic she naturally generates, and set up a redirector to make sure any magic that escapes her body is put right back in." "But Asgardian magic does not mesh well with her magic!" Thor warned. "It causes quite an unpleasant backlash to all involved." "This we know," Odin explained, smacking Sleipnir companionably on the withers. "We have come prepared." Sleipnir laid down beside Rainbow, wrapping himself around her not unlike a mare protecting a foal with her body. His muzzle pressed against her side, nuzzling her gently. "They'll both be okay, right?" Nick asked in concern as the other Avengers - save Ultron, who was still hadn't made it back to shore yet - and Pepper arrived. "As long as they aren't moved until they're fully recovered, they will be fine," Sif confirmed. "In the meantime," Odin proclaimed, "perhaps we can get in contact with your superiors to address all relevant matters?" Rainbow slowly stirred. She felt warm, safe, protected, warm breath tickling her feathers. She slowly opened her eyes, and found herself staring into a white horse face. "Horsey?" she mumbled in confusion. She wakes. The voice entered her mind without passing through her ears. Do not move or overwhelm her. A pounding of feet approached, and Thor's face entered her view as the horse face pulled back. "Young Rainbow!" he gasped in relief. "You have returned! We thought you lost forever!" "Don't you ever do anything crazy like that again, young lady!" Pepper growled angrily, though there was relief in her voice. "I've had more than my fill of that sort of heroics after years dealing with your father!" "You're alive." Those two words were all Steve Rodgers was able to get out clearly, smiling through tears of joy as he looked down on her. "Pony okay?" Hulk asked worriedly, reaching out a single massive green finger, as though he was torn between needing to touch her to be sure she was real and fear that she might break under his touch. Rainbow lifted her head carefully to nuzzle Hulk's finger, and the joyous relief that overwhelmed his face filled her heart. "Tired...but okay," she muttered, having trouble getting full sentences out. "Pony...okay..." Hulk sat down heavily and began bawling his eyes out in relief, twin waterfalls of tears pouring out to puddle to either side of him. A massive splash of water soaking him from head to toe was a single teardrop of relief from Zuki, who looked on from above. "Daddy?" Rainbow asked worriedly, trying to look around. "Over here, Dashie," Tony called, and the horse face moved farther to reveal Tony, who was laid up in bed recharging his arclight. Save the total exhaustion across his features, he looked none the worse for wear. "Looks like we pulled through again. Just like always." Pepper threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I don't know which of you is worse!" she proclaimed testily. "Definitely Tony," JARVIS observed. "He's mature enough to know his limitations by now. He just doesn't care." Tony calmly flipped the AI off. "What's that mean?" Rainbow asked. "The finger thing?" Hulk facepalmed as Tony chuckled. He'd managed to preserve more of her innocence than he thought. "He just flipped JARVIS the bird," Captain America explained. Rainbow gasped quietly. "Bad Daddy," she scolded weakly. "That's naughty." "Do you know why?" Pepper asked as Tony chuckled. "No," Rainbow replied. "Good!" everyone said firmly, causing Sleiphnir to let out an amused whinny. "Ultron?" Rainbow asked, looking around. "I am here," Ultron said, coming in for a landing. "The fishermen finally left me out in the sun long enough to recharge. It is good to see you well, my friend. Were you in better physical condition, I would be hugging you as tightly as you could withstand right now." "Get in line!" Hulk, Pepper, Tony, and Steve stated in unison. Thor laughed as he gently stroked Rainbow's mane. "How'd we...?" Rainbow started to ask. "The Bifrost has been repaired," Thor explained. "Instantaneous transfer between the realms is now possible again...at least between Asgard and Midgard. My Father Odin rode Sleipnir here down the bridge, pulling you from your fatal plunge." He gently stroked the white horse's muzzle. "Why...only those two?" Rainbow wondered. There is an energy imbalance in the realms preventing access to any other worlds, the voice said directly into her mind again. Seeing the twinkle in his eye, she realized it must be Sleipnir talking. It should correct itself before too much longer, however. There was amusement in his voice, as though he knew something he wasn't saying. Return to sleep now, Rainbow, he directed. You are out of danger, but you are still quite weak. Rainbow's eyelids started to droop, but she fought against the compulsion in that voice. "ARMIS?" she managed to gasp out. "I'm in here with JARVIS," the AS spoke up, projecting his image. "It is good you are home, Rainbow, and I am glad Tony did not have to die to do it." Sleipnir snorted in amusement at ARMIS' image. If my daughters could see this, he muttered mentally. Now sleep, Rainbow. You need it. Unable to resist the compulsion, Rainbow slipped back into healing slumber. Many things changed over the next few days. When Earth had first started experimenting with the Tesseract, it had drawn the attention of the universe. However, their ability to repel the Chitauri invasion had convinced most of the universe - save the Skrull - that there wasn't anything on Earth worth the investment of trying to claim it as a territory. They settled for keeping an eye on the world to see what would happen. However, when a single being from Earth tapped a Fundamental Force to obliterate an entire Skrull armada, suddenly the fate of the Earth was no longer a matter of casual interest. Suddenly the entire universe wanted to know what was going on with Earth, who was in charge, and who was making sure that sort of power didn't turn reality as they knew it inside out. As Earth was an Asgardian protectorate in ancient times, the more peaceful of the universe's political powers left it up to Odin to address the situation and find an equitable solution. Even the more warlike of the races of the universe didn't want to risk applying the 'destroy the danger' solution in this case. There were still some Chitauri and Skrull left in the universe after their humiliating defeats at the hands of the people of Earth, though their forces were drastically reduced. No race wanted to risk being the third strike and being totally wiped out in retaliation. However, leaving the situation as it was wasn't an acceptable solution either. Power such as what the Earth proved capable of could not be left in the hands of a developing civilization unsupervised. It simply wasn't safe. The solution Odin had proposed - both to the other powers and to the leaders of Earth - was unpleasant to all, but ultimately acceptable. Earth's status as an Asgardian Protectorate was to be restored. The exact details of this decision were more complex to thrash out, but eventually acceptable compromises were reached. Earth would be left to rule itself, with Asgardian oversight in regards to their technological development. No interference in government would be present, save that no single country was allowed access to weapons technology with destructive capacity above nuclear. Any new technological developments would be reported to Asgard, so that Odin could assure the universe at large that the 'primitive barbarians' were not about to rip the universe a new one accidentally. In exchange, Asgard promised the Earth both protection against any threat that came from beyond the Earth, as well as some of its warriors to act as an assist for the peace keeping force the Avengers had evolved into. Asgard also would aid in repairing any damage alien activity caused to the planet, including restoring the planet's satellite network up to Earth's current state of the art. Asgard also would not interfere with any of Earth's technological developments, nor would it claim any resources from Earth. As well, when Earth reached a technological level that exceeded that which was defined as a 'developing civilization', the Protectorate status would immediately be voided, and the people of Earth would be welcomed into the greater universe...with Asgard offering themselves as the young civilizations first allies. The only interference Asgard would initiate was the revival of a certain old custom...one that the governments of Earth could see no harm in, especially when a few new tweaks were announced regarding it. Odin and Sleiphnir were in Central Park fulfilling that particular custom two weeks after Rainbow's return to Earth, once she was fully recovered. "In ancient days," Odin announced, giving a ceremonial speech for the occasion, "when the Universe was in a much greater state of war, the forces of Asgard were not enough to meet its available technology and defenses. Our children grew slowly to maturity, and we did not begat in large enough quantities to meet the demands of war. As such, we turned to this world, which we called Midgard. Your people begat in great quantities, and had many skilled and mighty warriors. Our Valkyries - our field medics - scoured your battlefields, finding those warriors who had fallen in battle, not yet on death's door but beyond your medicine's ability to save. Warriors with valor, honor, and skill, to them our Valkyries made an offer. If they offered their swords in service of Asgard, the Valkyries would give them new life, bring them to our Citadel amongst the Stars, and show them wonders they could never know otherwise. Those who agreed became the Warriors of Valhalla. "This custom is now being resurrected and formalized, with a new change given how both our worlds have changed. The Valkyries will scour the battlefields for warriors with honor, compassion, skill, and determination. Those willing to serve will join the ranks of Vallhalla. However, as some warriors will be posted here to protect Earth, those who are not on permanent posting will be able to visit their loved ones who remain here. "Two new warriors, however, are to be named today, ones who will be on permanent posting to this world, to safeguard its people against all threats, terran or stellar. Should they accept, they will be the first to receive this honor in over 1000 years." Odin turned to where Tony and Rainbow were standing. "Will you accept?" he asked. "Do you raise your sword under the banner of Asgard, for the safety of Midgard?" Tony smiled. "I don't have a sword, but yes." Smiling, Odin hung a medallion bearing the symbol of Asgard around Tony's neck. Placing his hand upon the medallion, he infused it with Asgardian magic. "If ever your battles need the strength of Asgard, let this medallion be a beacon to summon our aid, and a key to ride the Bifrost to the stars." Sleiphnir stepped forward. Rainbow Dash Stark, he intoned formally, his voice reaching straight into the hearts of all who heard, will you raise your wings under the banner of Asgard, in the name of the Realms that are your home? Rainbow spread her wings wide and proudly, her head raised. "I will." Sleiphnir hung a similar medal around her neck. Pressing his muzzle against the polished metal, his magic infused it. It was similar to the magic of other Asgardians, but focused in such a way that it didn't interfere with Rainbow's magic. Let this badge be your beacon, summoning your allies to your aid, and open the gates of the Bifrost to your flight. Not everyone who was there to see knew what all of this meant, but they knew when they were supposed to cheer.