Legendary

I popped home and got ready for the afternoon's activities. Up in the attic I'd found some of my old clothes in a couple of trunks; from what I could remember, it was most of my suits and nice casual clothing, with my lingerie and a few of my cocktail dresses as well. At the bottom of one of trunks were shoes, and there were a few suits of Damian's. They were in excellent condition, and I brought them down to our closet. They still fit well, although some of the oldest suitcoats were tight over my shoulders and arms; I'd gained muscle. I was pleased because I wouldn't have go shopping; as ever, retro fashion enjoyed a certain popularity, and these styles were considered classics. So I chose my favorite pair of black wool trousers, comfortable two inch black pumps, and a light blue silk charmeuse blouse, applied new makeup that I'd gotten (advances in technology made this stuff long-wearing, oil controlling, and easy to remove) and styled my hair. I was waiting in the library with a couple of cats when Damian and Daniel arrived, looking handsome in their suits. Seeing them together, I saw that while there wasn't a facial resemblance, they had similar body types and height. Daniel came over after Damian kissed me hello, and presented me with a banker's box.

I opened it to find some familiar boxes. I smiled and picked up the oldest one, opening it and pulling out Martha Wayne's single strand of natural pearls. I handed it to Damian, who closed the clasp for me and kissed the back of my neck while he was there. Daniel smiled. "Thank you, honey," I said to him.

"I thought you should have these," he said. "They're the family pieces." I quickly sorted through them; there was Damian's double strand of cultured pearls and the matching earrings, my wedding and engagement rings, the diamond earrings that my parents had given me for high school graduation (and replaced), a few other pairs of earrings and rings, the rest of Martha's jewelry, a couple of brooches, some necklaces, the cuff links I'd given Damian, his wedding ring, some other pieces including onyx shirt studs that Bruce had given him. Some things I recognized, others were new to me, added by other generations. "Grandpa says that there are still safes up in your closet, you can keep them there. They're yours." There was a little discussion about that, which Daniel won, and Alfred appeared long enough to admire the pearls on me again and to whisk the box away.

The three of us went back outside, where there was an unusual pod-shaped thing on the driveway. It was a personal shuttlecraft that could seat a maximum of six, configured today for three, and Daniel showed us how it worked. It was pretty simple; input your destination, the shuttlecraft cleared the flight plan, and you settled in for the journey. He began to input the address for the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History, but Damian asked if we could make a quick detour. Daniel agreed, a little curious, but put in the address we gave him. From the mansion it was just a short, almost bird's eye path to city hall, where he accompanied us in. We had an appointment, and very shortly, we were reciting marriage vows before a judge and exchanging the rings I'd nicked out of the box. I sighed in pleasure as he slid my wedding band on my finger and returned the favor. Daniel was open-mouthed with surprise, but graduated to a big grin by the time we kissed. We signed the license, thanked the judge, had Daniel sign as witness, and then we were on our way to the museum. The whole thing hadn't taken fifteen minutes.

Daniel had a million questions about when we'd decided to get remarried, why we'd done it, why hadn't we made a bigger deal about it. "Well, the original deal was until death, which, since both of us were dead, nullified the contract," Damian said, picking up my hand.

"When I saw him again, it was as if he'd just come home from a long trip; he was still my husband," I said, squeezing his hand. "He is the only man for me, really. But since it wasn't official anymore, we waited until the authorities had some time to figure out how to deal with dead people coming back to life. Once they had some guidelines, we went and applied; this was the first day we could get married." Damian and I grinned at each other. "And we wanted you there."

"There's no need for a big wedding," Damian said. "We had that, it was fun, but as far as I'm concerned, this is just sort of clearing up a paperwork glitch. Alex is the only woman I could ever marry. She's always held my heart." I put my other hand over his.

"I can't imagine that two lifetimes will be enough," I said, and Damian touched my face.

Daniel had more questions, this time they were about how we met, how we knew that each other was the one. We laughed about our misadventures, including our very first date and our first night together, when Bruce had walked in on us. That was still a funny story. It was only about a twenty five flight down to DC, so storytime was cut short. Our side trip hadn't even made us late.

We met the curator, a Dr Matthews, by the elephant in the Rotunda, and we went into the staff-only research wing. There, armed guards stood by a table where familiar boxes were laid out. They retreated behind the table as Dr Matthews invited me to open the boxes and share the stories. Then he leaned closer. "Are those the Wayne pearls?" he asked, and I took them off to let him have a closer look. "Remarkable," he said, finally handing them back. "Natural pearls are so rare now, especially pearls of this caliber. And these haven't been seen in public for at least forty years. They're exquisite." I smiled and had Damian put them back on, then we started looking at the jewelry pieces. The Artemis and Apollo diamond earrings, the Faberge aquamarine pendant, the diamond ivy bracelet he'd given me for my birthday, a Lalique necklace, important works by Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels and other master jewelers, rings shaped like animals and birds and flowers, floral and geometric brooches, important earrings and necklaces, a dazzling assortment of precious metals, luminous cabochons, exquisitely carved gemstones, and flashing faceted gems. Between the two of us, Damian and I remembered when each piece was purchased and a story related to where I'd worn them. Finally, we were done, but Daniel and Dr Matthews were still enthralled and we'd drawn a crowd of other staff members. Including, it turned out, the Director. She said it was an unparalleled opportunity to relive a period of history and wondered if we'd cooperate with museum to have a special display of some of the pieces. After some looking between the three of us, the family agreed in theory, and the Director said she'd be in touch. There was some small talk, then Daniel said he'd like to take us out to celebrate, which prompted a question about the occasion from the museum curators. Damian and I smiled at each other when Daniel said we'd just gotten married again, and the Director and Dr Matthews both congratulated us heartily and I showed them my wedding ring, with the diamonds that spelled "I love u" in Morse code.

"What would you have done if you didn't have the rings?" Daniel asked.

"If not for your good timing," Damian said, smiling at him, "We would have asked if the family still had them later, and if not, had new ones made. But the originals are better." Dr Matthews sighed at the sentiment, and we said our goodbyes. Daniel took us to the Aerie, said to be the capitol's best restaurant, decorated with gryphons and a gold, white, and sky blue theme. We told him about our first wedding, how Bruce and Alfred had pretty much masterminded the whole operation, where Damian had proposed to me, our honeymoon on the Orient Express.

"I've been extraordinarily lucky," I said, tears in my eyes as I looked at my husband. Daniel sighed and ordered champagne. "I like the decor," I said, looking around.

"Are gryphons your patronus?" Daniel asked, and we laughed. It was a lovely evening, and everybody was happy when we got home. Alfred opened the door to us.

"You and Master Damian have a visitor, Miss Alex," he informed me, and followed us into the library.

"Mommy!" a voice squealed, and a woman popped up from the sofa between Bucky and Emma. I was nearly flattened by the charge from my daughter and my wings came out instinctively to help keep me on my feet. I dimly heard silk ripping but didn't care.

"My precious girl," I managed to say, tears streaming down my face as I hugged her fiercely. And something new happened. My wings had become more flexible with use and training, and they folded protectively around us, like bats' wings do.

Damian let us have some time, then asked "Can a dad join this hug?" I made my wings go back, and after a struggle packed them away, and Damian got to hug his daughter, then I made it a family hug. Damian gave me his handkerchief, then, as it turned out, we were fresh out as Bucky and Steve had volunteered theirs earlier when Martha had seen her aunt and uncle. Alfred brought in a box of tissues and placed a trash can nearby. We sat on the sofa opposite Bucky and Emma; Steve had vacated the sofa for us and sat with them. Then I nudged Martha up and introduced her to Daniel, who had been waiting so patiently. Damian brought a chair over and sat, arranging us so I was sitting next to him, with Martha in the middle by Daniel.

She had an update from Olympus; it seemed that the Greek gods weren't sure what to do, this not being part of their expectations, and they were sitting tight. I looked over at Bucky and he nodded slightly; I knew he'd be talking to Thor and Odin. Perhaps an emissary could be sent. Then she'd come home. "I was so thrilled to see Alfred again, and he told me where you were, then called Uncle Bucky and Aunt Emma. It's so exciting to meet Captain Rogers. Uncle Bucky told me so many stories about you, I'm pretty sure I embarrassed myself with all the fan girling. And Daniel. Let me look at you." She studied him a moment and grinned. "Your eyes look just like my grandson Edward's," she said fondly, patting his cheek. Daniel was at a bit of a loss; I sympathized. Martha was a force of nature. "Alfred said you call Mom 'Grandma,' so you just call me Martha. Too many grandmas is distracting."

"Grandpa said you'd be coming along," Daniel said, smiling with pleasure. "Alfred said he'd prepared a room for you."

"I did, Master Daniel," Alfred confirmed, coming in with a tray of cookies, tea, and coffee. And Tony and Bruce.

"Godpop!" And Martha the Missile was up again, flinging her arms around a startled Tony. I grinned. He smiled gently and hugged her back, smoothing her straight obsidian hair.

"About time you got here, punkin," he said gruffly. And sniffled, just slightly.

"Gotta have the information," she murmured, beaming at him. She then offered her hand to Bruce. "Martha Wayne," she said.

"This is Bruce Banner," Tony told her, as Bruce shook her hand.

"Wow, THE Bruce Banner?" she asked. Then she looked over to us. "Is he working for us, Danny? Because if he's half as good as the stories, his brain is beautiful. Get him up to date and he'll be amazing."

"Um, yes, Daniel has been very kind," Bruce said cautiously.

"I'm sure he is kind," and she threw a smile at Daniel. "But he's also smart, which means that he'd see your value too." She urged them to pull up chairs, and we chatted for awhile before calling it a day and separating for bed. Damian was pulling back the covers and I was wondering where my robe went when the door opened and Martha slipped in. She was wearing the robe in question.

"Had to borrow some things, Mom," she said, coming over for another hug.

"You're welcome to anything I have, baby," I said. "But let's go shopping tomorrow and get you some of your own things. I'll be at the embassy tomorrow, so if you come with me, you can see Loki."

"What have you got going tomorrow?" she asked, snuggling into the hug.

"We have a first aid class for the valkyries. And I'd love to show you off to the others," I added, delighted. "Then I have to pop to Asgard briefly, and I think that's it. Serena has excused us from practice for a couple of days." I explained briefly what had happened. "Oh, and you can meet Torunn, Thor's daughter. She's serving at the embassy in her uncle's bodyguard detail."

She peppered me with questions about what I'd been doing, then started in on her father. We curled up in the bed and she sat at the foot, just like she'd done as a child. Finally she yawned. "I'd better get to bed," she said. "This resurrection thing is taking some getting used to." I kissed her good night, followed by her father, and she crawled off the mattress and stopped dead at the sight of my little armory on the floor. "Jesus, Mom," she said, aghast. I shrugged.

"It's what I do, honey," I said to her. "I had a nice stand in Valhalla that Uncle Steve made for me, but none of the furniture came with us when we were booted." She stared at the pile of metal. I think it was hitting her then what I was preparing for. I was sorry for her, but there was nothing I could do. "So, uh... Bucky and Emma and Steve, too? What's going on there?"

"I've never asked," I said delicately, giving her a firm look. "Whatever the nature of their relationship is, it's none of my business. It's working for them, and that's all anybody needs to know."

"Ok, right," she said, grinning at me, then she left.

The next morning after breakfast, I rode in with Daniel, Damian, and Martha; they dropped us at the embassy and after a call from the gates, Loki himself came down to grant us entrance. "Martha, my dear," he said, hugging her. "She's my goddaughter," he told the guard at the gate proudly. "Make sure she has access." We walked up the drive and they accompanied me to the courtyard, where I had the pleasure of introducing my daughter to the other valkyries, who were waiting for the first aid class to start. Serena remembered her; they'd met a couple of times, but Martha exerted her charm on the rest before Loki whisked her away. Serena wanted to update me on the new valkyries and their integration. While we were talking, a sleek white swan waddled up to us and honked at me. I looked at it apprehensively; it opened its beak again, and said, in the unmistakable voice of Skuld, that I was not to worry about my bond, that it would be fine. The swan glared at me through one beady black eye and snapped its beak on my little finger. I swore and it looked triumphant before waddling off into the shadows and melting away.

"Fuckers really hold a grudge," I said through gritted teeth. Curiously, the other valkyries didn't seem to have noticed the swan. "I didn't even do anything with their damned feathers." Serena started to laugh.

"Saves you a trip to Asgard," she pointed out. "So you'll have plenty of time for shopping with your daughter."

"I think my finger's broken," I hissed.

"Good thing your first aid class is about to start," she said, laughing, and patted my shoulder.

"You need anything at the stores?" I asked. "Sorry, I haven't thought to ask before."

"No, the embassy has taken care of what we need, for those of us who are stationed here or visit a lot. The others care doing fine with what they have. Earth's the outlier on fashion, really." I nodded and joined the class as the instructor started to set up. First aid had gotten a lot fancier than I remembered, and there were a lot of high tech supplies available at a very reasonable cost. The instructor showed us what she would recommend in a personal kit, which included a portable x-ray scanner. She asked for a volunteer, and I raised my hand and said that I thought my finger was actually broken. So we got a practical demonstration on the use of the instrument and a new (to us) instant-set foam cast. The bone was cracked, not all the way through, so it didn't have to be set. She showed us an injection that encouraged the initial formation of bone. She was able to administer it, having a lot more training, and after that excitement, we set to work learning for our test.

At a break, I thanked her again for fixing my finger and asked her about getting more advanced training for some of us. I roped in Holly for that discussion, and we learned about how some of our number could get advanced classes. I said that I'd been a paramedic before, and Holly had been a doctor, and she advised us to contact our boards and ask about how we could get up to date. When she turned away to talk to other students, we moved aside. "You'll be needed on the battlefield," Holly said to me, "but I think it would be beneficial for you to get trained too. You never know when those skills might be needed. And frankly, I don't know how many of us are suited to more training. We're a queasy bunch," she said. We'd seen some graphic recordings that had caused distress in our ranks.

"Wait til you get to know the ones who just rejoined," I advised as we went back to our tables. "They're a lot tougher than us modern valkyries." They were too. Our training, much more abbreviated from the ones I remembered, only took til lunch. We took our tests and all passed. There was a round of applause for our instructor and we thanked her before dispersing. Holly and I found Loki in his office with my daughter, Torunn, and Thor, laughing and having a good time. Holly submitted a list to Loki of the equipment we needed for our kits and left to contact the state medical licensing board. Thor was telling me how he'd invited Martha to Asgard to see her godmother Sif when Odin came in search of me. Thor introduced my daughter to him.

"You do not look much alike," he said, looking between us.

"Fortunately, she resembles her father," I said fondly, brushing her hair back. Her dad is a babe.

"Are you not a warrior like your mother before you?"

"My skills aren't as good as hers," Martha said matter-of-factly. "I can defend myself just fine, but my brother inherited more of her abilities than I did."

"And where is your brother?"

"I don't know," she said tensely. "He wasn't in my afterlife, that's all I know." Odin regarded her, and she looked back, steady but not challenging.

"Now I see your mother's influence," he said, sighing. He gave me a list of things to do the next day and let me know that the smiths were expediting the armor for the returning valkyries. Good, something to check off my list. "But it will take some time," Odin said glumly. "Demand is high and our supply of metal is low."

"What kind of metal do you need?" Martha asked.

"Steel, mostly," I said, as Odin flapped his hand in dismissal. He's not the detail kind of guy, mostly big-picture.

"Danny acquired a foundry last year," Martha said, her eyes narrowing in concentration. Damian and Daniel had been talking about the scope of Wayne Enterprises on the drive in. "I can find our their production; we could probably supply your needs quickly and efficiently." Loki smiled in satisfaction, and Odin looked intrigued. Business wasn't his thing, but he admired knowledge and skill, regardless of their application. I went to Asgard quickly to find out what the smiths' needs were and when I returned, Martha said she'd get on that this afternoon. We went for lunch together, then shopped. "So really, Mom, what happened with Tony?" she asked, puzzled. "You said you were together, but you're definitely not now that Dad's back, and he doesn't seem upset."

"We broke up during Fimbulwinter," I said, holding a blouse up to her. "It was wonderful while it lasted, but we'd gone back to just friendship when we were chucked out of Valhalla. It was good, he wasn't hurt by my going back to Damian. He's pretty much my dearest friend," I said abstractly as I held up a pretty ruby colored suitcoat. "I need to find him a woman, though. He deserves to be happy." She grinned.

"Matchmaker," she taunted me as she took the coat from me.

"I just want everybody to be happy," I replied as we moved on. "And Tony doesn't always know what makes him happy. So a nudge now and then..." Martha smiled and shook her head. She got the basics of a good wardrobe, leaving the suits and slacks to be altered, and I picked up a few pairs of cross-trainers. Shoe technology had sadly lagged in Valhalla.

Then we went to the office, where Martha and Daniel immediately looked into the company's steel holdings. I asked Damian how he was getting on.

"Daniel's got the company running like a precision instrument," he told me proudly. "There's not much for me to do, actually. Will you still love me if I turn into a slacker?"

"That would last for about a day and a half," I said fondly. "You'll just find yourself something else to do."

"You know me too well, Sweet pea," he said, nuzzling my hair. "I guess I'm just going to have to figure out what I want to do for my second act. I can't freeload forever." Then he winced as Daniel threw a ball of paper at him and rolled his eyes before turning back to Martha, who was pointing out something on his screen.

The next morning, Martha went into the embassy with me with information about the steel that Wayne could supply, and she and Loki set to dickering. As far as Wayne was considered, the amount of steel was small and they had it on hand. Daniel was inclined to be generous, given my association with Asgard, but it wasn't charity, and it wasn't long before Martha produced a contract, already signed by Daniel. As soon as the pen left the page after Loki's signature, Martha called the office and Daniel personally got things in motion. We waited while Loki summoned a guard to courier the contract over to Wayne, and the three of them took the Bifrost to Asgard. I didn't, waiting for them in the observatory, chatting with Heimdall. Then it was up to the citadel, where Sif waited. I watched her greet her goddaughter, and they settled down with tea. I watched Serena work with the new/returning valkyries for a bit, then trained Magni and Modi. I stopped by the smiths to let them know that steel was coming, to their great relief, and took care of a few more things. The first load of supplies for the obstacle course was set to go down later today, and after practice tomorrow, we'd start setting things up. It should go pretty fast; the obstacles had been premade and it was a matter of just assembling it on site. Daniel had offered to supply our needs, but he'd done enough with the donation of the property. When I got back to the sunroom where everybody was still talking, Magni and Modi had joined the company and were very attentive to Martha. I smiled. She was a little too much woman for either of them, at least at this stage of their lives. I had to get going, so I told Martha I'd see her at home, and said goodbye to everyone else. I blipped back to the embassy and started checking items off my list.