Legendary

Things were going about as well as I could hope, so I was satisfied. Sure, there were things I was missing--I would do pretty much anything if I could get Xander, J, my parents and Bruce back, for example. But I was working on the premise that they were in the Christian afterlife, since nobody had come back from that. And there was the matter of the threat of Ragnarok that followed me around like a shadow. But aside from those things, I was enjoying being alive again and exceedingly grateful for what I did have.

The day after my shopping trip with Martha, I was up early for practice; it was our first integration with the old valkyries and I was so eager. They had centuries of experience and their ferocity was inspirational. All of them were masters of at least one weapon, and just to watch them fight was an education. I'd missed them after they'd stayed in Helheim. Serena played around with formations and tactics, aided by Brynhildr, the most skilled in that area from among the older valkyries, and Eir led on the battlefield. There was a learning curve associated with the integration, but it went very well. After that, we had lunch and went down to start assembling the obstacles. The Wayne land was beautiful, even prettier than the parcel in Valhalla, and everybody was in a good mood. I left early to check on the steel as well as chase down other loose ends and was a little late back. Damian, Martha, and Daniel were waiting for me back in the embassy, talking with Loki and Torunn, firming up the plans for dinner in a couple of days. I mentally smacked my head. I'd forgotten about that, and it had been my idea.

We chatted on the way home; Martha had run into a friend she'd made in the underworld. Ann was British, but she'd been living in Boston, teaching computer science at Harvard. Damian smirked at me and I rolled my eyes. She'd been working on computational biochemistry and was down interviewing for a position at Columbia, not having been dead so long that her knowledge was completely out of date. "You should invite her to dinner," I encouraged Martha.

"I invited her to the dinner we're having this week," she said. "Alfred said there was room." I smiled. Alfred would make room. And Martha knew no unexceptional people, so I was certain she'd be a great addition.

At home, Steve had a surprise for me; he'd worked with Alfred to create a new weapons stand for me. It resembled the one he'd made for my room in Valhalla, but this was made from beautiful curly cherry that Alfred had found in one of the outbuildings. The wood was still pale, though it would darken with exposure to light, and the lively figure in the wood would show up even better. The stand came in two parts; one rack for my armor, helmet, cestuses, knives, swords, and knives, and one for my spears, javelins, arrows, and bow. Alfred suggested the apple orchard as a shooting range if I wanted to practice at home, and Daniel reminded me that I also had access to the Avengers facility. The racks were works of art, and I thanked them both. Damian was quiet and I could read him well; he was disturbed not by the arms and armor themselves, but that they represented an event that would be very hazardous and nobody knew what it would mean for those killed in battle. There might not be an afterlife this time. I arranged with Alfred, quietly, to have the stands moved from our room to the one next door so Damian wouldn't have it in his face each day. Alfred actually moved it downstairs to the cloakroom; nobody really went in there but him and it was really convenient. He also provided me with a sports bag, originally intended for hockey players, that was durable and allowed me to carry everything with me in one bag.

The next few days passed quickly and productively, and I looked forward to our dinner with anticipation. I had no idea how many people would be there, having lost track, but it was certain to be a good time. I made it home a little early to do some extra grooming and went down to help greet the guests. Damian came down with me and we indulged in some time on the tete-a-tete couch, which we didn't do much these days, wanting to socialize with the others. Daniel was the next one down and we joined him in the central seating area. Alfred served cocktails and said that the meal was on track for when the guests got there. Martha and Bucky were the next ones down, and I had the opportunity to catch up with how the armies of Asgard were progressing in their training. Then Steve and Emma came down, and Tony, and the our guests started to arrive. Loki, Torunn, and Thor and Sif had brought Magni and Modi. Bruce came in, apologizing for his lateness, just in time to greet Serena. But there seemed to be some unusual tension there, and I made a note to ask her about it the next day. One of the Avengers oversight committee came, and in a social situation was less stern than he appeared when he was a Senator in public. Martha introduced me to Ann, who was shockingly beautiful. She was moderately tall, with a willowy figure, rich creamy skin, and exquisitely beautiful wavy dark auburn hair. Her brown eyes were large and velvety but sharp and didn't miss much. She was delightful, witty and well-spoken. I reached out and dragged Tony over as he was passing by to make the introduction. She was intrigued with the legendary Tony Stark, and, smiling, I nudged my daughter along.

Martha didn't start snickering until we were at the canape trays that Alfred had placed on the desk. I just grinned at her. "Do you have any other awesome friends?" I asked her sotto voice.

"Haven't run into anybody else, but I expect I'll be making some new ones. I'm going to have to, if you keep setting them up with your friends," she replied, popping some sort of bacon-wrapped morsel in her mouth.

"Excellent, dear," I said, patting her shoulder. "You do that." She snorted in amusement before going over to Torunn. I found my husband talking to the Senator and Loki and joined the conversation. Or listening, anyway, they were talking about trade. I excused myself after a few minutes and found Bucky, talking to Thor about his responsibilities to Odin and Frigga, updating him about the progress of the training he and Steve were doing. This was a conversation I could add to, and we were comparing notes when the Senator joined us. Thor was an occasional Avenger, not totally under the authority of the oversight committee. Bucky had agreed in principle to rejoin the Avengers, but the Senator, I was surprised to find out, primarily wanted to talk to me.

"I understand that Daniel made you an offer to resume your former position as a trainer for the Avengers," he said to me, and I nodded.

"I don't have the time to do it now, but yes, he made that proposal."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Young Wayne doesn't have the final authority to make that offer, however," he said, surprising me slightly.

"Daniel may be young, but he's a fine businessman and nobody's fool," I said.

"I am concerned that he's stacking the Avengers with relatives and I want to know where your loyalties lie," he said baldly. "All I know about you is that you're a legendary socialite still known for jewelry and haute couture and that you have been granted Asgardian citizenship."

"She is a valkyrie, and prized among our people," Thor said calmly. "She has ties to Asgard, but that does not mean that she is hostile to the planet and country of her birth."

The Senator grunted. "I'm much more than what I wear," I said to him, allowing some chill into my voice. "If you search, you'll find my name on patents during my first lifetime and I managed the labs for Stark Tech for decades. Right now my primary responsibility is to prepare for Ragnarok, so discussions about me rejoining the Avengers' staff are premature. Daniel may be family, but you obviously don't know him well. The Waynes have, during my time at least, and Daniel shows the same integrity, always been impressed with talent and ability. My father-in-law hired a couple of people who had hit hard times out of friendship, but that was all he was willing to do. They started off in low level positions and rose or did not based on their work performance." I laughed. "I'd have never had so much as a friendship with Damian if I was as vapid as you assume." My voice cooled again.

"Are you saying there has to be some sort of loyalty oath?" Bucky asked, frowning. The Senator looked wary.

"We need to make sure that you're not agents of a foreign government," he said and Bucky exhaled hard.

"Politicians," he said to me and Thor in disgust. "Steve's not going to like this either." I nodded. Steve's dislike of oversight was strong enough that this might change his mind about rejoining the Avengers.

"If you choose not to join the Avengers again, we can certainly use your abilities," Thor said immediately. "And Loki has a gift for helping others identify and pursue new interests." Bucky looked thoughtful.

"It would be nice to try something else," he agreed.

"You could do whatever you wanted, Uncle Bucky," I said, and he put his arm around me.

"You too, sweetie. You always said that you made a mistake on your Masters," he reminded me. "You could study something else if you wanted, try a new field if you wanted. Stevie could go back to art school," he said, and from his tone, I could hear him thinking about new possibilities. Thor smirked and the Senator looked worried.

"I didn't know you were related to the Winter Soldier," he said to me.

"You don't know much, then," I said briefly. Thor grinned.

"Their closeness has always been well-known," he said dismissively. "My own sons have modeled their relationship on the love, trust and loyalty that Alex has for her uncle, which is fully reciprocated. I am grateful for that," he said to Bucky and me. "Avoiding the problem of jealousy between the brothers." I was surprised to hear that about Magni and Modi, and apparently my uncle was too. "They are not perfect, as is no one, but their integrity cannot be questioned by anyone with rudimentary intelligence." He shook his head. "Alex's one weakness is for baked goods. She makes hard decisions and pays the price for those decisions without complaint. Her conscience is clear and her loyalty and honor are noteworthy. She has earned the respect of my father, and that was hard enough for me, his son, to do." He shrugged and picked up his glass. "If your exercise of power drives Alex away, you will lose more than one trainer with a depth of experience you can only dimly grasp." He nodded to us and went in search of a refill.

"I'd forgotten that I had options, once this is all over," I said to my uncle.

He took my hand. "You're just focused, sweetie," he said. "You want to make sure that your valkryies are as prepared as possible, that you have done everything within your power to get them there. But you have a fine mind, and you should look around, see what's new and interesting to you."

"Damian is going to want a new challenge too," I said thoughtfully. "Daniel is running the company superbly, and I can see Martha going into some sort of partnership with him, but Damian will want to do something different." I tapped my lips with my finger and looked at my uncle. "And you might consider that you and Uncle Steve have the same freedom to explore as I do. What did you want to do before the war, Uncle Bucky? Because I think you just might have sacrificed enough already." We looked at each other, and he smiled, that big gorgeous smile I loved and didn't see enough.

"Let's see if you're right about fate and make it through Ragnarok. Keep our focus, then actually relax and think about it, sweetie." I smiled back and leaned against him.

"It would be nice not to have to be armed all the time," I said wistfully. "Maybe we should do some preliminary work with Loki, just to identify some possibilities. Remind us that there might be a different outcome."

"A different outcome?" I'd forgotten the Senator was still there.

"Ragnarok is supposed to end in the destruction of all but a handful of men and gods," I said briefly. "But I have it on good authority that fate isn't as fixed as people might think." I touched the cast on my little finger. It should be coming off soon.

"We've just got to make it through," Bucky said, and I nodded.

"I thought I heard my name." Loki's wonderful voice made me turn around and smile at him.

"You did. I was wondering if you do career counseling for old friends."

"Ah." He glanced briefly at the Senator. "I wondered if you might not be getting tired. Your skill at arms is exceptional and something Thor and I can only aspire to, but your laudable brain isn't being used. Yes, we must talk and I will explain the options you can find at Columbia." He caught me twisting my brass rat and laughed. "You cannot blame me for trying to attract exceptional students. You two let me know when you have some free time. And I am professionally acquainted with recruiters and officials at the Fashion Institute and Parsons, if Rogers also wants to look past the final battle."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the dismay on the face of the Senator. His approach had irritated me, and the more he talked, the more I knew that he hadn't done any research or asked any questions about me or my uncle. They'd released the information to the press about the return of most of the legendary Avengers, and this put him in a tight spot. "Sweet pea," Damian said, coming up to me and taking my hand. "Alfred's about to announce dinner. Sorry, Bucky, I'm escorting Alex in," he said with a grin that Bucky returned. Just then, Alfred did announce dinner service and I stood next to my husband.

"Please come through to the dining room," I invited Bucky and the Senator. "You won't be disappointed," I promised, then we walked down the hall, followed by our other guests.

"What was that about?" Damian murmured.

"Senator started questioning my loyalties," I murmured back. "Then Bucky reminded me that I could go back to school if I wanted, and it turns out that Bucky and Steve might want to do something different from Avenging, so it was a bad tactic." Daniel had placed me at the head of the table with him at the foot, with Martha and Damian near the middle at both sides in order to keep the conversation lively. Damian held my chair as everyone else found their seats. Martha smirked at me and cut her eyes to the side where Tony was seating Ann. I wanted to laugh that she'd undoubtedly gotten Alfred to switch the place cards. Serena was on Daniel's right, the Senator to his left, and Magni was on my right with Bruce on my left. It was Magni's first experience with a Midgardian social occasion but he was enjoying it very much, he assured me. Bruce was quiet as always, but I made sure to include him in the conversation, and Emma on his other side kept him engaged too. Alfred's meal was delicious, of course, with one of his special salads followed by individual Beef Wellingtons and roasted vegetables. Dessert was a variety of eclairs and cream puffs, served with coffee or tea, then we adjourned back to the library with our cups, or you could have brandy. After a reasonable time, our guests, showing every indication of having had a good time, said their good nights, thanked Daniel, and departed.

The Senator was the last to leave. "I didn't mean to offend you," he said to me.

With difficulty, I held my tongue and said I hoped he'd enjoyed dinner instead, then Daniel stepped up and escorted him to the door. When he got back, Daniel asked me what the Senator apologized for. I shook my head and picked up my coffee cup, which had gone cool. Oh well. "Basically accused you of nepotism, stacking the Avengers with your relatives, and questioning my loyalty."

Daniel rolled his eyes, and Alfred shook his head as he freshened my coffee. "I reminded her that she has options after Ragnarok," Bucky said. "Loki offered career counseling with an eye to enrolling her in Columbia" Tony snorted derisively "and she reminded me that I have options too. I'd forgotten," he admitted. "Hey, Stevie, Loki knows people at Parsons and FIT, if maybe you're interested in exploring some options with us." He chortled into his coffee. "So now the Senator, who should have done some research, has some problems." Steve started to laugh, which set off the group.

"Maybe it is time to see what regular people live like," Bruce said. "I need to brush up my knowledge. Maybe it's time to do something other than nuclear medicine." This set off a lively discussion among the former Avengers. I settled back and Damian kissed my temple.

"It would be nice to be able to relax again, not always be ready for the worst case scenario," I admitted to him as we got ready for bed. "I have a second chance. I should make the most of it."

Damian spit out his toothpaste and hugged me. "You do have a wonderful mind," he said. "We can both look into other possibilities. It would be an adventure we could both have." We kissed, and his hands explored my body.

"Oh, god!" Martha protested as she bounded into the room.

"You don't knock, you take your chances," I said sternly. Damian laughed and Martha flushed.

"So is it true, you really might not go back to training the Avengers? Steve's talking about graphic design and Emma is considering reopening her jewelry store. Uncle Bucky just asked if money for education was still available through the GI Bill."

"It's something that I'm considering," I told her. "I've gone through the loss of almost an entire team of Avengers and the grave wounding of one of them. I've spent my time since then participating in mock battles, training, weaving, and making weapons. Preparing for the apocalypse, basically. Baby, it would be really nice to do something meaningful that isn't life or death."

"Huh. When you put it like that, it makes a lot of sense. Tony and Ann hit it off," she said in an abrupt change of conversational direction. "She asked him out. They're going on a date tomorrow." I grinned in triumph and we high-fived.

"Ok, honey, that's enough for tonight," Damian told her. "I have a wife to make love to, and I sincerely doubt you want to see that."

"Yuck," she said, making a face and marching out the door. My laugh died away as Damian turned his full attention to me. I didn't find his attentions at all yucky.

The next morning, I was early to practice and caught up to Serena. "Thanks for inviting me to dinner," she said. "What was going on with the Senator?" I told her about his bumbling.

"Well, it's a fair question, they need to know that you're not a new kind of HYDRA agent," she said, surprising me. "Alex, they don't know you, and a lot could have changed while you were dead," she argued, then frowned. "That sounds weird. But it's odd that he didn't do any background research on you."

"I did get the training job originally through Tony, due to my relation to Bucky," I admitted. "But there's nobody who can say I didn't do my best. You're right, of course, but his timing was terrible. It's not something you bring up at a social occasion. That is business and should be treated like it." She nodded and we started to warm up. "So what's with you and Bruce?" I asked. "You guys seemed off last night."

"We're unravelling," she said bluntly. "And I really don't want to talk about it."

"Ok," I said, and I didn't need to know more. That was personal. "I'm sorry, though."

"You have it so easy," she blurted out. I looked up, startled. "Everybody thinks you walk on water, you've got a husband who adores you, one of your kids, descendants who have welcomed you with open arms, wealthy descendants at that. You have no worries, you can tell the oversight committee to stuff it if they irritate you, you have options."

"Well, I'm not even universally liked, let alone a water-walker, and you know it. You're well respected and certainly more popular than I am. I've worked for my position in the valkyries and it hasn't been easy. I have options, but so do you. You don't have to back to the Avengers any more than Bucky or Steve does. Yeah, I'm lucky to have so much family around me, and I know it, but I've got a lot of worries and concerns, which you also know," I said mildly. This wasn't the first time that I'd been envied, but I hadn't seen this kind of resentment from her before. I got up and walked calmly away to say hi to Dagny and Irene, also just finishing their warmups.

Today we practiced a mixed approach, with some in each battle group fighting on foot and some on the wing. I wondered if we could get to practice with the winged horses but decided not to mention that today. I spent a lot of time aloft, the returning valkyries in my group not fully in control of their wings, which I knew was good for me, but it was really hard work. Then back down to the obstacle course, where we spent a few hours erecting obstacles. After the other valkyries went on to other duties, I stayed put and enjoyed my lunch in the spectacular setting, enjoying the absence of other people. I missed solitude. There was the sound of the wind through the trees and grasses and some birds were singing, so it wasn't utterly still. Just very relaxing. After my lunch and a few more moments of enjoyment, I went back to the embassy and learned that the steel had been delivered and taken to Asgard by way of the Bifrost. As I was talking to Loki about other preparations, my husband popped his head in. Loki smiled and told him to draw up a chair. We finished our business, and he had both of us take a computerized interest indicator test.

"Not much has changed," Damian said ruefully. He scored highest in aspects of business. I grinned. I'd scored highest in the sciences and engineering, still. Loki smiled and sent information to our personal communicators about Columbia's programs in those colleges with a promise to talk more about areas of special interest once we'd had the opportunity to explore and think. Then he told me that Hogun was staying at the embassy for a few days, and I tracked him down while Damian and Loki talked. We arranged a couple of practices while he was down, then I collected my husband and we went home.

The next week passed quickly. There was a distinct distance between Serena and me; it wasn't hostile, but it was there. We communicated effectively about matters involving the valkyries, but that was it. I didn't think I had anything to apologize for.

The day for the Spartan race came up. Only Irene had accepted my invitation to run it, so it was just Bucky, Steve, and us. It was the first time I'd run as an elite racer, and although we ran together, we couldn't assist each other, which was a big adjustment. We were all used to helping a comrade when they were down. We ended up posting good times. Steve absolutely loved it and wanted to do the next longest race. I was up for it, but Irene and Bucky were not so enthusiastic. We took our participation medals, tired but feeling good about our success. Irene promised to see me the next day at practice, and the rest of us drove home. There was another surprise when we got there; Peter Parker had turned up, having come down by Bifrost from Asgard, where he'd been working to help organize the denizens of Helheim. He'd come down to help Loki at the embassy. Emma, Steve, and Bucky were happy to see him, lots of hugs and backslapping, and Daniel offered him a place to stay. Although I was friendly, I was just as glad when he declined; Loki had given him rooms at the embassy. He stayed for dinner, though, and by the end of it, I was warming up to him. Either he'd changed or I had--probably both--and we got along better than we ever had. That was welcome. Emma had very welcome news for me; she'd devised protection for my wings.

She'd used one of her super-light alloys to create a sheath for the bones at the top of the wings that curved around like a cuff bracelet, and there was a colloid that she wanted to paint on my individual feathers that would, when cured under a specific frequency of light, made them much more resistant to breakage or damage by coating the rigid shaft of the feathers. By targeting this part of the feather rather than the whole thing, the vanes would still be responsive enough for flight. The shaft would be somewhat less flexible, so she treated some feathers--a few primaries, secondaries, and coverts--on each wing to test the effect first. The extra strength to the feathers made a difference, but it was positive, and I had her treat all the feathers. She said she'd work with any valkyrie who wanted the wing protection, and I spread the word. A careful test by Serena showed that the coating really did help turn aside a blade, which would save the feathers and the skin beneath a lot of damage. On the vanity side of things, the metal colloid imparted a faint, dark silver sparkle where it was painted, which was attractive.

The returning valkyries were outfitted fairly quickly once the steel was up with the smiths, and I felt better once everyone was fully outfitted and training was going as well as I'd hoped; the valkyries were quick to learn and had a lot of experience to draw on. I had a meeting with a board from the licensing body for paramedics and brushed up my physiology and anatomy and studied new textbooks. The result was that I was allowed to ride along with EMTs for a month to demonstrate my skills after passing a battery of tests, and eventually my certification was renewed. It wasn't just window dressing; protocols had changed and the scope of our responsibilities had broadened. Due to new classes of painkillers, we could administer these drugs ourselves because they had no interaction with most types of drugs. There were a lot fewer drugs to worry about, anyway; common problems like diabetes, high cholesterol, many heart problems, and COPD had been cured. The painkillers worked by targeting nerve signalling; there were no intoxicating side effects and so were not drugs of abuse anymore. It was really cool to study.

One morning, we were in a pitched battle, learning how to integrate the winged horses, when the World Tree shook. It was an extremely disquieting experience but not the terror that was supposed to happen as a precursor to Ragnarok. Serena caught my eye and jerked her head toward Yggdrasil, so I flew as fast as I could. The Norn were waiting for me and Odin right behind. "This is not the sign," Urd addressed us both. Odin and I glanced at each other, then looked back at Urd. "There is a disturbance of some significance on Midgard."

"Take some valkyries and investigate," Odin ordered me, and I nodded to him and the Norn, then returned to the valkyries. I selected a detachment of modern valkyries that included Serena, and we poofed back to Midgard.

It was utter chaos. The dead from the Abrahamic traditions had finally shown up.