Author's Introduction.

Well, for those who've followed all this so far, please take your seats 
for the big fight scenes!! (You didn't think I'd leave them out, did 
you?)

Ice-cream & P-chans-onna-stick from Mr. Dibbler, Bodybags courtesy of US 
Army Surplus.

Please fasten your seatbelts as the management is about to engage the 
sound system...


Chapter 11


I shivered slightly. Whatever I had just done had cleared my head at 
last. It felt very odd; I could remember exactly what I'd done, but 
hadn't the faintest idea on how I'd gone about doing it. It was almost 
as if someone else had been controlling my actions
My mind raced as I caught up with the last few minutes of what I'd been 
doing - then abruptly shuddered to a halt as I realised just WHAT I'd 
done, and my eyes widened as I looked at the slim woman standing in 
front of me.

There's something _unreal_ about seeing someone you think you are 
familiar with from drawings standing in front of you in the flesh. For a 
start, no matter how good the anime, the real person differs 
considerably in appearance - like in having a normally proportioned 
body! And pictures on celluloid don't have the feeling of _presence_ 
that this woman did.

But it wasn't just that. As I stared at her, I couldn't drag my eyes 
away from her. I was held like a rabbit in a cars headlights, unable to 
look away, despite what was happening around us, my attention fixated on 
her.

She stood there, tall, slender, the dark fires of concealed emotion 
burning deep within the cerulean depths of her eyes. Blood-red hair fell 
in a long straight waterfall down her back, stray strands shifting 
slowly in the wind, two 'tails' parting it to show her delicately 
pointed ears.
Clad in a tight blue bodysuit which showed a gymnast's lithe, small-
breasted figure, over which she wore a black, well, bikini I guess, some 
glowing panels on the top glowing faintly as shimmering pastel colours 
flickered across them.

Despite her looks, that wasn't the most arresting thing about her 
appearance.

An air of controlled power, so intense as to be almost visible, 
surrounded her as she stood there with the easy, powerful assurance of a 
tigress. I almost felt that I should be smelling the tang of ozone in 
the air, a faint crackling of energy registering on me at a subconscious 
level

Not losing her concentration for a moment, she absently brushed back her 
wind-tossed hair back, looking back at us, her head tilted slightly to 
one side, expression almost thoughtful as she took our measure..

I was fascinated by her. Or maybe mesmerised was more accurate, 
fascinated doesn't imply a strong enough feeling.
There was just something about her, the way she stood, her whole 
attitude, that made the rest of what was happening simply irrelevant to 
me at the moment. I kept having to fight off a completely irrational 
desire to reach out and just touch her. Which was a pretty stupid idea, 
if she was as powerful as I hoped she was, the last thing I should be 
doing was annoying her!

She looked around, her eyes flickering across the scene in the temple 
courtyard, the devastation, the people, taking it all in, her eyes 
narrowing slightly. Then she looked at Skuld, and, finally, at me. I met 
her gaze. Big mistake, I found I could hardly drag my eyes away from her 
again.

When she finally spoke, it was in a low, husky voice. Not what I'd 
expected (come to that, I don't really know what sort of voice I'd 
expected a living weapon to possess), but it seemed to fit her; once I'd 
heard it I couldn't imagine her sounding any different.

"So why did you bring me here?"

I licked my suddenly dry lips.

"We need help. Badly. Your help. To stop that madman in the courtyard 
before he destroys this world..."
Well, maybe not the world's best speech, but at least it was concise...

She looked at me calmly, her eyes flicking across for a moment, looking 
at the ending of the fight in the courtyard. It looked like Urd and 
Belldandy had put up a good fight, but they were simply no match for 
Loki's trolls. Both of them were being held by a pair of the monsters, 
while the rest of them licked their wounds, and Loki was obviously 
enjoying himself immensely in a seriously heavy attack of the gloats. I 
hoped he would continue for just a little longer, I had to find a way to 
persuade Iczer-2 to help us.

She looked back at me, the corner of her mouth twitching up for a second 
into a small grimace.

"So, you want me to fight for you?"

For some reason, I felt that something about that statement disappointed 
her deeply at the same time as it caught her interest.

I held out my hands in a pleading gesture.

"I know we haven't any right to ask you, but you're the only one I could 
think of who might be able to stop him."

She looked back thoughtfully, slightly narrowed deep crimson eyes 
regarded me. For a moment, I was unable to recall just where I'd seen 
that particular type of examination recently, then I remembered it was 
when Urd had examined me after I had fainted. Looking at me, but not 
quite at my body. Then she looked across at Skuld.

"So what will you pay me?"

Skuld looked back, her eyes looking upward to meet hers. She didn't look 
14 any more. More like 14 going on 414, she hadn't changed but her whole 
stance, her body language was that of someone much older, much more 
mature, and deadly serious.

"Any price we can."

"Any price? That covers a lot..."

Skuld nodded, her eyes not leaving Iczer-2. I was startled to see tears 
glistening in her eyes; looks like I'd underestimated her feelings and 
commitment to Midgard despite some of her earlier protestations of 
disgust for it and certain one of its inhabitants. 

"We are goddesses. And this is our world. We will pay any price in our 
power to deliver to stop that madman destroying it. You have my word on 
that"

I shivered on hearing her speak. This wasn't the Skuld I'd seen before. 
This was Skuld the Norn, speaking ex cathedra. I didn't doubt her for a 
second, I COULDN'T doubt her, the timbre of her voice left no room for 
that.

Iczer-2 looked at her thoughtfully for a second, then nodded, a small 
bow of acknowledgment and respect.

"Very well. Any price I care to name that you can deliver"

Then she turned, looking straight at me. This time, her eyes 
deliberately met and held mine. I was like a bird facing a snake, I 
couldn't move, I could hardly think. Although with a tiny part of my 
mind I knew I wasn't moving, I felt myself falling into those cobalt 
pools. It was the weirdest sensation. I felt her.. presence...? her 
feelings...? wrap about me, and mine wrap about her, as I felt rather 
than saw curling streamers of colour wrap around and entwine us both.

No, that didn't describe it at all well. But it wasn't something I could 
describe, not in words. Words weren't involved. It was feelings, 
emotions. I felt her pride, almost arrogance, a fierce strength... and a 
deep well of sadness and longing for something she didn't have. Then the 
streamers merged, and we...touched..??  Again, words are so clumsy, so 
useless at trying to explain what I felt. Even after, I couldn't find 
any way of describing it even to myself, it just was. Like finding a 
piece of myself that I hadn't realised was missing.

A timeless moment later, my head swimming, I found myself looking at her 
again. This time at least I found I could meet her eyes. For the first 
time, she smiled, and when she did I wondered why I had ever thought of 
her beauty as cold, that smile transformed her whole face, making her 
warm and human to me for the first time. Then she looked at Skuld.

"I have my price. Him to be my partner."

Skuld looked at her, then rapidly at me, then back at her.

"Ano...but...I can't give him, we don't own him!

Her expression was almost anguished, knowing she couldn't pay the price 
she needed to pay to save her sisters and the world. I reached out, my 
fingers just touching her shoulder lightly, but she still flinched as if 
struck.

"Skuld? Don't worry, please. I'm happy to be her partner..."

She looked up at me, eyes wide...

"But.....!!"

I grinned for the first time in what seemed (even if it wasn't) years.

"Really. She needs me. I...felt it...And, truly, I suspected the price 
would be something like this when I brought her here, that this is what 
would happen."

Skuld's eyes searched my face, and she must have found something there 
that she understood, because her frown faded a bit...

"Well.... OK... But what do we do now??"

We all looked over to where Loki seemed to be finishing his diatribe 
over his two captive goddesses. Both Belldandy and Urd were glaring 
defiantly at him, but even from over here we could feel their sense of 
impotent frustration.

Iczer-2 gave a soft chuckle.

"Well, I'd better go over and introduce myself..."

I half opened my mouth, about to warn her to be careful, then shut it 
again, deciding she probably knew her business far better than I did, 
and instead reached out to Skuld, taking her hand in what was, I guess, 
a mutual feeling of reassurance for us both as we watched her slender 
form walk out into the courtyard to approach the mad god.

Skuld looked at me sharply for an instant.

"Did you plan it like this? Bringing someone who would accept you as a 
partner as their price for helping?"

I tried to look calm and reassuring, the expression of someone who was 
totally in control and had planned all this with precision from the 
start.
"Of course I did, you didn't think it was an accident did you?"

She just looked at me, her expression saying it all - that she didn't 
believe my  smooth assurances for a moment.

That was OK, I didn't either.

************************************************************************

Iczer-2 walked slowly across the devastated courtyard towards Loki, her 
booted feet making soft crunching noises as she glided across the 
rubble.
Actually, walked didn't really describe it. It reminded me irresistibly 
of a leopard stalking up on her prey, a blend of graceful agility and 
barely restrained raw power.

Something must have made Loki notice her. He turned, facing her, a small 
frown on his face as he saw her progress, ignoring the other captives in 
front of him for the moment.
"Well now, I don't remember ordering you to appear, mortal!"

She stopped, and looked at him, slowly. Appearing completely unconcerned 
with his arrogance and madness as she examined him. I don't know if many 
people could face him like that, frankly his madness terrified me, but 
she managed it without even blinking, a cool calculated assessment that 
seemed to enrage him even more. I couldn't believe she was doing it 
accidentally, but I did hope she knew what she was doing.

"I'm not a mortal"

He frowned. 
"Are you a god?"

A small quirk twitched at the corner of her mouth for a moment.
"I'm Iczer-2"

Loki's frown deepened, as he tried to work out what this answer meant, 
then he smiled, broadly, nastily, as he dismissed it as not worth his 
godly consideration.
"No matter, you are quite presentable. You'll make an acceptable 
addition to my harem once we get you some more _suitable_ clothes!"

Iczer-2 looked at him, tilting her head slightly to one side, an 
expression of mild distaste on her features as she narrowed her eyes 
slightly. 
"You remind me of my mother, madman. I didn't get on with my mother"

Loki looked down, a darkening spreading across his face.
"Arrogance, in a female? Not acceptable."

He gestured to his Trolls.
"Get her. Play with her a little, show her her place!"

The Trolls grinned, widely, toothily, some of them drooling with 
anticipation as they looked at the slender beauty in front of them. In a 
mass, they started forward, some with weapons raised, a mass of greenish 
muscle, power, sadism and old sweat. Only the Trolls holding Belldandy 
and Urd didn't move to join them.

This time, Iczer-2 did bother to look at the advancing horde, an 
expression of sheer pleasure spreading across her face. One hand reached 
out and gestured slightly, inviting the Trolls closer.

Next to me, Skuld started to heft a bomb.
"David, we've got to help her! Those Trolls, they'll..."

I grinned, putting my arm in front of her to restrain her.
"Don't worry, Skuld. I have a feeling she's not in any danger."

That was the understatement of the day!

With a stuttering crackle of released energy, Iczer-2 summoned her 
energy-sword into her hand, and leapt straight at the advancing mob, the 
sword leaping out before her like a three-foot bar of caged lightning.

What followed could probably best be described as 'What happens when you 
drop a package of Trolls into a blender set on fast'.
In not that many seconds, there were no trolls left alive in the 
courtyard. They were still scattered about, it was just that any one 
Troll wasn't exactly in any one place in it...

Even Loki looked a little impressed by this. His eyes narrowed as he 
stared at the slender girl standing nonchalantly in front of him, a 
faintly humming sword of blue-white energy in her hand and a small smile 
on her lips. She raised her free hand, looking disdainfully at a drop of 
greenish blood on it, then flicked the blood off her finger in a gesture 
of dismissal, as if to indicate her boredom with the quality of her 
opponents.

I grinned, humorlessly. Even though I'd expected something of the sort, 
actually seeing her in action was nothing like I'd been preparing myself 
for. Now I could see why her reputation as possibly the most dangerous 
humanoid fighting machine in existence was fully justified. At last I 
allowed myself a small shred of hope that we might actually be able to 
defeat Loki's plan. Unfortunately I was also pretty sure that a few 
Trolls weren't all the followers he had available, but I hoped that 
Iczer-2 would be up to stopping whatever he came up with.

to be continued

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