Sonatorrek: Lokasenna - 1

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

Kane gets in touch with Marie-Ange to discuss the situation in Aitkins.



“Sorry, cell reception out here is absolute shit.” Kane said into his phone, stalking around his motel room. Jane had brought him a burger and fries early. The teen was become a welcome distraction, nattering on at length about little things that he’d forgotten that his identity as a mutant and part of Department H had taken him away from. Especially in comparison to the grim topics that he’d been looking at, it was a nice distraction.

But now, he was left without real resources, since the Bureau wouldn’t support his assurances that there was a possible predator lurking in Minnesota. But the more he looked at it; he could see those elements there. And Brand had just dropped him. He didn’t admit to himself that he was missing her, just not her abilities, but the fact that she had been the first real physical contact he’d had in ages. He was ashamed to have said yes, but more ashamed that he still wanted it.

“Look, Marie-Ange, can this god thing be real? I mean, really? Fucking Thor?”

"I never met Thor." Marie-Ange said. "But I would not be surprised if he existed. Odin does, and Loki, and you encountered, oh blast, the man with the axe, Skurge, Scourge, whatever his name was. But that was Asgard, and I am not quite sure why Thor would be here, and what he would be doing in, I'm sorry what did you say you were investigating?"

"A 21 year old biker has decided he's Thor. The problem is that he's got serious powers, and isn't a mutant. I don't know what he is. And now I think I've stumbled on to a possible serial killer in the area, and have exactly zero help from the Bureau until the body count gets high enough. I can't deal with both at the same time if I don't know what I'm dealing with."

"And you are already checked to see if he has any history of mental illness?" Marie-Ange asked, for lack of anything else to say. Of course he would have, that would've been silly not to. "What sorts of powers? Do they... does... blast. Garrison, this is going to sound silly, but does he call up storms or have goats, anything odd that might lead you to suspect he has powers from a magical source?"

"Nothing like that, but he ripped a car in half with his bare hands. I can't do that. Hell, I don't think even Piotr or Jenny can." Kane took a seat, staring at his wall. The radio weather forecast finished, and music started again. He caught the first few words, mouthing the lyric 'There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry' before shifting back to the phone. "He's also born and raised here in Minnesota. That means he can't be really Thor. It's some magic or something and him being crazy."

"Cain could have. Marie might have." Marie-Ange said. "But I think you are right that if he was born here it is hard to imagine how he could be Thor." She cradled the phone on her shoulder until she could pop in the headset and then got up to pull out sketchpads from her bookshelf. "But if it is magic, and there is a serial killer, I do not feel comfortable saying he is simply crazy. It would not be the first time that Asgardian magic has influenced someone to kill." She flipped a few pages to a drawing of a mutilated body, and frowned at it. "What sort of serial killer?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't even been able to tie together a complete structure of the attacks. It's set to a pattern, and there's reoccurring themes of Nordic based pagan symbols and modern Viking supremacist shit. I've got three missing persons that are reasonably close to draw a potential victim pattern, but I don't know if the attacks are ritual, pseudo-sexual... fuck, I should have a dozen agents on this. Instead, I've got a police chief who's hoping like hell I'm wrong and this crazy Thor situation to figure out."

"That is... somewhat of what I feared you were going to say." Marie-Ange closed the sketchpad with a frown, and paced her office. "I would tell you to send us photos, but the combination of the biker thinking he is Thor and the powers and the Nordic symbols... photos or not, I think my answer would be the same. Even if you had agents there, none of them would be able to tell you anything useful about the magical connection, no? And we can."

"You can? You can what?"

"Is that not what you were calling for? To try to ask us to come out and look at your Norse God who thinks he is a biker and the pagan symbols?" Marie-Ange asked. "Even if it is not, how can I not tell Amanda, and she is going to be concerned. If it is any of the actual Asgardians, it is troublesome. We thought they were gone."

"I was calling hoping you'd tell me I was being crazy and that this guy just has the curse of whoswhatits and it would go away. You really think there could be real Asgardians involved?"

"Oh. Perhaps I am growing overly suspicious. Or not." Marie-Ange replied. "I think we cannot know without investigating, but the last time I heard anything like what you are speaking of, there was a cult ripping out people's lungs to summon a giant hell dog. I would prefer not to have that happen any more."

"Great." Kane rubbed his eyes. "So what happens if the killer and this Thor guy are connected? Are we looking at some kind of big magic that a couple of thousand people are in the way of?"

"if I knew that I would not have to come out to investigate." Marie-Ange said. "That is one of the things it is hard to know, what is the scope of things? It is hard to say. Perhaps it is just someone who kills with magic, perhaps it is something more dangerous. If this biker is Thor, I ... I cannot even imagine how he would be here, and I do not know any of what he can do besides the myths. I never met him."

"It's not going to be as easy as just rocking up and asking questions. It's a small town, and 'Thor' is the son of the President of the motorcycle club. Since they already know that the feds are in town, more strangers asking questions in dark suits is going to set off all kinds of alarms."

"What is the expression, this is not my first rodeo?" Marie-Ange asked. "I do not own dark suits that I would wear to where ever it is you are in the middle of the summer. Do I sound like I would enjoy heatstroke? No. We could come in discreetly, but I will need to know more about the town, unless you have any immediate ideas for undercover identities for myself and... probably Amanda at minimum."

"I might be able to come up with something through the Bureau. I still think we've got the Secret Empire stuff active. Give me an hour or so to run down the details and I'll get back to you."

"I... find myself at a loss, I had not even considered pretending to be a biker. Possibly because I shower and cannot grow a beard or giant biker muscles." Marie-Ange said. "I will probably still be in the office for another several hours, so it is no rush."

"Alright, I'll make some calls and get back to you." Kane paused. "Thanks Marie-Ange."