xp_logs | Asgard: Endgame

After the fight in the Enchantress' castle, Doug and Amanda go tossing through the loot to figure out a way to get home. Amanda finds a spell, but there's a catch: Asgardian rune magic is male. She transfers power to Doug, which involves icky bloodletting and stuff, and then Doug saves the day.

"If we find the way home. Smug bastard, we'll show him," Amanda muttered as she tipped out the last Bag O' Loot from the castle onto the ground and started sorting through scrolls and rune stones and other bits of magical paraphenalia, searching for the right spell. Miles hovered nearby, his power cancelling hers and letting her work with her brain exploding. "Doug, give us hand? We need something that talks about dimensional portals an' Midgard, hopefully."

Doug bent down and picked up a spellbook at random, leafing through its contents. "I'll see what I can find. Hopefully we got what we need somewhere in all this stuff." After a moment, he seated himself, stacking each spellbook neatly to one side after he determined what was in it.

Silence fell as the pair continued their task. Then, Amanda let out a small cry of triumph and jabbed her finger at the school she was holding. "'Door between worlds, land of the mortals...' I've got it!" She grinned at Doug. "One ticket home." Then she read further. "Oh, fu... fudge," she amended, remembering Miles."

Doug set aside the book he was perusing and moved over to where Amanda was. "Fudge? That doesn't sound good. What's wrong? Do we not have the compnents for the spell? Does it not go back to where we want to? What's up?" he asked nervously, fidgeting a bit.

"It's bloody rune magic, is what it is. I can't do this." Amanda sighed heavily and thrust the scroll at him in disgust. "Amora was right, _she_ doesn't have the ability t' send us home, either. Spell like this takes a certain type of magic user. A _male_ magic user. Bloody macho sh... stuff, all testosterone an' that."

If he wasn't so worried about the implications of what Amanda was saying, Doug would have been very amused by how Amanda kept editing herself for Miles' ears. "Male magic, huh? How very sexist of them." He attempted to stay calm. "Well, I suppose we can just find a male magic-user somewhere and ask him to send us, if push comes to shove, right?"

"Maybe. I don't like our chances, tho' - Loki's the sort t' put the word out that anyone helpin' us has him t' deal with. An' it'd take too bloody long t' find someone - I for one want t' get the he... heck out of here." Amanda pulled a face. Heck. The things she did. She watched Doug's eyes moving over the scroll, obviously reading the text, and she shook her head. "I'm a dope. There is a way. Only it's a bit... dodgy."

Doug cocked his head curiously. "Dodgy? Dodgy how? What, have you got a gender modifying spell up your sleeve or something?" He racked his brain for a solution, but he honestly had no idea how to get around the proviso that rune magic was gender-specific.

"Somehow I don't think Manny'd appreciate that," she said wryly. "No, you were on the right track. We get someone else t' do the spell. Only someone who's here, an' can read Asgardian." Amanda gave Doug a very specific Look.

Doug blinked. Then he blinked again. Then, he actually managed to say something. "Huh?" Giving coherence a try, he said "Me? But I haven't got any magical power. How do you expect me to be able to do the spell? I mean, yeah, I can read it, so I know what needs to be done, but where's the power for the spell supposed to come from?"

"Me." Amanda couldn't help chuckling at Doug's reaction. "Look, I'm a walkin' mystical battery, right? So, I siphon off some of that power, give it t' you, an' you do the spell. Easy." At his doubtful look, she amended. "All right, not _easy_, but I figure I can reverse the spell Rack used t' use t' bleed me power off, an' give it t' you instead."

Doug had opened his mouth, recognizing the parallels with what Rack had done to Amanda right as she mentioned it. It snapped shut again and his eyes hardened as he took a moment to curse the dark wizard, in whatever hell he currently was burning in. "I don't like it," he said. "I don't even like coming _close_ to what that ba...motherless jerk did to you," he whispered, just barely remembering to edit his language.

Glancing at Miles - he was happily occupied in stacking runic tablets on top of each other like building blocks (fortunately no risk of anything untoward happening) - Amanda dropped her voice as well. "But you ain't," she whispered back, reaching out to take his hand. "I'm choosin' this, of me own free will. You ain't takin' somethin', I'm _givin'_ it to you. It's not the same thing at all."

Doug sighed raggedly and passed a hand over his face wearily. "I still don't like it, but if you're sure..." he trailed off. At Amanda's short nod, he shrugged. "All right. I suppose it's the best we can do under the circumstances. What do I need to do?"

"Well, first up I should go through the rest of this spell, make sure that's the only problem..." She took the scroll from him again, scanning it quickly, her lips moving soundlessly. "All right, power of the warrior, runic tablets, got those, gate opens..." She paused. "Hrm. Um, Doug? Another possible problem. Says here somethin' 'bout the caster bein' a man, mighty and true an' in the fulness of his manhood."

Doug blushed and snatched the scroll back, reading the text himself. He glanced for a moment at Marie-Ange, then blushed even more and handed the scroll back to Amanda. "Not a problem," he answered shortly.

"What?" Marie-Ange mouthed silently. Why was Doug blushing -now-? She shook her head and went back to mending the tear in Miles' heavy cloak. She would ask later - it was probably just Amanda making crass comments.

"You sure? This is important, Doug, we can't fu... arg, we can't mess it up 'cause yer bein' all coy an' virginial..." Amanda caught the blush and the glance Doug cast at Marie-Ange, and her mouth dropped open as she realised he knew exactly what was required and that no, it wouldn't be a problem. "You sly dog," she said, grinning at him. "When did this happen?"

Doug folded his arms across his chest and coughed uncomfortably, casting a pointed glance at Miles. "Is it really that important, or can you just accept that it did, in fact, happen?" He was glad Miles was there, as he suspected that Amanda's line of questioning would have been even more direct if he wasn't.

"Spoilsport," Amanda said, still with that highly-amused grin. "All right, that's that settled. Tho' Frenchie an' I need a good natter once we get back." She enjoyed the mild look of panic that crossed Doug's face at that, and then got back to the task at hand, her manner suddenly business-like. "Right, best we set all this up, an' do the power exchange. 'Cause I'm gunna have t' be fully charged for that, an' Miles 'n me need t' have a chat 'bout that, don't we, squirt?"

Doug nodded and began to lay the runestones in the pattern indicated on the scroll. He chuckled idly as he neared the end. "It's almost like Norse Scrabble," he joked. Placing the last runestone, he looked up at Amanda. "You ready?" he asked nervously.

"The second I give you the nod, you tackle me, all right?" Amanda finished saying to Miles, who nodded solemnly. "Miles will make certain Amanda is not hurt," he said stoutly, squaring his shoulder - he knew only too well that this also meant keeping her from potentially hurting others as well and the thought caused his heart to thump madly. He was scared, but he wouldn't let Amanda down. He had an Important Thing to do, and he was going to do it right. "Miles promises."

"Good lad. Yer me hero, you know that, right?" She gave his hands a quick squeeze before coming back over to Doug and looking over the stones laid out. "Looks all right - let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Her words were laced with bravado, but inside she was even more nervous than Doug. "Right, sit yerself down in the middle there," she instructed, pointing at the required spot and kneeling opposite him, careful to stop her skirts from disrupting the runestones. "Um, you'll need t' undo yer shirt a bit for this," she said, the slightest hint of an uncharacteristic blush tinting her face.

Doug unlaced the top of his shirt, slightly confused. "Why does my shirt need to be undone?" He didn't really have any clue how this power exchange was supposed to work, he just hoped it wouldn't hurt...his eyes widened as he suddenly saw the knife in Amanda's hand.

She caught his sudden panicked look and shrugged. "Yeah, welcome t' the wacky world of magic." With a grimace, she ran the knife over the palm of her right hand, murmuring what Doug's power translated as an invocation to unknown gods to grace them with their approval. Blood ran from the shallow cut, dripping on the floor. "Sorry, Doug, but since you ain't a magic user, we have t' do this the hard way. An' the ritual needs a connection." With that, she handed him the knife. "Shallow cut, just here," she instructed, running her finger in a brief line across the skin above his heart. "Knife's sharp, so you won't feel it too much." She glanced over her shoulder - Miles was staring at them round-eyed, as were most of the others. 'Concentrate,' she told herself, focussing on the spell again - she hadn't cast it before, and there were a lot of things that could go wrong.

Doug blinked slightly, feeling much like one of the small characters in the movie The Rock. ~You want me to do _what_?~ he thought to himself. Still, this was their best shot at getting home, and if it meant a little pain on his part, he only hoped that they could land close enough to the Medlab to get some rather immediate medical attention. And no matter what, it looked like everyone was counting on him. He grinned a little rakishly to cover the gigantic roil of fear in his stomach. Grasping the knife firmly in his right hand, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Then, he opened his eyes, intent on his purpose. Placing the knife's tip just to the right of his heart, he cut to the left quickly. "Now, Amanda," he gritted out, carefully not looking at the wound.

Marie-Ange hadn't really been watching what Amanda and Doug were doing, figuring that when they were ready for the rest of the group, that they would say. But the flash of metal in Doug's hand and the hiss of pain in his voice made her head shoot up. Standing, she moved towards the pair, intent on stopping whatever they were doing that required Doug to -bleed-.

Jamie caught her arm, frowning slightly. "Know what you're thinking, Angie, but . . . them knowing what they're doing is our best shot at going home, yeah? I don't think Doug'd volunteer to get sliced up if he didn't have to."

Ignoring the sudden commotion in Marie-Ange's direction ('I probably should've explained this before we started', she realised belatedly), Amanda nodded to Miles. "Now, squirt. Back off enough so I get me power back, all right?" As Miles did so, she felt her mutancy activate, almost like a switch had been thrown - she'd been filtered before, but never fully blocked, and it was an odd sensation, getting it back. All that was swept aside as the mystic energy of Asgard poured into her, and she gritted her teeth, striving for the control she needed. At the same time she pressed her bleeding hand over the cut on Doug's chest, and began reciting in ancient Babylonian the words of the spell: "Immatae, hallatae, iman sha...~ By the blood let a bridge be formed, let the vessel be filled..."

Doug's head threw back and his pupils dilated until his eyes were nearly solid black as energy surged from Amanda into him. It was like he was suddenly...more alive. He was aware of every particle of his body, every drop of blood that passed through his and Amanda's wounds, every goosebump that raised along his arm. A tingle of power ran through his body and he shivered. If this was what Amanda felt every time, it was no wonder she was addicted to her power.

It would have been easy, so very easy, to shunt most of the mystic energy she was channelling into Doug and save herself the brain-breaking headache. But he wasn't a magic user, and he wouldn't be able to deal with it. Fuck, she was and she nearly couldn't. Her eyes glowed a burning gold, and just as she felt the first trickle of blood from her nose, she cut the spell, wrenching her hand away and nodding at Miles. "Now, mate," she grated.

Miles didn't waste anytime and ran towards her, his range kicking in even before he ever ran right into her, clinging for dear life. What he really wanted to do was give her the hanky in his pocked that Marie-Ange had bought for him, but not letting go was much more important - and that's exactly what he did, eyes tightly shut.

Doug stifled a giddy little chuckle and tried to concentrate. It was just, he felt so _good_, with magical power rushing through his veins, that it was very difficult to focus. ~They're counting on you, Doug. Don't screw this up,~ he thought, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he began incanting in old Norse, the arcane words rolling off of his tongue.

As the lengthy ritual neared its climax, he motioned everyone to join hands and make a larger circle outside of the runestone circle he was sitting in. Finally, calling upon the All-Father to bless his effort, and the strong north wind to carry them across the rainbow bridge to Midgard, he finished the spell. There was a pregnant pause, and then energy began to sparkle around the group. Grinning rakishly, Doug said, "Commencing the 'get us the hell out of here' maneuver, sir!"

And then, with a flash of multicolored light and a lurching sensation, the group spilled from a portal onto a very familiar baseball diamond. Doug struggled to his feet first, wondering why it felt so hot and humid when, by his calculation, it should be the middle of November or so. Still, everything was where it should be, and he grinned again. "We're ba-ack!" he sing-songed. Then, belatedly, he clutched slightly at where the cut over his heart was still leaking into his shirt, he continued. "And, heh, heh, ow?" he managed through a fit of uncontrollable giggles.