He hadn't had that much trouble with Thor himself. Oh, he was a little contemptuous of the brawler and his direct manner and general boisterousness. On the other hand, Thor had always been what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Thor didn't DO hidden agendas. Thor had also made several attempts to include Loki in various social outings, which usually involved copious amounts of cheap drink and under-cooked food and loud bawdy entertainment.
All of which meant that Loki didn't really hate Thor. He sure wouldn't follow him into battle, not if there was any sort of alternative. Though if the problem really was a bunch of nails that needed pounding, Loki would definitely recommend Thor be put in charge.
Loki wanted things to go a little better this go-around. Odin had mostly taken himself out of the picture. However, Setsuna Meiou hadn't expected THIS particular cheat. Why should she when all she had to go on were the fragments and badly skewed (admittedly in Loki's opinion) stories penned by that skald Snorri?
It probably would have surprised a few of the Aesir too. Not that anyone, with the aforementioned exception of Thor and a couple of other Aesir, not to mention Sigyn, had really made any attempt to get to know him.
So when Kodachi Kuno met up with Kumori Mizuno in the morning and shook her hand, there was nothing particular involved, right?
Except that Kumori Mizuno, a physician, would end up in the broken plain where Ragnarok's final battle had taken place. There she would encounter a token. Loki couldn't force the woman to take up the token, or really influence which token. The pre-built spell would just take her to a pre-selected location.
Kasumi Tendo now carried a bit of Idunn, the keeper of the golden apples, with her.
Ranma Mizuno was, of course, the current incarnation of Thor.
Akane Tendo now was the inheritor of the gifts of Fandral the Dashing.
Kasumi had gained influence over plants. Akane and Ranma could manage full combat transformations - Akane to a blonde sword-wielding valkyrie, Ranma to a version of Thor.
There were others among the Fallen Aesir, each with their own area of specialty. His brother, Bıleistr, for example. He had died in Ragnarok despite wanting to remain neutral. There was Freya, who'd pretty much despised him, but it served Loki's sense of irony if she returned owing him a favor. There were so many possibilities, but the place that Kumori Mizuno would appear would limit things.
In all such battles, there was a back line. There was an area where those injured but not slain could return to, have wounds salved or rest, then return to battle. It was just such an area that Kumori Mizuno would appear in.
From there, there really wasn't much else to do. Kodachi Kuno would learn of her shapeshifting abilities eventually, and the limits of that power. It WAS a very limited power, as there was only so much that could be done with a broken tool. Being able to transform into a large raven, a dark and sleek horse, and so on. Six forms in all, and each transformation could only last a full day or until dawn - whichever came first. Mass was also a factor, such that she'd end up within the normal boundaries of each species, but at the end closest to her original mass. Hence an unusually large raven and an unusually petite horse.
Loki then let himself fall back into the darkness beneath the conscious mind of Kodachi Kuno. He still could get a few people to make that trip before he ran out of the power necessary for such a thing, but only if he conserved what he could until the right opportunity.
Usagi watched nervously. Makoto was simply avoiding Ami as much as possible.
Ami noticed the way Makoto would avoid coming close and apparently was further aggravated by that avoidance.
Things would only continue to get worse as this continued.
"Ouch," said Rei from nearby as she tried to sew a rent in her workout outfit and stabbed a finger with a needle. "Maybe if we just locked them together in a room?"
Usagi shook her head. "That might make things worse. Oh, I've got an idea."
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(Posted Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:52)
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