I reached into my Masspack, and pulled out two Rings I kept as spares and trading items. They were both identical, plain and brazen in color. “Rings of Sustenance. They’ll take care of your food and water needs, so you can concentrate on doing what is important, and won’t harm or stunt the developing baby. One to each of you.” I fit them on their right and left hands again.

That done, I clapped my hands. “Alright, let’s get cracking. Ben, building security with three of you missing, get on that.

“Johnny, you figure out where you’re going, and get there. Make damn sure it’s out of phone range. I don’t want a moment of enlightenment broken up by an invitation to the premiere of a new movie. You get to Seven and come home then, nothing else is important!”

He held up his hands in surrender and retreated quickly, while Ben smirked at him. Yeah, I knew Johnny well.

“Reed, Sue, lists and research halts. I’ve a couple calls to make to figure out where you are going, then we’ll start dividing up duties, cancelling anything social in the interim.”

“If I may ask, who are you consulting first?” Reed asked, as he and Sue headed for the way out.

“Dr. Donald Blake, of course!” I smiled.

-------

Nova could unclip the power supply by himself, and I told Mentor how to scale down the output of the Shi’ar power core after he did while Richard slept. I left a message for Doc Bronze, letting him know what was going on, and he indicated support if I had to assign any special projects to him, he could handle them.

It was real early to be meeting with Thor’s mortal identity, but superhero hours tend to be freaking odd, to say the least. I’d been out until 1 AM running overwatch for Castle’s team hitting a vampire enclave down south of Chattanooga just tonight, after all.

“Hmm. What exactly are you asking here, Dyna?” the doctor said after listening to my explanation of what was going on.

“Asgard is a magical realm. I was wondering if you knew a place where wind and water swirl together, which Reed and Sue can use to refine and grow an Elemental Matrix.”

“Not a storm, per se, but winds and water together...” He sat back thoughtfully, frowning. “Thor could certainly create such a thing, of course, but you should have a naturally-occurring phenomenon, not an artificial one.” He drummed his fingers absently. “This will be a place in the sea, and nobody knows the seas of the golden realm better than Njord. He does not come often to Odin’s Court, but it should not be hard for me to contact him and learn of a place.”

“That would be wonderful. Also, would there be room for that Rain Queen descendant of yours, as well?”

His eyebrow rose in interest.

==========

The Church of the Aesir, raised to pay tribute to Thor and the Asgardians, had been built with magical speed in New York City and was naturally located on the water. As a matter of fact, the ground it was constructed on was pulled right up from the bedrock itself.

It was not towering, mystical, and transcendent, dwarfing all the buildings around it. There was magic there, however, but it was not dependent on a Divine blessing, and if an angry Christian wanted to stop by and exorcise the place of worship to a heathen deity, they could bring it down.

Ursula just put it back up if they succeeded, and they had only done so once in the time since the temple rose, although their priests made a point of being outside and haranguing anyone and everyone who came there to worship. It had taken fifty priests in a dedicated Dispelling Ceremony led by the Archbishop of New York to bring down the Wards and the lightning that crackled from the top of the building.

She put it back up one minute after they brought it down, enjoying the looks on their faces as their smug congratulations faltered and died.

She also didn’t follow the Christian calendar for services. Thursday was Thor’s Day, even the Christians couldn’t deny that. Freya’s day, Wotan’s Day, Tyr’s day... four days of the week already taken by the Norse Gods!

Thor’s Day was the only day with full services. Daily services were performed at dawn, although she was happy to start an impromptu service whenever there was a storm.

It was a very different life than that lived by the other Dupes, but unsurprisingly she had quite the knack for it... and as an Aspect of my personality that indulged in Faith, she enjoyed it tremendously.

The United States and Canada were over ninety percent Caucasian, and the number who had come from the Scandinavian countries was not small. People of German, Norse, Swedish, and even some Finns and Brits were not slow to come and investigate the Church of the Aesir.

It was a very different kind of church than Staters were used to, as the gods they were serving were actual physical beings... and the priestess up there talking about them could speak with them directly if required, and actually had done so in order to set all of this up!

So far, the only true ‘bible’ was that of Thor, laying out Thor’s beliefs, what he considered his responsibilities and obligations, and what he was asking for from those who served him.

The power of faith and prayer was laid out to the faithful directly. Picking a deity to serve was a personal choice that had to be left to human free will, forced worship gained a god nothing. The greatest power of faith was that it could be returned to those who served the god, and help one another, and if needed, could also strengthen the god who received it.

Thor’s word that he would only use that faith himself in defense of the mortals of the Earth was one of his core tenets. Mostly, he was concerned about other things. Indeed, he cared little to nothing for lip service and following empty gestures. What he wanted was belief from the heart. There was no faith without it.

He wanted the mortal races to be strong, so that they needed to rely less on the gods, and could one day walk with heads high themselves. He wanted the land that was his mother, the Terra they lived on, to be healthy and vital. He admired honorable behavior, courage, enterprise, and bonds of loyalty, family, and brotherhood among those who chose to strive.

He had no opposition to technology, unless it harmed the land, whereupon the onus shifted to improving that technology so that it did no harm like that.

Money given to the Church would be used to pay operating expenses and organize things for the worshippers, or used to back causes related to the environment, or aiding those worshippers of the god who had met with hard times. The Aesir were definitely not in need of mortal wealth, but it was unseemly for them to spend divine coin in the mortal realm, too.

Those who had come to the first services to bargain empty prayers for favors went away unhappy. If Thor decided to be whimsical and send a storm here or there, that was on him, it took nothing from mortals to do such a thing. If a farmer was willing to cut his dependence on fossil fuels and buy and back the use of alternate technologies, showing his faithfulness, then rain for his fields was a reward for his faithful discharge of his obligations.

Freya’s Day was attended largely by couples, and so far had been about socializing, learning dances, and basically having a good time out in a non-radical environment on a Friday night.

Odin’s Day on Wednesday was about intellectuals, where matters of the last week on the local and national levels were discussed from the aspect of a king, and the grim wisdom that was behind such decisions. Topics ranged over morals and ethics to new tech, and deeds of politicians... and their corruption.

This was also the day those who wanted to and were capable of learning the old Rune Magic gathered. By Fiat from Odin himself, the Skyfather of Asgard or his Queen had to approve every potential Rune Mage personally, and if the ravens did not call the name of those who wanted to learn such things, then there was only trying again in a year, and proving your devotion during that time.

Tuesday was Tyr’s Day, and was specifically aimed at laws and law enforcement people. It was also a place to speak in private about crimes and things going on in the city that needed to be addressed. The backing of the grim god of law AND war had manifested more than once in the temple as lawmen and lawyers attended first out of curiosity, and then with the realization that there was a freaking god who actually paid attention to such matters, and whose eyes could see right through all the fancy words to the hearts behind them.

It was the start of a movement which just might change how things happened in the police and governmental forces across the country of the United States, for Tyr was also a god of soldiers...

Sunday was Baldur’s Day, and was a feasting day for those who chose to attend, a reward for worthy things done during the week. The glowing portal before the doors turned away those who had not lived lives and done things of worth during the last week.

Earning the right to pass through Baldur’s Gate was very quickly a goal of every serious worshiper.

Saturday was Sif’s Day, while Monday was for the Warriors Three who were companions to Thor. On those days, the only things taught were self-defense classes, specifically weapons. Normal classes on self-defense actually ran every day of the week. Saturday focused on women, while Monday was open to anyone and everyone.

After the coming of Champion, interest in fitness and martial skills had spiked greatly. Martial gods helping inspire that belief only made things last longer and kept their interest higher as word of their deeds spread.

It was a tremendous amount of social work. Happily, Simulacra could easily take care of all the mundane stuff with precious little effort and great skill, so running the place was not difficult.

Now, those who wanted to become magical Priests and Priestesses of the Aesir, that was a bit more interesting to work around, and she was still working on a curriculum.

------

Ursula set a big glass of mead down for Thor, and sat down across from him, smiling. “May I know what has brought my lord to His Hall?” she asked calmly, nothing extraneous in mind.

“I may need to be gone for several days from the mortal realm,” Thor informed her after a good long draw, smacking his lips at the quality of her mead. He didn’t know how she managed to make it, but it was nigh as good as the Shining Realm’s own! “I was wondering if there be some magic ye might be able to spin to cover for Dr. Blake in mine absence.”

Ursula eyed him for a moment carefully, and then looked around once before gesturing. Silvery magic spun up around them as he watched, forming a Ward against eavesdroppers and divination.

“Lord Thor,” she began carefully, “you know I’ve made a study of Asgardian magic, and am very familiar with it. What you are asking...” she trailed off for a moment as he frowned in puzzlement. “Let me put it this way. It interferes with the enchantment Odin has laid upon you that turns you to Dr. Blake in the first place.”

“Ah?” He was surprised. “What wouldst happen?”

“Dr. Blake is a different personality attached to your own soul. He is a part of you, but he was artificially formed by your father, and has grown and adapted from that point as a part of you. All you recall of his earliest memories never happened, they were spun out of whole cloth by the All-Seeing Eye of Odin so as to fit seamlessly into the mortal realm.

“I can do this thing for you, and, my lord, I believe I SHOULD do this for you. People are already noticing that you do not show up during, ah, business hours, unless there is an emergency, and are wondering if you have a day job.” She gave him a meaningful look.

“And that means they will go looking for that job,” he understood instantly. “So... mine own mortal identity places my friends and comrades in danger...”

“And yourself, for you can be killed far more easily in your mortal form.” Her fingers steepled before her. “What I can do for you is this, my lord.

“I can create a Duplicate of you. Now, creating a copy of you is totally impossible with mortal magic. Thus, the spell will grab the only Duplicate it COULD make...”

“Which would be Donald Blake!” he followed along astutely. “Continue!”