Njord looked like a fisherman and a sailor, with callused hands, a weather-beaten face, hairy chest, and salt-and-pepper beard. His famous feet, however, were smooth and clean and as perfect as a model’s from endless years of walking in the surf.

He did use a trident, but for its normal purpose of spear-fishing, not as a badge of office or a strange weapon. He often came to Odin’s Court bearing fresh seafood of some kind or another for his table, often setting off a fine feast for whatever gods were present.

He and Thor shook hands after the God of Thunder introduced us all, and we bowed in greeting to him.

His gaze lingered on me. “Thor mentioned thee as suggesting this, Lady Dynamo, but is there a reason thou needs go along with us?” he asked directly, obviously not one to beat around the bush.

“I’m going to get a location lock so I can fetch them when they are done,” I answered calmly, “and if something happens and they need some help, so they can call on me.”

“Good enough!” He gestured at a longship nearby. “We shall be traveling in that. I have expectations that the winds shall be not a problem, and the waters definitely not.” He shot Ororo an interested look, as her dark skin and silken hair made her incredibly exotic by Asgardian standards.

“I shall see to it that they are favorable, Lord Njord!” Ororo returned with a smile.

I sighed at the loss of my Ring, and the fact I couldn’t use any real magic without spilling the beans. Well, whatever. I headed for the ship with everybody else, looking forward to the ride.

------

“Is it just I, or is the ride of this ship extraordinary?” Ororo asked softly.

We were both standing up near the prow of the ship as it cut through the waves. Njord had given us a rough course, and Ororo automatically turned the wind to fill the sails, regardless of what it was supposed to be.

“You should be able to feel his power moving through the ship, caressing the waters. He is not carving through the waves, he is sliding past them. The wood itself is polished and angled at profound levels to aid in this, and even without it this ship would slide through the sea better than the finest-hulled mortal vessel.” I glanced back to where Reed and Sue were in discussions with the sea god, who was taking their questions with bluff humor and patience, while their hands caressed the hull and the Rings on them glittered.

“I can sense Susan’s power on the wind. It is... quite strong,” Ororo admitted.

“She is not trying. Hey, Sue! Make a solid air stream and push the ship for a minute!” I called back to her with a knowing smile.

They glanced at me, and she nodded, wondering what was going on. Njord looked up as her power suddenly built in the air, and Ororo flinched despite herself.

It was literally a wall of solid air, not at force field density, but still solid. It hit the ship and all surfaces, streaming past our skin under her control, popping out the sail firmly, and simply shoved the ship ahead.

Ororo’s eyes were wide, feeling the air compressed like that and guided by an iron will, unable to touch it. Her own control of the weather could extend for many miles and cover hundreds of cubic miles of area, in contrast to the smaller areas Susan Storm-Richards could dominate. But within her area of control, nothing Ororo could do was going to threaten Susan’s control of the air.

We blew through the seas at over a hundred mph for a minute, the waters shoved out of the way, outrunning the wind as we were pushed along. I think Ororo started breathing again after Susan released the air around us, and the impelled momentum slid back to normal wind and sail.

“Suffocating?” I asked knowingly.

Ororo nodded shortly. “It felt like I was surrounded on all sides by a great and powerful fist, ready to close on me at any second.”

“That’s not far off. Susan’s natural talent is to compress the air right down to unbelievable solidity, making her force fields. It took tremendous amounts of practice for her to open up her grip, as it were, and actually start controlling air, instead of solid constructs of air. But she does not have the magical connection with the weather in all its forms that you do, especially precipitation and lightning, and so lacks your level of awareness. It is something I am hoping forming her Matrix will solve.”

“The Rings they are wearing are powerful...” Ororo noticed. “She is touching the essence of the winds, and I can feel Dr. Richards touching Njord’s mastery of the water.”

“Yes. They are Rings of Elemental Command, tuned to Air and Water, respectively.”

“Where did they get them?” Ororo asked in keen interest.

“They were made for myself and Ben Grimm.”

Ororo blinked. “You... made them?”

“Yes?”

“Oh.” She considered that. “Why would you and Ben Grimm need them?”

“Ben uses it to breathe underwater, move underwater like a dolphin, walk on water, and beat the crap out of Atlanteans, among other things. I use it to fly, be protected from falling, to generate gusts of wind, be immune to the weather, and control the SS portion of my Bite Bracelets.” The radiator and tube clicked up on the back of the tech bands I wore, crackling with lightning. “These are made to emulate Susan’s force field powers, either as defensive shields or rams. As they are made of solid air, the Ring enables finer control of them.” As well as generating additional lightning discharges, but that was just extra.

“May I see this?” she asked, interested. She had doubtless witnessed many technological marvels in Wakanda, but this was still new.

I charged the Bites up quickly, and spread my fingers to form a cone in the air ahead of the ship, like a windbreak.

With her connection to the wind, she had no trouble instantly sensing the invisible area, and reached out to touch it with great interest.

“That is indeed very strong,” she admitted, her dark fingers sliding over it, watching the wind and occasional wavespray falling off of it. “Has it weaknesses?”

“It’s not pure force, it’s solidified air. So, sound goes through it, as does light. Lightning can, if you don’t arrange alternate conductive courses. Otherwise, it can take a lot.

“Susan could leisurely ward this whole ship without much effort, and maintain it for hours. Of course, if something really strong started hammering on it, it would come down much more easily.”

“And she can use this as a weapon?” Ororo asked.

“Ever been hit by a steel beam moving at the speed of thought?” I replied, and she pursed her lips. “Yes. She can hit as hard as the toughest Brick you know, if she focuses hard enough.”

“So... she is the real muscle of the team?” Ororo asked with a smile, glancing back at her and Dr. Richards.

“Yes, and the whole team knows it, to an extent. However, she can’t push as hard with her power, or lift much. So, specific applications. She can prop up a castle, however, so there’s that.”

“Your power allows you to generate enough electricity to use more powerful devices or armor than your bracelets, yes?”

“Your power to attract lightning allows you to do the same, yes?” I replied right back to her, before she took that to the next level. Her follow-up question stalled at my smile as she blinked at me.

“I... well... I had not considered that,” she admitted.

“Oh, I’m low on power. BOOM! I’m not low on power anymore, odd.” I sort of laughed at her half-comical expression. “Seriously, your handsome King there should make up a line of armor-wearers designed to go into combat with you, and you can feed them power by hitting them with lightning whenever they get low. The Storm Queen’s Brigade or something!” I tapped my cheek thoughtfully. “Oh, do it with an armored brigade, too. The amount of firepower they could put out, mmm.” I eyed her speculatively. “Ask him if he wants some preliminary plans. That sister of his could probably put up something, but I’m kind of an expert at converting large amounts of violent electricity for usage.”

“Are you the only one of us here without a significant other?” Ororo asked archly. “Dealer told me Njord used to be married to a huntress...”

I laughed despite myself. “That tale is very old, and he probably doesn’t want to be reminded of the circumstances. Those lovely feet of his got him a wife, but she was a frost giant huntress, and she ended up dumping him for Uller the Hunter. The giantess was trying for Balder.”

Her mouth worked a bit at that. “I should learn more of the tales on this side of my ancestry...” she murmured.

“The myths are fun, but they are sometimes wildly inaccurate. I did ask Thor about the bridegroom bet, and he assured me it did happen. I didn’t want to upset Njord by making jokes about it, although Thor said he’s long gotten over it and finds it pretty amusing himself. She’s supposed to be a great beauty of the frost giants, too.”

“I notice you are steering away from the subject of your own life,” Ororo pointed out, a gleam in her eye.

“No men,” I waved off. “Not that I don’t have my pursuers, of course. Sue’s brother has been pining after me for years, among others. I don’t burn, see, so he never has to worry about his flames around me. I do go dancing with him sometimes, but he has a severe case of wandering eyeball and tail-chasing.”

“I have seen your videos on that ship.” She waved her hand above my head meaningfully, and made an exaggerated flex of her arm. “What happened?”

“Temporary magical Buff courtesy of Asgardian magic. Has the delightful effect of totally misleading people as to what I actually look like, since my actual face isn’t on any media, so can I wander around with civilians and not actually be recognized if I don’t want to be. If I want to be recognized, that’s what the mask is for.”

“It made you that big and strong?” She was impressed. “Asgardian magic is not weak, I see...”

“Thor could Summon a storm around the entire planet at once. Yeah, I think their magic is pretty strong.” I leaned back as her fingers played and she murmured to herself, picturing how much power that would take. She had a more direct idea than I did.

“If... I attune myself to the magic of Asgard... could I learn to do that?” she asked softly.

I glanced at her through slitted eyes. “Wellllll...” I drawled, “that’s Thor. Son of a Skyfather and the spirit of the planet. While I’m not saying it’s impossible for a mortal to get that strong, that’s a LOT of Levels away, and picking up some Asgardian strength isn’t quite the same as getting THAT strong. So the answer is yes, but it involves a whole lot more than just sucking in some juice here. I suppose if you made Eternal and were acknowledged as a Thunder Goddess with all the right Levels behind you, yeah, you could do it.”

“Eternal...?” Ororo repeated.

“You have read The Core Disciplines by now, I trust?” I asked her calmly.

“Yes. Even my grandparents have read it, despite not being able to wield the powers it speaks of. There are many former slaves in the States who escaped to the Tribes, and so many of our people are there. The Tribes are well-thought of in Africa, and The Golden Hag is a great hero and inspiration to many.”

“Mmm. Did they tell you of the Eternals, those affiliated with the Celestials?”

This time she hesitated. “They... alluded to them? That the founder of our line may have had contact with them in the past?”