Chapter 1

“What will history say about us that we willing sent our daughters to face the unspeakable? That we expected these brave young women these Valkyries to place themselves in harm’s way while we as a nation hid like rabbits. “

Colonel Lawrence S. Rutherford 2nd Battalion 33rd Marines

--0--

“Wow, she’s hot.” I overheard one boy’s in my class call out.

“Look at this one, the redhead.” Another one chimed in.

“What about the one in green.” Then a third decided to join the conversation.

“People, don’t you have better things to do? Or better yet, do this somewhere else,” I murmured.

“You mean the one with the nice rack?” And of course, Melvin had to get his two cents in idiot.

Calculus homework difficult at best of times was almost impossible while trying to ignore idiotic classmates drooling over some magazine. Most likely, not the type that would get you expelled, but with these morons, you could never be sure.

“What are you looking at, Melvin?” Amusing as it wasn’t, not sure why I butted in.

Melvin Archibald Jackson looked up and gave me a fuck you look; yea, he hated his name. With a shrug, I turned back to the beautiful world of indefinite integrals.

“Do you think Squire knows any of them?” The first voice spoke again. Ahh, that was Jacob, our class sycophant.

“Why in the hell would he know?” Melvin growled.

I now regretted my previous actions, “Please don’t get me involved.”

Praying to whatever gods were listening for Miss Thomason to return from the office to stop this nonsense failed miserably as he then shoved the magazine in my face.

With my dreams of a no calculus night now thoroughly crushed, I looked down at what appeared to be an old ‘Freyja's Daughters’ magazine.

The uplifting stories found inside were part of a broader PR campaign; however, the quarterly publication profits did go to a good cause. The Incursions, although infrequent as opposed to a decade ago, still took thousands of lives and caused a massive amount of damage. Most of the money earned went towards rebuilding those devastated communities.

“So Squire, your mother works for the DPA?” He asked, knowing full well where she worked.

“In Research and Development Melvin,” I made sure to give him a cheerful smile.

“Sweet, think you can set me up on a date?” One of the other guys pushed his friends out of the way to talk to me.

The Valkyries, the boys were drooling over, stood defiantly on the cover. One dressed in green and gold held a long spear at the ready, the second a petite older girl wore all white and wielded two curved swords.

Inside the magazine were more photos and a short article about some of the girls stationed east of the Mississippi. In spite of how my classmates behaved, none of the images were risqué as most of the Valkyries were underage.

Beyond the legal ramifications of taking such pictures, no one wanted to mess with The Department of Portal Administration (DPA). Besides, the senior Valkyries would happily track down the perpetrators and make their life a living hell.

“Alan, you said you liked the girl in green, right?” With a sigh, I flipped through the magazine so many memories and a lot of them unpleasant.

“Yea, that Mary is hot as hell,” he added.

Melvin grinned, “I’d do her too.”

I tried not looking at the girls on the other side of the room. By their unpleasant stares, most of them seemed less than amused by the comments so far. However, about half of came over to listen.

With a frown, I opened the magazine to Mary’s article. Like most, it contained photos with her family and several of her playing the piano.

“Sorry, but unless you’re into necrophilia, it’s not going to happen,” I said, running my fingers over a beautiful photo of Mary smiling with her little sister by her side.

“You mean she’s?” Alan looked a bit ill. Not surprisingly, she couldn’t have been more than a year older than most of the girls in our class.

“Mary McDonald loved music. I heard she started to play the piano before she turned six. She and Helen Clearwater, the one in white, were celebrating her acceptance into the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Unfortunately, the opening of a Class-4 portal less than a mile away interrupted the celebration. Bad luck, really.”

I could still remember that day. My cousin was devastated by the news. We knew them pretty well.

Flipping a couple of pages, I found Helen’s article. “Since they were on vacation, neither had their weapons.”

Thankfully no Valkyrie would end up in another situation without being adequately armed. I blame the PR folks, and many others do as well for their deaths.

“Still even without them, the two managed to hold off the Wraiths until most of the civilians in the area managed to reach a shelter.”

Flipping to the next page revealed the photo of a redhead with a mischievous grin. “Oh, this is a nice picture. Aideen hated taking photographs always thought her freckles were ugly.”

I loved her laugh.

“Was she killed too?” Melvin whispered, taking a seat.

I just nodded. “Three weeks ago, surprised you didn’t see it in the news.”

Then again, such things weren’t always reported anymore. No one wanted to hear that a fifteen-year-old girl was mauled to death — no need to upset the good people at breakfast, right?

The whole class became deathly still as I continued revealing little bits of information about the girls I knew. A bit different than the usual propaganda, the DPA loved to peddle to everyone. I could see they were happy that at least I had stopped speaking about the Valkyries in the past tense until the end.

The last article contained someone I knew quite well. I almost couldn’t continue but forced myself anyway, “And this article was written about my cousin Maggie before she died. Any more fucking questions?”

--0--

By the end of the century, the search for a new way to feed the hungry maw of the world's energy needs had almost become a quest for the Holy Grail. Countries and corporations spent trillions to discover an alternate fuel source. Finally, in Western Europe, the leader of a British-Swedish Think Tank, Alfonso Eklund, made a breakthrough in superstring theory.

At least ten dimensions were well known to scientists of the 20th century. Others were thought to be known, but Eklund believed that he could somehow draw power from the free energy in-between.

‘Energy from in-between will power our world’ had become the slogan. Mathematicians and physicists around the world thought, for the most part, the theory sound, so the mad scramble to develop a working device began. A decade later, a small experimental collector confirmed his theory.

Several years later, Eklund and his team built a larger collector, with full support and backing from several countries, and created a dimensional rift about the size of a beach ball.

A great cheer went up when the portal opened, then surprise when it could not be closed and finally screams of terror when shadowy creatures began to crawl out of the opening. These monsters between worlds took on the appearance of humanity’s ancient nightmares.

No one in the control room survived the initial onslaught until the monsters came across eighteen-year-old Private First Class Carmen Zayas, who stood guard outside the building.

When the portal opened, a wave of energy swept over the facility in all directions. Upon touching Carmen, something in her changed. Her short hair lengthened. Purple plate armor adorned her head arms and legs. Her uniform transformed as well, manifesting as armored leggings while her flack jacket became a golden breastplate.

When the first wolf-like beast burst through the doors, Carmen fired her rifle with seemingly no effect. Then with a battle cry, she charged swinging the gun like a great club. The first beast burst into dust. Her next swing took out another. The third, a much larger wolf monster, disarmed her, but the new Valkyrie pulled out her knife and fought on.

Thankfully, the first Incursion lasted less than ten minutes. With the portal’s collapse, the creatures vanished, and Carmen unmanifested, leaving a very confused and seriously wounded Private.

No one outside the governments knew what had occurred until fifteen days later when a second rift suddenly open in the center of Manchester, England quickly enveloping a quarter of downtown.

--0--

“Sally, I’m back.” Moving through the house, I dropped a bag of snacks on the living room table before heading upstairs. I still had my calculus homework to do.

“Welcome home, Henry.” An older woman’s voice greeted me from the kitchen, “Your mother just called. Unfortunately, she’s unable to leave work but promised to be home for your birthday on Saturday.”

“Whatever.” Nothing new really, I hadn’t seen my mom in about two weeks. With a quick toss, my backpack ended on my bed before I opened the door across from my bedroom.

“Hey, Mags,” I whispered.

“I see you’ve been to the convenience store.” Sally’s voice came from the hallway.

Opening the closet in the rear of the bedroom, I called out, “It’s just some snacks and a couple of bottles of pop!”

“Your mother would not approve.”

I thought I heard her coming up the stairs. Nice woman as much as I complain I do appreciate having someone at home after school.

“My mother isn’t here to tell me otherwise,” I whispered before shouting down the hallway once more. “It won’t spoil my dinner! It’s for this evening. I have some calculus work to do and might as well work on my presentation for the physics lab review!”

Closing the bedroom door, I began to search the closet’s hangers. I had a couple of favorite outfits, but most of them didn’t fit anymore. Not that such a minor thing would keep me from completing my quest. Maggie had a lot of clothes.

Happily, I discovered a lovely blue skirt and white blouse before opening her dresser to remove a bra and pantie set. Breast forms added, makeup done, and in no time at all, I looked like a mini-Maggie.

According to my therapist, everyone handles grief differently. My mother disappeared into her work. I traveled down a different path.

My cousin and I had been inseparable. She was my sister, all but in name. And although I knew she wouldn’t be happy with my inability to move on, secretly, I think she would approve of the outfit. In fact, she would be pleased that someone got some use out of her old clothes.

My dressing up? Well, she started it, after all.
.
When most of Montréal vanished off the map, Maggie had thankfully been away at summer camp. Several days later, authorities contacted my mother about her sister and brother-in-law's deaths. A shell-shocked nine-year-old girl appeared on our doorstep another week later.

It took time, but eventually, she crawled out of that shell into the crazy girl I had come to love. One of my fondest memories was the first time she got me into girl’s clothes, and it’s probably different from what you think.

As an obnoxious little brat, I remember jumping on her bed every day after I came home from school. On that fateful day, she couldn’t have been more than twelve years old.

“Mags, you said you would play with me.”

“What did you say, Henry?” She replied absentmindedly.

As all preteen girls know ignoring younger siblings was a sacred tradition, especially ignoring one nine-year-old boy, specifically me.

“Play With Me,” I gave her a flat look.

I was ready to mercifully annoy my dear old cousin, since I too believed in the strict adherence in following all traditions, but the magazine in her hand stopped me cold.

“Awesome Valkyries,” I slipped between her arms to take a better look.

She had come home from school with one of those celebrity gossip magazines. Although it carried photos of some movie star or another, the young women on the front cover caught my attention.

Soon we started flipping the pages together before she pointed to a photo of a dozen young girls standing in front of an army base, much like a school photo. According to the article, half of the group had recently manifested.

“I don’t think I know any of them. Do you?” She looked down at me. As a frequent visitor to Fort Roosevelt, my mom made sure to introduce us to any Valkyrie that happened to be on base.

Pointing to the tall blonde woman in the back, I replied. “Other than Doctor Swenson, no.”

Doctor Swenson was one of my mom’s friends and a former Valkyrie like her.

“Too old right,” Maggie commented while turning to the next page.

It showed the senior girls holding their various weapons. I heard later that one of the photographers wanted to get them into swimsuits. The DPA shot that down pretty quick, not that I cared at the time.

“Yea, she’s almost thirty or something.”

The power or whatever it was, which allowed them to manifest, disappeared when the girls reached around the age of twenty-five.

“That’s pretty old,” Mags giggled. “Still, it would be exciting to be one.”

“Sure they get to fight monsters and have neat looking outfits and weapons,” I nodded in total agreement. Most of the girls I knew ran around recess pretending to be famous Valkyries.

“Well, you said you wanted to play,” Mags gave me this knowing grin, which I knew from experience I might come to regret what she was going to suggest next. “How about we play Valkyries, but you have to dress like one.”

Of course, any twelve-year girl expected her male cousin to hotly refuse a game of dress-up. However, she didn’t quite understand my growing obsession. Instead, I tried to think of a reason why not to. It’s not like anyone would see me.

“Ok.” I jumped up, looking around.

“What?” She blurted out in surprise.

“As long as I get to be Black Rain!” I yelled, running out of the room to return moments later with a signed photo.

It can still be found on my wall today, the two girls, one in blue, the other black and me in the middle with a happy grin on my face. Meeting the famous Black Rain had been one of the high points of my young life, especially when she allowed me to hold her spear. I always wanted one after that.

“You can be the one in blue. I don’t remember her name, but she was super nice. We shared some snacks. ”

In no time at all, we were both dressed in something that resembled the Garderobes the two Valkyries in the photos wore if you squinted your eyes. Although, I thought they looked pretty good for what a nine and twelve-year-old could accomplish in such a short time.

“What?” Looking up from my work taking apart a broom, I failed to notice Maggie staring at me the whole time.

“Come over here.” She reached down to help me off the floor.

“But, I’m trying to build a spear.” I already knew that dismembering the broom might not be the best of ideas, but most nine-year-old boys don’t worry about consequences.

“We’ll work on that in a few minutes.” Dragging me out of the room, she made me stand in front of a full-length mirror at the end of the hallway.

“Alright, what am I looking at?” I replied with annoyance.

“Your reflection silly. Now, what do you see?” Maggie stood back, motioning me towards the mirror.

Reality shifted at that very moment. I could not believe the transformation. With my hair pulled back and a little makeup applied, I looked like a clone of my older cousin, a mini-Maggie.

“Is that me?” I exclaimed in horror, “Gross, I look like you.”

“Idiot,” grinning, she started to play with my hair. “You look like my little sister.”

Process that idea for a moment; I put it aside, deciding that building a weapon for the two of us was much more critical.

“I guess that’s not too bad then.”

Chapter 2

You ask, what is the aim of the The Department of Portal Administration? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs—Victory in spite of all terror—Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.*

General Ira C. Perry, Ret.
Director of the DPA

--0--

Playing Valkyrie as we called it didn’t stop, and we got rather good at it. Eventually, it turned into a serious hobby, especially after I got my mother involved.

Her work at the DPA consisted mainly of research and development of lightweight armored cloth for Valkyries to wear. When entering an Incursion zone, their clothing goes through a type of metamorphosis turning into their Garderobes. Researchers discovered that the better the material, the more it reinforced their newly manifested armor.

Maggie and I had no problem getting unclassified drawings and photos of the Valkyries in various outfits before and after manifestation. From that day forward, the costumes became more and more elaborate.

The two of us also needed to acquire new skills to be able to build these more detailed costumes. Eventually, we became quite adept at sewing, working with thermoplastic, painting, and so forth. Of course, with all that time and effort we put into our hobby, we couldn’t just make Garderobes and not show them off.

Dressing up for Halloween and cosplay events was something we soon looked forward to. It was about five months before my cousin manifested when we were dressing for one of the larger Valkyrie conventions.

At that time, my mother didn't quite understand how obsessed the two of us had become in wanting to make the costumes look authentic. Although considering our tools and supplies took up one-half of the garage, I couldn’t see how.

We usually went to local events, but mom had time off, so she decided to treat us with tickets to one of the largest conventions in the northeast, Asgard Con in Boston. Most of the smaller events were run by one of the local Valkyrie Fanclubs, but this one being a regional event was hosted by the DPA, so we had no problems getting in.

While Maggie and I were getting dressed, she volunteered to go downstairs to turn in our cosplay registration and pick up our badges. Returning, she would be in for a big surprise. Letting out a small gasp, she set down our badges before walking up to me.

Carefully brushing the hair out of my eyes, my mom, who was apparently now looking a bit weirded out, said, "You did a nice job on his makeup, Maggie.”

Not that I noticed my mother's reaction, as I was too busy trying to get the new armored skirt to fit correctly on my faux Garderobe.

“Oh, it wasn’t me, Aunt Sarah. Your son did his own makeup. He even helps with mine on occasion,” Maggie giggled.

“Henry did this?” asked my mom, looking puzzled. “Sweetheart, where did you learn to put on makeup?”

“It’s all online, mom, plus Mags has some good magazines on how to do it properly.” I smiled at her, now happy with my outfit.

It wasn’t just makeup. Every Valkyrie when they manifest was marked in some way. Some patterns looked like simple tattoos, while others were quite elaborate. The Valkyrie I was cosplaying had stylized flames from her fingers to her elbows.

“Plus, you have been putting in a ton of practice,” Maggie added.

Nodding my head, I said, “True. That looks nice, Mags. You finally got the pauldrons to fit right after all.”

“I know.” She cheerfully spun around.

“Practice?” my mom squeaked. Suddenly looking uncomfortable, she asked, “Honey, what about those?”

I looked down at what she was pointing at. So, the cuirasses didn’t fit right without the breast forms. “Mom, they’re not real geeze.”

I rolled my eyes.

Ok, perhaps seeing her twelve-year-old son in makeup and having what appeared to be breasts might be a bit alarming. Good thing I didn’t bring up the gaff Mags had bought online for me. Some of these outfits were skin tight, so it did make them fit a lot better with it on. And it's not like I dressed up like a girl every day. Just most weekends.

My mom sighed and then started to play with my hair. “Sweetie, I don't remember your hair being this long, either.“

“Oh, there just temporary extensions.“

She then carefully asked, “Does this Valkyrie have a name?”

I could tell she was still a bit lost about the whole thing.

“He calls himself Domino,” Maggie explained as she started to braid my hair.

“No, you can call me Kára.”

She was a new persona as I stopped creating one's based off real Valkyries after one of them I knew personally died.

“Kára, huh you’ve been thinking about that for a while?” Maggie smiled as she then stood next to me while my mother broke out her camera.

“It translates to The Wild One.’’

It took me a while to come up with a theme, but with the red hair and flames, I thought the whole thing looked cool.

“Fits,” Maggie punched me on the shoulder, which I retaliated with a swipe of my foot.

“It’s a pretty name, sweetie now - wow, you look like sisters.” Mom almost dropped the camera as she looked up.

“I know scary. He’s a mini-me.” Maggie happily leaned down, so our faces were touching.

When my mom commented that somehow she now had two daughters, Maggie cried.

Sigh Girls.

--0--

Even with the constant threat of death and destruction, humankind continued to march on. People went to work, to school, and even on vacation.

Right before her fifteenth birthday, Maggie decided over the winter break to take some of her parent’s money and visit her grandparents. My mother would have paid for it, but my cousin insisted that she use her own money. On New Year's Eve, Maggie manifested when somewhere north of Fisher Island, Florida, a class 8 portal opened up.

As you can guess, we were both excited. My mother, not so much, as Maggie would now be expected to fight creatures that had, for the last couple of decades, been terrorizing the world’s population.

Thankfully, at least for my mother’s blood pressure, girls under the age of seventeen continued to live at home and only attended training on the weekends and during breaks from school.

The DPA made sure that these young Valkyries at least had the illusion of a normal life. Unfortunately, in the case of a large Incursion, which required reinforcements, they were brought in from neighboring states. Usually, only the seniors were deployed, mostly.

For the two of us, the Valkyries had been an integral part of our childhood. Don’t get me wrong. We each had our own lives. Maggie had her friends, and I had mine. She played softball, and I ran track. But the days we spent building and designing our Garderobes and weapons were special to us.

So there was also no way that Maggie would not keep me up to date with what she was learning. My mother supplemented her training as much as possible, and in turn, my cousin taught me, well everything.

We both learned how the Valkyries were deployed in combat, how they communicated, what type of Wraiths they hunted, and their strengths and weaknesses.

I still have most of the books hidden under my bed, including the ones that the DPA would lose their fucking minds over if they knew I possessed. They were filled with grainy images and descriptions of creatures such as Skitters, Alphas, Brutes, Fafnir, and the actual city ending nightmares, Jotunns and Titans.

I joked that between my mother’s knowledge and Maggie’s teaching, I might as well have been recruited into the sisterhood. This wonderful time ended almost three years to the day after she manifested for the first time.

By then, as a senior Valkyrie, Maggie had been deployed to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After a small Incursion in Columbia and a major one just north of Charleston, she had become pretty well known, earning the nickname, 'The Little Dragon.'

When we received a message that she had been wounded near Savannah, Georgia, we were worried. Thankfully, Maggie called and told us it was no big deal, but it earned her a couple of weeks off. My mom and I quickly made plans. The three of us would get to spend Christmas and her eighteenth birthday as a family.

Later the next day, while my mom was out shopping, three officials from the DPA came to our front door, two military officers and Doctor Swenson. When mom returned home, she found me in the doctor’s arms wailing. I had lost my best friend, my sister.

They actually had to sedate me. When I woke in the middle of the night, I felt dead inside. We had learned that Maggie had been killed in a traffic accident. She wanted to surprise us by coming home early, so she and a friend decided to make the long drive home. One of them had fallen asleep at the wheel.

Although no one was at fault, at that moment, I was not too fond of other Valkyries. I hated the DPA and everything it stood for. I didn’t care if the whole world burned. It’s our own stupid fault anyway.

With purpose, I strode into Maggie’s bedroom, ready to destroy our Garderobes, but my reflection in the full-length mirror stopped me. The next morning my mother found me sleeping in my cousin‘s bed dressed in one of her old school uniforms.

Now, my mom and I barely talk. Most nights and holidays I spend alone. She even hired someone to take care of me before disappearing into her work. As much as I liked Sally, I missed my mom, not that I would have told anyone that.

--0—

"Henry."

I looked up as three of my classmates took a seat in front of me. Charlotte and Beth had been in my class since third grade, while Melissa, transferred earlier in the year. All of them were pretty cool, other than being total Valkyrie fangirls. Yes, I know I'm a hypocrite.

"Ladies, what's up?"

I set down my pencil. I had been working in the library trying to finish up some preliminary planning on my latest science project. Last year I had taken First Place for my age group in the State of Massachusetts and even won a little scholarship from the DPA.

Beth picked up the book on Differential Calculus. "Is this from our library?"

I smiled and took it from her, placing it on top of the others. "No, I had to order it online."

This year's research project was on the process of portal creation and stabilization. Not that I wanted to open one, besides the fact I couldn't get the exotic materials for it, but I thought the mathematics would be an exciting topic.

Charlotte looked to the two girls then said. "So, we wanted to make sure you were Ok."

Ahh, yes, well yesterday. Charlotte and Beth knew Maggie pretty well too. I shrugged, "Yea, no worries. I just can't stand the stupidity."

Melissa rolled her eyes, "I know, some of those boys can be so stupid."

I grinned, "I hope I'm not included."

She blushed a little then shook her head, "No, you're Ok."

"Did you know Quicksilver is graduating?" Beth jumped in.

'Graduation' was the popular term the media used for when a Valkyrie retires because she lost her ability to manifest.

"Hey! We were just going to ask how he's doing." Charlotte chastised her friend.

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's ok, when did you learn this?"

Melissa pulled out her phone, played with it a moment before passing it to me. I scrolled through the announcement. Quicksilver, or Alice Stone, had been a Valkyrie stationed here a while back. It looks like she had been deployed to an Incursion in Upper New York State last week but didn't manifest.

I handed Melissa back her phone. "Good for her."

Really, she survived too many girls do not.

"Do you know her?"

"Melissa." Charlotte sighed.

I had to laugh."It's ok. I don't mind. No, I don't know her well; even with her being stationed here, I didn't see her very often."

"Well, it's pretty quiet here," Beth commented. "Which is a good thing."

Everyone at the table nodded. The closest an Incursion had been to our little city of Wells was Boston.

"So, have you heard who they will send here next?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Me? No, sorry, the DPA doesn't keep me informed of Valkyrie transfers."

"Oh," Beth blushed. "I thought you might know because of your, well mom."

Of course. "She doesn't get told either. Unless we're getting someone from the Boston DPA office, then she might know."

Charlotte gave me a sad smile. "Too bad Maggie isn't here, she seemed to know everything."

"True, even if half of what she told us wasn't true."

Beth giggled. "She was nuts."

I looked at Charlotte, and Beth then smiled.

Turning to Melissa, I said, "So let me tell you about the insanity inflicted on the three of us by Maggie Davis, also known as The Little Dragon."

--0—

"This is Doctor Swenson." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded tired.

"Aunt Audrey?"

"Henry? Is everything OK?" she exclaimed.

Oops, she sounded concerned. Well, oh, I guess I never called her at the office before. "Yea, hi, everything's fine. If you're too busy, I can call back at another time."

If she was too busy, then I didn't want to bother her. I mean, this was a stupid idea anyway.

"No, sweetie, it's fine. What can I do you for?"

Sigh, a doctor and a comedian. "I'm sure you've heard that Quicksilver, I mean Alice is retiring."

The line on the other end got silent. I tapped on my phone a little, "Audrey, are you still there?"

"No, I mean, yes, I'm just surprised you're interested," she sounded perplexed.

"Well, you see, I have a couple of, well three really, friends, and we were talking about it." I stammered a bit. "I thought you might know. They are pretty big fans, and well, we were curious if you knew who was replacing her."

"Slow down, Henry. I didn't get all of it," she chuckled. "Yes, Alice is retiring."

"Ok, right. I saw the news release." I remarked, then asked. "Do you know who is going to replace her?"

The line on the other end got silent again."Audrey?"

"Henry, are these friends of yours, girls by chance?" Her question caught me by surprise, and why does it sound like she's laughing at me.

"Yes, I mean, they are, but we're only friends." I insisted. And yes, I can now hear laughing at the other end of the phone.

"Alright, well, let's see. If I were a betting woman."

"Which you are," I replied.

She and my mom's floating poker games were notorious when they were Valkyries. I still remember the two of them heading off to Atlantic City for the weekend, well, when there was still an Atlantic City to go to.

"Correct, then I would guess it's either Julie Kemper or Emma Kingston. My bet is on Emma Kingstone."

"Hmm, I don't think I know Emma."

Julie's family lived up towards Portsmouth. She was also older than Alice, so I wouldn't be surprised if she graduated soon as well.

"She manifested about six months ago. Nice girl, you would like her," she said.

"Ok, thanks."

"You know, if you want, I can scrounge up four VIP tickets to Alice's official graduation ceremony. That is if you're interested. I think Alice would be happy to have some friendly faces there as well."

"Would it really be OK? Charlotte and the other's parents don't work for the DPA."

I had been to a graduation ceremony before. It was usually filled with generals and other government types. However, the food at the end was pretty good, and frequently other Valkyries old and new would show up.

"Absolutely," Audrey insisted.

"You know what? Yea, that sounds like fun."

--0--

When by the end of the week, it appeared that I might be spending my birthday without my mom, I decided enough was enough. I meant to give her a piece of my mind or something like that. It's just that the two of us really needed to talk, something we haven't done in the past year or so.

Early Saturday morning, I open a video-call directly to the DPA dorms where she had been staying. Surprisingly, my mom answered after the first beep, and I noticed how tired she looked.

Just like when for the first time, I had seen myself in the full-length mirror as Kára, my worldview shifted. It felt like a hammer to the chest. Maggie's death hit her just as hard as it hit me, more so as my mother had also lost her sister years earlier. For the first time in a long while, I was happy to see her face.

”Good morning Kára.“ She gave me a tired smile. ”Happy Birthday“

”Thanks, and Henry's fine mom.“

”Really?“ She looked startled as I was currently dressed in one of Maggie’s old outfits.

Before today, I would angrily insist that while dressing this way, she needed to call me Kára.

”Yea, I think it's time mom. You coming home?“

I now understood why she worked so hard. She wanted to give the young girls who wore the Garderobes a chance to have a life beyond the Valkyries.

Nodding, she pointed to the mess behind her.”I'm finishing up and will be there well before dinner." She then paused, "You do know you are more important to me than work.“

She must have read my mind, but I knew. ”I do.“

We both looked at each other and smiled. ”What are your plans for today, birthday boy?“

Looking up towards Maggie's bedroom, I said, ”I am thinking of taking Kára out for one last spin.“

I then named a few stores and a bakery, all of Maggie's favorite places.

“And then?“ My mother nodded in understanding.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. ”I’m going to start packing up her room; I’m sure we can use the space for something else.“

I knew we both needed this for closure. My therapist would be so proud.

“I’ll bring home some boxes. Oh, I also have a surprise for you. You’re going to love it.”

“So what is it?” That got me curious.

“I’ll tell you when I get home,” She grinned.

We talked for thirty more minutes before she said we would continue the conversation tonight. With that, I went upstairs; I had some things to do before my last outing as Kára Squire.

--0--

Chapter 3

"When our sisters first stood against the Wraiths, they did not have the resources as we have today; indeed only through good fortune and by daring that they achieved victory. We must live up to the standard that our sister's set; we must resist those terrible creatures in any and every way; for the survival of our species depends on it."

Valkyrie Nicole Segouin - outside Montreal

A few hours later, I scratched off another thing on my to-do list. The morning had been relatively productive even before I left the house for the day. Made a list of items we might like to keep, what should be packed away and what should be given to the numerous charities that popped up to help the millions displaced.

“Thank you.” I smiled, leaving ‘The Delicious Donut’ with a large mocha cappuccino in hand.

Usually, I would get one closer to home, but I really didn’t want to deal with anyone recognizing me as Henry. After a third of the earth's population being killed off by giant monsters, people, for the most part, had a live and let live attitude, but it didn’t stop teenagers from being assholes.

Stepping off the tram, I found my way to Sam Adam’s Drive. Busy, as usual, with shoppers wandering around looking through the many consignment shops and used good stores. Maddie and I used to spend hours here, especially if we were looking for that right piece to go with one of our costumes.

“Did you see them?” I couldn’t help but overhear two girls around my age exclaim.

“Valkyrie Emma is gorgeous, and did you see the two juniors? So cute I wonder what school they will go to.”

I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but it only took a day for Aunt Audrey's prediction to come true, well mostly. According to the news, Valkyrie Emma Kingston arrived at Fort Roosevelt yesterday morning, along with two younger girls.

Several weeks ago, an incursion occurred outside Springfield in the middle of a shopping mall. It wasn't for very long a Class 8 at the most, but over a dozen people were killed or wounded.

The girls, cousins, had been shopping when the portal opened in the center of the food court. The younger of the two's parents were getting lunch for everyone. You can guess what happened. She's now being taken care of by her Aunt and Uncle, and the DPA moved them all here.

Oh, a little known fact why you don't play poker with Valkyries. They all have a bit of a Precognitive ability. For some of the Valkyries, it bordered on the supernatural, but mostly it was enhanced combat reflexes. Both my mom and Aunt Audrey said that it even bled into their daily lives where they would get strong hunches.

After munching on a hot pretzel from one of my favorite carts, I found myself disappointed to find that the bookstore I wanted to visit had a going out of business sign.

“Well, shoot!” I growled in frustration.

Not a surprise really with pretty much everything humankind has written available on the WorldNet. Still, I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I had visions of filling out holes in my old science fiction collection when the world twisted.

“Too bad your people have forgotten the pleasure of curling up in front of a fire reading a good book.” A melodic voice startled me.

Looking around, I found the entire street empty except for a beautiful blue alien woman dressed in Garderobes of black and gold. For some reason, I wasn’t afraid when she gently cupped my cheeks with unnaturally long fingers.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

Bringing her other hand up, she looked at me sadly before gently kissing my forehead. “Forgive me, cousin.”

Then all I knew was excruciating pain. It started at my head ran down my chest and shoulders through my groin and into my legs. With my entire body on fire, if I could have screamed, I would have then the world violently twisted again.

I felt more than I saw people running past me as if my senses had been stretched out. These shadows went one way then another. Only to then reset and go in another direction. Different paths different results, and for a moment, I felt my mind slipping towards insanity.

Suddenly the world snapped back into crystal clarity. All around me, terrified screams filled the air as I collapsed to the ground.

Down the road, a massive black eight-foot-tall creature burst through a drugstore sending debris in all directions before picking up and throwing a car through the window of a luggage store.

Like any sane person, I started to stand up, ready to flee from the Wraith in the hope of finding an Incursion Shelter but stopped after spotting my reflection in the bookstore's window.

"That’s impossible!” Somehow like Maggie, I had manifested.

My clothes were turning into green overlapping armored plates decorated with intricate little black roses and thorns. The Garderobe had a helm with an open face just enough to cover my eyes and high on each side of the helm, a pair of black butterflies. Rising from the ground, I instinctively reached out with my right hand, and a deadly looking silver spear manifested.

Valkyries flown into an Incursion carried well-crafted gear. Moreover, like their clothing, the weapons changed during manifestation. The better the materials, the better the upgrade, and as far as I knew, there had never been a Valkyrie who could manifest a weapon.

The sound of glass shattering and terrified people running past shook me out of my thoughts as the shadow creature continued to advance down the street, causing chaos. However, most of the people instead of running hid amongst parked cars too terrified to move.

“Don’t worry mommy. She’s here to save us!” I heard a young voice cry out, which of course, the monster also took note.

"I must be fucking insane." I spun my spear around at the ready. “Alright, Mags, let’s see if what you taught me will actually work.”

Brutes were strong on the defense but slow with powerful strikes. With its body being almost impervious, I should look to attack behind the knees and under the arms and neck. Directing all of the sadness, anger, and frustration of the last year towards the troll, I moved.

When a Valkyrie manifested, along with the spectacular outfit upgrade, they had physical upgrades as well. Strength, dexterity, and stamina all came with the package. So when I moved, I moved. For a moment, I watched as it caught a shadow me with its massive hands. Nope, not going to happen.

I decided to land somewhere else.

Striking my spear into the Brute’s side, I shifted then shifted again, hitting it three more times before I plunged the spear into the back of its knees. It roared shattering the glass from nearby stores.

“Come on, ugly bastard!”

I leaped back as it swung around, slamming its massive fists into the pavement, showering my armor with shrapnel.

With its eye on me, I yelled at the crowd, “MOVE head towards the shelters!”

Happily, the group needed no further prodding, but the creature started to turn towards easier prey. I would have none of that.

“Hey! I’m the one with the pointy stick.”

Jamming the point into the side of his head got the reaction I wanted, and it reared up with both arms to crush me.

“Got you, fucker!“

Dashing forward, I slid under its arms and thrust upward, piercing its throat and out the back of his head. The shadow-like troll stood there for a moment before exploding into black dust. For some odd reason, it almost felt like at the last second someone helped me.

Looking around, I was happy to find the street empty. "OK, so with Brutes, the DPA would classify this as a Level 6 Incursion, so the epicenter should be…”

With it being Saturday, the business district where I guessed the portal opened should be pretty deserted. If the Incursion had occurred during the middle of the workweek, I didn’t want to think about it.

I also needed to keep moving. If I paused now and thought about what was going on, I wouldn’t be able to start again. "So what do I do now? “

Oh, I just needed to trace the movement of the creature, wasn't going to be too hard. Grimacing, I took a deep breath then began to follow the devastation of overturned cars and crumpled buildings.

--0--

Running forward, I leaped on top of a car, then onto the top of a small building, and began moving across the rooftops. I could see a shadowy self for second showing different paths. One direction seemed better than the others.

“I don’t remember Maggie telling me about this.” These weird visions did every Valkyrie have them?

Dropping from the top of a two-story building, I glided to its neighbor when screaming, and the tearing of metal filled the air. Below me, two people were in a car surrounded by three shadow wolves or Fenrirs.

Sigh, “Idiots.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. While one girl tried desperately to keep the beasts from getting inside the vehicle, the other was taking a recording of it on her phone.

Off the roof I went and struck the first creature with its head stuck in the door, piercing its back. It turned to smoke, which gave me a clear shot at the second. Thrusting forward right through its mouth, it too vanished.

The third breast, much larger and much faster, started to circle me, “Shit an Alpha.”

The giant wolf suddenly changed direction charged forward then back again. I could see it wanted those inside the car. I had other plans. As it changed course again, I set my spear. The creature tried to jump away but instead took a thrust into the chest.

A living creature would have died from such a wound. Instead, it bled black smoke. This time I felt more than saw that it wanted to retreat, but I wouldn’t allow that. As it turned away, I leaped forward almost flying and came straight down on its back. The Alpha crumbled to the ground turning into a cloud of black vapor.

“Oh, my God! That was so cool!”

Turning around, I watched one of the girls try to climb out of the car while the second crouched in her seat in relieved tears.

“Are you stupid, Carole? We almost died!”

Both girls looked to be maybe a year or two older than I was. The one that was crying was trying to start the car. The second continued to take the video of well me.

“Are you two, ok?”

As I walked up, I could see that neither of them appeared to be hurt. Terrified out of their wits, yes, well at least one of them, and she looked ready to hurt someone.

“Yea, thanks for saving us.” The driver sniffled then punched the steering wheel. “Well, fuck, the car won't start.”

The video girl leaned over her friend and smiled, “Can I get your autograph?”

“Carole,” the driver wearily sighed.

“What I knew we were going to be saved," she chirped.

I couldn’t help but empathize with the poor driver. I had a feeling she wanted to slam her head into the steering wheel or punch out her friend.

“It’s clear up through Adams Street. The shelter on Park is probably already sealed, so you’ll have to make your way to Devereux Hospital.”

“OK, I’m Amy.” She smiled and then frowned as the door wouldn’t open.

“Hi, Amy, I’m Kára. Climb out through the window, I’ll help.”

With the two out of the car, they started to run down the road, but Carole returned, and I suddenly found a girl in my arms. Kissing me on the cheek, she jumped back.

“Thank you!” she giggled before running off to join her exasperated friend.

“Can this day getting any stranger?”

Taking to the rooftops, I went in search of the epicenter. At least that way, I didn’t have to dwell on the fact that not only had I not just manifested, but my voice seemed to have changed as well.

--0--

Emma Kingston couldn’t believe her luck, all of it bad. The chance of an incursion happening in any one location was awfully low. So, of course, one would appear in the city the day after she arrived.

"Sally, just stay where you are and keep Kimberly safe!" she screamed to the older of the two junior Valkyries. The three of them had been on patrol more of a PR thing walking around doing a little shopping when the incursion began.

Worse, Kimberly had just lost her two parents. The DPA should have given the poor girl time to mourn not make her walk around to keep the citizens of Wells happy. When a Brute charged down the street, she just froze.

Only her cousin's quick thinking prevented Kimberly from being killed. Still, that hit had done something. The young girl hadn’t moved from the spot next to the crushed car for the last few minutes. Of course, she couldn’t check with the two Ferris making her life difficult.

Finishing off the last one, she crossed the street. Kneeling, she asked, "How are you doing, Kim?"

"It's Kimberly," she rasped, holding her arm to her chest.

Looking up, Emma said, "Sally, did you get an ETA on the armored transport?"

The young girl made a face while playing with the communications device. "It's still twenty minutes away. People abandoned their cars, so it's hard for them to get around."

"And they can't medivac her out until the portal closes."

All three girls knew that if Skitters were in the area, they would love nothing but to take down a helicopter or two.

"What's that?" Kimberly cried out, pointing to an enormous shadow off in the distance.

Sigh, all her fucking luck. One wounded Valkyrie and another with less than two weeks of training. Emma rose from the ground. She needed to get Kimberly away from here.

"It’s a Seps."

Smaller than the monstrous Jörmungandr, it was still a dangerous serpent. It could easily eat one of them whole and have room left over for the other two.

"Maybe I could lead the Wraith off," Emma whispered to herself when a figure in green flashed in front of them.

The three then watched as the Valkyrie bounced off a wall and landed near the serpent, slashed it once, and then jumped back to the safety of a parked car.

"I'm going to help!" Emma called out to the other two. "Sally, keep an eye on your cousin."

She couldn’t believe her luck, one second she was going to face a Seps alone, and the next, a senior Valkyrie arrived to help. She watched in wonder as the girl suddenly appeared to be in two places at once right before plunging her spear into the serpent's left eye.

"You take low. I'll take high!" The green girl sang out with a very melodic voice.

"Sounds like a plan." Emma giggled as she swung her sword, cutting the side of the shadowy serpent blocking its counter-attack before jumping back. "Did you forget your Larry?"

She had been trying to get the other girl on the radio, so it sounded like the communication device broke, or she left it at home. Emma didn’t want to be in the other girl's shoes if she left it at home.

The green armored girl laughed, "Something like that. We need to get the snake to raise its head."

Sigh, "That’s means I have to play bait."

"Afraid so, Emma." Landing the veteran Valkyrie slashed the Seps with her spear before retreating a dozen steps off to the side.

"Oh, you know my name." Emma laughed then with a nod to the other girl charged.

With the serpent blinded in one eye, it missed as the spear wielding Valkyrie slipped underneath to plunge the weapon up through it's throat.

"Names Kára." The green girl said as the two of them walked back to their juniors.

"Pretty name, so what are you doing in Wells?"

Kára spun her spear around and then shrugged, "Shopping."

"Sucks to be you," Emma laughed. At least someone else's luck had been as bad as hers.

Kára grunted before asking, "How is she doing?"

"Got in the way of a Brute."

"Ouch," Kára replied, but before she could say anything else, a large crash down the street caught everyone's attention.

"There's your ride Kimmy!" Sally happily called out as an armored vehicle, smashed several more cars out of the way.

"Names, Kimberly." the wounded girl growled.

"You need a Larry," Emma turned to Kára.

Even with the Seps, both of them had agreed that this was a Class 6 incursion, which meant that the portal would remain open for at least another hour. Thankfully with two experienced Valkyries, they should be able to clear out of the rest of the Wraiths.

She watched as the other girl spoke with Kimberly. The two talked for a moment, then Kára helped the young girl take off her helmet to remove her communications device.

Emma then asked, "So what direction?"

The way the other girl knew how to test the Larry and flip through the channels only confirmed that she was a veteran. Emma didn’t know where the mysterious girl came from and frankly didn't care.

"I assume you want to split up one of us going counter-clockwise around the epicenter."

"Ahh your senior, Kára."

The green girl gave a musical laugh, "You're stationed here."

"Oh," Emma blushed. "Right, so I'm senior. Ahh, whatever sounds good, really."

Nodding the young woman spun her spear around then pointed towards the east. "I'll head off towards Bayard Tower."

--0—

"Alright, Emma, the southeast side of the business district is clear," I spoke on the Milnet-4 Laryngophone or Larry to my new Valkyrie partner.

As we circled in towards what we thought was the epicenter of the incursion, we looked for more Fenrirs and Brutes. Luckily we hadn’t run across another Seps or anything bigger, so the portal should be closing any moment.

"Kimberly and Sally just arrived back at base," Emma said over the radio, sounding relieved.

With a Valkyrie's toughness and regeneration, if not killed instantly, there was a good chance she would survive to fight again. Still, that arm looked like it hurt.

"And they have four Valkyries on standby from Boston."

"Waste of a trip," I commented, taking to the air as the ground below was filled with burning cars.

The fire department wouldn’t be able to start their work until the portal closed, and it wasn’t unheard of for half a city to burn to the ground in the meantime. I headed towards the river. Even in my armor, the heat was uncomfortable.

"Colonel Peters agrees with you, although they're bringing Guard units to help with the cleanup."

Which once again, none of them will enter the area until the portal closes or they have Spartans among them, which wasn't likely. Males cannot manifest; it has never happened well until now. However, on rare occasions, they have a sort of half-manifestation with all of the physical enhancements, but without the pretty armor.

Like my dad.

What people don’t know was that whatever energy caused a woman to manifest would eventually kill a Spartan. One, two, five years didn’t matter; they would eventually get overly aggressive brain cancer. My dad died when I was three. Yes, and I was freaking out about that too.

"Woo the portal closed!" I heard Emma cheer from the other end of the radio.

Oh good, so I waited and waited, huh I still hadn’t un-manifested. OK, I had picked a stupid spot to land if I had.

"Are you sure?" I nervously asked while looking around.

"Don’t be silly," Emma laughed. "Where are you?"

"On top of Mansfield Bridge." Literally.

"Long walk back to Fort Roosevelt," she giggled. "I'll see about getting you a ride."

"That would be great, thanks." Wearily I sat down on the steel girder ninety feet up from the river below.

Chapter 4

Here we will stand and fight; there will be no further withdrawal. We will stand and fight here with our sisters. If we can't stay here alive, then let us stay here dead.

-Unknown Spartan Officer; Temple Church, London, England.

While waiting for pickup on top of the Mansfield Bridge, I manifested and un-manifested my spear. I also had plenty of time to start thinking about my current situation. I was almost positive I could change out of my Garderobes, but considering my location, it probably wasn’t wise and not just because I was almost 100 feet above the river.

Suddenly, the familiar wailing of emergency vehicle sirens brought me out of my thoughts. The authorities still hadn't given the all-clear, which made sense as it allowed them to move around the city unhindered. Moreover, the three area hospitals would soon be full of the wounded. The others were beyond help, however. Closing my eyes, I could still see their silent forms lying in the streets.

My Larry came alive, startling me. "Hello, Valkyrie Kára, this is Mobile Six Over."

Cool, that must be my ride. Standing up, I replied, "Mobile Six, this is Valkyrie Kára, Over."

Years of playing around with fake communication devices and Maggie drilling me on how to use a real Milnet-4 assured that I didn’t sound like a complete idiot. At least I hoped I didn’t.

"Valkyrie Kára, we are unable to find a clear route to the Mansfield Bridge. Are you able to travel to another location for pickup? Over."

Oh, they couldn't get to me. Well, with the inferno on the other side of the bridge, that made sense. I could probably make my way closer to home, and I knew just the place. In fact, the troopers should even be on the right side of the river.

"Affirmative, Mobile Six, there is a Pandora’s Box Playground on the corner of Oak Street and Maryland Avenue. Over."

"Affirmative, Valkyrie Kára, Wait Over."

While the troopers pulled up their map of the city, I floated down to the street, landing on the top of a handy furniture truck.

"Hello Valkyrie Kára, we have the location. Will you be available for pick up in twenty-five minutes? Over"

"Affirmative, Mobile Six, can you also please relay a message for me to Doctor Audrey Swenson at Fort Roosevelt. Tell her that her niece Kára will be seeing her soon and that the Hot Gates have opened. Over"

"Say again, Over."

OK, that might have been a bit cryptic, but Aunt Audrey should understand the message. After repeating my request, we both signed off. I had to admit as I made my way across town that the name of the park seemed oddly appropriate considering the situation.

My family also had a bit of history with the Pandora’s Box Playground. Celebrating birthdays, family cookouts, and other fun times we had at the park, and on the first anniversary of her parent's death, I found Maggie crying under the slide. She found me there on the swings several years later after my first real girlfriend had to move to Boston.

I'm sure the troopers thought I wouldn't make it on time, and they usually would be correct. However, right now, I moved across the city probably faster than they were able to because of the abandoned vehicles blocking the roads.

As predicted, I made it with plenty of time to spare.

It had been a beautiful day, so it wasn’t a surprise by the amount of food left on the picnic tables that there had been plenty of people here before the sirens went off. The neighborhood, however, was totally deserted. Most of the families caught outside would have fled to the Landon Middle School's shelter or the smaller one near the fire station on Maryland.

Although the public shelters were probably the safest place to go in case of an Incursion, most of the residents in this neighborhood probably hid in their homes instead. I even knew several classmates whose parents dug a shelter in their backyard. We made fun of them. It doesn’t seem so funny now.

Walking towards the swings, I realized I still had not changed out of my Garderobes. I'd probably start a panic if the all-clear sirens went off, and people found me walking around in them.

"Fuck, I'm such a coward," growling, I allowed my armor to vanished only to be replaced by well, not what I was wearing before. "Oh, this is pretty. Hey, where's my stuff?"

So apparently, my purse, house keys, wallet, even my Mocha cappuccino did not reappear, but then again, it made sense, as I really didn’t un-manifest. I just changed out of my armor. While admiring my new dress, I was still ignoring the 300 lb gorilla standing in the center of the park.

My melodic voice filled the air as I suddenly declared, "Alright, Kára, time to man up!"

Deciding that the other cosmetic changes weren’t all that important, I reached up and cupped my breasts, and of course, they were real.

"Shit!"

There was a famous movie where two love interests switch places, the male character wakes up as the female character and almost immediately fondles his newfound breasts. Good for a laugh, right? I wasn’t laughing.

Collapsing to my knees, I put down my head and wept, "Oh, Mags, I need you now more than ever."

--0--

The eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicle, also known as an M1133 Stryker ICV, made its way down Maryland Avenue at a good pace. At least the civilians in this part of the city knew enough not to block the streets in case of an Incursion.

"You think she'll be waiting?" Private Marissa Thompson asked as she went through her aid bag.

"Something tells me she will be there." Another trooper, a Corporal Julio Rodriguez, chuckled.

"So, from what I hear, they were surprised that one of our senior Valkyries was in town."

"I heard something similar," the Corporal replied. "Good thing, though."

"True, but come on, Rodriguez, you know more, what's the goss?" Marissa cajoled her fellow trooper.

Shaking his head, he replied, "Sorry, Thompson, you know as much as I do."

"Spoilsport," she grumbled.

"We're here!" They heard over the comms from the driver. "I think I see her."

As the door came down, Private Thompson looked around the playground finding the Valkyrie kneeling on the ground near the swings. She caught her breath as the young woman stood up.

"Wow," she whispered.

As Valkyrie Kára approached, both troopers would later admit that it wasn’t just one thing that stood out. She was exotic from her green hair, her natural grace, and the simple but elegant black and green dress she wore.

"Are you an Elf?" Rodriguez blurted out.

Her laugh was beautiful. "I don’t believe so, Corporal." Tilting her head with a smile revealed tapered ears, which did look elf-like, though. She then asked. "I assume your Mobile Six?"

"Yes ma'am," the young man replied, ignoring the knowing smile his fellow trooper gave him. "I'm Corporal Rodriguez, and to the right of me is Private Thompson."

"Hello, ma'am, are you injured anyplace?" The medic asked, reaching into her aid bag.

The Valkyrie shook her head, "No, I'm not hurt, just a little tired and hungry. Do you have…"

Her face lit up as the medic pulled out three Makt bars. The two troopers knew that Valkyries burned up a ton of calories during an Incursion and were always hungry afterward. Something to do with their manifestation it was believed.

"You wouldn't happen to have any of the double chocolate ones?"

Private Thompson laughed and then reached into her aid bag, pulling out three different bars.

"Can't seem to get anyone to eat these cherry ones," she said.

"Of course," Kára nodded as she opened one of the packages. "They're an affront to God and an insult to cherries everywhere."

"I like them." Corporal Rodriguez grumbled.

"I see, a heretic then," She grinned then marched off towards the vehicle.

The Corporal tried not to stare at the Valkyrie's fine ass as she sauntered away.

"Alright, let's go," he sighed.

--0—

Part of me wanted to geek out. I mean traveling in a Striker, how cool was that? The other part of me was trying desperately to keep it together. The bar helped, the chocolate goodness hit the spot. Taking a sip of the offered water bottle, I sat back and closed my eyes as we drove off.

I was curious; Maddie said that they were always starving after an Incursion. I wasn’t, oh, I was hungry enough but still wondered if it had to do with me not un-manifesting.

"Were you able to contact Doctor Swenson?" I asked between bites.

"Yes, she will be meeting you upon arrival," the Corporal replied.

"Thank you," I smiled at the troopers, then sat back and listened to some of the radio traffic.

Apparently, while we traveled on the Turnpike, the authorities had declared the all-clear. Even then, most of the city roads would still only be opened for official traffic. So we should still should have a clear ride to Fort Roosevelt, taking maybe another thirty minutes or so. Normally I would have to get on the train or drive with my mom, taking a Striker was awesome.

Still, I zoned, my thoughts drifted like so many times today back to Maggie. Was her experience the same? Was she scared? At first, I was terrified, but mostly there wasn’t time to be afraid. I was actually more worried about betraying my cousin's memory.

And I still had so many questions. During the Incursion, there was way too much going on to try to come to grips with what happened. Were there other boys like me who suddenly manifested as a Valkyrie? I had a sneaking suspicion that there weren't, or we would have heard about it on the news.

So, now, what do I do? School, my friends, will everything change? Can I even go back to being Henry? When I finally figured out how to un-manifest, would I turn back? I couldn’t hope but think otherwise.

I needed to speak to my mom. She's the smartest person I know. If anyone had an idea of what happened, she would. Actually, she was probably losing her mind right now. I'd love to call her, but my cell phone appeared to be well, somewhere else. Hopefully, Aunt Audrey contacted her.

Stepping out of the back of the Striker, I found that we had stopped in front of the hospital inside the gates of Fort Roosevelt. I spotted my mom's best friend standing next to a Captain and a handful of soldiers. Quite a few others were running about, most of them heading off towards what I imagined were med stations that would start dealing with the wounded.

"Kára?" she called out in shock as I approached. I couldn’t help but sympathize with her for not recognizing me.

"Hi, Aunt Audrey," I grinned, giving her a wave. "I thought I'd drop by since I was in the neighborhood."

"But where…" she faltered.

"I was out shopping." Shrugging, I smiled at the small crowd who started to collect around us; most of them just stood staring at me.

The officer who had been standing next to Aunt Audrey stepped forward, interrupting us. "Valkyrie Kára, my name is Captain Milestone; if you will come with me, we can start your debriefing."

"Would you mind if I spoke with my Aunt first?" I asked. "It's pretty important."

I knew the military would have all sorts of questions considering that I was an unknown. Heck, I couldn’t even prove that I was Henry Squire or maybe Kára Squire, whatever. Perhaps I was being unnecessarily paranoid, but eyeing the two MP's near the doorway, being separated from Audrey might not be in my best interest.

"I think that would be for the best Captain," she nodded, "Perhaps we should also call your Uncle, he will want to know."

The only Uncle I know was my dad's best friend, OH, yea-good idea. I shrugged, "If you can get a hold of him, he is probably as busy as my mom."

The Captain turned and looked at a nearby Sergeant who shrugged before turning back and then asked, "Who is your mom?"

"Oh, Doctor Sarah Squire."

I could see him deflate a little, and yes, my mom was a big deal in the DPA and a well-known former Valkyrie herself.

"And your Uncle," the Captain then inquired.

"Colonel Stephen Bennett." Well, technically, he wasn't related to me. He was my dad's roommate at Annapolis, but I have been calling him that since I was little.

I think he murmured something about being over his pay grade before nodding. "I need to make some phone calls. Sergeant, can you please escort Valkyrie Kára where she needs to go on base."

"Yes, Sir."

With a smile, Aunt Audrey slipped her arm through mine, "Come, Kára, let's check you out, and we can talk on the way."

She ignored the Sergeant and the two MPs as they followed us through the front doors of the hospital until we reached a room near her office.

"Alright, you three can wait outside. Oh, and Sergeant, if possible, can see about getting my niece a few more Makt bars, any flavor, but Cherry and some water too?"

"I don’t see that as a problem, ma'am." Turning to one of the MPs, he ordered, "Maxwell, you heard the Doctor see what you can scrounge up."

"Yes, Sergeant."

As the one MP wandered off, the Sergeant took a seat before finding a magazine to read. The other MP just stood near the doorway leading out of the hospital.

"Come, sweetie," Aunt Audrey said, leading me into the examination room.

As the door closed behind us, I only took three steps before I collapsed in her arms sobbing.

--0--

"Is she OK?"

I heard someone whisper as I woke up. At least I think I was awake. Actually, I don’t remember falling asleep. Oh, right, we'll at least they didn’t have to sedate me.

"She's fine, just exhausted." I think I heard Aunt Audrey reply.

"Well, please let her know that the debriefing has been postponed until General Maxwell's aide arrives tomorrow morning. Also, her mother hitched a ride on a Venom, so she should be arriving soon."

I tried not to snort. As the door closed, I opened my eyes and sat up on the bed.

"Hey," Aunt Audrey smiled then walked over to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm OK, ahh, sorry."

Taking a seat on the bed, she ran her fingers through my hair. "Nothing to be sorry about sweetie, you had a rough day."

I pulled my long hair over my ears and then stopped. "I'm surprised you recognized me. I almost don’t recognize myself."

"You still have your mother's eyes," she said warmly.

I smiled then tried not to cringe. I mean, I wasn’t really worried, well mostly. "Am I in trouble?"

Thankfully Aunt Audrey laughed. "No, you have just confused a whole lot of people. And you know the military, they aren’t happy unless their T's and I's are crossed and dotted appropriately."

Cool, so no prison for me.

"However, I think you're going to have to fess up who taught you all of the Valkyrie procedures," she scolded me while smiling.

I shrugged. "It's not like they can get Mags into trouble. The DPA should be happy considering how well it all turned out."

"Oh, they are trust me. Emma, too," she explained, "She was happy that a senior Valkyrie was in town after what happened to Kimberly."

"I gathered from the way she was asking me about things that she considered me her senior. I did point out though that she was stationed at Fort Roosevelt, not me."

"Which made her senior," she smiled.

"Exactly," I pointed out. "Anyway, how are the two other girls? Kimberly's arm looked pretty bad."

"Sally is fine. As for Kimberly, well, fortunately, at least for her, the Incursion lasted another hour after she was wounded, which allowed her regen to heal most of the damage. She's going to need to wear an arm brace for a couple of weeks, but better than the surgery, we were planning."

Sighing, I leaned back on the bed, "Aunt Audrey, do you know what happened to me?"

"I..." She looked confused. Well, I hadn’t told her anything yet.

Waving her off, I explained, "Sorry, I mean, have you heard of any other boys who suddenly manifested as a Valkyrie?"

Aunt Audrey thought for a moment then shook her head, "No, and I think if it did occur, we would have heard. We Valkyries, as you know, are a pretty close-knit bunch, even after we graduate. Your sudden appearance is a surprise, not just to the military."

OH, well, it was a thought.

"So, what did happen?" she asked, no doubt confused at my sudden transformation.

"So, I decided to take Kára out for one last spin," I began.

It didn’t take long, though, for Aunt Audrey to start with the questions. "Wait, who was this woman?"

"She called me cousin." I looked at her, concerned. I had not expected that. "So, you're telling me that you didn’t see someone when you manifested?"

"No, one second, I was standing in line at the grocery store with my mother, the next second I was wearing my Garderobes."

"Oh," well, fuck. "I have a question. Both you and my mom said that sometimes you have hunches, right?"

She nodded, "Most of us do, and even now, I have them on occasion."

"So, you don’t see a shadowy form of yourself revealing different events. When I was fighting or traveling, I could see myself taking different paths, and some had better outcomes than others did. Not all the time mind you but often enough."

Aunt Audrey just sat there looking at me with her mouth open. I decided not to tell her that I also used the power during our conversation with the Captain. After seeing my shadow-self walking away, surrounded by MPs, I decided that was probably not the best outcome.

"Right, so you're telling me this isn't normal either."

Standing up, I moved a little away from the bed before manifesting my spear.

Aunt Audrey stumbled back in shock. She took one look at the weapon and gasped. "What the fuck!"

Indeed.

Authors Note: Back in town, sorry for those waiting on the Lost Queen but I was further ahead in my writing with this story. Back to my regular schedule, hopefully :)

Chapter 5

"There might be more dark years ahead concerning the ends of the earth and the death of the gods. But listen, I will not allow this day to be our Ragnarök."

-Valkyrie Eloise Parker

Well, I can say that I didn't expect this, nor did the irony escape me as I was in a similar situation, not an hour before. Since my mother burst into the examining room, she hasn't stopped sobbing into my chest. She did have to ask Aunt Audrey where I was at first, when I raised my hand, that's when the tears began.

"It's all my fault," she began to wail.

At least I come by the blubbering honestly.

"Mom." I tried to peel her off, but she refused to let go. "Mom!"

Thankfully Audrey returned then with a sigh said, "Sarah, can you let go of your…" She then made an apologetic face. "Can you please let Kára go?"

With a sniffle, my mom leaned back. "I'm so sorry, Henry."

"You keep saying that mom, but I don’t understand what you mean. How can this." I waved my hand over my body. "Be your fault."

"It's…I don’t know where to begin," she said, glancing over at my Aunt.

"Audrey, do you know what she's talking about?" I asked.

My Aunt shrugged. "Sort of but not here. Come on, Sarah, let take this to my office."

Stepping outside, I noticed that the MPs were still hanging around.

"We're going to the fourth floor, Sergeant."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded then motioned for the two other MPs to follow.

My mom hadn’t let go of my hand as we made our way to the elevators, which I will admit was kind of nice.

"So, you hitched a ride on a Venom?"

"Well, more like I forced myself on one." She chuckled and then squeezed my hand. "I was worried. When the alerts came in, well, I panicked since you told me you were going to spend the day downtown."

"Sorry for making you worry."

Mom shook her head. "Don’t be. I'm proud of you. From what I hear, you did well."

I shrugged. Sure, I was happy to help, and it was almost like a dream come true, but I didn’t understand how or why. Hopefully, the two of them had some answers.

We were now sitting in a much more comfortable location. Medical books were stacked on a shelf, pictures of Audrey's family adorned the desk, one photograph of Maggie and I hung on one wall, and another of my mom when they were Valkyries on another.

"Do you remember that your father and I were stationed in San Diego before you were born?" My mother began.

"Sure, you were still a Valkyrie at the time."

Not that I had been told a lot, but the little I did know was that my grandparents weren't particularly happy with how young they were when they got married.

"That’s right; what you might not have known was that, well not that it really matters, but we weren’t married yet."

My eyes opened wide that must have gone over like a lead balloon with my mom's side of the family. "Oh my God, Grandma Lea must have lost her mind. You two living in sin how scandalous."

"Yes, although we didn’t move in together until he proposed." She shrugged. "By then, we were tired of both of our families, so we decided to elope."

"That’s right; you said you had a Las Vegas wedding." I turned to Audrey. "So you and Uncle Dave went with them, right?"

I sort of remember wedding photos, but I was pretty sure that Audrey and Dave were there. Mom, however, never really spoke about her wedding.

"Oh sure, we all climbed into my then boyfriend's car and made the five-hour trip. Stephen and Zoie managed to catch a flight from Pensacola too. It was quite the party." She laughed.

"That's awesome, and all guys. Mom, you rebel you, but what does that have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that, sweetie." She grabbed my hand. "So we were married and had our honeymoon in Las Vegas. The second day in the middle of the night, I manifested."

I scrunched my face that sounded familiar. "The Bellagio Incursion."

A Class 3 portal had opened up in the center of the casino of the resort hotel. Casualties were horrific, and if I remember correctly that part of downtown had been totally destroyed.

My mom nodded sadly. "We were staying just on the other side of the strip but fairly close to the epicenter."

"Shit." I leaned back on the couch. "Our family has the worst luck."

"We didn’t know until then that your father was a Spartan. So we spent our honeymoon fighting Wraiths." She wiped a tear from her eye.

I grabbed a box of tissues from the coffee table and handed it to her.

"Audrey and I were hailed as heroes afterward, two senior Valkyries already on site, but." She looked at me sadly." I didn’t know I was pregnant at the time. Before, during, afterward, we weren’t sure."

I knew it was much more than that. She had just gotten married, and somewhere in the near future, she would be burying her husband.

Wait, "During." I squeaked.

"Oh, hush you." She grumbled. "I had just gotten married; you can't fault me for wanting to spend some quality time with my new husband."

"In the middle of an Incursion," Audrey giggled.

I waved my hands. "TMI, OK, I still don’t understand."

"Oh, be aware that most oral contraceptives don’t work on Valkyries."

I looked at my Aunt, horrified, "Why would I need to know that."

"Leave him alone, Audrey." My mom smiled. "A pregnant Valkyrie was not unheard of Henry but one that was married to a Spartan. Suffice to say I had one of the most-watched pregnancies. Thankfully other than the doctors weren’t sure about your gender at first, you were just as normal as any baby."

"Apparently, I wasn’t normal." I couldn’t help but sigh, "But as much as it was nice to hear about dad, it still doesn’t explain why."

"No, I you're right, it doesn’t, not totally. But I still feel that somehow it's my fault." She reached up and brushed my green hair out of my face. "You're so beautiful. I can see a bit of your grandmother around the eyes."

"I look like an elf," I whined a little, not at all happy about being called beautiful.

And, as much the two of them kept saying, I looked like my mom or grandmother. I'm not sure I was even human anymore.

My mom laughed. "I guess you do."

"Actually I look more like the blue lady," I said thoughtfully.

My mom looked confused. "What blue lady?"

I wasn’t surprised that her reaction to my day pretty much resembled Audrey's even going as far as falling off the couch when I manifested my weapon.

--0—

As much as I liked the Makt bars, I was ready for some real food. Thankfully between the phone calls my mom made to the base commander, my dad's best friend in Boston, and whomever else she decided to call, I no longer needed to be escorted by a squad of MPs.

However, there was food, and there was food. Outside the main gates were a ton of restaurants, yet even with my change of status, the military was insistent I remained on base. Our first stop had been to pick up my visitor badge, and I knew unless things suddenly changed, I would end up with a military CAC card like every other Valkyrie.

"I think that's one of the nicer birthdays gifts you've gotten me." I smiled at my mom as we got in line.

The big surprise for me was that she would now be working closer to home. I knew that her research team had been slated to be transferred out of Boston. I wasn't looking forward to moving, but somehow the powers that be decided to move her team to Fort Roosevelt.

"I thought you would be excited about not having to move." She said, passing me a tray.

Now as much as people complain about the food on base, it's pretty good. I picked the hamburger and fries, well three burgers actually. My mom selected something a little more healthy and in less quantity.

After I placed two slices of apple pie on my tray, she sighed, "I fear for my food bill."

"What's interesting," I said as I picked through the silverware and waited in line to fill my plastic cup with some soda. "I wasn’t starving after the portal closed, but I'm hungry now."

"No surprise. Valkyries, even when not manifested, need to eat more. You remember how excited your cousin was at the thought of eating an entire box of donuts from Delicious and not gaining weight."

"Then proceeded to be sick as a dog," I laughed.

"Kára!" Someone called out from the other side of the dining hall.

Looking around, I found Emma waving from the back of the room.

"Shall we join her, dear?" My mom asked.

I barely got my tray down on the table before I was glomped. Pretty sure that’s the word I was looking for when a redheaded missile jumped out of her seat to give me a bone-crushing hug.

Oh, I will admit girl on girl hugs are nice though.

"Hi, Emma," I laughed, returning the embrace.

With a grin but not letting me go, she turned around and spoke to the woman she had been sitting next to. "Mom, this is senior Valkyrie Kára, the one who saved all of our lives today."

Much like her daughter, she got out of her chair and glomped me. It must be a family thing. My dear mother just stood there amused.

"Thank you so much for saving my daughter. I don’t know what I would have done," she sniffed. "Thank you."

"Sure, I mean, I didn’t really. Emma's really good herself, and I think we made a great team." Embarrassed, I pointed to the grinning woman standing next to me. "Also, this is my mom Sarah Squire."

"Heather Kingston."

As the two adults greeted one another, Emma just stood there stunned. "Wow you're Archangel."

My mom laughed, always amused when someone recognized her from way back when.

"Who's Archangel?" Emma's mom asked, then said, "Oh my, you are. I remember seeing you on the television a few times. But please sit down I know you must be hungry."

"So it's not just Emma whose appetite's increased." Heather looked on as I quickly finished one burger before proceeding to the next one.

"Most of the girls tend to be big eaters," my mom said, "Thankfully, once Emma graduates, her metabolism will return to normal."

"For the most part," I added.

"Are you always hungry?" Emma asked. "I mean, I'm not all the time, but I find myself snacking a lot. Which is really hard to do when I am at school."

"Don’t you carry Makt bars with you?"

Emma and her mom looked surprised. Heather then said, "I didn’t know you can get them. I mean, they sell them at the market, but from what I have been told, they aren’t the same as the ones you girls eat."

"You can actually buy the real ones at the PX, but don’t they're really expensive," I explained. "Emma can pick them up for free from the base hospital. I have several boxes of the chocolate chip ones underneath my desk at home."

Not including the case of the peanut butter bars hidden in my closet.

My mom raised an eyebrow at my confession. "Mom, it's not like you don’t keep the pistachio bars in your office."

She shrugged, "They're good. I'll show you where you can get them for your daughter after lunch, Heather. Plus, talk to her school. She might just need a note from you, but if not, you can get something official to allow her to eat them in class if necessary."

"I wish they told us that before." Emma's mom frowned. "She only manifested six months ago, so I am afraid I am missing a lot more."

My mother nodded, "I'd be happy to help, and you're right. There are a lot of little things that they don’t tell you, so it's good to speak to other parents."

"Thank you." Heather looked grateful, then said. "I guess that since you were a Valkyrie yourself that none of this is new to you."

My mom looked at me then gave a small laugh. "Well, there were still a few surprises."

I held back a snort as I finished off another burger.

"I can see that. I was told that the girl's only outward change was mostly…" Emma's mom caught herself, looking embarrassed, then said, "Sorry."

I shrugged and kept eating, yes, I know that I look like an elf.

My mom came to my rescue. "Yes, well, Kára's a little special in that regard."

This time I wasn’t able to hold back that snort. "Thanks, mom. I do like the little feather markings on the side of your eyes, Emma."

"I know, aren’t they cool," she gushed. "My mom doesn’t like tattoos, but now I have these."

"I would have allowed them if it would have meant you didn’t manifest," Heather whispered.

The conversation around the table stopped until Emma blurted out, "Kára, which high school are you going to? I mean, are you being transferred here?"

High School crap. I looked at my mom, stunned, "Ahh, mom."

"Yes, we just received news that my team will be moving here from Boston. Although I haven’t decided upon which high school she will be attending."

Heather looked happy at that news. "Oh, that would be nice if Emma knew someone at her new school. The two younger girls go to the middle school up the road."

"Were you able to speak to Sally and Kim?" I asked, trying to ignore the thoughts of high school and the rest of my now screwed up life.

"You mean Kimberly," Emma chuckled. "Briefly, they were waiting to hear from Sally's parents. Thank God Kim's arm healed."

I grimaced. "It was a mess; I heard that her other injuries healed as well."

"We will go check on them after lunch, Kára," my mom said. "You still have some tests Audrey needs to run, but I'll have her push them back."

"Is everything OK?" Heather asked.

"Oh, it's just a physical and the like." I smiled then turned to my mom. "I'd like that."

The doctors already did a blood test; well, they tried as the poor nurse kept breaking needles, which mom found fascinating. Audrey decided afterward that I could just pee in a cup which totally sucked. I mean, what fifteen-year-old needs help from their mom to use the bathroom. Anyway, I think the doctors still wanted to do an MRI and some other tests.

"Since your senior Kára, you'll have to sign off on their reports too," Emma stated while stealing one of my French fries.

"Oh no, you're not getting out of writing those dastardly things," I objected.

It wasn’t just because I had just become a Valkyrie today. I can still remember Maggie's constant complaints about debriefings, AARs, both formal and informal, and so on. Right, I might no longer have a choice, but I still didn’t want to be in charge of the bloody paperwork.

"Plus, you're stationed here, Emma, so you are automatically senior," I insisted.

Surprisingly she reached over and grabbed my hand. She looked at her mother then back at me and said, "No, Kára, I wasn’t."

--0—

The hospital staff was busy, so we tried to keep out of the way. Actually, I was surprised they had the time to run tests on me, considering that an Incursion occurred only a few hours earlier.

"Emma!" Sally called out as we entered the hospital room. "Oh and Kára, too!" she squealed.

"Hey," Kimberly smiled briefly.

Introductions were made. Sally's parents had been brought to the hospital from the shelter they were staying at.

"So, we have like homework?" Kimberly looked disgusted.

The adults laughed as Emma explained, "You've both spoken to Lieutenant Dryer correct?"

The two girls nodded.

"You'll probably have to help your cousin Sally, but there's a form you need to fill out. Just do the best you can, then Kára will look it over before turning it in."

"Nope." I popped my P. "As I said before, you're stationed here, and until I'm told otherwise, you're senior."

Emma pouted. "You just don’t want to have to fill out the reports."

I grinned then shrugged. "I imagine I'll have to fill out my own. I still haven’t had a debriefing."

"Won't you get into trouble?" Sally asked.

My mom laughed, "No, they are bringing someone in from Boston in the morning to speak with her."

Sally's father looked at me. "You really weren’t supposed to be here, were you?"

I looked at my mother, who replied, "She had my permission to shop here in Wells. The rest, it's a bit complicated."

"Even so, my husband and I are both thankful that you were there, Kára" Sally's mom, who had been sitting next to Kimberly stated, before reaching over to hold her daughter tight.

"Mom!" She complained then sighed, leaning into her mother's side.

As the adults talked, the girls were excited to learn that my mom was being transferred here. They also spoke a little about having to stand in front of their entire school at some general assembly. Emma said she was glad that the DPA didn’t make her do that. She just snuck in one day as a transfer student, although it didn’t take long for her classmates to realize who she was.

"I don’t think you're going to have that as a problem, Kára." Emma laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Assuming they let me off base."

Yes, I was still annoyed that I couldn’t eat at a decent restaurant.

"Are you sure you aren’t in trouble for being in Wells?" Kimberly asked, obviously concerned.

"Oh, its fine, you know the government. As my Aunt told me, they get annoyed if I don’t dot the i's and cross the t's correctly."

Sally's father laughing at my comment, made the girls' smile.

Emma exclaiming "Holy Shit" made us all turn and look at her. Her phone had made a beep, notifying her to something.

"Emma!"

Rushing by her disapproving mother, she looked for a television remote. "Turn it on."

She then said to me, "I get alerts from the web when stuff is going on with us."

I nodded then looked up as she surfed through the channels until she found the one she wanted some twenty-four-hour news station.

"Oh, that’s me."

Someone had been busy with their phone obviously, as I watched myself fight the Brute right after I manifested. My little parkour stunt was interesting to see. I tried not to wince at some of my narrow escapes from the beast's wrath, which I knew because of my pre-cog they actually weren’t.

My mom suddenly slipped her arm around me as we watched.

"So cool," Sally murmured.

"That was the unknown Valkyrie who encountered what the DPA calls a Brute or commonly known as a troll." A reporter suddenly came on-screen, standing on top of one of the downtown office buildings. You could still see the smoke from the fires around the river billowing behind him.

"We have another clip of the same Valkyrie fighting a pack of Fenrir; once again, viewer discretion is advised."

The room was silent as they watched me rescue the two girls from the car. My sudden appearance as I fell from the sky caused everyone in the room to jump. Kimberly and Sally cheered as I finished off the Alpha.

"Who were the two you rescued?" Emma whispered.

"Amy and Carole, but I don’t know their last names," I whispered back as the reporter continued to comment on my fight. "Do you know them?"

"Yea, I think they go to my school. Huh, one of them uploaded the whole thing to AllTube if you want to see it." She pointed to her phone.

"I'm surprised the DPA hasn't had it removed," I said to her, which she nodded.

"We did confirm that Kimberly Dunning was injured in this morning's Incursion; however, the DPA has reported that her injuries were superficial and she will be making a full recovery. All the other Valkyries, including the unknown green Valkyrie, were reported as uninjured."

"Superficial," Kimberly's Aunt growled, "I'll give him superficial."

"I'm OK, Aunt Amber, really," she assured her. "I got hurt worst last year playing field hockey."

I severely doubted it, but it wasn’t my place to say.

"Tom, what about the ongoing rumors that the green Valkyrie was still manifested after the portal had closed?" A voice asked off-camera.

The reporter who had been holding his ear nodded. "Not a lot, Kevin. But we do have a short clip of what started the rumor. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm the time when this was taken."

Once again, although the image wasn’t as good, I was on the television flying through the air. Well, more like aggressive parkour.

"Oh, you have butterfly wings," Sally said in wonder.

"You are so filling out the senior leader paperwork," Emma said firmly.

Chapter 6

This situation will not be settled by bold speeches and majority decisions but by sweat and blood, specifically Valkyrie's blood.

Valkyrie Anna Kemper speaking in front of Joint Congress

"I hate both of you," I grumbled, turning away from my mother and dropping down on a chair next to her while the traitors laughed at my predicament.

OK, maybe the two of them didn’t actually laugh, and I guess I wasn’t angry with them, as it really wasn’t their fault. I mean, the tests were probably necessary. However, add to that what just happened to the rest of the day's shenanigans, I think I was entitled to be more than a little grumpy.

"No, you don’t sweetheart," she said, reaching over and kissing my temple.

Audrey at least kept her professional demeanor as she cleaned up the gynecological torture devices. I didn’t hear what the two of them were talking about until I returned from the bathroom after cleaning myself up, but mom did not look happy.

"Hopefully, I'll switch back to Henry, and I'll never have to do that again."

Neither of them replied, which didn’t make me feel any better.

For women to do this every year or so, I have no words. Yes, it's exactly what you think happened. Both my Mom and Aunt insisted on it wanting to make sure that all my new parts at least appeared to be healthy. Hopefully, this would be the last of the tests for the day. I knew with the oddness of my anatomy, however, that I would eventually be subjected to more of them.

"So, what's the prognosis, doc?"

Audrey opened her mouth and closed it. She then knelt and held my hand. "You’re a very healthy young woman."

"Huh, so, walks like a duck." I looked towards my mom, who gave me a sympathetic smile.
"Well, Fuck." Not that I thought my Aunt would say anything different.

With a sniffle, my mom wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so sorry, Henry."

"Still not your fault, and you might as well call me Kára. It's going to get confusing otherwise."

"Are you sure?" she fretted.

"Yea." Rubbing my eyes, I tried hard to hold back my own sniffles. "God, this sucks. So now what?"

My mom looked at her watch. Mine was well somewhere.

"Sleep," she insisted, "We're all going to have a long day tomorrow."

"Sleep sounds fine." I shrugged, although I wasn’t tired. "But tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow. I know I haven’t been the best mother lately," my mom remarked, frowning slightly.

"That’s not true." I could see that, like me, she was concerned with what was going to happen in the morning.

"You're sweet," she replied then said, "But we both know better, Kára. Now as much as I would like to wrap you up and hide you away, I am going to guess you don't want that."

Looking down, I whispered, "No."

This situation might be totally unbelievable and impossible, but my responsibilities like so many before me, were clear. Truthfully, I always had fantasies about fighting as a Valkyrie. However, it was more than that. My dad, mom, Maddie even Audrey faced the Wraiths with their heads held high, how could I do any less.

"You're so much like your father," she said, pushing the hair out of my face. "We will face this together."

"And I will help, of course." Aunt Audrey insisted grabbing my hand.

Her help started with finding me something else to wear. Right now, I sat unhappily in some sort of generic flowered hospital gown. What's funny now, not so much at the time, was that when we started the tests, I hadn’t figured out how to remove my clothes. Not being able to vanish, my outfit would have been messy.

Unfortunately, although I could manifest two outfits, it did not include a magical closet full of clothes. I had my Valkyrie armor and the green dress that was it.

Before the three of us left the examining room, I was wearing a US Army t-shirt, sweatpants, and white sneakers. Somehow, Audrey managed to scrounge up official undergarments as well.

Weird, I never had an issue wearing them before, but now. OK, I was under no illusion I could leave the room without some sort of bra. As much as I was trying to ignore the two perky things sitting on my chest, I remembered Mille Hanson, who in 8th grade came to school without one. I already had enough attention looking like an elf.

Spinning around, I smiled at my mother, "US Army fashionable."

"Yes, you look ready for PT." Rolling her eyes, she then said. "I'm going to try and stop by the house. I'll grab an outfit or two from Maddie's closet for you."

"Thanks." I then frowned as the three of us left the examining room. "Mom, do you think they will let me go home after the meeting tomorrow?"

"I think they are going to ask you to remain on base, sweetie, at least for now. So, I should pick up a few of your things. Just make a shortlist of what you think you might need."

"Probably for the best," I sighed, fingering my visitor badge, "I mean, I don’t even have a real ID."

"Don’t worry about that," Mom said, pointing at Audrey, "After we get you settled, we're going to be making a few calls. Between the two of us, we should be able to sort things out for you."

Well, I knew my appearance was going to cause some problems, OK, quite a few. Among other things, even with me being both excited and horrified at the media attention, I had no desire to return to my old High School as Kára.

Knowing the people in my grade, the majority of them would lose their shit if they discovered I now batted for the other team. With everything going on, at least the schools would be closed for the week, putting off dealing with that issue.

"I mean no one, but us knows what really happened, right?" I whispered to the two of them.

Audrey was the one who replied. "Only a few people and most of them will be here in the morning. Your mom also spoke to Directory Henley while you were getting an MRI. She's going to get some things rolling that will help you going forward."

Directory Carole Henley of the DPA was also a former Valkyrie. I met her a few times.

"Valkyries take care of their own," I grinned.

"Damn straight." My mom laughed.

--0—

It took a while as I had a million things running around in my head, but I eventually managed to fall asleep. Even my dreams were tumultuous, filled with weird stuff, half of which I couldn’t remember.

As I went through my now much longer morning ritual, I decided that this whole girl thing was starting to get old fast. Besides the whole using the bathroom differences, taking a shower was now going to be a chore. Oh, I sucked it up, as there wasn’t much I could do about it, but it didn’t make me less annoyed about it.

At least my mom acquired some toiletries, probably got them from the PX. Included in the bag were numerous bottles for my shower. I probably should have asked what I needed to do with them.

Remembering to put the towel around my body correctly, even wrapped one around my head like I had seen Maddie do many times, I left the bathroom only to find my mother setting a suitcase on my bed.

"Good thing I didn’t come out naked." I gave her a look, which she promptly ignored.

"You have nothing I haven’t seen before, Kára." She commented while opening it up and laying out some clothing.

"This is all just too weird." I sighed. I don't think I have been undressed in front of my mother since I was little.

"Did you use the conditioner?"

"I'm going to just wear the green dress," I ignored her question while looking over the outfits she managed to bring back from the house. "I'm not sure if any of these will fit anymore."

"You need to use it, sweetie, plus the body wash. I'm not sure, but you will probably find your skin is a little more delicate. So no more just using shampoo to wash yourself."

"What, I also use soap."

"Right." Mom shook her head. Taking the towel off my head, she ran her hand through my hair. "Come sit down. Let me do something with this."

"You brought a blow-dryer from home?"

As I said, this whole girl thing was more trouble than its worth.

"Hush you, take a seat."

Grumbling, I sat down on a desk chair so he could get behind me and use the mirror behind the closet door. Wow, she brought a whole bunch of stuff.

"Your hair is beautiful," Mom commented as she picked up a hairbrush. "You're going to need to learn how to take care of it properly."

"I guess, but I might switch back to Henry tomorrow," I said, hopefully.

"True." She then hesitated for a moment and then said. "What if you don’t?"

"Mom."

"I know." Leaning over, she kissed my head. "But you need to keep that in mind."

I didn’t want to think about that even if it might be true. "Well, shit."

"Language, young lady."

I turned around. I could see a frown, but her eyes told me otherwise. "Mom, you, and Aunt Audrey are the worst offenders."

"Yes, well, we're not the best role models in that regard," she laughed.

I couldn’t help but snort, but the blow dryer kept me from replying. I will admit it felt nice, and in the end, it looked similar to how it was styled yesterday.

"Wow, looks great. Pretty sure even Maddie couldn't have done something like this," I said as I turned my head. "We should have hired you to be our hairstylist for the Cons."

Laughing, she started to put her things away. "So, you were saying something about wearing the green dress?"

I frowned at Maddie's old clothes that only a day before would have fit me. I had, hmm, gained quite a bit on top, and well, I now had hips. Maybe some of the newer clothes, but I would have to go through them later and told my mom so.

"Do you need to..." she started to say then stepped back as suddenly I wore the outfit from yesterday.

"Sweetie, where's the towel?"

--0—

"It's OK, not that the Army is short on towels, but you need to be aware if you're going to change and not to lose anything important, Kára," my mom said, grinning ear to ear as we walked out of the dorms to find something to eat.

"Whatever," I grumbled. "My wallet, phone, and keys are still missing, and worst of all, I really liked the outfit I wore yesterday."

"Well, unless all of it is really gone, maybe you can find them?" I looked at her, and she just shrugged. "It wouldn’t hurt to try. I mean, this whole thing is rather odd, to begin with."

"Hmm, maybe I can summon them like I do my other weapons."

She almost tripped as she looked around and whispered, "What do you mean other weapons?"

"Oh, sorry, something I discovered last night. Apparently, I have a few that I can manifest. While sitting on my bed zoning, I was summoning and unsummoning my spear. Suddenly, I felt something else, and next thing I knew, I had a rather wicked looking sword in my hand."

Sword, spear, war-hammer, and if I closed my eyes, I think there might be more. So, no magical clothing closet, but it seemed I picked up an armory.

"I see," Mom said, looking thoughtful. "And do you think you have the same skill with the sword as your spear?"

Good question, but I was sure the answer was yes, which, of course, should have freaked me out. Valkyries don’t ordinarily manifest with weapons. However, they tend to be drawn to a type. Maddie mentioned that they had a long line of weapons at the testing center, and she ended up selecting a large two-handed war-hammer.

So newly manifested Valkyries all knew how to use their chosen weapons up to a point. The rest was where training comes in. We were also blessed with a considerable boost to our physical abilities, manifested or not. So pretty much none of us, well I was one of them now wasn’t I, could play competitive sports in school; however, it did help us train.

However, upon manifesting, I gained more than just rudimentary knowledge. That weapon proficiency was one of the reasons why Emma kept insisting that I was her senior.

"I see," Mom frowned. "I can't say I am upset about that. Many times my skill with my halberd was all that stood in the way of injury or death."

"I have a question, Mom. Once the DPA discovers that I know how to use my weapons, I can't be thought of as a junior, can I?"

Not including the other skills I seem to have acquired, one of them I was about to use right now. Grabbing my mom's hand, I took her down another corridor, then towards another, then outside.

"What?" she started to ask.

"Better outcome," I explained, and then looked at the smokey haze that still covered most of the city. According to the morning news, almost all of the fires had been put out, although there were still a few persistent ones down by the docks.

"How many?"

Mom knew exactly what I was asking. "Looks to be so far a little over a hundred dead; we were so incredibly lucky."

I knew that number would probably rise with all the wounded that had flooded the hospitals, but I had to agree. If the Incursion had occurred in the middle of the week as opposed to the relatively empty business district, it would have been much worse. Not that was much consolation to those who had lost loved ones.

"Sally," I called out as two people stepped out of a car.

"Oh, Kára," the young girl squealed and then ran towards me. I could see she was ready to glomp me, but she held off at the last movement.

"Good morning." My mother greeted her with a smile, then her father as he approached.

"So the two of you are here early," I said.

"Too early, I was still asleep when the hospital called," Sally grumbled. "Kimberly is being let go this morning. Mom spent the night, but they kicked us out."

"The doctors thought it would be better for her to rest at home," Sally's dad said. "Oh, Sarah, we made sure to mention how much we appreciated that your daughter was in the city yesterday."

"Yea! That’s right, daddy." Sally raised her fist. "We Valkyries have to stick together."

"Thanks." I couldn’t help but laugh at her exuberance.

"Well, just in case we thought it might help get you out of trouble."

"My daughter's not going to be punished, but we do appreciate it, Jack."

We spoke a little while longer. Sally said they would call later to make sure everything turned out OK with my meeting.

"Did you know Kimberly was being released early?" Mom asked as we watched the two make their way towards the hospital's entrance.

I shook my hand back and forth. "I thought something good would happen if we went this way but wasn’t sure."

Nodding, she led away to find some breakfast.

--0--

Breakfast wasn’t too terrible, and soon we were off to the other side of the base for the debriefing. We decided to walk since it was going to be such a beautiful day. About halfway there, I decided it might not have been the best of ideas with all the looks I was getting, especially from the young soldiers. Being a young man myself, I recognized those looks very well.

"Nervous?" Mom asked.

"I guess but more from well," I faltered.

"Go on, sweetie," she smiled.

I sighed, not really sure what I was trying to say. "I mean, look at me."

"I know you don’t want to hear that all I see is a very pretty young woman."

"You're right, I don’t, but it's more than just turning into a girl, Mom," I sighed. "What happens when people find out that I used to be a guy? I'm already all over the news."

Mom leaned over and whispered, "So why does anyone else need to know?"

I stopped and looked at her. "Really."

"We Valkyries are very good at keeping secrets." She shrugged. "So is the DPA."

"But everyone's going to know something's up when Henry doesn’t come to class next week."

"Also, something easily fixed. If anyone asks, we could say he moved to California to live with his grandmother."

"Huh, oh, sounds like you and Aunt Audrey have already made plans."

Grinning, she slipped her arm into mine, leading me off towards where we would be having the meeting.

--0—

"Morning Emma," I said as I entered the room. "I'm surprised you’re here. Thought you had already been debriefed."

Waving happily, as she approached, she greeted my mom before turning to me. "Hey, yea, I was, but it seems they have some more questions."

"More the merrier."

Slipping her arm into mine, she dragged me off as my mom went to talk to Aunt Audrey, who arrived by another door.

"Guess what? Quicksilver is going to be here too," she said excitedly as we found ourselves standing in front of a table with coffee and donuts.

"Alice is here?"

Reaching for an apple fritter, she asked, "Oh, you know her?"

"Of course she does," a voice called out from behind me. "Kára pretty much knows everyone."

"I wouldn’t go that far." I gave her a warm but confused smile. "Not that I mind, Alice, but why are you here?"

"Part of my new job as a liaison between the DPA and the Army," she replied, stepped forward, then leaning closer and whispered, "Don’t worry, Kára, we have your back."

Chapter 7

One day we will have to confront the hard truth that to save ourselves, we were willing to throw our little girls into bloody battles with monsters.

-Unknown US Congresswoman

--0--

As the old saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the military supplied us with a great selection of donuts. While watching munching on an apple fritter, I could tell the others who entered the room were amused at the pile of pastries sitting in front of us. Both my mother and Aunt Audrey joined us with a small collection of their own.

I was surprised that one of the people who had joined us was Colonel Peters. At first, I thought he had better things to do, but then he probably wanted to ask questions directly to those who were involved.

The second was a Captain whom I had not met, but from the little badge on his shoulder told me he was a Spartan. Obviously, this was the person the military flew in from Boston this morning.

Poor Emma looked surprised and a little concerned when suddenly the Director of the DPA and a three-star General joined us through teleconferencing.

Director Julia Henley smiled, "Hello, fellow Valkyries, it's good to see you all well. Archangel, it's been a while. Your work with the latest ceramics has been inspiring; we are getting positive feedback from the field."

"Thank you, Director, I will pass that on to my team," my mother replied.

"Chirurgeon it's good to see you too, send me a message when you have some time. There are a few things that just came up that I'd like to get your feedback on."

"Sure thing Minerva," Aunt Audrey gave her a lazy salute.

The Director of the DPA rolled her eyes then smiled at the three younger women, which of course, included me.

"Emma, I heard you did well yesterday, and thank you for being a good senior to your younger charges. Both of Kimberly's parents haven’t stopped saying good things about you."

My new friend turned as red as her hair and squeaked, "Thank you, ma'am, but I couldn’t have done it without Kára's help."

The Director nodded to me, then said, "Good morning Alice, I'm glad to see you arrived safely."

"Yes, ma'am, and good morning to you too," Quicksilver replied with a grin.

Turning back to me, I could tell my appearance must have come as quite a shock to the Director of the DPA. It's one thing to be told what happened; it's another thing to see it with your own eyes.

"Kára, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for helping yesterday. Considering the circumstances for you to step up and fight leaves me in awe."

Embarrassed at the praise, I looked down but felt Alice reach for my hand and gave it a squeeze. Letting go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding, I said, "I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing."

"I would have expected nothing less of one of my Valkyries or from someone from your illustrious family," the Director said proudly. "I would like to speak to you and your mother once we have finished with the debriefing. Some decisions need to be made sooner than later."

"Yes, ma'am." I nodded, looking at my mother, who also agreed.

"Sorry, General Brandenburg."

The middle-aged three-star general of the U.S. Army North waved away the Director's concerns. "Its fine, Julia," he said with a laugh, "I too would want to know how my people are doing. I also want to personally thank you, Emma and Kára, for a job well done. Along with your two juniors, the four of you saved a lot of lives yesterday. We as a country cannot thank you, girls, enough for what you do."

He then passed it off to Colonel Peters, who had been sitting there patiently with the unknown Captain.

"Let me do a quick introduction, my name is Colonel Stephen Peters, and the gentlemen sitting next to me is Captain Jason Wells. The Captain is here to help."

With that, the Captain touched a key on his laptop and began. Emma looked a bit nervous, but then her initial AAR had been with a Lieutenant. I knew from Maggie that speaking with whoever commanded the base wasn’t that unusual but also to have the head of the DPA and a three-star at the meeting would be a novel experience.

Emma confirmed that she and the others were sent to the city for a 'Meet and Greet.' Mostly, they would walk around town, do a little shopping, maybe sign a few autographs. It's something that Valkyries usually do once a month. For the girls to be walking around town at the same time as an incursion occurred was both somewhat serendipitous.

The Captain knew his stuff, asking Emma the same questions three different ways. The fight between the Troll and the three girls was discussed, and the reports two younger girls had written were also read aloud.

I could see that the Director wasn’t particularly pleased that the youngest of the three had been hurt. I knew things were going to change. People like her and my mother were now finally in charge of the program and would make sure that everything was done to keep the Valkyries safe.

"Thank you, Emma," the Captain gave her a friendly smile. "We only needed some more detail about the initial encounters and the junior's reaction."

He typed on his keyboard for a moment finishing whatever notes he had been taking before looking towards the others for confirmation. "Thank you for your time."

She nodded but still seemed to hesitate.

Directory Henley then said, "Go home, Emma, spend some time with your parents. If we need you, we'll let you know."

"Ok." She then surprised me by leaning over for a hug and whispered. "You sure you're not in trouble."

I laughed and patted her on the back. "I'm fine. I'll text you when I'm done."

"Don’t worry; you'll most likely be seeing more of Kára," my mom leaned over and said.

"Oh, that’s right," Emma said with a bright smile then gave a nervous wave to everyone as she left the room.

As soon as she closed the door, I started to shake. Why would it all come back now? I thought I had been good trying to hold it together but apparently not. My mother, seeing my distress, quickly rose from her chair and came to my side.

"It's all right," she whispered, drawing me into a hug.

The rest of the room thankfully whispered among themselves.

Reaching up, I wiped the tears from my eyes. Embarrassed, I said, "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Henry," Colonel Peters assured me.

"Kára." I smiled at my mother in the way of thanks then shrugged. "Call me Kára. It's too confusing otherwise."

"Alright."

"Kára," the Director began. "You have nothing to apologize for. It is we who should be apologizing, realizing that you still haven’t come to grip with what happened to you yesterday. If you need more time, we can hold off until you're ready."

"Thank you, but I think it's better to do it now," I replied.

"Like the others," Colonel Peters started, "I want to thank you as well for stepping up when anyone else would have faltered. We have spoken on several occasions, Kára, and I always thought you have a good head on your shoulders. With the help of your mother, I'm sure whatever obstacles that lay ahead, you will successfully overcome. And if you need anything from my command, please let me know."

The Captain then gave me a respectful nod, and with the approval of the group, hit a button on his computer. An image appeared on the large screen in the back of the room of a massive black eight-foot-tall creature as it emerged from the rubble of the drug store.

This was the best video, although from what I watched on the news, at least two others had their phones ready for some unknown reason instead of running to a shelter.

"Where should I start?"

"Wherever you think best," the Captain said.

"When my cousin died," I looked to my mom, who then squeezed my hand. "I didn’t take it very well. Since then, I have been dressing up in her clothing every day after school. Mags called it being a Mini-me."

The Captain only confirmed the identity of Maggie before I continued. "Mom and I, well, let's say it was time for both of us to move forward. So yesterday, I went out for the last time dressed like that."

The Director looked sympathetic, but the military men in the room were hard to read. However, no one looked disgusted. With a sigh, I continued with me stepping off the bus downtown.

"After I got something to drink, I stopped by my favorite book store," I turned to my mom and said, "Did you know that Dale's Library is closing, the one on Sam Adam’s Drive."

"Oh, that’s a shame you both loved that store."

"Yea, anyway, one second, I was thinking of the 'going out of business sale,' and the next moment, a blue woman dressed in Garderobes of black and gold appeared before me."

Everyone but mom and Audrey was startled at the statement. The Captain frowned then asked. "This blue woman, can you describe her?"

I gave the best description I could, which didn’t seem to please anyone in the room.

"Has any other Valkyrie ever reported such a meeting," questioned the General.

"No, sir," the Director responded.

He made a worried frown then waved for me to continue. I then explained that she kissed me on the forehead after apologizing then my world turned to pain.

"I was told by my mom that she didn’t remember what happened when she first manifested."

"I don’t think there have been any reports of anyone having any memories of the actual event."

"I was having lunch with my sister in the cafeteria at school when I first manifested," Alice supplied. "One second, I was wearing my school uniform the next I was in my Garderobes."

The others confirmed the same.

The General then asked, "And your." He paused for a second, appearing uncomfortable. "Your change, from the report I read its total?"

I nodded a little embarrassed. However, there was nothing I could do about it, and it wasn't an invalid question considering the circumstances. Unfortunately, my aunt confirmed once again that I was a healthy young woman.

Yay, me.

"Next thing I knew, I suddenly reappeared in the streets as the Brute started smashing things."

The video continued with me running by on the right side of the screen, bounding over a car, and then bouncing off a wall before slamming my spear into the ugly thing. The troll didn’t seem particularly pleased. As I spun and moved around my opponent, the Captain hit the space bar after I effortlessly dodged one vicious blow.

"Advanced combat precog," he confirmed rather than asked.

"Nice," Alice whistled next to me.

I kept the rest of the skill to myself. Both my mom and aunt recommended that I didn’t go into too much detail. I saw the threads, and although I could read them very far, I knew it was a wise decision. The military was both comfortable and familiar with this skill already more might cause problems.

The Captain then asked me more about the fight, much like he did with Emma, and later commented that he wished every Valkyrie remembered what she was taught.

"Her cousin taught her well," my mom laughed.

"She taught you had to use a spear?" Alice sounded confused.

"Oh, no, not really that was all me, but everything else, yea."

"I take it from Quicksilver's comment that Kára skill with her weapon is highly unusual?"

The Director confirmed what I already knew that all Valkyries were all skilled with their weapons, but only with practice did they become truly proficient.

"Was she the one who taught you how to use the Milnet-4?" The Colonel asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

"Yes, Sir."

"So, you played around with a real one?" the Captain chimed. "Was there a reason for it?"

"Other than it was cool," I replied, and then looked down embarrassed at the light laughs around me. "Well, I thought it might make my cosplay more realistic."

"Cosplay?"

"Ahh, well, I used to dress up as a Valkyrie when I was younger, General."

"I see."

He probably didn’t, but I didn’t say anything. Considering how my own grandparents often acted, I knew old prejudices die hard, but still, it was nice to see that he had an open mind.

"I remember." Alice chirped. "You were very cute dressed up as Black Rain."

Rolling my eyes, I continued, "It also helped Mags learn what she needed to know too. I have a stack of index cards in my room I used to test her with."

"So, that’s why you knew how to attack the Brute?"

"Yes, Captain." I didn't bother to mention the books and other training material under my bed and in my closet. I figured I would need it soon.

"That’s why we were so confused, General. We were wondering how one of our veteran Valkyries ended up in the city without us knowing." Colonel Peters explained,

The General nodded. "No harm, Stephen. I think we were very fortunate that Kára was able to use that knowledge as well as she did. I wasn’t kidding young lady; you and the other girls saved a lot of lives."

"Thank you, sir." I tried not to make a face at the young lady's comment.

The Captain continued, with another video of me suddenly appearing from the sky or as Alice whispered, 'Death from above.'

"Nice job keeping the Alpha from approaching the car," she commented, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen.

Aunt Audrey noted, "Nice clean strike through the mouth with the others."

"I agree, damn things always took a little more killing," the Director commented with a sigh.

My mom gave a soft laugh as we waited for the older Valkyries, and previous ones continue their commentary.

"I feel sorry for her friend," Alice mumbled.

"You mean Amy?" I nodded. "Yea, she wasn’t too happy with her."

It took the General to get us back on track, which was pretty funny. The Captain then asked questions about Emma and my fight with the Seps. I could see approval in the Director's eyes.

"So it was you who suggested the search pattern?" She asked.

"It seemed the right thing to do; we were still close enough to support one another in case one of us got in trouble."

"Miss Kingston wanted to give you all the credit."

"She just doesn’t want to do the paperwork." I smiled.

The brought a chuckle from the group. The rest of my tale went quicker; however, I could see that there were a few things that were still troubling them.

"The story that's running in the news that you were still able to manifest after the incursion is there some truth to it?" The Director asked.

I looked at my mother. She nodded, and suddenly I was wearing my full Garderobes.

--0--

"Well, you're definitely your mother's child." The Director, the DPA, let out a chuckle. With the meeting finished, the men left the room leaving only Valkyries.

"I wasn’t that bad." My mom objected.

"Yes, you were." Aunt Audrey laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Poor Stephen, did you see his face when you manifested?"

Colonel Peters did look a little upset.

"The Captain didn’t even raise an eyebrow." Alice nodded.

"Well, he is a Spartan." My mom shrugged then smiled at me.

"Am I in trouble?" Although they told me I wasn't, it was still something that concerned me.

With a sigh, the Director put her hands in front of her. "No, Kára, you have done nothing wrong. Can't say the military was happy you knew how to use the Larry, but they will get over it. I spoke to my boss this morning, who had spoken to the President last night. I don’t see any problems with what you decided, Sarah."

"The President!" I squeaked, really?

"We got a call from him when you appeared on the news wanting to know about the new Valkyrie." She smiled.

Well crap, I wanted to curl up into a ball.

"It's going to kind of hard to hide your look, Kára. I mean, you got that whole rocking elf chick thing going for you."

Rolling my eyes, I grumbled. "Thanks, Alice, and what did you decide, mom?"

"It's up to you, sweetheart." She said. "I refuse to say that you're not my child; however, I know that we also have to consider your feelings. If you want to tell your friends what happened, you can do that. On the other hand, if you want us to tell everyone that Henry moved in with my mother, that is fine as well. We can also say nothing. It's none of anyone's business, and your still a minor."

My Aunt laughed. "Oh, please, Sarah, it's going to come out eventually. Kára can't exactly blend in."

"That’s true, Audrey," the Director admitted. "However, I will not allow this situation to become a media circus. The General agrees and frankly doesn’t care what we do either way."

"As long as Kára available for deployment," worried my mother. "Why should he care."

The Director just nodded sadly.

"People are still going to freak, you know."

"As the old saying goes, Audrey, there's no cure for stupidity. I think Sarah's correct. Let her daughter decide."

"Can we not say anything?" I looked around, then shrugged. I knew enough that this was going to make front-page news, but I really didn’t want to deal with it right now. "We talked about me switching schools. I think that will help."

Alice grinned. "And will make Emma happy."

"At least the current President has shown concern for the well-being of the girls at every opportunity. Can't say that for the last one," Audrey grumbled.

"Ahh, what about identification and the like? I mean, I can't exactly have my student ID say, Henry Squire."

"Don’t worry, sweetheart, that’s something easily changed," my mom assured me.

"Do I have to remain on base?"

"Absolutely, not." The Director said. "Do what you need to do. Let the adults take care of the rest."

Well, one less thing I have to worry about, but still, I real meal sounded good, but I was still annoyed that I couldn’t locate my purse.

Authors Note: Stay home too many aren't. Those that can't be safe, stay well.