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BraneWorldsEpisode 3: Angels, Demons and Valkyries

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Lewton Slade had spent most of the day searching for clues to the whereabouts of the illusive Professor Hemdall. His regular contacts had not been able to give him any useful information. Not surprising, he thought to himself, considering the man he was looking for was from another universe. Lewton decided to stop by Sam's. The owner had contacts in many circles in the city. His info had helped him greatly in several cases in the past. If anyone could help Lewton now, he was sure it would be him. Lewton made his way to Sam's Place, a shady little piano bar. He noted dryly that mid-afternoon wasn't really the time of day for it; the place was empty apart from one guy, sitting at the piano, playing better than anything Lewton had ever heard. Lewton went and spoke to Sam. They were on first-name basis. Lewton greeted Sam by asking how's business, to which Sam replied it wasn't bad, actually. Sam then asked if he could get Lewton anything. Lewton confessed the past twelve hours had been pretty crazy for him and told Sam he was on a case and was hoping he could get him some information. Sam said all right, he'll bite, and asked what the deal was. Lewton replied he was looking for a man connected to the recent string of deaths, describing him as in his sixties, white hair, balding, wearing glasses and strange looking clothes. He would have arrived roughly two weeks ago, probably would have taken care not to make too much contact and he'd have needed a vacant building and a large supply of electricity. Sam admitted he hadn't heard anything but went to make some calls for Lewton, promising to just be a few minutes. While Lewton waited, the man at the piano approached him and sat next to him, telling Lewton hi there. Lewton greeted him back and called his piano skills really something. The man smiled and thanked him, confessing he hadn't much practice for quite a long time and just thought he'd give it a go while he waited for Lewton. Confused, Lewton asked him if he knew him, but the man replied no, but he did happen to know the location of the man Lewton and the Valkyrie were seeking. The man noted he shouldn't really be interfering, but added that playing deus ex machina was a little hobby of his and informed Lewton that Professor Hemdall was working out of the old import warehouse, near the transformer station on Curtiz Road, which he should know where it is. The man added that Lewton should warn his friend that she should move quickly if she wanted the Professor alive, as the Angels had become aware of the disruption there and would be arriving soon to correct it. Getting up to leave, the man said that was all he could do for Lewton for now. As he left, he waved back at Lewton and bid him goodbye, adding ominously that maybe they'd meet again some day. Lewton asked him to wait and asked who he was. Turning back, the mysterious man smiled and replied he was just a passing wizard. As Lewton stared in shock, Sam came back, telling him he made some calls but couldn't find anything on his man, then apologized for not being of more help. Not even looking at Sam, Lewton replied that was fine and he thought he got what he came for. It was getting dark as Lewton walked back to his office. The man who called himself a wizard had left him with many questions, such as how could he possibly have known about himself, 27 and Professor Hemdall, and what were those Angels he spoke of. Lewton greeted 27 as he entered his office. 27 asked him if he had found any information about the Professor, to which Lewton replied he had found the location he was hiding and had been given a message for 27. Lewton repeated the mysterious man's message that she should hurry and the Angels were coming. 27 reacted with visible shock and urged Lewton to tell her the location because they needed to go right now. The moment they stepped out of the door, 27 started running and Lewton struggled to keep up with her, begging her to slow down and reminding her he couldn't run as fast as she could. 27 simply stated his limited mobility was a problem and activated her combat armor, then picked him up in her arms and jumped into the air with Lewton in tow. Lewton held his hat as they soared through the air and dropped to the ground the moment they reached it. He asked her to please never do that ever again. 27 apologized but explained that, other than opening a dimension rip and re-entering that membrane at another point, that was the most efficient method of travel. Lewton dryly replied that at least they got there in one piece and told 27 that, providing that guy was telling the truth, the Professor should be in that warehouse. 27 stated they made it in time and the Angels hadn't arrived yet. Lewton then asked her what those Angels were and 27 stated their full name, the Angels of Consequence, and explained they were ancient beings that protected order in the Multiverse. Lewton retorted that she did that too, so why did she seem so afraid of them. 27 told him the Angels weren't like them, they weren't human and operated on cold logic and reason, without mercy or compassion, and to them, any disruption must be countered by annihilating its source, no matter the circumstances. Lewton asked 27 if she couldn't fight them, but she replied that was impossible and even Valkyries, who are classed as living superweapons, were unable to damage an Angel, which were absolute existences and any matter or energy that tried to superpose theirs is intantly destroyed. 27 clarified that they used that phenomenon as a weapon by projecting swords from their own bodies and anything they cut is erased from existence. 27 added that, of the seven Valkyries who have been lost in action, three had been erased by Angels and she had every reason to be afraid of them. Lewton changed the subject to the man who told him about that place, telling 27 he was concerned about him, as he knew everything about her, himself and the Professor, like he'd been watching them the whole time. Lewton added that he called himself a wizard and asked if that meant anything to 27. 27 repeated the world and started to say he couldn't possibly, but was interrupted by three dimension rips appearing in front of them. Lewton screamed what it was as 27 reflexively put her arm in front of him to protect him. 27 exclaimed that they were there as a golden blade split open the very air and created a hole into nothingness, from which three beings of imposing stature emerged. The Angels of Consequence, ancient guardians of order. Lewton noted to himself that, unlike the Scourge, these beings gave off an aura of intelligence and incredible power. 27 stared at them with a terrified look. One of the Angels pointed a finger at her and declared that she should not be there, calling her a child of Midgard. The Angel stepped forward towards 27 and told her they must correct the disruption that had occurred there and that she knew she could not stop them, so why was it that she stood in their path. 27's voice cracked as she told the Angel she had orders to capture Professor Hemdall and that they wanted to fix their own mistakes. Lewton could tell she was genuinely terrified of those beings.

The Angel of Consequence asked 27 if her meddling had not caused enough damage already, pointing out she had involved a Mid-Worlder, Lewton, in affairs which did not concern him. Realizing that the Angels were misinterpreting the situation and 27 was getting caught up in their accusations, Lewton, despite his own trepidation, felt he had to say something and claimed that 27 had saved him from the Scourge and that he chose to help her. Turning to face him, the Angel asked him if it was so, calling him a Child of Noir, then simply said interesting. 27 and Lewton shared a glance, maybe both feeling that they had won a small victory. Lewton reasoned that if the Angels were driven purely by logic and reason as 27 had said, it should be possible to negotiate with them. 27 said that Midgard was responsible for the disruption and wished to take responsibility by trying Professor Hemdall for his crimes, then asked that the Angels give them a chance to demonstrate their commitment to preserving Order. The Angel called her argument logical and declared they would debate. Then, the core in its chest started glowing red, as did the cores in the other Angels. They stood motionless, LEwton assuming they were communicating with each other somehow. As the lights faded, the Angel declared they had reached a consensus and told 27 they would permit her one chance to recover the instigator of the disruption, however, should she fail and the instigator escaped the membrane, they would have no choice but to consider her part of the disruption and annihilate her. The Angel pointed at her and told her not to disappoint them. Seizing her chance, 27 told Lewton they needed to hurry and both rushed to the warehouse. At the door to the Professor's hideaway, 27 asked Lewton if that was the place. Grabbing his revolver, he confirmed it and that they could get in through there, then asked 27 what he should do. 27 told him if there were any Scourge, to let her handle them, as his gun won't have much effect on them, while he made sure Professor Hemdall didn't get the chance to escape, calling him not normally a violent man and that he wouldn't risk killing Lewton. Lewton replied all right, let's do this, and both opened the doors. Inside, Lewton and 27 found hi-tech cages where specimens of Scourge were locked up and an elderly bespectacled man, Professor Hemdall, at an advanced computer complaining about the infernal creatures and why they wouldn't obey his commands. The Professor noted to himself that the machine transmitted at the correct psychic frequency and that there must be something he was missing, some element he overlooked. 27 then exclaimed at the Professor to stop what he was doing, startling him. He turned around and realized she was a Valkyrie, then dryly noted it was only a matter of time. He asked what number she was and 27 identified herself, then said that, by the authority of Bifrost, she was placing him under arrest. The Professor held up his hands and told her not to be hasty, asking if she couldn't see how important his work was. Hemdall stated that, if he could get it to work, no civilization would have to fear Scourge attacks ever again. The Professor further claimed he was close to completion and just needed a little more time but 27 would have none of it, telling him it was too late for that and people had died because he broke the rules and brought Scourge to a developed world. She asked him to return with her to Midgard, otherwise the Angels would destroy them both. Hemdall's eyes widened as he realized the Angels were there. Proclaiming having no choice and needing to get away, Hemdall pressed a button. The advanced computer behind him glowed with a blue tint as Professor Hemdall opened his arms and declared that, incomplete as it was, his work had produced promising results, as 27 would see for herself. Suddenly, the Scourges' heads glew blue and they shrieked in pain. Hemdall started to run and 27 told him he couldn't escape as she and Lewton rushed after him. Suddenly, the cages opened and Scourge leapt out of them. Turning quickly, 27 shouted to activate arm-cannon and fired her gun into the chest of a Scourge, then blocked a red beam from another specimen with her cannon. Meanwhile, Lewton kept chasing Hemdall, who looked back and fired a blaster at Lewton. Lewton stopped in his tracks as a beam hit a wall near him. Aiming his gun at Lewton, Hemdall told him not to come any closer, calling him native, and said he didn't want to have to shoot him. Aiming his revolver back at Hemdall, Lewton declared the Professor wouldn't shoot him and that he had rules against that sort of thing. Hemdall retorted that he was already being hunted by the Angels and one more life wasn't going to make any difference. At the same time, the Scourge kept fighting 27, swiping their claws at her. Hemdall grabbed a tool and told Lewton to just stay over there and not interfere, then stuck the tool into a nearby wall, producing a blue glow. Still fighting Scourge, 27 shouted that he was opening a dimension rip and told Lewton to not let him escape. The Scourge prepared to fire its beam in 27's face, but she kneed it in the stomach and threw it to the ground, then shot it with her cannon. As Hemdall prepared to enter the dimension rip, Lewton rushed him and hit him with the butt of his revolver. As Hemdall fell, his blaster hit the ground and shot a stray beam into his computer, causing it to malfunction and launch a dark blue beam straight at Lewton's head. Lewton screamed and his eyes glew white as the beam hit his forehead. 27 screamed Lewton's name. Lewton fell back into the dimension rip and 27 screamed again as he fell into the Void. Lewton wasn't sure how long he drifted through the endless darkness of the Void. Lewton couldn't think properly and had no idea who he was or where he had come from. The voices in his head were relentless, like a million people speaking at once, asking him what he desired, how should they proceed and to tell them what to do. Desperate, Lewton said the only thing he could think of: he wanted to get out of there. The voices answered as one: We obey. The arms of the Scourge grabbed his body as he felt warmth, like he was part of something greater than himself. When he opened his eyes, there was someone standing over him. It was hot and the light hurt his eyes. An android wearing a robot hat greeted him with a howdy there, noting it didn't think he'd ever seen him 'round those parts before. End of episode three.

Next comic:

Episode 4: To Midgard and Beyond

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