Unexpected Guest

The wedding was big and expensive, as you would expect. It was outdoors, because I like to live dangerously, and the bright and growing greens of the grounds filled the air with the scent of pollen and May. Andromeda and I would be escaping to low orbit privacy aboard my spaceship afterward, the only place where we could reliably expect to have any decent privacy from the public and our Hydra overlords.

Victor and I were walking alone on the field as the guests began to arrive in the Nemo Autocabs we were demonstrating.

"I just want to see her," I said, anxiously spinning the case I'd temporarily replaced my emergency bracelet with. The bracelet was a bit too much for the suit.

"We all do at these things," Victor said, squeezing my shoulder amicably. We walked a bit further, "I don't suppose you want my advice on marriage?"

I winced, "Not really." Victor and I had the most honest of all of my relationships and I didn't want to impinge on that with deceit.

"Well, I'm going to inconvenience you on this one then. You've only got one shot at this, make sure to get it right."

I laughed, "Thanks."

"No problem, Mr. Senator."

"Not a senator yet," I pointed out.

"A formality," Victor said with a wave of the hand. "You're the most popular man in California and the unions have your back."

"Maybe so," I said. "Do you think she's having cold feet?" I was having… well, not cold feet. But nerves.

"I've never met a woman who adored a man so much. She'd set herself on fire if you asked her to. I'm sure she's on pins and needles to get this over with." We walked up to the rows upon rows of chairs and looked the crowd. "Most of these Andromeda's?"

"Some political invitees as well, yeah. My invitees amount to the pride and a handful of business associates." Dale, Victor, and Andromeda's brother Achilles were my groomsmen which was embarrassingly weak. In my old life, I had prided myself on cultivating male friendships and here I had been so consumed with work and conspiracy that I was down to two murderers and my brother in law.

"Less Leslie, not that I miss her."

"Mrs. Dean has been very careful to stay within her lines," I said, looking at the guests. Plenty of new SWORD members from the Security Counsel nations were also here, looking slightly uncomfortable. The whole thing was nice, illustrious, a bit too showy with the marble and bronze statuary on either side of the audience.

Victor got a ping on his phone and fished it out of his suit breast pocket, "Huh. Look like there's an issue with one of the autocabs," he handed the phone to me. The cab had stalled out, turned off somehow.

I nodded at it and sighed, "Send one of our security forces out to check on it."

"I could just flick it back on," Victor suggested.

"Absolutely not. It probably is just a glitch or a busted tire, but the Security team should be able to make sure that's true. We've got a working prototype spaceship here, it's what the security is for." Paranoia was my bread and butter by the point, so it didn't harm anything to have someone go check it out.

Victor nodded and took back the phone, calling security and telling them to check on it. We kept walking for awhile, eventually making it to Dale, who was presently being kissed by his wife. We waited patiently for them to finish.

"Hey guys," he said, smiling at us without embarrassment.

"Dale," I said with a laugh. "I hope I am having as good of a time being married as you are in fifteen years."

"Well you should!" Dale agreed without complaint, "It's a good time. Andromeda and you are so good for each other."

Stacey grinned at him and said, "I'll get back to Gert and Molly and leave you gentleman to Men's Business," and she made a fake yuck face. I laughed at her as she was waved goodbye.

"Any last minute advice?" I asked Dale as we walked.

"Marriage isn't that complicated, Mike. My advice is the same as it was last night, be kind." he said. He shot his eyes to Victor and back to me, but didn't say anything more than that. Victor might have noticed, but he didn't care. He was confident that he made the right choices with regards to his marriage. It was an impressive sort of recalcitrance.

We made it to the front as the crowd continued to trickle in and then Victor's phone pinged again, "They say it's all clear. Minor glitch, switched it on and off, on its way now."

"Good," I said. The groups continued to file in and I started to count them off. Pierce had sent news that he wouldn't be able to make it, urgent international matters I needn't concern myself with. Achilles arrived a few minutes after the message and came up to me, "Good to see you Mike," he said. Achilles looked like a body builder with a crew cut and he had Military written on his soul in bold, bright letters.

"Achilles," I said, smiling. Achilles was far too stodgy for us to bond, but he wasn't opposed to me at all. Andromeda had thoroughly convinced her family that she had been right. They were in my camp now and of my party within Hydra, thank God, and I was still doing my best to cultivate them.

"Andromeda said to tell you how excited she was. There were a lot of exclamation marks too, but I'm not going to yell it."

I grinned, "I'll tell her you did though."

Achilles didn't scowl, he just nodded. As I said, he was a stodgy guy, no real sense of humor. I feel like if we had drunken our way through the bachelor party that might have helped, but my teetotaler nature had driven off any possibility of that.

Now was just the waiting as people continued to stream in. The anxiety of it was starting to get on my nerves, I wanted to get it over with, I wanted to be married and in my spaceship, not here on this planet grinning amicably.

Then my eyes locked on a guy a few rows back. There was… something off about his appearance. His skin was… I don't know. Almost too smooth. That's not right either. I wasn't sure exactly what it was but it was suspicious. And he had a short cain. I grabbed Achilles' arm, "Who's that guy?"

"One of my sister's guests? Gilbert, I think? Some old college buddy."

"Victor, was Gilbert in the car that stalled?"

Victor blinked but pulled out his phone obediently, "… Yes," he said after a moment of searching.

"Alright, Achilles, go get your family, Victor, go get Andromeda, Dale go get the PRIDE families. Everybody head to the ship. Wait there." I did my best to look as casual as I could during this. I didn't know anything for certain.

"Why?" Dale asked even as Achilles and Victor headed off.

I looked at him for a minute, "That was an order," I hissed and he blinked, taken aback. I hadn't pulled rank on him… ever, really. But I was not exceptionally interested in raising extra questions if the scepter was in play.

Loki was why.