Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Bad Penny
Title: Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Bad Penny
Author:
auntmo9
Fandoms: Indiana Jones/Supernatural
Rating: PG-13 for language
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Through 5.19 Hammer of the Gods for Supernatural; all four Indiana Jones movies plus the bookend concept for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Characters: Gabriel/Loki, Indiana Jones, Kali, mentions of others plus some surprise guests
Genre: Gen, with established Loki/Kali relationship
Word Count: 3,743
Disclaimers: I do not own Supernatural or Indiana Jones, or anything else hinted at herein. I am only playing with them for my own enjoyment, and maybe yours.
Summary: Five times a trickster met an archeologist.
A/N: Written in chronological order, not movie order (as ToD was a prequel to Raiders). Some direct quotes from both Raiders and Last Crusade were used.
Shanghai, China, 1935
“Sorry about that, Bub. I didn’t quite see you since I have my eyes on the most beautiful gal in the whole place,” the shorter of the two men commented when he accidentally bumped into the man in the white tuxedo who was making his way to the owner’s table. Seeing where the man was headed he winked and added, “Enjoy your evening with Lao Che and watch out for the champagne. I hear it’s to die for.”
Making his way over to his own table, he carefully watched the man as he sat down in Lao Che’s presence and settled in to enjoy the show. His thoughts were interrupted by a seemingly calm voice with a distinctly irritated undertone to it. “Remind me why we are here again when I am having issues with some who claim to be my followers back home?”
“Aw, babe, you promised you’d let me take you on a vacation, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got plans to take you somewhere out of this world.” he explained. Snapping his fingers, he made a variety of gifts appear on the table before her. “And besides, what issues? Did someone not leave enough candy or flowers for you? I can get you all of the gifts you will ever need.”
“My true followers have given me the appropriate gifts, Loki,” she sneered as she made his disappear with a wave her hand. “But there are others who dare to follow me by enslaving children and ripping out the hearts of others.”
“So what you’re saying is, is that you’re the only one that can rip someone’s heart out?” he retorted.
The woman crossed her arms and stood her ground, ignoring his taunt. “I am not going anywhere with you until I deal with them.”
“Look, I know I guy,” he pleaded, looking across the room at the man he had bumped into. “Well, I have run into him here and there but he doesn’t really know me…yet. But he knows how to get things done, respects the differences between religions but has a decent moral compass. I have seen him around quite a bit the last couple of years and I have never had to teach him a lesson. In fact, without him knowing it, he helped me teach a few other mooks a lesson or two. He would be perfect for the job.”
“You’re suggesting I let a human handle this situation?” Kali asked incredulously as she stared at her companion.
“Well, they are known for their soft spot where children are concerned,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders before taking a sip of his sugary sweet drink. “Most of them don’t take kindly to allowing other people literally rip someone’s heart out. And like I said, I have seen this guy in action, you can trust him.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “But if anything goes wrong, you will clean it up. How are you going to get him where he is needed?”
“No problem, babe,” he said as his face split in two with a grin. “He is in a bit of a jam right now, but I’d say a well timed bar fight and a plane flight gone wrong should be all it takes to get him to a village in need. It won’t take but a snap of my fingers…or two. Then we can pack our bags and take to the stars. Unless of course you want to stick around for the opening act of this drama?”
“Where exactly do you intend to take me on this vacation?” Kali asked curiously, an eyebrow raised in wonder.
“The universe is ours to explore, doll,” Loki answered in delight. “I hear Pandora is beautiful this time of year and Alderaan is always lovely. Then again we could always go to Ferenginar. The dress code for the ladies there is so minimal, why you could get away with packing practically nothing!”
Unknown Island, Aegean Sea, 1936
Indy looked at scene around him and sighed. He had gotten himself into plenty of tights spots, but this had to be up there. Sure, he had been making things up as he went along, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this one. He had been such a fool, listening to Belloq. Now he and Marion were tied to a pole. Maybe they both would have been better off he had just gone through with threat and blown the Ark up.
“Naw,” a man said, as he thumbed over his shoulders towards the ceremony taking place below. “Then I would be here to destroy you instead of the real bad guys over there.”
Indy gaped at the brown haired man with amber eyes who had seemingly come from nowhere, not sure of what to say.
“If I were you I wouldn’t say anything,” he leaned in and whispered in Indy’s ear to answer his unspoken thoughts. “You are the only one who can see me, though that is about to change pretty quickly.”
Indy tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head as he realized he must have taken one too many blows to his noggin on this trip. This guy in front of him couldn’t be real.
“Nope, I am as real as these Valomilk cups. Want one?” The man didn’t wait for an answered as he shoved one in the archeologist’s mouth and tossed the other in his own. Indy slowly chewed and swallowed the sweet marshmallow and chocolate candy while trying to process what was happening.
“You see, even though I am technically in hiding, I still do work for my Dad from time to time, and this one does sort of fall into my wheelhouse,” the man said by way of explanation, as if Indy would understand why he was hiding or who his dad was. “Plus, even with my current gig, it would be a hoot. And my brothers and sisters are so busy manipulating chess pieces for a couple of families that are only a generation or two from getting it right that they are about to have their vessels runneth over so to speak. If they haven’t noticed by now what is going on with one of Dad’s last personal handwritten notes to humans, then they won’t notice me stepping in to the salvage the situation either.”
The man’s explanation had in no way cleared anything up for Indy. In fact, he was left even more confused. But he was in no position to argue with the guy.
“Look, let’s just keep it simple,” the man suggested as he peered around the pole to get a better look at Marion. “Let’s just say I owe you one after you helped me with my gal last year and I thought I would help you out of a jam with your girl this year. Oh, and I like this one better. She’s got much more spunk and is a lot less whiny than that blonde.”
Indy’s head snapped up. Just who was this man and how did he know so much about him?
“So here’s the bottom line, when I start my little power and light show, you need to keep you eyes closed if you want to live. Because what you see before you now isn’t me in all my glory,” he explained. With a wink of an eye he added, “And if you ever get a chance, I think you would just love a trip to the moon of Endor.”
The man disappeared as the cameras recording the ceremony for the Führer himself sparked and exploded.
“Marion don’t look at it,” Indy pleaded with a sudden urgency as he turned to the woman next to him. “Shut your eyes. Marion, don’t look at it no matter what happens.”
Temple of the Sun, Canyon of the Crescent Moon, Hatay, Turkey, 1938
“He chose…poorly,” the Grail Knight said after Donovan decayed into nothingness.
“He sure did,” a new, but familiar visitor added as he appeared in the room, candy bar in hand. “Wasn’t the first, was he George?”
“You again!” Indy shouted at the man before him. “Why do you keep showing up in my life at times like these?”
“What can I say? I am like a bad penny. That and I like you, kiddo,” the amber-eyed man retorted with a grin. “Besides, you’re the one that keeps showing up on my stomping grounds and since I usually help you out, why are you complaining?”
“I need to find the right cup. It’s the only way to save my father’s life,” the archeologist grumbled as he began to look around. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Well, the fact that the cup of Christ is the only way to save your dad’s life is debatable,” he chuckled. “But if that’s the crap shoot you want to take, who I am I to stop you?”
Henry Jones, Jr. stopped dead in his track and turned slowly around to look at the latest visitor to the room. “There’s another way to save my father?”
“There is always another way,” he answered flippantly. “Especially when I am around.”
“Indy, we don’t have time to play games with this fool,” Elsa urged “You need to find the cup.”
The man rolled his eyes. “You’re going to listen to the blonde? Yeah right, because your choices in blondes have always been so stellar. And I take exception to the whole idea that I came here to play games with you people. I have been decidedly hands off in that area with you Jones, which is not my usual policy. You people, however, are the ones interrupting my poker game with George, here,” he said motioning to the knight. “But go ahead, play Nazi roulette if that what you want to do and see where that gets you.”
Indy sighed. The man saved his life before, but he still didn’t know who or what he was. And as hard as it had been to have faith, it had gotten him this far. So he made his decision. Indy surveyed all of the items on the table and his eyes finally fell on a simple cup. He grasped it in his hand. “That's the cup of a carpenter.”
“And the bold archeologist gets it in one!” the guest announced gleefully, much to the dismay of the knight. “What, you didn’t want any spoilers? I practically promised the guy there was another way if he didn’t get this right.”
“You have chosen wisely,” George the Knight sighed, shaking his head at his friend, while Indy scooped water of the basin and cautiously drank a sip. “But the Grail cannot pass beyond the Great Seal. That is the boundary and the price of immortality.”“Alright then, you two need to skedaddle so George and I can have one last tête-à-tête.” And with a snap of his fingers, he sent Indy and Elsa out to the rest of the group.
Marshall College, Bedford Connecticut, 1957
Indy was still frustrated after talking to his friend and former Dean, but he still had to pack up his office now that he had been placed on a leave of absence in order to save face for the college. Everywhere you turned these days, people saw a Communist when someone did something they didn’t like. That would end well.
Opening the door to his office he was taken aback by how much damage the feds had done. He sighed and was about to get to work on the clean up when he heard a noise. Turning quickly, he saw that a janitor was already cleaning up the mess.
“So the college isn’t even given me a chance to get my own things before giving me the boot, are they?” Indy asked with some bitterness. Not that it was the janitor’s fault he had been sent here before Indy had gotten a chance to pack up his personal effects.
“Nope,” the man said with a pop to the ‘p’ as he turned with the grin. “But I thought I would come to lend you a hand instead of one of the regular muttonheads.”
Indy stared at the man, with the name ‘Charlie’ blazoned across his uniform, a fresh reminder of what he had lost that day. Even after the previous encounters, Indy realized he still don’t the guy’s name. “Somehow, I doubt that your real name is Charlie.”
The man looked down at the tag on his uniform briefly. “Oh this thing? I borrowed it, from the janitor’s closet of all places,” he said with a smirk as he picked up some items and placed it in a box he had snapped up. “You can call me Loki.”
“The Norse Trickster god?” Indy asked curiously. “I don’t think that a Norse Trickster would be playing poker with a Knight sworn to protect the Grail or be able to obliterate an entire Nazi division trying to use the Ark of the Covenant for their own purposes.”
“Look, I told you awhile back I had a new gig. Let’s just go with that,” Loki replied, his normal jovial demeanor turning suddenly serious.
“Sure, if that’s how you want to play this,” Indy told the being before him. But he had long ago begun to form ideas as to what kind of creature had been able to do the kinds of things ‘Loki’ was capable of. “So why are you here now?”
“Just a friendly warning, that’s all,” Loki offered calmly. “Don’t think that your fun times with La Femme Nikita are finished. I’d stick around, but I really don’t have a use for aliens quite yet.”
“Aliens? Look, I really don’t have time for this, I just want to pack up my stuff and …” But before Indy could finish, Loki snapped his fingers and the office was put back in order and his personal effects were stored neatly in boxes.
“What you’re really about to discover?” Loki began as he leaned toward the archeologist. “It is much more important than anything you’ve put in a museum or collected over the years. I should know, I lost mine a very long time ago.”
With that, Indy found himself alone in his office, wondering just what was in store for him.
Upstate New York, 1990
The doorbell rang and as he rose to get, his granddaughter raced ahead of him to answer it. As she opened the front door, he finally caught up with her and they both stared at the stranger in the doorway. He was surprised for a moment by how the man’s appearance reminded him of himself during his younger years. The unkempt clothes, five o’clock shadow and leather jacket bore striking resemble to his own globe trotting days. He even had the tell tale dark circles under eyes that spoke of lost sleep. The only thing missing was the hat and bullwhip, but you couldn’t ask for everything.
He looked at the man expectantly. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Dr. Henry Jones,” the man said gruffly as he eyed the two people standing in the doorway. “I’ve been told he knows a thing or two about…indentifying certain objects.”
“Run along now, Lucy. I’m sure you have some homework to finish,” Indy said placing a hand on his granddaughter’s back to guide her away from the door. “Now, who’s asking for me?”
“You’re Dr. Jones? Aren’t you a little old?” the man asked in disbelief, as he took in the man’s appearance, including the patch across his right eye. As Dr. Jones ignored his comment and continued to wait for an answer he sighed and said, “Fine. Jim Murphy sent me.”
“Jim Murphy, huh? I haven’t seen him in about twenty years, when we were both down in Costa Rica, not that he doesn't keep sending people to me and…” Indy trailed off, sensing the man's impatience. His eyes narrowed in on the man. "Story for another time, I guess. But you never did answer the question. Who, exactly, are you? And if Jim Murphy sent I want a real name, not one of those fake ones you people use when you are trying to hide from the rest of the world."
The man blinked at a moment while trying to deiced if he could be trusted or not. Trust must have won out, for he offered up his hand and said, "Winchester. John Winchester."
"Okay Winchester, what is that you need my help with?" he asked now that the pleasantries seemed to be out of the way.
"A couple of hours from here, over in Bakers Mills, five people died recently. All of them were killed by the same object," John explained gravely. "The guy who did it claims he couldn't put down the weapon until he struck someone with it once he took it out of its sheath."
"A sword," Indy whispered as he looked at John Winchester in the eye. "The Dainsleif."
"How...how do you know?" John asked cautiously. "You haven't even seen it."
"I know the legends. Believe me, I've studied my Norse mythology," the archeologist answered. "So, where is it? Can you take me to it?"
"Actually, it's in the trunk of my car, John answered. Noticing Indy's surprise he continued. "I have ways of acquiring things and it's safe there. But given the stories I've heard, I don't think it's best for me to bring it out and unsheathe it."
"I only need to see the hilt," the older main explained. "That will tell me all I need to know."
"Good," the younger of the two said. " Because I wouldn't want anyone else to die."
"Hey Pops! Got a minute?" Indy and John Winchester both turned to see someone who hadn't been there a second ago. Indy had to bite his tongue not to swear under his breath at the sudden appearance of Loki.
"Well, if it accidently got out," Indy muttered under his breath as he glanced sideways at Loki, "I could think of someone I could be compelled to kill."
"You have kids?" John asked suspiciously.
"Yes, I have kids. My granddaughter answered the door," Indy replied crossly as he grabbed Loki by the arm. "I have kids, grandkids and other...people in my life. Now why don't you just get the sword while I talk to him."
But as John opened the door to go the car, he bumped into two problems of his own . Two kids were standing there, one clearly bent over in pain.
"I'm sorry, sir," the older one said as he supported his younger brother. "I know you said to stay in the car, but I think Sammy is going to be sick or something. Maybe it was something he ate at the diner?"
"Dean, what I have told you about..."John began.
"It's not a problem, John, " Indy interrupted. "There is a bathroom in the front hall on the left. The kid can take his brother there while we sort out our business."
John grumbled for a second but finally nodded his consent. As the Winchesters went about their tasks, Indy pushed Loki into the den.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Nice to see you, too," the creature answered with a smile. "Like always, I came to warn you."
"I already know how dangerous that sword is," the archeologist retorted as he glared at Loki.
"What? That thing?" Loki said as he rolled his eyes. "that isn't even the real sword of Hogni. The original is in an ongoing battle until Ragnarök begins. The thing Winchester has in his car is actually my sword, Laevateinn."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, payback's a bitch and her name is Freyja," he explained. "That crazy-ass woman was so pissed at me for stealing her precious necklace that she cursed my sword. I can take care of it, or at least get it out of harm's way. You know, since it is my fault that it is back in circulation."
Indy stared down the man before him. "How so?"
"Lost it in a poker game to Coyote. He is not as easy to beat as George was," Loki answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You will take care of it and go," Indy said pointing at Loki. "Do you know what that man is?"
"The question is," Loki replied. "is do you know what that man is? That is why I came here. You let a Winchester in your house. Do you know what you are in for now? Stubborn, the whole lot of them. Now that you have helped them, you won't ever get rid of them. And if you think he's bad, wait until you see those kids in about twenty years or so. What a riot! The world won't know what hit them."
Indy looked out of the den and down the hall. He could see the older brother standing outside of the bathroom waiting for his brother.
"Just take care of the sword," the archeologist demanded, stepping out of the den. "I'll be back in a minute."
“…kick a droid, fly the Falcon through an asteroid,” the green-eyed kid quietly sang as he leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom door waiting for his brother. “Till the princess is annoyed! This is spaceships...”
“Hey kid, what are you singing?” Indy interrupted.
The kid was so startled he almost fell as he scrambled to stand up straight. “Um, nothing sir. Do you like aliens and spaceships” he asked sheepishly.
“Can’t say I do. Not much better than snakes in my opinion,” the older man replied before turning his attention to the bathroom. “Your brother going to be okay?
The freckled face below him looked at him quizzically as he shuffled on his feet. “Dad doesn’t really want us to talk to strangers.”
“We’re not really strangers,” Indy said with a slight smile. “Your dad came here because I know Ji-, Pastor Jim.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide as he considered this for a moment. “Oh, okay then. Yeah, Sammy is going to be fine. Sorry we had to bother you.”
“Not a problem, Dean, wasn't it?” Indy began, pushing his hat to the back of his head as he briefly glanced back towards the den before leaning closer towards the boy. “ So, have you ever had a bad penny?”
Author:
auntmo9
Fandoms: Indiana Jones/Supernatural
Rating: PG-13 for language
Warnings: None
Spoilers: Through 5.19 Hammer of the Gods for Supernatural; all four Indiana Jones movies plus the bookend concept for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Characters: Gabriel/Loki, Indiana Jones, Kali, mentions of others plus some surprise guests
Genre: Gen, with established Loki/Kali relationship
Word Count: 3,743
Disclaimers: I do not own Supernatural or Indiana Jones, or anything else hinted at herein. I am only playing with them for my own enjoyment, and maybe yours.
Summary: Five times a trickster met an archeologist.
A/N: Written in chronological order, not movie order (as ToD was a prequel to Raiders). Some direct quotes from both Raiders and Last Crusade were used.
Shanghai, China, 1935
“Sorry about that, Bub. I didn’t quite see you since I have my eyes on the most beautiful gal in the whole place,” the shorter of the two men commented when he accidentally bumped into the man in the white tuxedo who was making his way to the owner’s table. Seeing where the man was headed he winked and added, “Enjoy your evening with Lao Che and watch out for the champagne. I hear it’s to die for.”
Making his way over to his own table, he carefully watched the man as he sat down in Lao Che’s presence and settled in to enjoy the show. His thoughts were interrupted by a seemingly calm voice with a distinctly irritated undertone to it. “Remind me why we are here again when I am having issues with some who claim to be my followers back home?”
“Aw, babe, you promised you’d let me take you on a vacation, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve got plans to take you somewhere out of this world.” he explained. Snapping his fingers, he made a variety of gifts appear on the table before her. “And besides, what issues? Did someone not leave enough candy or flowers for you? I can get you all of the gifts you will ever need.”
“My true followers have given me the appropriate gifts, Loki,” she sneered as she made his disappear with a wave her hand. “But there are others who dare to follow me by enslaving children and ripping out the hearts of others.”
“So what you’re saying is, is that you’re the only one that can rip someone’s heart out?” he retorted.
The woman crossed her arms and stood her ground, ignoring his taunt. “I am not going anywhere with you until I deal with them.”
“Look, I know I guy,” he pleaded, looking across the room at the man he had bumped into. “Well, I have run into him here and there but he doesn’t really know me…yet. But he knows how to get things done, respects the differences between religions but has a decent moral compass. I have seen him around quite a bit the last couple of years and I have never had to teach him a lesson. In fact, without him knowing it, he helped me teach a few other mooks a lesson or two. He would be perfect for the job.”
“You’re suggesting I let a human handle this situation?” Kali asked incredulously as she stared at her companion.
“Well, they are known for their soft spot where children are concerned,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders before taking a sip of his sugary sweet drink. “Most of them don’t take kindly to allowing other people literally rip someone’s heart out. And like I said, I have seen this guy in action, you can trust him.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “But if anything goes wrong, you will clean it up. How are you going to get him where he is needed?”
“No problem, babe,” he said as his face split in two with a grin. “He is in a bit of a jam right now, but I’d say a well timed bar fight and a plane flight gone wrong should be all it takes to get him to a village in need. It won’t take but a snap of my fingers…or two. Then we can pack our bags and take to the stars. Unless of course you want to stick around for the opening act of this drama?”
“Where exactly do you intend to take me on this vacation?” Kali asked curiously, an eyebrow raised in wonder.
“The universe is ours to explore, doll,” Loki answered in delight. “I hear Pandora is beautiful this time of year and Alderaan is always lovely. Then again we could always go to Ferenginar. The dress code for the ladies there is so minimal, why you could get away with packing practically nothing!”
Unknown Island, Aegean Sea, 1936
Indy looked at scene around him and sighed. He had gotten himself into plenty of tights spots, but this had to be up there. Sure, he had been making things up as he went along, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this one. He had been such a fool, listening to Belloq. Now he and Marion were tied to a pole. Maybe they both would have been better off he had just gone through with threat and blown the Ark up.
“Naw,” a man said, as he thumbed over his shoulders towards the ceremony taking place below. “Then I would be here to destroy you instead of the real bad guys over there.”
Indy gaped at the brown haired man with amber eyes who had seemingly come from nowhere, not sure of what to say.
“If I were you I wouldn’t say anything,” he leaned in and whispered in Indy’s ear to answer his unspoken thoughts. “You are the only one who can see me, though that is about to change pretty quickly.”
Indy tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head as he realized he must have taken one too many blows to his noggin on this trip. This guy in front of him couldn’t be real.
“Nope, I am as real as these Valomilk cups. Want one?” The man didn’t wait for an answered as he shoved one in the archeologist’s mouth and tossed the other in his own. Indy slowly chewed and swallowed the sweet marshmallow and chocolate candy while trying to process what was happening.
“You see, even though I am technically in hiding, I still do work for my Dad from time to time, and this one does sort of fall into my wheelhouse,” the man said by way of explanation, as if Indy would understand why he was hiding or who his dad was. “Plus, even with my current gig, it would be a hoot. And my brothers and sisters are so busy manipulating chess pieces for a couple of families that are only a generation or two from getting it right that they are about to have their vessels runneth over so to speak. If they haven’t noticed by now what is going on with one of Dad’s last personal handwritten notes to humans, then they won’t notice me stepping in to the salvage the situation either.”
The man’s explanation had in no way cleared anything up for Indy. In fact, he was left even more confused. But he was in no position to argue with the guy.
“Look, let’s just keep it simple,” the man suggested as he peered around the pole to get a better look at Marion. “Let’s just say I owe you one after you helped me with my gal last year and I thought I would help you out of a jam with your girl this year. Oh, and I like this one better. She’s got much more spunk and is a lot less whiny than that blonde.”
Indy’s head snapped up. Just who was this man and how did he know so much about him?
“So here’s the bottom line, when I start my little power and light show, you need to keep you eyes closed if you want to live. Because what you see before you now isn’t me in all my glory,” he explained. With a wink of an eye he added, “And if you ever get a chance, I think you would just love a trip to the moon of Endor.”
The man disappeared as the cameras recording the ceremony for the Führer himself sparked and exploded.
“Marion don’t look at it,” Indy pleaded with a sudden urgency as he turned to the woman next to him. “Shut your eyes. Marion, don’t look at it no matter what happens.”
Temple of the Sun, Canyon of the Crescent Moon, Hatay, Turkey, 1938
“He chose…poorly,” the Grail Knight said after Donovan decayed into nothingness.
“He sure did,” a new, but familiar visitor added as he appeared in the room, candy bar in hand. “Wasn’t the first, was he George?”
“You again!” Indy shouted at the man before him. “Why do you keep showing up in my life at times like these?”
“What can I say? I am like a bad penny. That and I like you, kiddo,” the amber-eyed man retorted with a grin. “Besides, you’re the one that keeps showing up on my stomping grounds and since I usually help you out, why are you complaining?”
“I need to find the right cup. It’s the only way to save my father’s life,” the archeologist grumbled as he began to look around. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Well, the fact that the cup of Christ is the only way to save your dad’s life is debatable,” he chuckled. “But if that’s the crap shoot you want to take, who I am I to stop you?”
Henry Jones, Jr. stopped dead in his track and turned slowly around to look at the latest visitor to the room. “There’s another way to save my father?”
“There is always another way,” he answered flippantly. “Especially when I am around.”
“Indy, we don’t have time to play games with this fool,” Elsa urged “You need to find the cup.”
The man rolled his eyes. “You’re going to listen to the blonde? Yeah right, because your choices in blondes have always been so stellar. And I take exception to the whole idea that I came here to play games with you people. I have been decidedly hands off in that area with you Jones, which is not my usual policy. You people, however, are the ones interrupting my poker game with George, here,” he said motioning to the knight. “But go ahead, play Nazi roulette if that what you want to do and see where that gets you.”
Indy sighed. The man saved his life before, but he still didn’t know who or what he was. And as hard as it had been to have faith, it had gotten him this far. So he made his decision. Indy surveyed all of the items on the table and his eyes finally fell on a simple cup. He grasped it in his hand. “That's the cup of a carpenter.”
“And the bold archeologist gets it in one!” the guest announced gleefully, much to the dismay of the knight. “What, you didn’t want any spoilers? I practically promised the guy there was another way if he didn’t get this right.”
“You have chosen wisely,” George the Knight sighed, shaking his head at his friend, while Indy scooped water of the basin and cautiously drank a sip. “But the Grail cannot pass beyond the Great Seal. That is the boundary and the price of immortality.”“Alright then, you two need to skedaddle so George and I can have one last tête-à-tête.” And with a snap of his fingers, he sent Indy and Elsa out to the rest of the group.
Marshall College, Bedford Connecticut, 1957
Indy was still frustrated after talking to his friend and former Dean, but he still had to pack up his office now that he had been placed on a leave of absence in order to save face for the college. Everywhere you turned these days, people saw a Communist when someone did something they didn’t like. That would end well.
Opening the door to his office he was taken aback by how much damage the feds had done. He sighed and was about to get to work on the clean up when he heard a noise. Turning quickly, he saw that a janitor was already cleaning up the mess.
“So the college isn’t even given me a chance to get my own things before giving me the boot, are they?” Indy asked with some bitterness. Not that it was the janitor’s fault he had been sent here before Indy had gotten a chance to pack up his personal effects.
“Nope,” the man said with a pop to the ‘p’ as he turned with the grin. “But I thought I would come to lend you a hand instead of one of the regular muttonheads.”
Indy stared at the man, with the name ‘Charlie’ blazoned across his uniform, a fresh reminder of what he had lost that day. Even after the previous encounters, Indy realized he still don’t the guy’s name. “Somehow, I doubt that your real name is Charlie.”
The man looked down at the tag on his uniform briefly. “Oh this thing? I borrowed it, from the janitor’s closet of all places,” he said with a smirk as he picked up some items and placed it in a box he had snapped up. “You can call me Loki.”
“The Norse Trickster god?” Indy asked curiously. “I don’t think that a Norse Trickster would be playing poker with a Knight sworn to protect the Grail or be able to obliterate an entire Nazi division trying to use the Ark of the Covenant for their own purposes.”
“Look, I told you awhile back I had a new gig. Let’s just go with that,” Loki replied, his normal jovial demeanor turning suddenly serious.
“Sure, if that’s how you want to play this,” Indy told the being before him. But he had long ago begun to form ideas as to what kind of creature had been able to do the kinds of things ‘Loki’ was capable of. “So why are you here now?”
“Just a friendly warning, that’s all,” Loki offered calmly. “Don’t think that your fun times with La Femme Nikita are finished. I’d stick around, but I really don’t have a use for aliens quite yet.”
“Aliens? Look, I really don’t have time for this, I just want to pack up my stuff and …” But before Indy could finish, Loki snapped his fingers and the office was put back in order and his personal effects were stored neatly in boxes.
“What you’re really about to discover?” Loki began as he leaned toward the archeologist. “It is much more important than anything you’ve put in a museum or collected over the years. I should know, I lost mine a very long time ago.”
With that, Indy found himself alone in his office, wondering just what was in store for him.
Upstate New York, 1990
The doorbell rang and as he rose to get, his granddaughter raced ahead of him to answer it. As she opened the front door, he finally caught up with her and they both stared at the stranger in the doorway. He was surprised for a moment by how the man’s appearance reminded him of himself during his younger years. The unkempt clothes, five o’clock shadow and leather jacket bore striking resemble to his own globe trotting days. He even had the tell tale dark circles under eyes that spoke of lost sleep. The only thing missing was the hat and bullwhip, but you couldn’t ask for everything.
He looked at the man expectantly. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Dr. Henry Jones,” the man said gruffly as he eyed the two people standing in the doorway. “I’ve been told he knows a thing or two about…indentifying certain objects.”
“Run along now, Lucy. I’m sure you have some homework to finish,” Indy said placing a hand on his granddaughter’s back to guide her away from the door. “Now, who’s asking for me?”
“You’re Dr. Jones? Aren’t you a little old?” the man asked in disbelief, as he took in the man’s appearance, including the patch across his right eye. As Dr. Jones ignored his comment and continued to wait for an answer he sighed and said, “Fine. Jim Murphy sent me.”
“Jim Murphy, huh? I haven’t seen him in about twenty years, when we were both down in Costa Rica, not that he doesn't keep sending people to me and…” Indy trailed off, sensing the man's impatience. His eyes narrowed in on the man. "Story for another time, I guess. But you never did answer the question. Who, exactly, are you? And if Jim Murphy sent I want a real name, not one of those fake ones you people use when you are trying to hide from the rest of the world."
The man blinked at a moment while trying to deiced if he could be trusted or not. Trust must have won out, for he offered up his hand and said, "Winchester. John Winchester."
"Okay Winchester, what is that you need my help with?" he asked now that the pleasantries seemed to be out of the way.
"A couple of hours from here, over in Bakers Mills, five people died recently. All of them were killed by the same object," John explained gravely. "The guy who did it claims he couldn't put down the weapon until he struck someone with it once he took it out of its sheath."
"A sword," Indy whispered as he looked at John Winchester in the eye. "The Dainsleif."
"How...how do you know?" John asked cautiously. "You haven't even seen it."
"I know the legends. Believe me, I've studied my Norse mythology," the archeologist answered. "So, where is it? Can you take me to it?"
"Actually, it's in the trunk of my car, John answered. Noticing Indy's surprise he continued. "I have ways of acquiring things and it's safe there. But given the stories I've heard, I don't think it's best for me to bring it out and unsheathe it."
"I only need to see the hilt," the older main explained. "That will tell me all I need to know."
"Good," the younger of the two said. " Because I wouldn't want anyone else to die."
"Hey Pops! Got a minute?" Indy and John Winchester both turned to see someone who hadn't been there a second ago. Indy had to bite his tongue not to swear under his breath at the sudden appearance of Loki.
"Well, if it accidently got out," Indy muttered under his breath as he glanced sideways at Loki, "I could think of someone I could be compelled to kill."
"You have kids?" John asked suspiciously.
"Yes, I have kids. My granddaughter answered the door," Indy replied crossly as he grabbed Loki by the arm. "I have kids, grandkids and other...people in my life. Now why don't you just get the sword while I talk to him."
But as John opened the door to go the car, he bumped into two problems of his own . Two kids were standing there, one clearly bent over in pain.
"I'm sorry, sir," the older one said as he supported his younger brother. "I know you said to stay in the car, but I think Sammy is going to be sick or something. Maybe it was something he ate at the diner?"
"Dean, what I have told you about..."John began.
"It's not a problem, John, " Indy interrupted. "There is a bathroom in the front hall on the left. The kid can take his brother there while we sort out our business."
John grumbled for a second but finally nodded his consent. As the Winchesters went about their tasks, Indy pushed Loki into the den.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Nice to see you, too," the creature answered with a smile. "Like always, I came to warn you."
"I already know how dangerous that sword is," the archeologist retorted as he glared at Loki.
"What? That thing?" Loki said as he rolled his eyes. "that isn't even the real sword of Hogni. The original is in an ongoing battle until Ragnarök begins. The thing Winchester has in his car is actually my sword, Laevateinn."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, payback's a bitch and her name is Freyja," he explained. "That crazy-ass woman was so pissed at me for stealing her precious necklace that she cursed my sword. I can take care of it, or at least get it out of harm's way. You know, since it is my fault that it is back in circulation."
Indy stared down the man before him. "How so?"
"Lost it in a poker game to Coyote. He is not as easy to beat as George was," Loki answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You will take care of it and go," Indy said pointing at Loki. "Do you know what that man is?"
"The question is," Loki replied. "is do you know what that man is? That is why I came here. You let a Winchester in your house. Do you know what you are in for now? Stubborn, the whole lot of them. Now that you have helped them, you won't ever get rid of them. And if you think he's bad, wait until you see those kids in about twenty years or so. What a riot! The world won't know what hit them."
Indy looked out of the den and down the hall. He could see the older brother standing outside of the bathroom waiting for his brother.
"Just take care of the sword," the archeologist demanded, stepping out of the den. "I'll be back in a minute."
“…kick a droid, fly the Falcon through an asteroid,” the green-eyed kid quietly sang as he leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom door waiting for his brother. “Till the princess is annoyed! This is spaceships...”
“Hey kid, what are you singing?” Indy interrupted.
The kid was so startled he almost fell as he scrambled to stand up straight. “Um, nothing sir. Do you like aliens and spaceships” he asked sheepishly.
“Can’t say I do. Not much better than snakes in my opinion,” the older man replied before turning his attention to the bathroom. “Your brother going to be okay?
The freckled face below him looked at him quizzically as he shuffled on his feet. “Dad doesn’t really want us to talk to strangers.”
“We’re not really strangers,” Indy said with a slight smile. “Your dad came here because I know Ji-, Pastor Jim.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide as he considered this for a moment. “Oh, okay then. Yeah, Sammy is going to be fine. Sorry we had to bother you.”
“Not a problem, Dean, wasn't it?” Indy began, pushing his hat to the back of his head as he briefly glanced back towards the den before leaning closer towards the boy. “ So, have you ever had a bad penny?”