When I arrived, it was raining lightly, and dark – it looked like the middle of the night – and I could hear Mrs. Cotter’s dog Samson barking his damn head off. Heh, I guess the Bifrost gives off a bit of a lightshow, I thought. I was in my backyard, on the concrete porch, where a seared mark on the concrete marked my arrival. I hope it leaves a norse triskele when I wash the soot off, I laughed to myself, and rushed towards the back door to get out of the rain.

Letting myself in with the keys was easy enough, and just in case Dad had a few friends over, I didn’t call out. The lights in the back mudroom were off, but I knew the layout of the house like the back of my hand – and combined with my Valkyrie enhanced low-light vision it was a piece of cake to see where I was going. I walked into the house, and over to the kitchen – where the small light on the stove was still on. The clock said it was 1:34am. Maybe dad was asleep? The rest of the lights in the house were off, at least downstairs.

I grabbed a beer and some coldcuts from the fridge, and made a sandwich, and took it upstairs on a small plate. Upstairs the lights were off too, except for dad’s room, where I could hear the TV playing – and my dad lightly snoring. He must have fallen asleep watching TV, I guess.

I put the sandwich and beer in my room, and crept into my dad’s room, and quietly turned the TV off. Dad stirred, and I saw him shift and try to roll over. He was wearing boxer shorts, socks, and a T-shirt, and was on top of the covers. I went over and gently shook him.

“Dad... Dad.” I whispered gently. “You’ll be more comfortable under the covers.”

Suddenly, he started awake, and gasped in surprise. “What the... who are... Gah!”

“Sorry! Dad! It’s me! It’s Jason! I’m back!”

“Oh my gods, you scared me for a moment. I thought a supermodel broke into my house and... and I’m not going to finish that thought. Hey, son. It’s good to see you. Are you back for a while? Is the battle you had to fight over?”

I smiled. Same old Dad. “It’s good to see you, too. Yes, and yes. I’m back for a long while.”

“I hope you got pictures, son – cause otherwise I’m definitely calling bullshit.”

“Oh, man, did I get pictures! Check this out, dad...” I said, showing him my gold ring. “This is a copy of Draupnir, given to me by Odin himself, and yes, I have pictures. It was amazing, dad. Everything we’ve been taught – it’s all real. It’s different a bit when you learn it from their side of things, but it’s all real. I can’t wait to show you all the pictures and tell you what happened.”

“C’mon, sport. Sit down and tell me all about it.” He said, sliding over and making room on the edge of his bed.

So I sat down and told Dad about my trip to Asgard, meeting the gods, and ending the Krell war. I showed him the pictures of Asgard and its people, and the Valkyries, Einherjar and the pictures of the Lords and Ladies, and Lashawna’s video of me being raised to one of the Twelve. He was so moved, it brought tears to his eyes, and we shared it together in his bedroom at like 2:30 in the morning. Reminiscing took a lot of the night, and it wasn’t until 5am we were ready for sleep.

As I headed back towards my bedroom, my dad came behind me and gave me a hug. “Boy or girl, Jason, I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re alive. Thank you for saving me.”

“Dad, that’s honestly something you never have to thank me for. Really.” I said, hugging his arms which were still wrapped around me. “I love you. And us Stendahl’s stick together.”

“You’re damn right... Although I can’t call you Jason anymore, can I? What was that name you took in the video? Sannyr Dawn Stendahl? Is that what you want your name to be?”

“I was thinking of using Dawn here on Midgard – damnit, I mean Earth – now they’ve got ME doing it too, and Sannyr for when I’m on Asgard.”

“We’re going to need to get you some paperwork to back that up.” He said, letting me go from his hug. “It might take some doing.”

“Maybe. I’ve got some friends in high places. I might be able to see if they can get me some ID.”

“You know, you’re supposed to leave the dad jokes to your actual dad, kiddo.” He said, groaning at my pun.

“Yeah, I guess so. We’ll work it out. I’ll see you when we wake up?”

“Hell, yeah! I’ll make a batch of my Bacon and waffles for us when I get up, okay?” He asked.

“Sounds great, dad.”

He nodded, and went back to his bedroom and turned out the light. “Goodnight kiddo. See you later.”

“See you too, dad.” I said, and went back to my room. I made short work of the sandwich and beer, and got undressed and ready for bed. My bed felt small and strange after my luxurious apartment in Asgard, but it was a good and comfortable strange, and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillows.

* * *

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

When I woke, sunlight was streaming in through my bedroom window, and pooling on the bed, making a relaxing warm spot that I apparently had migrated to in my sleep. I brushed the strands of golden hair out of my eyes, and looked at the time... 12:28pm. Wow. I yawned, and crawled out of bed, feeling my unrestrained boobs swaying gently as I walked. It felt weird and uncomfortable, but I honestly couldn’t tell if it felt better or worse than the past few days, and sighed. This was going to take weeks and months, not days to sort out. Fuck.

My morning ablutions were getting to be routine – and the new parts mostly involved taking care of and maintaining my long hair. Brushing it out took a while, and then rebraiding it took a while – so by the time I was dressed and ready to go downstairs it was after 1:15pm.

Dad was in the kitchen, making bacon in a cast iron pan, and called out when he heard me on the stairs. “Morning, kiddo! Breakfast is just about ready. Well, brunch I guess.”

“Thanks, dad.” I replied. “How did you sleep?”

“Honestly? Better, now that you’re back. I’ve got a meeting on Monday with Stan at the construction site. I’m going to try and get my old job back. Frankly, Stan said if I look as good as I sounded on the phone, it’s in the bag.”

“Hey, that’s fantastic dad! I’m hoping I can go back to college and finish my degree – but I guess I’ll need some paperwork for that. I’ll get working on that ASAP.”

“You sure you’re ready to go to school – to college – like that, Jason? I mean, Dawn? People are going to treat you a whole lot differently than they did when you were Jason.”

“Yeah, I know dad, but the alternative is hiding in my room for the rest of my life, and I can’t do that either. I’m going to have to get used to it, so I might as well get started.”

“You always were a strong kid.”

“Well, we’re Stendahl tough. Isn’t that what you always said?” I asked.

“Yep. It’s true. That alien voice still inside your head?”

“Yes. Her name is Siri – or Sigrid if you prefer – and she’ll be with me for the rest of my life. We’re getting to be good friends.” I replied. “It was a bit weird having a voice and another whole person in my head at first, but I’m getting used to it pretty quickly.”

“I’m glad you’re adapting so quickly, kiddo. Any ideas on how we’re going to get your paperwork?”

I was about to answer when the doorbell rang. I rose to get it, but dad shushed me back down into my chair. “I’ll get it, kiddo.” He said, and went to get the door. Since I was sidelined, I tried the bacon – and damn, if it wasn’t as good or better than I remembered.

“Hey, Dawn? It looks like a friend of yours. The name Rae ring any bells?” Dad called out.

“Yeah, it does. Can you let her in?”

“No problem. Come on in, miss Rae.” My dad replied politely.

“Hey, Rae. I was just about to call you.” I laughed.

“Hey Sunny!” She laughed. “I figured you might have forgotten some ID – you know, the stuff that the government likes. And well, since I work in intelligence, I figured you, as a jarhead and crayon eater, might have forgotten to get some issued. So, you’re welcome.” She said, putting a manila envelope stuffed with papers on the table. “You’re officially Sannyr Dawn Stendahl, twin sister of Jason Stendahl and separated at birth by a snafu at the hospital. You got decent grades through grade school, and great grades in high school, where you did especially well in your varsity cheer squad. You have some estranged parents in Connecticut that you haven’t seen in several years – don’t worry, they’re with us, and they’ll back your story up – and you’ve come to Chicago to try and find your long lost dad and brother. Jason’s unfortunately dropped off the grid, though, so you’ve got good reasons to stick around if you want to. Oh – and if you want, I got you a scholarship at Paragon University, since that’s the one you wanted to go to. You’re all set, Sunny.”

“Holy crap, Rae. How long did that take to whip up?”

“Not long. Midgard’s computer systems are extremely primitive. What took longer was setting up your Instagram and Facebook and Twitter accounts, along with pictures of all your besties from highschool. I got a little inventive on those – you can thank me later. They go back to grade nine, so you definitely have a paper trail. There’s even receipts in there for martial arts classes in grades 6 through 10, along with a high school diploma and pictures of you and your date at senior prom.”

“I’m not going to like this am I?” I growled.

“I’m just being thorough, Sunny. Besides, it’s only if the government tries to dig into your history. You and I – and your dad – know the truth. Don’t sweat it... I was just having some fun. Besides, you were too scared and didn’t go all the way.” Rae grabbed a piece of bacon off my plate, and popped it into her mouth, moaning.

“Mr. Stendahl, you make some really good bacon.” She said, licking her lips.

“Thank you, Miss Rae. I’m glad you like it.”

I sputtered at her comments, until I could get myself under control. “Oh my gods, Rae. Really?”

“Just think of it as fiction.” Rae laughed. “Besides you can do better than Pete Baskins.”

“Oh my gods, save me.” I muttered, hanging my head in my hands. “Rae, I don’t mean this badly – I really don’t – but how much did you make my life screwy?”

“Not too bad, Sunny. Just enough to get you out of your comfort zone. You’ll be fine. Trust me.” She said, smiling.

I grimaced, and nodded. “Thanks for the help, Rae.”

“No worries. I should get back. The boss wants to work on a special project before he goes on vacation, and I don’t officially start my new duties until next week.”

“Okay. See you later, Rae, and thanks.” I replied, getting up and giving her a thank you hug.

“Don’t worry about it. Oh – I’ve got you a cell phone in your name in there, and all the stupid paperwork that Midgarders need to do their normal day to day life. I even put a few coffee cards and sandwich cards in there too. See you later.”

“Bye Rae!” I said, and followed her to the front door. “You taking a bridge back home?”

“Nah. Loki and I are driving to Las Vegas to work on his special project, and then he’s going on vacation, and I’m joining the Twelve.”

To be honest, it wasn’t what I expected to hear. “Okay... Have fun, Rae!”

“I will... You try to have fun too, okay?” She asked, with a touch more seriousness to her voice.

“I will. I promise.”

“You’d better.” She warned me, and then headed out to the driveway – where honest to god, there was an Aston Martin Valkyrie in green and gold was sitting, waiting. When she opened the gull wing passenger door, I caught a glimpse of her boss, Loki, and I smiled.

Vegas, huh? Sounds like they’ll tear up the town for sure. I waved goodbye as the hypercar pulled out of our driveway, and sped off. Loki and Rae in Las Vegas? What could go wrong? The more I thought about it, the more I suspected I should warn Aegis and the local Vegas Superteams, but in the end I just shrugged it off and went back inside.

“Your friend is pretty unique.” Dad quipped.

“You have no idea, dad.” I laughed.

“She one of your Valkyrie friends?”

“Yeah. At first I was a bit unsure, but yeah, I think she’s a friend. Kind of an acquired taste, though.”

“I get you there, Dawn. I get you there.”

Dad and I sat down to finish brunch.

* * *

Four months later...

I hummed along to the music as I drove through the streets of Paragon city, and pulled into Paragon University’s huge campus near the downtown core. Liselle Montrose had a new single climbing the pop charts, and I honestly was finding it catchy, unlike some of her other songs which were too sappy and saccharine. This new song, though, I kind of liked, and jammed out to it as I found a clear parking spot in the student parking lots near the dorms.

I wasn’t driving my truck anymore – it didn’t fit the image of Dawn that Rae had made for me – but since the alternate ID came with a 2018 crossover in red, still under the dealership warranty, I didn’t complain. Besides, selling my old car helped me get some more cash to get started here in Paragon. I turned off the car’s engine, and immediately felt the heat climb as the AC shut off. It was late August, and Paragon was rather warm in late summer – humid too.

My car was stuffed with my possessions – suitcases of clothes, boxes of books and games, dishes, and all the stuff I’d need to set up my apartment later today, along with just a general pile of bric a brac that people carry with them when they move. Dad – and the money in my new bank account as Dawn Stendahl – had helped to pay for a small apartment across town, not too far from campus. I was here today at the campus to take care of another part of the puzzle – the final paperwork on my scholarship.

I got out of the car and stretched, feeling the sun on my face and shoulders. It was a nice day. I grabbed my purse from the passenger seat, and locked the car... Three months and you’d think I’d stop forgetting it by now. I smirked, and shrugged, and headed towards the Admin building.

This was it... This was the start to my life as Dawn Stendahl. I stood outside the admin building door, and took a breath, steeling myself. This is your life. Time to begin. I told myself.

And I stepped inside.

THE END

The Adventures of Dawn Stendahl, and the Valkyrie will continue!