Chapter 3: Lightcycle Races

Two of the guards stepped forwards, cued by the man who had incited the crowd. One turned to face Loki, the other turned to face Thor. They each held a box, and opened it. Loki's intrigue and Thor's curiosity led them to remove the strange black sticks within. Loki just looked at the device, whereas Thor immediately tightened his grip on it, and began waving it around.

"So, what am I supposed to do with this?" Thor asked, waving it around. Everyone just stared.

"I'll give you a hint. Not that." The man said dryly, clearly disgusted by Thor's antics. He nodded towards a small group of guards (four others), who forced three other programs to join Thor and Loki. The programs were a refreshing sight for the two princes, as they had neon blue lighting in their suits versus the guards' red-orange. Thor and Loki watched intently as the guards ran forward, pulled out sticks of their own, and pulled them apart a bit.

The princes stared in rapt fascination as a strange mode of transportation materialized out of thin air. The guards were clearly well-versed in it, speeding around on the glowing transportation. The programs assigned to aid Thor and Loki panicked.

"You two don't stand a chance, Users! Their bikes are faster than ours! Use the Levels if you want to get out alive!" One of the programs said, as the three mounted their own. Loki watched for a moment to see how the "Levels" worked, forming a strategy whilst barring Thor. He smirked when he had it.

"Brother, I will magically link our minds, and tell you my plan of victory that way so that our enemies cannot hear us. Do you understand?" Loki whispered. Thor growled a bit.

"You may only link our minds, brother. Nothing more." He agreed reluctantly. Loki chuckled.

"Of course, dear brother." Loki said, smirking. Thor bit his lip as he felt Loki's presence enter his mind, linking him with the trickster god.

Now, listen closely. We will mount these strange glowing things, and use the trail of light they emit to destroy those that the enemy uses. We will then let the lowly mortals handle the enemy, and escape by blasting a hole in the side wall!

Thor looked at Loki.

How do you plan on using the trails of light to destroy their mounts?!

Loki clapped Thor on the back.

Simple. I will make clones of myself, and they will lure the guards apart. Then, you and I will pick them off, one by one. Surely you have seen how it all works?

Thor relented.

I pray your tricks work, Loki, or else it will be our undoing!

Loki rolled his eyes.

Do you think me a fool, Thor? I know that! Now, let us get on with this! Mount your "Lightcycle", you idiot!

Loki ran forward, and mounted his Lightcycle with ease. Thor soon followed suit. Although it took the two princes a few minutes to figure out how to pilot the cybernetic mounts, they soon mastered it… but Thor soon saw a problem with Loki's plan.

By the time they'd figured out how to pilot the "Lightcycles", their forced allies were gone. Not a trace of them remained. He took a deep breath.

Loki, there is a problem-

I am not blind! It is a small problem! We will simply kill the enemy ourselves!

Thor closed his eyes for a moment. He hated having to kill unnecessarily, but this was clearly a world of "kill-or-be-killed", and he had no intention of dying.

Loki began to make his duplicates, but he was soon cut off before a single solid one was made. Although he managed to hold onto the stick, he was sent flying, and skidded violently across the floor. He spat a bit of blood, and glared at the guards before passing out. This did not go unnoticed by Thor. He slammed the accelerator down, and sped towards the green-clad trickster.

"LOKI!" He screamed, grabbing him and speeding off. He shifted Loki onto his back. He felt their magical link fade as Loki had lost consciousness, and now, Thor was running for their lives. He darted around, trying desperately to find a way to escape whilst keeping his dear brother safe.

He looked in horror as one of the guards was about to jump in front of him. He would have no time react. He closed his eyes and prepared to shield Loki-

BOOM!

He suddenly opened his eyes to find the guard and Lightcycle falling to red-orange bits around him. He looked around in confusion, and saw a larger mode of transportation off to the side, clearly armed and the reason why they were still alive. A side door was propped up. Somehow, in the process, his Lightcycle had reverted back to stick form. However, he soon heard a wailing sound, like the "computers" when something was going wrong with them.

"ILLEGAL COMBATANT ON THE GRID. ILLEGAL COMBATANT ON THE GRID." A robotic, feminine, voice proclaimed.

"Get in." The driver of the vehicle said. Thor turned his head. The voice was clearly being modified, as it sounded robotic, but he could not help but wonder if he'd heard it before...

"GET IN!" The driver stressed. Thor nodded, placed Loki in the back seat, and sat down in the front passenger seat. Seatbelts materialized over them as the door closed, and the driver turned sharply. He sped towards the hole he'd blown in the side wall. The man hissed.

"Her Highness will not let you get away with this, traitor…" He swore underneath his breath.

"Who are you?!" Thor demanded.

"Hang on!" The driver said, gunning the engine.

"SYSTEM FAILURE. RELEASE CRIMSON FLASH."

Thor didn't like the sound of that. He knew that when there was a "System Failure" with Midgardian technology, the results were always disastrous. He turned, and saw that they were being followed by two guards… and… was that a woman?