Chapter 10
Sif's eyes slowly opened as light flooded her vision. She gasped for air, but cringed from a pain in her ribs, which weren't totally healed. She could still feel the bruises and aches all over her body. She hadn't felt pain like this in ages, if not ever. How did she get here again? Where was here exactly?
Regaining her sight, Sif saw Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg gathered around her. They all sighed with relief.
"Ah, Lady Sif." Fandral said. "We were afraid we'd lost you. You took quite a beating back there."
"Yes, but the mortals helped nurse you back to health." Hogun replied.
Sif blinked. She turned her head to the side and saw two mortals, a man and a woman, sitting there looking at her uneasily. Sif scowled. Oh yes. Now she remembered. She and the Warriors Three had journeyed to Midgard in search of Thor, but instead found some mortal girl wielding his weapon.
Sif started to sit up, and clenched her stomach briefly from pain, and leaned back on her elbow. "Where is the mortal?"
"Over here, princess."
Sif turned to see Darcy sitting on the countertop, her hair once again brown. She was wearing her regular tank top and jeans and Mjolnir was sitting next to her. Sif immediately glared and tried to stand, but the pain stopped her.
"Easy, lass." Volstagg said. "Your wounds haven't yet healed."
"I won't let a mortal best me." Sif hissed.
"Too late for that." Darcy smirked. Sif growled angrily.
"Sif, please. We know you are angry, but the mortals have spoken to us, and they've made sense." Volstagg explained.
"The description of the man they said they killed matches that of Thor's." Hogun said sadly.
"He's not…" Sif tried to protest, but Fandral interrupted.
"And we studied the hammer. It bears the same markings of Mjolnir, so it's safe to say it's not a fake."
"Yet, from what the mortal girl has said," Hogun said. "She hasn't really done anything to achieve worthiness."
"Says you." Darcy grumbled.
"The best we can do is bring her to the AllFather." Volstagg said, ignoring Darcy's comment. "Only he may have a straight answer."
For a while, Sif just sat there quietly. The Warriors Three looked at her expectantly, while the mortals seemed uneasy. This morning had gone by quite strangely. Finally, Sif looked at the mortals.
"I want to see him."
"S-see who?" Jane asked.
"This man you killed. I want to see him, just to make sure." Sif asked, less hostile.
"He's probably still at the hospital." Erik explained. "They haven't been able to make any record of his identity yet, so they haven't figured out what to do with him."
"Take us to this hospital." Fandral demanded. Jane scrambled up, grabbing her keys.
"Yeah… sure."
ooooo
"There it is." Coulson said, as the impact zone came into view. The sleek S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles surrounded the area carefully, so as not to ruin any form of evidence. Once everyone was parked, the agents exited their vehicles. There were few this time, for many were still recovering from their injuries from last night.
"Nothing." Agent Sitwell said. "Must have been a dud or something."
"You saw the readings." Coulson argued.
"Uh, sir?" One agent spoke up, pointing to the ground. "Check this out."
Coulson and Sitwell looked down and were surprised to see that what looked like an enormous celtic symbol had been drawn in the ground.
"Looks like something off a medallion." Sitwell said.
"Can you translate it?" Coulson asked.
"What the hell do you think?" Sitwell replied sarcastically.
"Well we need to move, before this all changes. Call Fury and…"
"Sir!" The other agent said. Coulson and Sitwell looked at the agent and saw that he was looking upwards. Following his sight, Coulson and Sitwell saw that the clouds were starting to take shape. What looked like the eye of a hurricane formed, and crackles of thunder started to rumble, shaking the vehicles. In one sleek black car, a coffee cup seated on the dashboard fell over, spilling all over the seat.
"Move!" Coulson ordered, and the agents moved away from the impact zone. As soon as they did, a flash of light struck the area, and sand was blown away in all directions. The agents hid behind their transports until the flashing suddenly ceased. Sitwell peaked over the car and saw that the strange light had vanished. Coulson stood up beside him, and the two watched as the sand began to clear.
Standing in the impact zone were three figures. They looked human, sort of. Except they towered over the agents, they were blue, and had blood red eyes. They were wearing something similar to what Vikings wore in the olden days.
The agents stared speechless, not sure of what to make of these strange creatures. The creatures noticed the agents, and seemed to regard them with a form of dissatisfaction.
Sitwell whispered to Coulson. "Is there a comic convention in town?"
"I have no idea." Coulson replied. He walked forward, megaphone in hand, attempting to make contact. "Hello? You are trespassing in a restricted area. Identify yourselves."
"Silence, mortal." One of the creatures growled fiercely. "Our quarrel is with the slayer of Odinson, not you."
"Let me kill them, Drorthr. They won't be missed." The creature on the left said to the leader. The agents all stepped back, not liking where this was going.
The leader, Drorthr, considered this, and said, "Very well, Harbere. If you must."
Grinning evilly, Harbere stretched his hand out and a blast of cold shot out towards Agent Coulson. Coulson stared wide-eyed at the chilling blue racing towards him, and was suddenly pushed out of the way by the young agent from before. Coulson fell on his back and looked up to see the agent frozen solid, his body encased in ice. Another icy mist formed in Harbere's palm, forming to create what looked like a spiked club. With a warrior's yell, Harbere leapt towards the frozen agent and brought the club down on him, shattering the unfortunate agent.
Instantly, Sitwell signaled the other agents. "Open fire!"
The agents immediately drew their pistols and started shooting at the creatures, but they were completely unfazed as the bullets seemed to bounce right off their skin. Harbere looked ready to attack again, but everything stopped when the ground suddenly began shaking. The creatures stood still, looks of knowing on their faces, while the agents all trembled from the quake.
An earthquake? Coulson thought to himself. His theory was proven dead wrong when two massive silver insect-like legs suddenly erupted from the earth, towering several meters over the agents. They stayed erect for a few seconds before they started to fall towards the agents, who quickly scrambled out of the way. No agents were harmed, but the legs fell down on a few of the S.H.I.E.L.D. vans, smashing them to pieces.
As the legs started to pull their point of origin from the earth, Harbere returned to Drorthr and his other companion, Jrua. The three giants backed away as their attack dog pulled its gigantic from the ground.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked in horror as an unearthly creature of more than thirty feet towered over them. The sunlight glistening off of its silver carapace, the beast bore features similar to a beetle. It crawled on several legs, most of them small, four of them long and jointed, the ends as sharp as swords. In its thorax was a crystalline formation that seemed to radiate with cold. A pair of four claws protruded out of its upper shell, and moved around its face. A large pointed horn bulged out of its face. Raising its head into the sky, the beast let out a bellow that could be heard for miles. Within two hollow-looking sockets, soulless blue eyes glared down at the humans.
The beast stared down at the terrified S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who all looked too scared to do anything. Then, the creature's horn split open down the middle, blue energies crackling between the separated parts. The agents shielded their eyes as the crystal-like formation in its chest started glowing as well. They could feel cold radiating from the beast. The creature continued to charge before letting loose a powerful blast of icy energy.
Coulson backed away quickly, as did the other agents. "Incoming!"
The blast struck one of the sleek vehicles, and the car was quickly torn apart as a pillar of misshapen ice formed in its place. Another blast followed, aimed towards the agents, hitting two. They were encased in the alien ices, and with a swing of its claw, the beast shattered them to pieces. A few more blasts followed, destroying the few remaining vehicles. Admiring its work, the beast let out another wail, and drove its head into the ground. Digging into the earth with its insectoid legs, the beast vanished under the soil. Its companions, the Frost Giants, looked on, impressed.
"Well, that takes care of those nuisances." Harbere growled, smirking.
"Yes." Drorthr said. "Now, onto business. We must locate this mortal that the silver tongued one speaks of. Then Jotunheim will regain its greatest treasure."
The ground rumbled as the beast started moving away from the area, and the Jotuns followed the cataclysms toward a nearby town. Drorthr grinned evilly.
"And it looks as though Gangr has already found her."
ooooo
The mortals and the Asgardians exited Jane's jeep and walked towards the hospital. While Darcy held Mjolnir confidently, Jane and Erik seemed a little uneasy around these visitors. Especially after Darcy's fight with Sif. They entered the hospital, and Jane looked and saw several people were already admitted. Likely unfortunate bystanders that were injured in the fight. Darcy bared a look of sympathy.
The nurse at the front desk looked at the group in surprise. "Er… can I help you?"
"Eh, yes." Jane spoke up. "We were wondering if the man we struck has been identified yet?"
The nurse recognized Jane from the night she brought in the dead crash victim, and cycled through the files in her computer. She shook her head. "No, he's still in the morgue. We've gone through several medical records, and the police have yet to locate any possible family members."
"Can we see the body?" Jane asked, and motioned towards the Asgardians. "These people say they might be able to identify him."
The nurse looked at the oddly dressed figures. "I… suppose that will be alright."
The group went down several halls, not saying a word. Eventually, the nurse led them to the morgue. There was only one body seated on one of the tables, and there was a sheet over it.
The Asgardians were unprepared when the nurse gently removed the sheet. Fandral gasped.
"By Odin's beard. It… it really is him."
"But how… damn Hela. Her wickedness plagues us even to this day." Volstagg replied.
"I never thought this would ever happen. Least of all to him." Hogun said sadly. The Warriors Three gathered around Thor's dead body, trying not to cry. Sif was not so brave. She could even fathom the words.
This… this wasn't supposed to happen. She said to herself. Thor was supposed to come home. Be king and rule wisely. Why… how could this happen?
Sif then broke down on her knees, sobbing over Thor's body. "Oh…" She croaked. The Warriors Three looked at her surprised. They had never seen Sif cry before. Every sob added to the pain in her battle wounds. It only added to her sorrow.
Fandral knelt down by her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Sif… it's alright. Please don't do this."
As the Three tried to soothe the maiden, the mortals looked on. They each had looks of regret on their faces. Regret and fear.
In Jane's mind, she was fearing the possibility of starting an intergalactic war.
In Erik's mind, he was overcome with pity and confusion.
Darcy on the other hand was experiencing something even worse. Guilt. She could sense the strong feelings the female Asgardian felt for the thunder god. Mjolnir pulsated, and Darcy suddenly felt the urge to comfort Sif. She walked forward.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't..." The moment Darcy spoke, Sif looked up, her eyes red with tears and blazing with fury.
"You… this is your fault, mortal!" She stood up, ignoring the pain. Fandral tried to stop her, but she pushed him away.
"I didn't mean to!" Darcy defended herself. But Sif walked towards her.
"You have killed our prince, taken his weapon, and now you walk around impersonating him! You should die for this! You…" Suddenly, the room started shaking. Objects and surgical tools started falling off of the shelves. The Asgardians and Darcy kept themselves up while Jane and Erik struggled to stay standing.
"It's an earthquake!" Jane yelled.
"Let's get out of here." Erik said. Sif looked at Darcy hatefully for a moment, and then turned towards the Warriors Three.
"Grab the body."
There's chapter ten. Short I know. For those of you that don't know who Gangr is (which I doubt many of you do), he was a frost giant from Norse mythology. Although in this his character is completely altered, as you've probably guessed. Next chapter, Darcy battles Gangr. I'm glad people like this story. Til next time.