Chapter 11
When the group exited the building, Volstagg carrying Thor's sheet covered body, everything was in chaos. This 'earthquake' was rocking all of the buildings, and civilians everywhere were panicking. The damage done by Darcy and Sif's duel was furthered by the strange cataclysms.
"What's happening?" Fandral asked.
"An earthquake?" Selvig suggested. Sif surveyed the chaos. This was all too familiar to her.
Shaking her head, Sif said, "This is no mere quake."
Suddenly, a pillar of dirt and rubble exploded in the distance. The group all reared back in surprise as four pairs of enormous sword-like legs sprouted from the ground and pulled upwards, revealing the body of an enormous silver arthropod. It let out an ear-shattering wail, and below, terrified civilians screamed and started running for cover. The beast stared down at them and with a grunt, opened its horn and started charging its signature weapon. The group watched in both awe and horror as a beam of blue energy was shot from the space in between the creature's horn, striking the ground below. There was an explosion of ice as dozens of innocent civilians were frozen in place by the extreme cold or torn apart by the beam's amazing force. A small shockwave came in the form of a miniature blizzard as nearby structures were blown away.
In only a few seconds, the monster had turned a small fraction of Puente Antiguo into a patch of arctic ice.
Jane stared in both shock and horror. "What is that?"
"Looks like a giant stag beetle." Selvig remarked.
"This beast is no 'stag beetle', mortals." Sif growled. "It is Gangr."
"Gangr?" Volstagg responded, confused. "You mean that old story that Odin's father Borr spoke of?"
"I thought it was just an old ghost story meant to keep us from entering Jotunheim?" Fandral asked.
"This evidence suggests differently." Hogun remarked.
"Wait, hold on." Darcy cut in, waving her hands. "What exactly is Danger?"
"Gangr." Sif corrected. "Supposedly, he was once the son of the Jotun warrior Alvadi. When he died, the other Frost Giants used some manor of inane dark magic to transform him into a beast of destruction."
"Frost Giants?" Jane asked. "So they're real too?"
"Of course they're real, mortal." Sif replied, irritably, as Gangr continued to march through the streets, causing more careless destruction.
"But how did it get here?" Hogun asked. "The only possible way would be through the Bifrost…"
Suddenly, a car was thrown in their direction, and Darcy quickly pulled Jane and Erik out of the way while the Asgardians evaded it with ease. The car crashed into the side of the hospital. Turning to the source of the attack, the group saw three blue… things marching towards them. Their eyes were blood red and demon-like, and the sight of them sent chills down the mortals' spines.
"Oh my god…" Jane said.
Frost Giants? Here? Sif thought to herself. Darcy, Jane, and Erik backed away slightly as the creatures moved in, but the Asgardians stood firm. The leader, Drorthr, grinned at the Asgardian warriors, and then noticed the hammer hanging from Darcy's shoulder.
"Ah, so this is the mortal we've heard so much about." Drorthr growled. His voice was so monstrous and inhumane. "I was expecting someone taller."
But Darcy just blinked at him. "Are you a Smurf?"
The Asgardians looked at Darcy bemusedly, and Jane and Erik nearly facepalmed. The grin disappeared off of Drorthr's face, and he blinked, confused. "A what?"
"Are you insulting us, mortal?" Harbere, the giant on the left, asked fiercely. Darcy raised her hands defensively.
"No, no. It's just that… well… your blue."
"Yes." Drorthr said irritably. "And?"
"Well, Smurfs are usually blue and…"
"What in Odin's beard is a Smurf?" Volstagg asked. Sif's eye twitched, and Jane and Erik just looked lost.
"Are they demons?" Fandral asked.
"Not really. They're actually kind of cute." Darcy smirked.
"Are you suggesting that we look cute, mortal?" Jrua, the other giant, growled.
Darcy studied the Frost Giants. "Well… you have pretty eyes."
"Enough!" Sif spat. "What are you doing here, Jotuns?"
"We are here on business, you Asgardian cow." Harbere barked back.
"Indeed. This is all part of a deal to bring peace to both of our realms." Jrua said.
"What are you talking about?" Fandral spoke.
"Your prince, the one known as Loki, came to us with a deal." Drorthr explained. "We kill the mortal bearing his brother's weapon, and he lets King Laufey slay the AllFather and recover the Casket."
Sif's eyes widened. She knew Loki was a fool, but she never imagined him doing something this extreme. Letting Laufey kill his own father? That was madness.
"Who is Laufey?" Jane asked.
"Laufey is the king of the Frost Giants and rightful ruler of these Nine Realms." Jrua said. "The likes of you are only fit to grovel at his feet."
"There is no way anyone, especially Loki, would offer to give the Casket back to you." Sif spoke bitterly.
"And why not?" Drorthr growled, grinning. "He already tried once already."
"You mean…"
"Yes. It was Loki who let us into Asgard so we could recover the Casket. If it weren't for your metal abomination, we would have succeeded."
Sif snarled, finally understanding. It was because of Loki, that bastard, that Thor decided to go to Jotunheim in the first place. It was because of him Thor was exiled to Midgard.
"But why bring Gangr?" Hogun asked, his calmness never fading. Drorthr glanced at the monster laying waste to the streets, not even seeming to care about the screaming humans.
"The prince warned us that we would require something stronger to slay the mortal girl." Drorthr then studied at Darcy. "Personally, I think it was a waste."
"But… why would Loki want me dead?" Darcy asked. "I barely even know the guy."
"Hel if I care." Drorthr scoffed. "If it gets us the Casket, we'll get it done."
"But people are dying out there!" Darcy exclaimed.
The Frost Giants just sneered. "What makes you think we care?" Drorthr snarled. "Your kind is beneath us anyway."
Darcy glared, finding the Jotuns' disinterest in the pain of her people appalling. She withdrew the hammer, and in a flash, Darcy transformed into Thordis. The Frost Giants staggered backwards, surprised. "Call that thing off. Now."
Drorthr snarled. "You will not make demands of us, mortal."
"I said call it off!" Darcy flew forward, hammer pointed out, and crashed into Drorthr. As the two sailed away, Sif prepared to draw her sword, but Hogun stopped her.
"Lady Sif, you are still wounded." He said.
"No." Sif argued. "I can still fight. Stories will be told of this day."
Hogun shook his head. "You must live if you are to tell those stories yourself. Go, get Thor's body to safety. We do not need it to be desecrated even further."
Sif wanted to argue, but she looked at the covered corpse in Volstagg's arms, and relented. Volstagg handed the body to Sif, who held it with ease, albeit with the pains from her battle wounds.
Turning to Jane and Erik, Sif motioned for them to follow. "Come. If you wish to live to see another day, then follow me."
Jane and Erik followed the maiden, and as the three ran for shelter, the Warriors Three faced Harbere and Jrua. Drawing their weapons, the Three charged at their ancient enemies.
ooooo
Darcy slammed Drorthr into the side of the building, and Mjolnir broke Drorthr's rib cage, causing the wounded Jotun to start coughing up blood. He could feel his lungs punctured, and could barely even breathe. Darcy, meanwhile, looked at him fiercely.
"Now. Call. It. Off!" She growled. The dying Frost Giant attempted to say something, but it came out as a weak and inaudible groan.
"What?" Darcy asked. Drorthr weakly lifted his hand and pointed behind Darcy, who looked back and nearly screamed. Dangr was charging towards them, howling, and the distance was closing fast. The ground rumbled with each step it took.
Darcy immediately flew out of the way, and Gangr slammed into the building, which crumbled under his weight. Gangr shook its head around, and the rubble fell from its body. It turned towards Darcy, an animalistic rage filling its senses. It didn't even notice the dead Frost Giant that had been crushed beneath his bulk.
Shit! What do I do now? Darcy thought to herself. But then, Mjolnir pulsated with energy, and a familiar voice invaded her thoughts.
You fight!
At that moment, Darcy evaded Gangr's swinging claw, which slammed into the concrete below. Flying upwards, Darcy delivered a swing to the bottom of Gangr's head. Gangr's head flew upwards from the uppercut, and it howled in fury as it swung its other leg at Darcy, and sent her careening into a nearby building.
Darcy got to her feet and spat, before glaring back at the insectoid monstrosity. Gangr bellowed again, before its horn opened up and started crackling with icy energies. Darcy's eyes widened. Oh, shit.
The freezing blue beam raced towards Darcy at incredible speed, but Darcy thought quickly and raised Mjolnir out in front of her. The hammer blocked the beam, but the force was strong enough to push Darcy back a few feet. The beam stopped, and Darcy looked around to see that everything around her had been frozen sans the small space she was standing in. Then, Darcy swung the hammer outwards and multiple blasts of electricity were shot towards Gangr at a far greater speed, striking against his armored shell, which was either burned or penetrated slightly. Gangr gave a pained howl, streams of freezing cold air blowing out of his open wounds.
Smirking, Darcy flew towards Gangr and then started assaulting him with many blows, the superhuman force behind her attacks strong enough to send him staggering backwards. Then, Gangr's horn, which was still opened, unleashed an explosion of ice that sent Darcy falling to the ground with a loud thud.
With a loud roar, Gangr lifted its body up over Darcy and crushed her under its enormous bulk with enough force to drive her further into the pavement. Gangr repeated the process twice, creating small fissures in the ground. Darcy was able to endure the pain, firing a bolt of lightning that scorched the monster's ventral area. Gangr gave another bellow and staggered back away from the empowered mortal.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" Darcy asked, innocently. As if it understood her mockery, Gangr looked down at Darcy with rage, its mandibles twitching in fury. Darcy leapt up and swung the hammer at Gangr, throwing his head back from the impact. Gangr attempted to attack Darcy, but the girl's speed allowed her to make several dents in the beast's armor.
ooooo
From inside a small store, Sif, Jane, and Erik observed the titanic feud brewing outside. With them were numerous terrified civilians also looking for shelter. They were all amazed by the spectacle.
"Wow." Jane said. "She's handling herself well."
Sif merely hmphed. "She's not bad. For a mortal."
Jane frowned at the Asgardian maiden. "Not bad? If I remember correctly, she was throwing you around like a ragdoll earlier. Or did she hit you so hard that you can't remember?"
Sif turned towards Jane with a snarl. "Bite your tongue, mortal. This girl bested me only because she wields the power of Thor."
"Excuse me," Jane said rudely. "But you were the one who started threatening her to drop the hammer in the first place. You brought it all on yourself."
"You dare express my faults to me, mortal?" Sif hissed. "I don't take kindly to that. Especially from your kind."
Jane was slightly intimidated by this woman, but she was also getting tired of her arrogance. "Just what is your problem?"
"What are you talking about?" Sif asked, annoyed.
"All of these insults against humans. What did we ever do to you?"
Sif huffed. "Mortals have always been beneath us. You are a weak, fragile people capable of only cowardice."
"We are not weak!" Jane snapped, growing angry. She motioned towards the cowering civilians. "And this isn't cowardice, it's just fear. It's not everyday someone here sees something like… that." Jane pointed out towards Darcy and Gangr, who were still fighting through the streets. Sif's expression seemed to soften at the sight of women and children huddling together for protection, but her arrogance returned quickly.
"Still. They should at least be able to defend themselves."
Jane's eyes narrowed. "Well not everyone here is a goddess of thunder capable of defying gravity and conjuring hurricanes."
Sif growled, and focused her attention to the battle outside.
ooooo
Gangr was the most powerful creature on Jotunheim, but right now he was having difficulty dealing with a little girl with a hammer. Laufey would have a heart attack of he found this out. Gangr continued to fire ice blasts at her, but Darcy had learned how to bat them all away with her hammer. Gangr snarled. He would have to try a different tactic.
Darcy blinked as Gangr drove his head into the concrete, and started burrowing beneath the earth. Vanishing beneath the enormous hole he dug, Gangr navigated as stealthily as he possibly could.
Darcy looked around for her opponent, but there was no sign of the silver beetle. Suddenly, an explosion of ice was seen a few something miles away, and Darcy, in panic, fired a blast of lightning, but only destroyed the pillar of ice that was formed in the distance. Another icy explosion appeared, this time a few feet closer towards Darcy, who fired again. This process was repeated several more times, and soon Darcy was growing tired.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking, and Darcy immediately sprung to the air when the ground beneath her started to crack. In an explosion of dirt and rubble, Gangr erupted from the ground, its horn open and charging, and fired at Darcy point blank. The beam of freezing cold completely engulfed her before she could react, and she was blown several meters away and into a building, flying right through it.
Darcy cringed in pain as she got up, sheets of ice sliding from her skin and hair. The blast had succeeded in breaking her chest plate, and her cape was torn. But she wasn't down yet. Before she could fly off to continue the fight, she looked up and saw that Gangr was already towering over her. Bellowing fiercely, Gangr lifted its two front sword-like legs and brought them down at Darcy. Darcy quickly leapt out of the way as the bladed arms crushed the remains of the building Darcy was blown into, pieces of rubble and bricks flying into the air.
Seeing an advantage, Darcy whirled around through the air towards the monster's face. She brought back Mjolnir and slammed it into the side of Gangr's head, and the shell actually cracked somewhat as Gangr's head moved back a meter. Howling in rage, Gangr swung its horn at Darcy and sent her crashing to the ground screaming.
Gangr looked down at its fallen opponent, and a low rumble was emitted from it. It sounded almost like a chuckle. The monster opened its horn again and the beam immediately started to charge. With a roar, the icy blast raced towards Darcy, who barely avoided the attack as it struck the pavement. Upon impact, the blast froze the surrounding area and the small shockwave from the attack nearly knocked Darcy out of the sky.
Gangr roared at the mortal, demanding that she return to continue the fight. When she didn't comply, Gangr started charging again. The beam missed Darcy by a few mere inches, blasting a building. However, as Darcy flew away from it, Gangr started turning his head so that the beam was actually chasing her.
Darcy's eyes widened as the beam drew closer and closer. Shit, shit, shit!
Thankfully, the beam ceased, and Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. Hovering high in the sky, Darcy looked down at Gangr, sticking her tongue out at the enormous beetle.
Gangr merely stared at Darcy, his mandibles clicking slightly. To Darcy's shock, a pair of wings sprouted out from beneath the monster's shell. They started flapping at incredible speed, and the winds they gave off were so cold that snow practically rained down on the streets below. Slowly, Gangr lifted itself off the ground. How the creature was able to fly given its enormous bulk was a total mystery, but that didn't stop it from racing towards Darcy at amazing speed.
"Oh, crap…" Darcy muttered.
Gangr swung its leg at Darcy, who quickly swerved away from the blade-like appendage as it cut through the air. Gangr roared as Darcy flew away from him, and he immediately gave chase.
ooooo
Down below, Sif, Jane, Erik, and the scared civilians watched as Darcy led Gangr away from Puente Anitguo.
"Where is she going?" Sif asked. Was the mortal trying to run from a fight?
"She must be luring it away from the town." Jane guessed. "That way no more people get hurt."
"Yes… I suppose that is smart." Sif muttered. Then she remembered something and looked around. "Where are the Warriors Three?"
Jane and Erik looked around as well, when a dead Frost Giant suddenly landed at their feet. Sif looked up to see Fandral and Hogun looking down at their dead opponent with pride.
"No Frost Giant is a match for us." Fandral said proudly.
"Yes and the mortal seems to be handling Gangr quite well." Hogun remarked. Sif nodded.
"Where is the third?" Sif asked. Fandral was just about to answer, when Volstagg was thrown into the side of the building. Several terrified civilians quickly scattered as Harbere stalked up, ice club in hand.
"Drorthr and Jrua may have been weak, but I have studied at the foot of King Laufey himself!" Harbere roared fiercely. "You will not find me an easy foe."
ooooo
Gangr was growing tired of this cat and mouse charade. Opening his horn, he let lose an ice blast, which Darcy narrowly dodged. As the chase continued, Darcy was trying to think of a way to take this monster down. So far, all of her attacks did little more than dent the beast's armored skin. There had to be some sort of weak point.
Darcy looked back at her pursuer and got as good a look of him as she could. There seemed to be no real weak point, as much of the beast's body was plated. Suddenly, the area in between Gangr's open horn crackled, and Darcy saw that it was some kind of crystal.
The infamous light bulb in Darcy's head lit up again, and she smirked, an idea finally coming to her. Speeding up, Darcy distanced herself more from Gangr, who bellowed in rage as it started to charge another blast. Then, after getting far enough, Darcy turned back towards Gangr and charged at him, hammer outstretched. As the two raced towards each other, Darcy let out a yell as the hammer collided with the blue gem in Gangr's horn just as it was about to fire. Mjolnir shattered the gem to pieces, and the blast came out as a blue explosion of icy fire that engulfed Gangr's face. Darcy was able to shield herself from the blast.
Gangr howled in agony as the blast burned his face, blowing off his left mandibles. Some of the smaller legs that aligned his upper body were also blown off, and fell to the desert landscape below. Faltering slightly, Gangr was barely able to keep himself airborne. As his eyes came back into focus, he looked at the human girl floating in front of him. Darcy jerked back when the monster's blue eyes suddenly flashed red with anger, and the creature's horn suddenly clamped shut on her. Darcy dropped Mjolnir as she fought to keep the horn from cutting her like a pair of scissors. Grunting, Darcy tried pushing back the horn so she could wrench herself free, but Gangr growled as it added more strength.
Her strength starting to fade, Darcy was about to be crushed. But at that moment, something clicked inside of Darcy, and a wash of strength overcame her. With a yell, Darcy gribbed the horn, and with a mighty pull, she ripped Gangr's horn clean off his face.
Gangr shrieked in agony. Ripping off his horn set off every pain receptor in his body, and he immediately lost track of the motion of his wings and started to plummet from the sky. Darcy dropped the pieces of horn, and reached out as Mjolnir lifted itself off of the ground and raced towards her. As it did, it struck Gangr in the back, and actually punched a hole right through its body on the way up. Gangr shrieked again, and struck the ground with such force that fissures were formed in the ground.
Darcy examined the cloud of dirt that Gangr was consumed by, and slowly, carefully floated down to get a closer look. She landed in front of the cloud, and could barely make out Gangr's immobile form. Darcy sighed, fairly certain victory was hers, until the creature's eyes lit up again and he surged back up. Darcy staggered back, and her shock was replaced with anger.
"Just die, will yah?" Darcy yelled. In defiance, Gangr swung its claw at her, but Darcy evaded it easily and struck it with her hammer. The extra amount of force was struck enough to break the tip off of Gangr's leg, and Gangr stumbled forward face first into the ground. Groaning in both pain and dizziness, Gangr actually started pulling itself towards Darcy. He was so determined to kill her.
Darcy prepared to swing again, when she noticed the crystal-like formation in Gangr's abdomen. Before, it was glowing brightly, but now it was flickering as though it were running out of power. Darcy's eyes widened. This must be like his heart!
Another idea forming, Darcy rose Mjolnir up into the air, and willed the storms above her. Lightning shot down from the sky and into the hammer, charging it with energy. After gathering enough, Darcy flew forward and drove the pulsating hammer into Gangr's crystal heart. Gangr let out an agonized roar as Mjolnir started pumping his body with electricity. He could feel his entire body being overwhelmed by numbing pain.
Grunting, Darcy drove Mjolnir further into the icy heart, and Gangr's body was no literally dazzling with lightning. His skin started to smoke and his eyes flickered. Then with a loud roar, Gangr exploded.
The blast first came out of his back, but quickly engulfed the rest of his body. His armored plating was blown to bits and his insides were completely incinerated.
Darcy was blown back by the shockwave, and disappeared in the blast.
I think we'll stop there for now. It took me a while to figure out how the fight would go. I hope it was satisfactory. Next chapter, SHIELD butts in, again. They have a knack for that, don't they. If you have comments or questions, feel free to ask them. Thanks for reading.