Chapter 9: Claws
Normally, the quiet and solitary Doctor Bruce Banner kept to himself. He spent most of his time nowadays in some sort of lab, per the request of S.H.I.E.L.D., and all seemed well for the overly-paranoid scientist. He would toil away at God-knows-what, safe and sound in his lab. He slept not too far away.
When the Bakugan had descended to Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. had begun a struggle to understand all things related to them. Because it was primarily viewed as a children's game by the general public, performing any tests was difficult. They could not simply capture groups of children and force them to Brawl. It would no doubt cause an uproar and a war of morals unlike any other. Of course, they had asked for the aid of every scientist in reach, including Dr. Banner and Dr. Foster.
Of course, this led to a very interesting… dealing with Thor. For the Thunder God was very protective of both Jane and Astrid. And even the Director himself knew not to piss off the big blonde giant with the hammer and the lightning at his command. So, Thor was now a common sight around the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, but it worked out for everyone. Because, now, S.H.I.E.L.D. has access to the Pyrus, Ventus, Haos, and Aquos attributes. Four of the six. They only needed two more.
Pyrus came in the form of Seraphina "Serah" Stark and her partner, Brynhildr.
Ventus came in the form of Astrid Odinson and her partner, Odin.
Haos came in the form of Christina Rodgers and her partner, Alexander.
Aquos came in the form of Katrina Romanoff and her partners, the Shiva Sisters, Stiria and Nix.
There was a special arrangement in place, all to ensure the well-being of the children in question. Serah always had the latest Mark of Flame Valkyrie armor at her disposal and access to an EM Wave Neural Interface recharging alcove. Astrid had unlimited access to sparring areas and always carried her sword with her. Christina had a nice place to rest and always had a locket around her neck. Katrina loved being with her Mom and Dad all the time and was almost always found with one of them… usually Mom. All children had means and methods so that they were never out of touch with their families, plenty of supplies… including food (of which Astrid devoured much), and time off.
It was another crazy day at one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s many fortresses. Serah was dead asleep, having been forced to pull an all-nighter fixing mysteriously-broken equipment. Astrid was talking to her father, knowing that the time for them to go to Asgard was soon. Christina was studying with her Dad, wanting to always do her best in school. Katrina was sparring with her mother, enjoying the challenge of sparring against the Black Widow. Everything seemed well…
BOOM!
Everyone turned their eyes, and saw a massive, unholy creature tear through the wall. It had massive, brown, feathered wings, large, dark fangs, and crimson red curved claws. It let out a savage roar, easily sending Katrina and Serah into a wall and knocking them out cold. Christina was not in the reach of the roar, and Astrid… well, she was the daughter of freaking Thor. It wasn't too hard to withstand the blast.
"Katrina! Serah!" Astrid exclaimed. Agents arrived, and Astrid handed the two girls to them.
"Huh?"
"You handle this. I have other things to worry about."
Christina arrived just as Astrid turned to face the creature. Her eyes widened.
"What… what is that?!"
They heard a sadistic laugh.
"Oh, nothing too special, really. Just a girl who's lost her only friend, and will do whatever it takes to get him back!"
They turned their heads to see a woman laying sideways on a pillar. She had blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and a most sadistic expression. Clearly, she was enjoying the scene of watching the agents run in terror and the overall destruction. This horrified Christina, and angered Astrid.
"How can you just simply watch this massacre scene and enjoy it?!"
The figure rolled her eyes, and laughed again.
"Why should I care about a bunch of worthless little insects who can't do anything but provide a bit of entertainment? That's all they're really good for! Hahaha!"
Christina looked at Astrid, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you doing?!"
"There's no use trying to reason with her. She's a grade-A sadist. She enjoys watching people suffer, and there's all sorts of reasons that could be the case. She won't listen to anything we say."
The figure narrowed her eyes upon seeing Alexander and Odin on Astrid and Christina's shoulders, respectively.
Oh… today is richer than I thought it would be…
She sat up, and crossed her legs.
"Tell you what… I'll make you a deal."
Astrid glared at the figure incredulously. She held up a dark-looking Gate Card.
"Let's play a little game of cards! You win, I back off for now. I win… well, I think you can put two and two together, right?"
The two looked at each other.
"It's probably the safest way to stop her. Let's go with it." Christina said.
"I hope you're right." Astrid said.
The two looked back at the assailant.
"We accept your challenge!" Astrid yelled.
"Hehe! I thought you might!"
The figure leapt down from her high perch, pulling on a dark-looking Shooter. Astrid and Christina put on the Shooters they had gotten from Serah earlier on. The three of them pulled out their respective Gate Cards-Christina and the figure Haos, and Astrid Ventus.
"Bakugan, Field OPEN!" They all exclaimed in tandem.