May Waters glared…I'm sorry! I will make things better… New Chapter!
Chapter 12
Rescue
The team had finally arrived at The Long Fang's hideout. Thor quickly dismounted, and helped Jenny as she slid off the horse. Each of them followed. They glanced up at what appeared to be a cave. They approached the entrance, and paused.
"We'll take out as many as we can and destroy their progress." Thor said, turning to everyone. "And Jenny, you may see if you can find Loki." Thor continued, catching the question in her eyes, though he could also see her determination to rescue Loki. Each of them ran inside the cave. There seemed to be one hallway leading to a large room. Long Fang members were scattered around fires, hammering at metal, and forging swords. Some were organizing through what appeared to be long, silver bullets.
"So, Odinson has finally come." The tall man stepped out into the middle of the room, holding his hands up in a mocking welcome. "And he's brought his friends."
"Where is my brother?" Thor demanded.
"Surely you don't mean the one standing next to you." The man corrected. "Or are you forgetting that traitor isn't your real brother?"
"Silence!" Thor snapped.
"Who do you think you are?" Balder joined in, his anger now matched with Thor's.
"My name is Long Fang." The man replied, his icy blue eyes piercing Jenny. "And you must be the warrior mortal, or…the simple painter I suppose."
"Yes," Jenny replied, stepping forward. "My name is Jennifer Robinson, and if you don't hand Loki over, I will find him myself."
"You can't just barge in and go look for him." Long Fang retorted. Jenny rushed for the first door she saw. "Oh… I guess you can…you mortals are always so surprising…" He ran after her but was stopped by Thor. He threw his hammer and knocked Long Fang down. Fenrir ran after Jenny, stomping over any member trying to stop her.
The whole group was now fighting off the Long Fang. It was a battle Jenny's team had never taken part in before, but they each fought with their greatest strength.
~jb~
Jenny continued to run through the caves. Fenrir was sniffing desperately for Loki, Momo was still clinging onto his back. The wolf's whimpering echoed through the caves as he walked from one wall to another, finding his way to Loki.
Jenny peered into a small crack. When she heard voices, she ushered Fenrir and Momo into it. She slid in after them and watched as some members rushed by. They were being led by a strange woman with blue skin. She had no hair, and parts of her seemed more metallic than actual skin.
"Has he made any escape attempts?" She asked, her voice low and half robotic.
"Not once," One of the members replied.
"I guess now would be the time to keep daddy's promise." The cyborg announced.
Once the group had passed, Jenny stepped out of the crack and watched them walk away. Fenrir let out a low growl. Momo hissed…
Momo rarely hissed at people. Jenny almost forgot that Momo could hiss. She knew this girl was serious trouble. She followed their voices through the caves, Fenrir right behind her. She came to a metal door. She gently pressed her ear against it and could barely make out some people yelling…one crying out… Jenny stepped away from the door, clenching her fists. She continued to take a few steps back before pausing, running forward, and kicking at the door. The first try only dented the door a little. She tried again, only leaving a larger dent. She tried one more time and the door was ripped off the hinges and plummeted to the ground. A small cloud of dirt kicked up for a moment. Jenny stepped into the room.
The strange woman turned at the loud noise and glared at Jenny through black eyes. She was standing next to Loki, who was half-naked, and chained to the floor. Members where standing around, holding torches in their hands.
"Who are you?" The woman demanded.
Jenny pulled out one of her weapons her friend, Audrey, had given her. It looked like a small, black pipe. She pushed a small button and a sword extended from it.
"Answer!" The woman snapped. The men around her looked at each other with unease.
"I am The Painter." Jenny replied. She lunged at each of the men, knocking their torches out of their hands. She tripped a few of them, and only scratched some of their legs. Once she had finished the men off, she turned to the woman.
"Now you know who I am, but I don't know you." Jenny said.
"I am Nebula, a daughter of Thanos…" She replied, although she didn't seem to be pleased with the title. Either way, Jenny wasn't impressed. She glanced down at Loki. His skin was covered in burns. He lay on the floor, barely conscious. He turned his head from side to side, slowly waking up.
"J…Jenny…?" He whispered.
Jenny's blood boiled as she glared at Nebula. She couldn't help but to blame herself for letting this happen… she saw him leave…why didn't she stop him?
Jenny knew why she was angry. Her friend was dead because of her, and now Loki was hurt. She was angry at the man who killed her friend… She was angry at Nebula for hurting Loki…
How could a person do such a thing?!
"How could you?" Jenny demanded. "How dare you hurt my friend?!"
"He is a monster." Nebula replied. "He betrayed us. He's only getting what he deserves."
Jenny's hands were shaky. A small voice told her she shouldn't be fighting in this condition. Anger was not the answer. But then…it felt as though Jenny had lost all control.
"You…" Jenny growled. "You bitch!" Jenny yelled, lunging at Nebula. The woman quickly pulled out a sword of her own, and a small knife. The two were caught in an intense battle. Jenny could hear Fenrir whimpering from outside the room.
The small voice grew louder. It urged Jenny to stop fighting. She was too angry to win this battle.
Well, if it works for Summer, it works for me! Jenny thought bitterly. Suddenly, Nebula kicked under Jenny's leg. Jenny fell hard onto her back. Nebula stepped on her elbows and held the tip of her sword above Jenny's chest.
"Fine," She said, her voice still in monotone. "I'll kill you first." She gripped the handle with both hands. She raised her arms in the air, ready to strike.
I can't win this fight… Jenny thought, struggling to get free. Her sword was lying beside her, barely out of her reach. She should've listened to that voice in her head. If she had just used her common sense and calmed herself before fighting, she could've had the upper hand. But now, she had learned this lesson too late. She closed her eyes, waiting for Nebula's sword to pierce her heart.
Suddenly, she heard Nebula scream. She looked up to see Momo climbing up Nebula's leg. She stepped off Jenny, dropping her sword and waving her hands around.
"Someone get this beast off me!" She shouted, spinning around. Momo was crawling all over Nebula, only pausing to bite her. She paused and bit into Nebula's nose.
Jenny was frozen. She had never seen Momo behave like this before. It's not every day you see your pet monkey with murder in her eyes…
Nebula batted Momo off her. Momo stumbled onto the ground, but quickly stood on her hind legs, unharmed. She hissed again at Nebula.
"You'll pay for that, you little creature!" Nebula snapped, blood dripping down her nose.
Fenrir finally stepped into the room, growling at Nebula.
"Face it," Jenny said, standing up, rubbing one of her elbows. "You're surrounded."
Nebula looked between the three creatures.
"Fenrir won't attack you, unless I say so." Jenny said. "I suggest you leave…if you want to live."
"I'm not afraid of your overgrown mutt!" Nebula spat. "I'm Nebula, daughter of-"
Fenrir stepped forward and hit Nebula with one of his paws, which must have been the size of a dinnerplate. Nebula flew into the wall. She grunted as she hit the ground. Fenrir walked over to stand beside Jenny.
"That is a warning." Jenny said again. "Leave Asgard now, and never come back!"
Nebula slowly stood. She glared at Jenny in anger. "We'll meet again mortal!" She growled, pointing at Jenny before rushing out of the room. Jenny sighed in relief and fell to her knees for a moment. She breathed heavily, and took a moment to regain her composure.
Fenrir suddenly bolted out of the room, and then stood outside the door. He looked over at her as if to ask of she was coming.
"He…hates…tunnels." Loki whispered.
"Loki!" Jenny gasped and crawled over to him. Momo jumped onto Jenny's shoulder.
"You should… you should get out of here." Loki said. "It's too dangerous…They're making weapons…explosives."
"How did you find out about this?" Jenny asked.
"I can't use much of my magic, but I was able to use a little to see what was going on throughout the caves. They're preparing for war against Asgard."
"We have to stop them." Jenny said. She pushed another button on the handle of her sword. The blade shrunk into a small knife. She began to pick at the shekels that bound his wrists.
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Loki asked as she released one wrist.
"I'm not sure." Jenny replied. "Thor is destroying things currently." She undid his second wrist and began to pick at the shekels that bound his ankles.
"How did you learn to do that?" Loki asked, sitting up slowly.
"I grew up in an apartment complex." Jenny replied. "I was always playing "spy". I'd steal my Dad's old tools and crawl through the vents. Or hack the AC control to get people to open their doors. I wouldn't steal anything, I was just being nosy… and the staff could never figure out how I knew about events before everyone else did… let's just say I learned a lot about unlocking things."
"That's amazing." Loki replied. "You must be good at finding things."
"Maybe," Jenny shrugged, finishing the last shekel. "But… I found you…" She looked up at him for a moment. "We should get going. Can you walk?"
"I can try…" Loki replied. He slowly stood and stumbled a little. Jenny rushed and put his arm over her shoulders. "Just go without me. I'll only slow you down."
"Tell that to Thor." Jenny replied. "He's not leaving without you..." She began to lead him down the hall.
"Even so," Loki replied. "The Long Fang will still try to come to war."
Jenny paused. "Wait… you did say they had explosives, right?"
~jb~
Thor had been fighting off multiple Long Fang members. Long Fang himself only stood and observed the battle. Thor looked over and noticed Fenrir running towards the exit, Loki clinging onto his back. Thor sighed in relief to see his brother was safe…but where was Jenny?
At the thought, Jenny was running over to her friend, Summer. The two friends spoke for a moment before rushing to the patio.
"No!" Long Fang shouted and pointed at them. "Stop them!"
Summer used her fire to keep members from getting to her and Jenny. They ran up the stairs where more barrels were sitting. Jenny grabbed a strange device from one and began picking at it with a small knife. She placed it back into one of the barrels and rushed back down the stairs, Summer quickly following behind.
As Jenny ran, she bumped into Long Fang. He grabbed her forearms and held her up to look her in the eye.
"What did you do?!" He demanded. "What did you do?!"
Jenny gave him a sharp kick in the leg. He let go of her arms and stepped back. He swung his sword at Jenny, scratching her cheek. Summer punched her fist at him, and a blast of fire knocked Long Fang back.
"Jenny, what going on?" Thor asked as Jenny approached him.
"You might want to call everyone back. The whole base is gonna blow!" Jenny replied.
"Retreat!" Thor yelled out to his team. "Retreat!" Thor's team and Jenny's team all ran for the exit.
Thor heard a large boom from behind him. He dared not look back, but he swung his hammer and flew forward. He grabbed the first person within reach: Jenny. He gently wrapped his arm around her and flew out of the cave.
The stars and the moon where shining outside. Loki had been resting in the grass, Fenrir sitting beside him.
Thor set Jenny to her feet and turned to see the entrance of the cave. Everyone was rushing out as the tunnels were collapsing behind them. Dust kicked up as the last of the rocks were falling. A gush of wind rushed past them.
They all stood for a moment in silence as the dust settled.
"That was fun…" Chijo said, breaking the silence. A sigh of relief swept through the group.
"Now what?" Lady Sif asked.
"We return home and celebrate our victory." Thor replied calmly.
"Thor…" Loki grunted. They turned to see Loki had stood and was leaning against Fenrir. "You… you… came…" He closed his eyes and collapsed onto the ground.
"Loki!" Thor rushed forward to embrace his brother. "Who did this to you, Brother?"
"Some crazy, bald lady." Jenny replied. "I don't think she was from around here."
"Where is she now?" Marina asked.
"Buried I hope!" Jenny snapped, tears filling her eyes.
"Jenny…?" Summer stepped forward and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I've… I've learned a hard lesson." Jenny admitted.
"There's a cottage just a few miles from here…towards the west." Balder said. "We used to go camping there when we were children. If Loki isn't ready to come home yet, he could rest there."
"Would someone be willing to stay with him?" Thor asked. "Until he is well enough. It shouldn't take too long…"
"I'll do it." Jenny said. "I'll make sure he's resting…and then I'll need to take some time for myself." She walked over as Thor helped Loki onto Fenrir's back.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Summer asked.
"No…" Jenny admitted, wiping away her tears. "I need time to meditate…"
Summer nodded.
Thor knelt down and cupped his hands, helping Jenny onto Fenrir's back.
Thor gave Jenny directions to the cottage, reassuring her that Fenrir knew the way. He urged Fenrir to go. They watched her ride off before mounting their horses and heading back to the palace.
~jb~
Jenny had been riding Fenrir for a long time. She found riding Fenrir seemed easier than riding a horse. Momo was clinging to Jenny's back, while Jenny held onto Loki's arm. After what seemed like hours, they came to a pretty cottage. It looked like one of the paintings her father painted many years ago. As the sun was rising, it reflected on the water and complimented the purple flowers. Although it must have not been occupied for years, it still looked like it was built yesterday.
Magic, I guess…Jenny thought. She wasn't surprised anymore. She hadn't been surprised by things for three years to be honest. Three years ago, she found out her friends had super powers…
Fenrir stopped in front of the steps and slowly lay on the ground. Jenny was able to slide off and help Loki up the front steps and into the cottage.
The inside was beautifully decorated. There were some heads of strange beasts hanging over the fireplace. Jenny ignored them and helped Loki into the nearest bedroom. He plopped down onto the large bed and closed his eyes again. Jenny went outside to fetch some cold water from the stream. She brought the bucket back inside and found a clean cloth. She returned to the bedroom and placed the wet cloth onto Loki's forehead. His face seemed less tense, and the room suddenly became cooler. She noticed the burns on his flesh were beginning to fade. It fascinated her. After a long moment, she decided to leave him be. She went to see if there were any ingredients to make an herbal tea. Normally, Jenny wasn't fond of tea, but she only drank it when there was no hot chocolate mix. And she would certainly not drink any coffee, after her misadventure as a teenager…
She was able to find some herbs and began to boil a pot of water over the fireplace. As she watched the fire, she thought of her mother, and living in California. On their way to a camping trip, they had stopped at a small café, and Jenny had wondered what a frappe tasted like. Neither she, nor her mother knew if it had any coffee or caffeine in it. She tried it anyway, and nearly jumped out of her seat…her fingers were shaky and she couldn't seem to stop talking. Her mother finally tried it and confirmed that it was coffee. After that experience, Jenny decided to avoid coffee altogether. She didn't mind a cup of tea, and there was plenty of it stored in one of the cabinets.
As time went on, the house seemed to become colder and colder. She wrapped a blanket around herself and continued boiling some water. She stayed next to the fireplace. Jenny wondered if it was Loki cooling the house down…
"Frost Giant…" Jenny mumbled. "He just had to be a Frost Giant…He couldn't have been something tropical that likes warm sun, and warm sand, and…" She trailed off when she heard footsteps coming into the room. She turned to see Loki walking slowly towards her, a hand placed on the wall for balance.
Jenny stared in awe. His skin was blue, and his eyes were blood-red. Jenny had never seen a Frost Giant, nor even could imagine what they looked like…
Jenny blinked and looked at the floor. "Um… you're up…" She stammered.
Loki paused, looking up at Jenny. He seemed…angry…
"Do you not fear me?" Loki growled.
"No, of course not." Jenny said softly, looking up at him.
Loki's breathing became heavy. "I am the monster parents tell their children about at night. I am the monster that had frozen and killed many mortals. I am the terror of winter…yet all you do is stare…why?"
"Because my friend can shoot fire out of her mouth." Jenny said. "And…I have another friend who can eat rocks…my cousin can fly. Nothing surprises me anymore." Jenny stepped towards Loki and placed a hand on his cheek. "Listen to me. I am going to tell you the same thing I tell my friends. You are not a monster. You are not a freak. This is who you are. This is something you can take advantage of. Embrace who you are. I know what it's like to be pushed aside and called 'unimportant'. I fell into depression for a while. Don't be like me. I can accept you, but you have to accept yourself."
From where Jenny's hand had been placed, Loki's skin started to turn back into his original form. He blinked, and his eyes were green again.
"I apologize for that, Jennifer…" Loki said. "I have no right to treat you like that…but I also thank you for your kindness." He swayed a little, catching his balance by placing his hand on the wall again.
"Maybe you should lie down." Jenny said. "Get some rest."
~jb~
After Loki had gone to rest, Jenny decided to go outside and meditate, just as she had planned. She felt so disappointed in herself. She had vowed she would never be angry or vengeful while fighting. Now that the damage had been done, she needed to ponder about something. She wondered what she would do if she had found the man who had killed her best friend, Audrey… Would she get the police involved and have him arrested as she planned, or would she forget and lose her temper again?
She sat in the soft, cool grass and took a deep breath. She crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply. She let the peaceful feeling surround her. Her teacher, Sensei Kaizen had taught her this technique. He taught her the importance of mediation, but he forgot to mention what she could do with it.
When her Sensei had been taken by her former enemies, The Titans, she had meditated and had a vision, discovering Sensei Kaizen was still alive.
He would also encourage her to mediate after a battle. To help her reflect on what she learned and how she can improve.
Her plan was to do just that, but then she could sense something…
Was it another vision?
At the thought, she gasped as she saw the city of Asgard. She saw an eagle flying across the rooftops, holding a sword in its' talons. It released the sword and flew off. The sword was caught by a man. His crystal-blue eyes gazing over the city, then locking onto his target; Odin.
The vision was gone. Jenny opened her eyes and gasped. She quickly stood, breathing heavily. She ran into the cabin, nearly tripping a few times as she went. She began to gather some things together, finding a spear and a sword.
"Jennifer, what's going on?" Loki asked, walking into the room. His skin was a lot less pale and he wasn't losing his balance. He certainly looked much better.
"I have to get back to the palace." Jenny said. "It's Long Fang, he's alive! And he's going to kill Odin!"
"What?" Loki asked. "How do you know this?"
"It's hard to explain…" Jenny replied. "But I have to go back."
Loki stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. "All right. You'll need to take Fenrir. If you stay north for a few miles, you'll be able to see the city."
Jenny sighed in relief. "Thank you!" She nodded to him and turned to leave. Momo stood by the door, looking up at Jenny.
"Keep an eye on him." Jenny said, before leaving the cabin.
Dun! Dun! Dun! Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment!
