Time for some legitimate plot development! Prepare for action! Prepare for excitement! Prepare for Darcy falling off a treadmill!
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Just trust me, it's an interesting one. Here's chapter 8! If you like the whole actual storyline thing, please let me know. If you prefer random everyday happenings like Romanogers riding lessons, let me know about that too. Which do you prefer? You don't have to decide now...I'm gonna stop typing and let you read. :)
Thor wandered back toward the living area of the compound after the end of his brief conversation with Steve. He ambled along happily, reflecting on his chosen mount- the great grey stallion whose nameplate read Xenon.
A peculiar name for an animal, he thought. But it has a nice ring to it. It is a powerful sounding name, and is therefore a suitable title for my battle mount.
Thor hoped he would never need to ride Xenon into a Midgard battle, but with galactic tensions in their current state, there was always the possibility. Even the isolated and peaceful Midgardians could be at risk. It was a sombre thought, one which plagued Thor's mind and invited unnecessary worries surrounding Jane and her planet.
Thor's grim thoughts were called to a halt as he reached the top of the spiral staircase, where he spotted Tony, hastily unplugging the kitchen's toaster and starting as though to run off with it.
"Ahem." Thor called as he paused on the staircase's final step.
Tony froze mid-stride. The toaster's cord dangled helplessly in mid air.
"What are you doing with the bread-burner?"
Tony's eyes widened and he remained frozen, like a deer in headlights. "Nothing to concern you with, your godliness." He ambled, taking a couple slow steps toward his suite. "And besides, this toaster clearly reads Stark Industries, and is therefore the property of myself. I'm allowed to steal my own things." he muttered, hastily walking into his room and slamming the door without another word.
Thor shrugged and disregarded Tony's unusually awkward behaviour. He proceeded into the kitchen and began to rifle through the contents of the cupboards, searching for a suitable snack. Much of the edible content was unsatisfactory, bound in brightly coloured boxes and tasting overwhelmingly of salt. Eventually Thor came across a small bowl of old apples in the back of a cupboard, and reluctantly took one. The lack of normal food in the compound was disheartening, and he decided to bring it up with Tony later.
Once he's done with whatever the heck he's doing in that dwelling of his. Thor thought begrudgingly. The toaster incident was the first he had seen of Tony today. The genius was deep into something behind the closed doors of his suite.
Thor was about to return to his own room to find Jane, but he heard her voice coming from down the hallway, most likely originating in the Training Room. He rounded the corner, crunching on his apple, and found Jane amidst the strange Midgard fitness machines. Darcy and Jane wore tight-fitting skins and had tied their hair back. They both sported those strange Midgard shoes reserved for running, which were brightly coloured and laced up. Why they need special footwear in order to run, I shall never understand.
Upon closer inspection it appeared that Darcy and Jane were struggling with something. They had opened up a side panel on one of the moving running-belts and were playing around with a tangle of the machine's wires. Darcy moved to crouch on the machine's stationary belt, and Thor watched as Jane connected a pair of loose wires which brought the device to life, flinging Darcy off the machine and into a pile of squishy rainbow spheres. The belt of the device continued to move faster and faster, generating smoke as it hissed against the metal of its bearings.
Thor ran over and speedily jerked out the wiring of the machine, ripping the mechanics free and bringing the belt's speed steadily down, just as it had begun to spark. Jane appeared to finally notice his presence and looked up. Exasperated, she took to her feet and wiped the stray strands of hair off her face.
"Thanks...Tony would not have appreciated us testing out his fire safety systems without authorization." Jane said breathlessly, moving to Thor's side.
Darcy's head popped out of the mountain of rainbow spheres. "Thanks for your concern, guys, but I'm fine." She quipped sarcastically, extracting herself from the mass of rubber. "I think we should have filmed that as an informational video on how not to fix a broken treadmill."
Jane frowned and looked around the training room. "There are so many fancy machines in this room, but the only one I want to use is destroyed. It figures." She muttered. "I'll just have to go run outside."
"Oh the horror." Darcy whispered, nursing a bruised arm.
Thor's brow creased in concern. "Are you sure you know your way around outside? What if you lose your way?" he stated seriously.
Jane laughed and started walking towards the door. "It can't be that hard to navigate. Didn't Steve say there are paths?"
"Of course, but they aren't marked!" Thor chided. He followed her out the door, matching her stride as she headed for the spiral staircase. They left Darcy behind as they descended the steps into the garage below.
"If you're so worried, why don't you come? Can you do 10k?" she challenged as they stepped through the bay doors and out onto the grass.
"What is ten K?"Thor called as Jane took off, heading for the nearest path that led into the forest. She didn't answer, and Thor was left no choice but to sprint after her.
Jane couldn't help but smile as Thor followed her through the forest. The god of thunder lasted well for the first five kilometres. He ran at her side but said little. Occasionally he made remarks about his discomfort in this forest, and how the trees seemed to have eyes today, but Jane disregarded his comments and they continued to run deeper into the woods. At the 6k mark he was sweating and promptly removed his shirt, thus providing a frequent distraction for Jane. By the time they had run seven kilometres, Thor was labouring, and Jane watched, incredulous, as he began to drop back, his pace slowing. Eventually she left him behind, and completed her ten kilometre run alone, finishing in a bright forest clearing, which was a great distance from the Avengers compound. Jane paced and stretched on the packed dirt of the path, cooling down her muscles as she waited for Thor to catch up.
When eventually Thor arrived in the clearing, he immediately lay down in the grass on the edge of the path, breathing heavily. "Why...in Odin's name...do you do that...for fun?"
Jane sat down beside him, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his toned chest. "I find running relaxing." She said calmly, pulling the elastic from her hair and allowing it to fall to her shoulders. "Is the god of thunder a little out of shape?"
"Not at all, midgardian...I just don't typically choose to run places. Why should I, when I could fly, or ride a horse?" Thor grumbled.
"Maybe you should start running with Steve. I hear he is an excellent-"
Thor suddenly silenced Jane with a gentle tap on her arm. He sat up, immediately alert. Jane glared at him for a moment, before she realized that he was looking around anxiously, as though he could hear a disturbance in the surrounding foliage.
"What's wrong?" Jane whispered, glancing around with rising anxiety.
Thor stood up and took her arm. "There's something out here. We need to get back." He answered quietly, leading her back the way they had come.
They made their way back down the dirt path, Thor leading the way and pausing every few steps to cast his gaze behind them into the darkening gloom of the forest. Jane tried to stomach the mounting terror that was rising inside of her like bile. I'm with Thor, so nothing can go wrong. Right? She reassured herself, ignoring an internal nagging worry that Mjolnir was back at the compound.
Thor quickened their pace, leading them in a brisk walk. Jane clasped Thor's hand tightly. The shadows seemed to dance among the organic matter of the forest, each one threatening to leap out and sink its teeth into Jane. Thor's presence held Jane's fears at bay, and she clung to his essence as they made their way along the forest path. Several times the bushes rustled in disruption, and Jane could swear she saw a glint of steel emerging into the light at multiple instances during the hurried walk, but every time the metal would fade back into the greenery forbiddingly before she could get a good look.
Jane's heartbeat quickened, and she was entirely unprepared when a dark figure suddenly appeared on the path ahead of them. Thor pulled her close as several other indiscernible shapes emerged around them, hustling to surround Thor and Jane in a ragged circle.
"What do you want?" Thor bellowed, his bold speech hanging powerfully in the crisp air of the shadowed forest.
"The Stone, Odin's son." Their leader replied with a rasping snarl. The mysterious being stepped closer. He was cloaked in deep grey robes like thunderclouds, and beneath his abysmal hood, ugly wrinkled skin and a darkened beak-like mouth protruded. Several sets of glistening ebony eyes stared out at Thor and Jane in front of him. The creature raised a clawed hand from the folds of his robes and held it out toward Thor, demanding his price.
Jane's eyes widened, her skin crawling under the dozens of sets of eyes from the surrounding circle.
"I have it not, entombed one. Leave us be. Your search belongs elsewhere." Thor called calmly. His eyes darted from enemy to enemy as he grasped the scope of the situation.
The hooded 'entombed ones' fell in closer, such that their acrid breath tickled the back of Jane's neck.
"That is not the answer I desire. You have stolen something promised to another." The leader growled, as the dozen hooded soldiers drew shining blades from within their robes. The curved edges seemed to scream in excitement at meeting the air.
Thor tensed, pressed against Jane, and suddenly reached downward. In one fluid motion he snatched up a branch from the ground by his feet, and brandished the improvised weapon at the assailants.
"I have stolen nothing!" Thor yelled, his voice rising thunderously.
The entombed one hissed menacingly. "You are a liar, Son of Odin!"
Several hooded warriors charged inward, and Thor valiantly knocked them aside with his branch. He twisted and met their blades with a thud, knocking aside many opponents at once. He kicked and punched, driving off the attacking creatures. Not a single blade met his skin. Thor appeared to be successfully holding the invaders off, but his strength was draining, and he was vulnerable without Mjolnir or his armour. Jane attempted to remain by Thor, but stay out of his way, and she was forced to switch position rapidly in order to dodge the lethal blows of the invaders' blades whilst staying close to him. Once, a metal edge glanced off her arm, leaving a thin slice of scarlet in its wake, but Jane hardly noticed it parting her skin as she was so absorbed in the adrenaline of the moment. She picked up a branch of her own and brandished it at the entombed, though it hardly did a thing beyond keeping them a little further from her and Thor.
Thor had fought off more than half of the dozen attackers, but now he was exhausted, breathing weightily and faltering in some of his moves. If the remaining entombed swarmed all at once, Jane feared that he might be overwhelmed.
Suddenly, an attacker swung his blade and cut Jane's branch to splinters, leaving her defenceless once again. The entombed sprang forward and Jane let out a cry as he clutched her arms and held her firmly, turning her roughly and pressing an ice-cold piece of metal to her throat.
As soon as the weapon kissed her neck, Jane witnessed Thor drop his weapon and raise his arms, as he realized what had happened. The remaining entombed ones surrounded him, pointing their blades at his chest, but his eyes were on Jane, as they shared a terrified, morose glance.
The leader strode forward to meet Thor, but he made it only a few steps before he was stopped by an arrow, which pierced his skull and sent him falling rapidly to the forest floor. The remaining entombed appeared stricken, as their leader fell, hitting the Earth with a thud. Jane scanned the forest for the archer, and felt her heart pound with relief as none other than Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, stepped out of the forest behind Thor. The Avenger had his bow trained on Jane's captor, and in an instant he had let the arrow fly, allowing Jane to escape as the entombed one's grip slackened and he fell to the ground, dead.
Half a heartbeat later, Clint had notched and sent off arrows for all of the remaining invaders, and the clearing became silent, save for Thor's ragged breathing.
Once all three had caught their breath for a moment, Hawkeye was the first to speak.
"So, I hope one of you can explain what the heck I just walked in on."
"Nice to see you too." Thor answered with a reluctant smile.