Chapter 4

"Hey, Jane, it's me Darcy." Darcy replied irritably into the phone. "You still haven't answered my calls, Erik is nowhere to be found, and Hikesh is still late!"

The young superheroine was currently walking around the condo that Erik had rented for them during their stay in London. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a blue hoodie, and her hair was all messy from bedhead. Upon their arrival, Erik was not in the apartment. That was three days ago, and he still hadn't come back. And to further worsen Darcy's frustration, Hikesh still hadn't shown up, so work on the portal hadn't even begun yet! Darcy was eager to get the operation going as soon as possible. She couldn't turn on the TV without those freakish images showing up on the screen. Darcy felt like she was going to throw up each time. When she had woken up this morning, Jane was gone, and Darcy had tried calling her several times.

After she finished putting in her message, Darcy growled. "Call me back when you hear this."

Switching off the phone, Darcy slammed it against the counter, and fell back exasperatingly on the couch. When she was about to doze off, someone started knocking on the door, and Darcy's eyes blinked open. Letting out a loud groan, Darcy rubbed her face with her hands and got up.

Limping lazily over to the door, she groaned again when the knocking continued. "Hold up! I'm coming!"

She reached the door, and the moment she opened it, she yelled, "What?!"

The response was a low chuckle. "Hello to you, too."

Darcy blinked, actually looking at the person for the first time, and when she realized who it was, she glared and slapped that person across the face. Hard.

Xegh Hikesh grunted as his head flew back from the slap, and he glared at Darcy. "What was that for?"

"For being late!" Darcy yelled as she dragged the Prothean inside. Once he was indoors, she looked outside, looked around, and when she saw that nobody was there, she retreated back into the condo and slammed the door.

Darcy glared at her guest, hands on her hips. "Do you know how long we've been waiting? Cyclops has been sending us calls every hour asking us, 'why haven't you started the operation yet?', or 'progress report?' I haven't been able to relax since we got here!"

Hikesh rolled his four eyes. "I was delayed. It isn't easy walking around this city in broad daylight, and you never actually told me where you were staying."

Darcy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Damnit. It seemed Jane's attitude had rubbed off on her. "Okay, fine. Your hear. We're still missing the tech Erik mentioned, though."

"Speaking of which, where is Dr. Selvig?" Hikesh said, looking around the condo, realizing the absence of Darcy's companions. "And for that matter, where is Dr. Foster?"

"Erik has been missing since we got here. We haven't been able to start our mission, because all of the research and tech we needed for the experiment was with him." Darcy explained, walking into the kitchen. Hikesh followed her, and watched as she opened a pantry and took out poptart. Opening it, she started eating it, and leaned against the counter. "As for Jane, she was gone when I woke up this morning. I've tried calling her, but haven't been able to reach her."

Hikesh frowned. "How can your phone be working? Every cellular device on this planet is playing that broadcast."

Darcy smirked. "Jane and I had to find someway to occupy ourselves. Jane was able to rewire our phones so that the broadcast wouldn't interfere."

"Interesting." Hikesh said, and then remembered something. "Speaking of which, Soladat and her team created these frequency blockers to drown out the transmission."

Darcy watched as Hikesh reached into the bag he had been carrying, and took out two large devices. "Once activated, they will drown out the broadcast in a fifteen mile radius."

"Cool, cool." Darcy said, chewing on her poptart. "It's been hell here, Hikesh. Everything's been so quiet, I thought I was gonna go insane! I wanted to grab meow-meow and have some fun, but Jane was being such a crabby kathy and wouldn't let me."

Hikesh frowned again. "So you have made no progress, then?"

"How could we?" Darcy said defensively. "Erik had all the stuff, you were late, my intern is still late, and Jane is..."

"You hired an intern?" Hikesh said, visibly surprised.

At that, Darcy smiled proudly. "Oh yeah. But don't worry, I'm only paying him half of what Jane payed me."

"Well, where is he?" Hikesh asked.

"Hell if I know. It's not like I've been able to call him. He had to send me a postcard just to tell me that he agreed." Darcy said, finally finishing the poptart. Moving past Hikesh, she walked back into the living room, plopping down comfortably on the couch.

Turning to Hikesh, who was still standing in the doorway, Darcy smiled. "So, you wanna watch a movie? The broadcast is still blocking out all the stations, but I brought some DVDs. So, what do you wanna watch? I got The Dark Knight, Marley and Me, The Notebook, hell Jane even brought fifteen seasons of the Days of Our Lives. She has some kind of obsession with soap operas and romance flicks, but I think it's kind of..."

"Don't you think we should be more concerned over the whereabouts of your friends?" Hikesh said, trying best not to be annoyed by Darcy's ranting. "If we are going to stop the signal, we need to build the portal as soon as possible."

Darcy sighed, and slowly got up off the couch. "Fine. Girl wants a little rest time, and the grouchy alien's gotta go ruin it all."

Hikesh grunted, shaking his head. Suddenly, there was a beeping sound, and Hikesh frowned, looking around. "What is that sound?"

Darcy stopped talking, and stopped to listen. She frowned for a moment, before her eyes went wide with realization. She immediately dashed for the kitchen.

"What are you..." Hikesh started.

"Just a minute!" Darcy said, digging through a pile of papers and electrical equipment that was covering the dining room table. Hikesh came up behind her, confused.

"What are you looking for?"

Darcy kept digging through the mess. "It should be... AHA!"

Wrenching her hand from the pile, Darcy was holding an object. Hikesh saw it, and realized it was a medium sized electronic device. "What is that?"

"It's a device that Jane used back in New Mexico." Darcy explained. "It's what pointed us to the desert where that wormhole spit out meow-meow."

Darcy studied the device, and while she couldn't understand what the symbols and numbers appearing on the screen meant, she was familiar with the sound it was making. "It hasn't done this since New Mexico..."

Hikesh watched as Darcy shook around the device for a moment, and blinked when she started banging it against the table. "Maybe it's malfunctioning or something..."

"Er, maybe..." Darcy's banging drowned out his statement. "Maybe you..." BANG! "Maybe y..." BANG! "May..." BANG! BANG! BANG!

Darcy's arm suddenly froze when a green field of dark energy surrounded her arm. She blinked in surprise and then looked over at Hikesh, who had his arm outstretched. A dark energy aura was covering his body.

"Why don't I take a look at it." He suggested, and Darcy felt her hand open up, and watched as the device floated out of her hand and over to Hikesh. When the aura left her, Darcy felt her arm and frowned at Hikesh.

"You know, it really creeps me out when you do that." Darcy muttered. Now her arm felt cold.

Hikesh chuckled, and looked at the device. He frowned. "These are the same readings Dr. Selvig sent to us."

Darcy blinked. "So it's not broken? Do you know what they mean?"

"I may have some scientific prowess, Darcy, but I spent the majority of my life on the battlefield." Hikesh said, shaking his head. "We're going to need Dr. Foster's help on this."

"Alright then, I guess we'll have to go find her then." Darcy said, smiling. Walking over to a wall mounted hanger, Darcy took Mjolnir, which had been hanging from it. Putting Mjolnir over one shoulder and her bag over the other, put on a jacket, red beanie hat, and shoes. Opening the door, she looked back at Hikesh.

"You coming?"

Hikesh frowned. "Are you sure this is wise? I may... stand out a little to much."

Darcy frowned. He had a point. She put her finger up against her chin in contemplation, and then her mind lit up with an idea.

Hikesh blinked when Darcy suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled him into the back. "Come with me!"

ooooo

Sif wiped the sweat off her brow after striking down her opponent. The once peaceful Vanaheim village had been turned into a battleground, and several buildings and huts were on fire. Explosions caused dirt, rubble, and fire to fly about wildly. Pillars of stone that once dotted the village had been destroyed or toppled over in the skirmish, and Vanir were either helping in the defense of their home or hiding in fear.

In the months after King Laufey destroyed the Bifrost, the Nine Realms had taken notice of the Asgardians' prolonged absence. Taking advantage of this, the Marauders, a collective group of savage warriors, set about bringing chaos to the Nine Realms. Fortunately, Sif was able to ensure the Marauders' defeat. After bringing the Tesseract back following the war for Earth, Sif presented the cube to Heimdall, who used it to repair the Bifrost, allowing Asgard's warriors to come to the aid of the realms. After numerous battles, the Asgardians had cornered the Marauders to Vanaheim. It was a peaceful, forest world inhabited by various forms of fauna. Thousands of years ago, when Asgard discovered it, some Asgardians chose to stay in Vanaheim and live quiet lives. It was here that Hogun, Sif's good friend and member of the Warriors Three, was raised.

Sif glared as a woman and her two children were chased out of their home by an armored ogre, and she immediately leapt onto the back of a nearby black stallion, and with a kick, the horse charged at the beast.

Before the ogre even knew what hit him, a silver sword impaled through his chest, and with great strength, Sif lifted the sword up and flung the dead body off of it. She road valianty, the wind blowing through her dark hair as she cut down every Marauder she came across.

Nearby, the Warriors Three led several Asgardian warriors against vile Marauders, cutting down any that dared to challenge them. Wielding his foil, Fandral quickly swiped at two advancing trolls, slashing their throats open and then driving the blade right through one's stomach. Leaping at an oppressing ogre, Fandral gave a warrior's yell as he drove the foil into the enemy's knee.

The ogre gave a pained roar as Fandral kicked him in the chest, knocking him down on the ground and wrenching the foil from his leg. Moving only a few paces to the left, Fandral faced another opponent, a large troll who attempted to smash him with a large metal club. Before he could even make a strike, however, Fandral drove the foil forward through the opening in the troll's helmet. The troll gave a squeal as the blade impaled his head, and Fandral drove the blade down from his face to his stomach, leaving a large gash in his body. Sensing the approach of another, Fandral drove his elbow back and nailed the ogre right in the face, knocking them down and leaving them open to Fandral's blade.

Seeing Fandral surrounded by a large amount of enemies, Sif stood on the back of her stallion, shield and sword in hand, and expertly jumped from the sattle and did a frontflip through the air, landing perfectly beside Fandral.

Grinning at his companion, Fandral fought of against a wave of Marauders with Sif at his side. Together, the two cut down wave after wave of the beasts. Nearby, Volstagg was effortlessly knocking back the oppressing Marauders with his enormous war hammer, and he was having a jolly good time doing it.

Sif grunted as her blade clashed with that of a green skinned ogre, and she immediately kicked out her leg, driving the toe of her boot into the enemy's stomach. The enemy doubled over immediately, allowing Sif to make the fatal blow.

She quickly lifted her shield up to intercept another attempted strike from another foolish ogre, and she sliced him diagonally through the chest before bashing him across the face with her shield. As the ogre crumpled up on the ground, Sif spun around, ducking from a large axe and slashing her sword at the opponent's legs, cutting them out from underneath him.

As her opponent's lay dead, Sif glanced back as she sensed the large footsteps rushing towards her. With great speed, Sif spun around and thrust her shield hard into the towering troll's stomach. As the troll fell to his knees, gripping his gut in pain, Sif subdued him with a slash to the forehead.

Having dealt with a few of his own enemies, Fandral grinned at Sif. "This is going quite well, don't you think?"

Sif chuckled, glancing at the blonde Asgardian. "I suppose. If you don't count the fires."

Fandral laughed at Sif's retort, and kicked the shin of an approaching ogre, finishing it off with his foil.

Sif fought off two trolls at once, dispatching them with ease, but just as she delivered the killing blow, her superhuman senses alerted her to an approaching danger. With a grunt, she lifted her shield up, and nearly gasped when an arrow impaled through the metal, the arrowed end stopping more inches from her face. Lowering the shield, Sif glared daggers at the helmeted troll.

The troll lowered his weapon in surprise, and Sif smirked at him, laughing. "Please."

Quickly, the troll started reloading his crossbow, but there was a glint of light as Sif thrust her sword towards him, sending it flying through the air. The troll gagged as the sword impaled straight through his chest, and he gripped the hilt, falling to his knees, then his face, dead.

Fandral saw the kill, and glanced at Sif. "Impressive."

Sif smirked. "I don't like to brag."

Suddenly, there was a loud, booming roar, and all action everywhere stopped. The fighting ceased almost immediately, and there wasn't anything but the sound of the fires burning and large footsteps. The Asgardians and Vanir all looked towards the direction of the stomping, and watched as a large crowd of Marauders parted to reveal the source.

A Kronan. One of the ancient rock-like beings who originally inhabited Vanaheim before the Asgardians settled there.

A savage race. Perfect for the Marauders.

The Kronan, wielding a large spiked mace, growled as it approached the Asgardians. The Marauders instantly started cheering as their champion approached the Asgards, knocking away one that attempted to charge at it with a sword.

Fandral glanced nervously at Sif. "Er... Sif?"

With great confidence, Sif stepped forward. "I've got this."

Marching forward, Sif grabbed her sword, pulling it from the dead ogre. Marching up towards the Kronan, Sif was unfazed as it growled down at her.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Sif spoke. "Your move."

Grunting in reply, the Kronan raised its mace, and Sif quickly raised her shield up to block it. She grunted as the mace impacted hard against the shield, and the Kronan's great strength forced her down. Grunting, Sif fought against the strength of her opponent, finding the situation all to familiar.

Images of the Hulk flashed through her head. The strength overpowering her own, the beatings, the black void of unconsciousness...

With a yell, Sif drove her sword forward, breaking through the stone surface of the Kronan's abdomen. The Kronan gave a loud roar as Sif slashed the blade through the side of its chest, and raised its mace up in fury as it prepared to crush her.

Thinking fast, Sif dashed away, and the mace struck hard against the ground. At great speed, Sif leapt high, landing on the Kronan's shoulders and wrapped her legs around its neck. Grunting in fury, the Kronan flailed its mace around, but Sif blocked each heavy strike with her shield.

With a yell, Sif drove the blade of her sword straight into the Kronan's neck. The Kronan growled in shock as Sif drove the blade deep into its neck, and she herself grunted as she started to pry the sword upwards. The Kronan panicked as it felt its neck breaking apart, the stone cracking with each thrust. Before it could do anything, Sif gave a yell as she pried the Kronan's head clean off.

The head flew through the air before landing at the feet of the shocked Marauders. Sif leapt off the headless body of the Kronan, and watched as it wobbled for a few moments before landing flat on the ground.

Breathing heavily, Sif glared at the Marauders, who all backed away at the look she was giving them. Slowly, her fellow Asgardians and the Vanir warriors flanked her sides, joining her in the intense stare-off.

"So," Sif said, breathing heavily. "who's next?"

The Marauders all backed away, and soon, the sound of weapons being dropped were heard as the enemies surrendered.

Sif gave a triumphant smirk as her friends and allies cheered in victory. Soon, the invaders were all gathered up and put into small groups of prisoners. Fandral and Volstagg managed the rounding up, while Sif stood watching over the progress.

She glanced at Hogun, who smiled at her. "Another victory. The Marauders are nearing defeat."

Sif nodded. "Indeed. The chaos Loki ensued will soon be over."

Hogun nodded. "So, where do we go next?"

Sif looked at Hogun, giving him a soft smile. "Hogun, you don't have to pretend that you don't wish to stay. The Marauders are on the run, only few remain. Stay here, with your people. Let us take care of the rest."

Hgoun gave Sif an appreicative smile, and nodded. "Thank you, Sif. You have my thanks."

Sif gave a laugh as Hogun, following an Asgardian tradition, took her hand and gently kissed her knuckle. Giving her one last bow, Hogun left to go tend to a small Vanir family.

"Sif!" Volstagg yelled, and Sif looked over to see him, Fandral, and the Asgardian warriors surrounding a group of prisoners. "That's the last of them!"

Nodding, Sif looked up at the sky. "Whenever your ready, Heimdall!"

This chapter was supposed to be longer. But when I saved my progress, the computer froze up and i lost my progress :/ So, this is all I got for you at the moment. Hope it's satisfactory. Review pleaz.