Episode 12: Black Hole Escape!
At the bottom of the stairs, Peter and Eddie saw many Svartelm collapsed on the ground before two large machines that had multiple burn marks on them. Further down the room several Kurseed were antagonizing Hornetech, who was flying around with Spidi on his back.
"Spidi!" Peter cried.
"Hornetech!" Eddie called. "Get back here!"
Obediently, Hornetech flew past the Kurseed and over to Eddie where Spidi jumped onto Peter's shoulder. Peter saw Spidi shaking in fear, causing him to pet the little spider in a comforting manner. Meanwhile, the Kurseed saw the light coming from Eddie's flashlight and flinched.
"I think they don't like the light," Eddie figured. "That's why they destroyed the generators."
"That would also explain why the Svartelm scattered when Hornetech attacked them," Peter added. "It was because they didn't want to be in the sunlight for too long."
"We could use this to our advantage," Eddie realized. "Hornetech, Stinger Blast!"
Nodding, Hornetech raised its wrists at the Kurseed. Multiple blasts of energy escaped from them and hit the Kurseed, who continued to flinch but didn't move.
"Maybe they can be paralyzed," Peter speculated. "Use Stinger on the Kurseed, Spidi!"
Unlike before, Spidi obeyed Peter this time and leaped onto all the Kurseed's necks injecting his stingers into them. Unfortunately, the Kurseed's necks were so thick that the stingers couldn't puncture them. Then one of the Kurseed threw a round object in Spidi's direction which exploded and caused Spidi to be drawn towards it.
"What is that?" Peter asked, feeling something pulling him and Eddie toward the explosion.
"A Black Hole Grenade," Eddie said. "Kurseed and Svartelm use them to suck perceived enemies into nothing."
"Oh, no," Peter said, realizing the danger Spidi was in. "Web Shot my arm!"
Spidi did just that and held on for deal life as the nearby Kurseed were sucked into the black hole. Meanwhile, the other Kurseed retreated back into the vents. Once the black hole vanished into nothing, there was a lingering silence until several footsteps were heard from above. Peter and Eddie looked back to see MJ, Thor, and Jane arrive with their Marémon Noirstel, Thunderthor, and Thorina.
"MJ told us what happened," Thor said and looked at the damaged generators. "But where did the Kurseed that went down here go?"
"Some of them got sucked into a Black Hole Grenade, while the others went back into the vents," Peter explained as Spidi crawled along his web to rest upon Peter's shoulder once more.
"Then let's get them," Thor insisted and ran back up the stairs with Thunderthor following.
Immediately, Peter and the others followed with their Marémon out of the SHIELD Station. The trees were bathed in the afternoon sun, but there were no Svartelm or Kurseed.
"I guess those bugs must have run into the underbrush to hide from the sun," Thor figured.
"Well, they won't be hidden for long," Jane said. "We have to get out of this forest before the sun goes down, and call Nick Fury to tell him what happened."
"But where should we go?" Eddie asked. "Yortown is too far from here, and New Asgard Town is under the tyrannical grip of Thor's siblings."
"At least it's closer to us than Yortown," MJ pointed out. "Besides, we have to go there."
Peter nodded. "I know we're taking a risk either way, but I would rather confront Thor's siblings than deal with colonies of Svartelm and Kurseed again."
Thor frowned and then said, "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm on Peter and MJ's side."
Eddie and Jane looked at each other, then back at the SHIELD Station. So they went back inside and gathered enough supplies for traveling before joining Peter, MJ, and Thor. Together, they briskly walked away from the SHIELD Station on the opposite side of the hill it was on until they found a paved road. From there, it wasn't long until they reached the end of the forest just as the sun was starting to set. In the distance, there were seaside cliffs that were covered in greenery and several groups of brightly colored houses.
"I would be happy to see my hometown again if there wasn't anything sinister waiting for me," Thor remarked.
"While you may not have beaten back the Kurseed, you and Thunderthor were very brave," Jane said. "So I think you have a shot a winning against your siblings."
"Really?" Thor blinked.
Jane blushed slightly as she nodded.
"Aw, isn't that precious?" MJ sneered. "You still like Thor, even though he abandoned you."
"No, I still can't forgive him for that!" Jane snapped, hiding her blush with her hands. "And he clearly hasn't bothered to shower or cut his hair in over a year."
"Hey, I was going to do those things eventually!" Thor argued.
Eddie and Peter chuckled in response while their Marémon Spidi and Hornetech did too.
"Hey, Pete," Eddie said, leaning against Peter as they walked. "Do you have any other Marémon besides Spidi?"
"No, he's the only one I have so far," Peter responded. "If it wasn't for those Svartelm and Kurseed, I would've tried catching Marémon in the forest."
"Well, if that's the case, I'll let you borrow Hornetech," Eddie offered. "He'll give you a chance against Asgard's Realm Champions, who specialize in Weapon-Type Marémon which are weak to Tech-Types like Hornetech."
"On top of that, my brother's Marémon is part-Element-Type," Thor pointed out. "And if you recall, Mutant-Type Marémon are weak against Element-Types."
Peter's eyes widened, remembering Spidi was a Mutant-Type. "Oh, yeah. If I challenged Loki with just Spidi, there's no way I'd win."
"But you'll still have me by your side," Thor said.
"And what about your sister's Marémon?" MJ asked.
"It's part-Magic-Type," Thor answered. "Unfortunately, the only type that can beat Magic-Type Marémon is God-Type."
Folding her arms, Jane said, "If you really want to beat Loki, Peter, you should try to get your hands on a Magic-Type Marémon. Those can beat Element-Types for sure, and it'll give you an even chance against Hela."
"Except there's one problem: where are we going to get one?" MJ questioned.
While the others pondered over this question, they continued walking down the road towards New Asgard Town with the sun setting over the western mountains to their left.
To be continued…
