Episode 13: Night of the Shadusk!

By the time Peter, MJ, Thor, Jane, and Eddie reached the outskirts of New Asgard Town, it was already nighttime with mist from the sea rolling in and a quarter moon rising above. Aside from a few scattered houses, there was also a cemetery on a lonely hill.

"I guess we should make camp," Peter suggested.

"And risk getting attacked by the Svartelm and Kurseed during the night? I don't think so!" MJ objected. "We're too vulnerable out here in the open."

"There is one person I know who might be willing to put us up for the night," Thor said. "Although it will depend on how well I can convince her."

"Wait," Jane realized. "If you're talking about going to Sif's place, it would be too dangerous."

"How come?" Thor asked.

"Loki placed her under permanent house-arrest after you left and brainwashed the Warriors Three to make sure she didn't leave," replied Jane.

"The Warriors Three?" Peter questioned.

"It's a nickname that was given to the Weapon-Type Marémon Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral," Jane explained. "Together, they protect New Asgard Town from intruders."

"Well, if that's the case, how were you were able to leave when SHIELD recruited you?" MJ asked Jane.

Shivering nervously, Jane said, "Loki allowed me to leave on the condition that I wouldn't tell SHIELD about what happened in New Asgard Town. Otherwise, he would kill me."

"Okay, but that doesn't change our situation," Peter pointed out. "We can either risk going to Sif's place, or camp somewhere like at that cemetery."

"No one ever goes to the cemetery after dark," Thor warned.

"Why is that?" Peter asked.

Thor pointed at the cemetery, which Peter and the others looked at. From the tombstones emerged several dark shapes that looked like tiny humans with a cape-like membrane between the arms and hips. In a split second, they vanished and then appeared a few feet away from the road where Peter and the others were standing.

"Let's go!" MJ said urgently. "Those things are giving me the creeps."

So MJ broke out into a run towards New Asgard Town, while the others followed. The dark shapes glided through the air behind them, while some occasionally appeared in front of them. Crying out in surprise, MJ called Noirstel from his PDB and ordered him to create an Invisible Web around everyone including herself. Peter decided to aid MJ by having Spidi paralyze the dark shapes that were in their midst with his Stinger attack. However, this didn't seem to affect them. So Thor called Thunderthor to shock the dark shapes using Lightning Blast. Once the dark shapes were incapacitated, Peter and the others continued to run into the town. Passing several houses, they ran down a paved road that ended at a town square where they stopped to catch their breath outside of Noirstel's Invisible Web.

"I've never seen Marémon like that," Peter said between gasps of breath. "What were those?"

"Shadusk," Thor answered. "They're the specters of Marémon who passed away that have been reanimated into supernatural beings with the ability to manipulate shadows and teleport anywhere they want."

"Does that mean they're Magic-Type Marémon?" When Thor nodded, Peter's eyes widened. "Then I've got to catch one of those!"

Before Thor could respond, he and the others were suddenly ambushed by three creatures. One resembled a stumpy dragon with tusks that resembled the edges of an axe blade, the other looked like a small dinosaur with black skin and carried a mace-shaped club in its hand, while the third resembled a bird with blond-colored feathers and had a rapier-shaped stick tied to its side by a string. But what drew everyone's attention more was the creatures' eyes, which glowed blue in the darkness.

"It's the Warriors Three: the axe-mouthed one is Volstagg, the one with the mace is Hogun, and the one with the rapier-shaped stick is Fandral," Jane exclaimed. "We have to hide now!"

Just as the three Marémon advanced toward Peter and the others, another creature stepped out from a nearby alley. It resembled a red triceratops with a gray shield-shaped head and a sword attached to its back. Standing between the two groups, the triceratops-like creature roared angrily at the three Marémon which caused them to back away. From the same alley emerged a young woman who had medium dark hair and wore a black leather jacket with matching pants.

"Shieldsif!" the dark-haired young woman yelled at the triceratops-like creature. "What are you — Thor!"

"Hi, Sif," Thor waved nervously.

The dark-haired young woman's face became flush with embarrassment.

"Seems Jane isn't the only girl that likes Thor," MJ whispered to Peter.

"Why did you come back here?" Sif demanded. "It will only be a matter of time before Loki finds out, then he and Hela will do worse things to you than they already have!"

"But that's why I came back: to put an end to their tyranny!" As he spoke, Thor walked up to Sif and grasped her shoulders. "Now, please, can you take us somewhere to stay for the night? My friends and I have been on a long and hectic journey that I'll tell you about in more detail later."

Reluctantly, Sif nodded. "Follow me."

###

"Um, not that I'm complaining about the arrangements, but are you sure it's safe for us to sleep near Shieldsif?" MJ asked. "I mean, she is a Weapon-Type."

They had followed Sif through several alleyways until they came to a house that overlooked the rest of the town, where they were led into a large barn that Shieldsif was typically kept in.

"Oh, yes, she's perfectly fine so long as you give her space," Sif said. "But lately, she's been getting super restless and occasionally breaks out of the barn to intimidate the Warriors Three."

"Why does she do that?" Peter asked.

"Because she's mad at them for taking Loki's side, even though she doesn't realize it's not their fault," Sif explained. "They're being controlled by the Mind Stone, which you can tell by the color of their eyes."

"Oh, yeah, I did notice their eyes were strikingly blue," Peter realized.

"Is there any way to cure them?" Thor wondered.

Sif shook her head. "No, unless we can get our hands on the Mind Stone, which is easier said than done."

"So our best chance is to win against Loki and Hela, then," Peter stated. "And if I'm going to do that, I need to borrow Hornetech and get a Shadusk."

To be continued…