Episode 47: Silsaber to the Rescue!
Crossbones gave the red-haired girl a dubious stare. "How do I know that PDB has a Hornetech in it?"
"I'll show you if you agree to let the young girl go," said the red-haired girl. She was wearing a brown leather jacket over a red top with black leggings and matching leather platform boots.
"Hmm, sounds like a tempting offer," Crossbones said. "But I'm still taking the girl as assurance in case you're lying."
"Then the deal is off," the red-haired girl said, putting the PDB away.
Grumbling, Crossbones took out a handgun and pointed it at MJ's head. "You think you can just walk away? I'm the one with the hostage! Now get over here, or I blow the girl's brains out!"
Electric sparks flickered between Thor's fingers, but Peter shook his head dismissively. He didn't want Thor to take any chances with his power in case it might make the situation worse, and hoped Thor would understand. Seemingly, Thor understood as the electricity from his fingers faded. Meanwhile, the red-haired girl tepidly walked over to Crossbones. Just then, the door to the other car opened and Silvija stepped in gripping a PDB in her hand.
"Now what?" Crossbones said in an annoyed tone. "You have a Hornetech too?"
"Something more deadly than that," Silvija said, and pressed the button on her PDB. "Take out Crosbone, Silsaber!"
From Silvija's PDB emerged a tall bird-like creature with silver hair-like feathers running down past its shoulders and three-pronged claws for hands and feet. Its eyes were the color of argent, which matched the metallic M-shaped mark on its chest.
"Oh, wow," Peter said in awe. "I never thought I would see a Silsaber up close. They're quite rare."
"Is that so?" Crossbones remarked. "Then I'm about to make it an extinct species. Cover my escape, Crosbone!"
Then Crossbones gripped MJ and the red-haired girl before running into the viewing car. His Crosbone then charged at Silvija's Silsaber with the electrified rods. In response, the Silsaber launched three-pronged blades from its wrists at the Crosbone. The Crosbone used its rods to block them, which sent them flying in different directions throughout the car forcing the passengers to duck their heads including Peter and Thor.
"Be careful, Silsaber!" Silvija ordered. "We don't want to hurt the passengers."
"Let's go after Crossbones while his Marémon is distracted," Thor suggested.
"Good idea," Peter agreed.
So Peter and Thor got out of their seats and went into the viewing car. There were several terrified-looking passengers, though one of them was strangely calm. It was a teenage girl wearing a black shoulder-less top with a matching skirt and dark shades, though what caught Peter's attention was her hair which was the same platinum blonde color as Black Cat's hair.
"Um, excuse me," Peter said to the girl. "Did you see a guy with a skull mask carrying two other girls with him?"
"Sure did," the girl smiled and pointed towards the opposite end of the viewing car. "He went that way."
"Thanks," Peter nodded.
But as he walked away, he felt a pat on the back of his neck. Ignoring it, he pressed on with Thor running next to him.
"I think Crossbones is heading to the engine room, just like he said he'd be," Peter guessed.
"Okay, and how do you know the engine room is this way?" Thor asked.
"When I was little, I used to be obsessed with trains before getting into Marémon," Peter explained. "I even had a book that had blueprints of various trains, including this one. So assuming they haven't changed the design of Comet Trains that much, the engine room is at the front of the train."
"Even if you're right, what are you going to do if we find Crossbones?"
"Save MJ and that red-haired girl."
"He might kill them if we try to go after him, though. I mean, he did threaten to do that before Silvija interfered. So what's to stop him from actually doing it?"
"Because I won't let him."
Just as they were approaching the end of the next car, two figures blocked their way. It was Ar-I and White Wolf, the latter of whom had his hand on his belt where a single PDB was. Meanwhile, the passengers scrambled out of their seats and went into the viewing car.
"You two," Thor frowned. "I had hoped we would never run into you again."
"Neither did we, Asgardian," Ar-I said. "Thanks to your sister's interference, Malekith died in the helicopter crash and we barely escaped Sakaar during the slave uprising."
"Do you know if two kids named Eddie and Jane made it out okay?" Peter asked.
"They were escorted safely from the helicopter by the SHIELD Agent Rumlow, while we slipped away unnoticed and your siblings did the same," Ar-I replied. "I would have destroyed them right there, but I was still in sleep mode and couldn't do anything. Then White Wolf turned me on again in Sakaar, where we met with you again and your brother. He offered to spot the best Marémon for us in exchange for his freedom, but when he failed to deliver we gave him back to the Grandmaster. After that, our boss ordered us to head to Sokovia City. But if I had known Crossbones was going to show up, I would have taken the bus instead."
"You know Crossbones?" Thor said.
"Of course I do! He's one of HYDRA's top mercenaries," Ar-I responded angrily. "He was ordered to finish the job we failed to do in New Asgard Town, but I'm not sure what he's doing on this train with those hostages he ran off with."
"Then you saw him run this way," Peter realized. "And since you don't know why he's here, you're not working with him."
"You've got that right," White Wolf said through his mask. "But this is as far as you'll go."
"Why?" Thor demanded. "You have no reason to stop us."
"Consider this payback for interfering with our operations," White Wolf said, and held up his PDB. "Wintersol!"
To be continued…
