Disclaimer: All rights go to MARVEL COMICS!
Chapter II
The technological advancements of Midgard more often than not took Lady Sif by surprise as Peter slowly introduced them to her. Things like television, cellphones and computers were but a small taste of what the mortal plane had to offer, and the spider-themed superhero was practically grinning from ear-to-ear as he sat the goddess of the hunt down on his couch in front of the tv. Today he was going to introduce his girlfriend to something he'd been saving for a quite some time now.
"Behold!" Peter gestured to the small rectangular cube that was plugged into his tv. "I give to you the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES for short."
"NES?" Lady Sif parroted. She'd never heard of such a device. Then again it wasn't all that surprising that she hadn't considering where she came from. The rectangular cube itself was two shades of gray, light at the top and darker towards the bottom, with its name proudly displayed on the front in red. Plugged into the bottom section was a black wire that led to another gray rectangular cube, only this one was much smaller and thinner and decorated with multiple buttons.
"That's right, NES." Peter confirmed as he took hold of the controller and gently placed it in his girlfriend's hands. Her light brown eyes roamed over it with an almost childlike curiosity that he couldn't help but find adorable. "It's a video game console."
Video game console? She remembered Peter mentioning those as well as the other members of the Avengers. She'd never actually seen nor played one before so if her hunch was correct, and she was ninety-nine percent sure that it was, then this would be her first time.
"I see. Thou hast mentioned these... video game consoles to me in the past, and I take it thou want me to play." She correctly deduced. Peter couldn't help but smile.
"Got it in one." He confirmed before walking over to the rectangle and pressing a button on it. This caused a red light to glow before the screen on the tv came to life.
Lady Sif was then introduced to an upbeat melody, followed by a large title screen displaying the words 'Super Mario Bros' near the top. "What is this?"
Below the title screen was what appeared to be a brick-like path with hills and trees in the background as a little man began to traverse forwards. Was this the video game? Had it already started? She wasn't interacting with the controller so was this Peter's doing? She turned towards him to find that he was plugging in what appeared to be a second controller.
"This is Super Mario Brothers." Peter started to explain. He then took a seat closer to her on the couch. "Our goal is simple. All we have to do is guide Mario and Luigi through a series of increasingly challenging levels while running, jumping and defeating multiple enemies along the way. Eventually we'll reach King Koopa so we can defeat him and rescue princess Toadstool and save the mushroom kingdom. See, simple."
The goddess of the hunt looked somewhat confused before a look of determination made its way onto her face. From what Peter described, there was a princess in danger and a kingdom in trouble. "Whoever this so-called king is, he must be stopped! What weapons do we have at our disposal?"
Peter chuckled nervously. "Well, Mario and Luigi have powerups, but you'll have to find them throughout the levels as you play."
"I see." Lady Sif said thoughtfully. She was at least familiar with powerups as she'd seen multiple warriors across the realms grow their power through the use of special items. "So, we are to guide Mario and Luigi to the princess to be rescued?"
"That's right." He confirmed. "Since you're player one, you'll be Mario and since I'm player two, I'll be Luigi."
Peter reached over to her controller to select two players. Lady Sif watched his hands and how he operated the buttons and how they caused things on the screen to change. It was interesting to see in action and she felt eager to see how a video game worked firsthand with her at the helm.
"Ready to play?" Her boyfriend asked.
"Yes." The Asgardian answered.
Peter smiled. "Good because you're up first."
And so, the game began. The upbeat music played as the player character remained stationary. Sif was unsure and began to rock with the d-pad. She was surprised when Mario responded to her commands. Next, she began to fiddle with the two buttons, finding that the one labeled A made the title character jump high into the air. It was strange, like manipulating a puppet but without the actual marionette being present.
Peter meanwhile looked on in amusement as Sif tried to understand the controls. The way her eyes sparkled when she made Mario move or jump was just too damn cute. If not for the armor and sword he could easily forget he was sat next to a literal goddess that fought great battles across the realms. Unfortunately, her sense of wonder was soon halted by a mushroom with eyes.
"What just happened?" Sif asked with wide eyes. One minute Mario was moving forward and the next he was leaping into the air before falling off screen after coming into contact with some bizarre creature. "And what was that?"
"You just died, and that creature is called a Goomba." Peter answered. The screen went black before another character similar to Mario but green took his place.
"Died." Sif whispered, a feeling of dread pooling in her stomach. "Does this mean I've gotten Mario killed and failed to save the princess?"
Peter paused before quickly trying to explain how death in video games actually worked.
"So, I can keep trying as many times as it takes without penalty." She realized. Now she felt kind of silly. Video games were just harmless entertainment. Why had she taken it so seriously? If her comrades could see her now? No doubt Brünnhilde would laugh and laugh at her expense. Thor as well now that she thought about it. The great halls would be filled with laughter. "Let us continue."
Her boyfriend chuckled. "As you wish."
-x-
The next few hours were a mixture of laughter and mounting frustration for the goddess of the hunt. She and Peter made great progress throughout the game but had yet to rescue the princess from the clutches of the evil King Koopa. They would take small breaks every now and again to either get some food or to use the restroom, but the former was determined to see their mission through to the end.
"We're finally here, World 8-4." Peter announced.
"World 8-4?" Lady Sif questioned.
"The final level." He elaborated.
"Then the princess is finally within our grasp!" She realized.
At long last they would confront the cowardly King Koopa and rescue the Princess. She and Peter both fought what appeared to be near insurmountable odds just to reach this point. Goombas, Fire Piranha Plants, Koopas, Red Koopa Troopas, Koopa Paratroopas, and Hammer Bros. So many enemies and they still couldn't stop the two plumber brothers.
"That's right. All we have to do is make it through this castle and past the final boss." Peter smiled feeling excited to have made it this far with his girlfriend. He was honestly impressed how fast Sif was able to learn the game's controls and she wasn't afraid to ask for help either when she didn't understand something either. The end was near, and he was ready put an end to the King. "I'm up first."
Lady Sif was greeted to a dark castle of hellfire and brimstone, accompanied by a quick and ominous tune. So far Peter was able to easily navigate the level as Super Luigi with a flame powerup. He eliminated every enemy foolish enough to try and halt his progress and sailed across the sea of flames.
The Asgardian made sure to commit the route her boyfriend took to memory just in case things didn't go his way and it was a good thing she had because suddenly from out of nowhere he was struck by a blast of fire from offscreen. Then came the hammers, those demandable arching hammers. Luigi lost his fire, his increased size, and before long his life. All at the hands of King Koopa!
"Damn, looks like he got me." Peter groaned. "Looks like it's all up to you now, Sif. Bring the princess home."
The goddess of the hunt clenched her fist tight. "I shall. King Koopa's machinations end here."
Mario entered the castle...
Lady Sif narrowed her eyes as the superpowered Italian plumber made his way down the path Peter took when he was in control. She traversed the pipes, sailed through the fire and flames, fought all the various enemies that stood in her way until she reached the final boss himself. King Koopa stood there ready and waiting to meet her and she would accept his challenge.
First was the fire, easily avoided.
She began to rapidly tap the B' button and unleashed a series of fireballs.
King Koopa shrugged them off and launched himself into the air before throwing a series of hammers her way.
Again, Lady Sif was able to avoid them and continued to spam fireballs at the made turtle looking dragon beast.
Time was running out and so too was her patience. Peter watched her with bated breath as she locked in and devoted all of her focus towards the game. Her aggressive style was eventually rewarded when King Koopa finally succumbed to his girlfriend's rapid fireball assault. He flipped over upside-down and offscreen into the sea of flames, but not before the number 5000 appeared above his head before fading away into nothingness.
"You did!" Peter cheered.
"Not yet, I haven't." She spoke calmly.
She ran across the bridge and straight towards the goal. The cheerful music she'd grown accustomed to blared as the title character ran down to meet the princess.
"Now I've done it." She smiled.
The game was now over...
THANK YOU MARIO!
YOUR QUEST IS OVER.
WE PRESENT YOU A NEW QUEST.
PUSH BUTTON B
TO SELECT A WORLD
"Congratulations Sif! You just rescued the princess." Peter smiled as he brought the female warrior into a warm embrace. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Twas not just me." She tried to wave him off. "We rescued Princess Toadstool together."
"But you're the one who struck the final blow." Peter continued to smile. Sometimes his girlfriend was a little too humble, but then again, he wasn't one to talk now, was he?
Video games didn't exist in Asgard but if they did, Lady Sif could easily see many warriors get caught up in them if they were all as engaging as Super Mario Bros.
The pair continued to talk for a little while longer before the sword at Lady Sif's side began to crackle. She and Peter knew what that meant. "It's time for me to return home."
"I know." Peter glanced out the window and saw the sky was starting to be bathed in orange. How long had they been playing for? "A goodbye kiss for the road?"
The Asgardian warrior giggled. She leaned in close and planted a gentle kiss on her partner's lips. "That should hold thee over until next we meet."
"It's going to have to." Peter chuckled as he and his girlfriend stood up from the couch. She stretched her arms above her head before reached to unsheathe her blade from her hip. The spider-themed superhero took a few steps back as the goddess of the hunt held her weapon, almost touching his ceiling.
"Goodbye, Peter." She smiled.
"Goodbye Sif." He waved.
In a flash of lightning and power she was gone. The only proof of her visit being the empty box of nachos on the coffee table and the scorch mark he exist made on his floor. Wait a moment! She left a dark scorch mark on the floor!
Peter's shoulders sunk. "My landlord is not going to be happy about this."
She really wasn't.
END!