Book 4: Arcane [Thor]

Chapter 11

The multiple points where the lines crossed lit up, giving away to the fact this wasn't an ordinary net. The surface shocked Thor hard enough to leave him jolting around on the ground. He became surrounded by the aliens, who laughed in glee at their find. To further add insult to injury, many began to beat and kick the god as punishment.

A ship flew in low overhead. It pulled a hard left to swing around for the legs at the bottom to comes down in a landing. Everything paused. Even the electrical currents of the net to allow Thor to sit up a bit in wonder. The drawbridge to the main body opened. Someone stumbled to the opening; a woman with long dark hair, tan skin, navy blue armor, and white facial markings. Her head craned back to finish off the contents of the bottle in hand. The Asgardian knew whatever it was, was alcoholic. She tossed the item away to shatter somewhere else and focused her eyes on the man lying on the ground.

"He's mine," she declared.

The woman strut down the bridge with an air of confidence. Unfortunately for her, the drunk stupor she'd found herself in made the stranger fall over the side into a pile of garbage. The aliens ignored the interruption to discuss how to handle their catch of the day.

"Wait!" she shouted. Her hand went through a carcass in the struggle to stand again, nose scrunching up from the putrid smell. "Wait. He's mine." On solid ground she managed to stand with just a bit of a wobble. "So if you want him, you go through me."

"But we've already got him," an alien stated. This was their food.

She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal. "All right, then. I guess I go through you."

Now his shoulders shrugged with the cock of the gun. "More food."

The woman knocked her knuckles together. Some sparks flew out of the mechanisms in place and she did it a few more times. Finally, they activated at the same time some aliens had crossed the halfway point of the space between them. Her arms raised, the ship behind her coming to life. Guns from both sides of the aircraft detached and locked on the group. None of them had time to react. The stranger opened fire on every one of them. Even those that tried to run. In a matter of seconds Thor became the only one to remain. She had no plans to kill him.

The prince peeled off the net to free himself. Suddenly, an alien rushed from his hiding place. The woman had put away the guns, which made him think she was unarmed. What a grave miscalculation. With lightning speed, the female ducked under the swing of the alien's staff and punched him in the face. In a daze he was then thrown through the air, screaming like a girl.

"Thank you," Thor breathed out.

She didn't acknowledge the gratitude. They weren't allies. A circular device attached itself to the god's neck without warning. A hand reached up in confusion when the familiar sensation of electrocution spread all the way down to his toes. But this time it rendered him unconscious before hitting the ground. For a moment the stranger examined her catch and tested the cape that still clung to one shoulder. She determined it'd hold. The woman dragged his body back to the ship, a smirk on her lips. Not bad for a day's work in her book.

Thor didn't remain unconscious for long. Eyes opening it took a moment for the blurred vision to clear. He wasn't on the ground. The mismatched city passed below him at high speed, face pressed against the glass.

"Scrapper 142. I need clearance and an audience with the boss."

His head turned to see the woman sitting in the cockpit above his hold made of thick glass.

"I've got something special."

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Thor shouted. She ignored the question, angering him enough to slam a fist against the glass. A spiderweb crack appeared from the contact. "Answer me! Hey! I am Thor, son of Odin. There's someone I have to find. I need to get back to Asgard."