The darkness never seemed to end. Thor fell without restraints. Without a sense from up or down. The remnants of the Bifrost had long since gone. He'd failed. Hela had gone on to Asgard and left them to an uncertain fate. She'd tossed the three of them about like ragdolls. Simple children who'd never faced an enemy before. Mjolnir had been his only hope for a defense. Now it lay in pieces back on Midgard.
Light broke through in a rush that blinded him for a moment. The twisting motion of his body also made it difficult to see. Without control the surroundings swirled. He felt the impact. Back first he crashed into a pile that easily broke and caved in around him. Thor lay there to collect himself. Determine if anything was broken? See if anything else would break under the weight of him? Finally, the prince began to task of dragging himself out. The closer to the surface he grew... nothing looked the same as the other. Just a mix of random bits and odd ends.
The Asgardian's arm broke through first. It took a few tries to find something stable to drag the rest of him out. Thor stumbled over the uneven ground. Now the reason everything looked so random made sense. He'd fallen into a scrapyard. Asgard didn't have anything like this. Nor Midgard from the odd ships and devices that laid in pieces everywhere. Stretched out before him stood a massive patch of water. Like an ocean. Only the sky above it looked unnatural. Multiple holes in the clouds took on various colors and spat out other bits of junk. And in the far distance sat the largest one of all. Like a hurricane or typhoon. Red leaked through the clouds that faced the water below it, lightning sparking off a few times. Just where–
A noise above had Thor running. A large pillar spat out of a wormhole above his position and threatened to crush him. He managed to get to the top of the pile and out of the way seconds before it landed. Another close call.
From the top of the junk pile, he could see a city in the distance. One with mismatched colors, odd structures, and flying ships. That didn't look familiar either and he knew of no place like this in the Nine Realms. He thought for his search of the Infinity Stones and to prevent Ragnarok he'd gone just about everywhere. Obviously, that wasn't the case.
An alarm went off to the right of him and a large ship lowered on his position. Two sections broke off to land in the small stretch of barren ground, not hindered by the junk piles. Thor watched warily how the doors opened and multiple aliens of different races disembarked. Their clothes were ratty and barely holding together. Some of their equipment patched together had seen better days. And some of their markings told Thor what realm they came from. To see so many aliens interacting with one another in the same place, this left him with more questions than answers as to where he'd landed.
"Are you a fighter? Or are you food?" an alien asked.
"I'm just passing through," Thor answered.
He looked over their heads a bit distracted. Had Anya landed here too? If so, the landing couldn't have been good for her. What if she lay injured somewhere?
The group chuckled amongst themselves, a few exchanging looks. "It is food. On your knees."
A handful broke off to subdue the target. Nothing he couldn't handle and extended out a hand–
He forgot for a brief moment. That Mjolnir would never come to his aid again. The lack of a weapon made him feel like a part of him was missing. A gun cocked. It forced the prince to raise his hands at the moment to not get accidentally shot. When the alien drew closer, a mistake on his part, Thor gripped the front of their robes to toss them through the air out of sight. Its screams were lost in the distance.
Another rushed forward and, in his haste, to catch their meal the red cape attached on the shoulders ripped in the process. Thor punched him square in the jaw. The alien dropped to the ground unconscious. His fists hit another assailant and went to march towards the others that smartly stayed away. He didn't get far from the net that shot out of a gun to capture him. The Asgardian scoffed when he hit the ground. A mere net made of rope was no match for his strength–
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."
The woman leaned over in the seat. "Many apologizes, your majesty," she mocked.
A finger pressed a button on the dashboard. The disk on the god's neck activated and caused his body to jolt and twitch without any control. Thor's body rolled back over face down left to stare down at the city below.
Scrapper 142 settled back into the seat with a grin on her face. It was only a matter of time now till they were in the hanger and she collected what was owed.
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The streets of Asgard were empty of its people, while every guard, gun, and airship sat trained on the south end of the main courtyard. News of a dark presence having infiltrated Asgard reached far and wide. Hela stood at the top of the steps, Skurge just a few feet behind her. She held no weapons, her hair flowed freely in the breeze. To not give off a hostile nature the Goddess of Death downplayed her armor to speak reason to the people of Asgard. That her way, her rule, was the right path to take.
"It's come to my attention that you don't know who I am," Hela said. No one said a word. "I am Hela. Odin's firstborn, the commander of the Legions of Asgard, the rightful heir to the throne, and the Goddess of Death."
Every soldier on the ground fell back into a defensive stance, shields at the ready. At the front stood Hogun, expression hard, mace in hand.
"My father is dead. As are the princes. You're welcome."
No one voiced their thanks. It only angered them more. Their forces were determined now more than ever to protect the throne. Even if no one sat on it.
"We were once the seat of absolute power in the cosmos. Our supremacy was unchallenged. Yet Odin stopped at the Nine Realms. Our destiny is to rule over all others. And I am here to restore that power. Kneel before me and rise into the ranks of my great conquest."
"Whoever you are, whatever you've done, surrender now!" Hogun ordered. "Or we will show you no mercy."
"Whoever I am? Did you listen to a work I said?" Hela asked, exasperated.
"This is your last warning."
A strained smile came to her lips at his defiance. "I thought you'd be happy to see me."
The spikes around the face of the mace Hogun held activated. None of them would give her a warm welcome.
She sighed out, "Fine." Things could have been much simpler if they had just kneeled.
The crown of antlers retook their place on her head to prove she was more than ready to face them without mercy. Hogun approached to meet her head on alone. Three necroswords escaped the female's hands to cut down the warrior. He defended himself much better than Volstagg and Fandral in the golden room. At least until they were face to face on the stairs. He swung the mace around and she ducked right under it. He didn't get another chance, her foot kicking him through the air into the banister of the stairs.
Now, the soldiers marched forward, one shouting, "Charge!"
Those on the front-line Hela fought off on the stairs. Every one of them fell till she grew bored of this vantage point and flipped over their heads to stand in the courtyard. Multiple necroswords escaped her person from all angles, defensively and offensively. None stood a chance, though the warriors fought as hard as they could. Some managed to clash blades with her only to add to the growing piles of bodies left in her wake. Gunfire began to rain down from the airships and towers once the area had cleared around her of soldiers still standing. Yet the black cape acted as a shield of protection against the assault. The moment they let up to reload the necroswords flew at them in all directions. None were left alive and those in the sky went crashing into the ground or buildings.
Every wave met a grizzly end. Only one managed to stab the goddess in the back, but it did them no good. They met the end of a blade without hesitation. If only, the attack fueled her more with anger. All were brought to an end.
When the altercation halted, the dust settled. Skurge walked through the carnage. Over his comrades. His brothers in arms. Asgardians. He felt numb.
"Oh, I've missed this," Hela stated. The death that surrounded the goddess fueled her power. What a wonderful, glorious sight. "Still, it's a shame. Good soldiers dying for nothing all because they couldn't see the future. Sad."
A groan had their attention turn to find Hogun trying to stand. At some point in the fight, he'd pulled himself from where she'd kicked him through the banister to rush Hela alongside his comrades. It hadn't ended in his favor from the way her swords had cut into him brutally.
"Oh, he's still alive," she taunted. "Change of heart?"
"Go back to whatever cave you crept out of," Hogun spat out. Hela only grinned. What foolish bravery. "You evil demoness!"
This time, the goddess wasn't so delicate in her choice of weapons. A large spear ran through Hogun's chest and out the back to embed in the stone. It propped him up in an almost standing position.
"Let's go see my palace."
Skurge followed at the goddess's heels like a well-trained dog.
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The Bifrost was left unmanned. No one watched over the Nine Realms in the absence of a gatekeeper. No one thought to collect up Hofund. The key to activate the bridge. Skurge didn't keep it in his possession due to the shock from what came through. Hela didn't pay it much mind. After all, Asgard was hers to command. Someone would eventually be by to clean up all the blood spilled upon her entrance.
Though what the long-lost princess, now Queen of Asgard, failed to realize was that there were those moving about beyond the city of Asgard. A figure climbed up the rocks that held the golden room of the Bifrost at the edge of the waterfall looking out into the abyss. To remain out of sight on the open Rainbow Bridge. Should anyone have eyes on the structure.
They slipped inside. Slowed to look over the two corpses lying in the room. There was nothing to be done for them, unfortunately. The intruder took up Hofund in their grasp and pulled it from the dais. Thus closing off the bridge permanently. To protect the Nine Realms. They slipped back into the shadows undetected.