Bend Around the Wind by Scyllaya

Chapter 41: Standoff

Chapter Forty-One

Standoff

Milky Way Orbit

It was not the first time she broke some bones, not at all, but there was a difference between an accidental quick snap and a slow deliberate crush caused by a strong unyielding grip. She screamed before she could even think about silencing herself. Spots appeared in her vision right away as the hot flash of pain made her dizzy. She stopped struggling because every single movement sent new waves of agony through her body. The man who grabbed her was tall, almost as tall as Drongo. His scales were deep green almost brown, but he was not truly reptilian. His pupils were round, his skin too warm to the touch, half-breed maybe, or something completely different. Four thick fingers were digging into Juyu's arm, sharp nails deeply embedded into her flesh, blood trickling down her arm and onto the floor. She shifted back into her original form on instinct, pale flesh getting replaced by green, not that the large man did not know what she was already.

By the time she managed to shake off the shock of pain there was fighting all around. Startled yells cut off one after another while guns were blazing. The lackeys of the tall man were shooting chaotically, screaming at one another in alarm. It took some time for Juyu to notice her sister, but the moment she did, she was yelling and struggling again.

'No! Bee! Get out!' she tried to warn her. Her sister was strong, but she was not invincible. Struggling made the pain in her arm worse, her whole left side burned from it, but she did not stop. Bee was too fast to be easily shot down and the invaders attention was divided when someone started shooting at them. She was still captured, she was still in pain, and they were in the middle of a battle, but just seeing Stark caused a burst of relief to surge up in her. Stark always knew what to do, and also because where Stark was, Loki couldn't be far behind.

Bee was furious, her movements fast but almost mindless, she hacked and slashed anyone she could reach while energy blasts rained around her. Stark took cover behind some boxes, his shots were quick but precise, even if not always lethal. He was hidden and far away enough that their invaders couldn't get to him without risking to be shot and most of their attention was on Bee anyway. The tall man who still held her captured did not seem concerned about the fight even if he took a few steps back to make himself less of an easy target. The crushed bone in Juyu's arm shifted with the movement and she hissed out in pain before biting her lips to stay silent. She had to get away from him.

'Really, spiky?' yelled Stark over the sound of fighting. Another one of the dark man's men screamed as he lost an arm. He was writhing down on the floor while his comrades tried to corner Bee in the far side of the cargo.

'You're using a girl as a shield? How does that go along with your big bad image?'

'I am using your weakness,' the man rumbled back as he drew a gun from his belt as well. 'You could have already shot at me, but you are too afraid to harm your little Skrull pet.'

'So scared of me, spiky?' Stark asked. Juyu tried to turn to see what was happening with Bee, but she couldn't, she could only hear the sound of fighting, the yelling and screaming.

'Call back that little animal,' the man ordered.

'I don't think she will stop before all your men are dead by her feet,' Stark shot back. 'I can wait until she's done with that.'

'My men are not so incompetent to be bested by a little girl!'

Juyu felt pathetic, hanging in the grip of the man, being used like this. She wanted to hope that Bee would easily defeat all of them, but there were a lot of them, even more...

'Stark! There's more of them! Sent out to search the ship!' The last word was barely out of her mouth when the tall man tightened his grip again and twisted her arm, silencing her. She cried out in pain as the broken bone shifted.