Unexpected

Beating Up a Beast

Jotunheim...

Land of the Frost Giants, a realm of ice and darkness...

The realm where Loki was originally from.

I shook these thoughts from my head as quickly as they popped into it. Loki had nothing to do with this beast. I had no time to think about him now. I was on pointe for this mission, which meant that those were my agents down there! That meant that I had to act. Now.

My mind whirled as I tried to piece together a plan. Yelling back to Thor, I asked, "So, what do you know about these things?"

"Loki, Sif, the Warriors Three, and I were chased by one of these in Jotunheim a few years ago, shortly before my banishment! They're quite a match even for a well-trained warrior. Watch out for their icy breath and they're incredibly strong and resilient! In a way they're the guard dogs of the Jotun!"

That thing was like a dog? How big was the average Jotun if this was merely a dog to them, or was he referring to the beast's use, not so much its size dynamic? Either way I only saw one course of action, and it seemed kinda crazy even to me!

Twisting in Thor's arms again I shouted, "When we get over it, drop me!"

"What?" His brows creased and he frowned at my command. Surely he thought I was crazy. A drop from this height would easily kill an average Midgardian and he was well aware of that!

I hadn't tried a maneuver like this before, but I figured with the right boost I'd be able to pull it off... Without hesitating, I grasped my silver device, twisting its knob before giving it a click. I ignored the staticky rippling of energy flushing over the skin of my arms as my body absorbed it, feeling its strange, shocking chill and heat running along my veins as I tried to flash Thor a confidant grin, "Trust me!"

He must have caught sight of the bits of electricity shooting over my skin because his face took on a confused expression before he nodded, a grin of his own growing across his bearded lips, "As you wish it!"

I clenched as we shot high over the head of the beast, readying for when Thor finally released his grip on my waist and suddenly I was weightless just for a second before I started plummeting down! Never before had I been so thankful that my Catalyst suit lacked a skirt because it would have been flowing up and flapping around me as I dropped, straight as a pencil, the wind of my descent causing tears to prick my eyes.

I pulled my hand up to my earpiece, blocking the wind again as I shouted, "Incoming!"

Just as I had planned and hoped, I landed foot first on the beast, the sharp impact of my heals directly into its back shoving its shoulders down into the ground even as it had tried to leap and crush one of the agents, a woman who'd been shooting uselessly at it with her empty pistol. The beast started skidding across the cement as I bent my knees at impact so as not to break them with the force of my fall. Using the fall's momentum I rolled away over the beast's flat head to tumble in front of the skidding beast. Leaping up from my somersault in front of the female agent I held out my hands, catching the beast's head, digging in my heels to try to stop the beast from ramming into the agent, though the treads of my combat boots skidded as I was pushed back about a yard as the agent scrambled away behind me.

"What the actual hell?" She cried.

"Catalyst!" another voice called echoed in my earpiece intercom and in my other ear from where one of the other agents was stationed.

"Thor!" Another rejoined as the blonde demigod rocketed down to us, landing in a crouch that cracked the cement beneath his feet.

Thor didn't hesitate a moment before leaping into battle, swinging his massive hammer and whacking the beast's shoulder, sending it rolling directly into the sheet metal side of one of the warehouse buildings. This stunned the beast, which shook its massive head before charging directly at Thor who was readying for another mighty swing.