*Hiss* The alien is working hard to convey what he is saying. Combining an intricate backstory paired with an emotional tone, he even teared up while telling his situation. Too bad none of it was understood.
"Hold on." Ryan cast all-speak magic on him and Gwen. Finally, they can understand the creature. Gwen held herself back from asking what he had done. The alien is a priority.
"....we are all tricked!" The Snarks finish his story. He is huffing and puffing. He thought that he had conveyed himself well.
"Can you repeat that? I forgot to turn on the translator before." Ryan said, making the alien stunned. The alien eyelid is twitching.
…
Ryan and Gwen are following the alien by walking to the crashed spaceship. Kal-hye is leading them one step at a time. In the vast desert of the dead planet, the footstep of the trio is the only proof that someone had stepped foot on the planet.
The humans are only wearing a transparent life support helmet that provides them with oxygen. Only their ears are covered by the helmet. It looked like they were wearing steel earmuffs. The snake is wearing a full-metal helmet.
At first, Ryan wants to make a helmet like Starlord. But his level of technology is more advanced now. He incorporated nanotechnology on the helmet, something that even Stark and Wakanda are a decade behind. They listen to the story again while following Kal-hye.
"The ship was shot down by a space mercenary team, who wanted our cargo. We shouldn't have taken the mission at Xandar Bounty Board. We are hunted for weeks before we crashed into the planet."
"It was supposed to be a simple mission. Bring the kids back to their father after the mother died. We go to a few different civilizations to pick them up."
"We come to a nearby settlement of an alien refuge to pick up the kids, but when we do, the refuge starts to demand payment for the kids. We have no choice but to run away with them. Then, they started to hunt us down. "
Ryan smirks subtly by himself with Kal-hye's professionalism. He is telling everything, without telling them anything. A standard technique for a mercenary to explain something. Detailed information comes at a price for the listener. The payment is going to cost them either money, trust, or their life.
In this case, the payment the mercenary wanted is trust. Ryan is just watching Gwen keep biting the bait Kal-hye throws out. 'It will be good for her to get some experience.'
"How many kids are there?" Gwen asks. she didn't know why, but she feels the story is a little weird. Like there are a lot of things the alien didn't tell her. She grew up listening to police stories by her father. Her developed instinct is telling her something more. The key point in the matter still hasn't been told yet.
Gwen's question confirmed to Kal-hye that she belongs to a justice faction. The kind-hearted faction. She didn't ask about the cargo instead, she asked about people's lives.
"There are a total of 12 kids, ranging from 10 solar circles to 12 solar circles." Kal-hye answers while licking his lips. It is a trait of the species that they lick their lips after they talk.
"Solar-circle…" Gwen is excited to hear a new term. However, it is not a commonly used term in the universe. Only Snarks uses it.
"Why did the father leave them there in the first place?"
"We didn't know. That's why we thought we were tricked. "
Kal-hye keeps talking with Gwen while putting his guard up against Ryan. He is showing disinterest in the situation and Kal-hye is becoming very nervous. People who can show disinterest in others' misery is either very strong or a psychopath…or both. It makes him doubt whether Ryan is in the justice faction.
They finally arrive at the broken spaceship after an hour's walk. The 150-meter-long ship is broken into two, because of the crash impact. The ship crashes because the main engine is broken from being shot by another spaceship.
The ship looks like the top half of a building being attached to the hull. It has many square windows and is dark in color. The survivor is staying at the tail end of the spaceship, as it is also the sleeping quarters.
*Zzzt* The live wire is generating some sparks. It will be dangerous for them to get inside the spaceship through its entrance.
"There is a breach from the side. It is a little small for me, but you can get inside with no problem." The snake alien is leading them to a 2m tall opening on the side. Ryan shook his head looking at the spaceship. There is no chance for anyone to repair this, it could only be sold for the part now.
"Hey, don't you think he is kind of weird?" Gwen asks in whispers.
"What do you think Gwen?"
" I think there is a lot more he is hiding from us. Damn, I sure hope the malice talisman is working right now." It is very hard for the talisman to detect malice from species other than humans.
"Looks like we have to go with instinct this time. What is yours telling you?"
"That they are suspicious. Don't put your guard down." Gwen warns Ryan. She didn't know why he is very relaxed.
"Calm down Gwen. In case something does happen, you know what to do right?"
She nods. Just say the keyword.
Inside the ship, there are 12 kids in a hibernation chamber, put there to ensure their survival. There is also some adult in the chamber, but it is not snake-man.
The 30 or so snake-man is sleeping out in the open. It is because the room is very cold. It also helps them to save food and water by sleeping.
Ryan is checking the survivor. 3 kids have a pinkish-skin and scar-like ridges on their faces. He knows what race this is. He had seen them a few times.
'Krylorians. A beautiful race that always becomes a target for the slavery of the criminals. Like the ones who become Tivan's servants. I think her name is Carina.'
There are also a few adult Krylorians on the ship. He knows exactly what the Snake-man is doing with them as he notices some traces of abuse.' These must be the cargo.'
There is a lot of weird-looking kid. A blue kid, a green kid, a kid with a horse-like face, a human kid, and a winged kid.
"You bastard!" Gwen is fuming when she saw a human kid.
"Calm down. They are not what you think they are." The one snake who is awake is jolting the kid who is sleeping.
"Stop that right now!" Gwen exploded. She grabs the electric rod that Kal-hye uses to jolt the kid. Then, she saw that the human kid turns into a greenish alien boy. It was the same alien kind as the green alien Ryan sees.
It calms Gwen a little bit, but she is really mad they are treating the kids that way. The noise is waking up the other snake-man.
"I'm sorry. We don't have much time. The life support system will die out in an hour. Then, all of the kids will die. My people included." Kal-hye said solemnly.
"Gwen, we will talk later when the crisis is averted, " Ryan chimes in. She calmed down and look at the kids.
"Touch the kids again, and I will make you regret it, " She warns the snake-man. He just nods. They need the humans' help now. They will do whatever is necessary to gain their trust.
Ryan and Gwen took the lead. They bring back the kids and the cargo to the biodome. The hibernation chamber can float on the planet's surface, so they don't have to do it the hard way. The excuse for now waking up the ones who are still sleeping is because they don't have a life support system for the journey.
"(snort) As if." Gwen has a bad impression of the alien now. They are survivors, she is supposed to help. But her instinct keeps telling her they are not very nice. Her logical thinking keeps telling her that maybe other races have their own culture, and she should not judge them by human standards.
"However, I am a human. It is in my blood to have some humanity, " She mumbles.
"What are you thinking about Gwen?" Ryan asks nonchalantly. She turns and glared at him.
"Why isn't this bothering you?" She meant about the kids.
"Hmm, do you think I should get mad?"
"It is highly likely the kids are kidnapped. They are not showing any humanity at all to the children. How does this not bother you?"
"It does bother me."
"Then tell that to your face." Gwen is pretty mad right now. Ryan smiles at her. The smile is like pouring some oil into a burning flame. Before she could argue, the biodome is now in sight.
"We are here!" Ryan said. The survivor is led into the biodome. The security measures had to be canceled to accommodate the new alien. After Ryan turns off the security, the captain of the Snake-man approaches him.
"Thank you kind being. May I know your name?"
"My name is Loki Laufeyson," Ryan said seriously. Then he continues.
"The exiled Prince of Asgard. The true heir to the throne."
Gwen is staring at him in disbelief. 'What the hell is he doing?'
He introduces Gwen too. "This is my partner, Amora the sorceress." He holds Gwen's arm. He doesn't even need to whisper to her to play along. She understands immediately what to do.
The Captain of the Snarks suddenly laughs. "I am called Kl'rath, the commander of the Zn'rx army!"
The Zn'rx is a warlike race. All the effort by Kal-hye is to make them enter the biodome without getting killed. The back story, the crew's obedience, all of that is to lead them inside. Once they are sure that the being there is weaker than them, they shed all pretenses.
"You're too naive the one calls Loki. Now, hand over your spaceship willingly. Otherwise…" The crew is arming themselves. They are pointing the nozzle of their gun at the human pair. Wait…the Asgardian pair.
"Hmm…" Ruan isn't bothered at all by the guns. Gwen is very nervous. Her heart is jumping in her chest.
"Kl'rath…where have I heard the name before?" He is processing the memory of this life and the past life. He is sure that he has heard the name before.
"Got it. Kl'rath. The war criminal. The ones who attacked the Skrulls refuge ship in the process of evacuating from their destroyed planet, and killing thousands of the Skrulls children."
"Hahahahaha, my name is now heard all over the universe!" The captain laughs maliciously. The reason his ship got attacked is that he brazenly goes to the planet named Dirt and snatches a few Skrull children there.
There is a bounty on Xandar for him. 200,000 units if he is brought back alive, 100,000 units dead. "You're very stupid. You should have checked first. Kind people will die in the universe!" Kl'rath laughs.
The race clearly hasn't heard of the Asgardian before. Ryan assumes this is their first time on the nine realms.
"If you get the spaceship. What are you going to do to us?" Ryan said with his voice shaking. Gwen almost rolls her eyes with the bad acting.
"You're our savior. I will keep you alive here." But stranded. He planned to kill the man at first. Some of his crew is dead because of him.
He turns to Gwen and licked his lip. This time, it is because he becomes excited."She is coming with me. I am sure she will fetch a high price as someone's slave!"
He had seen her beauty before when the human pair is mating. He will enjoy his time with her before he sold her to another owner. He learned to enjoy the beauty of other races because he had traveled to the universe before and had not been stuck in the army.
The Krylorian girl is kidnapped solely to tend to him. He enjoys abusing them every day. Physically, they couldn't mate. So he enjoys torturing them and hearing their screams.
Gwen shows disgust when the snake-man is looking at her. She throws up a bit in her mouth. She couldn't wait to see Ryan beating up all of them.
"Do you think you will have your way?" Ryan said coldly. A terrifying pressure emanated from him. Gwen is excited. The Captain suddenly feels a shiver down his spine.
The crew is all awaiting the captain's order. They are targeting only Ryan with the guns. But something unexpected happens.
"Help me, Amora~ " Ryan screamed and he went to hide behind Gwen like a scared child. He is shivering and has tears in his eyes.
Gwen: ...
Kl'rath: ...
The snake-man crew: …..
Sleeping Kid: .....
He didn't plan to fight at all. He whispered to Gwen's ears. "You know the keyword…"
'That bastard wants me to fight?' Gwen is very surprised. She takes a look at the aliens. 30 aliens are surrounding them, looking at Ryan like he is an idiot. "Fine by me. I have been getting pissed for quite some time."
She mumbles to herself. "Ryan is the most handsome. Her bracelet detected that she has said the keyword. It is flashing a tiny red light.
In the spaceship, a cubic, silvery-yellow box is turned on. *Boom* It was ejected from the spaceship into the air.
"Shoot them!" Kl'rath orders. Something is not right. Even though the Loki guy is crying, he can see the confident look on the female species. 'My instinct is yelling at me to kill them…otherwise, I will be the one who is killed'
The box is searching for Gwen's position. The bracelet on her wrist acts as a sensor for the box. *Bang* the container of the box is discarded, leaving a cylindrical metal rocket coming to Gwen.
"It's here," Ryan said excitedly. This is the first time he is going to see it in action. Like Tony's Mark 7, the cylinder wrapped around Gwen and turns into a metal suit. She changed into the incarnation of holy and violence.
"This feels…awesome!" Gwen is excited. The bullet lands on the armor around this time. But it didn't even scratch it. The armor has a golden wing on its back, it is designed based on a warrior look. It has a long metal skirt that covered up Gwen's figure.
The face is bare, protected by a transparent energy shield. Gwen could also put on the metal helmet to cover her face. Her hair is tied up in a bun, with some strands spiking out. A halo floated from her head.
*click-click-click* Ryan is clicking the camera on his phone. She looks very beautiful in the armor. Almost looks divine! He put his phone down after getting glared at.
'If she knows I based it on Mercy from Overwatch, will she get mad?' Instead of the healing qualities of Mercy, this armor focuses more on protecting Gwen.
Gwen took a second to read the introduction from ALBUS. Her unmoving figure is striking fear in the heart of the Snarks. "Kill them both!" Snark attacks!
Gwen put pressure on her right foot armor and exploded into speed. "You're very ugly!" She is venting out her thought about what happened today. She arrived at the first Snake-man goon and punches him in the face.
*Crack* All the bones in the alien face is broken. The protruding lizard-like face is now flat as a pancake. He still didn't die, she makes sure of it.
Two goons are on her sides. *Slash* The wing is shot out like a blade and cuts the snake-man before they could do anything. It returns to her back. A rope-like ionized whip comes out from her palm.
She swing it and tied up a goon and electrocuted him. She throws the tied-up goon to another three.'Oh, this feels nice.' Even if she is not Spider-Gwen, using rope to throw things feel awesome for her.
Quickly, the number of Snake-man is diminished. Gwen is scanning the entire battle. Her arrangement to leave the caption for last is on purpose.
"Get Loki first. He is weak and a coward!" Kl'rath said. They can use Loki as a hostage to make the female stand down. He turns to look at the one called Loki. "He is…not here?" He takes a look around and still couldn't see where Loki is.
"That coward must have run away!" Kal-hye said angrily. And to think he is afraid of the coward before this. It is an insult to him and his race.
Now, only Kl'rath and Kal-hye are standing. "There must be a mi-sss-ssunderstanding" Kal-hey tries to talk his way out of it.
"And to think I give you the benefit of the doubt," She is really disappointed by her first extraterrestrial encounter. The ionized whip swings to Kal-hye's body. *Zzzzt* She shocked him as he did to the kids.
"Stop!" Kl'rath took out a communicator. "If you kill me, then a message will be sent to all my kin and the black market about your information. You will be hunted down no matter where you go in the galaxy!"
It is the last resort. If he sends the message, then his position will also be revealed. He will be hunted down by his kin as he is a traitor.
"Do it. Do you think I'm afraid of you? I LOKI LAUFEYSON IS NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING!" suddenly a voice yelled from behind a tree. Gwen rolls her eyes. 'That's why he isn't using our name.'
Kl'rath disdain this type of cowardness. Loki only knows how to hide behind a woman. He will make sure Loki's name gets out first.
"You think you can enslave me? Why don't you try right now?" Gwen said mockingly. The big lizard in front of her not only took advantage of someone's kindness but also wanted to enslave their savior. She has no mercy for him.
*Zzzt* She is recharging the palm repulsor. She aims it directly at the lizard's face. *Boom* The energy beam is shot. Kl'rath is now unconscious. It seems that she still isn't killing anyone, even when she hates them.
Ryan comes out and approaches her. Well, he tries to. *Zzzt* "Explain yourself" Gwen is aiming the repulsor at him. He put both his hand up.
"Don't shoot me, officer!" Ryan teases. He knows that she loved him too much to hurt him. "Hmmph" Gwen put the gun down.
"What do you think of your armor?" Ryan asks. He takes out his smartphone again and snaps a few photos.
"Kind of skimpy don't you think?" Gwen said while looking at her pictures. the bottom part of good but the chest part is alluring.
"There is another mode. Called the S mode. Try it." Ryan ignored her comment. He thinks she looks very lovely. Gwen nods and tries the mode.
*Flip* The bottom armor is retracted into a miniskirt. The chest part is exposed, revealing her cleavage.
"I call this the sexy mode!" Ryan snaps a lot of pictures. Gwen rolled her eyes so far back that her pupil disappeared for a moment.
…
Ryan explained to her some things that happened. About Xandar, the Skrull, and his decision to let her fight alone. To be honest they are really weak for him. It was a perfect chance for her to test the new armor.
The alien snakes are all tied up now. Ryan didn't mind that the position is exposed. He will change the location of the biodome to the other side of the planet and hide it.
He also had changed the communication signal to a galaxy far from here. It is a two-pronged effort to make sure that aliens don't come into their solar system.
"After this, the armor will be discarded. I hope to see you wear this at least once before I do it." Ryan said nonchalantly.
"Why?? Why are you discarding it?" Gwen said with exasperation.
She is still wearing the armor. It is now in a true standby mode that mimics normal clothing instead of a battle suit. She loves the armor. It is very powerful and makes her look pretty. So why?
"I can make an advanced one now. In fact, I had started on the next one. This has become obsolete." He has a new technology now. With the Eezo help, he can make more durable armor using the mass field.
"How many have you thrown out before this?"
"....two…"
Gwen facepalmed. "Don't throw it away! Do you know how many people will kill for this? Even Stark suit is not advanced as this one!" She scolded him.
"But…but…" Ryan doesn't know what he did wrong. He can build better, so why should they keep this one?
"I'm keeping it!" Gwen said decisively. Ryan has to back off in the matter. He isn't mad at all. He is very glad that she loves the armor very much. After all, it is custom-made only for her.
"What are we going to do with the kid?" Gwen asks. Now that the matter is over, what is going to happen to the kid? The kids are still sleeping in the hibernation chamber.
"I kind of know who the father is. I don't think we should send them there." If their father is the sentient planet that he thinks it is, then all of them will die. Worse, one kid can bear the power of the Celestial, and bring doom to countless planets because of Ego.
"We should send them to Xandar. The snakes too. They can give us some money." Ryan makes some plans. Gwen shook her head.
"Not We. Only you. I don't want to go. " She feels weird being in space. Ryan is stunned by her decision.
"Why not? Did I do something wrong?" He thought she is mad at him.
"No. You did not. I am homesick. I want to go home. And I am sure you want to roleplay in the universe." She doesn't want to stay in Mar any longer. She wants to go back to Earth with him. But he has something else to do.
It hit the mark. He is planning to be the best bounty hunter that clad themselves in metal armor and never takes it off because of their belief.
"Hmm, I will drop you off first then." He is very disappointed. Their work on the biodome has to be cut short because of the alien.
Ryan looks at the unconscious snake with violence in his eyes. They have ruined his vacation on Mars. They will suffer greatly at his hand later.
They only stayed on Mars for a week instead of a month. Ryan is very dissatisfied.