Growth
The Hulk had another fight the next day, and Eden came in afterward to give him a massage.
“Can you even FEEL that?” she asked him as she stood on the edge of the hot tub, leaning hard on his shoulder with one elbow.
“HEH. TICKLES.”
“Oh my God, why am I bothering,” she chuckled, giving up. “How about you?” she asked Thor as she climbed down. “How are you feeling.”
“Fine, thanks.” He gave her a smile. “So were you a doctor back on earth?” Maybe he could learn something more about her and solve this mystery.
“A doctor? No.” Eden chuckled. “I used to work for a chiropractor. She sold herbal supplements, too, so I learned a bunch of useful skills.”
“What’s a chiropractor?”
“They straighten people’s backs.”
Thor frowned. “Like—?” He sat up very straight.
Eden laughed. “No, not exactly. Here, I’ll give you an adjustment if you want. You’ll have to take off that padded vest, though.”
Thor obediently removed it and laid down on his stomach on the bed, as she advised, and she felt down his spine. “So—where on Earth are you from?” he asked, voice muffled by the mattress.
“Iowa.”
“Iowa, huh? Th—”
“Okay, this one’s a little tight,” she interrupted. “Breathe in… and out…” He did as she said, and she leaned hard on his back. There was a *CLICK*. “There—how’s that feel?”
“Mmmmmm.”
She laughed and kept checking his vertebrae. “Were you from a big family?” A big family of non-humans? he did NOT clarify.
“Nope, just mom and me. Mom was in college when she got pregnant with me—she said my dad was a poet,” she chuckled. “Okay, roll up on your side.”
“What is your mother like?” Any superhuman abilities?
“A little scatter-brained, sometimes. A true romantic. Thus the poet.” She pushed his upper body one way and his hips another, then did it on his other side, each movement eliciting a loud click as his vertebrae realigned. “Want me to do your neck? Seems pretty tight.” Giving up on this interrogation, he agreed. Eden made him lie on his back, then pulled at his neck and the skin around it, turning his head to an awkward angle, and—
For one moment Thor thought she was trying to snap his head off, but there was a *CRACK!* and then she did it the other direction. *CRACK!*
“Okay, stand up and walk a bit,” she commanded. He did as she said. “How do you feel?”
“Taller,” he answered with surprise.
That made her laugh. “Then I’ve done my job well! But honestly, you don’t NEED to be any taller. You’re already huge.”
“PUNY,” Hulk scoffed. “PUNY GOD.”
“Thanks, Buddy.” Thor gave him an ironic thumbs-up. Hulk grinned and returned the gesture.
“I’ve got it!” someone crowed.
They turned to find the Valkyrie marching in, triumphantly carrying a large clay pot.
“YES!” Eden rushed over. “Five free full-body massages are YOURS!”
“Hey! You haven’t offered ME any full-body massages!” Thor complained.
“You didn’t bring me a jar of dirt!” Eden returned, setting it on the ground and digging into her pocket.
“Jar of dirt? What do you want with that?” he asked, coming over to look. Sure enough, the pot was full of a dark, rich-looking dirt.
Eden pulled an apple seed out of her pocket. “I’ve been wanting to try this for *ages*,” she answered, and poked the seed down into the soil. “Thanks, Scrapper.”
“No problem,” the Valkyrie grinned. “Can I get one of those massages right now?”
“Absolutely! See you later Thor—Hulk. Make sure nobody messes with my apple tree!” She followed the Valkyrie from the room.
Thor and the Hulk both looked at the pot for a long moment. Nothing happened.
Hulk snorted and Thor shrugged and strolled away, swinging his arms to enjoy the results of Eden’s adjustment.
The next day, the pot was home to a sprout with a single leaf.
---
Thor sat in a chair, balanced carefully on its back legs, and tossed the heavy ball Hulk liked to mess with. It was the size of Thor’s head, but he threw it easily with one arm: bounce off the ceiling, bounce off the window, back to his hand. Bounce off the ceiling, bounce off the window, back to his hand.
Boring. Boooooooring. …Maybe he could balance on the two legs without help? Slowly, he lifted his feet from the floor, where they steadied him. The chair held steady. Holding his core still, Thor tossed the ball. Bounce off the ceiling, bounce off the window, back to his hand. Bounce off the ceiling—
There was a crash. Thor almost fell over backward and had to drop the chair back to all four legs, the ball striking him in the chest. Just around the corner, he could hear raised voice.
“No—I said no!” It was Eden, her voice rising with panic.
A man’s voice replied, sounding slightly amused, though too quiet for Thor to hear the words. He stood up.
“NO!” Eden shrieked. There was the sound flesh striking flesh, a thud as someone fell on the floor, a moan.
Thor was out of the room, around the corner, and almost on top of the man before he had time to blink, drawing back his fist—
“SHIT!” Eden’s attacker yelped, and then—
Thor dropped to the ground, opening his mouth in a wordless scream. Every bone, every vein was on fire. The man had activated his pain chip. Thor convulsed, gasping for breath, reaching for God-knew-what, for some sort of help—
And through he all he could see the man advancing on Eden where she lay crumpled on the floor, half-stunned by his fist, scrambling backward, opening her mouth to scream while he lunged for her throat—
Someone yanked the attacker up into a standing position by the back of his collar. He whirled around, fists up, and there was a solid *THUD* as fist collided with face. The man dropped, senseless to the floor, and Thor, through the haze of his agony, saw Valkyrie’s face, contorted with fury. “Toss him to the scavengers,” she ordered someone behind him, and knelt beside Eden.
Thor writhed, struggled for breath. “I’m—I’m okay,” he heard Eden say, on something that sounded like a sob. “He— Scrapper, can you--?”
The agony ended suddenly and Thor collapsed, boneless, onto the floor, the edges of his vision going black.
“Come on, Your Majesty,” he heard the Valkyrie say, and strong arms hauled him to his feet. He gave a groan as she propelled him toward his bed. Eden’s hand was on his other arm—cold, shaking.
“Are you okay?” he managed to slur.
“Yeah. I’m—I’m fine—” It ended on a sob, and he was pretty sure she was crying.
The mattress came up under him and he struggled to look up. The Valkyrie was pulling a sobbing, shaking Eden into her arms. Then darkness rose and the world faded away.
---
“Remember this place,” Odin said, standing before them on the edge of the green cliff, the cold northern sea far below. “Home.” He lifted his arms, and disintegrated into a shower of golden sparks.
“No—Father!” Thor awoke weeping to find himself still imprisoned, still enslaved, still in that room full of—“GODDAMNED AWFUL INTERIOR DECORATING!” Thor roared aloud, picking up the nearest chair and hurling it against the wall. He dropped his face into his hands. He had lost everything. He lost Loki—only to find out his brother had only let him BELIEVE he was dead, and had driven their father to the edge. He had lost his father—and found that he had been lying to him his entire life. He had lost his throne, to a sister who wanted nothing but to murder and dominate and war upon the universe. He had lost Mjolnir, had lost the thing that had given him his ability to fight for the things he loved. He had lost Asgard, his home, and possibly his people to his murderous sister.
Everything. He had lost everything.
Thor sank onto the floor, far more crushed, more beaten than he had been in the arena. “Father,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. Please—” He wasn’t sure what he was asking.
After awhile, he became aware that there was someone beside him. A hand touched his back—warm, comforting.
He sat up, wiped at his face. “I’m sorry,” Eden said quietly. “About your father.”
Thor cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
There was a long pause. “Don’t give up.”
“What?” He looked down at her.
Her cheeks were pink. “Don’t give up. Find a way out of here.”
“I thought you said there was no point? No champion has ever escaped.”
“No champion has ever been a god.” She gave him a small smile.
He smiled back, slowly, then pulled her into a hug. She relaxed into his embrace.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “After--?”
She nodded against his chest. “Yeah. Thank God for Scrapper. She’s rescued me a few times.” She sat up again. “Thanks for trying to defend me.”
“Didn’t do a lot of good.”
“Those chips are a bitch,” she nodded. “That’d be the first thing you’d have to get rid of if you escaped.”
“If WE escaped.”
“No.” She shook her head, and thought he saw tears in her eyes as she climbed to her feet. “If you find a way to get out— Just take it, Thor. Don’t waste your chance trying to save everybody else. You can’t. Just get yourself out.” She hurried away, past the miniature apple tree that had sprouted from the pot of dirt, already bearing little green apples.
The chip. Thor sat in thought. How could it be removed? Probably through the control remotes. How could he get one? Who had one?
The Valkyrie.
“THOR AWAKE,” the Hulk boomed, returning from training.
“Yeah—yeah, I am. Hey, can you help me out?” Thor said, standing up. “I need to talk to the Valkyrie.”