Vol 2 Ch 44

(Ana Kravinoff's POV)

I looked at the strange green boy that had fallen before her. A sleep dart sticking in the back of his neck. She nodded at one of the hunters who had been responsible.

The boy had the ability to turn into different animals, as she could see. The range of his power was still unknown to her. She picked him up again and carried him to her cabin. Her intentions were to take him back to Volgograd before deciding what to do with him next,

She went to her private quarters and placed him inside one of the cages. One for any captured animals that the Kravinoff are interested in, and this boy certainly interested her. She pressed a series of buttons on one of the side panels, and a force field was activated. This would prevent any escape in case the child tried to turn into a rat or an ant to escape.

Gulyadkin, her father's pet lion, had accompanied him on this voyage. She had found the lion inside her cabin when she was ready to leave for her voyage. She petted him as she attached the decryption key to the cage to his collar.

A low whistle resulted in her pet hawk coming to her. She extended her arm, allowing the hawk to perch on top of it.

"Guard." A single word left her lips as she went out to give orders to her crew. It was time for them to return.

The hawk perched on top of a frame as it kept an eye on the boy trapped in the humming cage.

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(Garfield POV)

Garfield woke up feeling groggy.

He looked up and was not sure how much time had passed. A plate of food was in front of him. Some steamed meat and vegetables in some stew. An extremely simple meal. He began to eat the simple dish. 

That was until he had heard a growl. He looked up and saw a lion outside his cage. A giant piece of meat inside its mouth. It was tearing into it but had now stopped when it saw movement from the corner of its eyes. It had approached the cage, growling a little.

Garfield had always been gifted with an innate ability to communicate with animals. While anyone else would have been afraid of the lion, such was not the case with Garfield. Strangely, to him, animals were always more trustworthy than humans.

"Hey, big guy. How are you doing." Garfield had intoned out.

The lion growled at him as it turned its attention fully to the green boy.

"Come on, who is a magnificent lion. Who is the king?" Garfield said as he extended his hand to the lion.

It was like the Lions kept in the circus, except it looked even bigger and fiercer.

"Who is the strongest and the most fiercest."

The lion purred in contentment as it heard words being used to describe its magnificence.

It was during this time that Garfield's hand touched the cage, and he was zapped by the forcefield. Garfield withdrew his hand as he yelled in pain.

The lion stopped as it saw the boy praising it yelp in pain. It growled in concern. It wanted to see if the child was okay. The lion looked down at the key attached to its collar. It took it in its mouth and, with a single motion, tore it off the collar. With a growl, it approached the slot and placed the key. 

The forcefield was turned off. With a single paw strike, it destroyed the door.

And so when Garfield looked up, he saw a giant lion obscuring his view. It dropped the piece of meat on the ground and began to lick his face.

"Hahahaha, stop." Garfield intoned as the lion continued to lick him. His hand went to his head and began to scratch it. The lion purred in enjoyment as it stopped licking and began to lean more into his hand.

"Hahahaha, who's dangerous. Who's the king."

The lion lay on the ground and showed his stomach to Garfield.

"Looks like someone wants a few belly rubs," Garfield said as he scratched the lion's belly.

That was until Garfield heard an eagle's cry. It landed in front of Garfield as it began to look expectantly at him.

"Such a fast and magnificent bird," Garfield said as he patted its head.

The eagle gave a smug look to the lion, which growled back in annoyance. Garfield could see a fight about to break out, so he interfered. "Don't be like that. You both are dangerous and kings. One is the king of the forest; the other is the king of the sky." Garfield rubbed both of their heads.

This seemed to calm them down and stop any impending fight. This was the scene that Ana walked into.

"It seems that you have made some friends." She said as she looked at the Trio.

Ane Kravinoff was a little cautious. She had never seen anyone getting along with both of these animals before. Her father was the only one who played with the lion, and he did not allow any of her siblings to approach her. The lion only barely tolerated her, allowing her to feed it and clean it.

But now, it was playing with the boy. Somehow, this felt like a big betrayal to her. Nevertheless, she would do what she must.

"What's your name, boy?" She asked him.

Garfield maintained his silence. Staring at her, keeping in view all of her actions.

Ana Kravinoff paused. 'This seemed like the gaze of a predator. A predator that was just beginning to blossom and realize its potential.' Ana thought to herself.

Ana Kravinoff cautiously approached him. "My name is Ana Kravinoff. What is your name, boy?" She repeated the last part, putting an emphasis on the word boy.

Garfield tightened his fist. He needs to get stronger. After he goes home, he will ask his dad for some training. He would never feel so helpless again.

Garfield scratched the lion and the eagle as he made up his mind. Looking straight into Ana's eyes, Garfield transformed into a cheetah and leaped at her.

Ana, who had been prepared, brought up her crossbow and prevented Garfield from landing any blow on her. She fell with the cheetah on top of her. Garfield transformed into an anaconda as it bypassed the crossbow she used to guard herself. Slithering and coiled itself around her arms, preventing any movement.

The door burst open as her men entered the cabin, their guns, and crossbows at the ready. They saw Ana, along with a green snake, coiled around her. They did not fire in fear of hitting their leader as well.

Garfield looked at the amount of people in front of him and decided that, for now, it would be better to escape. As the men approached him to help their mistress. Garfield leaped at them and turned into a Triceratops. The ship careened a little bit due to the sudden increase of a weight of 8 tons. Garfield charged through the door, destroying it. The hunters turned their guns towards him and began to fire. However, none of their bullets or arrows could penetrate his thick hide. Most of them deflected off his body. Garfield looked at the vast sea in front of him. He jumped and turned into an eagle, taking flight away from danger and the ship.

Ana Kravinoff's heart pounding had gotten up. She had grabbed her sniper rifle and taken aim at the fleeing avian. That was until her eagle perched itself on top of her rifle. Preventing her from viewing through the scope. 

The lion had gone before her and growled at her men and women threatingly.

Ana Kravinoff, with her heart pounding, had put her gun down. It seemed strange. She was not excited from the hunt. This was different. 

She felt a sting on her face. Her hands approached it and felt a scar. The mark was left on her face when the boy transformed and leaped off her face.

She brought her hand back as her heart pounded even more. The 14-year-old girl began to blush as she realized that the boy had marked her. She looked at her own eagle and then her father's lion. The ability to command all beasts. Someone worthy of her.

She shook that thought off as she turned to her men. "Set course for home."

She would find anything that she could about the boy.

---------------------------------------------------

As soon as Banner had received the distress signal, he leaped off the island. He began to run on water towards the coordinates where the seal had been broken. It was a seal that he had created. 

Soon, he reached the location and saw a black-haired man talking with a few dolphins.

"Like I keep telling you, I am not the king of the sea." He explained to them. "Now, where's the green boy."

That was all the confirmation Bruce needed as he transformed into the Hulk. He, with a giant leap, closed the distance between him and the bearded man. The bearded man did not get a chance to react as he was slammed into the side of the reef. Hulk holding him against the reef with his arm.

Hulk asked calmly. "Where is my son?" Suppressing his anger that was just about to boil over.

"I don't know." The individual gasped out as Hulk held him. "The dolphins said that one of their friends, a green dolphin, was attacked."

Hulk let go of the individual.

"Tell them to lead me to him." This was not a request.

The man got to his feet and pointed towards a location. "In that direction."

The Hulk nodded as he opened the first gate and shot off. A blur was left in his place as the sea split in his wake.

Arthur sighed as he got on his feet."I need to follow him to ensure he can find his son." He sighed. "Just great."

Aquaman got into the water, his trident inside his hand as he sped off. Managing to keep track of the Hulk. He was just a simple bar owner, damnit.

Hulk had traveled for some time before he decided to get his bearing. He saw a cliff jutting out. With a leap, he had gotten on top of it and looked out at the Horizon.

"Dad." He heard a yell. It was coming from above.

He looked up and saw Garfield, who was falling. With a leap, he had caught Garfield. Cutting off the eight gate, he had landed.

"So, that's your son." The black-haired individual asked him.

"Yes," Banner answered as he looked at the black-haired man.

"My name is Arthur Curry. I run a bar." He told Banner as he gave him his card. "It is a secluded place."

Banner nodded at him. "I may visit someday."

"Come on, boy, let's go home," Banner said to Garfield as he sped towards home.

"The boy can talk with all sea life, yet he is not an Atlantean. Maybe a half-Atlantean like myself." Arthur thought as he began to speed up towards his own bar.

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Author Note

Sorry guys but I think I am going to extend this volume a little bit, where hulk will help Aquaman and loki will help stark. Then there would be a final battle which would be a surprise. This chapter was a little important as it would lead to Ace and Garfield asking for some training and also hardening their resolve.

Again sorry, but the chapters would be focused on a few characters other then Loki so I can build up the universe a little bit more.

Next chapter would be the date chapter focused on Loki.

That's all.