We carried Loki up to Val's room, and I anxiously avoided talking to her. I opted to stay with Loki while she searched for Thor, but she insisted on keeping him tied to a chair in her absence.

"I am not having him escape on me." she said. "Make sure he doesn't leave. I'm done forgetting, if I'm going to die, it's going to be defeating Hela, murderous hag that she is."

She left in a huff, leaving me and an unconscious Loki sitting alone.

It seemed to take Loki forever to recover consciousness, groaning about his head hurting. I gave him a kiss, causing him to smile.

"I should have known you'd follow us." he said, "And while it was certainly reckless, I'm glad that you did. Where is she now? Can you let me out?"

"I can't help you, she took the key with her. She left to go find Thor and Hulk." I replied, "She's ready to go face Hela now. She said that she was done trying to forget what happened. I only hope that it's not too late."

"Hela is incredibly powerful." Loki said, "You saw what she did to Thor's hammer! I don't think it would be safe for you to go."

"Nothing in this universe is ever really safe." I replied. "But I have some skill, some ability to help. What kind of person would I be if I were to stand by and do nothing when I could be helping innocent people? Even if I lose my life, it would all be worth it to know that one child, one desperate mother, made it to safety because of that sacrifice."

The door opened behind me, Thor and Valkyrie walking in with Dr. Banner, who was no longer in Hulk form.

"Surprise." Loki said, watching the group come in.

Thor picked up a cup, throwing it at Loki. "Ow." Loki said as it bounced off of his head.

"Just had to be sure." Thor explained, following Val over to the other side of the room.

"Hello Bruce." Loki said, Dr. Banner looking both scared and uncomfortable as he followed Thor.

"So, last time I saw you, you were trying to kill everybody." Bruce said, "Where are you at these days?"

"It varies from moment to moment." Loki teased, smirking as Bruce's facial expression was washed with terror.

I punched Loki in the arm, "What was that for?"

"Just a little bit of fun." Loki whispered to me, "Since he can't hurt me right now."

"Is that a Dragonfang?" Thor asked Val, as she set a sword down on the table.

"It is." Val said, rolling her eyes at Bruce as he tore into fruit that was sitting on the table.

"My God." Thor said, drawing it out from its sheath to admire it. "This is the famed sword of the Valkyrie."

"So, Sakaar and Asgard are about as far apart as any two known systems." Val said, "Our best bet is a wormhole just outside of city limits. Refuel on Xandar, we can be back in Asgard in.. 18 months."

"Nope." Thor said, gesturing out the window. "We are going through the big one."

"The Devil's Anus?" Val scoffed.

"Anus?" Dr. Banner piped up, mouth full of food. "Wait, wait, wait, who's anus?"

"For the record, I didn't know it was called that when I picked it." Thor defended.

"That looks like a collapsing neutron star inside of an Einstein-Rosen bridge." Banner said, pointing to the black swirling mass.

"We need another ship, that will tear mine to pieces." Val said, gesturing to the portal.

"She's right," Thor said, "We will need one that can withstand the geodetic strain from the singularity."

"And has an offline power steering system that could also function without the onboard computer." Bruce added.

"And we'll need one with cup holders, because we're going to die." Val said. "So, drinks!"

"Do I know you?" Bruce asked Val, "I feel like I know you."

"I feel like I know you too." Val laughed, "It's weird."

"What do you say?" Thor asked Banner, "Uncharted metagalactic travel through a votile cosmic gateway. Talk about an adventure."

"We need a ship." Banner said, bumping Thor's fist in agreement.

"Need a ship." Thor agreed.

"There are one or two ships." Val said, "Absolute top of the line models…"

"I don't mean to impose…" Loki interrupted, and I ducked as Val threw her empty bottle at the wall behind him. "But the Grandmaster has a great many ships. I may have even stolen the access codes to his security system."

"And suddenly you're overcome with the urge to do the right thing." Val retorted.

"I can't say it's the right thing. I've run out of favor with the Grandmaster." Loki said, "And in exchange for the codes and access to a ship, I'm asking for safe passage through the Anus."

"You're telling us that you can get us access into the garage without setting off any alarms?" Thor queried.

"Yes, brother." Loki replied confidently. "I can."

"Ok, can I just… a quick FYI." Bruce said, standing between Thor and Loki, "I was just talking to him a couple minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill us."

"I told you that was a stupid idea." I whispered to Loki.

"A punch does not equate telling me anything." he responded, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, me too, on many occasions." Thor said, continuing their conversation. "There was one time, when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So I went to go pick up the snake to admire it, and he transformed back into himself and was like, 'Yea! It's me!' and he stabbed me. We were eight at the time."

I looked over to Loki with an eyebrow raised, and he simply looked down, smiling and fighting back a snicker.

"If we're boosting a ship," Val said, rolling her eyes as she tried to reset the conversation back to the task at hand, "we're going to need to draw some guards away from the palace."

"Why not set the beast loose?" Loki suggested, looking to Bruce.

"Shut up." Thor said.

"You guys have a beast?" Val said excitedly.

"No, there's no beast." Thor clarified. "He's just being stupid. We are going to start a revolution."

"Revolution?" Bruce asked.

"I'll explain later." Thor said.

Val spoke with Thor quickly, and left with Bruce to go free the prisoner fighters from their holding place.

I left with Thor and Loki, heading to the main hangar where we would find the ships we needed. The trip was spent in silence, moving quickly and hiding in the shadows to avoid detection.

Loki stood at the door that would lead us to the garage, inputting the security code as the incapacitated guards lay on either side of the door.

"Hey, so, listen." Thor said to Loki, breaking the silence. "We should talk."

"I disagree." Loki said, opening the door. "Open communication was never our family's forte."

"You have no idea." Thor said, picking up one of the guard's weapons as we stepped through the open doorway. "Been quite the revelation since we last spoke." Thor held the weapon aloft, Loki mirroring his action. "Hello!"

"Hi." Loki stated as they both opened fire on the surprised guards. Walking forwards, we shielded ourselves against the wall, ceasing the attack for a moment.

"Odin brought us together." Loki said, "It's almost poetic that his death should split us apart."

We advanced again, Loki tossing me the weapon so that he could open the next doorway.

"Two sons of the crown, set adrift." Loki added, closing the door between us and the rest of the guards. Loki opened the next door, immediately raising his hands as a guard approached with weapon raised.

Thor dispatched the guard quickly, passing through the doorway. "Thought you didn't want to talk about it."

"Here's the thing," Loki countered, jogging to enter the elevator with Thor and I. "I'm probably better off staying here on Sakaar."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Thor said, to Loki and I's surprise.

"Did you just agree with me?" Loki asked in disbelief.

"Come on, this place is perfect for you." Thor said, "It's savage, chaotic, lawless…Brother, you're going to do great here."

"Do you truly think so little of me?" Loki asked, staring ahead.

"Loki, I thought the world of you." Thor said, "I thought we were going to fight side by side forever. But, at the end of the day, you're you, and I'm me. And I don't know, maybe there's still some good in you. You've changed greatly in that respect. But let's be honest, our paths diverged a long time ago."

It was as the regret and guilt washed over Loki's face that I realized what Thor was doing.

"Yea," Loki agreed quietly. "It's probably for the best that we never see each other again."

"It's what you always wanted." Thor said, patting Loki on the back.

Loki nodded, his lips pursed.

"Hey, let's do 'Get Help'" Thor said excitedly.

"What?"

"Get help!" Thor stressed.

"No." Loki said sternly.

"Come on, you love it!" Thor insisted.

"I hate it, actually." Loki said.

"It's great, it works every time." Thor said with a grin.

"It's humiliating." Loki corrected.

"Do you have a better plan?" Thor countered.

"No."

"We're doing it." Thor determined, smiling.

"We are not doing Get Help." Loki insisted.

As the elevator slowed to a stop, Thor grabbed Loki's arm and draped it over his shoulder. Loki groaned, rolling his eyes as he let his body go limp.

"Get help, please!" Thor yelled as the door opened, his sudden appearance startling the group of guards. "My brother, he's dying!"

"Get help!" I yelled, trying to follow along with the improvised plan.

"Help him!" Thor yelled, hauling Loki up and throwing him at the cluster of Guards, knocking them all out.

"Classic." Thor beamed as Loki stood up from the pile of guards.

"Still hate it." Loki said, straightening his collar. "It's humiliating."

"Not for me, it's not." Thor laughed. "Now, which one is the ship she told us to get?"

"The Commodore." Loki said, gesturing to a bright yellow ship.

I nodded, "I'll go scout ahead and make sure no one is there."

Thor nodded, and Loki held me quickly. "Promise to be careful." He whispered. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I'll stay safe, as long as you promise to come for me." I said, kissing him.

"I wouldn't dream of anything else." He responded, holding my hand as I became invisible. I ran off ahead, climbing up to the Commodore's deck without interruption. Shortly after, Thor arrived, closing off the ship as he entered.

"Where's Loki?" I asked, looking around.

"He tried to alter the plan, mischievous man that he is." Thor said vaguely, "I talked to him, and he decided to stay for a while. He's bringing another ship. He won't be coming with us."

I nodded, looking down as Thor took the helm. Loki had promised me to come, but how was he to do that if he wasn't going to fly to Asgard with us?

"Alright, we can figure this out." Thor said, "It's just another spaceship."

We accelerated out of the hangar, weaving in and out of buildings on our way to the portal. It wasn't long before we were tailed by another ship, their lasers firing at us. Before I even had a chance to see if we had any offensive capability, Val's ship came flying in, destroying our attacker.

"Open the doors." Val's voice came from our speaker, and Thor pressed a few buttons on the console. Val flew below us, ejecting Dr. Banner up and into the ship. I ran back, pulling Bruce up from the edge, enemy laser fire hitting us once again.

"Shouldn't we be shooting back or something?" Bruce shouted as we scrambled up to the cockpit.

"Yes, we should." Thor agreed, searching the control panel. "Where are the guns on this ship?"

"There aren't any." Val said through the comm, "It's a leisure vessel. Grandmaster uses it for his good times, orgies and stuff."

"Did she just say the Grandmaster uses it for orgies?" Bruce asked, leaning on Thor's chair.

"Yes." Thor answered, disgusted. "Don't touch anything."

I searched around for something that we might use to combat the enemy, when Thor and Bruce both shouted out. I turned in time to see Val's ship exploding, her form flying towards our vessel.

She hit the cabin, holding on to the window ledge for dear life.

"Get inside!" Thor shouted at her, and Val looked back at the group of enemy ships that had surrounded us.

"In a minute!" she answered, climbing up to the top of our ship

"I should probably go and help." Thor said, standing. "Here, take the wheel!" Thor shoved Bruce down into the captain's chair.

"No, I don't know how to fly one of these!" Bruce protested.

"You're a scientist," Thor said, heading back to the open doors, "Use one of your PHD's!"

"None of them are for flying alien spaceships!" Bruce shouted back to Thor.

Thor jumped out of the ship, and I sat down next to Bruce, telling him what I had seen Thor doing to guide the ship. Thor and Val tore apart ship after ship behind us, each one blowing up as they finished it off.

"Ok, come on, there's got to be a gun on this thing." Bruce said, pushing buttons haphazardly. "That one looks like a gun!"

As he pressed the button, lights went off in the back of the ship, a song echoing over it's speakers. Fireworks shot out from the ship, surrounding us in multi-colored light. Thor and Val jumped into the ship, and I closed the doors as soon as they landed safely.

"Guys, we're coming up on the Devil's Anus!" Bruce called back, getting Thor and Val's attention.

Val took over the controls, speeding up as we approached the gaping portal.

"Here we go!" she said, smiling as she expertly dodged huge flying pieces of debris. Bruce and I sat down, bracing ourselves as the ship began to shake uncontrollably. "I've placed our heading in the computer for Asgard, here's to luck that we'll get through!"

The ship continued to shake, the light at the center of the portal increasing in brightness. With a flash of white hot light, we all lost consciousness.