Chapter 27: Enemies Old, Friends New

Knowhere had been a buzz of action lately. Donnie had been in the lab almost 24/7, running tests on Groot and mutagen, searching for a cure for the Kraang's mutation of his family. Quill had been slowly recovering from the death of his biological father, hanging around the group some but mostly keeping track to himself. Nova and Cosmo had been testing each of the batteries to make sure they worked. Thor, Sif, Gamora, and Drax had been training, honing their battle skills.

They all knew what was about to happen. They were going back to Asgard, defeating the fire demons there, and sending Leo and Donnie home. Or they would die trying.

Leo and Donnie were in the lab on Knowhere, as Donnie worked on a breakthrough for his mutagen cure. He'd realized that April's DNA had to be the constant component of whatever mixture he made, so now it was just a matter of mixing the right chemicals.

"Almost got it," he muttered, carefully adding the drops of mutagen. "Almost . . . got it . . ."

"You almost done, Donnie?" asked Leo. "You've been in here for, like, a billion hours."

"Yep!" Donnie said happily, turning the flame on the Bunsen burner. "This will finally be able to turn us human again." He placed the beaker of mutagen mix on the burner, letting it heat up to the correct temperature before he added the DNA sample. "So what's been going on with you, Leo? Haven't seen you around much lately."

"I'm alright," Leo said. "I've been training with Sif. Nothing much." After a brief moment of silence, Leo shuffled his feet. "Hey, mind if I ask you kind of a personal question?"

"Not at all," Donnie said.

"How exactly do you process your feelings for April?" Leo asked.

Donnie whirled. "My feelings?"

"Yeah, you know," Leo said. "Your feelings."

"I don't have any feelings for April," Donnie protested. "Nothing beyond friendship. And we're not good friends, either. I mean, we are, but—it's more like she's my platonic science buddy. Who just happens to be a girl, but still just a friend." He cleared his throat.

"Okay, Don, you can cut the act," Leo laughed. "You hide it about as well as Mikey hides the fact that he likes pizza."

"It's that obvious?" Donnie heaved a sigh. "Well, as long as it's kept in confidence, Leo, I—I do have feelings for her. Pretty serious feelings. But every time I try to show them, I always panic that she won't accept me for being a giant green freak, and our friendship will be screwed up. That's why I have to finish this retro-mutagen and turn myself human." He checked the temperature on the mutagen heating up. "Why do you ask? You don't have feelings for anyone, do you?"

"Well, I didn't . . ." Leo admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Who?" Donnie asked.

"Sif."

Donnie jerked upright. "Really? My brother Leonardo has a crush on Lady Sif the Asgardian gender role smasher?"

"Shh!" Leo whispered. "Do you want everyone to hear you?"

"Well, let's see, Leo, the last time you had feelings for a girl who knows how to fight with all kinds of issues, she turned out to be your sister." Donnie chuckled. "What a plot twist of epic proportions."

Leo shrugged, hiding his irritation at Donnie's comment. "I can't help it, Don. I'm in love with her."

"Let's think about this logically, Leo," Donnie said. "You're seventeen. And she's 1500 years old."

"I mean, does age really matter that much?" Leo asked. "Besides, she's one of the few human girls I've ever met who doesn't think less of me for being a mutant. Not to mention the fact that she's absolutely gorgeous."

"Well, I don't know, Leo, it's your call," said Donnie. "But she is kind of a big deal where she comes from. She can't always be running off to Earth to pay you visits. If you're a long-distance kind of guy, then I say go for it. And I'll support you in whatever decision you decide to make. As your brother." He clapped Leo on the shoulder.

Leo smiled. "Thanks, Donnie."

The timer on the Bunsen burner beeped, startling them both. "Ah!" Donnie grabbed an eye dropper full of April's DNA. "My mutagen-chemical mix is complete. Now brace yourself, Leo, for the scientific breakthrough of a lifetime!"

He added a drop of April's DNA into the mix, and it shimmered and turned an orange in color. So far so good; it looked pretty promising. Now he took a small drop of the orangish mutagen mixture and dropped it on a microscope slide holding a small piece of skin that he'd swabbed the inside of his cheek with.

Grabbing the slide, he placed it under the microscope. "Come on, come on," he muttered to himself. "Please turn normal, please turn normal, please turn normal . . ."

The cells in the orange liquid were clearly unstable, phasing from one form to another. As Donnie watched, they slowly stabilized and became normal cells.

"Hah!" Donnie crowed. "I did it! I actually did it! Woohoo!" He jumped up, leaping for joy and laughing hysterically.

"You found a counter for the Kraang's mutagen?" Leo asked excitedly.

"I sure did!" Donnie whooped. "Donnie is the man! Well, not yet, but technically once we get home and replicate this small batch, I'll have enough to de-mutantize every mutant that the Kraang mutated!"

"That's awesome!" Leo laughed, giving Donnie a hug. "Proud of you, little brother."

Donnie had always imagined his breakthrough would come through in the lab at home, in the dead of night while everyone else was asleep, and he'd be able to surprise them in the morning. Instead, he was spinning on a rock in space at the far edge of the galaxy with Leo, the only person who knew enough about his situation to actually care. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

Tears sprang to his eyes as he was overcome with emotion. They would be human. Human.

The control room at Knowhere was empty. This was pretty unusual. Usually the place was a hustle and bustle of people running here and there doing stuff. But for once, Leo was alone with his thoughts, and the stars twinkling millions of light-years away outside in space.

He was pretty excited to be going home. The Guardians were readying the ship as they spoke, and this would be their last night in the station. They'd come up with a plan to take back Asgard from Surtur and his fire demons. They'd have to go in hard and fast and give them everything they had. The others were training hard, and Leo had taken a break to go and meditate. Try to calm his spirit.

He had once thought he was ready to leave Earth and go make a name for himself in space. But he realized now that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to go home and save the world and see his family again. Even if that meant leaving Sif behind.

He wasn't exactly sure how to process the thought of having to leave Sif. It was pretty obvious they both had feelings, but it would never work. She was Asgardian elite, and he was nothing but a ninja mutant teenager who lived in the sewers of New York City. Donnie's comment about his relationship issues had stung a little. Leo didn't always relish it when his brothers decided to lend a hand in his private life. They were never tactful about it, either.

So what if his love life wasn't perfect? He had only ever wanted someone who made him feel whole. Someone who could love him in spite of his mutation, not get hung up on the fact that he was a walking talking turtle. Karai had been that for him, but then he'd found out she was his sister. Possibly the biggest L he'd ever taken.

As Leo sighed heavily, the door behind him slid open, and to his surprise, Drax walked in. "Drax?" he asked.

"May I join you?" Drax asked.

Leo shrugged. "Sure, I could do with some company."

Drax joined him at the window. "What brings you up here?" Leo asked, trying to make conversation.

"Why do you ask?" Drax asked warily.

"Just curious," Leo replied. "I'm avoiding Donnie."

"Why?"

Leo sighed in frustration. "Yeah. I wish for once he would just stop trying to play matchmaker."

Drax seemed taken aback by his confession. "He told me he was a ninja, not a crafter of matches."

Leo laughed, Drax's literal sense of words amusing him. "What I meant was he really wants to see me with a lady on my arm," he explained. "All my brothers do. Sometimes it makes me angry. It would be nice to be treated like an adult who can handle his own affairs."

Drax rubbed the back of his neck. "I understand how you feel, Leonardo. I sometimes feel as though the other Guardians do not treat me with the respect a warrior deserves. I feel like they treat me like a child. But then I realize they are just trying to help. I am quite stupid sometimes, and my lack of judgement impairs my decisions."

Leo looked away. "I know, and I get they're trying to help. But sometimes their advice just isn't helpful."

"Which woman is he trying to get on your arm?" Drax asked.

Leo hesitated. But he'd started this conversation, so he might as well finish it. Besides, this was Drax. Who better to vent to if he wanted a straight-up honest answer to his problem? "Sif," he said finally. "I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about her."

Drax burst out in laughter, and Leo immediately got mad. "Never mind," he said. "I knew you were gonna laugh."

"I cannot help it!" Drax howled. "Why would you eat butterflies if you think of Sif? That makes no sense."

"No!" Leo facepalmed. "I didn't mean—I meant that I had feelings for her."

"Oh," Drax said. "Well, I knew that from just watching the two of you speak to each other."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Jeez, does everybody on Knowhere know?"

"Yes!" Drax said. "She looks at you a certain way, Leonardo. The same way my father described the look in my mother's eyes as he impregnated her with me."

Hearing Drax's words, Leo almost gagged. "Okay, I did not need to hear that."

"I used to relish in the times when he would tell us the story every winter solstice," Drax recalled, beaming. "It was beautiful."

"Oookay!" Leo yelled, holding back vomit. "I think we're done here."

"Sif has feelings for you, Leonardo," said Drax. "There are two types of women in this world: those who dance, and those with knives. You both wield knives. She is the one for you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Leo muttered.

"Don't screw this up," Drax said, patting Leo on the shell and walking off.

"Screw what up?" asked Leo, turning around. Suddenly he noticed Sif standing in the doorway watching them. "S-Sif!" His face exploded in a blush. "Hi, what a surprise! I figured you'd be sparring with Thor, or something?" How much did she hear me say?

Sif shook her head. "Even a warrior tires of fighting, Leonardo. I needed a moment to clear my head. I thought the bridge would be empty."

Leo blushed even deeper. "Well, I can leave if you'd be more com—"

She placed a hand on his arm, the feeling of her fingers electrifying him. "No," she said. "Please. I enjoy the company."

She stood shoulder to shoulder with Leo, staring out at the vast expanse of space. Leo wracked his brain for a conversation starter. "The stars look pretty tonight," he finally said.

"No, they look the same as every other night I have looked at them," said Sif. "Nothing has changed. At least nothing I can see."

"Uh, yeah, you're right," Leo said, sweating. "Just same ol' stars." Idiot.

There was another awkward pause. Finally, Sif asked, "What were you and Drax discussing when I walked in? Something about knives and dancing?"

"Oh, that was nothing," Leo laughed nervously. "Just the two different types of people in the world."

"And they are?"

"Either you're a fighter or you're a dancer. At least that's what Drax said."

"What if you're both?" Sif asked.

Leo laughed, the nervousness gone now. "I don't know. You'd have to take it up with Drax."

"Well," Sif said, "I can be both. I am quite often the bold Asgardian warrior that I come across as on the surface. But, in truth, sometimes I am more of a dancer."

"Really?" asked Leo.

Sif turned away, studying the stars outside. "I have danced ever since I was five years old. Entering Asgard's most famous ballet school was my greatest dream as a child. Students there were almost always sought after and found places performing in the king's hall. My mother told me I was a good dancer, and looking back I realize that I had one of the best techniques in the whole school. I was too shy to show off or display my talents, choosing to remain in the shadows far from the teacher's view. My appearance didn't help. I had the fitness required for a ballerina, but I had plain brown eyes and black hair, always kept in a bun."

"Well, I think you look fine," Leo said without thinking. Holy chalupa! What did I just say? His skin turned several shades of red as he blushed furiously.

Sif looked at him, smiling softly. "Thank you, Leonardo," she said.

Wow, Leo thought, she looks even prettier when she smiles.

"But as a child I was rather plain," Sif continued. "So when I was chosen to perform in front of the Allfather, rumors began spreading that I had made advances on the school's headmaster in order to be chosen. They could not explain it otherwise. So, faced with such disgrace and shame, I dropped out of the school. I acted as a coward; I realized that soon enough. To amend my mistakes, I enlisted in the Einherjar, paying no heed to the rumors that followed me. Ever since, I have concentrated on my fighting skills to prove to everyone that I earned my place alongside male warriors. But sometimes I wonder if I am just proving it to myself."

There was another awkward pause, before Leo finally said lamely, "Well, I can't dance at all."

Sif stared. "What?"

Leo blushed. "I've never danced before with anyone."

"Perhaps I should show you," Sif murmured, as if talking half to herself.

Now it was Leo's turn to stare, and Sif's turn to blush. "What?"

"I meant only that I would be happy to teach you how to dance if you want," Sif stammered. "I am sorry if I was too forward."

"No, not at all!" Leo said quickly. "I wouldn't mind one bit. Just—I'm sorry if I step on your feet."

Sif gave a short laugh. "Apology accepted in advance, Leonardo. Come."

The control room floor was quickly cleared, giving them enough room to dance. Leo went over to the control station. Quill had left his Zune plugged in to the system, and he selected a song from the Zune's pre-organized music library. "Can't Hide Love" by Earth, Wind & Fire drifted through the overhead speakers. Leo wiped his sweaty palms on his legs, nervous beyond belief.

He met Sif in the center of the room, standing awkwardly stiff a few feet away from her. "Uh, so where do I put my hands?" he asked. The light caught Sif's dark black hair just right, making her look to Leo like an angel. He tried to focus on her teaching rather than her beauty.

"One on my waist, the other holds my hand, Leonardo," Sif explained.

Leo did as instructed, part of his mind marveling at the fact that Sif was allowing him to touch her at all, let alone like this. He gingerly placed his left hand on her waist while he captured her right hand in his own.

Sif winced. "Not so tight."

"Sorry!" Leo yelped.

"Relax," Sif advised. "Enjoy the dance." She nodded downward. "Watch my feet."

Leo watched Sif move her feet in the steps to the basic slow-dance and tried to mimic her steps, gingerly moving his feet like hers and ended up stepping on her a few times, apologizing profusely each time.

"You were not jesting when you said you had two left feet," Sif noted, holding back a smile.

Leo grimaced. Smooth, Leo. "I'm sorry," he said for what was probably the millionth time.

"Let us try something else," Sif said, breaking from their dance grasp and standing to the side. "Watch my feet, and mimic the steps." She moved her feet in the correct rhythm and steps while Leo watched carefully, biting his lip as he glanced at his own clunky feet and tried to reproduce her graceful dancing. He had to take it slow, but got the step pattern down correctly and grinned happily when he didn't trip himself up.

"Ready to try the next part?" Sif asked.

Leo nodded. "What's that?"

"Dancing in front of me, instead of to the side," she said.

Leo swallowed. "You might want to consider iron-toed boots before we try that again."

Sif laughed, her laughter sounding to Leo like a chorus of bells. "I think my feet will live, Leonardo." She waved him into position, and he gingerly complied. Soon he was leading her around the floor with natural grace, swaying her to "Crazy Love" by Van Morrison. His gaze settled on Sif's face as he realized she was still glowing. But this glow was a different radiance he hadn't ever seen before. It was the glow of someone living their passion, their favorite pastime. And Leo was proud and more than touched to be part of that.

He realized that this was Lady Sif being happy. Truly happy.

They were both so engrossed in the dance that they didn't notice the Guardians of the Galaxy peering through the door, which was open just a crack. "You see?" Drax said. "What did I tell you? Leonardo has feelings for her."

"How adorable," Mantis said, sighing.

Rocket rolled his eyes. "All this sappiness is making me sick. If I were Leo, I'd bone her and be done with it."

"Dude!" Quill whisper-yelled.

"What?" Rocket whisper-yelled back. "We all got our urges, Quill."

"That's not what he wants," Gamora said. "He really loves her. We've all seen it. And I know a thing or two about women. She feels the same way towards him. She just hasn't fully accepted it yet."

They pressed closer to the door, but Gamora stopped them. "No."

"But my Zune!" Quill protested.

"I needed some spare parts out of the storage closet," Rocket said.

"I am Groot," Groot added.

"I don't care!" Gamora snapped. "You are not ruining this moment for them. Go." She pressed the lock button, sealing off the command center door.

Grumbling, the Guardians walked off as Gamora turned back towards the door with a small smile. She'd been cheering for Leo and Sif the whole trip, hoping they'd get their feelings sorted out. It looked as though they finally had.

Sif smiled as they moved together, immensely proud of the fact that Leo hadn't stepped on her in over twenty minutes. As the song "Biggest Part of Me" by Ambrosia started, Leo led her slowly, gently across the floor, his eyes never leaving hers. Sif swallowed hard, feeling her heart beating erratically. She wasn't used to such emotion, and she didn't know what emotions she was feeling.

But she also knew she could lose herself in the moment of the dance, and be free.

So she did just that. Taking a nervous breath, Sif moved closer and shifted her arms around Leo's neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt Leo stiffen in her arms, unsure, but he finally rested his head against hers.

Sif felt safe in his embrace, and she wondered why that was. She already knew she cared for him, and would do anything for him. But over the course of these past few weeks, she'd realized her feelings were taking a turn for the deeper.

She was steadily falling in love with Leonardo.

The only question was why did she share such feelings? She was deathly afraid that if she brought it up he'd panic. If she lost Leonardo, even just his friendship, she didn't know what she would do. But another part of her was urging her to risk it.

Leo took her out on his arm suddenly, twirled her and then drew her gently back in, catching her in his arms once more. Their eyes met, and something passed between them, causing Sif to blush and glance away. But Leo's gaze didn't leave her face until the music stopped. He then released and bowed awkwardly.

Straightening, Leo faced Sif in silence for a long moment before Sif's practical side stepped in. "Great job, Leonardo. We will make a dancer of you yet."

Leo smiled, and the genuine happiness in his gaze caused Sif to draw a quick breath. "Thanks for being patient with me. That was a lot of fun."

Sif returned the smile. "Yes . . . yes it was," she said quietly.

Leo checked his teleporter bracelet for the time. "It's getting late. I'm going to go, but I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well!"

"Aye, and you as well," Sif said, watching him turn and walk out of the control center. Another song was playing, "Africa" by Toto, but she was hardly paying attention. Suddenly she was furious. There went the one person who truly wanted her to be happy. And as much as she wanted to give in to his obvious desire to love her, she wasn't worthy of him.

And she would never be.

Sif walked quickly to her room with her head down, locking the door behind her and crumpling to the floor, overcome and weeping for a love that could never be.

The next day the group gathered in the hangar at the Milano to leave. It was an emotional time for everyone. Rocket and Groot trudge into the room, carrying their suitcases. Groot as well carried a gigantic case of spare parts Rocket had scavenged from around the station, trying to make something out of them. "I can keep these, right?" Rocket asked, jerking a thumb at the case.

Nova smirked. "Go right ahead. You will put them to better use than we will, I'm sure."

A teary-eyed Mantis was petting Cosmo. "I will miss you most of all, Cosmo," she said. "You are such a good doggie."

Cosmo whined, wagging his tail at the mention of "good dog." "Cosmo will be missink Comrade Mantis," he said, nuzzling her with his nose. The affectionate gesture threatened to make Mantis burst into tears.

Thor clapped a hand on Nova's shoulder. "Asgard thanks you deeply for your aid, Rider."

"My pleasure," Nova said, shaking Thor's hand. "It was good to get out of the station for a little bit and stretch my legs. I'll be spending a lot of time here, now that Professor Honeycutt is gone. I guess it's up to me now."

"Indeed," Thor said. "You and I both know what it means to have responsibility suddenly shifted to us. If it's any consolation, know that I am being left in charge of an entire kingdom, and you a mere research station."

Nova laughed. "Yeah, I guess it could always be worse. If your kingly duties ever allow you a break, come say hi."

"Indeed," Thor said. "And you are always welcome in the halls of Asgard."

Donnie was having a little bit of trouble lugging all of his equipment up into the Milano. He had brought back with him several vital bits of lab equipment to make his retro-mutagen compound again when they got back to Earth. He hadn't been able to try it out in large doses yet; there wasn't enough mutagen to make more. But when they got back to Earth, he'd be in business.

Cosmo telepathically lifted the bulky equipment and set it down inside the ship. Donnie turned. "Thanks, Cosmo," he said.

Cosmo nodded, not replying verbally. "You okay, buddy?" Donnie asked.

Cosmo turned away. "Is nothink, comrade Donatello. Cosmo is doink fine."

"You've been sad ever since we got back from Ego," Donnie said. "Is this about the Fugitoid?"

"Cosmo is bad dog," Cosmo said, whining and hanging his tail between his legs. "Dog's job is to protectink its master from danger. Fugitoid was Cosmo's master. Cosmo failed to protect Fugitoid, which makes Cosmo bad dog."

"Oh, not at all, Cosmo," Donnie said, dropping to one knee and petting Cosmo affectionately. "It wasn't like that. We were all there. Fugitoid wanted to become Galactus's herald. He chose that. Not you or I or anybody else could have stopped him."

"Still," Cosmo said. "Cosmo feelink like bad dog."

"Well, Cosmo is a very good dog," Quill said, walking up. "In fact, Cosmo is so good that we got him a little something from Contraxia." He tossed Cosmo a gift-wrapped item. "Don't open it till we leave," he ordered.

Cosmo wagged his tail a little, picking up the parcel in his mouth. "So kind. You are all Cosmo's true comrades. Cosmo is thankink you all."

"No," said Quill, "thank you, Cosmo. And thank you too, Nova. For everything."

Nova smiled, nodding.

"You can be keepink teleporter link bracelets," Cosmo said. "Teleportink not work without using Knowhere nexus point, but will be good reminder of our time together."

"Thanks, Cosmo," Donnie said, patting him on the head. "Good dog."

This time, Cosmo's tail wagged a little.

"Well, goodbye, and good luck," Nova told them.

The heroes boarded the Milano, and Quill started up the sublight engines. Roaring to life, the ship lifted into the air and zoomed out of the hangar into space.

Cosmo sighed. "They are gone."

"Yep," Nova said. "Guess life on Knowhere is getting back to normal." He headed out of the hangar.

Cosmo dropped the parcel, lifting it telepathically and unwrapping it with his mind. "Now, what is beink gift?" he wondered. The wrapping fell away to reveal a pink rubber bone covered in chewy bumps. Cosmo began wagging his tail, panting. "Chewy bone toy! Second favorite gift to Cosmo next to red rubber ball! Guardians are true comrades of Cosmo."

He chomped down happily on the bone, producing an echoing squeak.

"So, what's the plan?" Leo asked once they were off in space, speeding away from Knowhere. "How are we taking back Asgard?"

As Quill turned on "Pain" by The Texas Gentlemen on his Zune, Thor gathered the others in the center of the Milano. "First, we have to locate Gungnir, my father's spear. It is imbued with the Odinforce, which will give me the power to defeat Surtur and rebuild Asgard. Then we assault the palace."

He drew out a map of Asgard's realm, spreading it out on the table. "We land the ship here, in the wilderness beyond the ancient city. There is an ancient Asgardian stronghold, filled with weapons."

"Weapons?" Rocket grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"Once we are properly equipped, we will assault the palace in a frontal attack. Some of us will need to drop down from the air to get past the outer wall that Surtur has built. Once the gates are opened, I will take Gungnir to Surtur and destroy him, and then rebuild the Rainbow Bridge and reopen Asgard."

"The anulax batteries charge the Bifrost," said Sif. "We will have to slay all of the fire demons before we can reactivate it, to ensure no reinforcements arrive and we are outflanked."

Suddenly the ship rocked, knocking them about on their feet. Gamora rushed to the cockpit. "What was that, Quill?"

"We've got company," Quill said grimly.

The heroes quickly came to the cockpit, staring out the viewport. An enormous wall of gold glimmered back at them. It took Leo's eyes a minute to realize that the wall wasn't actually a wall, but dozens of small golden spacecraft. In the center of them all was a ship he recognized very well; the wasp-looking Hornetron, the personal starship of Lord Dregg.

The comms buzzed, indicating an incoming transmission. Quill pressed the accept key, and a shimmering hologram of Dregg's ugly face appeared over the center console.

"Guardians," Drax said. "You will pay for your treachery against Lord Dregg! I have informed the Sovereign of your thievery, and they are very anxious to get their property back. Now, I shall wreak my vengeance upon you, and the turtles!"

The transmission ended, and the heroes looked around in worry at each other. "What do we do?" asked Mantis.

"We've got about three seconds before they blast us into space dust," Quill said. "Hang on!" He threw the Milano into a steep dive, as the Sovereign ships gave chase, blasting away at the rear of the ship.

"Who are these guys?" Leo asked, as an explosion rocked the Milano and shook them all in their seats.

"Sovereign!" Gamora shouted. "A race of genetically superior androids with superiority complexes."

"We've run into 'em before," Rocket said. "Looks like they still haven't taken the sticks out of their butts."

"Who put sticks up their butts?" Drax asked. "That sounds most unpleasant."

Dregg, meanwhile, laughed evilly as he watched the Milano try to flee. His ship opened a channel with Ayesha, ruler of the Sovereign. "Your Highness!" he said. "The Guardians are trying to flee. But we will obliterate them."

"No, Dregg," Ayesha said. "My fleet has been instructed to cripple the ship, not destroy it. The anulax batteries that they carry must be delivered back to the Sovereign if you want your reward."

Dregg's face fell, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to kill his enemies just yet. On the other hand, this might be a good thing. If he captured them alive, he could turn them into living egg sacs for his Vreen army. "As you wish, Queen Ayesha," he said. The transmission shut off, and he aimed the abdomen tail section of the Hornetron at the Milano. "Go now, my children!" he said. "Bring me the anulax batteries, and destroy the turtles!"

The Hornetron's abdomen let loose with a string of pops, as it fired a stream of green translucent eggs about the size of basketballs at the Milano. Mid-flight, the eggs began hatching into Vreen, slender humanoid-like grasshoppers with green chitin armor about seven feet tall. Each Vreen had two pairs of wings, which once they hatched they spread and rotated like helicopter blades, flying off in pursuit of the Milano.

The heroes on board the Milano were too busy trying not to die to notice Dregg's swarm coming for them. "Ya know, if you'd asked me how I thought I might die a couple weeks ago," Rocket said, grimacing as he flipped switches in the copilot's chair, "I would have said something involving a game of Wild Cards, two Kree prostitutes, and three bottles of Rigellian liquor. This was not how I planned on dying!"

"I planned on dying in a heist gone wrong," Drax said. "Or bounty hunters catching up to me. Or a run-in with pirates. I oscillate violently between accepting my eventual death with grace and railing against it with every fiber of my being."

"Can you not get all edgy and emo on us right now, Drax?" Donnie asked.

Alarms blared, reporting damage from . . . everywhere. "Lower deck compromised," Gamora said, grimacing. "Emergency shields are up. Head for the nearest star system, Quill! We don't have the time to jump."

"Rocket, get down to the engine room!" Quill shouted. "I need more power to the rear shields, now!"

Rocket unbuckled, scampering out of the copilot's seat and off down a service hatch to the lower level of the ship. "I'll see what I can do, Quill," he said. "Right now, try actually dodging the lasers. Come on, Groot!"

"I am Groot!" Groot said, attempting to squeeze his newly mutated form down the service hatch into the engine room.

"They're gaining on us!" Donnie shouted, looking out the viewport.

"Leo, you ever fly a spaceship before?" Quill asked.

"Uh, a couple times!" Leo said nervously.

"Well, I hope you're ready to go, cause I need a copilot!" Quill said. "Strap in!"

Amid the bouncing and crashing of the ship as it was struck by laser blasts, Leo dragged himself into the copilot's seat and buckled the crash webbing around him. He stared in confusion at the myriad of strange buttons surrounding him.

Quill executed a barrel roll, and the bolts from the Sovereign craft grazed the starboard engine instead of hitting the body of the ship. Rocket opened a line from the engine room, his voice tinny and irritated. "Quill, I'm trying to patch us up here, and it would be nice if you didn't let them break anything else in the meantime, okay?"

"I am Groot," Groot said amusedly.

"Gamora, if we die out here, I want you to know two things, okay?" Quill asked.

"Work on flying the ship, Quill!" Gamora said.

"No, no, this is important!" Quill swerved into another loop to dodge the lasers the Sovereign were firing. Sitting in the gunner's seat, Drax launched a salvo of EMP torpedoes, neatly exploding a group of Sovereign fighters into waves of blueish purple.

"Gamora, I think Quill is trying to have a moment," Drax said.

"Just let him get it out," Rocket said from the engine room. "He'll be insufferable if he doesn't."

"Thank you, Rocket!" Quill said.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Like I said, two things," Quill continued, ignoring Rocket. "First, if I die, you get the ship."

"What?!" Rocket shouted from the engine room's line, unleashing a string of curses insulting Quill's mother.

"But what if she dies too?" Drax asked.

"Then Groot gets the ship," Quill said, grinning as he dove behind the Sovereign, giving Drax time to send off a hail of bolts.

"Groot?!" Rocket yelled. "But he's just a walking tree! What the hell does he need a ship for?"

"It's not about need, Rocket, it's about—"

Gamora cut in. "Not to ruin the moment, boys, but in case you haven't noticed, we're heading straight for a quantum asteroid field. Might want to adjust course."

"It's deliberate," Quill said. "Don't worry, Gamora. Ready to put your copilot skills to the test, Leo?"

"Uh—" Leo stammered.

"If I die, you take over," he went on, pointing to the different buttons. "Flight yoke is pretty self-explanatory. Press this button to switch controls to you. Then these gauges are for radio transmissions. And these switches here give your yoke control of the nose guns. Right now I need you to keep the ship away from all the laser blasts."

As Leo took the control wheel in front of him and pushed forward, speeding up the Milano, Quill went back to his earlier conversation, flipping a dozen switches as they talked. "The second thing, Gamora. When we met on Xandar, and then when we went to Knowhere, I was trying my hardest to get into your pants. I just thought you should know."

"Really?" Leo was almost sure that Gamora was going to split into two from the pure force of her annoyance and disapproval. "We're about to die and that's the last thing you want to tell me?"

They had just reached the outer edges of the quantum asteroid field as Rocket returned to the upper levels. "The engines are more or less stable, and the shields have as much power as we can spare," he said. "We're going to be blasting our way out of this problem. Leo, I'll take the copilot seat back. You and Sif get to the gunnery."

Leo and Sif stood, moving to the rear of the ship. Leo climbed up the ladder to the top gun, while Sif slid down her ladder to the second gun. Rocket took up the copilot's controls again. "I hope you're up to this, Quill."

Quill grimaced. "Yeah, me too."

To their dismay the Sovereign fleet hadn't bothered to go through the asteroid field after the Milano but around it. Now they descended on the Milano with blazing fury. Quill pitched the nose down in time as dozens of laser blasts almost hit them. "Get to the planet, Quill!" Rocket shouted.

"Rocket, I can barely dodge—" Quill was cut off as a particularly well-aimed blast grazed the side of the ship, ripping off half the engine and the hyperdrive with it.

"Shields are down!" Gamora reported, panic causing her voice to tremble. "Stabilizers are gone as well."

"I can't control anything!" Quill shouted. "We're heading straight for the surface! Hang on!"

The Milano entered the atmosphere of the strange foresty world beneath them, as Leo looked over his shoulder at Sif sitting in the lower gun turret. A million thoughts ran through his head. I love you. I don't want you to die. Hold me.

"Rear shifters are down," he heard Quill say from what sounded like miles away. "Nothing we can do now." Tree limbs whacked at the sides of the Milano, and the sound of the uneven ground scratching the ship's belly filled their ears as they braced themselves. They lurched as the ship hit the ground, then there was a blinding flash, a loud noise, and utter blackness.

Darkness was all Donnie could see. Coughing, he shuffled under the weight of the rubble, barely able to breathe. He blinked and realized that rocks and dirt had covered him. Deep breaths, Donatello, deep breaths, he thought to himself. Don't worry, just push yourself up and you'll be fine. He pushed with all his strength, shoving the large rock off of him.

The strange sound of distorted music filled his ears, but it was muffled, and staticky. At first Donnie thought it was someone gasping in pain, but then he realized it was just a part of the song: "Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus, he was pretty sure. Quill's Zune was still connected with the ship's PR systems, and though they must have been damaged during the crash, the music was still playing. He had to find the systems and shut them down; since the Sovereign or Dregg's Vreen Robugs hadn't caught up to them yet, he had to assume they were still looking. The sound of music would attract them.

He gasped for breath, inhaling the humid air of whatever planet they had landed on. Propping himself up on his elbows, the purple turtle felt a burning sensation in his side. "Oh, that's definitely leaving a mark," he thought. Slowly he got to his feet, looking around. "Leo? Where are you?" he shouted.

He stumbled towards the flaming wreckage of the Milano. The ship's landing gear had been broken off, and the vessel lay sideways up against a tree, one wing pointed skywards and one having almost been torn off from dragging against the surface of the planet. He tried opening the landing ramp from the outside, but it only creaked open about three inches before stopping. It took all his strength to pull the ramp far enough open for him to get inside.

He searched the wreckage of the ship for the others. Mantis was covered in blood, to his initial shock, but fortunately it was just from a skin-deep cut on her arm. She coughed, breathing in the abundance of smoke that filled the wrecked Milano as Donnie dragged her out and made sure she was okay. Groot's left arm was shattered, and in the process of regrowing. He also had a nasty shard of metal dug deep into his side, and several burns and bruises that dotted the rest of his newly mutated body. They'd heard Rocket swearing weakly under a piece of ship rubble and dug him out. He wasn't hurt too bad. "Can you walk?" Donnie asked.

Rocket coughed. "I don't know, Quill, do Earthers smell bad?" he grumbled as he unsteadily got to his feet. He'd sustained no more than a bruised, sore arm from the crash.

Quill had gotten wedged between his seat and the flight yoke. With a heave of his arm, he undid his seat harness and lifted himself out of the seat. Donnie grabbed him around his arms. "Here you go, buddy, I gotcha," he said, dragging Quill out of the seat onto the floor of the ship.

For a few seconds, Quill just lay there, waiting for the pain to go away a little before he tried to stand. "Oh, I love this song," he groaned, taking a few deep breaths before rolling onto his side and standing up. Straightening slowly, he leaned against the wall for support until the pain had passed.

Donnie yanked the Zune from the plug-in port on the cockpit console, and the music cut off abruptly. He walked back out to Quill, handing him the Zune. "Thanks," Quill muttered, pocketing the device.

"Didn't want the Sovereign to find us," Donnie said, looking out through the cockpit at the forest. It was never-ending; the trees seemed to stretch on forever. The others were all fine, with little more than bruises and cuts. The only one missing was—"Where's Leo?" Donnie asked, glancing around.

The others looked around, and they quickly scoured the crash site for the blue turtle. "We must form search parties," Thor said, gripping his hammer tightly.

"The rest of us must retrieve the harbulary batteries," Drax said. "Without them, our whole adventure has been for nothing."

"Thor, you take Sif, Donnie, and Mantis to go find Leo," Quill ordered. "The rest of us, find the harbu—" He stopped, correcting himself. "Damn it, Drax. The anulax batteries. Find the anulax batteries. There's four of them, and they were last seen in a lock box in one of the storage compartments. We'll probably be spending the night, so if you happen to find any supplies for surviving, bring them too. And keep an eye out for Vreen. The Sovereign ships are on autopilot, so they won't be coming to the surface. We just have to watch out for those bugs."

They split up, and Donnie headed off in no particular direction, bo staff at the ready, with the others behind him. He activated his teleporter wristband's comlink, hoping that Leo's was still functional. "We're coming to you, Leo," he whispered. "If you can hear me, try and find the crash site. We're just up the hill."

A pair of Vreen were clicking to each other in a strange alien noise, and Donnie ducked underneath the tree's exposed roots, waiting for them to pass. He knew that the Vreen communicated through a hive mind connection they had with Dregg. Dregg must have told them to search for the turtles.

Leaping into the air, Donnie spun his bo staff in a lightning fast circle, blade extended, slicing off the heads of both Vreen before they could retract them into their armor. The Vreen collapsed.

"Get down!" Mantis hissed, and the group dropped low to the ground as another Vreen walked past, clicking its insectoid teeth, the cannon on its left arm scanning the foliage for the turtles.

"Patrols are moving around out here," Thor whispered. "We can't give away our position." He raised his hammer to throw at the bug, but Donnie stopped him.

"No!" Donnie whisper-yelled. "They have a hive mind. If one of them knows where we are, then they all know where we are. Can you make your hammer quiet?"

Thor threw his hammer, which whizzed through the air with the slightest of hums. The bugs didn't see the weapon coming until it struck them both, knocking them out cold to the ground.

As Thor called the hammer back to his hand, the ground shook with an explosion. They looked around nervously at each other. "A tremor, maybe?" Donnie asked uncertainly.

"Back to the crash site!" Thor shouted, taking off into the air with his hammer. The heroes ran back the way they came to see the crash site overrun with Vreen, and the Guardians valiantly fighting back. The fight was fairly intense for a few minutes, before laser bolts started hitting the ground around them from the sky. The Sovereign fleet was dive-bombing the crash site from above.

Thor took to the sky, smashing through Sovereign craft with his hammer and lightning. Donnie flung a cluster of ninja stars at several Vreen as Thor landed next to him. The Asgardian fixed him with such a focused stare that Donnie almost cringed physically. "Did . . . did I do something wrong?" he asked timidly.

"No!" Thor said. "That was effective. You have a good arm." He held out his hand. "May I?"

It took Donnie a second to realize what Thor was asking. "Oh, sure," he said, handing Thor a ninja star. Thor looked to the sky and threw the ninja star with such force that it ripped through three Sovereign spaceships, sending them crashing into the nearby trees.

Donnie's jaw dropped in amazement. "Wow," was all he could say.

Thor busted open the cockpit of one of the crashed Sovereign ships, startled to find no pilot. "Robotic," he muttered.

"Kinda," Donnie said, inspecting the ship's remains. "That was bred. It may have been designed originally, but it's evolved organically."

Thor reached inside the cockpit, yanking the ninja star from the twisted metal and handing it back to Donnie. "Yours, Donatello. Thank you for the loan of it."

"That hammer's pretty nice too, Thor," Rocket piped up, reloading his rifle.

Thor eyed Rocket. "Thank you, furred creature. It was a gift from my father. Forged by Eitri the Dwarf."

"Really," Rocket said, his ears perking up. "Is there a discount if I wanted to order a little something for myself?"

"Alright, a-holes, party's over," Quill shouted, deactivating his helmet. "The Vreen might be tough to deal with, but we can't watch the sky too. We gotta move into the trees where the ships can't see us. And keep an eye out for Leo, too."

As they retreated back into the trees, the Vreen followed, hissing and clicking and firing their energy weapons. "Try as we might, they're just not stopping!" Drax yelled, tackling a Vreen and pummeling it with his fists. The Vreen shook him off, throwing him into Mantis, and both fell to the ground.

"Not sure how much longer we can keep this up!" Gamora shouted, running her sword blade through the orb in the cavity chest of one of the Vreen. The bug erupted in a gooey green explosion, shrieking noisily.

"Form in!" Donnie called. "Create a tighter center of attack!" The heroes backed up, with their backs to each other, facing outwards against a seemingly unending army of Vreen Robugs. If they died, at least they'd die fighting. Rocket and Quill fired incessantly with their blasters, and the others struck down any Vreen that came too close, but soon they would be overwhelmed. Donnie shut his eyes, praying for a painless death.

Suddenly massive explosions shook the clearing where the Milano had crashed. The Vreen paused, looking around in confusion. "The hive mind connection has broken!" he shouted. "Now's our chance!"

With renewed vigor, the heroes charged the Vreen, striking them down easily as in their confusion they didn't attack back. Some of them even stumbled back into the clearing, only to be obliterated. When the smoke had cleared and the Vreen were either dead or stumbling around in the forest, the heroes returned to the clearing.

Donnie thought that the smoke from the explosions was blocking the sun, but then he realized it was a huge spaceship. The ship was round in shape, with a curved front and powerful sublight engines. Other ships that looked like the Milano hovered around it, chasing the remaining Sovereign vessels out of the sky. "That's the Eclector!" Quill shouted, whooping in joy. "Yondu!"

An M-ship landed near them, and as the engines cooled the cockpit opened and a blue-skinned scruffy-looking man in red clothes and wearing a red translucent fin on his head stepped out. "Come here, boy!" the man roared, embracing Quill in a hug. "No need for you to be playing defense when you've got a killer offense ready to play!"

Quill laughed. "It's good to see you again, Yondu. How did you know we needed help?"

"Our ship picked up your distress beacon," Yondu said.

The Guardians looked around in confusion. "Distress beacon?" Gamora asked.

"I am Groot," Groot said sheepishly.

"What?" Rocket bellowed. "And you waited till now to tell us this?" He sighed. "Groot sent out a distress signal from the wreckage of our ship."

"Yeah!" Yondu said, slapping Quill on the back playfully. "What did you go and smear my ship all over the landscape for?"

"Your ship?" Quill chuckled. "Hey, I stole it from you fair and square. Besides, with a new coat of paint and some spare parts, she'll be just like new."

"Guys?" Donnie asked. "Hate to break up the banter, but where's Leo?"

"So you got a new pet, did ya, boy?" Yondu asked.

"No, this is Donnie," Quill said. "He and his brother are from Earth, and need to get back using the Bifrost. We were on our way back to Asgard when the Sovereign and Dregg attacked us and we crashed."

"This is your fault, Sif!" Drax accused. "You fed Leonardo butterflies!"

They all turned to Drax in confusion. "Huh?"

"He told me that you put butterflies in his stomach," Drax said. "You have bewitched him with some kind of magic!"

"That's the magic of love, Drax," Rocket groaned. "Butterflies in your stomach means you like a person."

"Oh," Drax said. "Are you sure? I was wondering why Leonardo would eat butterflies. He is a fool to do so."

Sif mulled over Drax's words. So Leo really felt the same way about her. That made up her mind. Earthling or not, she would find Leonardo, and when she did, then they would talk about a future together. "We must scour the area," she said. "Find him."

They searched for the rest of the day, within a twenty-mile radius, and never found Leo. With Rocket's help, Donnie began tinkering with his teleporter bracelet, to see if he could convert it into a beacon that would help them find Leo.

The Hornetron came out of hyperspace near Sakaar, giving Dregg a good look at its barren gray appearance from space. Sakaar's surface wasn't much better, covered with enormous mountains of trash piled over countless generations.

Dregg had left Berhert as soon as the Ravager fleet showed up. Skilled mercenary pilots would be no match for the Sovereign fleet, let alone him. Leave the Vreen cowards to rot on the dung heap, for all he cared. He would just build a new army. Besides, he hadn't left the planet empty-handed.

Dregg chuckled evilly, eyeing Leonardo, trapped in an egg cocoon in the back of the ship. The cocoon kept him unconscious but alive. As a comm channel with the planet's surface opened, Dregg answered, "It is I, the great and powerful Dregg. Inform the Grandmaster that I come bringing a gift."