Chapter 31: Taking Back What's Ours

Streaks of blueish-white lightning hurtled past the Eclector as it zoomed through space at the speed of light. On board, Yondu's Ravagers were preparing themselves for battle, strapping on weapons, cleaning rifles, practicing their aim. Yondu was on the bridge, directing teams, barking orders. He'd sent Gamora to find Quill. "This was his idea, after all," Yondu had said. "He should be here when we drop out of lightspeed."

Gamora finally found him, bumping to "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers as he shaved in front of the sink in his quarters. She stood in the doorway for a bit, watching him sway to the music, mouthing the words, pretending the razor was a microphone, just goofing off. He could be a stubborn, stupid fool sometimes, but that was why she loved him. She smiled as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Quill jumped slightly, then relaxed. "I forget how quiet you can be when you want to be," he said.

"Yondu wants you on the bridge," Gamora told him. "We're about to arrive."

"Hey, gotta look my best before the fight," Quill said, dragging the razor across his jawline. "You never know, some Asgardian warrior princess might need to swoon today."

Gamora smirked. "I'm pretty sure she's got her eyes set on Leo," she said.

Quill smiled as he washed the remaining shaving cream off of his face. "Those two are perfect for each other," he said, sighing. "I just hope they get their relationship status figured out before we have to take Leo and the others home. Otherwise, they'll never be able to see each other again."

"Yeah," Gamora said. "Earth's still off-limits for any non-Terran life-form." She frowned, looking at his freshly-shaven face. "Oh, no. Are we really bringing back the moustache?"

Quill had shaved the stubble on his face, so that it was now freshly-shaven and devoid of any facial hair—except for the moustache on his upper lip. Quill wrinkled his eyebrow at Gamora's comment. "Hey, I look great with a moustache."

Gamora rolled her eyes and sighed. "Terrans have such strange concepts of fashion."

"Listen, there's a guy on Earth called Tom Selleck that has a moustache like this, and the women on that planet go crazy for him," Quill said, sliding into his trademark maroon leather jacket. "Now come on. We've got some fire demons to put on ice."

The Ravager community was divided into numerous clans, each headed by the captain of the clan's mothership. Although the clans largely operated independently of one another, they still shared a common sense of identity, and Quill had called in everybody he could think of who either owed him favors or who he wouldn't mind owing favors. All in all, they'd have six Ravager clans' worth of battle-hardened galactic mercenaries ready and able to fight alongside them.

The Eclector came out of hyperspace in orbit over Asgard, and in the captain's chair on the bridge Yondu activated the ship's communicator. "Yondu to all clans," he said. "Come in."

There was a flash of light as another large cruiser exited orbit next to them. "This is Stakar Clan, checking in," came the voice of Stakar Ogord, a legendary Ravager captain respected by all. "Hope you haven't started the party yet, Yondu. My boys are itching for a fight."

More Ravager cruiser ships began to exit hyperspace as other Ravager clans met at the rendezvous point. "Charlie-27 Clan checking in."

"Aleta Clan is ready to rumble."

"The Mainframe Clan is here to fight."

"Krugarr Clan, checking in."

Quill stepped on to the bridge, looking out through the viewport at all the Ravager motherships. "I think that's everyone?" Thor asked him as he strode to the window.

"Not quite," Quill said, holding up the communicator that he'd given Mona on Morag.

There was another flash of light as a squadron of Salamandrian starfighters exited hyperspace between the motherships. The starfighters were an aqua-marine color, and looked almost like grubs. "This is Commander G'Throkka, reporting for action," came a comm signal from the lead fighter. "We received your message, Peter Quill, and I brought with me as many men as our general could spare."

The Salamandrian starfighters docked in the Eclector, and G'Throkka and Mona made their way to the bridge. Thor stood in the center of the room, surrounded by the holo-projections of the other Ravager commanders as they sat in their ships.

"I thank you, Quill, for finding so many men for our cause," Thor said.

"Ah, well, I can't take all the credit," Quill said, shrugging it off.

Rocket rolled his eyes. "But he's gonna anyway."

Quill ignored him. "The Ravagers came of their own free will. We may be criminals and outlaws, but we know the difference between good and evil, and what happened to your world is evil. They want to help you get your life back, and they're ready to fight."

"That, and we were promised a reward for helping," said Aleta Ogord, the head of the Aleta Ravager Clan and wife to Stakar Ogord.

"A handsome reward," the artificial intelligence Ravager captain Mainframe added.

Thor glared at Quill, who smiled disarmingly at the Asgardian. "I know not what this con artist promised you," he told the Ravager captains, "but aid my world and you will all be rewarded very handsomely."

"Now all we have to do is find this Surtur and Odin's spear and what?" Donnie asked. "Defeat the ruler of Muspelheim and his unlimited godlike powers, change everything back to the way it was before he took over, find a way back to Earth and hope people missed us while we were gone?"

"We don't have to find him," Thor said.

"Because—?" Leo asked.

Thor stared out the bridge's window, looking down at the fiery hellish landscape of Asgard from above. "Surtur's pride is the only thing bigger than his size," he said. "He'll be in Odin's palace."

"Home-court advantage," said Quill. "Nothing wrong with that." He tapped a button on the console, and a holographic map of Asgard appeared in the center of the room.

"The rainbow bridge is our first waypoint," Thor said, outlining the area on the holo-map. "We will engage Surtur's horde here. They are not terribly hard to fight, only do not let their numbers overwhelm you. Once we push them back into the palace, Leo, Sif and I will distract Surtur while Gamora leads the rest of the Guardians through the lower levels of the palace to Odin's treasure room. There you must take the Eternal Flame and bring it to Heimdall's observatory, where Rocket, Kraglin, and Donatello must rebuild the observatory using the anulax batteries."

"What good is a little bit of fire gonna do against the fire god?" asked Rocket.

"The Eternal Flame contains the true power of Surtur," said Thor. "Where it lies, he will forever be drawn toward there. Odin put a spell over the Eternal Flame to separate it from Surtur, so he could keep it in Asgard and prevent Ragnarok. But now that Odin is gone, that spell is gone with him, and wherever the Eternal Flame resides, Surtur will be drawn there. Once you have Gungnir and the Bifrost is repaired, use my father's spear to open a gateway to Helheim."

"Helheim?" asked Leo.

"It is a land of unyielding cold," said Thor. "Fires cannot burn there, and no magic in all the Nine Realms can create a blaze. Helheim is the only realm that would be able to contain Surtur's power, and extinguish the Eternal Flame." He turned to the Ravager captains. "Have your Ravagers focus their fire on the gun emplacements here—" He pointed on the holo-map "—and here. It's only after we—"

"Because it's only after we neutralize the guns that we can push for the palace," Quill interrupted.

Thor glanced at Quill. "I was going to say that."

"Yes, but I said it first," said Quill, smirking.

"I was—" Thor sighed. "Yes. We can push for the palace. Now expect stiff resistance here—"

He was going to point on the map, but Quill interrupted again. "And remember to top off your blaster packs. Once we leave, there will be no resupply."

Thor rolled his eyes. "You know, Quill, this briefing might go better if you didn't interrupt me every time I tried to—"

"I wasn't interrupting," Quill said defensively. "I was trying to help you."

"Which I would appreciate," Thor said through clenched teeth, "if you didn't interrupt me to do it. Do you not trust me to give the briefing?"

"It's not about trust," said Quill. "It—it's about getting the job done right."

Thor scoffed. "So you don't trust me to get the job done right?"

"I'm just saying a frontal assault is too risky," Quill said, holding up his hands defensively. "We'll lose a lot of good men. Especially considering there's an alternative."

Thor smirked, stepping back. "Fine. Let us see what the great Starfox has to say."

"Star-Lord," Quill muttered angrily before turning back to the map. "I met a Jotun Frost Giant in a cantina watering hole on Cor. Got drunk and started talking. Apparently he'd helped plan a secret attack on Asgard years ago, and told me the city has a series of catacombs beneath it that run deep underground. Some of the tunnels are close enough to Heimdall's Observatory that you could cut a hole and make an entry point. Once inside, we could find the vault, swipe the Eternal Flame, and bring it back to the Observatory."

Rocket frowned. "Sounds like a good way to get lost, if you ask me."

"To the unprepared, perhaps," said Mantis. "But I can use my telepath abilities to memorize our route and lead us straight to the vault."

Donnie raised his hand. Drax stared puzzledly at the mutant turtle. "Why do you do this?" he asked. "We are not in a classroom."

Now self-conscious, Donnie dropped his hand and stammered, "Uhm, how do we keep Surtur's army occupied while we retrieve the Eternal Flame?"

"The frog has a point," Yondu said. "If whoever's going in there is going to be successful, we'll need to create a diversion."

"Precisely," said Stakar. "Our Ravagers will take care of that, while stealing the Flame will be the Guardians' job."

"Now hold on!" Thor shouted. "Who decided that? Walking into that palace could be suicide."

"Not if the Ravagers are successful in drawing Surtur's forces to the bridge," Sal Commander piped up. "And if you, Leo, and the Lady Sif can hold Surtur's attention in the palace."

"Leonardo." Leo turned to see Sif standing a short distance away. "Do you have a moment?" she asked him.

"Sif . . ." he said, stepping out of the room back into the hallway. Quill and Gamora shot each other knowing glances as he left.

In the hallway, Sif stood awkwardly, staring down at her feet. Finally she looked up and said, "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?" Leo asked.

"For fighting for us."

"We all are," said Leo, pointing down into the main hold where all the Ravager troops had gathered. "Everyone."

"But you—you are a stranger in a strange land," said Sif. "And you have fought once before with us, for us. I did not get a chance to thank you then, but I do now. It is inspiring."

Leo smiled. "Then I owe you a thank you as well. Thank you for taking me in. Thank you for taking in Donnie. I—we needed a friendly face when we got here. Thank you."

Sif gave a small smile before turning and walking to the railing, staring down at the Ravager troops. "I suppose once the battle call is given, we will never see each other again."

"I don't know what will happen," Leo said, moving to her side.

"If the battle goes well, you get to go home," said Sif. "If the battle goes poorly . . ."

Without being fully conscious of what he was doing, Leo set his hand on top of Sif's on the railing. "Either way, I'm very glad we met."

She looked up at him and beamed, and neither of them made any move to take their hands away. A thousand thoughts raced through Leo's head as he suddenly had the overwhelming urge to kiss her. No, he couldn't. Was he crazy? What was he thinking? Well, she had said that this might be the last time they saw each other, and . . .

The bridge doors slid open, and a startled Leo jerked his hand away. Behind them, Thor strode through the doors, his expression grim and hardened. "It is time," he said simply.

"It will not do," Surtur said, observing the construction of the giant throne in the center of what had once been the Asgardian palace's royal hall. "The work proceeds too slowly. It must be finished ere dawn. Have you so instructed the workers?"

"Yes, my lord," the chief fire demon wheedled. "But forgive me, your command to erect the throne came not four hours hence . . . in view of which, the progress has been remarkable."

"Remarkable," Surtur agreed, "yet insufficient. I was promised Asgard by that meddlesome Asgardian trickster Loki for my efforts in overthrowing Odin. Yet instead of a glorious world in my own image, I have naught but another hellish wasteland like Muspelheim. This throne must bear my likeness, and must be done by morning. That is all."

He turned away, and out of the corner of his eye saw several flashes falling from the sky. Another meteor shower? Asgard had been plagued by those ever since he overtook the realm. Cursing, he moved on.

The "meteors" were actually Ravager M-ships streaking through the atmosphere. They landed in the forest to the north of the Asgardian city, and the Ravagers aboard them disembarked before the M-ships took off again, to serve as air support in the upcoming attack.

Leo took in a deep breath. The air was hot, and the ash hurt his lungs as he breathed it in. It was hard to believe that only a few weeks ago, he and Donatello had stood on this very ground, surrounded by Asgard's finest warriors in a battle for the ages. Now they were about to do it all again.

"Okay, focus up, a-holes!" Quill said. All eyes quickly turned to him. "Not you, Mantis," he said quickly. "You're an angel and we're thrilled you're here."

"Thank you," Mantis said, blushing.

"This is gonna be a hot one, so I hope you all brought your gym clothes," Peter continued.

"Who's Jim?" Drax asked.

Quill ignored him. "Yondu and I will take Krugarr and Mainframe's Ravager clans down the mountain. Stakar, you, Aleta, and Charlie-27 approach from the city. Engage whatever fire demons are in the city, and draw them down to you. We'll approach the palace from the west, get behind his army and sandwich them in. They fight like mindless zombies so it should be like shooting fish in a barrel."

"We will have to make a bold move if we are to draw them out of the palace and keep their attention on us and not the Guardians," Thor said. "The best way to do that is to make our way to the Gjallarhorn warning station, near the bridge. It should be a large, decorated horn on a platform directly across from the bridge. They can't resist that."

"With no cover," said Yondu. "It'll be tempting, I'll give ya that."

Sal Commander raised his energy sword. "Thor has sounded the call, brave Salamandrians!" he shouted. "We do hear and obey! Where the Asgardian leads, there we shall follow!"

The Salamandrians threw their heads back and let loose with a throaty "Rokka rokka! Rokka rokka!"

Led by Stakar Clan, the Aleta and Charlie-27 clans began heading down through the mountainous countryside towards the city. The Salamandrian warriors raced ahead, reaching the city in a few minutes. Stealthily they leapt over the rooftops and through the city streets, checking buildings as they ran for the Rainbow Bridge and quietly eliminating any fire demons that they came across.

The Ravagers met the Salamandrian warriors on the Rainbow Bridge. Behind them was the remnants of the Observatory. Mona turned to Donnie, Kraglin, and the Guardians. "Go now, you three," she said. "Rebuild the Observatory and retrieve the Eternal Flame. We will continue on and lure them away."

Donnie carried the anulax batteries in a knapsack he wore on his back. He gave Mona a salute and took off after Kraglin and the Guardians down towards the Observatory's remains as the other troops headed for the Gjallarhorn station.

Ahead of them, a fire demon was strolling through the open doors of the Observatory. The team stacked up opposite each door. "I count two fire demons total," Donnie whispered. "Should be easy taking them down. And there's the scepter."

The first fire demon approached the other sentry. "Hey, go take your break," he snarled in a sizzling voice. "You're off-duty."

"Good," the other one hissed back. "I'm hungry." He walked out through the door only to come face to face with Donnie's bo staff. The ninja turtle swung the weapon hard, smacking the fire demon in the head and knocking him off the rainbow bridge into the ocean of lava below. The second fire demon inside only had time to turn around before Drax had charged, yelling and tackling the demon to the wall while burying both knives in his chest.

"Let's move," said Rocket, and the group scampered into the Observatory. "Yeesh, they really trashed this thing," Rocket muttered, staring at the sparking twisted remains of the Observatory.

The other Guardians headed outside the Observatory and around to the rear, climbing down the sheer golden metallic surface to a rocky cliff face at the edge of the world, where the great lava ocean became a waterfall plummeting down into space. Mantis closed her eyes, feeling along the rock face and sending out a telekinetic signal. Each time, the signal was reflected back into her head, telling her it was solid rock beyond. She kept feeling, until finally, the signal did not come back. "Here," she said. "The tunnel is here."

Drax pulled a portable welder's blowtorch off of his back and got to work, using the tool's laser cutter to slice through the solid rock. He cut in a large square-shaped hole big enough for them all to fit through.

"Nice work," said Gamora. "Well, here goes nothing."

She went to climb inside, but Mantis put a hand on her shoulder. "I should go in first," she said. "I know the way."

Gamora grinned, stepping aside. "Be my guest." Mantis stepped into the tunnel, and the others followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, back in the Observatory, Donnie used his staff to pry up a panel on the floor and open up a service hatch below. The three of them climbed inside, and Kraglin used a flashlight to illuminate the room. It was a small circuitry bay designed for maintenance. There were rows of slots on the walls indicating where the anulax batteries were supposed to go.

Donnie went for his knapsack to take out the batteries, but Rocket held up a hand. "Wait a second, Don," he said. "The fire boys trashed this thing. We'll have to do some serious maintenance before we try firing it up."

"Otherwise, the whole place could go up," Kraglin said, examining a cracked runestone panel on the wall. "With us in it."

Donnie knew a little bit about Asgardian technology from his time spent here before the events of Ragnarok, and he activated his tech staff, scanning the room for its layout. "We need to reboot the ventral nadion thrust assembly, for starters," he said.

"The multi-spacial reflection sensor array is offline," Rocket said, prying a control panel off the wall and connecting two wires with his paws. "If I reroute power through the magnetic force feed, then we should be able to kick-start the neutron cooling system once the batteries come online."

"Boy, we've got some work to do," Kraglin sighed.

Drax was not incredibly superstitious, but the tunnel travel was starting to give him chills. It was dark, almost pitch-black except for the light coming from Groot's bioluminescent spores. And every now and then there would be some creaking, moaning noise, as if some dark creature long sealed away was in here with them. Mantis led the way, followed closely by Gamora, and then Drax, with Groot bringing up the rear.

There was a hissing noise up ahead, and Mantis signaled them to stop, leaping to the side of the tunnel to conceal herself. Groot turned off his spores, and the Guardians flattened themselves against the tunnel wall. Up ahead, two fire demons stood watch, hissing at each other before continuing on further down one of the tunnels.

Gamora turned to see Mantis' antennae lit up and realized that she must have telepathically told the fire demons to leave. She smiled. "Good to have you with us, Mantis," she said, patting her friend on the shoulder.

They continued on, with Mantis leading the way. Every nerve in her body was alert, trying to detect the presence of any fire demons, before she suddenly gasped and stopped. Drax looked up and saw that the tunnel ahead of them was filled with fire demons, all of them asleep in hibernation on the tunnel walls and roof. "They're sleeping," he realized.

The passageway continued on for about fifty yards ahead before it became clear again. Gamora shook her head. "We have to find another way," she whispered fiercely.

"There's no time!" Mantis whispered back. "This direction is the fastest."

"Maybe you're wrong!" whispered Gamora.

Mantis wrinkled her brow in determination. "Trust me," she said before creeping quietly forward down the tunnel. The others followed, treading lightly on the rocky floor, the constant hissing and crackling noises from the sleeping fire demons putting them all on edge.

Groot was having the most difficulty navigating this part of the tunnels because of his newly mutated form. He tucked in all his limbs and kept his arms against his sides, taking great care not to touch any of the demons lest he disturb them. They had almost made it out when one of the fire demons reached out and grabbed ahold of one of Groot's six legs in its sleep. Groot winced as the heat from the creature's hand began to sizzle against his bark-like skin. "I am Groot," he whispered.

Nobody noticed as they had all continued further past the fire demons. "I am Groot!" he whispered again, louder this time.

Gamora turned, spotting Groot's predicament. The smell of burnt wood was filling the air, and it wouldn't be long before the sleeping demons were awakened. She crept stealthily back to Groot and grabbed hold of the fire demon's arm, wincing as the hot skin began to burn her hands. She lifted gently but quickly until the creature let go of Groot and he continued on past the sleeping fire demons before dropping the creature's arm and following him.

Just as the group disappeared around the bend in the tunnel, the fire demon stretched and awoke. Blinking its eyes, it sniffed the air. What was that strange new scent that had replaced the usually musty cave air? Curious, the creature climbed out of its sleeping place in the wall and began to follow the smell.

"Take out these strays and get defenses up," Stakar ordered. His Ravager men spread out along the streets surrounding the Rainbow Bridge, setting a perimeter and eliminating the few fire demons they came across. Aleta's and Charlie-27's clans made formation on the bridge; some of them had brought portable laser turrets and went about setting those up.

Meanwhile, the Salamandrians had pushed forward through the city towards the Gjallarhorn alarm station. Mona leaped down from above on a fire demon, burying her sword in the creature's head. As she pulled the sword out, she glanced up and spotted a large ornate horn on a platform above their heads. "Commander!" she called. "We've found it."

Sal Commander reached her position. "Wait here, men," he ordered before he climbed up the ladder to the Gjallarhorn platform. Placing his lips to the horn, he took a deep breath and blew.

The sound of the Gjallarhorn echoed through the Asgardian countryside. From the remnants of Odin's palace, Surtur's head perked up. He glared at the city, in the direction the sound had come from. "Impossible," he snarled, peering out at the Rainbow Bridge. Spotting the Ravagers amassed on the bridge, he grinned evilly. "So . . . we have uninvited guests. Destroy them."

The fire demons, alerted by the noise, abandoned the throne construction and started swarming down into the city. From the hillside, Yondu saw the fire demons coming and radioed the Ravagers down in the city. "Stakar, you woke 'em up. Get ready."

"Stay together!" Aleta shouted to her men. "Watch your six and hold that perimeter till the others get here!"

The fire demons moved swiftly as a horde, descending on the Ravagers in a mass fury. Stakar had abandoned his laser assault rifle in favor of manning a laser machine gun turret, its high-power velocity rounds shredding through fire demons like paper. "Yeah, ya bitches!" he shouted. "Come get some!"

The other three Ravager clans had made it to the city's outskirts, watching as the fire demon horde rushed the Ravagers on the bridge. Finally Sif drew her sword. "We can wait no longer," she said.

Beside her, Yondu grinned. "Music ta my ears, lady." He let out a long whistle, and his yaka arrow flew from its holster into his hand. "Let's get 'em, boys!" he shouted, and with a wild yell the three other Ravager clans began heading down into the city towards the bridge. The plan worked beautifully; the fire demons had cleared the palace only a few minutes before the other Ravagers had arrived, and they'd been caught directly between three Ravager clans on either side of them on the bridge.

Yondu's deadly yaka arrow spun in circles around him in the air, slicing through any fire demon unfortunate enough to get close to him. Quill used his boot jets to fly up to one of the twin gun emplacements near the bridge. He blasted the fire demon inside before getting in and turning it towards the other gun, blowing it to smithereens. "Guns down!" he radioed the others.

"Mantis and the others should have reached the catacombs by now," said Thor, throwing his hammer through a line of fire demons.

Leo slashed his way through a group of demons with his katanas. "I sure hope they're not lost down there!" he said.

"Above you!" Leo ducked and glanced up just in time to see Mona bounding forward and leaping over his head, landing directly on top of a fire demon and slicing it through its torso with her tail spikes. The Salamandrian warriors came just behind her, throwing themselves at the fire demon horde mercilessly.

"Go!" Sal Commander told Thor. "Find Surtur! We will hold these ones here!" He laid down a line of cover fire with the blaster attachment on his suit's left arm and roared, "Rokka rokka rokka!"

Heeding his advice, Leo, Sif, and Thor split away from the main fight and began walking up towards the doors of what remained of Odin's palace. The entire roof and most of the walls had been blown away or destroyed, leaving only the foundations and the main entrance.

"Is this it?" Leo asked, standing to Thor's left as they approached the palace.

"Very much so," Thor said, gripping Mjolnir tightly. He closed his eyes, muttering a prayer. "Father . . . bring me strength and wisdom to see this through."

Spinning Mjolnir around his wrist, he ran for the doors and swung his hammer against them. There was a loud metallic boom, and both doors went hurtling forward towards the middle of the royal hall where Surtur stood. "Surtur!" Thor shouted, his eyes illuminating with lightning. "I have come for vengeance! And this time I will not leave empty-handed!"

"Left at the next junction," Mantis said, leading the way down the tunnel. The group followed her into a small chamber with rock wall on all sides. "Dead end," she said.

"If we make a wrong turn, we may never find our way out," Gamora cried in frustration.

"I am Groot," Groot added.

"You do know the way, don't you?" asked Drax.

"Of course I do!" Mantis cried, shutting her eyes in concentration. Her antennae tips began to glow as she searched through her sonar-like abilities for where the tunnel led. Finally her eyes snapped open, and she glanced upwards at a large circular hole in the ceiling back the way they'd come. "It's not left," she realized, "it's up! This way!"

Groot extended his arms, elongating them into large sturdy branches and reaching them up through the hole for Mantis, Drax, and Gamora to climb up. Just as he himself climbed up through the hole, the fire demon who had been following the smell of Groot's burnt bark appeared in the tunnel behind them. The creature sniffed the air in curiosity, then looked up at the ceiling. Whatever the source of the smell was, it was coming from up there. Crouching, the fire demon leaped up and grabbed ahold of the edge of the opening in the ceiling, hoisting itself through.

Leo knew he and Sif stood no chance holding their own against a nine-foot-tall flaming giant. Thor was their power piece, engaging Surtur head on, while he and Sif worked as ankle biters, dashing in and slashing at Surtur's legs or torso when he was left open.

"Puny fool," Surtur sneered, taking a swipe at Thor with his giant sword. "None but your deceased father rivalled my power!"

Thor leaped over the sword strike, landing on his feet. "If my father is truly gone, foul creature," he growled, "then you shall answer for the deed!" He began to spin Mjolnir in circles in front of him, generating a huge wind funnel that blew towards Surtur with enough force to start to extinguish Surtur's flame. The giant fire lord took a step backwards, repelled by the hurricane-force winds.

But Surtur was the god of flame, and with a mere thought he increased his body heat, strengthening the blaze and recovering immediately. "Your power is great, God of Thunder," he said. "Yet, you are but the son of Odin, while I am his equal!" He brought his sword down in a strike that almost struck Sif if she had not leaped to the side just in time.

"I see now that I was wrong," Surtur continued. "Asgard was not enough. I shall destroy all of the universe itself, and then rebuild it to suit my own design!" Aiming his sword over Thor's head, he unleashed a fiery stream of pure heat from its blade, melting through the front of the palace and into the Asgardian cityscape, destroying parts of his own construction sites in the process.

"Sif!" Leo shouted, running forward and tackling Sif out of the way of the firestream just in time. The two of them collided against a stone pillar and tumbled off down towards the lava river. Thinking fast, Leo grabbed one of his katanas and dug it into the ground, sending a shower of dirt falling after him as he held tightly to Sif's wrist. The two of them stopped their flow and climbed to their feet. "Are you alright?" Leo asked.

"Yes," Sif said, throwing her head back to get her hair out of the way. They looked up to see a wall of fire, towering high into the sky, cutting them off from returning to Thor. "We cannot help Thor now," she said. "He is on his own."

"Not if we can do anything about it," Leo said grimly. "Come on. Let's get back to the others."

By the time they reached the Ravagers on the Rainbow Bridge, the battle was almost over. The pincer move had caught the fire demons completely off-guard, and it had been slaughter. Almost fifty Ravagers total had died, but over ten times that number of fire demons they had killed.

Yondu met them at the edge of the bridge. "We're about done cleaning up here," he said. "Next we're moving out to help Thor."

"We can't," said Leo. "Surtur's cut us off from the palace. We can't get past that fire wall."

"Maybe there's a way," said Mona.

"What do you want us to do?" Sif asked. "Grow wings and fly?"

Yondu looked up at the sky, where the Eclector hovered in Asgard's orbit. "That ain't a bad idea," he mused.

"This is it," Mantis said, as they climbed out of the top of the hole. "We're here."

The Guardians looked around. They were in a long corridor lit by a giant wall of light on one end covered by chain link. There were niches in the wall that you could walk into, each niche holding a relic that Odin had gained as a victory over the course of his life. "Wow," said Gamora, stunned by the relics Odin had collected. "Look at all these artifacts."

They walked around the room for a moment, checking out each artifact. There were several empty spots, presumably items Loki had stolen. At the end of the room, on display as the center object, Mantis spotted Odin's spear Gungnir. "Look!" she said, moving over. "It's the Allfather spear." Picking it up, she hefted it in her hand.

Drax and Groot had gathered near a giant golden Infinity Gauntlet, complete with Infinity Stones. "I am Groot?" asked Groot.

"This is the weapon of Thanos," Drax said, scowling. "As long as it lies here he is powerless."

"It's a fake," Gamora called. "A clever replica, but a fake. The real one is left-handed." She moved over to a large metal chalice with a lit flame dancing inside it. "Here it is," she said, the fire's light dancing in her eyes. "The Eternal Flame."

Suddenly behind them there was a loud shriek. Jumping, they turned to see a fire demon standing behind them. In one swift movement Gamora plunged her sword into its neck and killed it.

"Where did that creature come from?" asked Drax.

"It must have followed us from the tunnels," said Gamora.

Behind them, above, they heard the howling of more fire demons. The sentry's cry must have alerted others. "We must go!" Mantis cried.

Groot picked up the giant chalice holding the Eternal Flame, and the group fled back into the tunnels.

Thor's heart sank as he realized he was now cut off from the others by a wall of seething flame.

"Now you are truly alone," Surtur sneered. "And you are doomed."

"Alone, perhaps," Thor said, turning back to face Surtur. "But beaten? Never!" Spinning Mjolnir in circles, he took to the air. As he hoped, Surtur began plodding after him as he flew into the mountains.

"It matters not where you may fly, for there is no place I cannot reach you!" Surtur bellowed, firing another stream of flames from his sword after Thor.

Thor flew over the clifftops behind the remnants of Odin's palace and landed. Beyond these cliffs was a mountain spring that bubbled up from deep in Asgard's core to an underground lake covered by a large flat plateau of rock on the surface. This spring was where Asgard got most of its drinking water from. As Surtur began climbing over the cliffs after Thor, Thor began to pound Mjolnir against the ground, cracking the stone beneath him and weakening it.

From atop the cliffs Surtur leaped down, landing on the plateau in front of Thor. He grinned and raised his sword for a strike, stepping forward. But his weight was too much for the already-weakened rock, and the plateau shattered. Chunks of rock fell through into the lake below as the mountain spring burst forth and engulfed Surtur's flaming form as he landed in the lake, howling in pain.

Exhausted, Thor collapsed against the ground. The rushing lake water had flooded Surtur, but soon they began to steam and bubble. With a flash Surtur rose from the depths of the lake, steam hissing off of his body. "Neither wind nor water may quench my flame!" he shouted. "Now taste your failure, God of Thunder!" He began walking through the water towards the opposite bank, where Thor lay slumped against the rock. The sea parted with bursts of fire as he strode through the waist-high spring towards Thor.

Suddenly a new and welcome sound filled Thor's ears: the sound of spacecraft. Overhead, the Ravagers' M-ships zoomed through the air, unleashing their cannonfire on Surtur. It was a valiant effort, but no simple cannon blast could fell Surtur. With heat alone, he melted the bolts of energy in a sudden blaze of power as they struck his form. On the clifftops above, Thor saw Leo and Yondu leading the Ravagers' ground forces towards him below.

"Regroup your forces!" Yondu barked to his men. "Look to your weapons! Every man take heart! We may stand, and we may fall, but we share our fate together!"

The Ravagers threw themselves at Surtur, but it was hopeless. He toyed with them, sweeping through their ranks with his sword and blasting M-ships from the sky with bolts of flame. He grabbed a Salamandrian starfighter that flew too close and threw it towards the ground, hurtling it into a crowd of Ravagers. "My patience grows thin!" he howled, stomping down and knocking them all to the ground. Their weapons were useless against his flame, and with a mere touch he set their ships ablaze.

Groggily Thor blinked his eyes. He had been pinned beneath a pile of boulders and molten rock. He grimaced as his leg came into contact with a hot rock and burned him, sizzling his skin. Thrusting his hand from the pile, he called Mjolnir to him. Come Surtur, or come death, he would face both with hammer in hand.

"I cannot crush your spirit, Asgardian," Surtur chuckled. "But I can take your life!" He raised his sword over his head, ready to plunge it into the ground where Thor lay and end his life forever.

"Give it a try!" Kraglin called down the service hatch.

Inside the service room, Donnie primed the generator pump and the anulax batteries began glowing a bold neon yellow color. The service room's light lit up, and above the Observatory's remaining lights began to switch on. Kraglin whooped in victory. "Yeah! We got it!"

"Now all we need is—" Rocket started, but stopped as the doors to the Observatory swung open and Gamora, Drax, Mantis, and Groot entered, covered in ash and carrying the Eternal Flame's chalice. "Speak of the devil!" he said, walking over to his teammates. "Why do you guys smell like toasted marshmellows?"

"It was a glorious battle in the tunnels," said Drax, grinning broadly. "The fire demons were many, but they were no match for our valor."

Donnie climbed out of the service hatch, and Mantis presented him with Gungnir. "I trust you know what to do with this?" she asked.

"I think so," Donnie said, taking the spear. "Thor was telling me that this thing has some kind of power inside it that can summon the Bifrost. Since it's been destroyed, though, it'll take some time to rebuild completely. We should have enough for two jumps, though, so no mistakes."

He shoved the hilt of Gungnir into a slot on the raised podium in the center of the room, and twisted the handle. There was a loud humming noise, as a shaft of white light suddenly lit up from where the staff had been put into the Observatory. The tip of the staff began emitting white streaks of lightning into the air as the great machinations beneath the Observatory creaked and groaned, as they were activated for the first time in many months. The Observatory's Bifrost harnesser began spinning rapidly as it lowered itself and opened the Bifrost Bridge to Helheim.

"Donnie, can you hold that thing open until we get back?" Rocket asked.

"I can't!" Donnie said, straining. "Thor told me that if the Bifrost is left open its power will destroy whatever realm you're trying to go to, and you along with it!"

"Let's make this fast," Gamora said, heading towards the swirling rainbow portal. "Groot! Bring the chalice!"

She jumped inside, and the other Guardians were pulled inside by the force of the Bifrost's power. "I am Groooooot!" Groot screamed as they went tumbling and twirling down the funnel of rainbow color.

The Bifrost dropped them off with a loud bang that sent a shockwave rippling through Helheim. Climbing to their feet, they looked around. A chill went through them as they saw the nightmarish land of intense darkness and unyielding cold before them. Dark clouds covered the skies, and an emerald-colored fog and mist stopped them from seeing very far in any direction.

"W-we did n-not d-dress w-warmly en-nough," Drax stammered, his teeth chattering as the extreme temperatures began to take their toll. The unending icy winds bit deep through their skin.

"L-let's just d-drop the f-flame and g-g-go," Rocket shivered. "M-my t-t-tail's about to f-f-freeze off."

Groot dropped the chalice down on the ground, and they watched for a moment as the flame began to flicker and die out. "It w-worked," Gamora said, as they suddenly became engulfed in a rainbow beam of light and were teleported back to Asgard.

As soon as they had returned, Drax keeled over and threw up on the floor. Groot glared at him. "I am Groot," he said in a disgusted tone, crossing his arms.

"I told you," Drax gasped, "I despise teleporting."

The Guardians let out a sigh as the cold slowly left their bodies and feeling returned to their arms and legs. Donnie, exhausted, let go of Odin's spear and collapsed against the ground. "Did . . . did it work?" he panted.

Gamora let out a tired, breathy laughed. "Yes, Donnie," she said. "It worked."

On the battlefield, Surtur was about to bring his sword down into Thor when he suddenly stopped, unable to move. A look of absolute terror and pain filled his eyes, that Thor had never seen before. He collapsed to his knees as his body began to slowly decay, his flaming skin turning to ash and being swept away by the light breeze.

Thor climbed slowly to his feet and walked over to Surtur. "How—?" Surtur gasped in pain as his form shrunk with each passing second.

Thor merely smiled, and began whipping Mjolnir at lightning speeds around his hand. "Fall now, Surtur," he whispered, and swung Mjolnir with as much force as he could muster. The blow sent a shockwave rippling through the air and scattered the rest of Surtur's body like dust on the wind.

There was a short burst of silence before the Ravagers began to cheer. Sif ran to Thor, almost tackling him with a tight hug. "You did it, Thor," she said, tears filling her eyes. "You did it."

Thor smiled, hugging her back. "No," he said gently, pulling her away and gesturing at the remaining Ravager soldiers. "We did it."

The Ravagers returned to their ships to begin the work of burying their dead. The fallen Ravagers were disintegrated, and their remains were released into space as the motherships released fireworks into the sky.

On the surface of Asgard, the funerary fireworks lit up the sky as Thor, Sif, the Salamandrians, and the Guardians met Leo and Donnie inside the Observatory. Thor held on to Gungnir, making him the new king of Asgard.

"So what happens now?" Donnie asked him.

"Well, I must reactivate the Bifrost and bring my people back to their land," he said. "With Surtur gone, we will have to rebuild. It will take much time, but my people are strong-willed."

"Well, so is their leader," Leo said, smiling.

Thor smiled back.

"You know," Donnie said, "we could really use some help back on Earth fighting Loki and his alliance."

"Were that I could, I would come to your aid," said Thor grimly. "But Midgard is still off limits as of today, and as the new king of Asgard I cannot put my realm at risk in such a way. I am sorry."

"Hey, nothing personal," Leo said. "We get it. Rules and responsibilities and all that."

Thor shoved Gungnir into the Observatory's slot, activating it. The generator began to churn and the swirling rainbow portal appeared in the wall. "You saved my world," Thor said. "And my life. And I will be forever in your debts."

"You saved our lives," Donnie said, turning to the Guardians. "Thank you. For—for everything."

Quill shrugged. "We may be criminals, but we still believe in things like honor and respect."

"And getting paid, Quill," Rocket added. "You're always leaving that one out."

They chuckled. Leo turned, catching Sif's eye. "Sif, thank you as well," he said. "If there's ever anything you need, you know where to find me. I . . . well, I . . ."

"You fret too much," Sif said, stepping forward and silencing Leo with a kiss. Leo, in shock, went stiff as his hands went up to her waist and held her in position for several long seconds that felt like hours.

The others looked on in a shocked silence. Thor was most surprised of all of them. He had never seen Sif display affection in such a manner; she was usually very reserved. But this adventure had brought out new aspects of them all.

Sif broke the kiss, stepping back. "You certainly taste like I would imagine a noble warrior of Earth to taste," she said.

Leo's brain was spinning as he frantically tried to get his mouth to say something. "You taste like . . . like a goddess . . ." he finally stammered.

"Did you not enjoy it?" Sif asked.

"Absolutely," said Leo. "But . . . why . . ."

Sif looked as though she was about to say something, but then changed her mind. "Because I felt like it." She grabbed Leo's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Always act on your impulses, Leonardo. Life's candle burns too briefly not to live in the moment." She backed away about six steps. "Turtles, until our paths cross again," she said, before joining Thor and the guardians at the doorway.

Donnie turned to his brother, still staring blankly at Sif. "Leo?" he asked. Leo made a quiet, high-pitched groaning noise. "Leo, we should go."

"Give me a second," Leo said, shaking his head to clear it. "Alright. Let's go home."

They stepped through the portal, and there was another flash of light before they were gone. "Wow," Rocket murmured.

Quill looked down at the racoon. "Jealous?" he asked.

"No!"

"Liar." Quill grinned.

"Leo and Sif would be good sailors," Drax noted.

Gamora turned to look at Drax quizzically. "What?"

Drax's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Wait, that is not how the phrase goes. I mean I would put them in a boat together."

"You mean you ship them?" Gamora asked.

"Yes, precisely," said Drax, beaming.

Groot slapped a palm to his forehead. "I am Groot."