User:CraftTech/Sandbox

Song: American Idiot by Greenday

Peter grasped the rifle tightly in his hands and ducked under a burnt-out hovercar. Using the cover to catch his breath, he ejected the empty magazine and snapped a new one in place. The archaic gun was a far cry from his usual twin blasters, but he hadn't had a choice. It was this or his bare hands, and he wasn't an assassin like Gamora or super strong like Drax. So ancient Terran rifle it was. He started when Rocket slid to the ground beside him, a teenage Groot in tow. "Whaddya hiding back here for, Quill? We're getting slaughtered out there!"

"I am Groot". Groot tilted his head in the equivalent of sticking out his tongue before crossing his arms and pouting in the dirt. Great, just what Peter needed right now was teenage sass.

"Excuse me, y'all left me with the worst weapon. I had to reload". He cocked the rifle, making sure the bullet was in the barrel before balancing on the balls of his feet. "If you're done complainin', we can move".

"Waiting on you, Star-Munch" Rocket grumbled. "Where're we going?"

Peter peered over the left side of the hovercar and flinched violently when a bullet whizzed by his face. "Um, not that way".

Rocket sighed dramatically, "Why do I always have to make the plans?"

"Oh now that just unfair, you stupid raccoon..." But Rocket was already scampering away to the right, narrowly dodging a few bullets. Peter braced himself, then followed. He ducked and rolled to the next piece of cover, then lead Rocket and Groot back towards what was currently functioning as their base. Rocket and Groot made it to the barricade, climbing down and waiting on the other side as Peter heroically jumped on top of the pile of rubble and slid down to safety...

Until he landed on his rear on the wrong side of the barricade, Rocket's startled "Quill!" audible from the other side. He felt a bullet hit him in the chest, gasping as the impact hindered his breathing. It was all over now. "Save yourself, Rocket! Take care of Groot!"

He could hear the Guardian scampering away on the other side, dragging an ornery Groot with him. One of Peter's assailants leapt over the rubble with ease and ran to track them down. Peter struggled to get up until a boot landed on his chest, right where the bullet hit. Groaning, he looked up into the face of his killer. "Now that's just downright mean".

A grinning green face looked down at him. "You should not have let yourself get caught then".

"Let myself? Are you kidding? Not only didja pick all the good weapons before I got there, but you tagged me with this paralyzing goop and then stepped all over me. You shouldn't kick a man while he's down". Peter would never admit it, but he knew he was being a bit overdramatic. The paralytic was wearing off already, leaving nothing more than a brightly colored splat on the front of his shirt.

Gamora grinned and removed her boot, kneeling down to his level and helping him sit up. "You were the one who insisted this game was similar to the Terran custom of 'paint balls'. You suggested it".

Peter groaned because technically, that was true. However, "You're team has been cheatin'! I hit you fair and square ten minutes ago and you're still up and running 'round shootin' me!"

She frowned and looked at her side, where a bright purple stain was. "That would not have been a fatal hit, Peter".

"On any normal person it would have been! It's not my fault you're impervious to paralytic paint!"

Drax vaulted back over the wall of rubble with a paralyzed Rocket over one shoulder and dragging a protesting Groot with the other hand. "Is Quill complaining like a child again? He is" the big guy paused, trying to think of the right words, "crying tears to build a river?"

"Ain't nobody cryin' here" Peter mumbled, finally getting some feeling back in his toes, "Just pointin' out the injustices of 'Galaxy Shootout'". Never mind that was kinda the whole point of the game. A Xandarian creation to show the galaxy how it felt to be the ones with the primitive weapons instead of the conquerors. Of course, it really was just a glorified version of paintball.

A huge hand lifted him up by the back of his shirt, setting him on unfeeling feet. "Come, friend Quill. Let us drink to celebrate our victory and your pitiful defeat".

"We only lost because Star-Dork couldn't figure out his gun and Groot is apparently too cool to play" Rocket muttered, shoving himself off Drax as the paralytic wore off. "Where's your third member?"

"Kraglin? He decided that using the Yaka arrow would be the best strategy. He has been trying to get the paralyzing paint to stay on the arrow without burning out for the whole time. We can pick him up on our way out". From Gamora's expression, she was none to impressed with the first-mate.

Peter sighed and massaged the multicolored bruise on his chest. "Let's just... skip to the drinking, shall we?"

Drax slapped Peter on the back, propelling him forward into one of the burnt-out hovercars. "That is an acceptable plan. I noticed a fine drinking establishment on our way to this arena of pathetic combat".

"I know your definition of 'fine' Drax. We should look for somewhere that isn't going to serve us rat poison". Rocket, whose paralytic had yet to completely wear off, was riding on Groot's shoulder. "Last time we took your advice about a bar, we ended up with food poisoning".

Peter shuddered, remembering that night of misery. "Rocket's right. Let's go down to the Ciegrimite district. Those guys can drink".

The Guardians walked over to Gamora's bunker, where Kraglin was cursing creatively at the paint, the Yaka arrow burning it off as soon as it was administered. His rifle, which looked like it was made around the Terran Civil War, was abandoned off to the side. Gamora merely hauled the Xandarian up by the collar of his shirt dragged him towards the door.

On their way out, the group handed their weapons back to the Xandarian teenager working the Galaxy Shootout counter. Poor kid looked at Rocket's retrofitted rail gun and muttered, "What the heck am I supposed to tell my boss about this?" but didn't stop them. Ah, teenagers. Speaking of, "Groot, why don't you head back to the ship, see if there are any jobs we can pick up while we're here?"

"I am Groot". The Flora Colossus crossed his arms and shifted his head.

"Don't give me sass. Ciegrimite bars are no place for a kid. Believe me, I nearly died in one when I was thirteen". Peter crossed his arms, giving Groot an equally ornery glare. The tree looked at him from the corner of his eye and muttered, "I am Groot".

"I do not almost die on a daily basis! You try livin' with Ravagers and avoidin' near death experiences!"

"Peter". Gamora stopped the argument with a wave of her hand. She turned to Groot, "Mantis has been there all day. Why don't you go check on her for me?"

"I am Groot". The teenager was still pouting. Gamora tried again, "Groot, please go back to the ship. I am going to make sure these idiots do not kill themselves and will join you shortly. I will even bring you back some food if you want".

The tree huffed once, then strode off towards the dock. Peter gaped at Gamora as they walked towards the north end of the city, "How'd you do that?"

"You have to act like an adult to be treated like one, Peter".

Well. That was rude, but accurate. Conceding his defeat, Peter led the group down the dark streets of Xandar. The Guardians enjoyed the planet only when it was dark. In the daylight, they were far too recognizable as the Guardians of the Galaxy, something they used only when it suited them. Which wasn't when they were looking for a drink. Once through the door of a Ciegrimite nightclub, the group dispersed. Drax celebrated his victory with Rocket and Kraglin while Peter slouched at the bar with a heavy drink to take the edge off. It'd been almost four years since Yondu's spirit was released to sail among the stars. None of the other guardians seemed to notice if their captain was a bit more subdued than usual, although he would bet Kraglin and Rocket were mourning in their own way. Not everyone got drunk rather than deal with their feelings, after all.

Gamora nudged his shoulder as she sat next to him and ordered a lightly alcoholic drink, all while keeping a wary eye on the rest of their crew. Peter's lip twitched upwards in the ghost of a smile, then flicked open his datapad, searching the job channels for appropriate work.

"Find anything good?"

Shaking his head, he continued to scroll through the job listings. Too far. Too small payday. One that was actually too illegal. Nothing fitting for the Guardians of the Galaxy. He sighed and pushed his chair back in an effort to look relaxed. "Nothin' here. I hate to do this, but we might have to start looking on Ravager lists. I know Stakar gave us permission, but it still feels..."

"Wrong?" Gamora questioned, taking a small sip from her drink. Her gaze pierced Peter's carefully drawn facade.

"Not necessarily wrong. Just... Ravagers don't give anythin' away for free. The moment we show a sign of accepting Stakar's offer to be the 100th Ravager clan in anything other than name, we'll owe him somethin'. Ravagers have a call to arms, no matter what it is or what we are doing, we have to go. I don't like being tied down".

"Then don't take any of the jobs". Gamora was far too logical to understand Peter's dilemma. It felt like a betrayal of Yondu's memory not to be a Ravager, but it felt like a betrayal of himself to join back up. None of this would be a problem if there were just some krutarking work available for a highly qualified band of a-holes. Rocking his chair abruptly back to four legs, he put his head in his hands, "I think we're doing our job too well, Gamora. Pretty soon, we're gonna put ourselves out of work".

The assassin's snort of amusement was anything but delicate, but somehow cute nonetheless. She made to retort, only to be interrupted by a bright chirp. Peter groaned and dug around in his coat pocket until he felt the thin metal comlink. "Quill".

"Mr. Quill. This is Denarian Dey".

"Rhomann! How are things at the Nova Corps?"

"Just fine, Mr. Quill. I have a job for your crew if you are interested?"

Peter smirked, even though the Xandarian couldn't see him. "I don't know. We are pretty busy, you know, two time galaxy savers and all. Tell me more and we'll see".

"I think you'll be interested in this one. We have reports of an Outrider attack on a civilian vessel. The incident occurred on the edge of Via Lactea. We want you to go in ahead of Xandarian relief efforts and ensure the area is safe for our crews".

Peter's eyebrows raised clear up to his forehead, but he kept his voice steady and uninterested. No need to show Dey all his cards. "Pay?"

"15,000 units now, 15,000 after your sweep".

"Come on, Dey. That will barely pay fuel costs. 30,000 units now to cover our expenses, 40,000 units after the sweep".

"Quill". Excellent, the denarian was exasperated. And dropped the 'Mr.', which was always a good sign. "Don't be ridiculous".

"I beg your pardon. That rate is takin' our Xandarian discount into effect. Others would pay us much more for this job. We are two time galaxy savers, after all. Our expertise comes at a price and you know it. Stop screwin' around and just say yes, Dey".

The man sighed into the comlink, as if talking to Peter was exhausting. Which was crazy, Peter was delightful. "Fine. I'll send you the coordinates. Keep in touch, Quill. That's a stipulation of the job".

"Yes sir!" Peter mockingly exclaimed, checking their accounts to ensure the first payment had gone through. "I'll hail you when we arrive".

The Nova Corpsman just sighed and signed off without so much as a goodbye. Rude. Peter turned to Gamora. "Well, problem solved. We have a job. An interesting one at that".

"Interesting?" The assassin raised one eyebrow. "Do tell".

"I'll give the specifics on the Quadrant, but it's a sweep mission for Nova. Nothin' too different there".

"Except?"

"Except it's in Via Lactea. And the civilian ship was hijacked by Outriders".

That got her attention, as he knew it would. "Outriders? In Atlantean space?"

"Yup. Makes me think your adopted daddy is knockin' on a very particular door".

Gamora glared at him for the remark about her father, which yeah, wasn't the nicest thing he could have said, but then looked thoughtful. "Infinity Stones".

"Yup"

"And Via Lactea? You think Atlantis has an infinity stone?"

Peter shrugged, "I don't know. But there have been whisperings about Atlantean Ragnarok beginning. Ravagers have been avoidin' the area hoping to stay out of that mess, but sooner or later one of the clans will go scavenging. And Ultron Omega knows that. If he's leadin' his Outriders there, that probably means the whispers are true".

"Leaving whatever Infinity Stone they were protecting unguarded". Her hands clenched and unclenched. "Sounds like a job for the Guardians of the Galaxy, no?"

Peter let his signature smirk creep through his poker face. "Sounds like. Oh and Gamora? Might want to drop a line to your crazy sister. Let her know what's happenin'. Somethin' tells me we're gonna need all hands on deck for this one".

Song: Hells Bells by ACDC

"Friday? Double check the fuel line for me".

A moment's silence. Then, "Fuel line unimpaired, Sir".

Lex scratched his chin, mind whirling a mile a minute. "We've replaced everything with new parts, Friday. Why won't this work?"

"Perhaps because some things are unsalvageable, even for you".

Stark snorted, a glimpse of amusement quickly replaced by frustration. "Very funny, Friday. What if we don't use new parts? Check the carburetor. Replace it with Luthor tech instead, run the simulation again".

Silence again. Then, "That will do it, Sir. I estimate the car will run at 80% efficiency with that adjustment".

He grimaced. 80% was still unacceptable, but it would have to do for now. "Have manufacturing set one aside and deliver it to the complex. Let Miles know I've fixed his car problem". Flicking the holographic display away, he muttered, "Though I'm not sure why he even bothers with that ancient piece of junk".

"Karen has been notified, Sir. Miles will pick it up on Friday when he comes for training".

That's right. Training. AKA make sure the kid is still alive and kicking and making smart choices. Operating in that grey area Tony had told him about. "Good. Write a reminder. Anything else?"

"Ms. Potts would like a word".

Tony quickly rolled out from under his desk, an old coffee in his hand and grease stains on his t-shirt. Dumping both in the sink, he shimmied into his business suit and took the stairs two at a time. A man who wanted to stay alive didn't keep Ms. Potts waiting. Particularly if he planned to marry her in the fall. An elevator ride and half a floor later, he pushed open glass doors (which were pointless, but whatever) and bounded into Pepper's Enforcers Headquarters office. "Hi Honey. How was work?"

And oops, Pepper was glaring at him now. That was never a good sign. "Tony, I needed your signature on these catering forms three days ago. And Secretary Ross has been calling Stark Industries, since apparently you have been 'unavailable' for two weeks".

"What can I say? I like watching the light blink".

"Yeah, well, you're on thin ice already after the Siberia incident".

"Can we please stop calling it an incident? It was almost two years ago. Plus, as I told everyone, Warren sent me on a wild goose chase to Siberia, leaving Captain Marvel to free her merry band of miscreants from the Raft…"

Pepper glared at him, shutting him up in a way only she could. "Don't give me that crap, Lex. I understand that you had to… alter the truth a bit for Ross. But you told me everything. And both you and I know it was an incident. It doesn't matter at the moment though. Sign off on the catering and call Secretary Ross back. Right now".

Lex sighed and grabbed a pen. "Yes dear".

His beautiful and talented fiancé tapped a delicate fingernail on the desk. "Anything unusual this week?"

Lex snorted. Like she hadn't already browsed his calendar. "Nope. Tomorrow is the regular Tuesday tooth-pulling with the UN Security Council, Wednesday is devoted to Stark Industries, Friday is team training. Peter is coming to that".

Pepper hesitated. Oh no. "I received a call from the University of Cambridge. Dr. Selvig has a matter of great importance he would like to discuss with you…"

"Oh no. No, Pepper. You know that man gives me the heebie jeebies".

"If it's because of Loki…"

"It has… very little to do with Loki. It has more to do with his lack of pants and crazy theories about Atlantean…"

"Oh, like you are always politically correct. Of all people, he should be able to confide in you because…"

"Just because I'm more open minded than the rest of the scientific community doesn't mean that I will buy every crackpot theory…"

"He thinks he knows where Arthur is. The Avengers…"

"Oh yeah, I'm just going to pop into Atlantis and grab Thor. Or send him an interdimensional message! And what would I even say? Come back to Earth, Arthur! Half our teammates are fugitives and the rest are depressed and dysfunctional? Please sign this binding document from Earth that won't let you come and go as you please? How well do you think that will go over Pepper? Huh?"

Lex sucked in deep breaths, purposefully not looking at Pepper as her glare softened. "I can't lose another friend".

"I know, Lex. I'm not asking you to contact Arthur. I'm asking you to listen to a colleague. Plus, it's your job to monitor all potential threats. And Selvig seems to think there's a threat".

Lex sighed. Contrary to popular opinion, he did know when to give in. "Fine, schedule him in, Friday. For Tuesday morning. Might as well get all the unpleasantness over with in one day. Oh! And ask him to bring taser girl with him… Darby. Sometimes she's the only thing that keeps me from locking him in the freezer".

"Very well, Sir. Dr. Selvig and Darcy will come to Avengers Headquarters tomorrow morning".

Pepper positively beamed at him. He scowled at her, but she wasn't convinced. She could read right through his PR face. The fiend then handed him the phone.

"Ross, then dinner".

"Dinner, then Ross?" Lex tried, knowing full well it wouldn't work. Pepper merely kissed him on the cheek and pointed to the phone before walking out the door. He sighed, then dialed. And instantly regretted it.

"Well if it isn't the Iron Man. If I had known calling Potts would get this result, I would have done that two weeks ago".

"Ross. I have ten minutes. What do you want? It can't be all that important since you haven't show up unannounced yet".

"I need a meeting with you all".

"You all?"

"The Avengers, Luthor. Don't get smart".

"Too late for that" Lex quipped as he tossed Pepper's smiley face stress ball in the air. If he had to call Ross, he was going to make it as amusing as possible.

"Look, I have a mission for you guys".

Lex frowned, pausing for a moment. "Really? The UN didn't mention anything about it".

Ross hesitated. Then, "The UN hasn't discussed this particular issue. But I am sure they would be amendable to the idea…"

"Let me stop you right there, Ross. The whole purpose of the Sokovia Accords was accountability, not to use the Avengers as the US's personal special ops. If the UN hasn't sanctioned it, we aren't doing it".

"We found Kara, Lex. I want you guys to bring her in". Well, that was awful. Lex had done a really good job of ignoring the old Avengers, even when Friday picked up trails of them across the world. They weren't his responsibility until the UN told him they were. He was a billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist after all. Not an attack dog.

"No. If I have to deal with the boring and tedious UN paperwork, so do you. File a motion, get them to sign off on it, and then I will happily bring Ms. Zor-El to justice in accordance with international law and the Rome Statute…"

"We don't have time for that Luthor…"

"Yes, we do. Remember what happened last time you told me to bring her in? Without explicit UN clearance? You stuck her in a prison in the middle of the ocean. I didn't sign because I liked the government or you, Ross. I signed because it was the right thing to do. So the Avengers are going to operate in accordance with international law. They're my bosses, Ross. Not you".

Silence from the other end of the line. Finally, "I would have thought you would want her brought to justice just as much as me".

Lex thought about Ross's previous career in the army, the redacted military records from Ross's "special projects" (including the Swamp Thing), his political invulnerability. He didn't think Secretary Ross was particularly interested in bringing her to "justice".

"Get UN approval, Ross. Then we can talk". Lex hung up. He stretched, then meandered to the window overlooking the compound. The Avenger's support staff were running laps around the complex along with Rodey. Finally, after two long years of research and failed prototypes, Lex created technology that enabled the man to function like he used to. It was worth the hours and sweat and tears to see his friend running along with old military buddies, obviously very pleased with his place in the world.

Lex remembered standing here three years ago, looking over the compound with hope and determination and if he was being honest, a bit of trepidation.

I'm going to miss him though. And you're going to miss me. It's going to be a lot of manful tears.

I will miss you, Lex.

Yeah, but it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I'll take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up.

Suddenly, he felt very alone.

Walking away from the window (not because of any feelings, just because he felt like it, okay?), Lex headed back down to his lab before flying to New York City for dinner with Pepper. Holographic designs and test results filled the air, Friday running simulations constantly.

"How's project Extremis coming, Friday?"

"Simulations have yet to find a solution to your ignition problem. However, I am only part way through your parameters". Friday sounded almost sympathetic. Which was weird, that used to be Jarvis's territory. Friday was more sassy and biting.

"Keep running simulations until all the parameters have been accounted for. Let me know if any come through as successes. I'm going to dinner. Don't wait up for me, honey".

"Of course, Sir. Have fun".

Lex shivered as he walked through the metal detector. He knew that selling LexCorp (Enforcers) Tower was the right decision, but he missed the ease of owning his own building in New York City. The building security was necessary, as there were celebrities and businessmen like himself who owned apartments here. That didn't make it any less annoying.

"Sir? The detector is going off". Wow, thanks for that observation. Lex merely looked over his shades, eyebrow raised. The security guard showed no signs of recognition. With a petulant eye roll, Lex stepped aside and removed his glasses.

"There's metal in my body from medical procedures. I made that clear to the security team when we bought the apartment. Do you need to see my paperwork? Friday…"

Lex ignored the paling man's stuttered apologies as he pulled his tablet from the conveyor belt. "Friday, look alive. I need the medical paperwork for this pinhead".

"Right away, Sir". And lookie there, the security guy jumped and grabbed the hilt of his gun at the disembodied voice. Where did they find this idiots? Did they just pluck this guy off the street and stuff him in a uniform? Why was everyone so slow these days? Lex was distracted from the deterioration of the human race by the ping of documents loaded. He shoved them in the security guard's face, who barely looked at them before gesturing Lex through. Screw under the radar. Next time he was landing on the roof.

"So sorry Mr. Luthor sir".

"Your manager will be hearing about this, young man". God, he sounded like a geezer. Couldn't have that. "Never mind. Just, don't accost me next time and we won't have to deal with this again".

The man gulped and nodded so much Luthor was sure his head would pop right off. A raised eyebrow and a pat on the shoulder later, he was in the elevator that lead directly to the penthouse. Viciously removing his tie, he looked at himself in the glass interior of the elevator. Didn't look bad for all the crap he had going on. Needed to find something for the bags under his eyes. Maybe there was a supplement or something? Pepper would know.

Speaking of his fiancé, she was cooking dinner when he walked through the door. Gosh she was beautiful, in her oversized sweatpants and LexCorp t-shirt. The speakers were blasting rock as she danced around the kitchen. No one else got to see her like this. Sure, Pepper was a force to be reckoned with. But she was also a lot of fun, once you got the perfectly tailored business suit off her. He snuck up on her as best he was able (he was pretty sure she let him) and grabbed her from the back, sweeping her into a bear hug. She swatted him and set the hot pan down.

"Lex! I'm cooking".

"I noticed". Lex was momentarily distracted from Pepper by the concoction in the pan. He grabbed the spoon and went in for a taste, only to have the spoon stolen by Pepper. Unacceptable. He chased after Pepper, intent on tickling her until the food was relinquished when he was interrupted by his phone pinging. Pepper smirked and gestured towards the device before returning to her cooking.

"Ugh if this is Ross, I don't care that he is the Secretary of State, I am going to leave him on hold forever".

But the caller ID wasn't a government number, or a burner. It wasn't even a phone call. It was an update from his apartment's security system.

System rebooted. Did this solve your problem? [yes] [no]

Lex glanced sharply at Pepper. "Hon? Were you having problems with the security system?"

She frowned, tuned into his worried expression. "No. Why?"

Lex's mind was working a mile a minute. If there was a problem, Friday would have notified him and taken care of it. Why was the system manually rebooting? Unless someone was covering their tracks without knowing the extent of his system. Or the system was triggered without Friday picking up on it. Forcing himself to remain calm, he walked leisurely towards the kitchen. "I'm sure it's nothing, dear. Just got a notification that it had been updated".

Pepper's eyes widened with alarm as he walked over and pretended to look for another spoon. His left hand was rummaging through the drawer while his right was sending instructions to Friday. The AI ran thermal scans all over the penthouse, then silently sent Lex the results. Three thermal images. Two in the kitchen, one in the master bathroom. He grabbed his wristbands from the kitchen counter and activated his watch, which formed into a gauntlet over his hand. He motioned for Pepper to stay put, which she promptly ignored (no surprise), grabbing a Glock from under the counter. Before the whole Sokovia Accords snafu, Dinah had been teaching Pepper to use one, as well as stashing them all over their tower. Apparently Pepper had picked up the habit. Double incentive not to piss her off anytime soon. And he definitely needed to thank Dinah before he arrested her, because his fiancé looked hot with a handgun. Focus Lex. Threat. Bathroom. Right.

He crept around the doorway into their master suite, Friday indicating the intruder was still in the bathroom. Lex inched the door open, gauntlet at the ready and Friday posed to send a suit to him…

He paused. Stared at the intruder. Blinked a couple times. Looked at Pepper. Yup, she was seeing the same thing. He wasn't crazy (or at least no more than usual).

Which begged the question: why was Supergirl in his bathtub? The girl was sleeping, arm positioned protectively over her side. On closer inspection, there was blood seeping through her jacket, slowly dripping down the drain. Lex poked her (sue him, he didn't know how to deal with young adult fugitives showing up bleeding in his house) and oops there she went. Kara banged her head on the tub spout, hand at the ready to do, whatever it was she did. She lowered her hand once she saw Lex and Pepper, rubbing the back of her head instead and wincing when the movement pulled at her wound. Lex waved with his gauntlet, then positioned the stabilizer so it wasn't pointed at his former teammate.

"Hey Luthor".

"Kara?" Lex was honestly at a loss for words. Which was quite the achievement. She should get a metal. He had received awards for less difficult tasks. "Why are you here? You do know the American government doesn't like you, right?"

Pepper nailed him in the ribs with her bony elbow. Okay, that was maybe insensitive when the girl was bleeding out in his bathtub. But if it bothered Kara, she didn't say. Merely gestured to her side and shrugged.

"I didn't have many options. And you needed to be warned, so I thought I would down two birds with one bullet".

Eh. Close enough. Wait, "Warned?"

Supergirl grimaced, "Yeah. He's coming. For Vision, for the sorcerer, for the soul keepers, for Earth".

"Who?" Pepper was kneeling by her now, helping to stem the blood flow as she called up an old nurse friend of hers to help. Discretely of course. "Who's coming?"

"Earth's doom. Death itself". Well, that sounded great. But she wasn't done yet, "The Gauntlet approaches. Beware" she was whispering now, eyes steadily glowing red, "beware the Mad Titan. Or perish".

Silence. "Okay. Thank you for that extremely vague and terrifying declaration. What am I supposed to do about it?"

Kara just shrugged, "I don't know. That is more your territory, Luthor, playing games with politicians. My powers have given me the warning. My purpose is merely to pass the information on".

Pepper glared at him, prompting Lex to move aside as she gathered first aid supplies. "Alright, Wanda. Don't worry about that right now. We are going to get you fixed up here". Good, Pepper was much more soothing than him.

"Yeah and pray Ross doesn't find out" Lex llmuttered under his breath, retracting his watch gauntlet. "This was a horrible idea, Kara. You already popped up on the US's radar. I managed to put Ross off for now, but soon enough he will go to the UN and my hands will be tied". Woo-hoo, way to go with the comforting thing, Lex.

Kara stared at him for a moment, looking like a lost kid. "Wait, so you won't arrest me?"

Lex's breath left him, eyebrows furrowing. "No. The UN hasn't told me to apprehend you, so I am not legally bound to do anything".

Kara's face relaxed as she slumped further into the tub, "I thought you would want to bring me in. You don't think I'm a monster for not signing? For Lagos?"

Was that truly what she thought of him? Was that what Steve's whole team thought of him? Did his (ex)friends really not know him at all? He ignored the bitter sting of betrayal (because she already betrayed him, he couldn't be more betrayed, right?) and focused on consoling the poor girl, "No, Kara. I believe oversight is the right thing. So I signed. You made my life difficult, Kara, but that doesn't make you a monster. As long as you aren't actively disobeying the Sokovia Accords, I am perfectly happy to leave you alone. In fact, in my mind, you chose to retire. So there's no reason to bring you in or even alert the UN or Ross to your presence".

She nodded slowly, then lifted her jacket for Pepper to look at. "Thank you, Lex". He heard the unsaid apology in her tone, the mild undertone of surprise that made his heart warm just a little. Never mind about the Earth's doom or whatever. Screw Ross and the UN meetings and Atlantis and the endless simulations to fix his problems. He could deal with that tomorrow. Right now, he would bask in the knowledge that one his teammates had come home.

Song: Countdown to Extinction by Megadeath

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?"

"Yes of course. The people of Earth love me. I'm very popular". Arthur crossed his arms, as if confused by the question. His brother merely rolled his eyes.

"Let me rephrase that. Do you think it's a good idea to bring me back to Earth?"

"Probably not, to be honest. I wouldn't worry brother. I feel like everything's going to work out fine".

Arthur smiled confidently at Loki, who tentatively smiled back. Suddenly, he heard the heavy whir of a ship approaching, proximity alerts blaring on the bridge. He and his brother looked cautiously up, where a ship easily ten times the size of theirs loomed.

"You were saying?"

Arthur merely chose to glare at the fiend, then sounded the ship-wide call to arms. Valkyrie strode up to the bridge from below, discounting both the men in favor of studying the ship in front of them. Her face paled.

"We need to leave. Now".

Surprisingly Loki didn't voice a single insult or question, quickly striding to the helm instead. He leaned over the navigation system and worked with another Atlantean to reset the computer. They were barely ten jumps into a fifty jump trip between the now destroyed Atlantis and Earth. Arthur rather thought they deserved a quiet trip, but apparently the universe disagreed. He turned back to the window, where Heimdall now stood with Valkyrie.

"Whose ship is that?"

At first he thought she wouldn't reply, but then she stated, "Parademons. Mistress Death's followers. She aims to sweep up the pieces of Atlantis".

Loki snorted behind them. "She cares nothing for Atlantis. Only the treasures buried within".

Of course. "The Space Stone. Brother, did it remain in the vault when you sought the helm?"

"Yes". Arthur glanced sideways at his brother, who seemed completely genuine. Seemed being the key word. For now, the trickster's word would have to be enough. There was no time for second-guesses.

"Then she will have to venture past Hela and Surtur to find it. Though I would not qualify that as safe, it will be most difficult for Mistress Death to acquire".

Loki grimaced, "Yes, if she was going to Atlantis for it. But here we are, hundreds of people on a ship leaving the realm. Most would assume we are carrying the treasures of Odin's vault. I do believe she intends to take it from us".

"And we don't have it". Odin's beard. Why couldn't they get a break? "Heimdall, Valkyrie. What defenses does this vessel have?"

"Defenses? This ship is about as useful in battle as a Midgardian bunny. The only advantage this gilded hunk of metal has are the shields, but they're pretty much shot after our grand escapade on Atlantis. Two bow lasers, but their maintenance hasn't been kept up and we are dangerously low on additional power packs. Aft shielding is a joke, the hull quality is subpar. Sacrificed for aesthetics. I wish I could have a word with that pasty, silver haired imbecile…"

"We do not have many options, my liege" Heimdall summed up Valkyrie's rant. "Our only hope is to run and hope Mistress Death cannot catch us".

"Which is a futile hope. The navigation system needs time to reset. We will run nowhere for 5 more minutes. Face it, brother, we are in dire straits".

Wow. Thanks for the support. Thor crossed his arms and made his displeasure known; "Thank you, brother. I do not know what I would do without you".

Loki merely rolled his eyes. Knave. "What if I was to offer a third option? One that you will not be pleased to hear, but is Atlantis' only hope?"

"Speak plainly, brother. There is no time to waste".

"While in Odin's throne room at your bequest, I thought it prudent to acquire a piece of Odin's treasure. One that may aid us in escaping now".

"So you took the Tesarract?"

"I took the Tesarract". The man shrugged, a smug grin adorning his face. "It was in the vault when I went for the helm, brother. Just not when I left. You must learn to ask better questions".

"Save it Horn-Head. What do you suggest we do with the cube of death?" Valkyrie was unamused yet unperturbed by the seemed betrayal either. Of course, Arthur realized, that could have something to do with steadily emptying bottle in her hand. Or the fact that she really didn't care about their family squabbles. His attention was rerouted by Loki's brilliant plan.

"Leave the inadequate vessel. Ferry our people through and use the space stone instead of a ship to get to Earth".

"My liege, you cannot possibly consider this. If we leave the ship, we are stuck without transport wherever the tesseract spits us out".

Good thought. Point, Heimdall. "Loki, this is a civilian vessel. Leaving the ship affords our people no protection but what the Revengers can provide. It is foolish".

Loki's face contorted, all thought and humor shoved aside for anger and… fear? What was did his brother fear? "You are foolish, Odinson. I am wiser than you but more importantly I am a survivor. And a survivor always knows the best way to get people out of a quandary without dying. If we stay here, brother, then we all die. I am offering your people a chance to live. You are offering them a meaningless death. Choose wisely, my dear brother, or regret it forever".

Ouch. However much he quarreled with Loki, there was no mistaking the fear in his brother's eyes and the conviction in his words. Perhaps Thor should consider… he shuddered at the very thought… retreating. The word itself almost made him nauseous, but there was little else to be done at this point. He regretfully added two points to Loki's count. Valkyrie stood beside him, nudged him with her shoulder, and gave him the I agree with him don't be a naïve fool eyes. If his brother and the warrioress were agreed, then perhaps Arthur should listen. He nodded curtly at her, then turned to Heimdall, his ever faithful advisor and friend. "Work with Loki. Lead us to Earth".

His brother needed no additional encouragement, making for his bag and pulling out the tesseract.

"You kept that thing in your purse?"

Loki merely rolled his eyes at his brother. "Not a purse, meathead. And where else would I put it?"

Arthur shrugged and switched on the ship-wide intercom system. "People of Atlantis, we have fallen prey to a hostile ship. We are evacuating. Please gather in an orderly fashion on the bridge. Bring only yourselves". He glanced at his brother and advisor, then flicked on a timer. "Everyone has ten minutes to be on the bridge. Those who are not present will be left behind. Warriors will be sweeping the decks to assist anyone who requires aid. That is all". Thor switched off the intercom, perhaps a little harder than necessary. He shooed the navigation crew away from the controls and nodded to his brother.

"How long until he grows tired of waiting?"

Loki shrugged, "He's scanning the ship for the tesseract. As soon as he realizes it's here, he will destroy our ship. There will be no mercy for Atlantis today".

"I'm surprised she hasn't attacked sooner" Valkyrie muttered, drinking the last drop of her rum and fingering her sword. "Her ship is the most advanced in the galaxy. She has legions at her command. She should have attacked by now. Why hasn't she?"

Arthur considered the ship looming out the window. "Perhaps she wishes to draw things out. She has never been a friend of Atlantis".

"No, that's not it". Arthur turned back to his brother, who was suddenly very pale. Well, paler than usual. "She's waiting for me. I was supposed to bring her the tesseract when I was done with Earth. She's testing me, attempting to goad me into crawling back to her feet like a wounded dog. Do not worry brother" Loki added "I know how that scenario would end for me. I am not such a fool to think I can play Mistress Death and win. We need to go now".

"Our people are not up here yet, Loki. We cannot abandon them".

"You don't get it!" Loki hissed, suddenly right under Arthur's face, hands bunched in his tunic. "She will destroy us all. If we don't leave before she realizes I'm not coming, she will bathe the starways with the blood and agony of our people. She will make us wish for something as sweet as pain". His brother's voice cracked painfully, then tapered off into a whisper. "Atlantis will be no more. We have to move now".

Arthur considered Loki. A survivor, indeed. However, "I will not leave without them Loki. And neither will you. I need you to make sure the tesseract is ready to return to Earth. I will buy us time".

Arthur strode past his flabbergasted brother and a protesting Heimdall. He only stopped when he reached the one woman in all of Atlantis who would do as he asked. "Valkyrie, if he's ready and all our people are here, you leave. With or without me". She began to protest and shake her head, but he fixed his one eye on hers. "Atlantis is a people, Valkyrie. Without them, I am nothing. While there is still breath in Atlantis, there will be breath in me". Once the woman slowly nodded, Arthur clapped his hands loudly, drawing the attention in the room back to him. "But that will not be a problem. Because Mistress Death doesn't know what he signed up for when he preyed on Atlantis".

"What are you going to do, my liege?"

Arthur stepped into the bridge emergency exit port, letting the atmospheric barrier close behind him as he grinned, "Something dramatic".

And with a salute (which he learned from the Captain could be sarcastic as well as respectful) he back-flipped out the now open spacelock door. He momentarily felt the pull of space, the emptiness and cold and complete lack of gravity. Instead of falling prey to it like other frail species, he embraced the still and let it carry him where he wanted to go. He could not fly without his precious Mjolnir (lost forever, stupid sister, endlessly taking what was his), but in space everyone could float. Once he was squarely in front of the Atlantean ship (and therefore facing down the really quite intimidating enemy vessel), he attempted to cease his momentum. After a bit of trial and error (really, Loki, we are about to die, there is no need to laugh that loud) he remained marginally still, ready to face down the Personification of Death herself. His grip on the borrowed sword tightened in anticipation.

"Mistress of Death, Overlord of the Parademons, feared scourge of the galaxy, we welcome you into Atlantean space. I, King Arthur Odison of Atlantis and guardian of Midguard, humbly request an audience". Well there, brother. Arthur paid attention in his mother's diplomacy lessons after all. However, if he was being honest, he had no idea what to do after the introductions. He rather thought someone named the Personification of Death wouldn't care much for protocol after he was aboard though. Might not even care about it now. That was probably the only thing Arthur and Mistress Death had in common, a complete disregard for diplomatic behavior…

A relatively small laser beam hit him in the shoulder. That was the only warning he received before the dark vessel's turrets spun to life, targeting the Odinson with the intention of blasting him into oblivion. However, the turret controller found themselves rather, well, out of control when attempting to fire. Looking out the window, they noticed their guns were smoking. As if they were hit by an EMP. Both controllers slowly turned to look out the window at the Atlantean, who was wreathed in lightning.

Arthur grinned at Mistress Death's vessel as his lighting breached the shields and took out their turrets. Whichever foolish Parademon fired early saved Arthur's life. Or at least his dignity. Their guns were only momentarily halted of course, but Arthur had never been one to leave any victory uncelebrated. "What's wrong, Mistress Death? Never seen a lighting storm in space?"

With that final insult, Thor used the energy from his lighting to launch himself at the ship, breaching the shields easily (the shields were electric currents after all, why would they stop more of themselves from entering?) and cracking into the hull with a satisfying whoosh of pressure changes. Parademons were waiting for him, but he cared not for them. They were like wheat before him, falling to the Odinson's lighting and sword. He was only steps away from the bridge when a shape hurled itself at him. Arthur lost track of gravity and motion and space until he found himself embedded in the thick metal of the wall. A large man stood in front of him, axe in hand and murderous look in his eyes. What really gave it away though was his protruding eye bones and weird skin goatee things.

"Doomsday, what an honor. Looking as ugly as ever, I see". Arthur gingerly climbed out of the Atlantean-sized dent in the wall, swiping some blood off his face with a nonchalant hand gesture.

"Odinson. I'm surprised you can see anything at all. Word is your sister destroyed Atlantis and thoroughly humiliated you".

"There is nothing humiliating in defeat at the hands of the goddess of death herself. Even less when you take her down with you. Don't be embarrassed by your blunder. I am assured you know little of honor. Was it not you who ravaged the refugee outpost of Mutarin?"

The man merely grunted. "On the orders of my Lord. There is no greater definition of honor, Atlantean".

Arthur shook his head, sneaking a look at the watch adorning his wrist. Five more minutes. He needed into that bridge. "Then there is nothing else I can do for you. Let me through, hellion. I would have words with your Lord".

The man's face contorted into… well, something. Arthur couldn't tell if it was a smile or a hateful glare. Those eyebones made it so hard to tell what the man was doing with his face and…

Arthur barely dodged the axe swipe at his head. He wasted no more time, drawing his sword and attempted to dodge as nimbly as possible. There was a time he would have thrown himself into battle without a second thought. But if his time on Earth taught him anything, it was to not underestimate his opponents. So he sized up Doomsday, noting the strength it must take to wield the axe. His reptilian skin would be harder to pierce than human flesh, but not as hard as Atlantean skin. Arthur did not usually fight with much finesse, but this was one opponent he could not defeat through strength alone. Better to play his brothers part, if even for a moment, and take advantage of any potential weaknesses.

Though it physically hurt him to dodge, his ploy paid off when a frustrated Doomsday swiped too hard at Arthur's face. When the man overcompensated, Arthur went for his legs, cutting his hamstrings neatly in two, then digging the sword into his shoulder. He was aiming for the spine, but Doomsday was not an agent of Mistress Death for nothing. He had superb reflexes.

Arthur knew that would not keep him down for long, so the son of Odin took the opportunity to open the bridge doors and slip through. He closed the doors quickly behind him and breathed a sigh of relief as he destroyed the control panel. Doomsday roared in frustration against the door as Arthur laughed, the sound reverberating off the walls of the bridge. The Odinson spewed insults at the man behind the door. Only then did he turn around…

Straight into the faces of Mistress Death and two of his other children. Plus about a hundred Outriders, but Arthur didn't really count them, they were no match for the might of Atlantis. He cleared his throat, startling a few of the Parademons near him. "Hi!"

And for the second time that day (that very, very long day) Arthur found himself inside a Arthur-shaped dent in the hull. Ouch. "Now wait just a second, Mistress Death. I merely want to discuss the matter of our surrender…"

And the Personification of Death was now squeezing his head painfully, removing him from his uncoordinated pile in the wall to drag him along the walkway towards the window. His face was pressed uncomfortably against the glass as the Mistress sneered.

"Look, little god. Look at the first society to be cleansed. The mighty, hypocritical Atlanteans. Balance shall be restored. The singularities will weep with joy, even death herself will be satisfied".

Arthur wasn't too sure about that. His sister was the type of woman who wanted to do things for herself. Fight, take care of animals, burn an ancient civilization to the ground, genocide. She really was delightful.

Mistress Death nodded to a tall slender woman, who gave the order to fire on the Atlantean ship. The weapons spun, heating in their cylinders…

"My Lord? The space stone is no longer on the ship. Life signs have disappeared as well". The Parademon quailed, as he should. Mistress Death didn't seem the type to thank the bearer of bad news. But the Mistress merely frowned, "It appears I underestimated the Trickster. Track them. We have more… pressing business at hand".

The Mistress loomed over Arthur, never releasing the grip around his cranium. "As for you, godling, you will die with far more dignity than you deserve. The first sacrifice, what an honor".

Arthur knew what was coming, but his body was still unprepared for the cold sting of metal on his throat. He couldn't brace for the river of heat across his neck or the impact against the glass and then the shields. He certainly didn't predict the blanket of space which he embraced and called his own merely minutes ago would turn against him and trap him in its stifling embrace. He knew he would die in battle one day, but he expected to be burned and sent to Valhalla. Who could have prophesied the resting place of the Odinson would be among the broken pieces of Atlantis' deliverance? Of Atlantis' false hope? Arthur tried to take heart in the survival of his people, his family. But he could do nothing as the bitter cold overtook his senses and sent him into the great oblivion.

"Loki, now or never!" Valkyrie screamed over the blare the ship's alarms. Mistress Death had locked on to their ship after his turrets regained functionality. His brother…

"We have to wait for Arthur!" He could scarcely believe he was saying it, but he wouldn't have believed the events of the week if someone had shown him in a scrying crystal. The sword-wielding witch shoved him aside and grabbed the tesseract, ignoring the frightened cries of the Atlanteans as the bridge glowed blue and spit them out on a bed of snow. On Earth. Without his brother.

"How dare you! The tesseract is mine to wield and mine alone…"

The Valkyrie merely scoffed, unconvinced. "You do not own the space stone, son of Odin. But if you want it, here". She tossed him the cube, chuckling to herself when he fumbled for it. His cheeks burned but he ignored her, brushing the snow off his clothes and taking in the view. The space stone landed them high in the mountains. A remote area. Definitely not where he wanted to go. But still, Earth. It was a start.

The woman looked at him with a frown, "If you cared so much for your brother as to not risk the rest of our lives, then you would be headed back there. You have the space stone, trickster. Afraid of the vacuum of space? Afraid you will find something brought to fruition by your actions?"

"My actions!" the son of Frigga roared, pulling out an ornate dagger. "You were the one who failed to defeat Hela the first time!"

"Silence!" Heimdall tried to break up the pair. Loki scoffed even as he circled Valkyrie. They were both strong willed and fierce warriors. Neither would accept the slights of the other without retribution. Luckily (for Valkyrie, definitely not for himself, he assuredly would have won), Alec Holland chose to make his appearance, though it looked as though the other guy didn't much like trips through space and time. Swamp Thing looked confused as he emerged from a snowdrift and shook the wet fluff off him. Then, he saw the tesseract. In the hands of Loki. Great. His day was just getting better and better.

"No, no, Swamp Thing, I'm going to use it to get off this mountain. Maybe New York. No, that would not be a good idea. Those people have no appreciation for my panache…"

Loki's perfectly reasonable plans were interrupted by Swamp Thing'sroar, who then backhanded him into the mountain. He definitely didn't whimper as he freed himself from the snowdrift gingerly. Not at all. His head cleared the snow just in time to see Swamp Thing attempt to smash the tesseract. His precious tesseract.

"No, Swamp Thing, NO!"

And with a flash of blue Swamp Thing disappeared into the night. Luckily (thank the gods) the tesseract was left behind. Alright, all they needed to do was get to someplace safe and out of the way where they could arm up and escape whenever Mistress Death finally came calling.

"Alright people! Today has sucked. We are going to make it to the village below us, and rest up there until we recover our strength". Valkyrie drew their attention to pinpricks of light down the path. She also added under her breath, "And figure out what in the Seven Realms we are going to do".

Loki sighed and looked around the desolate area they were sent to. He supposed his plans for world enlightenment (and survival) could wait until the morning. The son of Frigga started to trudge through the snow, sparing a moment for his fallen brother. He was an awful sibling, arrogant, boastful, stupid, slow, and annoying; but Loki couldn't help but miss him when he was gone.

On the other hand, the tickle in the back of his mind implied he would see Arthur much sooner than Valhalla.

Song: Mind Games by Sickick

"Sir?"

"Sir?"

"Sir!"

"Go away, Friday".

"My apologies Sir, but you have a meeting with Dr. Selvig this morning".

"Cancel it".

"I must apologize again Sir, but Ms. Potts asked me to ensure you got up and made it to your office before the meeting". Friday didn't sound very sorry. Almost smug, in fact.

Lex sat up, hair strewn every which way and a bit of drool stuck to his cheek. "She's gone already?"

"Yes sir, she had SI meetings in Washington DC today".

"And Zatanna?"

"Ms. Maximoff has been moved to the Enforcers facility upstate".

Lex chuckled to himself as he ungracefully rolled out of bed and onto the floor. "I guess that's the last place Ross would look. Just make sure he doesn't plan any surprise visits. I'm assuming Vision was happy".

He could almost hear Friday smiling. "Yes Sir".

"Did she say anything about what happened?"

"No Sir. She was quite out of it. I believe Vision is waiting for her to wake up. I am sure he will fill us in when necessary".

Lex nodded to himself. He had expected that. "Coffee?"

"Started 15 minutes ago".

"You're the best, Friday. Though I created you, so technically, I'm the best".

30 minutes later Lex was in the suit and headed out to Enforcers Headquarters. Ugh, Selvig. The man was amusing, he would give him that. But the crackpot theories were a bit much for even Lex Luthor. He liked concrete science, facts, engineering. Stuff he could experiment and touch and see. Selvig lived in the impossible. Which made him extremely valuable in circumstances such as the Battle of New York, extremely annoying on a daily basis. Lex shuddered to think they would be in another situation like New York anytime soon. Actually, anytime at all. Lex had no desire to fight aliens ever again.

He angled his suit towards the helipad on top of Enforcers Headquarters. Rodey stood by the door holding a manila file and glancing at his watch. Jerk.

"Well look who decided to show up to work".

He was not awake enough for this. "It's 8 am, Rodey, not noon. Give me a break".

"Never, Mr. Loser".

"You have to let that go!"

"Nope, you're stuck with it for life".

The two men walked down the stairs, Rodey limping ever so slightly. He would have to look at his spinal implant later. Make sure it wasn't glitching. If it wasn't, there was always the chance it was a psychosomatic problem. Maybe he should ask Alec. Or Dr. Cho. And Rodey was staring at him. Right. Meeting with crazy man.

"Fine, if I'm stuck with Mr. Loser, you're never living down the Iron Patriot. Or that one spring break trip…"

"Yeah, yeah, we've both got dirt on each other. No need to prove it". Rodey hurriedly shushed him. The support team they walked past was trying really hard to look like they weren't listening. "Selvig is waiting in the conference room. He brought Darcy with him. Was that you?"

Lex snatched the file from his friend's hand and smirked, "Yeah. What can I say, the girl is amusing. And of course a valuable scientific mind".

He ignored Rodey's muttered, "Isn't she a political science major?" and strode into the room. "Dr. Selvig, always a pleasure".

"Mr. Luthor". The man nearly fell over himself as he appeared from between stacks of papers that appeared to be calculations and astrocharts. The man needed to discover technology, stat. Maybe Lex would take pity on him and give him a Luthorpad before he left. He inclined his head to the brunette girl perched on the edge of the table, popping bubble gum while fidgeting with a modified phase meter.

"Sup, Luthor?" She tilted her head, then asked, "Does your suit have air conditioning?"

"Yes".

She nodded as if life itself made sense, then returned to the phase meter. "Cool".

Momentary distraction over, Lex turned back to Dr. Selvig. "Pepper told me you have some theories to share?"

Dr. Selvig nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I do! Are you familiar with the lore of Ragnarok?"

"Atlantean end of days?" Tony set down the file, then picked up some of Selvig's papers. "Yes, I'm familiar with the mythology".

"I believe it has begun. Perhaps already ended. There were two great energy surges over the past couple weeks. One here on Earth and one in the general vicinity of Atlantis. I was just lucky I keep my equipment trained on that sector of the galaxy. I believe if Arthur is still alive, he will be returning to Earth".

"So your theory is that giants, Loki, and a wolf consumed the life tree or whatever and restarted the universe? I think we would have noticed something like that".

"No, no. That may have been how it happened long ago, but I believe that the current Atlantean Ragnarok would be exactly that: confined to Atlantis".

"Arthur said something about a fire demon, Sulfur or something" Darcy piped up from the couch. She was now wadding Selvig's papers into balls and throwing them at his head. "I would have remembered a wolf".

"Atlantean Ragnarok would be the perfect time for whoever is hunting infinity stones to make his final push. Atlantis is the protector of Midgard and the rest of this galaxy. With their defeat, it would leave us vulnerable". Selvig valiantly tried to ignore Darcy's assault.

"Theoretically" Lex reminded him. Wait. "Back up a second. Who is hunting what? Thor called the mind stone an infinity stone. The tesseract was one too, right?"

"Yes. Arthur took me to a Norn cave during the whole Ultron mess and received a warning of Ragnarok and the infinity stones. These stones are the essences of the early universe. Each harnesses more power than you can possibly imagine. Three infinity stones don't just pop up like they have without someone pulling the strings".

Lex glared at Selvig for a moment. "Hold the phone. The tesseract, currently on Atlantean. The mind stone, currently in Vision. What is the third one?"

"The Aether". At Lex's blank look, the man hurriedly added, "it popped up when Arthur was on Earth during the Dark Elves' invasion. In Greenwich? The reality stone?"

"Okay". Lex sat down and looked at the file again. With more interest this time. Ragnarok was a stretch, but even Lex could admit things had been different the past ten years. Between the rise of superheroes, the alien invasion, the fall of SHIELD, Ultron, hell even Arthur himself, it had been a strange decade. It wasn't a stretch to imagine there was a puppet master, orchestrating the events of the universe so the pieces would fall to him. Or her. From his experience, evil was gender neutral. Though there did seem to be more male supervillains than female…

These energy readings from the last couple weeks were very interesting indeed. The first from Earth was like nothing he had ever seen. Massive amounts of power leaking from Norway over an extended period of time, culminating with one final release of power last week. How had he missed this?

At first glance the other seemed innocuous. Atlantis was far enough away the Earth wouldn't see the effects of an energy surge unless they were looking for it. But Selvig apparently was. And the energy readings were astronomical, even accounting for the distance between Earth and Atlantis. Nothing good could have caused that. He was about to ask Darcy what she meant by a sulfur man when one of the many machines Selvig brought started to beep. Darcy backed away and held up her hands, "I didn't touch it".

Lex looked over the shoulder of Dr. Selvig as the man gasped, hand clutching his chest. A moment later, the billionaire knew why. "That's the tesseract. What the hell is the tesseract doing back on Earth?"

"Is he here? He was supposed to be dead, but he never seems to stay that way…" Selvig was muttering, collecting papers and looking suspiciously close to removing his pants in order to "think better".

Darcy was looking a little less bored than usual. "Oh, I like him. He's evil but entertaining at least. Maybe he just needs company. Arthur has Mew-Mew. Let's get Loki a cat or a mace or something. Oh! I could get him a taser!"

Lex despaired for the human race as he ran out of the room, barking the coordinates from the machine at Friday. After instructing the scientists to stay in the conference room and Rodey to get the team ready just in case, he jumped in his suit and flew towards the coordinates. Right in the middle of New York City. On the way, he was definitely thinking about the tesseract and preventing alien invasions and evacuation routes. Not Loki with a cat.

Alarms blared through Enforcers Headquarters, startling Zatanna awake. She had her powers prepared instantly, shoving the figure beside her into the wall…

And oops, it was Vision. As quickly as she attacked him she let him go, returning to the bed and holding her head in her hands.

The Vision didn't even look fazed, merely melted through the floor, then returned as the alarms went silent. "We are just on high alert. No need to be alarmed".

"Ugh". Zatanna had a headache the size of Sokovia. Her hand drifted down to her side, where some neat stitches and a persisting ache were all that remained of her previous injury. She vaguely remembered a nice woman coming into Lex's apartment and fixing her up, Pepper stroking her hair and murmuring as the woman expertly plucked pieces of the blade out of her side. Chloe or Claire or something like that. She didn't remember much more. But Vision was here, so that must mean she was at the Enforcers Headquarters. And wasn't chained to the bed or fitted with a shock collar. This was already going better than she had anticipated.

"Are you quite alright, Zatanna?" Vision's hand hovered over her shoulder, as if he was afraid he would spook her.

"I'm fine, Vis". She was shocked when her voice creaked and scratched. How long had she been out? Then, she noticed the hand hovering over her protectively wasn't… red.

It was definitely Vision. She could feel that with certainty. But the man looked nothing like he had before. Instead of red skin, he looked human. White pasty skin with blonde hair, his tight fitting blue shirt looked like it belonged, instead of his out-of-place sweaters from two years before. The eyes though, the eyes were the same.

"Vis? What happened?"

The android looked down at himself in confusion, then seemed to understand. "Oh! It makes people much more comfortable when I appear… human… in daily life. As a member of the Enforcers, I often have to appear before the United Nations. It was prudent to learn to change the color and texture of my molecules to emulate the human image".

She couldn't help it. She laughed. Vision looked confused, but chuckled a bit with her. "They like you to appear human until they need your help. Then they are happy to see a flying red man, yes?"

"Yes" Vision smiled a bit more genuinely now. "Yes, I suppose they are". He quieted for a moment, lost in thought. "We don't do much now. Train a lot. Ask the UN council to send us where we are needed. Sometimes they do. They sent us to help in Manchester when the concert was attacked. Some hostage rescue missions". He hesitated before tentatively continuing, "I wish I could say it was because the world was getting better. According to my calculations, powered villain attacks should decrease with the Accords and they have".

"Then why are you upset?" Zatanna tilted her head, studying Vision. She wasn't sure if he noticed, but he exhibited more human traits than before. He was unsure of himself, his emotions chaotic instead of the clear calculation he exhibited before the Accords.

"Look at you, Raven. If the world was improving, then why are you hurt? And why didn't we get notice of any attacks?" The android was genuinely troubled.

"Because Natasha, mostly. She is good at pinpointing potential targets. She still has contacts in dozens of nations. I can't say much more. I believe in what our friends are doing and do not want to jeopardize their work, but we are working in the shadows. Trying to stop attacks before they start. Obviously they aren't always successful, but it helps". Raven gauged Vision's interest, and seeing no hint of disgust, she continued, "Natasha and Carol make a scary team sometimes. And we are effective. But… you are right. Powered villains are laying low. And Vis, it's not because of the Accords, however much I wish that were true. Something is coming. They're fortifying themselves and bracing for the fallout".

"Does that have anything to do with this?" Vision pointed at her side.

"Maybe". She stood up again, slowly walking to the window. It was raining in upstate New York, water dripping steadily from the gutter above them. The sky had darkened, a clear indicator that the storm would continue for some time. "A former… acquaintance of Natasha's, Mikula, he was gathering supplies, men. Then he stopped. Went completely off the radar. It made her nervous, so we went to see him. The Enforcers who didn't sign, we normally don't work as a team, it draws too much attention, but Widow wanted me there. Apparently he was enhanced, telepathic". Raven hugged herself, pulling the sweater she was wearing closer around her. Vision stepped up beside her, silently waiting for her to continue. She turned back to the window.

"When we arrived, he was crazy. Repeated the same things over and over. Fought us off when we tried to question him. Thought I was Enchantress, whoever that was. Then he showed me. It was so… fast… I couldn't understand everything. Just… pieces. Ultron Omega. Earth. Infinity Gems. Two, maybe three on Earth. Time. Mind. Soul-keepers. While I was distracted he slipped his dagger into my side. Thought I was Enchantress again. Widow got me out, but the politsiya came. Apparently they were after Mikula for stealing missiles. She wrapped my injury up, put me on a train to Kiev. I was out of it, my powers were screaming at me. To get back, to protect the source. You".

Zatanna refused to look at Vision, even as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "I have learned how to stay under the radar. I called in some favors, got a ride to JFK then hightailed it to Luthor's place. Even if he arrested me, he could protect you. I just needed to pass on the information".

Finally, Zatanna turned to the side. Vision's face was contorted into an almost amusing combination of fear, confusion, and protectiveness. How could she make him understand when she didn't even understand herself? He knew more about the mind stone than anyone, but even he would admit his knowledge was rudimentary at best. Almost without thinking, she reached up to where the mind gem usually sat on his brow. The stone glowed in response; her powers trailed out of their own accord and embraced the stone. Ah. Zatanna gently manipulated them, then asked, "May I show you?"

Vision nodded. She concentrated, bringing up the memories as if it were nothing. Death and destruction from the stars. A hand of gold. Ash and dust, the smell of decay and death, a man bowing at the feet of a throne of bones. Three stones, the mind gem, the time gem, the soul gem. Vision, standing proud and tall, then writhing on the ground in agony. A goateed man with a red cloak, time held in his hands, sorrow in his eyes. A woman adorned in gold, sending a package to the stars surrounded by thick jungle, war drums drawing nearer and nearer. A deep voice laughing, looking down on a small blue and green globe. "Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives".

With a start, Zatanna pulled back, bringing her powers under control once more. Vision was panting, overwhelmed as his electronic brain attempted to sort out the details. The stone still glowed in his forehead. Without hesitating, Zatanna cradled his head in her hands. "We can stop this, Vis. This is what the Enforcers came together for".

"To see if we could become something more. Something that could keep the Earth from harm, be better than humanity".

"Be the best of humanity" Wanda gently corrected. "We did lots of good together, did we not? We can do so again. Or, at least you can". She pulled back a bit. "I'm more of a liability than a help right now. Can't go out in public lest Ross finds me".

Vision seemed to start a bit at her declaration. "What you saw, I don't think the law is going to matter when the time comes. Will you stand by us, Zatanna? Even though we abandoned you?"

Zatanna smiled. "Of course. And I am not without fault. If you abandoned me, then I also abandoned you".

Vision's comlink suddenly pinged. "Vision".

"Get her out of here. Ross is here. Something happened in New York. He wants a meeting". Rodey's voice was tight and stern. Something was very wrong. "He knows she's here, Vision. He has sent his men looking. I know he's trying to distract me with whatever he has come to meet about". A voice crackled in the background, then faded out as Rodey cut the connection. Raven turned to Vision, trying to drown the fear she knew was in her eyes.

"No" was all he said, pulling her closer. "No, we will stay together. Fight together. A cracked weapon is not strong".

"Vis, you have to let me go". She shushed his inevitable argument as the sound of boots echoed up the hallway. "I'll come back. You know how to reach me". The men pounded at the door, demanding they open it. "The mind stone. We are connected. Just let me know when and where and I will be there. Might bring some friends if that's okay".

He nodded. Raven hesitated for a moment, then drew him in quickly, lips meeting momentarily. The symphony of pounding on the door behind them drew her away, glancing at the window. She snatched her coat from the chair, ignoring the bloodstain from her injury as Vision wrapped a scarf around her neck and placed a ski hat on her head.

The door burst open behind them as a dozen booted men bolted into the room. Vision shifted into a defensive stance. That wouldn't do. Raven used her powers to quickly knock him out. How could they protect him if the government branded him a traitor? Her powers watched her back without prompting as she launched herself through the bulletproof window, landing almost effortlessly on the grass below. Summoning her power back to her, she took a deep breath and calmed her mind. She had been practicing under the guidance of Natasha and Diana. "I don't want to be here". She ran smoothly through the long grass surrounding Enforcers Headquarters. "I don't want to be here". Her power rose easily to her hands as she zig zagged to avoid bullets. As soon as she reached the tree line, where more men with guns inevitably waited for her, she stopped. Breathed. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be here. "I'm not here. I never was".

And she was gone, standing silently on the shore of the East River. No one was alarmed by her sudden appearance, because in their minds, she had walked up nearly ten minutes ago. With a deep breath and a glance at her watch, she pulled her scarf around her and headed down Houston Street. The alarms at Enforcers Headquarters. Something was wrong. Her instincts told her the problem was here. Northwest. She nodded to herself, adjusted her coat, and lost herself in a sea of people. The stage was set. The first move was made. And she didn't even know what game they were playing. Time to find out.

The stench of fresh blood permeated the air, blending perfectly with the cries of the soon dead in the background. Zod thrusted his spear through the skull of a man dressed in blue leathers. A woman with white hair in the same blue leathers pleaded from the ground, bracing her gushing arm against her chest. "Rhomann!"

Zod chuckled, then rested the butt of her spear respectfully on the ground as her commander passed. He strode into the vault, tearing the door off like it was nothing but cardboard. It was nothing, like the rest of the universe, to the might of her master. When he returned, he dropped a purple gem into the golden gauntlet on his hand. The woman on the floor cried out, trying in vain to call someone on her comlink. Ultron Omega merely laughed.

"Your precious Guardians cannot help you now. You sent them away". His Lord's booming voices filled the room. He stood taller, proud to be standing beside them at the beginning of their reign of glory. "Thank you, for keeping this safe for us".

Zod nodded at Ultron Omega, then stepped forwards. It would be an honor and privilege to cleanse the filth from his Lord's sight. He relished the snick of his spear through the ranting woman's cranium, satisfied that more opportunities such as this would be coming. Death must be appeased. Zod was only too happy to oblige.

Song: Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas

"We are arriving" Mantis sounded nervous, hands clenching and unclenching Peter's seat. The swirl of jump-space faded away as the Milano halted on the outskirts of Via Lactea. Empty space lingered in front of them, the restricted galaxy visible as only a pinprick in the corner of his windshield.

He glanced at Mantis for a moment, then turned back to the expanse of stars before him. "Don't forget this might be dangerous, so let's put on our mean faces."

It didn't take long to find the wreckage of the civilian freighter. As usual, the briefing from Dey was excruciatingly detailed. Peter much prefered Ravager briefings: this here's the shiny thing we need to steal, blow up everything in your way and don't get caught " 'cause we ain't goin' back to save yer fool ass from yer own stupidity, boy, ya hear me?"

The wreckage itself didn't look unusual: broken glass, a melted hull, pieces of the jump engine strewn across the black vastness of space. Nothing that would indicate Ultron Omega themselves were here.

He glanced back at the crew, only to see Drax's face screwed up as tight as it could go. "Is somethin' wrong, Drax?"

"You said to put our mean faces on, Quill. Since it is physically impossible to remove or replace my facial structure without excruciating pain or surgical tools, I assumed you meant we should don the facial expression of anger. This is my mean face".

Rocket snickered behind them, "It looks like you're constipated, Drax". He then helpfully mimicked Drax's facial expression.

"I am Groot". Great, the teenage tree was impressed by Rocket's faces. The raccoon would never stop now.

Drax's expression smoothed out into a confused frown. "I can assure you, rodent, my bowel movements are regular. In fact, the last time…"

"Okay, I don't need any more information about your… bathroom needs. Gamora? Find anything yet?" Please have found something to end this horrible conversation.

The green-skinned warrior shook her head and continued to scan the space in front of them. Peter deftly maneuvered around a jumbled heap of melted metal and dove under the wreckage for a moment. Remembering the terms of the job (Rhomann was such a mother hen), he pulled out the ship's communicator.

"Dey? You readin' me?"

The only answer was static. Peter shoved down a hint of concern and replaced it with annoyance. Of course the man would get dinner or something right when Peter and his crew made contact. He tried again, then gave up. They had attempted to follow through with Dey's demands. His ship's log could prove it. It wasn't his fault Via Lactea had crap reception. With that assertion, he slipped back into the wreckage. Not that he thought they would find any survivors in this mess.

"Shouldn't there be, you know, bodies?" Kraglin was leaning over Peter's head, craning that long, stick-thin neck of his around the windshield.

"An attack by Ultron Omega could have caused an explosion powerful enough to disintegrate the bodies" Gamora reasoned, but her face told another story. She didn't think the crew was dead.

Kraglin seemed to agree: "Nah, girly, look around. An explosion hot enough to burn a body without a trace would have taken care of the glass too".

Gamora nodded slowly. "If Thanos was here, he would have killed them all. He doesn't take prisoners".

That wasn't always the case. Peter glanced sideways at Gamora, who gave him her best impression of Josey Wales. Right, no mentioning the sole survivor of a genocide thing. He really should have figured that one out by himself.

"Alright, so we're lookin' at an empty ship or some kick-ass civilians who were able to escape. Both options are about as likely as Nova Prime doin' the Macarana".

"I see neither of those, Quill. Are you sure your eyesight is not impaired?" Oh Drax. He was handy in a fight but most of the time Peter wanted to shove him out an airlock. In a couple minutes, the big guy would figure it out. They had made that much progress at least.

"The ship looks strange. We were told this was a civilian vessel, correct?" Peter nodded in confirmation of Gamora's statement. "This looks like a pleasure craft, not an space frigate".

"Is there a difference?" Mantis asked. Rocket rolled his eyes while Groot explained the exact purpose of a pleasure craft in much more detail than necessary. Her face blushed a bit when Groot had finished. "Oh". Peter needed to talk to Rocket about putting a kid filter on Groot's datapad. Or maybe Peter needed to restrict Groot's conversations with Rocket. Honestly, that was most likely the problem here.

"Let's try to find the ship's black box, then call it a day". Peter maneuvered the Milano through the wreckage, headlights searching through piles of melted metal.

"There're some frickin' crazy energy signatures through here". Rocket had hooked up some sort of doodad to the Milano's cockpit. He needed to have another delightful conversation with the raccoon about touching other people's stuff. Particularly when it was his stuff and the stuff in question was the ship keeping them all alive and in business. The pyromaniac could experiment all he wanted when they got back to the Quadrant.

"I'm tellin' you, Gammy, this signature is similar to the Orb".

Well wasn't that craptastic. Asgard had an infinity stone. The civilian vessel was most likely a last ditch effort to get the stone off-planet. Sometimes, Peter hated being right.

"Oh, friend Quill, you were considering potential causes for the lack of dead and decaying bodies around the wreckage. That was a metaphor. I believe I am beginning to master the human art of metaphorical speech". There you go, Drax.

"Yeah that's great and all, but we have the slight problem of a krutarkin' infinity stone in the hands of genocidal maniacs!" Rocket paced back and forth, his stubby fingers jabbing at the doodad. "My advice? Flee to the far side of the galaxy. I know a guy who runs a…"

Peter jumped as something… no, someone… slammed into his windshield.

"Oh! Wipers, wipers! Get it off!" Rocket yelped, paws dropping his device and flailing in front of his face.

"No, Rocket, that's a man!" Gamora leaned forward and looked at the man's face on their windshield.

"Drax, get a space suit. Rocket, take the controls. Do not use the windshield wipers!" Peter unbuckled himself from the pilot's chair, grabbed a space suit, and clipped on his jetboots. The airlock hissed as it released Drax and himself into the ship's graveyard. It was almost too easy to recover the man from the front of the Milano and pull him inside. His HUD didn't associate the man with any known bounties, arrests, or political positions. He didn't even have a speeder license.

"Put him on the table" Gamora threw their dirty bowls and a stash of copper wires to the side, then gestured to Drax and Peter. Slowly, they lowered the deceptively heavy man on his back. Gamora instantly was checking his airways while Groot grabbed their exposure kit. The man wasn't a popsicle, though. Atlanteans must be able to survive for at least a while in open space.

Gamora felt for the man's pulse while Mantis bowed over his forehead, searching for his consciousness. A startled "Oh!" was the only warning they had before the man jumped off the table and shoved them aside like space rats. Rude.

The man… it was awkward just calling him "the man". He was going to call him Arnold. Arnold stood by the window, arm braced on the hull. His chest was heaving, as if his lungs weren't functioning. Which they probably weren't after, you know, being frozen in space.

Arnold finally turned around and stared at them as if they were ghosts. "Who the hell are you guys?"

Mantis shyly waved her hand, while Rocket succinctly put, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy, asshole".

"I'm Star-Lord" Peter stepped forward, arm outstretched for a hand shake. Arnold jumped back as if Peter had offered him a severed head. "Woah there, Arnold, no need to get jumpy. We're the good guys. Nova Corps sent us to rescue any civilians who survived this…incident…and clear the area of any remaining attackers".

"Arnold?" Gamora inquired, one hand lingering by her dagger.

"Well, I had to call him something. 'Unconscious dude' or 'frozen Atlantean' didn't really cut it for me".

"But Arnold?" Kraglin snickered. Which was rich from someone named Kraglin.

"The homely Ravager is correct. That name is foolish and not appropriate for a warrior such as this". Drax crossed his arms.

Wow. Okay, "Well what would you name him, Drax?"

"Perhaps Algis. Or Remo?"

"Remo. You've got to be kidding me. That's even worse than the humie's!"

"Thank you, Rocket. Wait, what? Arnold is perfectly acceptable…"

"I am Groot".

"Bardick? That's stupid, Groot. No one wants to be named Bardick!"

"I am Groot".

"I don't care what it means, have you ever met a Bardick? It literally has dick in the name!"

"My name is Arthur, Son of Odin, King of Atlantis. Though I appreciate your assistance, you must cease your feuding. It is imperative I make haste for Earth".

Silence permeated the cockpit as the crew of the Milano realized they had picked up the Atlantean. And potentially the only Atlantean left. Also, "That's a pretty good name".

Gamora merely rolled her eyes. "What happened here?"

Peter had more interesting questions on his mind, like: "Did you say Earth? Like, Terra Earth?"

"I know nothing of this 'Terra' you speak of, but yes, I am referring to Midgard. Earth. I sent the rest of my people there. I must seek the aid of the Enforcers".

The Guardians looked at Peter, obviously expecting some sort of explanation of the "Enforcers". Unfortunately for them, Peter had no idea. Must have been something that happened after he left. He'd been gone for thirty years, they couldn't expect him to know everything!

"Man, I don't know about any Enforcers, but Terra is in restricted space. Hell, all of Via Lactea is off limits because Atlantis didn't want Nova stickin' it's long spindly nose into their business. It'll take weeks to get the ban lifted, not to mention that Terra is known for bein' out of touch with the rest of the universe. Forget weeks, liftin' the ban will take years". Peter rubbed his forehead, foreseeing long and boring arguments with Dey over this.

"I am Arthur, King of Atlantis and protector of the Nine Realms. I cannot be stopped by a petty restriction". Oh lord, did his voice get even deeper? Any further and Peter would start to worry about the integrity of his ship. Things tended to shake when this man got upset.

"Yeah, humie, are we the best damn thieves in the Galaxy or not? We've never let some puny restrictions enforced by 'Stick up Her Butt' Prime stop us before". Rocket's eyes darkened with glee, as if already envisioning the chaos he could cause on Earth. Probably would arm all the raccoons and take over Indiana or something.

"It is not just a restriction, Rocket. The Nova Corps have put up a highly sophisticated shield around Earth and other planets like it who have not developed space travel. It is impossible to get around". Gamora turned to Thor, "I think you should tell us what happened here. Then we can worry about our next course of action".

Arthur nodded sagely. "Very well. My brother, Loki of Atlantis, started Ragnarok in order to kill my sister, Hela of the Norns. By placing the very ugly crown of Surtur the fire demon in the eternal flame, he unleashed Surtur's fury on Atlantis. My sister was trapped there with him, doomed to fight forever against the fiery demon or die trying. The remainder of my people gathered on a disgusting and fragile ship plucked from the grasp of the Grandmaster. We barely were 10 jumps into our journey to Midgard when Ultron Omega arrived, searching for the infinity stone we held on Atlantis".

Peter didn't understand half of that but "Did he get it?"

"No, my brother Loki used the tesseract to spirit my people away to Earth".

It was the space stone, evidently. Peter was suddenly very glad the Mad Titans couldn't just pop in wherever they pleased. "What's their next move?"

Arthur scratched the little hair he had left. It looked like his hair had been burnt off on the sides. Gamora stepped into the conversation before Peter could make the Atlantean aware of his dire haircut need, "If Ultron Omega have decided the time is at hand to reveal their plans, they will stop at nothing to gain the rest of the infinity stones now". She hesitated, then added, "They have been holding onto the gauntlet for a long time. All they must do now is gather the stones".

Peter held his hand in front of him, ticking off fingers as he talked. "The power stone is on Xandar with the Nova Corps. Your brother, who apparently destroyed all of Atlantis, has the space stone on Earth. Can we trust him to keep it from Ultron Omega?"

"No" the big guy said much too cheerfully. "He was working for Ultron Omega during the Chitauri Invasion of New York. But we have no choice".

Peter rubbed a hand down his face, "That's great. Okay, we leave the space stone in the hands of a crazy man who will most likely kill us and give the stone to Ultron Omega?"

"Yes. Rest assured, he will not seek Ultron Omega out. He does not wish to perish". Arthur appeared to think a bit before adding, "Although he has faked his own death twice now".

"I am Groot".

"No Groot, faking your own death is not cool". Rocket stated, winking the wrong eye while he made the statement. Stupid raccoon, four years later and he still couldn't get that right.

"Yondu faked his death six times. I've faked it three times" Kraglin drawled. Gamora held up two fingers.

"Do I need to fake my death? Is that a necessary behavior?" Mantis stared at them with her wide, puppy dog eyes.

"No Mantis. Faking your death is deceitful and not befitting a great warrior. A truly powerful fighter does not degrade himself as such. However, as you are small and weak, I would not begrudge you that strategy". Drax nodded sagely. Peter was stuck in the middle of dead space with idiots. If the only thing between Ultron Omega and domination was them, the galaxy was screwed.

"Alright, so Ultron Omega will head towards Xandar next for the power stone. They'll have a hard time taking that one. Where are the rest of the stones? We could find 'em before they do. If there's one thing we're good at, it's stealin' powerful crap".

"I am glad. Your crew seems disorganized and petty" Arthur added, gesturing to where Rocket was poking Groot and yelling, "Move over ya big lug! You're getting slivers in my fur!"

"Our superpowers are arguing. And being a-holes. But we're real good at stealin' stuff too". Peter acknowledged with no hesitation. The personality traits were just a part of their charm.

"The stones must be recovered, my people must be found, and we must find a path through the Corps of Nova's barricade. I would advise splitting up".

Gamora nodded in agreement. "Ultron Omega acquired a way through the shield during the Chitauri invasion of Earth. I believe he consulted the Collector, who consulted with the Nidavellir".

Arthur started. "Nidavellir? I am friends with King Sindri. They forged my hammer, Mjolnir, from the heart of a dying star. I do not believe they would refuse my request for aid".

Gamora nodded, pleased with the solution. It looked like Peter would be going home after all. And without having to argue with Nova Prime.

"Wait, you're going to Nidavellir? I'm going with you. I've always wanted to meet cavemen". The raccoon started doing that annoying laugh-wheeze thing. What the hell, Rocket?

"Nay, small creature, though you are surely a fine warrior, Nidavellir is no place for mortals…" Arthur looked at Rocket thoughtfully. Crap. Peter knew where this was going. "You look familiar. I believe you are similar to the raccoons who inhabited Enforcers Tower's trashbins on Midgard. Are you related?"

Silence. Rocket's eye twitched, finger grazing the trigger of his gun. Peter knew as the leader of the group and one of the only sane ones here (which was terrifying, because Peter was crazy, thank you very much), he should smooth over ruffled feathers, keep their focus on finding the infinity stones before Gamora's homicidal dad killed the universe... but he couldn't help it. He laughed.

Gamora and Rocket glared at him, while everyone else looked confused. Peter doubled over, struggling to breathe through his insane fit of laughter. Gamora placed a hand on his chin, forcing him to look up at her. Oh no, she had her death face on.

"Please enlighten us, Peter. I am sure you have an excellent reason for laughing". She was trying to regain control of their team. But they were essentially a bunch of crazy cats thrown together in a bag. There was no controlling them. Believe him, Peter had tried, and it resulted in thirty-thousand units worth of ship repairs, his eyebrows burnt off, and half a planet falling into lava.

"Because it's funny. It is, don't you gimme that look. The galaxy is in trouble, Arthur's evil siblings have destroyed Atlantis, arguably the most powerful empire ever. Ultron Omega has decided now is a good time to destroy the galaxy and turns out we're the only ones in between 'them and everyone else. And we're arguin' 'bout faking yer own death and the King of Atlantis just called Rocket..." he had to wheeze for breath again, "…a trashpanda!"

Everyone just kinda stared at him. What a bunch of fuddy-duddies. Next he knew, a pair of very large hand shoved him into a chair. "Did I break him?" Arthur asked, nose much too close to Peter's face.

"No, that's just Peter. Now, how are you planning to get to Earth?" Gamora took charge of the situation. Good.

"I… do not know. My hammer was shattered by Hela and the Bifrost is destroyed".

"Alright, Rocket and Groot, go with Arthur in one of the Milano's pods. Help him get the key through Nova's shields and stay on task, Rocket, then head to Earth. We'll meet you there after checking in with Xandar. Where are the other stones, Arthur?"

The Atlantean grimaced, "The soul stone is lost to me, I know not where it lies. The mind stone also on Earth, under the protection of the Enforcer Vision. The reality stone appeared as the Aether. You can find it with the Collector". Great. Go back to Knowhere. Peter hated this plan.

"And the last of these infernal stones?" Drax asked. Arthur shrugged his massive shoulders. "I know someone engaged Dormammu in fierce battle with the time stone a few Midgardian years ago. I know not where this person resides. A few believe the wielder is a celestial. Some insist he is a sorcerer of Earth".

Peter sat up at that. "How come Terra has been called backwater and insignificant for centuries and all of a sudden three of the six infinity stones are hangin' out there?"

Arthur just shrugged, "Midgard is special". Which was valid. Just, couldn't it be special without attracting the attention of the Mad Titans?

"We must make haste. Come, warrior raccoon and noble tree. Let us depart at once".

Peter nodded at the rest of the Guardians, "We'll go save Xandar again".

"I do not believe that is possible, Star-Lord" Mantis stated from the cockpit, tears dripping from her large eyes.

"What do you mean?" Drax asked, shoving everyone out of his way. Peter moved in behind Gamora in time to hear a very grumpy ex-assassin yell from the ship's datascreen.

"Insolent bug girl! If you don't get me Gamora or the intolerable singing man right now, I'll…" Nebula trailed off when she saw Gamora and Peter. "Sister, you are too late. Ultron Omega have made their way to Xandar".

No. Not possible. Peter rushed over to his personal datapad, ignoring the rest of the sisters' conversation. He flicked through his contacts, selecting the direct link to Nova Prime he wasn't supposed to have. "Nova Prime? It's Star-Lord. No time to harass me about stealin' yer information. We're hearin' chatter about Ultron Omega comin' to Xandar. Please respond. Do you require assistance?" Nothing. Peter switched channels, "Dey? It's Peter. You ain't respondin' to our messages. You insisted on the extra communication. Dontcha want to hear about the ship crash? Get yer unit's worth?" Just static.

"…Nova Corps is completely destroyed. Zod was there with him… you know how thorough she is…stone gone… planet is still there but the city is burning…" Peter could only hear snippets of the conversation behind him, focusing on dialing Dey again instead.

"Peter". Gamora's hand gently pulled the datapad away. "Xandar…well… the Orb is out of our reach now. Nebula will meet us on Knowhere".

Peter sniffed once before up and facing away from her. There was no time for sentimentality. "Alright, this makes our job easier".

"Peter…"

"No. We should've stayed on Xandar when we heard Ultron Omega was on the move, but we didn't. Nothin' we can do 'bout that now. We need to focus". Peter glanced at Arthur, who nodded once. He straightened his back in determination. "Right, Ultron Omega thinks they've already won. They haven't. There are five more stones out there. We know where four of 'em are, so let's grab 'em up and move 'em to Earth. One place to defend, right? Home-court advantage?"

Nods all around. Excellent. "Move fast, fight hard, and give no mercy. 'Cause mercy ain't worth a single unit if it destroys the galaxy".

"I am grateful for the assistance of your companions, Sta. We will leave at once and meet you in the New City of York when we are done". Thor nodded and strode downstairs to the pod. Peter stopped Rocket before he could leave, "Rocket…guns blazin', yeah?"

His face softened minimally as he patted Peter on the leg, "Yeah, Star-Dork. My guns are always blazing".

Groot looked back tentatively, eyes suspiciously wet. "I…I am Groot!" He nearly wailed, arms growing around Peter. Rocket scurried back and tugged him away as Peter freed himself. "We'll be okay, Groot. We can listen to my Zune when you get back, okay?"

The teenage tree nodded, then followed after Rocket. Peter took a moment to adjust his jetboots and check the energy pack on his gun. Only after he had composed himself did he look up at the rest of his crew. "Alright assholes. Let's pay the esteemed Collector another visit".