Chapter 253
Chapter 253:
–Layla–
Hours later…
“This ship is needlessly tedious to control.” I muttered to myself in annoyance. Every single control on the bridge was a holographic touch screen. Half the time, my finger ended up brushing across the wrong interface and my warship would start lurching in a random direction! “Seriously, what's wrong with buttons? Why does everything have to be a touch screen nowadays?” I complained.
I was now controlling this massive warship by myself. I had to learn at some point. Jean had given me a quick rundown, but she was gone now.
Jean had returned to Earth a few hours ago via portal. She was getting antsy and wanted to return to Akeno and Ororo. She had done her part well enough and I let her go back.
“I would help you if I could. I've never actually piloted a Kree warship before.” Carol said. She was slightly embarrassed about that fact considering she served in their military for years. She primarily flew around the galaxy using her cosmic powers.
“I can rewire this whole bridge for you.” Rocket offered with a gleam in his eyes. “I could make it so you can fly this thing with your toes if you wanted to!”
I was almost tempted to take Rocket up on his offer, but I didn't trust Rocket enough to not install some backdoor programs that would allow him to hijack my ship from me. I wouldn't put it past him to try it at least.
[He would absolutely try to steal your ship from you…]
Peter had served his purpose and I kind of wanted them all off my ship now. Of course, Carol and Nebula were free to stay as long as they liked.
“No thanks. I'm dropping you all off soon anyways.” I said to the Guardians. The only problem was that they, except for Mantis, were all still wanted by the Nova Corps. I didn’t know where I could even drop them off.
I definitely wasn’t letting them anywhere near Earth or Asgard. I didn’t need their craziness accidentally burning down any places I cared about.
“Aw crap…we ARE still wanted, aren't we?” Rocket complained. “I completely forgot about that! We won't be able to operate in Nova space until we clear all this up. What did we even do wrong?” Rocket asked out loud.
“I am Groot.”
“Yes, I know a bunch of Nova Corps prison guards died because of us! That wasn't my fault they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Rocket complained. He was probably the most wanted of the bunch since he organized an entire prison breakout.
[They were literally just doing their jobs as prison guards. Where else were they supposed to be?]
“Can we have Ronan's body?” Peter asked me. “I know that Drax stabbed the absolute shit out of his corpse, but it should still be recognizable at least...” He said with a thoughtful look.
“Peter, why do we want a corpse?” Gamora asked him. “Do you have some kind of plan?”
“Are we going to eat him?” Drax said eagerly. “I like this idea! It is the ultimate form of disrespect! Good idea Quill!” Drax praised Peter.
Gamora sent Peter a judgemental glare! “I will not eat a Kree corpse, Peter! What kind of plan is that!?”
“What!? No, we're not going to eat Ronan!” Peter replied with a horrified look. “What's wrong with you two.”
“My apologies, I don't know much about Terran diets and I've had a long day.” Gamora explained sheepishly.
“Awwwww…” Drax pouted in disappointment. “My wife and children would have rested easily knowing I had filled my belly with the man who took their lives.”
“For the last time, I'm not planning on eating Ronan!” Peter said in exasperation.
“Maybe just a leg?” Drax suggested.
“I am slightly hungry.” Mantis added. “I do not know who Ronan is though. Is he tasty?”
“I might try some leg. I'm not picky, I'll eat almost anything.” Rocket added thoughtfully.
“I am Groot.”
“Nevermind, Groot’s right. We don't know what kind of diseases Ronan probably had.”
Peter let out a tired sigh and decided to ignore Drax, Rocket and the other idiots. He explained his reasoning to everyone else on the bridge. “We're going to turn Ronan's body over to the Corps in return for pardons. The Nova Corps hated the shit out of Ronan. It should work out. I want to at least get my ship back from them.”
“That's a good idea.” Gamora agreed. “We might even get some bounty money on top of our pardons.”
With that decided, I turned over Ronan the Accuser’s body to the Guardians. I opened a portal for them to Xandar and they left my ship. I was honestly glad they were gone. They're banter was funny in small bursts, but could honestly get very irritating after hours upon hours of listening to it all.
“What now?” Carol asked me. She had made it clear before that she wanted to take a break from the larger galaxy for a while. She wanted to stick around with me, and I was perfectly ok with that. I looked forward to more subtle, or not so subtle, flirting with her in the future.
She wasn’t the only one sticking around.
Nebula had been looking at me reverently after I restored her body. After I took out Ego, and then blasted Arishem to who knows where, I was now getting borderline looks of utter worship. I could tell that she would follow me anywhere I asked her to.
I contemplated my choices on where to go. I wanted to return home, but there was also something else to consider.
I had been out of touch for a few days, but I'm pretty sure the war in Asgard had finally kicked off. The Demons of Muspelheim and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim had joined forces and declared war all out war.
I had no doubts that Hela and Azazel would eventually win, but it would be a long fought battle. The enemy had far larger numbers than our forces did. We could use something to give us an advantage.
Something like my warship. It had enough firepower to almost solo Xandar. It was definitely a game changer. Not to mention, it could hold and transport tens of thousands of troops at once.
“We'll be setting a course for Asgard.” I decided. “And by that, I mean I'll just be portalling this massive ship to Asgard. I'm not spending days flying there.” I said. This ship was absolutely massive, but with Cosmic Energy I could now make portals large enough for it to fit through.
…
–Sif–
Sif was currently engaged in battle on the outskirts of Asgard. The Flame Demons had somehow found a way to bypass Asgard’s protective barriers and sneak their troops inside. Surtur had sent a few battalions along with some large monsters in the initial attack.
The majority of Asgard and the Grigori’s forces were currently facing off against the invading battalions of Flame Demons. Sif and Kokabiel were busy dealing with the largest monster the invaders had brought with them.
“Watch out, Sister! It’s going to breathe fire!”
“ROOooooaaar!”
Sif heeded Kokabiel’s warning and dove to the ground. She was just in time!
A searing hot wave of fire passed a few inches above her! She was thankful that the Extremis in her veins kept her from being roasted by the latent heat.
Once the flames subsided, Sif hopped back to her feat and gripped her sword tightly. The monster they were facing roared angrily when it noticed that Sif had dodged its breath attack.
They were currently fighting a Dragon…
A Dragon that had crawled out of the hottest magma pits of Muspelheim. It stood over 20 meters tall on its four legs with a wingspan at least 3 times as large. Its scales were also glowing and burning red hot. This was a creature that comfortably swam in fiery liquid magma.
The weaker Fallen Angels and Asgardians couldn't even get close to the fierce beast without getting burned. Only Sif and Kokabiel were able to withstand the intense heat and battle the dragon.
“It’s been a long time since I've faced a Dragon in combat.” Sif reminisced. The last time she had faced an actual dragon had been on one of Thor’s crazier escapades. She sometimes found herself missing the simplicity of those days. Her life was filled with nothing but fighting and drinking. Of course, Sif would never change her current life for anything. She was much lonelier back then as well.
Kokabiel floated down next to her and hovered a meter off the ground. There was an oversized Lightspear in each of his hands. He was grinning maniacally at their current situation. “Hah! This is what my brethren and I were born for! Glorious war where we can prove our dominance! I will never fall to some oversized lizard!”
“ROOooooaaar!” The dragon’s eyes glowed in fury. It wasn’t able to communicate, but it was clearly smart enough to understand Kokabiel words just now. It didn’t seem to like them very much.
The ground started to shake as the massive beast started to charge towards them. The Dragon’s mouth was snarling wide open, showing rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth. It lunged its powerful jaws forwards towards Sif. She leapt high into the air just as it snapped them shut.
“I am not your dinner, foul beast!” Sif gripped her sword tightly as gravity started to pull her back downwards. She was directly above the Dragon’s head. “Die!” She attempted to slam her blade directly into its skull.
CLANG!
At the last second, it swung its head to the side. Her Asgardian blade ended up bouncing off one of its strong horns. Sif cursed and grabbed onto the horn to steady herself. Her other hand was still holding her blade. She attempted to stab the foul beast again. She raised her blade and prepared to strike at the Dragon’s unprotected eye.
Its head started thrashing back and forth wildly to stop her! Sif had to stop her attack. She hung onto the Dragon’s horn with all of her might as it thrashed wildly. It had amazing physical strength! Even a fully grown bilgesnipe wasn't so fierce!
“Hope you didn’t forget about me!” Kokabiel shot through the air towards them. His wings kept him a few meters off the ground, which was starting to bubble and boil from the sheer heat the Dragon naturally exuded. Kokabiel thrust both Lightspears directly into the Dragon’s left side. “Ugh! You’re a tough bastard!” Kokabiel grunted at the impact.
The Dragon’s hide was so tough that Kokabiel’s two Lightspears barely sank a few centimeters deep into its flesh. That didn’t stop the beast from acting like a baby. It stopped thrashing, threw its head into the air, and let out the loudest roar yet!
Sif felt woozy and almost released her hold. The roar was so loud that Sif’s eardrums popped. “Silence!” Sif screamed in pain. Golden blood flowed out of both her ears before the Extremis went to work and started repairing the damage to her hearing. She quickly steadied herself before slashing down with her blade.
The Dragon’s only unarmored spots were its eyes. Sif’s blade slashed through its pupil. The beast was half blinded! Piping hot blood spurted outwards as Sif hopped off the beast's head and backed away.
“Excellent strike, Sister-in-law!” Kokabiel cheered. He left his two Lighspears lodged in the Dragon’s side and flew over to regroup with her.
“Don’t let your guard down. A wounded beast will fight ten times harder for survival.” Sif reminded him. The Dragon was more dangerous than ever now. It had stopped thrashing and letting out roaring tantrums. With its remaining good eye, it was silently staring at the two of them furiously. It would now do everything in its power to try and kill them or escape.
“Now the real fight starts! I’ve been looking forward to a battle like this!” Kokabiel cheered. Sif found herself smiling with his enthusiasm. As an Asgardian, especially a Goddess of War, she would never turn down a good fight!
FWISH!
A flash of purple Light fell down from the sky high above. The Dragon went eerily still for a split second…and then its head fell clean off of its body. A purple Lightspear had fallen down from the sky and instantly decapitated the beast. Its body collapsed to the ground dead next to the severed head.
Kokabiel threw his arms up in the air in exasperation! “Damn it, Layla! You ruined our glorious Dragon hunt! It was just getting good!” He complained while staring up in the sky.
Sif could admit that she was also disappointed, but that didn’t stop the smile that quickly formed on her face. Layla, her love, was hovering in the skies above Asgard! Layla looked beautiful and as majestic as always. What surprised Sif, however, was the absolutely gigantic spaceship that was now hovering in Asgard’s orbit. She didn’t remember such a large vessel being there a few moments ago.
…
–Layla–
I flew down and landed in front of Sif and Kokabiel. The latter was scowling at me in annoyance, while the former threw herself into my arms. I didn’t mind that Sif was wearing armor that was covered partially in Dragon blood. I wrapped the blonde goddess in a loving embrace.
I could always wash the blood out of my clothes later anyway…
“Sorry I took your kill, brother.” I apologized to Kokabiel over Sif’s shoulder. “I saw you two fighting a large Dragon and got nervous. I wanted to help.”
Kokabiel scoffed. I could tell he was annoyed, but still happy to see me. “Whatever…it's fine. I'm sure there will be other Dragons. This was only a probing attack from Muspelheim anyways. Only a few hundred Demons out of their legion of millions.”
“When I arrived, I had noticed Asgardian soldiers fighting against Flame Demons in the distance.” I commented. “I saw our siblings helping, but they were mostly letting the Asgardians fight.” A lot of Fallen Angels were hovering on the edge of the battle and watching.
Kokabiel nodded. He explained that this battle was a good opportunity for the inexperienced Asgardians to get a taste of war for the first time. Kokabiel and Sif were handling the Dragon themselves since the younger Asgardians would have been overwhelmed by such a beast. Hela, Thor and Azazel were on standby somewhere in case Surtur sent any of his more powerful forces to attack.
“Where have you been, Sister?” Kokabiel asked me. “And what is that colossal vessel you brought back with you?”
I grinned at him. “I have a story you’re absolutely not going to believe! I faced one of the most powerful beings in the Universe! I’ll wait till we rejoin everyone else before I tell it though. As for the ship, it’s mine now! I took it from the Kree Empire. We should be able to make pretty good use of it. It’s one of their most powerful warships. It’s fully stocked with a hoard of weapons.”
Kokabiel grinned at my words. “Well done, showing the rest of the galaxy what we're capable of! I can’t wait to hear the rest of the details!”
I let go of Sif and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, my love. I left two new companions behind when I rushed down here.” Carol and Nebula were still on board the ship. I rushed down when I noticed a battle was underway upon our arrival above Asgard. Now that I knew it was nothing but a small probing attack, and everyone was fine, I would go back up and retrieve the two of them.
XXX