[center][h2]Guardians of the Galaxy[/h2] [b]IN[/b] [h2]RAMBLE ON[/h2][/center] [hr] Quill's heavy, rapid footfalls echoed off the stone walls of the cavern as he and Rocket tried their best to put distance between them and the monsters behind them. Around his neck, the little alien girl held tightly, scared out of her mind, he was sure. Whoever she was, it was a miracle she had survived. She was either the luckiest girl in the galaxy, or had some mad survival skills. Either way, Quill couldn't deny that he was impressed. "Any idea if all this running is actually gonna end with us getting out of here?" Star-Lord asked his furry compatriot. His lungs were already starting to scream. He wished he could use his rocketboots, but the lake water seemed to have affected them. "How would I know!?" Rocket barked back. "I dunno!?" Quill protested. "You have like animal senses! Can't you smell fresh air or something?" "Oh that is just typical!" Rocket growled. "You've got a good sense of smell, so obviously you can magically tell everything about the planet we're on! Can't you see in the dark well!? How about taste a rock and find water or something! I got no clue what fresh air would smell like down here, numb nuts!" "Okay! God!" Suddenly, the two came to a halt as a shear cliff dropped off in front of them. Rocket nearly tumbled over as he pinwheeled his arms around to keep his balance, only for Quill to snatch him back from certain death. "Well that sucks," Rocket sighed and threw a rock into the blackness laid before them. After an interminably long time, they heard the faint thud of it hitting the ground far below. "We're totally gonna die here, aren't we?" "Oh, 100%," Quill groaned. "Well, I guess there are worse people to die with," Rocket smiled weakly. "Assuming the girl isn't like a secret serial killer or something. But I doubt it." "That's oddly sweet, for you," Quill clasped the raccoon's shoulder. "I'm going to choose to take it as a compliment." "You probably should," he nodded. "That's about as close as I come to giving one." That's when the ground shook below their feet. [hr] The blood of the insectoid creatures coated Jarnbjorn like a thick, slimy film. Their bodies were piling up in front of Groot and Thor by the dozens, yet still more came, forcing the two comrades in arms back towards the way their escaping friends had went. The creatures were drones, nothing more, and nothing less. And if these were the drones, it meant that there had to be a queen somewhere. Whether on this planet or somewhere else. The latter was the more worrying prospect. If these creatures could be controlled from anywhere, the Guardians' enemy was far more deadly than even Thor had thought. These ravenous beings could be sent to any planet and eradicate any opposition. That was a power that could not be allowed to stand in the universe. That wasn't even considering what Thor had discovered here, either. If what he suspected their enemy was after was obtained, nothing would be able to stand in their way. They'd be able to cut a swathe of destruction across the galaxy that was hitherto undreampt of. He needed to stop that from happening. Even if it was the last thing he did in the mortal realm, he would not let such a devastating weapon fall into the hands of a butcher. Groot tossed one of the creatures into an advancing column of its brood mates. The tree was formidable, that much was certain. Thor was glad to have such a being to fight alongside. Thinking that of a mortal was an odd experience. He had never really found much worth from them, save from their praise and maybe their mead. But fighting with Groot, and the other Guardians, for that matter, had sparked something in him. If he hadn't already been ashamed of how much he had shunned his responsibilities as a god, he certainly was now. Their lives were short lived, sure. But there was a grace and a fierce struggle for survival in them. Hell, that's probably the only reason they were fighting with him now. Still, it was nothing short of admirable. "Groot!" he called out to his partner. "They're going to overrun us if we don't get some breathing room." "I am Groot!" the tree nodded. He understood exactly what Thor was getting at. The two of them struck simultaneously, Thor with Jarnbjorn and Groot with an extended, treetrunk arm. The wall of the cave around them shook as they took off running. Thor looked behind him, and saw the roof of the cave collapsing on top of the brood. He glanced over to Groot with a smile as they headed to meet up with Rocket and Quill. [hr] Shayera Hol paced back and forth in the bowels of the Hasselhoff, wondering how long she had to wait to bail on this planet in order to give the appearance of caring about the people in the caves below. Not that she really needed to keep up appearances, of course. No one knew that she was here with these goons. Unfortunately that was a problem. If she did leave without them, she wouldn't be able to claim their bounties. It might be enough to clear her own. [i]You don't want to do that.[/i] The voice in her head that she had buried for a long time whispered to her. The last time she had listened to it she had gotten exiled from her home and nearly killed in the process. Listening to it now was bound to get her killed for real this time. Still, it was there, and it was getting louder. Maybe it was a side effect from being around the intolerable Asgardian. She had heard stories about their kind. How they could sway the opinions and emotions of mortal folk. Maybe he was subconsciously making her his slave or something. That's all the powerful were good at. Forcing you into situations that you had no business or desire to be in. [i]You know that's not the case.[/i] Hol, who told everyone who she knew to call her merely "Hawk", shook the voice out of her head again. No, she wasn't going to get caught up in some crazy crusade. Not again. She had done that once and it cost her everything. Since then it had been her mission to stay to herself. Doing that kept her safe. It kept her from getting hurt. And it kept her getting paid. Then the ground rumbled below the spacecraft. The voice prodded in protest. She couldn't leave them down there to suffer the fate of whatever happened to those poor colonists that went into the mines foolishly believing they would be safe. No matter how much she tried to silence the voice, it kept calling to her louder and louder until it was deafening in her head. "FINE!" she called out to herself and took the controls of the ship. [hr] Thor came to a sliding stop in front of Quill, Rocket, and the girl, who were all waving their hands in warning as Thor and Groot turned a corner. The Asgardian saw that there was a huge cliff behind them, and that if the two escapees didn't stop the five of them would currently be falling quite a long way down. "I assume we do not have an escape route this way?" Thor sighed. "Sure, an escape route from life," Rocket shrugged. "I am Groot." "Yea, well, even if you survived a fall those bug things would eat you," Rocket shot back at the tree. "I am Groot." "I don't care if they eat meat," Rocket shook his head in amazement. "They clearly want to kill you!" "Uhhhh..." Quill motioned behind Thor and Groot. "Looks like they're about to kill all of us." Thor turned to see the brood wave approaching quickly. He snarled and gripped Jarnbjorn tightly. He turned to his new friends and nodded to them, "If this is where the song of Thor Odinson should end, let it end bathed in the blood of his enemies." "Haha! Badass!" Quill smiled. "I could live, er, die with that," Rocket nodded. "I am Groot!" The four of them stood in front of the girl, ready to make sure that none would get to her as long as they still stood. Thor felt the worst for her. She probably believed she would be saved when they found her in that cave. Yet all they did was get her fed directly to the monsters that had tormented her and took her away from her family. They had hand delivered her to them. He felt a pit form in his stomach over this fact. The teaming mass of giant insects clambered over one another to get to them. The squeezed through the cave opening like a living avalanche full of snapping jaws and swiping, clawed limbs. As they began to get close, the four Guardians began to let out a war cry, ready for the coming storm. But before they got there, a rapid fire of blue blasts flew over the Guardians' heads and slammed into the wave of creatures. The four heroes spun to see the Hasselhoff floating over the drop off. Behind its controls was Hawk, firing indiscriminately at the advancing hordes and motioning for them to come on board. Without wasting a moment, they hopped onto the extended ramp, Thor scooping up the girl as he did. Once on board, he ran to the helm and laugh-yelled at Hawk, "I thought you weren't going to help!?" "Yea, well, I felt like making a huge mistake," she smirked back at him as she began piloting the ship to the surface. "Do we have any idea where we're going next?" "Niðavellir," Thor nodded. "I'll show you how to get there once we're as far away as possible from this planet."