[center][h2]THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY[/h2]
[b]IN[/b]
[h2]BALLROOM BLITZ[/h2][/center]
[hr]
The Chitauri warship glided silently through the void of space towards Despero's flagship, of that Thor was certain. His brother had told him that's exactly where he was being taken. The voyage would almost certainly end in his death. That much wasn't fate, but it felt like it was the most logical endpoint whether Despero would give Thor a chance in combat or not. One does not invite their mortal enemy into their home without confidence. Thor had often upended such confidence, but now he was not sure.

This felt like the end.

He could have probably fought his way to escape. The Chitauri were dangerous, but they were not his match, even at their numbers. Still, he did not want to take the chance. He wanted to look the being that had killed his people in the eyes before one of them died. Either Thor's failures would be complete, or he would somehow pull off his vengeance. Either way, he would live or die on his feet.

His alien captors said little to one another, not that he could understand them if they did. Being a hivemind probably came in quite handy in captive situations. They couldn't give any intel out by accident, though he's not sure what he'd do with it if he got it. The Guardians were long gone. If Loki was to be believed, and that at the moment was hard to conceive, they had been allowed to escape. He tried to pawn that off as a kindness he was doing for Thor. The God of Thunder feared that they had been blown to space after taking off from the Dwarf planet.

"I am sorry, my friends," he said shaking his head, hoping that wherever they were they could hear him.
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"What!?" Rocket yelled, turning his head back and forth from Quill to Hawk with an exaggerated, shocked look on his face. He turned to Groot, his mouth hanging open. "Do you believe these guys?"

Groot looked down at his feet and shuffled them together a little before looking back up at Rocket, "I am Groot."

"What do you mean you agree!" Rocket was dismayed. "Ugh. You've been spending too much time with these lunatics."

The small mammal plopped back down into his chair and folded his arms over his chest in protest. Quill knew he was going to be the hardest one to convince of his plan, but Star-Lord was still surprised when Hawk agreed almost immediately. Not that he was disappointed, of course. She really had begun to show her true colors, and for that he was thankful.

"Come on, Rocket," the Thanagarian protested. "You know he'd do the same for you."

"Yea, because blondy is an idiot," Rocket rolled his eyes. "We were allowed to go. We had our bounties wiped clean. We got a fresh start, and I for one would really like to take it and live a little longer."

"Please, dude," Quill shot back. "You're a raccoon. How long can you live? Like 10 years?"

"I keep tellin' ya I have no freakin' idea what a raccoon is!"

"We're going back," Hawk was adamant.

"We. Will. Die," Rocket responded emphasizing every word. "They've got the numbers. We don't stand a chance. We'll go back and get shredded by a Chitauri war fleet. You know that, right?"

"I have a plan for that," Quill assured him.

"And what about just finding the guy?" Rocket was unmoved.

"Weeeeell," Quill had an impish glint in his eye. "Let's just say I planted a tracker on Thor a while ago."

"In case he ran after you changed your mind to not turn him in for the bounty?" Hawk crossed her arm and looked at Peter.

"What!? No! No!" he shook his head profusely.

Everyone else in the ship looked at him unconvinced.

"Okay fine, yes," he rolled his eyes. "But look, we can use that. Come on. They're never gonna see us coming. We're going to have the element of surprise man. Let's do something here. I know, deep down you've enjoyed the last few weeks of doing good and traveling with us. So let's go save our friend and keep doing it."

Rocket grumbled and looked at the ceiling of the ship.

"Pluuus," Hawk added in, "you'll get to shoot a [i]lot[/i] of Chitauri."

Rocket's eyes snapped to her, "Okay, you got me. I'm in."
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Thor had to admit he was in awe of Despero's flagship as the ship he was in approached. It was like an obsidian splinter shoved into the void of space. Black, violent shards shot off the main spear head. They looked as if they could fire off at any moment and infect a planet with its evil. Around the flagship were two Chitauri capital ships and a few squadrons of fighters. He truly had a formidable force, and if Thor was unable to stop Despero here the alien could roll over the galaxy if he so chose.

They docked and Thor was shoved from behind by his Chitauri captors and he stumbled off the ship into the hangar. As he was walking down the corridors of the ship, he was amazed to see the Chitauri and the Brood cohabitating these spaces as if it was as nature had intended. As he passed them, they looked at him, as if they all hated him as much as their master.

Before long, he found himself in a large atrium. Above him a hologram of the universe flowed, and in the center of the room, on a large, black throne, sat a striking, hulking, red alien. His skin shined like fire in the dark ship. He was shirtless, and his muscles tightened when he laid eyes, all three of them, on Thor. He smiled, revealing sharp teeth, and the frill on the top of his head seemed to stand at attention, ready for the kill.

"Well, well," his voice was deep and doubled, as if it echoed through Thor's head. Telepathy, he figured. Made sense as to how he took over two hive mind races to do his bidding, "the God of Thunder finally graces me with his presence. How long have I waited for this moment. For years I prayed, and prayed, and prayed when the dragons hunted and devoured my people and my family. I watched as the beasts snapped my son in half when he stepped out for food he was desperate for. It was in that moment that I knew the elders were wrong. You were not the great hero of legend. You had happened upon our planet in search of glory. Once you had gotten that, you forgot about us, didn't you?"

Thor knew he couldn't lie to the villain, "Aye. You speak true. And I would not beg your pardon, as I would not deserve it. But in your quest for vengeance you have become a monster yourself. And for that I must kill you."

"Monster, Thunderer?" Despero laughed heartily. "No. I have become a god. I found a way into Odin's treasure room. I bathed in Asgard's eternal flame and it gave me powers you couldn't even believe. And after I was done I threw Sutur's skull into it and destroyed the great realm of Asgard. Then I found the Chitauri and the Brood, creatures almost exterminated by your kind. Together we've been brought oursleves back from the brink, and now we are the powers in the universe. Soon enough, everyone will see that."

"No," Thor shook his head as the Chitauri let him free and handed him Jarnbjorn. If nothing else, Despero was telling the truth when he said this would be a fight. "Soon enough, you will be dead. And my people will be avenged."

Despero smiled and stood, flicking the cape he wore off his shoulders, "Then come, Asgardian. Let us finish this."

With a great battle yell, Thor took off towards the would-be tyrant. The God of Thunder stared into those yellow eyes which stood like a statue, ready for Thor to reach them.

But he never did. Half way, Thor was struck across the face by a metallic haymaker. The Asgardian was flung across the room, but managed to land on his feet, albeit with a little wobble. When he regained his sight, he saw that the Destroyer was bearing down on him. Of course. The weapon that Despero had been after.

The giant, metal, living armor swung at Thor again, who managed to roll out of the way and bury Jarnbjorn into its shoulder. The blade passed through the interlocked shards of metal, which reformed as it passed by. The blow did nothing but leave Thor open for a viscous backhand. He rolled across the ground, losing his ax in the process. When he came to a stop, the Destroyer placed the hell of its boot on his throat as he [i]reached[/i] for the ax just out of his reach.

"Powered by Chitauri and Brood essence at the moment," Despero sounded almost disappointed he had the Asgardian prince on the ropes. "But soon it will be powered by the essence of Thor Odinson. And then I will be unstoppable."

Suddenly the ship rocked violently, sending the Destroyer off balance enough for Thor to roll out form under it.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Despero raged as the hologram of the galaxy distorted into a resemblance of Peter Quiil.

"This is the Guardians of the freakin' Galaxy, a-hole!" Quill yelled in triumph. "Get ready for an old fashioned ass whoopin'!"
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Across the galaxy, where Thor's hammer Mjolnir once stood, there was now nothing but bare rock.