swirling vortex appears suddenly in the midst of the Alexandrian star system. It spins with increasing velocity, but in a small, contained space. The vortex is impossible under normal conditions, but the conditions that create it are not normal. As the vortex starts to dissipate, it reveals the forms of three familiar figures—Thor, the Silver Surfer, and Loki.  Thor effortlessly reaches out, as his hammer stops its spinning motion, and returns obediently to his hand.

Loki looks around, even as the Surfer places the back of his hand on his forehead, still feeling the unusual sensations of the vortex motions. “Where have you brought us, brother?” Loki asks. “The celestial formation resembles that of the Alexandrian system.”

“Aye,” Thor responds. “’Tis true. I learned that Firelord was operating out of this system recently. Perhaps we may find clues as to where he hath gone, or even help him.”

“I sense he was here,” the Surfer comments, looking around at the system stretched out before them.

“Aye,” Loki replies. “His cosmic energies were indeed present recently.”

“How can you determine that, Loki?” the Surfer asks, surprised.

“Do not underestimate my power, flimsy one,” Loki retorts, glaring at the Surfer. “Do so only at thy peril.”

“Enough, Loki!” Thor proclaims, putting out his hand between the two, who glare at each other. “We have no time for such arguments. I know not why thou cannot get along, but thee must both learn to do so…at least until our mission hath been completed.”

“Aye, dear brother,” Loki snidely offers, looking over at the Surfer. “Until our mission is ended.” He then turns his attention back to Thor. “But thou doth, as always, misjudge my intentions, brother. I seek no harm to come to this mortal. I am just concerned about his ability to survive this mission.”

“Do not concern yourself for me, Loki,” the Surfer returns. “I can manage well enough.”

Loki makes no response, but just shakes his head at the Surfer, and turns his attention back to Thor. “Firelord is known to be, as mortals say, ‘hot-headed’, brother. Could he not have gotten himself into trouble, much as Volstagg hath done in the past?”

“Well do I know Firelord, Loki,” Thor responds. “Although he doth have quite a temper, I do not think he would normally get into the kind of trouble that Volstagg seems drawn into.”

“We are wasting time here, talking,” the Surfer comments, looking at the system stretched out in front of them.

“I agree,” Thor responds. “I suggest that we each look to the worlds below, to find any sign of Firelord on those worlds, then come back here and compare our findings.”

“That seems logical,” the Surfer replies. 

“Aye,” Loki replies. “Let us do so now.”

he Surfer takes to the skies on his surfboard, gliding downward, towards a largely oceanic world below him, as Thor and Loki each make their way to two other worlds. Loki makes his way to a world that is crimson, a close distance to the system’s sun, even as it is largely made of volcanic materials. Thor, on the other hand, makes his way to a world that has several patches of cosmic storms swirling around in its atmosphere.

The Surfer glides down into the atmosphere of the planet below, floating down through the swirling clouds, even as he sees the vast ocean below him on the world below. It is a world that is almost entirely water, with two major oceans occupying the majority of the world’s surface.

As the Surfer looks down below, he sees two fins scaling the surface of the ocean below. Moving down towards the ocean, he begins to use his cosmic powers to scan the world, looking for any sign of Firelord. “I must scan this world,” the Surfer comments, ignoring the scenery for a moment. “It will take only a moment to determine if Firelord is here, or…”

The Surfer is broken from his thoughts by a biting sensation around his waist. Looking down, he is horrified to find that a large aquatic creature, resembling a giant shark with three fins and twin horns on either side of his head, has latched itself to his waist, and is bringing him down towards the ocean below, water trailing in his wake.

“What manner of creature is this?” the Surfer asks, as he is brought down, splashing into the water, temporarily knocked off his surfboard, as the large creature seeks to draw him under the water, to complete the kill.

The Surfer then sends out his power cosmic, striking the creature in the face with his energy blasts, dislodging the creature from his waist and sending him falling back, even as the Surfer swims back to the surface of the water. He immediately sends a mental call for his board, which swoops around under him, lifting him back into the air, as three other similar creatures make their way towards him. He lifts himself into the air and makes his way quickly  back above the water, preferring a safe distance from the creatures this time.

The Surfer looks down at his waist, which is throbbing with pain, as he makes his way higher and higher above the ocean below, as a large pool of creatures circle around his position. “If I had not acted when I did, I might be sustaining them right now,” the Surfer muses. “Not a pleasant prospect.” He looks around at the world below. “A pity that such a beautiful world should be overrun with such vicious creatures, but Firelord is not here. I have nothing to report to the others.”

oki glides himself down towards the surface of the searing world below. There are volcanoes spread out over the surface of the world. What passes for oceans on this world are actually seas of molten liquid, which let off intense heat. If this has any effect on Loki, he does not show it. As he moves closer to the surface of the world, he notes that the molten rivers boil and spit up shots of molten liquid into the air, which is already filled with ash.

“Not a pleasant world to find yourself on,” Loki muses, “unless you are a being that thrives in such a clime.”

Loki searches the world below with his mystic energies, reaching out to scan the world for any sign of Firelord. As he does so, however, he is too distracted to see a large fiery creature making its way out of the molten river before him. The fiery creature is humanoid in form, and fire spits off from his body, even as he moves menacingly towards Loki.

“What is this?” Loki asks, looking over at the creature, moving out of the way quickly, as the creature lunges at him, missing and landing in the molten river once more. “What a strange world this is, much like Surtur’s hellish realm. Perhaps this is even some satellite territory of his,” Loki muses, looking down, even as three other fiery creatures appear out of the molten river below him. He shakes his head.

“I must remember this world then,” he muses, floating higher into the atmosphere, as the fiery creatures watch him leave with interest, their burning yellow eyes not leaving him until he has disappeared. “Perhaps if these creatures can be bent to my will, they could be taught to accomplish much.” As he moves further out into the atmosphere, he leaves the ash-encrusted world behind him. “That is a matter for another time, however. Firelord is not here.”

hor floats into the atmosphere of the third planet, Cestus-3, noticing that the world has a series of violent cosmic storms, many of them as large as small planetoids, covering large portions of the planet’s surface. Between the various storms, they cover almost the entire planet, wracking it with constant storm activity, keeping the planet below free of all but sparse vegetation, and leading to frequent flooding.