Months ago, during a visit to Asgard, the dimension ruled by the Norse Gods, one of the New Mutants, Danielle Moonstar was chosen to join the Valkyries and become one of the all-father Odin’s choosers of the slain. Now, a flaming entity has possessed Dani’s body, and both Dani and the New Mutants have been suddenly and mysteriously transported back to Asgard. Here, in the vast caverns beneath the Valkyries’ castle, the New Mutants allied themselves with the attacking dwarf-warriors, led by the master-forger, Eitri. But now they learn, to their dismay, that others, besides Dani, have fallen victim to the flaming Curse of the Valkyries!
The New Mutants, Eitri and the other dwarves look on as three flaming Valkyries, flanked by several warriors stand before them. One of the Valkyries welcomes the New Mutants to Asgard, though informing them that their stay here shall be brief. ‘For soon, thou shalt join out mistress in icy Hel - forever!’ a second Valkyrie exclaims.
One of the dwarfs remarks to another that they are forgers by nature and by choice, that they are not warriors born. A second adds that even though they wanted to free their stolen comrades, how can they have thought to challenge such dire creatures in battle? Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie orders his team into battle, ‘This ain’t the time to roll over and die!’ he exclaims as he blasts towards the warriors. Rahne Sinclair a.k.a. Wolfsbane agrees, and shifts into a wolf as she begins attacking one of the warriors, while exclaiming that these creatures may have Dani, and they have to free her.
Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta tells Rahne that her sentiments are fine, before reminding her that Dani has become like these things, and may have joined them of her own free will, before he throws a large pot at one of the Valkyries. The alien New Mutant Warlock shifts his hands into huge fists before suggesting that if Dani is indeed like these creatures, then she may have no free will left. Julio “Rictor” Richter looks at his teammate and friend Tabitha Smith a.k.a. Boom-Boom and wonders what is wrong with her, as they have faced monsters before, even demons during the Inferno, but Asgard has her so terrified she can hardly move. He adds that even the dwarfs freak her out, and they are their allies.
Rictor unleashes his vibro-powers against one of the warriors while telling himself that he has got to snap Boom-Boom out of it - for the teams good as well as her own. ‘What’s with you, Boom-Boom? You forget how to make time bombs?’ Rictor calls out to her, before jibing her, telling her that she is hanging back like some kind of chicken-dwarf. ‘A chicken-dwarf? Me? Of all the disgusting things to say!’ Boom-Boom exclaims, before screaming as one of the warriors picks her up by one of her feet and hangs her upside down. ‘They’re horrible!’ Tabby exclaims. ‘I hate this place…it just gets worse and worse!’ she shouts, before releasing a time bomb in the warriors face, thus freeing herself as he drops her to the ground.
Boom-Boom warns Rictor that if he mentions her name and a dwarf in the same sentence again, then she will feed him a time bomb too. Eitri overhears Boom-Boom and thinks to himself that the humans know not what they face, and make bold to question the dwarves valor. So, Eitri cries ‘To battle, sons of Nidavellir!’ before asking if a spindly daughter of Migard prove braver than the dwarfs. ‘Spindly?’ Boom-Boom exclaims. Eitri leads his companions into battle, declaring that although they may die this day, let the mead halls ring with songs of the courage of the dwarfs. His fellow dwarves follow him bravely into battle.
A battle which is currently being watched by Hela herself. ‘So… the dwarfs will fight if they are forced to. Good!’ Hela exclaims, before declaring that the master forgers will arm and armor her army, and the fighting dwarfs will increase her army’s ranks. Hela remarks that the New Mutants will be her prize, and turns to Mirage, addressing her as ‘You-who-were-Moonstar’, before informing her that she will slay the New Mutants and deliver their souls to her. Mirage stands on a ledge nearby with Brightwind and replies that she cannot, for the will of the possessed remains adamant.
Hela thinks that Moonstar is strong, a will worthy of the Gods themselves, ‘She will be a prize indeed when she is fully tamed!’. Hela tosses Moonstar are small sack containing a powder. She declares that in the secret caverns beneath Castle Valhalla, her forces are facing off against the New Mutants and the dwarfs. Hela declares that she does not want them damaged before they can be of use to her, and explains that the powder will insure their safe capture. Hela orders Moonstar to fling it over the New Mutants and bring back Eitri the master forger for her. The possessed Mirage replies that she can already feel her human side fighting the command, before leaping onto Brightwind and taking off in a burst of flames, ‘Thy will shall be done!’ she exclaims.
Meanwhile, the two New Mutants left behind on Earth are also in desperate straits. ‘Yo, Rusty! Make your girlfriend lower this deflector field and come on out!’ exclaims the obese mutant Fred J. Dukes, appropriately codenamed the Blob as he punches Sally Blevins’ force field. Blob tells the self-imprisoned New Mutants that their Ship is gone off into space and all their other little friends have disappeared. Rusty points out that Rictor destroyed Freedom Force’s chopper too, to which Skids remarks that if their friends have disappeared somewhere, that means that Dani no longer threatens the city with her flame.
Sally declares that the New Mutants may be gone for now, but that they will be back for them. ‘And when they do, we’ll be waiting…right here!’ ‘Might take forever!’ Blob exclaims as he punches Sally’s force field again. Sally replies that they won’t have to wait long, just until the morning when the tourists arrive. Rusty exclaims that they will tell the tourists all about Freedom Force and the mutant children they have kidnapped. Rusty adds that they will probably get a lot of media coverage too, ‘Mutants imprisoned on Liberty Island - that sort of thing!’, before exclaiming that they will blow their nasty little conspiracy sky-high.
St. John Allerdyce a.k.a. Pyro tells Rusty that they have misunderstood what the Blob said earlier, to which Raven “Mystique” Darkholme exclaims that they cannot allow even a hint of that kind of scandal to be associated with Freedom Force, before motioning to the helicopter approaching and ordering her flunkies to step back. Suddenly, the helicopter begins firing at Rusty and Skids, the powerful blasts go around Sally’s force field, cutting a gaping hole in the ground. ‘You tried to kill us!’ Sally exclaims, while Rusty jokes that the report would have read ‘pulverized while resisting arrest!’.
Avalanche and the Crimson Commando land the chopper and approach the New Mutants, with the Crimson Commando telling Rusty that he is resisting arrest, by Uncle Sam’s own appointed Freedom Force! Holding up a laser-cannon to the force field, Commando declares that they have no intention of using it to kill them, and begins to cut the top off the ground that Rusty and Skids are standing on. Mystique exclaims that they are so easily captured, before ordering the Blob to lift the slab gently and carry the New Mutants to the chopper, then to inform the repair crew that there is work for them here. Skids and Rusty hold on to each other as they are carried away….
Back in Asgard, Mirage enters the caverns and cries ‘Forces of death, cease your attack! By your mistress’s orders - cease!’ The New Mutants look up and see their teammate, and Wolfsbane thinks that Dani has conquered her demon and returned to them, before Mirage scatters the powder all over her and the others. One of the Valkyries points out that the mortals and dwarfs are no frozen in time, and one of the warriors exclaims ‘They are ours!’, while Mirage swoops down on Brightwind and picks up Eitri, informing him that her mistress has need of him, to forge for her the ultimate death tool.
Eitri replies that Odin shall learn of this, as it is against his rule that the living be taken, as Hela’s fiefdom is only the dead. ‘And so, in time, master forger, shall you be. That Hela promises!’ Moonstar warns him. Another Valkyrie orders the warriors to prepare the dwarfs for their march into Hel, and that the mutants are to be locked in the immobilization chamber - where their deaths will be so reprehensible, that even by lord Odin’s law, Hela will have undisputed claim to their souls.
Shortly, the New Mutants are imprisoned high in a tower, still unable to move, and Boom-Boom exclaims that all they have done recently is fight monsters and be captured. ‘But this is the absolute worst! I hate this!’. Sunspot points out that they all hate it, before adding that the only thing he regrets is that the Valkyries didn’t paralyze Boom-Boom’s mouth. Tabby tells Bobby to shut up, asking how he can joke at a time like this. ‘Who’s joking?’ Bobby replies, to which Tabby mutters that if they had escaped when she blew the top off the cavern roof instead of teaming up with those dwarfs then they would be free, not frozen like statues!
Boom-Boom declares that it is all Sam’s fault, and asks who appointed him leader in the first place. Wolfsbane replies that it is not Sam’s fault, before informing her that the original New Mutants appointed Sam and Dani as co-leaders. Rahne comes to Sam’s defense by declaring that he did the right thing, as Eitri is Sam’s friend, and the New Mutants stick by their friends. Rahne goes on to declare that if the Valkyries knew they were in the caverns it was probably because the time bomb which Boom-Boom set off drew the Valkyries attention to them.
Rahne remarks that Boom-Boom and Rictor may be new, but that nobody made them join the team. She then suggests that if Boom-Boom doesn’t like Cannonball’s decisions, perhaps she should leave. Boom-Boom snaps back that perhaps she will leave then, claiming that she did okay when she was alone, she could take care of herself. Tabby exclaims that if a little trouble came around all she had to do was drop a time bomb - which she suddenly does, declaring that creating time bombs doesn’t depend on whether she can move or not.
However, the time bomb explodes right beside Tabby and opens a small hole in the floorboards, which she falls through, and lands in some blankets in a cellar down below. Rictor calls down, asking Tabby if she is all right, to which Tabby replies that she is fine, while realizing that out side of that room, she can move again. Suddenly, two warriors enter the room upstairs after hearing a noise, and see the hole in the floor, declare one of them has escaped.
Tabby realizes that she forgot about the guards and wonders what she can do now, before reminding herself that she is free, and therefore can take care of herself. Boom-Boom thinks she should run away, that it would serve her teammates right if she left them here, especially that goody-good Rahne. Tabby declares that she doesn’t need any of them, and tosses a time bomb back up into the dungeon where it explodes in the two guards faces. ’I don’t need anybody!’ Tabby thinks to herself as she piles some wooden boxes on top of one another, while calling up to the other New Mutants and declaring that she hopes they appreciate the risk she is taking.
‘I could just leave, you know!’ she shouts as she balances on top of the boxes, before tossing five time bombs back up through the hole and muttering that this could get her in a lot of trouble, so she doesn’t know why she bothers! The frozen New Mutants see the time bombs scatter around them, and suddenly they all explode, and the young heroes all fall down into the cellar beneath them, Sunspot knocking Boom-Boom from her perch on the way down.
Sunspot grins as Boom-Boom lands on him, while Rictor tells Boom-Boom that she bothers, because like Wolfsbane said, the New Mutants take care of each other! The door to the cellar slams open and several guards enter the darkened room. ‘I heard them!’ one of the guards exclaims. Boom-Boom grimaces, and begins to say ‘Oh no…you know guys…’ Sunspot cuts her off ‘All together now!’ he exclaims, ‘I really hate this!’ everyone exclaims in unison as they rush towards the warriors.
The battle is short lived, and the New Mutants soon leave the store room transformed in appearance - and perhaps in attitude. ‘Somebody had to take the initiative!’ Boom-Boom remarks, before suggesting that when they get out of here, they should vote her in as team leader! Boom-Boom exit’s the room first, disguised in robes, and her teammates, also disguised, follow, but not without giving each other the thumbs-down signal to Boom-Boom suggestion about her becoming leader.
Cannonball goes over to Boom-Boom and tells her that he’s got bad news - they’re not leaving, a least not yet. He points out that Eitri and the others are captives down below, and they have to rescue them. ‘You’re telling me I risked like and limbo to free you…and you’re going to toss it away saving dwarfs?’ Boom-Boom asks. Rahne asks Sam if he wants her to lead the way, as her wolf-senses are sharp and she can give them plenty of warning - which she does right away, telling everyone to get back.
Sam points to the trolls up ahead and remarks that they have a prisoner. ‘Looks more like a ratty old fur coat!’ Boom-Boom exclaims, before asking what it is. ‘My wolf-prince!’ Wolfsbane exclaims, and begins to rush over to him, until Warlock pulls her back. One of the trolls tosses the wolf-prince into a cell, informing him that the Death Queen has special business with him. Interminable minutes later, the New Mutants stand outside the wolf-prince’s door, and Wolfsbane exclaims that her wolf-prince is in here. ‘Wolf? Like in Werewolf of London?’ Boom-Boom asks. ‘Wolf - like me!’ Rahne exclaims in reply, before asking Bobby to break the door down.
Sunspot uses his incredible strength to smash the door in, and Rahne rushes over to the wolf-prince, Hrimhari, ‘Please don’t be dead. Say something, speak to me!’ she exclaims. There is only silence, until the wolf-prince opens his eyes, declaring that he was dreaming, that Rahne was part of his dream, before kneeling up and seeing that Rahne is here, and real. He asks how and why, to which Rahne asks him if he remembers Dani, before explaining that she was chosen to be a Valkyrie, and when the Valkyries were all possessed, Dani was too. Rahne adds that for some reason, they were transported here with her, and now they are going to get her back.
Hrimhari, who indeed looks like a male version of Rahne in one of her various forms, grabs Rahne by her arms and tells her that she must not, even think it, for the danger is too great. He tells her that she must get away from here, and quickly. ‘He’s talking good sense guys…even if he is a werewolf!’ Boom-Boom exclaims, to which Sunspot tells her to shut up and asks Hrimhari if he can walk. The wolf-prince replies that he can, with help. Sam tells Hrimhari that while they get out of here, he can fill them in on what has been going on in Asgard.
Shortly, with Sunspot helping him along and Wolfsbane scouting ahead, Hrimhari remarks that the New Mutants have seen how the Valkyries have become fire demons, and informs his friends that he and his pack were attacked in the forest, and he was able to hold the Valkyries off while his people fled. Sunspot asks why the Valkyries would want the wolves, to which Hrimhari replies there are no better scouts in all of the nine-worlds, and the Valkyries wanted them to serve in Hela’s army. ‘Hela? The Death Goddess?’ Sam asks, afraid. He goes on to ask why Hela needs demon Valkyries and scouts, why she wants an army.
The group come to a balcony, and Hrimhari explains that Hela has suborned the Valkyries, who have in turn enthralled the Einherar. ‘She plans to attack Asgard itself!’ the wolf-prince reveals, before telling the New Mutants that if they live long enough to reach that high, she is the one they must defeat if they are to save their friend.
In her chamber, Hela declares that the dwarf-lord Eitri is hers, and now her army swells with the cream of Asgard’s warriors! However, she is angry that the New Mutants have escaped their cell. She turns to one of the Valkyries and declares that the New Mutants must not be allowed to slip from the castle. Hela adds that the need for secrecy is still too great. She orders her Valkyries to drive her living captives from the dungeons and into the courtyard, while she begins the spell that will separate Valhalla from the rest of Asgard and link it directly to her own dimension of Hel!
>From the balcony, Wolfsbane motions to the courtyard below. A flaming Valkyrie stands nearby and orders the trolls and dwarfs to move onward, while Rictor asks what is going on with the air in the courtyard, as it look like it is being torn open. Cannonball exclaims it is as if there is a huge hole to nowhere, but Hrimhari reveals that Hela has opened a portal into Hel! The wolf-prince is shocked, and asks how Hela can dare create such a warp in the dimension ruled by Lord Odin. Hrimhari wonders if Hela has grown so powerful that she would face Odin’s wrath with impunity, before telling the New Mutants that they must go to Asgard and tell Odin of what has come to pass.
Sunspot points out that Asgard is far away from here, therefore by the time they get back, Eitri and the dwarfs and Dani and all the others will be gone. ‘We have to do something now!’ he exclaims. Boom-Boom tells him to get real, for even with the dwarfs free, there is no way they can win against Hela and ‘Those disgustoid creeps!’ Tabby exclaims that she wants to do what the wolf prince said and split! Sam thinks to himself that half the team - Magma, Cypher, Mirage, Magik, Rusty, Skids - are gone, some of them for good, while Boom-Boom and Rictor are new. He admits that they have done okay so far, but from sheer dumb luck half of the time, though they are not used to working together.
Sam thinks to himself that, in the old days, they might have attacked Hela alone and pulled it off, as they have beat worse odds than this. But the last time they thought that way, Cypher was killed. Sam tells Sunspot that this is too big to blow on macho heroics, as the fate of Asgard and a lot of lives are depending on them. He declares that they will do what the wolf-prince suggests, get out of her as quiet and as quickly as they can, and call in the big guns - ‘We tell Lord Odin what’s going on!’
Wolfsbane motions above them and tells Sam to look up, as the sky overhead is shimmering, and growing shiny like a mirror. Hrimhari exclaims that this is worse than he thought, Hela is separating this fortress from the rest of Asgard! Hrimhari declares that this is even more evidence of Hela’s increased power, and wonders why Lord Odin does not feel it, or does nothing about it. Suddenly, Warlock shifts his form into a small aircraft and declares that they will do something about it. Cannonball, Sunspot, Rictor and Wolfsbane sit in Warlock, while he holds Boom-Boom and Hrimhari in his hands as he takes off into the air.
Warlock flies towards a gab in the air, where Hela’s seal is closing. He declares that they must be out of here now, or else they will be trapped inside forever! Boom-Boom tells Warlock to hurry, as there is only a little crack left open. Suddenly, Warlock announces that they are through, when there is a loud sound, as the seal closes, and Warlock is stuck in the force field. Holding Boom-Boom and Hrimhari in his hands still, Tabby exclaims that they are miles up in the air, when Warlock manages to pull the rest of his body through, but not his teammates who were on his back.
Hela laughs as Sunspot, Rictor and Wolfsbane begin to plummet to the ground, until Cannonball swoops down and grabs hold of his friends, lowering them all back on to the balcony. Rictor declares that they were so close, and asks what happened to Warlock. ‘And to my prince?’ Rahne asks, before Rictor adds ‘And Boom-Boom? Where is she?’
Furious, Sunspot exclaims that Hela did their best to destroy them, but that they will make her pay for this. ‘This settles it - don’t you see?’ he declares, telling his friends that there is no way they can go whining to Odin for help now, they are stuck here! He remarks that they are going to have to go into Hel to save Dani and Eitri and the others, ‘And kick Hela’s tail. All by ourselves!’ Suddenly, someone places a flaming sword to Sunspot’s neck, and turning, they see a flaming Valkyrie declare ‘If you are so eager to go into Hel, mortal…then I personally will be most pleased to escort you there!’
