With a buzzing sound, time passed under the watchful, skeptical eyes of Thanos' lieutenants. Before long, the remaining handle of Mjölnir began to tremble slightly as the hammer fragments started flying back and reattaching themselves. Some fragments even purposefully grazed past Supergiant's ear and head, causing her to glare at Thor with displeasure.
However, Thanos didn't intervene in the growing tension between Thor and Supergiant. Despite Supergiant being his adopted daughter and Thor merely a pawn controlled by the Mind Stone, Thor's power far exceeded that of Supergiant. In fact, after Mjölnir's destruction and subsequent upgrade, Thanos speculated that even he might not be a match for Thor without the aid of the Mind Stone.
Therefore, if Thor had grievances with Supergiant, so be it. As long as Thor remained under his control and followed the larger plan, Thanos saw no reason to intervene. If Supergiant had to endure a bit of discomfort, that was her problem.
"You can't possibly claim that in such a short time you've already completed Father's task, can you? Aren't you worried about killing too many or too few without even checking?" Supergiant sneered at Thor, feeling emboldened by her frustration.
"Supergiant, it's Thor's first mission. Even if there's a slight deviation, it doesn't matter. Since he says he's done, let's count it as done. Now, focus on gathering more information about the Infinity Stones for Father," Proxima Midnight, who had been silently observing Thanos' expression, stepped in to de-escalate the situation.
"You!" Supergiant's face changed, her eyes flashing with anger. No one had come to her defense earlier when Thor targeted her, but now that she had spoken up, Proxima Midnight, who usually had no presence, immediately spoke out. Supergiant felt a wave of resentment—this was clearly aimed at her!
"If you don't believe me, why don't you check the ship's scans? It already measured this planet's population before we arrived. You'll see for yourself if I did the job right," Thor said calmly, snapping Supergiant out of her rage.
As Supergiant regained her composure, she noticed Proxima giving her a subtle signal. She then recalled Corvus Glaive's earlier attempt to speak in her defense, and the pieces began to fall into place. She glanced at Thanos but didn't dare use her mental powers to probe his thoughts. Even without that, she understood what was going on.
"Fine, let's scan the planet. If you've done it perfectly, I'll apologize to you," Supergiant said seriously, adjusting her approach.
"You should apologize," Thor replied bluntly, though he was surprised by how quickly her attitude had shifted. He nodded, accepting her concession. Pressing further would only make him seem unreasonable.
Soon, they all boarded the ship, and its scanners revealed that the planet's population, originally twenty-two billion, had been halved to eleven billion. Thor had, in fact, completed Thanos' task perfectly.
"Excellent! Thor, you've exceeded my expectations!" Thanos said, grinning. Even down to the exact number, Thor hadn't faltered. Bill's death had also been counted among the casualties. Thanos was pleased. "From today on, you are truly one of us."
"I am at your service, my lord," Thor said, bowing respectfully.
"I apologize, Thor. I was wrong to doubt you earlier. I hope we can work well together from now on," Supergiant quickly admitted her mistake, adjusting her tone as she saw the harmony between Thanos and Thor.
"It's fine. We'll have many more chances to work together," Thor replied, glancing at Thanos before nodding to Supergiant. The two shook hands, putting their conflict to rest.
The atmosphere aboard the ship noticeably improved. Although the crew had been in low spirits due to their failure to locate any Infinity Stones, the slaughter on Bill's planet seemed to have lifted their mood. Once again, the ship drifted through the vastness of space, searching tirelessly for more leads on the Infinity Stones.
Meanwhile, word about the Orb was spreading rapidly throughout the galaxy. Both Ronan and the Collector were well-known figures, and the Collector had even contracted the Ravagers—a group akin to space pirates and bounty hunters—to find it. The Ravagers were infamous for their loose lips and rowdy cowboy-like demeanor.
Countless individuals were now chasing the Orb, monitoring any planet where strange events had been reported. Yet so far, neither Nebula nor most of the ambitious treasure hunters had succeeded in finding it or gathering any real leads.
"My lord! I've discovered a lead on the Orb. Do you want to take action personally?" At this crucial moment, Korath the Pursuer, one of Ronan's men, contacted him with valuable information.
Korath, however, wasn't sure if Ronan would actually go after the Orb. Lately, Ronan had become obsessed with slaughtering planets, moving at an even faster pace than Thanos before him.
Ever since the peace agreement between the Nova Empire and the Kree Empire failed due to his actions, Ronan had intensified his rampage. He seemed bent on demonstrating his ruthlessness—or perhaps the cruelty of the Kree—as a means to intimidate other planets into fearing the Kree Empire.
As a staunch militarist, Ronan despised showing any sign of goodwill or cooperation to other races. He believed the Kree Empire should dominate all civilizations in the galaxy.
As a result, many voices within the Kree Empire had begun to oppose Ronan's brutal methods, but he simply ignored them, continuing his campaign of violence.
"Just a lead?" Ronan's expression remained indifferent as he heard Korath's report.
"Yes, only a lead. It's said that the planet Morag has been submerged under oceans for the past three hundred years. Before the flooding, someone discovered some strange phenomena there, including an object resembling a sphere. That could be the Orb…" Korath explained.
"According to projections, Morag's oceans will soon recede, revealing the submerged locations…"
"Take a team and go. If it's the Orb, bring it back… No, bring back whatever it is. I want to see if this so-called 'ultimate treasure' is truly that hard to find!" Ronan raised an eyebrow but showed no intention of going himself. He was far more interested in continuing his planetary conquests. Searching for items was a task best left to subordinates.
"Yes, my lord!" Korath responded, hiding his frustration. With his dark complexion, his facial expressions were hard to discern, but he obediently set off to prepare his team.
Unbeknownst to Korath, however, someone had already beaten him to Morag. Star-Lord—Peter Quill—had deduced the planet's location based on existing clues. Quill, who had recently returned to space after helping Earth fend off the Chitauri invasion, had also learned about the Infinity Stones and was on the lookout for them as he wandered the cosmos.
Of course, Star-Lord didn't know that the Orb was an Infinity Stone. He only knew it was tied to a lucrative job, which led him to follow the trail to Morag.
Since money was essential for survival in space, and Earth was in no position to fund his adventures, Star-Lord took on whatever side jobs he could find. This time, though, it wasn't just a freelance gig—he was stealing it. The job had originally been assigned to his adoptive father, Yondu, and his Ravagers, but Quill had swiped it, planning to keep the reward for himself.
"Da-da-da-da~ da-da-da-da~" Star-Lord hummed and danced as he roamed Morag's surface, his headphones blasting upbeat music. He toyed with the small creatures he encountered, even grabbing a tiny lizard to use as a makeshift microphone. Clearly, he was enjoying his solo adventure.
This was one of the hazards of life in space—after months or years without much contact, even the most seasoned travelers had to find ways to amuse themselves.
"Here we are." Despite his carefree dancing, Star-Lord didn't waste any time. He entered the ancient ruins just as the tides receded. Inside, the structure looked untouched by the ocean despite being submerged for 300 years. When he pushed open the large doors, his eyes immediately landed on the Orb, encased in a laser security system.
"Interesting, but not enough to stop the brilliant Star-Lord." Smirking, Star-Lord pulled out a gadget and used it to carefully extract the Orb from the lasers.
"Not bad, not bad at all. But can this little thing really be worth that much?" Quill picked up the Orb, inspecting it skeptically. It was sealed tightly with a metallic casing, so he couldn't see the Power Stone hidden within, but he was sure there had to be something valuable inside.
"Drop it!" Just as Quill was about to open the Orb, a voice barked from behind him. He turned sharply to find Korath and several Kree soldiers aiming their laser rifles at him, ready to shoot at any moment.
"Whoa! Hold on!" Quill's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to negotiate, but Korath wasn't in the mood for talking.
"Grab him! Put the Orb down or I'll fire!" Korath ordered, his soldiers quickly surrounding Star-Lord.
"Okay! Okay! I'm putting it down. Just calm down!" Quill tossed the Orb to the ground and raised his hands in surrender, playing the part of an innocent explorer.
"What's your
name?" Korath asked suspiciously, watching Quill closely.
"Peter Quill. Just an innocent adventurer. How about we all relax?" Quill smiled disarmingly as he kept his hands up.
"Take him!" Korath commanded. One of his soldiers slammed the butt of his rifle into Quill's back, urging him forward.
"Wait, why?!" Quill exclaimed, completely confused. "I'm just an adventurer! I dropped the thing, didn't I?"
"An innocent adventurer wouldn't be here. We'll hand you over to Ronan for questioning," Korath said coldly as he turned to leave.
"Wait, you might know me by another name…" Quill called after him, his voice dropping to a dramatic whisper as he flashed what he believed was a charming smile. "You might know me as… Star-Lord."
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