Very quickly, without encountering any resistance, Star-Lord and the others were imprisoned in Xandar's space prison. As a renowned advanced civilization in the galaxy, the Nova Empire had significant territory, even being capable of going to war with one of the three great cosmic empires, the Kree Empire.
The prisoners held in the Nova Empire's space prison came from all corners of the galaxy. So when Gamora and Nebula appeared, many eyes filled with murderous intent.
Most of these prisoners were in the prison because of Thanos. After Thanos slaughtered half the population of their planets, many were forced to flee their homes to avoid a similar fate. However, since their planets lacked advanced technology, surviving in the galaxy meant they had to find ways to earn money and buy equipment to enhance their abilities.
Of course, earning enough money through legitimate means was nearly impossible for them, so many turned to crime and ended up in Xandar's space prison.
It's not to excuse their crimes, but many of these prisoners had legitimate reasons to seek revenge on Gamora and Nebula.
As the surrounding prisoners stared at them with bloodthirsty eyes, something unexpected happened—Gamora shrank back, cowering like a frightened child, completely at odds with the fearless character she had shown before.
Before this, Gamora had feared nothing except Thanos. Whether she was slaughtering half a planet's population or carrying out missions for him, she was ruthless and unflinching.
But now, Gamora's fearful demeanor stirred the prisoners into a frenzy, and if not for the guards keeping watch, they would have already attacked her.
"Gamora! You've disgraced our father!" Nebula snarled at the prisoners before turning to Gamora with a sneer. "So this is the real you? A cowardly worm, nothing more than scum!"
"Hey, blue-skinned girl, move aside!" A towering alien, over two meters tall, shoved Nebula away and fixed his greedy gaze on Star-Lord, his expression suggesting he wanted to tear him apart.
"Get your hands off him!" Nebula roared, charging at the alien. It wasn't because she had any newfound affection for Star-Lord; she simply didn't want anyone else to claim what belonged to Thanos.
Thud!
Unfortunately, without her weapons, even with the enhancements made to her body by Thanos, Nebula was no match for the giant alien. She was easily sent flying, and the guards didn't intervene, as this was a common initiation—designed to put new prisoners in their place.
"Tsk, tsk, what soft skin you have," the alien taunted, brushing his fingers across Star-Lord's face, making him pale with disgust.
Although Star-Lord was a member of the Ravagers, he had been well-protected by Yondu during his upbringing. He had never experienced such an ordeal before, and the touch of the alien's fingers sent a shiver of revulsion through him.
The problem was that, like Nebula, Star-Lord didn't have his weapons. Otherwise, he would have already pulled out his blaster and turned this alien into Swiss cheese.
Just as Star-Lord was starting to despair, Groot's arm stretched out, transforming into vines that shot into the alien's nose, lifting him off the ground.
Although it was unclear how different the alien's physiology was from a human's, he was clearly in agony. He thrashed in Groot's grasp, unable to break free as Groot's vines seemed to have penetrated deep into his brain.
"Listen up, you idiots!" Rocket Raccoon stepped forward, pointing at the alien and Star-Lord. "This guy's with us, so hands off. If you mess with him, you'll end up like this fool!"
"No one touches his ass or his mouth—they belong to me now!" Rocket shouted, ignoring the crudeness of his words, as Groot tossed the alien to the ground. The alien lay there, struggling to get up, while Star-Lord followed Rocket and Groot into the deeper parts of the prison.
Though Rocket's words were less than flattering, Star-Lord knew that Rocket had just saved him. Being handed over to Yondu was far preferable to whatever the alien had planned.
The crucial thing was that Rocket had no idea about the Orb. If he found out about it, there was no doubt Rocket would want both the bounty and the fortune from selling the Orb.
"Damn it!" Nebula, having recovered after Rocket's show of force, stood up, clearly annoyed. Though the other prisoners were now intimidated, she was still upset. As Thanos' daughter, she didn't want to owe her safety to a bunch of lowlifes.
Gamora, meanwhile, remained calm, ignoring Nebula's angry glares as she quietly followed behind. Her mind was focused on one thing: escaping from this wretched prison.
Gamora knew that escaping on her own was impossible. She needed Rocket and Groot's help. The only silver lining was that the Nova Empire hadn't recognized the importance of the Orb. All the prisoners' belongings had been stored together, so Gamora still had a chance to steal the Orb back.
However, Gamora underestimated the hatred the other prisoners held for her. When night fell, a group of them surrounded her. Nebula, noticing this, hesitated for a moment. Despite her disappointment in Gamora's cowardice earlier, she still chose to step forward—after all, Gamora was her sister.
The problem was that without Groot's help, Nebula and Gamora stood little chance against so many enemies, especially without their weapons.
Rocket and Groot, meanwhile, were standing not far away, watching the scene unfold with no intention of intervening. After all, neither Gamora nor Nebula had a bounty on their heads.
Thud! Thud!
In no time, both Nebula and Gamora were knocked to the ground. Two sharp iron spikes were pointed at their throats, bringing with them the threat of death.
"Gamora, Nebula, for the crimes you've committed across the galaxy, we sentence you to death…" The aliens holding the spikes moved closer, their voices cold as they passed judgment.
"You dare!" A deep voice suddenly echoed through the prison. The two aliens turned to see none other than Drax the Destroyer, who had been purposefully left alive by Ronan. In this prison, no one dared to challenge him.
Drax's presence here was similar to that of many of the other prisoners. After leaving his home planet, he had wandered the galaxy, even ambushing and killing several of Ronan's Kree soldiers. His prowess had impressed Ronan, who allowed him to live, hoping Drax would cause more chaos.
But before Drax could stir up more trouble, he was captured by the Nova Corps and imprisoned. This, however, led him to Nebula and Gamora.
Drax's primary target for vengeance wasn't Ronan, who had murdered his wife and child, but Thanos, the one who orchestrated it all. After arriving at the space prison, Drax had learned that many other planets had suffered the same fate as his, deepening his hatred for Thanos.
The problem was, Thanos had been hunting for the Infinity Stones recently, and aside from one encounter on Bil's planet, no one had crossed paths with him. This made it impossible for Drax to track him down.
But now things were different. With Nebula and Gamora, Thanos' adopted daughters, right in front of him, Drax felt he had finally found a lead. He wasn't about to let them die at the hands of someone else.
"Drax!"
"The Destroyer!"
The aliens surrounding Nebula and Gamora stepped back in fear, recognizing Drax. They knew his reputation and realized they wouldn't be able to kill the sisters now that he was involved.
"Since you know who I am, step aside," Drax ordered coldly, turning to face Nebula and Gamora. "Like most of the others here, my home was destroyed. My wife and daughter were killed by Ronan, in a manner that was almost mocking. But my true target for revenge isn't just Ronan—it's Thanos!"
"I've been searching for him, but I've found no trace of him. Now that I have you two, I finally have a lead…" Drax's voice was filled with hatred as he spoke.
"You think you're worthy of avenging my father?" Nebula sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. She genuinely believed that, no matter how powerful Drax was, he stood no chance against Thanos. The two weren't even on the same level.
Smack! In an instant, Drax grabbed Nebula by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "Whether I'm worthy or not, you don't get to speak to me like that."
"Let her go!" Gamora shouted, her eyes flashing with anger as she watched Drax choke her sister.
Just then, a loud explosion rocked the prison, shaking the entire structure.
Everyone turned, stunned, toward the source of the explosion. They couldn't believe an explosion had occurred in the space prison, especially since this was a highly secure Nova Corps facility. The area was a massive space station, and the Nova Corps could call in reinforcements at any moment.
"Nova Corps, hand over that kid, Star-Lord, or I'll blow this entire prison and everything around it to pieces!" A wild voice boomed from outside, prompting the guards to rush out and assess the situation.
"Is this for you? Your reinforcements?" Rocket asked, eyeing Star-Lord curiously.
"Reinforcements? I haven't even called for help yet, and that's definitely not Yondu's voice…" Star-Lord mut
tered, confused. He had planned to contact Robert for help after the Nova Corps arrested him. Even though the galaxy was vast, Robert was one of the few people who gave Star-Lord a sense of security.
Unfortunately, Star-Lord's belongings had been confiscated too early, and he hadn't had a chance to contact the Avengers. Now he was even more puzzled—he didn't have any other allies in the galaxy, let alone someone capable of attacking a Nova Corps space prison.
"It's Ronan's forces!" Drax growled from nearby, recognizing the voice with seething anger.
"Ronan's men? Oh, right! That's Korath's voice!" Star-Lord's face paled as he realized who it was. He had barely escaped Korath last time, and now Korath was here for both him and the Orb. If Korath found him, Star-Lord had no confidence he could survive the firepower used to assault the prison.
"Hey! Rocket! We need to get out of here fast, or you're never going to collect your bounty…" Star-Lord quickly turned to Rocket, urging him to act.
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